List of All Articles with Tag 'world'

Russia shot down two Ukrainian drones over the Moscow region and jammed a third, part of an intensifying

Vice President Kamala Harris publicly rejected Republican presidential challenger Ron DeSantis’s invitation to visit Florida to discuss the

A trio of Republican House committee chairs is demanding information from the Department of Justice on the pending plea and diversion agreements between prosecutors and Hunter Biden as part of their ongoing effort to inflict political damage on his father, President Joe Biden. In a letter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland, House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, and Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith said the decision by Delaware US Attorney David Weiss to allow Hunter Biden to plead guilty to two misdemeanour tax charges and enter into a deferred sentencing agreement on a single charge of lying on a gun background check form “raise serious concerns ... that the Department has provided preferential treatment toward Mr. Biden in the course of its investigation and proposed resolution of his alleged criminal conduct”. Mr Biden, who is President Biden’s youngest and only surviving son, has admitted to what have been well-documented struggles with alcohol and drugs, and during an aborted plea hearing last week said he’d been in and out of rehabilitation facilities on numerous occasions over the last few decades. During that court appearance, US District Judge Maryellen Noreika objected to a provision of the diversion agreement which stated that she — not prosecutors — would be responsible for determining whether Mr Biden might have breached the agreement’s terms, which would necessitate new criminal charges. The judge said the provision in question was “not standard” and “different from what I normally see” and suggested it violates the separation of powers in the US Constitution because it would put the judicial branch in the position of making a charging decision that is an executive branch function. Legal experts have opined that the provision at issue was an attempt by the department to protect Mr Biden from a situation in which a future Republican administration would manufacture charges against him. The current GOP frontrunner for the party’s 2024 presidential nomination, Donald Trump, has repeatedly pledged to jail Mr Biden, his father, and numerous other prominent Democrats. The GOP representatives asked Mr Garland to provide them with data on how often, if at all, the Delaware US Attorney’s office and the Justice Department have included similar provisions in diversion agreements. They also demanded information on who — prosecutors or Mr Biden’s defence attorneys — suggested that the agreement should place a final decision on new charges in a judge’s hands, and asked Mr Garland to provide a list of pretrial division agreements for other defendants who’ve been charged with the same gun-related offence as Mr Biden, as well as “all documents and communications referring or relating to each similar pretrial diversion agreement entered into by the Department in the last ten years”. Additionally, the committee chairs asked Mr Garland to provide a “generalized description of the nature of the Department’s ongoing investigation” into Mr Biden and an “explanation of why the Department originally agreed to a plea agreement” with Mr Biden if there are ongoing probes into him. It is unlikely that Mr Garland will provide any response that satisfies the GOP representatives, as the Justice Department’s policy for decades has been to not comment on ongoing investigations, even in response to congressional inquiries. Read More House Oversight chair admits GOP can’t back up Biden bribery accusations Hunter Biden’s ex-business partner testifies to Congress. Here’s what to know Biden acknowledges Hunter’s daughter Navy in public for first time

Donald Trump’s Save America PAC is reportedly running out of cash as a result of the extensive legal bills his campaign is facing as it fights fires on several fronts. The PAC began last year with $105m but is now down to just $4m, according to The New York Times, after paying off costly lawyers’ fees picked up defending Mr Trump in a variety of cases concerning everything from his business practices and personal history to his retention of classified documents since leaving the White House. Meanwhile, Fani Willis, district attorney of Fulton County, Georgia, has said that her investigation into the 45th president’s energetic efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the Peach State is “ready to go”, suggesting a potential indictment could be imminent. Separately, another indictment is also looming from Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, who is also probing Mr Trump’s efforts to overturn the vote and his role in inciting the Capitol riot of 6 January 2021. On Tuesday, the grand jury assigned the case met again heightening anticipation. Whichever materialises first will represent the Republican’s third of the year. Read More Mar-a-Lago property manager is the latest in line of Trump staffers ensnared in legal turmoil Trump's early work to set rules for nominating contest notches big win in delegate-rich California What is an indictment? Donald Trump is facing his third and fourth of 2023

