USA

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is deeply concerned about the military escalation in northwest Syria and calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities, said his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric on Monday.

Guterres is alarmed by the scale of the military operation and reported attacks on evacuation routes as civilians try to flee north to safety, said Dujarric in a statement.

The secretary-general reminds all parties of their obligations to protect civilians and ensure freedom of movement, said the statement.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) greenlighted a new drug on Monday for the immediate treatment of migraine, a kind of intense and persistent headache, in adults.

Ubrelvy tablets are the first drug in the class of oral calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonists. The peptide is a molecule that is involved in migraine attacks.

Unlike Aimovig, a drug approved by the FDA in May 2018, Ubrelvy is not indicated for the preventive treatment of migraine.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump's approval rating has inched up to nearly 50 percent before the 2020 election year starts, according to a Hill-HarrisX poll released Monday.

Forty-nine percent of Americans surveyed said they approve of Trump's performance in office, up by 3 percent from the previous Dec. 8-9 poll.

In addition, 51 percent of the 1000 voters surveyed across the country expressed disapproval, down from 54 percent in the earlier poll.

GUTHRIE CENTER, Iowa (AP) — Rep. Cindy Axne happily talked about trade, health care and agriculture with about three dozen constituents who gathered in a farm bureau office the weekend before Christmas. Missing from the Iowa Democrat’s talking points: Her recent vote to impeach President Donald Trump.

Over the course of an hour, the issue that most clearly represents Washington’s Trump-era polarization came up just once. And even then, it was from a questioner who thanked Axne for supporting the two articles that cleared the House last week in a party-line vote.

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The fate of a Senate impeachment trial for President Donald Trump is at an impasse as Republican and Democratic leaders remained at odds over what form it would take and what witnesses would be called.

CLIVE, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa woman who told police she intentionally ran over a teenager because she believed the girl was Mexican has been charged with another hit-and-run crash that hurt a 12-year-old boy.

Nicole Franklin, who also goes by the name Nicole Poole, was charged Monday by Des Moines police with attempted murder in connection with a Dec. 9 crash that occurred less than an hour before another crash in suburban Clive.

USA (AP) --- Joe Biden’s presidential bid got a boost Monday from one of the leading Latinos in Congress, with the chairman of the Hispanic Caucus’ political arm endorsing the former vice president as Democrats’ best hope to defeat President Donald Trump.

“People realize it’s a matter of life and death for certain communities,” Rep. Tony Cárdenas, D-Calif., told The Associated Press in an interview, explaining the necessity of halting Trump’s populist nationalism, hard-line immigration policies and xenophobic rhetoric that the California congressman called cruel.

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s last prolonged look at Chief Justice John Roberts came 14 years ago, when he told senators during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing that judges should be like baseball umpires, impartially calling balls and strikes.

“Nobody ever went to a ballgame to see the umpire,” Roberts said.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 23 (APP): The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has voiced its concern over India’s controversial citizenship law affecting the country’s Muslims, and called for ensuring their safety as the Indian security forces use strong-arm methods to quell protests.

(Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) has ousted Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg, following a year of intense scrutiny and industrial setbacks set off by twin fatal crashes of its 737 MAX jetliner.

The departure comes as the world’s largest planemaker struggles to win regulatory approvals for its grounded best-selling jetliner while trying to repair trust with passengers and airline customers.