Category Archives: US News

Experts alarmed as Trump pushes unproven link between Tylenol and autism

Posted on by

Doctors call president’s warning that pregnant women should limit use of acetaminophen – also known as paracetamol - ‘highly concerning’ and ‘irresponsible’

Medical experts are raising alarms after Donald Trump warned pregnant women to avoid taking Tylenol, baselessly linking the painkiller – also known as paracetamol - with a rise in autism among children.

From the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), doctors have endorsed the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy after Trump said pregnant women who can’t “tough it out” without the painkiller should limit their intake.

Continue reading...

Zohran Mamdani agrees to ABC town hall after Kimmel reinstated

Posted on by

New York mayoral candidate had withdrawn from WABC event in protest at network’s suspension of talkshow host

Zohran Mamdani, the New York Democratic mayoral candidate, said on Monday evening he was willing to appear at a town hall hosted by a local ABC station after the national network said it would reinstate Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show.

Mamdani had announced his withdrawal from the televised town hall hosted by a local ABC station in protest of the network’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s talkshow.

Continue reading...

Eat salmon, win prizes: Fat Bear Week begins in Alaska’s Katmai national park

Posted on by

Fattest brown bears, bulking up for hibernation, pitted against each other in online public vote – who will win?

It’s that time of year again, when audiences turn to a welcome distraction from the heavy news cycle: Katmai national park and preserve in southern Alaska is celebrating its fattest brown bears.

The park is set to kick off its annual Fat Bear Week on Tuesday, an online competition where the public votes for the park’s fattest brown bear.

Continue reading...

Trump rails against Tylenol but autism claims not supported by science

Posted on by

President’s announcement latest move in campaign that seeks to valorize the ‘natural’ – often at women’s expense

Donald Trump has, allegedly, found “the answer to autism”: Tylenol.

On Monday, Trump announced that pregnant women should dramatically limit their use of acetaminophen, known by the brand name Tylenol or internationally as paracetamol, because, he claimed, it raises the risk of autism.

Continue reading...

Ted Cruz urges Trump to back older retirement age for pilots

Posted on by

Worker groups oppose move, citing studies finding health risks and decline in cognitive skills with increase in age

Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican who heads the US Senate’s commerce committee, has urged Donald Trump to support international efforts by an airline trade group to raise the mandatory pilot retirement age to 67 – despite opposition from a pilots association, which says such a move could increase travel risks.

In a letter first reported by Reuters on Sunday, Cruz asked Trump to support efforts the upcoming opening of a United Nations aviation meeting in Montreal.

Continue reading...

Trump hails Charlie Kirk as ‘a martyr for America’s freedom’ at memorial – US politics live

Posted on by

President’s message that he ‘hates’ his opponents contrasts with Erika Kirk’s forgiveness of the man charged with killing her husband

Donald Trump says he hates his opponents at Charlie Kirk’s memorial

Hundreds of environmentalists gathered in New York City’s Stuyvesant Square Park and a nearby Quaker meeting house on Sunday to rally in support of solar power and other forms of renewable energy. The event was part of a national “day of action” billed Sun Day, founded by veteran environmental activist Bill McKibben and first Earth Day coordinator Denis Hayes.

“It’s so sad to watch the sun going to waste,” McKibben said at a press conference, standing beside environmentalists and their children. “Every single day, energy from heaven going to waste while we drill down to hell for another dose of the stuff that is wrecking this planet.”

Continue reading...

Climate activists gather in New York for ‘Sun Day’ solar energy and anti-billionaire rallies

Posted on by

Sun Day national action supported renewable energy, day after ‘Make Billionaires Pay’ march ahead of Climate Week

Hundreds of environmentalists gathered in New York City’s Stuyvesant Square Park and a nearby Quaker meeting house on Sunday to rally in support of solar power and other forms of renewable energy. The event was part of a national “day of action” billed Sun Day, founded by veteran environmental activist Bill McKibben and first Earth Day coordinator Denis Hayes.

“It’s so sad to watch the sun going to waste,” McKibben said at a press conference, standing beside environmentalists and their children. “Every single day, energy from heaven going to waste while we drill down to hell for another dose of the stuff that is wrecking this planet.”

