North America

Washington, Jan 14 (PTI) President Donald Trump has threatened to "devastate" Turkey economically if the NATO-allied nation attacks US-backed Kurdish forces in Syria following a pullout of American troops from the war-torn country, in a stern warning rejected by Ankara saying it will continue to fight the "terrorists".

Last month, President Trump surprised the world by announcing that he is withdrawing 2000 American troops from Syria. The pullout began last week.

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline has dropped 12 cents a gallon (3.8 liters) over the past three weeks to $2.31.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey says Sunday that falling crude oil costs are the main reason for the decrease at the pump.

The average gas price has dropped 66 cents over the past 3 ½ months.

The highest average price in the nation is $3.46 a gallon in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The lowest average is $1.80 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Republican leader said Sunday he will meet with Rep. Steve King this week to discuss King’s future and role in the party and promised action following the Iowa congressman’s recent comments in defense of white supremacy.

“That language has no place in America. That is not the America I know and it’s most definitely not the party of Lincoln,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. “Action will be taken. I’m having a serious conversation with congressman Steve King.”

Jan 13, 2018; AP: A winter storm that contributed to at least five deaths in the Midwest pummeled the mid-Atlantic region for a second day Sunday, bringing with it an icy mix that knocked out power, cancelled flights and contributed to hundreds of car accidents.

Virginia State Police said the driver of a military surplus vehicle was killed late Saturday after he lost control on Interstate 81 because of slick road conditions.

13 Jan 2019; AFP: President Donald Trump said he was holding off on declaring a state of emergency to end the partial US government shutdown that dragged into a 23rd day Sunday, as he insisted on $5.7 billion to build a Mexico border wall that congressional Democrats oppose.

Asked by Fox News why he didn't immediately declare a national emergency to secure the funds without congressional approval, Trump said he wanted to give opposition Democratic lawmakers more time to strike a deal.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Nobel laureate Dr. James Watson, co-discoverer of the DNA helix and father of the Human Genome Project, has been stripped of honors by his laboratory following "reprehensible" remarks on race and ethnicity.

The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), the New York facility where Watson worked for nearly four decades and which has a school named after him, said that it was acting in response to his remarks made in a television documentary which aired earlier this month.

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. space technology firm SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, will lay off about 10 percent of its more than 6,000 employees, according to media reports.

The cuts were cited in an email sent to employees.

In a statement, a company spokesman confirmed the layoff without specifying how many employees will be released.

"To continue delivering for our customers and to succeed in developing interplanetary spacecraft and a global space-based Internet, SpaceX must become a leaner company," said the statement of the company.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Saturday called “most insulting” a published report that federal law enforcement officials were so concerned about his behavior in the days after he fired James Comey from the FBI that they opened an investigation into whether he had been working for Russia against U.S. interests.

The New York Times report Friday cited unnamed former law enforcement officials and others familiar with the investigation.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Green Book” co-writer Nick Vallelonga has apologized for a 2015 tweet about Muslims and 9/11 that has resurfaced a few days after the film won a Golden Globe Award.

In the tweet, he said then-presidential-candidate Donald Trump was “100% correct” that local television news in New York on 9/11 showed Muslims in Jersey City cheering when the towers came down, and he had seen it.

There is no evidence such celebrations occurred.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Law enforcement officials became so concerned by President Donald Trump’s behavior in the days after he fired FBI Director James Comey that they began investigating whether he had been working for Russia against U.S. interests, The New York Times reported Friday.

The report cites unnamed former law enforcement officials and others familiar with the investigation.