https://www.scmp.com/rss/522014/feed US Congress: A prominent Washington, D.C.-based bicameral legislative body, the US Congress is the federal government’s lawmaking branch, established by the US Constitution in 1789. Comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate, its primary mission involves creating and enacting laws, funding government operations, and overseeing the executive branch. It also declares war, regulates commerce, and confirms appointments. Recognised for its foundational role in American democracy, it... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Reuters Reuters A US judge blocked Donald Trump on Tuesday from proceeding with construction of a US$400 million ballroom on the site of the White House’s demolished East Wing, halting for now one of the Republican president’s most visible efforts to reshape the seat of American power. US District Judge Richard ‌Leon granted a request for a preliminary injunction by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a non-profit organisation that brought a lawsuit alleging Trump exceeded his authority when he razed... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3348589/judge-halts-trumps-white-house-ballroom-project-unless-congress-approves-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3348589/judge-halts-trumps-white-house-ballroom-project-unless-congress-approves-it?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2026 19:45:43 +0000 Reuters Reuters Delta Air Lines said ⁠on Tuesday it would ⁠suspend special services for ⁠members of Congress, citing the impact of a partial government shutdown that has disrupted US air travel. “Due to the impact on resources from the long-standing government shutdown, Delta will temporarily suspend ‌specialty services to members of Congress flying Delta. “Next to safety, Delta’s no. 1 priority is taking care of our people and customers, which has become increasingly difficult in the current environment,” the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347765/delta-suspends-special-treatment-congress-government-shutdown-sows-airport-chaos?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347765/delta-suspends-special-treatment-congress-government-shutdown-sows-airport-chaos?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 17:03:50 +0000 Reuters Reuters Absences among transportation security ⁠workers this weekend reached their highest since a partial US government shutdown began five weeks ago, the Department of Homeland Security said on Sunday, while immigration enforcement agents prepared to fill in for them at some of the busiest US airports. At airports in Houston, New York and Atlanta, more than one-third of Transportation Security Administration staff were calling in sick or otherwise absent, DHS said, as the shutdown left tens of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347514/trump-administration-touts-plan-ice-airports-amid-criticism-union-democrats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347514/trump-administration-touts-plan-ice-airports-amid-criticism-union-democrats?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Mar 2026 22:19:27 +0000 Reuters Reuters The Republican candidate backed by US President Donald Trump will advance to a run-off against a Democrat in the Georgia race to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene in the US House of Representatives, after a special election on Tuesday seen as a test of Trump’s sway over his party. Trump’s preferred candidate, former district attorney for four northwest Georgia counties Clay Fuller, will face Shawn Harris, a moderate Democrat who has sought to court disillusioned Trump voters, in ‌the April 7... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346176/us-special-election-replace-marjorie-taylor-greene-leads-run?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346176/us-special-election-replace-marjorie-taylor-greene-leads-run?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 04:41:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press James Talarico barely mentioned Donald Trump when he finally got to give his victory speech on Wednesday night as Democrats’ nominee for US Senate in Texas. But the 36-year-old state lawmaker is now a frontman for the left’s opposition to Trump, not just in his own state but around the country. With his victory over US congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, the state lawmaker from Austin will test whether a smiling message of unity and change is enough to answer voters’ frustrations amid discord at... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345517/texan-james-talarico-face-democrats-2026-us-midterm-hopes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345517/texan-james-talarico-face-democrats-2026-us-midterm-hopes?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 04:48:01 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The House Oversight Committee voted on Wednesday to subpoena US Attorney General Pam Bondi to answer questions over the Justice Department’s handling of files regarding the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation. Five Republicans joined Democrats to support the subpoena proposed by Republican congresswoman Nancy Mace in a sign of continued frustration among conservatives with the department’s review and release of a tranche of documents related to the disgraced financier. The move... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345486/us-lawmakers-vote-subpoena-pam-bondi-over-epstein-files?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345486/us-lawmakers-vote-subpoena-pam-bondi-over-epstein-files?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 23:40:47 +0000 Reuters Reuters US Senator John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will square off in a high-stakes run-off for ⁠the state’s Republican nomination for Senate, pitting a long-time member of the party’s establishment against an insurgent hardliner as the midterm elections kicked off on Tuesday. Neither man was able to exceed the 50 per cent threshold necessary to win outright in Tuesday’s voting, ensuring that the most expensive Senate primary in history will extend another 12 weeks into May. