North America

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Disease experts predict that COVID will remain among the top 10 causes of death in the United States for the foreseeable future, said a report of NBC News.

After U.S. President Joe Biden said the coronavirus pandemic was "over" in an interview Sunday, many people were left wondering how to reconcile his comment with the fact that the country is still averaging about 500 COVID deaths every day, said the report published on Monday.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s new moon rocket sprouted another fuel leak Wednesday as engineers tested the plumbing ahead of a launch attempt as early as next week.

The daylong demo had barely begun when hazardous hydrogen fuel began escaping at the same place and same time as before, despite new seals and other repairs. Engineers halted the flow and warmed the lines in hopes of plugging the leak, and proceeded with the test. But the leak persisted.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Two U.S. military veterans who disappeared while fighting Russia with Ukrainian forces have been released after about three months in captivity, relatives said Wednesday.

Alex Drueke, 39, and Andy Huynh, 27, went missing in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine near the Russian border June 9. Both had traveled to Ukraine on their own and became friends because both are from Alabama.

The families announced their release in a joint statement from Dianna Shaw, an aunt of Drueke.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Wednesday that the U.S. Embassy in Cuba will begin processing full immigrant visas in early 2023, making it easier for Cubans to reunite with family members in the United States.

The embassy in Havana had last processed full immigrant visas in 2017. The U.S. government will also stop requiring Cubans seeking visas in family preference categories to travel to Georgetown, Guyana, for their interviews.

CAYEY, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Fiona strengthened into a Category 4 storm Wednesday after devastating Puerto Rico, then lashing the Dominican Republic and the Turks and Caicos Islands. It was forecast to squeeze past Bermuda later this week.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Campaigning for a northwestern Ohio congressional seat, Republican J.R. Majewski presents himself as an Air Force combat veteran who deployed to Afghanistan after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, once describing “tough” conditions including a lack of running water that forced him to go more than 40 days without a shower.

Military documents obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request tell a different story.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — President Joe Biden declared at the United Nations on Wednesday that Russia has “shamelessly violated the core tenets” of the international body with its war in Ukraine as he summoned nations around the globe to stand firm in backing the Ukrainian resistance.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s attorney general sued former President Donald Trump and his company for fraud on Wednesday, alleging they padded his net worth by billions of dollars by lying about the value of prized assets including golf courses, hotels and his homes at Trump Tower and Mar-a-Lago.

Attorney General Letitia James dubbed it: “The art of the steal.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Intensifying its fight against chronically high inflation, the Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate Wednesday by three-quarters of a point for a third straight time and signaled more sharp rate hikes to come — an aggressive pace that’s heightening the risk of an eventual recession.

The Fed’s move boosted its benchmark short-term rate, which affects many consumer and business loans, to a range of 3% to 3.25%, the highest level since early 2008.

20 Sep 2022; MEMO: Saudi Arabia will fund a mosque in Cuba serving the island's Muslim community, according to Havana's envoy to Saudi Arabia.

In an interview broadcast on Saudi state TV, Vladimir Gonzalez, said: "Because of this donation from the Saudi side, today we can say that we're building in Havana the first mosque in our country."