A federal judge on Friday issued a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of President Donald Trump's executive order preventing people from seven mainly Muslim countries from entering the United States. U.S. District Court Senior Judge James L. Robart granted the injunction at the request of Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, whose office said that the order applies nation...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  It’s a great time to be living in Costa Rica - far from the maddening politics dividing the United States of America right now. Although only a 3-hour flight from Houston or Orlando, Costa Rica is a world away from President Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi, R...

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General said it will conduct a review of President Donald Trump's executive order that temporarily bans travel from seven countries made up of mostly Muslim populations. The agency late Wednesday said it would "review DHS' implementation" of Trump's recent executive order "in response to congressional requests and whistleblower and ...

By Wendy Anders Panama, one of the fastest growing economies in the world over the past decade, is raising eyebrows among development economists at Harvard University for its dramatic inequality. Researchers Ricardo Hausmann, Luis Espinoza and Miguel Angel Santos at Harvard’s Center for International Development say sharp income equality, coupled with growth based primarily around constructi...

The groundhog Phil, the world's most famous weather-predicting animal, on Thursday forecast six more weeks of winter in the United States before the attentive gaze of numerous spectators and reporters who gathered to observe the traditional annual prognostication, now in its 131st year. Each Feb. 2 since 1887, the public in the western Pennsylvania town of Punxsutawney, has climbed the small hi...

Two Republican senators said Wednesday they would break ranks with their party and oppose Donald Trump's nominee to become the United States' next Education Secretary. It marks the first time during the Senate confirmation process that GOP lawmakers have expressed opposition to a nominee chosen by the U.S. president. If Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska follow through and ali...

US pop singer Beyonce announced Wednesday on her official Instagram profile that she is pregnant with twins. "We would like to share our love and happiness," posted the megastar. "We have been blessed two times over. We are incredibly grateful that our family will be growing by two, and we thank you for your well wishes. - The Carters," wrote the popular artist, whose full name is Beyonce Kn...

Washington, Feb. 1 — The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed oil executive Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State. Tillerson, 64, who was nominated by President Donald Trump, will take over the U.S. diplomatic corps at a delicate time for the country after the open breach with Mexico following Trump's executive order to start building a wall along the U.S. southern border, the mistrust aroused by Tru...

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday approved the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions as US attorney general after several delays forced by Democrats following President Donald Trump's controversial firing of acting Attorney General Sally Yates. In an 11-9 vote, Sessions finally made it through the committee process and now his nomination will pass to the full Senate, where it is expected t...

More than 400 people were arrested in a three-day statewide sweep aimed at stopping the sexual exploitation of young women and girls, law enforcement authorities in San Diego and other jurisdictions announced Tuesday. “Operation Reclaim and Rebuild” also resulted in the recovery of 28 sexually exploited children and 27 women, according to the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force. According...

Starbucks sent the following message to all partners (employees) on January 31st 2017 Regarding creating jobs for veterans On January 29, Starbucks announced plans to hire 10,000 refugees around the world in the 75 countries where it does business over the next five years. This plan is an extension of Starbucks ongoing commitment to create pathways to meaningful employment for veterans, militar...

Almost exactly one year after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia created an opening on the United States Supreme Court, President Donald Trump on Tuesday night officially nominated federal appellate judge Neil McGill Gorsuch to fill that yearlong empty post. Trump announced his pick Tuesday evening -- a disclosure that was greatly anticipated all day. "Today, I am keeping another promise to...

US President Donald Trump will keep an executive order issued by his predecessor, Barack Obama, banning private companies doing business with the federal government from discriminating against homosexual, bisexual and transgender employees, the White House said Tuesday. Trump "is determined to protect the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community," the White House said in a stateme...

The president of the United States on Monday fired the acting attorney general after she refused to defend in court the ban on immigrants and refugees imposed by the White House on Friday. "The acting Attorney General, Sally Yates, has betrayed the Department of Justice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States," the White House said in a stateme...

Starbucks chairman and CEO sent the following message to all partners (employees) on January 29, 2017 Starbucks sent the following message to all partners (employees) on January 31st 2017 Regarding creating jobs for veterans UPDATED January 31st 2017 Dear partners, I write to you today with deep concern, a heavy heart and a resolute promise. Let me begin with the news that is immed...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  By Britt Nelson For the past seven days the headlines have screamed “U.S. entry denied for Iraqis,” “Airports engulfed in protests,” “Sanctuary cities threatened,” and “Trump orders extreme vetting from Muslim countries.” President Donald Trump’s first w...

A United States federal judge on Saturday blocked part of the controversial ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries imposed by the U.S. President. Judge Ann M. Donnelly of the Federal District Court in Brooklyn ruled that refugees or other people affected by the measure and who have arrived at U.S. airports cannot be deported to their countries. In an emergency hearing, the judge...

The president of the United States on Saturday signed an executive order giving the Defense Department 30 days to present a strategy for defeating the Islamic State terrorist group. Donald Trump also signed another order to reorganize the White House National Security Council, a forum the US president uses to address issues of national security and foreign policy with advisers and cabinet members...

President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order subjecting immigrants from several mainly Muslim countries to what he calls "extreme vetting" as a way of preventing terrorists from entering the United States. "I am establishing new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America," Trump said as he signed the measure at the Pentagon after witnes...

US President Donald Trump said Friday that he had a "very good" telephone conversation with Mexican counterpart Enrique Peña Nieto amid a diplomatic spat over Washington's plans for a border wall. During a joint press conference with visiting UK Prime Minister Theresa May, Trump confirmed that he and the Mexican president spoke for nearly an hour. "It was a very, very friendly call," Trump s...

