If you thought people with high-profile jobs didn’t suffer with nerves like the rest of us, then think againI’ve long been suspicious of confident people. People who glide into a room as if freshly oiled, their gaze level, their thoughts scrubbed and shaved and camera-ready. I look for the tell, the quiver, or moment when their voice accidentally goes French. Only when I find it, that ungrouted crack, can I relax into their moment. And if not? I forget to listen so stuck am I on obsessing over their ability to be comfortable when they are, like all of us, sitting on a pin cushion while a sniper stalks them from the street.I’m particularly impressed (baffled, scared) by those who thrive when a camera is on them. Who thrive, rather than (as I do) disintegrate, internal organs collapsing into a rich mulch that coats their bowels and throat, their face falling, too, giving the impression that they are entirely without gorm and perhaps also a bit on fire. I battle with this, though only slightly, with limp wrists. Continue reading...

Why bother with getting the Botoxed gang back together when new shows are what we really need now?They’ll be there for you. Again. Cue handclaps, haircuts and fountain-dancing. Yes, last Thursday was a case of Friends reunited – not ye olde alumni hook-up website but the long-awaited reunion of the Central Perk six, toothsome stars of the definitive 90s sitcom.The quip-smart sextet, reportedly paid $2.5m apiece to indulge viewers’ nostalgia and say “pivot!” a few times for the two-hour HBO special, were joined by an A-list all-star cast – some welcome (Gaga! Malala!), some less welcome (is there no cultural event that James Corden won’t gatecrash?) and some bafflingly random (David Beckham! Justin Bieber in a potato costume!). Continue reading...

In 1921, a white mob attacked Tulsa’s Black Wall Street, killing an estimated 300 people, but it wasn’t talked about until recentlyThere was no memorial to it in town. Teachers made no mention of it, not even during a half-semester devoted to local history. The white schoolboy Scott Ellsworth of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was left to wonder what the city’s darkest secret could be.Related: The Ground Breaking review: indispensable history of the Tulsa Race Massacre Continue reading...

Dixie Lewis, 19, was in a car that was travelling on State Route 89 in California when it crossed into the path of an oncoming truckDixie Lewis, the 19-year-old daughter of the writer Michael Lewis and former MTV correspondent Tabitha Soren, has been killed in a highway crash in northern California.Lewis was a passenger in a car driven by her friend and former Berkeley High School classmate, Ross Schultz, 20, who also died in accident on Tuesday afternoon, according to her family and authorities. Continue reading...

HatWRKS was slammed on social media as antisemitic and ‘disgusting’ after which the post was deletedA hat shop in Nashville, Tennessee that reportedly sold “Not Vaccinated” badges resembling the yellow Star of David which Jewish people were forced to wear by the Nazis has removed a post promoting the item, following extensive criticism online.Related: ‘Tyranny’: Idaho governor repeals lieutenant’s mask mandate ban Continue reading...

Forecasts of record cold temperatures produce clouds and rain in New York City, meaning fans of the sight will have to wait until JulyManhattanhenge, a spectacular biannual sight in which the setting sun aligns perfectly with the street grid system on the island at the heart of New York City, was set to be obscured by damp and gloomy weather on Saturday – one high-profile casualty of a disappointing forecast for the Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of the American summer.Related: How to take a terrible photo of Manhattanhenge, in five easy steps Continue reading...

Six were also suspended after three-month investigation into death of Jaquaree Simmons, which was ruled a homicideEleven employees of a Texas sheriff’s office have been fired and six suspended following the death of an inmate who was hit multiple times in the head by detention officers, authorities said on Friday.The Harris county sheriff, Ed Gonzalez, said he was “very upset and heartbroken” after a three-month investigation into the death of Jaquaree Simmons, 23, in February. Medical examiners ruled Simmons’ death a homicide from injuries to his head. Continue reading...

The story of how Republicans undermined the 6 January inquiry is informed by eight House and Senate aides, who spoke on the condition of anonymityDays before the Senate voted down the creation of a 9/11-style commission to investigate the Capitol attack, the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, was adamant: he would oppose the bill, regardless of any amendments – and he expected his colleagues to follow suit.The commission that would have likely found Donald Trump and some Republicans responsible for the insurrection posed an existential threat to the GOP ahead of the midterms, he said, and would complicate efforts to regain the majority in Congress. Continue reading...

