USA

NEW YORK (AP) — Rejecting suggestions he has lost interest in going after Donald Trump, the Manhattan district attorney said Thursday a criminal investigation into the former president and his business practices is continuing “without fear or favor” despite a recent shakeup in the probe’s leadership.

In a rare public statement, Alvin Bragg denied the three-year-old investigation was winding down or that a grand jury term expiring this month would impede his office’s ability to bring charges.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy faces plenty of threats: War in Ukraine, high grocery bills, spiking gasoline prices, splintered supply chains, the lingering pandemic and rising interest rates that slow growth.

The Biden White House is betting the U.S. economy is strong enough to withstand these threats, but there are growing fears of a coming economic slump among voters and some Wall Street analysts.

BOSTON (AP) — When she was elected mayor of Boston in November, Michelle Wu transformed the image of the city’s chief executive — up until then the sole domain of white men, many of Irish descent.

Now in office, the Chicago-born daughter of Taiwanese immigrants is facing a raft of challenges, including making good on key campaign promises like creating a fare-free public transit system and blunting the city’s skyrocketing housing costs.

Wu, 37 and the mother of two, has also grappled with early morning protests outside her home and racist online taunts.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will join a Supreme Court that is both more diverse than ever and more conservative than it’s been since the 1930s.

She’s likely to be on the losing end of a bunch of important cases, including examinations of the role of race in college admissions and voting rights that the high court, with its 6-3 conservative majority, will take up next term.

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 07 (APP): On the eve of United Nations General Assembly’s scheduled vote Thursday to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council, Moscow has warned member states that a yes vote or abstention on a US-backed resolution to that effect will be viewed as an “unfriendly gesture”, according to a note sent by the Russian mission to some missions.

UNITED NATIONS, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Fresh fighting between forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the M23 armed group on Wednesday blocked aid distribution in Rutshuru, UN humanitarians said.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said UN agencies and partners reached the town of Rutshuru, in eastern DRC, on Tuesday to deliver food, non-food items and medicine, only to have distribution of the relief blocked by fighting.

Albuquerque, Apr 7 (AP) A watchdog group is suing the National Nuclear Security Administration over its failure to release public records related to the US government's plans to manufacture key components for the nation's nuclear arsenal.

The complaint filed Wednesday in US District Court in Washington, DC, covers more than a dozen records requests made since 2017 by the Los Alamos Study Group.

The nonprofit group is seeking more transparency about what it calls one the largest warhead-related programs since the end of the Cold War.

WASHINGTON, April 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden's newly announced plan to extend a pause on federal student loan repayments has drawn backlash from budget watchers and economists, who argue such untargeted move could add to inflation pressures.

"Extending the debt pause would be a massive handout to doctors and lawyers that would only feed more inflation and worsen the nation's balance sheet," said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a budget watch group.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Navy that once wanted smaller, speedy warships to chase down pirates has made a speedy pivot to Russia and China — and many of those recently built ships could be retired.

The U.S. Navy wants to decommission nine ships in the Freedom-class of littoral combat ships — warships that cost about $4.5 billion to build.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate will take up legislation Thursday to end normal trade relations with Russia and ban the importation of its oil, ratcheting up the U.S. response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine amid reports of atrocities. Both bills have languished in the Senate.

“It’s a big, big deal that we are finally getting them done,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday. “Now, I wish this could have happened sooner, but after weeks of talks with the other side, it’s important that we have found a path forward.”