Category Archives: US News

Second Trump term could boost toxic ‘forever chemicals’, experts warn

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Ex-president’s allies and Project 2025 propose restrictions to EPA’s ability to protect public from toxins like PFAS

A second Donald Trump presidency would represent a serious threat to dealing with the toxic impact of PFAS “forever chemicals”, as well as other toxins, and could be a danger to the health of millions of Americans, experts and environmental campaigners warn.

For example, over the last year, the Environmental Protection Agency developed groundbreaking drinking water limits for highly toxic PFAS compounds, and designated several of the “forever chemicals” as hazardous substances, a move that will force industry to clean up its pollution. The steps represent a major win for the water quality and taxpayers, but a new Trump administration would likely shred the rules.

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Some condom and lubricant brands contain alarming levels of PFAS – study

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Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ linked to low birth weight, reduced sperm counts and infertility

Several brands of condoms and lubricants contain alarming levels of toxic PFAS “forever chemicals”, including styles of Trojan and K-Y Jelly, new research finds.

The testing conducted by the Mamavation consumer advocacy blog comes just as researchers found human skin absorbs the chemicals at much higher levels than previously thought.

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Putin warns US against deploying long-range missiles in Germany

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Russian leader says Washington risks triggering cold war-style missile crisis and promises to respond in kind

Vladimir Putin has warned the US that if Washington deploys long-range missiles in Germany from 2026, Russia will station similar missiles within striking distance of the west.

The US would start deploying long-range fire capabilities in Germany in 2026 in an effort to demonstrate its commitment to Nato and European defence, Washington and Germany said earlier this month.

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North Korea vows to ‘totally destroy’ enemy as regime marks end of Korean war

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Military officials aim to strengthen war efficiency by following any attack order by Kim Jong-un ‘anytime and without delay’

North Korea has vowed to “totally destroy” its enemies in case of war when leader Kim Jong-un gives an order, state media KCNA reported on Sunday, as the regime marked the end of hostilities in the Korean war.

Senior military officials including Col Ri Un-ryong and Lt Cdr Yu Kyong-song made the comments “out of surging hatred” towards the US and South Korea at a meeting on Saturday attended by Kim, marking the 71st anniversary of the Korean war armistice, according to KCNA.

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‘The PTSD is horrible’: for Californians who survived tragedy, new blazes stir trauma

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As the Park fire rages near Chico, residents who were evacuated from the deadly Camp fire in 2018 are evacuated again

As the biggest fire of the season raged through northern California on Saturday, Stephen Murray wasn’t taking any chances.

The Paradise resident loaded up his vehicle and prepared to flee with his wife and children. Almost six years after the Camp fire destroyed his hometown and killed 85 people, the community was under an evacuation warning due to the Park fire, which had scorched nearly 350,000 acres.

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Illinois officer charged with killing Sonya Massey had history of ‘bullying’

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Sean P Grayson worked for six law enforcement agencies in four years, with allegations of abuse of power and lying

As vigils for Sonya Massey take place across the US this weekend, a history of unethical and aggressive behavior by the officer who shot her, Sean P Grayson, is emerging. Grayson’s disciplinary file includes accusations of bullying behavior and abuse of power, according to CBS News.

Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman and mother of two living outside Springfield, Illinois, had called 911 when she thought a prowler was lurking outside her home on 6 July. Grayson and another officer from the Sangamon county sheriff’s office were dispatched and arrived at her home. Instead of helping Massey with a possible intruder, Grayson shot her in the face after she moved a pot of water from her kitchen stove at their request.

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Gen-Z voters spread the ‘Kamalove’ as Harris’s popularity earns youth support

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Pramila Jayapal, progressive Seattle representative, says of ‘undeniable’ enthusiasm: ‘I have not seen anything like this’

Kamala Harris pledged to earn the votes of young people this election, as the vice-president and newly elevated presumptive Democratic nominee rides a gen Z-powered wave of online “Kamalove” .

In a virtual address to attendees of a two-day summit in Atlanta, hosted by the liberal gen Z-led organization Voters of Tomorrow, Harris said she had been elected the first female vice-president of the United States “because young voters showed up” in 2020. She touted “historic progress” made by the Biden-Harris administration on combating gun violence and climate change, all of which she said was again “at stake this November”.

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Cooler temperatures bring relief as Park fire explodes in California

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Intensity and dramatic spread have led to unwelcome comparisons to 2018 Camp fire, which killed 85 people

Cooler temperatures brought some relief to the thousands of firefighters battling the Park fire in northern California after it exploded in size, becoming the largest in the state and prompting the governor to make an emergency declaration for three counties.

The intensity and dramatic spread of the wildfire led officials to make unwelcome comparisons to the disastrous Camp fire, which burned out of control in nearby Paradise in 2018, killing 85 people and destroying 11,000 homes.

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Members of US family gospel group the Nelons killed in plane crash

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Three members of group among seven people who died in Wyoming crash on Friday

Three members of the US family gospel group the Nelons have been killed in a plane crash, their management announced.

Jason Clark, Kelly Nelon Clark and their daughter Amber Kistler died on Friday while taking a flight to perform on a cruise ship.

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From rising star to potential liability: how JD Vance’s fortunes have turned

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Ohio senator’s ratings are at a record low and his hardline views on issues might prove to be a liability than an asset

He was supposed to be his master’s mini-me, his elevation as Republican vice-presidential nominee hailed as a virile celebration of Donald Trump’s near-total conquest of the GOP.

