How bilingualism can double the joy for deaf children
Families opting to raise their kids in both the hearing and the Deaf worlds say the outcomes have been 'very rewarding'.
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ABC News
12 hours ago
- ABC News
What we know about Trump's newly ordered probe into Biden's alleged use of 'autopen'
US President Donald Trump has ordered his administration to investigate former president Joe Biden's actions, targeting his aides, including an autopen. The order could lay the groundwork for arguments by Republicans that a range of Mr Biden's actions as president were invalid. The president has claimed that Mr Biden's aides concealed his "cognitive decline" and abused presidential authority. What is happening, and why has Trump made such a big deal out of it? Let's break it down. Mr Trump has mandated two investigations through the memorandum he signed on June 4. The investigations aim to assess Mr Biden's capabilities as a president and the executive actions he has signed. The first investigation will examine whether anyone conspired to "deceive the public about Biden's mental state" and "unconstitutionally exercise" his authorities and responsibilities. The second one will probe Mr Biden's executive actions executed during his final years in office, for example, policy documents signed with an autopen and who authorised its use. This January, Mr Biden pardoned his siblings and their spouses in the final minutes of his presidency, saying his family had been "subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me". He also pardoned Anthony Fauci, the former US chief medical adviser and retired General Mark Milley and members of the House committee that investigated the January 6 attack on the Capitol. "Biden's cognitive issues and apparent mental decline during his presidency were even 'worse' in private, and those closest to him 'tried to hide it' from the public," he said. Mr Trump said that the nation was governed through presidential signatures, adding that the president of the US "holds tremendous power and responsibility through his signature". "The vast majority of Biden's executive actions were signed using a mechanical signature pen, often called an autopen, as opposed to Biden's own hand," he claimed. "This was especially true of actions taken during the second half of his presidency, when his cognitive decline had apparently become even more clear to those working most closely with him." The president has questioned whether Mr Biden's aides were usurping presidential authority, as he said he believed his predecessor lacked the capacity to exercise his presidential authority. For decades, US presidents — including Trump — have used autopens, which is a device that mechanically replicates a person's signature, to sign documents and correspondence. Barack Obama was the first president to use one to sign a law in May 2011, when he signed an extension to the Patriot Act. Mr Obama was in France on official business and, with time running out before the law expired, he authorised the use of the autopen. On the same day, House Oversight Chairman James Comer of Kentucky, a Republican, announced he would expand the investigation into the alleged "cover-up of Biden's mental decline". Mr Comer reiterated his call for Mr Biden's physician, Kevin O'Connor, and former senior White House aides Annie Tomasini, Anthony Bernal, Ashley Williams and Neera Tanden to appear for transcribed interviews. "The American people deserve full transparency and the House Oversight Committee is conducting a thorough investigation to provide answers and accountability," the chairman said. He warned subpoenas would be issued this week if they refuse to schedule voluntary interviews. "I think that people will start coming in the next two weeks," Mr Comer told reporters. He added that the committee would release a report with its findings, saying "and we'll release the transcribed interviews, so it'll be very transparent." Here are the roles of Biden's five senior advisers: Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House counsel David Warrington have been ordered to handle the investigation. It's unclear how far Mr Trump will push this effort, which would face certain legal challenges. Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has not released any statements in response to Mr Trump's order. ABC/wires
News.com.au
a day ago
- News.com.au
Trump says Iran 'slowwalking' as Khamenei opposes nuclear proposal
US President Donald Trump accused Tehran on Wednesday of "slowwalking" on a nuclear deal, after Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the latest proposal from Washington was against the national interest. The longtime foes have held five rounds of talks since April to thrash out a new accord to replace the deal with major powers that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018, but sharp differences remain over whether Tehran can continue to enrich uranium. On Saturday, Iran said it had received "elements" of the US proposal through Omani mediators, the details of which have not been publicly disclosed. "The proposal presented by the Americans is 100 percent against" notions of independence and self-reliance, Khamenei said in a televised speech, invoking ideals of the 1979 Islamic revolution. "Independence means not waiting for the green light from America and the likes of America." Iran's enrichment of uranium has emerged as a major point of contention. Trump said on Monday his administration would not allow "any" enrichment, despite Tehran's insistence it is its right under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin