Dozens still unaccounted for after part of a beachfront condominium block collapses in Surfside
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‘Something happened here’: Roswell prepares for Pentagon’s UFO report
City leaders hope big news could bring a tourism surge as the town grapples with the pandemic economy
On the eve of the release of the Pentagon’s highly anticipated report on unidentified aerial phenomena, life here in one of the world’s UFO hotspots was exceedingly normal.
Downtown’s alien souvenir shops and the International UFO Museum welcomed a steady stream of visitors escaping their pandemic malaise on Thursday as coronavirus restrictions continued to loosen in New Mexico.
Continue reading...Herd of cattle runs through suburban streets after escaping LA slaughterhouse – video
A herd of about 40 cattle escaped a Los Angeles slaughterhouse, after a gate was unintentionally left open, before running through residential streets. The cattle remained on the loose of the streets of Pico Rivera into the evening as local authorities attempted to round them up. One cow was shot by local police after it charged at four members of a family while another that evaded capture was sent to an animal sanctuary after songwriter Diane Warren intervened
Continue reading...‘We’ve struck a deal’: Biden says agreement reached on infrastructure plan – live
- Republican and Democratic senators have reached deal – president
- Speaker: ‘It is imperative that we seek the truth as to what happened’
- Giuliani’s New York law license suspended ‘effectively immediately’
- Biden urges unvaccinated to get shots as ‘deadlier’ Delta strain spreads
Here’s some more on Rudy Giuliani losing (potentially temporarily) his law licence in New York today, from my colleague Sarah Betancourt:
Giuliani, 77, helped lead Trump’s legal challenge of his election loss as his personal attorney. He argued without evidence that voter fraud was rampant in Georgia, and that voting machines in the state and others were rigged. He urged Georgia’s Republican electors to vote for Trump, despite the state’s Republican governor, Brian Kemp, and secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, countering there was no evidence of fraud.
Related: Rudy Giuliani barred from practicing law in New York over election lies
Biden has pumped the brakes just a little on the infrastructure bill, saying it must be paired with a larger spending bill, which will likely only be supported by Democrats, if he is to sign it.
“If they don’t [both] come, I’m not signing it. Real simple,” Biden said.
Biden says bipartisan infrastructure deal has to be paired with D-only reconciliation bill.
"If this is the only thing that comes to me I'm not signing. It's in tandem."
Asked about Pelosi plan to hold first bill in House until second bill arrives, says he supports it.
US plans to evacuate thousands of interpreters before Afghanistan pullout
• Operation expected to include up to 50,000 people
• Interpreters and families fear reprisals from Taliban
The United States is planning to evacuate a group of vulnerable Afghan interpreters before the US military completes its withdrawal from Afghanistan so they can wrap up their visa applications from safety, according to officials.
The evacuation of the at-risk Afghans will include their family members for a total of as many as 50,000 people, a senior Republican lawmaker told Reuters.
Continue reading...Rudy Giuliani barred from practicing law in New York over election lies
• Court: Trump lawyer made ‘false and misleading’ statements
• License suspended pending possible disciplinary action
Rudy Giuliani is suspended from practicing law in New York state following disciplinary proceedings over his misleading statements to courts and the public following the 2020 US presidential election.
The New York supreme court issued its decision on Thursday, saying that it had found “uncontroverted evidence” that Giuliani made “demonstrably false and misleading statements to courts, lawmakers and the public at large”, on behalf of his client, then-president Donald Trump, and created a “narrative that due to widespread voter fraud, victory in the 2020 United States presidential election was stolen from his client”.
Continue reading...Stars and fans rally behind Britney Spears after shocking claims
Justin Timberlake and Rose McGowan among those calling for end to singer’s conservatorship
There was tentative anticipation surrounding Britney Spears’ address to an LA court during a hearing on Wednesday on the future of the conservatorship that has governed her life for 13 years.
Would she affirm the theories of the #FreeBritney movement, which alleges she is being held against her will? Or would it be a disappointing procedural affair of little substance?
