Category Archives: US News

Musk tells Tesla trial: ‘Just because I tweet doesn’t mean people believe it’

Posted on by

The carmaker founder said Twitter was the most democratic way to communicate but tweets didn’t affect stock as he expected

Elon Musk testified on Friday as part of a trial over a 2018 tweet in which he claimed to have “funding secured” to take Tesla private, a tweet that shareholders allege cost them millions in trading losses.

The Tesla CEO appeared in a San Francisco federal courtroom and defended himself by saying that “just because I tweet something does not mean people believe it or will act accordingly”.

Continue reading...

Biden honors Roe v Wade’s 50th anniversary as anti-abortionists rally in Washington – as it happeend

Posted on by

Top Republicans are welcoming the annual March for Life to Washington DC, including Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell:

As well as speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy:

Continue reading...

Elijah McClain: officers to enter pleas to charges in death of Black man put in chokehold

Posted on by

23-year-old died after Colorado police put him in a chokehold and injected him with a large dose of the powerful sedative ketamine

A group of police officers and paramedics are scheduled on Friday to enter pleas in Colorado court to charges in the death of Elijah McClain, a Black man who was put in a chokehold and injected with a powerful sedative two years ago in suburban Denver.

They were indicted by a state grand jury on manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and other charges in 2021.

Continue reading...

US to designate Russia’s Wagner Group as ‘transnational criminal organization’

Posted on by

US will apply designation in the coming days, says national security council spokesman, imposing new sanctions on the group

The US will designate the Russian mercenary group Wagner as a “significant transnational criminal organization”, imposing further sanctions on the military contractor which has been aiding Moscow in its invasion of Ukraine.

The White House national security council spokesman, John Kirby, announced on Friday that the treasury will apply the new designation in the coming days, putting it in the same category as Italian mafia groups and Japanese and Russian organized crime.

Continue reading...

Google parent firm Alphabet to cut 12,000 jobs worldwide

Posted on by

It is latest US tech company to announce sweeping job losses as global outlook weakens

Google’s parent company is to cut 12,000 jobs worldwide as it becomes the latest US tech major to cut staff.

Alphabet’s chief executive, Sundar Pichai, said the redundancies followed a “rigorous review” of the business. The cuts come days after Microsoft said it would cut 10,00 jobs, citing a post-pandemic shift in digital spending habits and weakness in the global economy.

Continue reading...

Shock and anger after fired worker killed by police at Oklahoma pork plant

Posted on by

Chiewelthap Mariar, 26-year-old Sudanese refugee, shot dead after police called to escort him from Seaboard Foods factory in Guymon

Workers at a pork processing plant in Oklahoma have condemned the calling of police by management that resulted in the killing of a worker who had just been fired.

Chiewelthap Mariar, a 26-year-old refugee from Sudan, was killed by police officers while working at the Seaboard Foods meatpacking plant in Guymon on 9 January.

Continue reading...

Wood banks emerge as vital source of heat while US gas bills still on the rise

Posted on by

Wood banks distribute firewood to people in need as the average US gas bill goes up by 28% this winter

Inflation may be going down in the US, dropping to 6.5% from last month’s 7.1%, but the cost of keeping a home warm this winter is still on the rise. The average gas bill will increase by 28% this winter compared to last, according to estimates from the Energy Information Administration.

In some places across the country, people are returning to a surprising source of heat to keep costs down: wood. In areas where wood is more widely available and used for heating – such as forested parts of New England – wood banks are emerging as a vital way to stay warm this winter.

Continue reading...

Nikki Haley accuses Pompeo of ‘lies’ after VP plot claim | First Thing

Posted on by

Former UN ambassador hits back at ex-secretary of state as jockeying for Republican presidential primary hots up. Plus, the radical power of hanging out

Good morning.

Nikki Haley, the former UN ambassador, said the former secretary of state Mike Pompeo’s claim that she plotted to replace Mike Pence as Donald Trump’s vice-president was “lies and gossip to sell a book”.

What did Haley say? Speaking to Fox News, Haley said: “I don’t know why he said it, but that’s exactly why I stayed out of DC as much as possible, to get away from the drama.” She also pointed out that Pompeo says in his book he does not know if the story is true.

Is Haley planning the Republican presidential nomination in 2024? Both Haley and Pompeo are among possible contenders in the contest in which Trump remains the only confirmed candidate. Haley seems set to run. She told Fox News: “We are still working through things and we’ll figure it out. I’ve never lost a race. I said that then, I still say that now. I’m not going to lose now.”

What has the US government said? The US defence secretary has called for the allies to “dig deeper” in their support for Ukraine as “history is watching us”, as he gave details of the $2.5bn military aid package the US announced yesterday.

What else is happening? Here’s what we know on day 331 of the invasion.

Continue reading...

US heads for debt-ceiling standoff as House Republicans refuse to budge

Posted on by

Hard-right Republicans say no to ‘clean’ debt ceiling increase, raising dire possibility of US defaulting on financial obligations

The US economy could be headed for a crisis manufactured by a handful of House Republicans.

The treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, informed congressional leaders on Thursday that the US has hit its debt ceiling, which limits the amount of money that the government can borrow to pay all of its bills. Yellen urged Congress to work as quickly as possible to raise the debt ceiling and prevent the US from defaulting on any of its financial obligations, which would have catastrophic consequences.

Continue reading...

