Electricity demand expected to surpass supply as temperatures hit triple digits, shattering records
Texans sweltering under record temperatures and high humidity have been urged to conserve energy as the power grid struggles to cope with a surge in demand.
An extreme heatwave across the south-west and central US has led to searing temperatures since Friday, with heat warnings in place for millions of Americans until at least midweek.
Continue reading...Attacks appear to have occurred after robberies or robbery attempts on day store is marking 95th birthday
Two people were killed and three were wounded in shootings at four 7-Eleven locations in southern California early on Monday morning, authorities said, in a series of attacks that police believe may be connected.
The shootings appear to have occurred after predawn robberies or attempted robberies at the four convenience stores on July 11, or 7/11 – a day when the national 7-Eleven brand is celebrating its 95th birthday by giving out free Slurpee drinks.
Continue reading...Man, 23, was trying to retrieve mobile phone and he and his family now face charges for entering forbidden area
An American tourist sustained minor injuries after he fell into the crater of Mount Vesuvius as he scrambled to retrieve his phone.
The 23-year-old and his family reached the 1,281m-high (4,202ft) summit of the volcano towering over the southern Italian city of Naples after bypassing a visitor turnstile and proceeding along an out-of-bounds path.
Continue reading...Miles Teller, who stars alongside Tom Cruise in the hit action blockbuster, says he is keen, but ‘it’s all up to Tom’
Top Gun: Maverick actor Miles Teller has said he is “having conversations” with the film’s producer-star Tom Cruise about a sequel to the hit action blockbuster.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight at a charity golf event, Teller was responding to a question about the likelihood of a third Top Gun film. “That would be great, but that’s all up to [Tom Cruise]. It’s all up to Tom. I’ve been having some conversations with him about it. We’ll see.”
Continue reading...More than 124,000 confidential documents leaked to the Guardian expose attempts to lobby Joe Biden and other world leaders. Plus the US cruise ships using Canada as a toilet bowl
Good morning.
A leaked trove of confidential files has revealed the inside story of how the tech giant Uber flouted laws, duped police, exploited violence against drivers and secretly lobbied governments during its aggressive global expansion.
How did ex-Obama aides help sell firm to world? Uber sought access to leaders, officials and diplomats through David Plouffe and Jim Messina, who both previously worked for Barack Obama, the leak shows.
What has Uber said about the revelations? In a statement, Uber said: “We have not and will not make excuses for past behaviour that is clearly not in line with our present values. Instead, we ask the public to judge us by what we’ve done over the last five years and what we will do in the years to come.”
Why was the tweet so pivotal? The select committee will say Trump sent the tweet knowing that for those groups, it amounted to a confirmation that they should put into motion their plans for January 6. It was from that point that the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers seriously started preparations, and Stop the Steal started applying for permits.
Continue reading...Opinions from Breyer, Kagan and Sotomayor send stark warning about increasingly radical court abandoning long-held principles
The US supreme court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade, ending nearly 50 years of federal protections for abortion access, was “catastrophic”. The ruling amounted to a “curtailment of women’s rights, and of their status as free and equal citizens”. The drastic decision “undermines the court’s legitimacy”, and the consequences of it will set off an “upheaval in … society”.
Those are voices from the supreme court itself: the words of its three liberal justices – Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor – in their scorching and thorough joint dissenting opinion on a decision by their body which has fundamentally altered the lives of millions of Americans.
Continue reading...Former president’s notorious ‘Be there, will be wild!’ tweet was catalyst for violent protests, congress members will argue
The House January 6 select committee is expected to make the case at its seventh hearing Tuesday that Donald Trump gave the signal to the extremist groups that stormed the Capitol to target and obstruct the congressional certification of Joe Biden’s electoral college win.
The panel will zero in on a pivotal tweet sent by the former president in the early hours of the morning on 19 December 2020, according to sources close to the inquiry who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the forthcoming hearing.
Continue reading...The US secretary of state flies to Japan to give condolences to nation as country’s ruling LDP holds muted celebrations for poll victory
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken has described assassinated former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe as a “man of vision”, as the country’s ruling party held muted celebrations following a resounding election victory.
The Liberal Democratic party (LDP), which Abe led for almost a decade, and its junior coalition party increased their majority in the upper house on Sunday, two days after Abe was shot during a campaign speech in the western city of Nara.
Continue reading...A leak of internal documents from inside Uber reveals evidence that the company broke laws, duped police, exploited violence against drivers and secretly lobbied prime ministers and presidents in an effort to break into markets long held by taxi companies
Back when Uber was starting up, barely more than a concept and attempting to break into new cities, it had a playbook. First it would attract drivers to switch to its service from the competition. Then it would encourage customers to try it out by subsidising fares. And then, when it had gained a foothold, it would heap pressure on local regulators to grant them approval to continue operating.
As Johana Bhuiyan tells Michael Safi, the Uber model was spectacularly successful. The company grew from its San Francisco beginnings to be a truly global company in a matter of years. But as it grew, it attracted controversy, and the scandals started to mount up.
Continue reading...President says he aims to reorient relations and meet with the crown prince, who he previously denounced as a pariah
Joe Biden on Saturday defended his decision to travel to Saudi Arabia saying human rights would be on his agenda as he gave a preview of a trip on which he aims to reset ties with the crown prince, who he previously denounced as a pariah.
