Category Archives: US News

Suspect identified in ‘intentional’ explosion at Palm Springs fertility clinic

Posted on by

Man, 25, who died after car bombing, reportedly wrote he was against bringing people into world against their will

FBI investigators have identified the person suspected of detonating a car bomb outside a Palm Springs, California, fertility clinic on Saturday – and dying in the process – as 25-year-old Guy Edward Bartkus.

A bureau official said agents had determined Bartkus held “nihilistic views” before Saturday’s blast outside an American Reproductive Centers clinic, which also injured four other people.

Continue reading...

Mexican navy ship crashes into Brooklyn Bridge, killing two sailors

Posted on by

Twenty-two crew members injured, 11 of them critically, with nine in stable condition, Mexican government says

Two sailors from the Mexican navy were killed and another 11 critically hurt when a sailing ship taking part in a promotional tour in New York City collided with the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said.

The crash happened on Saturday night when the Cuauhtémoc – an academy training vessel with 277 people on board who shares a name with the last Aztec ruler – lost power and struck the bridge. Eyewitness videos showed dozens of sailors in ceremonial uniforms spread across yardarms shortly before the collision, which snapped the Cuauhtémoc’s three masts.

Continue reading...

Pope Leo XIV holds inaugural mass at St Peter’s Square

Posted on by

Volodymyr Zelenskyy and JD Vance among 150,000 present as Leo says he wants Catholic church to be ‘leaven of unity’

Pope Leo XIV said he wanted the Catholic church to be a “small leaven of unity” in a time of “too much discord and too many wounds”, during his inaugural papal mass attended by world leaders including the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the US vice-president, JD Vance.

Calling for more love and unity, Leo said the church’s “true authority” was the charity of Christ. He said: “It is never a question of capturing others by force, by religious propaganda or by means of power. Instead, it is always and only a question of loving as Jesus did.”

Continue reading...

One dead after ‘intentional’ explosion near fertility clinic in Palm Springs

Posted on by

FBI statement describes attack as ‘intentional act of terrorism’, adding that clinic was deliberately targeted

At least one person is dead after a car exploded near a reproductive facility in Palm Springs, California, on Saturday morning, according to local authorities.

An FBI statement described the attack as an “intentional act of terrorism”, adding that the clinic was deliberately targeted. But it declined to elaborate on how authorities had reached a conclusion on a motive.

Continue reading...

Cooking the books? Fears Trump could target statisticians if data disappoints

Posted on by

Proposed rule change could pave way for president to fire economists whose figures prove politically inconvenient

Summarizing his befuddlement with numbers, Mark Twain observed that there were “lies, damned lies and statistics”.

The acerbic phrase later become so deeply embedded in popular consciousness that it once formed the title to an episode of The West Wing, NBC’s portrayal of a fictitious US president played by Martin Sheen.

Continue reading...

US credit rating downgrade could add to pressure on government debt

Posted on by

Loss of Moody’s triple-A rating comes amid concerns about fiscal trajectory and widening budget deficit

US government debt may come under more pressure this week after the credit rating agency Moody’s stripped the US of its top-notch triple-A credit rating.

Moody’s dealt a blow to Washington last Friday, when it downgraded the US and warned about rising levels of government debt and a widening budget deficit. Moody’s cut its credit rating on the US by one notch to Aa1 from Aaa, becoming the last of the big three agencies to downgrade the US.

Continue reading...

Dramatic dip in baby hospitalizations for RSV linked to vaccine and treatment

Posted on by

But older children, who had no access to the shots, had higher rates this winter compared with last

New vaccines and treatments are linked to a dramatic decline in RSV hospitalizations for babies, according to a new study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

This past winter was the first RSV season with widespread availability of a vaccine given during pregnancy and a monoclonal antibody treatment given in the first eight months of life to prevent RSV (respiratory syncytial virus).

Continue reading...

