Category Archives: US News

From shipping, to proxies, to targeting US bases, Iran’s options to strike back are limited

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Trump has warned of broader US involvement in Israel’s war if Iran attempts to strike back against US military sites in the region

Iran had sought to deter Donald Trump from joining Israel’s bombing campaign with dire threats of retaliation, but its options now are limited and fraught with risk.

Iranian officials have said specifically that US ships and military bases would be targeted, but much of the capacity it had relied on as a deterrent has been stripped away over the past few days by Israeli strikes. Those strikes however, have focused on long-range ballistic missile launchers. Iran still has a formidable arsenal of shorter-range missiles and drones.

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Mahmoud Khalil renews devotion to Palestinian freedom at New York rally

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Activist condemns Columbia’s ‘shameful trustees’ but praises students’ courage after release from Ice detention

Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian rights activist, freed from Ice detention on Friday, returned to Columbia University on Sunday to renew his commitment to the cause of Palestinian freedom and opposition to both the university and the Trump administration.

Khalil arrived back in New York on Saturday after being released from more than 100 days in detention in Louisiana by a federal judge who ruled that punishing someone over a civil immigration matter was unconstitutional and ordered his immediate release on bail.

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Republican representative’s ectopic pregnancy clashes with Florida abortion law

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Kat Cammack blames left’s fearmongering after medical staff hesitated to give her drugs needed to end pregnancy

A Florida Republican congresswoman is blaming fearmongering on the left for the reluctance of hospital staff to give her the drugs she needed to end an ectopic pregnancy that threatened her life.

Kat Cammack went to the emergency room in May 2024 where it was estimated she was five weeks into an ectopic pregnancy, there was no heartbeat and her life was at risk. Doctors determined she needed a shot of methotrexate to help expel her pregnancy but since Florida’s six week abortion ban had just taken effect medical staff were worried about losing their licenses or going to jail if they did.

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Iran’s proxy militias may be unable to help if Tehran opts to hit back at US

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Weakening of ‘axis of resistance’ forces leaves Iran with limited options if it chooses to retaliate

Iran’s proxy militias across the Middle East have yet to retaliate for the overnight strikes against the Islamic Republic and are sending mixed signals about their willingness to strike US targets – or even Israel – in the coming days.

The apparent reluctance or inability of such groups to come to Iran’s aid will limit Tehran’s options if decision-makers there opt to escalate the conflict with the US.

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How effective was the US attack on Iran’s nuclear sites? A visual guide

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Trump claims the assault ‘totally obliterated’ the key facilities, but what do we know about its impact?

Donald Trump was quick to claim that US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities had “completely and totally obliterated” them. Still, it remains unclear how much physical damage has been done or what the longer-term impact might be on Iran’s nuclear programme.

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Six people dead and two missing after boat capsizes on California’s Lake Tahoe

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Boat overturned after apparently being hit by a large swell, in a region that’s a popular spot with tourists

Six people have died and two others were missing after a boat capsized on Saturday on California’s Lake Tahoe, local authorities have said.

A 27ft-long boat overturned in the afternoon after apparently being hit by a large swell near DL Bliss state park, according to the Coast Guard. Lake Tahoe and its surrounding wilderness region is a hugely popular spot with tourists.

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‘Our era of violent populism’: the US has entered a new phase of political violence

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The political temperature is dangerously high – and shows few signs of cooling

It has been a grim couple of weeks in the US, as multiple acts of politically motivated violence have dominated headlines and sparked fears that a worrying new normal has taken hold in America.

Last Saturday, a man disguised as a police officer attacked two Democratic legislators at their homes in Minnesota, killing a state representative and her husband, and wounding another lawmaker and his wife. The alleged murderer was planning further attacks, police said, on local politicians and abortion rights advocates.

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Florida Republicans racially gerrymandered two state senate districts, court hears

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GOP officials had previously manipulated districts as well to wrest voting power from Black electorate

Republicans in Florida racially gerrymandered two key state senate districts to disenfranchise Black voters and skew results in the Tampa Bay area, a panel of judges has heard.

In one district, they took a small chunk of St Petersburg heavy with minority voters and added it to an area of Tampa in a different county, and across a 10-mile waterway, leaving the remainder of its electorate “artificially white”, the court was told.

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Players and umpire fall ill during MLB games as heatwave grips US

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  • Elly De La Cruz vomits then hits two-run homer

  • Seattle pitcher Trent Thornton forced out of game

Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz and Seattle Mariners reliever Trent Thornton fell ill on Saturday while playing in the extreme heat covering much of the United States.

De La Cruz vomited on the field with two outs in the fourth inning of Cincinnati’s extra-inning loss at the St Louis Cardinals.

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Global alarm at US strikes on Iran amid fears conflict could spiral out of control

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Politicians express ‘grave concern’ and urge all parties to de-escalate and return to talks on Iran’s nuclear programme

Nations in the Middle East and beyond responded with alarm after US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites as the EU and the UN called for immediate diplomacy, with fears mounting that the war could trigger a wider escalation that could spiral out of control.

