Page 140 - United States

Scrambled fighter jets to intercept US bomber planes, says Russia

Russia said Sunday it scrambled fighter jets to intercept two US military long-range bomber aircraft that approached the Russian border over the Barents Sea in the Arctic. The crews of the Russian fighters identified the aerial target as a pair of US Air Force B-52H strategic bombers, Moscow's defence ministry wrote on the social media platform Telegram, specifying that the planes scrambled were MiG-29 and MiG-31 fighters. As the Russian fighters approached, the US strategic bombers turned away from the State Border of the Russian Federation, the ministry said. The US routinely carries out flights over international waters. Moscow has recently responded more aggressively to the exercises, accusing the US in June of using its reconnaissance drone flights over neutral waters in the Black Sea to help Ukraine strike Russian-occupied Crimea. Last month, Moscow warned of a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO, and Russia's defence minister ordered officials to prepare a response

Behind Biden's asylum halt: Migrants must say if they fear deportation

Posters inside a complex of giant, white tents tell migrants in English, Spanish, Mandarin and Hindi they should tell an officer if they fear being deported and your claim will be heard. On a side wall where migrants are seated in a processing area, a video conveys the same message on a loop. Breaking from a practice in effect since 1997, Border Patrol agents at the holding facility in Tucson, Arizona, and throughout the country no longer ask migrants if they fear deportation. President Joe Biden's administration temporarily suspended asylum at the border June 5 and, as part of that move, agents do not ask about fears. Migrants must bring it up themselves. Immigration advocates call it the shout test suggesting migrants must shout their fears though agents are taught to respond to other signs of distress, such as crying, shaking or a change in tone of voice and to refer migrants for screening if the behavior appears genuine. Anyone not screened can be immediately deported. It is .

Disneyland workers in US authorise strike ahead of contract negotiations

Thousands of workers at Disney's theme park and resort properties in California voted late Friday to authorize a potential strike, as contract negotiations drag on over wages, sick leave and other benefits. The strike authorization was approved by an overwhelming margin, nearly 99 per cent of the members who cast votes, according to a union statement. The election was held by a coalition of four unions, which represents 14,000 Disney ride operators, store clerks, custodians, candy makers, ticket takers, parking attendants and other employees. The vote does not mean a strike will happen, only that union leaders now have the option to call a strike in the event that they are unable to negotiate a new contract deal with Disney. Leaders from both sides return to the bargaining table starting Monday. We greatly appreciate the important roles our cast members play in creating memorable experiences for our guests, and we remain committed to reaching an agreement that focuses on what matter

In new advisory, US asks citizens not to travel to violence-hit Bangladesh

The United States has recommended that its citizens do not travel to Bangladesh and allowed the voluntary departure of its non-emergency government employees and family members in view of the ongoing civil unrest in the South Asian country. The development comes just a day after the US issued a new travel advisory for Bangladesh, urging Americans to reconsider their travel to the strife-torn country. Authorities in Bangladesh has imposed a strict curfew across the country and military personnel patrolled parts of the capital to quell further violence after days of clashes over the allocation of government jobs left more than 40 people dead and hundreds injured. The US Department of State raised the Travel Advisory Level for Bangladesh to Level 4 -- 'Do Not Travel'. "Do not travel to Bangladesh due to civil unrest, crime, and terrorism," the State Department said, adding, "The department allowed for the voluntary departure of non-emergency US government employees and family ...

Judge sets Harvey Weinstein's retrial on sexual assault in NYC for Nov 12

A judge has tentatively scheduled Harvey Weinstein's planned retrial on rape and sexual assault charges to begin on November 12. Weinstein wore an American flag pin on his jacket on Friday during a brief court appearance in Manhattan that was delayed by more than 90 minutes due to a disruption that affected computers around the world, according to Judge Curtis Farber. Besides the setting of the trial date, the hearing addressed issues related to evidence in the case against the former Hollywood movie mogul, particularly information from phones that will be reviewed by a former judge to determine whether materials were relevant to the case and should be turned over to defense lawyers. At a hearing last week, prosecutors said they anticipated a November retrial. They told Farber that they were still actively pursuing new claims against Weinstein, though they conceded that they hadn't yet brought any findings to a grand jury. Weinstein denies that he sexually assaulted anyone. His ..

The Fed should not cut interest rates yet

The Fed has entered the last mile of its fight against inflation. With its credibility at stake, it must not flinch before it reaches the finish line

Major US airlines ground flights amid global Microsoft outage roils ops

American Airlines, however, later said in a statement it had re-established operations. Frontier and Spirit too cancelled directives to ground planes

Early US back-to-school sales accelerate peak ocean shipping season

"It looks like this year, July is in fact the peak of peak (season), instead of the beginning," said Stephanie Loomis, Rhenus Logistics' head of ocean freight for the Americas

New SpaceX spaceship to remove International Space Station; check details

SpaceX's revolutionary Dragon spacecraft is poised to replace International Space Station in the early 2030s, paving the way for the next generation of orbital research platforms

Blue Screen of Death: Global outage that led to Windows 10 crash explained

An outage of CrowdStrike has caused a global disruption for users of Microsoft Windows computers, affecting businesses and individuals across Australia, Japan, India and other countries

US election 2024: What's next for Democrats if Joe Biden drops out of race?

