Page 47 - Us Government

Joe Biden signs short-term spending bill to avoid partial govt shutdown

President Joe Biden on Friday signed a short-term spending measure that keeps one set of federal agencies operating through March 8 and another set through March 22 officially staving off a partial government shutdown that would have started on Sunday. The measure gives lawmakers some more time to draft and pass spending measures to keep the federal government operating for the current fiscal year, which ends on September 30. Washington has been running on a series of short-term measures because Congress, as it routinely does, had failed to enact full-year spending bills on time. This bipartisan agreement prevents a damaging shutdown and allows more time for Congress to work toward full-year funding bills, Biden said in a statement Thursday evening after both the House and Senate cleared the temporary fix. That's good news for the American people. But I want to be clear: this is a short-term fixnot a long-term solution. The House acted first on Thursday. The vote to approve the ...

Biden OKs military air drops of aid into Gaza after dozens die in tragedy

President Joe Biden said on Friday that the US will begin air-dropping humanitarian assistance into Gaza, a day after dozens of Palestinians were killed during a chaotic encounter with Israeli troops. The president announced the move after at least 115 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 others were injured, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, on Thursday when witnesses said nearby Israeli troops opened fire as huge crowds raced to pull goods off an aid convoy. Biden said the air drops will begin in the coming days. Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a stampede linked to the chaos and that its troops fired at some in the crowd who they believed moved toward them in a threatening way. Biden made the announcement while hosting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White house.

US Cong okays short-term extension to buy more time for final spending deal

Congress passed another short-term spending measure Thursday that would keep one set of federal agencies operating through March 8 and another set through March 22, avoiding a shutdown for parts of the federal government that would otherwise kick in Saturday. The bill now goes to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. The short-term extension is the fourth in recent months, and many lawmakers expect it to be the last for the current fiscal year. House Speaker Mike Johnson said negotiators had completed six of the annual spending bills that fund federal agencies and had almost final agreement on the others. We'll get the job done, Johnson said as he exited a closed-door meeting with Republican colleagues. The House acted first Thursday. The vote to approve the extension was 320-99. It easily cleared the two-thirds majority needed for passage. Democrats overwhelmingly voted to avert a partial shutdown. But the vote was much more divided with Republicans, 113 in support and 97 ...

After Odysseus, Intuitive Machines sets sights on second moon landing

Nasa is counting on a series of low-budget, private excursions to the moon to serve as pathfinders for missions carrying astronauts this decade

Billions awarded in Indian brothers' Los Angeles real estate court feud

The trial, over allegations that Haresh breached a long-standing partnership with his siblings, continues with a punitive damages hearing Monday that could add to the award

Donald Trump to stay on Illinois ballot as he appeals January 6 ban

The decision removes the possibility of a fresh showdown threatening Trump's appearance on a primary ballot, for now

Hunter Biden set to appear for closed-door interview with Republicans

Hunter Biden is set to appear on Wednesday on Capitol Hill for a closed-door deposition with lawmakers, a critical moment for Republicans as their impeachment inquiry into his father and their family's business affairs teeters on the brink of collapse. The deposition will mark a decisive point for the 14-month Republican investigation into the Biden family, which has centred on Hunter Biden and his overseas work for clients in Ukraine, China, Romania and other countries. Republicans have long questioned whether those business dealings involved corruption and influence peddling by President Joe Biden, particularly when he was vice president. Yet after conducting dozens of interviews and obtaining more than 100,000 pages of documents, Republicans have yet to produce direct evidence of misconduct by the president. Meanwhile, an FBI informant who alleged a bribery scheme involving the Bidens a claim Republicans had cited repeatedly to justify their probe is facing charges from federal

Texas nuclear weapons facility pauses operations amid widespread wildfires

Rapidly moving Texas wildfires on Tuesday prompted evacuation orders in small towns and shut down a nuclear facility as strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm temperatures fuelled the blaze in the state's rural Panhandle. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties as the largest fire burned nearly 400 square miles (1,040 square kilometres), according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. That is more than twice its size since the fire sparked Monday. Authorities have not said what might have caused the blaze, which tore through sparsely populated counties surrounded by rolling plains. Texans are urged to limit activities that could create sparks and take precautions to keep their loved ones safe, Abbott said. The largest blaze, known as the Smokehouse Creek Fire, closed highways and remained 0 per cent contained as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the Forest Service. The main facility that assembles and disassembles America's nuclear arsenal shut

Donald Trump appeals $454 million judgment in New York civil fraud case

The former US president will have to put up cash or post-bond to cover the $ 355 million and an additional roughly $ 100 million in interest he was ordered to pay, CNN reported

Palestinian PM submits govt's resignation in a bid to usher reforms

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh says his government is resigning, in a move that could open the door to US-backed reforms in the Palestinian Authority. President Mahmoud Abbas must still decide whether he accepts Shtayyeh and his government's resignation, tendered Monday. But the move signals a willingness by the Western-backed Palestinian leadership to accept shake-up that might usher in reforms seen as necessary to revitalize the Palestinian Authority. The US wants a reformed Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza once the war is over. But many obstacles remain to making that vision a reality.

