Pentagon adds Alibaba, others to list of sanctioned Chinese companies

Washington — The Pentagon has added several prominent Chinese businesses, including tech giant Alibaba, electric car maker BYD and search engine Baidu, to its list of Chinese military companies, preventing them from getting U.S. defense contracts. The list, updated and published Monday by the Pentagon, sanctions well-known, non-state-owned Chinese companies that aren’t traditionally considered to

South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary tests Trump’s influence: 5 races to watch Tuesday

The South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary on Tuesday will offer another key test of President Trump’s influence after the president suffered his first major statewide primary loss last week. Trump endorsed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette (R) over the rest of a crowded GOP field, including top Republicans such as state Attorney General Alan Wilson, and Reps. Ralph Norman…

Pulte appointment ups pressure for Congress to punt on reauthorizing spy powers

The looming deadline to renew the nation’s warrantless spy powers is clashing with a pressure campaign on the White House to yank the appointment of Bill Pulte, a controversial figure tapped to lead the intelligence community. A growing number of Democrats have said they will not vote to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence…