import re
r = re.compile(r'([.,/#!$%^&*;:{}=_`~()-])[.,/#!$%^&*;:{}=_`~()-]+')
n = r.sub(r'\1', "ews by almalki : Tornado, flood deaths reach 18 in U.s., more storms ahead ")
print(n)
aW1wb3J0IHJlCnIgPSByZS5jb21waWxlKHInKFsuLC8jISQlXiYqOzp7fT1fYH4oKS1dKVsuLC8jISQlXiYqOzp7fT1fYH4oKS1dKycpCm4gPSByLnN1YihyJ1wxJywgImV3cyBieSBhbG1hbGtpIDogVG9ybmFkbywgZmxvb2QgZGVhdGhzIHJlYWNoIDE4IGluIFUucy4sIG1vcmUgc3Rvcm1zIGFoZWFkICIpCnByaW50KG4p