US news | The Guardian

The two-weight world champion’s career will be remembered for glorious triumphs and uniting divided communitiesCarl Frampton’s dignified yet raw reaction after he was stopped by Jamel Herring in the sixth round of their world title fight on Saturday night showed an acceptance that the time has come for him to do all his future work on the safe side of the ropes as a ringside analyst and podcast host. Frampton announced his retirement at the end of a one-sided WBO super-featherweight world title contest in Dubai.He was close to tears and, after acknowledging that he had lost to a superior fighter on the night, the 34-year-old from Belfast spoke of his wife and two children. Frampton’s family will console him after his dream of becoming the first Irish boxer to win world titles in three separate weight categories came crashing down. Continue reading...

Just about all I can remember is that recounting the plot of whatever box set you’re watching isn’t even low-quality chat. So why do I keep doing it?It was the first day that six people could legitimately gather in a garden, and by unholy coincidence, as if the universe loved us again, also not hailing. Some friends, let’s call them A and Mr A, came round for a drink. Nothing’s happened to any of us, and we consequently have way too much to say. Words splurged out of me like I was a slot machine paying out a big win, but not in very high denominations. All 2ps and buttons. I veered wildly from the huge to the tiny, from the past to the present. Did I say my friend was in hospital? Had I mentioned the neighbour’s dog had the exact same bark as our dog? Did I ever tell them about that amazing party in Dover Street? Yes, they were there, it was their wedding.Something had flooded my circuitry: seeing them again after so long had activated the them-part of my brain, and I was telling them their own anecdotes. Mr A asked for an opinion about the big boat in the Suez canal instead, and I told him that opinions were my bread and butter and he’d have to festoon me with cash for those. He asked if it had to be money or would crisps do, and I said they’d do fine, then he threw crisps at me, only they missed by a mile. “It’s because they’re ridged,” he said. “Gah, I’m such an amateur! How can anybody predict the aerodynamics of a ridged crisp?” Continue reading...

State representative wanted to witness Governor Brian Kemp sign the new bill, but was denied entry. She wound up handcuffed and dragged out of the state capitolWhen the governor of Georgia recently signed sweeping new voting restrictions into law, Park Cannon, a 29-year-old state representative from Atlanta, was knocking on his door.Related: Georgia's Black churches are horrified by Republican voter suppression – and ready to fight Continue reading...

The co-chair of Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, now a candidate for Congress, sees good signs but says progressives must ‘keep pushing’When Joe Biden, a 78-year-old white male moderate, was sworn in as US president, it was seen as only a matter of time before progressives became restive and “Democrats in disarray” headlines were dusted off.But two months in, the party remains uncharacteristically united. Biden is being hailed as an unlikely radical, drawing comparisons with transformative presidents such as Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson – his very reputation as a steady centrist enabling him to move further and faster. Continue reading...

After Trump’s ruinous tenure, the new president is seizing a unique moment to act‘It’s bold, yes, and we can get it done.” So declared President Joe Biden launching his $2tn plan last week to overhaul US infrastructure – ranging from fixing 20,000 miles of roads to remaking bridges, ports, water systems and “the care economy”, care now defined as part of the country’s infrastructure. Also included is a vast uplift in research spending on eliminating carbon emissions and on artificial intelligence. And up to another $2tn is to follow on childcare, education and healthcare, all hot on the heels of the $1.9tn “American Rescue Plan”, passed just three weeks ago.Cumulatively, the scale is head-spinning. Historians and politicians are already comparing the ambition with Roosevelt’s New Deal or Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society programme. In British terms, it’s as though an incoming Labour government pledged to spend £500bn over the next decade with a focus on left-behind Britain in all its manifestations – real commitments to levelling up, racial equity, net zero and becoming a scientific superpower. Continue reading...

To European eyes, the $2tn infrastructure plan may not be exceptional, but for America it seems revolutionaryFrom a European perspective, Joe Biden’s plans for a $2 trillion boost to spending on infrastructure is not a radical statement of intent. The money will be spread over eight years and raise the federal budget on capital projects by about 1 percentage point a year.And the US is starting from a very low base. Congress levies federal taxes that amounted to a little more than 16% as a proportion of national income (GDP) in 2019 and the total level of taxes, taking into account state and local charges, is 24.5% of GDP. By way of comparison, the UK’s share of tax levied as a percentage of GDP is around 37% and in France it is 46%. Continue reading...

Dominion has filed defamation lawsuits against several Trump allies for pushing election ‘radioactive falsehoods’ – could it triumph?When Donald Trump and his allies pushed the “big lie” of voter fraud and a stolen election, it seemed nothing could stop them spreading disinformation with impunity.Related: Trump 'money bomb' scheme raised millions from unwitting donors – report Continue reading...

