CNN reporter Joe Johns was forced to fend off a raccoon on the White House lawn, moments before going to air. “Frickin' raccoons, man. God, again!" he said. "This is the second time! Jesus ... It always comes around right around when I’m about to go on TV." The incident comes after reports of increasing belligerent raccoons on the property by other media outlets
Continue reading...Category Archives: US News
Charges against UK-born Isis pair shed light on brutality of terror group
Hostage-taking and multiple murder among charges levelled against Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh
The grisly allegations of hostage-taking, brutality and multiple murder in the lengthy charge sheet against Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh represent more than just a summary of US case against the British-born Isis followers.
It amounts to an indictment of Isis, the brutal terror organisation that drew murderous strength from adherents who came from around the world, and its dead leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Continue reading...‘He really packed on the pounds’: Fat Bear Week crowns 747 the winner
747, one of more than 2,200 brown bears roaming Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve, won after a week of online voting
In Alaska’s annual battle of furry heavyweights, a salmon-chomping bruin nicknamed 747 – like the jumbo jet - has emerged as the people’s choice as the most fabulously fat.
The bear, one of more than 2,200 brown bears roaming Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve, was victorious late Tuesday after a week of frenzied online voting (by humans) in what has become an international sensation: Fat Bear Week.
Continue reading...Trump returns to Oval Office against CDC’s isolation guidelines – live
- President receives hurricane briefing despite isolation concerns
- Democrats outraged as Trump halts Covid stimulus talks
- White House Covid outbreak overshadows VP debate
- What we know and what we don’t about Trump’s health
- US hits 7.5m coronavirus cases according to Johns Hopkins tracker
- Sign up for Fight to Vote – our weekly US election newsletter
Here’s a recap of today so far, from me and Martin Pengelly:
Related: Coronavirus live news: Brazil cases pass 5m; Trump calls catching Covid 'a blessing in disguise'
Facebook has announced significant changes to its advertising and misinformation policies, saying it will stop running political ads in the United States after polls close on 3 November for an undetermined period of time.
The changes, announced Wednesday, come in an effort to “protect the integrity” of the upcoming election “by fighting foreign interference, misinformation and voter suppression”, the company said in a blog post.
Continue reading...Coronavirus live news: Brussels closes cafes and bars for a month; clashes over restrictions in Israel
One in seven people tested in Belgian capital is positive; Facebook and Twitter act against Trump for suggesting Covid just like flu
- Covid at the Trump White House: what we know so far
- Europe must go beyond science to survive Covid crisis, says WHO
- China reports shortages of flu vaccine after rush to avoid ‘twindemic’
- Trump coronavirus updates – live
- UK coronavirus updates – live
The European Commission has agreed with US company Gilead to buy additional doses of its Covid-19 drug Remdesivir to treat about 3,400 patients, amid shortages of the medication in Europe.
A spokesman for the EU executive said Brussels agreed with Gilead last Friday to supply nearly 20,300 additional doses “which help almost 3,400 patients” at a cost of €7m ($8.24m). That is in addition to 30,000 courses of treatment it bought at the end of July.
For White House staff and senior visiting officials and journalists, the coronavirus outbreak in Donald Trump’s inner circle has become like a whodunnit amid a shortage of information and mounting anxiety.
As cleaners in hazmat suits have been pictured disinfecting areas – including briefing rooms and the White House press and communications “shop” where three staff have been infected – the questions now being asked are: who caught Covid from whom and when and where? And who might be next?
Related: White House coronavirus cluster: who has tested positive?
Continue reading...White House coronavirus cluster: who has tested positive?
After Donald Trump fell ill with Covid-19, we look at which of his close contacts have contracted the virus
For White House staff and senior visiting officials and journalists, the coronavirus outbreak in Donald Trump’s inner circle has become like a whodunnit amid a shortage of information and mounting anxiety.
As cleaners in hazmat suits have been pictured disinfecting areas – including briefing rooms and the White House press and communications “shop” where three staff have been infected – the questions now being asked are: who caught Covid from whom and when and where? And who might be next?
