Category Archives: US News

Mike Bloomberg’s Democratic opponents target him ahead of debate – live

Posted on by

The White House said that Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke over the phone yesterday.

“The two leaders discussed the importance of NATO, French and United States counterterrorism efforts in the Sahel, and other bilateral issues,” the readout says.

Bernie Sanders may also be asked about this during tonight’s debate: the Atlantic is reporting that the Vermont senator considered challenging Barack Obama for the 2012 Democratic nomination.

The Atlantic reports:

Bernie Sanders got so close to running a primary challenge to President Barack Obama that Senator Harry Reid had to intervene to stop him.

It took Reid two conversations over the summer of 2011 to get Sanders to scrap the idea, according to multiple people who remember the incident, which has not been previously reported.

Continue reading...

US ‘very concerned’ over Huawei’s role in UK 5G network

Posted on by

Trump’s chief of staff gives clear warning about using Chinese firm to supply equipment

Donald Trump’s acting chief of staff has warned there could be “a direct and dramatic impact” on the sharing of intelligence between the US and UK if Boris Johnson’s government goes ahead with allowing Huawei to supply equipment to build the British 5G mobile phone network.

Mick Mulvaney’s remarks represent one of the most forceful warnings yet by senior Trump administration officials, who have repeatedly made clear their concerns about the British decision to allow the Chinese company to supply its technology.

Continue reading...

Donald Trump ‘offered Julian Assange a pardon if he denied Russia link to hack’

Posted on by
  • WikiLeaks published emails damaging to Hillary Clinton in 2016
  • Offer claim made at WikiLeaks founder’s extradition hearing

Donald Trump offered Julian Assange a pardon if he would say Russia was not involved in leaking Democratic party emails, a court in London has been told.

The extraordinary claim was made at Westminster magistrates court before the opening next week of Assange’s legal battle to block attempts to extradite him to the US.

Continue reading...

Rod Blagojevich thanks Donald Trump for prison release – video

Posted on by

The former Democratic Illinois governor called himself a ‘Trumpocrat’ as he thanked Donald Trump for commuting his prison sentence, praising Trump’s ‘kind heart’. Blagojevich had been recorded trying to sell the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama when he became president, but Trump has claimed it did not happen

Continue reading...

US rapper Pop Smoke, 20, shot and killed in home invasion

Posted on by

Two masked and hooded men are reported to have attacked the rapper, regarded as one of the most promising talents in the US

New York rapper Pop Smoke has been shot and killed in an apparent home invasion, according to multiple sources speaking to NBC and TMZ.

The rapper, real name Bashar Jackson, 20, was at home in Hollywood, Los Angeles, when two men wearing hoodies and masks entered the house and fired multiple shots, according to police sources quoted by TMZ. He was pronounced dead at a hospital in West Hollywood early on Wednesday.

Continue reading...

Victoria’s Secret under fire after store dumps hundreds of bras in bin

Posted on by

Discovery draws criticism from those who say fashion industry generates too much waste

Hundreds of Victoria’s Secret bras have reportedly been found discarded in a bin close to a recently closed branch of the lingerie store in Colorado.

The discovery comes at a time when the fashion industry is under fire for generating significant levels of waste, while Victoria’s Secret continues to face criticism regarding recent controversies.

Continue reading...

Boeing 737 Max: debris found in fuel tanks of grounded planes

Posted on by

‘Absolutely unacceptable’ discovery a new setback for US firm, which orders inspection

Boeing has ordered inspections of its entire fleet of grounded 737 Max planes after it found debris in the fuel tanks of some of the aircraft, in the latest setback for the US plane-maker.

The specialist aviation blog Leeham News, which first reported the discovery of the “foreign object debris” (FOD), said it was unlikely that the inspections would delay the recertification of the jets. However, it will take up to three days to inspect each plane because fuel must be drained and vapours dissipated before the fuel tanks can be opened.

Continue reading...

