North America

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Police have arrested a suspect in connection with a shooting at a busy shopping mall in South Carolina’s capital on Saturday that left 14 people injured.

Columbia Police Chief W.H. “Skip” Holbrook said 22-year-old Jewayne M. Price, who was one of three people initially detained by law enforcement as a person of interest, remains in police custody and is expected to be charged with unlawful carrying of a pistol.

It is not immediately known if Price has an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

FORT IRWIN, Calif. (AP) — In the dusty California desert, U.S. Army trainers are already using lessons learned from Russia’s war against Ukraine as they prepare soldiers for future fights against a major adversary such as Russia or China.

The role-players in this month’s exercise at the National Training Center speak Russian. The enemy force that controls the fictional town of Ujen is using a steady stream of social media posts to make false accusations against the American brigade preparing to attack.

NEW YORK, Apr 16 (APP): India has weaponized its legal system to limit free speech and harass journalists, particularly those in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir, The New York Times reported Saturday, citing human rights activists.

In a dispatch from New Delhi, the newspaper said the clampdown on Kashmir’s media had intensified since 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government revoked the state’s special status, bringing the disputed region under direct control of the federal government.

RICHMOND (Virginia, US), April 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A US federal jury in Virginia has convicted an ex-British jihadist over his involvement with a notorious Daesh terror cell.

El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, was linked to the abduction, torture and beheading of several IS hostages in Syria, including journalists and aid workers.

On Thursday, after an 11-day trial, he was found guilty of lethal hostage taking and conspiracy to commit murder.

Elsheikh was the highest profile Daesh fighter to stand trial in the US.

Montana, Apr 16 (AP) The Interior Department has said it's moving forward with the first onshore sales of public oil and gas drilling leases under President Joe Biden, but will sharply increase royalty rates for companies as federal officials weigh efforts to fight climate change against pressure to bring down high gas prices.

The royalty rate for new leases will increase to 18.75% from 12.5%. That's a 50% jump and marks the first increase to royalties for the federal government since the early 1900s.

Washington, Apr 16 (PTI) Leading Indian-Americans, including US Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, have slammed a law professor from University of Pennsylvania for her disparaging comments about the Asian American community, with a specific disdain for Indian-Americans.

In a recent interview to Fox News, Prof Amy Wax from the University of Pennsylvania alleged that Blacks and non-Western groups have a tremendous amount of resentment and shame against western people for [their] outsized achievements and contributions.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — When trying to decide whether to seek a fourth term in the Connecticut House of Representatives, Rep. Joe de la Cruz ran the question by his wife, who he jokingly refers to as his lawyer and financial advisor.

While Tammy de la Cruz didn’t want to discourage her 51-year-old husband from stepping away from the part-time job he has grown to love, she acknowledged it didn’t make financial sense for him run again in November.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Twitter said Friday that its board of directors has unanimously adopted a “poison pill” defense in response to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s proposal to buy the company for more than $43 billion and take it private.

The move would allow existing Twitter shareholders — except for Musk — to buy additional shares at a discount, thereby diluting Musk’s stake in the company and making it harder for him to corral a majority of shareholder votes in favor of the acquisition.

Twitter’s plan would take effect if Musk’s roughly 9% stake grows to 15% or more.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, earned $610,702 during their first year in the White House and paid $150,439 in federal income taxes. That was a tax rate of 24.6% for 2021, well over the average of around 14% for all Americans.

The totals were similar to the Bidens’ 2020 returns, when they reported earning $607,336 as he ran for president. They reported a federal income tax rate of 25.9% then.

The national median household income was $67,521 in 2020, according to U.S. Census data.

(AP) --- Douglas Siddens’ mother was among those who made it out with just the clothes on her back when a deadly, wind-fueled wildfire ripped through a mountain community in southern New Mexico.

The RV park where she lived was reduced to “metal frame rails and steel wheels,” said Siddens, who managed the site

“I had like 10 people displaced. They lost their homes and everything, including my mom,” he said.