Tuesday morning news: November 27, 2018

President Trump again vows to prevent migrants from illegally entering country » President Trump told Mexico to deport caravan migrants and threatened to close the southern border Monday. That after protesters tried to cross into the U.S. one day earlier.

The president, standing next to his Marine One helicopter, told reporters…

TRUMP: Well Mexico wants to see if they can get it straightened out. But we’ve during certain times, as you know, closed the border. They’re not coming into the United States. They will not be coming into our country. 

Thousands of Central American migrants are waiting to apply for asylum in Tijuana, Mexico, where a group of protesters rushed a checkpoint on Sunday. Border patrol agents fired tear gas and rubber bullets to repel them.

U.S. Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost defended the use of force.

PROVOST: Our agents were being assaulted. A large group rushed the area and they were throwing rocks and bottles at my men and women, putting them in harm’s way, as well as other members of the caravan. 

Border Patrol temporarily shut down the San Ysidro crossing on Sunday. It had been processing about 100 asylum claims a day.

The incoming Mexican interior minister said his country will not allow asylum seekers to wait there while their cases are decided. Mexican authorities said they have deported 11,000 Central American migrants since Oct. 19. About 1,900 of those were members of caravans.

GM to slash workforce » General Motors announced Monday plans to lay off up to 14,000 factory and white-collar workers in North America and possibly close five plants.

Some workers are taking buyouts, others will be laid off.

One of the affected plants is in Lordstown, Ohio. President Trump said Monday that he’s spoken with General Motors chief Mary Barra about the move and told her he’s not happy.

TRUMP: I said, you know, this country’s done a lot for General Motors. You better get back in there soon. That’s Ohio, and you better get back in there soon. So we have a lot of pressure on them. You have senators, you have a lot of other people, you have pressure. 

Barra told reporters the move was a response to shifts in the auto industry, which is moving toward electric propulsion, autonomous vehicles, and ride-sharing.

Some U.S. factory workers could transfer to truck or SUV factories that are increasing production.

Jury selection begins in Charlottesville trial » Jury selection is underway in the trial of the man accused of driving his car into a crowd outside a white nationalist rally last year. WORLD Radio’s Sarah Schweinsberg reports.

SARAH SCHWEINSBERG, REPORTER: James Alex Fields Jr. is the Ohio man accused of plowing into a crowd of counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia. 32-year-old Heather Heyer died and dozens more were injured after being struck by the car.

Fields’ attorney John Hill told a group of prospective jurors Monday the jury will hear evidence that Fields “thought he was acting in self-defense.” Hill asked if any of the prospective jurors believe using violence in self-defense is never appropriate.

Fields is charged with several crimes, including felony hit and run, first-degree murder and multiple counts of federal hate crimes.

Reporting for WORLD Radio, I’m Sarah Schweinsberg.

Ukraine declares martial law amid naval standoff with Russia » Ukraine’s parliament voted Monday to impose martial law in parts of the country to fight what its president called “growing aggression” from Moscow. That followed a naval confrontation over the weekend near the disputed Crimean Peninsula. Russia fired on and seized three Ukranian vessels amid renewed tensions between the neighbors.

Russia blamed Ukraine for the incident, saying the ships passed unauthorized through the Kerch Strait, which separates the Crimean Peninsula from Russia.

But U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said Russia was clearly the aggressor.

HALEY: In the name of international peace and security, Russia must immediately cease its unlawful conduct and respect the international rights and freedoms of all states. 

Russia has since blocked the strait, the only way into the Sea of Azov, with a tanker ship. Dozens of cargo ships awaiting passage are stuck, and a long-term closure would amount to an economic blockade of Ukrainian cities on the Azov coast.

US Soldier killed in Afghanistan » The Pentagon has confirmed that 25-year-old U.S. Army Ranger Sergeant Leandro A.S. Jasso died Saturday during combat operations in Afghanistan.

Defense officials say he sustained injuries during a battle with al-Qaeda fighters in a remote southwest region.

Jasso was evacuated to a hospital in neighboring Helmand province, where he died. He is the 10th U.S. service member killed this year in Afghanistan.

The Leavenworth, Washington native enlisted in 2012 and was a soldier in the Army’s elite 75th Ranger Regiment. It was his third deployment to Afghanistan.

NASA InSight spacecraft lands on Mars » A NASA spacecraft designed to burrow beneath the surface of Mars landed on the red planet Monday. It was the end of a six-month, 300-million-mile journey for the InSight spacecraft which included a perilous descent into the planet’s atmosphere.

The mood was tense inside NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California as flight controllers waited for confirmation of a safe landing. Then they heard the two words they were waiting for…

AUDIO: Touchdown confirmed! (cheers)

It’s the first NASA landing on Mars since the Curiosity rover in 2012.

InSight is a $1 billion international venture. It’s designed to burrow 16 feet below the surface to learn more about the planet and its origins. No previous lander has dug deeper than several inches below the planet’s surface.

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) President President Donald Trump walks to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, Nov. 26, 2018, for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., and then on to Mississippi for rallies. 

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