Category Archives: US News

Macron calls on EU to ‘defend European interests resolutely’ from Trump tariffs

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French president says bloc should be ready for trade war after 30% tariff threat but other EU leaders call for calm

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has called on the EU to “defend European interests resolutely” after Donald Trump threatened to impose 30% tariffs on nearly all imports from the EU.

It came as the EU moved to de-escalate tensions after the blunt move by Trump on Saturday. The bloc declared a further pause on €21bn of retaliatory tariffs until 1 August, dovetailing with the US president’s new deal deadline.

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DoJ drops charges against Utah doctor accused of destroying Covid vaccines

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Michael Kirk Moore accused of distributing at least 1,937 false vaccination cards and administering saline to children

The US Department of Justice dropped charges on Saturday against Michael Kirk Moore, the Utah doctor accused of destroying more than $28,000 worth of government-provided Covid-19 vaccines and administering saline to children instead of the shot.

Pam Bondi, the US attorney general, announced the news in a statement on the social media platform X, saying the charges had been dismissed under her direction.

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‘Now or never’ to save replica of American revolutionary war vessel, say French campaigners

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Fresh plea for funds to repair €26m copy of frigate that carried Louis XVI’s promise of aid in war of independence

French maritime enthusiasts are battling to save a replica of an 18th-century warship that became a symbol of the country’s historic relationship with America.

The copy of L’Hermione, a three-mast, 32-gun frigate that carried the Marquis de Lafayette across the Atlantic to announce France’s support for American independence from Great Britain in the revolutionary war, has been in dry dock at Anglet, near Bayonne, since its oak hull was found to be riddled with fungus four years ago.

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Rosie O’Donnell dismisses Trump’s threat to revoke her US citizenship

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Actor says she is latest in long list of artists, activists and celebrities to be threatened by US president

Rosie O’Donnell has shrugged off a threat from Donald Trump to revoke her US citizenship on the grounds that she is “a threat to humanity”.

The New York-born actor and comedian said on Sunday that she was the latest in a long list of artists, activists and celebrities to be threatened by the US president.

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Some gut microbes can absorb and help expel ‘forever chemicals’ from the body, research shows

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Previously, the only way to reduce levels of Pfas was by bloodletting or a drug with unpleasant side effects

Certain kinds of gut microbes absorb toxic Pfas “forever chemicals” and help expel them from the body via feces, new first-of-its-kind University of Cambridge research shows.

The findings are welcome news as the only options that exist for reducing the level of dangerous Pfas compounds from the body are bloodletting and a cholesterol drug that induces unpleasant side effects.

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David Gergen, ex-adviser to Republican and Democratic presidents, dies aged 83

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Serving Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton, Gergen was a speechwriter and communications director

David Gergen, a veteran of Washington politics and an adviser to four presidents, Republican and Democrat, in a career spanning decades in government, academia and media, has died. He was 83.

Gergen was perhaps best known for a line he summoned for then presidential candidate Ronald Reagan for a TV debate with Jimmy Carter: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”

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Elon Musk’s AI firm apologizes after chatbot Grok praises Hitler

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xAI’s lengthy apology for antisemitic remarks says they ‘apologize for the horrific behavior many experienced’

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI has issued an apology after its chatbot Grok made a slew of antisemitic and Adolf Hitler-praising comments earlier this week on X.

On Saturday, xAI released a lengthy apology in which it said: “First off, we deeply apologize for the horrific behavior that many experienced.”

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Trump’s 10% tariff on most UK goods ‘here to stay’, says Lord Mandelson

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British ambassador to US believes universal levy unlikely to change but there is ‘scope’ for negotiations in some sectors

The 10% tariffs on most UK goods imported into the US are likely “here to stay”, according to Lord Mandelson.

The British ambassador to the US said the “universal 10% tariff” was unlikely to change but that there was “scope” for negotiations in different sectors and industries, such as technology.

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World Cup will use more indoor venues for day-time kick-offs to combat heat

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  • Infantino acts after player welfare fears at Club World Cup

  • ‘Heat is definitely an issue. We have covered stadiums’

Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, has said indoor air-conditioned venues will be used as much as possible for day-time kick-offs at the 2026 World Cup to combat expected high temperatures. Concerns have been raised about player welfare during the Club World Cup in the US, which will co-host next year’s tournament with Canada and Mexico.

Enzo Fernández described conditions during Chelsea’s semi-final against Fluminense, when the temperature was 35C, as “very dangerous”.

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Texas Hill Country under flood watch as search continues for missing people

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‘Locally heavy rainfall’ of 1-3in predicted as death toll from the Fourth of July flood rises to nearly 130 people

Texas Hill Country was back under a flood watch on Saturday, with the National Weather Service warning of “locally heavy rainfall” of 1-3in with isolated amounts close to 6in possible.

The flood watch, which continues through Sunday evening, comes as the death toll from the 4 July flood continues to rise – now at nearly 130 people - and authorities continue their search for the 160 more who are missing.

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More than $113,000 of rare Pokémon cards stolen in Massachusetts break-in

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Owners of 1st Edition Collectibles in New Bedford say suspect broke in to courtyard and smashed window in door

More than $113,000 worth of rare Pokémon cards have been stolen from a Massachusetts shop, according to the store’s owners.

