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Texas, a state under attack for its policy on women, immigrants and LGBTQ+ people, could be announced as the host of the World Cup finalFifa's newly introduced human rights strategy for World Cups is set to be tested on Sunday when the host city for the 2026 final is announced. The location of the final - the tournament is to be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada - is understood to be between two venues: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, or MetLife Stadium in New Jersey's Meadowlands.While the latter stadium is unlikely to draw much comment, a World Cup final in Texas may attract its share of criticism, particularly because the 2026 World Cup is the first time a human rights strategy was included as part of the bidding process. Continue reading...

The Ravens, Chiefs, 49ers and Lions reached this season's Championship Games for good reasons. Here's what their rivals could learn fromWhat makes an offense great? In short, the ability to effectively attack multiple parts of the field and stress defenses. Good offenses can do something so well that defenses have to adjust to stop it. Great offenses punish defenses for those adjustments. Continue reading...

Test your knowledge of football, cricket, tennis, rugby union and winter sports in this week's quiz Continue reading...

Where I saw colour and fun, they saw the reflection of something darker: a new generation of men who fear feminismTaylor Swift is many things. But she did not, at least until recently, look like the battleground on which an election could be fought.Though on reflection, maybe it makes a weird kind of sense. Like Donald Trump, whose allies are said to be threatening a remarkably silly-sounding holy war" against the singer, Swift is an unstoppable cultural phenomenon with a deep hold over the American psyche. She epitomises what many young women want to be - powerful but joyful, financially independent, patently not in need of a man but having zero trouble getting one - while he stands for all those threatened by this subversion of the patriarchal order. Continue reading...

Roads were flooded and trees toppled amid calls for people to get ready for powerful downpours, heavy snow and damaging winds

President's visit to the battleground state is met with autoworkers' endorsements - and protests over his backing of IsraelJoe Biden won a strong pledge of support on Thursday from union autoworkers crucial to his re-election bid in Michigan, while yet more protests over his backing of Israel's actions in Gaza put pressure on the trip.The president's travel to the battleground state was intended as a celebration after the United Auto Workers (UAW) union recently endorsed his re-election bid. But his visit was also met with protests amid the state's sizable Arab American community, demanding Biden seek a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war, and refusing to meet his campaign. Continue reading...

Bill passed by Republican-dominated state senate may exacerbate deadly overcrowding in Fulton county jailThe Georgia state senate passed legislation Thursday mostly outlawing bail funds for protest groups, and added dozens of offenses to the list of charges requiring cash bail to secure release.The passage of SB63 by a 30-17 vote in the Republican-dominated state senate arrives as three activists operating the Atlanta Solidarity Fund face state-level racketeering and charity fraud charges in connection with the prosecution of dozens of protesters against Cop City", an Atlanta project to build a police-training facility. Continue reading...

Joshua Schulte, who prosecutors said was responsible for agency's largest data breach, also guilty of possessing child abuse imagesA former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) software engineer who was convicted for carrying out the largest theft of classified information in the agency's history and of charges related to child abuse imagery was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Thursday.The 40-year sentence by US district judge Jesse Furman was for crimes of espionage, computer hacking, contempt of court, making false statements to the FBI, and child pornography", federal prosecutors said in a statement. The judge did not impose a life sentence as sought by prosecutors. Continue reading...

The US defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, said the US has ordered a series of reprisal strikes to be launched against an Iran-backed militia. Austin added that while it signalled a dangerous moment in the Middle East, the United States would work to avoid a wider conflict. The strikes are expected to take place in Syria and possibly Iraq after three US soldiers were killed at a base in Jordan

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Top Senate Democrat gives timetable for vote on border security bill tied to Ukraine aid as Trump urges lawmakers to reject dealThe US Senate will vote next week on a bipartisan bill that would strengthen security at the US-Mexico border and also provide more aid to Ukraine and Israel, the chamber's top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, said on Thursday.We cannot simply shirk from our responsibilities just because the task is difficult," Schumer said on the Senate floor, adding that the text of the package will be released by Sunday, with the initial vote taking place no later than Wednesday. Continue reading...

