Page 53 - Us Government

US defends veto on Gaza ceasefire, Palestinians demand halt to fighting

The United States defended its veto of a call for the immediate suspension of hostilities in Gaza at a U.N. meeting Tuesday and again faced demands by the Palestinians and many other countries for a cease-fire now in the Israel-Hamas war as well as by a group of rabbis in the gallery. U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood called the Russian-proposed amendment to a Dec. 22 Security Council resolution which it vetoed disconnected from the situation on the ground. The council then adopted a watered-down resolution, with the U.S. abstaining, calling for urgent steps to immediately allow expanded humanitarian aid into Gaza, and to create conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities. Wood called it striking that those urging an end to the conflict have made very few demands of Hamas, following its surprise Oct. 7 invasion of southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people, to stop hiding behind civilians, lay down its arms, and surrender. And he reiterated ongoing U.S. efforts to ..

Can Brics, a frenemies grouping, challenge the West's sanctions regime?

The "Brics bank," which is currently led by former Brazilian president Dilma Roussef, has a mandate to lend to infrastructure projects that the rest of the multilateral architecture ignores

US sees drop in illegal border crossings after Mexico increases enforcement

Daniel Bermudez's family had fled Venezuela and was headed to the US to seek asylum when the freight train they were riding through Mexico was stopped by immigration officials. His wife tried to explain that her family had permission to go to the US Instead, they flew her to Mexico's southern border as part of a surge of enforcement actions that US officials say have contributed to a sharp drop in illegal border crossings. In addition to forcing migrants from trains, Mexico also resumed flying and busing them to the southern part of the country and started flying some home to Venezuela. Even if temporary, the decrease in illegal crossings is welcome news for the White House. President Joe Biden's administration is locked in talks with Senate negotiators over restricting asylum and USD 110 billion in aid for Ukraine and Israel hangs in the balance. Bermudez said his wife became separated from her family when she talked to authorities as he gathered his stepchild and their belongings

FBI arrests 3 in Florida on assault charges in Jan 6 insurrection

The FBI arrested three Florida residents on Saturday, the third anniversary of their alleged attack on Capitol police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. Jonathan D. Pollock, 24; his sister, Olivia M. Pollock, 33; and Joseph D. Hutchinson, 27, were arrested at a ranch in Groveland, Florida, and will be arraigned on Monday, the FBI said in a statement. Groveland is about 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Orlando and about 45 miles (75 kilometers) north of their Lakeland homes. They had been indicted in April 2021. Jonathan Pollock had gone into hiding shortly after the attack. His sister and Hutchinson had been arrested in June 2021 and released on bond, but fled shortly before they were set to go on trial in Washington, D.C., last March. According to a 53-page indictment, Jonathan Pollock and Hutchinson are on video recordings repeatedly punching officers during the riots. Pollock is also alleged to have grabbed riot shields from officers, and he and Hutchinson are accuse

Group representing Meta, X sues Ohio over law that curbs social media usage

A trade group representing TikTok, Snapchat, Meta and other major tech companies sued Ohio on Friday over a pending law that requires children to get parental consent to use social media apps. The law was part of an USD 86.1 billion state budget bill that Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law in July. It's set to take effect January 15. The administration pushed the measure as a way to protect children's mental health, with Republican Lt. Gov. Jon Husted saying at the time that social media was intentionally addictive and harmful to kids. The NetChoice trade group filed its lawsuit against GOP Attorney General Dave Yost in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. It seeks to block the law from taking effect. The litigation argues that Ohio's law which requires social media companies to obtain a parent's permission for children under 16 to sign up for social media and gaming apps unconstitutionally impedes free speech and is overbroad and vague. The law also ..

Indian-American medical biller held for stealing more than $1 million

A 61-year-old Indian-origin medical biller has been arrested for stealing more than USD 1 million from doctors who provided medical care to injured workers in New York, according to the Attorney General's Office here. Amrish Patel and his two companies -- Medlink Services and Medlink Partners -- were charged on Wednesday with 27 felony counts for the thefts they allegedly committed from January 2012 through January 2019, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced. Patel and the companies were charged with one count of insurance fraud in the first degree, one count of grand larceny in the first degree, one count of grand larceny in the second degree, one count of grand larceny in the third degree, one count of scheme to defraud in the first degree, 11 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree and 11 counts of workers' compensation fraud. He was released with electronic monitoring and a USD 100,000 bond, according to the New York Attorney General's Office. Pate

2nd batch of documents in lawsuit related to US paedophile Epstein unsealed

On July 6, 2019, Epstein was arrested by the FBI-NYPD Crimes Against Children Task Force at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey on sex trafficking charges

N Korea to push production of mobile launch vehicles amid tensions with US

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered authorities to increase production of mobile launch vehicles for missiles because the country faces a looming military showdown with its enemies, state media reported Friday, as it pushes to make its launches harder to detect. The report on Kim's order came hours after the White House said US intelligence has determined that North Korea has supplied ballistic missile launchers to Russia for its war in Ukraine. The US and its allies have previously accused North Korea of sending artillery and ammunition to Russia in return for Russian technologies to enhance its own military programmes. The official Korean Central News Agency said Kim visited a factory that produces transport erector launchers, or TELs, without saying when he went or where the factory is. TELs are mobile launch vehicles which give North Korea the ability to move missiles around its territory, making it more difficult for its adversaries to detect launches in advance. Some South

Afghanistan can become part of int'l community if it meets obligations: US

The resolution shows that the UNSC supports a "process by which Afghanistan is integrated into the international community only by meeting its international obligations," Miller said

Trump took $7.8 mn in foreign cash while in office. He'd do it again

Latching on to either of those arguments to let Trump off the hook would be a mistake

Blinken heads to Mideast again as fears of regional conflict surge

As the Biden administration grapples with an increasingly tense and unstable situation in the Middle East, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to the region this weekend for the fourth time in three months on a tour expected to focus largely on easing resurgent fears that the Israel-Hamas war could erupt into a broader conflict. With international criticism of Israel's operations in Gaza mounting, growing US concerns about the end game, and more immediate worries about a recent explosion in attacks in the Red Sea, Lebanon, Iran and Iraq, Blinken will have a packed and difficult agenda. He leaves just days after a suspected Israeli attack killed a senior Hamas leader in Beirut and, while a White House spokesman said "nobody should be shedding a tear" over his death, it could further complicate Blinken's mission. "We do not expect every conversation on this trip to be easy," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. "There are obviously tough issues facing the region and

North Korea providing Russia with ballistic missiles, says US govt

US intelligence officials have determined that Russia has acquired ballistic missiles from North Korea and is seeking close-range ballistic missiles from Iran as Moscow struggles to replenish supplies for its war with Ukraine, the White House said on Thursday. Recently declassified intelligence found that North Korea has provided Russia with ballistic missile launchers and several ballistic missiles, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. Russian forces fired at least one of those ballistic missiles into Ukraine on December 30 and it landed in an open field in the Zaporizhzhia region, he said. Russia launched multiple North Korean ballistic missiles on Tuesday as part of an overnight attack, the impact of which the US was assessing, he said. Kirby said a Russia-Iran deal had not been completed, but that the US is concerned that Russia's negotiations to acquire close range ballistic missiles from Iran are actively advancing. The Biden administration has repeatedly sou

Indian-origin realty developer booked for perpetuating $93 mn fraud scheme

An Indian-origin real estate developer has been charged by federal authorities in the US with perpetuating a USD 93 million fraud scheme. Rishi Kapoor, a Miami-based developer, faces charges filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday. The SEC announced that it obtained an asset freeze and other emergency relief concerning the alleged USD 93 million real estate investment fraud perpetrated by Kapoor. The SEC also charged real estate company Location Ventures, its affiliate Urbin and 20 other related entities in connection with the fraud scheme, a statement said. According to the SEC's complaint, from approximately January 2018, until at least March 2023, Kapoor and certain of the defendant entities solicited investors by, among other things, making several material misrepresentations and omissions regarding Kapoor, Location Ventures, Urbin, and their real estate developments. The false statements allegedly included misrepresenting Kapoor's compensation; his cash ...

