USA

WASHINGTON, August 14. /TASS/: An unidentified man fired several shots in the air near the US Congress building in Washington and committed suicide in the small hours on Sunday, the local police said.

According to the police, the incident occurred shortly after 04:00 am local time. A car rammed a fence at a crossroads near the Congress building and caught fire. The driver went out of the car and made several shots in the air. After that, he committed suicide.

WASHINGTON, Aug 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Hadi Matar, the suspect in the attack on author Salman Rushdie at an event in New York state, has been charged with attempted murder and is being held without bond, the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s office said.

Matar, a 24-year-old man from Fairview, New Jersey, was arraigned late on Friday on charges of attempted murder in the second degree and assault in the second degree, the county’s district attorney, Jason Schmidt, said in a statement.

WASHINGTON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday congratulated India on 75 years of independence and said the United States and India were "indispensable partners" that would continue to work together to address global challenges in the years ahead.

India will mark its 75th year of independence on Monday, celebrating the end of British colonial rule in 1947.

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- A serious chemical leak accident forced the evacuation of more than 100 homes in Perris, 122 kilometers east of Los Angeles downtown Friday morning and prompted the closure of the 215 Freeway in both directions.

Local NBC 4 news channel reported that Cal Fire Riverside County received a call about the chemical leak around 7:40 p.m. Thursday local time, when someone discovered a large plume of smoke coming from a rail car along the railway running parallel to the freeway in the town with over 77,000 residents.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A private prison company has agreed to settle a federal lawsuit over a Tennessee inmate’s killing that got national attention after a judge ordered the plaintiff’s attorney to stop tweeting about it.

Tennessee-based CoreCivic and attorney Daniel Horwitz, who represents the family of the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center inmate who died, noted the settlement Tuesday in a federal court filing in Nashville.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A defense mental health expert in the penalty trial of Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz can pinpoint when he realized the 23-year-old mass murderer still has “irrational thoughts” — the two were making small talk when Cruz began describing plans for an eventual life outside prison.

ATLANTA (AP) — In the state investigation spurred by then-President Donald Trump’s call to Georgia’s top election official, people who have been called to testify — or who might be — about potential interference in the 2020 presidential contest are turning to high-profile lawyers.

MAYVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — Salman Rushdie is “on the road to recovery,” his agent confirmed Sunday, two days after the author of “The Satanic Verses” suffered serious injuries in a stabbing at a lecture in upstate New York.

(AP) --- Facing prison time and dire personal consequences for storming the U.S. Capitol, some Jan. 6 defendants are trying to profit from their participation in the deadly riot, using it as a platform to drum up cash, promote business endeavors and boost social media profiles.

14 August 2022; MEMO: The United States and the administration of President Joe Biden have insisted that the country and its presence in the Middle East "is not going anywhere," countering claims that China is replacing it as the hegemon in the region.

Speaking to the American news channel CNBC, the US's special envoy for Yemen – Tim Lenderking – commented on the reported visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Saudi Arabia next week, saying that diplomatic visits by other world powers are to be expected.