Trump to talk to Putin on Monday about Ukraine ceasefire proposal and trade

Posted on by

In social media posts, president also slammed Walmart for price increases and spread anti-Clinton conspiracy theories

Donald Trump has said that he will speak to both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an effort to stop what he called the “bloodbath” war in Ukraine, in a barrage of new social media posts that included baseless conspiracy theories and a demand that Walmart not raise prices for customers because of tariffs he has imposed.

Trump, posting on his Truth Social account on Saturday, wrote that he will speak to Putin on Monday morning. “THE SUBJECTS OF THE CALL WILL BE, STOPPING THE ‘BLOODBATH’ THAT IS KILLING, ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 5000 RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS A WEEK, AND TRADE,” Trump wrote, in his customary all-capitalized prose.

Continue reading...

At least 28 people dead after storms and tornadoes strike three US states

Posted on by

At least 19 deaths were in Kentucky, seven in Missouri and two in Virginia after storms spawned two dozen tornadoes

Storm systems sweeping across the midwest to the south left at least 28 dead in Missouri, Kentucky and Virginia.

Kentucky’s governor, Andy Beshear, confirmed in a social media post that deaths in Kentucky had risen to 19 after the addition of a woman from Russell county. “Please join Britainy and me in praying for the families who are hurting right now,” the post read.

Continue reading...

Seven men still on the run after New Orleans jailbreak

Posted on by

Total of 10 men escaped from hole behind toilet in cell; authorities are investigating whether they had inside help

Seven men – including one convicted in four killings and others charged with murder – remained on the run after a breakout at New Orleans’ jail that officials fear may have been enabled by help from within their own ranks.

A total of 10 men participated in the brazen overnight escape by fleeing through a hole behind a toilet and scaling a wall while the lone staffer assigned to their cell pod was away getting food.

Continue reading...

Newly released audio appears to confirm Biden’s memory lapses in 2023

Posted on by

Interview by special counsel shows then president having problems remembering key dates and life events

A newly released recording appears to confirm that Joe Biden suffered some memory lapses while US president, struggling to recall the year his son died or when Donald Trump was first elected.

While being interviewed by a special counsel over his handling of classified records, the audio shows Biden’s responses are marked by long pauses, a faint whispered voice and confusion over key dates, such as when his son Beau died (2015) or when Trump won his first presidency (2016).

Continue reading...

‘Fight back and don’t let them win’: actor Pedro Pascal decries Trump’s attacks on artists

Posted on by

Comments at Cannes come after US president’s social media posts against Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift

Pedro Pascal has sharply criticised Donald Trump’s attacks against artists, as the director of a conspiracy theory satire starring the actor said he feared the political messages of films could be weaponised by US border guards.

“Fuck the people that try to make you scared,” the Game of Thrones and The Last of Us actor said at a press conference at the Cannes film festival, promoting Ari Aster’s new film Eddington. “And fight back. And don’t let them win.”

Continue reading...

Israel accused of ethnic cleansing after more than 140 killed in Gaza in 24 hours

Posted on by

Israel says intensified bombings are part of campaign expansion to ‘achieve all of the war goals in Gaza’

At least 140 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the last 24 hours, a deadly escalation as Israel seemed poised to launch a major offensive in the besieged territory.

Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed more than 300 people since Thursday, Palestinian health officials said, one of the deadliest periods in the war since ceasefire talks broke down in March. The intensified bombing campaigns came as Israel’s total blockade on humanitarian aid has prompted fears of a famine in the Palestinian territory.

Continue reading...

How Donald Trump’s ‘historic’ Gulf state deals benefit a handful of powerful men

Posted on by

The deals stand to enrich tech CEOs substantially by opening up new audiences for their products

On his tour of the Middle East this week, Donald Trump announced a slew of multibillion-dollar tech deals with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. With the sale of the US’s most advanced technology, he also sold the American model of the industry that made it: enormous amounts of power concentrated in the hands of a few men.

