President Donald Trump announced the details of his tax reform plan on Sept. 27. The Trump administration, the House Committee on Ways and Means, and the Senate Committee on Finance released the framework for tax reform, with Trump offering some of the first details of the plan during remarks in Indianapolis, Indiana. According to the […]

Arizona firefighters are starting to contain a forest fire that engulfed 20,000 acres, forcing the evacuation of the small town of Mayer, Arizona. With some 40 percent of the fire now contained, evacuations are being lifted. The 1,400 residents of Mayer were allowed to return home on Thursday. In many places, a dusting of red […]

UK Foreign Minister Boris Johnson says he has “absolutely no doubt” that the Assad regime is responsible for the chemical weapon attack on Khan Sheikhoun on April  4. He wants the perpetrators to be held to account. Johnson was speaking in response to a report from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons which […]

Fabrice Gropaiz wasn’t content with just the around-the-world rollerblading record. The 48-year-old Frenchman figured, why not celebrate turning 49 by repeating the trip on a skateboard? Fabrice Gropaiz rollerbladed around the world at age 28. He put a tent in a backpack and set out on a rainy morning on a 17,000-mile trip that took […]

A dust devil swept through a burnt out field after the worst forest fire in Portugal’s history. The fire killed 64 people and saw a failure of the emergency services network. The dust devil traveled 12 miles from the site of the fire. Dust devils pick up heat and soot along burnt hillsides. They are […]

A Canadian soldier has become first female infantry officer to captain the Queen’s Guard, a honor that comes as Canada marks its 150th anniversary. Capt. Megan Couto, 24, led the Queen’s Guard on Monday, June 26, while in Britain with other Canadian soldiers on the queen’s invitation. Couto said she had heard from U.K. drill […]

The temperature and acidity in the Mediterranean Sea are rising, and researchers are worried it will lead to extinction of native species. Villefranche-sur-Mer oceanographic laboratory in the south of France released a study that said the ocean’s acidity has been rising on average of 7 percent a year between 2007 and 2015 and the water […]

A magnitude-6.8 earthquake hit the Pacific coast of Central America on June 22. Guatemala was worst hit; El Salvador was also shaken. People as far north as Mexico and as far south as Honduras reported feeling the quake. The quake hit 24 miles off shore, 6 miles deep in the ocean, at 6:31 a.m. local […]

The British royal family arrived to kick off the Royal Ascot. They arrived by horse and carriage parade. The Queen was fashionable in lime green attire. Naturally, the royal family was more the highlight of the event than the races themselves.    

A brutal heat wave suffocating the Southwest is grounding planes and turning sun-pelted surfaces hot enough to deliver third-degree burns. Temperatures could hit 120 F in Phoenix and 124 in Death Valley. There are warnings in place across Nevada and California. Door handles get so hot in Phoenix that some merchants put covers over them […]

The first shipments of U.S. beef are arriving in China, ending a 14-year ban. Chinese meat importers are racing to get their hands on it. China has banned the import of U.S. beef since 2003, following a mad cow disease scare. Beijing just agreed to resume trade last week. Now, Chinese consumers can enjoy U.S […]

Spring is a very busy time for New York City’s only bird rescue. The Wild Bird Fund, located at 565 Columbus Ave., gets 50 birds a day, said Eugene Oda, a wildlife rehabilitator and veterinary technician who examines incoming birds at the shelter. It has about 350 birds and has treated some 150 different species. […]

Rarely do Republicans and Democrats form common cause. On Thursday night, June 15, they united on two themes. Both parties played baseball for charity, and for their friend Steve Scalise. “Tonight,” said Rep. Nancy Pelosi, “we will all be Team Scalise.” President Trump addressed the players via video screen. “Steve is our friend, he’s a […]

It is hard to get news in Venezuela nowadays. Daily protests rock the capital, Caracas, and often spring up in other cities. The government is gripping tightly to power via any means possible. That includes severely restricting the flow of information. Venezuelans are creating ways around the news blockade. BusTV is one of the more […]

Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr. told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Gulf Arab frictions are not affecting U.S. operations. At a hearing on June 13, Dunford assured the Senate committee that both air base and command functions were undisturbed. Several Gulf Arab states are feuding with Qatar. U.S. ally Saudi Arabia is […]

