U.S. data shows that the number of Venezuelans seeking asylum in the United States is accelerating as the oil-rich economy crashes and bloody, anti-government protests roil the nation. The most recent data from Citizenship and Immigration Services show 8,301 Venezuelans requested asylum in the first three months of 2017. That compares to 3,507 in the… more

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez called U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent speech on Cuba a “grotesque spectacle” that will only serve to strengthen the revolution, and criticized the Trump administration’s decision to roll back some Obama-era policies toward the island nation. “Cuba will make no concessions on its sovereignty and its independence,” Rodriguez told reporters… more

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed a victory to Chevron Corp. by preventing Ecuadorean villagers and their American lawyer from trying to collect on an $8.65 billion pollution judgment issued against the oil company by a court in Ecuador. The justices turned away an appeal by New York-based lawyer Steven Donziger, who has spent… more

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday tightened rules on where injury lawsuits may be filed, handing a victory to corporations by undercutting the ability of plaintiffs to bring claims in friendly courts in a case involving litigation over the Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. blood-thinning medication Plavix. The justices, in an 8-1 ruling, threw out a lower… more

When Wal-Mart Stores Inc. bought online retailer Jet.com for $3 billion last year, it marked a crucial moment — the world’s largest brick-and-mortar retailer, after years of ceding e-commerce leadership to arch rival Amazon, intended to compete. On Friday, Amazon.com Inc. countered. With its $14 billion purchase of grocery chain Whole Foods Market Inc., the largest… more

U.S. President Donald Trump is not under investigation by the prosecutor probing Russian meddling in last year’s election and his possible obstruction of justice, one of his lawyers said Sunday, contradicting Trump’s own tweet acknowledging the probe. Attorney Jay Sekulow told NBC and CNN in interviews that Trump “is not under investigation by the special… more

The U.S. has called off its search for seven missing sailors after finding bodies in the sleeping compartments of the USS Fitzgerald, the Navy destroyer that collided with a massive merchant vessel off the coast of Japan early Saturday. “The search and rescue is over,” US 7th Fleet commander Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin told reporters… more

Eighteen demonstrators were arrested Saturday in St. Paul, Minnesota, after they blocked one of the city’s freeways to protest the police shooting death of a black man. The arrests came after a jury acquitted a police officer Jeronimo Yanez in the fatal shooting of Philando Castile during a traffic stop last year — a verdict… more

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed disappointment Saturday over possible new sanctions to be levied against his country by the United States, but said it is too early to speak of “retaliatory actions.” “This will, indeed, complicate Russia-American relations. I think this is harmful,” Putin the told state-run RIA news agency. The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly… more

A catastrophic blaze at a London apartment tower has brought new scrutiny to a long-accepted, counterintuitive rule for people in tall buildings: If the blaze breaks out elsewhere in the structure, don’t automatically run for the stairs. Stay put and wait for instructions. That’s what residents of London’s 24-story Grenfell Tower had been told to… more

President Donald Trump continued a campaign on Twitter on Friday against the investigations into possible links between his campaign and Russia. Trump said he was “being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt.” It was unclear whether the president was referring to Special… more