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As deadly wildfires burned at multiple sites in the western U.S. state of California, forecasters warned the dry, windy conditions fueling the fires will be in place through at least Tuesday.

Thousands of fire personnel are trying to contain the Camp Fire burning north of the state capital, Sacramento, which began last week and has killed at least 29 people. Authorities said 228 people are still unaccounted for.

Fire officials say the fire is about 25 percent contained and has destroyed some 6,600 buildings. It is the most destructive wildfire in the state’s history.

Evacuations were ordered for the east side of the neighboring town of Chico, a city of about 93,000 people, as flames from the blaze were being driven by 56 kph winds.

The winds helped the fire nearly quadruple in size between Thursday and Friday, complicating evacuation efforts.

The Butte County Sheriff’s office said the victims were mostly found dead inside or near their cars. The sudden evacuation led to highway gridlock, forcing some to flee on foot.

In southern California, a pair of fires erupted last week — the Woolsey Fire and the nearby Hill Fire. Firefighters have been able to bring the Hill Fire to 75 percent containment, while the Woolsey Fire was 15 percent contained on Monday.

Authorities have reported two deaths from those fires.

The Woolsey Fire is threatening about 75,000 homes in Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles.

Ventura County is also the location of a mass shooting this week that killed 12 people.

The mayor of the city of Thousand Oaks, where the mass shooting took place, says three-quarters of his city is under fire evacuation orders.

President weighs in

U.S. President Donald Trump, while in France for the centenary remembrance of the end of World War I, continued to blame state forest managers for the devastation, but did not mention years of drought in the most populous U.S. state.

“With proper Forest Management, we can stop the devastation constantly going on in California. Get Smart!” Trump said on Twitter.

Earlier, he warned California residents that the “fires are expanding very, very quickly (in some cases 80-100 acres a minute). If people don’t evacuate quickly, they risk being overtaken by the fire. Please listen to evacuation orders from State and local officials!”

He said 4,000 firefighters are battling the Camp and Woolsey fires that had burned nearly 70,000 hectares. “Our hearts are with those fighting the fires, the 52,000 who have evacuated,” and the families of those who have been killed. “The destruction is catastrophic. God Bless them all.”

But he contended, “There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!

Officials disagree with president

But authorities in California disputed Trump’s assessment.

Brian Rice, president of California Professional Firefighters, said, “… nearly 60 percent of California forests are under federal management … It is the federal government that has chosen to divert resources away from forest management, not California … At this desperate time, we would encourage the president to offer support in word and deed, instead of recrimination and blame.”

On Sunday, Rice told CNN that Trump’s statement was “stupid” and “callous” and did not take into account California’s seven-year drought.

LeRoy Westerling, a climate and fire scientist at University of California Merced, told the San Francisco Chronicle Trump’s tweets oversimplified the issue in California.

“To have a president come out and say it’s all because of forest management is ridiculous. It completely ignores the dynamic of what’s going on around us,” he told the Chronicle. He said rising temperatures and longer spells of dry weather were behind an increase in not only the number of wildfires but their ferocity as well.
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Calculations are shifting in European capitals on whether Donald Trump is likely to serve a second term as U.S. president. The consensus in Europe ahead of last week’s midterm elections was that he would most likely serve only one term in the White House, but the expanded Republican majority in the Senate is prompting a re-consideration.

That, in turn, is leading some European officials to argue that they will not be able just to wait out Trump for two years for a return to business as usual with a more traditional and Atlanticist Washington, but need to rethink now about the best approach to adopt towards a U.S. leader who largely sees foreign policy as a zero-sum game and is unsentimental about traditional American allies.

But there is little consensus on what to do.

A broad division is emerging among European policymakers — between those who argue they must take into greater account U.S. interests in a bid to try to improve strained transatlantic relations and those officials and leaders who want to adopt a more aggressive “Europe First” strategy on the grounds European courtship of Trump has already tried and failed.

The current debate is an echo of the one that followed Trump’s first few months in office, when European leaders were unnerved in their dealings with an American president very different from his White House predecessors and who eschews diplomatic norms.

In the run-up to last week’s midterm elections, many European policymakers made little disguise of their hopes that the Republicans would suffer a strong reversal in the polls, banking on the notion that a Democrat-controlled House of Representatives would be able to help them mold U.S. foreign policy more to their liking.

But the durability of Trump’s brand of populism has been partly emphasized by what observers call a “red wave” pushing the Republicans to strengthen their hold on the Senate. Some European policymakers and analysts say Trump could become even more difficult to handle from their perspective in the next two years.

