Political news

• Le Cleac'h holds off Briton Thomson to keep Vendee Globe in France

  19-01-2017 23:58
  By Julien Pretot LES SABLES D'OLONNE, France (Reuters) - Armel Le Cleac'h saw off a late challenge by Britain's Alex Thomson to maintain France's domination of the solo round-the-world Vendee Globe sailing race on Thursday. After finishing second in 2009 and 2013, Le Cleac'h, aboard his 60-foot yacht Banque Populaire, won in a record time of 74 days, three hours, 35 minutes and 46 seconds to become the eighth Frenchman to win the gruelling race. It was really hard going up the Atlantic (to the f
  
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• Le Cleac'h worried by return to normality after 'brutal' Vendee Globe

  19-01-2017 23:57
  By Julien Pretot LES SABLES D'OLONNE, France (Reuters) - With his hands coarsened by salt, Armel Le Cleac'h grabbed a couple of emergency beacons and raised his arms in celebration, shining light on the thousands of spectators gathered to greet him at the end of his victorious solo race around the world. The Frenchman, who arrived to a stadium atmosphere with fireworks lighting the sky above the Atlantic Ocean, held off a late challenge by Britain's Alex Thomson to maintain France's domination o
  
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• Mane helps Senegal reach last eight with Zimbabwe win

  19-01-2017 23:50
  Senegal qualified for the African Nations Cup quarter-finals by beating Zimbabwe 2-0 with early goals from Sadio Mane and Henri Saivet in their Group B encounter on Thursday. Mane, the continent's most expensive player after his 35 million pounds move to Premier League club Liverpool last year, scored after nine minutes with a back post tap-in after Senegal had missed three good chances. A stunning curling free kick from Saivet four minutes later effectively wrapped up the points and first place
  
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• Labour picks Gillian Troughton to fight Copeland byelection

  19-01-2017 23:49 via theguardian.com
  
  Former hospital doctor faces tough battle to retain seat from Conservatives, defending a majority of just 2,564
  Labour has selected a former hospital doctor to be its standard bearer in the upcoming Copeland byelection.Continue reading...
  
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• On Obama's last day, a low-key end to fast-paced presidency

  19-01-2017 23:48
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — With a few final moves and a round of goodbyes, President Barack Obama quietly closed out his presidency on Thursday and prepared for life as a private citizen, as the country readied itself for President-elect Donald Trump.
  
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• Uber to pay $20 million to settle U.S. claims it misled drivers

  19-01-2017 23:47
  Ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc has agreed to pay $20 million to settle claims by the U.S. government that it exaggerated prospective earnings in seeking to recruit drivers and downplayed the costs of buying or leasing a car, documents filed with a federal court on Thursday showed. The company said on its website that some Uber drivers made more than $90,000 in New York and $74,000 in San Francisco when the real earnings were $61,000 and $53,000, respectively, the Federal Trade Commis
  
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• U.S. transfers four Guantanamo inmates in waning hours of Obama tenure

  19-01-2017 23:46
  By Matt Spetalnick and Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States sent four more detainees from the Guantanamo Bay military prison to two other countries on Thursday, marking President Barack Obama's final prisoner transfers from a facility whose continued existence he said would be judged harshly by history. With Republican Donald Trump to be sworn in as president on Friday and vowing to keep the prison open, Democrat Obama whittled down the inmate population there to only 41, far shor
  
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• West African nations halt Gambia operation to allow mediation

  19-01-2017 23:44
  West African nations halted a military operation in Gambia on Thursday to give a final chance to mediation efforts, but will resume at noon on Friday if Yahya Jammeh still refuses to hand over power to the new president, a regional official said. Speaking to reporters, Marcel de Souza, head of the ECOWAS commission, said it was out of the question that Jammeh be allowed to remain in Gambia.
  
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• Trump hints New York Jets owner Woody Johnson will be US envoy to UK

  19-01-2017 23:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The scion of the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical giant has known the president-elect for years.
  
