Author: Reporter

Not a political rally: Judge admonishes Trump as criminally indicted ex-president testifies in fraud trial

The judge presiding over the civil fraud trial of Donald Trump repeatedly admonished him to keep his answers concise on November 6, reminding him that “this is not a political rally” as the former president and leading Republican presidential candidate began testified in a lawsuit accusing him of dramatically inflating his net worth. The exchanges underscored Trump’s unwillingness to adapt his famously freewheeling rhetorical style to a formal courtroom setting, where clipped and cautious answers from witnesses are the norm. “We don’t have time to waste. We have one day to do this,” an exasperated Supreme Court Judge Arthur...

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Deaths of Palestinian civilians have surpassed 10,000 in one month as Israeli forces cut off north Gaza

The Israeli army severed northern Gaza from the rest of the besieged territory and pounded it with airstrikes on November 6, preparing for an expected push by ground forces into the dense confines of Gaza City and an even bloodier phase of the month-old war. Already, the Palestinian death toll passed 10,000 people, the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on November 6. The ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. Some 1,400 Israelis have died, mostly civilians killed in the October 7 incursion by Hamas that started the war. The war has quickly become the deadliest Israeli-Palestinian...

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Survey finds wealthy nations have increasingly favorable views for the U.S. while declining for China

Public opinions in 24 countries, mostly rich nations, have grown more favorable of the United States than of China, according to the latest survey by the Washington-based Pew Research Center. The gap in favorability of the world’s two largest economies widened after views of the U.S. rebounded since President Joe Biden took office in 2021, the report found. Favorable views of both countries fell in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, but the ratings for China remained low during the latest survey, the Pew center said, “leading to some of the largest gaps in these views we have seen...

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American families scramble to cope after Republicans fail to renew Federal aid for child care programs

Kaitlyn Adkins is studying law to help families in her community impacted by the opioid epidemic at the heart of West Virginia coal country. But to do that, she needs someone to help look after her three toddlers. The first-generation college graduate said she would not be able to finish law school without access to reliable daycare. Providers say millions of children and their families are now at risk of losing that vital service. After two years of receiving federal subsidies, 220,000 child care programs across the country were cut off from funding on October 14. The largest investment...

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Sex education: Why reproductive health curriculum in GOP-led states often exclude LGBTQ+ students

In fifth grade, Stella Gage’s class watched a video about puberty. In ninth grade, a few sessions of her health class were dedicated to the risks of sexual behaviors. That was the extent of her sex education in school. At no point was there any content that felt especially relevant to her identity as a queer teenager. To fill the gaps, she turned mostly to social media. “My parents were mostly absent, my peers were not mature enough, and I didn’t have anyone else to turn to,” said Gage, who is now a sophomore at Wichita State University in...

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Cheap antibiotics could be used as a “morning-after pill” against STDs under federal health proposal

U.S. health officials plan to endorse a common antibiotic as a morning-after pill that gay and bisexual men can use to try to avoid some increasingly common sexually transmitted diseases. The proposed CDC guideline was released in October, and officials will move to finalize it after a 45-day public comment period. With STD rates rising to record levels, “more tools are desperately needed,” said Dr. Jonathan Mermin of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The proposal comes after studies found some people who took the antibiotic doxycycline within three days of unprotected sex were far less likely to...

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