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In new book, Hawley defends his actions over the Capitol riot but doesn’t mention raising his fist in solidarity with pro-Trump mob

Sir Anthony Hopkins posted a video from Wales the morning after winning this year’s best actor Oscar for his performance in the film The Father. At 83 years of age, Hopkins has become the oldest recipient of the award. In his video message, he paid tribute to actor and fellow nominee Chadwick Boseman, ‘who was taken from us far too early’. Boseman, who died in August, was nominated for his role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Tory MPs fear the prime minister stands to lose far more than his opponent in a public row over leaksBoris Johnson once cited his favourite movie scene as the multiple retribution killings at the end of The Godfather. But it’s a line from the film’s sequel that best explains the events that have led to the row between the prime minister and his former adviser Dominic Cummings that is currently engulfing Downing Street: “Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgment.”On Thursday, Downing Street briefed several newspapers that Johnson believed his one-time right-hand man had been behind a number of damaging government leaks. These leaks were wide-ranging – from the recent publication of messages between Johnson and James Dyson over ventilators, to the leaked news of England’s second lockdown, when Johnson was forced to bring forward plans for a circuit breaker. Continue reading...

Stock unloaded by Robert G Kramer would now be worth only $5.5m while FDA report found unsanitary conditions at plant

New York case could lead to the most consequential ruling on the scope of the second amendment in more than a decade

The government may ride out all the embarrassing inquiries, but at what cost?Vain, mendacious, inattentive, conflicts of interest, unfaithful with wives and incapable of keeping his staff. And that is just the last US president. When Boris Johnson should be attending to the nation’s affairs, he mimics Donald Trump as a daily fount of salaciousness and scandal. Most of it is his fault, if not all.Related: Tories are wrong to think that they will never face a day of reckoning for sleaze | Andrew Rawnsley Continue reading...

The 33-year-old was an eye witness to a murder than shook America. His testimony – and knowledge of wrestling – proved important at trialWhen Donald Williams II saw the police car, he debated continuing on his way. He’d snuck out of his place on 25 May 2020 for a few minutes’ break from his family – just a quick hop to Cup Foods for an energy drink, something Williams had done countless times before. It had been a productive day of fishing on Valentine Lake with his 13-year-old son. They planned to fillet and cook the three bass they had caught for dinner; Williams didn’t want to keep his son waiting. He’d haphazardly thrown on his navy blue Northside Boxing hoodie and two mismatched socks that peaked conspicuously out of his flip-flops. He wasn’t dressed for a serious interaction.Williams made it to the convenience store door before he stopped in his tracks. Continue reading...

Caron McBride discovered criminal record for felony embezzlement over 1999 rental when applying for driver’s license

Larry Kudlow grumbles that Biden’s climate policies would force Americans to drink ‘plant-based beer’ – instead of meat-based?The Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, has joined a flood of social media users gleefully trolling Larry Kudlow after the former economic adviser to Donald Trump complained that Joe Biden wanted Americans to drink “plant-based beer”.Kudlow made the indignant claim on his Fox Business show on Friday, saying Biden’s climate policies and attempt to slash emissions would force Americans to “stop eating meat, stop eating poultry and fish, seafood, eggs, dairy and animal-based fats”. Continue reading...

House minority leader sheds light on refusal to answer question about conversation with ex-president during Capitol attackThe House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, has said his job involves walking “the tightest tightrope anyone has to walk” – shedding light on his very public refusal to answer a question about a conversation with Donald Trump during the Capitol attack.Related: McCarthy dodges questions about what Trump said as Capitol riot raged Continue reading...

The Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, is likely to veto bills to curb voter access, but Republicans are hinting they will use a loophole to implement the measuresOn the surface, the Republican effort to roll back voting rights in Michigan looks similar to what’s happening in states around the country: after Donald Trump narrowly lost a key battleground state where there was record turnout, Republicans are moving swiftly to implement sweeping restrictions to curtail access to the ballot box. Continue reading...

Chloé Zhao makes history as first woman of colour to win best director – and only the second woman ever. Plus, Biden’s first 100 days in officeGood morning.The film director Chloé Zhao made history at the Oscars last night, becoming the first woman of colour – and only the second woman ever – to be named best director. Zhao won for Nomadland, starring Frances McDormand as a woman who lives out of her van, as she interacts with real-life nomads. McDormand took home her third best actress Oscar for the role. Continue reading...

