Category Archives: US News

Colorado lightning strikes kill two elk hunters caught in ‘horrific act of nature’

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Bodies of Andrew Porter and Ian Stasko found by rescue crews after storm that likely killed them in ‘split second’

Lightning strikes in Colorado earlier this month killed two elk hunters who were caught in a storm, authorities concluded this week.

Andrew Porter and Ian Stasko, both 25, had been hunting in the Rio Grande national forest in southern Colorado the week of 11 September when they stopped making contact. After extensive search and rescue operations, crews came upon their bodies a week later.

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Jeffrey Epstein ‘threatened to destroy’ Sarah Ferguson before her apology

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Duchess’s then spokesperson recalls disgraced financier’s ‘Hannibal Lecter-style’ phone call after she disowned him

The Duchess of York allegedly sent an email apologising to disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein after he threatened to “destroy her” in a “Hannibal Lecter-style” phone call, according to reports.

Sarah Ferguson sent the message in April 2011, describing Epstein as a “supreme friend”, after she had publicly disowned him in the media.

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Trump calls for nations to close borders and expel foreigners in UN speech: ‘Your countries are being ruined’

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US president accuses European countries specifically of ‘destroying your heritage’ by allowing migration

Donald Trump took the stage at the United Nations general assembly hall for the first time in six years to launch a full-on assault on the world body, which he described as a feckless, corrupt and pernicious global force that should follow the example of his own leadership.

In an inflammatory speech on the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, Trump called for countries to close their borders and expel foreigners, accused the UN of leading a “globalist migration agenda”, and told national leaders that the world body was “funding an assault on your countries”.

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Brazil’s president says in UN speech that democracy can prevail over ‘would-be autocrats’

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South American leftist Lula takes indirect swipes at Trump in speech and warns that global threat of ‘anti-democratic forces’ persists

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president, has launched an impassioned defence of his country’s democracy, claiming the recent conviction of his far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, had shown the world how “would-be autocrats” could be brought to heel.

Speaking at the opening of the United Nations general assembly in New York, Lula hailed Brazil’s successful effort to repel “an unprecedented attack” from Bolsonaro’s extreme right movement. On 11 September, the former paratrooper was sentenced to 27 years in jail for trying to stage a military coup after he lost the 2022 election to Lula.

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West Africans deported by the US were denied their rights, says lawyer

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Men were sent on from Ghana despite ‘risk of torture, persecution or inhumane treatment’

A lawyer for 11 west Africans deported by the US to Ghana said they had been returned to their home countries despite many fearing for their safety.

Under Donald Trump’s drive to ramp up expulsions, the US has sent migrants to third countries, including Rwanda, Uganda and El Salvador, prompting accusations that deportee rights have been violated.

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Ice targeted me for organizing, says farm worker who left US for Mexico

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Alfredo Juarez Zeferino spent a harrowing few months in Ice jail – and, under threat of deportation, chose to leave

Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez Zeferino spends much of his days outdoors, harvesting bananas and hiking vast, bramble-laden trails. But for more than a quarter of 2025, he barely saw the sun. After being arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) in March, the farm-worker activist was placed in a detention center in Washington state, where he remained until he agreed to voluntarily leave the US.

“I probably would say five times, in the three months and a half I was in there, they offered me to go outside,” he explained on a Zoom call from his family farm in Guerrero, Mexico, where he has been for over a month.

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Experts alarmed as Trump pushes unproven link between Tylenol and autism

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Doctors call president’s warning that pregnant women should limit use of acetaminophen – also known as paracetamol - ‘highly concerning’ and ‘irresponsible’

Medical experts are raising alarms after Donald Trump warned pregnant women to avoid taking Tylenol, baselessly linking the painkiller – also known as paracetamol - with a rise in autism among children.

From the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), doctors have endorsed the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy after Trump said pregnant women who can’t “tough it out” without the painkiller should limit their intake.