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• Executive actions ready to go as Trump prepares to take office

  19-01-2017 23:41
  By Ayesha Rascoe and Julia Edwards Ainsley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump is preparing to sign executive actions on his first day in the White House on Friday to take the opening steps to crack down on immigration, build a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border and roll back outgoing President Barack Obama's policies. Trump, a Republican elected on Nov. 8 to succeed Democrat Obama, arrived in Washington on a military plane with his family a day before he will be sworn in during a ceremony at the U
  
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• Small moth with yellowish coif named after Donald Trump

  19-01-2017 23:35
  (Reuters) - A small moth with a yellowish-white coif of scales has been named after U.S. President-edit Donald Trump, in honor of the former reality TV show host and real estate magnate's signature hairdo. The new species, dubbed Neopalpa donaldtrumpi, lives in a habitat that spans southern California and Mexico's Baja California and was named by evolutionary biologist Vazrick Nazari in an article published in the scientific journal ZooKeys. The moth, the second species of a genus of twirler mot
  
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• Lack of Latinos in Trump Cabinet draws ire for 'setback'

  19-01-2017 23:26
  
  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump's decision not to appoint any Latinos to his Cabinet is drawing fierce criticism from Hispanics, who call it a major setback for the nation's largest minority group.
  
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• The Latest: Trump discusses swearing-in with chief justice

  19-01-2017 23:17
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump (all times EST):
  
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• West African military force enters Gambia to install new president

  19-01-2017 23:11
  By Tim Cocks and Emma Farge BANJUL/DAKAR (Reuters) - West African nations launched a military operation in Gambia on Thursday, Senegal's army said, aiming to install its new President Adama Barrow and remove longtime ruler Yahya Jammeh, who refuses to step down despite an election loss. Barrow took the oath of office on Thursday at Gambia's embassy in Senegal, calling for international support from West Africa's ECOWAS bloc, the African Union and the United Nations.
  
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• Investors curb their enthusiasm ahead of Trump era

  19-01-2017 23:09
  By Richard Leong NEW YORK (Reuters) - A month ago, the dollar and stock markets were riding high as investors bet that the Trump administration, together with the Republican-controlled Congress, would usher in an era of lower taxes, more government spending and looser regulations. Longer-dated Treasury yields, which move inversely to the price of bonds, jumped to their highest levels in more than two years on fears about a spike in federal borrowing and inflation stemming from Trump's policies.
  
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• The presidency is about to change _ as Trump remains Trump

  19-01-2017 23:08
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump enters the White House on Friday just as he entered the race for president: defiant, unfiltered, unbound by tradition and utterly confident in his chosen course.
  
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• Western Union admits to aiding wire fraud, to pay $586 million

  19-01-2017 23:04
  By Joel Schectman and Diane Bartz WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Western Union Co , the world's biggest money-transfer company, agreed to pay $586 million (£477 million) and admitted to turning a blind eye as criminals used its service for money laundering and fraud, U.S. authorities said on Thursday. Western Union, which has over half a million locations in more than 200 countries, admitted "to aiding and abetting wire fraud" by allowing scammers to process transactions, even when the company rea
  
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• Lib Dem leader accuses Labour's Corbyn of giving up over Brexit

  19-01-2017 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Tim Farron says the Labour party is failing and that his party’s clear pro-EU stance can help it become the main oppositionThe Liberal Democrat leader, Tim Farron, has accused Jeremy Corbyn of “lamely giving up” while Britain “drives off a cliff” towards Brexit, and said future generations will not forgive Labour for failing to stand up to Theresa May’s plans.In an overt attempt to steal votes from Labour in pro-remain constituencies, Farron said he believed C
  
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• Cheers and ceremony: Trump sweeps in for his big day

  19-01-2017 22:59
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Ready for his big moment, Donald Trump swept into Washington on a military jet Thursday for three days of inaugural festivities and quickly set about building better ties to the Republican Congress. Washington braced for an onslaught of crowds and demonstrators — with all the attendant hoopla and hand-wringing.
  
