Web Desk/AFP

ISLAMABAD: Former US President Donald Trump said Sunday that he plans to give most Americans $2,000 each, funded by tariff revenues collected under his administration. &ldquo;A dividend of at least $2,000 a person (not including high-income people!) will be paid to everyone,&rdquo; Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, criticizing opponents of tariffs as &ldquo;fools.&rdquo; <div class="fr-embed" style="line-height: 2;"><iframe src="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115519726463094783/embed" class="truthsocial-embed" style="max-width: 100%; border: 0;" width="600" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> Any such payments would need authorization from Congress, which remains locked in budget negotiations following a partial government shutdown that has stretched beyond 40 days, halting funding for key federal programs and disrupting air travel and other industries. The US Senate on Sunday took a major step toward ending the shutdown, clearing the way for a formal debate on a motion to resume funding for federal agencies. Trump has previously floated similar ideas, referring to the proposed payment as a &ldquo;dividend&rdquo; or &ldquo;rebate.&rdquo; Last month, he said his administration was &ldquo;thinking about a little rebate,&rdquo; but emphasized paying down national debt as a priority. &ldquo;We have so much money coming in,&rdquo; Trump said at the time. &ldquo;The big thing we want to do is pay down debt.&rdquo; Earlier this year, Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri introduced a bill to provide $600 tariff rebates to most Americans, arguing that citizens should benefit directly from trade revenue. Since returning to the White House, Trump has expanded tariffs on major trading partners including China, Canada and Mexico. Under his &ldquo;Liberation Day&rdquo; announcement in April, the United States extended higher tariffs to most foreign nations, though some were later eased. Trump has claimed the United States is collecting &ldquo;trillions of dollars&rdquo; through tariffs imposed on foreign nations, though the Treasury Department reported $195 billion in tariff revenue for fiscal year 2025. His latest proposal comes as the US Supreme Court considers challenges to his authority to impose broad tariffs without congressional approval.

File Photo - US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC on November 7, 2025. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)

Americas

Former US President Donald Trump said Sunday that he plans to give most Americans $2,000 each, funded by tariff revenues collected under his administration.

Trump vows $2,000 tariff dividend to all except 'high-income people'

