Turki Alalshikh is willing to spend billions to promote boxing. Bringing back what made the sport so compelling would helpOn January 14, 2025, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh posted a message on social media that read, MAKE BOXING GREAT AGAIN."That's a noble goal. And the Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority has signaled its willingness to spend billions of dollars to achieve it.Thomas Hauser's email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book - a memoir titled My Mother and Me - is a personal memoir that was published by Admission Press. Continue reading...
There are dozens of reasons why the former Dallas star returning to his old team could end in disaster. But he would be able to stand up to Jerry JonesIt didn't take long for Jerry Jones to turn the Dallas Cowboys' head coach search into a circus.Perhaps that's just how he likes it. In the middle of the NFL playoffs, with the Cowboys long out of the postseason picture, up pops Jones to push his team back to the top of the news agenda. Continue reading...
Joe Biden has announced a ceasefire deal between Hamas and the Israeli government. It is due to begin on 19 January - the day before the US president leaves office - and will include the release of hostages detained by Hamas and Israel. When a journalist asked Biden: 'Who do you think deserves credit for this, you or Trump?', he responded: 'Is that a joke?'The US government previously revealed the deal was developed and negotiated by Biden's team and would largely be implemented by the incoming administration. The war in Gaza has left at least 46,000 Palestinians and 1,700 Israelis dead
Despite a few more recognisable names (er, Kid Rock) due to appear than last time, this will not be the cultural event of the yearIn the quaintly upsetting era of George W Bush's presidency, there was something people liked to pompously call the cultural opposition". This was made up of figures in popular culture pushing back against Bush, and 20 years later it may be imagined their spiritual heirs are limbering up for equivalent duties. The first formal opportunity falls next week with Donald Trump's inauguration and, just as leaders in the tech and business worlds have failed spectacularly to rally against him, so a sense prevails that among certain artists and influencers there has been a gentle softening of spines too.This is a general observation and also one located in the figure of Carrie Underwood, the country star scheduled to sing the national anthem in Trump's honour on Monday. Underwood, a 41-year-old who came to prominence via the fourth season of American Idol, may seem a slim figure on whom to hang observations about the waning of cultural opposition towards Trump. There persists a feeling, however, that in 2016, no singer-songwriter of Underwood's prominence would have offered her services to the Trump administration. Back then, when Trump's election struck many in the US and around the world with the force of an out-of-body experience, the best the inauguration committee could come up with was another talent-show graduate and holder of the unfortunate mantle former child star", Jackie Evancho.Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
During his farewell address, the president expressed gratitude toward the US and paid homage to the idea of liberal democracy while issuing a warning against the consolidation of power in the hands of a few. He warned against 'oligarchy' and expressed grave concern about the state of the free press and the acceleration of the climate crisis
The president did not air grievances or dwell on the past, but sounded an alarm call about the future under TrumpThere was a sting in the tail. Joe Biden's farewell address had not seemed like a must-watch for most politics-weary Americans. Those who did dutifully tune in might have been expecting the president to deliver a yawn-inducing first draft of his White House memoir.But after more than half a century in elected office, the 82-year-old great-grandfather had one last surprise. The primetime speech did not mention Donald Trump by name. Instead it will be remembered for its dark, ominous warning about something wider and deeper of which Trump is a symptom. Continue reading...
New Georgia Project, fined $300,000 by state ethics body, admitted to 16 violations of election law, officials sayThe New Georgia Project, a prominent voting rights organization founded by Stacey Abrams, has been fined $300,000 by the state ethics commission of Georgia for illegally campaigning for Abrams and other Democratic candidates during the 2018 election cycle.The consent order ends a years-long investigation that the voting rights group had broken state campaign finance laws by raising and spending millions in support of candidate without proper registration and disclosure. The fine is the largest in Georgia history, according to the state ethics commission. Continue reading...
by Lauren Aratani, Maanvi Singh and Abené Clayton on (#6TK00)
National Weather Service warns next week is a concern' as winds could bring increased chances of red flag warningAnxious and wildfire-weary Angelenos can expect a break in the extreme winds that have been fanning the flames destroying the region. And while welcome, the reprieve may be short-lived, the National Weather Service (NWS) said in a social media post Wednesday afternoon.Next week is a concern. While confident that we will NOT see a repeat of last week, dangerous fire weather conditions are expected," the agency said. Continue reading...
