Category Archives: US News

Apple posts first revenue drop in four years

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Facebook parent company Meta bucks trend with better earnings than expected, as Apple sees first profit miss in seven years

The A-Team of big tech – Apple, Amazon and Alphabet – all delivered disappointing results on Thursday a day after Facebook owner Meta bucked the gloomy trend in technology, delivering better-than-expected results.

Apple shares slid more than 4% on Thursday after the company posted a disappointing first-quarter earnings report, including rare misses on revenue, profit and sales.

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Swallowed fishing gear and plastic most likely cause of Hawaii whale’s death

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Large volumes of traps, nets and marine debris in sperm whale’s intestinal tract highlight plastic pollution’s threat to wildlife

A sperm whale that washed ashore in Hawaii over the weekend probably died in part because it ate large volumes of fishing traps, fishing nets, plastic bags and other marine debris, scientists said on Thursday, highlighting the threat to wildlife from the millions of tons of plastic that ends up in oceans every year.

The body of the 56ft (17-meter) long, 120,000-pound (54,000kg) animal was first noticed on a reef off Kauai on Friday. High tide brought it ashore on Saturday.

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Republicans remove Ilhan Omar from House foreign affairs committee – as it happened

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The House voted along party lines as it ousted Democratic representative Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee while Democrats defended her.

The vote was divided 218 to 211, CBS reports. One GOP member voted “present.”

“This debate today, it’s about who gets to be an American? What opinions do we get to have, do we have to have to be counted as American?… That is what this debate is about, Madam Speaker. There is this idea that you are suspect if you are an immigrant. Or if you are from a certain part of the world, of a certain skin tone or a Muslim.

Well, I am Muslim. I am an immigrant, and interestingly, from Africa. Is anyone surprised that I’m being targeted? Is anyone surprised that I am somehow deemed unworthy to speak about American foreign policy?” she said.

“A blatant double standard is being applied here. Something just doesn’t add up. And what is the difference between Rep. Omar and these members? Could it be the way that she looks? Could it be her religious practices?” he said.

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Southern US battles winter freeze as thousands suffer power outage in Texas

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Slick roads have caused at least 10 deaths with thousands of flights canceled since frigid weather set in on Monday

A mess of ice, sleet and snow lingered across much of the southern US on Thursday, as thousands in Texas endured freezing temperatures with no power, including many in the state capital, Austin.

Treacherous driving conditions had resulted in at least 10 deaths on slick roads since Monday, including seven in Texas, two in Oklahoma, and one in Arkansas. The Republican Texas governor, Greg Abbott, urged people not to drive.

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ChatGPT reaches 100 million users two months after launch

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Unprecedented take-up may make AI chatbot the fastest-growing consumer internet app ever, analysts say

ChatGPT, the popular artificial intelligence chatbot, has reached 100 million users just two months after launching, according to analysts.

It had about 590m visits in January from 100 million unique visitors, according to analysis by data firm Similarweb. Analysts at investment bank UBS said the rate of growth was unprecedented for a consumer app.

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Guantánamo detainee who was tortured by CIA released to Belize

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Al-Qaida courier turned informant Majid Khan to be permanently resettled after being held in US custody for nearly 20 years

The US has released Majid Khan, an al-Qaida courier turned informant who was tortured in secret CIA prisons and held in custody for nearly 20 years, marking the first time a “high-value detainee” has been freed from Guantánamo Bay.

Khan, a 42-year-old Pakistani born in Saudi Arabia, completed his jail term last March and landed in Belize on Thursday, where he is to be permanently resettled.

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Ilhan Omar defiant as Republicans oust her from key House committee

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Minnesota Democrat accuses Republicans of trying to silence her because she is Muslim and vows to ‘advocate for a better world’

Republicans voted to expel Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar from the House foreign affairs committee on Thursday as punishment for her past remarks on Israel. Democrats objected, saying the move was about revenge after Democrats removed far-right extremists in the last Congress.

A majority of 218 GOP lawmakers supported Omar’s expulsion from the committee, which is tasked with handling legislation and holding hearings affecting America’s diplomatic relations. One Republican lawmaker voted “present”.

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US general’s ‘gut’ feeling of war with China sparks alarm over predictions

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Leaked memo forecasting Taiwan strait conflict in 2025 triggers debate about ‘undisciplined’ comments

A leaked memo from a US four-star general saying his “gut” told him the US would be at war with China in 2025 has prompted warnings about the danger of “undisciplined” predictions of a Taiwan strait conflict.

The memo, by the head of the US Air Mobility Command (AMC), Gen Mike Minihan, was the latest prediction of a Chinese military invasion of Taiwan, which have ranged from 2022 to 2049. It has triggered a debate about US readiness, accusations of warmongering, and concerns about desensitising people to the real risk of invasion.

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New Mexico could be first state with official aroma

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The familiar smell of roasted chiles is ‘unique to our state’, says lawmaker pushing to codify fragrance

The sweet smell of green chile roasting on an open flame permeates New Mexico every fall, wafting from roadside stands and grocery store parking lots and inducing mouth-watering visions of culinary wonders.

Now one state lawmaker says it’s time for everyone to wake up and smell the chile.

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US barber hailed as ‘hero’ for rescuing man from car that burst into flames

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The Kentucky man was on vacation in Las Vegas when he laid it all on the line to help a man in a car crash

Justin Mouser had left behind his barber shop in western Kentucky to vacation in Las Vegas last week when he ended up risking it all to pull a man out of a crashed car that burst into flames.

