Judicial Crisis Network Launches Ad Campaign Praising Sen. Chuck Grassley

The conservative Judicial Crisis Network is launching $175,000 in ads praising Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, for his role in blocking President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland. According to Politico , the network's ads are encouraging Grassley toward the impending confirmation of a high court nominee submitted by President-elect Donald Trump.

Obama urges European leaders to work with US President-elect Trump

Outgoing US President Barack Obama and European leaders including Theresa May have stressed the continued importance of Nato amid concerns about Donald Trump's commitment to the alliance. The Prime Minister was in Berlin for talks with Mr Obama hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, which also covered the fight against Islamic State and Russia's actions in the Ukraine and Syria.

Editorial: Obama’s last trip

President Barack Obama has embarked on what presumably will be his last foreign trip, to Greece, Germany and Peru. The Peru part is partly because he wants to visit Machu Picchu as a tourist, but it will also give him a chance to review the bidding in America's relations with Latin American countries post-Cuba opening and with Venezuela disintegrating.

Trump offers national security adviser job to Flynn

President-elect Donald Trump is offering former military intelligence chief Michael Flynn the position of national security adviser, elevating a fierce critic of current U.S. foreign policy into a crucial White House role. Flynn's selection amounts to Trump's first signal to allies and adversaries about the course he could take in office.

As Trump talks wall, China builds bridges to Latin America

They'll have the perfect opportunity to make their appeal this week when Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a Pacific Rim summit as part of a visit to Ecuador, Peru and Chile. This is Xi's third time in Latin America since taking office in 2013, and when he wraps up the tour he will have visited 10 countries in the region - the same number as President Barack Obama, who has been in office twice as long.

European Executives See Glimmer of Profit in Trump’s Growth Plan

Executives at WPP Plc, Altice NV and Cap Gemini SA, gathered in Spain for an investor conference this week, voiced confidence that their businesses in the U.S. would profit under President-elect Donald Trump. Clients are more optimistic than they were right after the Nov. 8 election, said Paul Hermelin, chief executive officer of Cap Gemini, the French computer-services firm whose U.S. customers include General Electric Co.

Obama gathers key Europe leaders amid questions about Trump

U.S. President Barack Obama, left, speaks during a press conference after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, in the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016. Germany is the last European stop of Obama's final tour abroad as U.S. president.

Surgeon general report: ‘Addiction is not a character flaw’

In what may be his last significant act as President Barack Obama's surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy released a report Thursday calling for a major cultural shift in the way Americans view drug and alcohol addiction. The report, "Facing Addiction in America," details the toll addiction takes on the nation _ 78 people die each day from an opioid overdose; 20 million have a substance use disorder _ and explains how brain science offers hope for recovery.

Sen. Jeff Sessions leading candidate for attorney general

Sen. Jeff Sessions has emerged as the top candidate to be the next attorney general in President-elect Donald Trump's administration, a transition official told CNN Thursday. Sessions, 69, is currently serving his fourth Senate term and was the first sitting senator to endorse Trump.

Boy who wrote touching letter to child war victim melts our hearts again

We all can learn a lot from Alex, the 6-year-old who melted hearts when he opened his home to a child war victim, said President Barack Obama as he met the boy at the White House. Alex's letter to Obama was shared over and over again online in September and inspired the president to quote the young New Yorker during a speech at the Leaders Summit on Refugees later that month.

Theresa May will meet with Barack Obama during his farewell trip to Europe

Theresa May is to hold talks with Barack Obama and European leaders on a range of pressing global issues, including the threat posed by Islamic State fighters being pushed out of their Middle East strongholds. Outgoing US president Mr Obama has been on a farewell trip to Europe, visiting Greece before arriving in Berlin for a meeting with the leaders of the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

MPs told local reporting required to overcome Canada’s news blues

The publisher of a small southern Manitoba family of weekly newspapers made an appeal for back-to-basics local reporting Thursday to a group of MPs examining Canada's beleaguered news industry. The gruff, to-the-point testimony by Ken Waddell of the Neepawa Banner, Neepawa Press and River Banner helped ground a Commons committee inquiry mired in months of often contradictory hearings.

Trump tough talk on torture, drones has Human Rights Watch on

Human Rights Watch chief Kenneth Roth said he was keeping a close eye on "warning signs" from US President-elect Donald Trump after the Republican's tough talk during his campaign about torture and drone strikes. "I don't take entirely seriously what he said on the campaign trail... I don't take entirely at face value that he is going to kill families is just a blatant war crime," Roth told AFP.

Obama urges Trump to stand up to Russia

U.S. President Barack Obama is greeted in Berlin by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, with whom he has forged a close transatlantic alliance during eight years in office. US President Barack Obama has offered pointed foreign policy advice to his successor, Donald Trump.