Police arrested at least 1,800 people across France after violent groups clashed with officers and looted shops during nationwide demonstrations that drew hundreds of thousands of people.
(Image credit: Emma Da Silva)
Police arrested at least 1,800 people across France after violent groups clashed with officers and looted shops during nationwide demonstrations that drew hundreds of thousands of people.
(Image credit: Emma Da Silva)
Zelenskyy described the move as unfortunate, adding it would encourage Russia to continue its assault. Trump told Congress that the pause was in the national interest but gave no further details.
(Image credit: Kateryna Klochko)
Zelenskyy described the move as unfortunate, adding it would encourage Russia to continue its assault. Trump told Congress that the pause was in the national interest but gave no further details.
(Image credit: Kateryna Klochko)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged supporters Saturday to speak out in defense of new U.S. sanctions against Russia, hours after President Donald Trump signed an executive order pausing a sweeping package of restrictions targeting the Russian economy.
The White House’s decision has further raised fears that Ukraine could be left exposed to Moscow’s escalating assaults with winter approaching.
Zelenskyy described Trump’s move to put sanctions on hold as unfortunate, but did not directly criticize the U.S. leader despite deepening tensions between Ukraine and Washington in recent days.
“A decision was unfortunately made in America to completely disregard the Lindsey Graham Act, which was supposed to impose truly effective pressure on Russia to bring this war to an end,” Zelenskyy wrote.
He also expressed hope that the new sanctions could be revived. “This Act could have helped enormously — and still can! But it needs to actually work, and every voice in support of it matters,” he said.
Zelenskyy also said Saturday that Moscow had carried out a massive strike on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, targeting more than 15 sites across the country.
“The sheer scale and unrelenting pace of Russia’s strikes, specifically against our energy sector, are unfortunately having severe consequences,” he said.
Ukraine’s air force said that Russian forces launched four cruise missiles and 332 attack drones overnight. All of the missiles and 289 of the drones had been suppressed or destroyed, it said.
Russia’s heavy bombardment of the power grid ahead of winter has been an annual feature of the war, aimed at wearing down Ukraine’s appetite for the fight by denying civilians heat and running water. Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia is stockpiling ballistic missiles for more attacks in the coming months.
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High winds are fueling a fast-moving fire that has burned homes in Southern California. Flames engulfed expensive coastal properties and prompted thousands to evacuate.
(Image credit: Jae C. Hong)
High winds are fueling a fast-moving fire that has burned homes in Southern California. Flames engulfed expensive coastal properties and prompted thousands to evacuate.
(Image credit: Jae C. Hong)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order that puts on hold a sweeping new sanctions package targeting the Russian economy, telling Congress the pause was in the national interest.
Trump personally signed the legislation just last month and his move came just two days before a deadline set in the law itself for its implementation. It drew shift condemnation from congressional Democrats.
Named after late South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the legislation had sought to clamp down more quickly on the flow of financial resources fueling the war against Ukraine.
Trump’s unexpected decision comes a week after he stunningly said the U.S. had agreed to purchase diesel from Russia to try to bring down global energy prices, despite that potentially hurting Ukraine in its war with Russia.
An AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll published Oct. 1 found that Americans disapprove of the president’s handling of the Iran war and blame him for higher prices. Trump’s approval ratings have sunk to near-historic lows and pressure is mounting as Republicans try to hold control of both chambers of Congress after midterm elections on Nov. 3.
Graham, a close ally and friend of the president, had just returned from Ukraine when he unexpectedly died in July. He had advocated for stricter U.S. sanctions against Russia as a way of pressuring it to end its war in Ukraine.
His colleagues in Congress responded with bipartisan support after his death and Trump attached his signature to the legislation — then changed his mind Friday.
The package had been meant to starve Russian President Vladimir Putin of the resources Moscow needs to continue its war in Ukraine after invading its neighbor more than four years ago. The bill, also drafted by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., had sought to sanction Russian officials, banks and a shadow fleet of tankers that keeps Russian energy moving.
It also directed Trump to impose up to 100% tariffs on the top five importers of Russian oil or natural gas, with an exception for countries that import less than 15% of Russia’s natural gas exports and have taken significant steps to reduce those imports.
Blumenthal said in a statement that Trump was turning his back on “the majority of Americans, their representatives in both houses of Congress, and our European allies.”
“These waivers have nothing to do with our national security, and everything to do with sucking up to Vladimir Putin,” Blumenthal said.
Democratic Virginia Rep. Don Beyer noted on social media shortly after the announcement of the sanctions being suspended that he and others had “warned” Trump might make such a move. The veteran congressman, who spoke out against the bill as it was debated, called on Congress to “fix this flawed law to stop Trump from capitulating to Putin and ensure that it truly supports Ukraine.”
The White House did not immediately explain how pausing the sanctions was in the national interest. The decision was posted on the White House website late in the evening, and the notification noted that the report explaining the decision had been submitted to Congress.
Still, it comes as Trump has increasingly lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, blaming him for failing to make a deal with Putin to end the fighting.
The Trump administration, meanwhile, had remained mostly quiet since the passage of the bill with large majorities in the House and Senate following Graham’s sudden death — with lawmakers urged ahead by Zelenskyy.
Under last week’s agreement, Trump said Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by an additional 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons “immediately thereafter.”
