U.S. Senator John McCain was back in Arizona on Monday to begin treatment for brain cancer, but his situation did not stop him from again slamming the Trump administration for having “no strategy for success in Afghanistan” more than six months after the presidential inauguration. “When the Senate takes up the National Defense Authorization Act…
read moreWhen Luxembourg’s new law governing space mining comes into force on Tuesday, the country will already be working to make the science-fiction-sounding mission a reality, the deputy prime minister said. The legislation will make Luxembourg the first country in Europe to offer a legal framework to ensure that private operators can be confident about their…
read morePresident Donald Trump, who has been criticized for not doing enough to help pass health care legislation, will do more traveling to try to drum up support for tax legislation, a senior White House aide said on Monday. Specifically, Trump could travel to some Midwest states like Michigan and Wisconsin that he won during the…
read moreThe United States has imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro, over what it called his “illegitimate” election of an assembly to rewrite the constitution. All of Maduro’s assets in the United States are frozen and Americans are forbidden from doing any business with him. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced the sanctions Monday in…
read moreTweeting that there is “no chaos” in the White House, President Donald Trump brought in a no-nonsense retired Marine Corps general, John Kelly, as his chief of staff Monday to restore order to an administration shaken by six months of policy setbacks, personnel changes and media leaks. Within hours, White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci…
read moreU.S. Vice President Mike Pence said Monday there is no larger threat to Baltic states than the “specter of aggression” by Russia, as he pledged support for NATO allies Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Pence met in Tallinn with the presidents of all the Baltic states — Estonia’s Kersti Kaljulaid, Latvia’s Raimonds Vejonis and Lithuania’s Dalia…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump has decided to remove Anthony Scaramucci from his job as communications director, the New York Times reported on Monday, citing three unidentified people close to the decision. News of Scaramucci’s removal came hours after Trump swore in a new chief of staff, retired General John Kelly. Politico reported the dismissal came…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump uttered assurances during the start of his Cabinet meeting on Monday morning that the threat from North Korea will be taken care of. “We’ll handle North Korea. We’re going to be able to handle them. It will be handled. We handle everything,” Trump said in response to a question from…
read moreRide-hailing service Lyft carried more passengers through June this year than it did in all of last year as it capitalized on missteps at Uber. The company says ridership through June surpassed the 162.5 million rides it gave in all of 2016. A spokeswoman wouldn’t give an exact number. Lyft has made its…
read moreJohn Kelly, a no-nonsense retired Marine Corps general, was sworn in Monday as the White House chief of staff, tasked with trying to bring order to Donald Trump’s presidency six months into his tenure. “He’s going to do a really great job,” Trump said as he welcomed Kelly, while touting the country’s economic performance. “Stock…
read moreSouth Africa entered an economic recession in June, and the country’s unemployment rate is fast approaching 30 percent, according to the government statistics agency. But for the sellers of secondhand books, business has never been better. Eric Nofal, who has been selling used books for almost 30 years, shows a customer around his store in…
read morePresident Donald Trump insisted Monday there is no chaos at the White House, even as his new chief of staff is entering a West Wing battered by crisis. Retired Gen. John Kelly, previously the Homeland Security secretary, takes over Monday from the ousted Reince Priebus, bringing his military experience to an administration weighed down by…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump is expected to sign into law new sanctions against Russia, Iran, and North Korea. While Washington awaits the president’s signature, Russia is promising retaliation if punitive measures are implemented. …
read moreRepublicans on Sunday urged President Donald Trump’s new chief of staff John Kelly to rein in the chaos within the White House on Monday but said the retired Marine Corps general will be challenged to assert control. In his first six months in office, Trump has upended White House convention with a loose decision-making style…
read moreSenior U.S. officials said Sunday the time for talking about the diplomatic consequences of North Korea’s latest missile test is over, since the danger to international peace that Pyongyang poses is now clear to all nations. U.S. bombers flew over the Korean Peninsula to demonstrate military strength Sunday, and Vice President Mike Pence noted that…
read moreTianna Rooney has already bought the poster board for the sign she’ll wave when the 16-year-old refugee boy her family is taking in arrives in the United States. Rooney knows the exact words of welcome she’ll write on it, in the teenager’s native language from the African country of Eritrea. But Rooney’s family is leaving…
read moreAmerica’s top law enforcement officer wandered through a Salvadoran jail, sizing up the tattooed gang members who sat with their backs to him on the concrete floors of their cells. His soft voice was barely audible over the downpour pelting the tin roof as he spoke to the local police. In the midst of…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump is expected to sign into law new sanctions against Russia, Iran, and North Korea. While Washington awaits the president’s signature, Russia is promising retaliation if punitive measures are implemented. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports from Washington …
read moreThe crocodile industry in Australia’s Northern Territory, a new report says, is worth more than four times the previous estimate of US $80 million. Officials hope the findings will give poorer aboriginal communities the chance to develop crocodile farming industries. The saltwater creature is the world’s largest reptile. In Australia, they were once hunted to…
read morePresident Donald Trump took to Twitter on Saturday morning to criticize Republican senators following their failed vote to repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. Trump said the Republican senators “look like fools.” He also suggested they alter rules that require 60 votes to break a filibuster, even though that would…
read moreWeary Republicans in Washington may be ready to move on from health care, but conservatives across the United States are warning the GOP-led Congress not to abandon its pledge to repeal the Obama-era health law – or risk a political nightmare in next year’s elections. The Senate’s failure this past week to pass repeal…
read moreFor Tesla, everything is riding on the Model 3. The electric car company’s newest vehicle was delivered to its first 30 customers, all Tesla employees, Friday evening. Its $35,000 starting price, half the cost of Tesla’s previous models, and range of up to 310 miles (498 km) could bring hundreds of thousands of customers into…
read more