Category Archives: US News

JK Rowling returns human rights award to group that denounces her trans views

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Author ‘follows my conscience’ after head of Robert F Kennedy Human Rights group says her views are transphobic

JK Rowling is returning the Ripple of Hope award given to her last year by the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights (RFKHR) organisation after its president, Kennedy’s daughter, criticised her views on transgender issues.

The award, which is for people who have shown a “commitment to social change”, was presented to Rowling in December for her work with her children’s charity, Lumos. On receiving the award, Rowling called it “one of the highest honours I’ve ever been given” and said “Robert Kennedy embodied everything I most admire in a human being”. Previous winners include Barack Obama, archbishop Desmond Tutu and Joe Biden.

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Trump unleashes diatribe of falsehoods and baseless attacks in RNC finale

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Trump portrayed Biden as a creature of the Washington swamp, beat the drum of law and order and said little about racial injustice

You write him off at your peril. Donald Trump stood at one of America’s most hallowed spaces on Thursday – the White House – and bent it to his will, just as he has bent the Republican party and swaths of America.

Related: RNC: Trump paints Biden as a 'radical' candidate and a danger to America

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Donald Trump slams Joe Biden in Republican nomination acceptance speech – video

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Donald Trump formally accepted the Republican party's nomination for re-election in front of the White House on Thursday night.

'This is the most important election in the history of our country,' Trump said after he 'profoundly' accepted his party's nomination.

Trump went on to excoriate the Democratic party and argue that the choice for voters is between a president who has a record of unmatched accomplishments and an opposition party and candidate eager to tear down the country.

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Coronavirus live news: India records its highest daily toll, WHO to review emergency alert rules

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Spanish children over six to wear masks at school; Tour de France in doubt; US Midwest states report record tallies. Follow latest updates

The UK on Thursday recorded the highest number of new coronavirus cases since 12 June, with government figures reporting 1,522 positive cases.

The number of new cases, which cover the 24 hours to 9am on 27 August, were up 474 on the previous day.

Related: UK sees highest number of new Covid-19 cases since mid-June

The risk of severe illness and death to children from Covid-19 is “vanishingly rare”, according to the biggest study yet of those admitted to hospital, which the researchers say should reassure parents as they return to school.

The study included two-thirds of all patients admitted to hospitals across England, Scotland and Wales with Covid-19. Of these, 651 – less than 1% – were children and young people under 19. Six of these patients – less than 1% – died. All had severe underlying health conditions.

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Coronavirus live news: France reports 7,379 daily cases in new post-lockdown record

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France records second highest daily tally since March; Italy considers evacuating tourists from Sardinia; Spain’s daily count falls; face masks mandatory in Paris

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said a White House proposal to spend $1.3tn (£1tn) in coronavirus economic relief would not be enough to meet the needs of American workers and families.

Pelosi said in a statement she hoped the Republicans would come to the negotiating table and accept the Democratic offer of $2.2tn in spending.

Nationwide restrictions cannot be ruled out should England see a spike in coronavirus cases this winter, the health secretary has warned.

Matt Hancock said countries in others parts of the world were already experiencing a second wave, adding it was “a very serious threat”.

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Donald Trump portrays Biden as threat to America in RNC speech packed with falsehoods – live

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That’s it from us tonight. Here are the key takeaways of the final night of the Republican convention:

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reportedly plans to resign due to his health.

The Japanese outlet NHK reports:

Abe Shinzo is scheduled to hold a news conference later in the day to explain his decision.

Abe has visited a hospital twice over the past two weeks, fuelling speculation that his health has deteriorated.

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Trump attacks Biden as eager to ‘tear down’ America in RNC speech

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President accepts Republican presidential nomination in event staged at White House, raising ethical concerns

Against a backdrop of a global pandemic, heightened racial tensions, and widespread unemployment, Donald Trump framed his Democratic rival Joe Biden as the real danger to the country’s safety and economic welfare in his address to the Republican convention on Thursday.

Accepting the party’s presidential nomination ahead of November’s elections, Trump argued for more than an hour that his administration had accomplished everything it had set out to do and warned that a Biden presidency could be ruinous.

