Tuesday morning news: April 24, 2018

Toronto vehicle attack » A deadly attack on pedestrians on a busy Toronto street Monday… 

AUDIO: Ambulance siren

Canadian police say 25-year old Alek Minassian of nearby Richmond Hill, Ontario repeatedly ran down people with a white rental van killing 10 and injuring 15 more. This witness says it was deliberate.

AUDIO: He hit every single person on the sidewalk. Anybody in his way he would hit. I just stopped and I looked and went after it again and all I see is crumbling up, one by one, one by one.

The driver eventually sped off, but police later apprehended him. They say they’re not ruling out terrorism as the motive. 9/33

Waffle House shooter apprehended » Yesterday police apprehended the suspect in a deadly Tennessee shooting, ending a 36-hour manhunt.

A phone tip led detectives to 29-year-old Travis Reinking in a wooded area not far from his apartment. They arrested him without incident.

Nashville Police Lieutenant Carlos Lara said Reinking was armed at the time.

LARA: Once he was in custody, the detectives went, cut off the backpack off of him, because he was in cuffs. When they looked into the backpack, they saw a silver Kimber semi-automatic weapon with .45-caliber ammunition, a flashlight, and a holster.

Police say Reinking, wearing nothing but a jacket, opened fire in a Waffle House with an AR-15 rifle early Sunday, killing four people and wounding four others.

A customer, James Shaw, wrestled the gun from Reinking when he was reloading.

SHAW: I figured if I was going to die, he was going to have to work for it, so I rushed him.

Police are calling Shaw a hero. They have no motive yet for the shooting.

Pompeo committee vote » A squeaker for secretary of state nominee Mike Pompeo, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last night voting 10 to 9 in his favor and sending the nomination on to the Senate floor.

A last minute switch by Republican Senator Rand Paul made the difference. He had earlier said he would vote against Pompeo.

Before the committee vote, Chairman Bob Corker of Tennessee told CNN only politics would have prevented a favorable vote on Pompeo.

CORKER: Under ordinary times, he would be confirmed overwhelmingly. Secretary Clinton had one negative vote when she came through. John Kerry had no negative votes when they [sic] came through committee. He is more qualified probably than either of them.

The vote was almost along party lines— but Democrat Chris Coons of Delaware voted “present.”

The nomination will now advance to the full Senate— where Pompeo appears to have enough support for confirmation.

25 dead in Nicaragua unrest » More than two dozen people are dead following anti-government uprisings in Nicaragua. WORLD Radio’s Kent Covington has details.

AUDIO: Nicaragua protesters

KENT COVINGTON, REPORTER: Protesters and looters in Nicaragua. The death toll now stands at 25 after government security forces reportedly fired live rounds at demonstrators.

One journalist died while making a live report on Facebook.

The violent protests increased over the weekend after the government of socialist President Daniel Ortega announced reforms that required employers and employees to contribute more to pensions. 

Ortega has since rescinded those reforms, but in doing so referred to the protesters as “gangs” and “criminals,” sparking even more unrest.

The UN human rights office has called on Ortega to stop the government’s violent response to protesters.

Reporting for WORLD Radio, I’m Kent Covington.

Macron, Trump discuss Iran differences » French President Emmanuel Macron arrived the White House Monday for the first official state visit since President Trump took office.

The first item on the agenda: the Iran nuclear deal, signed by the U.S., France, and five other countries in 2015. 

Macron says he wants to keep it because there’s nothing better on the horizon, but White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders says her boss wants stronger controls on Iran.

SANDERS: The president has been very clear about how he feels about this deal and some changes that he needs and wants to see reflected that we get something better.

Another point of contention between the two leaders: Trump wants to renegotiate trade deals with Europe.

Trump and Macron do agree on one major point: military action to prevent Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad from using chemical weapons on his own people. France took part in U.S. led airstrikes on Syrian chemical sites two weeks ago.

New Hybels allegations » The elders of Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago are expanding their investigation of alleged sexual impropriety against former pastor Bill Hybels. WORLD Radio’s Kristen Flavin has the story.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: A report Saturday by Christianity Today seems to have sparked the expanded probe. It added to accusations against Hybels of sexual impropriety with women. 

Former Zondervan publisher Maureen Girkins told the magazine Hybels commented on her looks and said she “needed to dress sexy more often.” 

Church member Julia Williams said Hybels stroked her thighs while she used a weight machine at the YMCA. 

In a letter to members Saturday announcing the expanded probe, the elders said they hadn’t held Hybels accountable but would work with him during his “season of reflection.”

Reporting for WORLD Radio— I’m Kristen Flavin.

And I’m Jim Henry. Up next, a conversation with WORLD Senior Editor Mindy Belz on the 103rd anniversary of the Armenian genocide. And later, Cal Thomas on evangelical loyalties. This is The World and Everything in It.

(Aaron Vincent Elkaim/The Canadian Press via AP) Toronto police officers stand near a damaged van after the van mounted a sidewalk crashing into pedestrians in Toronto on Monday, April 23, 2018.

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