Former president says Prince Harry ‘has been used horribly’ in interview with Nigel Farage
The former US president Donald Trump has accused the Duchess of Sussex of being “disrespectful” to the Queen and the royal family.
In a wide-ranging interview with the politician turned broadcaster Nigel Farage, Trump said he thought the Duke of Sussex had been “used horribly”.
Continue reading...Ilhan Omar has played an explicit death threat she received on her voicemail at a press briefing. The Democratic representative for Minnesota said threats against her life were often triggered by attacks on her faith by Republican politicians. She urged House Republican leaders to do more to counter 'anti-Muslim hatred' in their ranks
Continue reading...Scribner has responded to the news that Anthony Broadwater has been cleared of the crime at the centre of Lucky by ceasing to distribute the book
Alice Sebold’s publisher Scribner is pulling her 1999 memoir Lucky from shelves after a man was cleared of the rape at the heart of it.
Anthony Broadwater was convicted of raping Sebold in 1982, and spent 16 years in prison. He was exonerated last week after a re-examination of the case found serious flaws in his arrest and trial.
Continue reading...Critics say decision from legislatures in four states in effect pays people for not getting vaccinated
Some Republican states are expanding unemployment benefits for employees who have been fired or quit over vaccine mandates, a move critics say in effect pays people for not getting vaccinated.
Four states – Iowa, Tennessee, Florida, and Kansas – have changed their rules on unemployment to include people who have been terminated or who have chosen to leave their jobs because of their employers’ vaccine policies.
Continue reading...Witness identified as ‘Jane’ alleges Epstein began sexual abuse when she was 14 and says Maxwell was sometimes in the room
The first accuser in Ghislaine Maxwell’s child sex trafficking trial testified in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday that she was just 14 when the British socialite allegedly lured her into Jeffrey Epstein’s abusive orbit.
This accuser, who used the name “Jane” in court, alleged that Maxwell was sometimes present when this abuse occurred and participated on some occasions.
Continue reading...Longstanding plague of child abuse and extreme abortion laws fuel crisis, report says
An average of two girls between 10 and 14 give birth every day in Paraguay, thanks to a toxic combination of widespread child abuse and draconian abortion laws, according to a new Amnesty International report.
Paraguay has one of the highest rates of child and teen pregnancy in Latin America, a region that, as a whole, has the second-highest rates in the world.
Continue reading...As the supreme court hears new challenges to Roe v Wade, American abortion rights hang in the balance
According to recent polls, Americans overwhelmingly support Roe v Wade, the 1973 US supreme court ruling that protects a woman’s right to an abortion. But two new legal challenges to that decision could jeopardise the ability of American women to access abortions – and have knock-on effects for reproductive rights across the globe.
Guardian US health reporter Jessica Glenza has been reporting on laws that severely restrict abortion access in Mississippi and Texas; she tells Nosheen Iqbal that this is a ‘perilous moment’ for reproductive rights in the US.
Continue reading...A 15-year-old boy killed three fellow pupils and wounded eight others after opening fire with a semi-automatic handgun at a school in Oxford, Michigan. Those killed were a 16-year-old boy, a 17-year-old girl and a 14-year-old girl. The suspect was believed to have acted alone and was arrested without resistance after firing 15 to 20 shots. The suspect has declined to speak to police. Michigan's governor, Gretchen Whitmer, offered condolences at the scene, saying: 'I think this is every parent's worst nightmare.'
Continue reading...Mark Meadows, formerly Donald Trump’s chief of staff, has reached an agreement to cooperate, at least initially, with the bipartisan House committee investigating the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6 this year by extremist supporters of the-then president, according to CNN.
Meadows is providing records and agreeing to appear for an initial interview, the cable news company is reporting in an exclusive published moments ago.
Meadows’ lawyer George Terwilliger said in a statement to CNN that there is now an understanding between the two parties on how information can be exchanged moving forward, stating that his client and the committee are open to engaging on a certain set of topics as they work out how to deal with information that the committee is seeking that could fall under executive privilege.
But the agreement could be fragile if the two sides do not agree on what is privileged information. News of the understanding comes as Trump’s lawyers argued in front of a federal appeals court in Washington that the former President should be able to assert executive privilege over records from the committee.
Continue reading...Each morning draws a crowd of onlookers as Maxwell’s own movements remain a mystery
Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex-trafficking trial in New York is an early morning affair, reporters, court artists, protesters and onlookers gathering as early as 6am each day to get in the courthouse or, in some cases, simply to get their message out.
When the doors of the court open at 9am – and at lunch and 4pm – a line of black SUVs ferries well-turned parties in and out, a reminder, perhaps, that in some eyes at least this is about a public display of accountability for the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein as well as Maxwell’s trial on a set of criminal charges.
Continue reading...Coronel admitted to acting as a courier between Joaquín Guzmán and other members of the Sinaloa cartel while he was in prison
Emma Coronel Aispuro, the wife of the imprisoned drug kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán has been sentenced to three years in a US prison, after she pleaded guilty to helping the Sinaloa drug cartel.
