Iran nuke talks stumble, extended until July ADVERTISING Iran nuke talks stumble, extended until July VIENNA (AP) — A yearlong effort to seal a nuclear deal with Iran fizzled Monday, leaving the U.S. and its allies little choice but to
Iran nuke talks stumble, extended until July
VIENNA (AP) — A yearlong effort to seal a nuclear deal with Iran fizzled Monday, leaving the U.S. and its allies little choice but to declare a seven-month extension in hopes that a new deadline will be enough to achieve what a decade of negotiations have failed to do — limit Tehran’s ability to make a nuclear weapon.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and other Western foreign ministers converging on Vienna in a last-ditch diplomatic push talked up the add-on time as the best way forward. “We would be fools to walk away,” Kerry declared.
But a week of tough maneuvering appeared to have achieved little more than agreement to keep on talking. Negotiators will now strive to nail down by March 1 what Iran and the six world powers it is negotiating with must do, and by when. A final agreement is meant to follow four months later.
Pushback from critics in Congress was not long in coming, reflecting the concern of powerful Republicans that Iran is merely trying to buy time through talks — criticism that is likely to increase if negotiations yield little progress in capping Iranian programs that could make nuclear weapons.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) called the extension better than “a bad agreement,” but urged “more economic pressure” while negotiations continue.
Police: Video of officer shooting boy is ‘clear’
CLEVELAND (AP) — A Cleveland officer was less than 10 feet away when he fatally shot a 12-year-old boy carrying a pellet gun near a playground, and video of the shooting is clear about what happened, police said Monday.
The boy was confronted Saturday by officers responding to a 911 call about a male who appeared to be pulling a gun in and out of his pants.
The 911 caller said the gun was “probably fake,” then added, “I don’t know if it’s real or not.” Deputy Chief Edward Tomba said Monday that he didn’t know whether a dispatcher shared that information with responding officers.
The president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association has said the officers weren’t told the caller thought the gun might be fake. Police say Tamir Rice, who died Sunday, had an “airsoft” gun that appeared indistinguishable from a real firearm.
Firms aim to drive away car computer hackers
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Against the team of hackers, the poor car stood no chance.
Meticulously overwhelming its computer networks, the hackers showed that — given time — they would be able to pop the trunk and start the windshield wipers, cut the brakes or lock them up, and even kill the engine.
Their motives were not malicious. These hackers worked on behalf of the U.S. military, which along with the auto industry is scrambling to fortify the cyber defenses of commercially available cars before criminals and even terrorists penetrate them.
“You’re stepping into a rolling computer now,” said Chris Valasek, who helped catapult car hacking into the public eye when he and a partner revealed last year they had been able to control a 2010 Toyota Prius and 2010 Ford Escape by plugging into a port used by mechanics.
Storm on menu for some holiday travelers
MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) — A nor’easter is expected to develop Wednesday along the East Coast just as millions of travelers are heading to their Thanksgiving destinations.
“I would pack your patience,” said Robert Sinclair Jr., of AAA New York.
The storm, forecast to dump rain along the coast and snow inland, could cause delays at Northeast airports and along its busy highways. Precipitation was forecast to sweep in from the south tonight into Wednesday morning and exit the region Thursday morning.
Jeff Masters, chief meteorologist for Weather Underground, said coastal cities are likely to mostly receive rain, although he cautioned Monday afternoon that meteorologists would be keeping a close eye on the rain/snow line.
“A small deviation in the track could change things dramatically,” he said.
As of Monday, the highest amount of snow was expected to fall in northeastern Pennsylvania, the Catskills of upstate New York and into Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. Ten inches was possible in some places, forecasters said.
Officials at the three major airports in the New York City area — Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty — were “monitoring weather forecasts carefully,” and were ready to take action if needed, said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airports.
Sinclair noted that an estimated 41.3 million travelers were expected to hit the nation’s highways for the holiday weekend. That’s a 4.3 percent increase over last year.
Sinclair suggested travelers consider going on Tuesday or Thursday, instead of Wednesday, if they can.
All the major U.S. airlines were closely monitoring the situation but have not yet canceled flights or made any other changes.
American Airlines was allowing passengers flying to some Northeast cities on Wednesday to move their flight, for free, to Tuesday or Thursday. Delta Air Lines had a similar waiver for Wednesday flights to the region, but it was letting passenger only reschedule for flights on Thursday or Friday, which might be too late for many travelers.
___
