AP News in Brief at 11:03 p.m. EDT

Election warnings blare, but action stalls in Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — Robert Mueller warned that Russian interference is still happening “as we sit here.”

State election officials are anxious and underfunded, some running systems with outdated software and scrounging for replacement parts off e-Bay.

And on Thursday a report from the Senate Intelligence committee concluded all 50 states were targeted in 2016 and ahead of the 2018 election “top election vulnerabilities remained.”

But there’s no help coming from Congress.

It’s a risky calculation heading into 2020, when the stakes will be high for an election that could see record turnout as President Donald Trump runs for a second term. Primary voting is six months away.

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N. Korea says missile test was ‘solemn warning’ to S. Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A day after two North Korean missile launches rattled Asia, the nation announced Friday that its leader Kim Jong Un supervised a test of a new-type tactical guided weapon that was meant to be a “solemn warning” about South Korean weapons introduction and its rival’s plans to hold military exercises with the United States.

The message in the country’s state media quoted Kim and was directed at “South Korean military warmongers.” It comes as U.S. and North Korean officials struggle to set up talks after a recent meeting on the Korean border between Kim and President Donald Trump seemed to provide a step forward in stalled nuclear negotiations.

Although the North had harsh words for South Korea, the statement stayed away from the kind of belligerent attacks on the United States that have marked past announcements, a possible signal that it’s interested in keeping diplomacy alive.

It made clear, however, that North Korea is infuriated over Seoul’s purchase of U.S.-made high-tech fighter jets and U.S.-South Korean plans to hold military drills this summer that the North says are rehearsals for an invasion and proof of the allies’ hostility to Pyongyang.

After watching the weapons’ launches, Kim said they are “hard to intercept” because of the “low-altitude gliding and leaping flight orbit of the tactical guided missile,” according to the Korean Central News Agency. He was quoted as saying the possession of “such a state-of-the-art weaponry system” is of “huge eventful significance” in bolstering his country’s armed forces and guaranteeing national security.

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16 Marines arrested in migrant smuggling investigation

SAN DIEGO (AP) — An investigation into Marines accused of helping smuggle migrants into the United States led to the arrest Thursday of 16 of their fellow Marines at California’s Camp Pendleton, just north of the U.S.-Mexico border.

In a dramatic move aimed at sending a message, authorities made the arrests as the Marines gathered in formation with their battalion.

None of the 16 Marines were involved in helping enforce border security, the Marine Corps said in a news release. They are accused of crimes ranging from migrant smuggling to drug-related offences.

Officials could not immediately be reached for additional details.

The arrests came weeks after two Marines were arrested by a Border Patrol agent on suspicion of transporting three Mexicans on the promise of money after they crossed illegally into the United States.

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US government will execute inmates for first time since 2003

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department said Thursday the federal government will resume executing death-row inmates for the first time since 2003, ending an informal moratorium even as the nation sees a broad shift away from capital punishment.

Attorney General William Barr instructed the Bureau of Prisons to schedule executions starting in December for five men, all accused of murdering children. Although the death penalty remains legal in 30 states, executions on the federal level are rare.

“The Justice Department upholds the rule of law — and we owe it to the victims and their families to carry forward the sentence imposed by our justice system,” Barr said.

The move is likely to stir up fresh interest in an issue that has largely lain dormant in recent years, adding a new front to the culture battles that President Donald Trump already is waging on matters such as abortion and immigration in the lead-up to the 2020 elections.

Most Democrats oppose capital punishment. Vice-President Joe Biden this week shifted to call for the elimination of the federal death penalty after years of supporting it.

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House passes bipartisan budget bill with Trump support

WASHINGTON (AP) — Observing a rare cease-fire in their battles with President Donald Trump, the Democratic-controlled House on Thursday easily passed bipartisan debt and budget legislation to permit the Treasury to issue bonds to pay the government’s bills and lock in place recent budget gains for both the Pentagon and domestic agencies.

The measure, passed by a 284-149 vote, would head off another politically dangerous government shutdown and add a measure of stability to action this fall on a $1.37 trillion slate of annual appropriations bills. The Senate is scheduled to approve the bill next week.

The hard-won agreement between the administration and Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lifts the limit on the government’s $22 trillion debt for two years and averts the risk of the Pentagon and domestic agencies from being hit with $125 billion in automatic spending cuts that are all that’s left of a failed 2011 budget pact. It is a welcome detente for lawmakers seeking to avoid political and economic turmoil over the possibility of a government shutdown or first federal default.

Trump took to Twitter to give the legislation his strongest endorsement yet: “House Republicans should support the TWO YEAR BUDGET AGREEMENT which greatly helps our Military and our Vets.” He added in a note of encouragement, “I am totally with you!”

Democrats rallied behind the legislation, which protects domestic programs some of them have fought to protect for decades through extended stretches of GOP control of Congress. Pelosi held the vote open to make sure the tally of Democratic votes topped the 218 required to pass the measure with Democratic support alone, a demonstration of strength.

