Breaking News:Travis Air Force Base in California under lockdown orders, people told to 'shelter in place' and standby

X Edition: United States Suspect in baseball field shooting ranted against Trump on social media Politics | Wed Jun 14, 2017 | 7:02pm EDT Suspect in baseball field shooting ranted against Trump on social media left right 4/4 left right James Hodgkinson of Belleville, Illinois is seen in this undated photo posted on his social media account. Social Media via REUTERS 1/4 left right 2/4 left right 3/4 left right 4/4 left right 1/4 By Sue Britt | BELLEVILLE, Ill. The suspect who opened fire on Republican lawmakers as they played baseball on Wednesday raged against Republican U.S. President Donald Trump on social media and idolized Bernie Sanders, whom he saw as the only politician who understood the working class. Authorities identified the gunman as James Hodgkinson, a 66-year-old home inspector from the St. Louis suburb of Belleville, Illinois. He died from injuries sustained in a shoot-out with Capitol Hill police who were at the scene in Alexandria, Virginia, outside Washington. Hodgkinson is believed by investigators to have been a person "of strong views," a senior U.S. official said, without elaborating. The Belleville News-Democrat newspaper posted a photograph of Hodgkinson protesting outside a post office there in 2012, wearing sunglasses and a goatee and holding a homemade placard that read "TAX the Rich." Hodgkinson was a member of many anti-Republican groups on Facebook including "The Road to Hell Is Paved With Republicans," "Terminate The Republican Party," and "Donald Trump is not my President," his profile showed before it was taken down. Trump won the U.S. presidential election in November. Republicans also control both chambers of Congress. "Trump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It's Time to Destroy Trump & Co." Hodgkinson wrote in a March 22 post. His profile picture was a U.S. flag with the slogan: "Democratic Socialism explained in 3 words: 'We the People.'" Hodgkinson went to Washington several weeks ago to protest against Trump's election, his brother told the New York Times. The former mayor of Alexandria, Bill Euille, said he talked with the suspect at the local YMCA most mornings for more than a month, and even tried to help find Hodgkinson a job after seeing he was living out of a gym bag, the Washington Post said. Stephen Brennwald, an Alexandria attorney, also saw Hodgkinson at the YMCA wearing long pants rather than gym attire, and said he often seemed to be staring into space. "It's just very freaky to think that this guy who was just sitting in there for weeks, not really doing anything, actually turned out to shoot at people," Brennwald told Reuters. 'DESPICABLE ACT' Hodgkinson's Facebook profile featured a cover photo of Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont who ran unsuccessfully to be the Democratic Party's presidential candidate last year. Sanders, an independent who ran as a progressive populist but was defeated by Hillary Clinton, said the suspect had "apparently volunteered" on his campaign. In a statement, Sanders condemned the shooting as a despicable act." One woman who asked not to be named told Reuters that Hodgkinson had contacted her via Facebook as part of a political discussion, but that he subsequently commented on her page that Clinton was a "liar" and a "baby killer." "I actually blocked him at one point," the woman said. A bartender at the Pork Barrel BBQ in Alexandria said Hodgkinson started coming in for beers about a month ago. "He was a regular-looking guy that kind of gave you a sense of the creeps, but you can't really put your finger on it," said Christina Shrimshaw, 27, who served him a handful of times but never remembered him discussing politics. "He would talk about very mundane things, like golf. He was big into watching the Golf Channel." Also In Politics No hint of new gun control push in U.S. Congress after shootings Trump being investigated