A single vote may spell the end of Republican control in Virginia’s House of Delegates. A Democratic challenger seems to have won a recount Tuesday by one vote, putting the partisan balance in the House at a tie. It would mean a rare power-sharing agreement may have to be brokered. Shelly Simonds beat three-term…
read moreFive lawsuits against the Trump administration’s decision to end a program protecting some young immigrants from deportation face a key federal court hearing in San Francisco that could put an early end to the legal challenges or give them a big boost. U.S. District Judge William Alsup will hear arguments on Wednesday to determine whether…
read moreThe U.S. Senate voted late Tuesday to overhaul America’s tax system, putting President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans one perfunctory vote away from scoring a major legislative victory and fulfilling a campaign promise. All 51 Senate Republicans present voted in favor of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, while all 48 Democrats opposed it. “We…
read moreA sweeping overhaul of the U.S. federal tax code is on its way to becoming law. When it does it will be President Donald Trump’s first major legislative victory. VOA’s Congressional reporter Katherine Gypson has more from Capitol Hill on the deeply divided partisan vote that will have a far-reaching impact on the U.S. and…
read moreThis remote town in Peru’s southern Andes was supposed to serve as a model for how companies can help communities uprooted by mining. Named Nueva Fuerabamba, it was built to house around 1,600 people who gave up their village and farmland to make room for a massive, open-pit copper mine. The new hamlet boasts paved…
read moreLaura Lopez is a Mexican immigrant living in Florida who has been racing against time to avoid deportation. Lopez said she arrived at the post office just after the cutoff time and missed the deadline set by President Donald Trump to renew her paperwork for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that helps young…
read moreThe United States needs to encourage domestic production of a handful of minerals critical for the technology and defense industries, and stem reliance on China, U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said Tuesday. Zinke made the remarks at the Interior Department as he unveiled a report by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), which detailed the extent…
read moreGreece’s parliament on Tuesday approved the 2018 state budget, which includes further austerity measures beyond the official end of the country’s third international bailout next summer. All 153 lawmakers from the left-led governing coalition backed the budget measures in a late vote, while the 144 opposition lawmakers present rejected them. Three were absent from…
read moreOne of the most prominent people convicted in Latin America’s largest corruption scandal left prison Tuesday for house arrest after serving two-and-a-half years behind bars at a time when many Brazilians are becoming disillusioned with the graft investigation once hailed as a political game-changer. Marcelo Odebrecht’s release came a day after Brazil’s top court halted…
read moreA planned massive Republican tax overhaul has led Wall Street strategists to revise their 2018 corporate earnings forecasts sharply higher, but the jury is out on how long the accelerating effect on profits will last. The tax bill, which the U.S. House of Representatives approved on Tuesday, will cut the corporate income tax rate to…
read moreU.S. single-family homebuilding and permits surged to more than 10-year highs in November, in a hopeful sign for a housing market that has been hobbled by supply constraints. Builders have struggled to meet robust demand for housing, which is being fueled by a labor market near full employment. Land and skilled labor have been in…
read moreIn laying out his national security strategy, President Donald Trump sold short the records of his predecessors, speaking as if the energy boom started with him and the gates of America were wide open before he came along. On Twitter, meanwhile, Trump tweeted a wrong score in the game of politics and got ahead…
read moreThe U.S. House of Representatives will vote Tuesday on a Republican $1.5 trillion tax bill that will provide tax relief for most Americans, but benefit the wealthy the most, according to a non-partisan tax analysis group. Following the House vote, the Senate will vote on the measure later Tuesday, according to Senate Republican leader Mitch…
read moreThe Green Party’s 2016 presidential nominee says she’s cooperating with a request for documents from a Senate committee probing Russian meddling in the U.S. election. Jill Stein has acknowledged attending a 2015 event in Moscow celebrating the anniversary of a state-sponsored Russian news organization. The event has attracted investigators’ attention because former National Security Adviser…
read moreCongress will vote mostly along party lines this week to give President Donald Trump his first major legislative victory – a tax reform bill. Republican lawmakers say it will give the US economy a much needed kickstart. The bill raises standard deductions for most families and individuals, reducing the amount of the taxable income they…
read moreThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday issued a notice that it wants public input for a possible replacement of Obama-era regulations on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants that the agency is repealing. The agency’s advance notice kicks off a 60-day comment period on “specific topics for the Agency to consider in developing any…
read morePresident Donald Trump Monday unveiled his national security strategy, a blueprint for future military and foreign policy, defense spending, trade negotiations and international cooperation. The security strategy is built around four pillars: 1. Protecting the homeland Reforming the immigration system and strengthening border control Targeting transnational terrorist groups and crime syndicates at the source Keeping…
read moreEuropean Union environment and energy ministers on Monday agreed on renewable energy targets for 2030 ahead of negotiations next year with the European Parliament, which has called for more ambitious green energy goals. Ministers said they would aim to source at least 27 percent of the bloc’s energy from renewables by 2030 — up from…
read moreU.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will meet Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland on Tuesday to discuss border security and other issues, the U.S. Department of State said in a statement. The two will meet in Ottawa to “discuss U.S.-Canadian coordination on a range of global and regional topics,” the statement said. A senior State…
read moreArgentina’s Congress could pass a hotly debated pension reform measure Monday, lawmakers told reporters, as stone-throwing demonstrators gathered in the capital and the country’s main union called a 24-hour general strike to protest the proposal. Debate on the bill was suspended Thursday amid violent protests, which were put down by police firing rubber bullets and…
read moreEgypt’s economic prospects are looking brighter after the long-anticipated production of undersea gas from the al Zohr gas field began coming online in recent days. Petroleum Minister Tareq al Molla tells Arab media the al Zohr field will be a major boon for the economy, saving $750 million to possibly several billion dollars a year…
read moreParceling out holiday shopping in small amounts and completing it in a realistic schedule helps people maintain the self-control needed to avoid being swept away in impulse purchases that can wreck budgets, a study to be published in January said. The study from Texas A&M University researchers looked at how well people complied with maintaining…
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