Continue reading...Netflix indicted by Texas grand jury over ‘lewd visual material’ in Cuties
French film about pre-teen girls who form a dance group is called ‘prurient’ in Tyler County prosecution. Netflix defends story as social commentary against sexualisation
Netflix has defended the controversial film Cuties after it emerged the streaming giant is facing a criminal charge in Texas over the movie’s allegedly “lewd” depiction of children.
Cuties follows an 11-year-old Senegalese girl living in Paris who rebels against her conservative family’s traditions when she becomes fascinated with a “free-spirited dance crew”.
Continue reading...Two sides of DC: those threatened by Covid are unimpressed by Trump’s bravado
The president’s words fell on deaf ears to those just down the street from the White House who wouldn’t get the same treatment
Washington’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, has struggled to bring the US capital’s coronavirus infection rate down.
In July, she ordered the wearing of masks in crowded places outside, and the order has largely been obeyed: on Tuesday afternoon, more than nine in ten people walking around the city were wearing masks, and almost everyone in shops and cafes.
Continue reading...Scientists win Nobel chemistry prize for ‘genetic scissors’
Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A Doudna will share the prize for genome editing method
Two women have been awarded the 2020 Nobel prize in chemistry for the discovery of the CRISPR genetic scissors used to edit the DNA of animals, plants and microorganisms with extremely high precision.
Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A Doudna will share the 10m Swedish kronor (£870,000) prize announced on Wednesday by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm – the first time that two women have shared the prize.
Continue reading...Hurricane Delta intensifies to category 4 and on course to hammer Mexico
- Delta expected to strike US Gulf coast later in the week
- Brunt of hurricane expected to be felt in Mexico’s resort region
Hurricane Delta rapidly intensified on Tuesday, becoming a category 4 storm with 140mph winds, on course to hammer south-eastern Mexico and the US Gulf coast.
Related: Top Pentagon leaders quarantine amid White House Covid outbreak – live
Continue reading...Man dies after being shoved to the ground in New York mask altercation
The 80-year-old man was knocked unconscious after confronting a patron in a West Seneca bar over not wearing a face covering
An 80-year old man has died after being shoved to the ground during a confrontation at a bar with another patron who was not wearing a mask.
Rocco E Sapienza confronted another patron at a bar in West Seneca, New York, on 26 September because he was not wearing a mask, Erie county prosecutors said on Monday. Donald M Lewinski, 65, then shoved Sapienza, who fell and struck his head on the floor, said district attorney John Flynn.
Continue reading...US military chiefs in quarantine as Trump Covid chaos spreads
- Mark Milley, chairman of joint chiefs of staff, in isolation
- Military leaders attended event with president last week
The top general in the US military, Mark Milley, and several other members of the US joint chiefs of staff who advise Donald Trump entered quarantine on Tuesday, as the president, infected with the coronavirus himself, continued to recuperate at the White House.
While the number of White House staff and aides who have tested positive is unknown, given the administration’s cloak of secrecy around the outbreak, total cases appeared to number in the dozens, making the White House one of the hottest active zones for virus circulation in the entire US.
Continue reading...‘Fear, division, chaos’: Michelle Obama video blasts Trump over racial injustice
Former first lady says president ‘not up to the job’ in passionate plea for voters to support Joe Biden
Michelle Obama has released a video sharply criticising Donald Trump’s record as president, particularly over the coronavirus pandemic and his approach to racial injustice, and urging the Americans to vote for Joe Biden.
Describing him as “not up to the job” in the 24-minute video posted to her social media channels, the former first lady said the Trump presidency was accompanied by “a constant drumbeat of fear, division and chaos that’s threatening to spiral out of control.”
