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The Biden administration on Thursday pledged to slash US greenhouse gas emissions by 50%-52% from 2005 levels by 2030, a new target it hopes will spur other big emitter countries to raise their ambition to combat climate change. The goal, unveiled at the start of a two-day climate summit hosted by President Joe Biden, comes as the United States seeks to reclaim global leadership in the fight against global warming after former president Donald Trump withdrew the country from international efforts to cut emissions.

Law covers drivers who unintentionally injure or kill demonstrators while subjecting protesters to jail time and finesA new Oklahoma law protects drivers who unintentionally injure or kill demonstrators from any liability, while simultaneously subjecting protesters who block roadways to jail time and hefty fines.Oklahoma’s Republican governor, Kevin Stitt, signed HB 1674 on Wednesday, even as advocates excoriated their elected officials for undermining democracy. Continue reading...

Funding was ‘unnecessarily delayed’ by bureaucratic obstacles, after hurricane killed thousands of people in 2017The Trump administration delayed more than $20bn in hurricane relief aid for Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, according to a report by the housing department’s office of the inspector General.The efforts to deliver recovery funding to the island were “unnecessarily delayed by bureaucratic obstacles”, according to the 46-page report. The hurricane, which hit the island in 2017, killed thousands of people and left thousands more without electricity or water for months. Continue reading...

Families of people killed by Los Angeles police called this week’s verdict in Chauvin trial a win, but are pushing forward with demands to defundLos Angeles activists denounced a budget proposal by the mayor that includes increases to the law enforcement budget, one day after the conviction of Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis fueled renewed scrutiny of police across the US.Protesters who gathered outside a local police union building near downtown LA on Wednesday celebrated the rare guilty verdict in a police murder case, but also called for systemic changes locally, including the defunding of the LA police department (LAPD). Continue reading...

Part of the audit by state Republicans will consist of a hand recount of all the votes cast for president there – which will probably breathe life into Trump’s liesHappy Thursday, Continue reading...

Bridgett Floyd told the Guardian the guilty verdict in the Chauvin murder trial was ‘like a weight being lifted off my shoulders’As Bridgett Floyd watched the three guilty verdicts, called one after another, at the conclusion of the Derek Chauvin murder trial this week, she thought of her beloved older brother George Floyd.“All I could do was just scream and jump up and down,” she told the Guardian. “You know. It was like a weight being lifted off my shoulders.” Continue reading...

A sheriff’s deputy in North Carolina shot and killed a black man while serving a search warrant, authorities have said, raising tensions over policing after the Derek Chauvin trial and Ma’Khia Bryant killing. The deputy in Elizabeth City was placed on leave pending a review by the state bureau of investigation. A witness said Brown was shot while trying to drive away

The murder trial of Derek Chauvin drew the attention of the world to Minneapolis, the focal point of the Black Lives Matter movement after the murder of George Floyd. In some parts of the city people have reclaimed the streets, while others are under military occupation. With the area reeling from yet another recent police killing, Oliver Laughland and Tom Silverstone spent time with activists, lawyers, witnesses and members of the Floyd family to see how this landmark moment in American racial justice is shaping the city

2020 was a challenging year for the dental industry. But hardships often bring out the best in small business ownersLast year was not a good year for many small businesses – and dentists didn’t escape the downturn either.According to a recent survey from SoftwarePundit, a technology research firm that advises dental practices, the $139bn dental industry suffered a revenue decline of about 6% in 2020 compared with 2019, with dental hygiene appointments alone dropping 47%, as some put off hygiene and other dental work during the pandemic out of health and safety fears, while others (like me) just used the pandemic as a convenient excuse to avoid an appointment that we never enjoy. Continue reading...

