Officials have announced that Kemmerer, population 2,600, will be the site of a plant featuring a liquid sodium-cooled reactor
A tiny city in the top US coal-mining state of Wyoming is set to become the home of an experimental nuclear power project backed by Bill Gates.
The new Natrium nuclear power plant will be located in Kemmerer, officials announced on Tuesday, and will replace a coal-fired plant that is set to close in 2025.
Continue reading...Top infectious disease official said if more Americans get vaccines and booster shots, the disease could be downgraded to endemic status
Anthony Fauci, the top infectious diseases public official in the US, said on Tuesday that if America further ramps up vaccination rates and those already immunized take booster shots that it is feasible Covid-19 could be reduced from a pandemic emergency to endemic status next year.
More than 70% of adults in the US are fully vaccinated. Fauci said if a lot more Americans take the vaccines, and if the US makes boosters available for everyone, the country could get control of the virus by spring of 2022.
Continue reading...The president, beset by sagging poll numbers, will visit New Hampshire on the first leg of a tour promoting bipartisan legislation
The Biden administration will soon announce a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Washington Post reports
Citing multiple sources familiar with the planned boycott, the Post wrote that while the decision has not been finalized, the White House is expected to announce that neither Biden nor any US government official will attend the games, with Biden expected to approve the plan before the end of the month.
The timing of this process was not linked to the Biden-Xi virtual meeting Monday evening, which was billed as a way for the two leaders to demonstrate their ability to manage complex U.S.-China relations in an era of rising tensions. Various reports this week have said that Xi Jinping intended to bring up the Olympics issue with Biden, perhaps even inviting him to personally attend. But the issue didn’t come up at all during the 3½-hour meeting, according to initial reports.
“President Biden raised concerns about the [People’s Republic of China’s] practices in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong, as well as human rights more broadly,” the White House readout of the Biden-Xi meeting stated.
China has labelled the US House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, “full of lies and disinformation” after her calls for a diplomatic boycott of next year’s Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics on human rights grounds.
“Some US individuals’ remarks are full of lies and disinformation,” a foreign ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, said on Wednesday. “US politicians should stop using the Olympic movement to play despicable political games” or using “the so-called human rights issue as a pretext to smear and slander China”, he added.
Continue reading...Analysis: while depth of division remains clear, leaders showed willingness to move in positive direction
The much-awaited meeting between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping achieved its admittedly low expectations when the two finally met and showed a willingness to move the bilateral relationship in a positive direction.
Progress began to show soon after the meeting, for example on journalist visas. But the two sides also provided a list of existing grievances following the three-and-a-half-hour talks. The US said it raised its concerns over China’s human rights record, its “unfair trade and economic practices”, and its behaviour in the South China Sea.
Continue reading...Two cabinet members considered invoking the 25th amendment, new book by the ABC White House correspondent says
Donald Trump’s secretary of state and treasury secretary discussed removing him from power after the deadly Capitol attack by invoking the 25th amendment, according to a new book.
The amendment, added to the constitution after the assassination of John F Kennedy in 1963, provides for the removal of an incapacitated president, potentially on grounds of mental as well as physical fitness. It has never been used.
Continue reading...The jurors will determine what the case represents in the eyes of the law, but to a divided America the implications are much larger
After the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, who as a 17-year-old fatally shot two men and wounded a third, finally closed and the jury was sent out to deliberate its verdict, a crowd of supporters stood outside the Kenosha county courthouse volleying chants in the cold November dark.
“Black Lives Matter!” one group shouted.
Continue reading...Remote working has made it easier than ever for staff to moonlight. But how do they cope with clashing meetings and two bosses? And can the rewards be worth the lies?
Second jobs can be incredibly lucrative – just ask any of the MPs who gained at least £6m collectively from their side gigs since the start of the pandemic. But it’s not only MPs benefiting from second jobs: ordinary white-collar workers have been getting in on the act. And these workers aren’t just taking on positions that might require a couple of days’ work a month. Instead, they are juggling several traditional full-time jobs, and keeping each one a secret from their other employers – leading, in effect, multiple lives
Among them is Jamie, a 25-year-old based in the UK. Over lockdown, Jamie found himself spending a significant amount of each working day playing video games. His role as a software engineer is undemanding and barely monitored by his company. It allowed him to live comfortably, but he was on what he considered a modest salary.
Continue reading...The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, disputed recent media reports that the US vice president, Kamala Harris, is struggling with her role in Joe Biden's administration. ‘She's a key partner,’ Psaki said. ‘She's a bold leader, and she is somebody who has taken on incredibly important assignments,’ including immigration and voting rights. With questions being raised about the president's willingness to seek a second term, speculation is mounting over Harris’s chances in a contest for the next Democratic nomination.
‘I don't have any predictions of whether she will run, when she will run,’ Psaki added. ‘I will leave that to her, but I can tell you that there's been a lot of reports out there and they don't reflect his view or our experience with the vice president'
Continue reading...US president Joe Biden has told Chinese leader Xi Jinping that he hoped to have a candid conversation about human rights and security issues as the two began a meeting meant to lower tensions between the two global superpowers. Biden added that the two leaders must make sure their relations do not veer into open conflict, including by installing ‘common sense’ guardrails. Biden spoke with Xi over a video conference as the two leaders engaged in their most extensive talks since Biden became president in January. Xi said the two sides must increase communication and cooperation to solve the many challenges they face.
