Victims of those killed in September 11 attacks honored at memorials across the USA generation of spies had lost an enemy but not yet found a role. Then came 9/11.A decade after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, al-Qaida's devastating attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001 announced to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that the long era of battling communism, for which it had been founded, was officially at an end. Continue reading...
Commemoration ceremonies to be held around the world for the nearly 3,000 killed in 2001 terror attack on US. Plus, JD Vance sets out his stall as heir to Donald TrumpGood morning. It is a sombre day for the nation as people gather to mourn and remember the nearly 3,000 victims of the attacks on September 11 2001, when 19 al-Qaida hijackers seized control of four airliners, slamming two of the planes into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and the fourth into a field in western Pennsylvania.We have comprehensive coverage of the anniversary, which will be marked by ceremonies around the world. There are stories of the day from people who were there. Stanley Praimnath and Brian Clark were two of only four individuals known to have survived above the impact zone in the south tower, and they spoke to our Washington bureau chief David Smith. Anna Sweeney Rossman was five when her mother, Amy Sweeney, a flight attendant, was killed onboard American Airlines flight 11, and she spoke to Ramon Antonio Vargas about how the events of that day have cast a shadow on her life.Donald Trump's promise of a $5,000 Trump dividend" for every US citizen if Republicans retain control of the US Congress in November's midterm elections has sparked incredulity and accusations of bribery.With his approval rating at a historic low, Trump brought down the curtain on the Republicans' first ever midterm convention by pleading with supporters to do him the biggest favor" and pretend" they are voting for him in November's US elections.JD Vance, meanwhile, made a clear pitch that he should be the heir to Trump with a blistering speech that featured exaggerated claims of success, criticism of the Democrats as lunatics" and an aggressive dismissal of a protester waving a Mexican flag.A US appeals court has rejected Trump's attempt to impose sweeping restrictions on mail-in voting before November's high-stakes midterm elections, dealing a fresh blow to the president's attempted crackdown.Anthropic has detailed efforts by bad actors to misuse its AI for the production of bioweapons. More researchers and staff members at the AI startup have posted their own dire warnings about the safety of the technology, but Elon Musk called the chorus of concerns a setup" and a psyop".California has adopted what Gavin Newsom described as nation-leading" legislation that bans addictive social media features for young users, regulates companion chatbots and implements new safeguards around AI.Sales of previously occupied US homes declined in August to their slowest annual pace in more than a year as home shoppers grappled with rising mortgage rates and home prices. Continue reading...
The president's chaotic schemes of aggrandizement, from Venezuela to Iran, have no larger rationaleTrumpism is the lowest stage of imperialism. We're not going to invade Greenland. We're going to buy it," Donald Trump reportedly told the annual black-tie dinner on 1 February of the private Alfalfa Club, an assemblage of prominent Washington figures, a number of whom he had publicly humiliated, and others he was investigating or suing. It's never been my intention to make Greenland the 51st state. I want to make Canada the 51st state. Greenland will be the 52nd state. Venezuela can be 53rd." The room greeted several of his remarks with dead silence. His cosplay as the Pirate King was not received as a good-humored takeoff from a Gilbert and Sullivan opera. He went on. So many people in the room I hate," he said in a display of honesty. Most of you I like," he claimed. Then, at his peak euphoria, he flew off to Mar-a-Lago to plan his attack on Iran, which took place 27 days later.Trump's imperialism of piracy and plunder is less of a system even than that of the earliest imperialism of 17th century privateers raiding the Spanish Main, the divine right of kings, and monarchs dividing up the spoils as favors to create their lords and earls. His schemes of aggrandizement operating by threat and force are justified by no larger rationale, nothing as exalted as the white man's burden", marauding wherever and however he can to seize resources. Continue reading...
