Category Archives: US News

Democratic Senator Joe Manchin ‘thinking seriously’ about leaving party

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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.

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

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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.

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Virgin Galactic successfully flies tourists to space for first time

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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.

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

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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.

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UK considers tighter rules on investment in China after US clampdown

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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Ski season finally ends at California’s Mammoth Mountain resort

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It was one of the longest seasons in resort’s 70-year history, helped out by a colossal snowpack from an extreme weather winter

After a historic amount of snowfall, a popular California resort is ending its second-longest ski season. The ski lifts at Mammoth Mountain, in the eastern Sierra Nevadas, have been open since early November and, up until 5 August, remained available well into summer.

While it is not unusual for people to powder-surf on the Fourth of July at the resort, the sheer amount of snow the mountain saw made this season exceptional and one of the longest in the resort’s 70-year history, according to NPR.

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Biden bans range of US high tech investments in China citing national security risk

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The order – to be implemented next year – restricts investments in semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum tech and AI

Joe Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order that will narrowly prohibit certain US investments in sensitive technology in China and require government notification of funding in other tech sectors.

The long-awaited order authorises the US treasury secretary to prohibit or restrict certain US investments in Chinese entities in three sectors: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and certain artificial intelligence systems.

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FBI agents shoot and kill Utah man accused of making threats against Biden

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Agents were trying to serve warrant on Craig Deleeuw Robertson’s home hours before president was expected to land in state

A Utah man accused of making threats against Joe Biden was shot and killed by FBI agents hours before the president was expected to land in the state on Wednesday, authorities said.

Special agents were trying to serve a warrant on the home of Craig Deleeuw Robertson in Provo, south of Salt Lake City, when the shooting happened at 6.15am, the FBI said in a statement.

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Trump requests to review classified documents at Mar-a-Lago ahead of trial

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Trump’s lawyers asked for a secure facility to be reinstalled at the same Mar-a-Lago club where he hoarded classified documents

Lawyers for Donald Trump asked a federal judge on Wednesday to approve the re-establishment of an ultra-secure facility at his Mar-a-Lago club to review classified documents produced to him in discovery, an audacious request without precedent in national security cases.

The request essentially would give Trump the freedom to discuss and review the same classified documents he has been charged with illegally retaining in the same location where the alleged crimes took place.

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Robbie Robertson, member of the Band, dies at age 80

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The Canadian singer, songwriter and guitarist, who worked extensively with Bob Dylan and Martin Scorsese, died in Los Angeles after a long illness

Singer, songwriter and guitarist Robbie Robertson, best known as a member of the Band, died on Wednesday in Los Angeles at the age of 80. He had suffered from a long illness, according to a statement released by his management.

Robertson’s manager of 34 years, Jared Levine, wrote: “Robbie was surrounded by his family at the time of his death, including his wife, Janet, his ex-wife, Dominique, her partner Nicholas, and his children Alexandra, Sebastian, Delphine and Delphine’s partner Kenny. He is also survived by his grandchildren Angelica, Donovan, Dominic, Gabriel and Seraphina.” In lieu of flowers, the family asked that donations be made to the Six Nations of the Grand River to “support a new Woodland Cultural Center”.

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Trump investigation: special counsel Jack Smith obtained search warrant for Twitter account – live

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Twitter initially delayed producing the materials, resulting in a fine of $350,000

There has been open debate within the Democratic party over whether Senator Dianne Feinstein, 90, whose health and cognitive abilities have come into question after a two-and-a-half-month absence due to shingles and other medical complications, should resign.

Questions over Feinstein’s ability to effectively represent California, the most populous US state, have been a sensitive issue for Democrats going back years. As her diminishing health plays out in the public eye there is a renewed urgency to the situation. Riding out her term in absentia until retirement next year is also not a viable option, with Feinstein the tie-breaking vote on the Senate judiciary committee, which holds confirmation hearings for judicial nominees, and effectively the only person who can ensure that Joe Biden’s picks for judges go through.

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Twitter fined $350,000 for not complying in special counsel case against Trump

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The company now called X was served a search warrant in January, but delayed complying and was held in contempt by federal judge

The US special counsel who is investigating Donald Trump obtained a search warrant for the former president’s Twitter account in January, and the social media platform delayed complying, a court filing on Wednesday showed.

The delay in compliance prompted a federal judge to hold Twitter in contempt and fine it $350,000, the filing showed.

This is a developing story.

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Prosecutor suspended by DeSantis says he’s a ‘weak dictator’ seeking attention

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Monique Worrell, second Democratic prosecutor DeSantis has removed, says elected officials are being suspended ‘by whim of the governor’

Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor of Florida, suspended the top prosecutor in Orlando on Wednesday, claiming “dereliction of duty” on crime. In return, the prosecutor said DeSantis, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, was a “weak dictator” acting undemocratically and for political reasons.

Monique Worrell, the ninth judicial circuit state attorney, is the second Democratic prosecutor DeSantis has removed.

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Texas hiker found dead in Utah planned to scatter father’s ashes on mountain

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Body of Jimmy Hendricks, 66, from Austin, was found after he announced on Facebook plan to hike in Arches national park

A Texas man found dead while hiking in Utah was on the way to scatter his late father’s ashes, according to family members.

Jimmy Hendricks, 66, left his Austin home in mid-July for Nevada, where he planned to scatter the ashes on a mountain. Along the way, he made stops at Guadalupe Peak in Texas and the Grand Canyon.

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Senator Dianne Feinstein hospitalized after falling in her home

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California senator, 90, was only in hospital for ‘an hour or two’, spokesperson told the Chronicle

The California US senator Dianne Feinstein, 90, was hospitalized on Tuesday evening after suffering a fall in her home, a spokesperson said.

“Senator Feinstein briefly went to the hospital yesterday afternoon as a precaution after a minor fall in her home,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “All of her scans were clear and she returned home.”

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Previously unseen memo details Trump plot to subvert election results – report

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Memo obtained by New York Times describes three-pronged plan to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s victory on 6 January 2020

A previously unseen internal memo from the 2020 Trump campaign describes in detail the plot by Donald Trump and his lawyers to subvert election results in six states, according to a copy obtained by The New York Times.

The memo describes a three-pronged plan to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s victory on 6 January 2020, that involved coordinating with Republican electors and campaign attorneys in six states, as well as Mike Pence.

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US woman and daughter freed nearly two weeks after kidnapping in Haiti

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Armed men had seized Alix Dorsainvil and daughter from clinic in a gang-controlled area of Port-au-Prince, where she works

An American woman and her daughter who were kidnapped in Haiti have been freed, nearly two weeks after their abduction in the capital Port-au-Prince.

Armed men seized the New Hampshire native Alix Dorsainvil and her daughter in late July from a clinic in a gang-controlled area of Port-au-Prince where Dorsainvil works.

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Trump’s potential return to White House up to American people, says Kevin Rudd

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Australian ambassador to US takes more diplomatic angle after previously saying Trump re-election could ‘fray’ support for US-Australia alliance

The Australian ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, says it is up to the American people whether Donald Trump returns to the White House – an outcome he previously said would “fray” support for the US alliance in Australia.

The former Australian prime minister said on Wednesday that US politics was “a complex beast” and he was focused on keeping on good terms with both sides of the aisle, including former Trump officials.

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