Author: Press Room

President Trump’s nominee to run the Social Security Administration (SSA), Frank Bisignano, vowed to crack down on fraud and to protect Americans’ personal data in a Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday. He also dismissed suggestions that he supports privatizing a federal agency that provides retirement, disability and other benefits to more than 70 million Americans. Like other government agencies, the SSA has been targeted for major job cuts by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a reduction in force that former agency officials and other experts warn could greatly hinder the delivery of services to Social Security recipients. In February, the SSA announced it would…

A New York high school girls’ basketball coach, who was fired over the weekend for pulling the hair of one of his players after a loss in the state championship game, was cited this week for harassment in the second degree, according to officials. Jim Zullo, 81, was fired from his job as head coach of the Northville High School girls’ varsity basketball team on Sunday after he was caught on video pulling the hair of a player, Hailey Monroe, after the Falcons lost the Class D state final to La Fargeville Central School on Friday night. Jim Zullo, left, coaches Northville High…

The White House on Tuesday brushed off the seriousness of mistakenly adding a journalist to a group chat with senior national security officials in which they discussed details of a military attack on Yemen.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt denied that war plans were discussed in the chat, even though the White House had previously appeared to confirm the account that the journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg, gave in an article for The Atlantic the day before.“1. No “war plans” were discussed. 2. No classified material was sent to the thread,” Ms. Leavitt said in a post on social media as she…

With close to a million Canadians requiring care at home, personal care workers are in an important position of trust. But a Nova Scotia woman is speaking out and calling for better oversight after her sister was allegedly robbed in her own home.Patty Naugler’s late sister, Kathy Newman, was diagnosed with ALS — a terminal nervous system disorder also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease — in 2023.Last year, RCMP charged a woman the family had hired to care for Newman with fraud after her credit and debit cards were allegedly used without her knowledge.“How could somebody do that? We opened…

A decision on a proposed sand extraction site in Casuarina has been deferred for another 90 days.

Indonesia move clear in fourth spot in Group C of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia with 1-0 win against Bahrain.Indonesia secured a crucial 1-0 win in their Group C qualifier against Bahrain in Jakarta to increase their hopes of reaching the 2026 World Cup. It was head coach Patrick Kluivert’s first win in charge after the former Netherlands international lost his opening game 5-1 to Australia last Thursday. Ole Romeny scored the only goal of the game in the 24th minute as he latched onto Marselino Ferdinan’s pass before beating the keeper. The win moves fourth-placed Indonesia three…

For the Bronx crew ESG, another group formed by sisters — Renee Scroggins and her younger siblings Valerie, Deborah and Marie, along with a friend, Tito Libran — Lincoln Center was the far-off home of the New York Philharmonic, watched on PBS. Renee Scroggins, ESG’s frontwoman, said the show next month will be the first time she has set foot in the space. (ESG has performed at Carnegie Hall, and in arenas like Barclays Center, opening for Robyn, one of the many acts that followed in its sonic footprints.)ESG — it stands for emerald, sapphire and gold — was born…

Paris — French cinema icon Gérard Depardieu is in court in Paris this week, accused of sexually assaulting two women in 2021. A set designer, 34, and an assistant producer, 54, claim the actor grabbed and groped them while filming “Les Volets Verts” (“The Green Shutters”) in Paris in August and September 2021.Taking the stand Tuesday for the first time, Depardieu told the court he was nothing like the man described by the two women.”I don’t see why I would grope a woman, her buttocks, her breasts,” he said. “I’m not somebody who rubs himself up against people on the metro.”The…

The World Liberty Financial website arranged on a smartphone in New York, US, on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesWorld Liberty Financial, the decentralized finance venture backed by President Donald Trump and his family, has launched a stablecoin, joining an increasingly crowded market.The company said Tuesday that the stablecoin, dubbed USD1, will be pegged to the U.S. dollar and be backed by short-term U.S. government treasuries, U.S. dollar deposits, and other cash equivalents. It will soon go live on the Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain networks.”USD1 provides what algorithmic and anonymous crypto projects cannot — access…

The crumbling apartments in Aurora, Colo., that President Trump seized on to insist the city had been overrun by Venezuelan street gangs are now boarded up and nearly empty. But in one building, the smashed door of Apartment 300 captures the fresh divisions sown by Mr. Trump’s immigration crackdown.On a recent spring morning, a crew of construction workers fixing up the apartments pointed to the door as evidence of the violence wrought by criminals let into the country by Democrats. “They allowed this sanctuary nonsense,” said Karl Baker, a contractor, who voted for Mr. Trump.Jackelin Melendez, who lives nearby, had…