Page 20 - Us Government

US is more hands-off than usual in West Asia with fear of worsening things

The Biden administration is taking a more hands-off approach than usual during a week of dramatic escalation between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, with top US officials holding back from full-on crisis diplomacy for fear of making matters worse. The public restraint follows explosions of the militant group's pagers and walkie-talkies and an Israeli airstrike targeting a senior Hezbollah operative in Beirut, which threaten to spur all-out war between Israel and its enemies in the Middle East and doom already faltering negotiations for a cease-fire in the Hamas conflict in Gaza. The escalation came even as two Biden administration officials stopped in the region this week to appeal for calm. It heightens the impression that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government is paying ever less attention to the mediation efforts of its key ally, despite depending on the US for weapons and military support. The United States looks like a deer in the headlight

OpenAI, Anthropic agree to work with US institute on upcoming safety test

Under the agreements, announced on Thursday, the US AI Safety Institute will receive early access to major new AI models from the companies to evaluate capabilities and risks

US govt funding yields hundreds of patents for China-based researchers

According to the patent office, the agency granted 1,020 patents from 2010 through the first quarter of 2024 that were both funded at least in part by the US government

Richard Verma now US Special Representative for Ukraine's Economic Recovery

Indian-American Richard Verma, who serves as the Deputy Secretary of State for Management & Resources, has been entrusted with an additional task of helping in rebuilding the war-ravaged Ukraine. US Secretary of State Tony Blinken has named him as the US Special Representative for Ukraine's Economic Recovery, in addition to his current position, which is the number two position in the State Department. Verma, the former US Ambassador to India, is the highest ranking Indian-American ever in the State Department. "Deputy Secretary for Resources and Management Rich Verma is going to be carrying on the work that Special Envoy Penny Pritzker has started when it comes to reconstruction and economic issues as it relates to our Ukrainian partners," State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters at his daily news conference here on Wednesday. Pritzker, who served as the Commerce Secretary during the Obama Administration, left the position of US Special Representative for .

Hunter Biden reportedly sought US gov help for gas company Burisma

Hunter Biden asked the US ambassador to Italy for help regarding an energy project a Ukrainian gas company was pursuing while his father was vice president, according to The New York Times. Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, wrote a letter to the ambassador in 2016 seeking assistance for Burisma, which had been working on a geothermal project in Italy, the newspaper reported, citing newly released records and interviews. At the time, Hunter Biden sat on the board of Burisma, which was having trouble getting regulatory approval for the project, a businessman involved in the project told the newspaper. The revelation is likely to fuel Republican criticism of Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings, which have been the center of GOP investigations into the president's family. The report comes weeks before Hunter Biden is set to stand trial on federal charges alleging he failed to pay taxes on money he received from Burisma and other foreign businesses. Prosecutors indicated la

Hunter Biden hired by Romanian to 'influence' US agencies: Prosecutors

Hunter Biden was hired by a Romanian businessman accused of corruption who was trying to influence U.S. government policy during Joe Biden's term as vice president, prosecutors said in court papers Wednesday. Special counsel David Weiss said Hunter Biden's business associate will testify at the upcoming federal tax trial of the president's son about the arrangement with the executive, Gabriel Popoviciu, who was facing criminal investigation at the time in Romania. The allegations are likely to bring a fresh wave of criticism of Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings, which have been the center of Republicans' investigations into the president's family. Hunter Biden has blasted Republican inquiries into his family's business affairs as politically motivated, and has insisted he never involved his father in his business. An attorney for Hunter Biden didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. Prosecutors plan to introduce evidence that Hunter Biden and his busine

US defence secretary overrides plea agreement for accused 9/11 mastermind

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday overrode a plea agreement reached earlier this week for the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and two other defendants, reinstating them as death-penalty cases. The move comes two days after the military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, announced that the official appointed to oversee the war court, retired Brig. Gen. Susan Escallier, had approved plea deals with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two accused accomplices, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, in the attacks. Letters sent to families of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the al-Qaida attacks said the plea agreement stipulated the three would serve life sentences at most. Austin wrote in an order released Friday night that in light of the significance of the decision, he had decided that the authority to make a decision on accepting the plea agreements was his. He nullified Escallier's approval. Some families of the attack's victims condemned the deal for cutting

