Category Archives: US News

European leaders use Nato summit to sell military alliance to US voters

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Issue of burden-sharing threatens to become major stumbling block should second Trump administration come into power

European leaders at the Nato summit in Washington are focused on explaining to ordinary American taxpayers that the military alliance is worth the money, as the issue of burden-sharing has become a political football for both parties in the US – and threatens to become a serious stumbling block for the alliance should a second Trump administration come to power.

“There is a debate in the United States that the US are doing a lot to support Ukraine and Europe is not doing enough. If you look at figures, it’s actually a different picture. Europe is doing more than the United States: the financial support, military support we all have provided so far has been enormous … We are taking the security and defense seriously,” said Edgars Rinkēvičs, the president of Latvia, during a speech on Tuesday alongside former CIA director Leon Panetta and the Estonian defense minister, Hanno Pevkur. “It’s also very important to explain to the American public.”

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Trump airs list of false grievances at Florida rally: ‘We don’t eat bacon any more’

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Ex-president returns to campaign trail in Doral and makes baseless accusations but doesn’t name running mate

Donald Trump returned to the campaign trail in Florida on Tuesday night, hurling insults at Joe Biden and airing a litany of familiar grievances, but declining to name a running mate for November’s general election.

The former president and presumptive Republican nominee was speaking to a crowd of several hundred supporters at his golf club in Doral, a western suburb of Miami, keeping them waiting in 90F heat for a freewheeling monologue that began more than an hour later than scheduled.

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Yellowstone gunman told woman held at gunpoint he planned mass shooting, park officials say

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Rangers fatally shot Samson Lucas Bariah Fussner, 28, when he fired at a dining facility with nearly 200 people inside

A gunman killed by Yellowstone national park rangers, as he fired a semiautomatic rifle at the entrance of a dining facility with about 200 people inside, had told a woman he had held at gunpoint earlier that he planned to carry out a mass shooting, park officials said Tuesday.

Park rangers shot and killed the man during the attack Thursday morning. Yellowstone officials identified the lone shooter Tuesday as Samson Lucas Bariah Fussner, 28, of Milton, Florida.

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Kamala Harris underscores support for Biden at Las Vegas rally: ‘He is a fighter’

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Vice-president warns Trump would turn US to dictatorship if re-elected at event focused on AANHPI communities

Kamala Harris doubled down on her support of Joe Biden on Tuesday, describing the embattled president as a “fighter” as she warned Donald Trump would turn the country from a democracy into a dictatorship if he is re-elected to the White House in November.

The vice-president, speaking at a campaign event in Nevada, alluded to Biden’s struggles since his calamitous debate performance last month. “We always knew this election would be tough, and the past few days have been a reminder that running for president of the United States is never easy,” Harris said.

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White House says time to ‘turn the page’ on Biden campaign questions as Democrats still appear split – live

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Party leaders have come out in support of president but rumbling continues as Tennessee Democrat says opinions are so vast they are ‘not even in the same book’

At the National Conservatism Conference in Washington, Senator Josh Hawley endorsed the idea of Christian nationalism.

“Some will say now that I am calling America a Christian nation – so I am,” said Hawley during remarks at the conference on Monday. “And some will say that I am advocating Christian nationalism – so I do.”

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US blocks UK from holding court hearing in British territory Diego Garcia

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Authorities refused to grant access for judge and legal teams to visit island, where dozens of Tamil asylum seekers are stranded

The US government has blocked the UK from holding a court hearing in one of its own territories, it emerged on Tuesday.

The hearing was due to take place on the remote island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to consider the fate of dozens of Tamil asylum seekers stranded there for more than 1,000 days who claim they are being unlawfully detained.

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Leaders head to Nato summit amid Biden doubts and concern for Ukraine

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Nato official warns there could be further Russian strikes on Ukraine this week to try to draw attention away from event

World leaders flew into Washington DC on Tuesday for a two-day Nato summit where they are expected to agree enhanced military support for Ukraine against a backdrop of questions about Joe Biden’s mental sharpness.

Britain’s new prime minister, Keir Starmer, and Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, were among those arriving at the US capital amid a warning that Russia could step up missile strikes on Ukraine this week, repeating a barrage that killed at least 38 on Monday.