who "suggested that he will participate in the discussions with Iran". "It is my opinion that Iran has been slowwalking their decision on this very important matter, and we will need a definitive answer in a very short period of time!" Trump said. - Low-level enrichment - Khamenei said enrichment is "key" to Iran's nuclear programme and that the United States "cannot have a say" on the issue. "If we have 100 nuclear power plants but don't have enrichment, they will be of no use to us," because "nuclear power plants need fuel" to operate, he said. The New York Times reported Tuesday that the US proposal includes "an arrangement that would allow Iran to continue enriching uranium at low levels" as the US and other countries "work out a more detailed plan intended to block Iran's path to a nuclear weapon". It said the proposal would see the United States facilitating "the building of nuclear power plants for Iran and negotiate the construction of enrichment facilities managed by a consortium of regional countries". Iran has previously said it is open to temporary limits on its enrichment of uranium, and is willing to consider the establishment of a regional nuclear fuel consortium. But it has stressed that such a consortium is "in no way intended to replace Iran's own uranium enrichment programme". Iran's chief negotiator, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, said in a Wednesday post on X: No enrichment, no deal. No nuclear weapons, we have a deal." Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal but still short of the 90 percent threshold needed for a nuclear warhead. - 'Less than satisfactory' - The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in its latest quarterly report last week that Iran had further stepped up its production of highly enriched uranium. In a separate report, it also criticised "less than satisfactory" cooperation from Tehran, particularly in explaining past cases of nuclear material found at undeclared sites. The reports came ahead of a planned IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna later this month which will review Iran's nuclear activities. Washington and other Western governments have continued to accuse Iran of seeking a nuclear weapons capability. Iran insists its programme is for peaceful purposes only. The 2015 deal provided Iran with relief from international sanctions in return for UN-monitored restrictions on its nuclear activities. Trump reimposed US sanctions when he quit the agreement in 2018 and has since tightened them with secondary sanctions against third parties who violate them. Britain, France and Germany, the three European countries who were party to the 2015 deal, are currently weighing whether to trigger the sanctions "snapback" mechanism in the accord. The mechanism would reinstate UN sanctions in response to Iranian non-compliance -- an option that expires in October. Iran has criticised the IAEA report as unbalanced, saying it relied on "forged documents" provided by its arch foe Israel.
News.com.au
a day ago
- News.com.au
Ferris Bueller star resurfaces on red carpet after more than 10 years
No more days off. Ferris Bueller's Day Off star Mia Sara returned to the spotlight for the premiere of The Life of Chuck — her first film in over a decade — in Los Angeles on Monday. Sara, 57, walked the red carpet at the Hollywood Legion Theater to celebrate her new sci-fi movie based on Stephen King's novel, reports the New York Post. The actress posed for photos alongside her co-stars Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill, Karen Gillan, Benjamin Pajak, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kate Siegel and Carl Lumbly, as well as director Mike Flanagan. Sara wore a black top with a below-the-knee skirt and matching boot heels. She also rocked a pair of silver earrings and a big gold bracelet. In The Life of Chuck, out June 21, Sara plays the grandmother of Hiddleston's character, Charles Krantz. The film follows Krantz's life in reverse-chronological order. At the red carpet, Sara told People that she came out of acting retirement to work with Flanagan, 47. She said his 2021 Netflix horror miniseries Midnight Mass was 'one of my favourite things I've ever seen.' 'We've been such fans, and we met socially, he and the magnificent Kate Siegel, and he just said, 'Well, don't you ever really want to work again?' ' Sara told the outlet. 'And I said, 'Oh, I don't know.' He said, 'Well, what if I offered you something?' I said, 'Well, okay, if you offer me something, I'll do it.'' When asked if she plans to do more acting, Sara replied: 'Honestly, it really was all about Mike. If Mike needs me, I'll be there.' Sara currently lives in 'a 17th century farmhouse' in England with her husband, Brian Henson. The actress and Henson have a daughter, Amelia, 20. She also has a son, Dashiell Quinn Connery, 28, with her ex-husband Jason Connery, son of James Bond star Sean Connery. Sara's last acting appearance was in the 2013 short film Pretty Pretty. Before that, she played Princess Langwidere in the 2012 film Dorothy and the Witches of Oz. Sara grew up in New York City and made her film acting debut in 1985's Legend alongside Tom Cruise. At age 18, she landed the role of Sloane Peterson in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The beloved 1986 comedy was directed by the late John Hughes and also starred Matthew Broderick and Succession alum Alan Ruck. Sara went on to star in the 1987 miniseries Queenie and the 1994 sci-fi film Timecop, which won her a Saturn Award. She also played Harley Quinn in The WB series Birds of Prey from 2002 to 2003.
