| World Bank takes on pernicious beliefs Posted: 14 Mar 2017 02:25 PM PDT ![World Bank takes on pernicious beliefs]( "World Bank takes on pernicious beliefs") As the largest global actor for uplifting the poor, the World Bank has wondered for decades why certain harmful beliefs persist in hindering progress. Like other aid agencies, the bank has spent billions in many countries, applying "best practices" and nudging changes in governance. Finally, in its 2017 World Development Report, the bank took a hard look at how to better understand and change the beliefs of citizens as well as the "elite" that govern them.
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| US government revokes tax-exempt status for Richard Spencer's white nationalist group Posted: 14 Mar 2017 01:30 PM PDT ![US government revokes tax-exempt status for Richard Spencer's white nationalist group]( "US government revokes tax-exempt status for Richard Spencer's white nationalist group") Richard Spencer, a major figure in the so-called alt-right movement and head of the white nationalist National Policy Institute, may be facing trouble from the IRS. An inquiry led by the Los Angeles Times found that IRS records indicated that Mr. Spencer may have not filed the proper paperwork to raise funds for the think tank for three years running, causing the group to lose its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. The investigation also found that Spencer may have violated IRS rules that forbid nonprofits from expressing support or opposition for political candidates during an election year.
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| Report: Trump asks State Department for 50 percent cut to UN funding Posted: 14 Mar 2017 01:06 PM PDT ![Report: Trump asks State Department for 50 percent cut to UN funding]( "Report: Trump asks State Department for 50 percent cut to UN funding") The White House budget proposal is considering cutting funding of the United Nations and its programs in half as it looks to shrink spending by the State Department. President Trump's administration is expected to slash the State Department budget by 37 percent, and sources say the department's staffers are looking to pull funding from certain UN programs in order to meet that goal, according to a report from Foreign Policy.
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| No scout left behind: Girl Guides of Canada deem US visits too risky Posted: 14 Mar 2017 12:40 PM PDT ![No scout left behind: Girl Guides of Canada deem US visits too risky]( "No scout left behind: Girl Guides of Canada deem US visits too risky") The Girl Guides of Canada have a no scout left behind policy that trumps trips to the United States. Worried that members or chaperones may be detained by American border agents, the Canadian branch of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts released a statement explaining that it would not approve any trips traveling to or through the United States. "At Girl Guides of Canada, we know our members value the safe, inclusive and accepting space that Guiding provides.
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| Looming over GOP health bill, Obamacare's stubborn legacy Posted: 14 Mar 2017 11:41 AM PDT ![Looming over GOP health bill, Obamacare's stubborn legacy]( "Looming over GOP health bill, Obamacare's stubborn legacy") Republicans want to get rid of Obamacare. Sure, they can repeal Barack Obama's signature Affordable Care Act and replace it with a new GOP plan. Recommended: How much do you know about health-care reform?
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| Feds give nearly $8.5 million to assist Pulse nightclub victims Posted: 14 Mar 2017 11:34 AM PDT ![Feds give nearly $8.5 million to assist Pulse nightclub victims]( "Feds give nearly $8.5 million to assist Pulse nightclub victims") The shooting, which occurred last June at a gay nightclub called Pulse, left 49 people dead. Gunman Omar Mateen pledged his allegiance to the radical terrorist group the Islamic State before opening fire and carrying out the deadliest shooting in recent US history. The Justice Department announced Monday it will give the funds to the State of Florida to fund grief counseling for survivors and the family members of victims.
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| Should a 98-year-old Minnesota man be extradited for Nazi war crimes? Posted: 14 Mar 2017 11:26 AM PDT ![Should a 98-year-old Minnesota man be extradited for Nazi war crimes?]( "Should a 98-year-old Minnesota man be extradited for Nazi war crimes?") War crimes have no statute of limitations, according to Poland. After years of investigation, prosecutors from Poland's Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) have asked a local court to issue an arrest warrant for an American suspected of ordering the 1944 killing of 44 Polish villagers. If granted, Poland will seek extradition to try the man, identified by the AP as 98-year-old Michael Karkoc, for his crimes.
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| Senate confirms Seema Verma to head Medicaid, Medicare Posted: 14 Mar 2017 10:34 AM PDT ![Senate confirms Seema Verma to head Medicaid, Medicare]( "Senate confirms Seema Verma to head Medicaid, Medicare") The Senate has confirmed President Trump's pick to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Seema Verma. Ms. Verma, who worked with then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to design a Medicaid expansion there, was confirmed by a 55-43 vote, mostly along party lines. Part of the Department of Health and Human Services, the $1 trillion agency she will head oversees health insurance programs for more than 130 million people.
