Donald Trump

Happening Today: North Korea, Health Care, LeBron James

What to Know

  • The Trump administration said it's not seeking to overthrow North Korea's government after Kim Jong Un "won't be around much longer" comment
  • Republican Sen. Susan Collins' decision to oppose the GOP push to repeal Obama's health care overhaul leaves the effort all but dead
  • LeBron James is not backing down on his comments about Trump, and other players and coaches in the NBA made it clear they are also fed up

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Trump Threat Was Declaration of War, North Korean Foreign Minister Says

The Trump administration said it's not seeking to overthrow North Korea's government after the president tweeted that Kim Jong Un "won't be around much longer" and called Pyongyang's assertion absurd that Donald Trump's comment amounted to a declaration of war. Still, the fiery rhetoric carrying over from a week of threatening exchanges at the U.N. General Assembly only further fueled fears the adversaries might stumble back into open military conflict. The Korean War ended seven decades ago without a formal peace treaty and tensions related to the North's nuclear advances have escalated for months. At the U.N., the North's top diplomat, Ri Yong Ho, argued that Trump's Twitter blast gives it the right to shoot down U.S. warplanes, like the strategic bombers Washington recently flew close to the border between the two Koreas. Trump's tweet said: "Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at U.N. If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won't be around much longer!" Trump also used "rocket man" for Kim in his speech to the U.N. General Assembly last week. While the comments may be read as an implicit threat to eliminate Kim, administration officials said Washington hadn't changed its policy and the U.S. isn't seeking regime change in Pyongyang.

Palestinian Kills 3 Israelis in Settlement, Police Say

A Palestinian attacker opened fire at the entrance to a settlement outside Jerusalem, killing three Israeli men and critically wounding a fourth, Israeli police and medical services said, in one of the deadliest attacks in a two-year spate of violence. Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the attacker was a 37-year-old Palestinian who approached the back gate entrance of the Har Adar settlement, hiding among fellow Palestinian day laborers who were being checked by security forces. She said he aroused their suspicions and was asked to stop. At that point, he pulled out a weapon and began opening fire from a short distance. The attacker, who held a valid permit to work in Israel, was then shot dead by other forces at the scene. The Magen David Adom medical service said that in addition to the three men in their 20s and 30s who were killed, a fourth Israeli man, 32, was evacuated to hospital in critical condition. Har Adar is an upscale community west of Jerusalem, straddling the seam line between the West Bank and Israel proper — and an unusual target in the wave of violence that Israel has been coping with over the past two years.

How Mexican Women Are Showing Resolve in Earthquake's Aftermath

When a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck central Mexico, toppling buildings and leaving hundreds of people trapped, Mexicans quickly mobilized a mammoth rescue operation involving police, firefighters, soldiers and other professionals bolstered by an army of everyday civilians. The volunteer workers have come from all walks of life, and they include large numbers of women, underlining social changes in recent years that have seen Mexican women move into roles traditionally restricted to men. Women did participate in rescue work after the devastating 1985 quake that killed thousands in Mexico City, but only in relatively small numbers. Juana Huitron, the most famous of the female "topos," as Mexican volunteer searchers were known, has said she faced machismo back then. Since then, even though women still make up a smaller percentage of the workforce than their male counterparts, they have become leaders in education, business and the arts. And since the deadly quake, women are working alongside men digging into rubble to search for possible survivors, leading campaigns to collect food and medicine for those left homeless and comforting relatives of the deceased.

As Senators Defect, GOP Concedes Health Bill's Fate Bleak

Republican Sen. Susan Collins' decision to oppose the GOP push to repeal President Obama's health care overhaul leaves the effort all but dead, with even party leaders conceding that their prospects are dismal. "It's going to be a heavy lift," South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 3 GOP Senate leader, said, after Collins joined a small but pivotal cluster of Republicans saying they're against the measure. He called the prospects "bleak." The collapse marks a replay of the embarrassing loss President Trump and party leaders suffered in July, when the Senate rejected three attempts to pass legislation erasing Obama's 2010 statute. The GOP has made promises to scrap the law a high-profile vow for years, and its failure to deliver despite controlling the White House and Congress has infuriated conservatives whose votes Republican candidates need. To resuscitate their push, Republicans would need to change opposing senators' minds, which they've tried unsuccessfully to do for months. Collins told reporters that she made her decision despite a phone call from Trump, who's been futilely trying to press unhappy GOP senators to back the measure.

1 Million-Person Study Seeks End to Cookie-Cutter Health Care

U.S. researchers are getting ready to recruit more than 1 million people for an unprecedented study to learn how our genes, environments, and lifestyles interact. Today, health care is based on averages, what worked best in short studies of a few hundred or thousand patients. The massive "All of Us" project instead will push what's called precision medicine, using traits that make us unique to forecast health and treat disease. The goal is to end cookie-cutter health care. A pilot is underway now. If all goes well, the National Institutes of Health plans to open enrollment early next year. Participants will get DNA tests, and report on their diet, sleep, exercise and numerous other health-affecting factors. It's a commitment: The study aims to run for at least 10 years. The pilot testing now underway involves more than 2,500 people who already have enrolled and given blood samples. More than 50 sites around the country -- large medical centers, community health centers and other are enrolling patients or customers in this invitation-only pilot phase.

NBA Players Express Frustration With Trump's Words

LeBron James is not backing down on his comments about President Trump, and countless other players and coaches in the NBA made it clear at media days around the league that they are equally fed up with what could perhaps be described as a pattern of actions from the White House that they would call divisive or worse. Politics were the storyline of the NBA on the first official business day of the season for most of the league's clubs. That was no surprise, given the events of a weekend that included Trump rescinding the champion Golden State Warriors' invitation to the White House, James calling the president a "bum" and stars like union president Chris Paul speaking out in frustration. These tensions have obviously been present for far more than one weekend, but they are bubbling now in the NBA like perhaps never before — with players in many cities saying they were angered over the harsh president's harsh words he made during a rant about NFL players kneeling during the national anthem.

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