USA

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States should extend the May 1 deadline for pulling all its troops from Afghanistan, and make force cuts contingent on progress in peace talks as well as by the Taliban in reducing violence and containing al Qaeda, a bipartisan report to Congress said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have reached a power-sharing resolution for running a 50-50 upper chamber, allowing Democrats to take control of powerful Senate committees, local media reported on Tuesday.

Schumer said the Senate will pass the so-called organizing resolution on Wednesday.

"I am happy to report ... that the leadership of both parties have finalized the organizing resolution for the Senate," Schumer announced from the Senate floor.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Wednesday extended the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with Russia for five years, said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"Extending the New START Treaty ensures we have verifiable limits on Russian ICBMs, SLBMs, and heavy bombers until February 5, 2026," said Blinken, adding that the extension "makes the United States, U.S. allies and partners, and the world safer."

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Virginia Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would abolish the death penalty, a measure that if passed into law would mark a major policy change for a state that over its centuries-long history has led the nation in the number of executions it has carried out.

The Democrat-controlled chamber approved the bill in a 21-17 vote that split along party lines and was seen as a key hurdle for the measure. Advocates now expect the House version of the bill to easily clear that chamber, and Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam has said he supports the legislation.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — FBI Agent Daniel Alfin gained international attention when he led a team that shutdown a major worldwide child pornography website. Agent Laura Schwartzenberger worked more anonymously, teaching children and adults how to avoid online sexual exploitation

Alfin and Schwartzenberger, gunned down Tuesday while serving a search warrant at a child pornography suspect’s South Florida apartment, devoted their careers to capturing criminals who sexually abuse youngsters, often times testing the legal boundaries of computer privacy.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is preparing to notify Congress and others that it will dramatically increase U.S. admissions of refugees.

Officials and people familiar with the matter say Biden plans to announce this week that he will increase the cap on the number of refugees allowed into the United States to more than eight times the level at which the Trump administration left it.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The legal sparring around Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is underway, with briefs filed this week laying out radically different positions ahead of next week’s Senate trial.

House prosecutors and the former president’s defense team are putting forward their arguments about Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and on the legality of even holding a trial. They’re also debating the First Amendment and a blunt assessment by Democrats that the riot posed a threat to the presidential line of succession.

COLUMBUS, OHio (AP) — A white Ohio police officer was charged with murder Wednesday in the latest fallout following the December shooting death of 47-year-old Andre Hill, a Black man, the state’s attorney general said.

Former Columbus Police Officer Adam Coy was indicted on a murder charge by a Franklin County grand jury following an investigation by the Ohio Attorney General’s office. The charges faced by Coy, a 19-year veteran of the force, also include failure to use his body camera and failure to tell the other officer he believed Hill presented a danger.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden encouraged Democratic lawmakers to “act fast” on his $1.9 trillion COVID rescue plan but also signaled he’s open to changes, including limiting the proposed $1,400 direct payments to Americans with lower income levels, which could draw Republican support.

Biden told lawmakers in private comments Wednesday that he’s “not married” to an absolute number for the overall package but wants them to “go big” on pandemic relief and “restore the soul of the country.”

(AP) --- AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine shows a hint that it may reduce transmission of the virus and offers strong protection for three months on just a single dose, researchers said Wednesday in an encouraging turn in the campaign to suppress the outbreak.

The preliminary findings from Oxford University, a co-developer of the vaccine, could vindicate the British government’s controversial strategy of delaying the second shot for up to 12 weeks so that more people can be quickly given a first dose. Up to now, the recommended time between doses has been four weeks.