Page 35 - Us Government

Warning Israel, Biden says US won't supply weapons to attack Rafah

President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he would not supply offensive weapons that Israel could use to launch an all-out assault on Rafah the last major Hamas stronghold in Gaza over concern for the well-being of the more than 1 million civilians sheltering there. Biden, in an interview with CNN, said the U.S. was still committed to Israel's defense and would supply Iron Dome rocket interceptors and other defensive arms, but that if Israel goes into Rafah, we're not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells used. The U.S. has historically provided enormous amounts of military aid to Israel. That has only accelerated in the aftermath of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack that killed some 1,200 in Israel and led to about 250 being taken captive by militants. Biden's comments and his decision last week to pause a shipment of heavy bombs to Israel are the most striking manifestations of the growing daylight between his administration and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

University of Chicago removes pro-Palestinian encampments without arrests

Turmoil on campuses began after the Oct 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organisation by the US, and the Jewish state's retaliatory response in Gaza

Trump's classified documents case: Judge postpones trial indefinitely

The federal judge in Florida presiding over the classified documents prosecution of former President Donald Trump has cancelled the May 20 trial date, postponing it indefinitely. The order from US District Judge Aileen Cannon had been expected in light of still-unresolved issues in the case and because Trump is currently on trial in a separate case in Manhattan charging him in connection with hush money payments during the 2016 presidential election. The New York case involves several of the same lawyers representing him in the federal case in Florida. Cannon said in a five-page order Tuesday that it would be imprudent to finalise a new trial date now, casting further doubt on federal prosecutors' ability to bring Trump to trial before the November presidential election. Trump faces dozens of felony counts accusing him of illegally hoarding at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida classified documents that he took with him after he left the White House in 2021, and then ...

Biden hosts Prez of Romania at White House to celebrate Nato partnership

President Joe Biden hosted Klaus Iohannis, the president of Romania, on Tuesday at the White House, with the two leaders celebrating their joint cooperation on issues including international security, the economy and continued support for Ukraine. The meeting in the Oval Office was meant to mark Romania's two decades as a NATO member, according to the White House. At the start of the meeting, Biden joked he advocated for NATO accession for Romania when he was a senator 180 years ago and said the alliance was stronger for the country's inclusion. Biden noted that Romanian and American troops have fought and trained alongside one another and praised Romania for having stepped up to assist Ukraine in fending Russia's invasion. The United States is committed to standing with you, Biden told Iohannis. In turn, Iohannis thanked Biden for hosting him and called the transatlantic alliance a cornerstone of our democratic way of life. He said he intended to make progress toward a visa waiver

Pro-Palestinian protestors retake MIT protest site, other buildings

A Monday deadline for pro-Palestinian protesters to leave an encampment at Massachusetts Institute of Technology cleared many demonstrators only to have the site retaken while protesters at the Rhode Island School of Design began occupying a building in the ongoing protest movement connected to the Israel-Hamas war. At MIT, protesters were given an afternoon deadline in which to voluntarily leave the protest site or face suspension. Many left, according to an MIT spokesperson, who said protesters breached fencing after the arrival of demonstrators from outside the university. On Monday night, dozens of protesters remained at the encampment in a calmer atmosphere, listening to speakers and chanting before taking a pizza dinner break. Sam Ihns, a graduate student at MIT studying mechanical engineering and a member of MIT Jews for a Ceasefire, said the group has been at the encampment for the past two weeks and that they were calling for an end to the killing in Gaza. Specifically, our

82-yr-old US Sen Bernie Sanders running for re-election to a fourth term

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said Monday that he would run for reelection this year, squelching speculation that the 82-year-old progressive icon might retire at a time when the Democratic Party is anxious about the advancing age of its top leaders. Hailing from a Democratic stronghold, Sanders' decision virtually guarantees that he will return to Washington for a fourth Senate term. And his announcement comes at a critical moment for Democrats as the party navigates a growing divide over Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. Sanders has criticised President Joe Biden's handling of the US relationship with Israel even as he's hailed much of the Biden's domestic agenda ahead of what could be a tough reelection bid against GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. With the prospect of Trump's possible return to the White House, Sanders framed his bid to return to the Senate as being driven by concerns about the future of democracy in the US. In an announcement video, he said that in many

