AP News in Brief at 12:04 a.m. EST

Trump says no penalty for Saudi prince for Khashoggi murder

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump declared Tuesday he would not further punish Saudi Arabia for the murder of U.S.-based columnist Jamal Khashoggi — making clear in an exclamation-filled statement that the benefits of good relations with the kingdom outweigh the possibility its crown prince ordered the killing.

The president condemned the brutal slaying of Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul as a “horrible crime … that our country does not condone.” But he rejected calls by many in Congress, including members of his own party, for a tougher response, and also dismissed reports from U.S. intelligence agencies that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman must have at least known about such an audacious and intricate plot.

“It could very well be that the crown prince had knowledge of this tragic event,” the president said. “Maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!”

In many ways, the statement captured Trump’s view of the world and foreign policy, grounded in economic necessity. It began with the words “America First!” followed by “The world is a very dangerous place!”

It came after weeks of debate over whether the president would or should come down hard on the Saudis and the crown prince in response to the killing of the Saudi columnist for The Washington Post who had criticized the royal family.

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Trump provides written responses to Mueller questions

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has provided the special counsel with written answers to questions about his knowledge of Russian interference in the 2016 election, his lawyers said Tuesday, avoiding at least for now a potentially risky sit-down with prosecutors. It’s the first time he has directly co-operated with the long investigation.

The step is a milestone in the negotiations between Trump’s attorneys and special counsel Robert Mueller’s team over whether and when the president might sit for an interview.

The compromise outcome, nearly a year in the making, offers some benefit to both sides. Trump at least temporarily averts the threat of an in-person interview, which his lawyers have long resisted, while Mueller secures on-the-record statements whose accuracy the president will be expected to stand by for the duration of the investigation.

The responses may also help stave off a potential subpoena fight over Trump’s testimony if Mueller deems them satisfactory. They represent the first time the president is known to have described to investigators his knowledge of key moments under scrutiny by prosecutors.

But investigators may still press for more information.

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A demand for a ring, an eruption of gunfire and 4 dead

CHICAGO (AP) — Moments before her ex-fiance fatally shot her in the parking lot of the hospital where she worked, a Chicago doctor called 911 to report that she had spotted the man and feared for her life, police said Tuesday.

As investigators tried to piece together the events that ended with the deaths of the doctor, a police officer, a hospital employee and the gunman, they were able to fill in details about the attack Monday at Mercy Hospital on the city’s South Side.

Dr. Tamara O’Neal had recently called off her engagement to Juan Lopez so when she saw him, she called for help. She also told an acquaintance in the parking lot that she was afraid before that person retreated to the hospital to call 911 as well.

When Lopez confronted her, the former couple argued about O’Neal calling off the engagement, and Lopez demanded that she return the engagement ring. Then, police said, people inside and around the hospital heard gunfire.

O’Neal fell to the ground. Witness James Gray looked out of the hospital window to see where the gunshots had come from and watched as Lopez “stood over her and shot her three more times,” he told reporters.

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Americans, Canadians are warned not to eat romaine lettuce

NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials in the U.S. and Canada told people Tuesday to stop eating romaine lettuce because of a new E. coli outbreak.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it is working with officials in Canada on the outbreak, which has sickened 32 people in 11 states and 18 people in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

The strain identified is different than the one linked to romaine earlier this year but appears similar to last year’s outbreak linked to leafy greens.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the agency doesn’t have enough information to ask suppliers for a recall, but he suggested that supermarkets and restaurants should withdraw romaine until the source of the contamination can be identified. People are also being advised to throw out any romaine they have at home.

The contaminated lettuce is likely still on the market, Gottlieb told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

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Renault keeps Ghosn as CEO despite arrest in Japan

TOKYO (AP) — France’s Renault says it has decided to keep its CEO Carlos Ghosn on despite his arrest in Japan on allegations that he misused assets of partner Nissan Motor Co. and misreported his income.

Renault’s board of directors announced late Tuesday that the No. 2 at the company, Chief Operating Officer Thierry Bollore, would temporarily fill in for Ghosn.

“Mr. Ghosn, temporarily incapacitated, remains chairman and chief executive officer,” a statement from Renault’s board said. But while Ghosn deals with his legal issues in Japan, Bollore will have the same authority to run the company as the CEO, it added.

Renault’s board said its decision was made with an eye toward keeping the company on a steady course “to preserve the interests of the group and the continuity of its operations.”

Ghosn runs Renault, Nissan and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance that he helped turn into the world’s biggest car-seller last year, and both France and Japan want to keep it intact.

