Category Archives: US News

Middle East war could spark global recession, say Wall Street experts

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Fear adds to Russia-Ukraine conflict risk and increases ‘probability of European and of US recession’

A global recession could be triggered by the conflict in the Middle East as the humanitarian crisis compounds the challenges facing an already precarious world economy, two of Wall Street’s biggest names warned this weekend.

Larry Fink, chief executive of the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, said a combination of the Hamas atrocities of 7 October, Israel’s resultant attack on Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year had pushed the world “almost to a whole new future”.

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Was crypto on trial with Sam Bankman-Fried?

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Binance and Coinbase are under investigation – but Bitcoin was trading at highest value in a year as FTX founder convicted of fraud

As the trial of the former crypto star and FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried began last month, headlines declared cryptocurrency was on trial too.

But when Bankman-Fried was found guilty on seven counts of wire fraud and money-laundering conspiracy Thursday evening, after less than five hours of jury deliberations, Bitcoin was trading at its highest price in a year.

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Blow to Ron DeSantis as more key Florida backers switch to Trump

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Bad news for Florida governor’s campaign, with favorability falling throughout 2023 and a GOP debate scheduled for Wednesday

Five Republican legislators in Florida have switched their endorsements from rightwing governor Ron DeSantis to former US president Donald Trump before a key party nomination debate in Miami next week.

The move is another boost to Trump – who remains dominant in the 2024 Republican race – and a blow to DeSantis, whose once highly anticipated bid for the White House has recently floundered badly. All recent polling has shown Trump with a strong lead over his rivals and DeSantis being edged out of second place by the former US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley.

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‘No ceasefire, no votes’: tens of thousands attend pro-Palestinian rally in Washington DC

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Protesters call on Biden to demand ceasefire in Israel-Gaza conflict and end military aid to Israel

Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched through downtown Washington DC on Saturday in what organizers hoped was the largest US demonstration of its kind since Israel began its bombardment of Gaza after Hamas attacked the country last month.

The crowd waved Palestinian flags, carried posters and chanted slogans during the National March on Washington: Free Palestine, which took place alongside similar events across the US and elsewhere in the world.

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Rashida Tlaib claims in video that Biden supports Palestinian genocide

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Michigan Democrat is only Palestinian American in Congress and warns Biden voters ‘will remember in 2024’

Michigan Democratic congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American member of Congress, has released a video accusing Joe Biden of supporting the “genocide of the Palestinian people”.

Tlaib has been a withering critic of Biden’s staunch backing of the Israeli war against Hamas in Gaza and the White House refusal to listen to demands from some progressive Democrats to back calls for a ceasefire.

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Zelenskiy denies he is under pressure to enter peace talks with Russia

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Ukrainian president rejects war at ‘stalemate’ and points to similar lulls in 2022 before Kharkiv was liberated

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has rejected the idea western countries are putting pressure on Kyiv to enter peace talks with Russia.

It came after NBC reported US and European officials had spoken to the Ukrainian government about what possible peace negotiations with Russia might entail to end the war.

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Georgia homeowner finds 3ft tegu lizard hiding under porch

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Officials remind residents of rules and say non-native Argentine black and white tegus can pose threat to wildlife and people

An oblivious Georgia homeowner was unaware a huge 3ft tegu lizard had taken up residence under her porch until eagle-eyed children in the neighborhood spotted it and told her, state wildlife officials said.

The reptile was a non-native Argentine black and white tegu, the largest of its species that can grow up to 5ft and pose a threat to wildlife and people, the officials reported.

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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts Missy Elliott, Chaka Khan and DJ Kool Herc

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Kate Bush and Soul Train creator Don Cornelius were also inducted, with Missy Elliott closing the ceremony with roof-shaking set

Sheryl Crow and Olivia Rodrigo kicked off the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Friday night and Missy Elliott closed the show more than four hours later with a roof-shaking set, as the hall celebrated a strong representation of women and Black artists.

Chaka Khan, Kate Bush, Soul Train creator Don Cornelius, the Spinners and DJ Kool Herc were also inducted in a celebration of funk, art-rock, R&B and hip-hop, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

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US schools grapple with shortage of a lunchtime staple: milk cartons

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Agricultural department says multiple states will be affected, forcing a brainstorm of backup plans

The tiny, half-pint cartons of milk served with millions of school lunches nationwide may soon be scarce in some cafeterias, with districts across the country scrambling to find alternatives.

The problem is not a shortage of milk itself, but the cardboard cartons used to package and serve it, according to dairy industry suppliers and state officials.

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How a small airport in rural Colorado became a landing pad for the rich

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Private jet travel is booming – and community members living near airports say they are bearing the brunt

It was just before noon on New Year’s Day when PJ Breslin reached her limit. As she angrily typed out a letter to the editor of the local newspaper, the roar of yet another jet aircraft drowned out her thoughts and rattled the windows of her home office.

“It’s insane to even contemplate that many private jets flying into one small location!” wrote Breslin, who has lived in the western Colorado town of Rifle for more than 25 years. “Jets owned by the wealthy, entitled, third-home owners and fake environmentalist celebrities, who have zero idea of their impact on the valley and the planet, much less their neighbors. Nor do they care.”

