Congressman Jamaal Bowman urges president to do more on climate, inequality and ‘burning crisis of structural racism’The progressive wing of the Democratic party praised Joe Biden for his handling of the Covid-19 crisis in a response to the president’s first address to Congress, but urged the president to be bolder in tackling the climate crisis and economic inequality, and to do more to address “the burning crisis of structural racism in our country”.Jamaal Bowman, a Democratic congressman from New York, gave a speech responding to Biden’s address shortly after the president finished his address, as progressives seek to convince Biden to pursue more ambitious policies. Continue reading...

Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi sit behind the president, in a measure of progress for gender equality in the USWhen Joe Biden gave his first speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday evening, viewers were treated to a historic first – the sight of two women, Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi, seated behind the president.Biden began his speech by thanking “Madam speaker” and, in particular, “Madam vice-president”. Continue reading...

Remains of one of the children killed in 1985 police bombing were used for research and teaching at University of PennsylvaniaAn Ivy League university which kept the bones of a Black child killed by police for use in its research and which were also later used as a “case study” in an online forensic anthropology course has apologized for its actions.The physical remains of one of the children who were killed in the bombing of the Move black liberation organization in Philadelphia in May 1985 have been in the anthropological collections of the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton for the past 36 years. Continue reading...

Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was shot and killed as he ran along the street in Brunswick, Georgia in February last yearThe US justice department has indicted three men on federal hate crime charges in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia.Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was jogging when he was shot and killed in Brunswick on 23 February last year. Arbery’s family characterized his death as a modern-day lynching. Continue reading...

Giuliani’s lawyer condemns ‘legal thuggery’ after investigators reportedly seize electronic devices from Manhattan residence

American Families Plan, which includes tuition-free community college, aims to reshape the economy’s social infrastructureJoe Biden’s speech to the US Congress on Wednesday evening caps off his first 100 days in office and puts him in the very chamber and at the very podium where insurrectionists loyal to Donald Trump sustained mob rule for a time on 6 January.Amid high security around Washington DC and the US Capitol, Biden is due to make his first address to members of a joint session of the House of Representatives and the US Senate. Continue reading...

Judge said he believed videos contained information that could harm the investigation or threaten safety of people in the footageA judge on Wednesday denied requests to release body-camera video in the case of a Black man who was shot to death by North Carolina deputies as they tried to arrest him on drug-related warrants.Judge Jeffery Foster said he believed the videos contained information that could harm the investigation or threaten the safety of people seen in the footage. He said the video must remain out of public view for at least 30 days. Continue reading...

Northern Ireland’s first minister has paid the price for believing the promises of the hard BrexiteersIf 23 out of your 27 devolved assembly members, plus four of your eight Westminster MPs, along with lots of your local councillors and party members, have all signed letters calling on you to resign, then politically speaking, you are already toast. This was Arlene Foster’s unhappy fate, duly confirmed today. For the Democratic Unionist party leader and Northern Ireland first minister, it is the end of the road.Foster’s ousting has many causes and it will have many consequences. It is also an event without local precedent. Remarkably, the DUP has never in its history had a leadership contest (nor, of course, has its rival, Sinn Féin). The DUP’s no-surrender founder, Ian Paisley, led the party into a power-sharing government without being seriously challenged. His successor, Peter Robinson, survived a marital crisis without losing his grip over his socially conservative party. Foster also toughed out the “cash for ash” renewable energy scheme scandal, which shut down the Northern Ireland assembly for three years from January 2017. Continue reading...

When it comes to cleaning up after your hound, some leaves work better than others – as I found out the hard wayTo leave your dog’s defecation on a pavement or in a park is beneath contempt, but to bag it up only to leave the poo-filled plastic hanging around for eternity: that’s just bizarre. You care enough to do the right thing, but then do something worse.Not me. Before my first country walk with my dog, I packed a small, empty ice-cream tub with a secure lid. When the dog did its business, I planned to bag it and, if no bin presented itself, pop it in the tub and take it home. This didn’t work very well. It was a warm day, so I was concerned this tub of hell might detonate in my backpack. Also, the dreadful prospect of opening it at a later stage marred the whole walk. In the end, it remained unopened as I bunged the whole package into the bin. So, a little poo wrapped in a lot of plastic ended up in landfill. Continue reading...