The venture capitalist and author of Hillbilly Elegy hopes to take his place in a Republican party rebranding itself as the working-class partyAs a prospective conservative candidate for the US Senate from Ohio, author JD Vance can claim a rarely authentic connection to the white working-class voters who helped make Donald Trump president.In his bestselling 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, Vance told the tale of his escape from generations of poverty and addiction in the shadow of Appalachia, thanks to a fiercely loving grandmother and a stroke or two of lonesome luck. (The Netflix film adaptation was less well received than the book.) Continue reading...

Courteney Ross’s testimony showed how police departments fail in their duty to protect those who battle addiction

As ethnic militias back the popular uprising and refugees flee the country, the similarities with Syria are deeply disturbingIn August 2011, Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey’s then foreign minister, made a “mercy dash” to Damascus. He appealed in person to Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, to stop killing his people and talk to his opponents after five months of anti-regime protests.Davutoglu spoke for Turkey but also, indirectly, for the US and the west. He had conferred with Hillary Clinton, then secretary of state, before making the trip. His message: it’s not too late to call a halt; the alternative is civil war. But Assad turned him down flat. Continue reading...

Under Trump, every week was infrastructure week but nothing got done. His successor is avoiding the big sell. It’s smart politicsJoe Biden is embarking on the biggest government initiative in more than a half-century, “unlike anything we have seen or done since we built the interstate highway system and the space race decades go”, he says.Related: Biden’s $2tn infrastructure plan aims to ‘finally address climate crisis as a nation' Continue reading...

The president’s son recounts his struggles and his father’s love with honesty – yet still seems blind to glaring political realitiesRobert Hunter Biden is not a rock star. Instead, the sole surviving son of Joe Biden – senator, vice-president, president – is a lawyer by training and a princeling by happenstance. Regardless, life on the edge comes with consequences.Related: Lucky review: how Biden beat Trump – and doubters like Obama and Hillary Continue reading...

Artist’s longtime New York attorney Murray Richman said DMX had been on life support but was later breathing on his ownThe American rapper DMX was hospitalised on Saturday evening after falling ill, his New York-based lawyer Murray Richman said.“He had a heart attack. He’s quite ill,” Richman said. Continue reading...

Twenty-five years after his final-round capitulation handed the Green Jacket to Nick Faldo, the Australian prefers to focus on his role in Dustin Johnson’s 2020 Augusta winGreg Norman did not prevail at the Masters of 1996 or 2020. He was, though, integral to the narrative of both. If nothing else, this emphasises Norman’s longevity as a key figure in his sport. First, the positive story. Dustin Johnson contacted Norman to seek assistance with his putting, immediately before a run of victories that concluded at Augusta National last November. Johnson has cited spending just 90 minutes with Norman, now 66, as fundamental to his second major win.Related: Lee Elder's Masters moment will remind us how far golf still has to go on race | Ewan Murray Continue reading...

Practice that used pre-checked boxes and obscure design on fundraising emails condemned as ‘unethical and inappropriate’Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign used pre-checked boxes and obscure design on fundraising emails to wring millions of dollars out of unwitting supporters, detonating a “money bomb” which allowed the Republican to compete against Joe Biden in the last months of the race.Related: Trump and Carlson lead backlash as MLB pulls All-Star Game from Georgia Continue reading...

A second year in lockdown reminds us this is a time to appreciate othersHands up everybody who’s been thinking about the meaning of Easter. Apart from the church, and other than true Christian believers, has anybody thought of Easter at all? I had to be reminded that it was Good Friday. Even in non-pandemic times, I probably wouldn’t even remember Easter if it weren’t for school holidays and chocolate eggs appearing in shops. If you’re not devout, Easter just doesn’t cut through as a religious event.Christmas has long been scorned as a grotesque display of vapid commercialism, but even the irreligious play along with festive rituals. They go to church services, sing along misty-eyed to carols, explain to children that it isn’t all about presents. Forget all that with Easter. The crucifixion and resurrection barely register. It says it all that Jewish people have complained about the Church of England giving advice (now withdrawn) for a “symbolic” meal that sounded suspiciously like the Passover Seder ritual. Has the church given up trying to get across the message of Easter? Continue reading...

Nancy Pelosi calls officer who died ‘a martyr for democracy’ as attack on Friday afternoon stirs memories of Capitol insurrectionWashington woke on Saturday shaken by another deadly attack at the US Capitol, an incident which left a police officer and a suspect dead and stirred memories of 6 January, when supporters of Donald Trump stormed the building in an attempt to overturn the election.Related: US Capitol: one officer and suspect dead after car rams into barrier Continue reading...

