Recag/C4_44 · Datasets at Hugging Face

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President Trump travels on to the Philippines and Vietnam before returning to Washington. What to watch: how Trump interacts with Philippine strongman Rodrigo Duterte, who he has praised in the past.
In good news for the burgeoning BFF-ship between Trump and Xi, ASEAN is expected to avoid tackling the region’s thorniest geopolitical issue — China’s designs on the South China Sea, something that seriously worries Vietnam, the Philippines, and other Southeast Asian nations.
Back in D.C., the House of Representatives could see a vote on the GOP tax plan next week. Speaker Paul Ryan has said he wants to get it out of his chamber before Thanksgiving, and next week is Congress’ last full one in session before the holiday.
That’s it for this week. Thanks for sticking with me. Until next time, get in touch with your comments, questions, McDonald’s opinions, at sbrodey@minnpost.com.
Like what you just read? Subscribe to the D.C. Memo newsletter to get this column delivered to your inbox every Thursday.
Mr. Rubbishman employees found a suspicious package on Tuesday and alerted police, who said the substance in the package tested positive for cocaine.
Guam Police Department officers recovered a suspicious package at the Mr. Rubbishman facility in Harmon on Tuesday, which contained substance that tested presumptive positive for cocaine, according to a statement from police.
Officers from the Mandaña Drug Task Force were activated after Mr. Rubbishman employees found the package, police said.
Police seized about 5.5 pounds, or about 2.2 kilograms, of suspected cocaine.
Tuesday’s discovery was the first of its kind, said Phil Flores, Board Chairman of Guahan Waste Control Inc., which does business as Mr. Rubbishman.
Mr. Rubbishman has been in business since the early 1990s and has operated a transfer station for the past seven or eight years, Flores said.
Mr. Rubbishman’s Harmon transfer station receives trash from commercial haulers, Guam Solid Waste Authority trucks and military waste. Workers sort through the trash, removing things like tires, wood, green waste, construction debris and other items that aren’t supposed to go to the landfill.
In that sorting process, employees found a white substance that was wrapped in plastic, Flores said.
Flores said it’s concerning that there’s been an increase of cocaine-related activity in the past few months.
“When we see what ‘ice’ is doing, what cocaine is now doing, the misery it causes, the impoverishment it causes, I hope they find the people,” he said.
The employees are fully cooperating with police, Flores added.
Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson talks to NBC 5's Alex Maragos about crime rates in the city, the Jussie Smollett case and more.
An internal investigation at the Chicago Police Department has been opened regarding the possibility of information being leaked in the Jussie Smollett case, officials confirmed.
Smollett is charged with felony disorderly conduct for allegedly making a false police report. His attorneys say he's innocent. His report to police prompted days of intense media scrutiny.
"I would like to point out that a lot of the information out there was inaccurate and there were numerous agencies involved in this investigation," a department spokesperson said Thursday. "As a standard procedure when there are allegations of information being leaked, an internal investigation has been opened and we are also looking at our vulnerabilities."
No other information was immediately available about the internal investigation.
A little more than a week after Chicago police laid out what appeared to be a damaging case against the "Empire" star, a defense strategy began emerging — much of it centered on discrediting the two men who pointed at Smollett as the mastermind.
Police say the case against Smollett turned in the final hour of their two-day interrogation of Nigerian brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo. But questions over the brothers' motives and the evidence prosecutors and police said they have against Smollett are rising, defense sources say.
Smollett, who is openly gay, said his attackers used homophobic slurs during the incident. Fellow "Empire" actors have reported witnessing at least one of the brothers make such comments to another cast member on the set of the show.
Years-old tweets involving purportedly homophobic comments from what appeared to be Olabinjo Osundairo's account also surfaced, but were subsequently deleted.
Smollett's defense is expected to argue the check police have said was payment for the hoax attack was actually for training to help Smollett get in shape for a music video shoot, sources familiar with the case said.
Images of the check obtained by NBC 5 show a memo line that read "5 week nutrition/workout program (Don't go)." The check was dated Jan. 23, six days before Smollett claimed he was attacked in Chicago. Screenshots of text messages, confirmed to be authentic by sources familiar with the matter, also showed Smollett and one of the brothers discussing a meal plan and grocery list in the days before the alleged attack.
Defense sources also point to potential money problems as both brothers filed for bankruptcy in 2016.
There are also questions about the information police initially released in the case.
Supt. Eddie Johnson said Smollett misled investigators from the beginning by saying at least one of his attackers was white. That key detail was not included in the first police report, a subsequent community alert or Smollett's own public statements. The detail wasn't made public for several days following the alleged attack.
Authorities have claimed Smollett staged the attack because he was unhappy with his salary. Evidence surrounding that claim has not been released, but "Empire" producers wrote Smollett's character off the final two episodes of the season amid the ongoing investigation.
The attorney for the brothers involved in the alleged staged attack released a statement Thursday saying they have "tremendous regret over their involvement in this situation."
"They understand how it has impacted people across the nation, particularly minority communities and especially those who have been victims of hate crimes themselves," Gloria Schmidt said in the statement.
Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told NBC Sunday the department stands behind its investigation.
Johnson said Friday there's more evidence in the case that hasn't been revealed.
"As far as the evidence goes, we laid everything out in the bond proffer — the highlights of it — but there’s additional evidence out there that we haven’t released yet, but it’ll help support that the alleged incident didn’t occur the way that he claimed," Johnson told NBC 5.
INDIANAPOLIS -- It was not to be. Danica Patrick will not finish her final Indianapolis 500.
Patrick hit the wall in Lap 68.
She appears to be okay.
🎥 REPLAY: @DanicaPatrick has been checked, released and cleared from the infield hospital 🏥 following this incident.
I've never made blondies before, preferring dark chocolate brownies over their paler next of kin. Then I saw one of those copycat recipes online that said it was almost identical to the blondies on the dessert menu at Applebee's.
I eat at Applebee's every so often because I really like the restaurant's Thai shrimp salad. And I remember having a delicious blondie there once years ago, and it was quite good topped with ice cream and drizzled with a creamy maple topping.
After reading reviews for the recipe, I found, however, that the blondies were more cake-like than brownie-like. So I went looking for another blondie recipe and made it, but used the maple topping suggested in the original Taste of Home recipe I'd found. The combination was really quite remarkable. There are numerous blondie recipes online, but blondies are quite versatile, so mix and match and make it your own.
The blondies I made combined at least three recipes, including an idea from Martha Stewart to add toffee chips to the batter. The result were blondies that were buttery, soft, chewy, creamy and chocolatey, too — with white chocolate, that is. Toasted pecans in the batter added a wonderfully crunchy depth of flavor and texture.
They are so easy to make when you need a dessert in a pinch. And they're delicious served plain at room temperature with a cup of coffee or tea. Or heat them up, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and top them with that maple sauce and more toasted pecans for a dessert that could end up in your go-to recipes when you're looking for something that's easy to serve a crowd.
Heat oven to 350 degrees, and spray a 9- by 13-inch pan. Combine melted butter and sugars in a large bowl, and stir well. Add eggs, egg yolk and vanilla, and stir until completely combined. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Gradually stir dry ingredients into wet until completely combined.
Fold in white chocolate chips, toasted pecans and toffee bits, if using. Spread blondie batter into prepared pan, and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few fudgy crumbs. Cut into squares, and serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream, maple sauce and additional toasted pecans, if desired.
For maple topping: Combine syrup and butter in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in milk until well combined. Serve warm over ice cream.
Email Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com.
Prosecutors say the man fought officers while they tried taking him into custody and bit off part of a LEO's thumb.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Prosecutors say a Bloods gang member who claims to be a "sovereign citizen" has been convicted of biting off the end of a Tennessee police officer's thumb.
On Friday, Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen announced that a jury convicted 30-year-old Alexander Ray Johnson of aggravated assault, punishable by three to six years in prison, and two assault counts.
Prosecutors say a Knoxville officer stopped Johnson in June 2017 for speeding and for having a fake license plate that claimed a right to travel as a "Sovereign Hebrew Israelite." Sovereign citizens deny the legitimacy of government authority.
Prosecutors say Johnson wouldn't get out or provide his license, and argued whether speeding was a crime.
They say Johnson fought officers while they tried taking him into custody and bit backup officer Trey Lane's thumb.
Prosecutors will request the maximum sentence.
Thank heavens the reports flooding into 911 on Sunday night of gunshots at JFK Airport were only that.
Thank heavens too that more than 250 police from the Port Authority, which runs the airport, and the NYPD responded with speed and courage to the credible possibility of an active shooter.
Still, the panicked chaos that swept through two terminals at the airport demand a top to bottom review — led by the NYPD — of how police and Port Authority leaders performed in an event that became a live-action drill.
For an extended period, thousands of travelers stampeded and hunkered down, terrified for their lives. Some fled onto the tarmac. Some were crushed in dead-end hallways. Family members lost touch with one another in the madness.
Civilian security guards and TSA agents alike abandoned their posts to run for their lives.
Neither the Port Authority, which owns the airports and answers to Gov. Cuomo on the New York side of the Hudson, nor the NYPD, which backs up PA cops, issued information that might have helped calm fears.
Under Commissioner Bill Bratton, the NYPD has trained scores of officers in how to confront active shooter events, such as those that happened in Dallas and Orlando. They have been described as able to handle numerous simultaneous attacks.
The JFK false alarm has raised urgent questions about readiness, particularly after terror attacks on airports in Turkey and Brussels.
Someone in Terminal 8 reported shots at 9:33 p.m., perhaps mistaking raucous applause after Usain Bolt's gold-medal 100-meter Olympic finish for gunfire.
Within minutes, additional calls flooded 911 as travelers spread misinformation via social media using their cell phones. Eventually, 911 logged more than 100 calls with the panic spreading from Terminal 8 to Terminal 1.
Some 170 NYPD officers joined 80 PA cops to hunt down presumed perpetrators.
Video taken by a crouched traveler shows scores of people huddling behind chairs and poles as six police responders make their way down a concourse, shouting "Get down on the ground!"
