Category Archives: US News

Snowstorm takes out power in US mid-Atlantic after five deaths in midwest

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A winter storm that contributed to at least five deaths in the US midwest pummeled the mid-Atlantic region for a second day on Sunday, bringing with it an icy mix that knocked out power, cancelled flights and contributed to hundreds of car accidents.

Virginia state police said the driver of a military surplus vehicle was killed late on Saturday after he lost control on Interstate 81 due to slick road conditions.

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DNA discoverer James Watson loses honors over views on race

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New York laboratory cuts ties with 90-year-old scientist who helped discover DNA, revoking all titles and honors

A New York laboratory has cut ties with James Watson, the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who helped discover DNA, over “reprehensible” comments in which he said race and intelligence are connected.

Related: Interview: James Watson

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‘It’s ruining people’s lives’: federal workers count cost of shutdown

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Trump’s demand for taxpayer funding for a southern border wall has now led to the longest government closure in history

As the longest government shutdown in US historyenters a fourth week with no resolution in sight, Jared Hautamaki considers himself relatively fortunate. The Home Depot where he already worked several shifts a week agreed to employ him full-time while he and hundreds of thousands of federal employees are locked out of their day-jobs.

At $14 an hour, his retail paycheck will hardly match what he earns as an attorney adviser with the Environmental Protection Agency. But with four children under eight years old, Hautamaki says it’s a necessary accommodation.

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Five dead on midwest roads as huge snowstorm heads for Washington DC

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  • Parts of Missouri see more than a foot of snow
  • Capital and Maryland face heavy falls on Sunday

A massive winter snowstorm making its way across the midwest and into the US mid-Atlantic region dumped more than a foot of snow in parts of Missouri and contributed to at least five deaths, authorities said on Saturday.

The storm moved into Kansas and Nebraska from the Rockies on Friday, then east into Missouri, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana, covering roads and making driving dangerous.

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Trump vents fury over Russia stories and again threatens national emergency

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Donald Trump has strongly denied the stunning claim that he was secretly working on behalf of Russia and again threatened to declare a national emergency to fund a border wall.

In 20-minute live phone interview with Fox News on Saturday night, he described as an “insult” the New York Times story that alleged the FBI launched an investigation into whether the he was acting as a Russian asset, against his own country’s interests.

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Congressional Black Caucus wants action against Republican Steve King

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  • CBC: assignments must be stripped over white supremacy line
  • Trump ally is immigration hardliner with far-right links

The Iowa Republican congressman Steve King was under mounting pressure on Saturday, over remarks in which he asked how the term “white supremacy” came to be seen to be offensive.

Related: Trump ally Steve King: I don't know how 'white supremacist' became offensive term

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Jayme Closs: authorities search for motive in ‘tragic’ kidnapping case

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  • Wisconsin town shares relief after 13-year-old found alive
  • Suspect, 21, in jail on suspicion of kidnapping and homicide

As authorities tried to find out what motivated a Wisconsin man to allegedly kill a couple he appeared not to know and kidnap their 13-year-old daughter, lawyers for the suspect in the murders of James and Denise Closs and the abduction of Jayme Closs lamented “a very tragic situation” and said they were relying on the courts to treat their client fairly.

Related: Jayme Closs, 13, found alive three months after parents' murder

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‘Ridiculous’: report Ivanka Trump could lead World Bank meets scorn

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First daughter’s name said to be ‘floating around Washington’ but it wouldn’t be her first unconventional role

The Financial Times reported on Friday that the name of Ivanka Trump is “floating around Washington” regarding the need for a new president of the World Bank.

The role will soon be open due to the surprise departure of the current president, Jim Yong Kim. But on politics Twitter, at least, the idea that his replacement might be the first daughter met with widespread derision.

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FBI reportedly opened inquiry into whether Trump was working for Russia

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  • Firing of Comey prompted investigation, New York Times says
  • Trump responds angrily but does not question reporting

In May 2017, the FBI opened an inquiry into whether Donald Trump was working on behalf of Russia, the New York Times has reported.

Related: Mueller closes in: what will the Trump-Russia inquiry deliver in 2019?

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US government shutdown becomes longest in history

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The US government shutdown is now the longest such closure in history. On Saturday, day 22, members of Congress were out of Washington, Donald Trump was unmoved in the White House, his border wall unbuilt, and around 800,000 federal workers were still without pay and facing mounting hardship.

