FRANCE: HONG KONG TALKS NEED TO END CRISIS
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has called on all sides, especially authorities in Hong Kong, to restart talks to end violence and bring a “peaceful outcome” to the crisis surrounding prodemocracy protests.
A statement Wednesday by Le Drian said Hong Kong’s Basic Law and the “one country, two systems” principle guarantee what is vital to the people of Hong Kong and economic prosperity.
Le Drian said France is committed to full compliance with all of the principles and stressed that the country and its European partners are closely following the demonstrations.
Veteran pleads not guilty in anthem assault on teen.
» An Army veteran
, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to assaulting a 13-year-old boy who the suspect said refused to remove his hat during the national anthem at a rodeo in Montana.
Attorney Lance Jasper has told the Missoulian that defendant Curt Brockway, who suffered a traumatic brain injury from an automobile crash while he was stationed at Fort Lewis, Wash., believed he was doing what President Donald Trump wanted him to do.
“His commander in chief is telling people that if they kneel they should be fired or if they burn a flag they should be punished,” Jasper told the newspaper. “He certainly didn’t understand it was a crime.”
Jasper is seeking a mental health evaluation for Brockway, 39, of Superior, Mont.
Scientists say monster penguin once swam New Zealand waters. ND»
W ELLINGTON , NE WZ E A L A
Scientists in New Zealand said Wednesday they’ve found fossilized bones from an extinct monster penguin that was about the size of an adult human and swam the oceans some 60 million years ago.
They said the previously undiscovered species is believed to have stood about 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighed up to 176 pounds. It’s believed to have been one of several species of giant penguins that thrived soon after dinosaurs died out.
The findings were published in “Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology.”
» Gov. Doug Burgum and other backers of the proposed presidential library for Theodore Roosevelt are pushing to build the facility within the boundaries of the former president’s namesake national park in North Dakota’s badlands.
They appear to have little choice: The adjacent tiny tourist town of Medora is cramped, and nearby state land is in a flood plain, said Ed Schafer, son of the town’s developer and a former governor. He also heads a foundation that oversees development in the area.
Getting permission to put the library on federal land won’t be easy, and it could take an act of Congress, said Schafer, who served as U.S. agriculture secretary under George W. Bush.
Jay-Z defends NFL deal with Roc Nation.
NE WY
ORK» Aday after Jay-Z announced that his Roc Nation company was partnering with the NFL, the rap icon explained that he still supports protesting, kneeling and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, but he’s also interested in working with the league to make substantial changes.
The Grammy winner and entrepreneur fielded questions Wednesday at his company’s New York City headquarters alongside NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
When directly asked if he would kneel or stand, Jay-Z said: “I think we’ve moved past kneeling, and I think it’s time to go into actionable items.”
Jay-Z has been among the biggest supporters of Kaepernick, who sparked a fissure in the NFL when he decided to kneel when the national anthem was played before games to protest the killings of blacks by police officers. — Denver Post wire services