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Obama hails Frank as a one of a kind' LGBTQ+ advocate and key architect of sweeping financial reforms'

Conflict and aid cuts are hampering the fight against an outbreak of the deadly virus centred in the Democratic Republic of the CongoThe Democratic Republic of the Congo has faced the deadly threat of Ebola 16 times since the virus was discovered there in 1976, with a 2018-20 outbreak killing almost 2,300 people. On Sunday, the World Health Organization declared the 17th outbreak to be a public health emergency of international concern. So far, 139 suspected deaths and almost 600 suspected cases of the haemorrhagic fever virus have been identified, nearly all in the DRC's north-eastern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, with two cases in Uganda of people who had travelled from the DRC.There is also anxiety about neighbouring South Sudan. The WHO fears the disease has been spreading for a couple of months and, given the highly mobile population, warns that it could take months more to bring it under control. While it judges the risk of global spread to be low, it thinks the regional risk is high.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here Continue reading...

Watchdog group glued trackers to 53 of the chain's cups across nine states and found none ended up at a recycling facilityIf you attach a GPS tracker to a widely recyclable" plastic Starbucks cup and drop it in an in-store recycling bin, you might expect it to end up in a recycling plant, but the environmental watchdog organization Beyond Plastics says that's not the case in a new report.Starbucks announced that their plastic cups were now considered widely recyclable" earlier this year, according to How2Recycle, a group affiliated with the consumer packaging industry that helps private companies label their packaging with recycling options. The coffee giant touted the achievement as a big milestone, with huge impact". Continue reading...

Retired Capitol police officer and DC officer allege Trump's $1.8bn fund unlawfully rewards January 6 rioters and allies

Tight primary in Philadelphia district, seen as key test of Mamdani moment' across US, bolsters Democrats' left flank

Philadelphia, Kansas City and Atlanta are among the hosts showing that price-gouging at this summer's tournament is, ultimately, a choice

How tough is the move from college football? We asked three players drafted by the New York Jets in the first roundBy No Helmets RequiredAfter a dismal 2025, the future is looking a little brighter for the New York Jets. They selected Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey second in the 2026 draft and had two more first-round draft picks - Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq (No 16) and wide receiver Omar Cooper, from national champions Indiana, who they chose at No 30. We spoke to the trio during their first week at 1 Jets Drive.What have been the biggest surprises about your first week in the NFL? Continue reading...

Flash flood warnings and school closures in Texas as the US north-east breaks heat records before a dramatic cooldownHundreds of flight cancellations have been reported in Texas as storms roll over the state, leading to flash flood warnings and school closures, while punishingly high temperatures in the north-east break records before a dramatic cool-down.Nearly 150 flights were canceled or delayed at Dallas Fort Worth international airport on Wednesday and nearly 700 delayed on Tuesday, according to Flightaware. The FAA issued a ground stop in Dallas and Love Field. Continue reading...

Billionaire philanthropist's Open Society Foundations has worked to advance justice and human rights around worldFor decades, the Open Society Foundations have worked to advance justice and human rights in Africa, the Middle East and trouble spots around the world. But the OSF's latest major investment is aimed at a crisis closer to home.On Tuesday, the organisation, founded by the billionaire philanthropist George Soros and headquartered in New York, announced a $300m spend aimed at boosting economic security and defending civil liberties in the US. Continue reading...

US president, like a cult leader whose commune keeps getting smaller, commands fierce loyalty from a shrinking baseThomas Massie caught in a throuple!" screamed the AI-generated attack ad that showed the Republican congressman supposedly dining with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar then checking into a hotel with the two progressives. Thomas Massie betrayed President Trump!" it added.Crude but effective, as it turns out. Massie, from northern Kentucky, lost the most expensive House of Representatives primary election in history on Tuesday to Ed Gallrein, a farmer and former US Navy Seal backed by Donald Trump. Continue reading...

