Joe Biden’s 100 days in office rally interrupted by protesters – video

During a speech at a drive-in rally in Duluth, Georgia, to mark 100 days in office, Joe Biden was briefly interrupted by protesters calling for an end to private prisons, a demand that Biden agreed to, saying that the US was 'working to close all of them'.

The president praised the conviction of Derek Chauvin, the police officer found guilty of killing George Floyd, and declared that 'America is on the move again, choosing hope over fear, truth over lies, light over darkness'. Georgia is a particularly important state for Biden after he became the first Democrat to win there since Bill Clinton in 1992 

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‘You changed America’: Biden marks first 100 days in Georgia – a state key to his victory

President promoted his $4tn plans to rebuild crumbling US infrastructure and expand the social safety net at drive-in rally

On his 100th day as US president, Joe Biden spontaneously lowered his black face mask, leaned towards the microphone and shouted: “Go Georgia, we need you!”

It was a fitting moment in a state that has more claim than most to be the ground zero of a potentially transformative presidency.

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Ghislaine Maxwell: lawyers release photo showing bruised face

Legal team allege she is being held in worse conditions to other inmates due to the “Epstein Effect”

Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell have released a photograph of the British socialite, who is in a US prison facing sex trafficking charges, showing her with a bruised face.

Maxwell, 59, who is accused of procuring underage girls for the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein to abuse, has been in jail since last year while awaiting trial. She denies the allegations. Since her arrest last summer, she has only been seen in court sketches during hearings.

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Five arrested in Lady Gaga dognapping case – including the woman who returned them

Detectives do not believe the thieves knew the dogs belonged to the pop star and that the motive was the French bulldogs’ value

The woman who returned Lady Gaga’s stolen French bulldogs was among five people arrested in connection with the theft and shooting of the music superstar’s dog walker, Los Angeles police said Thursday.

Detectives do not believe that the thieves knew the dogs belonged to the pop star, the Los Angeles police department said in a statement. The motive for the 24 February robbery, investigators believe, was the value of the French bulldogs – which can run into the thousands of dollars.

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White House investigating ‘unexplained health incidents’ similar to Havana syndrome

Two US officials experienced symptoms similar to ones suffered abroad that were probably result of directed energy device

The White House has said it is investigating “unexplained health incidents” after a report that two US officials in the Washington area experienced sudden symptoms similar to the “Havana syndrome” symptoms suffered by American diplomats and spies abroad.

Related: CIA file on Russian ESP experiments released – but you knew that, didn't you?

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Michael Collins obituary

Astronaut and pilot of the command module Columbia during 1969’s Apollo 11 mission

On 20 July 1969, Michael Collins, who has died aged 90, became the most solitary human in the universe – even if he derided that categorisation as “phony philosophy”. He orbited the moon alone, inside Apollo 11’s command module Columbia, and out of touch with ground control for 48 minutes on each orbit. Meanwhile, and more famously, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were becoming the first men to set foot on that rock, some 240,000 miles away from Earth.

As the command module pilot, on $17,000 a year, Collins was, he later wrote half-jokingly, “the navigator, the guidance and control expert, the base-camp operator, the owner of the leaky plumbing – all the things I was least interested in doing”. He was also, thought Aldrin, probably Nasa’s best-trained command module pilot.

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Joe Biden’s speech to Congress: five key takeaways

The president introduced his $1.8tn plan to invest in America, funded by raising the capital gains rate for the wealthy

As Biden took the podium, he brushed past a sparse, masked crowd. He fist-bumped and elbow-tapped lawmakers and members of his cabinet – greeting a crowd that was physically distanced, and ideologically divided.

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Biden declares ‘America is on the move again’ in first congressional address – video

Joe Biden argued that ‘America is on the move again’ in his first address to Congress, on the eve of his 100th day in office. The president, flanked by two women – Vice-President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – for the first time in US history, addressed the coronavirus pandemic, the 6 January assault on the Capitol, plans to raise the minimum wage, police reform, climate change and historic levels of investment in the country. Due to social distancing measures, only 200 people, mainly politicians, attended rather than the usual 1,600 guests

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‘Crisis into opportunity’: Biden lays out vision for sweeping change in speech to Congress

President pushes ambitious families and jobs plans, calling for a ‘blue-collar blueprint’ to rebuild America

Joe Biden argued that “America is on the move again” in his first address to Congress, where he unveiled a sweeping $1.8tn package for families and education and pitched his “blue-collar blueprint” to re-build America.

Flanked by two women – Vice-President Kamala Harris and House speaker Nancy Pelosi – for the first time in US history, the president gave his speech on the eve of his 100th day in office as the country continues to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

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Coronavirus live news: India deaths pass 200,000; Poland announces plan to lift lockdown

India hits another global record; Polish PM announces lifting of lockdown from next week

Chile has designated pregnant women a Covid-19 vaccination priority and this week began issuing Pfizer doses to those with underlying health issues in their second or third trimesters.

Reuters reports:

Chile’s top public health official Paula Daza said women were being inoculated with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine since more information existed about its safety for pregnant women.

An estimated 230,000 will be offered vaccines, with those with health conditions followed by those working in high-risk jobs such as the health and education sectors.

The coronavirus situation is improving in France, prime minister Jean Castex said on Wednesday.

As we reported earlier, president Emmanuel Macron will outline on Friday how restrictions will be progressively relaxed.

