US | DD News

December 11, 2025 12:39 PM

US House backs massive defense policy bill, Senate next

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a massive defense policy bill on Wednesday authorizing a record $901 billion in annual military spending, paving the way for the must-pass measure to become law for a 65th straight year. The tally was 312-112 in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, sending it for consideration by the U.S. Senate, which is expected to pass it next week. The $901 billion in defense spending is $8 billion more than President Donald Trump's request earl...

December 11, 2025 12:34 PM

Trump says he plans to name Gaza Board of Peace early next year

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that an announcement about which world leaders will serve on the Gaza Board of Peace should be made early next year. Trump told reporters during an economic event in the White House Roosevelt Room that a variety of leaders want to be on the board, which was established under a Gaza plan that set up a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas militants. Trump said "the kings, the presidents, prime ministers - they all want to be on the Board of Pea...

December 11, 2025 12:41 PM

Trump launches gold card program for expedited visas with a $1 million price tag

President Donald Trump's administration officially launched his "Trump Gold Card" visa program on Wednesday to provide a pathway, with a steep price, for non-U.S. citizens to get expedited permission to live in the United States. The website Trumpcard.gov, complete with an "apply now" button, allows interested applicants to pay a $15,000 fee to the Department of Homeland Security for speedy processing. After going through a background check or vetting process, applicants must then make a "cont...

December 11, 2025 12:10 PM

US seizes sanctioned oil tanker off coast of Venezuela, Trump says

The U.S. has seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, a move that sent oil prices higher and sharply escalated tensions between Washington and Caracas. "We've just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, large tanker, very large, largest one ever, actually, and other things are happening," said Trump, who has been pressuring Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down. Asked what would happen with the oil, Trump said: "We keep...

December 10, 2025 10:01 PM

US expands online presence checks for H-1B visa applicants

The United States has expanded its review of social media and online presence to include all H-1B specialty occupation workers and their H-4 dependents, the US Embassy in India said on Wednesday. The move comes after several applicants in India received emails informing them that their visa appointments had been rescheduled. A US Embassy spokesperson explained that the Department of State already conducts online presence checks for student and exchange visitor visa categories such as F, M, and ...

December 10, 2025 4:52 PM

US threatens new ICC sanctions unless court pledges not to prosecute Trump

President Donald Trump's administration wants the International Criminal Court to amend its founding document to ensure it does not investigate the Republican president and his top officials, a Trump administration official said, threatening new U.S. sanctions on the court if it did not. If the court does not act on this U.S. demand and two others - dropping investigations of Israeli leaders over the Gaza war and formally ending an earlier probe of U.S. troops over their actions in Afghanistan ...

December 10, 2025 9:44 AM

Zelenskiy says he is open to elections if US ensures security

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he was prepared to hold elections within three months if the U.S. and Kyiv's other allies could ensure the security of the vote. Wartime elections are forbidden by law but Zelenskiy, whose term expired last year, is facing renewed pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to hold a vote as he pushes Kyiv to secure peace quickly in the nearly four-year-old war with Russia. "I'm ready for elections, and moreover I ask...that the U.S. h...

December 7, 2025 3:49 PM

US sets 2027 deadline for Europe-led NATO defense, officials say

The United States wants Europe to take over the majority of NATO's conventional defense capabilities, from intelligence to missiles, by 2027, Pentagon officials told diplomats in Washington this week, a tight deadline that struck some European officials as unrealistic. The message, recounted by five sources familiar with the discussion, including a U.S. official, was conveyed at a meeting in Washington this week of Pentagon staff overseeing NATO policy and several European delegations. The shi...

December 7, 2025 3:44 PM

US signs $228 million deal with Rwanda for health in new aid model

The United States and Rwanda have signed a five-year deal for the provision of $228 million for the health sector in the East African nation, the State Department said, the second such pact under the Trump administration's new approach to overseas aid. Kenya became the first country this week to strike a deal with Washington under "America First Global Health Strategy", which was unveiled in September by the administration and seeks to improve target countries' self-reliance in managing their h...

December 5, 2025 9:27 AM

Trump puts his own name on US Institute of Peace ahead of Rwanda-Congo peace deal

President Donald Trump's name has been affixed to the United States Institute of Peace building in Washington, D.C., nearly nine months after his Department of Government Efficiency seized the nonprofit organization and all but closed it. The change came ahead of Trump hosting the presidents of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo inside the building on Thursday for the signing of a U.S.-brokered peace deal. Trump's State Department said it renamed the building, adding Trump's name abov...