NATION / WORLD BRIEFING
Graham says White House should apologize for ‘disgusting’ remark
WASHINGTON – Sen. Lindsey Graham says the White House should apologize for an aide’s “disgusting” remark about Sen. John McCain’s terminal illness.
“If it was a joke, it was a terrible joke,” the South Carolina Republican said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “I just wish somebody from the White House would tell the country that was inappropriate; that’s not who we are in the Trump administration.”
Kelly Sadler, a White House special assistant, reportedly made the remark during a Thursday meeting with communications staffers when talking about McCain’s opposition to Gina Haspel, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Central Intelligence Agency. McCain was troubled by Haspel’s refusal to say that torture is immoral during a Senate committee hearing. Sadler reportedly said McCain’s views didn’t matter because “he’s dying anyway.”
Texas church massacre preceded spike in gun permit requests
SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas – The mass shooting at a Texas church last year preceded a spike in handgun license applications in that county.
Records obtained by the San Antonio Express-News show that 222 gun license applications were received in November in Wilson County, where a gunman killed more than two dozen people and wounded many others in a Nov. 5 attack at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs. That’s a 167 percent increase over November 2016.
Another 175 applied for permits in December, which marked a 150 percent increase over December 2016, the newspaper reported.
Records examined by the newspaper show that the number of applications statewide last year dropped by more than 37,000, down 10 percent from the previous year. But they have continued to climb since November and into the early months of 2018.
150-pound loggerhead sea turtle released off Florida Keys
MARATHON, Fla. – A female loggerhead sea turtle has been released off the Florida Keys, after convalescing for about three months at the Keys-based Turtle Hospital.
Hundreds of spectators applauded hospital staff Saturday as they released “Judy,” a 150-pound juvenile who was found entangled in a fishing trap line off the Lower Keys in early February.
The reptile was treated with antibiotics, vitamins, lactulose, and a diet of squid and fish.
Turtle Hospital officials said releasing the reptile over Mother’s Day weekend was especially meaningful because they are confident the turtle will lay eggs after reaching maturity.
Israel kicks off new U.S. Embassy celebration, boosts border force
JERUSALEM – Israel on Sunday kicked off festivities to celebrate the opening of the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, even as it bolstered its forces along the Gaza border and in the West Bank in anticipation of mass Palestinian protests of the move.
A day before the embassy’s formal opening, Israel hosted a gala party at its Foreign Ministry with President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka, her husband, Jared Kushner, and other American VIPs.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump’s “bold decision” in upending decades of U.S. policy by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
“It’s the right thing to do,” a smiling Netanyahu told the jubilant crowd.
Militants attack government building in Afghanistan; 10 dead
KABUL, Afghanistan – Militants attacked a provincial government building in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, killing at least 10 people, officials said.
Attahullah Khogyani, the spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province, said a suicide car bomb exploded outside the building, which belongs to the provincial finance directorate. The attackers then stormed the building, trading fire with security officials.
“There were eight terrorists who carried out a coordinated attack in Jalalabad city, killing 10 people,” Khogyani said.