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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 2018)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018 Trump: No penalty for Saudi prince for Khashoggi murder By DEB RIECHMANN Associated Press WASHINGTON — Pres- ident Donald Trump declared Tuesday he would not fur- ther punish Saudi Arabia for the murder of U.S.-based col- umnist Jamal Khashoggi — making clear in an exclama- tion-filled statement that the benefits of good relations with the kingdom outweigh the pos- sibility its crown prince ordered the killing. The president condemned the brutal slaying of Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul as a “horrible crime ... that our country does not condone.” But he rejected calls by many in Congress, including members of his own party, for a tougher response, and also dis- missed reports from U.S. intel- ligence agencies that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman must have at least known about such an audacious and intricate plot. “It could very well be that the crown prince had knowl- edge of this tragic event,” the president said. “Maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!” In many ways, the state- ment captured Trump’s view of the world and foreign policy, grounded in economic neces- sity. It began with the words “America First!” followed by “The world is a very dangerous place!” It came after weeks of debate over whether the pres- ident would or should come down hard on the Saudis and the crown prince in response to the killing of the Saudi colum- nist for The Washington Post who had criticized the royal family. The U.S. earlier sanc- tioned 17 Saudi officials sus- pected of being responsible for or complicit in the Oct. 2 kill- ing, but members of Congress have called for harsher actions, ĥQKPWUĩQXGODGT ,"4" DKIIGUVUCNG #! !& AP Photo/Hasan Jamali Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi speaks during a press conference in 2014 in Manama, Bahrain. including canceling arms sales. Trump said “foolishly can- celing these contracts” worth billions of dollars would only benefit Russia and China, which would be next in line to supply the weapons. Critics denounced Trump’s statement saying he ignored human rights and granted Saudi Arabia a pass for economic reasons. Asked by a reporter if he was saying that human rights are too expensive to fight for, he responded, “No, I’m not saying that at all.” But then he switched the subject to the “ter- rorist nation” of Iran rather than any actions by Saudi Arabia. The U.S. needs a “counter- balance” to Iran, “and Israel needs help, too,” he said. “If we abandon Saudi Arabia, it would be a terrible mistake.” The mistake was Trump’s, said Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, contending the administration has “blind- ers on” in comparing Iran and Saudi Arabia. “It’s a sign of weakness not to stand up to Saudi Ara- bia,” Paul said in an interview. “Sometimes when you have two evils, maybe you don’t sup- port either side.” Republican Lindsey Gra- ham, the South Carolina sena- tor who is close to Trump, also disagreed with the president’s statement, saying America must not lose its “moral voice” on the international stage. “It is not in our national security interests to look the other way when it comes to the brutal murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi,” Graham said. Likewise, Rep. Adam Schiff, ranking Democrat on the House intelligence com- mittee, said that to suggest that U.S. silence can be bought with arms sales “undermines respect for the office of the presidency, the credibility of our intelli- gence community and Ameri- ca’s standing as a champion of human rights.” Trump’s statement, issued just before he pardoned the Thanksgiving turkey at the White House and left for the long holiday weekend in Flor- ida, underscored his world view of putting U.S. interests — both financial and geopolitical — above all else. He told reporters on the South Lawn that oil prices would “skyrocket” if the U.S. broke with the Saudis, and he was not going to “destroy” the world’s economy by being “foolish with Saudi Arabia.” Asked about any personal financial involvement, he said: “Saudi Arabia has nothing to do with me. What does have to do with me is putting America first.” Americans and Canadians are warned not to eat romaine lettuce By CANDICE CHOI Associated Press NEW YORK — Health officials in the U.S. and Can- ada told people Tuesday to stop eating romaine lettuce because of a new E. coli outbreak. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it is work- ing with officials in Canada on the outbreak, which has sick- ened 32 people in 11 states and 18 people in the Cana- dian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The strain identified is dif- ferent than the one linked to romaine earlier this year but appears similar to last year’s outbreak linked to leafy greens. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the agency doesn’t have enough infor- mation to ask suppliers for a recall, but he suggested that supermarkets and restaurants should withdraw romaine until the source of the contamina- tion can be identified. People are also being advised to throw out any romaine they have at home. The contaminated lettuce is likely still on the market, Got- tlieb said. FDA wanted to issue a warning before people gath- ered for Thanksgiving meals, where the potential for expo- sure could increase. “We did feel some pressure to draw conclusions as quickly as we could,” he said. In Canada, officials issued similar warnings to the two provinces where people were sickened. They said there was no evidence to suggest people in other parts of the country had been affected. Most romaine sold this time of year is grown in California, Gottlieb said. The romaine let- tuce linked to the E. coli out- break earlier this year was from Yuma, Arizona. Tainted "!! 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The FDA’s blanket warn- ing in the current outbreak is broader and more direct than the ones issued in the earlier outbreak, said Robert Whita- ker, chief science officer for the Produce Marketing Asso- ciation. In the earlier outbreak, the warnings about romaine from Yuma might have been confusing, he said. Whitaker said the indus- try group told members they should cooperate with the FDA and stop supplying romaine lettuce, especially since people have been told to stop buying and eating it. No deaths have been reported in the current out- break, but 13 people in the U.S. and six in Canada have been hospitalized. The last reported U.S. illness was on Oct. 31, while and the most recent illness in Canada was early this month. Tracing the source of con- taminated lettuce can be diffi- cult because it’s often repack- aged by middlemen, said Sarah Sorscher, deputy direc- tor of regulatory affairs at the Center for Science in the Pub- lic Interest. That can mean the entire industry becomes impli- cated in outbreaks, even if not all products are contaminated. “One of the problems with produce is that it can be very hard to trace back,” she said. She said washing contami- nated lettuce won’t ensure that harmful germs are killed. Infections from E. coli can cause symptoms including severe stomach cramps, diar- rhea and vomiting. Most peo- ple recover within a week, but some illnesses can last longer and be more severe. Health officials have also been reminding people to properly handle and cook their Thanksgiving birds amid a widespread salmonella out- break linked to raw turkey. Last week, Hormel recalled some packages of Jennie-O ground turkey that regulators were able to tie to an illness. But unlike with romaine lettuce, regulators are not warning people to avoid tur- key. 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