Trump’s striking a diesel deal with Putin has been pilloried by Republicans and Democrats alike who say it will help Russia execute its war against Ukraine — without making a different to global fuel prices, which are elevated mostly due to Trump’s war on Iran.
The sanctions that Trump has now suspended, meanwhile, also had become a campaign centerpiece for Sen. Darline Graham, the late senator’s sister who was appointed to serve out the remaining months in his current term. She is now running to replace him in the Senate more permanently.
Darline Graham said in a statement after Trump signed the bill, “I wish Lindsey were here to celebrate this historic day.” In a debate earlier this week with Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, Graham — who has Trump’s endorsement and is expected to campaign with him in South Carolina next week — said she had been “so proud” to help get the measure passed.
She acknowledged, however, that it was the president’s purview as to how he implemented it.
“It gives the president tools that he can use if he so chooses, to end the war through economic sanctions,” Graham said Sunday during a debate in Columbia. “So that’s up to him as to whether or not he wants to use it, or whether he wants to use something else, but I think the purpose of it is to bring down the gas prices and ultimately end the war. And when the war ends, gas prices will fall.”
The post Trump puts new Russia sanctions that he recently signed into law on hold, citing national interest appeared first on MS NOW.
Protests have intensified over a review of voter lists that critics say is politically motivated and threatens to disenfranchise voters. The Election Commission and Modi's administration deny these allegations.
(Image credit: Vipin)
Protests have intensified over a review of voter lists that critics say is politically motivated and threatens to disenfranchise voters. The Election Commission and Modi's administration deny these allegations.
(Image credit: Vipin)
Manhattan's Upper West Side has been reveling in the company of its latest celebrities: A family of barn owls nested in a water tower atop a building near Central Park.
(Image credit: Yuki Iwamura)
Manhattan's Upper West Side has been reveling in the company of its latest celebrities: A family of barn owls nested in a water tower atop a building near Central Park.
(Image credit: Yuki Iwamura)
Propelled by a lockdown bullpen and repeated comebacks, the Brewers swept the two-time defending champion LA Dodgers out of the playoffs Thursday in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series.
(Image credit: Ashley Landis)
Propelled by a lockdown bullpen and repeated comebacks, the Brewers swept the two-time defending champion LA Dodgers out of the playoffs Thursday in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series.
(Image credit: Ashley Landis)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Trump administration sued California election officials Thursday, asking a judge to bar the state from counting mail-in ballots for next month’s midterm elections from people the federal government has identified as “likely” noncitizens until their status can be confirmed.
The lawsuit comes after the Justice Department said California officials failed to meet a 48-hour deadline to review a password-protected thumb drive that contains a list of 20,000 names the federal government believes are likely noncitizens who were sent ballots to participate in the Nov. 3 election. The state mails ballots to all registered voters. A top Justice Department official had sent a letter earlier this week threatening potential legal action if California didn’t comply.
California Secretary of State Shirley Weber said in a letter to the Justice Department that the federal government hasn’t provided evidence to support its allegation that 20,000 names on the state’s voter rolls are of noncitizens. She referenced an instance in which the federal government alleged nearly 16,000 possible noncitizens were listed on Nevada’s voter rolls, but the state determined that all were, in fact, U.S. citizens.
She also noted that voting is already underway in the state. Weber, a Democrat, said the Justice Department was “demanding unprecedented measures that threaten thousands of Californians’ right to vote, based on unverifiable information or methodology that you still fail to explain or provide.”
California’s elections are in “full compliance” with federal law, she added.
Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan said in a statement that his office received the letter and thumb drive this week, along with a “hand written note providing a password” to access the list of alleged noncitizens on the voter rolls. He said he did not consider the thumb drive a secure device. The secretary of state’s office said the password was written “on a sticky note.”
The Justice Department’s lawsuit says the federal government sought to “work collaboratively” with California to identify noncitizens registered to vote in the state, and “California made no serious effort to do so.”
“The United States thus seeks commonplace election relief when a ballot is called into question,” the lawsuit says. “This Court should enjoin California from presently tabulating vote by-mail ballots from likely noncitizens in the upcoming federal election until the voter’s citizenship status can be determined,” the lawsuit says.
Weber, who is named in the lawsuit, suggested the federal government’s outreach had not been collaborative.
She said that over the summer, the Department of Homeland Security claimed that California had 190,000 noncitizens on its voter rolls but refused to provide the methodology or data sources when the office asked for them.
The post Trump administration sues California to block ballots from alleged noncitizens appeared first on MS NOW.
Ukrainian drones attacked a refinery in Russia's Ryazan region early Thursday, hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a brief truce spurned by Moscow was over.
(Image credit: Alberto Pezzali)
Ukrainian drones attacked a refinery in Russia's Ryazan region early Thursday, hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a brief truce spurned by Moscow was over.
(Image credit: Alberto Pezzali)
The roof of a private school collapsed in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 28 children and a female teacher and injuring more than 50 other people.
(Image credit: Maaz Awan)
The roof of a private school collapsed in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 28 children and a female teacher and injuring more than 50 other people.
(Image credit: Maaz Awan)
The White House publicly asked for U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle's resignation on Tuesday as she faced mounting accusations of improper conduct.
(Image credit: Jacquelyn Martin)
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