USA

WASHINGTON, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- While defending his decision to force Defense Secretary James Mattis out ahead of schedule, U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said that Saudi Arabia has agreed to replace the United States in helping rebuild Syria.

In a slew of tweets sent at the White House, Trump said that "Saudi Arabia has now agreed to spend the necessary money needed to help rebuild Syria, instead of the United States."

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top White House official signaled Sunday that President Donald Trump is willing to accept less money than he’s been demanding to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall, but a senior congressional Democrat said that, while their own offer could be sweetened, they still will not agree to a wall.

The back and forth across the television airwaves did little to inspire hope that a Christmas season closure of some federal government operations would end later this week, when the House and Senate are scheduled to meet again.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Irritated with the criticism and fallout from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ resignation, President Donald Trump on Sunday pushed the Pentagon chief out the door two months earlier than planned, an acrimonious end to a tense relationship that had been eroding in recent months.

In a series of tweets, Trump appeared to question why he had put Mattis in his Cabinet in the first place and said Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan will take over as acting secretary on Jan. 1 to cover the accelerated departure.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin denied Saturday that President Donald Trump was considering firing the country's central bank chief, after the latest rate hike sparked such rumors.

Mnuchin tweeted that Trump told him in a conversation that he "never suggested firing" Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. "Nor do I believe I have the right to do so," Mnuchin quoted Trump as saying.

By The Associated Press

WHAT’S OPEN AND WHAT’S CLOSED

Social Security checks will go out and troops will remain at their posts. Doctors and hospitals will receive their Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. The U.S. Postal Service, busy delivering packages for the holiday season, is an independent agency and won’t be affected. Passport services, which are funded by fees and not government spending, will also continue.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government is expected to remain partially closed past Christmas Day in a protracted standoff over President Donald Trump’s demand for money to build a border wall with Mexico.

With Trump’s insistence on $5 billion for the wall and negotiations with Democrats in Congress far from a breakthrough, even a temporary measure to keep the government running while talks continued seems out of reach until the Senate returns for a full session Thursday.

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Autonomous car startup Zoox Inc. on Friday became the first firm in California to transport passengers in self-driving vehicles on public roads in the U.S. state of California, state transport regulators said.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) said in a statement that it has authorized Zoox to "participate in California's first pilot program providing 'drivered' autonomous vehicle passenger service to the public."

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution that stressed no military activity should occur in the de-militarized zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights amid the UN peacekeepers' return to the area.

Through Resolution 2450, the Security Council stressed the obligation on Syria and Israel to respect their 1974 ceasefire that set the buffer zone and deployed a UN peacekeeping force known as UNDOF.

22 Dec 2018; AFP: Wall Street ended its worst week in a decade with more bruising losses Friday, and with the tech-rich Nasdaq entering a bear market amid worries about trade wars and a possible US government shutdown.

The Nasdaq and Dow suffered their worst weeks since the start of the global financial crisis as the US-China trade dispute returning to the forefront, and amid continued concerns about the Federal Reserve's plans for interest rate increases.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A partial federal shutdown took hold early Saturday after Democrats refused to meet President Donald Trump’s demands for $5 billion to start erecting his cherished Mexican border wall, a chaotic postscript for Republicans in the waning days of their two-year reign controlling government.