Page 21 - Us Government

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

Radical left Democratic Party bosses installed Kamala as puppet: Trump

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has alleged that the left Democratic Party bosses have installed Kamala Harris as a "puppet candidate" who is "totally scripted, owned, and controlled" by the donors and the power brokers. The former president's remarks came at an election rally in Pennsylvania, a state where he escaped an assassination attempt on July 13. The radical left Democrat party bosses have installed a puppet candidate to fight only for themselves. Kamala Harris got zero votes. She's totally scripted, owned, and controlled by the donors and the power brokers who created her campaign and who rip off our government and make billions and billions of dollars, Trump, 78, said. Trump has intensified his attacks on Harris as the race for the November 5 presidential election gained momentum with opinion polls showing that the Vice President has narrowed the gap with her Republican rival. Trump accused Harris, 59, of lying about 81-year-old Joe Biden's mental and physi

Judge approves settlement in lawsuit over US detention of Iraqi nationals

A judge approved a settlement Wednesday in a 2017 lawsuit that challenged the detention of Iraqi nationals who were targeted for deportation during the Trump administration. The agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, sets strict conditions for future detentions before any proposed removals, the American Civil Liberties Union said. Too often, immigrants are locked up for months or years for absolutely no reason other than they want what so many of us have already: the chance to build a life in America. The settlement will make it easier for them to do that," ACLU attorney Miriam Aukerman said. An email seeking comment from ICE was not immediately answered. The lawsuit involved about 1,400 people, many of whom had been allowed to stay in the US for years, holding jobs and raising families, because Iraq had no interest in taking them back. That suddenly changed in 2017 when Iraq's position apparently shifted. ICE arrested people around the US, especially in

Harris will be most extreme radical liberal prez in US history: Trump

Kamala Harris will be the "most extreme radical liberal president in American history" if she is elected, Donald Trump has said, as he intensified his attacks on his Democratic rival in the presidential polls in November. Vice President Harris, 59, is the new presidential candidate of the Democratic party after incumbent President Joe Biden, 81, withdrew from the race. Trump, a former US president and the 2024 Republican presidential candidate, painted Harris as an overly liberal on immigration and abortion and called her a bum in a speech to a gathering of religious conservatives. She was a bum three weeks ago. She was a bum. A failed vice president and a failed administration with millions of people crossing, and she was the border czar, Trump said in a speech at Turning Point USA's "The Believers Summit," in West Palm Beach, Florida. The 78-year-old former president called her the most incompetent, unpopular, and far-left vice president in American history. "If Kamala Harris ge

Netanyahu meets Trump at Mar-a-Lago, offering optimism on Gaza cease-fire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu worked to mend ties with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Friday and offered measured optimism about progress toward a cease-fire deal for Gaza as he neared the end of a contentious US visit that put on display the growing American divisions over support for the Israeli-Hamas war. At Trump's Florida Mar-a-Lago estate, where the two men met face-to-face for the first time in nearly four years, Netanyahu told journalists he wanted to see US-mediated talks succeed for a cease-fire and release of hostages. "I hope so," Netanyahu said, when reporters asked if his U.S. trip had made progress. While Netanyahu at home is increasingly accused of resisting a deal to end the 9-month-old war to stave off the potential collapse of his far-right government when it ends, he said Friday he was "certainly eager to have one. And we're working on it." As president, Trump went well beyond his predecessors in fulfilling Netanyahu's top wishes fr

TikTok's survival at stake in all-out fight against potential US ban

Outside Washington, the video-sharing platform is waging a parallel battle for public opinion

Kamala Harris narrows gap with Donald Trump in polls from her first week

The major polling averages from RealClearPolitics and FiveThirtyEight can be slow to react to news as fresh polls gradually come in and replace older ones in the sample