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Democrats lean toward accepting Biden even as party members voice concerns

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Six House Democrats have so far called for president to step aside, evidence of a party in disarray after disastrous debate

Many House Democrats appeared ready to accept Joe Biden as their nominee, despite widespread concern about his electoral viability, as prominent Black, Hispanic and progressive lawmakers rally behind the president during a crucial day of meetings on Capitol Hill.

Lawmakers emerged from a closed-door meeting on Tuesday morning stone-faced, appearing uneasy about Biden’s path forward, even if most weren’t ready to publicly call on him to step aside as concerns deepen over the 81-year-old president’s age, mental acuity and ability to win the White House for a second term. Asked if the party was on the same page, Representative Steve Cohen of Tennessee quipped: “We’re not even in the same book.”

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Brett Favre pushes to revive lawsuit against fellow Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe

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  • Case takes places amid backdrop of welfare scandal
  • Sharpe made comments during Fox Sports show

Lawyers for Brett Favre have asked a federal appeals court to revive a defamation lawsuit the former NFL quarterback filed against a fellow Pro Football Hall of Fame member, Shannon Sharpe, amid the backdrop of a Mississippi welfare scandal.

A federal judge in Mississippi threw out the lawsuit in October, saying Sharpe used constitutionally protected speech on a sports broadcast when he criticized Favre’s connection to the welfare misspending case.

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James Inhofe, former Republican senator who called climate change a ‘hoax’, dies aged 89

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The Oklahoman brought a snowball to the Senate floor in 2015 to prove humans couldn’t change the climate

Republican former senator James Inhofe, a climate denier who once brought a snowball to the chamber floor in a stunt attempting to disprove global warming, died on Tuesday at the age of 89.

Inhofe resigned as senator for Oklahoma in January 2023, suffering long-term effects of Covid-19. Elected in 1994, his time as the state’s longest-serving senator was notable for his ultra-conservative positions on numerous issues, including calling the climate emergency “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people”.

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Columbia removes three deans over text messages with alleged ‘antisemitic tropes’

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University president says private text exchange during school event was ‘unacceptable and deeply upsetting’

Three Columbia University deans have been indefinitely removed from their positions after sending text messages that the university president said included antisemitic tropes.

In a message sent on Monday, the Columbia president, Minouche Shafik, said that text messages “revealed behavior and sentiments that were not only unprofessional, but also, disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes”, the Columbia Spectator reported.

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Shark bites teen training to be a lifeguard in Florida

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Teen’s injuries weren’t considered life-threatening in shark attack, which are rare incidents, though Florida is US and world leader

A shark bit a Florida teen on the leg during a lifeguard training camp on Monday morning, officials said.

The attack on the 14-year-old boy in question occurred near the Ponce Inlet lifeguard tower shortly before noon, Volusia county beach safety officials said. The lifeguard trainee had been practicing water entries when he landed on a shark.

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‘Challenge me,’ Biden says as more Democrats urge president to quit race | First Thing

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Leading Democrat Adam Smith called on Biden to end presidential bid. Plus, one of the heaviest Israeli strikes on Gaza City since 7 October

Good morning.

Joe Biden’s position among congressional Democrats eroded further on Monday when Adam Smith, the ranking Democrat on the armed services committee in the House of Representatives, lent his voice to calls for Biden to end his presidential campaign.

What are the polls saying? A New York Times/Siena College poll last week found 74% of voters thought Biden was too old to be effective, including 59% of Democrats. Biden v Trump polls have widened slightly since the debate, with Trump averaging 42% and Biden 39.7%.

Who are the alternatives? Vice-president Kamala Harris is touted by some Democrats, including Smith. The Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer, said she would not run for the Democratic nomination even if Biden walked away.

What happens next? Today is the official start of a three-day Nato summit in Washington, and the Biden campaign signalled he would also increase public appearances, with a press conference on Thursday and more events next week, to try to allay voter concerns.

