USA

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ulysses S. Grant was still president when workers finished the Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, which connected Philadelphia and Washington through rail travel for the first time.

But 150 years later, the tunnel that runs under some of Baltimore’s residential neighborhoods is more of a chokepoint than a lifeline. There’s only one track, and trains need to slow down to just 30 mph to navigate a tight turn on the southern end.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — An unarmed Black man dies after a videotaped beating by police. The officers involved are fired. After a thorough review of the evidence, criminal charges are swiftly filed against the offending officers.

Investigation, accountability and charges.

This is often the most Black citizens can hope for as the deaths continue. Nationwide, police have killed roughly three people per day consistently since 2020, according to academics and advocates for police reform who track such deaths.

WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - A top Republican in the U.S. Congress said on Sunday the odds of conflict with China over Taiwan "are very high," after a U.S. general caused consternation with a memo that warned the United States would fight China in the next two years.

In a memo dated Feb. 1 but released on Friday, General Mike Minihan, who heads the Air Mobility Command, wrote to the leadership of its roughly 110,000 members saying, "My gut tells me we will fight in 2025."

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Jan 28 (Reuters) - The specialized police unit that included the five Memphis officers charged with the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols was disbanded on Saturday as more protests took place in U.S. cities a day after harrowing video of the attack was released.

The police department said in a statement it was permanently deactivating the SCORPION unit after the police chief spoke with members of Nichols' family, community leaders and other officers. A police spokesperson confirmed all five officers were members of the unit.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Protesters hit the streets in some U.S. cities following the release of footage Friday night showing a deadly police beating of an African American man.

The hour-long video captured several police officers beating Tyre Nichols, 29, during a traffic stop on Jan. 7 in Memphis, Tennessee, where they allegedly stopped him for reckless driving.

The officers pepper-sprayed and shocked Nichols with Taser while they can also be seen beating the motorist with a baton and kicking and punching him. Nichols, subdued, kept yelling "mom."

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump kicked off his 2024 White House bid with stops Saturday in New Hampshire and South Carolina, events in early-voting states marking the first campaign appearances since announcing his latest run more than two months ago.

“Together we will complete the unfinished business of making America great again,” Trump said at an evening event in Columbia to introduce his South Carolina leadership team.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The Memphis police chief disbanded the city’s so-called Scorpion unit on Saturday, citing a “cloud of dishonor” from newly released video that showed some of its officers beating Tyre Nichols to death after stopping the Black motorist.

28 Jan 2023; MEMO: The US Treasury Department's senior sanctions official, Brian Nelson, will be warning countries and businesses during a trip to the Middle East next week that they could lose access to the US market if they do business with entities subject to US sanctions and restrictions. This comes in addition to Washington cracking down on attempts by Russia to avoid sanctions imposed on it due to its war in Ukraine.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 28 (APP): Nearly two years on from Myanmar’s brutal military coup against the democratically-elected government, the Southeast Asian country has sunk deeper than ever into crisis, undergoing a wholesale regression in human rights, UN human rights chief Volker Turk has said.

“By nearly every feasible measurement, and in every area of human rights – economic, social and cultural, as much as civil and political – Myanmar has profoundly regressed,” he said in a statement.

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Jan 27 (Reuters) - Tyre Nichols repeatedly cried, "Mom! Mom!” as the five Memphis police officers now charged with the Black motorist's murder pummeled him with kicks, punches and baton blows after a Jan. 7 traffic stop, video released by the city on Friday showed.

The video from police body-worn cameras and a camera mounted on a utility pole were posted online a day after the officers were charged with second-degree murder, assault, kidnapping, official misconduct and oppression in Nichols' death.