Category Archives: US News

Sam Bankman-Fried will not face second trial after multibillion-dollar crypto fraud conviction

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US prosecutors say ‘strong public interest’ in prompt resolution of case against 31-year-old outweighs benefits of second trial

US prosecutors say they do not plan to conduct a second trial against Sam Bankman-Fried, who was convicted last month of stealing from customers of his now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange.

In a letter filed on Friday night in federal court in Manhattan, prosecutors said the “strong public interest” in a prompt resolution of their case against the 31-year-old former billionaire outweighed the benefits of a second trial.

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Police killed Niani Finlayson seconds after responding to her 911 call, video shows

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Body camera reveals Los Angeles deputy fired at woman who sought help for domestic violence as nine-year-old daughter watched

The Los Angeles sheriff’s department (LASD) released body-camera footage on Friday of an officer fatally shooting Niani Finlayson, 27, who had called 911 for help during a domestic violence incident.

The footage from the 4 December encounter showed that deputy Ty Shelton shot Finlayson four times within roughly three seconds of entering her home.

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Biden administration again bypasses Congress for weapons sale to Israel

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Antony Blinken tells Congress he made second emergency determination covering $147.5m sale for equipment

For the second time this month the Biden administration is bypassing Congress to approve an emergency weapons sale to Israel as Israel continues to prosecute its war against Hamas in Gaza under increasing international criticism.

The state department said on Friday that the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, had told Congress that he had made a second emergency determination covering a $147.5m sale for equipment, including fuses, chargers and primers, that is needed to make the 155mm shells that Israel has already purchased function.

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Michael Cohen accidentally gave his lawyer fake citations, court filing says

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Former Trump lawyer says he used AI program Google Bard and blames his lawyer for not fact-checking him

Michael Cohen, the former attorney and fixer for ex-president Donald Trump, said in a newly unsealed court filing that he accidentally gave his lawyer fake legal citations that were made up by an artificial intelligence program.

In a sworn declaration made public on Friday, Cohen told a Manhattan judge that the sham citations had been generated by the AI program Google Bard, and had made their way into his lawyer’s filing because of a pair of misunderstandings – including his failure to realize that the information spat out by the program was not based in reality.

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Eight people taken to hospital as waves up to 30ft high pound California coast

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Six million people under high surf warning as powerful storms sweep through California and Oregon

Massive waves as tall as 30ft crashing on to California’s coast have caused injuries and property damage, prompting evacuation warnings.

At least eight people needed hospital treatment after towering waves crashed over seawalls in southern California on Thursday, engulfing seaside neighborhoods. On Friday, more than 6 million people remained under a high surf warning across California and Oregon. The National Weather Service (NWS) has predicted waves up to 40ft, warning: “Stay away from rocks, jetties, piers, and other waterside infrastructure. Never turn your back to the ocean!”

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Ohio governor breaks ranks to veto bill banning healthcare for trans minors

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Republican Mike DeWine made the surprise move after talking with parents of trans children and trans adults

Ohio’s governor, Mike DeWine, on Friday vetoed a bill by fellow Republicans that would have banned gender-confirming healthcare for minors in the state, and prohibited transgender athletes from taking part in girls’ and women’s sports.

The surprise move, which DeWine said was “ultimately about protecting human life”, was largely welcomed by pro-LGBTQ+ activists, although the governor indicated he still intended to enact some of the provisions of the bill through executive action.

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Democratic long-shot candidates to debate in New Hampshire – without Biden

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Marianne Williamson and Dean Phillips will appear on stage together on 8 January, two weeks before state’s primary

The lonely political vigil of long-shot Democratic presidential candidates Marianne Williamson and Minnesota congressman Dean Phillips will be transformed on to the debate stage early next month in New Hampshire – without Joe Biden, who is neither on the state ballot nor agreeable to any debate interaction with competitors.

The debate between self-help author Williamson and Phillips is set to be held at the New England College on 8 January, and moderated by Josh McElveen, former political director of radio station WMUR, two weeks before the state holds its primary.

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New law designates special counsels to prosecute sex crimes in US military

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Military sexual assaults and harassment have increased almost every year since 2006, prompting Congress to pass new legislation

Incidents of sexual harassment and assault have been on the rise across the US military for roughly the last 15 years. Now, a new law has been passed that will change how they are dealt with, putting independent lawyers in charge of decisions and sidelining commanders.

“It’s the most important reform to our military justice system since the creation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice in 1950,” the US defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, said in a statement.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html

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US supreme court under pressure to rule swiftly on states’ Trump ballot bans

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Court faces pressure to rule on Maine and Colorado’s decisions preventing ex-president from appearing on presidential ballots

A decision by Maine’s secretary of state to prevent former president Donald Trump from appearing on the state’s presidential election ballot will now probably end up before the US supreme court. Maine’s move follows a similar decision in Colorado this month.

There is mounting pressure on the conservative-leaning judicial body to swiftly rule on Maine and Colorado’s application of section 3 of the 14th amendment prohibiting anyone who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office. But neither decision will be the last ballot eruption in an already convulsive election which is likely to see a rematch of Trump versus Joe Biden.

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‘I feel like a criminal for quitting’: nurses in the US fight ‘stay or pay’ agreements

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Filipino nurses for Ohio-based company say they have been forced to pay thousands in fees after signing training contracts

Filipino nurses are calling for the US’s top labor watchdog to review controversial “stay or pay” training repayment agreement provisions that have left them facing lawsuits and thousands of dollars in fees after they quit their jobs.

