USA

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 09 (APP): The UN anti-crime chief said Sunday that stepping up efforts to eradicate corruption and promoting good governance is “essential… to deliver on our global pledge to leave no one behind”.

“Corruption affects people in their daily lives”, Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said in his statement marking International Anti-Corruption Day, which is commemorated annually on December 9.

WASHINGTON DC, December 9. / TASS /: US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on December 10 in Washington DC, the U.S. State Department said in its schedule distributed on Sunday.

After the negotiations, which will begin at 10:30 local time (18:30 Moscow time), and communication in the format of a working lunch, the ministers will also hold a joint press conference, which is scheduled for 13:15 local time (21:15 Moscow time).

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said Sunday that his panel, which is writing articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, will "presumably" present them this week.

Speaking during an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press," Nadler said they will "bring articles of impeachment presumably before the committee at some point later in the week."

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — In his rise to the top tier of the Democratic race for president, Pete Buttigieg has impressed voters with his unflappable demeanor. But that moderate bearing is being tested as his opponents challenge him to reveal more about his two years working for an international consulting company.

How Buttigieg handles the heat will be another measure of the durability of his improbable run, now that the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is seen as a serious threat to front-running candidates, especially in Iowa.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Fighting to be in the next Democratic presidential debate, Cory Booker concluded a nearly 800-mile, 12-county tour of Iowa on Sunday by criticizing the Democratic party for allowing “elites” and “money” to control who gets on stage and urging voters to offer his name when pollsters call.

“Iowa never lets elites decide,” he told a crowd at his campaign office in Cedar Rapids on Sunday. “Let’s let Iowa have another comeback story.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is rapidly headed toward the real work of impeachment this week, with articles expected to be introduced and voted on in the House Judiciary Committee.

If the Judiciary panel approves articles by Friday, as is expected, that would set up a final impeachment vote in the days before Christmas.

Before the articles are introduced, the committee will consider the evidence of impeachment in a Monday hearing.

What’s next in impeachment:

HEARING THE EVIDENCE

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada won its coveted early date in the presidential primary because it was supposed to offer Democrats something different.

It’s more racially diverse than the two states that weigh in earlier, Iowa and New Hampshire. Its population is young, working class, largely urban and increasingly leaning toward blue. Nevada looks like America, its boosters like to say.

PAYNESVILLE, Minn. (AP) — In the midst of a difficult harvest slowed by muddy fields, Jeff Ampe wasn’t thinking much about elections or impeachment. When prodded on his congressman, he’s all positive: Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson, he says, has done “a good job for agriculture, standing up for us all the time.”

Still, ask the central Minnesota farmer whether he’ll vote next year for Peterson or his likely Republican opponent, former state senator Michelle Fischbach, and he takes a long pause to consider.

SEATTLE (AP) — As the country looks for ways to deal with mass shootings at schools, some have responded by saying more people should carry guns, including teachers.

“The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” President Donald Trump told the National Rifle Association convention in April. More states are allowing teachers to carry guns, he said, and “who better to protect our children than our teachers, who love them.”

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Fresh out of boot camp, Cameron Walters proudly told his father in Georgia during their nightly video chat that he had passed the exam qualifying him to stand watch and help secure building entrances at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida.