Category Archives: US News

Biden honors Liz Cheney and Bennie Thompson with presidential medal

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President bestows medals upon congressman and ex-congresswoman who led investigation into Capitol attack

Joe Biden has bestowed the second highest civilian medal on the Democratic congressman Bennie Thompson and the Republican former congresswoman Liz Cheney, who led the bipartisan congressional investigation into the deadly 6 January 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol by Donald Trump supporters intent on overturning his election defeat by Biden.

Trump, who takes office again on 20 January after winning November’s election, has said the leaders of that committee, which published its conclusions in December 2022 after a series of high-profile public hearings, should be jailed, not rewarded.

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Driver in Las Vegas Cybertruck blast was decorated US army soldier, officials say

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Suspect, 37, who authorities believe shot and killed himself before Tesla vehicle detonated, served as Green Beret

The person who died when a Tesla Cybertruck packed with explosives burst into flames outside the hotel in Las Vegas part-owned by Donald Trump was a highly decorated US army Green Beret who was deployed twice to Afghanistan, officials have said.

The driver and lone occupant of the electric-powered Tesla Cybertruck that caught fire and exploded has been identified as Matthew Livelsberger, from Colorado Springs, Colorado.

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Grieving killer whale who carried calf’s body spotted again with dead baby

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Experts say sighting of orca in Puget Sound with second deceased calf is ‘devastating’ for ailing population

An apparently grieving killer whale who swam more than 1,000 miles pushing the body of her dead newborn has lost another calf and is again carrying the body, a development researchers say is a “devastating” loss for the ailing population.

The Washington state-based Center for Whale Research said the orca, known as Tahlequah, or J35, was spotted in the Puget Sound area with her deceased calf.

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New Orleans: FBI probes ‘terrorist’ links in truck attack that killed 15 people – latest updates

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Bureau says it is conducting search warrants in New Orleans ‘and other states’ as authorities do not believe Shamsud-Din Jabbar ‘was solely responsible’

China said on Thursday it was “shocked” by the attack in the southern US city of New Orleans that killed at least 15 people and injured dozens.

“We mourn the victims, and express our sympathy to their families and those injured,” foreign affairs spokesperson, Mao Ning, told a regular press conference.

We are shocked by this violent attack … China always opposes any violent and terrorist acts targeting civilians.”

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One dead after Tesla Cybertruck explodes outside Trump hotel in Las Vegas

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Cybertruck was stuffed with firework mortars and camp fuel canisters, with authorities working to determine the motive of the incident

One person died and seven others were injured after a Tesla Cybertruck packed with fireworks and gas canisters exploded outside president-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel on Wednesday, with officials saying they were investigating potential motives for the incident.

Las Vegas police said that one person died inside the futuristic-looking pickup truck, which also contained camp fuel canisters, while seven people nearby suffered minor injuries.

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‘She was the sweetest person’: first details of New Orleans victims emerge

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Victims identified include aspiring nurse, father of two and former football player

The victims of the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans include an 18-year-old aspiring nurse, a 37-year-old father of two and a 27-year-old former football player.

Authorities have not yet released the names of those killed in the suspected terrorist attack, which claimed at least 15 people, but details began to emerge in local media on Wednesday as family members spoke out.

Ramon Antonio Vargas contributed reporting

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Jocelyne Wildenstein, socialite known for extreme cat-like plastic surgery, dies at 84

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Known as ‘one of the jet set’s most outrageous characters’, Wildenstein died in Paris hotel aged 84

The Swiss socialite and cosmetic surgery aficionado Jocelyne Wildenstein, sometimes known as “Catwoman” due to her extensive plastic surgery, has died, her partner said on Wednesday.

“It is with heavy heart and with great sadness that Mr Lloyd Klein announces the unexpected death of his beloved fiancée and longtime companion, Jocelyne Wildenstein,” the fashion designer said in an English-language statement sent to the Agence France-Presse news agency.

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Chief justice Roberts warns intimidation and violence risk judicial independence

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In sobering year-end report, chief justice laments litany of threats judges face, which he says put the rule of law at risk

Violence, intimidation, disinformation and threats to disobey lawful court rulings are putting the United States’s revered principle of judicial independence in jeopardy, the chief justice of the US supreme court, John Roberts, has warned.

In a sobering end of year report, Roberts – seen as the leading rightwinger on the court’s current six-to-three pro-conservative majority – laments a litany of threats contemporary judges face in America’s increasingly polarised political climate, which he says are putting the rule of law at risk.

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Trump appoints aide behind biggest campaign stunts to White House job

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President-elect hails Justin Caporale for Madison Square Garden rally and McDonald’s ‘shift’

Donald Trump has appointed Justin Caporale, the man credited with some of his most eye-catching campaign gambits on the path to his second presidential election victory, to a White House role, signalling that high-profile publicity stunts are likely to be a key feature of his second presidential term.

Posting on his Truth Social platform, the president-elect said Caparole would assume the role of executive producer for “major events and public appearances” after he returns to the Oval Office on 20 January.

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‘I heard the pops and I just ran’: New Orleans in shock after vehicle attack

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Residents celebrating new year recall scrambling for cover as scenes unimaginable unfolded in the French Quarter

The silence on Bourbon Street told much of the story.

At the intersection that marks the centre of New Orleans’s noisy tourist hub, lined with tall palm trees and towering hotels, the quiet on the morning of New Year’s Day was broken only by yellow police tape fluttering in the light breeze and the occasional blare of sirens echoing on the road.

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New Year’s Eve fireworks explosion kills three people in Hawaii

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Accident that also critically injured more than 20 others occurred just before midnight outside a Honolulu home

A New Year’s Eve fireworks explosion in a Honolulu-area neighborhood killed at least three people and critically injured more than 20 others, authorities say.

The accident occurred just before midnight outside a home, the Honolulu fire department said in a statement.

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‘Pure evil’: politicians condemn New Orleans attack as White House offers support

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Biden briefed by FBI as Trump appears to refer to suspect as foreign national even though identity has not been confirmed

Political reaction to the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans that is being investigated as a terrorist incident, came swiftly on Wednesday, with the White House saying that Joe Biden had been briefed by senior leadership at the FBI and by the leadership of the Department of Homeland Security.

The president also spoke by phone this morning with the New Orleans mayor, LaToya Cantrell, “to offer full federal support” according to the White House.

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Man pushed in front of New York City subway train injured but alive, police say

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The incident occurred in the heart of Manhattan and a man has been taken into custody, but charges are yet to be filed

A man waiting for the subway in Manhattan was pushed in front of an oncoming train on Tuesday afternoon, but survived with injuries to his leg and head, according to the New York police department.

The apparent attack comes less than two weeks after a woman died after being set on fire on a stationary train in New York, an act of violence that horrified the city.

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Ohio police solve 43-year-old murder of woman with help of DNA technology

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Debra Lee Miller, 26, was killed in her apartment in 1981 by James Vanest, who was shot dead by police last month

The murder of an 18-year-old woman in Ohio 43 years ago has been solved with the help of DNA technology, authorities announced on Monday.

Jason Bammann, the Mansfield police chief, said the cold case of Debra Lee Miller, a local waitress beaten to death with an oven grate in her apartment on 29 April 1981, was finally solved when DNA of a man shot dead by police was linked to the crime scene.

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North Carolina governor commutes 15 death row sentences on last day in office

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Roy Cooper’s historic clemency action comes a week after Biden’s resentencings shielded dozens from execution

The governor of North Carolina has granted commutations to 15 people on death row on his final day in office, changing their sentences to life without the possibility of parole.

Roy Cooper, a Democrat, announced his clemency action on New Year’s Eve, prompting praise from opponents of capital punishment, who have advocated for mass commutations to thwart executions.

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Ten people injured after Lego display collapses on to crowd in Massachusetts

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Eight hospitalized after attempted balloon drop at Peabody family fun center knocked over display, which fell about 12ft

Ten people were injured when a Lego display collapsed on to a crowd at an arcade center in Massachusetts, police said.

Peabody police said the incident took place on Tuesday at the In the Game family fun center when “a display was pulled down by balloons attached to it, causing it to fall”.

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Woman fatally set on fire in New York subway car identified

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It took nine days to identify Debrina Kawam, 61, of Toms River, New Jersey, after she burned to death in Brooklyn

The woman who was set on fire in a subway car in New York on 22 December, horrifying New Yorkers and renewing a debate over city safety, has been identified as 61-year-old Debrina Kawam, of Toms River, New Jersey.

The victim’s identity, released by the New York police department, came nine days after the fatal incident. Investigators had previously said they were using forensics and video surveillance to identify the victim.

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Republican support wavers for Mike Johnson’s re-election as House speaker

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Despite Donald Trump’s endorsement, Johnson is facing criticism for his handling of the government budget battle

A senior Texas Republican congressman has said that the House speaker, Mike Johnson, does not yet have the votes to be re-elected to the speakership ahead of an election to be held later this week.

Representative Chip Roy told Fox Business’s Varney & Co that he was undecided on supporting the Louisiana Republican, despite Donald Trump issuing a full-throated endorsement of Johnson on Monday.

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Lawmakers take on prior authorization reform as health insurance frustrations mount

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Nearly one in four doctors say the practice of prior authorization has led to serious issues for patients

In the wake of the killing of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, and the outpouring of frustration about insurance coverage, prior authorizations have emerged as a particular roadblock in healthcare.

Prior authorization requires medical providers to get an insurer’s approval before patients receive healthcare or medications.

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‘Preying on investors’: how software firm MicroStrategy’s big bet on bitcoin went stratospheric

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Company’s share price has risen twentyfold after it changed its strategy to become first ‘bitcoin treasury company’

In the summer of 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic upended economies around the world, an obscure US software firm decided to diversify. MicroStrategy, whose head office is situated next to a shopping mall and metro station in Tysons Corner, Virginia, had decided the steady business of “software as a service” was not racy enough.

Instead, it would branch out by investing up to $250m in alternative assets – “stocks, bonds, commodities such as gold, digital assets such as bitcoin or other asset types”.

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