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At least 34 arrested at University of Texas in Austin and 50 more detained at University of Southern California while House speaker jeered at Columbia University

More than 60 people, including a journalist, arrested at University of Southern California and University of Texas at Austin. This blog is now closed.

City officials made the decision after saying the sidewalk in Roscoe Village was damaged and needed to be replacedA Chicago sidewalk landmark some residents affectionately referred to as the rat hole" has been removed after city officials decided it was damaged and needed to be replaced.The sidewalk, which had an impression that looked like the outline of a rat with claws and a tail, had been present in Chicago's North Side neighbourhood of Roscoe Village for years. It found fresh fame in January after a Chicago comedian shared a photo on the social platform X. Continue reading...

Israeli prime minister terms pro-ceasefire rallies horrific' as students demand universities divest from weapons makersThe Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday condemned pro-Palestinian protests at universities in the United States as horrific", saying the demonstrations have to be stopped", as he categorized students as antisemitic.There's been rising tensions at campuses across the US as demonstrations began last week after students at Columbia set up encampments calling for the university to divest from weapons manufacturers with ties to Israel. The protests have led to mass suspensions and arrests of hundreds students in New York, Texas and California. Continue reading...

Along with 11 fake electors, seven allies of the ex-president including Mark Meadows and John Eastman were also chargedAn Arizona grand jury has charged 18 people involved in the scheme to create a slate of false electors for Donald Trump, including 11 people who served as those fake electors and seven Trump allies who aided the scheme.Kris Mayes, Arizona's Democratic attorney general, announced the charges on Wednesday, and said the 11 fake electors had been charged with felonies for fraud, forgery and conspiracy. Continue reading...

Local and state police clash with demonstrators in state capital of Austin while rightwing governor says protesters belong in jail'At least 20 people were arrested, including a photojournalist, as police and demonstrators violently clashed at the University of Texas at Austin on Wednesday.Hundreds of students walked out of class to protest against the conflict in Gaza and demand the university divest from companies that manufacture machinery used in Israel's war efforts, carrying signs and chanting. Continue reading...

Federal prosecutors looking at relationship with Purdue Pharma and other drug manufacturers, and its role in US opioid crisisMcKinsey is under criminal investigation in the United States over allegations that the consulting firm played a key role in fueling the opioid epidemic, with federal prosecutors homing in on its work advising OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and other drugmakers, three people familiar with the matter said.The consulting firm and the US justice department declined to comment. Continue reading...

The justices must decide whether Idaho doctors can terminate a pregnancy to save a woman's health or only if her life is at riskThe supreme court heard its second abortion rights case of the term on Wednesday, this one focused on how states can regulate emergency abortions - exceedingly rare procedures that often save a woman's life or her future fertility.The case may seem technical because it focuses on a small subset of emergency abortions and federal law that governs emergency room care. Continue reading...

In criminal investigation, New Orleans judge demands paper trail from archbishop Gregory Aymond all the way to the VaticanThe criminal investigation into child sexual abuse in New Orleans' Roman Catholic archdiocese has entered a major new phase, after a judge ordered the church to turn over records to Louisiana state police showing how it responded to abuse allegations over the last several decades.The order signed on Monday seeks files that would identify every priest and deacon accused of abusing children while working in the US's second-oldest archdiocese; when those complaints were first made; and whether the church turned those cases over to police, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Continue reading...

US House speaker Mike Johnson called on the president of Columbia University, Minouche Shafik, to resign for failing to crack down on antiwar protests in support of Palestine on campus. Johnson was speaking at Columbia University where he said: 'I'm here today joining my colleagues and calling on President [Minouche] Shafik to resign if she cannot immediately bring order to this chaos.'Protests have been taking place at several US universities, where some students have set up tents. Police have responded to some of the demonstrations with force, detaining students and dismantling their camps

This live blog is now closed. For the latest on Arizona's harsh abortion ban, you can read our full report:

Testing of pasteurised milk from stores found genetic traces of H5N1 virus, but fragments do not indicate it contains live virusDairy cows being moved across states must be tested for the bird flu, under a federal order issued on Wednesday aimed at containing the spread of the virus across US cattle farms.The clampdown comes after testing of pasteurised milk from grocery store shelves found genetic traces of the H5N1 virus. Health officials said that these fragments of virus do not indicate that the milk contains live virus and that they have seen nothing that would change our assessment" that the supply is safe. Continue reading...

