Category Archives: US News

As Covid recedes in US a new worry emerges: wildlife passing on the virus

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New study shows that deer can catch the virus from people and give it to other deer in overwhelming numbers

As America’s pandemic – for now – seems to be moving into a new phase with national rates in decline from the September peak and vaccines rolling out to children, a new worry has appeared on the horizon: wildlife passing on the virus.

A new study shows that deer can catch the coronavirus from people and give it to other deer in overwhelming numbers, the first evidence of animals transmitting the virus in the wild. Similar spillover and transmission could be occurring in certain animal populations around the world, with troubling implications for eradicating the virus and potentially even for the emergence of new variants.

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US and China announce surprise climate agreement – video

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The United States and China, the world's two largest emitters of carbon dioxide, unveiled a deal to ramp up cooperation tackling the climate crisis. US climate envoy John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua announced the framework agreement at the UN climate conference in Scotland. Both billed it as way to tip the summit toward success. 'In the area of climate change', Xie Zhenhua said. 'There is more agreement between China and the US than divergence, making it an area with huge potential for cooperation'.

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Biden to sign bipartisan infrastructure bill into law on Monday – live

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Joe Biden met this morning with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, in the Oval Office.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, von der Leyen said she and Biden had a “very productive” discussion about the need to increase coronavirus vaccination rates.

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Xi Jinping warns against return to Asia-Pacific tensions of cold war era

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Chinese leader urges countries in region to work together amid growing pressure from US over Taiwan

Xi Jinping has warned against a return to cold war-era tensions in the Asia-Pacific, urging greater cooperation on pandemic recovery and the climate crisis.

Amid growing tensions with the US over Taiwan, the Chinese president said all countries in the region must work together on joint challenges.

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Ten Republican-led states sue over vaccine mandate for healthcare workers

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Lawsuit follows similar ones challenging new Biden administration rules for federal contractors and large businesses

A coalition of 10 states sued the federal government on Wednesday to try to block a Covid-19 vaccine requirement for healthcare workers, marking a new front in the resistance by Republican-led states to the pandemic policies of President Joe Biden’s administration.

The lawsuit filed in a federal court in Missouri contends that the vaccine requirement threatens the jobs of millions of healthcare workers and could “exacerbate an alarming shortage” in healthcare fields, particularly in rural areas where some health workers have been hesitant to get the shots.

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Taiwan hits back after Paul Keating says its status ‘not a vital Australian interest’

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China’s aggression destabilises the region and threatens democratic freedoms, Taipei says

Taiwan has hit back at the former Australian prime minister Paul Keating after he said Taiwan was “not a vital Australian interest” and labelled it a “civil matter” for China.

In an appearance at the National Press Club on Wednesday, Keating dismissed global concerns about China’s aggression towards Taiwan and criticised Australia’s growing bipartisan pushback.

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Kyle Rittenhouse lawyers seek mistrial as judge upbraids prosecution

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  • Judge accuses Thomas Binger of improper line of questioning
  • Rittenhouse, 18, claims self-defense as trial continues for now

The murder case against Kyle Rittenhouse was thrown into jeopardy Wednesday when his lawyers asked for a mistrial over what appeared to be out-of-bounds questions asked of Rittenhouse by the chief prosecutor.

The judge did not immediately rule on the request and is allowing the trial to continue.

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Meghan admits aide gave biography authors information with her knowledge

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Duchess of Sussex apologises for misleading court, stating she forgot she had authorised PR chief to brief Finding Freedom authors

The Duchess of Sussex has apologised in court for failing to remember authorising a senior aide to brief the authors of her and Harry’s unofficial biography.

Meghan submitted a statement to the court in which she said she could not remember emails between her and her then press secretary, Jason Knauf, about the unauthorised book.

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Joe Biden supports EU position on Northern Ireland, says Von der Leyen

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Brussels chief says US president agrees Britain should not ditch post-Brexit protocol

Ursula von der Leyen has claimed that the EU’s position on Northern Ireland has the support of the US president, as Brussels prepares a “ladder” of retaliatory options up to and including the suspension of the UK trade deal over Boris Johnson’s threats to ditch the current post-Brexit arrangements.

After a meeting at the White House, the European Commission president said Joe Biden was in agreement with the bloc that Johnson should not upend the tortuously negotiated Northern Ireland protocol.

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Influential rightwing Christians lead opposition to Idaho Covid measures

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Christ Church leaders and aligned companies received millions of dollars in coronavirus bailouts amid campaign against mandates

The controversial rightwing Christ Church – and its pastor, Douglas Wilson – have led an uncompromising campaign of opposition to coronavirus public health measures in Idaho, revealing the church’s powerful influence in its home city of Moscow and beyond.

The campaign has included in-person protests, misinformation and encouragement of civil disobedience across media channels owned by the church, which, as the Guardian has reported, is seeking to increase its power and influence in the town as part of an aim of creating a theocracy in America.

