Thinktank upgrades forecasts for world economy, with US expected to drive recovery

Marvel and Disney have long histories of collaborating with the the FBI and the Department of Defense. Consider the evidence

An organized working class in America is the best hope for defeating an increasingly militant far rightThe election and inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris does not represent the defeat of the far right, as even the most mainstream Democrats must rhetorically acknowledge. The more critical question, however, is whether those same Democrats are willing to support the changes necessary to actually achieve this victory: not through the introduction of new domestic terror legislation and the expansion of the security state, but through passing laws that allow poor and working people to build power for themselves, in their own organizations and institutions, on their own terms.Related: Joe Biden might be in the White House, but Joe Manchin runs the presidency | David Sirota Continue reading...

Republican lawmakers advanced a bill to end mail-in voting without an excuse, after record election turnout. Plus, royal family remain tight-lipped over explosive Meghan and Harry interview

Joe Biden’s effort to raise the federal minimum to $15 fell at the first hurdle in the upper chamber but the popular issue could sway votes in 2022Sara Fearrington, a North Carolina waitress, joined the Fight for $15 campaign two years ago. A server at a Durham Waffle House, her take-home pay fluctuates between $350 and $450 a week, leaving her struggling to pay bills every month. She voted for Joe Biden, who had pledged to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. It was the first time Fearrington, who is 44, had ever voted in a presidential election.“It would mean everything. It would create stability for my household,” she said of the impact that a higher wage could have on her and her family of five, which includes her husband, who suffers from a rare lung condition, and a granddaughter who has asthma. Continue reading...

In an extract from a new book on how elite athletes are made, Tim Wigmore and Mark Williams unlock the secrets of the world’s best playersWhen she has a free throw, Elena Delle Donne bounces the basketball three times. Then, she says a few words to herself and “I let it fly”. Nineteen times out of 20, Delle Donne scores.Delle Donne is the most successful free-throw shooter in basketball history. She has landed 93.8% of her free throws in the rim – over 3% more than nearest rival, Steph Curry. She once made 59 consecutive free throws. Continue reading...

President’s dogs reportedly returned home after German shepherd Major bit member of White House staffJoe Biden’s dogs have reportedly been returned to the family home in Delaware after showing aggressive behaviour towards White House staff.Champ and Major, both German shepherds, were sent home last week after Major had a “biting incident” with a member of the White House security team, CNN reported. Continue reading...

After four years of family separations and deportations, many are reluctant to seek help after the natural disasterWeeks after a deadly Arctic blast walloped Texas, Maria still didn’t have reliable water at her Austin home.During last month’s storm – which left millions without power, water or both – her family and neighbors used pool water for their bathrooms. “If you don’t have water, you can’t make food, you can’t do anything,” she said. Continue reading...

At the couple’s wedding the nation looked confident, modern and at ease with multiculturalism. Was living up to that image really so difficult?

Joe Biden pledged to combat sexual assault in the US military as he announced the nomination of two female officers, Gen Jacqueline Van Ovost and Lt Gen Laura Richardson, to become four-star commanders. The president, who spoke on International Women's Day, said: "Sexual assault is abhorrent and wrong at any time. And in our military, so much of unit cohesion is built on trusting your fellow service members to have your back – there's nothing less than a threat to our national security"

Democrats decry ‘modern-day voter suppression’ as Republican-controlled senate votes to curtail no-excuse absentee votingGeorgia lawmakers have advanced a measure that would significantly curtail voting access after a record number of voters propelled Democratic victories in the 2020 race.Related: Biden to sign order expanding voting rights on Bloody Sunday anniversary Continue reading...

President speaks on International Women’s Day and orders review of Trump-era rules on how to respond to sexual assault on campusJoe Biden on Monday pledged to tackle what he called the “scourge” of sexual assault in the US military while also ordering a review of rules from Donald Trump’s administration dealing with such crimes on college campuses.Biden, the US president, and his vice-president, Kamala Harris, both spoke from the White House on Monday to mark International Women’s Day. Continue reading...

The president has signed a number of executive orders during his first weeks in office, ranging from the pandemic to immigration Continue reading...

Samantha Hartsoe was trying to find source of cold air in bathroom and made discovery that brought to mind horror film CandymanAfter Samantha Hartsoe stumbled upon an entire three-bedroom apartment hidden behind the bathroom mirror in her own New York home, she chose to ignore the lessons of any good horror film – and explore further.“Curiosity killed the cat, curiosity is going to kill me,” the Roosevelt Island resident told NBC New York. “I can’t not know what’s on the other side of my bathroom.” Continue reading...

