Pivotal election official in Arizona midterms will not seek reelection
Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates, who faced threats for his management of the 2022 midterms and 2020 presidential election in Arizona, said Thursday he will not run for reelection.
2023-06-02 08:56
Judge dismisses Washington, DC, privacy lawsuit against Facebook owner Meta
By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON A 2018 privacy lawsuit brought by Washington, D.C., against Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc
2023-06-02 08:49
Twitter's head of trust and safety says she has resigned
By Sheila Dang Twitter's head of trust and safety Ella Irwin told Reuters on Thursday that she has
2023-06-02 08:29
Asia Stocks to Track US Rally Ahead of Jobs Data: Markets Wrap
Asia stock futures rose after a renewed rally in tech giants pushed Wall Street higher, with focus turning
2023-06-02 06:50
Biden trips and falls on stage at Air Force graduation; White House says he's 'fine'
President Joe Biden fell on stage at the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation Thursday and the White House said he was “fine” after tripping over a sandbag. Biden had been greeting the graduates in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the front of the stage with salutes and handshakes, and turned to jog back toward his seat when he fell. He was helped up by an Air Force officer as well as two members of his U.S. Secret Service detail. Onlookers, including some members of the official delegation on stage, watched in concern before Biden, who at age 80 is the oldest president in U.S. history, returned to his seat to view the end of the ceremony. “He’s fine,” tweeted White House communications director Ben LaBolt. “There was a sandbag on stage while he was shaking hands.” Two small black sandbags were on stage supporting the teleprompter used by Biden and other speakers. Biden has been dogged by questions about his age and his fitness to serve, and his missteps have become fodder for political rivals as he campaigns for a second term in 2024. He has stumbled before going up the stairs and onto Air Force One and he once got caught up in his bike pedals while stopping to talk to reporters near his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Biden’s personal doctor said after the president’s most recent physical exam in February that Biden “remains a healthy, vigorous 80-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency.” Dr. Kevin O’Connor also documented the president's stiffened gait, which O'Connor said was the result of spinal arthritis, a previously broken foot and neuropathy in the Biden's feet. Biden is far from the first national political figure to stumble in public. President Gerald Ford fell down while walking off Air Force One in 1975. GOP Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas, the GOP presidential nominee at the time, fell off the stage at a campaign rally in 1996. President Barack Obama tripped walking up the stairs to a stage at a 2012 event. “I was so fired up, I missed a stair” he told the crowd. President Donald Trump's gingerly walk down a ramp at the 2020 West Point commencement also sparked concerns about his health. Trump, 76, was campaigning in Iowa when he heard about Biden's stumble and alluded to his own episode. “He actually fell down? Well I hope he wasn’t hurt,” Trump said after an audience member told him about what had happened to Biden. “The whole thing is crazy. You gotta be careful about that ... 'cause you don’t want that, even if you have to tiptoe down a ramp.” The audience laughed as Trump recounted slowly inching his way down what he said had been a slippery ramp at the U.S. Military Academy graduation. “If he fell, it’s too bad,” the former president said. “We gotta just get this thing back on track. That’s a bad place to fall when you’re making, I think it was the Air Force Academy, right? That’s not inspiring.” Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Drag shows on US military bases canceled by Pentagon after Republican criticism US retaliates for Russia's suspension of New START treaty by revoking visas of nuclear inspectors Trump and Maga allies mock Biden for Air Force graduation fall
2023-06-02 06:30
Republican senator sparks laughter as he tells witness: ‘I don’t want reality!’
Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma sparked a round of laughter in the a Senate hearing room after misspeaking and snapping “I don’t want reality!” at a witness. Mr Mullin’s comment came during a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) hearing on race and education where he was aggressively questioning a panel of witnesses about whether it’s better to teach the book Our Skin: A First Conversation About Race or the lyrics of the song “Jesus Loves Me.” After Mr Mullin became irritated with a response given by Cheryl Morman, president of the Virginia Alliance for Family Child Care Associations, and cut her off, Sen Bernie Sanders, the committee chair, asked Mr Mullin to allow her to answer the question he had posed. One of the witnesses started saying: “The reality is ...” at which point Mr Mullin cut her off. “No, I don’t want reality, I’m asking the question, which one is better?” Mr Mullin said. “That’s exactly what it is.” Spectators in the hearing room errupted with laughter as Mr Mullin acknowledged that he “misspoke” and then continued with his questioning. The HELP committee was convened for a hearing called “Solving the Child Care Crisis: Meeting the Needs of Working Families and Child Care Workers.” When it was Mr Mullin’s turn to question the panel of witnesses, he pulled out a copy Our Skin — a book meant to teach young children about the history and function of race — and announced that he would read a passage from it. “‘A long time ago, way before you were born, a group of white people made up an idea called race,” Mr Mullin said. “They sorted people by skin colour and said that white people were better, smarter, prettier, and they deserved more than everybody else.” Mr Mullin later said he disagreed with the book “one thousand percent” and suggested it would prejudice