USA

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The state senators grilling the CEO of Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. were upset — like millions of other Californians, some spent days in the dark when the nation’s largest utility shut off power during windstorms this fall.

The lawmakers demanded that the executive explain why blackouts intended to prevent downed power lines from sparking deadly wildfires caused so much trouble of their own.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is closely watching North Korea for signs of a possible missile launch or nuclear test in the coming days that officials are referring to as a “Christmas surprise.”

A significant launch or test would mean the end of North Korea’s self-imposed moratorium and raise tensions in the region. It would also be a major blow to one of the Trump administration’s major foreign policy initiatives: the drive to get North Korea back to negotiations to eliminate its nuclear weapons and missiles.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress has headed home for the holidays leaving plans and a possible timeline for President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial in disarray.

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insisted Thursday that Senate Republicans must provide details on witnesses and testimony before she would send over the charges for Trump’s trial. No deal, replied Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after meeting with his Senate Democratic counterpart.

“We remain at an impasse,” he said.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The long-festering feud between Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg erupted Thursday night in a high-stakes debate that tested the strength of the Democratic Party’s shrinking pool of presidential contenders just six weeks before primary voting begins.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 19 (APP): The UN General Assembly Wednesday stamped its approval on a Pakistan-sponsored resolution reaffirming the right of peoples to self-determination, re-establishing the legitimacy of the oppressed Kashmiri people’s struggle for freedom from Indian occupation.

Adopted by consensus, the resolution, which was co-sponsored co-sponsored by 81 countries, calls on countries to immediately cease their foreign military intervention in and occupation of foreign countries and territories, as well as acts of repression, discrimination and maltreatment.

NEW YORK, Dec 19 (APP): A leading American newspaper Thursday denounced as “patently discriminatory” India’s new citizenship law, and urged all democratic nations to speak out against it.

19 December 2019; AFP: Bourbon from Kentucky and Scotch whisky have already been targeted. What's next? French cognac?

As US President Donald Trump has shaken up international commerce through myriad trade fights, the spirits industry has found itself an unlikely pawn in an escalating row between Washington and the European Union.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The impeachment of President Donald Trump in the U.S. House of Representatives on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress sets the stage for a historic trial next month in the Republican-controlled Senate on whether he should be removed from office.

The mostly party-line votes on Wednesday in the Democratic-led House came after long hours of bitter debate that reflected the partisan tensions in a divided America, and made Trump the third U.S. president to be impeached.

HOUSTON, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Four people were injured in a shooting Wednesday night in San Antonio, a city in southern Texas, local authorities said.

The Fire Department of San Antonio said four people were taken to the hospital after being shot outside a mall on the city's south side, among whom two were in serious condition.

Local police said that it remains unclear whether it was a targeted shooting but investigation into the tragedy was underway.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — County prosecutors are seeking charges against two U.S. Park Police officers who killed an unarmed motorist after a chase on a northern Virginia highway two years ago.