SAN FRANCISCO: In the race for artificial intelligence dominance, American tech giants have the money and the chips, but their ambitions have hit a new obstacle: electric power. &ldquo;The biggest issue we are now having is not a compute glut, but it&rsquo;s the power and ... the ability to get the builds done fast enough close to power,&rdquo; Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella acknowledged on a recent podcast with OpenAI chief Sam Altman. &ldquo;So if you can&rsquo;t do that, you may actually have a bunch of chips sitting in inventory that I can&rsquo;t plug in,&rdquo; Nadella added. Echoing the 1990s dot-com frenzy to build internet infrastructure, today&rsquo;s tech giants are spending unprecedented sums to construct the silicon backbone of the artificial intelligence revolution. Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Meta are drawing on their massive cash reserves to spend roughly $400 billion in 2025 &mdash; and even more in 2026 &mdash; backed for now by enthusiastic investors. All this cash has helped alleviate one initial bottleneck: acquiring the millions of chips needed for the computing power race. The tech giants are accelerating their in-house processor production as they seek to challenge global leader Nvidia. These chips will go into the racks that fill massive data centers &mdash; which also consume enormous amounts of water for cooling. Building these information warehouses takes an average of two years in the United States, while bringing new high-voltage power lines into service takes five to 10 years. Energy wallThe &ldquo;hyperscalers,&rdquo; as major tech companies are called in Silicon Valley, saw the energy wall coming. A year ago, Virginia&rsquo;s leading utility provider, Dominion Energy, already had a data center order book of 40 gigawatts &mdash; equivalent to the output of 40 nuclear reactors. The capacity it must deploy in Virginia, the world&rsquo;s largest cloud computing hub, has since risen to 47 gigawatts, the company announced recently. Already blamed for inflating household electricity bills, data centers in the United States could account for 7% to 12% of national power consumption by 2030, up from 4% today, according to various studies. But some experts say the projections could be overblown. &ldquo;Both the utilities and the tech companies have an incentive to embrace the rapid growth forecast for electricity use,&rdquo; Jonathan Koomey, an expert from the University of California, Berkeley, warned in September. As with the late 1990s internet bubble, &ldquo;many data centers that are talked about and proposed &mdash; and in some cases even announced &mdash; will never get built,&rdquo; Koomey said. Emergency coalIf the projected growth materializes, it could create a 45-gigawatt shortage by 2028 &mdash; equivalent to the consumption of 33 million American households, according to Morgan Stanley. Several US utilities have already delayed the closure of coal plants, despite coal being the most climate-polluting energy source. Natural gas, which powers 40% of data centers worldwide, according to the International Energy Agency, is also seeing renewed favor because it can be deployed quickly. In Georgia, where data centers are multiplying, one utility has requested authorization to install 10 gigawatts of gas-powered generators. Some providers, including Elon Musk&rsquo;s startup xAI, have rushed to purchase used turbines from abroad to build capacity quickly. Even recycling aircraft turbines &mdash; an old niche solution &mdash; is gaining traction. &ldquo;The real existential threat right now is not a degree of climate change. It&rsquo;s the fact that we could lose the AI arms race if we don&rsquo;t have enough power,&rdquo; Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in October. Nuclear, solar, and spaceTech giants are quietly downplaying their climate commitments. Google, for example, promised net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 but removed that pledge from its website in June. Instead, companies are promoting long-term projects. Amazon is championing a nuclear revival through small modular reactors, an experimental technology that would be easier to build than conventional reactors. Google plans to restart a reactor in Iowa in 2029. And the Trump administration announced in late October an $80 billion investment to begin construction on 10 conventional reactors by 2030. The hyperscalers are also investing heavily in solar power and battery storage, particularly in California and Texas. The Texas grid operator plans to add about 100 gigawatts of capacity from these technologies alone by 2030. Finally, both Musk, through his Starlink program, and Google have proposed putting chips in orbit, powered by solar energy. Google plans to conduct tests in 2027.

An employee works on a production line for electric flying car “Land Aircraft Carrier” at a factory of Xpeng's subsidiary Aridge in Guangzhou, in southern China's Guangdong province on November 6, 2025. (Photo by Jade GAO / AFP)

Artificial Intelligence

In the race for artificial intelligence dominance, American tech giants have the money and the chips, but their ambitions have hit a new obstacle: electric power.

