North America

Washington, Dec 30; AFP: The paralysis triggered by the US government shutdown could have unexpected consequences, such as muddying economic statistics just as the markets are extremely reactive to any whiff of uncertainty.

More than a week into the game of chicken between President Donald Trump and Democrats in Congress, the publication and recording of statistical indicators are being delayed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says “big progress” is being made in talks between the U.S. and China to head off further escalation in a yearlong trade war.

Trump says Saturday that he had a “long and very good call” with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss the talks, which stemmed from their sit-down early this month in Argentina.

Trump tweets: “Deal is moving along very well. If made, it will be very comprehensive, covering all subjects, areas and points of dispute.”

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York man has been charged in the kidnapping of two children whose mother recently fled an ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect in Guatemala.

The FBI arrested Aron Rosner of Brooklyn this week on charges accusing him of providing financial assistance to members of the religious group Lev Tahor in an international abduction scheme.

Rosner’s defense attorney did not respond to an email seeking comment Thursday.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon hotel said it fired two of its employees for mistreatment of a black guest who was talking on his phone in the lobby when he was asked to leave a week ago.

DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Portland tweeted Saturday they have “terminated the employment of the two men involved.” They said the men’s actions “were inconsistent with our standards & values.” The hotel didn’t identify the employees.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the Democrats shall be blamed for the latest deaths of the two children over the execution of U.S. immigration policy.

"Any deaths of children or others at the Border are strictly the fault of the Democrats and their pathetic immigration policies that allow people to make the long trek thinking they can enter our country illegally," he tweeted.

United Nations, Dec 30 (PTI) Heather Nauert, the Fox News anchor and now the state department spokesperson, is expected to face tough questions during her confirmation hearing next month as she prepares to appear before the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee for the position of US Ambassador to the UN.

Nauert, 48, would replace Indian American Nikki Haley as the Permanent Representatives of the United States to the UN if she is confirmed by the Senate.

29 Dec 2018; DW: Scholar Allan Lichtman defied mainstream wisdom by forecasting early on that Donald Trump would win the 2016 presidential election. In an interview with DW, he now predicts that the president will be impeached next year. The US president's basic conduct and politics are unlikely to change in 2019, but the new Democrat-controlled House of Reps, coupled with the Russia investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, will lead to the impeachment of Donald Trump, predicts Lichtman.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A court ruling this week puts the police murder case of former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal back in the spotlight years after it drew the attention of Amnesty International, Hollywood celebrities and death penalty opponents worldwide.

Abu-Jamal, a one-time taxi driver and radio reporter, emerged over four decades in prison as a vocal critic of the American justice system, especially the racial bias he saw at the heart of his 1982 trial.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The end of 2018 seemed to signal good things to come for America’s farmers. Fresh off the passage of the farm bill, which reauthorized agriculture, conservation and safety net programs, the Agriculture Department last week announced a second round of direct payments to growers hardest hit by President Donald Trump’s trade war with China.

Then parts of the government shut down.

Wall Street capped a week of volatile trading Friday with an uneven finish and the market’s first weekly gain since November.

Losses in technology, energy and industrial stocks outweighed gains in retailers and other consumer-focused companies. Stocks spent much of the day wavering between small gains and losses, ultimately unable to maintain the momentum from a two-day winning streak.