GOUVERNEUR, N.Y. (AP) – Graphite mines in the United States largely closed down seven decades ago. Mining the ubiquitous mineral found in everything from nuclear reactors to pencils seemed to make little sense when it could be imported inexpensively from other nations, especially China.
It’s been a rollercoaster of a year for U.S. trade policy. President Donald Trump launched a barrage of new tariffs in 2025, plunging the U.S. into trade wars with nearly every country in the world. Volley after volley of threats and steeper import taxes often arrived erratically – with Trump claiming that such levies needed to be immediately imposed.
BEIJING (AP) – Beijing imposed sanctions on Friday against 20 U.S. defense-related companies and 10 executives, a week after Washington annoucned large-scale arms sales to Taiwan.
Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:
BANGKOK (AP) – Thailand and Cambodia were engaged in combat along their border on Friday, even as the two countries held talks to try to put an end to armed clashes. Cambodia’s Defense Ministry said that Thailand deployed F-16 fighter jets to drop around 40 bombs on a village in the northwestern province of Banteay Meanchey.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korea’s liberal-led legislature on Wednesday passed a bill allowing heavy punitive damages against traditional news and internet media for publishing “false or fabricated information,” brushing aside concerns the legislation could lead to greater censorship.
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. economy grew at a surprisingly strong 4.3% annual rate in the third quarter, the most rapid expansion in two years, driven by consumers who continue to spend in the face of ongoing inflation. U.S. gross domestic product from July through September rose from its 3.8% growth rate in the April-June quarter.
PARIS (AP) – A pro-Russian hacking group claimed responsibility for a major cyberattack that halted package deliveries by France’s national postal service just days before Christmas, prosecutors said Wednesday. After the claim by the cybercrime group known as Noname057, French intelligence agency DGSI took over the investigation into the hacking attack.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Consumers’ confidence in the economy was shaken in December as Americans grew anxious about high prices and the impact of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell 3.8 points to 89.1 in December, the fifth straight monthly decline.
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