USA

WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- A 22-year-old worker at a wildlife conservatory in U.S. state of North Carolina was killed Sunday by a lion that escaped a locked space.

The Conservators Center in Burlington said in a statement that the worker was killed during a routine enclosure cleaning.

"One of the lions somehow left a locked space and entered the space the humans were in and quickly killed one person," the statement said.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon is planning to build and expand Whole Foods stores across the country to put more customers within range of its two-hour delivery service, local media reported on Sunday.

The move would bring Whole Foods to more suburbs and other areas where the grocery chain is quickly adding customers since it was acquired by Amazon in 2017, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the plans.

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.

by Xinhua writer Zhang Xin

BEIJING, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Since the end of World War II, the transatlantic alliance between the United States and Europe has been the cornerstone of the Western world.

Over decades, the European allies have habitually relied on Washington for security guarantee within NATO so Europe can develop its economy and proceed with integration.

However, the U.S.-Europe romance has been fading away as it seems Washington now wants to ditch such a tradition, and recalibrate their roles in the partnership.

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.