Better than expected revenues will push US firm founded in 2010 into profit for first time

Just 4.6% of Latinos and 5.7% of Black Americans have received a dose, compared with 11.3% of white AmericansLatino and Black Americans continue to be vaccinated against Covid at the lowest rate despite political promises to redress inequalities, new analysis reveals.Only 4.6% of Latinos and 5.7% of Black Americans have so far received a vaccine dose, compared with 11.3% of white Americans and 10.5% of Asian Americans, according to analysis by APM Research Lab shared exclusively with the Guardian. Continue reading...

Bill de Blasio calls Lindsey Boylan’s allegations against New York governor ‘really disturbing’New York City’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, has called for an independent investigation into the New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, a day after a former aide accused the governor of sexual harassment.In an essay published in Medium on Wednesday, former aide Lindsey Boylan described several problematic episodes with Cuomo, including an unsolicited kiss in his Manhattan office, an invitation to play strip poker on a government airplane, and an internal email from another aide indicating that the governor considered her a “better looking sister” of a rumored former girlfriend. Continue reading...

Lawmakers hear from low-wage workers as Congress debates first rise in the minimum wage in over a decadeUS taxpayers should not be “forced to subsidize some of the largest and most profitable corporations in America”, Bernie Sanders told a Senate hearing on Thursday.As Congress debates the first rise in the minimum wage in over a decade, the Vermont senator said he had “talked to too many workers in this country who, with tears in their eyes, tell me the struggles they have to provide for their kids on starvation wages” even as the chief executives of companies including McDonald’s, Walmart and others take home multi-million dollar pay packages. Continue reading...

Republican extremist responds to fellow congresswoman Marie Newman, whose daughter is trans, raising transgender pride flagThe Republican extremist Marjorie Taylor Greene attracted widespread condemnation – from transgender groups, Democrats and her own party – after she hung a transphobic sign outside her office in response to fellow congresswoman Marie Newman raising a transgender pride flag.The Georgia congresswoman put up the poster – which read “There are TWO genders: Male & Female. Trust The Science!” – after Newman, whose daughter is transgender and whose office is opposite Greene’s, hung the flag on Wednesday following an impassioned debate on the Equality Act, which Greene tried to block. Continue reading...

Levine would make history as the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the US Senate

Amelia Boynton had been organizing in Selma for years before Bloody Sunday and was the one who called in King to bring national attention to voter suppressionHappy Thursday, Continue reading...

Six years in the making, the distinctive vehicle has been labelled an ugly duckling by some of its kinder criticsWhen the United States Postal Service unveiled its futuristic new mail truck, it must have been hoping for a positive response. After all, there hasn’t been a new USPS truck since 1994 and designers have been working on the upgrade for six long years.But images of the new delivery vehicle, delicately posed in publicity shots against leafy backgrounds evoking the American suburban idyll, generated one emotion above all. Hilarity. Continue reading...

At least one in eight health workers lost in the pandemic died after the vaccine became available, analysis shows

Leaders of Texas’s embattled power grid to face questioning from lawmakers after outages left millions without electricityAll the groceries spoiled and the water was out for days. Then Melissa Rogers, a believer in the Texas gospel that government should know its place, woke up to a $6,000 energy bill before the snow and ice even melted.“The roads were awful, but we were running around town trying to get money from every single bank we could possibly think of,” said Rogers, 36, whose Fort Worth family of four was left with $80 after the charges drained her accounts and took her husband’s paycheck. Continue reading...

While other countries turn away from the futile ‘war on drugs’, politicians here are still falling for the ‘evil’ narcotics narrative

Let’s be clear: whatever he may say, Biden absolutely has the power to unilaterally cancel all federal student debtAt his recent town hall, Joe Biden made a series of convoluted and condescending comments about American student debt. His remarks cast doubt on his ability, or willingness, to confront this country’s ballooning student loan crisis. Within hours, #cancelstudentdebt was trending on Twitter.Related: Key Biden aide said pandemic was 'best thing that ever happened to him', book says Continue reading...

The film is a laudable portrayal of Hampton, the activist killed by police in 1969. But it largely ignores his strong anti-capitalist politics

Of the 14 Californians charged in connection with the pro-Trump riot, three are from the wealthy LA county enclaveBeverly Hills has seen more residents arrested for participating in the US Capitol insurrection than any other city in California. Continue reading...

New state data shows removal of almost 17,000 eligible voters ahead of 2020 election could have been disastrousA well-connected conservative group in Wisconsin nearly succeeded in forcing the state to kick nearly 17,000 eligible voters off its rolls ahead of the 2020 election, new state data reveals. Continue reading...

