Melania Trump forges ahead as first lady with Africa trip

With a wave and tweet, first lady Melania Trump headed for Africa on Monday on her first big solo international trip, aiming to make child well-being the focus of a five-day, four-country tour that will take her to every corner of the vast and impoverished continent. The first lady opens her first-ever visit to Africa on Tuesday in Ghana in the West, followed by stops in Malawi in the South, Kenya in the East and Egypt in the Northeast.

Brett Kavanaugh, Elon Musk, ‘Night School’: Your Friday Briefing

The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a vote this morning on the Supreme Court nominee, a day after emotional testimony that riveted the nation. Read our Two accounts unfolded on Thursday: Christine Blasey Ford, her voice shaking at times, said a drunken Brett Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers.

UK and Ecuador – seeking end to Assange stand-off’

Ecuador's president says his country and the United Kingdom are working on a legal solution for Julian Assange that would allow the Wikileaks founder to leave the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in "the medium term". President Lenin Moreno told The Associated Press that Mr Assange's lawyers are aware of the negotiations.

New Englanders To Take Part In U.S. Senate PFAS Hearing

A Senate committee holds a hearing Wednesday about the federal government's role in the nation's growing PFAS crisis. Federal regulators and advocates from Michigan and New Hampshire will testify on how the military helped spread the industrial toxins by using firefighting foams.

California urges Trump to drop plan for weaker fuel standard

California officials demanded Monday that the Trump administration back off a plan to weaken national fuel economy standards aimed at reducing car emissions and saving people money at the pump, saying the proposed rollback would damage people's health and exacerbate climate change. Looming over the administration's proposal is the possibility that the state, which has become a key leader on climate change as Trump has moved to dismantle Obama-era environmental rules, could set its own separate fuel standard that could roil the auto industry.

China persisting with intellectual property theft in violation of international commitments: report

The Australian government is being urged to escalate its responses to commercial cyber espionage as a new report finds Chinese hacking of Western trade secrets has rebounded in violation of formal commitments made by President Xi Jinping's regime. The report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute has concluded that Chinese theft of intellectual property and other sensitive information - an issue at the heart of a spiralling trade dispute between Beijing and Washington - has persisted and become more advanced.

‘We know God will help us – we’re Puerto Ricans’

Jessica Seiglie, co-founder and executive director of Basura Cero talks about the challenges of solid waste disposal the island is facing; as San Juan homeowner Esteban Class still waits for rubble and fallen trees to be removed from the front of his house where he placed them in December. Jessica Seiglie, co-founder and executive director of Basura Cero talks about the challenges of solid waste disposal the island is facing; as San Juan homeowner Esteban Class still waits for rubble and fallen trees to be removed from the front of his house where he placed them in December.

Sonny’s roadshow: How Trump’s Ag chief sells a trade war to farmers

Breaking off from a tour of dairy operations on a farm in upstate New York, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue tramps across a muddy path to take a sample of sweet corn from an adjacent field. With a wide smile, he shucks the ear and takes a bite, then passes it around to others in the crowd before getting back to his mission: selling farmers on the merits of President Donald Trump's trade war.

In the Senate, the August recess will be missed

If you thought Congress was already polarized , wait and see what happens when dozens of senators are stuck in Washington together for most of swampy August. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, canceled the usual monthlong recess this year for his chamber, a tradition that spans decades and was born out of lawmakers' efforts to ensure they'd have a set time they could travel home every legislative calendar.

Trump holds boisterous Saturday night rally in ‘110-degree’…

In the lively style typical of his campaign, President Donald Trump held a rally with a cheering crowd of supporters in Lewis Center, Ohio on Saturday night. President Donald Trump is traveling Saturday to Ohio to hold a rally for state Sen. Troy Balderson, who is running in Tuesday's special election for an open congressional seat against Democrat Danny O'Connor.

The Children at the Trump Rallies

'The most bizarre thing I've ever been a part of': Trump panel found no voter fraud, ex-member says - Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, one of the 11 members of the commission formed by President Trump to investigate supposed voter fraud, issued a scathing rebuke of the disbanded panel on Friday A Member Of Trump's Voter Commission Just Said The White House's Voter Fraud Claims Were "False" - Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, a Democrat who served on President Donald Trump's voter fraud commission, published a trove of documents Friday that he said show zero signs of mass voter fraud Paul Manafort Was Deep in Debt. He Saw an Opportunity in Trump.

‘The United States was allowed to truly get ripped off’: Trump tells…

President Donald Trump brought his "Make America Great Again" tour to Tampa on Tuesday, touting his agenda and promoting Florida candidates to an eager audience at the Florida State Fairgrounds. Expo Hall's 8,000 seats were packed, with an additional 4,000 in an overflow room and crowds standing outside the building.

Security experts: Wisconsin voting systems can be hacked

Visiting Wisconsin on June 28, President Donald Trump tweeted "Russia continues to say they had nothing to do with Meddling in our Election!" It was not the first time the president cast doubt on Russian interference in the 2016 election, contradicting conclusions of the FBI, CIA and National Security Agency, as well as reports by bipartisan committees in both chambers of Congress. But Russians have been testing the vulnerability of elections in Wisconsin and other states for years, and top U.S. intelligence officials have warned the 2018 midterm elections are a potential target of Russian cyberattacks and disinformation.

Milwaukee activists praise ‘stop-and-frisk’ suit settlement

In this March 2018 photo provided by the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, community members discuss a report from the U.S. Department of Justice at the Wisconsin Black Historical Society in Milwaukee. Community leaders working against disparities in the criminal justice system are greeting the settlement agreement in the ACLU's stop-and-frisk lawsuit against the city with hope.