USA

SEATTLE (AP) — A U.S. judge on Friday ordered Seattle police to temporarily stop using tear gas, pepper spray and flash-bang devices to break up largely peaceful protests, a victory for groups who say authorities have overreacted to recent demonstrations over police brutality and racial injustice.

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Hundreds of Arizona residents under an evacuation notice were allowed to return home Friday but were told to remain ready to leave at a moment’s notice as a wildfire burns in a national forest near Tucson.

Firefighters are trying to keep the blaze in canyons and ridges and prevent it from moving downhill.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Building ramparts of secrecy around a $600 billion-plus coronavirus aid program for small businesses, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has moved from delay to denial in refusing outright to disclose the recipients of taxpayer-funded loans.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday that he is rescheduling his first campaign rally in months to a day later so it won’t conflict with the Juneteenth observance of the end of slavery in the United States.

Trump had scheduled the rally — his first since early March — for June 19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Black leaders said it was offensive for Trump to pick that day and that place, a city that in 1921 was the site of a fiery and orchestrated white-on-black attack.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden’s search for a running mate is entering a second round of vetting for a dwindling list of potential vice presidential nominees, with several black women in strong contention.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Utah and Oregon put any further reopening of their economies on hold amid a spike in coronavirus cases, but there was no turning back Friday in such states as Texas, Arkansas and Arizona despite flashing warning signs there, too.

One by one, states are weighing the health risks from the virus against the economic damage from the stay-at-home orders that have thrown millions out of work over the past three months.

12 June 2020; MEMO: US President Donald Trump has escalated hostilities against the International Criminal Court (ICC) by authorising new sanctions against prosecutors and officials of the intergovernmental organisation.

Trump signed an executive order to block ICC officials directly involved in investigating American troops and intelligence officials and those of allied nations.

Washington, Jun 12 (PTI) US President Donald Trump is considering suspending a number of employment visas including the H-1B, most sought-after among Indian IT professionals, in view of the massive unemployment in America due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a media report.

The proposed suspension could extend into the government's new fiscal year beginning October 1, when many new visas are issued, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, quoting unnamed administration officials.

12 June 2020; AFP: The United States said Thursday it would reduce troops in Iraq in the coming months as friction between the two countries eased under a new US-friendly premier in Baghdad.

The United States also promised support to prop up the struggling Iraqi economy as the two nations held their first strategic dialogue in more than a decade.

WASHINGTON, June 12 (NNN-Xinhua) — The United States will continue reducing its military presence in Iraq over the coming months, said a joint statement issued by the United States and Iraq.

The two countries will also discuss the status of remaining forces in the months ahead, according to a statement following the U.S.-Iraq strategic dialogue held virtually on Thursday.

More than 5,000 US troops have been deployed in Iraq to support the Iraqi forces in the battles against the Daesh militants, mainly providing training and advice to the Iraqi forces.