The president is planning a multi-trillion effort to fix America’s infrastructure and kickstart the economy. But can he get Republicans on board?Joe Biden came to power promising a New Deal-like economic agenda that would not only combat the Covid-19 pandemic, which has now claimed more than half a million lives in the US and caused unemployment not seen since the Great Depression, but also confront the deep-rooted disparities it has exposed.Related: Senate passes $1.9tn coronavirus relief bill, overcoming Republican opposition Continue reading...
by Joanna Walters in New York and agencies on (#5F0WT)
Ruling from Minnesota court of appeals could delay Derek Chauvin’s trial, which is due to start MondayThe Minnesota court of appeals has ordered a judge to reconsider adding third-degree murder to charges against the former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is accused of killing George Floyd last year. Continue reading...
The Olympic pole vault silver medalist talks about creating her own competitive opportunities amid the pandemic and the challenges of staying motivated for Tokyo 2021Like everyone else, Sandi Morris was left no choice but to shelve her plans when the coronavirus pandemic took hold and the Tokyo Olympics were postponed.The Olympic pole vault silver medalist and American indoor record holder was forced to get creative over the past year as the sport halted to a standstill. With her training facilities at the University of Arkansas shut down for nine months, Morris moved back to her parents’ house in South Carolina and constructed a homemade pole-vault setup with 120ft runway in the neighborhood. With no competitions on the horizon and no prize or appearance money coming in, she held a virtual garage sale of old meet-worn gear and memorabilia to help make ends meet. For every problem, a solution. Continue reading...
Carlson says conspiracy theory believers – many of whom took part in Capitol attack – are ‘gentle people waving American flags’Followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory are “gentle people waving American flags”, Fox News host Tucker Carlson claimed on Friday night – two months since many joined a mob that stormed the US Capitol seeking to overturn Donald Trump’s election defeat, a riot in which five people died.Related: Biden urged to 'go big' on New Deal-like economic plan – but can he bridge left-right gap? Continue reading...
by Lauren Gambino and Joan E Greve in Washington and on (#5F0A5)
Biden’s $1.9tn relief package struggles through Senate but majority leaders vows passage ‘however long it takes’A fiery speech and last-ditch effort by Bernie Sanders to secure a place for a federal minimum wage hike in the $1.9tn coronavirus relief package appeared as good as doomed on Friday, following a day that saw the flagship legislation hit grinding delays in the Senate.Senate leaders and moderate Democratic senator Joe Manchin struck a deal late on Friday over emergency jobless benefits, breaking a nine-hour logjam. Continue reading...
Poet, acclaimed for her performance at Joe Biden’s inauguration, tweeted ‘this is the reality of black girls’Amanda Gorman, the poet who won acclaim for her performance at Joe Biden’s inauguration, has told of being followed home and accosted by a security guard who allegedly claimed she looked suspicious.She said the incident, on Friday night, was emblematic of “the reality of black girls” in the US, in which “one day you’re called an icon” but the next day considered a threat. Continue reading...
Real cancel culture has existed throughout US history, and much of what we witness now is meaningless by comparisonOn Tuesday, the estate of Dr Seuss decided that it will cease publishing six books by the beloved children’s author which contain offensive depictions of non-white characters. A week earlier, Hasbro, the manufacturer of Mr Potato Head, announced that the toy will henceforth be known by the non-gendered moniker Potato Head.An army of defenders has now risen to protect the sanctity of Mr Potato Head and Dr Seuss. Social media and conservative news outlets have been consumed with memes and hot takes declaring the dangerous overreach of “cancel culture”, which they define as the process of punishing a person or product deemed offensive by some vague set of modern moral standards. Continue reading...
A year to the day after the pandemic sent me back home from university, George Floyd’s killer goes on trial. It has been 12 months of upheaval, unrest and inspirationAt 9.52pm on 8 March 2020, my university sent out an email telling students that we would start our spring break a week early because of a potential Covid-19 case on campus.What they couldn’t tell us right then is that over the course of the two weeks, I’d fly home to Minnesota, fly back to campus in New York to move out and fly back home to finish classes in my family home. Continue reading...
Experts say ‘effect on turnout and on partisan outcomes is very muted’ and undermines Trump claim that mail-in voting cost himMail-in voting did not significantly increase turnout nor did it benefit Democrats in the 2020 election, a new study has found, undermining the talking point, advanced by Donald Trump and others, that mail-in ballots cost him the election.Related: Fight to vote: This is how Georgia Republicans are attacking democracy Continue reading...
I’ve defended people in this profoundly discriminatory judicial system. It needs dismantling – and the UK can helpThe overwhelming majority of Palestinians in the West Bank were born into, and have spent their entire lives under, an Israeli military occupation that violates their right to self-determination. A new report by the UK charity War on Want exposes how a core part of what sustains that occupation is a military judicial system characterised by violations of international law.The report – Judge, Jury and Occupier – is a deep dive into the diverse ways in which Palestinians’ rights are being violated – from arrest, through interrogation, conviction and jail time. It reflects the experiences of Palestinian lawyers and human rights groups. The prisoners’ rights organisation I lead, Addameer, was proud to contribute evidence. Continue reading...
