U.S. homebuilders are feeling more optimistic than they have in months, looking past a recent slowdown in new home sales and the risk of rising labor and materials costs following hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Tuesday rose four points to 68 this month. That’s the…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump’s net worth declined by some $600 million to $3.1 billion in the past year, according to Forbes magazine. The biggest contributing factor to Trump’s declining fortune was his real estate holdings, much of which is in New York City. Several of his Manhattan properties have declined in value, reducing his fortune…
read moreAides to the last two U.S. presidents are sharply disputing claims by President Donald Trump that they paid little attention to the families of fallen U.S. military personnel to offer sympathy and pay tribute for their service. Trump claimed Monday that “if you look at President Obama and other presidents, most of them didn’t make…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday his nominee for drug czar has withdrawn from consideration for the position. “Representative Tom Marino has informed me that he is withdrawing his name from consideration as drug czar. Tom is a fine man and a great Congressman!,” Trump said on Twitter. Marino, a House Republican, withdrew his name…
read morePresident Donald Trump waded back into Southern politics Monday, showering praise on one of his earliest supporters, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster. At a closed-door campaign fundraiser, Trump praised McMaster as his “friend” and “compatriot” and predicted McMaster would be the state’s governor for “many years,” according to video of the event posted by the…
read moreFor the last year, the deli that Egyptian-American Hatem El-Gamasy owns in Queens, New York has been the backdrop to on-air discussions on U.S. foreign policy and Middle Eastern affairs that are broadcast in Egypt. But when Egyptian broadcasters caught wind of his daytime job, the calls suddenly stopped. But VOA’s Ramon Taylor reports that…
read morePresident Donald Trump says he has excellent relationship with fellow Republicans in Congress. After a lunch meeting Monday Trump said he is “closer than ever before” to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican he had previously blamed for failing to accomplish the party’s agenda. Trump and McConnell promised speedy action to reform U.S.…
read moreU.S. Sen. John McCain jabbed Monday night at unnamed pushers of isolationist politics, saying at his National Constitution Center Liberty Medal ceremony in Philadelphia that abandoning America’s role as an international leader is “unpatriotic.” The six-term Republican senator from Arizona made the remarks after receiving the award for a lifetime of service and sacrifice to…
read morePresident Donald Trump blamed Cuba on Monday for the mysterious attacks that injured 22 U.S. diplomats and other Americans, but gave no details. “I do believe Cuba is responsible. I do believe that. And it’s a very unusual attack, as you know,” Trump said in a White House Rose Garden news conference. But the president…
read moreAs the White House works to cut back immigration, asylum seekers are the latest group caught in the crackdown. The Trump administration released enforcement priorities last week that included tightening standards in the U.S. asylum system. While President Donald Trump’s immigration policies do not specify what action will be taken, the administration seems to be…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump says he plans to call the families of four Special Forces soldiers who were killed earlier this month in Niger, and claimed that former President Barack Obama didn’t usually make calls to families of soldiers killed in action. Trump made the remark during a news conference Monday in the Rose Garden,…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump called Monday for a quick conclusion to the investigations into whether his campaign colluded with Russia last year to help him win the White House. “They ought to get to the end of it because the American people are sick of it,” Trump told reporters at a White House news conference.…
read morePresident Donald Trump says his decision not to recertify Iran’s compliance with the Iran nuclear deal could lead to its “total termination.” “That’s a very real possibility,” Trump said Monday as he began a meeting with his Cabinet at the White House. “Some people say that’s a greater possibility.” In remarks that were at times…
read moreThe church was empty, except for the piano too heavy for one man to move. It had been 21 days since the greatest storm Wayne Christopher had ever seen dumped a year’s worth of rain on his town, drowning this church where he was baptized, met his high school sweetheart and later married her. …
read moreFor months, the outlook for the eurozone economy has brightened thanks to a series of electoral defeats for populist parties in key states like France. Now, following votes in Germany and Austria and the uncertainty over the Spanish region of Catalonia, concerns are growing again about the potential impact of euroskeptic politics. The euro has…
read morePresident Donald Trump blames the Senate’s Republican leader for the health overhaul failure, tantalizes deals with Democrats and watches his former strategist work to bulldoze the Republican establishment on Capitol Hill. There’s no need for air conditioning at the White House with that chill in the air when Trump, a public official since January, and…
read moreThe world economy is the healthiest it’s been in years but could still use a little help from low-interest rates and higher government spending from countries that can afford it, the International Monetary Fund says. “There was a strong consensus that the global outlook is strengthening,” said Agustin Carstens, governor of the Bank of…
read moreTesla Motors fired hundreds of workers after completing its annual performance reviews, even though the electric automaker is trying to ramp up production to meet the demand for its new Model 3 sedan. The Palo Alto, California-based company confirmed the cuts in a Saturday statement, but didn’t disclose how many of its 33,000 workers were…
read moreIn May, 13 Asian and Hispanic residents of Lowell, Massachusetts, filed a voting rights lawsuit against the city government, alleging the at-large electoral system, in which the winner takes all, dilutes the minority vote and discriminates against the candidates from community of color running for office. The plaintiffs asked the federal court to rule that…
read morePresident Donald Trump’s decision to end a provision of the Affordable Care Act that was benefiting roughly 6 million Americans helps fulfill a campaign promise, but it also risks harming some of the very people who helped him win the presidency. Nearly 70 percent of those benefiting from the so-called cost-sharing subsidies live in states…
read morePresident Donald Trump can block his critics from following him on Twitter without violating the First Amendment despite a lawsuit’s claims that it violates the Constitution to do so, government lawyers say. Trial attorneys with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington submitted papers late Friday to a New York federal judge, saying a lawsuit…
read moreNegotiators from Canada and Mexico grappled Saturday with U.S. demands to drastically alter the North American Free Trade Agreement, as talks over renewal of the pact vilified by President Donald Trump ran through a fourth straight day. Some downcast participants said the demands, unveiled this week in line with Trump’s “America First” agenda, have increased…
read more
