Melania Trump acknowledges people in the crowd after her husband and Republican president-elect Donald Trump delivered his acceptance speech at the New York Hilton Midtown in the early morning hours of November 9, 2016 in New York City. Shamir is the author of the forthcoming children’s book, What’s the Big Deal About First Ladies , out Jan. 3, 2017.
Month: December 2016
Mexico eyes border, migration as leverage in talks with Trump
Mexico aims to defend free trade with the United States by using border security and immigration policy to gain leverage in talks with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump after he takes office next month, senior officials say. To defuse Trump’s threats to disrupt trade and investment, policymakers say Mexico aims to strike a balance between hearing out his concerns over illegal immigration and U.S. jobs, and adopting a firm posture to protect its own economic interests.
Final goodbye: Roll call of some of those who died in 2016
Death claimed transcendent political figures in 2016, including Cuba’s revolutionary leader and Thailand’s longtime king, but also took away royals of a different sort: kings of pop music, from Prince and David Bowie to George Michael. Embracing Soviet-style communism, Fidel Castro, who died in November, overcame imprisonment and exile to become leader of Cuba and defy the power of the United States at every turn during his half-century rule.
Toys evacuate Trump Tower
A stray backpack prompted the partial evacuation of Trump Tower on Tuesday, though bomb squad technicians quickly determined the unattended bag contained children’s toys and was harmless. Video posted online showed people running through the Manhattan skyscraper’s public lobby as uniformed police officers waved them toward the exits.
Trump signals end to multilateralism
For eight years, President Barack Obama’s foreign policy doctrine has been rooted in a belief that while the United States can take action around the world on its own, it rarely should. His successor, President-elect Donald Trump, has derided some of the same international partnerships Obama and his recent predecessors have promoted, raising the prospect that the Republican’s “America First” agenda might well mean an America more willing to act alone.
No apology for horror of Pearl Harbor
The leaders of Japan and the United States sought to remind the world that even the most bitter enemies can become allies, during a historic pilgrimage to the hallowed waters of Pearl Harbor. Seventy-five years after Japan’s surprise attack, Abe and President Barack Obama peered down Tuesday at the rusting wreckage of the USS Arizona, clearly visible in the tranquil, teal water.
Trump’s path to a diplomatic nightmare
Donald Trump hammered rival Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign for failing to prevent the attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, when she was secretary of state. Soon he’ll be the one responsible for protecting America’s diplomats, but he’s offered virtually no insight into how he’ll do that.
The Latest: East Jerusalem housing vote delayed
In this Nov. 24, 2015 file photo, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry waves as he boards the plane on departure from Israel after meetings in Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah. A senior leader of a Jewish settlement council is calling U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry “a stain on American foreign policy” and “ignorant of the issues.”
Georgia fireworks stores expect brisk sales after ban lifted
Georgia fireworks retailers say they’re gearing up for brisk sales after Gov. Nathan Deal recently lifted a temporary ban on shooting them.
The Year’s Best Drug Scares
Marijuana was on the ballot in six states this year, and prohibitionists hauled out some familiar, even quaint, arguments against legalization. Three of those warnings made my list of the year’s most memorable drug scares, which is rounded out by the panic over adolescent vaping and the DEA’s decision to treat kratom as a public menace.
RS issues First Polar Ship Certificate
The first Polar Ship Certificate was issued by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping . The document was released by Murmansk Branch on 22 December, 2016 in the port of Murmansk to the tanker Shturman Albanov, owned by SCF Group.
Navy Accepts Delivery of USS Gabrielle Giffords
Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Gabby Giffords waves to a crowd in front of the littoral combat ship, USS Gabrielle Giffords , named for her. Giffords was on the stage as Dr. Jill Biden christened the ship at Austal USA in Mobile, Ala.
Thank you for a revolutionary year throughout 2016… Here’s why 2017 …
Thank you for a revolutionary year throughout 2016 Here’s why 2017 may be the most astonishing year of our lives As we approach the end of 2016, we have all shared extraordinary successes, breakthroughs and revolutionary realizations that have reshaped human history. It has been a vibrant journey to share 2016 with all of you, and I want to thank you for your support, your comments, your suggestions and your advocacy of our mission.