What is the humanitarian impact of Israel’s assault on Gaza? After the invasion was sparked when Hamas killed about 1,200 people and took 250 hostage on 7 October, more than 38,500 people have died in Gaza as Israeli attacks have decimated infrastructure and housing, displaced 90% of the population, and brought widespread malnutrition and famine to the coastal strip.

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Mapped: the vast network of security deals spanning the Pacific, and what it means

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Guardian analysis shows web of agreements between Pacific countries and Australia, US and China, as experts raise concerns over rising militarisation

As competition for influence in the Pacific region intensifies, analysis by the Guardian has mapped a vast network of security, policing and defence agreements between the island countries and foreign partners – leading to concerns about militarisation of the region.

The Guardian examined agreements and partnerships covering security, defence and policing with the 10 largest Pacific countries by population. Australia remains the dominant partner in the region – accounting for more than half the deals identified – followed by New Zealand, the US and China.

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Bob’s Burgers actor Jay Johnston pleads guilty over role in Capitol attack

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Johnston, 54, faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to felony count of civil disorder from January 6 riot

Jay Johnston, an actor best known for his role on the animated comedy show Bob’s Burgers, has pleaded guilty to charges related to his role in the storming of the US Capitol in January 2021.

Johnston, 54, faces a maximum of five years in prison and pleaded guilty to a felony count of civil disorder. He was released on a $25,000 bond in June 2023 after an initial court appearance in California.

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Chinese developers scramble as OpenAI blocks access in China

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US firm’s move, amid Beijing-Washington tensions, sparks rush to lure users to homegrown models

At the World AI Conference in Shanghai last week, one of China’s leading artificial intelligence companies, SenseTime, unveiled its latest model, SenseNova 5.5.

The model showed off its ability to identify and describe a stuffed toy puppy (wearing a SenseTime cap), offered feedback on a drawing of a rabbit, and instantly read and summarised a page of text. According to SenseTime, SenseNova 5.5 is comparable with GPT-4o, the flagship artificial intelligence model of the Microsoft-backed US company OpenAI.

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Three dead and millions without power as Tropical Storm Beryl hits Texas

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Man, 53, and woman, 74, killed by fallen trees and third person drowns amid howling winds and torrential rain

Tropical Storm Beryl made landfall in south-east Texas on Monday with howling winds and torrential rains, causing the deaths of at least three people, closing oil ports, and knocking out power to more than 2.5 million homes and businesses.

Before making landfall in Texas, the storm had already carved a path through the Caribbean as a category 5 hurricane, where it killed 11 people. It continued on to Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula as a category 2, temporarily dropped in intensity to a tropical storm but again strengthened to a hurricane over the weekend.

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US heatwave tied to four Oregon deaths as temperature records are shattered

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More than 146 million Americans under extreme heat alerts as dangerous weather fuels outbreak of new wildfires

A fierce heatwave has shattered temperature records across the US west and has been tied to at least four deaths in Oregon, with more heat on the way as dangerous weather fueled the outbreak of new wildfires.

Oregon faced triple-digit temperatures and saw several records toppled over the weekend, including in Salem, where on Sunday it hit 103F (39.4C), topping the 99F (37.2C) mark set in 1960. Authorities in Multnomah county – home to Portland, where temperatures broke daily records over the weekend – said they were investigating four suspected deaths tied to the heatwave.

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Leading House Democrat Adam Smith calls on Biden to end presidential bid

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Ranking Democrat on armed services committee says debate was ‘alarming’ and urges president to stand aside

Joe Biden’s position among congressional Democrats eroded further on Monday when an influential House committee member lent his voice to calls for him to end his presidential campaign following last month’s spectacular debate failure.

Adam Smith, the ranking Democrat on the armed services committee in the House of Representatives, issued the plea just hours after the president emphatically rejected calls for him to step aside in a letter to the party’s congressional contingent.

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Keir Starmer to meet Joe Biden this week for first time at the White House

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US president to host bilateral talks with UK leader travelling to Washington for major Nato summit

Keir Starmer is to meet Joe Biden this week for the first time at the White House as he travels to Washington for a major Nato summit of world leaders.

The US president’s press secretary confirmed he would host bilateral talks on Wednesday as the new prime minister seeks to underline the strength of the special relationship despite the change in the UK government.

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