Trump tries to undermine allegations against him by attacking his accusers, sowing confusion and painting himself as a martyrTime after time, with predictable regularity, never missing a beat, Donald Trump proclaims his innocence. He always denies that he has done anything wrong. The charge does not matter. He is blameless. But this is only the beginning of the pattern. Then, he attacks his accusers, or anyone involved in bringing him to account, usually of committing the identical offense of which he stands accused.But it is not enough for him to lash out. Then, he declares himself to be the victim. Whatever it is, he is falsely accused. But his self-dramatization as the wounded sufferer is only half his story: he insists that whoever has accused him is in fact the offender. He emerges triumphant, the martyr, the truth-teller, courageously unmasking the real villain. J'accuse! Continue reading...

Ex-US president took action over allegations he took part in perverted acts' and bribed Russian officialsDonald Trump's data protection claim for damages over allegations in the Steele dossier" that he took part in perverted" sex acts and gave bribes to Russian officials has been dismissed by a high court judge in London.Mrs Justice Steyn agreed with Orbis Business Intelligence, the company founded by the former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, who compiled the contentious material, that the case should not go to trial. Continue reading...

Court could weigh in on whether cities and states can shut down homeless encampments but it could also define what it means to provide shelterIn mid-January, the US supreme court agreed to reconsider the case Grants Pass v Johnson. In doing so, it could overturn a previous decision, Martin v Boise, which ruled that cities cannot punish unhoused people for violating anti-camping policies when there are no alternatives available.That has left elected officials, advocates and, not least of all, homeless people themselves wondering whether a future high court decision will give cities more power to clear homeless settlements or if cities' responsibilities to provide for unhoused residents will be clarified. Continue reading...

SB 1780 would make it defamation to accuse someone of homophobia, transphobia, racism or sexism and punishable by fineBy day two of Florida's legislative session, which started last month, lawmakers had introduced nearly 20 anti-gay or anti-trans bills. One such bill, SB 1780, would make accusing someone of being homophobic, transphobic, racist or sexist, even if the accusation is true, equivalent to defamation, and punishable by a fine of at least $35,000. If passed, the bill would severely limit and punish constitutionally protected free speech in the state.Though SB 1780 is not likely to survive past higher courts, its introduction is indicative of a wider conservative strategy to stifle criticism of racist, sexist and homophobic behavior. The bill, critics argue, is being introduced to test the waters and see how far, legally, lawmakers can go until they are able to silence detractors. Continue reading...

The staggering death rate already seen does not fully capture the human pain and miseryWar deaths are not only caused by direct violence, and they don't stop when the fighting does. Civilians as well as combatants may succumb to earlier injuries, or to hunger and disease in the aftermath of conflict. In the longer run, disruption of food production, damage to infrastructure and suspension of medical services such as routine vaccinations can all result in peacetime deaths which are ultimately attributable to the war. Women and children are disproportionately affected.More than 27,000 people have now been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian authorities. Tens of thousands of people are injured, in many cases with life-changing injuries. What will become of those now known by the chilling abbreviation WCNSF - Wounded child, no surviving family"? Continue reading...

Filings to Federal Election Commission show scale of legal fees former president, facing 91 criminal charges, has racked upDonald Trump's political action committees spent more than $50m on legal fees over the course of 2023, as the former president's legal troubles intensified in the face of 91 felony counts across four criminal cases.According to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Wednesday night, Save America, Trump's leadership Pac that has shouldered most of the financial burden of his legal battles, entered 2024 with just $5m in cash on hand after spending more than $25m on legal expenses over the last six months of 2023. Continue reading...

Biden administration says public health insurance program has made initial offers for 10 of most commonly used medicinesThe Biden administration has announced that representatives of Medicare, a public health insurance program that covers 47 million American seniors and disabled people, on Thursday sent initial offers to pharmaceutical companies in negotiations over 10 of the program's most expensive and commonly used drugs.The initial offers are part of a negotiation timeline set by law, and will set the tone for what is expected to be an intense process between the administration and drugmakers, who have launched at least 10 lawsuits against the government. Continue reading...

