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Former House speaker says Matt Gaetz led charge to remove him to quash allegations Florida representative slept with a 17-year-old'The far-right Florida Republican Matt Gaetz forced Kevin McCarthy out as House speaker last year because he slept with a 17-year-old" and wanted a congressional ethics investigation to end, McCarthy charged on Tuesday.I'll give you the truth why I'm not speaker," McCarthy said, at an event at Georgetown University in Washington. Continue reading...

Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman found liable last March for trying to discourage Black New Yorkers from voting in 2020 electionTwo far-right conspiracy theorists will pay up to $1.25m in fines for launching a robocall campaign to discourage Black New York voters from participating in the 2020 election, the New York attorney general announced on Tuesday.Jacob Wohl, of Irvine, California, and Jack Burkman, of Arlington, Virginia, were found liable in March 2023 for targeting about 5,500 Black voters as part of the robocall scheme. Continue reading...

Democrats team up with Biden campaign on issue, believing it will bring victory in presidential and Senate races in NovemberDemocrats in Florida are teaming up with operatives from Joe Biden's re-election campaign in an all-out assault on Republicans' extremist positions on abortion, believing it will bring victory in presidential and US Senate races in November.They fired an opening salvo on Tuesday, tearing into Donald Trump's boasting" about overturning federal abortion protections a day earlier, and assailing the incumbent Republican senator Rick Scott for supporting Florida's six-week ban that takes effect next month. Continue reading...

A traveling welder was on his way to meet his family when he stopped to take a nap. He never arrived. Now his relatives want answers from police: We can't let this go'Daniel Barajas awoke a few minutes after 4.30am to a spotlight shining through the foggy window of his SUV on a central Arkansas highway. Two sheriff's deputies stood outside.He had stopped to sleep after a long day spent driving. A few more hours in the darkness of Interstate 30 and Barajas would arrive in Texas and meet his infant niece and nephew for the first time. Continue reading...

Chad Daybell is charged with killing wife and then girlfriend's two youngest children in case rooted in extremist religious beliefsOpening statements are expected Wednesday in the trial of an Idaho man charged with killing his wife and his then girlfriend's two youngest children in an unusual case rooted in extremist religious beliefs.Chad Daybell, 55, is facing charges of first-degree murder, insurance fraud, and conspiracy to commit murder and grand theft in connection with the deaths of Tammy Daybell, seven-year-old Joshua JJ" Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan. Last year, their mother, Lori Vallow Daybell, received a life sentence without parole for the killings. Continue reading...

The Chelsea manager is walking into a US team that has found a spark again. But she faces high expectations and difficult questions as she prepares for the OlympicsOn Tuesday evening in Columbus, Ohio, the US Women's National Team came from behind before defeating Canada on penalties to win their seventh SheBelieves Cup trophy. It was the second time they had recovered from a deficit to win a match in four days. It also marked their second tournament test in a row against Canada that ended with a penalty shootout, and the second tournament in as many months when they came across a talented team, but came away with the trophy.The Canada game was the USWNT's 10th since Emma Hayes was named as their next manager, and their final match before she officially takes over next month. When the squad next assembles, Chelsea's longtime boss will be at the helm. Continue reading...

The Arizona governor, Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, called for an Arizona supreme court ruling to be repealed that permits enforcement of an 1864 law banning almost all abortions. Speaking at a press conference the governor said: 'The near total civil war-era ban that continues to hang over our heads only serves to create more chaos for women and doctors in our state.' First passed when Arizona was still a territory, the ban only permits abortions to save a patient's life and does not make exceptions for rape or incest

American appealed for conviction to be dropped after wrongly accusing Patrick Lumumba of murdering Meredith KercherAn Italian court has opened a new trial against Amanda Knox over a slander conviction she received for wrongly accusing a bar owner of murdering the British student Meredith Kercher.Knox, who, along with her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, spent four years in prison after being convicted over Kercher's murder in 2007, asked for the slander conviction to be dropped on the basis of a ruling by the European court of human rights in 2019 that found her defence rights had been violated during police questioning in 2007. Italy's top court ordered a retrial of the slander conviction in October. Continue reading...