Three carry rifles at the ready and three are armed only with service pistols. Their bravery is remarkable.
Throughout, though, cops and travelers alike lacked reliable information. While the facts are hard to assemble in a fluid, dangerous situation, social media posts by travelers fueled the terror.
Not until nearly two hours after the nightmare began did the Port Authority so much as tweet instructions or assurances to bring order to the mob.
Speaking with the Daily News Editorial Board, Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye described the police response as "quick and overwhelmingly effective." Much later in the day, he offered in an email that the PA "did not meet today's customer expectations," seeming to describe, say, a rash of lost luggage.
Clearly, the hunt for a possible killer and crowd control were inextricably intertwined at the airport. As well as the responders may have accomplished the first, their leaders failed to adequately include the latter in their emergency planning.
VATICAN CITY – President Barack Obama sat down with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on Friday for a meeting in which frank but constructive talks were expected between two men who agree on helping the poor but disagree on abortion and stem cell research.
“It’s a great honor,” Obama said as he greeted the pope, thanking him for this first meeting. They sat down at the pontiff’s desk and exchanged pleasantries before reporters and photographers were ushered out of the ornate room.
The pope and Obama met for half an hour, then were joined by first lady Michelle Obama.
Upon leaving, Obama again thanked the pope. “We look forward to a very strong relationship between our two countries,” he said.
There was no immediate word on what was discussed in the meeting.
With some Catholic activists and American bishops outspoken in their criticism of Obama, even as polls have shown he received a majority of Catholic votes, the audience was much awaited.
Obama is very popular in Italy and several hundred people lining the broad avenue leading to St. Peter’s Square cheered his limousine as it went by. Obama waved. Awaiting him at the Vatican was an honor guard of Swiss Guards in their colorful, striped uniforms.
Obama’s election presented a challenge for the Vatican after eight years of common ground with President George W. Bush in opposing abortion, an issue that drew them together despite Vatican opposition to the war in Iraq.
But the Vatican has been openly interested in Obama’s views and scheduled an unusual afternoon meeting to accommodate him at the end of his Italian stay for a G-8 summit meeting in the earthquake-stricken city of L’Aquila and just before he leaves for Ghana.
In the tradition-conscious Vatican, most such meetings are held at midday. The Vatican also arranged live TV coverage of the open session of the meeting after their private talks.
Benedict broke Vatican protocol the day after Obama was elected by sending a personal note of congratulations rather than waiting and sending the usual brief telegram on Inauguration Day.
L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s daily newspaper, gave Obama a positive review after his first 100 days in office. In a front-page editorial, it said that even on ethical questions Obama hadn’t confirmed the “radical” direction he discussed during the campaign.
Tensions grew when Obama was invited to receive an honorary degree at the leading U.S. Catholic university, Notre Dame. Dozens of U.S. bishops denounced the university and the local bishop boycotted the ceremony.
Former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke, who now heads a Vatican tribunal, accused Obama of pursuing anti-life and antifamily agendas. He called it a “scandal” that Notre Dame had invited him to speak.
Yet L’Osservatore concluded that Obama was looking for some common ground with his speech, noting he asked Americans to work together to reduce the number of abortions.
Some conservative American Catholics criticized the Vatican newspaper for its accommodating stance.
This week, Cardinal Justin Rigali, who heads the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, complained that the final guidelines of the National Institutes of Health for human embryonic stem cell research are broader than the draft guidelines.
As a child in Indonesia, Obama’s Muslim father enrolled him in Catholic school for a few years. Obama is a Protestant.
Obama “often refers to the fundamental belief that each person is endowed with dignity … The dignity of people is a driving goal in what we hope to accomplish in development policy, for example, and in foreign policy,” McDonough said.
Just this week, Benedict issued a major document calling for a new world financial order guided by ethics and the search for the common good, denouncing the profit-at-all-cost mentality blamed for bringing about the global financial meltdown.
As Obama has pledged to step-up efforts for Middle East peace through a two-state solution, Benedict made a similar appeal during a trip in May to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories. He issued the Vatican’s strongest call yet for a Palestinian state.
Obama met first with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s secretary of state, before meeting Benedict in the pope’s study.
Obama’s wife, Michelle, joined him at the end of the meeting, and gifts were exchanged. Daughters Malia and Sasha, who accompanied their parents on the weeklong trip, also met Benedict. They were ushered out of the room before the media were allowed back in.
Several senior White House staff members also met the pope, with some either shaking his hand or kissing his ring.
Sixty-nine days after their wedding, Ivana Trump swears that she and Rossano Rubicondi are still in love. Despite what some people are saying. Idle-chatters have been wondering why we haven't seen much of the couple together since their nuptial extravaganza on April 12.
Rossano, 36, was not with Ivana, 59, this week at England's Royal Ascot races. Nor was he with her last week at the Grosvenor House Art and Antiques Fair. Nor was he at her side at a slew of parties in Saint-Tropez last weekend.

