COLU @ CONCEPTS

WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Donald Trump touts new oil pipelines and pledges to revive the nation’s struggling coal mines, federal scientists are warning that burning fossil fuels is already driving a steep increase in the United States of heat waves, droughts and floods. It is the latest example of collisions between Trump’s environmental policies and the facts presented by his government’s experts. Contradicting Trump’s claims that climate change is a “hoax,” the draft report representing the consensus of 13 federal agencies concludes that the evidence global warming is being driven by human activities is “unambiguous.” That directly undercuts statements by Trump and his Cabinet casting doubt on whether the warming observed around the globe is being primarily driven by man-made carbon pollution. “There are no alternative explanations, and no natural cycles are found in the observational record that can explain the observed changes in climate,” says the report, citing ...

DENVER (AP) — A former radio disc jockey accused of groping Taylor Swift before a concert testified Tuesday that he may have touched the pop superstar’s ribs with a closed hand as he tried to jump into a photo with her but insisted he did not touch her backside as she claims. David Mueller told jurors at the civil trial on dueling lawsuits filed by Mueller and Swift that he and the singer-songwriter were trying to reach around one another and “our hands touched and our arms touched” during a photo opportunity he estimated lasted no more than 40 seconds. Fans in the gallery for a civil trial over Taylor Swift’s allegation that a former radio personality groped her say the pop star exchanged glances with spectators, and thanked one fan for showing up. (August 8) Under questioning by his attorney, Mueller said he may have touched Swift’s “rib cage, or rib, or ribs.” The 2013 photo of Swift, Mueller and Mueller’s girlfriend taken at the pre-concert event in Denver is a...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The latest on Venezuela’s political crisis (all times local): 6:55 p.m. Foreign ministers from 17 Western Hemisphere nations are condemning Venezuela’s new constitutional assembly, saying their governments will refuse to recognize the all-powerful body. The statement came Tuesday evening after the Venezuelan assembly declared itself superior to all other branches of government. The top diplomats met in Peru’s capital to discuss Venezuela’s political upheaval. They expressed support for renewed negotiations between the government and opposition, though previous talks have failed. The ministers represented Mexico, Canada, Argentina and other regional nations. But while many Latin American nations have denouncing embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s recent moves to consolidate power, the region has found it tricky to formulate a collective response. ___ 5:10 p.m. Venezuela’s new constitutional assembly has passed a decree declari...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Tiger Woods will not attend his arraignment Wednesday on a driving under the influence charge, his attorney said, meaning under court rules the superstar golfer will be pleading not guilty. Attorney Douglas Duncan said in an email Tuesday to The Associated Press that Woods will not be attending the hearing, but he didn’t elaborate. Any plea other than not guilty requires the defendant’s attendance. The Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office declined comment. Woods could have agreed Wednesday to enter a program for first-time DUI defendants. He would have to plead guilty to reckless driving and receive a year’s probation. He would also have to pay a $250 fine and court costs, attend DUI school, perform 50 hours of community service and attend a workshop where victims of impaired drivers detail how their lives were damaged. He also would have also been subject to random drug and alcohol testing and other conditions. David S. Weinstein, a M...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs (all times local): 1 a.m. Elected officials in Guam are reassuring constituents that the U.S. territory is safe following North Korea’s claim that it is examining its plan for “making an enveloping fire” around the strategically important Pacific island. Governor Eddie Baza Calvo said Wednesday there is no threat to Guam or to the Mariana Islands to the north. He adds that he will continue discussions with Joint Region Marianas Commander Rear Admiral Shoshana Chatfield to discuss military and first-responder readiness, to ensure that Guam is “prepared for any eventuality.” Guam Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo issued a statement saying Pentagon officials have assured her that the territory is protected. Bordallo was critical of President Donald Trump’s vow Tuesday to answer North Korea “with fire and fury like the world has never seen” if Pyongyang continues to threaten the U.S. She urged Trump...

NEW DELHI (AP) — Within the wild energy market of the world’s second-most populous nation, predictions are proving tricky. India had been projected to become a carbon-belching behemoth, fueled by thermal power plants demanding ever more coal for decades to come. Now, some analysts are saying that may not happen. In the last two years, coal consumption has slowed to its lowest level in two decades, even with the economy growing at a steamy 7 percent annual pace. Thermal power plants have been running below full capacity for years and as of June were operating at only 57 percent of total capacity, the lowest level ever. India is the world’s third-largest carbon emitter and relies on coal-fired power plants to produce most of its energy. With a population of 1.3 billion and a fast-industrializing economy, those energy needs had been forecast to soar. So signs that the country’s appetite for burning more coal may be close to sated would be welcome news, given fears of a loomin...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Buffeted by threats from Amazon drones to deliveries by golf cart, the beleaguered U.S. Postal Service is counting on a different strategy to stay competitive: more freedom to raise prices on mailing letters. After a 10-year review, the Postal Regulatory Commission appears likely to move to grant the Postal Service power to increase stamp costs beyond the rate of inflation, marking the biggest change in its pricing system in nearly a half-century. A decision is expected next month. The commission, which oversees postal rates, might limit how high stamp prices could go. But the price of a first-class stamp, now 49 cents, could jump, though it’s not known how much. The plan has received praise from financial analysts but raised the ire of the mail-order industry, which could pay millions more for sending items like prescription drugs and magazines and be forced to pass the costs onto consumers. The Postal Service is trying to stay financially afloat as it...