The announcements poured in last week: the US and the United Arab Emirates agreed on Abu Dhabi as the site of the largest artificial intelligence campus outside the US. The deal reportedly allows the UAE to import half a million Nvidia semiconductor chips, considered the most advanced in the world for the creation of artificial intelligence products. Saudi Arabia struck a similar deal for semiconductors, obtaining the promise of the sale of hundreds of thousands of Nvidia Blackwell chips to Humain, an AI startup owned by its sovereign wealth fund. Cisco said it had signed a deal with a UAE AI firm to develop the country’s AI sector. The agreements also directed some investment by Saudi firms into US technology and manufacturing. Amazon Web Services and Qualcomm likewise announced deals on cloud computing and cybersecurity.

Continue reading...

‘Very disturbing’: Trump receipt of overseas gifts unprecedented, experts warn

Posted on by

White House remakes foreign policy under pay-for-access code that critics say could violate US constitution

Former White House lawyers, diplomatic protocol officers and foreign affairs experts have told the Guardian that Donald Trump’s receipt of overseas gifts and targeted investments are “unprecedented”, as the White House remakes US foreign policy under a pay-for-access code that eclipses past administrations with characteristic Trumpian excess.

The openness to foreign largesse was on full display this week as the US president was feted in the Gulf states during his first major diplomatic trip abroad this term, inking deals he claimed were worth trillions of dollars and pumping local leaders for investments as he says he remakes US foreign policy to prioritise “America first” – putting aside concerns of human rights or international law for the bottom line of American businesses and taxpayers.

Continue reading...

Trump accuses former FBI director of calling for his killing through coded picture

Posted on by

James Comey posted picture of shells arranged to say ‘8647’, using common slang for kicking a customer out of a bar

Donald Trump accused the former FBI director James Comey on Friday of calling for his assassination in a coded social media post written in seashells.

Comey’s Instagram post – a photograph of seashells on a beach arranged to spell the numbers 8647, which he captioned “Cool shell formation on my beach walk” – was used by rightwing supporters of Trump to claim that it was a call to assassinate the US president. The Secret Service said it has launched an investigation.

Continue reading...

Trump officials reportedly consider TV gameshow with US citizenship as prize

Posted on by

Homeland security department reviewing ‘out-of-the-box’ pitch in which immigrants would compete for citizenship

The US Department of Homeland Security is reportedly considering an “out-of-the-box” pitch to participate in a television gameshow that would have immigrants compete to obtain US citizenship.

Department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin described the pitch to the New York Times as a “celebration of being an American” and said the show would include challenges based on American traditions.

Continue reading...

Four people killed by St Louis storms as severe weather threatens millions in US

Posted on by

Mayor confirms deaths after roofs torn off and trees downed, while multiple states brace for high winds and heat

At least four people died and others were hurt after severe storms including a possible tornado swept through St Louis on Friday, as tens of millions of Americans in multiple states braced for possible damage from expected high winds and severe weather this weekend.

St Louis mayor Cara Spencer confirmed the deaths after storms tore roofs off some buildings, ripped away brick facades and downed trees and power lines as residents were urged to take cover.

Continue reading...

Israel launches major offensive in Gaza after airstrikes that killed more than 100

Posted on by

IDF aiming to seize strategic areas as part of expansion of war against Hamas in attempt to force release of hostages

Israel has announced a major new offensive in Gaza after launching a wave of airstrikes on the territory that killed more than 100 people, in what it said was a fresh effort to force Hamas to release hostages.

In a statement late on Friday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they had “launched extensive attacks and mobilized forces to seize strategic areas in the Gaza Strip, as part of the opening moves of Operation Gideon’s Chariots and the expansion of the campaign in Gaza, to achieve all the goals of the war in Gaza”.

Continue reading...

Supreme court blocks Trump bid to resume deportations under 1798 law

Posted on by

Administration’s appeal to quickly deport Venezuelans under Alien Enemies Act rejected with two dissenting

The supreme court has rejected the Trump administration’s request to remove a temporary block on deportations of Venezuelans under a rarely used 18th-century wartime law.

Over two dissenting votes, the justices acted on an emergency appeal from lawyers for Venezuelan men who have been accused of being gang members, a designation that the administration says makes them eligible for rapid removal from the United States under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.

Continue reading...