The governor is facing calls for dismissal after a report found he sexually harassed 11 women. But how does impeachment work?
New York governor Andrew Cuomo is on the brink of being impeached by the state legislature and, if he doesn’t resign first, he could lose the job he has held for a decade.
Related: Kathy Hochul: lieutenant governor who could take over for Cuomo
Continue reading...As flames approached, Kimberly Price fled her beloved California hometown of Greenville. An hour later, most of it was gone
After weeks of fire, smoke and warnings, Kimberly Price and her beloved town had run out of time.
With wind driving the Dixie fire directly into Greenville, Price’s longtime partner, John Hunter, told her she needed to leave. Price, 58, had spent most of her life in the close-knit Sierra Nevada community. She couldn’t bear the thought of leaving, but the flames were everywhere.
Continue reading...The US president may have only one chance to pass legislation to confront the crisis: ‘We can’t wait’
A stark UN report on how humanity has caused unprecedented, and in some cases “irreversible”, changes to the world’s climate has heaped further pressure on Joe Biden to deliver upon what may be his sole chance to pass significant legislation to confront the climate crisis and break a decade of American political inertia.
The US president said the release on Monday of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report showed that “we can’t wait to tackle the climate crisis. The signs are unmistakable. The science is undeniable. And the cost of inaction keeps mounting.”
Continue reading...Comments distancing the US from the conflict come as militants capture more cities and violence escalates
The US has said it is up to Afghan security forces to defend the country after Taliban militants captured a sixth provincial capital, along with border towns and trade routes.
Fighting in Afghanistan’s long-running conflict has escalated dramatically since May, when the US-led military coalition began the final stage of a withdrawal set to be completed before the end of the month.
Continue reading...Kim Yo-jong, a key adviser to North Korean ruler, interrupts surprise thaw in relations on Korean peninsula
The influential sister of the North Korean ruler, Kim Jong-un, has called Seoul authorities “treacherous” over the South’s joint military exercises with the US, warning the two allies would face greater security threats as a result.
Kim Yo-jong’s latest remarks come despite a surprise thaw on the Korean peninsula, prompted by a series of personal letters between her brother and the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in.
Continue reading...Giuffre accuses Andrew of sexual abuse at Epstein’s mansion when she was under 18
Virginia Roberts Giuffre, an alleged victim of the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, on Monday filed a lawsuit against Prince Andrew in federal court in New York.
She accused the British royal of sexually abusing her at Epstein’s mansion in Manhattan and at other locations in 2001 when she was under the age of 18, according to court records. Prince Andrew has denied having sex with her.
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Joe Biden applauded defense secretary Lloyd Austin for taking steps to make coronavirus vaccines mandatory for members of the US military starting next month.
“I strongly support Secretary Austin’s message to the Force today on the Department of Defense’s plan to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of required vaccinations for our service members not later than mid-September,” the president said in a new statement.
Defense secretary Lloyd Austin is seeking the president’s approval to make coronavirus vaccines mandatory for all members of the US military by next month.
In a message to service members today, Austin noted that Joe Biden had asked him to consider how and when coronavirus vaccines might be added to the military’s list of mandatory vaccinations. The defense secretary has since been consulting with senior Pentagon leaders and health experts about the best timeline for the new policy.
Continue reading...Roberta Kaplan is latest prominent figure to quit in wake of scandal engulfing Cuomo
Roberta Kaplan has resigned as chairwoman of Time’s Up after facing widespread criticism for allegedly advising New York governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration on sexual harassment allegations against him.
Kaplan, a prominent lawyer who founded Time’s Up legal defense fund and represents the writer E Jean Carroll in a defamation lawsuit against Donald Trump, resigned on Monday, becoming the latest prominent figure to quit in the wake of the scandal engulfing Cuomo.
Continue reading...Covid-19 hospitalizations continued to surge among America’s deep south states on Monday as health officials urge unvaccinated residents to receive the shot and intensive care units near capacity in multiple locations, prompting fears of a surge close to the numbers of last winter.
The state of Louisiana now leads the nation in new Covid cases as the Delta variant rips through a region with some of the lowest vaccination rates in the US. Last Friday, the Louisiana department of health announced a daily increase of 6,116 positive Covid cases, with 2,421 people now hospitalized with the virus including 277 on ventilators. With just 37% of residents fully vaccinated, state data indicated that unvaccinated people accounted for 90% of hospitalizations in the state. 181 people died from the virus in Louisiana last week.
Continue reading...The truth of how the bill – which is not yet finished – has come to be is a little more self-interest than national interest
The Biden administration’s infrastructure proposal is still making its way through the congressional sausage-making process but it has already been lauded as a rare victory for bipartisanship in a divided America.
