Houston, Nov 20 (AP/UNB) — A federal judge barred the Trump administration on Monday from refusing asylum to immigrants who cross the southern border illegally.

U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar issued a temporary restraining order after hearing arguments in San Francisco. The request was made by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights, which quickly sued after President Donald Trump issued the ban this month in response to the caravans of migrants that have started to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump issued a proclamation on Nov. 9 that said anyone who crossed the southern border would be ineligible for asylum. The regulations, which will remain in place for three months absent a court order, could potentially make it harder for thousands of people who enter the U.S. to avoid deportation.

"Individuals are entitled to asylum if they cross between ports of entry," said Baher Azmy, a lawyer for the Center for Constitutional Rights. "It couldn't be clearer."

In recent years, tens of thousands of immigrants each year have shown up in the Arizona desert or on the north bank of the Rio Grande in Texas, surrendered to immigration agents and requested asylum. The Department of Homeland Security estimates around 70,000 people a year claim asylum between official ports of entry.

Trump has argued that the recent caravans are a threat to national security.

Around 3,000 people from the first of the caravans have arrived in Tijuana, Mexico, across the border from San Diego, California. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Monday that it closed off northbound traffic for several hours at the San Ysidro crossing. It has also installed movable, wire-topped barriers, apparently to stop a potential mass rush of people.

As of Monday, 107 people detained between official crossings have sought asylum since Trump's order went into effect, according to DHS, which oversees Customs and Border Protection. Officials didn't say whether those people's cases were still progressing through other avenues left to them after the proclamation.

DHS has said it wants asylum seekers at the southern border to appear at an official border crossing. But many border crossings such as San Ysidro already have long wait times. People are often forced to wait in shelters or outdoor camps on the Mexican side, sometimes for weeks.

ACLU lawyer Lee Gelernt said that some people seeking asylum cross between official ports because "they're in real danger," either in their countries of origin or in Mexico.

Washington, Nov 20 (AP/UNB) — President Donald Trump has ignited a firestorm of criticism and charges that he is politicizing the military by faulting a war hero for not capturing al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden sooner.

Trump took shots at retired Adm. William McRaven in a Fox News interview Sunday in which he also asserted that the former Navy SEAL and former commander of U.S. Special Operations Command was a "backer" of Trump's 2016 rival, Hillary Clinton, and supporter of President Barack Obama.

"Disgusting," the George W. Bush administration's White House counterterrorism adviser, Fran Townsend, wrote Monday on Twitter.

Leon Panetta, who was CIA director during the bin Laden raid and later served as secretary of defense, said Trump owed an apology to McRaven and to all of those in the military and intelligence agencies who played a role in tracking down bin Laden and carrying out the risky raid into Pakistan. He called Trump's remark "patently ridiculous."

"It demonstrates a profound lack of understanding of how our military and intelligence agencies operate and undermines the president's own standing as commander-in-chief," Panetta said in a statement.

The controversy follows a pattern of concerns raised by former senior military officers about Trump's grasp of the military's role, including those who assert that his decision to send thousands of active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border shortly before the Nov. 6 midterm elections was a political stunt.

Trump also drew criticism for his decision not to visit Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day last week, following his trip to Europe. He said later he "should have" visited the cemetery but was too busy with official business.

McRaven told CNN he is a fan both of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, having served under them. "I admire all presidents, regardless of their political party, who uphold the dignity of the office and who use that office to bring the nation together in challenging times," he said pointedly.

McRaven previously had drawn widespread attention for lambasting Trump for repeatedly calling the news media the "enemy of the people." McRaven had said the president's words were "the greatest threat to democracy" in his lifetime. When this was raised in the Fox News interview, Trump lashed out at McRaven, who organized and executed the bin Laden raid in Pakistan in May 2011 as head of the secretive Joint Special Operation Command.

"Wouldn't it have been nice if we got Osama bin Laden a lot sooner than that, wouldn't it have been nice?" Trump said.

Asked whether military leaders were not due credit for having killed the al-Qaida leader, Trump said, "They took him down but - look, look, there's news right there, he lived in Pakistan, we're supporting Pakistan, we're giving them $1.3 billion a year, which we don't give them anymore, by the way, I ended it because they don't do anything for us, they don't do a damn thing for us."

