Laguna Nigel, Jun 8 (AP/UNB) — Southern California's San Onofre nuclear power plant was permanently closed in 2013, but the site remains home to 3.5 million pounds (1.59 million kilograms) of nuclear waste that has nowhere else to go.

Members of a House subcommittee held a hearing Friday not far from the defunct plant to highlight the urgency behind efforts to build a long-term national repository for used radioactive fuel, a proposal that has languished for decades in Washington.

"The federal government has failed, and continues to fail, to find a solution to our country's nuclear waste problem," said Rep. Harley Rouda, a Democrat whose district is up the coast from the seaside San Onofre plant.

Even if a bipartisan agreement is reached soon, development of a site would be at least a decade away, he said. In the meantime, 8.4 million residents live within 50 miles (about 80 kilometers) of the plant, which is within sight of a busy freeway and in a region crossed by earthquake faults.

Nationally, one in three Americans lives within 50 miles of nuclear waste, Rouda said. The nation does "not have any more time to waste" to find a solution, he said, citing potential safety risks.

Development of a proposed long-term storage site at Nevada's Yucca Mountain was halted during the Obama administration, although the Trump administration has moved to restart the licensing process while the plan continues to face stiff resistance in Nevada. Meanwhile, proposals in New Mexico and Texas for temporary storage sites are also facing criticism. On Friday, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said she's opposed to plans to build the facility in her state.

Building a long-term storage site would lead to another question: How would the radioactive waste get there from nuclear power plants?

"There is not consensus about health and safety standards, including whether commercial spent fuel is safe where it is," said Don Hancock of the Southwest Research and Information Center, a nonprofit watchdog group. "If it is safe where it is, why move it? If it's not safe where it is, how can it be safe to transport through many other communities?"

During the hearing, Democratic Rep. Mike Levin, whose 49th District includes the plant site, urged federal regulators to increase oversight at San Onofre, which received approval in 2015 to move tons of highly radioactive fuel from storage pools into steel canisters sheathed by concrete.

Those transfers were halted about a year ago after a 50-ton canister of spent fuel was left hanging and at risk of being dropped rather than lowered 18 feet (5.5 meters) into a storage vault. Federal regulators later fined plant operator Southern California Edison $116,000.

Levin has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to appoint a full-time inspector at the plant, which is no longer producing power. NRC Administrator Scott Morris told the panel it would take a change in policy by the commission.

The NRC has given Edison permission to resume transferring canisters filled with nuclear waste to the separate storage site. But the commission announced this month it will conduct surprise inspections at the plant to help make sure it's running smoothly.

Edison said in a statement that it strongly encourages action by Congress, but warned that "misrepresenting the science and potential consequences of spent nuclear fuel makes the challenge of finding a ... location for storage more difficult."

"The federal government must honor its decades-long obligation to create a permanent repository and begin the process of relocating spent nuclear fuel from reactor sites throughout the country," the company said.

San Onofre was shut down in January 2012 after a small radiation leak led to the discovery of extensive damage to hundreds of tubes inside the virtually new generators.

The plant never produced electricity again. Edison closed San Onofre for good in 2013 amid a fight with environmentalists over whether the plant was too damaged to restart safely.

Washington, Jun 8 (AP/UNB)  — President Donald Trump announced late Friday that he had suspended plans to impose tariffs on Mexico, tweeting that the country "has agreed to take strong measures" to stem the flow of Central American migrants into the United States. But the deal the sides agreed to falls short of some of the dramatic overhauls the U.S. had pushed for.

A "U.S.-Mexico Joint Declaration" released by the State Department said the U.S. "will immediately expand the implementation" of a program that returns asylum-seekers who cross the southern border to Mexico while their claims are adjudicated. Mexico will "offer jobs, healthcare and education" to those people, the agreement stated.

Mexico has also agreed, it said, to take "unprecedented steps to increase enforcement to curb irregular migration," including the deployment of the Mexican National Guard throughout the country, especially on its southern border with Guatemala. And Mexico is taking "decisive action to dismantle human smuggling and trafficking organizations as well as their illicit financial and transportation networks," the State Department said.

The U.S. announced in December that it would make some asylum seekers wait in Mexico while their cases were being proceeded — a begrudging agreement with Mexico that has taken months to scale and that has been plagued with glitches, including wrong court dates, travel problems and issues with lawyers reaching their clients.

