We had been spared the most graphic moments, and those scenes are a clear reminder of the Donald Trump presidencyWhen the film of the 6 January Capitol insurrection was shown to the US Senate on the first day of Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial, the TV station I watched ran a warning in the upper right-hand corner. Explicit video. After a few minutes, I began to think that explicit was an understatement, that we should have been warned that what we’d be seeing was brutal.In the aftermath of the 6 January riot, I – like many Americans, I imagine –watched plenty of footage of the riot. It was horrifying, for obvious reasons, and also mysterious, because I found it hard to understand exactly what, in addition to Donald Trump’s urging and the fake claims of a stolen election, had unleashed such murderous rage in so many people. Continue reading...

By making ‘Zionists’ a de facto protected category, Facebook would shield the Israeli government from accountability and harm efforts to dismantle antisemitism

The brazen seizure of power by the military has energised the population and produced a public display of cross-party unityA little over a week after the Myanmar military seized power and arrested Aung San Suu Kyi and dozens of other ministers and activists, a counter-movement has taken hold across the country. The military’s efforts to thwart the spread of demonstrations – by the downing of internet connections and by use of intimidation and violence, including the shooting of one protester, Mya Thwe Thwe Khine, this week – have been in vain. Mass gatherings have spread from cities in the centre to far-flung towns in the north-east, close to the border with China. Against lines of armed riot police, protesters have so far held their ground.Aung San Suu Kyi remains in detention, her location unknown. The charges she faces – among them possession of illegally imported walkie-talkies – are clearly a ruse intended to prolong her confinement while the military finds a way to stymie her popular influence. On Tuesday night, police raided the headquarters of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party, whose landslide win in elections in November set in motion the train of events that led to the military’s coup. It is likely they were looking for evidence to incriminate other party members, or indeed criminalise the party altogether, in an attempt to weaken its organising power. Continue reading...

In their prosecution of Donald Trump for inciting the 6 January attack on the United States Capitol in Washington DC, Democratic impeachment managers have focused on videos of the event, including previously unseen footage.The managers, who act as prosecutors in the case, have shown clips to their audience of senators, who are in effect acting as jurors.The shocking footage shown on Wednesday revealed the full scale and danger of the attack on the Capitol, including threats to some senators who were now sitting in the chamber during the trial

The owner’s decision to not play the anthem before Mavericks games, which went on for nearly two months before anyone noticed, set conservative media alightFrom the moment nearly five years ago when Colin Kaepernick first kneeled during the national anthem to start a conversation over racial inequality and social injustice, the collective plea from the American right has been loud and clear: Keep politics out of sports.Well, Mark Cuban obliged them. Then all hell broke loose. Continue reading...

Impeachment prosecutors shared unseen footage that showed near misses between lawmakers and rioters. Plus, Trump is being criminally investigated over his election contestation

Measures against nations such as Iran and Venezuela are hindering the global battle against coronavirus, say lawmakersProgressive Democrats in Congress are calling for an overhaul of US sanctions on other nations which they argue have “catastrophic humanitarian consequences” on the global effort to contain the coronavirus pandemic.In a letter to Joe Biden to be delivered on Thursday, 23 Democratic representatives and two senators, welcome a review of sanctions and their impact on the pandemic that the president launched soon after taking office. Continue reading...

The US men’s team has risen from a laughing stock after failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. But how far can they go?From Weston McKennie shining alongside Cristiano Ronaldo for Juventus to Chris Richards making inroads at Bayern Munich, from Christian Pulisic starring for Chelsea to Matthew Hoppe’s free-scoring Bundesliga breakthrough – there are more American players thriving at soccer’s highest levels than ever before.With a large number of these young stars already playing key roles at some of the biggest clubs in the world, the future of the United States men’s national team has never appeared so bright. The 2026 World Cup on home soil is on the horizon and excitement is building around this gifted generation. Continue reading...

Ten years ago, the Arab spring brought hope to Egyptians – until the former army chief led a coup endorsed by the free world

Bill defeated in committee stage in state where sex education curriculum focuses on ‘refusal skills’ to prevent misconductDespite chronic struggles with sexual violence in Utah, lawmakers in the state have rejected legislation that would have changed the state’s health education curriculum to teach consent and prevent unwanted sexual behavior.The legislation, called HB177, was defeated by Utah’s house education committee by a vote of 7-4. Continue reading...

