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U.S. President Joe Biden during a meeting in the Oval Office on Thursday
WORLD / Politics
Dec 3, 2023

Muslim Americans face 'Abandon Biden' dilemma — then who?

Opposition from Muslim and Arab American communities could complicate the president's path to an Electoral College victory.
Senate Republicans voted unanimously to block an emergency spending bill to provide $110.5 billion in funds for Ukraine, Israel and other security needs.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 8, 2023

Prospects dim for new Ukraine aid in U.S. Congress

Senate Republicans voted unanimously to block the emergency spending bill to provide $110.5 billion in funds for Ukraine, Israel and other security needs.
Ukrainian soldier fire a mortar near Kyiv on Nov. 8.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 13, 2023

Pentagon has a workaround to send Ukraine arms despite aid stalemate

The tactic: Continue to provide arms from U.S. stockpiles in hopes of waiting until later for the money to replace them.
A law requires the Pentagon to inform Congress and extensively justify any program when costs exceed the original estimate by 15%, 25% or as much as 50% depending on the categories measured.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 15, 2023

New U.S. ballistic missile costs risk project termination

A U.S. Air Force review will take about 45 days before a determination is made as to whether the ICBM program exceeds congressional cost thresholds.
A group of 79 soldiers at the U.S. Army’s jungle training school prepare to enter a river on the Hawaiian island of Oahu on Nov. 29. Far from the deserts of the Middle East, the Army is instructing troops in Hawaii on the skills needed for a potential clash with China.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 16, 2023

U.S. military returns to the jungle, training for future threats

Far from the deserts of the Middle East, the Army is instructing troops in Hawaii on the skills needed for a potential clash with China.
The Colorado Supreme Court building in downtown Denver on Tuesday. The Colorado Supreme Court, which barred former U.S. President Donald Trump from the state’s primary ballot, is composed of seven justices who were all appointed by Democratic governors.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 21, 2023

Colorado ballot case adds fuel to Trump's nomination drive

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that the former president was barred from its state ballot for engaging in "insurrection."
Iraqi security forces' stationed in Baghdad's Tahrir Square following U.S. air strikes on Tuesday
WORLD
Dec 27, 2023

Houthi attacks and U.S. strikes raise risk of wider Middle East war

The number of nonstate groups and the unpredictability of actions by Israel and Iran makes it difficult to forecast when incidents might escalate.
A wafer is pictured at Semicon Taiwan in Taipei
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 30, 2023

This startup shows it won't be easy to contain China's chip industry

The story of Seida illustrates the challenges the West faces in thwarting Chinese development of advanced microchip technology.
(From left) The Democratic Progressive Party's Lai Ching-te, who is also Taiwan's vice president, faces off against the main opposition Kuomintang's Hou Yu-ih and the Taiwan People's Party's Ko Wen-je on Saturday's presidential election.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 9, 2024

Close race emerges as Taiwan election enters final stretch

Expectations that front-runner Lai Ching-te would simply stroll to victory on Saturday have been dashed, with his polling lead having narrowed significantly.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is being treated for prostate cancer, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
WORLD
Jan 10, 2024

Biden unaware of Pentagon chief's prostate cancer until Jan. 9

Lloyd Austin, who is 70, has been hospitalized since Jan. 1 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
A snow plow drives down an empty street in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 13, 2024

Coldest weather ever during Iowa caucus threatens Trump’s lead

Caucus-time temperatures on Monday are forecast to be as low as minus 27 degrees Celsius, which would be the coldest ever for the event.
Li Qiang at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Jan 17, 2024

In Davos, Chinese premier takes aim at trade 'barriers'

Li's remarks came as the World Economic Forum's 54th annual conference is preoccupied with a slew of global risks, including wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
Donald Trump and his campaign are keenly aware of the publicity and sympathy his court appearances can generate with his loyal base of supporters.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 18, 2024

A day in Trump's world: Morning in court, evening on the campaign

The former U.S. president's unusual schedule sums up the unprecedented nature of this year's election.
A ship transits the Suez Canal toward the Red Sea on Jan. 10. Insurance costs for ships whose seafarers who do brave the waterway have shot up tenfold, including a large increase since the airstrikes.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 19, 2024

Airstrikes on Yemen bring new level of chaos to Red Sea shipping

After U.S. and U.K. airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, Western navies caution ships to steer clear.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump holds a rally in advance of the New Hampshire presidential primary election in Rochester, New Hampshire, on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 22, 2024

Trump’s 2016 win shook markets. Traders won’t get fooled again.

