Page 11 - United States

Nasa hit by fuel leak during final practice countdown of moon rocket

NASA ran into a leak while fueling its new moon rocket Monday in one final make-or-break test that will determine when astronauts can launch on a lunar fly-around. The launch team began loading the 322-foot (98-meter) rocket with super-cold hydrogen and oxygen at Kennedy Space Center at midday. More than 700,000 gallons (2.6 million liters) had to flow into the tanks and remain on board for several hours, mimicking the final stages of an actual countdown. But just a couple hours into the daylong operation, excessive hydrogen was detected near the bottom of the rocket. Hydrogen loading was temporarily halted, with just half of the core stage filled. The launch team scrambled to work around the problem using techniques developed during the only other Space Launch System rocket launch three years ago. That first test flight was plagued by hydrogen leaks before finally soaring. The crew, three Americans and one Canadian, monitored the critical dress rehearsal from nearly 1,000 miles ..

Justice Dept says it removed Epstein files that may reveal victim details

The Justice Department said Monday that it had taken down several thousand documents and "media" that may have inadvertently included victim-identifying information since it began releasing the latest batch of documents related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein on Friday. It blamed the release of sensitive information that drew an outcry from victims and their lawyers on mistakes that were "technical or human error." In a letter to the New York judges overseeing the sex trafficking cases brought against Epstein and confidant Ghislaine Maxwell, US Attorney Jay Clayton wrote that the department had taken down nearly all materials identified by victims or their lawyers, along with a "substantial number" of documents identified independently by the government. Clayton, who is based in Manhattan, said the department has "iteratively revised its protocols for addressing flagging documents" after victims and their lawyers requested changes to the process for review and redaction of ..

Trump urges House to vote quickly to end partial government shutdown

President Donald Trump implored the House on Monday to end the partial government shutdown, but neither Republicans nor Democrats appeared ready to quickly approve the federal funding package he brokered with the Senate without first debating their own demands over immigration enforcement operations. Democrats are refusing to provide the votes House Speaker Mike Johnson needs to push the package forward as they try to rein in the Trump administration's deportation operations after the shooting deaths of two Americans in Minneapolis. That's forcing Johnson to rely on his slim GOP majority, which has its own complaints about the package, to fall in line behind Trump's deal with Senate Democrats. Voting could begin as soon as Tuesday, which would be day four of the partial shutdown. The Pentagon, Homeland Security and other agencies saw their funding lapse Saturday. And while many operations at those departments are deemed essential, and still functioning, some workers may go without pa

US-India trade deal finalised, PM Modi thanks Trump; tariff reduced to 18%

Trump said India stopped purchasing Russian crude, a move he linked directly to the agreement between the two countries.

Trump plans $12 billion rare-earths stockpile to cut China reliance

US aims to shield manufacturers from supply shocks

President Trump speaks with PM Modi: US ambassador Sergio Gor

US President Donald Trump has spoken with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US ambassador to India Sergio Gor said on Monday, sharing a photograph of the two leaders and hinting at further updates

Top DOJ official downplays chances of new charges from Epstein files

A top Justice Department official played down the possibility of additional criminal charges arising from the Jeffrey Epstein files, saying Sunday that the existence of "horrible photographs" and troubling email correspondence does not "allow us necessarily to prosecute somebody." Department officials said over the summer that a review of Epstein-related records did not establish a basis for new criminal investigations. That position remains unchanged, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said, even as a massive document dump since Friday has focused fresh attention on Epstein's links to powerful individuals around the world and revived questions about what, if any, knowledge the wealthy financier's associates had about his crimes. "There's a lot of correspondence. There's a lot of emails. There's a lot of photographs. There's a lot of horrible photographs that appear to be taken by Mr. Epstein or people around him," Blanche said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." "But that doesn

Kennedy Center to close for 2 years for renovations in July, says Trump

President Donald Trump says he will move to close Washington's Kennedy Center performing arts venue for two years starting in July for construction. Trump's announcement on social media Sunday night follows a wave of cancellations since Trump ousted the previous leadership and added his name to the building. Trump announced his plan days after the premier of "Melania" a documentary of the first lady was shown at the storied venue. The proposal, he said, is subject to approval by the board of the Kennedy Center, which has been stocked with his hand-picked allies. Leading performing arts groups have pulled out of appearances, most recently, composer Philip Glass, who announced his decision to withdraw his Symphony No. 15 "Lincoln" because he said the values of the center today are in "direct conflict" with the message of the piece. "This important decision, based on input from many Highly Respected Experts, will take a tired, broken, and dilapidated Center, one that has been in bad .