President Trump travels on to the Philippines and Vietnam before returning to Washington. What to watch: how Trump interacts with Philippine strongman Rodrigo Duterte, who he has praised in the past.

In good news for the burgeoning BFF-ship between Trump and Xi, ASEAN is expected to avoid tackling the region’s thorniest geopolitical issue — China’s designs on the South China Sea, something that seriously worries Vietnam, the Philippines, and other Southeast Asian nations.

Back in D.C., the House of Representatives could see a vote on the GOP tax plan next week. Speaker Paul Ryan has said he wants to get it out of his chamber before Thanksgiving, and next week is Congress’ last full one in session before the holiday.

That’s it for this week. Thanks for sticking with me. Until next time, get in touch with your comments, questions, McDonald’s opinions, at sbrodey@minnpost.com.

Like what you just read? Subscribe to the D.C. Memo newsletter to get this column delivered to your inbox every Thursday.

Mr. Rubbishman employees found a suspicious package on Tuesday and alerted police, who said the substance in the package tested positive for cocaine.

Guam Police Department officers recovered a suspicious package at the Mr. Rubbishman facility in Harmon on Tuesday, which contained substance that tested presumptive positive for cocaine, according to a statement from police.

Officers from the Mandaña Drug Task Force were activated after Mr. Rubbishman employees found the package, police said.

Police seized about 5.5 pounds, or about 2.2 kilograms, of suspected cocaine.

Tuesday’s discovery was the first of its kind, said Phil Flores, Board Chairman of Guahan Waste Control Inc., which does business as Mr. Rubbishman.

Mr. Rubbishman has been in business since the early 1990s and has operated a transfer station for the past seven or eight years, Flores said.

Mr. Rubbishman’s Harmon transfer station receives trash from commercial haulers, Guam Solid Waste Authority trucks and military waste. Workers sort through the trash, removing things like tires, wood, green waste, construction debris and other items that aren’t supposed to go to the landfill.

In that sorting process, employees found a white substance that was wrapped in plastic, Flores said.

Flores said it’s concerning that there’s been an increase of cocaine-related activity in the past few months.