Letitia James has been making big legal waves, from investigating the Trumps to Cuomo’s nursing home scandal, generating a torrent of national attentionThe two men were born a decade apart in Queens, New York, one the heir to a real estate fortune and the other to a political dynasty. Donald Trump went on to be president, and Andrew Cuomo became governor, like his father.Over the course of their long and controversial careers, both men have seemed untouchable. But thanks to the recent work of one lifelong public servant, who was born into a big family in Brooklyn without legacy money or power, each man is suddenly facing a moment of unaccustomed accountability. Continue reading...
Reopening marks a significant moment after a Covid-induced closure but experts and cinemagoers remain wary over safetyLike all cinemas in New York, the Angelika in Soho has lain dormant for almost an entire year. But just before 10am on Friday, with an unceremonious creak, the shutters raised to welcome its first customers since the city was ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic.Related: US experts warn new Covid variants and states reopening may lead to fourth wave Continue reading...
The sun is drying the dew off on the ivy. I can hear birds singing and children playing. It’s too earlyA year ago, I was contending that as someone who had always worked from home I’d been in training for a global pandemic for 30 years: I’ll do your lockdown standing on my head – bring it.That was a couple of lockdowns ago, but it’s only recently that something has arrived to upset my mental equilibrium: hope. After months safely cloaked in the armour of despair, hope has suddenly left me unpeeled and paranoid: in my dreams, dark forces range against me, and the police are often involved. Continue reading...
David Schwimmer warns of risk from special purpose acquisition companies – Spacs – if plans to liberalise market rules go aheadA “frothy” US market for so-called “Spac” investment companies could end poorly for some investors, with the trend a risk to UK investors if plans to liberalise market rules go ahead, according to the chief executive of the London Stock Exchange.The proposals regarding special purpose acquisition companies (Spacs) – “blank cheque” shell companies that raise money first and seek businesses to buy later – were announced earlier this week as part of a sweeping package of reforms designed to attract more fast-growing companies to list in London, in an attempt to maintain the UK’s position as a leading global financial centre post-Brexit. Continue reading...
McAfee indicted in federal court over schemes that promoted cryptocurrency offerings on social mediaJohn McAfee, the antivirus software pioneer whose former company still bears his name, has been indicted on fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges stemming from two cryptocurrency schemes, the US Department of Justice said on Friday.Authorities accused McAfee and his bodyguard, Jimmy Gale Watson Jr, of exploiting McAfee’s large Twitter following to artificially inflate prices of “altcoins” through a pump-and-dump scheme, and concealing payments McAfee received from startup businesses to promote initial coin offerings. Continue reading...
Richard Barnett, charged over January attack, complains after judge rules he must remain in jail until next court date in MayOf all the pictures that were taken during the insurrection at the US Capitol on 6 January, one of the most famous is of a man sitting on a chair with one foot on the desk of the US House speaker, Nancy Pelosi.That man, Richard Barnett, was told by a judge on Thursday that he is to remain in jail until his next court date in May. Continue reading...
The Duchess of Sussex, a woman of colour, has faced relentless media attacks – and had no protection from the palaceRacism is a lucrative business. When it comes to Meghan Markle, the media’s strategy is transparent. Tabloids pillory her with a range of mostly ludicrous allegations – her baby bump is too prominent, her avocados are not “woke”, her earrings are drenched in blood – and then networks double up with manufactured debates in which anti-racist commentators try to push back on those narratives.It’s no wonder that, in the teaser for his forthcoming interview with Oprah Winfrey, Prince Harry referred to history repeating itself. We saw a similar strategy of obsession and vilification play out with his mother. The genius of it then and now – from a tabloid perspective – is that they as perpetrators are also the major beneficiaries, as their endless coverage racks up clicks and newspaper sales. Continue reading...
Charlotte Bennett told CBS Evening News that New York governor was trying to proposition her for sex in ‘uncomfortable’ encounterA former aide to Andrew Cuomo who has accused the New York governor of sexual harassment has said she believes he is a “textbook abuser” who knew she was a survivor of sexual violence and nevertheless made inappropriate advances.Charlotte Bennett, 25, Cuomo’s former executive assistant and health policy adviser, told CBS Evening News on Thursday that Cuomo was trying to proposition her for sex during an “uncomfortable” encounter in his office last spring, and that she felt she “had to get out of this room as soon as possible”. Continue reading...
Number was the largest gains recorded since November but US is still 10m jobs short of position pre-pandemicThe US economy bounced back strongly in February, adding 379,000 jobs as more states reopened for business and more vaccines against the coronavirus became available.The number was the largest gains the Department of Labor has recorded since November and came after jobs were lost in December and a lackluster January report when just 49,000 new jobs were added. The unemployment rate dropped slightly to 6.2%. Continue reading...