Continue reading...

How the billionaire class and wealthy landlords are conspiring against Zohran Mamdani

Posted on by

The wealthiest New Yorkers are desperately to rally support – and millions of dollars – for Andrew Cuomo to defeat the democratic socialist

Zohran Mamdani has had to overcome a lot during his campaign to be New York City’s next mayor.

His age, relative lack of experience and his self-stated democratic socialism could have held him back. Yet the 33-year-old, a relative unknown 12 months ago, sailed through all challenges as he became the favorite to win the election in November.

Continue reading...

Donations for Turning Point USA pour in after founder Charlie Kirk’s death

Posted on by

Fundraising efforts ramp up to open new chapters of influential far-right group as Kirk’s widow takes over as CEO

The powerful fundraising operation that rightwing activist Charlie Kirk led to build the influential college group Turning Point USA (TPUSA) is receiving a wave of support from large donors and Donald Trump allies since his murder, which suggests the group will remain a major force on the American right, campaign finance experts and consultants say.

New backing and appeals for help to sustain TPUSA have come from, among others, Lynn Friess, the widow of mega-donor Foster Friess, who was Kirk’s first major backer when he formed his campus-focused Republican group in 2012 at the age of 18. Friess pledged $1m to TPUSA days after the 31-year-old’s killing.

Continue reading...

Weather tracker: Flash floods and landslides wreak havoc in California

Posted on by

Two-year-old boy dies and homes buried as remnants of Tropical Storm Mario bring downpours and thunder

Flash flooding and landslides led to the death of a two-year-old boy in California in the US last week, after heavy rainfall followed on the heels of Tropical Storm Mario further south. The storm skirted the Pacific coast of Mexico with minimal disruption, eventually dissipating to the west of Baja California on Tuesday, but the remnants went on to cause havoc on Thursday. Residual moist air from the tropical storm was drawn north-east towards California, bringing heavy downpours and thunder to central and southern counties.

The heaviest rainfall was in the mountains of Riverside and San Bernardino counties, where up to 68mm (2.67in) fell in a few hours. Further north, Death Valley – famously one of the driest places on Earth – received 15mm of rain, triple the average rainfall for September and a full quarter of the yearly average.

Continue reading...

Angelina Jolie says ‘I don’t recognise my country’ now amid threats to freedom of speech in US

Posted on by

Oscar winner’s comments come days after suspension of Jimmy Kimmel by ABC and Disney, a decision heavily criticised by major stars including Pedro Pascal and Olivia Rodrigo

Angelina Jolie has said “I don’t recognise my country” amid the threats to free speech in the US, saying “anything anywhere that divides or limits personal expressions and freedoms from anyone, I think, is very dangerous”.

At Spain’s San Sebastián film festival on Sunday, the Oscar winning actor was asked by a journalist: “What do you fear as an artist and an American?”

Continue reading...

US must ‘universally condemn political violence’, Democratic governor Shapiro says

Posted on by

Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro says US stands at ‘inflection point’ after Charlie Kirk killing and urges unity over division

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro has said Americans must “universally condemn political violence, no matter where it is” after the killing of rightwing youth organizer Charlie Kirk as well as a deadly shootout in Shapiro’s state that left three police officers dead and two others injured.

Hours before Kirk’s funeral, Shapiro said that the nation stands at an “inflection point” and urged Americans to choose shared values over division, pointing to the solidarity shown by Pennsylvanians in the aftermath of the officers’ killings in York county last week.

Continue reading...

Trump officials reportedly set to tie Tylenol to autism risk

Posted on by

Washington Post says announcement imminent despite guidelines showing drug is safe for pregnant women to take

Donald Trump’s administration is expected to tie pregnant women’s use of the popular medicine known as Tylenol to a risk for autism, contrary to medical guidelines, the Washington Post has reported.

Trump officials on Monday are also expected to announce an effort to explore how the drug leucovorin could purportedly and potentially treat autism, according to the Post report published Sunday, which cited four sources with knowledge of the plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the announcement had not been made.

Continue reading...

