Category Archives: US News

Coronavirus live news: Belgium set to tighten restrictions; China reports highest new cases since April

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Vietnam evacuates 80,000 tourists from Danang; Spain’s Covid-19 deaths could be 60% higher; global deaths near 650,000

In the US, more than 40 people were infected with the coronavirus after attending a multi-day revival event at a north Alabama Baptist church, the Associated Press reports.

“The whole church has got it, just about,” Al.com quoted pastor Daryl Ross of Warrior Creek Missionary Baptist church in Marshall County as saying.

My colleagues over in the US of A have launched their live blog, with coverage of the coronavirus pandemic in the country, its election campaign, protests in Portland and other cities and a lot more besides.

Click the link below to follow their latest updates.

Related: US nears 150,000 Covid-19 deaths as Republicans and Democrats pitch opposing plans – live

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US nears 150,000 Covid-19 deaths as Republicans and Democrats pitch opposing plans – live

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On Friday, the US supreme court ruled against a Nevada church which said coronavirus-inspired limits on attendance were unconstitutional. Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the court’s four liberals on the case, causing further angst on the right.

Now, the Associated Press reports that “more than 40 people were infected with the coronavirus after attending a multi-day revival event at a north Alabama Baptist church, according to the congregation’s pastor.

“The whole church has got it, just about,” Al.com quoted pastor Daryl Ross of Warrior Creek Missionary Baptist Church in Marshall county as saying.

The pastor says the churchgoers, including himself, tested positive after the congregation held a series of religious services featuring a guest pastor over several days last week.

Related: John Roberts sides with supreme court liberals over Nevada church Covid opening

There has been another night of trouble in Portland, where protesters for policing reform and against structural racism have been out every night since the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis at the end of May.

Once again, confrontations centered on the federal courthouse in downtown Portland, where agents sent in by Trump are based.

Ammunition and destructive devices recovered at Lownsdale Square Park (Photo) https://t.co/k4ZmvTzlh6 pic.twitter.com/xHaLZM8uWi

Related: Portland: protesters bring down fence as confrontation with Trump agents rises

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I’m bewildered that Trump would imperil America by abandoning the Paris agreement | Ban Ki-moon

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The world needs America’s leadership – walking away will do nothing to stop the consequences of climate change

The Paris agreement to tackle climate change is an extraordinary opportunity. In a remarkable display of unity, almost every nation on Earth has agreed to make critical changes that will help humanity avoid disaster. By aiming to limit global warming to 1.5C, it represents the world’s best chance of adapting to a crisis that threatens our planet’s very existence. But Donald Trump is walking away.

This decision is politically shortsighted, scientifically wrong and morally irresponsible. By leaving the Paris agreement, he is undermining his country’s future.

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US envoy to South Korea posts video shaving off his controversial moustache

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The US embassy in Seoul has posted a video on Twitter of Harry Harris visiting a barbershop to remove his moustache months after his facial hair became the subject of unusual criticism. The US ambassador says he shaved it off because of the summer heat and having to wear a face mask.

He has faced criticism for his moustache before. Commentators have said his facial hair reminded South Koreans of that of Japanese governor generals when Korea was a Japanese colony from 1910-45 

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Anti-fascists linked to zero murders in the US in 25 years

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As Trump rails against ‘far-left’ fascism, new database shows leftwing attacks have left far fewer people dead than violence by rightwing extremists

Donald Trump has made warnings about the threat of antifa and “far-left fascism” a central part of his re-election campaign. But in reality leftwing attacks have left far fewer people dead than violence by rightwing extremists, new research indicates, and antifa activists have not been linked to a single murder in decades.

A new database of nearly 900 politically motivated attacks and plots in the United States since 1994 includes just one attack staged by an anti-fascist that led to fatalities. In that case, the single person killed was the perpetrator.

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‘These are his people’: inside the elite border patrol unit Trump sent to Portland

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Bortac, a quasi-militarised outfit equivalent to the Navy Seals, has been deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan

In January 2011, James Tomsheck, then a top internal affairs investigator inside US Customs and Border Protection, attended a meeting of about 100 senior CBP leaders in a hotel in Irvington, Virginia.

Amid the sanitized splendor of the hotel ballroom, he vividly recalls hearing the nation’s then highest-ranking border patrol agent, David Aguilar, laying out his vision for the future. Border patrol, the former CBP deputy commissioner said, was to become the “marine corps of the US federal law enforcement community”.

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Body of John Lewis makes final Selma bridge crossing – video

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The late US congressman John Lewis has crossed Selma’s Edmund Pettus bridge for the final time as remembrances continue for the civil rights icon.

A crowd began gathering near the bridge that became a landmark in the fight for racial justice when Lewis and other civil rights marchers were beaten there 55 years ago on “Bloody Sunday,” a key event in the fight for voting rights for African Americans.

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Flag lowered at US consulate in Chengdu as China takes control

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Troops posted outside building as Chinese authorities take over diplomatic mission

Chinese authorities have taken over the US consulate general in Chengdu, marking the diplomatic mission’s official closure and a new low point in ties between the world’s largest economies.

At dawn on Monday, the American flag outside the consulate was lowered while police held back crowds that had gathered over the weekend to watch. At 10am, the mission was closed, according to China’s foreign ministry.

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In 100 days, the climate emergency may be even more serious. That’s why we’re launching this series | John Mulholland

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  • The day after the election, the US is poised to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.
  • The Guardian believes the climate emergency is the defining issue of our time. Make a contribution today to support our journalism.

On 4 November, the day after the presidential election, the US is poised to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. The agreement, which came together after years of diplomacy by the Obama administration and other global leaders, commits 200 countries to chart a new course in efforts to combat climate change.

