Page 90 - Donald Trump Administration

Elon Musk's deconstruction of X might show what's in store for TikTok

The world's wealthiest man has long said he hopes to create an 'everything app,' and incorporating TikTok into X, formerly Twitter, would take him a step toward that goal

World prepares for Trump tariffs even before his White House return

Soon after calls to congratulate the president-elect on his Nov 5 victory, officials began quietly looking for ways to appease him while simultaneously mapping out ways to retaliate if needed

Mark Zuckerberg to cohost reception with Republicans for Trump inauguration

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is cohosting a reception with billionaire Republican donors next week for Donald Trump's inauguration, the latest sign of the Facebook founder's embrace of the president-elect. The reception cohosted by Zuckerberg is set for Monday evening, shortly before the inaugural balls, according to two people familiar with the private plans who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity to discuss them. The other cohosts are Miriam Adelson, the Dallas Mavericks owner and widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson; Tilman Fertitta, casino magnate, Houston Rockets owner and Trump's pick to serve as US ambassador to Italy; Todd Ricketts, the co-owner of the Chicago Cubs; and Ricketts' wife, Sylvie Legere. Zuckerberg once seemed a foe of the former president, banning him from Facebook and Instagram after a mob of Trump's supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. But lately, he's been endearing himself to Trump as one of a number of tech executives who have been seeki

Trump pardons couldn't erase impact of Capitol riot, says top DC prosecutor

Pardoning rioters who stormed the US Capitol four years ago can't erase the truth about what happened that day, the top federal prosecutor for Washington, DC, said on Tuesday as he prepares to leave office. "There is no undoing these prosecutions," US Attorney Matthew Graves told AP. "The vindication of the rule of law is something that has already occurred. And no one can take that away." Graves helped lead the largest investigation in Justice Department history, overseeing hundreds of cases against rioters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021. His successor, whoever that will be, may preside over an abrupt end to that work. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to pardon Capitol rioters when he returns to the White House next week, but Graves said pardons can't undo "the record that was built through these prosecutions and the accountability that has already been imposed". "There will always be a public record of what occurred on January 6, and people who care to know the

Hamas accepts draft deal for Gaza ceasefire, hostages release: Reports

Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages, two officials involved in the talks said on Tuesday. Mediator Qatar said the negotiations were at the closest point yet to sealing a deal. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the proposed agreement, and an Egyptian official and a Hamas official confirmed its authenticity. An Israeli official said progress has been made, but the details are being finalized. The plan would need to be submitted to the Israeli Cabinet for final approval. All three officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks. The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent the past year trying to mediate an end the 15-month war and secure the release dozens of hostages captured in Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack that triggered it. Some 100 Israelis are still captive inside Gaza, and the military believes at least a third them are dead. Officials have expressed mounting optimism

Blinken will make case for post-war reconstruction, governance of Gaza

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to make a last-minute case Tuesday for a plan for the post-war reconstruction and governance of Gaza as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas appears tantalisingly close to completion. Blinken will tout the proposal, which has been in the works for a year, and discuss the importance of ensuring its success after the Biden administration leaves office in a speech to the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank, according to a US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the speech. The official said the Gaza plan is just one part of the speech, which will also cover other areas of the administration's Middle East policy, including Iran and potential normalisation of ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Blinken and his top aides have spent months trying to sell Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Gulf Arab nations on the plan, which outlines how Gaza would be run without Hamas in charge, details reconstruction priorities

US oil refiners face a tough year as investor sentiment turns negative

US refining utilization averaged 90.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, up from 87.6 per cent in the same quarter last year, according to Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co

What if Trump follows in Putin's footsteps for Greenland, Panama Canal?

