An exemption that allowed low-value parcels shipped to the United States to avoid tariffs ended at 12:01 a.m. Friday, Trump administration officials said. President Trump signed an executive order suspending what’s known as the de minimis exemption late last month.  At the time, the White House said that would close what it called a “catastrophic loophole” that shippers use

Seattle — Two firefighters who were part of a 44-person crew fighting a wildland blaze on Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula were arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents during a multiagency criminal investigation into the two contractors they worked for, federal authorities said Thursday. The arrests prompted Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, of Washington State, to call

Taipei — The head of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee said Friday he was determined the United States and Taiwan remain “the best of friends,” calling the democratic island claimed by China a “free country,” as he visited with another American lawmaker. Republican Senators Roger Wicker and Deb Fischer arrived in Taipei on Friday

Washington — The Trump administration’s 10% stake in Intel, announced not long after President Trump had called on the chip maker’s CEO to resign, is being criticized by conservatives and some economic policy experts alike, who worry such extensive government intervention undermines free enterprise.  Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, may