USA

(Reuters) - Two U.S. carrier groups conducted joint exercises in the South China Sea on Tuesday, days after a U.S. warship sailed near Chinese-controlled islands in the disputed waters, as China denounced the United States for damaging peace and stability.

The Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group and the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group “conducted a multitude of exercises aimed at increasing interoperability between assets as well as command and control capabilities”, the U.S. Navy said, marking the first dual carrier operations in the busy waterway since July 2020.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial opens on Tuesday, presiding over it will not be U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts, who oversaw Trump’s first trial, but a Democratic senator who will also get a say in the verdict.

Patrick Leahy of Vermont is president pro tempore of the Senate, meaning he is empowered to preside over Senate sessions in the absence of Vice President Kamala Harris.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Neera Tanden, U.S. President Joe Biden’s nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget, faces what will likely be two contentious confirmation hearings this week, where Senate Republicans are expected to grill her about attacks on members of their party on social media.

Tanden, 50, will appear at confirmation hearings on Tuesday before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and on Wednesday before the Budget Committee.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- More than 2.93 million children in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic, according to the latest data of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children's Hospital Association.

About 117,500 new child COVID-19 cases were reported last week ending Feb. 4, according to the AAP.

Over the two weeks from Jan. 21 to Feb. 4, there were 257,680 new child COVID-19 cases reported across the country, a 10 percent increase, according to the AAP.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — North Korea has modernized its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles by flaunting United Nations sanctions, using cyberattacks to help finance its programs and continuing to seek material and technology overseas for its arsenal, U.N. experts said.

The panel of experts monitoring sanctions on the Northeast Asian nation said in a report sent to Security Council members Monday that North Korea’s “total theft of virtual assets from 2019 to November 2020 is valued at approximately $316.4 million,” according to one unidentified country.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — In the year since the helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant crashed into a hillside on a foggy morning, killing all nine aboard, there’s been plenty of finger-pointing over the cause of the tragedy.

Bryant’s widow blamed the pilot. She and families of other victims also faulted the companies that owned and operated the helicopter. The brother of the pilot didn’t blame Bryant but said he knew the risks of flying. The helicopter companies said the weather was an act of God and blamed air traffic controllers.

MIAMI (AP) — The tiny glass vaccine vials are delivered to Miami’s largest hospital and immediately whisked to a secret location, where they are placed inside a padlocked freezer with a digital thermometer that reads minus 76 degrees Celsius (minus 105 F). An armed guard watches outside the door.

Washington, Feb 9 (PTI) The United States has demanded the immediate and full restoration of the democratically elected government in Myanmar and said that America stands with the elected representatives of the Asian nation.

"It is fair to say that we stand with the duly elected representatives of the people of Burma in their efforts to speak for the people of the country. We join them in demanding the immediate and full restoration of the democratically elected government," State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at his daily news conference.

United Nations, Feb 9 (PTI) Reiterating his concern over the situation in Myanmar, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has been reaching out to regional leaders in Asia to call for collective and bilateral action to create conditions for the recent military coup in the country to be reversed, the UN chief's spokesperson has said.

Myanmar's military last week toppled the government and seized power for one year, detaining top political figures, including de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will quarantine for 14 days after a member of his security detail tested positive Monday for the coronavirus.

The agent had been “in close contact” with Buttigieg, including Monday morning prior to the agent’s positive result, the Transportation Department said in a statement. Buttigieg has since tested negative and has had no symptoms.