Chicago, Nov 20 (AP/UNB)- Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson says the four dead in the shooting at Mercy Hospital include two hospital employees, a Chicago police officer and the suspected gunman.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel says the two hospital employees were a doctor and a pharmacy assistant.

Chicago police superintendent says gunman shot and killed female doctor, with whom he was in a relationship with, in parking lot.

Police exchanged fire with suspect after he entered the hospital. A pharmacy tech, an officer and the suspect were killed. https://t.co/KvKad5iM4C pic.twitter.com/vwdD9JzdMA

— ABC News (@ABC) November 20, 2018

Johnson says the shooting began outside the hospital with a “verbal altercation” in the parking lot between people who knew each other. A friend tried to intervene and the suspected gunman pulled up his shirt and showed a weapon. Gunfire erupted and the shooter ran inside the hospital, where police confronted him.

He says that one of the women killed was in a domestic relationship with the gunman.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office says it has been notified that four people have died in the shooting at Chicago’s Mercy Hospital & Medical Center.

The Chicago Police Department says Monday that one of its officers was shot in the attack and later died at a hospital.

Earlier, witnesses said a gunman repeatedly shot a woman near a parking lot outside the building before entering the hospital and opening fire. Police say. Police say the suspected gunman is dead, but it’s unclear if he took his own life or was killed by police.

Chicago police have secured a hospital following a shooting that left the suspected gunman dead and four others critically wounded.

Mercy Hospital & Medical Center released a statement late Monday afternoon saying police officers have secured the facility and that patients are now safe.

Witnesses say a gunman repeatedly shot a woman near a parking lot outside the building before entering the hospital and opening fire Monday afternoon .

Police say an officer and at least one hospital employee are among the four people critically wounded in the attack. Police say those patients are being treated at other hospitals.

Police say the suspected gunman is dead, but it’s unclear if he took his own life or was killed by police.

Police haven’t released details about the suspected gunman, the victims or a possible motive.

A witness says he saw a gunman repeatedly shoot a woman outside a Chicago hospital before making his way inside and opening fire.

James Gray tells KABC-TV he was inside Mercy Hospital on Monday when the shooting unfolded . He described the scene as “mass chaos.”

Gray says the man was walking with a woman near a parking area when he turned and shot her in the chest multiple times. He says the man then stood over the woman and continued shooting.

Gray says the man then entered the hospital, and “just started shooting at random.”

Chicago police say the suspected gunman was later killed. Police say four people were critically wounded, including a police officer and at least one hospital employee.

Police issued an earlier statement saying there were “reports of multiple victims” after shots were fired near the hospital on Chicago’s South Side.

Police say the suspected gunman is dead and four people are in critical condition following a shooting at a Chicago hospital.

Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says a police officer and at least one hospital employee are among those hospitalized in critical condition following the Monday afternoon shooting at Mercy Hospital.

Guglielmi says the gunman was killed, but it’s unclear if he took his own life or was killed by police.

The department issued a statement earlier on Twitter saying there were “reports of multiple victims” after shots were fired near the hospital on the city’s South Side. Police are asking people to avoid the area.

A spokesman for Mayor Rahm Emanuel says the mayor and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson are monitoring the situation.

Chicago police say an officer has been shot during an active-shooting incident at a hospital on the city’s South Side.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says the officer is in critical condition. He says one “possible offender” has also been shot, and that officers are now searching the hospital.

The department issued a statement on Twitter saying there were “reports of multiple victims” after shots were fired Monday afternoon near Mercy Hospital. Police are asking people to avoid the area. No other details were immediately released.

A message left for hospital officials wasn’t immediately returned.

Television footage shows several people, including some wearing white coats, walking through a parking lot with their arms up.

Chicago police say officers are searching a hospital after a reported shooting and that one “possible offender” has been shot.

The department issued a statement on Twitter saying there are “reports of multiple victims” after shots were fired Monday afternoon near Mercy Hospital on the city’s South Side.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says officers are searching the hospital. He says at least one “possible offender is shot,” but no details were immediately released. Police are asking people to avoid the area.

A message left for hospital officials wasn’t immediately returned.

Television footage shows several people, including some wearing white coats, walking through a parking lot with their arms up.