Company which rode the at-home exercise boom during Covid has suffered as many of its users returned to gymsShares in Peloton tumbled by almost a quarter on Thursday after the embattled fitness group cut back its sales forecast amid lackluster demand for its high-end equipment.The company, which rode the at-home exercise boom at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, has suffered as many of its users headed back to gyms across the world.Reuters contributed reporting Continue reading...

Alan Filion, 17, facing felony charges over allegedly faking call to send armed police to mosque, may have been active since 2021A California teen has been extradited to Florida and is believed to be a serial swatter" behind hundreds of swatting incidents and bomb threats called in across the US.Alan Filion, 17, was transported from Orange county, California, to Seminole, central Florida, on Tuesday, where he faces three felonies and a misdemeanor charge in connection to the swatting of a local mosque, according to the Seminole county state attorney's office, Wired first reported. Continue reading...

Lloyd Austin says he was shaken by news of prostate cancer but he should have told Joe Biden and the public soonerLloyd Austin, the US defense secretary, said on Thursday that his recent cancer diagnosis shook him but he should have notified Joe Biden and the public about it.Austin came under fire earlier this year after it was revealed that the 70-year-old was admitted on New Year's Day to Walter Reed national military medical center for what the Pentagon has said were complications following a recent elective medical procedure", a fact the defense department kept under wraps for five days. Continue reading...

Former Boeing employee Ed Pierson expresses concern over 737 Max 9 jet's return to skies following Alaska Airlines incidentA former Boeing manager says he would absolutely not" fly on one of its 737 Max planes as the aircraft maker faces heightened scrutiny after a cabin panel blowout.The company has been fighting to reassure regulators, airlines and passengers since a brand-new 737 Max 9 jet was forced into an emergency landing last month. Continue reading...

Statue of first Black player to integrate Major League Baseball was stolen last week from public park in Wichita, KansasA historic statue of baseball trailblazer Jackie Robinson will be replaced after donations poured in to restore the statue that was stolen from a Kansas park and found destroyed.On Wednesday - which would have been the 105th birthday of Jackie Robinson - an online fundraiser raised more than $160,000 to replace a bronze statue of the baseball legend that was stolen from the McAdams Park in Wichita, Kansas, the Associated Press reported. Continue reading...

Isla, Amelia, Oliver and Noah ... your time is now. Why are we all so unoriginal?The yearly index of the most popular names in New South Wales dropped last week, and for anyone who sporadically logs on to Facebook to find half of their graduating class pregnant, the results are likely unsurprising. For girls, Isla and Amelia came in equal first with 383 registered births each, followed by Olivia, Mia and Charlotte. For boys, Oliver, Noah, Leo, Henry and Luca rounded out the top five.Depending on your individuality complex, the results could be benign or devastating. If you chose the name Isla before 2008, you were a pioneer. It was unlikely your baby girl would need to fight for the right to be called Isla in school without the qualifying initial of her last name. Now, the name has become my generation's answer to Jessica". All babies born from the late noughties called Isla are now destined for a lifetime of saying Isla with an S" when they order iced lattes (climate change has rendered hot coffee obsolete). Continue reading...

Five of those injured in critical condition after incident at hangar under construction on grounds of Boise airport in IdahoA hangar under construction on the grounds of the airport in Boise, Idaho, collapsed Wednesday, killing three people and injuring another nine, officials said.Five of those injured in the collapse at the Boise airport are in critical condition, the city said in a statement released Wednesday night. Continue reading...

Already ordered to pay E Jean Carroll more than $83m, an imminent verdict could be even more costly

Ex-president determined to see Haley withdraw from Republican race as he attempts to secure nomination as quickly as possibleDonald Trump's frustration with the former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley has continued to mount, according to people close to the former president, with her refusal to withdraw from the race for the 2024 Republican nomination starting to cause operational headaches for his campaign.Trump was annoyed with Haley the night of his New Hampshire primary win last week after she finished in second place and still delivered a speech that he viewed as her taking a victory lap. Continue reading...

