Category Archives: US News

Fox Corp marks another high-level exit with legal chief Viet Dinh stepping down

Posted on by

Dinh’s exit another major departure from the network since its $787.5m settlement with Dominion Voting Systems in April

Fox Corp said Friday that its chief legal officer Viet Dinh was stepping down, a high-profile exit that follows the media company’s $787.5m settlement in April of a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems over its 2020 US election coverage.

Dinh, who will exit the role at the end of 2023, joined Fox in 2018 and headed its legal and compliance divisions during the months-long legal battle sparked by the network’s coverage of false claims that Dominion rigged the election.

Continue reading...

Judge orders FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried to jail after bail revoked

Posted on by

Lewis Kaplan says he has cause to believe defendant ‘had tried to tamper with witnesses at least twice’ since December arrest

Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail has been revoked ahead of his October fraud trial after prosecutors accused the indicted founder of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX of tampering with witnesses.

Bankman-Fried is expected to report to jail later on Friday after Judge Lewis Kaplan announced the decision at a hearing over Bankman-Fried’s bail conditions in federal court in Manhattan. Bankman-Fried was taken directly into custody at the conclusion of the hearing. He was led out of the courtroom by members of the US Marshals Service.

Continue reading...

Hawaii fires: death toll increases to 67, says Maui county – live

Posted on by

Governor says it’s too early to tell if siren system failed; Lahaina subject to curfew from 10pm-6am and west Maui remains without water and power

CNN’s chief climate correspondent, Bill Weir, has visited stricken Lahaina, and had this to say:

It looks like a bomb went off in Lahaina town. All the iconic buildings are either flattened or just scorched skeletons of their former self. Flames came so fast, entire structures went up in a matter of minutes. Anything in the town center here is just completely devastated. The fire was so hot, it burned everything all the way to the ground. [It’s] just lifeless, smoky, and sooty devastation where Lahaina town used to be.

Continue reading...

Merrick Garland appointing special counsel in Hunter Biden investigation

Posted on by

US attorney general makes announcement deepening inquiry into Joe Biden’s son ahead of 2024 election

The US attorney general, Merrick Garland, sent shockwaves through US politics on Friday when he announced he is appointing a special counsel in the Hunter Biden inquiry, deepening the investigation of the president’s son ahead of the 2024 election.

The move is a momentous development from the usually cautious Garland and comes amid a pair of sweeping justice department investigations into Donald Trump, Joe Biden’s chief rival in next year’s election.

Continue reading...

Experts fear US carbon capture plan is ‘fig leaf’ to protect fossil fuel industry

Posted on by

Critics concerned energy department decision on fledgling technology will undermine efforts to phase out fossil fuels

The US energy department has announced it is awarding up to $1.2bn to two projects to directly remove carbon dioxide from the air, a fledgling technology that some climate experts worry will distract and undermine efforts to phase out fossil fuels.

The process, known as direct air capture, does not yet exist on a meaningful scale, and the move was being seen as the US government taking a big bet coming after July was confirmed as the hottest month ever recorded on its surface.

Continue reading...

Hawaii fires: death toll rises to 67 as residents return to assess damage

Posted on by

Three days later, Maui is morning loss of life and land, with governor Josh Green warning there will be more fatalities

The loss of life from the wildfires that have ravaged Maui rose to 67 on Friday as firefighting crews continue to fight the deadliest natural disaster in Hawaii’s history.

Authorities confirmed 12 more fatalities as of Friday afternoon, bringing the total above the 61 confirmed deaths from a tsunami in Hilo in 1960.

Continue reading...

‘Affirmative action for the privileged’: why Democrats are fighting legacy admissions

Posted on by

Critics argue that university’s preference toward legacy applicants exacerbates existing inequalities in higher education

In the aftermath of the supreme court’s decision to strike down race-conscious admissions at universities in June, progressive Democrats have turned their outrage into motivation. They are now using their fury to power an impassioned campaign against a different admissions practice that they consider unjust and outdated: legacy admissions.

The century-old practice gives an advantage to the family members of universities’ alumni, a group that tends to be whiter and wealthier than the general pool of college applicants. Critics argue that legacy applicants already enjoy an unfair leg up in the admissions process and that university’s preference toward those students exacerbates existing inequalities in higher education.