Jan. 26 — A diesel pipeline in Iowa ruptured Wednesday morning, sending tens of thousands of gallons of diesel fuel to pool on a local farm, but officials say it appears none made it to any water supply before clean-up operations started. Magellan Midstream Partners shut down its diesel pipeline running through north-central Iowa on Wednesday after it ruptured for an unknown reason, spewing 138...

The president of the United States intends to impose a 20 percent tax on imports from Mexico to cover the cost of a wall spanning the nations' border, the White House spokesman told reporters on board Air Force One, Donald Trump has already made up his mind about the tax, Sean Spicer said. The tax, however, cannot be immediately levied because of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  By Britt Nelson The walls of the West Wing are bulging outward with the complex personality of one man -- President Donald John Trump. The Oval Office has not seen anything like Trump since the days of presidents Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnso...

By Wendy Anders If you’re planning to bring more than $10,000 in cash or securities into Costa Rica on your next trip, be sure to declare it on your customs form, said Costa Rican customs officials yesterday. This oversight by a 70-year-old U.S. man, who was heading to the beach in Costa Rica, cost him US$19,900, said the Finance Ministry’s Customs Department. The man, who entered the Dan...

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the New York Stock Exchange's blue-chip index, closed above 20,000 for the first time in its history on Wednesday, while two other leading stock market indexes - the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite - both set new record highs. The Dow closed at 20,068.51, up 0.78 percent, while the S&P 500 finished up 0.80 percent at 2,298.37 and the Nasdaq climbed 0.9...

Greenpeace on Wednesday unfurled a massive "Resist" banner near the White House on Wednesday, a day after the president of the United States signed executive orders for two controversial oil pipelines. Seven activists scaled a construction crane just a few blocks from the president's official residence and deployed the banner, which is around 21 meters (70 feet) long and 10.5 meters (30 feet) wid...

President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed several executive orders affecting immigration, including one that assigns federal funds for the construction of a wall on the border separating the United States and Mexico. "We've been talking about this from the beginning," Trump said during the signing ceremony, which took place at the Department of Homeland Security. The border wall was one of the ...

Actress Mary Tyler Moore died Wednesday at a hospital in the U.S. state of Connecticut from complications of diabetes, from which she had suffered for years, her publicist said. She was 80. The vivacious actress, who starred for years in a popular television sitcom bearing her name, had needed respiratory assistance during the week prior to her death, local media reported. "Today, beloved icon...

Washington D.C., January 24, 2017, — The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) commends the December 23 release of Dutch journalist and blogger Okke Ornstein from custody in Panama, and urges the State to take the necessary measures to bring its criminal laws into line with the Inter-American standards on freedom of expression. According to the information available, on December 23 ...

Mexico City, Jan. 23 — Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto announced that his government will negotiate new trade pacts with signatory nations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the ambitious treaty that the United States withdrew from on Monday. "Given the difficulty of making the TPP a reality, Mexico will immediately initiate talks that will create new bilateral trade agreements with the treat...

New York, Jan. 23 — A group of attorneys on Monday in New York filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump accusing him of violating the Constitution by receiving money from foreign governments for their diplomats' stays at his hotels or for leasing office space in buildings he owns. The lawsuit was filed by the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington in the Souther...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  By Britt Nelson Kaboom! The world has turned ‘hot-potato’ political. President Trump took office Friday in Washington and the next day women all over the world took to the streets to protest him and support ‘Women’s Rights.’ It’s easier to understand Trump’s ...

Newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump will focus this week on trade, immigration and national security, issues about which he may sign executive orders in the coming days, chief of staff Reince Priebus said Sunday. In an interview with Fox News, Priebus said that there will be "movement" in those three areas during his first week in office. Trump on Friday, just hours after being inaugur...

Atlanta, Jan. 22 — Storms lashing the southern United States have killed 11 people in the state of Georgia, local authorities reported Sunday. Emergency management authorities said that after severe storms hit the southern part of the state, 11 people have been confirmed dead and 23 more injured. Authorities, who early in the day issued tornado warnings for towns in southern Georgia, said th...

The songstress Madonna made a surprise appearance in the massive Women's March in Washington that included many artists that refused to attend Donald Trump's inauguration as president of the United States this Friday. Madonna, provocative and combative, said she had "thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House" after Trump won the Nov. 8 election, but instead she chose a "revolution o...

Hundreds of demonstrators faced off with police Friday during protests against the newly inaugurated president of the United States in Washington, where rock-throwing vandals caused significant material damage and dozens of people were arrested. Clashes with law enforcement left several people slightly wounded and around 90 people arrested, while protesters caused significant damage to commercial...

The vaquita is a very small porpoise that lives solely in the Gulf of California, Mexico. The species is critically endangered primarily as a result of entanglement in fishing nets. Strong measures are needed to stop harmful fishing practices in its habitat or the species stands little chance of survival, says the World Wildlife Fund on their website. An ambitious, emergency plan to help save t...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  By Britt Nelson Yep, we're all on this Trump Train whether we like it or not -- bumpy ride and all. Say goodbye to normal, because the new normal is now the controversial, the charismatic, the one-and-only President Donald J. Trump. We can expect the ...

By Wendy Anders "Orgasm fundamentally roots our capacity for connection: hormonally, emotionally and spiritually," says organizer of a weeklong retreat with practices for couples to achieve deep connections through "orgasmic consciousness", Nicole Daedone. “It’s that feeling of being so completely absorbed in an experience that there is no psychic chatter, no being “stuck in your head”; a fa...

By Wendy Anders The number of women’s marches planned across the U.S. and around the globe for Saturday, January 21, the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration as president of the U.S., are growing exponentially. With 616 ‘sister march’ events organized and counting, and almost 1.5 million participants pledged across the planet, the Women’s March on Washington has spurred a global movement to...