Page 11 - United States

Stronger Hurricane Erin forecast to create dangerous surf along US coast

A stronger and bigger Hurricane Erin pelted parts of the Caribbean and was forecast to create dangerous surf and rip currents along the US East Coast this week. It reintensified to a Category 4 storm with 215 kph maximum sustained winds late Sunday as its outer bands lashed the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, according to the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami. Erin was forecast to bring tropical storm conditions to the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeast Bahamas overnight into Monday. Additional strengthening was forecast for Monday followed by gradual weakening, but Erin was expected to remain a large, major hurricane into midweek. Hurricane-force winds extended up to 95 kilometres from the centre and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 370 km. The area of strong winds is expected to grow more over the next few days. At that size, Erin will impact coastal areas even though it isn't forecast to make a direct landfall. Dare County, North Carolina, declared an

South Korea, US launch annual military drills against North Korean threats

South Korea and the United States began their annual large-scale joint military exercise on Monday to better cope with threats by nuclear-armed North Korea, which has warned the drills would deepen regional tensions and vowed to respond to any provocation against its territory. The 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield, the second of two large-scale exercises held annually in South Korea, after another set in March, will involve 21,000 soldiers, including 18,000 South Koreans, in computer-simulated command post operations and field training. The drills, which the allies describe as defensive, could trigger a response from North Korea, which has long portrayed the allies' exercises as invasion rehearsals and has often used them as a pretext for military demonstrations and weapons tests aimed at advancing its nuclear programme. In a statement last week, North Korean Defence Minister No Kwang Chol said the drills show the allies' stance of military confrontation with the North and declared that

Hong Kong court hearing final arguments in Jimmy Lai's security trial

A Hong Kong court began hearing final arguments Monday in the landmark national security trial of former pro-democracy newspaper founder Jimmy Lai, who could be sentenced to up to life in prison if he is convicted. Lai, 77, was arrested in 2020 under a national security law imposed by Beijing following anti-government protests in 2019. He is being tried on charges of colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiring with others to issue seditious publications. Lai founded Apple Daily, one of the local media outlets that was most critical against Hong Kong's government. His high-profile case which has already stretched nearly 150 days, far beyond the original estimate of 80 days is widely seen as a trial of press freedom and a test for judicial independence in the Asian financial hub. Prosecutors allege that Lai asked foreign countries, especially the United States, to take actions against Beijing under the guise of fighting for freedom and democracy. On

Ukraine ceasefire still on table as Trump seeks deal, says Rubio

While Donald Trump had gone into Friday's summit with Putin seeking a ceasefire, he'd emerged saying he was going to focus on a final settlement

Putin agreed to Ukraine security protections in Trump summit: US envoy

Special US envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed at his summit with President Donald Trump to allow the US and European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO's collective defence mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the 3 1/2-year war. We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO," he said on CNN's State of the Union. Witkoff said it was the first time he had heard Putin agree to that. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking at a news conference in Brussels with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that "we welcome President Trump's willingness to contribute to Article 5-like security guarantees for Ukraine. and the Coalition of the willing' -- including the European Union -- is ready to do its share. Witkoff, offering some of the first details of what was discuss

New US Air Force policy denies transgender troops discharge hearings

The Air Force says in a new memo that transgender airmen ousted under a recent Trump administration directive will no longer have the chance to argue before a board of their peers for the right to continue serving their country. The memo dated Tuesday says military separation boards cannot independently decide whether to keep or discharge transgender airmen and instead must recommend separation of the member if the airman has a diagnosis of gender dysphoria when a person's biological sex does not match up with their gender identity. Military legal experts who have been advising transgender troops told The Associated Press that the new policy is unlawful, and while they were not aware of the other services releasing similar memos, they fear it could serve as a blueprint across the military. Advocacy groups say the change threatens to weaken trust in the military's leadership. It is the second policy change the Air Force has taken in recent weeks to crack down on transgender service

To Lose a War: How the US slowly lost its way in Afghanistan conflict

A gripping account of two decades in Afghanistan, tracing the Taliban's fall, America's missteps, and the enduring human cost in Jon Lee Anderson's To Lose a War

US-Pakistan ties warm under Trump, marking shift from Biden years

US-Pakistan relations have improved under Donald Trump, with trade, counterterrorism cooperation and political engagement marking a clear departure from the Biden administration's stance

Multiple law enforcement officers shot in Virginia's Pittsylvania County

Multiple law enforcement officers have been shot in southern Virginia, a congressman said. US Rep. John McGuire, who represents Virginia's 5th congressional district, said in a post on X on Wednesday that his thoughts and prayers were with deputies shot in Pittsylvania County. He also extended his thoughts and prayers to the deputies' families. Photos and video from the scene showed a large number of parked police and emergency response vehicles. We are closely following the situation and keeping everyone affected in our hearts during this difficult time, McGuire wrote. Pittsylvania County is located along the state's southern border with North Carolina, about 158 km northwest of Raleigh, North Carolina.

