Israeli official suggests Boehner misled Netanyahu on Congress speech
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A senior Israeli official suggested on Friday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been misled into thinking an invitation to address the U.S. Congress on Iran next month was fully supported by the Democrats.
Fed’s Yellen to testify before House on February 25
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will testify before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee on Feb. 25, a congressional aide said on Friday.
Illinois Senate passes minimum wage hike plan
(Reuters) – The Democrat-controlled Illinois Senate passed on Thursday a bill to raise the state’s minimum wage to $9 per hour this year and to $11 by 2019, snubbing a slower wage hike plan floated a day earlier by the state’s new Republican governor.
Exclusive: U.S. pressing Cuba to restore diplomatic ties before April – officials
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is pressing Cuba to allow the opening of its embassy in Havana by April, U.S. officials told Reuters, despite the Communist island’s demand that it first be removed from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terror…
Boehner sees call for military authorization vs Islamic State soon
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said on Thursday he expected President Barack Obama to seek congressional authorization soon for using military force against Islamic State and also called for speeding up assist…
U.S. lawmakers begin push for more sanctions on North Korea
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation on Thursday to broaden sanctions against North Korea by imposing stiffer punishments on foreign companies doing business with Pyongyang, a measure that could impact mostly on Chinese firms.
Obama, at prayer event, calls Dalai Lama ‘good friend’
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama warmly acknowledged the Dalai Lama on Thursday but did not meet him directly at a religious event in Washington closely watched by China, which has warned against any exchange with Tibet’s exiled spiri…
Ex-New York assemblyman convicted of federal bribery charges
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former Democratic New York state Senator Malcolm Smith was found guilty on federal bribery charges on Thursday, authorities said, the latest conviction in a string of public corruption prosecutions that have roiled the state capita…
Pratt says growth in F-35 production will help cut costs
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon’s plans to fund 50 percent more F-35 fighter jets in fiscal 2016 will help drive down the price of the new plane and its engine, a top official with enginemaker Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp, said Thursday.
Lawmakers want tougher vaccine exemptions amid measles outbreak
SEATTLE/PORTLAND, Ore (Reuters) – Several U.S. states are considering laws to make it harder for parents to legally opt out of vaccinating their children, as health officials fight a measles outbreak that has sickened some 120 people in more than a doz…