JANESVILLE, Wis. – House Speaker Paul Ryan endorsed Donald Trump on Thursday, ending an extraordinary public split between the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee and the nation’s highest-ranking Republican office holder.
“I had friends wishing I wouldn’t support him. I had friends wishing I would,” Ryan said. “I really didn’t feel any pressure, other than my goal is to make sure that were unified so that we’re at full strength in the fall so we can win the election.”
The Wisconsin Republican acknowledged he continues to have concerns over Trump’s combative style.
MINNEAPOLIS – “Prairie Home Companion” radio show host Garrison Keillor says he has suffered a brain seizure but that this week’s show apparently will go on.
The 73-year-old Keillor posted on Facebook on Thursday that he had what he called a “whirlwind weekend,” doing two shows at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Virginia and suffering a “nocturnal brain seizure.”
He said he flew to Mayo Clinic in Minnesota where he underwent an MRI, which showed what he called a “black hole” where a previous stroke had struck near his brain’s language center. A doctor put him on medicine to stop convulsions that makes him feel lethargic, but he intends to keep going.
CAMP TARIQ, Iraq – Iraqi forces say they are continuing to push into the Islamic State-held city of Fallujah, having secured its outskirts.
Iraqi officers said Thursday that the large number of civilians in the city was slowing down the military operation, because it means fewer airstrikes can be carried out.
Iraqi forces are heavily dependent on airstrikes to achieve territorial victories against ISIS.
Fallujah is one of the last ISIS strongholds in Iraq. The militants also hold Mosul, the second largest city.
CLEVELAND – The father of a woman killed by a convicted sex offender dove across a courtroom table to attack him Thursday, shortly after a judge announced the defendant would be sentenced to death for killing three people and wrapping their bodies in garbage bags.
Van Terry, the father of Shirellda Terry, had walked to the front of the courtroom to give a victim-impact statement and turned toward Michael Madison, who gave him a malicious smile. Terry lunged at Madison and was immediately swarmed by sheriff’s deputies as Madison and his attorneys scrambled to get out of the way.
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Nancy McDonnell declined to clear the courtroom, and after about a 15-minute delay, the hearing continued. She accepted a jury’s recommendation that Madison, 38, receive the death penalty.
BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is testing drones that it says will help it manage its warehouse inventory more efficiently, and which it said Thursday could be rolled out in the next six to nine months across its distribution centers.
The move is another sign of how the nation’s largest retailer is seeking to compete against online leader Amazon.com, which is testing drones to deliver packages.
During a media tour Thursday at a distribution center, Wal-Mart offered a peek at a drone that flies around the massive center, captures images in real time and flags the misplaced items. The drone takes 30 pictures per second.
Wal-Mart says using the drones enables it to check inventory in about a day or less, instead of a month that it takes manually.
Associated Press
