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Though no one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, they hit a nation still reeling from the shock of the bombing in Manchester almost two weeks ago when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the doors of an Ariana Grande concert. Twenty-two people were killed, including many children.

Saturday's attack was reminiscent of another on Westminster Bridge on March 22, when Khalid Masood, 52, drove a car into pedestrians, killing four people. He then stabbed a police officer to death before being shot and killed near Parliament. The police treated that attack, in which 50 were injured, as "Islamist-related terrorism."

And now, as Britain prepares for national elections in less than a week, it must cope with more attacks in the most ordinary of places, London Bridge on a Saturday night, as people walked about enjoying the spring evening.

The mood in London was shock and anger, with the center of the city saturated all night with the sound of sirens. People were told to run, or hide and silence their cellphones as the police searched for assailants.

There was panic that a third stabbing in the Vauxhall area at about the same time as the assaults near the bridge might have been part of a coordinated attack, but the police later declared that incident unrelated.

The attacks came a few days before a snap election that has major implications for the country's future outside the European Union. Across London, and Britain, there was a sense of fear that a way of life was under attack, but also a determination to carry on.

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, called it a "deliberate and cowardly attack on innocent Londoners," and it was also condemned by the leader of the main opposition party, Jeremy Corbyn.

The office of Theresa May, the prime minister, announced that she will chair a meeting of the government emergency response committee, known as Cobra, on Sunday.

A White House spokesman said President Trump was briefed by his national security aides on the unfolding events in London.

He spoke with Mrs. May, offering his condolences for the attacks and praising the response of the police, White House officials said. He offered the full support of the United States government in investigating the attacks.

No motive has been ascribed to the attackers, but on the messaging app Telegram, members and supporters of the Islamic State shared a poster that calls for supporters to attack people with guns, knives and trucks during the month of Ramadan, which began last weekend.

On Saturday night ambulances rushed to the scene, people fled in panic, restaurants and hotels were evacuated, and helicopters flew overhead.

Witnesses described horrible scenes.

Holly Jones, a BBC reporter who was on the bridge when the van crashed, said it was driven by a man and was "probably traveling at about 50 miles an hour." She said that at least five people were being treated for injuries after the vehicle drove on the sidewalk and hit them.

"He swerved right round me and then hit about five or six people," Ms. Jones said. "He hit about two people in front of me and then three behind."

A witness, who identified himself as Andrew, said he was in the area at a bar, heard "a massive bang" and saw a van hitting the rail of the road.

"Next 10 seconds later, there was a guy with a big knife, I mean, a big knife," he told LBC Radio.

Andrew said he jumped over a fence, got to a footpath and there was "a dead guy lying on the floor." He hid for a few seconds in bushes nearby, then, he said, "I ran for my life."

At the market, Ben, who did not give his last name, told the BBC that he and his wife, Natalie, saw someone being stabbed.

"I saw a man in red with quite a large blade - I don't know the measurement, I guess maybe 10 inches," Ben said. "He was stabbing a man. He stabbed him about three times fairly calmly."

Ben added, "He was being stabbed quite coldly and he slumped to the ground."

He then said someone threw a table and a bottle at the man with the knife, but "then we heard three gunshots and we ran."

A man named Gerard told the BBC that he saw men stabbing everyone they could and shouting "this is for Allah."

He saw three men with knives "and they stabbed a girl," he said. "So I follow them, toward Borough Market, they were running into the pubs and bars and stabbing everyone. They were running up, saying this is for Allah, and they run up and stabbed this girl 10, maybe 15 times."

Lorna Murray, 44, said she was about to drive over London Bridge when traffic stopped and people ran toward her car. "We ducked down in our car, assuming there was a stabbing," she said. "Then this young couple started banging on the doors trying to get into our car for safety. We took them in but couldn't let anyone else in because we had a baby in the back."

The police told everyone to leave their cars and get away. "When I got out the car everything was a blur, but I saw a woman with blood all over her face," she said.

Tim Hodge, 37, a security officer at a nearby office building on the south side of the bridge, described "huge crowds" running and screaming. "There was so much panic and so many of the people were drunk, which made them more hysterical," he said.

Alex Shellum was in the Mudlark pub, underneath London Bridge, with his girlfriend. He told the BBC about an injured woman who came into the pub: "She was bleeding heavily from the neck. It appeared that her throat had been cut."

Gabriele Sciotto, a photographer returning from a bar, saw the police confronting three men outside the Wheatsheaf bar on Stoney Street and ordering them to get down. Two of the men were shot by police, he said.

"They looked like they had some explosive belts," Mr. Sciotto said. "The police didn't know what was going on honestly. They shouted at them to go down, to stop moving. It was very chaotic."

The police said the suspects were wearing what looked like explosive vests but they were later established to be hoaxes.

Mr. Sciotto took a photograph, which he later posted to Instagram, that appeared to show at least two men on the ground.

"At the moment these people were shot it was just me, the men and the police," Mr. Sciotto said.

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Another Terrorist Attack Strikes the Heart of London

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Though no one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, they hit a nation still reeling from the shock of the bombing in Manchester almost two weeks ago when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the doors of an Ariana Grande concert. Twenty-two people were killed, including many children.

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Unrest in Virginia

Clashes over a show of white nationalism in charlottesville turn deadly

Violence erupted in the college town of Charlottesville on Aug. 12 after hundreds of white nationalists and their supporters who gathered for a rally over plans to remove a Confederate statue were met by counter-protesters, leading Virginia's governor to declare a state of emergency.

Clashes broke out between the white nationalists and counter-protesters; the "Unite the Right" rally at a park once named for Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was deemed unlawful. At one point in the afternoon, a vehicle drove into a crowd of counter-protesters marching through the downtown area before speeding away, resulting in one death and leaving more than a dozen others injured. State police later reported the crash of a helicopter that was monitoring the events in Charlottesville, killing two troopers.

President Trump addressed the violence in televised remarks from New Jersey, condemning an "egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides" and calling for the "swift restoration of law and order." Among his critics was Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon. "What happened in Charlottesville is domestic terrorism," Wyden tweeted. "The President's words only serve to offer cover for heinous acts."

The night before Saturday's violence, hundreds of white nationalists marched through the University of Virginia campus while carrying burning torches. - Andrew Katz

Warning: Some of the following images are graphic and might be disturbing to some viewers.

Andrew Katz, who edited this photo essay, is Time's Senior Multimedia Editor. Follow him on Twitter @katz.

Correction: The original version of this article misstated the number of deaths that resulted from the car incident. One person died, not at least three people.

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Scenes From the Deadly Unrest in Virginia

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Unrest in Virginia Clashes over a show of white nationalism in charlottesville turn deadly Violence erupted in the college town of Charlottesville on Aug. 12 after hundreds of white nationalists and their supporters who gathered for a rally over plans to remove a Confederate statue were met by counter-protesters, leading Virginia's governor to declare a state of emergency.

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While researching these tragedies, it has become more evident to us as to what our society has come to. There seems to be a pattern in how these events are occurring. It all starts with some sort of difference of opinion followed by a violent response that takes the lives of many. If change in the way we view and react to different opinions doesn't occur this pattern will reform the future in a negative way.