As the president-elect Trump and some of his team members warm up for the White House, they're speaking and behaving more like President Vladimir Putin's Russia by the day

Biden believes he was 'steady hand' world needed after Trump's Presidency

President Joe Biden strode into the White House four years ago with a foreign policy agenda that put repairing alliances strained by four years of Republican Donald Trump's America First worldview front and centre. The one-term Democrat took office in the throes of the worst global pandemic in a century and his plans were quickly stress-tested by a series of complicated international crises: the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and Hamas' brutal 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing war in the Middle East. As Biden prepares to leave office, he remains insistent that his one-term presidency has made strides in restoring American credibility on the world stage and has proven the US remains an indispensable partner around the globe. That message will be at the center of an address he will deliver Monday afternoon on his foreign policy legacy. Yet Biden's case for foreign policy achievements will be shadowed and shaped, at least in th

Trump's words on borders ring alarms in Europe, but gets guarded response

President-elect Donald Trump has tossed expansionist rhetoric at US allies and potential adversaries with arguments that the frontiers of American power need to be extended into Canada and the Danish territory of Greenland, and southward to include the Panama Canal. Trump's suggestions that international borders can be redrawn by force if necessary are particularly inflammatory in Europe. His words run contrary to the argument European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are trying to impress on Russian President Vladimir Putin. But many European leaders who've learned to expect the unexpected from Trump and have seen that actions don't always follow his words have been guarded in their response, with some taking a nothing-to-see-here view rather than vigorously defend European Union member Denmark. Analysts, though, say that even words can damage US-European relations ahead of Trump's second presidency. A diplomatic response in Europe Several officials in Euro

Families in shock begin to visit charred homes in Los Angeles area

Many watched their homes burn on television in a state of shock. Now four days since the flames erupted in and around Los Angeles, many residents have returned to their still smoldering neighbourhoods even as the threat of new fires persisted and the nation's second- largest city remained unsettled. For some it was a first look at the staggering reality of what was lost as the region grapples with the gargantuan challenge of overcoming the disaster and rebuilding. Metropolitan LA and its 13 million residents, who haven't seen rain in more than eight months, woke up Friday to another day of strong winds that later eased, enabling firefighters to start gaining some control of the biggest blazes. Bridget Berg, who was at work when she saw on TV her house in Altadena erupt in flames, came back for the first time with her family on Thursday just to make it real. Their feet crunched across the broken bits covering what had been their home for 16 years. Her kids sifted through debris on

Unlike first term, Trump's business to allow private foreign partnerships

The Trump family business released a voluntary ethics agreement Friday that allows it to strike deals with private foreign companies, a move that could help outside actors try to buy influence with the new administration. The so-called ethics white paper bars the Trump Organisation from striking deals directly with foreign governments, but allows ones with private companies abroad, a significant departure from President-elect Donald Trump's first term. An ethics pact that Trump signed eight years ago barred both foreign government and foreign company deals. The Trump company also announced it would commit to several safeguards from his first term designed to stop his private financial interests from shaping policy. That includes hiring an outside ethics adviser to vet deals. "The Trump Organisation is dedicated to not just meeting but vastly exceeding its legal and ethical obligations during my father's Presidency, said executive vice president Eric Trump. The Trump Organisation ..

FBI must be independent, above partisan fray, says outgoing director Wray

The FBI must remain independent, above the partisan fray and committed to upholding the rule of law, outgoing Director Christopher Wray said in a farewell address just days before his expected retirement at the conclusion of the Biden administration following more than seven years on the job. No matter what's happening out there, Wray said, in here, we've got to stay committed to doing our work the right way every time, with professionalism, with rigor, with integrity. That means following the facts wherever they lead, no matter who likes it or doesn't because trust me, if there's anything I've learned in this job, there's always someone who doesn't like you. The remarks at the packed farewell ceremony at FBI headquarters steered clear of any direct political reference, with no overt mention of President-elect Donald Trump's scathing criticism of him or the turmoil the bureau has encountered amid a spate of highly charged investigations into both Trump and President Joe Biden. But

Biden lets 800,000 stay 18 months as Trump readies immigration crackdown

About 600,000 Venezuelans and more than 200,000 Salvadorans already living in the United States can legally remain another 18 months, the Department of Homeland Security said on Friday, barely a week before President-elect Donald Trump takes office with promises of hardline immigration policies. The decisions mark the Biden administration's latest in support of Temporary Protected Status, which he has sharply expanded to cover about 1 million people. TPS faces an uncertain future under Trump, who tried to sharply curtail its use during his first term as president. The announcement, which came as Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro took office for a third six-year term in Caracas amid widespread international condemnation, is based on the severe humanitarian emergency the country continues to face due to political and economic crises under the Maduro regime, the department said. Homeland Security cited "environmental conditions in El Salvador that prevent individuals from returning, .

