USA

Tit-for-tat escalates as President Hollande hits back at Trump’s anti-France remarks

French President François Hollande hit back at Donald Trump with a dig about gun control Saturday, a day after the new US president attacked France’s immigration policies and Paris. “I don’t want to make a comparison, but there are no weapons circulating here, there are no people who take weapons to shoot into a crowd,” […]

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International, USA

Hate crime feared after Indian man killed, another shot in Kansas bar

A white US Navy veteran has been charged with killing an engineer from India and wounding two other men when he opened fire in a Kansas bar in what federal authorities were investigating on Friday as a possible hate crime. The shooting on Wednesday night led news bulletins in India and triggered outrage on social

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International, USA

Tom Perez wins hard-fought DNC race to become Democrats’ first Latino chairman

ATLANTA – Tom Perez was elected Saturday as the first Latino chair of the Democratic National Committee, overcoming stiff opposition from the Bernie Sanders wing of the party and delivering a win for former President Barack Obama, who recruited him for the job. The race here turned into a nail-biter after Mr. Perez fell a

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USA

Scott Pruitt, EPA chief, says Obama neglected protecting environment to focus on climate change

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt on Saturday said the Obama administration neglected would-be department priorities to pursue a climate change agenda and hinted that a rollback of some regulations could be announced as soon as next week. “I wanted to send a message to those at the agency – there are some very important

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The World We Share, USA

Trump Administration Won’t Call Extremist Group ‘ISIL’ Like Obama Did

The Islamic State group will be called ISIS under President Donald Trump’s administration, rejecting former President Barack Obama’s preference for referring to the militants as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said in a Feb. 12 memo that using the term ISIS to refer to the terrorist

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Middle East, USA

Hollywood stars condemn Trump at pre-Oscars rally

Hundreds of people including Hollywood stars have held a rally in Beverly Hills ahead of the Oscars on Sunday to denounce President Trump’s immigration policies. It was organised by the United Talent Agency, one of Hollywood’s biggest agencies, replacing its annual Oscar party with what it said was a show of support for freedom of

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International, Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

GOP Rep. Darrell Issa tells Bill Maher a special prosecutor should investigate Russian election interference

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said Friday night that a special prosecutor should be tapped to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election, a stance that mirrors the calls of congressional Democrats to sideline the U.S attorney general from such inquiries. Appearing on HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher,” Issa, a San Diego Republican, was prodded

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International, San Diego County, USA

Caitlyn Jenner to Donald Trump: ‘We’ll see you in court’

Republican Caitlyn Jenner posted a video Thursday calling President Trump’s transgender action a “disaster” that hurts the LGBT community. The transgender reality star posted the message one day after the Trump administration reversed former President Barack Obama’s landmark directive to public schools allowing transgender students to use the bathrooms of their choice. “I have a

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USA

Pentagon prepares to give White House stepped-up battle plan against Islamic State

WASHINGTON — Pentagon strategists are putting final touches on a stepped-up battle plan against Islamic State and are due to offer President Donald Trump options as early as Monday to accelerate the war against the militants in Iraq and Syria, officials said. The monthlong strategic review, which Trump requested Jan. 28, is expected to include

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Middle East, USA

White House Power Player Jared Kushner Is Keeping Parts of His Real Estate Empire

Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and the heir to a family real estate empire, has emerged as perhaps Donald Trump’s closest adviser. A near-constant presence by Trump’s side, his portfolio includes business, tax, political, and foreign policy matters. Last month his lawyers outlined a plan under which they said Kushner would avoid any possibility that

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USA

Trump’s crackdown on legal weed is a terrible idea that even his own party doesn’t support

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Thursday announced the Trump administration will be cracking down on states that have legalized marijuana for recreational use. Here is the key portion of his remarks from the White House transcript: Q. I have a question on medical marijuana. Our state voters passed a medical marijuana amendment in

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Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Donald Trump whacks FBI over ‘national security leakers,’ wants them rooted out

President Trump accused the FBI on Friday of failing to prevent sensitive leaks to the media, as the administration beats back news that White House officials asked the agency to knock down reports about alleged contact between the Trump campaign and Russia last year. “The FBI is totally unable to stop the national security ‘leakers’

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International, USA