Pentagon chief to visit U.S. aircraft carrier in South China Sea
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter will visit a U.S. aircraft carrier transiting the South China Sea on Thursday, a move sure to raise the ire of China as tensions between Washington and Beijing simmer over the disputed water…
Senior U.S. House Republicans back Brady as Ways and Means chairman
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senior House Republicans named Representative Kevin Brady of Texas on Wednesday as their pick to be the next chairman of the powerful, tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, succeeding Paul Ryan, who took over the House spea…
Obama’s counterterrorism chief takes fresh stab at closing Guantanamo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A new U.S. plan to close the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is likely to be unveiled in the coming days, with much at stake not only for President Barack Obama but also his counterterrorism chief, Lisa Monaco.
U.S. states, cities seek to defend Obama’s carbon rule in court
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – More than two dozen U.S. states and cities asked a federal court Tuesday to let them help defend the Obama administration’s carbon emissions reduction plan from legal challenges being brought by other states.
Failure to woo minority voters helps tank Houston’s ‘bathroom ordinance’
(Reuters) – A failure to woo black and Hispanic voters is one reason Houston overwhelmingly rejected an anti-discrimination measure branded the “bathroom ordinance,” making it the only major U.S. city without broad protections seen as key to competing …
Lawmakers attack Pentagon funding sports teams as ‘paid patriotism’
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Congress is moving to shut down a scheme that lawmakers said funneled millions of taxpayer dollars from the Pentagon to professional sports teams for honoring American soldiers at sporting events.
U.S. presidential hopeful Sanders unveils climate change bill
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders on Wednesday threw his weight behind a climate-change bill that would crack down on fossil fuel extraction, a move sure to please activists who want party front-runner Hillary Clin…
U.S. might take more steps to relax Cuba embargo, official says
HAVANA (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama could further relax the U.S. trade embargo of Cuba, a senior State Department official said on Tuesday, adding that Washington would not first demand human rights progress from Havana.
U.S. Senate panel probing Valeant, Turing over drug costs
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. Senate panel on Wednesday launched a bipartisan probe into pharmaceutical pricing, seeking documents from four drugmakers including Valeant Pharmaceuticals and Turing Pharmaceuticals, companies embroiled in contro…
Clinton charity, under pressure, will amend tax return errors
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation’s flagship health project changed its mind again on Wednesday on the matter of its erroneous tax returns, saying it would refile them with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service after all.
