State senate passes bill as its sponsor suggests shooting someone is more effective and humane than other methods
Firing squads could become Idaho’s primary execution method under a bill headed to the governor’s desk this week.
The Idaho senate passed the bill on Wednesday, and if signed by governor Brad Little, it will take effect next year.
Continue reading...US president tells group to ‘release all of the Hostages now ... or it is OVER for you’ as White House enters negotiations
Donald Trump has posted a fresh ultimatum to Hamas, telling the group to “release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you”.
“‘Shalom Hamas’ means Hello and Goodbye,” he wrote in a social media post on Wednesday, in an apparent reference to the beginning of direct talks with the group.
Continue reading...Officials say slashing of US Department for International Development leaves power vacuum for adversaries
Hundreds of diplomats at the state department and US Agency for International Development have written to the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, protesting against the dismantling of USAid, saying it undermines US leadership and security and leaves power vacuums for China and Russia to fill.
In a cable expected to be filed with the department’s internal “dissent channel”, which allows diplomats to raise concerns about policy anonymously, the diplomats said the Trump administration’s 20 January freeze on almost all foreign aid also endangers American diplomats and forces overseas while putting at risk the lives of millions abroad that depend on US assistance.
Continue reading...Kingsley Wilson cast doubt on circumstances of death of Leo Frank, in echo of white supremacist talking point
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has condemned a past social media post by the Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson that disputed the innocence of Leo Frank, a Jewish businessman whom most historians agree was wrongfully convicted of killing a 13-year-old factory worker and lynched in 1915 during a wave of antisemitism in the US.
“Leo Frank raped & murdered a 13-year-old girl. He also tried to frame a Black man for his crime,” Wilson wrote on X in response to an August 2024 tweet by the ADL marking the 109th anniversary of Frank’s lynching. “The ADL turned off the comments because they want to gaslight you.”
Continue reading...CEO Lawson Whiting calls Canada’s move ‘disproportionate response’ to levies imposed by Trump administration
The Jack Daniel’s maker Brown-Forman’s CEO Lawson Whiting said on Wednesday Canadian provinces taking US liquor off store shelves was “worse than a tariff” and a “disproportionate response” to levies imposed by the Trump administration.
Several Canadian provinces have taken US liquor off store shelves as part of retaliatory measures against Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Continue reading...After a call with top executives at GM, Ford and Stellantis, president approves one-month exemption from tariffs
Donald Trump has temporarily spared carmakers from sweeping US tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, one day after an economic strike on the US’s two biggest trading partners sparked warnings of widespread price increases and disruption.
The US president extended his aggressive trade strategy at midnight on Tuesday by targeting the country’s two closest neighbors with duties of 25%.
Continue reading...Prime minister says country not for sale after laughter in Congress at US president’s assertion ‘we’re going to get it’
Donald Trump’s claim in his address to Congress that the US will acquire Greenland “one way or the other” was widely condemned in Nuuk as “disrespectful” and was said to present an “unacceptable view of humanity”.
In his speech on Tuesday night, the US president was met with laughs, including from the vice-president, JD Vance, who was sitting behind him, when he said: “I also have a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland.”
Continue reading...Teargas fired during protest at reduced rations after US aid freeze wipes out half of World Food Programme budget
Thousands of refugees clashed with police in a Kenyan refugee camp this week after receiving news that their food allocations would be cut because of funding problems.
The UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, confirmed that four refugees and a local government official had been injured when police intervened to stop the protesters at the Kakuma refugee camp on Monday.
Continue reading...Lt Gen Eyal Zamir says that mission to defeat Hamas is ‘not accomplished’ amid deadlock over ceasefire negotiations
An Israeli rights group says Israel demolished a record number of Palestinian homes in annexed East Jerusalem last year, reports the Associated Press (AP).
Ir Amim, which closely tracks settlement activity and demolitions in the city, said on Wednesday that 181 homes were destroyed last year, in addition to dozens of other structures.
It said that more recently, Israel appears to have dropped a longstanding policy against demolishing homes during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began last weekend. It said a residential building and three apartments have been destroyed over the past week, according to the AP.
