Top News Stories for Today – Jan 10, 2019
Top News Stories for Today – Jan 10, 2019
Trump exits shutdown talks
President Donald Trump has walked out of a meeting with Democratic leaders as negotiations broke down on the 19th day of a partial US government shutdown. Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer stuck by their refusal to fund his US-Mexico border wall, prompting Trump to call the meeting “a total waste of time”. Democrats again accused the president of throwing a “temper tantrum”.
The first payday since the shutdown began is due on Friday for 800,000 federal workers, who will go unpaid. It was certainly brief, at only 14 minutes. The president hosted the Democratic Party leaders in the Situation Room, the conference center in the West Wing basement. Trump posed a direct question to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi about whether she would fund the wall. His tweet following the meeting reflected the outcome of that – he said “bye-bye” and left: BBC
Democrats and 8 GOPs vote to reopen Treasury
The House voted 240 to 188 on Wednesday evening to reopen the Treasury Department and keep the Internal Revenue Service and Small Business Administration funded. Eight Republicans joined the Democrats in backing the measure, breaking with President Trump and GOP congressional leadership. After meeting with Senate Republicans earlier Wednesday, Trump said his party is “totally unified” in keeping the government partially shuttered unless Democrats agree to fund Trump’s border wall.
“There was no discussion of anything other than solidarity.” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), one of a handful of Senate Republicans who favor reopening the government before negotiating border security, said she warned Trump that the shutdown has consequences. The Week
Kim is committed to 2nd US summit
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has concerns about deadlocked denuclearization talks with the United States, but told Chinese President Xi Jinping he is committed to improving Pyongyang’s relationship with Washington, Chinese state media reported Thursday.
Discussions between Kim, who spent two days in Beijing, and Xi were reported just hours after Kim’s train left for the northeast border, where it entered North Korea early Thursday. VOA
Next steps unclear in US-China trade talks
The United States says talks in Beijing on ending a bruising trade war focused on Chinese promises to buy more American goods. But it gave no indication of progress on resolving disputes over Beijing’s technology ambitions and other thorny issues.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said Thursday the two sides would “maintain close contact.” But neither side gave any indication of the next step during their 90-day cease-fire in a tariff fight that threatens to chill global economic growth. That uncertainty left Asian stock markets mixed Thursday. Share prices had risen Wednesday after President Donald Trump fueled optimism on Twitter about possible progress. VOA
Lawmakers focus on Manafort-Russia revelation
Senior Democratic lawmakers called Wednesday for further investigation into a revelation that in 2016 Donald Trump’s then-presidential election campaign chairman gave polling data to a man US prosecutors have linked to Russian intelligence.
On Tuesday, portions of a court filing by lawyers for convicted former Trump campaign head Paul Manafort were inadvertently made public. They showed he shared the data with a business partner and Russian-Ukrainian political operative Konstantin Kilimnik. VOA
Jeff Bezos and wife are divorcing
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced Wednesday morning that he and his wife MacKenzie Bezos are divorcing. Jeff Bezos made the announcement in a tweet. “We feel incredibly lucky to have found each other and deeply grateful for every one of the years we have been married to each other,” the couple said in a statement posted to Bezos’ Twitter account. “If we had known we would separate after 25 years, we would do it all again.”
According to the statement, the couple went through a “long period of loving exploration and trial separation” before deciding to divorce. “Though the labels might be different, we remain a family, and we remain cherished friends,” the statement said. In October, the Amazon chief and founder was named the wealthiest person on the planet. Forbes estimated his net worth was $160 billion and had increased by more than $75 billion from 2017. CBS news
DR Congo presidential election
Opposition candidate Felix Tshisekedi has won DR Congo’s presidential election, electoral officials say. The announcement, made overnight, sparked accusations of an “electoral coup” from runner-up Martin Fayulu. The Catholic Church said that the result did not match data collected by its election monitors. The ruling party, whose candidate finished third, has not yet contested the result, sparking accusations of a power-sharing deal with Tshisekedi. It is an accusation Tshisekedi’s team denies. If confirmed, Tshisekedi will be the first opposition challenger to win since the DR Congo gained independence in 1960. Current President Joseph Kabila is stepping down after 18 years in office. BBC