This week the FBI released more details of the investigation into the brief 2018 abduction of Isaac, a 33-year-old ring-tailed lemur
When it comes to lemurs, Isaac is known for being an easygoing guy. He’s 33, and mostly enjoys a typical lemur life: resting, eating, exploring, and napping in the sun. He’s the oldest ring-tailed lemur in North America and has lived at the same address since 2000.
Related: Orangutan Sandra granted personhood settles into new Florida home
Continue reading...Protest balloon was knifed during Donald Trump’s visit to college football game
A towering Baby Trump protest balloon was knifed and deflated by someone unhappy with its appearance during Donald Trump’s Saturday trip to Alabama, organisers said.
The incident occurred during the president’s visit to watch a University of Alabama football game. The balloon, which is more than 6.1 metres (20 feet) tall, was set up in a nearby park.
Continue reading...Hitting back at criticism from Joe Biden that many people said was sexist, Elizabeth Warren told supporters: “I am angry and I own it.”
Related: Michael Bloomberg: billionaire eyes centre lane in Democratic presidential race
Continue reading...Senate candidate and ex-attorney general releases 30-second spot to praise the ‘great job’ the president who fired him is doing
Jeff Sessions’ first ad as a candidate for US Senate in Alabama does not mention that he is running to return to a seat he won in 1996 and filled until 2016. Instead, the 30-second clip focuses on praising Donald Trump – the president who fired Sessions as attorney general in November 2018 after ritually humiliating him on the national stage.
Related: Impeachment: how Trump's hardball tactics put the constitution in peril
Continue reading...Only six candidates turned out for the first ever presidential forum on environmental justice, at South Carolina State University on Friday night.
Related: Michael Bloomberg: billionaire eyes centre lane in Democratic presidential race
Continue reading...Project by Argentinian artist Andrés Iglesias is poised for completion next week in eco-conscious city
San Francisco, a city that prides itself on its eco-consciousness, will soon have a giant likeness of Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg gazing upon its downtown, reminding residents to respect the planet.
Related: 'Greta Thunberg effect' driving growth in carbon offsetting
Continue reading...Lawyer for former US national security adviser says there are ‘many relevant conversations’ that House impeachment investigators don’t know about
Quiet ending to a not-so-quiet day.
The team behind Michael Bloomberg has said that “if we run”, they would bypass the four early-voting state - Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina - and focus on doing well on Super Tuesday and beyond.
NEW Bloomberg statement: "If we run, we are confident we can win in states voting on Super Tuesday and beyond, where we will start on an even footing."
In a statement, Iowa Democratic Party chair @troymprice tells me: "It’s disappointing to hear that Mayor Bloomberg doesn’t plan on competing in Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses or the other three early nominating states." pic.twitter.com/SR7wemUrhg
.@ChairmanBuckley blasts Bloomberg for potentially skipping New Hampshire. “We are disappointed and frankly very surprised that any candidate would launch a campaign for the White House where their path doesn't run through New Hampshire or any of the other early states.” pic.twitter.com/wfVhF1NO5u
Continue reading...Film director denies claim by Valentine Monnier about alleged incident at ski resort
A Frenchwoman has accused Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski of raping her in a Swiss ski resort when she was a teenager.
It is the latest accusation against the Polish-born director who fled from the US to France in 1978 after admitting the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl.
Continue reading...A war of words on The View showed the president’s opponents falling straight into his son’s trap
Last night, ABC’s The View invited Donald Trump Jr on as a guest – because having just one child of a famous politician on the show is not enough (the co-host Meghan McCain is the daughter of the late senator John McCain). They also invited Trump Jr’s girlfriend – because in today’s political landscape, even the most tenuous link to fame or power seems as good a credential as any for being worthy of a platform.
It wasn’t long before the chatshow descended into chaos. Soon, McCain and Trump Jr were in a very contentious battle over whose dad was bigger than whose – McCain pointing out that Trump said mean things about her dad; Trump Jr pointing out that his dad had Made America Great Again.
Continue reading...Congress hears Mulvaney approved Trump-Zelenskiy meeting on condition Ukraine announced investigations tied to Joe Biden
Donald Trump’s acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney approved a White House meeting with the president for the Ukrainian president on condition Ukraine announced investigations tied to Trump’s political rival Joe Biden, according to testimony released on Friday.
