US allies, al-Qaida battle rebels in Yemen
ATAQ, Yemen — Again and again over the past two years, a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia and backed by the United States has claimed it won decisive victories that drove al-Qaida militants from their strongholds across Yemen and shattered their ability to attack the West.
Here’s what the victors did not disclose: many of their conquests came without firing a shot.
That’s because the coalition cut secret deals with al-Qaida fighters, paying some to leave key cities and towns and letting others retreat with weapons, equipment and wads of looted cash, an investigation by The Associated Press has found. Hundreds more were recruited to join the coalition itself.
These compromises and alliances have allowed al-Qaida militants to survive to fight another day — and risk strengthening the most dangerous branch of the terror network that carried out the 9/11 attacks. Key participants in the pacts said the U.S. was aware of the arrangements and held off on any drone strikes.
The deals uncovered by the AP reflect the contradictory interests of the two wars being waged simultaneously in this southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula.
Major tech companies remove Alex Jones for hate, bullying
NEW YORK — Major tech companies have begun to ban right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones from their services, reflecting a more aggressive enforcement of policies against hate speech following protests on social media.
Facebook has taken down four pages belonging to Jones, including two featuring his “Infowars” show, for violating its hate speech and bullying policies. Over the past several days, Apple, YouTube and Spotify have also removed material published by Jones. Twitter, which hasn’t banned Jones, has also faced similar calls.
Facebook has also suspended Jones’ account for 30 days because he repeatedly violated the company’s community standards against hate speech that “attacks or dehumanizes others,” it said in a statement Monday. Facebook did not immediately respond Monday asking what would happen after the 30 days are up, and why it hadn’t taken action earlier. The 30-day suspension of Jones himself appears to have gone into effect in late July.
Twitter would not comment on Jones.
“We’ve been banned completely on Facebook, Apple, & Spotify,” Jones wrote on Twitter. “What conservative news outlet will be next?”
Trump’s claims on Calif. wildfires inaccurate
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is claiming that California’s water policy is shortchanging firefighters of water to battle the state’s raging wildfires. That’s not so, according to wildfire and water experts.
A look at his tweets and the facts behind them:
TRUMP: “California wildfires are being magnified & made so much worse by the bad environmental laws which aren’t allowing massive amount of readily available water to be properly utilized. It is being diverted into the Pacific Ocean. Must also tree clear to stop fire spreading!” — tweet Sunday.
THE FACTS: That’s not what state experts say.
“We have plenty of water” for battling the massive blazes burning in hills north of San Francisco, said Scott McLean, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The current spate of wildfires happens to be within range of large Northern California lakes and the state’s biggest river, McLean said.
11 dead, nearly 70 wounded in weekend violence in Chicago
CHICAGO — At least 11 people were shot to death and about 70 wounded in a weekend burst of violence in Chicago that instantly became a political issue when President Donald Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, blamed the carnage on longtime Democratic rule in the city.
Police on Monday attributed the dozens of shootings to gangs, the illegal flow of guns and sweltering August heat that drew more people outside.
The victims ranged in age from 11 to 63, according to police. One teenage girl died after being shot in the face. A teenage boy was fatally shot riding a bike Sunday afternoon. Other shootings took place at a block party and a funeral.
Even for Chicagoans all too accustomed to violence in parts of the city, the weekend stood out. By way of comparison, at least seven people were killed and 32 wounded during the long Memorial Day weekend, the Chicago Tribune reported.
“Our souls are burdened,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said. “It is unacceptable to happen in any neighborhood of Chicago. We are a better city.”
Kids found in rags in New Mexico amid tale of guns, exorcism
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A raid on a New Mexico desert compound turned up 11 children wearing rags and living in filth, and also broke open a bizarre tale of guns, exorcism, and a search for a missing young boy who suffers from seizures and is nowhere to be found.
The boy’s father was among five people arrested after the raid near the border with Colorado. Documents made public in a court filing Monday said the father told the boy’s mother before fleeing Georgia that he wanted to perform an exorcism on the child because he believed he was possessed by the devil.
Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe said deputies arrested the father, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, and four other adults on child abuse charges after finding the 11 children Friday inside a makeshift compound in the tiny community of Amalia. It was littered with “odorous trash” and lacking clean water, authorities said.
Inside, Wahhaj, 39, was found heavily armed with multiple firearms, including a loaded AR-15, before he was taken into custody, the sheriff said.
His son, Abdul-ghani, who was 3 when he disappeared last December, was not among the children found. But Hogrefe said authorities have reason to believe the boy was at the compound several weeks ago.