USA

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The last two former Minneapolis police officers to be sentenced in federal court for violating George Floyd’s civil rights are scheduled to learn their penalties Wednesday, which could set in motion another round of plea deal discussions in state court over a killing that sparked a reckoning on racial injustice.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy is caught in an awkward, painful place. A confusing one, too.

Growth appears to be sputtering, home sales are tumbling and economists warn of a potential recession ahead. But consumers are still spending, businesses keep posting profits and the economy keeps adding hundreds of thousands of jobs each month.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The week before the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, Missouri’s Josh Hawley became the first Republican senator to announce he would object to the certification of the 2020 election.

Texas’ Ted Cruz came next, dashing off his own plan on a flight from Houston to Washington days before the joint session of Congress to certify the election results.

26 July 2022; MEMO: The recent surge in political donations totalling millions of dollars by the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has triggered a backlash amongst Democrats. Questions are being asked about the ethics of allowing multi-billionaire Republican donors to influence the results of Democratic primaries and why a single-issue pro-Israel lobby group is campaigning against a Jewish candidate instead of a far-right Republican accused of making anti-Semitic remarks.

26 July 2022; MEMO: The family of slain journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, demanded justice for the Al Jazeera reporter's killing ahead of a meeting in Washington with US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

Lina Abu Akleh, her niece, posted a video on Twitter from outside the State Department saying that she and other family members "are here to demand justice for Shireen".

27 July 2022; MEMO: The Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, has renewed Palestine's request to become a full member of the United Nations, Anadolu news agency reported.

WASHINGTON, July 26 (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday accused China of increased "provocations" against rival claimants to territory in the South China Sea and other states operating there.

"There is a clear and upward trend of PRC provocations against South China Sea claimants and other states lawfully operating in the region,” Jung Pak, deputy assistant secretary for East Asia at the State Department, told a U.S. think tank event, referring to the People's Republic of China.

LOS ANGELES, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Public health experts have warned the United States is running out of time to contain the monkeypox outbreak as nearly 3,000 confirmed monkeypox cases have been reported in the country.

The state of New York had the most cases, with 900, followed by California with 356 and Florida with 247, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Given the testing bottlenecks in the United States, monkeypox cases are likely being undercounted, health experts said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal investigators say a mistake by the captain of an American Airlines flight caused the plane’s wing to clip the ground during takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport in 2019.

The National National Transportation Safety Board said the captain applied too much rudder power to offset a crosswind, causing the plane to veer to the left and nearly leave the runway.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — The Port of Savannah saw record-breaking cargo volumes this past fiscal year amid a surge in imports and West Coast backlogs that prompted shippers to reroute goods to the East Coast.

The Georgia Ports Authority said Tuesday that docks in Savannah handled nearly 5.8 million container units of imports and exports in the fiscal year that ended June 30. That’s an increase of 8% from a year ago, when the port exceeded 5 million container units for the first time.

“The growth is stunning,” said Griff Lynch, the authority’s executive director.