President sounds alarm about growing power of ultra-wealthy before handing presidency back to TrumpJoe Biden's final address to the nation struck an ominous tone after warning of the growing power of America's ultra-wealthy, and cautioning that an emerging oligarchy threatens the foundations of US democracy.The Wednesday prime-time Oval Office speech came as Biden prepares to hand the presidency back to Donald Trump, who he defeated in 2020 only to see return to power after Biden's own dramatic exit from politics last summer. Continue reading...
It's back-to-school time, which means nostalgia for covering books in contact and spending way too long in the notebook aisleAs a child of the 90s, my summers were spent splashing in the neighbours' overly chlorinated pool and flicking through the back-to-school stationery catalogue. I circled the essential items, categorised my needs and wants, and cross-referenced them with the list the school had provided. I marked stationery shopping" on my calendar - an annual highlight - and counted down the days.Despite the heat and humidity - the least conducive weather conditions for covering exercise books in sticky contact - my mother would take deep breaths and carefully coat each one in whatever print I'd chosen. She used a ruler to remove the bubbles while I dreaded the very real possibility that I'd have to live with ugly folds on my school books for a whole year. I'm the first-born daughter - that kind of imperfect would never do. Continue reading...
Avery Colvert created Altadena Girls, an organization now with celebrities sending products, eateries reaching out to cater and a surplus of volunteersCars lined up outside an art studio in eastern Los Angeles on Sunday morning, packed with boxes of feminine care products, pimple patches, skincare, clothes, underwear, makeup and more. Some volunteers had driven for hours to support a unique mutual aid effort.As fires in Los Angeles continue to rage, people across the city are springing into action to meet the needs of the thousands of families who have been displaced. Among the dozens of clothing donation and bottled water distribution sites, Altadena Girls - a new organization started by 14-year-old Avery Colvert - has struck a chord with its focus on teen girls' recovery. Continue reading...
Owner of the iconic West Village building said fans of the TV show and films have disturbed her and her tenants for yearsAnd just like that, Sex and the City enthusiasts may no longer be able to stand on the steps of character Carrie Bradshaw's famous Manhattan home after its owner asked city officials to let her block them with an iron gate.The move follows years of fans of the show and spinoff movies crowding around - and at times trespassing on - the stoop of the iconic brownstone in the city's trendy West Village neighborhood, which served as the exterior of Bradshaw's apartment, the lead in the hit HBO series played by Sarah Jessica Parker. Continue reading...
The US president, Joe Biden, has welcomed the Gaza ceasefire deal, which will involve the release of Israeli hostages held in the besieged strip. Biden's announcement came after the Qatari prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, confirmed a phased deal, which it is hoped will bring a permanent end to the fighting. The outgoing president confirmed that the ceasefire would become permanent after the first phase is complete
President-elect would cut taxes for richest 5% of Americans and increase them for everyone else, according to thinktankDonald Trump's inauguration ceremony in Washington DC on Monday will have giants from across the business and tech worlds in attendance, perhaps personified most dramatically if Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg sit together at the US Capitol.Musk, the world's richest person and a top adviser to Trump; Amazon's Bezos; and Mark Zuckerberg of Meta will be prominently placed together near members of Trump's cabinet, according to an NBC News report on Wednesday, continuing their rapid public swing to the right as they cozy up to Trump's Make America Great Again (Maga) power base. Continue reading...
