North America

WASHINGTON, Jun 07 (APP): The United States Tuesday brushed asides renewed allegations of a “US conspiracy” that led to the overthrow of the previous Pakistani government, saying Washington valued its ties with Pakistan.

“These allegations are categorically false; you have heard me say this before,” State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told reports at his daily news briefing.

WASHINGTON, June 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is strong amid robust consumer spending but some areas are slowing down, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday, adding that she expects continued progress in bringing inflation down over the next two years with a strong labor market.

Yellen, in a CNBC interview, also said that while banks may struggle with commercial real estate and face some consolidation, there is ample liquidity in the system and banks should generally be able to withstand any strain.

OTTAWA, June 7 (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada on Wednesday hiked its overnight rate to a 22-year high of 4.75%, and markets and analysts immediately forecast yet another increase next month to ratchet down an overheating economy and stubbornly high inflation.

The central bank had been on hold since January to assess the impact of previous hikes after raising borrowing costs eight times since March 2022 to a 15-year high of 4.50% - the fastest tightening cycle in the bank's history.

UNITED NATIONS, June 6 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Tuesday voiced grave concern over the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam in southern Ukraine.

The protection of civilians and critical civilian facilities in armed conflict is an important principle enshrined in international humanitarian law, said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida sheriff’s deputy at the scene of the Parkland school shooting is on trial over whether he failed to take action and prevent the deaths of six of the 17 people killed in the 2018 massacre.

In opening statements Wednesday, a prosecutor told the jury that Scot Peterson, a former Broward County Deputy, took cover instead of charging inside a building to confront shooter Nikolas Cruz as he carried out his six-minute attack.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina state legislators who change party registrations midterm could be subject to an early election to keep the seat, according to a bill filed Tuesday by Senate Democrats in response to Rep. Tricia Cotham’s switch to the GOP two months ago.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president described the slayings of five men caught on security camera footage as an apparent “execution” by soldiers, and vowed Wednesday that the perpetrators would face justice.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is a staunch supporter of the armed forces who has insisted that under his administration they have shed any previous tendency toward human rights abuses. He said Wednesday that the slayings in a northern border city last month were impermissible, and that soldiers involved were being were being turned over for prosecution.

ATLANTA (AP) — Activists announced an effort Wednesday to force a referendum that would allow Atlanta voters to decide whether the construction of a proposed police and firefighter training center should proceed, in a potential last-ditch effort to halt the project that its opponents refer to as “Cop City.”

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Seven people were shot, two fatally, when gunfire rang out Tuesday outside a downtown theater in Richmond, Virginia, where a high school graduation ceremony had just ended, causing hundreds of attendees to flee in panic, weep and clutch their children, authorities and witnesses said.

A 19-year-old suspect tried to escape on foot but was arrested and will be charged with two counts of second-degree murder, Interim Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards said during a nighttime news conference at which he confirmed the two fatalities.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House conservatives staged a mini-revolt Tuesday in retaliation for Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s leadership on last week’s vote to raise the debt ceiling, the right wing banding together to block progress on a mixture of bills and vent their frustration.

Led by outspoken members of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of 11 Republicans broke with their party on an otherwise routine procedural vote that threw the day’s schedule — and the rest of the week — into disarray. It’s the first such procedural rule vote to fail in nearly two decades.