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345370/texas-tests-party-fault-lines-2026-us-midterms-begin?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345370/texas-tests-party-fault-lines-2026-us-midterms-begin?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 06:27:55 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Former US president Bill Clinton said in sworn testimony released on Monday by a US congressional committee that he had no knowledge of the sex crimes of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Clinton also said President Donald Trump, a one-time close friend of Epstein, “never said anything to me to make me think he was involved in anything improper with regard to Epstein either”. Bill Clinton and his wife, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, were deposed last week by the Republican-led... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345193/us-house-panel-releases-video-clintons-epstein-depositions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345193/us-house-panel-releases-video-clintons-epstein-depositions?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2026 22:32:21 +0000 Tian Shichen Tian Shichen The smoke rising from Iran on Saturday signalled more than just a localised escalation in the Middle East. Coming on the heels of the United States’ military invasion of Venezuela earlier this year, the joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran represent a watershed moment for the 21st century. We are witnessing the systematic dismantling of the post-1945 legal order, replaced by the unvarnished “law of the jungle” where strategic interests supersede legality, and the UN Charter is treated as a relic of... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3345081/attack-iran-normalises-global-descent-law-jungle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3345081/attack-iran-normalises-global-descent-law-jungle?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2026 12:30:07 +0000 dpa dpa Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin “has already begun” World War III, in an interview with British broadcaster BBC. Speaking in Kyiv over the weekend ahead of the fourth anniversary of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday, Zelensky said that his view of the conflict was different from that of US President Donald Trump. “We have different views regarding a third world war,” Zelensky said in the interview, translated... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3344316/ukraines-zelensky-says-he-believes-putin-has-started-world-war-iii?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3344316/ukraines-zelensky-says-he-believes-putin-has-started-world-war-iii?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Feb 2026 07:09:21 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US Capitol Police in Washington arrested an 18-year-old man on Tuesday after he ran from his vehicle toward the west side of the Capitol Building armed with a shotgun. Capital Police Chief Michael Sullivan said the unidentified man parked a Mercedes SUV near the Capitol, got out and ran “several hundred yards (metres)” toward the building before officers intercepted him and ordered him to the ground. Speaking at a press conference following the arrest, Sullivan said the gunman was wearing a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343853/police-arrest-man-running-towards-us-capitol-shotgun?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343853/police-arrest-man-running-towards-us-capitol-shotgun?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Feb 2026 21:52:39 +0000 Mark Magnier Mark Magnier The US Government experienced its second shutdown in four months on Saturday, as funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) halted, underscoring Washington’s growing partisanship and dysfunction. But in an ironic twist, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, at the centre of the Congressional showdown, will continue to operate despite being part of DHS, given its independent source of funding. In an unprecedented move, US President Donald Trump’s administration has allocated at... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3343562/partial-us-government-shutdown-throws-congress-turmoil-again?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3343562/partial-us-government-shutdown-throws-congress-turmoil-again?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Feb 2026 05:00:09 +0000 Reuters Reuters A Republican US lawmaker on Wednesday accused Attorney General ⁠Pam Bondi of concealing the names of powerful associates of the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as she faced questions about the Justice Department’s handling of investigative files in a charged hearing before a House of Representatives panel. Congressman Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, who helped lead the effort to require the files’ release, accused the Justice Department of a “massive failure”... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343237/us-lawmakers-accuse-bondi-hiding-names-epstein-associates?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343237/us-lawmakers-accuse-bondi-hiding-names-epstein-associates?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Feb 2026 19:42:28 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The US Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed California to use a new voter-approved congressional map that is favourable to Democrats in this year’s elections, rejecting a last-ditch plea from state Republicans and the Trump administration. No justices dissented from the brief order denying the appeal without explanation, which is common on the court’s emergency docket. The justices had previously allowed Texas’ Republican-friendly map to be used in 2026, despite a lower-court ruling that it likely... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342436/california-can-use-new-map-midterms-despite-last-ditch-bid-trump-admin?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342436/california-can-use-new-map-midterms-despite-last-ditch-bid-trump-admin?