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• Judge hints at trial for lawsuit on harsh CIA interrogation

  19-01-2017 22:56
  SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Psychologists who designed the CIA's harsh interrogation methods for the war on terror want a lawsuit from three former detainees dismissed, but a federal judge said Thursday that he was inclined to allow it to move to a trial that was expected to include classified information.
  
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• What defines victory for Iraq in Mosul

  19-01-2017 22:54
  Some of the most welcome images coming out of the war against Islamic State (IS) have been pictures of Sunni civilians, especially children, flashing V signs at Iraqi Army soldiers during the ongoing liberation of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city. The soldiers are mainly Shiites yet they have acted with patriotic discipline as they steadily defeat the terrorist group, aid the city’s Sunni residents, and reunite Iraq. Iraq will need more examples of Shiite-Sunni reconciliation as it
  
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• George Soros says Trump will fail and market's dream will end

  19-01-2017 22:54
  The billionaire investor George Soros said on Thursday that global markets will falter given the uncertainty of incoming U.S. President Donald Trump's policies. "Right now uncertainty is at the peak," Soros told Bloomberg News at his annual media dinner held at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "I don't think the markets are going to do very well." Stocks in the United States surged after Trump's Nov. 8 election victory.
  
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• Steve Bell on the inauguration of Donald Trump – cartoon

  19-01-2017 22:52 via theguardian.com
  
  Continue reading...
  
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• Martin McGuinness ‘not physically capable’ to run for election – video

  19-01-2017 22:51 via theguardian.com
  
  Martin McGuinness confirms on Thursday he will not fight the snap election due to health concerns. McGuinness resigned as Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister last week in protest at the handling of a botched energy scheme, forcing a snap electionMartin McGuinness quits frontline politics to recover from serious illness
  Continue reading...
  
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• GOP lawmakers try to end Kansas governor's business tax cut

  19-01-2017 22:51
  With waning political support for an income tax break championed by Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, fellow Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature are spearheading an effort to end it. Brownback's revenue ...
  
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• Doctors consider removing tube for 41st President Bush

  19-01-2017 22:48
  
  Doctors treating former President George H.W. Bush for pneumonia considered Thursday whether to take out a breathing tube while his wife, Barbara, said she was feeling much better after undergoing treatment ...
  
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• First day goal? Make White House feel like home for Trump

  19-01-2017 22:45
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — It's supposed to feel just like home when Donald Trump steps inside the White House residence for the first time as president on Inauguration Day.
  
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• Obama criticizes Congress for refusing to close Cuba prison

  19-01-2017 22:26
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Thursday blamed Congress for his failure to keep a promise to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying there's "simply no justification beyond politics" to keep it open.
  
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• Davos 2017: Soros says UK in denial over Brexit, and May won't last – Day Three as it happened

  19-01-2017 22:11 via theguardian.com
  
  Billionaire George Soros tells a dinner in Davos that inflation will drive down living standards in UK, that Trump will fail, and that Europe is too complicatedLatest: Soros says Brexit will hurt, and bring down MaySoros: Trump will failOxfam, OECD, Panama on tax avoidanceHammond: Brexit fog is liftingKhan says Europe won’t get City jobs after BrexitMay speech: UK will play global leadership role9.11pm GMTHere are some of the key quotes from George Soros, for those who missed his interview
  
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• Trump steps into security bubble; will he bring his phone?

  19-01-2017 22:07
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A few hours after President-elect Donald Trump was briefed by intelligence officials about Russian meddling in the election, an Associated Press reporter called his cellphone seeking an interview.
  
