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US wholesale inflation eases to 8%, 4th straight slowdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — Prices at the wholesale level rose 8% in October from a year ago, the fourth straight decline and the latest sign that inflation pressures in the United States are easing from painfully high levels.

The annual figure is down from 8.4% in September. On a monthly basis, the government said Tuesday that its producer price index, which measures costs before they reach consumers, rose 0.2% in October from September. That was same as in the previous month, which was revised down from an initial reading of 0.4%.

Virginia students were prepared for shooting, not aftermath

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Students huddled inside laboratory closets and darkened dorm rooms across the University of Virginia while others moved far away from library windows and barricaded the doors of its stately academic buildings after an ominous warning flashed on their screens: “RUN. HIDE. FIGHT.”

USA: Walmart offers to pay $3.1 billion to settle opioid lawsuits

Retail giant Walmart on Tuesday become the latest major player in the drug industry to announce a plan to settle lawsuits filed by state and local governments over the toll of powerful prescription opioids sold at its pharmacies with state and local governments across the U.S.

The $3.1 billion proposal follows similar announcements Nov. 2 from the two largest U.S. pharmacy chains, CVS Health and Walgreen Co., which each said they would pay about $5 billion.

USA: GOP on cusp of retaking House control with slim majority

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans were on the cusp of retaking control of the House late Monday, just one victory shy of the 218 seats the party needs to secure a majority, narrowing the path for Democrats to keep the chamber and raising the prospect of a divided government in Washington.

Democrats have already won control of the Senate, securing 50 seats with a runoff in Georgia next month that could give President Joe Biden’s party an additional seat. The GOP came into the election needing to gain a net of just five seats for House control.

Xi warns Biden against conflict, points to mutual interests

BEIJING, November 14. /TASS/. Chinese President Xi Jinping has warned US President Joe Biden against a possible conflict, saying the two countries have strong mutual interests, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday after their meeting in Indonesia’s Bali.

"It is in our own interest to prevent a conflict and avert confrontation," the ministry quoted Xi as saying. "China’s and the United States’ economic systems are closely interconnected. <…> We should benefit from joint development."

Envoy to demand improvement of conditions for Russians jailed in US at White House meeting

BUTNER /North Carolina/, November 15. /TASS/. Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov plans to raise the issue of softening the conditions of Russians jailed in the US at a meeting with White House officials, as he himself told reporters after visiting Russian citizen Roman Seleznev in prison in Butner, North Carolina.

"Tomorrow (on Tuesday - TASS) I will be at the White House to discuss other things but I will definitely raise the issue of the inhumane imprisonment conditions of Russian nationals," the envoy pointed out.

World's population just hours away from reaching 8 bln

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- The world's population is projected to reach 8 billion on Tuesday, Nov. 15, the United Nations (UN) reminded the international community on Monday.

It is "a milestone in human development," said the UN press release. "This unprecedented growth is due to the gradual increase in human lifespan owing to improvements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene and medicine."

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