United News of Bangladesh

US President Donald Trump has indicated that Israel’s assault on Gaza could soon come to an end, amid rising international condemnation over the mass killings of civilians, targeting of journalists and medics, and famine conditions imposed on the besieged territory. “I think within the next two to three weeks, you’re going to have pretty good, conclusive ending,” Trump told reporters on Monday. While Trump has repeatedly vowed to bring the war to an end, none of his promises have so far translated into a ceasefire or even the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians trapped under Israel’s blockade. His administration has continued to provide Israel with billions of dollars in weapons and dismissed global efforts to recognise a Palestinian state. “It’s got to get over with because between the hunger and all of the other problems – worse than hunger, death, pure death – people [are] being killed,” Trump said. Back in February, he had proposed the removal of all Palestinians from Gaza – a move widely regarded as ethnic cleansing and a crime against humanity. On Monday, Trump also appeared unaware of an Israeli strike on Nasser Hospital in Gaza that killed 21 Palestinians, including five journalists. When asked about the attack, he responded: “Well, I’m not happy about it. I don’t want to see it. At the same time, we have to end that whole nightmare.” Trump then shifted focus to his efforts to secure the release of remaining Israeli captives in Gaza. Source: Al Jazeera  

President Donald Trump has announced that he is removing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook from her post, marking a sharp escalation in his clash with the US central bank. In a message posted on Truth Social, Trump shared a letter addressed to Cook notifying her of her dismissal from the Fed’s board of governors with immediate effect. He argued there was “sufficient reason” to believe she had provided false information on mortgage documents and invoked constitutional powers he claimed gave him the authority to act. Cook rejected the move, insisting Trump cannot fire her, reports BBC.“President Trump purported to fire me ‘for cause’ when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so,” she said in a statement. “I will not resign. I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022.” Her lawyer, Abbe David Lowell,  said, “We will take whatever actions are needed to prevent [Trump’s] attempted illegal action.” The Federal Reserve has yet to comment on the announcement, made late Monday. Why the Federal Reserve has historically remained independent of the White House Cook, the first African American woman to serve on the Fed board, is one of seven governors. Legal experts say Trump’s move—unprecedented in the Fed’s 111-year history—may face courtroom challenges over whether sufficient grounds exist for her removal. The dispute stems from allegations that Cook signed two conflicting mortgage agreements in Michigan and Georgia. Trump had already demanded her resignation last week following claims of mortgage fraud raised publicly by Trump ally Bill Pulte. Cook has denied wrongdoing, saying the issue arose from a 2019 loan application, before her appointment to the Fed. If the Fed or Cook push back, analysts warn of a potential showdown between the White House and the central bank, which has operated independently since 1951. Trump has also ramped up criticism of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, recently calling him a “numbskull” and “stubborn moron” over his resistance to steep rate cuts. Powell, however, signaled last week that a rate cut could come in September. Markets reacted swiftly to the turmoil, with the US dollar weakening in Asia on Tuesday as investors speculated Cook’s successor may favor more aggressive rate reductions.

