NEWSWORTHY
North Korean leader's right-hand man and top nuclear negotiator removed from key post, report says
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's right-hand man and one of the top officials involved in nuclear talks with the United States, Kim Yong Chol, has been replaced as chief of a key espionage agency handling inter-Korean affairs, a report said Wednesday. Kim Yong Chol, ...
Foreign groups likely behind Sri Lanka attacks, U.S. ambassador says
The scale and sophistication of the Easter Sunday attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka suggested the involvement of an external group such as Islamic State, the U.S. ambassador said on Wednesday as the death toll jumped to 359. The Islamic State militant group ...
Putin-Kim summit sends message to U.S. but sanctions relief elusive for North Korea
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time this week at a symbolic summit hoping to project himself as a serious world player but likely to come away without a relief from crushing sanctions ...
Trump says White House officials can skip 'partisan' post-Mueller congressional inquiries
U.S. President Donald Trump is doubling down on his legal confrontations with Democrats in the House of Representatives. Hours after his Treasury secretary again put off a House committee's demand for the president's tax returns, and as another panel was considering a contempt charge for ...
Jared Kushner downplays Russia election interference despite probe's finding of widespread meddling
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner said Tuesday the investigations into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election "had a much harder impact on our democracy" than what Russia actually did. Mere days after Americans read a redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller's report ...
Tension grows between Congress and 2020 Democrats on impeachment
Some top Democrats vying for the White House in 2020 are clamoring for impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, but many of their congressional colleagues — who would have to manage such efforts — are far more wary. The same day House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ...
Joe Biden looks set to declare 2020 bid Thursday with likely backing from U.S. firefighters
Answering perhaps the most significant question of the early 2020 election season, former Vice President Joe Biden will launch his presidential campaign on Thursday. The move, confirmed by a person familiar with his plans, sets up the 76-year-old lifelong politician as a front-runner in the ...
U.S. organized labor opposes USMCA in current form, says official
The head of the largest U.S. labor union said Tuesday he opposes ratification of the new North American free trade pact, because he doubts Mexico will enforce labor reforms required by the deal. Richard Trumka, president of the 12.5-million-member AFL-CIO, said the U.S. Congress is ...
Bowing to abortion foe Trump's demands, U.N. waters down resolution on sexual violence in conflict
A U.S. threat to veto U.N. Security Council action on sexual violence in conflict was averted on Tuesday after a long-agreed phrase was removed because President Donald Trump's administration sees it as code for abortion, diplomats said. A German-drafted resolution was adopted after a reference ...
States should oppose Trump 'gag rule,' says Planned Parenthood
It's time for states with leaders who support abortion rights to go on the offensive against Trump administration attempts to restrict abortion that would reduce access to health care, the president of Planned Parenthood said Tuesday. "States are a critical backstop at a time when ...
Trump 'not inclined' to release tax returns despite congressional deadline
U.S. President Donald Trump is unlikely hand over his tax returns to lawmakers despite a Tuesday congressional deadline facing the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service, a White House spokesman said on Tuesday. "As I understand it, the president's pretty clear: Once he's out of ...
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday he plans to name a new settlement in the occupied Golan after U.S. President Donald Trump in appreciation of his recognition of Israel's claim of sovereignty there. Netanyahu, who has been on a trip to the region with his ...
