Blanche to return to Capitol Hill as Trump reconsiders $1.8 billion fund

WASHINGTON (AP) – Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is set to return to Capitol Hill on Tuesday after the Trump administration signaled it was pausing contentious plans to move forward with a nearly $1.8 billion fund that could compensate allies of President Donald Trump who believe they have been unjustly investigated and prosecuted.

'I gave birth in the street': Conflict makes childbirth risky in parts of Africa

BIRAO, Central African Republic (AP) – The agony began for Maude Ahmad Fadala shortly after sunset. Her baby was coming. She was in a refugee camp, weakened by typhoid. There were no camp facilities for what was about to happen, and she had no money to travel. She struggled to her feet and started walking.

 

Iran stops talking to mediators over Israel fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Iran stopped communicating with mediators about extending a ceasefire in the war with the U.S. and Israel, two semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported Tuesday, as tensions flared in Israel’s separate but related fight against the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Editorials from The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian and others

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

What to know about US military strikes on alleged drug boats

MEXICO CITY (AP) – The United States military strikes on alleged drug-carrying boats transiting in Latin America have killed more than 200 people since September, when the Trump administration began an operation it has justified as necessary to stem the flow of drugs. As the strikes continue, the administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing “narco-terrorists”.

Trump taps housing regulator Pulte to be acting director of national intelligence

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has tapped Bill Pulte, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to be the acting director of national intelligence – elevating a real estate scion without any clear national security credentials to a key post as the U.S. remains at war with Iran.

Frederiksen set to start a third term as Danish prime minister

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – Mette Frederiksen is set to begin a third term as Denmark’s prime minister, during which she is expected to maintain a firm stance against U.S. President Donald Trump’s ambitions for Greenland, the kingdom’s semiautonomous territory, and continue supporting Ukraine.

Pentagon bars journalists from its press office, saying it has become a 'classified space'

NEW YORK (AP) – In another of a series of moves restricting media access at the Pentagon, the Defense Department has declared that its press office is now a classified space inaccessible to journalists.

Powerful Iran-backed Iraqi militia says it will start handing its weapons to the state

IRBIL, Iraq (AP) – One of Iraq’s most powerful Iran-backed armed groups said Tuesday it would begin putting its weapons under government control, a major step in the new government’s effort to bring militias that have long operated on their own under state command.