Washington Financial News

The Supreme Court seems likely to preserve the work of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau against a conservative-led challenge

international STEM students in the United States, the Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal challenging the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program. The OPT program, which permits international students in the United States on student visas to work during their studies or up to one year post-graduation, has been a crucial pathway for international students seeking employment opportunities in the country. At the heart of the case was the extension of the OPT program for up to 36 months after graduation, a provision introduced by the Department of Homeland Security in 2008 and modified in 2016. This extension was exclusively available to students pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) fields, making it especially attractive to tech companies. The Washington Alliance of Technology Workers (Washtech), a Communication Workers of America affiliate, initiated the legal challenge against this extension in 2014, arguing that it allowed tech employers to sidestep the H-1B visa program, which has limited annual quotas and is assigned through a lottery system. The STEM OPT extension not only simplifies the hiring process for tech employers but also enables visa holders to apply for a green card during their stay in the US, offering a pathway to permanent residency similar to H-1B visa holders. Throughout the legal battle, Washtech faced several setbacks, including a critical decision by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals in 2022. The union's argument questioned the Department of Homeland Security's authority to establish the OPT STEM extension, contending that it reshaped the entire non-immigrant visa system and undermined protections for American workers.

'Making Money' host Charles Payne discusses the impact of the expansion of the UAW strikes.

Kevin McCarthy, as party infighting plunged Congress into further chaos just days after it narrowly averted a government shutdown. The 216-to-210 vote marked the first time in history that the House removed its leader, with eight Republicans voting with 208 Democrats to remove McCarthy. McCarthy told reporters he would not make another run for speaker. «I fought for what I believe in,» McCarthy said.

By Rae Wee

Matt Gaetz, a hard-right Republican hailing from Florida, led the removal of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy through a historic single-page resolution. Gaetz's move, backed by a handful of conservative allies, toppled McCarthy by a narrow vote of 216-210.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — U.S. and California officials said on Tuesday they are in discussions with General Motors (NYSE:GM) self-driving unit Cruise about a crash in San Francisco involving a pedestrian struck by a robot taxi after being hit by another vehicle.

By David Lawder and Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with the leaders of allied countries, the European Union and the NATO military alliance on Tuesday about continuing coordinated support for Ukraine, the White House said.

Sam Bankman-Fried had agreed to pay sports icon Tom Brady $55 million for just 20 hours of his time annually over a span of three years.

By Simon Lewis and Patricia Zengerle

jail on charges of fraud, had also "planned to give $15 million to $30 million to Republican Senator Mitch McConnell to defeat the ‘Trumpier’ candidates" in the last Senate elections, according to the excerpt of the book - Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon - published in TheWashington Post. "On a separate front, he explained to me, as the plane descended into Washington, he was exploring the legality of paying Donald Trump himself not to run for president," Lewis wrote. "His team had somehow created a back channel into the Trump operation and returned with the not terribly Earth-shattering news that Donald Trump might indeed have his price: $5 billion.

By David Morgan and Doina Chiacu

By John Kruzel

The Express Tribune newspaper said that during the meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, the caretaker government will also discuss reforms in various sectors, including taxes and energy. The report said once the economic review is successfully completed, Pakistan will receive the next installment of USD 700 million from the IMF after its board's approval. The Washington-based global lender transferred USD 1.2 billion to the cash-strapped country in July, as part of the USD 3 billion bailout program for nine months to support the government’s efforts to stabilize the country's ailing economy, PTI reported.

Read More)Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said Monday that unfair tactics used by Google led to its dominance as a search engine, tactics that in turn have thwarted his company's rival program, Bing.Nadella testified in a packed Washington, D.C., courtroom as part of the government's landmark antitrust trial against Google's parent company, Alphabet. The Justice Department alleges Google has abused the dominance of its ubiquitous search engine to throttle competition and innovation at the expense of consumers, allegations that echo a similar case brought against Microsoft in the late 1990s.

UK companies a 4 billion pound ( USD 4.9 bn) contract to design and manufacture a nuclear-powered attack submarine as part of the country's AUKUS programme with Australia and the United States, Al Jazeera reported. The first of the submarines will be delivered into service in the UK in the late 2030s and the first Australian ones will follow in the early 2040s. The SSN-AUKUS program aims to enhance the capabilities of the UK, Australia, and the US to counter regional security challenges, particularly from China in the Asia-Pacific region, Al Jazeera reported. UK's Defence Ministry in a statement on Sunday said that the contract with BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Babcock «represents a significant milestone for both the UK and the trilateral AUKUS programme as a whole». It said that the new submarines, known as SSN-AUKUS, «will be the largest, most advanced and most powerful attack submarines ever operated» by the Royal Navy and will «combine world-leading sensors, design and weaponry in one vessel». The plans for SSN-AUKUS were unveiled in March by the leaders of Australia, the UK and the US and came as the three countries ramped up their efforts to counter China in the Asia Pacific region. The nuclear-powered vessels — which have far greater stealth and range and mark the first time Washington has shared nuclear-propulsion technology with a country other than the UK — represent a significant upgrade to Australia's current diesel-powered fleet, as per Al Jazeera. Previously, Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles described the AUKUS deal as «the biggest step forward in our military capability that we've had since the end of World War II». Through the AUKUS, Washington intends to sell Canberra up to five of its

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says unfair tactics used by Google led to its dominance as a search engine, tactics that in turn have thwarted his company’s rival program, Bing

Michael Lewis, author of The Big Short, has painted an interesting picture of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) in his soon-to-be released book on the former FTX CEO.

NEW DELHI : Speaking in Washington, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar declared it’s difficult to put a limit on India’s relations with the US.

A year ago, billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, then 30 years old, posted a 14-tweet thread on the balance of “safety vs freedom” in cryptocurrency regulation. Now, a different kind of freedom is on the line when he walks into a Manhattan courtroom to face criminal charges that carry a combined maximum sentence of more than a century in prison.