NEW YORK — Basking in chants of “Bernie’s back,” Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders resumed campaigning weeks after being sidelined by a heart attack and told supporters he was ready to resume “the epic struggle” for the White House.

Energized by thousands of backers gathered for a Queens rally, the 78-year-old Vermont senator said, “When I look at this huge crowd, brothers and sisters, I have no doubt that the political revolution is going to sweep this country, sweep Donald Trump out of office and bring the change that this country has long needed.”

To raucous applause, he declared: “I am back.”

It was the start of what he is calling a “vigorous” return to campaigning as he tries to give his stagnant bid a shot of energy.

Among those who introduced Sanders was New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sanders’ latest high-profile endorsement.

Sanders had emergency heart surgery this month but insists that he’s more committed than ever to the 2020 race.

Beyond health concerns, Sanders suddenly finds himself looking up at progressive rival Elizabeth Warren and establishment favorite Joe Biden in the polls. Now he must reassure voters that he has the physical stamina to go forward while addressing broader concerns that his policies may be too far left to defeat Trump in a general election.

The endorsement from Ocasio-Cortez, the 30-year-old high-profile progressive, “sends the message that the movement is growing, that it’s gaining influence, that it’s gaining traction,” said, Sanders’ campaign manager, Faiz Shakir.

GOP congressman weighing impeachment will retire

WASHINGTON — Florida Rep. Francis Rooney, one of the few Republicans openly weighing whether to impeach President Donald Trump, said Saturday he will not run for reelection.

Asked if he needed or hoped for a third term in 2020, he told Fox News, “I don’t really think I do and I don’t think I really want one.” He said his name could be included in the extensive list of GOP retirements.

Rooney, 65, serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and is a solid member of the GOP establishment. Among the House’s wealthiest members, he was reelected last year with 62% of the vote.

Rooney has at times been a Trump critic. He was one of 13 House Republicans to join a Democratic effort this year to stop the president from declaring a national emergency to fund his border wall with Mexico.

Japan to send own navy, won’t join US coalition for Mideast

TOKYO — Japan’s government said it has decided not to join a U.S. coalition to protect commercial vessels in the Middle East but is preparing to send its own force to ensure the safe shipment of oil to Japan.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Japan will keep cooperating closely with Washington even if it won’t join the initiative the U.S. says is aimed at protecting commercial tankers from alleged Iranian attacks.

Japan’s energy needs rely heavily on oil imports. It has kept friendly ties with Iran and is reluctant to join such a force.

Suga said Japan plans to deploy warships initially to gather information in the Gulf of Oman, the Northern Arabian Sea and nearby waters, but did not include the Strait of Hormuz at the center of the U.S.-Iran tension.

19 scale wall of US Embassy in Seoul to protest GIs in S. Korea

WASHINGTON — At least 19 South Korean university students were arrested Friday after climbing the walls of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul and attempting to enter the residence of Ambassador Harry Harris, a State Department spokesman said. Students were reportedly protesting the presence — and cost — of American military forces in the country.

Students can be seen on video using extension ladders to scale the walls of the secure embassy and consulate while others unfurl banners with messages that included “Leave this land, Harris.”

Students shouted, “Stop interfering with our domestic affairs,” and chanted “Get out,” and “We don’t need U.S. troops,” before being removed by local police who entered at the embassy’s request, Reuters reported.

Body of Rep. Cummings will lie in state at Capitol

BALTIMORE — The body of Rep. Elijah Cummings will lie in state in the National Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol this week.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office said in a news release that a formal ceremony open to members of Congress, the Cummings family and invited guests will be held Thursday morning, followed by a public viewing.

A wake and funeral for Cummings is planned the following day at New Psalmist Baptist Church in Baltimore, where he worshipped for nearly four decades.

Cummings died Thursday at age 68 due to complications from long-standing health problems.

Cummings was the powerful chairman of a House committee that’s investigating President Donald Trump. He was a civil rights leader and passionate advocate for the poor in his Baltimore-area district.

White House defends trade policies at IMF meeting

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is defending its get-tough approach to trade against widespread attacks from America’s trading partners while at the same time arguing that many countries must increase government spending to boost global growth.

In remarks Saturday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said U.S. trade policies, which have included tariffs on billions of dollars of imports from China and other nations, are intended to improve the rules for global trade.

The policy-setting committee for the 189-nation International Monetary Fund said in a closing statement wrapping up its fall meetings that growth should accelerate next year. Officials acknowledged that a range of factors could undermine that forecast, including trade fights and increased geopolitical risks.

In Russia: At least 15 people are dead after a dam at a small Siberian gold mine collapsed and water flooded two workers’ dormitories on Saturday.

The Emergencies Ministry also said seven people were unaccounted for, Russian news reports said. The regional health ministry said 16 people were injured.

The dam had not been registered or approved for use by Rostechnadzor, Russia’s agency for technological and ecological oversight, the Interfax news agency cited the agency as saying.

The collapse during heavy rain occurred around 6 a.m. near the village of Shchetinkino in the Krasnoyarsk region about 2,100 miles east of Moscow.