Advocates say 22 Texas inmates still on hunger strike but state disputes figure

Solitary confinement inmates protest against brutal form of incarceration but state says it’s only aware of six striking men

Prisoners in Texas who have been kept in solitary confinement in some cases for more than 20 years are sustaining a hunger strike in protest against their brutal form of incarceration in the face of threatened retaliation from state authorities.

Outside advocates working with the protesting inmates say that in their latest count 22 men continue to refuse food, with two of them having been on hunger strike since the start of the action on 10 January.

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Grammys 2023: music’s A-list prepares for a potentially historic ceremony

This weekend’s assemblage of the biggest names in music could make Beyoncé the most awarded artist in Grammy history with Adele and Harry Styles also tipped for success

It’s days before the curtain rises on the 65th annual Grammy awards ceremony and producer Ben Winston is putting the finishing touches on the production.

“I was doing the table plans last night, which is always a funny thing,” Winston said during a brief respite in between his obligations at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. “It’s like a bar mitzvah or a wedding, only you’re plotting where people like Beyoncé, Adele and the Rock are going to sit. Who’s Cardi B gonna be next to? It’s really fun.”

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Exonerated US man buys his mom a home after she sold hers for legal bills

Greg Kelley, who was exonerated in 2019, uses money from settlement to buy 1.3-acre Texas property for his mother

Years before Greg Kelley was freed from a wrongful conviction, the Texas man’s mother – Rosa Kelley – sold her home to help pay his legal bills.

But she once again has a home of her own after her son recently bought her one as a gesture of his gratitude for her support, which helped set the stage for his exoneration in 2019, his state’s capital’s daily newspaper, the Austin American-Statesman, reported this week.

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Second spy balloon spotted over Latin America, says Pentagon, as Blinken postpones China trip

Secretary of state calls the incident in US airspace a ‘clear violation of US sovereignty and international law’

A second Chinese spy balloon was reportedly flying over Latin America, according to the Pentagon, in comments that came as the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, postponed a visit to China after the intrusion of a separate high-altitude Chinese balloon into US airspace.

“We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America,” Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said, a day after the first craft was spotted over US skies. “We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon.”

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‘Cop City’ protester Manuel Terán shot at least 13 times by police – autopsy

Protester who opposed Georgia’s planned police-training facility was first environmental activist killed by police in US history

The environmental activist who was killed by police in Atlanta while protesting against Georgia’s planned “Cop City” was shot more than a dozen times, according to private autopsy results released by his family.

Officers from multiple agencies shot and killed Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, also known as Tortuguita, on 18 January after authorities moved through the camp of activists who were in a forest to protest a planned $90m police training facility. Dozens of officers from the Atlanta police department, the Dekalb county police, the Georgia state patrol, the Georgia bureau of investigation and the FBI swept through the camp.

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Sixth Memphis police officer fired for role in arrest of Tyre Nichols

Investigation finds Preston Hemphill violated rules regarding stun gun use, and video shows him saying ‘I hope they stomp his ass’

A sixth Memphis officer was fired on Friday after an internal police investigation showed he violated multiple department policies in the violent arrest of Tyre Nichols, including rules surrounding the deployment of a stun gun, officials said.

Preston Hemphill had previously been suspended as he was investigated for his role in the arrest of Nichols, who died three days later. Five Memphis officers have already been fired and charged with second-degree murder in Nichols’s death.

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Six-year-old uses father’s phone to order $1,000 worth of food on Grubhub

Michigan boy Mason Stonehouse had jumbo shrimp, shawarma, salads, chicken pita sandwiches and chili cheese fries delivered

A Michigan man says he was left with a $1,000 bill after his six-year-old son ordered a virtual smorgasbord of food from several restaurants last weekend, leading to a string of unexpected deliveries – and maybe a starring role in an ad campaign.

Keith Stonehouse said the food piled up quickly at his Detroit-area home on Saturday night after he let his son, Mason, use his cellphone to play a game before bed. He said the youngster instead used his father’s Grubhub account to order food from one restaurant after another.

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New add to George Santos’s résumé: producer on Spider-Man musical

Reports emerge that the embattled New York congressman told donors of his role, which the lead producer denies

Just as it seemed the well of bizarre stories about George Santos might have begun to run dry, it was reported on Friday that the New York Republican congressman told potential donors he was a producer on the notoriously ill-fated Spider-Man musical.

Bloomberg News said: “The lead producer, Michael Cohl, denied Santos’s involvement, saying through an assistant that [Santos] wasn’t a producer on the musical. Santos’s name also never appeared in the playbills for the show.”

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Prosecutors likened Trump to mob boss and had to prove he wasn’t insane – book

Mark Pomerantz, who was on New York team investigating tax affairs, reportedly compares ex-president to John Gotti

New York prosecutors building a case against Donald Trump for allegedly lying about his wealth for tax purposes had to show the former president was “not legally insane”, one of those prosecutors reportedly writes in an eagerly awaited new book.

The lawyer, Mark Pomerantz, also reportedly compares Trump, the only confirmed candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, to famous figures in the world of organised crime including John Gotti, the “Teflon Don” who died in prison in 2002.

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Trump campaign promised to ‘fan the flame’ of 2020 election lie, audio reveals – as it happened

Senior state officials have commented on the postponement of Blinken’s trip to China after a Chinese spy balloon was discovered over the US yesterday, noting that conditions were no longer right for Blinken’s travel.

From Reuters’ reporter Hümeyra Pamuk:

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Two men arrested in California shooting that killed a young mother and her baby

The suspects have been taken into custody – one after a gun battle with federal agents – and charged with six counts of murder

Authorities in California have arrested two gang members suspected in a massacre in central California last month that killed six people, including a young mother and her infant.

