Michael Bloomberg is on a mission to ensure the U.S., one of the world’s top polluters, upholds its commitments to the Paris climate pact, even if it is not formally a part of it. U.S. President Donald Trump recently announced the U.S. will withdraw from the Paris agreement on climate change, saying the deal was…
read moreThe restaurant business can cause serious heartburn. It’s a mixed salad of bureaucracy, money, and paperwork that keeps some chefs from ever selling that first plate of food. But there may be hope as “restaurant incubators” offer chefs an alternative menu for success. Arash Arabasadi reports from Washington. …
read moreDiversification is a growing trend in some sectors of the agriculture industry. Some winemakers in the northwestern state of Oregon are branching out into marijuana as a new business venture. Faith Lapidus reports. …
read moreAmerican hackers could have planted false evidence that Russia interfered in the U.S. presidential election, President Vladimir Putin was quoted as saying by NBC News Saturday. U.S. intelligence officials have said Russia tried to interfere in the U.S. election by hacking the Democratic Party to sway the vote in favor of Donald Trump, a charge…
read moreU.S. Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday that it’s “great to have a president who is more concerned with Des Moines than Denmark,” after rolling up to a political fundraiser on a motorcycle. Pence was in Iowa Saturday at a fundraiser for Senator Joni Ernst dubbed “Roast and Ride,” a barbecue to honor U.S. veterans.…
read moreRick Perry twice ran for president and appeared as a contestant on TV’s Dancing with the Stars. But since becoming President Donald Trump’s energy secretary, Perry has kept a low profile and rarely has been seen publicly around Washington. Comedian Hasan Minhaj joked at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner that Perry must be “sitting…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump “believes the climate is changing,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley says. “President Trump believes the climate is changing and he believes pollutants are part of the equation,” Haley said during an excerpt of a CNN interview released Saturday. The interview will be broadcast Sunday on CNN’s State of…
read morePresident Donald Trump said the United States “will continue to be the cleanest and most environmentally friendly country on Earth” as he announced a U.S. pullout from an international accord designed to curb climate change. But facts muddy that claim. Data show that the U.S. is among the dirtiest countries when it comes…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump reportedly does not plan to invoke executive privilege in an attempt to prevent former FBI director James Comey from disclosing potentially harmful information to Congress about statements Trump made about his embattled former national security director. The decision was reported by the New York Times, which attributed information about the decision…
read moreDozens of U.S. companies spoke out against President Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord. Analysts say the improving economic case for renewables has boosted support for green energy in the once-skeptical business community; but, as VOA’s Jim Randle reports, some coal companies supported the president’s action. …
read moreWhite House officials said Friday they did not know yet whether President Donald Trump would seek to block former FBI Director James Comey from testifying to Congress next week, a move that could spark a political backlash. “I have not spoken to counsel yet. I don’t know how they’re going to respond,” White House spokesman…
read morePresident Donald Trump said he represented “the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris,” when he withdrew this week from the historic climate agreement signed in the French capital. But Pittsburgh plans to step up its efforts to meet the climate goals the president has repudiated. Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto responded to Trump’s statement with an executive…
read moreFor the Italian government, it seemed like a recipe for success: create an official “Made in Italy” logo to defend the country’s finest food exports from an army of foreign impersonators. On supermarket shelves worldwide, a star-shaped logo would mark out real Italian cheeses, hams, pasta and sparkling wines from those that only look or…
read moreDevelopments in Washington, D.C., on Friday include continuing discussion of President Donald Trump’s announcement to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, EPA Director Scott Pruitt says Americans should not apologize for Trump’s decision, Russian President Vladimir Putin urges U.S. businesses help normalize relations between the two countries, and U.S. educators say…
read moreU.S. senators who said they had heard multiple reports of inhumane conditions in immigrant detention centers called Friday for the release of more information. In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, 12 senators — 11 Democrats, plus independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont — said they had received complaints about medical services for detained…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has begun returning to Congress copies of a voluminous 2014 report describing the CIA’s harsh detention and interrogation programs, U.S. officials said Friday. The Trump administration’s move means it could be more difficult for the full, 6,700-page report to be made public, because documents held by Congress are exempt from…
read moreThe U.N. Security Council increased international pressure on North Korea on Friday to give up its pursuit of a nuclear bomb, adding 14 individuals and four companies to its sanctions lists. The council unanimously voted to impose travel bans and asset freezes following North Korea’s stepped-up ballistic missile launches this year. The tests, including three…
read moreThe European Union and China recommitted Friday to the 2015 Paris climate deal, one day after the United States announced it would withdraw from it. In a joint statement, the EU and China said climate change and clean energy “will become a main pillar” of their bilateral partnership. European Council President Donald Tusk said the…
read moreThe U.S. trade deficit rose in April to the highest level since January. The politically sensitive trade gap with China registered a sharp increase. The Commerce Department said Friday that the U.S. trade gap in goods and services climbed 5.2 percent to $47.6 billion in April from March. Exports dropped 0.3 percent to $191…
read moreThe price of oil has fallen sharply as investors bet that President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement will increase the country’s oil and gas production. The cost of a barrel of crude slumped 2.4 percent, or $1.18, to $47.18 in electronic trading in New York on…
read moreThe heated debate over India’s cash ban continues, with critics saying it slowed an economy that was growing, while the government says economic momentum was barely affected. Critics say the scrapping of 86 percent of the country’s currency last November cost India its status as the world’s fastest growing economy. According to data released…
read moreLong the preserve of geeky enthusiasts, bitcoin is going mainstream in Asia, attracting Mrs Watanabe — the metaphorical Japanese housewife investor — South Korean retirees and thousands of others trying to escape rock-bottom savings rates by investing in the cryptocurrency. Asia’s moms and pops, regular investors in stock and futures markets, have been dazzled by…
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