North America

NEW YORK, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- The white powder found in an explosive device package sent to CNN's New York offices "did not present a biological threat," William Sweeney, FBI assistant director, said here on Thursday.

So far, 10 suspicious packages were sent to various media outlets and prominent public figures and all of them were intercepted, said Sweeney at a news conference.

"This is a nationwide investigation involving multiple jurisdictions coast-to-coast" into the suspicious packages delivered to multiple locations around the country this week, he said.

By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Oct 26 (PTI) US President Donald Trump said Thursday all American sanctions against Iran will be in full force on November 5, as he signed into law another legislation imposing hard-hitting sanctions on Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

DALLAS (AP) — American Airlines is struggling more than Delta and United to pass higher jet fuel costs to passengers, and it has dropped far behind its rivals in profits.

All airlines are facing a strong headwind from fuel prices that have surged by more than one-third in the past year. In the third quarter, American recovered just 40 percent of that increase with higher prices, say executives.

JEFFERSONTOWN, Ky. (AP) — A gunman fatally shot a man in the back of the head inside a Kroger and then killed a woman in the grocery store’s parking lot before exchanging gunfire with a bystander, police said. Officers then captured the suspect as he tried to flee.

Gregory Alan Bush, 51, was booked early Thursday on two counts of murder and 10 counts of felony wanton endangerment, according to Louisville Metro Department of Corrections records.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The mail-bomb scare widened Thursday as law enforcement officials seized three more suspicious packages — two addressed to former Vice President Joe Biden and one to actor Robert De Niro — and said they were similar to crude pipe bombs sent to former President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and CNN.

None of the devices exploded, and no one was injured. But the packages, sent to prominent Democrats critical of President Donald Trump, heightened nationwide tensions and fears two weeks before major congressional midterm elections.

By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Oct 25 (PTI) China and Russia eavesdrop on President Donald Trump as he uses his unsecure cellphone to "gossip, gripe or solicit" his friends' take on how he is doing, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing US intelligence agencies.

Trump's aides have repeatedly warned him that his cellphone calls are not secure, and they have told him that Russian spies are routinely eavesdropping on the calls, as well, the paper said.

By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Oct 25 (PTI) An influential Republican lawmaker on Wednesday urged the Trump administration to bring an end to discrimination against Asian-American students applying for admission to higher educational institutions in the US.

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher wrote a letter in this regard to the Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in the wake of the ongoing court case against the prestigious Harvard University.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday denounced Saudi handling of the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, calling it the "worst cover-up ever", as Washington was revoking visas of Saudi officials involved in the case.

Trump told reporters at the White House that the incident was poorly managed by the Saudi authorities. "Somebody really messed up. And they had the worst cover-up ever," he said.

Later in the day, Trump described the killing and the following cover-up as "a total fiasco."

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been calling on Central American leaders to cooperate with the world organization in handling more than 7,000 migrant caravan people heading toward the Mexico-U.S. border, a UN spokesman said on Monday.

"The secretary-general has been in touch with different leaders over the weekend," Farhan Haq, Guterres' deputy spokesman, told reporters at a regular briefing.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indianapolis Zoo is trying to determine why a lioness killed her mate.

The zoo said Friday that an adult female, Zuri, attacked 10-year-old male Nyack in their outdoor yard Monday before the zoo opened for the day.

The zoo says the two had been housed together for eight years and produced three cubs in 2015. Nyack was on loan from the San Diego Zoo.