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Feb 2026 23:53:48 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo Now we know why they didn’t want to release the Epstein files. It’s not just about implicating US President Donald Trump, who was a long-time close friend of the infamous paedophile and sex trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein. Rather, they basically implicate the ruling and business elites of the Anglo-American world. In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a wave of mass hysteria sweeping across the United States based on fear of satanic cults, child abuse and sacrifices. Well, it turns out maybe it wasn’t... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3342046/epstein-files-reveal-underbelly-western-elites?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3342046/epstein-files-reveal-underbelly-western-elites?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Feb 2026 21:30:37 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US President Donald Trump signed a roughly US$1.2 trillion government funding bill Tuesday that ends the partial federal shutdown that began over the weekend and sets the stage for an intense debate in Congress over Homeland Security funding. The president moved quickly to sign the bill after the House approved it with a 217-214 vote. “This bill is a great victory for the American people,” Trump said. The vote on Tuesday wrapped up congressional work on 11 annual appropriations bills that fund... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342294/us-shutdown-track-end-house-approves-trump-funding-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342294/us-shutdown-track-end-house-approves-trump-funding-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Feb 2026 20:02:25 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The US Congress has teed up a Tuesday vote on a spending bill to end the government shutdown, following a House committee vote late on Monday. The shutdown followed a breakdown in spending negotiations amid Democratic anger in response to federal immigration agents killing two US citizens in Minneapolis, which derailed talks over new money for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Late Friday, the Senate had passed a package clearing five outstanding funding bills to cover most federal... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342160/trump-urges-no-changes-spending-bill-end-3-day-government-shutdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342160/trump-urges-no-changes-spending-bill-end-3-day-government-shutdown?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Feb 2026 22:07:00 +0000 Reuters Reuters US House ‍Speaker Mike Johnson said on Sunday he believes he has the Republican votes to end a partial government shutdown within days and that the chamber will debate Immigration and Customs Enforcement reforms for two weeks after that. “I’m confident that we’ll do it at ⁠least by Tuesday. We have a logistical challenge of getting everyone in town,” Johnson said on NBC’s Meet the Press. Transport problems are persisting following a snowstorm that affected travel in the southeastern US. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342021/us-house-speaker-johnson-says-he-has-votes-end-partial-government-shutdown-tuesday?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342021/us-house-speaker-johnson-says-he-has-votes-end-partial-government-shutdown-tuesday?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Feb 2026 17:34:39 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Saturday that disgraced former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor should testify in the US Congress over what he knows about the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. Asked on the final day of a visit this week to China and Japan whether King Charles’ brother should answer US lawmakers’ questions about his knowledge of the American financier’s wrongdoing, Starmer replied “yes”. “I’ve always said anybody that [has] got information should be... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3341974/uks-starmer-tells-ex-prince-andrew-face-us-congress-over-epstein-files?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3341974/uks-starmer-tells-ex-prince-andrew-face-us-congress-over-epstein-files?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Feb 2026 04:04:31 +0000 Bochen Han Bochen Han The US is poised to avoid a major shutdown after senators agreed on Friday to separate a controversial bill funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from a package that also includes funding for the State Department and the Pentagon. On Friday, the Senate voted 71-29 to advance the package. The House, which is out of session this week, will still need to approve the package before it can be signed into law, meaning that there will be at least a brief funding lapse after the current... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3341911/us-likely-averts-major-government-shutdown-splitting-bill-partial-closure-looms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3341911/us-likely-averts-major-government-shutdown-splitting-bill-partial-closure-looms?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jan 2026 22:50:24 +0000 Reuters Reuters The US Justice Department on Friday published millions of ‌new files related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including emails that show Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump’s commerce secretary, apparently visited Epstein’s private island for lunch years after he claimed to have cut off ties. Todd ‍Blanche, the US deputy attorney general, said Friday’s massive batch of documents marked the end of the Trump administration’s planned releases under a law passed in November that... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341898/us-justice-department-releases-3-million-more-pages-epstein-files?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341898/us-justice-department-releases-3-million-more-pages-epstein-files?