Michael Cassidy charged under Iowa's hate crime statute after figure depicting Baphomet destroyed beyond repair' in DecemberA Mississippi man accused of destroying a statue of a pagan idol at Iowa's state capitol is now being charged with a hate crime.The statue was brought to the capitol by the Satanic Temple of Iowa under state rules allowing religious displays in the building during the holidays. The move drew strong criticism from state and national leaders, including the Iowa governor, Kim Reynolds, and the Florida governor and former presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, both Republicans. On 14 December, the figure depicting the horned deity Baphomet was destroyed beyond repair", according to the group. Continue reading...

Three donors say that they - and, in two cases, their spouses - were reimbursed for donations to the New York City mayor's 2025 campaign, a tactic that violates state law

After struggling for game time with Borussia Dortmund, the USMNT star has signed for the Premier League club on a loan for the remainder of the seasonGio Reyna needs to play. That - a lack of game time - has become the defining issue of the young American's career. A series of injuries, followed by a nasty feud between his family and coach around the 2022 World Cup, halted his development as one of the most exciting young talents ever produced by the United States. This season, Reyna has been out of favour at Borussia Dortmund, but a loan move to the Premier League could help him see the forest through the trees again.Nottingham Forest have given Reyna an opportunity to get his career back on track and he must make the most of it. The 21-year-old is only be on loan at the City Ground until the end of the season, but the next few months could profoundly alter Reyna's trajectory. This is a big chance to make up for lost time. Continue reading...

The Canucks have never won the Stanley Cup, and were a mess a year ago. But this season everything seems to be going their wayAround this time last year, the Vancouver Canucks were verging on disarray. In the middle of January, team president Jim Rutherford held a press conference to address the team's terrible season, which began with eight straight losses and didn't improve much from then on. I'm pretty disappointed in the job I've done," Rutherford said at the time. The team's fans felt the same way, especially regarding how the team was treating then-coach, Bruce Boudreau, who was rumoured to be on the chopping block, with Rick Tocchet apparently already waiting in the wings to take over. At the presser, Rutherford could merely only offer that Bruce is our coach, and that's the way it is today." The Canucks fired Boudreau a few days later and, as predicted, Tocchet took over. It was messy.But winning clears things up - and the Canucks have done a lot of it this year. As the NHL pauses this week for the All Star break, the Canucks sit atop not just the Pacific Division, but the entire Western Conference. They went 8-0-2 through their last 10 games before the break, a record second only in the West to the streaking Edmonton Oilers, who the Canucks shocked with back-to-back defeats to open the season - losses that sent the Oilers, a pre-season Stanley Cup favourite, reeling for months. Continue reading...

I have suffered dreadful abuse online since winning my libel action, but the message is clear: defamation has consequencesOn Tuesday on Sky News, I was asked by Kay Burley if I had any sympathy for Laurence Fox. I nearly said yes. But that night, he was back to tweeting about my cock. What a difference 12 hours can make.If you're new to this saga, I've just won a libel battle against Fox in the high court. I sued him for calling me a paedophile in October 2020. He retaliated, countersuing me for calling him a racist (apparently Mr Free Speech Absolutist is not so keen on speech that he does not agree with). In a judgment released on Monday (more than three years later), he lost on both counts.Crystal is a drag performer, DJ and TV hostDo 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...

US study confirms that communities living downwind of cities are likely to have more rainfallDoes it ever feel like the rain always falls where you live? You may have a point. It has long been known that urban environments modify their own weather, and a study has confirmed that cities also modify the weather in the surrounding area, with communities living downwind of a city more likely to bear the brunt of the rain.Acres of tarmac, skyscrapers and miles of suburbs all alter the amount of solar energy that land absorbs and re-radiates. The built environment modifies the weather that a city receives; but how far does a city's influence over the weather extend? Continue reading...

Lawmakers pass a $79bn tax cut package with broad bipartisan support, giving both parties coveted policy winsThe House accomplished something unusual Wednesday in passing, with broad, bipartisan support, a roughly $79bn tax cut package that would enhance the child tax credit for millions of lower-income families and boost three tax breaks for business, a combination that gives lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle coveted policy wins.Prospects for the measure becoming law are uncertain with the Senate still having to take it up, but for a House that has struggled to get bills of consequence over the finish line, the tax legislation could represent a rare breakthrough. The bill passed by a vote of 357-70. Continue reading...

