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united states
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US airstrikes on eastern Syria kill at least 17: Report
Posted by Kunal Gaurav | Reuters
PUBLISHED ON FEB 26, 2021 02:29 PM IST
The Pentagon has said the strikes were against facilities belonging to Iran-backed militia.

United States loosens Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine shipping regulations
Posted by Harshit Sabarwal | AP
PUBLISHED ON FEB 26, 2021 04:53 AM IST
The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that it’s allowing the additional option after reviewing new data from New York-based Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech.

US says Khashoggi report will help bring 'accountability'
Posted by Harshit Sabarwal | AFP
PUBLISHED ON FEB 26, 2021 03:10 AM IST
As part of a new focus on human rights, President Joe Biden will imminently declassify the report into the grisly October 2018 murder inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul of the US-based journalist, who had written critically about Prince Mohammed.

US trade nominee says Prez Joe Biden's team backs use of tariffs
Posted by Harshit Sabarwal | AFP
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 11:59 PM IST
"Tariffs are a very important part of our fair trade remedies toolbox," US Trade Representative, Katherine Tai told the Senate Finance Committee, signaling the new US team on commerce policy had no plans for a complete about-face from the hardline stance of Donald Trump's government.

Majority of Americans support $15 minimum wage, poll shows
Reuters, Washington
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 10:43 PM IST
Democrats are trying to pass the progressive policy without Republican votes through a manoeuvre known as reconciliation.

J&J’s Covid-19 vaccine closes in on FDA’s nod
By Yashwant Raj, Washington
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 07:33 AM IST
Johnson & Johnson's (J&J’s) one-shot vaccine could join Pfizer and Moderna’s shots as early as this week in the battle against a pandemic that has killed more than half a million people in the United States, a grim milestone crossed earlier this week.

Amid surge, US tries to expedite release of migrant children
AP
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 03:00 AM IST
US Health and Human Services on Wednesday authorized operators of long-term facilities to pay for some of the children’s flights and transportation to the homes of their sponsors.

Germany urges Iran to accept diplomacy in nuclear dispute
AP
PUBLISHED ON FEB 25, 2021 12:12 AM IST
Iran this week effectively set a deadline to lift those sanctions within three months, after which it said it would erase surveillance footage of its nuclear facilities

Congress weighs reforms to troubled US Postal Service over finance woes
Reuters
PUBLISHED ON FEB 24, 2021 11:38 PM IST
"Our dire financial trajectory, operational and network misalignment to mail trends, outdated pricing, infrastructure underinvestment, inadequate people engagement, and an insufficient growth strategy – all demand immediate action," Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told lawmakers.

CIA nominee pledges to provide 'unvarnished' intelligence
PTI, Washington
PUBLISHED ON FEB 24, 2021 10:48 PM IST
William Burns said the president "wants the agency to give it to him straight, and I plan to do just that and to defend those who do the same."

Covid-19 aid bill to pay federal workers up to $21,000 for kids staying at home
By hindustantimes.com | Edited by Kunal Gaurav, New Delhi
PUBLISHED ON FEB 24, 2021 06:33 PM IST
- Under the emergency federal employee leave fund, a full-time worker can avail up to 600 hours in paid leave.

Experts suggest UK Covid variant likely to fuel another surge in US: Report
By hindustantimes.com | Edited by Kunal Gaurav, New Delhi
PUBLISHED ON FEB 24, 2021 04:23 PM IST
- The UN health agency, in its latest situation report, has said that the variant of concern has been reported from 101 countries across all six WHO regions.

Biden administration withdraws from transgender athlete case
AP, Washington
PUBLISHED ON FEB 24, 2021 02:46 PM IST
- Supporters of restrictions on transgender athletes argue that transgender girls are naturally stronger, faster and bigger than those born female.

US steps up key genetic analysis for coronavirus variants by 5,500%
Bloomberg
PUBLISHED ON FEB 23, 2021 10:41 PM IST
New variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus first detected in the UK, South Africa, and Brazil appear to spread more efficiently.

US treasury nominee Adeyemo urges get-tough attitude on China
Reuters, Washington
PUBLISHED ON FEB 23, 2021 10:19 PM IST
Echoing comments from other Biden officials, Adeyemo struck a hardline tone on Beijing, vowing to fight what he called "unfair economic practices" in China and elsewhere.