Continue reading...‘I want to understand’: top US general defends studying critical race theory in military – video
Top Pentagon leaders on Wednesday passionately defended the military's approach to addressing racism and said that it was important for personnel to study critical race theory, after Republican rep Matt Gaetz and others questioned them about it, saying it was lowering moral.
Gen Mark Milley, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said the military need not apologize for fostering open-mindedness and that he wants to 'understand white rage'.
Critical race theory is a concept developed by academics and leading scholars of jurisprudence, with intellectual origins in the 1960s which were organized officially in the late 1980s. The theory states that racism is embedded both in US history and modern American law. It holds that legal institutions in the US are inherently racist.
Continue reading...Footage shows aftermath of Miami building collapse – video report
Dozens of rescue units were on the scene of a partial building collapse in Miami after the entire back side of the 12-story building collapsed.
Photos and video from the scene show the collapse affected half the block. Piles of rubble and debris surrounded the area just outside the building. One person was reportedly killed and at least 10 injured, according to the Washington Post
Continue reading...Magic Johnson: the NBA superstar who smashed HIV stigma – then built a huge fortune
He stunned basketball fans and transformed HIV awareness by announcing his diagnosis in 1991. Thirty years on, he discusses his relationship with Anthony Fauci, the meaning of money and why he’s still optimistic
On 7 November 1991, a press conference in Inglewood, California, brought America to a standstill. Against a black-draped backdrop, dressed in a black suit, white shirt and multicoloured tie, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, spoke calmly into a single microphone and told the world that he had been diagnosed with HIV.
Cameras flashed and reporters clamoured to ask questions, but Johnson, National Basketball Association (NBA) superstar and one of the world’s most revered athletes, appeared unfazed as he announced his immediate retirement. Had he grappled with his own mortality? When had he found out? How had he acquired the virus? What would he do next?
Continue reading...Kamala Harris to visit US-Mexico border for first time as vice-president – live
- Vice-president under pressure from Republicans over lack of visit
- Biden and Harris criticized for not doing more to help voting rights
- President to discuss gun crime prevention with attorney general
- Democrats seek way ahead after voting rights bill hits roadblock
Rising homicide rates and gun violence has become a major issue in local political races, including in the New York mayoral primary elections.
For Joe Biden, rising concern about crime has proved to be a politically convenient opportunity for him to boost gun control reforms he touted as a candidate. But the president’s wide-ranging policy proposals are sure to divide Democrats.
We can't let legitimate concerns about shootings and homicides undermine momentum to overhaul law enforcement. We can't repeat the mistakes of the past and think that we can arrest our way out of rising gun violence. https://t.co/0ifVpEJCFE
Biden is speaking at the White House to explain his administration’s plans to address crime and gun trafficking.
My colleague David Smith is covering the event live:
Joe Biden: “Crime historically rises during the summer.” As we open after the pandemic; the summer spike might be higher than usual. pic.twitter.com/XfWoQ0JGQd
Continue reading...John McAfee: antivirus entrepreneur found dead in Spanish prison
McAfee’s extradition to the US on tax charges had been approved hours earlier
The antivirus software entrepreneur John McAfee has been found dead in his cell in Spain, hours after the country’s highest court approved his extradition to the United States, where he was wanted on tax-related criminal charges that carry a prison sentence of up to 30 years.
Catalan’s regional police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra, confirmed a report in El País that McAfee, 75, had been found dead in the Brians 2 prison near Barcelona, late on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Trump hoped Covid-19 would ‘take out’ former aide John Bolton, book claims
- Nightmare Scenario details final year of presidency
- Washington Post reporters’ book one of several on Trump
Donald Trump wanted Covid-19 to “take out” his former national security adviser John Bolton, a new book is set to reveal, as a heated summer of further colourful revelations about the controversial former president spills out from competing tomes.
