International

Betsy DeVos: Senate advances nomination for education secretary

President Trump’s out-of-the-box pick to lead the Education Department survived another hurdle, overcoming an attempted Democratic filibuster in a rare pre-dawn vote Friday. A final vote is slated for Monday. Democrats have made Betsy DeVos, the pick, one of their chief targets as they try to score a scalp from among Mr. Trump’s Cabinet nominees,

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Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Stranger whom we welcome should be friendly

By Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort  CARLSBAD, California — We are in the midst of the story of the Exodus of our people, the Jewish people, from Egyptian servitude. This part of our collective history is rich in lessons that apply to our lives today. Many people mistakenly believe that the Torah is filled with ancient wisdom

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International, Jewish Religion, Middle East, USA, Yeruchem Eilfort-Rabbi

Who are the refugees Australia doesn’t want?

The Manus Island regional processing facility, where Australia sends illegal immigrants. (Photo: Australia Department of Immigration and Citizenship) By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — It is hard to complain about Australia — democratic, sunny, cheerful, and oh, those koalas and kangaroos. On a more serious note, Australia is a welcome ally, participating in military operations around

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International, Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USA

Israel to US: Settlement expansion is not the problem

Blaming Palestinians for stalled negotiations, deputy FM says government ‘elected to act on Jewish People’s right to build in all parts of our land’ By Times of Israel staff Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely attend a Likud faction meeting at the Knesset, December 21, 2015. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90) Responding to

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Middle East, USA

Steny Hoyer on Donald Trump: ‘Who knows’ whether more calls will be necessary to apologize

Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, who spoke recently with the Australian ambassador to the U.S., said Friday he’s not sure how many more of those calls he’ll have to make to apologize to an ally for something from the White House. “I thought it was extraordinarily unfortunate, apparently, that the conversation between Prime Minister [Malcolm] Turnbull

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International, USA

Rex Tillerson’s Former Company Is Already Winning Out Under Trump

Former ExxonMobil Corp. Chief Executive Rex Tillerson was sworn in only Wednesday, and already Congress is moving to benefit the new secretary of state’s former—and only—place of work by shredding two major oil industry regulations. Early Friday morning, the Republican-led Senate voted 52 to 47 on a House resolution scrapping a Securities and Exchange Commission

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International, USA

Netanyahu’s new settlement? ‘Abandoned’ Amona evictees aren’t holding out hope

Residents of the evacuated West Bank outpost are not taking government promises for granted: ‘This fight is not over,’ they say, ‘We’ve just moved to the next stage’ By Raoul Wootliff OFRA – A 35-minute walk up the hill, the final protesters were being forcibly removed by border police from the synagogue of the Amona

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Middle East

“The strongest warning to North Korea” – Seoul welcomes US support

South Korea’s Defence Minister says the US Defence Secretary’s visit to Seoul – his first trip abroad as defence secretary – sends a clear message of strong US support. “Faced with a current severe security situation, Secretary Mattis’ visit to Korea…also communicates the strongest warning to North Korea,” Han Min-koo told reporters in Seoul. The

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International, USA

Police gather documents from French Senate in Fillon ‘fake jobs’ probe

Police on Friday took documents from the French Senate linked to two of presidential candidate François Fillon’s children, following allegations they had been paid large sums of money for work they may not have done. Investigators are looking into the extent of work carried out by Marie and Charles Fillon for their father during his

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International

President Trump’s show of support for “Right to Try” laws is giving terminally ill patients new hope

This week Donald Trump said something that has many terminally ill patients applauding the president. Meeting with pharmaceutical executives at the White House on Tuesday, Trump signaled that he would be pushing for some significant changes, including altering Food and Drug Administration regulations to allow smaller drug companies to compete with larger companies. Related, here

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Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Trump Advisor Blames Iraqi Refugees for Fake Massacre

President Donald Trump’s counselor, Kellyanne Conway, has come under fire after blaming two Iraqi refugees for the so-called Bowling Green Massacre, which never actually happened. In an interview on MSNBC’s “Hardball” program on Thursday evening, Conway defended the executive order signed by Trump, which suspended the U.S. refugee resettlement program and temporarily blocked immigration from

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Middle East, USA