North America

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden has approved a plan to redeploy U.S. troops to the eastern African country of Somalia to counter the extremist group al-Shabab, the White House said on Monday.

Drawn from forces already deployed in Africa, less than 500 U.S. troops will be repositioned to Somalia to constitute "a small, persistent U.S. military presence" in the country, a senior administration official said during a briefing with reporters, speaking on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Opening statements are set for Tuesday in the trial of a lawyer for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign who is accused of lying to the FBI as it investigated potential ties between Donald Trump and Russia in 2016.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers in the case of Michael Sussmann spent all day Monday picking a jury for the trial, the first arising from special counsel John Durham’s investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says it will expand flights to Cuba, take steps to loosen restrictions on U.S. travelers to the island, and lift Trump-era restrictions on remittances that immigrants can send to people on the island.

The State Department said in a statement Monday that it will remove the current $1,000-per-quarter limit on family remittances and will allow non-family remittance, which will support independent Cuban entrepreneurs. The U.S. will also allow scheduled and charter flights to locations beyond Havana, according to the State Department.

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Joe Biden talks about his decision to run against President Donald Trump in 2020, the story always starts with Charlottesville. He says it was the men with torches shouting bigoted slogans that drove him to join what he calls the “battle for the soul of America.”

Now Biden is facing the latest deadly manifestation of hatred after a white supremacist targeted Black people with an assault rifle at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, and left 10 people dead, the most lethal racist attack since he took office.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Signs of Republican resistance are mounting over a $40 billion aid package to Ukraine, a reemergence of the Trump-led isolationist wing of the GOP that’s coming at a crucial moment as the war against the Russian invasion deepens.

WASHINGTON (AP) — After years of irking his colleagues, a longtime moderate Democratic congressman faces his stiffest primary challenge yet in Oregon.

In North Carolina, a rising Republican star beset by personal and professional scandals is looking to eke out a win in his GOP-leaning district.

And across the U.S., an exodus of House Democrats has put a half dozen congressional seats up for grabs.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Republican Gov. Brad Little is fighting back a primary challenge on Tuesday from his lieutenant governor, Janice McGeachin, a Donald Trump-backed candidate who twice attempted a power grab last year when Little was out of state on business.

The intraparty contest between Little and McGeachin is an extreme example of the choice GOP voters face nationwide as Idaho’s ascendant far-right tries to take the state’s highest post and expand legislative gains.

RED DEER, Alberta (AP) — The old Crown and Anchor bar in Red Deer was famous for its line drawn down the middle when hosting fans during the Battle of Alberta playoff games of the late 1980s.

Calgary Flames fans on one side. Edmonton Oilers fans on the other.

THOMASVILLE, Ala. (AP) — A whole town celebrated in 2020 when, early in the coronavirus pandemic, Thomasville Regional Medical Center opened, offering state-of-the-art medicine that was previously unavailable in a poor, isolated part of Alabama. The timing for the ribbon-cutting seemed perfect: New treatment options would be available in an underserved area just as a global health crisis was unfolding.

In the end, that same timing may be the reason for the hospital’s undoing.

LAGUNA WOODS, Calif. (AP) — A gunman motivated by political hatred against Taiwan chained shut the doors of a California church and hid firebombs inside before shooting at a gathering of mostly elderly Taiwanese parishioners, killing a man who tackled him and possibly saved dozens of lives, authorities said Monday.