Russian president suggests detained Wall Street reporter could be freed in prisoner exchange
Vladimir Putin has said he believes “an agreement can be reached” to free the imprisoned US journalist Evan Gershkovich, hinting he would trade him for a Russian killer serving a life sentence in Germany.
Speaking on Thursday to Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host, Putin said he did not rule out the possibility of Gershkovich returning “to his motherland”.
Continue reading...California doctors say growing number of patients have ‘fractures all over their body’ after falls from wall ‘like a three-story building’
Doctors at the University of California, San Diego’s trauma center (UCSD) have treated 455 patients with serious injuries sustained while trying to cross the US-Mexico border in 2023, a marked increase from the year before.
Ninety-seven per cent of the injuries, or 441 of them, occurred when people fell off the wall on the US side, said Alexander Tenorio, a resident neurosurgeon at UCSD who treats brain and spinal cord injuries.
Continue reading...Republican bills likely to reach Governor Ron DeSantis, who has railed against indoctrination of students by ‘liberal elites’
Kindergartners in Florida might soon be compelled to balance learning their ABCs with lectures on the history of communism, if a Republican proposal moving through the state’s legislature becomes law.
House bill 1349 would also create a “history of communism taskforce”, hand-picked by the Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, to recommend how the subject is presented in classrooms from elementary to high school starting in 2026.
Continue reading...Biden and UN say assault on city where 1.3m civilians are sheltering would be disastrous
Israel has moved closer to a full-scale ground offensive against the southern Gaza city of Rafah, as Benjamin Netayahu ordered military leaders to present a plan to evacuate civilians from the area.
Despite warnings from a senior aid official that an assault on Rafah – where about 1.3 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering – would lead to a “bloodbath”, and the UN urging against forced mass displacement, Israel appeared determined to push ahead.
Continue reading...‘My memory is fine,’ president tells reporters in testy exchanges over special counsel investigation. Plus, Tucker Carlson meets Putin
Good morning.
President Joe Biden came out swinging last night, saying “my memory is fine” in prickly exchanges with the press pack, after a report from the justice department questioned his ability to remember key events and facts.
What did Biden do? Sensitive records were found in 2022 and 2023 at Biden’s Delaware home and at a private office. Some were seen by a writer working on Biden’s memoir.
What did Hur say about Biden’s mental state? Hur claimed that in an interview last year, Biden’s “fuzzy” and “faulty” memory saw him struggle to recall important episodes in his personal and professional life, including when his son Beau died.
How did Biden respond? “How in the hell dare he raise that?” he said about Hur’s comments relating to his son. Asked by the media why at the age of 81 he planned to run for re-election against Donald Trump, 77, Biden said: “Because I’m the most qualified person in this country to be president of the United States and finish the job I started.”
Continue reading...US claims responsibility for killing, saying Kataib Hezbollah commander was behind attack that killed three US soldiers
A large crowd gathered in eastern Baghdad on Thursday for the funeral of Abu Bakr al-Saadi, who was killed the night before in a drone strike in a residential street in Baghdad.
Al-Saadi was a senior military commander with the Kataib Hezbollah, a prominent faction of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq with close political, religious and military ties to Iran.
Continue reading...US firm expects rising costs to hit profits and sales as consumers cut spending on treats
The US chocolatier Hershey has warned on profits and sales after a sharp increase in the cost of cocoa to record levels pushed up the price of chocolate, hitting cash-strapped consumers in the pocket.
Global cocoa prices hit a new peak of $5,874 (£4,655) a ton on Thursday in New York as dry weather continued to affect crops in west Africa, with poor harvests driving up prices in the region, which produces the majority of global supply.
Continue reading...Weather system brings heavy rainfall, strong winds and mudslides. Elsewhere, Nova Scotia declares state of emergency
During the first week of February two storms hit California in quick succession, both featuring intense precipitation thanks to the “pineapple express” atmospheric river.
Atmospheric rivers are long narrow channels of very moist air that flow through the atmosphere, transporting impressive amounts of water vapour that eventually fall as heavy rain or snow. The pineapple express is a famous recurring atmospheric river that forms near the Hawaiian Islands and flows northe-east to the Pacific coast of North America.
Continue reading...Small radio station forced to go silent after ‘unbelievable’ theft of giant tower, which would cost over $100,000 to replace
An Alabama radio station has been forced to temporarily shut down after thieves stole a 200ft radio tower.
WJLX, a station in Jasper, Alabama, was ordered to go off air by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) after thieves took the station’s AM tower last week, the Guardian first learned.
Continue reading...Houston attorney Mason Herring pleaded guilty to two charges for spiking then pregnant wife’s drinks to induce abortion
A Texas man who drugged his wife’s drinks in an attempt to induce an abortion was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 10 years on probation.
Mason Herring, a 39-year-old Houston attorney, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to injury to a child and assault of a pregnant person. He had initially been charged with felony assault to induce abortion.
Continue reading...Preliminary results of largest study of its kind show 55% of survivors are living with depression, while 74% have respiratory issues
Rates of depression, respiratory problems and kidney abnormalities are soaring among survivors of the Maui wildfire, according to the preliminary findings from a groundbreaking study.
