WASHINGTON (AP) — The chemicals that exploded at a Texas plant are so unstable hat they must be kept cool or they can ignite a runaway scenario.
Experts say that's what happened when the Arkema Inc.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — White House press secretary Sean Spicer, whose bombastic briefings made him a political celebrity, is officially leaving the building.
Spicer resigned last month after President Donald Trump hired financier Anthony Scaramucci as his communications chief.
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William Crum
Police Chief Bill Citty says violent crime and property crime were both down 4 percent in Oklahoma City in the first half of 2017.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration delayed an Obama-era rule that would have tightened safety requirements for companies that store large quantities of dangerous chemicals such as the chemical plant near Houston that exploded early Thursday.
The Environmental Protection Agency rule would have required chemical plants — including the now-destroyed Arkema Inc.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is disputing reports that he is distancing himself from President Donald Trump on issues like North Korea and domestic social tensions.
In an impromptu exchange with reporters at the Pentagon, Mattis said it is "ludicrous" for people to conclude from his recent remarks that he is in conflict with Trump.
He mentioned, as an example, his comments to American troops during a visit to Jordan last week.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has taken another step toward building a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico, even as funding for the project remains in question.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Thursday it will award contracts to four companies to build four prototypes for the wall.
CBP is providing few details of the concrete prototypes and says funding for four other prototypes for a see-through structure will be awarded next week.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the Trump administration's response to Harvey (all times local):
4:30 p.m.
The Trump administration is trying to assure victims of Harvey living in the country illegally that they will not be targeted as they try to access emergency services — as long as they haven't committed other crimes.
Trump's Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert says "no individual human being should worry about their immigration status unless they've committed a crime on top of coming here illegally when it comes to getting food, water and shelter.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is announcing sharp cuts in programs promoting health care enrollment under the Affordable Care Act for next year.
In a call with reporters, Health and Human Services officials say advertising will be cut to $10 million for the 2018 open enrollment season.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump administration announces sharp cuts in programs promoting 2018 health care enrollment under Affordable Care Act.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Donald Trump is pledging $1 million in personal funds to Harvey storm relief efforts.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders made the announcement at a briefing Thursday.
And she says he’s calling on reporters to help decide which specific organization he will give to.
Trump has been criticized in the past for giving far less of his income to charitable causes than many other multi-billionaires.
Harvey’s flood waters have heavily damaged tens of thousands of homes across Texas and killed at least 30 people.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Donald Trump is pledging $1 million in personal funds to Harvey storm relief efforts.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders made the announcement at a briefing Thursday.
And she says he's calling on reporters to help decide which specific organization he will give to.
Trump has been criticized in the past for giving far less of his income to charitable causes than many other multi-billionaires.
Harvey's flood waters have heavily damaged tens of thousands of homes across Texas and killed at least 30 people.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — White House says President Trump to pledge $1 million in personal funds to Harvey relief efforts.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. commander of forces fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria believes the militants' top leader is still alive.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. jobs report for August being released Friday will be watched to see whether employers extended a streak of steady hiring that's helped shrink the unemployment rate to 4.3 percent, a 16-year low.
Economists predict that the rate remained unchanged and that employers added 180,000 jobs, according to the data provider FactSet.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Two LGBT-rights organizations are trying to stop President Donald Trump from changing the government's policy on military service by transgender people.
The groups say they filed a motion filed Thursday in federal court in Washington asking for a preliminary injunction.
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William Crum
Manuel Hernandez recently took a new position in community outreach at the Oklahoma City Municipal Court, where traffic citations and other minor infractions are resolved.
Hernandez formerly was a court marshal.
A lifelong Oklahoma City resident, Hernandez is fluent in English and Spanish.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. decision to close Russia's San Francisco consulate and scale back its diplomatic presence in two other locations (all times local):
2:15 p.m.
A member of Russia's parliament is accusing the U.S. of a sharp escalation in diplomatic tensions.
Leonid Slutsky is head of the Russian Duma's foreign affairs committee.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has begun sending additional troops to Afghanistan to carry out President Donald Trump's new war strategy, and members of Congress will be briefed before details are made public, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Thursday.
"Yes, I've signed orders, but it's not complete," Mattis told reporters in an impromptu news conference at the Pentagon.
He would not say how many additional troops are deploying or what their exact roles will be.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell this week. It was the fifth straight weekly decline for the benchmark 30-year rate, which again reached a new low for the year.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 3.82 percent from 3.86 percent last week.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is raising speculation that Harriet Tubman's future on the $20 bill could be in jeopardy.
Mnuchin is avoiding a direct answer when asked whether he supports the decision made by the Obama administration to replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill with Harriet Tubman, the 19th century African-American abolitionist famous for the Underground Railroad.
He says in an interview on CNBC on Thursday, "People have been on the bills for a long period of time.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Energy Secretary Rick Perry says he's releasing 500,000 barrels of crude oil from an emergency stockpile in a bid to prevent gasoline prices from spiking in the wake of disruptions caused by Harvey.
Perry says he's authorized immediate shipments of crude to the Phillips 66 refinery in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
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LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Los Angeles City Council voted on Wednesday to replace the Columbus Day holiday with Indigenous Peoples Day.
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New York Times
HOUSTON — A federal judge in San Antonio on Wednesday blocked Texas from enforcing its ban on so-called sanctuary cities, questioning the constitutionality of a law that has pitted Republican state leaders against several Democratic-leaning cities.
The judge’s ruling was only temporary, and prevents the law from taking effect on Friday while a suit against it goes forward.
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Variety
Conservative media host Tomi Lahren has joined Fox News in a contributor role, the cable news network announced Wednesday.
She will make her debut as a contributor on tonight’s edition of “Hannity” at 10 p.m.
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Kansas City Star
Reese Witherspoon is set to produce a movie about the life of Megan Phelps-Roper, granddaughter of Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps.
The screenplay for the film, “This Above All,” will be based on a New Yorker article and an upcoming book by Phelps-Roper, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Phelps-Roper announced the news on social media earlier this week.
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After receiving multiple letters complaining that a cross was being displayed at a state university, Oklahoma's attorney general has fired back, telling the group to stop sending letters as "we absolutely reject your demand to remove the cross.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump and Congress (all times local):
12:05 p.m.
President Donald Trump is promising billions to help Texas rebuild from Hurricane Harvey, but his Republican allies in the House are looking at cutting almost $1 billion from disaster accounts to help finance the president's border wall.
The pending reduction to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief account is part of a spending bill that the House is scheduled to consider next week when Congress returns from its August recess.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump's tax overhaul (all times local):
11:15 a.m.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says President Donald Trump's tax plan should not include tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans.
Schumer tells reporters that the tax overhaul plan should not increase budget deficits and should be written by both parties, not just the president's fellow Republicans.
The New York senator was outlining Democrats' approach to the tax overhaul ahead of the president's tax event in Missouri later in the day.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Just back from Texas, President Donald Trump tweeted on Wednesday that he had witnessed "first hand the horror & devastation" wrought by Harvey.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — An Associated Press investigation shows that 9 percent fewer homes and other properties in the Houston area had flood insurance when Harvey hit the city compared to five years ago.
The sharp fall in coverage came despite a growing population.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first treatment that genetically engineers patients' own blood cells to seek and destroy childhood leukemia.
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