The president said the US would 'hunt down' those responsible for the attack on the international airport in Kabul in which more than 60 people were killed, including 12 US military personnel.
Biden said the evacuation of Americans and others from Afghanistan would continue after two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans near the airport on Thursday
Continue reading...• Roger Stone also named in suit by six officers in federal court
• Ex-president worked with others to ‘commit acts of … terrorism’
Capitol police officers who were attacked and beaten during the insurrection at the US Congress on 6 January by extremist supporters of Donald Trump filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the former Republican president, his ally Roger Stone and members of far-right extremist groups.
The officers accused them of intentionally sending a violent mob to disrupt the congressional certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the November 2020 election.
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US Capitol Police officers who were attacked and beaten during the insurrection at the US Congress on January 6 by extremist supporters of Donald Trump filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the former Republican president, allies such as Roger Stone and members of far-right extremist groups.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
Continue reading...Fire was less than two dozen miles from Lake Tahoe on Wednesday evening, at times burning 1,000 acres of land an hour
A wind-driven wildfire continued to advance towards Lake Tahoe, clouding the alpine vacation and tourist spot on the California-Nevada state line in a sickly yellow layer of smoke.
The Caldor fire on Wednesday evening was less than two dozen miles (37km) from Lake Tahoe, at times burning 1,000 acres (405 hectares) of land an hour.
Continue reading...The region, which long had the lowest rate of income inequality in the US, is shifting to one of haves and have-nots – and it’s happening fast
I’ve long been accustomed to people outside the American west knowing next to nothing about my home state of Montana. Real things people have said to me over the years: is it part of Canada? Overrun with nothing but meth? A mythical place with big skies and nobody but macho cowfolk?
Of course, none of those statements are true. But in the last couple of years, Montana has become a destination among both the traveling and remote-work class – and my home is changing as fast as in any previous western land rush.
Continue reading...The families of some 9/11 victims are still pursuing compensation from those complicit in the attacks – but is Sudan, already ravaged by years of US sanctions, really the right target?
Five months after the terrorist strikes by al-Qaida on 11 September 2001, a lawyer named Ron Motley received a phone call from Deena Burnett, whose husband had been killed in the attack. Thomas Burnett, she explained, had been on one of the hijacked planes. She wanted to ask whether he would help her to find a way to sue those responsible for the attack that claimed her husband.
Two weeks after the call, on 2 March 2002, Motley and a team of lawyers with his firm, Motley Rice, spent a day with the Burnett family at their home in California. They described how, upon realising the plane had been taken over for a suicide mission, Thomas Burnett had led the charge on the cockpit on flight 93. He and his fellow passengers managed to divert the plane from its target – the White House. The cockpit flight recorder captured his now-famous last words before they stormed the hijackers: “We’re going in!” Shortly after, the plane crashed, killing all 44 people on board. Burnett was 38 years old.
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That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will take over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
The Guardian’s Dan Sabbagh and Aubrey Allegretti report:
Afghans who want to flee to Britain may be better off “trying to get to the border” than awaiting RAF evacuation, the defence secretary has said as British troops made last-ditch attempts to airlift at least 1,500 remaining interpreters and others who have supported the UK.
Related: Fleeing Afghans should try to get to border, says UK defence secretary
Continue reading...The pristine setting of Lake Tahoe, on the California-Nevada border, was obscured by thick plumes of smoke as thousands of firefighters worked to contain the nearby Caldor fire, which has burned more than 120,000 acres. Tourists wore masks outdoors and ducked into cafes and casinos to escape the haze and the smell
Continue reading...Faced with crowd stampedes and Taliban reprisals, even those eligible for travel to UK have begun to give up hope
For the past four days, Nangyalai, a 42-year-old minicab driver from south London, has been queueing with his wife and 11-month-old baby outside the Baron hotel on the edge of Kabul airport, trying to get close enough to the entrance gate to show guards his British passport.
There is a sign by the gate stating “British passport holders only”. Inside the hotel, officials are working to grant evacuation visas for thousands of UK nationals and Afghan citizens who have worked for British organisations. Diplomatic staff say they are “processing hundreds every hour”, but there is a growing sense of despair among the crowds who have been waiting outside since the start of the week – and tensions are rising.
