Trump’s Social Security chief backs down from ‘shutting down’ agency
WASHINGTON -The head of the U.S. Social Security Administration has backed down from “shutting down the agency” after a federal judge rebuked him for misinterpreting a court ruling that limited billionaire Elon Musk’s access to agency information. The agency’s leader,…
Exclusive-Thousands of agents diverted to Trump immigration crackdown
WASHINGTON -Federal agents who usually hunt down child abusers are now cracking down on immigrants who live in the U.S. illegally. Homeland Security investigators who specialize in money laundering are raiding restaurants and other small businesses looking for immigrants who…
Chuck Schumer holds firm, rejecting calls to quit as top Senate Democrat
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Sunday dismissed calls from some Democratic lawmakers for him to step down as leader in the Senate over his approach to a recently passed government funding bill. Schumer sparked anger among Democrats last…
US equity funds’ weekly outflows surge to a three-month high on tariff concerns
US equity funds’ weekly outflows surge to a three-month high on tariff concerns(Reuters) – U.S. equity funds saw the largest net outflows in three months in the week through March 19 on worries about the impact of U.S. tariff policies…
Defying protests, Israeli cabinet votes no confidence in attorney general
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet approved a no confidence motion against the attorney general on Sunday, in its latest move on officials deemed hostile to the government, defying protesters who took to the streets for a sixth day. After…
Trump’s offer of talks with Iran aims to avoid military action, US envoy says
WASHINGTON -U.S. President Donald Trump’s outreach to Iran’s top authority, Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on a possible new nuclear deal is an effort to avoid military action, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday. “We don’t need to…
Exclusive-Thousands of agents diverted to Trump immigration crackdown
WASHINGTON – Federal agents who usually hunt down child abusers are now cracking down on immigrants who live in the U.S. illegally. Homeland Security investigators who specialize in money laundering are raiding restaurants and other small businesses looking for immigrants…
Anti-Musk protesters gather outside Tesla dealership in Washington
Roughly 100 people waved signs and danced in protest outside a Tesla dealership in Washington on Saturday, angry at the electric vehicle maker’s billionaire CEO Elon Musk, who has led efforts to sharply cut the federal workforce. Cars driving past…
US SEC to see exodus as hundreds take Trump’s buyout offers, sources say
WASHINGTON- Wall Street’s top regulator is facing an exodus of staff across key departments as hundreds of employees have agreed to take resignation offers amid President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s efforts to remake the U.S. government, five people familiar…
Elon Musk holds Pentagon meeting, wants leakers prosecuted
WASHINGTON- Billionaire Elon Musk held a meeting for more than an hour at the Pentagon on Friday morning as the close ally of President Donald Trump called for the prosecutions of any Pentagon officials leaking false information about his visit….
Columbia research takes immediate hit from Trump funding cuts
NEW YORK – The sudden shutdown of millions of dollars in federal funding to Columbia University this month is already disrupting medical and scientific research at the school as it confronts a Friday deadline to bow to government demands for…
FBI scales back staffing, tracking of domestic terrorism probes, sources say
WASHINGTON- The FBI has cut staffing in an office focused on domestic terrorism and has scrapped a tool used to track such investigations, in a shift that could undermine law enforcement’s ability to counter white supremacists and anti-government extremists, according…
Cryptocurrency firm founder pleads guilty in US to market manipulation scheme
BOSTON- The founder of a cryptocurrency financial services firm pleaded guilty on Friday to U.S. charges that he participated in a wide-ranging scheme to manipulate the market for digital tokens on behalf of client companies. Aleksei Andriunin, the founder and…
Trump awards Boeing much-needed win with F-47 fighter jet contract
WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump awarded Boeing on Friday the contract to build the U.S. Air Force’s most sophisticated fighter jet yet, dubbed the F-47, handing the company a much-needed win. The Next Generation Air Dominance program will replace…
Senate Democrats urge Trump to reverse Federal Trade Commission firings
More than two dozen Democratic U.S. senators called on President Donald Trump on Wednesday to rescind his termination of the two Democratic members of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota sent the letter to the…
Judge says Columbia protestor must remain in US for now, moves case to NJ
NEW YORK -A U.S. judge on Wednesday said Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil must remain in the United States for now, but moved his challenge to the legality of his arrest over his participation in pro-Palestinian protests to a court…
Foreign holdings of US Treasuries steady in January, data shows
Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasuries held steady in January, data from the Treasury Department showed on Wednesday. Holdings of U.S. Treasuries tallied at $8.526 trillion in January, unchanged from the previous month. Compared with a year earlier, Treasuries owned by…
Fed keeps policy rate outlook intact amid projected growth slowdown, temporary inflation jump
WASHINGTON-The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, as expected, but U.S. central bank policymakers indicated they still anticipate reducing borrowing costs by half a percentage point by the end of this year in the context of slowing economic…
USDA to begin disbursing economic aid to farmers amid low prices
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will on Wednesday begin accepting applications from farmers affected by low commodity prices for economic aid passed by Congress last year, an agency official said on Tuesday. The stop-gap government funding package passed by Congress…
Exclusive-Gates warns White House he can’t fill shortfalls in US global health funding
LONDON-Bill Gates is personally lobbying Trump administration officials to keep funding health programs worldwide, from childhood vaccination to HIV treatment, and warning that his foundation cannot step in to fill gaps, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The…