JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinians are preparing to celebrate Christmas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, the historic birthplace of Jesus. Sunday’s festivities are being held against the backdrop of protests over President Donald Trump’s declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Vatican officials crossed an Israeli military checkpoint from Jerusalem ahead of midnight…
By ROBERT JABLON, Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California wildfire that has killed two people and seared its way through cities, towns and wilderness northwest of Los Angeles became the largest blaze ever officially recorded in California on Friday, authorities said. The Thomas fire took only 2 ½ weeks to burn its way into…
By PHUONG LE, Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Video from the cab of the Amtrak train that hurtled off the tracks in Washington state, killing three people and injuring dozens, shows that the engineer did not appear to be using a cellphone or any other personal electronic device just before the derailment, federal investigators said Friday.…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is in Florida celebrating the holidays and a much-needed political victory. Before departing for his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump signed the $1.5 trillion tax overhaul into law. He also put off a government shutdown by signing a temporary spending bill. The tax cut is a long-held Republican goal. Starting next…
By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he’s getting ready to sign into law a $1.5 trillion tax overhaul package. It provides generous cuts for corporations and the wealthiest Americans and smaller ones for the middle class and low-income families. Trump tweeted that he’ll sign the law in the Oval Office…
By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-led Congress narrowly passed a temporary spending bill to avert a government shutdown, doing the bare minimum in a sprint toward the holidays and punting disputes on immigration, health care and the budget to next year. The measure passed the House on Thursday on a 231-188 vote…
By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-led House narrowly passed a temporary spending bill to avert a government shutdown Thursday, doing the bare minimum in a sprint toward the holidays and punting disputes on immigration, health care and national security to next year. The vote was 231-188 with Democrats criticizing Republicans’ inability to…
By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans early Thursday unveiled a new, stripped-down spending bill to prevent a government shutdown this weekend and allow quarreling lawmakers to punt most of their unfinished business into the new year. The bill would stave off a government shutdown through Jan. 19 and permit lawmakers to head…
By ALAN FRAM, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — It was a victory lap so irresistible that Speaker Paul Ryan did it twice. When the House approved the $1.5 trillion Republican tax bill Tuesday and again Wednesday with minor changes, it was a beaming Ryan who emphatically pounded the gavel, announced the vote and applauded his bellowing…
By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER and MARCY GORDON, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Jubilant Republicans pushed on early Wednesday to the verge of the most sweeping rewrite of the nation’s tax laws in more than three decades, a deeply unpopular bill they insist Americans will learn to love when they see their paychecks in the new year. President…