USA

30 Oct 2021; MEMO: The United States has implemented a series of sanctions which seem to directly target Iran's unmanned combat drone program, citing concerns that it uses the technology to cause havoc in the region and in East Africa.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic leaders were hoping for House votes as soon as Tuesday on the two pillars of President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda, two Democrats said Saturday, as the party mounted its latest push to maneuver the long-delayed legislation through Congress.

It remained unclear, though, whether the ambitious timetable could be met.

Top Democrats would like a final House-Senate compromise on Biden’s now $1.75 trillion, 10-year social and environment plan to be written by Sunday, the Democrats said.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — For four years, nothing rallied Democrats like the push to get Donald Trump out of office. Now, they’re not sure what to do without him.

NEW YORK, Oct 30 (APP): Majid Khan, a Pakistani detainee at the notorious United States Guantanamo Bay military prison, who was brutally interrogated at U.S. government secretive prisons described in court for the first time the intense CIA abuse tactics he endured, according to multiple American media reports.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 30 (APP): The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution Friday strongly condemning attacks against schools, children and teachers and urging conflict parties to immediately safeguard the right to education.

While the 15-member Council has issued previous statements decrying attacks on schools, this is its first resolution to explicitly focus on the link between education and peace and security.

WASHINGTON/ROME, Oct 30 (Reuters) - The United States and European Union are expected this weekend to announce a deal to resolve a dispute over U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs imposed in 2018 by former President Donald Trump, easing a major transatlantic trade irritant, six people familiar with the agreement said.

Three of the sources said the agreement, details of which were still being finalized, would allow EU countries to export duty free some 3.3 million tons of steel annually to the United States under a tariff-rate quota system.

(AP) --- Former President Donald Trump is trying to block documents including call logs, drafts of remarks and speeches and handwritten notes from his chief of staff relating to the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection from being released to the committee investigating the riot, the National Archives revealed in a court filing early Saturday.

FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — A military jury imposed a sentence of 26 years Friday on a former Maryland man who admitted joining al-Qaida and has been held at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. But under a plea deal, the man could be released as soon as next year because of his cooperation with U.S. authorities.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected an emergency appeal from health care workers in Maine to block a vaccine mandate that went into effect Friday.

Three conservative justices noted their dissents. The state is not offering a religious exemption to hospital and nursing home workers who risk losing their jobs if they are not vaccinated.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Attorney General Letitia James formally announced Friday that she is running for governor, a widely anticipated move from the woman who oversaw an investigation into allegations that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed numerous women.

James announced her candidacy on Twitter, saying, “I’m running for Governor of New York because I have the experience, vision, and courage to take on the powerful on behalf of all New Yorkers.”