As officials report that a deal has been agreed, a precarious pause in hostilities and the release of hostages could only be welcomedHope has rarely felt so fragile, or so inadequate. A moment long sought and prayed for will nonetheless be met with fear and apprehension as well as joy by Palestinians in the wasteland that is Gaza and among the traumatised families of Israeli hostages.After more than 15 months of war, which has left tensof thousands dead and almost 2 million strugglingto survive, the US and Qatar announced that a ceasefire and hostage-release deal has been reached. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said there were still unresolved clauses", though his cabinet was expected to vote on it on Thursday morning. They should back it. The broad outlines of this agreement have long been clear. The cost of the delay is unbearable. Since it was first mooted, thousands more Palestinians and an unknown number of Israeli hostages taken in the Hamas raids of7October 2023 have been killed. Last week, researchin the Lancet medical journal suggested that the death toll recorded by Gazan health officials was 40% too low, with an estimated 64,260 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces by last June. Continue reading...
February's election is shaping up to be one of the most consequential since the second world warIn the German city of Karlsruhe, a police investigation has just been launched into the distribution of 30,000 flyers designed to resemble deportation plane tickets, many of which were placed in the letterboxes of immigrants. Organised by the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland party (AfD), the stunt recalled a similar malicious exercise by the neo-Nazi National Democratic party (NDP) in 2013. The difference is that while the NDP - now renamed the Homeland - is a fringe movement that has never crossed the 5% threshold of votes necessary to enter the Bundestag, the AfD is now running second in polls, at about 21%.The booming popularity of a xenophobic party officially suspected of anti-constitutional extremism is just the starkest signal of how much is at stake in next month's snap election in Germany. A national poll in Europe's largest economy will always be of deep continental significance. But as campaigning begins in earnest, there are grounds beyond the issue of immigration for judging this to be one of the country's most consequential contests since the second world war. Continue reading...
The Biden administration has repeatedly undermined international institutions and law to shield Israel. This will come back to haunt them Continue reading...
Color additive barred for use in foods and ingested drugs decades after study showed it caused cancer in ratsUS regulators on Wednesday banned the dye called Red 3 from the nation's food supply, nearly 35 years after it was barred from cosmetics because of potential cancer risk.Food and Drug Administration officials granted a 2022 petition filed by two dozen food safety and health advocates, who urged the agency to revoke authorization for the substance that gives some candies, snack cakes and maraschino cherries a bright red hue. Continue reading...
To think, until nearly the end of the last century, everyone had to write like thisI have come away without a laptop so, for the first time in 35 years, I have been forced to write something using pen and paper. My last attempt, for my finals at university rather than an online column, didn't go well. I thought I was going to get a first and was bitterly disappointed with a 2:2. The problem may have been that the examiners were unable to read my handwriting. It may also have been the case that my answers weren't very good.Writing in ink - be it using a pen or a typewriter - turns out to be shockingly different from writing on a computer. For a start, you can't write down any old tosh with the intention of sorting it out later. Well, I suppose you could, but it would be tricky, with all sorts of crossings-out and stuff. So, alarmingly, you have to apply some thought to the matter. You have to think through the next sentence, from beginning to end, before you put pen to paper, and also have an idea of how that sentence might open a door to the subsequent sentence. This requires planning, and I'm terrible at planning anything, including, it turns out, sentences.Adrian Chiles is a broadcaster, writer and Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
Secretary of state nominee defends Trump's foreign policy vision and his own hawkish record in Senate hearingMarco Rubio said that both Russia and Ukraine will have to make concessions" in order to reach the peace deal promised by Donald Trump as he offered a full-throated defense of the president-elect's vision for America's role around the world - and his own hawkish record on foreign policy.Rubio, Trump's nominee for secretary of state, told the Senate foreign relations committee that the war in Ukraine had become a stalemate" and has to end"; that the US should show China that it would pay too high" a price for invading Taiwan; and that European countries have to stop treating US support for Nato as an excuse to ... spend on domestic needs". Continue reading...
