Category Archives: US News

Wreck of legendary naval cutter USS Bear found off coast of Boston

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The Bear served in two world wars, carried out daring Arctic rescues and was the first government ship with a Black captain

The wreck of a legendary US naval ship that served in two world wars, performed patrols in waters off Alaska for decades, and at one point was captained by the first Black man to command a government vessel has been found.

A wreck thought to be the USS Bear, which sank in 1963 about 260 miles (418km) east of Boston as it was being towed to Philadelphia, where it was going to be converted into a floating restaurant, was located in 2019.

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Robert Durst sentenced to life in prison for murdering his friend Susan Berman

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The real estate heir had been convicted of first-degree murder last month as prosecutors argued he shot Berman in her home

Robert Durst, the real estate heir suspected in a string of killings over nearly four decades, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for murdering his friend and confidante Susan Berman.

A Los Angeles jury convicted Durst, 78, of first-degree murder last month for the 2000 killing. Prosecutors argued that Durst had shot Berman at point-blank range in her home to prevent her from telling police what she knew about the 1982 disappearance of Durst’s first wife, Kathie McCormack Durst. The verdict marked the first homicide conviction for Durst, who has been linked to the deaths of three people in three states.

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Woman in new lawsuit accuses Bill Cosby of rape in hotel room in 1990

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  • Lili Bernard says Cosby drugged and raped her in Atlantic City
  • Bernard, 57, says lawsuit prompted by actor’s prison release

A prominent Bill Cosby accuser filed suit on Thursday against the actor over a 1990 hotel room encounter in Atlantic City, New Jersey, before the state’s two-year window to file older sexual assault claims expires.

Los Angeles artist Lili Bernard told the Associated Press she was prompted in part by Cosby’s recent release from prison. The 84-year-old Cosby has been free since June, when the Pennsylvania supreme court overturned his 2018 sexual assault conviction in another case on procedural grounds.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 802 9999. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html

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Steve Bannon: Capitol attack panel to consider criminal contempt referral

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House 6 January select committee to decide on Trump’s former strategist, who has snubbed subpoena requests, on Tuesday

Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the House select committee investigating the Capitol attack on Thursday announced the panel’s intention to consider a criminal contempt referral against Trump’s former strategist Steve Bannon for defying a subpoena as part of its 6 January inquiry.

The vow to initiate contempt of Congress proceedings against Bannon – one of Donald Trump’s top advisers – puts the select committee on the path to enforce the subpoena issued to uncover what the former president knew in advance of plans to mount an insurrection.

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Norway attack suspect ‘showed signs of radicalisation’ | First Thing

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Five people killed and two injured in bow and arrow attack in Kongsberg. Plus, firefighters battle California blaze

Good morning.

A Danish man suspected of a bow and arrow attack that killed five people and injured two others in the Norwegian town of Kongsberg is a Muslim convert who previously showed signs of radicalisation, police have said.

Who were the victims? Four women and one man aged between 50 and 70 were killed, police said.

When and where were the attacks? Police were alerted to the attacks, which happened across a number of crime scenes in Kongsberg including a supermarket, at 6.15pm local time. The suspect was arrested 30 minutes later.

When did the Alisal fire start? It broke out on Monday, closing Amtrak lines and US 101, the area’s only large highway.

How bad have California’s fires been this year? Wildfires have scorched almost 3,900 sq miles of land, destroying more than 3,6o0 buildings.

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Biden officials announce ambitious plan to dot US coastline with wind farms

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  • Farms envisaged on east coast, west coast and Gulf of Mexico
  • Biden aims to generate enough power for 10m homes by 2030

Seven major offshore wind farms would be developed on the east and west coasts and in the Gulf of Mexico under a plan announced Wednesday by the Biden administration.

The projects are part of Joe Biden’s plan to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030, generating enough electricity to power more than 10 million homes.

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House Capitol attack panel issues subpoena to Trump official Jeffrey Clark

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In targeting Clark, House investigators followed up on a Senate report that detailed his efforts to abuse the DoJ to support Trump

The House select committee investigating the Capitol attack on Wednesday issued a subpoena to top Trump justice department official Jeffrey Clark, escalating its inquiry into the former president’s efforts to reinstall himself in office and the 6 January insurrection.

The new subpoena underscores the select committee’s far-reaching mandate in scrutinizing the origins of the Capitol attack, as it pursues an investigation into Donald Trump’s role in pressuring the justice department (DoJ) to do his bidding in the final weeks of his presidency.

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Don’t drink from tap, Canadian city says, as gasoline suspected in water supply

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State of emergency in Iqaluit, capital of Nunavut territory, as officials say they are testing water for petroleum hydrocarbons

Officials in Canada’s northernmost capital have declared a local state of emergency after finding possible evidence of gasoline in the city’s tap water.

Residents of Iqaluit, the capital of the Arctic territory of Nunavut, have been told not to drink, boil or cook with the city’s water.

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Huge leatherback sea turtle stranded on Cape Cod rescued by volunteers – video

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A leatherback sea turtle has been returned to the ocean after becoming stranded on a mudflat in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, US. It took dozens of volunteers from three conservation organisations to free the 270kg reptile. After a health assessment confirmed the disorientated turtle was in good health, it was released to cheers from the crowd of volunteers. The turtle was fitted with a tracking device that will monitor its migration patterns over the next decade


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UK, US, China: how the world’s carbon ‘centre of gravity’ moved over 200 years

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The geographic centre of the world’s carbon emissions used to sit atop the UK. Now it sits squarely over China

A new Guardian visualisation reveals how the “centre of gravity” of global emissions has moved over the past 200 years.