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Matthew Perry buried in service attended by family and Friends costars

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Mourners were gathered at the Forest Lawn cemetery in Los Angeles to pay tribute to the actor

Actor Matthew Perry, who died on Saturday at age 54, was buried on Friday at a Los Angeles cemetery in a service attended by relatives and castmates from the hit 1990s television sitcom Friends, show business media reported, citing photographs.

Mourners gathered at the Forest Lawn cemetery in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, less than a mile from the Warner Bros studio where the show was filmed. It is also the final resting place of numerous Hollywood A-listers including Michael Jackson, Lucille Ball and Elizabeth Taylor.

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Virginia teacher shot by six-year-old can go ahead with $40m lawsuit, judge rules

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Abby Zwerner was hospitalized for two weeks after the January shooting and is suing school administrators for negligence

A teacher who was shot by her six-year-old student in Virginia can press forward with her $40m lawsuit against a school system over claims of negligence by school administrators, a judge ruled Friday.

The surprise decision by the Newport News circuit court judge Matthew Hoffman means that Abby Zwerner could get much more than just workers’ compensation for the serious injuries caused by January’s classroom shooting.

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Leftist Democrats invoke human rights law in scrutiny of Israel military aid

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Congressional progressives say proposed $14.3bn breaches 1997 Leahy act as assault on Gaza has overwhelmingly harmed civilians

Leftwing Democrats in Congress have invoked a landmark law barring assistance to security forces of governments deemed guilty of human rights abuses to challenge the Biden administration’s emergency military aid program for Israel.

Members of the Democratic party’s progressive wing say the $14.3bn package pledged by the White House after the 7 October attack by Hamas that killed more than 1,400 Israelis breaches the Leahy Act because Israel’s retaliatory assault on Gaza has overwhelmingly harmed civilians. An estimated 9,000 people have been killed in Gaza so far, among them 3,700 children, according to the Gaza health ministry, run by Hamas.

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Judge in New York fraud trial extends gag order to Trump’s legal team

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Arthur Engoron forbids Trump’s lawyers from discussing ‘confidential communications’ between the judge and his staff

The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s $250m fraud trial moved to gag Trump’s lawyers from talking about “confidential communications” between the judge and his staff on Friday.

Judge Arthur Engoron has already fined Trump $15,000 for attacking his clerk on social media and threatened to jail the former president if the attacks continue.

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White House denounces Fox News over host’s ‘foul’ remarks on CNN pair

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Mark Levin called Wolf Blitzer and Jake Tapper ‘self-hating Jews’ on syndicated radio show, prompting furious response

For the second time in two days, the White House denounced Fox News over remarks by a host relating to the Israel-Hamas war, following condemnation of Jesse Watters’ apparent incitement of violence against Arab Americans with condemnation of Mark Levin for calling two CNN anchors “self-hating Jews”.

Andrew Bates, a spokesperson, said: “President Biden believes in an America where we come together against hate and don’t fan its flames. But not only is Fox News aligning with those who fan the flames of hate – Fox is paying their salaries.”

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Virginia white voters’ mail-in ballots face fewer challenges, Democrats say

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Ballots from voters of color are being flagged for rejection at much higher rates ahead of election day this month, party analysis says

Virginia Democrats are concerned that non-white voters in the state are getting their mail-in ballots flagged for possible rejection at much higher rates than their white counterparts ahead of a closely watched election day on Tuesday.

Virginia, like all states, requires voters to fill out certain information on the envelope in which they return their ballot. In Virginia that includes their name, address, birth year and last four digits of their social security number. If any of that information is missing, voters have until 13 November to provide it. If they don’t provide it by the deadline, the ballot is rejected.

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Israeli PM tells US: no pause in Gaza fighting without release of hostages

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Netanyahu says ‘full force’ offensive will continue, despite growing concerns over civilian casualties

Israel will continue its offensive in Gaza “with full force” and will refuse any temporary ceasefire that does not include the release of more than 240 hostages held by Hamas, Benjamin Netanyahu has said, rejecting US calls for a pause in the fighting.

Earlier on Friday, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, flew into Israel to urge the Israeli prime minister to temporarily stop its military offensive to allow aid into the territory amid rising concerns over civilian casualties as the fighting intensifies.

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Democrats grow nervous over Israel’s conduct in Gaza as Senate leader vows not to consider House security bill – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed. For the latest reporting on US politics’ involvement with the Israel-Hamas war, read our latest report:

One minute after the House approved an Israel aid package that excluded providing similar assistance to Ukraine, the top Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, tweeted this:

This what some would call a “subtweet”: McConnell does not mention the House proposal at all nor its architect, Republican speaker Mike Johnson, but he is clearly referring to the just-passed bill. While some Republicans are ready to cut off aid to Kyiv, McConnell remains a steadfast backer of the country’s defense against Russia.

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Ivanka Trump must testify in Trump Organization fraud trial, court rules

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Court rejects claim she was too busy raising her children to fly to New York to testify in the $250m fraud trial

Ivanka Trump’s argument that she should be spared giving midweek testimony in her father Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial in New York because she is a busy mother of school-aged children in Florida was given short shrift by an appeals court.

The former president’s daughter, a senior adviser during his single term of office, asked the panel to set aside a ruling by a district court judge compelling her to testify next Wednesday, 8 November.

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