USA

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump was defiant in the face of an impeachment probe Thursday as he sought to convert the threat to his presidency into a weapon on the campaign trail, with biting and unsupported attacks on potential Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

Confronting an investigation provoked by his unprecedented calls for Ukraine and then China to assist in digging up dirt on his political rivals, Trump continued to lay into Biden and his son Hunter, whom he and his allies have accused, without evidence, of illegally profiting off his father’s office.

CALIMESA, Calif. (AP) — Don Turner’s 89-year-old mother was missing Thursday night after a wind-driven wildfire sparked by burning trash swept through a Southern California mobile home park, destroying dozens of residences.

Lois Arvickson called her son from her cellphone to say she was evacuating shortly after the blaze was reported in the Calimesa area, Turner said while with family members at an evacuation center.

“She said she’s getting her purse and she’s getting out, and the line went dead,” he said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine was removed from her post after insisting that Rudy Giuliani’s requests to Ukrainian officials for investigations be relayed through official channels, according to a former diplomat who has spoken with her.

The ambassador, Marie Yovanovitch, is scheduled to testify before congressional lawmakers on Friday as part of the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. Democrats say they expect her to appear despite the White House’s position that no administration officials cooperate with the probe.

MIAMI (AP) — After seeking asylum in the United States at the Mexican border, Pablo Sanchez was placed in a detention center and is now facing what has become an increasingly common scenario under President Donald Trump: deportation to Cuba.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Florida businessmen tied to President Donald Trump’s lawyer and the Ukraine impeachment investigation were charged Thursday with federal campaign finance violations.

The charges relate to a $325,000 donation to a group supporting Trump’s reelection.

Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, associates of Rudy Giuliani, were arrested Wednesday trying to board an international flight with one-way tickets at Dulles International Airport in Virginia, according to Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan.

Washington, Oct 10 (PTI) Former Vice President and Democratic presidential frontrunner Joe Biden on Wednesday for the first time called for President Donald Trump's impeachment, saying the White House occupant is a "threat to American democracy" and has "violated" his oath of office.

His party has launched an impeachment inquiry over claims that Trump pressured Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in a July 25 phone call to look into what the US leader said were corrupt business deals involving Biden.

10 October 2019; AFP: A bipartisan set of US lawmakers urged the NBA on Wednesday to suspend all activities in China until Chinese firms and broadcasters end their boycott of the league and the Houston Rockets.

The open letter to NBA commissioner Adam Silver came from eight US lawmakers as politically diverse as Ted Cruz of Texas and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from New York, both from states with multiple NBA teams.

WASHINGTON, Oct 10 (NNN-XINHUA) – U.S. President Donald Trump said, he would participate in an ongoing impeachment inquiry led by House Democrats.

Asked if he would cooperate with the Democrats running the proceedings if they held a full House vote on the impeachment, Trump told reporters at the White House, “Yeah, that sounds OK. We would, if they give us our rights.”

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (AP) — While President Donald Trump plays defense on impeachment in Washington, Republicans are taking the fight to Democrats in the states.

Dozens of shouting and flag-waving Trump supporters gathered Tuesday at the Casa Grande field office of Democratic Rep. Tom O’Halleran, who has signaled support for an impeachment inquiry, to protest Democratic efforts to remove the president from office.

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — The 19-year-old suspect in the fatal shooting of 22 people at a Texas Walmart is set to face his trial judge Thursday for the first time since his arrest.

Patrick Crusius of Dallas is expected to appear in an El Paso courtroom for a brief hearing. Police say he confessed to the Aug. 3 mass shooting and that he carried out the attack targeting Mexicans.

Some two-dozen people survived the attack with injuries; Hospital officials say two victims are still in the hospital.