Two dozen Democrat lawmakers in Congress have urged Joe Biden to reconsider his poll bid, citing reasons such as his health concerns and worries over his declining popularity against Donald Trump

'Knew I was 'under attack' during Pennsylvania rally', says Donald Trump

During his headline speech of the Republican National Convention on Thursday, former president Donald Trump said that he immediately knew that the situation was serious as he was under attack

Biden nears US election race exit; will Kamala Harris replace him? Updates

Joe Biden's health concerns, presidential debate debacle and a fresh wave of support for Donald Trump after his assassination bid have compelled Democrats to push the president to reconsider his bid

US calls India 'key partner', urges support for lasting peace in Ukraine

India has always advocated peace and diplomacy for resolving the conflict between Ukraine and Russia

University of California bans political statements on its online homepages

The University of California Board of Regents voted Thursday to ban employees from posting political statements on the homepages of university websites, saying such comments could be interpreted as the university system's official view. Political statements and personal opinions will be allowed on secondary pages and must include a disclaimer saying they don't represent UC's official views under the new policy. University employees can also post political opinions on their personal university webpages or social media accounts. Faculty members, students and members of the community have criticized the policy, saying it restricts free speech. The free speech movement started in the 1960s at the University of California, Berkeley before it spread to college campuses across the nation. Recently, political opinions have mainly been posted on the homepages of ethnic studies departments and carried pro-Palestinian messages. A message on the homepage of the UC Santa Barbara's Department of

Largest housing provider for migrant children engaged in sexual abuse: US

Employees of the largest housing provider for unaccompanied migrant children in the US repeatedly sexually abused and harassed children in their care for at least eight years, the Justice Department has said, alleging a shocking litany of offences that took place as the company amassed billions of dollars in government contracts. Southwest Key Programmes Inc employees, including supervisors, raped, touched or solicited sex and nude images of children beginning in 2015 and possibly earlier, the Justice Department said in a lawsuit filed this week. At least two employees have been indicted on criminal charges related to the allegations since 2020. It was not immediately clear Thursday how many children are currently in Southwest Key's vast network of shelters across three states, which have room for more than 6,300 children. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to emailed questions about whether it had recommended to federal officials that they remove children from the ..

'I am sick': US President Joe Biden mocks Donald Trump and Elon Musk

US president uses his latest Covid-19 diagnosis and health concerns to mock Elon Musk and 'his rich buddies'

US police officer who laughed after Indian student Jaahnavi's death fired

A Seattle police officer, whose insensitive comments and laughter following the death of an Indian student had caused outrage, has been fired. Jaahnavi Kandula, 23, was struck by a police vehicle driven by Seattle Police Officer Kevin Dave as she was crossing a street on January 23. Dave was driving 74 mph (more than 119 kmh) on the way to a report of a drug overdose call. Kandula was thrown 100 feet when she was struck by the speeding police patrol vehicle. In bodycam footage released by the Seattle Police Department, Officer Daniel Auderer laughed about the deadly crash and remarked that Uh, I think she went up on the hood, hit the windshield, and then when he hit the brakes, flew off the car...But she is dead. After making these comments, Auderer laughed hard for four seconds, the Disciplinary Action Report said. Interim Chief Sue Rahr at the Seattle Police Department said in an internal email that the hurt Auderer's words have inflicted on Kandula's family cannot be erased. The

Top lawmaker praises Biden for signing bill boosting US' support for Tibet

An influential American lawmaker has applauded President Joe Biden for signing into law a bill which enhances US support for Tibet and promotes dialogue between China and the Dalai Lama toward a peaceful resolution of the dispute over the status and governance of the remote Himalayan region. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul on Wednesday said he is "extremely pleased" that President Biden has signed the Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act into law, "despite the administration's failure to take a position on recognising any future Dalai Lama or implementing the Tibet Policy Act of 2002". Last month, McCaul led a congressional delegation to India, sparking anger from China, to highlight the bipartisan support in the US Congress for Tibet, just days after the House-version of this bill passed the House. The CCP will stop at nothing to undermine and erase Tibetan culture and strip the Tibetan people of their right to self-determination. It was my

Retired diplomat Vinay Kwatra nominated as new US ambassador to secure ties

Kwatra, who retired as India's foreign secretary earlier this month, will look to bring certainty to the India-US relationship