Month: April 2021

President Joe Biden asked Congress to sharply hike spending on climate change, cancer and underperforming schools, but his first budget wishlist on Friday drew howls of bipartisan concern over military spending, Reuters reported. The $1.5 […]

Trump Tells Republican Donors He’ll Help Win Congress in 2022

Former President Donald Trump vowed to help Republicans win seats in Congress in 2022 elections but lashed out at two top party figures, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell and former Vice President Mike Pence, at […]

China Fines Alibaba Record $2.75 Billion for Anti-monopoly Violations

China slapped a record 18 billion yuan ($2.75 billion) fine on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd on Saturday, after an anti-monopoly probe found the e-commerce giant had abused its dominant market position for several years, Reuters […]

Bitcoin above $60,000 Again on Talk of Reduced Supply

Bitcoin rose above $60,000 to approach record highs on the weekend, breaking out of a two-week tight range and propelled by talk of constrained new supplies against evidence of wider adoption, Reuters writes. The world’s […]

Israel Pledges to Work with U.S. on Iran

Israel’s defence minister pledged on Sunday to cooperate with the United States on Iran, voicing hope that Israeli security would be safeguarded under any renewed Iranian nuclear deal that Washington reaches, Reuters writes. “Israel views […]

Republicans Charge Biden Budget Leaves US Military ‘Neglected’

Republicans on Friday slammed President Joe Biden’s request for $753 billion for next fiscal year’s defense budget, arguing that it’s barely enough to counter China’s military modernization plans, Fox News informed. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., along with other top […]

Biden Gun Control Moves Spark Backlash from State Attorneys General

State attorneys general are starting to announce that they might take legal action against President Joe Biden’s new gun-control policies announced Thursday, Fox News informed. Biden on Thursday announced a new set of executive actions and […]

Supreme Court Rules Against California’s Limits on In-home Religious Gatherings

The U.S. Supreme Court in a divided decision late Friday ruled in favor of lifting restrictions on in-home religious gatherings, overturning a lower court ruling that upheld Gov. Gavin Newsom’s limits on people from different homes, Fox […]

Progressives Slam Biden’s ‘Bloated’ Proposed Pentagon Budget

President Biden is constantly getting critics from both political parties for his proposed $715 billion defense budget the White House published on Friday, and the progressive wing in the Democratic party saying that’s too much […]

McConnell: Biden Supreme Court Commission ‘Direct Assault on Our Nation’s Independent Judiciary’

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell blasted President Joe Biden’s newly formed commission, whose role is to study potential changes to the Supreme Court, Fox News informed. McConnell issued a statement saying that president’s commission, which is created in […]

U.S. Small Business Closures Are Ticking Back toward COVID Pandemic Highs

Small business closures across the U.S. and the world are creeping back toward their pandemic peaks, according to a report from Facebook and the Small Business Roundtable, CNBC reports. “It continues to be a very […]

Biden Administration Pressed to Label White Supremacists Overseas as Terrorists

President Joe Biden’s administration is being pressed by a key Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Elissa Slotkin, to consider designating white supremacist groups overseas as foreign terrorists subject to U.S. government actions, Reuters writes. If Biden’s administration […]

Facebook to Turn Menlo Park Headquarters into Vaccination Site

Facebook Inc said on Friday it is converting a part of its Menlo Park headquarters into a vaccination site, joining the government effort to speed up the vaccination drive in the United States, Reuters reported. […]

Russian Military Buildup Raises Stakes as Fighting in Ukraine Intensifies

Dozens of troop carriers and missile launchers sit on flatbed wagons lining up along tracks running through southern Russia, in a region bordering Ukraine, Reuters informed. Tanks are parked in columns beside the railway, which […]

Countries Emphasise Importance of AstraZeneca Shot as They Look to Alternatives

Australia said on Friday it had ordered more alternatives for the AstraZeneca vaccine, setting back its vaccination rollout, and Hong Kong delayed deliveries of the shot amid concern about a possible very small risk of […]