This week’s roundup also features a Zoltan Gera stunner for West Brom and the fastest ever Super League try1) It’s the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, though Spurs have dispensed with José Mourinho, a winner in 2005 (featuring a Steven Gerrard own goal), 2007, 2012 when John Terry got the winner and 2017, the Zlatan Ibrahimovic show. Manchester City are chasing their fourth straight League Cup, a feat previously achieved by Liverpool when they beat Everton in a 1984 final replay, the winner scored by Graeme Souness. Spurs last won the competition in 2008, beating a Chelsea team only recently managed by, yes, José Mourinho. Sunday is the 60th time a club will lift the Alan Hardaker Trophy. Enjoy this Wembley classic from 1967: QPR v West Brom featuring a young Rodney Marsh.Related: Classic YouTube | Crucible classics, Matthew Hayden catches and a vaccinated vaulter Continue reading...

The language we use to discuss immigration is dehumanizing: ‘catch and release’, ‘migrant caravans’, swarms – anything, in other words, but peopleThis week, the Biden administration fulfilled a promise it made on Joe Biden’s first day in office. Agencies that deal with immigration, such as US customs and border patrol, have now been instructed to change their official language practices. Gone are the terms “alien”, “illegal alien” and “assimilation”. Instead, new vocabularies will apply, including the words “noncitizen” for “alien” and “integration” for “assimilation”.As a former “alien” (who arrived here from the planet “Canada”) and now citizen, here’s what I say to these changes: well, United States, it’s about time! For far too long, so much of the language we use in the US when discussing immigration has been bizarre and dehumanizing. Officials talk about “catch and release”, as if they are chatting about fish when they’re really talking about people’s lives. The term “migrant caravans”, meant to summon images of marauders, is used to describe people searching for refuge together while risking everything in the process. Our southern border is routinely described as being beset by swarms, hordes, swells, or surges, terms that evoke insects or ocean catastrophes – anything, in other words, but people. Continue reading...

While I don’t find hope in one man’s conviction, I do find it in multitudes elsewhereOn Tuesday afternoon, a jury confirmed what many of us have known to be true for the better part of a year: the former Minneapolis police department officer Derek Chauvin was guilty of murdering George Floyd.On Wednesday morning, US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a justice department pattern-or-practice probe to determine if the Minneapolis police department’s general operating norms are unlawful and unconstitutional, in violation of the rights of the citizens they police. Continue reading...

Many Americans associate driving with freedom, but recent tragedies – including the killing of Daunte Wright mean Black families must remain hyper awareWhen Lewis Holloway first obtained his driver’s license at 17, the San Diego native remembers feeling ecstatic. He was already promised his mother’s car upon getting his learner’s permit a year earlier, adding to the anticipation. “It was an exciting feeling, being able to finally drive legally without getting in trouble,” Holloway says.Now 28, Holloway’s excitement is waning, and getting in trouble feels out of his control. While many Americans associate driving a car with freedom and autonomy, recent tragedies – including the killing of Daunte Wright, who was stopped by police for an expired license plate – suggest that’s not true for Black Americans. Continue reading...

Audit will include a hand recount of all 2.1m ballots cast in Maricopa county in alarming consequence of Trump’s baseless liesNearly five months after Joe Biden was declared the official winner of the presidential race in Arizona, state Republicans are set to begin their own audit of millions of ballots, an unprecedented move many see as a thinly-veiled effort to continue to undermine confidence in the 2020 election results. Continue reading...

The Georgia Tech prospect will intrigue NFL fans with his ability to throw dimes as well as his talent as a punterWhen the NFL draft kicks off next Thursday, the fate of some of college football’s biggest names will be decided. Names like Kyle Pitts, the red-zone busting tight end out of Florida; Patrick Surtain II, the second-generation ballhawk out of Alabama; and Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, the once in a generation prospect whose name figures to be called first. Names that draftniks like ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr and the NFL.com’s Peter Schrager have spent months shuffling up and down their draft boards like clairvoyants reading tea leaves. Or worse: smoking them.But in addition to those three, here’s another name you’d be wise to track – Pressley Harvin III, maybe the most interesting prospect in the draft. Continue reading...