There are few who see the passing of meaningful new laws as a guaranteed outcome – but people are still talkingIn the aftermath of former police officer Derek Chauvin being convicted of murdering George Floyd, it seems like there is momentum for the US Congress to pass some kind of police reform bill.Hearings on policing have been held and point people on both the Democratic and Republican sides are in ongoing talks. By most metrics, Congress is in a comfortable position to pass some kind of bill meant to deter police brutality and prevent another George Floyd or Eric Garner. Continue reading...

Many routine measures are being skipped, such as childhood vaccinations and lead screenings, as experts warn pandemic is likely to widen health inequalitiesHealth resources diverted to fight the Covid-19 pandemic have caused a major drop in critical preventative care including childhood vaccinations and lead screenings, sexually transmitted disease testing and substance abuse services.Related: ‘My city is on fire’: pandemic wreaks renewed havoc in Flint after water crisis Continue reading...

While the scaled-back Oscars in Los Angeles on Sunday made for a more subdued and intimate affair than usual, the evening was not without its moments.Picking up his award for best supporting actor, the British actor Daniel Kaluuya managed to embarrass his proud mother. ‘It's incredible. My mum met my dad, they had sex. It's amazing, you understand. I'm here, you know what I mean?’Glenn Close twerked and Frances McDormand howled like a wolf. Making history as the first Korean actor to win an Oscar, Youn Yuh-jung took a moment to appreciate Brad Pitt, who handed her the award. 'Oh, Mr Brad Pitt, finally, nice to meet you. Where were you while we were filming, in person?' she joked, to laughter

Biden’s quiet almost boring approach, compared with Trump’s sound and fury, could allow him to be far more consequential“Just imagine,” tweeted Pete Buttigieg last October, “turning on the TV, seeing your president, and feeling your blood pressure go down instead of up”.Related: Biden’s 100 days: bold action and broad vision amid grief and turmoil Continue reading...

Biden’s solution to the myriad crises is an ambitious economic agenda that promises to ‘own the future’ by expanding the role of government in American lifeOn the 50th day of his presidency, Joe Biden marched into the Oval Office and took a seat behind the Resolute desk, where the massive, 628-page American Rescue Plan awaited his signature. Across the room hung a portrait of Franklin D Roosevelt, a nod to the transformative presidency Biden envisions for a nation tormented by disease, strife and division.Related: Biden presidency: return to ‘normal’ belies an audacious agenda Continue reading...

Japan’s plans to discharge radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean is a callous act that would do catastrophic harmEarlier this month, the Japanese government announced plans to discharge 1m tonnes of radioactive wastewater accruing since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011 into the Pacific Ocean.To Pacific peoples, who have carried the disproportionate human cost of nuclearism in our region, this is yet another act of catastrophic and irreversible trans-boundary harm that our region has not consented to. Continue reading...

Advisory panel voted to resume Johnson & Johnson vaccine as the administration tries to curb deadly outbreaks across the US

Highest-profile incidents prompted intervention from local, state, or federal officials and promises of reformA day after a jury convicted Derek Chauvin, a white former police officer, of murdering George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, the US justice department announced a sweeping investigation into whether Minneapolis police systematically violate citizens rights, use excessive force and discriminate against people of color.Related: ‘Deep systemic racism’: will Minneapolis’s police department ever change? Continue reading...

We have eight ties to prevent last-minute scrambles. But the return after Easter still led to a game of ‘hunt the shoes’ – and reminded me of the school play incident

Many politicians who welcomed Chauvin’s conviction were also critical of the BLM marches. But there wouldn’t be one without the otherMartin Luther King Jr famously said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” President Obama was fond of the saying and used it often – but it could do with a second part. The arc of the moral universe does not bend on its own. It is bent in the right direction by protesters, campaigners and dissenters. It was their hands that forced it towards justice last week, when the former police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of the second-degree murder of George Floyd. We cannot celebrate and take comfort in the verdict that was meted out without acknowledging the action outside the courtroom that secured it.But this is what some will do: claim the verdict to be a great victory, after denigrating the means by which it was achieved. The protests in the wake of Floyd’s murder have been called the largest in US and global history. They reached more than 50 countries. In the US, tens of millions of dollars were raised and invested in grassroots communities and advocacy in a diffuse, decentralised network that lobbied politicians and pushed through voter registration. It all made a deep impression on the public consciousness. Chauvin quite simply would not have been brought to trial on these charges, let alone been convicted, were it not for these tireless efforts. Continue reading...