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jan 2026 16:32:05 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US Senate leaders were scrambling to save a bipartisan spending deal and avert a partial government shutdown at midnight Friday as Democrats have demanded new restrictions on federal immigration raids across the country. Democrats struck a rare deal with US President Donald Trump Thursday to separate funding for the Homeland Security Department from a broad government spending bill and fund it for two weeks while Congress debates curbs on the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341750/trump-seeks-avoid-shutdown-democrats-block-funding-demand-ice-curbs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341750/trump-seeks-avoid-shutdown-democrats-block-funding-demand-ice-curbs?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Jan 2026 23:32:42 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US Senate Democrats are threatening to block legislation that would fund the Department of Homeland Security and several other agencies on Thursday, potentially bringing the US government a step closer to a partial shutdown if Republicans and the White House do not agree to new restrictions on US President Donald Trump’s surge of immigration enforcement. As the country reels from the deaths of two protesters at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis, irate Senate Democrats laid out a list of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341626/partial-us-shutdown-seems-increasingly-likely-amid-political-stand-over-ice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341626/partial-us-shutdown-seems-increasingly-likely-amid-political-stand-over-ice?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Jan 2026 03:51:36 +0000 Reuters Reuters The White House said on Monday that US President Donald Trump does not ‌want to see people getting hurt or killed on the streets ‍of the United States but will not back down from efforts to deport “violent criminal illegal aliens” from Minnesota. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt briefed journalists after the killing of 37-year-old nurse Alex ⁠Pretti on Saturday by federal officers drew outrage from Americans. It was the second fatal shooting of a US citizen in Minnesota this... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341312/trump-does-not-want-see-people-killed-us-streets-white-house-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341312/trump-does-not-want-see-people-killed-us-streets-white-house-says?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jan 2026 20:30:45 +0000 Alan Robles Alan Robles The Philippines is reviving a popular disaster monitoring and simulation programme that was defunded nine years ago by then president Rodrigo Duterte – a move that some have blamed for resulting in a swathe of corrupted construction projects now plaguing the country. Last month, Congress said it would allot 1 billion pesos (US$16.9 million) in the 2026 General Appropriations Bill for the Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (NOAH) project, a clutch of programmes that identifies risk... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3341026/did-shelved-anti-disaster-scheme-lead-philippines-corrupted-flood-control-projects?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3341026/did-shelved-anti-disaster-scheme-lead-philippines-corrupted-flood-control-projects?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Jan 2026 04:00:09 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US President Donald Trump suggested on Friday that he may punish countries with tariffs if they don’t back the US controlling Greenland, a message that came as a bipartisan Congressional delegation sought to lower tensions in the Danish capital. Trump for months has insisted that the US should control Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Nato ally Denmark, and said earlier this week that anything less than the Arctic island being in US hands would be “unacceptable”. During an unrelated... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3340228/trump-says-he-may-tariff-countries-dont-back-us-controlling-greenland?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3340228/trump-says-he-may-tariff-countries-dont-back-us-controlling-greenland?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Jan 2026 18:48:08 +0000 Bochen Han Bochen Han A US spending bill approving US$300 million in cash assistance for Taiwan’s military has passed the House of Representatives and is expected to become law. On Wednesday, the House passed a two-bill government spending package that would fund the Departments of the Treasury and State through September, along with other federal agencies, bringing the total to eight of 12 annual spending bills needed by January 30, to avoid a government shutdown. The bills must now clear the Senate before they can... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3340074/us-bill-approving-us300-million-taiwans-military-passed-house?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3340074/us-bill-approving-us300-million-taiwans-military-passed-house?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Jan 2026 22:09:56 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The BBC intends to ask a US federal court in Florida to dismiss a US$10 billion lawsuit brought by US President Donald Trump against the British broadcaster, according to newly filed court documents. Trump launched the lawsuit last year over a BBC documentary that edited his 2021 speech ahead of the US Capitol riot, when lawmakers were certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 election win. The programme spliced together two separate sections of Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021, in a way that made it appear... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3339764/bbc-moves-dismiss-trumps-us10-billion-lawsuit-over-capitol-riot-documentary?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3339764/bbc-moves-dismiss-trumps-us10-billion-lawsuit-over-capitol-riot-documentary?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Jan 2026 11:26:20 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US lawmakers voted on Thursday to revive health insurance subsidies that expired at the end of last year, offering hope to millions of Americans facing steep premium hikes – and pressuring the Senate to follow suit. The bill, which passed with Democratic support and backing from a small bloc of Republicans defying their own leadership, would extend enhanced subsidies under the Affordable Care Act – widely known as Obamacare – for three years. Those subsidies lower monthly insurance costs for... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3339246/us-house-votes-extend-obamacare-subsidies-thanks-revolt-among-republicans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3339246/us-house-votes-extend-obamacare-subsidies-thanks-revolt-among-republicans?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Jan 2026 23:43:42 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The US Senate advanced a resolution on Thursday that would limit US President Donald Trump’s ability to conduct further attacks against Venezuela, sounding a note of disapproval for his expanding ambitions in the western hemisphere. Democrats and five Republicans voted to advance the war powers resolution on a 52-47 vote and ensure a vote next week on final passage. It has virtually no chance of becoming law because Trump would have to sign it if it were to pass the Republican-controlled... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3339242/us-senate-rejects-trumps-venezuela-threats-war-powers-vote?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3339242/us-senate-rejects-trumps-venezuela-threats-war-powers-vote?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Jan 2026 18:41:12 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Brazil’s left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday vetoed a law dramatically reducing the prison sentence of former far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, convicted last year of coup plotting. Lula vetoed the law adopted by Congress late last year on the third anniversary of major riots by Bolsonaro supporters in the capital Brasilia over his defeat by Lula in the 2022 elections. In scenes reminiscent of the 2021 US Capitol riots, thousands of demonstrators ransacked government... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3339240/brazils-lula-vetoes-law-reducing-bolsonaros-27-year-jail-sentence-riot-anniversary?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3339240/brazils-lula-vetoes-law-reducing-bolsonaros-27-year-jail-sentence-riot-anniversary?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Jan 2026 16:03:41 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday ‌that Republicans must win the 2026 congressional midterm elections - or else he will get impeached by Democrats. “You gotta win the midterms ‘cause, if we don’t win the midterms, ‍it’s just gonna be - I mean, they’ll find a reason to impeach me,” Trump told Republican lawmakers at a retreat in Washington. “I’ll get impeached.” Ahead of the November elections, which could stall his agenda and expose him to congressional investigations, Trump teased and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3338971/trump-warns-hell-be-impeached-if-republicans-dont-win-us-midterms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3338971/trump-warns-hell-be-impeached-if-republicans-dont-win-us-midterms?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jan 2026 17:56:59 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Approaching the fifth anniversary of the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, the official plaque honouring the police who defended democracy that day is nowhere to be found. It’s not on display at the Capitol, as is required by law. Its whereabouts aren’t publicly known, though it’s believed to be in storage. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has yet to formally unveil the plaque. And the Trump administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) is seeking to dismiss a police... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3338822/where-january-6-memorial-plaque-missing-tribute-sparks-legal-battle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3338822/where-january-6-memorial-plaque-missing-tribute-sparks-legal-battle?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jan 2026 16:00:16 +0000 Mark Magnier Mark Magnier The US State Department on Thursday urged Beijing to end intimidating military moves in the area around Taiwan that it said create needless anxiety and stress. Washington’s New Year’s Day message followed a two-day live-fire exercise that Beijing wrapped up on Tuesday, dubbed Justice Mission 2025, that played out on a more extensive scale than its predecessors. “China’s military activities and rhetoric towards Taiwan and others in the region increase tensions unnecessarily,” said Tommy Pigott,... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3338442/us-urges-beijing-end-military-pressure-against-taiwan-engage-meaningful-dialogue?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3338442/us-urges-beijing-end-military-pressure-against-taiwan-engage-meaningful-dialogue?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Jan 2026 21:33:03 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg US President Donald Trump issued the first vetoes of his second term, killing two bills sponsored by Republicans in Congress, including one from a prominent lawmaker who bucked the administration over the release of files pertaining to Jeffrey Epstein. Trump vetoed legislation late on Tuesday to help complete a water pipeline project, a measure backed by congresswoman Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican who is close to the White House. Trump, in his veto message, said he rejected the bill to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3338352/trump-issues-first-vetoes-ally-who-backed-epstein-vote-fears-retaliation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3338352/trump-issues-first-vetoes-ally-who-backed-epstein-vote-fears-retaliation?