North America

UNITED NATIONS, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Fresh fighting between forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the M23 armed group on Wednesday blocked aid distribution in Rutshuru, UN humanitarians said.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said UN agencies and partners reached the town of Rutshuru, in eastern DRC, on Tuesday to deliver food, non-food items and medicine, only to have distribution of the relief blocked by fighting.

Albuquerque, Apr 7 (AP) A watchdog group is suing the National Nuclear Security Administration over its failure to release public records related to the US government's plans to manufacture key components for the nation's nuclear arsenal.

The complaint filed Wednesday in US District Court in Washington, DC, covers more than a dozen records requests made since 2017 by the Los Alamos Study Group.

The nonprofit group is seeking more transparency about what it calls one the largest warhead-related programs since the end of the Cold War.

WASHINGTON, April 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden's newly announced plan to extend a pause on federal student loan repayments has drawn backlash from budget watchers and economists, who argue such untargeted move could add to inflation pressures.

"Extending the debt pause would be a massive handout to doctors and lawyers that would only feed more inflation and worsen the nation's balance sheet," said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a budget watch group.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Navy that once wanted smaller, speedy warships to chase down pirates has made a speedy pivot to Russia and China — and many of those recently built ships could be retired.

The U.S. Navy wants to decommission nine ships in the Freedom-class of littoral combat ships — warships that cost about $4.5 billion to build.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate will take up legislation Thursday to end normal trade relations with Russia and ban the importation of its oil, ratcheting up the U.S. response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine amid reports of atrocities. Both bills have languished in the Senate.

“It’s a big, big deal that we are finally getting them done,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday. “Now, I wish this could have happened sooner, but after weeks of talks with the other side, it’s important that we have found a path forward.”

NEW YORK (AP) — CBS News reporter Debora Patta has covered conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, and the aftermath of terrorist attacks in Europe. She has seen violence and death at close range before. But the atrocities she witnessed in Bucha, Ukraine this week stood out, and overwhelmed her.

“We need to be disturbed by these pictures,” Patta said on “CBS Mornings,” after describing what she and other journalists witnessed in the outskirts of Kyiv.

The war changed this week from a media perspective, which is how most people outside of Ukraine experience it.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says more government regulation is needed to police the proliferation of cryptocurrency and other digital assets and to ward off fraudulent and illicit transactions.

In practice, one result would be that users would get documentation of their crypto dealings for use in filing their taxes.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is expected to confirm Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson on Thursday, securing her place as the first Black woman on the high court and giving President Joe Biden a bipartisan endorsement for his historic pick.

WASHINGTON, April 6. /TASS/: Additional US sanctions will include, among other things, a ban on investments in Russia and will be designed to weaken the key instruments of the Russian government, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.

"This will include a ban on all new investment in Russia, increased sanctions on financial institutions and state-owned enterprises in Russia, and sanctions on Russian government officials and their family members," she said, adding that "these measures will degrade key instruments of Russian state power."

OTTAWA, Apr 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) – The various trade sanctions against Russia, indirectly drove up Canadian export values, with higher demand and substantial price increases, Statistics Canada said yesterday, publishing trade data in Feb, with crude oil contributing the most to the export growth.