Category Archives: US News

Methuselah: oldest aquarium fish lives in San Francisco and likes belly rubs

Posted on by

Biologists believe the Australian lungfish, a primitive species with lungs and gills, is about 90 years old with no known living peers

Meet Methuselah, the fish that likes to eat fresh figs, get belly rubs and is believed to be the oldest living aquarium fish in the world.

In the Bible, Methuselah was Noah’s grandfather and was said to have lived to be 969 years old. Methuselah the fish is not quite that ancient, but biologists at the California Academy of Sciences believe it is about 90 years old, with no known living peers.

Continue reading...

Rapper Nipsey Hussle and the problem of predictive policing

Posted on by

He was one of LA’s most-loved rappers, and a pillar of his community. But records disclosed after his death revealed that he was also the target of an extensive Los Angeles policing operation

When the rapper Nipsey Hussle was shot and killed in 2019, the city of Los Angeles mourned a charismatic businessman and community figure who had poured the profits of his success in the music industry back into the Crenshaw neighbourhood where he grew up.

Hussle’s funeral was a celebration attended by thousands. Stevie Wonder performed; former president Barack Obama sent a letter celebrating his hopeful vision; and the Los Angeles police chief praised Hussle’s efforts as a peacemaker. But Guardian Los Angeles correspondent Sam Levin tells Michael Safi that, in fact, the Los Angeles police department had long invested extensive resources into policing Hussle’s street corner and his store, Marathon Clothing.

Continue reading...

Ukraine: Biden warns Putin of personal sanctions if Russia invades – video

Posted on by

Speaking to reporters in Washington, Joe Biden said he would consider personal sanctions against Vladimir Putin if Russia invaded Ukraine, citing 'severe consequences'. The threat of sanctions came as the US helped prepare for the diversion of natural gas supplies from around the world to Europe in the event that the flow from Russia is cut

Continue reading...

Why are Germany and France at odds with the Anglosphere over how to handle Russia?

Posted on by

Analysis: Differing views over Russia within Nato alliance resurface in Ukraine crisis

Can the western alliance against Russia over its buildup of troops on the Ukrainian border hold together? It is a question that politicians and diplomats are increasingly grappling with amid fears that Germany and, to a lesser extent, France are in danger of dividing from the US and the UK, not only over how to respond to any future Russian act of aggression in Ukraine, but also in their assessment of the imminence of the threat.

Every effort is being made to minimise the differences within the Nato alliance, including through regular calls such as the one led by Joe Biden on Monday, but they may be impossible to avoid since they reflect not just different short-term assessments on intelligence, but a deep fissure going back decades about what Germany and France, as opposed to the Anglosphere, regard as the best way to handle Russia.

Continue reading...

Biden warns Russia of ‘enormous consequences’ if it invades Ukraine – live

Posted on by

Staff turnover in the Biden administration is nowhere near what it was under Donald Trump, when senior aides came and went as through a revolving door in a hurricane.

Nonetheless, the press always likes a bit of speculation about who might be in and who might be out, and here comes the Washington Post with an exhaustive examination of how Ron Klain, Joe Biden’s chief of staff, has not had the smoothest first year in the job.

Continue reading...

US finalizing plans to divert gas to Europe if Russia cuts off supply

Posted on by

Officials working with global suppliers to avoid European gas crisis if flow from Russia is cut as Biden says he would consider personal sanctions against Putin

The US has helped prepare for the diversion of natural gas supplies from around the world to Europe in the event that the flow from Russia is cut, in an effort to blunt Vladimir Putin’s most powerful economic weapon.

As fears of an invasion of Ukraine have grown, US officials said on Tuesday that they had been negotiating with global suppliers, and they were now confident that Europe would not suffer from a sudden loss of energy for heating in the middle of winter.

Continue reading...

Let the wild rumpus start: is the US facing a stock market ‘super-bubble’?

