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Epstein e-mails reveal he helped arrange White House tour for Woody Allen

In 2015, Woody Allen and his wife Soon-Yi Previn went on a trip to Washington, D.C. With the help of their friend Jeffrey Epstein, they were able to tour the White House. Allen's friendship with Epstein has been known for years, but e-mails in the huge trove of records released by the Justice Department in recent days illustrate that relationship in new depth. The filmmaker, his wife and Epstein were neighbours in New York City, and the three dined together often, records show. They offered each other emotional support during periods when they were being criticised in the media. They commiserated about being accused -- unfairly, they told each other -- of sexual misconduct. And in 2015, Epstein used his connections to another friend who had been in President Barack Obama's administration to help the couple get a White House tour. "Could you show soon yi the White House," Epstein wrote in a May 2015 e-mail to former White House counsel Kathy Ruemmler. "I assume woody would be too ..

US Census Bureau plans survey with citizenship question, alarming experts

The US Census Bureau plans to use a survey form with a citizenship question as part of its practice test of the 2030 census, raising questions about whether the Trump administration might try to make a significant change to the once-a-decade headcount that failed during the president's first term. The field test being conducted in Huntsville, Alabama, and Spartanburg, South Carolina, is using questions from the American Community Survey, the comprehensive survey of American life, rather than questions from recent census forms. Among the questions on the ACS is one that asks, "Is this person a citizen of the United States?" Questions for the census are not supposed to ask about citizenship, and they have not for 75 years. Last August, Trump instructed the Commerce Department to have the Census Bureau start work on a new census that would exclude immigrants who are in the US illegally from the head count. The Constitution's 14th Amendment says "the whole number of persons in each sta

Trump administration targets job protections of 50,000 federal employees

It is the biggest change to the rules governing the civil service in more than a century and targets employees that the administration sees as undermining the president's priorities

Nike faces probe over alleged discrimination against white workers

Nike said it has "shared thousands of pages of information and detailed written responses to the EEOC's inquiry" and is "in the process of providing additional information"

US jobless claims jump by 22,000 to 231,000 last week: Labour Dept

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits jumped last week but remains in the same historically low range of the past few years. Applications for jobless aid for the week ending January 31 rose by 22,000 to 231,000 from the previous week, the Labour Department reported Thursday. That's significantly more than the 211,000 new applications that analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet had forecast. Applications for unemployment benefits are seen as representative of US layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market. A number of high-profile companies have announced job cuts in the past year, including UPS, Amazon and Dow just last week. On Wednesday, the Washington Post laid off one-third of its staff, eliminating its sports section, several foreign bureaus and its books coverage in a widespread purge at the storied newspaper owned by billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. A private company, the Post did not disclose how many people

Oil slides over 2% as easing supply fears follow planned US-Iran talks

Brent crude futures were ​down $1.73, or 2.5 per cent , at $67.73 per barrel at 1402 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude was down $1.67, or 2.5 per cent , at $63.47

India-US trade deal in final stages, to open new phase in ties: Jaishankar

The "historic" India-US trade agreement is in the final stages of detailing that will be completed "very soon", External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday after holding wide-ranging talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The talks between Jaishankar and Rubio in Washington DC came three days after US President Donald Trump, following a phone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, announced reduction of US tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 50 per cent under the trade deal. The external affairs minister said the trade deal will open up a "new phase" in the relations. Except a confirmation on bringing down the US tariffs, including the removal of a 25 per cent levies imposed on India by Washington over Russian energy purchases, no concrete details of the trade deal have come out so far. Jaishankar, in a social media post, described his visit to the US as "productive" and "positive". "The historic India-US trade deal is in the final stages of ...

US, Russia agree to restart military dialogue after Ukraine negotiations

The US and Russia have agreed to reestablish high level military-to-military dialogue following a meeting between senior Russian and American military officials in Abu Dhabi, the United States European Command said in a statement. The agreement was reached following meetings in Abu Dhabi between Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, Commander of US European Command -- also NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe -- and senior Russian and Ukrainian military officials, the statement said. Grynkewich was in the capital of the United Arab Emirates for talks between American, Russian and Ukrainian officials on ending the war in Ukraine. The channel "will provide a consistent military-to-military contact as the parties continue to work towards a lasting peace," the statement said High level military communication was suspended in 2021, just before Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine.

Russia, Ukraine hold second day of US-brokered peace talks in Abu Dhabi

Negotiators from Moscow and Kyiv on Thursday held a second day of US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi on ending their war amid an escalation in Russia's winter attacks on Ukraine's power grid and after a sharp rise last year in Ukrainian civilians killed in the fighting. "We are working in the same formats as yesterday: trilateral consultations, group work, and further synchronisation of positions," said Rustem Umerov, Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council chief, who was present at the meeting. The delegations from Moscow and Kyiv were joined in the capital of the United Arab Emirates by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, according to Umerov. They were also at last month's talks in the same place as the Trump administration tries to steer the two countries toward a settlement. General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, was also present at the talks, according to a spokesman for the general who spo

Crypto investors' golden Trump statue 'Don Colossus' set for Florida debut

For more than a year, the golden statue has been at the centre of one of the stranger moneymaking ventures of the Trump era

