U.S. health regulators on Tuesday OK’d the first coronavirus test that allows people to collect their own sample at home, a new approach that could help expand testing options in most states. The test from LabCorp will initially only be available to health care workers and first responders under a …
Read More »Bloomberg’s disastrous presidential run cost him $1bn over four months, according to finance filing
Michael Bloomberg spent more than $1 billion (£813m) during 104 days of his presidential campaign, it has been revealed. A Federal Election Commission filing from Monday showed that the former mayor spent over $1 billion in less than four months. Mr Bloomberg had a staff of more than 2,400 to …
Read More »Video: Russia interfered in 2016 to back Trump, new Senate report confirms
A new bipartisan report from the Senate Intelligence Committee reasserts the panel’s position that Russia launched an “unprecedented” election interference campaign in 2016 to help Donald Trump defeat Hillary Clinton. The Senate Intelligence Committee is chaired by Republican Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina. The 158-page, heavily redacted fourth volume …
Read More »New York schools and hospitals could see 20% cut in funding, governor warns
New York schools and hospitals could see a 20 percent decrease in funding without federal assistance, the governor warned. Governor Andrew Cuomo has put pressure on President Donald Trump and the federal government in recent days because of the assistance his state desperately needed in order to properly fight the …
Read More »Video: Tornadoes and extreme storms hit the US south
Footage of tornado damage in Alabama in March 2020 For the second Sunday in a row, the Southern US states were in the midst of an outbreak of severe weather over the weekend, including widespread damaging winds, tornadoes, hail and torrential rainfall. Waves of severe thunderstorms blew through Louisiana to …
Read More »Americans trust Dr Fauci and Andrew Cuomo far more than Trump, poll finds
Far more Americans are placing their trust in what White House infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo are saying about the health crisis than what Donald Trump is saying, according to a new poll from NBC News/Wall Street Journal. Three out of every five Americans …
Read More »New York state epidemic ‘on the descent’: governor
The coronavirus outbreak in New York state — the epicenter of the epidemic in the United States — is “on the descent,” Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Sunday. “We are past the high point, and all indications at this point are that we are on the descent,” Cuomo told a …
Read More »Man ambushed 3 Texas officers in his home, killing 1
A man who killed one Texas police officer and wounded two others before killing himself was wearing body armor and waiting to ambush them when they arrived at his home in response to a domestic violence call, authorities said Sunday. The attack Saturday in San Marcos, a city 45 miles …
Read More »US conservatives lead anti-lockdown protests in Texas
Dave Littrell stood at a socially un-distant length from his fellow protesters on Saturday. Some shook hands. Others hugged. More than a hundred people rubbed elbows and shoulders, their signs and flags touching, their faces unmasked. Mr. Litrell held his 6-year-old daughter as those surrounding him chanted to reopen the …
Read More »Zarif to Trump: Stop interfering in other nations’ affairs
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has once again warned US President Donald Trump against interfering in the internal affairs of other countries in the age of the new coronavirus. Zarif made the remarks in a Sunday posting on Twitter in an apparent reference to Trump’s Saturday allegation that the …
Read More »US President accused of stoking Islamophobia again
US President Donald Trump is accused of stoking Islamophobia after raising questions about social distancing in mosques during the holy month of Ramadan. Trump said on Saturday there “could be a difference” in how authorities and politicians enforce coronavirus lockdown measures during the upcoming Ramadan compared with how Christians were …
Read More »Video: Minnesota governor eases coronavirus lockdown after angry outcry
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has relaxed the state’s COVID-19 containment measures, scaling back restrictions on outdoor activities with an executive order as outraged residents take to the streets to demand an end to the lockdown. While some forms of outdoor recreation were permitted under a previous directive, an array of …
Read More »US to China: Stop ‘bullying behavior’ in South China Sea
The United States has accused China of “bullying behavior” in the South China Sea and said it is concerned by the country’s “provocative actions” aimed at offshore oil and gas developments in the disputed waters. A Chinese government survey ship on Friday was tagging an exploration vessel operated by Malaysia’s …
Read More »Armed protesters demand an end to Michigan’s coronavirus lockdown orders – video
Thousands of protesters in cars and on foot have flouted Michigan’s stay-at-home orders to demand the state reopened. ‘It’s time for our state to be opened up’ said one protester in her car. ‘We’re tired of not being able to buy the things that we need, go to the hairdressers. …
Read More »US, Canada to keep border closed 30 more days
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday the U.S. and Canada have agreed to keep their border closed to nonessential travel for another 30 days. Trudeau said it will keep people on both sides of the border safe amid the pandemic. “The agreement is the same terms. It’s just extended …
Read More »Nasa to launch first crewed mission from US in decade
Nasa has announced that next month it will launch its first crewed mission from US soil in almost 10 years. The rocket and the spacecraft it is carrying are due to take off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre on 27 May, taking two astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). …
Read More »Iraqi parliament calls for purchase of Russian S-400 system
The Iraqi parliament’s security and defense committee has submitted an in-depth study to the country’s caretaker prime minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi, requesting the procurement of the Russian-built long-range, surface-to-air S-400 missile defense system. “The committee has presented a comprehensive study to the prime minister, demanding approval for the purchase of the …
Read More »New York governor hits back at Trump over disparaging comments
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has hit back at a series of presidential tweets accusing him of dramatizing the coronavirus pandemic and not being appreciative of the president’s efforts in providing help. Following Cuomo’s complaints about the medical shortage in the US, President Donald Trump had tweeted that Cuomo “should …
Read More »US may scale back CIA presence in Afghanistan to save peace deal
The United States is considering the withdrawal of CIA operatives from bases in Afghanistan, as part of an effort to further reduce violence in the war-ravaged Asian country, according to The New York Times. The paper reported on Friday that the discussions over CIA’s presence in Afghanistan are part of …
Read More »China denies US claims of holding secret nuclear tests
China says it shouldn’t have to bother denying a report from the US State Department that suggests the Chinese government may have triggered secret nuclear blasts at an underground test site last year. The report, which was released on Wednesday and first revealed by the Wall Street Journal, raises concerns …
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