Global liquor behemoth Diageo said Wednesday it will pay up to $1 billion to buy a tequila brand co-founded by movie star George Clooney. Clooney founded the Casamigos brand four years ago with partners Rande Gerber and Mike Meldma. Diageo said it will pay $700 million for Casamigos at first, and then pay…
read morePresident Donald Trump is headed Wednesday to the Midwestern farm state of Iowa, where he is scheduled to tour an agricultural program at a community college and then hold a political rally. It is his first visit to the rural state in the U.S. heartland since he won it in last November’s election on his…
read moreLockheed Martin Corp said on Wednesday it had won a $104 million U.S. Air Force contract to develop, produce and field a threat simulator to train combat aircrews to recognize and deal with rapidly evolving threats, such as surface-to-air missiles. Tim Cahill, vice president of air and missile defense systems for Lockheed, said a number…
read moreU.S. officials told lawmakers Wednesday there is no question that Russia engaged in widespread interference in last year’s presidential election aimed at helping real estate mogul Donald Trump win the White House, but they said there is no evidence that Moscow was able to change the vote count. Former Homeland Security agency chief Jeh Johnson…
read moreEconomic analysts say many foreign investors are finding an up side to the suppression of dissent in Vietnam, taking comfort in the expectation of business stability as the country’s one-party government moves toward a landmark economic summit later in the year. Plain-clothed authorities beat rights campaigners and bloggers in 36 incidents between January 2015 and…
read moreA recent government decision regarding dual use property has left thousands in China in asset limbo and over the past few weekends residents in Beijing and Shanghai have started taking to the streets to vent their frustration with the policy change. Over the weekend, homeowners strolled around a major shopping complex in the capital, some of…
read moreAlthough Afghan businesses have long wanted to exploit the potential of India’s huge market, trade between the two countries has been hampered due to their tense relations with Pakistan. But a plane loaded in Kabul with 60 tons of medicinal plants landed in New Delhi this week, raising hopes of giving a major boost to…
read moreTravis Kalanick, the combative and troubled CEO of ride-hailing giant Uber, resigned Tuesday under pressure from investors. The company’s board confirmed the move early Tuesday, saying in a statement that Kalanick is taking time to heal from the death of his mother in a boating accident -while giving the company room to fully embrace this…
read moreDevelopments in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday include President Donald Trump meeting with Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko, the U.S. Treasury expanding sanctions against Russia and Ukraine separatists, a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing planned for U.S. election officials and cybersecurity experts regarding Russian hacking, and a poll that shows the president’s approval rating at a new low.…
read moreJared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior aide, has been front and center at the White House this week, making his speaking debut before a high-powered gathering of tech executives and heading off on a sensitive diplomatic mission to the Middle East. Kushner, 36, a New York real estate magnate, was close by Trump’s…
read moreThe United States Treasury Department announced additional sanctions Tuesday against Russia, pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, and individuals and companies associated with them. The move comes on the heels of a White House meeting Tuesday between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. The increased sanctions is in response to continued Russian support for…
read moreRepublicans are getting ready for Senate votes on legislation scuttling former President Barack Obama’s health care law, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday among growing indications that the climactic vote could occur next week. “The Senate will soon have a chance to turn the page on this failed law,” said the Kentucky Republican. He…
read moreChinese stocks will be included for the first time in a leading U.S. index of emerging market shares. The New York-based index giant MSCI said Tuesday that it would add 222 Chinese A shares beginning next year. “International investors have embraced the positive changes in the accessibility of the China A shares market over the…
read moreCountries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will be a wellspring of opportunity for the United States because of growth in the region’s digital economy and its young population, researchers say. Those combined forces will “create a much more dynamic [economy] … over the coming decades,” said Satu Limaye, head of the…
read moreMembers of the U.S. Congress met with reporters Tuesday to explain their claim that President Donald Trump violated the Constitution for accepting funds from foreign governments through his businesses without congressional approval. Last week nearly 200 Democratic lawmakers filed suit against the president in federal court over the payments that hundreds of Trump businesses have…
read moreSanctions against the Russians will remain in place until “they are out of eastern Ukraine,” White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday as the Ukrainian president visited the White House. “We’re going to continue to have sanctions on Russia, and we believe that is part of Ukraine, and so therefore those sanctions will…
read moreFord Motor Co. will export vehicles from China to the U.S. for the first time starting in 2019. Ford said Tuesday it plans to move production of its Ford Focus small car from the U.S. to China, where it already makes the Focus for Chinese buyers. Ford will continue to make the Focus in…
read moreThe U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed a victory to Chevron Corp. by preventing Ecuadorean villagers and their American lawyer from trying to collect on an $8.65 billion pollution judgment issued against the oil company by a court in Ecuador. The justices turned away an appeal by New York-based lawyer Steven Donziger, who has spent…
read moreThe U.S. Supreme Court on Monday tightened rules on where injury lawsuits may be filed, handing a victory to corporations by undercutting the ability of plaintiffs to bring claims in friendly courts in a case involving litigation over the Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. blood-thinning medication Plavix. The justices, in an 8-1 ruling, threw out a lower…
read moreThe U.S. Supreme Court has decided to consider whether state lawmakers can be too partisan when they set the geographic boundaries of federal congressional districts, giving themselves an unfair advantage over their political opponents. The country’s top court said Monday that later in the year it would consider a dispute in the midwestern state of…
read moreClimate change, trade and terrorism were highlighted Monday at a Beijing meeting of foreign affairs officials from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, known collectively as the BRICS nations. The five nations are seeking to further align their views on key issues at a time when President Donald Trump is withdrawing the U.S. from…
read moreThe Russia probe consuming Washington continues this week amid news reports President Donald Trump is being investigated – not for collusion with Moscow but for potential obstruction of justice. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports, the president’s legal team insists the news media are wrong, but Trump’s own Twitter activity is adding to the intrigue. …
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