USA

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — When she was growing up, Sophie Corroon struggled to get through a ballet class or soccer tryout without having an anxiety attack.

The idea of going to sleepovers or being home alone left her feeling panicked. Corroon’s anxiety grew even more during high school in Salt Lake City, when the pressures of getting into college left her in tears at school or toiling for hours on assignments.

NEW YORK (AP) — Two men identified as members of the Proud Boys have been indicted on federal conspiracy and other charges in the Capitol riot as prosecutors raise the stakes in some of the slew of cases stemming from the Jan. 6 insurrection.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has parted ways with his lead impeachment lawyers just over a week before his Senate trial is set to begin, two people familiar with the situation said Saturday.

Butch Bowers and Deborah Barbier, both South Carolina lawyers, are no longer with Trump’s defense team. One of the people described the parting as a “mutual decision” that reflected a difference of opinion on the direction of the case. Both insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations.

WASHINGTON, January 30. /TASS/: The United States is optimistic about completion of procedures on extension of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) between Moscow and Washington by February 5 for a five-year period, a representative of the Department of State told TASS on Friday when commenting on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s signing of the bill extending the treaty into a law.

WASHINGTON, Jan 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US first lady Jill Biden will participate in efforts by her husband’s administration to reunite families split apart by former president Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies, the White House said.

In line with his campaign promises, President Joe Biden plans to announce on Tuesday “his launch of a task force on reunifying families and children. Something that he is personally committed to, his wife Dr Biden is personally committed to and invested in,” said White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United Arab Emirates, accused this week by the United States of military intervention in Libya’s protracted civil war, stated its readiness to work “closely” with the new US administration for a peaceful solution to the conflict.

“There is an urgent need for renewed diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict in Libya,” Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE ambassador to the UN, said in a letter.

29 Jan 2021; MEMO: US President Joe Biden has formally designated Robert Malley as his special envoy for Iran, the White House confirmed Friday, Anadolu Agency reported.

Malley, who formerly led the International Crisis Group conflict resolution non-profit, is stepping into the job amid bilateral tensions that have been severely exacerbated over the past four years.

30 Jan 2021; MEMO: The US Department of Defense has reiterated that Saudi Arabia is a major partner of the US in the Middle East and an important pillar for regional security, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported on Friday.

29 Jan 2021; MEMO: The new US Iran envoy spoke with British, French and German officials on Thursday as the United States explores how to revive the 2015 nuclear deal former US President Donald Trump abandoned, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, Reuters reported.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Proud Boys supporter who U.S. prosecutors said kept a large weapons cache and made ominous social media posts, including toward a Democratic senator, pleaded not guilty to charges of being a felon in possession of ammunition and making online threats.

Eduard Florea, of Queens, New York, entered his plea through a federal public defender at a Friday hearing before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl Pollak in Brooklyn federal court.