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MAUNGDAW /DHAKA (AFP, Reuters) - At least 71 people have been killed in the latest fighting between Rohingya militants and Myanmar security forces in the country's Rakhine state, the office of de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi said Friday (Aug 25).

In an updated toll, the State Counsellor's office said 12 security officials had been killed and that "59 dead bodies of extremist Bengali terrorists" had been found - the phrase Myanmar authorities use to describe Rohingya militants.

The military had said the deaths occurred on Friday when militants staged a major coordinated attack on 24 police posts and an army base, the military said. Two military sources contacted by Reuters said there may be more deaths.

"In the early morning at 1am, the extremist Bengali insurgents started their attack on the police post... with man-made bombs and small weapons," said the army, referring to the Rohingya with the derogatory term implying they are interlopers from Bangladesh.

It added the militants also used sticks and swords and destroyed bridges with explosives. Further attacks came at around 3am and 4am, it said.

The fighting - still going on in some areas - marked a major escalation in a simmering conflict in the northwestern state since last October, when similar attacks prompted a big military sweep beset by allegations of serious human rights abuses.

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a group previously known as Harakah al-Yaqin, or "Faith Movement", which instigated the October attacks, claimed responsibility for the early morning offensive, and warned of more attacks.

The leader of ARSA, Ata Ullah, has said hundreds of young Rohingya have joined the group, which claims to be waging a legitimate defence against the army and for human rights.

"We have been taking our defensive actions against the Burmese marauding forces in more than 25 different places across the region. More soon!" the group said on a Twitter account believed to be linked to it.

The treatment of approximately 1.1 million Muslim Rohingya has emerged as majority Buddhist Myanmar's most contentious human rights issue as it makes a transition from decades of harsh military rule.

It now appears to have spawned a potent insurgency, which has grown in size and morphed from an militant group into something more akin to a widespread movement, observers say.

The situation in the state deteriorated early this month when security forces began a new "clearance operation" in a remote mountain area.

UN CALLS FOR ALL SIDES TO REFRAIN FROM VIOLENCE

The Rohingya are denied citizenship and are seen by many in Myanmar as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, despite claiming roots in the region that go back centuries, with communities marginalised and occasionally subjected to communal violence.

An earlier military counter-offensive in October resulted in some 87,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh, where they joined many others who have fled from Myanmar over the past two decades or more. The United Nations said Myanmar's security forces likely committed crimes against humanity in the offensive that began in October.

Friday's morning attack took place hours after a panel led by the former UN chief Kofi Annan advised the government on long-term solutions for the violence-riven state.

Mr Annan condemned the violence on Friday, saying that the "alleged scale and gravity of these attacks mark a worrying escalation of violence. No cause can justify such brutality and senseless killing".

The United Nations condemned the "coordinated series of attacks" and called on all sides in the crisis to refrain from violence.

The statement, issued by the UN resident coordinator in Myanmar, Ms Renata Lok-Dessallien, and read out to a Geneva news briefing urged "all parties to refrain from violence, protect civilians and restore order".

"We are deeply concerned about the security situation in Rakhine state," she added.

Military sources in Rakhine said they estimated the number of insurgents in the offensive stood at about 1,000 and that it encompassed both Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships - a much wider area compared with October.

Over the last several months, the government has accused the insurgents of instigating a campaign of terror against village chiefs and killing government informers, disrupting government information networks.

"The insurgents were able to organise such a huge attack because they were successful in organising the information blackout," said one of the military sources.

"It's an extremely serious situation which could lead to a major crisis. It's not easy to know what has happened, but it's clearly very worrying," said Yangon-based analyst and former UN diplomat in Myanmar Richard Horsey.

Bangladesh pushed back around 146 Rohingya trying to flee following the violence, S.M. Ariful Islam, a Border Guard Bangladesh officer, said.

Amid rising tensions over the past few weeks, more than 1,000 new refugees have fled to Bangladesh.

"My cousin in our village back in northern Maungdaw told me about rising tensions there. Military is everywhere. People are crying, mourning the dead," said Mr Mohammed Shafi, who lives in a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh near the Myanmar border. "This morning we had a prayer meeting in the Kutupalong refugee camp for the victims and for the well-being of our homeland. Things are turning real bad. It's scary."

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At least 71 dead in Myanmar Rakhine fighting: Govt

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MAUNGDAW/DHAKA (AFP, Reuters) - At least 71 people have been killed in the latest fighting between Rohingya militants and Myanmar security forces in the country's Rakhine state, the office of de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi said Friday (Aug 25). . Read more at straitstimes.com.

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President Trump and the Kremlin have denied allegations that Russia and the Trump campaign colluded in the 2016 presidential election - but the probe into suspicions of Russian meddling is forging ahead.

A special counsel was appointed to investigate potential wrongdoing, and the team has already brought multiple charges against people associated with the presidential campaign.

Read on for a breakdown of what has happened in the Russia investigation thus far and what it means for the administration.

What exactly is being investigated?

Multiple investigators are looking into just how wide the scope of Russia's involvement in the 2016 presidential election is and if the foreign nation had any interaction with the Trump campaign.

Investigators are also looking at the financial ties between some Trump associates and the Kremlin.

Who is in charge of the investigations?

Multiple congressional committees have launched probes into Russia's attempts to influence the election.

The Department of Justice appointed Robert Mueller as its special counsel overseeing its investigation in May 2017.

Mueller was appointed after Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who was the first Republican senator to endorse Trump, recused himself from the investigation. His appointment also followed a growing Democratic outcry for someone outside the Justice Department to handle the probe.

The House Intelligence Committee announced in March the end of its investigation, with Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, telling Fox News it found no evidence of collusion.

Has anyone been charged yet?

Mueller's investigation has led to multiple charges - although none are directly related to misconduct from the campaign.

In his leading role, Mueller took over an ongoing investigation into Paul Manafort's financial dealings in Ukraine.

Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman, and Richard Gates were indicted on Oct. 27 on multiple counts, including: conspiracy against the U.S., conspiracy to launder money, false statements and failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Manafort and Gates initially pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Nearly four months later, on Feb. 22, the pair were hit with additional tax evasion and bank fraud charges. The additional charges involved much of the same conduct Manafort and Gates were initially hit with, but the sum Manafort is accused of laundering through offshore accounts increased to $30 million.

Gates pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy and false-statements charges on Feb. 23. After the plea, Mueller moved to drop the 22 bank and tax fraud charges against Gates, possibly suggesting that the former Trump campaign official is cooperating and providing good information to Mueller's team.

Mueller also accused Manafort of secretly paying former European politicians to lobby on behalf of Ukraine. Manafort has continued to maintain his innocence, most recently pleading not guilty to charges including tax evasion and bank fraud in federal court on March 8.

Manafort joined Trump's campaign ahead of the Republican National Convention to help wrangle delegates before becoming the campaign chairman. He resigned in August 2016.

Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, has also been charged in connection with Mueller's probe. Flynn pleaded guilty in December to one charge of lying to the FBI - reportedly about his talks with a Russian ambassador.

Flynn was Trump's national security adviser for a short time, but his connection to the White House was rife with controversy that still bedevils the administration. Flynn resigned after less than a month in the position.

