Category Archives: US News

Bill Clinton book describes ‘frustration’ over Monica Lewinsky affair questions

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In new memoir Citizen, Clinton acknowledges he has not directly apologized to Lewinsky over White House affair

Bill Clinton, the former US president, has written of his “frustration” at being questioned about his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky while acknowledging that he has never apologized to her directly.

Clinton became embroiled in one of the biggest political scandals in history when it emerged in 1998 that he had a sexual relationship with the then 22-year-old Lewinsky. The president, who initially lied before apologizing, was impeached by the House of Representatives but acquitted by the Senate.

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Efune insists his Daily and Sunday Telegraph bid is still on track

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Asset manager Oaktree out of running as backer but businessman has ‘high confidence’ he will get finance

The British owner of the New York Sun has said his £550m offer to buy the Daily and Sunday Telegraph is still on track, despite a big potential backer not joining the bid.

Dovid Efune entered exclusive talks to buy the Telegraph titles last month after submitting the highest bid in the second round of the auction for the titles.

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Loyalty the key as impulsive Trump picks team for America First agenda

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President-elect’s team has China hawks, an alleged Assad defender and a Fox News host – all have been vocally loyal

As Donald Trump rushes to fill out his cabinet and enact his America First agenda in the United States and abroad, a clear throughline for his foreign policy and national security team has been a vocal loyalty to the president-elect – at least in this election cycle.

The rapidly expanding roster includes established – and some Maga supporters would say establishment – foreign policy hawks, and a neophyte defense secretary who until this week was still a conservative commentator on Fox News.

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Trump announces Matt Gaetz as attorney general and Tulsi Gabbard for top intelligence post – US politics live

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Far-right Florida congressman to get top justice job; former Democrat Gabbard frequently appeared with Trump on the campaign trail

Mehdi Hasan writes for the Guardian today, asking “Is Donald Trump a foreign policy dove?”

You can read it here …

Everything about men and women serving together makes the situation more complicated, and complication in combat, that means casualties are worse.

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Trump’s early second-term choices fuel fears of extremist agenda

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Trump has chosen loyalists and hardliners to lead departments that will shape US policy on immigration, defense and more

Donald Trump may have won a second term in the White House just last week, but his recent administration appointments have already heightened fears among some who believe his return to the White House will lead to an extremist agenda.

On immigration, Trump has chosen loyalists and hardliners: Stephen Miller will serve as deputy chief of staff for policy and Department of Homeland Security adviser; Tom Homan as “border czar”, and Kristi Noem, the South Dakota governor, will lead the Department of Homeland Security.

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Trump chooses Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence

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Ex-Hawaii congresswoman ran for president as Democratic candidate before quitting party to support Trump

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to serve as his director of national intelligence.

Gabbard, who served in the US military in Iraq, served four terms as a Democratic congresswoman representing Hawaii, and ran for president in the Democratic primary in 2020, before quitting the party in 2022, and becoming a supporter of Trump.

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Trump meets with Biden and promises ‘smooth as it can get’ transfer of power

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Trump also suggests to House Republicans he might seek a third term in office, which is prohibited by US constitution

Donald Trump met with Joe Biden on Wednesday and promised a transfer of power that is “as smooth as it can get”, as the outgoing US president pledged his administration’s every possible resource to pave the way for his successor.

The two men, longtime political rivals who must now work together again to pass the reins of power, shook hands as they met in the Oval Office. Introducing Trump as both a former president and now president-elect, Biden congratulated him on his victory.

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Trump picks far-right congressman Matt Gaetz as attorney general

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Controversial Florida congressman is latest in slew of nominations by president-elect

Donald Trump has named the controversial Florida congressman Matt Gaetz to be attorney general for his second administration.

The shock appointment aims to fill a post that had been eagerly awaited as Trump and his allies pick names for a raft of top jobs to serve under the victor of November’s US presidential election.

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New York City ends broker fees for new tenants in cost-cutting move

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Move can significantly lower upfront expenses for renters in city with one of the world’s highest costs of living

The New York City council passed a bill on Wednesday that will prevent tenants from having to pay fees to brokers hired by landlords.

The move can significantly lower upfront expenses for renters in a city with one of the highest costs of living in the world. The median asking rent in New York City was $3,500 in 2023.

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Fayed accuser files US court claim to make his younger brother give evidence

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Claim will be first legal action taken related to alleged crimes of former Harrods owner, who died last year

A woman who claims to have been raped and trafficked while working for Mohamed Al Fayed has filed a legal claim in a US court to oblige his surviving younger brother to give evidence about his alleged knowledge of the crimes.

The application filed at the US district court for Connecticut claims Ali Fayed, 80, has “unique and critical evidence” to give about a “more than two-decade-long trafficking scheme that ensnared and irrevocably injured what is reported to be more than 100 women”.

