Category Archives: US News

Convicted drug trafficker testifies that he bribed Honduran president

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Ex-cartel leader says he bribed Juan Orlando Hernández with $250,000 in exchange for government contracts and protection

A convicted drug trafficker and former cartel leader has testified in a New York court that he bribed the Honduran president, Juan Orlando Hernández, with $250,000 in exchange for government contracts as well as protection from capture and extradition to the United States.

“It was for protection so neither the military nor preventative police would arrest me or my brother in Honduras and so we would not be extradited to the United States,” Devis Leonel Rivera Maradiaga, a leader of the Honduran drug clan Los Cachiros, testified in the trial of alleged drug trafficker Geovanny Fuentes Ramírez.

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Joe Biden signs landmark $1.9tn Covid relief bill into law – video

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Joe Biden has signed into law a $1.9tn coronavirus relief package, cementing the first major legislative victory of his presidency. ‘This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country,’ Biden said about the American Rescue Plan. Touting the bill’s broad public support, he said the plan’s passage by the House of Representatives on Wednesday ensured that ‘their voices were heard’

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Biden signs $1.9tn Covid relief ahead of first primetime address as president

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President will mark one year since coronavirus triggered shutdowns across US in televised speech on Thursday night

Joe Biden signed the historic $1.9tn Covid-19 relief package into law on Thursday, hours before he will deliver his first primetime TV address as US president to mark one year since the virus triggered widespread shutdowns across the country.

“This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country,” Biden said in brief remarks before signing the landmark legislation.

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Canadian men detained in China to face trial ‘soon’ as hopes of diplomatic deal dim

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Editorial in state-run Global Times said Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor would likely stand trial in coming weeks

Two Canadian men detained in China are likely to stand trial in the coming weeks, according to a state-backed newspaper, dimming hopes that a diplomatic deal could secure their release.

Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor have been held without bail for more than 820 days, since they were detained soon after the Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested on a US warrant in Vancouver.

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Michelle Obama says she’s moving towards retirement to ‘chase summer’

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Former first lady, 57, says the pivot will allow more time for her and her husband, Barack, to ‘be with each other’

Michelle Obama, the former first lady, hinted at plans for a graceful step out of the limelight and towards retirement, in a recent interview with People Magazine. She shared that the pivot would allow more time for her and husband, Barack, to “be with each other”.

Since leaving the White House, the pair has taken on multiple, selective projects, from campaigning for Joe Biden to securing deals with Netflix and Spotify.

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‘It’s every man for himself’: the Texans defying end of mask mandate

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Governor Greg Abbott lifted the mask mandate on 2 March but not everyone in the state is ready to embrace the change

The parking lot was packed at The Shops at La Cantera, a partially outdoor mall in north-west San Antonio, on the day that Texas officially ended mandatory mask wearing. But it was clear not everyone was ready to embrace the change, with most people who wandered in and out of stores still donning face coverings, and many shops requiring customers to wear one before entering.

Related: Texans scramble to get vaccinated after Republican governor says no more masks

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Andrea Jenkins: the first Black openly transgender woman to hold US public office

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As the George Floyd murder trial opens in Minneapolis, the city councillor talks about coming out as trans, the prejudices she has had to overcome – and how policing must change

Andrea Jenkins lives just a few blocks away from 38th and Chicago, the crossroads in Minneapolis where George Floyd was killed on 25 May last year. She spent two decades of her life working to revitalise the community there, and kicked off her 2017 campaign for the city council’s Eighth ward in an arts centre a few yards away.

After Floyd’s death, when the crossroads became a space for collective mourning, Jenkins visited every day. But in the midst of a bitter Minneapolis winter and with the neighbourhood reeling from the long-term effects of Floyd’s death, Jenkins hasn’t been in months.

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Cuomo faces most serious allegation yet as aide says governor groped her

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New York Democrat has been accused of harassment by five other women and is under investigation by state attorney general

An aide to Andrew Cuomo says the New York governor groped her in the governor’s residence, marking the most serious allegation among those made by a series of women against the embattled Democrat, according to a report published in a newspaper Wednesday.

The Times Union of Albany reported that the woman, who was not identified, was alone with Cuomo when he closed the door, reached under her shirt and fondled her. The newspaper’s reporting is based on an unidentified source with direct knowledge of the woman’s accusation. The governor had summoned her to the Executive Mansion in Albany, saying he needed help with his cellphone, the newspaper reported.

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‘Help is on the way’: Democrats cheer as US House passes $1.9tn Covid relief plan – video

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The House of Representatives gave final approval on Wednesday to one of the largest economic stimulus measures in US history, a sweeping $1.9tn Covid-19 relief bill that gives Joe Biden his first major victory in office. The measure provides $400bn for $1,400 direct payments to most Americans, $350bn in aid to state and local governments, an expansion of the child tax credit, and increased funding for vaccine distribution. 'This is the most consequential legislation that many of us will ever be a party to,' the House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said at a ceremony to sign the bill before it goes to the White House

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US House passes $1.9tn Covid relief plan in major legislative victory for Biden

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Final tally was 220 to 211, with one Democrat and all Republicans voting against the measure

A deeply divided Congress passed a landmark $1.9tn coronavirus relief bill on Wednesday, delivering the first major legislative victory of Joe Biden’s presidency and a sweeping promise to raise millions of Americans out of poverty.