At issue was his contact with Moscow's ambassador to Washington. Flynn and the Russian appear to have discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia late in 2016, raising questions about whether he was freelancing on foreign policy while former President Barack Obama was still in office and whether he misled Trump officials about the communications.

Additionally, George Papadopoulos, a former foreign policy adviser to Trump's campaign, pleaded guilty in 2017 to making false statements to the FBI about his connections with Russian officials.

During his time on the campaign, Papadopoulos attempted to set up meetings between campaign officials and Russians on numerous occasions. He also interacted with a professor "understood to have substantial connections to Russian government officials" who told Papadopoulos that the Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton, according to court documents released by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office.

Alex van der Zwaan, an attorney who allegedly lied to investigators in the Russia inquiry, was charged in federal court in February and pleaded guilty. According to charging documents, van der Zwaan was employed by a law firm hired by the Ukraine Ministry of Justice in 2012. He admitted to lying to investigators about his interactions with Gates.

Richard Pinedo, a California man who sold bank accounts to Russians meddling in the election, pleaded guilty in February to using stolen identities to set up the accounts. The U.S. government said Pinedo was not aware he was dealing with Russians when he sold the accounts, however.

Additionally, 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities were indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly interfering in the election. Mueller's case alleges those involved had a sophisticated plot to wage "information warfare" on the U.S.

However, the Justice Department did not say if the actions had an impact on the outcome of the election.

Does anyone else on Trump's team have connections to Russians or the investigation?

Donald Jr., the president's oldest son, got the administration into some hot water when it was revealed that he took a meeting with a Russian lawyer during the campaign who was supposed to have damning information about Clinton.

"This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump," an email about the meeting said in part.

Trump Jr. maintained that the lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, did not have any information to share and instead wanted to discuss the Magnitsky Act and other sanctions.

Manafort and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, were also at the meeting.

Kushner, too, has been under FBI scrutiny. Married to Ivanka, the president's daughter, Kushner may possess substantial information relevant to the investigation, officials have said.

Although he has denied colluding with Russians or knowing of anyone who did, Kushner has had private meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to discuss the controversial encounter with Veselnitskya, which occurred in the summer of 2016. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have accused him of not being forthcoming in the information divulged.

Steve Bannon, Trump's former White House chief strategist, agreed to meet with Mueller as part of his investigation, potentially avoiding appearing under subpoena in front of a grand jury. And Sessions has already met with Mueller, becoming the highest-ranking administration official thus far to have submitted to questioning.

An attorney for the Trump Organization, made up of hundreds of companies owned by Trump through a trust and managed by his two sons, told The Associated Press that it's been "fully cooperative" with Mueller's probe.The company has turned over documents to investigators.

What about Trump?

Trump has said he is "looking forward" to being questioned by Mueller under oath regarding the investigation. Aside from his associates' connections to Russians, the president has also found himself under scrutiny for certain interactions in office.

Trump sacked FBI Director James Comey on May 9, 2017 - less than two months after Comey publicly proclaimed the agency was investigating ties between Russia and Trump's campaign.

The White House maintained Comey was let go due to his handling of an investigation into Clinton's private email server used during her tenure as secretary of state. But Trump has suggested that he considered the Russian investigation when he fired Comey.

Comey also told a Senate intelligence committee that Trump had asked for the FBI to drop its investigation into Flynn; the White House said Trump was not attempting to influence his FBI director.

Comey told the committee that he offered Trump repeated reassurances that he was not under an FBI investigation.

After Comey's dismissal, Trump met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador at the time, where he shared classified information regarding ISIS threats, the Washington Post reported.

Trump told those officials that firing Comey - who he allegedly called a "nut job" - took "great pressure" off of him, The New York Times later reported.

The Trump administration sanctioned 19 Russian individuals and five Russian entities on March 15 for allegedly interfering in the 2016 election and engaging in cyber-attacks. The Treasury Department announced the sanctions, which included the 13 Russians who were already indicted in Mueller's probe.

What's so controversial about the investigation?

Trump has been critical of Mueller, calling his friendship with Comey "very bothersome." Multiple investigators on Mueller's team face questions about their potential biases - and two were reassigned from the probe.

House Republicans released a memo in early February 2018 that detailed alleged surveillance abuses used in the Russia probe.

The memo, put together by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., did "raise concerns with the legitimacy and legality of certain DOJ and FBI interactions with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and represent a troubling breakdown of legal processes established to protect the American people from abuses related to the FISA process," it said.

Trump said the memo "vindicates" him in the Russia investigation.

But Democrats have dismissed the memo as "misleading," saying it was released by Republicans in order to push the narrative that the probe is biased against the president. Weeks later, they released their own rebuttal memo, which defends the FBI and Justice Department.

How did the Russian meddling allegations even begin?

Before Trump took office, tens of thousands of emails from the Democratic National Committee and officials connected to Clinton were leaked.

Those emails - released in July 2016 - purportedly showed the party favoring Clinton over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and led to the resignation of party chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

But more than just ousting Wasserman Schultz, intelligence officials concluded those responsible for leaking the emails were connected to the Russian government. In its assessment of the hack, the CIA concluded that Russia intervened in the election in order to help Trump secure the presidency.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Kaitlyn Schallhorn is a Reporter for Fox News. Follow her on Twitter @K_Schallhorn.

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Trump and the Russia investigation: What to know

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President Trump and the Kremlin have denied allegations that Russia and the Trump campaign colluded in the 2016 presidential election - but the probe into suspicions of Russian meddling is forging ahead. A special counsel was appointed to investigate potential wrongdoing, and the team has already brought multiple charges against people associated with the presidential campaign.

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Many questions -- such as the motive -- remain unanswered since the October 1 massacre in which 58 were killed and hundreds injured when the gunman, Stephen Paddock, opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest music festival from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said the FBI is investigating an individual of federal interest related to the case. Charges could be brought within 60 days, he said.

Here is what we have learned from the report.

* Authorities have determined how many victims were injured. Officials told reporters Friday that investigators determined 422 people suffered injuries as a direct result of gunfire, while another 851 individuals suffered other injuries during the attack. The report says all 22,000 people who attended the festival that night are recognized as victims.

31 victims were pronounced dead at the scene. The rest were pronounced dead at medical facilities they were taken to afterward. Police have previously said that 58 people died in the attack.

* Investigators have chased 1,965 leads in the case. They've also reviewed more than 21,000 hours of footage and issued 1,062 legal notices during the investigation.

Revelations about the gunman

* Investigators recovered "several hundred images of child pornography" on Paddock's hard drive. The investigation into the images in ongoing, the report says. CNN previously reported that Paddock's brother was charged with possession of child pornography.

* Paddock's doctor believed he may be bipolar. According to the report, Paddock's physician described him as "'odd" in behavior with "little emotion' shown." Though he believed Paddock could have had bipolar disorder, Paddock "did not want to discuss that topic further with him." Paddock refused anti-depressants but accepted prescriptions ordered for anxiety.

* He was described as "germaphobic." Paddockalso claimed multiple times to friends or family that he "felt ill, in pain or fatigued," the report said.