US special envoy for Iraq no longer in the post amid tensions with Baghdad

Savaya, a Christian Iraqi-American entrepreneur, was among a handful of Arab Americans named to senior posts by Trump, however, it was not immediately clear what prompted Savaya's departure

US envoy arrives in Venezuela to reopen diplomatic mission after 7 years

US Ambassador Laura Dogu arrived in Caracas on Saturday to reopen the American diplomatic mission in Venezuela after seven years of severed ties. The move comes almost one month after a military action ordered by US President Donald Trump removed the South American country's then-leader Nicolas Maduro from office. "My team and I are ready to work," Dogu said in a message posted by the US Embassy in Venezuela 's account on X. It also posted pictures of her upon her landing at Maiquetia airport. Venezuela and the United States broke off diplomatic relations in February 2019 in a decision by Maduro and closed their embassies mutually after Trump gave public support to lawmaker Juan Guaido in his claim to be the nation's interim president in January of that year. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, one of Venezuela's most powerful politicians and a Maduro loyalist, said earlier in January that reopening the US embassy would give the Venezuelan government a way to oversee the treatment

PM Modi speaks to Venezuela's acting president on deepening bilateral ties

This was the first time the two leaders spoke since the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by the United States

US eases sanctions, issues license for oil firms to operate in Venezuela

The license covers variety of activities that could expedite the movement of Venezuelan oil, including exporting, selling, storing, refining that oil, as long as the work is performed by a US entity

Democrats, White House strike spending deal, avert partial govt shutdown

Democrats and White House have struck a deal to avert a partial government shutdown and temporarily fund the Department of Homeland Security as they negotiate new restrictions for President Donald Trump's surge of immigration enforcement. As the country reels from the deaths of two protesters at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis, the two sides have agreed to separate homeland security funding from the rest of the legislation and fund DHS for two weeks while they debate Democratic demands for curbs on the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The potential deal comes after Democrats voted to block legislation to fund DHS on Thursday. Trump said in a social media post that "Republicans and Democrats have come together to get the vast majority of the government funded until September," while extending current funding for Homeland Security. He encouraged members of both parties to cast a "much needed Bipartisan YES' vote." Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told The Associat

Withdrawing to the West: US defence strategy raises global concern

America First reshapes US defence priorities, urging allies to secure themselves and raising fresh doubts over Taiwan and Asia's stability as Washington turns inward

India, US close to trade deal after very significant progress in talks

India and the US have made "very significant" progress in their negotiations for a trade deal, with New Delhi maintaining steady momentum in talks with Washington for a positive outcome even during the final stages of concluding its free trade pact with the European Union, official sources said on Wednesday. India's mega trade deal with the EU should not be seen as a response to offset the current state of trade relations with the US as the American market is equally crucial for the Indian exporters, they said. Very significant progress has been made in the negotiations for the proposed trade deal with the US and the two sides are "very close" to seeing that come to fruition, the sources said. The two sides remain in touch and even during the final stages of negotiating the EU trade pact, Indian trade negotiators were in contact with their US counterparts as well, the sources said. "So that work is continuing. We are hopeful of a positive outcome," said a source. India and the US

Al-Maliki stands his ground as Trump warns of ending US support for Iraq

Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki expressed defiance on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump threatened to withdraw Washington's support for Iraq if he returns to power. "We reject the blatant American interference in Iraq's internal affairs and consider it a violation of its sovereignty," al-Maliki, who is nominated by the country's dominant political bloc to return to the premiership, said in a statement. Trump in a social media post Tuesday wrote, "Last time Maliki was in power, the Country descended into poverty and total chaos," adding, "Because of his insane policies and ideologies, if elected, the United States of America will no longer help Iraq and, if we are not there to help, Iraq has ZERO chance of Success, Prosperity, or Freedom." Washington has been pushing Iraq to distance itself from Iran and sees al-Maliki as too close to Tehran. His last term, which ended in 2014, also saw the rise of the Islamic State group, which seized large swaths of the ...

Massive armada heading to Iran, says Trump; urges Tehran to 'make a deal'

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said a "massive armada" was heading towards Iran, led by the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln

Man arrested after spraying unknown substance on Rep. Ilhan Omar

A man sprayed an unknown substance on Democratic US Rep. Ilhan Omar and was tackled to the ground on Tuesday during a town hall in Minneapolis, where tensions over federal immigration enforcement have come to a head after agents fatally shot an intensive care nurse and a mother of three this month. The audience cheered as the man was pinned down and his arms were tied behind his back. In the video of the incident, someone in the crowd can be heard saying, "Oh my god, he sprayed something on her." Just before that, Omar had called for the abolishment of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign or face impeachment. Calls are mounting on Capitol Hill for Noem to step down after the shooting deaths in Minneapolis of two people who protested deportations. Few Republicans have risen to her defence. "ICE cannot be reformed," Omar said, seconds before the attack. Minneapolis police said officers saw the man use a syringe to spray an .

Outcry in Italy as US says ICE agents will join Olympics delegation

The Italian government said it had requested clarification from American diplomats after DHS said that ICE agents would help secure the US Olympic delegation next week in northern Italy

'We'll get it done one way or the another': Trump defiant on tariffs

The US president criticised judges blocking his tariff regime and said he would find other ways to impose duties if the court rules against him