“When we see what ‘ice’ is doing, what cocaine is now doing, the misery it causes, the impoverishment it causes, I hope they find the people,” he said.

The employees are fully cooperating with police, Flores added.

Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson talks to NBC 5's Alex Maragos about crime rates in the city, the Jussie Smollett case and more.

An internal investigation at the Chicago Police Department has been opened regarding the possibility of information being leaked in the Jussie Smollett case, officials confirmed.

Smollett is charged with felony disorderly conduct for allegedly making a false police report. His attorneys say he's innocent. His report to police prompted days of intense media scrutiny.

"I would like to point out that a lot of the information out there was inaccurate and there were numerous agencies involved in this investigation," a department spokesperson said Thursday. "As a standard procedure when there are allegations of information being leaked, an internal investigation has been opened and we are also looking at our vulnerabilities."

No other information was immediately available about the internal investigation.

A little more than a week after Chicago police laid out what appeared to be a damaging case against the "Empire" star, a defense strategy began emerging — much of it centered on discrediting the two men who pointed at Smollett as the mastermind.

Police say the case against Smollett turned in the final hour of their two-day interrogation of Nigerian brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo. But questions over the brothers' motives and the evidence prosecutors and police said they have against Smollett are rising, defense sources say.

Smollett, who is openly gay, said his attackers used homophobic slurs during the incident. Fellow "Empire" actors have reported witnessing at least one of the brothers make such comments to another cast member on the set of the show.

Years-old tweets involving purportedly homophobic comments from what appeared to be Olabinjo Osundairo's account also surfaced, but were subsequently deleted.

Smollett's defense is expected to argue the check police have said was payment for the hoax attack was actually for training to help Smollett get in shape for a music video shoot, sources familiar with the case said.

Images of the check obtained by NBC 5 show a memo line that read "5 week nutrition/workout program (Don't go)." The check was dated Jan. 23, six days before Smollett claimed he was attacked in Chicago. Screenshots of text messages, confirmed to be authentic by sources familiar with the matter, also showed Smollett and one of the brothers discussing a meal plan and grocery list in the days before the alleged attack.

Defense sources also point to potential money problems as both brothers filed for bankruptcy in 2016.

There are also questions about the information police initially released in the case.

Supt. Eddie Johnson said Smollett misled investigators from the beginning by saying at least one of his attackers was white. That key detail was not included in the first police report, a subsequent community alert or Smollett's own public statements. The detail wasn't made public for several days following the alleged attack.

Authorities have claimed Smollett staged the attack because he was unhappy with his salary. Evidence surrounding that claim has not been released, but "Empire" producers wrote Smollett's character off the final two episodes of the season amid the ongoing investigation.

The attorney for the brothers involved in the alleged staged attack released a statement Thursday saying they have "tremendous regret over their involvement in this situation."

"They understand how it has impacted people across the nation, particularly minority communities and especially those who have been victims of hate crimes themselves," Gloria Schmidt said in the statement.

Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told NBC Sunday the department stands behind its investigation.

Johnson said Friday there's more evidence in the case that hasn't been revealed.

"As far as the evidence goes, we laid everything out in the bond proffer — the highlights of it — but there’s additional evidence out there that we haven’t released yet, but it’ll help support that the alleged incident didn’t occur the way that he claimed," Johnson told NBC 5.

INDIANAPOLIS -- It was not to be. Danica Patrick will not finish her final Indianapolis 500.

Patrick hit the wall in Lap 68.

She appears to be okay.

🎥 REPLAY: @DanicaPatrick has been checked, released and cleared from the infield hospital 🏥 following this incident.

I've never made blondies before, preferring dark chocolate brownies over their paler next of kin. Then I saw one of those copycat recipes online that said it was almost identical to the blondies on the dessert menu at Applebee's.

I eat at Applebee's every so often because I really like the restaurant's Thai shrimp salad. And I remember having a delicious blondie there once years ago, and it was quite good topped with ice cream and drizzled with a creamy maple topping.

After reading reviews for the recipe, I found, however, that the blondies were more cake-like than brownie-like. So I went looking for another blondie recipe and made it, but used the maple topping suggested in the original Taste of Home recipe I'd found. The combination was really quite remarkable. There are numerous blondie recipes online, but blondies are quite versatile, so mix and match and make it your own.

