Page 2 - United States Government

Missing American citizen's body found in Himachal's Lahaul and Spiti

Three days after an American citizen went missing, his body was recovered in a ravine between Kee and Tashigang in Himachal Pradesh's Lahaul and Spiti district on Sunday, police said. Trevor Bokstaahlar (31) went missing on Thursday during his visit to the Spiti Valley, following which a search team was constituted, they said. According to the police, the team conducted searches at various areas of Kaza and recovered a motorcycle rented by the deceased near a deserted area close to Tashigang, but no further clues were found. A day later, with the assistance of the Dogra Regiment of the Army, a drone on Friday identified a parachute stuck in a deep ravine between Kee and Tashigang, they said. The police suspected the parachute belonged to Trevor, who was a base jumper, Superintendent of Police (SP) Lahaul and Spiti, Mayank Chaudhary said. Consequently, teams from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), trained in such rescue operations and ..

Biden to nominate Romero as FDIC chair post abrupt departure of predecessor

President Joe Biden will nominate Christy Goldsmith Romero to replace Martin Greunberg as head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, after Gruenberg's tenure became marred by allegations of workplace abuse that led to him to resign. Goldsmith Romero is currently a commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the nation's financial derivatives regulator. Gruenberg last month said he would resign from the FDIC, after an independent report by law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton found incidents of stalking, harassment, homophobia and other violations of employment regulations, based on more than 500 complaints from employees. Complaints included a woman who said she was stalked by a coworker and continually harassed even after complaining about his behaviour; a field office supervisor referring to gay men as little girls; and a female field examiner who described receiving a picture of an FDIC senior examiner's private parts. The FDIC is one of several US ...

White House close to naming Romero as FDIC head, replaces Martin Gruenberg

Goldsmith Romero, 53, has a background in enforcement and has led major actions against Wall Street banks and other financial firms during her career

Hunter Biden's gun trial nears end after testimony about his drug use

The criminal trial of President Joe Biden's son heads into its final stretch Monday as the defense tries to chip away at prosecutors' case laying bare some of the darkest moments of Hunter Biden's drug-fuelled past. Hunter Biden's lawyers could call at least one more witness when the case resumes in Delaware's federal court the first of two trials he's facing in the midst of his father's re-election campaign. It's unclear whether prosecutors will call any rebuttal witnesses before the case goes to closing arguments, and then to the jury. Hunter Biden is charged with three felonies stemming from the October 2018 purchase of a gun he had for about 11 days. Prosecutors say he lied on a mandatory gun-purchase form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs. Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty and has accused the Justice Department of bending to political pressure from former President Donald Trump and other Republicans to bring the case and separate tax charges after a

Aid is delivered to Gaza from newly repaired US-built pier, says official

Badly needed aid has been delivered into Gaza from a newly repaired American-built pier, a U.S. official said Saturday, following problems that had plagued the effort to bring supplies to Palestinians by sea. The pier constructed by the American military was only operational for about a week before it was blown apart in high winds and heavy seas on May 25. The damaged section was reconnected to the beach in Gaza on Friday after undergoing repairs at an Israeli port. Crews delivered about 1.1 million pounds (492 metric tons) of humanitarian aid to Gaza via the pier on Saturday, the U.S. official said. They spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of an official announcement of the delivery. It came the same day that Israel mounted a heavy air and ground assault that rescued four hostages, who had been taken by Hamas during the October 7 assault that launched the war in Gaza. At least 210 Palestinians, including children, were killed, a Gaza health official said. It brings back online o

US job growth to remain at moderate pace in May, wage gains hold steady

The Labour Department's closely watched employment report on Friday is also expected to show the unemployment rate remained below 4 per cent for the 28th straight month

Prosecutors present Hunter Biden's memoir audio, laptop in gun trial

Federal prosecutors on Tuesday painted President Joe Biden's son Hunter as deceptive and driven by addiction, a man whose dark habits ensnared loved ones and who knew what he was doing when he lied on federal forms to purchase a gun in 2018. Meanwhile, Hunter Biden's attorney argued that his client did not believe he was in the throes of addiction when he stated in the paperwork that he did not have a drug problem. And he did nothing with the gun in the short time he had it, attorney Abbe Lowell said in opening statements. You will see that he is not guilty, Lowell said. Hunter Biden has been charged with three felonies stemming from the purchase of the Colt revolver when he was, according to his memoir, addicted to crack. He has been accused of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally having the gun for 11 days. The case is dredging up painful memories for the president and his family, and ...