Mauro Morandi had to leave his solitary island life. Having been cooped up with others for months, it could be appealingIt was poignant to read of 81-year-old Mauro Morandi’s decision to leave Budelli, the island off Sardinia that had been his home for more than 30 years, following threats of eviction. He had been nicknamed “Italy’s Robinson Crusoe”, having ended up there simply by chance, after his catamaran broke down while attempting to sail to the South Pacific. The island’s caretaker happened to be retiring, and Morandi loved the place so much that he decided to stay and assume the role; until now.There’s something so sad about hearing of a person torn from their idyll, when they have sought out and built for themselves a life of solitude. Though we may not all be natural hermits, I think many of us understand that, for some people, constant social interaction can be draining and even painful, a source of anxiety rather than pleasure. Books such as Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, and a better understanding of neurodiversity, have led to a greater empathy over the past decade with those who need more of their own company, and feel stressed by constant socialising or overstimulating environments such as open-plan offices. Continue reading...

Laura Italiano claimed she was forced to write a report about migrant children being given a copy of the VP’s book as part of a welcome kitA reporter at Rupert Murdoch’s New York tabloid has resigned after she claimed she was forced to write an incorrect front page story about migrants and Kamala Harris.The New York Post published an article on 23 April headlined “Kam on in”, which claimed migrant children were being given welcome packs that contained copies of the US vice-president’s 2019 children’s picture book, Superheroes Are Everywhere. A follow-up article claimed thousands of copies had been distributed. Continue reading...

Largest US employer could have saved 133 lives with policy as workers fear calling in sick could lead to firing, advocates sayMore than 7,500 Covid-19 infections and 133 deaths could have been prevented if Walmart offered employees two weeks of paid sick leave, according to a report released on Wednesday.The public health not-for-profit Human Impact Partners calculated the impact that better paid sick leave could have had for employees of Walmart, the largest employer in the US, using findings from the University of Wisconsin that universal sick leave could lead to a nearly 6% reduction in coronavirus infections and deaths for workers in Wisconsin. Continue reading...

The president’s handling of the Covid pandemic and the economic crisis have drawn praise but questions remain over issues such as immigration and the filibusterRelated: Biden’s 100 days: bold action and broad vision amid grief and turmoil Continue reading...

$1.8tn plan would introduce measures including a national childcare programme and free tuition for community college. Plus, fully vaccinated Americans can now go out without a maskGood morning.The White House has announced a $.18tn plan to overhaul the US’s social infrastructure, from childcare, to education and health. Key aspects of the American Families Plan include: Continue reading...

The defender is not satisfied with stopping the world’s best strikers. She is also using her platform to fight homophobia and change the game from withinBattling sexism, giving a talk at Harvard University, running a podcast and stopping elite strikers – another day in the life of Janelly Farias.There’s much more to the 31-year-old Mexican-American defender than just her abilities on the field. Aside from her roles with Mexico’s women’s national team and Club America in Liga MX Femenil (Mexico’s top flight for women’s soccer), she has gained attention for her activism and drive to make social change through the sport. It is an ongoing endeavor for Farias, and close to home, it’s a fight she knows all too well. Continue reading...

Our writers take a look at the best prospects coming out of college, and which teams need to get it right in the coming daysAndrew Luck. Both are/were smart, athletic quarterbacks able to play within the rhythm and flow of the system or create off-script. Luck was never quite able to hit his Elway-like potential. By the time the team around him was good enough to compete, his body gave out. But for six seasons (particularly the first three) he dragged a rotating cast of mediocrity into playoff contention. Lawrence has similar talent. OC Continue reading...

Non-biting male mosquito larvae part of controversial program to curb spread of diseases such as dengue, Zika and yellow feverThe Florida Keys will this week see the release of genetically-modified, non-biting male mosquito larvae as part of a controversial program designed to curb the spread of insect-borne diseases such as dengue, Zika, yellow fever and other human diseases.The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District and British firm biotech Oxitec announced last week that 12,000 of the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito species are expected to emerge each week for three weeks from six locations: two on Cudjoe Key, one on Ramrod Key and three on Vaca Key. Continue reading...