The AI revolution has a power problem

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: The United States and Pakistan reaffirmed their commitment to deepening bilateral relations on Saturday, with both sides emphasizing the goal of developing an &ldquo;economically entrenched strategic partnership.&rdquo; The reaffirmation came during a meeting between US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs S. Paul Kapur and Pakistan&rsquo;s Ambassador to the United States Rizwan Saeed Sheikh at the State Department in Washington.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1986959822462275854&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=67811c1fc0b3ff0eae270c1483ee35931d4cf782&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 921px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="1986959822462275854">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div> Ambassador Sheikh described the discussion as cordial and forward-looking, noting that both sides explored ways to turn recent high-level political resolve into concrete cooperation. &ldquo;We discussed the ways and means of translating the resolve &mdash; expressed at the leadership level &mdash; of developing Pakistan&ndash;US ties into an economically entrenched strategic partnership through sustained engagement in multiple domains of mutual interest,&rdquo; Sheikh said on X. Kapur, who assumed his new role on Oct. 22, said it was a &ldquo;pleasure&rdquo; to meet the Pakistani envoy and that they discussed &ldquo;ways to advance the US-Pakistan relationship and make our countries more prosperous and secure.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-3" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-3&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1986916860864938039&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=67811c1fc0b3ff0eae270c1483ee35931d4cf782&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 825px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="1986916860864938039">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>The meeting followed a visit by US Charg&eacute; d&rsquo;Affaires Natalie Baker to Islamabad on Friday, where she met Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. Dar noted the &ldquo;positive momentum&rdquo; in Pakistan-US relations and discussed ongoing efforts by Washington and Arab-Islamic nations to promote peace and stability in Palestine and the wider Middle East.<figure id="isPasted"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/351c313b-dd71-463a-8d17-c9568b5bec5a-dar and us.jpg" alt="US Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker meets Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025." class="fr-fic fr-dii"><figcaption>US Charg&eacute; d&rsquo;Affaires Natalie Baker meets Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025 (Radio Pakistan).</figcaption></figure>In recent months, US officials have highlighted Pakistan&rsquo;s role in promoting regional stability and its potential to contribute to economic and energy initiatives in South and Central Asia. The Trump administration has also encouraged American firms to explore investment opportunities in Pakistan&rsquo;s infrastructure, minerals, and technology sectors. Last month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington seeks to expand its strategic relationship with Pakistan while maintaining close ties with India. In September, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met former President Donald Trump at the White House to discuss regional security, counterterrorism cooperation, and economic engagement. Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir also attended the meeting. Trump has continued to emphasize his administration&rsquo;s diplomatic efforts during the May military standoff between India and Pakistan, saying that swift US engagement &ldquo;prevented a nuclear conflict&rdquo; after both nations exchanged airstrikes. In multiple public remarks, he has claimed that swift US diplomatic engagement &ldquo;stopped a nuclear conflict&rdquo; after the two neighbors exchanged airstrikes, asserting that Pakistan &ldquo;shot down eight Indian planes&rdquo; during the clashes.

US Assistant Secretary of State S. Paul Kapur meets Pakistani Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh at the State Department on Nov. 8, 2025, to discuss advancing bilateral ties for greater prosperity and security.(X/Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh)

Economy

The United States and Pakistan reaffirmed their commitment to deepening bilateral relations on Saturday, with both sides emphasizing the goal of developing an “economically entrenched strategic partnership.”

US, Pakistan reaffirm ‘economically entrenched strategic partnership’

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump hosted all five Central Asian leaders on Thursday for the first time, a few months after they held separate summits with Russia&rsquo;s Vladimir Putin and China&rsquo;s Xi Jinping. The West has increased its interest in the resource-rich region, where Moscow&rsquo;s traditional influence has been questioned since the Kremlin&rsquo;s invasion of Ukraine and where China is also a major player. &lsquo;Incredible importance&rsquo; of rare earths&ldquo;We&rsquo;re strengthening our economic partnerships, improving our security cooperation, and expanding our overall bonds,&rdquo; Trump said before a dinner with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. &ldquo;One of the key items on our agenda is critical minerals,&rdquo; Trump said at the so-called &ldquo;C5+1&rdquo; meeting. He hailed the countries&rsquo; &ldquo;incredible importance and unbelievable potential.&rdquo; On social media afterward, Trump announced &ldquo;an incredible trade and economic deal&rdquo; with Uzbekistan, which he said included Tashkent investing nearly $35 billion over three years &mdash; and more than $100 billion in a decade &mdash; in key US sectors such as aviation, critical minerals, agriculture, and IT. The United States and European Union are drawn by the region&rsquo;s huge &mdash; but still mostly unexploited &mdash; natural resources as they try to diversify their rare earth supplies and reduce dependence on Beijing. Kazakhstan is the world&rsquo;s largest uranium producer, Uzbekistan has giant gold reserves, and Turkmenistan is rich in gas. Mountainous Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are also opening up new mineral deposits. But exploiting these vast reserves remains complicated in the impoverished states with harsh and remote terrains. Almost as large as the EU but home to only about 75 million people, Central Asia is landlocked and covered by deserts and mountains. It is sandwiched between countries that have strained ties with the West: Russia to the north, China to the east, and Iran and Afghanistan to the south. &lsquo;Sent by heaven&rsquo;&nbsp;Trump&rsquo;s counterparts did not hesitate in offering praise to their host. &ldquo;You are the great leader, statesman, sent by heaven to bring back common sense and traditions that we all share and value,&rdquo; gushed Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was no less effusive. &ldquo;Before that, none of the presidents of the United States of America ever treated Central Asia as you do,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;In Uzbekistan, we call you the president of the world.&rdquo; The five landlocked countries, which gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, have put on a united front for diplomacy. China &mdash; which shares borders with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan &mdash; has presented itself as a main commercial partner for the region, investing in huge infrastructure projects. The ex-Soviet republics still see Moscow as a strategic partner but have been spooked by its invasion of Ukraine. Abraham AccordsThe biggest announcement of the day was that Kazakhstan will join the Abraham Accords between Israel and mainly Muslim nations, in a largely symbolic move aimed at boosting Trump&rsquo;s push for Middle East peace. Kazakhstan will be the first country to join since the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan signed up to normalize ties with Israel in 2020. The Central Asian republic has already had diplomatic ties with Israel for decades, but US Vice President JD Vance said Kazakhstan&rsquo;s decision would nevertheless boost the initiative&rsquo;s &ldquo;momentum.&rdquo; Several states in the Middle East have refused to join the accords so far, most notably Saudi Arabia. Muffled human rightsFor Trump, who has expressed admiration for hard-line regimes, economic cooperation with Central Asia has taken precedence over promoting democratic values. While the region has opened up to tourism and foreign investment, rights groups have sounded the alarm over the further deterioration of civil freedoms. &ldquo;The summit is taking place while all participating governments have increased efforts to stifle dissent, silence the media, and retaliate against critics at home and abroad,&rdquo; Human Rights Watch said in a statement ahead of the talks.

