USA

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York lawmakers gave final passage to legislation Wednesday that would allow President Donald Trump’s state tax returns to be released to congressional committees that have, so far, been barred from getting the president’s federal filings.

The Democrat-led Senate and Assembly both approved the measures Wednesday, sending them to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat. A spokesman has said the governor supports the principle behind the legislation but will review the bill carefully before deciding whether to sign it.

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — The California man who became known as the “American Taliban” after his capture on an Afghanistan battlefield in late 2001 is on the cusp of release from prison.

Thirty-eight-year-old John Walker Lindh is scheduled for release Thursday from the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. He has spent more than 17 years in prison after pleading guilty to providing support to the Taliban.

The plea deal called for a 20-year sentence, but Lindh is getting out a few years early for good behavior.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Two barges broke loose and floated swiftly down the swollen Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma on Wednesday, spreading alarm downstream as they threatened to hit a dam.

The emergency was the latest consequence of storms and torrential rains that have ravaged the Midwest, from Texas through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois.

Authorities urged residents of several small towns in Oklahoma and Kansas to leave their homes as rivers and streams rose.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A dozen times, Rep. Ayanna Pressley asked the witness for a yes or no answer on housing policy.

Not once did Ben Carson, President Donald Trump’s housing secretary, give her one. Instead, he mocked her: “Yes or no, can you ask me some questions yourself and stop reading?” Other times, he repeated: “You already know the answer.”

“I know the answer,” snapped Pressley. “Do YOU know the answer?”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon on Thursday will present plans to the White House to send up to 10,000 more troops to the Middle East, in a move to beef up defenses against potential Iranian threats, U.S. officials said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump dropped the pretense of working with congressional Democrats on Wednesday and sent a clear message that his re-election campaign will be centered on condemning overzealous investigations rather than advancing a robust domestic policy agenda.

WASHINGTON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump will visit Ireland during his Europe trip in early June, announced the White House on Tuesday.

The president and first lady Melania Trump have accepted the invitation of Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar to visit Ireland, and Trump will hold talks with Varadkar on June 5, said the White House in a statement.

Trump is expected to pay a state visit to Britain on June 3-5, and then travel to France to observe the D-Day anniversary in Normandy on June 6 and meet French President Emmanuel Macron.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The United States and China should solve their problems through engagement rather than confrontation, said a U.S. expert.

Progress has been made in the U.S.-China relationship through engagement at all levels, but this is sometimes "missing or misunderstood in the conversation on U.S.-China relations," said Andy Rothman, an investment strategist at San Francisco-based investment firm Matthews Asia.

22 May 2019; AFP: The OECD on Tuesday cut its forecast for the world economy, urging governments to resolve their trade disputes as the latest flare-up in the US-China trade war threatens to crimp global growth.

"Governments must act urgently to reinvigorate growth that benefits all," the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said as it pared back its forecast for global growth to 3.2 percent this year from 3.3 percent earlier.

22 May 2019; AFP: President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday appeared set on easing weeks of escalating tensions with Iran, assuring worried lawmakers it does not seek war and crediting robust US military moves with deterring the clerical regime.