Continue reading...Remarks follow reports US intelligence study unable to conclude if virus came from animals or a Wuhan lab
The World Health Organization has said all theories on the origins of the Covid-19 outbreak, including the possibility of laboratory leak, are “on the table” and urged Chinese scientists to carry out their own investigations.
WHO officials were answering questions from the press after a classified US intelligence report delivered to the White House on Tuesday was reported to be inconclusive on the question of the origins of the pandemic, in part due to a lack of information from China.
Continue reading...Experts say dangerous injuries can occur as videos of people falling off precariously stacked crates go viral on social media
The latest challenge to take the internet by storm involves milk crates, balance and some painful falls.
In the milk crate challenge, which recently started on TikTok, participants take on a set of milk crates precariously stacked in the shape of a pyramid, attempt to climb to the top and then back down again without toppling over.
Continue reading...Flights stopped as the Taliban seized control, but numbers are back up and the vast majority of aircraft are now military
Kabul airport’s air traffic rebounded earlier this week due to an increase in military aircraft evacuating people, Guardian analysis has revealed.
Fewer than 15 aircraft arrived or departed each day between 16 and 19 August, according to data from Flightradar24.
Continue reading...U-turn comes after resolution of issues with payment processors, says chief executive of user-generated adult content site
OnlyFans, the user-generated adult content site, is reversing course on plans to ban “sexually explicit” content after securing agreement with its payment processors, it has announced.
Last week, OnlyFans said it would ban adult material from 1 October, to the dismay of its users and creators, who argued that doing so risked driving such work underground.
Continue reading...Spencer Elden, who appeared at four months old on iconic album design, claims the image is child pornography
Spencer Elden, who appeared as a naked baby on one of rock music’s most iconic album covers – Nevermind by Nirvana – is suing the band, claiming he was sexually exploited as a child.
In a lawsuit filed in a Californian district court against numerous parties, including the surviving members of the band, Kurt Cobain’s widow Courtney Love, and the record labels that released or distributed the album in the last three decades, Elden alleges the defendants produced child pornography with the image, which features him swimming naked towards a dollar bill with his genitalia visible.
Continue reading...Joe Biden says the US is 'on pace' to finish its Afghanistan evacuation efforts by 31 August, despite pleas of domestic and international allies to keep troops on the ground. The president cited a growing terrorist threat as a reason to continue its mass evacuation. 'The sooner we can finish, the better. Each day of operations brings added risk to our troops,' he said
Continue reading...The US supreme court on Tuesday denied Joe Biden’s bid to rescind an immigration policy implemented by his predecessor, Donald Trump, that forced thousands of asylum seekers to stay in Mexico awaiting US hearings.
Related: Breathing wildfire smoke during pregnancy raises risk of premature birth, study finds
Continue reading...Bill that requires places with history of discrimination to be under federal supervision passes 219-212 – but could fail in the Senate
The US House of Representatives has passed an update to the 1965 Voting Rights Act, restoring a critical provision of the landmark civil rights law that requires places with a history of voting discrimination to be under federal supervision.
The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act passed 219-212 on a party-line vote.
Continue reading...Inspector general’s report offers new details into shortcomings by law enforcement during 6 January insurrection
US Capitol police (USCP) didn’t adequately respond to frantic calls for help from officers when they pressed panic buttons on their radios seeking immediate backup as scores of pro-Trump rioters beat officers with bats, poles and other weapons, an inspector general’s report found.
Related: US Capitol police clear officer who shot dead 6 January rioter Ashli Babbitt
Continue reading...Press secretary says assessment of safety of vice-president was carried out and she continued her journey
US vice-president Kamala Harris’ trip from Singapore to Vietnam was delayed by several hours on Tuesday by an investigation into two possible cases of the so-called Havana syndrome in Hanoi, administration officials said.
The investigation was in its early stages and officials deemed it safe for Harris to make her scheduled stop in Vietnam, which is part of her trip across Asia meant to reassure allies about American foreign policy amid the tumultuous evacuation of US forces from Afghanistan.
Continue reading...US president acknowledges that completing airlift by 31 August depends on Taliban continuing to cooperate
Joe Biden has rejected the pleas of domestic and international allies to keep troops in Afghanistan for evacuation efforts beyond the end of the month, citing the growing threat of a terrorist attack.
In a move likely to fuel criticism that America is abandoning Afghan partners to the Taliban, the US president made clear that he is resolved to withdraw forces from Kabul airport by next Tuesday’s deadline.
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