Month: December 2018

The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) inspector general announced Friday that it would open a probe into the death of a 7-year-old migrant girl. The girl was taken into Border Patrol custody before dying and […]

Mulvaney Named New Chief of Staff

Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney has been named by President Donald Trump as the new chief of staff, marking an end to a week filled with uncertainty about who will […]

Melania Trump Claims ‘Opportunists’ Use Her Name to Advance in Career

First Lady Melania Trump said the most difficult thing she is facing as First Lady is the feeling that many people tend to use her name, or her family name as a means or weapon […]

Federal Judge Rules Obamacare Unconstitutional

The Affordable Care Act’s individual coverage mandate was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge in Texas, who said Friday that as a result, the rest of the law cannot stand as well. Although legal experts […]

Special Counsel Still Seeking to Interview Trump

Special counsel Robert Mueller and his team’s interest in interviewing the President has not changed and they are still seeking to have him do so, according to two sources. They added that the special counsel’s […]

Japan Starts Full-fledged Landfill Work to Move U.S. Base in Okinawa

The Japanese government on Friday pushed ahead with full-fledged offshore landfill work necessary for the relocation of a key U.S. base within Okinawa, despite persistent local opposition and legal wrangling, Nikkei Review reported. The adding […]

AP: Iranian Hackers Hunt Nuclear Workers, U.S. Targets

As President Donald Trump re-imposed harsh economic sanctions on Iran last month, hackers scrambled to break into personal emails of American officials tasked with enforcing them, The Associated Press has found another sign of how […]

China to Remove Tax on U.S. Vehicles In a Bid to Ease Trade Tensions

China will remove the retaliatory duty on automobiles imported from the U.S. for three months in an effort to defuse trade tensions with the world’s biggest economy, Bloomberg informed. The 25 percent tariff it imposed […]

California Could Determine 2020 Democratic Presidential Race

California is determined to force 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls to make some hard choices, Reuters writes. The nation’s most populous liberal state has moved its presidential nominating contest to early in the 2020 calendar, a […]

Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson Hopes to Reach Space Next Year

Billionaire founder Richard Branson tempered his expectation for when his first flight to the edge of space will happen, hours after his space tourism company Virgin Galactic launched its first commercial astronauts on Thursday, CNBC […]

Source Says Trump Was At 2015 Meeting About Hush Money Payments

President Donald Trump allegedly attended a meeting, which prosecutors believe was central to a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws and help him become president, a source familiar with the matter claims. Trump was […]

Washington, Seoul Can’t Agree on Splitting the Bill after Trump Criticism

The United States and South Korea have failed to agree on a bigger South Korean share of the cost of maintaining U.S. troops, as Washington warned Korean workers they might be put on leave if […]

Saudi Arabia, UAE to Launch Digital Currency for Cross-Border Transactions

The UAE’s Central Bank and the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (Sama) will issue a digital currency for cross-border transactions between the two nations, CBUAE governor Mubarak Rashed Al Mansouri said on Wednesday, Arabian Business informed. […]

Philip Morris International Position Boosted by Vanguard Group

Vanguard Group Inc increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. […]

CDC Data Shows Level of Gun-Related Deaths in U.S. Highest in Four Decades

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that gun deaths in the United States have reached a record high in almost 40 years. The analysis of the data shows that last year […]

U.S. Sanctions Force Russia’s Oil Giant to Forfeit Plans in Iran

Russia’s oil giant Rosneft has changed its mind on cooperating with Iran, three sources linked to the state company’s top managers told business newspaper Vedomosti. According to Russia Business Today, late last year, Rosneft and […]

Butina Pleads Guilty for Conspiring Against U.S.

The Russian woman that was arrested and charged earlier this year with acting as an unregistered agent of the Russian government in the U.S. pleaded guilty on Thursday in federal court after previously entering a […]

December 13, 2018 Lisa Clayton

LUNCHTIME POLITICS: 2020 Dems – Economic Optimism – Pelosi – Christmas Music

Your Daily Polling Update for Thursday, December 13, 2018 TRUMP JOB APPROVAL: AVERAGE 44% Same as Tuesday RON’S COMMENT: Today’s average is based on six polls, ranging from 40% (CNN) to 48% (Rasmussen). Without these two […]

Marriott Hack Could Give Trump Bargaining Chip in China Trade Talks

The massive Marriott hacking that the hotel chain revealed this month could become part of the trade negotiations between the U.S. and China, CNBC reported. The data breach lasted four years, and the intruders stole […]

Trump’s Iran Sanctions Create a Triple Threat to the West

The South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf was an offshore discovery that, for oilmen, is the stuff of dreams. The largest natural gas field in the world, it stretches across the maritime border […]

Korean Soldiers Cross DMZ in Peace

Soldiers from North and South Korea criss-crossed their heavily-fortified border Wednesday to inspect efforts to remove front-line guard posts from their respective sides, Voice of America reported. Inspection teams from South Korea were greeted by […]

Cohen’s Lawyer Suggests President May Have Known He Planned to Testify Falsely

Michael Cohen’s lawyer Lanny Davis is claiming President Donald Trump knew his former lawyer lied to Congress ahead of time. Davis, who is currently representing Cohen in his legal battles with the U.S. Attorney’s Office […]

Canada Issues Warning to Trump, Tells Him not to Politicize CFO’s Arrest

Following President Donald Trump’s statement that his administration was open to using the arrest of Huawei’s CFO as a bargaining chip in trade talks with China, Canada warned him strongly against doing so, telling him […]

Saudi Arabia Seeks Bigger Influence in Africa With New Club

Saudi Arabia wants to bring several states lining the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden into a bloc to improve trade and maritime navigation, according to state-run media, Bloomberg reported. Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz […]

Philip Morris is Building Future on Smoke-free Products

Philip Morris International is building a future on smoke-free products (also referred by the company as Reduced Risk Products or RRPs) that are a much better consumer choice than continuing to smoke cigarettes. In its […]

UN Secretary-General Urges Super Powers to Make Compromises in Fighting Climate Change

The United Nations secretary-general urged countries to make compromises in tackling global warming amid concern that the U.N. conference on the issue could end without a substantial agreement. In his second dramatic appeal at the […]

House Republicans Block Democrats’ Attempt to Stop U.S. Support for War in Yemen

House Republicans have officially blocked lawmakers from forcing a vote on all resolutions for the remainder of the year that attempt to use the War Powers Act to cut off U.S. support for Saudi Arabia […]

Cohen Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Doing Trump’s Dirty Deeds

Michael Cohen, the former lawyer of President Donald Trump, during his sentencing in federal court on Wednesday stated that the President was right to call him weak because it was his “duty” to cover up […]

FT: Huawei CFO Released On $7.5mn Bail

A Canadian judge has approved the release on bail of the chief financial officer of Chinese telecoms group Huawei, despite concerns raised by the U.S. that she is a flight risk, Financial Times reports. Justice […]

Iran Test-Fires ‘Important’ Balistic Missile, Top Military Official Confirms

Iran’s semi-official news agency Fars said Tuesday that the Islamic Republic performed an “important” ballistic missile test recently after State Secretary Mike Pompeo previously noted that the test is a direct violation of the U.N. restrictions […]