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In a first, the state has purchased shoot houses designed for indoor gun training to help school staff respond to active shooter'Ohio appears to be the first state to purchase shoot houses - mobile homes designed for indoor firearms training - to better prepare public school staff to respond to an active shooter".The Ohio Controlling Board, which helps oversee changes to the state budget, approved public safety officials' request for $78,028 last month to purchase two shoot houses to help train public school employees that are allowed to carry firearms at work. Continue reading...

British foreign secretary will also urge congressional leaders in Washington to advance aid for Kyiv in its war against Russia

Landfill trash is the third-largest source of human-caused methane pollution in the US. To fight global heating, curb wasteAn elusive climate menace is now easier than ever to see. In early March, a rocket launched into the sky with a satellite that spots methane emissions from space. MethaneSAT joined more than a dozen similar satellites now in orbit, scanning the Earth for pollution and feeding that information back to scientists, policymakers, industry, and the public.What story does the data tell? One of methane on the rise, or one of collective efforts that avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis? Slashing methane is the most efficient way to slow global warming in our lifetimes. We have the chance - and the obligation - to do so. Continue reading...

Jessica Burns-McDonnell from West Virginia and Larry McDonnell took over the world record from a UK-based coupleA West Virginia woman who set a world record by marrying a man who is nearly three feet shorter than her says the couple is a testament to how what's really important" in a spouse is the person ... on the inside".I mean, you might find a person who looks exactly like what you want but you need someone who makes you feel and think and love," Jessica Burns-McDonnell, 40, remarked in an interview about her and her relationship with husband Larry McDonnell, 42, published Monday by Guinness World Records. Continue reading...

CBS broadcast the first-ever USL match on network TV on Saturday. The league hopes to ride Messi-mania while challenging MLS's structureNot for the first time, American soccer is approaching a crossroads, and given the landscape in which this latest rumble in soccer's turbulent history in the US will play out, it could be one of the most defining moments yet.The organisation that runs professional leagues in the second and third tiers of soccer in the US, the United Soccer League (USL), could have a big role to play in shaping the future. With the new league season kicking off this month, it hopes to become a more visible and authentic alternative to Major League Soccer. Continue reading...

Through the G20, Brazil's president is challenging the dominance of the richest countries. This year will be a huge test of his strategyThe world stage often seems sepia-toned, dominated by the dusty international structures of the post-second world war era, favouring the world's richest countries. However, it is increasingly clear that this setup isn't sufficient to respond to the interests of the global south, including combating climate breakdown and expanding economic development.Recognising this mismatch, Brazil under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has positioned itself as an international leader, focused on the agenda of emerging economic powers who prize stability, and in fact have much to lose from conflict and power struggles between rich countries. Continue reading...

Masters host has the experience and finances to launch a women's tournament - it just needs the big-picture thinkingFred Ridley's Wednesday morning address to the media at Augusta National has become an episode in self-congratulation and script-reading. A box-ticking exercise for Ridley, the Augusta chairman, and his acolytes becomes an annual frustration for journalists. Presumably they wouldn't want it any other way.Those presiding over the Masters swagger with pride at the Augusta National Women's Amateur and the children's Drive, Chip and Putt Championship which precede the opening major of the year. Nobody of a squeamish disposition should watch either on television; broadcasters fall over themselves to offer gushing superlatives to a point which goes beyond parody. The Green Jackets lap this up. Look! Look! We are progressive! There are children wearing shorts and everything!" By Monday of Masters week, the big stuff starts. England's Lottie Woad, the newly crowned women's amateur champion, will be back at Florida State University by the time the 88th Masters champion is crowned. The show quickly moves on in this corner of Georgia. Continue reading...

