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A federal judge refused to block the Trump administration from giving SpaceX more than 700 acres of wildlife refuge as part of a land swap in Texas, while environmental groups vowed to continue their legal challenge. US District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr on Monday declined the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction to prevent the parcel exchange, saying they failed to prove it would worsen ecological risks to a Gulf Coast region already transformed by billionaire Elon Musk's rocket operations. In June, the US Fish and Wildlife Service approved moving forward with the deal with SpaceX, which would surrender 683 acres the company owns in exchange for the federal land in the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge. The 103,000-acre refuge spans four counties along the Texas border and is home to animal habitats and historical landmarks. Maps show the land SpaceX would acquire would be closer to the company's launchpad near the US-Mexico border. The swap amounts t
President Donald Trump plans to sign the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, a White House official said on Thursday, a day after the US House of Representatives approved the bill that also seeks to impose steep tariffs on Moscow's top energy buyers. "The President plans to sign the bill," a White House official told PTI when asked about the presidential signing of the Act into law. The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, which seeks to impose sanctions on Russia's leadership and energy sector -- as well as on collaborators in Moscow's defence industry and its so-called shadow fleet. The Act also authorises President Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on countries buying Russian oil and gas, including China and India. India has warned that the move carries potential implications for ties between New Delhi and Washington as well as for the global energy market.
A US federal judge has temporarily blocked a Trump administration new rule that would impose stricter limits on how long foreign students and journalists can study or work in America. The decision by the Massachusetts district judge on Monday will bring some relief to international students, including many from India and has came one day before it was to come into effect. The judge ruled that the new policy would probably cause "catastrophic" damage to the US economy and higher-education system, rejecting the government's claims that it was needed to protect the country. Judge F Dennis Saylor IV also rejected the government contention that the relief being granted be limited to the plaintiffs and not the entire country. The preliminary injunction halts the implementation of the new rule while the case is heard in court. Plaintiffs represent almost 600 public and private institutions. But there are more than 5,000 higher-education institutions in the United States, the judge ...
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected President Donald Trump's mail ballot restrictions for now, capping a flurry of last-minute legal action with voting in the midterm elections already underway. The decision allows states to continue sending out mail ballots under the same processes they have used for years. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented from the brief order. Justice Brett Kavanaugh agreed that the restrictions should not go into effect for the midterms but indicated he might rule in favour of the Trump administration later. The Trump administration had asked the court, once again at the centre of a roiling political controversy, to clear the way for restrictions before the pivotal November contests for control of Congress. The case has major implications because nearly one-third of the country votes by mail. Election officials have said there was simply no way to carry out a complete overhaul in the weeks before the midterms. Indeed, Alabama, North Carolina
A federal judge has ruled that a plan by the Trump administration to slash staffing at the federal agency tasked with responding to disasters by 50 per cent was unlawful. The opinion issued late Friday marked a victory for labour groups who had sued the agency. The labour organisation had argued that plans by the Department of Homeland Security violated congressional protections that were designed to safeguard the independence of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The issue of the FEMA staffing was part of a much larger lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Government Employees and other labour groups, pushing back on efforts by the Trump administration to slash the federal workforce. US District Judge Susan Illston wrote in her opinion that top Homeland Security officials late last year directed FEMA's leadership to submit a staffing plan that included a 50 per cent staffing cut even though the agency's own supervisors objected. "Frankly, the FEMA staffing plan number
The political group associated with President Donald Trump is spending USD 10 million on television and digital advertisements in the Texas Senate race, according to a Saturday filing with the Federal Election Commission. This is the first significant spending in a premier general election contest by MAGA, Inc, and reflects how a once-safe Republican seat in Texas has become viable for Democrats with the candidacy of James Talarico, a 37-year-old state representative. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is the Republican nominee in the race. Trump's endorsement helped Paxton to defeat the incumbent, Sen John Cornyn, in a May primary runoff election. Public disapproval of Trump over the economy and the Iran war has been a headwind for many Republican candidates. Voters generally go against the party in control of the White House in midterm elections and Democrats are hoping to gain control of the House and Senate - with Texas being a symbolically powerful sign of how the political map
President Trump has submitted to Congress for review an agreement with Saudi Arabia aimed at bolstering the kingdom's civilian nuclear program, but continues to insist that it won't move forward if Saudi Arabia doesn't normalise relations with Israel, according to a Trump administration official. The classified document was submitted to Capitol Hill on Monday as required by the Atomic Energy Act, according to the administration official, a congressional aide, and two others familiar with the matter. All four spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly on the classified matter. The agreement was signed last month in Washington by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart. But the next day, Trump announced he was requiring the Saudis to normalise relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords as part of the pact, raising doubts that the agreement would come to fruition. Neither the administration official nor the others ...
The Trump administration is preparing to revoke the business and tourism visas of up to 200,000 foreigners who have applied for or are currently seeking asylum status in the United States. If it happens, the move would be the largest single mass revocation of visas in US history and would likely face legal challenges. Unless challenged or revised, the State Department is expected to announce in the coming weeks the revocation of so-called B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 whose holders have sought asylum or are now seeking asylum, according to State Department documents obtained by The Associated Press and two US officials. The action will be taken in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security. "We are coordinating with DHS to identify and revoke the nonimmigrant visas of foreigners who have come to the United States claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently," said State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott. He declined
The Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration Monday in a case over President Donald Trump's executive order restricting mail-in voting, though it remains unclear how much can be implemented before the fast-approaching midterm elections. The decision leaves room for additional court challenges that could further slow Trump's order, and other similar cases have already been filed. The US Postal Service laid out how it would implement the order last week, but time is running short to impose major changes with some states beginning to send mail ballots to voters in just a few weeks. The court's conservative majority didn't decide the legality of Trump's order, instead ruling that the states did not have the legal right to challenge it. "The Court's disposition of this application does not mean that any measure taken by the Government to implement the Order will necessarily be lawful. On that score, time will tell," the majority wrote in an unsigned order. The Supreme Court's .