USA

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has urged all countries to suspend the introduction of digital service taxes as nations work towards a multilateral deal on international taxation.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Democrat-led House Judiciary Committee took over a months-long impeachment proceeding into U.S. President Donald Trump by holding its first hearing on Wednesday.

After opening remarks by Chairman Jerry Nadler and Ranking Member Doug Collins, four constitutional law professors, three chosen by Democrats and the other invited by Republicans, provided testimony to the panel and took questions from lawyers and lawmakers of both parties.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Navy warship has seized a “significant cache” of suspected Iranian guided missile parts headed to rebels in Yemen, U.S. officials said Wednesday, marking the first time that such sophisticated components have been taken en route to the war there.

The seizure from a small boat by the U.S. Navy and a U.S. Coast Guard boarding team happened last Wednesday in the northern Arabian Sea, and the weapons have been linked to Iran.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — France, Germany and the United Kingdom say “Iran’s developments of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles” go against a U.N. Security Council resolution calling on Tehran not to undertake any activity related to such missiles.

Ambassadors from the three European nations urged U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a letter circulated Wednesday to inform the council in his next report that Iran’s ballistic missile activity is “inconsistent” with the call in a council resolution endorsing the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

USA (AP) --- Kamala Harris cloaked her presidential campaign in the promise of becoming the first black woman in the White House. That wasn’t enough for donors and supporters, including black voters.

The California senator abruptly withdrew from the race on Tuesday after her once-promising campaign failed to coalesce around a message that would resonate with voters. And without clear support from voters, Harris couldn’t raise the money needed to keep going.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors have interviewed the head of Ukraine’s state-owned gas company as part of an investigation into the business dealings of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and two of Giuliani’s business associates.

Andriy Kobolyev met voluntarily with representatives of the Justice Department, according lawyer Lanny Breuer, who represents the chief executive officer of Naftogaz, Ukraine’s biggest natural gas provider.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Jackson State University’s campus was placed on lockdown Wednesday after someone was shot and wounded there, prompting an active shooter alert.

A non-student was shot in the leg across the street from the student center, university spokesman L.A. Warren said. A university police officer at the scene confirmed to the Clarion Ledger that there was a single shooter, who also was not a student. The officer said one person was injured and brought to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s sun-skimming spacecraft, the Parker Solar Probe, is surprising scientists with its unprecedented close views of our star.

Scientists released the first results from the mission Wednesday. They observed bursts of energetic particles never seen before on such a small scale as well as switchback-like reversals in the out-flowing solar magnetic field that seem to whip up the solar wind.

NASA’s Nicola Fox compared this unexpected switchback phenomenon to the cracking of a whip.

CHICAGO (AP) — When fellow officers discovered Chicago’s police chief asleep behind the wheel of his running SUV, they did not conduct any sobriety tests and let their boss drive home — a decision that has thrown a spotlight on what happens when one officer confronts another on patrol.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Americans who rely on the federal food stamp program will lose their benefits under a new Trump administration rule that will tighten work requirements for recipients.

The move by the administration is the latest in its attempt to scale back the social safety net for low-income Americans. It is the first of three proposed rules targeting the Supplemental Nutrition Program, known as SNAP, to be finalized. The program feeds more than 36 million people.