(L-R) US Vice President JD Vance, US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attend a dinner with Central Asian leaders in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on November 6, 2025. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)

Central Asia

US President Donald Trump hosted all five Central Asian leaders on Thursday for the first time, a few months after they held separate summits with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping.

Trump hails Central Asia's 'unbelievable potential' at White House summit

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Ambassador to the United States Rizwan Saeed Sheikh on Saturday inaugurated the Pakistan-United States Joint Business Conference and Expo 2025 in Virginia, US, underscoring the importance of economic collaboration as a foundation for a lasting partnership between the two countries, Radio Pakistan reported. The conference, organized by Brain Designer Pakistan and the Rawalpindi Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industries in collaboration with the US-Pakistan International Chamber of Commerce, gathered business leaders, investors, and traders to explore avenues in trade, investment, and commercial cooperation. In his keynote address, Ambassador Sheikh highlighted the potential of the US market for Pakistani businesses and called for strategic adaptations to succeed in a competitive environment.&nbsp; &ldquo;Pakistan&rsquo;s relations with the United States are best underwritten by economic, commerce, trade, and investment ties that can survive our generation if we sow the right seeds today,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp; &ldquo;This conference would be a seed-sowing exercise leading to developing into a full-blown forest,&rdquo; he added, according to Radio Pakistan. Sheikh described the United States as &ldquo;the world&#39;s premier consumer market&rdquo;, essential for scaling global businesses. He urged Pakistani entrepreneurs to adopt formal business practices, form coalitions, and pool resources to match the scale of the American economy. The ambassador reaffirmed the embassy&rsquo;s commitment to supporting participants in refining business models suited to US standards. The day-long event featured Pakistani companies from diverse sectors, including tourism, real estate, textiles, furniture, leather goods, pharmaceuticals, and information technology, to enhance business collaboration and trade links between the two nations. Ambassador Sheikh also toured various stalls, engaging with business representatives and commending the organizers for hosting a conference that, he said, &ldquo;augured well for small traders and the business community toward expanding their footprint in the United States,&rdquo; Radio Pakistan reported.

Inauguration of the  Pak-USA Joint Business Conference and Expo 2025, Nov 2, 2025. (Screengrab/Radio Pakistan)

Foreign Affairs

Pakistan's Ambassador to the US, Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, inaugurates the Pak-USA Business Conference and Expo 2025 in Virginia; says Pakistan’s relations with the US are best underpinned by enduring economic, commercial, trade, and investment partnerships.

