Dec 24 U.S. says it will open a consulate in disputed Western Sahara By Matthew Lee, Associated Press Trump announced on December 10 that the U.S. would recognize Morocco's claim to Western Sahara as part of a deal for the North African country to normalize relations with Israel. Continue reading
Dec 24 State officials press White House to do more as coronavirus task force quietly issues dire warnings By Meredith Lee While President Donald Trump is spending more of his waning days in office on meritless attempts to overturn the election, the White House coronavirus task force is privately warning states more must be done to address the worsening pandemic ahead… Continue reading
Dec 24 WATCH: House Democrats urge Trump to sign COVID relief bill By Associated Press On Christmas Eve, House Democrats urged President Donald Trump to sign a long-overdue COVID-19 relief bill after House Republicans blocked Trump's longshot, end-of-session demand of increasing direct payments to American families from $600 to $2,000. Continue reading
Dec 24 Republicans block $2,000 virus checks despite Trump demand By Lisa Mascaro, Andrew Taylor, Associated Press House Republicans shot down a Democratic bid on Thursday to pass President Donald Trump's longshot, end-of-session demand for $2,000 direct payments to most Americans before signing a long-overdue COVID-19 relief bill. Continue reading
Dec 23 Trump plan to curb drug costs dealt setback in court By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press A late-term maneuver by President Donald Trump to use lower drug prices paid overseas to limit some of Medicare's costs suffered has a legal setback that appears likely to keep the policy from taking effect before the president leaves office. Continue reading
Dec 23 Trump pardons former campaign chairman Paul Manafort By Eric Tucker, Associated Press President Donald Trump has issued pardons and sentence commutations for 29 people, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law. Continue reading
Dec 23 Watch 6:41 With his demands unmet, Trump threatens to reject long-awaited COVID relief bill As the nation nears 325,000 total deaths, millions of Americans are feeling the economic impact of the pandemic. The Department of Labor on Wednesday reported 803,000 new jobless claims last week, and up to 14 million people could soon lose… Continue watching
Dec 23 Watch 8:45 Controversy swirls as Trump issues new wave of pardons and commutations President Trump late Tuesday announced a flood of pardons and commutations for three former Republican members of Congress and two others who pleaded guilty in the Russian probe. Trump's latest round of executive clemency was a nearly 50 percent increase… Continue watching
Dec 23 Watch 7:31 What Maine’s election results tell us about the rest of the country With much of the United States solidifying its partisan leanings, Maine has stood out for its bipartisan vote. Jeffrey Brown reports on what is different about the state and what it can teach us about the rest of the country. Continue watching
Dec 23 With time running out, EU and UK near post-Brexit trade deal By Raf Casert, Jill Lawless, Associated Press After resolving a few remaining fair competition issues, negotiators were down to dealing with fishing quotas and transition terms Wednesday as they worked to secure a deal for a post-Brexit relationship by an end-of-year deadline. Continue reading