Us Government

Funds to pay TSA, Homeland Security workers will soon run out: White House

The White House is warning Congress that funding to pay Department of Homeland Security personnel will "soon run out," sparking new threats of airport disruptions and national security concerns as the House slow-walks legislation to end what has been the longest-ever lapse in agency funding. In a memo late Tuesday to lawmakers, the Office of Management and Budget said money that President Donald Trump tapped to pay Transportation Security Administration and other workers through executive actions will be exhausted by May. It called on the House to quickly approve the budget resolution senators approved in an all-night session last week that would pave the way for full funding for the department. "DHS will soon run out of critical operating funds, placing essential personnel and operations at risk," the memo said. The pressure from the Trump administration could help House Speaker Mike Johnson, whose narrow Republican majority has been stalled out, tangled in internal party disputes

US does not plan to renew Iranian, Russian oil waivers, says Scott Bessent

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday that the US does not plan to renew a waiver allowing the purchase of Russian oil and petroleum products that are currently at sea. And, he said, a renewal of the one-time waiver for Iranian oil at sea is totally off the table. "Not the Iranians," Bessent told The Associated Press. "We have the blockade, and there's no oil coming out." "And we think in the next two, three days, they're going to have to start shuttering production, which will be very bad for their wells." Bessent's statements come as the world is on edge over the US-Israeli war in Iran, and global energy markets have been ensnarled by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The US originally issued a waiver for Russian oil sales and petroleum products in March with the intent of stabilising global energy markets after crude oil prices surged above USD 100 per barrel. The Treasury Department renewed the waiver two days after Bessent said at the White House that he had no plan

US sanctions target Iranian weapons and UAV procurement networks

The action was announced by the US Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control, which said those designated are based in Iran, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates

US starts tariff refunds; Indian exporters need to engage with buyers: GTRI

The US has initiated the process of refunding reciprocal tariffs from April 20, and Indian exporters should proactively engage with American buyers to seek a share of the refunded duties, think tank GTRI said on Tuesday. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that the engagement will be important as the refunded payments go only to US importers, and exporters have no legal right to claim them. Indian exporters will have no direct legal route to claim refunds, it said. The US tariffs, imposed from April 2, 2025, affected export of many Indian products, it said, adding that the total refund is about USD 166 billion, with roughly USD 12 billion linked to goods from India. To get refunds, US importers must file detailed claims online with shipment data, tariff lines and proof of payment. The reciprocal tariff regime began at 10 per cent on April 2, 2025 and was rapidly escalated. Rates for India rose to 25 per cent by Aug. 7, 2025 and to 50 per cent by August 28, remaining a

US Labour Secy exits Trump's Cabinet after allegations of power abuse

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is out of President Donald Trump's Cabinet, the White House said Monday, after multiple allegations of abusing her position's power, including having an affair with a subordinate and drinking alcohol on the job. Chavez-DeRemer is the third Trump Cabinet member to leave her post after Trump fired his embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in March and ousted Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this month. Unlike other recent Cabinet departures, Chavez-DeRemer's exit was announced by a White House aide, not by the president on his social media account. "Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer will be leaving the Administration to take a position in the private sector," White House communications director Steven Cheung said on the social media site X. "She has done a phenomenal job in her role by protecting American workers, enacting fair labor practices, and helping Americans gain additional skills to improve their lives." He said Keith ...

RFK Jr announces new podcast to expose 'lies' that have made Americans sick

US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr is launching a new podcast that he says will begin "a new era of radical transparency in government," according to a teaser video first obtained by The Associated Press. The show, titled 'The Secretary Kennedy Podcast', will launch next week and feature Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine crusader who has reshaped the country's health policy, in conversation with doctors, scientists and agency staff, US Department of Health and Human Services officials told the AP ahead of the launch. In the teaser video, in a slick HHS-branded studio with ominous music playing in the background, Kennedy bills it as a new way to expose corruption and lies that have made Americans sick. "We're going to name the names of the forces that obstruct the paths to public health," Kennedy says in the nearly 90-second clip. Joining the Trump administration last year gave Kennedy a new platform for his views, some of which contradict the overwhelming consensus of scientist

Trump admin to pay French firm $1 billion to exit US offshore wind leases

The Trump administration will pay USD 1 billion to a French company to walk away from two US offshore wind leases as the administration ramps up its campaign against offshore wind and other renewable energy. TotalEnergies has agreed to what's essentially a refund of its leases for projects off the coasts of North Carolina and New York, and will invest the money in fossil fuel projects instead, the Department of Interior announced Monday. President Donald Trump's administration has tried to halt offshore wind construction, but federal judges repeatedly overturned those orders. The Interior Department hailed the "innovative agreement" with the French energy giant and said, "the American people will no longer pay for ideological subsidies that benefited only the unreliable and costly offshore wind industry". Environmental groups denounced the deal as an alternate way to block wind projects, with one group calling it a "billion-dollar bribe" to kill clean energy. "After losing again a

Groups backing Iran may target American interests, US warns citizens

The warning comes as the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday said that President Donald Trump is defanging the Iranian regime and bringing peace to West Asia

