NEWS SUMMARY AT THIS HOUR  

  

Today is the first anniversary of the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia that began when left-wing protestors attacked a white nationalist rally,   In the end, a white nationalist ran his car into a group of leftists killing one and injuring others.  That man faces criminal charges from the State of Virginia and federal hate crimes charges that could include the death penalty.

Security is tight in Charlottesville this weekend with the tightest security around a building housing a statue of Thomas Jefferson.   Its feared that left-wing protesters may stage an attack on the statue.  

On Saturday President Trump tweeted that the violence "resulted in senseless death and division".
He added that "I condemn all types of racism and acts of violence.  Peace to ALL Americans".

The man who organized the white nationalist rally is not being permitted to rally in Charlottesville, but has been allowed to hold one in a park across from the White House.   Tight security will be in place with leftist protestors expected to be seeking violent confrontation in Washington DC.

The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party, Gerard Batten, has called out the chief of London's Metropolitian Police for launching a hate crimes investigation of former British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson.   Johnson was investigated after he made comments comparing burqas to letterboxes.

Commissioner Cressida Dick said afterwards that while "some people have clearly found it offensive" that Johnson "did not commit a criminal offense".

Batten said: "We are moving into an Orwellian society where the police are exercising thought control powers".   Batten said that Dick "should take the 900 police officers she has investigating so-called hate speech crimes and put them back to investigating real crimes against the person and property".

The Associated Press reported Saturday that 29-year old Richard Russell was the airline employee who stole a turboprop passenger plane Friday evening at the Sea-Tac International Airport, quoting an anonymous official source.

An air-traffic controller referred to the man as "Rich" and "Richard" in his communications with him Friday evening, according to a report from "The Seattle Times".

Authorities say the man had clearance to be around airplanes, but did not have a pilot's license and its unclear how he got the skills to do loops in the sky before the airplane crashed on a small island in Puget Sound.

What is believed to be one of his last communications with air traffic control was "I feel like one of my engines is going out or something".

NASA's Parker Solar Probe successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 331am this morning.   The probe is expected to reach the sun by November and will fly through the outer atmosphere of the sun, the corona, at a range of 3.8 million miles from the star.

Nobel Prize winning novelist VS Naipaul was died in London at the age of 85.   He was born in rural Trinidad and wrote dozens of books, being awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 2001.   Sir Vidia, as he was known, was read Shakespeare and Dickens by his father.

Matthew Vincent Raymond, age 48, has been charged with four counts of murder in connection with Friday morning's mass killing in Fredricton, New Brunswick.    Two police constables are among the dead but so far no motive has been revealed by investigators for the killings.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan has written in the "New York Times" that Turkey "will get new friends".  Erdogan is bristling from President Trump's insistence that Turkey release Pastor Andrew Brunson.   The Turks claim Brunson is linked to Kurdish separatists and an attempted coup against his government in 2016.

Sanctions were recently imposed by the United States on two Turkish officials and on Friday President Trump announced a doubling of aluminum and steel tariffs on Turkey, sending the Turkish currency plunging in value.

Erdogan told a crowd in his home town on Saturday: "If the US is turning its back on us....choosing a pastor instead...we will continue our path with decisive steps".

Republican Congressman Chris Collins of upstate New York has decided to suspend his bid for re-election.   Collins Saturday announcement was a reversal of his earlier statement he would continue fighting for re-election after his indictment in recent days on charges of insider trading.

Collins is accused of using his position on the board of a pharmaceutical company to tip off his son and other shareholders that the company had failed trial testing before the information became public.

The congressman was the first member of the House to endorse Donald Trump for president in 2016 and said it would be in the best interests of the Republican Party and President Trump's agenda for him to pull out of his re-election bid.

The GOP will now have to find a replacement candidate for the general election this fall in what is considered a safe seat.

Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will be back at Parliament this coming Tuesday after suffering defeats in five special elections for lower house seats last month.

Reuters reports that exit polls in those elections showed a loss of support for Turnbull's government because he wants to cut corporate taxes from 30 to 25 percent.

With the general election set for next May, there are jitters within the ruling coalition of the Liberal and National parties.    Turnbull's intention to pursue an energy policy that is anti-coal is opposed by former Prime Minister Tony Abbott and the National Party.

Australia has gone through five changes in leadership since 2010 driven by unpopularity in public opinion polls.