North America

BALTIMORE (Reuters) - When Maricruz Abarca learned three years ago that she had been given the legal right under a U.S. government program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals to work in the United States and avoid deportation, she started to cry.

After years of living illegally in the shadows after moving to the United States from Mexico at age 15 to join relatives in New Jersey, she finally could make concrete plans for the future.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff has asked Republicans to submit witness requests by Saturday ahead of next week's open hearings as part of an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.

The witness request "must be submitted in writing, and must be accompanied by a detailed written justification of the relevance to the inquiry of the testimony of each requested witness," Schiff said in a statement released on Thursday, citing a recently-passed House resolution formalizing proceedings of the impeachment inquiry.

WASHINGTON (AP) — During the 2016 campaign, candidate Donald Trump stood in front of largely white crowds and asked black voters to consider, “What the hell do you have to lose?”

Four years later, the president has a new message for black voters: Look what I’ve delivered.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A 61-year-old white Milwaukee man accused of throwing acid on a Hispanic man’s face will be charged with a hate crime, increasing the possible sentence he may receive if convicted, prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Prosecutors filed one charge against Clifton Blackwell — first-degree reckless injury — but added the sentencing enhancers of hate crime and use of a dangerous weapon. The two enhancers could add 10 years in prison if he’s convicted of first-degree reckless injury, which is punishable by up to 25 years.

NEW YORK (AP) — A judge Thursday ordered President Donald Trump to pay $2 million to an array of charities as a fine for misusing his own charitable foundation to further his political and business interests.

New York state Judge Saliann Scarpulla imposed the penalty after the president admitted to a series of abuses outlined in a lawsuit brought against him last year by the New York attorney general’s office.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior American diplomat has written a highly critical assessment of the Trump administration’s abrupt withdrawal of troops from northeast Syria last month, a decision that paved the way for an attack on U.S.-allied forces in the area, officials said Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats have subpoenaed acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney in their impeachment probe, demanding his testimony Friday as they wrap up closed-door interviews and move into a public phase of the investigation.

Despite the late-night subpoena, Mulvaney isn’t expected to appear for the interview Democrats have scheduled. The White House instructed its officials not to comply with the investigation, which is looking at President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s “excruciating.” It smells like a “locker room.” And what happens there is supposed to stay there.

When history is written about President Donald Trump’s presidency, a key chapter in the House’s drive to impeach him will be set in a spy-proof bunker tucked beneath a spiral staircase just to the east of the U.S. Capitol. There, three House committees have been hearing about Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukraine, gathering testimony that could serve as the foundation for articles of impeachment.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A forthcoming book by an anonymous author identified only as “a senior official in the Trump administration” describes President Donald Trump as volatile, incompetent and unfit to be commander in chief, according to excerpts published Thursday by The Washington Post.

The book describes racist and misogynist behind-the-scenes statements by Trump and says he “stumbles, slurs, gets confused, is easily irritated, and has trouble synthesizing information.”

The Post acquired a copy of the book, “A Warning,” and first reported on its contents Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tries to shrug off the impeachment inquiry that has ensnared the State Department and raised questions about his leadership.

Pompeo portrays the inquiry, which centers on President Donald Trump’s attempt to link U.S. military aid to Ukraine to a corruption probe of a political rival, as unworthy of his attention.

“I clearly follow this a lot less than you do,” Pompeo told reporters when asked about it the issue Thursday while on a visit to Germany.