Shooting at New Hampshire country club leaves one dead and two wounded

Posted on by

Witness recounts shooter yelling ‘free Palestine’ while targeting someone as investigators try to determine motive

A man shot one person to death and wounded two others at a New Hampshire country club as a wedding took place there on Saturday, according to authorities.

A witness to the attack – named as Tom Bartelson of Pepperell, Massachusetts – said his nephew was getting married at the time of the shooting, and he recounted hearing the shooter yell “the children are safe” and “free Palestine” while evidently targeting someone.

Continue reading...

The US right claimed free speech was sacred – until the Charlie Kirk killing

Posted on by

Rightwingers had long complained of a censorious leftwing ‘cancel culture’ but seem happy to now reframe that as ‘consequence culture’

In the emotionally and politically charged days since the killing of Charlie Kirk, the conservative youth activist who was a close ally of Donald Trump, one statement has loomed large. On Monday, the US attorney general – the official in charge of the rule of law in America – said that the Trump administration would “absolutely target” those who espouse “hate speech” about Kirk.

Unlike in many other countries, hate speech is protected by US law unless it incites imminent violence or constitutes a true threat. But that did not deter the nation’s top law enforcement officer, who also suggested that – for example – a print shop employee who refused to print flyers memorializing Kirk could be “prosecuted”.

Continue reading...

Tulsi Gabbard did not alert White House before revoking 37 security clearances

Posted on by

Exclusive: White House only realized afterwards that clearances at the CIA and in Congress had been rescinded

Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, did not inform the White House that her office was revoking the security clearances of 37 people – including top deputies to the CIA director, John Ratcliffe – before it happened last month, according to three people familiar with matter.

The move caused consternation because it resulted in the White House not having an opportunity to closely vet the list before it became public and there appeared to be no paper trail from the president directing the effort, the people said.

Continue reading...

California becomes first state to ban face coverings for most law enforcement

Posted on by

Local and federal agents, including immigration officials, may not wear masks while conducting official business

California will be the first state to ban most law enforcement, including federal immigration agents, from covering their faces while conducting official business under a bill signed by the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, on Saturday.

The ban is California’s direct response to a recent series of immigration raids in Los Angeles where federal agents wore masks while making mass arrests. The raids prompted protests and led Donald Trump to deploy national guard troops and marines to the city.

Continue reading...

Luigi Mangione’s lawyers seek to bar possibility of death penalty in federal case

Posted on by

Lawyers argue authorities prejudiced the case against Mangione by turning arrest into a ‘Marvel movie’ spectacle

Luigi Mangione’s lawyers urged a judge on Saturday to bar federal prosecutors from seeking the death penalty in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, arguing that authorities prejudiced the case against him by turning his arrest into a “Marvel movie” spectacle and by publicly declaring their desire to see him executed.

Fresh from a legal victory that eliminated terrorism charges in Mangione’s state murder case, his lawyers are now fighting to have his federal case dismissed, seizing on US attorney general Pam Bondi’s declaration prior to his April indictment that capital punishment is warranted for a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America”.

Continue reading...

Man armed with gun and knife arrested at Charlie Kirk memorial service venue

Posted on by

US Secret Service in Phoenix says man said he was law enforcement and there to provide private security

A man armed with a gun and a knife was arrested on Saturday after he allegedly pretended to be a member of law enforcement outside State Farm Stadium near Phoenix a day before Charlie Kirk’s planned memorial service at that venue.

On Saturday, the Arizona department of public safety said that 42-year-old Joshua Runkles was charged with carrying a weapon into a prohibited place and impersonating a police officer.

Continue reading...

Pentagon demands journalists sign pledge not to gather certain information

Posted on by

If they don’t agree to limits, including restricting movement within building, Pentagon press passes will be revoked

The US military has issued new media restrictions demanding that journalists pledge not to gather any information – including unclassified documents – that has not been authorized for release or else risk revocation of their press passes.

In a memo issued Thursday, the Pentagon stated that “it remains committed to transparency to promote accountability and public trust”. However, using an abbreviation for the recently rebranded Department of War headed by the Trump administration’s Pete Hegseth, the memo added: “DoW information must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified.”

Continue reading...