Category Archives: US News

John Kerry backs UAE appointment of oil chief to oversee UN climate talks

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US climate envoy says pick is a ‘terrific choice’ but activists equate pick to asking ‘arms dealers to lead peace talks’

US climate envoy John Kerry backs the United Arab Emirates’ decision to appoint the CEO of a state-run oil company to preside over the upcoming UN climate negotiations in Dubai, citing his work on renewable energy projects.

In an interview Sunday with the Associated Press, the former US secretary of state acknowledged that the Emirates and other countries relying on fossil fuels to fund their state coffers face finding “some balance” ahead.

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Baltimore man tried four times for same killing sees all charges dropped

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Keith Davis, 31, shot by police, was repeatedly charged over shooting at Pimlico race track in June 2015

A Baltimore man who stood trial four times for the same killing had all charges against him dropped on Friday.

In a statement, the Baltimore state attorney, Ivan J Bates, said his office had dismissed all charges against Keith Davis, 31, who was accused of the 2015 killing of Kevin Jones, a security guard at Pimlico Race Course, after police alleged Davis’s gun matched casings found at the scene of the shooting.

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Finding who can be held to account after a six-year-old shoots a teacher

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Where does the responsibility lie in the recent shooting in Newport News, Virginia, for a country so inured to gun violence?

The shooting of a Virginia teacher by her six-year-old student last week left the town of Newport News and the rest of the US shaken and shocked.

Even in a country long used to the sort of school shootings that are rare in much of the rest of the world, the astonishingly young age of the shooter prompted a bout of public agonizing in the US about its gun violence problem.

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Dr Dre successfully blocks Marjorie Taylor Greene from using his music

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The far-right Republican congresswoman was served with a cease-and-desist letter after she soundtracked a promotional video with his 1999 hit Still Dre

Dr Dre has successfully blocked Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from using his music in any context to do with her political career after she used his 1999 hit Still Dre to soundtrack a promotional video.

In the nearly two-minute video, posted on 9 January with the caption, “It’s time to begin … and they can’t stop what’s coming”, the far-right Georgia lawmaker walks out of her office in slow motion to the familiar first notes of the song, which features Snoop Dogg.

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Republican targeting Hunter Biden says: ‘I don’t target individuals’

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Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson grilled on why Jared Kushner should escape scrutiny for profiting from proximity to presidency

The Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson refused to say Republicans planning investigations of Hunter Biden for profiting from his connection to the presidency should also investigate Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser who secured a $1.2bn loan from Qatar while working in the White House.

“I’m concerned about getting to the truth,” Johnson insisted. “I don’t target individuals.”

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Alabama basketball player Darius Miles charged with murder after shooting

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  • Jamea Harris, 23, was shot dead near university’s campus
  • Crimson Tide say Miles is no longer part of team

Alabama basketball player Darius Miles and another man have been charged with capital murder after a fatal shooting near campus.

Captain Jack Kennedy of Tuscaloosa Police said that the shooting occurred early on Sunday morning near the university’s campus. He said Jamea Harris, 23, of the Birmingham area was shot and killed.

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Biden approves disaster funding after Alabama and Georgia tornadoes

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At least nine people died as survivors tell of hiding in bathtubs and containers as ferocious storms bore down on homes

Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for Alabama on Sunday, after at least nine people died in tornadoes that destroyed homes and knocked out power to tens of thousands in south-eastern US states this week.

The president ordered federal aid to supplement regional recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms, winds and tornadoes on 12 January, a White House statement said.

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George Santos a ‘bad guy’ who did ‘bad things’ but should not be forced out, top Republican says

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New York congressman’s résumé is largely fiction and campaign finance questions abide but support is vital for speaker McCarthy

The New York Republican congressman George Santos, whose résumé has been shown to be largely fictional, whose campaign finances are the subject of increasing scrutiny and who is under local, federal and international investigation, is a “bad guy” who has done “really bad” things, the new House oversight committee chairman said on Sunday.

But Santos should not be forced to quit, James Comer said.

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California storms: Biden declares major disaster as more flooding forecast

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Death toll at 19 after prolonged spell of rain and snow caused by atmospheric rivers set to continue until Tuesday

Joe Biden has declared a major disaster in California following devastating winter storms leading to flooding and mudslides and the deaths of at least 19 people.

On Saturday, Biden ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in areas affected by storms since late December.

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Biden honors Martin Luther King Jr with sermon: ‘His legacy shows us the way’

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President gave sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and spoke about the need to protect democracy

Joe Biden marked what would have been Martin Luther King Jr’s 94th birthday with a sermon on Sunday at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, celebrating the legacy of the civil rights leader while speaking about the urgent need to protect US democracy.

Biden said he was “humbled” to become the first sitting president to give the Sunday sermon at King’s church, also describing the experience as “intimidating”.

