A Washington DC police officer who tried to stop rioting Trump supporters from entering the Capitol building on 6 January has revealed that some shouted 'kill him with his own gun' as he lay injured on the ground. Michael Fanone told CNN he considered using his weapon as he was overwhelmed by the mob, but decided against it out of fear for his own life. 'I tried to appeal to their humanity,' Fanone said. 'I just remember yelling out that I have kids, and it seemed to work.'
Continue reading...Category Archives: US News
James Murdoch says US media ‘lies’ unleashed ‘insidious forces’
Son of Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch issues excoriating rebuke following storming of the Capitol
James Murdoch has condemned the US media for “propagating lies” which have unleashed “insidious and uncontrollable forces” that will endure for years.
Questioned about whether Fox News – founded by his father Rupert Murdoch and run by his brother Lachlan – had played a role in the riot at the Capitol last week, he said media groups had amplified election disinformation, which successfully sowed falsehoods.
Continue reading...US health secretary Alex Azar tells Trump Capitol attack threatens legacy
Azar calls attack ‘assault on our democracy’ and urges peaceful transfer of power in formal resignation letter
The US health secretary, Alex Azar, warned Donald Trump in a letter that last week’s attack on the Capitol threatened the administration’s legacy, and he urged the president to support a peaceful transfer of power.
In the two-page, formal resignation letter, dated 12 January, Azar recited what he saw as the administration’s key accomplishments but voiced concern that last week’s siege in Washington and Trump’s false claims of widespread voter fraud “threaten to tarnish these and other historic legacies of this administration”.
Continue reading...Nancy Pelosi says lawmakers who aided in Capitol attack may be prosecuted
House speaker’s comments come after a congresswoman said she saw colleagues leading ‘reconnaissance’ tours before the riot
The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has said it is possible that members of Congress could face prosecution if found to have “aided and abetted” the violent attack on the Capitol earlier this month that left five people dead.
“Justice is called for as we address insurrection perpetrated against the Capitol last week,” the Democratic speaker told reporters on Friday.
Continue reading...One in three Los Angeles residents has been infected with Covid, scientists say
County has seen 898% increase in cases since surge began in November, with 1,125% increase in deaths, official says
Los Angeles county scientists estimate that one in three residents in the county have been infected with Covid-19 at some point since the beginning of the pandemic, a reflection of how severely the virus has overtaken the most populous region in California.
The new estimate by county scientists would mean that more than 3 million of the county’s 10 million residents have been infected with coronavirus. As of Thursday, Los Angeles county had more than 975,000 total reported cases, with 17,323 new cases in the past 24 hours. Through the course of the pandemic, 13,234 people have died in LA county because of Covid-19, accounting for nearly half of California’s total deaths.
Continue reading...Left stranded: US military sonar linked to whale beachings in Pacific, say scientists
Islands surrounded by US military study area, including Guam and Saipan, call for activity that harms the whales to stop
In the midst of the western Pacific, flanked by the world’s deepest ocean trench, the waters off the Mariana Islands are home and habitat to whales, dolphins, and countless other marine mammals as they breed and feed.
It’s also where they encounter the might of the US military.
Continue reading...What next for Trump’s trusty New Zealander?
Chris Liddell says he is staying for Trump’s last days to help manage a ‘volatile’ time, but after Biden takes office he seems destined for a return home
He is Trump’s trusty New Zealander, his right-hand man, one of only a handful of advisers to have seen him through all four years of his presidency – not to mention, an “amazing friend” of the family.
But being among the last Trump staffers standing after the siege of the Capitol seems sure to limit Chris Liddell’s options as he oversees the presidential transition – and finds himself out of a job.
Continue reading...Washington and state capitols brace for violence from armed Trump supporters
- Security beefed up across US following attack on Capitol
- FBI monitoring threats of violence against Biden and Harris
- US politics live – follow all the latest
Washington DC and capitols across the US are bracing for violence this weekend after law enforcement officials warned that armed pro-Trump insurrectionists are planning to swarm the cities in the days before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration
Related: Donald Trump will fly to Florida hours before Biden inauguration, reports say
Continue reading...America is broken, so we asked some of its greatest minds how they would fix it
We’ve asked a group of experts to share concrete ideas to address some of America’s deepest problems. Now we want to hear from you
- The need for robust, fact-based reporting that highlights injustice and offers solutions is as great as ever. Please consider a year-end gift to support the Guardian
America has some big problems that need fixing.
