Category Archives: US News

White House targeted in ‘swatting’ attack while Joe Biden is away

Posted on by

Multiple emergency personnel sent to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue following hoax call at 7.03am on Monday

The White House on Monday became the latest victim of a growing US problem of “swatting”: the summoning of large numbers of law enforcement personnel and other first responders to a hoax emergency incident.

Multiple Washington DC fire and ambulance crews rushed to the White House following an emergency call that was received at 7.03am, a spokesperson for District of Columbia fire and emergency medical services said. Joe Biden was not at the residence, and the call was later traced to a fake number.

Continue reading...

Two US Navy Seals missing off Somalia in mission to intercept Iranian weapons

Posted on by

Navy searches Gulf of Aden for Seals who fell into the water when trying to board vessel carrying Iranian missile parts to Somalia

US Navy ships and aircraft combed areas of the Gulf of Aden for two missing US Navy Seals on Monday as details emerged about their mission to board and take over a vessel carrying components for medium-range Iranian ballistic missiles headed for Somalia, a US defense official said.

Officials have said that the Seal mission was not related to Operation Prosperity Guardian, the ongoing US and international mission to provide protection to commercial vessels in the Red Sea, or the retaliatory strikes that the United States and the United Kingdom have conducted in Yemen over the past two days.

Continue reading...

Houthi missile fired at US warship shot down as Red Sea tensions rise | First Thing

Posted on by

US Central Command says missile from Houthi-controlled area of Yemen was launched towards USS Laboon before being shot down by fighter jets. Plus, is booing at the theatre actually a good thing?

Good morning.

US fighter aircraft shot down an anti-ship cruise missile fired from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen at one of its warships in the Red Sea, the US military said on Sunday night.

What else is happening in the Middle East? The White House has said “it’s the right time” for Israel to scale back its military offensive in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli leaders again vowed to press ahead with their offensive against Hamas. The comments exposed the growing differences between the close allies on the 100th day of the war on Sunday.

Does Haley have a good chance of being nominated? Not while Trump is still in the running. The poll underscored the profound challenges that Haley – and any other Republican not named Donald Trump – faces in the quest for the nomination. Trump easily beat all of his opponents in the Iowa poll, capturing the support of 48% of likely caucus-goers.

Continue reading...

US ship south-east of Aden hit by Houthi missile; two Palestinians kill woman and injure several in Israel – as it happened

Posted on by

US military says anti-ship ballistic missile fired by Houthi militants hit container ship; police describe incident in Raanana, north of Tel Aviv, as terrorist attack

A video journalist from the Cairo-based television channel Al Ghad was killed in the Gaza Strip on Sunday in a strike that the channel blamed on the Israeli army.

In a post on X, the station said it was announcing “with a heavy heart” that Yazan al-Zwaidi was “murdered by Israeli fire”, Agence France-Presse reports.

Continue reading...

AI will affect 40% of jobs and probably worsen inequality, says IMF head

Posted on by

‘Crucial’ that countries build social safety nets to mitigate impact on workers, says Kristalina Georgieva

Artificial intelligence will affect 40% of jobs around the world and it is “crucial” that countries build social safety nets to mitigate the impact on vulnerable workers, according to the head of the International Monetary Fund.

AI, the term for computer systems that can perform tasks usually associated with human levels of intelligence, is poised to profoundly change the global economy with advanced economies at greater risk of disruption.

Continue reading...

‘This person should not be president’: Kamala Harris takes hits in book on Biden

Posted on by

Hunter Walker and Luppe B Luppen, authors of The Truce, quote former staffers to vice-president in scathing assessment

Considering Kamala Harris’s fitness to take over from Joe Biden should the need arise, a top aide to the former California senator’s 2020 campaign said: “This person should not be president of the United States.”

The withering assessment, given after Harris was picked for vice-president in 2020, is reported in The Truce: Progressives, Centrists and the Future of the Democratic Party, by the reporters Hunter Walker and Luppe B Luppen. The book will be published in the US on 24 January 2024. The Guardian obtained a copy.

Continue reading...

