Category Archives: US News

White House official inadvertently reveals plans to send elite army unit to Portland

Posted on by

Anthony Salisbury displayed chat about deployment of 82nd airborne division on cell phone while in Minnesota

A senior White House official accidentally leaked details of plans to send an elite army unit to Portland, in the latest intelligence leak by the Trump administration.

Anthony Salisbury, a top deputy to Stephen Miller, the influential White House policy adviser, was observed using Signal in a public place to discuss a plan to deploy the army’s 82nd airborne division to Portland, the Democratic-run Oregon city which Donald Trump has repeatedly castigated as being “war-ravaged”.

Continue reading...

US supreme court allows Trump to strip temporary status from Venezuelans

Posted on by

Justices’ order puts on hold lower-court ruing that found officials had wrongly ended temporary protected status

The US supreme court on Friday allowed Donald Trump’s administration to strip legal protections from more than 300,000 Venezuelan migrants.

The justices issued an emergency order, which will last as long as the court case continues, putting on hold a lower-court ruling by US district judge Edward Chen in San Francisco that found the president’s administration had wrongly ended temporary protected status (TPS) for the Venezuelans. The three liberal justices dissented.

Continue reading...

Arkansas man seeks to have visa status restored after being arrested for ‘Opium’ perfume bottle

Posted on by

Police thought bottle contained drugs and arrested Kapil Raghu, who was then taken into custody by Ice

An Arkansas man, who was detained for a month by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) after authorities mistook his bottle of perfume for opium, is seeking to have his visa status restored after the charges were dropped.

Kapil Raghu, an Indian national married to an American woman and working towards American citizenship, was detained on 3 May after police officers in Benton, a suburb of Little Rock, pulled him over for having a non-moving traffic violation, according to his attorney, Mike Laux.

Continue reading...

Hegseth says four killed in US strike on alleged drug boat off Venezuelan coast

Posted on by

Pentagon chief says strike – fourth by US military in recent weeks – targeted boat with ‘substantial amounts’ of drugs

The United States carried out a strike against an alleged drug-trafficking boat on Friday that killed four people, US defense secretary Pete Hegseth said, a day after the Trump administration told Congress it was entering a new “non-international armed conflict” with cartels.

The strike, which Hegseth said he directed on Donald Trump’s orders, appears to be at least the fourth in recent weeks. Hegseth gave few details about the boat or the evidence that it was carrying narcotics, other than saying the US had confirmed it was carrying drugs.

Continue reading...

Journalist Mario Guevara deported to El Salvador after 100 days in Ice custody

Posted on by

Removal comes after Emmy-winning Salvadorian reporter was arrested while covering ‘No Kings Day’ protest

Journalist Mario Guevara’s imprisonment by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (Ice) ended with deportation to El Salvador on Friday, his family announced on social media.

Guevara has been a media mainstay in the Atlanta area for about 20 years, after fleeing El Salvador to escape leftwing militias in 2004. Though he has a work permit and two of his children are American citizens, he has operated under the “administrative closure” of deportation orders for much of that time.

Continue reading...

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sentencing: what to know

Posted on by

Rapper to be sentenced on two counts that each carry maximum 10-year term – what might the judge decide?

Sean “Diddy” Combs is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday morning by a federal judge in New York, following his conviction earlier this year on federal prostitution-related charges.

Here’s a recap of his criminal case: what he was indicted for, what happened at trial, and what might happen next.

Continue reading...

Large fire breaks out at el Segundo refinery in Los Angeles

Posted on by

Emergency services attending scenes after receiving multiple reports of an explosion, according to US media

A fire broke out at Chevron’s El Segundo refinery, California governor Gavin Newsom’s press office said, with a county official adding that the flames had been confined to one area.

The cause of the blaze was not clear, the Los Angeles Times reported, while CBS said firefighters were called to the refinery in Los Angeles county after reports of an explosion.

Continue reading...

US archivist ousted after refusing to let Trump give Eisenhower’s sword to King Charles – reports

Posted on by

The Trump administration ultimately gave the King a replica sword on the president’s recent state visit

The Eisenhower Presidential Library’s director has exited his position after advocating against giving a sword from the collection to King Charles as a gift during Donald Trump’s recent state visit, according to US media reports on Thursday.

Todd Arrington left his post on Monday after being told to “resign or be fired”, he told CBS News, which did not specify who had relayed the message to the historian.

Continue reading...

Anti-abortion groups furious as FDA approves generic abortion pill

Posted on by

Abortion rights supporters hail win for evidence-backed medicine as Evita Solutions’ generic version of mifepristone given approval

In a move that has left anti-abortion advocates reeling, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) quietly approved a request to manufacture a new abortion pill earlier this week.

Thanks to the approval, a company called Evita Solutions will be able to manufacture its generic version of mifepristone, one of two drugs typically used in most US medication abortions. A generic version of mifepristone, which was first approved as a brand-name drug in 2000, is already available on the market.

Continue reading...

Treasure hunters discover $1m in silver and gold coins off Florida coast

Posted on by

Valuables were being transported in 1715 from American colonies when a hurricane wrecked a Spanish fleet

Hidden beneath the turquoise waters off a stretch of Florida known as the “treasure coast”, a team of divers from a shipwreck salvage company have uncovered exactly that – a load of long-lost Spanish treasure they estimate is worth $1m.

More than 1,000 silver and gold coins thought to be minted in the Spanish colonies where Bolivia, Mexico and Peru now sit were uncovered this summer off Florida’s Atlantic coast, 1715 Fleet-Queens Jewels LLC announced this week.

Continue reading...

