The tariff costs rose more than seven-fold to $1.3 billion, as the world’s two biggest economies became embroiled in a trade war, according to data provided by the Consumer Technology Association and analyzed by consulting firm The Trade Partnership. President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese imports since early July. After Trump met President Xi Jinping in Buenos Aires on Dec. 1, the U.S. agreed to put off raising the tariff rate on the $200 billion of imports from 10 percent to 25 percent.

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The U.S. Department of Education plans to cancel about $150 million in student loan debt, which means about 15,000 borrowers will be forgiven.

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Donald Trump announced Friday that his budget director Mick Mulvaney will step in as acting chief of staff to replace John Kelly -- amid indications the president is struggling to fill the key post. Trump, whose presidency is increasingly embroiled in legal troubles, announced earlier this month that Kelly, a former Marine Corps general, was leaving. Kelly, who reportedly fell out with other close Trump aides, is only the latest in a long string of high-ranking officials to quit the embattled White House.

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — After a spellbinding five-day trial that featured tales of infidelity and a multimillion dollar insurance payout, a jury on Friday convicted a Florida woman of helping mastermind the killing of her husband nearly two decades ago.

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Reed O’Connor, appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush, ruled against Barack Obama’s signature health-care law three times, dealing the most serious blow Friday when he declared the entire law unconstitutional and cast uncertainty on insurance coverage for millions of Americans. While the ruling is sure to be appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, it’s a remarkable victory for conservatives who fared poorly in other court challenges to the Affordable Care Act and were further frustrated in 2017 when a Republican-led Congress and President Donald Trump couldn’t muster the votes to abolish Obamacare.

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US television network CBS paid $9.5 million Eliza Dushku, an actress on primetime drama "Bull," and wrote her off the show after she claimed the lead actor had harassed her. Michael Weatherly made several lewd comments or jokes in front of the production team referring to Dushku's physique, with sexual connotations, according to The New York Times, which first reported the development. Dushku shared her discomfort at the remarks with the production team before speaking with Weatherly, and the situation did not improve.

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Australia has decided to formally recognise west Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, but won’t move its embassy until there’s a peace settlement between Israel and Palestinians, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Saturday. He said in a speech that Australia will recognise east Jerusalem as Palestine’s capital only after a settlement has been reached on a two-state solution. The Australian Embassy won’t be moved from Tel Aviv until such a time, he said. While the embassy move is delayed, Mr Morrison said his government will establish a defense and trade office in Jerusalem and will also start looking for an appropriate site for the embassy. "The Australian government has decided that Australia now recognizes west Jerusalem, as the seat of the Knesset and many of the institutions of government, is the capital of Israel," Mr Morrison said. He said the decision respects both a commitment to a two-state solution and longstanding respect for relevant UN Security Council resolutions. Mr Morrison had earlier floated the idea that Australia may follow the contentious US move of relocating its embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, but it was seen by many Australians as a political stunt. Critics called it a cynical attempt to win votes in a by-election in October for a Sydney seat with a high Jewish population. The consideration had sparked backlash from Muslim-majority Indonesia and Malaysia, threatening a free trade deal which has now been delayed. Opposition leader Bill Shorten said Saturday that the decision to recognize west Jerusalem as Israel’s capital but not move the embassy there was a "humiliating backdown" from the October by-election campaign. "What I’m worried is that Mr. Morrison put his political interest ahead of our national interest," Shorten told reporters.  

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The decision Friday finding the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional comes at the tail end of a six-week open enrollment period for the program in 2019 and underscores a divide between Republicans who have long sought to invalidate the law and Democrats who fought to keep it in place. The White House said the ruling will be put on hold during an appeals process that’s destined to go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth agreed with a coalition of Republican states led by Texas that he had to eviscerate the Affordable Care Act, the signature health-care overhaul by President Barack Obama, after Congress last year zeroed out a key provision -- the tax penalty for not complying with the requirement to buy insurance.

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A judge agreed with a coalition of states that a change in tax law eliminating a penalty for not having health insurance invalidates the entire law.

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Prominent insurance company Pacific Life has pulled its commercials from

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