The president of Guyana's scolding of a BBC reporter struck a chord with many who feel silenced by western dominance and the legacy of economic violenceCaribbean nations have such a long history of economic violence, manipulation and exploitation perpetrated against them by the west that it is generally expected that they take it on the chin. Recently, however, their leaders have been standing up to a spate of condescension and sanctioned bullying.In an interview with the BBC reporter Stephen Sackur, the president of Guyana, Irfaan Ali, displayed what can only be termed controlled rage. Ali scolded and schooled Sackur on the hypocrisy of the developed world, questioning his agenda and integrity. The interview reverberated around the global south. This was not the first time a British journalist had tried to patronise Ali. Last year, Richard Madeley, on the subject of slavery reparations with Ali, was outrageously disrespectful. Continue reading...

With less than a week until Trump faces a criminal trial, his attorneys are doing everything they can to delay it even longer

I was heckled during my time as a college player in the late 1990s. But young athletes today must endure an ocean of bile from all areas of the internetThroughout this year's men's and women's NCAA Tournaments, athletes have reported receiving death threats on social media. After LSU's loss to Iowa last week, an emotional Angel Reese said she has been receiving such threats since winning the national title in 2023. Days later, Iowa's Gabbie Marshall deleted her social media altogether due to threats hurled her way after she drew a game-clinching foul against UConn in the Final Four.On the men's side, Purdue's Carson Barrett hit a three-pointer at the end of his team's victory over Grambling State. That bucket appeared to have affected the betting outcome for people who had gambled on Purdue's margin of victory. Barrett's reward? A direct message on Instagram that told him to slit you throat" for taking that three". The sender ended the message by telling Carter I hope you kill yourself." Continue reading...

I get tons of incidental exercise, save money and don't have to worry about parking. But other people look at me aghastMy wife and I tick a lot of minority" boxes: we're a same-sex Jewish-Palestinian couple with an ethnically ambiguous child. But you know what really makes us stand out? You know what always seems to cause people to look aghast at our lifestyle? The fact that we don't own a car.Being car-free was nothing unusual when we lived in New York, an outlier in the US when it comes to vehicle ownership. But when we moved to Philadelphia (one of the most walkable cities in the US), it set us apart. Whenever our lack of a car comes up, people do a double take. You can almost see the wheels turning in their head. Are they financially destitute? Are they radical environmental activists? Are they just weird? Continue reading...

Some are outraged by a version for people intimidated' by word games. Take it from me: Scrabble rules are for breakingIt's a terrible indictment of our education system", a sad, sad indictment of modern society" and a move that will mean future generations will be deprived of their full potential". This was the reaction of outraged commenters to the launch of a new edition of Scrabble called Scrabble Together.Mattel's update of the 75-year-old tile-laying word game includes a mode in which players collaborate to make words and score the most points as a team. Cards give players hints to help them find the best words. It's intended to offer a less competitive, more accessible experience where players of differing ages and abilities can enjoy working on a puzzle together.Tim Clare is a columnist for Tabletop Gaming magazine. His book The Game Changers: How Playing Games Changed the World and Can Change You Too will be published in November Continue reading...

Residents call for felony charges after Cody Roberts reportedly taped animal's mouth shut, took photos and killed it behind barA Wyoming hunter who reportedly ran over a gray wolf with a snowmobile, taped the creature's mouth shut, took a picture with it inside a local bar and then shot it to death behind the tavern has ignited calls for stiffer penalties in such an egregious case of animal abuse.Cody Roberts, 42, is at the center of the uproar after being ticketed and fined a couple of hundred dollars for illegally possessing the wolf while it was still alive - but so far going unpunished for the manner in which he is said to have killed the animal. Continue reading...