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2 kids, 2 adults dead in arson fire at mansion

COLTS NECK, N.J. (AP) — Two children and two adults were found dead Tuesday at a burning mansion that was intentionally set ablaze in an upscale community near the New Jersey shore, officials said.

One of the owners of the home is a technology CEO with a relative whose home also caught fire Tuesday, records show. Authorities said they were investigating whether the two blazes were connected.

Three severely burned bodies were found inside the mansion in Colts Neck, and a man’s body was discovered outside, Monmouth County prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said at a news conference.

Officials have not released any identities, and a medical examiner was still investigating how the four people died, Gramiccioni said.

“It’s important to emphasize that we have no reason to believe that anyone in the community is in any danger at this time,” he added.

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US senator apologizes to anyone offended by ‘hanging’ remark

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A white Republican U.S. senator from Mississippi said during a debate with her African-American Democratic opponent Tuesday night that she apologizes to people who were offended when she complimented a supporter by saying she would attend a “public hanging” if the supporter invited her.

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith’s remark was caught on video that was released last week. It has brought widespread criticism both inside and outside Mississippi, a state with a history of racially motivated lynchings.

“For anyone that was offended by my comments, I certainly apologize. There was no ill will, no intent whatsoever in my statement,” Hyde-Smith said Tuesday during a televised debate with Democrat Mike Espy.

The apology was a new approach for Hyde-Smith, who repeatedly refused to answer questions about the hanging comment at a news conference Nov. 12, the day after the publisher of a liberal-leaning news site posted the video on Facebook and Twitter.

The clip shows Hyde-Smith praising a cattle rancher at a Nov. 2 campaign event in Tupelo by saying: “If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row.” Shortly after the video’s release, she said in a statement that the expression was an “exaggerated expression of regard” and said it is “ridiculous” to read any negative connotation into it.

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El Chapo trial witness: Ex-Mexico security chief was bribed

NEW YORK (AP) — Mexico’s former top security chief and another law enforcement official who once worked under the country’s new president-elect took millions of dollars in bribes from the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel in the mid-2000s, a witness testified Tuesday at the U.S. trial of kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

Former cartel member Jesus Zambada made the allegations Tuesday while testifying about what he described as widespread corruption among authorities who were paid to keep their hands off the lucrative and violent drug operation.

During cross-examination, Zambada claimed he personally made at least $6 million in hidden payments to the former federal security chief, Genaro Garcia Luna, on behalf of his older brother, cartel boss Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. The cash was delivered during two meetings at a restaurant in Mexico between the start of 2005 and the end of 2007, he said.

Cartel leaders had agreed that they would pool up to $50 million to buy the protection of Garcia Luna, Jesus Zambada added when being asked about previous statements first made after he was flipped by U.S. authorities.

The witness also said a separate bribe of “a few million dollars” was made in 2005 to Gabriel Regino, who worked in the administration of current President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador when he was mayor of Mexico City.

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Mistrial declared in case of slain NYC runner Karina Vetrano

NEW YORK (AP) — The trial of a man accused of killing a woman who was sexually attacked while running near her family’s New York City home ended in a hung jury late Tuesday.

Judge Michael Aloise in Queens granted a mistrial after the jury sent him a note saying it was split after just a day and a half of deliberations.

“It doesn’t seem like we can make progress. We feel that we have exhausted all of our options,” the jury wrote.

Chanel Lewis, 22, was accused of killing 30-year-old Karina Vetrano as she ran on a park trail in Howard Beach, Queens, in August 2016. Prosecutors said Vetrano had been sexually abused and strangled. Her father discovered the body.

The closely watched case caused fear among women who run alone and baffled investigators, who for months were unable to find anyone who matched DNA that was found under the victim’s fingernails as she fought back. The DNA also was found on her neck and phone.

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Trump says he might attend White House Correspondents Dinner

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is suggesting he might attend next year’s White House Correspondents Dinner now that the event is no longer featuring a comedian.

Trump tweeted Tuesday night: “So-called comedian Michelle Wolf bombed so badly last year at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that this year, for the first time in decades, they will have an author instead of a comedian. Good first step in comeback of a dying evening and tradition! Maybe I will go?”

The White House Correspondents’ Association announced Monday that Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Chernow would address its annual dinner next year following the pushback over Wolf’s sharply anti-Trump performance last time.

Presidents traditionally attend the dinner, but Trump has skipped it for two straight years.

The Associated Press