Western governments could once be confident of protecting their friends. Nicaragua's case shows those days are goneThe case brought by Nicaragua against Germany at the international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague this week is a powerful example of the unprecedented political impact that the Gaza conflict is having around the world. Most obviously, Israel's continuing assault after the 1,200 brutal murders and about 240 kidnappings by Hamas on 7 October has had a deadly impact on Palestinians. More than 30,000 people in Gaza have been killed, and a famine is now looming. The conflict has also opened up a division between the global north and south in a way not seen before.Nicaragua's case focuses on Germany's supply of arms to Israel - the country supplied more than 326m (258m) last year, which equated to more than a quarter of Israel's military imports. It also calls on Germany to restore Gaza funding to Unrwa, the UN agency that provides Palestinians with humanitarian aid. Nicaragua says the arms sales mean Germany is facilitating" genocide. On Monday, it accused Germany of doing business as usual - or better than usual" because of its burgeoning weapons sales. Continue reading...

Ex-prime minister, who lasted just 49 days, says she struggled to cope with death of monarch and self-inflicted economic disasterIn a new memoir, Liz Truss recounts the advice she was given by Queen Elizabeth II when they met in September 2022 to confirm Truss as Britain's new prime minister, the 15th and as it turned out last, to serve under Elizabeth II.Pace yourself," the 96-year-old queen said - a suggestion Truss admits she failed to heed after the queen died, leaving Truss unsure if she could cope. Continue reading...

Israel's onslaught has been on a scale never seen before. I spend my days searching for hope

Trump appealed lower court's denial of his request to be shielded from case charging him with attempting to overturn 2020 electionThe special counsel pursuing federal criminal charges against Donald Trump for his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss filed a US supreme court brief on Monday urging the justices to reject the former president's bid for immunity from prosecution on the principle that no person is above the law".The case is due to be argued before the justices on 25 April. Trump has appealed a lower court's rejection of his request to be shielded from the criminal case brought by special counsel Jack Smith because he was serving as president when he took the actions at the center of the case. Continue reading...

Winning ticket comes from convenience store after long winless streak in game, which offers a one in 292.2m chance of victoryA Powerball player in Oregon won a jackpot worth more than $1.3bn on Sunday, ending a streak of more than three months without a winner.The single ticket - revealed after a delay of more than three hours to the drawing - matched all six numbers drawn to win the jackpot worth $1.326bn, Powerball said in a statement. Continue reading...

Fulton county lawyers ask state appeals court to deny request by ex-president, who is charged with efforts to overturn 2020 electionFulton county prosecutors asked the Georgia state court of appeals on Monday to reject Donald Trump's request to consider his claim that the district attorney should be disqualified over a relationship with her deputy, arguing that the matter was correctly settled by the lower court judge.The present application merely reflects the applicants' dissatisfaction with the trial court's proper application of well-established law to the facts," prosecutors wrote in a 19-page filing. Continue reading...

Lawyers had argued trial should be postponed while they seek a change of venue to move it out of heavily Democratic Manhattan

Augusta National taps into fever for pretty wild' moment with branded solar glasses - which rapidly become a must-haveThey say bats come out during a solar eclipse, and owls too. Hippos have been seen to move towards their nighttime feeding grounds, bees to fly back to their hives and refuse to emerge until the sun comes back out, crickets begin to chirrup, mosquitoes come out for the evening, spiders take down their webs to protect them from the nighttime dew. Last time they had a solar eclipse one around these parts, scientists working at Riverbanks zoo over in South Carolina noticed that the gibbons started barking and a pair of Galapagos tortoises immediately began mating with each other.During this one, the fauna around and about Augusta National was acting unusually, too. Novel behaviours included patrons gathering together away from the shade and craning their necks to stare up into the blue spring sky. There were also sudden, and repeated, oaths, sighs, and other unusual utterances. OH MY GOD! IT'S HAPPENING!" cried a man in the grandstand down at Amen Corner when the moon took its first little nibble out of the sun's bottomcorner. Continue reading...