The next mayor faces profound challenges: a city ravaged by the pandemic and beset by deep income inequality a reckoning over racial discriminationIt was during the administration of Fiorello LaGuardia that the position of New York City mayor became known as the “second toughest job in America”.LaGuardia, New York’s 99th mayor and a man whose name now graces the city’s streets, parks, schools and an airport labeled one of the worst in the country, became regarded as one of the city’s greatest ever leaders, despite facing a collapsing economy, all-powerful crime mobs and civic unrest when he took office in January 1934. Continue reading...

Corona, Queens, home to many essential and immigrant workers, had New York’s the highest rates of death and infection – and vaccine uptake remains lowA year after New York City became the center of the global Covid-19 outbreak, the neighborhood considered at the time to be the “epicenter of the epicenter” of the pandemic remains in crisis – laying bare many of the economic fault lines exposed by the coronavirus.Corona, Queens, a welcoming enclave for many of the city’s undocumented immigrants and home to many of the “essential” workers who kept New York running during the pandemic’s worst days, has had the highest number of infections and deaths in the city – and now has one of the lowest percentages of people vaccinated. Continue reading...

Tou Thao, J Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane to go on trial in August, charged with aiding and abetting Floyd’s murderAs millions of Americans welcomed Derek Chauvin’s murder conviction, three of his former colleagues who still face trial for their part in George Floyd’s death will have greeted it with dismay.Tou Thao, J Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane face charges of aiding and abetting the murder and manslaughter of Floyd nearly a year ago. The Minnesota attorney general’s office is attempting to add charges of third-degree murder against the men at a court hearing next month. Continue reading...

A new book, based on unprecedented access to Bernie Madoff, suggests it may never be possible to separate knowledge from the web of lies“What’s a Ponzi scheme?” Ruth Madoff asked her husband Bernard after he revealed to her that his respected investment company was actually one of the largest frauds in history, according to a new book examining the life of the late fraudster.Just how much Madoff’s family knew about his massive scheme has been a riddle since he was convicted of orchestrating his $17.5bn scam in 2009. Ruth Madoff, the couple’s two sons and Bernard Madoff’s brother Peter all worked for the company. Continue reading...

The anticipated move could further complicate an already tense relation ship with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Turkish leaderJoe Biden is expected to formally recognize the massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during the first world war as an act of genocide, according to US officials. Continue reading...

Oliver Laughland, the Guardian’s US southern bureau chief, covered the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, who was found guilty of the murder of George Floyd on Tuesday – a landmark moment in US criminal justice history. Oliver looks at what the verdict means for AmericaFormer police officer Derek Chauvin has been convicted of murder for killing George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes, a crime that prompted waves of protests in support of racial justice in the US and across the world. The jury swiftly and unanimously convicted Chauvin on Tuesday of all the charges he faced – second- and third-degree murder, and manslaughter – after concluding that the white former Minneapolis police officer killed the 46-year-old Black man in May through a criminal assault, by pinning him to the ground so he could not breathe.Anushka Asthana talks to the Guardian’s US southern bureau chief, Oliver Laughland, who has been in Minneapolis covering the trial. He discusses the case and whether the verdict will usher in police reforms. On Wednesday, US attorney general, Merrick Garland, announced that the Department of Justice would investigate the practices of the Minneapolis Police Department. Continue reading...

Eyewitness says Andrew Brown was shot while he tried to drive away from police in Elizabeth City, spurring angry protestsA sheriff’s deputy in North Carolina has shot and killed a black man while serving a search warrant, authorities said, raising tensions over policing in the wake of the Derek Chauvin trial and Ma’Khia Bryant killing.The deputy in Elizabeth City, close to the Atlantic coast, was placed on leave pending a review by the state bureau of investigation, Pasquotank county sheriff Tommy Wooten said at a news conference on Wednesday. Continue reading...

A pet dog escaped its owners to join the home stretch of a 4x200 metre relay race at a high school athletics meet in Utah. The dog, Holly, can been seen running on to the track to chase Logan high school's Gracie Laney down the home straight. Holly clocked the final 100m in about 10.5 seconds, which is 1 second behind Usain Bolt’s world record, track and field website MileSplit reported. The crowd roared as the dog overtook Laney just before the finishing line, almost tripping her over. Race officials still awarded Logan a win for the heat with a time of 1 minute 59.27 seconds.Video courtesy of FloSports & MileSplit Continue reading...

