USA

Preet Bharara of New York says he’s fired after refusing to resign as US attorney

Did Preet Bharara resign or get fired? He says it was the latter. On Saturday, the outspoken U.S. attorney from the Southern District of New York said he was fired after refusing to resign, as requested a day earlier by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Sessions sought the resignation of dozens of U.S. attorneys appointed by […]

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USA

Utah set to enact nation’s lowest threshold for drunken driving

Utah is on the verge of becoming the first state to lower the maximum legal blood-alcohol content for drivers to 0.05 percent. Lawmakers in the state passed a measure last week to lower the limit from 0.08 percent. Currently, all 50 states have a 0.08 percent cap. The National Transportation Safety Board has called on

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Travel and Food, USA

Richard Gere: Cigar gifts ‘no big deal‘ if Netanyahu makes peace

In Israel, Hollywood star says disgraced ex-PM Olmert was ‘a friend of mine’; compares PM, US president: ‘It’s all deals to them’ By Sue Surkes Richard Gere attends opening night of the Miami Film Festival on March 3, 2017 in Miami, Florida. (Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images/AFP) Hollywood movie star and veteran peace campaigner Richard Gere weighed

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Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

John McCain, Arizona senator, predicts ‘there’s a lot more shoes to drop’ on Trump-Russia connection

Sen. John McCain predicted Sunday that “there’s a lot more shoes to drop” regarding President Trump’s connections to Russia, and said he believes top Trump associates should be called before Congress to testify. Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union,” the Arizona Republican said the American people need more information and need it quickly. “There’s

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International, USA

Barack and Michelle Obama were spotted in NYC having lunch with a famous musician

Barack and Michelle Obama were spotted having lunch at a New York City eatery with U2 frontman and activist Bono. The trio was seen at the Upland restaurant in Manhattan, an establishment that the former president has frequented in the past. During the outing, the former first lady was dressed stylishly in black pants, a

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, USA

Pelosi says the FBI director should publicly contradict Trump’s wiretapping claim

WASHINGTON — House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said Friday that FBI Director James Comey should refute President Donald Trump’s claim last weekend that President Barack Obama had wiretapped his campaign. “Theoretically, do I think that a director of the FBI who knows for a fact that something is mythology, but misleading to the American people,

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International, USA

In Israel, everyone knows Richard Gere’s ‘Norman’

Director Joseph Cedar insists the character — though evocative of his uncle, whose cash-stuffed envelopes landed Olmert in prison — isn’t based on anyone in particular By Jessica Steinberg To Israelis, the premise of Josheph Sedar’s latest film might seem achingly familiar: It tells the story of a New York Jew who does exorbitant favors

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Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Jobs surge, wages rise in Donald Trump’s first month

The first monthly jobs report under President Trump Friday showed a strong economic performance, with employers adding 235,000 jobs in February and the unemployment rate falling slightly to 4.7 percent. The Labor Department said wages also grew 2.8 percent from February 2016. Employers added 227,000 jobs in January. Construction jobs rose by 58,000, the most

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USA

House Republicans would let employers demand workers’ genetic test results

A little-noticed bill moving through Congress would allow companies to require employees to undergo genetic testing or risk paying a penalty of thousands of dollars, and would let employers see that genetic and other health information. Giving employers such power is now prohibited by legislation including the 2008 genetic privacy and nondiscrimination law known as

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Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

US to host 68-nation anti-Islamic State conference

WASHINGTON — The United States will host the first major meeting since 2014 of a 68-nation coalition formed to fight Islamic State, administration officials announced Thursday. The conference is set for March 22-23, and the U.S. contingent will be led by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in a rare high-profile role. The meeting will underscore

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International, Middle East, USA

Senators to White House: How Will Kushner Avoid Overlap Between Business Empire and Government Work?

Two senators and a congressman are pressing the White House to disclose exactly how Jared Kushner will comply with conflict of interest laws. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., and Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., sent a letter to the Trump administration Wednesday, prompted by our recent story that detailed how Kushner, a top

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USA

Every passport tells a story

The smudged travel stamps in passports are a record of international border crossings that went smoothly or perhaps not so smoothly. The photos are freeze frames of the travelers who made those journeys. And then there are the cool, invisible security features. These are just a few of the things that fascinate Tom Topol about

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International, USA