Page 16 The Skanner April 19, 2017
News
Pence Warns North Korea:
‘The Sword Stands Ready’
YOKOSUKA, Japan (AP) — From the
wind-swept deck of a massive aircraft
carrier, Vice President Mike Pence on
Wednesday warned North Korea not
to test the resolve of the U.S. military,
promising it would make an “over-
whelming and effective” response to
any use of conventional or nuclear
weapons.
Pence, dressed in a green military
jacket, said aboard the hulking USS
Ronald Reagan that President Donald
Trump’s administration would contin-
ue to “work diligently” with allies like
Japan, China and other global powers
to apply economic and diplomatic pres-
sure on Pyongyang. But he told the sail-
ors, “as all of you know, readiness is the
key.”
“The United States of America will
always seek peace but under President
Trump, the shield stands guard and the
sword stands ready,” Pence told 2,500
sailors wearing blue fatigues and Na-
val baseball caps on a sunny, windy
morning aboard the carrier at the U.S.
Yokosuka naval base in Tokyo Bay.
“Those who would challenge our re-
solve or readiness should know, we will
defeat any attack and meet any use of
conventional or nuclear weapons with
an overwhelming and effective Ameri-
can response,” Pence said.
The vice president said the U.S. would
AP PHOTO/LEE JIN-MAN, FILE
World News
Briefs
ly up.
The attendant who took his money
recognized the suspect and dialed 911.
Stephens pulled up to the next win-
dow, where restaurant owner Thomas
DuCharme Jr. and a supervisor tried
stalling him by telling him his fries
were delayed.
In this April 17 photo, U.S. Vice President Mike
Pence looks at the North side from Observation
Post Ouellette in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ),
near the border village of Panmunjom, which has
separated the two Koreas since the Korean War,
South Korea.
honor its alliance with Pacific Rim
nations and protect freedom of navi-
gation in the South China Sea, the sea
lanes vital to global shipping where
China has been staking claim to disput-
ed territory.
McDonald’s Order Trips
up Slaying Suspect
Facebook slaying suspect Steve Ste-
phens was undone by a 20-piece Chick-
en McNuggets and an order of fries.
The man who police say shot a Cleve-
land retiree at random and posted vid-
eo of the killing on Facebook pulled up
to the drive-thru window of a McDon-
ald’s restaurant outside Erie, Pennsyl-
vania, and waited for his order.
It was late Tuesday morning, almost
lunchtime, and authorities were in the
third day of an intensive manhunt for
Stephens.
Now, more than 100 miles from the
shooting, his time on the run was near-
Trump Administration
Says Iran Complying with
Nuclear Deal
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump
administration has notified Congress
that Iran is complying with the terms
of the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated by
former President Barack Obama, and
says the U.S. has extended the sanctions
relief given to the Islamic republic in ex-
change for curbs on its atomic program.
However, in a letter sent late Tuesday
to House Speaker Paul Ryan, Secretary
of State Rex Tillerson said the adminis-
tration has undertaken a full review of
the agreement, known as the Joint Com-
prehensive Plan of Action.
“Iran remains a leading state sponsor
of terror, through many platforms and
methods,” Tillerson wrote. He said the
National Security Council-led inter-
agency review of the agreement will
evaluate whether it “is vital to the na-
tional security interests of the United
States.”
The certification of Iran’s compli-
ance, which must be sent to Congress
every 90 days, is the first issued by the
Trump administration.
The deadline for this certification
was midnight.
As a candidate in the 2016 presiden-
tial election, Trump was an outspoken
critic of the deal but had offered con-
flicting opinions on whether he would
try to scrap it, modify it or keep it in
place with more strenuous enforce-
ment.
Tuesday’s determination suggested
that while Trump agreed with findings
by the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, the In-
ternational Atomic Energy Agency,
that Iran is keeping to its end of the bar-
gain, he is looking for another way to
ratchet up pressure on Tehran.
Police: Fresno Gunman
Chose 3 Men at Random
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Three men
were having a seemingly ordinary day
in downtown Fresno, California, be-
fore they were singled out at random
and killed by a Black gunman targeting
White victims, police said.
The men happened to be on the same
block, but had no known connection to
each other or to the shooter, Kori Ali
Muhammad, who told police he want-
ed to kill as many White people as he
could before he was captured.
One victim, a 34-year-old father of
two preschoolers, was on the job when
he was shot Tuesday in the passenger
seat of a Pacific Gas & Electric utility
truck.
The driver wasn’t hit and sped toward
the police department, but his partner
couldn’t be saved.
Another victim, a 37-year-old man,
had just picked up a bag of groceries
Tuesday at a Catholic Charities build-
ing when he was gunned down.
Stephen Hughes, 66, said he and his
wife rushed home Tuesday after re-
ceiving a frantic call from a neighbor to
find a body draped in a blanket on the
sidewalk leading to his front door.