Aug 18 Trump wields sanctions hammer; experts wonder to what end By Matthew Lee, Associated Press The Trump administration is aggressively pursuing economic sanctions as a primary foreign policy tool to an extent unseen in decades, or perhaps ever. Many are questioning the results even as officials insist the penalties are achieving their aims. Continue reading
Aug 18 Huge wildfires in the Arctic and far North send a planetary warning By Nancy Fresco, The Conversation More than 600 wildfires have consumed more than 2.4 million acres of forest across Alaska this summer, and fires are also raging in northern Canada and Siberia. Continue reading
Aug 18 Trump dismisses fears of looming recession By Kevin Freking, Associated Press President Trump is playing down fears of a looming recession after last week’s sharp drop in the financial markets. Continue reading
Aug 17 Watch 4:34 U.S.-Taliban deal may include Afghanistan troop withdrawal By PBS NewsHour The U.S and Taliban on Monday ended the latest negotiations for a peace deal that may include the withdrawal of American troops stationed in Afghanistan. While there has been no agreement yet, President Trump tweeted that the meeting between the… Continue watching
Aug 17 Weapons seized at Portland right-wing rally, counterprotests By Gillian Flaccus, Associated Press Police seized metal poles, bear spray and other weapons Saturday as hundreds of far-right protesters and anti-fascist counter-demonstrators swarmed downtown Portland, Oregon, in a situation the mayor termed “potentially dangerous and volatile.”… Continue reading
Aug 17 House speaker as U.S. emissary: Pelosi emerges as force abroad By Lisa Mascaro, Associated Press House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is emerging as an alternative ambassador abroad, an emissary for bedrock democratic values and the promise of stability that some see as diminishing in the Trump era. Continue reading
Aug 17 Iranian tanker to leave Gibraltar soon despite US pressure By Aritz Parra, Hernan Muñoz, Associated Press The shipping agent for an Iranian supertanker caught in a diplomatic standoff says the vessel is ready to depart Gibraltar on Sunday or Monday, as the U.S. made a last-minute effort to seize it again. Continue reading
Aug 17 New York City subway scare suspect taken into police custody By Michael R. Sisak, Jennifer Peltz, Associated Press A man suspected of placing two devices that looked like pressure cookers in a New York City subway station, causing an evacuation and roiling Friday's morning commute, has been apprehended, police said. Continue reading
Aug 16 Why this artist used seesaws to protest at the border By Joshua Barajas For about 40 minutes, three pink seesaws bobbed up and down, up and down, along the U.S.-Mexico border, uniting children from both countries in a rare moment of shared play. The artists behind the installation argue that the playful nature… Continue reading
Aug 16 Trump appoints student loan industry executive to be top loan watchdog By Ken Sweet, Associated Press It's a job designed to protect student loan borrowers from poor practices in the student loan industry and one of the few positions explicitly named in the Dodd-Frank Act, the law passed after the 2008 financial crisis that created the… Continue reading