As the party struggles to talk about abortion, response marks fastest and strongest rebuke of bans since the fall of RoeHours after Arizona's supreme court declared on Tuesday that a 160-year-old abortion ban is now enforceable, Republicans in the state took a surprising stance for a party that has historically championed abortion restrictions - they denounced the decision.This decision cannot stand," said Matt Gress, a Republican state representative. I categorically reject rolling back the clock to a time when slavery was still legal and we could lock up women and doctors because of an abortion." Continue reading...

The criticism of David Cameron among Tory MPs shows how far the party has moved from its long-held Arabist traditionWhen David Cameron touched down in Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for a meeting with the former president this week, his mind was on one thing: Ukraine. The foreign secretary has made no secret of the fact that he wants to use his stateside charm offensive to build support among divided Republicans for military aid for Ukraine, including the $60bn of new funding that is currently being blocked in Congress.Yet back home, it's a different foreign affairs issue that is showing cracks: Israel-Palestine. While the Tories and Labour are broadly aligned on the need to support Ukraine, where the two parties stand on Israel and its actions in Gaza is knottier. Continue reading...

Flirting with leaving the European court of human rights has failed to move the dial for the PM, and has highlighted his deficienciesRishi Sunak is not a deep-cover agent of the Labour party, but politics might not look very different if the prime minister were on a secret mission to make life easier for Keir Starmer.To achieve this feat, special operative Sunak would occupy positions expected of a Conservative leader, but in a way that minimised public enthusiasm and maximised division in his own party. Continue reading...

Judge reverses earlier decision and rules that ex-president must swap in pseudonyms for people to prevent threats of harassmentThe federal judge overseeing Donald Trump's criminal case on charges of retaining classified documents ordered the former president's lawyers to redact information about roughly two dozen witnesses from a public version of one of their court filings, reversing an earlier decision that had allowed no redactions.The ruling means Trump must instead substitute pseudonyms - for instance, Trump employee 1 or FBI agent 1 - when referring to people inside Trump's orbit and others involved in the investigation that could be the target of threats of harassment. Continue reading...

Brian Dorsey, convicted of murdering his cousin and her husband, put to death amid efforts by many to have his sentence commutedBrian Dorsey, who was convicted of murdering his cousin and her husband in 2006, was executed in Missouri's Bonne Terre state prison Tuesday despite an extraordinary effort by corrections officials and his appeals judge to have his capital sentence commuted.Prison officials confirmed that Dorsey had been put to death by lethal injection. They said he had been pronounced dead at 6.11pm. Continue reading...

Republican senator says homeland security secretary is following position of party and will not vote to remove him if it goes to trialAlejandro Mayorkas is not guilty of a high crime or misdemeanour, the Republican senator Mitt Romney said, making clear he will not vote to remove the US homeland security secretary from office if his impeachment goes to a trial.Secretary Mayorkas is following the position of his party and of the president who was elected," Romney, from Utah and his party's nominee for president in 2012, told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday. Continue reading...

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Respondents tell us about personal levels of borrowing, with most saying they were now struggling to repay their debtsRobin, a 70-year-old retired arts teacher from California, survives on an annual income of $14,000 in social security payments.I became disabled and retired about 20 years ago," she says. My life became unaffordable then, but I'm very good at budgeting so I was able to manage. Continue reading...

Aimee Harris of Florida sold Ashley Biden's diary to conservative group Project Veritas in actions judge called despicable'A Florida woman was sentenced Tuesday to a month in prison and three months of home confinement for stealing and selling Joe Biden's daughter's diary four years ago to the conservative group Project Veritas.Aimee Harris was sentenced in Manhattan federal court by Laura Taylor Swain, the judge who called the Palm Beach, Florida, woman's actions despicable". Continue reading...

Survey finds turnover increased from 28% in 2004 to 39% in 2022, following increased harassment and threats after 2020 electionA new study confirms what election experts have been warning about for years: increased harassment and threats following the 2020 election have led election officials to quit at higher rates than in previous election cycles.The study, conducted by the Bipartisan Policy Center and using data on more than 18,000 chief election officials across the 50 states, found that while turnover in election offices had been steadily increasing since 2004, election officials have left their jobs at higher rates since the 2020 election - with turnover increasing from 28% in 2004 to 39% in 2022. Continue reading...