* Paddock paid off all his gambling debts before the shooting. It's already been reported that Paddock, a notorious gambler, was completely funded by his gambling habits and real estate transactions.

* Paddock's demeanor changed over the last year. His girlfriend, Marilou Danley, told investigators he had become "distant," the report says, "and their relationship was no longer intimate."

* The shooter's girlfriend believed buying guns was a hobby for Paddock. The 64-year-old purchased 55 firearms between October 2016 and September 2017, the report says. All of the guns recovered in the Mandalay Bay, with one exception, the report says, were purchased after September 2016.

Report sheds light on how he planned attack

* Paddock behaved strangely during a stay at the Mandalay Bay a month before the shooting. Paddock had specifically requested rooms that overlooked the Las Vegas Village. Danley, his girlfriend, told investigators that during their visit she "observed Paddock constantly looking out the windows of the room that overlooked the venue. Paddock would move from window to window looking at the site from different angles." Authorities said they don't anticipate charges being brought against Danley, who has cooperated with investigators.

* Google search history shows Paddock researched other large-scale venues. This isn't necessarily new -- it was previously reported he booked hotel rooms overlooking Lollapalooza in Chicago. But the report reflects inquiries dating back to May 18, 2017. At that time, Paddock was mostly looking into venues in Boston.

* Paddock googled "How tall is Mandalay Bay." Readers might remember that no suicide note or manifesto was found in Paddock's hotel room. The only piece of paper in the suite contained calculations the gunman made to determine how far his bullets would drop based on the height of his room, and the distance between himself and the venue. Paddock may have used the height of the hotel to calculate the trajectory.

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las vegas shooting: what we learned from the initial report - cnn

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What we learned from the Las Vegas shooting report

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Many questions -- such as the motive -- remain unanswered since the October 1 massacre in which 58 were killed and hundreds injured when the gunman, Stephen Paddock, opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest music festival from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

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Here are the latest developments on the tensions with North Korea:

Happening today

US and North Korea set to come face-to-face in UN. Diplomats from the US and North Korea are set to come face-to-face at a Security Council meeting in New York on Friday.

The meeting rounds off a North Korea-heavy week at the United Nations, with the Security Council discussing human rights in the nation in a session on Monday morning.

Putin and Trump agree to exchange information. The Kremlin said on Friday that President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump had agreed to exchange information about North Korea and cooperate on initiatives to resolve the crisis.

Direct diplomacy needed on North Korea. The chief US negotiator for North Korea said on Friday the US should engage in direct diplomacy with Pyongyang alongside sanctions imposed over its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

"We know that North Korea wants above all to talk to the United States about guarantees for its security. We are ready to support that, we are ready to take part in facilitating such negotiations," Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying.

"We are planning to introduce the JSM (Joint Strike Missile) that will be mounted on the F-35A (stealth fighter) as 'stand-off' missiles that can be fired beyond the range of enemy threats," Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told a news conference.

US-South Korea war games start. The US and South Korea begun large-scale military exercises south of the capital, Seoul, on Monday.

More than 200 aircrafts were involved in the five-day war games, including six F-22 Raptors and six F-35 stealth fighter jets. About 12,000 US military personnel took part.

North Korea fires ballistic missile. "North Korea launched an unidentified ballistic missile eastward from the vicinity of Pyongsong, South Pyongan Province, at dawn today", South Korean army officials told South Korean news agency Yonhap on Wednesday.

Pyongyang also said on Wednesday that putting North Korea back on the terrorism blacklist will only strengthen its resolve to further develop the communist country's nuclear weapons programme.

Cuba's foreign minister also rejected the United States' "unilateral and arbitrary" demands on Wednesday, while expressing concern about escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula, the ministry said.

UN criticises N Korea for chasing defector. The United Nations Command says North Korea violated the Korean Armistice Agreement, when its troops shot at and chased a North Korean soldier who was defecting across the border.

Trump blacklists North Korea. President Donald Trump has designated North Kore a a state sponsor of terrorism; he also promised more US Treasury sanctions against Pyongyang.

Japan's Abe vows to bolster defence: On Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to bolster his country's defences, calling the threat from North Korea the gravest security concern Japan has faced since World War II.

Duterte: War with N Korea would 'end humanity'. On Tuesday, Rodrigo Duterte predicted a war with the North would end in a "nuclear holocaust" in his closing remarks at the ASEAN summit in Manila.

North Korean soldier shot by comrades while defecting. South Korean forces are on high alert for possible provocations after a North Korean soldier was shot and wounded by his comrades as he defected across the demilitarised zone.

US-S Korea launch major war drills. The US and South Korea launched military manoeuvres involving three American aircraft carrier strike groups on Saturday, in a massive show of force that drew the anger of rival North Korea.

Russia opposes 'total embargo'. "We have never supported the idea of a total embargo of North Korea, like any other country," Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Wednesday.

North Korea says sanctions hurting women, children. On Wednesday, North Korea said it was working to uphold women's rights and gender equality but that sanctions imposed by major powers were taking a toll on vulnerable families.

Trump arrives in China. US President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for his first official visit.

From Seoul, Trump had called on China to sever its relations with North Korea, saying: "You cannot support, you cannot supply, you cannot accept."

Trump was also meant to visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides the two Koreas, but did not because of bad weather.

Additional sanctions. Japan said on Tuesday it would impose additional sanctions on North Korea in response to the continuing threat posed by its missile and nuclear programmes.

Demonstrations have also been taking place in front of the US embassy in Seoul.

US Senate targets Chinese banks. On Tuesday, the US Senate Banking Committee unanimously backed new sanctions targeting Chinese banks that do business with North Korea.

Japan calls for more pressure. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday it was time to exert maximum pressure on North Korea.

Abe agreed with President Donald Trump that China should play a bigger role in getting Pyongyang to give up its weapons programmes.

UK: 'Military option must remain on the table'

A military option must remain on the table in dealing with North Korea's nuclear program, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on Monday.

"I don't think anybody could conceivably want a military solution to this problem," Johnson said at a speech in London. "And yet clearly... the possibility of some kind of military option... that possibility must at least theoretically be maintained on the table."

Mattis to visit South Korea

Abe and Trump to raise pressure

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Donald Trump agreed to work together to raise pressure on North Korea, Yasutoshi Nishimura, a deputy chief cabinet secretary, said.

Abe pledges to tackle crisis

After an election victory, Japan's leader pledged to tackle what he called Japan's two national crises: the military threat from North Korea and an ageing and shrinking population.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at a news conference that he is committed to protecting the Japanese people's prosperity and peace from any contingency.

"I will pursue decisive and strong diplomacy to tackle North Korea's missile, nuclear and abduction issues and put further pressure to get it to change its policy," he said.

Trump to visit South Korea

On November 3, Donald Trump will start a trip that will take him to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines. It will be his first tour of Asia since taking power in January.

In an interview with Fox Business Network, Trump said he wants to "keep things very, very low key" with the Chinese President Xi Jinping until the Chinese leader emerges from the party congress.

