President Donald Trump gleefully announced that, under his direction, U.S. military troops had swooped down on the Governor’s Mansion in Sacramento and kidnapped California Governor Gavin Newsom. “We’re charging Newscum with fraud.” When a reporter asked for specifics about the fraud charges, Trump pointed to Attorney General Pam Bondi. Bondi, clearly taken by surprise, said, “We’re looking into it and will let you know the details as soon as we’ve created them.”   read more

Tourists visiting the Smithsonian may have to pay higher prices for souvenirs from the gift shop following demands by one U.S. senator that the museum sell only products made in the United States.   The changeover, set to take effect in July, ...   read more

Women continue to make less money than men, earning on average about 80% of male salaries. According to the website 24/7 Wall St., the disparity in wages is even greater in some sectors, as seen in the list of 10 worst industries for women in te...   read more

In the war against cyber-spying, the United States is losing out to China, according to experts in the field and previously undisclosed government documents. Chinese hackers have stolen terabytes (trillions of bytes) of sensitive data ranging fr...   read more

Organized labor isn’t the only target of newly-elected Republican governors this year. Environmental laws also are within the GOP sights.   Maine’s governor, Paul LePage, has crafted a 63-point plan to cut environmental regulations, which incl...   read more

A special unit created in 2009 by the IRS to audit wealthy Americans with foreign assets has investigated only 13 tax returns to date.   The Global High Wealth Industry Group of the IRS audited two returns in fiscal year 2010 and 11 during the...   read more

For Jorge Ramón Hernández Alcerro, serving as Honduras’ ambassador to the United States seems like old times, having already served in this capacity in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His current stint began on May 5, 2010. The year before, he h...   read more

America’s wealthy plan to increase their spending on luxury goods this year, forking out $26.6 billion more than in 2010, according to an American Express Publishing and Harrison Group survey of 1,458 families with more than $100,000 that can be...   read more

Michael Ferreira, who is now 57 years old, will be arraigned in juvenile court in Massachusetts for a murder he is charged with committing more than 40 years ago, when he was 16. He was arrested in New Hampshire and is awaiting extradition.   ...   read more

Migrant workers from Vietnam have sued in U.S. federal court over being mistreated in America by Vietnamese companies.   The lawsuit targets International Investment Trade and Service group (Interserco) and General Automotive Industry Corp. of...   read more

Gabriel Silva Luján began his second stint as Colombia’s ambassador to the United States in August 2010. He previously held this post in the mid-1990s.   Silva was born on October 5, 1957, in Barranquilla. One of nine children, he completed hi...   read more

An economist by trade with extensive experience in international finance and banking, György Szapáry took over as Hungary’s ambassador to the United States in January 2011. This marks the first diplomatic post of his career.   The grandson of ...   read more

Less than half of all Americans were part of the workforce last year, raising concerns about the nation’s long-term ability to support itself.   Only 45.4% of the U.S. population had jobs in 2010, marking the lowest rate since 1983. Also, only...   read more

Fans of Elvis Presley living in Europe need not travel to Tennessee to get a glimpse of Graceland.   A replica of the King’s home has been built in Randers, Denmark, although this Graceland is actually twice the size of the original so it can ...   read more

China’s government has had it with movies in which protagonists go back in time and fall in love. Such films have become popular lately with Chinese television watchers, leading cultural authorities to scrutinize the trendy entertainment. Li Jin...   read more

Gabriele Weber, a freelance journalist from Germany who has investigated Nazi war criminals and human rights violations in South America, has been permanently denied entry into the United States.   The U.S. government has refused to give a spe...   read more

An academic turned diplomat, Alia Hatoug-Bouran became Jordan’s first female ambassador prior to assuming her post in the United States on September 14, 2010.   Born in Amman, Bouran earned her Bachelor of Science degree (1979) and Master of S...   read more