Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton says he’s been diagnosed with prostate cancer but will finish the final two years of his term Stark contrasts in U.S. cancer death rates were found in an exhaustive new analysis that suggests where you live contributes to your fate One black bear cub has been rescued by Virginia wildlife officials after it was discovered in a den without its mother Dippin’ Dots has apparently found a way to begin thawing out its relationship with President Donald Trump’s press secretary, Sean Spicer, who has been sending critical tweets about the company since 2010 The wife of the founder of a ramshackle Oakland artists’ colony where dozens of people burned to death in a fire last month says she’s sorry about what happened but is angry about what she called “pretty terrible”… The partner of the founder of an Oakland artists’ colony where dozens of people burned to death in a … (more)
Category: US News
Emboldened by Trump, Israel Rapidly Expands Illegal Settlements
“The Trump administration is giving Israel the green light to entrench a separate and unequal one-state reality with more illegal settlements.” Emboldened by the new right-wing Trump administration, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a large settlement expansion-2,500 housing units-in the West Bank on Tuesday.
Emboldened by Trump, Israel Rapidly Expands Illegal Settlements
“The Trump administration is giving Israel the green light to entrench a separate and unequal one-state reality with more illegal settlements.” Emboldened by the new right-wing Trump administration, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a large settlement expansion-2,500 housing units-in the West Bank on Tuesday.
Delay in one of Trump’s signature committments
At his press conference on January 23, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer declined to commit the Trump administration to quickly moving the embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the capital of the Israeli state. While President Donald Trump said during his campaign that he would move the embassy, the administration is now expressing some caution.
Asian Nations Try to Save TPP Trade Deal
Australia and New Zealand said on Tuesday they hope to salvage the Trans-Pacific Partnership by encouraging China and other Asian nations to join the trade pact after U.S. President Donald Trump kept his promise to pull out of the accord. The TPP, which the United States had signed but not ratified, was a pillar of former U.S. President Barack Obama’s policy to pivot to Asia.
It Takes As Little As Six Weeks To Morph From Regular Joe To Jihadi John
A fighter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant holds an ISIL flag and a weapon on a street in the city of Mosul, June 23, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer/Files The radicalization process for someone to go from having a completely normal life to becoming a dangerous terrorist can take as little as six weeks, according to a top Europol official.
Trump moves to pull US out of Pacific-Rim trade deal
President Donald Trump moved to pull the United States out of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact Monday, fulfilling a campaign promise as he began his first full week in office. “Great thing for the American worker that we just did,” Trump said as he signed a notice in the Oval Office.
Trump moves to pull US out of Pacific-Rim trade deal
President Donald Trump moved to pull the United States out of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact Monday, fulfilling a campaign promise as he began his first full week in office. “Great thing for the American worker that we just did,” Trump said as he signed a notice in the Oval Office.
Syria talks may signal shift in conflict dynamics
During the presidential inauguration Friday, which should be a day of celebration, three things happened – two that should have and one that shouldn’t have. On Jan. 7, the FBI released another 300 emails and the Hillary Clinton unauthorized server “saga” continued.
Fight for the right: Dutch PM says integrate or leave
During the presidential inauguration Friday, which should be a day of celebration, three things happened – two that should have and one that shouldn’t have. On Jan. 7, the FBI released another 300 emails and the Hillary Clinton unauthorized server “saga” continued.
Abengoa Abengoa restarts activities in Spain after being awarded…
Abengoa , the international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainability in the energy and environment sectors, has been awarded three new electricity transmission and distribution projects in Spain. The first of these projects will be undertaken for the Department of the United States Air Force in Moron de la Frontera , while the other two will be performed in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Lugo for the Spanish Energy Grid .
Trump, amid combative start, pledges to rise to moment
After a combative start to his presidency, Donald Trump delivered a more unifying message Sunday and sought to reassure Americans he was ready to begin governing a divided nation. Trump began rolling out his plans for diplomatic outreach, speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and announcing plans for early meetings with Netanyahu and other world leaders.
How to choose a terrible song for your wedding or inauguration
Music is a glorious, personal, subjective thing and there’s literally no accounting for people and their terrible, terrible taste. The world was reminded of this fact on Friday when new US President Donald Trump enjoyed an awkward dance with his First Lady Melania to the strains of My Way : a song sung from the perspective of a dying man making futile protests as he nears the grave.
Suspected US drone strike kills 3 alleged al-Qaida in Yemen
Suspected U.S. drone strikes have killed three alleged al-Qaida operatives in Yemen’s southwestern Bayda province, security and tribal officials said, the first such killings reported in the country since Donald Trump assumed the U.S. presidency Friday. The two Saturday strikes killed Abu Anis al-Abi , an area field commander, and two others, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release the information to journalists.