President says ‘new phase’ of vaccination is focused on encouraging Americans to get their shots as eligibility opens upJoe Biden announced on Wednesday that the US had administered 200m vaccine doses since he took office, fulfilling a pledge to reach that target within his first 100 days in office. As of this week, all American adults are eligible to receive a vaccine. “To put it simply, if you’ve been waiting for your turn, wait no longer,” Biden said.The president initially promised to administer 100m doses over his first 100 days, but he doubled that goal after hitting 100m shots last month, weeks ahead of schedule. Continue reading...

The Guardian reported lieutenant donated $25 to teenager accused of killing two people during police brutality protest last AugustThe Virginia city of Norfolk has fired a police lieutenant after the Guardian reported that he donated to and expressed support for Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager accused of killing two people during a police brutality protest in Wisconsin last summer.City officials announced on Tuesday that police Lt William Kelly had been “relieved of duty” after an internal investigation. Continue reading...

Judge lambasts worsening crisis amid ‘rhetoric, promises and plans’ and requires housing within 180 daysA federal judge overseeing a sweeping lawsuit about homelessness in Los Angeles ordered the city and county to find shelter for all unhoused residents of Skid Row within 180 days.In a fiery 110-page order, Judge David O Carter on Tuesday condemned Los Angeles officials’ inability to address the rise in homelessness in the region. Continue reading...

We’d like to hear from people in the US about their reaction to Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict, and what more needs to be doneDerek Chauvin has been found guilty of the murder of George Floyd, in a killing which triggered demonstrations against police brutality and racism in the US and around the world.We’d like to hear from people in the US about their reaction to the verdict, and hopes for the future of policing in America. Continue reading...

Teenager shot and killed by police responding to attempted stabbing, moments before judge delivered verdict in Chauvin trialPolice in Columbus, Ohio, fatally shot a 16-year-old girl on Tuesday afternoon, just moments before Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd.The girl was identified by local media as Ma’Khia Bryant. Continue reading...

Franklin county, where Ma’Khia Bryant was shot dead by an officer, saw 38 people killed by police between 2015 and 2020The Ohio county where a Black teenage girl was shot dead on Tuesday has one of highest rates of fatal police shootings in the US, according to a recent study highlighting the disparate treatment Black Americans face at the hands of law enforcement.Ma’Khia Bryant, 16, was shot and killed by a police officer in Columbus, Franklin county, about 20 minutes before the former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd. Continue reading...

Arrest of Karen Garner, 73, that caused a fracture in her arm, a sprained wrist and a dislocated shoulder prompts investigation into officers involvedA video showing US police violently arresting and breaking the arm of a 73-year-old woman suffering from dementia in Colorado has led to a criminal investigation into the officers involved.Police arrested Karen Garner on 26 June 2020, for allegedly stealing just $13.88 worth of merchandise from a Walmart store in the city of Loveland. Continue reading...

We cannot expect police convictions to save anyone’s lives, because they didn’t even save George Floyd’s lifeA jury has found Derek Chauvin guilty of all charges against him for killing George Floyd, including unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. A judge remanded Chauvin in custody after the verdict and a cop quickly cuffed the dazed defendant to carry him out of the courtroom. Chauvin will remain in jail until his sentencing hearing in two months.Related: Chauvin verdict: DoJ announces sweeping investigation into Minneapolis police – live Continue reading...

Standard Ethics downgrades US bank from ‘adequate’ to ‘non-compliant’ in light of ESL backingA sustainability rating agency has downgraded JP Morgan Chase after the US bank was revealed to be funding the failed European Super League (ESL) breakaway attempt.Six of England’s richest clubs, including Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal, were among the 12 European teams that hoped to gain permanent membership of a new tournament. However, the project collapsed in disarray this week after a backlash from fans to heads of government across the UK and Europe. Continue reading...