Mia Goth sued by MaXXXine extra, who alleges actor ‘intentionally’ kicked him in the head on set

Posted on by

James Hunter alleges in a LA court filing that Goth intentionally kicked him while he lay on the ground playing dead

An extra has alleged in a Los Angeles court filing that British actor Mia Goth kicked him in the head on the set of slasher film MaXXXine.

James Hunter, a background actor on the latest instalment in the X series, which follows on from the success of X and Pearl, claims he was covered in fake blood and told to lie in the ground and play dead for a scene filmed in April 2023.

Continue reading...

‘Ready to rumble’: Trump holds Iowa campaign rally more akin to victory lap

Posted on by

Event, briefly interrupted by young climate protesters, overshadows those of former president’s Republican rivals

It was a melancholy farewell. Three years ago this week, Donald Trump departed on Air Force One for the last time as Frank Sinatra’s My Way blared from loudspeakers. The outgoing US president was defeated, disgraced and seemingly down and out.

Amid the snowy plains of Iowa, however, Trump is set to pull off one of the most improbable of all political comebacks. On Sunday, he held a campaign rally more akin to a victory lap in a state where Republican caucus-goers look certain to back him for a swift return to the White House.

Continue reading...

Nikki Haley rides Iowa momentum, but likely for second place

Posted on by

The former South Carolina governor wins over Republicans who see another Donald Trump presidential term as ‘chaos’

One day before the Iowa caucuses, Nikki Haley addressed an energized crowd at a barbecue restaurant in Ames, just a few miles from Iowa State University. Despite the freezing temperatures, the room was filled to capacity with campaign volunteers, journalists and a few undecided caucus-goers.

“This is truly cold,” Haley said. “But we’re going to keep on going anywhere and everywhere. We’re going to go all the way until the last hour because we know what situation we’re in.”

Continue reading...

Millions face below-zero temperatures in US as winter storms bring Arctic air

Posted on by

Warnings of subfreezing conditions in Montana and the Dakotas as severe cold could push as far as northern Texas

Subfreezing temperatures across much of the US left millions of Americans facing potentially dangerous cold as Arctic storms threatened near-blizzard conditions in the north-east and several inches of snow in portions of the south.

The National Weather Service warned that windy, subfreezing conditions in Montana and the Dakotas could push wind chills as low as -70F (-56C).

Continue reading...

‘Selfless and heroic’: Iowa principal who was wounded in school shooting dies

Posted on by

Dan Marburger was injured in shooting at Perry high school on 4 January, during which an 11-year-old student was killed

An Iowa high school principal who was wounded in a school shooting has died, the state’s governor said.

Dan Marburger was injured during a mass shooting at Perry high school on 4 January. One person, an 11-year-old student, was killed, and six others injured. The suspect, a 17-year-old pupil at the school, was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Continue reading…

Congress agrees on stopgap bill to fund federal government into March

Posted on by

US media reports congressional leaders have agreed on a ‘continuing resolution’, which extends deadlines

US congressional leaders have agreed on a two-tranche stopgap spending bill to keep the federal government funded into March and avert a partial government shutdown starting late next week, US media reported on Saturday.

Politico, CNN and Punchbowl reported that congressional leaders have agreed on what is called a “continuing resolution” or “CR”, that would fund the government – extending two deadlines through 1 March and 8 March. The media outlets reported that House of Representatives Republicans will unveil the plan Sunday night.

Continue reading...

Freezing US winter storms threaten to break low-temperature records

Posted on by

From New Mexico to Portland, Maine, temperatures dropped and snow fell, closing campaigns, football games and roads

Icy winter weather blanketed the US on Saturday as a wave of Arctic storms threatened to break low-temperature records in the heartland, spread cold and snow from coast to coast and cast a chill over everything from football playoffs to presidential campaigns.

As the three-day Martin Luther King Jr Day holiday weekend began, the weather forecast was a quilt of color-coded advisories, from an ice storm warning in Oregon to a blizzard warning in the northern plains to high wind warnings in New Mexico.

Continue reading...

Thousands march on Washington to demand ceasefire in Gaza

Posted on by

Flyers indicate protesters came from as far as Florida, Minnesota, Texas and Wisconsin to protest war and US aid to Israel

Thousands of marchers descended on Washington DC on Saturday to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and to protest US aid to Israel, more than three months into an Israeli offensive against Hamas that is killing 250 Palestinians per day, according to the Oxfam charity.

