North America

Barry prompts tornado warning in Mississippi

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Latest on Barry (all times local):

5:45 a.m.

A severe thunderstorm embedded in one of Barry’s outer bands began rotating over Mississippi before dawn Sunday, prompting a tornado warning.

There were no immediate reports of any injuries or damage.

The National Weather Service in Jackson says the storm early Sunday morning was capable of producing a tornado near the small town of Ellisville, Mississippi.

Ellisville is about 85 miles (137 kilometers) southeast of Jackson.

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4:45 a.m.

US fails to leverage IAEA against Iran: Expert

New York, July 13, IRNA – Head of an American Arms Control Organization Daryl G. Kimball said on Saturday that the UN nuclear watchdog is not responsible for addressing differences among signatories to Iran's Deal and that is why the meeting failed to bear fruits.

Iran in the second phased of its reaction to the inaction of European signatories to the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), announced that it would not observe the enrichment limits it had voluntarily accepted under the deal.

As US agents prepare to arrest 'thousands,' migrants live in fear

14 July 2019; AFP: Thousands of undocumented immigrants were waiting in fear and uncertainty ahead of nationwide raids Sunday that President Donald Trump said would lead to a wave of expulsions.

Demonstrators in dozens of cities protested the planned raids, and local and state officials called for restraint, but to no effect.

Facebook's Libra currency under fire

14 July 2019; AFP: Facebook's planned virtual unit Libra, already under heavy attack from US President Donald Trump and global regulators, faces scepticism among the wider cryptocurrency community as well.

One theme -- besides Brexit -- dominated discussion among the movers and shakers from London's financial technology or FinTech industry as gathered for their annual get-together: the future of virtual currencies.

Cuba's Chinese-made train starts its first run

14 July 2019; DW: Cuba's first new train in over 40 years has set off on its maiden voyage. With support from China, the Cuban government hopes to fully restore the Caribbean country's decrepit rail system by the end of 2030.

Cuba's first new train cars to run in over four decades pulled out of the capital, Havana, on Saturday to start their 915-kilometer (516-mile), 15-hour maiden journey to Guantanamo on the eastern end of the island.

New York City crippled by blackout

14 July 2019; DW: Power has been restored after a blackout plunged midtown Manhattan into darkness for more than five hours. Broadway shows were cancelled, people were trapped in subways and traffic was snarled at intersections.

A large-scale blackout in New York City on Saturday evening left some 70,000 homes and businesses in the dark, stopped subway services and interrupted weekend festivities on a balmy summer evening in one of the busiest parts of the US city. 

Trump says he will not impose uranium quotas

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he will not impose quotas on importing uranium, backing away from a possible trade confrontation and breaking with a Commerce Department assessment that America’s use of foreign uranium raises national security concerns.

The decision is unusual for Trump, who has pointed to national security concerns in calling for restrictions on foreign metal and autos in trade negotiations. It’s also drawing rare criticism from Republicans in energy-rich states.

House Democrats who tangled with leader not backing down

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Days after tensions with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi boiled over publicly, several House Democrats sent a message to Washington: We’re not backing down.

Three members of the “squad” — the cadre of liberal freshman lawmakers who are struggling with their party’s more centrist members over impeachment, immigration and other issues — defended their approach Saturday while appearing on a panel at the annual Netroots conference. All are young women of color, a fact not lost on supporters who have bridled at the criticism thrown their way.

Weakened Barry rolls into Louisiana, drenches Gulf Coast

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Barry rolled into the Louisiana coast Saturday, flooding highways, forcing people to scramble to rooftops and dumping heavy rain that officials had feared could test the levees and pumps that were bolstered after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005.

After briefly becoming a Category 1 hurricane, the system weakened to a tropical storm as it made landfall near Intracoastal City, about 160 miles (257 kilometers) west of New Orleans, the National Hurricane Center said.

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