Judge blocks the Trump administration’s National Science Foundation research funding cuts

Judge blocks the Trump administration’s National Science Foundation research funding cuts

A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump ‘s administration from making drastic cuts to research funding provided by the National Science Foundation. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston struck down on Friday a policy change that could have stripped universities of tens of millions of dollars in research funding. The universities argued the … Read more

A senator’s fall from grace ends in a grim federal lockup

A senator’s fall from grace ends in a grim federal lockup

For decades, Bob Menendez had the ear of presidents and prime ministers. He controlled the flow of military aid as the Democratic leader of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. A son of Cuban refugees, he was a go-to authority on immigration policy. But Tuesday, just after 9 a.m., Menendez became a ward of the same … Read more

FBI and law enforcement respond to ’terror attack’ in Boulder, Colorado

FBI and law enforcement respond to ’terror attack’ in Boulder, Colorado

Several people were injured and some may have been set on fire at an outdoor mall in Boulder, Colorado, police said. Police said a man was taken into custody in the attack that the FBI immediately described as an act of terror. Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn told reporters Sunday evening that it was too … Read more

Tax bill contains ‘sledgehammer’ for Trump to retaliate against foreign digital taxes

Tax bill contains ‘sledgehammer’ for Trump to retaliate against foreign digital taxes

U.S. President Donald Trump would have the power to retaliate against countries that impose special digital service taxes on large U.S. technology companies like Amazon and Alphabet, under a provision in the sweeping tax bill that Congress is considering. “If foreign countries want to come in the United States and tax US businesses, then those … Read more

New York bans smartphones in schools, joining national movement

New York bans smartphones in schools, joining national movement

New York will require schools statewide to ban smartphone use during school hours, joining a national movement aimed at preventing compulsive social media use and distractions that interfere with school work, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced this week. In more than 700 districts including New York City, school leaders will be required to create plans to … Read more

America under Trump is turning its back on the world faster than feared

America under Trump is turning its back on the world faster than feared

In coming to grips with the second term of President Donald Trump, many of us made the mistake of assuming — hoping? — that he was just “trash-talking” the world, like a boxer needling his opponents in the ring. That he didn’t really mean the outrageous things he said. Of course Trump would never annex … Read more

Cockroaches and working in a closet: Inside Trump’s return-to-office order

Cockroaches and working in a closet: Inside Trump’s return-to-office order

At NASA headquarters in Washington, just a mile from the U.S. Capitol, employees returned to an infestation of cockroaches and some are working in chairs with no desks, according to two people familiar with conditions there. In a private chat, staffers at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services likened the hunt for desks in some regional … Read more

Trumpian USA goes from absurd to bizarre amid sacking of old establishment – and norms

Trumpian USA goes from absurd to bizarre amid sacking of old establishment – and norms

(This story originally appeared in on Feb 07, 2025) WASHINGTON: A US-funded transgender clinic in Hyderabad is among the thousands of programs fed into the “woodchipper” as Donald Trump‘s MAGA minions led by Elon Musk gutted USAID, the US government’s main foreign aid agency, summarily firing most of 10,000 plus work force in the US … Read more

Trump to open detention centre in Guantanamo Bay for ‘worst criminal aliens’

Trump to open detention centre in Guantanamo Bay for ‘worst criminal aliens’

President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed the Laken Riley Act into law, giving federal authorities broader power to deport immigrants in the US illegally who have been accused of crimes. He also announced at the ceremony that his administration planned to send the “worst criminal aliens” to a detention centre in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The … Read more

Pentagon to consider honourable discharges for LGBTQ veterans in historic move

Pentagon to consider honourable discharges for LGBTQ veterans in historic move

The US Department of Defense will consider granting honourable discharges to more than 30,000 gay and bisexual veterans who were barred from serving in the military because of their sexual orientation, legal filings showed on Monday. Honourable discharges could make the veterans eligible for medical and other benefits. The department and five plaintiffs jointly moved … Read more