Focus Washington by Elizabeta Bozinovska

Ukraine, US, and Germany Reject Putin’s Christmas Truce Declaration

January 6, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

Ukraine, the United States, and Germany rejected on Thursday Russian President Vladimir Putin’s declaration of a ceasefire on the eve of Orthodox Christmas which is celebrated this week by both countries involved in the war. […]

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McCarthy Loses 7th Vote for Speaker as Drama Shrinks Congressional Agenda

January 5, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

Representative Kevin McCarthy lost his bid for House speaker for a seventh time. It leaves the chamber deadlocked for a third day at the start of the Republican rule. The latest loss came even after his […]

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Oil Rises After Fuel Stocks Draw Down

January 5, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

Oil prices rose nearly 2 percent on Thursday after posting the biggest two-day loss for the start of a year in three decades. Fears of a global recession looming caused the big declines in the […]

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RNC’s 2022 Election Audit Will Scrutinize Trump’s Role in the GOP’s Losses

January 5, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

The Republican National Committee (RNC) is going to examine what role former president Donald Trump played in the party’s poor performance in the 2022 midterm elections. The investigation into its own losses comes as part of […]

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U.S. Defends Biden’s Student Debt Relief Plan in Supreme Court Brief

January 5, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

The Department of Justice filed a brief with the Supreme Court defending President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel billions of dollars in federal student loans. The court filing marks the beginning of a high-stakes battle […]

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Government Approves Use of World’s First Vaccine for Honeybees

January 5, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

The world’s first vaccine for honeybees has been approved by the U.S. government that helps protect honeybees from a deadly bacterial disease. The new vaccine raises hopes of a new tool to help fight diseases […]

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Newsome Declares Emergency as Powerful River Storm Hits California

January 5, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

California has been plagued by heavy rains, damaging winds, and a significant amount of mountain snowfall Wednesday through Thursday as a result of a potent atmospheric river storm associated with a bomb cyclone, the latest […]

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US to Oppose Israel at UNSC Temple Mount Meeting

January 5, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

In light of the Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit Tuesday morning to the Temple Mount that has sparked angry reactions and condemnation, US State Department speaker Ned Price said that Washington will speak […]

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CENTCOM: US Army Base in Eastern Syria Targeted with Two Rockets

January 5, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

In an attack for which the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights accused pro-Iranian groups, an army base in eastern Syria hosting a US-led anti-extremist coalition was targeted Wednesday with two rockets that have caused no […]

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Irish Data Regulator Slaps Meta with Massive Fine

January 5, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

After it has established that Facebook and Instagram violated EU privacy law, the Irish data regulator fined their parent firm Meta $416 million on Wednesday, bringing the total penalties Dublin handed to Meta in just […]

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New Report Shows Quarter of US Servicemen Have Been Food Insecure

January 5, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

According to a new report from the RAND Corporation based on research requested by the Defense Department, more than a quarter of active-duty military personnel have experienced food insecurity in recent years. The DoD commissioned […]

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FDA Makes Abortion Pills More Widely Available at Pharmacies

January 4, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

The Food and Drug Administration finalized a new rule change that makes abortion pills more widely available to more pharmacies across the U.S., including large chains and mail-order companies. The new rules allow certified pharmacies […]

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Stars of 1968’s “Romeo and Juliet” Sue for More Than $500Mil Over Nude Scene

January 4, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

The two stars of 1968’s “Romeo and Juliet” sued Paramount Pictures for more than $500 million over a nude scene in the film shot when they were teens. Olivia Hussey, then 15 and now 71, […]

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Social Media Use Linked to Brain Changes in Teens

January 4, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

Is social media a brain-changer? A new study has found that the frequent use of social media could be reshaping how adolescents’ brain develops. Teenagers who check their social media platforms more often were found to […]

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Ron DeSantis Inaugurated for a Second Term as Florida Governor

January 4, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was inaugurated for his second term. It comes as the conservative continues to rise as the leading potential alternative to former President Donald Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. DeSantis spoke […]