The fact that this guy is a sitting member of Congress shows just how low we set the bar for our (male) politiciansThe Matt Gaetz story increasingly reads like a script written by a pervert high on a cocktail of ADHD meds and MDMA. Even if you’ve been following the scandal-prone Republican congressman’s latest controversy closely it’s hard to keep track of what on earth is happening. So here’s a guide to navigating the saga far. Continue reading...

In a chaotic situation at the southern border, agents are escorting migrants and expelling them from the US before they know what’s happeningThey couldn’t work out quite where they were or where they were headed when the guards told them: “Keep going”.They walked forward, as instructed, across an unfamiliar bridge and then suddenly they were in Mexico. Or, more accurately, back in Mexico. But 800 miles from where they had arrived in America. Continue reading...

Tens of thousands flood Santa Monica Pier as authorities send mixed messages about coronavirus safetyAuthorities across southern California are scrambling to contain large holiday crowds on beaches, boardwalks, and piers this weekend, anxious about a possible new surge in Covid-19 cases.But they face a restive public eager to party in the sun after more than a year of lockdowns, and appear to have few tools at their disposal to enforce mask-wearing and social distancing. Continue reading...

Georgia’s Black faith leaders are urging economic boycotts and community action to fight back against tough new voting lawsOne of the most striking voting restrictions in Georgia’s new elections law is a ban on distributing food and drinks to voters waiting in lines to cast a ballot – even though these waits can, as in the most recent election, stretch for hours.Related: Delta and Coca-Cola pivot on Georgia’s restrictive voting law: 'It's unacceptable' Continue reading...

The campaign to cancel the author is typical of today’s all-or-nothing approach, where if you don’t like everything about a public figure, you can’t like anythingIn order to grow up, as Sigmund Freud probably wrote somewhere, a child must rebel against its parents, and for a while now modern culture has been rebelling against its literary fathers, that Mount Rushmore of 20th-century highbrow masculinity: Saul Bellow, Norman Mailer, John Updike and Philip Roth. Last month, two British newspapers announced that Roth “could face getting cancelled” on account of details about his personal life included in two new biographies. That Roth arguably cancelled himself three years ago by dying is beside the point: the quickest way to prove one is Good these days is to vilify those who are Bad, and death is no hiding place.Since their deaths, all of these men have come in for criticism, mainly for their attitudes towards women: Mailer was hugely popular at his peak, but now he’s probably best known for that whole stabbing-his-second-wife awkwardness; Updike is regularly derided as “a misogynist”; and Bellow’s female characters are often, at best, thinly drawn, or full-on bitches and shrews. Now, inevitably, it’s Roth’s turn. Continue reading...

The former TV producer is said to be an ardent ‘Maga’ champion – and a North Carolina seat is soon to be vacantThe Trump flags and yard signs are still up. Flags that shout “Impeach Biden” fly on the back of pickup trucks. “Most people here believe Donald Trump is still the president,” says Nancy Allen of her neighborhood in Shelby, North Carolina. “And I call him President Trump.”Allen might get the chance to vote Trump again sooner than expected. But it will not be for Donald or his politically ambitious daughter Ivanka. Instead the former president’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, a North Carolina native, is considering a run for the US Senate next year. Continue reading...

The ex-officer’s trial has seen witnesses offering personal and vivid accounts of their experiences from the day George Floyd was killedThe murder trial of Derek Chauvin, which concluded its first week of testimony on Friday, saw a wave of witnesses come before the jury, with many offering deeply personal and vivid accounts of their experiences on 25 May 2020.At times the trial has felt unique in comparison to other officer involved murder cases that have made it to court, partly as a result of prosecutorial strategy but also the very specific circumstances of the death of George Floyd, the 46-year-old Black man killed during a police restraint. Continue reading...

Chauvin kept his knee on George Floyd longer than originally thought and witnesses described feelings of guiltThe trial against Derek Chauvin, the white former police officer charged with murdering George Floyd in Minneapolis last May, began in earnest Monday and lasted all week.Floyd died after Chavin kneeled on his neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest. The public responded to Floyd’s death with mass protests across the US in what became the largest US civil rights movement since the 1960s. Continue reading...

Police shoot suspect after he allegedly rams vehicle and then lunges at officers with a knifeA police officer and a suspect were dead on Friday after the suspect rammed a vehicle into two US Capitol police officers outside Congress in Washington, then lunged at others with a knife.The suspect was shot. Two officers were taken to hospital. Police named the officer who died as William “Billy” Evans, an 18-year veteran of the department. Continue reading...

New York zoo where giraffe lived says she was euthanized because of advancing arthritisApril, the giraffe that became a sensation when a rural New York zoo livestreamed her 2017 pregnancy and delivery, was euthanized Friday because of advancing arthritis, the zoo said.“She is a precious member of our family, and while we knew this day would eventually come, our hearts are hurting,” Animal Adventure Park’s owner, Jordan Patch, said in a statement. Continue reading...