The protest, called a march on Washington for Gaza, was promoted as likely to be the largest pro-Palestinian demonstration in the US since the 7 October attack on southern Israel by Hamas fighters emerging from Gaza, which killed almost 1,200 people and led to a massive military response from Israel, backed by the US government.

Continue reading...

Middle East crisis live: Protesters in Washington call on Biden administration for a Gaza ceasefire

Posted on by

Thousands of demonstrators gather at Freedom Plaza for the march on Washington for Gaza

US strikes in Yemen, including the latest one on a military base in Sana’a, had no significant impact on Houthis’ capabilities to continue preventing Israel-affiliated vessels from passing through the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, Yemen’s Houthis’ spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam told Reuters.

Houthi Ansarullah official Nasruldeen Amer speaking to Al Jazeera, said that there were no injuries in the latest US strike in Yemen and vowed a “strong and effective response”. “There were no injuries, no material nor human losses,” he said.

Continue reading...

John Kerry to leave White House to assist Biden re-election campaign

Posted on by

Kerry’s office announced the news on Saturday after he had informed his staff and spoken with Biden earlier in the week

John Kerry, the United States’ special climate envoy and former secretary of state and presidential contender, plans to leave the Biden administration later this winter and switch to helping Joe Biden campaign to be re-elected to the White House, Kerry’s office said.

Kerry informed his staff earlier on Saturday after speaking with Biden this week, a spokesperson for Kerry told Reuters.

Continue reading...

Biden sent private message to Tehran amid airstrikes: ‘We’re well-prepared’

Posted on by

After second night of US-UK strikes in Yemen against Iran-backed Houthis, fears of wider regional conflict grow

Joe Biden said on Saturday that the United States has sent a private message to Tehran that “we’re confident we’re well-prepared”, following a second night of US and British strikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn on Saturday morning, on his way from Washington to Camp David in Maryland, the US president declined to go into further detail and switched to answering questions about the Taiwan election.

Continue reading...

Extreme cold and snow blanket Iowa ahead of Monday’s Republican caucuses

Posted on by

Candidates were forced to cancel campaign events as snow closed rural highways and temperatures are expected to plummet

Wild and dangerous winter storm weather continued to wreak havoc on Saturday in Iowa just two days before the Republican caucuses kick off the official nominating process for the 2024 presidential election.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in the state capital of Des Moines said on Saturday morning that more snow was expected, in combination with lingering gusty winds causing “blowing snow and whiteout conditions at times” and warned that “travel is expected to remain treacherous, so consider altering plans”.

Continue reading...

‘Black snow’: sugarcane burning makes our lives hell, Florida locals say

Posted on by

Fire and ash from burning cane fields has worsened health near Lake Okeechobee, US’s largest sugar-growing region

Pastor Steve Messam was driving to a service on Christmas morning when he looked to the sky and watched the first flakes starting to fall. Lighter at first, then thicker and more frequent, not quite a blizzard, but enough to leave a coating on the porch and parking lot of his First Church of God in South Bay, Florida.

This was, however, no picturesque winter holiday scene – just a regular day during harvesting season in the nation’s largest sugar-growing region. The “black snow”, as locals call it, is ash from burning sugarcane fields. Studies have blamed the smoke generated by the fires, sometimes dozens a day, for respiratory problems and increased mortality among the poor, mostly immigrant population of the rural area south of Lake Okeechobee known as the Glades.

Continue reading...

Sam Haskell, son of top Hollywood agent, pleads not guilty to killing family

Posted on by

Haskell is accused of murdering and dismembering his wife and parents-in-law in Los Angeles suburbs

The 35-year-old son of a well-known Hollywood entertainment executive pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder on Friday following allegations that he killed and dismembered his wife and parents-in-law in the home they all shared in the Los Angeles suburbs, and then attempted to dispose of their remains in ordinary black garbage bags.

Sam Haskell IV, whose father, Sam Haskell III, was worldwide head of television for William Morris and represented clients including Dolly Parton, George Clooney, and Prince Edward before his retirement 20 years ago, appeared handcuffed and shirtless in court because of official concerns that he might be a suicide risk.

Continue reading...