Officers responded to a reported break-in at 1st Edition Collectibles, a trading card shop in New Bedford, Massachusetts, on Tuesday. The break-in reportedly happened around 2.30am and the thief stole a handful of Pokémon cards including five to seven rare cards and a few vintage boxes.

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EU will be reeling over how to tackle trade talks after Trump’s 30% tariff threat

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Bloc had already backtracked from tough talk to seeking a bare bones deal – but US president has turned tables again

Second-guessing Donald Trump is a fool’s errand.

But Saturday’s shock threat to impose tariffs of 30% on the EU is a blow to the bloc’s confidence, which had already secretly capitulated during negotiations with diplomats revealing they had to sacrifice trade for the wider prize of security and defence of the continent.

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Donald Trump announces 30% tariffs on goods from the EU and Mexico

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The president made the announcement on social media, even as the EU was hoping for a trade agreement

Donald Trump announced on Saturday that goods imported from both the European Union and Mexico will face a 30% US tariff rate starting 1 August, in letters posted on his social media platform, Truth Social.

The tariff assault on the EU came as a shock to European capitals as the European Commission and the US trade representative Jamieson Greer had spent months hammering out a deal they believed was acceptable to both sides.

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Trump administration ordered to halt indiscriminate immigration stops in California over racial profiling concerns

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Judge issues temporary block in seven counties including Los Angeles after lawsuit accuses government of systematically targeting brown-skinned people

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to halt indiscriminate immigration stops and arrests in seven California counties, including Los Angeles.

Judge Maame E Frimpong on Friday blocked the administration from using what has been called unconstitutional tactics in raids after a lawsuit was filed by immigrant advocacy groups last week.

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Farm worker dies a day after chaotic immigration raid at California farm

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Jaime Alanis died after sustaining injuries during raid where authorities say they arrested about 200 people

A farmworker died Friday from injuries that he sustained a day earlier in raids on two California cannabis farm sites as US immigration authorities confirmed they arrested 200 workers after a tense standoff with authorities.

Jaime Alanis’s death was confirmed in a social media post by the United Farm Workers advocacy group. “We tragically can confirm that a farm worker has died of injuries they sustained as a result of yesterday’s immigration enforcement action,” the post read.

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Son of El Chapo pleads guilty in US drug trafficking case

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Prosecutors allege Ovidio Guzmán López and his brother, Joaquin Guzmán López, ran a faction of the Sinaloa cartel

A son of notorious Mexican drug kingpin “El Chapo” pleaded guilty on Friday to US drug-trafficking charges, becoming the first of the drug lord’s sons to enter a plea deal.

Prosecutors allege Ovidio Guzmán López and his brother, Joaquín Guzmán López, ran a faction of the Sinaloa cartel. They became known locally as the “Chapitos”, or “little Chapos”, and federal authorities in 2023 described the operation as a major effort to send “staggering” quantities of fentanyl into the US.

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Netanyahu flies home without a Gaza peace deal but still keeps Trump onside

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Israeli PM manages to avoid breach with US president through high-profile assurances he is seeking end to war

Benjamin Netanyahu arrived back in Israel on Friday without a ceasefire in the Gaza war despite heady predictions from US and Israeli officials that this week could provide a breakthrough in negotiations. But he did not come home completely empty-handed.

The Israeli PM’s visit was his third since Donald Trump’s inauguration, with several high-profile meetings at the White House, a nomination for Trump to receive the Nobel peace prize, and suggestions from Trump and the special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, that peace could be achieved in a week.

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Enduring confusion is the only certainty amid Trump’s latest tariff threats

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Experts suspect ‘frontloading’ of activity may have masked deeper impact of tariffs on the US economy

“There has been no change to this date, and there will be no change,” Donald Trump said on his Truth Social platform this week. “All money will be due and payable starting AUGUST 1, 2025 – no extensions will be granted.”

There had, in fact, been a change. The 90-day “pause” on the highest tariffs threatened by Trump on his so-called “liberation day” in April, elapsed on Wednesday. But with just three trade agreements in place, instead of the 300 once promised, the White House had switched one deadline for another.

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Trump expected to resume weapons deliveries to Ukraine through Nato allies

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President hints at ‘major announcement’ on Monday after halting arms shipments due to dwindling stockpiles

Donald Trump appears poised to deliver weapons to Ukraine by selling them first to Nato allies in a major policy shift for his administration amid frustrations with Vladimir Putin over stalling negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

During an interview with NBC News, Trump said he will probably have a “major announcement” on Russia on Monday and confirmed he had struck a deal with Nato leaders to supply weapons to Ukraine.

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Trump to tour Texas flood damage as disaster tests vow to shutter Fema

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Since disaster that has killed at least 120 people, Trump has remained quiet about promises to axe relief agency

As Donald Trump heads to Texas on Friday for a firsthand look at the devastation caused by catastrophic flooding, he has remained conspicuously quiet about his previous promises to do away with the federal agency in charge of disaster relief.

The Washington Post reported on Friday that the Trump administration has backed away from plans to abolish the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but administration officials continue to dodge questions about the agency’s future and many are still calling for serious reforms, potentially sending much of its work to the states.

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