Nation & World Glance
Trump concedes Khashoggi likely dead, threatens consequences
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump acknowledged Thursday it “certainly looks” as though missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is dead, and he threatened “very severe” consequences if the Saudis are found to have murdered him. His warning came as the administration toughened its response to a disappearance that has sparked global outrage.
Before Trump spoke, the administration announced that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had pulled out of a major upcoming Saudi investment conference and a U.S. official said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had warned the Saudi crown prince that his credibility as a future leader is at stake.
Pompeo said the Saudis should be given a few more days to finish and make public a credible investigation before the U.S. decides “how or if” to respond. Trump’s comments, however, signaled an urgency in completing the probe into the disappearance of the journalist, last seen entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.
The messaging underscored the administration’s concern about the effect the case could have on relations with a close and valuable strategic partner. Increasingly upset U.S. lawmakers are condemning the Saudis and questioning the seriousness with which Trump and his top aides are taking the matter, while Trump has emphasized the billions of dollars in weapons the Saudis purchase from the United States.
Turkish reports say Khashoggi, who had written columns critical of the Saudi government for The Washington Post over the past year while he lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S., was killed and dismembered inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul by members of an assassination squad with ties to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The Saudis have dismissed those reports as baseless but have yet to explain what happened to the writer.
Federal prosecutors open clergy abuse probe in Pennsylvania
PHILADELPHIA — Federal prosecutors have opened an investigation of child sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests in Pennsylvania, using subpoenas to demand secret files and testimony from high-ranking leaders in what victims’ advocates say is the first such probe ever launched by the U.S. Justice Department.
The subpoenas, served last week, follow a scathing state grand jury report over the summer that found that 301 “predator priests” in Pennsylvania had molested more than 1,000 children over seven decades and that church leaders had covered up for the offenders.
The intervention by the federal government opens a new front of legal peril for the Catholic church, given that investigations into sexual abuse by clergy members have historically been handled exclusively by state and local authorities.
“It’s groundbreaking if we’re going to see one of the U.S. attorneys pursuing the Catholic cases,” said Marci Hamilton, a church-state expert at the University of Pennsylvania and chief executive of Child USA, a nonprofit think tank focused on preventing child abuse. “The federal government has so far been utterly silent on the Catholic cases.”
At least seven of the state’s eight Roman Catholic dioceses acknowledged receiving subpoenas and said they would cooperate or were working with Justice Department officials.
China’s economic growth slows amid trade battle with US
BEIJING — China’s economic growth slowed further in the latest quarter, adding to challenges for Communist leaders as they fight a tariff battle with Washington.
The world’s second-largest economy expanded by 6.5 percent over a year earlier in the three months ending in September, government data showed Friday. That was down from 6.7 percent for the quarter ending in July and 6.8 percent for the year’s first three months.
Forecasters expected China’s economy to cool after Beijing tightened credit controls last year to rein in a debt boom. But the slowdown has been sharper than expected, prompting Chinese leaders to reverse course and encourage banks to lend.
Communist leaders expressed confidence their $12 trillion-a-year economy can survive the conflict with President Donald Trump. But export industries have begun to suffer from American tariff hikes of up to 25 percent on Chinese goods.
Growth in retail spending and investment, which are much bigger parts of the economy than trade, slowed in the latest quarter, though to still-robust rates.
Environmentalists file 3rd lawsuit over Trump wall plans
HOUSTON — Environmental groups have filed another lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s use of waivers to speed up construction of a border wall, this time in Texas.
Three groups sued the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday, a week after the agency waived environmental laws along a roughly 25-mile stretch of border in the Rio Grande Valley, which is the southernmost point of Texas.
Lawsuits have been filed to try to stop construction in California and New Mexico. So far, no judges have stopped DHS from moving forward with construction, though a federal appeals court in California heard arguments in that case in August.
Advocates say the government’s plans for Texas would threaten wildlife and unnecessarily damage animal sanctuaries.
Saint David firefighter dies during a training exercise
SAINT DAVID, Ariz. — Saint David Fire District officials say a probationary firefighter has died during a training exercise in southern Arizona.
They say 36-year-old Joshua Eugin collapsed during the drill Wednesday and was taken to Benson Hospital, where he later died.
Authorities say Eugin was participating in a “blackout drill” in which firefighters simulate rescuing victims from a structure filled with fake smoke, which simulates potential conditions during a fire.