As part of America’s elevated response to North Korea’s military expansion, the THAAD missile defense system installed in South Korea has been completed, less than 2 months after the equipment arrived there, according to the U.S. military. The move to install the shield was made last July during the Obama administration. Read more
217 – 213 was the vote that passed without motion to reconsider, but all 193 Democrats and 20 Republicans voted “Nay.” Democrats made news by shouting “Hey Hey, Goodbye” on the Senate floor, and protesters staged public demonstrations against the move in the streets. Trump said of the bill, “Make no mistake. This is a … Read more
Prime Minister Al-Abadi wants some or all of the 7,000 U.S. troops currently in Iraq to stay, even after ISIS leaves, according U.S. mainstream news reports. Read more
The largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history is taking place in the territory of Puerto Rico. $120b debt and pension obligations need to be restructured. It owes $72m to creditors, many of which will have to eat the losses. The 3 million-strong territory will close 184 schools as part of its cutting down of social … Read more
One day after he was fired as FBI Director by Trump, senators from both sides of the isle asked Comey to appear before the committee next week, reportedly. It is not known whether the session will be public. Comey would be allowed to speak on classified intelligence to Senators in a classified setting as a … Read more
Most prominent among the victims: The UK’s National Health Service. Dozens of hospitals and medical centers had to be closed. Treatment was postponed, ambulances diverted. Appointments couldn’t be made because it was too dangerous. Medical workers had no access to important information. However, some security firms reported that most of the affected computers were in … Read more
“Today, President Donald J. Trump informed FBI Director James Comey that he has been terminated and removed from office,” read the statement issued by the White House Tuesday. “President Trump acted based on the clear recommendations of both Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.” Comey was heading the FBI investigation into … Read more
New Orleans removed a monument to the Battle of Liberty Place, part of what is seen as a wider movement to remove symbols of Confederacy and Jim Crow. In the 1874 battle, a mostly Confederate veteran army which was part of the Democratic Party, fought New Orleans metro police and state militia, and held official … Read more
Wikipedia creator Jimmy Wales is creating Wikitribune, a news version of Wikipedia where he hopes news will be more fact-based than what he sees elsewhere. He will be hiring many journalists for the initial phase, and see how things develop from there. Wikitribune will not focus on doing original journalism. It will use the same … Read more
To save around $8,000 per year, the Kentucky Coal Museum is installing rooftop solar panels. The museum is in Benham, a town of 500 people, down from 3,000 in it’s coal town heyday. The move is seen as part of a wider movement in Kentucky to move away from coal energy, which is considered to … Read more
A government shutdown could be the result of Trump’s demand for funding for a wall on the Mexico border. Among Trump’s priorities for the CR* are the wall and the military, according to White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer. Congressional Democrats and some Republicans oppose the funding of the wall, and it may result in … Read more
Lumber tariffs up to 24% are being imposed by Trump on Canada. During his presidential run, Trump repeatedly spoke of “America first,” and threatened tariffs on China and Mexico. These threats received voter support, but the first tariff imposed by the president was on the U.S.’s northern neighbor. The lumber tariffs were announced Monday after … Read more