Chicago police say they are responding to a shooting near a Chicago hospital with “reports of multiple victims.”

A department spokesman issued a statement on Twitter saying officers are responding after shots were fired near Mercy Hospital on the city’s South Side. The department says there are “reports of multiple victims.”

The police department says it didn’t immediately have more details. A message left for hospital officials wasn’t immediately returned.

Chico,  Nov 19 (AP/UNB) — Volunteers in white coveralls, hard hats and masks poked through ash and debris Sunday, searching for the remains of victims of the devastating Northern California wildfire before rains forecast this week complicate their efforts.

While the predicted downpours could help tamp down blazes that have killed 77 people so far, they also could wash away telltale fragments of bone, or turn loose, dry ash into a thick paste that would frustrate the search.

A team of 10 volunteers went from burned house to burned house Sunday in the devastated town of Paradise, accompanied by a cadaver dog with a bell on its collar that jingled in the grim landscape.

The members of the team scrutinized the rubble in five-minute sweeps, using sticks to move aside debris and focused on vehicles, bathtubs and what was left of mattresses. When no remains were found, they spray-painted a large, orange "0'' near the house.

Up to 400 people were involved in the overall search and recovery effort. Robert Panak, a volunteer on a different team from Napa County, spent the morning searching homes, but didn't find any remains.

Asked whether the job was tough, the 50-year-old volunteer said, "I just think about the positives, bringing relief to the families, closure."

He said his approach was to try to picture the house before it burned and think where people might have hidden.

Nearly 1,300 names are on a list of people unaccounted for more than a week after the fire began in Butte County, authorities said late Saturday. They stressed that the long roster does not mean they believe all those on the list are missing.

Sheriff Kory Honea pleaded with evacuees to review the list of those reported as unreachable by family and friends and to call the department if those people are known to be safe.

Deputies have located hundreds of people to date, but the overall number keeps growing because they are adding more names, including those from the chaotic early hours of the disaster, Honea said.

"As much as I wish that we could get through all of this before the rains come, I don't know if that's possible," he said.

Honea said it was within the "realm of possibility" that officials would never know the exact death toll from the blaze.

On Sunday afternoon, more than 50 people gathered at a memorial for the victims at First Christian Church in Chico, where a banner on the altar read, "We will rise from the ashes."

People hugged and shed tears as Pastor Jesse Kearns recited a prayer for first responders: "We ask for continued strength as they are growing weary right now."

Hundreds of search and recovery personnel are involved in the effort, going to homes when they receive tips that someone might have died there.

But they are also doing a more comprehensive, "door-to-door" and "car-to-car" search of areas, said Joe Moses, a commander with the Monterey County Sheriff's Office, who is helping oversee the search and rescue effort.

The search area is huge, Moses said, with many structures that need to be checked.

The fire also burned many places to the ground, creating a landscape unique to many search-and- rescue personnel, he said.

"Here we're looking for very small parts and pieces, and so we have to be very diligent and systematic in how we do your searches," he said Friday.

The remains of five more people were found Saturday, including four in Paradise and one in nearby Concow, bringing the number of dead to 77.

Among them was Lolene Rios, 56, whose son, Jed, tearfully told KXTV in Sacramento that his mother had an "endless amount of love" for him.

President Donald Trump toured the area Saturday, joined by California's outgoing and incoming governors, both Democrats who have traded sharp barbs with the Republican administration. Trump also visited Southern California, where firefighters were making progress on a wildfire that tore through communities west of Los Angeles from Thousand Oaks to Malibu, killing three people.

"We've never seen anything like this in California; we've never seen anything like this yet. It's like total devastation," Trump said as he stood amid the ruins of Paradise and pledged the full support of the federal government.

Soon after the fire began, Trump blamed state officials for poor forest management and threatened to cut off federal funding.

"He's got our back," outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation."

"There have been some back and forth between California leaders and the president," Brown said. "But in the face of tragedy, people tend to rise above some of their lesser propensities. So I think we're on a good path."

He also suggested California's severe wildfires will make believers of even the most ardent climate change skeptics "in less than five years," and that those living near forests might need to build underground shelters to protect them from fires.

Rain was forecast for midweek in the Paradise area. The National Weather Service said the area could get 20 mph (32 kph) sustained winds and 40 mph (64 kph) gusts, which could make it hard for crews to keep making progress against the blaze.