Federal Aviation Administration looking into claims US aircraft maker knew of flaws but covered them up to speed productionClaims that Boeing knew of safety flaws in the manufacture of one of its largest passenger jet aircraft, but covered them up to speed production, are under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), according to a reports.The information came from a whistleblower inside the beleaguered US aircraft maker, and relates to the structural integrity of the 787 Dreamliner jet, a report published by the New York Times alleges. Continue reading...

Four-time major champion believes simple approach will be key to completing career grand slam on 16th start at AugustaRory McIlroy's Tuesday press conference has become a modern-day Masters tradition, his annual attempt to explain exactly how he's planning to go about finally winning the thing that fits right in alongside the par-three contest, the pimento cheese sandwiches, and watching the players try to skip the ball across the water during the practice rounds. In the 13 years since McIlroy blew a four-shot lead here on the Sunday in 2011, he seems to have tried it every which way, fat and thin, zoned out and dialled in.There were years when he played the course over and over before the tournament, years when he hardly stopped here at all, years when he talked up how much it meant, and years when he played it down. Yeah," McIlroy said himself this year. This is my 16th start in the Masters, so I feel like I've done it quite a few different ways." Continue reading...

Justices rule to hold off on requiring state to enforce ban for 14 days, to allow advocates to ask lower court to pause it againThe Arizona supreme court ruled Tuesday to let a law banning almost all abortions in the state go into effect, a decision that could curtail abortion access in the US south-west and could make Arizona one of the biggest battlefields in the 2024 electoral fight over abortion rights.The justices said Arizona could enforce a 1864 near-total abortion ban, first passed before Arizona became a state, that went unenforced for decades after the US supreme court legalized abortion nationwide in the 1973 decision Roe v Wade. However, the justices also ruled to hold off on requiring the state to enforce the ban for 14 days, in order to allow advocates to ask a lower court to pause it again. Continue reading...

The seeds of a forever war are being planted in the coastal strip. They must not be allowed to take rootIsrael's war turned much of northern Gaza into an uninhabitable moonscape. Palestinians returning to their homes in the southern part of the coastal strip this week were greeted by a similar lifeless vista of destruction. It might be some relief that Israeli forces have withdrawn from much of Gaza. But one is reminded of what Tacitus said of the Roman legions: They make a desert and call it peace."The ending of a four-month long assault on KhanYunis and the allowing of more aid into Gaza have been positive steps. These should help talks in Cairo to end the fighting permanently. The Biden WhiteHouse is also increasing pressure on Israel to negotiate a deal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas. The drop in violence may not last long. Neither side, at present, seem willing to make the concessions needed for a durable peace. Continue reading...

A New York judge rejected the ex-president's bid to postpone the 15 April trial amid his fight against a gag orderA New York appeals court judge on Tuesday rejected Donald Trump's latest bid to delay his hush-money criminal trial while he fights a gag order, clearing the way for jury selection to begin next week.Justice Cynthia Kern's ruling is yet another loss for Trump, who has tried repeatedly to get the trial postponed. Continue reading...

The UK's foreign secretary has said the government position on arms exports to Israel remains unchanged but that it continues to have concerns about the level of humanitarian aid entering Gaza. David Cameron said Israel is an ally and a key defence partner. He added: 'We don't publish or comment on legal advice but we are a government that acts under the law'. Cameron held a joint press conference with the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, after meeting former president Donald Trump

Exclusive: four vases in New York auction traced to Gianfranco Becchina, convicted in 2011 of illegally dealing in antiquitiesChristie's has withdrawn four ancient Greek vases from Tuesday's auction after a leading archaeologist discovered that each of them was linked to a convicted antiquities dealer.Dr Christos Tsirogiannis, an affiliated archaeology lecturer at the University of Cambridge and a specialist in looted antiquities and trafficking networks, told the Guardian that there was damning evidence within the auction house's own correspondence with the dealer, which was seized by the police. Continue reading...

