USA

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A 61-year-old white Milwaukee man accused of throwing acid on a Hispanic man’s face will be charged with a hate crime, increasing the possible sentence he may receive if convicted, prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Prosecutors filed one charge against Clifton Blackwell — first-degree reckless injury — but added the sentencing enhancers of hate crime and use of a dangerous weapon. The two enhancers could add 10 years in prison if he’s convicted of first-degree reckless injury, which is punishable by up to 25 years.

NEW YORK (AP) — A judge Thursday ordered President Donald Trump to pay $2 million to an array of charities as a fine for misusing his own charitable foundation to further his political and business interests.

New York state Judge Saliann Scarpulla imposed the penalty after the president admitted to a series of abuses outlined in a lawsuit brought against him last year by the New York attorney general’s office.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior American diplomat has written a highly critical assessment of the Trump administration’s abrupt withdrawal of troops from northeast Syria last month, a decision that paved the way for an attack on U.S.-allied forces in the area, officials said Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats have subpoenaed acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney in their impeachment probe, demanding his testimony Friday as they wrap up closed-door interviews and move into a public phase of the investigation.

Despite the late-night subpoena, Mulvaney isn’t expected to appear for the interview Democrats have scheduled. The White House instructed its officials not to comply with the investigation, which is looking at President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s “excruciating.” It smells like a “locker room.” And what happens there is supposed to stay there.

When history is written about President Donald Trump’s presidency, a key chapter in the House’s drive to impeach him will be set in a spy-proof bunker tucked beneath a spiral staircase just to the east of the U.S. Capitol. There, three House committees have been hearing about Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukraine, gathering testimony that could serve as the foundation for articles of impeachment.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A forthcoming book by an anonymous author identified only as “a senior official in the Trump administration” describes President Donald Trump as volatile, incompetent and unfit to be commander in chief, according to excerpts published Thursday by The Washington Post.

The book describes racist and misogynist behind-the-scenes statements by Trump and says he “stumbles, slurs, gets confused, is easily irritated, and has trouble synthesizing information.”

The Post acquired a copy of the book, “A Warning,” and first reported on its contents Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tries to shrug off the impeachment inquiry that has ensnared the State Department and raised questions about his leadership.

Pompeo portrays the inquiry, which centers on President Donald Trump’s attempt to link U.S. military aid to Ukraine to a corruption probe of a political rival, as unworthy of his attention.

“I clearly follow this a lot less than you do,” Pompeo told reporters when asked about it the issue Thursday while on a visit to Germany.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City, is opening the door to a 2020 Democratic presidential campaign, warning that the current field of candidates is ill equipped to defeat President Donald Trump.

Bloomberg, who initially ruled out a 2020 run, has not made a final decision on whether to jump into the race. If he were to launch a campaign, it could dramatically reshape the Democratic contest less than three months before primary voting begins.

WASHINGTON (AP) — There were three words President Donald Trump wanted to hear from the Ukraine president: Investigations, Biden, Clinton.

That’s according to the transcript, released Thursday, of an impeachment inquiry interview with career State Department official George Kent.

“Potus wanted nothing less than President Zelenskiy to go to the microphone and say investigations, Biden and Clinton,” Kent testified. “Basically there needed to be three words in the message, and that was the shorthand.”

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 7 (APP): The United Nations General Assembly’s main committee has adopted, by an overwhelming majority, a Pakistan-sponsored resolution under which the 193-member Assembly would reaffirm the urgent need to reach an early agreement on effective international arrangements to assure non-‘nuclear‘-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons.