USA

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is nearing deals with two Pacific Island nations to extend ties that are considered critical to maintaining balance in the U.S.-China rivalry for influence in a region where the Chinese are rapidly expanding their economic, diplomatic and military clout.

ATLANTA (AP) — During the 2022 midterm campaign, President Joe Biden steered clear of Georgia as Sen. Raphael Warnock, like many other battleground-state Democrats, tried to distance himself from the White House amid an inflationary economy and the president’s lagging approval ratings.

Now, with Warnock having secured his first full term and Biden buoyed by Democrats’ better-than-expected election results, the senator is welcoming the president back to Georgia and to America’s most famous Black church.

13 Jan 2023; MEMO: American rights group, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), has asked the DC Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a federal district court's dismissal of a lawsuit brought by the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and several US citizens who live in Israel.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Thursday that the rule of law is at grave risk of becoming “the Rule of Lawlessness,” pointing to a host of unlawful actions across the globe from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and coups in Africa’s Sahel region to North Korea’s illegal nuclear weapons program and Afghanistan’s unprecedented attacks on women’s and girls’ rights.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chaos? In the House of Representatives?

Republican Kevin McCarthy wrapped his first full week as House speaker in the most outwardly orderly way, with hardly a hint of the chaotic, rebellious fight it took for the Republicans to arrive here, having barely installed him as the leader with the gavel.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s President Joe Biden’s refuge from Washington — a place that’s part home office, part Sunday family dinner venue, a safe place for his treasured 1967 Corvette and a makeshift campaign studio during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, is coming under fresh scrutiny as a repository of classified material.

SELMA, Ala. (AP) — A massive storm system whipping up severe winds and spawning tornadoes cut a path across the U.S. South, killing at least seven people in Georgia and Alabama, where a twister damaged buildings and tossed cars in the streets of historic downtown Selma.

Authorities said a clearer picture of the extent of the damage and a search for additional victims would come Friday, when conditions were expected to clear. After the storm began easing Thursday night, tens of thousands of customers were without power across the two states.

WASHINGTON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday he seriously doubted that ramped up Chinese military activities near the Taiwan Strait were a sign of an imminent invasion of the island by Beijing.

"We've seen increased aerial activity in the straits, we've seen increased surface vessel activity around Taiwan," Austin said during a press conference alongside U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their Japanese counterparts.

"But whether or not that means that an invasion is imminent, you know, I seriously doubt that," Austin said.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Congressman George Santos, embattled over lying about his resume, reiterated on Wednesday that he would not step down.

Santos, a 34-year-old Republican elected in last year's midterm elections to represent New York's 3rd congressional district, tweeted earlier in the day, "I will NOT resign!"

A group of Republicans -- including Congressman Anthony D'Esposito, who represents New York's 4th congressional district -- urged Santos to quit on Wednesday.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Brandon Presley, a Democrat in his fourth term as a Mississippi utilities regulator, announced Thursday that he is running for governor this year, saying he believes state government and the current Republican governor are disconnected from the needs of working people.