People exposed to weedkiller chemical have cancer biomarkers in urine – study

Posted on by

Study measured glyphosate in urine and found high levels associated with signs of oxidative stress

New research by top US government scientists has found that people exposed to the widely used weedkilling chemical glyphosate have biomarkers in their urine linked to the development of cancer and other diseases.

The study, published last week in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, measured glyphosate levels in the urine of farmers and other study participants and determined that high levels of the pesticide were associated with signs of a reaction in the body called oxidative stress, a condition that causes damage to DNA.

Continue reading...

US hits borrowing limit, kicking off fight between Republicans and Democrats – live

Posted on by

Urban Institute economist Len Burman has a reality check for those in Congress flirting with not raising the debt ceiling.

A default could undermine the America’s pre-eminence in global markets, where the dollar is used as many countries’ dominant reserve currency. But more immediately, it would actually force Washington to spend even more, because a default would drive up interest rates, forcing the government to shell out more money to owners of its trillions of dollars in debt:

Continue reading...

US government hits debt ceiling as Biden and House Republicans face off

Posted on by

Treasury secretary says department will take ‘extraordinary measures’ to skirt default while also urging Congress to act

The US government has hit the ceiling on its debt, brushing up against its legal limit of $38.381tn and piling pressure on Congress to approve an increase to avoid a debt default in the coming months that would send a shock wave through the global economy.

In a letter to congressional leaders, the treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, said it would begin taking “extraordinary measures” to make the government’s cash on hand last until Congress acts. These include a “debt issuance suspension period” lasting from today until 5 June, as well as suspending investments into two government employee retirement funds.

Continue reading...

Alec Baldwin to be charged with involuntary manslaughter in fatal shooting on Rust film set

Posted on by

Film’s armorer overseeing weapons, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, will also be charged with involuntary manslaughter in 2021 shooting

The actor Alec Baldwin is facing criminal charges of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal film-set shooting of a cinematographer during a rehearsal of the western film Rust, according to prosecutors.

The film’s armorer overseeing weapons, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, is also set to be charged with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Halyna Hutchins in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 2021.

The Associated Press contributed

Continue reading...

JP Morgan chief says US should not be ‘playing games’ with debt ceiling

Posted on by

Jamie Dimon warns that US creditworthiness should be ‘sacrosanct’ as country’s debt races toward $31.4tn limit

The US should not be “playing games” with the debt ceiling, the JP Morgan chief executive, Jamie Dimon, warned warring US political factions on Thursday as a heated row over the federal borrowing limit reached a crisis point.

“We should never question the creditworthiness of the US government. That is sacrosanct and it should never happen,” Dimon said on Thursday in an interview on CNBC. “This is not something we should be playing games with at all.”

Continue reading...

Man leads police on low-speed chase with stolen tractor in North Carolina

Posted on by

When officers attempted to stop Ronnie Hicks, he drove the John Deere tractor down US Highway 421 south, hitting 20mph

Call it a low-speed chase.

“What a day,” wrote Andy LeBeau, the police chief of Boone, North Carolina, in a Facebook post. “So, many of you have heard, or have seen the videos, that we got in a pursuit with a tractor.”

Continue reading...

George Santos denies reports that he competed as drag queen in Brazil

Posted on by

New York Republican under pressure over fabrications about his career, past and alleged criminal behaviour

George Santos on Thursday tweeted an angry denial that he competed as a drag queen in Brazilian beauty pageants 15 years ago, claims made by acquaintances that have highlighted the contrast between the Republican congressman’s past actions and now staunchly conservative views.

The New Yorker, who says he is gay, dismissed the story as an “obsession” by the media, which he insisted, without irony, “continues to make outrageous claims about my life”.

Continue reading...

San Francisco man arrested after spraying homeless woman with hose

Posted on by

Art gallery owner Collier Gwin, 71, faces potential jail term after video showed woman being hosed with water

A California man seen in a viral video spraying a homeless woman with a garden hose has been arrested on a charge of battery, authorities in San Francisco said.

Collier Gwin, 71, an art gallery owner, was captured in the video, taken on 9 January, leaning on a railing with his legs crossed as he directed a jet of water at the woman in an effort to get her to move on.

Continue reading...

Missing hiker reported in California revealed as British actor Julian Sands

Posted on by

The 65-year-old, known for movies such as A Room with a View and The Killing Fields, went missing Friday near Mt Baldy

British actor Julian Sands has been reported missing after hiking in the San Gabriel mountains on Friday, according to the San Bernardino county sheriff’s department.

The 65-year-old actor, known for his roles in A Room with a View, The Killing Fields, and Naked Lunch, lives in North Hollywood.

Continue reading...

Hiker missing in California named as British actor Julian Sands

Posted on by

Actor, known for roles in Leaving Las Vegas and Warlock, was reported missing on Friday evening

A hiker reported as missing in southern California has been named as the British actor Julian Sands.

The 65-year-old was reported missing in the Baldy Bowl area of the San Gabriel mountains on Friday evening, with searches by local authorities continuing over the weekend.

Continue reading...

Microsoft to cut 10,000 jobs in March as tech firms, including Amazon, thin ranks

Posted on by

Sector reacts to post-pandemic shift in digital spending and gloomy economic outlook for 2023

Microsoft is cutting 10,000 jobs as it cited a post-pandemic shift in digital spending habits and weakness in the global economy.

The tech group joined a list of US peers making extensive job cuts, including Facebook owner Meta, Amazon, and business software-maker Salesforce, who have scaled back on workforce expansions stoked by a pandemic-related boom in demand for their services and products that have lost momentum.

Continue reading...