Category Archives: US News

Netanyahu used golf metaphor to turn Trump against Palestinians, book says

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In new memoir, former Israeli PM describes efforts to turn US president against Palestinian leader Abbas

Benjamin Netanyahu used maps of Hezbollah missile sites and intelligence gained from a Mossad raid in Tehran to make sure Donald Trump backed Israel in Middle East peace talks and pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, the former Israeli prime minister writes in a new memoir.

But in unconventional scenes similar to those in countless books of reportage and Trump tell-alls, Netanyahu also says that to sway Trump from his desire to pursue peace between Israel and the Palestinians and to scotch his positive first impression of Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, the Israelis deployed golfing metaphors and maps of New York City.

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Iran protests: Joe Biden says US stands with ‘brave women’ after Mahsa Amini death

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President tells demonstrators that Iran’s protests ‘awakened something that I don’t think will be quieted for a long, long time’

Joe Biden has said he is “stunned” by the mass protests in Iran and that the US stands with that country’s “brave women”.

The US president said at a college in Irvine, California, during an address to a group of protesters holding “Free Iran” signs: “I want you to know that we stand with the citizens, the brave women of Iran.”

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Justice department asks court to reject appointment of Trump special master

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Independent arbiter was tasked to inspect thousands of documents taken from Mar-a-Lago in August search by FBI

The US justice department has asked the 11th circuit court of appeals to void the appointment of the special master examining materials seized from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort for privilege protections, arguing it impedes the criminal investigation into mishandling of sensitive documents.

In a 53-page brief filed on Friday, the justice department argues that the Trump-appointed US district court judge who oversees the case, Aileen Cannon, should never have granted the former president’s request to have a special master because he failed to demonstrate the need for such a process.

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Democrats suggest shifting weapons from Saudi Arabia to Ukraine

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Democrats call for suspension of transfer of Patriot missiles in wake of ‘turning point’ in relationship with Saudis

Democrats on Capitol Hill have suggested transferring US weapons systems in Saudi Arabia to Ukraine and suspending a planned transfer of Patriot missiles to Riyadh in the wake of what they call a “turning point” in Washington’s relationship with the kingdom.

Ro Khanna, a Democratic congressman from California who is a leading supporter of a weapons freeze, said he believed that “at the very least” Congress would move to halt the transfer of Patriot missiles to the kingdom, and probably pause other defense initiatives.

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US shortage of Adderall is due to increased demand, FDA and drug-makers say

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FDA says supply does not meet demand and drug-maker says backorders are due to ‘significant rise’ in prescription rates

An increase in prescriptions and an ongoing labor crunch have helped contribute to a nationwide shortage of Adderall across the US.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday confirmed the shortage of the drug, used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. The FDA said Teva, the largest manufacturer, is facing “ongoing intermittent manufacturing delays”.

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Anger as DeSantis eases voting rules in Republican areas hit by hurricane

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Executive order makes voting easier in Florida’s Lee, Charlotte and Sarasota counties but not in Democratic Orange county

Governor Ron DeSantis has made voting easier in certain Florida counties battered by Hurricane Ian – but only Republican-leaning ones.

DeSantis signed an executive order on Thursday that eases voting rules for about 1 million voters in Lee, Charlotte and Sarasota counties, all areas that Hurricane Ian hit hard and that all reliably vote Republican.

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Barges stranded as Mississippi River water levels reach critical low

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Major shipping delays and backlog of vessels after region experiences lack of rainfall in recent weeks

The water in the Mississippi River has dropped so low that barges are getting stuck, leading to expensive dredging and at least one recent traffic jam of more than 2,000 vessels backed up.

The Mississippi River Basin produces nearly all – 92% – of US agricultural exports, and 78% of the global exports of feed grains and soybeans. The recent drought has dropped water levels to alarmingly low levels that are causing shipping delays, and seeing the costs of alternative transport, such as rail, rise.

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Donald Trump considers testifying before January 6 panel

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Sources tell Guardian ex-president may choose to appear before Capitol attack committee after Thursday vote to subpoena him

Donald Trump is considering testifying in front of the House January 6 committee, which this week concluded a dramatic hearing establishing what it says is his culpability for the deadly Capitol attack by voting to subpoena the former president.

On Friday, sources close to Trump confirmed to the Guardian that he may choose to appear before the congressional panel. Such an appearance would set up an unprecedented, high-stakes political event.

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FBI was reportedly warned agents were ‘sympathetic’ to Capitol rioters – as it happened

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The Oath Keepers were mentioned repeatedly at yesterday’s January 6 hearing, and Politico reports their lawyers have attempted to make that an issue as they stand trial for seditious conspiracy – without success:

Investigators with the January 6 committee are looking into communications between a Secret Service agent and the Oath Keepers militia group, one of the most violent actors during the attack on the Capitol, NBC News reports:

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Suspect, 15, in custody after North Carolina shooting leaves five dead

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White juvenile male arrested with one survivor in critical condition after shooter opens fire on walking trail in Raleigh

Five people were killed by a shooter who opened fire along a walking trail in North Carolina’s capital city and eluded officers for hours before he was cornered in a home and arrested, police said.

A 15-year-old white male suspect is in custody and in critical condition, the Raleigh police commissioner, Estella Patterson, told a press conference on Friday.

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First Thing: Capitol attack panel votes to subpoena Trump

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Committee says ex-president – ‘the central cause of January 6’ – led effort to overturn the election. Plus, $1bn Kushner deal investigated

Good morning.

Donald Trump has been compelled to testify under oath by a congressional committee investigating the deadly attack on the US Capitol on January 6, which named the ex-president the “central cause”.

