Nation & World Glance
Colorado has 2 avalanche deaths in 3 days
FRISCO, Colo. — Authorities say a snowmobiler was killed in an avalanche in Colorado’s central mountains, marking the second such death in the state in three days.
The Summit Daily reports the slide was triggered above the tree line on a north-facing slope east of Breckenridge on Tuesday morning. Summit County Rescue Group spokesman Charles Pitman says the snowmobiler was buried and possibly carried into some trees. The sheriff’s office initially said the person who was killed was skiing.
The victim’s name has not been released.
On Sunday, 57-year-old John Galvin died in an avalanche while he was backcountry skiing out of bounds near the Aspen Highlands ski resort. His body was recovered Tuesday.
Galvin had been a volunteer member of Aspen Mountain Rescue for 30 years. A second skier was injured in Sunday’s avalanche but was able to call for help.
African nation of Chad being taken off U.S. travel ban list
WASHINGTON — The White House said Tuesday that citizens of Chad would be able to receive visas to the United States again because the African nation has been removed from the administration’s travel ban list.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Donald Trump had signed a proclamation announcing Chad had“improved its identity management and information sharing practices” enough to be taken off the list.
Chad was put on the list last September because of an office supply glitch that prevented it from supplying homeland security officials with recent samples of its passports. U.S. officials also said Chad was unable to adequately share public safety and terrorism-related information with U.S. officials who screen foreigners seeking to enter the country.
Chad has been a key U.S. counterterrorism partner in the fight against threats to Africa’s Sahel region posed by al-Qaida affiliates like Boko Haram and the newly designated West Africa wing of the Islamic State group.
The travel restrictions placed on Chad will be terminated Friday, the State Department said. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the “improved practices” by Chad “demonstrate a clear off-ramp for countries placed on the travel restriction list. These improvements will improve security for the people of Chad and the United States.”
Trump, allies mull possible joint response in Syria
WASHINGTON — Trump administration officials consulted with global allies Tuesday on a possible joint military response to Syria’s alleged poison gas attack, as President Donald Trump canceled a foreign trip in order to manage a crisis that is testing his vow to stand up to Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Trump spoke with other world leaders, and other U.S. officials said the U.S., France and Britain were in extensive consultations about launching a military strike as early as the end of this week. None of the three countries’ leaders had made a firm decision, according to the officials, who were not authorized to discuss military planning by name.
A joint military operation, possibly with France rather than the U.S. in the lead, could send a message of international unity about enforcing the prohibitions on chemical weapons and counter Syria’s political and military support from Russia and Iran.
President Emmanuel Macron said France, the U.S. and Britain will decide how to respond in the coming days. He called for a “strong and joint response” to the attack in the Syrian town of Douma on Saturday, which Syrian activists and rescuers say killed 40 people. The Syrian government denies responsibility.
The French president does not need parliamentary permission to launch a military operation. France is already involved in the U.S.-led coalition created in 2014 to fight the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq. Multiple IS attacks have targeted French soil, including one last month.