Seven officials, from Kamala Harris, to cabinet secretaries, to close advisers, have been crucial for the new government’s impactRelated: Biden’s 100 days: bold action and broad vision amid grief and turmoilJoe Biden’s first 100 days in office consisted largely of his administration’s rush to reverse Donald Trump’s approach to the coronavirus pandemic. Much of the national spotlight has fallen on how the new US president has addressed the crisis or which aides have been closely involved in coordinating the federal government’s responses. Continue reading...

The effort has been unprecedented not only in its volume as more than 360 bills with voting restrictions have been introduced so far – but also in its scopeThe most urgent crisis facing the US during the first 100 days of Joe Biden’s presidency has been a ticking time bomb that has unfolded far from the White House and the halls of Congress. Continue reading...

After Congress ordered the US Marine Corps to fully integrate women into its west coast training battalions, the first 53 female recruits have become Marines Continue reading...

Under bill signed by the governor, doctors can in some cases face felony charges for performing the procedureArizona’s governor has signed a sweeping anti-abortion bill that bans the procedure if the woman is seeking it solely because a fetus has a genetic abnormality such as Down’s syndrome.Doctors who perform an abortion solely because the child has a survivable genetic issue can face felony charges. The proposal also contains a raft of other provisions sought by abortion opponents. Continue reading...

President signed an executive order that will provide a pay bump to thousands of workers, some who make as little as $10.95 an hourJoe Biden has signed an executive order that will raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour for federal contractors, providing a pay bump to hundreds of thousands of workers.Biden administration officials said that the higher wages would lead to greater worker productivity, offsetting any additional costs to taxpayers. Continue reading...

Company reports revenues up 64% in first quarter as shoppers seek comfort during the pandemic

Toronto FC players were greeted with an unexpected surprise during their training session in Florida as they prepare for their Concacaf Champions League match against Cruz Azul.Defender Chris Mavinga said it was the first time he had seen an alligator, adding: "It's good to be in Florida … I never see this in Toronto"

Recovery has allowed group to pay off debt and start its $500m share buyback scheme earlier than expected

Independent pathologist hired by Brown family examined his body and noted one wound to the head

Marine scientists say they have found what they believe to be as many as 25,000 barrels that possibly contain DDT dumped off the Southern California coast near Catalina Island, where a massive underwater toxic waste site dating back to the second world war has long been suspected.The 27,345 ‘barrel-like’ images were captured by researchers at the University of California San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography. They mapped more than 36,000 acres of seafloor between Santa Catalina Island and the Los Angeles coast in a region previously found to contain high levels of the toxic chemical in sediments and in the ecosystem.The scientists have been investigating the barrels dumped on the sea floor for years

Patients who have recovered from coronavirus yearn to be able to enjoy food again. Good cooking is a rare joy in these times

The daughter of civil rights activists says if you want to tackle Covid recovery, housing and racial justice, ‘pick a Black woman’When Maya Wiley announced her candidacy for New York mayor – known as the second hardest job in the US – it seemed like her résumé was tailored to the moment.It was early October last year, and the city was reeling from trauma. In the spring, New York City had been the center of the coronavirus pandemic, the city rife with ambulance sirens and hospitals erecting tents to house patients outside their overflowing doors. In the summer, thousands of New Yorkers flooded the streets to protest against the killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and countless other Black Americans killed at the hands of police officers. Continue reading...

Jennifer Lopez and J Balvin among stars at performance to raise money for Covax

Karen Garner, who has dementia, reportedly fractured arm during arrest outside Walmart in Loveland last yearNew footage has been released that shows the disturbing aftermath of the violent arrest of a 73-year-old woman, believed to suffer from dementia, after she left a Walmart store in Colorado last June.Related: Police killings of Black Americans amount to crimes against humanity, international inquiry finds Continue reading...

