North America

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — A third party will investigate events at Oxford High School that occurred before a school shooting that left four students dead and six other students and a teacher wounded, the Michigan district’s superintendent said Saturday.

Oxford Community Schools Superintendent Tim Throne said in a statement that he called for the outside investigation because parents have asked questions about “the school’s version of events leading up to the shooting.” He also elaborated on interactions with the student leading up to the shooting.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon intends to work better with private industry to develop high-tech systems and to strengthen relations with allies in the Indo-Pacific region in order to maintain a competitive edge over China, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday.

PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) — Donald Trump’s new social media company and its special purpose acquisition company partner say the partner has agreements for $1 billion in capital from institutional investors.

The former president launched his new company, Trump Media & Technology Group, in October. He unveiled plans for a new messaging app called “Truth Social” to rival Twitter and the other social media platforms that banned him following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — A judge imposed a combined $1 million bond Saturday for the parents of the Michigan teen charged with killing four students at Oxford High School, hours after police said they were caught hiding in a Detroit commercial building.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has plenty of options to make good on its pledge to hit Russia financially if President Vladimir Putin invades Ukraine, from sanctions targeting Putin’s associates to cutting Russia off from the financial system that sends money flowing around the world.

WASHINGTON, December 3. /TASS/: Russia is inviting the United States to reset to zero all restrictions on the operation of diplomatic offices and will be prepared to reciprocate, Russia’s ambassador in Washington, Anatoly Antonov told the media on Friday.

WASHINGTON, December 4. /TASS/. US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a secure video call on Tuesday, December 7, Reuters reported on Saturday citing a White House official.

Biden is reported to discuss Ukraine and a wide range of other topics with Putin. In particular, the US president plans to voice his concern about Russia’s alleged military activity at the border with Ukraine.

The White House has not yet responded to TASS’s request to confirm or deny it.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — United Nations chief Antonio Guterres urged authorities in Sudan to respect freedom of expression and the press, calling the coup-stricken country hostile to journalists in a report submitted Friday to the Security Council.

   Hundreds of political activists, journalists, protesters and bystanders watching anti-coup rallies were arrested following the country’s latest upheaval on Oct 25.

WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Apple Inc iPhones of at least nine U.S. State Department employees were hacked by an unknown assailant using sophisticated spyware developed by the Israel-based NSO Group, according to four people familiar with the matter.

The hacks, which took place in the last several months, hit U.S. officials either based in Uganda or focused on matters concerning the East African country, two of the sources said.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- The United States is the world's "top generator of plastic waste" in 2016, exceeded that of all European nations combined, The Hill reported recently.

An article, entitled "U.S. must cut plastic production to save oceans," was published on Wednesday, citing a new study by the National Academy of Sciences.

With a population of about 330 million, accounting for only 4.3 percent of earth's population, the United States generates a total of 42 million metric tons of such waste in 2016, the report said.