Posted on by

After Jeremy Grantham’s warning, analysts fear more volatility ahead – and will be watching tech’s latest results with interest

The tech sector led US stock markets on a pandemic boom last year. Now markets are whipsawing on fears that the Federal Reserve will end the era of easy money, all while a potential war in Ukraine looms. Some warn of a bigger correction to come on a scale not seen since the dotcom collapse of the late 1990s.

On Monday, US stock markets crashed then rallied. The Dow Jones at one point lost more than 1,000 points before ending up just over 100. Tuesday was more of the same with the Dow losing 800 points only to gain most of it back. Analysts expect more volatile days ahead. The Fed on Wednesday issued its latest update on its plans to raise rates in order to curb inflation, and the world’s largest tech firms are preparing to issue their latest results to investors, who appear to have grown more skeptical about their prospects.

Continue reading...

Native American tribes reclaim California redwood land for preservation

Posted on by

Group of 10 tribes inhabiting the area since thousands of years will be responsible for protecting the land dubbed Tc’ih-Léh-Dûñ

The descendants of Native American tribes on the northern California coast are reclaiming part of their ancestral homeland, including ancient redwoods that have stood since their forebears walked the land.

Save the Redwoods League, a non-profit conservation group, announced Tuesday that it is transferring more than 500 acres (202 hectares) on the Lost Coast to the InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council.

Continue reading...

Republicans angry as New York keeps school mask mandate despite ruling

Posted on by

Governor Kathy Hochul has insisted students and teachers should continue to wear face covering despite a judge’s ruling

Republicans in New York reacted furiously on Tuesday after state officials told school administrators to continue enforcing a mask mandate for students and teachers despite a judge overturning it, causing confusion as some districts rushed to make masks optional.

Lee Zeldin, a US congressman from Long Island, addressed the governor he hopes to replace in November.

Continue reading...

Patient removed from heart transplant list for refusing Covid-19 vaccine

Posted on by

DJ Ferguson, 31, had previously been prioritized for a transplant by Brigham and Women’s hospital in Boston

A Boston-area hospital said it will not perform a heart transplant on a patient who refuses to get a Covid-19 vaccination.

DJ Ferguson, 31, was previously prioritized for a heart transplant at Brigham and Women’s hospital, but is no longer eligible as he refuses to get vaccinated, said Ferguson’s family, according to a report by CBS Boston.

Continue reading...

Robert F Kennedy Jr apologizes for Anne Frank comparison in anti-vax speech

Posted on by
  • Kennedy’s remarks at Washington rally widely condemned
  • Wife Cheryl Hines says reference to Frank ‘reprehensible’

The anti-vaccine activist Robert F Kennedy Jr apologized on Tuesday for suggesting things are worse for people living under Covid restrictions and mandates than they were for Anne Frank, the teenager who died in a Nazi concentration camp after hiding with her family in a secret annex in an Amsterdam house for two years.

His wife, the actor Cheryl Hines, who appears in the HBO hit Curb Your Enthusiasm, distanced herself from her husband in her own tweet on the subject. She called the reference to Frank “reprehensible and insensitive”.

Continue reading...

Covid denialist and Bolsonaro ally Olavo de Carvalho died of virus, says daughter

Posted on by

Rightwing radical was a towering figure in Brazil who was adored and abhorred in equal measure by millions of followers and foes

Olavo de Carvalho, the coronavirus-denying mentor of Jair Bolsonaro and Brazil’s radical right, has died in the United States, with one of his children citing Covid-19 as the cause.

“The family … asks for prayers for the professor’s soul,” relatives said on Twitter after announcing the death of the 74-year-old polemicist – a towering figure in contemporary Brazilian politics who was adored and abhorred in equal measure by millions of followers and foes.

Continue reading...

Peter Dinklage criticises Disney for ‘backwards’ remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Posted on by

Actor who has a form of dwarfism says the studio’s pride in casting a Latina Snow White is undercut by stereotypes retained elsewhere

Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage has taken aim at Disney for what he called its “fucking backwards” forthcoming live action adaptation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Dinklage, who stars in Joe Wright’s new film, Cyrano, accused the studio of double standards by attending to racial diversity in its cast but falling back on other damaging stereotypes.