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| Police detained congressman who refused to leave ICE office Posted: 14 Mar 2017 09:47 AM PDT ![Police detained congressman who refused to leave ICE office]( "Police detained congressman who refused to leave ICE office") Police placed Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D) of Illinois in handcuffs briefly on Monday after he refused to leave a federal immigration office without getting answers about the fate of several detainees facing deportation. Mr. Gutiérrez says he met with the regional Immigration Customs Enforcement, or ICE, director at a Chicago immigration office. After receiving several warnings from officials, the congressman and other demonstrators were placed in plastic handcuffs and briefly detained.
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| How far will Erdoğan go in fanning Turkey's diplomatic crisis with Europe? Posted: 14 Mar 2017 08:34 AM PDT ![How far will Erdoğan go in fanning Turkey's diplomatic crisis with Europe?]( "How far will Erdoğan go in fanning Turkey's diplomatic crisis with Europe?") Diplomatic crisis has often helped boost Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's popularity. Prickly Turkey-Europe relations nose-dived over the weekend, as the Netherlands prevented Turkish ministers from addressing election rallies, and Mr. Erdoğan called the Dutch "Nazi fascists" who would "pay the price." He continued the rhetoric on Tuesday, blaming the Dutch for not stopping the Srebrenica massacre by Bosnian Serbs in 1995. The crisis, on its face, should bolster Erdoğan.
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| In the Netherlands' elections, a fight for the Dutch soul Posted: 14 Mar 2017 08:20 AM PDT ![In the Netherlands' elections, a fight for the Dutch soul]( "In the Netherlands' elections, a fight for the Dutch soul") For those with the dimmest knowledge of the Netherlands, a parody of Donald Trump's "America first" mantra that went viral became something of a learning moment, at least about how the Dutch view the US president. Missing from the spoof, however, is any mention of the Netherlands' own firebrand politician, Geert Wilders, whose comments on Islam could make some members of the Trump administration blush. Mr. Wilders calls Islam a totalitarian ideology and has campaigned to close down mosques and ban the Quran.
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| Pirates off Somalia hijack first commercial vessel since 2012 Posted: 14 Mar 2017 08:02 AM PDT ![Pirates off Somalia hijack first commercial vessel since 2012]( "Pirates off Somalia hijack first commercial vessel since 2012") Pirates operating off the coast of Somalia hijacked an oil tanker on Monday, marking the first time since 2012 that a commercial vessel has been captured by Somali pirates, following tightened security procedures and naval operations leveled against pirate groups in the region. The Aris 13 tanker, which had been carrying fuel from Djibouti to Mogadishu, Somalia, sent out a distress call on Monday, reporting that it had been approached by two unidentified boats. Somali pirates generally do not kill hostages unless they are attacked or if there is a rescue attempt.
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| US East Coast braces for huge blizzard Posted: 14 Mar 2017 07:14 AM PDT ![US East Coast braces for huge blizzard]( "US East Coast braces for huge blizzard") Low temperatures, strong wind gusts, and more than a foot of snow are expected to roll into the Northeast Corridor Tuesday, bringing conditions officials described as "life-threatening" that prompted school closures, flight cancellations, and warnings of flooding and power outages. The Capitol, which has a reputation for handling winter weather poorly, is expected to get more than five inches of snow, while Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, and others could see more than a foot. Some 50 million people in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont, were under blizzard warnings as the powerful storm began to move in.
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| Why Trump immigration reform faces uphill battle? The GOP Posted: 14 Mar 2017 04:50 AM PDT ![Why Trump immigration reform faces uphill battle? The GOP]( "Why Trump immigration reform faces uphill battle? The GOP") President Trump wants fewer unauthorized immigrants. What is more ambiguous, yet more consequential, is his stance on legal immigration. Does he want fewer authorized foreigners coming in – as some of his supporters are calling for – or does he simply want to change the current mix so fewer unskilled workers get admitted?
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| Finding the voice of voters in India Posted: 13 Mar 2017 03:09 PM PDT ![Finding the voice of voters in India]( "Finding the voice of voters in India") In a survey of 22 advanced countries last year, Barclays financial firm found that the causes of voter rage – reflected in the rise of populist parties – were not really income inequality, globalization, or a loss of national sovereignty. The survey did not include India, the world's largest democracy, but it should have. A prime minister who was elected there in 2014, Narendra Modi, has begun to define a type of governance that appeals directly to low-income voters who feel left out of national politics.
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