County officials alert Montecito homeowners that they face prosecution, including daily fines of $850 if stones are not removedMontecito, California, is known for being home to Oprah, a former royal family, and a stunning stretch of coastline. It's also home to miles of trails, some of which are being blocked by residents hoping to stop people from accessing public hot springs.Santa Barbara county has been watching encroachments on East Mountain Drive and Riven Rock Road in Montecito since at least 2022, when they sent letters to residents warning them to remove large stones. Continue reading...

Fifteen scholars on US history outline that Trump is not immune to prosecution for crimes committed while he was presidentFifteen prominent historians filed an amicus brief with the US supreme court, rejecting Donald Trump's claim in his federal election subversion case that he is immune to criminal prosecution for acts committed as president.Authorities cited in the document include the founders Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Adams, in addition to the historians' own work. Continue reading...

After a decision to spare Fifi further interventions, she lives a full two months more - and teaches us a few things along the wayRanjana, how long can Fifi live with liver cancer?"An unexpected aspect of being an oncologist (for humans) is being approached for advice about pets (usually dogs) with cancer. Bruno, Marco, Maisie, Ziggy, Chloe, Tiger, Muppet, Jessie, Bella, Buddy, Johnny, Wilfred. Apart from my own Odie, the dogs of my friends form the backdrop of my life. Not all of them develop cancer but when there is a diagnosis, I know.Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Continue reading...

As a gen X feminist who survived and ignored a violent assault in the 80s, I didn't identify as a victim - but #MeToo gave me a crucial new perspectiveIn the scorching summer of 1987, young, invincible and hungry for adventure, I left my cloistered life at the University of Sydney to hitchhike to Darwin. I wanted to discover the real" Australia, that classless utopia of rugged, self-made blokes in the Foster's ads; the quixotic outback of explorers and mavericks celebrated by Xavier Herbert and Patrick White. Hitchhiking for art was a masculine pursuit, mythologised by Jack Kerouac and the beatniks. I wanted to update their 60s machismo with some brazenly female 80s cool. I would document my 8,000km trip, return to Sydney unscathed, and write a novel. Or so I thought.My companion, Andrew Peisley, and I hit the highway at Lithgow, armed with a tarp, seven books and a guitar. We'd survive on Peisley's dole cheque and busk for counter-meals in pubs along the way. We agreed to remain platonic, accept every lift that got us closer to Darwin, and never split up. Four days in, at a Cunnamulla roadhouse, our rules imploded. I was kidnapped by truckies. Four of them, driving two road trains in convoy. They couldn't fit us both in one truck so they offered to take me in the first and Peisley in the second. I climbed, just as Kerouac would, into the first rig and we drove off. But when Peisley approached the second truck, the driver slammed the door in his face. Continue reading...

Study of 13,000 Americans finds particular risk among certain types of gun owners, including those who carry weapons in publicLarge numbers of Americans who have bought guns over the past four years or who regularly carry their loaded weapons in public are willing to engage in political violence, even to the extent of shooting a perceived opponent, a new mega-survey has found.The study of almost 13,000 Americans, drawn from across the country and weighted for demographics, provides alarming evidence of the openness of certain types of gun owners to the idea - and possibly the practice - of violence as a political act. Continue reading...

Device failed to detonate successfully, causing only slight damage to the temple located in the city of the 17-century witch trialsAn explosive device was thrown on to the porch of the Satanic Temple and caused cosmetic damage to the building early on Monday - but the device failed to detonate successfully and was only found hours later, according to police in Massachusetts.Police in the town of Salem have since said that the situation had been contained and that there was no ongoing threat after office had closed access for several hours to the block on Bridge Street where the targeted building is. Continue reading...

