Category Archives: US News

Trump stands by false claims about immigrants – as it happened

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US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said Washington was looking into reports that North Korea was sending troops to fight for Russia against Ukraine.

Western countries have long accused North Korea of sending weapons to help Russia fight in Ukraine. On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the North was also sending personnel, becoming effectively a participant in the war.

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Utah woman raised $1.2m for her kids before her death from cancer

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Donations poured in for Erika Diarte-Carr, a single mother, after a post announcing her death went viral

A single mother from Utah, who was confronted with a terminal cancer diagnosis in 2022, managed to raise more than $1m in donations meant to help secure her children’s future before she died over the weekend, according to her family.

The story of Erika Diarte-Carr, 30, broke hearts across the US’s digital landscape particularly after relatives announced her death Saturday in a social media post that went viral.

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Report calls for child labor protections as Project 2025 seeks to limit regulations

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Study offers actions Biden can take after surge in child labor violations and warns protections may weaken under Trump

State governments across the US are taking steps to eliminate protections for minors as rates of child labor violations, injuries and chronic school absenteeism rise, according to a report released on Wednesday.

The report by Governing For Impact, the Economic Policy Institute, and Child Labor Coalition proposes actions the Biden-Harris administration can take in response to a recent surge in child labor violations around the country and a trend of some states passing legislation that rollbacks state-level child labor protections.

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Trump’s pro-Israel stance alienates far right as it ramps up antisemitic attacks

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Unity has begun to crack over ex-president’s support for Israel in its military operations across the Middle East

As the presidential election season unfolds, the Trump campaign has increasingly leaned on xenophobic rhetoric born out of racist chat boards – even receiving the tacit help of neo-Nazis attempting to seed their own policy interests into the mainstream.

But one campaign issue where the Maga world and the extremists of Telegram and other fringe social media sites have diverged, is the former president’s support for Israel in its several military operations across the Middle East.

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First Thing: Israel bombs Beirut after US says it opposes ‘scope’ of strikes

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US appears to take harder line with Israel. Plus, Diddy asks for the identities of his accusers to be disclosed

Good morning.

Within hours of the US saying it opposed the “scope” of its bombing of Beirut, the Israeli army carried out further strikes on the Lebanese capital’s southern suburbs.

When did Israel last strike Beirut? On 10 October. Its two strikes near the city center killed 22 people.

How many are directly affected? Israeli military evacuation alerts are in place across more than a quarter of Lebanon, according to the UN refugee agency.

Who are Trump’s other mega donors? The list includes the banking heir Timothy Mellon and the casino billionaire Miriam Adelson.

What is Harris’s funding like? The Harris Victory Fund raised $633m in the three months from 1 July to 30 September – over a third more than the amount raised by Biden in that period in 2020, according to the New York Times.

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Elon Musk gave $75m to his pro-Trump group in three months

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America Pac said to be doing bulk of Trump’s voter turnout work in battleground states, which may give Musk leverage

Elon Musk has donated roughly $75m over the last three months to his pro-Donald Trump spending group, underscoring how the billionaire has become crucial to the Republican candidate’s efforts to win the US presidential election.

Filings submitted by America Pac on Tuesday to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) showed Musk donated $15m (£12m) in July, $30m in August and another $30m in September. Musk remains the political action committee’s only donor.

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UK says India’s cooperation with Canada’s legal process is ‘right next step’

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Growing diplomatic row as police say they have evidence of Delhi’s links to murder of Sikh leader in Canada

Britain joined its Five Eyes intelligence partners on Wednesday in saying India’s cooperation with Canada’s legal process was “the right next step” in the deepening diplomatic row between the two countries, adding that it had full confidence in Canada’s judicial system.

Canadian police said on Monday they had credible evidence that Indian agents including India’s high commissioner to Canada were linked to the murder of the Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil in June 2023 and accused Delhi of a broader effort to target Indian dissidents in Canada.

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Delta pauses flights between New York City and Tel Aviv due to regional conflict

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Airline says postponement will last until at least 31 March and is providing travel waivers to some customers

Delta Airlines has postponed all flights between New York’s John F Kennedy airport and Tel Aviv until at least 31 March because of the conflict in the Middle East, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Delta is continuously monitoring the evolving security environment and assessing our operations based on security guidance and intelligence reports and will communicate any updates as needed,” the airline said.

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Good gourd! Minnesota teacher clinches pumpkin weigh-off with 2,471-lb winner

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Travis Gienger, a horticulture teacher, retained his title, though he fell short of the world record he set last year

A Minnesota horticulture teacher remained the reigning champion on Monday of an annual pumpkin-weighing contest in northern California, where his massive gourds have won the top prize four years in a row.

Travis Gienger, of Anoka, Minnesota, beat his closest competitor by 6lbs (2.7kgs) to clinch the victory at the 51st World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco.

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Two US boys die in separate Halloween hayride tractor accidents

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Deaths occurred on consecutive days in Tennessee and Minnesota as children were struck by vehicles

Two boys recently died at separate Halloween-themed haunted hayride attractions in tractor accidents, authorities said.

The first boy died about 10.45 pm on 11 October at the Haunted Hilltop Halloween event in Hamilton county, Tennessee. A group of children at the event were playing near a path through which hay ride tractors drove, the Hamilton county sheriff’s department said.

