Новости за 19.07.2018

OMAHA, Neb. — Weak economic growth is expected to continue in rural parts of 10 Plains and Western states, but all the recent trade disputes may shrink profits. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says the new tariffs are hurting grain prices, which were already weak. The overall economic index for the region declined to 53.8

ASPEN, Colo. — The Latest on National Intelligence Director Dan Coats (all times local): 2 p.m. National Intelligence Director Dan Coats says he wishes President Donald Trump had made different statements in Helsinki, where he appeared to give credence to Russia’s denial of interference in the 2016 U.S. election. But Coats says he was just

MUNCIE, Ind. — Muncie’s former building commissioner has agreed to plead guilty to federal corruption charges. In an agreement filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis, Craig Nichols pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud and money laundering. The Star Press reports Nichols faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and

ROCHESTER, Mich. — Jordan Nobles is joining Oakland’s basketball team as a graduate transfer. The school announced the move Thursday. Nobles played his first three seasons at Eastern Michigan. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 22.6 minutes a game and 4.7 points last season. He shot 38 percent from 3-point range. Oakland says Nobles is the final

SAN DIEGO — Some 6,500 Comic-Con attendees cheered on the 13th “Doctor Who” Jodie Whittaker Thursday in San Diego in her first public appearance since getting the coveted role. Whittaker is the first woman to play the role, which has also been played by Peter Capaldi and Matt Smith. The English actress described the Comic-Con

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas will add 15 members to its Sports Hall of Honor in September. Dana McQuillin will be the first inductee from the gymnastics program. The four-year captain won 10 event titles in her career. Other inductees will be April Steiner Bennett, track and field; Ron Faurot, Greg Horne, Ivan Jordan and Bruce

CORNISH, N.H. — A truck driver using a GPS navigation system drove an oversized box truck through an historic covered bridge that connects New Hampshire and Vermont, causing thousands of dollars in damage. Police say the driver was unfamiliar with the area and went through the Cornish-Windsor bridge, which has a posted 9-feet-2-inch (2.8 meter)

LAS VEGAS — North Carolina, UCLA, Michigan State and Texas will play in an early season basketball tournament in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Invitational will include games at campus sites, then the final two rounds on Nov. 22-23 in Las Vegas. North Carolina takes on Texas in one semifinal, and Michigan State faces UCLA

WASHINGTON — The Latest on President Donald Trump’s job training initiative (all times local): 3:40 p.m. President Donald Trump says nearly two dozen companies and trade organizations are signing his pledge to provide job training and apprenticeship programs as a way to boost the U.S. economy. Trump said Thursday at an event at the White

ATLANTA — There is no escaping Nick Saban’s influence on the Southeastern Conference. His coaching tree was represented on each of the four days of the SEC’s media gathering. South Carolina’s Will Muschamp, who was Saban’s defensive coordinator when LSU won the 2003 national championship, took the stage on Thursday. It was no surprise he

NEW YORK — The Mouse House is getting close to catching the Fox. Comcast’s decision Thursday to drop its bid for the bulk of Twenty-First Century Fox means Disney’s $71.3 billion offer for Fox is likely to prevail. Fox shareholders vote on the offer on July 27. Meanwhile, Comcast is pursuing Sky, a European pay-TV

ALPE D’HUEZ, France — As the Tour de France’s weary cyclists get some respite after three days scaling mountains, the race enters the terrain of a truffle that is so highly prized it’s nicknamed the “black diamond.” Stage 13 descends from the Alps and enters the Drome region, where black truffles are harvested in winter

WASHINGTON — A federal watchdog is calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen its oversight of state drinking water systems nationally and respond more quickly to public health emergencies such as the lead-in-the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. In a 74-page report released Thursday, the EPA’s inspector general report pointed to “oversight lapses” at

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Latest on a prison inmate’s lawsuit claiming a former warden should bear responsibility for violent conditions behind bars (all times local): 2:20 p.m. A federal jury has rejected claims that the former warden of one of North Carolina’s most dangerous prisons bears responsibility for life-threatening threats posed by inmates and even

WASHINGTON — Melania Trump spent part of Thursday listening to more than a dozen teens talk about their best practices for being civil online. The first lady made the short trip to Microsoft’s Innovation and Policy Center in Washington as part of a nationwide child well-being campaign she launched this year called “Be Best,” which

LAS VEGAS — Courts twice have blocked Nevada from carrying out its first execution in 12 years using a never-tried combination of drugs that it created after struggling to get lethal injection supplies. The delays are raising questions about whether Nevada can overcome legal hurdles and whether the political will exists to find a way

BOSTON — The Boston Celtics have re-signed guard Marcus Smart. The 6-foot-4 defensive stalwart is returning to the team that picked him sixth overall in the 2014 draft after finding the market for a restricted free agent wasn’t as lucrative as he’d hoped. A person with knowledge of the agreement tells The Associated Press that

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s government may have muddled its way through violent street protests in the country’s oil-rich south with promises of jobs and better services, but the root causes of this month’s unrest remain almost intact and it could be just a matter of time before popular discontent boils over again. In its bid to

SANTA FE, N.M. — The Latest on state governors and concerns about foreign trade and investment (all times local): 10:30 a.m. A Chinese emissary is warning at a meeting of U.S. state governors that a trade war with his country won’t be easily won. China Consul General to Los Angeles Zhang Ping said Thursday that

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is casting aside concerns about the Federal Reserve’s independence and saying he’s “not happy” with the central bank’s interest rate increases. Trump tells CNBC: “I don’t like all of this work that we’re putting into the economy and then I see rates going up.” The Fed last month raised its

BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox had the second-best start in franchise history, and still they are struggling to shake the New York Yankees in the AL East. So manager Alex Cora doesn’t have to fear that they will lose their focus when they return from the All-Star break. “There’s a few good teams out

DALLAS — A federal grand jury in Texas has indicted several people connected to an alleged immigrant smuggling scheme, including the driver in an SUV crash that killed five of 14 people inside. Federal prosecutors say the driver, 20-year-old Jorge Luis Monsivais Jr., and four others were indicted by a grand jury in Del Rio

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana environmentalists are criticizing the easing of toxic coal ash regulations by President Donald Trump’s administration. The Indianapolis Star reports that environmental leaders say the new rule changes for coal-fired power plants put Indiana residents at risk because the state has the most coal ash ponds in the country. The U.S. Environmental Protection

LOS ANGELES — Mitch Chortkoff, a columnist and beat writer who covered the Los Angeles Lakers for over 50 years, has died. He was 78. He died Tuesday at a health care facility in Van Nuys following a long illness, according to his brother Stan. Chortkoff was considered the dean of the Lakers’ press corps,

ATLANTA — A person familiar with the situation says the Atlanta Falcons won’t renegotiate Julio Jones’ contract this season, casting doubts on whether the star receiver will be in training camp next week. The Falcons informed Jones several weeks ago that they didn’t have room under the salary cap to offer him a new deal