At $2 million per minute, US Treasuries mint cash like never before

The numbers tell the story. Last year, investors pocketed nearly $900 billion in annual interest from US government debt, double the average over the previous decade

Israel carries out airstrikes on Gaza city of Rafah after evacuation order

Seven months into its war against Hamas, Israel has been threatening to launch incursions in Rafah, which it says harbours thousands of Hamas fighters and potentially dozens of hostages

7 wounded in shooting in Long Beach, California; police launch search ops

Police on Sunday were searching for suspects in a late-night shooting that wounded seven people, four critically, in Long Beach, California. At least two gunmen were suspected of opening fire on a group of people around 11.15 pm Saturday, according to the Long Beach Police Department. All of the victims were adult men. Videos of the aftermath posted to social media showed a heavy police presence outside the Prendido de Noche nightclub nearby, the Los Angeles Times reported. In addition to the four critical victims, three people had injuries that were not life-threatening, police said. The suspects fled before officers arrived, and there was no immediate information about a possible motive, police said. "The Long Beach Police Department has been actively investigating this shooting since late last night, and we will continue working until we identify and arrest those involved in this unacceptable act of gun violence," police Chief Wally Hebeish said in a statement Sunday. Investig

SEC charges Trump Media's newly hired auditing firm with 'massive fraud'

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday charged an auditing firm hired by Trump Media and Technology Group just 37 days ago with massive fraud though not for any work it performed for former President Donald Trump's media company. The SEC charged the accounting firm BF Borgers and its owner, Benjamin F. Borgers, of deliberate and systematic failures in more than 1,500 audits. The charges include failing to abide by accounting rules, fabricating documentation to cover up its shortcomings, and falsely stating in audit reports that its work met audit standards. BF Borgers agreed to pay a USD 12 million fine while its owner agreed to pay a fine of USD 2 million. Trump Media named Borgers as its auditor on March 28, according to the company's most recent annual report filing. The company disclosed at the time that Borgers had also handled its audits before the company went public by merging with a cash-rich shell company called Digital World Acquisition Corp. The company had

Israel briefs US on evacuation of Palestinian civilians ahead of Rafah ops

Israel this week briefed Biden administration officials on a plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of a potential operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah aimed at rooting out Hamas militants, according to US officials familiar with the talks. The officials, who were not authorised to comment publicly and requested anonymity to speak about the sensitive exchange, said that the plan detailed by the Israelis did not change the US administration's view that moving forward with an operation in Rafah would put too many innocent Palestinian civilians at risk. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to carry out a military operation in Rafah despite warnings from President Joe Biden and other western officials that doing so would result in more civilian deaths and worsen an already dire humanitarian crisis. The Biden administration has said that there could be consequences for Israel should it move forward with the operation without a credible plan to safeguard ...

US colleges strike deals with pro-palestinian protestors to end protests

Anti-war demonstrations ceased this week at a small number of US universities after school leaders struck deals with pro-Palestinian protesters, fending off possible disruptions of final exams and graduation ceremonies. The agreements at schools including Brown, Northwestern and Rutgers stand out amidst the chaotic scenes and 2,400-plus arrests on 46 campuses nationwide since April 17. Tent encampments and building takeovers have disrupted classes at some schools, including Columbia and UCLA. Deals included commitments by universities to review their investments in Israel or hear calls to stop doing business with the longtime US ally. Many protester demands have zeroed in on links to the Israeli military as the war grinds on in Gaza. The agreements to even discuss divestment mark a major shift on an issue that has been controversial for years, with opponents of a long-running campaign to boycott Israel saying it veers into antisemitism. But while the colleges have made concessions .

