South Dakota’s governor is suing the US Department of Interior in a bid to see fireworks shot over Mount Rushmore on Independence Day. Republican Kristi Noem successfully pushed last year for a return of the display after a 10-year hiatus. The event drew national attention when then-president Donald Trump joined Ms Noem on 3 July
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Disneyland has reopened for the first time in over a year – as it was revealed more than 100 million Americans have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Disney fans who visited cheered and screamed as the Southern California theme park opened its gates for the first time in 13 months, when it was forced to
It was Franklin Roosevelt who first invited Americans to use “the first 100 days” as a measure of his success as president. Nearly 90 years later, Joe Biden will mark his 100th day in the White House with the country – as it is on most things these days – divided over what he has
It was a speech full of promises but pragmatism too. US President Joe Biden was clear that he’d inherited a divided and struggling nation but declared: “America is on the move again…” It was the biggest speech of his presidency so far; a moment for him to reach out, he hopes, to the “forgotten” in
US President Joe Biden says America is “on the move” and that, despite the pain of the past year, the country can “turn peril into possibility”. Mr Biden was marking his 100th day in office with an address to Congress, using the speech to promote a $1.8trn spending package. The plan would provide universal preschool,
Finding Derek Chauvin guilty of murdering George Floyd was a “no-brainer”, one of the jurors in the trial has said. Brandon Mitchell said he and the 11 other jurors could have completed their deliberations within the 10 hours they actually took – and might have finished in just 60 minutes. They did not need much
US health officials have updated their guidance on what activities fully vaccinated people can safely do without the need to wear a mask. It comes as more than half of all adults in America have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Joe
US police officers were seen joking as they watched footage of a 73-year-old dementia sufferer whose shoulder was said to have been dislocated during her arrest. Video released by Karen Garner’s lawyer, shows officers watching the bodycam images of her arrest, and one of them asking “ready for the pop?” as her shoulder is pulled.
An application has been made to pardon George Floyd for a 2004 drugs conviction. Mr Floyd was arrested in Houston in February 2004 by Gerald Goines for selling $10-worth of crack in a police sting. After pleading guilty, Mr Floyd was jailed for 10 months. Image: Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas. Pic: Houston Police Department
Distressing footage has been released of a mother and her two young children being lowered down a nine metres (30ft) wall using a rope on the US-Mexico border. The family, who are undocumented migrants from Venezuela, were helped over the border wall by human smugglers about three miles (4.8km) west of the Calexico West Port
Ghislaine Maxwell has denied charges of sex trafficking and sex trafficking conspiracy in her first appearance before a judge. The 59-year-old, who was at one point Jeffrey Epstein‘s girlfriend, had previously denied other, similar charges. In court documents, prosecutors allege that Maxwell recruited three teenage girls – one of whom was 14 – between 1994
Hundreds of people turned up to a US park for a heated pool noodle brawl to find out who is the rightful owner of the name Josh. A 22-year-old named Josh Swain came up with the idea for the funny fight when boredom set in during the COVID pandemic a year ago. The student from
A monster truck has carried the casket of rapper DMX to a memorial service in New York. The big-wheel truck had the words “Long Live DMX” painted on the side and carried his shiny red casket from Yonkers to Brooklyn. Thousands of motorcycles also made the journey, with thousands of people watching from the streets.
Transgender girls have been banned from playing on female sports teams by a Republican governor in the US. Alabama‘s Kay Ivey signed legislation restricting transgender students from participating in K-12 sports – those that take place during primary and secondary education. The move will see Alabama become the latest conservative state to take such action
A US medical panel has recommended resuming use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. The advice came from advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The vaccine was paused by the CDC and US Food and Drug Administration last week after eight “serious” cases of rare blood clots associated with
US President Joe Biden will travel to the United Kingdom and Belgium in June for his first overseas trip, the White House has said. The trip aims to “highlight his commitment to restoring our alliances, revitalising the trans-Atlantic relationship, and working in close cooperation with our allies,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki. Advertisement
The US will commit to halving its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, Joe Biden is set to announce. It comes as the US president will speak to other world leaders, including Boris Johnson, at a global climate summit held at the White House on Thursday. The pledge – which amounts to nearly doubling previous commitments
Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who was convicted of murdering George Floyd, is being held in isolation for 23 hours a day in a maximum security prison, authorities have revealed. Prison officers check on Chauvin every 30 minutes, his meals are delivered to his cell and he will be subjected to a mental health
When George Floyd bought cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 note, it triggered the wretched sequence of events that led to the end of his life. The teenager who served Mr Floyd was a key prosecution witness in the trial of his killer, former police officer Derek Chauvin. Christopher Martin said he has felt too scared
The US Justice Department is opening an investigation into policing practices in Minneapolis after the murder conviction of former officer Derek Chauvin, it has been announced. Chauvin, 45, was unanimously found guilty of the second and third degree murder and second degree manslaughter of George Floyd, 46, on 25 May, last year. As the former