Category Archives: US News

Norwegian Cruise captain refused to let eight passengers who were late reboard ship

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Passengers, who have since rejoined vessel, missed scheduled departure time from São Tomé and scrambled to reunite with ship

Eight cruise passengers had to scramble to reunite with their cruise ship after being left behind in São Tomé and Príncipe.

The passengers, including a pregnant woman and a paraplegic traveller, missed their scheduled departure time from the island of São Tomé in the Gulf of Guinea, about 250km off the coast of Gabon, after disembarking the Norwegian Dawn to take a local tour.

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Biden and Xi seek to manage tensions in phone call as US officials head to China

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Presidents clashed over Taiwan and US trade restrictions on technology in first direct interaction since November

Joe Biden and Xi Jinping have clashed in a telephone call about Taiwan and US trade restrictions on technology, but sought to manage their tensions as two top US officials prepare to visit Beijing.

The nearly two-hour telephone conversation on Tuesday was the two leaders’ first direct interaction since a summit in November in California that saw a marked thaw in tone, if not the long-term rivalry, between the world’s two largest economies.

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Bernie Sanders to Benjamin Netanyahu: ‘Stop murdering innocent people’

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Vermont senator makes remarks after Israeli strike kills seven aid workers, amid war that has killed more than 32,000 Palestinians

The Vermont senator and former US presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has a message for the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu: “Stop murdering innocent people.”

Sanders delivered his blunt message in an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday, a day after seven aid workers were killed by an Israeli strike in Gaza.

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US aiming to ‘crack the code’ on deploying geothermal energy at scale

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Recent $74m investment made alongside assessment that 10% of electricity could be generated by geothermal by 2050

A limitless supply of heat exists beneath our feet within the Earth’s crust, but harnessing it at scale has proved challenging. Now, a combination of new techniques, government support and the pressing need to secure continuous clean power in an era of climate crisis means that geothermal energy is finally having its moment in the US.

Until recently, geothermal has only been viable where the Earth’s inner heat simmers near the surface, such as at hot springs or geysers where hot water or steam can be easily drawn to drive turbines and generate electricity.

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Last living survivor aboard USS Arizona during Pearl Harbor attack dies aged 102

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Lou Conter, who was a quartermaster on battleship that exploded and sank during bombing, died following congestive heart failure

The last living survivor of the USS Arizona battleship that exploded and sank during the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor has died. Lou Conter was 102.

Conter passed away on Monday at his home in Grass Valley, California, following congestive heart failure, his daughter, Louann Daley, said, adding she was beside him along with two of her brothers, James and Jeff.

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United Airlines asks pilots to take time off due to shortage of new Boeing planes

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Airline faces delay in receiving new planes as Boeing struggles with production due to manufacturing problems

United Airlines is asking its pilots to take time off in May because of delays in receiving new planes that the airline ordered from Boeing, which is struggling with production due to manufacturing problems.

A United spokesperson said Monday that the offer is voluntary.

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Seven Gaza aid workers killed in Israeli strike, charity says | First Thing

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IDF investigating after World Central Kitchen workers killed in central Gaza. Plus, Robert F Kennedy Jr claims to qualify for five states’ ballots

Good morning.

An Israeli airstrike has killed seven people working with World Food Kitchen, according to the frontline aid charity. Those killed were from the UK, Australia, Poland and Palestine, as well as a US-Canadian dual citizen.

How could this affect food relief efforts? There are fears that an aid corridor from Cyprus could collapse.

When will these cases go to trial? The cases related to the 2020 election result and documents have been entangled in delays and may not go to trial before November’s election.

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Biden faces test in Wisconsin as Gaza supporters call for ‘uninstructed’ vote

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Voters will also potentially enshrine two state amendments that some say could have a negative impact on elections administration

Voters in Wisconsin cast their ballots today in an election that will test voter enthusiasm for Joe Biden and Donald Trump – and potentially enshrine two amendments in the state constitution impacting election administration across the state.

The president and former president are already the presumptive nominees and will almost certainly face off in the general election in November, and it seems that the threat of prosecution, general unpopularity and advanced age can’t stop them.

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One last dish: US restaurateur drives six hours to fulfil dying woman’s wish

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Heather Bowers was suffering from cancer and wanted to eat her favorite meal from Mama Kwans – Kevin Cherry made it happen

Kevin Cherry didn’t want recognition for dropping everything he was doing and driving a half-dozen hours across state lines to fulfil a person’s dying wish.

But he got it anyway after loved ones of a West Virginia woman who received one last act of kindness in her final hours publicly expressed their eternal gratitude to Cherry, a North Carolina restaurant owner whose benevolence has vaulted him to internet virality.

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Video shows California police fatally shooting teenager who was reported kidnapped

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Revealed: Savannah Graziano, 15, shot by sheriff’s deputies in 2022 while unarmed and following instructions to move toward them

Newly released law enforcement footage captures the moment California police fatally shot an unarmed 15-year-old girl who was a reported kidnapping victim.

On 27 September 2022, San Bernardino county sheriff’s deputies were searching for Savannah Graziano, who was feared abducted by her father Anthony Graziano after he had fatally shot her mother the day before.

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Alex Murdaugh sentenced to 40 years for stealing from clients and law firm

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Disbarred attorney already serving life sentence without parole in South Carolina prison for killing his wife and son

For maybe the last time, the convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh – in a prison jumpsuit instead of the suit he used to wear – shuffled into a courtroom on Monday in South Carolina and received a prison sentence.

