Category Archives: US News

Massachusetts judge rules Karen Read can be retried for murder after mistrial

Posted on by

January retrial likely after judge declines to dismiss two charges against Boston woman accused of killing boyfriend

The Massachusetts judge presiding over the high-profile murder trial of Karen Read has rejected a defense motion to dismiss two charges, including murder, setting the stage for the case to be retried in January after jurors deadlocked this summer.

Read, 44, is accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, 46, by hitting him with her sport-utility vehicle and leaving him to die in a snowbank. She pleaded not guilty to charges including second-degree murder, manslaughter while under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of a deadly crash.

Continue reading...

Trump hails RFK Jr as ‘great person’ after 2024 endorsement – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed. You can read our latest story here

Merrick Garland announced this morning that the justice department has filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the real estate software company RealPage.

The DoJ alleges that RealPage’s algorithm provided landlords with recommended prices for rentals that allowed them to align their rents.

Continue reading...

RFK Jr voters on ‘frustrating’ suspension of campaign: ‘He’s playing politics’

Posted on by

Kennedy supporters bitterly disappointed as independent props up two-party system by endorsing Donald Trump

Robert F Kennedy Jr, the arguable black sheep of one of America’s biggest families in politics, has suspended his campaign for president and endorsed Donald Trump – and it has rocked some of his supporters.

On Facebook, where Kennedy groups have amassed thousands of members across the country, some expressed bitter disappointment. In their view, Kennedy was a way to buck, and even break, the two-party system in the US – and while the end of his campaign hurt, backing one of the major party candidates was seen as far worse.

Continue reading...

Florida police officer charged with manslaughter over Black airman’s killing

Posted on by

Eddie Duran charged over death of Roger Fortson, who was shot multiple times when he opened apartment door

A Florida sheriff’s deputy is facing a charge of manslaughter with a firearm in connection with the fatal shooting of a US air force member who opened his apartment door while holding a gun.

The former Okaloosa county deputy Eddie Duran was charged on Friday in the 3 May shooting death of senior airman Roger Fortson, assistant state attorney Greg Marcille said. That is a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Continue reading...

Harris’s convention speech sparks live rant from outraged Trump

Posted on by

Ex-president’s 48 posts during speech confirm his trouble in maintaining discipline on the campaign trail

Kamala Harris’s Democratic national convention speech provoked a torrent of outrage from Donald Trump as the former US president fired off a volley of ripostes, rebuttals and angry calls to TV stations.

Trump posted 48 times on his Truth Social network during Harris’s 37-minute presidential acceptance speech, which was nearly an hour shorter than his own effort at the Republican convention last month.

Continue reading...

High levels of fluoride in drinking water linked to lower IQ in children

Posted on by

US government study finds association between high levels of fluoride exposure and potential neurological risk

A US government report expected to stir debate concluded that fluoride in drinking water at twice the recommended limit is linked with lower IQ in children.

The report, based on an analysis of previously published research, marks the first time a federal agency has determined – “with moderate confidence” – that there is a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in children. While the report was not designed to evaluate the health effects of fluoride in drinking water alone, it is a striking acknowledgment of a potential neurological risk from high levels of fluoride.

Continue reading...

Canadian government moves to ends nationwide rail strike

Posted on by

Staff to return to work and trains expected to start running in days after ministers intervene

Canada’s federal government has moved to end a nationwide rail strike that threatened to grind supply chains to a halt, less than a day after it began.

With the government saying it would force the union and rail companies into binding arbitration, picket lines came down and workers at Canadian National Railway (CN) were ordered to return to work on Friday, the Teamsters union said.

Continue reading...

Harris urges America to choose ‘freedom and fairness’ over Trump extremism – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is closing now, thanks for following along. You can find all of our US elections coverage here.

Now comes Pat Ryan, who represents a New York battleground district in the House of Representatives.

He hit out at Donald Trump for his reported insults towards military veterans, then obliquely referenced the newfound optimism Democrats are feeling since Joe Biden ended his bid for a second term:

These last few weeks have felt like a new day in America, when we are waking up, rising up, patriots, to demand a president who does not just treat our veterans with respect, but everyone with respect.

We do not retreat, we are the United States of America, we lead!

Continue reading...

Harris makes forceful speech – and skewers the menace from Mar-a-Lago

Posted on by

Her acceptance address was short on policy and poetry, but the Democratic nominee took the fight to Donald Trump

It was not a political address for the ages. It was not even the best of the convention (no one can compete with the Obamas). But Kamala Harris did enough in her speech accepting the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday to put an exclamation mark on one of the most dramatic turnarounds in modern political history.

And she made you reflect that you would not want to be Donald Trump facing her in next month’s televised debate. A speech that was short on policy and poetry was nevertheless devastating in skewering the menace from Mar-a-Lago. Trump can expect the same kind of interrogation when the two go head to head that would make most mortals tremble.

Continue reading...

Kamala Harris pledges to ‘chart a new way forward’ as she accepts nomination

Posted on by

Democratic nominee makes sweeping convention speech and promises to prosecute case against Donald Trump

Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday with a sweeping, pointed speech in which she vowed to prosecute the case against Donald Trump and carry the country to a brighter and fairer future.

In an address that balanced optimism with scathing criticism of her opponent, Harris acknowledged her “unlikely” path to the nomination and extended her hand to voters of all political ideologies who believe in America’s promise. Harris would make history if elected – as the first woman, first Black woman and first Asian American woman to serve as president – but she instead focused on the history that the country could change in November.

Continue reading...

