USA

WASHINGTON (AP) — One of the Biden Justice Department’s first big moves has been to alert reporters at three major news organizations that their phone records were seized as part of leak investigations under the Trump administration, with President Joe Biden saying he would abandon the practice of spying on journalists.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden announced Thursday the U.S. will swiftly donate an initial allotment of 25 million doses of surplus vaccine overseas through the United Nations-backed COVAX program, promising infusions for South and Central America, Asia, Africa and others at a time of glaring shortages abroad and more than ample supplies at home.

The doses mark a substantial — and immediate — boost to the lagging COVAX effort, which to date has shared just 76 million doses with needy countries.

WASHINGTON, Jun 03 (APP): The United States, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), has airlifted emergency medical supplies to Pakistan, Maldives, and Sri Lanka to help save lives and stop the spread of coronavirus and continue to meet the urgent health needs across South Asia.

“The US continues to support South Asia in responding to the COVID-19 crisis, and we are working non-stop to help manage the devastating effects of the pandemic,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, wrote on Twitter.

Washington, Jun 3 (PTI) Noted Indian economist Kalpana Kochhar, who heads the Human Resources Department of the IMF, is retiring next month after serving for over three decades with the organisation to join the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Kochhar, who served in various senior positions during her three decades at the International Monetary Fund, will retire on July 30, and will join as Director of Development Policy and Finance, at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the IMF announced on Wednesday.

Washington, Jun 3 (PTI) A bipartisan legislation has been introduced in the US House of Representatives to eliminate the per country cap on employment-based Green Card, a move which is likely to benefit Indian IT professionals languishing over decades of waiting for the Permanent Resident Card.

The legislation was introduced by Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren and Congressman John Curtis.

Washington, Jun 3 (PTI) Donald Trump has permanently closed his blog, a webpage where the former US president shared his fiery speeches and statements after being banned by social media giants, including Facebook and Twitter.

The page titled From the Desk of Donald J. Trump has been removed from Trump's website after going live less than a month earlier, his spokesperson Jason Miller told CNBC news on Wednesday.

It was just auxiliary to the broader efforts we have and are working on, Miller said, adding that the webpage will not be returning .

WASHINGTON, June 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. firms are facing rising costs and labor shortages amid supply chain disruptions, according to a Federal Reserve survey released on Wednesday.

"Several Districts cited the positive effects on the economy of increased vaccination rates and relaxed social distancing measures, while they also noted the adverse impacts of supply chain disruptions," the Fed said in its latest survey on economic conditions, known as the Beige Book, based on information collected from its 12 regional reserve banks.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump was calling into yet another friendly radio show when he was asked, as he often is, whether he’s planning a comeback bid for the White House. “We need you,” conservative commentator Dan Bongino told the former president.

“Well, I’ll tell you what,” Trump responded. “We are going to make you very happy, and we’re going to do what’s right.”

02 June 2021; MEMO: Israel will request a billion dollars in urgent US aid following its latest round of air strikes on the Gaza Strip last month, Axios reported.

At least 255 Palestinians were killed, including 66 children and 39 women, and more than 1,900 others injured in 11 days of Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip.

Washington, Jun 2 (AP-PTI) The Biden administration on Tuesday formally ended a Trump-era immigration policy that forced asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for hearings in US immigration court.

A seven-page memo by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas marked the end of the Migrant Protection Protocols, which returned about 70,000 asylum-seekers to Mexico from January 2019 until it was halted on President Joe Biden's first day in office two years later.