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Hurricane Laura brings 150mph winds to Louisiana with more ‘catastrophic conditions’ to come

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Six fatalities recorded in Louisiana, including a teen girl who died after a tree fell on her home and a man who died of carbon monoxide poisoning

Hurricane Laura, the most powerful hurricane to strike the US this year, moved across Louisiana on a northerly path on Thursday, after threatening an “unsurvivable storm surge” on the coast and tropical force weather as far as Tennessee.

The storm slammed into western Louisiana overnight with gusts of up to 150mph and could cause “catastrophic conditions”, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Not until 11 hours after landfall did it finally weaken.

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‘Devastation everywhere’: Louisiana city wakes up to storm’s aftermath

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Lake Charles felt the full force of Hurricane Laura and now residents who rode out the disaster are picking up the pieces

Classie Ballou lives on the fifth floor of Chateau du Lac, an eight-story retirement home in the Louisiana city of Lake Charles. “I made it through Rita,” he said from a park bench in the rubble of downtown as he reflected on the fury of Hurricane Laura that had just roared through his home town. “Honestly, I thought it wasn’t going to be that bad.”

He shook his head. “If I were doing it over, I would leave.”

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‘We’ve all had enough’: Kenosha in anguish over Jacob Blake shooting

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Communities have been left to come to terms with the setback for race relations, a frayed relationship with police and the damage that has upended daily life

Antwainnetta Edwards is a new mom. Just weeks ago she had a baby girl and worked hard preparing herself to raise a child during a coronavirus pandemic and the related economic crisis.

Now, as she stood on the porch of her home in Kenosha, rocking her newborn back and forth, she reflected on the last four days and nights that have shaken the small Wisconsin city since, once again in America, a white police officer shot a Black man during an interaction that went out of control, severely wounding Jacob Blake on Sunday.

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Trump puts women ‘on equal footing’ with men, say female advisers at RNC – video

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A strong female contingent was out in force during the third day of the Republican national convention, with Trump’s advisers attempting to paint a picture of a compassionate, open-minded president in an apparent attempt to win over female voters. 

Kayleigh McEnany recounted how the president called her after her mastectomy, the White House adviser Kellyanne Conway applauded Trump for putting women 'on equal footing with the men' and his daughter-in law, Lara Trump, described the Trump family as 'warm and caring'.

The president’s advisers ignored the dozens of sexual misconduct allegations against Trump (which he denies) and his history of referring to women as 'dogs' and 'fat pigs'. 

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France records post-lockdown record of 6,111 daily cases – as it happened

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France records highest level of daily cases since lockdown ended and the second-highest ever; Italy records most daily cases since 6 May. This blog is now closed. Follow our new blog below.

This blog has now closed. You can stay up to date on all the latest news on our new blog below.

Related: Coronavirus live news: Tour de France in doubt, WHO to review emergency alert rules

Here’s a quick recap of the latest coronavirus developments across the world over the last few hours:

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Coronavirus live news: Europe sees increase in infections among younger people, says WHO chief

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Regional director warns of increase in hospitalisations and deaths as winter comes; India records daily rise in cases of 75,000

Germany plans to keep fans out of stadiums until at least the end of the year and get tougher on mask-wearing to combat a worrying rise in coronavirus infections, under a draft seen by AFP.

The chancellor Angela Merkel is holding talks with the leaders of Germany’s 16 federal states to officially agree a package of new measures, which will apply nationwide.

The goal of the federal government and the states is to work together to reduce the infection numbers as much as possible.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen warned top officials to take special care to comply with coronavirus rules after the shock resignation of EU trade boss Phil Hogan.

Her words of caution came just hours after Hogan stepped down after a week of pressure over a breach of coronavirus guidelines in his home country of Ireland.

Related: EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan resigns after flouting Covid rules

[As] Europeans make sacrifices and accept painful restrictions, I expect the members of the college to be particularly vigilant about compliance with applicable national or regional rules or recommendations.

