Donald Trump Administration

Trump admin allows US oilfield contractors to work in Venezuelan fields

The license issued by the Treasury Department allows US firms to explore, develop and produce oil and natural gas in Venezuela under certain limited conditions

Trump 'kicked' Epstein out because he was a 'creep', says WH Press Secy

While addressing her press briefing, Leavitt asserted that the release of Epstein files now shows the transparency Trump has

Trump admin plans to hold back grant money for some Democratic-led states

President Donald Trump's administration is planning to withhold some public health and transportation money from a group of Democratic-led states. Full details have not been released, including whether the states could take any steps to avoid losing the funding. The federal government cited concerns over fraud and mismanagement of taxpayer dollars, but has not presented evidence beyond remarks from Trump and others in his administration. The approach has become a familiar one for the administration, and this time focuses on frequent targets: California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota. Courts have so far temporarily blocked other similar efforts by this administration to restrict funds. The latest effort targets some public health and transportation funds An Office of Management and Budget official confirmed to The Associated Press that the office is telling the US Department of Transportation and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to cancel grants totalling more t

Adani Enterprises in talks with US agency over bribery allegations

Adani Enterprises said it received a Request for Information from the US Office of Foreign Assets on February 4, adding the communication does not cite any findings of irregularities or non-compliance

US-Russia nuclear pact expires: What is New START treaty and why it matters

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, commonly known as New START, was the last major nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and Russia

Trump deletes racist meme video of Obamas after bipartisan backlash

In the last seconds of the video, photos appear of the former president and first lady's faces, with their mouths agape, superimposed on the bodies of primates

US strike on alleged drug-trafficking boat kills two in Eastern Pacific

The US military said on Thursday that it has carried out another deadly strike on a vessel accused of trafficking drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean. US Southern Command said on social media that the boat "was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations." It said the strike killed two people. A video linked to the post shows a boat moving through the water before exploding in flames. The strike was announced just hours after US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth declared that "some top cartel drug-traffickers" in the region "have decided to cease all narcotics operations INDEFINITELY due to recent (highly effective) kinetic strikes in the Caribbean." However, Hegseth did not provide any details or information to back up this claim, made in a post on his personal account on social media. Neither US Southern Command nor the Pentagon would answer follow-up questions about Hegseth's claim. Thursday's strike raises t

US has right to secure, reinforce military presence on Diego Garcia: Trump

Trump described Diego Garcia as being of 'great importance' to US national security due to its central location in the Indian Ocean and its role in supporting American military operations

Clintons agree to testify before House panel probing Jeffrey Epstein

A full House vote had been planned this week to hold the Clintons in criminal contempt if they continued to defy subpoenas in its inquiry into Epstein and his activities

Starting to talk to Cuba, says Trump as he moves to cut its oil supplies

President Donald Trump said the US was beginning to talk with Cuban leaders as his administration is putting greater pressure on the communist-run island and cutting off key oil supplies. The Republican president made the comment to reporters on Saturday night as he was flying to Florida. It comes in the wake of his moves in recent weeks to cut off supplies of oil from Venezuela and Mexico, which he suggested Saturday would force Cuba to the negotiating table. His goals with Cuba remain unclear, but Trump has turned more of his attention toward the island after his administration in early January captured Venezuela's then-President Nicolas Maduro and has been more aggressive in confronting nations that are adversaries of the US. Trump has predicted that the Cuban government is ready to fall. He did not offer any details on Saturday about what level of outreach his administration has had with Cuba recently or when, but simply said, "We're starting to talk to Cuba." His recent moves

Epstein files lead to resignation in Slovakia, calls for probe on Andrew

Newly disclosed US government files on Jeffrey Epstein have prompted the resignation of a top official in Slovakia and revived calls in Britain for a former prince to share what he knows with authorities about Epstein's links to powerful individuals around the world. The fallout comes just a day after the Justice Department began releasing a massive trove of files that offers more details about Epstein's interactions with the rich and famous after he served time for sex crimes in Florida. The prime minister of Slovakia accepted the resignation on Saturday of an official, Miroslav Lajcak, who once had a yearlong term as president of the UN General Assembly. Lajcak wasn't accused of wrongdoing but left his position after photos and emails revealed he had met with Epstein in the years after Epstein was released from jail. The disclosures also have revived questions about whether long-time Epstein friend Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, should cooperate with

