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14 dead as storms persist with deluges, mudslide threats in California

California saw little relief from drenching rains Tuesday as the latest in a relentless string of storms swamped roads, turned rivers into gushing flood zones and forced thousands of people to flee from towns with histories of deadly mudslides. At least 14 people have died since last week. The storm prompted a few tornado warnings early Tuesday and brought heavy snow to the Sierra Nevada a day after dumping up to 14 inches (36 centimeters) of rain at higher elevations in central and Southern California. Miles of Sierra highways were subject to chain requirements and closures due to whiteout conditions, and avalanche warnings were posted in the backcountry. The Eastern Sierra's Mammoth Mountain ski resort reported 4.5 to 5.5 feet (1.4-1.7 meters) of snow, with more expected. After a brief respite, another storm was expected to barrel into parts of the state beginning Wednesday, adding to the misery and further saturating areas already at risk of flooding. The storms threatened coast

US Supreme Court gives nod to WhatsApp lawsuit over 'Pegasus' spyware

The US Supreme Court has declined to block a WhatsApp lawsuit that alleged that Israeli spyware maker NSO Group unlawfully accessed WhatsApp servers when installing Pegasus on users' devices

US Justice Department reviews potentially classified docs at Biden center

The Justice Department is reviewing a batch of potentially classified documents found in the Washington office space of President Joe Biden's former institute, the White House said Monday. Special counsel to the president Richard Sauber said a small number of documents with classified markings were discovered as Biden's personal attorneys were clearing out the offices of the Penn Biden Center, where the president kept an office after he left the vice presidency in 2017 until shortly before he launched his 2020 presidential campaign in 2019. The documents were found on Nov. 2, 2022, in a locked closet in the office, Sauber said. Sauber said the attorneys immediately alerted the White House Counsel's office, who notified the National Archives and Records Administration which took custody of the documents the next day. Since that discovery, the President's personal attorneys have cooperated with the Archives and the Department of Justice in a process to ensure that any Obama-Biden ...

Samsung replaces IBM to gain top spot in 2022 US patent league table

Samsung has replaced the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) from its top spot in the number of patents registered in the US in 2022, which has been on the top for almost 29 years

Defunct US satellite could possibly fall on Korean Peninsula, its vicinity

The South Korean science ministry on Monday warned that a retired US satellite could possibly fall on the Korean Peninsula and its vicinity

Japanese PM Kishida highlights security concerns on trip to Europe, US

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida begins a weeklong trip Monday to strengthen military ties with Europe and Britain and bring into focus the Japan-U.S. alliance at a summit in Washington, as Japan breaks from its postwar restraint to take on more offensive roles with an eye toward China. Kishida's talks with U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday will highlight his five-nation tour that also takes him to France, Italy, Britain and Canada some of Group of Seven nations with which Japan has stepped up defence ties. His first stop is Paris on Monday. Kishida said his summit with Biden will underscore the strength of the Japan-U.S. alliance and how the two countries can work more closely under Japan's new security and defense strategies. Japan in December adopted key security and defense reforms, including a counterstrike capability that makes a break from the country's exclusively self-defense-only postwar principle. Japan says the current deployment of missile interceptors is ...

Indian-origin Manpreet Monica Singh becomes first female Sikh judge in US

Indian-origin Manpreet Monica Singh has been sworn in as a Harris county judge, becoming the first female Sikh judge in the US. Singh was born and raised in Houston and now lives in Bellaire with her husband and two children. She was sworn in as a judge of the Harris County Civil Court at Law No. 4 in Texas on Friday. Singh's father immigrated to the US in the early 1970s. A trial lawyer for 20 years, she has been involved in numerous civil rights organizations at the local, state, and national levels. "It means a lot to me because I represent H-town (a nickname of Houston) the most, so for it to be us, I'm happy for it," she said at the oath ceremony. Indian-American Judge Ravi Sandill, the state's first South Asian judge, presided over the ceremony, which took place in a packed courtroom. "It's a really big moment for the Sikh community," Sandill said. "When they see someone of color, someone a little different, they know that possibility is available to them. Manpreet is not

Cisco announces lays offs of nearly 700 employees in SF Bay Area in US

Networking giant Cisco has laid off nearly 700 positions in the Bay Area -- including 80 at its San Francisco offices.

Deadly storm inflicts widespread damage across North California in US

A dead storm battering northern California has inflicted widespread damage, with huge waves washing away walls of homes, in addition to mudslides, sinkholes and flooding reported across the region

Kevin McCarthy overcomes GOP rebellion to be elected House Speaker

After the longest series of speaker ballots since 1859, McCarthy had 216 votes in the final tally, enough to be elected to the post that is second in line for the presidency

US to send $3.75 billion in military aid to Ukraine, its NATO neighbours

The White House announced on Friday a new USD 3.75 billion military assistance package to help Ukraine and its neighbours on NATO's eastern flank as Russia's invasion of Ukraine grinds on. The latest tranche of assistance will include for the first time Bradley armoured vehicles for Ukraine. The armored carrier is used to transport troops to combat and is known as a tank-killer because of the anti-tank missile it can fire. The biggest US assistance package to date for Kyiv includes a USD 2.85 billion drawdown from the Pentagon's stocks that will be sent directly to Ukraine and USD 225 million in foreign military financing to build the long-term capacity and support modernisation of Ukraine's military, according to the White House. It also includes USD 682 million in foreign military financing for European allies to help backfill donations of military equipment they've made to Ukraine. The war is at a critical point and we must do everything we can to help the Ukrainians resist Russ

