US News Updates

R. Kelly must spend another year in prison on top of the 30 years he is already serving for his crimes. After a trial in New York in June 2022, Kelly was sentenced to 30 years for sex trafficking and racketeering. Several months later, in a second federal trial in Chicago, he was found guilty of trying to get minors to have sex with him and making child sexual images. He is now serving a 20-year sentence for these crimes, but 19 of those years will be served at the same time as the first sentence. If he stays in jail until the end of his sentence, he will be in his mid-80s. In the second case, federal prosecutors wanted a 25-year sentence longer than what federal sentencing guidelines called for. They said that Kelly’s crimes were worse because he filmed them, and some videos were later posted online. The memo said that R. Kelly wants to abuse children “until he dies” and needs a long sentence to “protect the community” from more harm. Jennifer Bonjean, Kelly’s defense lawyer, asked t...

  Last year, trade between the US and China hit a record high, even though US relations with China were getting worse. Official figures show that trade between the two countries was worth $690.6 billion (£572.6 billion) in 2022. After a Chinese balloon flew across the US, US relations with China are now at an all-time low. Beijing denies that we used it to spy. Since 2018, the two largest economies in the world have also been in a trade war. The new numbers show that US imports from China rose to $536.8 billion last year. This is because more Americans bought toys and cell phones made in China. The US sent $153.8 billion worth of goods to China during the same period. Some of the increase in trade between the US and China is due to the rising cost of living, but the numbers also show how dependent the two countries still are on each other, even after years of fighting over trade. In 2018, the Trump administration began to increase trade restrictions on China. After years of risin...

  The market value of India’s Adani Group fell after a US investment firm accused it of fraud. Can it reach its ambitious growth goals? How did the stock market crash happen? The ports-to-energy conglomerate, made up of seven publicly traded companies, was worth $220bn until two weeks ago. But since January 24, when a short seller named Hindenburg Research accused the group of “brazen” stock manipulation and accounting fraud, its value has dropped by almost half. The group’s founder, Gautam Adani, has lost billions of dollars and is no longer in the top 20 wealthiest people globally. The Adani Group has denied the claims, calling them “malicious” and “baseless,” and says that its plans have not changed. But investors are still worried. In a statement released Monday, the group said it would pay off loans worth $1.1 billion that was taken out using shares as collateral before their due date next year. It said this was partly because of “continued market volatility” and to give reass...