After the congresswoman survived an ambush by Jim Jones’s cult members in 1978 she became determined to devote herself to public service and to strengthen safeguards against cultsOn 6 January, Jackie Speier was one of scores of members of Congress threatened by the mob of violent Trump supporters and white supremacists who stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to overthrow the results of the presidential election.Along with her peers, she was told to wear a gas mask and ordered to lie prostrate on the marble floor as the baying crowd pounded on the chamber door and the sound of gunfire rent the air. The terror of that day induced in her a flashback, to the events that brought her into politics in the first place when she lay bleeding from five gunshot wounds in the Guyana jungle, not knowing whether she would live or die. Continue reading...

The policy, recently scrapped by Joe Biden, rejected visas for an estimated 42,000 people, and did nothing for Americans’ safety

Texas lawyer Rod Ponton told a judge ‘I am not a cat’ after getting stuck in a Zoom filter, and it made my dayLess than a week since the nation was gripped by parish council fever, a phrase that feels mortifyingly British to have to write, another Zoom-based viral video has swept the internet. This time the setting is Presidio, Texas and the meeting in question is a court hearing, reportedly for a man who attempted to leave the US with contraband cash. It came to the attention of the world when the presiding judge in the case posted a snippet from the proceedings online, saying “If a child used your computer before you join a virtual hearing, check the Zoom video options to be sure filters are off.”The video, a perfect 40 seconds, shows three lawyers about to begin proceedings. However, one of these lawyers is not like the others. One of these lawyers, who goes by the apparently real name of Rod Ponton, is a cat. Continue reading...

Breakaway group would run on ‘principled conservatism’ platform, say those involved in discussions

She had a joyful life before the killing of her teenage son, Trayvon Martin, in 2012. Since then, she has been determined to change laws and minds – as an activist, an author and by running for office

Police bodycam footage showing officers under attack at the US Capitol attack has been released during the second impeachment trial for Donald Trump. Democrat congressman Eric Swalell played footage captured from the officer's perspective showing the crowd attacking police with whatever items were at hand, including crutches and a Trump flag. Swalell also revealed vision showing the evacuation of representatives including Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer being ushered away by security

The country began the pandemic with a degraded public health infrastructure, leading to more deaths than other high-income countriesThe US could have averted 40% of the deaths from Covid-19, had the country’s death rates corresponded with the rates in other high-income G7 countries, according to a Lancet commission tasked with assessing Donald Trump’s health policy record.Almost 470,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus so far, with the number widely expected to go above half a million in the next few weeks. At the same time some 27 million people in the US have been infected. Both figures are by far the highest in the world. Continue reading...

New video shown during the second impeachment trial for Donald Trump has revealed Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman leading Senator Mitt Romney away from the rioters as well as the evacuation of former vice-president Mike Pence.Representative Stacey Plaskett presented the previously unreleased security footage from the 6 January Capitol breach documenting Romney's close call as well as Pence and his family's escape as rioters chanted ‘hang Mike Pence’

Publisher behind pornography empire was known for pushing boundaries of free speechLarry Flynt Jr, the publisher of Hustler magazine who used his pornography empire and flair for the outrageous to push the limits of free speech, has died at the age of 78, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.The newspaper said Flynt’s brother Jimmy had confirmed his death but did not cite a specific cause. Flynt suffered from a variety of health problems since a 1978 assassination attempt that left him paraplegic. Continue reading...

Footage, some previously unseen, shows the Capitol police officer who rescued Mitt Romney and engaged the riotersIn their prosecution of Donald Trump for inciting the 6 January attack on the United States Capitol in Washington DC, Democratic impeachment managers have focused on videos of the event, including previously unseen footage.The managers, who act as prosecutors in the case, have shown clips to their audience of senators, who are in effect acting as jurors. Continue reading...

