North America

PORT NECHES, Texas (AP) — More than 50,000 people in East Texas remained under a mandatory evacuation order Thursday as a fire continued to burn at a chemical plant, one day after two massive explosions there.

Jefferson County Sheriff Zena Stephens said the evacuation order and a 10 p.m. curfew order remain in effect. Officials don’t know when people will be able to return to their homes.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A liberal activist group is launching a digital ad campaign targeting the Federalist Society, a conservative legal organization that has championed judges appointed by President Donald Trump, such as Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch.

The ads, to appear on LinkedIn and Facebook, assail major law firms that sponsored the Federalist Society’s recently annual dinner, where Kavanaugh addressed more than 2,000 people in tuxedos and gowns at Washington’s Union Station.

KINGSTON, Ontario (AP) — Police in the Canadian city of Kingston say seven people have died after a small plane crashed in the area Wednesday evening.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has sent a team of four investigators to the scene of the crash, where they’re examining and documenting the wreckage.

They’ve said the plane left Markham, Ontario, and was destined for the Kingston airport, but went down just a few miles from its destination.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A divisive leader drove the opposition to extreme measures. The political climate was toxic — with little civil debate or middle ground. The clash ended in a high-risk political showdown that captured the nation’s attention and shaped the next election.

This was the 2012 battle to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker, not the 2019 fight to impeach President Donald Trump. But for some who lived through the former, the episodes have clear similarities and a warning for Democrats about overreach and distraction.

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 28 (APP): Pakistan has expressed the hope that the resumption of direct talks between the United States and the Taliban would open the way towards intra-Afghan negotiations that would lead to a peaceful settlement of the long-drawn conflict in Afghanistan.

Washington, Nov 28 (PTI) More than 227,000 Indians are waiting in line for family-sponsored Green Card or legal permanent residency, according to a latest recent official data.

Currently, there are about four million people waiting in line for family-sponsored Green Cards against a Congressional cap of 226,000 per annum.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- The White House on Wednesday bashed again the ongoing impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump led by House Democrats, without confirming whether the president would appear for a congressional hearing next week to which he was invited.

Earlier on Tuesday, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee issued a statement saying it would hold an impeachment inquiry hearing on Dec. 4. Committee chairman Jerry Nadler sent Trump a letter, inviting him and his counsel to participate in the hearing.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Five people died and three were injured when a fire broke out on the 14th floor of a public housing high-rise in a heavily immigrant neighborhood of Minneapolis early Wednesday.

While the cause of the blaze was still under investigation, Fire Chief John Fruetel told reporters that investigators believe the fire was an accident, but he didn’t explain why. The building is in part of Minneapolis known as Little Mogadishu for the many Somali immigrants who have settled there.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that the U.S. economy was expanding at a modest pace in October and early November, supported by growing consumer spending.

In its latest assessment of business conditions nationwide, the Fed struck a more upbeat tone than it had in its previous report when it had worried more about trade tensions and slower global growth.

However, it still noted that the majority of the Fed’s 12 districts were not experiencing growth in manufacturing, which has been hurt by a widening trade war with China.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Navy on Wednesday canceled a peer-review process that would have determined if three Navy SEAL officers who supervised an enlisted SEAL convicted of posing with a dead teenage captive in Iraq should remain on the elite force.

Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said the case was becoming a distraction for the commando force, known for its quiet professionalism.