Category Archives: US News

Republicans who opposed racial justice protests hope truckers ‘clog up’ US cities

Posted on by

Lawmakers including Ron Paul and Ron DeSantis say they would back disruption of a Canadian-style trucker convoy

In the wake of racial justice protests following the murder of George Floyd, a wave of Republican lawmakers supported legislation to punish protesters who blocked roads. Now some of those same Republicans are supporting similar tactics from conservative trucker convoys protesting against vaccine mandates.

Last year, the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, signed an anti-rioting law that stiffened penalties for protesters who blocked roads and even gave some legal protection to drivers who ran them over. It went so far that in September a federal judge struck down the law, ruling it unconstitutional.

Continue reading...

Moment of peril: Blinken says Russia readying to attack Ukraine in ‘coming days’ – video

Posted on by

US secretary of state Antony Blinken told a United Nations security council meeting on Ukraine that those assembled found themselves in a "moment of peril for the lives and safety of millions of people" as Russian continues to deny plans to invade Ukraine. Blinken said "our information indicates clearly that [Russian] forces, including ground troops, aircraft, ships, are preparing to launch an attack against Ukraine in the coming days"

Continue reading...

Trump and two eldest children must testify in New York case, judge rules

Posted on by

Ruling forces ex-president, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr to comply with subpoenas as Letitia James investigates Trump Organization

Donald Trump and two of his children have been ordered by a New York judge to appear for a deposition within the next three weeks, as part of the billowing investigation over alleged fraud in the valuation of assets belonging to his family business.

The ruling by Judge Arthur Engoron to force Trump and his two eldest children – Donald Jr and Ivanka – to comply with subpoenas amounts to a sharp escalation of the legal perils that are rapidly tightening around the former president.

Continue reading...

US has suffered more than 1m excess deaths during pandemic, CDC finds

Posted on by

The latest statistic hints at the breadth of Covid-19’s impact on health in the United States

There have been more than 1m excess deaths in the US during the pandemic, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The deaths are mainly attributable to Covid-19, as well as conditions that may have resulted from delayed medical care and overwhelmed health systems.

Continue reading...

House select committee may subpoena Ivanka Trump | First Thing

Posted on by

Move would mark a dramatic escalation in the Capitol attack inquiry. Plus, the tech billionaires trying to reverse ageing

Good morning.

The House select committee investigating the Capitol attack is considering subpoenaing Ivanka Trump after she appeared to refuse a request for voluntary cooperation, according to a source close to the matter.

Is the panel likely to do it? The fact that committee members are discussing a subpoena suggests they believe it may be required to get her to appear at a deposition.

When could it happen? The panel is not expected to take the step just yet – they want to give Trump a reasonable period of time to decide to engage voluntarily.

Was racism considered in the state trial? No – prosecutors sought only to prove the men were responsible for Arbery’s death, regardless of motive.

What does the defence say? They insist the deadly pursuit of Arbery was motivated by a genuine, though erroneous, suspicion that Arbery had committed crimes.

Continue reading...

Twitter CEO’s weeks-long paternity leave hailed by fellow dads

Posted on by

Parag Agrawal’s plan seen as step toward normalizing time off for men involved in childcare

Twitter’s new CEO, Parag Agrawal, is reportedly taking a “few weeks” off for paternity leave after the birth of his second child, a move that drew cheers from other fathers as a positive step towards normalizing men taking time off for childcare.

The 37-year-old became CEO of the company in November when its co-founder Jack Dorsey stepped down.

Continue reading...

More Polish opposition figures found to have been targeted by Pegasus spyware

Posted on by

Analysis by Amnesty International linked them to Pegasus Project leak of more than 50,000 phone numbers

The use of intrusive spyware by members of the European Union is expected to face new scrutiny following revelations that the mobile phones of two more Polish citizens with close links to an opposition senator were targeted by a client of NSO Group, according to security experts.

Forensic analysis by Amnesty International found that both Magdalena Łośko, the former assistant to Polish senator Krzysztof Brejza, and Brejza’s father, Ryszard Brejza, received text messages in 2019 that researchers said were technically consistent with spyware attacks by clients of NSO Group using Pegasus.

Continue reading...

Trump interior secretary Zinke broke ethics rules and lied, watchdog finds – live

Posted on by

While lawmakers were unable to come to a consensus on a sanctions bill for Russia this week, it looks like we may have some movement on the issue here:

The interior department’s inspector general said in a report made public today that Ryan Zinke, the interior secretary under Donald Trump, misused his position to advance a development project in his Montana hometown and lied to an agency ethics official about his involvement.

Continue reading...

Tragic consequences of repatriating asylum seekers | Letter

Posted on by

Officials often underestimate the dangers faced by failed asylum seekers who are forcibly sent home, writes Jackie Fearnley

The recent Human Rights Watch report on the harm done to Cameroonian asylum seekers, both while they were trying to make their claims in the US and when repatriated in a blaze of publicity, should be required reading for all asylum decision-makers (African migrants deported in Trump era suffered abuse on return, 10 February).

From my experience of helping Cameroonian torture survivors over the past 14 years, I have noted that Home Office decision-makers, and many judges, can fatally underestimate the degree of risk attached to the forcible return process, particularly as failed asylum seekers are viewed as having brought the country into disrepute and can be punished with imprisonment.

Continue reading...

Coachella and sister festival Stagecoach lift Covid restrictions

Posted on by

Festivals will not require vaccination, testing or masking while Coachella says ‘no guarantee’ attendees won’t be exposed to Covid

In a reversal of its previous policy, the Coachella music festival will not require Covid-19 vaccination, testing or masking when it resumes this April in southern California, the organizers said.