No talks over nuclear programme

Choe Son-hui, director-general of the North American department of North Korea's foreign ministry, told a non-proliferation conference in Moscow Washington would "have to put up" with North Korea's nuclear status. "This is a matter of life and death for us. The current situation deepens our understanding that we need nuclear weapons to repel a potential attack."

Switzerland sanctions North Korea

Russia and China propose roadmap

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged world powers on Friday to get behind a joint Russian-Chinese roadmap for settling the crisis over North Korea's weapons program.

Speaking at a conference on non-proliferation in Moscow, Lavrov said that the break-up of a deal on Iran's nuclear program would send an alarming message about international security mechanisms, and could impact the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea threatens US ship

"Unprecedented" communication with Australia

US, S Korea, Japan discuss North Korea

Clinton: Threats of war 'dangerous'

Former US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that "cavalier" threats to start a war on the Korean Peninsula were "dangerous and short-sighted", urging the United States to get all parties to the negotiating table.

Clinton also called on China to take a "more out front role" in enforcing sanctions against North Korea aimed at curbing its missile and nuclear development.

"There is no need for us to be bellicose and aggressive (over North Korea)," Clinton told the World Knowledge Forum in the South Korean capital of Seoul, stressing the need for more pressure on North Korea and diplomacy to bring Pyongyang to talks.

Nuclear war may break out at 'any moment'

'Don't join any US action and you're safe'

Diplomacy to continue until 'first bomb drops'

N. Korea readies missile launch, report says

Malaysia halts imports from North Korea

Kim Jong-un promotes sister Kim Yo-jong

North Korea's foreign minister has accused US President Donald Trump of declaring war on his country.

Speaking outside the UN headquarters in New York City on Monday, Ri Yong-ho said Trump's "declaration of war" means all options will be on the table for North Korea's leadership.

Stating that his country's ultimate goal is to establish "balance of power" with the US, Ri said his country will never waver from its nuclear ambitions despite UN sanctions.

North Korea's foreign minister has brushed aside US President Donald Trump's threat to destroy his country, comparing it to a "dog's bark".

Trump used his maiden address at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday to warn Pyongyang that Washington would "totally destroy" it if the US or its allies were attacked.

Arriving in New York for the UN meetings on Wednesday, Ri Yong-ho, the North Korean foreign minister, was mobbed with questions from reporters about the Trump speech and he replied with a proverb.

"There is a saying that marching goes on even when dogs bark," he said as he entered his hotel.

"If they are trying to shock us with the sound of a dog's bark they are clearly having a dog dream."

The US ambassador to the UN warned North Korea would be destroyed if it continues its "reckless behaviour" and forces the United States and its allies to defend themselves against any attack.

Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, said on Sunday the UN Security Council has run out of options on containing North Korea's nuclear programme - and the US may now turn to the Pentagon.

"We have pretty much exhausted all the things that we can do at the Security Council at this point," Haley told CNN's State of the Union.

Haley added she was perfectly happy to hand the matter to Defence Secretary James Mattis.

"We're trying every other possibility that we have, but there's a whole lot of military options on the table," she said.

World leaders have condemned North Korea after it conducted its longest-ever test flight of a ballistic missile, with some calling for even tougher sanctions.

Shinzo Abe, Japan's prime minister, called on the international community to band together after the projectile flew over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido before falling into the Pacific Ocean on Friday.

South Korea's President Moon Jae-in ordered his military to conduct a live-fire ballistic missile drill.

The White House said US President Donald Trump had been briefed on the latest launch.

Trump wants China to do more to rein in North Korea. China, in turn, favours an international response to the problem.

Taiwan convened a national security meeting, amid fears of a deterioration in regional security after North Korea's latest missile launch.

North Korea has fired a ballistic missile from the capital Pyongyang that has flown northern Japan.

Yoshihide Sug, Japan's chief cabinet secretary, said t he projectile was launched at 6:57am local time on Friday (21:57 GMT Thursday) and flew over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido before falling into the Pacific Ocean - 2,000km east of Cape Erimo.

"Japan protests the latest launch in the strongest terms and will take appropriate and timely action at the United Nations and elsewhere, staying in close contact with the United States and South Korea," Suga said.

South Korea's defence ministry said the missile travelled about 3,700km and reached a maximum altitude of 770km - both higher and further than previous tests.

The ministry said the South's military conducted a live-fire ballistic missile drill in response to the North's launch.

South Korea has welcomed the UN Security Council's move to impose new sanctions on its neighbour North Korea, describing it as a "strict warning from the international community".

The country's foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that South Korea will continue to strengthen cooperation with the international community to ensure that the resolutions "are thoroughly implemented".

"North Korea should accept the strict warning from the international community that continued provocations only deepen the diplomatic isolation and economic pressure," the ministry said.

UN experts: N Korea recently exported $270m illegally

UN experts have said North Korea illegally exported coal, iron and other commodities worth at least $270 million to China and other countries including India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka during a six-month period ending in August in violation of UN sanctions.

The report, released on Saturday by the experts monitoring sanctions, said Kim Jong-un's government continues to flout sanctions on commodities, an arms embargo and shipping and financial restrictions.

The US has formally requested a UN Security Council vote on Monday on the toughest sanctions yet against North Korea despite resistance from China and Russia, as Pyongyang's state media calls for a nuclear arms buildup.

Washington has presented a draft UN resolution calling for an oil embargo on North Korea, an assets freeze on leader Kim Jong-un, a ban on textile exports and an end to payments of North Korean guest workers.

Diplomatic sources said Russia and China opposed the measures as a whole, except for the ban on textiles, during a meeting on Friday of experts from the 15 Security Council members.

North Korea: 'More gift packages' coming for the US

North Korea has threatened to send "more gift packages" to the United States, days after testing the biggest nuclear weapon it has ever detonated.

Han Tae-song, ambassador of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to the United Nations in Geneva, addressed the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament on Tuesday after his country carried out its sixth nuclear test.

"The recent self-defence measures by my country, DPRK, are a gift package addressed to none other than the US," Han said.

"The US will receive more gift packages from my country as long as it relies on reckless provocations and futile attempts to put pressure on the DPRK," he added without elaborating.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has criticised US diplomacy in the crisis and renewed his call for talks, saying North Korea would not halt its missile testing programme until it felt secure.

"Russia condemns North Korea's exercises; we consider that they are a provocation ... [But] ramping up military hysteria will lead to nothing good. It could lead to a global catastrophe," Putin said.

South Korea conducts live-fire naval drills

South Korea said on Monday it will temporarily deploy four remaining launchers for a US THAAD missile defence system after the completion of an environmental assessment by the government.

Some construction would be carried out to deploy the four launchers at the site in Seongju, south of Seoul, the defence ministry said in a statement.

There are currently two launchers at the location, a former golf course. The ministry did not specify when the launchers would be moved onto the site.

Requested by the US, Japan, France, Britain and South Korea, the Security Council meeting could bring additional condemnation and discussion of other potential steps.

Australia calls on China to influence N Korea

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has called on China to bring North Korea to its "senses" following its nuclear test on Sunday.

He said China will be enforcing UN economic sanctions against North Korea but "there will be more that needs to be done given the affront that North Korea has shown to China" by testing its sixth nuclear device on Sunday.

