United States

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried seeks presidential pardon from Trump

The 34-year-old submitted an application to the Justice Department's Pardon Attorney Office, according to the office's website, requesting a "pardon after completion of sentence"

Kerala-born Nithya Raman in 2nd spot in primary for Los Angeles mayor poll

Kerala-born Nithya Raman has surged ahead to second place in the primary election for Los Angeles Mayor, edging past reality TV star Spencer Pratt. He appears set to take on incumbent Karen Bass in November. Bass, 72, a former Democratic Congresswoman who has already advanced to the November runoff, remained in the lead with 34.7 per cent of the vote, according to the updated tally released by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's office. The primary election for the Mayor's post took place on January 2 and 80 per cent of the ballots have been counted so far. Raman, 44, who has steadily gained ground as the count has progressed, had 27.1 per cent, enough to overtake Pratt by a little more than 3,000 votes. Pratt, a Republican, had been running in second place since election night, but slipped to the third position with 26.69 per cent of the votes. Raman has been a Los Angeles councilwoman since 2020, when she defeated incumbent council member David Ryu, a victor

US sees nuclear renaissance with new micro-reactor, eyes global markets

A small nuclear reactor developed by a private US company has achieved first criticality, a stepping stone in the development of small modular reactors which Washington plans to sell to countries including India. The Mark-0 demonstration reactor, built by Antares Nuclear, achieved first criticality the start of a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction on June 4, a month ahead of schedule as US President Donald Trump encouraged the private sector to develop newer nuclear reactors. Experts describe the crucial milestone as the heralding of a second nuclear renaissance in the country that had not tested new technologies in the sector for over four decades. Maria Korsnick, the President and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute, said that the US is keen to sell small reactors to India besides the conventional large reactors such as the AP-1000s. "Yes, there's going to be an appetite for small modular reactors and even potentially microreactors. It just sort of depends on what exactly i

Paramount Skydance to face legal challenge from states on Warner deal

Most of the states that have been weighing the lawsuit are led by Democratic attorneys general although at least two Republican attorney generals are involved in the probe

Bill in US Congress seeks to end H-1B visa as route to green card

A hardline Republican lawmaker has introduced a draft legislation in the US Congress seeking an overhaul of the H-1B visa programme, including ending its use as a pathway to permanent residency in the United States. Congressman Chip Roy introduced the American White-Collar Worker Jobs Act on Thursday. The proposed legislation also seeks to scrap the optional practical training (OPT) programme, which allows foreign students to work in the US for a limited period after graduation. "For its nearly forty-year history, the H-1B visa has been abused, allowing employers to routinely sideline American STEM workers in favour of cheap foreign labour, while masking layoffs and wage suppression as 'shortages.' "It's time to end this lottery-based pipeline and replace it with a system that prioritises merit, enforces real wage standards, and puts American white-collar workers first," said Roy, who represents the 21st district of Texas in Congress. The bill is backed by US Tech Workers, the ...

Trump's lawyers sought to halt discovery in $10 billion BBC lawsuit

Trump has accused the BBC of defaming him by splicing together parts of a January 6, 2021, speech to make it appear that he directed supporters to storm the US ‌Capitol

John Bolton reaches deal to plead guilty over classified information

The former Trump national security adviser plans to plead guilty to a count of illegal retention of classified information, which could result in a fine and possibly prison time of up to five years

Trump's trade chief says new tariffs can fit within existing deals

The EU and US agreed to a free-trade deal in July that would see the bloc erase levies on US industrial goods in exchange for a 15 per cent tariff ceiling on its exports

Trump says Iran has agreed to forgo nuclear weapons, may meet Mojtaba

Asked about Khamenei's involvement in talks with the US on ending hostilities, Trump said, "He's involved, absolutely. ...I think they have a lot of respect for him"

Indian tyre exports hit record high in FY26 despite global challenges

Exports rose 9 per cent to ₹27,312 crore in FY26 as tyre makers expanded into new markets and strengthened manufacturing capacity despite trade and logistics challenges

