Category Archives: US News

US House to vote next week on standalone $17.6bn bill for aid to Israel

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Speaker Mike Johnson is pushing for the package without addressing aid to Ukraine or security for the US-Mexico border

The US House of Representatives plans to vote next week to advance $17.6bn in military aid to Israel without any accompanying spending cuts or assistance for Ukraine, according to Mike Johnson, the chamber’s speaker.

Johnson announced to his fellow House Republicans on Saturday that the vote would take place, while also criticizing a parallel move in the US Senate to pair funding for Israel in its military strikes in Gaza with aid for Ukraine as it fends off Russia’s invasion. The Senate measure also aims to attach a raft of tough border and asylum measures favored by rightwingers to aid for Israel.

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Goose is at center of deadly medical helicopter crash

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All three people on board, including the pilot, a flight nurse and a paramedic, were killed on 20 January in western Oklahoma

A dead goose was found in part of the flight control system of a medical helicopter that crashed in western Oklahoma, killing all three people on board, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

While it highlights the goose’s presence on board, the report stops short of specifying a suspected cause of the deadly crash. The report notes that other geese were found in the debris field left by the wreck.

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Oklahoma rattled by 5.1 magnitude earthquake

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Initial earthquake followed by at least eight smaller ones as residents across state reported feeling shaking

A 5.1 magnitude earthquake shook an area near Oklahoma’s capital late Friday night, followed by smaller quakes during the next several hours, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported.

The agency said the earthquake struck at 11.24pm and was centered 8kms (5 miles) north-west of Prague, Oklahoma, about 57 miles(92km) east of Oklahoma City.

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US strikes will have disastrous consequences for region, warns Iraq

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Attacks on Friday also described as ‘a strategic mistake’ by Iran, which insisted no Revolutionary Guards were present in areas hit

The US reprisal strikes in Syria and Iraq will have disastrous consequences for the region, the military spokesman for the Iraqi prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, has warned. Maj Gen Yahya Rasool’s response was one of many from inside the Iraqi government that furiously condemned a violation of its sovereignty.

The US military launched airstrikes on Friday against more than 85 targets linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and the militias it backs, in retaliation for last weekend’s drone attack in Jordan that killed three US troops. Iraq’s Anbar Operations Command reported 16 fatalities and 25 injuries, but no official death toll has been issued.

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‘It’s scratching, dude’: US Coast Guard inspectors rescue stowaway dog from shipping container

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During a routine day at the Port of Houston, four marine inspectors heard barking from amid 10,000 containers

It was just another routine day of inspecting shipping containers at the Port of Houston for US Coast Guard officer Ryan McMahon when he and his team thought they heard barking coming from inside one of the thousands of containers that surrounded them.

“Oh, it’s scratching, dude,” one of the inspectors said on a video they recorded Wednesday morning as the team looked up at the container, stacked about 25ft (8 metres) in the air.

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Doctors fighting US opioid epidemic say insurance barrier impedes treatment

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Prior authorization requires permission to be sought before prescribing critical drugs, which could cost lives, doctors say

In the midst of the worst overdose epidemic in US history, addiction medicine specialists say a bureaucratic hurdle is adding to the difficulty of getting people in treatment: an insurance industry tactic called “prior authorization”.

Loathed by doctors of all stripes, prior authorization requires healthcare providers to seek permission from insurance companies before they prescribe a treatment. Doctors in addiction medicine said the requirement is both unnecessarily burdensome and could cost lives.

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Biden poised for boost as Democratic primaries begin in South Carolina

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State holds party’s first official primary under new schedule, with president polling at 70%

Joe Biden aims to build on recent momentum on Saturday, when South Carolina officially launches the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The US president received a boost last month when he won an unsanctioned primary election in New Hampshire without even appearing on the ballot. A grassroots write-in campaign ensured that he brushed aside his challengers Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson.

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Houthis face ‘further consequences’, Austin says after latest strikes – as it happened

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This blog is closed. You can find all our Middle East coverage here

At least 13 Iranian-backed fighters have been killed in strikes in eastern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said.

The airstrikes destroyed 17 positions sheltering Iranian militias in Al-Mayadeen and Al-Bokamal near the border between Syria and Iraq, in addition to airstrikes targeting positions near Deir ez-Zor city, it said.