Barack Backhands Bibi
Did the community organizer from Harvard Law just deliver some personal payback to the IDF commando? So it would seem. By abstaining on that Security Council resolution declaring Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal and invalid, raged Bibi Netanyahu, President Obama Hence, we have an Israeli leader all but castigating an American president as a backstabber and betrayer, while the White House calls Bibi a liar.
Appeals court weighs Ohio law shielding lethal drugs source
The pending decision by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals will help determine whether Ohio will proceed with its first executions in three years beginning in February. Ohio plans to execute Ronald Phillips on Feb. 15 for raping and killing his girlfriend’s 3-year-old daughter in 1993.
There’s a note of fear in ‘Auld Lang Syne’
As usual, the year’s end brings reflections and ruminations on what was and what is to be. This time around, however, it feels as though an era is coming to an end.
GOP faces uphill fight on Obamacare
Republican Senate and House leaders who have summarily decided on a “repeal and dawdle” plan for Obamacare don’t seem to understand what they are up against. They see House and Senate majorities, an incoming president who vowed to repeal all of Obamacare and a reconciliation process that allows them to gut Obamacare taxes and subsidies, essentially killing the program with 51 votes in the Senate.
Japanese prime minister offers condolences at Pearl Harbor
Seventy-five years after Imperial Japanese warplanes destroyed the Pacific fleet here and drew the United States into World War II, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan on Tuesday stood next to President Barack Obama at the site of the attack and offered repentance but did not apologize. “I offer my sincere and everlasting condolences to the souls of those who lost their lives here, as well as to the spirits of all the brave men and women whose lives were taken by a war that commenced in this very place, and also to the souls of the countless innocent people who became victims of the war,” Abe said.
At Pearl Harbor, US and Japan seek absolution from the war
In a historic pilgrimage, the leaders of Japan and the United States took to the hallowed waters of Pearl Harbor on Tuesday to prove that even the bitterest enemies can become allies. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe did not apologize, but conceded Japan “must never repeat the horrors of war again.”
Navy to commission USS Giffords in ’17
MOBILE, Ala. A naval program that has become a target for critics is preparing to commission the USS Gabrielle Giffords, named for the U.S. politician who survived an assassination attempt in 2011.
Phil Jackson, Jeanie Buss say they have ended engagement
In a historic pilgrimage, the leaders of Japan and the United States took to the hallowed waters of Pearl Harbor on Tuesday to prove that even the bitterest enemies can become allies. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe did not… A federal appeals court is weighing a challenge by death row inmates of an Ohio law that shields the names of companies that provide lethal injection drugs.
FILE – These undated file combination photo provided by the Ohio…
A federal appeals court is weighing a challenge by death row inmates of an Ohio law that shields the names of companies that provide lethal injection drugs. The pending decision by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals will help determine whether Ohio will proceed with its first executions in three years beginning in February.
Editorial: A Congress strengthened by diversity
But there’s nothing homogeneous about how – or whether – Americans embrace that conviction in their personal lives. For more than two centuries, the Bill of Rights has barred the establishment of any particular religion while upholding the free exercise of all of them.
Top Democrat urges Kerry not to meddle in Israel-Palestinian future
Steny Hoyer speaking at a news conference at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on November 12, 2014. A senior Democrat has urged Secretary of State John Kerry and the Obama Administration not to lay out vision for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal that may disadvantage Israel in any future negotiations.
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast
John Oliver, Samantha Bee, Seth Meyers, and others tried their best to take Donald Trump out in 2016. They were powerful but failed to burst through the liberal bubble.
See yaa 2016 a ” it’s a wrap on an interesting year
Dang, I hate writing in advance of deadline. I had a column lined up to coincide with the Winter Solstice , and the days getting longer; I took a picture of the first mailed seed catalog in a snow pile; I was gonna’ be all “Cheer up, Buckaroo! Things are getting better,” for my last column of the year.
