North America

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Interstate 95 was set to reopen to traffic Friday less than two weeks after a deadly collapse in Philadelphia shut down a heavily traveled stretch of the East Coast’s main north-south highway.

Workers were putting the finishing touches on an interim six-lane roadway that will serve motorists during construction of a permanent bridge. Crews worked around the clock and were poised to finish ahead of schedule. The interstate was scheduled to reopen at noon, according to the governor’s office.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A man scheduled to be executed in September for the 1996 killing of a University of Oklahoma dance student plans to reject his chance for a clemency hearing, saying there is little hope the state’s Republican governor would spare his life.

Anthony Sanchez, 44, said in a telephone interview Thursday from Oklahoma’s death row that even in the rare case when the five-member Pardon and Parole Board recommends clemency, Gov. Kevin Stitt is unlikely to grant it.

(AP) --- Authorities hunted Friday for the reason a submersible carrying people to the wreck of the Titanic imploded deep in the North Atlantic, as questions emerged about how such expeditions are regulated and tributes poured in for the five aboard who were killed.

The announcement that no one survived Thursday brought a tragic end to a five-day saga that included an urgent around-the-clock search for the vessel known as the Titan.

UNITED NATIONS, June 22 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Argentine foreign minister Santiago Cafiero, before the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization, again called on the United Kingdom for bilateral negotiations with Argentina for a specific and definitive solution to the sovereignty dispute over the Malvinas/Falklands Islands.

Cafiero made his presentation during a session dedicated to addressing the Malvinas Question at the UN C24, next to a numerous delegation which included besides government officials, representatives from the opposition.

WASHINGTON, June 22 (Reuters) - U.S. House Republicans turned aside an attempt by hardline conservatives to force an impeachment vote against President Joe Biden on Thursday, in the first of what could prove to be a series of impeachment efforts by members of the far right.

The House of Representatives voted 219-208 along party lines to refer a privileged resolution offered by firebrand Representative Lauren Boebert to two congressional committees. Democrats had hoped to kill the measure outright.

UNITED NATIONS, June 22 (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called out Russia on Thursday for killing 136 children in Ukraine in 2022, adding its armed forces to a global list of offenders, according to a report to the U.N. Security Council seen by Reuters.

The United Nations also verified that Russian armed forces and affiliated groups maimed 518 children and carried out 480 attacks on schools and hospitals. Russian armed forces also used 91 children as human shields, according to the report.

WASHINGTON, June 22 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden hailed a new era in the U.S.-India relationship, after rolling out the White House red carpet for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, touting deals on defense and commerce aimed at countering China's global influence.

The partnership is "stronger, closer and more dynamic than at any time in history," Biden told reporters at a joint press conference with Modi, and the economic relationship is "booming," with trade more than doubling over the past decade.

June 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday said a debris field was discovered within the search area by a remotely operated vehicle near the Titanic.

Experts within the unified command were evaluating the information, the Coast Guard said.

SACRAMENTO, the United States, June 22 (Xinhua) -- To better understand why so many people end up homeless in California, a group of researchers conducted a statewide survey, which found that deep poverty and lack of affordable housing are to blame.

For most of the people living on the streets, they lost their homes simply because the cost of housing had become unsustainable, according to the California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness released on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — China said Thursday it had registered a formal protest over President Joe Biden’s reference to Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a “dictator,” while Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stressed the critical importance of the two rival powers maintaining relations despite their disagreements.

Biden’s remarks at a 2024 reelection fundraiser Tuesday opened a new rift just after Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded a visit to Beijing that was meant as a step toward stabilizing ties and improving communications with China.