United States

Gallup Polling reports: As Americans observe Ramadan and prepare to celebrate Easter and Passover, the percentage of adults who report regularly attending religious services remains low. Three in 10 Americans say they attend religious services every week (21%) or almost every week (9%), while 11% report attending about once a month and 56% seldom (25%) or never (31%) attend. Two …

The BBC reports: Julian Assange faces a further wait to see whether he can appeal against his extradition to the United States on 18 charges relating to the publication of sensitive intelligence. Two judges at the High Court in London said they would give the United States government three weeks to provide assurances that Mr Assange could rely on the …

The Washington Post reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday canceled a trip to Washington by an Israeli delegation of top officials after the United Nations Security Council passed its first resolution calling for a Gaza cease-fire. The United States abstained, allowing it to pass. The resolution, backed by 14 nations including China and Russia, demands an immediate cease-fire …

The Guardian reports: For the first time the UN security council has voted for a call for a ceasefire in Gaza, after the US abstained, rather than using its veto as it has done on previous occasions. Russia and China have also previously vetoed texts. The resolution that passed was written by the 10 elected members to the council, and …

The Guardian reports: The US government is reported to be considering a plea deal offer to Julian Assange, allowing him to admit to a misdemeanor, but his lawyers say they have been “given no indication” Washington intends to change its approach. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the US justice department was looking at ways to cut short …

Reuters reports: Chinese military and state-run media on Sunday accused the United States of threatening global security, days after a Reuters report which found Elon Musk’s SpaceX was building hundreds of spy satellites for a U.S. intelligence agency. A social media account run by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said the SpaceX program exposed the United States’ “shamelessness and double …

The Daily Beast reports: The Russian ambassador to the United States says he plans to complain to American officials about security failings at the embassy in Washington, D.C. on Sunday as voters cast their ballots in the Russian presidential election. Anatoly Antanov told reporters that “traitors” were allowed “to block the entrance to the Russian embassy and interfere with Russian …

Reuters reports: Two years into office, President Donald Trump authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to launch a clandestine campaign on Chinese social media aimed at turning public opinion in China against its government, according to former U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the highly classified operation. Three former officials told Reuters that the CIA created a small team of operatives …

Gallup Polling reports: LGBTQ+ identification in the U.S. continues to grow, with 7.6% of U.S. adults now identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or some other sexual orientation besides heterosexual. The current figure is up from 5.6% four years ago and 3.5% in 2012. Bisexual adults make up the largest proportion of the LGBTQ+ population — 4.4% of U.S. …

The New York Times reports: The new congressionally mandated Pentagon report found no evidence that the government was covering up knowledge of extraterrestrial technology and said there was no evidence that any U.F.O. sightings represented alien visitation to Earth. The 63-page document is the most sweeping rebuttal the Pentagon has issued in recent years to counter claims that it has …

Reuters reports: The U.S. embassy in Russia warned that “extremists” had imminent plans for an attack in Moscow, hours after Russian security services said they had foiled a planned shooting at a synagogue by a cell from the Afghan arm of Islamic State. The embassy, which has repeatedly urged all U.S. citizens to leave Russia immediately, gave no further details …

Via press release from the White House: Today, I am honored to welcome Sweden as NATO’s 32nd Ally. 75 years ago—when the United States and 11 other nations came together to establish the North Atlantic Treaty Organization—President Truman said the Alliance, “would create a shield against aggression and fear of aggression.” Today, that shield—and transatlantic security—is stronger than ever with …

The Associated Press reports: U.S. military C-130 cargo planes on Saturday dropped food in pallets over Gaza, three U.S. officials said, two days after more than 100 Palestinians who had surged to pull goods off an aid convoy were killed during a chaotic encounter with Israeli troops. Three planes from Air Forces Central dropped 66 bundles containing about 38,000 meals …

Yahoo News reports: An unmanned, robotic lunar lander launched by a private U.S. company landed on the moon Thursday evening. “We can confirm, without a doubt, that our equipment is on the surface of the moon,” said Stephen Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines, the Houston-based company that operated the Odysseus spacecraft. “Welcome to the moon.” Altemus had estimated that Odysseus …

NBC News reports: President Joe Biden has directed his administration to impose major sanctions to hold Russia accountable for the death last week of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Tuesday that the sanctions package, which comes ahead of the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, will be announced on Friday. Kirby …

CNN reports: The United States has vetoed a resolution at the United Nations calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, an anticipated move that comes amid growing international clamor for Israel to pause its offensive against Hamas.  The US had already signaled its intention to veto the Algerian resolution, but has grown increasingly critical of Israel’s conduct in Gaza and …

Reuters reports: The United States has proposed a rival draft United Nations Security Council resolution that would underscore the body’s “support for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza as soon as practicable,” according to the text seen by Reuters on Monday. Washington has been averse to the word ceasefire in any U.N. action on the Israel-Hamas war, but the U.S. draft …

The Associated Press reports: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s fight to avoid facing spying charges in the United States may be nearing an end following a protracted legal saga in the U.K. that included seven years of self-exile inside a foreign embassy and five years in prison. Assange faces what could be his final court hearing in London starting Tuesday as …

The New York Times reports: The United States on Friday carried out a series of military strikes against Iran-backed militants in half a dozen sites in Iraq and Syria, according to a U.S. Defense Department official, marking a sharp escalation of the war in the Middle East that the Biden administration has for four months sought to avoid. President Biden …

NPR reports: When Americans are asked to check a box indicating their religious affiliation, 28% now check ‘none.’ A new study from Pew Research finds that the religiously unaffiliated – a group comprised of atheists, agnostic and those who say their religion is “nothing in particular” – is now the largest cohort in the U.S. They’re more prevalent among American …