Page 9 - Us President

Here's why US flags are being flown at half-staff on Inauguration Day

President-elect Donald Trump has expressed frustration that flags will be flying at half-staff when he takes office later this month. It's an action put in place by President Joe Biden to honour the late President Jimmy Carter, who died Sunday at 100. It's not a timeline that Trump can do anything about until after he takes office. Here's what to know about why flags are lowered when a president dies, who can issue that order and how long the process lasts: Why are US flags being flown at half-staff? On Sunday, Biden ordered that US flags be flown at half-staff in honour of the late former president. It's an honor that indicates that the country or a state is in mourning. The US flag code lays out parameters for lowering the US flag to half-staff, including a 30-day period for current or former presidents to cover flags at federal government buildings and their grounds, as well as at US embassies and other facilities abroad, including military installations and vessels. Flags ca

No jail time: Judge sets Trump's sentencing in hush money case for Jan 10

In an extraordinary turn, a judge Friday set President-elect Donald Trump's sentencing in his hush money case for January 10 little over a week before he's due to return to the White House but indicated he wouldn't be jailed. The development nevertheless leaves Trump on course to be the first president to take office convicted of felony crimes. Judge Juan M Merchan, who presided over Trump's trial, signalled in a written decision that he'd sentence the former and future president to what's known as a conditional discharge, in which a case gets dismissed if a defendant avoids rearrest. Merchan rejected Trump's push to dismiss the verdict and throw out the case on presidential immunity grounds and because of his impending return to the White House. The judge said he found no legal impediment to sentencing Trump and that it was incumbent on him to sentence Trump prior to his swearing in on January 20. Only by bringing finality to this matter will the interests of justice be served,

Donald Trump slams Democrats over New Orleans car-ramming incident

The incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday (local time) on Bourbon Street in New Orleans' historic French Quarter

Zelenskyy confident of Trump's capability of ending Putin's aggression

Ukrainian President further emphasised the nation's commitment to bringing its people back home and spoke about the 189 Ukrainians who were recently freed

Social media companies face global tug-of-war over free speech

"The censorship and advertising boycott cartel must end now!" Elon Musk, the owner of X, whom Trump has appointed to cut the federal budget, posted on his site last month

Jimmy Carter funeral services to be held across Georgia, Washington DC

Funeral services honouring former President Jimmy Carter, who died Sunday at age 100, will be held in Georgia and Washington, DC, beginning Saturday, January 4, and concluding Thursday, January 9. Here's a list of events, as provided by the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region. All times are Eastern Standard. SATURDAY, JANUARY 4 The state funeral begins with the arrival of the Carter family at Phoebe Sumter Medical Centre in Americus, Georgia, at 10:15 a.m. Current and former Secret Service agents will carry Carter's remains to the hearse and walk alongside the hearse as the motorcade departs from the medical centre. The motorcade then travels through Carter's hometown of Plains, Georgia, for a brief pause in front of his family's farm at 10:50 a.m. During the pause, the National Park Service will ring the historic farm bell 39 times. The motorcade to Atlanta resumes at 10:55 a.m. It will stop at Georgia's State Capitol for a moment of silence at 3 p.m. Carter's remains will t

How American presidents have planned their own funerals over the years

Jimmy Carter's memorial journey will end at his house in the tiny town of Plains, Georgia, where he grew up on a peanut farm. That is where his wife, Rosalynn, was laid to rest last year in a burial plot that they chose years ago. But before Carter reaches his humble final destination, there will be an interstate choreography of grief, ceremony and logistics that is characteristic of state funerals. Ever since the nation's founding, America has bid farewell to former presidents with an intricate series of events weaving together longstanding traditions and personal touches. Funerals often are planned by the presidents themselves, who usually have years after leaving the White House to ponder how they want to be memorialised. They are very much involved in the planning process, and the decisions that they make tell us a lot about who they are, how they see the presidency, and how they want to be remembered by the American people, said Matthew Costello, senior historian for the White

