Author: Reporter

The carpet of sludge and debris left by 2011’s tsunami wreaked havoc on paddyfields. 📸 AP The images still hold the power to shock, in the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Dazed survivors walk beneath huge sea tankers deposited amid an expanse of rubble and twisted iron that was once a busy downtown, the ships toppled onto their sides like children’s toys. Grieving survivors pick through the flattened debris where their homes used to be. Deserted farms stand in the shadow of the Fukushima nuclear plant, where a catastrophic meltdown still reverberates. These arresting images were...

A defamation lawsuit is revealing scornful behind-the-scenes opinions by Fox News figures about Donald Trump, including a Tucker Carlson text message declaring, “I hate him passionately.” Carlson’s private text comments were revealed in court papers at virtually the same time the former president was hailing the Fox News host on social media. Trump said he was doing a “great job” in presenting excerpts of U.S. Capitol security video of the January 6, 2021, insurrection — though Carlson used the video to produce a false narrative of the attack. The documents are coming to light at a time of increased...

Fox News is on an unlikely collision course with two leading contenders for the Republican presidential nomination over the rights of journalists. In defending itself against a massive defamation lawsuit over how it covered false claims surrounding the 2020 presidential election, the network is relying on a nearly 60-year-old Supreme Court ruling that makes it difficult to successfully sue media organizations for libel. Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, two favorites of many Fox News viewers, have advocated for the court to revisit the standard, which is considered the foundational case in American defamation law. “It...

A sharp drop in illegal border crossings since December could blunt a Republican point of attack against President Joe Biden as the Democratic leader moves to reshape a broken asylum system that has dogged him and his predecessors. A recent poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows some support for changing the number of immigrants and asylum-seekers allowed into the country. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults say the level of immigration and asylum-seekers should be lowered, while about 2 in 10 say they should be higher, according to the poll. About a third want...

President Joe Biden on March 1 said GOP lawmakers could put millions of people’s health care at risk, honing his message ahead of the release of his budget plan next week as Republicans push for him to negotiate over spending levels. The Democratic president spoke at a recreation center in Virginia Beach, Virginia. His remarks were part of a broader effort this week to contrast his administration’s priorities with those of Republicans who have yet to spell out their budget cuts. Using past proposals, Biden said the GOP could try to slash Medicaid and Obamacare benefits, as well as...