The pair were arrested early on Friday, one after a gun battle, the Tulare county sheriff said.

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US secretary of state postpones China visit after spy balloon flies over Montana

Antony Blinken delays trip, as China claims balloon was for ‘meteorological’ purposes and was blown off course

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has postponed a planned visit to China this weekend after the intrusion of a high-altitude Chinese balloon into US airspace.

China had apologised for the incident, claiming it had been a weather balloon which had been blown off course, but US officials made clear they did not believe that explanation and the Pentagon restated its assessment it was a surveillance aircraft, adding that by midday Friday it had changed course and was over the centre of the country.

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New proposal sets limits on sugar in US school meals for first time

Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack also seeks to significantly lower sodium in meals as part of fresh nutrition standards plan

US agriculture officials on Friday proposed new nutrition standards for school meals, including the first limits on added sugars, with a focus on limiting sweetened foods such as cereals, yogurt, flavored milk and breakfast pastries.

The plan announced by the agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack, also seeks to significantly decrease sodium, making for less salty meals served to the nation’s school kids by 2029, while making the rules for foods made with whole grains more flexible.

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Aukus: Biden urged to fast-track research into submarines using non-weapons grade uranium

US lawmakers are concerned that if Australia’s new nuclear submarines use enriched fuel it could undermine global non-proliferation system

The Biden administration is being urged to fast-track research into submarines that do not use weapons-grade uranium, as four Democratic politicians warn the Aukus deal with Australia makes the task “even more pressing”.

Australia’s deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, arrived in the United States for crucial talks with the defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, on Friday (US time), amid renewed congressional concerns about aspects of the flagship Aukus project.

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California gun laws can’t stop mass shootings without federal support

The Golden State will struggle to stop mass shootings and protect citizens until uniform federal laws on firearms are signed

The recent mass shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay have brought devastation, outrage and shock to Californians. As the state grieves the loss of 19 residents, one question continues to arise: how could this happen in the state with some of the strongest gun laws in the US?

California’s gun laws include bans on the military-style assault weapons and large-capacity magazines that have been used in many mass shootings. It is one of just two states, along with New Jersey, to receive an “A” rating from the gun safety group Giffords, based on the strength of its firearm regulations.

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Pentagon says it is monitoring Chinese spy balloon spotted flying over US

Officials say balloon has been watched for a few days but decided not to shoot it down for safety reasons

The Pentagon has said it is tracking a Chinese spy balloon flying over the US but decided against shooting it down for safety reasons.

Defence officials said the balloon had been watched since it entered US airspace at high altitude a couple of days ago. It has been monitored by several methods including crewed aircraft, and has most recently been tracked crossing Montana, where the US has silo-based nuclear missiles.

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Police killings will continue until system changes, says grieving family | First Thing

Tyre Nichols’ death reopens wounds felt by family of Steven Askew, who died 10 years ago at hands of Memphis police. Plus, wave of ‘sushi terrorism’ grips Japan

Good morning.

More than 200 miles away from Memphis, as Tyre Nichols’ family mourned the beating to death of their son at the hands of police, Sylvia Askew was at home in Nashville taking care of her ailing husband, write Edwin Rios and Oliver Laughland.

What happened to Steven? On the night he was killed, Steven was parked outside an apartment complex, waiting to pick up his girlfriend, when he fell asleep in his car. Two Memphis police officers, Matthew Dyess and Ned Aufdenkamp, responded to an unrelated noise complaint nearby and approached Steven’s vehicle, saw him asleep in the driver’s seat, and spotted a firearm. Seconds after Steven woke, the officers opened fire, hitting Steven nine times, including six times in the back.

Why did they say they shot him? They said they spotted a firearm inside the vehicle, and claimed that as Steven woke he picked it up and pointed it. As the evidence would later show, their accounts were inconsistent and unreliable.

What does Shah say about the work he has to do? “I hold myself to outcomes. I don’t hold myself to best efforts. I feel like there’s a lot of people who are like, ‘well, I gave it my best’. And I was like, ‘well, I mean, that’s not enough. You either have reduced climate emissions or you haven’t.’”

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Blobs of human brain planted in rats offer new treatment hope

Scientists suggest patient’s own cells could be grown in the lab and used to repair stroke or trauma injuries

Blobs of human brain tissue have been transplanted into the brains of rats in work that could pave the way for new treatments for devastating brain injuries.

The groundbreaking study showed that the “human brain organoids” – sesame seed-sized balls of neurons – were able to integrate into the rat brain, linking up with their blood supplies and communicating with the rat neurons.

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The man in charge of how the US spends $400bn to shift away from fossil fuels

The Department of Energy’s loan programs office was ‘essentially dormant’, says Jigar Shah, its head – but now it’s ready to bankroll clean energy projects

Deep in the confines of the hulking, brutalist headquarters of the US Department of Energy, down one of its long, starkly lit corridors, sits a small, unheralded office that is poised to play a pivotal role in America’s shift away from fossil fuels and help the world stave off disastrous global heating.

The department’s loan programs office (LPO) was “essentially dormant” under Donald Trump, according to its head, Jigar Shah, but has now come roaring back with a huge war chest to bankroll emerging clean energy projects and technology.

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Why prosecutors might get Trump – and not Biden – for classified documents

Trump’s situation is more perilous because of his reluctance to cooperate and his suspected obstruction of justice

Donald Trump’s retention of classified-marked documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort is distinguished in the eyes of the justice department from that of Joe Biden or Mike Pence as a result of one particularly crucial difference: suspected obstruction of justice.

Legal experts believe the situation for the former US president is more perilous than others swept up in the scandal because of his reluctance to cooperate at key moments in the investigation and his unwillingness to proactively search his properties for marked documents after becoming aware that he possessed such papers.

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