The last year laid bare hard truths: about existing inequalities made unbearably worse by the Covid-19 pandemic, about a democratic system dangerously vulnerable to its own institutional weaknesses, about the proliferating catastrophes heading our way if we don’t act with urgency to stop the climate crisis.
Continue reading...Biden announces coronavirus relief plan as priority to kick-start US economy – live
- DoJ inspector general launches review of Capitol riot
- Biden unveils $1.9tn stimulus package
- US suffers as Covid rages and vaccination campaign falters
- Billionaires backed Republicans aiming to reverse election results
- Kamala Harris: how will the next vice-president wield her power? Join the Guardian for a live conversation on 18 January
Congressman Cedric Richmond has officially resigned from the House to join Joe Biden’s administration as the director of the White House office of public engagement.
11:02:47 a.m. - The House received a communication from Representative Richmond wherein he resigns as a member of the House of Representatives effective on January 15, 2021. https://t.co/odbWABa1ZN
During debate on Impeachment of President Trump, @reprichmond concludes his final House floor speech: "Simply put, we told you so. Richmond out." pic.twitter.com/bwMxwCqmoR
A leading group of CEOs endorsed Joe Biden’s proposed coronavirus relief package, which the president-elect outlined in a speech yesterday.
“Business Roundtable welcomes the announcement of President-elect Biden’s ‘American Rescue Plan’ and looks forward to working with the new Administration to defeat COVID-19 and restore jobs and economic growth,” the group said of Biden’s $1.9 trillion proposal in a new statement.
Related: 'No time to waste': Biden unveils $1.9tn coronavirus stimulus package
Continue reading...Outrage after Mexico exonerates ex-defense minister in drug case
Gen Salvador Cienfuegos was arrested last October for allegedly shielding a conspiracy to smuggle drugs into the US
Mexico has exonerated a former defense minister who US prosecutors alleged was a drug capo nicknamed The Godfather, sparking outrage and claims that the country’s powerful armed forces have become untouchable.
Gen Salvador Cienfuegos was arrested at a Los Angeles airport last October for allegedly shielding a multimillion-dollar conspiracy to smuggle drugs into the US. But those charges were dropped by the justice department in November as part of a controversial backroom deal and Cienfuegos returned home to Mexico.
Continue reading...Amazon.com and ‘Big Five’ publishers accused of ebook price-fixing
Class action lawsuit filed in US claims the houses have colluded with the online giant to keep prices artificially high
Amazon.com and the “Big Five” publishers – Penguin Random House, Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan and Simon & Schuster – have been accused of colluding to fix ebook prices, in a class action filed by the law firm that successfully sued Apple and the Big Five on the same charge 10 years ago.
The lawsuit, filed in district court in New York on Thursday by Seattle firm Hagens Berman, on behalf of consumers in several US states, names the retail giant as the sole defendant but labels the publishers “co-conspirators”. It alleges Amazon and the publishers use a clause known as “Most Favored Nations” (MFN) to keep ebook prices artificially high, by agreeing to price restraints that force consumers to pay more for ebooks purchased on retail platforms that are not Amazon.com.
Continue reading...Vive l’indifférence! Netflix’s Room 2806 exposes France’s #MeToo apathy
Centred on a sex-assault case involving former French presidential hopeful Dominique Strauss-Kahn, this docuseries reveals worryingly outdated attitudes
Most people will have only the haziest recollection of the fallout that occurred after the French presidential hopeful and then head of the International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn was accused of sexually assaulting a room attendant in a New York hotel in 2011. That allows the Netflix documentary Room 2806: The Accusation to possess all the qualities of a slick political thriller. Who will be believed? The immigrant, hotel cleaner, a single parent living in a flat in the Bronx or the globally powerful, immensely rich politician?