They say he will likely double down on policies that roiled transatlantic relations in his first two White House years, which saw the U.S. leader pull America out of the Iran nuclear deal as well as withdraw from the Paris climate accord, lambast allies like Germany for running trade surpluses, and upbraid NATO allies for not spending more on Western defense.

“The formidable executive powers of the president, notably in foreign policy, remain untouched,” Norbert Röttgen, head of the foreign affairs committee in the German Bundestag, told Deutschlandfunk radio, shortly after last week’s midterms. “We need to prepare for the possibility that Trump’s defeat [in the House] fires him up,” he added.

With Trump now looking to begin his run for re-election in earnest, Röttgen and others say he will be keen to galvanize his base of fervent supporters, and that with the House controlled by the Democrats, he has more room for maneuver to do that with foreign policy than when it comes to domestic issues.

“Transatlantic alliances are fraying,” warns Peter Westmacott, a former British ambassador to the U.S. “The change of majority in the House will do little to alter U.S. policy on issues where America’s allies have differed with Trump, like climate change, Middle East peace, trade policy, Iran, Russia and the importance of international institutions,” he says.

Martin Kettle, a columnist with Britain’s Guardian newspaper says the midterms suggest that the Trump foreign policy revolution will become more entrenched. “He is more likely than ever to win a second term, especially if the Democrats are divided. These midterms therefore tell the rest of the world something very important. They tell us that America First is not going away, that it is on course to be the new normal, that it is not some unfortunate aberration that can be reset to the status quo ante of 2016,” he argues.

Here for the short-term or a longer term, Trump’s “America First” policy remains an awkward challenge for European leaders and is propelling some to advocate for a counterbalancing “Europe First” policy. But European divisions — as well as fears — are hampering any agreement on that.

British and German officials fault French President Emmanuel Macron for impetuosity, arguing his Gaullist pitch last week for a Euro-army and talk of Europe needing to free itself from military dependence on America was reckless at a time of growing transatlantic rift. Both Britain and Germany are deeply skeptical of Macron’s idea for a Euro-army. Skeptics say such a military could never make up for American military might and its importance for European defense.

As Macron was unveiling his Euro-army proposal on the eve of Donald Trump’s arrival last week in France for the centenary commemoration of the end of World War I, Germany’s foreign minister, Heiko Maas, was striking a different, more placatory note. While acknowledging the midterm elections are unlikely to ease transatlantic tensions, he tweeted: “The United States remains our most important partner outside of Europe. We need to reassess and align our relations with the United States to maintain this partnership.”

In the immediate wake of the midterm elections, some European leaders are likely to make a greater effort to identify the few policies on which they can agree with the Trump administration. They are also likely to redouble efforts to reach agreement with Washington to solve trade disputes, say analysts.

One outcome might be greater European support for Trump’s China policy. Writing in Britain’s Daily Telegraph, former British foreign minister William Hague praised Trump for calling out Beijing for its “deeply protectionist and nationalistic policy,” unfair trading practices and theft of Western technological know-how, labeling it “one of Trump’s achievements.” He is calling on other Western and Asian nations to wake up to the dangers of the critical threat China poses to the West.

 
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Migrants from Central American countries are moving on toward the United States, sometimes with the help of drivers traveling north. 

A caravan arrived Sunday in Irapuato, an agricultural city about 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Queretaro, where the group had spent Saturday night. 

Although Mexican law enforcement is not providing transportation for the caravan, police are helping them find vehicles for rides. 

The government of Queretaro said in a tweet that 6,531 migrants had moved through the state between Friday and Saturday and 5,771 of them departed Sunday morning from the shelters they were using. 

Although the caravan is over 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) from the U.S. border, the route taken indicates that migrants are eyeing the Mexican city of Tijuana across the border from the U.S. city of San Diego. 

Many of the migrants, who have been on the road for weeks, say they were forced to leave their countries of origin because of poverty, gang violence and political instability. They are primarily from the Central American countries of Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. 

The migrants became a campaign issue in U.S. midterm elections, and President Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of over 5,000 military troops to the border to prevent them from entering the United States illegally. 
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U.S.-backed Syrian fighters resumed their ground offensive Sunday against the Islamic State group in the last territories controlled by the extremists in eastern Syria.

The Syrian Democratic Forces said in a statement that the decision to resume the fighting came after threats from Turkey against the Kurdish-led force dropped due to diplomatic activities.

