AP News in Brief 09-27-19

Whistleblower accuses White House of Ukraine call coverup

WASHINGTON — White House officials took extraordinary steps to “lock down” information about President Donald Trump’s summertime phone call with the president of Ukraine, even moving the transcript to a secret computer system, a whistleblower alleges in a politically explosive complaint that accuses the administration of a wide-ranging cover-up.

The whistleblower, in a 9-page document released Thursday, provides substantial new details about the circumstances of the phone call in which Trump repeatedly spoke of how much the U.S. had aided Ukraine and encouraged new President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to help investigate political rival Joe Biden and his son.

Accusations of efforts to pressure the leader of a foreign nation to dig for dirt on a potential 2020 Trump rival are now at the heart of a House impeachment inquiry against the president. The whistleblower’s official complaint alleges a concerted White House effort to suppress the transcript of the call, and describes a shadow campaign of foreign policy efforts by the president’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani that unnerved some senior administration officials who felt he was circumventing normal channels.

“In the days following the phone call, I learned from multiple U.S. officials that senior White House officials had intervened to ‘lock down’ all the records of the phone call, especially the official word-for-word transcript of the call that was produced as is customary by the White House situation room,” the complaint says.

The previously secret document, with its detail and clear narrative, is likely to accelerate the impeachment process and put more pressure on Trump to rebut its core contentions and on his fellow Republicans to defend him or not. It also provides a road map for Democrats to seek corroborating witnesses and evidence, which will complicate the president’s efforts to characterize the findings as those of a lone partisan out to undermine him.

Abbas slams US for ‘depriving peace process of credibility’

UNITED NATIONS — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas took to the world stage on Thursday to slam the United States for “depriving the peace process of any credibility” and undermining prospects for a two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In a speech before the U.N. General Assembly, Abbas also criticized the U.S. for recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, for saying that Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories are legitimate and for cutting development aid to the Palestinians.

U.S. policy, he said, is “pushing large segments of the Palestinian people to lose hope in the possibility of long-awaited peace,” and renewed his call for an international peace conference.

Hours later, the Israeli foreign minister called on “all countries” to follow the American example and recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

“No one can separate the Jewish people from our historical homeland, and no one can separate us from Jerusalem, our eternal capital,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz said.

From wire sources

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‘OK’ hand gesture, ‘Bowlcut’ added to hate symbols database

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The “OK” hand gesture, a mass killer’s bowl-style haircut and an anthropomorphic moon wearing sunglasses are among 36 new entries in a Jewish civil rights group’s online database of hate symbols used by white supremacists and other far-right extremists.

The Anti-Defamation League has added the symbols to its online “Hate on Display” database, which already includes burning crosses, Ku Klux Klan robes, the swastika and many other of the most notorious and overt symbols of racism and anti-Semitism.

The New York City-based group launched the database in 2000 to help law enforcement officers, school officials and others recognize signs of extremist activity. It has grown to include nearly 200 entries.

“Even as extremists continue to use symbols that may be years or decades old, they regularly create new symbols, memes and slogans to express their hateful sentiments,” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement.

Some of the new entries started as trolling campaigns or hateful memes on internet message boards such as 4chan, 8chan and Reddit, before migrating to Facebook, Twitter and other mainstream platforms, and to public forums and fliers.

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Amazon offers a way to delete Alexa recordings automatically

NEW YORK — Users of Amazon’s Alexa digital assistant can now request that recordings of their voice commands delete automatically.

Amazon says it saves such commands to improve the service. But the practice has raised concerns with privacy experts who say the recordings could get into the wrong hands, especially as Amazon and other companies use human reviewers rather than just machines.

Previously, users had to go into Alexa’s settings and delete recordings manually. Users can now ask Amazon to automatically delete recordings after three months or 18 months. But users need to specify that in the settings, as recordings are kept indefinitely by default. And there’s no automatic option for immediate deletion. Users would still need to do that manually.

When users ask for automatic deletion, a warning will pop up saying that doing so could degrade Alexa’s ability to respond or understand users.

Amazon will also let users request deletions through an Alexa voice command. The use of human reviewers will continue.

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Marijuana vape sales lag as lung illnesses rise in US

PORTLAND, Ore. — Vaping products, one of the fastest-growing segments of the legal marijuana industry, have taken a hit from consumers as public health experts scramble to determine what’s causing a mysterious and sometimes fatal lung disease among people who use e-cigarettes.

The ailment has sickened at least 805 people and killed 13. Some vaped nicotine, but many reported using oil containing THC, marijuana’s high-inducing ingredient, and said they bought products from pop-up shops and other illegal sellers.