Continue reading...

Democratic House leader under fire for Israel trip sponsored by lobbyist group

Posted on by

Hakeem Jeffries was accused of giving cover to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he tried to curtail Israeli judiciary power

A Democratic congressional delegation is under fire for a visit to Israel funded by the hardline lobbying group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), which is working to defeat other members of the party in next year’s elections.

Critics have accused the most senior Democrat on the tour, House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, of giving political cover to the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has faced months of huge demonstrations against his far-right government’s power grab.

Continue reading...

Joe Manchin expected to skip Biden event as he weighs leaving Democrats

Posted on by

US Democratic senator will reportedly miss anniversary of Inflation Reduction Act, Biden’s landmark climate legislation

The West Virginia Democratic senator Joe Manchin is expected to skip a prominent White House celebration of one of Joe Biden’s signature legislative achievements, NBC reported, as he considers leaving his party – and perhaps running for president himself.

Next week, the Biden administration will celebrate the first anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a healthcare, climate and tax reform package Joe Biden hailed on signing as “the biggest step forward on climate ever”.

Continue reading...

‘Huge’ coral bleaching unfolding across the Americas prompts fears of global tragedy

Posted on by

Scientists stunned by unprecedented heat-stress event say they can only hope it ‘motivates and unites people’

Corals across several countries are bleaching and dying en masse from unprecedented levels of heat stress, prompting fears that an unfolding tragedy in Central America, North America and the Caribbean could become a global event.

US government scientists have confirmed reefs in Panama, Colombia, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Mexico and six countries in the Caribbean, including the Bahamas and Cuba, are suffering significant bleaching, alongside corals in Florida that began turning white almost a month ago.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Hawaii fires: Biden approves disaster declaration amid fears Maui death toll could rise – latest updates

Posted on by

Federal funding made available on Thursday; emergency teams searching areas impacted by fires after at least 36 people were killed

ABC is reporting that the US national weather service has canceled all high wind and red flag warning alerts for Hawaii as wind speeds are expected to decrease slightly on Thursday.

Gusts of 25-35 mph (40-56 kph) are still anticipated, which could still hamper fire containment efforts, but is much lower than the last couple of days, which have seen wind speeds on Maui reach as high as 67 mph (107 kph).

The Old Lahaina Courthouse roof is entirely gone. And so is the beautiful heritage museum we had there. The top floor had ancient Hawaiian things, things from the monarchy and plantation and whaling periods, objects from all of Lahaina’s eras.

Continue reading...

Prosecutors ask for 2 January start date for Trump 2020 election interference case – live

Posted on by

Federal prosecutors say they estimate it will take four to six weeks to present their case against former US president

US supreme court justice Clarence Thomas has been embroiled in ethics scandals for months following bombshell revelations by ProPublica, which included how Thomas repeatedly accepted luxury vacations such as a $500,000 trip to Indonesia in 2019 from Harlan Crow, a billionaire businessman, Republican donor and longtime friend.

Thomas, Samuel Alito and the Trump-appointed Neil Gorsuch – all conservative hardliners on the supreme court – have fallen foul of recent ethics disputes.

Continue reading...

White House asks Congress for additional $24bn in Ukraine aid

Posted on by

US has so far given Ukraine more than $113bn in aid since Russia invaded in February 2021

The White House is asking Congress for an additional $24bn in Ukraine aid “and other international needs” such as countering China, including $13.1bn for defense, senior administration officials revealed on Thursday.

The US has so far given Ukraine more than $113bn in aid since Russia invaded in February 2021. The extra funds for defense would push the total amount of US military aid to Ukraine to around $60bn. The US is still Ukraine’s biggest funder in its defense against Russia.

Continue reading...

Democratic Senator Joe Manchin ‘thinking seriously’ about leaving party

Posted on by

The West Virginia member has crossed paths with his party over legislation to combat climate crisis and protect voting rights

The West Virginia senator Joe Manchin is “thinking seriously” about abandoning the Democratic party to run as an independent for Congress or as a third-party candidate for president.

