1 day ago
NEW YORK (AP) — Two major news networks were denied access to the White House on Saturday morning, with reporters from CNN and MS NOW both going live to report they'd been barred following a ban imposed by President Donald Trump.
The actions escalated Trump's long-running efforts to restrict news coverage by journalists he finds objectionable, and is the latest test of First Amendment protections in the United States. Trump said Friday he would ban both organizations and also Politico, because of their coverage — which he called "fake news."
CNN issued a statement saying it stood behind its reporters. "We will not be deflected from our duty to hold the government and other public bodies to account," it said. The statement was shown on the air before senior White House reporter Betsy Klein began to report on her ban.
MS NOW also said in a statement that it stands behind its journalists.
"The White House belongs to the American people and the decisions made inside are funded by our tax dollars," the network said in a statement Saturday. "MS NOW intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy."
#reporters
The actions escalated Trump's long-running efforts to restrict news coverage by journalists he finds objectionable, and is the latest test of First Amendment protections in the United States. Trump said Friday he would ban both organizations and also Politico, because of their coverage — which he called "fake news."
CNN issued a statement saying it stood behind its reporters. "We will not be deflected from our duty to hold the government and other public bodies to account," it said. The statement was shown on the air before senior White House reporter Betsy Klein began to report on her ban.
MS NOW also said in a statement that it stands behind its journalists.
"The White House belongs to the American people and the decisions made inside are funded by our tax dollars," the network said in a statement Saturday. "MS NOW intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy."
#reporters
14 days ago
TURMUS AYYA, West Bank, Sept 4 (Reuters) - U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Saturday said there was no plan to force Palestinians to leave Gaza after two Israeli ministers this week floated proposals for the mass removal of Palestinians from the coastal territory.
• "I can tell you categorically there is no plan of the Israelis to displace people out of Gaza against their will," Huckabee told reporters in Turmus Ayya, a Palestinian town in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
• "There is an open-mindedness (that) if people wish to leave that they should have the right to leave. To incarcerate them in a place they don't want to be should be an absolute, I think, just disgrace," Huckabee said.
• "Nobody is suggesting that there will be forced displacement. The Israelis are not. The Americans are certainly not. I know of no one who supports that."
• Defence Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday said there was "no real solution for Gaza in the end without this migration."
#Israel
• "I can tell you categorically there is no plan of the Israelis to displace people out of Gaza against their will," Huckabee told reporters in Turmus Ayya, a Palestinian town in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
• "There is an open-mindedness (that) if people wish to leave that they should have the right to leave. To incarcerate them in a place they don't want to be should be an absolute, I think, just disgrace," Huckabee said.
• "Nobody is suggesting that there will be forced displacement. The Israelis are not. The Americans are certainly not. I know of no one who supports that."
• Defence Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday said there was "no real solution for Gaza in the end without this migration."
#Israel
1 month ago
Lake Powell, the second-largest reservoir in the United States, provides water and electricity to millions in the West. It has now has shrunk to its lowest level on record, in the latest sign of the alarming crisis unfolding on the drought-stricken Colorado River.
The reservoir's levels dropped to 3519.91 feet on Saturday, breaking the record low of 3,519.92 feet set in April 2023, according to data from the US Bureau of Reclamation published Sunday. It is now just under 30 feet away from the point at which its dam will no longer be able to generate hydropower.
The record comes nine days after downstream Lake Mead, the US's biggest reservoir, dropped to its lowest level since it was first filled nine decades ago. "We are in uncharted territory," said Jack Schmidt, director of the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University.
Lakes Mead and Powell, which are essentially one gigantic reservoir separated by the Grand Canyon, hold just under 60% of the total water currently stored in the Colorado River basin. The unprecedented decline of these vast bodies of water, which have been shrinking for more than 20 years, drives home the perilous state of the river that feeds them.
Known as the lifeblood of the Southwest, the Colorado River starts in the Rocky Mountains, fed by melting snowpack, and ends in the Gulf of California in Mexico. It provides water to roughly 40 million people and irrigates more than 5 million acres of farmland across seven states: California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah.
#Colorado #water
The reservoir's levels dropped to 3519.91 feet on Saturday, breaking the record low of 3,519.92 feet set in April 2023, according to data from the US Bureau of Reclamation published Sunday. It is now just under 30 feet away from the point at which its dam will no longer be able to generate hydropower.
The record comes nine days after downstream Lake Mead, the US's biggest reservoir, dropped to its lowest level since it was first filled nine decades ago. "We are in uncharted territory," said Jack Schmidt, director of the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University.
Lakes Mead and Powell, which are essentially one gigantic reservoir separated by the Grand Canyon, hold just under 60% of the total water currently stored in the Colorado River basin. The unprecedented decline of these vast bodies of water, which have been shrinking for more than 20 years, drives home the perilous state of the river that feeds them.
Known as the lifeblood of the Southwest, the Colorado River starts in the Rocky Mountains, fed by melting snowpack, and ends in the Gulf of California in Mexico. It provides water to roughly 40 million people and irrigates more than 5 million acres of farmland across seven states: California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah.
#Colorado #water
2 months ago
BANGKOK (AP) — China announced a series of economic measures Wednesday against the United States, including controls on exports of drones to the U.S. and a ban on dealings with six American entities, in response to recent restrictions imposed by Washington.
Tensions are simmering between the world's two biggest economies ahead of an expected visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the U.S. in September, despite signs of warming ties during his meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump in Beijing in May.
The Commerce Ministry said the sanctions are in response to recent moves from the U.S., including a ban by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on imports of Chinese drones, and the Department of Homeland Security's decision to add 43 Chinese companies to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act entity list to prevent imports of goods made with forced labor.
The "measures seriously violate the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and severely damage China's legitimate rights and interests. China has no choice but to take necessary countermeasures in response," the ministry said in a statement.
It emphasized that China was acting with restraint and urged the U.S. to scrap its measures against Beijing and cease its "erroneous practices." It also warned of further sanctions if the U.S. rolls out new restrictive measures against China.
#including
Tensions are simmering between the world's two biggest economies ahead of an expected visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the U.S. in September, despite signs of warming ties during his meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump in Beijing in May.
The Commerce Ministry said the sanctions are in response to recent moves from the U.S., including a ban by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on imports of Chinese drones, and the Department of Homeland Security's decision to add 43 Chinese companies to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act entity list to prevent imports of goods made with forced labor.
The "measures seriously violate the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and severely damage China's legitimate rights and interests. China has no choice but to take necessary countermeasures in response," the ministry said in a statement.
It emphasized that China was acting with restraint and urged the U.S. to scrap its measures against Beijing and cease its "erroneous practices." It also warned of further sanctions if the U.S. rolls out new restrictive measures against China.
#including
