USA

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — YouTube is following the lead of Twitter and Facebook, saying that it is taking more steps to limit QAnon and other baseless conspiracy theories that can lead to real-world violence.

The Google-owned video platform said Thursday it will now prohibit material targeting a person or group with conspiracy theories that have been used to justify violence.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Thursday that he was wrong not to wear a mask at the White House, after he and President Donald Trump both came down with the coronavirus.

Christie, in a statement, said he has recovered from COVID-19 after a weeklong stay in a hospital’s intensive care unit. He called on all political leaders to advocate for face coverings, with the practice becoming increasingly politicized even as the pandemic has killed more than 217,000 Americans.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Thousands of people in Northern California remained without power Friday after a utility cut off service to prevent powerful winds from damaging equipment and sparking wildfires amid a fall heat wave.

Restorations began Thursday afternoon, and by evening Pacific Gas and Electric said about 30,000 customers were still in the dark — down from about 45,000 the previous night. All electricity was expected to be restored by late Friday after the second round of hot, dry gusts this week moved through the region and raised the risk of fires, PG&E said.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Five of the men accused in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will return to federal court Friday as a hearing on whether there is enough evidence to charge them continues.

A federal judge also plans to consider whether two of the men, including the Michigan man described by federal authorities as the ringleader of the effort, should remain in jail before trial.

(AP) --- More than 17 million Americans have already cast ballots in the 2020 election, a record-shattering avalanche of early votes driven both by Democratic enthusiasm and a pandemic that has transformed the way the nation votes.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump White House has installed two political operatives at the nation’s top public health agency to try to control the information it releases about the coronavirus pandemic as the administration seeks to paint a positive outlook, sometimes at odds with the scientific evidence.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden squared off, in a way, in dueling televised town halls that showcased striking differences in temperament, views on racial justice and approaches to a pandemic that has reshaped the nation.

Coming just two and a half weeks before Election Day, the events Thursday night offered crystalizing contrasts and a national, if divided, audience. But it seemed unlikely to have produced a needed moment for a president running out of time or opportunities to appeal beyond his core base.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 15 (APP): Pakistan has told the United Nations that India’s hegemonic pretentions and history of aggression against its neighbours as well as its refusal to engage in dialogue for dispute resolution present a “clear and ominous danger” to international peace and security.

Exercising his right of reply to India’s statement making sweeping allegations against Pakistan at a UN Panel, Pakistani delegate Jehanzeb Khan said New Delhi’s illegal actions in Jammu and Kashmir further compound regional security concerns.

Washington, Oct 15 (PTI) India's priorities should be to protect the most vulnerable people, well targeted support and protecting small and medium sized enterprises so that they do not collapse as the country battles the COVID-19 pandemic, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva has said.

Speaking at a news conference here during the ongoing annual meeting of the IMF and the World Bank, Georgieva said on Wednesday that focusing on protecting people and on the health of the population remain a priority for India.

WASHINGTON, Oct 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Nearly 700,000 children in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19, since the onset of the pandemic, according to a report of the American Academy of Paediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.

A total of 77,073 new child cases were reported from Sept 24 to Oct 8, which was a 13 percent increase in child cases over two weeks.

Altogether 697,633 child COVID-19 cases had been reported so far, and children represented 10.7 percent of all those infected, said the report.