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Public filing alleges actor, charged with involuntary manslaughter, shamelessly lied' about the deadly shooting of cinematographerNew Mexico state prosecutors plan to argue that Alec Baldwin was unable to control his emotions on the set of the film Rust, where cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed when a gun held by the actor went off - and that he shamelessly lied" and changed his story about the deadly shooting.The 66-year-old actor is due to go on trial in July on a charge of involuntary manslaughter for his part in Hutchins' death in Santa Fe. Baldwin has denied wrongdoing. But in a 32-page public filing released on Monday, prosecutor Kari Morrissey alleged that the actor would shout and swear on the set, and his uncontrolled behavior had affected safety. Continue reading...

Plan targets borrowers who accrued high level of interest on debt and those who have been in repayment for at least 20 yearsJoe Biden announced plans to cancel student loans for 30 million borrowers on Monday, the administration's latest push on addressing student debt before the presidential election.The plan primarily targets borrowers who have accrued a high level of interest on their debt and those who have been in repayment for at least 20 years. Borrowers who face extreme economic hardship could also see some relief. Continue reading...

In a Truth Social post outlining his view of reproductive rights, former US president declined to endorse a national abortion banDonald Trump on Monday announced his belief that individual US states should decide the legality of abortion, declining to endorse a national ban on the procedure.The former president's stated position dashed hopes of anti-abortion groups, who want a federal ban, and drew the ire of Democrats, who blame Trump for outright bans and severe restrictions already in place across the south and midwest.The Associated Press contributed reporting Continue reading...

Country star was arrested on Sunday night for reckless endangerment for throwing a chair off the roof of a bar in NashvilleCountry singer Morgan Wallen was jailed on Sunday night on felony charges that he threw a chair off the sixth-story roof of a popular bar in Nashville.Billboard confirmed the arrest for reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct via a statement from the singer's attorney on Monday. The record-breaking country musician was fully cooperating with authorities", and had been released from jail pending the resolution of the case, said Wallen's attorney, Worrick Robinson. Continue reading...

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Shant Soghomonian was charged over attack on the office in which staffers were working but none were reported injuredAuthorities say they have arrested an alleged arsonist accused of setting the US senator Bernie Sanders' Burlington, Vermont, office on fire while staff worked inside - but investigators have yet to release details about a possible a motive.A justice department notification published on Sunday said Shant Soghomonian, 35, had been charged with using fire to damage the building but did not include any reason for his alleged actions. Continue reading...

The words evoke her presence in a house she never entered. Dad, conversely, feels far more absent - he wasn't one to writeSome things you only learn with the hindsight of loss and the significant passage of time.One of them for me is that photographs of family and friends who have died fail to stir my memories of them in quite the same way as encounters with their written words. Continue reading...

Petition argues that Brian Dorsey is fully rehabilitated and that execution would violate eighth amendmentAttorneys for a Missouri death row inmate have asked the US supreme court to block an execution sentence from going ahead on Tuesday, following a petition for clemency from more than 70 correctional officers and a letter from the inmate's appeals court judge.The petition - a writ of certiorari - asks the court to spare Brian Dorsey's life in favor of a life-without-parole sentence based on grounds that he is fully rehabilitated and therefore execution would be counter to the eighth amendment constitutional ban against punishments which serve no deterrent or rehabilitation purpose. Continue reading...

Trump ally' tells Axios federal charges all were precedent ex-president would need to prosecute Biden in turnDonald Trump will seek to mount federal investigations and prosecutions of Joe Biden and his family if Trump wins re-election this year, the news site Axios reported.Everything you have seen from the Biden Department of Justice you can expect to see from the Trump DoJ," a source close to the Trump campaign" was quoted as saying. Continue reading...

The Liverpool manager delivered a message to Arsenal after his side's 2-2 draw at Manchester United

Ex-president avoided past shithole countries' racist invective, but said the US hadn't gotten enough immigrants from nice countries'Donald Trump bemoaned a lack of immigrants to the US from nice" countries like Denmark [or] Switzerland", offering millionaire donors at a Florida fundraiser a reprise of infamous racist Oval Office remarks about people coming to America from shithole countries".Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee for president again, despite facing 88 criminal charges and multimillion-dollar civil penalties for tax fraud and defamation, the latter arising from a rape allegation a judge called substantially true".Biden v Trump: What's in store for the US and the world?

