Focus Washington December 2018

Trump Laments Media Focus on Troops Withdrawals from Syria, Afghanistan

December 24, 2018 Focus Washington

Several days after signing the criminal justice bill and the $867 farm bill into law, President Donald Trump on Sunday lamented the intense media focus on his decision to withdraw troops from Syria and Afghanistan, […]

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Canada Demands Immediate Release of Detained Canadian Nationals in China

December 24, 2018 Focus Washington

Canada has made a formal request for the release of two Canadians imprisoned by China, in an effort to retaliate for the detention of Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver, Newsweek reported. Canada’s Foreign […]

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GOP Leaders Slam Democrats, Say Shutdown Meant to Keep Trump from Fulfilling Campaign Promise

December 24, 2018 Focus Washington

Top republican lawmakers in both the Senate and the House blamed their democratic colleagues on Sunday for the current government shutdown, claiming that the Democrats just want to keep President Donald Trump from fulfilling his […]

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White House Budget Director Warns Government Shutdown May Go into 2019

December 23, 2018 Focus Washington

White House budget director Mick Mulvaney on Sunday stated that the two-day-old government shutdown could go into 2019, as Republicans and Democrats remain at an impasse over President Donald Trump’s demand for billions of dollars […]

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Government Shutdown Disrupts NASA Activities

December 23, 2018 Focus Washington

The government shutdown that started on Friday will force NASA to stop all of its non-essential activities and could hinder coverage of spaceflight events planned for the end of the year. According to Space.com, NASA […]

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Mattis Signs Syria Withdrawal Order Before Departing Defense Department

December 23, 2018 Focus Washington

Departing Defense Secretary James Mattis signed the order to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria. The withdrawal that was confirmed by an official from the Department of Defense reportedly is set to begin within the next […]

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Amazon’s AI Alexa Suggests Users to ‘Kill Their Foster Parents’

December 22, 2018 Focus Washington

Amazon’s AI Alexa is learning how to interact more like a person — with mixed results. It turns out Amazon’s virtual assistant has offered up suggestions like “kill your foster parents” and random conversations including […]

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Trump Discusses Firing Fed’s Powell After Latest Rate Hike, Sources Say

December 22, 2018 Focus Washington

President Donald Trump has discussed firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as his frustration with the central bank chief intensified following this week’s interest-rate increase and months of stock-market losses, Bloomberg informed. Advisers close to […]

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Russia, China, Iran Tried to Influence Midterm Elections, U.S. Says

December 22, 2018 Focus Washington

President Donald Trump’s top intelligence adviser Dan Coats stated that Russia, China and Iran attempted to influence the November midterm elections but did not manage to compromise infrastructure to tamper with the votes, Bloomberg informed. […]

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Supreme Court Rejects Trump Bid to Enforce Asylum Crackdown

December 22, 2018 Focus Washington

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the Trump administration’s bid to enforce a strict new asylum policy, in a 5-4 decision which is the second legal setback this week for efforts to tighten immigration rules, […]

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Trump: ‘We are Totally Prepared for a Very Long Shutdown’

December 21, 2018 Focus Washington

President Donald Trump on Friday stated that he is “totally prepared for a very long shutdown” over the funding for his border wall. “I hope we don’t but we are totally prepared for a very […]

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U.S. Gives Investors More Time to Divest from Russia’s GAZ Group

December 21, 2018 Focus Washington

The United States Treasury Department said on Thursday it is giving investors more time to wind down connections with sanctioned Russian company GAZ Group, a company in which blacklisted Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska holds a […]

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U.S. May Seek Additional Conditions to Lift Sanctions on Russian Energy Company

December 21, 2018 Focus Washington

Russian energy company EN+ Group, which used to be owned by sanctioned billionaire Oleg Deripaska, said in a statement on Thursday that it believed the U.S. Congress could seek additional conditions for lifting sanctions against […]

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Spending Bill with Funding for Border Wall Passed

December 21, 2018 Focus Washington

The House of Representatives passed a short-term spending bill that includes funding for the President’s long-sought border wall less than a day before a partial government shutdown. The passage of the bill meets President Donald […]

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House Approves Criminal Justice Reform Bill, Sending it to Trump’s Desk

December 21, 2018 Focus Washington

Congress approved a sweeping bipartisan criminal justice reform bill on Thursday, handing President Trump a major legislative victory on an issue championed by his White House, Fox News informed. The House approved the bill 358-36, […]

