USA

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s attorney general is asking federal prosecutors to open a criminal investigation into 16 Republicans who submitted false certificates stating they were the state’s presidential electors despite Joe Biden’s 154,000-vote victory in 2020.

Dana Nessel, a Democrat, disclosed Thursday that her office had been evaluating charges for nearly a year but decided to refer the matter to the U.S. attorney in western Michigan.

(AP) --- The Transportation Department is launching a $27 billion program to repair and upgrade roughly 15,000 highway bridges as part of the infrastructure law approved in November. The effort is being announced Friday as President Joe Biden tries to showcase how his policies are delivering for the public.

Under the five-year program, the federal government will release nearly $5.5 billion this fiscal year to states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia and tribes, according to senior administration officials who insisted on anonymity to preview the plans.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has stopped a major push by the Biden administration to boost the nation’s COVID-19 vaccination rate, a requirement that employees at large businesses get a vaccine or test regularly and wear a mask on the job.

At the same time, the court is allowing the administration to proceed with a vaccine mandate for most health care workers in the U.S. The court’s orders Thursday came during a spike in coronavirus cases caused by the omicron variant.

by Ramona Wadi

Pluto Press has published the fourth, and rewritten edition of Paul Roger's "Losing Control: Global Security in the 21st Century". The first edition was published a little while after September 11, 2001, which gave way to the US War on Terror and its aftermath.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Aid to Afghanistan and Syria, as well as, vaccine equity demands, were high on the 2021 agenda of the UN Security Council (UNSC), which was grappling with more issues as the COVID-19 pandemic caused various problems, including an economic fallout, the UNSC said, in a press release.

WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Wednesday criticized China's decision to cancel a growing number of flights from the United States to China because of passengers who later tested positive for COVID-19 and warned it could take action in response.

"China’s actions are inconsistent with its obligations under the U.S.-China Air Transport Agreement. We are engaging with the (Chinese government) on this and we retain the right to take regulatory measures as appropriate," a U.S. Transportation Department (USDOT) spokesperson said.

WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Top U.S. Senate Republican Mitch McConnell on Wednesday blasted President Joe Biden's push for a voting-rights bill, underscoring the difficulty Biden's Democrats face in trying to steer legislation through a Congress they narrowly control.

Biden has called for Democrats to jettison the chamber's longstanding "filibuster" rule requiring 60 of the 100 senators to agree to advance most legislation, a move that McConnell said would irreparably damage the Senate.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The fast-spreading omicron variant and severe weather have led to increasing shortages at U.S. grocery stores in recent weeks, the Associate Press has reported.

The shortages impact produce, meat, and packaged goods such as cereal, the report said, adding that the shortages are widespread and are being reported nationwide.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest level since mid-November, but still low by historic standards.

U.S. jobless claims climbed by 23,000 last week to 230,000, the Department of Labor said Thursday. The four-week moving average, which smooths out week-to-week blips, rose nearly 6,300 to almost 211,000.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House panel investigating the U.S. Capitol insurrection requested an interview and records from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, as it continues to seek first-hand details from members of Congress on former President Donald Trump’s actions on the day hundreds of his supporters brutally beat police, stormed the building and interrupted the certification of the 2020 election.

McCarthy issued a statement Wednesday saying he would refuse to cooperate. He said the investigation was not legitimate and accused the panel of “abuse of power.”