North America

04 August 2023; MEMO: American support for Israel no longer serves strategic US interests, says Steven Simon, Washington's former National Security Council senior director for the Middle East and North Africa. Simon, who directly managed the Israel-Palestine file, served under the administration of former US President Barack Obama. He urged the US to reconsider its relation in a new book titled 'Grand Delusion: The Rise and Fall of American Ambition in the Middle East'.

TBILISI, Aug 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least six people have been killed by a landslide in the western Georgian region of Racha, the interior ministry said on Friday.

“So far, six bodies have been found during the search and rescue operation,” the ministry said in a post on social media.

It said in an earlier post that rescue efforts were underway and that 140 people had been evacuated. Two helicopters and rescue dogs were involved in the search efforts.

The landslide took place in Shovi, a small resort area in Georgia’s mountainous northwest.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 4 (NNN-XINHUA) — A UN official on Thursday called for a reinvigorated multilateral system for peace in order to address the root causes of hunger.

A quarter billion people suffered from acute food insecurity last year, the highest number recorded in recent years. Of these people, some 376,000 were facing famine-like conditions in seven countries. Another 35 million people were on the edge. As in all crisis situations, women and children are the most impacted, said UN Famine Prevention and Response Coordinator Reena Ghelani.

MEXICO CITY, Aug 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A “lifeless person” has been found stuck in the floating barrier set up by Texas along the U.S-Mexico border, according to Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  

The agency said authorities from the Texas Department of Public Safety contacted the Mexican consulate in Eagle Pass, Texas, around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday to notify them of the discovery in the floating barrier along the Rio Grande. 

WASHINGTON, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Two U.S. Navy sailors have been arrested on charges of handing over sensitive national security material to China, U.S. officials said Thursday.

Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, 26, was charged with conspiracy and bribetaking in connection with taking nearly $15,000 in exchange for photographs and videos of sensitive U.S. military information, the officials said. U.S. Navy sailor, Jinchao Wei, whose age was not disclosed, was charged with conspiring to send national defense information to China in exchange for thousands of dollars.

WASHINGTON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Army on Friday became the second branch of the U.S. military to no longer have a Senate-confirmed leader, as a Republican senator continues to block military nominations, a move military leaders said threatens readiness and undermines retention of officers.

Retiring Chief of Staff of the Army General James McConville relinquished command on Friday. It will be the first time in history the U.S. military will have two branches, the Army and the Marine Corps, without a confirmed leader, the Pentagon said.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A former K-9 officer has been indicted in Ohio on murder charges in the death of a Black man who was lying on his bed when he was shot by police trying to serve a warrant.

Former Columbus police officer Ricky Anderson was also charged Friday with reckless homicide by a county grand jury in the August 2022 death of 20-year-old Donovan Lewis.

NEW YORK (AP) — As Donald Trump was being arraigned in Washington on yet another round of criminal charges, his running mate-turned-rival Mike Pence hurried to capitalize on the news.

Pence’s campaign unveiled new T-shirts and baseball caps featuring the phrase “Too Honest” in big red letters — a reference to an episode in the indictment in which the former president called Pence to berate him over his refusal to go along with Trump’s scheme to overturn the 2020 election.

“You’re too honest,” Trump allegedly scoffed at his second-in-command on New Year’s Day.

WASHINGTON (AP) — An appeals court Thursday allowed a rule restricting asylum at the southern border to temporarily stay in place. The decision is a major win for the Biden administration, which had argued that the rule was integral to its efforts to maintain order along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The new rule makes it extremely difficult for people to be granted asylum unless they first seek protection in a country they’re traveling through on their way to the U.S. or apply online. It includes room for exceptions and does not apply to children traveling alone.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has his zingers (“This is not your father’s Republican Party”). He’s got patriotism (“This is the United States of America, dammit”). He’s got a geometry-based explanation on how to grow the economy (“from the middle out and the bottom up”).

Move over, Beyonce and Taylor Swift. Biden has his own greatest hits and he’s keeping them on repeat.