Plus: Hurricane Beryl's trail of devastation, and a star-studded distillery opening ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| Hello. US President Joe Biden is still facing fallout from his debate performance last week. Kayla Epstein reports on how he sought to reassure donors after a Democrat lawmaker called for him to step aside. As Hurricane Beryl moves towards Jamaica, Will Grant hears of the devastation left behind in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. We're also looking at how Australia plans to tackle gender discrimination in healthcare, and how an Irish distillery has attracted an international team of celebrity backers. | |
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TOP OF THE AGENDA | First Democrat calls for Biden to step aside | | Mr Biden made two separate trips to Europe within two weeks last month. Credit: Getty Images | President Joe Biden has blamed extensive international travel for his poor performance in the first election debate last week against Republican rival Donald Trump. "I didn’t listen to my staff... and then I nearly fell asleep on stage,” he said. His remarks at a private fundraiser on Tuesday evening came after a congressman from Texas became the first sitting Democratic lawmaker to call for him to step aside following the debate. So far, most Democrats asked about Mr Biden's place in the race had said it was his decision whether to run or pull out. "I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw," Rep Lloyd Doggett said in a statement. Mr Biden will give a primetime interview to ABC News' George Stephanopoulos on Friday, his first since the debate. It's a chance to show voters, as well as his own party members, they can put to rest the questions about his mental fitness that the debate failed to quell.
If not Biden, who? The list of potential replacements include several governors, and vice-president Kamala Harris.
Robert F Kennedy Jr: The independent US presidential candidate has responded to allegations of sexual assault in a recent Vanity Fair article saying: "I am not a church boy".
Election misinformation: A BBC investigation has uncovered a network of Russia-based websites masquerading as US news outlets that pump out fake stories. | |
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| | | Union Island, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
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| 'Almost the whole island is homeless' | | Beryl hit land on Monday as a category four hurricane, with sustained winds of 150mph (240km/h). Credit: Alizee Sailly | Hurricane Beryl is the first named hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, which had an unusually early start and is forecast to be "extremely active". Beryl's destructive power surprised even those who have survived previous hurricanes. |
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| | Will Grant, Mexico, Central America and Cuba Correspondent |
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| | Having survived the night as Hurricane Beryl tore across her idyllic home of Union Island with ferocious force, Katrina Coy was taken aback by the extent of the devastation which lay before her. "Literally, almost the whole island is homeless," said Ms Coy in a video message. Fisherman and fishing guide Sebastien Sailly has lived through Hurricane Ivan in 2004. But Hurricane Beryl, he said, was on another level. “I was sheltering with my wife and daughter and, to tell you the truth, I wasn’t sure we would make it out at all.” |
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BEYOND THE HEADLINES | Fighting gender bias in healthcare |
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| | | Assistant health minister Ged Kearney chairs the national council on women's health. Credit: Ged Kearney | In December 2022, the Australian government assembled a team of experts to tackle what it calls "medical misogyny". The task force has found that two-thirds of women nationwide have encountered gender bias or discrimination in healthcare. Hannah Ritchie hears from those who recall being labelled “anxious”, “pushy” or even “hysterical” while seeking treatment. |
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SOMETHING DIFFERENT | Cyber-Botoxed | Critic Nicholas Barber on why 'de-ageing' older film stars is so unsettling. | |
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And finally... | Did you hear about the Oscar-winning actor, the former boy band star and the radio host? It's not a joke, but something of a celebrity gathering in the small village of Muff, in Ireland's County Donegal, to open a distillery. Gladiator star Russell Crowe, Boyzone singer-songwriter Ronan Keating and Irish broadcaster Ryan Tubridy are all investors in the Muff Liquor Company. Make of that what you will. | |
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Medal Moments | Your daily newsletter guide to the Paris Olympics, from global highlights to heroic stories, throughout the Games. | |
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