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• Qatar denies receiving invite to Astana talks on Syria

  19-01-2017 22:03
  Qatar said on Thursday it had not received an invite to talks on the Syria conflict to take place in the Kazakh capital Astana later this month, state media said. Earlier on Thursday a Qatari Foreign Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that Doha had been invited to the talks. "An official source at Qatar's Foreign Ministry denies that Qatar received an invitation to participate in the Syrian crisis talks to be hosted in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan this month
  
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• Trump steps into security bubble; will his phone come, too?

  19-01-2017 22:01
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A few hours after President-elect Donald Trump was briefed by intelligence officials about Russian meddling in the election, an Associated Press reporter called his cellphone seeking an interview.
  
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• May plays down sterling weakness - Bloomberg

  19-01-2017 22:00
  Britain's Prime Theresa May played down recent falls in sterling in a television interview on Thursday, saying data since Britain voted to leave the European Union pointed to underlying strength in the economy. Sterling fell to one of its lowest levels against the dollar in more than 30 years on Monday in the run-up to a major speech by May on Britain's future relations with the EU. May also said Britain would publish plans to tackle the potential threat to national security from foreign investm
  
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• Soros says uncertainty over Trump will cause markets to falter

  19-01-2017 21:59
  (Reuters) - The billionaire investor George Soros on Thursday said that global markets will falter given the uncertainty of new U.S. president Donald Trump's policies. "Right now uncertainty is at the peak and actually uncertainty is the enemy of long-term investment so I don't think the markets are going to do very well," Soros told Bloomberg News at a dinner at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. (Reporting by Jennifer Ablan and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
  
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• Democrats in sad shape: Power deficit as Trump era begins

  19-01-2017 21:59
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats begin the Donald Trump presidency in sad shape. They lack a clear power base, they've got no distinct national leader, and party brokers are searching for a formula to counter the new Republican-dominated government and figure out how to win again.
  
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• Democrats begin Trump era with historic power deficit

  19-01-2017 21:58
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats have lost power, from the White House to statehouses around the country, and now they know they're going to have to rebuild.
  
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• Guantanamo detainee arrives back in Saudi Arabia - state media

  19-01-2017 21:55
  A Saudi citizen who had been held in the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay arrived back in the kingdom on Thursday, state news agency SPA reported. "As part of efforts to return Saudis detained outside the kingdom, by the grace of God almighty, the citizen Jubran bin Saad bin Waza al-Qahtani was returned from Guantanamo Bay and arrived in the kingdom on Thursday evening," a statement quoting an interior ministry spokesman said. President Barack Obama has been seeking to shrink the inmate po
  
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• Trump ready to sign executive actions on Day One

  19-01-2017 21:54
  By Ayesha Rascoe and Julia Edwards Ainsley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump is ready to begin taking executive actions on his first day in the White House on Friday to move quickly on his pledge to crack down on immigration, build a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border and roll back outgoing President Barack Obama's policies. Trump, a Republican elected on Nov. 8, arrived in Washington on a military plane with his family a day before he will be sworn in during a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol. Durin
  
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• Senegal army says regional force has launched strikes in Gambia

  19-01-2017 21:53
  DAKAR (Reuters) - Senegal's army said on Thursday that an ECOWAS regional force has begun strikes as part of Operation "Restore Democracy". Colonel Abdou Ndiaye did not say what type of strikes they were but said in a statement "significant" land, air and sea resources had been made available. (Reporting by Diadie Ba; Writing by Emma Farge; Editing by Dominic Evans)
  
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• Brazil Supreme Court judge handling graft probe killed in plane crash

  19-01-2017 21:50
  By Raquel Stenzel SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Teori Zavascki was killed in a plane crash on Thursday, his son said, raising doubt over who will take over his blockbuster graft investigation into dozens of politicians. Rescuers found three bodies in the wreckage of the small, twin-prop plane that crashed off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state amid heavy rains, according to firefighters. "Dear friends, we have just received confirmation that our dad died! Thank you all for
  