Last June, law enforcement removed protesters before the then president walked to a church for a photo op with a Bible

Amazon’s purchase of MGM is a reminder that movies and shows are just commodities to be traded and hoardedThis week, Amazon acquired the hallowed movie studio MGM for a sum of $8.45bn, second in size to the company’s $13.4bn purchase of Whole Foods in 2017. The day before, the attorney general of Washington DC sued Amazon over antitrust concerns in the retail market; it joins attorneys general from California, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Washington state who have also raised similar concerns. Chief executive Jeff Bezos, who is stepping down from the position in July, said in a statement: “MGM has a vast, deep catalogue of much beloved intellectual property. We can reimagine and develop that IP for the 21st century.”Related: Amazon workers are rising up around the world to say: enough | Valter Sanchez, Christy Hoffman and Casper Gelderblom Continue reading...

Next month the Pentagon will release a hotly anticipated report – but most Americans already believe in the most radical explanations for UFOs

Eric Garcetti, who may join the Biden administration, would leave behind a thorny legacy in the megacityThe question has loomed over Los Angeles politics for years: when will the mayor resign?Pundits have long predicted that Eric Garcetti, the mayor with clear ambitions for higher office, would not finish out his second term. Now, it seems likely that the Democrat running the second largest city in the US will be stepping down more than a year early – with widespread reports that Joe Biden has selected him as his ambassador to India. Continue reading...

Talks continue on a compromise over infrastructure but GOP intransigeance on a Capitol riot commission does not bode wellIt’s become a familiar process in the Joe Biden era.Biden and Democrats say they will work with Republicans. Republicans say they want a seat at the negotiating table. Then the prospect of Democrats going alone begins to hover over the negotiations. Continue reading...

I’ve always liked that my birthday is in May, but this year I was dreading itBad news, Arieans and Taureans, or – as they are known by people who don’t believe in fairytales – people with birthdays between March and May. You have just had your second crap birthday in a row. No doubt the planets foretold it all. Now that I have declared myself the Guardian’s first astrologist, I must add that all Pisceans should avoid buying a dishwasher this week and Scorpios must stay away from anyone in a Moncler jacket. (That latter one is not in the stars, it’s just a good general rule for avoiding people with too much money and no taste.)So it was my birthday the other week. I always liked that my birthday is in May, because it really is the perfect party month: late spring, so warm, but not – crucially – summer, so people generally aren’t on holiday. Also, I share my day with some genuinely interesting people: L Frank Baum! Madeleine Albright! Andy Murray! This might not say anything important about me, but it definitely doesn’t say anything bad, so I’ll take it. Clever me for being born on such a great day! At this point, you should be picturing Leonardo DiCaprio at the beginning of Titanic, clutching his ticket and shouting: “We’re the luckiest sons of bitches in the world!” Except it’s me instead of Leo, my birthday instead of a ticket, and the coronavirus instead of the Titanic. Continue reading...

My country has been ravaged by Covid, but will still play host to an international tournament in two weeks’ time. Conmebol and Argentina president Alberto Fernández should be ashamedConmebol found a simple solution for its recent problems with the upcoming Copa América. It just wasn’t a very good one. Weeks of anti-government protests in Colombia, that have left at least 43 dead, forced South American football’s governing body to move the tournament from the co-host country, to Argentina, a nation that has been brought to its knees by Covid-19.At the time of writing, roughly two weeks before the tournament is scheduled to kick off in Buenos Aires, only just more than 5% of Argentina’s population is fully vaccinated. Continue reading...

Weekend rallies with Roger Stone and Michael Flynn show key influence of libertarian helping to fund Arizona election auditThis Memorial Day weekend, several prominent conservative allies of Donald Trump, who have promoted almost nonstop his false narratives about the 2020 election results, are slated to hold rallies in Florida and Texas endorsed by the wealthy libertarian Patrick Byrne.Billed as featuring the Trump confidant Roger Stone, the retired general Michael Flynn, Byrne and other pro-Trump stalwarts, the dual events underscore that Byrne – who has been leading private fundraising for the politically driven vote audit now under way in Arizona’s largest county – seems intent on funding and pushing conspiracy theories about the 2020 elections. Continue reading...

Bounchan Keola and Kao Saelee were facing deportation to Laos after spending decades in prison for teenage convictionsCalifornia’s governor has issued pardons to two formerly incarcerated firefighters who had been threatened with deportation to Laos after spending most of their lives in the US.Gavin Newsom on Friday announced the pardons for Bounchan Keola, 39, and Kao Saelee, 41, who were both sent to US immigration authorities last year after spending decades in prison for teenage convictions and had battled wildfires as incarcerated firefighters. Continue reading...

Officials say the guns Samuel James Cassidy used to kill nine of his coworkers at a California rail yard appear to be legalA gunman who killed nine of his co-workers at a rail yard in San Jose, California, had stockpiled weapons and ammunition at his home, including 12 guns and 22,000 rounds of ammunition, authorities said on Friday.

