USA

NEW YORK (AP) — Attorney General William Barr said Tuesday that increased encryption of data on phones and computers and encrypted messaging apps are putting American security at risk.

Barr’s comments at a cybersecurity conference mark a continuing effort by the Justice Department to push tech companies to provide law enforcement with access to encrypted devices and applications during investigations.

“There have been enough dogmatic pronouncements that lawful access simply cannot be done,” Barr said. “It can be, and it must be.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened retribution against Guatemala over immigration after the country’s high court blocked its government from signing an asylum deal with the United States.

Trump tweeted that Guatemala has decided against signing a “safe-third agreement” requiring Central American migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. to instead apply for those protections in Guatemala, even though the country’s government never said it had agreed to the arrangement.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It took seven months, but President Donald Trump on Tuesday finally got a Senate-confirmed secretary of defense to succeed Jim Mattis.

Mark Esper, an Army veteran and former defense industry lobbyist, won Senate confirmation by a vote of 90-8 and was sworn in at the White House by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in a ceremony attended by Trump and several members of Esper’s family.

“He’s going to be a great one,” Trump said.

Esper’s swearing-in ended the longest period the Pentagon has gone without a confirmed leader in its history.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The budget agreement that congressional leaders and President Donald Trump forged late Monday lifted a big potential drag on the U.S. economy for this year and next.

Under the agreement, the economy was spared from a series of deep spending cuts that were set to take effect under a far-reaching budget law enacted in 2011. Monday’s agreement nullified those cuts and increased spending by $320 billion over two years.

CINCINNATI (AP) — An Ohio hospital paid the estate of astronaut Neil Armstrong $6 million in a confidential agreement to settle allegations that post-surgical complications led to Armstrong’s 2012 death, according to court documents and a report in the New York Times.

The 2014 settlement went to 10 family members, including Armstrong’s two sons, sister, brother and six grandchildren, according to documents filed with the Hamilton County Probate Court in Cincinnati which were publicly available on Tuesday. Armstrong’s widow, Carol, did not receive any money in the settlement.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice opened a sweeping antitrust investigation of major technology companies and whether their online platforms have hurt competition, suppressed innovation or otherwise harmed consumers.

It said the probe will take into account “widespread concerns” about social media, search engines and online retail services. Its antitrust division is seeking information from the public, including those in the tech industry.

HOUSTON (AP) — A U.S.-born 18-year-old was released from immigration custody Tuesday after wrongfully being detained for more than three weeks.

Francisco Erwin Galicia left a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Pearsall, Texas, on Tuesday. His lawyer, Claudia Galan, confirmed he had been released, less than a day after The Dallas Morning News’ reporting about his case drew national attention.

ICE did not immediately comment. Nor did U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which oversees the Border Patrol, the agency that first detained Galicia.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are pretty sure America didn’t read the Mueller report. On Wednesday, they’re hoping the nation will be glued to the TV version.

Former Trump-Russia special counsel Robert Mueller’s appearance before two House committees promises to be the TV event of the year in the U.S. House, where lawmakers will question him for roughly five hours about the book-length report he released in April.

WASHINGTON, July 23 (APP): A prominent Kashmiri leader has welcomed US President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate the 71-year-old Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan, saying such a move would bring peace and stability in South Asia.

NEW YORK, July 23. /TASS/: Countries from around the world will participate in a coalition that will patrol the Strait of Hormuz to ensure freedom of navigation in the region, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo told WFTV-9 on Monday.