Mike Turner, the Ohio Republican, echoes a similar claim made recently by another rightwing American lawmakerMike Turner, the chairperson of the US House intelligence committee, says some of his fellow Republicans are absolutely" repeating Russian propaganda on the chamber floor, echoing a similar claim made recently by another rightwing American lawmaker.It is absolutely true we see, directly coming from Russia, attempts to mask communications that are anti-Ukraine and pro-Russia messages, some of which we even hear being uttered on the House floor," the Ohio congressman told CNN's State of the Union show. Continue reading...

Patricia Highsmith's charming devil has fascinated film-makers since the 1960s, but his brand of evil seems peculiarly well suited to the Instagram ageHe's back. But he never went away. Patricia Highsmith's diabolically inspired postwar creation Tom Ripley has returned, to luxuriate in our 21st-century age of Instagram lifestyle envy, tacit class paranoia and online identity fraud. He has triumphantly resurfaced in Steven Zaillian's sumptuous and instantly addictive new eight-episode adaptation of Highsmith's novel The Talented Mr Ripley for Netflix, starring the incomparable Andrew Scott as the charmer, aesthete and serial killer. It's a seven-star luxury hotel of a TV show in arthouse black-and-white, which my colleague Lucy Mangan has hailed as quite possibly definitive.It's set in the early 60s, but has a queasy resonance for 2024. At an unhurried tempo, Scott's Ripley is shown surmounting his early unease and likable callow vulnerability, attaining a hypnotic and insidious poise, his irises seeming to merge blackly with his pupils. He even to me seems to sway slightly, like a cobra in the presence of a hamster. Ripley is seen at first in flophouse poverty in New York running petty scams with stolen cheques; he is then approached via a private detective by troubled wealthy plutocrat Herbert Greenleaf (played by Kenneth Lonergan), because Ripley once had a passing acquaintance with this man's wastrel son Dickie Greenleaf, played by Johnny Flynn. Greenleaf Sr offers Ripley large sums of money to travel to Italy, where Dickie is lounging about with his girlfriend Marge (Dakota Fanning), and persuade Dickie to come home. Instead, Ripley befriends Dickie, deploying his gift for mimicry and flattery, a parasitic conquest that leads to obsession and murder. Continue reading...

Petition to Inter-American Commission on Human Rights filed on behalf of Manuel Paez Teran, aka Tortuguita', and their motherHuman rights groups have filed a petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights calling for a US Department of Justice investigation into the police killing of Cop City" protester Manuel Paez Teran, as well as the release of all related evidence, and apologies to the family from the US government.Two organizations - Robert F Kennedy Human Rights and the Southern Center for Human Rights - together with the University of Dayton Human Rights Center filed the 37-page petition to the Washington DC-based commission, on behalf of Paez Teran, also known as Tortuguita", and their mother, Belkis Teran. The Guardian obtained an exclusive view of the document. Continue reading...

Stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have helped this year's NCAA Tournament break viewing records. And the success is built on solid foundationsAfter the curtain finally dropped on Caitlin Clark's collegiate career and the last of the garnet and black confetti had fallen at Cleveland's Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Sunday afternoon, the all-time scoring leader in major college basketball history could finally reflect on a season that has recalibrated all expectations for how women's sports can be covered, commercialized and consumed.Twice in the last week alone Clark's games have set new television ratings records for women's college basketball with a third for the title game almost certain when Sunday's overnights are released. Even South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley, having just completed a perfect season for a second NCAA title in three years with a team who had graduated all five starters, probably her best piece of coaching work yet, couldn't make it far into her victory speech before paying tribute to the woman of the moment, saying: I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport." Continue reading...

If the United States threatened to suspend aid, maybe my son would be alive today,' John Flickinger told the US secretary of stateWhen the US's top diplomat called with condolences over the killing of John Flickinger's son in the Israeli airstrikes on a World Central Kitchen aid convoy in Gaza, Flickinger knew what he wanted to say.The grieving father told Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, that the killings by Israel in the Hamas-run territory must end - and that the United States needs to use its power and leverage over its closest Middle East ally to make that happen. Continue reading...