for possible obstruction of justice: Washington Post A neighbor in Belleville, William Schaumleffel, recalled how in March he heard gunshots and saw Hodgkinson shooting with a long gun toward woods across a corn field from his yard. "I yelled at him: 'Hey, stop shooting over there. There are houses over there,'" Schaumleffel said. Hodgkinson did not stop, he added, so he filed a report with the sheriff's office. Hodgkinson's criminal history included a 2006 arrest on battery charges that were later dismissed, as well as multiple traffic violations, according to state records that identified him as a 5-foot, 6-inch (1.67-metre) man weighing 190 pounds (86 kg), with brown eyes. Most of the infractions were ultimately dropped. Hodgkinson had been licensed as a home inspector and real estate appraiser, but did not renew his home inspector license after it expired last year, state records showed. His license to appraise real estate expired in 1997. According to Facebook, Hodgkinson went to Belleville Township High School West and studied flight training at Southwestern Illinois College. Beginning in mid-2015, Hodgkinson began expressing support for Sanders' 2016 campaign, and federal records showed he donated $18 to the effort. "Bernie is the Only Candidate in Decades that Really Cares about the Working Class," Hodgkinson posted on June 13, 2016. The Belleville News-Democrat published letters he wrote the paper criticizing Republicans, tax policies and income inequality. One from August 2012 read: "I have never said 'life sucks,' only the policies of the Republicans." (Additional reporting by Colleen Jenkins, Diane Bartz, Dustin Volz, Letitia Stein, Gina Cherelus, Mark Hosenball, Chris Kenning, Ian Simpson, Angela Moon, Peter Szkeley and Grant Smith; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by James Dalgleish and Peter Cooney) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles Next In Politics Senate backs legislation to slap new sanctions on Russia WASHINGTON The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday for new sanctions punishing Russia for meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, and to force President Donald Trump to get Congress' approval before easing any existing sanctions. MORE FROM REUTERS   BRIEF-Lianluo Smart Ltd enters into a loan agreement with Digital Grid (Hong Kong) Technology Co Limited 'Nonsense': Powerful Republican denounces White House information shut-out 'Trial of a lifetime' plays out in tiny South Dakota town F-35 jets grounded at U.S. Air Force base in Arizona: officials U.S. Air Force suspends flying ops of Lockheed's F-35 at Luke Air Base Sponsored Content From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent 50 Illegal Photos Smuggled out of North Korea Manplate Millions of People Are Cancelling Their Netflix Account Because of This One Site Daily Life 9 Ways To Lose Belly Fat When You're Crazy Busy TodaysDiets Angelina Jolie's Daughter Used To Be Adorable, But Today She Looks Insane Hyperactivz What Happens When You Do Planks Every Day? TodaysDiets Crazy Billionaire Reveals How You Can Make $4500/day Easily Starting Today Cash System Trending Stories 1 Fed raises rates, unveils balance sheet cuts in sign of confidence 2 Fire engulfs London tower block, at least 12 dead, dozens injured 3 U.S. lawmaker, others shot on baseball field by man angry with Trump 4 UPS shooting leaves four dead, including gunman, in San Francisco 5 Trump being investigated for possible obstruction of justice: Washington Post Pictures Fire engulfs London tower block Sponsored Topics Follow Reuters: Follow Us On Twitter Follow Us On Facebook Follow Us On RSS Follow Us On Instagram Follow Us On YouTube Follow Us On LinkedIn Subscribe: Feeds | Newsletters | Podcasts | Apps Reuters News Agency | Brand Attribution Guidelines | Careers Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters. 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Egypt, Saudi Arabia sign 60 billion Saudi riyal investment fund pact