Keisha Lance Bottoms wins Democratic primary outright, while Republicans Burt Jones and Rick Jackson will face offThe Republican primary campaign for Georgia governor will go to a June runoff, with the lieutenant governor Burt Jones facing off against healthcare billionaire and political newcomer Rick Jackson - and locking out Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of state and longtime political enemy of Donald Trump who was on track to finish a distant third.Jackson, a political newcomer who was relatively unknown in the state, upended the contest by pouring nearly $50mn of his own money into campaign advertising. Republican candidates spent more than $100m in total, according to tracking figures from AdImpact. Jones, who has been endorsed by Trump, and Jackson will continue their showdown on 16 June, which has soaked up almost all of the available advertising inventory on Georgia television. Continue reading...

Seven-term incumbent had spoken out against Iran war, government spending and Jeffrey Epstein files. Plus, Trump's board of peace' receives just $23m to rebuild Gaza

A New York exhibit of more than 3,000 volumes bills itself as an exercise in radical transparency' - and a bid for attentionThis February, a story broke that seemed like it might finally be the one. Reporters at NPR had noticed that there were pages missing from the enormous tranche of Epstein files released by the Department of Justice. Further reporting revealed that the files in question were 2019 FBI interviews with a woman who claimed to have been sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump when she was a minor. The justice department had no good explanation for why the documents had been withheld. Trump issued blanket denials.It was all starting to feel like a good old-fashioned something-gate, the kind of scandal that might even bring down a presidency. But then, as with so many other stories in the era of Trump, its spark was subsumed by a new fire. On 28 February, Trump launched an unprovoked and likely illegal war against Iran, and the Epstein files were once again pushed off the front pages. Continue reading...

The justice department's lawsuit is part of a federal effort to reframe AI consumer protections as ideological overreachThis April, the US Department of Justice joined Elon Musk's xAI in suing the state of Colorado to kill its AI anti-discrimination law.When the federal government sides with a billionaire against a state trying to protect its residents from AI discrimination, that's not only a Colorado story. That's everyone's story.Dr Genevieve Smith is a postdoctoral research fellow at Stanford University, founder of the Responsible AI Initiative at the UC Berkeley AI Research Lab and a member of professional faculty at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business Continue reading...

Some Christian conservatives are only eating foods mentioned in the Bible. At least Jesus wasn't devouring ultra-processed sausage rolls ...It looks like all the raw milk Conservatives have been chugging may have curdled some of their brains. Some very odd wellness ideas, many of them Maga-adjacent, have been popping up in the US lately. Vaccines are evil! Testicle tanning will boost testosterone! According to health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, seed oils are unknowingly poisoning Americans! Beef tallow will make your skin glow!The latest unorthodox theory to gain a cult-like following? Biblical eating. This is a somewhat fuzzy concept that tends to focus on eating foods mentioned in the Bible. While the idea isn't new, it has been resurrected. A recent New York Times piece notes that it has had a resurgence in recent months".Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

The streamer has given us a broadcast so powerfully isolating it effectively anticipates sport's viewerless futureGame 7 in the NBA playoffs: a chance to kick back, enjoy the drama of a winner-takes-all shootout between basketball's big beasts, and ... switch over from your regular TV provider to Amazon Prime? The excitement drains from the occasion at the first touch of the remote. Amazon no doubt imagined it had landed a real coup when the Eastern Conference semi-final series between Detroit and Cleveland extended to its maximum length, thereby handing the retail giant's streaming arm, Prime Video, the right to air a Game 7 in the first season of its partnership with the NBA. In the event, Sunday's game was a dud: a blowout win for the Cavs, playing on the road, that had all the electricity and charm of a stint in the doctor's waiting room. Fortunately for viewers, Prime Video did its best to match the moment by producing a broadcast that was every bit as dull and juiceless as events on the court.The pre-tipoff highlight was an interview with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, on the occasion of his coronation as this season's MVP, in which the Oklahoma City star appeared to be speaking from a movie theater for some reason. Blake Griffin, the house beefcake on Prime Video's studio set, chided ESPN insider Shams Charania for leaking this year's MVP announcement hours earlier: It's Sunday, Shams - go to brunch, you nerd." If Hillary had won and Shams had kept his trap shut, we'd all be at brunch! The game got under way, and things did not improve. During the half-time show, Dirk Nowitzki rambled Germanly about various topics, while fellow former MVP Steve Nash delivered lines like That decisiveness in isolation is so important" with all the conviction of a hostage recording a ransom video. Host Taylor Rooks tried valiantly to compensate for the lack of chemistry on set by laughing at even the slightest hint of a joke from any of her panellists. Awkward laughter delivered over dead air on a platform it feels like a punishment to access: that's the Prime Video NBA playoffs guarantee. Continue reading...