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Snakes and batters: reptile slithers into LA Dodgers’ dugout during MLB game

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Snake appears in top of fifth inning of Dodger v New York Mets game before being wrapped in towel and removed

A snake slithered through the Los Angeles Dodgers’ dugout during game two of the National League Championship Series on Monday.

The reptile appeared in the top of the fifth inning of the Dodgers’ 7-3 loss to the New York Mets. It wasn’t big enough to put a scare into anyone.

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Veterans dismissed over ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy given honorable discharges

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US policy in effect from 1994-2011 removed thousands of LGBTQ+ service members, many less than honorably

Nearly all US service members who were forcibly separated from the military when the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was in place have now been honorably discharged, defense department officials announced on Tuesday.

The “don’t ask, don’t tell policy, which went into effect on 28 February 1994 during then president Bill Clinton’s administration, barred service members from being openly gay, lesbian or bisexual – otherwise legally defined as those with “a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts”. Under the policy, other service members were also not allowed to ask each other about their sexual orientation.

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US warns Israel of potential halt to arms transfers if Gaza aid is not distributed

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A private letter from Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin to Benjamin Netanyahu gives Israel 30 days to act

The Biden administration has warned Israel that it faces possible punishment, including the potential stopping of US weapons transfers, if it does not take immediate action to let more humanitarian aid into Gaza.

A letter written jointly by Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, and Lloyd Austin, the defence secretary, exhorts Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to ease humanitarian suffering in the territory by lifting restrictions on the entry of assistance within 30 days or face unspecified policy “implications”.

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Any retaliation against Iran will be based on national interest, says Israel

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Comments from PM’s office come amid continued attacks on Lebanon and Gaza and after reports of assurances to US

Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has said that Israel will decide alone on the form of any retaliation to Iran’s barrage of 180 missiles fired at the country earlier this month, although it would listen to advice from Washington.

The comments came after US media reported that the Israeli prime minister had given an assurance to the US president, Joe Biden, that Israel would not attack sites associated with Iran’s nuclear programme or oilfields before the US presidential election.

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‘Height of blasphemy’: Rufus Wainwright and Leonard Cohen estate oppose Trump use of Hallelujah

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Classic ballad was played during bizarre campaign event in which Trump told audience: ‘Let’s just listen to music’

The estate of Leonard Cohen has issued a cease and desist order to Donald Trump, after a recording of Rufus Wainwright singing Cohen’s song Hallelujah was played at a bizarre campaign event.

Wainwright has also condemned Trump’s use of the song at the town hall in Oaks, Pennsylvania. The singer characterised Hallelujah as “an anthem dedicated to peace, love and acceptance of the truth. I’ve been supremely honoured over the years to be connected with this ode to tolerance. Witnessing Trump and his supporters commune with this music last night was the height of blasphemy. Of course, I in no way condone this and was mortified, but the good in me hopes that perhaps in inhabiting and really listening to the lyrics of Cohen’s masterpiece, Donald Trump just might experience a hint of remorse over what he’s caused. I’m not holding my breath.”

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Migrant deaths in New Mexico have increased tenfold in last two years

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In 2020, nine bodies were found near US-Mexico border. In the first eight months of 2024, there were 108.

Ten times as many migrants died in New Mexico near the US-Mexico border in each of the last two years compared with just five years ago.

During the first eight months of 2024, the bodies of 108 presumed migrants, mostly from Mexico and Central America, were found near the border in New Mexico, according to the most recent data. Many of the bodies were discovered less than 10 miles (16km) from El Paso.

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Oil price slides amid China slowdown and easing Middle East fears

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Brent crude slides by almost $3.50 a barrel to below $74 after Opec cuts forecasts for demand growth

Global oil prices have tumbled by almost $3.50 a barrel amid ongoing concerns about a slowdown in China and as fears ease about the possibility of an attack by Israel on Iran’s energy facilities.

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has reportedly offered assurances to the White House that its retaliation against Iran for its missile attack at the start of October would not target oil export terminals or nuclear facilities, which could send market prices soaring.

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Harris to portray Trump as tyrant-in-waiting after his ‘enemy within’ remarks

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At Pennsylvania rally, vice-president will hone in on Trump’s threat to use armed forces against his adversaries

Kamala Harris will this evening seek to portray Donald Trump as a potential tyrant-in-waiting who wants to jail his political opponents by seizing on his threat to use US armed forces against those he has branded “the enemy within”.

The US vice-president and Democratic nominee will hone in on the former president’s darkening campaign rhetoric at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, widely deemed the most crucial battleground state in a presidential race that multiple polls suggest will go down to the wire.

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Ka, Brooklyn rapper and New York firefighter, dies aged 52

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Kaseem Ryan, a member of Natural Elements and an FDNY captain, died unexpectedly, according to Instagram post

Ka, a Brooklyn rapper, producer and firefighter, died unexpectedly on Saturday at age 52, according to a post on his Instagram account.

Kaseem Ryan was a member of the group Natural Elements and also served in the New York City fire department (FDNY). He collaborated with artists Roc Marciano and GZA and earned praise from artists such as Erykah Badu and Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def, BET reported.

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