US protests begin after police release footage of fatal beating of Tyre Nichols

Demonstrations in Memphis and other US cities follow release of video and request from Nichols’s mother to ‘protest in peace’

Demonstrations quickly began Friday evening as Memphis police released footage of the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols.

The video released Friday showed Memphis officers kicking Nichols repeatedly in the head, punching him in the face, and hitting him with a baton. It also showed officers and medical personnel failing to intervene as Nichols could not sit upright after the assault.

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Capitol rioter who assaulted Brian Sicknick gets near-seven year sentence

Julian Khater pleaded guilty to using chemical spray to attack the Capitol police officer who died on 7 January

A man who admitted using chemical spray to assault Brian Sicknick on January 6, a day before the Capitol police officer died, was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison in a Washington court on Friday.

Julian Khater, 33, from Pennsylvania, was also fined $10,000.

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Police body-camera video of Paul Pelosi hammer attack released

Footage shows husband of former House speaker opening door with intruder in home and pair wrestling over hammer

Police body-camera footage released on Friday afternoon shed more light on the brutal hammer attack last October against Paul Pelosi, the husband of Democratic congresswomen and then House speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The shocking video shows officers arriving at the front door of the Pelosi residence in San Francisco and knocking loudly on the door.

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Oscars to review ‘campaign procedures’ after Andrea Riseborough backlash

Film academy is implementing review after questions raised over last-minute celebrity-backed campaign in best actress category

The film academy has announced a review of “campaign procedures” in the wake of a backlash to this year’s Oscar nominations.

The British actor Andrea Riseborough gained a surprise best actress nod for her role in indie To Leslie after a grassroots campaign backed by A-listers including Kate Winslet, Jane Fonda, Charlize Theron, Gwyneth Paltrow and Amy Adams.

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Protests after video of fatal Memphis police beating is released – as it happened

Attorney Ben Crump is holding a press conference alongside Tyre Nichols’s family, where he has compared the swift indictment and arrest of five Black police officers for Nichols’s death to the comparatively slow response to other high-profile killings of Black men.

“This is not the first time that we saw police officers committing crime and engaging in excessive brutal force against Black people in America who were unarmed, but yet we have never seen swift justice like this,” Crump said.

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Tyre Nichols video worse than Rodney King footage, Memphis police chief says

CJ Davis says department will release ‘alarming’ video of officers, now charged with murder, beating black man who died days later

The chief of the Memphis police warned on Friday morning that the video of officers beating Tyre Nichols is “perhaps worse” than the infamous footage of Rodney King being attacked by police in Los Angeles more than 30 years ago.

The police department intends to release the video to the public on Friday evening.

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Jeremy Renner was injured by snowplough while trying to save nephew

Actor was attempting to stop six-tonne vehicle from hitting his relative after getting out without applying the emergency brake

Jeremy Renner’s snowplough accident happened as he was attempting to save his nephew and was hit by the vehicle after failing to apply the emergency brake.

According to an incident report from the Nevada sheriff’s office, obtained by Variety, Renner had used the snowplough to tow his nephew’s truck out of the snow, and after getting out without setting the brake, he attempted to stop the six-tonne plough sliding towards his nephew.

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Five Memphis ex-police officers charged with murder of Tyre Nichols | First Thing

Nichols, 29, died three days after a traffic stop in Memphis turned violent. Plus, the rise of queerbaiting accusations

Good morning.

Five former Memphis police officers have been charged with the murder of Tyre Nichols, a Black motorist in Memphis, Tennessee, who died three days after a 7 January traffic stop spiraled into violence.

How did Nichols die? In a three-minute attack, Mulroy said. An independent autopsy indicated “extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating”, an attorney representing his family reportedly said. “He was a human piñata for those police officers,” the family attorney, Antonio Romanucci, told reporters. “Not only was it violent, it was savage.”

When will the video footage be released? Memphis authorities said they would release video of the incident. Family members and their attorneys have already seen it. During the press conference yesterday, officials indicated that the footage would be released after 6pm local time today.

What happened? Israel Defence Forces (IDF) soldiers arrived at daybreak yesterday at several entrances to the Jenin refugee camp, a militant stronghold in the north of the Palestinian territory, said Sakir Khader, a Palestinian-Dutch film-maker at the scene. Armed Palestinians shot at an Israeli armoured vehicle disguised as a commercial van, at which point the IDF returned fire and a fierce four-hour gun battle ensued, causing widespread damage, he said.

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Revealed: Trump secretly donated $1m to discredited Arizona election ‘audit’

Funding for controversial review of state’s vote count in 2020 election can be traced to former president’s Pac

One of the enduring mysteries surrounding the chaotic attempts to overturn Donald Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential battle has been solved: who made a secret $1m donation to the controversial election “audit” in Arizona?

The identity of one of the largest benefactors behind the discredited review of Arizona’s vote count has been shrouded in secrecy. Now the Guardian can reveal that the person who partially bankrolled the failed attempt to prove that the election was stolen from Trump was … Trump.

