WASHINGTON — The name is still classified but President Donald Trump on Monday outed the military working dog that tracked down the head of the Islamic State. Trump tweeted a photo of a Belgian Malinois that he said worked with a team of special forces in the capture of Abu Bakr...
Security Increased at IS Prisons After Leader's Death
BEIRUT — Syrian Kurdish forces said Monday they are increasing security at prisons and detention facilities holding tens of thousands of Islamic State militants and supporters, including foreigners, following the death of the extremist group's leader in a U.S. military raid. The heightened security also comes as Kurdish forces said...
US Budget Deficit Hits $984 Billion, Highest in 7 Years
WASHINGTON — The federal deficit for the 2019 budget year surged to $984.4 billion, its highest point in seven years, and is widely expected to top the $1 trillion mark in coming years. The 26% surge from the 2018 deficit of $779 billion that the government reported Friday reflected such...
Esper: US Troops, Armored Vehicles Going to Syria Oil Fields
BRUSSELS — The U.S. will send armored reinforcements into eastern Syria to bolster defenses against a potential move by Islamic State militants on oil fields controlled by U.S.-backed Syrian Kurds, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Friday. Esper described the added force as "mechanized," which would likely means it will include tanks...
Going After Investigators: Criminal Review of Mueller Probe
WASHINGTON — Investigating the investigators, the Justice Department has shifted its scrutiny of the government's Trump-Russia review to a criminal probe, a person familiar with the matter says. It's raising Democrats' concerns that President Donald Trump may be using federal muscle to go after his opponents. The revelation comes as...
GOP Stands by Trump, Gingerly, After Diplomat's Testimony
WASHINGTON — They pleaded ignorance, saying they'd not read the diplomat's damning statement. They condemned the Democrats' tactics as unfair. They complained that the allegations against President Donald Trump rested on second- or third-hand evidence. Wednesday was a day of careful counterargument by congressional Republicans, the day after America's top envoy in...
Trump Seeks to Block California as Global Climate Leader
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Wednesday sued to try to block California from engaging in international efforts against climate change, charging that the state exceeded its constitutional authority by joining with a Canadian province in a program to cut climate-damaging fossil fuel emissions. The suit, filed in federal court...
Trump Lifts Sanctions on Turkey, Says Cease-Fire Permanent
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday he will lift sanctions on Turkey after the NATO ally agreed to permanently stop fighting Kurdish forces in Syria and he defended his decision to withdraw American troops. “We’re getting out,” Trump said at the White House, asserting that tens of thousands of Kurdish lives...
Trump Likens House Impeachment Inquiry to 'A Lynching'
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump triggered outrage Tuesday by comparing the Democrat-led impeachment inquiry to a lynching, assigning the horrors of a deadly and racist chapter in U.S. history to a process laid out in the Constitution. "That is one word no president ought to apply to himself," said Democratic Rep. James...
'Just Too Much': Meet the Uber-Rich Who Want a Wealth Tax
WASHINGTON — When the grand vacation homes of Newport Beach were empty on a beautiful Memorial Day weekend, Molly Munger decided it was time for the U.S. to consider taxing wealth. As her family's boat moved through the harbor a few years ago, Munger, whose father is a billionaire investor,...