List of All Articles with Tag 'america'

Voters in Ohio will likely decide if the state’s constitution should enshrine the right to abortion care, after abortion rights advocates collected tens of thousands of signatures on a petition to put the issue on ballots this fall. If certified, those 710,000 signatures – roughly 300,000 more than required by state law – will place a proposed constitutional amendment asking whether “every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s reproductive decisions.” A statewide vote for abortion protections follows a wave of anti-abortion laws in the aftermath of the US Supreme Court’s decision to strike down a constitutional right to care last year. More than a dozen states, mostly across the entire US South, have effectively outlawed most abortions. But the Supreme Court decision to overturn the half-century precedent under Roe v Wade also fuelled efforts to protect abortion rights across the country, including in neighboring Michigan and Kentucky, where voters in both states voted to support abortion rights in ballot measures last year. After the Supreme Court’s ruling, Ohio lawmakers swiftly outlawed most abortion after roughly six weeks of pregnancy, a law that is currently suspended by a state court injunction but could be reinstated by the Ohio Supreme Court. A vote to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution would effectively overrule any such law. Abortion rights advocates and providers have warned that Ohio’s ban, which does not include exceptions for pregnancies from rape or incest, ignited a healthcare crisis that endangered patients and their families across the state, forcing people to seek care hundreds of miles out of state and navigate complicated legal and medical minefields while experiencing pregnancy complications. The petition launched by Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom and Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights will head to the secretary of state, which has until 25 July to determine the validity of the signatures. The campaign launched with an open letter on 7 July of last year signed by hundreds of physicians rejecting the state’s anti-abortion law. “Over the past year, support for the amendment has grown exponentially thanks to our partners at [Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom], the thousands of volunteers who gathered signatures in communities across the state, and the hundreds of thousands of people who added their names to our petitions,” according to a statement from Dr Lauren Beene and Dr Marcela Azevedo, co-founders of Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights. “Today, the message we and they are sending is loud and clear: ‘let the people decide,’” they said. The campaign will magnify the role of Ohio – a state that voted for Donald Trump by more than 8 percentage points over Joe Biden in 2020 – in the 2024 presidential campaign and the renewed battle for abortion rights surrounding it, as Republican candidates and members of Congress weigh federal legislation that would outlaw or severely restrict abortion access nationwide. President Biden and Democratic candidates have signalled the central role that abortion rights protections will play in upcoming campaigns, alongside their warnings of a GOP-controlled White House and Congress legislating on abortion at the national level. Last year, a record number of voters in Kansas – a state that Mr Biden lost by more than 15 percentage points in 2020 – turned out for an election to reject a Republican-drafted amendment that would strip abortion rights from the state’s constitution, the first test for abortion rights put directly to voters after the ruling in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization. That measure was shot down by nearly 20 percentage points, sending a resounding message that underscored the immense unpopularity of the Supreme Court’s decision. The president has repeatedly invoked that election victory in remarks supporting abortion rights in the months that followed, stating that the Supreme Court “practically dared women in this country to go to the ballot box and restore the right to choose,” and that anti-abortion lawmakers vastly underestimated how Americans would respond. Following the outcome in Kansas, Mr Biden pointed to the justices’ own writing in the Dobbs decision: “Women are not without electoral or political power.” “They don’t have a clue about the power of American women,” he said. “In Kansas, they found out women and men did exercise their electoral political power with a record turnout.” Read More Man sentenced to life in prison for rape of 10-year-old girl in Ohio abortion case that drew national attention Senator who once worked at a Planned Parenthood warns that Republicans are planning a national abortion ban One year after Roe v Wade fell, anti-abortion laws threaten millions. The battle for access is far from over