“I’m thinking seriously,” Manchin, 75, told a West Virginia radio host on Thursday. “I have to have peace of mind, basically. The brand has become so bad, the ‘D’ brand and ‘R’ brand. In West Virginia, the ‘D’ brand because it’s [the] national brand. It’s not the Democrats in West Virginia, it’s the Democrats in Washington.

Continue reading...

Desperate search for survivors in Maui after 36 people die in Hawaii fires

Posted on by

Officials warned death toll could rise after wildfires left dozens of people injured and homes and businesses destroyed

At least 36 people have died in ferocious wildfires that have ravaged the historic town of Lahaina in Hawaii, as crews continued mass evacuation efforts and desperate searches for survivors.

Officials warned on Thursday that the death toll in the blazes on the island of Maui could rise. Search teams spread out to charred areas on the island at first light.

Continue reading...

Virgin Galactic successfully flies tourists to space for first time

Posted on by

Six individuals were aboard VSS Unity space plane, including first mother-daughter duo to venture to space together

Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity, the reusable rocket-powered space plane carrying the company’s first crew of tourists to space, successfully launched and landed on Thursday.

The mission, known as Galactic 02, took off shortly after 11am ET from Spaceport America in New Mexico.

Continue reading...

Five US dual citizens detained in Iran moved out of prison to house arrest

Posted on by

Move could indicate start of a possible prisoner swap between US and Iran, though negotiations for release of the five are continuing

Five US dual citizens detained by Iran have left Tehran’s Evin prison and are now under house arrest, in a move which could indicate the start of a possible prisoner swap between the two countries.

The Iranian Americans include the businessmen Siamak Namazi, 51, and Emad Shargi, 58, as well as the environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, 67, who also has British nationality, said Jared Genser, a lawyer who represents Namazi. The identity of the other two US citizens has not been made public.

Continue reading...

UK considers tighter rules on investment in China after US clampdown

Posted on by

Rishi Sunak mulls whether to follow US lead in restricting funding for advanced technologies

The British government is considering tightening rules on investment in China after the US president announced new measures aimed at limiting the dollars and expertise flowing into sensitive technologies in the country.

Joe Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday that authorises the US treasury secretary to prohibit or restrict US investments in Chinese entities in three sectors: semiconductors and microelectronics; quantum information technologies; and certain artificial intelligence systems.

Continue reading...

Maui fires: six people killed in unprecedented Hawaii wildfires fanned by Hurricane Dora

Posted on by

Officials said at least two dozen had been injured as the fire destroyed businesses in the historic town of Lahaina in western Maui

Six people were killed in the unprecedented wildfires that tore through the Hawaiian island of Maui overnight, authorities said.

The fires, fanned by strong winds from Hurricane Dora, destroyed businesses in the historic town of Lahaina, and left at least two dozen people injured, officials said at a press conference Wednesday. There have been 13 evacuations for three fires.

Continue reading...

Six dead, dozens injured in Hawaiian blazes – as it happened

Posted on by

This liveblog is now closed. You can read our full story on the wildfires below:

Hawaii Governor Josh Green, is expected to be back in Hawaii on Wednesday evening, after returning home from a scheduled trip.

Green has been in contact with the White House, and is preparing to request emergency federal assistance sometime in the next two days, once he has a better idea of the damage, his office said in a news release.

Jill and I send our deepest condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones in the wildfires in Maui, and our prayers are with those who have seen their homes, businesses, and communities destroyed. We are grateful to the brave firefighters and first responders who continue to run toward danger, putting themselves in harm’s way to save lives.

I have ordered all available Federal assets on the Islands to help with response. The Hawaiian National Guard has mobilised Chinook Helicopters to help with fire suppression and search and rescue on the Island of Maui. The US Coast Guard and Navy Third Fleets are supporting response and rescue efforts. The US Marines are providing Black Hawk Helicopters to fight the fires on the Big Island. The Department of Transportation is working with commercial airlines to evacuate tourists from Maui, and the Department of the Interior and the United States Department of Agriculture stand ready to support post fire recovery efforts.

I urge all residents to continue to follow evacuation orders, listen to the instructions of first responders and officials, and stay alert.

Continue reading...