Investment bank beats Wall Street expectations as it reports earning $11.95 per share in fourth quarterGoldman Sachs posted its biggest profit since the third quarter of 2021 to beat Wall Street expectations, driven by bankers who brought in more fees from dealmaking, debt sales and strength in trading.The investment bank's shares rose 2.6% before the bell on Wednesday as it earned $11.95 per share in the fourth quarter, compared with $8.22 expected by analysts, according to estimates compiled by the London Stock Exchange Group. Continue reading...
Ex-prosecutors alarmed by attempt to hide 2020 election subversion effort and by pledge to pardon January 6 riotersDonald Trump's desperate legal battles to block a damaging special counsel report about his efforts to subvert his 2020 election loss and his sentencing for a 34-count felony conviction in New York ultimately failed, but former prosecutors say they nevertheless reveal his continual disdain for the rule of law and his penchant for rewriting history.One area where that may imminently play out, as Trump prepares to return to the White House, is with his repeated pledge to issue major pardons" to participants in the 6 January 2021 assault on the Capitol in Washington. Continue reading...
by Erin McCormick, Guardian US, and Verónica García on (#6TJXG)
Exclusive: US companies are increasingly shipping toxic waste to other countries, where some argue it poses a riskUS companies ship more than 1m tons of hazardous waste to other countries each year, raising questions over possible impacts on health and the environment, an investigation by the Guardian and Quinto Elemento Lab has found.Exports of toxic waste, most of which is shipped to Mexico and Canada, have climbed 17% since 2018, US records show. And while sending it away for recycling and disposal is legal, some experts are concerned that more and more of America's most dangerous discards are leaving the country. Continue reading...
The secretary of state said that the negotiations were right on the brink' on Tuesday. Plus, Pete Hegseth grilled on sexual assault and drinking claimsGood morning.The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has described negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza as right on the brink", with warring sides reportedly close to inking a deal on Tuesday.What are we waiting for? According to Blinken, mediators were awaiting Hamas's response. AP reported that Hamas had accepted the draft ceasefire and hostage deal, citing two anonymous sources. But the group has not publicly confirmed this, and an Israeli official said details were still being finalized.How likely is Hegseth to be confirmed? After Joni Ernst, a Republican of Iowa who initially expressed skepticism, backed him, Hegseth's confirmation appears highly probable. Continue reading...
Legislation has new life in wake of Los Angeles catastrophe but US fossil-fuel industry is already mobilizing against itIn the year preceding the devastating Los Angeles county wildfires, big oil fiercely lobbied to kill a polluter pay" bill that moved through the California senate and would have forced major fossil fuel companies to help cover the costs of climate disasters.Fossil-fuel industry lobbying in California spiked to record levels during the 2023-24 legislative session, and the polluter pay bill was among the most targeted pieces of legislation, a Guardian review of state lobby filings found. Continue reading...
Nicole Kidman's Babygirl, which features an erotic dairy-based scene, is the latest reminder of the debate about mature milk-drinkersSeveral years ago, I tried to impress a new girlfriend (now my wife) with my cultural credentials by dragging her to an off-off-off-off-Broadway play about psychedelics in a tiny East Village theatre. I can't remember much about the play - other than it was terrible - but I will never forget the young man sitting in front of us. He arrived late, awkwardly clambered over a few people to get to his seat, and then proceeded to down a carton of milk. The lateness and the clambering I could excuse. But the milk-drinking? That was horrifying. There is something undeniably unsettling about adults who drink cold cow's milk in public.I have tried to scrub the East Village milkman from my mind but I was reminded of the incident last week when Nicole Kidman chugged a glass of milk while accepting her award for best actress in the film Babygirl (which features an erotic milk-based scene) at the National Board of Review Awards. Babygirl isn't the first film to use milk, a liquid strongly associated with childhood and innocence, in a symbolic manner. Adult milk-drinking has long been used to evoke creepiness in films," Vice proclaimed in a 2022 piece that cited the milk bar in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971) and the famous milk scene in Inglourious Basterds (2009). Continue reading...
