
House Republicans have passed a controversial overhaul of the US tax code that slashes corporate rates. The vote came after US President Donald Trump made a rare visit to Congress to rally lawmakers around the tax overhaul plan. The Senate is working to build support for its own version of the bill, but one Republican has said he is a 'no'.

International energy markets are set for major upheaval as the US cements its status as the world's largest oil and gas producer, while China overtakes it as the biggest oil consumer. The predictions come from the International Energy Agency's annual energy forecast.

For the first time in over 40 years, Congress has examined a US president's authority to launch a nuclear attack. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing was titled Authority to Order the Use of Nuclear Weapons and some senators expressed concern that the president might irresponsibly order a nuclear strike; others said he must have the authority to act without meddling from lawyers.

United States interest rates are likely to rise again next month and a further three times next year, one of the Federal Reserve's rate-setters has said. John Williams, who sits on the lliams, advanced a rate rise in December makes sense, at least based on the information I have today.

President Donald Trump has said he does not blame China for the “unfair” trade relationship between the countries, despite long railing against the economic imbalance. Speaking in Beijing, he gave China “credit” for working to benefit its citizens by taking advantage of the US.

Brazil's Embraer and American Airlines Inc. signed a firm order for ten E175 jets. American Airlines is exercising its purchase rights from its original contract with Embraer signed in 2013. This new order is in addition to the one placed in April for four aircraft; is valued at US$ 457 million, based on current list prices, and will be included in Embraer’s fourth-quarter backlog. Deliveries begin in 2018 and continue through mid-2019.

Walt Disney company has ended its ban of the Los Angeles Times newspaper after fierce backlash from US media. Last week it emerged Disney had stopped inviting the newspaper to press screenings because they disagreed with an article it published in September, which triggered public criticism from high-profile organizations and individuals.

The U.S. unemployment fell to its lowest level in nearly 17 years in October, according to data released this week, which President Donald Trump said was proof his policies are bearing fruit. Job creation resumed climbing, albeit at a slower rate than expected, after two late-summer hurricanes hit the US economy, according to the Labor Department’s key monthly employment report.

United States president Donald Trump told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday that he believes, like Xi, that a solution can be found to the North Korean nuclear issue, a day after warning Pyongyang of the grave danger of developing nuclear weapons.

The gunman who killed 26 people at a small-town Texas church had a history of domestic violence that spanned years before the attack, and was able buy weapons because the Air Force did not submit his criminal history to the FBI as required by military rules.