White House nears announcement on how it will punish Russia for election cyberattacks
The White House is getting ready to announce what it will do to punish Russia for its alleged meddling in the US election, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. Citing unnamed US officials, the newspaper said a number of punitive measures were on the table, including “economic sanctions and diplomatic censure.”
White House nears announcement on how it will punish Russia for election cyberattacks
The White House is getting ready to announce what it will do to punish Russia for its alleged meddling in the US election, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. Citing unnamed US officials, the newspaper said a number of punitive measures were on the table, including “economic sanctions and diplomatic censure.”
Trump’s Favorability Hits All-Time High
There as been some recent poll data that shows just over half of U.S. voters are now seeing President-elect Donald Trump as a viable, and favorable President of the United States, although there are still strong negative opinions that continue to outweigh the strong positive ones . It’s not the best, but it is better, and looks as if it can definitely continue on a positive up, with the new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finding out that 51% of Likely U.S. Voters have a favorable outlook of Trump, while 47% view him still view the man unfavorably.
St. Lawrence County Legislature search committee fills District 5 seat
The St. Lawrence County Legislative Search Committee on Tuesday morning appointed Henry J. Leader to the District 5 St. Lawrence County Legislature seat vacated by Travis E. Dann last week. During a special meeting Monday night, the search committee interviewed the candidates in separate interviews, then ultimately chose Mr. Leader, a village of Gouverneur resident.
St. Lawrence County Legislature search committee fills District 5 seat
The St. Lawrence County Legislative Search Committee on Tuesday morning appointed Henry J. Leader to the District 5 St. Lawrence County Legislature seat vacated by Travis E. Dann last week. During a special meeting Monday night, the search committee interviewed the candidates in separate interviews, then ultimately chose Mr. Leader, a village of Gouverneur resident.
It’s time to raise Indiana’s cigarette tax
Hoosiers hate taxes, but it’s hard to find a Hoosier leader who opposes the idea of doubling our tax on cigarettes. Now, Indiana can point to two good reasons to raise the tax.
It’s time to raise Indiana’s cigarette tax
Hoosiers hate taxes, but it’s hard to find a Hoosier leader who opposes the idea of doubling our tax on cigarettes. Now, Indiana can point to two good reasons to raise the tax.
Pat Buchanan: Barack backhands Bibi
Did the community organizer from Harvard Law just deliver some personal payback to the IDF commando? So it would seem.
Pat Buchanan: Barack backhands Bibi
Did the community organizer from Harvard Law just deliver some personal payback to the IDF commando? So it would seem.
Hillary Clinton’s uplifting holiday message
Hillary Clinton has thanked her supporters in an uplifting end-of-year message, encouraging her dedicated followers to “keep doing our part to build a better, stronger, and fairer future”. In a moving Facebook post, the former presidential candidate said she was “proud” of her campaign, and the millions of people who voted for her – perhaps subtly acknowledging her substantial lead in the popular vote.
Japan’s prime minister offers condolences for Pearl Harbor :0
Under a warm Oahu sun, with the tranquil, teal waters of Pearl Harbor behind them, former enemies came together Tuesday to acknowledge the tremendous loss caused by the Japanese attack on U.S. military installations in Hawaii 75 years ago. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Barack Obama made a historic pilgrimage to the site where the devastating surprise attack sent America marching into World War II.
Colorado governor dissolves presidential caucuses for new primary system
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed into law two ballot measures on Tuesday that will give residents who are not affiliated with either political party the ability to vote in future primaries. The second-term Democratic governor approved Propositions 107 and 108.
New York Times made yet another editorial pitch for judicial abolition of the death penalty
Piece by piece, the death penalty continues to fall apart. Last week, the Florida Supreme Court invalidated between 150 and 200 death sentences – nearly half of all those in the state – because they were imposed under a law the United States Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional in January.
Wreaths and hugs: Japan’s Abe shows sympathy at Pearl Harbor
At right is James Horton, director of the National … . Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific to place a wreath at the Honolulu Memorial, Monday, Dec. 26, 2016, in Honolulu.