North America

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite President Donald Trump’s tough talk on trade, his administration has granted hundreds of companies permission to import millions of tons of steel made in China, Japan and other countries without paying the hefty tariff he put in place to protect U.S. manufacturers and jobs, according to an Associated Press analysis.

15 Feb 2019; AFP: NASA is accelerating plans to return Americans to the Moon, and this time, the US space agency says it will be there to stay.

Jim Bridenstine, NASA's administrator, told reporters Thursday that the agency plans to speed up plans backed by President Donald Trump to return to the moon, using private companies.

15 Feb 2019; DW: The top diplomats from the US and the EU have met a day after Washington slammed Europe over its stance on Iran. The criticism highlights current strains in trans-Atlantic ties.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with top EU diplomat Federica Mogherini on Friday amid tensions caused by a scathing attack by the Trump administration on its European allies over their approach to Iran.

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Attorney General (AG) Bob Ferguson of the U.S. state of Washington Thursday threatened to take legal action against a federal government's declaration of a national emergency to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Ferguson said he will take steps to block the intended action announced by President Donald Trump earlier in the day to declare a national emergency to obtain funds for his long-promised border wall.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed William Barr, President Donald Trump's nominee, to become the next attorney general.

The vote was 54-45, which fell largely along party lines with most Republicans backing and most Democrats opposing. Republicans have a 53-47 majority over Democrats in the Senate.

Rand Paul was the only Republican senator who voted against Barr in the voting, while three Democratic senators broke with their party and supported him.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump is prepared to sign a bipartisan bill on spending and border security to avert another government shutdown, but also declare a national emergency to obtain funds for his long-promised border wall, the White House said Thursday.

Washington, Feb 13; GANASHAKTI: America's tough-talking National Security Adviser John Bolton has warned countries, including India, against buying Venezuelan oil, saying nations and firms that support the embattled President Nicolas Maduro will "not be forgotten".

Bolton's warning came a day after Venezuelan Oil Minister and President of the Latin American state-run oil company PDVSA Manuel Quevedo told reporters in India that his sanctions-hit country wants to sell more crude oil to India.

Washington, Feb 14 (PTI) President Donald Trump has said trade talks with China are going "very well" as top negotiators from the two countries began the two-day negotiations on Thursday to resolve their tariff war ahead of a March 1 deadline.

The world's two biggest economies are holding rounds of negotiations to resolve the trade war ahead of a March 1 deadline set by Trump after which US tariffs on USD 200 billion worth of Chinese imports are expected to increase to 25 per cent from 10 per cent.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A key House committee approved a bill Wednesday to require background checks for all sales and transfers of firearms, a first step by majority Democrats to tighten gun laws after eight years of Republican rule.

The House Judiciary Committee voted in favor of the bill 23-15, sending it to the House floor. If approved by the full House, the bill would be the most significant gun-control legislation approved by either chamber of Congress in at least a decade.

CHICAGO (AP) — Odds may still favor the eventual construction of former President Barack Obama’s $500 million museum and library in a public park along Chicago’s lakeshore, but it’s no longer a sure thing in the face of a formidable legal challenge by a parks-advocacy group.

U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey hears arguments Thursday in Chicago on a key motion by city attorneys to toss a lawsuit by Protect Our Parks that aims to halt the Obama Presidential Center from ever being built in the selected location.