While the Trump administration is exploring strategies to thwart North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, former U.S. officials who dealt with the communist state extensively offer mixed views on how to achieve that goal. Earlier this week, Pyongyang launched four ballistic missiles in an apparent protest against U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises, prompting Beijing to intervene. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi proposed Wednesday to halt the military drills in exchange for North Korea freezing nuclear and missile programs, a proposition that has been rejected by the United States and South Korea. Speaking to reporters after attending a U.N. Security Council meeting over the launches, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said the regime must take “positive action” before it can be taken seriously. She made her remarks a week before U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is scheduled to make his first trip to Asia, where North Korea is likely …

Israel’s prime minister was in Moscow Thursday to talk with Russia’s president about the Syrian crisis, the latest sign of Russia’s growing influence in the Middle East as well as Israel’s concerns over Moscow’s regional allies. Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin made no joint statement following the talks, but Netanyahu later issued a statement indicating he had “made it clear” to Putin that Israel wants to prevent any Syrian settlement from leaving “Iran and its proxies with a military presence” in Syria. Russia has come to assume a larger role in Israel’s foreign policy calculations since the Kremlin’s intervention in the Syrian conflict in September 2015. While Putin at the time justified Russia’s actions as taking the fight to global terrorists and the Islamic State, Western critics argue the intervention was also aimed at salvaging the government of besieged Moscow’s ally, Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. Russia’s wider role It’s that …

The son of a former U.S. FBI agent who went missing in Iran 10 years ago is urging the Trump administration to “constantly annoy” Tehran into locating his father, whom he believes is still alive. Daniel Levinson spoke to VOA’s Persian service in Washington on Thursday, the 10th anniversary of the disappearance of his father, Robert Levinson. Watch: Son of Former FBI Agent Missing in Iran for 10 Years “Simply asking for the Iranian government’s help in locating my dad is not going to be enough anymore,” Daniel Levinson said. He said the Trump administration should “constantly annoy” Iranian authorities by negotiating through private channels. He also wrote a column in The Washington Post saying that if Iran fails to act, President Donald Trump should impose more sanctions on the country or declare its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization. Robert Levinson, whose 69th birthday is Friday, disappeared March 9, …

Even if extremist groups in Africa were wiped out militarily, the continent’s massive population of young people would continue to be susceptible to terror groups because of a lack of economic opportunity, the general in charge of U.S. military operations there said Thursday. Speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee, General Thomas Waldhauser, the head of U.S. Africa Command, said the economic crisis confronting African youth was “the biggest challenge” on the continent. “We could knock off all the ISIL and Boko Haram this afternoon, [but] by the end of the week, so to speak, those ranks would be filled,” Waldhauser said. ISIL is the U.S. military’s acronym for the Islamic State group. Young people in Africa joined extremist groups because “they needed a job, they needed a livelihood,” he added. “It’s not, for the most part in those regions, about ideology.” The general noted boys and girls under age …

U.S. President Donald Trump’s new environmental chief said Thursday that carbon dioxide emissions are not a chief contributor to global warming. “I would not agree that it’s a primary contributor to the global warming that we see,” Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt said on CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box.’ “But we don’t know that yet … We need to continue to the debate and continue the review and the analyses,” Pruitt added. Pruitt’s position on carbon dioxide is contrary to the official positions formulated by scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and at the federal space agency NASA. “The planet’s average surface temperature has risen about 2.0 degrees Fahrenheit [1.1 degrees Celsius] since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere,” the two agencies said in January. The Union of Concerned Scientists, a non-profit, science advocacy …

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange accused the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency of “devastating incompetence” Thursday after his organization was able to obtain and publish documents related to CIA hacking programs. “This is a historic act of devastating incompetence, to have created such an arsenal and then stored it all in one place and not secured it,” Assange said during a live-streamed press conference. Earlier this week, WikiLeaks published thousands of pages of what it says are classified CIA documents that expose “the entire hacking capacity of the CIA.” The documents allege that the CIA has the tools to hack into smart phones and some televisions, allowing the agency to remotely spy on people through microphones on the devices. Assange said during the news conference that several technology companies contacted WikiLeaks and asked for more information about the CIA operation. Assange said he would work with technology companies to help them protect …

Pouring milk into her cereal bowl, Olivia Juarez puts on an infectious smile for the camera, perhaps inspired by the telenovella playing behind her.  “Can you fit me in your bag?” she asks, laughing. As a single mother who supports four children, several grandchildren and her own mother, Juarez has persevered through economic struggles all her life, working two, sometimes three jobs. But her motto has carried her through times of distress and happiness: “Move ahead, not backward.” It’s these words that guided her most recent – and hardest – decision, one that no mother would take lightly: to leave her children behind in Mexico to provide them with opportunities she never had. “Better that I put myself in danger than my kids,” she says, while acknowledging that beginning from scratch in the United States would not be easy, either. “The reality is, when you’re not a resident or from …