Pakistan’s relations with US based on trade, investment: ambassador

BRUSSELS: NATO said Wednesday it had been informed in advance of US plans to reduce some of its troops deployed on the alliance&#39;s eastern flank, describing the move as an &quot;adjustment&quot; and nothing &quot;unusual.&quot; Washington&#39;s commitment to the alliance remained &quot;clear,&quot; and its presence in Europe sizeable, a NATO official told AFP. &quot;Even with this adjustment, the US force posture in Europe remains larger than it has been for many years, with many more US forces on the continent than before 2022,&quot; the official said. The US has been expected to announce drawdowns in Europe following a review of its military deployments worldwide &mdash; but no move has been officially communicated yet. Romania&#39;s Defense Ministry, however, previewed the scale-down Wednesday, saying Washington was to halt the rotation of a brigade that had elements in several NATO countries, including Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary. The prospect of a US pullout is fraying the nerves of allies, especially given fears that Russia could look to attack a NATO country within the next few years if the war in Ukraine dies down. But NATO swiftly downplayed the significance of the planned US reduction in personnel. &quot;The US commitment to NATO is clear,&quot; the official said. &quot;NATO has robust defense plans in place, and we are working to ensure we maintain the right forces and capabilities to deter potential aggression and provide for our collective defense.&quot;

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte meets with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington on Oct. 22, 2025. (Alex Wong/Getty Images via AFP)

Europe

NATO said Wednesday it had been informed in advance of US plans to reduce some of its troops deployed on the alliance's eastern flank, describing the move as an "adjustment" and nothing "unusual."

Reduced US military presence in Europe an 'adjustment': NATO

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" id="isPasted">SEOUL:&nbsp;North Korea performed its first ballistic missile tests in five months Wednesday, days before US President Donald Trump and other leaders are expected to meet in South Korea. South Korea&rsquo;s military said it detected multiple short-range ballistic missiles that were launched from an area south of Pyongyang and flew about 350 kilometers (220 miles) toward the northeast. The South&rsquo;s Joint Chiefs of Staff didn&rsquo;t release more specific flight details but said the missiles didn&rsquo;t land in the sea. The Joint Chiefs added that the South&#39;s military remains ready to repel any provocations by North Korea based on its solid military alliance with the United States. Japan&rsquo;s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters that Tokyo was closely communicating with Washington and Seoul, including by sharing real-time missile warning data. North Korea didn&rsquo;t immediately comment on the launches. Trump is to leave for Asia at the end of the week in the first trip to the region of his second term. He plans to go to Malaysia first for a regional summit, and then head to Japan before travelling on to South Korea for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, an annual summit meant to promote economic integration and trade. Trump was expected to visit the South Korean city of Gyeongju ahead of the summit for bilateral meetings with leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, but South Korean officials say Trump won&#39;t likely attend APEC&#39;s main conference set for Oct. 30-Nov. 1. Experts earlier said North Korea could conduct provocative missile tests before or during the APEC summit to underscore its commitment to gain recognition as a nuclear weapons state. Experts say North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would need that status to call for the UN to lift the economic sanctions punishing it for its weapons program. Wednesday&#39;s ballistic missile launches by North Korea were the first of their kind since the country on May 8 tested short-range systems that simulated nuclear counterstrikes against US and South Korean forces. They were also North Korea&#39;s first ballistic missile testing activities since Lee took office in June with a promise to push to restore peace on the Korean Peninsula. Kim has been sharply accelerating the pace of weapons tests since his high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with Trump fell apart in 2019 due to wrangling over the U.S.-led economic sanctions. But last month, Kim suggested he could return to talks if the US drops its demand for North Korea&#39;s denuclearization, after Trump repeatedly expressed his hopes for new diplomacy. Earlier this month, Kim displayed a new intercontinental ballistic missile at a military parade attended by Chinese, Russian and other top officials. The parade highlighted Kim&rsquo;s growing diplomatic footing and his relentless drive to build a reliable arsenal of nuclear missiles targeting the US and its allies. North Korea&#39;s state media said the Oct. 10 parade featured the Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile, which it described as the country&rsquo;s &ldquo;most powerful nuclear strategic weapon system.&rdquo; Observers said the new ICBM is designed to carry multiple nuclear warheads to defeat US missile defenses and that North Korea could test-launch it in coming months.<figure class="fr-media"> </figure>

