North America

USA (AP) —  As the threat of impeachment looms, President Donald Trump is digging in and taking solace in the base that helped him get elected: conservative evangelical Christians who laud his commitment to enacting their agenda.

Trump told reporters last week that “the biggest pastors” have assured him that Christians are “electrified” by his clash with Democrats who are probing his pushes for Ukraine to launch an investigation into a political rival, former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden.

HOUSTON (AP) — A man who prosecutors say was driven by vengeance when he fatally shot six members of his ex-wife’s family in Texas, including four children, was sentenced Friday to death, a decision the lone survivor of the attack says will help her let go of “hurt and anger.”

Jurors sentenced Ronald Lee Haskell after deliberating for little more than four hours. The jury had to choose between life in prison without parole or a death sentence.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An aggressive wildfire in Southern California seared its way through dry vegetation Friday and spread quickly, destroying more than a dozen homes as tens of thousands of residents were ordered to get out of its way, authorities said.

The blaze broke out Thursday evening in the San Fernando Valley and spread westward, burning its way into hilly subdivisions on the northern edge of Los Angeles as terrified residents grabbed what they could and ran. One man went into cardiac arrest and died, authorities said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration and China declared a temporary truce Friday in their 15-month trade war. Yet the grievances that led them to impose tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of each other’s goods remain largely unresolved.

The administration agreed to suspend a tariff hike on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports that was set to take effect Tuesday. And China agreed to buy up to $50 billion in U.S. farm products.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Democratic presidential race that had been largely static through the summer has tumbled into a chaotic fall, shaped by unpredictable events and the deepening impeachment crisis surrounding President Donald Trump.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Testifying in defiance of President Donald Trump’s ban, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch told House impeachment investigators Friday that Trump himself had pressured the State Department to oust her from her post and get her out of the country.

Yovanovitch told lawmakers investigating Trump’s dealings with Ukraine that there was a “concerted campaign” against her based on “unfounded and false claims by people with clearly questionable motives.”

NEW YORK, Oct 11 (APP): A U.S. Senator, who met the Pakistani leadership during a recent visit to Pakistan, has called for finding ways to de-escalate tensions between India and Pakistan.

Senator Maggie Hassan said in a tweet that she met Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa to discuss “joint counter-terrorism work and regional stability,”.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, will comply with House Democrats’ subpoena and testify before the committees leading the impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Donald Trump on Oct. 17, his lawyers said on Friday.

But Sondland is not authorized to release the documents the House committees have sought, his lawyers said, adding that Sondland hopes the material will be shared with the committees before his Thursday appearance.

(Reuters) - United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL.O) said on Friday it is extending cancellations of Boeing 737 MAX flights until Jan. 6, as regulators continue to extensively review proposed software changes to the grounded plane.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Engulfed in an impeachment inquiry, U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday slammed a new Fox News poll showing over half of U.S. voters surveyed support impeaching and removing him.

Released Wednesday, the poll showed 51 percent of the 1,003 randomly chosen registered voters want Trump to be impeached and removed from office. The result compared to 42 percent in July, before House Democrats launched the impeachment inquiry into Trump in September over the president's alleged inappropriate interactions with Ukraine.