Category Archives: US News

Green investing ‘is definitely not going to work’, says ex-BlackRock executive

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Tariq Fancy once oversaw the start of the biggest effort to turn Wall Street ‘green’ – but now believes the climate crisis can never be solved by today’s free markets

From his desk in midtown Manhattan Tariq Fancy once oversaw the beginning of arguably the biggest, most ambitious, effort ever to turn Wall Street “green”. Now, as environmentally friendly investing grows at an exponential rate, Fancy has come to a stark conclusion: “This is definitely not going to work.”

As the former chief investment officer for sustainable investing at BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, Fancy was charged with embedding environmental, social and governance (ESG) corporate policies across the investment giant’s portfolio.

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‘Honey, I forgot to duck’: the attempt to assassinate Ronald Reagan, 40 years on

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The Republican narrowly escaped becoming the fifth US president to be assassinated – and there’s been no closer call since

Few guests at the Washington Hilton, a vast hotel rendered in curving Brutalist concrete, notice the simple plaque tucked away near a lower entrance designed for VIPs.

It marks the spot where, 40 years ago today, President Ronald Reagan was shot and injured when would-be assassin John Hinckley fired six bullets in two seconds. White House press secretary James Brady, police officer Thomas Delahanty and secret service agent Tim McCarthy were also hit.

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Arkansas and South Dakota pass bans targeting transgender minors

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Measures are among dozens of anti-trans legislation across the US and conservatives have filed more proposals this year than ever before

Arkansas lawmakers have approved a ban on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender children, sending the governor a bill that has been widely criticized by medical and child welfare groups.

Related: How trans children became 'a political football' for the Republican party

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Prosecutors accuse Derek Chauvin of killing George Floyd as trial starts

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Jerry Blackwell told jury that ex-officer used excessive and unreasonable force ‘without regard for Floyd’s life’

Prosecutors accused former police officer Derek Chauvin of killing a defenceless George Floyd by “grinding and crushing him until the very breath, the very life, was squeezed out of him”, at the opening on Monday of a murder trial regarded by millions as a litmus test of US police accountability.

Related: ‘It’s for the people’: how George Floyd Square became a symbol of resistance – and healing

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Ghislaine Maxwell faces new charges, including sex trafficking of a minor

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New indictment also adds sex trafficking conspiracy charge as US prosecutors expand criminal case

Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite accused of aiding in her former partner Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of minor girls, faces two more charges, a new Manhattan federal court indictment filed on Monday reveals.

This indictment also identified a new accuser in the case, referred to as “minor victim-4” in court papers, and expanded the timeframe of Maxwell’s alleged participation in Epstein’s abuse by seven years – from 1994 to 2004, rather than from 1994 to 1997. Maxwell now faces a total of eight counts.

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Regulators around the world monitor collapse of US hedge fund

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Liquidation of Bill Hwang’s Archegos Capital Management sparked a fire sale of more than $20bn assets

Financial regulators across the world are monitoring the collapse of the New York-based billionaire Bill Hwang’s personal hedge fund.

The sudden liquidation of Hwang’s Archegos Capital Management sparked a fire sale of more than $20bn assets that has left some of the world’s biggest investment banks nursing billions of dollars of losses.

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‘America’s on trial’: family and supporters take a knee for George Floyd – video

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George Floyd's family and attorneys gathered outside the heavily-barricaded court house before former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin went on trial Monday.

'They can't sweep this under the rug,' said Philonise Floyd, George Floyd's brother, to reporters. Philonise and other speakers spoke about the video that showed Chauvin's knee on Floyd's neck that would be brought as evidence during the trial

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With world watching Derek Chauvin’s trial, focus will be on officer who ‘betrayed’ his badge

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Analysis: the trial over the killing of George Floyd may be a bellwether for racial justice, but the prosecution will focus on one man’s actions

For all the many thousands of protests around the world, the global reckoning on racism and policing prompted by the killing of George Floyd last May, prosecutors were clear that their case in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin would be centered around a period of time lasting less than 10 minutes.

Nine minutes and 29 seconds. The total time that Chauvin held his knee to George Floyd’s neck, leaving him “pancaked”, in the words of prosecutor Jerry Blackwell, between the ground and Chauvin’s body, gradually asphyxiating him to death.

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‘I’m scared’: CDC director urges action after US Covid surge – video

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Rochelle Walensky, head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, urged public officials to spread the word about the seriousness of a fourth Covid-19 surge in the country.

The Biden administration and Walensky said Americans should continue to take precautions to prevent the spread of Covid-19

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Suspected Russian hackers gained access to US homeland security emails

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Intelligence value of SolarWinds hacking of then acting secretary Chad Wolf is not publicly known

Suspected Russian hackers gained access to email accounts belonging to the Trump administration’s head of homeland security (DHS) and members of cybersecurity staff whose jobs included hunting threats from foreign countries, the Associated Press (AP) has learned.

The intelligence value of the hacking of then acting secretary Chad Wolf and his staff is not publicly known but the symbolism is stark. Their accounts were accessed in what is known as the SolarWinds intrusion, throwing into question how the US government can protect individuals, companies and institutions if it can’t protect itself.