Merkel Confident She Can Find Trade ‘Compromise’ With Trump
Berlin mayor Michael Mueller, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and German interior minister Thomas de Maiziere stand in silence at the Christmas market in Berlin, Germany, December 20, 2016, one day after a truck ploughed into a crowded Christmas market in the German capital. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke.
NYC Women’s March sets more than 400G protesters upon Trump Tower
The streets of President Trump’s hometown were steeped in protesters Saturday – the masses set on showing the nation’s new commander-in-chief they won’t be silent. More than 400,000 people marched through Midtown to stand in solidarity for women’s rights and to let Trump know they want a greater voice for women in political life.
Flight from Newark diverted to Florida after ‘security report,” airline says
NEWARK — A JetBlue flight from Newark Liberty International Airport bound for the Dominican Republic was diverted to Fort Lauderdale after an unspecified security concern Saturday afternoon, according to officials. “Out of an abundance of caution, JetBlue flight 893 from Newark Liberty International Airport to Santiago, Dominican Republic, is diverting to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport after a security report,” the airline said in a statement.
Mixed reactions trail defect of Senator Effiong to APC
Mixed reactions have greeted the defection of Senator Nelson Asuquo Effiong of Akwa Ibom South Senatorial district to the All Progressives Congress, . Effiong who was elected on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, had on Thursday, January, 19, 2017 announced his resignation due to the unresolved crisis in the national leadership of the party.
Trump brings Churchill bust back to Oval Office
President Donald Trump restored the bust of Winston Churchill to the Oval Office immediately after assuming the presidency on Friday, the most notable move in an aesthetic redecoration of the space. Trump signed his first executive orders at the Resolute Desk before new gold curtains with a blue trim, a new sunburst-patterned carpet and new brocade couches.
Jerusalem mayor praises ‘friend’ Trump and slams Obama
Nothing will rain on our parade! Triumphant Donald Trump promises a beautiful day as he tells his supporters: ‘I’m going to be cheering YOU’ Trump lays wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns in somber Arlington Cemetery ceremony just one day before he becomes commander-in-chief Jerusalem mayor praises ‘friend’ Trump and slams Obama for ‘surrendering’ to radical Islam in video welcoming The Donald as President The mayor of Jerusalem has praised Donald Trump as a ‘friend’ while slamming outgoing U.S. president Barack Obama accusing him of ‘surrendering’ to radical Islam. Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat released a video on Thursday ahead of Trump’s inauguration urging people to welcome him when he is sworn in as president.
Emerging – Trump Doctrine’ Toward Europe Upends Historic Alliance
For most of the past seven decades, U.S. relations with Europe revolved around a set of shared beliefs: Russia was the common adversary, Germany’s industrial might would be the core of the Continent’s economy and a unified Europe was in everyone’s interests. Donald Trump is having none of it.
COMMENTARY: Obama’s self-revealing final act
Barack Obama did not go out quietly. His unquiet final acts were, in part, overshadowed by a successor who refused to come in quietly and, in part, by Obama’s own endless, sentimental farewell tour.
Brave new Anglosphere: Israel revels in fresh support from US-UK-Australia triumvirate
It’s springtime for Israel’s relations with the Anglosphere. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu loves to talk about burgeoning ties with the Arab world, but in the months and years ahead, a newly formed pro-Israel triumvirate of English-speaking countries looks set to form the backbone of international support for the Jewish state.
The Latest: Obama Lashes out at Congress Over Guantanamo
President Barack Obama is criticizing Congress for refusing to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying there’s “simply no justification beyond politics” to keep it open. Obama pledged at the start of his presidency to close the facility in his first year.
Tigerair to resume flights between Australia and Bali
‘Help, we are dying of the cold’: Desperate guests trapped in Italian ski hotel send texts to loved-ones after huge avalanche hits the building killing up to 30 people The wedge salads are on me! Trump pays one fan’s $1,000 dinner bill as he’s mobbed while stopping by his DC hotel for a meal after ditching press pool 36 hours before inauguration Aaron Rodgers’ family doesn’t ‘trust’ Olivia Munn: More details of NFL star’s rift with relatives emerge ‘after he chose model over her’ Overweight and rather whiffy, the REAL young Queen Victoria: New book claims Lord Melbourne dropped hints to the monarch about her personal hygiene and gave her slimming tips ‘Nope’: The last word of cold-blooded killer as he is executed for invading family’s home and murdering two young girls and their parents who had left the door open while preparing New Year’s party Poll shows Hillary Clinton would BEAT Bill … (more)
America’s Russian hypocrisy
Russia was never fully welcome in the Western world order, much less able to participate in it on equal terms. By Nina L. Khrushcheva I hate agreeing with Vladimir Putin, even a little.
