- China says will issue special bonds to boost ailing economy
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Dodgers drop Padres 2-0 to advance in MLB playoffs
- Alexei Navalny wrote he knew he would die in prison in new memoir
- Last-minute legal ruling allows betting on US election
- Despite hurricanes, Floridians refuse to leave 'paradise'
- Israel observes Yom Kippur amid firestorm over Lebanon strikes
- Trump demonizes migrants in dark, misleading speech
- X says 'alert' to manipulation efforts after pro-Russia bots report
- US, European markets rise before Boeing unveils sweeping job cuts
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Comoros shock Tunisia, Salah, Mbeumo strike in AFCON qualifiers
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Germany win in Nations League as 10-man Dutch rescue point
- Undav brace sends Germany to victory against Bosnia
- Israel says fired at 'threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- Ecuador's last mountain iceman dies at 80
- Milton leaves at least 16 dead, millions without power in Florida
- Senegal set to announce breakaway development agenda: PM
- UN says 2 peacekeepers wounded in south Lebanon explosions
- Injury-hit Australia thrash 'embarrassing' Pakistan at Women's T20 World Cup
- Internal TikTok documents show prioritization of traffic over well-being
- Israel says fired at 'immediate threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- New US coach Pochettino hails Pulisic but worries over workload
- Brazil orders closure of 2,000 betting sites
- UK govt urged to raise pro-democracy tycoon's case with China
- Sculptor Lalanne's animal creations sell for $59 mn
- From Tesla to Trump: Behind Musk's giant leap into politics
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- Supercharged hurricanes trigger 'perfect storm' for disinformation
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Djokovic proves staying power as he progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Sheffield Utd boss Wilder 'numb' after Baldock death
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- Fans immerse themselves in Marina Abramovic's first China exhibition
- Israel says conducting review after UN peacekeepers wounded in Lebanon
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Djokovic 'overwhelmed' after 'greatest rival' Nadal's retirement
- Zelensky in Berlin says hopes war with Russia will end next year
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Djokovic proves staying power as progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Hurricane Milton leaves at least 16 dead as Florida cleans up
- Britain face 'ultimate challenge' in America's Cup duel with New Zealand
- Lebanon calls for 'immediate' ceasefire in Israel-Hezbollah war
- Nihon Hidankyo: Japan's A-bomb survivors awarded Nobel
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Boat captain rescued clinging to cooler in Gulf of Mexico after storm Milton
Trump back in Washington, feted by Republican lawmakers
Donald Trump enjoyed an effusive welcome on his return to Washington on Thursday as he rallied support from Republican lawmakers following his criminal conviction in New York.
The former president, who is neck-and-neck with his successor Joe Biden in the race for the White House, thanked members of the House of Representatives at a private club near the US Capitol who sang "Happy Birthday" to the billionaire, who turns 78 on Friday.
It was Trump's first meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill since leaving the White House in 2021, and his first trip to Washington since he was convicted last month in New York on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
He was in a defiant mood, according to US media citing people in the room, as he called out the Republicans who had voted to impeach him after the 2021 assault on the Capitol and called the Justice Department "dirty, no good bastards."
"Great meeting with Republican Representatives. Lots discussed, all positive, great poll numbers!" Trump posted on Truth Social afterward.
The Republican, who was due to speak with senators and business leaders later Thursday, took credit for the Supreme Court ending federal protections for abortion access in 2022 and railed against Biden's foreign policy.
Since his conviction, Republicans have circled the wagons around Trump -- who faces more than 50 further felony charges -- with numerous lawmakers denigrating a justice system they baselessly claim is biased against conservatives.
House Speaker Mike Johnson accused Democrats of being behind the two federal and two state criminal cases engulfing Trump's reelection bid.
"He raised $53 million in the first 24 hours after the verdict in that terrible, bogus trial in Manhattan. And I think that shows that people understand what's happening here," Johnson told reporters after the meeting.
Republicans in the House face an uphill battle to defend the lower chamber from a Democratic takeover in November's elections. Senate Republicans have a more favorable map as they seek to flip their 49-51 minority in the upper chamber.
Several centrist senators said they would not show up on Thursday, although Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has not spoken to Trump since berating him from the Senate floor over the 2021 insurrection, said he would attend.
- 'He is a fraud' says Biden team -
Trump was impeached for inciting the attack, when a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol seeking to prevent the peaceful transfer of power to Biden, who beat his predecessor by more than seven million votes.
The Republican faces federal and state prosecutions over his alleged role in a criminal conspiracy to overturn his defeat, which culminated in the insurrection.
"People see that... that's a threat to our system of justice, and they want to push back," Johnson said.
"In many ways, President Trump has become a symbol of that pushing back against corruption, the deep state, the weaponization of the judicial system, and that's a very encouraging development."
Johnson has been struggling however to deliver on Trump's demands for a robust defense from Congress, with a razor-thin majority that leaves him unable to lose more than two representatives for any vote.
Republicans have failed in efforts to impeach Biden, as a months-long, multi-million-dollar corruption investigation has turned up no evidence of wrongdoing by the president, and congressional efforts to rein in the criminal cases targeting Trump have been largely ineffective.
The former president is also due to make his case for a White House return to chief executives at a meeting of Washington lobby group Business Roundtable.
The Biden campaign released a statement pointing to Trump's many failed business ventures and bankruptcies, contrasting the Republican's record of mass job losses during the pandemic with the economic recovery under Biden.
"Donald Trump couldn't run a lemonade stand, let alone our country. He is a fraud, a crook, and a failed businessman and president who left America in economic ruin," a spokesman said.
Ch.Kahalev--AMWN