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This may not have been the first such incident Petito experienced. Half of all domestic violence victims are strangled at some point during the course of their abuseMost women who are strangled by their husbands or boyfriends don’t cooperate with law enforcement. Because strangulation, when it doesn’t kill, frequently causes traumatic brain injuries, these women sometimes can’t speak in a way that seems plausible to the police. Their testimonies aren’t always clear or consistent; they may misremember timelines, change details on repeated telling, or feel unsure about crucial bits of information. In many cases, a strangulation victim also won’t cooperate with the police because to do so would likely anger the man who strangled her. And he has already shown what he’s willing to do to enforce his will.Gabby Petito was killed by strangulation, according to the Wyoming coroner who examined her body after it was found in Grand Teton national park on 19 September. The police, along with a small army of internet sleuths who seized upon the case after news of Petito’s disappearance broke last month, are now looking for her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, who was the last to see the 22-year-old alive. He returned from the road trip they had taken together alone, driving Gabby’s van and refusing to say anything about her whereabouts. Laundrie has since fled police and disappeared into a vast nature preserve in Florida. Continue reading...

Unhoused residents fear they’ll end up back on the street after MacArthur Park closure: ‘This won’t solve the problem’Los Angeles officials are shutting down a major public park in an effort to remove homeless encampments from the area, reigniting bitter conflicts about the city’s worsening housing crisis.MacArthur Park, in the city’s Westlake neighborhood, is one of many public spaces in LA that became a popular camping spot for unhoused Angelenos during the pandemic, drawing hundreds of campers. Continue reading...

Liz Shuler leads AFL-CIO as public approval for organized labor is on the rise, young workers are flocking into unions and millions seek better conditionsFor 12 years, Liz Shuler was No 2 to Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, main union federation in the US, but after Trumka’s unexpected death in August, Shuler became the its first-ever female president at a time that organized labor in the US faces deep problems – and extraordinary opportunities.Many union members are hoping that Shuler, a well-liked, hard-working 51-year-old, will figure out how to capitalize on those opportunities. Public approval for organized labor in the US has climbed to its highest level in more than 50 years, as many young workers are flocking into unions and millions of overstressed, underpaid frontline workers are impatient to improve their lot. Continue reading...

Some in the league believed the Baltimore Ravens quarterback was about to be ‘figured out’. They may want to reconsider …If this is what figuring out Lamar Jackson looks like, can you imagine what would happen if NFL defenses were still playing catch-up?On Monday night, Jackson led the Baltimore Ravens to 22 unanswered points to seal an overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts and launch himself back into the MVP discussion. But in reality, if the award is truly about “value” – and it is supposed to be – then he should already have a monopoly on the votes. Continue reading...

Amanda Vandervort, president of a professional second division, sets out her vision at a difficult time for the sportThe appointment of the hugely experienced Amanda Vandervort as the first president of the new fully professional women’s second division in the US, the USL Super League, has been in the pipeline for a while, as have plans for the league, which launches in 2023, but the timing of the announcement of Vandervort’s position matters.Over the past fortnight the top-flight National Women’s Soccer League has been rocked by allegations of sexual coercion and abuse against Paul Riley while he was manager of North Carolina Courage, which he denies. This follows other high-profile alleged breaches of the NWSL’s anti-harassment policies, and news of the development of a league which plans to double the number of professional teams in the US is a welcome sign that the women’s game continues to go from strength to strength. Continue reading...

In targeting Clark, House investigators followed up on a Senate report that detailed his efforts to abuse the DoJ to support TrumpThe House select committee investigating the Capitol attack on Wednesday issued a subpoena to top Trump justice department official Jeffrey Clark, escalating its inquiry into the former president’s efforts to reinstall himself in office and the 6 January insurrection.The new subpoena underscores the select committee’s far-reaching mandate in scrutinizing the origins of the Capitol attack, as it pursues an investigation into Donald Trump’s role in pressuring the justice department (DoJ) to do his bidding in the final weeks of his presidency. Continue reading...

President eager to avert political damage from choked ports, highways and railways causing higher prices and empty shelvesJoe Biden has warned companies that he will “call them out” if they fail to “step up” to ease supply chain bottlenecks ahead of the holiday season.The US president, facing grim opinion polls and a stalling legislative agenda, is eager to avert fresh political damage from choked ports, highways and railways resulting in higher prices and empty shelves. Continue reading...

Investigation will seek to determine whether there is ‘a pattern or practice of physical or sexual abuse of children’ in state’s facilitiesThe US justice department has launched an investigation into juvenile detention facilities in Texas after receiving reports of physical and sexual abuse by staff members against children, the US assistant attorney general for civil rights, Kristen Clarke, said on Wednesday.“Our investigation will focus on whether there is a pattern or practice of physical or sexual abuse of children in Texas’s secure facilities,” Clarke told a news conference. Continue reading...

