North America

WASHINGTON, July 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday lashed out at Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for not signaling the start of "a lengthy and aggressive rate-cutting cycle," shortly after the Fed announced its first interest rate cut since the 2008 global financial crisis.

"As usual, Powell let us down," the U.S. president said in a tweet. "We are winning anyway, but I am certainly not getting much help from the Federal Reserve!"

WASHINGTON, July 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation regarding bilateral trade and the raging wildfires in Russia's Siberia, the White House said Wednesday.

"President Donald J. Trump spoke with President Vladimir Putin today and expressed concern over the vast wildfires afflicting Siberia. The leaders also discussed trade between the two countries," the White House said in a statement.

UNITED NATIONS, July 31 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Security Council will hold a closed-door meeting Thursday to discuss the latest ballistic missile launches by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), diplomatic sources said Wednesday.

According to a media alert issued by UN's Media Accreditation & Liaison Unit (MALU), the meeting will be held in the Security Council's consultations room Thursday morning to discuss "program of work" and "other matters."

MALU did not specify what "other matters" refer to.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has confirmed Kelly Craft to become the next U.S. envoy to the United Nations despite Democratic concerns about her inexperience and potential conflicts of interest.

Craft, a longtime GOP activist from Kentucky, is currently U.S. ambassador to Canada. She was confirmed 56-34, ending a more than seven-month vacancy in the key diplomatic position.

New York, Aug 1, IRNA – Former Principal Deputy Coordinator for Sanctions Policy of the United States Richard Nephew wrote in a tweet on Wednesday that sanctioning Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif is one of "the most ridiculous steps" he had ever seen during Donald Trump's administration.

"It won’t meaningfully affect Zarif’s diplomacy, it probably won’t result in much in terms of asset freeze or complications for him," wrote Richard Nephew on Wednesday evening.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s political crisis appeared to deepen on Wednesday as the island’s outgoing governor and legislators — including those from his own party — clashed over who should be the next leader of a U.S. territory unbalanced by massive protests.

The upheaval has raised fears that a government in chaos will have trouble negotiating for more federal funding for recovery from Hurricane Maria and coping with the island’s grave economic woes.

NEW YORK (AP) — A subdued Jeffrey Epstein listened passively in court Wednesday as a judge said he won’t face trial on sex trafficking charges before June 2020, and more likely a few months afterward.

There was no mention at the Manhattan federal court appearance or any visible sign of injuries after the 66-year-old financier was found on the floor of his cell last week with neck bruises.

Epstein’s lawyer, Martin Weinberg, refused to say what might have left his client with the bruises after the court hearing.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A U.S. Navy fighter jet crashed Wednesday in Death Valley National Park, injuring seven people who were at a scenic overlook where aviation enthusiasts watch military pilots speeding low through a chasm dubbed Star Wars Canyon, officials said.

The crash sent dark smoke billowing in the air, said Aaron Cassell, who was working at his family’s Panamint Springs Resort about 10 miles (16 kilometers) away and was the first to report the crash to park dispatch.

1 Aug 2019; MEMO: The United States will renew sanctions waivers for Iranian nuclear programs that allow Russia, China and European countries to continue their civilian nuclear cooperation with Tehran, White House national security adviser John Bolton said on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

“I think the idea here is we are watching those nuclear activities very, very closely,” Bolton said in an interview on Fox Business Network. “So this is a short 90-day extension,” he said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for the first time in a decade to try to counter the impact of President Donald Trump’s trade wars, stubbornly low inflation and global weakness.

It left open the possibility of future rate cuts, but perhaps not as many as Wall Street had been hoping for. During a news conference, Chairman Jerome Powell struggled to find just the right words to articulate the Fed’s strategy and what might prompt future rate cuts at a time when the risk of a recession in the United States seems relatively low.