USA

Washington, Nov 25 (AFP/PTI) The US defense secretary Monday defended the decision to sack his navy secretary, saying he went behind his back to make a deal with the White House over a convicted Navy SEAL's future.

Mark Esper told reporters Richard Spencer, the Navy's top civilian, admitted he had gone around Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah here on Monday over Yemen and regional issues.

Pompeo and his Omani counterpart discussed the recent agreement between the government and Southern Transition Council (STC) of Yemen, which was facilitated by Saudi Arabia, U.S. State Department said in a statement.

They agreed that only a political solution would bring an end to the conflict and ensure peace, prosperity and security in Yemen, according to the statement.

BALTIMORE (AP) — Three men incarcerated for 36 years in Maryland were exonerated Monday in the slaying of a Baltimore teenager after a review of their case.

Alfred Chestnut, Ransom Watkins and Andrew Stewart were released from custody hours after a judge cleared their convictions and prosecutors dropped the charges. They were teenagers when they were sentenced to life in prison in 1984.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A former San Francisco Bay Area tour operator agreed Monday to plead guilty to serving as an unregistered agent for China in exchange for a possible reduced prison sentence.

Xuehua Edward Peng agreed in court to a four-year prison term and a fine of $30,000 in a plea deal negotiated with prosecutors after they charged him with being an illegal foreign agent who delivered U.S. national security information to officials in China.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a 21-year-old man has pleaded guilty to sending false shooting and bomb threats to schools in the U.S. and Britain.

The Department of Justice says Timothy Vaughn of Winston-Salem, North Carolina was a member of the Apophis Squad, a collective of hackers intent on using the internet to sow chaos.

Prosecutors say Vaughn, who used the online handle “WantedbyFeds,” entered guilty pleas Monday to multiple counts including conspiring to make threats and possession of child pornography.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Mark Esper declared Monday that President Donald Trump ordered him to stop a disciplinary review of a Navy SEAL accused of battlefield misconduct, an intervention that raised questions about America’s commitment to international standards for battlefield ethics.

Esper’s comments are the latest twist in the case of Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, which led to a conflict between Trump and armed services leaders over military discipline. The dispute peaked over the weekend with the firing of Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer.

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — New presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg traveled to the city that hosts the world’s largest Navy base on Monday and blasted President Donald Trump over the recent ouster of the nation’s Navy secretary.

For the first stop of his Democratic campaign, Bloomberg went to Norfolk, where he criticized Trump over the firing of Richard Spencer. The civilian leader of the Navy said he could not in good conscience follow an order by the president to allow a Navy SEAL accused of war crimes to retire without losing his SEAL status.

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama district attorney said Monday that authorities have “good reason” to believe human remains found in a wooded area belong to the missing stepdaughter of a UFC heavyweight fighter.

The remains were found on a county road in neighboring Macon County, Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes told The Associated Press.

“I can confirm that human remains have been found in Macon County on County Road 2 and we have good reason to believe they are that of Aniah Blanchard,” Hughes said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The witnesses have spoken, the politics are largely settled. Now impeachment investigators will make the case for public opinion.

On Monday, hundreds of pages from Democratic Chairman Adam Schiff’s intelligence committee were being compiled into an exhaustive report that will begin to outline whether President Donald Trump engaged in “treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors” by withholding $400 million in aid as he pushed Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden. The report may come as soon as next week.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s intervention in the case of a Navy SEAL is raising questions about the president’s role in military justice.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper says Trump ordered him to stop a disciplinary review for Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher. He was acquitted of murder in the stabbing death of a captive in Iraq but convicted of posing with the corpse.

Trump previously restored Gallagher’s rank, which had been reduced in his military jury conviction.