Mother of US bride killed in crash condemns driver who ‘chose to drink’

Samantha Miller, 34, died in South Carolina after rental car driven by Jamie Lee Komoroski hit golf cart she and husband were in

The mother of a South Carolina bride killed by an allegedly drunk motorist just moments after her wedding has lashed out at the accused driver, saying she made “a conscious choice” that turned deadly.

“It wasn’t an accident,” Lisa Miller said to Fox News of the 28 April crash that killed her daughter, Samantha Miller, and led to the arrest of Jamie Lee Komoroski.

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Chonk the snapping turtle delights locals with Chicago River appearance

Rare sight of giant reptile basking by waterside offers hope that notoriously polluted waterway is getting cleaner

A large snapping turtle dubbed “Chonk” has become a viral favorite of Chicago residents after the enormous reptile has been spotted repeatedly lounging by the once-toxic Chicago River.

“Look at the size of that thing!” Joey Santore said as he filmed “Chonkosaurus”, or “Chonk”, as the giant creature lay atop of what appears to be an old rusty chain and tree snags.

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South Africa summons US ambassador over his claims it is arming Russia

Foreign ministry says there is ‘no record of approved arms sale’ after allegations by Reuben Brigety

South Africa’s foreign ministry has summoned the US ambassador over allegations he made that the country had provided arms and ammunition to Russia for its war in Ukraine.

Amid the diplomatic fallout, South Africa’s foreign minister, Naledi Pandor, would also speak with the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation said in a statement posted on Twitter.

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US-Mexico border braces for midnight lifting of Title 42 migrant restrictions

Border officials expect increase of people trying to cross into US as measure ostensibly to curb Covid-19 lapses

As the US was set to lift tough restrictions at the US-Mexico border, known as Title 42, on Thursday night, migrants raced to enter the US before pandemic-related asylum limitations are lifted in a shift that threatens to put a historic strain on the nation’s beleaguered immigration system.

The major policy shift comes as tens of thousands are stuck in harsh conditions in northern Mexico or risk life and liberty to enter America unlawfully, straining local communities and intensifying political divisions.

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Sorry, Swifties: BTS revealed as authors of mystery book that intrigued the internet

Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS will be out on 9 July, ending feverish speculation that the previously untitled book was a Taylor Swift memoir

The guessing game began this week when a mysteriously untitled book, scheduled for publication in July and known only as “4C Untitled Flatiron Nonfiction Summer 2023”, appeared. It quickly became a bestseller when Taylor Swift fans began feverishly speculating that it was her surprise memoir.

But the mystery has been solved, with publishing house Flatiron Books bringing forward their announcement by a month to reveal the book is actually by another musical powerhouse: the K-pop boyband BTS.

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US and China hold ‘constructive’ talks in effort to move beyond spy balloon incident

High-level meeting in Vienna was ‘candid’, says White House, amid signs tensions could be easing

The White House national security adviser met with China’s top diplomat in Vienna as both sides recognised the need to move beyond the spy balloon incident that caused a rupture in relations between the superpowers, a senior US official has said.

The meeting between Jake Sullivan and Wang Yi was not publicised by Washington or Beijing ahead of the talks on Wednesday and Thursday in the Austrian capital. The White House described the wide-ranging discussions, in which the two leaders spent more than eight hours together, as “candid” and “constructive”.

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Ex-marine to be charged in subway chokehold killing of Jordan Neely

Daniel Penny, 24, faces second-degree manslaughter charges that could carry up to 15 years in jail, according to Manhattan DA’s office

Authorities in New York said they will bring criminal charges against a former marine who put fellow subway passenger Jordan Neely in a chokehold that killed him.

Daniel Penny, 24, is expected to be arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter, which could carry a jail term of up to 15 years.

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US Covid emergency status ends as officials plan ‘new phase of managing’ virus

Vaccines and medication will remain available for free ‘while supplies last’ but most Americans will have to pay for testing

Thursday marked the end of Covid-19’s public health emergency status in the US, concluding more than three years of free access to testing, vaccines, virtual accommodations and treatment for the majority of Americans.

The end of the emergency designation comes just weeks after the World Health Organization declared an end to the global health emergency. But the nation’s leading health officials also wanted to be sure Americans don’t confuse this marker for the end of Covid-19 concerns.

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E Jean Carroll considering suing Trump for his remarks during CNN town hall

The disparaging comments came just a day after the ex-president was found liable for sexually abusing the writer

Writer E Jean Carroll is considering suing Donald Trump for defamation again after the former US president made disparaging remarks about her during a televised CNN town hall just a day after he was found liable in a civil case for sexually assaulting her.

“Everything’s on the table, obviously, and we have to give serious consideration to it,” Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan told the New York Times about the prospect of a defamation lawsuit. “We have to weigh the various pros and cons and we’ll come to a decision in the next day or so, probably.”

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US authorities ‘seeing large numbers of migrants at border’ before Title 42 expiration – as it happened

Homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas warns people against crossing border illegally in White House briefing

We’re a few minutes away from the daily White House press briefing, where homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will appear ahead of the midnight expiration of Title 42, the rule put in place under Donald Trump that has allowed US authorities to turn away most asylum seekers over the past three years.

Immigration authorities and some communities at the border are bracing for a potential surge of new migrants once the measure expires, and Mayorkas is likely to use his appearance to warn people against trying to cross into the US illegally, and outline steps Washington will take to stem the flow. He may also be asked about the possibility Republicans will follow through on their threats to impeach him over the situation at the border.

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YouTuber accused of deliberately crashing plane for views pleads guilty

Trevor Jacob, 29, faces up to 20 years in prison after purposely destroying wreckage of small plane that he crashed in 2021

A YouTuber accused of deliberately crashing his plane to get a boost in views has agreed to plead guilty to obstructing a federal investigation, the US Department of Justice announced.

