By , , WASHINGTON/ATLANTA (Reuters) - Georgia’s secretary of state on Friday said he expects a presidential vote recount in the battleground state, where Democrat Joe Biden has a small lead over Republican President Donald Trump.The candidates each had 49.4% of counted ballots, though Biden was ahead by about 1,500 votes as of Friday morning with 4,169 regular ballots left to count, Georgia’s voting system implementation manager, Gabriel Sterling, said.Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s secretary of state, said he expects the margin in the presidential race to be just a few thousand votes.“With...…By , , WASHINGTON/ATLANTA (Reuters) - Georgia’s secretary of state on Friday said he expects a presidential vote recount in the battleground state, where Democrat Joe Biden has a small lead over Republican President Donald Trump.The candidates each had 49.4% of counted ballots, though Biden was ahead by about 1,500 votes as of Friday morning with 4,169 regular ballots left to count, Georgia’s voting system implementation manager, Gabriel Sterling, said.Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s secretary of state, said he expects the margin in the presidential race to be just a few thousand votes.“With...WW…

By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States believes mass protests in Belarus make clear the government of longtime president Alexander Lukashenko “can no longer ignore” calls for democracy there, a senior Trump administration official said on Monday.The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, also said Russia should stay out of the situation brewing in the Eastern European country, saying Moscow “must also respect Belarus’ sovereignty and the right of its people to freely and fairly elect their own leaders.”Security forces have clashed with protesters in Minsk and other cities...…By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States believes mass protests in Belarus make clear the government of longtime president Alexander Lukashenko “can no longer ignore” calls for democracy there, a senior Trump administration official said on Monday.The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, also said Russia should stay out of the situation brewing in the Eastern European country, saying Moscow “must also respect Belarus’ sovereignty and the right of its people to freely and fairly elect their own leaders.”Security forces have clashed with protesters in Minsk and other cities...WW…

By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday on a pro-Russian Ukrainian lawmaker linked to Republican efforts to dig up dirt on Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter, accusing him of trying to interfere in the U.S. election.In a statement, the U.S. Treasury Department said it had blacklisted Ukrainian parliamentarian Andriy Derkach, who it accused of being “an active Russian agent for over a decade,” using “manipulation and deceit” in his effort to influence elections in the United States and around the world.Derkach’s name has...…By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday on a pro-Russian Ukrainian lawmaker linked to Republican efforts to dig up dirt on Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter, accusing him of trying to interfere in the U.S. election.In a statement, the U.S. Treasury Department said it had blacklisted Ukrainian parliamentarian Andriy Derkach, who it accused of being “an active Russian agent for over a decade,” using “manipulation and deceit” in his effort to influence elections in the United States and around the world.Derkach’s name has...WW…

By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to issue new guidelines for reopening schools, Vice President Mike Pence said on Wednesday, after President Donald Trump criticized the agency’s recommendations as too expensive and impractical.Trump, a Republican who is seeking re-election in November, accused Democrats of wanting to keep schools shut for political reasons and threatened to cut off federal funding to schools that do not reopen, despite a surge in coronavirus cases.“I disagree with @CDCgov on their very tough & expensive guidelines for...…By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to issue new guidelines for reopening schools, Vice President Mike Pence said on Wednesday, after President Donald Trump criticized the agency’s recommendations as too expensive and impractical.Trump, a Republican who is seeking re-election in November, accused Democrats of wanting to keep schools shut for political reasons and threatened to cut off federal funding to schools that do not reopen, despite a surge in coronavirus cases.“I disagree with @CDCgov on their very tough & expensive guidelines for...WW…

By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and close ally Australia held high-level talks on China and agreed on the need to uphold a rules-based global order, but the Australian foreign minister stressed Canberra’s relationship with Beijing was important and it had no intention of hurting it.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper held two days of talks in Washington with their Australian counterparts, who had flown around the world for the meetings despite the COVID-19 pandemic and face two weeks of quarantine on their return.At a joint news conference on...…By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and close ally Australia held high-level talks on China and agreed on the need to uphold a rules-based global order, but the Australian foreign minister stressed Canberra’s relationship with Beijing was important and it had no intention of hurting it.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper held two days of talks in Washington with their Australian counterparts, who had flown around the world for the meetings despite the COVID-19 pandemic and face two weeks of quarantine on their return.At a joint news conference on...WW…