Anti-Muslim sentiment is used as a political weapon. Meanwhile, Muslim American leaders are making a difference for allIt's been 25 years since the terrorist attacks of September 11, and during this time Muslim Americans have learned how to live in that dangerous space between other Americans' fears and their ignorance.The fear was clear from the beginning. Immediately following 9/11, Muslim Americans faced what Human Rights Watch called a severe wave of backlash violence". A tide of hate rose up against ordinary Muslims and those who appeared to be Muslim, including at least three murders in the immediate backlash after the attacks. The federal government, for its part, began targeting Muslim immigrants in a massive surge of repression that legal experts soon compared with the Palmer Raids of the 1920s. Continue reading...
Paul Roberts, who was employed by UPS for 44 years, was working at a customer care center when he was struckA longtime United Parcel Service (UPS) employee less than two weeks away from retiring was struck and killed by one of the company's vehicles while he was at work in St Louis, triggering a federal labor investigation along with an intense outpouring of grief from his family and colleagues.Paul Roberts, 63, was on duty at the UPS customer care center in Earth City, Missouri, on the night of 4 September when a company vehicle hit him, authorities said. Continue reading...
The US manager's relationship with the international job has changed with a full World Cup cycle beginningI hope, in this lifetime, you find someone who loves you the way Mauricio Pochettino loves Tottenham Hotspur. The grip Spurs have on his heart seems the stuff of a literary classic: his imperfect partner who called things off at the first sign of trouble must merely check in on him occasionally to rekindle hopes of a reunion.Perhaps a bit extreme, but this week's revelation - that he'd return to Tottenham even if they were relegated and chalking his absence up to imperfect timing, not the part about handing the club a decade-old title - has implicity laid out the terms of his return as United States manager. Others may always have interest in his services, and a certain North London suitor will never get the door slammed in their face outright. Continue reading...
Rugby's Greatest Rivalry' will culminate on US soil on Saturday, a staging post on the road to America hosting the World Cup in 2031When New Zealand and South Africa kick off at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Saturday, there will be more at stake than victory in Rugby's Greatest Rivalry", the four-Test series the Springboks lead 2-1. For World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin, the game is a key staging post on the road to the 2031 World Cup, which the US will host - a journey that could include Six Nations games on American soil.We've been in a long process with venues and cities, over the last two years," Gilpin said, of the build to World Cup kick-off. We've still got 25-plus cities involved in that process, which is fantastic in terms of engagement and enthusiasm. Continue reading...
by Andrew Lawrence at Flushing Meadows on (#78AJQ)
Five-set matches are physically punishing, occasionally absurd and increasingly under threat. They also produce much of what makes grand slam tennis greatTuesday night's quarter-final match between Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz had everything a US Open spectacle could ask for: huge stakes, knife-edge drama, top-shelf competition and an American hero who comes through in the end. The only fault to find was really the matter of time. The first ball wasn't struck until 11.05 in the evening, and Shelton's clinching ace didn't come until 3.33 in the morning - marking, after a total of 4hr 28min on court, the latest-ending US Open match by a whopping 43 minutes.Somewhat predictably, the discourse among media and fans following the late-night match has swiftly moved on from the USTA's misadventures in scheduling to a referendum on the five-set match and whether it should be put out to pasture. For the record: that would be a colossal unforced error. Continue reading...
The world's most powerful country responded to the worst terrorist attack in its history by inflicting terror of its own - around the world, and at homeAs clear as that cloudless September morning, Jenna Jacobs McPartland remembers the moment everything changed. I was cleaning the bathroom and watching the Today show in the background and nine months pregnant," the 52-year-old recalls by phone. I think they were showing Today throws a wedding' when the news broke in."A plane had hit the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York. McPartland did not know that her husband, Ariel Jacobs, was attending a conference at its Windows on the World restaurant. I called his office to say, Hey, turn on the TV. Do you guys know what's going on?' His assistant said, Oh my God, Jenna, he's there.' The whole world disappeared and there was this sort of hollow collapsing feeling." Continue reading...
The president demonised Democrats in an attempt to wangle votes in midterms despite backlash over Iran warWith his approval rating at a historic low, Donald Trump has brought down the curtain on the Republicans' first ever midterm convention by pleading with supporters to do him the biggest favour" and pretend" they are voting for him in November's US elections.The president is facing a growing backlash over rising prices and the war in Iran. Sweeping losses for the Republican party could effectively turn Trump into a lame duck for his final two years in the White House. Continue reading...
