Category Archives: US News

US placed on rights watchlist over health of its civil society under Trump

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International non-profit Civicus says ‘sustained attacks on civic freedoms’ put US on par with El Salvador and Kenya

A group of global civil society organizations have placed the US on a watchlist for urgent concern over the health of its civic society, alongside Turkey, Serbia, El Salvador, Indonesia and Kenya.

On Wednesday, a new report released by the non-profit Civicus placed the US on its watchlist following “sustained attacks on civic freedoms” across the country, according to the group.

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US and China poised to extend tariff truce after failing to find resolution at talks

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Trump will need to approve pause, say US representatives after negotiations end with sides failing to break deadlock on trade terms

US and Chinese negotiators have agreed in principle to push back the deadline for escalating tariffs, although America’s representatives said any extension would need Donald Trump’s approval.

Officials from both sides said after two days of talks in Stockholm that while had failed to find a resolution across the many areas of dispute they had agreed to extend a pause due to run out on 12 August.

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UCLA agrees to $6.5m settlement with Jewish students over pro-Palestinian protests

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Lawsuit alleges protesters made antisemitic threats with the ‘knowledge and acquiescence’ of university officials

The University of California, Los Angeles, will pay nearly $6.5m to settle a lawsuit by Jewish students and a professor who said the university allowed antisemitic discrimination to take place on campus during last year’s pro-Palestinian protests.

The lawsuit alleged that with the “knowledge and acquiescence” of university officials, protesters prevented Jewish students from accessing parts of campus, and made antisemitic threats. Under the settlement agreement announced on Tuesday, the university admitted it had “fallen short” and agreed to pay $2.33m to eight groups that support UCLA’s Jewish community, $320,000 to a campus initiative to fight antisemitism, and $50,000 to each plaintiff.

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What to know about the victims of the New York City skyscraper shooting

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NYPD officer Didarul Islam and Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner among the four killed in Monday’s attack

An off-duty New York police officer as well as a high-ranking real estate executive were among those killed on Monday evening during a shooting at a Manhattan high-rise building that left four victims dead and one other person seriously injured, according to officials.

The New York police department (NYPD) officer Didarul Islam, 36, who was assigned to a Bronx precinct and had been on the job for three and a half years, was off duty when the attack began.

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ChatGPT launches study mode to encourage ‘responsible’ academic use

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Tool gives guidance rather than serving up complete essays or answers, amid rising AI misuse at universities

ChatGPT is launching a “study mode” to encourage responsible academic use of the chatbot, amid rising cases of misuse of artificial intelligence tools at universities.

The feature, which can be accessed via the chatbot’s tools button, can walk users through complex subjects in a step-by-step format akin to an unfolding academic lesson.

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Texas sues New York official for refusing to take action against abortion provider

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Action tees up a state v state battle involving mailing of abortion pills that’s expected to go to US supreme court

Texas has sued a New York official for refusing to take action against an abortion provider, teeing up a state-versus-state battle that is widely expected to end up before the US supreme court.

Ken Paxton, Texas’s attorney general, has petitioned the New York state supreme court to order a county clerk to enforce a fine against Dr Margaret Carpenter, a New York doctor accused of mailing abortion pills across state lines.

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‘The war needs to end’: is the US right turning on Israel?

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Longstanding ties between US conservatives and Israel face strain as war’s toll and internal rifts reshape the right

As the Israel-Gaza war nears its two-year mark, and as images of starving people and utter devastation flood social media, cracks seem to be emerging in the American right’s typically iron-clad support for Israel.

The US continues to support Israel diplomatically and militarily, and last Thursday pulled out of peace negotiations that it accused Hamas of sabotaging. And in the US Congress, only two Republicans voted for a recent amendment that would have pulled funding for missile defense systems for Israel. One of them, Marjorie Taylor Greene, on Monday became the first Republican to call Israel’s war a “genocide”.

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Two children at Miami sailing camp killed after barge collides with their boat

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Six people pulled from water, with two other kids in critical condition, after crash sends them overboard, officials said

Two kids were killed and two more are in critical condition after a barge appears to have struck their boat and sent them overboard during a sailing camp in Miami on Monday, authorities said.

All six people on the sailing boat were pulled from the water by responders, and four kids were rushed to a nearby hospital where two were pronounced dead upon arrival, said petty officer 3rd Class Nicholas Strasburg, a spokesperson for the US Coast Guard.

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Eastern US swelters from heatwave as high temperatures affect half of country

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Heat and humidity are stretching east from the Mississippi River valley, and some areas could see heat indices of 120F

The eastern half of the US is facing a significant heatwave, with more than 185 million people under warnings due to intense and widespread heat conditions on Monday.

The south-east is likely to endure the most dangerous temperatures as the extreme heat spread across the region on Monday, spanning from the Carolinas through Florida. In these areas, heat index values (how hot it feels once humidity is accounted for) are forecast to range between 105 and 113F (40.5 to 45C).

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Trump cuts deadline for Putin to reach Ukraine peace deal to ‘10 or 12 days’

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US president expresses frustration with Putin after meeting with UK PM amid pressure on Russia for ceasefire

Donald Trump’s timeline for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine has sped up, the president said while visiting Nato ally Great Britain on Monday.

