USA

2 Nov 2019; MEMO: Just two days after the resignation of Lebanese prime minister, Saad Al-Hariri, American president Donald Trump’s administration has blocked $105 million in security aid for Lebanon.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- The White House on Friday said it is "prepared for an impeachment to happen," as top House Democrats were suggesting an inquiry into President Donald Trump could be expected to move into public hearings this month.

During an interview with Fox News, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said she doesn't consider it a "foregone conclusion" that the Democratic-controlled House will vote to impeach Trump in coming months but admitted "that's something we're expecting."

Washington, Nov 2 (PTI) US President Donald Trump has said that he is considering signing the first phase of the long-awaited trade deal with China in Iowa.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping were expected to ink the agreement at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Santiago, Chile in mid-November. But host Chile announced on Wednesday that it was cancelling the event due to ongoing mass demonstrations.

WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans approve of the impeachment investigation into President Donald Trump than disapprove of it, though only about a third say the inquiry should be a top priority for Congress, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

That solid, if measured, support serves as a warning sign for Trump’s White House and reelection campaign, which have insisted that pursuing impeachment will end up being a vulnerability for Democrats heading into 2020.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s governor on Friday threatened a possible takeover of the troubled utility blamed for sparking deadly wildfires across the state with its outdated equipment unless it can emerge from bankruptcy ahead of next year’s wildfire season with a plan focused on safety.

Gov. Gavin Newsom called all sides to a meeting early next week, saying he would personally try to mediate a solution involving Pacific Gas & Electric.

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Storms that began on Halloween killed at least two people, caused flooding, downed trees and power lines and damaged homes across the Northeast on Friday.

By Friday afternoon, the number of people without power in the Northeast was starting to creep down, but still more than 450,000 customers were without electricity. In some areas it could be days before all power is restored.

CHICAGO (AP) — A 15-year-old boy was charged Friday night with attempted murder in the suspected gang-related shooting of two people on Chicago’s West Side, including a 7-year-old girl out trick-or-treating in a bumblebee costume when she was shot in the neck and critically injured.

ORINDA, Calif. (AP) — Four people were killed and at least four injured at a Halloween party shooting at a Northern California home rented by a woman who falsely claimed she wanted the Airbnb so her asthmatic family members could escape wildfire smoke, police and a person with knowledge of the transaction said Friday.

Gunshots were reported at about 10:45 p.m. Thursday at the large home in the wealthy San Francisco suburb of Orinda where more than 100 people had gathered, police said.

ORINDA, Calif. (AP) — A woman who rented a San Francisco Bay Area home where four people died in a Halloween party shooting lied to the owner, saying she only wanted to keep family members away from the smoke of a wildfire, according to police and a person with knowledge of the transaction.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday said Chad Wolf, a longtime Homeland Security official, would be the new acting head of the department, the fifth person in the job for this administration.

But Trump’s casual announcement, made in response to a reporter’s question outside the White House, temporarily created more uncertainty about the leadership of the sprawling department.