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House Continues To Reject McCarthy As Speaker Despite Trump Pleas

January 4, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

The House of Representatives has rejected Republican Kevin McCarthy’s bid for a speaker for a fourth time. There remains a small group of holdouts in the Republican party, which is now actively defying the demands […]

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Washington Strongly Opposes Syria’s Assad Rehabilitation

January 4, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

Several days after the Syrian defense minister held a breakthrough meeting with Turkey, the United States called Tuesday on all nations to think twice about rehabilitating the country’s brutal President Bashar al-Assad. State Department spokesman […]

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Missouri Executes First Openly Transgender Person with Lethal Injection

January 4, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

Missouri has put to death by lethal injection on Tuesday Amber McLaughlin, carrying out the first known US execution of an openly transgender person, the Missouri Department of Corrections said in a written statement. In […]

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Washington Slams Ben-Gvir’s Temple Mount Visit as Unacceptable

January 4, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

After Israel’s national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir sparked a global fury and condemnation with his Temple Mount visit on Tuesday morning, the Biden administration slammed his move as unacceptable. Noting that the United States finds […]

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Political Ads Ban on Twitter to Get Lifted in Coming Weeks

January 4, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

Political advertisements will return on Twitter in the coming weeks while the issue-based paid content would be immediately allowed on the platform, the company said Tuesday announcing its plans to lift its restrictions on political […]

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Conservative Hardliners Nominated Jim Jordan for House Speaker

January 4, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

Amid Republican floor infighting for House leadership on Tuesday, conservative hardliners nominated Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio to be speaker of the House during the chamber’s second and third votes. A close ally of former […]

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Gulf Sovereign Wealth Funds ‘Set to Shine More Than Ever’ in 2023

January 3, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

Sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf are expected to shine more than ever in the next year according to Global SWF’s annual report. Gulf sovereign wealth funds are expected to become more active and play […]

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Capitol Police Chief Releases Statement Two Years After Jan. 6 Attack

January 3, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

The second anniversary of the January 6 insurrection on the Capitol is approaching this week. U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger released a statement two years later, calling it one of the darkest days in the […]

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Missouri Set to Become First State to Execute an Openly Transgender Person

January 3, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

Missouri is scheduled to execute Amber McLaughlin, a transgender woman convicted of a 2003 murder, who unsuccessfully sought clemency from the governor in part because the jury at her trial did not vote for a […]

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Republicans Explode in Meeting Before Speaker Vote

January 3, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

There’s a new Congress coming today, and it still remains unclear who will run things. The new Congress begins today with a Republican majority in the House. First up on its to-do list is to vote […]

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Lack of Midterm Red Wave Could Squash Trump’s White House Run

January 3, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

The 2022 midterm elections were expected to be a great big red wave. The November votes were a story of great expectation. Republicans had high hopes that they would take control of both chambers of Congress […]

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NATO Members Berated by Former US National Security Advisor Bolton

January 3, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

The former US national security advisor John Bolton has slammed several NATO members for their supposed reluctance to support Ukraine – singling out Germany, France, and Türkiye – in a scathing op-ed in The Telegraph […]

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Saudi HRC Signs Agreement with UN Body to Combat Human Trafficking

January 3, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in the GCC and the Saudi Human Rights Commission (HRC) signed on Monday the second phase of an agreement to implement activities aimed at strengthening the Kingdom’s […]

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The Arrival of 300 Migrants Forces a Florida National Park to Close

January 3, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

A national park in the Florida Keys was closed on Monday by the National Park Service (NPS) after about 300 migrants- mainly from Cuba – arrived on the cluster of remote islands over the weekend, […]

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Recession Threatens Third of World Economy, IMF’s Georgieva Warns

January 3, 2023 Elizabeta Bozinovska

The year 2023 is going to be a tough year– tougher than the year we leave behind- for much of the global economy as the United States, Europe, and China, the main engines of global […]

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