The analysis shows how the geographic centre of the world’s carbon emissions used to sit directly atop the UK before being pulled westwards by the US and back towards the east by the rise of China.

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Covid news live: US set to open land borders, Bali prepares to welcome back tourists

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The US will lift restrictions at its land borders with Canada and Mexico next month; holiday hot-spot Bali will reopen for vaccinated travellers from Thursday

There is a little bit of news on the Reuters wire which is coming out of Russia’s Interfax news agency. They are reporting that the Russian health ministry has said it will be having talks with the EU to discuss terms for the mutual recognition of Covid-19 vaccine certificates for their respective shots.

The European Medicines Agency is yet to approve Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine for use, which is the source of some friction between the two parties. Russia has accused the EU of doing so for political reasons, while the EU has in turn suggested that the vaccine’s manufacturer has not been forthcoming with the required data for approval.

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US to reopen land borders with Canada and Mexico in November

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The United States’ neighbours have been pressing it to ease restrictions on nonessential travel that have separated families during the pandemic

The US will reopen its land borders to nonessential travel in November, ending a 19-month freeze due to the Covid-19 pandemic as the country moves to require all international visitors to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Vehicle, rail and ferry travel between the US and Canada and Mexico has been largely restricted to essential travel, such as trade, since the earliest days of the pandemic.

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Carbon emissions ‘will drop just 40% by 2050 with countries’ current pledges’

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International Energy Agency says $4tn investment needed over decade to reach net zero target

Current plans to cut global carbon emissions will fall 60% short of their 2050 net zero target, the International Energy Agency has said, as it urged leaders to use the upcoming Cop26 climate conference to send an “unmistakable signal” with concrete policy plans.

In its annual World Energy Outlook, redesigned this year as a “guidebook” for world leaders attending the summit in Glasgow, the IEA predicted that carbon emissions would decrease by just 40% by the middle of the century if countries stick to their climate pledges.

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Squid Game is Netflix’s biggest debut hit, reaching 111m viewers worldwide

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The dystopian drama tops the streaming service’s charts in more than 80 countries, bumping aside recent Regency-era romp, Bridgerton

Dystopian South Korean drama Squid Game has become Netflix’s most popular series ever, drawing 111 million fans since its debut less than four weeks ago, the streaming service said Tuesday.

The unprecedented global viral hit imagines a macabre world in which marginalised people are pitted against one another in traditional children’s games. While the victor can earn millions in cash, losing players are killed.

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Apple may cut iPhone 13 production by millions as US warns of Christmas shortages

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Shares in Apple fall as global chip shortage and supply chain issues prompt White House to admit there could be empty shelves during festive season

Apple may slash the number of iPhone 13s it will make this year by up to 10m because of a shortage of computer chips amid a worldwide supply chain crunch that led the White House to warn that “there will be things that people can’t get” at Christmas.

Apple was expected to produce 90m units of the new iPhone models this year but has told its manufacturers that the number would be lower because chip suppliers including Broadcom and Texas Instruments were struggling to deliver components, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

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House passes bill to raise US debt ceiling through early December

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  • Legislation raises government’s borrowing limit to $28.9tn
  • Hard-fought House vote passes entirely along party lines

The US House of Representatives gave final approval on Tuesday to a Senate-passed bill temporarily raising the government’s borrowing limit to $28.9tn, putting off the risk of default at least until early December.

Democrats, who narrowly control the House, maintained party discipline to pass the hard-fought, $480bn debt limit increase. The vote was along party lines, with every yes from Democrats and every no from Republicans.

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Gabby Petito was strangled to death, Wyoming officials say after autopsy

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Coroner estimates Petito died three to four weeks before her body was found, on 19 September

Gabby Petito’s cause of death was strangulation, and the manner of death was homicide, Wyoming authorities have announced.

The Teton county coroner, Brent Blue, announced the findings of Petito’s autopsy at an afternoon news conference on Tuesday. He also estimated that Petito had died three to four weeks before her body was found, on 19 September.

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Coronavirus live: Russia sets new daily record for Covid deaths, Thailand ready to welcome back tourists

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973 deaths in last 24 hours is new record for Russia; Thailand to drop mandatory quarantine for UK and US visitors

That last block mentioned that Prof Sir Andrew Pollard had written for us. As well as a message for governments, he had a message for individuals too: Individuals cannot solve vaccine inequality. If you’re offered a booster, take it

The “to boost or not to boost” moral dilemma is not in the purview of individual citizens who ponder whether to roll up their sleeve when offered a booster by a vaccine clinic this week. A dose that is in the vaccine clinic fridge (or freezer) cannot be redirected to someone else in another country, because the regulatory hurdles and shelf-life simply make redistribution of this dose not practical. Redistribution has to happen prior to the release of vaccine doses to the national health system. A protest against vaccination at individual level will be misdirected and risks wasting these precious doses. If you are asked to roll up your sleeve, then you should do so.

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Inside America’s last whites-only church – video

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In rural Minnesota, a fringe Heathen group known as the Asatru Folk Assembly has purchased a local church – and membership is strictly whites-only. They worship Nordic, pre-Christian gods and they call themselves a 'folk religion' that only accepts those with northern European ancestry. Their racially exclusive ideology is protected by the first amendment. 

Amudalat Ajasa visits the church to understand how it is gaining influence across the country and to meet the anti-racist Heathens fighting back to reclaim their religion

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