AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EDT

UN imposes tough new sanctions on North Korea

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved tough new sanctions Saturday to punish North Korea for its escalating nuclear and missile programs including a ban on coal and other exports worth over $1 billion — a huge bite in its total exports, valued at $3 billion last year.

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley called the resolution “the single largest economic sanctions package ever levelled against the North Korean regime” and “the most stringent set of sanctions on any country in a generation.”

But she warned that it is not enough and “we should not fool ourselves into thinking we have solved the problem — not even close.”

“The threat of an outlaw nuclearized North Korean dictatorship remains … (and) is rapidly growing more dangerous,” Haley told council members after the vote.

The U.S.-drafted resolution, negotiated with North Korea’s neighbour and ally China, is aimed at increasing economic pressure on Pyongyang to return to negotiations on its nuclear and missile programs — a point stressed by all 15 council members in speeches after the vote.

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Search called off for 3 US Marines who crashed off Australia

SYDNEY (AP) — U.S. military officials called off a search and rescue operation on Sunday for three U.S. Marines who were missing after their Osprey aircraft crashed into the sea off the east coast of Australia while trying to land.

The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps suspended the rescue operation and launched a recovery effort instead, the Marine base Camp Butler in Japan said in a statement, essentially confirming the military does not expect to find the missing Marines alive.

The Marines’ next of kin had been notified, and Australia’s defence force was assisting the Americans with the recovery effort, the statement said.

The MV-22 Osprey had launched from the USS Bonhomme Richard and was conducting regularly scheduled operations on Saturday when it crashed into the water, Camp Butler said. The ship’s small boats and aircraft immediately responded in the search and rescue efforts, and 23 of 26 personnel aboard the aircraft were rescued.

“Recovery and salvage operations can take several months to complete, but can be extended based on several environmental factors,” Camp Butler’s statement said. “The circumstances of the mishap are currently under investigation, and there is no additional information available at this time.”

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N. Korean missiles add urgency to Hiroshima A-bomb appeals

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — Hiroshima’s appeal of “never again” on the anniversary Sunday of the world’s first atomic bomb attack has gained urgency as North Korea moves ever closer to acquiring nuclear weapons, showing its growing prowess with increasingly frequent missile launches.

When the U.S. dropped the bomb on Aug. 6, 1945, Toshiki Fujimori’s mother was carrying him, then just a year old, piggyback to the hospital. The impact of the explosion threw them both to the ground, nearly killing him.

“Obviously tensions are growing as North Korea has been pushing ahead with nuclear tests and development,” said Fujimori. “Nuclear weapons just are unacceptable for mankind.”

Many Japanese and others in the region seem resigned to North Korea’s apparent newfound capacity to launch missiles capable of reaching much of the continental United States. But the threat lends a deeper sense of alarm in Hiroshima, where 140,000 died in that first A-bomb attack, which was followed on Aug. 9, 1945, by another that killed more than 70,000 people in Nagasaki.

“This hell is not a thing of the past,” Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said in his peace declaration at Sunday’s ceremony. “As long as nuclear weapons exist and policymakers threaten their use, their horror could leap into our present at any moment. You could find yourself suffering their cruelty.”

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Venezuela constitutional assembly removes chief prosecutor

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A newly installed constitutional assembly ousted Venezuela’s defiant chief prosecutor Saturday, a sign that President Nicolas Maduro’s embattled government intends to move swiftly against critics and consolidate power amid a fast-moving political crisis.

Cries of “traitor” and “justice” erupted from the stately, neo-classical salon where 545 pro-government delegates voted unanimously to remove Luisa Ortega from her post as the nation’s top law enforcement official and replace her with a staunch government supporter.

They said they were acting in response to a ruling by the government-stacked Supreme Court, which banned Ortega from leaving the country and freezing her bank accounts while it weighs criminal charges against her for alleged irregularities.

Ortega, a longtime loyalist who broke with the socialist government in April, refused to recognize the decision and vowed to continue defending the rights of Venezuelans from Maduro’s “coup” against the constitution “with my last breath.”

“This is just a tiny example of what’s coming for everyone that dares to oppose this totalitarian form of government,” Ortega said in the statement she signed as chief prosecutor. “If they’re doing this to the chief prosecutor, imagine the helpless state all Venezuelans live in.”

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Fox News host Eric Bolling suspended amid investigation

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fox News said Saturday that it has suspended Eric Bolling, co-host of its late-afternoon news program “The Specialists,” while it investigates allegations he sent a lewd photo to co-workers.

Word of the suspension came one day after a HuffPost report relying on anonymous sources stated Bolling had sent a lewd photo to at least three female colleagues at Fox News and Fox Business.