Rep Alexandria Ocasio Cortez tweeted that her account on Threads – Mark Zuckerberg’s Twitter rival app – was “bricked” after being on the app for just “5 minutes,” on the day of the app’s launch. Highlighting her move to Threads – on Twitter, no less – is perhaps the New York Democrat’s latest move in her feud with Twitter owner Elon Musk. Earlier on Wednesday, she wrote a thread, seemingly taking a jab at Twitter: “Alright, let’s do this thing! May this platform have good vibes, strong community, excellent humor, and less harassment.” It’s unsurprising that the New York congresswoman jumped on the opportunity to join the “Twitter killer” platform, as she hasn’t been shy about her gripes with Mr Musk and his platform. In May, Ms Ocasio-Cortez flagged an imposter account, which she said Mr Musk reacted to with a flame emoji, drawing more attention to the fake account. She tweeted at the time: “FYI there’s a fake account on here impersonating me and going viral. The Twitter CEO has engaged it, boosting visibility.” On other occasions, she has pointed out the dangers of circulating misinformation on Twitter and the problems with potential misinformation after Mr Musk removed checkmarks from official accounts. The New York Democrat also voiced opposition to Mr Musk’s move to make users pay for a blue check mark, tweeting: “Lmao at a billionaire earnestly trying to sell people on the idea that ‘free speech’ is actually an $8/mo subscription plan.” Read More AOC warns Elon Musk is ‘testing waters’ to interfere in 2024 election AOC threatens to leave Twitter after Elon Musk promotes ‘disgusting’ account impersonating her AOC jokes more people watched her gaming online than listened to glitch-ridden DeSantis launch

Nearly a month after former president Donald Trump was arraigned on the 38-count federal indictment he and his longtime aide Walt Nauta are facing for allegedly unlawfully retaining national defence information and obstructing justice, the ex-president’s co-defendant still needs legal representation. Mr Nauta, a retired Navy chief petty officer who served as Mr Trump’s White House valet before following him home to Florida after the end of the ex-president’s term, is charged with a single count of making a false statement to federal investigators. The other 37 charges are against Mr Trump, who pleaded not guilty to all of them at his arraignment last month. But even though the charge against him was unsealed at the same time as the charges against his boss, Mr Nauta was not arraigned at the same time as Mr Trump because he did not have a local attorney to appear with him in court. A second attempt to arraign him was scuttled last week after his flight to Florida was cancelled, and a third attempt to arraign him is set for Thursday. Although he is represented by a veteran Washington-based criminal defence lawyer, Stanley Woodward, the Trump aide still needs a lawyer who is licensed to practice in the Southern District of Florida to sponsor Mr Woodward so he can be admitted to practice before that federal court. And without local counsel, Mr Nauta won’t be able to enter a plea when he appears in court. Last week, Mr Woodward told the federal magistrate judge who is set to preside over the arraignment that Mr Nauta would attempt to find a Florida-based attorney by his third attempt at an arraignment, but a review of court records does not show that any local lawyer has officially entered an appearance for him. Although the magistrate judge, Edwin Torres, excused Mr Nauta from appearing in person at the 27 June court date because weather had caused him to be unable to travel, he told Mr Woodward at the time that he could “discuss” the need for a court-appointed lawyer for Mr Nauta if necessary. The charge against Mr Nauta stems from a May 2022 interview with FBI agents, during which he was asked about boxes Mr Trump had brought with him to his Palm Beach, Florida social club after leaving the White House. When investigators asked if he knew of any boxes being brought from a storage room to Mr Trump’s private suite at the club, Mr Nauta replied that he did not even though he had participated in moving some of the boxes at issue. Read More Trump news – live: Trump suggests White House concealing security footage over cocaine scandal as Don Jr branded ‘big baby’ DeSantis doubles down on ‘homophobic’ anti-Trump ad: ‘Totally fair game’ Australian minister calls Donald Trump Jr a ‘big baby’ for cancelling trip down under