Harvard plagiarism row: Gay defends research, calls it 'ideological battle'

The school's first Black president stepped down after allegations of plagiarism in her work and anger over the university's handling of antisemitism on campus following Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on Israel

Harvard to move past firestorm brought on by Claudine Gay's resignation

Harvard University on Wednesday sought to move beyond the firestorm brought on by the plagiarism allegations, congressional testimony and resignation of Claudine Gay, the school's first Black president, as it seeks a new leader and tries to heal divisions at the elite Ivy League school. The search for a new president will begin "in due course" and will include "broad engagement and consultation with the Harvard community", the Harvard Corporation, the school's 11-member governing board said in statement on Tuesday, adding that it will be driven by "core values of excellence, inclusiveness, and free inquiry and expression". "At a time when strife and division are so prevalent in our nation and our world, embracing and advancing that mission -- in a spirit of common purpose -- has never been more important," leadership said. As it looks for a new president, the corporation also needs to examine its role in Gay's appearance before Congress, according to Khalil Gibran Muhammad, who ...

No damage reported after latest Houthi attack in Red Sea, says US

Multiple commercial ships in the area reported the impact of the missiles in surrounding waters, CENTCOM added

US intel says Hamas used Gaza hospital in campaign against Israel: Report

The US is confident that Palestinian militant groups used Gaza's largest hospital to hold at least a few hostages seized during their bloody Oct. 7 attack and to house command infrastructure, an American intelligence assessment declassified Tuesday and shared by a U.S. official found. The assessment offers the firmest U.S. support for Israeli claims about the Shifa hospital complex, which was raided by Israeli forces in November in an operation decried by global humanitarian organizations and some members of President Joe Biden' s party. Yet the information released doesn't fully back some of Israel's most significant allegations that the hospital served as the central node for activities by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The U.S. official shared the assessment on the condition of anonymity. The U.S. Intelligence Community is confident in its judgment on this topic and has independently corroborated information on HAMAS and PIJ's use of the hospital complex for a variety of ...

US rejects Israel's remarks on resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza

He said that the kind of future the US seeks is that in future, no terror groups are able to threaten Israel and Hamas has no control of Gaza

US national debt hits record $34 trn as Congress gears up for funding fight

The federal government's gross national debt has surpassed USD 34 trillion, a record high that foreshadows the coming political and economic challenges to improve America's balance sheet in the coming years. The US Treasury Department issued a report on Tuesday logging US finances, which have become a source of tension in a politically divided Washington that could possibly see parts of the government shut down without an annual budget in place. Republican lawmakers and the White House agreed last June to temporarily lift the nation's debt limit, staving off the risk of what would be a historic default. That agreement lasts until January 2025. Here are some answers to questions about the new record national debt. HOW DID THE NATIONAL DEBT HIT USD 34 TRILLION? The national debt eclipsed USD 34 trillion several years sooner than pre-pandemic projections. The Congressional Budget Office's January 2020 projections had gross federal debt eclipsing USD 34 trillion in fiscal year 2029. B

Harvard Prez Claudine Gay resigns amid backlash over antisemitism testimony

Harvard University President Claudine Gay resigned on Tuesday amid plagiarism accusations and criticism over testimony at a congressional hearing where she was unable to say unequivocally that calls on campus for the genocide of Jews would violate the school's conduct policy. Gay announced her departure, which came just months into her tenure, in a letter to the Harvard community. She and the presidents of MIT and the University of Pennsylvania came under fire last month for their lawyerly answers to a line of questioning from New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, who asked whether calling for the genocide of Jews would violate the colleges' code of conduct. The three presidents had been called before the Republican-led House Committee on Education and the Workforce to answer accusations that universities were failing to protect Jewish students amid rising fears of antisemitism worldwide and fallout from Israel's intensifying war in Gaza, which faces heightened criticism for the mounting ...