BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil’s Senate on Wednesday voted to remove President Dilma Rousseff from office, the culmination of a yearlong fight that paralyzed Latin America’s largest nation and exposed deep rifts among its people on everything from race relations to social spending. While Rousseff’s ouster was widely expected, the decision was a key chapter … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are slightly lower Wednesday morning as energy companies and makers of chemicals and other materials take the biggest losses. A survey of private employers showed that hiring continued at a solid pace in August, but stocks are wrapping up a quiet month. KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — THE ISSUE: It’s the Goldilocks conundrum of American politics: Is the federal government too big, too small or just right? Few think it’s just right. Ever since the first Americans bucked their colonial overlords in Britain, America has been wrestling with the delicate balance between a government that creates opportunity and one … Continue reading
LONDON (AP) — Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made an impassioned call Monday, June 13, 2016 for Labour Party supporters to vote to stay in the European Union, amid nervousness in the “remain” camp that it is losing momentum ahead of next week’s referendum. Brown, who governed from 2007 to 2010, said Britain should … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Puerto Rico can’t use a local law to restructure the debt of its financially ailing public utilities as it tries to overcome a decade-long economic crisis, the Supreme Court ruled Monday. The 5-2 ruling said that federal bankruptcy law bars Puerto Rico from enacting its own law to restructure about $20 billion … Continue reading
GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. special envoy for Syria said he will speak to the U.N. Security Council later on Thursday, May 26,2016 and after that, announce plans for the resumption of stalled peace talks between the government and the opposition. Speaking to reporters in Geneva, Staffan de Mistura said he will ask the council for … Continue reading
MADRID (AP) — Nudists have lost a seven-year legal battle for access to a popular tourist resort beach on Spain’s southwestern tip. The Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the Spanish Federation of Naturism against local government legislation prohibiting nudists to use beaches within the historic port city of Cadiz. The federation had argued that … Continue reading
BEIJING (AP) — China’s government fabricates and posts several hundred million social media posts a year to influence public opinion about the country, according to a new paper by U.S. researchers examining one of the most opaque aspects of the Communist Party’s rule. The academic study led by Harvard political scientist Gary King claims to … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Debt-ridden Puerto Rico faces a $422 million bond payment deadline Sunday with no sign Congress will act in time to help. Further complicating lawmakers’ efforts to steer the U.S. territory away from economic collapse are ads airing nationwide that claim the legislation amounts to a financial bailout, even though the bill … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are slipping Thursday afternoon following reports of slower economic growth in the U.S. and mixed earnings reports. The U.S. government said the economy didn’t grow as much as expected in the first three months of this year. Facebook reached an all-time high after a strong quarterly report, and … Continue reading
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Jamaica defended its decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana. Iran said it seized 620 tons of different types of drugs last year and is helping protect the world from “the evils of addiction.” Cuba opposed the legalization of drugs or declaring them harmless. The first U.N. General Assembly special … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — They work for the government and even their closest relatives have no idea what they do. It’s not because they’re spies or nuclear scientists, but because their jobs are so arcane: trying to reinvent Medicare to improve it, and maybe save taxpayers money. In a sprawling, nondescript office park near Baltimore, some … Continue reading
TORONTO (AP) — Canada on Thursday, April 14, introduced a new assisted suicide law that will apply only to citizens and residents, meaning Americans won’t be able to travel to Canada to die. Canadian government officials said a person would have to be eligible for health services in Canada to take advantage of the law, … Continue reading
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrians in government-controlled areas cast ballots Wednesday for a new 250-member parliament that is expected to serve as a rubber stamp for President Bashar Assad in a vote which Western leaders and members of Syria’s opposition have denounced as a sham and a provocation that undermines the Geneva peace … Continue reading
TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — One of Libya’s rival governments resigned on Tuesday, a step that helps efforts by a new, U.N.-brokered unity government to assert itself in the capitol, Tripoli, despite opposition from some local militias. In a statement, the Tripoli-based National Salvation Government said it would “cease duties” as executive authority, and therefore absolve … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is taking up a challenge from faith-based groups that object to an Obama administration effort to ensure their employees and students can get cost-free birth control. The justices are hearing arguments Wednesday, March 23, on the sixth anniversary of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul in a case at … Continue reading
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Libya’s U.N.-sponsored unity government was gearing up to assume power on Sunday March 12, although major concerns remained over its chances of successfully setting up shop in Tripoli, where some of its security officials were briefly detained and several militias have openly threatened it. In a statement late Saturday, the Government … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government calls it a “vicious guard dog” that hurts national security. Apple says it’s critical to protecting consumer privacy against increasingly sophisticated hackers. As the debate over built-in iPhone encryption has deadlocked in the courts, law enforcement and the world’s second-largest cellphone maker agreed on one point Tuesday: It’s now … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — Bill Gates is supportive of investigators’ efforts to force Apple to help them crack into an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters, saying a balance needs to be struck between government access and the need to preserve data security. While clarifying he doesn’t support untrammeled government access to … Continue reading