Google broke antitrust law to maintain its dominance, says US Justice Dept

Being the default search engine gives Google access to more users generating more queries than its rivals, allowing it to improve its algorithms and results, DOJ lawyers argued

Defence chiefs from US, Oz, Japan, Philippines vow to deepen cooperation

Defence chiefs from the US, Australia, Japan and the Philippines vowed to deepen their cooperation as they gathered on Thursday in Hawaii for their second-ever joint meeting amid concerns about China's operations in the South China Sea. The meeting came after the four countries last month held their first joint naval exercises in the South China Sea, a major shipping route where Beijing has long-simmering territorial disputes with a number of Southeast Asian nations and has caused alarm with its recent assertiveness in the waters. US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters at a news conference after their discussion that the drills strengthened the ability of the nations to work together, build bonds among their forces and underscore their shared commitment to international law in the waterway. Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said the defense chiefs talked about increasing the tempo of their defense exercises. Today, the meetings that we have held represent a very

TikTok may be dragged into US addiction lawsuits against social media firms

TikTok's Beijing-based parent, ByteDance Ltd, is refusing to share information with the US lawyers about its platforms in China and other countries, saying it's not relevant to the ongoing litigation

Baltimore bridge collapse: Officials release timeline, cost for rebuilding

Maryland plans to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in just over four years at an estimated cost between USD 1.7 billion and USD 1.9 billion, a state transportation official said Thursday. The state plans to build a new span by fall of 2028, said David Broughton, a spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Transportation. He said the cost estimate is preliminary, and detailed engineering specifics have not been confirmed. As salvage efforts continue, authorities also announced late Wednesday they had recovered the body of a fifth person who was missing after the bridge's March 26 collapse, which shut down the port of Baltimore, one of the busiest ports in the country. Six members of a roadwork crew plunged to their deaths when a container ship lost power and crashed into one of the bridge's supporting columns. The Key Bridge Response Unified Command announced that the victim found Wednesday was identified as Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez, 49, of Glen Burnie, Maryland. All of the .

Serbia lawmakers elect new govt with pro-Russia ministers sanctioned by US

Serbian lawmakers on Thursday voted into office a new government that reinstated two pro-Russia officials who are sanctioned by the United States, reflecting persistent close ties with Moscow despite the Balkan nation's proclaimed bid to join the European Union. Prime Minister Milo Vucevic's government got backing in a 152-61 vote in the 250-member parliament. The remaining 37 lawmakers were absent. The government includes former intelligence chief Aleksandar Vulin, who has made several visits to Russia in recent months, as one of several vice-premiers, along with Nenad Popovic, another Russia supporter who has faced US sanctions. The foreign minister in the previous government, Ivica Dacic, also a pro-Russia politician, will be in charge of the Interior Ministry in the new Cabinet. The vote followed a heated two-day debate. President Aleksandar Vucic's ruling nationalist conservative Serbian Progressive Party holds a comfortable majority after an election in December that fueled .

High bandwidth memory almost sold out for 2025: Nvidia supplier SK Hynix

The Nvidia supplier and the world's second-largest memory chipmaker will begin sending samples of its latest HBM chip

Powell's reassuring tone may not be enough for inflation-spooked markets

Bond investors have been struggling for months, with the 10-year Treasury yield up 70 basis points year-to-date

Trump faces prospect of additional sanctions in hush money trial case

Donald Trump faces the prospect of additional sanctions in his hush money trial as he returns to court on Thursday for another contempt hearing followed by testimony from a lawyer who represented two women who have said they had sexual encounters with the former president. The testimony from attorney Keith Davidson is seen as a vital building block for the prosecution's case that Trump and his allies schemed to bury unflattering stories in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. He is one of multiple key players expected to be called to the stand in advance of prosecutors' star witness, Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer and personal fixer. Prosecutors are seeking USD 1,000 fines for each of four comments by Trump that they say violated a judge's gag order barring him from attacking witnesses, jurors and others closely connected to the case. Such a penalty would be on top of a USD 9,000 fine that Judge Juan M. Merchan imposed on Tuesday related to nine separate gag order ...