Bill to fund DHS fails again as concern grows about airport lines in US

A bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security failed to advance in the Senate amid growing concerns about long lines to get through screening at some of the country's biggest airports. Democrats declined to provide the support needed to move the funding measure toward final passage. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he would offer an alternative measure Saturday to fund just the Transportation Security Administration, which screens passengers and luggage for hazardous items. That too is likely to fail as lawmakers hold a rare weekend session. Behind the scenes, work toward resolving the standoff intensified Friday as White House border czar Tom Homan was set to meet for the second consecutive day with a bipartisan group of senators. Democrats are demanding changes to immigration enforcement practices by federal agents following the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that he sees "deal

Epstein's former attorney tells House panel he didn't know about the abuse

Jeffrey Epstein's longtime personal attorney testified to a House committee that he was unaware of the late financier's sexual abuse of underage girls at the time it was happening, becoming the latest person connected to Epstein to take that stance. Darren Indyke, who worked as Epstein's attorney for roughly two decades, told the House Oversight Committee in his opening statement that he "had had no knowledge whatsoever" of Epstein's abuse and would have quit working for him if he had known he was trafficking women and underage girls. Other associates of Epstein, including his former accountant Richard Kahn, one of his largest clients Les Wexner, and former President Bill Clinton, have also told the committee in sworn depositions that they didn't know about Epstein's abuse. Democrats on the committee aired their frustration during a break from Indyke's deposition, saying that the lawyer had taken a "defensive" posture in the face of questioning. Indyke, along with Kahn, are executo

Hollowed-out US State Dept strains diplomacy, struggles to manage Iran war

In the escalating war in Iran, the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs would ordinarily be at the centre of the geopolitical fray. The bureau's role would be to coordinate US foreign policy across an 18-country region, much of which has become a chaotic battlefield scarred by drone and missile strikes as the US and Israel remain locked in conflict with Iran. But now that bureau is also working with fewer resources. The administration's most recent budget proposed a 40 per cent cut to the bureau, though Congress eventually enacted less dramatic cuts. The administration also eliminated the dedicated Iran office, merging it with the Iraq office. Personnel and management choices - coupled with President Donald Trump's moves to shrink government and confine decision-making to a tight circle - are limiting the ability of the United States to handle a global emergency, according to interviews with more than a dozen current and former US officials. Veteran diplomats with deca

US offers up to $10 mn reward for info on Mojtaba Khamenei, Iranian leaders

Offer issued under the US Department of State's counter-terrorism reward programme targets about 10 senior Iranian officials, including new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei

US withdraws draft rule that called for permits for global AI chip exports

The now-abandoned Trump administration proposal would have carved out a significant role for the Commerce Department's licensing office to conduct case-by-case reviews of AI chip exports

Attack at Michigan synagogue a 'targeted act of violence against Jews': FBI

An attacker armed with a rifle rammed his vehicle into one of the nation's largest reform synagogues Thursday, driving through a hallway as security opened fire, fatally shooting him, authorities said. Jennifer Runyan, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Detroit field office, at a news conference on Thursday called the incident "deeply disturbing and tragic" and said the FBI was leading the investigation. The agency considered the crime a "targeted act of violence against the Jewish community," she said. The vehicle caught fire after crashing into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, just outside Detroit, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to the AP. None of the synagogue's staff, teachers or the 140 children at its early childhood centre were injured, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said. The attacker drove through a set of doors and into the hallway where something in the vehicle ignited, Bouchard said. "He was travelling with purpose down t

Epstein's longtime accountant testifies on his wealth, business network

House lawmakers were digging into Jeffrey Epstein's sprawling financial portfolio Wednesday as a committee deposed his former accountant and tried to understand his connections to some of the world's wealthiest men. Richard Kahn, who worked closely with Epstein for years and now serves as an executor of his estate, appeared for the closed-door deposition on Capitol Hill. He told lawmakers that he had not personally seen evidence of Epstein's sexual abuse, but provided a fuller picture of how Epstein acquired his wealth. The wealthy financier made hundreds of millions of dollars over two decades during which he struck up friendships with some of the world's most powerful men. Kahn "was under the impression that Epstein made his money as a tax advisor and a financial planner," said Rep. James Comer, the Republican chair of the House Oversight Committee. Lawmakers argued that a fuller picture of Epstein's finances could help the public understand how for years he was able to get away

DOJ probes Netflix's power over filmmakers in Warner deal review

The department is seeking to determine whether the deal "may substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly in violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act or Section 2 of the Sherman Act

US launches $200 million Edge AI Package for Indo-Pacific smartphones

This initiative accelerates the Pax Silica vision of a flourishing, interconnected Indo-Pacific by empowering millions with developer tools of AI innovation and entrepreneurship

White House orders Homeland Security shutdown as funding lapses at midnight

While the shutdown formally takes effect at midnight, DHS employees were instructed to report to work and begin an "orderly shutdown" on their next regularly scheduled shift

Reliance Industries gets US licence to directly buy Venezuela crude oil

India's largest private refiner gets US general licence to purchase Venezuelan crude directly, potentially diversifying its crude slate and resuming imports after previous sanctions eased

US colleges received $5.2 bn in foreign funds in 2025, shows govt data

The Education Department released the data Wednesday, touting a new website it says is aimed at bringing more transparency to foreign funding at US colleges