Category Archives: US News

Trump brushes off North Korea’s launch of ‘some small weapons’

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President says recent missile tests bother some people, but not him, and praises regime for calling Joe Biden ‘a fool of low IQ’

Donald Trump has dismissed concerns about North Korea’s recent missile tests, calling them “small weapons”, a day after his national security adviser said there was no doubt the launches violated UN security council resolutions.

The US president tweeted on Sunday: “North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me. I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me”.

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Sudan, Algeria, Libya: new Arab spring stalls as Trump looks away

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The US once led western states’ support of democracy around the world, but under this president that feels like a long time ago

There was a time, not so very long ago, when the US was held up as a model for other nations to emulate. That time has passed. Last week witnessed more gratuitous international hooliganism by the Trump administration. Its latest depredations include extra-territorial bullying of trade and business rivals, violent threats against Iran, an absurdly biased “peace plan” for Palestine, resumed arms sales to fuel the Saudis’ war in Yemen, and an assault on global press freedom.

Anger and dismay over Donald Trump’s wildly swinging wrecking ball obscure they ways in which the US could be using its unmatched power to benefit others – but refuses to do so. Its current policy is defined by its absences. Once again, Syrian civilians are dying in a horrific war Trump has done nothing to halt. Alarm bells are ringing over the climate crisis and mass extinction – yet Trump’s people prefer to focus on economic opportunities afforded by a melting Arctic ice cap.

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Sandra Bland’s own cellphone video surfaces from 2015 traffic stop – video

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A video taken by Sandra Bland in 2015 shows how a white state trooper confronted the 28-year-old black woman in a traffic stop after he says she failed to signal. Texas authorities have denied withholding the footage shot by Bland, who was found hanged in a jail cell near Houston in 2015. The video had not been publicly seen until it was aired this month by a Dallas TV station. Both lawmakers and Bland’s family say they had never seen the clip

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Trump arrives in Japan for ceremonial visit and trade talks

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Visit will stress ties between the two countries as tensions over exports rise amid the US-China trade war

Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, landed in Japan on Saturday for a largely ceremonial visit meant to showcase strong ties with Tokyo even as trade tensions loom.

The Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, will treat Trump to an imperial banquet and front-row seats at a sumo tournament during the trip, which lasts until Tuesday.

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Trump says US will send 1,500 troops to Middle East amid Iran tensions – video

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Donald Trump announced on Friday that the US would send 1,500 troops to the Middle East as a protective measure after a breakdown in relations with Iran. ‘Right now, I don’t think Iran wants to fight and I certainly don’t think they want to fight with us,’ the US president said

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Iran tensions: 1,500 US troops head to Middle East as Trump seals $7bn Saudi arms sale

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White House downplays prospect of conflict but blames Iran for tanker bombings and Iraq attack

The US will send hundreds of additional troops and a dozen fighter jets to the Middle East in the coming weeks to counter what the Pentagon has said is an escalating campaign by Iran to plan attacks against the US and its interests in the region.

And for the first time, Pentagon officials on Friday publicly blamed Iran and its proxies for recent tanker bombings near United Arab Emirates and a rocket attack in Iraq.

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Federal judge blocks strict abortion law in Mississippi – as it happened

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That’s all from me! Here’s a rundown on the day’s major events:

Abortion providers reported an “alarming escalation” in incidents of disruption and intimidation in 2018, according to a new report by their professional association, the National Abortion Federation (NAF).

Trespassing reached the highest level since the NAF began recording such incidents in 1999, while incidents of obstruction grew 78% from 2017 to 2018. Providers also reported record levels of picketing (99,409 incidents) since recording began in 1977, and the highest number of incidents of vandalism (125) since 1990.

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Donald Trump wants investigation into Australia’s role in ‘Russian hoax’

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This is the first time the US president has publicly named Australia while discussing the FBI inquiry into his election campaign

Donald Trump has said he wants Australia’s role in setting off the FBI inquiry into links between Russia and his election campaign examined by the US attorney general, William Barr.

It is a potentially explosive development for the historically solid US-Australian alliance and the first time Trump has publicly named Australia while discussing what he calls the “Russia hoax” and “witch hunt”.

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‘I wanted to look him in the eye’: serial killer’s survivor witnesses execution

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Lisa Noland, who helped police capture Bobby Joe Long, was 17 when he abducted her

A woman who survived an attack by a notorious Florida serial killer, and helped police to capture him, watched on Thursday evening as he was put to death for his crimes.

Lisa Noland looked on from the front row as Bobby Joe Long, whose 1984 killing spree claimed the lives of 10 women, was executed by lethal injection at Florida state prison.