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Dec 2025 19:16:43 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The US Justice Department said Wednesday that it may need a “few more weeks” to release all of its records on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after suddenly discovering more than a million potentially relevant documents, further delaying compliance with last Friday’s congressionally mandated deadline. The Christmas Eve announcement came hours after a dozen US senators called on the Justice Department’s watchdog to examine its failure to meet the deadline. The group, 11 Democrats and a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337670/after-missing-epstein-files-deadline-trump-admin-says-it-may-need-few-more-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337670/after-missing-epstein-files-deadline-trump-admin-says-it-may-need-few-more-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Dec 2025 21:20:18 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump flew on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet “many more ‌times than previously has been reported,” according to an email from a New York prosecutor that forms part of a new batch of documents about Epstein released Tuesday by the US Justice Department. In an ‍email dated January 7, 2020, the unidentified prosecutor wrote that flight records showed Trump had flown on Epstein’s private jet eight times during the 1990s. Among those were at least four... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337549/trump-flew-epstein-jet-many-more-times-reported-newly-released-file-shows?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337549/trump-flew-epstein-jet-many-more-times-reported-newly-released-file-shows?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Dec 2025 17:11:04 +0000 Reuters Reuters Two senior Democratic lawmakers on Monday asked the ‌US Commerce Department to disclose details ‍and any approvals of continuing licence reviews for potential sales to Chinese firms of Nvidia’s second-most powerful AI chips. US President Donald Trump this month said he would allow sales of Nvidia’s (NVDA.O) H200 chips to China, with the US government collecting a 25 per cent ‍fee, and that the sales would help ‍keep US firms ahead of Chinese chipmakers by cutting demand for Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/economy-trade-business/article/3337395/lawmakers-want-us-disclose-any-approvals-nvidia-h200-china-licences?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/economy-trade-business/article/3337395/lawmakers-want-us-disclose-any-approvals-nvidia-h200-china-licences?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Dec 2025 19:43:50 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US Justice Department officials on Sunday denied redacting the Epstein files to protect US President Donald Trump, as criticism mounted over the partial and heavily censored release of documents. Victims of Jeffrey Epstein have expressed anger after a cache of records from cases against the late sex offender were released Friday with many pages blacked out and photos censored. US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday defended the release by the Justice Department, telling NBC’s Meet the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337250/top-us-official-defends-partial-release-epstein-files-democrats-cry-foul?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337250/top-us-official-defends-partial-release-epstein-files-democrats-cry-foul?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Dec 2025 18:54:50 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press At least 16 files disappeared from the Justice Department’s public webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, including a photograph showing US President Donald Trump – less than a day after they were posted, with no explanation from the government and no notice to the public. The missing files, which were available on Friday and no longer accessible by Saturday, included images of paintings depicting nude women, and one showing a series of photographs along a credenza and in drawers. In... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337205/least-16-files-gone-epstein-release-site-including-1-trump-photo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337205/least-16-files-gone-epstein-release-site-including-1-trump-photo?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Dec 2025 22:26:16 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Saturday expressed anger after a long-awaited cache of records from cases against him were released with many pages blacked out and photos censored. The trove of material released by the US Justice Department included photographs of former president Bill Clinton and other luminaries in Epstein’s wealthy social circle including Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson. But blackouts across many of the documents – combined with tight control over the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337204/epstein-victims-angry-over-gaps-and-censorship-long-awaited-file-release?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337204/epstein-victims-angry-over-gaps-and-censorship-long-awaited-file-release?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Dec 2025 21:12:34 +0000 Reuters Reuters The US Justice Department released thousands of heavily redacted documents related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Friday that made scant reference to President Donald Trump but extensively featured Democratic former president Bill Clinton. The absence of references to Trump was notable given that pictures and documents related to him have trickled out of previous Epstein releases for years. Trump’s name appeared in flight manifests listing passengers on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337144/epstein-files-release-highlights-clinton-makes-scant-reference-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337144/epstein-files-release-highlights-clinton-makes-scant-reference-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Dec 2025 23:48:52 +0000 Bochen Han Bochen Han Nine Republican lawmakers, including several congressional committee chairs, sent a letter this week urging US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to add more than a dozen Chinese technology firms to the Pentagon’s list of companies alleged to have links to the Chinese military. The letter, released on Friday after US President Donald Trump signed a US$900 billion military spending bill restricting US investments into Chinese tech, asks the Pentagon chief to place AI firm DeepSeek, smartphone maker... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3337138/us-lawmakers-want-deepseek-xiaomi-added-list-chinese-military-linked-firms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3337138/us-lawmakers-want-deepseek-xiaomi-added-list-chinese-military-linked-firms?