Vice-president dog-whistled, exaggerated claims of success and echoed Trump talking points to excited audienceJD Vance made a clear pitch that he should be the heir to Donald Trump on Thursday night, closing out the Republicans' midterm convention with a blistering speech that featured exaggerated claims of success, criticism of Democrats as lunatics" and an aggressive dismissal of a protester waving a Mexican flag.Speaking in Dallas, the vice-president showed he could channel the basest instincts of his boss, filling his remarks with dog whistles and echoing Trump's false claims that Democrats cheered" the 7 October massacre of Israelis. Continue reading...
The flesh-eating parasite had been largely eradicated, but now authorities are racing to contain an outbreakA horse in southern Texas has been infected with the New World screwworm, marking the first US equine infection as health authorities race to contain an outbreak of the flesh-eating parasite.The pest was discovered on the hind limb of a working ranch horse in Presidio county, according to a statement on Thursday from US Equestrian Foundation. Continue reading...
Median rent for one-bedroom apartment in city tops $4,495 with a national median of $1,900San Francisco's mayor, Daniel Lurie, declared a rent emergency on Thursday, proposing reforms aimed at curbing evictions and preventing rent spikes as the city grapples with soaring apartment prices.The Bay Area city, home to a large number of high-earning tech workers, has long been one of the most expensive housing and rental markets in the country. Continue reading...
Latest decision appears to set the stage for the state to use its old electoral maps this yearThe US supreme court again rejected a push backed by Donald Trump to overhaul Missouri's congressional maps in an effort to hand Republicans an edge in November's midterm elections.Its latest ruling, after days of confusion, comes less than two months before the pivotal midterm elections in which control of the narrowly divided US House of Representatives could be determined by a handful of seats. Continue reading...
More than a dozen ex-players are suing the University of Michigan, alleging coach and staff were aware of abuseMore than a dozen former hockey players are suing the University of Michigan, alleging their coach and other staff were aware of sexual hazing that included the forced shaving of their genitals and other abuse by teammates decades ago.The abuse was ritualized, meticulously planned and sadistic ... Enduring sexual abuse was required to be a member of the Michigan men's ice hockey team," attorney Michael Pitt said in a sex discrimination lawsuit filed on Wednesday in federal court in Detroit. Continue reading...
Kevin Reddington says prosecution did not offer evidence that client's killing of her children constituted murderLindsay Clancy's lawyer on Thursday asked the judge who oversaw the Massachusetts woman's murder trial to declare her not guilty of murder by reason of insanity, saying prosecutors had failed to prove that, despite being mentally ill, she knew killing her three young children would be wrong.Defense attorney Kevin Reddington made the request to Judge William Sullivan six days after the trial ended in a deadlock, and as a fourth member of the 12-member jury went public to describe how a single juror had prevented the panel from reaching a unanimous verdict. Continue reading...
Court declined to put on hold injunction preventing the USPS from tightening rules around postal votingA US appeals court has rejected Donald Trump's attempt to impose sweeping restrictions on mail-in voting before November's high-stakes midterm elections, dealing a fresh blow to the president's attempted crackdown.The Boston-based first US circuit court of appeals declined on Thursday to put on hold an injunction issued by a lower court judge last week, preventing the US Postal Service (USPS) from tightening rules around postal voting. Continue reading...