Governor says prohibition is ‘necessary to protect the fundamental rights and privacies of Floridians and the free flow of commerce’Florida governor Ron DeSantis on Friday announced an executive order banning “vaccine passports” in the state, which like the rest of the US continues to suffer under the Covid-19 pandemic.Related: ‘He’s riding a crest’: Ron DeSantis positions himself as keeper of Trump’s legacy Continue reading...

Move comes after Governor Brian Kemp signs measure making it significantly harder to voteMajor League Baseball will not hold its annual All-Star Game in Atlanta this year, after Georgia passed a law that makes it significantly harder to vote.The announcement is perhaps the most consequential action taken since Georgia governor Brian Kemp, a Republican, signed the measure into law. Continue reading...

The US Capitol was put under lockdown after a car reportedly rammed two US Capitol police officers before crashing into a giant concrete barrier outside the complex.The suspect reportedly drove into the barrier and launched an attack with a knife and was shot dead by police. Two officers were taken to two different hospitals and police said one had died from his injuries

Suspect chained the front and rear gates of the office complex, then was seen on security video brandishing a semiautomatic handgunA gunman who killed four people, including a 9-year-old boy, in a rampage at a southern California office building knew all the victims and his motive may have involved personal or business relationships, police said.“This was not a random act of violence,” said Orange police Lt Jennifer Amat on Thursday of the attack at a two-story building that housed small businesses in Orange, southeast of Los Angeles. Continue reading...

Richard Zimmerman gives testimony and tells court ‘if your knee is on someone’s neck – that could kill them’A Minneapolis homicide detective has described Derek Chauvin’s decision to press his knee into George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as a totally unnecessary use of “deadly force”.Related: Video of George Floyd's killing retraumatizes many as trial unfolds Continue reading...

Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo did not take stand before adjournment and is expected to testify on Monday5.57pm BSTThe murder trial currently taking place in Minneapolis of white, former police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, last May has just adjourned for the weekend.There had been an expectation that police chief Medaria Arradondo would testify for the prosecution today but they didn’t get to him before closing proceedings.5.40pm BSTThe trial has adjourned for the day. The police chief was not called. That means he will probably come to the stand pretty swiftly on Monday. Continue reading...

Verona restaurant and pizzeria owner Alessandro Bazzoni sanctioned in crackdown on blacklisted Venezuelan crude oilAn Italian restaurant owner accidentally put on a US sanctions blacklist before Donald Trump left the presidency has described the last couple of months as a “nightmare”.In a case of mistaken identity, Alessandro Bazzoni, who owns a restaurant and pizzeria in the northern Italian city of Verona, had sanctions slapped against his company as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on blacklisted Venezuelan crude oil. Continue reading...

Stewart Rhodes made numerous calls with three members of the far-right group, prosecutors say in new indictmentThe founder of far-right group the Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes, his lieutenant, and three members of the militia who guarded Donald Trump ally Roger Stone swapped numerous phone calls in a three-hour period on 6 January when the Capitol was attacked by a mob, prosecutors said Thursday.These exchanges coincided with the initial assault on police barricades outside Congress, and continued into when the three guards breached the US Capitol building, according to the Washington Post. Continue reading...

Republican congressman reportedly under investigation over alleged cash and gifts given to women contacted onlineOne of Donald Trump’s loudest cheerleaders in the US Congress is under federal investigation over allegations that he paid for sex with women recruited online, according to a media report.Matt Gaetz, a Republican congressman from Florida, is one of the former president’s most ardent supporters and frequently appeared on TV to promote his lies about a stolen election. Continue reading...

The French president has imposed a national lockdown, but he still won’t own up to his mistakes and broken promises

While Covid ravaged across the world, air pollution killed about three times as many people. We must fight the climate crisis with the same urgency with which we confronted coronavirus

Testing by the Guardian and Consumer Reports found high levels of potentially harmful PFAS in Pittsboro, North Carolina, and regulators have struggled to keep paceOn a bitterly cold afternoon earlier this year, the Haw River was running high – its water a bright ochre thanks to heavy rainfall and snow melt.Most of the water flowed south, where it would eventually connect with Jordan Lake and the rest of the Cape Fear River basin, home to the cities of Greensboro, Durham, Fayetteville and Wilmington and a major source of drinking water for the eastern half of the state. Continue reading...

Proposal comes as the nation has seen gun violence increase and marks the first time the government has made an effort to address the root causesThe Biden administration plans to invest $5bn toward gun violence prevention in the nation’s most hard-hit areas as part of a key infrastructure package announced this week.This investment marks an important step in acknowledging the disparate impact of gun violence and is the first time the government has set aside this much money at one time to address community violence holistically over a multi-year period. Continue reading...