The University of Hawaii (UH) has partnered with community health groups to track, understand and address the impacts on health and social conditions caused by the deadliest American wildfire in more than a century, which killed 100 people and destroyed more than 2,200 buildings as it razed the historic town of Lahaina.
55% are experiencing symptoms of depression – significantly higher than the rate reported by Maui residents (33%) in a 2023 survey. Depression rates were higher among older residents, with 75% of 50-something fire survivors reporting low mood, insomnia, and poor concentration, among other symptoms. About 1.3% of participants reported recent suicidal thoughts.
74% are experiencing respiratory issues, with 49% exhibiting signs of lung obstruction and 33% experiencing compromised lung function linked to low oxygen levels.
Initial blood biomarker tests indicated that 8% to 18% of participants may have compromised kidney function.
Three out of four participants have an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease, including 21% with high blood pressure at a level that warrants medical attention.
Continue reading...Group known for hits like It’s a Shame and Could It Be I’m Falling in Love were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2023
Henry Fambrough, the last surviving original member of the iconic R&B group the Spinners, whose hits included It’s a Shame, Could It Be I’m Falling in Love and The Rubberband Man, died on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the group said. He was 85.
Fambrough died peacefully of natural causes in his northern Virginia home, the spokesperson, Tanisha Jackson, said in a statement.
Continue reading...President’s gaffes stoke concern over his age as election campaign against his presumptive opponent – also advanced in age – picks up
Joe Biden has twice made gaffes this week in which he told anecdotes wrongly identifying dead European leaders as having talked to him about the events of the attack on the Capitol on 6 January 2021.
On Wednesday at a campaign fundraiser in New York, Biden reportedly referred to the former German chancellor Helmut Kohl as talking to him about European concerns about the attempt to stop the certification of his 2020 election win, when he apparently meant Angela Merkel. Kohl died in 2017.
Continue reading...Names of troops not yet released after aircraft went down in stormy weather in mountains near San Diego
Five marines who disappeared in a helicopter crash in the mountains outside San Diego, California, were confirmed dead, the military said on Thursday morning.
The names of the marines were not immediately released. They were first reported missing on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Zelenskiy aide says ‘foreign policy has become a hostage of internal politics’ after Republicans torpedo aid bill
The repeated failure of the Biden administration to get a funding package for Ukraine approved by the Senate will have real consequences in terms of lives on the battlefield and Kyiv’s ability to hold off Russian forces on the frontline, say Ukrainian officials.
The latest move by Senate Republicans to torpedo a bipartisan bill that would have combined $60bn (£48bn) in aid for Ukraine with aid to Israel and increased border security measures is a bitter blow for Kyiv. It could signal a very grim year ahead as the US political agenda settles into an election year with Donald Trump all but certain to be the Republican candidate.
Continue reading...Judge Lewis Kaplan, who ruled from the bench, reportedly said allowing for a mistrial ‘would have been entirely pointless’
Donald Trump’s motions for a mistrial in the defamation case brought against him by the writer E Jean Carroll have been rejected by a federal judge, who added that the former president’s issues with the verdict had no “merit”.
In an order filed on Wednesday, Judge Lewis Kaplan said the motion for a mistrial “made no sense” and that approving it “would have been entirely pointless”. Trump’s lawyers had previously called for a mistrial in the middle of their cross-examination of Carroll, which the judge denied at the time, instructing the jury to disregard the counsel’s remarks. He reiterated his decision and sharply criticized the efforts of Trump’s attorney in the written order this week.
Continue reading...Police tried to defuse the situation at a Bank of America branch, but the suspect took two hostages and held a knife at one’s throat
A robber at a Florida bank took hostages after law enforcement arrived and was killed by a sheriff’s sniper as he held a woman in a headlock with a knife to her throat, authorities said.
Negotiators tried to defuse the situation on Tuesday at a Bank of America branch in Fort Myers, but the suspect instead took two hostages in the building, Carmine Marceno, the Lee county sheriff, said.
Continue reading...Gallup survey shows big drop in only three years among Black and Hispanic voters, a concern for Biden’s re-election campaign
Black and Hispanic voters are deserting the Democratic party in numbers that will present a concern for Joe Biden’s re-election effort, a poll has found.
Among Black Americans expressing a party preference, the Democratic lead over Republicans has dropped by almost 20% in only three years, according to the Gallup survey.
Continue reading...Diversity-focused groups outline concerns in letter to Fortune 500 companies amid conservative attacks on inclusivity initiatives
A coalition of business leaders sent letters to the CEOs of the Fortune 500 companies on Wednesday urging them to maintain a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives as they come under conservative attack.
“Business decisions intended to capture the value from diversity initiatives have been politicized by a vocal minority of ideologically motivated voices who ignore both facts and the law,” the letter from groups including US Black Chambers and the Global Black Economic Forum read. “We believe it is imperative that CEOs and other company leaders are able to make strategic decisions for their companies without threats of frivolous lawsuits and political pressure.”
Continue reading...Aircraft located near Pine Valley but snowy conditions hamper rescue teams trying to access it
A Marine Corps helicopter that had been missing with five troops onboard as an historic storm drenched California was found on Wednesday morning in a mountainous area outside San Diego.
The aircraft was located just after 9am local time by civil authorities near the mountain community of Pine Valley, about a 45-mile (72km) drive from San Diego but rescue crews said snowy conditions were making access challenging on the ground.
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