Category Archives: US News

Kentucky man finds ‘hoard’ of civil war gold coins worth millions in cornfield

Posted on by

The 800 gold coins date back from 1840 to 1863 and may have been buried as a result of state’s declaration of neutrality during war

A man has dug up over 800 gold coins in a Kentucky cornfield dating back to the civil war era that is estimated to be worth millions.

On 9 June, coin dealer GovMint.com uploaded a video onto YouTube of the remarkable discovery. In the video, the unidentified man can be heard identifying $1, $10 and $20 gold coins that he dug up, adding that the discovery was “the most insane thing ever”.

Continue reading...

Lawsuit seeks to block Florida provision that limits trans treatment for adults

Posted on by

State law provision SB 254 that went into effect on 17 May greatly hinders transgender adults from obtaining gender-affirming care

On Friday, several state and national civil rights groups filed an amended complaint to an existing Florida lawsuit, asking a federal judge to bar the state from enforcing provisions of a state law that greatly hinder transgender adults from obtaining gender-affirming care.

Friday’s motion comes several weeks after district judge Robert Hinkle issued an injunction barring the state from enforcing provisions of the law. He also ruled then that the plaintiffs were likely to prevail on their claim that those prohibitions are unconstitutional. But the protections issued in that initial ruling did not extend to adults.

Continue reading...

US woman who hired hitman using bitcoin to kill ex-husband gets five years in prison

Posted on by

Kristy Lynn Felkins of Nevada pleaded guilty in March to murder-for-hire charge as part of a deal to avoid trial

A Nevada woman who admitted to hiring a hitman on the internet for $5,000 in bitcoin to kill her ex-husband “and make it look like an accident” was sentenced to five years in prison.

Kristy Lynn Felkins, 38, of Fallon, Nevada, pleaded guilty in March to a charge of murder-for-hire as part of a deal with federal prosecutors that avoided trial, court records show.

Continue reading...

In reversal, California school district adopts curriculum on LGBTQ+ figures

Posted on by

Governor Gavin Newsom welcomes news after district voted Friday to accept curriculum following a lengthy meeting

A school district in southern California has decided to adopt the state’s new social studies book and curriculum after previously rejecting it for its reference of LGBTQ+ figures in history.

The Temecula Valley unified school district voted to accept the curriculum following a lengthy meeting on Friday where parents, teachers and community members spoke for and against it. The decision has been welcomed by Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, for thwarting an attempt to “whitewash history” and removed the threat of sanctions against the school district for not adopting the curriculum.

Continue reading...

Body of girl found in river believed to be of toddler lost in Pennsylvania flooding

Posted on by

Body found near where two-year-old Matilda Sheils was carried away as search continues for her nine-month-old brother, Conrad

The body of a young girl was recovered Friday in the Delaware River and was believed to be a two-year-old who was one of two children swept away from their family’s vehicle by a flash flood last weekend, authorities said.

The body was found in the early evening near a Philadelphia wastewater treatment plant about 30 miles (50km) from where Matilda Sheils was carried away, authorities said in a nighttime news conference.

Continue reading...

Tennessee toughens voting rules for people with felony convictions

Posted on by

State condemned as ‘the bottom of the barrel on rights restoration’ after change by state’s division of elections

Tennessee, already one of the strictest and most complicated states in the country for voting rights restoration, has enacted a new policy that makes it nearly impossible for people with felony convictions to regain their right to vote.

Tennessee has one of the highest rates of disenfranchisement in the United States. More than 9% of the voting age population, or around 471,600 Tennesseans, can’t vote because of a felony conviction, according to a 2022 estimate by the Sentencing Project, a criminal justice non-profit. More than 21% of Black adults are disenfranchised.

Continue reading...

‘Bargaining for our very existence’: why the battle over AI is being fought in Hollywood

Posted on by

The ramifications of artificial intelligence are of concern to the actors and writers on strike – from big stars to bit players

To get her start in Hollywood, Chivonne Michelle studied acting at New York University. But what helped her break into the industry and gave her the key training she needed was working on set as a background actor.

Today, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) technology threatens to put those “entry level and working class” Hollywood jobs at risk, Michelle and other striking actors say.

Continue reading...

US-China cultural exchange at low point after tensions and Covid, data shows

Posted on by

Tourism, academia and literature all exhibit signs that trend of closer ties has gone into reverse

Cultural ties between the US and China are at a low point after several years of decline, according to Guardian analysis of official figures.

The Covid-19 pandemic and travel restrictions, coupled with the continuing trade war between the two countries, is diluting cultural exchanges, with visitor numbers, students and even the world of literature all affected.

Continue reading...

USS Canberra: US navy ushers new warship into service at ceremony in Sydney

Posted on by

US and Australian navy chiefs and dignitaries present as littoral combat ship with a crew of 50 has colours hoisted to the mast

The first US warship to be commissioned in a foreign port has been ushered into service in Sydney with US and Australian navy chiefs and dignitaries on hand for the ceremony at Garden Island.

The USS Canberra, a littoral combat ship with a crew of 50, had its colours hoisted to the mast on Saturday as its company of servicemen and women cheered the addition to the fleet.

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

Continue reading...

Seattle activists occupy old cedar tree to stop it being cut down for housing

Posted on by

Protest on private lot the latest episode highlighting tensions as climate crisis diminishes Seattle’s urban canopy

With ropes, a harness, a hammock and a bucket pulley system, masked activists in Seattle have taken residence in the branches of an old, thick cedar tree to prevent it from being cut down to make way for new homes.

The protest on a private lot is the latest episode highlighting tensions behind tree policy in Seattle as the climate crisis increases temperatures and urban canopy decreases.