Tributes paid to progressive Democrat who succeeded his father in Congress in 2012 - a steadfast champion for the people'Donald Payne Jr, a US congressman from New Jersey, died on Wednesday, more than two weeks after a heart attack. He was 65.Phil Murphy, the governor of New Jersey, paid tribute to his fellow Democrat, whom he called a friend and steadfast champion for the people" of his state. Continue reading...

Federal Emtala law has become focal point in heated debate over emergency abortions in states that ban procedureFor the second time in a month, the US supreme court on Wednesday heard arguments in a major abortion-rights case, the second to reach the justices since they overturned Roe v Wade two years ago.Wednesday's case involves a 1986 federal law called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, or Emtala, which requires hospitals that receive federal dollars to stabilize the health of patients who show up at their emergency rooms with medical emergencies. The Biden administration has sued the state of Idaho, arguing that its ban clashes with Emtala because Idaho only permits abortions in medical emergencies if a woman's life is at risk - a higher threshold than Emtala. Continue reading...

A New York court has heard how the tabloid deployed a practice known as catch and kill' to aid Trump in 2016

President says legislation is going to make the world safer' after months of congressional gridlock threatened support for KyivJoe Biden has signed into law a bill that rushes $95bn in foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, a bipartisan legislative victory he hailed as a good day for world peace" after months of congressional gridlock threatened Washington's support for Kyiv in its fight to repel Russia's invasion.The Senate overwhelmingly passed the measure in a 79 -18 vote late on Tuesday night, after the package won similarly lopsided approval in the Republican controlled House, despite months of resistance from an isolationist bloc of hardline conservatives opposed to helping Ukraine. Continue reading...

Just because we find a political leader ludicrous, that doesn't mean they're not dangerousThere's something I heard that I can't get out of my mind. It's one line in a very long book full of other very good lines. This was the audiobook of Ian Kershaw's seminal biography of Adolf Hitler. It's absorbing, exhaustive, fascinating and alarming in equal measure. But there is this one line that won't leave me alone. I was driving on a bleak day on a country road when I heard it for the first time. I instantly rewound to hear it again, and then again. And then when I got to where I was going I bought the book itself so I could see it as well as hear it. The line torments me still. And since a problem shared is a problem halved - or whatever the expression is - I ask you to bear the burden with me.It comes in a chapter called The Beerhall Agitator, about the absurd-looking little rabble-rouser's activities during the early 1920s. As a kid I always wondered how they could all have been taken in by such an apparently ludicrous man. The awful truth, of course, was that enough people thought him ludicrous for this ludicrous man to be calamitously underestimated. Continue reading...

This seems a better way to say hello than giving a little bow or a wave - but maybe I'm overthinking the whole processI gave up hugging people just before Christmas; I thought it was for the best. I'm in my mid-50s, possibly a bit smelly and live in fear of coming over as a bit creepy. I work with a lot of young people, at least half of them women, who are mostly in their 20s, and it was getting harder and harder to pull off a brotherly hug when the hugs were feeling fatherly or even grandfatherly. Or just, you know, a bit creepy.Several months on, reviewing this first phase of my post-hugging life, I believe I took the right decision. Put it this way: I really can't think of anyone I've met who I've sensed felt short-changed by the absence of a hug from me. I have seen no cloud of disappointment pass over anyone's face. No one seems to be feeling left out, least of all younger women, who, unsurprisingly I suppose - turn out to be decidedly comfortable with a handshake. Continue reading...

