Latest U.S. Department of State News

Pauses on US foreign aid and other grants send funders and nonprofits scrambling

Jan. 29, 2025 13:47 PM EST

NEW YORK (AP) — Freezing foreign aid. Withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement. Prohibiting nonprofits that receive U.S. foreign aid from providing abortions. Then Monday, the new Trump administration announced a freeze on all federal loans and grants, though that pause has...

US aid freeze leads to suspension of health care to Myanmar refugees in Thailand

Jan. 29, 2025 11:51 AM EST

BANGKOK (AP) — A 90-day freeze on foreign assistance programs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump has led to cuts in services to refugees from war-torn Myanmar, including the shutdown of hospital care in camps in Thailand where more than 100,000 are living, activists and Thai officials said...

A US shutdown on foreign aid is hitting worldwide. Rubio adds more exemptions

Jan. 28, 2025 21:16 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S.-funded aid programs around the world were firing staff and shutting down or preparing to stop operations, as the Trump administration's unprecedented freeze on almost all foreign assistance brought their work to a sudden halt. Secretary of State Marco Rubio,...

Antony Blinken has a deal for a book about his years as Joe Biden's secretary of state

Jan. 28, 2025 09:39 AM EST

NEW YORK (AP) — Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken has a book deal, billed by his publisher as a “rare glimpse” into the “challenging and often controversial” responses to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the war in Gaza and other crises that broke out during his four years at the...

State Department freezes new funding for nearly all US aid programs worldwide

Jan. 24, 2025 20:15 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department ordered a sweeping freeze Friday on new funding for almost all U.S. foreign assistance, making exceptions for emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt. The order threatened a quick halt to many of the billions of dollars in...