Longtime Republican U.S. Senator Thad Cochran says he will resign April 1 because of health reasons. Cochran, who is 80 years old and has represented Mississippi in the Senate since 1978, has been ill in recent months, missing several weeks of voting late last year. “I regret my health has become an ongoing challenge,” Cochran…
read moreWorkers pried President Donald Trump’s name from signs outside his family company’s luxury hotel in Panama on Monday, as Trump’s executives were ousted from their management offices in a business dispute under orders from Panamanian officials. Trump’s security guards also left. The end to a 12-day standoff over control of the property came early…
read moreTen years after a financial crisis rocked the nation’s economy, the Senate is poised to pass legislation that would roll back some of the safeguards Congress put into place to prevent a relapse. The move to alter some key aspects of the Dodd-Frank law has overwhelming Republican support and enough Democratic backing that it’s expected…
read moreU.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said on Monday he has postponed a second federal oil and gas lease sale planned for March in less than a week in response to local opposition to the possibility of drilling near national parks and monuments. Zinke said the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will remove 17,300 acres…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump tweeted Monday that his planned steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports would only be reversed if a “new and fair” trade deal with Canada and Mexico is reached. The three countries are currently in negotiations regarding the North American Free Trade Agreement. In addition to mentioning steel and aluminum tariffs,…
read moreChina’s top economic official set a robust growth target Monday and promised more market opening and cuts in a bloated steel industry that has inflamed trade tensions with Washington and Europe. The growth target of “around 6.5 percent” announced by Premier Li Keqiang to China’s ceremonial legislature, little-changed from last year, would be among the…
read moreThey spent their first year in Washington as an untouchable White House power couple, commanding expansive portfolios, outlasting rivals and enjoying unmatched access to the president. But Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump have undergone a swift and stunning reckoning of late, their powers restricted, their enemies emboldened and their future in the West Wing uncertain.…
read moreThey crowded around the White House conference table this past week, lawmakers from California, Connecticut, Texas and Florida, eager to share their state’s painful experience with gun violence. One key state was not represented. No one from Nevada, home to the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history just five months ago, attended the televised discussion…
read moreWashington is bracing for the start of a possible trade war between the United States and its closest allies and biggest commercial partners and a radical departure from America’s trading posture of the last seven decades. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports, the Trump administration is not backing down from last week’s announcement of looming tariffs on…
read moreThe Academy Awards, or Oscars, will be presented in Hollywood on Sunday, celebrating the movies and showcasing Hollywood glamour. Mike O’Sullivan reports, the ceremony will probably have some political moments in a year when many in Hollywood have their minds on politics. …
read moreChina has added its voice to a growing chorus of concern about the rising threat of a trade war and tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to impose on steel and aluminum imports later this week. A top Chinese diplomat says that while Beijing does not want a trade war with Washington,…
read moreThe EU will soon unveil a plan for taxing major internet companies like Amazon and Facebook by imposing a levy of two to six percent on revenues in every country where they operate, French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said Sunday. “The range will be from two to six percent; but closer to two than…
read morePresident Donald Trump engaged in a good-natured duel of one-liners with political rivals and the press at the annual Gridiron Dinner this weekend, largely putting aside his ongoing criticism of the media for a night. Trump dished out sharp one-liners throughout his comments Saturday night, occasionally lapsing into recurring themes about the 2016 election and…
read morePresident Donald Trump threatened on Saturday to impose a tax on European cars if the European Union chooses to retaliate against his plans to place tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. In a tweet Saturday morning, Trump said the U.S. had an “$800 Billion Dollar Yearly” trade imbalance because of “very stupid” trade deals and…
read moreThe tiny Marshall Islands is creating its own digital currency in order to raise some hard cash to pay bills and boost the economy. The Pacific island nation said it became the first country in the world to recognize a cryptocurrency as its legal tender when it passed a law this week to create the…
read moreIn agitating for a trade war, President Donald Trump may have forgotten William Tecumseh Sherman’s adage that “war is hell.” The Civil War general’s observation can be apt for trade wars, which may create conditions for a shooting war. A look at Trump’s spoiling-for-a-fight tweet Friday: TRUMP: “When a country (USA) is losing many billions…
read moreChina has warned about the “huge impact” on global trading, if U.S. President Donald Trump proceeds with his plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on imported steel and 10 percent on imported aluminum products. Wang Hejun, head of China’s commerce ministry’s trade remedy and investigation bureau, said in a statement late Friday the tariffs would…
read morePresident Donald Trump will spend the weekend at his resort in Florida after a busy if not chaotic week that saw the president assert himself on a range of issues including gun violence, international trade and the opioid crisis. Trump is often eager to seize the spotlight, but the results are often unpredictable, as we…
read moreGeorgia lawmakers’ decision to punish Delta Air Lines for publicly distancing itself from the National Rifle Association was an extraordinary act of political revenge. By killing a proposed tax break on jet fuel, pro-gun Republicans won a political victory that could pay off in the short term, but other companies won’t soon forget that Georgia…
read more“Absolutely unacceptable” were the words Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used to describe U.S. President Donald Trump’s statement that he plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on imported steel and 10 percent on imported aluminum products. Trudeau made the comment Friday, adding that he is prepared to “defend Canadian industry.” Canada is the United States’…
read moreA tiny Nebraska startup awarded the first border wall construction project under President Donald Trump is the offshoot of a construction firm that was sued repeatedly for failing to pay subcontractors and accused in a 2016 government audit of shady billing practices. SWF Constructors, which lists just one employee in its Omaha office, won…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to impose steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports sparked concerns of a trade war Friday, with emerging markets trading lower and some world leaders threatening to take retaliatory measures. Japan’s Nikkei share average fell to a more than two-week low Friday. The Nikkei ended 2.5 percent lower at 21,181.64…
read more