Training repayment agreement provisions (Trap) are contracts employers require workers to sign before beginning a job and stipulate that if a worker leaves the job before a specified time, they owe substantial fees.

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Texas police release surveillance video after pregnant teen and boyfriend killed

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Police release footage in investigation of deaths of Savannah Soto, 18, and Matthew Guerra, 22, whose bodies were found on Tuesday

Texas police have released surveillance footage they hope will lead to answers in the killings of an 18-year-old pregnant woman and her boyfriend. The couple were found shot in the head in a car and may have been dead for days.

Police on Friday had not named a possible motive or suspects as family and friends mourned the deaths of Savanah Soto, 18, and Matthew Guerra, 22. Soto went missing before Christmas just before she had been scheduled to have an induced labor.

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No license to stroll: Pierce Brosnan cited for off-limits walk at Yellowstone park

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James Bond star in hot water for stepping out of bounds at hot springs area in US national park – and must appear in court

Pierce Brosnan, whose fictitious movie character James Bond has been in hot water plenty of times, is now facing heat in real life, charged with stepping out of bounds in a thermal area during a recent visit to Yellowstone national park.

Brosnan walked in an off-limits area at Mammoth Terraces, in the northern part of Yellowstone near the Wyoming-Montana border, on 1 November, according to two federal citations issued this week.

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Lauren Boebert announces change of congressional district for 2024 elections

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Far-right Colorado representative had won the third district by just 546 votes in 2022 and will move to the fourth for a ‘fresh start’

Colorado’s Republican representative Lauren Boebert has announced that she will be changing congressional districts ahead of her 2024 Republican nomination bid for the House.

In a Facebook video on Wednesday, the 36-year old, far-right representative announced that she would be moving from Colorado’s third district to its fourth district.

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Win for Republicans as US judge upholds Georgia congressional map

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Critics call decision by Steve Jones a ‘disgrace’ and say recently redrawn maps dilute voting power of minority residents

A federal judge in Georgia on Thursday upheld a Republican-drawn congressional map, a ruling branded “a disgrace” by voting rights advocates who claim that the latest district lines illegally dilute the voting power of minority residents.

The decision from Steve Jones set the stage for next year’s elections, with Republicans now likely to maintain their 9-5 advantage among the swing state’s 14 seats in the US House of Representatives.

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Florida senator Rick Scott’s house ‘swatted’ by police

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Prank call to police claimed a shooting occurred at Scott’s Naples home, prompting a Swat team to deploy before standing down

The Republican Florida senator Rick Scott has said that his home was “swatted” on Wednesday night.

While he was dining with his wife, Ann, local Naples authorities responded to what was revealed to be a prank call intentionally made to lure resources like a Swat team to a location to respond to a false threat of danger, otherwise known as a “swatting call”.

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US-Mexico border talks yield ‘important agreements’ on rail and bridge crossings

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Two countries agree to enhance efforts to tackle human smuggling, poverty and violence and promote legal ‘pathways’

US and Mexican officials have hailed the success of talks held on Wednesday aimed at curbing historically high unauthorized immigration across their shared, 2,000-mile border that risks becoming a humanitarian disaster and an election year political crisis for Joe Biden.

After the closed-door meeting between the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and the Mexican foreign minister, Alicia Bárcena, the Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, hailed what he described as “important agreements”.

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Idaho house where university students were murdered in 2022 is demolished

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Owner of property donated it to the University of Idaho, which said that its demolition was a key step towards finding closure

Demolition began on Thursday of the house where four University of Idaho students were killed last year, marking an emotional step for the victims’ families and a close-knit community that was shocked and devastated by the brutal stabbings.

The sounds of construction equipment pierced the early morning air as an excavator started tearing down the front part of the house. The former walls formed a large pile of crushed and smashed wood on the ground as debris was picked up and loaded into a dump truck.

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States to award anti-abortion centers roughly $250m in post-Roe surge

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At least 16 states will fund largely unregulated facilities that try to convince people to continue their pregnancies

In the months since the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade, at least 16 states have agreed to funnel more than $250m in taxpayer dollars towards anti-abortion facilities and programs that try to convince people to continue their pregnancies.

Much of that money is set to go to anti-abortion counseling centers, or crisis pregnancy centers, according to data provided by the Guttmacher Institute and Equity Forward, organizations that support abortion rights. It has been paid out throughout 2023 and will stretch into 2025.

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US to provide Ukraine with up to $250m in arms and equipment

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Package including anti-aircraft missiles is likely to be last supplied without congressional approval

The US announced a $250m (£196m) Ukraine military aid package on Wednesday, the last remaining tranche of weapons available for Ukraine under existing authorisation.

The package, provided through the presidential drawdown authority, will be pulled from Pentagon stockpiles, with Congress now needing to decide whether to keep supporting Kyiv’s battle against Russian invasion.

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Liars, expulsions and near-fistfights: Congress plumbs the depths in 2023

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From removing a House speaker and expelling an indicted member, it was not a great year for America’s representatives

Before House Republicans left for their holiday recess this month, they addressed one last matter of business. They did not take up an aid package for Ukraine or pass an appropriations bill to fully fund the government through the fiscal year.

The House chose instead to vote along party lines to formally authorize an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden, even though Republicans have failed to uncover any proof that the president financially benefited from his family’s business dealings.

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