Category Archives: US News

Adnan Syed hired by Georgetown to advocate for prison reform

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Syed, whose case was subject of the podcast Serial, has begun as a program associate with the school’s Prisons and Justice Initiative

Adnan Syed, who spent 23 years in prison before he was freed from his conviction for the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee, has gotten a job advocating for prison reform at Georgetown University, according to the prestigious US school.

Syed, whose case was the subject of the hit podcast Serial, began his role as a program associate with Georgetown’s Prisons and Justice Initiative on 12 December, school officials announced in a news release Friday. The gig is Syed’s first nine-to-five office job after the 41-year-old has spent more than half his life behind bars for a conviction by which authorities no longer stand.

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US fails to give money promised for developing countries to ease climate impacts

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Spending bill passed by Senate includes less than $1bn in climate assistance for poorer nations even though Biden promised $11.4bn

The US has risked alienating developing countries hit hardest by the climate crisis, after Congress delivered just a fraction of the money promised by Joe Biden to help poorer nations adapt to worsening storms, floods and droughts.

Biden has promised $11.4bn each year for developing countries to ease climate impacts and help them shift to renewable energy but the vast $1.7tn spending bill to keep the US government running, passed by the Senate on Thursday, includes less than $1bn in climate assistance for these countries.

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Spanish police arrest New Zealander on FBI’s most wanted list

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Michael James Pratt, given life sentence in US for sexual assault and producing child sexual abuse images, was staying in Madrid

Spanish police have arrested one of the FBI’s 10 most wanted fugitives, who was staying at a hotel in Madrid under a false identity.

Michael James Pratt, a New Zealand citizen, had been sentenced to life in prison in the US for sexual exploitation and sexual assault, and producing child sexual abuse images.

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January 6 panel accuses Trump of ‘multi-part conspiracy’ in final report

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House committee publishes report three days after recommending criminal charges against ex-president

The congressional panel investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol has published its final report, accusing Donald Trump of a “multi-part conspiracy” to thwart the will of the people and subvert democracy.

Divided into eight chapters, the 845-page report includes findings, interview transcripts and legislative recommendations and represents one of the most damning official portraits of a president in American history.

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The 17 findings in the January 6 committee’s final report

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Panel looking into storming of Capitol accuses Donald Trump of deliberately making false claims and plotting to overturn 2020 election results

The January 6 committee has released its 845-page report on the storming of the US Capitol. The congressional panel conducted more than 1,000 interviews and 10 public hearings before recommending criminal charges against former president Donald Trump.

Trump has said the report is “highly partisan”.

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Revealed: Libya aborted plan to hand Gaddafi spy chief to US at last minute

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Extradition of Abdullah al-Senussi over Lockerbie bombing would have closely followed that of Mohammed Abouagela Masud

The extradition to the US of Muammar Gaddafi’s most trusted and notorious aide was abruptly halted by Libya at the 11th hour this week for fear of public anger after the handover of another ex-senior Libyan intelligence operative, officials in Tripoli have told the Guardian.

Abdullah al-Senussi, a former intelligence chief and brother-in-law of Gaddafi, is blamed for a series of lethal bombings directed at western aviation as well as other targets.

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TikTok’s parent company fires four workers for improper access of user data

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ByteDance said four employees were fired for examining data of two journalists in attempt to find leak source

ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of popular video app TikTok, said on Thursday that some employees improperly accessed TikTok user data of two journalists and were no longer employed by the company, an email seen by Reuters shows.

ByteDance employees accessed the data as part of an unsuccessful effort to investigate leaks of company information earlier this year, and were aiming to identify potential connections between two journalists, a former BuzzFeed reporter and a Financial Times reporter, and company employees, the email from ByteDance general counsel Erich Andersen said.

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Potential bomb cyclone is ‘serious stuff’, Biden warns as Arctic blast looms

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Thousands of flights cancelled as officials warn of ‘major and anomalous storm system’ bringing snow and life-threatening wind chill

Thousands of flights have been cancelled after US forecasters warned on Thursday of “potentially crippling impacts across central and eastern” parts of the country, producing widespread disruption to travel and utilities over the holiday season, as an arctic blast surged from west to east.

At the White House, after a briefing on the potential “bomb cyclone”, Joe Biden said: “This is not like a snow day when you were a kid. This is serious stuff.”

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January 6 panel releases transcripts of key witness Cassidy Hutchinson – as it happened

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Committee releases closed-door testimony of former White House chief of staff’s aide but full report is still delayed

White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson said she felt she had “Trump himself looking over my shoulder” as she discussed with her attorney her upcoming testimony to the January 6 committee earlier this year.

Hutchinson, an assistant to then-president Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows, makes the revelation in a transcript of a deposition to the panel that was released on Thursday morning.

It wasn’t just that I had Stefan sitting next to me; it was almost like I felt like I had Trump looking over my shoulder. Because I knew in some fashion it would get back to him if I said anything that he would find disloyal.

And the prospect of that genuinely scared me. You know, I’d seen this world ruin people’s lives or try to ruin people’s careers. I’d seen how vicious they can be.

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Senate on track to pass $1.7tn funding bill to avert US government shutdown

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Bill includes $45bn in military aid to Ukraine after lawmakers reached agreement on a final series of votes

The US Senate appeared back on track Thursday to pass a $1.7tn bill to finance federal agencies through September 2023 and provide roughly $45bn in military and economic assistance to Ukraine, after lawmakers reached agreement on a final series of votes.