US to boost military presence in W Asia; to send fighter jets, keep carrier

The US Defense Department will move a fighter jet squadron to the Middle East and maintain an aircraft carrier in the region, the Pentagon said as President Joe Biden made good on his promise to beef up the American military presence to help defend Israel from possible attacks by Iran and its proxies and safeguard US troops. In a statement, the department said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also ordered additional ballistic missile defence-capable cruisers and destroyers to the European and Middle East regions and is taking steps to send more land-based ballistic missile defence weapons there. The shifts come as US leaders worry about escalating violence in the Middle East in response to recent attacks by Israel on Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, which triggered threats of retaliation. Biden in a call Thursday afternoon with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed new US military deployments to protect against possible attacks from ballistic missiles and drones, according t

US Secret Service accepts responsibility for failure to protect Trump

The United States Service has owned its failure to protect former president Donald Trump at an election rally in Pennsylvania on July 13. A young gunman shot at Trump, 78, when he was addressing an election rally in Butler. Trump escaped the assassination attempt, as a bullet flew within a millimetre of him and one of them hit his right ear. The Secret Service takes full responsibility for the tragic events of July 13th. This was a mission failure. The sole responsibility of our agency is to make sure our protectees are never put in danger. We fell short of that in Butler. And I'm working to make sure that this failure does not happen again, Acting Director of the US Secret Service, Ronald Rowe, told reporters at a news conference here. The main role of Secret Service is to protect the President, the former presidents and their family members. Presidential nominees also get protection of the secret service. Rowe said that the Secret Service will continue to cooperate with pending .

Byju's US lenders seek to block payment to BCCI, want their money first

Earlier this week, a judge in Delaware, where the main legal action against Byju's is taking place, ordered Ravindran to pay $10,000 a day until he helps locate the $533 million

Trump slams Google over claims it was censoring news related to him

Former US president Donald Trump has lashed out at Google over reports that was censoring news and photos of the Republican presidential candidate. "Google has been very bad. They've been very irresponsible and I have a feeling that Google is going to be close to shut down because I don't think Congress is going to take it. I really don't think so. Google has to be careful," Trump told Fox News in an interview. Early this week, Trump alleged that it was virtually impossible to find pictures or anything about the failed assassination bid on him on July 13 on Google. Google, however, denied those allegations. Over the past few days, some people on X have posted claims that search is censoring' or banning' particular terms. That's not happening, and we want to set the record straight. The posts relate to our Autocomplete feature, which predicts queries to save you time. Autocomplete, it said in a social media post. Google said autocomplete wasn't providing predictions for queries abou

Hunter Biden to be sentenced on gun charges in Nov, may face 25 yrs jail

Hunter Biden is set to be sentenced on felony firearms charges in November under an order signed by a judge on Friday. The president's son could face up to 25 years in prison at sentencing set for November 13 in Wilmington, Delaware, but as a first-time offender he is likely to get far less time or avoid prison entirely. Hunter Biden is also facing another trial on tax charges in California set to begin in September. He's charged in that case with failing to pay USD 1.4 million in taxes. President Joe Biden, who dropped his reelection bid last month, has said he will not use his presidential powers to pardon his son or lessen his sentence. Hunter Biden was convicted of three felonies after lying on a federal form to purchase the gun by saying he wasn't a drug user in 2018, a period when he has acknowledged struggling with addiction. US District Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was nominated to the bench by former Republican President Donald Trump, will decide how much time, if any, Hun

Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden extend condolences over Wayanad landslides

As per the officials, 210 bodies and 134 body parts have been recovered till now which includes 96 males, 85 females and 29 children

US Justice Dept sues TikTok, accusing it of illegally collecting kids' data

The Justice Department sued TikTok on Friday, accusing the company of violating children's online privacy law and running afoul of a settlement it had reached with another federal agency. The complaint, filed together with the Federal Trade Commission in a California federal court, comes as the US and the prominent social media company are embroiled in yet another legal battle that will determine if or how TikTok will continue to operate in the country. The latest lawsuit focuses on allegations that TikTok, a trend-setting platform popular among young users, and its China-based parent company ByteDance violated a federal law that requires kid-oriented apps and websites to get parental consent before collecting personal information of children under 13. It also says the companies failed to honour requests from parents who wanted their children's accounts deleted, and chose not to delete accounts even when the firms knew they belonged to kids under 13. This action is necessary to ..