The only death linked to THC vapes bought at legal shops occurred in Oregon, where health officials on Thursday announced a second fatality and urged people to stop vaping.

Amid the health scare, the amount of the legal pot industry’s revenue that comes from vape products has dropped by 15% nationwide, with some states seeing decreases of more than 60%.

Vaping THC is popular for those desiring a quick high without the smoke that comes from lighting up joints. Marijuana companies are trying to boost the public’s confidence by promoting that their vaping products are tested by the government, demanding ingredient lists from their vendors and in some cases pulling items from shelves. Some also are scrambling to get liability insurance.

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Trump condemns religious persecution amid refugee squeeze

NEW YORK — President Donald Trump said at the United Nations this week that “protecting religious freedom is one of my highest priorities.” But his promise rings hollow to advocates for persecuted religious minorities seeking refuge in the United States.

Trump’s administration already has slashed the nation’s refugee admissions ceiling to a historic low and on Thursday proposed a further cut for next year, to 18,000 — an 84% drop from the cap proposed during the last year of Barack Obama’s presidency.

The president’s promotion of global freedom to worship prompted the State Department to set aside 5,000 refugee slots for religious minorities. But faith-based groups that resettle refugees had urged him to avoid more erosion of a program dedicated to helping the persecuted worshippers whose oppression Trump has decried.

The list of persecuted religious groups whose access to refugee admission has withered under Trump includes Christians in Iran, Syria, Pakistan, Myanmar and Sudan, as well as Iraqi Christians and Yazidis — whose mass slaughter and enslavement by the Islamic State was labeled “genocide ” by Trump’s State Department in 2017.

Trump did not mention his looming decision on next year’s refugee ceiling as he announced $25 million in new funding for safeguarding religious freedom, including religious sites and artifacts, at a Monday event at the U.N. On Thursday, however, his State Department pitched a set-aside for religious minorities designed to bolster the administration’s commitment to freedom for all faiths.

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Saudi FM: Financial pressure is best way to control Iran

UNITED NATIONS — Saudi Arabia called on the world to apply “utmost pressure with every tool available” to end Iran’s aggressive conduct, saying Thursday that the most effective way to control Tehran is to cut off its financial resources.

Saudi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf again blamed Iran for the Sept. 14 missile and drone attack on Saudi oil facilities, which jolted global oil prices and temporarily knocked out nearly 6% of daily global crude production.

“We know very well who stood behind this aggression,” Al-Assaf told the U.N. General Assembly. He called the strikes a flagrant violation of international laws and a threat to international peace and security.

“We have known that regime for 40 years. It is good at nothing but masterminding explosions, destruction and assassinations, not only in our region but also throughout the world,” Al-Assaf said. “Utmost pressure with every tool available should be applied to end the terrorist and aggressive conduct of the Iranian regime.”

Saudi Arabia insists Iranian weapons were used and has invited U.N. investigators to assess where the strikes were launched. The United States, France, Britain and Germany also blame Iran, which has been under U.S. sanctions since 2018.

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GM reverses course, says strikers will keep health coverage

DETROIT — General Motors now says striking workers will get company-paid health insurance, nine days after telling the union that coverage would be cut off.

The automaker said in an emailed letter to the United Auto Workers dated Wednesday that employee health and well-being are GM’s top priorities.

The about-face came after workers howled and GM received withering criticism from politicians and on social media about cutting off the benefits.

“These irresponsible actions by General Motors are toying with the lives of hundreds of thousands of our UAW families,” UAW Vice President Terry Dittes wrote in a letter Thursday to Scott Sandefur, GM’s vice president of labor relations. Dittes wrote that public sentiment would “see these actions of GM as a shameful act!”

It wasn’t clear how the rhetoric or the health care spat would affect contract talks aimed at ending the strike by 49,000 workers that has shut down manufacturing for nearly two weeks at more than 30 GM plants across the nation.

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Q&A: One year on, Khashoggi’s fiancee still seeking answers

NEW YORK — Nearly a year ago, a team of 15 Saudi government agents was sent to Istanbul, where it killed Saudi columnist and critic Jamal Khashoggi inside the kingdom’s consulate. Khashoggi’s body was never found.

The Oct. 2 killing and attempts to cover it up drew international condemnation, and the reputation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has never fully recovered. Saudi Arabia insists the powerful heir had no involvement in an operation that included agents who reported directly to him.

Saudi Arabia’s trial of some of those agents has been held in secret. As of yet, no one has been convicted.

Khashoggi had entered the consulate to collect a document that would let him wed his Turkish fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, who was waiting for him outside. He never returned.

On Thursday, The Associated Press talked with Cengiz on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Below are excerpts of the interview. Cengiz spoke through a Turkish translator, and the interview has been edited for length and clarity.