Continue reading...The signing of a $1.2tn infrastructure act was a much-needed win but Washington’s deep divisions were all too apparent
“Here is what I know to be true, Mr President,” Vice-President Kamala Harris said on Monday, as she addressed Joe Biden. “You are equal parts believer and builder. And because you are, we are all better off.”
Biden is a believer in the ability of the American people, US democracy and Democrats and Republicans to work together and get things done. It was the theory of his candidacy for president.
Continue reading...Duke of Sussex says issue needs to be tackled by policies including investment in local journalism
Prince Harry has described online misinformation as a “global humanitarian issue” that needs to be tackled by policies including investment in local journalism and cracking down on super-spreaders of false content.
The Duke of Sussex contributed to a report by a US thinktank into disinformation, which made 15 recommendations after a six-month study.
Continue reading...Trump ally, indicted after defying subpoena from House panel, urges supporters to ‘stay focused, stay on message’
Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former president Donald Trump, appeared in court on Monday charged with contempt of Congress, regarding the investigation of the deadly Capitol attack.
Bannon did not enter a plea, and the brief hearing determined that he be arraigned on Thursday. He was released after being ordered to surrender his passport, report once a week to pre-trial services and report travel plans.
Continue reading...New York court considers jury selection arrangements for trial of British socialite on sex trafficking charges linked to Jeffrey Epstein
Less than 24 hours before Ghislaine Maxwell will be in a courtroom with prospective jurors who will decide her fate in a Manhattan federal court sex trafficking case, the former British socialite appeared notably at ease during a proceeding on Monday morning.
One woman, who identified herself as a family member to a court security officer, waved at Maxwell shortly before proceedings started. She carried a yellow legal pad and scribbled notes throughout the proceeding.
Continue reading...Investor Bill Ackman trying to win approval for a controversial penthouse overlooking Central Park
The billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman will on Tuesday attempt to convince New York’s powerful Landmarks Preservation Commission to allow him to build a “flying saucer” penthouse on top of a historic apartment building in the Upper West Side overlooking Central Park.
Ackman, a Harvard-educated activist investor who famously made $2.6bn (£2.2bn) profit in a single day betting on the financial impact of coronavirus during the early days of the pandemic, has been engaged in a years-long public relations battle with his merely millionaire neighbours to garner support for his planned Norman Foster-designed two-storey penthouse that has been described as a “temple to a titan”.
Continue reading...Thanks to climate change, armadillos, native to southern America, are making their way up north. And there’s no sign of them stopping their relentless march
In the pitch dark, Jason Bullard adroitly shoulders his rifle and levels it at the object. “That looks like one!” he mutters. It turns out to be a fuse box. Another candidate, again aimed at with the gun, reveals itself as a rock.
In this town besieged by armadillos, anything with a passing similarity to the armored nemesis is under suspicion.
Continue reading...Michael Flynn, Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, was widely condemned after calling for the establishment of “one religion” in the US.
Religious freedom is enshrined in the first amendment to the US constitution, which says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”.
Continue reading...Arrested in New Hampshire last year, Maxwell is charged with alleged sex crimes, conspiracy and perjury related to Epstein
When jury selection starts in earnest on Tuesday for British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial in Manhattan federal court, many observers might think that they will finally learn the full truth about the crimes of her consort, disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein – and any subsequent cover-ups.
On the surface, this conjecture makes sense: Epstein killed himself in jail more than two years ago, while awaiting his own sex trafficking trial, leaving many to wonder whether there would ever be justice for victims.
Continue reading...Ezra Blount had been in a coma after suffering serious injuries in the tragedy at a Travis Scott concert on 5 November
A nine-year-old Dallas boy has become the youngest person to die from injuries sustained during a crowd surge at the Astroworld music festival in Houston.
Ezra Blount of Dallas died on Sunday at Texas children’s hospital in Houston, family attorney Ben Crump said.
Continue reading...Mako Komuro arrives with husband in US, leaving behind her royal status after months of public outcry and frenzied media attention
Japanese former princess Mako Komuro has arrived in the United States with her husband, Kei Komuro, swapping ancient imperial rites for the bright lights of New York after leaving the royal family and relinquishing her royal title.
The pair tied the knot in Tokyo last month in muted fashion, following years of public attention over a minor financial scandal involving Kei Komuro’s mother, which Mako Komuro said caused her “sadness and pain”.
Continue reading...Baghuz bombing of people trying to escape fighting was covered up, says NY Times report
The US military has confirmed for the first time a 2019 air strike in Syria that killed up to 80 people, mostly women and children, but claimed the strike was justified as it killed Islamic State fighters who were attacking coalition forces.
The confirmation from US Central Command followed a report by the New York Times in which former and current Pentagon officials alleged there had been a cover-up of a likely war crime. Central Command argued that because some women and children had taken up arms for IS, whether by indoctrination or choice, they “could not strictly be classified as civilians”.
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