Continue reading...‘Racism, fear, division’: Michelle Obama attacks Trump in election plea – video
In a speech highly critical of the president, the former first lady made an impassioned plea to Americans to vote for Joe Biden in the election on 3 November. Among the condemnations of Trump's presidency, she criticised his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, saying he 'doubled down on division and resentment', adding: 'What the president is doing is, once again, patently false ... it’s morally wrong ... and yes, it is racist'
- 'Fear, division, chaos': Michelle Obama video blasts Trump over racial injustice
- Donald Trump rebuked for removing mask after leaving hospital – US politics live
California wildfires spawn first ‘gigafire’ in modern history
August complex fire expanded beyond 1m acres, elevating it from a mere ‘megafire’ to a new classification: ‘gigafire’
California’s extraordinary year of wildfires has spawned another new milestone – the first “gigafire”, a blaze spanning 1m acres, in modern history.
Related: California fires set bleak record as 4m acres destroyed
Continue reading...Revealed: Amy Coney Barrett lived in home of secretive Christian group’s co-founder
Details of link to Kevin Ranaghan raise fresh questions about supreme court nominee’s involvement with People of Praise
Amy Coney Barrett lived in the home of one of the founders of the People of Praise while she was a law student, raising new questions about the supreme court nominee’s involvement with the secretive Christian faith group that has been criticized for dominating the lives of its members and subjugating women.
Related: Amy Coney Barrett: quick confirmation under threat as three senators infected
Continue reading...Air pollution particles in young brains linked to Alzheimer’s damage
Exclusive: if discovery is confirmed it will have global implications as 90% of people breathe dirty air
Tiny air pollution particles have been revealed in the brain stems of young people and are intimately associated with molecular damage linked to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
If the groundbreaking discovery is confirmed by future research, it would have worldwide implications because 90% of the global population live with unsafe air. Medical experts are cautious about the findings and said that while the nanoparticles are a likely cause of the damage, whether this leads to disease later in life remains to be seen.
Continue reading...The legal battles over voting that could swing the US election
Rulings in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin have eased mail-in voting restrictions but higher courts could yet intervene
America is less than a month away from election day, but high-stakes fights over access to the ballot have been moving through US courts for months. Democrats and civil rights groups have sought to ease restrictions on voting by mail amid the Covid-19 pandemic, while Republicans and the Trump campaign have sought to keep them in place.
In recent weeks, courts in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, all key battleground states, have issued hugely consequential rulings that could decide whether tens of thousands more votes are counted in November. Those three states will probably help decide who wins the election and Trump won each by less than one percentage point in 2016.
Continue reading...Coronavirus live news: Belgium limits gatherings to four people; Italy set to make masks mandatory outdoors
‘People are tired, we know,’ says Belgian PM of new measures; Lazio and Campania already enforcing face-covering rules
- Europe must go beyond science to survive Covid crisis, says WHO
- Irish government rejects return to full coronavirus lockdown
- US: Rudy Giuliani coughs his way through anti-mask interview
- Trump coronavirus updates – live
Reuters reports that US cruise operator Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd has extended suspension of sailings until 30 November, excluding those originating from Hong Kong, as the Covid-19 crisis continues to hurt the demand for voyages.
The company said its cruise brand Celebrity Cruises will suspend its 2020-21 winter program in Australia and Asia, while its Azamara cruises will suspend winter sailings throughout Australia and New Zealand, South Africa and South America.
The US Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden tested negative for Covid-19 in a test conducted on Tuesday, his campaign said in a statement.
Continue reading...Trump tells negotiators to halt talks on Covid economic relief measures – live
- President says he is ending discussions until after election
- What we know and what we don’t about Trump’s health
- Contagious Trump removes mask for photos on hospital return
- Biden reminds Trump face covering is to protect others
- At least 39,000 new cases and 460 new Covid deaths reported in US
- Sign up for Fight to Vote – our weekly US election newsletter
The Democratic nominee for the presidency, Joe Biden, is talking in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, right now.
He is giving a speech in that historic place, site of a turning point in the US Civil War, saying America “can and must” figure out how to work across partisan lines again.
Here’s the full statement from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (third in line to act as president should Donald Trump and Mike Pence become incapacitated, which is worth mentioning with coronavirus now openly stalking the White House and other corridors of federal power).
Continue reading...