Disagreeing with critics, Jokowi insists Indonesia still a model of moderate Islam

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo gestures during an interview with Reuters in Jakarta, Indonesia, July 3, 2017. Source: Reuters/Beawiharta INDONESIA's president said on Monday his country remains a model of moderate Islam, countering critics who point to mass rallies by radical Muslims and the jailing of a Christian politician for blasphemy as evidence its reputation is crumbling.

Moon meets Obama, sayslast chance for NK talks

President Moon Jae-in renewed his resolve to pursue sanctions and dialogue to tackle North Korea's nuclear program during a meeting with former US President Barack Obama on Monday, saying now is the "last chance" for the regime to return to the negotiating table. During the 40-minute talk, Moon shared the results of his recent summit with his incumbent US counterpart Donald Trump, asking for Obama's advice on ways to advance the relationship.

Kasich Comeuppance Coming In Budget Veto Overrides

A reversal of fortune now awaits Ohio's 69th governor after he issued more than 47 vetoes Friday before signing his last state budget deal clocking in at $133 billion in all-funds. Gov. John Kasich's executive prowess started out in 2011 unbeatable, but awaits a comeuppance six years later after lawmakers in his own party prepare to potentially override his vetoes, the biggest of which is freezing Medicaid enrollment next year.

Will Trump confront Putin over election meddling?

US President Donald Trump heads into his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin with one question looming large: how much is he willing to confront the man whose meddling in the 2016 election may have helped him win? The encounter scheduled for the sidelines of next week's G-20 summit in Germany comes amid a widening US federal investigation into possible collusion between Trump associates and the Russian government. Trump last week gave a rare explicit acknowledgment of the Kremlin-directed effort to disrupt the US presidential campaign.

Trumps Spend $5 Million Less Than Obamas On White House Salaries

An analysis of White House salary data reveals that President Donald Trump's administration is spending $5 million less of taxpayer money on his staff than his predecessor. Trump employs 377 people at the White House, with a total of $35.8 million, while former President Barack Obama paid $40.9 million for 476 employees in 2015, according to data analyzed by Open The Books.

‘Repeal and replace’? Try ‘tweak and move on’

Two Junes ago, when the Supreme Court upheld, 6-3, a challenged provision of the Affordable Care Act, Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, vented: "Congress wrote key parts of the act behind closed doors. ... Congress passed much of the act using a complicated budgetary procedure known as 'reconciliation,' which limited opportunities for debate and amendment, and bypassed the Senate's normal 60-vote filibuster requirement.

Civil rights activists raise alarm over Trump’s DOJ pick

Civil rights and LGBT activists say they are concerned about President Donald Trump's nomination Thursday of Eric Dreiband to head the Justice Department's civil rights division because of his work defending major corporations and others against discrimination lawsuits. Dreiband, a labor attorney in Washington, D.C., who served as general counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under George W. Bush, has represented such companies as R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

Obama pushes tolerance

Former U.S. President Barack Obama waves prior to delivering his speech during the 4th Congress of Indonesian Diaspora Network in Jakarta, Indonesia on Saturday. Following another week of dust-ups between the media and President Donald Trump, his predecessor shared a bit of wisdom from the other side of the world about tolerance and taking the daily news cycle in stride.

U.S. wind industry tacks as Trump shifts the political climate

Three days after Energy Secretary Rick Perry directed his staff to find ways to give a boost to coal and nuclear power, the rival wind industry kicked its lobbying response into action. The American Wind Energy Association would tap allies in Congress willing to weigh in with Perry and buy advertisements on "news channels closely followed by the Trump administration," according to a memo its leader sent to board members.

FILE – This June 18, 2014, file photo shows U.S. Customs and Border…

This June 18, 2014, file photo shows U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents work at a processing facility in Brownsville,Texas. A new "surge initiative" aims to identify and arrest the adult sponsors of unaccompanied minors who paid coyotes or other smuggling operations to bring young people across the U.S. border, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials confirmed Thursday, June 29, 2017.