The American president will hold bilateral talks with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his leadership team, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on his visit to the Middle East next week.
Continue reading...More than 24 people thought to be trapped in rubble of five-storey block in town of Chasiv Yar
At least 15 people have died and dozens were injured after a series of rockets fired by Russian forces hit a five-storey apartment building in the town of Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine, as Moscow was accused of raising “true hell” in Donbas, stepping up the assault on the city of Sloviansk.
Earlier in the morning, Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the Donetsk region, said on Telegram that more than 24 people could be trapped under the rubble of the apartment block, as rescue operations were still under way.
Continue reading...Billionaire avoids talking of collapse of $44bn deal but talks about colonizing Mars and boosting Earth’s birthrates at conference
Elon Musk reportedly talked about the colonization of Mars and boosting Earth’s birthrates during his keynote address at Allen & Co’s Sun Valley conference on Saturday, but he avoided discussing his attempt to withdraw from his $44bn bid to buy Twitter.
Musk’s talk to close out this year’s edition of the Idaho conference which annually draws tech, media and finance gurus became one of the hottest tickets after lawyers for the Tesla boss filed notice Friday that he was terminating his bid to acquire Twitter. The billionaire accused the social media firm of failing to provide information on bot accounts, among other things, making observers wonder whether he would address such complaints at his speech scheduled for the next day.
Continue reading...Actor talks of time in Paris before she became highly paid star when she was asked to carry a suitcase
Before she was a blockbusting Hollywood actor and before she was a “clean” wine entrepreneur, Cameron Diaz may have been an unwitting drug mule, she has revealed.
Diaz has told the story of when, as young woman starting out in the world, she moved to Paris to pursue a modelling career.
Continue reading...Factory in Sturgis, Michigan shut down in May after storms that produced torrential flooding
A key baby formula plant shut down by torrential rains last month has resumed operations, again spurring hope that the nationwide baby formula shortage could ease up.
Abbott Laboratories, the United States’ largest baby formula manufacturer, closed down production at its main plant in Sturgis, Michigan, on 16 June after storms that produced catastrophic flooding. That came only two weeks after it had resumed work following a shutdown in February prompted by a Food and Drug Administration investigation that found contamination at the facility.
Continue reading...Officials say not enough lifeguards to open pools safely but critics say decision to cut services during Covid has had knock-on effect
A nationwide shortage of lifeguards is forcing local pools across the US to close for the summer, according to reports.
In major cities such as New York, Chicago, New Orleans, and elsewhere, public pools are reducing their hours of operation, or shutting down entirely amid an apparent shortage of lifeguards.
Continue reading...Decision from former president would clear way for one-time adviser to testify before committee investigating Capitol attack
Donald Trump is considering waiving executive privilege for his longtime political adviser Steve Bannon, which would clear the way for a key ally of the former president to testify before the congressional committee investigating the deadly January 6 attack on the Capitol.
Trump is reportedly considering sending a letter to Bannon, his former White House strategist, acknowledging that he granted Bannon executive privilege on 21 September but is now willing to give up the claim if Bannon reaches an agreement to testify before the House committee investigating the Capitol insurrection, the Washington Post first reported, citing sources familiar with the situation.
Continue reading...Gary Volesky, three-star general who took on lucrative consulting role, suspended over Twitter post that appeared under his name
The US army has suspended a retired three-star general from a lucrative consultant’s role after a social media post appearing under his name taunted first lady Jill Biden’s support of abortion rights.
Former top army spokesperson Gary Volesky, who retired as a lieutenant general and earned a silver star for gallantry while serving in Iraq, was making $92 an hour advising military officers, staff and students who were taking part in war games and other similar activities.
Continue reading...Brandy Bottone, who is 34 weeks pregnant, pulled over by police for driving in high-occupancy vehicle lane for two or more people
A pregnant woman in Texas told police that her unborn child counted as an additional passenger after being cited for driving alone in a high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane, offering up a potentially clever defense for motorists navigating the legal landscape following the supreme court’s striking down of nationwide abortion rights last month.
Brandy Bottone of Plano, Texas, tried to fight a ticket for driving with only one passenger in an HOV lane – which requires at least two people in the car – by arguing that her unborn baby should count as her second passenger.
Continue reading...Ant-Man actor befriends Brody Ridder of Colorado, whose classmates refused to sign his yearbook
The actor Paul Rudd has sent a handwritten letter to a 12-year-old boy after he received just two signatures from fellow students in his school yearbook.
The pair also spoke on FaceTime after Brody Ridder, from Colorado, came home from school with the yearbook.
Continue reading...Beijing’s ‘alignment with Russia’ is complicating relations, US secretary of state tells Wang Yi in talks aimed at defusing tensions
China’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine is complicating US-Chinese relations at a time when they are already beset by rifts and enmity over numerous other issues, the US secretary of state has told his Chinese counterpart
In five hours of talks in their first face-to-face meeting since October, Antony Blinken said he expressed deep concern to the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, about Beijing’s stance on Russia’s actions in Ukraine and did not believe Beijing’s protestations that it was neutral in the conflict.
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