Related: 'Barely above water': US shutdown hits black federal workers hardest

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Miranda wins multiple ovations for Hamilton opening in Puerto Rico

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Creator and star says he will never forget reception of musical in parents’ homeland

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s return to the stage in his musical, Hamilton, was brought to a dramatic standstill on Friday night – not by protests in his parents’ homeland of Puerto Rico, as some had feared, but by a spontaneous eruption of cheers, whoops and applause.

The brightest spotlight shone on Miranda as, reprising the title role for the first time since Broadway in July 2016, he sang his introductory line: “Alexander Hamilton”. He got no further. The audience of nearly 2,000 rose to its feet and generated a wall of joyous noise for half a minute. The music stopped and Miranda remained motionless, keeping his eyes fixed straight ahead, then finally allowing them to dart about the stage.

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Monster snowstorm to blanket more than half of United States

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Winter storm ‘expected to create havoc’ as it moves from western US across the middle of the country

A massive winter storm hit the US Rockies and plains on Friday then punched east, with snow set to assault a 1,800-mile (1,609 km) corridor through the weekend, creating transportation “havoc” in the middle of the country.

The system started as rain from Mexico and turned to snow as it met icy air. Up to 18in (45cm) of snow were expected in the Sangre de Cristo mountains south of Denver, according to the National Weather Service.

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Tulsi Gabbard: Democrat says she will run for president in 2020

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The Iraq war veteran and US representative for Hawaii made announcement in a CNN interview scheduled to air Saturday

Tulsi Gabbard, the Democratic US representative from Hawaii, said she will run for president in 2020, CNN reported on Friday.

“I have decided to run and will be making a formal announcement within the next week,” she said in an interview with CNN that is scheduled to air on Saturday.

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Trump backs away from declaring national emergency to fund border wall

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Donald Trump has backed away from his threat to declare a national emergency to fund his long-promised border wall, as pressure mounts to find a solution to the three-week impasse that has closed parts of the government, leaving hundreds of thousands of workers without pay.

“We want Congress to do its job,” the president said Friday during a roundtable on border security at the White House. “What we’re not looking to do right now is national emergency.”

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Guantánamo Bay branded a ‘stain on US human rights record’

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Amnesty International calls US naval prison a symbol of Islamophobia and xenophobia

Guantánamo Bay remains a “stain on the human rights record” of the US and the scene of ongoing human rights violations, said Amnesty International in advance of a rally in Washington to mark the 17th anniversary of its opening.

The US naval prison at Guantánamo in Cuba – opened on 11 January 2002 – still holds 40 Muslim men, many of whom have been tortured. Many of the detainees have been cleared for transfer for years.

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‘He needs an out’: Trump’s demand for a wall has left him backed into a corner

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The president’s position is a non-starter with Democrats, making an end to the shutdown far from imminent

Wednesday’s dramatic showdown between Donald Trump and Democratic leaders and the president’s defiant PR trip to the border the following day seemed to confirm observers’ fears: a breakthrough in negotiations to end one of the longest shutdowns in US history is far from imminent.

As key government operations remained shuttered for a 21st day and roughly 800,000 federal workers remained without pay, both the president and the Democrats have retreated into their own corners.

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Michael Cohen to testify publicly before Congress in February

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Former Trump lawyer says he accepted invitation from top Democrat and will offer ‘full and credible account of events’

Donald Trump’s longtime lawyer and aide Michael Cohen says he has accepted an invitation from a top House Democrat to testify publicly before Congress next month.

His testimony before the House oversight and reform committee on 7 February will be the first major public oversight hearing for Democrats, who have promised greater scrutiny of Trump after winning control of the House in the 2018 midterm elections.

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Cristiano Ronaldo rape allegation: lawyer confirms police have issued warrant for DNA

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  • Juventus star is subject to allegations from 2009
  • Forward has denied claims he raped woman in hotel room

Cristiano Ronaldo’s lawyer has confirmed authorities in Las Vegas have issued a warrant to collect DNA from the football star in the wake of allegations he raped a woman in the city in 2009.

“Mr Ronaldo has always maintained, as he does today, that what occurred in Las Vegas in 2009 was consensual in nature, so it is not surprising that DNA would be present, nor that the police would make this very standard request as part of their investigation,” Ronaldo’s lawyer, Peter S Christiansen, said in a statement to the BBC. The Wall Street Journal reports that the warrant has been sent to courts in Italy, where Ronaldo plays for Juventus.

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