The Justice Department had TikTok in 2024 while Donald Trump’s predecessor was in office Joe Biden sued in the White House. The accusation was that the platform had allowed children under the age of 13 to create accounts without their parents’ consent. The authority argued that the service had violated the law on data protection for children.
USA withdraws unity from Europe
The war in the Ukraine has shown how important drones have become. This is one of the reasons why the US Army established a battalion in Europe in January that specialized in drone warfare. But now the soldiers are to be withdrawn again, reports the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
USA wants to pay UN debt
The US government under President Donald Trump wants to transfer $725 million in outstanding contributions to the United Nations (UN). This emerges from a letter from the State Department to Congress dated August 4th, which is available to the Reuters news agency. However, according to a US government official, the payment is linked to further reforms by the world organization. As of Friday, no money had flowed. The U.N. are in a deep financial crisis. Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned of an impending insolvency this year.
The United States is the UN’s largest donor, but under Trump has withheld mandatory contributions and pushed for drastic cuts. According to the UN in May, the US debt amounts to more than four billion dollars Washington but rejected.
Insubordination: Pentagon fires editor-in-chief of military newspaper
The Pentagon fired the editor-in-chief of the military newspaper “Stars and Stripes” as well as its publisher and a reporter on Friday. The editor-in-chief himself told the AP news agency. He gave the reason for insubordination (refusal to obey) – after an interview in which he spoke out against possible censorship by the military.
Erik Slavin, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, which is partially funded by the Pentagon but traditionally operates editorially independently, said he and the others had received termination letters.
Slavin said he was being fired because he said in a CBS interview that hypothetical censorship of news for soldiers would be a red line. He continues to stand by the principle that “Stars and Stripes” must remain editorially independent. In April, the Pentagon fired Jacqueline Smith, the newspaper’s ombudsman, whose job it had been to protect editorial independence. The newspaper is particularly popular with soldiers overseas because it provides them with current news from home.
Court rules: Trump can continue building ballroom
The US Supreme Court on Friday allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to continue construction of a new ballroom at the White House. The court temporarily stayed a judge’s order that would have halted much of the $400 million project. This gives the judges time to decide on a government application. They want to continue the work while a monument protection organization is suing the project.
