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Trump indicted: What is an indictment? Here's everything you need to know

The indictment is one of several legal issues Trump faces, including an investigation by the Atlanta DA and a federal special counsel probe

Donald Trump's New York indictment leads string of potential legal woes

The indictment in New York won't stop federal and state prosecutors in other jurisdictions from bringing their own charges

Donald Trump indicted in New York over hush money paid to porn star

Trump said in a statement that the indictment amounts to "political persecution" and "election interference at the highest level in history."

US nominee Ajay Banga poised to become World Bank chief unopposed

Indian-American business leader Ajay Banga is poised to become the next President of the World Bank which on Thursday said he is the sole nominee for the post as no other candidates were nominated. The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors will interview Banga before he is formally appointed. In February, President Joe Biden announced that the US would be nominating Banga to lead the World Bank because he is "well equipped" to lead the global institution at "this critical moment in history." The World Bank on Wednesday closed a month-long window for nominations for its next president, with no alternatives announced to 63-year-old Banga. Banga is the only application received for the position of president of the World Bank, the financial institution said. The Board received one nomination and would like to announce that Mr Ajay Banga, a US national, will be considered for the position, the bank said. In accordance with established procedures, the Board of Executive Directors w

9 killed in Army Black Hawk helicopter crash in Kentucky, says report

Nine people were killed in a crash involving two Army Black Hawk helicopters in Kentucky, a military spokesperson said. Nondice Thurman, a spokesperson for Fort Campbell, said Thursday morning that the deaths happened the previous night in southwestern Kentucky during a routine training mission. A statement from Fort Campbell says the two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, part of the 101st Airborne Division, crashed around 10 p.m. Wednesday in Trigg County, Kentucky. The 101st Airborne confirmed the crash about 30 mile (48 kilometres) northwest of Fort Campbell. The crash is under investigation. Right now our focus is on the Soldiers and their families who were involved, the statement added. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear had said earlier that fatalities were expected, adding that police and emergency officials were responding. The crash occurred in a field, some wooded area, Kentucky State Police Trooper Sarah Burgess said at a news briefing. At this time, there are no reports of residen

US Pres Biden won't veto Republican-led bill ending Covid emergency

President Joe Biden won't veto a Republican-led measure to end the national COVID emergency, despite having expressed strong objections against it earlier this year, ensuring the bill is on an easy path to becoming law. It marks the second time in the new Congress that the Biden administration has signalled opposition to a Republican measure, rallying most Democrats in Congress to vote against it, only to soften its stance and let the legislation eventually become law. Just weeks ago, Biden stunned many fellow Democrats when he declined to veto a Republican-led bill to upend a new criminal code for the District of Columbia he and others in the president's party opposed, allowing the GOP's tough-on-crime push into the local government to become law. Republicans celebrated the turn of events Wednesday as a sign of their newfound influence in divided Washington, while Democrats quietly complained that the Biden administration had shifted its views. But the White House stood firm, and

US: TikTok ban pushed by Missouri's Josh Hawley blocked in Senate

Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley tried to force a Senate vote Wednesday on legislation that would ban TikTok from operating in the United States, but he was blocked by a fellow Republican as lawmakers in both chambers are still trying to figure out what action, if any, is appropriate against the social media app. In trying to force a vote a move that rarely works in the Senate, since one senator's objection can block it Hawley called TikTok digital fentanyl and argued it could give the Chinese government access to data from 150 million American users. His bill would block and prohibit U.S. transactions with TikTok's parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd., within 30 days. The bill sends the message to Communist China that you cannot buy us, Hawley said. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky objected to Hawley's motion, arguing that trying to ban an app would violate the Constitution and anger the millions of voters who use it. Speech is protected whether you like it or not, Paul ..

Biden admin backs international court for Russia's war crimes in Ukraine

The Biden administration is offering support for the creation of an international court to prosecute alleged crimes of aggression by Russia against Ukraine. In comments this week, senior U.S. officials said the administration believes that would be the best way to hold Russia accountable for its year-old invasion. However, they also acknowledge that the prospects for a court to actually take custody of any Russian official for trial are slim. The United States supports the development of a special tribunal on the crime of aggression against Ukraine in the form of an internationalized court that is rooted in Ukraine's judicial system, with international elements, the State Department said in comments emailed to reporters. The officials said they envision a hybrid tribunal based on the Ukrainian justice system but with international components similar to previous ad hoc war crimes courts set up for Cambodia, Chad, the Central African Republic and Bosnia and likely based in The Hague

Yellen rejects World Bank capital increase; no challengers to US nominee

"We do want to see better mobilization of private resources alongside World Bank investments as well, but we're not requesting a capital increase at this time," she added

World 'turning the tide' toward democracy, says US President Biden

Efforts to strengthen democracies around the globe are working and the world is turning the tide towards greater freedom, US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday as he sought to assure that democratic institutions work. Addressing his second global summit on democracy, Biden also announced that the US intends to commit USD 9.5 billion to advance democracy around the world. At the time of the first summit in December of 2021, the sentiment in too many places around the world was that democracy's best days were behind. Democracy had declined by some measures for 15 consecutive years. But this year, we can say there's a different story to tell, Biden said. Thanks to the commitment, thanks to the commitment of leaders of global -- gathered today and the persistence of people in every region of the world demanding their rights be respected and their voices being heard, we're seeing real indications, real indications that we're turning the tide here, he said. Biden led a virtual summit

