Us Government

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

Adani Enterprises in talks with US agency over bribery allegations

Adani Enterprises said it received a Request for Information from the US Office of Foreign Assets on February 4, adding the communication does not cite any findings of irregularities or non-compliance

Clintons agree to testify before House panel probing Jeffrey Epstein

A full House vote had been planned this week to hold the Clintons in criminal contempt if they continued to defy subpoenas in its inquiry into Epstein and his activities

Trump flips position to attack UK's Starmer over Chagos Islands deal

Diego Garcia, largest island in the Chagos archipelago, is a remote Indian Ocean island almost 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) from the coast of East Africa and is home to a US and UK military facility

Minneapolis protesters win court ruling limiting ICE use of force

US District Judge Katherine Menendez on Friday isssed a temporary injunction limiting when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents can deploy chemical irritants into crowds

US to close Qatar camp that housed Afghans who fled their country in 2021

The decision marks the latest move by President Donald Trump's administration targeting Afghans who migrated to the US or are seeking to do so, part of a broader immigration crackdown

Greenland rules out joining US, backs union with Denmark amid tensions

Nielsen's remarks come ahead of a high-stakes meeting of Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Vice President JD Vance in Washington on Wednesday

Captured Maduro made to perp-walk in custody, he says 'Happy New Year'

The US government releases a video of Venezuela's detained President Nicolas Maduro in handcuffs, as he is moved to New York to face charges

US returns to WTO reform debate, but on terms that unsettle the system

The US' memorandum is revealing of the various ways in which Washington now believes - to an extent across parties - that the WTO is not working properly