News Wrap: 2 stabbed to death in Finland attack
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HARI SREENIVASAN: In the day’s other news: Violence erupted in Finland when a man stabbed two people to death and wounded six others. It happened in the Western city of Turku, about 95 miles outside Helsinki, the Finnish capital. The attacker was shot in the leg and captured. There was no word on his identity, and police said it’s too early to know if the attack is linked to international terrorism.
In Virginia today, another funeral in the wake of the Charlottesville violence. State Trooper Berke Bates and a second officer died in a helicopter crash last Saturday, after monitoring a white nationalist rally. Bates’ funeral was held in Richmond, where the governor and other speakers remembered him as a devoted family man and proud officer.
Separately, the mother of Heather Heyer insisted she will not speak with President Trump. Her daughter was killed Saturday when a car rammed counterprotesters.
SUSAN BRO, Mother of Heather Heyer: I saw an actual clip of him at a press conference equating the protesters like Ms. Heyer with the KKK and the white supremacists. You can’t wash this one away by shaking my hand and saying, I’m sorry.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Meanwhile, Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer urged state lawmakers to allow removal of the Robert E. Lee statue that sparked Saturday’s rally.
And before dawn today, officials in Maryland removed the statue of former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney from the statehouse grounds. In 1857, he authored the Dred Scott decision that upheld slavery.
The CEO of 21st Century FOX, James Murdoch, is criticizing President Trump’s comments on Charlottesville. In an e-mail to friends, he says — quote — “Standing up to Nazis is essential. There are no good Nazis.” He also pledges $1 million for the Anti-Defamation League. Murdoch’s company is parent to the FOX News Channel.
President Trump convened his national security team today to focus on a new strategy in Afghanistan. Mr. Trump flew from Bedminster, New Jersey, to Hagerstown, Maryland and traveled to Camp David for the afternoon gathering.
And the Pentagon announced joint military exercises with South Korea will begin Monday, amid sharply higher tensions with North Korea.
In Sierra Leone, authorities now say the toll from Monday’s mudslide disaster is approaching 450 dead. Flooding that triggered the slide continues after heavy rain. Meanwhile, survivors are burying the victims in hurriedly dug mass graves, and they’re struggling with daily life.
WOMAN (through interpreter): I cannot locate the house where we used to live, more than just pointing in that area. Since we came here, even to have water is a problem. To wash my baby, I had to beg a neighbor for water, and they even had to give me clothes to dress him.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Some residents are evacuating the region, fearing another mudslide.
Venezuela’s political crisis took a dramatic new turn today. The newly installed pro-government assembly voted to give itself full authority to pass laws and override the opposition-led Congress. Opposition lawmakers charged it moves President Nicolas Maduro one step closer to dictator status.
The U.S. Navy is dismissing sailors on a destroyer involved in a fatal collision off Japan. Seven American sailors died when the U.S. Fitzgerald was struck by a commercial container ship in June. A Navy statement blames poor seamanship and flaws in keeping watch. The destroyer’s captain and two other top officers will be removed, and more than a dozen others will also be punished.
And on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 76 points to close at 21674. The Nasdaq fell five points, and the S&P 500 slipped four.
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