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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 …
Continue reading...Category Archives: US News
Trump picks Huckabee as Israel envoy and Fox News host as defense secretary
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.
Continue reading...Elon Musk handpicked by Trump to carry out slash-and-burn cuts plan
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”.
Continue reading...Trump selects Elon Musk to lead government efficiency department
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.
Continue reading...Backlash as San Francisco votes to transform stretch of highway into park
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.
Continue reading...US bans Haiti flights for 30 days after Spirit jet hit by hail of gunfire
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.
Continue reading...Canadian minister says ‘not everyone is welcome’ amid Trump migrant threat
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.
Continue reading...Florida threatened by another major late-season tropical storm
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.
Continue reading...Maryland students charged with hate crimes over alleged beating of gay man
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.
Continue reading...Aid groups accuse Israel of ignoring US ultimatum on ‘apocalyptic’ Gaza crisis
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.
Continue reading...Trump nominates Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead new efficiency department to ‘restructure federal agencies’ – live
Tesla CEO and onetime Republican presidential hopeful put forward to lead department to ‘dismantle government bureaucracy’
Joe Biden is meeting with two foreign leaders at the White House today.
At 11.15am, he will speak with Israel’s president Isaac Herzog, then with Indonesia’s president, Prabowo Subianto, at 2pm.
Continue reading...Trump reportedly picks Kristi Noem to run homeland security department
South Dakota governor, whose VP chances evaporated after admitting shooting her dog, tipped as DHS secretary
President-elect Donald Trump has picked the South Dakota governor, Kristi Noem, to serve as the next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing two sources.
Noem, once seen as a possible running mate for Trump, is currently serving her second four-year term as South Dakota’s governor after a landslide re-election victory in 2022. She rose to national prominence after refusing to impose a statewide mask mandate during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Continue reading...Head of New Orleans’ embattled Catholic archdiocese offers to resign
Gregory Aymond’s offer, required because he turns 75, says he wants to stay for resolution of institution’s bankruptcy but adds it is up to Pope Francis
New Orleans’ Roman Catholic archbishop Gregory Aymond is submitting his resignation Tuesday, on his 75th birthday, fulfilling a church requirement – though it is unclear if Vatican officials would immediately accept it with his scandal-plagued organization’s expensive, highly contentious bankruptcy case still unresolved.
In a letter issued on Friday to priests and deacons under his command, Aymond cited canon – or church – law that required him to offer to retire because of his age. But he said he also offered to remain in office until the resolution of the bankruptcy.
Continue reading...The White Stripes drop lawsuit against Trump campaign for unauthorised Seven Nation Army use
The move follows a bitter Instagram post by Jack White condemning what the US can expect from choosing ‘a known, obvious fascist’
The White Stripes have dropped their federal lawsuit against Donald Trump for unauthorised use of their song Seven Nation Army in a video posted by campaign deputy director of communications Margo Martin in August.
Jack and Meg White are dismissing the case without prejudice and therefore could refile, Pitchfork reports. A lawyer for the band offered the website no comment.
Continue reading...Trump expected to appoint China critics Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz | First Thing
Rubio is reportedly in line for secretary of state, with Waltz expected to be made national security adviser. Plus, what’s behind all the celebrity lookalike contests?
Good morning.
Donald Trump has reportedly picked China critics Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz for the respective roles of secretary of state and national security adviser.
Who has been confirmed for Trump’s cabinet? The immigration hardliner Stephen Miller (as deputy chief of staff for policy); Susie Wiles (chief of staff); Lee Zeldin (Environmental Protection Agency administrator); and Tom Homan (“border tsar”).
What does his EPA pick mean for the environment? Trump said Zeldin’s appointment would “ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions”. Zeldin said in 2018 that he did not support the Paris climate agreement.
How much did Gallego win by? He took 50% of the vote to Lake’s 48%.
Was it a surprise? Gallego polled consistently ahead of Lake by several points, despite Trump easily beating Harris in the state.
Continue reading...Musk’s influence on Trump could lead to tougher AI standards, says scientist
Tycoon might help president-elect realise race for artificial general intelligence is a ‘suicide race’, says Max Tegmark
Elon Musk’s influence on a Donald Trump administration could lead to tougher safety standards for artificial intelligence, according to a leading scientist who has worked closely with the world’s richest person on addressing AI’s dangers.
Max Tegmark said Musk’s support for a failed AI bill in California underlined the billionaire’s continued concern over an issue that did not feature prominently in Trump’s campaign.
Continue reading...Trump to appoint Stephen Miller, immigration hardliner, as deputy chief of policy
Miller worked in the first Trump administration as a senior adviser and is known for his extremist rhetoric
President-elect Donald Trump is expected to announce that he will appoint immigration hardliner and close adviser, Stephen Miller, as his White House deputy chief of staff for policy.
Miller worked in the White House during Trump’s first administration, serving as a senior adviser to Trump and as director of speechwriting. He played a key role in developing several of Trump’s immigration policies, including the Muslim travel ban and the family separation policy.
Continue reading...Trump to reportedly appoint immigration hardliner Stephen Miller to top White House job – live
The architect of Trump’s immigration policy is expected to become the deputy chief of staff for policy, CNN reports
US president-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday that Tom Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), will be in charge of the country’s borders in his new administration.
Homan’s areas of control will include “the southern border, the northern border, all maritime, and aviation security”, Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. Trump added that “border czar” Homan will be in charge of the deportation of illegal immigrants.
Continue reading...Airlines halt flights to Haiti after plane hit by gunfire
Spirit Airlines flight heading from Florida to Port-au-Prince diverted to Dominican Republic after flight attendant was grazed by bullet, amid broader violence in Haiti’s capital
Haiti’s international airport shut down on Monday after gangs opened fire at a commercial flight landing in Port-Au-Prince, prompting some airlines to suspend operations as the country swore in a new interim prime minister who promised to restore peace.
The Spirit Airlines flight headed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Port-Au-Prince was just hundreds of feet from landing in Haiti’s capital when gangs shot at the plane, striking a flight attendant who suffered minor injuries, according to the airline, the US embassy and flight tracking data.
Continue reading...US climate envoy says fight against climate crisis does not end under Trump
Even if president-elect rolls back climate progress, John Podesta reaffirms commitment to a clean planet at Cop29
The US climate envoy John Podesta said the fight “for a cleaner, safer” planet will not stop under a re-elected Donald Trump even if some progress is reversed, speaking at the Cop29 UN climate talks on Monday as they opened in Baku, Azerbaijan.
“Although under Donald Trump’s leadership the US federal government placed climate-related actions on the back burner, efforts to prevent climate change remain a commitment in the US and will confidently continue,” said Podesta, who is leading the Biden administration’s delegation at the annual talks.
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