United News of Bangladesh

U.S. President Donald Trump is facing fresh controversy over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein after The Wall Street Journal reported on a letter allegedly written by Trump and included in Epstein’s 2003 birthday album. The letter, described as sexually suggestive and accompanied by a drawing of a nude woman, has sparked backlash and further complicated Trump’s efforts to manage the fallout from the long-running Epstein investigation. Trump has denied writing the letter, calling it “false, malicious, and defamatory,” and vowed to sue the newspaper. “These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures,” Trump said in a lengthy social media post. He also claimed to have contacted WSJ owner Rupert Murdoch and editor Emma Tucker to protest the publication. The controversy comes amid growing frustration within Trump’s administration over the stalled release of promised Epstein case records. Attorney General Pam Bondi, under pressure from lawmakers and Trump supporters, now says she will seek court approval to release grand jury information—though other investigative materials will remain sealed. The Journal reported that the letter was compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell for Epstein’s 50th birthday, years before his 2006 arrest and long before his relationship with Trump ended. Trump’s Vice President JD Vance criticized the report, questioning its authenticity and accusing the newspaper of publishing it without proper verification. The administration’s reversal on transparency has angered Trump’s political base. Supporters who had long demanded disclosure of Epstein’s alleged elite connections feel betrayed. In response, Trump blamed Democrats and former U.S. officials, including Barack Obama and Joe Biden, for creating what he called a “hoax.” Trump flip-flops over whether he’ll fire the Fed’s Powell Tensions within the administration have grown, with reports of a dispute between Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino over the handling of the files. The White House has ruled out appointing a special counsel to further investigate the Epstein case. Earlier Thursday, House Democrats used procedural tactics to delay a $9.4 billion spending rollback bill, demanding a vote on releasing Epstein-related documents. Some Republicans proposed a resolution supporting the release of credible Epstein files as a compromise. Trump’s ties to Epstein, though widely documented, have not resulted in any accusations of misconduct against the president. A 1992 video shows Trump and Epstein socializing at Mar-a-Lago, surrounded by young women. Trump has downplayed the relationship, saying he distanced himself from Epstein over 15 years ago. Previously released documents include a 2016 deposition in which one Epstein accuser mentioned visiting Trump’s Atlantic City casino but made no direct allegations against him. Source: Agency 

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that it was “highly unlikely” he would fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell “unless he has to leave for fraud.” The statement came less than 24 hours after Trump indicated in a private meeting that he is leaning in favor of dismissing the head of the U.S. central bank. Trump confirmed that he discussed the “concept” of dismissing Powell in a meeting with about a dozen House Republicans, who had gathered at the White House on Tuesday to discuss crypto legislation in the House. “Almost every one of them said I should,” Trump said Wednesday during an Oval Office meeting. U.S. stocks were shaky after the news broke, as such a move could help Wall Street get the lower interest rates that it loves but would also risk a weakened Fed unable to make the unpopular moves needed to keep inflation under control.

A worsening mental health crisis is unfolding among American teenagers, with two out of every five high school students reporting persistent sadness or hopelessness, according to new data underscoring the harmful effects of screen addiction on youth well-being. The 74, a U.S.-based nonprofit news outlet focused on education, published a commentary Tuesday highlighting the alarming scope of the crisis. Citing new research from the Coalition to Empower our Future, the piece noted that nearly 60 percent of parents rate their children’s mental health as "very or somewhat poor." Experts cited in the report emphasized that the nature of screen engagement—such as compulsive use of social media or smartphones—poses a greater threat than the overall amount of time spent online. These patterns are believed to be a significant source of deep psychological stress among adolescents. Suicide bomber kills 9 in Syria Scientific support for this concern emerged in June, when a landmark study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association tracked around 4,300 American children over four years. The research found that teens who exhibited addictive behavior with social media, smartphones, or video games were twice as likely to engage in suicidal behavior compared to peers with lower levels of addictive use. Lead researcher Dr. Yunyu Xiao, assistant professor of population health sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine, stressed that the key issue is addictive use, rather than screen time alone. The study showed that approximately 31 percent of the participants developed increasingly addictive social media use, while 25 percent displayed similar patterns with mobile phones. Challenging long-held assumptions about screen time limits, the study found no link between total screen time at age 10 and future suicide-related outcomes. However, children who exhibited compulsive behavior—such as inability to stop using devices, anxiety when disconnected, or relying on screens to avoid problems—faced notably higher risks. These trends begin early. About half of the children reported consistently high levels of mobile phone addiction from the start of the study into early adolescence. In the case of social media, around 40 percent showed either high or escalating addictive use. The study also uncovered disparities in mental health consequences. Highly addictive video game use was linked to the greatest increase in internalizing symptoms like anxiety and depression. Meanwhile, rising addiction to social media was associated with the most serious externalizing behavioral issues. Children with peak levels of social media addiction had two to three times higher risk of suicidal behavior. This problem is not confined to isolated individuals. Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey show that one in five high school students seriously considered attempting suicide.

