USA

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Pentagon awarded Microsoft a $10 billion cloud computing contract , snubbing early front-runner Amazon, whose competitive bid drew criticism from President Donald Trump and its business rivals.

Bidding for the huge project, known as Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, or JEDI, pitted leading tech titans Microsoft, Amazon, Oracle and IBM against one another.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A wildfire in California wine country that may have been caused by a high-voltage transmission line called into question Pacific Gas & Electric’s strategy of selectively cutting off power in windy weather to prevent blazes and could force it to resort to even bigger blackouts affecting millions as early as this weekend.

The repeated shut-offs and the prospect of longer and more widespread ones brought anger down on the utility from the governor and ordinary customers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge on Friday ordered the Justice Department to give the House secret grand jury testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, handing a victory to Democrats as they gather evidence for the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.

In a ruling that also affirmed the legality of the impeachment inquiry itself, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ordered the department to turn over the materials by Oct. 30. A Justice Department spokeswoman said it was reviewing the decision. The administration can appeal.

NEW YORK, Oct 25 (APP): Leading Pakistani cricketer Sana Mir and six other trailblazing women from Asian countries were honoured with the 2019 Asia Society Game Changers award at a glittering ceremony here on Thursday night in recognition of their transformative impact in Asia and beyond.

“Sana Mir is first and foremost a true champion in her field, she’s also a champion for millions of girls and young women on the field and off,” Ambassador Chan Heng Chee, Asia Society Co-Chairperson, said while presenting her with the award.

GEYSERVILLE (California, US), Oct 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A fast-moving wildfire roared through California wine country Thursday, prompting evacuations and destroying structures as authorities warned of the imminent danger of more fires across much of the state.

The Kincade fire in a rural area of Sonoma County kicked up Wednesday night, quickly growing from a blaze of a few hundred acres into an uncontained 4,000-hectare inferno, California fire and law enforcement officials said.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Thursday called for greater humanitarian assistance throughout Syria, lifting economic sanctions and promoting the return of refugees and displaced persons.

The Syrian crisis has dragged on for many years and must be addressed in a holistic and integrated manner, Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, told the Security Council in a meeting on the situation in the Middle East.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A virtual remembrance, an overseas concert and community service projects highlight the many plans for commemorating the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history on the shooting’s one-year anniversary Sunday.

The attack killed 11 worshippers and wounded seven at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — With hundreds of thousands of Californians again in the dark amid high wildfire danger Thursday, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom had a message: “I own this.”

Newsom again blasted California’s utilities — most notably Pacific Gas & Electric — for failures to modernize electrical systems. He said shutting off power shouldn’t have to be the alternative in a state that is the most technologically advanced.

But he also personalized the crisis.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence took a swipe at Nike and the NBA on Thursday in a speech criticizing communist China’s record on trade and human rights, saying American corporations have been too willing to ignore censorship and repression in pursuit of profits.

Pence singled out the shoe company for removing Houston Rockets merchandise from stores in China after the team’s general manager angered the Chinese government with a tweet supporting anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — U.S. immigration authorities separated more than 1,500 children from their parents at the Mexico border early in the Trump administration, the American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday, bringing the total number of children separated since July 2017 to more than 5,400.

The ACLU said the administration told its attorneys that 1,556 children were separated from July 1, 2017, to June 26, 2018, when a federal judge in San Diego ordered that children in government custody be reunited with their parents.