North America

WASHINGTON (AP) — The toll of police brutality in America was on painful display Tuesday night as family members of Black men and women killed in custody joined lawmakers in the Capitol to hear President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.

Seated near first lady Jill Biden were the mother and father of Tyre Nichols, who died after being savagely beaten by Memphis, Tennessee, police officers last month.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders painted a dystopian portrait of the country in her rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, leaning heavily into Republican culture war issues and accusing Biden of pursuing “woke fantasies.”

Speaking from the governor’s mansion in Little Rock, Sanders sounded a lot like her former boss, Donald Trump, as she warned of a nation whose ideals are under attack and whose citizens are fighting for their freedoms.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden exhorted Congress Tuesday night to work with him to “finish the job” of rebuilding the economy and uniting the nation as he delivered a State of the Union address aimed at reassuring a country beset by pessimism and fraught political divisions.

Feb 7 (Reuters) - Canada's Hut 8 Mining Corp (HUT.TO) will merge with rival US Bitcoin Corp to create a crypto mining giant in North America, consolidating after a steep fall in valuations for the crypto sector that saw high-profile collapses in recent months.

The companies said the combined entity will have a market capitalization of around $990 million, and be equally owned by shareholders of both the companies.

The merged entity, to be called Hut 8 Corp, will be listed on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq after the all-stock deal.

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan.

While U.S. President Joe Biden gets set to deliver his second "State of the Union" address late on Tuesday, world markets will be more in thrall to what his Federal Reserve Chair makes of an increasingly confusing economic picture.

Jerome Powell makes his first speech since the Fed's latest quarter-point interest rate rise last week. More importantly, it's his first chance to comment on Friday's seemingly blockbuster U.S. employment report for January.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on countries to take decisive action to change course before it is too late to prevent a global meltdown from occurring.

While presenting his priorities for the year to the UN General Assembly, Guterres appealed for urgent action to achieve peace, economic rights and development, climate action, respect for diversity, and inclusive societies -- both today and for generations to come.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- In the wake of devastating earthquakes that struck southern Türkiye and northern Syria early Monday, UN aid agencies have scrambled to help many thousands of reported victims, including those still believed to be buried under the rubble.

"My heart goes out to the people of Türkiye and Syria in this hour of tragedy," said the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a statement. "The United Nations is fully committed to supporting the response. Our teams are on the ground assessing the needs and providing assistance."

MCKEESPORT, Pa. (AP) — A man having a “mental health crisis” shot and killed a police officer, wounded a second and fired at a third before being wounded in a shootout in a western Pennsylvania city on Monday, authorities said.

Two officers were dispatched shortly after noon to a domestic disturbance call in McKeesport, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) south of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County Police Superintendent Christopher Kearns said at a news conference.

06 Feb 2023; MEMO: The UN General Assembly held a minute of silence for the victims of the deadly earthquake in Turkiye and Syria on Monday, Anadolu News Agency reports.

President of the UN General Assembly, Csaba Korosi, extended his deepest condolences to the governments and peoples of Turkiye and Syria for the tragic loss of life and damage.

He invited member states to stand and observe a moment of silence before a session started at the 193-member General Assembly.

SEATTLE (AP) — Boeing plans to make staffing cuts in the aerospace company’s finance and human resources departments in 2023, with a loss of around 2,000 jobs, the company said.

“We expect about 2,000 reductions primarily in Finance and HR through a combination of attrition and layoffs,” Boeing said in a statement Monday. “While no one has been notified of job loss, we will continue to share information transparently to allow people to plan.”