North America

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Firefighters are bracing for the return of ferocious winds in the Southwest after a brief reprieve allowed them to attack flames from the air for the first time in days as a half-dozen large wildfires continue to grow in Arizona and New Mexico.

More than 500 firefighters were manning fire lines in the two states and more help was on the way Friday when the largest type of management team is scheduled to take command of resources at one of the biggest, most dangerous fires near Flagstaff, Arizona.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Mourners will gather Friday at the funeral for Patrick Lyoya, a Black man who was fatally shot in the back of the head after a traffic stop and struggle with a white police officer in Michigan.

Civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy at the family’s request. Their lawyer, prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump, also will speak at Renaissance Church of God in Christ in Grand Rapids.

SEATTLE (AP) — President Joe Biden is taking steps to restore national forests that have been devastated by wildfires, drought and blight, using an Earth Day visit to Seattle to sign an executive order protecting some of the nation’s largest and oldest trees.

Old-growth trees are key buffers against climate change and provide crucial carbon sinks that absorb significant amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy told fellow GOP lawmakers shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection that he would urge then-President Donald Trump to resign, according to audio posted by The New York Times and aired on Rachel Maddow’s MSNBC show .

21 April 2022; MEMO: The White House has given up on asking Saudi Arabia to pump more oil after being repeatedly rebuffed by the Kingdom, The Wall Street Journal reports.

According to the report, the act from the US came with the latest sign of a growing rift between the two nations.

UNITED NATIONS, April 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Five European countries called for an end to clashes in Jerusalem following a weekend of violence surrounding a holy site, in a joint statement issued after an emergency closed-door UN Security Council session.

  The United Arab Emirates and China did not join the statement, despite being among the countries that called the meeting.

MEXICO CITY, April 21 (Reuters) - Mexico's president said on Thursday that an elite unit which worked on narcotics investigations with the United States was closed last year, confirming a Reuters report, and alleging the group had been infiltrated by criminals.

On Tuesday, Reuters reported Mexico had disbanded the group that for a quarter of a century worked hand-in-hand with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to tackle organized crime. 

WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden pledged $800 million in more weaponry for Ukraine on Thursday and said he would ask Congress for more money to help bolster support for the Ukrainian military as it faces a fresh onslaught by Russia on its eastern flank.

Addressing Americans from the White House's Roosevelt Room, Biden pledged to send heavy artillery, dozens of howitzers, and 144,000 rounds of ammunition, as well as tactical drones, as he called on Congress for supplemental funding to provide additional aid for Kyiv.

OTTAWA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Canadian consumer prices rose 6.7 percent in March year over year, the largest increase since January 1991, Statistics Canada announced Wednesday.

The agency said inflationary pressure in Canada remained widespread in March, as prices rose across all eight major components. Prices increased against the backdrop of sustained price pressure in the country's housing markets, substantial supply constraints and geopolitical conflict, which has affected energy, commodity, and agriculture markets.

UNITED NATIONS, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Wednesday strongly condemned Tuesday's terrorist attack against a school and an education center in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.

According to the statement issued by council president for the month of April, Barbara Woodward, the council members condemned "in the strongest terms" the horrendous terrorist attack against the Abdul Rahim-e Shahid High School and Mumtaz Education Center in the Dasht-e-Barchi area of Kabul, Afghanistan.