North America

BOKOSHE, Okla. (AP) — Susan Holmes’ home, corner store and roadside beef jerky stand are right off Oklahoma Highway 31, putting them in the path of trucks hauling ash and waste from a power plant that burns the high-sulfur coal mined near this small town.

For years, when Bokoshe residents were outside, the powdery ash blowing from the trucks and the ash dump on the edge of town would “kind of engulf you,” Holmes said. “They drove by, and you just couldn’t breathe.”

19 May 2019; AFP: Boeing acknowledged Saturday it had to correct flaws in its 737 MAX flight simulator software used to train pilots, after two deadly crashes involving the aircraft that killed 346 people.

"Boeing has made corrections to the 737 MAX simulator software and has provided additional information to device operators to ensure that the simulator experience is representative across different flight conditions," it said in a statement.

Ottawa, May 19 (AFP) Ottawa plans to proceed "full steam ahead" on ratification of a free trade agreement with the US and Mexico, Canada's foreign affairs minister said Saturday, after the neighbours scrapped reciprocal tariffs on steel and aluminum imports

Canada had been "very clear" that as long as the tariffs were in place "it would be very hard for us to move forward with ratification," Chrystia Freeland told CBC News.

Washington, May 19 (AFP) Republican lawmaker Justin Amash said Saturday that he believed Donald Trump has engaged in "impeachable conduct," becoming the first politician of his party to call for removing the president from his party.

The Michigan representative also accused Attorney General William Barr of "deliberately" misleading the public over the actual content and tenor of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference aimed at tipping the election to Trump.

NEW YORK, May 18 (APP): The ongoing US-Iran tensions have exposed the growing strains among President Donald Trump’s top foreign policy advisers: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton, according to an American media report.

Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran has exacerbated fissures between the two men, especially “over the tight control Bolton has tried to exert over the national security decision-making process,” Politico, an online news service, said.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders wants to suspend taxpayer funding of new charter schools and ban those that are for-profit as part of his plan to overhaul public education that he released on Saturday.

Saying charter schools are “exacerbating educational segregation,” Sanders proposes more transparency and accountability for them, as well as limits on the pay of their chief executives. According to the campaign, the 10-point plan focuses on “reversing racial and economic segregation that is plaguing elementary and secondary schools.”

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The halt on China’s imports of wastepaper and plastic that has disrupted U.S. recycling programs has also spurred investment in American plants that process recyclables.

U.S. paper mills are expanding capacity to take advantage of a glut of cheap scrap. Some facilities that previously exported plastic or metal to China have retooled so they can process it themselves.

And in a twist, the investors include Chinese companies that are still interested in having access to wastepaper or flattened bottles as raw material for manufacturing.

PHOENIX (AP) — Nordstrom has apologized to Sikhs for selling a turban they found offensive, but a representative with the U.S. community’s top civil rights organization said Saturday they are still waiting to hear from the Gucci brand that designed it.

“We feel that companies are commodifying and capitalizing on something that is dear and sacred to people around the world,” said Simran Jeet Singh, a senior fellow with the New York-based Sikh Coalition, who said the turban has a deep religious significance for the men of his faith.

NEW YORK (AP) — Firefighters have responded to the scene of digital billboard on fire in Times Square.

Flames stated to shoot out of the LED billboard just after 3 p.m. Saturday.

The Fire Department says no injuries have been reported and there was no damage to the building the sign is attached to.

A department spokesman says firefighters are working to turn the billboard’s power off.

PHILADELPHIA, the United States, May 18 (Xinhua): Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden held a kick-off rally on Saturday for his 2020 presidential campaign in Philadelphia, state of Pennsylvania.

Addressing a crowd of supporters at Eakin's Oval near the Philadelphia Art Museum Saturday afternoon, Biden called for unity.

"Some of the really smart folks say Democrats don't want to hear about unity," Biden said in his remarks. "They say Democrats are so angry, and that the angrier your campaign will be, the better chance you have to win the Democratic nomination."