The quarterback may be a rookie but he doesn't play like one. And his skillset could well help the Commanders spring a surprise in Detroit on SaturdayThere's a legitimate argument to be made that if you're a rookie NFL quarterback, and your team makes the playoffs, you are no longer a rookie. By your first postseason game, your opponent has a full season of your game tape and tendencies, you're playing with more on the line, and the experience is completely different in both importance and intensity.In the case of the Washington Commanders' Jayden Daniels, we may have to forward that point a bit. Because Daniels, the second overall pick in the 2024 draft, rarely looked like a rookie when he was. In the regular season, he completed 69.0% of his passes for 3,568 yards, 25 touchdowns, nine interceptions, and a passer rating of 100.1, which ranked 10th among regular starting quarterbacks. Add in Daniels' 148 rushing attempts for 891 yards (6.0 yards per carry) and six touchdowns, and it's abundantly clear that he's well past whatever limitations we can reasonably expect from a first-year quarterback of any stripe. Continue reading...
Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's nominee for US secretary of defence, was repeatedly interrupted by protesters during a Senate confirmation hearing. The Fox News host was being questioned by Democratic lawmakers about allegations of sexual assault, excessive alcohol use and financial mismanagement. Protesters heckled Hegseth during his opening statement, with one attacking him as a 'Christian Zionist' who supported the war in Gaza. Authorities escorted the protesters out of the room
Influential musician confirms loss of extensive record collection amassed over 30 yearsThe celebrated hip-hop producer Madlib has confirmed the loss of his extensive record collection and much of his recording equipment along with his home in the wildfires that have swept across California and killed at least 25 people.The influential musician, who has worked with some of the most prominent names in rap including Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg and MF DOOM, is known for his sample-heavy production style. His record collection, amassed over 30 years, acted as the backbone of that work. Continue reading...
by Lauren Aratani and Lois Beckett in Los Angeles on (#6TJ4W)
Region faces extreme fire risk' warnings and significant risk of rapid fire spread' as official death toll expected to riseAs forecasters warn of another particularly dangerous weather situation" across northern Los Angeles, residents braced for new wildfire evacuation orders, even as the official death toll from last week's fires in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades was expected to rise.Los Angeles, and parts of Ventura county to the north, faced extreme fire risk" warnings through Wednesday, with officials warning of significant risk of rapid fire spread" due to the Santa Ana winds - which have gusts of up to 75mph - . The particularly dangerous weather situation" designation is used very rarely, and was designed by meteorologists to signal the extreme of the extremes". The winds were predicted to reach near hurricane-force in some areas. Continue reading...
Stars from Beyonce to Eva Longoria, Halle Berry and Meghan Markle supporting families and frontline workersCelebrities are chipping in to help the region that's helped them grow to prominence - southern California - as wildfires continue to sweep across the state.As of Tuesday afternoon, the Los Angeles-area fires had killed at least 25 people, displaced thousands of others and destroyed more than 12,000 structures. Two of the largest blazes, the Palisades and Eaton fires, had charred almost 40,000 acres (16,187 hectares) combined and were still only partially contained. Continue reading...
Gregory Rodriguez, 56, who faced 97 counts, convicted of crimes in one of state's largest prison abuse scandalsGregory Rodriguez, a former California women's prison correctional officer, who was at the center of one of the state's largest prison abuse scandals, was convicted of 64 sexual abuse charges on Tuesday.The jury's guilty verdict includes convictions for rape and sexual battery on behalf of 13 incarcerated women. Continue reading...
