New York Times commissions test of 60in worth of tuna sandwiches but researchers were unable to pinpoint a speciesA lab test commissioned by the New York Times failed to identify any tuna DNA in a series of Subway tuna sandwiches.Related: Subway bread is not bread, Irish court rules Continue reading...
The former president has urged others to support Manchin’s proposed changes to Biden’s landmark legislation. Plus, the new Norwegian sex guide causing quite a bit of frictionGood morning.Barack Obama has thrown his weight behind the voting rights proposal of the conservative West Virginia Democratic senator, Joe Manchin, calling it a “product of compromise” as the landmark legislation faces a crucial vote in the US Senate on Tuesday. Continue reading...
Last week, a stranger threatened to beat up me and my husband at a store. Apparently, this happens all the time. Why?Last week, a stranger threatened to beat up me and my husband in the checkout area of a grocery store. What set him off was that my husband, en route to return an unwanted item, had brushed past him. The man announced that he was going outside to wait for us and – screaming, snarling, raising his fists – stared at us through the window. Was I surprised that a muscular guy in his 30s was threatening to punch out two grandparents? The woman behind the checkout counter wasn’t. She said, “Stuff like this happens every few days.” In fact, not long before, in another supermarket, another city, an elderly man raged and shouted at me, claiming that I was standing too close, and the cashier said, “He comes in here and does this all the time.”Related: ‘Sorry, I sucked’: Covid has ruined great friendships - and it’s time to make up | Emma Beddington Continue reading...
Two years ago legislation was introduced to require gun insurance. It didn’t survive the legal minefield in place to fight such mandatesOn 28 July 2019, a gunman opened fire on a crowd at the Gilroy garlic festival, killing six-year-old Stephen Romero, 13-year-old Keyla Salazar and 25-year-old Trevor Irby, and injuring 17 others.The mass shooting sent shock waves through the community, located 30 miles south of San Jose in California’s Bay Area, as it elicited all-too-familiar calls from elected officials that “thoughts and prayers” were no longer a sufficient response. Continue reading...
Carl Nassib has become the first active NFL player to come out as gay, making the announcement in a video posted to Instagram on Monday. 'I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now but finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest,' said the Las Vegas Raiders defensive end. Nassib, 28, also announced a $100,000 donation to the Trevor Project, which works to prevent suicides among LGBTQ+ youth in America
Viktor Orban has used a new law to equate gay people with paedophiles. He’s not the first to use this tacticLast week, the Hungarian parliament banned any portrayal of homosexuality or transgenderism to minors, in educational material or on television. Appending this to a law protecting children from child abuse, the country’s president, Viktor Orbán, drew an explicit connection between homosexuality and paedophilia. In so doing, he resorted to a canard that much of the world has long dispensed with, but that is enjoying a troubling new emergence in the global battles against “gender ideology”: the danger posed by homosexuals and trans people to children.“The logic of the government is to find an enemy and pretend that they are saving the country from this enemy,” said the Hungarian LGBTQ+ leader Tamás Dombos in a presentation to the United States Congress last week. Dombos described the new law as “a conscious and diabolic political strategy” by the government to divert public attention from its messy response to the Covid crisis. The law is also a salvo in a tough upcoming election, and an effective way of staking what I term a “pink line”: a nativist boundary protecting, in this case, Hungarian “values” against the immoral imperialism of George Soros and Brussels. Continue reading...
by Justin McCurry in Tokyo and agencies on (#5KC3Y)
Kim Yo-jong’s intervention appears to have thwarted any prospects for early resumption of negotiationsKim Jong-un’s influential sister appears to have dismissed hopes for a breakthrough on nuclear talks with the US, warning Washington that it faced “disappointment” if it believed engagement with North Korea was a possibility.Kim Yo-jong, a senior figure in the ruling party who is considered one of the North Korean leader’s closest confidantes, said any US expectations for a resumption of talks were “wrong”, according to the state-run KCNA news agency. Continue reading...