Turnbull told reporters in Canberra that the risk of war breaking out on the Korean Peninsula is at its highest in over 60 years. He said China, as the North's closest ally and commercial partner, had the economic leverage to and therefore the responsibility to influence North Korea.

Japan FM agrees with US on 'close cooperation' over N Korea

S Korea to announce approval of environment report for Thaad system

Trump reaffirms commitment to defend allies in call with Abe

South Korea has carried out a missile drill meant to "strongly warn" North Korea over its sixth nuclear test, military officials said.

According to state news agency Yonhap, "the training came in response to the North's sixth nuclear test ... and involved the country's Hyunmoo ballistic missile and the F-15K fighter jets".

The military added that the target of the exercise was set considering the distance to where the North's test site was and the drill was aimed at practicing precision strikes and cutting off reinforcements.

The drill was carried out by only the Korean military, but more are being prepared with the US forces in South Korea, a military statement said.

UN Security Council to meet Monday on N Korea nuclear test

Trump: US may stop trade with countries doing business with N Korea

The United States is considering, in addition to other options, stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea.
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2017

UN chief: Nuclear test is 'profoundly destabilising'

President Donald Trump has reacted to what he called "a major nuclear test" by North Korea, branding the North "a rogue nation" whose "words and actions continue to be very hostile and dangerous" to the United States.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Sunday to "appropriately deal with" the latest nuclear test by North Korea, state news agency Xinhua said.

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO's secretary-general, called on North Korea in a statement to "immediately cease all existing nuclear and ballistic missile activities in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner, and re-engage in dialogue with the international community".

South Korea's President Moon Jae-in vowed to push for the most powerful sanctions yet at the UN Security Council against North Korea to completely isolate it.

Shinzo Abe, Japan's prime minister, said Pyongyang's "nuclear and missile development programmes pose a new level of a grave and immediate threat" and "seriously undermines the peace and security of the region".

TIMELINE: North's nuclear tests

Pyongyang has confirmed its sixth nuclear test after reports of tremors shaking the country.

The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the hydrogen bomb test on Sunday morning, ordered by leader Kim Jong-un, was a "perfect success".

The trial at 12pm (03:30 GMT) was carried out to "examine and confirm the accuracy and credibility" of North Korea's technology, KCNA said.
EXPLAINED: H-bomb vs atomic bomb

Two tremors struck North Korea on Sunday, prompting fears that Pyongyang may have conducted a nuclear test.

The website of the US Geological Survey said the first tremor of 6.3 magnitude had a depth of 23 kilometres.

The USGS had earlier reported a 5.2 magnitude and depth of zero kilometres.

Trump, Abe discuss 'growing threat' from North Korea

Trump, Moon pledge strong diplomatic pressure on N Korea

The UN Security Council unanimously condemned North Korea's firing of a ballistic missile over Japan as an "outrageous" threat and demanded that the country not launch any more missiles and abandon all nuclear weapons and programmes.

In a statement, the Security Council said it was of "vital importance" that North Korea take immediate, concrete actions to reduce tensions and called on all states to implement UN sanctions on North Korea.

North Korea has fired a ballistic missile that flew over Japan before plunging into the northern Pacific Ocean, in a step termed by the Japanese prime minister as a "grave threat".

The launch appeared to be the first to cross over Japan since 2009 and comes amid an ongoing annual military drill being carried out between the United States and its close ally in the region, South Korea .

The US Pacific Command said in a statement that two of North Korea's missiles failed in flight after an unspecified distance, and another appeared to have exploded immediately.

It added that the missile posed no threat to the US territory of Guam, towards which North Korea had previously warned it would fire missiles.

North Korea's military routinely responds to US-South Korean exercises.

Tuesday's threat came as top US generals, including Harry Harris, the commander of US forces in the Pacific, visited South Korea.

N Korea 'fails' South's Moon

Moon's comments on Thursday, marking his 100 days in office, come amid increased tensions between the United States and North Korea following Pyongyang's warning that it might send missiles into waters near the US territory of Guam.

China has warned the United States and North Korea to "hit the brakes" on threats and actions, and work towards a peaceful resolution of their dispute.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday, said the two countries should work together and contain tensions.

Russia and China should not permit any party to "stir up an incident on their doorstep", he said.

A Canadian pastor who was imprisoned for more than two years in North Korea has arrived back home.

Hyeon Lim, a 62-year-old South Korean-born Canadian citizen, was convicted and sentenced in 2015 for allegedly trying to use religion to destroy the North Korean system and helping US and South Korean authorities lure and abduct North Korean citizens.

Hyeon's release came nearly two months after US college student Otto Warmbier died shortly after he was released from North Korea in a coma.

Warmbier had been sentenced to 15 years of hard labour in March 2016 after being accused of stealing a propaganda poster.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping urged US President Donald Trump on Saturday to avoid rhetoric that could inflame tensions with North Korea as an escalating war of words raised global alarm.

Xi made the plea in a phone call hours after Trump escalated his warnings to North Korea, saying it would "truly regret" taking hostile action against the US .

China's foreign ministry said Xi urged Trump to avoid "words and deeds" that would "exacerbate" the already tense situation, exercise restraint, and seek a political settlement.

A Chinese state-run newspaper has suggested Beijing would "stay neutral" if North Korea attacks first in a conflict with the United States, despite a mutual defence pact between the Asian allies.

However, it added: "If the US and South Korea carry out strikes and try to overthrow the North Korean regime and change the political pattern of the Korean Peninsula, China will prevent them from doing so."

Any new military conflict with North Korea would likely escalate to the use of nuclear weapons, bringing catastrophic casualties not seen since World War II, defence officials and analysts say.

President Donald Trump warned Kim Jong-un's government to "get their act together" or face extraordinary "trouble", and suggested his earlier threat to unleash "fire and fury" on North Korea was too mild.

"Maybe that statement wasn't tough enough," Trump said, in the latest US salvo in an escalating exchange of threats between the nuclear-armed nations.

"Any type of attack will not be successful but at the same time an attack on Guam will be considered an attack on the United States and will be met with an overwhelming force," Guam's Governor Eddie Calvo told Al Jazeera.

The people of Guam woke up on Thursday to another pointed threat from Pyongyang, which vowed to complete a plan to attack waters near the island by mid-August.

US Defence Secretary James Mattis has responded to North Korea's threat of targeting the US Pacific territory of Guam with missiles, saying Pyongyang's move would lead to "the end of its regime and the destruction of its people".

Mattis said in a statement on Wednesday that North Korea "would lose any arms race or conflict it initiates".

"The DPRK must choose to stop isolating itself and stand down its pursuit of nuclear weapons," he said, using the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Earlier on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Korean People's Army said in a statement carried by North Korea's state-run KCNA news agency that the Guam attack plan would be "put into practice in a multi-current and consecutive way any moment" after leader Kim Jong-un made a decision.

"North Korea had best not make any more threats to the United States," said a stern-looking Trump, seated with his arms crossed and with his wife beside him, at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey. "They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen."

North Korea said it is "carefully examining" a plan to attack the US Pacific territory of Guam with missiles, just hours after Trump's comments.