The time when 'carpenter' Carter helped build 100 houses near Lonavala

For 100 low-income families near Lonavala, around 80 km from Mumbai, Jimmy Carter was a godsend as he had helped build their houses in 2006. For a week in October that year, the former US President and his wife Rosalynn worked alongside the families and about 2,000 international and local volunteers to build homes at Patan village near Lonavala, a popular hill station. The volunteers included Hollywood actor Brad Pitt and Bollywood actor John Abraham. The houses were built under the aegis of NGO Habitat for Humanity. Carter volunteered his carpentry skills and raised money to boost the organization's profile. Since 1984, Carter donated one week of his time and his building skills every year to the organization. Carter, who left the White House in 1980 at the end of his first and only term as US President, had said in an interview that his mother Lillian joined the Peace Corps when she was 67 and worked in a leper colony near Mumbai. "She was very near Bombay in a little village

Statesman of great vision: PM Modi expresses grief over Carter's demise

In 1978, Jimmy Carter travelled to India as US President. He met India's then-President Neelam Sanjiva Reddy and then-Prime Minister Morarji Desai

Why a village in Haryana was renamed after former US President Jimmy Carter

Former US president Jimmy Carter had a personal connection with a Haryana village 'Daulatpur Nasirabad' where his mother had worked as a healthcare volunteer during the late 1960s

Jimmy Carter's foreign policy legacy grew stronger after leaving WH

Carter, a devout Christian, maximised his personal relationships with former world leaders to promote democracy and human rights

Jimmy Carter: Peanut farmer who reached White House, passes away at 100

The longest-living former US president ever, Carter had opted in early 2023 to spend his remaining time at his home in Plains receiving hospice care

World leaders mourn passing of longest-serving former US Prez Jimmy Carter

According to the Carter Center's statement from February 2023, after a series of hospital stays, the former US President decided to stop further medical treatment and spend his remaining time at home

Ex-US Prez Jimmy Carter passes away, to receive state funeral, says Biden

While the White House didn't immediately announce specific plans, state funerals for presidents usually include lying in state at the US Capitol and a memorial service

Trump asks SC to delay TikTok ban so he can weigh in after he takes office

US President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Friday to pause the potential TikTok ban from going into effect until his administration can pursue a political resolution to the issue. The request came as TikTok and the Biden administration filed opposing briefs to the court, in which the company argued the court should strike down a law that could ban the platform by Jan 19 while the government emphasised its position that the statute is needed to eliminate a national security risk. President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute. Instead, he respectfully requests that the Court consider staying the Act's deadline for divestment of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case, said Trump's amicus brief, which supported neither party in the case and was written by D John Sauer, Trump's choice for solicitor general. The argument submitted to the court is the latest example of Trump inserting himself in national issues before he ..

Europe braces for Trump's return: Trade, defence, and tech challenges loom

On security, a truly defence-ready Europe still looks a distant prospect even after the biggest full-scale conflict on home soil since 1945

Apple approaches $4 trillion valuation as investors bet on AI momentum

The company has pulled ahead of Nvidia and Microsoft in the race to the monumental milestone, thanks to an about 16% jump in shares since early November that has added about $500 billion to its market

Biden commutes 37 federal death sentences in latest use of pardon power

Of the 40 men on federal Death Row in Terre Haute, Indiana, 18 are White, 15 are Black, six are Latino and one is Asian. At least nine of the spared convicts were on death row for killing

US Prez Biden signs govt funding legislation, averts shutdown crisis

President Joe Biden on Saturday signed legislation that averts a government shutdown heading into Christmas, bringing a final close to days of upheaval in Washington after Congress passed a bipartisan budget plan just past the deadline and rejected Donald Trump's core demand in the negotiations. The deal funds the government at current levels through March 14 and provides USD 100 billion in disaster aid and USD 10 billion in agricultural assistance to farmers. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had insisted lawmakers would meet our obligations and not allow federal operations to close. But the outcome at the end of a tumultuous week was uncertain after Trump had insisted the deal include an increase in the government's borrowing limit. If not, he had said, then let the closures start now. Johnson's revised plan was approved 366-34, and it was passed by the Senate by a 85-11 vote after midnight. By then, the White House said it had ceased shutdown preparations. There will be no ...

Crypto companies Kraken, Ripple, Ondo donate to Trump's inauguration

Coinbase donated $1 million to the Trump-Vance inauguration committee before the election results were known, according to the company