Plane maker beat lowered expectations but still burned billions in response to crisis and reported first revenue drop in seven quartersBoeing burned through nearly $4bn in the last quarter as it scrambled to contain a safety crisis unleashed by a mid-flight blowout of a cabin panel on a brand-new 737 Max 9 jet.The US aircraft maker has been left reeling by the incident in January, which raised questions about its bestselling commercial plane, and warnings from a whistleblower about other sections of its production line. Continue reading...

The 54-year-old had heart and kidney failure and didn't qualify for a traditional transplant, so an alternative procedure was devisedDoctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart.Lisa Pisano's combination of heart and kidney failure left her too sick to qualify for a traditional transplant, and out of options. Then doctors at NYU Langone Health devised a novel one-two punch: implant a mechanical pump to keep her heart beating and days later transplant a kidney from a genetically modified pig. Continue reading...

Donald Trump is the first former president to face criminal charges. Here's what you need to know about the New York case Continue reading...

We don't need or want the false idol of Zionism. We want freedom from the project that commits genocide in our nameI've been thinking about Moses, and his rage when he came down from the mount to find the Israelites worshiping a golden calf.The ecofeminist in me was always uneasy about this story: what kind of God is jealous of animals? What kind of God wants to hoard all the sacredness of the Earth for himself? Continue reading...

The latest MLS franchise is owned by the Right to Dream academy. They plan to use a model inspired by LeBron James to carve out a new path in US soccerMajor League Soccer will integrate its 30th club at the beginning of the 2025 season when expansion side San Diego FC joins the Western Conference.But the league's latest addition will arrive with a model for on-field success, development and business unlike the other 29 teams. Continue reading...

The league's annual circus will descend on Detroit this week. We look back on some of the draft's oddest and infamous momentsTeams spend years plotting their draft strategy. But once the clock starts ticking, things do not always go as planned. Continue reading...

Some of America's most prestigious universities have been rocked by demonstrations as students take over quads and disrupt campus activities, protesting over the war and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza Continue reading...

Long-stalled bill reaches Joe Biden's desk. Plus, Donald Trump's criminal trial hears testimony from David Pecker

Hundreds of Jewish anti-war demonstrators have been arrested during a Passover seder that doubled as a protest in New York. Protesters shut down a major thoroughfare to pray for a ceasefire and urge the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, to end military aid to Israel, close to his Brooklyn home. About 300 arrests took place at Grand Army Plaza, where thousands of mostly Jewish New Yorkers gathered for the seder, a ritual that marked the second night of the holiday celebrated as a festival of freedom by Jews worldwide. The seder came just before the US Senate resoundingly passed a military package that includes $26bn for Israel

Citizen's initiative' aims to put abortion rights in the state's constitution and repeal a long-dormant outright banAs people streamed into the empanada restaurant, Susan Anthony made eye contact, pointing to her sign that asked whether they were pro-choice.Have you signed yet?" she asked patrons at the establishment in Mesa, Arizona. She carried a clipboard with petition sheets for a citizen's initiative, a ballot measure that would put the right to abortion access in the swing state's constitution. Continue reading...

A conviction would prove, once and for all, that Trump is not the normal politician that many in the media act like he isDonald Trump, who once bragged that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose any voters, has gotten away for years with unimaginable amounts of malfeasance.He grifted and insulted and lied his way into the White House, embarrassed the nation while president, refused to accept his defeat to Joe Biden in 2020 and then incited a riot at the US Capitol as he tried to overturn the election.Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

I thought finding Karma - yes, that is the cat's name - would make me beloved and cherished by my neighbourhood. Unfortunately, not so muchA couple of weeks ago I went to go see a woman about a cat. The woman was my neighbour (we'll call her L) and she had lost her tabby, Karma. (That's the cat's name - I'm not saying L had it coming.) Karma had been gone for weeks and her family was distraught. The entire neighbourhood had been trying, without luck, to look for her.And then, one day, when I was looking out of the window, I saw Karma peeking out from the dilapidated shed at the bottom of my garden, just a couple of doors down from her official home. I was thrilled. Not just because I'd get to reunite the pet with her family but - rather more selfishly - I thought this might elevate me to local hero" status in my Philadelphia neighbourhood. Continue reading...