A strike would bring a halt to filming on a broad swath of film and television productions and extend well beyond HollywoodThe union representing film and television crews says its 60,000 members will begin a nationwide strike on Monday if it does not reach a deal that satisfies demands for fair and safe working conditions.A strike would bring a halt to filming on a broad swath of film and television productions and extend well beyond Hollywood, affecting productions in Georgia, New Mexico and other North American shoots. Continue reading...

William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk in Star Trek, is to become the oldest person to venture into space.'I shall be entranced by the view of space. I want to look at that orb and appreciate its beauty ... its tenacity is sustaining this life of ours,' Shatner, 90, said in a video released by the aerospace company Blue Origin

Level is expected to fall below lake’s rim this week, cutting off major water source for Truckee RiverLake Tahoe’s water level dropped to a four-year low on Tuesday as gusty winds and the impacts of California’s devastating drought hit the popular tourist destination.After days of high winds increased evaporation rates, water levels fell to the basin’s natural rim for the first time since 2017, the end of the state’s last drought. The lake normally sits above the rim, which allows for water to flow into the Truckee River. Levels will probably continue to drop, receding below the rim this week, sooner than expected. Continue reading...

A leatherback sea turtle has been returned to the ocean after becoming stranded on a mudflat in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, US. It took dozens of volunteers from three conservation organisations to free the 270kg reptile. After a health assessment confirmed the disorientated turtle was in good health, it was released to cheers from the crowd of volunteers. The turtle was fitted with a tracking device that will monitor its migration patterns over the next decade

School districts are adapting menus daily based on unpredictable deliveries. Many believe things will get worseOn Tuesday mornings, three Little Caesars stores across Oakland county, Michigan, make 273 pizzas, even before they open for business. On Wednesdays, another 320 pies are out the door before noon.But their customers aren’t sports fans ditching work to watch a day game. They’re students in the Huron Valley schools in Highland, Michigan, north-west of Detroit.This report was first published by the 74, a non-profit, non-partisan news site covering education in America Continue reading...

We needed our senator to hear how desperate West Virginians like us are for Congress to pass the Build Back Better ActFor most people, kayaking on the Potomac is a leisure activity. For us, it was a desperate attempt to have our voices heard. We left our families and jobs in West Virginia to travel to DC in order to make sure Senator Manchin heard loud and clear from his constituents: it’s time to pass the Build Back Better Act. It just so happens that one of the only ways to get Senator Manchin’s attention is to launch a flotilla of boats around his yacht, where he lives when in DC.We’re proud to be West Virginians, and we’re proud to be “kayaktavists”, as our effort was called. What we’re not proud of is how Senator Manchin is putting big money interests over the needs of West Virginians and working-class people across the country.Angi Kerns is an organizer with Young West Virginia and Loretta Young is executive director of Race Matters West Virginia. Both authors took to the waters last week alongside numerous West Virginians, CPD Action and Greenpeace USA Continue reading...

Vice-president says colonizers ‘ushered in wave of devastation’ for indigenous people. Plus, Squid Game breaks a record

For some in the Bronx, the borough hit hardest by the coronavirus, mistrust may win out over jobs and even homeDeysia Padilla’s family thought she was at work. Instead, she spent last Thursday afternoon unloading a mound of orange and pink baby socks in a sunny South Bronx laundromat – one-by one, in all their three-inch glory. She had 48 hours to consider an impossible choice: either get vaccinated or lose her job.Padilla is one of thousands of unvaccinated New Yorkers affected by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s ultimatum last week. Not only do city employees face the reality of losing their jobs, but without a shot, they’ll even forgo unemployment payments. Some unvaccinated Bronx natives would rather pursue a life outside New York City than be forced to take the vaccine. Continue reading...

Government programs that help people recover their wealth after natural disasters end up reinforcing inequality Continue reading...

In an open letter to Jonathan Isaac, I warn him about how certain sections of America will co-opt him for their own endsDear Jonathan,Let me first say that I have a tremendous amount of respect for you, and not just because, as a former NBA player myself, I appreciate the hard work and skill it takes to succeed in the league. Continue reading...

Millions have fallen behind on utility bills since the pandemic started while utility debt is an estimated $32bnThe gas in Diana Morgan Magda’s house was shut off in May. Now when she wants to take a bath she uses an electric kettle to heat the water. It takes an hour.Magda, who lives in Girard, Ohio, relies on social security disability benefits for her sole income. Like many Americans, she can’t pay all her bills, living expenses and medication with the benefits she receives, and through the pandemic she fell behind on utility bills. Continue reading...