Coronavirus vaccine from Johnson & Johnson safe and effective in trials, the FDA says. Plus, Biden reverses yet more of Trump’s executive ordersGood morning.The one-shot coronavirus vaccine from Johnson & Johnson appears to be safe and effective in trials, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in documents published yesterday. The vaccine effectively reduced the risk of Covid-19, and prevented confirmed cases of the virus, at least 14 days after vaccination, according to FDA briefing documents. This takes the prospective vaccine a step closer to approval, with an advisory panel of independent experts set to meet on Friday to decide whether to recommend that the FDA take the step. Continue reading...

Powerful figures like the Jacksonville Jaguars head coach believe they are above reproach – because for much of their careers they have beenJust when you think the NFL cannot sink any deeper into its own particular brand of win-at-all-costs shamelessness. Just when you think the sport as a collective has broken through the cycle of player arrests, out-of-control assistant coaches and the system of enabling that extends from the high school ranks all the way to the commissioner’s office, along comes Urban Meyer.College football’s enabler-in-chief has moved to the professional ranks. The three-time national championship-winning college coach has been handed the keys to the Jacksonville Jaguars franchise. Already, he has brought with him controversy. Earlier this month, Meyer dipped back into the college game to hire former Iowa strength coach Chris Doyle to serve as his conditioning czar in Jacksonville. Continue reading...

This week’s roundup also features Sarah Taylor’s wicket-keeping skills and the pain of being an NHL official1) It’s not often the Guatemalan third division features in this roundup, but it’s also not often a player – in this case Rosbin Ramos of Batanecos – drops to the ground writhing in agony, pretending to have been hit by an object thrown from the crowd. Ramos is not the first: who could forget Dida’s slight overreaction to an admittedly stupid pitch invader at Celtic Park? Or Feyenoord’s Steven Berghuis? Or even this? Worse still is the tale of Roberto Rojas. Back in 1989, Chile needed to beat Brazil to qualify for the World Cup and were trailing 1-0 when keeper Rojas pretended to have been hit by a flare, cutting himself with a razor blade hidden in his glove. The game was abandoned and Rojas banned for life (a sanction lifted in 1991) while Chile, whose manager and doctor were in on the sting, were excluded from the 1994 tournament.2) Some referees are frustrated players, just like the rest of us. Here’s Óscar Macías blocking a goalbound shot from Cruz Azul, in their Liga MX game against Toluca. And here’s Maurice Paarhuis, refereeing a game in the Dutch fourth division, accidentally scoring for HSV Hoek against Harkemase Boys. And here’s Atay Daudov bagging for Manas against Keyes DD in the second round of the LFL Dagestan. Of course, no such digest is complete without our very own Mike Dean, so here’s Sky Sports’ homage. Continue reading...

Lineup at annual gathering features former president’s allies – and Trump himself – suggesting his dominance is undiminished by his election lossRonald Solomon spent five days making the 2,300-mile drive from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Orlando, Florida, where he will sell about 75 different hat designs, 15 types of flag, 10 T-shirt designs and a range of eight face masks.Solomon is the president of the Maga Mall, a retailer of Donald Trump and “Make America great again” merchandise. Undeterred by the former president’s 2020 election defeat and disgrace, he expects to do brisk business when the biggest annual gathering of grassroots conservatives opens on Thursday. Continue reading...

Intended as a tool to address distribution inequities, the codes were passed around by text and email, sometimes with misinformationAccess codes meant to give Californians of color priority access to Covid-19 vaccine slots have been getting passed around among other residents in the state, allowing some to cut the line and get appointments meant for underserved Black and Latino residents.Misuse of these codes was reported at vaccine sites in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, said Brian Ferguson, spokesperson for the California office of emergency services, to the Guardian. Continue reading...

Move undoes actions that blocked many immigrants from entering the US and sought to cut funding to cities Trump deemed ‘lawless’Joe Biden has formally reversed a series of executive actions taken by Donald Trump, including a proclamation that blocked many green card applicants from entering the United States. Continue reading...

Alex García from Honduras sought sanctuary in Missouri church in 2017 under threat of removal from US by Trump administrationAfter three and a half years living inside a Missouri church to avoid deportation, a Honduran man has finally stepped outside, following a promise from Joe Biden’s administration to let him be.Alex García, a married father of five, was slated for removal from the US in 2017, the first year of Donald Trump’s administration. Days before he would have been deported, Christ Church United Church of Christ in the St Louis suburb of Maplewood offered sanctuary. Continue reading...

Lindsey Boylan, who previously accused governor of sexual harassment, offers new details about her claimsA former member of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration who previously accused him of sexual harassment offered new details on Wednesday, saying he once kissed her on the lips without consent after a private meeting.Lindsey Boylan said that during her more than three years working as an economic adviser in the administration, Cuomo “would go out of his way to touch me on my lower back, arms and legs”, compared her to one of his rumored ex-girlfriends and once joked they should play strip poker. Continue reading...