By blocking a congressional investigation into what happened, the Republican party has proven itself beyond shame or dignity

President’s budget proposal seeks to end Hyde amendment that limits insurance coverage of terminations for nearly 8m women

President lays out plans to drive government spending to its highest sustained levels since the second world war

Analysis: one of America’s two major parties now falls outside the democratic mainstream but are Democrats taking the existential threat seriously?The question now is not so much whether the Republican party can be saved any time in the foreseeable future. It is what Joe Biden and the Democrats should do when faced with a party determined to subvert democracy through any means necessary, including violence.On Friday Republicans in the Senate torpedoed an effort to create a bipartisan commission to investigate the deadly insurrection by Donald Trump’s supporters at the US Capitol on 6 January, deploying the procedural move known as the filibuster to stop it even being debated. Continue reading...

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

Republicans killed effort to set up a 9/11-style inquiry into the 6 January attack despite broad support for such an investigationSenate Republicans have blocked the creation of a special commission to study the deadly 6 January attack on the Capitol, dashing hopes for a bipartisan panel amid a Republican push to put the violent insurrection by Donald Trump’s supporters behind them.Republicans killed the effort to set up a 9/11-style inquiry into the attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob despite broad popular support for such an investigation and pleas from the family of a Capitol police officer who collapsed and died after the siege and other officers who battled the rioters. Continue reading...

Judge rejected efforts by Giuliani and lawyer Victoria Toensing to force prosecutors to divulge why they seized electronicsA judge said on Friday that he will appoint a “special master” to protect attorney-client privilege during a review of materials seized from Rudy Giuliani and another lawyer who have represented Donald Trump.US district judge J Paul Oetken directed Manhattan prosecutors and attorneys for Giuliani and Washington lawyer Victoria Toensing to submit possible candidates next week for the position. Continue reading...

Homeland security chief Alejandro Mayorkas says ‘any passport that we provide for vaccinations … [must be] accessible to all’The Biden administration is taking “a very close look” at the possibility of vaccine passports for travel into and out of the United States, the homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, said on Friday.The Transportation Security Administration, which safeguards the nation’s transportation systems, is housed under Mayorkas’s department. Continue reading...

Shooting occurred on Wednesday when VTA employee walked into facility and killed nine co-workersIn downtown San Jose, in the crowded plaza of city hall, hundreds of mourning families, local residents and Bay Area light rail employees laid flowers in front of nine framed pictures.It was a scene erected to honor those killed at a rail maintenance yard on Wednesday, the worst mass shooting in the Bay Area’s history. Continue reading...

The PM is notoriously chaotic with cash, spending £27,000 on takeaways yet struggling to buy his own coffee. His nuptials with Carrie Symonds ought to be a blastI used to think I understood what a posh sensibility looked like: what curtains the upper class favoured; what they ate, drank and wore. They have weird pockets of tightness – orange juice is a special-occasion drink – and moments of stupendous extravagance. I had an affair once with an aristocrat who spent 35 grand on a sofa. This was in the 90s. You could have bought a one-bedroom flat and still had change for council tax.Since the invention of Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds, I haven’t understood any of it. I cannot comprehend how you spend £27,000 on takeaways in eight months, as Johnson is alleged to have done. Wouldn’t you look at all the boxes piling up and think: “Jesus, I could have bought a jetski. I could have endowed a scholarship in … I don’t know, something I’m interested in, and lived for ever in the memory of people who also found that thing interesting. Instead, I just digested it.” Continue reading...

Police reportedly arrested 149 alleged revelers after digital invitation for Adrian Lopez’s 17th birthday party took off on appIt’s the scenario every parent of a teenager dreads. Leaving their child at home with assurances that their “small gathering” will not get out of hand, and returning to find footprints on the ceiling and the alcohol cabinet drained.For the parents of 17-year-old Adrian Lopez, the outcome was far worse. After a viral invitation on TikTok, the California teen’s Saturday party drew 2,500 revellers and quickly descended into a scene from Animal House, complete with illegal fireworks, mosh pit and multiple arrests. Continue reading...