Related: Trump impeachment inquiry: Mick Mulvaney implicated in released transcripts – live
Continue reading...Donald Trump has said he is considering attending a Russian military parade in May, claiming he has been invited by the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. The US president spoke to reporters on the White House lawn, where he also talked about Michael Bloomberg entering the Democratic primary. 'He’s not going to do well, but I think he’s going to hurt Biden actually … There’s nobody I’d rather run against than little Michael,' he said
Continue reading...Various legal protections exist but the president’s aggressive response risks eroding a crucial check on official wrongdoing
Donald Trump and his allies have publicly attacked a whistleblower who filed a complaint about the president’s dealings with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and triggered a chain of events that led to an impeachment inquiry of the president.
Related: Ukraine crisis put on ice by Trump staff busy working out how to buy Greenland
Continue reading...Hundreds of people dressed in costume will reconstruct an 1811 Louisiana slave uprising, the largest in US history
In the middle of a grassy traffic island, adjacent to a nondescript strip mall in southern Louisiana, stands the only physical memorial to an event that rocked the racist foundations of the United States.
A brown plaque, erected to commemorate a plantation home, has one short, embossed aside: “Major 1811 slave uprising organized here.”
Continue reading...The deaths of nine women and children has thrust into focus a small religious community and their long history in a remote corner of northern Mexico
Amid the scrubby foothills of Sonora’s Sierra Madre mountains, they farmed pomegranates and pistachios, raised large families and preached a fundamentalist Mormon faith.
Related: Child survivors of massacred family spent 10 hours hiding in Mexican hills
Continue reading...Marine corps pilots took photos and read books while flying, according to a US military investigation
Japan’s defence ministry is to call on US forces based in the country to ensure the safety of their aircraft after pilots from a marine corps unit involved in a deadly crash last year were shown taking selfies and reading books while flying.
A US military report on the investigation into the December 2018 crash revealed widespread misconduct among the unit’s pilots, including some who had posted selfies from their cockpits on social media.
Continue reading...Senior state department official George Kent says the president had a very specific demand for his Ukrainian counterpart
Donald Trump wanted to hear three words out of the Ukrainian president’s mouth, according to newly released testimony in the US impeachment inquiry: “investigations”, “Biden” and “Clinton”.
Related: Michael Bloomberg reportedly preparing for presidential run – live
Continue reading...Lawsuit exposed ‘shocking pattern of illegality’ in Trump’s personal charity, while John Bolton fails to show for deposition on Capitol Hill – follow live
Bloomberg is preparing to enter the Democratic presidential primary, the New York Times reports. He’s expected to file paperwork designating himself as a candidate in Alabama this week.
Mr. Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and billionaire businessman, has been privately weighing a bid for the White House for weeks and has not yet made a final decision on whether to run, an adviser said. But in the first sign that he is seriously moving toward a campaign, Mr. Bloomberg has dispatched staffers to Alabama to gather signatures to qualify for the primary there. Though Alabama does not hold an early primary, it has a Friday deadline for candidates to formally enter the race.
Here’s a summary of where things stand:
Continue reading...Other officers have been accused of a beating and sexual abuse as unrest enters third week, with 2,000 injured
A Chilean police major who shot two students during a school protest has been arrested as a wave of political unrest enters a third week and the number of injured in street violence topped 2,000.
Maj Humberto Tapia was arrested by detectives on Thursday and charged with illegally discharging his shotgun inside a public school that had been occupied by students on Tuesday. A call by the beleaguered principal led to a confrontation with students in which Tapia fired into the floor, sending buckshot ricocheting into the legs of students.
Continue reading...IMF says deal to alleviate trade tensions could persuade it to revise up growth forecasts
China has raised hopes that a deal can be reached to end its trade war with the US after agreeing with Washington to roll back some tariffs.
The prospect of an agreement sent stock markets soaring to all-time highs and prompted the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to say a deal easing trade tensions between the US and China could persuade its officials to revise up forecasts for global growth next year.
Continue reading...French president says in interview that Europe is in danger of disappearing geopolitically
Emmanuel Macron has said Nato is in the throes of “brain death” and European countries can no longer rely on the US to defend its allies, drawing criticism from both the US and Germany.
“What we are currently experiencing is the brain death of Nato,” the French president told the Economist in an interview. “You have no coordination whatsoever of strategic decision-making between the United States and its Nato allies. None. You have an uncoordinated aggressive action by another Nato ally, Turkey, in an area where our interests are at stake.”
Continue reading...