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comWASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) - U.S. spy agency leaders said on Wednesday that China is an "unparalleled" priority, citing Beijing's regional aggression and cyber capabilities as they testified at a public congressional "Worldwide Threats" hearing for the first time in more than two years."Given that China is an unparalleled priority for the intelligence community, I will start with highlighting certain aspects of the threat from Beijing," Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told the Senate Intelligence Committee.She described...…Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comWASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) - U.S. spy agency leaders said on Wednesday that China is an "unparalleled" priority, citing Beijing's regional aggression and cyber capabilities as they testified at a public congressional "Worldwide Threats" hearing for the first time in more than two years."Given that China is an unparalleled priority for the intelligence community, I will start with highlighting certain aspects of the threat from Beijing," Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told the Senate Intelligence Committee.She described...WW…

By , OAKLAND, Calif./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. national security commission is recommending that American universities take steps to prevent sensitive technology from being stolen by the Chinese military, a sign of growing concerns over the security of academic research.Slideshow The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI), led by former Google chairman Eric Schmidt, is set to vote Monday on its final report to Congress. A new section on university research was added to a recently published final draft, which also features numerous recommendations in areas...…By , OAKLAND, Calif./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. national security commission is recommending that American universities take steps to prevent sensitive technology from being stolen by the Chinese military, a sign of growing concerns over the security of academic research.Slideshow The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI), led by former Google chairman Eric Schmidt, is set to vote Monday on its final report to Congress. A new section on university research was added to a recently published final draft, which also features numerous recommendations in areas...WW…

By , OAKLAND, Calif./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. national security commission is recommending that American universities take steps to prevent sensitive technology from being stolen by the Chinese military, a sign of growing concerns over the security of academic research.The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI), led by former Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, on Monday voted unanimously to approve its final report to Congress. A new section on university research was added to the final report, which also features numerous recommendations in areas including...…By , OAKLAND, Calif./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. national security commission is recommending that American universities take steps to prevent sensitive technology from being stolen by the Chinese military, a sign of growing concerns over the security of academic research.The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI), led by former Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, on Monday voted unanimously to approve its final report to Congress. A new section on university research was added to the final report, which also features numerous recommendations in areas including...WW…

By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday said he will revoke terrorist designations of Yemen’s Houthi movement effective Feb. 16, even as he warned that members of the group could be hit with more sanctions.The Trump administration imposed the specially designated global terrorist (SDGT) and foreign terrorist organization (FTO) labels on its last full day in office despite warnings by other governments, aid groups and the United Nations that the sanctions they carried could push Yemen into a major famine.President Joe Biden, who took office on Jan. 20,...…By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday said he will revoke terrorist designations of Yemen’s Houthi movement effective Feb. 16, even as he warned that members of the group could be hit with more sanctions.The Trump administration imposed the specially designated global terrorist (SDGT) and foreign terrorist organization (FTO) labels on its last full day in office despite warnings by other governments, aid groups and the United Nations that the sanctions they carried could push Yemen into a major famine.President Joe Biden, who took office on Jan. 20,...WW…

By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors filed a lawsuit to seize the gasoline aboard four tankers that Iran is trying to ship to Venezuela, the latest attempt by the Trump administration to increase economic pressure on the two U.S. foes.The government of Venezuela’s socialist President Nicolas Maduro has flaunted the fuel supply to show it remains unbowed by U.S. pressure. Washington has been pressing for Maduro’s ouster with diplomatic and punitive measures, including sanctions on state oil company PDVSA [PDVSA.UL].The lawsuit, filed late on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for...…By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors filed a lawsuit to seize the gasoline aboard four tankers that Iran is trying to ship to Venezuela, the latest attempt by the Trump administration to increase economic pressure on the two U.S. foes.The government of Venezuela’s socialist President Nicolas Maduro has flaunted the fuel supply to show it remains unbowed by U.S. pressure. Washington has been pressing for Maduro’s ouster with diplomatic and punitive measures, including sanctions on state oil company PDVSA [PDVSA.UL].The lawsuit, filed late on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for...WW…