North America

Senate passes huge US spending bill, sends it to Trump

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Senate passed a $1.3 trillion federal spending bill in dramatic dark-of-night fashion early Friday, overcoming hurdles that threatened to send the government into its third shutdown of 2018. Lawmakers stared down a self-imposed deadline of midnight Friday, when federal funding was set to expire, and passed the mammoth package by a vote of 65-32, with hours to spare. It now goes to the White House to be signed […]

Trump suspends metal tariffs for key US trade partners: White House

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump on Thursday authorized the suspension of controversial tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from key trade partners including the European Union, the White House said. “The tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the following countries are suspended until May 1, 2018,” the White House said in a statement, listing EU members states, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and South Korea. © Agence France-Presse

US approves $1 billion in Saudi defense contracts

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States formally approved defense contracts totaling more than $1 billion with Saudi Arabia on Thursday, as the kingdom’s crown prince continued his American tour. The State Department confirmed it had green-lighted a $670 million deal for anti-tank missiles, a $106 million contract for helicopter maintenance and $300 million for ground vehicle parts. An official said the deals had been in the pipeline since President Donald Trump has announced […]

Texas bomber ‘not sorry’ on confession tape: report

CHICAGO, United States (AFP) — The man behind a series of package bombs that terrorized Texas state capital Austin left a recorded confession expressing no remorse and describing himself as a “psychopath,” a newspaper reported Thursday. Mark Conditt, who was wanted for a series of bombings over three weeks that killed two people and injured several others, died after detonating a bomb in his car Wednesday as police closed in. Police said the 23-year-old left […]

Trump unveils new tariffs punishing China for ‘theft’ of American tech

by Douglas Gillison Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump on Thursday hit China with tariffs on up to $60 billion of imports to retaliate against the “theft” of American intellectual property, ratcheting up trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies. The move was swiftly denounced by Beijing, which vowed to “fight to the end” if the United States persisted in the confrontation. The latest trade action sent stocks […]

Trump axes McMaster, names hawk Bolton as national security advisor

by Andrew BEATTY Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump named ultra-hardline Fox News pundit and former UN ambassador John Bolton as his new national security advisor Thursday, ousting embattled army general HR McMaster. McMaster’s exit is the latest in a string of high-profile departures from the White House that started with national security advisor Michael Flynn and has also included chief of staff Reince Priebus, chief strategist Steve Bannon, […]

Zuckerberg apology fails to quiet Facebook storm

by Glenn Chapman / with Robin Millard in London Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States – A public apology by Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg failed Thursday to quell outrage over the hijacking of personal data from millions of people, as critics demanded that the social media giant go much further to protect user privacy. Speaking out for the first time about the harvesting of Facebook user data by a British firm linked to Donald Trump’s […]

Dashcam video shows final seconds before fatal Uber crash

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Dashcam footage of the first fatal self-driving car crash involving a pedestrian shows the Uber vehicle operator appearing to be distracted, then gasping in horror seconds before the impact. The driver can be seen looking down at something for nearly five seconds before finally gazing up the instant before the car hit a woman in Tempe, in the US state of Arizona on Sunday. Police there released the footage […]

As Facebook scandal mushrooms, Zuckerberg vows to ‘step up’

by Glenn CHAPMAN / with Rob Lever in Washington and Robin Millard in London Agence France Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg vowed Wednesday to “step up” to fix problems at the social media giant, as it fights a snowballing scandal over the hijacking of personal data from millions of its users. “We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can’t then we don’t deserve to serve […]

Texas bomb suspect blows himself up after police move in

by Mark Henricks © Agence France-Presse AUSTIN, United States (AFP) — A man suspected of carrying out a series of parcel bombings in the Texas capital Austin blew himself up Wednesday as police closed in, easing tensions in a city that had been on edge for weeks. Police said they surrounded Mark Conditt, a 23-year-old white male, outside a hotel in city suburbs, where a series of bombings that began on March 2 killed two people […]

Trump to announce China trade sanctions on Thursday

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump is poised to unveil sanctions against China for the “theft” of US intellectual property Thursday, a White House official said, teeing up a second potential trade war in as many months. Spokesman Raj Shah told AFP that Trump will announce actions following an “investigation into China’s state-led, market-distorting efforts to force, pressure, and steal US technologies and intellectual property.” Beijing has already warned the Trump administration against the move, urging […]

Two wounded, shooter dead at Maryland high school

by Jim Watson, with Chris Lefkow in Washington Agence France Presse GREAT MILLS, United States (AFP) — A 17-year-old student armed with a handgun shot and critically wounded a female classmate at a Maryland high school on Tuesday, officials said, in an outburst of violence just days before a student-organized nationwide march for gun control. St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron said the assailant, identified as Austin Rollins, died of a gunshot wound after a […]