Author: Josh Lederman
-
US: North Korea canceled meeting with Pence at last minute
WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence was all set to hold a history-making meeting with North Korean officials during the Winter Olympics in South Korea, but Kim Jong Un’s government canceled at the last minute, the Trump administration said Tuesday. A potential meeting between Pence and the North Koreans had been the most highly anticipated…
-
Biden, in public and private, tiptoes toward a 2020 run
WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Joe Biden is tiptoeing toward a potential presidential run in 2020, even broaching the possibility during a recent gathering of longtime foreign policy aides. Huddled in his newly opened office steps from the U.S. Capitol, Biden began a planning meeting for his new diplomacy center by addressing the elephant in…
-
Putin: US took ‘hostile step’ in publishing Russia list
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday the Trump administration made a “hostile step” when it published a list of Russian businessmen and politicians as part of a sanctions law against Moscow. The long-awaited U.S. publication appears to be mainly a list of people in Russian government, along with 96 “oligarchs” from a…
-
US issues ‘Putin list’ of Russian politicians, oligarchs
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration late Monday released a long-awaited list of 114 Russian politicians and 96 “oligarchs” who have flourished during the reign of President Vladimir Putin, fulfilling a demand by Congress that the U.S. punish Moscow for interfering in the 2016 U.S. election. Yet the administration paired that move with a surprising announcement…
-
Official: Americans killed, injured in attack on Kabul hotel
WASHINGTON — Multiple American citizens were killed and injured in the Taliban’s 13-hour siege of an upscale hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, the State Department said Tuesday. No exact figures were immediately available for either the U.S. fatalities or injuries. In total, 22 people were killed in the attack including 14 foreigners, Afghan officials have said.…
-
US says ‘viral attack’ among the theories in Cuba illnesses
WASHINGTON — The United States is investigating a range of possibilities beyond “sonic attacks” for the cause of U.S. diplomats’ mysterious illnesses in Cuba, the Trump administration told Congress on Tuesday, including the possibility of a viral attack. Top State Department officials testifying on Capitol Hill pushed back strongly on suggestions from some lawmakers that…
-
Trump throws full US support behind protesters in Iran
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Tuesday threw the weight of the U.S. government behind the protesters taking to the streets of Iran, rooting them on despite the risk of helping Iranian authorities dismiss a week of major demonstrations as the product of American instigation. As Iran’s supreme leader accused “enemies of Iran” of trying…
-
US to send anti-tank missiles, other lethal weapons to Ukraine
—
by
WASHINGTON — Ukraine will soon have more lethal American-made weapons to help it fight Russian-backed separatists. U.S. officials said Friday that the Trump administration approved a plan to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine, in a long-awaited move that deepens America’s involvement in the military conflict and may further strain relations with Russia. The new arms…
-
Doctors identify brain abnormalities in Cuba attack patients
—
by
WASHINGTON — Doctors treating the U.S. Embassy victims of mysterious, invisible attacks in Cuba have discovered brain abnormalities as they search for clues to explain the hearing, vision, balance and memory damage, The Associated Press has learned. It’s the most specific finding to date about physical damage, showing that whatever it was that harmed the…
-
Trump weighs plan to oust Tillerson, put CIA’s boss at State
—
by
WASHINGTON — After months of clashes on policy and personality, President Donald Trump is considering ousting Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and replacing him with hard-nosed CIA Director Mike Pompeo following less than a year on the job, senior U.S. officials said Thursday as turmoil within Trump’s national security team burst into the open. The…