Author: Press Room

President Trump on Thursday instructed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin shutting down her agency, a task that cannot be completed without congressional approval and sets the stage for a seismic political and legal battle over the federal government’s role in the nation’s schools.Surrounded by schoolchildren seated at desks in the East Room of the White House, Mr. Trump signed a long-awaited executive order that he said would begin dismantling the department “once and for all.” The Trump administration has cited poor test scores as a key justification for the move.“We’re going to shut it down, and shut it down…

As the City of Saskatoon deals with an “unprecedented” number of overdoses, the city’s only safe consumption site is temporarily closing down. Prairie Harm Reduction said the trauma from responding to overdoses every day is becoming too much and staff need time to recover.For the next 11 days, their doors will be closed.Ashley Greyeyes, the site’s drop-in supervisor, took to Facebook to share the news.“Our team provides food, clothing and support, but more than anything we offer the one thing that’s too often withheld: dignity,” Greyeyes post reads.“We respond to overdose after overdose, each one a tragic reminder of the…

TAIPEI: Beijing on Thursday (Mar 20) demanded protections for Chinese students in the US after a congressional panel asked six American universities to hand over a large amount of detailed information on their Chinese students, citing national security concerns. A letter sent to the universities, including Stanford and Carnegie Mellon, alleged that the Chinese government was embedding researchers in top American institutions to gain direct access to sensitive technologies. In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Chinese students account for about one-quarter of all international students in the US and that their activities have promoted “the economic prosperity…

The eruption disrupted several flights and raised emergency warnings to their highest level for locals and tourists.An eruption by Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano, located in the southeastern part of Flores Island, spewed ash clouds more than 8km (5 miles) into the air, disrupting flights and raising emergency warnings to the highest level for residents and tourists. Indonesia’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation warned locals and visitors on Friday against activities within a radius of 7-8km (4.4-5 miles) in the southwest and northeast sectors of the eruption. “The ash column was observed grey to black with thick intensity,”…

Washington — A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing systems at the Social Security Administration containing the sensitive information of millions of Americans, delivering another setback to President Trump’s efforts to overhaul the federal government.U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander wrote in a 137-page decision that a group of unions challenging DOGE’s access to systems of records at the SSA was likely to succeed on its claims that the efforts violated the Privacy Act and a federal law that governs the agency rulemaking process.She granted a request for a temporary restraining order…

Mark Rylance sat quietly and alone, his black-capped head bowed, his eyes closed. Nearby in a grand chamber, Damian Lewis stood resplendent in a huge gold jacket, playing King Henry VIII, as the director Peter Kosminsky rearranged some actors playing courtiers.It was Shoot Day 77, last spring, at Bishop’s Palace in Wells, England, one of the locations for “The Mirror and the Light,” the second and final television series based on Hilary Mantel’s dazzling trilogy of novels. The books, and the show, chart the rise and fall of the energetic, inscrutable Thomas Cromwell — a blacksmith’s son who became chief…

The Financial Services Union has slammed a “draconian” new contract for workers at superannuation and investment management behemoth AMP that it claims contains “disturbing surveillance and medical privacy provisions”.About 2000 AMP workers were handed the new agreements on Monday and given just one week to sign, according to the FSU.The union alleges the contracts contain clauses that would allow the company to “carry out continuous video surveillance” of staff.“AMP would be able to carry out ongoing and intrusive surveillance, even at employees’ homes, with only one day’s notice,” the FSU alleged.An AMP spokesman said the group “is not and will…

More than a decade after his death, a well-known Florida doctor’s wife was ordered to pay his children $200 million after a civil court found her responsible for his killing inside their Tarpon Springs mansion.Dr. Steven Schwartz, a 74-year-old kidney specialist, was found dead in May 2014 after being shot twice in his garage. His wife, Rebecca Schwartz, 64, reportedly called police and said there was a burglary at the home. A civil court found Rebecca Schwartz guilty of killing her husband, Dr. Steven Schwartz, in 2014.  (FOX 13 Tampa Bay)MENENDEZ BROTHERS: LOS ANGELES DA NATHAN HOCHMAN ASKS TO WITHDRAW PREDECESSOR’S…

Robert De Niro is playing two rival crime bosses in his latest film, describing it as a technical challenge.The veteran actor explained that the dual role, where he portrays both Frank and Vito in “The Alto Knights,” required precise positioning and careful coordination with cameras on dollies moving around the set.”It’s a technical thing where you have to be in a certain spot,” De Niro said.To make the rapid-fire dialogue between his characters work, he enlisted another actor to read opposite him during filming.”When I would do Frank, he would do Vito. When I would do Vito, he would do Frank,”…

Tesla CEO Elon Musk looks on as US President Donald Trump speaks to the press as they stand next to a Tesla vehicle on the South Portico of the White House on March 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty ImagesElon Musk received a court summons last week in connection with the SEC’s lawsuit over his alleged failure to properly disclose purchases of Twitter stock in 2022 before bidding to buy the company, according to a filing on Thursday.A process server delivered the civil summons to Musk on March 14, at the headquarters of SpaceX in Brownsville,…