children against white people. Mr Mullin, who is a member of the Cherokee Nation, said schools should instead teach the song “Jesus Loves Me,” a Christian hymn written before the onset of the Civil War that would likely violate the prohibition against religious activity in many public school districts. Mr Mullin has frequently made headlines in the last several months for his conduct on the HELP committee, where he’s clashed with figures ranging from Mr Sanders to Teamsters president Sean O’Brien. Mr Sanders has significantly raised the profile of the committee since he took over as chair at the beginning of the current Congress, bringing a range of activists, labour leaders, and major CEOs like Starbucks’ Howard Schultz to Washington to testify in high-profile hearings. Mr Mullin, a multimillionaire business owner who was elevated to the Seante in a special election last year, has chafed in past hearings at Mr Sanders’ treatment of major corporate executives like Mr Schutlz. Read More Trump launches rant after reports of bombshell classified documents tape - live Roger Stone caught on hot mic explaining how he manipulated Trump Trump and Maga allies mock Biden for Air Force graduation fall Teamsters boss boasts about taking on ‘schoolyard bully’ Republican at fiery Senate hearing
2023-06-02 06:19
Trump surprises crowd by mocking people who say ‘woke’ – including his own son who runs businesses off it
Donald Trump surprised a crowd in Iowa by mocking people obsessed with using the Republican buzzword “woke”, insisting that most people cannot even define what it means. The former president has himself regularly used the phrase to attack opponents, and just last month his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, announced the launch of a “non-woke men’s lifestyle magazine.” The magazine, which is called Field Ethos, says that it will focus on “a forgotten lifestyle to those who refuse to conform,” with fishing and hunting articles written by “old-school adventurers who make no apologies for who we are.” Mr Trump’s main rival for the GOP 2024 presidential nomination, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, is also obsessed with the term and has said as president he would destroy the “woke mind virus.” In 2021, Mr DeSantis also signed into law Florida’s “Stop WOKE Act,” which banned college professors in the state from teaching critical race theory. “I don’t like the term ‘woke’ because I hear ‘woke woke woke’—it’s just a term they use, half the people can’t even define it, they don’t know what it is,” Mr Trump said at the Westside Conservative Club in Urbandale, Iowa, on Thursday. During the event, Mr Trump attacked trans athletes, a popular right-wing grievance, calling it a “woke” issue before catching himself. “I guess they define that as ‘woke,’ but that’s all woke. We have to bring common sense back to the country,” he said. Read More Trump news - live: Trump slammed for campaign ad amid silence on reports of bombshell classified papers tape DeSantis news - live: Florida governor snaps at reporter for simple question at New Hampshire campaign event Marjorie Taylor Greene cryptically says the FBI knows who mystery Capitol pipe bomber is Trump accuses DeSantis of faking his own name Oath Keeper who guarded Roger Stone before Jan. 6 attack gets more than 4 years in prison
2023-06-02 06:16
Dye Hard: How Blue Man Group Took Performance Art Mainstream
The Smurf-colored trio came up in the counterculture. Then Intel came calling.
2023-06-02 05:57
Eating disorder group pulls chatbot sharing diet advice
The US National Eating Disorder Association is investigating reports the chatbot shared harmful advice.
2023-06-02 05:54
New Tiananmen museum opens in New York ahead of June 4 anniversary
By Aleksandra Michalska and Michael Martina NEW YORK The hope for a "free China" lives on in a
2023-06-02 05:54
Arizona announces limits on construction in Phoenix area as groundwater disappears
Arizona state officials announced Thursday the state will no longer grant certifications for new developments within the Phoenix area, as groundwater rapidly disappears amid years of water overuse and climate change-driven drought.
2023-06-02 05:30
Joe Biden trips and falls at Air Force graduation ceremony
Joe Biden tripped and fell on stage as he took part in the Air Force graduation ceremony in Colorado. The president dropped to his knees but was quickly helped back to his feet by officials during the event at the service academy in Colorado Springs on Thursday. Mr Biden, 80, pointed to a black sandbag on the stage seemingly blaming it for the stumble. The president did not appear hurt by the fall and continued to stand on stage until the ceremony ended several minutes later, according to the White House pool. “President Biden fell down on stage after handing out the last diploma to the Air Force cadets. He appeared to slip and fall going down on his knees. He was helped up by Air Force officials,” the pool report stated. White House communications director Ben LaBolt took to Twitter to say that Mr Biden was fine. “There was a sandbag on stage while he was shaking hands,” he tweeted. Mr Biden, a Democrat, is running for re-election in 2024 and his doctors declared him fit and healthy after his February physical examination. Earlier, during the commencement address, Mr Biden warned the graduates that they would enter military service in an increasingly unstable world, citing challenges from Russia and China. And he predicted that Swedend would “soon” join NATO, without giving any details of their entry into the alliance. “It will happen, I promise you,” he said, Read More Watch Biden trip and fall on-stage at Air Force graduation ceremony Biden and McCarthy’s debt limit deal went through – but there are winners and losers Biden tells US Air Force Academy graduates their leadership needed in increasingly confusing world Boeing signs alternative fuel deal with Los Angeles startup to cut carbon footprint Underestimated McCarthy emerges from debt deal empowered as speaker, still threatened by far right Senate passes GOP bill overturning student loan cancellation, teeing it up for Biden veto
2023-06-02 03:59