US Vice President Kamala Harris becomes Democratic presidential nominee

US Vice President Kamala Harris, who is of Indian and African heritage, was declared the 2024 presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Party on Friday after she won enough votes from Democratic delegates in a virtual roll call. Harris, 59, would face Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump, 78, in the general elections scheduled to be held on November 5. "I am honoured to be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. I will officially accept the nomination next week. This campaign is about people coming together, fuelled by love of country, to fight for the best of who we are, Harris, who was abruptly thrust into the role of presidential candidate late last month after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race for the White House, said. A step away from breaking the last glass ceiling of the United States, Harris became the first ever woman of colour to be on the top of a presidential ticket of a major American political party. She i

Joe Biden tells Netanyahu to accept cease-fire in 'very direct' call

Iran and Hezbollah have vowed revenge against Israel, with Tehran ordering its security forces to assess options for attacking the Jewish state

Tesla faces lawsuit by family of motorcyclist killed in Autopilot crash

The lawsuit adds to growing scrutiny of Tesla's driver assistant systems Autopilot and Full Self-Driving

Trump's gag order remains in effect after hush money conviction: NY court

A New York appeals court on Thursday denied Donald Trump's bid to end a gag order in his hush money criminal case, rejecting the Republican former president's argument that his May conviction constitutes a change in circumstances that warrants lifting the restrictions. A five-judge panel in the state's mid-level appellate court ruled that the trial judge, Juan M Merchan, was correct in extending parts of the gag order until Trump is sentenced, writing that the fair administration of justice necessarily includes sentencing. The ruling came a day after Trump's lawyers tried to file papers asking the appellate court to immediately lift the gag order. With its ruling imminent, the court rejected the filing, which called the restrictions an unconstitutional, election-interfering muzzle on Trump's free speech. In a copy of the prospective filing provided to the Associated Press, Trump's lawyers wrote that Vice President Kamala Harris' entry into the presidential race gives the matter new

India wants to play a responsible role globally, says Biden admin

Describing India as a great power which will never be a formal ally or partner of the US, the Biden administration has told lawmakers that New Delhi wants to play a responsible role globally. These remarks were made by Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell during a hearing on US-China Competitiveness Beyond the Indo-Pacific on Tuesday, amidst indications that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may visit Kyiv later this month against the backdrop of renewed global efforts to end Russia's war on Ukraine. One of the hardest things to keep in mind is that India is also a great power. It has its own beliefs and its own interests. They will never be a formal ally or partner of the United States. But it doesn't mean that we cannot have the strongest of possible relationships as allied nations on the global stage, Kurt told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during the hearing. He was responding to a question from Senator James Risch about the recent Moscow visit of Prime Ministe

Antony Blinken aims to ease tension over US polls on six-nation Asia tour

With large parts of the world in turmoil and deep uncertainty over the future direction of America's global role, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sought this week to project an aura of calm normalcy as he traveled through Asia on his first overseas mission since President Joe Biden jolted the 2024 presidential race with his withdrawal. Whether he succeeded or not remains an open question. On a trip to Laos, Vietnam, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore and Mongolia that was punctuated by several potential escalatory developments in the Middle East, an uptick in Russian attacks in Ukraine and overshadowed by persistent fears about China's increasingly aggressive actions, he could not escape questions and comments about domestic U.S. politics. Having embarked on the six-nation tour just days after Biden's decision, Blinken no doubt would have preferred to avoid the issue entirely but came prepared with several stock answers to questions about U.S. leadership from concerned partner