Jury selection began Monday in the trial of a Chinese billionaire accused of bribing United Nations diplomats to gain their approval of a U.N. conference center he wanted to build. Ng Lap Seng has pleaded not guilty. He has posted $50 million bail, but is restricted to a luxury New York City apartment that he…
read moreThe new U.S. ambassador to China has said that stopping the threat posed by North Korea will be a top priority, along with resolving the U.S.-China trade imbalance, according to a video message to the Chinese people released on Monday. Terry Branstad, a former Iowa governor, has been described by Beijing as an “old friend”…
read moreFishing fleets dump about 10 percent of the fish they catch back into the ocean in an “enormous waste” of low-value fish despite some progress in limiting discards in recent years, scientists said on Monday. A decade-long study, the first global review since 2005 and based on work by 300 experts, said the rate of…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump Monday said a four-month probe into allegations of collusion between his campaign and Russia has turned up nothing, and he deserves an apology. In a barrage of Twitter messages on Monday, Trump also accused former President Barack Obama of failing to act in response to intelligence reports that Russia was meddling…
read moreSouthern California taxi driver Gurmukh Singh faces deportation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. His request for asylum was turned down 18 years ago, and he has been trying ever since to get the decision reversed. In early May, the husband of an American wife and father of two teenage daughters was detained.…
read moreEmbattled Japanese auto parts manufacturer Takata said Monday it has filed for bankruptcy protection. Takata also announced that rival Key Safety Systems is purchasing Takata for $1.5 billion. Takata has been overwhelmed with the costs of lawsuits and recalls related to defective airbags linked to the deaths of 16 people and scores of injuries worldwide.…
read moreConservative activists held a pair of rallies in Washington on Sunday to decry the handful of celebrities who have joked about violence against President Donald Trump and to protest efforts to stop contentious speakers at colleges. Both rallies attracted only a few dozen supporters, with nearly as many counterprotesters at one of the events on…
read moreThe top Democrat on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee on Sunday criticized the administration of former President Barack Obama for not taking earlier and tougher action against Russia for its alleged hacks aimed at swaying the Nov. 8 election for Donald Trump. “The Obama administration should have done a lot more when it became clear…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump says he and his Republican colleagues in the Senate are facing “a very narrow path” in their seven-year effort to overhaul the national healthcare reforms championed by former President Barack Obama. Trump, in an interview that aired Sunday on Fox News, said, “I think we’re going to get there,” but acknowledged…
read moreThe global economy has picked up and prospects for the next few months are the best in a long time. But the recovery is maturing and faces risks from populist rejection of free trade and from high debt that could burden consumers and companies as interest rates rise. Those were key takeaways from…
read moreRepublicans in full control of government are on the brink of history-making changes to the nation’s health care system. The impact for consumers would go well beyond “Obamacare.” Former President Barack Obama’s signature law is usually associated with subsidized insurance markets like HealthCare.gov. But the Affordable Care Act also expanded Medicaid. Not only would the…
read moreChief lieutenants in the Koch brothers’ political network lashed out at the Senate Republican health care bill on Saturday, becoming a powerful outside critic as GOP leaders try to rally support for their plan among rank-and-file Republicans. “This Senate bill needs to get better,” said Tim Phillips, who leads Americans for Prosperity, the Koch network’s…
read moreSo where, you may ask, is President Donald Trump most comfortable these days? Well in his previous life as a real estate mogul, you might have guessed he was most at home safely ensconced in Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan, maybe tucking into one of those with well-done steaks with ketchup on the side. But…
read moreThe U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan has stepped down. Laurel Miller left the office Friday without a replacement being named. The departure of the special envoy comes at the same time the U.S. is preparing to send thousands more troops to Afghanistan in its continued fight against the Taliban insurgency. Politico, the news…
read moreDevelopments in Washington, D.C., on Friday include President Donald Trump who said he thinks the relationship between the special counsel and fired FBI director is ‘very bothersome,’ and signs a bill making it easier to fire underperforming VA workers accused of wrongdoing. Trump: Friendship Between Leader of Russia Probe, Fired FBI Director ‘Very Bothersome’ —…
read moreA second U-turn this year by Ford Motor Co. in Mexico has raised the specter of Chinese competition for local carmaking, adding to pressure on the industry after repeated threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to saddle it with punitive tariffs. Ford announced on Tuesday it would move some production of its Focus small car…
read moreThe U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Friday announced changes to a $10 million government grant program, narrowing its focus around efforts to combat Islamist extremism. In an update to awards announced in January by former President Barack Obama’s administration, the department released a new list of grant recipients and amounts, shifting money to law…
read moreAfter starting work in a hotel kitchen, Zhai Meiqin began selling furniture and built a billion-dollar conglomerate, but she took great pride in being recognized this week for driving a new phenomenon in China: philanthropy. Zhai, one of China’s richest women and president of the privately owned HeungKong Group Ltd., said she never forgot her…
read moreCambodian activists fighting plans to transform Phnom Penh’s largest lake into a luxury development made a tactical decision when they took to the streets: put women on the frontline to show a “gentle” face and prevent violence. But it was wishful thinking. The women of Boeung Kak Lake, once home to a thriving community, have…
read moreThink Washington, D.C., and your statehouse are irredeemable and unproductive? Look to city hall for answers. That’s the message from the nation’s mayors six months in to Donald Trump’s presidency. “We don’t have time to argue about ideological positions. We have to find real solutions for problems,” said New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who will…
read moreSoaring temperatures and a lack of rainfall across Italy have cost farmers 1 billion euros ($1.12 billion) so far this year, the national agricultural association said on Friday. The government declared a state of emergency in the gastronomic heartland around the northern cities of Parma and Piacenza, a usually lush valley that produces tomatoes, cheese,…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump signed into law Friday a bill that will make it easier to fire Department of Veterans Affairs employees, a development that has union officials concerned the measure could be misused for political purposes. The signing is the latest step in an effort by the Trump administration to strengthen an agency that…
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