The SDF said in late October it was temporarily suspending its campaign against IS in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour, accusing Turkey of jeopardizing its efforts.

The group said that the aim of the renewed operation that began two months ago is “to work for the final defeat of Daesh organization,” using an Arab acronym to refer to the group.

Turkey considers the SDF a terror threat and an extension of Kurdish rebels waging an insurgency within Turkey. U.S. support for the Kurdish-led forces has resulted in increased tension between Washington and Ankara.

Last month, in a spike in tensions, Turkey said its military shelled Kurdish positions across the border in Syria, east of the Euphrates River.

Since SDF suspended operations, IS has launched several offensives that have left scores of U.S.-backed fighters dead or wounded.

Despite the cessation of ground operations, the U.S.-led coalition continued with its airstrikes against the extremist group.

The SDF said its fighters captured a senior IS commander in the northern city of Raqqa which until last year was the de facto capital of the extremists.

“This shows that the organization still has roots and sleeper cells in liberated areas,” it said.

 
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The United States is observing Veterans Day on Sunday, the annual day it stops to remember the millions of men and women who have served in the country’s armed forces, often at the sacrifice of their own lives.

President Donald Trump, in Paris, said on Twitter, “On this Veterans Day — the 100th Anniversary of the end of WWI, we honor the brave HEROES who fought for America in the Great War, and every Veteran who has worn the uniform and kept our Nation Safe, Strong and FREE!”

In his Veterans Day message, former President Barack Obama tweeted, “To all our veterans and your families: thank you. There’s no tribute that can truly match the magnitude of your service and sacrifice.”

“But all of us can do our best to live up to the American values of service, responsibility, generosity, and citizenship that you helped defend,” he added.

In the U.S., Veterans Day was originally called “Armistice Day,” to commemorate the end of World War I, but Congress passed a resolution in 1926 for an annual observance. November 11 each year became a national holiday beginning in 1938, with this year’s official observance on Monday since the actual date fell on a weekend this year.

 
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Key U.S. Democratic lawmakers vowed Sunday they would try to protect the investigation of President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign’s links to Russia from interference by his new acting attorney general, Matthew Whitaker, who often attacked the probe before Trump named him to oversee it.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said he would attempt to attach legislation to a must-pass government spending bill next month to keep the government from a partial shutdown to require that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation be permitted to be completed unimpeded.

“There’s no reason that legislation shouldn’t pass,” Schumer told news network CNN. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has opposed stand-alone legislation to protect Mueller, saying he has no reason to believe Trump will fire Mueller, even though the U.S. leader has often assailed the investigation as a “witch hunt,” a view echoed by Whitaker.

Schumer added, “I believe there are enough Republicans who will support us” in adding the Mueller protection measure to the budget legislation. Schumer said the Mueller legislation was needed because “there is every reason to believe there will be interference” by Whitaker, whom he called an “extreme partisan.”

Democratic Congressman Jerrold Nadler, set to become chairman of the House Judiciary Committee when Democrats assume control of the House of Representatives in January, said the panel’s first mission then would be to call Whitaker to testify at a hearing, via a subpoena if necessary, about his “expressed hostility to the investigation.”

Nadler called Whitaker “a complete political lackey” and said Trump appointed a “totally unqualified hatchet man to destroy the investigation.”

But Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway dismissed concerns about Whitaker’s past comments about the Mueller probe, saying “there’s no evidence to me” that he “knows anything about the ongoing Mueller investigation.”

Her husband, lawyer George Conway, wrote in a newspaper column last week that Whitaker had been illegally named, claiming that Whitaker needed Senate confirmation as does the head of any Cabinet agency. But Kellyanne Conway brushed off her husband’s contention, saying that “spouses disagree everyday.” Trump accused George Conway of trying to get “publicity for himself.”

The latest Democratic concerns about protecting Mueller arose last week when Trump fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions, after criticizing him for more than a year for recusing himself from oversight of the Mueller probe. Trump then named Whitaker, Sessions’s chief of staff, to replace him, at least for the moment, as the country’s top law enforcement official.

Before joining the Justice Department last year, Whitaker said in commentary on CNN he could envision a scenario in which Trump might fire Sessions and replace him with a temporary attorney general, which is now what has happened. Whitaker, in the television remarks, suggested the replacement could then cut funding for Mueller’s investigation and his “investigation grinds almost to a halt.”

Whitaker suggested Mueller’s probe amounted to a “fishing expedition.”