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US renters worry about living with gas stoves amid new air pollution concerns

Lack of choice over appliances is acutely felt in low-income housing as new research reveals extent of indoor air pollution

New research has revealed the extent of indoor air pollution caused by gas stoves. Switching to alternatives like electric or induction stoves is the best way to reduce the health risk of burning fossil fuels in the kitchen – but that is rarely an option for renters, who typically can’t choose the type of appliances installed in their apartment.

People stuck with gas stoves in rentals are grappling with the reality of living with an appliance that may be leaking dangerous pollutants like methane and benzene even when it’s turned off. The lack of choice over appliances is acutely felt in low-income housing.

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Tyre Nichols: five Memphis ex-police officers charged with murder over motorist’s death

Nichols, 29, died three days after a traffic stop turned into a fatal physical attack on 7 January

Five former Memphis police officers were charged Thursday with murder and other crimes in the killing of Tyre Nichols, a Black motorist in Memphis, Tennessee, who died three days after a 7 January traffic stop spiraled into a fatal physical attack, local jail records indicated.

Shelby county sheriff’s office online records showed that Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith were in custody. All five were charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression.

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Concerns over escalating violence after Israeli forces kill nine Palestinians during West Bank raid

Palestinian militants fired rockets from Gaza on Friday morning, to which Israel responded with missile strikes

Washington has raised concern over the escalation in Israeli-Palestinian violence after Israeli forces on Thursday killed nine Palestinians during a West Bank raid in the deadliest single day in the territory in decades.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said he feared the security situation could worsen after two rockets were fired from Gaza early on Friday and Israel responded with airstrikes on the territory.

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US moves to simplify Covid vaccines into yearly dose to target variants

The FDA asked its scientific advisers on Thursday to help chalk out plan to move to a flu shot-like schedule for coronavirus

The US is poised to make Covid-19 vaccinations more like a yearly flu shot, a major shift in strategy despite a long list of questions about how to best protect against a still rapidly mutating virus.

The Food and Drug Administration asked its scientific advisers on Thursday to help lay the groundwork for switching to once-a-year boosters for most Americans – and how and when to periodically update the shots’ recipe.

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BuzzFeed to use AI to ‘enhance’ its content and quizzes – report

Platform will also use technology from ChatGPT’s artificial intelligence firm, Open AI, to ‘inform’ brainstorming

BuzzFeed is reportedly planning to use artificial intelligence to personalize and enhance its online quizzes and content, the company announced to employees this week.

Jonah Peretti, the chief executive, announced the efforts in an internal memo.

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US military raid kills key Islamic State regional leader in Somalia, officials say

Bilal al-Sudani, ‘responsible for fostering the growing presence of IS in Africa’, was killed in strike approved by Joe Biden

A US military raid in Somalia ordered by President Joe Biden this week killed a key regional leader of the Islamic State group, Bilal al-Sudani, according to US officials.

Sudani was killed on Wednesday during a gunfight after US troops descended on a mountainous cave complex in northern Somalia hoping to capture him.

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Trump’s return to Facebook will ‘fan the flames of hatred’, say experts and politicians

Democrats and liberal groups deplored decision to revoke ban on former president who incited insurrection but ACLU defends move

Politicians and civil rights advocates have weighed in on Meta’s decision to allow former president Donald Trump to return to Facebook and Instagram, stating that his presence on the platforms will “fan the flames of hatred and division”.

The social media firm has lifted a ban imposed on Trump after the January 6 Capitol attack and will allow him to post again in the coming weeks. Experts in online hate speech say there is no reason to believe Trump will not return to spreading dangerous misinformation and hate speech upon his return.

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Islamic extremist who killed eight people on New York bike path convicted

Sayfullo Saipov, who drove a truck down a popular bike path in 2017, could face the death penalty

An Islamic extremist who killed eight people with a speeding truck in a 2017 rampage on a popular New York City bike path was convicted on Thursday of 28 federal crimes and could face the death penalty.

Sayfullo Saipov bowed his head as he heard the verdict in the trial for an attack that prosecutors said was inspired by his reverence for the Islamic State militant group. Saipov was tried in a Manhattan courtroom just a few blocks from where the attack ended.

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Biden vows to veto Republican plans that threaten economic ‘chaos’ – as it happened

The US economy expanded at a 2.9% annual pace from October through December, ending 2022 with momentum despite the pressure of high interest rates and widespread fears of a looming recession, the Associated Press reports.

Thursday’s estimate from the Commerce Department showed that the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP)— the broadest gauge of economic output — decelerated last quarter from the 3.2% annual growth rate it had posted from July through September.

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Democrats urge McCarthy to deny George Santos access to classified data

Congressman, under intense scrutiny for largely fabricated résumé, a ‘significant risk’ to national security, letter says

Two House Democrats have written to Republican speaker Kevin McCarthy demanding he deny New York congressman George Santos any opportunity to access classified information because he might be a “significant risk” to US national security.

“We urge you to act swiftly to prevent George Santos from abusing his position and endangering our nation,” the two New York congressmen said.

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