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US retaliatory airstrikes on targets in Iraq and Syria will not be the last

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The carefully planned raids were the largest yet against Iran’s proxies and are likely to continue until threats to US personnel are neutralised

US retaliation, when it came, was broad and deep, and telegraphed five days in advance.

The White House, the Pentagon and state department had spent the best part of a week talking about the response to Sunday’s drone attack on a US base in northern Jordan, which killed three Americans and wounded more than 30.

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Wayne Kramer, co-founder of rock band MC5, dies aged 75

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Guitarist helped to give Detroit band their powerful, politically charged sound and continued their legacy into the 21st century

Wayne Kramer, the guitarist who co-created MC5 – one of the rawest, most influential and politically engaged bands in US history – has died aged 75. His Instagram page announced the news: “Wayne S Kramer. Peace be with you. April 30 1948 – February 2 2024.”

Born and raised in Detroit, Kramer teamed with teenage friend and fellow guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith, each of them influenced as much by free jazz as they were by R&B and rock’n’roll. Along with the frontman Rob Tyner, they made MC5 into an incendiary force in their city’s music scene, alongside peers such as the Stooges.

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You need to calm down: Taylor Swift can fly from Tokyo to Super Bowl in time, says Japan embassy

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Singer should be able to see boyfriend Travis Kelce in person despite 17-hour time change and 12-hour flight, embassy says

Japan’s embassy in Washington has assured an angsty public that Taylor Swift should make it to the Super Bowl in time to see her boyfriend Travis Kelce play in the big game – as long as her post-concert flight from Tokyo leaves on time.

The embassy’s Friday statement answered a question weighing on the minds of the pop star’s multitude of fans, who wondered if it was even logistically possible for her to be in position to cheer on Kelce in person as he seeks a third NFL championship with the Kansas City Chiefs.

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US launches airstrikes in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for deadly drone attack

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President says ‘If you harm an American, we will respond’ as US forces strike in what is expected to be first of multiple attacks

Joe Biden has warned “if you harm an American, we will respond” as US forces attacked more than 80 targets in Iraq and Syria in a wide-ranging air assault on sites belonging to Iran-linked militias and Tehran’s Revolutionary Guard.

The US president said the strikes had been launched in retaliation for the drone strike that killed three US troops in Jordan, adding: “Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing.”

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E Jean Carroll lawyer says Trump used coded version of C-word against her

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Roberta Kaplan says ex-president directed ‘See you next Tuesday’ remark at her after deposition in unrelated case at Mar-a-Lago

E Jean Carroll’s attorney says Donald Trump used a coded expression to call her the C-word during a deposition before she helped the magazine columnist win an $83.3m verdict in her defamation case against the former president.

Roberta Kaplan shared the anecdote during an appearance Friday on the George Conway Explains It All podcast, saying it happened while Trump was deposed at his Mar-a-Lago resort as part of an unrelated, since-dismissed case in which he faced accusations of collaborating with a fraudulent marketing company.

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Spotify signs new deal with Joe Rogan reportedly worth up to $250m

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Rogan’s podcast has been exclusive to the app since 2020, with the firm saying its revenue grew by 80% last year compared with 2021

Spotify Technology announced a new multi-year deal with the comedian and podcaster Joe Rogan on Friday, in a bid to tap into the popularity of his show to drive its advertising revenue.

The multi-year deal with Rogan, which is estimated to be worth as much as $250m, involves an upfront minimum guarantee, plus a revenue sharing agreement based on ad sales, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The company declined to comment on the terms of the deal but in an email response said the estimated value of the deal mentioned in the WSJ report was incorrect. It did not provide a figure for the contract, however.

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Fani Willis criticizes ‘wild and reckless’ speculation in conflict of interest claims by former Trump staffer – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed. You can read our full report and explainer below:

Joe Biden has welcomed another month of strong job creation, pointing out that the US has added almost 15m jobs since he was sworn in.

Responding to today’s strong non-farm payroll report, showing 353,000 new jobs were created in January, he says:

America’s economy is the strongest in the world.

