Category Archives: US News

‘I helped out security’: the backstory behind Bobby Wagner’s viral NFL hit

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Video of NFL star taking out animal rights demonstrator who interrupted game against San Francisco 49ers went viral

National Football League linebacker Bobby Wagner laid one of the season’s most jarring hits this week on an animal rights advocate who ran on to the field of a game to protest about criminal charges filed against two other activists.

“I just saw somebody running on the field, and [it looked like] he wasn’t supposed to be on the field,” Wagner, who plays for the Los Angeles Rams, said when reporters asked him about tackling the protester on Monday night. “I saw security was having a little problem, so I helped them out.”

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South Korea apologises after missile fired in response to North Korea test crashes

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Live-fire drill with the US supposed to be a show of strength, but ended in embarrassment and caused alarm among nearby residents

South Korea’s military has apologised after a missile it launched during a drill on Tuesday malfunctioned and crashed to the ground, causing alarm among nearby residents who thought they were under attack from North Korea, which had test launched a missile earlier in the day.

The live-fire drill, involving South Korea and the US, was supposed to be a show of strength by the allies, hours after the North sent an intermediate-range missile over northern Japan.

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Suspect in California kidnapping is in custody as family is still missing

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The man is suspected of abducting four, including an 8-month-old baby, and tried to kill himself before Merced police arrived

A man suspected of kidnapping a Sikh family, including an 8-month-old baby, in central California tried to kill himself Tuesday and is hospitalized in critical condition, authorities said. The family is still missing.

The Merced county sheriff’s office said in a statement that investigators identified Jesus Salgado, 48, after he used a victim’s ATM card.

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Frasier is back in the building: sequel series greenlit at Paramount+

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Streaming service going ahead with 10 episodes, with Kelsey Grammer reprising his role as Frasier Crane, but other original cast members remain unconfirmed

Tossed salad and scrambled eggs are back on the menu (with a glass of sherry, of course): the much-anticipated Frasier sequel is officially going ahead.

One of television’s most successful sitcoms, Frasier ran for 263 episodes between 1993 and 2004, winning 37 Emmy awards. When it was announced in February 2021 that a sequel was in development, it was revealed that Kelsey Grammer would be returning to the title role and serve as executive producer.

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Trump asks supreme court to intervene in Mar-a-Lago special master dispute

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Appellate court ruling prevented special master from examining 100 files seized from Mar-a-Lago with classification markings

Donald Trump on Tuesday asked the US supreme court to partially reverse an appellate court decision that prevented the special master, reviewing for privilege protections materials seized by the FBI from his Mar-a-Lago resort in August, from examining 100 documents with classification markings.

The motion to vacate the ruling by the US appeals court for the 11th circuit represents the former president’s final chance to reinsert the 100 documents into the special master review – and potentially exclude some from the investigation into whether he illegally retained national defense information

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California serial killer appears to be ‘on a mission’, as police link seven shootings

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Ballistics tests tie together fatal shooting in Oakland with killings of five men and the non-fatal shooting of a woman in Stockton

A California serial killer seems to be “on a mission” dating back to last year, which has seen the fatal shooting of at least six men and the wounding of one woman – but authorities have not figured out what’s behind the violence.

Ballistics tests and some video evidence linked the shootings in Stockton and Oakland, about 70 miles apart in northern California, police said.

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‘She say anything about me?’ Trump raised Ghislaine Maxwell link with aides

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Then-president voiced concern after socialite’s sex trafficking arrest, according to book by New York Times’s Maggie Haberman

At an Oval Office meeting in July 2020, Donald Trump asked aides if Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of the financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein who had been arrested on sex trafficking charges, had named him among influential contacts she might count upon to protect her.

According to a new book by Maggie Haberman of the New York Times, Trump asked “campaign advisers … ‘You see that article in the [New York] Post today that mentioned me?’

