Terror attack

at synagogue

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — An assailant drove a car into people outside a synagogue in northern England and then began stabbing them, killing two and seriously wounding four on the holiest day of the Jewish year.

Police described Wednesday’s assault as a terrorist attack. Officers shot and killed the suspect outside Manchester, though authorities took some time to confirm he was dead because he was wearing a vest that suggested he had an explosive. Police later said he did not have a bomb.

Authorities said the man believed responsible for the attack was a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent. Three people were arrested on suspicion of acts of terrorism. Police said they were two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s.

Trump declares

cartel conflict

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants and says the United States is now in an “armed conflict.” That’s according to a Trump administration memo obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.

A person familiar with the matter who’s not authorized to comment publicly says Congress was notified about the designation by Pentagon officials Wednesday. The move comes after the U.S. military last month carried out three deadly strikes against alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean. At least two of those operations were carried out on vessels originating from Venezuela.

The top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committees says drug cartels “must be dealt with by law enforcement.”

Putin issues

missile warning

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the United States that supplies of long-range missiles to Ukraine will seriously damage relations between Moscow and Washington but will not change the situation on the battlefield.

At the same time, Putin hailed U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to help negotiate peace in Ukraine and described their August summit in Alaska as productive.

Speaking Thursday at a forum of foreign policy experts in Russia’s southern resort of Sochi, Putin appeared to appeal to Trump and his conservative supporters, hailing Charlie Kirk as a hero assassinated for promoting the same conservative values that Russia shares.