| Trump widens rift with key Republican leaders Posted: 23 Aug 2017 01:51 PM PDT ![Trump widens rift with key Republican leaders]( "Trump widens rift with key Republican leaders") Donald Trump has succeeded against all odds as a political force in America. Republicans will have to pass legislation on their own, probably with some Democratic votes, and trust that Trump is willing to sign it – even if it doesn't meet his demands, such as funding of the border wall, says presidential scholar Cal Jillson of Southern Methodist University in Dallas. In a 77-minute stem-winder Tuesday night, Trump seemed to be channeling his populist-nationalist former chief strategist Steve Bannon as he came out with one eye-popping statement after another: He threatened to shut down the government if Congress didn't fund the wall.
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| At slavery-era sites in Rio, app unearths an uneasy history Posted: 23 Aug 2017 01:49 PM PDT ![At slavery-era sites in Rio, app unearths an uneasy history]( "At slavery-era sites in Rio, app unearths an uneasy history") Just as rush hour begins in Rio de Janeiro's Port Zone, bordering the city's bustling downtown, Gabriele Roza looks kitty-corner across a busy street. "This was the main area of resistance," Ms. Roza says. "This is where Africans and their descendants would do things that were banned." From capoeira martial arts to samba to candomblé religious traditions, some of the modern-day cultural hallmarks of Brazil were fostered clandestinely behind these walls during the days of slavery.
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| Trouble in the Seventh Fleet: what may be behind Navy collisions Posted: 23 Aug 2017 12:57 PM PDT ![Trouble in the Seventh Fleet: what may be behind Navy collisions]( "Trouble in the Seventh Fleet: what may be behind Navy collisions") A recent spate of collisions involving US Navy ships from the Seventh Fleet, two of them fatal, has led the Navy to relieve that fleet's commander, Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, reportedly after his superiors lost confidence in his leadership. The latest collision, Monday off the coast of Singapore, was between the guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain and a Liberian-flagged tanker.
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| Afghanistan's deeper challenge Posted: 23 Aug 2017 12:25 PM PDT ![Afghanistan's deeper challenge]( "Afghanistan's deeper challenge") As President Trump launched a "new strategy" in Afghanistan this week, there are signs of progress on an issue he did not target but is perhaps even more important to Afghanistan's future – the battle to ease the burdens of corruption. Last week, a highly ranked general and a key businessman – Gen. Mohammad Moeen Faqir and Abdul Ghafar Dawi – were tried, convicted, and sentenced in an anticorruption court. The burden of corruption on hopes and aspirations can feel heavy indeed.
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