A spokesman for the Korean People's Army, in a statement carried by North Korea's state-run KCNA news agency, said the attack plan will be "put into practice in a multi-current and consecutive way any moment" once leader Kim Jong-un makes a decision.

In another statement, quoting a different military spokesman, North Korea also said it could carry out a pre-emptive operation if the US showed signs of provocation.

The sanctions passed at the weekend were a "violent violation of our sovereignty", Pyongyang said in a statement carried by its official Korean Central News Agency, adding it would take "righteous action" in return.

North Korea said it would not negotiate over nuclear arms while threatened by the US.

China, a close ally of North Korea, also voted in favour of the sanctions.

Several Asian foreign ministers, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, are currently gathered in the Philippine capital, Manila, for an ASEAN regional summit.

UN sanctions

US unveils new UN sanctions

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North Korea tensions: All the latest updates

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Here are the latest developments on the tensions with North Korea: US and North Korea set to come face-to-face in UN. Diplomats from the US and North Korea are set to come face-to-face at a Security Council meeting in New York on Friday.

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Death is a common element in many of the articles from this past year. From natural disasters to terrorist attacks the world has suffered great losses. While we haven't been responsible for every catastrophe, such as the many hurricanes that have occurred, they still have had a large impact on the lives of many. The #MeToo movement and the Women's March on Washington were both prominent events that impacted women's roles in history.

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Republicans were joyful Friday as they finalized their tax plan, bridging differences between the House and Senate bills and moving another step closer to getting legislation to President Trump by Christmas.

They also appear to have locked down the votes they need to pass the measure through the House and Senate after Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) pledged their support.

Overall, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act represents the largest one-time reduction in the corporate tax rate in U.S. history, from 35 percent down to 21 percent. The bill also lowers taxes for the vast majority of Americans, as well as small-business owners - at least until the cuts expire after eight years.

Last-minute changes to the GOP's big plan give a larger tax break to the wealthy and preserves certain tax savings for the middle class, including the student-loan interest deduction, the deduction for excessive medical expenses and the tax break for graduate students. A change made Friday morning to win over Rubio expands the child tax credit even further to give more money to working-class families.

Here's a rundown of what's in the final bill. (If you want to read all 505 pages, click here.)

What is changing

A new tax cut for the rich: The final plan lowers the top tax rate for top earners. Under current law, the highest rate is 39.6 percent for married couples earning over $470,700. The GOP bill would drop that to 37 percent and raise the threshold at which that top rate kicks in, to $500,000 for individuals and $600,000 for married couples. This amounts to a significant tax break for the very wealthy, a departure from repeated claims by Trump and his top officials that the bill would not benefit the rich. The new tax break for millionaires goes beyond what was in the original House and Senate bills, with Republicans seeking to ensure wealthy earners in states such as New York, Connecticut and California don't end up paying substantially higher taxes as a result of the bill.

A massive tax cut for corporations: Starting on Jan. 1, 2018, big businesses' tax rate would fall from 35 percent to just 21 percent, the largest one-time rate cut in U.S. history for the nation's largest companies. The House and Senate bills originally had the big-business tax rate falling to 20 percent, but Republicans were not able to make the math work to keep the rate that low and start it right away in the new year, so they compromised by moving the rate to 21 percent. It still amounts to roughly a $1 trillion tax cut for businesses over the next decade. Republicans argue this will make the economy surge in the coming years, but most independent economists and Wall Street banks predict only a modest and short-lived boost to growth.

You can deduct just $10,000 in state, local and property taxes: One of the most controversial parts of the GOP tax plan is the push to greatly scale back how much state and local taxes Americans can deduct on their federal income taxes. Under current law, the state and local deduction (SALT) is unlimited. In the final GOP plan, people can deduct up to $10,000 (married couples are also limited to just $10,000). The House initially restricted the $10,000 deduction to just property taxes, but the final bill allows any state and local taxes to be deducted, whether for property, income or sales taxes. The move is widely viewed as a hit to blue states such as New York, Connecticut and California, and there are concerns it could cause property values to fall in high-tax cities and leaveless money for public schools and road repairs.

Most Americans will pay less in taxes until 2026. The final plan lowers the tax rates for each income level and nearly doubles the standard deduction (while also scrapping the personal exemption). The result is that the vast majority of Americans will see their tax bills drop next year. Trump is fond of saying the "typical" family will save $2,000, but the reality is the amount will vary greatly depending up the size, location and circumstances of each family. The bill will also increase the number of Americans who owe nothing in taxes from 44 percent today to 47.5 percent after the plan tax effect on January 1, 2018. But all of the individual tax cuts are scheduled to go away after 2025. Republicans opted to make tax cuts for families temporary and reductions for businesses permanent.

Working-class families get a bigger child tax credit: Thanks to a late push by Rubio and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), the child tax credit would be more generous for low-income families and the working class. The current child tax credit is $1,000 per child. The House and Senate bills expanded the child tax credit, with the Senate going up to a maximum of $2,000 per child. The final bill keeps the $2,000-per-child credit (families making up to about $400,000 get to take the credit), but it also makes more of the tax credit refundable, meaning families that work but don't earn enough to actually owe any federal income taxes will get a large check back from the government. Benefits for those families were initially limited to about $1,100, but through changes Rubio and Lee pushed for, it's now up to $1,400.

The individual health insurance mandate goes away in 2019: Beginning in 2019, Americans would no longer be required by law to buy health insurance (or pay a penalty if they don't). The individual mandate is part of the Affordable Care Act, and removing it was a top priority for Trump and congressional Republicans. The final bill does not start the repeal until 2019, though. The Congressional Budget Office projects the change will increase insurance premiums and lead to 13 million fewer Americans with insurance in a decade, while also cutting government spending by more than $300 billion over that period. Some Republicans hope to make other changes to health care to prevent insurance costs from rising dramatically by the time the repeal kicks in.

You can pass your heirs up to $22 million tax-free: In the end, the estate tax (often called the "death tax" by opponents) would remain part of the U.S. tax code, but far fewer families will pay it. Under current law, Americans can pass on up to $5.5 million tax-free (that threshold is $11 million for married couples). The House wanted to do away with the estate tax entirely, but some senators felt that was too much of a giveaway to the mega-rich. The final compromise was to double the threshold, so now the first $11 million that people pass on to their heirs in property, stocks and other assets won't be taxed (and yes, that means $22 million for married couples).

"Pass through" companies get a 20 percent reduction: Most American businesses are organized as "pass through" companies in which the income from the business is "passed through" to the business owner's individual tax return. S corporations, LLCs, partnerships and sole proprietorships are all examples of pass-through businesses. In the final GOP bill, the majority of these companies get to deduct 20 percent of their income tax-free, a large reduction that mirrors what was in the Senate bill. The changes, however, expire after 2025. The National Federation of Independent Business initially opposed the House version, arguing that it didn't do enough for small businesses. But the NFIB later endorsed the House and Senate plans. Service businesses such as law firms, doctor's offices and investment offices can take only the 20 percent deduction if they make up to $315,000 (for married couples).