The White House defended Joe Biden’s criticism of Republican governors for lifting state mask restriction, after the governor of Texas hit back. Plus, migrants in border camps finally cross to US
After several 11th-hour delays, people are now starting to depart camp to argue their asylum cases in the USA dusty soccer ball lay idle and forgotten a few days ago at an empty dwelling that had been knitted together from billowing, fraying plastic tarps tied to dead trees in the Mexican city of Matamoros.The vignette of the abandoned shelter is expected to replicate across the makeshift migrant camp in the coming weeks, wedged between the edge of the city and the swirling Rio Grande, across the border from south-east Texas. Continue reading...
Hundreds of people have gotten shots thanks to a partnership between the Arkansas health department and historically Black social groupsSoon after Arkansas began allowing people over 70 to receive the Covid-19 vaccine in January, Wanda King heard from her aunt and cousin, who fell in that age group, that they were struggling to get their shots. They live in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, a rural town in the eastern part of the state with a population of about 650. The town has a medical clinic, but no pharmacy.Related: US racial inequities in vaccination raise risk of new Covid hotspots and variants Continue reading...
In the wake of the 2005 hurricane, many New Orleanians settled in Houston – and nearly two decades later they feel let down by infrastructure failuresTerrence Veal spent the better part of last week without water. After the pipes in his Houston home froze during the winter storm, he and his family quickly ran out of bottled water. Then the pipes burst, collapsing the ceiling and flooding the living room of the apartment he shares with his wife and two children and causing several thousand dollars’ worth of damage.Related: Long road to recovery: effects of devastating winter freeze to haunt Texas for years Continue reading...
The Serb was an afterthought when he was drafted in 2014. Since then he has helped evolve a position that some thought was becoming obsoleteEarlier this week the Denver Nuggets visited the Milwaukee Bucks for a dog-day NBA clash that few could have predicted would leave fans panting. On one side there was reigning league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, aka the Greek Freak; on the other, a supremely talented Serbian named Nikola Jokić. But in today’s NBA, Jokic, a center who still plays with his back to the basket, is the real freak.In the era of positionless basketball, Jokić doesn’t just stand his ground; he holds the line for the generations of big men who preceded him. While Antetokounmpo picked-and-rolled his way to a respectable 27 points and eight rebounds, it was Jokić who ultimately grabbed headlines with his 37-point, 10-rebound, 11-assist night. It was the ninth triple-double for Jokic this season and the 50th of his career. The only center who has more is Wilt Chamberlain, not the easiest numbers-to-numbers comparison these days – especially not in the decades since big men have drifted farther and farther from the paint as the NBA has evolved from a bruising battle into a run-and-gun game. Continue reading...
Families of celebrities can face additional pain after a tragedy: the circulation of photos of the death of their loved onesThis past weekend, Kobe Bryant’s widow, Vanessa, called on the Los Angeles county sheriff’s department to reveal the names of people who took or shared photos of the helicopter crash site where nine people, including her husband and daughter, Gianna, died. Bryant is suing the sheriff’s department, claiming in a lawsuit that “faced with a scene of unimaginable loss, no fewer than eight sheriff’s deputies at the crash site pulled out their personal cell phones and snapped photos of the dead children, parents and coaches. The deputies took these photos for their own personal gratification.”It has been more than a year since the crash and yet there are parallels to another high-profile sports tragedy. In February 2001, Nascar superstar Dale Earnhardt was coming on in the final lap of the Daytona 500 when his car became caught up with another vehicle and shot up the side of the track and into the surrounding wall. A third car then impaled Earnhardt’s and together they spun around and slid in a T-formation through the other cars on the track and onto the infield. Continue reading...
Police say a man told investigators that he kidnapped and killed two people at officer Bryan Riser’s instructionA Dallas police officer was arrested Thursday on two counts of capital murder, more than a year and a half after a man told investigators that he kidnapped and killed two people at the officer’s instruction in 2017, authorities said.Bryan Riser, a 13-year veteran of the force, was arrested Thursday morning and taken to the Dallas county Jail for processing, according to a statement from the police department. Riser was not listed in online jail records Thursday evening and a lawyer for him couldn’t immediately be identified. Continue reading...
by Joan E Greve in Washington and agencies on (#5EYPC)
Texas governor Greg Abbott, who lifted face covering requirement, said it was ‘not the type of word a president should be using’The White House has defended Joe Biden’s criticism of the Republican governors of Texas and Mississippi, after the president called their decisions to end mask mandates “Neanderthal thinking”.Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, emphasized that the president was comparing the governors’ actions to “the behavior of a Neanderthal, just to be very clear, the behavior”. She also said Biden’s comments were “a reflection of his frustration” about Americans not following public health guidance to limit their risk of contracting coronavirus. Continue reading...
White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended Joe Biden's comments comparing Republican governors to Nearnderthals for lifting mask mandates in Mississippi and Texas. Biden's remarks were 'a reflection of his frustration' about Americans not following public health guidance during the pandemic, Psaki said.
