Navy pauses Saudis' training after deaths
WASHINGTON -- Flight training has been suspended for more than 300 Saudi Arabian students at three bases in Florida in the wake of the deadly shooting by a Saudi Air Force officer on Friday, the U.S. Navy said Tuesday.
Navy Commander Clay Doss said classroom training is going to start again this week, and flight training for other students will resume. But on Monday night, the Navy ordered that Saudi students at three bases in northern Florida be restricted from flying for an undetermined period of time.
The flight restriction affects 140 students at Pensacola Naval Air Station, where the shooting occurred, and 35 at nearby Whiting Field. Another 128 students at Naval Air Station Mayport, on the Atlantic seaboard, are also restricted.
Doss said the stand-down is an effort to ensure the safety of the students, as they recover from the trauma of the shooting, which killed three U.S. military members and injured eight other people. Police shot and killed the 21-year-old Saudi shooter.
Separately, federal authorities confirmed that the 9mm Glock pistol used by the shooter, Mohammed Alshamrani, was legally purchased in July from a Florida dealer.
The FBI said Alshamrani qualified for an exception to laws prohibiting foreign nationals from having a gun, because he had a valid Florida hunting license. Authorities said he may have also qualified under other exceptions.
Agents find Chinese migrants in furniture
SAN DIEGO -- Eleven Chinese migrants were discovered hiding in furniture and appliances inside a truck stopped by agents as it entered the U.S. from Mexico at a Southern California border crossing, federal officials said.
At least one person was crammed inside a washing machine and another was curled up inside a wooden chest, according to photos provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Authorities searched the truck Saturday evening at the border crossing between Tijuana, Mexico, and San Diego, the federal agency said.
The truck driver, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen, was arrested on suspicion of human smuggling, a Customs and Border Protection statement said. He was not identified.
The 11 Chinese citizens were detained pending criminal and immigration proceedings, the statement said.
"These are human beings that smugglers subject to inhumane conditions that could have deadly consequences," Pete Flores, director of field operations in San Diego for Customs and Border Protection, said in the statement. "Fortunately no one was seriously injured."
Six Chinese nationals were found last month at the same border crossing concealed behind a false wall in a truck trying to enter the U.S., officials have said.
Another House Republican to step aside
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Republican U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho of Florida announced Tuesday that he will not seek another term, saying he never meant to spend more than eight years in Congress. Democrats seized upon the news as a sign of weakening morale among the GOP.
Yoho, who aligned himself with the Tea Party faction of the Republican Party and has been a fierce supporter of President Donald Trump, joins at least 27 House Republicans in announcing their departures from the U.S. House.
Of those, 23 aren't seeking reelection, while three have resigned and already left Congress. And one -- California Rep. Duncan Hunter -- has said he is resigning and will leave the House shortly after the holidays.
Yoho broke the news in a letter to supporters on Tuesday, reminding them that he had pledged to serve just four terms.
"I truly believe a person's word is their bond and should live up to their word," he said. "I also meant that after eight years I would come home and pass the baton to a new generation."
Yoho defeated a longtime incumbent in the Republican primary in 2012 to win the Third District seat, representing Gainesville and a swath of northern Florida. At one time, he vied for the Speaker of the U.S. House at a time of disenchantment with former House Speaker John Boehner.
U.S. indicts ex-Mexico security chief
NEW YORK -- Mexico's former top security chief has been indicted in New York City on charges he accepted tens of millions of dollars in drug-money bribes from kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's notorious Sinaloa cartel to let it operate with impunity in Mexico.
Genaro Garcia Luna, 51, was charged in federal court in Brooklyn with three counts of cocaine trafficking conspiracy and a false statements charge.
In a statement announcing the charges against Garcia Luna, U.S. Attorney Richard P. Donoghue accused the defendant of protecting the cartel "while he controlled Mexico's federal police force and was responsible for ensuring public safety in Mexico."
Garcia Luna, now a resident of Florida, was arrested Monday by federal agents in Dallas, where he made an initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon. He waived his right to a hearing to establish his identity and will remain in custody while awaiting a bail hearing Dec. 17.
His defense attorney, Rose Romero, declined to comment outside court.
A Section on 12/11/2019