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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday dismissed as “Fake News” allegations that Russia offered bounties for killing American troops in Afghanistan. He said news stories about the allegations were made up to “damage me and the Republican Party.”

Lawmakers have been demanding answers over the allegations, and Democrats have accused Trump of bowing to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the risk of U.S. soldiers’ lives.

01 July 2020; MEMO: US President Donald Trump’s calls with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have alarmed some White House officials, a report published by CNN has revealed.

Written by veteran journalist Carl Bernstein, the report claims Erdogan called “at least twice a week and was put through directly to the President on standing orders from Trump”.

Washington, Jul 1 (AP/PTI) In Republican circles -- with the notable exception of the man who leads the party -- the debate about masks is over: It's time to put one on.

As a surge of infections hammers the South and West, GOP officials are pushing back against the notion that masks are about politics, as President Donald Trump suggests, and telling Americans they can help save lives.

Washington, Jul 1 (AP/PTI) President Donald Trump on Tuesday came under growing pressure to respond to allegations that Russia offered bounties for killing American troops in Afghanistan, with Democrats demanding answers and accusing Trump of bowing to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the risk of U.S. soldiers' lives.

WASHINGTON, July 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — President Donald Trump has approved a plan to slash the US military presence in Germany by 9,500 troops, the Defense Department said.

Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said the move, which has sparked concerns in Berlin and in the NATO alliance, is to redeploy the troops and will “enhance Russian deterrence, strengthen NATO, (and) reassure allies,” as well as improving US strategic flexibility.

The move will cut the current troop level in Germany from about 34,500 to 25,000, Trump’s stated goal.

WASHINGTON, July 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States recorded 1,199 fatalities from the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, as the country’s death toll began to climb again, the Johns Hopkins University tally showed.

The number of daily deaths had not exceeded 1,000 since June 10.

The country has suffered 127,322 deaths overall, according to the Baltimore-based institution as of 8:30 pm (0030 GMT Wednesday).

The US also registered 42,528 new cases of coronavirus over the past 24 hours.

Washington, Jun 30 (PTI) Indian-American Medha Raj has been named by Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden as his digital chief of staff, a key role in his election campaigns which are entirely going virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the US.

In this capacity, Raj will work across all facets of the digital department to streamline and coordinate how to maximise the impact of its digital outputs, the Biden campaign said.

Washington, Jun 30 (PTI) A group of Indian-Americans have launched a political action committee to actively campaign for President Donald Trump as they believe that he is the best hope for the US under the prevailing domestic and international conditions, including defeating terrorism and regulating immigration.

'Indian-Americans for Trump' has been formed with the only purpose to garner active support of all Americans, but particularly among Americans of the Indian Subcontinent, to have Trump reelected as the President, said its founder A D Amar.

WASHINGTON, June 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States said it was ending the export of sensitive military items to Hong Kong, no longer treating the financial hub separately from China.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States was taking the measure due to China’s push forward with a security law that Hong Kong activists say will curb the city’s freedoms.

“We can no longer distinguish between the export of controlled items to Hong Kong or to mainland China,” Pompeo said in a statement hours before China passed the law.

NEW YORK, June 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Global COVID-19 deaths surpassed 500,000 on Sunday, reaching 500,108, as of 4:33 p.m. (2033 GMT), according to the Centre for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE), at Johns Hopkins University.

Meanwhile, the total COVID-19 cases around the world rose to 10,063,319, according to the CSSE.

The United States reported the most COVID-19 cases and deaths, standing at 2,539,544 and 125,747, respectively.

Other countries with over 20,000 fatalities include Brazil, Britain, Italy, France, Spain and Mexico.