Arts and crafts retailer Hobby Lobby has agreed to forfeit thousands of illegally smuggled ancient Middle Eastern artifacts obtained from antiquities dealers for a Bible museum headed by its president, the company and U.S. officials said Wednesday. The forfeiture will include about 5,500 artifacts purchased by Hobby Lobby Inc that originated in modern day Iraq…
read moreThe vice chair of President Donald Trump’s election fraud commission is taking issue with reports that a majority of states are refusing to comply with a request for extensive personal voter information. Kris Kobach, the vice chair of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, said in a sharply worded statement Wednesday that news stories…
read moreBritain will lose its status as Europe’s top financial center unless it keeps borders open to specialist staff, improves infrastructure and expands links with emerging economies, TheCityUK said in a report published Thursday. The report from Britain’s most powerful financial lobby group said continental Europe might eventually become the preferred destination for banks, insurers and…
read moreA U.S. congressman who was criticized for filming a video inside a former gas chamber at the Auschwitz death camp apologized and removed it from social media Wednesday, saying he had intended it as a tribute to those killed at the Nazi-run site. Representative Clay Higgins, a Louisiana Republican, had come under fire from the…
read moreThis first face-to-face meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will take place on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Hamburg. The Kremlin says terrorism, Syria and Ukraine will top its agenda. The White House says Trump will decide what to discuss, calling it a “normal bilateral meeting.” Trump could…
read moreBolstering flood defenses and moving families away from risky areas are high on the agenda for Argentina’s Santa Fe as the river port city looks to grow its economy and improve its infrastructure under a new urban plan. The inland city of around 400,000 in Argentina’s Pampas region also aims to cut violent crime, boost…
read moreAn institute the late U.S. Sen. John Glenn helped envision for promoting professionalism, bipartisanship and civility among elected officials was launched Wednesday in his native Ohio. Its organizers said work began on the State of Ohio Leadership Institute before Glenn’s death in December and that it was not a reaction to the tone of Donald…
read moreThe global economic recovery “remains on track,” according to the International Monetary Fund, but other experts say advanced economies are in for a period of slow growth. The IMF study is published as leaders from the G-20, the world’s major economies, are gathering in Hamburg, Germany to discuss growth, trade and other issues. The global…
read moreAlmost a year after the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Brazilian organizers are asking for help from the International Olympic Committee to satisfy creditors who are still owed about 130 million reals ($40 million). Mario Andrada, a spokesman for the Rio organizing committee, said Brazilian Olympic Committee President Carlos Nuzman would meet officials next week at…
read moreA closely watched survey shows that economic growth across the 19-country eurozone was even higher than previously thought during June, more evidence of growing momentum in the single currency bloc. Financial information firm IHS Markit says its main purchasing managers’ index, which surveys both the manufacturing and services sectors, was at 56.3 points in June.…
read moreIn January, Donald Trump drew what appeared to be a “red line” for North Korea: testing a ballistic missile that could reach parts of the United States with a nuclear warhead. “It won’t happen!” insisted then President-elect Trump in a statement he posted on Twitter. Except early Tuesday, it did happen, according to North Korean…
read moreA group of influential U.S. senators has cautioned President Donald Trump that a military surge alone will not help win the war in Afghanistan, and they view as “very unnerving” a lack of U.S. diplomatic focus on the issue. The five-member bipartisan congressional delegation, led by Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona, made the observation…
read moreAs police step up patrols and protesters set up camp in Hamburg, Germany, no one is expecting an easy weekend when U.S. President Donald Trump joins other heads of the world’s 20 leading economies. Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are on a collision course on issues of climate and trade, but counterterrorism efforts, recent…
read moreElectric car maker Tesla says its much-ballyhooed Model 3 car for the masses will go on sale on Friday. CEO Elon Musk made the announcement Monday on Twitter. The car is to start around $35,000 and with a $7,500 federal electric car tax credit, could cost $27,500. Tesla says the five-seat car will be…
read moreFor committed vegetarian Jay Wilde, taking over his father’s central England beef farm in 2011 gave rise to a significant ethical dilemma: how could he continue running his family business, while adhering to his principles? This year, Wilde took an unusual decision to resolve that conflict: he donated his Derbyshire farm’s herd of 63 cattle,…
read morePresident Donald Trump criticized North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after that country’s latest missile launch, asking, “Does this guy have anything better to do with his life?” Trump wrote on Twitter late Monday that it’s “Hard to believe that South Korea … and Japan will put up with this much longer.” And he urged…
read moreThe politically isolated Gulf nation of Qatar says it plans to boost production of liquefied natural gas by 30 percent over the coming years. State-run Qatar Petroleum made the announcement in the capital, Doha on Tuesday, a day after Qatar handed over its response to a list of demands by Arab countries led by Saudi…
read moreThe United States celebrates its Independence Day on July 4 — a tradition that dates back to the 18th century and the American Revolution. On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence. Two days later, delegates from the 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas…
read moreRenewables are a fast-growing part of the energy that powers the United States, but a government report shows fossil fuels still provide energy for most of the economy. The Energy Information Administration says petroleum, natural gas, and coal provided 81 percent of the energy for the world’s largest economy in 2016. That is lowest rate…
read moreFeted by some British newspapers as proof of a Brexit vote windfall, Britain’s recent export recovery ranks as the worst among Europe’s major economies, according to one closely-watched measure. Surveys of manufacturers across Europe published by data firm IHS Markit on Monday underlined Britain’s challenge as it tries to become an export-led dynamo outside the…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump is expected to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of the summit of leaders of the world’s biggest economies later in the week in Hamburg, Germany. Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said the two leader would meet before the Group of 20 (G-20) summit begins, likely early on Thursday evening. Trump…
read morePolice say a fight broke out between protesters after marches for and against President Donald Trump, leading to three arrests in Philadelphia. About 150 “Impeach Trump”‘ members and 50 pro-Trump members held separate marches Sunday morning. Police say a group of Trump supporters tried to enter a bar in the city after the march…
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