The parents and children of doctors and nurses who died from Covid tell of how grief has affected themDr Reza Chowdhury was a beloved internist with a private practice in the Bronx and a trusted voice in New York’s Bengali community. His daughter, Nikita Rahman, said despite underlying health issues that put him at higher risk of developing Covid complications, he saw patients through mid-March when he developed symptoms. He died on 9 April.Nikita Rahman My therapist says grief is the final act of love. Every time I miss him, I think about how that is my love for him, showing up again. I like that framing of it. I think I only recently realized just how much I loved him. Continue reading...

State trooper wounded before arrest of suspect who worked at company, officials sayA man opened fire Thursday at a Texas cabinet-making company where he worked, killing one person and wounding five others before shooting and wounding a state trooper prior to his arrest, authorities said.Eric Buske, police chief for the city of Bryan, told reporters he believed the suspect, whose name was not immediately released, was an employee at the Kent Moore Cabinets location where the shooting happened. He said investigators believed the man was solely responsible for the attack, which happened around 2.30pm, and that he was gone by the time officers arrived. Continue reading...

Nike sued MSCHF Product Studio for trademark infringement over the black-and-red, devil-themed sneakersNike said on Thursday it has settled its lawsuit against the Brooklyn company that collaborated with Lil Nas X to produce his Satan Shoes, and that the shoes will be recalled. Continue reading...

The White House has expressed concern over a week of riots in Northern Ireland, with Joe Biden joining Boris Johnson and the Irish prime minister in calling for calm after what police described as the worst violence in Belfast for years. The president’s press secretary, Jen Psaki, said that Biden remained ‘steadfast’ in his support for a ‘secure and prosperous Northern Ireland in which all communities have a voice and enjoy the gains of the hard-won peace’

In his first gun control measures since taking office, Joe Biden announced a half-dozen executive actions aimed at addressing the proliferation of gun violence across the nation that he called an ‘epidemic and an international embarrassment’. Greeting the families of gun violence victims and activists in the Rose Garden, Biden thanked them for their presence and continued action. And he assured them: ‘We’re absolutely determined to make change.’ But the announcement underscores the limitations of Biden’s executive power to act on guns, facing as he is an evenly divided Senate, where Republicans remain near-unified against most proposals

Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons and Aldi also traded strongly during the crisis, yet they coughed up“Principles [are] more valuable than profits,” says the headline on the Co-op Group’s description of its values, but the co-operators forget to mention the small print. The boast, it seems, does not apply to the principle that food retailers should pay business rates when their stores are open and trading strongly.In the absence of an asterisk, Allan Leighton, the chairman, attempted an elaborate defence of the refusal to repay £66m of relief from business rates. Financial support from the government was welcomed “on the basis that it was not a loan and we would not need to pay it back – and we took business decisions accordingly, he said. Fine, but that misses the point. Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Lidl and Aldi could make the same argument – but all coughed up. Continue reading...

President condemned gun violence as an ‘international embarrassment’ after series of recent shootings around the US

‘Seismic’ plan to get big tech and multinationals to pay their fair share could be in place by mid-2021President Joe Biden has proposed sweeping global tax reforms that would limit the ability of multinational corporations to shift profits overseas, while taking steps to forge a landmark agreement on a worldwide minimum tax rate.The proposals are designed to tackle the very low rates of tax paid by the digital giants Google, Facebook and Apple, and major brands like Nike and Starbucks, which have become adept at using complicated webs of companies to shift profits out of major markets like the UK, where most of their revenues are earned, and into low-tax jurisdictions like Ireland and the Caribbean. Economists estimate that the sums lost to exchequers around the world from profit-shifting have risen as high as $427bn (£311bn) annually. Continue reading...