New Royal Adelaide Hospital project director quits amid continued delays 9NEWS By 9NEWS The project director for the new Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) Judith Carr has resigned, after building consortium SA Health Partnerships failed to meet a technical completion deadline. (Facebook/SA Health) The project director for the new Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) Judith Carr has resigned, after building consortium SA Health Partnerships failed to meet a technical completion deadline. (Facebook/SA Health) FShareTTweetBMailAMore The project director for the new Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) Judith Carr has resigned, after building consortium SA Health Partnerships failed to meet a technical completion deadline. Health Minister Jack Snelling is believed issued a major default against the contractor last Monday, taking SA Health Partnerships to task last week for offering “pie-in-the-sky” completion dates, The Advertiser reported. It comes as yet another in a series of setbacks and delays for the $2.78 billion, 11-storey construction venture named the “third most expensive project in the world”. Mrs Carr has declined to comment as to her reasons for quitting, however sources close to the former director believe she had intended to retire following the RAH’s completion. Mrs Carr is also set to depart her position as Executive Director of Procurement at the South Australian Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure. “Judith has made an exceptional contribution to the NRAH (new Royal Adelaide Hospital) project and I thank her and wish her well,” Mr Snelling said in a written statement to the Sunday Mail. Mrs Carr is believed to have acted as mediator between the government and contractors, in the wake of contract disputes over expenses stemming from design changes and cleaning up contaminated soil. Opposition health spokesman Stephen Wade has slammed the government for its management of the project, claiming the new RAH is $640 million over budget, and that it will open a year later than originally scheduled. “There is now an engulfing sense of crisis in the new RAH project and Jack Snelling is not even giving a hint that he has the capacity to get it back on track,” Mr Wade said. Mrs Carr will be replaced by her deputy, Simon Morony, SA Health’s long-standing facility development director. Mrs Carr is not the first senior employee to leave the new RAH building project. RAH program director Andrew Nielsen resigned last year, citing personal reasons. Dr David Panter, then-chief executive of the Central Adelaide Local Health Network, of which the Royal Adelaide Hospital is a part had quit weeks earlier. Dr Panter held the position of RAH project director previously. Read more at http://www.9news.com.au/health/2016/04/10/16/18/new-royal-adelaide-hospital-project-director-quits-amid-continued-delays#bXv0xEcBtvLhajDD.99 =================== Sat Apr 9, 2016 7:12pm EDT Related: World, Saudi Arabia, Egypt CAIRO | By Ali Abdelaty Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi welcomes Saudi Arabia's King Salman in Cairo, Egypt, in this handout photo received April 7, 2016. Reuters/Saudi Press Agency/Handout via Reuters Egypt and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement late on Saturday to set up a 60 billion Saudi riyal investment fund among other investment agreements including an economic free-zone to develop Egypt's Sinai region, Egyptian state television reported. The signing of the agreements took place in Egypt's Abdeen palace in the presence of Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi's King Salman, during a rare 4-day visit to Egypt. Egypt has struggled to spur economic growth since the 2011 uprising ushered in political instability that scared off tourists and foreign investors, key sources of foreign currency. Egyptian state TV said the agreement was to establish "a Saudi-Egyptian investment fund with a capital of 60 billion riyals between the Saudi Public Investment Fund and the entities belonging to it and the Egyptian government and the entities that belong to it." A memorandum of understanding was also signed between the Saudi Public Investment Fund and the Egyptian International Cooperation Ministry to set up an economic free-zone in Sinai. No other details were announced. The two countries also signed agreements to develop a 2250 Megawatt electricity plant with a cost of $2.2 billion, set up agriculture complexes in Sinai and develop a canal to transfer water, a statement from the Presidency said. The statement also said that a company was set up to develop 6 square kilometers of the industrial zone around Egypt's Suez Canal worth $3.3 billion, without giving further details. The investments are part of a change in strategy from Saudi Arabia to focus more on financial support that will also benefit Saudi Arabia with return on investment. Saudi Arabia, along with other Gulf oil producers, has pumped billions of dollars, including grants, into Egypt's flagging economy since the army toppled President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013 after mass protests against his rule. Some of the projects announced on Saturday include private sector investments. Last week the deputy head of the Saudi-Egyptian Business Council told Reuters that Saudi businessmen are investing around $4 billion in projects in Egypt and have already deposited 10 percent of that sum in Egyptian banks. Egypt is aiming for direct foreign investment of around $8-$10 billion in 2015/16. On Friday, King Salman announced that a bridge connecting Egypt and Saudi Arabia would be built across the Red Sea. No details were given. Egypt also signed development agreements with Saudi Arabia worth $590 million, Egyptian International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr said on Friday. She said the agreements, signed with the Saudi finance minister, covered development in the Sinai peninsula, agriculture, housing and a university. The agreements also include a memorandum of understanding between Saudi Aramco and Egypt's Arab Petroleum Pipelines Company SUMED. (Reporting by Ali Abdelatty, writing by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Tom Brown and Franklin Paul) ======================= Sat Apr 9, 2016 10:17pm EDT TransCanada receives approval notice for Keystone pipeline restart A TransCanada Keystone Pipeline pump station operates outside Steele City, Nebraska March 10, 2014. REUTERS/Lane Hickenbottom A TransCanada Keystone Pipeline pump station operates outside Steele City, Nebraska March 10, 2014. Reuters/Lane Hickenbottom TransCanada Corp (TRP.TO) said it received authorization from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration on Saturday evening to restart the 590,000 barrel per day Keystone crude pipeline at reduced pressure. The Canadian pipeline company said that regulator PHMSA has approved a return to service plan for a controlled start. It was not immediately clear when and if the pipeline had restarted. The pipeline, which delivers light and heavy crude from Hardisty, Alberta, to Cushing, Oklahoma, and Illinois, was shut last Saturday after a potential leak was discovered in South Dakota. (Reporting by Catherine Ngai in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

