Category Archives: US News

Met decision to drop Prince Andrew inquiry ‘no surprise’, says ally

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Source close to royal speaks as Met says it will take no further action over Virginia Giuffre’s allegations of sexual assault

The Metropolitan police’s decision to take no further action over Virginia Giuffre’s allegations of sexual assault against Prince Andrew “comes as no surprise”, a source close to the royal has said.

The force said on Sunday it had dropped the investigation after reviewing several documents, including one relating to an ongoing US civil lawsuit concerning Giuffre, who alleges she was forced to have sex with the prince when she was 17 years old.

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Florida city sued over mural that depicted Black female firefighter as white

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  • Latosha Clemons accuses Boynton Beach of defamation
  • Mural removed a day after it was unveiled in June last year

Officials in a south Florida city will meet this week to discuss a lawsuit filed by the city’s first Black female firefighter, after her image was replaced with a white face in a mural meant to honor local history.

Latosha Clemons, a former deputy fire chief of Boynton Beach, filed the lawsuit in April, accusing the city of defamation and negligence.

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Cop26: world poised for big leap forward on climate crisis, says John Kerry

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Exclusive: upbeat US climate envoy anticipates big announcements from key players at Glasgow talks

The world is poised to make a big leap forward at the UN Cop26 climate summit, with world leaders “sharpening their pencils” to make fresh commitments that could put the goals of the 2015 Paris agreement within reach, John Kerry has said.

Kerry, special envoy for climate to Joe Biden, gave an upbeat assessment of the prospects for Cop26, which begins in Glasgow at the end of this month, saying he anticipated “surprising announcements” from key countries.

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‘Solved’: the mystery of the ‘slut’ scrawled on The Grapes of Wrath manuscript

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Swedish academics think they can explain why the derogatory term appears at the end of Steinbeck’s text

The word “slut” scrawled at the end of the manuscript for John Steinbeck’s seminal novel The Grapes of Wrath may have been explained, thanks to a handful of Swedish academics.

The Grapes of Wrath was written by Steinbeck in a frenzy of creativity in under 100 days, between May and October 1938. Independent press SP Books released the first ever facsimile of the handwritten manuscript last week, showing Steinbeck’s increasingly tiny handwriting, his swear words, which were excised from the final novel – and a faint “slut”, written in red, at its conclusion.

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Will Nancy Pelosi retire at the end of this term – and if so, who will take her place?

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Some observers believe passage of the reconciliation bill would be a fitting coda to her decades-long political career

Amid Democrats’ contentious negotiations over the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the reconciliation package, the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, was able to distract Capitol Hill reporters for a few minutes with her use of a certain C-word.

“I just told members of my leadership that the reconciliation bill was a culmination of my service in Congress because it was about the children,” the Democratic speaker said at a press conference late last month.

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US navy engineer charged with trying so sell nuclear submarine secrets

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Jonathan Toebbe and wife arrested in West Virginia after nuclear engineer makes ‘dead drop’ to undercover FBI agent

A US navy nuclear engineer with access to military secrets has been charged with trying to pass information about the design of American nuclear-powered submarines to someone he thought was a representative of a foreign government – but who turned out to be an undercover FBI agent.

In a criminal complaint detailing espionage-related charges, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said Jonathan Toebbe sold information for nearly a year to a contact he believed represented a foreign power. That country was not named in the court documents.

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Steve Scalise, No 2 House Republican, refuses to say election was not stolen

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Party whip asked three times by Fox News Sunday’s Chris Wallace to disavow Donald Trump’s ‘Big Lie’ about electoral fraud

The second-ranking House Republican, Steve Scalise of Louisiana, repeatedly refused to say on Sunday that the 2020 election was not stolen, standing by Donald Trump’s lie that Democrat Joe Biden won the White House because of voter fraud.

More than 11 months after Americans picked their president and almost nine months after Biden was inaugurated, Scalise was unwilling to say the vote was legitimate.

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Fauci: US must not ‘prematurely declare victory’ over Covid

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White House medical adviser tells CNN vaccinated Americans will be able to get out and enjoy Halloween

Americans should celebrate good news about declining Covid cases as the holiday season approaches but should not “prematurely declare victory” over the coronavirus, Dr Anthony Fauci said on Sunday.

The right approach to increasing vaccinations and observing public health precautions would contribute to a happy Halloween for children, the chief White House medical adviser said, pointing to imminent federal consideration of data which will lead to a decision on whether children aged five to 12 are eligible for a shot.

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Facebook: Nick Clegg avoids questions on whistleblower Haugen’s testimony

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Facebook executive wouldn’t say if he believed platform bore responsibility for amplifying baseless claims of stolen election

The Facebook executive Nick Clegg took a damage-limitation tour of US political talkshows on Sunday, but remained evasive over questions about the social media giant’s contribution to the deadly attack on the US Capitol on 6 January this year.

The former British deputy prime minister, now Facebook vice-president of global affairs, was responding to a barrage of damaging claims from the whistleblower Frances Haugen.

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House Capitol attack panel ready to urge prosecution of Trump aides, says Schiff

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Mark Meadows, Dan Scavino, Steve Bannon and Kash Patel all defying subpoenas under instruction from Trump

The House select committee investigating the deadly assault on the US Capitol on 6 January is prepared to urge federal prosecution of former aides to Donald Trump who refuse to comply with subpoenas, a key panel member said.

