Trump sacks 2 top officials in rift over ban order
Inadramaticmove,US President Donald Trump todayfiredtwotopofficials, including Acting Attorney GeneralSallyYates(pictured left)whorefusedtoenforce hiscontroversialand executiveorderbanning citizens of seven Muslimmajoritynationsfrom enteringAmericathathas triggeredprotestsacrossthe world.Hoursafterfiring Yates,Trumpreplaced actingImmigrationand CustomsEnforcement(ICE) DirectorDanielRagsdale (pictured right) with ThomasDHoman. “(Yates)hasbetrayedthe DepartmentofJustice,”the White House said in a statementannouncingthe removaloftheObama Administration appointee. Trump did not call Yates to dismiss her, she was informed by handdelivered letter. The move came soon after Yates told Justice Department lawyers not to make legal arguments defending Trump’s executive order on immigration and refugees.
Seven job candidates, all of them originally from Iran but citizens of other countries, have received employment offers from Amazon. The company is considering jobs for the candidates in other countries.
In an email to Amazon employees, the CEO, Jeff Bezos, said the company had expressed its opposition to the order to senior administration officials and congressional leaders. He said the company was exploring “other legal options as well.” US President Donald Trump on Tuesday called on the pharmaceutical industry to boost US production and lower prices, while also vowing to speed up approval times for new medicines and appoint a new US Food and Drug Administration leader soon.
Shares of five of the six drug companies at the White House meeting with Trump were up more than 1 per cent on average following the president’s remarks, compared with a 0.5 per cent drop in the broad S&P 500. The Nasdaq Biotech Index was up 1.1 percent, reversing earlier losses, and the S&P 500 health care index gained 0.7 per cent. Attending the meeting were the CEOs of Novartis AG, Merck & Co Inc, Johnson & Johnson, Celgene Corp , Eli Lilly & Co and Amgen Inc as well as the head of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America lobbying group.
Trump told the drugmakers that pricing had been “astronomical.” “We have to get prices down for a lot of reasons. We have no choice, for Medicare and Medicaid,” Trump said at the meeting, citing the nation’s government insurance programs for the elderly, the poor and the disabled that together are the largest US purchaser of medications.
Trump also said currency