Category Archives: US News

Trump condemned for using ‘Palestinian’ as slur to attack Schumer

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US president said of Senate minority leader: ‘He’s not Jewish any more. He’s a Palestinian’

Donald Trump has been condemned by a leading US Muslim civil rights group for seeking to use the word “Palestinian” as an insult when he attacked the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, as “not Jewish any more”.

“President Trump’s use of the term ‘Palestinian’ as a racial slur is offensive and beneath the dignity of his office,” said Nihad Awad, the national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or Cair.

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Trump accuses Ireland of stealing US companies in meeting with taoiseach

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US president claims Dublin ‘took’ pharma industry as he holds White House press conference with Micheál Martin

Donald Trump has accused Ireland of stealing the US pharmaceutical industry and the tax revenue that should have been paid to the US treasury, in a blow to the Irish premier, Micheál Martin, who had hoped to emerge unscathed from a visit to the White House marking St Patrick’s Day.

The US president showed grudging respect for Martin, alternately ribbing and complimenting him, while also launching several broadsides against the EU.

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Canada to impose 25% tariffs on nearly $30bn in US imports as trade war flares – live

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Canadian foreign minister condemns ‘unjustified’ trade war and condemns ‘Trump’s talks of annexing our country through economic coercion’

Congressional brinkmanship, including repeated near-misses with shutdowns and over the nation’s $36 trillion in debt, has contributed to global ratings agencies’ moves to downgrade the US federal government’s once-pristine credit rating, reports Reuters.

Democrats have long chided Republicans for threatening or voting for government shutdowns, and Republicans were quick to call them out for considering votes that could risk one.

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US pauses water-sharing negotiations with Canada over Columbia River

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Break in negotiations comes as Trump escalates trade war with Canada and threatens its sovereignty

The United States has paused negotiations with Canada on a key water-sharing treaty as Donald Trump continues both his threats to annex his northern neighbour and to upend major agreements governing relations between the two counties.

British Columbia’s energy ministry said officials south of the border are “conducting a broad review” of the Columbia River Treaty, the 61-year-old pact that governs transnational flood control, power generation and water supply.

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‘Don’t underestimate cats’: Los Angeles feline uses up one of nine lives surviving wildfire

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Katherine Kiefer lost her home to the Palisades wildfire, but her crafty kitty, Aggie, somehow lived through the disaster

It appears the tall tale that all cats have nine lives may be true for a California Maine coon named Aggie.

The beloved feline was feared dead for two months after the Palisades wildfire in Los Angeles left her family’s home in ashes. But her owner, 82-year-old Katherine Kiefer, held out some hope.

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Greenland election: Democrat party wins surprise victory amid spectre of Trump

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Opposition centre-right party gains most votes ahead of Naleraq party, with coalition talks expected to begin

Greenland has voted for a complete overhaul of its government in a shock result in which the centre-right Democrat party more than tripled its seats after a dramatic election campaign fought against the backdrop of Donald Trump’s threats to acquire the Arctic island.

Tuesday’s election, in which the Democrats replaced Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA), the party of the former prime minister Múte B Egede, as the biggest party in the Inatsisartut, the Greenlandic parliament, also led to a doubling of seats for Naleraq – the party most open to US collaboration and which supports a snap vote on independence – making it the second-biggest party.

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‘A ribbon dancer’: captive baby sea lion performs acrobatics with artificial kelp

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‘It look so artistic under the water,’ staff at Washington state aquarium says of Pepper

A baby sea lion toting an artificial kelp strip was filmed performing intricate rhythmic gymnastics-style circles through the waters of an aquarium in Washington state.

Although only nine months old and still reliant on her mother’s milk, Pepper has become the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium’s most acrobatic sea lion, said Noelle Tremonti, a staff biologist for the aquarium.

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What leverage does Trump have over Putin in Ukraine negotiations?

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The Russian president remains unwavering in his demands, making wider sanctions and tariffs ineffective

Ukraine’s agreement to support a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in its war against Russia’s invasion has focused attention on what Moscow may or may not agree to, and what pressure can be brought to bear on Vladimir Putin by the Trump administration.

While the question has frequently been asked over the last few years as to what leverage Putin might have over Trump, the question here is what leverage Trump might have to persuade Putin.

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Rubio says Trump’s ‘51st state’ plan not on G7 summit agenda in Canada

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Secretary of state’s visit has backdrop of trade war between US and allies and Trump’s threats to take over Canada

Marco Rubio has said he is not planning to discuss Donald Trump’s threat to “take over Canada” during a visit to Quebec, as Washington’s top diplomat arrives to the backdrop of a raging diplomatic crisis and trade war.

The US secretary of state is flying on Wednesday for a two-day summit with other foreign ministers from allied G7 countries at the river resort of La Malbaie, the first such gathering since Trump retook power with his “America first” agenda.

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Zelenskyy expects ‘strong steps’ from US if Russia rejects ceasefire

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Ukraine president describes talks with US delegation as positive as countries attempt to repair relations

Ukraine’s president has said he hopes the US will take “strong steps” against Russia if Moscow fails to support a 30-day ceasefire, agreed at a meeting between Ukrainian and US delegations in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

“I understand that we could count on strong steps. I don’t know the details yet but we are talking about sanctions and about strengthening Ukraine,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

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Ecuador’s president enlists ex-Blackwater chief in controversial crime crackdown

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Daniel Noboa, who is seeking re-election, announced the partnership with Erik Prince, a supporter of Donald Trump

Ecuador’s president, Daniel Noboa, has announced a “strategic alliance” with the Donald Trump-supporting founder of the private military firm Blackwater to supposedly reinforce his controversial “war” on crime.