Northern California's Camp Fire has destroyed about 10,500 homes and torched 233 square miles (603 square kilometers). It was 65 percent contained.

Honea expressed hope that Trump's visit would help with recovery, saying the tour by the Republican president and California's Democratic leaders "signals a spirit of cooperation here that ultimately benefit this community and get us on a path toward recovery."

Washington, Nov 19 (AP/UNB)  — President Donald Trump said there is no reason for him to listen to a recording of the "very violent, very vicious" killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which has put him in a diplomatic bind: how to admonish Riyadh for the slaying yet maintain strong ties with a close ally.

Trump, in an interview that aired Sunday, made clear that the audio recording, supplied by the Turkish government, would not affect his response to the Oct. 2 killing of Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post who had been critical of the Saudi royal family.

"It's a suffering tape, it's a terrible tape. I've been fully briefed on it, there's no reason for me to hear it," Trump said in the interview with "Fox News Sunday." ''I know everything that went on in the tape without having to hear it."

On Saturday, Trump said his administration will "be having a very full report over the next two days, probably Monday or Tuesday." He said the report will include "who did it." It was unclear if the report would be made public.

American intelligence agencies have concluded that the crown prince ordered the killing in the Saudi Consulate in Turkey, according to a U.S. official familiar with the assessment. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Others familiar with the case caution that while it's likely the crown prince was involved in the death, there continue to be questions about what role he played.

Trump noted to "Fox News Sunday" that the crown prince has repeatedly denied being involved in the killing inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

"Will anybody really know?" Trump asked. "At the same time, we do have an ally, and I want to stick with an ally that in many ways has been very good."

A Republican member of the Senate intelligence committee said that so far, there is no "smoking gun" linking the crown prince to the killing. Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, who has received a confidential intelligence briefing on the matter, told ABC that "it's hard to imagine" that the crown prince didn't know about the killing, but he said, "I don't know that we absolutely know that yet."

He said that Congress will await the Trump administration's report in the next two days and that the U.S. will need to be clear about the ramifications of sanctions, given Saudi Arabia's strategic role in the Middle East.

For his part, Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, said the crown prince has been a "wrecking ball" in the relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.

"I hate to say that because I had a lot of hope for him being the reformer that Saudi Arabia needs, but that ship has sailed as far as Lindsey Graham's concerned," the South Carolina Republican told NBC's "Meet the Press."

"I have no intention of working with him ever again," said Graham, who is in line to be the next chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Intelligence officials have been providing information to Trump for weeks about the death, and he was briefed again by phone Saturday by CIA Director Gina Haspel and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as he flew to California. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders provided no details of his call but said the president has confidence in the CIA.

"The United States government is determined to hold all those responsible for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi accountable," the State Department said in a statement. "Recent reports indicating that the U.S. government has made a final conclusion are inaccurate. There remain numerous unanswered questions with respect to the murder of Mr. Khashoggi."

The statement added: "The U.S. government has taken decisive measures against the individuals responsible, including visa and sanctions actions. We will continue to explore additional measures to hold those accountable who planned, led and were connected to the murder. And, we will do that while maintaining the important strategic relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia."

Before his call on Air Force One, Trump told reporters that when it came to the crown prince, "as of this moment we were told that he did not play a role. We're going to have to find out what they have to say." That echoed remarks by national security adviser John Bolton, who said earlier this week that people who have listened to an audio recording of the killing do not think it implicates the crown prince.

Trump has called the killing a botched operation that was carried out very poorly and has said "the cover-up was one of the worst cover-ups in the history of cover-ups."

But he has resisted calls to cut off arms sales to the kingdom and has been reluctant to antagonize the Saudi rulers. Trump considers the Saudis vital allies in his Mideast agenda.

But members of Congress are pushing Trump for a tougher response to the killing. The administration this past week penalized 17 Saudi officials for their alleged role in the killing, but American lawmakers have called on the administration to curtail arms sales to Saudi Arabia or take other harsher punitive measures.

Turkish and Saudi authorities say Khashoggi, a Saudi who lived in the United States, was killed inside the consulate by a team from the kingdom after he went there to get marriage documents.