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

Donald Trump’s increasingly serious legal problems are translating into a cash boom for his third presidential campaign, a staffer told Politico this week. The campaign is due to release official fundraising numbers by the end of the month, per an upcoming Federal Election Commission (FEC) deadline. But a campaign official familiar with the matter provided the eye-popping sum to Politico: $34m, a haul that puts him firmly on top of the GOP primary field, dollars-wise, and depicts a campaign picking up steam as Mr Trump apparently solidifies his support base within the GOP primary voter population. In the first quarter of 2023, Mr Trump’s campaign had presented a fundraising total of $18.8m — impressive, but not nearly as high as his latest quarter. However, a greater share of donations is now being diverted to the Save America PAC, the twice-indicted former president’s vessel for outside spending that has fronted the bulk of his legal costs in recent months. Previous news reports indictated that the donation levers were pulled on Mr Trump’s WinRed donation page to divert as much as 10 per cent of every donation to the Save America PAC, up from just 1 per cent of every gift earlier this year. The total is likely to bolster Mr Trump’s argument against Republican candidates like primary rival Will Hurd who have argued that Mr Trump’s legal problems will jeopardise his chances of winning a general election against President Joe Biden. While polling backs up Mr Hurd’s assertion at present, the Trump campaign’s war chest will prove a counter-argument that paints the former president as the candidate with GOP voter enthusiasm and the funding necessary to wage an effective general election campaign. Mr Trump faces a growing field of GOP rivals, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, and his former vice president, Mike Pence. But he has remained dominant across polling of the field for months, even amid his two criminal indictments for allegedly falsifying business records in New York and the alleged illegal retention of classfied materials at Mar-a-Lago. The legal pressure mounting against the former president is likely to escalate in the coming weeks, given the two investigations known to be currently ongoing involving him and his closest advisers. Officials in Fulton County, Georgia are weighing whether to bring criminal indictments against Mr Trump and members of his legal team over their efforts to alter the lawful election results in that state, while the Department of Justice has been reported by The Independent to be weighing a superceding indictment charging Mr Trump with dozens of offences related to the January 6 attack and his related efforts to block Joe Biden’s election victory. Read More Judge's order limits government contact with social media operators, raises disinformation questions Special counsel Jack Smith subpoenas Arizona Secretary of State’s office in January 6 probe Trump attorney who was key to election conspiracies retires from legal practice

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’

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

L. Lin Wood, a Georgia attorney who was part of the legal team that attempted to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election, has said he will retire from the practice of law. Mr Wood sent a letter to top officials at the State Bar of Georgia on Tuesday asking that he be permitted to transfer to “Retired Status” effective immediately. Mr Wood writes that he understands that by taking retired status he would no longer be allowed to practise law in Georgia or any other state or jurisdiction and that he would not be allowed to apply for re-admission. Mr Wood’s decision to end his legal career comes he deals with a range of legal headaches in the wake of his work for Mr Trump’s campaign following the 2020 election. According to reporting by The Daily Beast, the Georgia Bar held a disciplinary trial for Mr Wood in May and was weighing whether to disbar him. Mr Wood is also reportedly facing a potential misconudct case in Michigan over his election work as well as a defamation lawsuit from a former political ally. Given the timing of the request, it is not yet clear whether the Georgia state bar will allow Mr Wood to move to retirement status and prematurely end its disciplinary proceeding against him. Mr Wood was one of a number of Trump attorneys sanctioned by a federal judge in Michigan two years over his role in filing a lawsuit that sought to have President Joe Biden’s victory in the state thrown out and the state’s electoral votes awarded to Mr Trump. The judge in that case, US District Judge Linda Parker, agreed with Gov Gretchen Whitmer that the lawsuit had been filed for an “improper purpose” and wrote in her opinion that the attorneys’ conduct “warrants a referral for investigation and possible suspension or disbarment.” Mr Wood’s legal efforts in the aftermath of the 2020 election were spectacularly unsuccessful — Mr Trump’s legal team did not succeed in reversing the result of a single state they took action in and were only successful in one of the more than 60 lawsuits they filed regarding the race. Mr Wood is far from the only Trump election lawyer in professional trouble. John Eastman is facing potential disbarment in California, while Jeffrey Clark, who was serving as assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice, is facing disciplinary proceedings at the District of Columbia Bar. Mr Trump himself remains under criminal investigation in Georgia for his alleged attempts to interfere in the election. Read More Trump news – live: Trump likened to American traitor Benedict Arnold as he posts bizarre 4th of July messages Trump mocked for bizarre July 4 AI image: ‘He’d sell us out faster than Benedict Arnold’

