Page 2 - United States Government

US lawmaker reintroduces bill to end Pakistan's major non-Nato ally status

Initially introduced by Biggs in January 2019, the bill has been reintroduced in every subsequent Congress but has not advanced legislatively in any attempt

NSA Sullivan to visit India to finalise important initiatives: White House

Outgoing US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will travel to India January 5 and 6 to meet his counterpart Ajit K Doval and other top government officials for a final round of talks with them on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues and to finalise some ongoing initiatives that were important priorities for them to wrap up, the White House said on Friday. Sullivan, 48, the youngest national security advisor when President Joe Bident appointed him on January 20, 2021, would also deliver a major India-centric foreign policy speech at IIT, New Delhi during his last trip to India before leaving office. He would be succeeded by Congressman Michael Waltz on January 20, when Donald J Trump would be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States. While there, the main purpose will be a capstone engagement and dialogue with his counterpart, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, a senior administration official told reporters during a conference call Friday ...

Spending fight shows limits of Trump's power to change fiscal path

Trump has pledged not to cut entitlement programs and Republicans are loath to slash military spending. That leaves scant space to scale back the biggest drivers of the debt

US attorney involved in fraud indictment of Gautam Adani to resign

He was appointed by President Joe Biden in 2021 and will leave before President-elect Donald Trump takes office January 20

US Secy of State Blinken to visit West Asia amid fresh trouble in region

The State Department said Blinken would meet Jordanian officials, including King Abdullah II, in the port city of Aqaba on Thursday before flying to Ankara for meetings with Turkish officials Friday

Trump crypto venture likely used by criminals, Iran-backed militants

World Liberty Financial Inc founded by the Witkoff family two months before November's US election with Trump as a financial beneficiary

Biden approves security memo to help Trump on China, Iran, N Korea, Russia

President Joe Biden has approved a new national security memorandum that is meant to serve as a roadmap for the incoming Trump administration as it looks to counter growing cooperation among China, Iran, North Korea and Russia, the White House said Wednesday. Biden administration officials began developing the guidance this summer. It was shaped to be a document that could help the next administration build its approach from day one on how it will go about dealing with the tightening relationships between the United States' most prominent adversaries and competitors, according to two senior administration officials. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said the classified memorandum would not be made public because of the sensitivity of some of its findings. The document includes four broad recommendations: improving US government interagency cooperation, speeding up the sharing of information with allies about the four .

Boeing to lay off 396 employees in Washington 'to align financial reality'

Boeing is trying to get production of its strongest-selling 737 MAX back on track, after a weeks-long strike by more than 33,000 US West Coast workers halted output of most of its commercial jets

US Congressman Sherman urges Bangladesh govt to protect Hindu minority

The congressman urged the current administration to take action against violence targeting the Hindu community and demonstrate leadership in ensuring their protection

US commerce dept expands list of Chinese firms subject to export controls

The US Commerce Department has expanded the list of Chinese technology companies subject to export controls to include many that make equipment used to make computer chips, chipmaking tools and software. The 140 companies newly included in the so-called entity list are nearly all based in China. But some are Chinese-owned businesses in Japan, South Korea and Singapore. The revised rules were posted Monday on the website of the U.S. Federal Register for publication later this week. They also limit exports of high-bandwidth memory chips to China. Such chips are needed to process massive amounts of data in advanced applications such as artificial intelligence. China's Commerce Ministry protested and said it would act to protect its rights and interests, without giving any details. This is a typical act of economic coercion and non-market practice, the ministry said in a statement. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the move was intended to impair China's ability to use advanced ..

Kash Patel must prove he'll restore public faith in FBI: GOP senator

Donald Trump's drive to upend the FBI was welcomed by Republican senators although it was not clear on Sunday how strongly members of the incoming majority party would embrace his move to install ally Kash Patel as the next director of the Justice Department's top investigative arm. Patel, a onetime national security prosecutor who is aligned with the president-elect's rhetoric about a deep state, "must prove to Congress he will reform & restore public trust in FBI, said Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, in line to be the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman when Republicans take control in January, in a post on X. Patel lacks the high-level legal and management experience that FBI directors, including Robert Mueller, James Comey and Christopher Wray, who now holds that job, had before their nominations. It's a 10-year term, and Trump named Wray in 2017 after firing Comey. So Trump's announcement late Saturday means Wray must either resign or be fired after Trump takes office on Jan 20,