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• The Latest: Trump lays wreath at Arlington Cemetery

  19-01-2017 21:46
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump (all times EST):
  
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• Oil edges up from one-week low as IEA sees tighter market

  19-01-2017 21:44
  By Devika Krishna Kumar NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices edged higher on Thursday, but swelling U.S. crude stockpiles limited the rebound from a one-week low after the International Energy Agency said oil markets had been tightening even before cuts agreed by OPEC and other producers took effect. The IEA said that while it was "far too soon" to gauge OPEC members' compliance with promised cuts, commercial oil inventories in the developed world fell for a fourth consecutive month in November, with
  
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• Treasury pick defends foreclosure actions, asset disclosure

  19-01-2017 21:42
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Steven Mnuchin, President-elect Donald Trump's pick as Treasury secretary, clashed with Democrats during a lengthy confirmation hearing Thursday over his handling of thousands of mortgage foreclosures and his failure to initially disclose to the committee $100 million in assets and interests in a Cayman Islands corporation.
  
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• Factbox - Trump's early executive actions could undo Obama policies

  19-01-2017 21:42
  Republican President-elect Donald Trump is expected to take executive action shortly after being sworn into office on Friday to advance key priorities and reverse some policies of outgoing Democratic President Barack Obama. Some of Trump's first executive orders will likely undo some of the more than 275 orders signed by Obama during his eight years in the White House. Here is a look at some of the actions Trump may take.
  
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• U.S. says ready for North Korea threat, no comment on future test-launch

  19-01-2017 21:41
  The Pentagon said on Thursday that it was ready to deal with provocative acts by North Korea, even during the presidential transition about to take place on Friday, but declined comment about intelligence on a possible future missile test-launch. Reuters reported earlier on Thursday that the United States was seeing activity in North Korea indicating a possible ballistic missile test, including positioning of two mobile missile launchers.
  
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• North Korea may be readying missile test, timing unclear - U.S. officials

  19-01-2017 21:41
  By James Pearson and Phil Stewart SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has seen indications that North Korea may be preparing for a new missile test-launch in the coming days or weeks, U.S. officials said on Thursday, in what could be an early test of President-elect Donald Trump's administration. South Korean media, citing intelligence agencies, said Pyongyang may be readying a test of a new, upgraded prototype of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) as early as Friday, the da
  
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• Trump pays $25 million to settle Trump University cases

  19-01-2017 21:36
  SAN DIEGO (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has paid $25 million to settle three lawsuits against his now-defunct Trump University, signaling that a judge's approval of a settlement agreement remains on track for March 30.
  
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• Senegal's army enters Gambia to install elected president

  19-01-2017 21:32
  By Tim Cocks and Emma Farge BANJUL/DAKAR (Reuters) - Senegal's military entered Gambia on Thursday, an army spokesman said, as part of regional efforts to support its new President Adama Barrow and remove longtime ruler Yahya Jammeh, who has refused to step down after last month's election. Barrow took the oath of office as Gambia's president on Thursday at its embassy in neighbouring Senegal, calling for international support from West Africa's ECOWAS bloc, the African Union and the United Nati
  
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• Martin McGuinness, the man who helped steer IRA away from terrorism

  19-01-2017 21:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Northern Ireland’s outgoing deputy first minister who once headed the Provisional IRA was vital to success of peace processWhen Martin McGuinness first sat down at a cabinet table in the summer of 1998, facing his former unionist foes, one of the Derry republican’s comrades had words of advice for David Trimble, then first minister.Gerry Kelly, the Old Bailey bomber who escaped from the Maze prison in County Antrim, whispered to the future Nobel peace prize winner: “Whatever yo
  
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• What's on the Trump menu? Lobster, steak and chocolate

  19-01-2017 21:24
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump's first meal as president of the United States isn't too far from the typical power lunch for a billionaire businessman — lobster, beef and a rich chocolate dessert.
  
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