Page 26 - Trump Administration

US shutdown threatens EPA operations, impacting air, water, land protection

The Environmental Protection Agency was already reeling from massive stuff cuts and dramatic shifts in priority and policy. A government shutdown raises new questions about how it can carry out its founding mission of protecting America's health and environment with little more than skeletal staff and funding. In President Donald Trump's second term, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has leaned hard into an agenda of deregulation and facilitating Trump's boosting of fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal to meet what he has called an energy emergency. Jeremy Symons, a former EPA policy official under President Bill Clinton, said it's natural to worry that a shutdown will lead the worst polluters to treat it as a chance to dump toxic pollution without getting caught. Nobody will be holding polluters accountable for what they dump into the air we breathe, in the water we drink while EPA is shut down, said Symons, now a senior adviser to the Environmental Protection Network, a gro

White House commences shutdown plans as Democrats block funding package

Trump and congressional leaders showed no outward signs of working toward a deal or a face-saving off-ramp

Court disqualifies Trump-appointed Nevada US attorney from key cases

A federal judge has disqualified Trump-appointed Nevada federal prosecutor Sigal Chattah from several cases after concluding that she is not validly serving as acting US attorney for the state. Nevada federal public defenders in four cases challenged Chattah's appointment, arguing that her term expired in July after she was appointed by President Donald Trump in April. According to federal law, if a permanent US Attorney is not nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate within 120 days, judges of the Nevada District Court can appoint an interim US Attorney until the vacancy is filled. Arizona federal District Judge David G. Campbell wrote in his ruling that Chattah's continued appointment as acting US attorney violated that statute. Campbell ruled that Chattah is disqualified from supervising the four criminal prosecutions or any attorneys in the handling of the cases.

Trump warns US military of imminent 'invasion' threat within country

Trump stated that he suggested that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth use some of the dangerous US cities for military training

Trump signs executive order to accelerate pediatric cancer research

Trump stated that in 2019, he launched the Childhood Cancer Data Initiative and has now doubled the investment in the sector

Pfizer to lower prescription drug costs for Medicaid in deal with Trump

Drugmaker Pfizer has agreed to lower drug costs under a deal struck with the Trump administration, President Donald Trump said Tuesday, as he promised similar deals will be struck with other drugmakers facing a threat of tariffs. The announcement, which Trump made with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla at the White House, came as the Republican president has for months sought to lower drug costs. It also came as Washington faced a federal government shutdown at midnight amid a standoff between Democrats and Republicans over health care and its costs. Under the agreement, New York-based Pfizer will charge most-favoured-nation pricing to Medicaid and guarantee that pricing on newly launched drugs, Trump said. That involves matching the lowest price offered in other developed nations. I can't tell you how big this is," the president said. I think," Bourla said, today we are turning the tide and we are reversing an unfair situation. Trump has been talking for months about the need to lower dru

YouTube to pay $24.5 mn to settle Trump lawsuit over Jan 6 account ban

As part of the agreement, Trump has directed YouTube to contribute $22 million of the settlement towards the construction of a new White House ballroom

Suspect in Kirk murder case to face court hearing on evidence review

The 22-year-old man charged with killing Charlie Kirk will have a court hearing Monday where he and his newly appointed legal counsel will decide whether they want a preliminary hearing where the judge will determine if there is enough evidence against him to go forward with a trial. Prosecutors have charged Tyler Robinson with aggravated murder and plan to seek the death penalty. The Utah state court system gives people accused of crimes an option to waive their legal right to a preliminary hearing and instead schedule an arraignment where they can enter a plea. Kathryn Nester, the lead attorney appointed to represent Robinson, declined to comment on the case ahead of Monday's hearing. Prosecutors at the Utah County Attorney's Office did not respond to email and phone messages seeking comment. The hearing in Provo is open to the public, just a few miles from the Utah Valley University campus in Orem where many students are still processing trauma from the September 10 shooting and

Oregon sues Trump admin over national guard deployment to Portland

The suit filed in federal court in Oregon called his troop callup an 'unlawful federalisation' of the National Guard

Trump's move to consolidate power draws comparisons to fading democracies

In 2007, eight years after becoming Venezuela's president, Hugo Chavez revoked the license of the country's oldest private television station. Eight months into his second term, President Donald Trump suggested revoking the licenses of US television stations he believes are overly critical of him. Since he returned to office in January, Trump's remaking of the federal government into an instrument of his personal will has drawn comparisons to elected strongmen in other countries who used the levers of government to consolidate power, punish their enemies and stifle dissent. But those familiar with other countries where that has happened, including Hungary and Turkey, say there is one striking difference: Trump appears to be moving more rapidly, and more overtly, than others did. The only difference is the speed with which it is happening, said David Smilde, who lived in Venezuela during Chavez's rise and is now a professor at Tulane University. Political enemies of the president ..

India a country US 'needs to fix': Trump aide Lutnick amid tariff row

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick escalated criticism of India, urging New Delhi to lower tariffs and rethink Russian oil imports as trade tensions with Washington mount

US Senator backs H-1B overhaul, plans bills to prioritise American workers

Senator Tom Cotton plans bills to overhaul the H-1B programme as the Labor Department rolls out Project Firewall to protect US jobs from visa misuse

Engaged with US over H-1B visa issue, hopeful they will relent: MEA

MEA said the H1B visa issue remains an evolving situation and India hopes the White House reconsiders its fee hike and restrictions, stressing skilled mobility helps both nations

Trump plans to mandate 1:1 ratio of locally produced to imported chips

The Trump administration aims to have chip companies in the US manufacture the same number of semiconductors as their customers import from overseas

Trump's H-1B visa overhaul threatens America's college-to-job pipeline

Indian techies and doctors, who hold more than 70 per cent of the existing visas under this category, read the move as an eviction notice from their careers and lives in the US

Trump orders crackdown on 'left wing terrorism', targets Democratic donors

President Donald Trump has directed his administration to crack down on backers of what he dubbed "left-wing terrorism", naming two top Democratic donors as he alleged without evidence a vast conspiracy to finance violent protests against the government. Trump's directive put the FBI's Joint Terrorism Taskforce in the lead and said the effort would span agencies across the administration, including the Treasury Department, "to identify and disrupt financial networks that fund domestic terrorism and political violence". The pursuit of what the president said were the funders of "agitators and anarchists" is the latest instance of Trump using the power of his office to pursue his political rivals. When pressed by a reporter to name any possible targets, he suggested two of the Democratic Party's top donors billionaires George Soros and Reid Hoffman. "If they are funding these things, they're going to have some problems," Trump said on Thursday. Trump had threatened such an order aft

Trump's H-1B visa fee hike will backfire, says Silicon Valley investor

Michael Moritz said Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee shows a fundamental misunderstanding of what drives America's tech success and risks pushing innovation abroad

Robotics, medical gear, industrial machinery under Trump's new tariff push

The Trump administration has launched trade probes on robotics, industrial machines, and medical devices, paving the way for possible tariffs to boost US manufacturing

'Americans first': US official justifies Trump's new $100,000 H-1B fee

Margaret MacLeod's remarks follow Trump's executive order imposing a $100,000 fee on fresh H-1B visa applications and reflect growing tensions over India's oil trade with Russia

White House tells federal agencies to prepare for job cuts in shutdown

The move would represent a substantial escalation beyond normal shutdown protocols in recent years