Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
More than 3,000 people gathered in the shadow of the University of Iowa on Friday afternoon to hear Thunberg speak
Three days prior to Greta Thunberg’s surprise visit to Iowa City on Friday, the organizer and local climate activist, Massimo Biggers, a 14-year-old Iowa City high school student, was preparing to strike – as he has done every Friday, sometimes on his own, since the Global Climate Strike day Thunberg inspired on 15 March.
Out of the blue, a message arrived from the Swedish teen activist, with whom he had been in touch, asking him if he was planning to strike again this Friday. “Of course!” he replied, and for the last 48 hours, according to his father, Jeff, neither had slept. “This was truly a miracle to have the town pull this together,” he said.
Twenty-four states and DC say Purdue and Sackler members should not be allowed to use bankruptcy filing to shield assets
US state officials launched a legal counter-attack on Friday against Purdue Pharma’s attempt to shield itself and its controlling Sackler family members from thousands of lawsuits claiming the maker of the OxyContin prescription painkiller helped fuel the opioid epidemic.
As the impeachment inquiry closes in, the media faces a challenge in finding new ways to hold the US president accountable
The question was straightforward enough: in the phone call that prompted a whistleblower’s complaint and triggered the impeachment inquiry now roiling Washington, what exactly did Donald Trump want from the president of Ukraine over his political rival Joe Biden?
Jeff Mason, Reuters’ White House correspondent, put that query to Trump at a press conference this week to mark a visit by the Finnish president, Sauli Niinistö. Trump was evasive then, when Mason politely persevered, suddenly turned nasty.
The former White House strategist, and a leading voice of the alt-right, was once key in the propagation of the conspiracy theory
Senior White House adviser Stephen Miller recently claimed the impeachment inquiry imperilling Donald Trump’s presidency was a product of the “deep state”, a conspiracy theory which holds that a permanent government of civil servants and security operatives exists to thwart the will of the people.
But according to Steve Bannon, Trump’s former 2016 campaign chair and White House strategist, a prime mover in the formation and propagation of the Deep State conspiracy theory, it should not be taken seriously.
Newly released texts show diplomats made clear that better Kyiv-Washington relations were linked to cooperation
US diplomats told Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, that a prestigious White House visit to meet Donald Trump was dependent on him making a public statement vowing to investigate Hunter Biden’s company, and a Ukrainian role in the 2016 elections, according to texts released on Thursday night.
The texts, released by three congressional committees holding impeachment hearings, show that the diplomats made clear that any improvement in Kyiv’s relations with Washington would be dependent on Zelenskiy’s cooperation in Trump’s quest to find damaging material about son of his leading political opponent, and on the Democrats in general.
Before abruptly resigning Kurt Volker gambled that acting as a go-between for Rudy Giuliani could secure military aid for Kyiv
When Kurt Volker agreed to work for the Trump administration in 2017, he told colleagues he hoped to navigate the president’s mercurial nature and his evident attachment to Vladimir Putin, and still pursue a traditional US policy of upholding Ukrainian independence and pushing back against Moscow.
Many were sceptical and predicted a clash between the two approaches, but even they did not expect the spectacular collision of the past few weeks.
More from Adam Schiff, who has continued to criticize Trump’s earlier exhortation for China to investigate Biden:
“Once again, having the president of the United States suggesting, urging, a foreign country to interfere in our presidential elections is an illustration that if this president has learned anything from the two years of the Mueller investigation is that he feels he can do anything with impunity.”
Trump suggests the “pharmaceutical” industry, and other industries, could be behind what he describes as a “hoax”.
I’m not sure which of the things Trump believes to be a hoax he is discussing, but it’s likely the Mueller investigation or the Ukraine scandal.
A white police officer in Texas could be heard saying ‘this is gonna look so bad’ while leading a homeless black man by a rope down the street in newly released body camera footage.
Two Galveston police officers arrested 43-year-old Donald Neely on 3 August, accusing him of criminal trespass. Images shared online of the two white officers leading Neely using a rope tied to his handcuffs sparked public outrage, leading to a Texas Rangers investigation and a Galveston county sheriff’s office review
Officers arrested Donald Neely on suspicion of criminal trespass
A white Texas police officer can be heard twice on a body camera video saying leading a homeless black man by a rope down city streets while he and his partner are on horseback will look “bad”.
Virginia doctor Joel Smithers was convicted in May of more than 800 counts of illegally distributing opioids
A doctor who prosecutors said ran a medical practice in Virginia like an interstate drug distribution ring was sentenced on Wednesday to 40 years in prison for illegally prescribing opioids.
Dr Joel Smithers was sentenced in US district court in Abingdon. Judge James Jones sentenced Smithers to 40 years. He faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years and a maximum of life.
A joint conference with the Finnish president descended into theatrics as reporters pressed for answers on the unfolding scandal
The Finnish president, Sauli Niinistö, spent part of his visit to Washington touring Smithsonian museums of American history. He likely saw Abraham Lincoln’s top hat, memorabilia from Barack Obama’s election campaign and reminders of other leaders who, whatever their flaws, strove for a more perfect union.
Jury shown racist text messages Guyger sent to partner
A jury has sentenced Amber Guyger to 10 years in prison for the murder of Botham Jean, after viewing racist text messages sent by the former Dallas police officer.
Prosecutors had symbolically asked for a minimum sentence of 28 years. Jean, who was 26 when he died, would have turned 28 last Sunday.
There were emotional scenes as the former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger was sentenced by a Texas jury to 10 years in prison, after she was found guilty of murder for walking into a neighbour’s apartment and shooting him as he ate ice cream. After the sentence was handed down, Jean's younger brother, Brandt, offered Guyger his forgiveness. ’I forgive you, and I know if you go to God and ask him, he will forgive you. I'm speaking for myself, not my family, but I love you just like anyone else,’ Brandt Jean told Guyger. He then asked the judge's permission to hug Guyger and the two embraced for about a minute
'Are you talking to me?' Donald Trump asked during an extraordinary exchange with Reuters’ White House correspondent Jeff Mason. Trump became angry after Mason asked Trump a question about Ukraine, to which Trump replied: ‘We have the president of Finland. Ask him a question'. Mason responded: 'I have one for him. I just wanted to follow up on the one that I asked you.' Trump's outrage did not subside: ‘Did you hear me? … Ask this gentleman a question. Don't be rude’
The 25% levies also include British knitwear and EU cheese and aircraft as White House retaliates for subsidies given to Airbus
The US is set to impose $7.5bn (£6.1bn) of tariffs on exports from the EU including scotch whisky, French wine and cheese and aircraft in retaliation for subsidies given to the aerospace group Airbus after a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling..
US scientists say it may be possible to decipher words using new x-ray technique
When Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD79 it destroyed the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, their inhabitants and their prized possessions – among them a fine library of scrolls that were carbonised by the searing heat of ash and gas.
But scientists say there may still be hope that the fragile documents can once more be read thanks to an innovative approach involving high-energy x-rays and artificial intelligence.
Donald Trump continued his assault on the Democratic lawmakers leading impeachment proceedings on Wednesday, accusing House intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff of treason and calling for his resignation, as well as attacking the unidentified whistleblower who reported concerns about his behavior.
House speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congressman Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House intelligence committee, delivered a stern warning to the White House: attempts to ‘stonewall’ the impeachment inquiry ‘will be considered further evidence of obstruction of justice’
How a marriage should be conducted can only be known by the key participants – and they might not even be in agreement
Hillary Clinton has a deep well to draw from when asked about the challenges she’s faced. But her admission yesterday that staying in her marriage was the “gutsiest” thing that she’s done in her personal life was remarkable. In part, remarkable because over the years she’s stayed pretty quiet when it comes to discussing being married to one of the world’s most exposed philanderers, only occasionally alluding to what must have been some very painful experiences. In part, remarkable because who doesn’t like a glimpse into what makes a well-known marriage tick?
As a central and defining arrangement that so many diverse cultures have in common, marriage is a unique (and dare I say it, strange) institution. A public-facing framework for, well, feelings. While religious bodies, governments, society and your gossipy neighbors next door have long done their best to set clear rules around what marriage is and means, how a marriage should be conducted can only really be known and understood by the key participants – and they might not even be in agreement.
Lets return to some of the president’s inflammatory tweeting last night, in which he described the House impeachment inquiry as a “COUP”.
We won’t embed the tweets here or reprint the contents due to their inflammatory and misleading nature, but they’re available to view here if you want to take a look.
Mr. Dorsey:
I write to call your attention to activity that President Trump has been engaged in on his Twitter account, which appears to violate the terms of the user agreement that your company requires all users on the platform adhere to.
No user, regardless of their job, wealth, or stature should be exempt from abiding by Twitter’s user agreement, not even the President of the United States.
Look let's be honest, @realDonaldTrump's Twitter account should be suspended.
Some more context on Secretary Pompeo’s admission that he took part in the July phone call between Donald Trump and Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Pompeo’s involvement in the call (he listened in to the conversation and does not appear to have actively participated) was first reported by the Wall Street Journal last week. Pompeo’s admission, made earlier today on an official trip to the Vatican, confirms this reporting.
ABC: And I want to turn to this whistleblower complaint, Mr. Secretary. The complaint involving the President and a phone call with a foreign leader to the director of national intelligence inspector general. That’s where the complaint was launched by the whistle-blower. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that President Trump pressed the president of Ukraine eight times to work with Rudy Giuliani to investigate Joe Biden’s son. What do you know about those conversations?