The Democratic majority leader, Chuck Schumer, announced an agreement to consider 15 amendments before voting on final passage. Most of the amendments would be subject to a 60-vote threshold to pass, generally dooming them to failure in the 50-50 Senate.

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Arizona to remove wall of shipping containers on Mexico border

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State to dismantle wall following lawsuit filed by US government alleging it was illegally built on federal lands

Arizona will remove a wall of shipping containers along the state’s 370-mile border with Mexico following a lawsuit filed by the US government against the state that claimed that the makeshift wall is being illegally built on federal lands.

According to an agreement reached late Wednesday between federal and state authorities, Arizona will dismantle the wall, along with all related equipment by the beginning of next year.

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Iowa police chief charged with fraud for allegedly selling machine guns for profit

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Bradley Wendt bought more than 90 machine guns and hosted public shootouts, charging participants to fire the guns

An Iowa police chief faces fraud charges for allegedly buying and selling machine guns for personal profit, despite stating the purchases were related to department business.

Bradley Wendt, 46 and the police chief of Adair, Iowa, bought more than 90 machine guns between 2018 to 2022, claiming the weapons would be used for “the official duties and responsibilities of the Adair police department”, the justice department said.

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Putin vows to ‘knock down’ US Patriot missiles supplied to Ukraine

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Russian president dismisses weapon as ‘outdated’ as he implies Kyiv will have to cede territory for peace

The Kremlin says US supplies of Patriot missiles to Ukraine, agreed upon during Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s trip to Washington, will not stop it achieving its military goals.

Vladimir Putin dismissed the weapon as old and said Russia’s missile systems would be able to shoot it down. “The Patriot air defence is outdated. An antidote will always be found … Russia will knock down the Patriot system,” he declared on Thursday.

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Tesla behind eight-vehicle crash was in ‘full self-driving’ mode, says driver

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San Francisco crash is the latest in a series of accidents blamed on Tesla technology, which is facing regulatory scrutiny

The driver of a 2021 Tesla Model S told California authorities the vehicle was in “full self-driving mode” when the technology malfunctioned, causing an eight-vehicle crash on the San Francisco Bay bridge last month.

The crash on Thanksgiving Day resulted in two juveniles being transported to hospital and led to lengthy delays on the bridge. The incident was made public in a police report on Wednesday.

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January 6 panel releases transcripts of testimony ahead of 800-page report

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Most of 34 witnesses whose transcripts have been released invoked fifth-amendment right against self-incrimination

An 800-page report set to be released on Thursday by House investigators will conclude that Donald Trump criminally plotted to overturn his 2020 election defeat and “provoked his supporters to violence” at the Capitol with false voter fraud claims.

Before the release, on Wednesday night, the January 6 committee released 34 transcripts from 1,000 interviews conducted over 18 months. Most of the interviewees were witnesses who invoked their fifth-amendment right against self-incrimination.

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Russia-Ukraine war live: Zelenskiy to address US Congress on first foreign visit since outbreak of conflict

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Zelenskiy to speak at US Congress in person ahead of vote on bill for billions in US aid to Ukraine

If you’re just joining us, we’re waiting to hear from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in his first foreign visit since Russia’s devastating war on Ukraine started in March.

My name is Helen Sullivan, and I’ll be bringing you the latest. You can find me on Twitter here – ask a question and I’ll do my best to answer it.

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‘You’ll never stand alone’: Biden pledges support to Zelenskiy during US visit

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US and Ukrainian presidents hold two-hour meeting before press conference, as Zelenskiy seeks more aid against Russia

Joe Biden has promised Volodymyr Zelenskiy that “you will never stand alone” as the Ukrainian leader visited the White House in a bid to keep American weapons supplies flowing for the war against Russia.

Zelenskiy, wearing his now trademark green military-style trousers and shirt, welcomed the US support while warning that it was difficult to see an easy end to the conflict and that there “cannot be any just peace in a war that was imposed on us”.

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Release of House January 6 report expected to pile more pressure on Trump – as it happened

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Publication of report after 18-month investigation follows vote to publicly release Trump’s tax returns

Worrying news for Kevin McCarthy, the Republican House minority leader trying to secure the speaker’s gavel but having a hard time satisfying the far right of the party: according to Politico, a plan is forming to have Steve Scalise, currently McCarthy’s righthand man, step in if the Californian cannot seal the deal.

According to the website, “a group of lawmakers has quietly approached” Scalise “about running should McCarthy falter, according to multiple GOP members and aides.

Their message? ‘Steve, just be ready,’ according to one member currently backing McCarthy who spoke to us late last night on condition of anonymity. Scalise was uncontested in his bid for majority leader in the new Congress, the lawmaker noted, and ‘could be a good consensus leader if things don’t go well for Kevin’.

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From Liz Cheney to Donald Trump: winners and losers from the January 6 hearings

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As the House January 6 committee is set to publish its report, here are some of the key standouts

The House January 6 committee is set to publish its report on the attack on the Capitol that shocked both America and the world . After a year of dramatic hearings and bombshell testimony, here are some of the key winners and losers to emerge from its work.

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