USA

22 Apr 2023; MEMO: The US military is preparing as many options as possible ahead of a possible evacuation from the US Embassy in Sudan, but no decisions have been made, US Defence Secretary, Lloyd Austin, said on Friday, Reuters reports.

22 Apr 2023; MEMO: The US, on Friday, confirmed the death of a US national in Sudan as warring Generals seek to claim control of the East African country in fighting that has drawn international condemnation, Anadolu News Agency reports.

National Security Council spokesperson, John Kirby, said an "American citizen tragically killed" in the fighting. He did not identify the individual, but voiced condolences to their family.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal grand jury indicted a Houston man Friday for allegedly calling the office of California Democratic U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters several times last year and leaving threatening voice mails, including saying he intended to “cut your throat.”

Brian Michael Gaherty, 60, was charged in the indictment with four counts of making threats in interstate communications and four counts of threatening a U.S. official, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles said in a statement.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The United States on Friday returned several Peruvian antiquities, including the intricate knotwork artifacts known as khipus, in a ceremony at the Los Angeles consulate.

The brief event came amid a push in recent years to have museums, universities and governments worldwide return cultural pieces to their home countries and tribal nations. Indigenous and African communities, in particular, have pressed institutions to reckon with their colonialist pasts and repatriate stolen or looted antiquities.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s Republican-led Legislature finished its annual session Friday without taking action on a gun control plan offered by the GOP governor in the wake of a deadly shooting at a Christian school in Nashville.

Hours later Gov. Bill Lee announced that he would call lawmakers back for a special session to work “to protect Tennessee communities and preserve constitutional rights.” Lee’s office promised more details soon, including timing and and the session’s parameters.

WASHINGTON (AP) — An overwhelming majority of people in the United States say they have recently experienced an extreme weather event, a new poll shows, and most of them attribute that to climate change.

But even as many across the country mark Earth Day on Saturday, the poll shows relatively few say they feel motivated when they talk about the issue.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) —

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday announced she replaced her director of early childhood education over the use of a teacher training book, written by a nationally recognized education group, that the Republican governor denounced as teaching “woke concepts” because of language about inclusion and structural racism.

Returning to Florida to discuss climate change, Vice President Kamala Harris announced Friday that $562 million will be spent on 149 projects around the country aimed at improving resilience to threats such as rising seas and the kinds of coastal flooding that recently slammed the southeast part of the state.

Harris outlined the funding plan during an appearance at the University of Miami, where she also toured a lab immersed in coral restoration work and a hurricane simulator capable of generating Category 5-strength winds of more than 157 mph (253 kph).

NEW YORK (AP) — Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg agreed Friday to let Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee question an ex-prosecutor about the criminal case against former President Donald Trump.

Under the agreement, committee members will be able to question Mark Pomerantz under oath next month in Washington. The deal resolves a lawsuit in which Bragg had sought to block Pomerantz from testifying, ending a legal dispute that escalated to a federal appeals court just weeks after Trump’s historic indictment.

NEW YORK (AP) — The opening phase of the Republican presidential primary has largely centered on former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ′ escalating collision.

But a new wave of GOP White House hopefuls will begin entering the race as soon as next week following a months’-long lull. They include former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who will formally launch his campaign Wednesday.