A contingent of U.S. Marines has arrived in northeast Syria to provide artillery support for local forces in an upcoming assault on Raqqa, the defacto capital of the Islamic State terror group, U.S. officials said. But there appears to be no final agreement yet between Washington and Ankara on the disposition of the Raqqa attack force — whether U.S.-backed Kurdish militiamen or Turkish-led Syrian rebels will be in the vanguard to oust an estimated 4,000 jihadists entrenched in the city. As the Marines arrived, Turkey’s foreign minister Thursday warned Turkish-led forces will attack U.S.-backed militiamen from the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, if they don’t leave a key town in northern Syria. Such a move would complicate an assault on Raqqa, one that has been delayed for months because of disputes over who should lead the offensive. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkish forces would strike the YPG in …

President Donald Trump holds a net unfavorable rating among Americans, though his favorability rating is still higher than Congress, both major political parties, former rival Hillary Clinton, and the media, according to a new poll. The poll, conducted over the course of last week by USA Today, shows 45 percent of Americans have a favorable view of Trump, while 47 percent view the president negatively. It shows Congress with a 26 percent favorability rating compared to a 52 percent unfavorable. The Republican Party has a 37 percent favorable and 48 percent unfavorable rating. The Democrats similarly have a 36 percent favorable to 52 percent unfavorable rating. Former Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton holds a 36 percent favorable to 55 percent unfavorable rating. Media The media, a frequent target of attacks from Trump, has a 37 percent favorable rating and a 50 percent unfavorable rating. More than one in three respondents …

Concern is starting to grow among foreign diplomats about WikiLeaks’ recent dump of documents that purportedly shows details of sophisticated hacking tools used by U.S. intelligence agents. When asked about the documents Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he always tries not to bring his cell phone with him into sensitive meetings to avoid being spied on. “At least, I succeed not to get into a bad situation,” Lavrov said. Lavrov was referring to allegations in the WikiLeaks documents that the Central Intelligence Agency has tools to hack into smart phones and some televisions, allowing the agency to remotely spy on people through microphones on the devices. Lavrov also said that while Russia has been blamed for recent hacks in the U.S. based on “fingerprints” left after the attacks, the WikiLeaks documents indicate the CIA has the ability to disguise its hacks and make them look like they were …

In a pre-dawn vote Thursday, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives secured a legislative victory as they attempt to scrap and replace former president Barack Obama’s health care plan amid mounting intra-party opposition. After 18 hours of debate, the House Ways and Means Committee abolished the tax penalty in the Affordable Care Act that is imposed on people who don’t buy health insurance. The 23-16 vote, which was along party lines, was symbolically important because it abolished part of the law that Republicans most despised. Several hours after the vote, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said legislators need to see a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate of the impact the measure will have on the federal deficit. “I think we need to know that,” McConnell told reporters at a breakfast hosted by Politico. Other lawmakers, such as Republican Senator Tom Cotton, maintain the rush to approve a replacement bill, …

China on Thursday defended its handling of 38 trademarks it recently approved provisionally for President Donald Trump, saying it followed the law in processing the applications at a pace that some experts view as unusually quick. Democrats in Congress were critical of Trump after The Associated Press reported Wednesday that the potentially valuable trademarks had been granted, raising questions of conflict of interest and political favoritism. One senator said the issue “merits investigation.” Trump has sometimes struggled to win trademarks from China; he secured one recently after a 10-year fight that turned his way only after he declared his candidacy for the presidency. China’s foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in a regular briefing with reporters that Chinese authorities handle all trademark applications “in accordance with the law and regulation.” He declined to comment on speculation about political influence on Trump’s trademark approvals. Critics fear foreign governments might gain leverage …

The Kremlin on Thursday rejected U.S. claims of Russian violations of a landmark nuclear arms treaty, saying it has respected the pact and will continue to do so.   The controversy over the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty adds another thorn in the side for U.S. President Donald Trump’s declared goal of improving ties with Moscow, coming at a time when his administration is facing questions over alleged contacts with Russia during the U.S. election campaign.   Gen. Paul Selva, vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Wednesday accused Russia of deploying a land-based cruise missile in violation of “the spirit and intent” of the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty. He said that Moscow’s intention is to threaten U.S. facilities in Europe and the NATO alliance.   President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded that “we disagree with and reject any such accusations.”   “Russia has adhered …

The “deep state.” It is a murky and ominous term often suggesting a conspiracy — usually involving intelligence agencies, the armed forces or even judges — to influence policy and undercut democratically elected administrations. It has been uttered in recent years to describe the situation in Turkey as well as the internal battles faced by governments in Egypt and Pakistan. “A lot of times other people have seen this nefarious actor that kind of does what it wants to do and sometimes doesn’t follow the directions of a leadership,” said Robert Tomlinson, an associate professor at the Naval War College. The deep state is a “classic” conspiracy theory, said Professor Tim Melley of Miami University in Ohio, who has written extensively on the subject. “It’s describing what might be called bureaucracy.” In decades past, intimations of “deep state” conspiracies in the United States have bubbled to the surface from the …

