U.S. surpassed 10K flight delays, most disruptions on a single day since government shutdown
Travelers across the United States scrambled to reach their destinations as thousands of flights were delayed or canceled on Sunday, the third day of government-mandated flight cuts at 40 high-traffic airports during the ongoing shutdown. As of 10 p.m. on Sunday, more than 10,000 flights within, into, or out of...
Jared Kushner arrives in Israel for Gaza talks with Netanyahu, source says
JERUSALEM — U.S. President Donald Trump’s influential son-in-law, Jared Kushner, arrived in Israel on Sunday for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on implementing the U.S. plan to end the Gaza war, a source familiar with the matter said. Kushner was expected to meet with Netanyahu on Monday, said the...
Volkswagen says Nexperia chip supply has resumed
FRANKFURT - Carmakers have received their first deliveries of chips from Chinese-owned semiconductor manufacturer Nexperia after a supply outage, Volkswagen’s China chief told German daily Handelsblatt. The Dutch government had seized control of Nexperia, which is based in the Netherlands, on September 30 as part of a broader U.S.-Chinese trade...
Swiss business leaders’ trip helped thaw in U.S. trade relations
ZURICH — Switzerland could be close to winning a respite from the 39% tariffs imposed by the United States on imports of its goods, the newspaper Blick reported on Sunday, after a visit by business leaders to President Donald Trump helped thaw relations. A letter of intent to break the...
Israel receives remains of deceased hostage
CAIRO - Israel on Sunday received the remains of a deceased hostage held in Gaza that Palestinian militant group Hamas said were of an Israeli soldier killed in the territory more than a decade ago. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement the remains were handed over to...
Israeli government spokesperson rules out Turkish forces in Gaza
JERUSALEM — An Israeli government spokesperson said on Sunday that Turkish soldiers would not be deployed to Gaza as part of a multinational force that is meant to take over from the Israeli military. “There will be no Turkish boots on the ground,” spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian told reporters in response...
Six orphaned manatees at Columbus Zoo prepare to return to Florida for release into wild
Six young manatees being cared for at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium are preparing to return to Florida to complete their rehabilitation and eventual release back into the wild. Zoo officials announced on social media Nov. 8 that the manatees — named Cobble, Clawford, Sabal, Vora, Lilypad and Orchid —...
Judge rules Trump illegally ordered National Guard to Portland, Oregon
President Donald Trump unlawfully ordered National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, a federal judge ruled Friday in a legal setback to the administration’s use of the military in American cities. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut is the first to permanently block Trump’s use of military force to...
In shutdown fight, fiscal hawks in Congress push for flat spending
WASHINGTON -Republican fiscal hawks in Congress are making a new pitch in the struggle to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history: Continue to spend at the same rate as last year for as long as possible. That approach would not cut discretionary spending but also not add to...
Federal shutdown threatens these Trump voters’ livelihoods but not their political loyalties
From federal paychecks to public benefits, the longest U.S. government shutdown in history is cutting lifelines for millions of Americans, many of whom voted for President Donald Trump. But conversations with five Trump voters – part of a group of 20 whom Reuters has interviewed monthly since February – show...
SNAP users brace for hungry weekend after Trump admin appeals order for full benefits
Tens of millions of Americans are spending the weekend anxious and hungry, as they await resolution of political and legal wrangling over federal food assistance. The Supreme Court late on Nov. 7 allowed the federal government to make only partial payments for now. The dispute ended up in the highest...
Trump urges lawmakers to give healthcare money ‘directly to the people’
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Saturday floated a potential compromise amid the impasse over the U.S. government shutdown, urging Republicans to redirect federal money that currently goes to health insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act and give it to individuals. “I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the...
Major retailers promise a cheaper Thanksgiving, but there’s a twist
Grocery giants Walmart, Target and Aldi are trumpeting their Thanksgiving meal deals as more affordable than ever. But those retailers are doing exactly what shoppers are doing, trading down to cheaper private-label alternatives or offering fewer items. Walmart’s meal this year features nine Great Value private-label brand items out of...
U.S. grants Hungary exemption on Russia sanctions after warm Trump-Orban meeting
WASHINGTON — The United States has granted Hungary a one-year exemption from U.S. sanctions for using Russian oil and gas, a White House official said on Friday, after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban pressed his case for a reprieve during a friendly meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington. Last...
Senate rejects bill to restore federal worker pay, remains at odds over shutdown
WASHINGTON -The U.S. Senate on Friday rejected legislation that would resume paychecks for hundreds of thousands of federal workers during the longest shutdown in U.S. history, as Democrats and Republicans remained at odds over how to reopen the government. The measure received 53 yes votes to 43 no votes in...
Cornell University research funds to be restored in deal with Trump administration
Cornell University’s $250 million in federal grants were restored under a deal with President Donald Trump’s administration announced on Friday, the fifth such agreement to be struck amid a conservative crackdown on institutions. The agreement requires the university, known for its agricultural programs, to pay the government $30 million and...
Successful lawsuit by Pa., other states, compels SNAP funds’ immediate release
Pennsylvania residents who rely on SNAP benefits and did not receive the monthly infusion of funds this month should be seeing their benefits cards replenished as early as Friday. That was the message an emphatic Gov. Josh Shapiro delivered during a press conference in Philadelphia on Friday. Shapiro said his...
Justice Department says Trump’s hush money conviction should be thrown out
NEW YORK — The U.S. government said President Donald Trump’s hush money criminal conviction in New York should be thrown out, because it was based on improper evidence and a legal theory preempted by federal law. In a Friday filing with a state appeals court in Manhattan, the Department of...
Judge bars Education Department emails blaming shutdown on Democrats
A federal judge ruled on Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration violated the free-speech rights of furloughed U.S. Department of Education employees by altering their out-of-office email messages to blame “Democrat Senators” for the ongoing government shutdown. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington, D.C., said that nonpartisanship is the...
Supreme Court lets Trump withhold $4 billion in food aid funding for now
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to withhold for now about $4 billion needed to fully fund a food aid program for 42 million low-income Americans this month amid the federal government shutdown. The court’s order, known as an administrative stay, gives a...
James Watson, co-discoverer of DNA’s double helix, dead at 97
James D. Watson, the brilliant but controversial American biologist whose 1953 discovery of the structure of DNA, the molecule of heredity, ushered in the age of genetics and provided the foundation for the biotechnology revolution of the late 20th century, has died at the age of 97. His death was...
Trump meets Hungary’s Orban to discuss Russian oil, economic cooperation
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump welcomed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to the White House on Friday for a discussion about Hungary’s reliance on Russian oil at a time when Trump has been working to wean nations off of it. Orban, a long-time Trump ally, arrived at the White House...
Trump administration seeks to block food aid funding order
The Trump administration asked a federal appeals court to block a judge’s order that the U.S. Department of Agriculture provide full November food stamp benefits to 42 million low-income Americans. U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Providence, R.I., on Thursday ordered the payout by Friday, accusing the administration of withholding...
U.S. government launches program to lower Medicaid drug prices
The U.S. government on Thursday unveiled a new program to cut prescription drug costs for Medicaid patients by tying prices to those paid in other countries. The announcement follows previous agreements between the White House and pharmaceutical companies to reduce drug prices for Americans, who often pay significantly more for...
Iranian plot to kill Israel’s ambassador to Mexico contained, U.S. official says
WASHINGTON — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps plotted to assassinate Israel’s ambassador to Mexico starting late last year, but the effort was contained and there is no current threat, a U.S. official said on Friday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the plot against the ambassador, Einat Kranz...
