USA

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — The defense rested its case Thursday at the murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, setting the stage for closing arguments Monday in the shootings that left Americans divided over whether he was a patriot taking a stand against lawlessness or a vigilante.

Rittenhouse’s lawyers put on about 2 1/2 days of testimony to the prosecution’s five, with the most riveting moment coming when the 18-year-old told the jury that he was defending himself from attack when he used his rifle to kill two men and wound a third on the streets of Kenosha in the summer of 2020.

WASHINGTON, Nov 11 (APP): Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US, Asad Majeed Khan, reaffirmed his government’s commitment to economic reform and facilitating international investment at an event hosted by a group of leading American investors on Wednesday.

Ambassador Khan, who was invited by the 20-20 Investment Association to the closing session of its annual meeting in Washington, said Pakistan provides attractive incentives and liberal policies for investment in all sectors of the economy for foreign and local investors.

LOS ANGELES, Nov 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) – A new report found a 20 percent increase in hate crimes last year, in Los Angeles County, the most populous county in the United States, mostly due to a 53 percent jump in racial hate crime.

In 2020, reported hate crimes in the county, home to over 10 million residents, grew from 530 to 635, the largest number since 2008, according to the annual report, released by the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations yesterday. The report noted that, hate crimes have been trending upwards, and since 2013 there has been a 65 percent rise.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress are looking to give U.S. automakers with union employees the inside track on the burgeoning electric vehicle market, triggering vocal opposition from foreign trade partners and Republicans who worry that manufacturers in their home states will be placed at a competitive disadvantage.

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Kyle Rittenhouse told jurors at his murder trial that he tried to get away from his pursuers the night he shot three men during street unrest in Kenosha, saying he never wanted to kill anyone: “I didn’t do anything wrong. I defended myself.”

The 18-year-old spent most of Wednesday giving his account of what happened in just a few frenzied minutes on Aug. 25, 2020, sobbing so hard at one point that the judge called a recess.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A SpaceX rocket carried four astronauts toward orbit Wednesday night, including the 600th person to reach space in 60 years.

The repeatedly delayed flight occurred just two days after SpaceX brought four other astronauts home from the International Space Station. They should have been up there to welcome the newcomers, but NASA and SpaceX decided to switch the order based on Monday’s ideal recovery weather in the Gulf of Mexico.

BALTIMORE (AP) — With Americans facing the highest annual inflation rate in decades, President Joe Biden is trying to persuade the country his infrastructure economic plans can fix the problem.

The president heads to the Port of Baltimore on Wednesday for the start of what is likely to be a national tour to showcase the $1 trillion legislation that cleared Congress last week. The president intends to emphasize how the spending can strengthen global supply chains to help lower prices, reduce shortages and add union jobs, the White House says.

DETROIT (AP) — A judge on Wednesday approved a $626 million deal to settle lawsuits filed by Flint residents who found their tap water contaminated by lead following disastrous decisions to switch the city’s water source and a failure to swiftly acknowledge the problem.

Most of the money — $600 million — is coming from the state of Michigan, which was accused of repeatedly overlooking the risks of using the Flint River without properly treating the water.

10 Nov 2021; MEMO: The US sharply denounced on Tuesday a visit from the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) top diplomat to Damascus and issued a veiled warning to regional states to carefully consider any effort to normalise relations with the Syrian regime.

UAE Foreign Minister, Abdullah bin Zayed, earlier on Tuesday led an Emirati delegation of senior officials to Damascus, where they were received by Bashar Al-Assad in what marks the first such visit since the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — The man who initiated the chase that ended in Ahmaud Arbery’s death quickly changed his story about why he suspected the 25-year-old Black man running in his neighborhood was a criminal, two police officers testified Tuesday.

Glynn County police Officer Jeff Brandeberry told a jury that Greg McMichael — one of three white men on trial for murder in the case — at first told him that Arbery had been recorded by security cameras “breaking in all these houses out here.”