Wall Street is already starting to game out the impact of Trump’s possible return to the White House.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' campaign will be studied by the political world as an example of what not to do: Strategy miscalculations, financial mismanagement and a failure to fashion a likable candidate.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 22, 2024

How the DeSantis 2024 campaign unraveled: Hubris, infighting, awkward moments

The political world will study his campaign as an example of what not to do.
Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank Group, during a panel session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 17
BUSINESS
Jan 23, 2024

World Bank chief eyes 'bigger' institution to tackle climate crisis

Ajay Banga said the bank is working to widen the way it looks at problems and increase collaborations with other institutions.
People drink as major news organizations project that Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump wins during the New Hampshire presidential primary election, at The Goat in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 24, 2024

In New Hampshire, Trump continued to flex his muscle with Republican base

Former president crushed challenger Nikki Haley among working-class voters without college degrees, exit polls show.
The drone strike that killed three American soldiers in Jordan presents U.S. President Joe Biden with a decision that will be one of the most consequential of his presidency.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 29, 2024

Biden faces pressure to confront Iran after U.S. troops killed

One possibility is covert action that would see the U.S. strike Iran without claiming credit for it but sending a clear message regardless.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 2, 2024

Japan starts 2024 with flurry of security deals

In January alone, Tokyo signed cooperation deals with at least four countries, strengthening and expanding its network of like-minded partners.
Taylor Swift (right) cheers on her boyfriend Travis Kelce's team, the Kansas City Chiefs, in the AFC divisional round playoff game against the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, New York, on Jan. 21. The Chiefs will play the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 6, 2024

Taylor Swift rocks the world and drives the far right crazy

The “Swift effect” has become a force in both U.S. domestic politics and international relations.
U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington on Monday. Biden's re-election campaign has launched a TikTok account in a bid to reach younger voters, a move that comes as the popular short-form video platform confronts concerns over its ties to China.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 13, 2024

Biden’s TikTok foray triggers bipartisan angst over app's China ties

The bipartisan leaders of a House committee charged with curbing China's influence expressed concern Monday at President Joe Biden’s campaign on TikTok.
Donald Trump's recent remarks on defense spending by allies, which were highly criticized, highlight the complexities of U.S. foreign policy.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 16, 2024

Trump's defense spending critiques: Valid concerns or political rhetoric?

Do U.S. allies need to step up defense spending? What do the numbers really say?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 18, 2024

‘Dictators do not go on vacation,’ Zelenskyy warns Washington and Europe

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on world leaders not to abandon his country saying that Russia would continue to test the international order.
Japan's fall to No. 4 in the global economic rankings reflects an aging population and declining resources.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 20, 2024

Japan slips in the global economic rankings: So what’s next?

The IMF has forecast that India will overtake Japan economically in 2026 and Germany in 2027.
The Huawei Mate 60 Pro, launched in August 2023 and powered by a sophisticated chip, was seen as a symbol of the China's technological resurgence despite Washington's ongoing efforts to cripple its capacity to produce advanced semiconductors.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 22, 2024

U.S. targets China chipmaking plant after Huawei Mate 60 Pro

The Biden administration seeks to cut off China's most advanced factory from more American imports after it produced a sophisticated chip for the phone.
TikTok parent company ByteDance's offices in Singapore. Chinese companies are increasingly using the city-state as a springboard into the U.S. market.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 22, 2024

'Singapore-washing' and China’s sneaky trade practices

Chinese firms are using Singapore as a springboard into the U.S., circumventing restrictions. The island nation shouldn't enable these deceptive tactics.
Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson receives information that Hungary's parliament has voted yes to ratify Sweden's NATO accession, at the government headquarters in Stockholm on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 27, 2024

The NATO welcoming Sweden is larger and more determined

The alliance's expansion was a consequence from the invasion of Ukraine that Russian President Vladimir Putin may not have calculated.
Starbucks workers hold a rally in New York City in 2022.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 29, 2024

Starbucks' pivot on union may shape labor relations beyond its stores

The iconic coffee chain has been locked in a bitter, high-profile and multifront battle with the union across the U.S. since its first win in 2021.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Edmund Pettus Bridge during an event to commemorate the 59th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday" in Selma, Alabama, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 4, 2024

In blunt remarks, U.S. VP Harris calls for 'immediate cease-fire' in Gaza

The Israeli government, she said, must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid and not impose "unnecessary restrictions" on its delivery.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami