USA

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — American Airlines said Wednesday that it plans to exercise options to buy 30 more Boeing 737 Max jets while delaying delivery of Boeing 787s, larger jets that are being plagued by production flaws.

The airline expects to receive half the 737 Max 8 jets next year and the other half in 2024, as it seeks to rebuild from the pandemic.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

For Boeing, the orders from a major customer builds on a huge order for passenger and cargo planes that Qatar Airways announced earlier this week.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The federal trial of three former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating George Floyd’s rights was abruptly suspended Wednesday after one of the defendants tested positive for COVID-19.

Judge Paul Magnuson said the trial won’t resume until Monday.

The officer who tested positive wasn’t named by the court, but reporters in the courtroom said J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao were there and Thomas Lane was not. Lane’s attorney didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Republican-led Tennessee Senate is planning a vote Wednesday on whether to remove Democratic Sen. Katrina Robinson from office because of her recent wire fraud conviction.

Robinson’s criminal case involves grant money at a health care school she operated. She already had been acquitted by a judge on 15 of 20 charges sought by federal prosecutors.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A retired Army lieutenant colonel who was a pivotal witness in the first impeachment case against Donald Trump has sued the oldest son of the former president and other Trump allies, accusing them of participating in an “intentional, concerted campaign of unlawful intimidation and harassment” over his decision to testify.

(AP) --- President Joe Biden is committing to reduce the cancer death rate by 50% — a new goal for the “moonshot” initiative against the disease that was announced in 2016 when he was vice president.

Biden has set a 25-year timeline for achieving that goal, part of his broader effort to end cancer as we know it, according to senior administration officials who previewed Wednesday’s announcement on the condition of anonymity.

The issue is deeply personal for Biden: He lost his elder son, Beau, to brain cancer in 2015.

CHICAGO (AP) — A major winter storm with millions of Americans in its path brought a mix of rain, freezing rain and snow to the middle section of the United States on Wednesday as airlines canceled hundreds of flights, governors urged residents to stay off roads and schools closed campuses.

The blast of frigid weather, which began arriving Tuesday night, put a long stretch of states from New Mexico and Colorado to Maine under winter storm warnings and watches. On Wednesday morning, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan saw freezing rain, sleet and snow.

01 Feb 2022; MEMO: The United States rejects the view that Israel's actions towards the Palestinians constitute apartheid, the State Department said on Tuesday, after Amnesty International accused Israeli authorities of enforcing such policies, Reuters reports.

HOUSTON, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- A 4.5-magnitude earthquake hit the U.S. state of Oklahoma on Monday, local media reported.

The U.S. Geological Survey said it recorded the earthquake around 11:10 a.m. local time (1910 GMT). The epicenter is about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) northwest of Medford, a city with a population of about 1,000 in northern Oklahoma.

Following the earthquake, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission shut down three oil and gas wastewater disposal wells within 6 miles (9.6 km) of the epicenter.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- UN Undersecretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo on Monday called for dialogue to defuse the current tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

01 Feb 2022; MEMO: Israelis and Palestinians alike deserve to live safely and securely, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday.

Blinken spoke to Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas on the phone, a statement said, and discussed "the importance of strengthening the US relationship with the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people."

Blinken also discussed with Abbas "the need to improve quality of life for Palestinians in tangible ways."