TikTok users in US, UK can now tag movies, TV shows in short-form videos

Chinese short-form video-making app TikTok has partnered with IMDb to allow users to tag movies and TV shows in their videos in the US and the UK

Cerberus drops purchase of Apollo's Unit after Arcion Revitalization deal

The US firm's Indian arm decided not to proceed with the deal in October after agreeing to acquire Arcion Revitalisation Pvt. for about 2 billion rupees ($24 million)

US, Japan to hold Security Consultative Committee meet on Jan 11: Ned Price

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin will co-host the 2023 US-Japan Security Consultative Committee meeting with Japanese counterparts on January 11

Republicans divided, McCarthy fails for 3rd day in GOP House speaker fight

For a long and frustrating third day, divided Republicans left the speaker's chair of the US House sitting empty Thursday, as party leader Kevin McCarthy failed again and again in an excruciating string of ballots to win enough GOP votes to seize the chamber's gavel. Pressure was building as McCarthy lost seventh, eighth and then historic ninth and 10th rounds of voting, surpassing the number it took the last time this happened, 100 years ago, in a prolonged fight to choose a speaker in a disputed election. With McCarthy's supporters and foes locked in stalemate, feelings of boredom and desperation seemed increasingly evident with no quick end in sight. One McCarthy critic, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, cast votes in two rounds for Donald Trump, a symbolic but pointed sign of the broader divisions over the Republican Party's future. "It's not happening," said Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado who nominated a new alternative, Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, and urged fellow Republicans to embra

US removes more than 300 Cuban migrants from remote Florida islands

The Coast Guard removed more than 300 Cuban migrants from a remote island national park off the Florida coast Thursday as the US government sought to handle the latest influx in people arriving by boat from the communist island. Homeland Security officials said the Coast Guard took 337 migrants from Dry Tortugas National Park on a 70-mile (113-kilometer) trip to Key West, where they will be processed. They were among more than 700 migrants, mostly Cubans, who arrived in Florida by boat over the New Year's weekend, prompting officials in Florida to appeal to the federal government to do more to deter migrants arriving illegally. On Thursday, the Biden administration signaled a tougher stance on migrants coming from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, while offering a new path for migrants from those countries to enter legally. The government said it would immediately start turning away Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans who cross the US-Mexico border illegally, as it has done with ..

Oil prices rebound as dollar weakens; economy concerns cap upside

Big declines in the previous 2 days were driven by worries about a potential global recession, especially since short-term economic signs in world's 2 biggest oil consumers, US and China seemed shaky

Blinken will have several opportunities to travel to India in 2023: US

US Secretary of State Tony Blinken will have several opportunities to travel to India, which currently holds the G-20 presidency, this year, a State Department spokesperson said. Blinken, along with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, is expected to travel to India early this year for the 2+2 dialogue with their respective Indian counterparts -- External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. "I don't have a date to announce just yet, but it is an important opportunity for the Secretary, for the Secretary of Defense, to engage with their Indian counterparts every single year," State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at his daily news conference. "It's an opportunity to discuss the breadth of our global strategic partnership that we have with India, he said. "The Secretary will of course have probably several opportunities to travel to India over the course of the year, given India's hosting of the G-20, something we look forward to taking part

2 rockets hit US base with American troops in eastern Syria; no casualties

Two rockets struck a base housing American troops in eastern Syria on Wednesday without causing any human or material losses, the US military said. The morning attack on Mission Support Site Conoco came as Iran and its allies in the region marked the third anniversary of the killing of Iran's leading general and chief of the powerful Quds force, Qassem Soleimani, in a US drone strike in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. No one claimed responsibility for the attack in eastern Syria, where it is not uncommon for bases housing US troops to come under rocket fire or mortar attacks. Iran-backed militia are based nearby as are sleeper cells of the Islamic State group that was defeated in Syria in March 2019. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the rockets were fired by Arab tribesmen in the region who are armed by Iran. Attacks of this kind place Coalition Forces and the civilian populace at risk and undermine the hard-earned stability and ...

US reopening visa, consular services in Cuba post-2017 health issues

The United States Embassy in Cuba is reopening visa and consular services Wednesday, the first time it has done so since a spate of unexplained health incidents among diplomatic staff in 2017 slashed the American presence in Havana. The Embassy confirmed this week it will begin processing immigrant visas, with a priority placed on permits to reunite Cubans with family in the U.S., and others like the diversity visa lottery. The resumption comes amid the greatest migratory flight from Cuba in decades, which has placed pressure on the Biden administration to open more legal pathways to Cubans and start a dialogue with the Cuban government, despite a historically tense relationship. They are anticipated to give out at least 20,000 visas a year, though it's just a drop in the bucket of the migratory tide, which is fueled by intensifying economic and political crises on the island. In late December, U.S. authorities reported stopping Cubans 34,675 times along the Mexico border in Novemb