Continue reading...

UN data reveals ‘nearly insurmountable’ scale of lost schooling due to Covid

Posted on by

Up to 70% of 10-year-olds in low- and middle-income countries lack basic reading skills, with learning losses seen from US to Ethiopia

The scale of the number of children who have lost out on their schooling during the pandemic is “nearly insurmountable”, according to UN data.

Up to 70% of 10-year-olds in low- and middle-income countries cannot read or understand a simple text, up from 53% pre-Covid, the research suggested.

Continue reading...

US, UK and Europe totally united in the face of Russia threat to Ukraine, Biden says

Posted on by

Virtual meeting between western powers comes as the US put 8,500 troops on alert and as France prepares to host a meeting of Russian and Ukrainian officials

US president Joe Biden has insisted there was “total” unity among western powers after crisis talks with European leaders on how to deter Russia from an attack against Ukraine.

“I had a very, very, very good meeting – total unanimity with all the European leaders,” Biden told reporters shortly after finishing a one hour and 20 minute video conference on Monday with allied leaders from Europe and Nato.

Continue reading...

Sheldon Silver, top New York lawmaker sentenced for corruption, dies aged 77

Posted on by

Democrat spent two decades as speaker of state assembly before conviction over real-estate dealings

Sheldon Silver, one of the most powerful figures in New York state government for two decades before his conviction on corruption charges, has died in federal custody. He was 77.

Silver, who served as the speaker of the New York state assembly, died on Monday, the federal Bureau of Prisons said, adding that the official cause of death would be determined by the medical examiner. Silver’s supporters had said he was in failing health from multiple medical conditions.

Continue reading...

Joe Biden appears to mock Fox News reporter in hot mic moment – video

Posted on by

Joe Biden has been caught on a hot mic apparently referring to a Fox News reporter as a 'stupid son of a bitch'. As journalists left a meeting, the Fox News White House reporter Peter Doocy asked whether Biden thought inflation was a political liability ahead of the midterms. 'No, it’s a great asset – more inflation,' Biden appeared to respond sarcastically over a din of reporters shouting questions, apparently not realizing his microphone was still on. 'What a stupid son of a bitch,' he added

Continue reading...

Joe Biden appears to insult Fox News reporter over inflation question

Posted on by

President caught on mic seemingly swearing at Peter Doocy as journalists left a news conference

Joe Biden was caught on a hot mic appearing to insult the Fox News journalist Peter Doocy, seemingly calling him a “stupid son of a bitch” after Doocy posed a question about US inflation.

“Do you think inflation is a political liability in the midterms?” the reporter asked the president as journalists were leaving the room at the end of an event at the White House on Monday.

Continue reading...

Ukraine: US puts 8,500 troops on alert to deploy to bolster Nato – video

Posted on by

The US military has put up to 8,500 troops on alert to be ready to deploy to Europe, potentially at very short notice, should the Nato alliance activate a rapid response force. It's the latest sign of US resolve in the face of a Russian military buildup near Ukraine. The Pentagon spokesman John Kirby stressed that no decision had been made on whether to deploy the troops, and that any such deployment would separate from intra-European movements of US troops to Nato's eastern flank, to reassure nervous allies. The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, told US citizens in Ukraine that ‘now is the time to leave’

Continue reading...

Taylor Swift criticises Damon Albarn for saying she doesn’t write her own songs

Posted on by

The singer tweeted that the Blur and Gorillaz frontman’s ‘hot take is completely false and SO damaging’ after comments in interview

Taylor Swift has called out Damon Albarn, lead singer of Blur and later of Gorillaz, on Twitter after the British musician told the LA Times she “doesn’t write her own songs”.

“I was such a big fan of yours until I saw this,” the American singer, 32, tweeted at Albarn. “I write ALL of my own songs. Your hot take is completely false and SO damaging. You don’t have to like my songs but it’s really fucked up to try and discredit my writing. WOW.”

Continue reading...