Sketch: House impeachment managers have no trouble painting a picture of Trump’s well-documented role in Capitol attackAs US president, Donald Trump seemed be talking and tweeting 24 hours a day. That has thrown his near total absence from public life over the past three weeks into sharp relief. The Silence of the Tweets.It also means that when clips of Trump’s rally speeches filled the Senate chamber on day two of his impeachment trial on Wednesday, his voice was jarring and jangling in the ear, like a blowhard from a cruder, coarser time. Continue reading...

Though the former president will likely be acquitted again, the truly dangerous course would be failing to try him

‘Get someone to investigate this,’ Giuliani tells two Ukrainian officials in 40-minute call obtained by Time magazineA new transcript has surfaced of the former Trump lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, putting pressure on the Ukrainian government to open an investigation into the Biden family.The transcript of a 40-minute call between Giuliani and two Ukrainian officials, was obtained by Time magazine, and served as a reminder of Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, even as his second is under way in the Senate. Continue reading...

Research suggests people can increase aerosol droplet protection by 90% with well-fitted surgical mask covered by a cloth maskThe US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found close-fitting surgical masks worn underneath cloth masks – known as double masking – can significantly enhance protection against Covid-19.Related: Coronavirus live news: WHO backs AstraZeneca jab for over-65s; Israel to open leisure facilities to vaccinated Continue reading...

Smart, activist states could prove as effective at handling the biodiversity crisis as they have at tackling the pandemicLet’s be honest: few government-commissioned reports make a real difference. Often ministers call on an expert to look into a contentious issue in the hope of kicking it into the long grass, and when a weighty tome duly arrives with uncomfortable recommendations, it is quietly ignored.It is easy to see how the review into the economics of biodiversity by the Cambridge University academic Prof Sir Partha Dasgupta could be one of those that gathers dust in the Treasury, because it has a tough message. Put simply, Dasgupta says humanity – all 7.8 billion of us – is on a collision course with the planet. Our current economic system is unsustainable and endangers the prosperity of current and future generations. Continue reading...

Man opened fire at Allina clinic in 15,000-person community of Buffalo and may have also planted suspicious devicesA 67-year-old man who opened fire at a Minnesota health clinic, killing one staff member and wounding four others, previously threatened to carry out a mass shooting at the facility, according to a police report.The man was unhappy with the healthcare he had received, the authorities said. Bomb technicians were also investigating a suspicious device left there and others at a motel where he was staying. Continue reading...

Letter orders state government to preserve documents, including those related to Trump’s ‘find more votes’ call to secretary of stateProsecutors in Fulton county, Georgia, are investigating Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the southern state’s 2020 presidential election results, according to a letter, in the second criminal investigation faced by the former president.Related: Trump impeachment: Senate to hear prosecution arguments against former president – live Continue reading...

Chief financial officer says ‘when you’re removed, you’re removed … our policies don’t allow people to come back’Donald Trump’s ban from the social media platform Twitter is going to stick even if he runs for the White House again – and even if he won again, a senior executive said on Wednesday.Related: Trump impeachment: Senate to hear prosecution arguments against former president – live Continue reading...

Divided chamber finds process constitutional during emotional day as Democrats recount Capitol attackA divided US Senate voted to proceed with the historic second impeachment trial of Donald Trump after an emotional opening day in which the prosecution argued that the former president was singularly responsible for inciting the deadly assault on the US Capitol while the defense warned that the proceedings would further cleave a divided nation.After nearly four hours of debate in the same chamber that was invaded by pro-Trump rioters on 6 January, the senators, now seated as jurors and sworn to deliver “impartial justice”, voted 56 to 44 on the question of whether there was a constitutional basis for putting an impeached former president on trial. Six Republicans joined all Democrats in an early victory for the prosecution that undermined one of the central pillars of Trump’s defense. Continue reading...