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis appeared at a congressional hearing on June 12 where he stated that Russia was an adversary, not an ally. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) asked, “Do you believe that Vladimir Putin has any real interest in a mutually beneficial, good faith partnership with the United States?” Defense Secretary James Mattis, replied, “I […]

A Tokyo restaurant has a multisensory dining room that only serves eight people per day. Sagaya steak restaurant worked with arts exhibition group TeamLab to create a dazzling eating experience. Birds fly over your plate, cherry blossom petals drift past you, and seasons flow in and out. The projection and sound senses the movements of […]

The color of kites moving to the sound of music—a combination that will be entertaining tens of thousands through this weekend. Vietnam is hosting what organizers hope will be an annual international kite festival on Tam Thanh beach. More than 100 kite artists from 10 countries have brought a variety of flying objects to display […]

The British pound sterling, the U.K.’s basic unit of currency like the U.S. dollar, took a sharp plunge on the markets after the June 8 election. Exit polls show that Conservatives might not hold control in Parliament. The financial markets don’t like not knowing who will be in charge. ETX Capital Senior Analyst Neil Wilson […]

The dispute over sugar continues. The U.S. and Mexican governments reached a new trade agreement on paper on June 6. But U.S. sugar producers aren’t backing the deal. The agreement calls for Mexico to export less refined sugar and more raw sugar to the United States. Mexico’s overall access to the U.S. sugar market is […]

Media visited the Italian residence of family members of the third London terror attacker, Youssef Zaghba. Nobody seemed to be at home. Neighbors said they didn’t know much about the attacker. It is not clear if anyone is currently living at the residence. On Saturday, June 3, three terrorists were shot dead by police after […]

After six months in space, Earth was an “overdose of sensations,” said French astronaut Thomas Pesquet. Pesquet did a six-month mission on the International Space Station. He breathed recycled air and lived in a sterile, drab environment. He landed in Kazakhstan on June 2. He spoke to the press on June 6. The smell of […]

Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has called a hostage situation ‘a terrorist attack.” Turnbull made the remarks on June 6. Paroled criminal Yacqub Khayre shot a man in his apartment building took a woman resident hostage on June 5. Khayre, 29, was eventually killed by police. A man, possibly Khayre, called a local TV station […]

White House spokesman Sean Spicer elaborated on the decision to quit the Paris accord. Spicer started by explaining that the president was always going to get the best deal for America. Spicer pointed out that countries like China were “not making substantial progress in reducing their carbon footprint.” The United States, on the other hand, […]

The U.N. elected five countries to the security council. Each of the countries won with no declining votes. Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Kuwait, Peru, and Poland will now serve for two-year terms. Italy and the Netherlands share a seat at the U.N. They will switch off on Jan. 1, bringing the Netherlands in. The Security […]

Italian food producers can’t agree on a “Made in Italy” definition. A “Made in Italy” label could help Italy’s domestic food revenues. Many imitators make foreign Italian-style products. The imitations generate $67 billion yearly. But food producers don’t know what food is truly Italian. They can’t decide if all ingredients must be from Italy. Different […]

Five extremely rare Cuvier’s beaked whales were filmed by a drone from the Sea Shepherd’s research vessel. Five whales—a mother and calf and three others—were filmed. Cuvier’s whales are among the most elusive. These rare cetaceans dive deeper and longer than any other mammal. The dive to 10,000 feet and stay down for up to […]

Hamerton Zoo in Cambridgeshire, England, had to be evacuated on May 29 after a tiger killed a zookeeper. The zoo, 80 miles north of London, was full of schoolchildren on a holiday. Everyone in the zoo was evacuated without incident. Witness Jeff Knott said the staff was very professional and the visitors departed the zoo […]

UNICEF is boosting the capacity of the water treatment plant in Sanaa, Yemen, to stop cholera. It is also helping local hospitals fight the disease. A recent cholera outbreak has killed nearly 200 people. It is the worst outbreak since the start of the two-year war. In two years, more than 300 have died, out […]

An Indian woman set the record for a double ascent of Mount Everest. Anshu Jamsenpa climbed the mountain twice in five days. The previous record was set by a woman from Nepal who climbed Everest twice in seven days. Anshu was able to half her previous time. In 2011 and 2013 she was able to […]