Young people look at the monarchy and its sterile acres and see a huge opportunity to help cool the heating planetLast weekend I saw a manifestation of hate and a vision of hope. It’s a couple of days I’ll never forget.In the dark hours of Friday morning, masked thugs crept up to the gates in front of my home and firebombed a car in the driveway, presumably in an attempt to deliver a threatening message. After years of dead birds, badgers and foxes left hanging or thrown outside my house by people in favour of animal hunting, this latest action was a serious escalation. Whatever they wanted, whether they were members of a hunt or just internet trolls, it was clear that intimidation was their intention. As I watched the flames raging in the darkness, I admit I wondered where this would end.Chris Packham is a naturalist, nature photographer and author, and a presenter on BBC Two’s Springwatch Continue reading...

The Las Vegas Raiders coach resigned after messages showed him using racist and homophobic language. The NFL has another 650,000 emails in its possessionSay what you want about Jon Gruden – and plenty of people have – but he does have a novel take on equality.In a series of emails reported by the New York Times and Wall Street Journal over the last week, the now former Las Vegas Raiders coach insulted pretty much every section of America. Black people (he said NFL Players Association leader DeMaurice Smith had “lips the size of michellin [sic] tires”); gay people (he bemoaned the fact that the NFL was encouraging teams to draft “queers”); women (he doesn’t like them refereeing games, preferring men to make a mess of pass interference calls); peaceful protesters (he said Eric Reid, who knelt alongside Colin Kaepernick, should be fired – no idea where he got that one from); and future heads of state (he called then-US vice president Joe Biden a “nervous clueless pussy” in 2012). To prove he wasn’t prejudiced he also insulted his own demographic: overpromoted, rich white guys who are not particularly good at their jobs (he called NFL commissioner a “faggot” and a “clueless anti football pussy”). And that’s just the stuff he wrote down. Continue reading...

Rather than offering women ‘fertility seminars’, we should talk about the real barriers to parenthood for many young peopleFemale students at the single-sex Cambridge college Murray Edwards are to be given fertility seminars, because they “risk childlessness” if they leave motherhood “too late”. It’s irksome news – the seminars are only the latest example of the myth that women somehow need “reminding” our ability to procreate won’t last for ever, as though a baby were something we had simply lost down the back of the sofa.This idea that women might “forget” to have a baby is perpetuated in modern culture. My generation spent much of their teenage years being told not to get pregnant lest it “ruin your life”. In our 20s, that changed almost overnight and we were told not to leave it too late, lest it (again) “ruin your life”. When women enter their 30s and 40s, they face a maelstrom of misogynist peer pressure, from “when are you going to have a second child” to “is it not unfair to have a baby in your 40s?”, not to mention the classic levied at the child-free: “but who will care for you when you’re old?”Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is a Guardian columnist

Hopefuls from the UK, Germany, Japan and across the world have a shot at glory via the International Player PathwayDoing shuttle sprints in the north London drizzle might seem a long way from the razzamatazz of the NFL, but maybe that’s the point. For the 50 athletes competing at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the chance of a golden ticket to the world’s most lucrative sports league, this was just one more step on a long journey.Adedayo Odeleye’s story is a case in point. One of the dozens of tall, variously muscular individuals who had flown in from all over the world to take part in the day-long trial known as the “NFL combine”, and the 23-year-old has a clear-eyed sense of the job in hand. Born in Nigeria and raised in the UK, he was spotted by NFL scouts as a student player at Loughborough University. He did his first combine last year, a pandemic-disrupted affair that took him to a training camp in Florida and ended with him signing for the European League of Football side, Berlin Thunder. One year and one place on the European all-star team later, he’s back and ready to prove he’s completed his education. Continue reading...

Indra Nooyi claims she has ‘never, ever, ever’ asked for a raise – and finds the whole idea cringeworthyMoney is so tacky, darling, don’t you think? Indra Nooyi, who was one of the highest-paid CEOs in the world during her tenure at PepsiCo, certainly seems to take that view. In an interview this month with the New York Times’ magazine, Nooyi bragged that she has “never, ever, ever asked for a raise”. Her underlings at PepsiCo apparently used to ask her to demand one, because their compensation was pegged to hers, but Nooyi refused to be so grubby. “I find it cringeworthy,” the 65-year-old opined. “I cannot imagine working for somebody and saying my pay is not enough.”Isn’t it funny how the only people who think money isn’t important are the ones who have gobs of it? Nooyi is right that she didn’t need a rise: she earned $31m (£23m) in her final year as PepsiCo’s CEO. By one calculation, she was paid 650 times more than the company’s average employee. She is now on the board of Amazon, which isn’t exactly known for providing a utopian working environment where employees gush about how much they are paid. Meanwhile, income inequality has jumped to record levels. If Nooyi can’t imagine how someone can say they are not being paid enough, she must have an incredibly poor imagination. Continue reading...