Here's why Maga wants Elon Musk back in Trump's camp ahead of midterms

Maga leaders are urging Elon Musk to reunite with President Donald Trump, saying his support and funding could be key for Republicans to win the upcoming midterm elections

Trump admin's lawsuit against Maryland federal judges critised in court

A judge on Wednesday questioned why it was necessary for the Trump administration to sue Maryland's entire federal bench over an order that paused the immediate deportation of migrants challenging their removals. US District Judge Thomas Cullen didn't issue a ruling following a hearing in federal court in Baltimore, but he expressed skepticism about the administration's extraordinary legal manoeuvre, which attorneys for the Maryland judges called completely unprecedented. Cullen serves in the Western District of Virginia, but he was tapped to oversee the Baltimore case because all of Maryland's 15 federal judges are named as defendants, a highly unusual circumstance that reflects the Republican administration's aggressive response to courts that slow or stop its policies. At issue in the lawsuit is an order signed by Chief Maryland District Judge George L. Russell III that prevents the administration from immediately deporting any immigrants seeking review of their detention in a ..

US national debt hits record $37 trillion years ahead of projections

US national debt reached record USD 37 trillion. The national debt eclipsed this new milestone years sooner than pre-pandemic projections. The Congressional Budget Office's January 2020 projections predicted the US reaching the milestone after fiscal year 2030. But the debt grew faster than expected as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down much of the US economy and the Trump and Biden administrations borrowed heavily to stabilise the national economy.

US, Pak to deepen bilateral cooperation to tackle leading militant groups

Pakistan and the US have agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation to tackle leading militant groups, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), ISIS-Khorasan, and the Taliban. It transpired during their bilateral counterterrorism dialogue in Islamabad on Tuesday, a day after the US designated the Pakistan-based BLA a Foreign Terrorist Organisation. The dialogue was co-chaired by Nabeel Munir, Pakistan's Special Secretary for the UN, and Gregory D. LoGerfo, the Acting Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the US Department of State. According to a joint statement issued after the meeting, the two sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to combating terrorism in "all its forms and manifestations". Both delegations underscored the critical importance of developing effective approaches to terrorist threats, including those posed by Balochistan Liberation Army, ISIS-Khorasan, and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, it stated. Reaffirming the "long-standing partnership" between Pakistan and

Investigation continues into Pennsylvania steel plant blast that killed 2

An explosion at a US Steel plant near Pittsburgh left two dead and sent at least 10 to hospitals Monday and heavily damaged the sprawling facility, officials said. One worker was pulled from the wreckage hours after the explosion sent black smoke spiraling into the midday sky in the Mon Valley, a region of the state synonymous with steel for more than a century. Allegheny County Emergency Services said a fire at the plant started around 10.51 am. Authorities later said a second person had died. The explosion, followed by several smaller blasts, could be felt in the nearby community and prompted county officials to warn residents to stay away from the scene so emergency workers could respond. It felt like thunder, Zachary Buday, a construction worker near the scene, told WTAE-TV. Shook the scaffold, shook my chest, and shook the building, and then when we saw the dark smoke coming up from the steel mill and put two and two together, and it's like something bad happened. **Cause unde

South Korean President Lee to meet Trump in Washington on August 25

South Korea's new President Lee Jae Myung will travel to Washington later this month to meet with US President Donald Trump, Lee's office said Tuesday, for talks on trade and defence cooperation in the face of nuclear-armed North Korea and other threats. Their August 25 summit will follow a July trade deal in which Washington agreed to cut its reciprocal tariff on South Korea to 15 per cent from the initially proposed 25 per cent and to apply the same reduced rate to South Korean cars, the country's top export to the United States. South Korea also agreed to purchase USD 100 billion in US energy and invest USD 350 billion in the country, and the leaders could use their meeting to discuss expanding cooperation in key industries such as semiconductors, batteries and shipbuilding, Lee's spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said. The meeting also comes amid concerns in Seoul that the Trump administration could shake up the decades-old alliance by demanding higher payments for the US troop presence

Asia stocks mostly on the rise as tariff truce supports sentiment

Markets have held modest ranges in recent weeks, waiting to see whether the world's two largest economies can agree on a durable trade deal or if global supply chains will again be upended

Trump tariffs to impact 55% of total merchandise exports to US: MoS Finance

"A combination of different factors, such as product differentiation, demand, quality, and contractual arrangements, would determine the impact on India's exports," he said

Trump urges China to quadruple soybean buys amid tariff truce talks

In a late night post on Truth Social, Trump said China was worried about a shortage of soybeans and he hoped it would quickly quadruple its soybean orders from the US

Nvidia, AMD to share 15% of China AI chip sales with US under Trump deal

Shortly after Nvidia CEO met Trump and agreed to a 15% cut, the US Commerce Department began issuing licences for AI chip sales to China

US lawyer demands truth, transparency in probe of Ahmedabad plane crash

US Attorney Mike Andrews highlighted the late Ratan Tata's legacy of compassion, suggesting his presence could have prevented such hurdles faced by the grieving families