A U.S. federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration cannot use its travel ban to prevent 80 already-vetted refugees from entering the United States, marking a significant setback for the policy. In a decision issued late Monday, U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead in Seattle stated that President Donald Trump's June executive order — which restricted entry from 12 countries — does not apply to refugees seeking asylum. “In other words, by its plain terms, the Proclamation excludes refugees from its scope,” the judge wrote. Whitehead ruled that denying entry to refugees would undermine their ability to apply for asylum, contradicting the very language of the presidential order. He directed the government to immediately resume processing the 80 “presumptively protected refugees” who had been rejected under the travel ban. The U.S. State Department has not issued a comment on the ruling. US manufacturing struggles persist despite subsidies and tariffs Whitehead also outlined a vetting framework for refugees from the 12 banned countries and others who were denied entry after the Trump administration suspended the U.S. refugee admissions program just hours after taking office on January 20. This suspension had left thousands of refugees — many already cleared after years of security screening — stranded in various parts of the world. Among them were family members of active-duty U.S. military personnel and over 1,600 Afghans who supported American forces during the war. Several refugees and aid organizations, whose funding was frozen by the administration, filed lawsuits. They later sought class-action status to extend the court’s ruling to similarly affected refugees. In May, Judge Whitehead said the suspension likely nullified Congress’s intent, noting that Congress had created and funded the refugee admissions program. He issued a preliminary injunction in February, halting the administration’s suspension of refugee processing and aid. However, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals paused much of that ruling in March, saying the administration was likely to prevail as the president holds broad authority over immigration decisions.

More than 20 states have sued President Donald Trump's administration over billions of dollars in frozen funding for after-school and summer programs and other programs. Aiden Cazares is one of 1.4 million children and teenagers around the country who have been attending after-school and summer programming at a Boys & Girls Club, the YMCA or a public school for free thanks to federal taxpayers. Congress set aside money for the programs to provide academic support, enrichment and child care to mostly low-income families, but President Donald Trump's administration recently froze the funding. The money for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers is among more than $6 billion in federal education grants Trump's Republican administration has withheld, saying it wants to ensure recipients' programs align with the president's priorities. After-school programs for the fall are in jeopardyIn Rhode Island, the state stepped in with funding to keep the summer programs running, according to the Boys & Girls Club of East Providence. Other Boys & Girls Clubs supported by the grants have found ways to keep open their summer programs, said Sara Leutzinger, vice president for communications for the Boys & Girls Club of America. But there isn’t the same hope for the after-school programming for the fall. Some of the 926 Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide that run 21st Century Community Learning summer and after-school programs stand to close if the Trump administration doesn’t release the money in the next three to five weeks, Leutzinger said. The YMCA and Save the Children say many of the centers they run are also at risk of shuttering. “Time is of the essence,” said Christy Gleason, executive director of Save the Children Action Network, which provides after-school programming for 41 schools in rural areas in Washington state and across the South, where school will begin as soon as August. “It’s not too late to make a decision so the kids who really need this still have it.” Schools in Republican-led areas are particularly affected by the freeze in federal education grants. Ninety-one of the 100 school districts that receive the most money from four frozen grant programs are in Republican congressional districts, according to an analysis from New America, a left-leaning think tank. Of those top 100 school districts, half are in four states: California, West Virginia, Florida and Georgia. New America’s analysis used funding levels reported in 2022 in 46 states. Republican officials have been among the educators criticizing the grant freeze. “I deeply believe in fiscal responsibility, which means evaluating the use of funds and seeking out efficiencies, but also means being responsible — releasing funds already approved by Congress and signed by President Trump," said Georgia schools superintendent Richard Woods, an elected Republican. “In Georgia, we’re getting ready to start the school year, so I call on federal funds to be released so we can ensure the success of our students.” The Office of Management and Budget said some grants supported left-wing causes, pointing to services for immigrants in the country illegally or LGBTQ+ inclusion efforts. Summer clubs provide instruction for childrenAt the East Providence summer camp, Aiden, a rising third grader, played tag, built structures with magnetic tiles, played a fast-paced game with the other kids to review addition and subtraction, learned about pollination, watched a nature video and ate club-provided chicken nuggets. Veteran teachers from his school corrected him when he spoke without raising his hand and offered common-sense advice when a boy in his group said something inappropriate. “When someone says something inappropriate, you don’t repeat it,” teacher Kayla Creighton told the boys between answering their questions about horseflies and honeybees. Indeed, it’s hard to find a more middle-of-the road organization in this country than the Boys & Girls Club. Just last month, a Republican and a Democrat sponsored a resolution in the U.S. House celebrating the 165-year-old organization as a “beacon of hope and opportunity.” The Defense Department awarded the club $3 million in 1991 to support children left behind when their parents deployed for the Persian Gulf. And ever since, the Boys & Girls Club has created clubs on military installations to support the children of service members. Military families can sign up their kids for free. “I suspect they will realize that most of those grants are fine and will release them,” said Mike Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a conservative education policy think tank, speaking of the Trump administration's review of the 21st Century Community Learning Center grants. But not everyone is so sure. Families see few affordable child care alternativesAiden’s mother has started looking into afternoon child care for September when kids return to school in Rhode Island. “It costs $220 a week,” Aiden's mother, Darleen Reyes, said, her eyes expanding. “I can’t afford that.” The single mother and state worker said she’ll probably ask her 14-year-old son to stay home and watch Aiden. That will mean he would have to forgo getting a job when he turns 15 in the fall and couldn’t play basketball and football. “I don’t have any other option,” she said. At home, Aiden would likely stay inside on a screen. That would be heartbreaking since he’s thrived getting tutoring and “learning about healthy boundaries” from the Boys & Girls Club program, Reyes said. Fernande Berard learned about the funding freeze and possible closure from a reporter after dropping off her three young boys for summer camp. “I would be really devastated if this goes away,” said the nurse. “I honestly don’t know what I would do.” Her husband drives an Uber much of the day, and picking up the kids early would eat into his earnings. It’s money they need to pay the mortgage and everything else. If her boss approves, she’d likely have to pick up her children from school and take them to the rehabilitation center where she oversees a team of nurses. The children would have to stay until her work day ends. “It’s hard to imagine,” she said.

