America

    President Donald Trump’s turnabout on the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia has rocked his administration, leading to rising speculation that some top officials may be looking for a way out. A parade of business executives broke ties with Trump on Wednesday, a day after he blamed white nationalists and counter-protesters in equal measure for the weekend clashes that left one woman dead. Now, frustrated aides could be next. Trump’s remarks have left some wondering if sticking by the president comes at too high a cost to their reputations. A lot of us joined this administration thinking we could bring to it the experience and expertise that the president didn’t have an opportunity to gain in his business career, and to encourage some restraint in what he says publicly an...

    By their nature, fringe movements usually don't find the scalding hot center of the national spotlight. Last weekend's Unite the Right rally in Virginia was an extreme and informative exception. Around the nation, TV screens and social media feeds overflowed with Confederate flags, fascist symbolism and bloody images of violence as far-right groups brawled with anti-racism protesters on the streets of Charlottesville. Their white-power message was suddenly hard to ignore. What has happened since underscores a basic principle about the far-right in the United States: Attention is a double-edged sword for white nationalists and neo-Nazis, a tool of further empowerment and an implement of their ruin. Over the past two years, embracing the energy of Donald Trump's presidency, ...

    First it was the leader of a major U.S. pharmaceutical, then the CEO of an athletic gear company, and before the day had ended, the chief executive of a $170 billion tech giant. Three of the nation's top executives resigned from a federal panel created years ago to advise the U.S. president. Now, others are pushing for more executives to refuse to serve President Donald Trump after what many believe to be an inadequate response to a rally of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, that left one dead and dozens injured. Related SearchesUnder Armour Ceo TrumpTrump Manufacturing CouncilTrump Merck Ceo Announcing his resignation Monday, Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier cited the president's failure to explicitly rebuke the white nationalists. He wrote on Twitter that America...

    With US Congress members focused during their August recess on finding ways to lower the corporate tax rate, industry groups and other sectors of society are gearing up to fight proposed changes to the personal income tax. While tax cuts for business have garnered the most headlines, lobbyists and lawmakers have conceded that rewriting the corporate tax code will be a long slog. Tackling personal tax rates will be easier, many argue. Looking for an easier legislative win ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, most lawmakers in the Republican majority want to cut individual incomes taxes. President Donald Trump has been pushing hard for tax changes this year. Still, proposed changes to the personal tax code have already stirred opposition from realtors, home builders, mortgag...

    Donald Trump has faced a hail of criticism after failing to explicitly condemn violence by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, that culminated in a car running into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing at least one person. The president said he condemned hatred, bigotry and violence from all sources and all sides. But there was immediate disbelief at Trump equating a largely peaceful counter-protest with far-right extremists who had marched through the streets carrying flaming torches, screaming racial epithets and setting upon their opponents. Both Republicans and Democrats quickly lined up to call for a specific denunciation of the white nationalists responsible for the Unite the Right rally and its deadly outcome. The clashes started after the far-right e...

    Members of an extended family have been convicted of running a modern slavery ring which kept one of its captives in truly shocking conditions for decades. Vulnerable people were forced to work for the family for little or no wages, while their pay-masters lived a life of lavish luxury. The 11 gang-members, convicted of fraud and slavery charges, enjoyed holidays to Barbados and cosmetic surgery and even shelled out on a Manchester United soccer school, earned off the backs of their workers. Operating from sites in Lincolnshire, they targeted victims who were homeless, had learning disabilities or complex drug and alcohol issues. The men, aged 18 to 63, were freed after raids by Lincolnshire Police and the National Crime Agency, carried out in 2014. One of the victims was ...

    Current and former U.S. diplomats reacted to President Trump's comments thanking Russian President Vladimir Putin for expelling U.S. embassy workers with dismay. As far as I'm concerned I'm very thankful that he let go of a large number of people because now we have a smaller payroll, Trump said at a briefing at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey on Thursday. We'll save a lot of money, he added. It's unclear if the U.S. would save any money because of the expulsion. Any diplomats removed from Russia would be sent to posts elsewhere around the world. The Russian order to expel 755 U.S. diplomats last month came in response to new sanctions imposed by the U.S. A diplomatic row over Russian interference in the 2016 election began last year after President Obama ordered t...

    A couple at the Wisconsin State Fair was busted for giving visitors an X-rated show, according to reports. The man and woman, who were not immediately identified, were caught having sex at the fair’s concession seating area in a video posted online over the weekend in West Allis, news station WITI reported. Wisconsin State Fair officials confirmed that appalling footage from the fair had been circulating on Facebook. When Wisconsin State Fair officials were apprised of this appalling viral video post, a thorough investigation was conducted and the video was removed, fair spokesman Kristi Chuckel told news station WISN. The pair appeared to be fully aware that they were being filmed during the tryst. In the video, the man, whose bare buttocks were in full view, could even b...

    The Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in suburban Minneapolis, like other U.S. mosques, occasionally receives threatening calls and emails. Its leaders say they're more frightened now after an explosive shattered windows and damaged a room as worshippers prepared for morning prayers. We feel like it's much deeper and scarier than like something random, Mohamed Omar, the center's executive director, said Sunday. It's so scary. No one was hurt in the blast, which happened around 5 a.m. Saturday. Windows of the imam's office were shattered, either by what the FBI called an improvised explosive device or by an object thrown through them. The FBI is seeking suspects and trying to determine whether the incident was a hate crime. Gov. Mark Dayton joined other public officials and comm...

    A second body has been found in the rubble of a collapsed school building in Minneapolis after an explosion killed a school employee and injured several others, fire officials said Wednesday night. The explosion at the Minnehaha Upper School at approximately 10:20 a.m. caused two floors of the Christian private school to collapse over a sub-basement, Fire Chief John Fruetel said. Family members and co-workers identified one victim as Ruth Berg, whose body was recovered from the rubble Wednesday afternoon. Fruetel said the second body was recovered around 8 p.m. Wednesday. He added that the medical examiner's office is working to notify relatives. Seven other adults were hospitalized, including three with critical injuries. Assistant Fire Chief Bryan Tyner confirmed that th...