Category Archives: US News

US poised to send dozens of Abrams tanks to Ukraine in policy U-turn – reports

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Decision comes just days after Washington argued against sending the Abrams and follows reports Berlin will send Leopard tanks to Ukraine

The United States appears poised to start a process that would eventually send dozens of its M1 Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine, US media reported, in a reversal that could have significant implications for Kyiv’s efforts to repel Russian forces.

The development prompted swift reaction from Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, who said it would be a “blatant provocation”.

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Washington Circle K shooter apparently kills self as police close in

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Police say 21-year-old Jarid Haddock ‘just walked in and started shooting’, killing three in a ‘random situation’

A 21-year-old man wanted in connection with the random killing of three people at a convenience store in Yakima, Washington, early Tuesday shot and killed himself as officers approached him behind some warehouses several hours later, authorities said.

Yakima police chief Matt Murray said in a video message posted online that a woman called 911 on Tuesday afternoon. The caller reported that the man had used her phone to make a call.

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Musk tells court he lacked ‘specific’ funding to take Tesla private

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CEO of electric carmaker says finance was ‘not an issue’ but he did not have binding commitments from investors

Elon Musk expected strong financial support when he tweeted that he would take Tesla private in 2018, but lacked specific commitments from potential backers, according to testimony he gave on his third day of questioning in a San Francisco federal court.

Musk is accused of defrauding investors by driving up the price of Tesla stock by tweeting on 7 August 2018 that he had “funding secured” to take the electric carmaker private.

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Washington Post condemns Pompeo for ‘vile’ Khashoggi ‘falsehoods’

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Fred Ryan says former secretary of state ‘outrageously misrepresents’ Post journalist murdered by Saudi Arabian regime

The publisher of the Washington Post, Fred Ryan, has blasted the former secretary of state Mike Pompeo for “outrageously misrepresenting” and “spreading vile falsehoods” about Jamal Khashoggi, the Post columnist murdered by the Saudi Arabian regime in 2018.

“It is shameful that Pompeo would spread vile falsehoods to dishonor a courageous man’s life and service and his commitment to principles Americans hold dear as a ploy to sell books,” Ryan said.

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Judge to rule on releasing Georgia grand jury report into Trump election meddling – live

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Jurors recommended making public the report into efforts to overturn results of 2020 election

A judge in Atlanta will at 12 pm eastern time convene a hearing to determine whether to release a special grand jury’s report into attempts by Donald Trump and his allies to meddle in the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

The jurors have recommended making the report public, and Fani Willis, the district attorney in Fulton county, which encompasses Georgia’s capital, is using its findings to determine whether to bring charges in the investigation, which has centered on the attempts by top Trump allies like attorney Rudy Giuliani and senator Lindsey Graham to convince state officials to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the state. It’s unclear if Willis is considering charges against Trump in the case. Attorneys for the former president said yesterday they will not attend the hearing, and that Trump has not committed any crimes.

The shift in the U.S. position follows a call on Jan. 17 between President Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in which Mr. Biden agreed to look into providing the Abrams tanks against the judgment of the Pentagon. A senior German official said that the issue had been the subject of intense negotiation between Washington and Berlin for more than a week and appeared to be on the way to resolution.

Military officials have argued publicly that the Abrams tanks require a substantial amount of training and logistics support and therefore aren’t appropriate for this moment in the conflict.

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DeSantis calls to end jury unanimity for Florida death penalty cases

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Republican governor suggests ‘super-majority’ should suffice in state that has required jury unanimity in capital cases since 2017

Florida’s rightwing Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, wants to end the constitutional requirement that juries in his state are unanimous when handing down death sentences.

“Fine, have a super-majority,” DeSantis told the Florida Sheriffs Association on Monday. “But you can’t just say one person votes no, and therefore the death penalty is not given.”

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Biden once again urges Congress to pass assault weapons ban

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Intervention comes after a mass shooting in Monterey Park, California, and a pair of shootings near Half Moon Bay, California

Joe Biden once again called on Congress to pass a bill banning assault weapons, following a string of recent mass shootings in California that in total killed at least 18 people.

“For the second time in recent days, California communities are mourning the loss of loved ones in a senseless act of gun violence,” the president said in a statement released on Tuesday.

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Accused Texas Walmart shooter to plead guilty to federal charges

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Man who allegedly killed 23 people in El Paso in 2019 still faces state-level murder charges and could be sentenced to death

The man who allegedly shot nearly two dozen people to death in a Walmart in Texas in 2019 plans to plead guilty to federal charges after the US government indicated it would not seek the death penalty against him.

Patrick Crusius, nonetheless, still faces state-level murder charges and could be sentenced to death if convicted in the El Paso mass shooting that targeted Mexicans and killed 23 people.

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Northern California shooting case of ‘workplace violence’, police say

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Authorities say 67-year-old killed four and wounded one at a mushroom farm then killed three more at a trucking firm

An agricultural worker in northern California allegedly killed seven people as part of a “workplace violence incident”, the state’s third deadly mass shooting in little more than a week.

Police are questioning 67-year-old Chunli Zhao, who they say shot dead four and wounded one more on Monday afternoon at a mushroom farm where he worked in Half Moon Bay, a coastal community 30 miles south of San Francisco.

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‘Tragedy upon tragedy’: why 39 US mass shootings already this year is just the start

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With 1,214 gun deaths so far in January, the ready availability of weapons means the toll can only climb

Two horrific killings separated by just a few days have shaken California, but such nightmarish mass shootings cannot be considered abnormal in the US. With a week still left in January, this year there have already been 39 mass shootings across the country, five of them in California.

