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WASHINGTON (AP) — It was all smiles as President Donald Trump welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel (AHN'-geh-lah MEHR'-kuhl) to the White House today. It was the two leaders' first personal encounter since Trump frequently criticized Merkel during the presidential campaign for allowing an influx of refugees from Syria. Today, they talked about strengthening NATO, fighting the Islamic State group and resolving Ukraine's conflict.
BERLIN (AP) — A U.N. agency says migrant deaths rose sharply last year, especially in the Mediterranean. The International Organization for Migration says there were 7,763 migrant deaths worldwide in 2016. That's 27 percent more from the year before. And two-thirds of those deaths were in the Mediterranean Sea, where nearly 5,100 people lost their lives trying to make the trip from North Africa, Turkey and the Middle East to Europe. The U.N. says trips set up by smugglers are getting riskier.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has unanimously passed legislation designed to speed up the hiring of doctors and nurses at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The bill requires the VA's secretary to create a database of job openings. And it creates opportunities for career training and advancement for current employees. Supporters say the number of VA employees resigning or retiring has risen every year since 2009.
LONDON (AP) — Republican Congressman Tom Cole says President Donald Trump should apologize to Barack Obama for his unproven claim that his Democratic predecessor wiretapped his New York skyscraper. The Oklahoma lawmaker says he's seen nothing to back up Trump's unproven claim, and Cole says, "I think the president, President Obama, is owed an apology in that regard, because if he didn't do it we shouldn't be reckless in accusations that he did."
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Environmentalists and hiking groups are crying foul over a proposal to build a luxury hotel a mile from the summit of New Hampshire's Mount Washington, the highest peak in the northeastern U.S. They say the hotel would damage the fragile alpine ecology and destroy the scenic views. The owners of a historic cog railway that climbs up the mountain is proposing the 25,000 square-foot hotel.
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