News Daypop Archives

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told his South Korean counterpart at their historic summit that he would be willing to give up his nuclear weapons if the U.S. commits to a formal end to the Korean War and a pledge not to attack the North, Seoul officials said Sunday. Kim also vowed during his meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday to shut down the North’s nuclear test site in May and disclose the process to experts and journalists from South Korea and the United States, Seoul’s presidential office said. Whether North Korea will ever decide to fully relinquish its nukes as it heads into negotiations with the U.S., Kim’s comments amount to the North’s most specific acknowledgement yet that “denuclearization” would constitute surrendering its weapons. ...Read more

U.S. President Donald Trump’s physician Ronny Jackson on Thursday withdrew from consideration to head the Veterans Affairs department after allegations that he had been lax with prescription drugs and drank alcohol on the job. Jackson, 50, was a surprising pick for the job, and even Trump acknowledged he lacked experience running large organizations. Jackson has denied the allegations as false, but it had prompted the Senate to put a hold on his hearing for the job of leading the federal government’s second largest department. During his campaign, President Trump had pledged to clean up the VA, which oversees healthcare and benefits for about 20 million military veterans. Trump fired his first secretary, David Shulkin, in March after concerns about unauthorized travel expenses. ...Read more

The U.S. Senate confirmed CIA Director Mike Pompeo to be President Donald Trump’s secretary of state on Thursday. As senators continued to vote, the tally was 54-41 in favor of the Republican former member of the House of Representatives, meaning he was confirmed in the post. Pompeo had faced stiff resistance from Democrats worried about his reputation for hawkishness and past harsh statements about homosexuality and Islam. ...Read more

...Read more

According to multiple sources, police have arrested a former police officer who is suspected of being the “Golden State Killer,” one of California’s most famous serial killers and rapists. Local and federal task force apprehended the suspect late Tuesday evening. The “Golden State Killer” is believed to have killed at least 12 people, raped at least 45 people and committed multiple home burglaries in the 1970s and 1980s in crime sprees throughout California. The terror started with burglaries and rapes in the Sacramento suburbs in summer 1976. 72-year-old Citrus Heights resident, Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., has been arrested on suspicion of murder and is being held without bail, according to Sacramento County jail records. ...Read more

Two officers from the Dallas police department and a civilian were injured in a shooting near a local Home Depot on Tuesday, according to reports. The shooting occurred about 4:15 p.m. as officers were escorting a man from the Home Depot in northern Dallas. The two officers and the store loss-prevention officer underwent surgery for their injuries, Police Chief U. Renee Hall said late Tuesday night.  Police arrested Armando Luis Juarez, 29, on charges of aggravated assault on a police officer and felony theft. He was taken into custody shortly before 10 p.m. after a lengthy car chase involving officers of various law enforcement agencies. The two police officers were called to the store to help an off-duty officer with removing the man from the store. ...Read more

According to sources, President Donald Trump plans to nominate Admiral Harry Harris, commander of Pacific Command, to be the ambassador to South Korea.  Harris had originally been the president’s pick for ambassador to Australia. His confirmation hearing for that post was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but it was postponed. He was widely expected to be confirmed. The news comes after the Senate Foreign Relations committee on Monday endorsed Mike Pompeo for secretary of State. The role of ambassador to South Korea was one of many vacancies in the State Department  amid negotiations for a summit between Trump and Kim. ...Read more

Ten people were killed and 15 others injured after a white van collided with a crowd of pedestrians on a busy street north of downtown Toronto, Canada, on Monday,  The suspect was identified as Alex Minassian, 25, according to Toronto Police media representative Gary Long. Stephen Powell, district chief for Toronto Fire, confirmed that there had been multiple fatalities. The incident occurred in the North York area at the intersection of Yonge Street and Finch Avenue; Yonge Street is one of the main thoroughfares in Toronto. Ralph Goodale, the country’s minister of public safety and emergency preparedness, called the incident an attack but said he didn’t want to speculate when asked if the terrorism was to blame. “We cannot come to any firm conclusions at this stage,” he said. ...Read more

...Read more

A photograph featuring four presidents paying tribute to the late Barbara Bush is being widely circulated on social media. The photo features four former presidents – Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush – along with First Lady Melania Trump and former first ladies Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton. Taken this past Saturday by Paul Morse, the former White House photographer for George W. Bush, the photo was initially tweeted by Jim McGrath, a spokesperson for George H. W. Bush. President Donald Trump is absent from the photo, as he did not attend the funeral in Houston on Saturday. The president tweeted about Barbara Bush along with a photo of her White House portrait, saying “today, my thoughts and prayers are with the entire Bush family,” he wrote. “In memory of First Lady Barbara Bush, there is a remembrance display located at her portrait in the Center Hall of the @WhiteHouse. ...Read more