Former congressman Ken Buck says Marjorie Taylor Greene gets her talking points from the Kremlin' when opposing Ukraine aid

Company says settlement will resolve all class action claims within 20-mile radius from February 2023 derailmentNorfolk Southern has agreed to pay $600m in a class-action lawsuit settlement related to a fiery train derailment in February 2023 in eastern Ohio.The company said the agreement, if approved by the court, will resolve all class action claims within a 20-mile radius from the derailment and, for those residents who choose to participate, personal injury claims within a 10-mile radius from the derailment. Continue reading...

She left the White House with the worst popularity rating for any first lady in history. But she could still be an asset for her husbandShe is a riddle inside an enigma wrapped in Valentino. One of the few things anyone can say with certainty about Melania Trump is that the former first lady has never been keen on politics. And who can blame her? Melania was living a life of untrammelled luxury before her husband decided he wanted to be president. She didn't have to pretend to care about causes. She didn't have to shake hands with paupers. She didn't have to live in a shabby old house in DC. She could do whatever she liked. When Donald Trump got booted out of the White House, Melania didn't seem particularly distraught.Nor has Melania seemed especially enthusiastic about Trump's attempts to weasel his way back into the presidency. The former model kept her distance from his 2020 re-election efforts and has been noticeably absent from the 2024 campaign. She attended the campaign launch event in November 2022 and showed up when Trump cast his ballot for himself in the Florida presidential primary last month, but that's about it. She has been so absent that Missing Melania" posters have been jokingly handed out at some of Trump's campaigns by, rumour has it, his detractors. Continue reading...

He's never wanted to be in politics, you know - but if the people keep asking, he might just have to become America's Final BossWhere do you stand on The Rock? A question to which the answer can only be, Please - not on his face!" Wrestler, movie star, high-intensity interval philosopher, skincare entrepreneur, self-styled future presidential candidate ... Personally I believe that Mr Dwayne Johnson is a net hilarity for humanity, though the idea he could ever truly limit himself to enriching the lives of only one species - or indeed only one planet - feels profoundly suspect.Last week, The Rock graced Fox News with a lengthy interview in which he announced he will be withholding his wildly coveted endorsement in the forthcoming US presidential election, having given it to Joe Biden last time. The reason? The Rock believes that very endorsement - his specifically - caused an incredible amount of division in our country". Evidently The Rock judges himself a mega-market-mover in terms of American discord, so this time he is not declaring support for either Biden or Donald Trump. Quite a statement from a guy who 100% seems the type to have a tattoo of the words if you choose not to decide you have still made a choice". Obviously not in English - in either Sanskrit, Latin or Hindi, curling round some sort of calf muscle called a trizeltoid or something, that he's got a cool abbreviation for. #trizos #gainzneversleepz #warriorpoetMarina Hyde is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Stock has become actively shorted as traders are betting on company's fall, and the ex-president's stake is now valued at $3bnDonald Trump's media and technology group, DJT, has lost about 36% of its value since it began publicly trading on 22 March, dropping the former president's stake to approximately $2.8bn.As of Monday afternoon, DJT stock was priced at about $36 - down from a high of $66 seen on 27 March. But market analysts are saying it's too soon to draw any firm conclusions from the depreciation because the stock has become one of the most actively shorted on the Nasdaq exchange - meaning traders have been betting that it will fall. Continue reading...

Israel buys 40,000 tents to prepare for the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the southern Gaza city. Plus: how green onions became a symbol of voter anger in South Korea

Taylon Nichelle Celestine allegedly shot two drivers on Interstate 10 after telling hotel staff she had been directed by GodA woman checked out of a Florida hotel on Monday, told staff that she was going on a God-directed shooting spree because of the North American solar eclipse that day, and allegedly shot two drivers on Interstate 10 before being arrested, according to the state's highway patrol.Taylon Nichelle Celestine, 22, of Georgia, entered the highway in Bonifay - 115 miles (180km) from the Alabama border in the Florida panhandle region - and headed west. Within five miles (8km), she fired into a passing car several times, shattering windows and grazing the driver in the arm, the department said in a statement. Continue reading...