George Floyd died from a lack of oxygen, which damaged his brain and caused his heart to stop, a medical expert testified on Thursday at the former police officer Derek Chauvin’s murder trial. Floyd’s breathing was too shallow to take in enough oxygen while he was pinned face down with his hands cuffed behind his back for nine and a half minutes as Chauvin knelt on his neck and back, said Dr Martin Tobin, a lung and critical care specialist at the Edward Hines Jr VA hospital and Loyola University’s medical school in Chicago

Rolling live coverage of business, economics and financial markets as US stocks hit record high

Thousands of protesters were arrested last year. Some face harsher punishments than the officers who killed TaylorIt has been over a year since Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old ER technician, was killed by police officers in her home. It has been nearly a year since George Floyd, a former rapper and father of five, was killed by officer Derek Chauvin in broad daylight. And it has been some 300 days since the subsequent uprisings in their names. Thousands of protesters were arrested, and while the vast majority have had their flimsy charges dropped, there are many still facing harsher punishments than the officers who killed Taylor face. There is legislation being passed in the name of the slain and a handful of cities have made modest cuts to police budgets due to the hard work of local organizations. At the same time, many local governments have doubled down on their support for violent policing, and the system that necessitated a movement to defund the police remains pretty much entirely intact and murderous.Related: Minneapolis promised change after George Floyd. Instead it's geared up for war | Akin Olla Continue reading...

Victims include two children and a prominent doctor who treated Adams, source tells APThe gunman who killed five people including a prominent doctor in South Carolina was former NFL pro Phillip Adams, who killed himself early Thursday, according to a source who was briefed on the investigation.The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, said Adams’ parents live near the doctor’s home in Rock Hill, and that he had been treated by the doctor. The source said Phillips killed himself after midnight with a .45 caliber weapon. Continue reading...

The project counted more than 3,600 healthcare worker deaths, with the majority of people who died under the age of 60Lost on the frontline has counted more than 3,600 healthcare worker deaths. The first fatalities that we recorded occurred in mid-March 2020, and we finished our count on 7 April 2021. Continue reading...

Our investigations revealed the disproportionate burden on healthcare workers of color and government undercounts of deathsLost on the Frontline is an interactive, public-facing database that aims to count and honor every US healthcare worker – whether doctors or custodians, nursing home aides or paramedics – who died after contracting the coronavirus on the job in the first year of the pandemic. It is the most comprehensive accounting of US healthcare workers’ deaths in the country as of April 2021. Continue reading...

The B117 variant of coronavirus first detected in the UK is now the most dominant in the US, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday.During the White House coronavirus response team’s briefing, Dr Rochelle Walensky warned the rising number of coronavirus cases in dozens of US states is probably attributable to the spread of variants

A strained social safety net, rising tensions and mistrust between police and communities of color played part, experts say

A small but determined group rise early to take their spot outside the Minneapolis courthouse – and they stay all dayBehind the Hennepin county courthouse in downtown Minneapolis, which is heavily fortified for the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, a small but determined core of seven protesters gathers every day.Sometimes there are many more protesters, sometimes not so many. But always this group, there hoping to witness justice for George Floyd, who died under the knee of Chauvin in south Minneapolis last May. Continue reading...

For decades the sheriff was a popular and unapologetic immigration enforcer, but as Arizona’s electorate changed not even a pardon could redeem him

The White House has announced several executive actions on gun violence after recent mass shootings. Plus, more than 3,600 US healthcare workers died in the first year of the Covid pandemicGood morning.The White House announced several executive actions against gun violence yesterday, after mass shootings in the US in recent weeks. Continue reading...

Bill would protect removing or renaming monuments unless first approved by state’s historic preservation centerNearly 158-years after its founding West Virginia – a state forged from the fires of America’s civil war – remains stuck between north and south. Now lawmakers are considering a bill that would protect Confederate monuments from removal or renaming. Supporters claim they are protecting everyone’s history. Opponents call the bill “traumatic and mentally exhausting”.At a moment of national reckoning on race, the debate is fierce. “We were the Union. West Virginia was born out of seceding from Virginia, if i’m not mistaken,” said Delegate Sean Hornbuckle, one of the state’s few Black lawmakers. “We’re advocating for people who wanted to kill us.” Continue reading...