No corporate "AMT" tax: The final GOP bill gets rid of the corporate alternative minimum tax, a big relief to the business community. The Senate included the corporate AMT in its version of the bill, but the House did not. The corporate AMT makes it difficult for businesses to reduce their tax bill much lower than 21 percent. CEOs complained that this was a backdoor tax that would make them less likely to build new plants, buy more equipment and invest in more research, since the corporate AMT made the tax credits for those investments essentially null and void.

Fewer families will have to pay the individual AMT: The AMT for individuals started in 1969 as a way to prevent rich families from using so many credits and loopholes to lower their tax bill to almost nothing. But what started out as a way to prevent the wealthiest Americans from tax dodging started to hit more and more families over time. Currently, the AMT kicks in fully for individuals earning over $120,700 and married couples earning over $160,900. Under the final Senate bill, that threshold is lifted to $500,000 for individuals and $1 million for married couples. (Some families in the $200,000 to $500,000 range will still have to pay AMT, but they will pay far less than they were before).

The mortgage interest deduction gets smaller: Under the current tax code, taxpayers can deduct any interest they pay on up to $1 million worth of mortgage loans. House Republicans tried to cap that at $500,000 for new loans (existing mortgages are unaffected by the plan) but in the final version of their, Republicans have settled on a $750,000 cap.

The final bill costs $1.46 trillion: Republicans decided it would be all right to go into debt up to $1.5 trillion to fund the tax cut. In the end, they nearly hit that mark. The official estimate -- released Friday evening alongside the bill -- came in at $1.46 trillion.

What is NOT changing:

The bill keeps in place the student loan deduction, the medical expense deduction and the graduate student tuition waivers. The House bill got rid of these popular deductions, but the Senate bill kept them, and the final bill even makes the medical deduction a bit more generous for awhile (dropping the threshold to take the deduction from expenses over 10 percent of income to expenses over 7.5 percent of income for 2017 and 2018). After that, the medical deduction threshold reverts to 10 percent). In the end, Republicans decided it was better to allow millions of middle-class families to continue using these breaks if they qualify for them.

Retirement accounts such as 401(k) plans stay the same. No changes to the tax-free amounts people are allowed to put into 401(k)s, IRAs and Roth IRAs.

Churches, synagogues, mosques and other nonprofits (the Johnson Amendment stays in place) can't get political and endorse candidates in elections. Trump and conservative Republicans wanted to "totally destroy" (Trump's words) the Johnson Amendment, which has been in place since 1954 and prevents religious institutions and nonprofits from getting involved in elections via fundraising or endorsements. The House bill included a repeal of the Johnson Amendment, but Democrats were able to get the Senate parliamentarian to determine that including the repeal in the bill didn't comply with the rules of the Senate.
Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated the CBO's estimates for the number of uninsured Americans in 10 years. It predicts 13 million fewer people will have health insurance if the individual mandate is lifted.

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Analysis | The final GOP tax bill is complete. Here's what is in it.

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Republicans were joyful Friday as they finalized their tax plan, bridging differences between the House and Senate bills and moving another step closer to getting legislation to President Trump by Christmas. They also appear to have locked down the votes they need to pass the measure through the House and Senate after Sens.

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Younger generations are growing up in a world where tragedies are normal. When these events occur it can come as a shock to the older generations who have experienced less day-to-day misfortunes. However, teenagers and young adults were raised in this kind of society that these events are accepted as the norm. Mass media has given us the instant availability to events that are happening now compared to in the past.

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About 10 years ago, after I'd graduated college but when I was still waitressing full-time, I attended an empowerment seminar. It was the kind of nebulous weekend-long event sold as helping people discover their dreams and unburden themselves from past trauma through honesty exercises and the encouragement to "be present." But there was one moment I've never forgotten. The group leader, a man in his 40s, asked anyone in the room of 200 or so people who'd been sexually or physically abused to raise their hands. Six or seven hands tentatively went up. The leader instructed us to close our eyes, and asked the question again. Then he told us to open our eyes. Almost every hand in the room was raised.

For a long time, most women defined their own sexual harassment and assault in this way: as something unspoken, something private, something to be ashamed of acknowledging. Silence, although understandable, has its cost. A decade ago, I couldn't have conceived of the fact that so many women had experienced sexual coercion or intimidation; now, I'd be surprised if I could find a single one who hadn't. On Sunday afternoon, the actress Alyssa Milano used her Twitter account to encourage women who'd been sexually harassed or assaulted to tweet the words #MeToo. In the last 24 hours, a spokesperson from Twitter confirmed, the hashtag had been tweeted nearly half a million times.

If you've been sexually harassed or assaulted write 'me too' as a reply to this tweet. pic.twitter.com/k2oeCiUf9n
- Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) October 15, 2017

#MeToo wasn't just mushrooming on Twitter-when I checked Facebook Monday morning, my feed was filled with friends and acquaintances acknowledging publicly that they, too, had experienced harassment or assault. Some shared their stories, some simply posted the hashtag to add their voices to the fray. And it wasn't just women: Men also spoke up about their experiences with assault. Actors including Anna Paquin, Debra Messing, Rosario Dawson, Gabrielle Union, and Evan Rachel Wood joined in. The writer Alexis Benveniste used it to remind people that the messages they were seeing were only the tip of the iceberg. For every woman stating her own experiences out loud, there were likely just as many choosing not to do so.

Reminder that if a woman didn't post #MeToo, it doesn't mean she wasn't sexually assaulted or harassed. Survivors don't owe you their story.
- Alexis Benveniste (@apbenven) October 16, 2017

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For all the frequent grumbles about the passivity of most forms of Twitter activism, this was a moment in which the form fit perfectly with the message: The goal of #MeToo, as Milano's friend told her, was simply to give people a sense of "the magnitude of the problem." Waking up to a feed dominated by women discussing their experiences of harassment and assault, it turns out, will do that. For more than a week, social media has been filled with stories told by women about their interactions with the producer Harvey Weinstein, accusations that range from verbal coercion to rape. But as horrifying as the allegations against Weinstein have been, more appalling still is the sense that his behavior isn't uncommon. That in industries across the world, from media to music to modeling to academia, women have encountered their own Weinsteins and have deduced, for whatever reason, that nothing could be done about it and nobody cared.

The power of #MeToo, though, is that it takes something that women had long kept quiet about and transforms it into a movement. Unlike many kinds of social-media activism, it isn't a call to action or the beginning of a campaign, culminating in a series of protests and speeches and events. It's simply an attempt to get people to understand the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault in society. To get women, and men, to raise their hands. Recent revelations about the alleged abuses of Weinstein and Bill Cosby and Jimmy Savile and R. Kelly have proven that truth has power. There's a monumental amount of work to be done in confronting a climate of serial sexual predation-one in which women are belittled and undermined and abused and sometimes pushed out of their industries altogether. But uncovering the colossal scale of the problem is revolutionary in its own right.

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About 10 years ago, after I'd graduated college but when I was still waitressing full-time, I attended an empowerment seminar. It was the kind of nebulous weekend-long event sold as helping people discover their dreams and unburden themselves from past trauma through honesty exercises and the encouragement to "be present."

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Satellite images show Simonton, Texas, before Hurricane Harvey (left) and after (right). The "after" image was taken on Aug. 30, 2017 by DigitalGlobe's WorldView-2 satellite.