State’s controversial practice of coordinating with immigration authorities has come under widespread scrutiny in recent monthsCalifornia lawmakers are fighting to protect thousands of residents from deportation with new legislation that would stop state prisons and jails from handing over immigrants to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice). Continue reading...

Protests in Rochester follow lack of charges for police officers who placed Black man in hood until he became unconsciousA crowd of somber yet outraged protesters in Rochester, upstate New York, endured bitter cold on Tuesday night to decry a grand jury’s failure to indict local police officers for the death of Daniel Prude, a 41-year-old Black man who was in town visiting relatives, last March.“This is not what we expected. This is not what we wanted. And until there is justice in this system, they will not get no peace from us,” said Jay Johnson, who was demonstrating. Continue reading...

The golfer is known for his supreme determination to overcome obstacles. But a return to professional sport will be tough after his car crashOnce again the world held its collective breath when the scene of a car crash was broadcast on live television and the name Tiger Woods flashed across the screen. From what we know, Woods was involved in a motor vehicle accident early in the morning on Tuesday. His car rolled multiple times, but fortunately he was wearing his seat belt, which very likely saved his life. The golfing legend was transported to Harbor-UCLA, which is one of the busiest trauma centers in Los Angeles county and staffed with top-notch experienced surgeons.Thankfully, his injuries aren’t life-threatening. We do have some clues in the released statements as to what injuries Woods has suffered. First, we heard about “compound” fractures, which are another term for an open fracture in which the broken bone pokes through the skin. Anytime the skin barrier is broken, bacteria and other contaminants can enter into the bone and possibly cause an infection. The first important step in treating open fractures is to get intravenous antibiotics coursing through the bloodstream to the bones and the rest of the body. Second, the bone ends are cleaned in the sterile operating room before being fixed straight again. Continue reading...

Family of Angelo Quinto said police officer knelt on his neck for almost five minutes after they called for helpA US navy veteran who was experiencing a mental health crisis died after a police officer called out to help him knelt on his neck for several minutes, asphyxiating him, lawyers for his family have said.Angelo Quinto, 30, was suffering a bout of paranoia, anxiety and depression in his family home in Antioch, northern California, when his sister Isabella Collins called police on 23 December. Continue reading...

Pastors reject ‘perversion’ of Christian nationalism and say they do not want to be ‘quiet accomplices in this ongoing sin’More than 100 prominent evangelical Christian pastors and church leaders have spoken out against what they call the “perversion” of Christian nationalism and the role it played in enabling the violent insurrection at the US Capitol in Washington on 6 January.Related: Senate postpones vote on Neera Tanden's confirmation amid opposition – live Continue reading...

Rightly, a digital platform for conservatives, goes down awkwardly in Qatari-funded news organisationAl Jazeera’s surprise decision to launch a digital platform for conservatives in the US has left many within the Qatar-based news organisation dumbfounded and confused, staff have told the Guardian.The network has announced the launch of Rightly, a platform that will host programmes and produce online content aimed at “audiences currently underrepresented in today’s media environment”, in this case right-of-centre Americans. Continue reading...

Advisory panel will meet on Friday to decide whether to recommend the vaccine be authorizedJohnson & Johnson’s one-shot coronavirus vaccine appeared safe and effective in trials, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) staff said in documents published on Wednesday, paving the way for emergency authorization in the US.An advisory panel of independent experts will meet on Friday to decide whether to recommend the vaccine be authorized. While the FDA is not bound to follow the advice of its experts, the agency did so when authorizing the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines late last year. Continue reading...

Learning our history is about truth. But it is also about reconciliation: making amends for the pain caused to generations of Black AmericansIn 1926, Carter G Woodson started “Negro History Week” to rectify the fact that Black people “were overlooked, ignored, and even suppressed by the writers of history textbooks and the teachers who use them”.Woodson chose the second week of February because it coincided with the birthdates of President Abraham Lincoln and the slavery abolitionist Frederick Douglass. In 1970, Black educators and students at Kent State University began using the entire month of February to celebrate and recognize Black triumphs and tribulations. US presidents started to formally designate February as Black History Month in 1976. In recent years, other countries including Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Ireland have formally recognized and celebrated the history of the African diaspora. Continue reading...

Lucia DeClerck, who learned she had been infected after receiving her second vaccine dose, attributed her health partly to the raisinsA 105-year-old woman in New Jersey who fought off a bout of the deadly coronavirus has credited her ongoing good health to an unusual habit: gin-soaked raisins.Lucia DeClerck, who lives in a nursing home, learned she had been infected by the virus in January, the day after receiving a second dose of a vaccine intended to combat Covid-19, the New York Times reported. Continue reading...