The United States’ neighbours have been pressing it to ease restrictions on nonessential travel that have separated families during the pandemic

The Alisal fire west of Santa Barbara quickly spread to thousands of acres as it burned down to the Pacific OceanEvacuation orders were expanded Tuesday for a growing wildfire driven by intense winds that has shut down a key southern California highway for more than a day.At least 200 firefighters battled the Alisal fire, which had scorched 8,000 acres (12.5 sq miles) along coastal Santa Barbara county and remained completely uncontained. Continue reading...

Coroner estimates Petito died three to four weeks before her body was found, on 19 SeptemberGabby Petito’s cause of death was strangulation, and the manner of death was homicide, Wyoming authorities have announced.The Teton county coroner, Brent Blue, announced the findings of Petito’s autopsy at an afternoon news conference on Tuesday. He also estimated that Petito had died three to four weeks before her body was found, on 19 September. Continue reading...

Speaking at the National Congress of American Indians 78th annual convention, vice-president Harris discussed the history of colonization in the Americas and its connection to present-day Indigenous communities.

Vice-president says ‘epidemic’ of murders of Native women must end in Indigenous People’s Day address

I hear every day from women desperate to be heard, to have their horror stories told in the hope of helping othersWhen I started investigating lapses in care in early pregnancy loss, I had no idea how easy it would be to find patients to speak to. Even now, two years on, people who experience miscarriage contact me every day, desperate to be heard, seen, to have their horror stories told in the hope that it won’t happen to anyone else.Every time I think I’ve seen or heard the worst of it, I turn a corner and there’s a story waiting for me that’s so awful it makes every hair on the back of my neck stand up. Continue reading...

We cannot support our employer’s decision to supply the Israeli military and government technology that is used to harm PalestiniansWe are writing as Google and Amazon employees of conscience from diverse backgrounds. We believe that the technology we build should work to serve and uplift people everywhere, including all of our users. As workers who keep these companies running, we are morally obligated to speak out against violations of these core values. For this reason, we are compelled to call on the leaders of Amazon and Google to pull out of Project Nimbus and cut all ties with the Israeli military. So far, more than 90 workers at Google and more than 300 at Amazon have signed this letter internally. We are anonymous because we fear retaliation.We have watched Google and Amazon aggressively pursue contracts with institutions like the US Department of Defense, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), and state and local police departments. These contracts are part of a disturbing pattern of militarization, lack of transparency and avoidance of oversight. Continue reading...

The government is playing hardball over the Northern Ireland protocol. But EU patience is fast running outEveryone in UK politics has been on a Brexit journey, but some have travelled further than others. On the eve of the referendum, David Frost was chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association and unconvinced by arguments for leaving the European single market. “Even the best-case outcome can’t be as good as what we have now,” he wrote in June 2016.Five years later, Lord Frost is the cabinet minister for making a hard Brexit harder. In that capacity he made a speech on Tuesday rejecting the Northern Ireland protocol of the withdrawal agreement that he was proud to have negotiated two years ago, and proposing a new text instead.Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Households struggle to afford medical care and food, with figure rising to 59% for those with income under $50,000 a yearNearly 40% of US households have faced serious financial problems, including struggling to afford medical care and food, in the last few months, according to a survey published on Tuesday.The survey by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health also showed that in those last few months, as the US struggled to contain the infectious Delta coronavirus variant, the percentage of households reporting serious financial problems rose to 59% when they had an income under $50,000 a year. Continue reading...

Lawsuit say school districts created a ‘snake pit’ by ignoring coronavirus safety measures recommended by health officialsTwo Wisconsin mothers whose children had Covid-19 in September have sued their school districts, for “needlessly and recklessly endangering the health and safety” of their children and other students.Both lawsuits accuse the school districts of creating a “snake pit” for students by not implementing Covid-19 safety measures recommended by health officials, such as indoor masking, at their schools this year. Continue reading...

Commissioners had criticized Art Acevedo, appointing themselves to a committee with subpoena power to examine his appointmentMiami officials have decided to fire the city’s new police chief just six months after appointing him, after he was lambasted by city commissioners he accused of meddling in the police department and internal affairs investigations.The Miami city manager, Art Noriega, said he suspended Art Acevedo with the intent to terminate his employment. Continue reading...