North America

GREELEY, Colo. (AP) — Christopher Watts cried, shook and stared into his lap as a judge told him he would spend the rest of his life in prison for the murders of his pregnant wife and their two young daughters.

But he spoke only once at his sentencing hearing and that was to decline the opportunity to give a statement and perhaps answer the question gnawing at his relatives, his suburban Denver neighbors, and others: Why?

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump faces increasing pressure to take tougher measures against Saudi Arabia over the killing of writer Jamal Khashoggi.

Trump says that Saudi Arabia is a “spectacular ally” and that he’s not convinced that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto leader, was directly responsible for the Oct. 2 slaying of the editorial columnist for The Washington Post inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — At first, the outlines of the mass shooter’s 28 years appeared unremarkable.

Ian David Long enlisted in the Marines out of high school and married at 19. Within five years, he was honorably discharged, divorced and in college.

As the picture sharpened, troubling details emerged — the kinds of clues that, in hindsight, make people wonder out loud whether the impulse that led Long to kill 12 people at a country music bar had been forming in plain sight.

HOUSTON (AP) — A federal judge has barred the Trump administration from refusing asylum to immigrants who cross the southern border illegally.

President Donald Trump issued a proclamation on Nov. 9 circumventing immigration law, saying anyone who crossed the southern border between official ports of entry would be ineligible for asylum.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said there is no reason for him to listen to a recording of the “very violent, very vicious” killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which has put him in a diplomatic bind: how to admonish Riyadh for the slaying yet maintain strong ties with a close ally.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has again targeted White House press credentials for CNN reporter Jim Acosta.

After a federal judge ordered that Acosta’s credentials be temporarily restored last week, the White House sent Acosta a letter saying it had made the “preliminary decision” to suspend his pass. The White House said Acosta would continue to hold his credentials while the 14-day judge’s order was in effect.

NEW YORK (AP) — More losses for technology companies are taking U.S. stock indexes lower Monday. Internet companies and retailers are also falling. High-yielding defensive stocks including real estate and utility companies are making small gains. Nissan sank after its chairman was arrested on misconduct charges.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress will have a record 43 Latino members next year.

The number increased over the weekend after California Democrat Gil Cisneros defeated Republican Young Kim, who was trying to become the first Korean-American woman elected to the House.

The Hispanic delegation will be made up of 35 Democrats and eight Republicans in both chambers.

TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — The United States closed off northbound traffic for several hours at the busiest border crossing with Mexico to install new security barriers on Monday, a day after hundreds of Tijuana residents protested against the presence of thousands of Central American migrants.

The U.S. also closed one of two pedestrian crossings at the San Ysidro crossing in a move apparently aimed at preventing any mass rush of migrants across the border.

17 Nov 2018; AFP: The US Central Intelligence Agency has concluded Saudi Arabia's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was behind the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, US media reported Friday, citing people close to the matter.

The US assessment directly contradicts the conclusions of a Saudi prosecutor one day prior, which exonerated the prince of involvement in the brutal murder.

But The Washington Post, which broke the story, said the CIA found that 15 Saudi agents flew on government aircraft to Istanbul and assassinated Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate.