Category Archives: US News

Trump rolls out Golden Dome missile defense project and appoints leader

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Gen Michael Guetlein of Space Force will be in charge of defense system that could cost $540bn over 20 years

Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that his administration will move forward with developing the so-called “Golden Dome” missile defense system that he envisions will protect the United States from possible foreign strikes using ground and space-based weapons.

Flanked by the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, in the Oval Office, Trump also said that he wanted the project to be operational before he left office. He added that Republicans had agreed to allocate $25bn in initial funding and Canada had expressed an interest in taking part.

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Flights at New Jersey airport capped temporarily amid air traffic control issues

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Cuts to continue through October amid runway construction aimed at curbing delays and cancellations

The Federal Aviation Administration has finalized an interim order to temporarily cut the number of flights coming in and out of Newark Liberty international airport as the embattled transit hub has recently experienced widespread delays and cancellations due to air traffic control operations.

Beginning on Tuesday, 20 May, Newark airport’s maximum hourly rate is now 28 arrivals and 28 departures, for a total of 56 hourly operations. Prior to this change, Newark typically handled more than 77 flights per hour during peak times, according to USA Today.

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Rubio clashes with Democrats over decision to admit white South Africans

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Tim Kaine condemns secretary of state for admitting Afrikaners while cancelling refugee schemes for others

Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, has defended the Trump administration’s controversial decision to admit 59 Afrikaners from South Africa as refugees after Tim Kaine, a Democratic senator from Virginia, claimed they were getting preferential treatment because they were white.

Kaine, Hillary Clinton’s former running mate, challenged Rubio to justify prioritising the Afrikaners while cancelling long-standing refugee programmes for other groups that have been more documented as victims of conflict or persecution.

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King’s visit to Canada will help counter Trump’s threats, says envoy

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King Charles’s sojourn will ‘make it clear that Canada is not for sale now, is not for sale ever’

King Charles’s visit to Canada will “reinforce” the country’s sovereignty against threats from Donald Trump, the Canadian high commissioner in the UK has said.

Ralph Goodale reiterated his country’s independence as Charles and Camilla visited Canada House in central London on Tuesday ahead of their trip to Ottawa later this month.

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EU to lift economic sanctions on Syria to aid recovery of war-torn country

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Move comes one week after Trump announced all US sanctions on Syria would be lifted

The EU has agreed to lift economic sanctions on Syria in an effort to help the war-torn country recover after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime.

After the decision by EU foreign ministers on Tuesday, the EU’s chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, wrote on X: “We want to help the Syrian people rebuild a new, inclusive and peaceful Syria.”

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Qatar defends offer of plane gift to Trump as ‘a normal thing between allies’ – US politics live

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PM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani dismisses concerns country is trying to buy influence as Schumer introduces bill to block such a move

President Donald Trump is expected to head to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to meet congressional Republicans as they aim to reach agreement on a sweeping tax-cut bill, with their narrow majority divided over the scope of spending cuts, reports Reuters.

Hardline Republicans in the US House of Representatives on Friday briefly blocked the advance of the bill – which nonpartisan analysts say could add $3tn to $5tn to the federal government’s $36.2tn debt – but relented on Sunday.

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Zelenskyy says Russia ‘trying to buy time to continue war’ – Ukraine war live

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Ukrainian president posts on social media after Putin refuses to agree to a ceasefire in phone call with Trump

The European Union has adopted new sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, focusing on Moscow’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers, human rights violations and hybrid threats, the EU’s foreign policy chief said.

Kaja Kallas said in a post on X:

The EU has approved its 17th sanctions package against Russia, targeting nearly 200 shadow fleet ships.

New measures also address hybrid threats and human rights.

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First Thing: UN says 14,000 babies could die in Gaza in next 48 hours under Israeli aid blockade

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UK, France and Canada warn Israel of action if ‘egregious’ conduct in Gaza continues. Plus, Trump and Putin discuss Ukraine

Good morning.

The UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, told the BBC this morning that 14,000 babies could die in Gaza in 48 hours if aid did not reach them in time. Five aid trucks entered Gaza on Monday but Fletcher described this as a “drop in the ocean” and totally inadequate for the population’s needs.

What else is the UN saying about Israel’s aid blockade, in place since 2 March? A UN-backed report recently estimated that one in five people in the territory were facing starvation. The UN posted a statement on Monday reading: “Everyone in Gaza is hungry. Without immediate action, nearly a quarter of the population could be pushed into famine. Food aid must be allowed into Gaza now to prevent a catastrophe.”

Here’s what the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said: Israel decided on Sunday to resume the entry of a “basic quantity” of food, after coming under increasing international pressure. But yesterday Netanyahu hit back at the UK, France and Canada for condemning Israel, calling on them to follow Donald Trump’s example.

What’s the latest with Israel’s ongoing military bombardment? Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israel had killed at least 44 people in Gaza today. Al Jazeera reported that Israeli forces bombed a pharmaceutical laboratory. Hundreds of people have been killed in the past week, many of them women and children, as Israel’s attacks have intensified.

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Shark fisher uses drone to save teenage girl from drowning in Florida rip current

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Andrew Smith called ‘true hero’ after using drone to deliver flotation device to girl ensnared by Pensacola Beach current

A Florida man who fishes sharks has been called a “true hero” after saving a teenage girl from drowning in a rip current by using a drone to deliver a flotation device to her.

