Friday morning news: October 26, 2018

Investigators on the hunt for source of mysterious packages » Investigators are still on the hunt for the person or people behind a series of package bombs sent to prominent Democrats and liberal activists.

The FBI’s assistant director of the New York field office, William Sweeney, said Thursday…

SWEENEY: We continue to advise the American public to remain vigilant, as it does remain possible further packages have been or could be mailed. 

The FBI linked three more devices to the plot—two addressed to former Vice President Joe Biden and one to actor Robert De Niro—bringing the total to 10.

Investigators told the Associated Press they’re honing in on a postal facility in Opa-locka, Florida, where they believe some of the packages originated.

And former senior FBI profiler Mary Ellen O’Toole told CBS investigators could have numerous clues to work with.

O’TOOLE: With a device like this plus the packaging, there’s the potential for DNA and fingerprints and trace evidence. 

Officials say the devices, containing timers and batteries, were not rigged like booby-trapped package bombs that would explode upon opening. But it’s not clear whether the devices were poorly designed or never intended to cause physical harm.

Trump announces plan aimed at lowering drug prices » President Trump has announced a new plan aimed at lowering prices for some prescription drugs. At the White House Thursday the president said current pricing practices are unfair to to Americans.

TRUMP: We’re taking aim at the global freeloading that forces American consumers to subsidize lower prices in foreign countries through higher prices in our country.

Under the new plan, the Department of Health and Human Services says Medicare payments for drugs administered in doctors’ offices would gradually shift to a level based on international prices.

Prices in other countries are often lower because governments directly negotiate with manufacturers.

HHS estimates the plan will save patients and programs like Medicare around $17 billion over five years.

The proposal is structured as an experiment and would apply to half the country. Officials said they’re seeking input on how to select the areas that will take part in the new pricing system.

Trump administration set to deploy troops to border » The Trump administration says it’s planning to send at least 800 active duty troops to the southern border as a caravan of thousands of Central American migrants continues north through Mexico. WORLD Radio’s Sarah Schweinsberg has more.

SARAH SCHWEINSBERG, REPORTER: Defense Secretary James Mattis is expected to sign an order sending the troops to the border, bolstering National Guard forces already there.

President Trump has called the approaching caravan, estimated at 7,000 people strong, a national emergency. The group is slowly making its way by foot into southern Mexico, but remains more than a thousand miles from U.S. soil.

Mexican officials said nearly 1,700 migrants have dropped out of the caravan to apply for asylum in Mexico and a few hundred have accepted government offers to bus them back to their home countries.

Reporting for WORLD Radio, I’m Sarah Schweinsberg.

Saudis admit Khashoggi killing was premeditated » Saudi Arabia is shifting its position on the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi yet again.

The Saudi government said Thursday that the evidence shows Khashoggi’s killing was premeditated. Saudi prosecutors cited Turkish evidence, contradicting a Saudi assertion just days ago that rogue officials killed him by mistake in a fistfight inside their Istanbul consulate.

That earlier assertion, in turn, backtracked an initial statement from Saudi authorities that Khashoggi left the consulate alive.

CIA Director Gina Haspel on Thursday briefed President Trump on evidence about Khashoggi’s death that she reviewed during a trip to Turkey. The White House did not make that information public.  

Russian prison honored by European Union » The European Union on Thursday awarded the 2018 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to a Ukrainian filmmaker imprisoned in Russia. WORLD Radio’s Leigh Jones reports.

LEIGH JONES, NEWS EDITOR: A Russian court found 42-year-old Oleg Sentsov guilty of terrorism charges in 2015 and sentenced him to 20 years in prison. The international community has largely condemned the charges and the sentence as unjust.

Sentsov began a hunger strike in May of this year to protest Russia’s arrest of dozens of Ukrainians. He vowed to continue the strike until they were freed but failing health forced him to abandon the effort earlier this month after 145 days.

In awarding the Sakharov Prize to Sentsov, European Parliament President Antonio Tajani said “Oleg Sentsov has become a symbol of the struggle for the release of political prisoners held in Russia and around the world.”

The EU created the award in 1988 to honor Andrei Sakharov and other human rights defenders. On Tuesday, Sentsov also received Poland’s annual Pro Dignitate Humana prize.

Reporting for WORLD Radio, I’m Leigh Jones

World Series shifts to L.A. » The World Series shifts to the West Coast tonight as the L.A. Dodgers host the Red Sox for Game 3.

It’s been all Red Sox so far, winning the first two games of the best-of-seven series. Boston outfielder Andrew Benintendi says they’ve got their work cut out for them as they head into hostile territory, but…

BENINTENDI: I think we’re a confident team, regardless of where we play. We’ve played in some tough places so far this postseason, and it’ll be a little warmer out there, so that’ll be nice and we’re looking forward to it. 

The Sox and Dodgers will play in Los Angeles tonight, tomorrow and, if necessary, on Sunday. If there is a Game 6, the series will shift back to Boston.

First pitch tonight, a little after 8 p.m. Eastern.

I’m Kent Covington. Straight ahead: Culture Friday with John Stonestreet. This is The World and Everything in It.

(Photo/Associated Press) Police have intercepted suspicious packages addressed to actor Robert De Niro and former Vice President Joe Biden.

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