But he has given no indication he plans to recuse himself from oversight of Mueller, saying he was “committed to leading a fair [Justice] Department with the highest ethical standards, that upholds the rule of law, and seeks justice for all Americans.” Sessions had handed Mueller oversight to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, recusing himself because of his support for Trump in the 2016 election and contacts he had with Russia’s then ambassador to Washington during the run-up to the voting two years ago.

Mueller has secured guilty pleas or convictions of several Trump campaign officials, but there is no deadline set for his conclusion of the investigation.

 
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A blaze that started Thursday outside the hilly town of Paradise has grown and killed at least 11 people and destroyed more than 6,700 buildings, almost all of them homes, making it California’s most destructive wildfire since record-keeping began. But crews have made gains and the fire is partially contained, officials said Saturday. Wildfires are burning in the northern and southern regions of California.
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Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision to dissolve parliament, worsening an already major political crisis, has drawn criticism from Western powers, including the United States and the European Union.

Sirisena dissolved parliament on Friday night, only five days before it was due to reconvene. A new cabinet he installed was in danger of losing a vote of no confidence. He also called a general election for Jan. 5.

The president triggered a power struggle when he sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe late last month and appointed the island’s former leader, Mahinda Rajapaksa, a pro-China strongman defeated by Sirisena in an election in 2015, in his place.

Sirisena’s rivals are set to challenge his decision, which they describe as illegal and unconstitutional, in the Supreme Court on Monday.

The U.S. Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs said in a tweet that the United States was “deeply concerned by news the Sri Lanka Parliament will be dissolved, further deepening the political crisis”. It said democracy needed to be respected to ensure stability and prosperity.

A spokeswoman for the European Union’s foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement that the move “risks undermining public confidence in the country’s democratic institutions and processes and further deepens the political and economic crisis in the country.”

Last week, the EU’s ambassador warned it could consider stripping Sri Lanka of its duty-free access if it backs off commitments on rights. The EU is worried the return of Rajapaksa could derail halting progress made toward national reconciliation following a war with ethnic minority Tamil separatists that killed tens of thousands, many during the final stages under his watch as president.

Mark Field, the British minister of State for Asia and the Pacific, tweeted his concern about the dissolution of parliament days before it was due to be reconvened.

“As a friend of Sri Lanka, the UK calls on all parties to uphold the constitution and respect democratic institutions and processes,” Field said.

Canada’s Foreign Policy twitter feed said that it was “deeply concerned” about the decision and referred to the risks to reconciliation work after the nation’s civil war.

Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne expressed both concern and disappointment in a statement, saying the move “undermines Sri Lanka’s long democratic tradition and poses a risk to its stability and prosperity.”

Sirisena has said he fired Wickremesinghe because the prime minister was trying to implement “a new, extreme liberal political concept by giving more priority for foreign policies and neglecting the local people’s sentiment.”

Parliament test

Mangala Samaraweera, an ally of Wickremesinghe, said their party expects the court to rule that the dissolution of parliament was illegal and that eventually a vote in parliament will be held to test whether there is a majority.

“We will show that we have the parliament majority and we will show that the dictator president has dissolved a government which had a majority in the parliament,” he told reporters.

They were supported by the Tamil National Alliance, the main party representing ethnic Tamil groups in parliament, who said it too will petition the Supreme Court against the dissolution of the house.

“This is a clear violation of the constitution. The president can’t do this,” said M.A. Sumanthiran, a spokesman for the alliance.

India and the West have raised concerns over Rajapaksa’s close ties with China. Beijing loaned Sri Lanka billions of dollars for infrastructure projects when Rajapaksa was president between 2005-2015, putting the country deep into debt.

Wickremesinghe has refused to vacate the official prime minister’s residence saying he was the prime minister and had a parliamentary majority.

Before he signed the papers dissolving parliament and calling the election, Sirisena appointed allies of his and of Rajapaksa to cabinet positions.

One of them said Sirisena was right to order an election to end the political crisis. Dinesh Gunawardena, a newly appointed urban development minister, said the president had handed the country back to the people.

“It is the people’s right to vote. We have gone before the people. No force can interfere. The people’s mandate is supreme,” he said.

Independent legal experts have told Reuters that parliament could be dissolved only in early 2020, which would be four-and-half-years from the first sitting of the current parliament. The only other legal way would be through a referendum, or with the consent of two thirds of lawmakers.