The blondies I made combined at least three recipes, including an idea from Martha Stewart to add toffee chips to the batter. The result were blondies that were buttery, soft, chewy, creamy and chocolatey, too — with white chocolate, that is. Toasted pecans in the batter added a wonderfully crunchy depth of flavor and texture.

They are so easy to make when you need a dessert in a pinch. And they're delicious served plain at room temperature with a cup of coffee or tea. Or heat them up, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and top them with that maple sauce and more toasted pecans for a dessert that could end up in your go-to recipes when you're looking for something that's easy to serve a crowd.

Heat oven to 350 degrees, and spray a 9- by 13-inch pan. Combine melted butter and sugars in a large bowl, and stir well. Add eggs, egg yolk and vanilla, and stir until completely combined. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Gradually stir dry ingredients into wet until completely combined.

Fold in white chocolate chips, toasted pecans and toffee bits, if using. Spread blondie batter into prepared pan, and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few fudgy crumbs. Cut into squares, and serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream, maple sauce and additional toasted pecans, if desired.

For maple topping: Combine syrup and butter in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in milk until well combined. Serve warm over ice cream.

Email Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com.

Prosecutors say the man fought officers while they tried taking him into custody and bit off part of a LEO's thumb.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Prosecutors say a Bloods gang member who claims to be a "sovereign citizen" has been convicted of biting off the end of a Tennessee police officer's thumb.

On Friday, Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen announced that a jury convicted 30-year-old Alexander Ray Johnson of aggravated assault, punishable by three to six years in prison, and two assault counts.

Prosecutors say a Knoxville officer stopped Johnson in June 2017 for speeding and for having a fake license plate that claimed a right to travel as a "Sovereign Hebrew Israelite." Sovereign citizens deny the legitimacy of government authority.

Prosecutors say Johnson wouldn't get out or provide his license, and argued whether speeding was a crime.

They say Johnson fought officers while they tried taking him into custody and bit backup officer Trey Lane's thumb.

Prosecutors will request the maximum sentence.

Thank heavens the reports flooding into 911 on Sunday night of gunshots at JFK Airport were only that.

Thank heavens too that more than 250 police from the Port Authority, which runs the airport, and the NYPD responded with speed and courage to the credible possibility of an active shooter.

Still, the panicked chaos that swept through two terminals at the airport demand a top to bottom review — led by the NYPD — of how police and Port Authority leaders performed in an event that became a live-action drill.

For an extended period, thousands of travelers stampeded and hunkered down, terrified for their lives. Some fled onto the tarmac. Some were crushed in dead-end hallways. Family members lost touch with one another in the madness.

Civilian security guards and TSA agents alike abandoned their posts to run for their lives.

Neither the Port Authority, which owns the airports and answers to Gov. Cuomo on the New York side of the Hudson, nor the NYPD, which backs up PA cops, issued information that might have helped calm fears.

Under Commissioner Bill Bratton, the NYPD has trained scores of officers in how to confront active shooter events, such as those that happened in Dallas and Orlando. They have been described as able to handle numerous simultaneous attacks.

The JFK false alarm has raised urgent questions about readiness, particularly after terror attacks on airports in Turkey and Brussels.

Someone in Terminal 8 reported shots at 9:33 p.m., perhaps mistaking raucous applause after Usain Bolt's gold-medal 100-meter Olympic finish for gunfire.

Within minutes, additional calls flooded 911 as travelers spread misinformation via social media using their cell phones. Eventually, 911 logged more than 100 calls with the panic spreading from Terminal 8 to Terminal 1.

Some 170 NYPD officers joined 80 PA cops to hunt down presumed perpetrators.

Video taken by a crouched traveler shows scores of people huddling behind chairs and poles as six police responders make their way down a concourse, shouting "Get down on the ground!"

Three carry rifles at the ready and three are armed only with service pistols. Their bravery is remarkable.

Throughout, though, cops and travelers alike lacked reliable information. While the facts are hard to assemble in a fluid, dangerous situation, social media posts by travelers fueled the terror.

Not until nearly two hours after the nightmare began did the Port Authority so much as tweet instructions or assurances to bring order to the mob.

Speaking with the Daily News Editorial Board, Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye described the police response as "quick and overwhelmingly effective." Much later in the day, he offered in an email that the PA "did not meet today's customer expectations," seeming to describe, say, a rash of lost luggage.

