Category Archives: US News

‘Flat and shallow’: Netflix’s 3 Body Problem divides viewers in China

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Eight-episode series based on Liu Cixin novels triggers accusations of ‘Americanisation’ of a Chinese story

Netflix’s big-budget adaptation of Three-Body Problem, a series of novels by the Chinese author Liu Cixin, has divided opinion on Chinese social media.

The eight-episode series, 3 Body Problem, was released in full on Netflix on Thursday. It is based on the first book in Liu’s trilogy, an ambitious sci-fi series spanning civilisation from the 1960s to the end of humanity.

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‘A talented, goofy kid’: family of Ryan Gainer, autistic teen killed by police, speak out

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Shooting of 15-year-old ‘beautiful soul’ in California revives scrutiny on law enforcement abuse of youth with disabilities

When Ryan Gainer was diagnosed with autism as a toddler, he was nonverbal, and his family all learned sign language to communicate with him. But after the southern California boy learned how to speak at around age four, he was a “ball of energy” who never stopped talking, his older sister Rachel said.

He loved saying “hi” to neighbors and strangers alike, and as a young teen was known as the student who greeted everyone with a “good morning” and a smile.

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Idaho police capture white supremacist and accomplice after hospital ambush

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Skylar Meade and Nicholas Umphenour arrested 130 miles away as officials look into whether they killed two people while on the run

A white supremacist prison gang member and his accomplice are in police custody after being on the run in Idaho, and investigators are looking into whether they killed two people while on the run.

On Thursday, Idaho officials said that Skylar Meade, 31, and Nicholas Umphenour, 28, were arrested in Twin Falls – about 130 miles (209km) from where they escaped.

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Scientists name newly discovered ancient amphibian species after Kermit the Frog

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Kermitops gratus are thought to be among first true amphibians and a key step in transition of life from water to land

After achieving worldwide fame through numerous hit films and TV shows, leading to a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, Kermit the Frog has another accolade: a 270m-year-old fossil named after him.

Scientists have discovered a species of an ancient amphibian ancestor, which they have named Kermitops gratus because of its resemblance to the bright green star of The Muppet Show.

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North Carolina schools candidate who called for Obama’s death put on the spot

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Michele Morrow, the far-right Republican running to oversee public schools in the state, said she is facing ‘radical extremists’

A far-right Republican candidate running to oversee public schools in North Carolina decried “extreme agendas that threaten our children’s future”, after being confronted by reporters over tweets in which she called for the executions of Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

“Don’t let extreme agendas threaten our children’s future,” Michele Morrow said on social media on Thursday, posting an address in which she said she was “facing the most radical extremist Democrats [that] have ever run for superintendent in the history of North Carolina”.

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Sixteen states sue US over ban on approvals for LNG exports

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States including Texas, Louisiana and Florida say federal government lacks authority to broadly deny permits

Sixteen US states, including Texas, Louisiana and Florida, have filed a lawsuit to challenge the US federal government’s ban on approving applications to export liquefied natural gas, the office of Texas attorney general Ken Paxton said on Thursday.

The lawsuit argues the federal government lacks the authority to broadly deny those permits.

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EU and US pile on pressure for Gaza ceasefire

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EU leaders call for ‘immediate humanitarian pause’ while US expected to bring UN resolution calling for truce without delay

EU leaders have overcome their differences to call for an “immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire” in Gaza, hours before the US is expected to bring a resolution to a vote at the UN calling for a truce and a hostage deal without delay in the face of a looming famine.

The EU declaration, at a Brussels summit late on Thursday, marked the first time European leaders had agreed a declaration on the Middle East since October. The US draft resolution to be put to a vote in the UN security council on Friday morning also reflects greater urgency in Washington’s position. It is the first time the Biden administration has put forward language calling for an “immediate ceasefire”, although it continues to link a truce with a hostage deal.

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Starbucks intolerant of lactose intolerance, $5m lawsuit alleges

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Three Californians who can’t drink dairy say they pay extra fees for alternatives at coffee chain and claim violation of civil rights law

Is charging extra for non-dairy milk an act of discrimination against people who are lactose intolerant?

This is the question three Starbucks customers are raising by filing a $5m class-action lawsuit against Starbucks for making customers who do not consume dairy pay more for their lattes and Frappuccinos.

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The US finally backs a ceasefire, but the nuances in its UN resolution show the tightrope it walks

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Draft resolution loosens linkage between Gaza ceasefire and hostage release as US tries to claw back leadership on issue at UN

Washington’s draft UN security council resolution on Gaza marks a shift in the US position, but it is a nuanced shift, retaining the linkage between a ceasefire and hostage release while loosening that linkage and emphasising that an immediate end to hostilities is the priority.

The primary focus for now is the hostage negotiations underway in Qatar, which are moving into high gear again, with the CIA and Mossad chiefs, William Burns and David Barnea, expected to fly into Doha on Friday.

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US calls for immediate Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal in draft UN resolution

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Source says wording suggests significant movement in US position as pressure mounts on Israel to halt campaign

The US has drafted a new UN security council resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire” and hostage deal in Gaza, amid mounting pressure on Israel to halt its military campaign and allow the delivery of substantial amounts of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory.

The CIA and Mossad spy chiefs, William Burns and David Barnea, were expected to arrive in Qatar on Friday in the hope of clinching an elusive truce-for-hostages deal between Israel and Hamas. Speaking in Egypt, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said difficult work remained to be done but added: “I continue to believe it’s possible.”

