The Republican Florida congressman Matt Gaetz eloped to southern California on Saturday, in order to marry Ginger Luckey in a small ceremony on Catalina Island.
Related: Trump booed after telling supporters to get Covid vaccine
Continue reading...Ahmad Massoud issues warning as militant group seeks to assert control around Kabul airport
One of the main figures still leading Afghan opposition to the Taliban’s takeover of the country, Ahmad Massoud, has warned that a new civil war is inevitable without a comprehensive power-sharing agreement.
The son of Ahmad Shah Massoud, who opposed the Taliban in the 1990s and was assassinated two days before 9/11 in 2001, Massoud told the Dubai-based Al Arabiya television channel that war was “unavoidable” if the Taliban refused dialogue.
Continue reading...Full federal approval of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine will empower businesses and universities to require vaccinations and tip hesitant Americans toward getting the jab, the surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, said on Sunday.
Related: Breakthrough infections and booster shots: what you need to know
Continue reading...Performer who became part of the French resistance will be moved to the mausoleum in November
The remains of Josephine Baker, a famed French-American dancer, singer and actor who also worked with the French resistance during the second world war, will be moved to the Panthéon mausoleum in November, according to an aide to President Emmanuel Macron.
It will make Baker, who was born in Missouri in 1906 and buried in Monaco in 1975, the first Black woman to be laid to rest in the hallowed Parisian monument.
Continue reading...Boogie Nights star reportedly cast as Carrie Bradshaw’s best friend in HBO Max series And Just Like That …
Nicole Ari Parker has been billed to replace Kim Cattrall in the Sex and the City reboot, following the backlash that accompanied the news that the era-defining show’s most iconic character was done with the series.
Ari Parker, known for starring in the acclaimed series Empire as well as Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights, will reportedly replace Cattrall as the fourth member of the New York friend group. According to the Mail on Sunday, Ari Parker, 50, will play Carrie Bradshaw’s new best friend, documentary-maker Lisa Todd Wexley.
Continue reading...Singer and guitarist who formed one of pop’s greatest vocal partnerships, the Everly Brothers, dies in Nashville
Don Everly, one half of the rock’n’roll duo the Everly Brothers, has died at his home in Nashville at the age of 84.
A spokesperson for the family confirmed Everly’s death to the Los Angeles Times, but did not disclose a cause.
Continue reading...Larry Elder doesn’t believe in gun control or the gender pay gap. He has risen to the top of the Republican field in the recall election for governor
Larry Elder is a confounding frontrunner in the Republican race to replace Gavin Newsom as California governor.
Related: Grizzly Flats: the California town leveled by the Caldor fire – in pictures
Continue reading...Preparations for a monster storm forecast to hit parts of the US north-east were stepped up on Saturday after Henri was promoted to a hurricane as it moved closer to land.
In New York, Andrew Cuomo used his last hours as governor to direct the state response, declaring a state of emergency in some areas and telling residents: “If you have to get to higher ground, it has to be today.”
Continue reading...Thousands will show proof of vaccination to attend star-studded Central Park extravaganza as city averages nearly 1,900 cases a day
As coronavirus cases continued to rise across the US, thousands were expected nonetheless to attend a concert in Central Park on Saturday night, staged to celebrate New York City’s recovery amid the pandemic.
Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Jennifer Hudson, Carlos Santana, LL Cool J and Andrea Bocelli were included in the lineup for We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert. Most tickets distributed by the city were free, with attendees required to show proof of vaccination.
Continue reading...Ex-president to support of Mo Brooks, who is running for Senate and sympathised with man who threatened to blow up US Capitol
Donald Trump was due to stage a rally in Alabama on Saturday night, in a city that has declared a Covid emergency and in support of a congressman who both backed Trump’s attempt to overturn the election and this week sympathised with a man who threatened to blow up the US Capitol.
Related: Capitol bomb claim suspect charged with weapon of mass destruction threat
Continue reading...Dan Patrick refuses to apologise for false claim while Texas experiences highest hospitalisation rates since January
Dan Patrick, the Republican lieutenant governor of Texas, has refused to apologise for blaming rising Covid-19 hospitalisations and deaths on unvaccinated African Americans, comments one Black Houston official called “racist and flat out wrong”.
Related: Texas school district requires masks after finding dress code loophole to bypass ban
Continue reading...A former tour manager for R Kelly testified on Friday that he paid a $500 bribe to a government worker to get the singer Aaliyah a fake identification card so Kelly could secretly marry her when she was 15 years old.