Barr reportedly considers quitting as attorney general over Trump tweets

Posted on by

Revelation comes days after Barr took swipe at president over apparent intervention in Roger Stone case

The attorney general, William Barr, has told people close to him he is considering quitting his post, after Donald Trump failed to heed his warning to stop tweeting about justice department cases, administration officials told the Washington Post and Associated Press.

The revelation came days after Barr took a public swipe at the president, saying in a television interview that Trump’s tweets about justice department cases and staffers made it “impossible” for him to do his job. The next day, Trump ignored Barr’s request and insisted that he had the “legal right” to intervene in criminal cases and sidestep the department’s historical independence.

Continue reading...

Utah senate unanimously moves to decriminalize polygamy

Posted on by

Sponsor says bill would help otherwise law-abiding polygamists gain access to critical services, but critics say polygamy is harmful

The Utah state senate voted unanimously on Tuesday to effectively decriminalize polygamy among consenting adults, reducing penalties for a practice with deep religious roots in the predominantly Mormon state.

The bill, which would treat the offense of plural marriage as a simple infraction on par with a parking ticket, now moves to the Utah house of representatives, where it is likely to face greater resistance.

Continue reading...

Trump calls for Roger Stone’s conviction to be thrown out

Posted on by

President condemns ‘fraudulent investigation’ and falsely claims that he is the country’s chief law enforcement officer

Donald Trump has called for his longtime ally Roger Stone’s recent conviction for witness tampering and lying to Congress to be thrown out.

Trump’s barrage of Tuesday morning tweets comes days after his own attorney general, William Barr, sparked a furore over his apparent intervention in the case.

Continue reading...

Trump seems to call for new Roger Stone trial – live updates

Posted on by
  • Billionaire Bloomberg will face opponents on debate stage in Las Vegas
  • Democratic rules were changed, opening door to former NY mayor’s participation
  • Bloomberg facing criticism over past policies and alleged comments
  • Help us cover the critical issues of 2020. Consider making a contribution

The good polling news for Michael Bloomberg just keeps on coming this morning.

A new poll from Oklahoma, which will also hold its primary on Super Tuesday, shows Bloomberg leading the field with 20%.

In addition to qualifying for the next Democratic debate, Michael Bloomberg also got some good news from a Virginia poll out this morning.

According to the Monmouth University survey, Bloomberg and Bernie Sanders are tied among likely voters in Virginia, which will hold its primary on Super Tuesday.

Continue reading...

Julian Assange: Australian MPs call on UK to block US extradition

Posted on by

Politicians from WikiLeaks founder’s home country have flown to UK to visit him in jail

Boris Johnson should block attempts to extradite Julian Assange to the US, say two Australian MPs who have flown to the UK to visit the WikiLeaks founder.

Andrew Wilkie, an independent federal MP, said the extradition of Assange, who has been charged by the US with conspiring to hack into a secret Pentagon computer network, would set a dangerous precedent.

Continue reading...

NSA whistleblower who leaked Russian hacking report petitions for clemency

Posted on by

Reality Winner was sentenced to five years in 2018 after leaking classified report about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election

Supporters of Reality Winner, a National Security Agency whistleblower who leaked classified information about Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election, petitioned Donald Trump on Monday for her early release from prison.

Alison Grinter, an attorney representing the former US air force intelligence specialist, announced at a press conference in Dallas that she had submitted 4,500 letters of support to the federal office of the pardon attorney, the division of the Department of Justice that advises the US president on executive clemency decisions.

Continue reading...

Ted Cruz criticizes vasectomy bill, exposing his hypocrisy on reproduction rights

Posted on by

Unwitting boost to Alabama Democrat pushing back on restrictive abortion laws by objecting to her vasectomy proposal on Twitter

Ted Cruz, the Republican Texas senator, has given an unwitting boost to an Alabama lawmaker’s attempt to push back on restrictive abortion laws in her state, by tweeting about her proposal to force men to have vasectomies when they reach the age of 50.

