USA

(Reuters) - U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings, one of the most influential Democrats in Congress and a key figure in the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, died on Thursday at age 68.

The cause of death was “complications concerning longstanding health challenges,” his office said in a statement. Cummings had been absent recently from Congress due to health concerns including heart and knee problems.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is prepared to levy additional sanctions on Turkey if necessary, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Thursday as Washington seeks to halt Ankara’s offensive into northeastern Syria.

“We will use sanctions, and we may use more sanctions to keep Turkey in line,” Kudlow told CNBC in an interview.

17 Oct 2019; MEMO: Would-be Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard has stated publicly that the US government has supported Al-Qaeda terrorists, not least in their bid to overthrow the Syrian government. Gabbard is the most high-profile US politician to confirm what has been speculated about widely over the years and has vowed to end such support.

17 Oct 2019; MEMO: The US House of Representatives voted Wednesday on a bipartisan resolution opposing President Donald Trump’s decision to pull back troops in northern Syria, Anadolu reports.

The measure passed 354-60 with every Democrats and more than two-thirds of Republicans in favor.

Sponsored by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel and Republican Michael McCaul, the resolution “opposes the decision to end certain United States efforts to prevent Turkish military operations” in northeastern Syria.

Washington, Oct 17 (PTI) The US is not going to get involved in "crazy endless wars" over 7,000 miles away, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, defending his decision to withdraw troops from northern Syria.

The last week decision paved the way for Turkey to launch a cross-border military offensive that aims to push the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from the region. Turkey considers the biggest militia in the SDF a terrorist organisation.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- The United States said on Wednesday that it will resume foreign assistance fundings to three Central American countries -- El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

The three countries have been intensely pressed by and finally reached pacts with the United States over immigration issues.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate Wednesday confirmed Barbara Barrett as the next secretary of the Air Force.

Barrett, former U.S. ambassador to Finland, received 85 support votes in her bid to become the top official for the U.S. Air Force.

"I can think of no position that offers more excitement, challenge and meaning than the Secretary of the Air Force," Barrett said after the vote, according to an Air Force news release.

Fort Worth, Texas (AP) -- In the days after Atatiana Jefferson’s killing in her own home by a white Fort Worth police officer, many in the black community say they’ve seen at least initial signs of swifter action with the officer’s arrest, but also are noticing some recurring and troubling themes.

These include the release of police body camera footage and details from an arrest warrant showing that Jefferson had a gun — moves that are being perceived as attempts to place blame on the victim.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists have discovered a mash-up of two feared disasters — hurricanes and earthquakes — and they’re calling them “stormquakes.”

The shaking of the sea floor during hurricanes and nor’easters can rumble like a magnitude 3.5 earthquake and can last for days, according to a study in this week’s journal Geophysical Research Letters. The quakes are fairly common, but they weren’t noticed before because they were considered seismic background noise.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump and Syria (all times local):

6:35 p.m.

Two U.S. fighter jets launched airstrikes Wednesday to destroy ammunition that was left behind when American forces left a cement factory south of Kobani, Syria.

The factory had served as a coordination center for the U.S.-led coalition and Kurdish forces in the fight against the Islamic State group.