SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The Latest on the global response to North Korea’s latest missile launch (all times local): 10:30 a.m. South Korea’s military says North Korea’s new intercontinental ballistic missile is potentially capable of striking targets as far as 13,000 kilometers (8,100 miles) away when fired at an operational angle, which would put … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — For all the good Erik Spoelstra saw from his Miami Heat at the defensive end — building a 25-point edge, holding the Washington Wizards to 29 for a half, shutting out a hobbling John Wall until there were 5½ minutes left in the game — they still barely held on for a … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are falling Friday as investors worry that health care product companies will see their industry shaken up by Amazon. That’s hurting health care companies, and energy companies are also lower. Media companies and retailers are rising. Stocks have risen for eight weeks in a row, their longest run in … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee helped pay for political research into Donald Trump that ultimately produced a dossier of allegations about his ties to Russia, The Associated Press has learned. Trump has called the material “phony stuff,” and on Wednesday he portrayed himself as the aggrieved party. The … Continue reading
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Jay Gruden was hardly happy after this victory. That subdued reaction signifies progress, according to Washington’s coach. Kirk Cousins and the Redskins sweated it out and barely held on to beat past — and possibly future — mentor Kyle Shanahan’s winless San Francisco 49ers 26-24 on Sunday. The Redskins (3-2) blew a 17-point … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — By slashing corporate tax rates, the Trump administration said Monday, the average U.S. household will get an estimated $4,000 more a year. This stunning 5 percent increase is likely to be met with skepticism from tax experts and Democratic lawmakers. Spread across every U.S. household, the White House analysis claims it would … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Its conservative majority restored, the Supreme Court said Thursday it will return to an issue with the potential to financially cripple Democratic-leaning labor unions that represent government workers. After the justices deadlocked 4-4 in a similar case last year, the high court will consider a free-speech challenge from workers who object to … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The presidents of historically black colleges and universities are making their second visit to the White House this year amid strains with the Trump administration over promises unkept. An annual gathering in the nation’s capital for those schools has been reduced to a two-day summit, further aggravating college officials already … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats needle Republicans on Thursday with the gloomy assessment that 23 million people would lose insurance under the Republican health care bill, and that premiums for seriously ill people would rise. The leader of the Senate GOP effort to dismantle President Barack Obama’s health care law faulted Democrats for not working with … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he is “very close” to naming a new FBI director to replace the one he fired more than a week ago. Asked how close he is to making an announcement, Trump said, “soon.” During an Oval Office appearance with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, Trump was … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration’s decision to send an aircraft carrier to waters off the Korean Peninsula is meant as a show of force, but it also could expose American weakness. If North Korea goes ahead with a ballistic missile or nuclear test and the U.S. does nothing in response, America’s deterrence will appear … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The vote on the Republican health care bill is a defining moment for House Speaker Paul Ryan that could boost his aggressive agenda to overhaul the tax code and remake the federal government. Or send it off the rails. If he fails? “It will be very hard to manage this,” the Wisconsin … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Afghanistan wants the United States to send more forces to help meet shortfalls in the battle against the Taliban and the Islamic State group, the nation’s top diplomat said Tuesday. Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani welcomed a recent call by U.S. Gen. John Nicholson, the top American commander in Afghanistan, for a few … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, secretly worked for a Russian billionaire to advance the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin a decade ago and proposed an ambitious political strategy to undermine anti-Russian opposition across former Soviet republics, The Associated Press has learned. The work appears to contradict assertions by … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and House leaders revved up pressure Wednesday on balky conservatives and other Republican lawmakers as crunch time approaches on the party’s health care overhaul bill, a drive GOP leaders concede they can’t afford to lose. A day before the House planned votes on the measure, Trump and top Republicans … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone says he believes his contacts with a Russian-linked hacker who took credit for breaching the Democratic National Committee may have been obtained through a FISA warrant, which allows the government to collect the communications of individuals suspected of being agents of a foreign power. Stone is among … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Organization of American States wants regional governments to suspend Venezuela from the Washington-based group unless general elections are held soon to break a political impasse that he said Tuesday, March 14, is destroying the country’s democracy. OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro made the request in a 75-page report … Continue reading
SOUTH OF MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi forces advanced Monday into the southern outskirts of Mosul on the second day of a push to drive Islamic State militants from the city’s western half, as the visiting U.S. defense secretary met with officials to discuss the fight against the extremists. With aerial support from the U.S.-led … Continue reading
BEIRUT (AP) — The leader of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group says the world will benefit from having an “idiot” in the White House. Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech Sunday that his group is much stronger than when it was created in the early 1980s and should not be concerned about threats from the West. … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday asked Israel’s prime minister to “hold off” on building Jewish settlements in land the Palestinians claim for their future state, yet held back from explicitly endorsing support for a future independent Palestine. After weeks of dancing around the issue of expanded Israeli settlements, Trump made the request … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — A group of Republican senior statesmen are pushing for a carbon tax to combat the effects of climate change, and hoping to sell their plan to the White House. Former Secretary of State Jim Baker is leading the effort, which also includes former Secretary of State George Shultz. In an opinion piece … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — On the night Judge Neil Gorsuch was nominated to fill Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, he was thinking about history. “The towering judges that have served in this particular seat on the Supreme Court, including Antonin Scalia and Robert Jackson, are much in my mind at this moment,” … Continue reading
CAMP TAJI, Iraq (AP) — Forces fighting the Islamic State group should be able to retake the IS-held cities of Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria within the next six months, according to the top U.S. commander in Iraq. On a tour north of Baghdad Wednesday, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend said “within … Continue reading
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — U.N. Security Council member states must take part in a future summit aiming to remove a key stumbling block to a deal reunifying ethnically divided Cyprus, the island’s government spokesman said Monday. Nicos Christodoulides told The Associated Press that Security Council members have expressed their readiness to “actively and effectively take … Continue reading
LONDON (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday urged British Prime Minister Theresa May to follow the American administration and impose new sanctions on Iran over a recent missile test. The two leaders met at 10 Downing St. for talks British officials tried to focus on boosting trade ties between the two countries … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 