Tuesday morning news: October 22, 2019

U.S. troops leaving northern Syria but aren’t heading home » U.S. troops leaving northern Syria aren’t heading home just yet. 

Most of the 1,000 soldiers pulled from the region are crossing the border into Iraq—remaining nearby in case they’re needed to combat ISIS fighters. 

And Defense Secretary Mark Esper says about 200 soldiers could remain in northeastern Syria near critical oil fields… 

ESPER: A purpose of those forces, working with the SDF, is to deny access to those oil fields by ISIS and others, who may benefit by their revenues that could be earned. 

Esper said that plan has not been finalized. And he added that the troop withdrawal will take weeks, not days. 

On Monday Syrian Kurds threw potatoes and other objects at U.S. military vehicles as they drove through Syria. Many accuse the United States of abandoning them. One man shouted “Like rats, America is running away.”

Ohio counties reach opioid settlement » Three of the nation’s biggest drug distributors and a major drugmaker reached a $260 million settlement with two Ohio counties yesterday. The settlement resolved a dispute over the deadly havoc caused by opioids.

Cuyahoga County Chief Executive Armond Budish celebrated the settlement outside the federal courthouse in Cleveland.

BUDISH: It’s definitely not adequate for all the things that need to be done to fix this problem. But it goes a long way. It gives us hope.

Audio courtesy of Cleveland ABC affiliate WEWS.

Across the country, drug companies are facing more than 2,500 lawsuits brought by state and local governments seeking to hold them accountable for the crisis.

The agreement reached Monday calls for the distributors to pay a combined $215 million. While Israeli-based drugmaker Teva will contribute $20 million in cash and $25 million worth of a drug used to treat opioid addiction.

Chicago teacher’s strike » Chicago teachers lined up to picket outside public schools for a third day on Monday. 

AUDIO: We’re asking for a fair contract! We’re asking for those resources! And if we don’t get it, what are we gonna do? Shut it down!

More than 300,000 students in Chicago are out of class again today. It’s the fourth day without classes and after school activities in the first major teacher walkout since 2012.

Contract talks between the teachers’ union and the school district stalled over the weekend. The union is demanding smaller class sizes and more resources for schools.

Tornado leaves destructive trail through Dallas » Dallas residents are still surveying the destruction from a series of violent tornadoes and thunderstorms.

The storms struck late Sunday night demolishing homes and buildings and leaving behind piles of debris and downed power lines. 

The twisters packed winds topping 140 miles per hour and knocked out power to nearly 100,000 homes.

A Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman said the damage is severe, but they’re counting their blessings.

AUDIO: Considering the path the storm took—it went across a pretty densely populated part of our city—we should consider ourselves very fortunate we didn’t lose any lives, no fatalities, and no serious injuries.

But the storms turned deadly as they moved north and northeast. Three people died in Oklahoma and one in Arkansas.

Netanyahu unable to form majority government in Israel » Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Monday that he has failed to form a majority government in parliament. 

That marks a major setback for the Israeli leader. And it plunges the country into even deeper political uncertainty.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin is now expected to ask Netanyahu’s chief rival Benny Gantz to try his hand at forming a coalition. But he may find the task of glueing together warring factions equally tough. 

Trudeau projected to retain power in Canadian election » Meanwhile in Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal party faced a tough election on Monday in the wake of scandals that dented Trudeau’s approval ratings. 

But when the clock struck midnight on the East Coast, Trudeau was projected to retain power. 

AUDIO: [Sound of election]

His supporters cheered the early returns. However, it appears his Liberal party has lost its majority in Parliament.  

That means Trudeau will likely have to have to reach out to other parties in order to keep control. But he might not create a formal coalition government. His party could instead use a separate process to cooperate with other parties and piece together the 170 votes it needs to maintain power. 

World Series begins tonight » The World Series begins tonight in Houston. The Astros host the Washington Nationals for game one.

The Nationals swept the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Championship Series, but had never won a playoff series until this year. Nats First baseman Ryan Zimmerman…

ZIMMERMAN: You gotta catch some breaks, and I think in the years past, maybe we didn’t catch those breaks. I think we caught some breaks this year, but I think more importantly we took advantage of those breaks.

The Astros were the 2017 World Series champs. Houston shortstop Carlos Correa…  

CORREA: Two out of three years going to the World Series, that’s pretty special. We’ve talked about building a dynasty and we’re on the right path. 

First pitch is just after 8 p.m. Eastern Time tonight.

(Colin Boyle/Chicago Sun-Times via AP) Jennifer Yen, special education teacher at Alexander Graham Bell School, joins the rally as Chicago Public Schools teachers picket, Thursday morning, Oct. 17, 2019, at Lane Tech High School in Chicago. 

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