Tag Archives: United States

PBS NewsHour reports: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make the case Tuesday that the United States should immediately send aid to Israel and Ukraine, testifying at a Senate hearing as the administration’s massive $105 billion emergency aid request for conflicts in those countries and others has already hit roadblocks in the divided Congress. President …

The Washington Post reports: The Biden administration is preparing for the possibility that hundreds of thousands of American citizens will require evacuation from the Middle East if the bloodshed in Gaza cannot be contained, according to four officials familiar with the U.S. government’s contingency planning. The specter of such an operation comes as Israeli forces, aided by U.S. weapons and …

Via press release from the White House: Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada, President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy, and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom spoke regarding the ongoing conflict between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas. The leaders reiterated their support for …

Politico reports: The Pentagon will send ships and aircraft closer to Israel, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Sunday, demonstrating a major show of force a day after Hamas militants launched attacks across southern Israel. The closest U.S. Navy assets are the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford and its carrier strike group, which is currently deployed to the Mediterranean Sea. The …

The Hill reports: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. stands squarely by Israel and will ensure it “has what it needs to defend itself” after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war against Palestinian militants that launched a surprise attack on his country. Austin said in a statement he was “closely monitoring developments in Israel” and extended his condolences …

The Associated Press reports: In U.S. religion today, “the most important story without a shadow of a doubt is the unbelievable rise in the share of Americans who are nonreligious,” said Ryan Burge, a political science professor at Eastern Illinois University and author of “The Nones,” a book on the phenomenon. The nones account for a large portion of Americans, …

CNN reports: North Korea has decided “to expel” US Army Private Travis King, who had crossed into the North from South Korea during a tour of the joint security area in July, state media KCNA reported on Wednesday. “The relevant organ of the DPRK decided to expel Travis King, a soldier of the U.S. Army who illegally intruded into the …

CNN reports: Five Americans who had been imprisoned in Iran have been freed and have landed in Doha, Qatar, before flying to the United States later on Monday. The five, all of whom had been designated as wrongfully detained, were freed as part of a wider deal that includes the US unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian funds. They are being …

The Associated Press reports: Concern for U.S. democracy amid deep national polarization has prompted the entities supporting 13 presidential libraries dating back to Herbert Hoover to call for a re-commttment to the country’s bedrock principles, including the rule of law and respecting a diversity of beliefs. The statement released Thursday, the first time the libraries have joined to make such …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis has blasted the “backwardness” of some conservatives in the U.S. Catholic Church, saying they have replaced faith with ideology and that a correct understanding of Catholic doctrine allows for change over time. Francis’ comments were an acknowledgment of the divisions in the U.S. Catholic Church, which has been split between progressives and conservatives who …

CNN Sports reports: Heartbreak for the US and the three-peat dream has come to an end. After dominating most of the match, the US is beaten by Sweden in a penalty shootout. US forward Sophia Smith had the chance to win it for the two-time reigning champion, but was made to rue her missed spot-kick. To make the defeat more …

Axios reports: U.S. passport holders used to embarking on European vacations without much additional paperwork will soon see that change. New travel rules announced by the EU dictate that travelers from 60 visa-free countries will need to get a new authorization via the European Travel Information and Authorization System starting in 2024. The new rules will apply to travelers from …

The New York Times reports: The Biden administration is hunting for malicious computer code it believes China has hidden deep inside the networks controlling power grids, communications systems and water supplies that feed military bases in the United States and around the world, according to American military, intelligence and national security officials. The discovery of the malware has raised fears …

The Associated Press reports: Compared with the devil, angels carry more credence in America. Angels even get more credence than, well, hell. In fact, about 7 in 10 U.S. adults say they believe in angels, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. American’s belief in angels (69%) is about on par with belief …

Bloomberg News reports: PJM Interconnection LLC has declared a level one emergency for the 13-state eastern US grid and called on all power plants to operate at full capacity Thursday during a heat wave. The largest US grid issued an Energy Emergency Alert level one, meaning it is concerned about being able to maintain adequate power reserves on July 27 …

The Associated Press reports: The American-led U.N. Command said Monday it has started a conversation with North Korea about a U.S. soldier who ran into the North last week across one of the world’s most heavily fortified borders. Andrew Harrison, a British lieutenant general who is the deputy commander at the U.N. Command, refused to say when the conversation started, …

The Associated Press reports: North Korea hasn’t responded to U.S. attempts to discuss the American soldier who bolted across the heavily armed border, officials in Washington said, underscoring that the serviceman’s prospects for a quick release are unclear at a time of high tensions and inactive communication channels. Pvt. Travis King, who was supposed to be on his way to …

Reuters reports: The U.S. military was scrambling on Wednesday to determine the fate of an American soldier who made an unauthorised crossing of the inter-Korean border into North Korea, throwing Washington into a new crisis in its dealing with the nuclear-armed state. The U.S. Army identified the soldier as Private Travis T. King who joined in 2021 and was facing …

The Washington Post reports: North Korean officials have detained a U.S. national who crossed into the country through the demarcation zone without authorization, a United Nations body responsible for ensuring security on the inter-Korean border reported Tuesday. The person detained is a U.S. Army soldier, according to two U.S. officials. One of the officials said the soldier was scheduled on …

The Associated Press reports: An American has crossed the heavily fortified border from South Korea into North Korea, the American-led U.N. Command overseeing the area said Tuesday, amid heightened tensions over North Korea’s nuclear program. The U.N. Command tweeted that the U.S. citizen was on a tour to the Korean border village of Panmunjom and crossed the border into the …