Search operations for victims of the devastating Texas floods were set to resume Monday after being temporarily suspended due to more heavy rain. The catastrophic flooding, which began on July 4, has already claimed at least 132 lives. Search efforts along the Guadalupe River were halted on Sunday as new storms triggered high water rescues and raised fears of further flooding. It marked the first weather-related suspension of the search since the disaster began. Authorities believe over 160 people remain missing in Kerr County, with 10 more unaccounted for in nearby areas. In Kerrville, where officials face criticism over whether timely warnings were issued, authorities went door-to-door early Sunday to alert residents of renewed flood risks and sent phone alerts across the area. Trump to visit Texas flood zone amid FEMA phase During the suspension, Ingram Fire Department ordered crews to evacuate the Guadalupe River corridor due to high flash flood risks. Later on Sunday, the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office announced that teams in the county’s western areas could resume operations. The Ingram Fire Department planned to restart search efforts Monday, said spokesman Brian Lochte. The National Weather Service has kept the region under a flood watch until 9 p.m. Monday, with up to 5 inches of rainfall expected. The saturated soil across the Hill Country raises concerns of increased runoff. Governor Greg Abbott said dozens of rescues took place in San Saba, Lampasas, and Schleicher counties. Around 100 homes were damaged, and widespread rural infrastructure, including cattle fencing, was destroyed, according to Ashley Johnson, CEO of the Hill Country Community Action Association. Camp Mystic, a historic girls’ summer camp along the Guadalupe River, lost at least 27 campers and counselors. Experts said the flood far exceeded FEMA’s 100-year projections and struck in the dead of night, catching many off guard.

Despite support from both the Biden and Trump administrations, U.S. manufacturing remains stuck in a prolonged slump. Ex-President Joe Biden’s administration rolled out subsidies for chipmakers and clean energy firms, spurring a surge in factory construction from 2021 to 2024. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump imposed high tariffs on foreign goods to protect American manufacturers and encourage domestic production. Still, factory jobs are declining. The U.S. Labor Department reported a loss of 7,000 manufacturing jobs in June, the second monthly drop in a row. Manufacturing employment is expected to fall for the third straight year. “Manufacturing production will continue to flatline,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. “If production is flat, that suggests manufacturing employment will continue to slide.” Trump plans to hike tariffs on Canadian goods to 35% Industry insiders echo concerns. “The past three years have been a real slog for manufacturing,” said Eric Hagopian, CEO of Pilot Precision Products. Trump’s tariffs offer some relief for U.S. firms by making imported goods more expensive. “When you throw the tariff on, it gets us closer,” said Chris Zuzick of Waukesha Metal Products. But tariffs also raise the cost of imported materials used by American factories, like steel and aluminum, reducing global competitiveness. Frequent changes to tariff policies have added to industry uncertainty. “Customers do not want to make commitments in the wake of massive tariff uncertainty,” one company said in a recent ISM survey. “Everyone is kind of just waiting for the new normal,” Zuzick added.

