USA

WASHINGTON, July 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden said he will visit the Japanese embassy in Washington to sign a condolence book after Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was gunned down on Friday.

He also said he tried to call Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who he called "a very solid guy," adding "Japan is a very, very stable ally."

WASHINGTON, July 8 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden was due to discuss tariffs on Chinese imports with advisers on Friday, but it was unclear when he would make a decision on whether to remove some duties to try to fight inflation, two people familiar with the deliberations said.

The White House meeting is one of several in recent weeks as Biden struggles to balance competing desires to use every lever possible to ease inflation and to maintain pressure on China to try to win concessions on Beijing's state-driven economic policies.

WASHINGTON, July 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury on Friday said it was moving to terminate a 1979 tax treaty with Hungary in the wake of Budapest's decision to block the European Union's implementation of a new, 15% global minimum tax.

A Treasury spokesperson said that since Hungary lowered its corporate tax rate to 9% - less than half the 21% U.S. rate - the benefits of the tax treaty unilaterally benefit Hungary and no longer benefit the United States.

WASHINGTON, July 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden signed a new weapons package worth up to $400 million for Ukraine on Friday, including four additional high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) and more ammunition.

The new U.S. aid is meant to bolster Ukraine as it confronts heavy pounding by Russian artillery.

WASHINGTON, July 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden said the Supreme Court decision overturning the right to an abortion was an exercise in "raw political power" and signed an executive order on Friday to help protect access to services to terminate pregnancies.

Biden, a Democrat, has been under pressure from his own party to take action after the landmark decision last month to overturn Roe v Wade, which upended roughly 50 years of protections for women's reproductive rights.

UNITED NATIONS, July 7 (Xinhua) -- A new UN report released Thursday warns that intersecting global crises are threatening the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and rescue efforts are needed in this regard.

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022 reveals that the convergence of increased fighting, the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, and the long-term climate crisis, could push an additional 75 to 95 million people into extreme poverty this year - compared with pre-pandemic projections - and jeopardize the SDG blueprint for more resilient, peaceful and equal societies.

NEW YORK, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Most Americans have an unfavorable view of the U.S. Supreme Court's consequential decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark ruling that established the constitutional right to abortion, a new poll conducted by Pew Research Center found.

Roughly six-in-ten American adults disapproved of the ruling, with 43 percent saying they strongly disapproved, according to the poll released on Wednesday. The sentiment was largely split along political party lines, as most Democrats polled disapproved of the decision and most Republicans approved of it.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson endorsed construction company co-owner Tim Michels for governor on Friday, after Thompson decided against a run earlier this year.

Michels also won the backing of former President Donald Trump last month. Polls show Michels is in a tight primary race with former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The mayor of Uvalde on Friday disputed a new report that alleges missed chances to quickly end the massacre at a Texas elementary school, again reflecting the lack of definitive answers about the slow law enforcement response to one of the deadliest classroom shootings in U.S. history.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — As missed warning signs pile up in investigations of mass killings, New York state is rolling out a novel strategy to screen applicants for gun permits. People seeking to carry concealed handguns will be required to hand over lists of their social media accounts for a review of their “character and conduct.”

It’s an approach applauded by many Democrats and national gun control advocacy groups, but some experts have raised questions about how the law will be enforced and address free speech concerns.