Washington DC

Washington, Dec 12 (AP-PTI) Supporters of President Donald Trump are returning to Washington on Saturday for a pair of rallies to back his desperate efforts to subvert the election that he lost.

The rallies come a month after a pro-Trump demonstration that drew at least 10,000 people to the capital. The day began with Trump thrilling his supporters by driving by in his limousine and ended with scattered clashes between Trump supporters and local activists near Black Lives Matter Plaza.

Washington, Dec 12 (AP-PTI) Doctors and nurses around the US are becoming exhausted and demoralised as they struggle to cope with a record-breaking surge of COVID-19 patients that is overwhelming hospitals and prompting governors to clamp back down to contain the virus.

New York Gov Andrew Cuomo on Friday banned indoor dining in New York City, saying he had been waiting in vain for hospitalisation rates to stabilise.

11 Dec 2020; MEMO:  The United States is poised to impose sanctions on Turkey over its acquisition last year of Russian S-400 air defense systems, five sources including three US officials told Reuters on Thursday, a move likely to worsen already problematic ties between the two NATO allies.

Washington, Dec 11 (PTI) Raja Jon Vurputoor Chari, an Indian-American US Air Force colonel, is among 18 astronauts, half of them women, who have been selected by NASA for its ambitious manned mission to the Moon and beyond.

The modern lunar exploration programme will land the first woman and next man on the Moon in 2024 and establish a sustainable human lunar presence by the end of the decade, the American space agency said.

NASA on Wednesday named the 18 astronauts who will train for its Artemis moon-landing programme.

Washington, Dec 11 (AP-PTI) Joe Biden has suggested he can't go as far with executive authority as some of his most vocal supporters would like, declaring that he won't violate the Constitution in a leaked recording of his call with civil rights leaders.

Audio from the private call on Tuesday was obtained by The Intercept. Biden is urged to use executive action to promote police reform and is heard promising to use his presidential power to overturn every single damn thing that President Donald Trump did via executive action.

10 Dec 2020; MEMO:  US President-elect Joe Biden's nominee for national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the incoming administration hopes that by rejoining the 2015 nuclear deal signed between the six world powers and Iran, Tehran's nuclear program would be put "back into the box".

10 Dec 2020; MEMO:  US federal judge Paul Engelmayer on Tuesday ordered the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to surrender a report on the killing of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi as well as a video of his assassination, after rejecting the decision to keep this information confidential, reported Bloomberg.

Chicago, Dec 10 (AP-PTI) The Trump administration is planning an unprecedented five more federal executions before President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, starting with a Texas street-gang member set to be put to death Thursday for his role in the 1999 slayings of an Iowa religious couple whose bodies he burned in the trunk of their car.

09 Dec 2020; MEMO:  The United States has designated Saudi Arabia along with nine other countries as states of "particular concern" due to violations of religious freedoms, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said.

Washington, Dec 9 (PTI) US President-elect Joe Biden has said that in the first 100 days of his administration, he would mandate everyone to wear a mask, ensure 100 million COVID-19 vaccinations and reopen the majority of schools as he assured Americans that his "crisis-tested" team of experts will deliver better healthcare and revive the economy.