Rescuers pump out more water to lower levels inside cave
MAE SAI, Thailand — With more rain coming, Thai rescuers are racing against time to pump out water from inside a flooded cave before they can extract 12 boys and their soccer coach.
A firefighter who has been working on draining the water says levels in parts of a passage leading to a chamber where the boys and the coach were found on Monday after missing for 10 days is still flooded all the way to the ceiling, making diving the only way out.
Chiang Rai provincial Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn said Wednesday that the team may not all be extracted at the same time depending on their health. He said authorities will evaluate their readiness each day and if there is any risk will not proceed.
Trump pressed aides on Venezuela invasion, US official says
BOGOTA, Colombia — As a meeting last August in the Oval Office to discuss sanctions on Venezuela was concluding, President Donald Trump turned to his top aides and asked an unsettling question: With a fast unraveling Venezuela threatening regional security, why can’t the U.S. just simply invade the troubled country?
The suggestion stunned those present at the meeting, including U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and national security adviser H.R. McMaster, both of whom have since left the administration. This account of the previously undisclosed conversation comes from a senior administration official familiar with what was said.
In an exchange that lasted around five minutes, McMaster and others took turns explaining to Trump how military action could backfire and risk losing hard-won support among Latin American governments to punish President Nicolas Maduro for taking Venezuela down the path of dictatorship, according to the official. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the discussions.
From wire sources
FrBut Trump pushed back. Although he gave no indication he was about to order up military plans, he pointed to what he considered past cases of successful gunboat diplomacy in the region, according to the official, like the invasions of Panama and Grenada in the 1980s.
The idea, despite his aides’ best attempts to shoot it down, would nonetheless persist in the president’s head.
Police: 2 more exposed to same nerve agent that sickened spy
AMESBURY, England — For the second time in four months, two people lie critically ill in England’s Salisbury District Hospital after being exposed to a military-grade nerve agent developed in the Soviet Union, British police confirmed late Wednesday.
The country’s chief counterterrorism police officer said tests at Britain’s defense laboratory had confirmed what many residents feared — a man and woman in their 40s had been poisoned with the same toxin that almost killed a former Russian spy and his daughter.
“We can confirm that the man and woman have been exposed to the nerve agent Novichok, which has been identified as the same nerve agent that contaminated both Yulia and Sergei Skripal,” said Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu of London’s Metropolitan Police.
Local police declared the case a “major incident” Wednesday, four days after the man and woman were found collapsed at a residential building in Amesbury, eight miles from Salisbury, where the Skripals were poisoned.
Basu said it was not clear whether there was a link between the two cases, and whether the nerve agent came from the same batch that left the Skripals fighting for their lives.
Trump praises military for keeping US ‘safe, strong, proud’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday praised the U.S. military for keeping America “safe, strong, proud, mighty and free” and used the Independence Day holiday to thank them for being willing to put their lives on the line in defense of the nation.
“Two hundred and 42 years ago on July 4, 1776, America’s founders adopted the Declaration of independence and changed the course of human history,” said Trump, addressing hundreds of military families attending a White House picnic from a balcony overlooking the South Lawn of the White House.
“But our freedom exists only because there are brave Americans willing to give their lives, to defend it and defend our great country,” added Trump, who was accompanied by his wife, Melania. “America’s liberty has been earned through the blood, sweat and sacrifice of American patriots.”
Trump and the first lady later returned to the balcony toward the end of a nationally televised concert from the South Lawn and stayed for the annual fireworks show on the National Mall. Trump pumped both fists several times at the end of the show before he went back inside the White House.
Trump was not expected on Wednesday to interview candidates for the Supreme Court, taking a holiday respite from the intense process. He has spoken with seven candidates, according to the White House, and will announce his choice for a successor to retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy on Monday.
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Black Oregon lawmaker: Police called as she knocked on doors
CLACKAMAS, Ore. — A black Oregon lawmaker says one of her constituents called police as she canvassed a Portland-area neighborhood that she represents.
State Rep. Janelle Bynum, who is running for re-election this fall, said she was knocking on doors, talking to residents and taking notes on her cellphone in Clackamas on Tuesday when a Clackamas County sheriff’s deputy showed up.
Bynum said the deputy told her a woman called police because the lawmaker appeared to spend a long time at homes and appeared to be casing the neighborhood while on her phone, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
The deputy asked if she was selling something, and she introduced herself as a state legislator and told him she was canvassing, Bynum said. She said she only had campaign fliers, her cellphone and a pen on her.
Bynum, 43, who won election to the state House in 2016, said she has knocked on thousands of doors and this was the first time someone reported her to police.
Defending champ Joey Chestnut sets record with 74 hot dogs
NEW YORK — Joey “Jaws” Chestnut extended his reign as champion eater at the Nathan’s Famous July Fourth hot dog eating contest Wednesday, downing a record 74 wieners and buns in 10 minutes to take home the coveted Mustard Belt for the 11th time.
Miki Sudo held on to her title as the top women’s competitor at the annual Brooklyn eat-off, chomping 37 franks and buns to take home the top prize for an unprecedented fifth consecutive year.
Chestnut said he was “feeling good.”
“I found a vicious rhythm,” the 34-year-old Chestnut said after the stuffing session.
But while Chestnut ate 10 more dogs and buns than second-place finisher Carmen Cincotti, a judging error cast initial doubt over their totals after jurists didn’t see the eaters were taking the dogs and buns from two plates.
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Growing wildfires in US West mean more red on July 4
DENVER — Large wildfires grew across the American West on Wednesday, keeping thousands of people out of their homes for the July 4 holiday and forcing some strict bans on fireworks to prevent new fires from igniting in the hot, dry region.
The National Interagency Fire Center on Wednesday reported more than 60 large, active blazes across the country, most in the drought-stricken West where holiday festivities could lead to increased fire danger.
The third-largest fire in recorded Colorado history kept expanding, chewing through 147 square miles (381 square kilometers) near Fort Garland, about 205 miles (330 kilometers) southwest of Denver.
The Spring Fire has destroyed more than 100 homes, and over 2,000 have been evacuated. Officials said preventing the flames from spreading toward the small mountain town of Cuchara is a priority.
Nearly 1,000 firefighters were working to gain control of the fire in unpredictable winds, but it was only slightly contained since sparking June 27.