Category: WASHINGTON

• Seattle

Wray, on Wednesday, informed FBI employees of his intention to resign at the end of President Joe Biden's tenure, paving the way for a smooth transition to Kashyap "Kash" Patel, should he be confirmed as Trump's nominee to head the agency.

The US Department of Defence announced that it will provide weapons worth $988 million to Ukraine over a relatively longer term to enhance its military capabilities amid the conflict with Russia.

US President-elect Donald Trump has issued an ultimatum to terrorist group Hamas that the hostages taken by it be released from Gaza before his inauguration in January, or there will be "hell to pay" in the Middle East for those responsible.

Patel’s nomination marks a new high for the Indian-American community that has quietly and steadily expanded its clout in the political sphere in the United States commensurate with its financial clout.

US President-elect Donald Trump has named John Ratcliffe, a former congressman and Director of National Intelligence, as his Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, contrary to feverish speculation that the job was going to Kash Patel, an Indian-American.

In the most significant appointment yet for India from the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump on Monday announced Mike Waltz, a Congressman from Florida who is the co-chair of the India Caucus, as his new National Security Adviser.

Michelle Obama hosted Melania Trump for tea in the Yellow Room after the 2016 election. However, Melania Trump did not meet with Jill Biden after the contentious 2020 race as Donald Trump repeatedly claimed he was the true winner.

The US Federal Reserve has slashed interest rates by 25 basis points amid cooling inflation and a weakening labour market, marking the second rate cut in this easing cycle.

President Joe Biden on Thursday told fellow Democrats, devastated by the crushing defeat of Vice-President Kamala Harris, that everyone gets knocked down but the true test of character is ‘how quickly we get back up’.

The stock of Elon Musk-run Tesla soared almost 15 per cent on Wednesday in early trade on Nasdaq (US time), making it one of the biggest winners in the S&P 500 index.

Republican candidate Donald Trump, who is set to return to the White House, on Wednesday hailed Elon Musk, saying America has a "new star" in him, highlighting the tech billionaire's significant achievements. 

Former US President Donald Trump has secured 120 electoral college votes and Vice-President Kamala Harris 99 as polling closed in states at 9 p.m. Eastern time, according to projections by the Associated Press.

The outcome of the 2024 US presidential election could be known as early as Wednesday morning, just a few hours after the polling ends on Tuesday. Or it could take days, weeks, and, as it happened in one instance, a month.

More than 78 million American voters had already cast their ballot by Monday morning, on the eve of Election Day as Vice-President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump crisscrossed the seven battleground states with their closing remarks.

Former President Donald Trump and Vice-President Kamala Harris have collectively raised $154 million in the seven biggest battleground states, and while Harris' fundraising has far surpassed Trump's overall, the ex-President is within striking distance of her cash haul -- or even surpassed it -- in a couple of closely watched states where they're neck-and-neck.

“At its core, Diwali is about the idea that light will push back against darkness, that compassion, curiosity can overcome ignorance, that each of us has an obligation to care for the other,” he said on Friday at the State Department celebration of the festival.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the deployment of additional ballistic missile defence destroyers, fighter squadron and tanker aircraft, and several B-52 long-range strike bombers to the Middle East region.

Inflation was cited as the topmost election issue by the single largest group of Indian-Americans surveyed for a recent poll, while abortion and jobs/economy were the topmost for the next largest cohorts.

The White House has cautioned Iran against responding to Israel's retaliation, saying that the US will support Israel in defending itself if Iran chooses to respond.

Democratic Party's presidential candidate Kamala Harris has said that although she was proud of being President Joe Biden's Vice President, her presidency will be different because the challenges are different.

The US has said that it is "closely following" the developments related to the India-China LAC agreement and it "welcomes any reduction in tensions" along the border.

The Harris campaign has said that it believes the polls showed the presidential race so close in the battleground states because "many people are still undecided".

Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman has highlighted India's commitment towards African countries which has been redefined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, particularly in areas such as infrastructure development and healthcare and also urged the G7 and G20 nations to intensify their support.

India saved pilferages worth $40 billion in the last eight years with the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes of the government, according to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. 

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that India wants to enhance its influence in the world as one in every six persons is Indian and the world cannot ignore India's economy.