Category Archives: US News

‘He’s a war criminal’: Mamdani exploring whether he can arrest Netanyahu if he visits New York

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NYC mayor says in Times interview that’s he’s in ‘active conversation’ with city’s law department about the matter

New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani has said he was reviewing whether his administration could arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if as expected the Israeli prime minister visits the city for the UN general assembly in September.

Mamdani’s comments on Saturday’s episode of the New York Times’s the Interview podcast echoed ones he had made to the publication as he successfully ran for mayor last fall.

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What happened to Nolan Wells? Family seeks answers two weeks after 18-year-old’s death

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Investigation continues after college freshman was found dead on Mississippi island after 4 July boat trip with friends

Two weeks after Nolan Xavier Wells was found dead, his family is still searching for answers.

On 4 July, Wells, an 18-year-old Mississippi college freshman, and a group of friends took a boat out to Horn Island, a barrier island a few miles off the Mississippi Gulf coast.

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Trump’s rebranding of Palm Beach airport hasn’t taken off as he planned

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Changes inside the Florida international airport are hardly evident as state and county hold back funds for full remodel

One of Donald Trump’s most grandiose vanity projects, a multimillion-dollar makeover of Florida’s Palm Beach international airport into a self-aggrandizing, gold-plated transportation hub, is running into turbulence, barely a week after the first plane’s wheels touched the runway.

At first glance, the rebranding of the airport less than 5 miles from his opulent Mar-a-Lago resort appears to be complete. Its website bears the name and oversized logo of the President Donald J Trump international airport, and state transportation workers were quick to erect highway signs leaving drivers in no doubt where they were heading.

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Molten salt and human sweat: the weird batteries that could store renewable energy

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From Nevada to Manchester, developers are trialling innovative solutions to clean energy’s biggest challenge

In the deserts of the United Arab Emirates a sprawling clean energy project, stretching across an area roughly the size of 12,600 football fields, will play host to a breakthrough allowing solar energy to power the equivalent of half a million homes through the night.

The Gulf state has been steadily combining 5.2GW of solar power capacity with 19GWh of battery storage to create the largest battery scheme in the world.

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Flash flood warnings strike north-east US amid wildfire smoke from Canada

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Poor air quality from wildfires continues to plague New York City as several neighborhoods hit by thunderstorms

Saturday is delivering a double dose of dangerous weather across the north-eastern US, with smoky skies from Canadian wildfires giving way to severe thunderstorms that have already triggered a flash flood warning as torrential rain pounds parts of the region.

After a brief break on Friday, smoke from the wildfires moved back into New York City and surrounding communities on Saturday, sending air quality back into unhealthy levels.

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Two US troops killed and one missing in Jordan after Iranian attacks

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Sirens sound in Bahrain and Kuwait accuses Tehran of targeting civilian sites and infrastructure as Iran strikes US allies

The US retaliated against Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) after two American troops were killed and one was missing in Jordan when Tehran launched a wave of attacks against US allies in the Middle East.

Iran’s attacks came as the renewal of US strikes on Iran entered a second week and fighting escalated over the strait of Hormuz.

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North Dakota men who discover they were switched as newborns sue hospital

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Kyle Bylin and Jeremy Morrison uncovered the truth after Bylin received an at-home DNA test as a Christmas gift

A DNA discovery has led two families to accuse a North Dakota hospital of changing the course of their lives after learning two newborns were allegedly switched at birth nearly four decades ago.

Kyle Bylin uncovered the truth after receiving an at-home DNA test during a Christmas gift exchange. The test connected him with his biological aunt through a genealogy platform, prompting her nephew, Jeremy Morrison, to take his own DNA test. The results confirmed the two men had been raised by each other’s biological families.

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Doctors question evidence behind Pentagon plan for testosterone screening

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Pete Hegseth announced that soldiers aged 30 and older in the US military will be screened for low testosterone

The US defense secretary, ⁠Pete Hegseth, this week ordered annual testosterone-deficiency screening for active-duty and reserve service members aged 30 and older, which he says will help to maintain military readiness.

But many medical professionals warn it might do nothing of the sort and instead could increase service members’ risk of infertility or other consequences if testosterone is prescribed inappropriately.

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Air quality warnings remain in place across US as wildfire smoke continues to swathe country

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Rain could alleviate conditions in mid-Atlantic and north-east, with World Cup final expected to go ahead on Sunday

Warnings of dangerous conditions are expected to remain in place on Saturday across swathes of the US, amid uncertainty about where the heavy wildfire smoke swirling from the Canadian province of Ontario and the US state of Minnesota will head next.

Some parts of the US mid-Atlantic and north-east regions will continue to endure poor air quality until Saturday afternoon, where there is a high chance of thunderstorms, which could bring some reprieve from the poor air but come with other risks like flash flooding and high winds. Meanwhile, parts of the midwest and Great Lakes regions will continue to see dangerous air quality.

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Cuba edges toward breakdown as power cuts and US meddling push society to brink

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As Cuba swelters under six-month oil blockade imposed by US, tempers are fraying and unrest is growing

When Cuba’s national grid collapses, as it did for the third time in 10 days on Tuesday, a collective groan spreads across its cities and people wonder, again, whether the island’s antiquated electricity system may soon become unrecoverable.

