‘We see the hope of peace slipping away’; Relations between …

It took eight years of backbiting and pretending they got along for relations between President Barack Obama's administration and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to finally hit rock bottom. Though they've clashed bitterly before, mostly notably over Iran, the two governments seemed farther apart than ever after a speech Wednesday by Secretary of State John Kerry and last week's United Nations resolution.

In parting shot at Israel, Kerry warns Middle East peace in jeopardy

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday said Israel's building of settlements on occupied land was jeopardizing Middle East peace, voicing unusually frank frustration with America's longtime ally weeks before he is due to leave office. In a swiftly issued statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Kerry of bias.

Deadly floods voted top news story of 2016 in West Virginia

This Thursday June 23, 2016, file image provided by the Greenbrier shows flooding on the 17th green of the Old White Course at the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., an area scheduled to host a PGA tour event two weeks later. The floods were voted the top story for 2016 in a poll of editors and broadcasters, who chose them in a year that also included tragic stories of substance abuse and an election in which voters emphatically supported Republican Donald Trump for president and Democrat Jim Justice for governor.

Thursday’s Morning Email: Putin Announces Cease-fire In Syria

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU THROWS HIS SUPPORT BEHIND DONALD TRUMP The Prime Minister of Israel called Secretary of State John Kerry's speech renouncing Israeli settlements " almost as unbalanced as the anti-Israel resolution passed at the U.N. last week." The top candidates for DNC have dodged the debate on where they stand on President Barack Obama's vetoing of the U.N. Israel resolution .

Asked about Russia sanctions, Trump says ‘we ought to get on with our lives’

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested that the United States and Russia lay to rest the controversy over Moscow's computer hacking of Democratic Party computers, saying, "We ought to get on with our lives." Trump has cast doubt on the findings of U.S. intelligence agencies that Russian hackers took information from Democratic Party computers and individuals and posted it online to help Trump win the election.

Return of Nevada nukes?

Donald Trump's talk and tweets of upgrading U.S. nuclear arms and possibly restarting the arms race raises the issue of whether nuclear testing in Nevada could return. "The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes," Trump wrote on Twitter on Dec. 22. Trump's stance would be an extreme change in U.S. policy if he carried it out in the White House.

Trump holds Q&A, discussing jobs, Russia, Israel

President-elect Donald Trump applauded the return of 8,000 jobs to the U.S. and hailed his transition discussions with President Barack Obama in a series of comments that amounted to the most detailed interaction he's had with journalists since before the election. In one of his cameos Wednesday on the front steps of his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump touted plans by a Japanese mogul to bring jobs to the United States.

US senators to eastern European allies: Russia should be sanctioned

U.S. senators visiting eastern European allies to discuss security issues called for sanctions against Russia for interfering in the presidential election by hacking American political sites and email accounts. Their demands came amid ongoing discussions among U.S. officials on an imminent response to alleged Russian meddling that would ensure the U.S. takes action before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

Why I Call BS On US Claims “Gang-Up On Israel” Meeting Never Took Place

The White House vehemently denied a report Wednesday morning claiming Secretary of State John Kerry and National Security Adviser Susan Rice discussed the controversial U.N. resolution condemning Israeli settlements with a top Palestinian official days before Friday's Security Council vote. An Egyptian news site first published what it claimed to be details of the meeting with Palestinian official Saeb Erekat and others.

Yellen’s Fed policies face obstacles in ’17

Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen and the Fed can finally expect some help from Washington in 2017, after three years of work to juice up a slow economy. Tax cuts and infrastructure spending planned by President-elect Donald Trump, if backed by the Republican-controlled Congress, would lighten the load for a Fed whose easy-money policies have been the primary economic support for the nation.

Report: 8 years of Obama vacations cost at least $85 million

As America's first family enjoys its eighth and final vacation in Hawaii, new estimates put the price tag of the Obamas' annual trip at $3.5 million or more. In total, the cost of the first family's personal or largely personal travel during the last eight years comes to $85 million - though that is likely to climb to $90 million after additional records are released, according to the conservative group Judicial Watch based on federal government records.

Donald Trump credits impending administration for return of 8,000 jobs from Sprint

After weeks of giving only brief comments to the media, Donald Trump made a series of public statements Wednesday, applauding the return of 8,000 jobs to the U.S. and hailing his discussions with President Barack Obama. In one of his cameos on the front steps of his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump touted plans by a Japanese mogul to bring those jobs to the United States.