“Can you believe I lost to this effing guy?” said Trump a week after the 2020 presidential election was called in favor of Joe Biden, according to former White House aide Alyssa Farah. Yet at the same time, he attempted to undermine and change the results.

‘Committee stonewalled’. Brookfield may have “intentionally misled” the public when it said that “no Qatar-linked entity” had been involved in the deal, according to Wyden. It has been alleged that Brookfield used a Qatari-backed fund to fund the transaction. A spokesperson for Brookfield did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kushner could not immediately be reached for comment.

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Elon Musk’s SpaceX says it can no longer fund Starlink internet in Ukraine

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Firm reportedly asks US government to pick up bill as relationship between Musk and Kyiv breaks down

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has said it cannot afford to continue to donate satellite internet to Ukraine and has asked the US government to pick up the bill, according to a report, as the relationship between the billionaire and Kyiv breaks down.

“We are not in a position to further donate terminals to Ukraine, or fund the existing terminals for an indefinite period of time,” SpaceX’s director of government sales wrote, in a letter seen by CNN.

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A California measure would tax the rich to fund electric vehicles. Why is the governor against it?

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Proposition 30 would raise up to $5bn annually to help buy zero-emission cars, trucks and buses; Newsom calls it a ‘Trojan horse’

Two years ago, California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, issued an executive order banning the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035.

This year, he’s opposing a ballot measure to fund the transition to electric vehicles – siding with Republicans and against fellow Democrats, environmental groups, firefighters and labor unions.

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Kanye West: bank JP Morgan Chase cuts ties with rapper

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The decision to end the relationship with West and clothing brand Yeezy predates recent controversies and array of antisemitic comments

The US bank JP Morgan Chase has ended its relationship with Kanye West and his clothing brand Yeezy Inc – although the decision predates the rapper and designer’s recent controversies in which he wore a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt and shared racist conspiracy theories in an unaired interview.

Candace Owens, the conservative US commentator whom West has associated with in recent years, shared a letter from the bank, dated 20 September, on Twitter.

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January 6 panel’s case against Trump lays out roadmap for prosecution

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Devastating testimony, nearly all from Republicans, will have given attorney general Merrick Garland plenty of food for thought

After more than a year of work that consisted of interviewing 1,000-plus witnesses and reviewing hundreds of thousands of documents, the committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol chose a simple message for its final public hearing: Donald Trump was singularly responsible for the attack.

Since its first hearing in June, the committee’s work has been aimed at two audiences. One of those has been the broad American public. Tactfully using video, the committee has told a disciplined, clear story of what happened on January 6, and the days leading up to it, filled with jaw-dropping soundbites from Trump’s closest aides.

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Capitol attack panel votes to subpoena Trump – ‘the central cause of January 6’

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The committee expressed it had ‘no doubt’ the ex-president led the effort to overturn the election

A congressional panel has voted to compel Donald Trump to testify under oath after naming the former president as the “central cause” of the deadly attack on the US Capitol on January 6.

The House of Representatives select committee investigating last year’s riot voted unanimously on Thursday to subpoena Trump for testimony and documents in what may prove a mostly symbolic gesture given time constraints and his likely legal resistance.

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Top senator seeks answers over Qatar link to $1.2bn Kushner property rescue

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Senate finance panel chair sends detailed questions to financial firm on deal for property owned by then White House aide’s family

A financial firm that operates billions of dollars in real estate properties around the world is facing new questions from the powerful chairman of the Senate finance committee about whether Qatar was secretly involved in the $1.2bn rescue of a Fifth Avenue property owned by Jared Kushner’s family while Kushner was serving in the White House.

Ron Wyden, the Oregon Democrat who leads the finance committee, has given the chief executive of Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management until 24 October to answer a series of detailed questions about a 2018 deal in which Brookfield paid Kushner Companies for a 99-year lease on the family’s marquee 666 Fifth Avenue property.

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Jan 6 hearing updates: panel votes to subpoena Donald Trump – as it happened

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The bipartisan group of House lawmakers investigating the January 6 insurrection has started what is expected to be its last public hearing, where lawmakers are set to focus on Donald Trump’s actions during the attack.

Follow this blog for coverage of the hearing as it happens. A live video feed of the session will be embedded above.

The United States and Saudi Arabia are waging a war of words over the Opec+ oil production cut and Washington’s claim Riyadh has aligned itself with Russia.

The New York attorney general has warned Trump and his business are taking steps to undermine her lawsuit against them, and asked a judge to step in.

Social security recipients are getting a big increase in monthly payments – but only because inflation is so high.

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Trump privately admitted he lost 2020 election, top aides testify

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Alyssa Farah and Cassidy Hutchinson tell January 6 panel former president acknowledged he had been defeated by Joe Biden

Donald Trump privately admitted to losing the 2020 election even as he worked to undermine and change the results, according to two top aides who testified before the January 6 committee.

During the ninth and possibly final hearing, the committee investigating the January 6 insurrection shared new testimony from Alyssa Farah, a former White House aide, who said that a week after the election was called in favor of Biden, Trump was watching Biden on the television in the Oval Office, and said: “‘Can you believe I lost to this effing guy?’”

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New York attorney general seeks special monitor to oversee Trump firm

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Tish James asks court to bar Trump Organization from offloading assets while civil fraud case against ex-president plays out

The New York state attorney general, Letitia James, on Thursday urged a court to appoint an independent monitor to oversee Donald Trump’s family company before a civil fraud case – against the former president, three of his adult children and the family’s real estate firm – goes to trial.

James’s injunction also sought to bar Trump’s company from conducting “significant fraudulent and illegal business” of precisely the kind described in the lawsuit filed by her office against him in September.

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