New Jersey Lt Gov Sheila Oliver has died one day after being hospitalised for treatment for an undisclosed medical issue while serving as acting governor. Ms Oliver was taken to Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston on Monday, while Governor Phil Murphy was in Italy on a family vacation. Her family confirmed her death at the age of 71 in a statement on Tuesday. “It is with incredible sadness and a heavy heart that we announce the passing of the Honorable Sheila Y. Oliver, Lieutenant Governor of the State of New Jersey,” the family said in a statement to ABC7. “She was not only a distinguished public servant but also our cherished daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and hero.” No cause of death has been released. In a statement, Gov Murphy said he and his family were “incredibly saddened to learn of the passing of our dear friend, colleague, and partner in government.” Ms Oliver, a Democrat, was selected as Gov Murphy’s running mate in 2017, and was a “trailblazer in every sense of the word”, he said. In 2010, she became the first Black woman to serve as Speaker of the General Assembly, and was the second Black woman in US history to lead a house of a state legislature. “I knew then that her decades of public service made her the ideal partner for me to lead the State of New Jersey. It was the best decision I ever made.” Democratic Senate President Nicholas Scutari is serving as acting governor, the governor’s spokesperson Mahen Gunaratna said. The governor will be returning to the US “soon”, Mr Gunaratna added. Along with serving as Gov Murphy’s top lieutenant, Ms Oliver also oversaw the Department of Community Affairs, which coordinates state aid to towns and cities and supervises code enforcement. She had been twice elected to the lieutenant governor’s role in 2017 and 2021, becoming the second person to hold the post in New Jersey. Born and raised in Newark, Ms Oliver earned a degree in sociology from Pennsylvania’s Lincoln University before being elected to the Essex County board of chosen freeholders in 1996. Ms Oliver had served on the New Jersey assembly since 2004. “She brought a unique and invaluable perspective to our public policy discourse and served as an inspiration to millions of women and girls everywhere, especially young women of colour,” Gov Murphy said in a statement. “Beyond all of that, she was an incredibly genuine and kind person whose friendship and partnership will be irreplaceable.” Ms Oliver’s family requested privacy, and said details of a memorial service would be provided at a later date. Read More New Jersey sues federal highway officials in bid to stop New York City's plan to charge big tolls Manhattan architect, family man and accused serial killer: Who is Gilgo Beach suspect Rex Heuermann? Chris Christie slams Trumps as ‘Corleones with no experience’ New Jersey Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, first Black woman to serve as state Assembly speaker, dies at 71 The first generation of solar panels will wear out. A recycling industry is taking shape Blue blood from horseshoe crabs is valuable for medicine, but a declining bird needs them for food

Russia has been warned that it will face more drone attacks – after a Moscow high-rise housing a number of government ministries was hit for the second time in three days. An adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, tweeted that the Kremlin will soon "collect all of their debts" over the invasion of Ukraine with further strikes on Russian soil. While Ukraine stops short of directly claiming such attacks, of which there have been a flurry in recent weeks, officials often show their satisfaction and seek to undermine Russia in any way they can as Kyiv's forces press on with their counteroffensive. "Moscow is rapidly getting used to a full-fledged war," Mr Podolyak wrote on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter. He said Russia should expect "more unidentified drones, more collapse, more civil conflicts, more war". The building that was hit by the drone is known as the "IQ quarter", which houses the Russian ministry of economic development, the digital ministry and the ministry of industry and trade. While the repeated drone incidents have not caused casualties or major damage, they have provoked widespread unease and are an embarrassment for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin, which is constantly seeking to give the impression to the country's citizens that its invasion – now nearly 18 months long – is proceeding according to Moscow's plan. "In this situation, any place can be hit, so it is quite hard to feel 100% safe... We don't know what will hit us and where," Moscow Alexander Gusev, 67, told Reuters. "Indeed, a threat exists, it is obvious, but measures are being taken," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, declining to comment further. In a statement, the Russian defence ministry claimed to have thwarted what it labelled an "attempted terrorist attack" and downed two drones west of the Moscow city centre. It said another one was foiled by jamming equipment and went "out of control". Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that was the drone that hit the same tower that had been struck on Sunday. "The facade has been damaged on the 21st floor. Glazing was destroyed over 150 square metres," Mr Sobyanin said. Vnukovo airport, one of three major airports serving the capital, briefly shut down but later resumed full operations. Elsewhere, Ukrainian regional officials said a doctor was killed and five medical workers were wounded in Russian shelling of a hospital in the southern city of Kherson. "Today at 11.10am [local time] the enemy launched another attack on the peaceful residents of our community," military administration head Roman Mrochko wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said four medical workers had been wounded in addition to a badly wounded nurse whose injuries were reported earlier. Mr Mrochko said the young doctor had only worked in his job for a few days and that doctors were fighting for the life of the nurse. Meanwhile, Russia also claimed it had stopped attacks by sea drones on its navy ships, plus civilian vessels in the Black Sea. Mr Podolyak later said that such statements were "fictitious" and that "Ukraine has not attacked, is not attacking and will not attack civilian vessels, nor any other civilian objects". Mr Podolyak said nothing of attacks on Russian navy ships, which Ukraine considers legitimate targets given the invasion it is battling. Moscow has said it would treat any ships leaving or entering Ukrainian ports as valid targets after it ended a deal for Ukraine to export its grain through Black Sea last month. Russia has since struck Ukrainian ports and grain infrastructure repeatedly. Kyiv has previously used drones to target Russia's navy base in Crimea and the bridge that Russia has built to the peninsula. Russia illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, and Kyiv has pledged to recover it along with other territory seized by Moscow since its full-scale invasion began last February. Late on Tuesday, the Moscow-installed governor of the Sevastopol district of Crimea said a drone had been shot down there too. Reuters contributed to this report Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary What would ECOWAS’ threat to use force to restore democracy in Niger look like? Mapped: The latest strikes on Ukraine and Russia as war rages on BP profits are cut in half to $2.6 billion as oil and natural gas prices fall

Parts of northern China are grappling with the impact of intense flooding as the death toll rose to

CVS Health Corp. will cut 5,000 positions from its workforce to help cut costs as the drugstore chain

Ford Motor Co. restarted production of F-150 electric Lightning pickup truck as it bets price cuts will spark

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said his government may provide labor-training programs for migrants to work on infrastructure

With 46 straight days of 100-degree heat and coastal waters approaching hot-tub temperatures, Miami can seem like a

Carli Lloyd was not amused.