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Biden officials announce ambitious plan to dot US coastline with wind farms
- Farms envisaged on east coast, west coast and Gulf of Mexico
- Biden aims to generate enough power for 10m homes by 2030
Seven major offshore wind farms would be developed on the east and west coasts and in the Gulf of Mexico under a plan announced Wednesday by the Biden administration.
The projects are part of Joe Biden’s plan to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030, generating enough electricity to power more than 10 million homes.
Continue reading...House Capitol attack panel issues subpoena to Trump official Jeffrey Clark
In targeting Clark, House investigators followed up on a Senate report that detailed his efforts to abuse the DoJ to support Trump
The House select committee investigating the Capitol attack on Wednesday issued a subpoena to top Trump justice department official Jeffrey Clark, escalating its inquiry into the former president’s efforts to reinstall himself in office and the 6 January insurrection.
The new subpoena underscores the select committee’s far-reaching mandate in scrutinizing the origins of the Capitol attack, as it pursues an investigation into Donald Trump’s role in pressuring the justice department (DoJ) to do his bidding in the final weeks of his presidency.
Continue reading...Don’t drink from tap, Canadian city says, as gasoline suspected in water supply
State of emergency in Iqaluit, capital of Nunavut territory, as officials say they are testing water for petroleum hydrocarbons
Officials in Canada’s northernmost capital have declared a local state of emergency after finding possible evidence of gasoline in the city’s tap water.
Residents of Iqaluit, the capital of the Arctic territory of Nunavut, have been told not to drink, boil or cook with the city’s water.
Continue reading...Huge leatherback sea turtle stranded on Cape Cod rescued by volunteers – video
A leatherback sea turtle has been returned to the ocean after becoming stranded on a mudflat in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, US. It took dozens of volunteers from three conservation organisations to free the 270kg reptile. After a health assessment confirmed the disorientated turtle was in good health, it was released to cheers from the crowd of volunteers. The turtle was fitted with a tracking device that will monitor its migration patterns over the next decade
UK, US, China: how the world’s carbon ‘centre of gravity’ moved over 200 years
The geographic centre of the world’s carbon emissions used to sit atop the UK. Now it sits squarely over China
A new Guardian visualisation reveals how the “centre of gravity” of global emissions has moved over the past 200 years.
The analysis shows how the geographic centre of the world’s carbon emissions used to sit directly atop the UK before being pulled westwards by the US and back towards the east by the rise of China.
Covid news live: US set to open land borders, Bali prepares to welcome back tourists
The US will lift restrictions at its land borders with Canada and Mexico next month; holiday hot-spot Bali will reopen for vaccinated travellers from Thursday
- Canberra, Australia, set to become the most vaccinated city in the world
- Bereaved families call for acceleration of UK Covid inquiry
- Britain’s initial response to pandemic led to more deaths, report finds
- Moderna says boosters reduce ‘breakthrough’ infections
- See all our coronavirus coverage
There is a little bit of news on the Reuters wire which is coming out of Russia’s Interfax news agency. They are reporting that the Russian health ministry has said it will be having talks with the EU to discuss terms for the mutual recognition of Covid-19 vaccine certificates for their respective shots.
The European Medicines Agency is yet to approve Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine for use, which is the source of some friction between the two parties. Russia has accused the EU of doing so for political reasons, while the EU has in turn suggested that the vaccine’s manufacturer has not been forthcoming with the required data for approval.
Continue reading...US to reopen land borders with Canada and Mexico in November
The United States’ neighbours have been pressing it to ease restrictions on nonessential travel that have separated families during the pandemic
The US will reopen its land borders to nonessential travel in November, ending a 19-month freeze due to the Covid-19 pandemic as the country moves to require all international visitors to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Vehicle, rail and ferry travel between the US and Canada and Mexico has been largely restricted to essential travel, such as trade, since the earliest days of the pandemic.
Continue reading...Carbon emissions ‘will drop just 40% by 2050 with countries’ current pledges’
International Energy Agency says $4tn investment needed over decade to reach net zero target
Current plans to cut global carbon emissions will fall 60% short of their 2050 net zero target, the International Energy Agency has said, as it urged leaders to use the upcoming Cop26 climate conference to send an “unmistakable signal” with concrete policy plans.
In its annual World Energy Outlook, redesigned this year as a “guidebook” for world leaders attending the summit in Glasgow, the IEA predicted that carbon emissions would decrease by just 40% by the middle of the century if countries stick to their climate pledges.
Continue reading...Squid Game is Netflix’s biggest debut hit, reaching 111m viewers worldwide
The dystopian drama tops the streaming service’s charts in more than 80 countries, bumping aside recent Regency-era romp, Bridgerton
Dystopian South Korean drama Squid Game has become Netflix’s most popular series ever, drawing 111 million fans since its debut less than four weeks ago, the streaming service said Tuesday.
The unprecedented global viral hit imagines a macabre world in which marginalised people are pitted against one another in traditional children’s games. While the victor can earn millions in cash, losing players are killed.
Continue reading...Apple may cut iPhone 13 production by millions as US warns of Christmas shortages
Shares in Apple fall as global chip shortage and supply chain issues prompt White House to admit there could be empty shelves during festive season
Apple may slash the number of iPhone 13s it will make this year by up to 10m because of a shortage of computer chips amid a worldwide supply chain crunch that led the White House to warn that “there will be things that people can’t get” at Christmas.