Donald Trump ran on a promise to use the powers of the government for revenge against those he believed wronged him. He now appears to be fulfilling that campaign promise while threatening to expand his powers well beyond Washington. On Friday, the FBI searched the home of John Bolton, Trump’s first-term national security adviser-turned-critic, who last week in an interview called the administration “the retribution presidency.” Trump’s team has opened investigations of Democrat Letitia James, the New York attorney general who sued Trump’s company over alleged fraud for falsifying records, and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who as a congressman led Trump’s first impeachment. The Republican administration has charged Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., over her actions at an immigration protest in Newark, New Jersey, after arresting Mayor Ras Baraka, also a Democrat. Under investigation, too, is former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a candidate for New York City mayor. Trump has directed prosecutors to investigate two other members of his first administration: Miles Taylor, who wrote a book warning of what he said were Trump’s authoritarian tendencies, and Chris Krebs, who earned the president’s wrath for assuring voters that the 2020 election, which Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden, was secure. The actions look like the payback Trump said he would pursue after being hit with four separate sets of criminal charges during his four years out of office. Those included an indictment for his effort to overturn the 2020 election that was gutted by the U.S. Supreme Court, which said presidents have broad immunity from prosecution for official acts while in office. “Joe Biden weaponized his administration to target political opponents – most famously, President Trump,” Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, said Saturday. Trump, she said, “is restoring law and order.” In addition to making good on his promises of retribution, Trump has deployed the military into American cities to fight crime or help with immigration arrests. He has sent thousands of National Guard troops and federal law enforcement officers to patrol the streets in the nation’s capital, after activating the Guard and Marines in Los Angeles earlier this year. Taken together, the actions have alarmed Democrats and others who fear Trump is wielding the authority of his office to intimidate his political opponents and consolidate power in a way that is unprecedented in American history. “You combine the threat of prosecution with armed troops in the streets,” said Brendan Nyhan, a political scientist at Dartmouth College. “The picture is pretty clear for anyone who’s read a history book what kind of administration we’re dealing with.” Past election investigations are a Trump focus Trump began his second term by pardoning more than 1,500 people who were convicted of crimes during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. His Justice Department, meanwhile, has fired some federal prosecutors who had pursued those cases. Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered a grand jury to look into the origins of the investigation of his 2016 campaign’s ties with Russia, and Trump has called on her department to investigate former Democratic President Barack Obama. The government’s watchdog agency has opened an investigation into Jack Smith, the special prosecutor who investigated Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and the classified documents stashed at his Florida estate. Those cases were among several that dogged Trump in the years between his presidential terms, including the New York fraud case and charges for election interference in Georgia brought by the Democratic prosecutor in Fulton County. All those investigations led him to claim that Democrats had weaponized the government against him. “It is amazing to me the number of people the Trump administration has gone after, all of whom are identified by the fact that they investigated or criticized Trump in one way or another,” said Stephen Saltzburg, a former Justice Department official who is a George Washington University law professor. On Friday, Trump used governmental powers in other ways to further his goals. He announced that Chicago could be the next city subject to military deployments. And after his housing director alleged that one of the governors of the independent Federal Reserve had committed mortgage fraud, Trump demanded she resign or be fired. He took to his social platform on Saturday to highlight the claims, as he tries to wrest control of the central bank. Trump sees himself as the ‘chief law enforcement officer’ Vice President JD Vance denied in a television interview that Bolton was being targeted because of his criticism of Trump. “If there’s no crime here, we’re not going to prosecute it,” Vance told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Friday. Trump said he told his staff not to inform him about the Bolton search ahead of time, but he stressed that he has authority over all prosecutions. “I could know about it. I could be the one starting it,” the president told reporters. “I’m actually the chief law enforcement officer.” Bolton occupies a special place in the ranks of Trump critics. The longtime GOP foreign policy hawk wrote a book published in 2020, after Trump had fired him the year before. The first Trump administration sued to block the book’s release and opened a grand jury investigation, both of which were halted by the Biden administration. Bolton landed on a list of 60 former officials drawn up by now-FBI Director Kash Patel that he portrayed as a tally of the “Executive Branch Deep State.” Critics warned it was an “enemies list.” When Trump returned to office in January, his administration revoked the security detail that had been assigned to Bolton, who faced Iranian assassination threats. The FBI is now investigating Bolton for potentially mishandling classified information, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly. In contrast, Trump condemned the FBI’s search of his own Mar-a-Lago resort in 2022. Retribution is wide-ranging, from judges to the military Trump has also targeted institutions that have defied him. The president issued orders barring several law firms that were involved in litigation against him or his allies, or had hired his opponents, from doing business with the federal government. Trump cut deals with several other firms to do free legal work rather than face penalties. He has targeted universities for funding cuts if they do not follow his administration’s directives. His administration filed a judicial misconduct complaint against a judge who ruled that Trump officials likely committed criminal contempt by ignoring his directive to turn around planes carrying people being sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador. The actions are among steps that seem to be intensifying. Trump’s defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has fired several military leaders perceived to be critics of the president or not sufficiently loyal, and earlier this week the administration revoked the security clearances of about three dozen current and former national security officials. “It’s what he promised,” said Justin Levitt, a former Justice Department official and Biden White House staffer who is a law professor at Loyola Marymount University. “It’s what bullies do when no one tells them ‘No.’”  

