NEOMI RAO TO REPLACE KAVANAUGH
WASHINGTON : President Donald Trump has announced the nomination of Indian-american lawyer Neomi Rao to the vacancy created in the DC circuit court of appeal by the elevation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh was recently confirmed as the ninth justice of the apex court. Rao will have to be confirmed by the US Senate. She is currently serving in the White House as administrator in the office of information and regulatory affairs. If confirmed by the Senate, she will be the second Indian American on the DC circuit bench, joining Sri Srinivasan, who was appointed by former president Barack Obama. “She is going to be fantastic. A great person,” Trump said. A formal announcement on her nomination is expected to be made by the White House soon.
Trump lacks common decency, says France
PARIS: The French government on Wednesday fired back at a flurry of critical tweets by Donald Trump, suggesting the US president lacked “common decency” by launching his broadside on a day when France was mourning victims of the November 2015 terror attacks. Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said, “I will reply (to Trump’s tweets) in English: ‘Common decency’ would have been appropriate.”
Firefighters battle blazes in California, 50 dead
PARADISE: Firefighters battled blazes in northern and southern California on Tuesday as recovery teams searched the remains of houses for victims of the deadliest wildfire in the history of the US state. At least 50 deaths have been reported statewide so far from the late-season wildfires, and with hundreds of people unaccounted for, the toll is likely to rise. Most of the fatalities have been caused by the so-called “Camp Fire” in and around the town of Paradise.
Machine breakdown stalls Florida election recount
FORT LAUDERDALE: Florida’s midterm election recount drama is intensifying as lawyers return to court and tallying machines break down ahead of a Thursday deadline to complete reviews of the senate and governor races. Much of the trouble centres on the Democratic stronghold of Palm Beach County, where tallying machines have overheated. That’s caused mismatched results with the recount of 174,000 early voting ballots, forcing workers to go back and redo their work with no time to spare.
Marie Antoinette’s jewels up for auction in Geneva
GENEVA: Marie Antoinette’s diamonds and pearls, not seen in public for two centuries, went under the hammer in Geneva on Wednesday in what has been billed as one of the most important royal jewellery auctions in history. Ten dazzling treasures that belonged to the queen are part of a 100-piece collection, being sold by Sotheby’s auction house.