Rights groups say discriminatory policies make it nearly impossible for Palestinians to expand or redevelop their neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem, forcing many to build without permits. Israel also demolishes the family homes of Palestinians who carry out attacks, reports the AP.
The US state department has reinstated the “foreign terrorist organization” designation for Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi group, fulfilling an order announced by Donald Trump shortly after he took office.
Continue reading...Study on cancer data in US agricultural heartland finds children more at risk than if exposed to just one pesticide
Exposure to multiple pesticides significantly increases the risk of childhood cancers compared to exposures to just one pesticide, first-of-its-kind research finds, raising new fears that children are more at risk to the substances’ harmful effects than previously thought.
The study’s authors say they are the first to look at the link between exposures to multiple widely used pesticides and the most common childhood cancers. Most research considers pesticides’ toxicity on an individual basis, and the substances are regulated as if exposures occur in isolation from one another.
Continue reading...Federal agencies have until 13 March to formulate staff reduction plans as allies and critics react to Trump’s marathon Congress speech
The Trump administration has listed over 300 buildings for sale in a further move to gut the federal government. It describes the properties as “not core to government operations”.
In a posting to US general services administration website, the administration says the 320 properties across multiple states are “designated for disposal”.
We are identifying buildings and facilities that are not core to government operations, or non-core properties for disposal. Selling ensures that taxpayer dollars are no longer spent on vacant or underutilized federal spaces. Disposing of these assets helps eliminate costly maintenance and allows us to reinvest in high-quality work environments that support agency missions.
I also have a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland. We strongly support your right to determine your own future. And if you choose, we welcome you into the US.
We need Greenland for national security and even international security. And we’re working with everybody involved to try and get it. But we need it really for international world security. And I think we’re going to get it — one way or the other, we’re going to get it.
Continue reading...Sales of battery-powered cars jumped in February, with Model 3 and Model Y most popular after Mini Cooper
Sales of Teslas in the UK rose by more than a fifth last month as demand for battery-powered cars increased, despite the prospect of a buyer backlash over Elon Musk’s controversial and divisive behaviour since becoming a key figure in Donald Trump’s administration.
Almost 4,000 Teslas were sold in the UK in February, with the Model 3 and Model Y proving the second and third most popular after the Mini Cooper, according to the latest new car registration figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Continue reading...Experts say victory for state could give green light for other states to attack those who help women travel for procedure
A bellwether test of states’ ability to prosecute people over abortions that take place across state lines will hold a critical hearing on Wednesday, when Alabama abortion rights supporters will square off against the state attorney general over his threats to prosecute groups that help women travel for the procedure.
In the months after the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade in 2022, clearing the way for Alabama to ban virtually all abortions, Alabama attorney general Steve Marshall repeatedly suggested that abortion rights activists who help people go out of state for abortions could be charged as participants in an illegal conspiracy. The Yellowhammer Fund, an abortion fund that helped people pay for the procedure, and the West Alabama Women’s Center, a former abortion clinic that pivoted to providing services like miscarriage management, joined with other abortion rights advocates to sue Marshall over his comments.
Continue reading...Canada and US said they would take 48 people held in Thai detention, according to officials, but Bangkok said to have feared upsetting China
Canada and the US offered to resettle 48 ethnic Uyghurs held in detention in Thailand over the past decade, sources have said, but Bangkok took no action for fear of upsetting China, where most of them were covertly deported last week.
Thailand has defended the deportation, which came despite calls from United Nations human rights experts, saying that it acted in accordance with laws and human rights obligations.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: Pjotr Sauer explains Russia’s response to the new Trump administration following a fraught week in global relations
Good morning. In his address to Congress last night, Donald Trump recited a letter from Volodymyr Zelenskyy offering to return to the negotiating table – and warmly welcomed the tone of discussions his administration has held with Russia. “We’ve received strong signals that they are ready for peace,” he said. “Wouldn’t that be beautiful?”
