U.S. attorney general praises police officers
WASHINGTON – Attorney General Loretta Lynch voiced strong support Monday for the country’s police officers, praising them as peacemakers and encouraging them to be part of the national conversation about improving relationships with minority communities.
The address to the national Fraternal Order of Police in Pittsburgh reaffirmed the Justice Department’s support for law enforcement at a time of unease between police departments and the communities they serve.
The speech came a day after the anniversary of Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson, Missouri. Gatherings marking the anniversary had largely been peaceful, though a man who opened fire on officers was critically wounded after the officers shot back, police said Monday. The St. Louis County executive declared a state of emergency after the shooting, and Lynch condemned the violence as obscuring “any message of peaceful protest.”
“Recent events in communities across the country have served as stark and tragic reminders of the tensions that exist in too many neighborhoods between law enforcement officers and the people we serve,” Lynch said in her speech.
Nurses union gives Sanders its support
WASHINGTON – Bernie Sanders picked up his first major labor endorsement from the nation’s largest organization of nurses, reflecting the Vermont senator’s appeal among unions in his challenge to Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The 185,000-member National Nurses United endorsed Sanders during an event with the independent senator in Oakland, California.
Clinton received the backing of the 1.6 million-member American Federation of Teachers last month, a union that includes about 120,000 health care workers. But Sanders’ endorsement is noteworthy because about 90 percent of the NNU’s members are women, and it comes as the Democratic presidential field has been actively courting labor unions.
Afghan leader seeks crackdown on Taliban
KABUL, Afghanistan – The Afghan president called on Pakistan on Monday to crack down on the Taliban after a suicide car bombing earlier in the day near Kabul’s international airport killed five people, the latest in a wave of deadly attacks in the capital.
In a televised address, Ashraf Ghani also blamed neighboring Pakistan for what he described as Islamabad’s support to the insurgents whose war against Kabul is now nearing its 14th year and said he was sending a delegation to Islamabad later this week to demand a stop to this.
“We know they have sanctuaries there, we know they are active there,” Ghani said, referring to Taliban leaders living in Pakistan. “We need all those activities to be stopped.”
Since assuming office a year ago, Ghani has pursued closer relations with Pakistan, which wields influence over the insurgent group, hoping that it could use that influence to bring the Taliban into peace negotiations.
Associated Press