Today, we saw more proof, with another month of strong wage gains and employment gains of over 350,000 in January, continuing the strong growth from last year. Our economy has created 14.8m jobs since I took office, unemployment has been under 4% for two full years now, and inflation has been at the pre-pandemic level of 2% over the last half year. It’s great news for working families that wages, wealth, and jobs are higher now than before the pandemic, and I won’t stop fighting to lower costs and build an economy from the middle out and bottom up. I’ll continue to stand in the way of efforts by congressional Republicans to enact massive tax giveaways for the wealthy and big corporations; cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security; and raise costs for American families.

It’s looking like early to mid-February, as a rough estimate, and subject to modifications. But that’s the working plan now.

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LA police arrest two people in spate of graffiti across 30 floors of skyscraper

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Tagging stretches across a large portion of a $1bn unfinished project across from venue of Grammy awards on Sunday

Los Angeles police arrested two people this week in connection with a spate of graffiti on nearly 30 floors of an unoccupied and unfinished downtown skyscraper.

The tagging stretches across a large portion of a tower in the $1bn Oceanwide Plaza, a stalled mixed-use retail and residential project that has sat unfinished since 2019. The site is located just across from the Crypto.com Arena, where this year’s Grammy awards will be held on Sunday.

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What does Biden’s order against Israeli settlers mean and why did he do it now?

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Some see the US president’s executive order imposing sanctions on settlers who violently attack Palestinians as a bid to win support

Was Joe Biden’s announcement of unprecedented US sanctions against Israeli settlers in occupied Palestine a sign of political weakness at home, or of a newly found willingness to assert American influence over Israel?

The president signed the executive order imposing financial and travel sanctions on settlers who violently attack Palestinians shortly before a campaign rally in the swing state of Michigan, where the largest Arab American population in the country has rounded on Biden over his largely blanket support for Israel’s assault on Gaza.

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First Thing: Israel says Gaza offensive will move into Rafah

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Defence minister Yoav Gallant’s announcement comes despite presence of more than 1 million civilians in city. Plus, Michael J Fox on how Parkinson’s hasn’t defeated him

Good morning.

Israeli forces will continue their Gaza military campaign to Rafah, the Israeli defence minister, Yoav Gallant has said, despite the huge numbers of Palestinian civilians there.

Where is Rafah? Rafah is the southernmost city in Gaza and there is nowhere farther south for civilians to go as Israel and Egypt will not let them leave the territory.

What else is happening? Joe Biden has issued an executive order targeting Israeli settlers in the West Bank who have been attacking Palestinians, amid fast-growing frustration in Washington at Israel’s trajectory in the midst of its war in Gaza.

How have campaigners reacted? “The Louisiana attorney general’s office protects industry more than they protect the people,” said Sharon Lavigne, a resident of St James parish who has long fought industrial proliferation in her community, and whose emails were targeted in the request. “Maybe that’s why they got all of these emails, just to see what we’re doing and to see how they can stop us.”

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Middle East crisis: UN agency calls Rafah a ‘pressure cooker of despair’ as Israel says offensive will move into city – as it happened

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Defence minister Yoav Gallant’s announcement comes despite presence of more than 1 million civilians in city

Saudi Arabia would be willing to accept a political commitment from Israel to create a Palestinian state, rather than anything more binding, in a bid to get a defence pact with Washington approved before the US presidential election, three sources have told Reuters. The news agency reports:

Months of US-led diplomacy to get Saudi Arabia to normalise relations with Israel and recognise the country for the first time were shelved by Riyadh in October in the face of mounting Arab anger over the war in Gaza.

But Saudi Arabia is increasingly keen to shore up its security and ward off threats from rival Iran so the kingdom can forge ahead with its ambitious plan to transform its economy and attract huge foreign investment, two regional sources said.

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Warm weather forces moose and wolf count to pause in remote Michigan park

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Researchers have conducted an annual survey of the animals’ population every year since 1958, except in 2021 due to Covid-19

A stretch of unusually warm weather has forced federal officials to temporarily halt researchers’ annual count of wolves and moose in remote Isle Royale national park for the first time in more than six decades.

Isle Royale is a 134,000-acre island situated in far western Lake Superior between Grand Marias, Minnesota, and Thunder Bay, Canada. The Michigan park is a wildlife biologist’s dream – it offers a rare opportunity to observe wolves and moose without human influence.

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