AP News in Brief 06-18-18

Trump adviser Roger Stone reveals meeting Russian

WASHINGTON — Special counsel Robert Mueller is examining a previously undisclosed meeting between longtime Donald Trump confidante Roger Stone and a Russian figure who allegedly tried to sell him dirt on Hillary Clinton.

The meeting between Stone and a man who identified himself as Henry Greenberg was described in a pair of letters sent Friday to the House Intelligence Committee and first reported by The Washington Post.

Stone and Michael Caputo, a Trump campaign aide who arranged the 2016 meeting, did not disclose the contact in their interviews with the committee. But they now believe the man was an FBI informant trying to set them up in a bid to undermine Trump’s campaign. Greenberg could not immediately be reached for comment, but in a text to the Post he denied he was working for the FBI when he met with Stone.

The letters obtained by The Associated Press and written by Stone and Caputo’s lawyers say that, in late May 2016, Caputo received a call from his Russian business partner introducing him to Greenberg, who claimed he had information about Clinton that he wanted to share with the campaign.

Caputo suggested Greenberg meet with Stone, who had left the campaign in 2015 but remained an informal Trump adviser.

5 dead as SUV chased by Border Patrol crashes in South Texas

BIG WELLS, Texas — At least five people were killed and several others hurt Sunday as an SUV carrying more than a dozen people during a suspected “smuggling event” crashed while fleeing from Border Patrol agents in South Texas, authorities said.

The SUV carrying 14 people went out of control at more than 100 mph and overturned on Texas Highway 85, ejecting most of the occupants, Dimmit County Sheriff Marion Boyd said.

“From what we can tell the vehicle ran off the road and caught gravel and then tried to recorrect,” Boyd said, adding that “caused the vehicle to turn over several times.”

Four victims were dead at the scene, Boyd said. He said at least one and possibly two others died at a hospital.

The Border Patrol said in a statement Sunday night that two other vehicles had been traveling alongside the SUV earlier in the day. An agent suspected they were conducting a “smuggling event,” according to the statement, which did not elaborate.

3 dead, dozens injured by quake in Osaka, Japan

TOKYO — A strong earthquake knocked over walls and set off scattered fires around metropolitan Osaka in western Japan on Monday morning, killing at least three people and injuring dozens.

The Osaka prefectural government’s disaster management department said two people were found dead, while the Ibaraki city official confirmed a third victim. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said more than 40 were injured in Osaka and nearby prefectures of Hyogo and Kyoto.

One victim was a 9-year-old girl who was knocked down by a concrete wall at her elementary school as she walked by. A man in his 80s died in the collapse of a concrete wall in Osaka city. An 84-year-old man in nearby Ibaraki died after a bookshelf fell on top of him at home, according to city officials.

The magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck shortly after 8 a.m. north of Osaka at a depth of about 13 kilometers (8 miles), the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The strongest shaking was north of Osaka, but the quake rattled large parts of western Japan, including Kyoto, the agency said.

The quake knocked over walls, broke windows and set off scattered building fires. It toppled book shelves in homes and scattered goods on shop floors. It also cracked roads and broke water pipes, leaving homes without water.

Trump adviser says ‘nobody likes’ family separation policy

WASHINGTON — A top White House adviser on Sunday distanced the Trump administration from responsibility for separating migrant children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border, even though the administration put in place and could easily end a policy that has led to a spike in cases of split and distraught families.

President Donald Trump has tried to blame Democrats, who hold no levers of power in the government, for a situation that has sparked fury and a national debate over the moral implications of his hard-line approach to immigration enforcement.

“Nobody likes” breaking up families and “seeing babies ripped from their mothers’ arms,” said Kellyanne Conway, a counselor to the president.

From wire sources

Nearly 2,000 children were separated from their families over a six-week period in April and May after Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a new “zero-tolerance” policy that refers all cases of illegal entry for criminal prosecution. U.S. protocol prohibits detaining children with their parents because the children are not charged with a crime and the parents are.

The administration wants to send a message, said Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican critic of the policy, “that if you cross the border with children, your children are going to be ripped away from you. That’s traumatizing to the children who are innocent victims, and it is contrary to our values in this country.”

Hundreds of children wait in Border Patrol facility in Texas

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — Inside an old warehouse in South Texas, hundreds of children wait in a series of cages created by metal fencing. One cage had 20 children inside. Scattered about are bottles of water, bags of chips and large foil sheets intended to serve as blankets.

One teenager told an advocate who visited that she was helping care for a young child she didn’t know because the child’s aunt was somewhere else in the facility. She said she had to show others in her cell how to change the girl’s diaper.

The U.S. Border Patrol on Sunday allowed reporters to briefly visit the facility where it holds families arrested at the southern U.S. border, responding to new criticism and protests over the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy and resulting separation of families.

More than 1,100 people were inside the large, dark facility that’s divided into separate wings for unaccompanied children, adults on their own, and mothers and fathers with children. The cages in each wing open out into common areas to use portable restrooms. The overhead lighting in the warehouse stays on around the clock.

The Border Patrol said close to 200 people inside the facility were minors unaccompanied by a parent. Another 500 were “family units,” parents and children. Many adults who crossed the border without legal permission could be charged with illegal entry and placed in jail, away from their children.

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Colombia’s president-elect seeks unity after polarizing vote

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s President-elect Ivan Duque is appealing for unity after winning a runoff election over a leftist firebrand whose ascent shook the political establishment and laid bare deep divisions over the nation’s peace process.

The conservative Duque was elected Sunday with 54 percent of the vote. He finished more than 12 points ahead of former guerrilla Gustavo Petro, though the runner-up’s performance was the best ever for the left in one of Latin America’s most conservative nations.

Duque will be Colombia’s youngest president in more than a century when he takes office in August and in his first remarks as president-elect he vowed to work tirelessly to heal divisions and govern on behalf of all Colombians. He also promised to attack corruption and cocaine production.

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Art festival on verge of being shut down when shots rang out

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A 24-hour arts and music festival in New Jersey was on the verge of being shut down because of numerous fights when gunfire erupted, authorities said. One suspect was killed and 22 people, including two other suspects, were injured.

Of the 17 people treated for gunshot wounds, including a 13-year-old boy, only one person, a suspect, remained in critical condition Sunday night, said Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri.

About 1,000 people were attending the Art All Night Trenton festival that showcases local art, music, food and films when shots rang out early Sunday morning, sending people scrambling to safety.

Onofri said numerous fights inside and outside the venue had prompted police to tell organizers that the event needed to be shut down.

“There was a report that the mood inside the venue had been changing,” Onofri said. “During that time period, prior to the shooting, the Trenton Police Department began dispersing individuals. Those individuals, however, continued to loiter and additional fights broke out.”

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Puerto Rico struggles with jump in asthma cases post-Maria

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of people across Puerto Rico are struggling to breathe as asthma cases in the U.S. territory spike in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, raising concerns about deteriorating health conditions on an island struggling to prepare for a new hurricane season.

Doctors say debris still being collected from last fall’s Category 4 storm and hundreds of generators still energizing the island nearly nine months after Maria are in part to blame. The chronic lung disease is caused by such things as pollution, airborne mold and pollen, all of which have increased post-Maria.

Puerto Rico had high rates of asthma even before the hurricane. An estimated 13 percent of the island’s 3.3 million residents had asthma before Maria. That compares to 8.3 percent on the U.S. mainland in 2016.