Foreign forays prompt questions about why US non-profit health systems are indulging in such nakedly commercial venturesAcross the street from the Buckingham Palace Garden and an ocean away from its Ohio headquarters, Cleveland Clinic is making a nearly $1bn bet that Europeans will embrace a hospital run by one of America’s marquee health systems.Cleveland Clinic London, scheduled to open for outpatient visits later this year and for overnight stays in 2022, will primarily offer elective surgeries and other treatments for the heart, brain, joints and digestive system. The London strategy attempts to attract a well-off, privately insured population: American expatriates, Europeans drawn by the clinic’s reputation, and some Britons happy to pay. The hospital won’t offer less financially rewarding business lines, like emergency services. Continue reading...
Lake Tanganyika sustains life for millions but ever more erratic weather threatens the entire CongoFor thousands of years, Lake Tanganyika was an exquisite sight that soothed and supported generations of Congolese people. Those living by its shores in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have snoozed in hammocks under the tropical sun, watching their children splash in Africa’s oldest, deepest and longest lake. In the evenings, when boats head out for fishing trips, local people would light campfires on the beaches to fry their catch and dance to rumba.But in the past two months, storms, torrential rain and flooding have killed at least 13 people and destroyed 4,240 homes and 112 schools along the DRC’s Lake Tanganyika coast. In less than a generation, the stretch from Uvira to Moba, 250 miles long, has become a place of catastrophe for the local people, who are dependent on the lake for food, trade, transport and their livelihood. Continue reading...
Longest-serving envoy Cui Tiankai says relations between the countries ‘at a crossroads’China’s ambassador to the US, Cui Tiankai, has announced he will leave Washington after eight years, saying US-China relations are at a “crossroads” as the US recalibrates its engagement policies.Cui, whose departure has been the subject of speculation for months, wrote a farewell statement calling on Chinese people in the US to defend their right to be there, and to “shoulder a great responsibility and mission” in furthering the bilateral relationship. Continue reading...
Texas group the Informed Consent Action Network has capitalized on fear surrounding supposed vaccine mandatesJust as the Covid-19 vaccine rollout began in earnest in the United States, the Informed Consent Action Network (Ican) sent its subscribers a “legal update” on its war against employers and schools planning to require the shots.An unspecified number of organizations had supposedly dropped their mandates – one just after Ican took them to court – and the Texas-based anti-vaccination nonprofit was prowling for more plaintiffs. Continue reading...
Rahim Fortune’s intimate photographs deal with his father’s death from a rare disease, as well as racial politics and the mystery of abandoned buildings Continue reading...
Analysis: low valuations have made British firms easy prey and Morrisons will not be the only targetTakeover bids from private equity houses have become so common this year that even investment bankers are starting to sound weary. “Another week, another private equity offer,” is how analysts at Canaccord Genuity reacted to the weekend’s news of an approach for Morrisons.The supermarket has rejected the £5.5bn bid from US buyout firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, but investors expect a bidding war. It will not be the only one, as private equity outfits sitting on huge piles of cash look to the UK. Continue reading...
Defensive end makes announcement in Instagram video: ‘I finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest’Carl Nassib has become the first active NFL player to come out as gay, making the announcement in a video posted to Instagram on Monday.“I’m at my house here in West Chester, Pennsylvania,” said Nassib, a defensive end for the Las Vegas Raiders. “I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now but finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest. I really have the best life, I’ve got the best family, friends and job a guy can ask for. Continue reading...
by Amanda Holpuch Sam Levin and agencies on (#5KBNZ)
Former president calls Democrats’ proposal a ‘product of compromise’ and says the future of the country is at stakeBarack Obama has backed conservative West Virginia Democratic senator Joe Manchin’s voting rights proposal, calling it a “product of compromise” as the landmark legislation struggles towards a crucial vote in the US Senate on Tuesday.The former US president weighed in, as did his wife and former first lady, Michelle Obama, decrying Republican efforts in many statehouses across the country to bring in new laws that restrict voting, and urging Congress to pass federal legislation “before it’s too late”. Continue reading...