A new biography offering an unflinching look at Major League Baseball's all-time hit king has ignited fresh debates as the latest gambling scandal to affect the sport unfoldsOn the field, Pete Rose racked up hit after hit. Off the field, he racked up gambling debts. While persistence at the plate would reward him with baseball's all-time hits record, his gambling resulted in a stiff punishment - a lifetime ban from Major League Baseball, and eventually from the Hall of Fame. A new book revisits this dramatic narrative - Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball, by veteran journalist Keith O'Brien.I feel like in the last 35 years since Pete Rose has been banned from baseball, and made mistake after mistake off the field, we forgot why we ever cared about him in the first place," O'Brien says. The first thing I wanted to do was go back to that whole story, the whole arc." Continue reading...

I'm one of the 2.5 million users of Slovene - and English and German speakers would do well to be curious about usA couple of years ago, I received an invitation from a German cultural institution to present my debut short story collection, which was translated into German that year. The terms and conditions were generous: we pay you (a lot, as far as I was concerned), we host you for as long as you wish (I decided on three nights), we will arrange a host who loves your book - and if you need anything else, do tell us!There was one diplomatically laid out request, however. The producers wanted me to speak German at the event. They heard me speak it fluently in a video interview and figured I could easily do it again. As a rookie, and the greenest author to have ever walked the Earth, I swallowed my anxiety and agreed to it. I kindly asked them to send me the host's questions in advance, so I could prepare for this premiere of mine. I didn't mention that I'd never spoken German in front of a live audience, nor that I intended to translate my answers from Slovene to German and learn them by heart. I had done that for the video interview as well. I wasn't only industrious, you see, I also had an excellent memory.Ana Schnabl is a Slovenian novelist, editor and critic Continue reading...

On Tuesday the senate passed the long awaited foreign aid bill for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-PacificA sweeping foreign aid package overwhelmingly passed the US Congress late on Tuesday after months of delay.The Senate voted 79 to 18 to approve four bills passed by the House of Representatives on Saturday that would guarantee $95bn in mostly military aid for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and US partners in the Indo-Pacific. Continue reading...

Longtime, legendary pastor of San Francisco's Glide Memorial church was advocate for civil rights and social justiceReverend Cecil Williams, the longtime head of a church that grew to international fame for being a safe haven for San Francisco's most marginalized citizens, has passed away. He was 94 years old. He, alongside his wife and poet Janice Mirikitani, transformed Glide memorial church into an institution built on love and support for the city's queer community and those struggling with homelessness and drug addiction. Mirikitani passed away in 2021 at 80.Williams died Monday at his home in San Francisco surrounded by friends and family, Glide said in a statement. A cause of death was not given. Continue reading...

The significant victory for the Squad' member comes amid concerns of pro-Israel funding targeting pro-ceasefire candidatesSummer Lee, a Pennsylvania congresswoman, easily beat back a primary challenge on Tuesday, delivering progressives one of their most significant victories yet of this election cycle as they brace for a wave of pro-Israel funding targeting pro-ceasefire candidates.The Associated Press called the 12th district Democratic primary at 9.21pm, roughly an hour and an half after Pennsylvania polls closed at 8pm ET. Continue reading...

Nikki Haley got 21% despite not being on the ballot, indicating level of Republican discontent with TrumpJoe Biden and Donald Trump both won their primaries in Pennsylvania shortly after polls closed.Pennsylvanians had gone to the polls on Tuesday to cast ballots in the state's primary races - the results provide a window into where voters in the crucial battleground stand roughly six months out from the general election. Continue reading...

The Senate, in a bipartisan super-majority, overwhelmingly voted to advance the measure, which Joe Biden is expected to signThe US Senate voted resoundingly on Tuesday to approve $95bn in aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as a bipartisan super-majority united to send the long-stalled package to Joe Biden's desk for signature. The final vote was 79 to 18.The bill easily cleared a key procedural hurdle earlier in the day. The Senate overwhelmingly voted to advance the measure in a step hailed by the majority leader as one of the greatest achievements the Senate has faced in years". Continue reading...