A runner filmed a face-off with a large bear that pursued him for several minutes in Grand Teton national park in Wyoming, producing a three-minute video that went viral. Evan Matthews said he often saw bears on his runs, but none had dared to come so close. ‘This one was interested in me, so I had to change its mind,’ he wrote. Rather than use his bear spray, Matthews opted to reason with his ursine inquisitor.

Floyd is no martyr. To speak of him as such is a hollow kind of myth-making. No, if justice were true, he would simply beTuesday’s pageantry surrounding the verdict of Derek Chauvin’s trial felt like a looming hand coming down to put placating pressure on the masses like a weighted blanket. There’s little to say that can be considered truly revelatory, other than to be explicit about how perverse and orchestrated these events feel. The hours before the verdict consisted of filler dispatches from every news outlet. Here’s what we know so far. What you need to know. Minutes to go. The likelihood of a conviction. What makes this trial different. How ubiquitous surveillance, not fervent, sustained protest, made it possible. Testimony from black journalists. The understanding that even more psychic weight would be placed on to them in the coming days, no matter the outcome. All of this solemnly, respectfully delivered, with similar sentiments echoed on social media, yet still the anticipation generated was closer to that of a major sports event. Writer and comedian Natasha Rothwell touched on a bleak, crushing irony when she tweeted: “Can’t wait to find out if my life matters! .”Related: George Floyd’s ‘life, it mattered’, brother says in wake of Chauvin guilty verdict – live Continue reading...

Simon & Schuster president Jonathan Karp says seven-figure book deal will go ahead, after open letter from employees accuses publisher of being ‘on the wrong side of justice’Simon & Schuster has said it will not pull out of a seven-figure book deal with Mike Pence after some of its employees called for the contract to be scrapped, stating that “we come to work each day to publish, not cancel”.An open letter circulated by staff at S&S said that the publisher had “chosen complicity in perpetuating white supremacy by publishing Pence”, in a two-book deal struck earlier this month and reported to be worth $3-4m (£2.1-2.8m). The letter, which did not reveal how many members of staff had signed, said that the former vice-president had “made a career out of discriminating against marginalised groups and denying resources to BIPOC and LGBTQA+ communities”, and demanded his book deal be cancelled. Continue reading...

US owners were at the forefront of the push for the European Super League, even if they risked alienating fans on both sides of the AtlanticAs an American sports fan, I’ve enjoyed following the Premier League for the exact reason that it is not so American, with no playoffs or salary caps, no single trademarked Big Game of the Year, no buzzers (or guns) at the end of periods. Transfer windows and offsides took a while for me to figure out, but I am now all in. Or so I thought before this week.

Analysis: relief and reflection sweep newsrooms as George Floyd case points to ‘turning point’ in US race relationsWith intense international interest in the US trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, news organisations around the world had been live blogging the proceedings and were quick to reflect the ruling by the jury.Most reporting focused on two themes: a sense of relief in the US that the jury had delivered a verdict many judged correct and the question over what it meant for the future of the US’s fraught racial relations. Continue reading...

Police in Columbus, Ohio, fatally shot a 15-year-old girl on Tuesday afternoon, just moments before Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd. The girl was identified by local media as Makiyah Bryant.A crowd of protesters gathered Tuesday night at the scene on Legion Lane, which police had partially blocked off to traffic, while other demonstrators rallied at the city’s police headquarters.Officers were responding to an attempted stabbing call and, when police arrived, shot the girl at about 4.45pm, officials said. The 911 caller reported a 'female was trying to stab them' before hanging up, they said.

A jury found Derek Chauvin guilty of all three counts over the death of Floyd, which triggered international protests. Plus, how are vaccines affecting Covid outbreaks globally?Good morning.A jury swiftly and unanimously convicted former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin of the murder of George Floyd yesterday, as the world watched on. Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest, despite pleas from Floyd that he could not breathe and calls from passersby to stop. The case triggered waves of demonstrations against police brutality and racism in the US and around the world. Continue reading...