Category Archives: US News

White House and Congress see breakthrough Covid infections – US politics live

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  • White House and congressional staff test positive for virus
  • Officials say cases underscores importance of vaccinations

Axios is reporting that the Biden administration will not reopen the US consulate in Jerusalem until the after Israel’s new government passes a budget - likely in early November.

The House select committee is set to have its first hearing looking into the 6 January attack on the US Capitol next week, and chairman Bennie Thompson told the Guardian that “nothing is off limits”.

Thompson indicated that Donald Trump and House minority leader Kevin McCarthy are among his top witnesses.

Related: Capitol attack committee chair vows to investigate Trump: ‘Nothing is off limits’

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More than 80 wildfires rage across western US – video report

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The Bootleg fire in Oregon, now roughly the size of Los Angeles, is so intense that it has created its own weather system, causing winds that have further fanned its flames. It has been burning for two weeks and barely a third of its perimeter has been contained. The Dixie fire in California exploded in size to roughly 94 sq miles (243 sq km) on Tuesday, and is only 15% contained. It broke out on 13 July

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New York air quality among worst in world as haze from western wildfires shrouds city

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Smoke from wildfires in the west caused hazy skies as air quality index surged to 157 in Manhattan, well above threshold of 100

New York City air quality was among the worst in the world as cities across the eastern US were shrouded in smoke from wildfires raging several thousand miles away on the country’s west coast.

State officials in New York advised vulnerable people, such as those with asthma and heart disease, to avoid strenuous outdoor activity as air pollution soared to eclipse Lima in Peru and Kolkata in India to be ranked as the worst in the world on Tuesday.

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Aerial shots of New York show hazy skies from western US wildfires – video

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New York officials have told vulnerable people to stay indoors because of sooty air pollution from wildfires in western US states that have drifted across the country. Residents of New York City, 2,000 miles away from the blazes, witnessed a fiery sunrise on Tuesday. The Bootleg fire in Oregon has become so large and hot it is creating its own weather system, causing winds that have further fanned its flames

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Fauci to Rand Paul: ‘You do not know what you are talking about’ – video

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Top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci got into a heated discussion with Republican Senator Rand Paul during a Senate hearing on the coronavirus. Paul pressed Fauci on previous comments made to the committee about funding for a lab in Wuhan, China, 'You take an animal virus and you increase its transmissibility to humans, you're saying that's not 'gain of function'?' To which Fauci replied, 'Senator Paul, you do not know what you are talking about, quite frankly. And, I want to say that officially. You do not know what you are talking about'

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White House official and Pelosi aide test positive for Covid, reports say – live

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  • Pair escorted delegation from Texas around Capitol this week
  • President walks back ‘Facebook is killing people’ comment

Many were surprised by the strong stance that Fox News host Sean Hannity took on Covid-19 Monday night when he told viewers, “I believe in science, I believe in the science of vaccination.”

Related: Fox News host Sean Hannity urges viewers to ‘take Covid seriously’

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Thunderstorms and lightning threaten to spur more fires in US west

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More than 80 major wildfires currently burning in western states as Bootleg fire reaches 537 sq miles

Oregon’s explosive summer of wildfire is threatening to escalate further, with thunderstorms and lightning set to spur more of the blazes that have torn through much of a parched, dangerously hot US west this year.

Related: Heat exhaustion, apocalyptic scenes: what it’s like fighting the US’s biggest wildfire

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Jeff Bezos hails ‘best day ever’ after successful Blue Origin space flight

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The Amazon founder Jeff Bezos hailed “the best day ever” after completing his pioneering foray into space on Tuesday with three crewmates, among them his brother Mark.

Related: Why is Bezos flying to space? Because billionaires think Earth is a sinking ship | Hamilton Nolan

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Israeli PM: Ben & Jerry’s sales ban will have ‘serious consequences’

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Naftali Bennett hits back at Unilever after subsidiary stops selling ice-cream in occupied territories

The decision by Ben & Jerry’s to stop selling its ice-cream products in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem has been met with fierce criticism from the Israeli political establishment, including a warning from the prime minister, Naftali Bennett, that the decision will have “serious consequences” for Ben & Jerry’s and its parent company, Unilever.

The announcement from the ice-cream maker, which has also taken political stances on the climate crisis and social justice issues such as Black Lives Matter, is one of the highest-profile rebukes of Israeli settlement building to date by a well-known brand.

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John Kerry: world leaders must step up to avoid worst impacts of climate crisis

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US envoy uses landmark speech in London to make impassioned plea for unified global effort

The world still has a chance of staving off the worst impacts of climate breakdown but only if governments step up in the next few months with stronger commitments on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, the US envoy for climate change has said.

John Kerry, appointed by Joe Biden to spearhead the US’s international efforts to tackle the crisis, urged all large economies to come forward with new plans to cut emissions before the Cop26 UN climate talks in Glasgow this November.

