El Niño + climate change = heat records
Climate change combined with this year's El Niño set a new world record for worldwide heat on Tuesday -- 62.92 degrees Fahrenheit or 17.18 degrees Celsius.
1970-01-01 08:00
US State Department says passport delays won't be cut to pre-pandemic levels until end of year
The US State Department says it is not expecting to reduce passport processing times to pre-pandemic levels until the end of the year, news that is likely to frustrate travelers who have had their summer travel plans disrupted by having to factor in waiting months to get a new passport before going abroad.
1970-01-01 08:00
Trump campaign says it raised more than $35 million in second quarter
Former President Donald Trump's joint fundraising committee raised more than $35 million in the second quarter of 2023, a haul his team says was boosted by his recent federal indictment, a Trump campaign official told CNN.
1970-01-01 08:00
Trump news - live: Trump calls special prosecutor a ‘crackhead’ in response to White House cocaine discovery
Most presidents, current and former, typically spend America’s Independence Day celebrating the values of US society that bring its citizens together, joining in the festive and unifying themes of the national holiday. And then there’s Donald Trump. The former president spent July 4 fuming at his enemies on Truth Social, resharing a vulgar message aimed at President Joe Biden and the tens of millions of Americans who voted for him in 2020. ““F**k Biden and f**k you for voting for him”, read the post. Later, he continued his holiday rant by branding the president a “very dangerous idiot in the White House”. He also posted a bizarre image of himself imposed into the Revolutionary War, prompting social media users to suggest he is more like Benedict Arnold – the infamous US traitor – than the Founding Fathers. In other Trumpworld news, the company planning to merge with Truth Social has reached an $18m settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC) announced the tentative settlement on Monday, ending an SEC probe looking into whether it held talks with Truth Social’s parent company before going public – a violation of regulations. Read More Trump marks Independence Day by sharing vulgar attack on Biden and ominous 2024 warning Trump-appointed judge blocks Biden agencies from communicating with social media platforms Ex-New York congressman pardoned by Trump is planning to run again in Florida Truth Social’s merger partner reaches $18m settlement with SEC
1970-01-01 08:00
Biden Throws Weight Behind Sweden’s NATO Bid as Key Summit Nears
Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Wednesday secured a show of support from US President Joe Biden for
1970-01-01 08:00
Hunter Biden team is working with a former GOP congressman and Jan. 6 committee aide
Former GOP Rep. Denver Riggleman, who previously served as a senior technical adviser for the House select committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, attack at the US Capitol, is working with the legal team advising President Joe Biden's son.
1970-01-01 08:00
Ex-NYC mayor Bill de Blasio and wife are separating – but will still live with each other
Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife Chirlane McCray have announced that they are separating and will begin seeing other people but will continue to share their Brooklyn home. The announcement, made in an extensive New York Times profile, marks the beginning of a new chapter in the personal lives of Mr de Blasio and Ms McCray — one of the country’s most visible political couples during Mr de Blasio’s reign as mayor. Both Mr de Blasio and Ms McCray spoke extensively about their relationship struggles, memories, and plans for the future in the profile written by Times political reporter Matt Flegenheimer. But a number of observers online mocked the pair, both for the manner of their announcement and for its particulars. “I can’t even imagine the ego it takes to arrange a New York Times photo shoot for your announcement of living together while separated,” Jay Martin tweeted. Chris Gaun focused on Mr de Blasio’s housing arrangement. “Even the former mayor can’t give up his housing deal,” Chris Gaun tweeted. “They are separating but still living together? I couldn’t do it but that’s their decision, if that makes them happy I guess that’s all that matters,” Marcella tweeted. Mr de Blasio and Ms McCray met while working for former New York City mayor David Dinkins in the early 1990s. Ms McCray then identified as a lesbian, but overtures from Mr de Blasio eventually won her over. They married in 1994 and had two children. According to the Times profile, Mr de Blasio believes his mayoralty took a toll on their marriage. He also said he had lingering questions about Ms McCray’s sexuality. “For the guy who took the chance on a woman who was an out lesbian and wrote an article called ‘I Am a Lesbian,’” Mr de Blasio said, “there was a part of me that would at times say, ‘Hmmm, is this like a time bomb ticking? Is this something that you’re going to regret later on?’ So I always lived with that stuff.” Ms McCray, for her part, said she was not enthusiastic about Mr de Blasio’s short-lived 2020 presidential campaign — saying she viewed it as a “distraction.” Ms McCray said she was looking forward to a life more removed from the public limelight. As Newsday reporter Matthew Chayes pointed out, Mr de Blasio is far from the only mayor of New York who has not had a conventional personal life. Current mayor Eric Adams is unmarried and co-owns apartments with two women, while Mr de Blasio’s predecessor Michael Bloomberg was divorced. The Times last year identified former mayor Ed Koch as gay. Now, Mr de Blasio — after leaving the mayor’s office — will embark on a new chapter in his personal life, sharing space with Ms McCray but dating other people. “There are probably millions of people doing this,” another person wrote on Twitter. “They may not realize it, or just don’t announce it.” Read More Former New York Mayor de Blasio and wife announce separation, but not divorce Tests show white powder found at White House is cocaine Jack Smith subpoenas Arizona Secretary of State’s office in January 6 probe Bill de Blasio finally breaks silence over infamous moment he dropped groundhog: ‘It was idiocy’
1970-01-01 08:00
Tests show white powder found at White House is cocaine
The white, powdery substance that prompted a brief evacuation of the White House over the weekend has been confirmed to be cocaine by laboratory testing, The Independent has learned. A spokesperson for the US Secret Service, which by law is responsible for security in and around the 18-acre White House campus, confirmed the laboratory result in an email on Wednesday. The spokesperson, Anthony Gugliemi, previously said the agency was standing up “an investigation into the cause and manner” of how the cocaine came to be in a public waiting area in the West Wing, where it was discovered late Sunday by officers with the Secret Service Uniformed Division. According to DC Fire and EMS Department radio transmissions archived by OpenMHZ, firefighters with the department’s hazardous materials unit who were called to investigate the then-unidentified powder used a field test analyse a small sample, which returned a presumptive result for cocaine hydrochloride. Neither President Joe Biden nor any other members of his family were present at the White House during the incident, as the Biden family spent the holiday weekend at Camp David, the US Navy-operated presidential retreat in Thurmont, Maryland. Mr Biden and several family members departed the White House on Friday and returned late on Monday to participate in several Independence Day events. According to a source familiar with the events surrounding the discovery of the cocaine, it was found in a small bag in a waiting area which is regularly accessed by White House staff and visitors to the West Wing, the part of the White House which contains offices used by Mr Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and the president’s senior staff, as well as members of the White House press corps. Although there were no public tours of the White House on Sunday, staff members have long been authorised to bring family and friends into the West Wing for tours of the workspace, and the area where the cocaine was found is heavily trafficked during the week. It is not yet known when the cocaine would have been brought into the building or by whom, but Mr Gugliemi said investigators are working to determine those facts if possible. Read More Mystery white powder suspected to be cocaine is found in White House
1970-01-01 08:00
Prosecutors say man went to Obama's DC neighborhood after Trump posted what he claimed was the Obamas' address
A man arrested last week with weapons in former President Barack Obama's Washington, DC, neighborhood began live-streaming in the area shortly after resharing a social media post from Donald Trump in which the former president posted what he claimed was Obama's address, according to federal prosecutors.
1970-01-01 08:00
Pentagon to strengthen insider threat monitoring and vetting procedures following major intel leak
A review undertaken by the Pentagon after a trove of classified documents were leaked online has recommended that the department establish a new office to monitor insider threats and improve access to vetting information from ongoing background checks to ensure individuals still meet security clearance requirements.
1970-01-01 08:00
UK Tells FCA to Step Up Review of Bank Rules for Politicians
Rishi Sunak’s government urged the UK financial regulator to step up its review into how banks treat customers
1970-01-01 08:00
Venezuela Cuts Ties With Shipping Mogul Who Was Once an Ally
Venezuela’s state oil giant is parting ways with an old ally who once helped to break a strike
1970-01-01 08:00