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Remains ID’d as those of Colorado girl missing 34 years

GREELEY, Colo. (AP) — The disappearance of 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews shortly after singing “Jingle Bells” with classmates at a 1984 Christmas concert stunned this rural town in northern Colorado. Her case attracted the attention of the White House, and came at a time when the faces of missing children across the nation were being placed on milk cartons.

On Thursday, police announced that human remains found by construction workers earlier this week were that of the little girl who would have been 47 now, answering one question that has haunted police and others for decades but reigniting a gnawing mystery of what exactly led to her demise.

Jonelle, a member of the Franklin Middle School Honor Choir, stood on a garland-adorned staircase during the concert, sporting short, thick dark hair and smiling slightly, perhaps shyly. She was a 7th grader, active at the Sunny View Church of the Nazarene.

After the concert, Jonelle was taken home by a friend and the friend’s father.

She was last seen at 8 p.m. on Dec. 20, entering her family’s simple ranch-style home with a detached garage, the front yard blanketed by snow. No one was ever arrested. Jonelle lived with her father, Jim, her mother, Gloria, and a sister, Jennifer.

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Police: Man killed father, brother, wounded mother in LA

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A man fatally shot his father, brother and two other people Thursday during a 12-hour rampage across Los Angeles’ sprawling San Fernando Valley, eluding a manhunt until he was arrested after gunning down a bus passenger, authorities said.

Police said they did not know what motivated Gerry Dean Zaragoza to launch the attacks in neighbourhoods dotting the vast, largely suburban valley that is home to nearly 2 million Los Angeles residents.

“It is obviously an individual that went on a violent spree,” police Capt. William Hayes said. “We knew he was a danger to the community.”

Police said Zaragoza, 26, killed his father and brother and wounded his mother at an apartment complex in Canoga Park, a modest neighbourhood in a southwest section of the valley.

From there, he travelled several miles to North Hollywood, where he gunned down two people, police said. A woman believed to be an acquaintance of Zaragoza was killed and a man was critically wounded.

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Trump calls drenching of NYPD officers ‘unacceptable’

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump added his voice Thursday to the chorus of people upset about videos showing New York police officers getting drenched with buckets of water during a heat wave.

“What took place in NYC with water being tossed on NYPD officers was a total disgrace,” Trump tweeted. “What took place was completely unacceptable, and will not be tolerated.”

He called on Mayor Bill de Blasio to “act immediately,” though he didn’t say what action he believed the mayor should take.

Trump made his comments a day after police made a round of arrests in connection with the dousings, which involved police getting soaked after responding to unruly neighbourhood water fights during a recent spate of hot weather.

One video showed two officers ignoring people jubilantly throwing buckets of water on them on a Brooklyn sidewalk, casually walking away as their uniforms got soaked.

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Puerto Ricans savour governor’s resignation, chart new course

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — After weeks of flag-waving, cowbell-clanging protests in the streets, Puerto Ricans on Thursday celebrated the resignation of Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, even as they debated where the movement should go from here and how to root out the corruption and other chronic problems that fueled the unrest.

Some protesters immediately set their sights next on driving out Rosselló’s designated successor as governor, Justice Secretary Wanda Vázquez.

The governor’s unprecedented resignation, which came at nearly midnight on Wednesday after a series of huge demonstrations, was a big victory for the tens of thousands who took to the streets. To some, it seemed to open an endless array of possibilities on this U.S. island territory of 3.2 million people.

“It’s a new world,” said political expert Mario Negrón Portillo. “This can bring about change and consequences that we’ve never seen before.”

Rosselló was driven from office after a leak of vulgar and offensive chat messages between him and his close aides infuriated Puerto Ricans already tired of deep-seated corruption and mismanagement that have sent the island into a 13-year recession, a $70 billion debt crisis and the equivalent of bankruptcy.

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Juul exec: Never intended electronic cigarette for teens

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top executive for Juul Labs said that his company never intended its electronic cigarettes to be adopted by underage teenagers, as House lawmakers on Thursday accused the company of fueling the vaping craze among high schoolers.

Co-founder James Monsees testified that Juul developed its blockbuster vaping device and flavour pods for adult smokers who want to stop. He acknowledged statistics showing “a significant number of underage Americans are using e-cigarettes, including Juul products.”

“Juul Labs isn’t big tobacco,” Monsees told members of a House subcommittee, adding that “combating underage use” is the company’s highest priority.

Thursday’s hearing marks the first time Juul has been called before Congress, despite growing scrutiny from parents, politicians and public health advocates. Federal law bans the sale of e-cigarettes to those under 18.

Drawing from some 180,000 documents collected from the company, House Democrats peppered Monsees with questions about the early ads and marketing that they contend led to the current wave of underage vaping by U.S. teens.