First lady Melania Trump reportedly gained permanent residence in the United States through a visa program specifically for people with “extraordinary ability.” The Washington Post reported Thursday that President Donald Trump’s wife in March 2001 was one of only five people from Slovenia to enter the U.S. through the EB-1 program, also referred to as the…
read moreThe White House on Thursday faced fresh speculation about the future of national security adviser H.R. McMaster, with officials sending mixed messages about his possible departure. Amid a stream of staff leaving Donald Trump’s White House, NBC reported that the three-star general tasked with running White House security policy would, within months, be headed for…
read moreThe first primary of 2018 could offer a test of the re-energized gun-control movement, but the issue has not dominated races in gun-loving Texas, even though the state recently endured a massacre that was deadlier than the Florida high school shooting. The results of the Texas primary on Tuesday might be expected to give some…
read moreThe U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Roberta Jacobson, is resigning from her post this spring, amid strained relations between the two countries and on the heels of other notable departures from the State Department. In a note sent to embassy staff Thursday, Jacobson wrote that after more than 31 years in government service, she has submitted…
read moreUPDATE: Dow Jones industrials fall 500 points as investors worry about fallout from steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. This is a breaking story; please check back for updates. U.S. stocks dropped in another dizzying day of trading on Thursday as investors dissected Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s latest testimony before Congress and the…
read morePresident Donald Trump says the United States will impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports next week. At a meeting Thursday with top executives from U.S. steel and aluminum companies, he announced tafiffs of 25 percent on steel products and 10 percent on aluminum. Trump said in a Twitter post Thursday morning that “Our Steel…
read moreEnvironmental activists in Kenya have pledged to take further legal action against Kenyan and Chinese corporations if contractors move forward with construction of a railway bridge across Nairobi National Park. The activists held a demonstration Thursday outside parliament. About 100 activists chanted as they marched through the streets of Nairobi Thursday to demand that phase…
read moreAmericans lifted their spending just 0.2 percent in January, while their incomes jumped because of last year’s tax cuts. The Commerce Department said Thursday that the modest spending increase followed gains of 0.4 percent in December and 0.8 percent in November. Incomes rose 0.4 percent, boosted by $30 billion in tax cut-related bonuses the government…
read moreU.S. oil company Exxon Mobil says it will withdraw from its joint venture with Russia’s state-controlled Rosneft due to U.S. and European sanctions against the country. Exxon Mobil had signed a deal with Rosneft, Russia’s biggest oil producer, in 2011 that aimed to drill in difficult terrain, like Russia’s Arctic waters. It combined Exxon’s high…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump again called on lawmakers to approve some type of gun control legislation to prevent more school shootings, two weeks after 17 people were killed at a Florida high school. Trump revisited the issue in a Thursday tweet, one day after hosting a White House meeting with legislators on the hot-button issue.…
read moreChina expressed anger Thursday after the U.S. Senate passed a bill promoting closer U.S. ties with Taiwan, but the step drew praise from the self-ruled island, which pledged to deepen cooperation. The move adds to tensions between China and the United States, already at loggerheads over trade, with President Xi Jinping’s close economic adviser Liu…
read moreTaken for granted by most Americans, the freedom to practice whatever religion one wants is an American value that the U.S. spends considerable effort exporting. Challenges, successes and best practices were part of the discussion in the latest episode of Plugged In with Greta Van Susteren. VOA’s Steve Redisch reports. …
read moreU.S. company Dick’s Sporting Goods has decided to stop selling assault-style rifles in the wake of February’s Parkland, Florida, high school shooting. The attack and its aftermath led other companies to cancel their discount programs for National Rifle Association members. This comes as President Donald Trump voiced support for new gun control measures in a…
read moreThe U.S. Congress paid tribute to famed evangelist Rev. Billy Graham Wednesday with a memorial service as he lies in honor in the Capitol Rotunda. Graham, who died at 99 last week, was one of the leading spiritual voices of the 20th century and played a key role in bringing evangelical Christianity into mainstream American…
read moreA Pakistani man held at the U.S.-run Guantanamo Bay detention facility since 2006 should be released immediately and given a right to compensation, the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said on Wednesday. The detention of Ammar al-Baluchi is arbitrary, breaches international human rights law and has no legal basis, according to a written opinion…
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