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Zohran Mamdani agrees to ABC town hall after Kimmel reinstated

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New York mayoral candidate had withdrawn from WABC event in protest at network’s suspension of talkshow host

Zohran Mamdani, the New York Democratic mayoral candidate, said on Monday evening he was willing to appear at a town hall hosted by a local ABC station after the national network said it would reinstate Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show.

Mamdani had announced his withdrawal from the televised town hall hosted by a local ABC station in protest of the network’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s talkshow.

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Eat salmon, win prizes: Fat Bear Week begins in Alaska’s Katmai national park

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Fattest brown bears, bulking up for hibernation, pitted against each other in online public vote – who will win?

It’s that time of year again, when audiences turn to a welcome distraction from the heavy news cycle: Katmai national park and preserve in southern Alaska is celebrating its fattest brown bears.

The park is set to kick off its annual Fat Bear Week on Tuesday, an online competition where the public votes for the park’s fattest brown bear.

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Trump rails against Tylenol but autism claims not supported by science

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President’s announcement latest move in campaign that seeks to valorize the ‘natural’ – often at women’s expense

Donald Trump has, allegedly, found “the answer to autism”: Tylenol.

On Monday, Trump announced that pregnant women should dramatically limit their use of acetaminophen, known by the brand name Tylenol or internationally as paracetamol, because, he claimed, it raises the risk of autism.

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Ted Cruz urges Trump to back older retirement age for pilots

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Worker groups oppose move, citing studies finding health risks and decline in cognitive skills with increase in age

Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican who heads the US Senate’s commerce committee, has urged Donald Trump to support international efforts by an airline trade group to raise the mandatory pilot retirement age to 67 – despite opposition from a pilots association, which says such a move could increase travel risks.

In a letter first reported by Reuters on Sunday, Cruz asked Trump to support efforts the upcoming opening of a United Nations aviation meeting in Montreal.

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Trump hails Charlie Kirk as ‘a martyr for America’s freedom’ at memorial – US politics live

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President’s message that he ‘hates’ his opponents contrasts with Erika Kirk’s forgiveness of the man charged with killing her husband

Donald Trump says he hates his opponents at Charlie Kirk’s memorial

Hundreds of environmentalists gathered in New York City’s Stuyvesant Square Park and a nearby Quaker meeting house on Sunday to rally in support of solar power and other forms of renewable energy. The event was part of a national “day of action” billed Sun Day, founded by veteran environmental activist Bill McKibben and first Earth Day coordinator Denis Hayes.

“It’s so sad to watch the sun going to waste,” McKibben said at a press conference, standing beside environmentalists and their children. “Every single day, energy from heaven going to waste while we drill down to hell for another dose of the stuff that is wrecking this planet.”

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Climate activists gather in New York for ‘Sun Day’ solar energy and anti-billionaire rallies

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Sun Day national action supported renewable energy, day after ‘Make Billionaires Pay’ march ahead of Climate Week

Hundreds of environmentalists gathered in New York City’s Stuyvesant Square Park and a nearby Quaker meeting house on Sunday to rally in support of solar power and other forms of renewable energy. The event was part of a national “day of action” billed Sun Day, founded by veteran environmental activist Bill McKibben and first Earth Day coordinator Denis Hayes.

“It’s so sad to watch the sun going to waste,” McKibben said at a press conference, standing beside environmentalists and their children. “Every single day, energy from heaven going to waste while we drill down to hell for another dose of the stuff that is wrecking this planet.”

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How the billionaire class and wealthy landlords are conspiring against Zohran Mamdani

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The wealthiest New Yorkers are desperately to rally support – and millions of dollars – for Andrew Cuomo to defeat the democratic socialist

Zohran Mamdani has had to overcome a lot during his campaign to be New York City’s next mayor.

His age, relative lack of experience and his self-stated democratic socialism could have held him back. Yet the 33-year-old, a relative unknown 12 months ago, sailed through all challenges as he became the favorite to win the election in November.