Tornadoes kill at least 27 in Midwest, South

Sat, Mar 03 01:53 AM EST
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By Susan Guyett

INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - Powerful tornadoes raked across a wide swath of the U.S. Midwest and South on Friday, killing at least 27 people in three states and bringing the death toll to at least 40 from a week of deadly late-winter storms.

The twisters splintered homes, damaged a prison and tossed around vehicles across the region, leaving at least 13 people dead in southern Indiana, another 12 in neighboring Kentucky and two more in Ohio, officials said. In all, the latest line of storms battered a band of states from Ohio and Indiana on southward to Alabama.

"We are no match for Mother Nature at her worst," Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels said in a statement, adding that he would visit the stricken southeast corner of the state on Saturday.

Another possible storm-related death occurred in Henryville, Indiana, where television images showed homes blown apart.

Televised video taken from the air showed rescue workers in Indiana picking through one splintered house, residents sifting through the ruins of a home, and a school bus thrown into a building. Several warehouse-like structures had their roofs ripped off.

Major Chuck Adams of the sheriff's office in Indiana's Clark County said there was extensive damage to a school in Henryville but said: "All the children are out. No injuries to any of them, just minor scrapes and abrasions."

An Indiana official confirmed 13 deaths from the tornadoes on Friday, in four southeastern counties. A spokesman for Kentucky's Department of Public Health reported a statewide death toll of 12, while Ohio officials said there were two deaths in a single county.

"There's a possibility we could have additional fatalities," in southwestern Ohio said Kathy Lehr, the director of public information in Clermont County.

The Ohio victims were a 54-year-old man and a 64-year-old woman who was a city council member in the town of Moscow, Lehr said. Many homes in the county had suffered damage, including some in which buildings were swept off their foundations.

Storm warnings were issued throughout the day from the Midwest to the Southeast, and schools and businesses were closed ahead of the storms after a series of tornadoes earlier in the week killed 13 people in Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Tennessee.

"We may not be done yet," said John Hart, a meteorologist at the Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.

As night fell and temperatures cooled, the line of storms appeared to weaken somewhat as they traveled eastward, but the National Weather Service warned of another possible outbreak of tornadic weather in Saturday's early hours.

Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes were likely over an area stretching from Indiana and Ohio into Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama.

This week's violent storms raised fears that 2012 will be another bad year for tornadoes after 550 deaths in the United States were blamed on twisters last year, the deadliest year in nearly a century, according to the Weather Service.

The highest death tolls were from an April outbreak in Alabama and Mississippi that claimed 364 lives, and from a May tornado in Joplin, Missouri, that killed 161 people. There were two tornado-related deaths earlier this year in Alabama.

STRUCK FOR SECOND YEAR

Alabama's Madison County, which was struck by a tornado during last April's deadly outbreak, was hit again on Friday by a tornado that took a similar path. An emergency management official said seven people had been transported to hospitals.

"There were two storms that moved across the area, very close together, almost attached to each other," National Weather Service meteorologist Chris Darden said. The Weather service said the damage was from an EF-2 tornado with winds of 120 miles per hour that took a similar path to a devastating tornado on April 27, 2011.

Authorities said 40 homes were destroyed and 150 damaged in two northern Alabama counties on Friday.