The hugely popular festival saw up to 125,000 attendees leading up to the start of pandemic, during which it was cancelled three times.

Continue reading...

Human rights lawyers attempt to bring Syria war crimes cases to ICC

Posted on by

Attempt to target Iranian and Syrian officials includes evidence from civilians forced to flee to Jordan

A groundbreaking attempt to make Iranian and Syrian military officials answerable for war crimes they may have committed in Syria is being launched, as part of an effort to have the cases brought before the international criminal court.

The request includes evidence of Syrian victims forced to flee into Jordan due to attacks and intimidation by the Syrian government and Iran-backed militia groups. It is being brought by the US-based Iran Human Rights Documentation Center in conjunction with Haydee Dijkstal, a UK barrister.

Continue reading...

Education or indoctrination: inside the bitter fight dividing America’s schools – video

Posted on by

Carmel, Indiana, is an affluent suburb just north of Indianapolis known for low crime rates and some of the country’s best public schools. But early last year, the school board brought in diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, or DEI, which seek to combat structural racism in the education system. Since then,  a battle has erupted between those who welcome the changes, and others who see it as leftwing indoctrination

Continue reading...

You’re going to feel this, Biden tells Americans, as Ukraine war looms

Posted on by

Analysis: US president gives the kind of speech normally delivered on the eve of momentous action, while speaking over Putin’s head to the Russian people

Joe Biden’s speech sounded like a closing argument, one that had been honed for some time and one that suggested expectations are still high in the White House that Russia will take military action.

Biden briefly nodded to Moscow’s claims to be withdrawing before abruptly contradicting them, raising the US estimate of the number of troops surrounding Ukraine to 150,000 in a “threatening position”.

Continue reading...

Jury finds New York Times did not defame Sarah Palin – live

Posted on by

Robert Califf’s appointment as the new head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was confirmed today, but the process was not as straightforward as the Biden administration first thought.

Senator Joe Manchin, a Virginia Democrat, urged senators to oppose Califf’s appointment earlier this week, saying he bears “a great deal of responsibility” for many of the US opioid overdose deaths in the years since Califf’s first stint as FDA commissioner under the Obama administration.

Continue reading...

Ex-president arrested in Honduras as US requests extradition on drugs charges

Posted on by
  • Juan Orlando Hernández cuffed and taken away in Tegucigalpa
  • Arrest marks spectacular fall for man who was once key US ally

Former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández has been arrested, a day after the US Department of Justice requested his extradition over drug trafficking and weapons charges, culminating a spectacular fall from grace for a man who was once considered one of Washington’s top allies in Central America.

On Tuesday afternoon Hernández left his home in a wealthy neighborhood in the country’s capital, Tegucigalpa, where he was cuffed at the hands and feet and provided a bullet-proof vest before being taken away in a police caravan to a special forces base. He will appear before a judge for his first hearing within 24 hours.

According to the extradition request submitted to Honduras, Hernández was part of a “violent drug-trafficking” conspiracy that trafficked roughly 500,000 kilos of cocaine since 2004.

Continue reading...

Prince Andrew settles Virginia Giuffre sexual assault case in US

Posted on by

Out-of-court settlement in civil case means Duke of York is spared giving evidence at trial

The Duke of York has settled the sex assault case filed against him by Virginia Giuffre for an undisclosed sum, sparing him the humiliation of giving evidence in a trial and protecting the royal family from further reputational damage.

The out-of-court settlement in the US civil case means Prince Andrew makes no admission of guilt over claims by Giuffre that he sexually assaulted her on three occasions when she was 17, allegations he has repeatedly denied.

Continue reading...

Sarah Palin loses libel lawsuit against New York Times

Posted on by

Jury rejects claim the newspaper damaged her reputation by erroneously linking campaign rhetoric to mass shooting

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin lost her libel lawsuit against the New York Times on Tuesday when a jury rejected her claim that the newspaper maliciously damaged her reputation by erroneously linking her campaign rhetoric to a mass shooting.

A judge had already declared that if the jury sided with Palin, he would set aside its verdict on the grounds that she had not proven the paper acted maliciously, something required in libel suits involving public figures.

Continue reading...

How a picture came to symbolize the Prince Andrew sexual abuse case

Posted on by

The image with ‘no innocent explanation’, showing Giuffre with the duke and Ghislaine Maxwell, was taken by Jeffrey Epstein

It was a simple photograph, taken late in the evening on 10 March 2001, that came to symbolize Virginia Giuffre’s case against Prince Andrew.

The one with the duke’s arm around the 17-year-old’s waist, with Ghislaine Maxwell beaming to one side, and the man behind the camera clicking the shutter but hidden by the flash’s reflection in the window being Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced late financier and sex trafficker.

Continue reading...

Ocasio-Cortez: ‘Very real risk’ US democracy won’t exist in 10 years

Posted on by

Efforts by Republicans to restrict voting rights could result in return to Jim Crow era, says progressive in New Yorker interview

The progressive New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez believes the Republican-led pressure on political systems is so great that there is “a very real risk” democracy will cease to exist in the US within a decade.

The leftist Democratic politician derided efforts by Republican legislatures around the country to restrict voting rights as the “opening salvos” in a war on democracy, which she said could result in a return to the Jim Crow-era disenfranchisement of racial minorities.

Continue reading...

US could loosen some restrictions on prescribing opioids

Posted on by

CDC considers rolling back limits on which doses can be prescribed and for how many days in cases of acute pain

The US could see loosened guidance around prescribing opioids, as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers relaxing some of its guidelines in a move that could signal a new direction for managing chronic pain.

The CDC last Thursday released proposed changes to its guidance on prescribing opioids, rolling back limits on which doses can be prescribed and for how many days in cases of acute pain.

Continue reading...