North America

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Wildfires have burned more than 8,000 square km in the western U.S. state of California so far this year, as multiple massive wildfires are continuing to grow, authorities said Tuesday.

"To date, 2,033,916 acres (around 8,231 square km) have burned across California," tweeted the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), adding that more than 15,500 firefighters are battling 14 active large wildfires statewide.

A total of 3,193 structures in the state have been damaged or destroyed to date, according to Cal Fire.

NEW YORK (AP) — There will be something missing at two Whole Foods stores opening next year: the rows of cashiers.

Amazon, which owns the grocery chain, said Wednesday that it will bring its cashier-less technology to two Whole Foods stores for the first time, letting shoppers grab what they need and leave without having to open their wallets. Cameras and sensors track what’s taken off shelves. Items are charged to an Amazon account after customers leave the store with them.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Crews are set to remove one of the country’s largest remaining monuments to the Confederacy, a towering statute of Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia.

The 21-foot-tall (6.4-meter) bronze likeness of Lee on a horse will be hoisted off its 40-foot (12- meter) pedestal Wednesday, 131 years after it was erected in the former capital of the Confederacy as a tribute to the Civil War leader.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has been beset by public health, military and climate crises in the past month. Not much time has been left for a potential political disaster brewing for his party in California.

With a week to spare, the White House is diving into the California gubernatorial recall election, coming to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s aid with visits from Vice President Kamala Harris and then Biden himself to try to alleviate lingering concerns about Democratic turnout in the unusual September vote.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A powerful earthquake struck near the Pacific resort city of Acapulco on Tuesday night, killing at least one person and causing buildings to rock and sway in Mexico City hundreds of kilometers away.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7 and was centered 17 kilometers (about 10 miles) northeast of Acapulco.

Guerrero state Gov. Hector Astudillo told Milenio Television late Tuesday night that one person had been killed by a falling post in the town of Coyuca de Benitez near Acapulco.

NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden declared climate change has become “everybody’s crisis” on Tuesday as he toured neighborhoods flooded by the remnants of Hurricane Ida, warning it’s time for America to get serious about the “code red” danger or face ever worse loss of life and property.

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 07 (APP): Pakistan’s Ambassador to UN, Munir Akram, Tuesday called for confronting the fascist ideology of Hindutva, led by the RSS, the parent organization of India’s ruling BJP, that “most pervasively” purveys Xenophobia, violent nationalism and Islamophobia.

He was speaking in a High-Level Forum on the Culture of Peace, convened by the President of U.N. General Assembly, on the subject: “Transformative Role of the Culture of Peace: Promoting Resilience and Inclusion in Post-Covid Recovery.

MEXICO CITY, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Mexico's government on Tuesday urged the United States to commit funds towards the economic development of southern Mexico and Central America in a bid to help contain a sharp increase in illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border this year.

Speaking ahead of talks between U.S. and Mexican officials on Thursday that will encompass investment in Central America, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said: "We hope to get a positive response to begin these investments soon."

OTTAWA, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Canadian Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was hit by a handful of gravel on Monday, television images show, as he made his way to his campaign bus past a crowd shouting their opposition to COVID-19 vaccines.

A CTV camera captured what looks to be white gravel hitting Trudeau and one of his bodyguards as he walked toward his campaign bus in London, Ontario. The Liberals canceled an event late last month because of safety concerns linked to anti-vax protesters.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. COVID-19 cases surpassed 40 million on Monday, driven by a continued surge in infections due to the unchecked spread of the Delta variant.

PANDEMIC-POUNDED NATION

As of Monday, the country's caseload was 40,016,654 with a death toll of 649,426, according to a tally by the Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

To date, 13 U.S. states have each confirmed at least 1 million COVID-19 cases, showed the tally.