Guidelines say fully vaccinated can visit indoors with others who are vaccinated, and with unvaccinated from a single householdAmericans who have been fully vaccinated are now allowed to meet each other indoors without wearing masks, under long-awaited guidelines released by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Related: Fauci warns against lifting Covid measures but Republican-led states push on Continue reading...

Cornel West and Laura Kipnis join alliance designed to help educators ‘speak and publish without fear of sanction’Cornel West, Laura Kipnis and Stephen Pinker are among about 200 scholars from across the US who on Monday launched the Academic Freedom Alliance, a group with a mission to help college educators “speak, instruct and publish without fear of sanction, bullying, punishment, or persecution”.Related: What if liberal anti-racists aren’t advancing the cause of equality? | Bhaskar Sunkara Continue reading...

In US politics today, the conservative Democratic senator seems to have all the power and is more than happy to wield itFor the last week, Americans paying attention to politics have learned an important truth: Joe Biden may live in the White House, but the conservative Democratic senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia is effectively president. This depressing reality can certainly be fixed, but only if progressive Democrats in Congress are willing to actually change the dynamic – and they have a rare opportunity to do that right now by using their power to raise the minimum wage.But so far, they aren’t choosing to use their power – which is a huge structural problem not just now, but also for the foreseeable future. Continue reading...

It was upsetting to hear that she felt suicidal and that there were ‘concerns’ about how dark her child would be. But her race has been used against her since she entered British life

World’s 22nd richest person remarries after high-profile divorce from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in 2019MacKenzie Scott, the billionaire philanthropist and former wife of the Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, has married a Seattle science teacher.Scott, who collected $38bn (£27.5bn) in her divorce from Bezos in 2019, announced her marriage to Dan Jewett, a teacher at a prestigious Seattle school attended by her children. Continue reading...

In Cameroon, and across the world, grassroot organisations like mine have been on the Covid frontline. Now we need proper support

Bowling Green State University places the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity on interim suspension after Stone Foltz, 20, diesA Bowling Green State University student has died after an alleged hazing incident involving alcohol, his family’s attorney said.The death of Stone Foltz, 20, is “a tragedy”, attorney Sean Alto said in a statement released on Sunday night. Alto said Foltz’s family was “gathering all of the facts leading to his untimely death”. Continue reading...

Senator defends his refusal to abandon ex-president in Axios on HBO interview even though Trump has a ‘dark side’Senator Lindsey Graham has defended his refusal to abandon Donald Trump in the aftermath of the deadly attack on the Capitol, saying that though the former president has “a dark side … what I’m trying to do is just harness the magic”.Related: Lucky review: how Biden beat Trump – and doubters like Obama and Hillary Continue reading...

The estate agent is coming to take 360-degree HD pictures of our home … complete with discarded socks, old batteries and a photobombing tortoiseThe good news is we are moving. The bad news is this means an estate agent is coming to take HD pictures and video of the confined space in which four maximalist slobs have spent the pandemic year.“How H is this D exactly?” I ask my husband, gesturing around the kitchen at the stupid fruit flies banging into each other above a teetering stack of takeaway condiment sachets. All surfaces are covered with generic household rubble, Lakeland catalogues promoting storage solutions we definitely need and bank statements demonstrating why we can’t get them. He is poised by the back door, coiled, ready to pounce when the overdue recycling truck empties the communal bins. Next to him is a stack of cardboard approximately his height, testament to several months of deliveries. “Extremely,” he says without taking his eyes off the yard. “I checked online – it’s horrible.” Continue reading...

Joe Biden’s vaccine announcement created optimism, but a rebound must be sustainable

The US government program helps protect more than 650,000 immigrants, providing security for some of them to pursue their athletic goalsAdrian Escarate remembers the 2017 Miami Open final very well. That day, his mission was to help Roger Federer prepare for the championship match against Rafael Nadal.A Chilean immigrant who had captained the tennis team at St Thomas University in Miami, Escarate spent 30 minutes warming up Federer at center court. And maybe the preparation helped Federer, who went on to win the title. Continue reading...

