USA

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is infusing deliberations over his coming nomination of a new Supreme Court justice with political meaning as he aims to maximize the benefit before Nov. 3 and even secure an electoral backstop should the result be contested.

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — A man who killed a religious couple visiting Texas from Iowa was executed Thursday, the first Black inmate put to death as part of the Trump administration’s resumption of federal executions after a nearly 20-year pause.

Christopher Vialva, 40, was pronounced dead shortly before 7 p.m. EDT after receiving a lethal injection at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana.

In a last statement, Vialva asked God to comfort the families of the couple he had killed in 1999, saying, “Father … heal their hearts with grace and love.”

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States butted heads with China and Russia at the United Nations on Thursday over responsibility for the pandemic that has interrupted the world, trading allegations about who mishandled and politicized the virus in one of the few real-time exchanges among top officials at this year’s COVID-distanced U.N. General Assembly meeting.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats are going back to the drawing board on a huge COVID-19 relief bill, paring back the measure in an attempt to jump-start negotiations with the Trump administration.

The Democratic-controlled chamber could also pass the $2.4 trillion measure next week if talks fall through to demonstrate that the party isn’t giving up on passing virus relief before the election.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses drew swift blowback Thursday from both parties in Congress, and lawmakers turned to unprecedented steps to ensure he can’t ignore the vote of the people. Amid the uproar, Trump said anew he’s not sure the election will be “honest.”

Congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, rejected Trump’s assertion that he’ll “see what happens” before agreeing to any election outcome.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will slap new sanctions on a number of Iranian officials and entities including a judge who sentenced Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari to death, U.S. Special Representative for Iran and Venezuela Elliott Abrams told a hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday.

WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States, Britain and Canada plan to impose sanctions on Belarusian individuals following what they view as a rigged election on Aug. 9 and violence against peaceful protesters since, six sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Four of the sources, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity, said the U.S., British and Canadian sanctions could come as early as on Friday, though this could slip given the challenge of coordinating among three nations.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday said there would be an “orderly” transition following the Nov. 3 presidential election, one day after Trump declined to commit to a peaceful transfer of power.

“The winner of the November 3rd election will be inaugurated on January 20th. There will be an orderly transition just as there has been every four years since 1792,” McConnell tweeted.

NEW YORK, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- At least 51.6 million people worldwide have been affected by floods, droughts or storms and COVID-19, showed the news analysis published Wednesday by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre.

"COVID-19 is directly affecting and increasing the needs of persons affected by climate-related disasters," said the paper, which demonstrated the huge scale of combined impacts of climate-related disasters and the pandemic.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations on Wednesday expressed firm opposition to the U.S. attack and slander at the general debate of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

The Chinese mission made the remarks in exercising the right of reply, in accordance with the rules of the UNGA, to the attack and slander against China made by U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday at the general debate.