Two leaders will discuss a range of topics, including ‘upcoming diplomatic engagements in Russia’
Joe Biden will speak on Thursday with Vladimir Putin regarding the Russian president increased security demands in eastern Europe.
The two leaders will discuss a range of topics, including “upcoming diplomatic engagements in Russia”, said US national security council spokesperson Emily Horne in a statement announcing the call.
Continue reading...Federal judge rejects defence arguments, a development that could have potential implications for Donald Trump
A federal judge has refused to dismiss an indictment charging four alleged Proud Boys leaders with conspiracy and obstructing an official proceeding during the 6 January attack on the US Capitol – a development that could have potential implications for Donald Trump.
On Tuesday, the US district judge Timothy Kelly rejected arguments by defence lawyers that Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Charles Donohoe are charged with conduct that is protected by the first amendment right to free speech.
Continue reading...Lyndon James McLeod, 47, who was killed at scene was ‘on radar of law enforcement’, say Denver police
A gunman who killed five people and injured two others in a series of shootings in Denver is believed to have targeted the victims based on previous personal and business dealings and was investigated by police twice in the last two years.
Denver police said that Lyndon James McLeod, 47, who was also killed in the deadly rampage on Monday night, knew most of the victims and was “on the radar of law enforcement”.
Continue reading...Three in five pregnant Americans have no vaccine protection as experts say it is ‘one of the most important things you can do’
For many people, the thin red line on a pregnancy test ushers in countless changes. You change what you eat and drink, how you exercise and socialize and sleep, and keep careful track of what medications you should and shouldn’t take.
But for many Americans, there’s one choice they largely haven’t made: getting vaccinated.
Continue reading...All over the country, free and fair elections are under threat. This will be one of the most important stories we tell in 2022.
Very soon we will mark the first anniversary of 6 January 2021 – a day when American democracy died a little. Just hours after the “Stop the Steal” attack on the Capitol, more than 100 congressional Republicans refused to certify the results of the election.
Donald Trump had lost, but he had also won – the “big lie” had firmly taken root. Since then the threats to US democracy have metastasized. Over the last few months, a new threat has emerged, one which few Americans – much less people abroad – are even aware of. It’s a story that has been under-reported and yet the future of US democracy may depend on it being told.
Continue reading...Lawyer argues court does not have jurisdiction as Virginia Giuffre’s ties to Colorado are ‘very limited’
Prince Andrew’s lawyer has called for the US civil case against the royal over alleged sexual assault to be stopped because his accuser is “actually domiciled in Australia”.
Virginia Giuffre is suing the Queen’s son for allegedly assaulting her when she was a teenager. Andrew strongly denies the allegation.
Continue reading...Box, deposited in 1887, did not appear to hold a rare photo of Abraham Lincoln that had been hoped for
More than 130 years after a time capsule was deposited in the pedestal of a statue of the Confederate general Robert E Lee, and after one false start, conservators in Virginia were finally able to open the long sought-after box on Tuesday.
The 36lb copper container, deposited in 1887, was removed on Monday after it was found sitting in water in the remains of the pedestal.
Continue reading...Suspect also died after being shot, but it was not immediately clear if police officers had shot him
At least four people were killed and three injured, including a police officer, after a series of shootings across the Denver area.
Police did not immediately name the suspected gunman, who was also killed, and said the motive for the shootings on Monday, across several locations in and around Colorado’s capital, was unclear.
Continue reading...Claim was part of push to overturn election but officials confirm four cases, all involving family members submitting votes
Donald Trump has claimed 5,000 dead people voted in 2020 in Georgia, a state he lost to Joe Biden on his way to national defeat.
He was off by 4,996.
Continue reading...Paxlovid and molnupiravir were authorized by the US FDA last week, but supplies of Paxlovid are limited while molnupiravir is less effective than hoped
An effective and widely available treatment for Covid would be a significant breakthrough for managing the pandemic, but two antivirals recently authorized in the US come with some significant caveats, including low supply and use only among those at high risk for severe illness and death.
Paxlovid from Pfizer and molnupiravir from Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics were authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week. The pills could be a game-changer for the most vulnerable, because they can be taken at home twice a day for five days to prevent hospitalization and death. For those considered at high risk of serious illness, Paxlovid was found to be 89% effective when taken within the first three days of symptoms and 88% effective in the first five days.