Homeland Security officials have been ramping up slowly, and were already working to spread the program along the border before the latest blowup. About 10,000 people have been returned to Mexico to wait out the processing of their immigration cases since the program began Jan. 29. More than 100,000 migrants are currently crossing the U.S. border each month, but not everyone claims asylum and migrants can wait an entire year before making a claim.

Any sizable increase may also be difficult to achieve. At the San Ysidro crossing alone, Mexico had been prepared to accept up to 120 asylum seekers per week, but for the first six weeks only 40 people per week were returned.

Trump's had announced the tariff plan last week, declaring in a tweet that, on June 10, the U.S. would "impose a 5% Tariff on all goods coming into our Country from Mexico, until such time as illegal migrants coming through Mexico, and into our Country, STOP." U.S. officials had laid out steps Mexico could take to prevent the tariffs, but many had doubts that even those steps would be enough to satisfy Trump on illegal immigration, a signature issue of his presidency and one that he sees as crucial to his 2020 re-election campaign.

After returning from Europe Friday, though, Trump tweeted, "I am pleased to inform you that The United States of America has reached a signed agreement with Mexico." He wrote that the "Tariffs scheduled to be implemented by the U.S. on Monday, against Mexico, are hereby indefinitely suspended."

He said Mexico has agreed to work to "stem the tide of Migration through Mexico, and to our Southern Border" and said those steps would "greatly reduce, or eliminate, Illegal Immigration coming from Mexico and into the United States."

The reversal marked a change in tone from earlier Friday, when his spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters in Ireland before Trump took off: "Our position has not changed. The tariffs are going forward as of Monday." Trump has often said unpredictability helps him negotiate.

The 5% tax on all Mexican goods , which would increase every month up to 25% under Trump's plan, would have had enormous economic implications for both countries. Americans bought $378 billion worth of Mexican imports last year, led by cars and auto parts. Many members of Trump's Republican Party and business allies had urged him to reconsider — or at least postpone actually implementing the tariffs as talks continue — citing the potential harm to American consumers and manufactures.

From the moment Trump announced the tariff threat, observers wondered whether he would pull the trigger, noting his habit of creating problems and then claiming credit when he rushes in to solve them.

In late March, Trump threatened to shut the entire U.S.-Mexico border if Mexico didn't immediately halt illegal immigration. Just a few days later, he backed off that threat, saying he was pleased with steps Mexico had taken. It was unclear, however, what — if anything — Mexico had changed.

U.S. and Mexican officials met for more than 10 hours Friday during a third day of talks at the U.S. State Department trying to hash out a deal that would satisfy Trump's demand that Mexico dramatically increase its efforts to crack down on migrants.

The talks were said to be focused, in part, on attempting to reach a compromise on changes that would make it harder for migrants who pass through Mexico from other countries to claim asylum in the U.S., those monitoring the situation said. Mexico has opposed such a change but appeared open to considering a potential compromise that could include exceptions or waivers for different types of cases. The joint declaration, however makes no mention of the issue.

Leaving the State Department Friday night, Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said he thought the deal struck "a fair balance" because the U.S. "had more drastic proposals and measures at the start."

Earlier, Ebrard tweeted, "Thanks to all the people who have supported us by realizing the greatness of Mexico."

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador also tweeted. "Thanks to the support of all Mexicans, the imposition of tariffs on Mexican products exported to the USA has been avoided," he said, calling for a gathering to celebrate in Tijuana Saturday.

Trump in recent months has embraced tariffs as a political tool he can use to force countries to comply with his demands — in this case on his signature issue of immigration. Beyond Trump and several White House advisers, though, few in his administration had believed the tariffs were a good idea, according to officials familiar with internal deliberations. Those people had worried about the negative economic consequences for Americans and argued that tariffs — which would likely spark retaliatory taxes on U.S. exports — would also hurt the administration politically.

Republicans in Congress had also warned the White House that they were ready to stand up to the president to try to block his tariffs, which they worried would spike costs to U.S. consumers, harm the economy and imperil a major pending U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal .

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., greeted Friday night's news with sarcasm. "This is an historic night!" he tweeted. "Now that that problem is solved, I'm sure we won't be hearing any more about it in the future."

