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Happening Today: Korea, Confederate Statues, Barcelona, Jerry Lewis

What to Know

  • Troops kicked off their annual drills that come after tensions rose over North Korea's two intercontinental ballistic missile tests
  • University of Texas President Greg Fenves has ordered the removal of statues of Robert E. Lee and other Confederate figures from campus
  • Jerry Lewis, the manic, rubber-faced showman who jumped and hollered to fame in a lucrative partnership with Dean Martin has died at 91

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At Least 1 Dead as Van Rams 2 Bus Stops in France

A van rammed into two bus stops in the French port city of Marseille on Monday, killing one person and injuring another, according to French media reports. Police tweeted that an operation was underway and asked residents to avoid part of the scenic Old Port area in France's second-largest city. The driver was arrested, according to regional newspaper La Provence and BFM-TV. BFM said a witness noted the license plate of the van and was able to give it to police. A woman was killed at the second bus stop and a man injured at the first, BFM-TV said. They were in different areas of the city. A motive for the attacks is not yet known. The incident comes just days after back-to-back van attacks in Barcelona and Spanish resort town of Cambrils killed 14 people.

U.S. and South Korean Troops Start Drills Amid North Korea Standoff

U.S. and South Korean troops kicked off their annual drills that come after tensions rose over North Korea's two intercontinental ballistic missile tests last month. The Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills are largely computer-simulated war games held every summer and have drawn furious responses from North Korea, which views them an invasion rehearsal. Pyongyang's state media called this year's drills a "reckless" move that could trigger the "uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war." Despite the threat, U.S. and South Korean militaries launched this year's 11-day training as scheduled. The exercise involves 17,500 American troops and 50,000 South Korean soldiers, according to the U.S. military command in South Korea and Seoul's Defense Ministry. No field training like live-fire exercise or tank maneuvering is involved in the Ulchi drills, in which alliance soldiers, mostly senior officers, sit at computers to practice how they engage in battles and hone their decision-making capabilities. The allies have said the drills are defensive in nature.

10 U.S. Sailors Missing, 5 Hurt After Navy Destroyer Collision

Ten U.S. sailors are missing after the USS John S. McCain collided with a tanker east of Singapore, the second accident involving a ship from the Navy's 7th Fleet in the Pacific in two months. The Navy said five sailors were hurt in the collision between the guided-missile destroyer and the 600-foot Alnic MC, an oil and chemical tanker. Four of them were evacuated by a Singaporean navy helicopter to a hospital in the city-state for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, and one did not require further medical attention. The McCain had been heading to Singapore on a routine port visit after conducting a sensitive freedom of navigation operation last week by sailing near one of China's man-made islands in the South China Sea. The destroyer was damaged on its port side aft, or left rear, from the collision that happened at 5:24 a.m., the Navy's 7th Fleet said, but was heading to port under its own power. The Singapore government said no crew were injured on the Liberian-flagged Alnic, which sustained damage to a compartment at the front of the ship some 23 feet above its waterline. There was no immediate explanation for the collision and the Navy said an investigation would be conducted.

University of Texas Removes Confederate Statues

University of Texas President Greg Fenves has ordered the immediate removal of statues of Robert E. Lee and other prominent Confederate figures from a main area of campus, saying such monuments have become "symbols of modern white supremacy and neo-Nazism." Fenves announced the move as crews were in place to begin taking the statues down. The school also blocked off the area during the process, and the statues are expected to be gone by mid-morning, a spokesman said. The university moved a statue of former Confederate President Jefferson Davis from its perch near the campus clock tower to a history museum in 2015. Fenves now says statues of Lee, Confederate Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston and Confederate Postmaster General John H. Reagan, which were in the same area as Davis, also will be moved to the Brisco Center for American History on campus. The school will also move a statue of former Texas Gov. James Stephen Hogg, which was commissioned at the same time as the others, a spokesman said. Hogg will get another place on campus.

Barcelona Attack Suspect Named, Remains at Large

Spanish authorities confirmed the identity of the driver of the deadly van attack in Barcelona and said that he is the last member of the 12-man Islamic extremist cell still at large. Catalan interior minister Joaquim Forn told Catalunya Radio that 22-year-old Moroccan suspect Younes Abouyaaqoub is the final target of a manhunt that has been ongoing since Thursday's attack in Barcelona. Forn said that "everything indicates" that Abouyaaqoub was the driver of the van that plowed down Barcelona's emblematic Las Ramblas promenade, killing 13 pedestrians and injuring over 120 more. Another attack hours later by other members of the cell killed one person and injured several more in the coastal town of Cambrils. Abouyaaqoub was believed to be the lone attacker on the run, but authorities hadn't confirmed his identity because they were having difficulty identifying the remains of at least one extremist who died in an explosion at a house where explosives were being prepared. Police killed five suspected extremists in the Cambrils attack in a shootout. Four others have been arrested.

Trump to Outline Afghan Strategy in National TV Address

President Trump will use a nationally televised address to outline for a war-weary nation the strategy he believes will best position the U.S. to eventually declare victory in Afghanistan after 16 years of combat and lives lost. The speech Monday night will also give Trump a chance for a reset after one of the most difficult weeks of his short presidency. Trump tweeted that he had reached a decision on the way forward in Afghanistan, a day after he reviewed war options with his national security team at a meeting at Camp David, Maryland. The president offered no clues about whether he would send thousands more U.S. troops into Afghanistan or exercise his authority as commander in chief to order that they be withdrawn from America's longest war. But signs pointed in the direction of Trump continuing the U.S. commitment there.

Comedic Legend Jerry Lewis Dies at 91, Publicist Says

Jerry Lewis, the manic, rubber-faced showman who jumped and hollered to fame in a lucrative partnership with Dean Martin, settled down to become a self-conscious screen auteur and found an even greater following as the tireless, teary host of the annual muscular dystrophy telethons, has died. He was 91. Lewis died of natural causes in Las Vegas with his family by his side, publicist Candi Cazau said. In Las Vegas, a message honoring the comedian is being featured on a marquee at Caesars Palace, where Lewis was once a headliner and had also hosted telethons. In Los Angeles fans and admirers gathered at Lewis' two Hollywood Walk of Fame stars — one for television and one for film. Lewis' career spanned the history of show business in the 20th century, beginning in his parents' vaudeville act at the age of 5. He was just 20 when his pairing with Martin made them international stars. He went on to make such favorites as "The Bellboy" and "The Nutty Professor," was featured in Martin Scorsese's "The King of Comedy" and appeared as himself in Billy Crystal's "Mr. Saturday Night."

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