Related: Aaliyah: ‘Her sound is the R&B blueprint’
Continue reading...Some Texas Democrats dismayed their colleagues returned to make a quorum, but others hope their protest has drawn attention to voting rights
A last-ditch effort to stall Texas Republicans from passing sweeping voting legislation effectively ended on Thursday evening after enough Democrats returned to the state capitol in Austin to allow lawmakers to proceed on legislation.
Continue reading...Vaccine efficacy against infection is waning slightly with time – but efficacy against severe symptoms remains strong
Federal health authorities have recommended booster shots for all adults who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 with either the the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, citing evidence that suggests breakthrough infections could become more common over time.
The plan has faced scrutiny. Some US scientists have said data was insufficient to support the decision, and vaccines remain highly effective against severe disease requiring hospitalization and death. The World Health Organization harshly criticized US leaders for using vaccines to provide a third shot to people, even as most around the world haven’t had one.
Continue reading...In 1915 the president, Woodrow Wilson, screened the movie Birth of a Nation at the White House – a film that depicts Black men as brutal people who desire white women. Meanwhile white supremacist groups were writing school curriculums and news media were painting Black men as animalistic beings who attacked white women. This set the scene for a week of racial violence targeting Black Americans in 1919, during which two American cities were left in chaos. In Chicago it started with a Black man drowning after white people throw stones at him at a beach for infringing on their space. It led to a confrontation between Black and white citizens, and escalated into white mobs going into Black communities to burn down homes and kill Black people. In Washington DC it started with a minor argument that turned into rape allegations against two Black men, which prompted white mobs to attack Black people in restaurants, trolleys and in their communities. Dozens of Black people were killed during these riots, and few were held accountable.
Continue reading...A judge on Friday struck down a California ballot measure that exempted Uber and other app-based ride-hailing and delivery services from a state law requiring drivers to be classified as employees eligible for benefits and job protections.
Related: One airport, 1,300 snakes: San Francisco helps to save endangered species
Continue reading...Joe Biden, under mounting pressure to evacuate American citizens from Afghanistan, has said the US is considering “every means” to get people to Kabul airport, promising: “We will get you home.”
Related: ‘We will get you home,’ Biden tells Americans in Afghanistan – live
Continue reading...• Obama’s former chief of staff also served as Chicago mayor
• Emanuel joins long list of ambassadors awaiting confirmation
Joe Biden plans to nominate Rahm Emanuel, a former US lawmaker who served as chief of staff to President Barack Obama and as mayor of Chicago, to be ambassador to Japan, the White House said in a statement on Friday.
White House officials lauded Emanuel’s experience and long years of public service in announcing the nomination.
Continue reading...President Joe Biden, rejecting criticism of his handling of the chaotic US pullout from Afghanistan, has warned that the operation to evacuate thousands through Kabul airport carries risks, but promised Americans in the country that 'we will get you home'.
'Make no mistake, this evacuation mission is dangerous. It involves risks to our armed forces and it's being conducted under difficult circumstances. I cannot promise what the final outcome will be or that it will be without risk of loss. But as commander in chief, I can assure you that I will mobilise every resource necessary,' Biden said.
The United States is desperately trying to evacuate thousands of people from Afghanistan by a 31 August deadline, although Biden said this week that US troops at Kabul airport providing security for the evacuation could stay longer if necessary.
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The US State Department has put out a joint statement from the foreign ministers of the members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), after a meeting earlier today, appealing to the Taliban, effectively, in a display of resolve that appears undermined by the scenes on the ground in Afghanistan - and what is known of the Taliban.
We are united in our deep concern about the grave events in Afghanistan and call for an immediate end to the violence. We also express deep concerns about reports of serious human rights violations and abuses across Afghanistan.
We affirm our commitment to the statement by the UN Security Council on 16 August, and we call for adherence to international norms and standards on human rights and international humanitarian law in all circumstances.
Related: Afghanistan reports of torture and killing contradict Taliban’s promises
The Afghan people deserve to live in safety, security and dignity, and to build on the important political, economic and social achievements they have made over the last twenty years. We stand by civil society actors who must be able to continue to safely play their meaningful role in Afghan society. We call on all parties in Afghanistan to work in good faith to establish an inclusive and representative government, including with the meaningful participation of women and minority groups. Under the current circumstances, NATO has suspended all support to the Afghan authorities.
Any future Afghan government must adhere to Afghanistan’s international obligations; safeguard the human rights of all Afghans, particularly women, children, and minorities; uphold the rule of law; allow unhindered humanitarian access; and ensure that Afghanistan never again serves as a safe haven for terrorists.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
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