New York, Jun 8 (AP/UNB) — A New York City man accused of planning a terrorist attack on Times Square is being held without bail.

Ashiqul Alam was arraigned Friday on charges he bought illegal guns from an undercover agent to move the plot forward.

Federal prosecutors said in court that the 22-year-old is a flight risk and a danger to the community.

Alam moved to the U.S. from Bangladesh 12 years ago and is a legal permanent resident.

In court papers, prosecutors said he spoke about terrorist organizations including ISIS during months of conversations with the agent and "repeatedly expressed interest in purchasing firearms and explosives for a terrorist attack in the New York City area."

According to court papers, Alam and the agent made a trip to Times Square to record video of the area.

His lawyer, James Darrow, declined comment.

Federal prosecutors have charged a New York City man with buying illegal guns from an undercover agent as part of a planned terrorist attack on Times Square.

Prosecutors said in court papers made public Friday that 22-year-old Ashiqul Alam spoke about terrorist organizations including ISIS during months of conversations with the agent.

They said he "repeatedly expressed interest in purchasing firearms and explosives for a terrorist attack in the New York City area."

Alam is in federal custody awaiting arraignment. Alam's lawyer, James Darrow, declined comment.

Prosecutors say he was nabbed in a sting in which the undercover officer sold him a pair of semiautomatic pistols with obliterated serial numbers.

According to court papers, Alam and the undercover agent made a trip to Times Square in January and recorded video of the area.

Federal prosecutors have charged a New York City man with buying illegal guns from an undercover agent as part of a planned terrorist attack on Times Square.

Prosecutors said in court papers made public Friday that 22-year-old Ashiqul Alam spoke about terrorist organizations including ISIS during months of conversations with the agent.

They said he "repeatedly expressed interest in purchasing firearms and explosives for a terrorist attack in the New York City area."

Alam is in federal custody awaiting arraignment. It was unclear whether he had a lawyer.

Prosecutors say he was nabbed in a sting in which the undercover officer sold him a pair of semiautomatic pistols with obliterated serial numbers.

According to court papers, Alam and the undercover agent made a trip to Times Square in January and recorded video of the area.

Authorities have arrested a New York man who talked about wanting to throw a grenade in Times Square.

Two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press the man was placed under investigation over the comments, and then arrested late Thursday after trying to buy a weapon.

He's facing weapons-related charges.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the charges hadn't been made public yet.

They called the man's statements "aspirational" and never reached a stage that endangered the public.

The man is expected to be arraigned Friday at a federal court in Brooklyn Friday.

Times Square has been a target of attacks before. An Islamic militant tried to detonate a car bomb there in 2010.

In 2017, a man detonated a bomb in a tunnel linking the square to a bus terminal.

Baghdad, June 7 (AP/UNB) — International investigators believe last month's attacks on oil tankers in a United Arab Emirates port were led by a foreign state using divers on speed boats who planted mines on the vessels.

They did not name Iran, which the U.S. has blamed for the attacks.

That's what United Nations ambassadors from the Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Norway told a closed meeting with U.N. Security Council members on Thursday.

Four tankers from those countries were hit on May 12 off the Emirati coast.

U.S. national security adviser John Bolton has said Iran is responsible for the attacks. On Thursday, the Saudi ambassador to the U.N., Abdallah Al-Mouallimi (ab-DAH'-lah al-mooah-LEEH'-meeh), speaking only for his country, said Saudi Arabia also blames Iran for the sabotage.

Scientific and naval experts conducted the probe, analyzing tanker debris, radar data and the precisely placed explosive charges.

The top commander of U.S. forces in the Mideast says Iran appears to have decided to "step back and recalculate" in response to a U.S. military buildup in the Persian Gulf area.

Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie says it's too early to conclude Iran has abandoned plans for potential attacks against American interests that prompted the buildup last month.

McKenzie told reporters Thursday that he is assessing Iran's stance. He says he would not rule out requesting more forces to bolster American defenses.

McKenzie said Iran and its proxies posed what he called an "advanced and imminent" threat to U.S. forces when he asked on May 5 for authority to accelerate the deployment of an aircraft carrier and send four strategic bombers to the Gulf area.

London, June 5 (AP/UNB) — Making nice at the end, President Donald Trump eased up Tuesday on his frequent criticisms of outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May over her handling of the tortured Brexit deal, declaring that history will remember her fondly if the United Kingdom can successfully leave the European Union.

