Some of those who were freed from jail earlier this week had assaulted police officers during the insurrection.
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0:55
January 6 rioters reunite with families
Republican senator Mr Graham said while Mr Trump had the legal authority to issue the pardons, “pardoning the people who went into the Capitol and beat up a police officer violently, I think was a mistake. Because it seems to suggest that’s an okay thing to do”.
As a result, “I fear that you will get more violence”, said Mr Graham, who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Mr Trump has said that attacks on police officers during the January 6 unrest were “minor incidents”.
In his first sit-down interview since being inaugurated on Monday, recorded in the Oval Office, Mr Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity most of those who were jailed over the US Capitol riots were “absolutely innocent”.
He went on to claim those at the US Capitol were simply there “protesting the vote” before again falsely claiming the 2020 election was “rigged”.
Image: Senator Lindsey Graham speaks during a Donald Trump campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2020. Pic: Reuters
Among those supporters who have been released from prison was Stewart Rhodes, the former leader of the far-right Oath Keepers group.
Rhodes had been serving an 18-year sentence after being convicted of plotting to use force to prevent Congress from certifying Mr Trump’s 2020 defeat to rival Joe Biden.
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2:05
Trump addresses Capitol riot pardons
The blanket pardon also drew condemnation from police who battled the mob, their families, and politicians, including some of the president’s fellow Republicans.
Graham also hits out at Biden pardons
Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press programme, Mr Graham also criticised Mr Trump’s predecessor Democrat Mr Biden for issuing last-minute pardons for five family members and said Americans may want to revisit presidential pardon power if such actions continue.
“But as to pardoning violent people who beat up cops, I think that’s a mistake,” he said.
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Later in the TV show, Democratic senator Adam Schiff agreed with Mr Graham, saying Mr Biden “was wrong to give these pardons”.
He added: “What it says now to the Trump family and to President Trump’s kids: they can engage in any kind of malfeasance, criminality, graft, whatever, and they can expect a pardon on the way out the door. That is not a message you want to send to this family, or really any family occupying the White House.”
Trump criticised by brother of dead officer
Craig Sicknick, whose brother was assaulted during the riot and died of multiple strokes the next day, has called Mr Trump “pure evil”.
“The man who killed my brother is now president,” he said.
Nearly 60% of respondents in a Reuters/Ipsos poll, which was carried out after Mr Trump took office on Monday, said he should not pardon all of the Capitol defendants.
Former US president Joe Biden has prostate cancer, his office has said.
The statement said Mr Biden, who left the White House in January, is reviewing options for treatment with his physicians.
It read: “Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms.
“On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterised by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.
“The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
Image: File pic: Reuters
According to Cancer Research UK, a Gleason score of 9 means the cancerous cells “look very abnormal” and the disease is “likely to grow quickly”.
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A source familiar with Mr Biden and his family’s thinking has told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that the former president is considering “multiple treatment options” – including hormone treatment for the cancer.
They added he is at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and that as of now, it is unclear where the former president will be treated.
Mr Biden, 82, was the oldest person to ever serve as president, with concerns about his health raised regularly during his campaign for re-election last year.
A Mexican navy ship has hit the Brooklyn Bridge during a promotional tour in New York City.
The New York Fire Department said authorities were responding to injuries but had no details about how many people might have been hurt or whether they were on the vessel or on the bridge.
Sky’s US partner network NBC News reports that at least three people were seriously injured in the incident.
The Mexican navy said in a post on X that the Cuauhtemoc, an academy training vessel, was damaged in the accident, which has prevented it from continuing its voyage.
Eyewitness video of the collision posted online showed the mast of the ship, which was flying a large Mexican flag, scraping the underneath of the bridge.
Image: Pic: AP
The vessel then drifted toward the edge of the river as onlookers scrambled away from shore.
The Mexican navy said the status of personnel and material was under review by naval and local authorities, which were providing assistance.
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The Cuauhtemoc is about 297ft long and 40ft wide, according to the Mexican navy. It sailed for the first time in 1982.
Image: Pic: AP
Each year, it sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets’ training.
It left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on 6 April with 277 people onboard, the navy said at the time.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
One person has died in a bomb explosion near a reproductive health clinic in California, authorities have said.
The incident took place in Palm Springs, a city two hours east of Los Angeles, and is being investigated as a possible car explosion.
The city’s mayor Ron DeHarte said one person died in the blast, adding that the bomb was “either in or near” a vehicle. The deceased’s identity is not known, Palm Springs police said.
Dr Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers clinic, told the Associated Press his facility was damaged but all staff were safe and accounted for.
The explosion damaged the office space where the practice conducts patient consultations, but the IVF lab and stored embryos were unharmed, he added.
“I really have no clue what happened,” he said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”
Image: Debris covers the ground after the explosion. Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
In a statement posted on Facebook the clinic said it was “heartbroken” to learn someone died in the explosion and added: “Our deepest condolences go out to the individuals and families affected.”
It continued: “Our mission has always been to help build families, and in times like these, we are reminded of just how fragile and precious life is.
“In the face of this tragedy, we remain committed to creating hope – because we believe that healing begins with community, compassion, and care.
The clinic will be fully operational on Monday, it added.
“This moment has shaken us – but it has not stopped us. We will continue to serve with strength, love, and the hope that brings new life into the world,” the statement concluded.
Image: Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
The Palm Springs city government said in a post on Facebook that the explosion happened on North Indian Canyon Drive, near East Tachevah Drive, before 11am local time (6pm GMT).
A burned-out car can be seen in a parking lot behind the building in aerial footage.
The blast caved in the clinic’s roof and blew debris across four lanes of the road.
Another person said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion.
Nima Tabrizi said: “The building just shook, and we go outside and there’s massive cloud smoke.”
Investigators from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are travelling to the scene to help assess what happened.
California governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the explosion, his press office said.