Page 52 - Us Government

Trump may testify in Carroll sex abuse trial, court limits what he can say

Former President Donald Trump has told the public for years what he thinks of E. Jean Carroll, the writer who claims he sexually assaulted her in the 1990s. Now he has a chance to talk to a jury about her but within limits he might well test. Trump could testify as soon as Monday in the defamation trial over his 2019 comments branding Carroll a liar who faked a sexual attack to sell a memoir. He plans to be in court as the New York trial resumes after a weekend break. Because a different jury found last year that Trump sexually abused Carroll, US District Judge Judge Lewis A. Kaplan has ruled that if the former president takes the stand now, he won't be allowed to say she concocted her allegation or that she was motivated by financial or political considerations. But even while just watching the proceedings, the voluble ex-president and current Republican front-runner hasn't checked his contempt for the case. While Carroll testified last week, he complained to his lawyers about a

Trump celebrates DeSantis' drop out decision, ends feud ahead of 2024 polls

Donald Trump set aside months of criticism and mockery of Ron DeSantis on Sunday night, celebrating his onetime Republican rival as his newest supporter after the Florida governor ended his presidential campaign and endorsed the former president. For Trump, it's become a familiar ritual to welcome the backing of someone who once tried to take him on. Nonetheless, it was notable at Sunday's rally in New Hampshire to see Trump praise DeSantis without calling him DeSantimonious or DeSanctus, putting an end to perhaps the most bitter rivalry of Republicans' 2024 campaign. I just want to thank Ron and congratulate him on doing a very good job, Trump said at the outset of his remarks. He was very gracious, and he endorsed me. I appreciate that, and I also look forward to working with Ron. Trump described DeSantis as "a really terrific person. Earlier in the day, DeSantis said via video that he would be ending his campaign two days before New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation GOP primary. Bu

US Q4 GDP shows annualised 2% rise, expected to crown vigorous second half

While the Fed wants to guard against a re-acceleration of inflation, a further softening of price pressures risks making policy even more restrictive

India-US relationship significant for global good, says Ambassador Sandhu

The relationship between India and the US is very important and significant not only for the two countries but also for the global good, India's outgoing ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu has said in an address to the diaspora and told them that they have played and have an important role to play in further strengthening this partnership. Addressing the group of eminent Indian Americans from across the United States on Saturday, Sandhu urged them to ensure that the second generation remains connected to India, and they travel to India frequently. This relationship is very important and significant, not only for our two countries but for the global good, Sandhu told a group of some 200 eminent Indian Americans during a virtual farewell session on Saturday. Sandhu retires from the Indian Foreign Service at month-end after an illustrious 35-year. You must ensure that your children remain invested in India; they travel to India. Like so many other communities here in the Unite

UAE urges US to support immediate ceasefire of Israel's attacks in Gaza

President Joe Biden's administration has refrained from demanding a halt to the Israeli military campaign and vetoed a UN Security Council demand for a ceasefire put forward by the UAE in December

Joe Biden hits out at Trump, says former US prez wants stock market crash

"He wants to see the stock market crash" because he does not want to acknowledge the economy is now performing well, Biden said

Federal 2020 election case: Trump's bid to hold Smith in contempt denied

The federal judge overseeing the 2020 election interference case against Donald Trump on Thursday rejected his lawyers' bid to hold special counsel Jack Smith's team in contempt for actions prosecutors took after the judge put the case on hold. But the judge said no further substantive court filings should be submitted without permission. The former president's lawyers had accused prosecutors of outrageous conduct for turning over to the defense thousands of pages of evidence and filing a motion after the judge paused the case while Trump appeals his presidential immunity claim. The defense said prosecutors were violating a court order that put the case on hold so Trump can pursue his claim in higher courts. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said in her ruling Thursday that her Dec. 13 order pausing the case did not clearly and unambiguously prohibit those actions by Smith's team. However, she agreed with Trump to bar all parties in the case from filing any further substantive ...