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Biden’s $1.9tn Covid relief bill marks an end to four decades of Reaganism | Analysis

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Analysis: Reagan’s presidency undermined faith in government. The stimulus package helps restore FDR’s legacy

Joe Biden reflected recently on the last time a Democratic administration had to rescue an economy left in tatters by a Republican president.

“The economists told us we literally saved America from a depression,” Biden told the House Democratic Caucus last week. “But we didn’t adequately explain what we had done. Barack was so modest; he didn’t want to take, as he said, a ‘victory lap’. I kept saying, ‘Tell people what we did.’ He said, ‘We don’t have time. I’m not going to take a victory lap.’ And we paid a price for it, ironically, for that humility.”

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House passes Biden’s $1.9tn Covid relief bill projected to slash US poverty in 2021 – live

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The House has passed the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, delivering Joe Biden his first major legislative victory as president.

The final vote was 220 to 211, and it fell almost exactly along party lines. Only one Democrat, Jared Golden of Maine, voted against the bill. Applause broke out among Democrats on the House floor after the bill passed.

The House voted 220-211 to concur in the Senate amendment to H.R. 1319 - American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

The House now has enough votes to pass the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, although the vote remains open.

As of now, the vote stands at 220 to 211, meaning more than half of House members have voted for the passage of the relief bill.

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$1,400 stimulus checks and vaccine funds: what the Covid relief bill contains

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The bill passed by the House includes sweeping measures to try to tackle deep-rooted racial, gender and class inequalities in the US

The US House on Wednesday passed the huge $1.9tn coronavirus relief and economic stimulus package that represents Joe Biden’s first major legislative victory.

Related: Biden poised for first major legislative victory with House vote on $1.9tn Covid relief – live

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Chinese entrepreneur sells pensive Donald Trump Buddha statues

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One buyer says he bought statue of former US president on Taobao as reminder not to be ‘too Trump’

Donald Trump is not known for his calm and peaceful demeanour, but that hasn’t stopped one entrepreneurial furniture-maker in China from casting a statue of the former US president in a pose more readily associated with the Buddha.

The Trump Buddha statue, listed on the Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao, is priced at 999 Chinese yuan (£110 GBP/$150 USD) for the small version, which measures 1.6 metres tall. A larger version, listed as 4.6 metres tall, is available for 3,999 yuan (£440/$610).

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Can red wolves come back from the brink of extinction again?

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Once a US conservation success story, numbers in the wild have plummeted. Now a court has given hope for their survival

There are perhaps no more than 10 red wolves left in the wild, and they are all in just one place: North Carolina.

It is an astonishing statistic for a species once hailed as undergoing the most successful reintroduction programme in the US, providing the blueprint for Yellowstone national park’s much-lauded grey wolf rewilding project.

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China could invade Taiwan in next six years, top US admiral warns

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Asia Pacific commander Philip Davidson says Beijing wants to take Washington’s world leadership role by 2050

China could invade Taiwan within the next six years as Beijing accelerates its moves to supplant American military power in Asia, a top US commander has warned.

Democratic and self-ruled Taiwan lives under constant threat of invasion by China, whose leaders view the island as part of their territory and which they have vowed to one day take back.

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Arkansas bans nearly all abortions in sweeping measure

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Law, which supporters hope will force the supreme court to revisit Roe v Wade, does not provide exceptions for cases of rape or incest

Arkansas has passed a new law banning nearly all abortions in the state, a sweeping measure that supporters hope will force the US supreme court to revisit Roe v Wade but opponents vow to block before it takes effect later this year.

The state’s Republican governor, Asa Hutchinson, said he was signing the bill because of its “overwhelming legislative support and my sincere and long-held pro-life convictions”.

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‘I’m his voice today’: George Floyd’s sister speaks as Derek Chauvin trial begins – video

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Bridgett Floyd, George Floyd’s sister, said that her family was glad the trial had finally arrived and was 'praying for justice' as the hearing continued on Monday.

The trial of a former police officer in the US city of Minneapolis charged with George Floyd's murder has begun jury selection on Tuesday.

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Teen Vogue employees protest new editor-in-chief over anti-Asian tweets

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Staffers sent letter to Condé Nast after racist tweets written by Alexi McCammond 10 years ago resurfaced

Employees at Teen Vogue have sent a letter to publisher Condé Nast, protesting against the hiring of Alexi McCammond as editor-in-chief of the influential magazine.

It follows the resurfacing earlier this week of a series of racist tweets written by McCammond 10 years ago.

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House will vote Wednesday morning on $1.9tn Covid relief bill – live

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Progressive congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman said she will vote for the coronavirus relief bill, despite serious concerns about the changes made by the Senate.

“While I will continue to pressure my party to live up to its banner as the party of the people, I cannot ignore the immediate need for relief,” Watson Coleman said in a statement.

pic.twitter.com/VODEIHERDU

This trend is outrageous:

Eliminating $15/hr
Reducing thresholds for payments (cutting off ~400k New Jerseyans)
Cuts to weekly payments

What are we doing here? I'm frankly disgusted with some of my colleagues and question whether I can support this bill.

1/ https://t.co/r9dqZpuCbU

Okay, now it’s official: the House will hold its final vote on the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package tomorrow, not today.

House majority leader Steny Hoyer said moments ago that the House will take up the bill at 9 am ET tomorrow morning, per C-SPAN.

Hoyer this morning in his weekly pen and pad announced the potential timing of House vote on final $1.9T COVID-19 relief bill: “Our expectation is, maybe late this afternoon we would adopt the rule...We will then tomorrow at 9am consider the American Rescue Plan and pass that.”

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