North America

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden told dozens of African leaders gathered in Washington that the United States is “all in on Africa’s future,” laying out billions in promised government funding and private investment Wednesday to help the growing continent in health, infrastructure, business and technology.

“The U.S. is committed to supporting every aspect of Africa’s growth,” Biden told the leaders and others in a big conference hall, presenting his vision at the three-day U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit of how the U.S. can be a critical catalyst.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is again making some free COVID-19 tests available to all American households as it unveils its contingency plans for potential coronavirus surges this winter.

U.S. health officials have revised a tool to track the rising cases of severe obesity among children who were previously off the charts.

Updated growth charts released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now extend to a body mass index of 60 — up from previous charts that stopped at a BMI of 37, with additional categories to track obesity in kids ages 2 to 19.

In recent decades, severe obesity among children in America has nearly quadrupled, experts said.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s move Wednesday to raise its key rate by a half-point brought it to a range of 4.25% to 4.5%, the highest level in 14 years.

The Fed’s latest increase — its seventh rate hike this year — will make it even costlier for consumers and businesses to borrow for homes, autos and other purchases. If, on the other hand, you have money to save, you’ll earn a bit more interest on it.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Patriot missile systems have long been a hot ticket item for the U.S. and allies in contested areas of the world as a coveted shield against incoming missiles. In Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific, they guard against potential strikes from Iran, Somalia and North Korea.

WASHINGTON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate could give final approval by Thursday to a one-week extension of federal government funding before the midnight Friday deadline, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Wednesday.

"The House is set to act on a one-week CR as soon as tonight and when that bill comes to the Senate we should be ready to act quickly, as soon as tomorrow if we can," Schumer said, referring to the "continuing resolution" stop-gap funding bill.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Iran appears set to be ousted from a U.N. women's body on Wednesday for policies contrary to the rights of women and girls, but several countries are expected to abstain from the vote requested by the United States, diplomats said.

The 54-member U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) will vote on a U.S.-drafted resolution to "remove with immediate effect the Islamic Republic of Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women for the remainder of its 2022-2026 term."

DALLAS (AP) — A destructive storm marched across the United States, spawning tornadoes that touched down in parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, where the deaths of a young boy and his mother were reported, and it delivered blizzard-like conditions to the Great Plains and threatened more severe weather Wednesday in the South.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers leading the negotiations on a bill to fund the federal government for the current fiscal year announced late Tuesday they’ve reached agreement on a “framework” that should allow them to complete work on the bill over the next week and avoid a government shutdown.

WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (NNN-XINHUA) – Nearly 100 members of the U.S. Congress had traded financial assets, that intersected with their duty or reported similar transactions by some of their close relatives, between 2019 and 2021, The New York Times (NYT) said recently.

The most glaring example is outgoing House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, who has, alongside her husband Paul, outperformed legendary investor, Warren Buffett, in terms of their investment return, during the above-mentioned period, thus being hailed as the “Queen of Stonks” by some investors.