The latest chapter in the allies' storied "special relationship" played out as anti-Trump protesters — with the infamous Trump baby balloon bobbing overhead — thronged the streets of nearby central London.

The president's unexpected compliments for May come just days before she was set to resign the leadership of her party after failing to secure a Brexit deal. She will depart as prime minister once her successor has been chosen.

"I have greatly enjoyed working with you. You are a tremendous professional and a person who loves her country very much," Trump told May at a news conference near the prime minister's Downing Street office. But he couldn't resist a slight dig, evoking the two years of broadsides he had lobbed at her by recalling that he had urged her to sue the EU rather than try to negotiate a departure.

Trump said he would have "sued and settled, maybe, but you never know. She's probably a better negotiator than I am." And he added that the deal May came away with was a good one and "perhaps you won't be given the credit you deserve."

May voiced hope her successor will be able to achieve Brexit.

"I still believe —I personally believe— that it is in the best interest of the U.K. to leave the European Union with a deal. I believe there is a good deal on the table," she said. "Obviously, it will be whoever succeeds me as prime minister to take this issue forward. What is paramount, I believe, is delivering on Brexit for the British people."

Earlier in the day, Trump jokingly suggested that May "stick around" until a new U.S.-U.K. trade deal was brokered. May and her aides chuckled at that.

Trump said Britain and the U.S. would be able to strike a "phenomenal trade deal" once the U.K. had left the EU — music to the ears of pro-Brexit Britons. But, in words sure to alarm those in Britain concerned about Brexit, he said that "everything"— including the National Health Service — would be "on the table" in future trade negotiations. In a later interview that will air Wednesday on ITV's "Good Morning Britain," Trump appeared to back away from that idea, saying he didn't envision the health service being part of the talks, adding, "That's not trade."

Most Britons are protective of the state-run NHS, which delivers free health care to all, and many worry that private U.S. health care firms could try to gain access to chunks of it as a condition of a trade deal.

On a separate issue, Trump said he anticipated "no limitations" on the future sharing of intelligence with the U.K. as the U.S. continues to press its longtime ally to ban Chinese company Huawei amid espionage and trade concerns.

Traditionally, U.S. presidents avoid injecting themselves into the domestic politics of other nations. But Trump didn't hold back — right after claiming that he would not comment on Britain's internal matters.

He renewed his praise of Conservative lawmaker Boris Johnson, who is campaigning to replace May as Conservative leader, and of another contender, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. He said he'd turned down a requested meeting from Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and took new swipes at one of his most vocal critics, London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Afterward, Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage and Trump met at the U.S. ambassador's residence, with Farage tweeting that they'd had a "good meeting."

Trump previously had voiced support for a "hard Brexit," which could have a devastating impact on the U.K. economy, according to many experts. That stands in contrast to a previous White House position that the departure should be as painless as possible. Others in the U.K. are pressing for a second referendum that could keep Britain in the EU.

As the pageantry of Trump's British state visit gave way to politics, an economic meeting between the leaders at St. James's Palace brought together 10 leading companies — five from the U.K. and five from the United States. CEOs and senior representatives from BAE Systems, GlaxoSmithKline, National Grid, Barclays, Reckitt Benckiser, JP Morgan, Lockheed Martin, Goldman Sachs International, Bechtel and Splunk were listed as attending.

While the corporate leaders gathered, protesters began to assemble across London. Leaders of Britain's main opposition party joined demonstrators at a rally in Trafalgar Square, just up the street from May's Downing Street office. Also in Trafalgar Square: a 16-foot robotic likeness of Trump seated on a golden toilet.

Trump glossed over the protests, saying he saw "thousands of people in the streets cheering" and waving U.S. and U.K. flags, but just a "very, very small" group of protesters. "There was great love," he said.

Trump and first lady Melania Trump later toured the Churchill War Rooms, the British government's underground command center during World War II. Then it was time for a fancy reciprocal dinner that the Trumps hosted at the U.S. ambassador's residence for Prince Charles, his wife, Camilla, and other dignitaries.

On the menu: heritage tomatoes with burrata, grilled filet of beef and vanilla ice cream with summer berries.

A day earlier, Trump had lunch with Queen Elizabeth II and tea with Prince Charles before a grand state dinner at Buckingham Palace.