North America

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — The City of Winston-Salem is asking people within one mile of a blaze at a fertilizer plant to evacuate due to the possibility of a large explosion.

WGHP-TV reports that the fire started Monday night at the Weaver Fertilizer Plant on North Cherry Street. City officials have confirmed small explosions at the plant.

Firefighters say there is the potential for a large explosion of ammonium nitrate. Winston-Salem Fire Chief Trey Mayo says fire crews “abandoned” the fire-fighting operation because of the large volume of ammonium nitrate on site.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will meet with Senate Judiciary Committee leaders on Tuesday to discuss the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court vacancy and the president’s promise to nominate a Black woman to the high court. Aides said Biden’s list of potential candidates is longer than three.

The White House also pushed back Monday on the idea that the president would be open to “gaming the system” by choosing a nominee solely based on her likelihood of garnering bipartisan support.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia accused the West on Monday of “whipping up tensions” over Ukraine and said the U.S. had brought “pure Nazis” to power in Kyiv as the U.N. Security Council held a stormy and bellicose debate on Moscow’s troop buildup near its southern neighbor.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield shot back that Russia’s growing military force of more than 100,000 troops along Ukraine’s borders was “the largest mobilization” in Europe in decades, adding that there has been a spike in cyberattacks and Russian disinformation.

UNITED NATIONS, January 31. /TASS/: The United States is seeking to mislead the world community about the real state of things around Ukraine and the reasons for the current outburst of global tensions, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said on Monday.

Jan 31 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden said Russia would face "swift and severe consequences" from the U.S. and its allies if Moscow attacked Ukraine, but he also kept the path of diplomacy open by suggesting the possibility of dialogue.

"If Russia is sincere about addressing our respective security concerns through dialogue, the United States and our Allies and partners will continue to engage in good faith", Biden said in a statement Monday released by the White House.

HAVANA, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Cubans bundled up in heavy jackets, hats and gloves and shuttered their homes on Monday as near-record cold and strong winds slammed the balmy Caribbean island more accustomed to bright sun and sultry trade winds.

The small town of Bainoa, east of Havana, felt temperatures plunge to just 3 degree Celsius (37.4°F) early Monday morning, following gusty winds that buffeted the island's palm fringed shores much of the weekend.

OTTAWA, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday said Canadians were disgusted by the behavior of some people protesting against COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Ottawa and said he would not be intimidated by those hurling abuse.

Dozens of trucks and other vehicles have jammed up central Ottawa since Friday and thousands descended upon Parliament Hill to complain about Trudeau and COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The United States, Britain and Canada on Monday imposed sanctions against additional officials in Myanmar, in measures timed to mark one year since the military seized power and plunged the country into chaos.

A joint action by the three nations, who have all already imposed sanctions on Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing and other members of the junta, targeted judicial officials involved in prosecutions against deposed Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

WASHINGTON/LONDON/MOSCOW, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The United States and its allies have prepared a list of Russian elites in or near President Vladimir Putin's inner circle to punish with sanctions if Russia sends troops into Ukraine, a senior U.S. official said on Monday.

Britain urged Putin to "step back from the brink" after the Russian buildup of troops near Ukraine stoked fears of war, and warned any incursion would trigger sanctions against companies and people close to the Kremlin. 

OTTAWA, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of trucks and thousands of protesters remained near Parliament Hill on Sunday for a second day to protest the Canadian government's vaccine mandate for essential workers crossing the Canada-U.S. border, despite Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson's call for them to "go back to your home."

The "Freedom Convoy 2022" protest began on Saturday as a rally of truckers against the requirement that Canadian truck drivers crossing the border into the United States be fully vaccinated as of mid-January.