This time, it was for 40 years in federal court for financial crimes.

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‘Havana syndrome’ linked to Russian unit, media investigation suggests

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US diplomats may have been targeted by Russian sonic weaponry, say the Insider, Der Spiegel and CBS’s 60 Minutes

A Russian intelligence unit is probably the origin of mysterious so-called Havana syndrome symptoms – including brain injuries and hearing loss – experienced by US diplomats in recent years, according to a joint media investigation released on Sunday.

The findings directly contradict the conclusion of US officials a year ago that “anomalous health incidents” (AHIs) among embassy staff in Cuba, China and various locations in Europe were not caused by an energy weapon or foreign adversary.

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Baltimore bridge collapse: temporary channel planned for ‘essential vessels’

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Alternate shipping channel will be created north-east of the main artery, near the bridge itself, according to city officials

Authorities are preparing to create a temporary alternate channel near Baltimore’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge to allow “commercially essential vessels” to enter the city’s port.

The deadly crumpling of the bridge after it was struck by a giant container ship last week created wreckage that has been blocking a crucial shipping lane into the port. Concerns have loomed about the disaster’s widespread toll on the local and national economy.

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Trump’s Truth Social reveals $58m loss as auditor raises doubts about viability

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Shares dropped by as much as 25% as investors scrutinize fundamentals of company’s business

Shares in Donald Trump’s Truth Social dropped by as much as 25% on Monday after the social media company revealed it lost $58.2m last year and an auditor disclosed “substantial doubt” over its ability to continue operating.

An extraordinary stock market debut last week left Trump Media & Technology Group valued at more than $7bn. But it generated sales of just $4.13m in 2023, according to regulatory filings.

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Extremist ex-adviser drives ‘anti-white racism’ plan for Trump win – report

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Former White House adviser and white nationalist Stephen Miller plans to reinterpret civil rights laws should Trump return to power

The former Trump White House adviser, anti-immigration extremist and white nationalist Stephen Miller is helping drive a plan to tackle supposed “anti-white racism” if Donald Trump returns to power next year, Axios reported.

“Longtime aides and allies … have been laying legal groundwork with a flurry of lawsuits and legal complaints – some of which have been successful,” Axios said on Monday.

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Thunderstorms and tornadoes expected to sweep eastward across the US

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After rainy California season, NWS warned of risk of storms from Missouri to Illinois, with some potentially producing large hail

Thunderstorms and tornadoes are expected to sweep eastward across the US in the coming days after a rainy season in California.

According to the storm prediction center at the National Weather Service (NWS), severe weather is expected to spread from the southern plains and into the mid-Atlantic and Gulf coast states over the next three days. The warnings applied to about 50 million Americans to kick off what are traditionally the three months that are typically the most active in terms of tornadoes in the US each year.

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Engineers begin removing Baltimore Key Bridge’s mangled wreckage

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Crew starts intricate removal work on Francis Scott Key Bridge as officials stress that health of US national economy depends on it

Crews of engineers have begun the dangerous and intricate job of removing the mangled wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge from the Patapsco River outside Baltimore, as top federal government and Maryland state officials stressed Sunday that the health of the US national economy depended on it.

Officials took to the political talkshows Sunday to praise the emergency teams that have now amassed in the Patapsco and have started the delicate process of cutting and lifting steel debris from the north side of the destroyed bridge. Wes Moore, the governor of Maryland, said the operation was extremely complex.

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Seven children, ages 12 to 17, wounded in Indianapolis mass shooting, police say

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Victims transported to area hospitals after police heard shots fired near Circle Centre Mall on Saturday night

Seven children between the ages of 12 and 17 were wounded in one of the US’s latest mass shooting, which erupted outside a shopping mall in downtown Indianapolis late Saturday night, authorities said.

Police officers patrolling the area heard shots fired near the Circle Centre Mall shortly after 11.30pm, said the deputy chief of the Indianapolis metropolitan police department, Tanya Terry.

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Israeli tech entrepreneurs die in California plane crash

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NTSB and FAA to look into crash that killed investors Naomi Petrushka and Liron Petrushka, an ex-professional soccer player

A couple from Israel who made a name for themselves as well as a fortune in the tech industry were killed after their plane crashed in a California town near the Nevada border on Saturday night, according to officials and reports.

Identified by Israeli media as former professional soccer player Liron Petrushka and Naomi Petrushka, the married couple had been living in California over the last few years. They were attempting to land at Truckee Tahoe airport shortly after 6.30pm on Saturday when their plane crashed and they died.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Police search for Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice in connection with car crash

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A vehicle registered to the Chiefs’ receiver was involved in a crash in the Dallas area

Police are seeking Kansas City Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice in connection with a car crash in Dallas, according to the Dallas Morning News.

A vehicle believed to be registered or leased to Rice was involved in a crash on the North Central Expressway at 6.20pm local time Saturday. Citing law enforcement officials, the Dallas Morning News confirmed police are searching for Rice, 23, but did not disclose details of the collision. Dallas police spokeswoman Kristin Lowman said two cars, a Chevrolet Corvette and a Lamborghini, were speeding, when the drivers lost control and caused a collision that involved four other vehicles. The drivers of the Corvette and Lamborghini fled the scene. Four people were treated for minor injuries. The Dallas Morning News reported that police believe Rice was driving the Corvette.

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