US & Canada

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday will name former U.S. official Rina Amiri as a special envoy for Afghan women, girls, and human rights, two sources familiar with the decision said. Amiri has spent two decades advising governments, the United Nations, and think tanks on issues related to …

U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, for the fiscal year 2022, which authorizes $770 billion in defense spending, the White House said on Monday. Earlier this month, the Senate and the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly for the defense bill with strong …

A lone gunman shot four people to death and wounded three, including a police officer, on Monday in a Denver-area shooting spree that unfolded at several locations and ended with police killing the suspect, authorities said. Investigators have yet to determine a motive for the rampage, which began around 5 …

Russian officials have agreed to sit with American officials next month among US accusations against Moscow of preparing to invade neighboring Ukraine, the US National Security Council (NSC) has said. The United States “looks forward to engaging with Russia” for a Strategic Security Dialogue on Ukraine on January 10, an …

The highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus is sending daily infections in parts of the United States soaring to levels higher than the pandemic peak of early 2021. Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Puerto Rico are among the areas that have reported higher caseloads in the …

Russian diplomats and military officials will take part in talks with the United States next month on a list of security guarantees that Moscow wants from Washington, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday. Lavrov made the comments in an interview live-streamed on his ministry’s website. He said the …

If Moscow encroaches on Ukraine’s sovereignty, the US will impose sanctions against Russia as no one has ever seen before, Vice President Kamala Harris warned on Sunday. In an interview with CBS, on Sunday, American Vice President Kamala Harris said that Washington is coordinating its position with allies and is …

A 70-mile stretch of Interstate 80 in California has been shut down due extreme winter weather, with forecasters warning that travel could be difficult for the next few days. According to Press TV, the California Department of Transportation announced on Twitter that a section I-80 from Colfax, Calif., to the …

The US state of New York’s health department has warned of a rise in the hospitalization of children getting infected with COVID-19. According to Press TV, the New York State Department of Health made the announcement in a notice to doctors amid a rise in the omicron variant. “NYSDOH is …

Coronavirus cases in the US are expected to continue to increase as the “extraordinarily contagious” Omicron variant spreads, Dr. Anthony Fauci warns. “Well, there’s one thing that’s for sure that we all agree upon, that it is extraordinarily contagious,” Fauci, the longtime Director of the National Institute of Allergy and …

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to take up disputes over the Biden administration’s nationwide vaccine-or-testing COVID-19 mandate for large businesses and a separate vaccine requirement for healthcare workers. The brief court order said the court will hear oral arguments on Jan. 7 in the two cases, with rulings …

The fast-spreading Omicron variant has become the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Omicron now accounts for 73.2 percent of new US cases over the past week ending on Saturday, the CDC reported on Monday. In some …

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat who is key to President Joe Biden’s hopes of passing a $1.75 trillion domestic investment bill, said on Sunday he would not support the package. “I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation,” Manchin said during an interview with the “Fox …

Fentanyl overdoses have become the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45, according to a new report which shows deaths related to the drug overtaking Covid-19 and suicide. Between 2020 and 2021, 78,795 adults in the age bracket died from the drug, with 2021 deaths rising by …

A third of Americans have been forced to avoid necessary medical treatments due to the dire economic situation in the country, according to a new survey. The latest survey showed that 30 percent of participants said they had ruled out medical treatment due to the high costs of health care …

At least 50 people were killed when a fuel truck exploded in a street in Haiti’s second-largest city Cap-Haitien during the night, the city mayor said on Tuesday. The local hospital was stretched trying to treat the many injured, Mayor Pierre Yvrose told Reuters. “So far the situation is critical …

The United States on Sunday was approaching 800,000 coronavirus-related deaths, as the nation braces for a potential surge in infections due to more time spent indoors with colder weather and the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virus. The milestone means the U.S. death toll from this one virus now …

A devastating swarm of tornadoes ripped through six U.S. states, killing more than 70 people in Kentucky and leaving a trail of destroyed homes and businesses along a path that stretched more than 200 miles, officials said on Saturday. At least four tornadoes touched down overnight in parts of Kentucky, …

If Julian Assange were a Chinese journalist and publisher, he’d have the Nobel Prize, be the centerpiece of Human Rights Day, and this week his portrait would’ve been planted atop President Joe Biden’s Democracy Summit. Assange’s name would’ve been the first on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s list of …

Protesters filled the meeting room of the Spalding County Board of Elections in October, upset that the board had disallowed early voting on Sundays for the Nov. 2 municipal election. A year ago, Sunday voting had been instrumental in boosting the turnout of Black voters. But this was an entirely …