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Trump Signs $867 Billion Farm Bill, Tightening Rules for Food Stamp Recipients

December 21, 2018 Focus Washington

President Donald Trump signed a $867 billion farm bill that is set to secure increased funding for farmers affected by the trade war with China and tighten rules for food stamp recipients, Fox News informed. […]

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Trump Administration Orders Withdrawal of Afghanistan Troops

December 21, 2018 Focus Washington

About half of the troops currently in Afghanistan will be pulled out of the country and plans are already in motion for their withdrawal, which could take several months, according to a U.S. defense official […]

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Defense Secretary Quits, Says His Views Not Aligned with President’s

December 21, 2018 Focus Washington

Defense Secretary James Mattis submitted his letter of resignation to President Donald Trump on Thursday, saying that the President needed someone whose views are aligned with his. “Because you have the right to have a […]

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Trump Blasts Graham on Syria Withdrawal

December 20, 2018 Focus Washington

President Donald Trump criticized Republican Senator Lindsey Graham for his opposition to Trump’s plan to withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria. “So hard to believe that Lindsey Graham would be against saving soldier lives & […]

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LUNCHTIME POLITICS: Trump: Naughty or Nice? – Healthcare – Rating Presidential Prospects

December 20, 2018 Lisa Clayton

Your Daily Polling Update for Thursday, December 20, 2018 TRUMP JOB APPROVAL: AVERAGE 42% Down 1 from Tuesday RON’S COMMENT: Today’s average is based on five polls, ranging from 38% (Gallup) to 47% (Rasmussen). Without these […]

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Aluminum Prices Down to 16-month Low as U.S. Lifts Sanctions on Russia’s Rusal

December 20, 2018 Focus Washington

Russian aluminum giant Rusal, the world’s number two producer, has said Thursday that it welcomes the U.S. Treasury Department’s announcement of its plan to terminate sanctions against three Russian companies tied to blacklisted billionaire Oleg […]

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US and Allies to Issue Joint Condemnation of China for Cyber Espionage Activities

December 20, 2018 Focus Washington

The U.S. and its allies reportedly are going to condemn China’s espionage efforts on Thursday, increasing pressure against Beijing over the accusation that Chinese hackers are violating international law by stealing trade secrets. According to […]

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Der Spiegel Star Reporter Wrote Fake Stories ‘On a Grand Scale’

December 20, 2018 Focus Washington

A top European news magazine has fired one of its star journalists after discovering that he had fabricated facts and sources in more than a dozen articles over a seven-year period, CNN informs. “Claas Relotius, […]

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Senators Blast President’s Decision to Pull Troops from Syria, Urge Him to Reconsider It

December 20, 2018 Focus Washington

A bipartisan group of senators urged President Donald Trump in a letter to rethink his sudden and unexpected decision to pull troops from Syria as quickly as possible. Senators Lindsey Graham, Jeanne Shaheen, Joni Ernst, […]

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Loretta Lynch, Former Obama Attorney General, Questioned Behind Closed Doors on Capitol Hill

December 20, 2018 Focus Washington

Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch made an appearance on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to testify behind closed doors on questions on the Justice Department’s Russia probe as well as the Hillary Clinton email investigation, after […]

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Judge Orders Deported Asylum Seekers to Be Returned to U.S., in Trump Administration Rebuke

December 20, 2018 Focus Washington

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered that asylum seekers who sued after their deportation should be returned to the U.S. to have their claims heard anew, ruling against the Trump administration’s revised asylum policies, Fox […]

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Mueller Requests Roger Stone’s Testimony

December 20, 2018 Focus Washington

The special counsel requested last week the testimony of the President’s former adviser Roger Stone from the House Intelligence Committee, which is to vote Thursday whether to release a transcript of his 2017 panel interview, […]

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NASA Reveals It Was Hacked, Employees Personal Information Was Compromised

December 20, 2018 Focus Washington

On Wednesday, NASA sent an internal memo to its employees to inform them of a data breach that was identified on October 23. The notice claimed that hackers were able to obtain personally identifiable information […]

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Senators Pass Short-Term Spending Bill to Avoid Government Shutdown

December 20, 2018 Focus Washington

Just two days before the deadline to provide funding for the federal government in order to keep it open, senators passed a stop-gap spending bill to prevent a partial shutdown and fund the remaining parts […]

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Trump Declares Victory Against ISIS in Syria

December 19, 2018 Focus Washington

President Donald Trump posted a video on Twitter where he defends the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, saying that the U.S. has won the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and […]

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