Taiwan's new envoy to US offers assurances to Washington, Beijing

Taiwan's top diplomat in Washington has a message for both the island's Chinese adversaries and its American friends: Don't worry that Taiwan's new president-elect will worsen relations with Beijing and possibly draw the U.S. into a conflict. President-elect Lai Ching-te plans to keep the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, Alexander Tah-Ray Yui told The Associated Press on Thursday in his first interview with an international news organization since he arrived in the U.S. in December. The Chinese government has called Lai a troublemaker who will push Taiwan toward independence. But Yui said Lai is willing to engage with Beijing, even as the island seeks to strengthen its unofficial ties with Washington for stability in the region. We want the status quo. We want the way it is neither unification, neither independence. The way it is is the way we want to live right now, said Yui, Taiwan's de-facto ambassador to the U.S., noting the stance is largely supported at home and will guide th

Firmly against Palestinian state in any postwar scenario: Netanyahu to US

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday he has told the United States that he opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of any postwar scenario, underscoring the deep divisions between the close allies three months into Israel's assault on Gaza aiming to eliminate its Hamas rulers. The US has called on Israel to scale back its offensive and said that the establishment of a Palestinian state should be part of the day after. But in a nationally broadcast news conference, Netanyahu vowed to press ahead with the offensive until Israel realises a decisive victory over Hamas. He also rejected the idea of Palestinian statehood. He said he had relayed his positions to the Americans. In any future arrangement...Israel needs security control all territory west of the Jordan, Netanyahu told a nationally broadcast news conference. This collides with the idea of sovereignty. What can you do? The prime minister needs to be capable of saying no to our friends, he ..

Biden govt pledges new sanctions over Houthi attacks on global shipping

The United States on Wednesday put Yemen's Houthis rebels back on its list of specially designated global terrorists, piling financial sanctions on top of American military strikes in the Biden administration's latest attempt to stop the militants' attacks on global shipping. Officials said they would design the financial penalties to minimize harm to Yemen's 32 million people, who are among the world's poorest and hungriest after years of war between the Iran-backed Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition. But aid officials expressed concern. The decision would only add "another level of uncertainty and threat for Yemenis still caught in one of the world's largest humanitarian crises, Oxfam America associate director Scott Paul said. The sanctions that come with the formal designation are meant to sever violent extremist groups from their sources of financing. President Donald Trump's administration designated the Houthis as global terrorists and a foreign terrorist organisation in one

US-UK airstrikes slow Iran from supplying weapons to Houthis, say officials

On Tuesday, the US hit four Houthi missiles in Yemen in a preemptive strike, a far more limited move than the one carried out on Jan 11

US strikes Yemen-based Houthis again, hits anti-ship missiles: Official

The US launched a new strike against the Yemen-based Houthis on Tuesday, hitting anti-ship missiles in the third assault on the Iranian-backed group in recent days, a US official said. The strike came as the Iranian-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for a missile attack against the Malta-flagged bulk carrier Zografia in the Red Sea. No one was injured. The vessel had been heading north to the Suez Canal when it was attacked, the Greek Shipping and Island Policy Ministry said. This latest exchange suggested there has been no let-up in Houthi attacks on shipping in the region, despite the massive US and British assault on the group on Friday, bombing more than 60 targets in 28 locations using warship- and submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles and fighter jets. The Houthis' military spokesman, Brig Gen Yahya Saree, said in a pre-recorded statement that it fired after the ship's crew refused to answer warning calls and that the vessel was heading for a port in Israel. According to th

US Congressional leaders ready stopgap bill to extend govt funding

Another extension has moved into focus as Congress appears on track to miss two staggered deadlines - January19 for passage of four of the 12 annual government-funding bills and February 2 for others