Moises and Daniel Monterrubio walked a 2,800ft line above 1,600ft gulleys in Yosemite national parkTwo brothers from San Francisco say they have set a record for the longest highline ever walked in both Yosemite national park and California, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.Earlier this month, they and a group of friends spent nearly a week stringing a single, 2,800ft (853-meter) line from Taft Point west across a series of gulleys that drop 1,600ft. Continue reading...
Spaniard inspired by former champions’ tales of bouncing back from disaster to win first major two weeks after Covid infectionTwo weeks ago, Jon Rahm was playing the golf of his life at the Memorial at Muirfield Village, equalling the tournament’s 54-hole record at 18 under par and opening a six-stroke lead over the field, only to be informed on live television while coming off the 18th green that he would have to withdraw after testing positive for the coronavirus.The guidelines of the PGA Tour and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – the US public health agency – require 10 days of self-isolation after a positive test, limiting Rahm’s ability to practise before the US Open. Only because he was able to return two negative tests within 24 hours was he permitted to cut his quarantine short and arrive at Torrey Pines Golf Course for the season’s third major before Tuesday. Continue reading...
Do we need to go to offices? Work 9 to 5? At this unique moment in history, employers can rethink everythingThere have been few moments in the history of work as pivotal as the one we find ourselves in now. It took a pandemic to normalise remote working, and, despite the fears of many CEOs, most organisations saw no demonstrable loss of productivity. Now, the global workforce is demanding its right to retain the autonomy it gained through increased flexibility as societies open up again. Pre-pandemic, it was not uncommon for an employer to ask staff to justify their need to work from home. Post-pandemic, employees may ask employers to justify the need to come into the office.Yet many organisations are still resisting this more flexible future. They argue that employees’ wellbeing is compromised by remote working, and that unless they are brought back into the office, many more will suffer from “Zoom fatigue”. Continue reading...
Trucker allegedly tried to resell the nuts valued at over $100,000A California man has been arrested for allegedly stealing and attempting to resell over 42,000lb of pistachio nuts valued at over $100,000.Alberto Montemayor, 34, a trucker, was arrested and booked in Tulare county in connection to the incident, according to a Facebook post from Tulare county sheriff’s office. Continue reading...
Key issues such as election reform, voting rights and gun control have seen Republican pushbackJoe Biden’s far-reaching domestic agenda in the US is facing serious setbacks on a range of issues as the political quagmire of a tightly contested Senate is seeing Democratic ambitions sharply curtailed in the face of Republican obstruction.On a number of key fronts such as pushing election reform and voting rights, gun control and moving forwards on LGBTQ civil rights, there has been an effective pushback by Republicans – and a handful of conservative Democrats – that is forcing Biden and the wider Democratic party on to the back foot. Continue reading...
Biden and Putin must persuade other nuclear states that such a conflict ‘should never be fought’Meeting last week, the US and Russian presidents issued a joint statement declaring: “a nuclear war should never be fought and could never be won”. This consciously echoes what Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev said in a landmark summit in 1985, when the US and USSR started to step up nuclear arms control, and gradually reduced the world’s fear of nuclear catastrophe.Many reports of the Biden-Putin summit have not even mentioned this joint statement, because it sounds like simple common sense. Who wants a nuclear war? Continue reading...