A man dressed as the Marvel supervillain addressed the Seattle city council on 8 September to champion the expansion of the city's surveillance network Continue reading...
by Tumaini Carayol at Flushing Meadows on (#78A68)
Veteran Frenchman bowed out in New York but the clash of two black players in the last four of the men's singles is testament to his effectThe early days of this year's US Open can be told in a series of farewells to competitors who plan to end their careers this year. The most moving of them all came in the form of Gael Monfils's grand departure inside Louis Armstrong Stadium against the wildly talented 20-year-old Learner Tien. Tien was competing in front of his home crowd, one of the Americans capable of a deep run, but for much of his straight-sets defeat the Frenchman had the American crowd in the palm of his hands.Beyond the massive popularity he has garnered among tennis fans, one of the most striking parts of Monfils's long farewell was seeing how highly nearly all of his fellow professionals, particularly his fellow black players, regard him. Frances Tiafoe says he spent his youth looking up to Monfils. Arthur Fils considers Monfils his older brother. Naomi Osaka's nickname for Monfils, one of her idols, is simply the Goat". They all hold Monfils in such great esteem, and for good reason. Continue reading...
Crude jumps above $107 a barrel amid concerns over Middle East conflict and out-of-control government borrowingNervous investors across big economies have been dumping government bonds, driving up the cost of borrowing, as surging oil prices amplified fears about rising inflation.The cost of a barrel of oil jumped 6% to above $107 on Thursday amid concerns that advances by Houthi rebels along the Red Sea coast in Yemen could choke off Saudi crude exports. Continue reading...
The payments amounted to 30% of each aides' $150,000 annual salaryDonald Trump may have committed serious" ethical violations by giving three officials including his close personal aide Natalie Harp cash gifts of $45,000 each, according to a former White House ethics czar", as a watchdog group called for an investigation.The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the US Office of Government Ethics over the US president's handouts to a handful of staff, arguing that an investigation is clearly warranted". Continue reading...
Surprise appearance by Pennsylvania senator raises fresh questions over loyalty to and future in Democratic partyThe Democratic senator John Fetterman's decision to address the Republican National Committee (RNC) midterm convention via video sparked a furious response from some members of his party.Fetterman's surprise appearance - and praise of his fellow Pennsylvania senator, Republican Dave McCormick - raised fresh questions over his loyalty to, and future inside, the Democratic party. Continue reading...
Twenty-five years later, the Guardian asks US readers how the attacks affected their lives, and their countryAs the United States commemorates the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, in which nearly 3,000 people were killed in New York City, Washington DC and Pennsylvania, the Guardian asked American readers to share how the attacks affected their day-to-day lives and the country at large.Many readers shared their feeling of patriotism in the days following the attacks while also highlighting how the government's response to 9/11 expanded government surveillance and fueled Islamophobia in the country. For those who were adults at the time of the attacks, the day marked a cataclysmic shift. For those too young to remember it, it served as the context for the complicated and violent world they grew up in. Continue reading...
by Andrew Lawrence at Flushing Meadows on (#78A0T)
Teo Davidov doesn't hit backhands. He serves from both sides. The 16-year-old from Denver is treating the tennis world to a wildly unorthodox style - and proving it's more than a parlor trickTeo Davidov always has the upper hands. An amiable junior prodigy from Denver, the 16-year-old was the oddest sight at this year's US Open, the only player in the tournament - man, woman or junior - who hits only forehands. To be clear: it's not that he doesn't have a backhand or can't hit a backhand. He's ambidextrous and so he doesn't bother with them.It's nothing personal. To be honest, I like the traditional backhand-forehand," he says. I like the classiness of it. I like hitting backhands myself just to play around, just for fun." He hits those from both wings, too. Continue reading...
Mike Rogers has also helped kill other bills that would have provided healthcare to responders and survivorsMike Rogers, a Michigan Republican US Senate candidate, has sought in recent weeks to create controversy over old tweets his Democratic opponent, Abdul El-Sayed posted about 9/11. He has for example, falsely suggested El-Sayed, who is Muslim, said the US deserved the attack.But, as critics have noted, Rogers has twice voted against healthcare and other benefits for 9/11 first responders and survivors, congressional records show. He has also helped kill other bills that would have provided benefits and healthcare to first responders nationwide. Rogers, a former member of Congress, is vying for Michigan's open US Senate seat in a tight race that could decide control of Congress during the next session. Continue reading...