Federal judge blocks Biden govt's rule to expand overtime pay for millions

A federal judge in Texas has blocked a new rule from the Biden administration that would have expanded access to overtime pay to millions more salaried workers across the U.S. On Friday, US District Judge Sean Jordan sided with the state of Texas and a group of business organizations that argued the Labor Department exceeded its authority when it finalised a rule earlier this year to significantly expand overtime pay for salaried workers ruling that the department could not prioritise employee wages over job duties when determining eligibility. Under the federal law, nearly all hourly workers in the US are entitled to overtime pay after 40 hours a week. But many salaried workers are exempt from that requirement unless they earn below a certain level. The Labor Department's now-scuttled rule would have marked the biggest increase to that cap in decades. Employers were required pay overtime to salaried workers who make less than USD 43,888 a year in certain executive, administrative

'Hush money' conviction case: Judge to rule on Trump's immunity claim

A gut punch for most defendants, Donald Trump turned his criminal conviction into a rallying cry. His supporters put I'm Voting for the Felon on T-shirts, hats and lawn signs. The real verdict is going to be Nov 5 by the people, Trump proclaimed after his conviction in New York last spring on 34 counts of falsifying business records. Now, just a week after Trump's resounding election victory, a Manhattan judge is poised to decide whether to uphold the hush money verdict or dismiss it because of a U.S. Supreme Court decision in July that gave presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution. Judge Juan M Merchan has said he will issue a written opinion Tuesday on Trump's request to toss his conviction and either order a new trial or dismiss the indictment entirely. Merchan had been expected to rule in September, but put it off to avoid any appearance he was trying to sway the election. His decision could be on ice again if Trump takes other steps to delay or end the case. If the

Judge strikes down NY law intended to protect minority groups' voting power

A judge has struck down a state law that made it easier for New Yorkers to sue over electoral divisions and voting rules that weakened the political voice of minority groups, saying its special protections based on race and ethnicity are unconstitutional. Orange County state court Justice Maria Vazquez-Doles struck down New York's Voting Rights Act of 2022 on Thursday in a decision in which she also dismissed a lawsuit brought by six Black and Hispanic voters against the Town of Newburgh. In the suit, the residents challenged the way people were elected to the town's board, arguing that at-large elections to pick board members in the majority-white town had kept Black and Hispanic residents from electing their candidates of choice. They asked the court to impose a system in which the town, located about 60 miles (96 kilometres) north of New York City, would elect board members by district. New York's Voting Rights Act created a pathway for voters to challenge at-large elections that

US urges Israeli strikes on Iran to end, warns against retaliation

The White House indicated that Israel's strikes on Iran should end direct exchange of fire between the two enemy countries, while warning Tehran of consequences should it respond. A senior White House official said the administration believed the Israeli operation should close out the direct military exchange between Israel and Iran, and said other allies were in agreement. United States President Joe Biden was updated throughout the day on Friday as the operation was developing and by his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, as the operation was carried out by the Israelis, the official said. The official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said the Israeli operation was extensive, it was targeted, it was precise. The official underscored that the US had no involvement in the strike.

R&AW official plotted to kill Sikh separatist: US Department of Justice

An Indian RAW official was involved in a plot to kill a separatist Sikh American national last summer in and around the state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, federal prosecutors alleged on Thursday in a damaging indictment filed in a US court in New York. The official identified as Vikas Yadav, 39, was employed by the Cabinet Secretariat, which houses India's foreign intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the federal prosecutors claimed. Yadav, who is believed to be no longer a government employee, has been charged with three counts, including murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He remains at large, the Department of Justice said. His co-conspirator Nikhil Gupta was arrested in Czechoslovakia last year and is languishing in a US jail after extradition. Today's charges demonstrate that the Justice Department will not tolerate attempts to target and endanger Americans and to undermine the rights to which every US citizen is entitled

Will redouble effort to end Israel-Hamas war as Sinwar 'removed': US

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the Sinwar has not only refused to return the hostages but also turned down the seize fire proposal

US weighs capping exports of AI chips from Nvidia, AMD to certain countries

The new approach would set a ceiling on export licenses for certain countries in the interest of national security

Biden govt opts out of running for re-election on UN Human Rights Council

The Biden administration has decided not to seek a second consecutive term on the much-maligned UN Human Rights Council, the State Department said Monday. The administration had made US membership on the Geneva-based council a priority when it took office in 2021 after former President Donald Trump had withdrawn from the body, citing anti-Israel bias. Since returning to the council, the administration has frequently taken issue with its votes on the Middle East and other issues. "We decided not to seek another (term) on the Human Rights Council at this time because we are engaged with our allies about the best way to move forward," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. Elections for the 47-member council are held by the UN General Assembly with candidate countries coming from various geographic groups. The three other candidates -- Iceland, Spain and Switzerland -- from the US geographic group known as Western Hemisphere and Others, or WEOG, would be able to ...

US household wealth rises in Q2 to record $163.8 trn on real estate gains

The snapshot of households' financial wellbeing comes less than a week before the Federal Reserve is widely expected to reduce borrowing costs for the first time since the pandemic recession