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Asia

North Korea performed its first ballistic missile tests in five months Wednesday, days before US President Donald Trump and other leaders are expected to meet in South Korea.

North Korea test-fires ballistic missiles ahead of Trump's Asia trip

<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: 2; padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;' id="isPasted"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" id="isPasted">WASHINGTON:&nbsp;A man was taken into custody late Tuesday after driving his car into a security barrier outside the White House, authorities said.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: 2; padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>The US Secret Service said the man crashed into the security gate at a White House entrance at 10:37 p.m. on Tuesday. The man was immediately arrested by officers from the Secret Service&rsquo;s uniformed division, the agency said.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: 2; padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>Investigators searched his car and deemed it to be safe, Secret Service officials said in a statement.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: 2; padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>Authorities did not immediately provide any additional information about the crash, the driver&rsquo;s identity or any potential motivation.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's husband George Akerlof at the East Wing of the White House in Washington, Jan. 26, 2021, across from the Treasury building. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

A man was taken into custody after driving his car into a security barrier outside the White House.

Man taken into custody after crashing car into security gate outside White House

WASHINGTON: Huge crowds took to the streets in all 50 US states at &ldquo;No Kings&rdquo; protests on Saturday, venting anger over President Donald Trump&rsquo;s hardline policies, while Republicans ridiculed them as &ldquo;Hate America&rdquo; rallies. Organizers said 7 million people marched in protests spanning New York to Los Angeles, with demonstrations popping up in small cities across the US heartland and even near Trump&rsquo;s home in Florida. &ldquo;This is what democracy looks like!&rdquo; chanted thousands in Washington near the US Capitol, where the federal government was shut down for a third week because of a legislative deadlock. Colorful signs called on people to &ldquo;protect democracy,&rdquo; while others demanded the country abolish the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency at the center of Trump&rsquo;s anti-immigrant crackdown. Demonstrators criticized what they called the Republican billionaire&rsquo;s strong-arm tactics, including attacks on the media, political opponents, and undocumented immigrants. &ldquo;I never thought I would live to see the death of my country as a democracy,&rdquo; said Colleen Hoffman, 69, a retiree marching down Broadway in New York. &ldquo;We are in a crisis &mdash; the cruelty of this regime, the authoritarianism. I just feel like I cannot sit home and do nothing.&rdquo; In Los Angeles, protesters floated a giant balloon of Trump in a diaper. Many flew flags, including one referencing the anime &ldquo;One Piece,&rdquo; featuring the skull logo that has become a symbol of anti-government protests from Peru to Madagascar. &ldquo;Fight ignorance, not migrants,&rdquo; read one sign at a protest in Houston, where nearly one-quarter of the population is made up of immigrants, according to the Migration Policy Institute. While animated, the protests were largely peaceful. However, in downtown Los Angeles, police fired nonlethal rounds and tear gas late Saturday to disperse crowds that included &ldquo;No Kings&rdquo; protesters, the Los Angeles Times reported. &ldquo;After thousands of people gathered to express their constitutional First Amendment rights peacefully earlier in the day, nearly a hundred agitators marched over to Aliso and Alameda, where they used lasers and industrial-size flashing lights,&rdquo; the Los Angeles Police Department&rsquo;s Central Division said on X. &ldquo;A dispersal order was issued and the demonstrators were dispersed from the area,&rdquo; it added, without specifying if any arrests were made. Trump respondsIt was not possible to independently verify the organizers&rsquo; attendance figures. In New York, authorities said more than 100,000 gathered at one of the largest protests, while in Washington, crowds were estimated between 8,000 and 10,000 people. Trump&rsquo;s response to Saturday&rsquo;s events was typically aggressive, with the US president posting a series of AI-generated videos on his Truth Social platform depicting himself as a king. In one, he is shown wearing a crown and piloting a fighter jet that drops what appears to be feces on anti-Trump protesters. His surrogates were equally combative, with House Speaker Mike Johnson deriding the rallies as &ldquo;Hate America&rdquo; protests. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re going to bring together the Marxists, the Socialists, the Antifa advocates, the anarchists, and the pro-Hamas wing of the far-left Democrat Party,&rdquo; Johnson told reporters. Protesters dismissed that claim with ridicule. &ldquo;Look around! If this is hate, then someone should go back to grade school,&rdquo; said Paolo, 63, as the crowd chanted and sang around him in Washington. Others highlighted the deep polarization dividing American politics. &ldquo;Here&rsquo;s the thing about what right-wingers say: I don&rsquo;t give a crap. They hate us,&rdquo; said Tony, a 34-year-old software engineer. &lsquo;Country of equals&rsquo;Deirdre Schifeling of the American Civil Liberties Union said protesters wanted to convey that &ldquo;we are a country of equals.&rdquo; &ldquo;We are a country of laws that apply to everyone, of due process and of democracy. We will not be silenced,&rdquo; she said. Leah Greenberg, co-founder of the Indivisible Project, condemned the Trump administration&rsquo;s efforts to send National Guard troops into Democratic-led US cities, including Los Angeles, Washington, Chicago,&nbsp;Portland, and Memphis. &ldquo;It is the classic authoritarian playbook: threaten, smear, and lie; scare people into submission,&rdquo; Greenberg said. Addressing the crowd outside the US Capitol, progressive Senator Bernie Sanders warned of the dangers democracy faced under Trump. &ldquo;We have a president who wants more and more power in his own hands and in the hands of his fellow oligarchs,&rdquo; he said. Isaac Harder, 16, said he feared for his generation&rsquo;s future. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a fascist trajectory, and I want to do anything I can to stop that,&rdquo; he said.