The White House posted a photo of bald eagle attacking a Canada goose to send a message - but it was Canada that played a critical role in the recovery of the bird in the USIn late August, the White House posted a real photograph on social media of a bald eagle standing atop the limp neck of a Canada goose.The raptor presses the goose's face into the grey winter slush. With its stark white head and brilliant yellow talons, the eagle looks victorious and defiant. Continue reading...
Chemours, DuPont and Corteva reach settlement after lawsuits accuse companies of polluting drinking waterChemours, DuPont and Corteva on Thursday reached a $455m settlement with North Carolina and 11 local entities over Pfas contamination claims tied to Chemours' Fayetteville Works plant and other historical discharges.Lawsuits accusing major chemical companies of polluting U.S. drinking water with toxic Pfas chemicals - a group of pollutants referred to as forever chemicals" - have led to settlements worth billions of dollars, including one struck by the three companies in New Jersey last year. Continue reading...
People from across the US and around the world pay their respects at memorial to victims of the terrorist attacksNo day shall erase you from the memory of time," reads an inscription at the the Ground Zero national September 11 memorial and museum, quoting from The Aeneid and cast in 15in letters made from the steel of the twin towers, which fell 29 minutes apart in a terrorist attack a quarter century ago.It took a decade for the 9/11 memorial in downtown Manhattan to be completed. It is composed of two dark granite basins on the footprints of the original towers with water cascading from their lips and the names of all 2,977 who died as a result of four aircraft hijackings inscribed on bronze panels around it. Continue reading...
The very mechanisms that allow the census bureau to resist partisan interference are coming undone. And Congress is silentWhen the constitutional architects of the United States got together, they came up with a crazy plan: What if we count everyone in the country and allocate political representation that way?"It was a radical act. Until then, censuses had been used by kings to levy taxes and conscript men into war. With the penning of article 1, section 2 of the US constitution, being counted ensured that states would get financial resources and political representatives. Congress was tasked with building the processes to anchor representation to the population. People wanted to be counted. And politicians wanted their people to be counted more.danah boyd is the Geri Gay professor of communication at Cornell University and the author of Data Are Made, Not Found: A Story of Politics, Power, and the Civil Servants Who Saved the US Census Continue reading...
by Coral Murphy Marcos with visuals by Jesse Ilan Kor on (#789VJ)
Leaky aqueducts and mega-projects for the wealthy exacerbate a water crisis in the US island territoryDhara Rivera de Jesus keeps at least 30 large water containers in her home at all times. After more than a year without consistent service in San Juan, Puerto Rico, she fills them whenever water returns, which sometimes only happens for a handful of hours every few days. Going without reliable water to bathe, flush toilets or cook has affected her ability to work and stick to a usual routine - a catch-22, now that she has to spend more money and time buying water and prepared food.This summer, water levels in the island's key dams fell below the thresholds needed to supply about half a million residents, leading to a severe drought that prompted Puerto Rico's governor, Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon, to declare a state of emergency. But residents of San Juan, including Rivera, had already spent months grappling with water insecurity as the archipelago's ageing and deteriorating infrastructure continued to fail amid government mismanagement. Continue reading...
What sounds like the overwrought penultimate episode in a sci-fi series about AI doom is now our realityOn Tuesday, a former OpenAI researcher quit his job at Anthropic, warning that neither company is acting responsibly" and that the people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade. This is not a marketing stunt."As someone who's reported on AI risk for years, this wasn't news to me. But the outpouring of alarm suggests a much wider public is properly confronting this ludicrous situation for the first time. Continue reading...
