News (old posts, page 880)

Fireball in the sky as suspected meteor rattles Georgia and the Carolinas

Possible meteor rattled windows in three states, with a fragment crashing through the roof of a house near Atlanta

A “fireball” that may have been a meteor burned through the sky on Tuesday just after noon in north Georgia, with a meteorite fragment crashing through the roof of a house in metro Atlanta.

“It pierced through the roof all the way through and cracked through the laminate flooring to the concrete,” said Ryan Morrison, director of emergency management for Henry county, a suburban area south-east of Atlanta. “That’s why we think it’s part of this meteor storm.” The homeowner requested the homeland security office refrain from identifying them, because they have a small child, Morrison said.

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Democratic senator sounds alarm on party’s failures: ‘We don’t act as a team’

Elissa Slotkin criticized fellow Democrats for losing their ‘alpha energy’ at a Center for American Progress event

A Democratic senator has sounded the alarm about her own party’s failings, urging colleagues to “slaughter some sacred cows” if they want to combat Donald Trump and win back power.

Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan castigated fellow Democrats for losing their “alpha energy” and “bravado”, being “scared” to enforce immigration rules, taking an “elitist” approach to the climate crisis and having “a bias towards navel gazing”. She painted a bleak picture of a leaderless party pulling in different directions.

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New York: Adams launches re-election bid after Mamdani’s surprise primary showing

Mayor’s entry comes as the city’s business community reacts harshly to democratic socialist’s primary success

Eric Adams, the New York mayor, launched his re-election campaign on Thursday, days after democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani sent political shockwaves through the New York and national Democratic party by leading in its mayoral nomination for November’s election.

Adams, who did not mount a campaign for the Democratic nomination as his popular support cratered due to a corruption scandal, will now run as an independent candidate. Mamdani’s decisive win against the former governor Andrew Cuomo could see Adams get wider appeal in his, though much will depend on if Cuomo also runs in the November race.

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California bear who injured Lake Tahoe camper killed by park ranger

State officials say decision to euthanize black bear with history of confronting humans was ‘not taken lightly’

A California black bear with a history of confronting humans and breaking into homes was euthanized this week after swiping at a camper near Lake Tahoe and sending her to the hospital with cuts and bruises, officials said.

The woman was woken up around 4.30am on Sunday when the female bear broke into her trailer at a campground near Emerald Bay state park, according to the California wildlife department.

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US voters: share your views on Trump’s one big beautiful bill act

We’d particularly like to hear from Republicans on what you want from the US president’s major piece of tax-and-spending legislation

The one big beautiful bill act, which would enact Donald Trump’s taxation and spending priorities, is currently being considered in the US Senate. The legislation was passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives in May.

Republicans, who also have a narrow Senate majority, are likely to make changes to the more than 1,000-page tax-and-spending bill. Trump wants to sign the legislation by 4 July, but it’s unclear whether Republicans in both chambers can agree on its provisions by that deadline.

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US voters: share your views on Trump’s tax-and-spending bill

We’d particularly like to hear from Republicans on what you want from the US president’s major piece of tax-and-spending legislation

Trump’s sweeping spending bill, which would enact Donald Trump’s taxation and spending priorities, is currently being considered in the US Senate. The legislation was passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives in May.

Republicans, who also have a narrow Senate majority, are likely to make changes to the more than 1,000-page tax-and-spending bill. Trump wants to sign the legislation by 4 July, but it’s unclear whether Republicans in both chambers can agree on its provisions by that deadline.

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Trump is making US intelligence parrot his line on Iran - it echoes Bush’s invasion of Iraq

Tailoring assessments to suit political prejudices undermines their very function and led us to the Iraq war

In the run-up to the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, journalists covering the preparations for war became familiar with the concept of “stovepiping”.

The term described the tactic of pushing intelligence to key political decision makers, bypassing checks and balances within the system.

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RFK Jr’s new vaccine panel votes against preservative in flu shots in shock move

Decision to restrict thimerosal in immunizations could impact future vaccine availability on a global scale

A critical federal vaccine panel has recommended against seasonal influenza vaccines containing a specific preservative – a change likely to send shock through the global medical and scientific community and possibly impact future vaccine availability.

The panel was unilaterally remade by health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a vaccine skeptic who has urged against the use of thimerosal despite a lack of evidence of real-world harm.

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