Category Archives: US News

How Trump is destroying the presidential transition process

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What does Joe Biden lose from the president’s refusal to acknowledge defeat? Crucial time needed to fill positions and prevent serious national security risks

Having lost the election, as well as dozens of post-election challenges, Donald Trump’s ongoing refusal to admit defeat is still doing damage Joe Biden’s transition to power.

The formal process has finally begun, but it is weeks late and spent a long time starved of funds as Republican officials stonewalled usual procedures.

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Harvey Milk’s murder is a stark reminder of the persistence of police brutality

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Few realize Milk and San Francisco mayor George Moscone were killed in part due to their opposition to police violence and abuse

Like millions around the world, last May the image of the Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin killing George Floyd sickened and angered me and drove me to the streets to demonstrate in support of Black Lives Matter. It also reminded me of events that occurred in my hometown of San Francisco 42 years ago on Friday.

Many people know who Harvey Milk was, are familiar with his contributions to the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement and remember that he was assassinated on 27 November 1978 after being in office for less than a year. Fewer people are aware that one of the proximate reasons why Milk and San Francisco’s progressive mayor George Moscone were killed was because of their opposition to police violence and abuse.

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Donald Trump says he will leave White House if electoral college votes for Joe Biden

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President’s comments are the closest he has come to admitting defeat in election and set stage for college vote on 14 December

Donald Trump has said that he will leave the White House when the electoral college votes for Democratic president-elect Joe Biden in the closest the outgoing president has come to conceding defeat.

Biden won the presidential election with 306 electoral college votes – many more than the 270 required – to Trump’s 232. Biden also leads Trump by more than 6 million in the popular vote tally.

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Delta plans to trial ‘quarantine-free’ flights between US and Italy

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Passengers will have to test negative for coronavirus three times, says US airline

The US airline Delta has announced the first “quarantine-free” transatlantic flights, with pre-departure Covid testing enabling passengers to escape 14 days’ isolation on arrival in Italy.

The trial flights will start next month between Atlanta and Rome, the first of the type of transatlantic corridor that UK airlines have been seeking to establish to open up travel on their most lucrative routes.

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‘People in their 40s were crying’: the sad final days of New York’s coolest record store

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Other Music fuelled New York’s 00s indie boom, boasting Vampire Weekend and Animal Collective among its fans. Then it closed. A new documentary tells the story of the store’s tragic demise – and its ‘terrifying’ staff

A lot of skulking went on at Other Music, the celebrated New York record store. It was an odd kind of dance: nervous customers, hiding behind CD racks or LP sleeves, trying to conjure up a question that wouldn’t result in utter humiliation. The staff there had quite a reputation, after all.

The experience is relived in a surprisingly moving new documentary about the shop, also called Other Music. Notable fans Regina Spektor and Jason Schwartzman still sound daunted by Other’s intense atmosphere. “If I’m completely honest, I was never just ‘chill’ in there,” confides Spektor, to camera. “I always got that first-day-of-school feeling, like: OK, just don’t fuck up.”

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Denver mayor apologises after flying for Thanksgiving against his own advice

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Michael Hancock urged people on Twitter to ‘avoid travel’, then flew to Mississippi

The mayor of Denver was forced to apologise after flying to Mississippi to spend Thanksgiving with his family – shortly after urging residents to follow official advice and remain at home because of the coronavirus.

Related: US Covid cases, hospitalisations and deaths rise amid Thanksgiving rush

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Speculation mounts over who Trump might pardon after Flynn

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Rick Gates, Trump’s 2016 deputy campaign chair, says president ‘knows how much those of us who worked for him have suffered’

Amid widespread outcry over Donald Trump’s pardon of Michael Flynn, speculation surged about who might be next for clemency from the defeated president.

Rick Gates, Trump’s 2016 deputy campaign chair, told the New York Times the president “knows how much those of us who worked for him have suffered, and I hope he takes that into consideration if and when he grants any pardons”.

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US Covid cases, hospitalisations and deaths rise amid Thanksgiving rush

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US reported 181,490 new cases on Wednesday as millions defied official advice to travel and gather for Thanksgiving

The US reported 181,490 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, a third daily rise in a row, as hospitalisations hit a record for a 16th day in succession, at 89,959.

Related: Supreme court bars Covid attendance limits at New York houses of worship

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After Flynn pardon, could Trump do the same for himself?

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Analysis: renewed US speculation raises number of legal and practical questions

Donald Trump’s pardon for his former national security adviser Michael Flynn has ignited speculation that he may be planning a broader swath of pardons in his last weeks in office, especially given – most controversially – his own previously expressed view that it is within his own power to pardon himself.

Trump’s pardon of Flynn, who was convicted of lying to the FBI, follows his commutation of the jail sentence of his ally and self-professed political dirty trickster, Roger Stone.

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A Promised Land by Barack Obama review – an impressive but incomplete memoir

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Gary Younge on a memoir with vivid detail and captivating pillow talk, but one that leaves out too much to give a clear view of Obama’s first term

“I guess the question for you, Mr President, is: ‘Do you feel lucky?’” In his new autobiography, Barack Obama recalls being asked this by his director of legislative affairs, Phil Schiliro, at a time when his options for passing comprehensive healthcare reform were narrowing.

“I looked at him and smiled. ‘Where are we, Phil?’”
Schiliro paused, assuming a catch. ‘The Oval Office?’
‘And what’s my name?’
‘Barack Obama.’
Obama beamed. ‘Barack Hussein Obama. And I’m here with you in the Oval Office. Brother, I always feel lucky.’

