Taipei, Taiwan — An expected visit to Hawaii by the head of China’s Southern Theater Command next week will come just days after a high-ranking Pentagon official attended a defense conference in Beijing. The visits, analysts said, are part of an effort to expand high-level exchanges between the U.S. and China and boost top-level military-to-military communication. It is unclear, though, how much the exchanges will do …
Mexican cartel leader ‘El Mayo’ Zambada pleads not guilty to US charges
new york — Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a powerful leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, pleaded not guilty Friday to U.S. narcotics trafficking charges in a case accusing him of engaging in murder plots, ordering torture and channeling tons of drugs into the United States. Participating in a court hearing through a Spanish-language interpreter, Zambada gave yes-or-no answers to a magistrate’s standard questions about whether he understood …
Apple faces challenges in Chinese market against Huawei’s tri-fold phone
Taipei, Taiwan — The U.S.-China technology war is playing out in the smartphone market in China, where global rivals Apple and Huawei released new phones this week. Industry experts say Apple, which lacks home-field advantage, faces many challenges in defending its market share in the country. The biggest highlight of the iPhone 16 is its artificial intelligence system, dubbed Apple Intelligence, while the Huawei Mate XT …
Scenic California mountain town walloped by blizzard is now threatened by wildfire
RUNNING SPRINGS, California — In the Southern California mountain town of Running Springs, residents live between two scenic lake resorts — a seemingly serene spot but one also caught between the swings of devastating winter snowstorms and menacing summer wildfires. Niko Rynard is currently evacuated from his home due to the Line Fire, which has charred 58 square miles (150 square km) since the weekend. About …
US and British leaders meet as Ukraine pushes to ease weapons restrictions
Washington — United States President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are meeting Friday amid an intensified push by Ukraine to loosen restrictions on using weapons provided by the U.S. and Britain to strike Russia. The talks come amid signs that the White House could be moving toward a shift in its policy, and as Russia’s President Vladimir Putin warned that Ukraine’s use of …
Boeing factory workers go on strike after rejecting contract offer
SEATTLE — Aircraft assembly workers walked off the job early Friday at Boeing factories near Seattle after union members voted overwhelmingly to go on strike and reject a tentative contract that would have increased wages by 25% over four years. The strike started at 12:01 a.m. PDT, less than three hours after the local branch of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers announced 94.6% …
US, China talk more as tensions simmer in Indo-Pacific region
American and Chinese diplomats and military officials are talking ahead of the U.S. presidential elections as tensions simmer in the South China Sea and around Taiwan. State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching reports. Contributor: Jeff Seldin. Narrator: Elizabeth Cherneff. …
Exclusive interview: US boosts diplomacy, security support in Somalia
MOGADISHU, SOMALIA/WASHINGTON — In an exclusive interview, U.S. Ambassador to Somalia Richard Riley shed light on the ongoing diplomatic efforts and security challenges facing the East African nation, including U.S. efforts to find a peaceful diplomatic solution to the ongoing dispute between Somalia and Ethiopia. Somalia and Ethiopia have been in a dispute that was ignited at the beginning of this year when Ethiopia signed a …
Six months on, key measures languish in Pacific Islands pact with US
WASHINGTON — More than six months after a crucial security deal between Washington and some Pacific Island nations was signed into law, key features of the Compacts of Free Association have not been implemented, raising questions in the region about U.S. commitment to its Pacific partners in the face of an increasingly assertive Beijing. In March, the passage of the Compacts of Free Association, or COFA, …
Kansas prison where ‘In Cold Blood’ killers were executed will soon open for tours
LANSING, Kansas — The shuttered Kansas prison where the killers chronicled in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood were executed is now a tourist attraction. Starting Friday, former wardens and corrections officers will lead two-hour tours of the stone-walled building in Lansing that first began housing inmates in the 1860s, The Kansas City Star reported. The building, originally called the Kansas State Penitentiary, was without purpose after …
Botswana, US firm partner to conduct border pathogen monitoring
Gaborone, Botswana — Botswana and an American biotech firm, Ginkgo Bioworks, have partnered to conduct pathogen surveillance at the country’s entry points. Health officials say the proactive move is meant to safeguard public health as the world faces emerging disease threats. Botswana introduced mpox screening last month for travelers at its entry points. In a statement Wednesday, Ministry of Health spokesperson Christopher Nyanga said a pathogen-monitoring …
US supports two permanent UN Security Council seats for Africa
UNITED NATIONS — The United States supports creating two permanent United Nations Security Council seats for African states and one seat to be rotated among small island developing states, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield will announce on Thursday. The move comes as the U.S. seeks to repair ties with Africa, where many are unhappy about Washington’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza, and deepen …
DACA case faces uncertainty again as US appellate court arguments loom
washington — The future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program remains in limbo with another court hearing set for October 10. Judges from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments on the case, initiated in 2018 by Texas and other Republican-led states seeking to end DACA. The program offers temporary protection from deportation and work permits to undocumented immigrants brought …
Biden, Harris and Trump visit Sept. 11 site in New York
New York — President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump made a rare joint appearance on Wednesday at the New York City site that marks the Sept. 11 plane attacks in 2001 that killed nearly 3,000 people. Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee and Trump, her Republican rival in the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, shook hands and exchanged a few words, …
Hurricane Francine takes aim at Louisiana coast
BATON ROUGE, La. — Hurricane Francine barreled early Wednesday toward Louisiana and is expected to make landfall in coming hours as forecasters raised threats of potentially deadly storm surge, widespread flooding and destructive winds on the northern U.S. Gulf coast. Francine drew fuel from exceedingly warm Gulf of Mexico waters to jump from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane on Tuesday night. The National …
Top takeaways from the Harris-Trump debate
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump faced off on Tuesday night in Philadelphia in a debate that comes less than two months before the presidential election. The race is tight between the two candidates. Among registered voters, Harris leads Trump by 1 point — 49% to 48% — according to the latest PBS/NPR/Marist poll. That result falls within the margin of …
Taylor Swift endorses Kamala Harris for president after debate ends
WASHINGTON — Taylor Swift, one of the music industry’s biggest stars, endorsed Kamala Harris for president shortly after the debate ended on Tuesday night. “I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos,” Swift wrote in an Instagram post, which included a link to a voter …
Congress bestows highest honor on 13 troops killed during Afghanistan withdrawal
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday presented Congress’ highest honor — the Congressional Gold Medal — to 13 U.S. service members who were killed during the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, even as the politics of a presidential election swirled around the event. Both Democrats and Republicans supported the legislation to posthumously honor the 13 U.S. troops, who were killed along with more than 170 …