Friend of U.S. Congressman Gaetz Expected to Plead Guilty in Florida Sex Trafficking Case

A friend of embattled Republican U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida is expected to plead guilty in a sex trafficking and fraud case in a federal court in Florida, two law enforcement officials said on […]

China Will Take Necessary Measures to Uphold Rights of Chinese Companies

China said on Friday it would take necessary measures to uphold the rights and interests of Chinese companies, after the United States added Chinese supercomputing entities to an economic blacklist, Reuters writes. Foreign ministry spokesman […]

World Stocks Hit Record High, Powered by Wall Street

Global stocks hit record highs on Friday, as tech shares on Wall Street cheered receding U.S. inflation fears, with the lack of inflation pressure keeping bond yields near two-week lows, Reuters informed. Federal Reserve Chair […]

Roughly 500 Ballots Challenged in Amazon’s Landmark Union Election

Roughly 500 ballots submitted in Amazon.com Inc’s landmark union election have been challenged in a contest that will determine whether an Alabama warehouse becomes the online retailer’s first organized workplace in the United States, people […]

First White House Budget Proposal to Preview Biden’s Goals

President Joe Biden will release his first budget proposal to Congress on Friday, offering a long-awaited glimpse into his policy agenda that will mark a sharp departure from his predecessor, Donald Trump, Reuters reported. Nearly […]

U.S. Blacklists Seven Chinese Supercomputing Entities Citing National Security Concerns

The Commerce Department on Thursday added seven Chinese supercomputing entities to a U.S. economic blacklist citing national security concerns, CNBC informed. The department added Tianjin Phytium Information Technology, Shanghai High-Performance Integrated Circuit Design Center, Sunway […]

U.S. Senate Banking Chair Presses Wall Street Banks on Archegos Ties

The Democratic chair of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee has written to several large banks, including Credit Suisse and Japan’s Nomura, asking them for information on their relationship with New York-based Archegos Capital Management after […]

Saudi $7 Trillion Investment Goal Puts Spotlight on Oil Prices

A multi-trillion dollar spending push designed to diversify the economy’s sources of income will require state companies to cut the dividends they pay the government to boost capital spending, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin […]

Tech Investor Peter Thiel Criticizes Google and Apple for Being Too Close to China

Tech investor Peter Thiel criticized big U.S. technology companies for being too close to China at a Tuesday appearance at a virtual event held by the Richard Nixon Foundation, CNBC reported. Thiel, who co-founded PayPal […]

Japan’s Vaccine Minister Says He Fears a Virus Uptick in Tokyo

Japan is working closely with the International Olympic Committee to prepare for the Games and despite concerns about Covid-19 cases flaring, there are no plans to postpone, said Japan’s minister in charge of vaccinations, CNBC […]

Giuliani Asks Judge to Throw Out $1.3 Billion Lawsuit over His ‘Big Lie’ Election Claims

Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani asked a judge on Wednesday to throw out a voting machine company’s $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit relating to his false claims about the November 2020 presidential election being […]

U.S. Allotting 85% Less J&J Vaccines to States Next Week

The U.S. government will allot nearly 85% less Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines to states next week, data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed, Reuters writes. Only 785,500 J&J doses will be […]

Biden Plan Calls for $100 Billion in New EV Consumer Rebates

The Biden administration’s $174 billion proposal to boost electric vehicles calls for $100 billion in new consumer rebates and $15 billion to build 500,000 new electric vehicle charging stations, according to a Transportation Department email […]

Senator Manchin Opposes Reconciliation, Backs Filibuster

U.S. Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, a pivotal vote in the evenly divided Senate, said on Wednesday he was opposed to a process called reconciliation that makes it easier to pass bills without Republican support, a […]

White House, U.S. Companies Could Agree on 25% Tax Rate

President Joe Biden has championed raising the U.S. corporate tax rate to 28% from 21% as the main way to fund his $2 trillion infrastructure plan, but few people in Washington, including inside the White […]