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Maine’s lobstermen and women hope Biden can boost fortunes

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Like the state, fishers for crustaceans are politically split but all crave stability: ‘Chaos is the enemy of the lobster industry’

This may be the week when most Americans are gobbling turkey at Thanksgiving, but Maine’s lobstermen and women are looking ahead to 2021 and figure they might get on a roll with Joe Biden.

Donald Trump positioned himself as a friend of New England’s lobster industry, campaigning hard in Maine, and even had lobsterman Jason Joyce speak at the Republican national convention.

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Indian country showed up to beat Trump. How can you show up for Indian country?

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Instead of celebrating a false Thanksgiving narrative, listen to and share the countless Native American stories that aren’t being told

The day after the 2020 presidential election, a graphic from CNN dominated my Facebook newsfeed. Illustrating voter turnout, it included the phrase “something else” to refer to voters who are not white, Latinx, Black or Asian.

Many Native Americans, quick to unite around a reason to laugh, responded with their own graphics and memes, playfully and sarcastically congratulating themselves.

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Biden says ‘America is back’ at the head of the table – but is that a good thing?

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After four years of Trump, many diplomats are hopeful – but US critics say the idea of a return to a ‘golden age’ is a delusion

For most of the world’s diplomats, Joe Biden’s foreign policy slogan “America is Back” is no metaphor.

On global issues from climate change, to non-proliferation and human rights, the US under the Trump administration had literally gathered up its papers and pens and left the meeting room. Biden’s election victory and choice of committed internationalists to lead the foreign policy team, means that there will actually be someone sitting in what has been an empty chair.

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Xi Jinping calls to congratulate Joe Biden on election win

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Chinese president told future counterpart he hoped two countries would ‘uphold sprit of non-conflict, focus on cooperation’

The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has congratulated Joe Biden on winning the US election, leaving just a handful of world leaders, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who have not recognised Biden’s win.

Chinese state media said that in a phone call Xi told Biden he hoped the two countries would “uphold the spirit of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, [to] focus on cooperation, manage differences, advance the healthy and stable development of China-US ties, and join hands with other countries and the international community to promote the noble cause of world peace and development”.

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Coronavirus live news: virus spread in France showing signs of slowing; fears Africa may be at back of vaccine queue

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Daily cases continue to fall in France; health campaigners fear Africa will have to wait until mid-2021 for vaccine; weddings banned and cafes closed in Croatia

The head of British drug manufacturer AstraZeneca said further research was needed on its Covid-19 vaccine after questions emerged over the protection it offers, but the additional testing is unlikely to affect regulatory approval in Europe.

AstraZeneca and its partner, the University of Oxford, announced on Monday that it was seeking regulatory approval for the vaccine after it showed an average 70% effectiveness.

Related: Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine results face growing scrutiny

Spain’s capital Madrid turned on its Christmas lights on Thursday, spending more than last year to illuminate 30 additional streets and squares despite a sharp economic downturn driven by the coronavirus pandemic.

Banners of LED lights in the red and yellow of the Spanish flag appeared in parts of the city, including stretches of over a kilometre alongside the central boulevard that runs past the world-famous Prado museum.

Así ha encendido Madrid la Navidad

#MD964
DIRECTO https://t.co/Cnw7Ol5lQX@MadridDirecto pic.twitter.com/LkccoTnpkx

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Obama: Republican portrayal of white men as ‘victims’ helped Trump win votes – video

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Barack Obama has said part of the reason more than 73 million Americans voted to re-elect Donald Trump in the election was because of messaging from Republicans that the country was under attack – particularly white men.

In an interview with the radio show the Breakfast Club on Wednesday to promote his new memoir A Promised Land, Obama said Trump’s administration, which he did not name directly, 'objectively has failed, miserably, in handling just basic looking after the American people and keeping them safe', and yet he still secured millions of votes

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Fauci urges Americans to sacrifice traditional Thanksgiving to save lives

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Top public health official makes ‘final plea’ on Covid threat as expert warns of potential ‘mother of all super-spreader events’

The top US public health official urged Americans today make a “sacrifice now to save lives and illness” by resisting the urge to gather together for Thanksgiving, as the US witnessed more than 2,000 deaths from coronavirus on Tuesday – the first time that grim mark has been surpassed since the spring.

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Toronto police identify ‘person of interest’ in murders of billionaire couple

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  • Barry and Honey Sherman found dead at their home in 2017
  • ‘Person of interest’ identified but not arrested, police confirm

Toronto police have identified a person of interest in the high-profile murders three years ago of a Canadian pharmaceutical billionaire couple, but had not made an arrest.

Barry Sherman and his wife Honey were found dead at their Toronto mansion in late 2017. Police initially said they were treating the case as a “targeted” double murder, but since then has been little news on the investigation.

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‘Our democracy was tested this year’: Joe Biden’s Thanksgiving address – video

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Joe Biden urged Americans to put aside their political differences as he called for unity in his Thanksgiving address to the nation.

'We need to remember, we are at war with the virus, not one another,' said the president-elect. 'Our democracy was tested this year, and what we learned was this: the people of this nation were up to the task.'

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Biden appeals for resilience and unity in Thanksgiving address to America

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President-elect urges shared sacrifice amid hardship of restricted holiday, and says: ‘We’re at war with the virus, not each other’

In an eve-of-Thanksgiving address on Wednesday, Joe Biden drew on historic hardships and his deep personal loss to make a passionate appeal for resilience, asking Americans to endure a national holiday amid restrictions on travel and gatherings imposed to fight the pandemic.

Related: Trump pardons former national security adviser Michael Flynn

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