Nation & World Glance
2 killed, 3 critically injured in NYC helicopter crash
NEW YORK — A helicopter crashed into New York City’s East River Sunday night and flipped upside down in the water, killing two of the six people aboard and leaving three others in critical condition, officials said.
Video taken by a bystander and posted on Twitter shows the red helicopter land hard in the water and then capsize, its rotors slapping at the water.
The helicopter, a private charter hired for a photo shoot, went down near Gracie Mansion, the mayoral residence. One person, the pilot, freed himself and was rescued by a tugboat, officials said.
The passengers were recovered by police and fire department divers, who had to remove them from tight harnesses while they were upside down, Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said.
Witnesses on a waterfront esplanade near where the aircraft went down said the helicopter was flying noisily, then suddenly dropped into the water and quickly submerged. But the pilot appeared on the surface, holding onto a flotation device as a tugboat and then police boats approached.
Democrat seeks coal-country help in Pa. House election
WAYNESBURG, Pa. — Democrat Conor Lamb went to Pennsylvania’s coal country for help in the final days before the first congressional election of 2018, telling union members Sunday that he won’t forget their support in a close race widely viewed as a key test of support for Republicans ahead of November’s midterms.
Lamb’s race against Republican Rick Saccone has crystallized the debate over whether a younger, charismatic Democrat appealing to win back traditionally Democratic voters can overcome a veteran Republican counting on party loyalty to carry him to victory in a GOP-leaning district at a time when President Donald Trump is pushing hard for the Republican, but remains a divisive figure.
Lamb, wearing muddy work boots, jeans and a green fleece top, told those inside a packed cinderblock building on the fairgrounds that keeping promises to fully fund labor union pensions, Medicare and Social Security is “non-negotiable.” He attacked Republicans as forgetting what it means to honor a promise.
“People have paid into these programs over the course of a lifetime,” Lamb told more than 300 retired coal miners and Democratic activists in Waynesburg, 40 miles south of Pittsburgh. “I do not believe, as (House Speaker) Paul Ryan does, that these are entitlements or another form of welfare.”
Trump has visited the district twice — including a rally Saturday night — in an effort to buoy Republican Saccone in a southwestern Pennsylvania district Trump won by nearly 20 percentage points over Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Mattis warns Syrian forces on use of chemical weapons
MUSCAT, Oman — U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Sunday warned the Syrian government not to use chemical weapons in its civil war and said the Trump administration has made it clear that it would be “very unwise” to use gas in attacks.
Mattis told reporters traveling with him to the Mideast that he was disturbed by reports of civilian casualties from bombings by Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces.
“Right now we’re getting reports — I don’t have evidence that I can show you — but I’m aware of the reports of chlorine gas use,” he said before arriving Sunday in Oman.
The U.S. responded militarily last year to reported Syrian government use of sarin gas, and Mattis was asked whether the administration is now considering retaliating for chlorine gas use.
“I’m not going to strictly define it. We have made it very clear that it would be very unwise to use gas” as a weapon, Mattis said.
He said the latest reports of Syrian government forces killing civilians in eastern Ghouta show that troops are “at best indiscriminately” attacking and “at worst targeting hospitals. I don’t know which it is, whether they’re incompetent or whether they’re committing illegal acts or both.”
Nev. man arrested in Arizona with 5 assault rifles in car
TUCSON — Arizona authorities have arrested a Nevada man who was found with five AK-47 assault rifles in his rented vehicle.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper reported discovering the weapons after stopping a sedan for a traffic violation on Interstate 10 near Marana.
The trooper was participating in a Department of Homeland Security program that grants funds to other law enforcement agencies to enhance and strengthen border security.
DPS officials say the 24-year-old Nevada man also had a small amount of cocaine in his wallet.
The man’s name wasn’t immediately available Sunday.
He was arrested for trafficking of weapons and authorities say the rifles were seized and the case turned over to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.