Now, the Sin City’s police department is hailing the tourist as a hero.

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US opens embassy in Solomon Islands after 30-year absence to counter China

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Move comes amid concerns about Beijing’s military ambitions in Indo-Pacific region after it struck a security pact with Solomons last year

The United States has opened an embassy in Solomon Islands after a 30-year absence as it seeks to boost diplomatic relations in the Pacific as a counter to China.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, announced the news late on Wednesday, saying that “more than any other part of the world, the Indo-Pacific region – including the Pacific Islands – will shape the world’s trajectory in the 21st century”.

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Child released from hospital after mountain lion attack in California

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State department of fish and wildlife is investigating Tuesday’s incident in San Mateo county

A five-year-old boy who was attacked by a mountain lion while hiking in rural northern California with his mother and grandfather has been released from a hospital, authorities said Wednesday.

The boy had raced ahead of the adults on a trail in San Mateo county, south of San Francisco, on Tuesday when the big cat pounced on him and pinned him to the ground, said Capt Patrick Foy, a spokesperson with the California department of fish and wildlife.

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Outrage as US government advances $8bn Alaska oil drilling plan

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Interior department report recommends scaled-back version of ConocoPhillips’ Willow project despite Biden campaign pledge

The Biden administration has advanced a $8bn drilling project on Alaska’s north slope. The ConocoPhillips Willow project, which would be one of the largest oil and gas developments on federal territory, has drawn fierce opposition from environmentalists, who say its approval runs counter to the president’s ambitious climate goals.

An environmental assessment released by the interior department on Wednesday recommends a scaled-back version of the project ConocoPhillips originally proposed, and would produce about 600m barrels of oil over 30 years, with a peak of 180,000 barrels of crude oil a day.

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Costa Rican farmer handed 22 years for murder of Indigenous land defender

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Brörán leader Yehry Rivera, 45, was shot and killed by Juan Varela during conflict in Terraba community in February 2020

A Costa Rican court has sentenced a man to 22 years behind bars for the murder of an Indigenous land rights defender in 2020, in a case which stoked decades-old tensions between native communities and farmers over disputed territory.

Yehry Rivera, a leader of the Brörán people, was shot from behind and killed by farmer Juan Varela during a land conflict in the Terraba community, 80 miles (130 km) south-east of the capital San Jose in Puntarenas province.

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‘He was robbed of his life’: in Memphis, tributes to Tyre Nichols – and a call to action

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Hundreds braved the cold in Tennessee to grieve the 29-year-old Black motorist who died after being beaten by five officers

On a frigid Wednesday afternoon, RowVaughn Wells looked into the crowd of hundreds inside the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, and gave her own call to action in the funeral service for her son Tyre Nichols, who was beaten to death by Memphis police earlier this month. Her voice cracked as she joined a fellowship of other Black mothers who lost their children to police violence over the years.

Wells remembered her son as a “beautiful person”, adding that “for this to happen to him is unimaginable”.

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Rishi Sunak plans US trip with Northern Ireland high on agenda

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UK officials in flurry of diplomacy seeking agreement with EU over protocol, but play down talk that deal is close

Rishi Sunak is considering a trip to visit Joe Biden in the US as talks between the UK and EU over the Northern Ireland protocol intensify.

The prime minister’s officials are drawing up plans for him to travel to Washington in the coming weeks to discuss a range of topics, including Ukraine, economic security and technology.

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Six dead and more than 250,000 without power as storm hits southern US

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Watches and warnings stretch from Texas to Tennessee and Mississippi, causing traffic delays and flight cancellations

Dangerous road conditions from bands of sleet and snow were blamed for six deaths as a winter storm snarled traffic across parts of the US, forcing the cancelation of flights and leaving hundreds of thousands without power in several southern states.

Watches and warnings stretched from Texas to Tennessee and Mississippi. Several rounds of mixed precipitation, including freezing rain and sleet, were in store for many areas throughout Wednesday, meaning some regions could be hit multiple times, forecasters said.

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FBI searches Biden’s Delaware beach home in documents investigation – live updates

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President’s personal attorney reveals justice department ‘planned search’ of home in Rehoboth

Meanwhile in the Senate, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are frustrated that they have not been briefed on the national security implications of all the classified documents that have turned up in Joe Biden, Donald Trump and Mike Pence’s hands.

The sentiment expressed by Democrat Jon Tester today, according to NBC News, is a common one:

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Outrage over alleged Nazi homeschooling group in Ohio

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Telegram channel reportedly distributed lessons plans which included writing exercises based on Hitler quotes

An alleged “Nazi homeschooling group” based in Ohio has been widely condemned, amid reports that it distributed lesson plans which included writing exercises based on quotes by Adolf Hitler.

A couple calling themselves “Mr and Mrs Saxon” established the “Dissident Homeschool” channel on Telegram in 2021, according to reporting by Anonymous Comrades Collective, an anti-fascist research group, verified by Huffpost and Vice.

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Man dies after fans brawl at Vermont middle-school basketball game

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  • State troopers called after fight reported between spectators
  • 60-year-old man dies after seeking medical attention

A man died after a brawl broke out among spectators at a middle school basketball game in northern Vermont, local police have said.

Vermont state troopers were called to the Alburgh Community Education Center just before 7pm on Tuesday after a report of a large fight involving spectators during a seventh- and eighth-grade boys basketball game between Alburgh and St Albans.

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