USA

US agency ends probe of VW fuel leaks without seeking recall

DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government’s road safety agency has closed an investigation into fuel leaks in two Volkswagen SUV models without seeking a recall.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened the probe in March after getting complaints about fuel injectors leaking in the 2018 through 2020 Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport SUVs. The probe covered more than 196,000 vehicles with 3.6-liter engines.

USA: Hurricane Ian floods leave mess, insurance questions behind

NORTH PORT, Fla. (AP) — Christine Barrett was inside her family’s North Port home during Hurricane Ian when one of her children started yelling that water was coming up from the shower.

Then it started coming in from outside the house. Eventually the family was forced to climb on top of their kitchen cabinets — they put water wings on their 1-year-old — and were rescued the next day by boat.

Another month of solid US hiring suggests more big Fed hikes

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers slowed their hiring in September but still added 263,000 jobs, a solid figure that will likely keep the Federal Reserve on pace to keep raising interest rates aggressively to fight persistently high inflation.

Friday’s government report showed that hiring fell from 315,000 in August to the weakest monthly gain since April 2021. The unemployment rate dropped from 3.7% to 3.5%, matching a half-century low.

USA: To buy Twitter, Musk has to keep banks, investors on board

(AP) --- If the squabbling ever stops over Elon Musk’s renewed bid to buy Twitter, experts say he still faces a huge obstacle to closing the $44 billion deal: Keeping his financing in place.

Earlier this week, Musk reversed course and said he’d go through with acquiring the social media company under the same terms he agreed to in April. But after months of tweetstorms and legal barbs, there are scars and suspicions on both sides.

Biden: Nuclear ‘Armageddon’ risk highest since ’62 crisis

NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden is declaring that the risk of nuclear “Armageddon” is at the highest level since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, as Russian officials speak of using tactical nuclear weapons after suffering massive setbacks in the eight-month invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking at a Democratic fundraiser, Biden said Thursday night that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “a guy I know fairly well” and the Russian leader is “not joking when he talks about the use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons.”

New York Times sacks Gaza journalist for expressing support for Palestinian resistance

6 October 2022; MEMO: Palestinian photojournalist, Hosam Salem, has been fired by the New York Times for expressing support for Resistance against Israeli occupation. The Gaza- based journalist has been working as a freelancer for the American outlet since 2018, but was dismissed after a dossier compiled by a pro-Israel group, accusing Salem of anti-Semitism, was presented to the Times.

US eyeing 'alternatives' after OPEC+ cut

6 October 2022; MEMO: US President Joe Biden expressed disappointment on Thursday over announced plans by OPEC+ nations to cut oil output, and he and officials said the United States was looking at all possible alternatives to keep prices from rising, Reuters reports.

Despite that move, Biden said he did not regret his summer trip to Saudi Arabia, which he said was focused on the Middle East.

UN peacekeeping chief to visit Pakistan, 4 other Asian nations

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 06 (APP): The head of UN Peacekeeping Department, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, leaves Wednesday on a 10-day tour of four Asian countries, including Pakistan, a UN spokesman said Tuesday.

“The purpose of Mr Lacroix’s visit is to thank the countries for their contributions and support to UN peacekeeping, as well as to update on progress enhancing the effectiveness of peacekeeping, including through the (UN) Secretary-General’s Action for Peacekeeping+ initiative (A4P),” Spokesman Stephane Dujarric told the regular noon briefing at UN Headquarters in New York.

USA: Federal judge halts key parts of New York’s new gun law

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A federal judge halted key provisions Thursday of New York’s latest attempt to restrict who can carry a handgun in public and where firearms can be brought, saying multiple parts of a law the state passed this year are unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Glenn Suddaby focused on multiple parts of the law, saying licensing requirements — like a rule requiring applicants to turn over information about their social media accounts — went too far.

Subscribe to USA