There is magic in that van,' former owner Preston Martin tells AP. It should have been toasted, but here we are'Preston Martin figured the retro blue Volkswagen van he slept in for a year during college was a goner, given that he had parked it in a Malibu neighborhood just before the Palisades fire ripped through, reducing homes and cars to rubble and charred metal.So the surfboard maker was stunned to find that the vehicle had survived. Not only that, a photo of the vibrant bus taken by an Associated Press photographer was circulating widely on television and online, giving viewers a measure of joy. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Findings suggest weakening of west' as relations become more transactional, say report's authorsEuropean anxiety about Donald Trump's return to the White House is not shared in much of the world, a poll has shown, with more people in non-western powers such as China, Russia, India and Brazil welcoming his second term than not.The 24-country poll, which also included Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Indonesia and Turkey, found that Switzerland, the UK, 11 EU nations surveyed and South Korea were alone in feeling Trump 2.0 would be bad for their country and for peace in the world. Continue reading...
by Andrew Roth in Washington, Tom Phillips in Rio de on (#6TJGA)
Deal negotiated through Catholic church will involve gradual' release of 553 political prisoners, says HavanaThe Biden administration has notified Congress that it will remove Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism in a deal the country's communist government said would involve the gradual" release of 553 political prisoners.The deal, which administration officials said was negotiated through the Catholic church, was announced on Tuesday, just five days before Biden exits the White House and Donald Trump is inaugurated as the country's 47th president. Continue reading...
Two Democrats back measure that passes 218-206 but bill would need Democratic support in Senate to pass thereHouse Republicans pushed through sweeping legislation on Tuesday to block transgender women and girls from school sports, escalating a fierce culture-war battle that puts federal education dollars on the line.The bill passed 218-206 in a vote that saw two Texas Democrats break ranks to support the Republican measure. It marks the first standalone federal legislation targeting transgender rights to clear either chamber of Congress. Continue reading...
Authorities piece together timeline of radicalization of Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the US army veteran behind the attackBefore plowing a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year's revelers in New Orleans and killing 14 people, the man who carried out the Islamic State group-inspired attack had researched how to access a balcony on the city's famed Bourbon Street and looked up information about a similar attack at a Christmas market in Germany, the FBI said.Nearly two weeks after Shamsud-Din Jabbar's rampage, the FBI continues to uncover new information detailing the extensive planning by the 42-year-old US army veteran who scouted out the area multiple times in the months leading up to the attack. Authorities have also been piecing together a timeline of his radicalization. Continue reading...
President-elect vows creation of agency as soon as he takes office in further push for regime of taxes on foreign importsDonald Trump has said he will create an external revenue service" as soon as he returns to the White House next week, adding further substance to his campaign vow to establish a new regime of tariffs on foreign imports.I am today announcing that I will create the EXTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE to collect our Tariffs, Duties, and all Revenue that come from Foreign sources," the president-elect posted on his Truth Social network on Tuesday. Continue reading...
Trump Pentagon pick grilled by Democrats at Senate confirmation hearing amid concerns of his personal historyPete Hegseth, Donald Trump's pick for US secretary of defense, defended his record in a contentious Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, acknowledging he was not a perfect person" as Democratic lawmakers grilled the military veteran and Fox News host on allegations of sexual assault, excessive alcohol use and financial mismanagement.Hegseth can only afford to lose the votes of three Senate Republicans, assuming every Democratic senator opposes his nomination, but none appeared ready to break ranks despite some having previously voiced concerns about Hegseth's personal history and his views on women in the military. Continue reading...
by Rachel Leingang in Minneapolis and agencies on (#6TJE7)
Democrats outraged as Republicans seek to take advantage of temporary majority before special house electionDemocrats in the Minnesota house of representatives refused to show up to start a legislative session on Tuesday in an unprecedented move designed to boycott attempts by Republicans to take advantage of a temporary majority in the chamber.The house came out of the November election tied 67-67, and top leaders from both parties started to work out a power-sharing agreement that presumed a tie. But a judge late last month declared that a newly elected Democrat did not live in his heavily Democratic district. Continue reading...
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