Our golf correspondent on the pin positions and pitfalls that await the field this week at Augusta NationalTommy Fleetwood’s hole-by-hole guide to Augusta

This week’s roundup also features an Alec Stewart bouncer, late MotoGP drama and Grand National fun1) The Masters starts on Thursday, less than five months on from the 2020 edition, delayed by Covid-19. Here’s a film on the 1997 competition, when Tiger Woods won by a barely comprehensible 19 strokes. More Augusta memories: the story of Gene Sarazen’s double eagle in 1935, “the shot heard around the world”; Larry Mize talking us through 1987’s famous chip-and-run (here’s the shot itself). In 1986, Jack Nicklaus surged through an all-star field to claim his 18th major. Back in 1971, Nicklaus was beaten to the green jacket by Charles Coody – his final PGA Tour victory.2) The Grand National returns this weekend after a two-year break (although there was a virtual race in 2020). Here’s Jenny Pitman’s Corbiere winning in 1983, the first time a female trainer won the Aintree classic. Mr Frisk took the 1990 edition in the fastest-ever time, while Esha Ness ‘won’ the race that wasn’t in 1993 (with bonus news report). Continue reading...

The Los Angeles police sergeant Jody Stiger, a use-of-force expert, told jurors at the trial of the former officer Derek Chauvin: 'My opinion was that the force was excessive,' referring to Chauvin's restraint of George Floyd. The Minneapolis police department's coordinator on the use of force, Lt Johnny Mercil, told jurors the neck restraint applied by Chauvin was unauthorised and that officers were trained to use the least amount of force necessary.Chauvin, 45, who is white, has denied charges of second- and third-degree murder, and manslaughter, over Floyd’s death last May, which prompted mass protests for racial justice across the US and other parts of the world. The trial continues

It’s not just ‘old school’ thinking – a recent study found two-thirds of workers ‘craving’ more in-person time with their teamsI have a client who runs a business that was not considered to be “essential” and therefore had to shut his doors during the height of the pandemic and send his employees home to work. This went on for a few months. When, last summer, things started to relax, he called everyone back to the office. No exceptions.“Working from home isn’t an option in my business,” he told me. “I don’t buy into it. I want my people here.” Continue reading...

The incandescent Wizards star and future Hall of Famer plays not for his legacy, but for the moment. The reward is the workThe hot-take ecosystem in sports is unforgiving and relentless. There can be no waffling or clinging to the fence. There can only be cannonballing into one side of an argument or another – hard and fast enough to break the sound barrier, ideally. In this land of fever and fury Stephen A Smith is like that volcano churning away in Iceland, constantly on fire, always popping off.Last week ESPN’s king of scream looked primed to go full Vesuvius when a recent game between the Indiana Pacers and the Washington Wizards was broached for discussion on his weekday morning shout show, First Take. The main takeaway from that game, the Wizards’ third victory in 11 tries, was this stat line: 35 points, 21 assists and 14 rebounds in 39 minutes played; only Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson have come close to that performance – and even so, they never scored or rebounded quite that much. Continue reading...

Trump’s former national security adviser was warned about taking foreign money as far back as 2014, the Pentagon’s inspector general has found, undermining claims of political persecutionThe defense department inspector general has uncovered evidence that Michael Flynn accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from foreign interests and governments, despite repeated warnings by the DoD and the justice department that his conduct might be illegal, the Guardian can reveal. Continue reading...

A planned ‘coronavirus tax’ on revenues and attacks on foreign-owned media threaten to cut away democracy piece by pieceDemocracy dies in darkness. One of the European Union’s most fragile democracies, Poland, now faces the spectre of the night that falls when public service media have been turned into propaganda organs for a ruling party while private, independent media are suffocated. In the end, light is cast no more on the failings and abuses of those in power, because there are no more torches to shine that light. Hungary – which is no longer a democracy – has almost reached that twilight moment, with the extinction of its last major independent radio station.Poland is still a long way from dusk, but the threat is real. In the World Press Freedom index, the country has sunk from 18th in 2015, ahead of Britain and France, to 62nd last year. (Hungary is down at 89th.) Continue reading...