The Masters champion has gone from critic of LIV Golf's format to its pin-up boy. He talks about perception and the futureJon Rahm roars with laughter. I gotta be careful here. I don't want to create a headline." Of the unwanted sort, he means. Rahm has featured on billboards for years. The question should be simple enough. Who, in his mind, is currently the best male golfer in the world? Yet Rahm, the reigning Masters champion, is aware it opens the gargantuan can of worms created by the departure of him and others to LIV Golf. The rebel circuit's failure to gain official world golf ranking recognition adds a layer of complexity that Rahm has been vociferous about in the past. This time, he composes himself and gives a perfectly sensible answer.Let me say it this way; I think I can compete with anybody at any given time," says Rahm. I am going to leave it at that. I think at my best I can take on anybody. But that's what everybody should be thinking. I think Rory [McIlroy] would tell you the same thing, or Dustin [Johnson], or Scottie [Scheffler]." Continue reading...

Democrats have a chance to corner Republicans on an unpopular issue - and defend a modern and egalitarian societyThey don't need Congress. The anti-abortion movement is preparing to ban abortion nationwide as soon as a Republican takes the White House, and under a bizarre legal theory, they don't think they even need congressional approval to do it. That's because anti-choice radicals have begun to argue that an 1873 anti-obscenity law, the Comstock Act, effectively bans the mailing, sale, advertisement or distribution of any drug or implement that can be used to cause an abortion.For a long time, this was a fringe theory, only heard in the corners of the anti-choice movement with the most misogynist zealotry and the flimsiest concerns for reason. After all, the Comstock Act has not been enforced for more than half a century: many of its original provisions, banning contraception, were overturned; other elements, banning pornography and other obscene" material, have been essentially nullified on free speech grounds.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

Stop me in the street and I'll happily shoot the breeze. But ask me to have a proper sit-down conversation? No thanksWhile on my way to look at an iguanodon skeleton the other day, at the Museum of Natural History in Oxford, I bumped into three people I knew. Each time, I spent about two minutes in the street with them, bathed in watery spring sunshine, having the lightest sort of conversation possible. You know the sort of thing: How was your Easter? Did you go to that ceilidh on Monday? Aren't these sunny evenings nice? Did you know you can eat magnolia flowers?" It was perfect. Larry David may hate the stop-and-chat, but I adore it. As someone who is as easy with small talk as I am qualified to perform dentistry in North Korea, I am grateful for the fact that I can just walk away when things, inevitably, get awkward. It's not a party, I'm not at work; I'm unlikely to get caught with this person for any longer than about five minutes. Moreover, there are buildings, trees and people around to comment on if I forget the person's name or ask after their boyfriend, who turns out to be their ex-boyfriend, or spit in the air while trying to say the word sophisticated".I first bonded with my friend Zuhura over our love of the stop-and-chat. At the time, she was living on a boat; the entire Thames footpath was essentially her doorstep so she spent her life having golden nuggets of social interaction with people who were in transit. It could be political, flirtatious, heartfelt or polite, but it was always on the hoof. Continue reading...

Some House members remain staunchly opposed to proposal and one of them has already threatened to oust the speakerHouse speaker Mike Johnson returns to work on Monday facing mounting pressure to advance a Ukraine aid package as well as the threat of an intra-party revolt if he does so.The Republican speaker has indicated the House will take up the issue of Ukraine funding this week, as the chamber reconvenes after a two-week recess. But many hard-right members of Johnson's conference remain staunchly opposed to additional Ukraine aid, and one of them has already threatened to oust the speaker, complicating the potential timing of a floor vote. Continue reading...