“I’m going to make a new deadline of about 10, 10 or 12 days from today,” Trump said in response to a question while sitting with the British prime minister, Keir Starmer. “There’s no reason in waiting. There’s no reason in waiting. It’s 50 days. I want to be generous, but we just don’t see any progress being made.”

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Von der Leyen ducks Trump’s trade blitz – but deal exposes EU’s faultlines

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Europe may have staved off an economic clash, but the compromise leaves the bloc facing higher tariffs and internal discord

There is no doubt that Ursula von der Leyen was under intense pressure on Sunday when she sat next to Donald Trump in the ballroom at his Turnberry golf course before what EU officials knew would be a gruelling round of trade talks.

As the European Commission president emerged less than an hour later to announce that the worst of Trump’s tariff threats had been avoided, the recriminations from inside the EU began almost immediately.

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Project 2025’s Paul Dans will challenge Lindsey Graham in South Carolina Republican primary

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Dans, one of the main forces behind the conservative blueprint, joins primary that will serve as a litmus test for Trump’s Maga coalition

Paul Dans, one of the main forces behind the conservative blueprint Project 2025, will run against Lindsey Graham in the South Carolina Republican primary next year.

News outlets reported Monday that Dans will join a crowded field of Republican contenders looking to unseat the senator. Dans is planning a formal announcement for Wednesday in Charleston.

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Delta co-pilot reportedly arrested on plane for child sexual abuse materials

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Several passengers told various media outlets that law enforcement officers removed co-pilot from plane in San Francisco

A co-pilot with Delta Air Lines was reportedly arrested by federal agents at San Francisco international airport over the weekend on charges related to child sexual abuse materials, according to a senior official with the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and multiple media reports.

The arrest reportedly took place shortly after the flight – Delta Flight 2809 from Minnesota – landed at the California airport at about 9.35pm on Saturday, as the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

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Republican Nancy Mace says she likes to watch videos of Ice detaining people

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Congresswoman says she ‘can think of nothing more American’ than Ice dragging people out of court

Republican congresswoman Nancy Mace has claimed she cruises the web for videos of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents dragging people into custody, saying she “can think of nothing more American”.

“I have to tell you – one of my favorite things to watch on YouTube these days are … court hearings where illegals are in court and Ice shows up to drag them out of court and deport them,” the South Carolina representative said during an appearance on Sunday on Fox Report Weekend.

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Boeing fighter jet workers poised to strike after rejecting contract offer

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Plane maker expects over 3,200 union workers at three St Louis-area plants to strike after overwhelming no vote

Boeing Co expects more than 3,200 union workers at three St Louis-area plants that produce US fighter jets to strike after they rejected a proposed contract on Sunday that included a 20% wage increase over four years.

The International Machinists and Aerospace Workers union said the vote by District 837 members was overwhelmingly against the proposed contract. The existing contract was to expire at 11.59pm central time on Sunday, but the union said a “cooling off” period would keep a strike from beginning for another week, until 4 August.

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Tom Lehrer, acclaimed musical satirist of cold war era, dies aged 97

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A child prodigy in mathematics who graduated Harvard at just 19, his darkly prophetic and cynical show tunes won him a cult following in the 50s and 60s

Tom Lehrer, the acclaimed humorist and pianist whose satirical songs made him one of America’s favorite prophets of doom before he retreated to academia, has died, US media reported on Sunday. He was 97.

The singer-songwriter died on Saturday at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, his friend David Herder said, according to the New York Times.

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Keir Starmer to recall cabinet for emergency meeting on Gaza crisis

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Prime minister expected to press Donald Trump to take tougher stance towards Israel when they meet in Scotland

Keir Starmer will recall his cabinet from their summer break for an emergency meeting on the Gaza crisis this week as cross-party MPs warned his talks with Donald Trump provided a critical juncture in helping to resolve the conflict.

Amid growing international horror over the situation on the ground in Gaza, he will urge the US president to take a tougher stance towards Israel and will push for ceasefire talks to resume, when they meet in Scotland on Monday.

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Group confronted suspect who stabbed 11 at a Michigan Walmart, video shows

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Several passersby were seen yelling ‘throw it away’ and ‘get on the ground’ to a knife-wielding man now in custody

Several passersby helped apprehend a knife-wielding suspect who stabbed 11 people at a Walmart in Michigan, video has revealed.

Footage circulating on social media showed several citizens in Traverse City confronting a 42-year old man outside the supermarket on Saturday during the attack. Among the people confronting the suspect included an armed citizen who could be seen pointing his gun at the man.

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Top medical body concerned over RFK Jr’s reported plans to cut preventive health panel

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American Medical Association writes to health secretary after reports he aims to overhaul taskforce for being ‘woke’

A top US medical body has expressed “deep concern” to Robert F Kennedy Jr over news reports that the health secretary plans to overhaul a panel that determines which preventive health measures including cancer screenings should be covered by insurance companies.

The letter from the the American Medical Association comes after the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Kennedy plans to overhaul the 40-year old US Preventive Services Task Force because he regards them as too “woke”, according to sources familiar with the matter.

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