Ron Shinnick did not mention the firing of the Cohutta police force, which was later rehired, in resignation letterThe mayor of a small town in the US state of Georgia has resigned shortly after firing his community's entire police department, a step that the local governing council ultimately reversed - but that he nonetheless took amid a political spat pitting him and his wife against members of the force.In a 15 May resignation letter that the Guardian reviewed, Ron Shinnick avoided mentioning his attempted termination of the Cohutta police department, word of which gained international media attention. The letter instead said Shinnick had opted to vacate the mayoral post he had held since 2014 due to health concerns" faced by family members outside Cohutta. Continue reading...

We look at what Celtic's title win means for Scottish soccer, Argentina's World Cup plans and the prospect of a Premier League without Pep GuardiolaSir Alex Ferguson may have him beat for longevity and number of titles. Arsene Wenger can take some credit for English soccer's modernization in the 1990s, but Pep Guardiola completely changed the landscape in his decade as Manchester City manager. Continue reading...

Firearms used by shooters, aged 17 and 18, in fatal rampage were registered to one of their parentsThe two teenage assailants responsible for a mass shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, California, rushed toward the mosque fully armored" with handguns and rifles, authorities said.A security guard shot and struck one of the shooters, according to members of the mosque, but the attacker continued charging. The guard, Amin Abdullah, alerted administrators of the school at the Islamic Center, telling them to go into lockdown, before he was shot and killed. If it was not for him ... the carnage would be much worse," said the imam, Taha Hassane. He sacrificed his life." Continue reading...

Thomas Massie, who repeatedly broke with Trump, lost to retired Navy Seal Ed Gallrein who was recruited into the race by the president. Key US politics stories from Tuesday 19 May at a glanceDonald Trump displayed his supremacy over the Republican party on Tuesday when voters in northern Kentucky rejected the maverick congressman Thomas Massie in favour of the US president's hand-picked challenger.Ed Gallrein, a retired Navy Seal and farmer who was recruited into the race by Trump, defeated the seven-term incumbent in a primary election in Kentucky's fourth congressional district, in what the president's allies framed as a test of whether dissent could still exist inside today's Republican party. Continue reading...

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In biggest primary night so far this year, Democrats and Republicans vied for candidacy in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Alabama, Oregon and Idaho

Democrats see four districts as essential in midterms bid to retake House as 16 representatives seek re-election

Altadena group pans report as pages of deflection' and cites reliance on department insiders' rather than residentsLos Angeles county fire officials did not discriminate on the basis of race or socioeconomic status and did not delay in their evacuation orders during last year's deadly Eaton fire in Altadena, a consulting firm found on Monday.At the behest of the county and its fire department, the California-based firm Citygate Associates conducted an investigation into how evacuation alerts were deployed last January, after emergency response officials came under fierce scrutiny for reported delays. Continue reading...

