USA

(AP) --- The first COVID-19 vaccine tested in the U.S. revved up people’s immune systems just the way scientists had hoped, researchers reported Tuesday -- as the shots are poised to begin key final testing.

“No matter how you slice this, this is good news,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious disease expert, told The Associated Press.

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 14 (APP): The Kashmiri people’s struggle for self-determination is “more alive and resilient” now than ever before, and their desire for freedom cannot be extinguished by India’s continued repression, Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Munir Akram has said. “History attests that legitimate struggles for self-determination are always successful,” the ambassador said in a message issued on the occasion of the 89th anniversary of Kashmir Martyrs’ Day on Monday.

(Reuters) - With the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress far from agreement on how or even whether to give more aid to states and cities reeling from revenue losses during the coronavirus crisis, three U.S. Senate Democrats are appealing to the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve to do more to help.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) warned on Tuesday it will be more than two years before the industry sees a sustainable recovery from the “staggering” impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with demand largely tracking the curve of infections in different places.

“We’re at a stall right now,” CEO Ed Bastian told Reuters, saying demand that built up over June for travel to places like Las Vegas, Florida or New York had suffered due to fresh cases and quarantines, while picking up to some mountain and international destinations.

UNITED NATIONS, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations is preparing a team to assess a neglected tanker off Yemen to avoid a possible catastrophic spill of 1.1 million barrels of crude oil, a UN spokesman said on Monday.

"The local de facto authorities in Yemen have officially communicated to the UN their approval for an UN-led technical assessment and repair mission onboard the Safer oil tanker off the coast of Ras Issa," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

WASHINGTON, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Seventeen U.S. states and the District of Columbia sued the administration of President Donald Trump on Monday to reject the federal government's recent rule stripping foreign students of their visas if the institution they are enrolled in only offers online teaching this fall due to the coronavirus pandemic.

LOS ANGELES, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of sailors and civilians were injured as firefighting teams continue to work for the second day in a row to quell the blaze on U.S. Navy ship USS Bonhomme Richard at Naval Base San Diego in California, authorities said Monday.

A total of 59 personnel, including 36 sailors and 23 civilians, have been treated for minor injuries including heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation as of Monday afternoon, according to the Naval Surface Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet.

NEW YORK, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Global confirmed COVID-19 cases topped 13 million on Monday, reaching 13,006,764 as of 4:34 p.m. local time (2034 GMT), according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

A total of 570,776 people worldwide have died from the disease, the data showed.

The United States suffered the most from the pandemic, with 3,346,246 cases and 135,477 fatalities; Brazil followed with 1,864,681 cases and 72,100 deaths, the tally showed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke Monday to his Russian counterpart about convening the leaders of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council to mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, the State Department said.

NEW YORK (AP) — One or more victims of Jeffrey Epstein will tell a judge Tuesday that his ex-girlfriend should be denied bail on charges that she recruited teenage girls for him to sexually abuse in the 1990s, prosecutors said Monday.

Prosecutors made the revelation in court papers as they argued there is no reason to free British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell on bail.

They also revealed new details about Maxwell’s July 2 arrest at a $1 million New Hampshire estate she purchased in December, saying FBI agents had to bust into her residence after she failed to cooperate.