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Jayme Closs: man gets life sentence for kidnapping teen and killing her parents

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Jake Patterson pleaded guilty in March to intentional homicide and kidnapping, after Closs was held for 88 days

A Wisconsin man was sentenced on Friday to life in prison for kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs and killing her parents in a case that mystified authorities until the girl made a daring escape from the remote cabin where she was held for 88 days.

Jake Patterson, 21, pleaded guilty in March to two counts of intentional homicide and one count of kidnapping. He admitted to abducting Jayme in October after killing her parents, James and Denise Closs, at the family’s home near Barron, about 90 miles north-east of Minneapolis.

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Facebook refuses to delete fake Pelosi video spread by Trump supporters

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Footage of House speaker deliberately slowed down to make her appear drunk or ill

Facebook says it will continue to host a video of Nancy Pelosi that has been edited to give the impression that the Democratic House speaker is drunk or unwell, in the latest incident highlighting its struggle to deal with disinformation.

The viral clip shows Pelosi – who has publicly angered Donald Trump in recent days – speaking at an event, but it has been slowed down to give the impression she is slurring her words. Several versions of the clip appeared to be circulating.

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Real v fake: debunking the ‘drunk’ Nancy Pelosi footage – video

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Footage of the Democratic House Speaker was edited to make her appear drunk or unwell, in the latest incident highlighting social media's struggle to deal with disinformation. Compare the original footage with the viral clip

• Facebook refuses to delete fake Pelosi video spread by Trump supporters

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Guardian spurs media outlets to consider stronger climate language

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Use of terms ‘climate crisis’ and ‘global heating’ prompts reviews in other newsrooms

The Guardian’s decision to alter its style guide to better convey the environmental crises unfolding around the world has prompted some other media outlets to reconsider the terms they use in their own coverage.

After the Guardian announced it would now routinely use the words “climate emergency, crisis or breakdown” instead of “climate change”, a memo was sent by the standards editor of CBC, Canada’s national public broadcaster, to staff acknowledging that a “recent shift in style at the British newspaper the Guardian has prompted requests to review the language we use in global warming coverage”.

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Harvey Weinstein and accusers reach tentative $44m compensation deal

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The agreement would resolve lawsuits and compensate the Hollywood producer’s alleged victims

Harvey Weinstein, women who accused him of sexual misconduct, his former film studio’s board members and the New York attorney general’s office have reached a tentative $44m deal to resolve lawsuits and compensate alleged victims of the Hollywood producer, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people it said were familiar with the matter.

The deal, if finalized, would resolve a civil rights lawsuit filed by the New York attorney general’s office last year that accuses Weinstein Co’s executives and board of failing to protect employees from a hostile work environment and Weinstein’s sexual misconduct, the Journal said.

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Trump v Pelosi: how a ‘stable genius’ president met his match

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With calls for an intervention on his behalf, the House speaker has knocked an ‘extremely calm’ leader off balance

It has been almost four years since Donald Trump launched his presidential campaign from the gilded escalator of Trump Tower. In that time he has come to be feared by Democrats and Republicans alike for his personal attacks that always seem to supremely rile his opponents.

Now he has finally met his match.

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Global markets rocked as US-China trade and tech rift deepens

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Shares fall sharply in Asia, Europe and North America in intensifying war of words

The deepening trade and technology war between the US and China has sent global stock markets sharply lower and prompted a warning from the IMF of the increasing risks to the global economy.

Shares fell sharply in Asia, Europe and North America on a day that saw investors alarmed by the intensifying war of words between Washington and Beijing, poor news on the American economy, and political chaos in Britain.

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New US charges against Julian Assange could spell decades behind bars

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  • WikiLeaks founder charged in 18-count DoJ indictment
  • Assange ‘risked serious harm to US national security’

Julian Assange could face decades in a US prison after being charged with violating the Espionage Act by publishing classified information through WikiLeaks.

Prosecutors announced 17 additional charges against Assange for publishing hundreds of thousands of secret diplomatic cables and files on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

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British man arrested on suspicion of giving bleach-based ‘cure’ to Ugandans

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Sam Little arrested after Guardian exposed massive distribution network of MMS in Uganda that was being supervised by US pastor

A British man has been arrested in Uganda on suspicions of “intoxicating the public” after he claimed to have carried out a trial of a “miracle cure” on local villagers using industrial bleach.

Sam Little, 25, from Arlesey in Bedfordshire was picked up by Ugandan police at 6am on Thursday in a village church in Kitembi, a few miles outside Fort Portal in western Uganda. Also arrested were two Ugandans who are suspected of being involved in the distribution of the bleach, which is known by advocates as MMS or Miracle Mineral Solution.

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