Washington Post to cut one-third of staff as company begins major layoffs

The Washington Post says one-third of its staff across all departments, not just the newsroom, is being laid off. The troubled Post began implementing large-scale cutbacks on Wednesday, including eliminating its sports department and shrinking the number of journalists it stations overseas. The changes were announced in a Zoom meeting with staff on Wednesday by executive editor Matt Murray. Staff members in the newsroom were told they would be getting emails with one of two subject lines, announcing that the person's role has or hasn't been eliminated. A total number of layoffs was not announced in the call. The newspaper's books department will be closed, and its Washington-area news department and editing staff will be restructured, Murray told staff members. Its Post Reports podcast will be suspended. Murray acknowledged that the cuts will be a shock to the system but said the goal is to create a Post that can grow and thrive again. The moves were expected for several weeks, si

US seeks critical minerals trading bloc with allies to counter China: Vance

The Trump administration wants to create a critical minerals trading bloc with its allies that will use tariffs to maintain price floors and defend against China's tactic of flooding the market to undermine any potential competitors. Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that the trade war over the past year exposed how dependent most countries are on the critical minerals that China has a stranglehold on. "We want members to form a trading bloc among allies and partners, one that guarantees American access to American industrial might while also expanding production across the entire zone," Vance said at a meeting of foreign ministers at the State Department. "What is before all of us is an opportunity at self-reliance that we never have to rely on anybody else except for each other, for the critical minerals necessary to sustain our industries and to sustain growth.

US to withdraw 700 immigration enforcement officers from Minnesota

The Trump administration is reducing the number of immigration enforcement officers in Minnesota after state and local officials agreed to cooperate by turning over arrested immigrants, border czar Tom Homan said Wednesday. About 700 federal officers - roughly a quarter of the total deployed around Minnesota - will be withdrawn immediately, Homan said. But Homan did not give a timeline when the operation might end in Minnesota after weeks of turmoil in the Twin Cities and escalated protests, especially since the killing of protester Alex Pretti, the second fatal shooting by federal officers in Minneapolis. A widespread pullout will only occur after people stop interfering with federal agents carrying out arrests and setting up roadblocks to impede the operations, Homan said. About 2,000 officers will remain in the state after this week's drawdown, he said. "Given this increase in unprecedented collaboration, and as a result of the need for less public safety officers to do this wor

Russia, Ukraine envoys meet in Abu Dhabi as US pushes peace efforts

Envoys from Russia and Ukraine met in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday for another round of US-brokered talks on ending the almost four-year war, a Ukrainian negotiator said. The delegations from Moscow and Kyiv were joined in the United Arab Emirates by US officials, Rustem Umerov, Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council chief, who was present at the meeting, said on social media. Umerov said the planned two-day negotiations started with all three delegations present, after which negotiators were to break into groups according to topics and then meet as a full group again at the end. The American team was due to include special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who also attended last month's meeting, according to the White House. The current talks also coincide with the expiry of the last remaining nuclear arms pact between Russia and the United States on Thursday. Trump and Putin could extend the terms of the treaty or renegotiate its ...

Trump pushes plan for arch near Lincoln Memorial, citing disputed history

President Donald Trump says history is on his side. He wants to build a towering arch near the Lincoln Memorial and argues that the nation's capital first clamored for such a monument two centuries ago - even going so far as to erect four eagle statues as part of the project before being derailed by the attack on Fort Sumter. "It was interrupted by a thing called the Civil War, and so it never got built," Trump said aboard Air Force One as he flew to Florida last weekend. "Then, they almost built something in 1902, but it never happened." Trump's history is off - the eagles he references are actually part of a bridge connecting Virginia and Washington that was built decades after the Civil War. The closest Washington came to an arch was a wood and plaster construction built in 1919 to mark the end of World War I - and even that was always meant to be temporary. "For 200 years they've wanted to build an arc," Trump said, meaning an arch. "They have 57 cities throughout the world tha

China denounces Panama court ruling on ports, warns of 'heavy price'

China accused Panama of succumbing to hegemony and yielding to intimidation, instead of defending its independence as a sovereign state

Jaishankar, Rubio commit to strengthening ties via Quad, welcome trade deal

Jaishankar met with Rubio as part of an ongoing three-day visit to the United States, during which he is participating in the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial on February 4

India's exports to get boost with US cutting tariff: FM Nirmal Sitharaman

US President Donald Trump's decision to slash tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent augurs well for the country as it will boost exports, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Tuesday. "So, actually our exports will pick up now, that is my expectation... along with having found new markets where they will continue to operate," she said in an interview to PTI Videos. "It is a good augury for them (exporters)," Sitharaman said. Trump's steep 50 per cent tariffs last year dented Indian exports by raising landed costs, squeezing exporter margins, and eroding competitiveness in the American market. Sectors such as steel, aluminium, textiles, engineering goods and some agricultural products were hit as higher duties led US buyers to shift orders to alternative suppliers. On Monday, Trump agreed to slash US tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 50 per cent in exchange for India lowering trade barriers as well as stopping its purchases of Russian oil and instead buying oil from t

Confident of realising 'vast' opportunities with US: EAM Jaishankar

India welcomes the India-US trade deal as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar meets Marco Rubio, but New Delhi remains cautious on US-Pak ties, visas and Quad plans

US biker gang Punjabi Devils' founder pleads guilty to selling illegal guns

The US Attorney's office claimed that Jashanpreet Singh tried to sell several weapons, including a short-barreled rifle, assault weapons, and machine gun conversion devices, to an undercover officer