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Joe Biden to set out plans to reshape America in first address to Congress – live

Joe Biden will also speak about gun violence during tonight’s speech, according to USAToday. On the presidential campaign trail, Biden pledged to reinstate the assault weapons ban and create a voluntary gun buyback program.

A White House official told the newspaper that Biden will talk about gun violence as an epidemic, which he has done in the past, and urge Congress to reinstate a ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines.

The president’s plea appears to echo a similar one made by Obama at the State of the Union in 2013, two months after Sandy Hook, in which he told Congress victims of gun violence — many of whom were seated in the room — “deserve a vote.” Biden presided over the Senate chamber when a gun safety package failed to pass two months later.

Despite the uphill battle, Democrats are heeding the president’s call. Last week Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., reintroduced a bill to remove protections for manufacturers and sellers from consumer negligence lawsuits and allow victims of gun violence to pursue legal recourse. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., a key Democrat leading gun control efforts, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper last week that he’s made calls to almost half the Republican caucus “asking them to keep an open mind.”

The Guardian’s voting rights reporter, Sam Levine, has an alarming story this morning on Republican efforts to make it harder to vote in Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office:

Even as attacks on voting rights have escalated in recent years, the Republican effort since January marks a new, more dangerous phase for American democracy, experts say.

Related: The Republicans’ staggering effort to attack voting rights in Biden’s first 100 days

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New York Post reporter quits citing pressure to write incorrect story about Kamala Harris

Laura Italiano claimed she was forced to write a report about migrant children being given a copy of the VP’s book as part of a welcome kit

A reporter at Rupert Murdoch’s New York tabloid has resigned after she claimed she was forced to write an incorrect front page story about migrants and Kamala Harris.

The New York Post published an article on 23 April headlined “Kam on in”, which claimed migrant children were being given welcome packs that contained copies of the US vice-president’s 2019 children’s picture book, Superheroes Are Everywhere. A follow-up article claimed thousands of copies had been distributed.

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Two weeks’ paid sick leave at Walmart could have prevented 7,500 Covid cases, report finds

Largest US employer could have saved 133 lives with policy as workers fear calling in sick could lead to firing, advocates say

More than 7,500 Covid-19 infections and 133 deaths could have been prevented if Walmart offered employees two weeks of paid sick leave, according to a report released on Wednesday.

The public health not-for-profit Human Impact Partners calculated the impact that better paid sick leave could have had for employees of Walmart, the largest employer in the US, using findings from the University of Wisconsin that universal sick leave could lead to a nearly 6% reduction in coronavirus infections and deaths for workers in Wisconsin.

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Biden’s A team: key figures pushing the president’s agenda in his first 100 days

Seven officials, from Kamala Harris, to cabinet secretaries, to close advisers, have been crucial for the new government’s impact

Related: Biden’s 100 days: bold action and broad vision amid grief and turmoil

Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office consisted largely of his administration’s rush to reverse Donald Trump’s approach to the coronavirus pandemic. Much of the national spotlight has fallen on how the new US president has addressed the crisis or which aides have been closely involved in coordinating the federal government’s responses.

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Biden hails ‘stunning progress’ on Covid but warns Americans: ‘Do not let up now’ – live

For Democrats it has been a hundred days of sweeping legislation, barrier-breaking appointments and daring to dream big. For Republicans, a hundred days in the political wilderness.

The party that just four years ago controlled the White House and both chambers of Congress now finds itself shut out of power and struggling to find its feet. As Joe Biden forges ahead with ambitions to shift the political paradigm, Republicans still have a Donald Trump problem.

Related: Republicans still orbiting Trump dark star fail to derail Biden’s first 100 days

Senate Democrats are pushing Biden to admit more refugees into the US.

Biden’s announcement earlier this month that he would not increase refugee admissions from the record low cap of 15,000 that Donald Trump set before leaving office. After intense pushback from advocates and Democratic lawmakers, Biden said he’d increase the cap by 15 May.

Related: Biden walks back refugee admissions policy after outcry and will lift cap in May

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Britney Spears to address LA court about father’s control of her career

Singer rarely takes part in hearings but has asked to speak directly to court, lawyer says

Britney Spears will personally address the Los Angeles court dealing with her long-running conservatorship in June, a judge agreed on Tuesday.

Spears, 39, has been under a conservatorship since 2008 but rarely takes part in hearings. Her lawyer said on Tuesday that she had asked to speak to the court directly, but he did not say what matters she wished to raise.

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Alphabet: revenue soared for Google owner as Covid brought more people online

Company exceeded Wall Street’s expectations with $55bn in revenue, even as it continued to face landmark antitrust lawsuits

Revenue for Google’s parent company, Alphabet, jumped by 34% on the previous year in the first quarter of 2021, the company announced on Tuesday, fueled in part by a sustained surge in ad sales during a pandemic that has seen people spending more time online.

The robust announcement provides the latest sign that advertisers are expecting the economy to roar back to life as more people get vaccinated, emerge from global lockdowns, and resume travel and spending. Google’s vast digital ad empire is now benefiting from that recovery.

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Police video shows officers joking about violent arrest of Colorado woman, 73

Karen Garner, who has dementia, reportedly fractured arm during arrest outside Walmart in Loveland last year

New footage has been released that shows the disturbing aftermath of the violent arrest of a 73-year-old woman, believed to suffer from dementia, after she left a Walmart store in Colorado last June.

Related: Police killings of Black Americans amount to crimes against humanity, international inquiry finds

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