Top United States government News
US expels Russian diplomats, imposes new round of sanctions
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Thursday announced the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats and sanctions against dozens of people and companies as it moved to hold the Kremlin accountable for interference in last year's presidential election and the hacking of federal agencies....
AP sources: Tool behind crackdown on opioids could expire
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has been slow-walking its work on the extension of a legislative order that would keep in place a sweeping tool that's helped federal agents crack down on drugs chemically similar to fentanyl, three people familiar with the matter told The...
US Capitol Police watchdog to testify on Jan. 6 failures
WASHINGTON (AP) — The top watchdog for the U.S. Capitol Police will testify for the first time on Thursday about the department's broad failures before and during the Jan. 6 insurrection, including missed intelligence predicting a “war” and weapons that were so old that officers didn't...
Biden to pull US troops from Afghanistan, end 'forever war'
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Wednesday he will withdraw remaining U.S. troops from the "forever war” in Afghanistan, declaring that the Sept. 11 terror attacks of 20 years ago cannot justify American forces still dying in the nation's longest war. His...
House panel votes to advance bill on slavery reparations
WASHINGTON (AP) — A House panel advanced a decades-long effort to pay reparations to the descendants of slaves by approving legislation Wednesday that would create a commission to study the issue. It's the first time the House Judiciary Committee has acted on the...
Prosecutors: No charges for officer in Capitol riot shooting
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors will not charge a police officer who shot and killed a woman as she climbed through the broken part of a door during the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, the Justice Department said Wednesday. Authorities had considered...
Biden to address Congress under security, COVID restrictions
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's first address to a joint session of Congress will look like no other in recent memory. The traditional speech for the new president, set for April 28, will unfold against the backdrop of heightened security in the aftermath of the...
Analysis: Biden takes a risk pulling troops from Afghanistan
BRUSSELS (AP) — At its start, America’s war in Afghanistan was about retribution for 9/11. Then it was about shoring up a weak government and its weak army so that Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida could never again threaten the United States. Now it's about over. With bin...
EXPLAINER: Why outside prosecutors review killings by police
BOSTON (AP) — A white former police officer is being charged with second-degree manslaughter in the killing of 20-year-old Daunte Wright, just three days after the Black man was shot during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb. The swift probe...
Harris planning first trip abroad to Mexico, Guatemala
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris announced plans Wednesday to visit Mexico and Guatemala on what would be her first official trip abroad, as she pushes ahead on leading the White House's diplomatic efforts on the migration challenge at the southern border. She also held a...
Latest United States government News
Global warming's extreme rains threaten Hawaii's coral reefs
HONOLULU (AP) — As muddy rainwater surged from Hawaii's steep seaside mountains and inundated residential communities last month, the damage caused by flooding was obvious — houses were destroyed and businesses swamped, landslides covered highways and raging rivers and streams were...
Business fined for not following COVID-19 safety guidelines
BOSTON (AP) — The owner of a Massachusetts tax preparation business faces more than $136,000 in federal fines for allegedly prohibiting employees and customers from wearing face coverings and failing to follow other guidelines meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus. ...
Divers aim to reach capsized vessel in search for survivors
PORT FOURCHON, La. (AP) — With 12 people still missing from a capsized oil industry vessel, Coast Guard divers waited for a break in stormy weather Thursday that would allow them to reach the hull and search for survivors. Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan...
Kansas Sen. Marshall votes no on advancing hate crimes bill
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican Roger Marshall of Kansas is among a handful of conservative U.S. senators who opposed moving forward with a Democratic-sponsored measure for confronting hate crimes against Asian Americans. Marshall's office said Thursday that an existing...
Africa CDC urges India to lift COVID vaccine export limits
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Africa's top health official said Thursday he wants to believe that India will lift export restrictions on COVID-19 vaccines as soon as possible, warning that “India is not an island” while some African nations still have seen no shots at all. ...
Blinken in Afghanistan to sell Biden troop withdrawal
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Thursday to sell Afghan leaders and a wary public on President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw all American troops from the country and end America's longest war. ...
US stocks rise to records on more proof of economic recovery
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are rallying toward records on Thursday after a suite of encouraging data showed how hungry Americans are to spend again, how fewer workers are losing their jobs and how much fatter corporate profits are getting. The S&P 500 was 0.9%...
US troop pullout will leave behind an uncertain Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Biden administration’s surprise announcement of an unconditional troop withdrawal from Afghanistan by Sept. 11 appears to strip the Taliban and the Afghan government of considerable leverage and could ramp up pressure on them to reach a peace deal. ...
Blinken urges nations to add $2B more to UN vaccine program
GENEVA (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken appealed Thursday for other countries to inject another $2 billion into a U.N.-backed program to ship coronavirus vaccines to the world’s poorest countries — at a time when rich countries have seized the lion's share of them. ...
Japan's Suga heads to US for China-focused talks with Biden
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga left for Washington on Thursday for talks with President Joe Biden meant to show the strength of their security alliance at a time when both nations are concerned with China’s growing economic and military clout. The...
