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U.S. Commission on Presidential Debates says considering changes to ensure "more orderly discussion"

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) said on Wednesday that it is considering changes for the next two debates between U.S. President Donald Trump and 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden after their first face-off descended into chaos.

USA: Man charged in shooting of 2 Los Angeles County deputies

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prosecutors charged a 36-year-old man Wednesday with a brazen ambush of two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies earlier this month, an apparently unprovoked shooting as they sat in a squad car outside a rail station.

The deputies suffered head wounds in the Sept. 12 attack and have since been released from the hospital. Sheriff Alex Villanueva said their recoveries will be a long process and include further reconstructive surgeries.

USA: Parscale steps back from Trump team after hospitalization

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager is stepping away from the reelection campaign days after he was hospitalized after Florida law enforcement officials said threatened to harm himself.

Brad Parscale, one of Trump’s closest political aides, served as the campaign manager for the reelection effort until July, when he was demoted by Trump. He remained a senior adviser. Parscale’s break with the Trump campaign was first reported by Politico and was confirmed Wednesday by a campaign official.

USA: FAA chief tests changes to Boeing’s grounded 737 Max

(AP) --- The head of the Federal Aviation Administration, a former military and airline pilot, said Wednesday that he liked what he saw during a two-hour test flight of Boeing’s revamped 737 Max jetliner, a key step as the agency considers whether to let the plane return to flight after two deadly crashes.

Administrator Stephen Dickson said the FAA is “in the home stretch” of its review of the plane, but he vowed not to take short cuts and declined to set a deadline for a decision.

US says it will block palm oil from large Malaysian producer

(AP) --- The United States will block shipments of palm oil from a major Malaysian producer that feeds into the supply chains of iconic U.S. food and cosmetic brands. It found indicators of forced labor, including concerns about child workers, along with other abuses such as physical and sexual violence.

USA: 8th federal execution since July scheduled for Nov. 19

CHICAGO (AP) — A Black death-row inmate who was convicted of kidnapping and killing a Texas teenager in 1994 has been scheduled for execution in November, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.

If the lethal injection goes ahead as scheduled Nov. 19, Orlando Hall would be the eighth person executed this year as part of the Trump administration’s resumption of federal executions after a nearly two-decade pause.

USA: Pelosi and Mnuchin have ‘extensive’ talks on COVID relief

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin held an “extensive conversation” Wednesday on a huge COVID-19 rescue package, meeting face to face for the first time in more than a month in a last-ditch effort to seal a tentative accord on an additional round of coronavirus relief.

After a 90-minute meeting in the Capitol, Pelosi issued a statement saying the two would continue to talk. “We found areas where we are seeking further clarification,” she said. Talks resume Thursday.

Trump set to miss required deadline for 2021 refugee quota

SAN DIEGO (AP) — President Donald Trump appears to be ignoring a deadline to establish how many refugees will be allowed into the United States next year, raising uncertainty about the future of the 40-year-old resettlement program that has been dwindling under his administration.

The 1980 Refugee Act requires presidents to issue their determination before Oct. 1, the start of the fiscal year. With only hours to go Wednesday, the Trump administration had not scheduled consultations with Congress that are required before setting the annual figure.

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