USA

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Relentless wind and rain keeps pummeling much of the southeastern United States, spawning tornadoes, sparking a flash flood emergency in Alabama and damaging homes from Texas to Virginia. The storms have prompted boat rescues and toppled trees and power lines.

Crews were preparing to continue cleaning up debris and assessing destruction across the region early Wednesday, as some schools canceled classes or moved them online due to damage on campuses and surrounding areas.

Los Angeles, May 5 (PTI) Hollywood star Jennifer Aniston has appealed to her fans on Instagram to lend a helping hand to India in its fight against the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

The actor, popular among the Indian audience as Rachel Green from the 1990s hit sitcom "Friends", on Tuesday shared three posts on her Instagram Stories bringing the country's worrying scenario amid the health crisis to the attention of her 36.5 million plus followers.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The defense attorney for the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of killing George Floyd has requested a new trial, saying the court abused its discretion, and he wants a hearing to have the verdict impeached because of what he says is jury misconduct, according to a court document filed Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has ordered the release of a legal memorandum the Trump-era Justice Department prepared for then-Attorney General William Barr before he announced his conclusion that President Donald Trump had not obstructed justice during the Russia investigation.

(AP) --- Since the day after the deadly Jan. 6 riots on the U.S. Capitol, former President Donald Trump’s social media accounts have been silent — muzzled for inciting violence using the platforms as online megaphones.

On Wednesday, his fate on Facebook, the biggest social platform around, will be decided. The company’s quasi-independent Oversight Board will announce its ruling around 9 a.m. ET. If it rules in Trump’s favor, Facebook has seven days to reinstate the account. If the board upholds Facebook’s decision, Trump will remain “indefinitely” suspended.

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels to Ukraine this week he’ll be carrying a tough anti-graft message and strong U.S. backing for the country’s response to Russian aggression. He’ll also be bringing along a familiar face in the Washington-Moscow tug-of-war over the former Soviet republic: Victoria Nuland.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden set a new vaccination goal to deliver at least one shot to 70% of adult Americans by July Fourth as he tackles the vexing problem of winning over the “doubters” and those unmotivated to get inoculated.

Demand for vaccines has dropped off markedly nationwide, with some states leaving more than half their available doses unordered. Aiming to make it easier to get shots, Biden on Tuesday called for states to make vaccines available on a walk-in basis and he will direct many pharmacies to do likewise.

UNITED NATIONS, May 04 (APP): The President of UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Pakistani Ambassador Munir Akram, has underscored the need for building partnerships between states, companies and civil society across the world to respond and recover from the devastating coronavirus crisis.

“If ever there was need for partnerships, it is now”, he said in his opening remarks on Monday during the annual Partnership Forum, organized by ECOSOC.

WASHINGTON, May 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Pentagon downplayed Monday the impact of attacks by Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan over the weekend as US and allied forces began their withdrawal from the country.

“What we’ve seen are some small harassing attacks over the course of the weekend that have not had any significant impact, certainly not on our people or on our resources there,” said US Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby.

“We’ve seen nothing thus far that has affected the drawdown, or had any significant impact on the mission at hand in Afghanistan.”

LOS ANGELES, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Los Angeles County, the most populous county in the United States, reported zero death related to COVID-19 on Sunday and Monday, the first time there was no new death reported in two consecutive days since March 18, 2020.

However, public health officials warned that the low numbers likely reflected reporting delays over the weekend even though they regarded it as welcome news.