Mideast expects big changes under Trump
Donald Trump’s all-but-dismissal of human rights as a foreign policy principle could land like an earthquake across a Middle East landscape beset by warring factions and beleaguered governments, with some players eyeing the prospect of once unimaginable new alliances. Syria is the foremost test of Trump’s promise of a return to a hard-headed realpolitik and could quickly show whether America is truly abandoning promotion of democracy and the rule of law in a way that could reshape much of the region’s post-Cold War, post-9/11 order.
Haley supports moving US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem
UN Ambassador-designate, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, arrives for a meeting with Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017. WASHINGTON — South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley declared her support for moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a shift firmly endorsed by Donald Trump but one that could trigger increased violence in the Middle East.
Obama defends decision to commute Chelsea Manning’s sentence
President Barack Obama firmly defended his decision to cut nearly three decades off convicted leaker Chelsea Manning’s prison term Wednesday, arguing in his final White House news conference that the former Army intelligence analyst had served a “tough prison sentence” already. Obama said he granted clemency to Manning because she had gone to trial, taken responsibility for her crime and received a sentence that was harsher than other leakers had received.
Chelsea Manning’s family welcome imminent release of whistleblower
Protesters mount a Free Bradley Manning demonstration at the US Embassy in Dublin after he was sentenced to 35 years in prison for sending classified information to WikiLeaks The Welsh-Irish family of whistleblower Chelsea Manning have said they are “overjoyed” she will soon be free after her sentence was commuted by outgoing US President Barack Obama. A statement released on behalf of her mother, Susan Manning, and other family members said they hoped the transgender former intelligence analyst, born Bradley Manning, would “now be able to get on with the rest of her life”, adding there would “always be a welcome for her here in Wales”.
Snowden permitted to stay in Russia for longer
Former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden has been given leave to remain in Russia for another couple of years, a spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry said. “Snowden’s residency in Russia has just been extended by another couple of years,” the spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said in a post on Facebook.
In Africa, Obamaa s presidency couldna t help but be personal
Africa was electrified by the rise of Barack Obama, the first U.S. president of African descent. It was in Africa that he signaled a historic opening toward Cuba, took aim at the twin scourges of corruption and dictatorship and sent thousands of troops to fight one of the most terrifying disease outbreaks in decades.
MH370 and Five Other Unsolved Aviation Mysteries
After nearly three years and $160 million dedicated to scouring the bottom of the Indian Ocean, authorities suspended the search Tuesday for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. The Boeing 777, with 239 people on board, disappeared after inexplicably veering off course on March 8, 2014, in turn creating the world’s greatest aviation mystery.
House lawmaker introduces bill calling for relisting N. Korea as terror sponsor
A US House lawmaker has introduced a bill calling for relisting North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. Rep. Ted Poe brought in the legislation that requires “a report on the designation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism.”
ISIS Attacker’s Istanbul Apartment Was A Terrorist Treasure Trove [VIDEO]
Turkish police stand guard outisde the Reina nightclub by the Bosphorus, which was attacked by a gunman, in Istanbul, Turkey, January 1, 2017. REUTERS/Huseyin Aldemir/File Photo The Islamic State shooter responsible for a mass shooting at a Turkish nightclub kept a veritable terrorist treasure trove in his Istanbul apartment, including massive amounts of cash, guns and cell phone SIM cards.
Obama Trumpets ‘Steadfast’ Defense of Israel on Iran Deal Anniversary
President Barack Obama said his administration had remained “steadfast” in countering Iranian threats to Israel in the wake of the Iran nuclear deal. Obama and his secretary of state, John Kerry, in their final week in office, marked the anniversary Monday of the implementation of the deal reached between Iran and six major powers led by the United States exchanging sanctions relief for a nuclear rollback.
China’s Xi takes spotlight at Davos as US makes transition
From right, Swiss Federal President Doris Leuthard, China’s President Xi Jinping, Xi’s wife Peng Liyuan and Doris Leuthard’s husband Roland Hausin, attend a gala dinner in Bern, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2017. Xi… .
Pence tries to calm worries about Trump’s foreign policy
Vice President-elect Mike Pence attempted to calm European fears on Monday that President-elect Trump is pulling the United States away from its traditional allies and toward Russia. Speaking on Fox News, Pence said Trump’s statements to foreign newspapers that NATO is obsolete that caused a stir Monday, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying Europe’s fate is in “our own hands,” shouldn’t be seen so negatively.
Oman says it accepts 10 Guantanamo Bay detainees
Oman said Monday it accepted 10 detainees from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay ahead of President Barack Obama leaving office, part of his efforts to shrink the facility he promised to close. Oman’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it had accepted the prisoners at Obama’s request.
Biden: Trump should retain sanctions on Russia
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, on a last foreign trip before leaving office, has met with Ukraine’s president and called on the impending Donald Trump administration to retain Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia. Biden’s comments Monday at a briefing with President Petro Poroshenko came after Trump indicated in a Times of London interview that he could end sanctions imposed in the aftermath Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea in return for a nuclear arms reduction deal.