USA

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The country’s last undecided congressional election was marred by falsified signatures, disappearing documents and blank ballots that were filled in by people hired by the Republican candidate, North Carolina elections officials said.

The state elections board could decide as early as Tuesday whether possibly criminal ballot fraud was unfortunate but tolerable, or whether to order a new election in the 9th congressional district.

WASHINGTON, Feb 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US-China trade talks aimed at ending a damaging tariff war resumed from Tuesday (Feb 19) in Washington, the White House said.

The last set of talks ended Friday in Beijing with no deal, though US President Donald Trump said the discussions were going “extremely well” and suggested he could extend a March 1 truce deadline for an agreement to be reached.

The next round of negotiations will commence with deputy-level meetings before moving on to principal-level talks on Thursday, a White House statement said.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Active, middle-aged men able to complete more than 40 push-ups had a significantly lower risk of developing cardiovascular diseases than those who were able to do less than 10, a new study showed.

"This study emphasizes the importance of physical fitness on health, and why clinicians should assess fitness during clinical encounters," said senior author Stefanos Kales, professor in the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard Chan School and chief of occupational medicine at Cambridge Health Alliance.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- A grade-six student in the U.S. state of Florida was arrested after he refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in his classroom, but local police said Monday that he was arrested "for disrupting the classroom" and "NOT for refusing to participate" in the pledge.

On Feb. 4, the 11-year-old student, who is black, refused to take part in the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. flag in his classroom, citing "racist" and "offensive to black people" as reasons, CNN reported quoting the school district and local police statements.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- The United States discussed exchanging liaison officers with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), U.S. media reported on Monday.

Washington and Pyongyang were seriously considering exchanging liaison officers, an incremental step toward building formal diplomatic relations, according to a CNN report citing two high-level diplomatic sources.

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Sixteen U.S. states including California Monday jointly sued U.S. President Donald Trump to challenge his bid to declare national emergency over funding a wall between the United States and Mexico.

AURORA, Ill. (AP) — More than 1,500 people braved snow and freezing drizzle to attend a prayer vigil for five slain co-workers Sunday, two days after they were fatally shot at a suburban Chicago manufacturing plant by a longtime employee who was fired moments earlier.

The Rev. Dan Haas told those who gathered near five white crosses erected for the shooting victims outside Henry Pratt Co. in Aurora that Friday’s “senseless killings” left their families brokenhearted in the city about 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Chicago.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump is prepared to issue the first veto of his term if Congress votes to disapprove his declaration of a national emergency along the U.S.-Mexico border, a top White House adviser said on Sunday.

White House senior adviser Stephen Miller told “Fox News Sunday” that “the president is going to protect his national emergency declaration.” Asked if that meant Trump was ready to veto a resolution of disapproval, Miller added, “He’s going to protect his national emergency declaration, guaranteed.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said in an interview that aired Sunday that a “crime may have been committed” when President Donald Trump fired the head of the FBI and tried to publicly undermine an investigation into his campaign’s ties to Russia.

McCabe also said in the interview with “60 Minutes” that the FBI had good reason to open a counterintelligence investigation into whether Trump was in league with Russia, and therefore a possible national security threat, following the May 2017 firing of then-FBI Director James Comey.

WASHINGTON, February 18. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump did not believe a report by the US intelligence officials claiming that North Korea is in possession of missiles able to reach the US territory due to Russian President Vladimir Putin claiming the opposite, former Acting Director of the FBI Andrew McCabe said in an interview with the CBS channel, published on Sunday.