Lil Wayne pleaded guilty last month, confessing to illegally possessing a loaded golden handgun on board a jet when it landed in Miami, Florida, and now faces up to 10 years behind bars, while Kodak Black was imprisoned in 2019 for illegal weapons possession and sentenced to a four-year term.

Earlier media reports suggested that following a series of clemencies Trump has granted recently, he could also pardon Bannon, who played a key role in Trump’s successful election bid in 2016 and became a chief adviser to the president. He was fired after a tumultuous eight months in the role.

During his presidential election campaign, Joe Biden attacked Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, saying that the kingdom should be regarded as "a pariah". The US administration is expected to cut the selling of arms to Saudi Arabia, but more targeted steps against the crown prince may also be taken, including financial sanctions.

Trump has triggered a backlash from many fellow Republicans, including even VP Mike Pence, by refusing until recently to acknowledge the results of the 2020 election, which saw Democrat Joe Biden claiming victory and becoming the next president-elect.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also accused the Chinese Communist Party of “crimes against humanity against the predominantly Muslim Uighurs and other members of ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang." The alleged crimes date back to March 2017.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US cloud services will soon be required to verify the identity of any foreign users due to national security concerns, President Donald Trump said in an executive order.

Following the mayhem in the US Capitol on January 6, the outgoing US President Donald Trump has found himself in the middle of a whirlwind, as the biggest US social media companies suspended his accounts on almost every platform, particularly Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and most notably Twitter.

The Russian diplomatic mission stated earlier in the day that the United States had cut off the telephone lines in the Russian Consulate in New York on January 18. It said the US linked the interruption to technical problems.

Since the Mueller investigation turned up insufficient evidence to accuse US President Donald Trump of colluding with Russia to get elected in 2016, the FBI's case for beginning the probe has slowly fallen apart as sources, surveillance applications, and agents' motives are all brought to light.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden plans to engage with Russia "very quickly" regarding extending the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), Biden’s nominee for Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said during his confirmation hearing.

The confirmation hearing for Gen. Lloyd Auston, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to head the Pentagon, took place before the Senate Armed Services Committee on January 19, one day before Biden’s inauguration.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Defense Secretary nominee Gen. Lloyd Austin said during a Senate confirmation hearing that Russia should be held responsible if found to be the culprit behind the recent cyber attack against the IT company SolarWinds.

With the loss of taxes due to COVID-19-related closures and a massive increase in state service programs, the New York state government has projected a $59 billion budget shortfall by 2022.

Biden's inaugural events will start on Tuesday with a COVID-19 memorial and nationwide tribute in remembrance of the almost 400,000 coronavirus-related deaths in the US.

Washington has opposed the project to lay a 745-mile-long twin pipeline that will carry up to 2 trillion cubic feet of gas per year from Russia to Germany, seeking to export more liquefied natural gas to Europe.

Businessman Michael James Lindell, CEO of My Pillow, Inc., was threatened with "imminent" litigation from Dominion Voting Systems, whose lawyers demand Lindell make a public apology following "false and conspiratorial" claims about the company rigging the 2020 US presidential election in US President-elect Joe Biden's favor.

US President Donald Trump's last day in office is January 19, with President-elect Joe Biden set to officially be inaugurated as 46th president of the United States on January 20. Kamala Harris on Wednesday will also become the first female vice president in American history.

President-elect Joe Biden is planning to immediately roll out his immigration agenda, which comes in sharp contrast with that of Donald Trump, who promoted secure borders and legal migration. US political commentators have weighed up the possible consequences of Biden's liberalization of migration to the US.

Antony Blinken, who previously served as deputy secretary of state during the Obama administration, is US President-elect Joe Biden's nominee to fill the role of secretary of state. He is presently appearing before a US Senate panel to begin his confirmation process.

The inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden will take place on January 20 and will make the start of the four-year term of Biden as the 46th president of the United States and Kamala Harris as vice president.