North America

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Republican secretaries of state in Ohio, West Virginia and Missouri have promoted their states’ elections as fair and secure. Yet each also is navigating a fine line on how to address election fraud conspiracies as they gear up campaigns for U.S. Senate or governor in 2024.

CLEVELAND, Texas (AP) — The search for a Texas man who allegedly shot his neighbors after they asked him to stop firing off rounds in his yard stretched into a second day Sunday, with authorities saying the man could be anywhere by now.

Francisco Oropeza, 38, fled after the shooting Friday night that left five people dead, including an 8-year-old boy. San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said Saturday evening that authorities had widened the search to as far as 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the scene of the shooting.

Houston, Apr 29 (PTI) A 47-year-old Indian-origin former CEO of a Silicon Valley technology company pleaded guilty to securities fraud for overstating revenue to investors, according to the Attorney's Office in the US state of California.

HAVANA, April 29 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — Executives from China Media Group (CMG) and Cuban Television officially presented the television program ConTextos (ConTexts), dedicated entirely to information about China.    

At the Ambassadors’ Hall of the Habana Libre Hotel, the Minister Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Havana, Zhang Buxin, said that the program co-produced by China Global Television Network (CGTN in Spanish) and Cuba’s Caribe channel is a new milestone in cooperation between the two countries.

LOS ANGELES, April 28 (Reuters) - Barely five weeks after the last bout of heavy rain and snow in California's historically wet winter, firefighters on Friday battled the state's first large wildfire of the year in rugged foothills east of Los Angeles.

The Nob fire has scorched some 200 acres of brush and grass in the San Bernardino National Forest since erupting on Wednesday, with 25% of the blaze's perimeter contained by Thursday night, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

WASHINGTON, April 29 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. economy appears to be slowing, and could hit a recession this year, according to experts, economic indicators and major corporations.

"It is very likely that the economy will be tipped into recession by mid-year," said Desmond Lachman, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a former official at the International Monetary Fund.

GDP, which measures all goods and services produced in the United States, rose at a paltry 1.1 percent annualized pace in the year's first quarter, according to the Commerce Department.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has commuted the sentences of 31 people convicted of nonviolent drug crimes who were serving time in home confinement, the White House announced Friday.

Many would have gotten a lower sentence if they were charged today with the same offense because of changes in the laws. A commuted sentence means they’ll spend less time in home confinement.

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Army has grounded aviation units for training after 12 soldiers died within the last month in helicopter crashes in Alaska and Kentucky, the military branch announced Friday.

The suspension of air operations was effective immediately, with units grounded until they complete the training, said Lt. Col. Terence Kelley, an Army spokesperson. For active-duty units, the training is to take place between May 1 and 5. Army National Guard and Reserve units will have until May 31 to complete the training.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden thanked some of his top donors Friday night as he launches a reelection campaign that is expected to need to raise well over $1 billion to secure his second term.

“It’s because of you, I’m standing here,” Biden said in the ballroom of a Washington hotel. “And it’s because of you, we’re going to win this time around.”

ATLANTA (AP) — Jimmy Carter tried like no president ever had to put human rights at the center of American foreign policy. It was a turnabout dictators and dissidents alike found hard to believe as he took office in 1977. The U.S. had such a long history of supporting crackdowns on popular movements — was his insistence on restoring moral principles for real?