From buzz to fizzle as rumours of Beyoncé performance at DNC fly, then fade

Posted on by

Multiple news sites reported the star would be a special guest at the closing night of the Democratic National Convention – but it was not to be

As Kamala Harris prepared to deliver the biggest speech of her career, one of the year’s biggest rumours snowballed online and in the media about a potential surprise guest.

In an election campaign in which anything has seemed possible, a Democratic National Convention appearance by Beyoncé, whose song Freedom is the Harris campaign’s official song, seemed for a brief moment like it could be on the cards.

Continue reading...

Democratic convention fails to meet uncommitted delegate deadline for Palestinian speaker

Posted on by

Ceasefire movement staged sit-in after weeks of unsuccessful attempts to get representative on main stage

After a daylong sit-in, uncommitted delegates entered the United Center to take their seats among their state delegations on the Democratic national convention floor.

The Democratic convention failed to make a 6pm CT deadline that the ceasefire delegates had set for a final decision on allowing a Palestinian American to speak from the main stage.

Continue reading...

Kamala Harris’s big moment, and a message of hope: key takeaways from the Democratic convention’s final night

Posted on by

The vice-president rebuked Trump and urged ‘optimism and faith’ – but Beyoncé did not make an appearance

The Democratic national convention has ended in Chicago, with vice-president Kamala Harris formally accepting the nomination and making her pitch to voters. Here are some key takeaways from the fourth night:

Democratic convention highlights:

Tim Walz’s acceptance speech channeled grit and empathy

Democrats issue warning over Project 2025

What to know about Kamala Harris and Tim Walz

Continue reading...

Meth worth nearly $6m found in fake watermelons at US-Mexico border

Posted on by

Imitation fruits and vegetables are the latest ‘sophisticated’ tactic for Mexican cartels to smuggle drugs into the US

Everyday fruit and vegetables are some of the latest methods Mexican cartels are using to smuggle drugs into the US, recent seizures of methamphetamine suggest.

Around 2 tonnes of the powerful stimulant known colloquially as crystal meth was discovered recently in packages designed to look like bright green watermelons at the San Diego, California, port of Otay Mesa, according to US Customs and Border Patrol Protection officials.

Continue reading...

US officials say Gaza ceasefire ‘in sight’ but Israel and Hamas downbeat

Posted on by

Warring sides indicate breakthrough not imminent as renewed fighting rages in parts of Palestinian territory

US officials have expressed optimism that a ceasefire deal in the war in Gaza “is in sight”, despite growing indications from Israel and Hamas that a breakthrough is not imminent and as renewed fighting rages in parts of the Palestinian territory.

Washington has put pressure on both parties to accept a bridging proposal suggested during internationally mediated talks in Qatar last week, dispatching the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, on his ninth visit to the region since the conflict broke out 10 months ago. The latest round of negotiations, in which Hamas is not directly participating, were scheduled to restart in Cairo by Thursday but appear to have been postponed.

Continue reading...

Harris prepares for convention keynote as Trump and Vance focus on immigration message – live

Posted on by

Harris will formally accept her party’s historic presidential nomination while Trump and Vance will hold separate battleground state events

Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz is dropping by the Minnesota delegation’s breakfast meeting in Chicago this morning, according to reports.

Walz and his wife, Gwen, are expected to thank delegates at the breakfast for their support of the Harris-Walz ticket.

Continue reading...

Uncommitted holds sit-in outside Democratic convention after Palestinians denied a speaker

Posted on by

Movement launched protest after party rejected requests for Palestinian American to speak on the main stage

A sit-in that began Wednesday evening in protest of the Democratic convention’s denial of a Palestinian American speaker on the main stage continued on Thursday.

Uncommitted, a national movement that began in Michigan, won 30 delegates to the convention and has tried to use the party process to pressure Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to broker an end to the war in Gaza. The sit-in has been taking place outside the United Center, where Harris will speak this evening, is the latest attempt to get the Democratic party to allow greater prominence for the anti-war movement at this week’s convention in Chicago. Organizers were expected to remain in place until or unless the party changes course.

Continue reading...

US Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik joins Dancing with the Stars

Posted on by

‘Pommel horse guy’ becomes first confirmed cast member for reality show’s 33rd season premiering 17 September

The US Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik will appear on the new Dancing with the Stars season, ABC’s Good Morning America hosts announced on Thursday.

“I want to bring some of that gymnastics – maybe a backflip or handstand. I want to have fun with it,” Nedoroscik told GMA hosts Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos and Gio Benitez.

Continue reading...

Woman caught in awkward ‘childless cat ladies’ DNC camera pan attacks Vance

Posted on by

Teresa Woorman takes moment in limelight in her stride after cameras cut to her during Oprah Winfrey speech

When the cameras panned over from Oprah Winfrey calling out “childless cat ladies” at the Democratic national convention, they landed on an unsuspecting woman who nodded along to Winfrey’s words and prompted plenty of reactions online – and a response from the woman herself.

During Winfrey’s speech on Wednesday, the cameras awkwardly cut to the audience member Teresa Woorman, a delegate from district 16 in Maryland.

Continue reading...

‘That’s my dad’: Gus Walz moved to tears as father Tim accepts VP nomination

Posted on by

Walz’s 17-year-old son touched DNC viewers with his emotional display during father’s widely praised speech

Tim Walz’s 17-year-old son Gus stole the show with an emotional display of family fealty as his father delivered his acceptance speech at the Democratic national convention in Chicago.

After the elder Walz described the painful process of starting a family using fertility treatment, television cameras focused on Gus as he stood up, with tears pouring down his face, and pointed to the stage mouthing: “That’s my dad.”

Continue reading...