Republican Kevin McCarthy was elected speaker of the US House of Representatives early on Saturday, after making extensive concessions to a group of right-wing hardliners that raised questions about the party's ability to govern.

Republican frontrunner Kevin McCarthy suffered a shock defeat in the race to become the new speaker of the US House of Representatives late Friday amid astonishing scenes of bitter infighting after failing to stamp out a rebellion among his party's ranks.

The US Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved a highly anticipated new drug designed to slow cognitive decline in patients in mild and early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

Owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, TikTok has become a political punching bag for US conservatives who allege that the app downloaded by millions of US young people can be circumvented for spying or propaganda by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

McCarthy, a favorite of his party's establishment but a bete noire of the far right, has made sweeping concessions to quell a rebellion of around 20 hardliners blocking his bid to be the country's top lawmaker. 

The House cannot perform any of its vital functions -- including overseeing national security, investigating government misconduct and passing legislation -- until its presiding officer is in place, spelling paralysis in Congress.

"I just think it's a little embarrassing it's taken so long in the way they're dealing with one another," Biden told reporters before a trip to Kentucky. 

Pharmacies can start applying for certification to distribute abortion pill mifepristone, and if successful they will be able to dispense it directly to patients upon receiving a prescription from a certified prescriber.

Norway, the major donor to the Amazon Fund, said the initiative for backing forest protection had been reactivated now that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was back in office and vowing to halt deforestation.

The new US Congress was plunged into disarray Tuesday as renegade right-wing Republicans blocked favorite Kevin McCarthy from becoming speaker of the House of Representatives in a series of humiliating votes seen as a rebuke to the party establishment.

Maduro's remarks come days after the South American country's opposition voted to dissolve an "interim government" led by Juan Guaido, who had been recognized by many countries -- including the United States -- as Venezuela's legitimate leader following disputed 2018 elections.

The 77-year-old veteran leftist, who previously led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, took the oath of office before Congress, capping a remarkable political comeback for the metalworker-turned-president less than five years after he was jailed on corruption charges.

The social media giant had previously said it will decide by Jan 7 whether to allow the former president to return. However, that decision is now expected to be announced later in the month, the newspaper said, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Hospitals and crematoriums across China continue to be overwhelmed by the explosion of Covid cases, which have hit the elderly especially hard.

United States National Guard troops trudged door-to-door on Wednesday looking for winter storm victims who may be unaccounted for in parts of Buffalo hit by prolonged power outages, after a deadly Christmas blizzard that buried New York's second-largest city in blinding snow.

The United States "is following the science and advice of public health experts, consulting with partners, and considering taking similar steps... to protect the American people," said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing concern expressed by the WHO as well as measures adopted by Japan, India and Malaysia.

He took flack from early morning Fox News hosts for being "ready to go have a good time" while Americans confront the blizzard.

The US government's two-year-old policy of invoking COVID-19 precautions to turn away hundreds of thousands of migrants at the Mexican border will remain in place for now, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

A crisis situation was unfolding in Buffalo, in western New York, where a blizzard has left the city marooned, with emergency services unable to reach high impact areas.

More than a million US power customers were in the dark Friday as a "bomb cyclone" winter storm walloped the country, closing highways, grounding flights and causing misery for Christmas travelers.

The World Bank´s board of directors approved late on Thursday a $500 million project in Brazil to expand sustainability-linked finance and strengthen the private sector’s capacity to access carbon credit markets and help the country curb deforestation.

A "once-in-a-generation" winter storm with temperatures as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit (-40 Celsius) caused Christmas travel chaos in the United States on Thursday, with thousands of flights canceled and major highways closed.

Ukraine's president thanked "every American family" in an emotional but defiant address to the US Congress Wednesday aimed at countering growing skepticism over US military aid as Kyiv's war with Russia drags into the new year.

Argentina's World Cup heroes had to abandon an open-top bus parade in Buenos Aires on Tuesday as millions of ecstatic fans flooded onto the streets and brought the city to a standstill, with Lionel Messi and his team mates whisked into helicopters to complete the celebrations.

Elon Musk said Tuesday he would resign as chief executive of Twitter once he finds a replacement, in apparent response to a poll he launched that suggested users wanted him to step down.

US lawmakers have released the text of a $1.7 trillion funding bill which Congress hopes to pass within days to avert a government shutdown.

The reinstatements came after the unprecedented suspensions evoked stinging criticism from government officials, advocacy groups and journalism organizations from several parts of the globe on Friday, with some saying the microblogging platform was jeopardizing press freedom.

Twitter suspended Thursday accounts of more than a half-dozen journalists who had been writing about the company and its new owner Elon Musk.

The thorny issue of how much money wealthy countries are willing to pony up to protect the world's remaining biodiversity took center stage Wednesday at UN talks in Montreal aimed at creating a "peace pact with nature."

A Twitter account that tracked flights of Elon Musk's private jet was grounded on Wednesday despite the billionaire's talk of free speech.