USA

ATLANTA (AP) — The National Urban League released its annual report on the State of Black America on Tuesday, and its findings are grim. This year’s Equality Index shows Black people still get only 73.9 percent of the American pie white people enjoy.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, whose seven months in that role has been overshadowed by probes into a previous campaign, was arrested Tuesday in a federal corruption investigation.

The Democrat was accused in an indictment of participating in a scheme to obtain campaign contributions from a real estate developer in exchange for Benjamin’s agreement to use his influence as a state senator to get a $50,000 grant of state funds for a nonprofit organization the developer controlled.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is visiting corn-rich Iowa on Tuesday to announce he’ll suspend a federal rule preventing the sale of higher ethanol blend gasoline this summer, as his administration tries to tamp down prices at the pump that have spiked during Russia’s war with Ukraine.

Most gasoline sold in the U.S. is blended with 10% ethanol. The Environmental Protection Agency will issue an emergency waiver to allow widespread sale of 15% ethanol blend that is usually prohibited between June 1 and Sept. 15 because of concerns that it adds to smog in high temperatures.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation soared over the past year at its fastest pace in more than 40 years, with costs for food, gasoline, housing and other necessities squeezing American consumers and wiping out the pay raises that many people have received.

NEW YORK (AP) — At least five people were shot and injured Tuesday at a New York City subway station during a morning rush hour attack that left wounded commuters bleeding on a train platform and police searching for the shooter.

Fire personnel responding to reports of smoke at the 36th Street station in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood at around 8:30 a.m. found at least 13 people were hurt, but — aside from the five shot — there were no details on what those injuries entailed.

Washington, Apr 12 (PTI) The US is monitoring some recent "concerning developments" on human rights violations in India by some government, police, and prison officials, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.

Blinken made these remarks at a joint news conference with Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and their Indian counterparts -- External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh -- after the conclusion of the 2+2 Ministerial on Monday.

Washington, Apr 11 (PTI) The US values its long-standing cooperation with Islamabad and has always viewed that a prosperous and democratic Pakistan is critical to the American interests in the region, the White House said on Monday, as Opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif was sworn-in as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

WASHINGTON, April 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday eased its COVID-19 travel ratings for Saudi Arabia, Myanmar and Haiti.

The CDC said it had changed its COVID-19 travel recommendation for the three countries to "Level 1: Low" from "Level 4: Very High," which urges Americans to avoid travel to those locations.

WASHINGTON, April 11 (Reuters) - U.S. President Biden discussed issues regarding Ukraine, including India's energy purchases from Russia, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a virtual meeting on Monday but did not make a "concrete ask," a senior U.S. administration official said.

India will make its own decisions, but the United States believes India should not accelerate energy purchases from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing war, the official said. The two leaders had an hour-long, productive and candid conversation, the official said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is nominating an Obama-era U.S. attorney to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as his administration unveils its formal rule to rein in ghost guns, privately made firearms without serial numbers that are increasingly cropping up at crime scenes, six people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.