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

Elon Musk vows to ‘go to war’ to defend H-1B visa programme; Trump sides with him

Elon Musk vows to ‘go to war’ to defend H-1B visa programme; Trump sides with him

Elon Musk has received support from President-elect Donald Trump on his stance on H-1B visas, a day after the tech billionaire vowed to “go to war” to defend the programme used to bring skilled foreign workers to the US. Mr. Musk, who along with Indian-American tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has been tapped by Mr. Trump to … Read more

‘All A’s, no drugs when you get older’: Trump’s old clip with son Barron is viral

‘All A’s, no drugs when you get older’: Trump’s old clip with son Barron is viral

A resurfaced video from 2010 showing Donald Trump giving life advice to his then-four-year-old son, Barron, has captured the internet’s attention, offering a glimpse into the family dynamic of the former president long before his time in the White House. The clip, originally from an episode of Larry King Live on CNN, showcases a tender … Read more

US senator pushes for ethics report on Trump’s nominee for Attorney General

US senator pushes for ethics report on Trump’s nominee for Attorney General

Republican US Senator Markwayne Mullin called on the House of Representatives on Sunday to share an unreleased ethics report into alleged sexual misconduct involving a 17-year-old girl by Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general. Gaetz, 42, resigned his seat in the Republican-controlled House on Wednesday, hours after Trump unveiled his choice of … Read more

View: America’s free-lunch economy is over

View: America’s free-lunch economy is over

For all the bold talk of tariffs and price controls, the economic legacy of the next president will mostly depend on something far more mundane: the tax code — specifically, the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act, much of which will expire next year. Whoever is in the White House, working with whichever party controls … Read more