North America

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Noting that China-U.S. relations are at a "critical crossroads," Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai has said that "we must be alert that some destructive forces are taking advantage of the ongoing trade frictions."

"Extreme rhetoric, such as decoupling, a new 'Cold War,' and clash of civilizations, are having their way here," Cui said Wednesday night at a gala dinner held by the U.S.-China Business Council, which represents more than 200 U.S. companies that do business with China.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday endorsed former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's presidential bid.

"I'm not endorsing Joe because I've known him for so long, but because I know him so well," Kerry tweeted. "He'll be ready on day one to put back together the country and the world that (U.S. President) Donald Trump has broken apart."

WASHINGTON, Dec 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States said it was considering deploying fresh forces in the Middle East to counter Iran, with an official saying some 5,000 to 7,000 troops could head to the region.

Testifying before Congress, John Rood, the under secretary of defense for policy, said that the United States was “observing Iran’s behavior with concern.”

“We’re continuing to look at that threat picture and have the ability to dynamically adjust our force posture,” Rood told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX launched a 3-ton shipment to the International Space Station on Thursday, including “mighty mice” for a muscle study, a robot sensitive to astronauts’ emotions and a miniature version of a brewery’s malt house.

The Dragon capsule also is delivering holiday goodies for the six station residents. NASA’s Kenny Todd isn’t giving any hints, but said, “Santa’s sleigh, I think, is certified for the vacuum of space.”

The recycled capsule should arrive Sunday.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The laws are still on the books in Virginia: Blacks and whites must sit in separate rail cars. They cannot use the same playgrounds, schools or mental hospitals. They can’t marry each other either.

The measures have not been enforced for decades, but they remain in the state’s official legal record. A state commission on Thursday recommended that dozens of such discriminatory statutes finally be repealed, in some cases more than a century after they were adopted.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Finger pointing and voice hoarse, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday delivered a broadside to a reporter that might well apply to all of impeachment-era Washington: “Don’t mess with me.”

HOUSTON (AP) — A flu-ridden 16-year-old from Guatemala writhed in agony inside a U.S. Border Patrol cell and collapsed on the floor where he lay for several hours before he was found dead, according to video released Thursday that further calls into question the Trump administration’s treatment of immigrant families.

The footage published by ProPublica shows the last hours of Carlos Hernandez Vasquez, who was found dead May 20. He is one of at least six children to have died since December 2018 after being detained by border agents.

MIRAMAR, Fla. (AP) — Four people, including a UPS driver, were killed Thursday after robbers stole the driver’s truck and led police on a chase that ended in gunfire at a busy South Florida intersection during rush hour, the FBI said.

Both robbers were shot and killed, and the fourth victim was in a nearby vehicle when shots rang out at a crowded intersection in Miramar, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of where the incident began, FBI Special Agent in Charge George Piro said during a news conference Thursday night.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A blind prisoner convicted of killing his estranged girlfriend by setting her on fire in her car was put to death Thursday in Tennessee’s electric chair, becoming only the second inmate without sight to be executed in the U.S. since the reinstatement of the nation’s death penalty in 1976.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Just get on with it.

After months of fighting the House impeachment inquiry, blocking witnesses and ignoring subpoenas, the White House is now publicly embracing a strategy it has privately signaled for weeks: It will accept the reality that President Donald Trump will likely be impeached by the House and focus instead on a made-for-TV trial on friendlier turf in the Republican-controlled Senate.