“Eric Bolling has been suspended pending the results of an investigation, which is currently underway,” Fox News said in a brief statement.

An attorney for Bolling, Michael J. Bowe, denied the allegations.

“The anonymous, uncorroborated claims are untrue and terribly unfair,” Bowe wrote in an email Saturday. “We intend to fully co-operate with the investigation so that it can be concluded and Eric can return to work as quickly as possible.”

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Northwestern professor, Oxford staffer jailed in stabbing

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Far from their prestigious campuses, a Northwestern University professor and a University of Oxford finance officer were jailed in the San Francisco area Saturday after eight days as fugitives sought in the death of a young hairdresser in Chicago stabbed repeatedly until the knife broke, police said.

The Northwestern microbiologist, Wyndham Lathem, had a personal relationship with the victim, although the nature of it wasn’t clear, and Lathem had made a video apologizing for what he called “the worst mistake of my life,” police said.

Lathem, 42, was being held without bail in Alameda County and faced a court appearance in the city of Pleasanton. The other suspect, Andrew Warren, a treasury assistant at one of Oxford’s residential colleges in England, was being held at the county jail in San Francisco.

Both men surrendered separately and peacefully in the Bay Area on Friday evening.

They had been fugitives since the body of 26-year-old Trenton James Cornell-Duranleau was found in Lathem’s Chicago apartment on July 27.

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Congress must prove its mettle this fall; it has no choice

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress will have to prove its mettle this fall. It has no choice.

Republicans have little to show for their first seven months of controlling the White House and Capitol Hill. The Senate sent Justice Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, and Congress passed bills bolstering veterans’ health programs and financing the Food and Drug Administration. It approved another sanctioning Russia for its 2016 election meddling, which President Donald Trump resentfully signed knowing Congress would lopsidedly override a veto.

Lawmakers returning from recess after Labor Day will confront a pile of bills they must approve. They’ll also face another stack of work they’ve promised to tackle and that GOP voters elected them to achieve.

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REPUBLICANS ARE IN CHARGE …

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Chappelle on 30 years in showbiz and sensitivity in comedy

NEW YORK (AP) — As Dave Chappelle reflects on spending 30 years in comedy, he says he’s grateful and humble to still be living his dreams onstage.

“In all honesty, I mostly feel grateful that I survived it, and that I’m able to still do it, and that I have the respect of my peers,” the 43-year-old said in an interview Friday night following a show at Radio City Music Hall, where he was joined by The Roots, Dead Prez and T.I.

Chappelle’s residency at the venue in New York kicked off this week, and included guest performers such as Lil Wayne, Usher, Ice Cube and others. Saturday and Sunday’s shows were to feature Chris Rock, while Trevor Noah, John Mayer, Lauryn Hill, Leslie Jones, Chance the Rapper, Solange, Childish Gambino, Erykah Badu and more were scheduled for upcoming performances.

“Not to tip my hand, but the next couple nights are probably one of the most expensive comedy shows ever done, and everybody’s working under the fee, everybody’s works under their fee just so we can be together in this room,” Chappelle said. “It means a lot of to me.”

Darren Pfeffer, the executive vice-president of MSG Live, called the 16 shows “unique” and said the company “is thrilled to have him at Radio City for the month of August.”

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A 2nd LT in the Hall of Fame: RB Tomlinson inducted

CANTON, Ohio (AP) — The latest from the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductions (all times local):

10:12 p.m.

Moments after one of the best running backs in NFL history entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame, another followed: LaDainian Tomlinson.

Preceded Saturday by Terrell Davis, the record-setting Tomlinson became the fifth inductee of the night, presented by former San Diego teammate (and lead blocker) Lorenzo Neal.

The fifth overall selection in the 2001 draft, Tomlinson won rushing titles in 2006-07, taking league MVP honours in ’06 when he set a record with 31 touchdowns. Also a strong receiver, he added 4,772 yards and 17 TD receptions to his career numbers for 13,684 yards rushing and 145 scores. Tomlinson even threw seven touchdown passes.

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US in rare bull’s-eye for total solar eclipse on Aug. 21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — It will be tough eclipsing this eclipse.

The sun, moon and Earth will line up perfectly in the cosmos on Aug. 21, turning day into night for a few wondrous minutes, its path crossing the U.S. from sea to shining sea for the first time in nearly a century.

Never will a total solar eclipse be so heavily viewed and studied — or celebrated.

“We’re going to be looking at this event with unprecedented eyes,” promises Alex Young, a solar physicist who is co-ordinating NASA’s education and public outreach.

And the party planning is at full tilt from Oregon to South Carolina.