Minnesota crackdown: Judge orders release of 5 yr old, dad from detention

A judge on Saturday ordered the US to release a 5-year-old boy and his father from a Texas detention center where they were taken after being detained in a Minneapolis suburb last month. Images of Liam Conejo Ramos, with a bunny hat and Spiderman backpack being surrounded by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officers, sparked even more outcry about President Donald Trump's administration's immigration crackdown in Minnesota. It also led to a protest at the family detention center and a visit by two Texas Democratic members of Congress. US District Judge Fred Biery, who was appointed by former Democratic President Bill Clinton, said in his ruling "the case has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children." A judge had previously ruled that the boy and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, could not be removed from the US, at least for now. Neighbors and school ...

US Coast Guard suspends search for missing crew of boat near Massachusetts

The search for survivors on a commercial fishing vessel that sank off the coast of Massachusetts with seven aboard has been suspended, the US Coast Guard said Saturday. The Coast Guard launched a search and rescue mission early Friday after receiving an alert from the 72-foot Lily Jean about 25 miles off Cape Ann. Searchers found a debris field near where the alert was sent along with a body in the water and an empty life raft, the Coast Guard said. Crews covered about 1,000 square miles (2,589 square kilometers) using multiple aircraft, cutters and small boats over a 24-hour period. However, after consultation between search and rescue mission coordinators and on-scene commanders, the Coast Guard announced Saturday that it had determined that all reasonable search efforts for the missing crewmembers had been exhausted. Officials said there wasn't a mayday call from Lily Jean as it navigated the frigid Atlantic Ocean on its way home to Gloucester, Massachusetts, America's oldest ...

US govt agencies shut down as Trump-backed funding deal awaits House vote

The funding lapse is likely to be short, with the House returning from a week-long break on Monday and the Republican president fully supporting the spending package

New DOJ files show Lutnick planned Epstein island visit, stayed in touch

In a December 2012 email, Lutnick asked Epstein if it would be possible for his family and another to visit his island during a trip to the Caribbean

Journalist Don Lemon charged with civil rights crimes in anti-ICE protest

The United Nations chief is warning that the world body faces "imminent financial collapse" unless its financial rules are overhauled or all 193 member nations pay their dues - a message likely directed at the United States and the billions it owes. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a letter to all UN member nations obtained Friday by The Associated Press that cash for its regular operating budget could run out by July, which could dramatically affect its operations. "Either all member states honor their obligations to pay in full and on time - or member states must fundamentally overhaul our financial rules to prevent an imminent financial collapse," he said. While Guterres didn't name any country in the letter, which was reported earlier by Reuters, the financial crisis comes as the US, traditionally the largest donor, has not paid its mandatory dues to the United Nations. The US now owes USD 2.196 billion to the UN's regular budget, plus it will owe USD 767 million for

Donald Trump nominates BLS economist Brett Matsumoto to head agency

Matsumoto, who has a PhD in economics, arrived at BLS in 2015 and works within the Division of Price and Index Number Research

Here's what the latest Epstein documents reveal about his high-profile ties

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche signalled that this would be the last major release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein

US approves $6.67 billion arms sales to Israel, $9 billion to Saudi Arabia

The Trump administration has approved a massive new series of arms sales to Israel totalling USD 6.67 billion and to Saudi Arabia worth USD 9 billion. Both sets of sales were announced by the State Department late Friday as tensions rise in the Middle East over the possibility of US military strikes in Iran. They were made public after the department notified Congress of its approval of the sales earlier Friday. The sales also were announced as President Donald Trump pushes ahead with his ceasefire plan for Gaza that is intended to end the Israel-Hamas conflict and reconstruct and redevelop the Palestinian territory after two years of war left it devastated, with tens of thousands dead. The Saudi sale is for 730 Patriot missiles and related equipment that "will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a Major non-NATO Ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Gulf Region," the ...