Exclusive: top expert says health workers ‘have lived up to the oath they take’ but says shortages of protective gear have contributed to excess deaths

Lost on the Frontline, a year-long investigation by the Guardian and KHN to count healthcare worker deaths, ends today. This is what we learned in a year of tracing the lives of those who made the ultimate sacrifice

As the Guardian and KHN end Lost on the Frontline, a year-long project to count healthcare worker deaths in the pandemic, the White House is under pressure to take up the task

Former Trump aides advising TV star and Olympic champion for potential run against Gavin Newsom in possible recall electionCaitlyn Jenner, the TV star and Olympic champion, is reportedly considering a run for California governor. Continue reading...

President will also nominate a gun control advocate to direct the ATF, and encourage Democrats in Congress to pass more reformsThe Biden administration has unveiled several executive actions designed to curb gun violence, in the aftermath of the mass shootings in Atlanta and Boulder. The administration is also planning to nominate David Chipman, a former federal agent and gun control advocate, to direct the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Continue reading...

Jody Stiger, a police specialist on the use of force, tells trial ‘pain compliance’ technique was used for much longer than necessaryAn expert police witness has told the Derek Chauvin murder trial in Minneapolis that the accused former officer used a technique designed to deliberately inflict pain and subjected George Floyd to it for an extended period.Sgt Jody Stiger, a Los Angeles police specialist on the use of force, said on Wednesday that video shows Chauvin applying a “pain compliance” procedure by pulling the 46-year-old Black man’s wrist into the handcuffs, which can be heard clicking tighter. Continue reading...

Jones, who is currently the city treasurer, said: ‘we’ve begun breaking down the historic racial barriers’ in the cityTishaura Jones has been elected as the next mayor of St Louis, Missouri, making history as the first Black woman to hold the city’s top position.“This campaign can unequivocally say that we’ve begun breaking down the historic racial barriers and the racial divides that exist, and have existed for generations in our city,” Jones said on Tuesday night, adding that she “will not stay silent” in the face of “any injustice”. Continue reading...

Goalkeeper says move on loan to OL Reign in the US has reignited a fire in her and she wants a second taste of the OlympicsThe first time Karen Bardsley met Hege Riise she blanked England’s interim manager. “We have to wear masks so I pretty much walked straight past her on day one,” says the recalled goalkeeper, smiling.Bardsley has flown in from Seattle, where a 36-year-old still registered with Manchester City is on loan at OL Reign, rediscovering the form that earned 81 caps before serious injury threatened to end her career. Continue reading...

Tiger Woods was speeding when he crashed an SUV in Southern California less than two months ago, leaving the golf superstar seriously injured, authorities said on Wednesday. Woods was driving 84-87 mph on a downhill stretch of road outside Los Angeles that had a speed limit of 45 mph, Los Angeles county sheriff Alex Villanueva said. Detectives did not seek search warrants for the athlete’s blood samples, which could have been screened for drugs or alcohol, or his cellphone. Sheriff's officials said there was no evidence of impairment or of distracted driving.

Sophia recently sold an NFT, and now she wants to be a pop star. I can think of no better way to affirm her ambitions than by canceling her – just to get that out of the wayWatch out, Kylie Minogue in her Fever tour’s opening number and also that fake horse Lagy Gaga used to ride around on – there’s a new robotic pop girl in town.Related: Can anyone become an NFT collector? I tried it to find out Continue reading...

Dustin Johnson sauntered to victory in November but the soft conditions are gone and the iconic course could show its teethA safe distance from the gates of Augusta National, badge selling appears slow. Parting with $600 would secure a practice-day ticket. A Thursday-Sunday package costs between $8,000 and $9,000, depending on the ability to barter. Prices are in tune with any “standard” Masters. If that seems curious given reduced capacity – only 8,000 spectators per day are expected – therein lies a nod to shortages of disposable income. Even ticket touts have to be aware of the economic impact of a pandemic.Twenty quick weeks have passed since the 84th Masters concluded at a soft, eerie, empty Augusta. Much as those involved tried to deny it, this had the feel of a competition delivered through absolute necessity. It was joyful for Dustin Johnson, but joyless for onlookers. Continue reading...