SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Sixteen US states sued President Donald Trump’s administration Monday over his decision to declare a national emergency to fund a wall on the southern border with Mexico, saying the move violated the constitution. Trump announced the emergency Friday in order to bypass Congress, which approved only a quarter of the $5.6 billion he wanted for the wall in a spending bill. But the lawsuit, filed in a federal […]
Tag: US
Who votes for the Oscars, and how does it work?
by Laurent BANGUET Agence France-Presse LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The ballots are almost all in! Millions of television viewers around the globe will tune in Sunday to watch the Oscars, the glitziest night in showbiz, but most don’t know how the winners are chosen. Less than 8,000 people in the entertainment industry select the honorees — and Tuesday marks the final day of voting. The following is a look at the complex, sometimes […]
N. Korea faces ‘historic turning point’, says state media ahead of summit
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea is facing a “significant, historic turning point”, state media said on Monday, ahead of a highly-anticipated second summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. The meeting between the two leaders — which will be the second time the pair have come together following their Singapore summit in June — is scheduled for Hanoi, Vietnam on February 27-28. Attention has been focused on whether the US team will […]
Amazon invests in electric vehicle startup Rivian
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Electric vehicle startup Rivian on Friday announced a $700 million investment round led by Amazon, which recently pumped money into a young self-driving car technology firm. Details of Amazon’s stake in US-based Rivian were not disclosed, but the company said it will remain independent. The potential Tesla rival late last year unveiled an electric pickup truck and an electric sport utility vehicle at an auto show in Los Angeles. […]
Trade war boogeyman hangs over giant US toy show
by John BIERS Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The US-China trade war has dealt a glancing blow to American toys, hitting putty and arts and crafts items, while sparing superhero action figures, toy cars and most best-selling offerings. Yet uncertainty about the trading relationship between Beijing and Washington hangs over this weekend’s Toy Fair, dampening the festive mood amidst giant balloon cartoon figures and karaoke cars as some 30,000 industry representatives […]
Trump hails China’s use of death penalty for drug dealers
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump on Friday praised China’s use of capital punishment for drug dealers, suggesting that the United States would deal better with narcotics trafficking if it put offenders to death. In China, drug dealers get “a thing called the death penalty. Our criminal drug dealer gets a thing called ‘how about a fine?’” Trump told reporters at the White House. “So if we want to get smart, […]
Gunman kills five in mass shooting at US manufacturing facility
by Nova SAFO Agence France Presse CHICAGO, United States (AFP) — Five people were killed and multiple police officers shot Friday when a gunman opened fire in an industrial area on the outskirts of Chicago, the latest mass shooting to hit the United States. The shooting took place at approximately 1:28 pm (1928 GMT), at a giant manufacturing complex in Aurora, Illinois — a small suburb 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of central Chicago. Police […]
US Southern Baptist churches embroiled in sex abuse scandal
by Nova Safo Agence France Presse CHICAGO, United States (AFP) — The United States’ largest Protestant denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, is facing a sexual abuse crisis after a bombshell report revealed hundreds of predators and more than 700 victims since 1998. The report by two Texas newspapers found some 380 church leaders and volunteers have faced public accusations of abuse, mostly of children as young as three years old. Some of the accused […]
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin calls US-China talks ‘productive’
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the United States had “productive” talks with China over their trade dispute, after negotiations in Beijing ended with no indication of any concrete progress. In a tweet, Mnuchin said that he and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer had “productive meetings with China’s Vice Premier Liu He.” © Agence France-Presse
US officials to meet Xi as trade talks near end
by Ryan Mcmorrow Agence France Presse Top US economic officials were to meet on Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the sides aim to wrap up trade talks in Beijing with enough goodwill to extend a truce in their tariff war. The world’s two biggest economies are seeking an accord to bridge their deep trade differences, after President Donald Trump set a March 1 deadline beyond which he would rescind a freeze on tariff […]
Facebook taps user data to defend workers from threat
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) – Facebook gathers intelligence from its platform to identify people who threaten the firm or its workers, the social network said Thursday in response to media reports of the security tactic. CNBC reported that it interviewed more than a dozen former Facebook security employees, some of whom questioned the ethics of what was portrayed as an unclearly defined practice at the leading social network. Facebook spokesman Anthony Harrison told AFP […]
$100 million in humanitarian aid pledged to Venezuela: Bolton
by Alina DIESTE Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Twenty-five countries have pledged $100 million in aid to crisis-hit Venezuela, US national security advisor John Bolton announced Thursday following an Organization of American States conference on assisting the crisis-hit country. “Today, 25 countries, united at the OAS-hosted Conference on Humanitarian Assistance in Support of Venezuela pledged $100 million in humanitarian assistance,” Bolton tweeted. According to David Smolanksy, coordinator of an OAS working group […]





