USA

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. Capitol Police officer has been indicted on obstruction of justice charges after prosecutors say he helped to hide evidence of a rioter’s involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The officer, Michael A. Riley, is accused of tipping off someone who participated in the riot by telling them to remove posts from Facebook that had showed the person inside the Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack, according to court documents.

RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) — When Donald Trump rallied Republicans this week to vote for Glenn Youngkin for governor in Virginia, the former president called in to a rally of diehard supporters. That may be the closest he gets to campaigning in the most closely-watched election of 2021.

While schedules could evolve in the final weeks of the race, the two are not expected to campaign together in person before Election Day next month.

HENRICO, Va. (AP) — First lady Jill Biden campaigned Friday for Democrats in governors’ races in Virginia and New Jersey, saying “this election will set a course for a year from now” during her first political trip of her husband’s presidency.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A government watchdog group said Friday that it had filed an ethics complaint against White House press secretary Jen Psaki for a comment she made about former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat who is running for election to his old post.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said Psaki violated the Hatch Act when she appeared to endorse McAuliffe during a White House press briefing on Thursday. The Hatch Act prevents federal employees from engaging in political work while performing their official duties.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — President Joe Biden says he would prefer to cut the duration of programs in his big social services and climate change package rather than eliminate some entirely, as Democrats struggle to win support from moderates by trimming what had been a $3.5 trillion proposal.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 15 (NNN-Xinhua) — The United States was on Thursday elected a member of the UN Human Rights Council, following its withdrawal in June 2018.

In a vote at the UN General Assembly, the United States was elected along with 17 other countries for a three-year term beginning on Jan 1, 2022.

WASHINGTON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell said on Friday that Iran wants to meet in Brussels with EU officials who are coordinating indirect talks between the United States and Iran along with some other parties to the 2015 nuclear deal.

Borrell told reporters in Washington that he was ready to meet the Iranians, but could not say when that might happen.

WASHINGTON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - The White House on Friday will lift COVID-19 travel restrictions for fully vaccinated international visitors starting Nov. 8, ending historic restrictions that had barred much of the world from entering the United States for as long as 21 months.

The unprecedented travel restrictions kept millions of visitors out of the United States from China, Canada, Mexico, India, Brazil, much of Europe and elsewhere; shrunk U.S. tourism; and hurt border community economies. They prevented many loved ones and foreign workers from reuniting with families.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday signed a short-term bill to temporarily increase the nation's borrowing limit, averting a looming debt default that would cause an economic catastrophe.

Biden's signature came two days after the U.S. House of Representatives voted along party lines to approve the bill. The Senate cleared the short-term debt limit extension last week.

15 Oct 2021; MEMO: Democracy in Tunisia is in danger following a series of executive orders issued by President Kais Saied, the Congress Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa and Global Counterterrorism said yesterday.

This came during a virtual hearing titled "Tunisia: Examining the State of Democracy and Next Steps for U.S. Policy" held with the participation of a number of committee members and political experts.