US security officials cast blame for January 6 failures at Capitol
AP, Washington
PUBLISHED ON FEB 23, 2021 10:00 PM IST
The officials, including the former chief of the Capitol Police, are blaming other federal agencies — and each other — for their failure to defend the building.

Republicans working to block Biden's health care pick; Democrats unfazed
AP, Washington
PUBLISHED ON FEB 23, 2021 09:06 PM IST
Republicans say Xavier Becerra is a radical supporter of socialized medicine, abortion and curbs on religious liberty and that he has no medical experience.

US Capitol security chiefs give differing accounts of January 6 riot
Bloomberg
UPDATED ON FEB 23, 2021 08:54 PM IST
Any disagreement between the officials testifying Tuesday could feed into partisan narratives about who is to blame.

Time for Jeep to end use of tribe's name: Cherokee chief
AP, Tahlequah
PUBLISHED ON FEB 23, 2021 05:02 PM IST
The controversy comes amid a national reckoning over the use of Native American names and images, particularly in sports.

Biden-Trudeau talks on Tuesday seek to ease strained relations
Bloomberg
UPDATED ON FEB 23, 2021 04:39 PM IST
The meeting, set for late afternoon, comes at a time when Canadians have become increasingly uncertain about where they stand with their closest ally.

Biden admin rolls back Trump-era citizenship test in another policy reversal
By hindustantimes.com | Edited by Kunal Gaurav, New Delhi
PUBLISHED ON FEB 23, 2021 04:04 PM IST
- US citizenship and immigration services said the revised civics test “may inadvertently create potential barriers” to the naturalisation process.

A day that will live in infamy: US nears 500,000th Covid-19 death
Reuters
PUBLISHED ON FEB 22, 2021 10:38 PM IST
About 19% of total global coronavirus deaths have occurred in the United States, an outsized figure given that the nation accounts for just 4% of the world's population.

US Prez Biden to hold candle lighting ceremony in memory of Covid victims today
ANI
PUBLISHED ON FEB 22, 2021 02:26 PM IST
" ... the President, the First Lady, the Vice President, and the Second Gentleman will hold a moment of silence and candle lighting ceremony at sundown in the South Portico," Biden's Monday daily guidance, released by the White House, says.

United States top general urges Iran restraint amid efforts to restart talks
AFP
PUBLISHED ON FEB 22, 2021 02:23 PM IST
US President Joe Biden's administration, European powers and Iran have boosted attempts to revive a 2015 deal that has been on the brink of collapse since Donald Trump withdrew from it three years later.

Power failure: How a winter storm pushed Texas into crisis
AP, Houston
PUBLISHED ON FEB 21, 2021 10:03 PM IST
As temperatures plunged and snow and ice whipped the state, much of Texas’ power grid collapsed, followed by its water systems.

Saudi's SAMI signs defence venture deal with US Lockheed Martin
Reuters, Dubai
PUBLISHED ON FEB 21, 2021 07:53 PM IST
Lockheed Martin is involved in a project to install a $15 billion missile defence system in Saudi Arabia.

'I thought we were done': Parts fall from sky in plane scare
AP, Broomfield
PUBLISHED ON FEB 21, 2021 02:26 PM IST
The Boeing 777-200 suffered a catastrophic failure in its right engine and flames erupted under the wing as the plane began to lose altitude.

Covid-19 pandemic makes prostitution taboo in Nevada's legal brothels
AP, Las Vegas
PUBLISHED ON FEB 20, 2021 10:43 PM IST
Legal brothels have been shuttered for nearly a year, leaving sex workers to offer less-lucrative alternatives like online dates or nonsexual escort services.

Impeachment vote becomes defining moment for Republican senator
AP, Washington
PUBLISHED ON FEB 20, 2021 10:07 PM IST
When the Capitol was attacked, the senator said that Trump “used his office to first inflame the situation instead of immediately calling for an end to the assault.”

New legislation would protect US drivers who hit protestors
AP, Oklahoma City
PUBLISHED ON FEB 20, 2021 09:52 PM IST
Republican leaders across the country are moving to stop the road-blocking manoeuvre, proposing legal immunity for drivers who hit them.