Before her sentencing in a federal court in Washington, Coronel, 32, pleaded with US District Judge Rudolph Contreras to show her mercy.
Continue reading...French-American war hero is first Black woman inducted into Paris mausoleum for revered figures
Josephine Baker, the French-American civil rights activist, music hall superstar and second world war resistance hero, has become the first Black woman to enter France’s Panthéon mausoleum of revered historical figures – taking the nation’s highest honour at a moment when tensions over national identity and immigration are dominating the run-up to next year’s presidential race.
The elaborate ceremony on Tuesday – presided over by the French president, Emmanuel Macron – focused on Baker’s legacy as a resistance fighter, activist and anti-fascist who fled the racial segregation of the 1920s US for the Paris cabaret stage, and who fought for inclusion and against hatred.
Continue reading...Lara Logan compares top US infectious diseases expert to Dr Josef Mengele who experimented on Jews in concentration camps
A Fox News commentator stoked outrage by comparing Dr Anthony Fauci, Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, to Josef Mengele, the Nazi “Angel of Death”.
Lara Logan, a host on the Fox Nation streaming service, was discussing Omicron on Fox News Prime Time on Monday night, amid fears that the new variant will trigger a new wave of Covid cases and further deepen political divisions over how to respond. Fox News has consistently broadcast misinformation about Covid and measures to contain it.
Continue reading...‘Best hope’ for containing the new variant is worldwide vaccine campaign where rates are low, public health experts say
As new cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant are uncovered across the globe and threaten to spread in America, US officials are reacting by urging vaccinations and boosters instead of imposing restrictions which have increasingly provoked political fights.
But the US should quickly invest in other tools as well, experts said, including testing, genomic sequencing and surveillance, better communication, and a strong focus on global vaccine equity to prevent the emergence of new variants.
Continue reading...The theme for the 2021 White House holiday season is Gifts from the Heart. According to Jill Biden’s office, about 6,000ft of ribbon, more than 300 candles and more than 10,000 ornaments were used this year to decorate. There are also 41 Christmas trees throughout the White House
Continue reading...Nitzan Horowitz says ‘already room for optimism’ that vaccines will cover new variant; US Food & Drug Administration checking if tweaks needed
Stock markets in Asia have bounced back again as investors’ concerns about the new Omicron Covid variant eased. In Australia the ASX200 was up more than 1%, while in Japan the Nikkei was up 0.75%.
It followed a stronger showing on Monday on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 0.6% and the broader S&P500 was up 1.2% after some hefty losses on Friday, when news of the new strain shook confidence.
There are so many unknowns about Omicron and the market has been jumping at shadows.
After such a strong run and with elevated valuations, the market will always be susceptible to the odd shakeout on news that could bring risk.
Hong Kong’s very stringent system of boarding, quarantine and also testing requirements has successfully stopped the transmission of the three Omicron cases, that we have identified in our designated quarantine hotel, from going into the community.
Non-Hong Kong residents from these four places will not be allowed to enter Hong Kong.
The most stringent quarantine requirements will also be implemented on relevant inbound travellers from these places.
Continue reading...Ex-Empire actor is accused of hiring two men to fake an attack in Chicago but new evidence could support Smollett’s defense
Jussie Smollett “is a real victim” of a “real crime,” his attorney said in opening statements at the ex-Empire actor’s trial Monday, rejecting prosecutors’ allegation that he staged a homophobic and racist attack in Chicago.
Defense attorney Nenye Uche said two brothers attacked Smollett in January 2019 because they didn’t like him, and that a $3,500 check the actor paid the men was for training so he could prepare for an upcoming music video, not as payment for staging a hate crime, as prosecutors allege. Uche also suggested a third attacker was involved and told jurors there is not a “shred” of physical and forensic evidence linking Smollett to the crime prosecutors allege.
Continue reading...The relatively unknown chief technology officer faces a political minefield in one of Silicon Valley’s top jobs
Jack Dorsey has stepped down as CEO of Twitter and passed the baton to the relatively unknown executive Parag Agrawal.
Agrawal, who has been with the company for 10 years – most recently as chief technology officer – has emerged from behind the scenes to take over one of Silicon Valley’s highest-profile and politically volatile jobs. But who is he, and what can we expect for Twitter under his leadership?
Continue reading...Ex-president’s chaotic style resulted in presidential daily briefing being delivered more regularly to Mike Pence
Donald Trump’s “fact-free” approach to the presidency created unprecedented challenges for intelligence officials responsible for briefing him, according to a newly released account from the CIA.
The 45th president’s chaotic and freewheeling style, and his disinclination to read anything put in front of him, resulted in the presidential daily briefing, or PDB – a crucial security update including information about potential threats to the US – being delivered more regularly to Vice-President Mike Pence instead, the report states.
Continue reading...Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has stepped down from his executive role at the social media company.
Dorsey will be replaced by chief technology officer (CTO) Parag Agrawal, the company announced on Monday.
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