Andrew Smith’s heroics – which have gone viral in corners of the internet dedicated to uplifting news stories – unfolded after he left work on 15 May and made the last-minute decision to go to Pensacola Beach to try fishing in the waters there, according to the Florida station CBS 12.

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Trump signs Take It Down Act to combat fake images and online exploitation

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President signs bill with first lady Melania Trump to criminalize sharing intimate images without consent

President Donald Trump on Monday signed into law the Take It Down Act, a measure that imposes penalties for online sexual exploitation that first lady Melania Trump helped usher through Congress, and he had her sign it, too, despite what sounded like a mild objection on her part.

“C’mon, sign it anyway,” the president told his wife. “She deserves to sign it.”

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Mohsen Mahdawi, released from Ice custody, graduates from Columbia

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Palestinian activist, freed just over two weeks ago from federal detention, crosses graduation stage to cheers

Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi, released just over two weeks ago from federal detention, crossed the graduation stage on Monday to cheers from his fellow graduates.

The Palestinian activist was arrested by immigration authorities in Colchester, Vermont, while attending a naturalization interview. He was detained and ordered to be deported by the Trump administration on 14 April despite not being charged with a crime.

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Ex-deputy in California repays $3,500 in cash he stole from homeless man

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Felony charges dismissed but John Sanzone banned from serving as peace officer in state after covering up theft

A former sheriff’s deputy who stole $3,500 from a homeless man he arrested in California has been permanently banned from serving as a peace officer in the state, while felony theft charges against him were dropped, authorities said.

John Sanzone, a former deputy with the Glenn county sheriff’s office, arrested a homeless man who had been carrying $3,500 – money the man had been saving for urgent dental work.

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Comey says ‘8647’ post that caused Trump firestorm was totally innocent

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Former FBI director describes as ‘crazy’ claim that seashell photo on Instagram signified assassination call

James Comey went for a walk on the beach with his wife when they stumbled on a message in the sand: 8647.

According to the former FBI director, his wife wondered if it was an address. They stood over the seashells, trying to decipher meaning. His wife, according to Comey’s account, recalled her days as a server, and said 86 was the term used to remove an item from the menu. Comey chimed in that when he was a kid, “86” meant “to ditch a place”.

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At least 50 migrants sent to El Salvador prison entered US legally, report finds

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Cato analysis goes against Trump administration’s claim that only undocumented people were deported to Cecot

At least 50 Venezuelan men sent by the Trump administration to a prison in El Salvador had entered the United States legally, according to a review by the Cato Institute.

The report, published by the libertarian thinktank on Monday, analyzed the available immigration data for only a portion of the men who were deported to El Salvador’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), and focuses on the cases where records could be found.

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Dogs are being trained to weed out eggs of invasive spotted lanternflies in US

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Researchers are deploying sniffing dogs to combat spread of leaf-hopping pests that can damage trees and fruit crops

The spotted lanternfly, a leaf-hopping invasive pest first detected in the US a decade ago, has steadily spread across the East coast and into the midwest with little getting in its way.

But now researchers are deploying a new weapon to slow its advance: specially trained dogs with the ability to sniff out the winged insect’s eggs before they hatch.

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Trump and Putin hold phone call but Kremlin refuses Ukraine ceasefire

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Trump describes call as ‘excellent,’ despite Putin’s lack of support for ceasefire that US said was primary objective

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have held a rare phone call, which the US leader described as “excellent”, but the Kremlin refused to agree to a ceasefire in the war with Ukraine, despite pressure from Washington and European allies.

Speaking to reporters in Sochi after the two-hour conversation on Monday, Putin described the call as “very meaningful and frank” and said he was prepared to work with Ukraine on drafting a memorandum for future peace talks.

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US supreme court allows Trump to revoke protected status for Venezuelans

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Justices grant homeland security request to end temporary protected status while appeal proceeds in lower court

Donald Trump’s administration can end legal protections that have shielded about 350,000 Venezuelans from potential deportation, the supreme court ruled on Monday.

America’s highest court granted a request by Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, to revoke temporary protected status (TPS) for the Venezuelans while an appeal proceeds in a lower court.

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Train hits pedestrians in Ohio, killing at least two

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Fremont emergency crews search the Sandusky river near Miles Newton Bridge for at least one missing person

Two people were killed, police said, and at least one person was missing after pedestrians were struck by a train on Sunday evening in northern Ohio, authorities said.

The incident occurred at around 7pm in Fremont, near Lake Erie between Toledo and Cleveland, WTOL-TV reported.

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Joe Biden diagnosed with ‘aggressive form’ of prostate cancer, his office says

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Former US president is reviewing treatment options with family as cancer has spread to the bone

Joe Biden, the former US president, has been diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, his personal office announced on Sunday.

The 82-year-old was seen last week by doctors after urinary symptoms and a prostate nodule were found. Biden and his family are considering options for treatment.

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Trump’s acceptance of Qatar jet gift is ‘definition of corruption’, senator says

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Chris Murphy says Trump strategically visited Gulf states ‘willing to pay him off’ as backlash rises against luxury offer

Donald Trump’s acceptance of a $400m Boeing jet from Qatar is the “definition of corruption”, a leading Democrat said on Sunday, as several senior Republicans joined in a bipartisan fusillade of criticism and concern over the luxury gift.

Chris Murphy, a Democratic senator for Connecticut, condemned the “flying grift” on NBC’s Meet the Press as he assailed the president’s trip to several Gulf states this week that included a stop in Qatar.

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