The forthcoming Nightmare Scenario will stake out the claim, in addition to telling of how Trump advocated shipping Americans who contracted coronavirus while abroad to the prison at Guantánamo Bay.
Continue reading...Democrats seek way forward after voting rights bill hits Senate roadblock
The White House warned democracy was ‘in peril’ but while key Democrats stay committed to the filibuster, progress looks difficult
After nearly six months of watching Republicans relentlessly make it harder to vote in the US, Democrats suffered a major blow on Tuesday after GOP senators used a legislative maneuver to halt a sweeping voting rights and ethics bill.
The vote doesn’t kill the bill, but it marks one of the most significant setbacks for Democrats in Joe Biden’s presidency so far. Democrats heralded the legislation as their No 1 priority, even knowing they were unlikely to get any Republican votes for it. The bill would amount to the most significant expansion of the right to vote in a generation, requiring early voting and automatic and same-day registration, while prohibiting excessive manipulation of electoral district boundaries, a process often called gerrymandering.
Continue reading...Britney Spears will directly address Los Angeles court on conservatorship
Singer will offer rare testimony on controversial arrangement that has given Spears’s father control over much of her life for 13 years
Britney Spears will directly address a Los Angeles courtroom on Wednesday, offering rare testimony in the case of the controversial conservatorship that has governed the pop star’s life for 13 years.
The hearing has drawn interest from fans across the globe, who have for years organized a campaign under the hashtag #FreeBritney to protest the unusual legal arrangement that has stripped the singer of her independence since 2008. The conservatorship has given her father, Jamie Spears, control over her estate, career and other aspects of her personal life.
Continue reading...Ex-police captain Eric Adams takes early lead in New York mayoral primary
- Centrist Democrat claims most first-choice ballots
- Ranked-choice voting means primary winner due on 12 July
Brooklyn’s borough president, Eric Adams, appeared to take a fragile lead in New York’s Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday, but it could be weeks before it becomes clear who is on top in the first citywide election to use ranked choice voting.
As ballot counting began, more Democrats ranked Adams as their first choice in the race than any other candidate.
Continue reading...US takes down dozens of Iran-linked news sites, accusing them of disinformation
Notices appear on Iran-affiliated sites saying they had been seized as part of law enforcement action
US authorities have seized a range of Iran’s state-linked news websites, which they accused of spreading “disinformation” on Tuesday, a US official said, a move that appeared to be a far-reaching crackdown on Iranian media amid heightened tensions between the two countries.
The US government official, who spoke on Tuesday on condition of anonymity because the case had not yet been officially announced, said the US had effectively taken down roughly three dozen websites, the majority linked to Iranian disinformation efforts.
Continue reading...Democrats present united front in For the People Act vote – video
Democrats demonstrated unity in the US senate as the West Virginia senator Joe Manchin said he would vote in favor of advancing voting rights legislation known as the For the People act to the debate stage.
The Republican Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, denied any voter suppression was happening despite around 400 bills introduced in more than 43 states which could restrict the right to vote. The legislation would remove hurdles to voting.
In the evenly split Senate, Republican votes mean the bill will not garner the necessary 60 votes to advance.
Continue reading...Republicans set to sink Democrats’ effort to advance key voting rights bill – live
- Senate Democrats to fall short of 60 votes needed to begin debate
- New Yorkers vote in Democratic primary for New York mayoral pick
- Obama backs Joe Manchin compromise before crucial Senate vote
Good morning, live blog readers. Yesterday may have been the longest day of the year but today may feel longer for Democrats as tension builds in Washington towards the big vote on whether to advance legislation on massive voting rights reforms. It’s going to be a lively day, so let’s get started.
Continue reading...New bill aims to force Canada to tackle ‘systemic’ environmental racism
C-230 would require government to study effect of pollution and industry on marginalized people but conservatives could sink plan
For generations, marginalized communities in Canada have feared that heavy industry is slowly poisoning their air, land and water.
Related: America's dirty divide: how environmental racism leaves the vulnerable behind
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