Gulf states, who historically have been regional rivals with nearby Iran and critical of its nuclear ambitions, expressed serious concern at the US strikes, amid concerns of retaliation against US military bases hosted in their countries.

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Trump raises specter of further attacks against Iran after US military operation

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President warned that Tehran must start peace negotiations with Israel and stop enriching uranium

Fresh from ordering military strikes on Iran, Donald Trump on Saturday raised the specter of further attacks against Iran if its leadership did not engage in peace talks in a sweeping and at times ominous televised late night address delivered from the White House.

The remarks suggested that the president, who has repeatedly said he wanted to bring peace to global conflicts, at least partly viewed the strikes against Iran’s enrichment facilities as a tactic to force negotiations – just days after he had suggested he would given Iran two weeks before deciding on an attack.

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Trump’s inner circle shifted view to support limited, one-off strike on Iran nuclear sites

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As Trump considered striking Iran, some advisers adjusted public arguments to suggest quick bombing run

Donald Trump’s move to bomb three nuclear sites in Iran came as those inside his orbit who were opposed to US intervention in the conflict shifted their views in favor of a limited and one-off strike.

The US president had been under immense pressure from Republican anti-interventionists not to engage in any action against Iran out of concern that the US might be dragged into a protracted engagement to topple Iran’s leadership, or that strikes on facilities might have limited success.

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Cheering support and instant condemnation: US lawmakers respond to attack on Iran

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Ro Khanna and Bernie Sanders denounced the decision to launch attack, while most Republicans praised the action

American politicians reacted to the news of the US bombing of nuclear targets in Iran with a mix of cheering support and instant condemnation, reflecting deep divisions in the country that cross party lines as Washington grapples with yet another military intervention overseas.

Donald Trump announced on Saturday night that the US had completed strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran, directly joining Israel’s effort this month to destroy the country’s nuclear program.

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New Texas law requires Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms

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Governor Greg Abott signs bill into law but challenge expected from critics who consider it unconstitutional

Texas will require all public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments under a new law that will make the state the nation’s largest to attempt to impose such a mandate.

The bill, which was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott, is expected to draw a legal challenge from critics who consider it an unconstitutional violation of the separation of church and state.

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Three people killed in North Dakota after tornado hits upper midwest

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Officials say two men and a woman killed around town of Enderlin as region experiences powerful winds and hail

Powerful winds – including a tornado – that swept across parts of the upper midwest left three people dead and a regional airport heavily damaged, while nearly 150 million Americans were under a heat advisory or warning as the weekend warmed up in much of the US.

A complex storm system wreaked havoc in parts of North Dakota, northern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin, with reported tornadic activity, large hail and strong wind gusts, according to Brian Hurley, meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center.

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US reportedly moving B-2 bombers to Guam as Trump considers Iran strikes

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Officials tell Reuters bombers moving to Pacific Island but unclear whether deployment tied to Middle East tensions

The United States is moving B-2 bombers to the Pacific island of Guam, two US officials told Reuters on Saturday, as Donald Trump weighs whether the United States should take part in Israel’s strikes against Iran.

It was unclear whether the bomber deployment is tied to Middle East tensions.

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Los Angeles Dodgers donate $1m to families affected by Ice raids

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Team, which said it stopped Ice agents entering parking lot on Thursday, makes donation to immigrant families

The Los Angeles Dodgers have donated $1m to assist families affected by two weeks of immigration raids in southern California.

The World Series champions also said they intend to form partnerships with the California Community Foundation, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and other organizations to continue providing aid to immigrant families.

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Suspect in Minnesota lawmaker’s killing was ‘prepper’ preparing ‘for war’

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Vance Boelter had texted his family that they needed to flee their house before ‘people with guns’ showed up

The man charged in connection with the recent shootings of two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses was a doomsday “prepper” who instructed his family to “prepare for war” as he tried to evade capture, according to new court filings.

Vance Boelter, 57, faces multiple federal and state murder charges after allegedly shooting dead the Democratic Minnesota state house speaker emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in the early hours of 14 June. Boelter is also accused of shooting and seriously wounding the Democratic state senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, about 90 minutes earlier.

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Suspect in ‘No Kings’ rally shooting death in Utah released from jail

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Police say Arturo Gamboa was carrying a rifle when safety volunteer fired on him and accidentally killed bystander

A man jailed on suspicion of murder for allegedly brandishing a rifle at a “No Kings” rally in Utah before an armed safety volunteer fired and inadvertently killed a protester has been released from custody.

Local district attorney Sim Gill’s office said on Friday that it was unable to make a decision on charges against Arturo Gamboa after the 14 June shooting that killed demonstrator Arthur Folasa Ah Loo – but that the investigation into the slaying continues.

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Key RFK Jr advisers stand to profit from a new federal health initiative

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The Maha campaign seeks to warn Americans of the dangers of ultra-processed foods

Federal health officials are seeking to launch a “bold, edgy” public service campaign to warn Americans of the dangers of ultra-processed foods in social media, transit ads, billboards and even text messages.

And they potentially stand to profit off the results.

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