A U.S. military mini shuttle took off Thursday night to carry out classified experiments in space, officials said. The unmanned space plane, launched by SpaceX from Cape Canaveral, Florida, is the eighth flight for the X-37B test vehicle. According to the U.S. Space Force, this mission will test laser communications and navigation without GPS. The duration of the flight has not been announced. The previous X-37B mission lasted just over a year before returning in March, while earlier missions have lasted from several months to years. Hijacked satellites, space weapons signal new era of conflict in orbit   Built by Boeing, the reusable space planes were first launched in 2010. Each is 29 feet (9 meters) long with a wingspan of nearly 15 feet (4.5 meters).   Source: Agency

The FBI on Friday searched the Maryland residence of John Bolton, the former national security adviser in President Donald Trump’s first administration, as part of an inquiry into the handling of classified material, according to a person familiar with the matter. The individual, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation, said Bolton has neither been detained nor charged. FBI hands back stolen Hernán Cortés manuscript page to Mexico Requests for comment from Bolton’s spokesperson and the White House were not immediately returned, while a lawyer who has previously represented him declined to respond. Bolton, who served for 17 months as Trump’s third national security adviser, frequently clashed with the president over policy on Iran, Afghanistan and North Korea. He came under scrutiny during Trump’s first term over a memoir that officials claimed contained classified details, though the Justice Department later dropped its lawsuit and a related grand jury probe in 2021. Earlier this year, on his return to the presidency, Trump revoked the security clearances of more than 50 former intelligence officials, including Bolton. He was also among three former senior aides whose government security details were withdrawn.   Source: Agency

A U.S. federal judge has rejected the government’s request to unseal grand jury transcripts in the sex trafficking case against late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan issued the ruling Wednesday, following a similar decision earlier by the judge overseeing the case of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former associate. Maxwell, serving a 20-year sentence for helping Epstein abuse girls and young women, has remained central to public debate as conspiracy theories and demands for more transparency over the Epstein files persist. Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial. Melania Trump urges Hunter Biden to withdraw ‘highly defamatory’ Epstein remarks In his order, Berman said the grand jury material “pales in comparison” to the larger trove of investigative documents already held by the Justice Department. He noted that no victims testified before the grand jury, and the only witness was an FBI agent with largely hearsay testimony. Supporting exhibits — including a PowerPoint and call log — will also remain sealed. Berman criticized the government’s motion as a “diversion” from releasing more substantive Epstein records in its possession. Meanwhile, the House Oversight Committee has sought testimony from Maxwell as part of its inquiry into Epstein. Chair Rep. James Comer has said her testimony is “vital,” though her lawyers have asked for immunity — a request lawmakers have refused. Maxwell’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to be resolved in September.   Source: Agency

As Hurricane Erin approached North Carolina's Outer Banks on Tuesday, Holly Andrzejewski was forced to reschedule the first guests of the Atlantic Inn — which she and her husband had just purchased — before they had even officially welcomed them. The approaching storm brought threats of rough surf and tropical storm-force winds, prompting evacuations in areas like Hatteras Island. Though Erin is expected to remain offshore, officials issued evacuation orders for barrier islands, including Hatteras, warning that the storm could generate life-threatening rip currents and waves as high as 15 feet (4.6 meters), possibly flooding roads. The Andrzejewskis had only owned the historic inn — the oldest on the island — for less than a week. By Monday, they had secured outdoor items and ensured their daughter and her boyfriend, who manage the inn, had supplies like generators and water to ride out the storm. Andrzejewski, who lives 15 minutes away, also planned to stay on the island. “It’s part of living at the beach — you know it’s always a risk, so you just deal with it,” she said. On Monday, Erin brought heavy rain and strong winds to parts of the Caribbean. While forecasters expect it to turn north and avoid the U.S. mainland, tropical storm and surge warnings were issued across much of the Outer Banks. Lifeguards in Wrightsville Beach, near Wilmington, reported rescuing over 60 swimmers caught in rip currents. As of early Tuesday, Erin’s sustained winds had decreased to 120 mph (195 kph), and it was moving northwest at 7 mph (11 kph), about 770 miles (1,240 km) south-southeast of Cape Hatteras. The Turks and Caicos Islands remained under a tropical storm warning, with ports closed, government services halted, and residents told to stay indoors. Coastal flooding along North Carolina’s Outer Banks is expected from Tuesday through Thursday. The evacuations from Hatteras and Ocracoke come during peak tourist season on these vulnerable barrier islands, which are increasingly threatened by storm surges. Last year, even though Hurricane Ernesto stayed far offshore, it still generated high waves and coastal damage. Now, officials worry that prolonged heavy surf and strong winds from Erin could erode parts of the main highway, potentially making some roads unusable for days. This marks the first evacuation of Ocracoke since Hurricane Dorian in 2019, which caused unprecedented damage on the island. Tommy Hutcherson, owner of the island’s only grocery store, said the community has largely recovered but remains cautious. “You just never know. I thought the same about Dorian — and we got hit hard,” he said. Experts say climate change is driving more rapid intensification of Atlantic hurricanes. Warmer oceans and higher atmospheric moisture levels are contributing to stronger, wetter storms. In Bermuda, which is expected to see the worst impact Thursday night, waves could reach 24 feet (7 meters), according to local meteorologists. Officials there are urging the public to stay off the water to avoid life-threatening conditions.

