Category Archives: US News

Donald Trump kept boxes with US nuclear program documents and foreign weapons details, indictment says – as it happened

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Indictment accuses former president of risking national security, foreign relations, safety of US military and intelligence gathering

The US senate judiciary committee chairman, Dick Durbin, has said the investigation led by special counsel Jack Smith should be allowed to continue “without interference”.

In a statement on Friday, Durbin added that Donald Trump “should be afforded the due process protections that he is guaranteed by our constitution, just like any other American”.

I think before the sun sets today, the attorney general of the United States should be standing in front of the American people, should unseal this indictment, should provide the American people with all the facts and information here.

And the American people be able to judge for themselves whether this is just the latest incident of weaponization and politicization at the justice department or it’s something different.

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Indictment charging Trump with mishandling classified documents unsealed

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Trump took steps to retain classified documents subpoenaed by the justice department, according to a sprawling 38-count indictment

Donald Trump twice disclosed national security information in separate incidents in 2021 and took steps to retain classified documents that he knew he could not keep because they had been subpoenaed by the justice department, according to a sprawling 38-count indictment unsealed Thursday.

The charging papers also revealed Trump hoarded materials of the highest sensitivity after he left the White House, including documents on US nuclear programs, potential military vulnerabilities of the US and allies, and plans for US retaliation in the event of an attack.

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Nuclear weapon secrets in the bathroom: five revelations from Trump’s unsealed indictment

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Trump took classified documents including information on nuclear weapons and secret plans to attack a foreign country

Donald Trump took classified documents including information on nuclear weapons in the US and secret plans to attack a foreign country, according to a 49-page federal indictment unsealed Friday afternoon.

The former US president, alongside a military valet, now faces a sweeping 37-count felony indictment related to the mishandling of classified documents.

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Smoke from Canadian wildfires hits Norway and flows to southern Europe

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Researchers used a model to predict how the smoke would move through the region and said it wouldn’t pose a health risk

Smoke from Canadian wildfires that has descended upon parts of the eastern US and Canada in a thick haze has drifted over Norway and is expected to hit southern Europe, Norwegian officials said on Friday.

Using a climate forecast model, atmosphere and climate scientists with the Norwegian climate and environmental research institute (NILU) predicted how the smoke would travel through the atmosphere, flowing over the Scandinavian country before moving further south. The smoke was not expected to pose a health risk there.

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Outcry as Texas to install ‘buoy barrier’ in Rio Grande to deter border crossings

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Rightwing governor Greg Abbott unveils new measures at US-Mexico border condemned by critics as ‘chilling’

The governor of Texas announced the state will install a barrier made of buoys along a section of the Rio Grande where people often wade or swim across the treacherous river from Mexico seeking refuge in the US, as the state committed $5.1bn towards ramping up plans to thwart border crossings.

Greg Abbott said a “new, water-based barrier of buoys” will be placed in the river. At a press conference he showed a line of large red buoys floating in the center of the Rio Grande.

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Mercedes-Benz beats Tesla for approval of automated driving tech in California

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German carmaker becomes first to gain permit for offering self-driving cars in California, but with strict conditions

The California department of motor vehicles has approved Mercedes-Benz’s automated driving system on designated highways under certain conditions without the active control of a driver.

California is one of Tesla’s largest markets, accounting for 16% of the carmaker’s global deliveries last year, according to Reuters calculations.

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Weather tracker: Canada wildfires rage in what could be worst season to date

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Plumes of smoke move southwards across US east coast. Elsewhere, Japan hit by remnants of Typhoon Mawar

Wildfires in Quebec, Canada, continue to rage, following a spring that was drier and warmer than normal, creating perfect conditions for wildfires to develop. As of 7 June, at least 150 fires remained active across the province, with more than 400 across the country according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. Officials warned this could be the country’s worst wildfire season to date, with at least 9.4m acres of land destroyed so far.

Plumes of smoke from the fires have been moving southwards across the US east coast, delaying thousands of flights. The US National Weather Service also issued air quality alerts for many states, with air quality index levels above 400 – a level of 300 is considered “hazardous” – in some states. A fairly static weather pattern this weekend will mean further plumes of smoke moving towards eastern parts of the US.

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US reviewed defence training ties with Australia after Brereton inquiry into alleged war crimes

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Exclusive: US embassy says review ended with a decision that no training restrictions needed ‘at this time’

The United States says the Brereton inquiry into alleged war crimes by Australian special forces sparked “a bilateral training review” that ended with a decision not to suspend security cooperation between the two countries.

The US embassy in Canberra moved to clear up unanswered questions about the issue on Friday, insisting that the Australian government’s actions to address the allegations had allayed any concerns.

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Could Trump go to prison? Federal charges over classified docs show momentum is building

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Donald Trump is the first former president in US history to face federal criminal charges – is this a gamechanger or just another chapter in the drama?

He really might be going to prison.

Donald Trump just became the first former president in American history to face federal criminal charges.