Noboa, the rightwing heir to a South American banana empire, announced the partnership with Erik Prince on social media on Tuesday night.

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Art of a deal: how UK and France led dogged effort to repair US-Ukraine ties – for now

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Over 11 days of breakneck diplomacy, Kyiv was convinced of need to pacify Trump, but reconciliation may be all too brief

The 11 days of whiplash-inducing talks British and French officials endured to repair shattered relations between Washington and Kyiv, and for the first time put Donald Trump’s trust in Vladimir Putin to the test, could go down as one of the great feats of diplomatic escapology.

The dogged fence-mending may yet unravel as hurdles remain, principally the outstanding question of Ukraine’s security guarantees, but for the first time, in the words of Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, the ball is in Russia’s court. Putin, by instinct cautious, has preferred watching from the sidelines, suppressing his delight as Trump denounced Volodymyr Zelenskyy to his face in the White House and wreaked subsequent vengeance by stopping all military aid and then pulling some US intelligence.

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Trump’s ‘drill, baby, drill’ agenda could keep the world hooked on oil and gas

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The US president is making energy deals with Japan and Ukraine, and in Africa has even touted resurrecting coal

Donald Trump’s repeated mantra of “drill, baby, drill” demands that more oil and gas be extracted in the United States, but the president has set his sights on an even broader goal: keeping the world hooked on planet-heating fossil fuels for as long as possible.

In deals being formulated with countries such as Japan and Ukraine, Trump is using US leverage in tariffs and military aid to bolster the flow of oil and gas around the world. In Africa, his administration has even touted the resurrection of coal, the dirtiest of all fossil fuels, to bring energy to the continent.

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‘I feel utter anger’: From Canada to Europe, a movement to boycott US goods is spreading

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Tesla sales are falling and apps and online groups are springing up to help consumers choose non-US items

The renowned German classical violinist Christian Tetzlaff was blunt in explaining why he and his quartet have cancelled a summer tour of the US.

“There seems to be a quietness or denial about what’s going on,” Tetzlaff said, describing his horror at the authoritarian polices of Donald Trump and the response of US elites to the country’s growing democratic crisis.

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US education department to lay off 1,300 people as Trump vows to close agency

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Firings announced Tuesday as administration decried as ‘detached from how Americans live’

The US Department of Education intends to lay off nearly half of its workforce. The layoffs of 1,300 people were announced by the department on Tuesday and described by the education secretary, Linda McMahon, as a “significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system”.

In a post on X, McMahon said: “Today’s [reduction in force] reflects our commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers.”

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Columbia University ‘refusing to help’ identify people for arrest – White House

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Trump administration has axed $400m in federal funding to Columbia and detained student activist Mahmoud Khalil

The Trump administration said on Tuesday that Columbia University was “refusing to help” the Department of Homeland Security identify people for arrest on campus, after immigration authorities detained a prominent Palestinian activist and recent Columbia graduate over the weekend.

The Trump White House’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said on Tuesday the administration had given the university names of multiple individuals it accused of “pro-Hamas activity”, reiterating the administration’s intention to deport activists associated with pro-Palestinian protests.

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TSA finds live turtle concealed in man’s pants at New Jersey airport

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Turtle was detected after a body scanner alarm went off at Newark Liberty airport

A Pennsylvania man who was going through security at a New Jersey airport was found to have a live turtle concealed in his pants, according to the federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

The turtle was detected on Friday after a body scanner alarm went off at Newark Liberty international airport. A TSA officer then conducted a pat-down on the East Stroudsburg man and determined there was something concealed in the groin area of his pants.

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German tourists’ ordeal reportedly ending as they are returned from US detention

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Jessica Brösche to join Lucas Sielaff, who is reported to have returned to Germany on 6 March

A German tourist detained by US immigration authorities is due to be deported back to Germany on Tuesday after spending more than six weeks in detention, including eight days in solitary confinement.

Jessica Brösche, a 29-year-old tattoo artist from Berlin, will reportedly join Lucas Sielaff, 25, from Bad Bibra in Saxony-Anhalt, who is reported to have returned to Germany on 6 March, after being arrested at the Mexican border on 18 February before being detained for almost two weeks.

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Dizzying turnaround in US-Ukraine relations leaves all eyes on Russia

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Putin may well stick to previous demands over Ukrainian elections and a rejection of European peacekeeping forces

Suddenly the ball is in Russia’s court. The flow of US intelligence and military aid to Ukraine is to resume – and the Kremlin is being asked to agree to a 30-day ceasefire that Kyiv has already told the Americans it will sign up to.

It is a dizzying turnaround from the Oval Office row between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump and the apparent abandonment of the White House’s strategy to simply pressurise Ukraine into agreeing to a peace deal. Now, for the first time, Russia is being asked to make a commitment, though it is unclear what will follow if it does sign up.

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Eastern monarch butterfly population doubles in a year

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Migratory insects covered 4.2 acres in Mexican forests this winter but number remains far below long-term average

The population of eastern monarch butterflies – which migrate from Canada and the US to Mexico during the winter – has nearly doubled over the last year, according to a recent report commissioned in Mexico, generating optimism among nature preservationists.

The modest growth in numbers for the orange-and-black butterflies follows years of ongoing conservation efforts – and perhaps provides a sliver of optimism after otherwise discouraging long-term trends for the species.

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