Speaking in Dallas, the president raised ethical concerns with an apparent $1tn offer to the electorate. Plus the US citizens who are finding Scotland to be an irresistible lureGood morning. Donald Trump has pledged to pay every adult citizen in the US $5,000 if Republicans retain the House and Senate in the midterm elections. The outlandish proposal, which would cost over $1tn, immediately raised ethical concerns.Trump made the promise during a marathon speech at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas in which he assailed Democrats as radical", defended his unpopular war in Iran, and urged voters to pretend that I'm on the ballot". Trump claimed, without evidence, that his second term had been the most successful two years, financially and every other way, in the history of the presidency".Why did the Republicans hold a midterm convention? Republicans are gambling that the GOP's first midterm convention can salvage their threatened House majority. However, Trump's dismal approval rating drove many competitive candidates to skip the two-day event entirely.What has Trump said about the former attorney Michael Cohen? The US president has said he would consider pardoning Michael Cohen, the former fixer whom he once branded a rat" for testifying against him. Cohen was Trump's personal lawyer, but flipped in 2018, and pleaded guilty to federal crimes including facilitating a hush payment to the pornography star Stormy Daniels and lying under oath to Congress.How many people has the US killed in its campaign? Late Wednesday, US Southern Command announced the latest strike in the Caribbean Sea, saying it killed three people. That brought the number of people who have been killed in boat strikes by the US military to at least 230 in 69 strikes.What has the US announced about Ecuador's gangs? The US has designated Ecuador's Los Tiguerones gang as a terrorist organisation. Rubio said the gang was linked to narcotics trafficking, as well as attacks on civilians, law enforcement officers and journalists. We are talking about terrorists who, in many cases, possess weapons and equipment resembling the national armies of certain countries," he said. Continue reading...
Anna Sweeney Rossman was 5 when her mother, flight attendant Amy Sweeney, was killed aboard American Airlines flight 11 after helping authorities identify the hijackersAnna Sweeney Rossman was only 5 years old when her mother, flight attendant Madeline Amy" Sweeney, died aboard an airliner that terrorists hijacked and deliberately flew into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. And for years, she said in an interview on Wednesday, Rossman's grief primarily centered on her mother's absence from certain milestones in her life.She recalled how planning her 2023 wedding - particularly shopping for a dress - hit her especially hard without her mom there. And Rossman said it was as much a blow to not have her mom there for the birth of her daughters, each younger than 2, as the US prepared to mark the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on Friday. Continue reading...
President suggested US might not help UK if Argentina tried to seize Falklands - a new low for UK-US special relationship'Last week, Donald Trump suggested in an interview with the British TV channel GB News that he might not help the UK if Argentina tried again to seize the Falkland Islands. It was a new low for UK-US relations.The special relationship" (Winston Churchill's phrase) was never perfect, but the UK helped the US on countless occasions, from Korea to Iraq to Afghanistan. The US often stood by the UK as well - although not during the Suez Crisis of 1956, but Ronald Reagan's government provided significant intelligence and logistics support to Britain during the dust-up over the Falklands in 1982. That relationship is fading fast. Continue reading...
Concerns over rising inflation, continuing war with Iran, and the US's record national debt have shaken the marketAmericans who have been grappling with the higher cost of living over the last few years now face another issue: trouble in the US bond market that could mean elevated costs are here to stay.US government bonds - known as treasurys - are supposed to be the most stable type of investment vehicle. But investor concerns over issues including rising inflation, the continuing war with Iran, and the US's record national debt have shaken the market and slowed demand for US treasury bonds. Continue reading...
Donald Trump pledged to pay every adult citizen in the US a $5,000 dividend if the Republicans retain the House and Senate in the midterms, during a rambling speech at the party's midterm convention in Dallas.The US president claimed the payment was possible due to the country's 'tremendous economic success, like in history we've never had anything like what's happening'. The proposal, which would cost more than $1tn, immediately raised ethical concerns
The man mentioned by Tiger Woods after his first Masters win paved the way for generations of Black golfers, reintegrating the US Open and challenging the PGAHow good a golfer was Ted Rhodes? At the 1948 US Open, he finished the first round just three shots behind the leader - and eventual winner - Ben Hogan. But there's more to the story: Rhodes was the first Black competitor in the tournament in its modern era, during a time of widespread segregation in American sport.Rhodes is the subject of a new book by sports historian Dan Taylor, Out of the Rough: Ted Rhodes and His Fight against Golf's Color Barrier. The author aims to change what he sees as mainstream unfamiliarity with Rhodes, even among golf enthusiasts. Continue reading...
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