The delayed vote is expected to mark the first successful use of a filibuster in the Biden presidency to halt Senate legislative action

The notion of a neutral and moderate middle is a prejudice of people for whom the system is working, against those for whom it’s notThe idea that all bias is some deviation from an unbiased center is itself a bias that prevents pundits, journalists, politicians, and plenty of others from recognizing some of the most ugly and impactful prejudices and assumptions of our times. I think of this bias, which insists the center is not biased, not afflicted with agendas, prejudices, and destructive misperceptions, as status-quo bias. Underlying it is the belief that things are pretty OK now, that the people in charge should be trusted because power confers legitimacy, that those who want sweeping change are too loud or demanding or unreasonable, and that we should just all get along without looking at the skeletons in the closet and the stuff swept under the rug. It’s mostly a prejudice of people for whom the system is working, against those for whom it’s not.I saw a tweet the other day that said the Secret Service and US Capitol police must have been incompetent or complicit to be blindsided by the 6 January insurrection. The writer didn’t seem to grasp the third option: that the Secret Service was unable to see past the assumptions that middle-aged conservative white men don’t pose a threat to democracy and the rule of law, that elected officials in powerful places weren’t whipping up a riot or worse, that danger meant outsiders and others. A decade ago, when I went to northern Japan for the first anniversary of the Great Tohuko Earthquake and tsunami, I was told that the hundred-foot-high wave of black water was so inconceivable a sight that some people could not recognize it and the danger it posed. Others assumed this tsunami would be no bigger than those in recent memory and did not flee high enough. A lot of people died of not being able to see the unanticipated. Continue reading...

At least 70% have been released as they await hearings – compared with a typical rate of 25% of federal defendantsAt least 70% of people charged in the Capitol riot have been released as they wait for trial, according to a Guardian analysis.That high pretrial release rate stands in stark contrast with the usual detention rates in the federal system, where only 25% of defendants nationwide are typically released before their trial. Continue reading...

After losing everything, the Norfolk-born former NBA All-Star nearly took his own life. Now he wants to lead the city where he was savedThe tallest mayoral candidate in Seattle history, 7ft 2in James Donaldson, backs a beat-up Saturn SUV into an angled parking spot in the cacophonous neighborhood of Georgetown, where modest homes and a row of restaurants share space with a massive airstrip, multiple sets of railroad tracks and a freeway entrance ramp. Planes, trains and automobiles – the urban symphony.“Georgetown is the noisiest neighborhood,” says the 63-year-old Donaldson after sitting down at an outdoor table at All City Coffee, clad in sport sandals, khaki shorts and a gray Washington State University sweatshirt. Continue reading...

In an extract from a new book on the history of women’s surfing, Jim Kempton looks at the dangers and thrills of taking on monster wavesThe media adulation and peer group deference to heroic big-wave surfers like Paige Alms, Keala Kennelly and Maya Gabeira belies the potentially lethal damage that collision with multiple stories of collapsing water can mete out on the human body.Surfing’s biggest threat has always been the danger of injury – nearly 70 times more common than fatalities. In the rarified world of truly big waves, the bigger the wave the more danger involved. When it comes to surfing, size really does matter. Since fellow surfers increase the risk factor, respect and caution usually keeps any blatantly risky behavior out of the picture when surfing the biggest (and most dangerous) waves. But not always. Continue reading...

Jacqueline Keeler, the author of a new book on standoffs with the government, tells Jason Wilson why the colonial relationship on which the US was founded needs to be renegotiatedIn 2014, the writer Jacqueline Keeler started the #notyourmascot hashtag, a social media campaign highlighting the way sports teams use Native Americans mascots to perpetuate racist caricatures. In her current work, she investigates people who are falsely claiming Native ancestry for personal gain – including Susan Taffe Reed, the Native American program director who turned out not to be Native American.“In all of this, the central issue is our domination by a colonial government,” she says. Continue reading...

With an unfair, inefficient global rollout, the west is squandering trust and risking its own prosperityThe proper functioning of any interconnected economic system depends on trust. And a global system that has been designed by advanced economies requires a significant level of buy-in from the developing world. Both become even more important as more developing economies, led by China, gain systemic importance.Related: WHO and global faith leaders call for fair access to Covid vaccines Continue reading...

The corrections department has spent more than $2,000 on ingredients to make cyanide gas, the same used in AuschwitzThe state of Arizona is preparing to kill death row inmates using hydrogen cyanide, the same lethal gas that was deployed at Auschwitz.Documents obtained by the Guardian reveal that Arizona’s department of corrections has spent more than $2,000 in procuring the ingredients to make cyanide gas. The department bought a solid brick of potassium cyanide in December for $1,530. Continue reading...

Andriy Derkach, a Ukrainian member of parliament, is being investigated and has previously been sanctioned by the US TreasuryFederal prosecutors in New York are investigating whether Ukrainian officials attempted to interfere in the 2020 presidential election to undermine Joe Biden and help Donald Trump, the New York Times has reported, citing unnamed sources “with knowledge of the matter”.The criminal investigation includes examining whether the Ukrainian officials used Rudy Giuliani, then personal lawyer to the former president, to spread misleading claims about Biden, the New York Times reported. Continue reading...