Democratic representative Rolanda Hollis introduced the measure to the state House last week, intending it as protest against a law passed by the Alabama legislature last year to outlaw abortion in almost every case unless the life of the mother was at risk.

Continue reading...

Unexploded bombs pose rising threat to civilians in Libya

Posted on by

Rights groups and UN warn of rapidly accelerating danger as banned cluster weapons are deployed

The threat posed by unexploded bombs is rising exponentially in wartorn Libya, experts have warned, with the use of banned cluster weapons a source of particular concern.

The UN’s Mine Action Service (Unmas) said that even parts of the country previously cleared of explosive material had been recontaminated following a surge in fighting since April last year, when the warlord Khalifa Haftar launched a campaign to seize the capital, Tripoli.

Continue reading...

Woman’s ring lost 47 years ago in US is unearthed in a forest in Finland

Posted on by

Debra McKenna, who misplaced the ring in Maine in 1973, received it in the post after it was dug up by a metal detectorist

An American woman’s high school class ring that was lost in Maine in 1973 has been found in a forest in Finland.

Debra McKenna, 63, lost the ring in Portland when she was a student at Morse high school, the Bangor Daily News reported. She said the ring was largely forgotten until a metal detectorist found it buried under 20cm (8in) of soil in a forested Finnish park 47 years later.

Continue reading...

‘Westlessness’: is the west really in a state of peril?

Posted on by

Top diplomats disagreed over the global relevance of the west at the Munich security conference

The chosen theme of the Munich security conference – once a party for Nato and now a Davos for the world’s diplomats – was “westlessness”. The organisers wanted to capture the fear that the west is now so divided and challenged by the rise of China its whole existence has become imperilled.

It was not a concept that won universal acclaim. Margrethe Vestager, the EU vice-president, hit back in one session: “I never thought about ’westlessness’ before. Are we here discussing our own depression and asking the rest of the world to join in as a sort of collective mindfulness exercise? I don’t really don’t get this.” European values – the rule of law and the integrity of the individual – had spread across the world, she insisted.

Continue reading...

‘Trump is deciding who is American’: how the new travel ban is tearing families apart

Posted on by

As six countries are added to the list of restrictions, Nigerian and Eritreans in the US say the ban is devastating their lives

It started out as a joyous day for Olumide. On 31 January, the 32-year-old Nigerian American learned in an email that the US was finally processing the visa applications of his wife and daughter in Nigeria.

Hours later, Donald Trump shattered their celebration, announcing that he was adding six countries to the travel ban, including Nigeria. The decision cuts off pathways to permanent US residency for Nigerians, throwing Olumide’s case into limbo at the final stage of the process. It leaves his wife and and 11-year-old girl stuck across an ocean with little hope of making it to the US.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus: 70 more cases on Japan cruise ship as China infections pass 68,000

Posted on by

US, Canada and Hong Kong offer citizens on Diamond Princess flights home as death toll inside China reaches 1,665

A further 70 people on the Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined in Japan have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total to 355, as three countries say they will fly their citizens on the ship home. It comes as China’s National Health Commission announced the death toll inside the country had risen to 1,665, with 68,500 infections.

The US embassy in Japan announced on Saturday that more than 400 US nationals would be flown home from the quarantined Diamond Princess, currently docked in the port of Yokohama, south of Tokyo.

Continue reading...

Fashion executive accused in rape lawsuit reportedly hosted Prince Andrew at Bahamas estate

Posted on by
  • Peter Nygard is accused of luring women to the property
  • Photos from 20 years ago show the royals visiting the site

A millionaire fashion executive accused of raping 10 women and girls at his Bahamas mansion reportedly hosted Prince Andrew and his family at the property in 2000.

A class action lawsuit lodged in New York City claims that Peter Nygard lured “young, impressionable, and often impoverished children and women” to his Bahamas property with cash payments and promises of modeling opportunities, only to then “assault, rape, and sodomize them”.

Continue reading...