We don't want to be Americans: Greenland's PM as Trump covets territory

Greenland's prime minister said on Friday that the mineral-rich Arctic territory's people don't want to be Americans, but that he understands US President-elect Donald Trump's interest in the island given its strategic location and he's open to greater cooperation with Washington. The comments from the Greenlandic leader, Mte B. Egede, came after Trump said earlier this week that he wouldn't rule out using force or economic pressure in order to make Greenland which is an autonomous territory belonging to Denmark a part of the United States. Trump said that it was a matter of national security for the US. Egede acknowledged that Greenland is part of the North American continent, and a place that the Americans see as part of their world. He said he hasn't spoken to Trump, but that he's open to discussions about what unites us. Cooperation is about dialogue. Cooperation means that you will work towards solutions, he said. Egede has been calling for independence for Greenland, casti

Trump can still vote after sentencing, can't own gun, must give DNA sample

President-elect Donald Trump doesn't have to go to jail, pay a fine or perform community service as a result of his New York hush money conviction. A judge ended the case Friday with a sentence of an unconditional discharge, closing the case with no punishment. But unless the conviction for falsifying business records is someday overturned, Trump will have felonies on his criminal record, which will affect some of his rights. Here are some of the potential impacts and some things that won't change: Can he still vote? Trump is registered to vote in Florida and he will be able to vote there. Florida does bars people convicted of felonies from voting, but restores their right to vote after they have completed their sentence. People convicted of murder or a sex offense lose their right to vote permanently unless their rights are restored by a clemency board. For people convicted of felonies in other states like Trump Florida only makes a person ineligible to vote if they lost their

Union, employers credit Trump in US port deal that may shape future talks

The success of the International Longshoremen's Association in winning Trump's support for its anti-automation battle could be instructive for unions facing contract renewals during his term

Trump hosts Republican Guvs in Florida, says Putin wants to meet him

The president-elect also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to meet, and we're setting it up

As wildfires rage in LA, Trump doesn't offer sympathy, busy casting blame

As cataclysmic wildfires rage across Los Angeles, President-elect Donald Trump hasn't been offering much sympathy. Instead, he's claiming he could do a better job managing the crisis, spewing falsehoods and casting blame on the state's Democratic governor. Trump has lashed out at his longtime political foe Gov. Gavin Newsom's forest management policies and falsely claimed the state's fish conservation efforts are responsible for fire hydrants running dry in urban areas. Referring to the governor by a derisive nickname, Trump said he should resign. Meanwhile, more than 180,000 people were under evacuation orders and the fires have consumed more than 45 square miles (116 square kilometres). One that destroyed the neighbourhood of Pacific Palisades became the most destructive blaze in Los Angeles history. Trump v. Newsom: Round 2 was to be expected the liberal Democrat has long been one of Trump's biggest foils. But the Western fires are also a sign of something far more grave than a

Trump's inaugural committee raises record $170 million in donations

President-elect Donald Trump has raised more than USD 170 million for his upcoming inauguration, a record amount as tech executives and big donors have eagerly written large checks to help bankroll the ceremony. The private donations collected thus far were confirmed by a person with firsthand knowledge of the fundraising who was not authorized to speak publicly. The person said Trump's inaugural committee is expected to raise more than $200 million by the end of the effort. Trump's inaugural committee did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Wednesday. The committee has not yet detailed how it plans to spend the donations. The private donations are typically used to help pay for events surrounding the inauguration, such as costs related to the oath of office ceremony itself, along with a parade and glitzy inaugural balls. Money leftover from the inaugural committee is expected to be used toward a future Trump presidential library, according to the person. The whopp