by Nathan Kalman-Lamb and Kevin Shafer on (#5KAMX)
Michigan team doctor Robert Anderson abused hundreds of athletes under his care. But there are serious allegations that senior figures enabled himAs devoted and lifelong fans of the University of Michigan and The Ohio State University, respectively, we do not agree on much. Between us are countless school-branded Christmas tree ornaments, mugs, basketball shorts, hoodies, football jerseys, and, most of all, rivalrous distemper.But, one thing we can agree on is the abject horror we feel in the face of the recent sexual abuse scandals that have rocked both campuses, albeit perhaps not yet at a magnitude commensurate with the crimes that have occurred. The most recent revelations have come from Michigan. Between 1966 and 2003, Michigan team doctor Robert Anderson sexually assaulted hundreds of athletes he was employed to heal and protect. Over the decades, many university officials were informed of the abuse by survivors and failed to act, including, reportedly, the late former athletic director Don Canham, current assistant athletic director and head athletic trainer Paul Schmidt, two former track coaches, a former wrestling coach, and legendary former football coach Bo Schembechler. Schmidt, for his part, has denied that he knew about the allegations against Anderson. Continue reading...
In closing a vital safety valve for Russia’s young reformists, the regime is endangering its own futureOn Wednesday 9 June, the Moscow city court issued a decision designating a range of organisations associated with Alexei Navalny – including the most important, the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) – as extremist.By Russian law, this equates them with Isis, making it illegal to collect money, recruit members, disseminate information, or participate in elections on Russian soil. The court endorsed the state prosecutor’s argument that Navalny’s supporters were planning to destabilise Russia in a “colour revolution scenario,” using “liberal slogans” as cover for their nefarious plans. In terms of its effects, it may be the most serious – and shortsighted – attack on the Russian opposition so far. Continue reading...
The president faces opposition from Republicans and some conservative Democrats before a key vote. Plus, why we need to talk about menopauseGood morning.Joe Biden’s domestic agenda is coming up against significant setbacks in the face of Republican obstruction in the Senate. The president and his party face opposition from Republicans and a small number of conservative Democrats on issues including changes to the election system and voting rights, LGBTQ rights and gun control. Continue reading...
The islands has been feeling the weight of a tourism industry that has ballooned to what many believe is beyond the islands’ capacityOn a recent Sunday morning, Makua Beach looks like the picture of paradise.A stretch of soft, yellow sand lies on a strip of land between the lush Waianae mountain range and the deep blue Pacific Ocean on the north-west coast of Oahu. Waves crash against rocks along the beach, and a monk seal can be seen swimming near the shore. Continue reading...
Jon Rahm has been crowned US Open champion just weeks after he was forced to withdraw from the Memorial tournament after testing positive for Covid-19. Rahm was the clear leader when he was made to exit the tournament. However, the 26-year-old finally got his moment and took his first major at Torrey Pines, San Diego. 'It almost feels like it's a movie that's about to end and I'm going to wake up soon,' said the Spaniard. 'With the setback I had a couple of weeks ago, to end up like this, it's incredible.'
New investigations will examine the scale of wrongdoing – and experts say there could be more revelations of abuse to comeDonald Trump never did much to hide his dangerous belief that the US justice department and the attorneys general who helmed it should serve as his own personal lawyers and follow his political orders, regardless of norms and the law.Former senior DoJ officials say the former president aggressively prodded his attorney generals to go after his enemies, protect his friends and his interests, and these moves succeeded with alarming results until Trump’s last few months in office. Continue reading...
Ten people died in 15-vehicle crash, including eight children from youth home, and two more people died when a tree fell on their houseEight children travelling in a van from a home for abused or neglected children have been killed in a multi-vehicle crash that also killed a man and his baby in another vehicle as tropical depression Claudette claimed 13 lives in Alabama.The crash happened on Saturday about 35 miles (55km) south of Montgomery and was likely caused by vehicles hydroplaning in very wet conditions, authorities said. Continue reading...
Statement clarified initial speculation that it was a hate crime directed at the gay communityA member of a men’s chorus group unintentionally slammed into fellow chorists at the start of a Pride parade in South Florida, killing one member of the group and seriously injuring another, the group’s director said Sunday.The statement clarified initial speculation that it was a hate crime directed at the gay community. Continue reading...