Apple was expected to produce 90m units of the new iPhone models this year but has told its manufacturers that the number would be lower because chip suppliers including Broadcom and Texas Instruments were struggling to deliver components, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
Continue reading...House passes bill to raise US debt ceiling through early December
- Legislation raises government’s borrowing limit to $28.9tn
- Hard-fought House vote passes entirely along party lines
The US House of Representatives gave final approval on Tuesday to a Senate-passed bill temporarily raising the government’s borrowing limit to $28.9tn, putting off the risk of default at least until early December.
Democrats, who narrowly control the House, maintained party discipline to pass the hard-fought, $480bn debt limit increase. The vote was along party lines, with every yes from Democrats and every no from Republicans.
Continue reading...Gabby Petito was strangled to death, Wyoming officials say after autopsy
Coroner estimates Petito died three to four weeks before her body was found, on 19 September
Gabby Petito’s cause of death was strangulation, and the manner of death was homicide, Wyoming authorities have announced.
The Teton county coroner, Brent Blue, announced the findings of Petito’s autopsy at an afternoon news conference on Tuesday. He also estimated that Petito had died three to four weeks before her body was found, on 19 September.
Continue reading...Coronavirus live: Russia sets new daily record for Covid deaths, Thailand ready to welcome back tourists
973 deaths in last 24 hours is new record for Russia; Thailand to drop mandatory quarantine for UK and US visitors
- Britain’s initial response to pandemic led to more deaths
- WHO recommends extra jab for immunocompromised people
- French study of 22m people finds vaccines cut severe Covid risk by 90%
- See all our coronavirus coverage
That last block mentioned that Prof Sir Andrew Pollard had written for us. As well as a message for governments, he had a message for individuals too: Individuals cannot solve vaccine inequality. If you’re offered a booster, take it
The “to boost or not to boost” moral dilemma is not in the purview of individual citizens who ponder whether to roll up their sleeve when offered a booster by a vaccine clinic this week. A dose that is in the vaccine clinic fridge (or freezer) cannot be redirected to someone else in another country, because the regulatory hurdles and shelf-life simply make redistribution of this dose not practical. Redistribution has to happen prior to the release of vaccine doses to the national health system. A protest against vaccination at individual level will be misdirected and risks wasting these precious doses. If you are asked to roll up your sleeve, then you should do so.
Continue reading...Inside America’s last whites-only church – video
In rural Minnesota, a fringe Heathen group known as the Asatru Folk Assembly has purchased a local church – and membership is strictly whites-only. They worship Nordic, pre-Christian gods and they call themselves a 'folk religion' that only accepts those with northern European ancestry. Their racially exclusive ideology is protected by the first amendment.
Amudalat Ajasa visits the church to understand how it is gaining influence across the country and to meet the anti-racist Heathens fighting back to reclaim their religion
‘She opens the app and gets bombarded’: parents on Instagram, teens and eating disorders
Mothers describe their daughters’ dangerous experiences after whistleblower Frances Haugen’s testimony
Early in the Covid-19 pandemic, Michelle noticed her teenage daughters were spending substantially more time on Instagram.
The girls were feeling isolated and bored during lockdown, the Arizona mom, who has asked to only be identified by her first name to maintain her children’s privacy, recalled. She hoped social media could be a way for them to remain connected with their friends and community.
Continue reading...Why Robert Durst’s first murder conviction might not be his last
The real estate heir avoided justice for 40 years but now the charges could begin to pile up
For years, the wheels of justice moved so slowly against Robert Durst, the New York real estate heir with a trail of dead bodies dotting his improbably charmed life, that his victims’ family and friends feared he’d never pay the consequences.
Now, though, it’s open season. After Durst’s first murder conviction last month – the culmination of a sensational trial in Los Angeles featuring close to 40 years of devastating evidence – prosecutors and civil litigators are working at lightning speed to haul him back to court any way they can.
Continue reading...North Korea’s Kim Jong-un vows to build ‘invincible’ military and blames US for tensions
The leader of the nuclear-armed country says there is ‘no basis’ to believe US actions are ‘not hostile’ during military exhibition
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reviewed a rare exhibition of weapons systems and vowed to build an “invincible” military, as he accused the United States of being the “root cause” of instability.
In an apparent continued effort to drive a wedge between Washington and Seoul, Kim also said his drive to build up his military isn’t targeted at South Korea and that there shouldn’t be another war pitting Korean people against each other.
Continue reading...Activists hold rally on Indigenous Peoples’ Day outside White House – video
Hundreds of protesters led by Indigenous activists have demonstrated in front of the White House to demand that Joe Biden stop approving fossil fuel projects and declare the climate crisis a national emergency. The rally was held for Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Police moved in to break up the protest near the White House and made several arrests
Continue reading...Indigenous protesters urge Biden to stop approving fossil fuel projects
Demonstrators at Washington event want the president to declare the climate crisis a national emergency
Hundreds of protesters led by Indigenous activists from across the country demonstrated in front of the White House on Monday to demand that Joe Biden stop approving fossil fuel projects and declare the climate crisis a national emergency.
The rally marks the start of five days of demonstrations calling for greater attention to climate injustices as Native American leaders and tribal members head to the capital to publicize their demands.
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