USA

Twitter says it will ease up on its 3-year-old ban on political advertising, the latest change by Elon Musk as he tries to pump up revenue after purchasing the social media platform last year.

The company tweeted late Tuesday that “we’re relaxing our ads policy for cause-based ads in the US.”

“We also plan to expand the political advertising we permit in the coming weeks,” the company said from its Twitter Safety account.

Twitter banned all political advertising in 2019, reacting to growing concern about misinformation spreading on social media.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans will open the second day of the new Congress much like the first — with leader Kevin McCarthy trying to become House speaker despite losing in multiple rounds of voting that threw the new GOP majority into chaos.

It was the first time in 100 years that a nominee for House speaker could not take the gavel on the first vote, but McCarthy appeared undeterred. Instead, he vowed to fight to the finish, encouraged, he said, by former President Donald Trump to end the disarray and pull the Republican Party together.

03 Jan 2023; MEMO: US State Representative of Massachusetts, Jamie Zahlaway Belsito, slammed Israel's harsh policies against Palestinians, condemning it as a "mission to kill Palestinians and steal their lands".

Following the announcement of the Israeli government's plans to escalate expanding illegal Jewish settlements in the Occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, the politician took to Twitter criticising Israel as "an apartheid run thuggery terrorist regime."

NEW YORK, Jan 3 (Reuters) - The greenback jumped on Tuesday before the Federal Reserve on Wednesday releases minutes from its December meeting, while the euro was dented by moderating inflation data.

The U.S. central bank slowed its pace of interest rate hikes to 50 basis points last month after delivering four consecutive 75-basis point hikes but stressed the need to hold rates in restrictive territory to bring down inflation.

WASHINGTON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - The 2022 midterm vote in the United States was a story of great expectations.

Given the public's sour mood over the direction of the country and with inflation rampant, Republicans had high hopes of seizing control of the U.S. Congress from Democrats, perhaps grabbing dozens of seats in a so-called "red wave" in the House of Representatives in the process.

NEW YORK, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Southwest Airlines (LUV.N) has been sued by a passenger who said it failed to provide refunds to passengers left stranded when an operational meltdown led the carrier to cancel more than 15,000 flights late last month.

In a proposed class action filed on Dec. 30 in New Orleans federal court, Eric Capdeville accused Southwest of breach of contract after a fierce winter storm that swept across the United States shortly before Christmas upended the carrier's schedule.

WASHINGTON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Republican Kevin McCarthy lost a dramatic first vote for speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and appeared poised to fall short in a second ballot on Tuesday as hardline conservatives from his own party rebelled against him, leaving the new Republican majority in turmoil. In an embarrassing beginning to what could prove to be a brutal showdown between hardliners and most House Republicans, McCarthy fell short in the first ballot of the 218-vote majority needed to succeed Democrat Nancy Pelosi as speaker.

HOUSTON, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- An investigation is underway after six people were killed and five others injured in a road crash involving three vehicles in the south-central U.S. state of Texas, local authorities said on Monday.

The accident occurred on Friday evening near George West in eastern Texas, the Texas Department of Public Safety said in a press release.

Local media reported that a minivan traveling south on Highway 59 tried to overtake a vehicle in a no-passing zone and crashed head-on into a northbound SUV, which was then rear-ended by a sedan.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- A scandal over U.S. Congressman-elect George Santos lying about his resume has been snowballing, casting a bleak shadow over Washington ahead of the sworn-in of a new and divided Congress.

Santos, elected in the 2022 midterm elections to represent New York's 3rd congressional district, admitted to The New York Post last week that he had lied about his work experience and education on the campaign trail.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The new Congress opens with House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy grasping for his political survival, with the potential to become the first nominee for speaker in 100 years to fail to win initial support from his own colleagues in a high-stakes vote for the gavel.