Ap Fact Check: The trophies in Trump’s display Cabinet

President Donald Trump, accompanied by, from left, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, smile during a Cabinet meeting, Monday, June 12, 2017, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington. less President Donald Trump, accompanied by, from left, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, smile during a Cabinet meeting, Monday, June 12, 2017, in the ... more Secretary of State Rex Tillerson talks with President Donald Trump during a Cabinet meeting, Monday, June 12, 2017, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington.

US’ Mattis: Qatar blockade ‘very complex situation’

The blockade against Qatar by Gulf states was a "very complex situation" and an area where common ground had to be found, Mattis spoke on Monday ahead of talks between the US and Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir in Washington, DC, as the Gulf crisis entered its second week. The former general told the House Armed Services Committee that Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani had inherited a difficult situation and was moving in the right direction.

Senate sanctions to reverse Obama’s ‘Iran first’ policy

The latest confirmation of the Obama administration's support of Iran's terrorist activities was provided to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on June 8, 2017 by David Asher, who for many years worked with the United States government on counter-terrorist financing-related issues. According to Asher, "[i]n narrow pursuit of the P5+1 agreement, the administration ... systematically disbanded any ... action ... to dismantle Hezb'allah and the Iran 'Action Network' ... [for fear these would] derail the administration's policy agenda focused on Iran.

Tillerson-Trump Rumble Over Qatar Shows White House Divisions

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday called on Saudi Arabia and its allies to halt their blockade of Qatar. In addition, he worried that the dispute would undermine the struggle against ISIL : "The blockade is also impairing U.S. and other international business activities in the region and has created a hardship on the people of Qatar and the peoples whose livelihoods depend on commerce with Qatar.

Oil prices plunge to one-month low after United States stocks rise

The inventory gains added to market worries about crude supplies, despite the recent agreement among OPEC and other oil producing nations extend output cuts of 1.8 million barrels a day into next year. Since OPEC announced the extension of production cuts, the market has continued to react bearishly with respect to the oil price.

Arab nations add names to terror list amid Qatar dispute

Jurors at Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial have heard excerpts from the comedian's lurid, decade-old deposition, but explosive sections about him obtaining quaaludes and giving them to women before sex are yet to... Jurors at Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial have heard excerpts from the comedian's lurid, decade-old deposition, but explosive sections about him obtaining quaaludes and giving them to women before sex are yet to come. Texas grand jury indicts sheriff's deputy, her husband on murder charges in death of man during late-night confrontation.

Barzani: Iraqi Kurds to vote on independence in September

Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region has called a referendum on independence to be held on September 25, an official said on Wednesday, moving ahead with a plan for full statehood that is likely to be opposed by Baghdad. Wednesday's announcement comes just two months after Iraqi Kurdistan released a roadmap for a referendum, with Kurdish leaders stating at the time that a vote is a " natural right of the nation of Kurdistan to decide on its political and administrative path in a referendum and an entity of an independent state ".

How Saudi Arabia and allies strong-armed Qatar, blindsided U.S.

DUBAI, June 7 One of the first signs of the crisis in which three Gulf states and Egypt have cut ties with Qatar came in a phone call from an anxious government adviser to a Reuters journalist early on May 24. In the 6.00 a.m. call, he denied Qatar's emir made comments reported by the state-run news agency criticising hostility to Iran, sympathising with three Islamist groups, accusing Saudi Arabia of adopting an extremist ideology that fosters terrorism and suggesting Donald Trump may not last long as U.S. president. The adviser repeated a statement released hours earlier which said the news agency had been hacked, seeming unaware that Reuters had already reported the denial.

US suspects Russian hackers planted fake news behind Qatar crisis

US investigators believe Russian hackers breached Qatar's state news agency and planted a fake news report that contributed to a crisis among the US' closest Gulf allies, according to US officials briefed on the investigation. The FBI recently sent a team of investigators to Doha to help the Qatari government investigate the alleged hacking incident, Qatari and US government officials say.

Senate to hear from Comey; Dems raise new Session questions

In this file photo, then-FBI Director James Comey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. Comey, ousted last month amid a federal investigation into connections between Russia and the Trump campaign, is set to testify before Congress next week in a highly anticipated hearing that could shed new light on his private conversations with the president in the weeks before the firing.

Trump Acts Like a Competent, Conventional President Abroadby Michael…

On May 19, President Donald Trump took off in Air Force One for the Middle East and Europe. He left behind a Washington and a nation buzzing about his firing of FBI director James Comey, the multiple reasons he had given for doing so, the meeting he'd had with the Russian foreign minister a day later and his statement that Comey is a "nut job."

Trump says he never ‘mentioned the word’ Israel in meeting with Russians

It's a far cry from Trump's campaign rhetoric that accused Muslims of hating America - even repeating unfounded claims that hundreds of Arabs cheered the destruction of the World Trade Center from across the river on 9/11. He pointedly sidestepped any mention of the thorny issues that have stymied all previous attempts at a peace deal, including the status of Jerusalem, Israeli settlement construction and the Palestinians' demand for a sovereign nation.

House speaker calls Erdogan visit violence ‘indefensible’

House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday that the violence against peaceful protesters by bodyguards for Turkey's president was "completely indefensible," as members of Congress pressed the Trump administration for a more forceful U.S. response. Ryan, R-Wis., said in a statement that Turkey is an important ally and NATO member, but its leaders must "fully condemn and apologize for this brutal behavior against innocent civilians exercising their First Amendment rights" last week outside the Turkish ambassador's residence.

President Trump, Pope Francis Meet at Vatican

President Donald Trump and Pope Francis, two leaders with contrasting styles and differing worldviews, met at the Vatican on Wednesday, setting aside their previous clashes to broadcast a tone of peace for an audience around the globe. Trump, midway through a grueling nine-day, maiden international journey, called upon the pontiff in a private, 30-minute meeting laden with religious symbolism and ancient protocol.