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Herschel Walker: anti-abortion Senate nominee denies media report he paid for abortion in 2009

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Republican candidate for US Senate in Georgia who has vehemently opposed abortion rights denies a media report he paid for an abortion for an anonymous former girlfriend in 2009, describing it as ‘a flat out lie’

A Republican nominee for the US Senate, who strongly opposes abortion rights, has denied a Daily Beast report that he paid for an abortion for a former girlfriend in 2009. Herschel Walker, a former American football player who is running for the US Senate in Georgia, called the accusation a “flat-out lie” and says he will sue the news outlet for defamation.

The Daily Beast published claims from a woman who says Walker paid for her abortion when they were dating. The woman, who was not named, claimed the allegation was supported by a receipt showing a $575 payment for the procedure, along with a get-well card, purportedly from Walker.

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Hypothermia deaths of unhoused people rise sharply in Los Angeles, records reveal

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Data obtained by the Guardian shows at least 14 unhoused people froze to death in 2021, part of an overall surge in homeless deaths

At least 14 unhoused people froze to death on the streets of Los Angeles in 2021, new county data reveals, marking a sharp increase in reports of hypothermia fatalities and a grim sign of how dire the region’s homelessness catastrophe has become.

Out of 14 deaths where the LA coroner’s office cited “cold exposure” and hypothermia last year, six victims died on sidewalks, according to public records obtained by the Guardian. Four died in hospitals, and the others were found at a bus bench, a parking lot, a dried-up riverbed and an abandoned building. The death toll is significantly higher than previous years, with six reported hypothermia deaths in 2020, nine in 2019, seven in 2018 and three in 2017.

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Son saves mother trapped in flooded home after Hurricane Ian

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Johnny Lauder swam through half-mile of flood waters in Naples, Florida, to pull his mother, a double amputee, out of her home

Every time flood waters inundate a community, forecasters admonish their viewers not to swim through them because of countless perils potentially hidden under the surface – but Johnny Lauder ignored those warnings after Hurricane Ian’s storm surge trapped his mother, a double amputee, inside her Florida home.

Lauder swam through a half-mile of neck-deep, rapidly moving, debris-filled flood waters that swamped his 84-year-old mother’s neighborhood in Naples to pull her out of the home that she couldn’t flee from ahead of Ian.

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The Onion defends right to parody in very real supreme court brief supporting local satirist

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Long-running satirical publication files legal document relating to case of man who was arrested for making fun of police

The clarion call of justice is sounding across America once again, thanks to the tireless efforts of its finest purveyor of made-up news.

The Onion, the long-running satirical publication, has filed a very real legal document with the US supreme court, urging it to take on a case centered on the right to parody. And in order to make a serious legal point, the filing does what the Onion does best, offering a big helping of total nonsense.

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Phoenix clinic devises workaround for abortion care after Arizona enforces ban

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The solution by Camelback Family Planning ensures patients can access pills and treatment without breaking the law

A Phoenix abortion clinic has come up with a way for patients who can end their pregnancy using a pill to get the medication quickly without running afoul of a resurrected Arizona law that bans most abortions.

Under the arrangement that began on Monday, patients will have an ultrasound in Arizona, get a prescription through a tele-health appointment with a California doctor and then have it mailed to a post office in a California border town for pickup, all for free.

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Biden pledges $60m to stormproof Puerto Rico during visit

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The US territory has been frequently battered by hurricanes but is often overlooked by the federal government when it comes to aid

Joe Biden announced on Monday that his administration will allocate $60m in funding for Puerto Rico specifically to help coastal areas become more storm-resilient, as he admitted, following the hit from Hurricane Fiona last month, that the island territory had faced much in the last five years and had not received enough timely assistance.

The US president said the new funding would go toward strengthening flood walls, creating a new flood warning system and other projects.

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Biden pledges support to hurricane-hit Puerto Rico: ‘All of America is with you’ – as it happened

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As Puerto Rico prepares for Joe Biden’s visit this afternoon, a grassroots collective known as Queremos Sol (we want sun) has published an open letter (in Spanish) in the La Perla online daily urging the president to not waste federal taxpayer dollars on rebuilding the storm vulnerable fossil fuel dependent grid.