This tense, four-part documentary has astonishing material to work with. There is plenty of CCTV footage, filmed from the ceiling, of chambermaid Nafissatou Diallo making her way to the presidential suite, and later, visibly distressed, being shepherded by her supervisor to a subterranean network of shabby staff offices in the bowels of the building, away from the gilded foyer, where she wipes away tears and recounts how she has been assaulted by Strauss-Kahn as she cleaned his rooms.
Continue reading...Billionaires backed Republicans who sought to reverse US election results
Guardian analysis shows Club for Growth has spent $20m supporting 42 rightwing lawmakers who voted to invalidate Biden victory
An anti-tax group funded primarily by billionaires has emerged as one of the biggest backers of the Republican lawmakers who sought to overturn the US election results, according to an analysis by the Guardian.
Related: Trump official admits family separation policy 'should never have been implemented'
Continue reading...New York bus suspended from expressway after Bronx crash – video
A New York City bus was left hanging from an overpass after crashing off the Cross Bronx expressway, New York Emergency Management reported on Thursday night.
Seven people, who were said to have been travelling in the bus, reportedly sustained minor injuries in the crash
Continue reading...‘We have to act now’: Joe Biden presents $1.9tn coronavirus relief package – video
Joe Biden, the US president-elect, has unveiled a $1.9tn coronavirus stimulus package to tackle the virus and the economic crisis it has triggered.
Vaccination and testing efforts in the US will be sustained with $160bn, a further $350bn will be issued for state and local government health programmes, and $1tn is to go families
Continue reading...Biden presents Covid stimulus plan as impeachment focus shifts to Senate – live
- Biden reveals $1.9tn coronavirus relief plan
- Lisa Murkowski of Alaska praises House vote
- Fourth House member tests positive for Covid after riot
- Trump ‘refusing to pay’ Giuliani’s legal fees after falling out
- Kamala Harris: how will the next vice-president wield her power? Join the Guardian for a live conversation on 18 January
This stimulus plan Biden is presenting today is part one of his two-part “rescue and recovery” plan.
Part two will come next month. Biden said he will address the joint session of congress with a recovery plan that builds on proposals presented today.
Economic inequality in the US is growing amid the “twin crises” of Covid-19 and the pandemic’s economic fallout.
Biden said he has “a two-step plan of rescue and recovery”.
Continue reading...Pandemic death toll exceeds 2 million people worldwide – as it happened
Grim milestone comes as Joe Biden’s incoming chief of staff says 500,000 could die in US next month; EU states raise concerns about Pfizer slowdown. This blog is now closed. You can follow our new live blog here
- German vaccine officials forced to guess who is eligible from names
- US suffers bleak January as Covid rages and vaccinations falter
- Brazil rushes to save premature babies as Covid swamps hospitals
- China rushes to vaccinate 50 million as holiday looms
- What are vaccine passports and do they pose a danger to privacy?
This liveblog has now closed. Our coverage of the coronavirus pandemic continues on our new live blog.
Pfizer’s reduction of its COVID-19 vaccine shipments will not delay Canada’s goal of getting most people inoculated by the end of September, the country’s procurement minister said as the country battled a second surge in infections.
“This is a temporary delay and we remain on track to have enough approved vaccines for everyone who wishes to get vaccinated by the end of September 2021,” Procurement Minister Anita Anand said.
Continue reading...US officials warn ‘full resurgence’ of Covid in major population centers
White House coronavirus taskforce reports advocate for ‘aggressive action’ amid 23m confirmed cases in US
As coronavirus continues to tear across the US without any sign of slowing down, officials have warned there is a “full resurgence” in most major population centers – and that the country could see an additional 92,000 deaths in less than a month.
There have been more than 23m confirmed Covid-19 cases in the US and 385,503 deaths, Johns Hopkins University’s most recent data revealed.
Continue reading...Sorry, try Obama’s house: Secret Service barred from using Ivanka Trump’s bathrooms
Secret Service detail were forced to use porta-potties or neighbors’ bathrooms until government rented them an apartment
The dying days of the Trump administration have been plagued by yet more scandal in the form of riots, Twitter bans and impeachment. Now the Washington Post has added another: water closet gate.
In a multi-bylined article one of America’s top investigative news outlets has chronicled in leg-crossing detail the apparently extreme difficulty that the Secret Service detail assigned to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump have had in finding a place to go to the bathroom.
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