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Hesitancy, inequity: is the US ‘making the same mistakes’ with kids’ vaccines?

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Only half of children aged 12 and above have been vaccinated, despite vaccine being available for months

When Nia Heard-Garris’s son found out the Covid vaccines were authorized for adults in the US late last year, he was thrilled, then asked, “But what about us? What about kids?”

The eight-year-old is finally signed up for his first shot later this week. Even though he’s afraid of needles, he can’t wait to get vaccinated so he can return to a greater semblance of normal kid life – hanging out with his friends, going to school, playing sports – without worrying about getting sick or bringing the virus home.

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Tom Ford: ‘I paid $90,000 for my own dress. The clothes we make are not meant to be thrown away’

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From fashion with va-va-voom to veganism – ahead of the release of his new book, America’s starriest designer takes a moment to reflect

Tom Ford answers my phone call in precisely the way I’d hoped he would: with a voice as smooth as butter and the grace of Cary Grant.

We are in touch to discuss his latest project, a coffee-table book charting the past 15 years of his career – or “post-Gucci”, as those familiar with luxury fashion prefer to describe the era that has followed Ford’s departure from the Italian super brand.

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Trump White House records can be given to Capitol attack panel, judge rules

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Trump lawyers vow to appeal move, which would allow transmission of documents as soon as this week

A federal judge in Washington has ruled that hundreds of pages of White House records from the Trump administration can be turned over to the House committee investigating the deadly 6 January attack on the Capitol, defying objections from Donald Trump.

The decision, handed down late on Tuesday by the US district judge Tanya Chutkan, clears the way for the National Archives to start transmitting the records requested by Congress as early as Friday, though attorneys for Trump immediately vowed to appeal the ruling.

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Dean Stockwell, Quantum Leap and Blue Velvet actor, dies aged 85

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Versatile actor had worked in Hollywood since childhood, and was Oscar nominated for his role in 1988 comedy Married to the Mob

A life in pictures: Dean Stockwell

Dean Stockwell, the former child star who became a key figure in the Hollywood counter-culture and enjoyed late success in popular TV shows, has died aged 85. According to Deadline, his family said he died at home “of natural causes”.

Born in Los Angeles in 1936, Stockwell had become a major name while still in high school, starring in the anti-racism parable The Boy With Green Hair in 1948 and alongside Errol Flynn in the 1950 adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s Kim. However, Stockwell found the transition to adulthood difficult and after dropping out of university he re-established his film career with a lead role in Compulsion, the 1959 crime film based on the Leopold and Loeb murder case, for which he won a best actor award at the Cannes film festival alongside co-stars Orson Welles and Bradford Dillman.

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Trump ‘throws sand’ in gears of Capitol attack inquiry amid legal setbacks

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Ex-president wages a court battle to thwart House committee from obtaining White House records for inquiry into the Capitol assault

Donald Trump has suffered a series of legal setbacks and more loom, as he wages a court battle to thwart a House committee from obtaining White House records for its inquiry into the 6 January Capitol assault and a new grand jury begins hearing evidence about possible crimes by his real estate firm.

Former justice officials and legal scholars say Trump’s long-standing penchant for using lawsuits to fend off investigations and opponents is looking weaker now that he’s out of the White House and facing legal threats on multiple fronts.

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New vaccine campaigns target rural Americans to address disparities

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Rural residents are older and poorer, are less likely to be vaccinated – and twice as likely to die of Covid as city dwellers

In the United States, there is a renewed campaign to vaccinate rural Americans due to the stark difference in Covid-19 cases and deaths among those living in less-populated areas compared with towns and cities.

Rural residents are now twice as likely to die from Covid-19 as Americans in metropolitan areas. Yet rural areas tend to lag at least 10% behind metropolitan areas when it comes to vaccination – and this hesitancy is exacerbating already existing health issues.

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California women gave birth to each other’s babies after IVF mix-up

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Couples to sue clinic after raising girls for months that were not theirs, says lawsuit, before babies were swapped back

Two California couples gave birth to each other’s babies after a mix-up at a fertility clinic and spent months raising children that were not theirs before swapping the infants, according to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles.

Daphna Cardinale said she and her husband, Alexander, had immediate suspicions that the girl she gave birth to in late 2019 was not theirs due to the child’s darker complexion.

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Bitcoin price surges to record high of more than $68,000

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Other cryptocurrencies such as ethereum also reach records as investors hedge against inflation

The bitcoin price has reached a new record high, breaking through $68,000 (£50,000), and analysts predict that the world’s best-known cryptocurrency will rise further in the coming weeks.

This beats the previous record high set in late October, when bitcoin reached nearly $67,700 before falling back again when investors discovered a new cryptocurrency, shiba inu. Other cryptocurrencies have also risen to record highs, such as ethereum, which soared to $4,837.

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