USA

14 October 2022; MEMO: Saudi Arabia pushed other OPEC+ nations into an output cut last week, the White House claimed on Thursday, part of an escalating war of words between the two countries, Reuters reports.

"More than one" OPEC member disagreed with Saudi Arabia's push to cut production and felt coerced into the vote, National Security Council spokesman, John Kirby, told reporters. He said he was not going to identify the members, to let them speak for themselves.

14 October 2022; MEMO: US President, Joe Biden, is likely to tap the brakes on any new arms sales to Saudi Arabia, amid an ongoing row with the Kingdom over oil production cuts, a key senator said on Friday, Anadolu News Agency reports.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 14 (NNN-XINHUA) – UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said yesterday that, the renewal of a truce agreement that had just expired, remains possible and called for the engagement of the parties.

The truce in Yemen, first enforced on Apr 2, and renewed twice till its expiration on Oct 2, started to alleviate the suffering of Yemeni men and women, and offered a truly historic opportunity to build trust and to work towards a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

WASHINGTON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday extended the COVID-19 pandemic's status as a public health emergency for another 90 days, thereby preserving measures like high payments to hospitals and expanded Medicaid.

The extension was announced by U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra on Thursday. Last month, President Joe Biden said in an interview that "the pandemic is over," which prompted criticism from health experts.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Defense Department has gotten a request from SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk to take over funding for his satellite network that has provided crucial battlefield communications for Ukrainian military forces during the war with Russia, a U.S. official said.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter not yet made public, said the issue has been discussed in meetings and senior leaders are weighing the matter. There have been no decisions.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — President Joe Biden is set to highlight his administration’s efforts to lower prescription drug costs on Friday as part of his three-state Western tour this week, as he confronts a sobering inflation report in the waning weeks before midterm elections.

WASHINGTON (AP) — What keeps driving inflation so high? The answer, it seems, is nearly everything.

Supply chain snarls and parts shortages inflated the cost of factory goods when the economy rocketed out of the pandemic recession two years ago. Then it was a surge in consumer spending fueled by federal stimulus checks. Then Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted gas and food supplies and sent those prices skyward.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A 15-year-old boy fatally shot two people in the streets of a neighborhood in North Carolina’s capital city, then fled toward a walking trail where he opened fire, killing three more people and wounding two others, police said Friday.

Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson said the teen was hospitalized in critical condition following the shootings late Thursday afternoon. Authorities had not determined a motive.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Jan. 6 committee voted unanimously Thursday to subpoena former President Donald Trump, demanding his personal testimony as it unveiled startling new video and described his multi-part plan to overturn his 2020 election loss, which led to his supporters’ fierce assault on the U.S. Capitol.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 13 (APP): A new report from the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released on Thursday, warns that half of the world’s countries are not protected by multi-hazard early warning systems.