Kevin McCarthy presses Joe Biden to negotiate debt ceiling impasse

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said on Tuesday he's increasingly concerned about President Joe Biden's unwillingness to negotiate on lifting the nation's borrowing authority, saying in a letter to the president that the White House position could "hold dire ramifications for the entire nation. Rather than open direct talks on the debt ceiling, which the Democrats agree must be raised, Biden and his party's lawmakers are challenging Republicans to publicly present their own budget proposals something McCarthy has so far declined to do. For now, the Treasury Department has resorted to extraordinary measures to avoid default on the nation's USD 31.4 trillion borrowing authority. But those measures will run out and put the US at risk of being unable to pay all of its bills possibly as early as June. The White House has emphasised that Biden is not willing to entertain proposed cuts in programmes simply in exchange for lifting the debt limit. But McCarthy and Republicans are

Nashville school shooter bought 7 guns before attack, says police

The person who killed three children and three adults at a Christian school in Nashville legally bought seven firearms in recent years and hid the guns from their parents before the attack, police said on Tuesday. The violence on Monday at The Covenant School is the latest school shooting to roil the nation. Three 9-year-old students were killed, as well as the head of the grade school, a custodian and a substitute teacher. The suspect, Audrey Hale, 28, was a former student at the school. Police said the shooter did not target specific victims. Authorities said Hale was not on their radar before the attack. Police say Hale was under a doctor's care for an undisclosed emotional disorder. Police have released videos of the shooting, including edited surveillance footage that shows the shooter's car driving up to the school, glass doors being shot out and the shooter ducking through one of them. Additional video, from Officer Rex Engelbert's bodycam, shows a woman greeting police out

US labour activists push for $20 per hr minimum wage as inflation persists

Just years after labour activists persuaded a handful of states to raise their minimum wage to USD 15 per hour, workers initially thrilled with the pay bump are finding their hard-won gains erased by inflation. New York City resident Anthony Rivera, 20, who sorts packages at a United Parcel Service facility in Brooklyn, said he had to take a second job at a grocery store after his food costs soared. I was sitting at USD 15 an hour at UPS, and when it came to paying bills and buying groceries, it was starting to become not enough, he said. That led me to no other option than to pick up another job. New York, California and Massachusetts are among states where pro-labour forces are now pushing proposals that, if approved, would boost minimum wages to USD 20 or more in the coming years. Inflation has meant that something that cost USD 15 in 2012 when labour activists adopted the Fight for USD 15 slogan in a push for wage hikes would probably cost almost USD 20 today, according to th

Microsoft lays off 559 employees as Seattle-area job cuts top 2,700

Microsoft has laid off 559 employees from its Bellevue and Redmond in Washington state in the US, bringing the company's total to over 2,700 job cuts in the area

Grand jury in Trump hush-money case to resume session on April 3: Reports

The payment of $130,000 was said to be used to prevent Daniels from going public about an alleged sexual encounter that she had with Trump in 2006

Wrong to assume fired H1B staffers have to leave country: USCIS director

Amid mass layoffs in the tech sector, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has said it is wrong to assume that fired workers holding H-1B visa has to leave the country within 60 days and that they have multiple options to stay. In a letter to the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies, USCIS Director Ur M Jaddou said, "When non-immigrant workers are laid off, they may not be aware of their options and may, in some instances, wrongly assume that they have no option but to leave the country within 60 days." The Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies(FIIDS), which has been working for laid-off H-1B visa holders, had recently written to USCIS about the impacts of recent technology sector layoffs and sought an increase to the up to 60-day grace period. In the letter addressed to FIIDS director for policy and analysis strategy Khanderao Kand, the USCIS said it acknowledges the financial and emotional impact that job loss can have on employment-based ...

H-1B visa cap for FY 2024 reached, successful applicants informed: USCIS

The H-1B visa cap for the financial year 2024, beginning October 1, has been reached and all successful applicants have been informed about it, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services has said. In a statement on Monday, the federal agency said it has received enough electronic registrations during the initial period to reach the fiscal year 2024 H-1B numerical allocations (H-1B cap), including the advanced degree exemption -- the master's cap. "We have randomly selected from the registrations properly submitted to reach the cap and have notified all prospective petitioners with selected registrations that they are eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for the beneficiary named in the applicable selected registration," it said. H-1B cap-subject petitions for the financial year 2024, including those petitions eligible for the advanced degree exemption, may be filed with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from April 1, 2023, if based on a valid, selected ..

Washington watching Rahul Gandhi's case in Indian courts: US official

The United States is watching the court case of Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, an official has said while observing that Washington continues to engage with India on the shared commitment towards democratic principles and the protection of human rights, including freedom of expression. Gandhi was on March 23 sentenced to two years in jail by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his "why all thieves have Modi surname" remark. A day later, he was disqualified from the Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction in the case. "Respect for the rule of law and judicial independence is a cornerstone of any democracy. We are watching Mr Gandhi's case in Indian courts and we engage with the Government of India on our shared commitment to democratic values, including, freedom of expression," the State Department's Deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters at a news conference on Monday. "In our engagements with our Indian partners, we continue to highlight the ...

South Dakota Guv Noem's veto of cryptocurrency regulations upheld

South Dakota's House failed on Monday to override Gov. Kristi Noem's recent veto of a bill that would have created government regulations for the use of cryptocurrency in the state. The bill had passed smoothly throughout the legislature, and Noem's veto of last week was upheld on a 37-30 vote. Proponents had argued the bill would have centralized different cryptocurrency systems through one government oversight commission, boosting transparency. But opponents saw the proposed regulations as a tool for potential government surveillance and overreach, saying they wanted more time to see how such legislation fares in other states. Six other states have passed the Uniform Commercial Code's update, which requires tangible records of cryptocurrency exchanges so that they can be considered money. National commercial standards aim to regulate digital currency exchanges by adding transaction records, but Noem said such a step would take away from South Dakotans' market freedoms. It would b

Train carrying 'hazardous' materials derails in US, no threat to public

In the latest toxic railway accident to hit the US, a train reportedly carrying hazardous materials derailed in North Dakota