Social media posts show serious congestion as ‘temporary’ issue affects hubs including JFK and LAX
Thousands of travelers at major US airports faced congested terminals and long lines on Friday due to a temporary computer outage that affected the US Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) processing systems.
Related: Passenger anger as tens of thousands hit by BA systems failure
Continue reading...Son of Henry Fonda and brother of Jane Fonda died after battling lung cancer, family says
The actor Peter Fonda has died at the age of 79 following a battle with lung cancer, his family has said.
Fonda, who co-wrote, produced and starred in the classic 1969 road movie Easy Rider, died peacefully at his home in Los Angeles on Friday, his family said in a statement.
Continue reading...Church offers guidance to avoid unintentional rule-breaking, such as ‘the word coffee isn’t always in the name of coffee drinks’
The Mormon church has renewed warnings to its younger members that there’s no grey area when it comes to the temptations of coffee – don’t drink it.
“The word coffee isn’t always in the name of coffee drinks,” warns an official guidance in the August issue of a youth magazine for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Continue reading...Danish politicians dismiss US president’s apparent interest in island as ‘hopefully a joke’
Donald Trump may have expressed an interest in acquiring Greenland for the US, but Denmark thinks the idea is frankly insane and Greenlanders have pointed out their home is not actually for sale.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the US president has asked his aides and the White House counsel to look into the possibility of buying the world’s largest island, a largely autonomous country of the kingdom of Denmark.
Continue reading...A vehicle drove into a line of protesters outside a detention centre in Rhode Island on Wednesday. Dozens of people were protesting against the contract between US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Wyatt detention facility when a correctional officer swerved into the crowd. Officers at the scene then pepper sprayed the demonstrators. At least one person was taken to hospital with a broken leg
Continue reading...US congresswoman of Palestinian descent says: ‘visiting my grandmother under these oppressive conditions stands against everything I believe in’
US congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has rejected an offer from Israel to visit family in the occupied West Bank on the condition she does not express certain political views.
“I have decided that visiting my grandmother under these oppressive conditions stands against everything I believe in – fighting against racism, oppression & injustice,” she wrote on Twitter.
Continue reading...US safety agencies are investigating the crash of a small plane in Tennessee that was carrying retired race car driver Dale Earnhardt Jr and his wife and daughter. Earnhardt's sister Kelley tweeted that the two pilots of the Cessna Citation and three family members were safe and being taken to a hospital for observation. There were no serious injuries, according to officials in Tennessee cited by media. Earnhardt, who was Nascar's longtime biggest star, gave up full-time racing after the 2017 season. He now broadcasts Nascar races for NBC Sports
Continue reading...Police are fearful of an outbreak of violence at the ‘End Domestic Terrorism’ rally, which is targeted at Portland’s antifascist groups
Portland is preparing for a large far-right rally on Saturday that may be the largest in a series of demonstrations that have descended on the city in the Trump era.
Police in the Oregon city are fearful of an outbreak of violence at the “End Domestic Terrorism” rally, which is targeted at Portland’s antifascist groups, who in recent years have clashed with rightwing activists in running street battles.
Continue reading...US president has ‘expressed interest’ in the icy territory, according to the Wall Street Journal, but the Danes have yet to weigh in
Donald Trump is fond of bragging about his conspicuous wealth and buying power, plastering his name over buildings and gilding the elevators of Trump Tower. But his latest reported aspiration is on the extravagant side, even for him: to purchase Greenland from Denmark.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the US president has “expressed interest” in buying the expansive icy territory and has asked his aides to explore the possibility. He has even sought the view of the White House counsel, though the Journal noted his inquiries came “with varying degrees of seriousness”.
Continue reading...
Several more Democratic presidential candidates have issues statements condemning Israel’s decision to block Omar and Tlaib’s planned trip.
I don't believe any nation should deny entry to elected Members of Congress, period. It’s an affront to the United States. Open and engaged foreign relations are critical to advancing U.S. interests. Trump is playing politics as he weakens our global leadership. https://t.co/UnMt9Tsd7Q
It’s appalling that President Trump continues to attack two sitting Congresswomen and encouraged another country to deny U.S. officials entry. Trump's behavior is unacceptable, dangerous, and un-American. Israel's decision should be reversed immediately. https://t.co/jHd0VYVJ1u
Nancy Pelosi has put out a statement saying she is “deeply saddened” by Israel’s decision to block Omar and Tlaib’s trip.
“As one who loves Israel, I am deeply saddened by the news that Israel has decided to prevent Members of Congress from entering the country,” the House speaker said.
Continue reading...Donald Trump had said letting in high-profile pair would ‘show great weakness’
Israel has announced it will block the US congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib from entering the country after public pressure from Donald Trump.
“It’s unacceptable to allow the entrance to the country of those who wish to harm the state of Israel,” Israel’s interior ministry said.