“As you know, the absence of electricity after Hurricane Maria caused thousands of deaths. Now, two weeks after Hurricane Fiona, several deaths related to the lack of electricity have been documented. To a large extent, these deaths could have been prevented.

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US pollster urges Tories to ditch culture wars

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Frank Luntz tells Tory conference meeting weaponising such issues is likely to ‘win an election but lose the country’

A US pollster who advised Boris Johnson has delivered an impassioned plea for Tories to stop weaponising culture war issues, warning them they would “win an election but lose the country”.

“It guarantees divisions for generations and it can get you elected but you will hate the result,” Frank Luntz told a fringe meeting at the Conservative party conference, which was packed out with Tory activists and elected officials eager to hear his advice on language and campaigning.

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Ex-US army medic allegedly lured migrants on to flights to Martha’s Vineyard

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Perla Huerta was reportedly sent to Texas from Florida to fill planes chartered by DeSantis, offering gift cards to asylum seekers

A former US army combat medic and counterintelligence agent allegedly solicited asylum seekers to join flights out of Texas to Martha’s Vineyard that Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, chartered.

Perla Huerta was sent to Texas from Tampa to fill the planes at the center of the trips, which many have argued could amount to illegal human trafficking, a person briefed on an investigation into the case told the New York Times.

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High-profile China #MeToo case settled in US out of court

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Liu Jingyao launched civil proceedings in 2019 against retail billionaire Liu Qiangdong

One of China’s biggest and most divisive #MeToo cases, which had been set to play out with extraordinary transparency because of its US location and was closely watched by millions inside China, has been settled out of court.

Liu Qiangdong, a 49-year-old online retail billionaire who also goes by Richard Liu and is known as China’s Jeff Bezos, had been accused of sexually assaulting a then 21-year-old Chinese graduate when she was studying at the University of Minnesota and he was visiting on a business trip. Liu has always denied the assault accusations, saying it was consensual.

In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support for rape and sexual abuse on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html

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US supreme court to hear case on California’s ban on extreme confinement crates

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A ruling against the state’s Prop 12 animal welfare law could affect a range of regulations across the country

Next week, the US supreme court will hear oral arguments in a case that could put climate, public health and animal welfare regulations across the country on the chopping block – from California’s ban on gas-powered cars by 2035 to state bans on food packaging that contains BPA or lead.

The case will consider the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 12, a law that bans the sale of meat and eggs from animals raised using certain kinds of extreme confinement. The pork industry has been fighting Prop 12 since it passed by ballot measure in 2018 – with more than 62% of the vote and the backing of animal advocacy groups like the Humane Society of the United States – because it bans gestation crates: metal enclosures where pregnant pigs are kept for most of their lives that are so small that they can’t turn around or stretch their limbs.

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The American EV boom is about to begin. Does the US have the power to charge it?

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States have plans to ban gas-powered cars and the White House wants chargers along highways, but implementation is a challenge

Speaking in front of a line of the latest electric vehicles (EVs) at this month’s North American International Auto Show, President Joe Biden declared: “The great American road trip is going to be fully electrified.”

Most vehicles on the road are still gas guzzlers, but Washington is betting big on change, hoping that major federal investment will help reach a target set by the White House for 50% of new cars to be electric by 2030. But there are roadblocks – specifically when it comes to charging them all. “Range anxiety,” or how far one can travel before needing to charge, is still cited as a major deterrent for potential EV buyers.

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Hurricane Ian death tolls climbs amid criticism over response | First Thing

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Residents in Florida and Carolinas face recovery expected to cost tens of billions of dollars. Plus, why screaming can be good for you

Good morning.

The death toll from Hurricane Ian has passed 80 as embattled residents in Florida and the Carolinas face a recovery expected to cost tens of billions of dollars, and some officials faced criticism over their response to the storm.

What has Fema said? US Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) administrator Deanne Criswell asked Americans yesterday “to make informed decisions” about rebuilding in vulnerable areas hit by natural disasters intensified by climate change.

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