Ex-South Carolina governor's new campaign highlights senior moments' of both men who are likely headed for a rematchRepublican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has launched a new attack on her rivals in the 2024 election - fellow party member Donald Trump and US president Joe Biden, with an advertisement campaign targeting their age.In a new series of political ads, first reported by the New York Times, under the theme of Grumpy Old Men," the former governor of South Carolina and US ambassador to the United Nations has an explicit strategy to go after the age of the two men likely to secure their respective parties' nominations for president. Continue reading...

Tech tycoon awaiting fraud trial in US brings case against Serious Fraud Office in LondonMike Lynch, the technology tycoon once lauded as the UK's answer to Bill Gates and now facing criminal fraud charges in the US, is suing the Serious Fraud Office.Lynch, who was extradited to the US last year to face trial over allegations he duped Hewlett-Packard into overpaying when it struck an $11bn (8.6bn) deal to buy his software firm Autonomy in 2011, has filed a data protection claim against the SFO in the high court in London. Continue reading...

The atmospheric river systems have the potential to wreak havoc, especially in areas where wildfires have left burn scars

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Ex-president and co-defendants are seeking to block Fani Willis over alleged affair with special prosecutor Nathan WadeThe Fulton county district attorney, Fani Willis, and Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor in her office, have both been subpoenaed to testify at a 15 February hearing seeking their disqualification from the criminal racketeering case against Donald Trump and 14 others for their efforts to overturn the election.It is not guaranteed that either will actually testify. Both could seek to quash the subpoena. Continue reading...

Stringent voter ID laws, gerrymandering and harsher sentences for voter registration errors are particular barriers for Black votersPeople of color make up nearly 30% of eligible voters in the US, but cast just over 22% of all votes - a significantly smaller share of the vote relative to their representation in the voter population, according to a new analysis.As the gap in voter turnout between people of color and white people continues to widen, the study broke down the numbers showing how Latinos, Asian Americans and Black people are persistently underrepresented in the electorate - which, as evidenced by Guardian reporting, is not in small part due to voter-suppression efforts. Continue reading...

The House speaker, Mike Johnson, reiterated his attack on the Senate's immigration policy deal, saying that, though its exact provisions had not yet been released, he did not think it would cut down on migrant arrivals to the degree he demands.He specifically took issue with reports that, under the deal's proposed terms, the border would be closed once crossings exceeded 5,000 people in a given day

CEOs of Meta, X, TikTok, Snap and Discord questioned before Congress over alleged harms to young users on their platformsIn a stunning moment during a congressional hearing over alleged online harms to children, the Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, turned to parents of victims on the Senate floor and apologized.I'm sorry for everything you have all been through," Zuckerberg said as parents held up photos of their children who have died following sexual exploitation or harassment via social media. No one should go through the things that your families have suffered and this is why we invest so much and we are going to continue doing industry-wide efforts to make sure no one has to go through the things your families have had to suffer." Continue reading...

At last: a judgment that injects a dose of sanity into the process of handing out executive rewardsWas the world's richest man overpaid?" begins Kathaleen McCormick in her ruling from the Delaware court of chancery. You bet. An incentive package worth up to $55.8bn for Elon Musk at Tesla in 2018 was over the top, unnecessary to secure the great man's services and thus unfair" to other shareholders because of the dilutive effect on their holdings. Read the 200-page judgment and it's hard to disagree with any step in her argument.Musk and his fanclub are enraged, naturally. I recommend incorporating in Nevada or Texas if you prefer shareholders to decide matters," said Tesla's chief executive. And it's true that shareholders approved the scheme by a 73% majority back in 2018. Some said on Musk's X that they'd happily do so again today because he hit his performance-related targets and Tesla's value improved by a turbo-charged $600bn. (Back in 2018, remember, the electric vehicle company was worth $50bn-ish and there was a lively debate in the investment world about whether it would soon run out of money.) Continue reading...