South Korean President Moon Jae-in is shutting down coal-fired power plants that are over 30 years old in June to mitigate air pollution. He made the announcement while visiting a primary school in Seoul on May 15. The decision is part of a new government air pollution policy. Coal-fired power plants are being criticized for […]

Miss District of Columbia and Miss New Jersey were finalist and runner-up for the Miss USA crown. Kara McCullough was stunned when she was announced the winner. It’s the second year a District of Columbia contestant has won. McCullough is a 25-year-old scientist. She will next go on to compete for the Miss Universe title, […]

Germany’s Angela Merkel hosted President Hollande. The two met a day after a new French president was elected. Merkel celebrated the ties between the two countries. The two countries grew closer after tragedy. The Charlie Hebdo killings and airplane crash in the French Alps changed the way the two countries relate. In March 2015 they […]

Angela Merkel congratulates Emmanuel Macron one day after his election win. She stressed Germany’s commitment to France. German Chancellor Angela Merkel talked about her exuberance at the victory, “I was delighted about the fantastic electoral success of Emmanuel Macron and I congratulated him personally yesterday by telephone. Emmanuel Macron carries the hopes of millions of […]

Malaysian authorities said on May 8 that they had seized $2 million worth of pangolin scales at Kuala Lumpur Airport. This is the largest haul the country has ever seen. Malaysia is a major point of transit for black market trade of endangered species. The pangolin scales were seized in two separate shipments on May […]

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin talked about the Trump administration’s growth projections, tax cuts, and immigration plans at the Milken Institute Global Conference on May 1. Mnuchin said the administration projected a sustained economic growth rate of 3 percent, which could be achieved with a two years, depending on how long it took to pass the […]

Winners of the Cannes Film Festival award will walk away with a an award that has 167 diamonds. “This Palme has been made by several artisans, each of them in their area of excellence, sculptors, polishers, setters, who come from Switzerland as well as from France, so this is a real international partnership, or even […]

SpaceX launched a secret U.S. satellite into orbit today. The initial planned launch on Sunday could not happen due to sensor issues, according to NASA Space Flight. SpaceX used its famous Falcon 9 rocket for the launch. The satellite is from the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, and is part of the NROL-76 classified mission. In […]

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the bloc wants better relations with Russia, but cannot ignore the fact that Moscow annexed Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014. Mogherini made the comments on her first official visit to Moscow in her current role on April 24. She said the EU sanctions on Russia will remain and that […]

Thousands of Armenians marched to commemorate the 1915-1918 mass killings of their people at the hands of Ottoman Turkey. People gathered in central Republic Square in Yerevan, Armenia’s capital city. Attendees carried the flags of states that have recognized the mass killings as genocide. They want other countries, like Turkey, to do likewise. Muslim Turkey […]

Vice President Mike Pence visited the demilitarized border between North and South Korea on April 17. It is a heavily mined, 2.5-mile-wide strip of land lined with barbed wire. There are soldiers guarding both sides. Pence, whose father served in the Korean War, said the United States will stand by its “iron-clad alliance” with South […]

Queen Elizabeth attended Easter service with the royal family at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor on April 16. She was with her husband, Prince Philip. Prince William and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge joined later. Their children, 4-year-old Prince George and 1-year-old Princess Charlotte, were absent. After the service, Queen Elizabeth, 90, was presented […]

Sri Lanka resumes rescue operations on April 17 after a landslide at a giant garbage dump trapped about 100 people. Police have now recovered 28 bodies. The 300-foot-high mountain of garbage was engulfed in flames late Friday, April 14, on the nation’s New Year’s Day. It later collapsed and buried many homes. Police estimate that […]

These two dazzling pink and blue pear-shaped diamond earrings are together expected to auction off at $70 million. The Apollo Blue and Artemis Pink stones are on display in London before their Geneva sale on May 16. David Bennett, the worldwide chairman of Sotheby’s jewelry division, said the Apollo and Artemis diamonds are “by far […]

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President François Hollande, and Britain’s Princes Charles, William, and Harry visited Vimy Ridge ahead of a ceremony to mark a historic event. They were there to commemorate the fallen Canadian soldiers who fought there during World War I. A commemoration ceremony will mark 100 years since the Battle of […]