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Dec 2025 17:17:57 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan US President Donald Trump’s Justice Department on Friday released only a partial set of documents related to its investigation into convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein, an issue that has sparked the first major split between Trump’s Make America Great Again support base since he returned to office. The department was compelled by Congress to make the documents public after lawmakers passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act on November 19, a measure that required the disclosure... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3337136/trump-justice-department-release-partial-set-epstein-files-now?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3337136/trump-justice-department-release-partial-set-epstein-files-now?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Dec 2025 16:11:49 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US President Donald Trump’s hand-picked board voted on Thursday to rename Washington’s leading performing arts centre as the Trump-Kennedy Centre, the White House said, in a move that was quickly denounced as a “disgrace” by the Democratic leader of the House, who is on the board. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the vote on social media, attributing it to the “unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building. Not only from the standpoint of its... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3336973/world-famous-kennedy-centre-renamed-honour-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3336973/world-famous-kennedy-centre-renamed-honour-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Dec 2025 20:42:59 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin The US Congress passed its annual defence bill on Wednesday, easing concerns among researchers by dropping a controversial proposal targeting US-China scientific collaboration, even as it imposed new restrictions on Chinese biotechnology companies. The SAFE (Securing American Funding and Expertise from Adversarial Research Exploitation) Research Act would have denied federal funding to any US researcher working with scientists from China and several other countries, but it did not make it into... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3336886/us-lawmakers-killed-proposal-targeting-science-efforts-china-and-did-instead?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3336886/us-lawmakers-killed-proposal-targeting-science-efforts-china-and-did-instead?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Dec 2025 13:00:10 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Brazil’s Senate on Wednesday passed a bill to slash the prison term of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted of plotting a coup after losing re-election to left-winger Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Passed by the lower chamber last week, the bill now heads to Lula, whose expected veto could eventually be overridden by Congress. Bolsonaro, 70, began a 27-year prison sentence in November, and under current rules was expected to serve at least eight years behind bars before... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3336844/brazils-congress-passes-bill-cut-bolsonaros-27-year-prison-sentence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3336844/brazils-congress-passes-bill-cut-bolsonaros-27-year-prison-sentence?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Dec 2025 02:26:55 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Four centrist Republicans broke with Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday and signed onto a Democratic-led petition that will force a House vote on extending for three years an enhanced pandemic-era subsidy that lowers health insurance costs for millions of Americans. The stunning move comes after House Republican leaders pushed ahead with a healthcare bill that does not address the soaring monthly premiums that millions of people will soon endure when the tax credits for those who buy insurance... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3336830/4-republicans-defy-house-speaker-force-vote-extending-obamacare-subsidies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3336830/4-republicans-defy-house-speaker-force-vote-extending-obamacare-subsidies?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Dec 2025 17:56:56 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg The US is preparing a fresh round of sanctions on Russia’s energy sector to increase the pressure on Moscow should President Vladimir Putin reject a peace agreement with Ukraine, according to people familiar with the matter. The US is considering options, such as targeting vessels in Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of tankers used to transport Moscow’s oil, as well as traders who facilitate the transactions, said the people who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3336785/ukraine-war-us-readies-new-russia-sanctions-if-putin-rejects-peace-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3336785/ukraine-war-us-readies-new-russia-sanctions-if-putin-rejects-peace-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Dec 2025 10:31:25 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The US military said Monday that it attacked three boats accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing a total of eight people as scrutiny over the boat strikes is intensifying in the US Congress. The US military said in a statement on social media that the strikes targeted “designated terrorist organisations”, killing three people in the first vessel, two in the second boat and three in the third boat. It did not provide evidence of their alleged drug trafficking but posted a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3336572/us-military-says-strikes-3-boats-eastern-pacific-ocean-kills-8?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3336572/us-military-says-strikes-3-boats-eastern-pacific-ocean-kills-8?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Dec 2025 03:43:45 +0000