The UK is beating Covid economic recovery expectations but there should be a degree of warinessAlmost every indicator is pointing in the same direction. Footfall on the high streets is up. Payments by debit and credit card are rising. The strongest business surveys since 2013 suggest that the Brexit hangover was short-lived. Firms are starting to hire. The housing market is red-hot.Growth estimates are being revised up sharply amid signs that consumers didn’t even wait for lockdown restrictions to be lifted before going on a spending spree. Continue reading...

After more than 12 months closed, the park will welcome visitors again – but capacity will be limited and only California residents are allowed

The company is considering plans to outsource 2,500 catering workers who struggled through the pandemicFew industries were hit as hard as airlines when the coronavirus pandemic hit the US last year. To stop what looked like the imminent collapse of a major employer, the government stepped in with $15bn in support.“We thank Congress and the administration for quickly passing legislation to protect the paychecks of tens of thousands of United Airlines employees,” said Frank Benenati, the United Airlines spokesperson. Continue reading...

The department has seen decades of reform efforts, but activists say racism and violence are too ingrained to eliminateAs Derek Chauvin crushed George Floyd’s neck under his knee, slowly killing him, a police officer who had just joined the force repeatedly asked Chauvin if they should adjust Floyd’s position. Chauvin, a 19-year-veteran of the department, refused.That precise interaction – an experienced officer training younger officers to act violently – was not a one-time failure, but a “systemic” problem within the Minneapolis police department, according to RT Rybak, who served as Minneapolis mayor for 12 years. Continue reading...

The part-time stars of Team USA’s 3x3 men’s basketball team have their eyes fixed on gold as the sport readies for its Olympic debutWhen he finally decided to retire from basketball at 28 years old, Robbie Hummel left behind a career largely defined by what might have been.The former Purdue University star had once been among college basketball’s most promising talents, making it to the NBA even after his time at the Indiana school was derailed by two anterior cruciate ligament tears. Fueled by a lifelong passion forged in the Hoosier State’s frenzied high-school basketball scene, Hummel swerved one injury setback after another through two seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves and one each in Spain, Italy and Russia. But after a brief, miserable stint with Moscow club BC Khimki, where he suffered a badly broken nose and a concussion, he’d found the joy he once took in showing up to practice each day was running dry. Continue reading...

Cleta Mitchell has emerged in a series of roles that many see as a Republican push on limiting voting rightsIt was an abrupt end to two decades as a partner at legal giant Foley & Lardner for the influential and conservative election lawyer Cleta Mitchell.Days after Mitchell participated in Donald Trump’s controversial 2 January phone call with Georgia’s secretary of state where the then president pressured him to “find” him more votes to reverse Joe Biden’s win, Mitchell resigned her post in the midst of an internal firm review and mounting criticism. Continue reading...

Creeping militarisation has made it ever easier to oppress – and kill – those like George Floyd‘Lower-class culture is pathological.” So claimed American political scientist Edward Banfield in his 1970 book The Unheavenly City. For Banfield, unlike the middle class, “the lower-class person lives from moment to moment… unable or unwilling to take account of the future or control his impulses”. Poverty was the product of people “not troubled by dirt and dilapidation” or by “the inadequacy of public facilities such as schools, parks, hospitals and libraries”.In many ways, Banfield was a voice from the past, echoing the arguments of early 20th-century eugenicists and racial scientists. But he became influential in shaping conservative thinking about law and order, particularly in the attempt to present social problems as the fruit of individual pathology rather than a failure of policy. Last year, on the 50th anniversary of The Unheavenly City, conservative social theorist Thomas Sowell celebrated it as a “demolition derby of fallacies that continue to dominate thoughts and actions in our own time”. Continue reading...

The bill, which is awaiting the signature of the governor, seems to align with the position of rightwing student activist groupsRepublicans in Florida have stepped up their assault on what they call “Marxist professors and students” in the state’s public universities and colleges with a bill that encourages the reporting of lecturers perceived to be stifling “viewpoint diversity” on campus.The bill, currently awaiting the signature of the Florida governor and Donald Trump ally Ron DeSantis, will allow students to make recordings of lectures without their professors’ consent, and present them as evidence of political bias. Continue reading...