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Even as Ardern signals alignment with US, New Zealand still seeks to maintain distance | Pete McKenzie

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As the prime minister treads the delicate path between China and the US we shouldn’t overstate the significance of her latest moves

New Zealand has long prided itself on having an “independent” foreign policy that charts a middle path between great powers. It’s an approach for which the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, and her new foreign minister, Nanaia Mahuta, have voiced strong support. Over the past week, however, Ardern has moved towards a much closer alignment with America.

It’s the latest sign that for small countries caught amid great power competition, independence is increasingly difficult. It also raises the question: is this the end of New Zealand’s “independent” foreign policy, and if so, what comes next?

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US stocks plunge amid coronavirus variant fears – as it happened

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That’s all from me today. Here’s a rundown of the day’s biggest politics stories:

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer will file cloture on a placeholder bill for the bipartisan infrastructure plan tonight, setting up a vote on Wednesday.

Schumer NOW on Senate floor updates the timing of infrastructure legislation: "Tonight in a few minutes, I will file cloture on a shell bill which will act as the legislative vehicle for the bipartisan infrastructure framework. That vote on cloture will take place on Wednesday." pic.twitter.com/FRGPFkeh8d

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Bill Clinton fancied an Indian rather than tea with the Queen

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Then US leader also turned down Chequers dinner because he wanted to ‘be a tourist’, archives show

Bill Clinton turned down tea with the Queen and dinner at Chequers because he wanted to “be a tourist” and try out an Indian restaurant during his first official visit to the UK with Tony Blair as prime minister, formerly classified documents reveal.

Downing Street wanted to pull out all the stops for a visit seen as crucial to “establishing a good working relationship” between the new prime minister and the then US president. Buckingham Palace contacted No 10 to say “HM the Queen would be very pleased” to invite the Clintons to tea at 5pm on their brief one-day detour from summits in Paris and The Hague.

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Rising Covid cases spark fears of resurgent pandemic in US

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Biden implores Americans to get vaccinated and stocks fall amid outbreaks in areas with low inoculation rates

A rapid increase in coronavirus cases in the US and abroad is fueling fears of a pandemic resurgence and on Monday sent shockwaves through the stock market as the highly contagious Delta variant takes hold – and Joe Biden urged Americans to “please, please get vaccinated”.

The number of new cases, hospitalizations and deaths due to Covid-19 have been rising worryingly in recent days, largely driven by outbreaks in parts of the country with low vaccination rates, as officials have been warning of a “pandemic of the unvaccinated”.

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Trump supporter sentenced to eight months in prison for role in Capitol riot

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  • Paul Hodgkins pleaded guilty to obstructing official proceeding
  • Sentence likely to set benchmark for later cases

A Florida man was sentenced on Monday to eight months in prison for his role in the 6 January insurrection in Washington, a punishment likely to set a benchmark for later cases.

Related: US justice department charges four Chinese nationals in Microsoft Exchange hack – live

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US condemns China for ‘malicious’ cyberattacks, including Microsoft hack

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Justice department charged four Chinese nationals with hacking as Washington accused Beijing of threatening national security

The US has led allies in a sharp condemnation of China for “malicious” cyberattacks, including a hack of Microsoft Exchange email server software that compromised tens of thousands of computers around the world earlier this year.

Related: UK and allies accuse Chinese state-backed group of Microsoft hack

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Leyna Bloom is Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue’s first trans cover star

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Model, who is black and Filipino, is also the first ever trans woman of color to be featured in the magazine

Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue has unveiled its first ever transgender cover star, Leyna Bloom.

The model follows in the footsteps of model Valentina Sampaio, who was the first trans model to appear in the pages of the magazine last July. Bloom, who is black and Filipino, is also the first ever trans woman of color to be featured in the magazine.

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‘It’s chilling what is happening’: a rightwing backlash to Biden takes root in Republican states

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Biden may be president but Republican-controlled states are busy introducing reams of legislation that is anything but progressive

In his inaugural address in January, Joe Biden promised to use his presidency to “restore the soul of America”. He would unite the nation, defuse “anger, resentment and hatred”, and lead Americans back to a world where they treated “each other with dignity and respect”.

Six months later, Biden is still preaching the unity gospel, and regularly assures his fellow Americans that “there’s not a single thing we aren’t able to do when we do it together”.

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Huge Oregon blaze grows as wildfires burn across western US

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Bootleg Fire, largest wildfire in US and one of at least 70 wildfires, torches more dry forest landscape in Oregon

The largest wildfire in the US torched more dry forest landscape in Oregon on Sunday, one of dozens of major blazes burning across the west as critically dangerous fire weather loomed in the coming days.

The destructive Bootleg Fire just north of the California border grew to more than 476 sq miles (1,210 sq km), an area about the size of Los Angeles.

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US surgeon general: Covid misinformation ‘spreading like wildfire’ on social media

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  • Vivek Murthy: rise seen ‘among the unvaccinated in particular’
  • Biden administration renews attack on Facebook

Joe Biden’s administration renewed its assault on social media companies spreading Covid-19 misinformation on Sunday, as new infections continued to surge across the entire US.

Vivek Murthy, the US surgeon general who has accused companies including Facebook of “poisoning information” about coronavirus vaccines, said they were not doing enough to check the online proliferation of false claims.

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