Government shutdown could cost US economy billions of dollars a week, analysts says

Posted on by

According to one report, each week of shutdown could cost up to $7bn, with another suggesting a $15bn loss in GDP

Senior officials inside Donald Trump’s administration have acknowledged the federal government shutdown, without an end in sight, could hurt the US economy. The damage could be worth billions of dollars each week, according to analysts.

“This isn’t the way to have a discussion, shutting down the government and lowering the GDP,” Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, told the CNBC financial news network. “We could see a hit to the GDP, a hit to growth and a hit to working America.”

Continue reading...

‘Cancel Netflix’: Elon Musk leads rightwing backlash over trans character in canceled series

Posted on by

Resurfaced clip from Dead End: Paranormal Park led Musk to encourage his followers to cancel their subscriptions

Elon Musk, the multibillionaire and self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist”, has in recent days trained his attention on getting people to cancel their Netflix subscriptions in protest of what he claims is the company’s “woke bias” and inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters.

Musk, the richest person in the world with a net worth of approximately $500bn, has repeatedly encouraged his 227 million followers on X, the platform he controls, to cancel their Netflix subscriptions. In the past three days alone, he has posted or reposted calls to cancel Netflix for its content at least 26 times.

Continue reading...

Putin dismisses fears that Moscow plans to attack Nato as ‘nonsense’

Posted on by

During speech in Sochi, Russian president also strikes conciliatory note towards Donald Trump

Vladimir Putin has vowed to quickly retaliate against Europe’s “escalating militarisation”, while dismissing as “nonsense” western fears that Moscow plans to attack Nato.

During a wide-ranging speech in Sochi on Thursday, the Russian president said: “We are closely monitoring the escalating militarisation of Europe … We simply cannot ignore what is happening. We have no right to do so for reasons of our own security.”

Continue reading...

Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson to make Netflix road trip series

Posted on by

Former One Direction members to reunite for docuseries set on the road in US after death of bandmate Liam Payne

Former One Direction members Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson are set to reunite for a Netflix road trip series.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the docuseries will follow the pair as they travel across the US. The show will be directed by Nicola Marsh, who was also behind the Demi Lovato documentary Child Star.

Continue reading...

Judge denies Kilmar Ábrego García’s bid for asylum in the US

Posted on by

Ábrego, who was deported to El Salvador in March before being returned to the US, has 30 days to appeal ruling

An immigration judge in Baltimore has denied Kilmar Ábrego García’s bid for asylum on Thursday, but he has 30 days to appeal.

Ábrego’s case has drawn national attention since the 30-year-old was wrongfully deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador in March. The Salvadorian national has an American wife and children and has lived in Maryland for years, but he originally immigrated to the US without proper documentation as a teenager.

Continue reading...

Perky Maxwell House viral ad takes on housing crisis as ‘Maxwell Apartment’

Posted on by

Historic US company also offering ‘12-month lease’ – an annual supply – of pre-ground coffee for under $40

Housing in the US has become so unaffordable that a coffee company has based a viral marketing campaign on the idea that almost nobody can afford to buy a house.

Maxwell House coffee, a 133-year-old brand, recently launched a marketing campaign rebranding themselves as “Maxwell Apartment Coffee”.

Continue reading...

Trump signs order promising measures, including military, to defend Qatar

Posted on by

Text appears meant to assure the Qataris following Israel’s surprise attack on the country targeting Hamas leaders

Donald Trump has signed an executive order vowing to use all measures including US military action to defend the energy-rich nation of Qatar – though it remains unclear just what weight the pledge will carry.

The text of the order, available Wednesday on the White House’s website but dated Monday, appears to be another measure by Trump to assure the Qataris following Israel’s surprise attack on the country targeting Hamas leaders as they weighed accepting a ceasefire with Israel over the war in the Gaza Strip.

Continue reading...

Trump FCC chair to reportedly testify to Senate panel after Kimmel suspension

Posted on by

Brendan Carr, who appeared to pressure broadcasters to take show off air, set to go before commerce committee

Brendan Carr, the pro-Trump chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has agreed to testify before the Senate commerce committee following Disney’s decision to take talkshow host Jimmy Kimmel off air temporarily, according to multiple reports.

Carr agreed to testify after speaking to committee chair Ted Cruz, Reuters reported, citing a source familiar with the matter on Wednesday, adding the date of the hearing has not been set but was expected after November. Semafor was the first to report on the hearing.

Continue reading...

Nirvana again defeats alleged child sexual abuse image lawsuit over Nevermind cover

Posted on by

Spencer Elden, who was photographed as a baby and put on the cover of the 1991 album, has attempted to sue the band twice, claiming it constituted child sexual abuse

A federal judge again threw out a lawsuit by a man who accused grunge rock band Nirvana of distributing child sexual abuse images by using a photograph of him as a naked, swimming baby on the cover of its breakthrough 1991 album Nevermind.

US District Judge Fernando Olguin tossed out the lawsuit filed by plaintiff Spencer Elden for a second time after finding that no reasonable jury would consider the picture pornographic.

Continue reading...

US citizen sues after twice being detained by immigration agents

Posted on by

US-born Leo Garcia Venegas says ‘I just want to work in peace’ after agents in Alabama said his ID card was fake

An Alabama construction worker and US citizen who says he was detained twice by immigration agents within just a few weeks has filed a lawsuit in federal court demanding an end to Trump administration workplace raids targeting industries with large immigrant workforces.

The class-action lawsuit, filed on Tuesday by Leo Garcia Venegas, a concrete worker, demands an end to what the firm calls “unconstitutional and illegal immigration enforcement tactics”.

Continue reading...