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Donald Trump charged with illegal retention of classified documents

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Ex-president is being prosecuted for violating Espionage Act and obstruction over documents held at Mar-a-Lago and has been summoned to court next week

Federal prosecutors have charged Donald Trump over his retention of national security documents and obstructing the government’s efforts to retrieve them, according to multiple people familiar with the matter, a historic development that poses the most significant legal peril yet for the former president.

The exact nature of the indictment, filed in federal district court in Miami, is unclear because it remains under seal and the justice department had no immediate comment.

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US Virginia class submarines hit further two-year delay as Australia awaits 2030 delivery

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Experts have warned that the US program is too tightly squeezed to produce Australia’s additional subs, which are meant to fill a capability gap

A United States nuclear powered submarine program – which Australia is depending on to provide up to five boats under the Aukus deal – has hit a two-year delay.

The latest report from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) said that performance on the construction of the Block V Virginia class nuclear-powered submarine “continues to degrade”. Supply chain issues, severe workforce shortages and limited physical capacity mean the US is struggling to meet its target of building two ships a year.

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Struggling Meta showcases new AI tools at company meeting

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Employees get preview of chatbots similar to ChatGPT for Messenger and WhatsApp

Facebook’s owner, Meta, announced new artificial intelligence-focused tools in an internal company meeting on Thursday and outlined its plan after months of financial struggle.

The company confirmed a New York Times report that employees were given a sneak peek of new products it has been building, including ChatGPT-like chatbots planned for Messenger and WhatsApp that could converse using different personas.

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Surviving the smoke-pocalypse 101: Californians offer advice to New Yorkers

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Orange smoky skies might be a new phenomenon for those on the east coast, but for the American west, it’s just the average summer

It was a sight all too familiar to Californians: orange skies and thick smoke blanketing the sky, emitting the eerily out-of-place smell of a campfire.

But this time the scenes were in New York City, as smoke from more than 400 wildfires darkened the famous skyline and gave the US its worst day of air pollution in recent history.

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China reportedly reaches secret deal with Cuba to host spy base on island

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Facility would allow Beijing to gather electronic communications from US but Cuba dismisses report as ‘unfounded’

China has reached a secret deal with Cuba to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility on the island roughly 100 miles (160km) from Florida, the Wall Street Journal has reported, but the US and Cuban governments cast strong doubt on the report.

Such a spy installation would allow Beijing to gather electronic communications from the south-eastern United States, which houses many US military bases, as well as to monitor ship traffic, the newspaper reported.

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Peru extradites Dutch murderer to US over Natalee Holloway disappearance

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Joran van der Sloot, already serving 28-year sentence, faces fraud and extortion charges linked to Alabama teen missing since 2005

Peruvian police have handed over a convicted Dutch murderer to US FBI agents for transfer to the United States, where he faces extortion and fraud charges related to the killing of the Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway two decades ago.

Joran van der Sloot, a Dutch national from the Caribbean island of Aruba, is set to face charges in the United States related to the mysterious disappearance and presumed murder of Holloway, an 18-year-old from a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, who vanished during a high school graduation trip to Aruba in 2005.

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Canada wildfires: blazes intensifying due to climate crisis, says Kamala Harris; Trudeau accuses opposition of inaction – as it happened

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US vice-president said administration working with Canada to tackle the crisis; Canadian PM accuses opposition leader of fighting climate plan

Protesters are set to descend upon the White House on Thursday amid growing anger among climate activists at Joe Biden for allowing a controversial gas pipeline in Appalachia to be fast-tracked.

Several hundred protesters are expected to demand Biden “reclaim his climate legacy” by blocking the Mountain Valley pipeline, a 300-mile pipeline that will bring fracked gas from West Virginia to southern Virginia.

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Tucker Carlson lawyer hits back at Fox News claim of contract breach

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Carlson attorney Bryan Freeman accuses network of attacking first amendment rights amid dispute over post-firing settlement

Responding to Fox News’s contention that Tucker Carlson was in breach of contract when he debuted his Twitter show this week, a lawyer for the fired hard-right host accused the network of attacking his client’s first amendment rights.

“Fox defends its very existence on freedom of speech grounds,” said attorney Bryan Freedman in response to reports, first by Axios, about a letter to Carlson from a lawyer for Fox.

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Canada wildfires smoke could linger over parts of US for days, officials warn

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Millions of Americans remain under air pollution warnings as schools close and air travel is disrupted

Toxic smoke from Canadian wildfires could linger over vast swathes of the US for days, officials warned, as millions of Americans remained under air pollution warnings.

Across the eastern US residents were again urged to stay inside and limit or avoid outdoor activities on Thursday, as schools in some cities closed, sporting events were canceled, and air travel was disrupted.

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Chris Christie says he’s anti-Trump – but did he secure a presidential pardon for a crony?

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Ethics expert says ex-New Jersey governor must answer questions over George Gilmore, pardoned on Trump’s last day in office

A leading US ethics expert said the former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who this week launched a presidential campaign aimed at taking down Donald Trump, owes the American public an explanation of why and how he secured a pardon for a powerful New Jersey Republican, issued on Trump’s last day in the White House.

“We just don’t know the answer to that,” Noah Bookbinder, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (Crew), said. “And I think we should.”

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