USA

27 July 2020; MEMO: Members on both sides of the US Congress are deeply “concerned” that President Donald Trump will bypass the legislature and sell weapons to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the New York Times has reported. Both countries are deeply involved in the war in Yemen.

According to the NYT, US legislators are saying that several countries in the Middle East are seeking to purchase drones, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Chengdu, Jul 27 (APPTI) The US says it has closed its consulate in Chengdu, China. China ordered the consulate closed in retaliation for a US order to shut down the Chinese Consulate in Houston last week.

A statement from the State Department said that the consulate suspended operations at 10 a.m. on Monday. It expressed disappointment at China's decision and said the U.S. would try to continue its outreach to the region through its other missions in China.

(Reuters) - U.S. Republican Senator Martha McSally shows every sign of being an imperiled incumbent, trailing Democratic challenger Mark Kelly in money and polling as President Donald Trump’s electoral woes jeopardize Republican control of the Senate.

But some strategists and pollsters say the former Air Force combat pilot’s best bet for retaining the Arizona seat once held by party giants John McCain and Barry Goldwater could be to cling to Trump and hope he can win the state again on Nov. 3, carrying her on his coattails.

WASHINGTON, July 26 (Xinhua) -- NASA's Perseverance Mars rover is set to launch next Thursday, July 30, on a journey designed to search for astrobiological evidence of ancient microbial life on Mars, according to NASA.

The launch of Perseverance is targeting 7:50 a.m. Eastern Time Thursday, on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Deep-pocketed and often anonymous donors are pouring over $100 million into an intensifying dispute about whether it should be easier to vote by mail, a fight that could determine President Donald Trump’s fate in the November election.

CHICAGO (AP) — Social media has become the target of a dueling attack ad campaign being waged online by the sitting president and his election rival. They’re shooting the messenger while giving it lots of money.

President Donald Trump has bought hundreds of messages on Facebook to accuse its competitor, Twitter, of trying to stifle his voice and influence the November election.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — A day after roaring ashore as a hurricane, Hanna lashed the Texas Gulf Coast on Sunday with high winds and drenching rains that destroyed boats, flooded streets and knocked out power across a region already reeling from a surge in coronavirus cases.

Downgraded to a tropical depression, Hanna passed over the U.S.-Mexico border with winds near 50 mph (85 kph), the National Hurricane Center said. It unloaded more than 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain on parts of South Texas and northeastern Mexico.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A protest in Oakland, California, in support of racial justice and police reform turned violent when a small group of demonstrators wearing helmets and goggles and carrying large signs that doubled as shields set fire to a courthouse, vandalized a police station and shot fireworks at officers, authorities said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Suggesting a narrower pandemic relief package may be all that’s possible, the White House still pushed ahead with Monday’s planned rollout of the Senate Republicans’ $1 trillion effort as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi assailed the GOP “disarray” as time-wasting during the crisis.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — A downgraded Hanna continued charging across the borderland of South Texas and northeastern Mexico, where flooding remained the biggest threat Monday in a region that was already reeling from a surge in cases of the coronavirus.

Hanna, downgraded to a tropical depression, passed over the U.S.-Mexico border Sunday with winds near 50 mph (85 kph), the National Hurricane Center said. It unloaded more than 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain in some areas, and more was expected.