But very soon the United States may not be one of them.

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The US withdrawal from the Paris climate accord will hurt people of color most | Adrienne Hollis

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The Paris agreement threw a lifeline to millions of people of color facing a premature death. Trump is tearing that away

It’s official – in 100 days the United States will formally withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. The impact of Donald Trump’s decision, taken three years ago, is already being felt by environmental justice communities.

Racism is the driving force behind why certain people and places face disproportionate environmental exposure to toxic substances, adverse climate change effects, Covid-19 infections and deaths. This raises the question: was withdrawing from the Paris agreement also a racist decision? How will this morally incomprehensible policy change affect Black, Latinx, Indigenous and other communities of color?

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Germany by far most admired country, with US, China and Russia vying for second – global poll

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Annual Gallup survey casts doubt on Mike Pompeo’s claim that the US is ‘perfectly positioned’ to lead the free world in rivalry with China

Germany is the most admired country in the world for the third year running, leaving the US in a tight battle for distant second place with China and Russia, according to a new global leadership poll.

The annual poll, conducted by Gallup, casts more doubt on US secretary of state Mike Pompeo’s claim on Friday that the US was “perfectly positioned” to lead the free world in a new ideological rivalry with the Chinese Communist Party.

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Tom Cotton calls slavery ‘necessary evil’ in attack on New York Times’ 1619 Project

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  • Republican gives interview to Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
  • Senator wants to ‘save’ US history from New York Times

The Arkansas Republican senator Tom Cotton has called the enslavement of millions of African people “the necessary evil upon which the union was built”.

Related: Trump aims barb at Reagan Foundation in fundraising coin kerfuffle

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Coronavirus US: polls put Biden ahead of Trump as deaths top 1,000 a day – live

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Shortly before he departed on Air Force One from Morristown Municipal Airport en route to Washington, Donald Trump announced that he will not be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before a Red Sox-Yankees game at Yankee Stadium next month due to scheduling conflicts.

“Because of my strong focus on the China Virus, including scheduled meetings on Vaccines, our economy and much else, I won’t be able to be in New York to throw out the opening pitch for the @Yankees on August 15th,” he wrote on Twitter. “We will make it later in the season!”

Because of my strong focus on the China Virus, including scheduled meetings on Vaccines, our economy and much else, I won’t be able to be in New York to throw out the opening pitch for the @Yankees on August 15th. We will make it later in the season!

The news website ProPublica has published a database containing complaint information for thousands of New York City police officers days after a federal judge paused the public release of such records.

The Associated Press reports:

ProPublica posted the database Sunday, explaining in a note to readers that it isn’t obligated to comply with judge Katherine Polk Failla’s temporary restraining order because it is not a party to a union lawsuit challenging the release of such records.

Deputy managing editor Eric Umansky said ProPublica requested the information from the city’s police watchdog agency, the Civilian Complaint Review Board, soon after last month’s repeal of state law that for decades had prevented the disclosure of disciplinary records.

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Trump aims barb at Reagan Foundation in fundraising coin kerfuffle

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  • Campaign and Republican party told to stop selling ‘iconic’ coins
  • President ties predecessor to Washington Post, a familiar target

Donald Trump famously fell out with the Bush family and has regularly claimed to be the greatest Republican president since the first, Abraham Lincoln. He has largely avoided attacking another claimant to that title, Ronald Reagan. Until now.

Related: Biden holds daunting lead over Trump as US election enters final stretch

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Portland: protesters bring down fence as confrontation with Trump agents rises

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The confrontation between protesters and federal paramilitaries in Portland escalated early on Sunday morning, when demonstrators finally broke down a steel fence around the courthouse after days of trying.

Related: What is happening in Portland and what does Trump hope to gain?

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Olivia de Havilland, star of Gone with the Wind, dies at 104

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Double Oscar-winning actor, who won acclaim for multiple Hollywood costume dramas before moving to Paris, has died

Olivia de Havilland, the fragrant queen of the Hollywood costume drama, has died at the age of 104.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, her publicist said she had died from natural causes in Paris, where she lived.

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Footage shows moment car drives through crowd of protesters in Colorado – video

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A car drove through a crowd and a person was shot in the Denver suburb of Aurora on Saturday during demonstrations against racial injustice. 

The Aurora police department said on Twitter that protesters were walking on Interstate 225 when a vehicle drove through them, and a protester fired a weapon, wounding at least one person who was taken to a hospital in stable condition

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Coronavirus live news: UK quarantines arrivals from Spain; global cases pass 16m

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WHO says 1m cases reported per week for last five weeks; Florida’s infections overtake New York’s; North Korea holds emergency meeting after suspected Covid-19 case reported

Twenty-one new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed at a caravan park in England.

The local county council fears the number of cases at the site in Shropshire , which is in the town of Craven Arms, will continue to rise before infection control measures start to take effect.

President Donald Trump has announced his itinerary for next month amid the pandemic.

Because of my strong focus on the China Virus, including scheduled meetings on Vaccines, our economy and much else, I won’t be able to be in New York to throw out the opening pitch for the @Yankees on August 15th. We will make it later in the season!

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The US election is in 100 days: what are the biggest threats to it?

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Fears that voter suppression would keep significant numbers of voters from the ballot box have been exacerbated by Covid-19

The 2020 election is shaping up to be a presidential contest unlike any other in American history.

Even before the pandemic, there were deep concerns over how voter suppression would shut significant numbers of Americans out of the ballot box. Covid-19 has exacerbated those fears as states rapidly ramp up their vote by mail apparatus to curb long lines and crowds at the polls.

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