Korean gov’t ministers meet to discuss post-summit specifics
SEOUL, South Korea — The rival Koreas are holding high-level talks Monday to discuss further engagement amid a global diplomatic push to resolve the nuclear standoff with North Korea.
South Korea said Monday’s talks will be aimed at finding ways to carry out peace agreements announced after the summit last month between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.
The meeting between senior officials comes at a sensitive time as Washington has expressed unease over the fast pace in inter-Korean engagement, which it says should move in tandem with U.S.-led efforts to denuclearize the North.
South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said the discussions will include setting up a joint survey of a North Korean railroad section the Koreas plan to connect with the South. The North’s chief delegate to the talks is Ri Son Gwon, who chairs the North Korean agency that deals with inter-Korean affairs.
There could also be discussions over the specifics of a joint military committee agreed between their leaders to evaluate tension-reduction steps and maintain communication to prevent crises and accidental clashes.
Trump says climate change not a hoax, not sure of its source
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is backing off his claim that climate change is a hoax but says he doesn’t know if it’s manmade and suggests that the climate will “change back again.”
In an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday night, Trump said he doesn’t want to put the U.S. at a disadvantage in responding to climate change.
“I think something’s happening. Something’s changing and it’ll change back again,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a hoax. I think there’s probably a difference. But I don’t know that it’s manmade. I will say this: I don’t want to give trillions and trillions of dollars. I don’t want to lose millions and millions of jobs.”
Trump called climate change a hoax in November 2012 when he sent a tweet stating, “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” He later said he was joking about the Chinese connection, but in years since has continued to call global warming a hoax.
“I’m not denying climate change,” he said in the interview. “But it could very well go back. You know, we’re talking about over a … millions of years.”
Round of talks doesn’t resolve Brexit problems ahead of summit
BRUSSELS — A flurry of talks between Britain and the European Union ended Sunday without a Brexit agreement, leaving the two sides three days to close a gap in their positions before a make-or-break summit.
An unscheduled, face-to-face meeting between EU negotiator Michel Barnier and British Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, and a hastily scheduled meeting of 27 EU ambassadors in Brussels, had sparked speculation that the long-awaited deal was imminent.
Barnier dashed those hopes Sunday evening, writing on Twitter: “Despite intense efforts, some key issues are still open” in the divorce talks. The key stumbling block remains the need “to avoid a hard border” between Ireland and the U.K’s Northern Ireland after Brexit, he said.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is under intense pressure from her Conservative Party and its parliamentary allies not to give any more ground in negotiations, especially on the border issue.
The British government said in a statement issued Sunday night there were still “unresolved issues” but insisted negotiators had made “real progress” toward a divorce agreement.
4 days after storm, large swath of Panhandle suffering
MEXICO BEACH, Fla. — Crews with backhoes and other heavy equipment scooped up splintered boards, broken glass, chunks of asphalt and other debris in hurricane-flattened Mexico Beach on Sunday as the mayor held out hope for the 250 or so residents who may have tried to ride out the storm.
The death toll from Michael’s destructive march from Florida to Virginia stood at 17, with just one confirmed death so far in this Florida Panhandle town of about 1,000 people that took a direct hit from the hurricane and its 155 mph (250 kph) winds last week.
Crews worked to clear building debris along with the rubble from a collapsed section of the beachfront highway.
Mayor Al Cathey estimated 250 residents stayed behind when the hurricane struck, and he said he remained hopeful about their fate. He said search-and-rescue teams in the beach town had already combed areas with the worst damage.
“If we lose only one life, to me that’s going to be a miracle,” Cathey said.
From wire sources
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Bavarian voters punish Merkel allies in state election
BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative allies lost their absolute majority in Bavaria’s state parliament by a wide margin in a regional election Sunday, a result that could cause more turbulence within the national government.
The Christian Social Union took 37.2 percent of the vote, down from 47.7 percent five years ago. It was the party’s worst performance since 1950 in a state vote in Bavaria, which it has traditionally dominated.
Constant squabbling in Merkel’s national government and a power struggle at home have weighed on the CSU. It is traditionally a touch more right-wing than the chancellor’s party and has taken a hard-line on migration, clashing with Merkel on the issue.
There were gains for parties to its left and right. The Greens won 17.5 percent to secure second place, double their support in 2013. The far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, entered the state legislature with 10.2 percent of the vote.
Meanwhile, the center-left Social Democrats, Merkel’s other national coalition partner in Berlin, finished in fifth place with a disastrous 9.7 percent, less than half what they received in 2013 and their worst in the state since World War II.
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Price, Red Sox bounce back, beat Astros 7-5, tie ALCS 1-1
BOSTON — David Price was good enough, the Red Sox bullpen was even better, and Jackie Bradley Jr. delivered a go-ahead, three-run double off the Green Monster on Sunday night to lead Boston to a 7-5 victory over the Houston Astros and tie the AL Championship Series at one game apiece.
Price fell one out short of his first career postseason win as a starter but still went back to the winning clubhouse for the first time in 11 playoff starts.
Craig Kimbrel gave up an RBI single to Jose Altuve with two outs in the ninth before Alex Bregman hit a flyball that was caught on the warning track in left field to end it, handing Houston its first loss in five playoff games this year.
Astros starter Gerrit Cole, so dominant in his Division Series start against Cleveland, gave up a season-high five runs.
Game 3 is Tuesday in Houston, followed by two more at Minute Maid Park and a chance for the defending World Series champion Astros to clinch a second straight AL pennant at home.