Mcallen

New Zealand parliament speaker cradles and feeds lawmaker's baby during debate

The speaker of New Zealand’s parliament, Trevor Mallard, cradled and fed a bottle to a Member of Parliament's baby boy during a general debate. Normally the Speaker’s chair is only used by Presiding Officers but today a VIP took the chair with me.

Ex-presidential candidate Hickenlooper to run for Senate

Former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper, who dropped out of the 2020 Democratic presidential race last week, said on Thursday he will run for a Senate seat in the state instead. Hickenlooper, 67, remains popular in Colorado and has been urged by numerous Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, to challenge incumbent Republican Cory Gardner for his Senate seat.

Earth to FEDOR: Russia launches humanoid robot into space

A Russian humanoid robot was making its way on Thursday to the International Space Station after blasting off on a two-week mission to support the crew and test his skills. Known as FEDOR, which stands for Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research, the Skybot F-850 is the first humanoid robot to be sent to space by Russia. NASA sent humanoid robot Robonaut 2 to space in 2011 to work in hazardous environments.

Weekslong standoffs in Mediterranean becoming 'new normal'

The Ocean Viking carrying 356 people, mostly Africans, rescued in the Mediterranean off Libya is closing in on two weeks at sea without being assigned a safe port to offload the traumatized passengers — a situation that charity workers decry as "the new normal" as Europe fails to devise a systematic response. It is inhumane," Jay Berger, project coordinator for Doctors Without Borders on the Ocean Viking, said by satellite phone Thursday. The Ocean Viking conducted four rescues off Libya from Aug. 9-12, and is in its 13th day without being permitted to disembark the rescued people, as dictated by maritime law.

Boeing spacecraft astronauts see new frontier for commercial space

A crew of veteran U.S. astronauts and aviators are training in Houston for a manned mission to the International Space Station aboard Boeing's new Starliner spacecraft, which could also be used to take tourists into space on future missions. The Boeing Starliner mission was originally scheduled for this month, but that has been delayed to at least the end of the year or into 2020 due to technical issues and amid a shakeup in the top echelons of the space agency. Boeing and rival Elon Musk's SpaceX are competing with each other to become the first private company to resume human space flight from U.S. soil after the space shuttle program ended in 2011.

As economic warning signs flash, Trump, Democratic rivals recalibrate messages

After two years touting a booming economy as his own doing, U.S. President Donald Trump is test driving a new message on the economy: Any chance of a recession is not his fault. Trump has moved from touting positive economic indicators since his 2016 election to now trying to blame someone else for a possible economic slowdown, while his advisers and officials are scrambling to insist there is nothing to worry about. From the moment he was elected, Trump took credit for the strong economy.

China claims UK Hong Kong consulate worker arrested on mainland over prostitution

An employee at the British consulate in Hong Kong has been detained in China for involvement in prostitution, China's state-backed Global Times newspaper said on Thursday. China's foreign ministry confirmed on Wednesday that the employee, Simon Cheng, had been detained in the border city of Shenzhen. Britain has expressed its extreme concern about the case. The Global Times, published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily, cited in a report on its English-language website Shenzhen police as saying Cheng had been detained for 15 days for "solicitation of prostitution". Police in Shenzhen's Luohu district said Cheng had violated article 66 of the law on administrative penalties for public security, the newspaper said. The law stipulates that people who engage in prostitution or visit prostitutes shall be detained for no less than 10 days but no more than 15 days, and may also be fined 5,000 yuan ($705.15). Shenzhen police referred Reuters to the Global Times report, saying it contained all the relevant details, and declined to comment further. Cheng did not return to work on Aug. 9 after visiting the neighbouring mainland city of Shenzhen the previous day, Hong Kong news website HK01 reported, citing an interview with his girlfriend and family. Cheng's family confirmed his disappearance in a Facebook post on Tuesday night, saying he travelled from Hong Kong to Shenzhen on the morning of Aug. 8 for a business trip. Hong Kong has been gripped by anti-government protests in recent weeks, with China accusing Britain and other Western countries of meddling in its affairs. Britain, the United States and other countries have urged China to respect the "one country, two systems" formula under which Hong Kong returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997.

On the front lines: Trade war sinks North Dakota soybean farmers

North Dakota bet bigger on Chinese soybean demand than any other U.S. state. Now, as the world's top soybean importer shuns the U.S. market for a second growing season, Dakota farmers are reeling from the loss of the customer they spent two decades cultivating. The state's experience underscores the uneven impact of the U.S.-China trade war across the United States. Although China's tariffs target many heartland states that, like North Dakota, supported President Donald Trump's 2016 election, those further south and east are better able to shift surplus soybeans to other markets such as Mexico and Europe.

APNewsBreak: Duo to push opioid settlement toward hospitals

West Virginia University President Gordon Gee and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich are creating a nonprofit that will fight to steer cash from any national opioid settlement to hospitals, rather than to local and state governments already sparring for control of the dollars. Gee and Kasich say Citizens for Effective Opioid Treatment, a 501(c)4 organization to be announced Thursday, will educate policymakers and the public about the negative impact the opioid epidemic has had on health care infrastructure and advance health-related research solutions to the crisis. "It's an educational effort," Gee said.

Mountain lion attacks young boy in Colorado, wildlife officials say

A child was attacked by a mountain lion in Colorado on Wednesday night, wildlife officials said. The young boy, whose name and age have not been released, was transported to a nearby hospital, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, which is investigating the attack. Wildlife officials are using dogs to search the area to find the mountain lion.

Danish ex-PM attacks Trump for comments on defense spending

A former Danish prime minister on Thursday lashed out at U.S. President Donald Trump for his tweet about military spending, saying defense willingness is not just about the amount of money spent. Lars Loekke Rasmussen's comment is the latest in an escalating spat between the U.S. and Denmark after Trump scrapped a visit to the country, saying current Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was "nasty" when she rejected his idea of buying Greenland as an absurdity. Loekke Rasmussen, who led the country until June, tweeted Thursday to Trump: "We have had (proportionally) exactly the same numbers of casualties in Afghanistan as US.

Global stocks mixed after Wall Street rebound

Global stock markets were mixed Thursday following Wall Street's rebound as investors looked ahead to a speech by the U.S. Federal Reserve chairman for clues about possible interest rate cuts. Investor reaction was muted following Wednesday's release of notes from the latest Fed meeting showing conflicting opinions about rates. Benchmarks in London and Frankfurt declined in early trading.

Jeffrey Epstein: At least eight jail officials knew he was not to be left alone in cell

At least eight US Bureau of Prisons staffers knew strict instructions had been given not to leave multimillionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein alone in his cell, yet the order was apparently ignored in the 24 hours leading up to his death, according to people familiar with the matter.That so many prison officials were aware of the directive – not just low-level correctional officers, but supervisors and managers – has alarmed investigators assessing what so far appears to be a stunning failure to follow instructions, these people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing investigations. They declined to identify the eight.