A prison, Limestone Correctional Facility, was in the path of the storm, Alabama officials said. High winds caused roof damage to two dormitories, forcing 300 inmates to be moved to elsewhere in the facility.

No one was seriously injured at the prison and there were no risks of prisoners escaping, though there was damage to some perimeter fencing and a canteen, said Brian Corbett, a spokesman for the Alabama Department of Corrections.

Multiple tornadoes also struck Tennessee and along the Ohio River valley in Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky.

In Kentucky, a small trailer park, a fire station and a few homes in Trimble County were destroyed by suspected tornadoes about 40 miles northwest of Louisville, the Kentucky State Police said. The fire house and trailer park in Milton "were down to the ground," said the state police's Kevin Woosley.

Nashville was pounded by rain and hail, and suspected tornadoes struck twice, hours apart, in eastern Tennessee near Chattanooga. Among the places hit was the valley below historic Lookout Mountain.

"We've had 29 injuries in the state, but no fatalities," said Dean Flener of the Tennessee emergency management agency.

Storm damage to transmission lines in Tennessee forced operators to reduce the output of the Tennessee Valley Authority's 1,126-megawatt Unit 2 at the Sequoyah nuclear plant to 70 percent from full power, a spokeswoman said.

More than 57,000 customers served by providers in the TVA service area were without power in north Alabama, western Kentucky and southeast Tennessee, the power supplier said.

High winds downed power lines in the Atlanta area, pitching more than a thousand homes into darkness, and officials warned residents about torn lines becoming entangled in trees.

(Reporting By Bruce Olson, Verna Gates, Tim Ghianni, Peggy Gargis, David Bailey, James Kelleher, Joe Wessels, Susan Guyett, Lee Mueller, Ivonne Rovira and Dan Whitcomb, Tim Gaynor and Cynthia Johnston; Writing by Andrew Stern; Editing by Dan Burns and Eric Walsh)

========

INSURANCE LOSSES

The band of tornadoes, with at least several dozen sightings and touchdowns, has already been compared to the "Super Outbreak" of twisters of April 1974, one of the largest and most violent in the United States.

Friday's storms came less than a year after a series of tornadoes caused some of the worst insured losses in U.S. history, and the insurance industry is likely facing substantial costs again..

An Indiana official confirmed 14 deaths from the tornadoes on Friday, in four southeastern counties. A spokeswoman for the Kentucky governor reported a statewide death toll of 18, while Ohio officials said there were three deaths in a single county.

In Georgia, an 83-year-old woman was found dead near a drainage pipe after she wandered from her home in severe weather on Friday, possibly to seek better shelter. A public safety official said she may have died after water rose in the pipe.

Storm warnings had been issued throughout the day on Friday from the Midwest to the Southeast, and schools and businesses were closed ahead of the storms after the series of tornadoes earlier in the week that killed 13 people in Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Tennessee.

This week's violent storms raised fears that 2012 will be another bad year for tornadoes after 550 deaths in the United States were blamed on twisters last year, the deadliest year in nearly a century, according to the National Weather Service.

The highest death tolls were from an outbreak last April in Alabama and Mississippi that claimed 364 lives, and from a May tornado in Joplin, Missouri, that killed 161 people.

Authorities said 40 homes were destroyed and 150 damaged in two northern Alabama counties on Friday. One person died in a home in Tallapoosa County, according to Joe Paul Boone, the director of the local Emergency Management Agency.

Alabama officials said a prison, Limestone Correctional Facility, sustained roof damage to two dormitories, forcing 300 inmates to be moved to elsewhere in the facility.

No one was seriously injured at the prison and there were no risks of prisoners escaping, though there was damage to some perimeter fencing and a canteen, said Brian Corbett, a spokesman for the Alabama Department of Corrections.

Multiple tornadoes also struck Tennessee and along the Ohio River valley in Illinois.

(Additonal reporting by David Adams, Tom Brown, Ian Simpson, Karen Brooks and John Stoll; Writing by Tom Brown and Cynthia Johnston; Editing by Peter Bohan)

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