President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans suffered a major political setback Friday when the Senate rejected a partial repeal of Obamacare, one of the president’s key campaign pledges. The key vote against the plan was delivered by Republican Senator John McCain, who has clashed with Trump before. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has more from…
read moreThe White House says President Donald Trump approves of Congress’ new sanctions against Russia and he intends to sign the bill. In a statement Friday, the press secretary said the president has reviewed the final version of the bill that outlines additional sanctions against a wide range of Russia industries. The bill also gives Congress…
read moreAt dawn in Xochimilco, home to Mexico City’s famed floating gardens, farmers in muddied rain boots squat among rows of beets as a group of chefs arrive to sample sweet fennel and the pungent herb known as epazote. By dinnertime some of those greens will be on plates at an elegant bistro 12 miles…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump’s choice for White House chief of staff, retired Marine General John Kelly, was one of the military’s longest-serving commanders before Trump named him secretary for the Department of Homeland Security. Kelly, 67, is known for his blunt-spoken style and is popular with military personnel. Trump described him in a tweet Friday…
read moreVice President Mike Pence visits three countries in Russia’s neighborhood beginning Monday to signal support for them and NATO while drawing a line against aggression. Pence’s trip to Estonia, Georgia and Montenegro is viewed as a follow-up to President Donald Trump’s visit to Europe earlier this month. Then, Trump used stops in Poland and…
read moreThe White House sits two miles from the U.S. Capitol, but this week, it might as well have been a world away. In Congress, Republicans labored around the clock in an ultimately futile bid to overhaul the nation’s health care system. At the White House, officials labored to keep their jobs amid a highly public…
read moreU.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Friday said he would extend for two more months one of the extraordinary cash management measures that the Treasury is using to stave off a debt-limit default. Mnuchin said in a letter to House of Representative Speaker Paul Ryan that he would continue to withhold investments from the Civil…
read moreThe International Monetary Fund on Friday said that the U.S. dollar was overvalued by 10 percent to 20 percent, based on U.S. near-term economic fundamentals, while it viewed valuations of the euro, Japan’s yen and China’s yuan as broadly in line with fundamentals. The IMF’s External Sector Report, an annual assessment of currencies and external…
read moreShares of Tesla rose nearly 1 percent on Friday ahead of a handover to customers of its first Model 3 sedans, the electric cars that Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk is betting will propel his company into the mass market. Tesla is counting on the Model 3 to help turn the cash-losing company into a…
read moreDays after the Pentagon announced it is withholding $50 million intended for Pakistan as part of its Coalition Support Fund, the South Asian country’s ambassador hinted at potential retaliation, possibly coaxing Washington to renegotiate access to the country’s air corridors, which Islamabad suggests have been taken for granted. Pakistan is ready to cooperate with the…
read moreCongressional Democrats are praising Republican Senator John McCain after he helped them defeat a proposed law Thursday night that would have repealed the seven-year old Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he and McCain have “been friends for a very long time” and McCain showed “amazing courage”…
read moreThe U.S. House of Representatives closed its summer session with a key legislative accomplishment Friday that included a gift for President Donald Trump. House Republicans included a $1.6 billion request to build part of Trumps promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border in a “mini-bus” package of bills. “We must be vigilant in protecting…
read moreWhite House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus may have little left of his job but his title. In the swirl of Shakespearean intrigue that surrounds Donald Trump’s White House, Priebus’ fortunes have long been a source of speculation, given his limited role, colorful band of rivals and the president’s public slights. Those questions sharply escalated…
read morePresident Donald Trump’s new communications director ignited the smoldering tensions at the White House into a full-fledged conflagration Thursday, angrily daring Trump’s chief of staff to deny he’s a “leaker” and exposing West Wing backstabbing in language more suitable to a mobster movie than a seat of presidential stability. In a pull-no-punches, impromptu CNN interview…
read moreU.S. economic growth accelerated in April, May, and June, expanding at a 2.6 percent annual rate, says a new report by the Commerce Department. The gross domestic product data, published Friday, says consumer and business spending helped boost growth. IHS Markit economist Sara Johnson says U.S. growth was also helped by an accelerating global economy…
read moreJapan says tariffs on U.S. imports of frozen beef will rise to 50 percent next month, from the current 38.5 percent. “The tariff will take effect automatically as the volume of the imported U.S. frozen beef exceeded the quota set by law,” Finance Minister Taro Aso said Friday. Under World Trade Organization rules, Japan can…
read moreThe surge in far-flung and destructive cyber attacks is not good for national security, but for an increasing number of hackers and researchers, it is great for job security. The new reality is on display in Las Vegas this week at the annual Black Hat and Def Con security conferences, which now have a booming…
read moreU.S. lawmakers said on Thursday that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told them he will defer to President Donald Trump on the timing of a decision on new steel import curbs, likely meaning further delays and deliberations on the issue. Members of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee attending a briefing with Ross said…
read moreWhile President Donald Trump’s administration is seeking a reason to keep American troops in Afghanistan after 16 years of war, U.S. officials are also examining options to stabilize conflicts in the region, including a dialogue that would move forward a peace process. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is not advocating for military options, but looking…
read moreA proposed border tax in the House of Representatives was killed on Thursday, bringing relief to retailers and other large importers whose profits faced threats and removing a hurdle that had kept negotiations on the long-promised Republican overhaul of the U.S. tax code from advancing. The border adjustment tax was part of a broad reform…
read moreU.S. lawmakers have approved a bill imposing new sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea, which will now be sent to President Donald Trump for approval. Senators overwhelmingly approved the bill Thursday with a vote of 98-2, a day after the House and Senate agreed on the terms. Republican Sen. Bob Corker announced the deal…
read moreSimmering White House tensions are breaking into the open as President Donald Trump’s newly named communications chief, Anthony Scaramucci, wages a campaign to root out damaging leaks of embarrassing and sometimes classified information that have undercut the administration’s credibility. One of Scaramucci’s immediate targets appears to be White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, a…
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