Clearly, the hunt for a possible killer and crowd control were inextricably intertwined at the airport. As well as the responders may have accomplished the first, their leaders failed to adequately include the latter in their emergency planning.

VATICAN CITY – President Barack Obama sat down with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on Friday for a meeting in which frank but constructive talks were expected between two men who agree on helping the poor but disagree on abortion and stem cell research.

“It’s a great honor,” Obama said as he greeted the pope, thanking him for this first meeting. They sat down at the pontiff’s desk and exchanged pleasantries before reporters and photographers were ushered out of the ornate room.

The pope and Obama met for half an hour, then were joined by first lady Michelle Obama.

Upon leaving, Obama again thanked the pope. “We look forward to a very strong relationship between our two countries,” he said.

There was no immediate word on what was discussed in the meeting.

With some Catholic activists and American bishops outspoken in their criticism of Obama, even as polls have shown he received a majority of Catholic votes, the audience was much awaited.

Obama is very popular in Italy and several hundred people lining the broad avenue leading to St. Peter’s Square cheered his limousine as it went by. Obama waved. Awaiting him at the Vatican was an honor guard of Swiss Guards in their colorful, striped uniforms.

Obama’s election presented a challenge for the Vatican after eight years of common ground with President George W. Bush in opposing abortion, an issue that drew them together despite Vatican opposition to the war in Iraq.

But the Vatican has been openly interested in Obama’s views and scheduled an unusual afternoon meeting to accommodate him at the end of his Italian stay for a G-8 summit meeting in the earthquake-stricken city of L’Aquila and just before he leaves for Ghana.

In the tradition-conscious Vatican, most such meetings are held at midday. The Vatican also arranged live TV coverage of the open session of the meeting after their private talks.

Benedict broke Vatican protocol the day after Obama was elected by sending a personal note of congratulations rather than waiting and sending the usual brief telegram on Inauguration Day.

L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s daily newspaper, gave Obama a positive review after his first 100 days in office. In a front-page editorial, it said that even on ethical questions Obama hadn’t confirmed the “radical” direction he discussed during the campaign.

Tensions grew when Obama was invited to receive an honorary degree at the leading U.S. Catholic university, Notre Dame. Dozens of U.S. bishops denounced the university and the local bishop boycotted the ceremony.

Former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke, who now heads a Vatican tribunal, accused Obama of pursuing anti-life and antifamily agendas. He called it a “scandal” that Notre Dame had invited him to speak.

Yet L’Osservatore concluded that Obama was looking for some common ground with his speech, noting he asked Americans to work together to reduce the number of abortions.

Some conservative American Catholics criticized the Vatican newspaper for its accommodating stance.

This week, Cardinal Justin Rigali, who heads the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, complained that the final guidelines of the National Institutes of Health for human embryonic stem cell research are broader than the draft guidelines.

As a child in Indonesia, Obama’s Muslim father enrolled him in Catholic school for a few years. Obama is a Protestant.

Obama “often refers to the fundamental belief that each person is endowed with dignity … The dignity of people is a driving goal in what we hope to accomplish in development policy, for example, and in foreign policy,” McDonough said.

Just this week, Benedict issued a major document calling for a new world financial order guided by ethics and the search for the common good, denouncing the profit-at-all-cost mentality blamed for bringing about the global financial meltdown.

As Obama has pledged to step-up efforts for Middle East peace through a two-state solution, Benedict made a similar appeal during a trip in May to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories. He issued the Vatican’s strongest call yet for a Palestinian state.

Obama met first with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s secretary of state, before meeting Benedict in the pope’s study.

Obama’s wife, Michelle, joined him at the end of the meeting, and gifts were exchanged. Daughters Malia and Sasha, who accompanied their parents on the weeklong trip, also met Benedict. They were ushered out of the room before the media were allowed back in.

Several senior White House staff members also met the pope, with some either shaking his hand or kissing his ring.

Sixty-nine days after their wedding, Ivana Trump swears that she and Rossano Rubicondi are still in love. Despite what some people are saying. Idle-chatters have been wondering why we haven't seen much of the couple together since their nuptial extravaganza on April 12.

Rossano, 36, was not with Ivana, 59, this week at England's Royal Ascot races. Nor was he with her last week at the Grosvenor House Art and Antiques Fair. Nor was he at her side at a slew of parties in Saint-Tropez last weekend.