Trevor Jacob, 29, faces up to 20 years in federal prison after he purposely destroyed the wreckage of the small single-engine plane that he crashed in California’s Los Padres national forest in 2021, according to a statement from the US attorney’s office.

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Country star Jimmie Allen accused of sexual assault by former manager

Grammy-nominated musician, 37, accused of a ‘torrential cycle’ of abuse and harassment, which Allen denies

The country star Jimmie Allen is being sued by his former manager for sexual assault.

The woman, known as “Jane Doe”, has alleged that the singer repeatedly raped and harassed her over an 18-month period, referring to it as a “torrential cycle” of abuse. According to Variety, a lawsuit was filed this week in federal court in Tennessee, accusing Allen, 37, of sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, sex trafficking and emotional distress.

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US accuses South Africa of providing arms to Russia

Ambassador says weapons were brought to Russia on cargo ship from Simon’s Town naval base, local media reports

The US ambassador to South Africa has accused the country of covertly providing arms to Russia – a charge that drew an angry rebuke from Pretoria.

Reuben Brigety told a media briefing on Thursday that the US believed weapons and ammunition had been loaded on to a Russian freighter that docked at a Cape Town naval base in December.

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Supreme court rules in favor of trans woman who fled violence in Guatemala

Estrella Santos-Zacaria will have another chance to seek asylum from sexual assault and death threats after being deported in 2008

The US supreme court ruled on Thursday in favor of a transgender Guatemalan woman fighting deportation on the grounds that she would face persecution if returned to her native country.

The unanimous decision in favor of Estrella Santos-Zacaria gives her another chance to argue that immigration officials were wrong to reject her bid to remain in the US.

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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‘The forever prisoner’: Abu Zubaydah’s drawings expose the US’s depraved torture policy

Exclusive: For 21 years, the detainee has been in US custody without charge, tortured and sexually humiliated, with no prospect for release

Warning: the images and descriptions of torture in this article are extremely graphic

A detainee held in the US prison camp at Guantánamo Bay who was used as a human guinea pig in the CIA’s post-9/11 torture program has produced the most comprehensive and detailed account yet seen of the brutal techniques to which he was subjected.

Abu Zubaydah has created a series of 40 drawings that chronicle the torture he endured in a number of CIA dark sites between 2002 and 2006 and at Guantánamo Bay. In the absence of a full official accounting of the torture program, which the CIA and the FBI have labored for years to keep secret, the images give a unique and searing insight into a grisly period in US history.

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Venezuelan migrants in Texas start car-wash business after mass killing horror

Group tell of determination to fulfil American dream after compatriots were killed when SUV driver drove into bus stop

After a tragic start to the week and a night of thunderstorms, a group of migrants in south Texas woke up newly determined to fulfill their American dream.

Equipping themselves with soapy water, buckets, rags and a lot of spirit, about 30 Venezuelan men on Tuesday began operating a donation-based car washing service in a gas station right next to the border that divides Brownsville, Texas, from Matamoros, Mexico.

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‘We’re living in madness’: George Santos’s constituents on federal charges

Residents of the congressman’s New York district say they’re fed up with a system that enables his behavior

“It’s like we’re living in madness,” said Danielle Gentile at a Brazilian restaurant in Long Island’s Westbury, one of a cluster of towns close to the eastern border of the fabulist Republican congressman George Santos’s third congressional district.

“I know politicians lie all the time, but you’ve got to at least try to keep up,” Gentile added. “But what’s he going to say? I didn’t mean to lie? He’s like the Brian Williams of politics.”

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Fears over proliferation of disinfectant wipes linked to health problems

Researchers say wipes common in schools and care homes exposing people to dangerous chemical group called ‘quats’

Since the pandemic’s outset, the global use of disinfectants has gone through the roof. Clorox dramatically boosted production of its wipe packs to 1.5m a day by mid-2021, and an industry trade group said 83% of consumers surveyed around the same time reported they had used a disinfectant wipe in the last week.

But as schools reopened, a group of toxic chemical researchers grew concerned as they heard reports of kids regularly using disinfectant wipes on their classroom desks, or teachers running disinfectant foggers.

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Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Bad Cinderella to close on Broadway

The musical will close on 4 June, after receiving mixed reviews from US critics and failing to receive a nomination at the Tony awards

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Bad Cinderella is to close on Broadway just over 10 weeks after its official opening night. The show, which did not receive any nominations at this year’s Tony awards, has announced that “the ball must come to an end” and that it will bow out at New York’s Imperial theatre on 4 June. Ticket sales have dipped despite a low average price for a big Broadway musical ($54 for last week). It will have played 33 previews and 85 performances.

The musical is a retooled version of Cinderella, which ran for just under a year (including a Covid-related break in performances) and suffered heavy losses at London’s Gillian Lynne theatre. Lloyd Webber was criticised for the manner in which some current and future Cinderella cast members learned of its closure in 2022 via social media and for his suggestion, in a letter read out at its final night, that opening a new musical during the pandemic “might have been a costly mistake”. (He later issued a statement saying his words had been misunderstood and that he was proud of the show.)

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New US rules could stem emissions from coal and gas power plants

Environmental groups laud the regulation, which would advance clean power in the US – if it survives expected legal challenges

The US is set to impose new carbon pollution standards upon its coal- and gas-fired power plants, in a move that the Biden administration has hailed as a major step in confronting the climate crisis.

Under new rules put forward by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), new and existing power plants will have to meet a range of new standards to cut their emissions of planet-heating gases. This, the EPA predicts, will spur facilities to switch to cleaner energy such as wind and solar, install rarely used carbon capture technology or shut down entirely.

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