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Top News Stories for Today – Dec 14, 2018




   

 

 

Top News Stories for Today – Dec 14, 2018

China to suspend further tariffs on US cars

China’s finance ministry said Friday it will suspend additional tariffs on US-made vehicles and auto parts for three months starting Jan. 1, 2019. The government will suspend 25 percent tariffs on 144 US vehicle and auto part items and 5 percent tariffs on 67 auto items between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2019, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

The Ministry of Finance also said it hopes China and the United States can speed up negotiations to remove all additional tariffs on each other’s goods. VOA

 

 

Trump’s inaugural committee under criminal investigation

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are investigating whether President Trump’s 2017 inaugural committee misspent some of the record $107 million it raised from donations, people familiar with the matter said.

The criminal probe by the Manhattan US attorney’s office, which is in its early stages, also is examining whether some of the committee’s top donors gave money in exchange for access to the incoming Trump administration, policy concessions or to influence official administration positions, some of the people said. The Wall Street Journal

 




 

 

Brexit turmoil deepens for May

British Prime Minister Theresa May is struggling to persuade European leaders to renegotiate Britain’s deal to leave the European Union. A big majority of British MPs have said they will vote down the agreement if May doesn’t secure concessions on the so-called “Irish backstop.”

However, European allies rejected any substantial changes to the Withdrawal Agreement at a two-day summit in Brussels, which began Thursday. May was further weakened this week after a third of her own lawmakers voted against her in a leadership challenge, prompting a pledge that she will not lead the party into the next general election. VOA

 

 

Senate votes to condemn Saudi Crown prince

The Senate voted 56-41 on Thursday to withdraw American support for a Saudi-led war in Yemen. Just minutes later, it unanimously voted to condemn Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder. Both moves are major rejections of President Trump, seeing as he never wavered in his support of the kingdom despite Khashoggi’s murder and Saudi Arabia’s apparent human rights violations against Yemeni civilians. The Week

 

 

Kushner considered for WH Chief of Staff

President Trump is reportedly considering his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner to be his next chief of staff. His consideration puts Kushner on the list of five possible candidates Trump said he is looking at after current Chief of Staff John Kelly announced his departure Saturday.

Jared Kushner, the husband of Trump’s daughter Ivanka and already an official White House adviser, met with Trump Wednesday about the job, a top Republican close to the White House told HuffPost. He and two others close to Trump or the White House who confirmed Kushner’s interest in the position did so on condition of anonymity to discuss the president’s staffing considerations freely. The Week, Huffpost

 

 

Girl dies in US border patrol custody

A 7-year-old girl who crossed the US-Mexico border with her father last week died after being taken into the custody of the US Border Patrol, federal immigration authorities confirmed Thursday. The Washington Post reports the girl died of dehydration and shock more than eight hours after she was arrested by agents near Lordsburg, New Mexico. The girl was from Guatemala and was traveling with a group of 163 people who approached agents to turn themselves in on Dec. 6.

Early Dec. 7, the girl started having seizures, and emergency responders measured her body temperature at 105.7 degrees, the Post said. She was taken to a hospital, where she died, according to the Post. VOA

 

 

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