A gay veterans group said Wednesday it has been denied permission to march in this year’s Boston St. Patrick’s Day parade just two years after organizers made the groundbreaking decision to allow gay groups to participate for the first time. The veterans group, OutVets, said on its Facebook page that the reason for the denial is unclear, but “one can only assume it’s because we are LGBTQ.” The South Boston Allied War Veterans Council, the parade’s organizer, drew immediate condemnation from Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, who said he would not participate in the March 19 parade unless the council reversed course. “I will not tolerate discrimination in our city of any form,” he said in a statement. Republican Gov. Charlie Baker said he would not participate either, while Democratic U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton called for a boycott of the parade. Moulton, who served four tours of duty in Iraq, has …

President Donald Trump’s daughter and son-in-law are renting a house from a foreign billionaire who is fighting the U.S. government over a proposed mine in Minnesota. The Wall Street Journal reports that Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are renting a $5.5 million house in Washington’s Kalorama neighborhood from Andrónico Luksic. One of the Chilean billionaire’s companies is suing the federal government over lost mineral rights leases for a proposed copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota. Luksic’s company, Twin Metals Minnesota, filed suit in September to force renewal of its leases. The lawsuit remains pending. Luksic bought the Kalorama property after the November presidential election. Former President Barack Obama’s administration announced in December it would not renew mineral rights critical to the proposed $2.8 billion Twin Metals project near Ely, near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, about 250 miles north of Minneapolis. Ivanka Trump and Kushner, the president’s senior adviser, moved …

President Donald Trump’s administration is weighing a deployment of up to 1,000 American soldiers to Kuwait to serve as a reserve force in the fight against Islamic State as U.S.-backed fighters accelerate the offensive in Syria and Iraq, U.S. officials told Reuters. Proponents of the option, which has not been previously reported, said it would provide U.S. commanders on the ground greater flexibility to quickly respond to unforeseen opportunities and challenges on the battlefield. It would also represent a step away from standard practices under President Barack Obama’s administration by leaving the ultimate decision on whether to deploy some of those Kuwait-based reserve forces in Syria or Iraq to local commanders. “This is about providing options,” said one U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The officials said the deployment would differ from the existing U.S. troop presence in Kuwait. It was unclear whether the proposal had the support …

Michael Flynn, who was fired last month as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, has registered as a foreign agent with the Justice Department for $530,000 worth of lobbying work that may have aided the Turkish government. A lawyer for the former U.S. Army lieutenant general and intelligence chief said in paperwork filed Tuesday with the Justice Department’s Foreign Agent Registration Unit that Flynn was voluntarily registering for lobbying that “could be construed to have principally benefited the Republic of Turkey.” Under the Foreign Agent Registration Act, U.S. citizens who lobby on behalf of foreign governments or political entities must disclose their work to the Justice Department. Willfully failing to register is a felony, though the Justice Department rarely files criminal charges in such cases. They routinely work with lobbying firms to get individuals back in compliance with the law by registering and disclosing their work. Flynn’s attorney did not …

A federal court in Minneapolis sentenced a Minnesota man to a year in prison Wednesday for threatening to blow up an Islamic center. Daniel George Fisher pleaded guilty in November to charges of sending a letter to the Tawfiq Islamic Center and threatening to “blow up your building with all you immigrants in it.” He also faces three years of federal supervision after he is released from prison. Fisher, 57, told investigators he has been angry at Muslims since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and wanted to stop them from building an Islamic center in his neighborhood. “This sentence sends a message that anyone who threatens others with violence because of religious intolerance will face significant consequences,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler said Wednesday. …

Kansas rancher Greg Gardiner got into some of his scorched pastures for the first time Wednesday and surveyed what he likened to a battle zone: carcasses of dead cattle everywhere. “It’s pretty much a catastrophe,”’ Gardiner said as he looked out on his ranch near Ashland, charred by wildfires that have burned through hundreds of acres in four states. “It’s as bad as a mind can make it.”   Gardiner cries when he talks about how thankful he is that none of his family members were lost in wildfires that that have led to the deaths of six people. Gardiner’s brother Mark lost his home — like dozens of other people in largely rural areas of Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado — but he is safe. Gardiner figures he lost 500 cattle. Any badly burned animals found still alive are mercifully shot. “A lot of people have gone out and …

The state of Hawaii can sue over President Donald Trump’s new executive order temporarily banning the entry of refugees and travelers from six Muslim-majority countries, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday. U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson in Hawaii said the state could revise its initial lawsuit, which had challenged Trump’s original ban signed in January. The state is claiming the revised ban signed by the president on Monday violates the U.S. Constitution. It is the first legal challenge to the revised order. The state of Hawaii will ask the court on Wednesday to put an emergency halt to Trump’s new order, according to a court schedule signed by the judge. A hearing is set for March 15, a day before the new ban is to go into effect. The government has said the president has wide authority to implement immigration policy and that the travel rules are necessary to …