Joe Biden is about to shake up US taxation policy. The UK must hope that the chancellor feels a need to emulate himThe differences couldn’t be more stark. Promises to “build back better” from Covid-19 have been made on both sides of the Atlantic. But as lockdown measures are steadily relaxed, President Joe Biden is showing far greater ambition than Boris Johnson’s government when it comes to shaping the post-pandemic recovery.This week, Washington will set out plans for the most comprehensive reforms of American tax policy in half a century, alongside trillions of dollars in funding for investment to tackle deep-rooted inequalities. Continue reading...

People of Indian heritage in Britain are helpless witnesses as the Covid crisis unfolds thousands of miles away

Indiana, New York, Virginia, Missouri and Michigan among states ordering or recommending resumption after US officials lift pauseSeeking in the words of one governor to put “the long Covid nightmare behind us”, several US states on Saturday resumed use of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine.Related: ‘No data’ linking Covid vaccines to menstrual changes, US experts say Continue reading...

President called Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday to inform him US would make designation on 106th anniversary of the genocideJoe Biden has become the first US president declare formal recognition of the Armenian genocide, more than a century after the mass killings by Ottoman troops and opening a rift between the new US administration and Ankara.Related: Biden vows US will work with Russia on climate Continue reading...

The Tories’ shameful plan to grant immunity to soldiers who torture must be defeatedHow far towards rogue statehood can Britain go? As of now, the answer is that the government will offer a statutory presumption against prosecution after five years to members of the armed forces accused of murdering civilians or wounding civilians or committing any other war crime covered by the Geneva conventions. But it will not offer a pass to troops accused of sexually abusing or forcing confessions from civilians.It will give a de facto amnesty for murder but draw the line at torture and rape. I’m sure you’re relieved ministers have some standards. To show they are the moral leaders of the nation, they added they would also remove their exemptions for prosecutions for genocide. Yes to the odd murder, but no to mass murder. Continue reading...

Yet another UK historical institution has to defend talking about historyThere is an old meme of a wonky coat hook, its “fists” raised, with the caption “drunk octopus wants to fight” and, increasingly, when I read yet another story in which historical institutions are attacked for talking about history, this is the image that comes to mind. Put ’em up, facts. Let’s take this outside.After Richard Deverell, the head of Kew Gardens, had to fend off critics accusing him of “preposterous posturing” for acknowledging Kew’s roots in colonialism and changing display boards to give more information on the history of its collections, and after the head of the National Trust, Hilary McGrady, had to defend what she called “telling really interesting stories about our properties”, which includes information about how the slave trade funded the building of some of those properties, now Jane Austen’s House Museum in Hampshire has been forced to issue a statement explaining that its plans to “refresh the displays and decorations” did not amount to “woke madness” or even “revisionism”, of which it had been accused. Continue reading...

Family of 42-year-old said they met with Elizabeth City sheriff but were not shown body-camera footage of his deathAfter seven North Carolina deputies were placed on leave over the death of Andrew Brown Jr, an African American man shot during the serving of a drug-related warrant, authorities in Elizabeth City added to calls for body camera footage to be released.Related: Andrew Brown shooting: family describe him as a loving father with a sense of humor Continue reading...

Indictment says the Grenons sold tens of thousands of bottles of ‘Miracle Mineral Solution’ and alleges they received more than $1m

New York congresswoman says at virtual town hall ‘I think a lot of us expected a much more conservative administration’Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez saluted the Biden administration on Friday, saying the new president had exceeded progressives’ expectations in his first 100 days in the White House.“The Biden administration and President Biden have definitely exceeded expectations that progressives had,” the New York congresswoman, a star on the left of the Democratic party, told a virtual town hall meeting. “I think a lot of us expected a much more conservative administration.” Continue reading...

The man who wept angrily when people judged him for his past appears not to want others to have the opportunity to changeLet me tell you a tale of two Bretts. The first is supreme court justice Brett Kavanaugh. In 2018 Kavanaugh was credibly accused of committing sexual assault when he was a 17-year-old; a culture war promptly broke out. Liberals largely argued that the accusations should preclude Kavanaugh from a lifetime appointment on the supreme court. The right, meanwhile, cried “cancel culture”. Even if Kavanaugh was guilty of what he was being accused of, they argued, what you did as a teenager shouldn’t ruin the rest of your life. Continue reading...

Kay Ivey signed legislation which said a public K-12 school ‘may never allow a biological male to participate on a female team’Alabama has become the latest conservative US state to ban transgender girls from playing on female school sports teams.Related: Arkansas is first state to ban gender-affirming treatments for trans youth Continue reading...