Tag: US

Covid variant ‘tsunami’ as world cases hit record

by Kenan Augeard with AFP Bureaus A Covid variant-driven “tsunami” threatens to overwhelm healthcare systems, the WHO said Wednesday as AFP data showed cases have surged across the world in the past week to levels never seen before. Highly transmissible Omicron propelled the United States, France and Denmark to fresh records on Wednesday, with AFP’s tally of 6.55 million infections reported globally for seven days through Tuesday showing the unprecedented spread. They were the highest […]

Five dead, two wounded in US shooting: police

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The death toll from a shooting spree across multiple locations in Colorado, which ended when the gunman was himself shot dead, has risen to five, police said Tuesday. The trail of shooting began around 5:00 pm on Monday and unfolded across at least four different locations in the cities of Denver and Lakewood, said police, who had initially put the death toll at four. Two women were killed and a […]

Former US Senate leader Harry Reid dies at 82

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – Former US Senate majority leader Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada who rose from humble beginnings to lead the upper chamber during the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, has died at the age of 82, officials said Tuesday. Reid, who used his experience in Congress to help Obama steer his landmark Affordable Care Act through the Senate, had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2018. Laconic […]

Father of teen shot by US police demands jail terms

by Paula RAMON LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The father of teenager accidentally shot dead by US police in a department store, demanded jail time Tuesday for the officers involved in her killing. The death of 14-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta is the latest at the hands of law enforcement in a country where guns abound and police readily resort to deadly force. “The only thing I want is justice for my daughter,” Juan Pablo Orellana […]

US keeps carrier in Mediterranean amid Russia tensions

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – The United States has ordered an aircraft carrier to remain in the Mediterranean in a bid to reassure European allies amid fears Russia will invade Ukraine, an official said Tuesday. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier strike group to stay in the region and hold off on its scheduled onward voyage to the Middle East. The “schedule change reflects the need for a […]

Rapid Covid tests not as accurate with Omicron: US regulator

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Rapid Covid home tests are more likely to give a false negative with the heavily-mutated Omicron variant compared to earlier strains, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Tuesday. The news comes as the country is facing a massive surge in cases that experts say is being under-captured as a result of a testing crunch, with long wait times for the more accurate PCR tests, and home kits in […]

Time capsule from Confederate statue reveals US Civil War artifacts

by Chris Lefkow WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A time capsule buried 130 years ago in the base of a statue of a Confederate general revealed its secrets on Tuesday — bullets, buttons and currency from the 1861-65 US Civil War along with other artifacts. The copper box was found Monday embedded in the stone pedestal of a statue of General Robert E. Lee, who commanded the Army of Northern Virginia during the bloody conflict […]

130-year-old time capsule found in base of statue of Confederate general

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – Workers dismantling the pedestal of a statue of a Confederate general discovered a copper box on Monday believed to have been buried 130 years ago, the second apparent time capsule unearthed at the site. “They found it!” tweeted Virginia Governor Ralph Northam along with pictures of the box. “This is likely the time capsule everyone was looking for.” They found it! This is likely the time capsule everyone was […]

‘Dallas Buyers Club’ director Jean-Marc Vallee dies at 58

by Michel COMTE Agence France-Presse MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) – Award-winning Canadian filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallee has died at age 58, his publicist announced, shocking the industry and admirers who hailed him on Monday as a creative force. Vallee took on compelling projects in multiple genres, from his work on “Dallas Buyers Club,” an unflinching look at the AIDS crisis, to the small-screen HBO adaptation of “Big Little Lies,” and was widely acknowledged as an exceptional talent. […]

Bodycam footage of California police teen shooting to be released

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) – Bodycam footage of the “chaotic” police shooting of a teenager in a crowded California department store was expected to be released Monday, as criticism swelled that officers were all-too-ready to open fire. Fourteen-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta was trying on clothes in a changing room when a stray bullet came through the wall and hit her, killing her instantly. Valentina was shopping in a Los Angeles store with her mother in […]

Drought-hit western US walloped by powerful winter storm

A powerful winter storm battered the western United States Monday, dumping much-needed snow on the drought-parched mountains of California, but causing travel misery over a wide area. Three feet (one meter) of snow had fallen in 24 hours on parts of the Sierra Nevada range, taking December’s total to a record-breaking 16 feet, and bolstering the badly depleted snowpack that feeds the region’s reservoirs. “We were definitely not expecting a wet winter,” said Dr. Andrew […]

US halves isolation guidelines for asymptomatic Covid

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US health authorities on Monday halved the recommended isolation time for people with asymptomatic Covid-19 infections from 10 to five days, with a surge of cases causing travel chaos and threatening wider social disruption. “The Omicron variant is spreading quickly and has the potential to impact all facets of our society,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement announcing the change. “These updates […]