Category Archives: US News

Florida’s Covid-19 surge shows the state’s reopening plan is not working

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As counties end the second week of Governor Ron DeSantis’ ‘safe, smart, step-by-step’ policy, the state marks a record high in daily cases

It has been seven weeks since Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis took a coronavirus “victory lap”, pressing ahead with a swift reopening program while berating the media for a “doom and gloom” approach he said bore little relation to reality.

“We haven’t seen an explosion of new cases,” DeSantis insisted during a 29 April news conference, a day on which the state’s Covid-19 tally increased by 347.

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Tulsa braces for Trump’s ‘wild evening’ amid unrest and coronavirus fears

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Donald Trump threatens protesters and ‘lowlifes’ as mass rally draws outrage from black communities with counter rallies expected

The city of Tulsa, Oklahoma is braced for Donald Trump’s first campaign rally since the coronavirus pandemic struck the United States, claiming more than 118,000 lives so far, plunging the economy into recession, and leading to widespread criticism of the president’s botched response to a crisis that has seen his approval ratings tank in recent polls.

The indoor rally, at Tulsa’s 19,000-person capacity BOK Center, comes as the city and the state of Oklahoma experience a surge in Covid-19 cases and local public health officials urge the campaign to reschedule the event over fears that the close contact between attendees – who will not be forced to wear face masks – could lead to more deaths.

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Juneteenth: rallies and celebrations across America commemorate end of slavery – live

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In Oakland, thousands rallied with members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), whose workers arranged a strike at 29 ports up and down the West Coast.

I was there, earlier today. The union workers were joined by a motorcycle brigade, a car caravan, a fleet of cyclists, and thousands on foot. Activist and scholar Angela Davis and filmmaker Boots Riley addressed the crowd.

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In Wisconsin, governor Tony Evers called on the state legislature to ban police chokeholds, among reforms that he unveiled today.

The Democratic governor did not ask for a special legislative session to take up the policy as soon as possible, as the Brack Legislative Caucus had requested.

Our country promises the opportunity of justice and equity and in the wake of the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the calls for justice across our state and nation, and as we celebrate Juneteenth today, we are called to deliver on that promise.

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‘No justice, no peace’: protesters mark Juneteenth across US – video

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Thousands of people have taken to the streets across the US to mark Juneteenth, the holiday marking the end of slavery and those who fought for it. Combining the words “June” and “19th”, the holiday commemorates the anniversary of the day in 1865 when the Union army major general Gordon Granger read out Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation to remaining enslaved African Americans on a plantation in Galveston, Texas.

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BT and Vodafone told to stock up on Huawei kit over US sanctions

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Security officials fear UK telcos could run out of vital parts if US pressure disrupts supplies

British security officials have told telecoms operators to ensure they have adequate stockpiles of Huawei equipment owing to fears that US sanctions will disrupt the Chinese firm’s ability to maintain critical supplies, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

Senior officials at the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), who are studying the impact of new US measures intended to restrict Huawei’s ability to source advanced microchips, wrote to BT and Vodafone last week, said three people familiar with the matter.

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John Bolton memoir reveals UK’s fragile relations with Trump

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Former US national security adviser reveals series of tensions and pressure points

Donald Trump dashed British hopes that he would take a tougher line on Hong Kong, including by refusing to condemn the Tiananmen Square massacre, according to John Bolton’s book about his time as the US president’s national security adviser.

In one of many episodes in the book that reveal the fragile nature of the UK’s relations with the Trump administration, Bolton writes that the president said Tiananmen Square was decades ago and he did not want to jeopardise a potential trade deal with Beijing.

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Police officers shoot and kill Los Angeles security guard: ‘He ran because he was scared’

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Sheriff’s deputies chased and shot dead Andres Guardado, 18, a security guard at an auto repairs shop

After sheriff’s deputies chased and shot dead a security guard at an auto repairs shop in Los Angeles on Thursday evening, family members have identified the dead man to local media as Andres Guardado, 18.

The killing came amid national protest and unrest over the deaths of African Americans, and other people of color, at the hands of law enforcement.

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On eve of Trump visit, Tulsa still haunted by memory of white supremacist massacre

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The president prepares to hold a rally in a city where, in 1921, up to 300 people were murdered in one of the most horrific acts of racist violence in US history

Brenda Alford stood at the spot where her grandfather’s business was burned to the ground.

Related: Why is Trump's comeback rally in Tulsa: the site of a massacre?

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‘White faux feminism’: Women Deliver investigate internal racism allegations

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Move follows previous and current staff complaining of toxic working environment at global advocacy group

The global advocacy group for gender equality Women Deliver has launched an investigation into allegations of racism and discrimination within the organisation.

