U.S. President Donald Trump is heading to Capitol Hill to meet Tuesday with Republican senators as he rallies support for a tax reform bill set to come to a vote later this week. After talks with the president on Monday, Senate leaders confirmed their intention to vote on the massive plan that would permanently cut corporate taxes, temporarily cut income taxes, and add more than $1 trillion to America’s national debt. “The current plan this week is to vote on the Senate tax bill,” said Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas. “The goal is to get the economy growing again.” Cornyn and other Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee had a working lunch with President Trump at the White House amid furious efforts to round up at least 50 votes for the tax plan in the 100-member chamber. Republicans have a two-seat majority, and no Senate Democrat has come out …

The White House said Monday that with the defeat of Islamic State the United States is winding down its military support for the local groups fighting the militants. The news of the policy change first came last week from Turkey, which has long complained of the US support for Kurdish YPG militia that Ankara considers a terrorist organization. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports. …

The Washington Post says it was targeted by a conservative sting operation that tried to get it to print a dramatic but phony story about Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore and a pregnant teenager. The Post broke the story about alleged sexual misconduct by Moore and his reported pursuit of teenage girls when he was in his 30s and an Alabama district attorney. Several woman gave similar accounts to the newspaper. Moore has denied the allegations and threatened to sue the newspaper. The Post said late Monday a woman identifying herself as Jaime Phillips told a reporter that Moore impregnated her when she was 15 and forced her to have an abortion. She told the reporter she wanted the Post to guarantee Moore would lose the election to the U.S. Senate if she told her story. But the newspaper found numerous holes and inconsistencies in her account and her background …

A senior U.S. official overseeing a reorganization of the State Department that has been criticized by current and former U.S. diplomats has stepped down after less than four months on the job, U.S. officials said on Monday. Maliz Beams, a former financial industry executive who was named State Department counselor on Aug. 17, is “stepping away” to return to Boston, said a department spokesman on condition of anonymity. Christine Ciccone, the department’s deputy chief of staff, will take over the agency’s “redesign,” he added. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has been criticized by current and former U.S. diplomats as well as by some members of Congress for his management of the agency, where may top posts have not been filled nearly 10 months into Tillerson’s tenure. The department has also seen an exodus of senior diplomats. Tillerson defended the department when he was recently asked about morale problems and concerns …

Diplomats are searching for ways to prevent the global trade dispute resolution system from freezing up, after the Trump administration blocked appointments to the body that acts as the supreme court for global trade. U.S. President Donald Trump has vetoed the appointment of judges to fill vacancies on the seven-member Apellate Body of the World Trade Organization, which provides final decisions in arguments between countries over trade. “Members are already having a conversation about what to do with this situation,” WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo told reporters. “They are floating ideas, they are discussing. We have to see how that evolves.” The WTO normally has seven judges and needs three to sign off on every appeal ruling. But two have left and another goes in December, leaving only four — just one above the minimum — to deal with a growing backlog of trade disputes. Azevedo said he did not …

Some Republicans are hoping lawmakers will soon wrap up investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election that have dragged on for most of the year. But with new details in the probe emerging almost daily, that seems unlikely. Three congressional committees are investigating Russian interference and whether President Donald Trump’s campaign was in any way involved. The panels have obtained thousands of pages of documents from Trump’s campaign and other officials, and have done dozens of interviews. The probes are separate from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. Mueller can prosecute for criminal activity, while Congress can only lay out findings, publicize any perceived wrongdoing and pass legislation to try to keep problems from happening again. If any committee finds evidence of criminal activity, it must refer the matter to Mueller. All three committees have focused on a June 2016 meeting that Trump campaign officials held in Trump Tower with …

Houston Ballet artistic director Stanton Welch looked flushed as he stood at the edge of the Hobby Center’s Sarofim Hall stage during a break in the company’s annual Jubilee of Dance performance. The Houston Chronicle reports his military-style jacket seemed apt for the warrior’s role he has played in recent months, trying to keep his 59 dancers sharp and happy in their glittering costumes as he shuffles their performances in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. The audience had just seen a video describing how the ballet rebounded from damage to its $45 million studio building but lost its stage venue — the Wortham Theater Center — for what will likely be the entire season, forcing a season-long home town tour. And Welch wanted to convey the gargantuan effort it takes to produce world-class dancing, even as some of his weary staff members continue going home every night to flood-gutted messes. …

The U.S. consumer watchdog agency, enmeshed in partisan politics since its creation after the 2008 financial crisis, is now at the center of a tug-of-war over who will lead it. Both the departing director — an Obama appointee often criticized as being too aggressive by banks and Congressional Republicans — and the White House have named interim leaders of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.   What the CFPB is The CFPB was proposed by now-Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, in her previous job at Harvard Law School, and it was created as part of the laws passed following the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent recession. It was given a broad mandate to be a watchdog for consumers when they deal with banks and credit card, student loan and mortgage companies, as well as debt collectors and payday lenders.   The idea was to prevent financial companies, such as mortgage servicers, from …

The U.S. State Department on Monday expressed concern about planned legislation it said could weaken Romania’s fight against corruption. The proposals threaten “the progress Romania has made in recent years to build strong judicial institutions shielded from political interference,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement. The statement urged Parliament “to reject proposals that weaken the rule of law and endanger the fight against corruption.” Justice Minister Florin Iordache, however, told public broadcaster TVR that the proposals wouldn’t damage the independence of the justice system. He said lawmakers would take into account U.S. concerns. Romanian magistrates, the general prosecutor and the anti-corruption prosecutors’ agency have also criticized the proposals. Romania has been praised for efforts to clamp down on high-level corruption in recent years.  However, the left-wing government wants to revamp the justice system, which has sparked protests. On Sunday, tens of thousands demonstrated across Romania. One proposal …