Reports from the Gun Violence Archive, a not-for-profit research group, show the predictability of American mass shootings. Nearly 70 people have been shot dead in mass shootings so far in 2023, according to their data – which classifies a mass shooting as any armed attack in which at least four people are injured or killed, not including the perpetrator.

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Prosecutors accuse Ohio Republicans of taking $60m in bribes as corruption trial opens

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State house speaker Larry Householder and four others charged with racketeering and could face up to 20 years in prison

Federal prosecutors on the first day of a historic racketeering trial in Ohio alleged that top Republicans in the state accepted bribes from the power company FirstEnergy.

The trial, which is expected to last six weeks, is the latest utility scandal following cases in the last 10 years in Arizona, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida which experts say has led to higher bills for consumers, less green energy, and more CO2 emissions.

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Family of Julian Sands thank ‘heroic’ efforts as search enters 11th day

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Statement thanks teams braving dangerous conditions around Mount Baldy in search for actor

The family of Julian Sands have expressed their “heartfelt thanks” and praised the “heroic” efforts of those searching for the British actor, who went missing in southern California over a week ago.

In a statement shared by the San Bernardino county sheriff’s office, the family thanked the authorities involved in efforts to find the 65-year-old actor.

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Two students killed and a teacher injured in ‘targeted shooting’ in Iowa

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Three suspects arrested following the incident at Starts Right Here, an educational program helping at-risk youth in Iowa

Two students were killed on Monday and a teacher was injured in what police said was a targeted shooting at a school in Des Moines, Iowa, that is dedicated to helping at-risk youth. Three suspects were arrested.

The shooting was at an educational program called Starts Right Here that is affiliated with the Des Moines school district.

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Mike Pompeo dismisses ‘faux outrage’ over murder of Jamal Khashoggi

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Former Trump secretary of state claims US media depicted Washington Post columnist as ‘a Saudi Arabian Bob Woodward’

The former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has dismissed the indignation prompted by the murder of Jamal Khashoggi as “faux outrage” – and cast doubt on whether the Washington Post columnist was a genuine journalist at all.

In his new book, Pompeo says that Khashoggi – who was killed by Saudi agents in Istanbul in 2018 – was not “a Saudi Arabian Bob Woodward martyred for bravely criticising the Saudi royal family”.

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Monterey Park shooting death toll rises to 11, including dance hall manager

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California officials name two of those killed, while friends and colleagues say much-loved ‘Mr Ma’ was among dead

The death toll in a mass shooting at a ballroom dance studio in California has risen to 11 people, after health officials said that one of the people wounded in the shooting had died.

According to friends and colleagues, the beloved manager of the dance hall was among the 11 victims of Saturday’s gun massacre, which took place during a lunar new year celebration in Monterey Park, a majority Asian American community in the Los Angeles area.

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Trump’s golf course photo with Philadelphia mob boss raises questions

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Spokesman won’t say if ex-president knows Joseph ‘Skinny Joey’ Merlino, saying he ‘takes countless photos with people’

A spokesperson for Donald Trump would not say if the former president knew a notorious Philadelphia mobster, after the two men were photographed together at a Trump-owned golf club earlier this month.

“President Trump takes countless photos with people,” the spokesperson told the Philadelphia Inquirer, which obtained the picture of Trump and Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino standing together and making thumbs-up gestures.

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Mexico’s ex-security chief took ‘millions in bribes’ from cartel, US court hears

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Trial begins in Brooklyn court for Genaro García Luna, who is accused of protecting the violent Sinaloa cartel

The trial of a former top Mexican law enforcement official got under way in a Brooklyn court on Monday, one of the most significant drug trafficking cases since the prosecution of drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán more than four years ago.

Genaro García Luna, who ran Mexico’s version of the FBI before being appointed to lead the country’s security ministry – and therefore its war on drug trafficking groups – is accused of taking millions of dollars in bribes in exchange for granting protection to the violent Sinaloa cartel.

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US could seize two Australian properties of former marine if he is convicted of training Chinese pilots

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US government claims Daniel Duggan will have to forfeit assets linked to alleged offences of arms trafficking and money laundering

The US government is seeking to seize two country properties in Australia from former fighter pilot Daniel Duggan if he is convicted, as it argues in court for his extradition on charges of arms trafficking and money laundering.

The US alleges Duggan, a former US citizen now naturalised Australian, trained Chinese fighter pilots to land fighter jets on aircraft carriers, in defiance of arms trafficking laws, and engaged in a conspiracy to launder money.

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Will Covid reinfections pose increased health risks? Experts aren’t sure

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A study found that repeat infections increases the possibility of hospitalization or death, but some experts refute those findings

A recent study states that Covid-19 reinfections could pose additional risks to people’s long-term health – as compared to only getting Covid once – however some infectious disease experts in the US disagree that there is evidence showing repeat infections are more dangerous.

The issue of the impact of repeated infections is becoming a crucial one in the United States as the Covid-19 pandemic is now tailing off amid a widespread relaxation of any social distancing or restrictions, which has seen many people catch the virus two or more times.

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Monterey Park shooting suspect, 72, found dead of self-inflicted gunshot

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Motive for attack remains unclear as police identify gunman who killed at least 10 people at LA-area dance studio

The suspect in a deadly mass shooting at a Southern California dance studio on Saturday night died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Sunday morning.

The motive for the attack, which left 10 people dead and at least 10 injured, is still under investigation, law enforcement officials said at a press briefing on Sunday evening.

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