Given those views, it was not immediately clear how Sirisena is on legal safe ground by dissolving parliament, though his legal experts have said there are provisions for him to do so. 
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California officials say they have found two people dead in Malibu as fire roared through the area, and two arrests have been made for looting in neighboring Ventura County.

The announcement Saturday brings to 11 the number of people who have died in this current batch of wildfires: the Woolsey and smaller Hill Fire in southern California, and the Camp Fire in northern California, where nine people people have died as a result of the flames and smoke. In all, more than 200,000 people have evacuated their homes to avoid the flames.

L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Chief John Benedict confirmed the fatalities at a news conference Saturday. He did not give a cause of death but said homicide investigators are on the scene. He also said, “There is zero tolerance for any looting.” 

In Ventura County, Sergeant Eric Buschow announced the looting arrests Saturday. He said the two arrests were made in separate incidents and warned, “If you come here with the intent of taking advantage of the situation, we will arrest you and you will go to jail.”

The Woolsey Fire is threatening about 75,000 homes in Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles. The county is also the location of a mass shooting this week that killed 12 people.

The mayor of the city of Thousand Oaks, where the mass shooting took place, says that three-quarters of his city is under fire evacuation orders.

The entire upscale beach town of Malibu has been evacuated, and an historic movie site where Westerns were filmed has been destroyed. Celebrities who live in the area, such as reality star Kim Kardashian West and musician Lady Gaga have been tweeting their concern for their homes and neighbors. Actor Martin Sheen told a local news reporter that he and his wife would probably sleep in their car Friday night. 

The Woolsey Fire and the Hill Fire erupted Thursday night, fueled by drought conditions and the Santa Ana winds. 

U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted about the fires Saturday, blaming California officials. He said the fires are the result of “gross mismanagement of the forests” and threatened to withhold federal money. He did not mention California’s drought conditions.

“There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!”

Local media pointed out, however, that half the forested land in California is under federal control

LeRoy Westerling, a climate and fire scientist at University of California Merced, told the San Francisco Chronicle Trump’s tweet on Saturday oversimplified the issue in California.

“To have a president come out and say it’s all because of forest management is ridiculous. It completely ignores the dynamic of what’s going on around us,” he told the Chronicle. He said rising temperatures and longer spells of dry weather were behind an increase in not only the number of wildfires but their ferocity as well.

Meanwhile, in northern California, where nine people have died, the Camp Fire has destroyed the town of Paradise, north of Sacramento. Thousands of residents fled their homes ahead of the flames.

Officials said the Camp Fire has become the most destructive wildfire in state history. Previously, the Tubbs Fire, which burned nearly 40,000 acres in Lake, Napa and Sonoma counties in 2017, had been considered the most destructive wildfire in state history. The Tubbs Fire killed 22 pepole and destroyed more than 5,500 structures.

The Butte County Sheriff’s office said the victims were mostly found dead inside or near their cars. The sudden evacuation led to highway gridlock, forcing some to flee on foot.

Officials said the fire has destroyed 6,453 homes and another 260 commercial structures and has grown to 404 square kilometers.

Wildfires photos:

​
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Law enforcement authorities in Northern California said late Friday nine people have died in a wildfire, one of three in the state that have leveled more than 6,400 homes and forced widespread evacuations.

The Butte County Sheriff’s office said the victims were mostly found dead in cars or outside their vehicles as they attempted to flee Paradise, a mountain town north of Sacramento. Paradise has been mostly destroyed in a quick-moving fire that forced thousands of residents to leave their homes.

Officials said Friday the fire has destroyed 6,453 homes and another 260 commercial structures and has grown to 362 square kilometers.

The blaze, which broke out Thursday, nearly quadrupled overnight into Friday. Officials say the blaze is only 5 percent contained.

In addition to those found dead in their vehicles, many people in Paradise were forced to abandon their cars, which got stuck in gridlocked traffic, and run for their lives.

Dozens more people were reported missing.

California fire officials said crews gave up fighting the flames Thursday and instead helped people get out alive. 

“These firefighters were in the rescue mode all day yesterday,’’ said Capt. Scott McLean of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. “The town is devastated, everything is destroyed,” he said.

Paradise, nearly 145 kilometers north of Sacramento, was home to more than 26,000 residents, according to its website.

“Right now, Mother Nature is in charge,” Cal Fire spokesman Bryce Bennet told The Sacramento Bee newspaper.

Massive evacuations

Evacuations were ordered for the east side of the neighboring town of Chico, a city of about 93,000 people, as flames from the blaze were being driven by 56 kph winds.