Two people were onboard Douglas DC-4 that went down near Fairbanks on Tuesday, authorities sayA Douglas DC-4 airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday and burst into flames, authorities said. No survivors have been found, Alaska state troopers said.The plane took off in the morning from Fairbanks international airport. It crashed about 7 miles (11km) from there and slid into a steep hill on the bank of the river where it caught fire," according to Alaska state troopers. Continue reading...

Retired Lawrence Hecker, 92, charged in New Orleans, has memory loss and should be re-evaluated at later date, report findsA 92-year-old retired Catholic priest charged with strangling a teenager and raping him in a New Orleans church in 1975 has short-term memory loss that prevents him from assisting in his defense, according to a team of forensic psychiatrists whose findings could influence whether one of Louisiana's most prominent cases of clergy abuse is ever tried.In a report which has not been publicly released but was reviewed Tuesday by WWL Louisiana and the Guardian, the psychiatrists said the priest - Lawrence Hecker - should not be tried for now on rape, kidnapping, crimes against nature and theft charges until he is re-evaluated later. Continue reading...

David Pecker testifies about meeting with Trump and Michael Cohen in 2015 to discuss how he could help presidential campaign

Letter from 25 senators including Mitch McConnell says president must act immediately to restore order' on university campusesSenior Republican US senators on Tuesday waded into growing tensions at leading universities over the Israel-Gaza war, demanding the Biden administration send in federal law enforcement officers to curb pro-Palestinian protests that have led to hundreds of arrests.Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, and John Thune, his deputy, wrote to Merrick Garland, the US attorney general, and Miguel Cardona, the education secretary, calling demonstrators antisemitic, pro-terrorist mobs". Continue reading...

Archaeologist says cherries can provide us with valuable insight and perspective into 18th-century lives'Archaeologists discovered centuries-old cherries surprisingly well-preserved inside two glass bottles stashed in George Washington's historic Virginia home.They found the bottles during excavations as part of a major revitalization of the first US president's mansion, known as Mount Vernon, the Washington Post reported. Continue reading...

FTC votes to ban measures which bar workers from jumping to or starting competing companies for a prescribed period of timeUS companies would no longer be able to bar employees from taking jobs with competitors under a rule approved by a federal agency on Tuesday, though the rule is sure to be challenged in court.The Federal Trade Commission voted to ban measures known as noncompete agreements, which bar workers from jumping to or starting competing companies for a prescribed period of time. According to the FTC, 30 million people - roughly one in five workers - are now subject to such restrictions. Continue reading...

Judge admonishes ex-president's lawyer, and first witness confirms Trump enlisted National Enquirer for 2016 campaignDonald Trump watched the judge presiding in his New York criminal trial dramatically admonish his lead lawyer and hear the prosecution's first witness confirm that Trump specifically enlisted the help of the National Enquirer tabloid to kill negative stories that could derail his 2016 campaign.Here are the key takeaways from Tuesday's proceedings in People of the State of New York vs Donald J Trump. Continue reading...

The longtime chief executive of AMI, which owns the National Enquirer, has a long history with the ex-president

From Kanye West to Chris Pratt, the celebrity approach to housing is more out of touch than everLooking for a bargain beach house? Then you're in luck. Kanye West has just lowered the price on his minimalist mansion in Malibu, California, to a mere $39m (31.5m) - a $14m discount on its original listing price. There is a catch though: the house has no windows, doors, electricity, plumbing or interior finishes. It's completely uninhabitable, unless you happen to be a gull.The sparseness isn't a deliberate design choice - though you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. West, who also goes by the name Ye, is after all a man who opened up a lawsuit-magnet of a private school in Los Angeles called Donda Academy which, according to court filings, had empty windows because the musician doesn't like glass". Ye is, to put it in the politest terms possible, an individual with eccentric tastes. Continue reading...