Trump supporters call for riots, violent retribution after guilty verdict

Some called for attacks on jurors, the execution of the judge, Justice Juan Merchan, or outright civil war and armed insurrection

US slows licence approvals for AI chip exports to prevent resale to China

The United States Commerce Department extended chip export restrictions to include much of West Asia, along with China and other foreign countries, in October

Key moments in Donald Trump's trial that led to the guilty verdict

Jury found Trump guilty on 34 false-records counts determined he broke the law

Hunter Biden's lawyers expected in court for hearing before gun trial

Attorneys for Hunter Biden are due in court Friday for the final hearing before the president's son is expected to stand trial on federal firearms charges in Delaware as his father's reelection campaign unfolds. Hunter Biden is charged with lying about his drug use in October 2018 on a form to buy a gun that he kept for about 11 days in Delaware. He has acknowledged an addiction to crack cocaine during that period, but his lawyers have said he didn't break the law and the case is politically motivated. The two sides have been arguing in court documents about evidence in the case, including contents from a laptop that he allegedly dropped off at a Delaware repair shop. Defense attorneys question the authenticity of the laptop's data in court documents, but prosecutors say there's no evidence the data has been compromised and that a drawn-out fight over it at trial would be a waste of time. The laptop has been the source of controversy for years after Republicans accessed and ...

Hunter Biden seeks delay in federal tax trial set to begin in LA next month

Hunter Biden's lawyers will press a judge on Wednesday to delay his trial that's set to begin next month in Los Angeles on charges that he schemed to avoid paying USD 1.4 million in taxes. The president's son is seeking to push the June 20 trial date back until at least September, noting that he is also scheduled to stand trial in Delaware beginning June 3 on federal firearms charges. He has pleaded not guilty to both indictments brought by Justice Department special counsel David Weiss, which he has claimed are politically motivated. His attorneys say they cannot adequately prepare for both trials at the same time, and have sought delays and dismissals in both cases. If Judge Mark C. Scarsi denies his bid to delay the California case, Hunter Biden could be headed to trial in two federal cases on opposite coasts next month as President Joe Biden campaigns for reelection. Scarsi, who was appointed to the bench by former President Donald Trump, will hear arguments on the request, .

US Prez Biden signs sweeping aviation safety, reform bill into law

Biden has repeatedly clashed with air carriers, calling for new stricter consumer rules and harshly criticizing them for imposing fees

Trump presidency to risk $1 trn in clean energy investment, says WoodMac

This election cycle will really influence the pace of energy investment, both in the next five years and through 2050

Russia will have to increase missile arsenal to deter West, says diplomat

Russia has ramped up weapons production and is now forecast by the United States to manufacture this year more artillery than all of Nato's 32 members combined

'Regularly working' with India in probe on alleged plot to kill Pannun: US

The United States is "regularly working" with India in its investigation into the allegations related to the plot to assassinate Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US State Department official has said. The remarks by US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel came after The Washington Post, citing unnamed sources, named a Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officer in connection with the alleged plot to kill Pannun on American soil last year. India on Tuesday strongly rejected the claims, saying that the report made "unwarranted and unsubstantiated" imputations on a serious matter and that an investigation into the case was underway. Addressing his daily news conference on Tuesday, Patel said, We continue to expect accountability from the Government of India based on the results of the Indian inquiry committee's work, and we are regularly working with them and enquiring for additional updates. We'll also continue to raise our concerns directly with

US NSA Jake Sullivan's visit to India postponed for second time this year

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has postponed his visit to India this week in view of the evolving situation in West Asia following escalating hostilities between Israel and Iran. It was the second time this year that Sullivan deferred his trip to India. The senior Biden administration official was scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval on the progress in implementation of the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET), besides other issues. "Due to ongoing events in the Middle East, NSA Sullivan has postponed his trip to India this week," a US embassy spokesperson said. West Asia has been reeling under increasing tensions after Iran carried out the first direct attack on Israel by firing hundreds of drones and missiles early Sunday. Iran carried out the attack on Israel in response to a suspected Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus on April 1 that killed seven Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards includ

Baltimore bridge collapse probe picks up speed as divers recover 2 bodies

Investigators began collecting evidence from the cargo ship that plowed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge and caused its collapse, while in the waters below divers searched through twisted metal for six construction workers who plunged into the harbour. The bodies of two were recovered Wednesday, and the others were presumed dead. The bodies of the two men, aged 35 and 26, were located by divers inside a red pickup submerged in about 25 feet of water near the bridge's middle span, Col Roland L Butler Jr, superintendent of Maryland State Police, announced at an evening news conference. The victims were from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, Butler said. The investigation picked up speed as the Baltimore region reeled from the sudden loss of a major transportation link that's part of the highway loop around the city. The disaster also closed the port that is vital to the city's shipping industry. Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board boarded the s

Debt damper

High US govt debt can increase risks

Protest-vote movement over US' handling of Hamas war spreads across states

The protest-vote movement over President Joe Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war has spread to several states and raised more questions about whether a small but significant number of Democrats angry at Biden might abandon him in November. A week after 101,000 Michigan voters chose uncommitted on their ballots, so did roughly 263,000 voters in the five Super Tuesday states where similar ballot options were available. Minnesota, which had the most organized effort outside of Michigan, saw 1 in 5 Democratic voters mark the uncommitted option, a higher percentage than the 13% who voted uncommitted in Michigan. Organizers are watching the state of Washington's primary on Tuesday to see how many voters select uncommitted. And a Leave It Blank campaign has formed for Georgia's Tuesday primary that's intended to have the same effect, as is a uninstructed vote in Wisconsin's April 2 primary. Supporters of the protest argue anger over the war could endanger Biden's chances in swing stat