The 777-mile Caribbean island of 9.5 million people has been sweltering under a six-month-long oil blockade imposed by the US, part of a pressure campaign to bring down its communist government. But the parlous state of Cuba’s infrastructure goes far further back.

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White House backs Argentina players over Falklands banner in World Cup semi-final

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White House Fifa taskforce chief defends Argentina footballers, saying US believes in free speech

The White House has backed Argentina’s footballers who displayed a banner supporting their country’s claim to the Falklands Islands after their World Cup semi-final victory against England.

After Argentina’s 2-1 win in a fractious match in Atlanta on Wednesday, some players held up a banner that said: “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” – using the country’s term for the South Atlantic islands.

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Thousands in US expected to protest against ICE, datacenters and voter suppression this weekend

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Demonstrations planned across the US this weekend will focus on three issues likely to define the midterm elections

Thousands of Americans are expected to take to the streets this weekend in mass protests around issues likely to define the midterm elections: widespread violence from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, voter suppression and datacenter construction.

The protests – some recently planned in response to last week’s ICE shootings, others an annual event with new urgency – will take place not just in big cities and progressive towns, but also in rural and red areas.

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Arizona teen hailed for helping save woman with dementia wandering in 103F heat

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Fire crew in Gilbert to honor Royal Cothrun, 14, for helping elderly woman who became disoriented amid heatwave

An Arizona fire department is formally honoring a 14-year-old boy who recently helped save an elderly woman with dementia after she wandered miles off course amid potentially lethal temperatures, saying the teenager demonstrated “heroism … quick thinking and compassion”.

Royal Cothrun was riding his bicycle in June in the town of Gilbert when he encountered Theresa Morgan as she struggled to walk through 103F (39.4C) heat with a grocery bag dangling off one arm and a purse on the other, according to authorities as well as reporting by the local news outlet KNXV.

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Why is Trump risking midterm disaster by resuming an already unpopular war with Iran?

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Less than a month after hailing a ceasefire, Trump resumed strikes on Iran, a move experts warn could prolong the war and hurt Republicans ahead of midterms

For half a century, Donald Trump has performed a public high-wire act based on high-stakes risks and shattering time-honored norms to get what he wants.

The approach has paid off handsomely, helping him survive multiple bankruptcies to reach billionaire status and numerous legal and political scandals to be elected US president twice.

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San Francisco police find wreckage of boat that sank as body identified

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Tondra Madruga named as second victim in deadly capsizing as police continue search for two missing people

Police on Friday discovered the wreckage of a boat that sank this week in the San Francisco Bay after recovering the body of a missing person the day before.

The body was identified as Tondra Madruga, 58, also known as Tondra Miller, the San Francisco medical examiner said. She was one of three people missing after the Volare, a 49ft (15m) cabin cruiser, sank on Wednesday afternoon with 20 people onboard after being hit by a wave and capsizing. The group was on the boat to scatter the ashes of a loved one.

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One person dies amid legionnaires’ disease outbreak in New York City

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Officials haven’t released additional information about the person’s identity, age or details on when and how they fell ill

A legionnaires’ disease outbreak that has sickened dozens of people in New York City has claimed its first life, health officials said Friday.

Officials didn’t release additional information about the person’s identity, age or details on when and how they fell ill.

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Cuban dissident artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara cleared to travel to US

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Whereabouts of artist imprisoned after 2021 protests had been unknown following end of his prison term in July

Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, a prominent Cuban dissident artist whose whereabouts remained unknown after his prison sentence ended last week, has been given permission to travel to the US, according to his official Facebook page.

Otero Alcántara, designated a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, was sentenced to five years in prison in 2022 for insulting national symbols, contempt and disturbing the public order.

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More Canadian wildfire smoke shrouds US midwest, mid-Atlantic and north-east

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109 million people face another day of poor air quality as smoke from blazes in Ontario drifts over the US

Tens of millions of Americans are enduring another day of smoky skies, irritated eyes and bad air quality, as Canadian wildfire smoke spread again over huge swathes of the US, affecting about 109 million people across the midwest, mid-Atlantic and north-east.

The pungent smoke blanketed cities such as Chicago and Detroit, where residents on Friday were warned to stay indoors and reduce activity levels after the air-quality index reached a “hazardous” 361, according to the government website AirNow.

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CDC and FDA link lettuce at Taco Bell in five states to cyclospora outbreak

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FDA investigation identified a single supplier of the lettuce, but federal warnings did not name the company

Federal health officials have identified lettuce from Mexico served by Taco Bell locations across five US states as a source of the widespread outbreak of the diarrhea-causing parasite cyclospora.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the source late on Thursday and warned consumers not to eat shredded iceberg lettuce from Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.

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Iran proves it can still inflict damage despite waves of US attacks

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Leaked US intelligence report concluded Iran retained 70% of missiles and launchers after 38-day spring campaign

Iran and the US have been trading blows for six consecutive nights and there are no shortage of signs that the renewed fighting will worsen further. Tehran and Washington remain far apart diplomatically, and though the US retains a significant military overmatch, Iran has more than enough capability to inflict damage.

Friday’s developments are a case in point. A wave of US attacks, with missiles launched from jets, drones and warships, targeted Iranian ports and the south of the country, collapsing a tower at Chabahar, on the Gulf of Oman, and highways and bridges into the strait of Hormuz port of Bandar Abbas, perhaps in an effort to cut it off.

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