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Donald Trump grabs mic at wedding to toast himself … and happy couple

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Ex-president praised couple at Mar-a-Lago – after complaining about Biden’s Iran and China policy, the border and the election

Donald Trump took the microphone at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday night, to praise a couple getting married at his Florida resort. Nearly 400 words later he did so, according to video published by the website TMZ, after a rambling complaint about Joe Biden’s policy towards Iran and China, the situation at the border with Mexico and the supposed fraud he claims caused his election defeat.

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Czech Republic’s richest man dies in Alaska helicopter crash

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Billionaire Petr Kellner among five killed including guests, pilot and guides, with one survivor

Petr Kellner, the Czech Republic’s richest man, was one of five people killed when their helicopter crashed on a skiing trip in Alaska.

The 56-year-old was among the passengers and pilot killed on Saturday in the crash near Knik glacier north-east of Anchorage, Alaska state troopers said. One survivor was taken to hospital, they said, adding the group had been on a heliski tour.

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‘Is this patriot enough?’: Asian-American veteran shows battle scars – video

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Lee Wong, an Asian-American and former soldier, lifts his shirt to reveal scars he sustained while serving with the US military.  Wong, 69, an elected official in West Chester, Ohio was speaking in a town hall meeting about the racism he has faced in his adopted homeland. Addressing the meeting, Wong stood up and lifted his singlet, showing large scars on his chest. 'Here is my proof. This is sustained in my service in the US military. Is this patriot enough?' he asked.

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Warnock urges Biden to prioritize fight against voter suppression

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Georgia senator tells president ‘We have to pass voting rights no matter what’ after restrictions signed into law by state’s governor

The Georgia Democratic senator the Rev Raphael Warnock delivered a challenge to Joe Biden on Sunday to prioritize the fight against voter suppression, telling the US president: “We have to pass voting rights no matter what.”

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Most US Covid deaths ‘could have been mitigated’ after first 100,000, Birx says

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Former coronavirus taskforce coordinator tells CNN deaths could have been prevented if Trump administration acted sooner

The “vast majority” of the almost 550,000 coronavirus deaths in the US could have been prevented if Donald Trump’s administration had acted earlier and with greater conviction, according to one of the public health experts charged with leading the pandemic response at the time.

Related: CDC ‘deeply concerned’ about rising Covid cases as vaccinations accelerate

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‘It’s for the people’: how George Floyd Square became a symbol of resistance – and healing

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The semi-autonomous area in Minneapolis has become a service to the community, but the city wants to see it reopened

The sign on a barricade on a once-unassuming street in Minneapolis reads: “You’re now entering the free state of George Floyd.”

A small rectangle of city blocks features murals, flowers, candles and tributes in the place where Floyd, a Black man, died under the knee of a white police officer last May, sparking the biggest US civil rights uprising since the 1960s.

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US and Canada hit back at China’s ‘baseless’ sanctions as Xinjiang row deepens

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Washington says Beijing’s tit-for-tat sanctions will only focus attention on its ‘genocide’ against Uighurs

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has warned that China’s tit-for-tat sanctions against two Americans in the growing dispute over Beijing’s treatment of Uighurs were “baseless” and would only shine a harsh spotlight on the “genocide” in Xinjiang.

“Beijing’s attempts to intimidate and silence those speaking out for human rights and fundamental freedoms only contribute to the growing international scrutiny of the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang,” Blinken said in a statement on Saturday.

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Climate talks will test Biden’s pledge to make global heating a priority

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Summit is designed to revive a US-convened forum of the world’s major economies that previous administrations had allowed to lapse

President Joe Biden is doubling down on his reset of his predecessor’s environmental policies by inviting Russian president Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping of China to the first big climate talks of his administration next month aimed at increasing cooperation to fight global heating.

The Leaders Summit on Climate talks, scheduled to be held virtually on 22 and 23 April, are an opportunity for the US to shape, hasten and deepen global efforts to cut climate-wrecking fossil fuel pollution, administration officials told the Associated Press.

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Republican senator Ted Cruz mocked for documentary-style trip to US-Mexico border

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Texas lawmaker recounted his mission to shed light on what conservatives have dubbed an immigration crisis

Republican senator Ted Cruz has drawn criticism for taking a trip to America’s southern border as the conservative Texan politician once again became the butt of internet jokes and memes.

In the style of a wildlife documentary, Cruz captured his experience with the help of professional photographers and shared his recent journey to the US-Mexico border Thursday night on social media, where he aimed to shed light on what Republicans have dubbed a crisis.

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Maryland police video shows officers threatening, screaming at crying child

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The 5-year-old boy was found a block from a Montgomery county school by officers who berated him and said, ‘I’d beat him so bad’

A police department in Maryland has released body camera video that captured two of its officers berating a 5-year-old boy who had walked away from his elementary school, calling him a “little beast” and threatening him with a beating.

The video released by the Montgomery county police department shows one of the officers repeatedly screaming at the crying child, with her face inches from his.

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