North America

USA: Sen. Booker says fellow New Jersey Democrat Menendez should resign over ‘shocking’ bribe allegations

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Sen. Cory Booker is calling on Sen. Bob Menendez to resign, saying in a statement that the federal bribery charges unveiled on Friday against his fellow New Jersey Democrat contain ”shocking allegations of corruption and specific, disturbing details of wrongdoing.”

Booker’s statement came Tuesday as a growing number of Democratic senators -- at least 11 so far -- are calling for the three-term senator to step aside. He has firmly rejected that idea.

Kuwait: Hackers breach US Pentagon website

26 September 2023; MEMO: A Kuwaiti criminal court revealed yesterday that it is looking into a case against a Kuwaiti national who hacked into the US Pentagon website, local media reported.

Al Rai newspaper reported that the hacker is a 28-year-old man, adding that his actions put the country’s ties with a key ally at risk.

USA: NASA asteroid sample parachutes safely onto Utah desert

Sept 24 (Reuters) - A NASA space capsule carrying the largest soil sample ever scooped up from the surface of an asteroid streaked through Earth's atmosphere on Sunday and parachuted into the Utah desert, delivering the celestial specimen to scientists.

The gumdrop-shaped capsule, released from the robotic spacecraft OSIRIS-REx as the mothership passed within 67,000 miles (107,826 km) of Earth hours earlier, touched down within a designated landing zone west of Salt Lake City on the U.S. military's vast Utah Test and Training Range.

Canada House speaker apologizes for recognition of veteran who fought for Nazis

WASHINGTON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - The speaker of Canada's House of Commons on Sunday apologized for praising an individual at a parliamentary meeting who served in a Nazi unit during World War Two.

Two days earlier, Speaker Anthony Rota had recognized 98-year old Yaroslav Hunka as a "Ukrainian hero" before the Canadian Parliament. Hunka served in World War II as a member of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, according to the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights group that demanded an apology.

US House to press forward with spending cuts despite shutdown risk

WASHINGTON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - The Republican-controlled House of Representatives is due to try to advance steep spending cuts this week that stand no chance of becoming law and could force a partial shutdown of the U.S. government by next Sunday.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy sought to avoid that scenario when he hammered out a spending agreement with Democratic President Joe Biden this spring. But some members of his own party have threatened to depose him if he does not support steeper cuts that are sure to be rejected by the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Canada urges India to cooperate in Sikh leader's death investigation

OTTAWA, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair on Sunday called for the Indian government to cooperate on the probe into the assassination of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

In an interview with Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Blair said, "The only request we've made of our allies and India is that they cooperate fully in that investigation because its outcome is very important."

USA: Residents prepare to return to sites of homes demolished in Lahaina wildfire 7 weeks ago

HONOLULU (AP) — From just outside the burn zone in Lahaina, Jes Claydon can see the ruins of the rental home where she lived for 13 years and raised three children. Little remains recognizable beyond the jars of sea glass that stood outside the front door.

On Monday, officials are expected to begin lifting restrictions on entry to the area, and Claydon hopes to collect those jars and any other mementos she might find.

USA: A Molotov cocktail is thrown at the Cuban Embassy in Washington, but there’s no significant damage

WASHINGTON (AP) — At least one Molotov cocktail was thrown at the Cuban Embassy in Washington, but there was no significant damage and no one was injured. U.S. law enforcement officials were investigating.

Secret Service officers were called around 8 p.m. Sunday to respond to the attack on a busy street in the Adams-Morgan section of the city. Embassy officials reported that someone had thrown a “possible incendiary device” at the building, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said on Monday.

USA: Biden administration announces $1.4 billion to improve rail safety and boost capacity in 35 states

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration announced Monday that it has awarded more than $1.4 billion to projects that improve railway safety and boost capacity, with much of the money coming from the 2021 infrastructure law.

“These projects will make American rail safer, more reliable, and more resilient, delivering tangible benefits to dozens of communities where railroads are located, and strengthening supply chains for the entire country,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.

USA: After summer’s extreme weather, more Americans see climate change as a culprit, AP-NORC poll shows

New York(AP) —Kathleen Maxwell has lived in Phoenix for more than 20 years, but this summer was the first time she felt fear, as daily high temperatures soared to 110 degrees or hotter and kept it up for a record-shattering 31 consecutive days.

“It’s always been really hot here, but nothing like this past summer,” said Maxwell, 50, who last week opened her windows for the first time since March and walked her dog outdoors for the first time since May. “I was seriously scared. Like, what if this doesn’t end and this is how it’s going to be?”

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