An undetermined number of civilians and firefighters have been injured, and Maclean said earlier it could take days to determine the number of fatalities.

California’s acting Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in the northern part of the state to help facilitate rescue and recovery efforts.

The fire, known as the Camp Fire, evolved quickly into the fiercest of the wind-driven fires now plaguing California in what has been one of the worst years for wildfires in the state.

Another fire, known as the Woolsey Fire, prompted officials to call for the voluntary evacuation of some 75,000 homes in Ventura County northwest of Los Angeles, the site of a mass shooting this week in which 12 people were killed.

The mayor of Thousand Oaks, where the mass shooting took place, says that three-quarters of his city is under fire evacuation orders.

Fire officials said strong Santa Ana winds continued to fuel the Woolsey Fire, doubling its size.

The blaze also forced the evacuation of all of Malibu, a city of about 13,000 people that is home to many Hollywood celebrities. The Los Angeles County Fire Department tweeted, “imminent threat!,” as the fire raged through the Santa Monica Mountains toward the ocean.

“If you’ve been told to go, get out of there,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Department Chief John Benedict said.

Also burning further west in Ventura County was the Hill Fire, which fire officials said burned nearly 4,050 hectares by Thursday night. Fire officials said it was also moving toward the ocean.
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The United States is halting refueling of aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition engaged in Yemen, Saudi Arabia said Saturday, a move that would end one of the most divisive aspects of U.S. assistance to the Saudi war effort. 

Saudi Arabia, in a statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA), said it had decided to request an end to U.S. aerial refueling for its operations in Yemen because it could now handle it by itself. 

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington supported the Saudi decision. 

The change comes at a time of international outrage over the killing of U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and after Democratic and Republican lawmakers threatened to address the refueling operations next week in Congress. 

Critics of the Saudi campaign — including Democrats who won control of the House of Representatives in elections on Tuesday — have long questioned U.S. involvement in the war, which has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced more than 2 million and led to widespread famine in Yemen since it began in 2015. 

“I’ve been calling for this for over three years,” said Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif. “We shouldn’t be supporting coalition war crimes, and I look forward to continuing to scrutinize the U.S.’s role in Yemen when we’re in the majority next Congress.” 

Even as President Donald Trump’s administration has condemned Khashoggi’s slaying, the White House has sought to preserve its relationship with Saudi Arabia. 

Any coordinated decision by Washington and Riyadh to halt refueling could be an attempt by both countries to forestall further action by Congress. 

Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., had warned the Trump administration was running out of time to act. 

“If the administration does not take immediate steps … we are prepared to take additional action when the Senate comes back into session,” Young and Shaheen said. 

The Pentagon, State Department and White House declined to comment. 

​More time for bombers 

Earlier this year, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis defended U.S. military support to Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen, when lawmakers weighed forcing the Pentagon to end Washington’s involvement in the conflict. 

Mattis argued that halting U.S. military support could increase civilian casualties, since U.S. refueling had given pilots more time to select their targets. He told them cutting off support could jeopardize cooperation on counterterrorism and reduce American influence with Saudi Arabia. 

Mattis also argued it would embolden the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, who have fired missiles at Saudi Arabia and targeted commercial and military vessels off Yemen’s coast. 

A halt to refueling could have little practical effect on the war. U.S. officials told Reuters only a fifth of Saudi-led coalition aircraft require in-air refueling from the United States. 

In recent weeks, Mattis has appeared to voice a growing sense of urgency toward ending the conflict. At the end of October, Mattis joined U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in calling for a cease-fire.  
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The U.S. Treasury Department has again extended a deadline for Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska to reduce his holdings in the aluminum company Rusal before sanctions take effect. 

The Treasury Department said Friday that licenses allowing Rusal to continue doing business would be extended from Dec. 12 to Jan. 7. 

The department said in April that it would impose sanctions on Deripaska and several companies in which he is a large shareholder, citing “malign activities” by Russia. 

However, the agency has pushed back the sanction deadline multiple times since then as it works with the companies, who are looking to find new shareholders. 

Rusal and its parent En+ Group have been taking steps to change their management to people not linked with Deripaska to ease the sanctions. Both companies recently appointed new chief executive officers. 

Concerns about the impact of sanctions on Rusal have roiled aluminum markets. 

Rusal is the world’s largest aluminum producer outside China’s Hongqiao and is a large supplier to the aerospace and automotive industries. 
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