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Donations for Turning Point USA pour in after founder Charlie Kirk’s death

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Fundraising efforts ramp up to open new chapters of influential far-right group as Kirk’s widow takes over as CEO

The powerful fundraising operation that rightwing activist Charlie Kirk led to build the influential college group Turning Point USA (TPUSA) is receiving a wave of support from large donors and Donald Trump allies since his murder, which suggests the group will remain a major force on the American right, campaign finance experts and consultants say.

New backing and appeals for help to sustain TPUSA have come from, among others, Lynn Friess, the widow of mega-donor Foster Friess, who was Kirk’s first major backer when he formed his campus-focused Republican group in 2012 at the age of 18. Friess pledged $1m to TPUSA days after the 31-year-old’s killing.

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Weather tracker: Flash floods and landslides wreak havoc in California

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Two-year-old boy dies and homes buried as remnants of Tropical Storm Mario bring downpours and thunder

Flash flooding and landslides led to the death of a two-year-old boy in California in the US last week, after heavy rainfall followed on the heels of Tropical Storm Mario further south. The storm skirted the Pacific coast of Mexico with minimal disruption, eventually dissipating to the west of Baja California on Tuesday, but the remnants went on to cause havoc on Thursday. Residual moist air from the tropical storm was drawn north-east towards California, bringing heavy downpours and thunder to central and southern counties.

The heaviest rainfall was in the mountains of Riverside and San Bernardino counties, where up to 68mm (2.67in) fell in a few hours. Further north, Death Valley – famously one of the driest places on Earth – received 15mm of rain, triple the average rainfall for September and a full quarter of the yearly average.

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Angelina Jolie says ‘I don’t recognise my country’ now amid threats to freedom of speech in US

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Oscar winner’s comments come days after suspension of Jimmy Kimmel by ABC and Disney, a decision heavily criticised by major stars including Pedro Pascal and Olivia Rodrigo

Angelina Jolie has said “I don’t recognise my country” amid the threats to free speech in the US, saying “anything anywhere that divides or limits personal expressions and freedoms from anyone, I think, is very dangerous”.

At Spain’s San Sebastián film festival on Sunday, the Oscar winning actor was asked by a journalist: “What do you fear as an artist and an American?”

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US must ‘universally condemn political violence’, Democratic governor Shapiro says

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Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro says US stands at ‘inflection point’ after Charlie Kirk killing and urges unity over division

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro has said Americans must “universally condemn political violence, no matter where it is” after the killing of rightwing youth organizer Charlie Kirk as well as a deadly shootout in Shapiro’s state that left three police officers dead and two others injured.

Hours before Kirk’s funeral, Shapiro said that the nation stands at an “inflection point” and urged Americans to choose shared values over division, pointing to the solidarity shown by Pennsylvanians in the aftermath of the officers’ killings in York county last week.

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Trump officials reportedly set to tie Tylenol to autism risk

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Washington Post says announcement imminent despite guidelines showing drug is safe for pregnant women to take

Donald Trump’s administration is expected to tie pregnant women’s use of the popular medicine known as Tylenol to a risk for autism, contrary to medical guidelines, the Washington Post has reported.

Trump officials on Monday are also expected to announce an effort to explore how the drug leucovorin could purportedly and potentially treat autism, according to the Post report published Sunday, which cited four sources with knowledge of the plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the announcement had not been made.

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Shooting at New Hampshire country club leaves one dead and two wounded

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Witness recounts shooter yelling ‘free Palestine’ while targeting someone as investigators try to determine motive

A man shot one person to death and wounded two others at a New Hampshire country club as a wedding took place there on Saturday, according to authorities.

A witness to the attack – named as Tom Bartelson of Pepperell, Massachusetts – said his nephew was getting married at the time of the shooting, and he recounted hearing the shooter yell “the children are safe” and “free Palestine” while evidently targeting someone.

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