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Cameron Kasky tweets ‘everything ends up a grift’ after Hogg launches Good Pillow to challenge Trump ally Mike LindellThe prominent gun control movement founded by survivors of the 2018 Parkland high school shooting in Florida has splintered after one member set up his own commercial venture to challenge Donald Trump ally Mike Lindell and his My Pillow company.David Hogg has been accused of “grift” by other leaders of the March for Our Lives group for his new Good Pillow venture, which the former Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school student launched this week just days before the 14 February anniversary of the massacre that took 17 lives. Continue reading...

At least five people were killed and dozens were injured in a crash that spread over nearly a mile and involved between 70 and 100 vehicles on an icy Interstate 35 near Fort Worth in Texas, police have said.A winter storm bringing freezing rain, sleet and snow contributed to the pileup. Continue reading...

The president has largely avoided making pronouncements on his predecessor and says he’s focused on the Covid relief billJoe Biden is taking a hands-off approach to the second impeachment of Donald Trump.As the Senate conducts the 45th president’s second trial, the current president has opted not to involve himself too closely in the proceedings. Continue reading...

‘Clear evidence’ that sending officers of different demographic profiles will lead to different treatment, co-author saidChicago’s Black and Hispanic officers carry out fewer stops and arrests and use force less often compared to their white colleagues under the same working conditions, new research suggests. Continue reading...

Three people in Ice custody after coast guard rescue following 33 days on uninhabited island of Anguilla CayThree people who survived largely on coconuts for more than a month before they were rescued from an uninhabited island in the Bahamas are now in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) custody, officials said on Wednesday.The US Coast Guard had rescued three Cubans stranded on the desert island for 33 days, after officers saw the group waving a makeshift flag to gain their attention. Continue reading...

Richard Lee Oliver said his truck climbed a bank of snow at the side of a ramp, went over a barrier and landed on its roofA driver in Wisconsin has spoken of surviving a terrifying 70ft plunge from a snow-covered bridge, with his pickup truck’s fall and landing captured on a dramatic video.Richard Lee Oliver said he was driving to his mother’s house in Milwaukee on Saturday when his truck climbed a bank of snow at the side of an interchange ramp of the I-94 highway, went over a barrier wall and after a terrifying drop, landed on its roof on a westbound lane of the highway below. Continue reading...

The documentary makes it clear Britney Spears had a real enthusiasm for performing – and that any woman who became that famous would have been treated that badly“It’s something that would not have happened to a man in America,” a blond fan says in the opening moments of Framing Britney Spears, a New York Times documentary about Britney Spears. The woman is talking about Spears’ conservatorship, an elaborate legal arrangement, in place since 2009, in which the singer has been declared unfit to manage her own affairs. The conservatorship means that Spears’ life – and her money – are largely under the control of her father, Jamie Spears, who has been appointed conservator by the court. That arrangement has come under scrutiny as fans speculate that Spears’ independence has been needlessly curtailed by a greedy father and a misogynist court system, and that the singer has been trapped in a literal, court-ordained patriarchy. Spears herself has petitioned for the court appoint a different conservator, saying that she is afraid of her father.Related: The time has come – I’m joining team #FreeBritney. Here’s why you should, too | Arwa Mahdawi Continue reading...

Officials are using Donald Trump’s baseless claims about fraud, embraced by many Republicans, to justify the need to tighten voting lawsHappy Thursday,Two weeks ago, I wrote about a report from the Brennan Center for Justice that tallied up 106 bills pending across 28 states that would make it harder to vote. This week, the Brennan Center updated that tally, finding there were now 165 pending bills in 33 states to impose voting restrictions. Continue reading...

The nine Democratic prosecutors are men and women with multiple racial and religious identities, compared to a Republican caucus dominated by ageing white men

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...