White youths freed at far higher rates than Black peers in early stages of Covid-19 pandemic, data showsWhite youths were being released from juvenile detention centers at a far higher rate than their Black peers during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in the US, and more people of color are now being detained for longer than they were before the crisis, according to data gathered by a leading children’s philanthropic group.So many kids were freed from jail last year that by late summer, fewer children were incarcerated than at any point since at least the 1980s. But many youth facilities are increasingly holding almost entirely Black and Latino populations of teens, according to interviews with more than a dozen juvenile justice officials and attorneys in seven states. Continue reading...

Meghan said palace had not supported her when she was left feeling suicidal, and had asked how dark her son’s skin would be. Plus, officer charged with killing George Floyd will be tried todayGood morning.The Duchess of Sussex revealed that she was left with suicidal thoughts as a result of her treatment by the tabloid media and the royal family, and that despite her reaching out for support with her mental health, the palace had failed to protect her. This was one of a number of explosive revelations that came to light during the eagerly anticipated interview between Meghan, Prince Harry and Oprah Winfrey, which aired primetime in the US last night. Continue reading...

Meal delivery company could be valued at nearly $7bn after IPO on London Stock ExchangeMeal delivery company Deliveroo has confirmed plans for a stock market debut in London, as the firm reported a narrower annual loss following a boom in demand during the Covid-19 pandemic.The offering, which could value the company at $7bn (£5bn) following the initial public offering, will be open to everyday customers as well as institutional investors. Deliveroo has not yet confirmed a target price. Continue reading...

Black communities in Minneapolis and St Paul braced against the dread of justice not being served as trial begins MondayOne of the most significant police trials in US history begins on Monday and as the former officer who killed George Floyd stands before a judge, a jury and the world, many in Black communities in Minneapolis are braced against the dread of justice not being served.Minneapolis and its adjacent “twin city” St Paul, followed by cities and towns all across the United States and overseas burst into civil rights protest last May, where millions demanded radical change after a video went viral showing a cop kneeling on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and forty-six seconds as he begged, in vain, for his life. Continue reading...

The state that has tried to stop Black people from voting is shifting in a liberal direction to become a symbol of the new southHaving lived in Virginia most of his life, Larry Sabato can remember racially segregated schools and systematic efforts to stop Black people voting. Now 68, he observes a state that has diversified, embraced liberal values and shifted from symbol of the old south to symbol of the new.Related: The New York attorney general holding Trump and Cuomo accountable Continue reading...

Senate leader and assembly speaker weigh in but Cuomo says quitting over sexual harassment claims would be ‘anti-democratic’

Oprah Winfrey interview has been the subject of furious bidding wars and syndicated to 70 countries

Organizers and residents oppose metal shredder operating in Latino neighborhood already suffering from pollutionOn the 30th and last day of their hunger strike, activists from Chicago’s Southeast Side held a vigil.Mourning the health of the hunger strikers who have gone without food for a month, demonstrators clad in funeral attire carried a fake casket on Thursday through Logan Square, the North Side neighborhood where Mayor Lori Lightfoot lives. Southeast Side organizers and residents are demanding the city stop a metal shredder from operating in a Latino neighborhood already overburdened by pollution. Continue reading...

I cannot stand the toxic atmosphere of glee around the link between coronavirus and obesityIt is not news that there is a connection between Covid mortality rates and a country’s obesity level. It may have been confirmed for the first time last week by the World Obesity Forum, but this has been a word-of-mouth truism since the start. Someone always knew a man whose brother-in-law worked in intensive care and said only obese people suffered seriously. “I weigh myself every morning, to check that I am still just overweight,” said a friend with one of these brothers-in-law.Then Boris Johnson set this in stone, whining to his cabinet: “It’s all right for you thinnies.” It is not a word, is it, “thinnie”? Nor is “gloomster”. Sometimes, I think that is the summit of the prime minister’s arrogance – that he finds the English language incomplete without the interjection of his baby words. At other times, I think his arrogance is more like the mountain in a Japanese etching: there is no “top”, there is only “more” and “cloud”. Continue reading...

Joe Biden has hailed the passage of the American Rescue plan by an exhausted Senate. Lawmakers narrowly approved the bill on Saturday as the US president and his Democratic allies notched a victory they called crucial for hoisting the country out of the pandemic and economic doldrums

Manhattan Beach used eminent domain in 1924 to force Willa and Charles Bruce, the city’s first Black landowners, off the propertyLos Angeles county officials may return a beachfront property that was seized from a Black family nearly a century ago.Related: Three Alabama professors on leave over racially insensitive Halloween pictures Continue reading...

Fifty-six years ago, my great-aunt, Amelia Boynton, was beaten senseless while marching. Let’s honor her by protecting voting today