Continue reading...Shootings, and the grief and trauma that follow, are concentrated in lower-income, mostly Black and Latino communities
When I ask parents, siblings and children what they want Guardian readers to know about their family member lost to gun violence, each one emphatically tells me their relative didn’t deserve what happened to them. They tell me their loved ones adored animals, loved kids – that they were just special. The people I speak with, especially parents, want the world to know their sons and daughters weren’t stereotypes.
This desire for posthumous exoneration isn’t anything new, but the pleas sounded especially urgent in 2021.
Continue reading...A long-sought 1887 time capsule appears to have been found under a pedestal that once held a statue of the Confederate general Robert E Lee in Richmond, Virginia. Media reports described a capsule with dozens of artefacts, perhaps including a rare photo of Abraham Lincoln. Crews dismantling the pedestal found another time capsule earlier this month, but it did not contain the expected trove of objects. The statue was removed in September after protests against the police killing of George Floyd
Continue reading...US reports 512,553 cases; UK reports 129,000; France reports 179,807; Portugal 17,172; and Greece 21,657
Stock markets have continued to gain ground despite the surge of Omicron around the world.
Asian markets lifted on Tuesday with the Nikkei in Japan up nearly 1%, Shanghai up 0.2%, Seoul up 0.1% and Sydney’s ASX200 is up 0.44%.
Continue reading...Long-sought-after item could contain artifacts, Confederate memorabilia and even a rare photo of Abraham Lincoln
Crews wrapping up the removal Monday of a giant pedestal that once held a statue of Confederate Gen Robert E Lee in Richmond found what appeared to be a second and long-sought-after time capsule, Virginia governor Ralph Northam said.
The governor tweeted photos of a box being removed from the site and said conservators were studying the artifact.
Continue reading...Tehran is keen to verify US sanctions have genuinely been lifted
An eighth round of talks on reviving the Iran nuclear deal has begun in Vienna, with Iran saying participants have been largely working from an acceptable common draft text and that its team was willing to stay as long as it takes to reach an agreement.
The Iranian foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said he wanted the focus of the coming round of talks to be on how Tehran could verify US sanctions had genuinely been lifted. The landmark 2015 deal, from which Donald Trump withdrew the US, had lifted sanctions on Iran in return for controls on its civilian nuclear programme.
Continue reading...‘Remarkable woman’ Weddington hailed for role in 1973 case that established right to abortion
Tributes were paid to Sarah Weddington after the attorney who argued and won the landmark Roe v Wade case at the supreme court, establishing the right to abortion, died aged 76.
Susan Hays, a former student of Weddington’s and a Democratic candidate for Texas agriculture commissioner, announced on Twitter that Weddington died on Sunday morning “after a series of health issues”.
Continue reading...Law would have prevented companies outside the EEA from holding a controlling stake in Polish media companies
The Polish president has vetoed a media ownership law that critics said was aimed at silencing the US-owned news channel TVN24.
“I am vetoing it,” Andrzej Duda said in a televised statement, after the EU and the US heavily criticised the law.
Continue reading...Committee to request contents of the call seeking to stop Biden’s certification and may subpoena Rudy Giuliani
Congressman Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the House select committee investigating the Capitol attack, has said the panel will open an inquiry into Donald Trump’s phone call seeking to stop Joe Biden’s certification from taking place on 6 January hours before the insurrection.
The chairman said the select committee intended to scrutinize the phone call – revealed last month by the Guardian – should they prevail in their legal effort to obtain Trump White House records over the former president’s objections of executive privilege.
Continue reading...Omicron threat stokes fears coast to coast but leading public health expert says ‘We know how to keep schools open and safe’
As US regional health authorities reacted with alarm to a jump in child Covid infections that caused some school districts to announce returns to remote learning, a leading public health official questioned the need for schools to close, saying: “We know how to keep schools open, we know how to keep them safe.”
Over the past three weeks, as Omicron-related cases soared in New York City and elsewhere, the number of children hospitalised in New York with Covid-19 quadrupled, the state health department said.
Continue reading...No walk-in PCR tests available in England for a few hours due to ‘high demand’; French PM announces new measures
Queensland has detected 784 new Covid-19 cases but the health system is coping, state premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has said.
Quarantine and testing policies are being reviewed and rapid antigen tests may be introduced for some people within 48 hours to take pressure of testing facilities, AAP reports.
I don’t want people to be alarmed by that, the real issue here is what is the impact it is having on individuals in hospitals?
We are not seeing any massive impacts on our hospitals, which is really good news.
Continue reading...