Category Archives: US News

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

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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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Disney+ loses 4m subscribers amid exodus in Indian market

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Lost cricket rights prompts outflow but streaming service almost halves losses while theme parks boom

Disney, known for Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel movies, said its flagship streaming service lost 4 million subscribers in the first three months of the year.

Subscribers to Disney+ services, home to movies such as Toy Story, Monsters, Thor and Black Panther, fell to nearly 158m from January to March, the second quarter of customer losses after a 2.4 million drop in the previous three months. Analysts had expected Disney to add more than 1 million customers in the quarter. The shares fell nearly 5% in after-hours trading.

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Biden to make public appeal on US federal debt limit fight – live

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US president will speak in New York on why Congress must avoid default, following a difficult debt ceiling extension meeting at the White House

We’re heading towards Joe Biden’s main public engagement of the day, a speech in New York about “why Congress must avoid default immediately”.

The president is due to speak at 1.30pm ET, at SUNY Westchester Community College. The speech comes after a difficult Tuesday debt ceiling extension meeting at the White House.

McCarthy read aloud old quotes from Democrats including Biden and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi about the need to negotiate around the debt limit.

Biden, in turn, asked McCarthy why House Republicans’ Limit, Save and Grow Act – which extended the debt limit by $1.5tn while slashing agency outlays – cut veterans funding by 22%. McCarthy then told the president that was a lie. That exchange stunned some in the room.

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Biden to host India’s Modi for June state visit as US works to deepen ties

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Invitation comes despite rising concerns about human rights and democratic backsliding under Modi’s leadership in India

Joe Biden will host India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, for an official state visit on 22 June, the White House has announced, as the US works to deepen ties with the world’s largest democracy.

The state visit, the highest level of diplomatic reception, will boost the US and India’s “shared commitment to a free, open, prosperous and secure Indo-Pacific”, the White House said.

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George Santos surrenders to face federal charges of fraud and money laundering

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New York congressman known for lying expected to appear in court on charges also including theft of public funds

The Republican congressman George Santos, exposed for lying extensively about his background and campaign finance disclosures, appeared in federal court in New York on Wednesday on multiple charges of fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and false statements.

Santos surrendered to authorities at the courthouse in Central Islip, Long Island, a day after he was informed of the indictment, slipping in through a back door.

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Soldier who Abbott pledged to pardon gets 25 years for BLM protester’s murder

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Daniel Perry, 36, convicted of killing Garrett Foster, 28, at Black Lives Matter protest in 2020 while working as ride-share driver

A US army sergeant was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Wednesday, for fatally shooting an armed man during a Black Lives Matter protest in Texas – even after the Republican governor said he wanted to pardon the man.

Daniel Perry, 36, was convicted of murder in April for killing Garrett Foster during the downtown Austin protest in July 2020.

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Wendy’s to test AI chatbot that takes your drive-thru order

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US fast-food chain says pilot program ‘seeks to take the complexity out of the ordering process’

The next time someone asks for fries with their shake, they might be talking to a robot. At least, that’s what the US fast-food chain Wendy’s has planned.

Next month, Wendy’s will be testing an artificial-intelligence-powered chatbot with the capability to speak with customers and take their orders.

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Sound artist eavesdrops on what is thought to be world’s heaviest organism

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Artist records underground sounds generated by Pando, a huge group of aspens in Utah considered to be a single organism

When it comes to the world’s heaviest living organism, it is a “forest of one tree” that is thought to take the crown. Now a sound expert is listening into the quiet grove in an attempt to hear its secrets.

Known as Pando – Latin for “I spread” – the 47,000 genetically identical quivering aspens in south-central Utah are considered to be a single organism, with the “trees” actually branches thought to be connected by a shared root system.

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Donald Trump rages at sexual abuse verdict after being told to pay E Jean Carroll $5m in damages – live

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Jury finds that former president defamed advice columnist, awarding $3m in damages in addition to the $2m in damages for battery

Florida governor Ron DeSantis has come out in favor of the GOP’s strategy on the debt ceiling, which involves pushing Joe Biden to accept spending cuts in exchange for increasing the limit:

During his time in the House of Representatives five years ago, DeSantis – who is expected to soon announce a campaign for president – was among the lawmakers who voted to raise the ceiling. And while the federal debt has indeed increased over recent years, that is because Washington has had to borrow to pay for spending approved under Democratic and Republican presidents alike.

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Tucker Carlson to revive show on Twitter after Fox News dismissal

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Host was fired by the news network last month in the aftermath of its $787.5m settlement with Dominion over election lies

Tucker Carlson will be reviving his show on Twitter, after being abruptly dismissed from Fox News last month.

In a tweet captioned “We’re back,” Carlson on Tuesday shared a video discussing his next moves. The former host said he would be taking his show to Twitter, which he described as “the last remaining platform in the world” to allow free speech.

