Blinken heading back to China in latest bid to iron out differences
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to China this week as Washington and Beijing try to keep ties on an even keel despite major differences on issues from the path to peace in the Middle East to the supply of synthetic opioids that have heightened fears over global stability.
The rivals are at odds on numerous fronts, including Russia’s war in Ukraine; Taiwan and the South China Sea; North Korea; Hong Kong; human rights; and the detention of American citizens. The United States and China also are battling over trade and commerce issues, with President Joe Biden announcing new tariffs last week on imports of Chinese steel.
The State Department said over the weekend that Blinken, on his second visit to China in less than a year, will travel to Shanghai and Beijing starting Wednesday for three days of meetings. Talks between Blinken and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected, although neither side will confirm that such a meeting is happening until shortly before it takes place.
The trip follows a phone call this month between Biden and Xi in which they pledged to keep high-level contacts open, something they had agreed to last year at a face-to-face summit in California. Since that call, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has visited China, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has spoken by phone with his Chinese counterpart. Meetings at lower levels also have taken place.
Despite those encounters, relations are rocky. The U.S. has recently become more vocal in its calls for China to stop supporting Russia’s military-industrial sector, which Washington says has allowed Moscow to boost weapons production to support the war against Ukraine.
A brother and sister died and at least nine people were injured, some of them seriously, when a vehicle driven by a suspected drunken driver crashed into a young child’s birthday party Saturday at a boat club south of Detroit.
An 8-year-old girl and her 5-year-old brother died at the scene.
“The scene was described by the first responders as extremely chaotic, with high level of emotions of those directly involved and those who witnessed this horrific incident,” Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough said.
Goodnough did not identify the woman driving the vehicle but said she was taken into custody and held at Monroe County Jail, suspected of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing death. She is cooperating with authorities and likely would face more charges as the investigation continues.
Children killed at party:
Fatal shooting: Eight people were shot, including two men who were killed, at an unauthorized public party over the weekend in a Memphis city park.
Officers responded Saturday evening to a reported shooting at a block party in Orange Mound Park, which Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said had 200 to 300 attendees but did not appear to have been issued a city permit.
At least two people are believed to have fired weapons during the shooting, and police were examining video footage as part of the investigation, Davis said. There were no immediate arrests.
Ex-officer changes plea: A second former Arkansas law enforcement officer has pleaded guilty to violating the civil rights of a man he repeatedly punched during a violent arrest in 2022 that was caught on video and shared widely.
Former Crawford County Deputy Levi White changed his plea during a hearing Friday in federal court, according to court documents. White pleaded guilty to a felony count of deprivation of rights under color of law during the Aug. 21, 2022, arrest of Randal Worcester outside a convenience store.
White and another former deputy, Zackary King, were charged by federal prosecutors last year for the arrest. A bystander used a cellphone to record the arrest in the small town of Mulberry, about 140 miles northwest of Little Rock. King pleaded guilty Monday to one misdemeanor count of deprivation of rights under color of law.
King and White were fired by the Crawford County sheriff. A third officer caught
in the video was not charged in the federal case.
A trial had been scheduled next month for White and King; sentencing hearings will be held later. White faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
Police have said Worcester was being questioned for threatening a clerk at a convenience store in nearby Alma when he tackled one of the deputies and punched him in the head. He is set to go to trial in July on charges related to the arrest, including resisting arrest and second-degree battery.
Worcester filed a lawsuit in 2022 against the three officers, the city of Mulberry and Crawford County over the arrest. That case is on hold while criminal cases related to the arrest are ongoing.
A British lawmaker who allegedly used campaign funds to pay off people who were holding him hostage said Sunday
MP resigns:
that he wouldn’t seek reelection after the governing Conservative Party found his behavior fell below the standard expected of members of Parliament.
Mark Menzies’ downfall is the latest in a series of scandals to hit the Conservatives, undermining support for a party that has been in power for the past 14 years as it prepares for a general election this year.
The Times of London recently reported that Menzies called a 78-yearold aide at 3 a.m. in December asking for money to pay off “bad people” who had locked him in an apartment and were demanding money for his release. Menzies’ office manager ultimately paid $8,100 from her personal bank account, which was reimbursed from funds donated by political backers, the newspaper said.
Menzies denies the allegations.
“Due to the pressures on myself and my elderly mother, I have decided to resign from the Conservative
Party and will not stand at the forthcoming general election,” he said. “This has been a very difficult week for me, and I request that my family’s privacy is respected.”
Menzies’ announcement came after the Conservatives announced the findings of an internal investigation into the matter: The payment had been authorized by two members of a local donors group that sits outside the party and, therefore, Menzies hadn’t misused party funds.
“However, we do believe that there has been a pattern of behavior that falls below the standards expected of MPs and individuals looking after donations to local campaign funds which lie outside the direct jurisdiction of the Conservative Party,” the party said.
The Conservatives are trailing in opinion polls amid crumbling public services, high prices that are squeezing consumers and the corrosive effect of ethics scandals.
Re “Uber is helping investigators look into account that sent driver to Ohio home where she was killed” (April 17): In Ohio, Loletha Hall, a 61-year-old woman who drove for Uber, received a request to go to William Brock’s residence. Brock told police he was being threatened for money over the phone and thought Hall was part of the scam. He shot her multiple times, according to a criminal complaint, and she died at the hospital, CNN reported.
This is a terrible story and a situation that should never have happened. We must do something about the scammers to prevent the elderly community from being taken advantage of. The amount of “scam likely” phone calls that are received daily is ridiculous for anyone. Thankfully we have that feature to help sort through calls, otherwise, there would be even more risks of being scammed.
There needs to be more done to track and stop these perpetrators and hold them accountable. I, for sure, am completely frustrated with the calls I receive and often think about people who are unaware of this.
— Ukneeka White, Newport News