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino, strategist Steve Bannon and Pentagon aide Kash Patel are defying subpoenas for documents and testimony, under instruction from the former president.

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US treasury secretary Yellen: global minimum corporate tax will pass

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Minimum global corporate rate of 15% agreed by 136 countries as Yellen also says US will raise debt ceiling on 3 December

The US treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, said on Sunday she was confident Congress would approve legislation to implement the global corporate minimum tax agreed by 136 countries.

Yellen told ABC’s This Week actions to bring the US into compliance with the global minimum tax would likely be included in the so-called reconciliation budget bill containing Joe Biden’s proposed spending initiatives.

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Taiwan national day: we will not bow to China, says president amid tensions

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Tsai Ing-wen condemns China’s plans for Taiwan and says island will continue to build its defences

No one will force Taipei to take the path laid out by Beijing, Tsai Ing-wen has vowed on Taiwan’s national day, pledging to continue bolstering the island’s military defences.

Responding to repeated threats from China’s leaders that it will one day take Taiwan – by force if need be – and overthrow its democratically elected government, the president said Taiwan had the resolve to defend itself and its future, which “must be decided in accordance with the will of the Taiwanese people”.

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Squid Game’s success reopens who pays debate over rising internet traffic

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Demand for capacity grows on back of hit Netflix shows, online games and more

The breakout success of the South Korean drama Squid Game has prompted a local broadband provider to launch legal action to force the maker, Netflix, to help pay for the huge surge in traffic, the latest flashpoint in the argument over who should carry the burden of the spiralling costs of data fuelled by the global streaming boom.

From Netflix’s latest global sensation and livestreamed Premier League football matches on Amazon Prime Video, to bandwidth-busting traffic when hit online games such as Fortnite or Call of Duty are updated, the demand for internet capacity has undergone unprecedented growth in recent years.

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These adults moved back in with their parents during the pandemic. But did they regret it?

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Little did they know that ‘boomeranging’ back home would change the way they saw their parents, forever

When David and Linda Ellis sent their daughter Juliette, the youngest of their three children, off to college in 2019, they figured they had become empty-nesters for good. In short order, the couple downsized from their family home in Raleigh, North Carolina, to a much more manageable three-bedroom apartment rental nearby. Little did the Ellises know that, in under a year’s time, two of their three adult children would once again join them under the same roof.

After their school and work went remote in March 2020, Juliette Ellis and middle brother Gregory flew in from their respective posts in Vancouver and Brooklyn to wait out the uncertainty of Covid-19 with Mom and Dad. The eldest Ellis son, Justin, remained a short drive away in nearby Chapel Hill.

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Trump holds Iowa rally as poll in early voting state shows strong support

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Donald Trump returned to Iowa on Saturday for a campaign-style rally, on the heels of a poll showing strong support in the state which traditionally kicks off presidential elections.

Trump has not announced a second run for the White House.

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‘Tyranny’: US rightwingers portray nightmare vision of Australia’s Covid response

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The feedback loop between US conservative media and Australia’s fringe right has intensified as New South Wales and Victoria have struggled with outbreaks

At a rowdy rally to protest against mask mandates in New York on Monday, some participants carried Australian flags and joined in with chants such as “Save Australia”.

Many Australians were puzzled by what seemed a sudden, unbidden show of support, but this spectacle was the culmination of a months-long effort in conservative US media to portray Australia’s coronavirus response as having brought the country to the brink of authoritarianism.

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Schumer ‘poisoned the well’ over debt limit, McConnell says in insult-laden letter

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Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, sought to fight his way out of a corner on Friday by releasing an angry letter in which he blamed Democrats for the impasse over the debt ceiling he broke by ending a refusal to co-operate he had said was absolute.

In the letter to Joe Biden, McConnell complained about a speech in which the Democratic majority leader, Chuck Schumer, attacked Republicans for their behaviour.

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Anti-vaccine chiropractors capitalizing on Covid and sowing misinformation

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A vocal minority tout their supplements as alternatives, donate large sums of money to anti-vaccine organizations and sell anti-vaccine ads on Facebook and Instagram, the AP discovered

The flashy postcard, covered with images of syringes, beckoned people to attend Vax-Con ’21 to learn “the uncensored truth” about Covid-19 vaccines.

Participants traveled from around the country to a Wisconsin Dells resort for a sold-out convention that was, in fact, a sea of misinformation and conspiracy theories about vaccines and the pandemic.

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The silence of Donald Trump: how Twitter’s ban is cramping his style

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The ex-president once had a direct line to 8 million followers – now he’s suing to get back on the platform he made his own

It was just like old times. On Wednesday alone, Donald Trump issued pronouncements on a potential war with China, what Congress should do about the debt ceiling, false claims of a stolen election and his Fox News ally “the great Sean Hannity”.

But how many people noticed?

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Progressive Democrats draw strength from muscle-flexing in Congress

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The left of the party is celebrating holding firm on insisting on both parts of Biden’s domestic agenda over centrist objections

When House Democrats were forced to delay their planned vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill earlier this month, the reaction from progressives was a bit surprising considering it is a key part of Joe Biden’s domestic agenda.

Rather than lamenting the delay of the vote, progressive groups praised the Democratic lawmakers who had demanded the scheduling change.

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