Palm Beach town council gave short shrift to a request from neighbors to ban the former president from residing at his resort

With Super Bowl LV done and dusted we take a look at the heroes and villains from the 2020 seasonThe NFL lost a great man on Friday. Chris Wesseling, a writer for NFL.com and member of the Around The NFL podcast crew, died from cancer at the age of 46. The football world is truly a poorer place without his expert analysis, wit and warmth. Chris’s strength to share his first diagnosis in 2017 on the show inspired me to reach out to him for support on Twitter after my own cancer diagnosis in January 2018. He took the time to share some of his wisdom and, because his help through some dark days was invaluable, I promised to buy him a beer if he came to London. Chris turned out to be rather more classy than myself. After my own recovery the following summer, we met during his stay in London for the international series and the prosecco flowed, then the cocktails courtesy of Roger Goodell. I attempted to explain how Alastair Cook was the Randy Moss of cricket, as he was recording from the Oval the next day, and a nickname was bestowed upon my shoulders – ‘Single Jingle’. Thank you Wess, my MVP. (A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Wess’s widow and young son here.) Continue reading...

Senate trial began on Tuesday for ex-president charged with ‘incitement of insurrection’ over Capitol riotDonald Trump’s unprecedented second impeachment trial began on Tuesday 9 February in the Senate. He is the first US president to be impeached twice, and it is the first time an impeachment trial has been held against a former president. The trial will hear allegations that he committed “high crimes and misdemeanors” before leaving office. Continue reading...

Non-disclosure agreements have faced criticism for shielding companies from public accusations of wrongdoingA new bill introduced in California will target gag rules that keep workers from speaking out about harassment and discrimination when leaving a job. Continue reading...

Senators rule that Trump’s second impeachment trial is constitutional and will go ahead. Plus, a Texas lawyer gets trapped in a Zoom cat filter

From a 100-year flood to a chemical leak, the state has approached its challenges the same way – and now that method has helped to distribute 81% of available vaccines

The new president has rolled back and reviewed Trump’s policies, but activists say Biden must do more as Ice attempts to violate guidelinesDespite Joe Biden’s promise to reverse his predecessor’s immigration policies, Ijeoma “Golden” Kouadio is increasingly fearful Biden won’t rescue her family’s suspended American dream.In 2019, Kouadio’s family won the diversity visa lottery, which is meant to increase the diversity of immigrants to the US. But just before their visa interviews, Donald Trump implemented an immigration ban that runs through 31 March. If the president doesn’t step in, Kouadio’s family will lose their visas. Continue reading...

Former president spent past three weeks at Mar-a-Lago resort and shunned golf course on Tuesday for trial coverage

After nearly four hours of debate, a divided US Senate voted 56 to 44 to proceed with the historic second impeachment trial of Donald Trump. House Democrats opened the trial with a chilling and dramatic video of the Capitol siege. The House impeachment managers warned that allowing Trump to escape punishment would establish a ‘January exception’ for presidents to betray their oaths of office. In their rebuttal, Trump’s defence team argued that the trial was not only unconstitutional but would 'open up new and bigger wounds across the nation' and was based on the Democrats not wanting 'to face Donald Trump as a political rival in the future'

Gen Z – or zoomers – have taken to belittling millennials over everything from their hairstyles and skinny jeans to how they use emoji. Meanwhile, Gen Xers wryly observe the strife

Banks now tackle diverse issues, be it Covid-19, climate change or inequality. Purists may disagree but there’s no other optionWe are used to thinking about the remit of central banks as focusing narrowly on price stability, or at most as targeting inflation while ensuring the smooth operation of the payment system. But with the global financial crisis of 2008 and now Covid-19, we have seen central banks intervening to support a growing range of markets and activities, using instruments that extend well beyond interest rates and open market operations.An example is the US Federal Reserve’s Paycheck Protection Program Liquidity Facility, under which the Fed provides liquidity to lenders who extend loans to small businesses in pandemic-related distress. This, clearly, is not your mother’s central bank. Continue reading...

Senators and reportedly Trump himself voice displeasure with performances from Bruce Castor and David SchoenThe performance of Donald Trump’s legal team on the first day of his second impeachment trial has drawn sharp criticism from Republican senators and other onlookers, many of whom appeared unimpressed by the at times rambling and incoherent opening statements.Two members of the former president’s legal team, Bruce Castor and David Schoen, sought on Tuesday to persuade the Senate to dismiss the trial on constitutional grounds. Castor’s performance in particular drew criticism as waffling and lacking in focus. Continue reading...