The gunman who shot and wounded Congressman Steve Scalise in an attack on Republican lawmakers last week acted alone and did not post any online threats to members of Congress, FBI officials said Wednesday. The gunman, James Hodgkinson, 66, of Belleville, Illinois, was shot dead by Capitol Police officers last week after opening fire on… more

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reports the planet Earth is experiencing another exceptionally warm year with record-breaking temperatures occurring in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the United States. At least 60 people have been killed in the devastating forest fires in central Portugal. The World Meteorological Organization says one of the factors contributing… more

The sun had set, about 200 people had arrived, and evening prayers were about to start.   Members of the Bait-ur-Rehman Mosque in Silver Spring, Maryland, welcomed visitors Thursday evening for an iftar dinner during the holiest time in the Islamic calendar, when the faithful observe Ramadan fasting from sunrise to sunset.   Muslims, Christians,… more

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

Robert Mueller III, the special counsel investigating Russian interference in last year’s presidential election, has boosted his team of lawyers to 13 and plans to hire several more, his spokesman, Peter Carr, said on Friday. Since his appointment on May 17, Mueller, a former FBI director, has recruited a high-powered team of lawyers, investigators and… more

President Donald Trump on Friday began rolling back some of his predecessor’s actions that were meant to engage Cuba after more than a half-century of isolation by the United States. “We will not be silent in the face of communist oppression any longer,” the president said, announcing that effective immediately, the U.S. will enforce the… more

The U.S. Senate voted 98-2 Thursday to approve sweeping sanctions against Russia and make it harder for President Donald Trump to ease punitive measures against Moscow. “We have no time to waste,” said Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona. “The United States of America needs to send a strong message to [Russian President] Vladimir Putin… more

Police in Washington have issued arrest warrants for 14 people, including Turkish security agents, for their alleged role in assaulting protesters outside the Turkish Embassy following a visit to the White House by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month. “Using video of the incident, law enforcement has been able to identify the majority of… more

President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered more money and a bigger role for private companies in designing apprenticeship programs meant to fill some of the 6 million open jobs in the U.S.   Trump signed an executive order to roughly double to $200 million the taxpayer money spent on learn-to-earn programs. The money would come… more

Members of the New York Army National Guard will gather at its upstate headquarters to mark the 242nd birthday of the United States Army. Wednesday afternoon’s ceremony will be held at the state Division of Military and Naval Affairs facility in the Albany suburb of Latham. State officials say the traditional cake-cutting ceremony for the… more

Steve Scalise, a Republican congressman from Louisiana and House Majority Whip was shot and wounded during a baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia, near Washington, on June 14, 2017. Gabrielle Giffords, former Democrat congresswoman from Arizona, was shot in the head in 2011 in her Tuscon district during a constituency meeting. She survived the attack and… more

A man dressed in a UPS uniform and armed with an “assault pistol” opened fire at a United Parcel Service package sorting hub in San Francisco, killing three people before turning the gun on himself, police said. Police did not identify the suspect or say if he was a UPS employee. They told a news… more

Tony Sabia walks into a barbershop in Vienna, Virginia, for a haircut and shave. About 30 minutes later, he is on his way home for a shower. With his suit already pressed, it takes him only a few minutes to get dressed for the big dance. For Kailey Margolies, it takes hours. “I had to… more

Members of Army medic James McCloughan’s unit in Vietnam called him “Doc.” Now, those soldiers, several of whom McCloughan saved during the ferocious, dayslong Battle of Nui Yon Hill in 1969, will have a new name for him: Medal of Honor recipient. Army spokeswoman Valerie L. Mongello said Tuesday that the 71-year-old from South Haven,… more

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has defended President Donald Trump’s proposal to sharply cut spending on diplomacy and foreign aid while proposing large increases in military spending. The president’s 2018 proposed budget would cut spending at the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) by 32 percent and boost Defense Department spending… more

The state of Hawaii on Monday urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to grant the Trump administration’s emergency request seeking to revive his plan to temporarily ban travelers from six Muslim-majority nations after it was blocked by lower courts that found it was discriminatory. Lawyers for Hawaii, which challenged Trump’s ban in court and won… more