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The Mar-a-Lago judge is entertaining Trump’s most brazen defenses

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Trump and prosecutors in the classified documents case have been told to draft jury instructions that could result in ensuring acquittal

The federal judge overseeing Donald Trump’s prosecution on charges of retaining classified documents appears to be entertaining his most brazen defenses that could ultimately result in ensuring the acquittal of the former president.

The issue revolves around an order from the US district judge Aileen Cannon on Monday asking Trump and prosecutors in the office of the special counsel Jack Smith to draft jury instructions for two scenarios that gave extraordinary credit to Trump’s defense theories.

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Comic-themed bibs contaminated with harmful PFAS, California lawsuit alleges

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Suit claims bibs, produced by Bumkins, leaves babies exposed to high levels of ‘forever chemicals’ and do not have warning labels

DC and Marvel comic-themed baby and toddler bibs are contaminated with toxic PFAS “forever chemicals”, leaving kids exposed to carcinogens that can easily be ingested, a new California lawsuit alleges.

Among others, the suit names the bibs’ US producer and Amazon as defendants. Under Proposition 65, products sold in California that contain PFOA, a highly toxic PFAS compound that was phased out of production in the US, must at a minimum contain a warning.

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Elon Musk’s Neuralink shows brain-chip patient playing online chess

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Noland Arbaugh, paralyzed after diving accident, received implant in January but experts caution that procedure is in early days

Elon Musk’s brain-chip startup Neuralink live-streamed its first patient implanted with a chip playing online chess.

Noland Arbaugh, the 29-year-old patient who was paralyzed below the shoulder after a diving accident, was playing chess on his laptop and moving the cursor using the Neuralink device.

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M Emmet Walsh, Blade Runner, Blood Simple and Knives Out actor, dies aged 88

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Character actor, who appeared in more than 220 roles across seven decades, died in Vermont on Tuesday

M Emmet Walsh, the character actor who appeared in more than 220 film and television roles including Blade Runner, Knives Out and the Coen brothers’ films Blood Simple and Raising Arizona, has died aged 88.

Walsh’s manager, Sandy Joseph, confirmed to the industry publication Variety that he had died Tuesday in Vermont.

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Reddit shares priced at $34 in largest IPO by social media company in years

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Platform to make its debut on New York stock exchange on Thursday with a market value of $6.4bn

Reddit will enter a new era as a publicly traded company with a market value of $6.4bn after the social media platform’s initial public offering was priced at $34 per share.

The price, announced late on Wednesday, came in at the top of the target range set by Reddit’s investment bankers as they spent the past few weeks gauging investor demand for the stock. It sets the stage for Reddit’s shares to begin trading Thursday on the New York stock exchange under the ticker symbol RDDT in the largest initial public offering by a social media company in years.

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Idaho: white supremacist prisoner on the run after brazen hospital ambush

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Three corrections officers injured after unknown accomplice of gang member Skylar Meade stages attack after hospital trip

A white supremacist prison gang member in Idaho and an accomplice remained on the loose Wednesday after the accomplice staged a brazen overnight attack to free the inmate as he was being transported from a Boise hospital, police said.

Police identified the man suspected of shooting two corrections officers during the ambush as Nicholas Umphenour. A warrant with a $2 m bond has been issued for his arrest on two charges of aggravated battery against law enforcement and one charge of aiding and abetting an escape, police said.

Police said the search continues for Umphenour and escaped inmate Skylar Meade, who fled the hospital early Wednesday in a gray 2020 Honda Civic with Idaho plates. It’s not known where they are or where they are headed, police said.

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Netanyahu addresses Senate Republicans days after Schumer calls for his ouster

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Israeli PM speaks via video link and answers questions after his request to talk to Democrats was turned down

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, virtually addressed Republican senators in Washington on Wednesday, days after the chamber’s majority leader, the Democrat Chuck Schumer, called him an impediment to peace in an unsparing floor speech.

The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, told reporters, shortly after leaving the Senate Republicans’ policy lunch, that Netanyahu joined the gathering via video link, delivered a presentation, and answered questions.

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US starts to helicopter citizens out of Haiti as fighting erupts in wealthy areas

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State department organizes evacuation after nearly 1,600 US citizens ask for help amid reports of continuing violence in capital

The United States has said it was starting to evacuate its citizens out of Haiti by helicopter, amid reports of fresh fighting in the Caribbean country’s gang-dominated capital, with particularly fierce gunfire in some of the city’s wealthiest enclaves.

A state department spokesperson, Vedant Patel, told reporters on Wednesday that government-chartered aircraft were in the process of beginning to ferry evacuees from Port-au-Prince to the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.

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Schumer warns of making Israel support ‘partisan’ amid reports he stopped Netanyahu addressing Senate Democrats – live

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Senate majority leader reportedly rejects request from Israeli prime minister to address Senate Democratic caucus

Since being elected speaker of the House last year, the Republican Mike Johnson has emerged as one of Donald Trump’s most prominent defenders on Capitol Hill, and today is no exception – even when it comes to the former president’s recent comment that Jews who vote for Democrats “hate” Israel and their religion.

Asked about it at a press conference, Johnson said he understands where Trump is coming from:

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Fed leaves interest rates unchanged but signals three cuts this year

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Rates to stay at 25-year high of 5.25% to 5.5% as central bank says ‘inflation has eased over the past year but remains elevated’

The Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that it would leave US interest rates at a 25-year high as it continues to assess their impact on cooling inflation and the wider economy.

After a two-day meeting, the Fed announced rates would be unchanged at 5.25% to 5.5%, where they have been since July. But the Fed signaled it still expects to cut rates three times this year.

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