Hundreds of firefighters continue to battle the wind-driven fire in the Simi Valley area as at least one home is destroyedMore than 17,000 people were under evacuation orders in southern California on Tuesday as a wildfire threatened suburban homes.The wind-driven Sandy fire was reported on Monday in the hills above Simi Valley, about 30 miles (48km) north-west of Los Angeles. Continue reading...

Republican defeated in primary says backing Trump's conviction may have cost me my seat, but who cares?'Returning to the US Capitol after a stinging primary re-election loss, Bill Cassidy, a Republican senator of Louisiana, said he had no regrets about his momentous" vote to convict Donald Trump on 2021 impeachment charges during his first presidency.I voted to uphold the constitution. It may have cost me my seat, but who cares?" Cassidy told reporters in the Capitol. I had the privilege of voting to uphold the constitution - isn't that a great thing?" Continue reading...

President says $400m building costs to be funded by private donors, but has asked for taxpayers to cover security costsShouting over the banging and clanging sounds from heavy construction equipment, Donald Trump on Tuesday gave a group of reporters a closer look at the construction for the White House ballroom he's building on the site of the former East Wing to mount a defense of the project that has hit a speed bump in Congress.The administration has asked for $1bn from taxpayers for security additions on the White House campus, including for the ballroom. But the Senate parliamentarian ruled the proposal could not be included in a bill to fund immigrant enforcement agencies for three years, and several Republican lawmakers have balked at the price tag in an election year where voters are grappling with gasoline, grocery and other prices spurred to new heights by the Iran war and the disruption in oil supplies. Continue reading...

Chamber advances bill for first time as four Republicans join all but one of Senate's Democrats in favorThe Senate voted on Tuesday to advance a war powers resolution aimed at forcing Donald Trump to end the war in Iran unless he receives congressional authorization to continue it.Tuesday's 50-47 vote marks the first time the chamber has advanced the bill, the eighth attempt at doing so since the conflict began in February. Continue reading...

Family seeks answers after incident at uncovered maintenance hole near Cartier building late at night

Addendum quietly slipped into widely criticized agreement creating a $1.7bn fund to compensate president's alliesThe justice department quietly added a provision barring the IRS from auditing Donald Trump's tax returns on Tuesday, amending a widely criticized agreement that creates a secretive and loosely controlled $1.776bn fund to compensate allies of the president.The addendum, signed by Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, says the government is forever barred" and precluded" from examining the tax returns of Trump, his family, company and related companies". The agreement applies to anything filed before the agreement was reached. It was posted on the justice department website on Tuesday morning, a day after the department announced creation of the fund. Continue reading...

There is no shortage of entertainers in Carlo Ancelotti's picks for this summer's tournament. They'll also need a solid base if they are to win a sixth titleIn their attacking heyday, Brazil never struggled to find a winning complement in defence. Individual attacking brilliance only comes off if others nearby are doing the hard yards; for every Ronaldinho, there is a Roque Junior.The current generation doesn't lack entertainers. Of Carlo Ancelotti's 26-man squad for the World Cup, which was announced on Monday, nine players are listed as attackers, a high number for most squads, with nine defenders left to sweat their responsibilities whenever possession changes hands. Continue reading...

US secretary of state says WHO was a little late' in identifying deadly Ebola outbreak in the DRC and UgandaUS secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that the World Health Organization (WHO) was a little late" in identifying the deadly Ebola outbreak in the the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.On Tuesday, Rubio told reporters: The lead is obviously going to be CDC (the Centers for Disease Control) and the World Health Organization, which was a little late to identify this thing unfortunately." Continue reading...

Acting US attorney general made comments about the Epstein associate at a Senate hearing over budget requests

New information surfaced at hearing into the November 2025 UPS freight plane crash in Louisville

Renewed threat comes after US president said he was an hour away' from ordering a strike before pulling back

Eight states have moved to draw new maps after supreme court ruling that severely weakened the Voting Rights ActThe NAACP on Tuesday launched a campaign urging Black athletes, their families, alumni and fans to boycott athletic programs of public universities in states that have moved to limit, weaken or erase Black voting representation".In the announcement of the Out of Bounds" campaign, the civil rights giant name-checked eight states - Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Georgia - whose flagship public athletic programs generate more than $100m in annual revenue. Each of those states has moved to draw new maps to limit Black voting representation, following the supreme court's Louisiana v Callais decision severely weakening the Voting Rights Act. Continue reading...

