Hong Kong leader delays unpopular bill; activists irked
HONG KONG — Embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam sought to quell public anger Saturday by shelving an unpopular extradition bill that has highlighted apprehension about relations with mainland China, but opponents of the measure said it was not enough.
Activists said they were still planning a mass protest for Sunday, a week after hundreds of thousands marched to demand Lam drop the legislation, which many fear would undermine freedoms enjoyed by this former British colony but not elsewhere in China.
The battle over the proposal to amend the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance to allow some suspects to face trial in mainland Chinese courts has evolved into Hong Kong’s most severe political test since the Communist Party-ruled mainland took control in 1997 with a promise not to interfere with the city’s civil liberties and courts.
Critics said Lam should withdraw the plan for good, resign and apologize for police use of potentially lethal force during clashes with protesters on Wednesday.
“Democrats in Hong Kong simply cannot accept this suspension decision,” said lawmaker Claudia Mo. “Because the suspension is temporary. The pain is still there.”
Waterfront owners in Washington asked to take dead whales
PORT HADLOCK, Wash. — At least one Washington state waterfront landowner has said yes to a request to allow dead gray whales to decompose on their property.
So many gray whale carcasses have washed up this year that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries says it has run out of places to take them.
In response, the agency has asked landowners to volunteer property as a disposal site for the carcasses. By doing so, landowners can support the natural process of the marine environment, and skeletons left behind can be used for educational purposes, officials said.
But the carcasses can be up to 40 feet long. That’s a lot to decay, and it could take months. Landowner Mario Rivera of Port Hadlock, Washington, told KING5-TV that the smell is intermittent and “isn’t that bad.”
“It is really a unique opportunity to have this here on the beach and monitor it and see how fast it goes,” said his wife, Stefanie Worwag.
Census says more than 60% of US men are fathers
ORLANDO, Fla. — Fathers in the U.S. tend to be better educated than men without children, and relatively few men have children over age 40.
These are some of the conclusions in a report released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau, just in time for Father’s Day.
The data in the report come from 2014 when the bureau for the first time asked both men and women about their fertility histories. The goal of the report was to shed greater light on men’s fertility, a topic less known than that of women’s fertility, according to the Census Bureau.
“In recent decades, there has been growing public and academic interest in fathers and fatherhood given the importance of fathers in children’s lives,” the report said.
It found more than 60% of the 121 million adult men in the U.S. were fathers.
Off-duty LA cop discharged gun during deadly Costco shooting
CORONA, Calif. — An off-duty Los Angeles police officer among three people injured during a shooting inside a Costco Wholesale, killing one person, discharged his firearm inside the store, authorities said Saturday.
It was not immediately clear whether the unidentified officer was the only person who fired shots inside the store Friday night or if another person also opened fire or had a weapon.
Corona Police officer Tobias Kouroubacalis said Saturday he could not confirm if there was more than one shooter and said no one was in custody following the shooting that prompted a stampede of frightened shoppers to flee the store east of Los Angeles and seek cover inside.
Witnesses said they saw a man with a Mohawk haircut arguing with someone near a freezer section when shots rang out at least six times. The man involved in the argument was killed, Corona police Lt. Jeff Edwards said.
The injured officer was treated for minor injuries and released from a hospital, Los Angeles Police officer Greg Kraft said.
From wire sources
Plane landing at Newark airport blows tires, skids on runway
NEWARK, N.J. — Authorities say a plane blew tires while landing at Newark Liberty International Airport, sending it skidding on the runway before coming to a halt.
United Airlines said Flight 627 from Denver was landing at 1 p.m. Saturday with 166 passengers when the tires blew.
United spokesman Robert Einhorn said the plane remained on the runway. The FAA initially said it skidded off the pavement but later said it “veered to the left side of the pavement.”
The airline said some passengers with minor injuries refused medical attention and no one was seriously injured. The airport reported resuming flights shortly before 3 p.m. but said to expect delays. It later reported operating in “limited capacity” after the National Transportation Safety Board said the plane shouldn’t be moved until investigators arrived.