Scandal isn’t always a problem for New Yorkers, who tolerate a certain amount of eccentricity in their mayorIt is hard to pick a favourite moment from the New York mayor’s race, entering its final stage of the primaries this week. It could be the episode in which two candidates – Shaun Donovan and Ray McGuire – were asked to guess the average house price in Brooklyn and answered $100,000, which would have been correct in 1985. (For those operating in 2021, the correct answer is $900,000).It could have been the implosion of the Dianne Morales campaign, the most progressive candidate by far, predictably destroyed from within when staffers complained she’d created a “hostile” environment and that the work, presumably stuffing envelopes, was “repetitive and unstructured”. Meanwhile, it is hard not to love the storyline still playing out around Eric Adams, Brooklyn borough president and current frontrunner in the primary and therefore the election: that he secretly lives in New Jersey. Continue reading...
Sign of rightward trend of politics in the rural and Republican-dominated stateFar-right anti-government activist and militia figure Ammon Bundy has announced a bid to be governor of Idaho governor in a further sign of the rightward trend of politics in the rural and Republican-dominated state.The Stetson-wearing activist said he wants to defend Idaho from President “Joe Biden and those in the Deep State that control him” because they “are going to try to take away our gun rights, freedom of religion, parental rights, and more and further violate the Constitution in unimaginable ways even more than they’ve already done.” Continue reading...
Fast food chain plans to open 50 new restaurants over the next yearMcDonald’s is to recruit 20,000 workers and open 50 new restaurants in the UK and Ireland.The fast food chain plans to employ additional staff and set up new franchises over the next 12 months. Continue reading...
Gig companies want to win back labor through promotions and bonuses. But workers can see through the claimsWhat are the real choices confronting gig workers as they consider their employment options in the post-pandemic world?As the push to get America back to work begins, employers are lamenting that no one wants to work any more. Low-wage industries in particular are struggling to fill positions amid a record high number of job openings, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Continue reading...
The new anti-woke news channel is poorly produced and chaotically presented but we underestimate it at our perilLast week, as a disciple of the religion of wokeness, I was busy boycotting products advertised on Andrew Sphagnum Moss Neil’s new anti-woke GB News channel, which has been difficult as many of them are goods and services I don’t use. Consequently, I spent Monday in the park under a willow tree trying determinedly to develop a taste for Kopparberg cider, so I could email the company later announcing I was no longer going to drink it. But, as I woke up in a puddle of my own urine on Tuesday morning, I learned that the fruity alcohol provider was the first of many firms to announce withdrawal from GB News’s slots. My liver had suffered needlessly, but I felt pretty good about myself because of the sacrifice I had considered making, but then hadn’t needed to anyway.Reaching damply for my phone, I saw that Grolsch and Ikea had declared that GB News’s ethos was also contrary to their “values” (namely “buy more beer” and “buy more furniture” respectively). If GB News advertisers Amazon, Google and Facebook suddenly discover they too have “values” maybe they will address their shortcomings in areas such as tax avoidance, workers’ rights and data manipulation. I went downstairs and ordered a garlic naan from the GB News-supporting fast-food bikers Deliveroo, so I could tell the poorly paid delivery person to take it back to his evil paymasters immediately and then signed up for a philosophy degree with GB News enablers the Open University, with the specific intention of withdrawing from it on principle later. Take back control! Continue reading...
‘We want to be known,’ says Isabella Guzman. And she plans to do that by hiring the best and the brightestIsabella Guzman is the new administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA). And she’s got a long-term problem.No, it’s not about pandemic loans or the bottleneck in disbursing grants under other stimulus initiatives. It’s not even about catching fraudsters or approving applications. She has these problems of course. But that’s not the long-term problem. Continue reading...
The Viatris plant in West Virginia has been making pharmaceuticals since 1965 – but it’s closing down and laying workers off“Disbelief. Distraught and traumatized.”Just some of the words United Steelworkers Local 8-957 president Joe Gouzd used to describe how he and hundreds of other workers felt after their 56-year-old pharmaceutical plant in West Virginia was shut down, sending between 1,500 to 2,000 jobs to India and Australia. Continue reading...
