Category Archives: US News

Arkansas man given life for robbing taco shop with water pistol set to be freed

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Governor announces intent to make Rolf Kaestel, who robbed a Fort Smith shop of $264 in 1981, eligible for parole

The governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, has said he intends to commute the sentence of a man serving life in prison for robbing a taco shop in 1981 with a water pistol.

Hutchinson announced he intended to make Rolf Kaestel immediately eligible for parole. There is a 30-day waiting period to receive public feedback before the governor’s decision can become final.

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Biden warns of danger of Delta variant as US set to miss vaccination target

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President says America has Covid-19 ‘on the run’ but new cases jumped 10% amid patchy take-up of vaccines across country

Joe Biden has warned that although America has Covid-19 “on the run” the latest variant is of particular concern among those who remain unvaccinated – as the president’s goal of 70% of US adults receiving at least one shot of vaccine by the Fourth of July holiday was set to fall short.

New US cases of coronavirus jumped by 10% in the past week as the highly contagious Delta variant spreads, especially where vaccination rates are low.

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‘We thought it wouldn’t affect us’: heatwave forces climate reckoning in Pacific north-west

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Left-leaning states had focused on how global heating would affect others. Then the ‘heat dome’ arrived

The record heatwave in the Pacific north-west is forcing a reckoning on the climate crisis, as many living in the typically mild region consider what rising temperatures mean for the future.

A “heat dome” without parallel trapped hot air over much of the states of Oregon and Washington in the United States, and southern British Columbia in Canada, in past days, shattering weather records in the usually temperate region.

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Former Guantánamo detainee faces forced repatriation to Russia after release, say experts

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Ravil Mingazov, who spent 15 years in the US prison camp, could be sent to Russia where ‘he will not be free for the rest of his life,’ experts warn

A former Guantánamo detainee is facing forced repatriation from the United Arab Emirates to Russia where he faces a “substantial risk of torture” according to UN human rights experts.

Ravil Mingazov is a Muslim Tartar who spent 15 years without charge in the US prison camp on Guantánamo Bay before being transferred to the UAE in January 2017. The conditions of the transfer were kept secret, but his family and legal team were given assurances that he would be freed after a few months. Those assurances were not kept.

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Record heatwave may have killed 500 people in western Canada

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British Columbia reports jump in number of ‘sudden and unexpected deaths’ and links them to extreme weather

Nearly 500 people may have been killed by record-breaking temperatures in Canada’s westernmost province, as officials warn the grim toll from “heat dome” could rise again as more deaths are reported.

On Friday, British Columbia’s chief coroner said that 719 “sudden and unexpected deaths” had been reported over the past week – triple the number during a similar period in a typical year.

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Fauci says regional vaccine disparities could create ‘two types of America’ – live

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  • Top expert encourages vaccination amid Delta variant spread
  • Defense secretary wants to remove decisions from commanders
  • President celebrates 3m jobs created since he took office
  • Trump financial chief Allen Weisselberg and company charged

Two-thirds of Americans believe democracy is under threat, polls finds

This is Lois Beckett, picking up our live US politics coverage from Los Angeles.

NEW: Two-thirds of U.S. adults believe that American democracy is under threat according to the latest @NewsHour/@NPR/@maristpoll. https://t.co/TnYS66pXqA

That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Lois Beckett, will take over the blog for the next few hours.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

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Boeing 737 cargo pilots rescued after emergency landing in Pacific Ocean

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Pilots who were rescued off Hawaii coast reported engine trouble, FAA says in statement

The pilots of a cargo plane made a desperate and daring nighttime emergency landing on water early Friday and miraculously survived. They were plucked from the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hawaii by first responders.

One of the two pilots was found clinging to the tail of the wrecked aircraft while the other was rescued clutching a floating package amid the debris scattered across the waves.

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Miami firefighter’s daughter found dead in condo rubble as toll rises to 20

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Two bodies recovered overnight, including the young girl, with 128 still unaccounted for

The seven-year-old daughter of a Miami firefighter was found dead in the rubble of a collapsed condominium, officials said on Friday as they announced the official death toll in Miami had risen to 20 people.

The Miami-Dade county mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, said the rescue mission overnight was difficult as operations stretched into their ninth day.

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Canadian inferno: northern heat exceeds worst-case climate models

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Scientists fear heat domes in North America and Siberia indicate a new dimension to the global crisis

If you were drawing up a list of possible locations for hell on Earth before this week, the small mountain village of Lytton in Canada would probably not have entered your mind.

Few people outside British Columbia had heard of this community of 250 people. Those who had were more likely to think of it as bucolic. Nestled by a confluence of rivers in the forested foothills of the Lillooet and Botanie mountain ranges, the municipal website boasts: “Lytton is the ideal location for nature lovers to connect with incredible natural beauty and fresh air freedom.”

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Britney Spears wealth management firm asks to withdraw from conservatorship

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Bessemer Trust, approved last year to be added as co-conservator, wants out after singer’s testimony that she opposed arrangement

A wealth management firm that had been tapped as co-conservator of singer Britney Spears’ estate, has asked a Los Angeles court to withdraw from the case after the pop superstar’s testimony that she opposed the arrangement.