US Congressional leaders ready stopgap bill to extend govt funding to March

Congressional leaders are preparing a stopgap bill to keep the federal government running into March and avoid a partial shutdown next week. The temporary measure will run to March 1 for some federal agencies whose approved funds are set to run out on Friday and extend the remainder of government operations to March 8. That's according to a person familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to discuss it. The stopgap bill, expected to be released on Sunday, would come as House Speaker Mike Johnson has been under pressure from his hard-right flank in recent days to jettison a recent bipartisan spending deal with Senate Democrats. The bill would need Democratic support to pass the narrowly divided House. Johnson insisted on Friday that he is sticking with the deal he struck with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, despite pressure from some conservatives to renegotiate. Moderates in the party had urged him to stay the course. Still, in his first big test as the new leader, h

Asian-Americans fastest-growing group of eligible voters in US: Pew study

The number of Asian-American eligible voters has skyrocketed over the past two decades and since 2020, according to a new study as the US goes to polls to elect a new president this year. The report titled 'Key facts about Asian American eligible voters in 2024, released Wednesday, revealed that in the past four years, the Asian American eligible voter population grew by 15 per cent. That far outpaces the growth rate of all eligible voters at 3 per cent, making them the fastest-growing electorate in the US. A projected 15 million Asian Americans will be eligible to vote in November, according to the Pew Research Center study. The group makes up just over 6 per cent of eligible voters, but its growth outpaced Hispanic eligible voters, who grew by 12 per cent. Asian Americans typically lean Democratic, the research said. In 2020, 72 per cent of English-speaking, single-race, non-Hispanic Asian voters said they voted for Democrat Joe Biden for president, while 28 per cent said they

US regulators impose additional requirements on Boeing before Max 9 return

Boeing declined to comment on the FAA's additional requirements

LIVE: Retail inflation rises to 4-month high of 5.69% in December

Catch all the latest LIVE updates from across the globe here

US judge denies Nikhil Gupta's request for defence materials in Pannun case

A US judge has denied a request for defence materials by Indian national Nikhil Gupta, charged by federal prosecutors in a murder-for-hire plot to kill a Khalistani separatist on American soil. United States District Judge Victor Marrero, in an order Thursday, denied a motion filed by Gupta's attorney seeking discovery material in the case. Gupta, 52, was charged by federal prosecutors here in an indictment unsealed in November last year with working with an Indian government employee in the foiled plot to kill Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who holds dual US and Canadian citizenships, on American soil. Gupta was arrested in Prague, the Czech Republic on June 30, 2023 and is being held there currently. The US government is seeking his extradition to America. In his order, Marrero said that the Court is persuaded by the government's argument that Gupta has no right to discovery at this time. He cited Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 16.1, which provides that no la

US plans delegation to Taiwan to meet new leader amid China tensions

The Biden administration will send an unofficial delegation comprised of former senior officials to Taiwan shortly after the self-governed island holds an election for a new president this weekend, a move that could upset Beijing in an already-fragile bilateral relationship. A senior administration official confirmed the plan on Wednesday without offering more details but said such a face-to-face meeting was the most effective way to engage the new Taiwanese government and convey U.S. policy in the region. The official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive plans, said the administration believed the move would contribute to peace and stability in the region. Beijing claims Taiwan to be part of Chinese territory and vows to unify with it eventually. The Chinese have repeatedly warned Washington to stay out of Taiwan and oppose any official contact between the US and Taiwanese governments. In August 2022, Beijing reacted angrily by firing missiles and ...

Sprawling storms hit US with tornado, cities buried under feet of snow

A sprawling storm hit the U.S. South, with tornado warnings and high winds that blew roofs off homes, flipped over campers and tossed about furniture in Florida on Tuesday, while another storm buried cities across the Midwest in more than a half a foot of snow, stranding people on highways as it headed to the Northeast. The weather has already affected campaigning for Iowa's Jan. 15 precinct caucuses, where the snow is expected to be followed by frigid temperatures that could drift below zero degrees (minus 18 Celsius). It forced former President Donald Trump's campaign to cancel multiple appearances by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders and her father, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who had been scheduled to court Iowa voters on Trump's behalf Monday. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at Tuesday's briefing that winter storms continue to be a threat across the country. We are closely monitoring the weather, and we encourage all Americans to do the same, she said. TH