Author: admin

ROME — Vice President JD Vance shuffled between presidents and prime ministers this week, tending to complicated relationships with U.S. allies and puzzling over two wars.But it was his meeting Monday with newly installed Pope Leo XIV that could prove to be most consequential on the world stage, Vance said in an interview with NBC News.As his SUV limo sped to the airport here at the end of a three-day trip centered around the first U.S.-born pontiff’s inaugural Mass, Vance spoke of Leo as a key potential partner in President Donald Trump’s efforts to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine…

CNN  —  President Donald Trump has laid out new details of his ambitious plan for a multibillion-dollar “Golden Dome” missile defense system to protect the United States from foreign attacks, saying it should be complete before he leaves office. “We’ll have it done in three years,” Trump told reporters as he detailed the plan in the Oval Office on Tuesday. “Once fully constructed, the Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world.” High-profile defense contractors and tech companies – including Elon Musk’s SpaceX – are already jockeying for the…

MOUNTOUGOULA, Mali (AP) — For Aminata Doumbia, an 18-year-old Malian, the “Shifin ni Tagne” project was a path for her life dreams. A phrase meaning “our future” in the country’s main local language, it refers to a yearslong program aimed at teaching around 20,000 young Malians to read and write in their local languages.Backed by $25 million in funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, over five years, the project has now shut down following the Trump administration’s decision to cut 90% of the agency’s foreign aid.“The joy I felt when I was selected for this project…

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s exports to the United States, its largest single trading partner, fell nearly 2% in April as tariff hikes imposed by President Donald Trump hit home. Globally, exports rose just 2% year-on-year, down from 4% in March, leaving a trade deficit for the first time in three months.Imports from the United States fell more than 11% in April, while total imports slipped 2.2%. Weakening exports could drag on growth after the economy contracted 0.7% in the last quarter.Japan is asking the Trump administration to scrap his tariffs on imports from Japan, but so far, the U.S. has…

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin could go down as billionaire Elon Musk’s last big spend on a political campaign.And it was a flop.Musk, the richest person in the world, said Tuesday that he would be spending less on political campaigns. The announcement came as Musk is stepping back from his role in the Trump administration, saying he will spend more time focused on his businesses, and just seven weeks after the candidate he backed in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race lost by 10 percentage points. Democrats in the swing state said Musk’s comments show that a party-led effort in this spring’s…

Hong Kong CNN  —  Just days after the United States and China declared a temporary truce over tariffs, tempers are already flaring: this time over the future of Beijing’s most advanced homegrown semiconductors. Over the past week, Beijing has repeatedly lashed out at Washington for warning companies against using AI chips made by national tech champion Huawei. It has even accused the Trump administration of “undermining” a consensus reached at recent trade talks in Geneva, where both sides agreed to temporarily roll back tariffs and use a 90-day window to hash out a broader deal. The conflict over Huawei’s most…

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Just over three years ago, Oscar Smith came within minutes of being executed before Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee issued a surprise reprieve that revealed problems with the lethal injection drugs. On Thursday, the state is prepared to try again.Asked in a recent phone interview about coming so close to death in 2022, Smith declined to reflect very deeply on it but instead expressed a wish that Lee had not intervened, saying the past three years on death row have been “more than hell.” Without going into specifics, he said conditions at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution…

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Three years ago, Dr. Austin Dennard left Texas for an abortion after her fetus was diagnosed with a fatal condition. She later testified in a lawsuit how the state’s near-total ban on abortion put her health at risk.On Wednesday, a key vote is scheduled on a bill that aims to clarify medical exceptions under one of the nation’s most restrictive bans. But Dennard’s feelings are mixed about the bill, which does not list specific medical conditions or include fatal fetal anomalies as exceptions.“What is broadly now known among practicing physicians in Texas is that abortions are…

CNN  —  South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa will hold crucial talks at the White House with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday in a high-stakes meeting that could improve or deteriorate already frosty relations between the nations. Ramaphosa is hopeful his visit could end a diplomatic feud that sparked aid cancellations by Trump and fueled the expulsion of his nation’s ambassador to the US. There are also fears that the African nation could now potentially lose some of its US trade privileges as relations between the two countries sour. Ramaphosa’s trip comes just over a week after a group of…

May 20, 2025, 07:09 PM ETMANCHESTER, England — Pep Guardiola said he would rather leave Manchester City than have to work with a bloated squad next season.The City manager has begun to rebuild his team after the club’s first trophyless campaign since 2017.Editor’s Picks2 RelatedBut he said Tuesday he had told the club that he will walk away rather than oversee an oversized squad.”I said to the club I don’t want that. I don’t want to leave five or six players in the tribune,” Guardiola said after the 3-1 win against Bournemouth. “I don’t want that. I will quit. Make…