That was not the first sign of Trump’s faith in Vladimir Putin’s promises – but it served to underline what is surely the most radical US foreign policy shift in a generation. Whether parroting Kremlin talking points on Zelenskyy’s democratic credentials, making false claims that Ukraine started the war or cutting off vital military aid to Kyiv, the US president has created a dynamic that would have scarcely been believable six months ago.
Killed women count | Nearly one in 10 of all women who died at the hands of men in the UK over the past 15 years were mothers killed by their sons, a report reveals. The statistics have led to calls for the government to take specific action to tackle matricide.
Tariffs | Justin Trudeau has claimed the aim of a “dumb” trade war launched by Donald Trump is to usher in the “complete collapse” of the Canadian economy and make it easier for the US to annex Canada. Leading stock market indices fell sharply, with the US benchmark S&P 500 losing all its post-election gains, as the US slapped 25% taxes on Canadian and Mexican goods and hiked tariffs on China.
Scams | An organised network operating from the former Soviet state of Georgia has scammed thousands of savers from the UK, Europe and Canada out of $35m (£27m) after they fell for fake celebrity adverts on Facebook and Google. The scheme was revealed in a leak of call centre data covering more than 1m recordings.
Gaza | Arab leaders have endorsed a $53bn (£42bn) plan to rebuild Gaza under the future administration of the Palestinian Authority (PA), in a rushed attempt to present an alternative to Donald Trump’s idea for a property development-style plan. The Arab League presented the plans at a summit in Cairo.
Media | Failings in the making of a documentary on Gaza are a “dagger to the heart” of the BBC’s claims of trustworthiness and impartiality, the corporation’s chair has said, as he indicated that figures inside the corporation had fallen short in their handling of the film.
Continue reading...President praises letter from Ukraine’s leader backing peace talks and says US will get Greenland ‘one way or another’
Donald Trump has said he appreciated Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s willingness to sign a minerals deal with the United States and come to the negotiating table to bring a lasting peace in Ukraine closer.
“Earlier today, I received an important letter from President Zelenskyy of Ukraine,” the US president said in a speech to Congress after last week’s disastrous meeting at the White House. Quoting from the letter, Trump said Zelenskyy told him that “Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians.”
Continue reading...President boasts about efforts to slash federal workforce and reorient foreign policy as Democrats protest from chamber
Donald Trump on Tuesday declared that his administration was “just getting started”, boasting in a marathon address to Congress that his efforts to slash the size of the federal workforce, reorient US foreign policy and escalate a risky trade war marked the beginning of the “most thrilling days in the history of our country” as Democratic lawmakers protested with placards that read “lies” and “false”.
“America is back,” Trump declared, opening his primetime speech to a joint session of Congress, the first of his second term and the longest in American history. Republicans broke into a boisterous chant of “USA”.
Continue reading...Inquiry launched after pair was able to fly into state despite facing trial in Romania on rape and trafficking charges
The attorney general of Florida has opened a criminal investigation of Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan after the pair were able to fly into the state last week despite facing trial in Romania on charges of rape, sex with a minor, people trafficking and money laundering.
James Uthmeier, appointed to be the state attorney general by Florida governor Ron DeSantis, said on Tuesday he had begun an “active criminal investigation” of the brothers and was prepared to use the “full force of law” in his examination of their conduct.
Continue reading...Where the US president sees a convivial leader an ocean away, Europeans see a tyrant on its borders breaking all agreements
In the Four Quartets TS Eliot wrote “humankind cannot bear very much reality”.
At moments in history like these, when there is simply too much head-spinning change and too many postwar assumptions being ripped from their moorings, it sometimes appears too much for any human to absorb, let alone offer a response.
Continue reading...White House adviser’s quote included in suit: ‘The AP and the WHCA wanted to f--k around. Now it’s finding out time.’
The Associated Press amended its complaint against the Trump administration on Monday, including in its epigraph a punchy quote from an anonymous White House adviser: “The AP and the White House Correspondents Association wanted to f--k around. Now it’s finding out time.”
The unnamed White House adviser’s quote came about during an exchange on 25 February 2025 and was first reported by Axios last week.
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