Contact

Latest News

White House Says COVID-19 Tests Being Shipped

The White House says some of the at-home, free COVID-19 tests it is offering to Americans have begun shipping via the U.S. Postal Service. During a Friday press briefing, Jeff Zients, White House COVID-19 response coordinator, said shipping started Thursday. He said demand has been high and added that there had already been millions of orders through the government website that was launched earlier this week. He would not provide specific numbers when asked, saying the White...

Biden-Kishida Talks Include North Korea, China

President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida began their first formal talks on Friday as they face fresh concerns about North Korea's nuclear program and China's growing military assertiveness. The virtual meeting comes after North Korea earlier this week suggested it might resume nuclear and long-range missile testing that has been paused for more than three years. North Korea's Kim Jong Un on Thursday presided over a Politburo meeting of the ruling...

Little Progress Apparent in Ukraine Standoff, but Talks to Continue

The United States and Russia appeared to make little progress in the increasingly high-stakes standoff over Ukraine, each side leaving the latest round of high-level talks Friday promising only to keep talking. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met for about an hour and a half in Geneva, with both officials refusing to budge on core demands. Blinken, in particular, described the impasse in stark terms. “If any of Russia’s military...

Arkansas Professor Pleads Guilty to Lying About China Patents

A University of Arkansas professor pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI about patents he had for inventions in mainland China. Simon Saw-Teong Ang pleaded guilty in federal court in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to one count from a 58-count federal indictment. Prosecutors say that 24 patents bearing Ang's name were filed with the Beijing government but that he failed to report the patents to the university and denied having them when questioned by the FBI. The university...

Experts: Facing Few Options, Biden Should Change Course on North Korea

Experts say the Biden administration faces limited options for dealing with North Korea unless it drastically changes its course as Pyongyang considers the resumption of nuclear and long-range missile tests. Harry Kazianis, senior director of Korean studies at the Center for the National Interest, said, “The only way out of a crisis would be for [President] Joe Biden to give an address on North Korea and lay out a more coherent policy [other] than, ‘Let’s talk.’ ” He continued, “Biden...

California Governor Promises to Aid Crackdown on LA Rail Theft

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is promising statewide coordination as law enforcement and prosecutors go after thieves who have been raiding cargo containers aboard trains near downtown Los Angeles for months, leaving the tracks blanketed with discarded boxes. The governor on Thursday joined a cleanup crew from the state Department of Transportation filling dozens of trash bags with crushed cardboard from packages stolen on their way from retailers to people across the U.S. Last week TV...

Biden Admin Unveils Changes to Attract Foreign STEM Students

The Biden administration on Friday announced policy changes to attract international students specializing in science, technology, engineering and math — part of the broader effort to make the U.S. economy more competitive. The State Department will let eligible visiting students in those fields, known as STEM, complete up to 36 months of academic training, according to senior administration officials. There will also be a new initiative to connect these students with U.S. businesses. The...