Now – days after receiving a rapturous response at the Republican national convention in Milwaukee – JD Vance is being lamented within party circles as a potentially fatal liability in Trump’s quest to recapture the White House.

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Trump tells supporters they won’t have to vote in the future: ‘It’ll be fixed!’

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Former president implores Christian supporters to vote ‘just this time’, then ‘in four years, you don’t have to vote again’

Donald Trump has ignited alarm among his critics after telling a crowd of supporters that they won’t “have to vote again” if they return him to the presidency in November’s election.

“Christians, get out and vote! Just this time – you won’t have to do it any more,” the Republican former president said on Friday night at a rally hosted in West Palm Beach, Florida, by the far-right advocacy group Turning Point Action.

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Top pilots’ union sounds alarm as regulators consider smaller crew sizes

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Firms accused of putting profits over safety as EU group weighs cutting minimum number of pilots from two to one

Aerospace giants have been accused of putting profits ahead of safety as officials consider cutting the minimum number of pilots required on commercial flight decks from two to one.

The move, which is currently being evaluated by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), would weaken standards to the “lowest common denominator”, the world’s largest union of airline pilots has warned.

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Covid surges in US as unequal access plagues vaccination and treatment rates

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Data shows overall resistance to masks, but lower Paxlovid prescription and vaccination rates for people of color

Covid is surging across the US, with levels of the virus on track to exceed last summer’s wave nationally and approaching the peak of last winter’s wave in the west, according to wastewater data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Yet vaccination and antiviral uptake, plagued by inequitable access, have remained low, and other precautions like mask-wearing are being met with increasing resistance.

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Biden to announce plans to reform US supreme court – report

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US president also to seek constitutional amendment to limit immunity for presidents and various officeholders

Joe Biden will announce plans to reform the US supreme court on Monday, Politico reported, citing two people familiar with the matter, adding that the US president was likely to back term limits for justices and an enforceable code of ethics.

Biden said earlier this week during an Oval Office address that he would call for reform of the court.

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California’s largest wildfire of year whips through community of Forest Ranch: ‘The sky was dark with smoke’

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Park fire has burned 239,000 acres, with an official telling CBS it was spreading at a rate of 4,000 to 5,000 acres an hour

A massive and explosive wildfire whipped through the small rural community of Forest Ranch, California, on Thursday, bringing back dark memories in a region that has withstood several devastating wildfires in recent years.

The Park fire has grown into the state’s largest this year, destroying buildings and forcing the evacuations of thousands in one of the state’s most wildfire-hardened regions.

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Record-breaking Zoom supporting Harris mobilizes white female voters

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Over 160,000 attendees in a key demographic ‘answered the call’ on Thursday, with nearly $8.5m raised for Harris

Following the success of a virtual call to mobilize Black women voters for Kamala Harris, a similar event with more than 160,000 attendees was held on Thursday aimed at white women, and appeared to break records.

White women will be a key demographic for the Democrats to win over this election.

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Wreckage of schooner that sank in 1893 found in Lake Michigan

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Marine archaeologists in Wisconsin find ship after single day of searching, in 50ft-deep waters off Algoma

Shipwreck hunters with the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association have discovered the wreckage of a schooner that sank in Lake Michigan 131 years ago.

A team of marine archaeologists located the Margaret A Muir – a 130ft, three-masted schooner built in 1872 – in 50ft-deep waters off the coast of Algoma, Wisconsin, on 12 May.

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Kamala Harris calls Sonya Massey family to give ‘heartfelt condolences’

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James Wilburn, father of Black woman shot dead by Illinois police, says vice-president ‘let us know she is with us 100%’

Vice-President Kamala Harris on Friday called the family of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman who was fatally shot by a sheriff’s deputy in her Illinois home, according to Massey’s family members, who spoke to NBC News.

Massey was killed on 6 July after she called the Sangamon county sheriff’s office because she was afraid there might be a prowler outside, according to an attorney for her family and Illinois state police.

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Harris ‘erases’ Trump’s lead in new poll; Trump says VP’s comments about Israel-Gaza war ‘weren’t very nice’ – as it happened

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This blog is now closed. You can read our full report on Kamala Harris closing the gap in polling here

Don Davis, a North Carolina Democratic representative, has issued a statement endorsing Kamala Harris, just a day after he broke party rank and joined House Republicans in condemning Harris’s border policies.

In a statement, Davis said:

Today, I announce my endorsement and support of Vice-President Kamala Harris for president. I also believe governor Roy Cooper, an eastern NC native, would be an excellent choice for vice-president. The stakes of this presidential election are incredibly high, with far reaching implications.

At the same time, the administration and Congress must address the concerns of the southern border. These issues cannot be overlooked …

Yesterday, the department of justice arrested Ismael Zambada Garcia (AKA ‘El Mayo’) and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, two of the most notorious leaders of the Sinaloa cartel, one of the deadliest enterprises in the world.

They are being charged for leading the Cartel’s deadly drug manufacturing and trafficking networks. I commend the work of our law enforcement officials who made this arrest for their ongoing work to bring Sinaloa cartel leaders to justice.

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Mexico president calls for ‘transparency’ amid secrecy over Sinaloa cartel arrests

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US announces arrest of two leaders of organised crime group as Mexican authorities say they were in the dark

The Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has called for “transparency” after the sudden and secretive arrests by US authorities of two top leaders of the Sinaloa cartel, one of Mexico’s most powerful organised crime groups.

Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García, 76, founded the Sinaloa cartel with Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera, and has been a top target of US law enforcement for decades, with a $15m bounty on his head.

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