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US wants Gaza fighting pause, Blinken says, but will not limit arms transfers despite Israel missing aid deadline – as it happened

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This live blog is closed

The US wants real and extended pauses in fighting in Gaza so assistance can get to people who need it, US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, told reporters on Wednesday.

More details to follow …

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Trump picks Huckabee as Israel envoy and Fox News host as defense secretary

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Pete Hegseth tapped for key role and Kristi Noem for homeland security amid flurry of nominations

Donald Trump has chosen the former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee as the next US ambassador to Israel and a Fox News host to be his new defense secretary.

Huckabee has a track record of hardline, occasionally provocative, pro-Israel rhetoric and previously said Israel has a rightful claim to the West Bank, which he refers to by its Hebrew and biblical name of Judea and Samaria.

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Elon Musk handpicked by Trump to carry out slash-and-burn cuts plan

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World’s richest man has been an enthusiastic cost-cutter – but he may find the public sector an entirely different beast

Donald Trump, president-elect of the US, announced on Tuesday that he has selected Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, with plans to reduce bureaucracy in the federal government by roughly a third.

Musk had pushed for a government efficiency department and has since relentlessly promoted it, emphasizing the acronym for the agency: Doge, a reference to a meme of an expressive Shiba Inu. Trump said the agency will be conducting a “complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government, and making recommendations for drastic reforms”.

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Trump selects Elon Musk to lead government efficiency department

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Musk and ex-presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to head up Department of Government Efficiency (Doge)

Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, Donald Trump said on Tuesday.

Despite the name, the department will not be a government agency. Trump said in a statement that Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to government never seen before.” He added that the move would shock government systems.

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Backlash as San Francisco votes to transform stretch of highway into park

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Opponents say closing Great Highway to cars will increase traffic as supporters argue it will mitigate coastal erosion

Californians have voted to close part of a nearly century-old highway in San Francisco to cars, transforming a two-mile section into a park for pedestrians and cyclists.

On election day, city residents voted to approve Proposition K, extending the ban on vehicles on a portion of the Upper Great Highway along the coastline. The measure has sparked intense debate over whether cars should have regular access to the area.

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US bans Haiti flights for 30 days after Spirit jet hit by hail of gunfire

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Move by US authorities comes after plane was shot at on Monday, injuring attendant and forcing airport shutdown

The US Federal Aviation Administration has banned civilian flights into Haiti for 30 days after a jetliner was shot at on approach to Port-au-Prince.

Bullets hit the Spirit Airlines plane when it was about to land on Monday, injuring a flight attendant and forcing the airport to shut down.

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Canadian minister says ‘not everyone is welcome’ amid Trump migrant threat

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Immigration minister Marc Miller’s comments come as country braces for migrant rise when Trump takes office

Canada’s immigration minister has said “not everyone is welcome” in the country as officials brace for an increase of migrants when Donald Trump returns to the White House with a pledge to carry out mass deportations.

The minister’s warning, seven years after Justin Trudeau promised that “Canadians will welcome” asylum seekers, reflects a stark shift in tone amid waning support for immigration and refugee resettlement in the country, according to migration experts.

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Florida threatened by another major late-season tropical storm

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Meteorologists track disturbance in Caribbean Sea predicted to become storm named Sara

Florida is at risk of being hit by yet another major tropical storm only weeks after Hurricanes Helene and Milton devastated towns across the state.

Meteorologists are currently tracking a new disturbance predicted to evolve into a storm in the Caribbean Sea. The storm, to be named Sara, will form in the western Caribbean later this week and may make a turn towards south Florida as a powerful hurricane next week if wind patterns change, according to the Hurricane Tracker App.

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Maryland students charged with hate crimes over alleged beating of gay man

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Police say Salisbury University students set up fake profile to lure man to apartment, beat him and hold him prisoner

Officials in Maryland have charged 12 students with offenses including hate crimes for allegedly luring a gay man to an apartment off campus, holding him prisoner and breaking his rib while beating him.

A statement from the Salisbury police department said one of the accused, all students at Salisbury University who have since been suspended, set up a fake account on a dating app to entice the victim with a promise of sex with a 16-year-old.

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Aid groups accuse Israel of ignoring US ultimatum on ‘apocalyptic’ Gaza crisis

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US may soon impose sanctions as organisations say Israel has failed to help relieve dire humanitarian situation

A coalition of international aid organisations have accused Israel of ignoring a US ultimatum that threatened sanctions if Israel did not implement a series of measures to counter the acute humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The 30-day ultimatum– due to expire on Tuesday or Wednesday – was delivered on 13 October, and almost none of its demands have been met, the humanitarian groups say.

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