The White House is denying President Donald Trump uttered a racial slur during an Oval Office event Monday honoring some Native American military veterans. “I don’t think that it is and that certainly not was the president’s intent,” replied Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders when asked about Trump again referring to Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren as “Pocahontas,” the name of the famous reputed daughter of an early 17th century tribal chief. During an event to honor World War II code talkers from the Navajo tribe, Trump, in an ad-libbed remark, told the five elderly Marine Corps veterans “you were here long before any of us were here. Although we have a representative in Congress who they say was here a long time ago. They call her Pocahontas.” Trump repeatedly called Warren by that name during his successful campaign for the presidency, saying she had lied about her genealogy. Warren, in …

President Donald Trump will not campaign for Republican Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore before the Dec. 12 special election, a White House official said Monday. Despite public statements in which he raised doubts about the accounts of women who have accused Moore of sexual misconduct, Trump will not to travel to Alabama on Moore’s behalf, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the president’s plans publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.   The president held the door open to campaigning for Moore last week, when he all but endorsed Moore’s candidacy and attacked his Democratic opponent, Doug Jones   The announcement comes as Trump continued to wade into race over the weekend, taking to Twitter to bash Jones.   Trump said electing the Democrat as Alabama’s next senator “would be a disaster,” warning of damage to his legislative agenda.   “The last thing …

One terrorist was killed in a targeted airstrike in Somalia conducted by U.S. forces in coordination with Somalia’s government, the U.S. military said Monday. The strike against Islamic State fighters was carried out around 3pm local time on Monday in northeastern Somalia, U.S. Africa Command said in a statement. “U.S. forces will continue to use all authorized and appropriate measures to protect U.S. citizens and to disable terrorist threats. This includes partnering with AMISOM and Somali National Security Forces (SNSF) in combined counterterrorism operations and targeting terrorists, their training camps, and their safe havens throughout Somalia and the region,” the statement read. Monday’s strike brings the total number of U.S. airstrikes in Somalia this year to 30 – 28 of them having been carried out against al-Shabab. It is the second targeted at Islamic State fighters, the first having been carried out earlier this month. Intensified airstrikes and renewed battles …

As tensions escalate between North Korea and the United States, Hawaii finds itself on the frontlines in preparing for a nuclear attack. Whether or not North Korea has developed the capability of hitting the islands with a missile, state officials aren’t taking any chances. Starting in December, Hawaii will be testing its “Attack Warning” siren for the first time since the Cold War in the 1980s. The state is adding the signal to its monthly “Attention Alert” test, which warns people of an incoming tsunami or hurricane. While the wailing siren could be used to warn of a nuclear strike from North Korea, Vern Miyagi, administrator of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA), said he thinks an attack is unlikely. “If North Korea launches against us or our allies, the retaliation would be complete and they would defeat North Korea’s ambition to continue its regime. So if they did launch …

For students at The Farm School in Hamilton, Virginia, the classroom is the great outdoors. The 3- and 4-year-olds play – and learn – outside every day. “The number one question immediately we get from parents is ‘What happens if it rains?’” says school co-founder Jaclyn Jenkins. “And we say, ‘Bring an extra pair of clothes!’ We still educate them. They also get energy. Their brains are working, when they’re moving. So our goal is to always be outside.” Classroom with no Walls Teacher Alison Huff, who has worked with students at other schools, says they just have a more hands-on learning style here. “When we were doing pumpkins, we incorporated counting. We’re incorporating opposites. They were explaining the colors. We’re teaching measurements, when we plant the seeds, we count 12 inches between every seed. We can use everything a regular preschool uses, but out in the garden.” In addition …

Startup founders, investors and tech leaders from around the world are heading to Hyderabad, India for the 8th annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit, co-hosted by the U.S. and Indian governments. Ivanka Trump, adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump and his daughter, will join host Prime Minister Narendra Modi in kicking off the three-day event, which will focus on women in business. More than 1,500 participants from 150 countries are expected at the event, which runs from November 28 through 30.   It had not been clear whether the Trump administration would continue the annual summit that was launched at the White House by the Obama administration in 2010. Trump has focused on domestic growth and U.S. job creation with an “America first” message. But in June, Prime Minister Modi, while visiting the White House, announced that the two countries would co-host the summit.   America first, global partners   The gathering comes …

After offering online deals for days, retailers are rolling out even more promotions for Cyber Monday, hoping to keep people buying stuff on their smartphones or computers. Shoppers are expected to spend $6.6 billion on Cyber Monday, up more than 16 percent from a year ago, according to Adobe Analytics, the research arm of software maker Adobe. And more people will be picking up their phones to shop: Web traffic from smartphones and tablets is expected to top desktop computers for the first time this year, Adobe said. At the MacArthur Center shopping mall in Norfolk, Virginia, on Sunday, Kathy Lewis was there not to shop but to get her nails done. Her plan is to make her big purchases on Cyber Monday, including the newest model Nerf gun for her boyfriend’s nephew. Lewis said she gave up years ago on waiting in line at Toys “R” Us. “It’s so …