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 …
US, Britain accuse Iran of sending Russia missiles to use in Ukraine
London — The United States and Britain formally accused Iran on Tuesday of supplying short-range ballistic missiles to Russia to use in the war in Ukraine, and said they will take measures to punish those involved. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking alongside British Foreign Secretary David Lammy during a visit to London, said that sanctions would be announced later Tuesday. “Russia has now received …
Top US, Chinese military brass hold first call to stabilize ties
BEIJING — The United States and China held theater-level commander talks for the first time on Tuesday, Chinese authorities said, amid efforts to stabilize military ties and avoid misunderstandings, especially in regional hot spots such as the South China Sea. Washington seeks to open new channels of regular military communication with Beijing since ties sank to a historic low after the United States downed a suspected …
Francine gains strength, expected to be hurricane when it reaches US Gulf Coast
BATON ROUGE, La. — Tropical Storm Francine churned in the Gulf of Mexico with increasing strength and was expected to reach hurricane status on Tuesday before reaching landfall in Louisiana. A storm surge warning was in effect for an area stretching from just east of Houston to the mouth of the Mississippi River south of New Orleans, according to the National Hurricane Center. Such a warning …