Yemen's Houthis ballistic missile misses fuel tanker Torm Thor, says US

The Iran-aligned group said on Sunday that they targeted the tanker, as the militants continue to attack shipping lanes in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza

US imposes sanctions on Russian shipping giant in bid to squeeze oil sales

Among other measures imposed on Russia following the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the US and its allies slapped an oil-price sales cap on the country's exports

My criminal indictments boosted appeal to black voters, says Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump claimed on Friday that his four criminal indictments have boosted his support among Black Americans because they see him as a victim of discrimination, comparing his legal jeopardy to the historic legacy of anti-Black prejudice in the US legal system. Trump argues he is the victim of political persecution, even though there is no evidence President Joe Biden or White House officials influenced the filing of 91 felony charges against him. Earlier in the week, Trump compared himself to Alexei Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin's top domestic rival, who died in a remote Arctic prison after being jailed by the Kremlin leader. I got indicted for nothing, for something that is nothing, Trump told a black-tie event for Black conservatives in South Carolina ahead of Saturday's Republican primary. And a lot of people said that's why the Black people like me, because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against, and they actually viewed me as I'

US-made lunar lander 'Odysseus' may have tipped while reaching the moon

The complication could be a setback for Intuitive Machines and partner NASA

US govt restores Trump's policy on illegitimacy of Israeli settlements

The Biden administration on Friday restored a US legal finding dating back nearly 50 years that Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegitimate under international law. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US believes settlements are inconsistent with Israel's obligations, reversing a determination made by his predecessor, Mike Pompeo, in the Biden administration's latest shift away from the pro-Israel policies pursued by former President Donald Trump. Blinken's comments came in response to a reporter's question about an announcement that Israel would build more than 3,300 new homes in West Bank settlements as a riposte to a fatal Palestinian shooting attack. It wasn't clear why Blinken chose this moment, more than three years into his tenure, to reverse Pompeo's decision. But it came at a time of growing US-Israeli tensions over the war in Gaza, with the latest settlement announcement only adding to the strain. It also came as the United Nations'

$454 mn judgment against Donald Trump finalised in civil fraud case

The staggering civil fraud judgment against Donald Trump was finalised in New York on Friday, making official a verdict that leaves the former president on the hook for more than USD 454 million in fines and interest. The procedural step by the New York county clerk starts the clock on Trump's appeals process, while allowing the debt to begin racking up post-judgment interest of nearly USD 112,000 each day, according to a spokesperson for New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the case. In his February 16 ruling, Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that Trump lied for years about his wealth in order to secure favourable loans and make deals that helped prop up his real estate empire. He was ordered to pay USD 354.9 million in penalties plus nearly USD 100 million in interest. The formalised verdict gives Trump a 30-day window to appeal, which he has vowed to do. Within that same time frame, he must deposit sufficient funds in a court-controlled account or secure a bond for the

Global commons getting 'contested', admirals pitch for strong partnerships

Underlining that global commons are getting "contested", top admirals from the UK, France and the US on Friday pitched for forging partnership between like-minded nations to respond to ongoing crises in the world, provide stability, reduce risks and restore confidence. Navy Chief Adm R Hari Kumar; Adm Sir Ben Key, First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, the UK; Adm John C Aquilino, Commander, US Indo-Pacific Command; Adm Nicolas Vaujour, Chief of the Naval Staff, France; and Air Marshal Robert Chipman, Chief of the Air Force, Australia took part in a panel discussion titled 'From the Aegean Sea to the South China Sea: Responding to Maritime Sieges', held at the Raisina Dialogue here. "If you can see what is happening in the South China Sea, and Red Sea where people are seeking to impose their will on the global commons... then that ripple will be felt far and wide, and not just in that point. And, this is what separates the maritime environment from the land environment," Adm Key ..

In support of IVF Trump calls on Alabama lawmakers to protect access

Former President Donald Trump said Friday that he would "strongly support the availability of IVF" and called on lawmakers in Alabama to preserve access to the treatment that has become a new flashpoint in the 2024 presidential election. It was his first comment since an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that led some providers in the state to suspend their in vitro fertilization programs and has left Republicans divided over the issue. Trump, in a post on his Truth Social network, said: "Under my leadership, the Republican Party will always support the creation of strong, thriving, healthy American families. We want to make it easier for mothers and fathers to have babies, not harder!" The all-Republican Alabama Supreme Court, among the nation's most conservative judicial panels, ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law. Since then, some Alabama clinics and hospitals, including the University of Alabama at Birmingham health system, have announced pauses on IV

Donald Trump asks US judge to dismiss charges over handling of documents

Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges and claims all the cases against him are part of a Democratic-led "witch hunt" to keep him from returning to office

Ukraine war: US to impose sanctions on over 500 targets in Russia action

The new penalties come as the US and its allies look to maintain pressure on Russia, despite doubts over whether the US Congress will approve additional security assistance for Kyiv