Continue reading...Critics say the effort to dump King glosses over Trump’s conduct and fails to tackle a problem more pervasive than the GOP admits
Republican leaders piled on quickly following the latest outrageous remarks by Steve King, the longtime Iowa congressman and perceived bigot whom the party has been trying, unsuccessfully, to shake off its pant leg for months.
On Wednesday, King offered a defense of sorts of rape and incest, questioning whether, without the historical persistence of those two crimes, “would there be any population of the world left?”
Continue reading...Beijing has alarmed investors by threatening counter-measures against the US, threatening to escalate the trade war
Earlier:
Update: Britain’s FTSE 100 has hit a new six-month closing low.
The blue-chip index just closed 80 points lower at 7,067, a drop of 1.1%.
Time for a quick recap
Financial markets remain volatile today, as fears of an economic downturn hit stock prices and drive bond prices to new record highs.
Related: Online shoppers and Amazon Prime Day lift UK retail sales
If President Xi would meet directly and personally with the protesters, there would be a happy and enlightened ending to the Hong Kong problem. I have no doubt! https://t.co/eFxMjgsG1K
Continue reading...Territory says Tehran has promised oil is not for Syria but US is challenging decision
Gibraltar’s chief minister has said he will allow a detained Iranian oil tanker to be released after Tehran gave the territory’s government an assurance that it would not allow its cargo to be discharged in Syria.
But Fabian Picardo acknowledged that his decision could yet be overturned after the US Department of Justice (DoJ) launched a challenge in the territory’s courts.
Continue reading...Laurie Sheck, who teaches at the New School, says inquiry followed a complaint that she had discussed Baldwin’s use of the slur
The Pulitzer-nominated poet Laurie Sheck, a professor at the New School in New York City, is being investigated by the university for using the N-word during a discussion about James Baldwin’s use of the racial slur.
The investigation has been condemned by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (Fire), which is calling on the New School to drop the “misguided” case because it “warns faculty and students that good-faith engagement with difficult political, social, and academic questions will result in investigation and possible discipline”.
Continue reading...The financier is dead but the investigation has continued – and it’s possible any participants may have fled into hiding
Jeffrey Epstein is dead but the investigation that snared on sex trafficking charges has continued as authorities seek to make good on their promise not to let the convicted sex offender’s apparent suicide mark an end to their quest for justice.
Given the nature of the wealthy financier’s elite international social scene, it’s possible potential co-conspirators or other participants in the alleged trafficking would have the means to flee into hiding, in the US or abroad.
Continue reading...Jim Kenney urged state and federal government to stand up to NRA or ‘then let us police ourselves’
The mayor of Philadelphia has joined a growing chorus of calls for America to take action on gun control after a dramatic shooting incident in which six police officers were wounded as they served a drug warrant.
The officers were injured as part of a night of drama which saw a tense standoff eventually resolved when the suspected gunman was taken into custody. It is believed he had an automatic rifle and he exchanged multiple bursts of gunfire with police which saw civilians run for cover in a densely populated part of the city.
Continue reading...Last year marked a century since another Texas massacre, part of a legacy of racist violence leading up to El Paso
“It can happen again.” That’s what Arlinda Valencia said last year, at a ceremony in Texas marking the 100th anniversary of the massacre of 15 Mexicans and Mexican-Americans by a group of white men.
Valencia’s great-grandfather was one of the 15 unarmed men and boys who were woken up in the middle of the night in Porvenir, Texas, in 1918, taken outside, and shot to death. The slaughter, which was carried out by white Texas Rangers, US soldiers, and local vigilantes, was justified by labeling the Mexican American families “bandits” and criminals.
Continue reading...
Donald Trump is linking US-China trade talks with the Hong Kong protests on Twitter, suggesting that if the China government wants to work out a deal it has to “humanely” work with the protestors.
Whereas investors and foreign leaders have blamed uncertainty around trade negotiations between the US and China is triggering economic volatility around the world, Trump has insisted that negotiations between himself and China’s Xi Jinping are going well and that Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Fed chairman that Trump nominated in 2017, is to blame.
I know President Xi of China very well. He is a great leader who very much has the respect of his people. He is also a good man in a “tough business.” I have ZERO doubt that if President Xi wants to quickly and humanely solve the Hong Kong problem, he can do it. Personal meeting?
..deferral to December. It actually helps China more than us, but will be reciprocated. Millions of jobs are being lost in China to other non-Tariffed countries. Thousands of companies are leaving. Of course China wants to make a deal. Let them work humanely with Hong Kong first!
Continue reading...Police sergeant says authorities are ‘imploring shooter to surrender and avoid further injuries’
Multiple police officers have been wounded after a gunman opened fire in Philadelphia on Wednesday, during a standoff that extended into the evening.
The police sergeant Eric Gripp tweeted that at least six officers were shot in the incident in the city’s northern Nicetown neighborhood. All the officers’ injuries were considered non-life-threatening, he said, and were being treated at local hospitals.
Continue reading...