Nation & World Watch
vNew York: Trump calls his critics on Russia ‘stupid’
President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that “only ‘stupid’ people or fools” would dismiss closer ties with Russia, and he seemed unswayed after his classified briefing on an intelligence report that accused Moscow of meddling on his behalf in the election that catapulted him to power.
“Having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing,” Trump said in a series of tweets. “We have enough problems without yet another one,” he wrote, and Russians would respect “us far more” under his administration than they do now.
Meanwhile, Trump officially nominated a new director of national intelligence Saturday, confirming he has picked retired Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind. Coats has swung back and forth between government service and lobbying, the type of Washington career Trump has mocked.
vDeerfield, Ill.: Suspect killed in shootout on train
Authorities say a suspect in a Chicagoarea slaying was killed in a police shootout on a Metra commuter train while dozens of other people were aboard.
WLS-TV reported that the suspect was killed Friday night on the train after struggling with and firing at officers. Police said they found the suspect on the stopped train at the Lake Cook Road Station in Deerfield.
Police said the suspect shot at officers, who retreated and fired back. Two officers were treated for minor injuries at a hospital and released.
Officials said about 40 people were on the train when the shootout happened.
vMexico: US consular official injured in shooting
Mexican prosecutors said Saturday that they are searching for a gunman who opened fire on an official of the U.S. consulate in the western city of Guadalajara. The Attorney General’s Office said the official was wounded in the attack Friday in the capital of Jalisco state, which is dominated by the hyper-violent Jalisco New Generation cartel.
The consulate said the FBI is offering a $20,000 reward for information on the attacker.
vSyria: Blast near Turkish border kills nearly 50
A car bomb ripped through a busy commercial district in a rebel-held Syrian town along the Turkish border Saturday, killing nearly 50 in a huge explosion that damaged buildings and left rescuers scrambling to find survivors amid the wreckage, opposition activists said.
Rescuers and doctors said the explosion was so large that there were nearly 100 wounded and burned. More than 50 wounded were transported to the Turkish border town of Kilis for treatment, as local hospitals couldn’t cope.
vTurkey: 8,000 more civil servants let go in purge
Turkey has dismissed more than 8,000 civil servants for alleged ties to terror organizations, in the latest purge under a state of emergency imposed following the failed July 15 coup attempt.
The latest dismissals were announced on the Turkish government’s Official Gazette late Friday. They include 2,687 police officers, 1,699 Justice Ministry employees and 631 academics. They join more than 100,000 people already suspended or dismissed from their jobs.
Turkey’s crackdown through dismissals and the arrest of some 41,000 people was begun to root out followers of U.S.based cleric Fethullah Gulen. The government claims he orchestrated the coup attempt; Gulen denies involvement.
The purge has been expanded to include ties to other “terror organizations,” including the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.