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — The malware entered the North Carolina transmission plant’s computer network via email last August, just as the criminals wanted, spreading like a virus and threatening to lock up the production line until the company paid a ransom. AW North Carolina stood to lose $270,000 in revenue, plus wages for idled employees, for every hour the factory wasn’t shipping its crucial auto parts to nine Toyota car and truck plants across North America, said John Peterson, the plant’s information technology manager. The company is just one of a growing number being hit by cyber-criminals looking for a payday. While online thieves have long targeted banks for digital holdups, today’s just-in-time manufacturing sector is climbing toward the top of hackers’ hit lists. Production lines that integrate computer-imaging, barcode scanners and measuring tolerances to a hair’s width at multiple points are more vulnerable to malevolent outsiders. “These people who try to hack...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Glen Campbell was a rare entertainer who got to say goodbye to his life and career in every way he knew how. Before his mind evaporated into Alzheimer’s disease, Campbell was able to go out on one last big tour, star in a documentary and record an album of his favorite songs, fittingly called “Adios.” Three of his children sing on the album, which was released earlier this summer. The country superstar died Tuesday morning in Nashville, Campbell’s family said. He was 81. “I owe him everything I am, and everything I ever will be,” daughter Ashley Campbell wrote on Twitter. “He will be remembered so well and with so much love.” Glen Campbell, the grinning, high-pitched entertainer who had such hits as “Rhinestone Cowboy” and spanned country, pop, television and movies, has died. He was 81. (Aug. 8) A guitarist since age 4, Campbell’s musical talent, boyish looks and friendly charm brought him decades of success. He won five Grammys, sold more tha...

HAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Residents of the tiny Pacific island of Guam say they’re afraid of being caught in the middle of escalating tensions between the U.S. and North Korea after Pyongyang announced it was examining plans for attacking the strategically important U.S. territory. Though local officials downplayed any threat, people who live and work on the island, which serves as a launching pad for the U.S. military, said Wednesday they could no longer shrug off the idea of being a potential target. Elected officials in Guam are reassuring constituents that the U.S. territory is safe following North Korea’s threat against the island. Guam residents are expressing a mix of concern and fear. (Aug. 9) “I’m a little worried, a little panicked. Is this really going to happen?” said Cecil Chugrad, a 37-year-old bus driver for a tour bus company in Guam. “If it’s just me, I don’t mind, but I have to worry about my son. I feel like moving (out of Guam) now.” Guam is used t...

DALLAS (AP) — At some point during many flights, the captain will calmly announce that there could be some bumps ahead and so passengers must be seated with their seat belts on. The plane might seem to bobble or bounce a bit, but rarely does it turn into a serious threat to safety. That, however, is just what happened to an American Airlines flight last weekend, when 10 people were injured as the plane plowed through turbulence on its way to landing in Philadelphia. A rundown of statistics, recent incidents, and what pilots and airlines do to avoid hitting potholes in the sky: THE NUMBERS About 40 people a year are seriously injured by turbulence in the U.S., according to Federal Aviation Administration figures from the last 10 years. The FAA counted 44 injuries last year, the most since more than 100 were hurt in 2009. But the official count is almost certainly too low. The National Transportation Safety Board requires airlines to report incidents that result in serio...

CHAMPLAIN, N.Y. (AP) — They have come from all over the United States, piling out of taxis, pushing strollers and pulling luggage, to the end of a country road in the north woods. Where the pavement stops, they pick up small children and lead older ones wearing Mickey Mouse backpacks around a “road closed” sign, threading bushes, crossing a ditch, and filing past another sign in French and English that says “No pedestrians.” Then they are arrested. Fearful they will be deported by the Trump administration, thousands of immigrants are illegally crossing from the U.S. into Canada in hopes of being granted asylum. (Aug. 9) Seven days a week, 24 hours a day, migrants who came to the U.S. from across the globe — Syria, Congo, Haiti, elsewhere — arrive here where Roxham Road dead-ends so they can walk into Canada, hoping its policies will give them the security they believe the political climate in the United States does not. “In Trump’s country, they want to put us back t...