Dec 29 Trump, Democrats play the blame game in 2nd shutdown weekend By Zeke Miller, Jill Colvin, Lisa Mascaro, Associated Press President Donald Trump and Democrats are trading blame for the partial government shutdown but doing little substantive talking with each other as the disruption in federal services and public employees' pay slogs into another weekend. Continue reading
Dec 29 2-year-old Yemeni boy whose mom sued U.S. to see him has died By Associated Press Abdullah Hassan died Friday in UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland, where his father Ali Hassan brought him in the fall to get treatment for a genetic brain disorder. Continue reading
Dec 29 Tsunami alert lifted after undersea quake off Philippines By Jim Gomez, Associated Press A powerful undersea earthquake struck off the southern Philippines on Saturday, prompting people to scramble out of shopping malls and buildings and authorities to warn villagers to stay away from beaches in case of a tsunami. Continue reading
Dec 28 Kurds seek help from Syrians as U.S. prepares to withdraw By Sarah El Deeb, Associated Press Since the U.S. announcement, forces have been building up around Manbij and further east, ushering in new alliances and raising the chances for friction. Continue reading
Dec 28 How the shutdown could affect farmers hit by the trade war The end of 2018 seemed to signal good things to come for America's farmers. Then the government shut down. Continue reading
Dec 28 2 dead after bomb strikes tourist bus near Egypt’s Giza pyramids By Hamza Hendawi, Associated Press Egypt's Interior Ministry said the bus was traveling in the Marioutiyah area near the pyramids when the crude roadside bomb, concealed by a wall, went off. Continue reading
Dec 28 Wells Fargo pays $575 million to settle state investigations into fake accounts By Associated Press The bank has been under a cloud since 2015 when it acknowledged that employees had opened millions of fake bank accounts for customers in order to meet sales goals. Continue reading
Dec 28 Pelosi taps Florida Democrat to lead reinstated climate change panel By Matthew Daly, Associated Press Rep. Kathy Castor said in a statement that she was honored to lead the special committee on climate change and pledged to "act with urgency to reduce carbon pollution" and "unleash" American ingenuity to create clean-energy jobs. Continue reading
Dec 28 Shutdown to close D.C. museums and galleries by midweek By Associated Press Museums and galleries popular with visitors and locals in the nation's capital will close starting midweek if the partial shutdown of the federal government drags on. So will the National Zoo and a lively ice rink near the National Mall. Continue reading
Dec 28 Democrats refuse to fund Trump’s ‘immoral’ wall By Associated Press Democrats are holding firm in the standoff over a border wall, saying they won't seriously consider any White House offer to end the government shutdown until it has a public endorsement from President Donald Trump. Continue reading