ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE President Donald Trump is working with Republican leaders in the House of Representatives to make changes to their healthcare overhaul plan to ensure it has enough support to be approved by lawmakers, a White House spokesman said on Wednesday. “We’re obviously in talks with Speaker (Paul) Ryan, the entire leadership team over there … to get the best outcome based on feedback from […]
By Patricia Zengerle | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to confirm former Republican senator Dan Coats to be President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence and to approve Army Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster’s transfer to become his national security adviser. The vote was 85-12 to confirm Coats, who also served as ambassador to Germany under former President George W. Bush. Fifty-one votes were […]
NEW YORK Jeffrey Gundlach, chief executive officer of DoubleLine Capital, said on Wednesday he expected a short-term rally in U.S. Treasuries and that investors should “use the strength” in U.S. stocks to take profits and diversify in overseas markets. “I am surprised with the relentless nature” of equities after the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, Gundlach said on CNBC. Gundlach, who oversees more than $101 billion […]
The White House will propose large spending cuts on Thursday for the state department, public broadcasting and environmental programmes as part of its preliminary budget for the 2018 fiscal year. Administration aides call it an “America First” budget — with greater spending on defence, law enforcement and veteran affairs, as well as new education programmes that emphasise school choice. The last are a pet project of Betsy […]
By Dustin Volz | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The U.S. government on Wednesday unsealed charges against two Russian spies and two criminal hackers for allegedly pilfering 500 million Yahoo user accounts in 2014, The indictments, announced at a news conference in Washington, represent the first time the U.S. government has criminally charged Russian officials for cyber offenses. The content of at least 30 million accounts were accessed as part […]
Good morning. Here’s our morning roundup of all the media news you need to know. Want to get this briefing in your inbox every morning? Subscribe here. Nate Silver’s “March Madness” analysis is out and, knock on hardwood, he’s not picking Hillary Clinton. I know, I know. Cheap (jump) shot. It’s that time of year when FiveThirtyEight, the ESPN-owned politics and sports data site founded by Silver, […]
War is eternal, the urge to create conflict a deep-seated human impulse – that’s the depressing, sledgehammer take-home from An Iliad, a modern one-man retelling of Homer’s epic poem currently running at The Arts Centre at NYU Abu Dhabi. At the evening’s emotional climax, our narrator spouts a list of dozens of conflicts, from ancient times right up to Aleppo. What slaps the psyche hardest is not […]
It is fitting that just a few hours until the Fed’s second rate hike in two quarters, and one day after Goldman downgraded global stocks to Neutral for the next 3 months, not to mention with the results of the anticipated Dutch election due shortly, that global stocks as well as S&P futures are higher, while crude oil has finally managed to stage a rebound as the […]
By Philip Blenkinsop | AMSTERDAM AMSTERDAM The Dutch began voting on Wednesday in an election seen as a test of anti-immigrant and nationalist feeling, magnified in the last few days by a spat with Turkey, and as one of three polls this year that will gauge the strength of the ties that bind the European Union together. The centre-right VVD party of Prime Minister Mark Rutte, 50, […]
By Kevin Yao and Ryan Woo | BEIJING BEIJING China’s Premier Li Keqiang reassured investors on Wednesday that the world’s second-largest economy is strong and not at risk of a hard landing, while stressing Beijing’s support for globalization and free trade at a time of rising protectionism. Li also reiterated that China does not want a trade war with the United States, and urged talks with Washington […]
TAIPEI China’s accelerated military development and recent activity by its military aircraft and ships around Taiwan pose an increased threat to the self-ruled island, according to a Taiwanese government defence report draft reviewed by Reuters. The 2017 Quadrennial Defence Review (QDR) also highlights the uncertainty over the future strategic direction of the United States in the region, the impact of Japan flexing its military capabilities and “conflict […]
The good Doctor was on Alex Jones for 45 mins today — discussing a variety of topics. Some of the notable moments were: We’re in a civil war with the left The left in the GOP are part of the democratic party How the family structure was targeted by Marx and now by the left Soros, Pelosi, Maxine Waters Healthcare Taxes Cuba and Castro War His dinner […]
