Backlash as White House chooses Robert F Kennedy Jr deputy to run CDC – US politics live

Backlash as White House chooses Robert F Kennedy Jr deputy to run CDC – US politics live

Senators’ fury at developments at US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as Jim O’Neill picked to replace Susan Monarez White House picks Kennedy deputy to replace fired CDC chief Nearly 1,000 “worker over billionaire” protests are being planned in all 50 states starting this weekend as part of a Labor Day week of action organized by labor unions and advocacy groups in opposition to the Trump administration’s policies. The actions include marches and rallies in cities such as Chicago and Los Angeles , a Labor Day parade in New York City , rallies in Palmer, Alaska , Freeport, Maine , and a planned protest at the state capitol in Honolulu , Hawaii. Continue reading...

Taiwan has ‘right to remain free’, US senator says in visit criticised by China

Taiwan has ‘right to remain free’, US senator says in visit criticised by China

Roger Wicker and Deb Fischer meet island’s president in Taipei as Beijing says trip sends ‘gravely wrong signal’ A visit to Taiwan by two US senators has drawn criticism from China, which claims the island as its own and objects to any contact between officials of the two sides. The chair of the Senate armed services committee, Roger Wicker, and the Nebraska senator Deb Fischer arrived in Taipei on Friday for a series of high-level meetings with senior Taiwanese leaders. They plan to discuss US-Taiwan relations, regional security and trade and investment, according to the American Institute in Taiwan, Washington’s de facto embassy in lieu of formal diplomatic relations with the self-governing island democracy. Continue reading...

Zelenskyy calls for more pressure on Russia so ‘murderers do not feel impunity’ after Thursday’s Kyiv strikes – Europe live

Zelenskyy calls for more pressure on Russia so ‘murderers do not feel impunity’ after Thursday’s Kyiv strikes – Europe live

EU defence ministers to discuss pressure on Russia as Kaja Kallas accuses Putin of mocking peace efforts Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan said that it was his understanding that Russia would be willing to freeze the conflict in the south of Ukraine along current front lines if it is given all of the Donbas region. In comments reported by the AFP, Hakan argued that Russia has moved on from its original demands. Continue reading...

The X-Men are heading to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Things will get weird | Ben Child

The X-Men are heading to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Things will get weird | Ben Child

An X-Men reboot is in the works, but how will the studio integrate the alternate timelines? Will it use the Blip again? Some chaos magic from Scarlet Witch? The Celestials from Eternals even? Let’s consider the options The news this week that the X-Men are finally heading to the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been predicted ever since Disney’s $71bn buyout of 20th Century Fox in 2019, when every comic book mutant back to Apocalypse suddenly became available to Kevin Feige and Marvel. But it remains to be seen when and how Jean Grey, Cyclops et al will finally make landfall on Earth-616, especially since nobody has yet explained how Marvel plans to smuggle them into a timeline that has spent the best part of two decades blissfully ignoring their existence. In an interview with Empire magazine, Thunderbolts* director, Jake Schreier, describes the chance to oversee the X-Men reboot – which is unlikely to land before 2028 – as “an incredible opportunity with super interesting characters and internal conflict”, adding: “These characters are wrestling with their identity and place in the world – that’s inherently interesting and complex material.” Which, of course, is the usual guff film-makers blurt out when trying to reassure fans that they’re taking the project seriously, but tells us zilch about how it is all going to pan out. Continue reading...