The Anti-Racist Project (ARP) aims to fund a toolkit that will see 5,000 coaches, 60,000 young people, and 115 staff trained in over 400 communities in the first yearA coalition of leaders from the US soccer industry have partnered with the Common Goal movement to launch the Anti-Racist Project (ARP), an action-based approach to tackling systemic racism in soccer and society.The initiative, which was officially unveiled on Wednesday, brings together clubs from the three top divisions of US soccer – the Chicago Fire of MLS, Angel City FC of the NWSL and the Oakland Roots of the USL Championship – along with former US international Tony Sanneh and the American Outlaws supporters’ group. Continue reading...

Just as golf owes 15-times major winner absolutely nothing, there is precious little left for him to proveSummoning the spirit of Ben Hogan might not be enough for Tiger Woods to prolong a remarkable career. That the golf world is not prepared for Woods to call time on tournament pursuits was clear in the aftermath of the road accident that left the stricken 45-year-old requiring prolonged surgery on his right leg.Hogan did it, why can’t Tiger? Golf wants to cling on to an individual who transcends the sport and has single-handedly hauled it into a different commercial stratosphere. The post-Woods age has lingered somewhere in the distance for some time, with no one really willing to address what it may entail. The reticence is completely understandable: Woods is a one-off. Continue reading...

After 139 years at 807 Franklin Street in San Francisco, a two-storey Victorian house has a new address. The green home with large windows and a brown front door was loaded on to giant dollies and moved to a location six blocks away on Sunday. Onlookers lined the sidewalks to snap photos as the structure rolled – at a top speed of 1mph – to 635 Fulton Street

The former chief of the Capitol police told a Senate hearing that rioters who stormed the building were ready for ‘war’ and that Pentagon backup was slow to arrive. Plus, officers involved in the death of Daniel Prude won’t face chargesGood morning.The chief of the Capitol police, who resigned over the 6 January attack, said the pro-Trump mob “came prepared for war”, at the first congressional hearing about law enforcement’s response to the siege. Steven Sund said he was astonished at delays from the Pentagon after police appealed for reinforcements at the Capitol and the deployment of the National Guard. Washington’s metropolitan police chief said he remembered Sund “literally pleading” for backup. Continue reading...

Flowers, butterflies and a rosy banner saying ‘Bienvenidos’ decorate the child detention site. Is that meant to fool us into thinking this is humane?This week, the Biden administration did the unthinkable. They reopened a Trump-era detention site for migrant children. The detention center, a reconverted camp for oil field workers in Carrizo Springs, Texas, is expected to hold 700 children between the ages of 13 and 17, and dozens of kids have already arrived there.This is an awful development, reminding me of some of the worst abuses of the Trump years. And while we obviously don’t know how this ominous development will play out in the long run, what we do know is this: unaccompanied migrant children deserve compassion, not detention. But rather than seeking out new and better solutions, the Biden administration is instead trying to sell us an image of a kinder, gentler imprisonment. Continue reading...

Struggling with low pay and high stress, New York paramedics and emergency medical technicians are reaching a breaking point

Black women who powered Democrats to stunning win in Georgia have been fielding calls from other states eager to learnEver since the runoff elections in Georgia, people have been talking.They’ve been talking about how turnout among Black voters surged in December and January, propelling two Democrats to stunning victories in the state, long seen as a Republican stronghold. And how those same voters had helped Joe Biden become the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state in nearly 30 years. Continue reading...

A chance to travel and earn good money attracts many to cross the Atlantic. But the system they become part of is under scrutinyHow desperate are youth soccer clubs in the US to hire foreign coaches? And how desperate are UK coaches to land jobs in the US, with visions of Hollywood (or at least Boston) and good pay, courtesy of parents willing to shell out for an “elite” soccer experience?The answer to both questions: so desperate that one club, Global Premier Soccer (GPS) – which once operated in dozens of locations across the US – came up with a convoluted scheme to bring coaches across the Atlantic with the help of professional teams. The plan drew plenty of interest from coaches but also from law enforcement. Continue reading...

The fallout of from the big freeze left some customers owing thousands but, experts say, one way or another consumers will pay the price for the state’s vulnerable energy infrastructureAmid a deadly storm, Nathan Polk-Borgerding was terrified that Griddy, his electric company, would shut off his power in Abilene, Texas, if he and his roommates allowed their account balance to dip below $10.So he transferred $50 from his bank – the only safety net he had – to try to keep up with the utility’s real-time charges as Texas’s grid collapsed and the spot price of wholesale electricity surged some 10,000%. Continue reading...