The Texas attorney general currently suspended and facing an impeachment trial in the state’s Senate is lashing out at lawmakers, vowing not to participate in a process he has called illegal and politicised — despite all involved being Republicans. Ken Paxton vowed on Monday that he would not testify in the upcoming trial set to be held in the Texas state Senate over a list of accusations that paints a damning picture of corruption in his office. The embattled Mr Paxton, a known warrior for conservative causes in the court system as part of his efforts to build a statewide profile, has been accused of taking bribes from a campaign donor, then using his office’s power to shield that same donor from legal action. He’s also alleged to have retaliated against whistleblowers in his office who came forward to speak about the supposed scheme. The statement, first reported by the Texas Tribune, came via Mr Paxton’s attorney Tony Buzbee. “We will not bow to their evil, illegal, and unprecedented weaponisation of state power in the Senate chamber,” said Mr Buzbee. He added: “​​The House has ignored precedent, denied him an opportunity to prepare his defense, and now wants to ambush him on the floor of the Senate. They had the opportunity to have Attorney General Paxton testify during their sham investigation but refused to do so.” Mr Paxton has long denied the allegations against him — though evasively, as the Tribune and other state media have noted, and has focused the majority of his efforts in recent weeks on criticising the individuals behind his impeachment in the state House of Representatives. At a May press conference addressing the issue, he accused his Republican critics in the House of working to thwart his efforts to champion conservative causes in the courts. “The corrupt politicians in the Texas House are demonstrating that blind loyalty to Speaker Dade Phelan is more important than upholding their oath of office,” he said at the time. “They are determined to ignore the law. They have denied me the opportunity to present the evidence which contradicts their politically motivated narrative.” “The House is poised to do exactly what Joe Biden has been hoping to accomplish since his first day in office: sabotage our work, my work, as attorney general of Texas,” Mr Paxton added at that press conference. He has proceeded to also level unfounded charges of alcohol abuse by the speaker of the Texas House, Dade Phelan, and called for Mr Phelan’s resignation. Others, during the House impeachment process, claimed that they received threatening phone calls from Mr Paxton ahead of the vote. Lawmakers in the House and Senate of the state of Texas have shown no sign, however, of relenting in the face of his bluster. Mr Paxton’s trial is due to begin on 5 September. His wife, a state senator, will be barred on voting for or against his conviction. Read More Should domestic abusers have the right to be armed? The Supreme Court could upend protections for survivors Texas businessman at center of AG Ken Paxton's impeachment pleads not guilty to federal charges Texas Sen. Angela Paxton says she will 'carry out my duties' in husband's impeachment trial Ted Cruz accuses new Barbie movie of ‘pushing Chinese propaganda’ Conservatives go to red states, Democrats to blue as the country grows more polarized Biden renews call for assault weapons ban after ‘tragic and senseless’ spate of July 4 shootings