Pledging to unify America after his 2020 election win, Biden and his top supporters see the roughly $1tn package not just as a chance to repair America’s tattered and torn infrastructure but also as a model for reaching across the US’s political divide and getting things done.
Continue reading...Brittany Commisso, a former aide, identified herself publicly and is one of 11 women who have accused Cuomo of sexual harassment
A former executive assistant who filed a criminal complaint against New York governor Andrew Cuomo last week for allegedly groping her has said he “needs to be held accountable”.
Brittany Commisso is one of 11 women Cuomo is accused of sexually harassing, according to a devastating investigative report released by the state attorney general’s office last week.
Continue reading...Trump says it ‘will be very hard for me to endorse anyone foolish enough to vote in favor of this deal’ as session to resume at noon
Senators resumed a weekend session toward passage of a $1tn bipartisan infrastructure package on Sunday amid threats from former president Donald Trump who raged against any Republicans who support the measure.
Majority leader Chuck Schumer stressed to colleagues that they could proceed the “easy way or the hard way”, while a few Republican senators appeared determined to run out the clock for days. “We’ll keep proceeding until we get this bill done,” Schumer said.
Continue reading...Amid increased fears that children are now both victims and vectors of the latest Covid-19 variant surge, National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins signaled on Sunday that increasing numbers of children are falling ill in the US.
His comments also came as one of America’s largest teachers unions appeared to shift its position on mandatory vaccinations for teachers.
Continue reading...Chuck Schumer warned that coming to a bipartisan compromise could be 'hard' as Republicans joined Democrats to advance a $1tn infrastructure bill in the US Senate, remaining in session over the weekend.
The bill represents the biggest spending in decades on American infrastructure including roads, bridges, airports and waterways, in what Joe Biden has called a 'historic investment' in public works.
Continue reading...A month after fleeing the state to thwart passage of restrictive voting laws, Democrats again refused to appear at the state Capitol
Texas Democrats have refused to return to the state Capitol as governor Greg Abbott began a third attempt at passing new election laws, prolonging a months-long standoff that ramped up in July when dozens of Democratic state lawmakers left the state and hunkered down in Washington, DC.
“A quorum is not present,” said Republican house speaker Dade Phelan on Saturday, who then adjourned the chamber until Monday.
Continue reading...Members vote 67-27 to move the biggest investment in US roads, bridges, airports and waterways in decades to next stage
The US Senate voted on Saturday to advance to the next step of a $1tn infrastructure package, an important procedural stage towards passing the key legislation after months of negotiations between Joe Biden and a bipartisan group of senators.
In a 67-27 vote demonstrating broad support, senators agreed to limit debate on the legislation, which represents the biggest investment in decades in America’s roads, bridges, airports and waterways.
Continue reading...Competitive suffering shows itself as another face of the trauma we’re going through. But eventually there will be unpredictable moments of delight
It’s coming up on a year since the skies over San Francisco turned red because of smoke from wildfires in surrounding areas, an uncanny reminder of Sydney’s Black Summer of late 2019 and early 2020. Now there is different kind of grim echo, as Sydney goes further into lockdown in the grip of a new surge of coronavirus. Here in California we are cautiously taking off our masks and trying to remember how to talk to friends face to face.
Meanwhile, in a horrible reversal, I see my Sydney friends and family experiencing something like we did in March 2020, when the schools closed, the shelter-in-place order went into effect and there was no certainty about how long it would go on, and how bad it would get.
Continue reading...Former press secretary says ex-boss ‘is in’ while Barbra Streisand offers tip for combating Trump’s election lie
Donald Trump’s onetime press secretary, Sean Spicer, said his former boss would run for the presidency again in 2024.
“He’s in,” Spicer claimed of Trump’s interest in the race during a recent Washington Examiner interview.
Continue reading...Jamie Spears says in court filing he has faithfully served as conservator of daughter’s estate
Britney Spears’ father said in a court filing Friday that there are “no grounds whatsoever” for removing him from the conservatorship that controls her money and affairs – a day after the singer’s new lawyer had requested a hearing to suspend James Spears from the arrangement.
James Spears “has dutifully and faithfully served as the conservator of his daughter’s estate without any blemishes on his record,” his filing said.
Continue reading...Every morning after moving here, I thought I must have done something right because I got to live in all this majesty. Then the Dixie fire took it away
My defiantly quirky, beautiful adopted hometown turned into a ghost town last night. There are so many things I could tell you about Greenville. There were over a thousand people and change, though the population sign still said 2,000.
We all have an opinion. About everything. We are a microcosm of America and often frustrated with each other. Greenville is filled with do-gooders, volunteers, retirees, hippies, bikers, and rednecks, ranchers, cowboys, and people who never felt like the town they were born in was quite the right fit for them. We were extended families and single moms and dads. We were drunks. We were sober. We tried not to be too judgmental lest someone judge us back. We were recent survivors of Paradise, too.
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