Two of the three people killed in a bar shooting in the New York City borough of Brooklyn were among the four shooters who opened fire inside the building, the city's police commissioner said Monday. Jamel Childs, 35, and Marvin St. Louis, 19, both of Brooklyn, were seen on surveillance video arguing in the Taste of the City Lounge in Crown Heights shortly before 3:30 a.m. Sunday, Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. About 10 minutes later, St. Louis approached Childs and opened fire, and Childs and two other men fired back. Both Childs and St. Louis were shot multiple times and were pronounced dead at a hospital a short time after the shooting. The third man killed, 27-year-old city resident Amadou Diallo, was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities said Diallo appears to have been an innocent bystander. Two other men who also opened fire in the bar remained at large Monday, Tisch said, but she did not disclose further details about them. A possible motive for the shooting remains under investigation, but authorities have said it appears to be gang-related. Besides those killed, 14 others were shot in the incident, but none of their injuries are believed to be life-threatening, Mayor Eric Adams said Monday. Investigators found at least 42 shell casings from 9 mm and .45-caliber weapons and a firearm in a nearby street following the shooting. The violence was the second mass shooting within weeks in New York City during a year that has otherwise seen declining gun violence. On July 29, a man stalked through a Manhattan office tower with a rifle, wounding one person and killing four others. Didarul Islam, a New York City police officer, was among those who died in that shooting. His wife gave birth late Sunday night to a boy, their third child together. Adams said Sunday that both shootings reinforce “why we do this work of going after guns off our streets.”  

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday he will meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday, following Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which produced no agreement to end the war in Ukraine. Zelenskyy said he had a “long and substantive” conversation with Trump on Saturday after the U.S. leader met Putin in Alaska. He thanked Trump for the invitation to meet in person and said the two leaders would “discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war.” Highlighting Europe’s role, Zelenskyy said, “It is important that Europeans are involved at every stage to ensure reliable security guarantees together with America. We also discussed positive signals from the American side regarding participation in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security.” Zelenskyy spoke to Trump one-on-one, followed by a call with other European leaders. The discussions lasted about an hour and a half. The US-Russia summit in Alaska saw Trump welcome Putin, but ended without tangible progress on ending the war. Trump said, “there’s no deal until there’s a deal,” after Putin claimed the two leaders had reached an “understanding” on Ukraine and warned Europe not to “torpedo the nascent progress.” Trump leaves Alaska summit with Putin without a Ukraine peace deal Before leaving Alaska, Trump told Fox News Channel that the responsibility might fall on Zelenskyy “to get it done,” while also acknowledging European involvement. After returning to Washington, Trump spoke with NATO leaders following his call with Zelenskyy but did not speak to reporters. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the discussions included German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Polish President Karol Nawrocki, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. European leaders, who were not part of Friday’s summit, had no immediate comment. Meanwhile, Russian attacks on Ukraine continued overnight. Ukraine’s Air Force reported one ballistic missile and 85 Shahed drones were launched, 61 of which were intercepted. Front-line areas in Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Chernihiv came under attack.

The District of Columbia filed a lawsuit Friday to block President Donald Trump’s takeover of its police department, hours after his administration named a federal official as the department’s emergency head. Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith warned the move would “threaten law and order” by dismantling the command structure. “In my nearly three decades in law enforcement, I have never seen a single government action that would cause a greater threat to law and order than this dangerous directive,” she said in a court filing. District Attorney General Brian Schwalb argued the order placing Drug Enforcement Administration head Terry Cole in charge is illegal and would “wreak operational havoc.” He urged the court to reverse it, calling the administration’s actions “an affront” to the city’s 700,000 residents. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Thursday that Cole would approve all directives to officers, rescinding the city’s “sanctuary” policies. Mayor Muriel Bowser countered that no law allows a federal official to control D.C. personnel. Far-right Israeli minister confronts Barghouti in prison At a hearing, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes questioned Bondi’s authority to sideline Smith. The Justice Department declined to comment. The takeover, framed by Trump as part of a “tough-on-crime” and immigration crackdown, marks one of the most sweeping federal assertions over a local government in modern times. National Guard troops, federal agents and 20 law enforcement teams have been deployed, arresting 33 people, including 15 undocumented migrants. Protesters rallied outside police headquarters, chanting “Protect home rule!” as the city braced for a deepening political and legal fight over its autonomy.