Force says two women have come forward alleging they were victims of attacks detailed in Epstein filesSurrey police have launched a criminal investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse after two women came forward to say they were the victims of attacks in Britain detailed in the Epstein files.The force said the claims dated back to the 1980s and 1990s, with one in Surrey and allegations concerning Berkshire understood to relate to the Windsor estate. Continue reading...

US president calls Paxton an America First Patriot' and MAGA Warrior' ahead of runoff against John Cornyn

Liberal justice warned court could be seen as political after recent decisions backed by conservative supermajority

Friends, family and strangers are reeling after latest mass shooting, an attack being investigated as hate crimeMaya, 13, stood just beyond the yellow police tape, watching as waves of heavily armed police officers locked down the area around the mosque. Hours before, three people had been shot and killed at the Islamic Center of San Diego: the largest mosque in the county, and an important neighborhood gathering spot and place of worship for Maya's family and many others.The seventh-grader, whose mother gave her permission to speak to the media, tapped her nails nervously against her phone. Her teeth chattered in the 70-degree California heat. The gravity of the situation was beginning to sink in in real time, as more people gathered at the scene. Continue reading...

Officials will determine if standard process was followed before lethal strikes in Caribbean and eastern Pacific

Former first lady delivered veiled but sharp remarks on US politics during speaking tour that began in MelbourneIt was a curious question: who was going to pay $895 (US$640, 476) to see Michelle Obama speak at 12.30pm on a Tuesday in Melbourne? While she is an indisputably excellent public speaker, the ticket prices for Obama's first-ever speaking event in Australia raised a few eyebrows, ranging from the $895 platinum" package (which promised a priority seat, an exclusive" brunch, and a commemorative lanyard and tote bag") to the cheapest seats at $195 a pop.A sign that expectations may have been bigger than our wallets in a cost-of-living crisis: two weeks ago, my cheap" seat at the back was suddenly upgraded to a much better spot due to a recent change in production requirements" that was left unexplained. Another: the visibly empty patches at the front of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Continue reading...

Karim Khan is wrong to say he has been exonerated of sexual misconduct. The case must proceed swiftlyThe international criminal court's chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, has been on an exoneration tour, with stops including an interview with Mehdi Hasan and an appearance at the Oxford Union. Accused by a lawyer in his office of repeated sexual misconduct, which he denies, he claims that an internal review of the allegations has vindicated him but the situation is more complex than that.It has been a year since Khan took a leave of absence while the claims against him were investigated as an internal employment matter. That absence has left the ICC under the control of his deputies, with important decisions to be taken in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and elsewhere. Yet the ICC member states, which have ultimate authority over whether Khan stays or goes, have dawdled, acting as if they had all the time in the world. And the procedure that they relied on to resolve the matter turned out to be a travesty.Kenneth Roth is a Guardian US columnist, visiting professor at Princeton's School of Public and International Affairs, and former executive director of Human Rights Watch. He is the author of Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments. Before joining Human Rights Watch, he served as a federal prosecutor in New York and Washington Continue reading...

Odai Shanah details being among the children forced to huddle in a classroom during attack at the Islamic CenterA nine-year-old boy has described witnessing Monday's deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, saying that he saw bad stuff" and huddled in closet during the attack.Odai Shanah, whose mother emigrated from war-torn Gaza and settled in southern California two decades ago, told Reuters that he heard a barrage of gunshots coming from outside the walls of the mosque complex, which also houses an Islamic day school. Continue reading...