Tonight Commissioner @PhilHoganEU submitted his resignation. I respect his decision. I am grateful for his work as a Trade Commissioner and a member of my team. https://t.co/xPcdLX3kmy

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Hurricane Laura: Louisiana braces for impact as 150mph storm makes landfall – US politics live

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As Hurricane Laura has weakened slightly, the national weather service in Houston has been able to relax slightly some of the warnings that were in place, and has reduced the scope of the areas facing southeast Texas.

Here's the latest advisory on Hurricane Laura (4AM CDT). Laura has weakened slightly as it moves northward over Louisiana, but remains as a major hurricane with max sustained winds of 120 mph.

Warnings across southeast Texas have been reduced. pic.twitter.com/7vWFC7tLvv

Back to Hurricane Laura, here’s a map of the expected trajectory of the storm, with an indication of when we might expect areas to be affected.

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Kenosha police officer who shot Jacob Blake named as Rusten Sheskey

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Officer was caught on video firing seven times into Blake’s back at almost point-blank range

Police in Kenosha, the Wisconsin city rocked by protests and deadly violence since the shooting of Jacob Blake, have named the officer who fired multiple bullets into Blake’s back.

Rusten Sheskey, who has been employed by the Kenosha police department for seven years, was named as the officer caught on video firing seven times into Blake’s back at almost point-blank range as he held him by his shirt.

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‘You can’t get close, yet you can’t stay away’: Latino cultural beliefs clash with pandemic safety

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Tight-knit families, a cornerstone of Latino culture, and economic factors collide to make Covid-19 easily transmissible

Priscilla Garcia checked up on her father after her mother was hospitalized with fainting spells. He wasn’t feeling well, either, so she made him chicken noodle soup with Texas toast, the way he liked it.

“He was so weak and scared here by himself,” Garcia said. “That’s why I came.”

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Mike Pence claims Americans would be unsafe under Biden in dark RNC speech

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Vice-president does not mention Jacob Blake as he champions ‘law and order on the streets’ amid protests

In the shadow of deepening unrest in Wisconsin, Mike Pence warned darkly of the violence and mayhem that would ensue under a Democratic administration during a keynote address on the third night of the Republican national convention on Wednesday.

The vice-president, speaking from Fort McHenry in Baltimore, where the raising of the American flag during the war of 1812 inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem that would later become The Star-Spangled Banner, echoed several conservative speakers in painting a dystopian portrait of America’s major cities and accusing the Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, of tolerating violence and vandalism.

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TikTok chief executive Kevin Mayer resigns after Trump call to sell US assets

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In a letter to staff Meyer cited a ‘sharply changed’ political environment, after Donald Trump ordered ByteDance to sell up within 90 days

Tik Tok’s chief executive, Kevin Mayer, has quit just months after his appointment, amid a “sharply changed” political environment after Donald Trump accused the platform of threatening national security.

The Financial Times reported on Thursday that the former Disney executive would be replaced in the interim by Vanessa Pappas, the general manager. In a letter to staff, parts of which have been seen by the Guardian, Mayer said he had decided to leave after Trump ordered TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell its US assets to a US company within 90 days.

“In recent weeks, as the political environment has sharply changed, I have done significant reflection on what the corporate structural changes will require, and what it means for the global role I signed up for,” the letter said.

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Republican convention delivers whirlwind of lies great and small

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Speaker after speaker piled falsehood upon falsehood to recast Trump as a saintly feminist preoccupied with the nation’s health

As Hurricane Laura roared towards the southern US coast, the Republican national convention unleashed Hurricane Liar.

There were lies aplenty at the last convention in Cleveland four years ago but, in those innocent days, reporters were still reluctant to call a lie a lie. Donald Trump blew that up on his first day in office when he and his officials claimed his inauguration crowd was bigger than Barack Obama’s.

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South China Sea: US unveils first sanctions linked to militarisation

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The latest US move against Beijing cracks down on firms whose goods may support Chinese military activities

The United States has blacklisted 24 Chinese companies and targeted individuals it said were part of construction and military efforts in the South China Sea, its first such sanctions move over the disputed strategic waterway.

The US Commerce Department said the companies played a “role in helping the Chinese military construct and militarise the internationally condemned artificial islands in the South China Sea”.

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