The U.N. Security Council failed to agree Thursday on either a U.S. or Russian proposal to find a way forward on the Venezuelan crisis. The 15-nation council voted on two draft resolutions. The U.S. text had the support of the majority of the council members but was blocked by Russia and China, while a Russian draft garnered only four positive votes. The U.S. text stressed the need to “prevent further deterioration” of the humanitarian situation and to allow unhindered access for the delivery of aid throughout the country. The government of disputed President Nicolas Maduro has refused to recognize that there is a humanitarian crisis in the country and is not permitting aid from the United States to enter the country, saying it is a pretext for a U.S. military invasion. The American draft also expressed “deep concern” that the May 2018 presidential elections that gave the incumbent Maduro a second six-year term …

U.S. lawmakers expressed anger Thursday about President Donald Trump’s defense of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who claimed he knew nothing about the alleged torture of a jailed U.S. college student who later died. Otto Warmbier, charged with stealing a propaganda poster during an organized tour, was sentenced to 15 years at hard labor in North Korea in March 2016.  Freed 15 months later, Warmbier, in a comatose state, died shortly after he was brought back to the United States. Trump, speaking after his summit meeting with Kim in Hanoi, said Kim told him he felt “very badly about it” and that “he didn’t know about it, and I will take him at his word. … He knew the case very well, but he knew it later. … I don’t believe that he would have allowed that to happen. Those prisons are rough — they’re rough places, and bad things …

U.S. agencies on Thursday promised stricter monitoring of  China-funded Confucius Institutes, cultural centers at U.S. universities that have been criticized for serving as propaganda arms of the Communist government in Beijing. Officials from the Departments of State and Education told a Senate hearing they would more closely police visas granted to the institutes’ staff and do more to ensure that schools meet requirements to report large donations from foreign governments. “We fully understand and share your concern about the need to keep malign foreign interests from compromising the academic integrity of American colleges and universities, while respecting the importance of institutional autonomy and academic freedom,” Deputy Secretary of Education Mitchell Zais told the hearing, adding that the department “stands ready” to work with the committee going forward. Senate report highly critical Amid wide-ranging criticism of China in Washington, the Senate Oversight Committee’s Permanent Committee on Investigations held the hearing a …

The new U.N. special envoy for Syria said Thursday his goals in the period ahead are to achieve “concrete action” on detained and missing people and the convening of a committee to draft a new constitution for the war-torn country “as soon as possible.” Geir Pedersen said he also wants to begin a sustained dialogue with the government and opposition “on building trust and confidence,” to engage a wide-range of Syrians, and to help the international community deepen its dialogue on achieving a political settlement of the eight-year conflict. Pedersen’s first briefing to the U.N. Security Council indicated a much broader approach to trying to end the war and restore peace to Syria than his predecessor, Staffan de Mistura, who spent his last year trying unsuccessfully to form a constitutional committee. The Security Council has been deeply divided over Syria, with the U.S. and its allies backing the opposition and …

So what comes next? After President Donald Trump’s long-awaited second summit with North Korea ended inconclusively, the adversaries enter a period of deep uncertainty, if not fresh crisis. Trump, who had built up expectations for months over his second outing with leader Kim Jong Un, left Hanoi early with no deal — and no agreed plan for another summit. North Korea said it offered to close its Yongbyon nuclear plant in return for a partial easing of sanctions, but Trump — the self-styled master negotiator — called for complete denuclearization in exchange for full sanctions relief. “The fact that there was no deal — and not even a partial deal, despite the fact that President Trump indicated that a small deal was possible — I think that is a significant disappointment,” said Frank Aum, a former top adviser on North Korea to US defense secretaries. “All that shows to me …

After hours of dramatic public testimony about U.S. President Donald Trump’s business and political life, longtime Trump lawyer Michael Cohen returns Thursday to Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers again. The session before the House intelligence committee is a closed-door event, just as his appearance at the Senate intelligence committee was earlier this week. It was at the House Oversight Committee where Cohen made news Wednesday by calling Trump a “racist, a con man and a cheat.” Trump pushed back Thursday during a news conference in Vietnam after a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He said Cohen was “incorrect” and that he “lied a lot.”  His only praise for Cohen was that he was impressed his former lawyer did not lie about collusion. “The most important question up there was the one on collusion, and he said he saw no collusion,” Trump said. WATCH: Trump on Cohen …

Talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, ended early, these are key takeaways from Trump’s closing news conference: Trump described the talks as a very productive two days He said Kim “has a certain vision and it’s not exactly our vision” on denuclearization” He said Kim wanted all sanctions lifted, which the United States could not agree to Trump said Kim promised him “he’s not going to do testing” of rockets and missiles or anything nuclear He said dismantling the Yongbyon nuclear complex was discussed in exchange for lifting of sanctions Trump described China and Russia as having been helpful in the process No commitment yet to a third summit, but hopes next meeting could be soon …

The table had been set for a celebratory lunch at the landmark Metropole Hotel and a ceremony prepared for U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to sign agreements. But both events were hastily canceled just before noon Thursday, bringing a premature end to the second summit by the leaders of the two countries. “You always have to be prepared to walk,” Trump said, adding “I could have signed something today” and confirming, “we actually had papers ready to be signed.” The president added that Kim wanted sanctions lifted in their entirety and we couldn’t do that,” Trump explained at a news conference in the Hanoi, after the talks collapsed. “They were willing to denuke a large portion of the areas we wanted, but we couldn’t give up all the sanctions for that.” He said they discussed dismantling the Yongbyon nuclear complex, but a complicating matter …

The top U.S. trade official said Wednesday that a new trade agreement with China is not yet close to being completed. State Department correspondent Nike Ching reports from Washington on the latest in the talks and how U.S. concerns over high-tech issues remain a key point of friction. VOA Mandarin reporter Yihua Lee contributes. …

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un left open the possibility of denuclearization during his meeting Thursday with U.S. President Donald Trump. “If I’m not willing to do that, I wouldn’t be here right now,” Kim said in response to a question from reporters in Hanoi, Vietnam. When asked if he is willing to take concrete steps toward denuclearization, Kim said that is what is under discussion. Trump said the two leaders are having “very productive discussions” and that he thinks the relationship between the two sides is better than it has ever been. “I think no matter what happens we’re going to ultimately have a deal that’s really good for Chairman Kim and his country and for us. I think ultimately that’s what’s going to happen,” Trump said. Important ‘we get it right’ The short-term, concrete outcome of the two-day summit was not clear as it neared its conclusion Thursday. …

A new survey shows a widespread lack of confidence in U.S. leadership from residents around the world, with only 31 percent approving of the job performance of American leadership, which drops it below global perceptions for both Germany and China. The new poll by Gallup, released Thursday, shows that during President Donald’s Trump second year in office, views of American leadership remained roughly the same after dropping 18 points during Trump’s first year. The report said the U.S. numbers for 2018 “suggest that the doubts sowed in Trump’s first year about U.S. commitments abroad have taken root — and the unpredictability of the U.S. president in now somewhat expected.” Both China and Russia gained considerable ground in the survey, which is based on responses from people in 133 countries. China’s median approval rating rose to 34 percent and Russia’s rating reached 30 percent, nearly equaling the U.S. number. ​Those gains …

New Mexico could become the latest state in the American West to place major restrictions on wildlife trapping as frontier ethics and suburban attitudes toward animal suffering collide over the use of steel foot traps and wire snares that many ranchers still swear by. A Democrat-backed bill that bans traps, snares and animal poison on public land with few exceptions was poised for a crucial vote in in the state House of Representatives as soon as Thursday. Consideration by a less politically progressive Senate would come next. Newly inaugurated Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has not taken a public position yet. The proposed trapping prohibition holds implications for wildlife and recreation across an estimated 30 percent of New Mexico — state and federal lands where independent, state-licensed trappers are frequently called on to help protect private livestock, or set out to harvest and sell the pelts of coyotes, bobcats, mountain …

Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s disgraced former personal lawyer and fixer, is headed for three years in prison for lying to Congress, cheating on his taxes and a host of other crimes. He faced a tall order Wednesday to convince lawmakers that Trump had engaged in criminal activity before and after the 2016 election and that the president was a “cheat” and “con man.” With Democrats wary of Cohen and Republicans poised to shred what little remains of his integrity as a lawyer and operative, Cohen dug several potentially incriminating documents out of boxes in storage in a bid to bolster his explosive claims during testimony before the House Oversight Committee. The documents included a personal check for $35,000 that Trump signed Aug. 1, 2017, to partially reimburse Cohen for $130,000 in hush money that was paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels to prevent her from going public with her …

The U.S. has counted more measles cases in the first two months of this year than in all of 2017, and part of the rising threat is misinformation that makes some parents balk at a crucial vaccine, federal health officials told Congress Wednesday. Yet the vaccine is hugely effective and very safe — so the rise of measles cases “is really unacceptable,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, infectious disease chief at the National Institutes of Health. The disease was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, which means it was not being spread domestically. But cases have been rising in recent years, and 2019 is shaping up to be a bad one. Republican and Democratic lawmakers at the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing bemoaned what’s called “vaccine hesitancy,” meaning when people refuse or delay vaccinations. “These outbreaks are tragic since they’re completely avoidable,” said Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky. “This is …

President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee said on Wednesday it received a subpoena for documents from the attorney general for the District of Columbia, the third agency to demand information on how it raised and spent $107 million. The subpoena follows similar requests for documents in recent weeks by New Jersey’s attorney general and federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. “The Presidential Inauguration Committee is in receipt of the subpoena issued by the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, and is in contact with staff regarding this inquiry,” a spokesperson for the inaugural committee said in a statement. News of the subpoena was first reported by the New York Times, which said Washington Attorney General Karl Racine appeared to be looking for evidence of self-dealing and whether funds raised were wasted or mismanaged for private benefit. Racine’s office, which enforces the laws of the district, including for …

John Bolton, U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, shakes stars-and-stripes maracas as he dreams of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro behind bars in an orange prison suit. “Guantanamero … Maduro Guantanamero …,” Bolton sings in a caricature by Venezuelan cartoonist Fernando Pinilla — a play on both the well-known Cuban song, and the U.S. military detention center at Guantanamo Bay. A mounted copy of the cartoon from Miami newspaper Diario Las Americas has joined the trophy wall in Bolton’s West Wing office, which until now has been dominated by mementos associated with his signature foreign policy fight: Iran. One cartoon features an ayatollah hearing about Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. The new addition is a sign of how Bolton’s hawkish focus has zeroed in on a new target — getting Maduro to leave Venezuela. It’s a battle he has waged on Twitter, where his acid-tongued trolling of the …

Silicon Valley billionaire Elon Musk changed his Twitter display name to “Elon Tusk” in another late-night flurry of tweets on Wednesday, which also promised news from his electric carmaker Tesla Inc later this week. In a series of tweets to his 25 million followers following charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this week, Musk accused the regulator of failing to read Tesla’s annual reports and said its oversight was “broken”. On Wednesday, he changed his display name and added an elephant tag. Social media platforms have featured a number of memes involving wordplay around Musk’s name this week. He also promised Tesla would have “news” at 2 p.m. California time on Thursday. The company, deep in debt as it ramps up production of its popular Model 3 sedan, is due to repay a $920 million convertible bond a day later. Musk had promised last year to have …

White House adviser Jared Kushner made a whirlwind visit this week to rally U.S.-allied Gulf Arab allies to support his still- unannounced Middle East peace plan, the leaked contours of which suggest little has been done to address Arab demands. Kushner’s approach to ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict does not appear to have progressed since his last regional tour in June, focusing largely on economic initiatives at the expense of a land-for-peace deal long central to the official Arab position, two sources in the Gulf told Reuters on Wednesday. Palestinians have refused to discuss any peace blueprint with the United States in the wake of President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017, while some Arab leaders have publicly rejected any deal that fails to address Jerusalem’s status or refugees’ right of return. Kushner, who is President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, met with leaders in the United Arab Emirates, …