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Texas gunman who killed eight had ‘neo-Nazi’ ideation, say officials

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Mauricio Garcia, who was discharged from the US army in 2008, reportedly also had Nazi tattoos on his body

The gunman who killed eight people and wounded seven others at a suburban Dallas shopping mall had no prior criminal record but had “neo-Nazi ideation”, authorities said on Tuesday.

Investigators are still trying to determine why Mauricio Garcia opened fire on Saturday at the Allen Premium Outlets, Hank Sibley, the regional director of the Texas department of public safety, said at a news conference.

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Jury finds Donald Trump sexually abused columnist E Jean Carroll

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Verdict for first time legally brands a former US president as a sexual predator but clears Trump of rape

A New York jury found on Tuesday that Donald Trump sexually abused the advice columnist E Jean Carroll in a New York department store changing room 27 years ago.

The verdict for the first time legally brands a former US president as a sexual predator. But as it is the result of a civil not criminal case, the only legal sanction Trump will face is financial.

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‘They were little’: photos show children illegally working in US slaughterhouse

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Images released by US labor department show conditions over 100 children faced at Packers Sanitation Services Incorporated

Harrowing photos released by the US labor department taken at a slaughterhouse plant in Nebraska show the conditions more than 100 children faced while illegally working for Packers Sanitation Services Incorporated (PSSI) before the department cracked down on the company for violating child labor laws.

The pictures show employees covered in protective gear, using chemicals to spray down and sanitize equipment. In some of the pictures, made public on Sunday by the television news show 60 Minutes, some of the employees appear to be young children, wearing protective face glasses and holding buckets.

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Louisiana teenager shot by neighbor as she played hide-and-seek

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The latest shooting of an innocent victim spotlights ‘stand your ground’ laws, which some Republicans are trying to strengthen

A 14-year-old girl was playing hide-and-seek with her friends when she was shot in the head by her neighbor in Louisiana, according to authorities.

The shooting on Sunday adds to a recent string of gun attacks across the US aimed at people who were engaged in innocuous activities when they encountered their shooter.

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Cyprus handed 800-page US dossier on Russia sanctions breaches

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Report details how local people and firms helped Alisher Usmanov’s conceal immense wealth

Cyprus has received an 800-page dossier from the US government detailing sanctions breaches by local individuals and entities that are alleged to have enabled the Russian billionaire, Alisher Usmanov, to conceal his immense wealth.

As the island’s leader Nikos Christodoulides vowed to push ahead with the prosecution of law and audit firms that had aided the oligarch, Washington released documents that amounted to a toolkit to facilitate the process. At least two other dossiers are expected to follow.

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US on track to set record in 2023 for mass killings after series of shootings

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Country is seeing an average of more than one mass killing weekly – amid little political prospect of meaningful gun control

After a series of shootings and other attacks, 2023 is on track to be the worst in recent history for mass killings in the US.

Mass killings are defined as incidents in which four or more people are killed, not including the shooter or other type of perpetrator. According to data from the Gun Violence Archive, the US is on pace for 60 mass killings this year. There were 31 in 2019, 21 in 2020, 28 in 2021 and 36 in 2022.

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‘Gun-loving’ ex-US army officer calls for gun control after witnessing Texas mall shooting

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Steven Spainhouer described rushing to the shopping center after his son called and trying to help a girl who ‘had no face’

As an ex-police and US army officer, Steven Spainhouer is comfortable around firearms and goes so far as to describe himself as a “gun lover”.

But Spainhouer is now passionately arguing in favor of meaningful gun control after witnessing a rifle-wielding man murder several people before being shot to death by police outside a suburban Dallas shopping mall Saturday.

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Texas mall shooting: family and friends identify victims as investigation goes on

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Police chief Brian Harvey declined to answer questions Sunday evening after a gunman killed eight people at a shopping mall

The victims of a mass shooting have been named as law enforcement officials in Allen, Texas, are still trying to piece together the events of the Saturday afternoon attack that killed nine people, including the gunman, and left at least seven others injured at a suburban shopping mall.

Brian Harvey, the Allen police chief, declined to answer questions Sunday evening, saying of the investigation, “we actually don’t have a lot”.

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North Dakota governor signs bill allowing teachers to ignore students’ pronouns

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Measure also requires teachers to tell parents if student is trans and bars them from using bathroom matching their gender

North Dakota’s governor has signed a bill into law that allows public school teachers and state government employees to ignore the pronouns their transgender students and colleagues use, the governor’s office announced on Monday.

The new law, signed by the Republican governor, Doug Burgum, also requires teachers to tell a parent or legal guardian if the student is transgender. It also prohibits transgender students from using the appropriate bathroom without prior approval from a parent or guardian.

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Frogs in Puerto Rico croak at a higher pitch due to global heating

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Call of the coquí frog is affected by rising temperatures, scientists find

Frogs in Puerto Rico are croaking at a higher pitch due to global heating, scientists have found.

The frogs appear to be decreasing in size at warmer temperatures, which causes their croaks to become high pitched. If the trends continue, the heat could become too much for the sensitive amphibians to survive successfully, researchers have said.

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