The Republican Party is being called out on social media after it shared the flag of the wrong country in a post to mark 4 July on Twitter. “247 years ago, our forefathers told Ol’ King George to get lost! Happy Independence Day from the GOP!” read the deleted tweet, with a photo of the flag of Liberia attached alongside. Though the GOP’s tweet was swiftly removed from its official handle, the deletion was not fast enough to escape the ridicule that followed. The flag of Liberia resembles the US flag and has similar red and white stripes, but it is distinguished by the presence of a single white star on a blue background, representing Africa’s first independent republic. The US flag has 50 stars to represent the country’s 50 states. In a subsequent tweet, the Republican Party attempted to ignore the mistake and posted another Independence Day message, with the image of a sparkler in front of the US flag. “Thank you to all the men and women in uniform who continue to defend our freedom at home and abroad. Happy Independence Day!” it said. Twitter users, however, were quick to remind them of their mistake. “We’re not gonna forget y’all not knowing the difference between the American flag and the flag of Liberia,” commented a user underneath the post. “Happy ‘the GOP wouldn’t know the American flag if they were looking right at it’ (so they need to post the Liberian flag) to all who celebrate,” wrote another user. “Bwahahahaha, the ‘we love USA’ crowd tweeted the wrong flag originally (Liberia). Is there an explanation as to why right wing parties are so incompetent so often?” wrote another person. Read More Conservatives go to red states, Democrats to blue as the country grows more polarized ‘Rage-baiting’ leftist Twitter account is probably fake, expert says The American flag wasn't always revered as it is today. At the beginning, it was an afterthought Woman killed and several injured in separate July 4 fireworks explosions in Michigan Illinois man critically injured as firework explodes in his face Pete Buttigieg blames severe weather for Fourth of July travel chaos

At least three people are dead and six more have been injured in a mass shooting that took place at an annual Fourth of July block party in Shreveport, Louisiana on Tuesday evening. It is unclear how the shooting unfolded, how many shooters were involved or how many more people may be injured. Shreveport police lieutenant Van Ray told local news outlet KSLA that when authorities arrived at the scene on Pearl Avenue, two people were found dead. A third person died at the hospital. Mr Ray was unsure what conditions the six injured people were in. Police had a difficult time reaching the victims because there was still “an enormous amount” of people and vehicles at the scene when authorities arrived. “Getting here and getting EMS here was a difficult thing. A lot of us had to park our cars and take off running because there were so many cars on the side of the street,” Mr Ray said. Shreveport District A Councilwoman Tabatha Taylor expressed her frustrations with the shooting to KSLA. “This should not happen. Now we are the victims of a mass shooting in our community,” Ms Taylor said. “It is trauma for those individuals that only wanted to have a very good time on this holiday,” she added. Louisiana joins several states in experiencing a deadly mass shooting over the holiday weekend. Three people died in Forth Worth, Texas and five others were killed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Monday, 3 June. Nine people were injured during a drive-by shooting in Washington DC on Wednesday. There are been 350 mass shootings in the US this year, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive. The Independent has reached out to the Shreveport Police Department for comment. Read More Fourth of July travel weekend in disarray after airport meltdowns, wildfire smoke and extreme heat Fort Worth shooting – live: Dramatic video captures chaos at ComoFest two of three victims identified Nine victims including two children injured in drive-by shooting in Washington DC

Dramatic footage has captured the chaotic moment that gunfire erupted at Fort Worth’s ComoFest on the eve of July 4, leaving three victims dead. The video shows terrified revellers fleeing as shots are fired into the crowd. Police in Fort Worth, Texas, said that no suspects have been identified but that “several unknown males were reported to have started firing into the crowd indiscriminately and then fled the scene”. Two of the three victims killed were identified on Tuesday as Cynthia Santos, 22, and Paul Willis, 18. The incident marked just one of four shootings that left at least 17 people shot – three of them fatally – in Fort Worth, Texas, on the night of July 3. The other three shoootings took place at a home, an AMC movie theatre, and in a car. Following a wave of shootings this week, President Joe Biden renewed his calls for Congress to act and “come to the table on meaningful, common sense reform” on gun control. Read More America’s mass shooting crisis, in numbers: More than halfway through 2023, US on pace for record-setting year Three people killed and eight wounded in mass shooting at July 4 fireworks event in Fort Worth Philadelphia shooting: At least five dead as heavily armed gunman opens fire at random on streets Biden renews call for assault weapons ban after ‘tragic and senseless’ spate of July 4 shootings