NBC coined the slogan “Must-See TV” more than two decades ago; tonight, MSNBC invented “hurry-up-and-wait” TV. In an excruciatingly delayed primetime media extravaganza that was reminiscent of Geraldo Rivera’s slow-as-molasses unveiling of Al Capone’s vault in 1986, Rachel Maddow used her show Tuesday night to release a portion of President Trump’s tax returns from 2005. In doing so, the broadcast became a cautionary tale about the dangers […]
Donald Trump paid an effective tax rate of 25 per cent in 2005 on income of $150m, according to a leaked tax return that sheds a glint of light on the tax affairs the president has kept shrouded in secrecy. MSNBC reported that two pages of Mr Trump’s return — which revealed nothing about his income sources — showed the president paying $38m in tax and reporting […]
The president was expected to urge Saudi Arabia to support safe zones in Syria, which the administration has argued would be an alternative to accepting thousands of refugees from a country that has been ripped apart by six years of civil war. Continue reading the main story Mr. Trump and members of his inner circle regard Saudi Arabia as a vital component of the White House strategy […]
By Patricia Zengerle | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The chairman of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee said on Tuesday he plans to hold public hearings on possible links between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia, although he did not say when they would take place. “It will happen,” Republican Senator Richard Burr told reporters after a closed committee meeting. Asked if he knew when, he said, “I don’t yet, […]
Ant Financial Services Group, the financial services affiliate of China’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N), said on Tuesday it remained committed to the consummation of its merger with U.S. money-transfer company MoneyGram International Inc (MGI.O), after Euronet Worldwide Inc (EEFT.O) trumped its offer. U.S. electronic payments company Euronet Worldwide launched a $1 billion bid for MoneyGram on Tuesday, saying that its all-American deal would face less regulatory […]
By Susan Heavey and Susan Cornwell | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President Donald Trump and congressional leaders are weighing changes to their plan to dismantle the Obamacare health law, a White House spokesman said Tuesday, as Republicans defended their effort following an estimate that it would cause 14 million Americans to lose insurance next year. Press Secretary Sean Spicer said White House officials and leaders in the Republican-controlled U.S. […]
Photo Mahmoud Abbas, right, the president of the Palestinian Authority, met with Jason Greenblatt, President Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, in the West Bank on Tuesday. Credit Mohamad Torokman/Reuters JERUSALEM — President Trump’s new envoy to the Middle East met on Tuesday with Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, striving in the administration’s first diplomatic undertaking here to maintain a public evenhandedness amid the […]
WASHINGTON Veteran U.S. diplomat Anne Patterson is out of the running to under secretary of defence for policy, U.S. officials said on Tuesday, depriving Defense Secretary Jim Mattis of his choice for his top policy adviser. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the officials said Patterson ran into resistance on Capitol Hill that might have made it hard for her to win confirmation by the U.S. Senate. The […]
This weekend, New York Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet took a shot at his rival, Washington Post boss Marty Baron. During an interview at South by Southwest Sunday, an audience member asked Baquet what he thought of The Washington Post’s new slogan: “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” “‘I love our competition with The Washington Post,’ Baquet said. ‘I think it’s great. But I think their slogan — Marty […]
newslide Actress Sonakshi Sinha has confirmed she will perform as part of Justin Bieber’s Purpose world tour stop in India. The 29-year-old star will be one of the opening acts at the gig to be held at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on May 10. “I am really fond of Justin Bieber’s music and I love how his sound has evolved over the years,” says Sonakshi, […]
Republicans are battling to save their new healthcare bill after Congress’s non-partisan watchdog said it would cause about 24m Americans to lose insurance and prompting fierce retaliation from the White House. On Tuesday, the Trump administration fought back against the Congressional Budget Office’s findings that the legislation, while reducing the budget deficit by $337bn, would cause an estimated 52m Americans to be uninsured by 2026. This compared […]
Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, moved to allay fears that the kingdom was backing away from its pledge to curb production, underlining its concern about a 10 per cent plunge in the crude price over the past week. The kingdom’s energy ministry rushed out a rare statement on Tuesday asserting its commitment to “stabilising the global oil market”, just as global benchmark Brent crude slipped […]