War games and warnings on Strait of Hormuz went unheeded by Trump

Over the past two decades, Iran repeatedly threatened to close down the waterway. President Trump underestimated Iran's ability to do so

US-India trade deal 99% done, last-mile talks this week: US Ambassador Gor

US Ambassador Sergio Gor says 99 per cent of the bilateral trade pact is in place, with negotiators working to resolve final technical and legal issues during talks in New Delhi

Trump signs order seeking oversight of AI models for security risks

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on oversight of artificial intelligence Tuesday, less than two weeks after postponing a White House ceremony over his concerns that a similar policy could dull America's technological edge. The order establishes a framework for the federal government to vet the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems for up to a month before their public release. Participation by AI developers would be voluntary, the order says. "Advanced AI capabilities make our Nation stronger, but also introduce new national security considerations that require coordinated action across executive departments and agencies," the order says. It was not immediately clear to what extent the order differed from the one Trump declined to sign on May 21. The order says the government would have only 30 days to review an AI system, a shorter time frame than some in the industry were expecting. A longer time period might have been seen as too burdensome for

Trump orders US agencies to partner with AI firms on cyber defence

Tuesday's order emphasises voluntary participation by developers despite earlier deliberations about mandating government approval of new AI systems

Trump taps Bill Pulte as acting intelligence chief after Gabbard resigned

President Donald Trump has tapped federal housing finance Director Bill Pulte to be acting director of national intelligence to replace Tulsi Gabbard. Trump made the surprise announcement Tuesday on Truth Social regarding Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chair of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Trump says Pulte "has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets, and over 10 Trillion Dollars at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, a substantial increase from where it was just 12 months ago." Trump says Pulte will keep his other positions even as he fills in for Gabbard, who resigned last month after revealing her husband's cancer diagnosis.

Iran says reviewing US ceasefire proposal as Trump says talks continuing

Trump said on Monday that negotiations with Iran were continuing and there would be a deal over the next week to extend a ceasefire agreed in early April and reopen the Strait of Hormuz

India, US begin 3-day talks to finalise details of trade agreement

The chief negotiators of India and the US on Tuesday began a three-day round of talks here to finalise the details of the proposed interim trade agreement, an official said. The framework for the pact was finalised in February. The US team is led by its chief negotiator Brendan Lynch. India's chief negotiator is Darpan Jain, who is an additional secretary in the Department of Commerce. The talks are underway at Vanijya Bhavan here, the headquarters of the Commerce and Industry Ministry. The two sides are looking to finalise the details of the interim trade agreement and take forward the negotiations for the broader bilateral trade agreement (BTA). On February 7, India and the US issued a joint statement finalising the contours or framework of the first phase of the BTA or an interim trade deal. According to the framework, the US had agreed to reduce tariffs on India to 18 per cent from 50 per cent. It had removed the 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods for buying Russian oil and

It reflects 'compromises': US SEC defends settlement with Musk over Twitter

The SEC also said in a footnote that the settlement if approved will allow Musk to publicly deny its accusations, reflecting a recent policy change governing defendants who settle enforcement actions

'Now a classified space': Pentagon bars journalists from its press office

In another of a series of moves restricting media access at the Pentagon, the Defense Department has declared that its press office is now a classified space inaccessible to journalists. On X, acting Pentagon press secretary Joel Valdez confirmed the move, saying there was "nothing controversial" about it and that it came because speechwriters, who use classified material, were now occupying the space. "The Pentagon Press Office has been redesignated as a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility due to speechwriters from the Office of the Secretary of War sharing the facility," Valdez wrote. "These speechwriters routinely handle classified material as a result, journalists will no longer be permitted to enter the office space. There's nothing controversial about that." The latest move, first reported by The Washington Post, took place against a backdrop of escalating tensions between the U.S. media and the second Trump administration, which has played out both in the public ar

India-US trade deal to reflect Washington's tariff changes: Piyush Goyal

Goyal said large parts of the agreement had already been finalised and that discussions were currently focused on a few remaining issues