Crowds gather to listen to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., during a No Kings protest, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

Huge crowds took to the streets in all 50 U.S. states at “No Kings” protests on Saturday, venting anger over President Donald Trump’s hardline policies, while Republicans ridiculed them as “Hate America” rallies.

Protesters out in force for anti-Trump 'No Kings' rallies across US

Reuters

REUTERS: Nvidia unveiled on Friday the first US-made Blackwell wafer, produced at TSMC&#39;s semiconductor manufacturing facility in Phoenix, as demand for AI chips accelerates. Companies have been racing to meet the broader AI industry&#39;s voracious appetite for computing power as they develop AI technology that meets or exceeds human intelligence. The move &quot;bolsters the U.S. supply chain and onshores the AI technology stack that will turn data into intelligence and secure America&#39;s leadership for the AI era,&quot; Nvidia said in a blog post. It also aligns with President Donald Trump&#39;s efforts to strengthen U.S. technology and manufacturing leadership. TSMC&#39;s Arizona facility will produce advanced technologies, including two-, three-, and four-nanometer chips, as well as A16 chips, that are essential for applications like AI, telecommunications, and high-performance computing, Nvidia said. There has recently been a flurry of mega deals between AI firms and chipmakers such as Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom to build data center capacity. TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), the world&#39;s biggest producer of advanced chips, raised its full-year revenue forecast on Thursday on a bullish outlook for AI spending after posting a record profit that blew past market estimates.

An NVIDIA logo appears in this illustration taken August 25, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

The company unveiled on Friday the first US-made Blackwell wafer, produced at TSMC's semiconductor manufacturing facility in Phoenix, as demand for AI chips accelerates.

Articles tagged with "USA"