Key witness testifies in trial tied to Trump-Russia probe
The star prosecution witness in the trial of a Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer charged with lying to the FBI says he was “100%” confident that the attorney told him he was not acting on behalf of a particular client when he presented information meant to cast suspicions on Donald Trump and possible connections to Russia.
Clinton campaign lawyer sought to 'use' FBI, prosecutor says
A prosecutor says a lawyer for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign who is charged with lying to the FBI early in the Trump-Russia probe sought to “use and manipulate” federal law enforcement to create an “October surprise” in the final weeks of the presidential race.
Jimmy Carter says he's sad, angry over Georgia voting bills
That slice of the electorate tilted solidly to Biden but still included many Republican voters. He has said he wants to add a voter identification requirement to absentee voting, replacing the existing signature match requirement used to verify voters' identities. AdFor example, in Georgia, no-excuse absentee voting was enacted under a 2005 law adopted by a Republican-controlled Assembly. Carter focused his criticisms mostly squarely on the proposal to roll back absentee voting. He has repeatedly called the U.S. an “oligarchy,” and in 2020, the Carter Center for the first time designated the United States as a “backsliding” democracy.
US says it will open a consulate in disputed Western Sahara
The State Department said Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020, the United States will open a consulate in Western Sahara following President Donald Trumps decision to recognize Moroccos sovereignty over the disputed region. (Saul Loeb/Pool Photo via AP, File)WASHINGTON – The State Department said Thursday the United States will open a consulate in Western Sahara following President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed region. It was not immediately clear when or where it would be open but until then Pompeo said the U.S. Embassy in Rabat would operate a virtual consulate to serve Western Sahara. Recognizing Western Sahara was a reversal of decades of U.S. policy and the move has been heavily criticized, not least by those in Western Sahara who have fought for independence and want a referendum on the territory’s future. The U.S. decision to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara has drawn criticism from the U.N. as well as American allies in Africa and beyond.
Kushner joins Israelis on landmark visit to Morocco
The U.S. decision to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara has drawn criticism from the U.N. as well as American allies in Africa and beyond. During the 1990s, Israel and Morocco established low-level diplomatic relations, but Morocco closed its representative office in Tel Aviv after the eruption of the second Palestinian uprising in 2000. Even so, the two countries have maintained good behind-the-scenes contacts, and some 30,000 to 50,000 Israelis continue to visit Morocco each year. On the tarmac in Israel, Kushner said that he hopes the delegation's visit will “pave the way for another warm peace between Israel and Morocco,” pointing to the emerging ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. The agreement with Morocco deals a major setback to those in Western Sahara who have fought for independence and want a referendum on the territory’s future.
AP FACT CHECK: Barr raises voter fraud specter, China threat
He also suggested that China poses more of a threat to election security than Russia, even though that was not the conclusion of an official intelligence assessment last month. But the commission pointed out in a statement in May that it had found little evidence of fraud in states like Oregon that had sufficient safeguards. The statement directly implicated Russia in 2020 election interference by saying it was actively working to denigrate Biden. But they did not specifically place China as a more serious threat or allege that Beijing was directly interfering in the election. ___Find AP Fact Checks at http://apnews.com/APFactCheckFollow @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheckFollow Eric Tucker on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP
The Latest: India reports biggest number of deaths with 904
The governor says confirmed coronavirus cases have been rising in Aichi since mid-July at 100 or more a day. Japan has had nearly 42,700 confirmed coronavirus cases and about 1,000 deaths. Urumqi is the capital and biggest city in Xinjiang, which has reported more than 600 coronavirus cases but no deaths. The federal Health Department reported 829 newly confirmed deaths Wednesday, giving the country a total of 49,698 such deaths. Since then, Washington has recorded more than 59,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 1,600 deaths.