Flight 2477 to Boston landed in DC to conduct a ‘deep clean’ after crew and passengers began vomiting
A United Airlines flight was forced to divert after a passenger fell so ill on board that it caused what one crew member reportedly called a “biohazard” – and made crewmates and other passengers start vomiting.
The plane, Flight 2477 heading from Houston to Boston on Sunday, ended up landing in Washington DC so it could undergo “a deep clean”, the New York Post reported.
Continue reading...US defence secretary says China is 'engaging in coercive behaviour, trying to change the status quo in the East and South China Seas’
Japanese and US defense chiefs, as well as top diplomats, agreed to further bolster their military cooperation by upgrading the command and control of US forces in the east Asian country and strengthening American-licensed missile production there, describing the rising threat from China as “the greatest strategic challenge.”
US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, joined their Japanese counterparts, Yoko Kamikawa and Minoru Kihara, at the Japan-US Security Consultative Committee in Tokyo – known as “2+2” security talks – where they reaffirmed their bilateral alliance in the wake of President Joe Biden ’s withdrawal from the November presidential race.
Continue reading...The famous costume, worn by Carrie Fisher in Return of the Jedi, was sold alongside a miniature aircraft used in A New Hope that fetched $1.6m
Princess Leia’s famous gold bikini worn by the late Carrie Fisher in Star Wars has sold at auction for $175,000 (£136,000, A$266,000).
The costume, made famous from the 1983 film Return of the Jedi when Fisher’s character wore it while chained to Jabba the Hutt’s throne, was bought at a sale by Heritage Auctions on Friday in the US.
Continue reading...US backed Israel in blaming Hezbollah for strike on Golan Heights but is ‘working on a diplomatic solution’
Global leaders were engaged in intensive diplomacy on Sunday to dissuade Israel from increasing attacks on Lebanon, amid fears that a wider regional war could erupt in response to a rocket strike that killed 12 children playing football in the occupied Golan Heights.
As the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, convened a meeting of his national security cabinet, the White House backed Israeli statements that blamed Saturday’s attack on the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, saying: “It was their rocket, and launched from an area they control. It should be universally condemned.”
Continue reading...The Park fire has more than doubled in size in 24-hour span to burn 350,000 acres and stretches over four counties
Thousands of firefighters continued to battle the Park fire in northern California which, propelled by extreme fire weather conditions, has become the state’s seventh-largest on record after burning for less than a week.
The Park fire, about 90 miles (144km) north of the state capital of Sacramento, had more than doubled in size in a 24-hour span to burn upwards of 350,000 acres (141640 hectares) – an area about the size of Los Angeles – and stretched over four counties: Butte, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama, according to the California department of forestry and fire protection, or Cal Fire.
Continue reading...National security council says attack that killed 12 children and teenagers ‘should be universally condemned’
The Biden administration formally placed blame on Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah for the rocket strike that killed 12 children and teenagers on a soccer field in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Sunday.
National security council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the attack was “conducted by Lebanese Hezbollah. It was their rocket, and launched from an area they control. It should be universally condemned.”
Continue reading...Tactic calibrated to resonate with young and independent voters who, polls show, are now more engaged with election
US Democrats have spent recent days trying out a relatively new attack line on Donald Trump: that he is weird. The tactic is almost certainly calibrated to resonate with young and independent voters who, polls show, are moving from marked disinterest in the now-dropped matchup between Joe Biden and his presidential predecessor to engagement in the 100-day contest between Trump and Kamala Harris.
In a press release Thursday, vice-president and presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris issued a list of the main takeaways of what Trump had given the American people. “Is Donald Trump OK?” the X message said. The seventh of nine entries was: “Trump is old and quite weird?”
Continue reading...Film’s opening is eighth biggest ever in win for Marvel as Robert Downey Jr announces return to studio as Dr Doom
Marvel is back on top with Deadpool & Wolverine. The comic-book movie made a staggering $205m in its first weekend in North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday. It shattered the opening record for R-rated films previously held by the first Deadpool ($132m) and notched a spot in the top 10 openings of all time.
Including international showings, where it’s racked up an additional $233.3m from 52 markets, Deadpool & Wolverine is looking at a global opening of more than $438.3m.
Continue reading...Tom Cotton, Lindsey Graham and Ron DeSantis try to paint Harris, a centrist Democrat, as having far-left politics
Republicans took to the airwaves Sunday to criticize a surging Kamala Harris, calling the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee a “dangerous liberal” as US conservatives’ lines of attack on the vice-president began to solidify.
In appearances across CNN and Fox News, senior Republican figures Tom Cotton, Lindsey Graham and former presidential candidate Ron DeSantis each attempted to paint Harris – who is typically seen as a centrist Democrat – as having far-left politics.
Continue reading...‘We were supposed to get a face-to-face briefing … and that never happened,’ says lead sharpshooter on local Swat team
Local police officers on a special tactical team who were assigned to help protect Donald Trump on the day the former president was wounded during a 13 July assassination attempt in Butler county, Pennsylvania, have said they had no contact with Secret Service agents before the gunman opened fire.
“We were supposed to get a face-to-face briefing with the Secret Service members whenever they arrived, and that never happened,” Jason Woods, lead sharpshooter on the Swat team in nearby Beaver county, Pennsylvania, told ABC News.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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”.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...