North America

US regulators clear way for more monkeypox vaccine shipments

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands more doses of monkeypox vaccine are expected to soon begin shipping to the U.S. after federal health officials said they had completed an inspection of the overseas plant where they were manufactured.

The update from the Food and Drug Administration comes amid soaring demand for the two-dose vaccine as thousands of people in New York City, California and other parts of the U.S. await a chance to get the shot.

USA: Crews still searching for 3 people after Virginia flooding

GRUNDY, Va. (AP) — Authorities in a remote corner of southwest Virginia have located all but three of the 44 people who were reported unaccounted for after devastating flooding washed out roadways and damaged more than 100 homes.

Buchanan County Sheriff John McClanahan said Thursday that crews from state and local agencies worked throughout the night to locate and reunite residents with their loved ones. He said there are no reports of injuries or deaths.

US stocks fall following another hot inflation report

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell broadly in afternoon trading on Wall Street Thursday after another hot reading on inflation had investors bracing for another big interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve later this month.

The S&P 500 fell 0.9% as of 12:01 p.m. Eastern. More than 95% of companies in the benchmark index were in the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 306 points, or 1%, to 30.468 and the Nasdaq fell 0.6%.

USA: Alex Murdaugh charged with murder in deaths of wife, son

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was charged with murder Thursday in the deaths of his wife and younger son, who were fatally shot outside their home more than a year ago.

Murdaugh is already jailed and faces dozens of criminal charges that have piled up in the months since his wife Maggie, 52, and their 22-year-old son, Paul, were killed. But until now he had not been charged in connection with his wife and son’s deaths.

USA: Buffalo supermarket to reopen 2 months after mass shooting

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo supermarket where 10 Black people were killed by a white gunman is set to reopen its doors to the public Friday, two months after the racist attack.

A moment of silence and prayer will be held Thursday at Tops Friendly Market to honor the victims, employees and community impacted by the May 14 mass shooting, with a ceremonial reopening of the overhauled store before customers return Friday, the company said.

USA: Capitol riot hearings raise questions of presidential power

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Jan. 6 committee’s investigation of the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election and the events leading up to the U.S. Capitol insurrection is raising questions about former President Donald Trump’s role and whether he committed crimes.

The various schemes and talking points that witnesses have revealed also highlight what a president has the authority to do.

Government and legal experts say the bigger question is: Can further limits be put on presidential authority to make sure there are no repeats of 2020 in future administrations?

UNGA decides to continue UNSC reform talks during next session; Pakistan urges flexibility to reconcile divergent stands

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 13 (APP): The General Assembly Tuesday decided that intergovernmental negotiations (IGN) on enlarging the UN Security Council will continue during its upcoming 77th session, with the 193-member body’s President , Abdulla Shahid, saying that the negotiating process this year has made progress towards agreement on reforming the 15-member Council.

“We have made progress this year. This is clear,” Shahid said, ahead of the unanimous adoption of a draft oral decision to rollover the IGN process to upcoming session that begins in September this year.

Newer Omicron subvariants account for over 80 pct new infections in U.S.

LOS ANGELES, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The newer and most contagious Omicron subvariants, known as BA.4 and BA.5, now make up over 80 percent of COVID-19 infections in the United States, according to data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday.

The BA.5 subvariant accounted for 65 percent of new infections in the latest week ending July 9, while BA.4 accounted for 16.3 percent of new infections, CDC data show.

BA.5 has become the dominant variant in the United States.

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