Its CEO, Katja Iversen, a G7 advisor on gender equality, has issued an apology and taken a leave of absence until the conclusion of the investigation.

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Democrats and Republicans react to John Bolton’s bombshell book on Trump – video

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Political figures have criticised Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, for his new book, The Room Where It Happened, which makes a series of explosive claims about the US president.

Democrat speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, echoed Bolton in saying Trump was 'unfit' to be president but added that the Republican 'chose loyalty over patriotism'

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Into the Wild abandoned bus airlifted from Alaska back country – video

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An abandoned bus in the Alaska back country, made popular by the book Into the Wild and film of the same name, was airlifted on Thursday as a public safety measure.

The bus has long attracted adventurers to the area, which is affected by unpredictable weather and sometimes swollen rivers where some have had to be rescued or have died.

The Alaska army national guard moved the bus as part of a training mission 'at no cost to the public or additional cost to the state' using a heavy-lift helicopter

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Abandoned bus made famous by movie Into the Wild removed by Alaska authorities

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Helicopter removed the bus where adventurer Christopher McCandless died of starvation in 1992, to prevent others trying to reach it

An abandoned bus in the Alaska back country, popularized by the book Into the Wild and movie of the same name, was removed on Thursday as a public safety measure, state officials said.

The bus has long attracted adventurers to an area without cellphone service and marked by unpredictable weather and at-times swollen rivers. Some have had to be rescued or have died. Christopher McCandless, the subject of the book and movie, died of starvation there in 1992.

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Coronavirus live news: Brazil surpasses one million cases

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Country hits grisly milestone as WHO says pandemic is entering ‘new and dangerous phase’

In Australia, authorities are watching the rise in coronavirus cases in Victoria closely as the state prepares to further ease restrictions from Monday.

Gyms, cinemas, indoor sports centres and concert venues are scheduled to reopen on Monday while cafes, restaurants and pubs will increase capacity from 20 people to 50.

Brazil has passed a total of more than one million coronavirus cases, and nearly 50,000 deaths, according to its health ministry data, in a new low for the world’s second worst-hit country.

Brazil has recorded 1,032,913 confirmed cases, second only to the United States, with 1,206 new deaths reported on Friday to take the total official fatalities to 48,954, the ministry said.

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Trump again threatens to cut China ties after US official ruled it out

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President contradicts top China trade negotiator as Washington questions Beijing Covid-19 outbreak numbers

Donald Trump has renewed his threat to cut ties with China, a day after his diplomats held high-level talks with Beijing and his top US trade negotiator said severing the trade relationship was not a viable option.

The conflicting stances emerged as Washington questioned China’s credibility on accurately reporting the new Covid-19 cluster in Beijing.

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Trump battles to halt memoir as Bolton calls president ‘not fit for office’

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  • Former security adviser calls Trump ‘stunningly uninformed’
  • DoJ lawyers likely to face battle to halt memoir’s publication

The Trump administration will go to court on Friday in an effort to halt publication of John Bolton’s memoir of his time as national security adviser, on the grounds it contains classified material.

Related: John Bolton says Trump is 'not fit for office' as fallout continues over book – live

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Raab betrays his ignorance of the origin and meaning of taking a knee

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Linking to Game of Thrones disregards Colin Kaepernick’s protest and what it inspired

The foreign secretary Dominic Raab’s assertion that the act of taking a knee appears to be “a symbol of subjugation and subordination” that originates from the TV show Game of Thrones showed a startling level of ignorance of the genesis of the protest adopted by the Black Lives Matter movement.

When the then NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the US national anthem before a game on 1 September 2016 to highlight racism, it began a protest that would reverberate around the world.

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US supreme court rejects Trump’s bid to end Daca program

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John Roberts wrote in 5-4 majority opinion the administration’s decision to end program was ‘arbitrary and capricious’

The US supreme court has rejected Donald Trump’s bid to end the program that made it possible for undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children to live and work in the US without fear of deportation.

More than 652,800 people, including doctors fighting the coronavirus, were waiting on the decision about the program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, commonly known by its acronym Daca.

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Jean Kennedy Smith, last surviving sibling of JFK, dies aged 92

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Smith, who died at home in Manhattan, played key role in Northern Ireland’s peace process in the 1990s as US envoy

Jean Kennedy Smith, the youngest sister and last surviving sibling of John F Kennedy, who as US envoy played key role in Northern Ireland’s peace process in the 1990s, has died aged 92, her daughter confirmed to the New York Times.

Related: Coronavirus live news: New York set to ease lockdown further as outdoor restaurants reopen

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