Although the United States quickly accuses other nations of genocide, it hasn’t acknowledged its own genocide against Indigenous peopleLast week, Rick Santorum repeated a widely held myth of US exceptionalism. “We came here and created a blank slate, we birthed a nation from nothing,” the former US senator and CNN commentator told the rightwing Young America’s Foundation’s summit. “It was born of the people who came here.” His “we” doesn’t include Indigenous people who were already here or African people who were brought in chains. And that “blank slate” required the violent pillaging of two continents – Africa and North America. If the United States was “birthed from nothing”, then the land and enslaved labor that made the wealth of this nation must have fallen from the sky – because it surely didn’t come from Europe.It’s not the first time a CNN employee has espoused anti-Indigenous racism. Last November during live election night coverage, CNN labeled Native American voters as “something else”. The Native American Journalist Association (NAJA) asked CNN to issue an apology, which it refused to do. And just last week, CNN host Poppy Harlow misidentified the Minnesota lieutenant governor Peggy Flanagan, a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, as “a white woman”. The network has yet to correct the error. NAJA (of which I’m a member) has since called for the firing of Rick Santorum and its membership to avoid working with CNN for its lack of ethics and accountability around various racist views among its staff. Continue reading...

In contrast to the stereotype of the union worker as a white man in a hard hat, today’s labor movement skews black, brown and femaleWhile many of us are mourning the outcome of the unionization vote among Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama, we must not confuse the failure of this specific campaign with the wants and aspirations of workers on the ground. The Amazon drive is only one part of a larger tide of multiracial labor activism incubated in workplaces during the Covid-19 pandemic – activism that will undoubtedly grow as the lockdowns recede. Now is a time for reflection on recent union campaigns that have captured the imagination of workers of color and the communities in which they live. At the dawn of the Biden presidency, the most vital sector of the labor movement is in dialogue with the Movement for Black Lives’ call for reinvestment in communities of color. From the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) fighting for the rights of homeless students during the pandemic, to public sector unions at Rutgers University demanding layoff protections for the most vulnerable, a new generation of labor activists see workplace struggle as an essential staging ground for racial and gender justice. The turn toward intersectional unionism matters, because it is the new face of labor militancy in the United States.Related: In space, no one will hear Bezos and Musk’s workers call for basic rights | Robert Reich Continue reading...

The systematic killing and disproportionate targeting of unarmed Black people by US police breaks human rights commitments, experts have said. Plus, California’s governor will face a recall electionGood morning.The systematic police killings of unarmed Black Americans amount to crimes against humanity, and should be prosecuted under international law, a global human rights inquiry has found. Continue reading...

Donald Trump and his allies piled on the NBA star for a recent tweet about police killings. But their complaints reek of hypocrisyConservatives threw a collective hissy fit over a familiar target last week: LeBron James. The NBA star had tweeted – then deleted – a post about the police killing of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant in Ohio. The context of the tweet is important.People around the world were on pins and needles, hoping that the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin didn’t go the same way as so many before. Officers such as Sean Williams (John Crawford), Timothy Loehmann (Tamir Rice), Daniel Pantaleo (Eric Garner), Betty Shelby (Terence Crutcher), Jarrett Tonn (Sean Monterrosa), and the six officers who killed Willie McCoy either have not faced charges or were found not guilty after killing Black and Latino men, despite video footage of the shootings. Qualified immunity, the police bill of rights and law enforcement unions dedicated to defending officers right or wrong, means it is a near impossibility to achieve a conviction in such cases. But Chauvin’s killing of George Floyd was different. For the first time in Minnesota state history, a white police officer was found guilty of murdering a Black man. The world let out a collective exhale of relief with the hope that the verdict could be the first step towards complete accountability for police officers. Continue reading...

Trump continues to exert a massive gravitational pull on the party while the president forges ahead with ambitious agendaFor Democrats it has been a hundred days of sweeping legislation, barrier-breaking appointments and daring to dream big. For Republicans, a hundred days in the political wilderness.The party that just four years ago controlled the White House and both chambers of Congress now finds itself shut out of power and struggling to find its feet. As Joe Biden forges ahead with ambitions to shift the political paradigm, Republicans still have a Donald Trump problem. Continue reading...

In devastating report, human rights experts call on International Criminal Court prosecutor to open an immediate investigationThe systematic killing and maiming of unarmed African Americans by police amount to crimes against humanity that should be investigated and prosecuted under international law, an inquiry into US police brutality by leading human rights lawyers from around the globe has found.A week after the former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder in George Floyd’s death, the unabated epidemic of police killings of Black men and women in the US has now attracted scorching international attention. Continue reading...