British officials reacted angrily Monday to President Donald Trump’s stark criticism of the U.K. health care system, which he said was breaking down. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he is proud of the National Health Service and rejected Trump’s claim that it’s collapsing. The “NHS may have challenges but I’m proud to be from the…
read moreDemocratic lawmakers are pushing Monday for the release of their rebuttal to a Republican-approved memo alleging that the FBI abused its power in probing Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The minority Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee are calling for a vote, clearing the path to disclose their views on the underlying…
read moreU.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sat with Argentine President Mauricio Marci for a closed door meeting Monday, on the second day of his five-nation tour of South America. Meeting in an elegant compound in the northern suburbs of Buenos Aires, Tillerson and Marci shook hands in the reception area before entering the meeting. On…
read moreJerome Powell has been sworn in as the 16th chairman of the Federal Reserve in a brief ceremony in the Fed’s board room. In a short video message, Powell pledged to “support continued economic growth, a healthy job market and price stability.” Powell took the oath of office from Randal Quarles, the Fed’s vice chairman…
read moreTwo senators planned to introduce compromise legislation Monday that would help achieve legal status for hundreds of thousands of immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally as children and strengthen border security. But the measure stops short of explicitly providing money for a wall along the boundary with Mexico, the focus of President Donald Trump’s immigration…
read moreWhen Jerome Powell is sworn in Monday as the new chairman of the Federal Reserve, the pride of the moment may be tempered by Powell’s recognition of the risks that lie ahead. A ferocious sell-off on Wall Street on Friday — with stocks tumbling and bond yields rising after the January U.S. jobs report suggested higher…
read moreOnline retailer Amazon has reached a deal with French authorities to pay about $250 million in back taxes. Amazon was asked in 2012 to pay the amount over earnings made in 2006-2010 and has since been involved in a dispute with tax authorities. Details of the deal have not been revealed. The…
read moreWashington is witnessing a moment of extreme friction between the White House and U.S. law enforcement rivaling that of the Watergate scandal of the 1970s. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports, fallout continues from Friday’s release of a Republican House committee memo alleging bias and improper procedures at the FBI – a document President Donald Trump says…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump is contending that a controversial memo alleging that the FBI abused its power in probing Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election “totally vindicates” him, but that view was challenged Sunday by one of the memo’s own authors. Trump complained in a Saturday Twitter comment that the “Russian Witch Hunt goes…
read moreRecent losses on global financial markets, including those in the U.S., have some investors concerned about expectations for their holdings and plans for the future. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 2.5 percent Friday, its largest percentage drop since Britain’s decision in June 2016 to leave the European Union. The Dow and the broader U.S.…
read moreOver the last decades, growing economic hardships forced people in cities and villages around the world to leave their hometowns to find work in other countries. Dreaming of returning one day and enjoying a better life where they grew up, many invested most of their savings buying houses back home. But often, these houses remain…
read moreRepublicans who control a majority of the nation’s statehouses are considering a wide range of abortion legislation that could test the government’s legal ability to restrict a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy. The Mississippi House passed a bill Friday that would make the state the only one to ban all abortions after 15 weeks…
read moreThe White House late Saturday confirmed plans to withdraw the nomination of a climate change skeptic with ties to the fossil fuel industry to serve as President Donald Trump’s top environmental adviser. Kathleen Hartnett White was announced last October as Trump’s choice to chair the Council on Environmental Quality. She had served under former…
read moreA controversial memo alleging FBI investigators abused their powers in the probe of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election is “embarrassingly flawed,” the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee said Saturday. The memo released by the House Intelligence Committee “is a disgrace,” Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler said in a response to the document…
read moreHouse Speaker Paul Ryan highlighted on Twitter a school secretary benefiting from the Republican tax overhaul, then deleted his tweet after online criticism that he was cheering an increase of $1.50 a week. The Associated Press reported on Thursday that changes in tax withholding were sparking bigger paychecks, citing as one example Julia Ketchum of…
read moreU.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s Latin American tour took him Saturday to Argentina, where he talked with officials about conservation and diplomacy. Traveling from Mexico City after meeting with the Mexican president and other senior officials on Friday, Tillerson arrived in Bariloche, a lakeside resort town in Argentina’s Nahuel Huapi National Park. Local news…
read moreWhen a heavy rain hits New Orleans, residents move their cars to higher ground for fear of fast-rising street flooding. Knee-deep potholes can eat a car’s fender. When pressure drops in the city’s aging water delivery system, restaurants and cafes have to boil water to feed customers. Battered by nature and neglect, New Orleans is…
read moreThe window opened Friday for oil, gas, uranium and coal companies to make requests or stake claims to lands that were cut from two sprawling Utah national monuments by President Trump in December, but there doesn’t appear to be a rush to seize the opportunities. For anyone interested in the uranium on the lands stripped…
read moreBritain has made clear its desire to be part of China’s so-called ‘One Belt One Road Initiative’ — a cornerstone of President Xi Jinping’s vision to boost Chinese investment and influence across Asia, Europe and Africa. There are, however, concerns over the financial and humanitarian costs of the vast infrastructure projects being undertaken. As Henry…
read moreAnother solid month for the U.S. economy as American companies added 200,000 new workers to their payrolls last month. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1 percent, but wages are rising. Although the number of unemployed Americans continues to fall, recruiting agencies say they’ve never been busier. Mil Arcega explains. …
read moreCongressional Republicans released a classified memo related to the Russia investigation Friday after President Donald Trump decided that the document should be available to the general public. The memo from Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee alleges U.S. law enforcement officials including the FBI abused their authority in seeking to put a Trump campaign…
read moreThe Federal Reserve announced Friday that it was imposing more penalties on Wells Fargo, freezing the bank’s growth until it can prove it has improved its internal controls. In addition, bank agreed to replace four board members. It’s the latest blow against the San Francisco bank that has had its reputation tarnished by revelations it…
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