Continue reading...

Kamala Harris says claiming slavery had some benefit is ‘propaganda’ being pushed on US children – as it happened

Posted on by

Vice-president condemns ‘extremist so-called leaders’ in speech in Florida speech amid outcry over new school board guidance

For decades, US politicians have been reluctant to get involved in the topic of UFOs and aliens.

After a series of disclosures in recent months, however, Republicans and Democrats now appear to be lining up to inquire into the question of extraterrestrial life, as the world seems closer than ever to finding out whether we are alone in the universe.

Continue reading...

Kamala Harris condemns Florida over curriculum claim of slavery ‘benefit’

Posted on by

Vice-president decries ‘extremist so-called leaders’ and says new teaching standards will rob children of knowing true US history

Kamala Harris went to Florida on Friday to address the state board of education’s controversial new standards for Black history, which include the contention that some Black people benefited from being enslaved.

In an impassioned afternoon speech, the vice-president predicted the standards would rob children of knowing true US history that the rest of the world has been taught.

Continue reading...

California resort extends ski season as rest of US west suffers from heatwaves

Posted on by

The state’s snowpack, full from winter storms, has not yet melted, while the rest of the region bakes in summer temperatures

While most of California swelters through a prolonged, extreme heatwave, Mammoth Mountain ski resort in the eastern Sierras announced that it would be extending its season into early August.

“We are stoked to announce that we’re staying open,” the resort, which saw its snowiest season on record this winter, announced on Instagram. Mammoth Mountain had planned to remain open through the end of July and is now planning to close on 6 August. Located along eastern Sierra Nevada, the resort often stays open into June or July – but this season will be only the third to extend into August in its 69-year operating history.

Continue reading...

Guatemala contender decries police raid on party HQ before crucial runoff

Posted on by

Semilla’s Bernardo Arévalo, who came second in June election, condemns ‘flagrant demonstration of the political persecution’

The Guatemalan presidential candidate Bernardo Arévalo has denounced a police raid on his party headquarters as a “corrupt” show of “political persecution” just a month before the high-stakes runoff election.

Police raided the headquarters of Arévalo’s Semilla party on Friday, saying it was carrying out a 12 July court order that had canceled the party’s legal status.

Continue reading...

Hot streak: US heatwaves lasting longer as record temperatures bake south-west

Posted on by

Phoenix and Californian town of Needles experiencing 70th day in which temperatures have reached 90F

A brutal heatwave is persisting throughout much of the US, with cities across the south-west reaching all-time records for hottest consecutive days. Intense heatwaves are becoming more frequent as a result of the climate crisis, but alarmingly, these streaks of hot days are also lasting longer.

People living in cities in Arizona, California and Texas are entering their second month of days in which the temperature reaches 90F (32.2C) and above. Cities such as Phoenix, and Needles in California, have had no relief from this extreme heat in the past 70 days, with Phoenix recently experiencing three consecutive weeks of temperatures reaching 110F (43.3C) and above.

Continue reading...

Bankman-Fried planned to buy Nauru and build apocalypse bunker – lawsuit

Posted on by

Lawsuit filed against FTX founder, 31, includes memo that detailed plans to purchase Pacific island in case world came to an end

The disgraced cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried, who founded the FTX exchange, had planned to purchase the small Pacific island nation of Nauru in case the world came to an end, according to a new lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed on Thursday by FTX against its 31-year-old founder and three other former executives, and seeking $1bn, included a memo created by Bankman-Fried’s younger brother Gabriel and an FTX Foundation executive. The memo detailed plans to buy Nauru.

Continue reading...

Top tech firms commit to AI safeguards amid fears over pace of change

Posted on by

Joe Biden announced Meta, Amazon and OpenAI among others had agreed to eight measures to encourage responsible practices

Top players in the development of artificial intelligence, including Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI, have agreed to new safeguards for the fast-moving technology, Joe Biden announced on Friday.

Among the guidelines brokered by the Biden administration are watermarks for AI content to make it easier to identify and third-party testing of the technology that will try to spot dangerous flaws.

Using watermarking on audio and visual content to help identify content generated by AI.

Allowing independent experts to try to push models into bad behavior – a process known as “red-teaming”.

Sharing trust and safety information with the government and other companies.

Investing in cybersecurity measures.

Encouraging third parties to uncover security vulnerabilities.

Reporting societal risks such as inappropriate uses and bias.

Prioritizing research on AI’s societal risks.

Using the most cutting-edge AI systems, known as frontier models, to solve society’s greatest problems.

Continue reading...

How brutal heat is breaking records everywhere from the US to Japan

Posted on by

Temperatures reached as high as 53.3C in the US and flooding hit South Korea and India

A remote township in the north-western region of Xinjiang set a Chinese record of 52.2C (125.9F) on Sunday – in a country that was battling -50C weather six months ago. Sanbao is in the Turpan Depression, an arid basin of sand dunes and dried-up lakes where 50.3C was recorded in 2015. Beijing topped its record for high-temperature days in a year on Tuesday, with 27 days above 35C. The temperature in its southern suburbs soared even higher on Wednesday to 36.3C.

Continue reading...

Stolen Christopher Columbus letter found in Delaware returned to Italy

Posted on by

Columbus wrote the letter to King Ferdinand of Spain in 1493 about his findings after the ‘discovery’ of the Americas

The US has returned a rare 15th-century original edition of a letter written by Christopher Columbus to Italy, the federal US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agency has announced.

The letter, valued at over $1.3m, was revealed to have been stolen some time between 1985 and 1988, likely from the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, the historic public library in Venice.

Continue reading...