Presumptive Republican nominee installed allies to run party but loyalty tests have led to weakening of certain areas, including dataDonald Trump's allies installed to run the Republican National Committee have faced a tumultuous first month in charge, buffeted by staffing problems and operational headaches as they attempt to bring the party apparatus under the control of the Trump campaign before the 2024 election.The internal strife at the RNC has prompted the Trump campaign to privately admonish its new leaders in recent weeks. And the move to orchestrate a purge may have partly backfired with far-reaching consequences for the RNC, multiple sources familiar with the matter said. Continue reading...

Incident during Southwest flight will add to pressure on aviation firm as it shakes up leadershipUS airline regulators have launched an investigation after an engine cowling on a Boeing plane fell off during takeoff and struck the wing flap, the latest in a series of safety problems facing the aircraft manufacturer.Southwest Airlines flight 3695 rose to about 3,140 metres (10,300ft) before returning safely 25 minutes after takeoff to Denver international airport at about 8.15am local time on Sunday. It was towed to the gate after landing. Continue reading...

Boxing purists may say these bouts cheapen the sport, but in a world where content is king, they will only become more commonWhen I saw that the YouTuber turned celebrity boxer Jake Paul is going to fight Mike Tyson on 20 July, broadcast live on Netflix, my first thought was: is this a joke? But I quickly realised that, like much of contemporary life, it was too stupid to be a joke, and so must be real. My second thought was: wouldn't it be great to see Tyson - a former heavyweight champion - tenderise Paul's body with some hooks, duck, then unleash the most savage-looking uppercut you've seen on his jaw? Maybe Iron Mike could even bite his ear off as well, just for old times' sake.Unfortunately for me and other misty-eyed boxing fans, Tyson will be 58 by the time the fight comes around, so that's probably not going to happen. What is probably going to happen is that Paul will box at a range that's too far for his opponent to reach until the old man he's facing gets tired, then he'll either knock him out or the match will be declared a draw.Tom Usher is a freelance writerDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Spanish legend looks back on his two victories and Seve Ballesteros' influence before a 35th appearance at AugustaWhat little pressure Jose Maria Olazabal felt at the 1999 Masters emanated from gallery bias. Greg Norman's capitulation at Augusta National three years earlier represented painful viewing for anybody other than dedicated followers of Nick Faldo. On Masters Sunday in 1999, Norman was back in the final group. Olazabal stood in his way.There was no question about that," says the Spaniard when asked whether Augusta's patrons were pushing for Norman to prevail. He was the fan favourite. Everybody wanted him to win because of what had happened before. Continue reading...

The Australian playmaker's luck appears to have finally turned as he solidifies his status among the world's best basketballersIt's taken him a decade, but Dante Exum has finally made it in the NBA, and it comes at the perfect time for Australia's Boomers.The imposing perimeter defence has helped. So too the smooth playmaking as the anchor for the bench of the fast rising Dallas Mavericks. Hitting 50% from the three-point line certainly doesn't hurt. Continue reading...

This paranoid, belligerent rabble will never offer the effective opposition Britain needs. They could even come staggering back into powerFor many people reading this, the analogy will seem ludicrous, but hear me out: if the Conservative party was one of your friends, you'd be very worried about them.You can maybe imagine it: a privately educated pal from university, perhaps, who seems to have fallen on hard times and bad company. Ten or 15 years ago, they seemed urbane, clever and super-confident. Even if some of it went only skin deep, they professed to be green, socially liberal and culturally switched on. Now, though, they tend to look dishevelled and saggy-eyed. After a few drinks - and sometimes before - they speak an increasingly hysterical language of conspiracy theory and political paranoia. They also seem to be furtively spending some of their time with thugs and bigots: the kind of people whom that great English social commentator Paul Weller once associated with the smell of pubs, and Wormwood Scrubs, and too many rightwing meetings". Continue reading...

Passengers aboard a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 film the engine cover falling off during take-off at Denver international airport on Sunday. US airline regulators have launched an investigation after the part came off and struck the wing flap. Flight 3695 - with 135 passengers and six crew members aboard - rose to about 10,300ft (3,140 metres) before returning safely 25 minutes later to Denver. No one was injured. Continue reading...