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Ex-Trump aide Sanders defends critical race theory ban as Arkansas governor

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Sarah Sanders, a former Trump press secretary, says move is preventative and ‘to make sure we’re not indoctrinating our kids’

The new Republican governor of Arkansas, Sarah Sanders, said the move to ban critical race theory in public schools in her state was a preventative measure.

“It’s incredibly important that we do things to protect the students in our state,” she told Fox News Sunday. “We have to make sure that we are not indoctrinating our kids and that these policies and these ideas never see the light of day.”

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Republicans accuse Biden of hypocrisy over classified documents discoveries

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House oversight chair requests Delaware visitor logs as Democrats stress difference from Trump classified records case

Republicans pounced on the discovery on Saturday of more classified documents at Joe Biden’s residence, accusing the president of hypocrisy and questioning why the records were not brought to light earlier.

Biden lawyers have discovered at least 20 classified documents at his residence outside Wilmington, Delaware, and at an office in Washington used after he left the Obama administration, in which he was vice-president.

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California storms: thousands without power as more wind, rain and snow hit

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Storms are expected to follow into next week, with some dry weather predicted by Tuesday

Storm-battered California got more wind, rain and snow on Saturday, raising flooding concerns, causing power outages and making travel dangerous.

Bands of rain and wind started in the north and spread south, with more storms expected to follow into early next week, the National Weather Service said.

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Body of US bushwalker, 78, found in NSW national park

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Woman went missing on Friday night and extensive ground, sea and air search located her body on Saturday near Pearl beach on Central Coast

A body found in bushland on the New South Wales Central Coast is believed to be a missing 78-year-old American tourist.

Police were initially notified on Friday night that the woman had gone missing while bushwalking. They were told she was in bushland near Middle Head between Pearl and Patonga beaches.

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Cloud shot up in front of Hawaiian Airlines plane that hit severe turbulence last month

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Plane was unable to change course within seconds, investigation finds, leading to 25 people injured

A cloud shot up vertically like a plume of smoke in a matter of seconds before a Hawaiian Airlines flight last month hit severe turbulence and 25 people on board were injured, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The captain of the 18 December flight from Phoenix to Honolulu told investigators that flight conditions had been smooth with clear skies when the cloud shot up in front of the plane and there was no time to change course, the report said.

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Biden lawyers found more classified documents at his home than was known

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White House acknowledges six pages of classified documents had been found in a search of private library

Lawyers for Joe Biden found more classified documents at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, than previously known, the White House acknowledged on Saturday.

The White House lawyer Richard Sauber said in a statement that a total of six pages of classified documents were found during a search of Biden’s private library. The White House had said previously that only a single page had been found there.

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Ex-Russian president suggests Japanese PM should ritually disembowel himself

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Dmitry Medvedev accuses Fumio Kishida of shameful subservience to US after Joe Biden meeting

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has accused Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida of shameful subservience to the US and suggested he should ritually disembowel himself.

His remarks on Saturday were the latest in a long line of shocking and provocative statements from Medvedev, who was once seen as a western-leaning reformer but has reinvented himself as an arch-hawk since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.

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Trump testified E Jean Carroll was ‘nut job’ who said she enjoyed being sexually assaulted

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Lawyer for writer who accused him of rape asked if ex-president was admitting to it, unsealed testimony shows

Donald Trump called the writer E Jean Carroll a “nut job” in video testimony last year and falsely claimed she had enjoyed being sexually assaulted – prompting her lawyer to ask if he was admitting he had raped her, according to freshly unsealed testimony.

Questioned for a lawsuit, Trump, the former US president, angrily hurled insults and threatened to sue the columnist who accused him of raping her in the New York upscale department store Bergdorf Goodman in the 1990s, according to excerpts of his videotaped testimony. The tapes were recorded last October and unsealed by a court on Friday.

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Mega Millions: ticket holder in Maine wins $1.35bn jackpot

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Prize was second largest in Mega Millions history and the fourth time the game has had a billion-dollar win

Friday the 13th proved lucky for one – someone who won the estimated $1.35bn lottery jackpot after a period of three months and 25 drawings that had seen no one across the US win the grand prize.

The winner, whose name is not yet known, overcame steep odds of 1 in 302.6 million and had bought their ticket in Maine, the first time the state has scored the Mega Millions lottery jackpot.

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How will Biden handle a hostile Republican House and what does it mean for 2024?

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As Republicans threaten to ensnare the president in investigations and legislative brinkmanship, Biden is touting bipartisanship

After a bruising fight over the House speakership, newly empowered Republicans officially set to work this week on what they say is a mandate to hold Joe Biden and his administration to account.

Several of the president’s chief antagonists took control of powerful committees, eager to use their subpoena power to frustrate and undermine the president, his administration and his family.

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