Related: Trump legal troubles escalate after company charged with tax crimes – live

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Joe Biden praises ‘amazing’ families at site of Miami condo collapse – video

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Joe Biden spoke of his admiration for grieving relatives at the site of last week’s deadly Miami condo collapse, as many continue to wait for news of their loved ones. 

'What amazed me about this group of people was their resilience, their absolute commitment and willingness to do whatever it took to find the answer. I walked away amazed by their strength,' the president said after the three-hour meeting with the relatives at the St Regis Bal Harbor hotel, about a mile from the site of the collapse

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US troops leave Afghanistan’s Bagram airbase after nearly 20 years

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Departure marred by poor liaison with local forces and comes just before 20th anniversary of start of US operations to topple Taliban

US troops have left Bagram, the sprawling airbase north of Kabul that was the symbolic and operational heart of the American military operation in Afghanistan.

With that hub handed over to Afghan security forces, it sets the scene for the final departure of American forces from the country only months before the 20th anniversary of the start of US operations to topple the Taliban, launched in response to the 9/11 attacks.

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After Britney Spears testimony, lawmakers push changes to conservatorship laws

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Disability rights activists say proposed reforms don’t go far enough and that flaws in the system trap people in abusive arrangements

Last week, Britney Spears testified in court about the conservatorship that has long controlled her life, and noted there were a thousand people stuck in “abusive” arrangements like hers.

In California, lawmakers have responded to the international outcry about the singer’s peculiar legal arrangement with proposed reforms that aim to expand the rights and due process of people in conservatorships.

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US halts all federal executions amid review of capital punishment

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Attorney general orders temporary pause following historic use of death penalty under Trump administration

The US attorney general has imposed a moratorium on all federal executions while the justice department reviews its policies and procedures on capital punishment. Civil rights and criminal justice advocates have been pushing for a halt following a wave of controversial executions under the Trump administration.

Citing the disproportionate impact of capital punishment on people of color, and deep controversy over the drugs used to put people to death, the attorney general, Merrick Garland, ordered a temporary pause on scheduling executions.

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Trump Organization tax-crime charges: what it all means

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The charges against the company and Allen Weisselberg seem small in scope – but experts say this could be just the beginning

After three years of investigations by New York’s top prosecutors against Donald Trump, many people in his circle and the sprawling Trump Organization business empire, it is perhaps no surprise to see charges finally laid in a New York courtroom.

Related: Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg pleads not guilty to tax crimes – live

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Trump Organization and senior executive charged with tax crimes

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  • Charges mark a severe blow to ex-president’s family business
  • CFO Allen Weisselberg surrenders to authorities

The Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, have been charged with a “sweeping and audacious illegal payment scheme” of tax-related crimes, marking the first criminal charges against the former president’s company following a years-long investigation by New York prosecutors.

Related: Allen Weisselberg: half of the dynamic duo running Trump’s business empire

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Cosby’s prison release is a ‘battle cry’ for victim rights movement, advocates say

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Procedural issue prompted release of a man more than 60 women have accused of rape or sexual assault

Sexual assault advocates and survivors said Bill Cosby’s release from prison should be a “battle cry” amid concerns the decision could have a chilling effect on survivors seeking to hold their abusers accountable.

Cosby was freed on Wednesday after the supreme court of Pennsylvania reversed his 2018 convictions on charges of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand. Pennsylvania’s highest court overturned the conviction because a previous district attorney had promised in 2005 that Cosby would not be charged.

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Trump gonna Trump: ex-president diverts and deflects as legal woes mount

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The former president appeared to mount a typically Trumpian bid to focus attention away from the growing scandal at his company

No one could accuse Donald Trump of lying low when the long arm of the law finally caught up with him.

On Wednesday the former US president visited the Mexico border, highlighting his favourite campaign issue, then held an hour-long televised town hall with Sean Hannity, his favourite Fox News host.

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Joe and Jill Biden travel to Miami to meet with families of condo collapse victims – live

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Attorneys for Allen Weisselberg said the Trump Organization executive planned to plead “not guilty” to the charges he faces, per CNN.

Weisselberg’s lawyers also said he “will fight these charges in court.” The charges are likely linked to allegations that he failed to properly report company perks.

Weisselberg’s attorneys, Mary Mulligan and Bryan Skarlatos, said he plans to plead not guilty and “will fight these charges in court.”

The Guardian’s Dominic Rushe and agency report:

The Trump Organization’s chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, surrendered to the Manhattan district attorney’s office early on Thursday as he and the Trump family business prepare to face criminal charges in a tax-related investigation.

Related: Trump Organization executive surrenders to face charges in tax investigation

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Trump Organization executive surrenders to face charges in tax investigation

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Trump Organization’s CFO, Allen Weisselberg, is preparing to face charges in tax-related investigation that marks a turning point for former president

The Trump Organization’s chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, surrendered to the Manhattan district attorney’s office early on Thursday as he and the Trump family business prepare to face criminal charges in a tax-related investigation.

Weisselberg, who has worked for the Trump family for nearly 50 years, entered a building housing Manhattan’s criminal court, where he and a Trump Organization representative are expected to appear later in the day.

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