The European Union has decided to suspend retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods that were set to take effect Monday, in a bid to reach a trade agreement with the Trump administration by the end of the month. “This is now the time for negotiations,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels on Sunday, following a letter from President Donald Trump announcing new U.S. tariffs of 30% on goods from the EU and Mexico, effective August 1. The EU, the United States’ largest trading partner and the world’s biggest trading bloc, had planned to implement “countermeasures” starting Monday at midnight Brussels time (6 p.m. EDT). Trade negotiations on behalf of the EU’s 27 member states are handled by the European Commission. Von der Leyen said the EU would delay implementing those measures until August 1, noting that Trump's letter “shows that we have until the first of August” to strike a deal. European leaders have been urging both sides to allow more time for negotiations. Trump plans to hike tariffs on Canadian goods to 35% “We have always been clear that we prefer a negotiated solution,” she said. “If no deal is reached, we will continue to prepare countermeasures so we are fully prepared.” Speaking alongside Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, von der Leyen also emphasized the need to diversify the EU’s trade relationships, citing ongoing tensions with the U.S. Trump has argued that global tariffs are essential to address a U.S. trade deficit he considers a national security threat. The EU-U.S. trade relationship was valued at €1.7 trillion ($2 trillion) in 2024, according to Eurostat, with major European exports including pharmaceuticals, cars, aircraft, chemicals, medical instruments, and wine and spirits. EU trade ministers are set to meet Monday to review trade ties with the U.S. and China.

President Donald Trump on Sunday will attend the FIFA Club World Cup final, a match that will offer Trump a preview of the globe’s premier soccer tournament that North America will host next year. Trump and first lady Melania Trump will travel from their golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, to East Rutherford 40 miles (64 kilometers) away to watch the final match of the U.S.-hosted tournament between Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea at MetLife Stadium. Trump’s trip Sunday falls on the first anniversary of the assassination attempt he survived in Butler, Pennsylvania, while campaigning for president. Trump administration sanctions UN investigator probing Gaza abuses The president did not have any public plans to mark the date beyond participating in a taped Fox News Channel interview with his daughter-in-law Lara Trump that aired Saturday night. Sporting events have made up the bulk of Trump’s trips in the U.S. since taking office this year. In addition to his visit this weekend to the soccer tournament, he’s attended the Super Bowl in New Orleans, the Daytona 500 in Florida, UFC fights in Miami and Newark, New Jersey, and the NCAA wrestling championships in Philadelphia. The president, who has a warm relationship with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, has said he plans to attend multiple matches of the World Cup tournament next year.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday announced 30% tariffs on imports from the European Union and Mexico, effective August 1, targeting two of the country's largest trade partners. The announcement came through letters Trump posted on his social media account, where he outlined the reasoning behind the move. In his message to Mexico’s president, Trump acknowledged the country’s efforts in helping to curb undocumented migration and the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. However, he criticized Mexico for not doing enough to prevent the region from becoming what he called a “Narco-Trafficking Playground.” In a separate letter addressed to European Union leaders, Trump described the U.S. trade deficit as a threat to national security. “We have had years to discuss our Trading Relationship with The European Union, and we have concluded we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent, Trade Deficits, engendered by your Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies, and Trade Barriers,” Trump wrote. “Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from Reciprocal.” Judge blocks Trump administration from random immigration raids, arrests in California The move is part of a broader campaign effort by Trump, who has been ramping up announcements of new tariffs as a central theme of his 2024 re-election bid. He claims these measures will restore fairness to the U.S. economy, which he says has been exploited by foreign powers for decades. By introducing these reciprocal tariffs, Trump is effectively challenging the global trade framework established under the Uruguay Round of negotiations, which set tariff rates under a “most favored nation” principle — ensuring no country was treated less favorably than others. With Saturday’s letters, Trump has now imposed tariff conditions on 24 countries and the 27-member European Union.