As Howard University celebrates 100 years of alumni coming home to honor their beloved alma mater and each other, Kamala Harris, a Howard alum, is possibly on the verge of becoming the first Black woman president. The historically Black university's homecoming marks a century of Black achievement, a familiar celebration for some of the most influential people in the nation. Below are decades of photographs that illustrate the prideful and jubilant atmosphere of homecoming through the years. Continue reading...
The Democrat says she will end cannabis prohibition and seek to help Black men profit from the industry if electedKamala Harris announced on Monday that if elected president, she would fully legalize adult recreational cannabis on the federal level - the first time a presidential nominee has taken such an unambiguous stance on ending cannabis prohibition.As part of her pledge, she said she would take steps to ensure that Black men, disproportionately incarcerated and disenfranchised by the war on drugs, would stand to profit from the industry. Continue reading...
As she campaigns in a deep red state, Rev Susan Shumway says its her job to kick open the doors' for queer youthWhen Phoenix Lemke was in his final year of high school, he had nowhere to go.The family of the teenager from O'Fallon, Missouri, had long disapproved of him being queer, and in December 2021, at age 17, he left home without a clear plan. He spent several days couchsurfing with friends until he found refuge with an unlikely figure: a local pastor. Continue reading...
Assuming the demographic won't support Democratic party is completely overblown', experts warn, as national polling doesn't capture nuances among Black votersWith the US election only 17 days away, Kamala Harris is courting one demographic with particular fervor: Black male voters.As new polls warn that Black voters - who have consistently voted for Democratic presidential candidates (at rates of at least 80% since 1994) - may be less enthusiastic about the Democratic party, Harris has released a new slate of policies specifically aimed at Black men. Her stated plans include increasing access to the cannabis industry and educational opportunities that would expand pathways to good-paying jobs ... [regardless of] a college degree". Continue reading...
While Don Jr is influential behind the scenes, Ivanka and Melania have been notably absent during this campaignIn late afternoon sunshine, Eric Trump shook his fist and led chants of Fight! Fight! Fight!" The second son of Donald Trump told a fervent crowd: They tried to smear us, they tried to bankrupt us, they came after us, they impeached him twice ... then, guys, they tried to kill him."A who's who of the Maga movement had gathered for a Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, less than three months after the Republican presidential nominee survived an assassination attempt there. Trump was joined on stage by running mate JD Vance and billionaire Elon Musk. But if he was looking for moral support from his family, he would have to settle for Eric. His other children - and his wife - were notably absent. Continue reading...
The billionaire answers questions on Mitt Romney and tariffs, and clarifies his remarks on the FTC's Lina KhanAs the US presidential election looms, the billionaire Mark Cuban has emerged as an energetic campaign surrogate for Kamala Harris. Making the case for business leaders to support the Democrat over Donald Trump, Cuban has drawn on his experience (in tech, investments, healthcare and now sports, as minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA team), celebrity (as a lead shark" for 15 seasons of ABC's Shark Tank) and willingness to confront Trump-supporting billionaires, Elon Musk prominent among them.The road has not been smooth. Last week, Cuban clashed with congressional progressives after criticizing Lina Khan, chair of the Federal Trade Commission, over her tech-sector antitrust work. That issue and others, including Cuban's thoughts on Trump's championing of tariffs and the perennial question of whether Cuban harbors presidential ambitions of his own, are addressed below, in emailed answers to 10 questions posed by Guardian writers and editors. Continue reading...
There was more to Emma Coronel's turn at the Milan fashion show than most would have realised. It's a cynical game of clues and signalsIn the midst of an important Italian fashion event, Emma Coronel Aispuro, who is a former beauty queen but no ordinary model, appeared on the Milan catwalk wearing a sumptuous wedding dress. The wife of Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Loera - better known by the nickname El Chapo, or the shorty", due to his short stature - made her appearance at Palazzo Serbelloni during Milan fashion week (which, incidentally, has officially distanced itself from her). Much has been written about the fact of her appearance. The remaining issue is why it happened and whether those who were complicit knew what they were complicit in.Guzman is considered the premier Mexican drug lord. Before his capture, he was head of the Sinaloa cartel. He has escaped from prison twice: in 2001 and then in 2015. Arrested again in 2016, he was sentenced to life imprisonment, which he is serving in Florence prison, Colorado. Continue reading...
Family tragedy has been the impetus for the Jets' Solomon Thomas to become an advocate for mental healthBy Gavin Willacy for No Helmets RequiredWhen the Buffalo Bills kicked a late field goal against the New York Jets last Monday night to win the all-New York state clash, dropping the Jets to 2-4 and dealing their hopes of winning the AFC East title a mighty blow, star linebacker Solomon Thomas was keeping it in perspective. Yes, it was a setback, but it was no biggie.He may be a hugely successful sports star and multimillionaire, but Thomas is as familiar with adversity as anyone. Born seven weeks prematurely and weighing only four pounds (he's put on nearly 300 since then), in just two Pac-12 seasons with Stanford, the Texas schoolboy developed into one of the finest linebackers in the country. He forsook the final year of his communications degree to enter the NFL Draft in 2017, and was snapped up third overall by the San Francsico 49ers. He was that good. He missed the 2020 season with an ACL injury and was released by the 49ers but losing a year of your career was nothing when you've lost a sister. Continue reading...
by Ethan Meyers in Grand Rapids, Michigan on (#6RK0X)
Democratic nominee suggests at Michigan rally that rival does not have stamina to handle another presidential termKamala Harris used a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Friday to seize on reports that Donald Trump had been canceling media interviews to question whether he has the stamina for a second presidency if voters choose him over her in November's election.If he can't handle the rigors of the campaign trail, is he fit to do the job?" the Democratic vice-president, 59, told rallygoers about the 78-year-old Trump. Continue reading...
Document printed 237 years ago, one of eight copies known to still exist, went to highest bidder on ThursdayA rare copy of the US constitution printed 237 years ago and sent to the states to be ratified was sold for $9m at an auction Thursday evening in North Carolina.Brunk Auctions sold the document, the only copy of its type thought to be privately owned, at a private auction. The name of the buyer was not immediately released. Continue reading...
Countless Democrats - and even Donald Trump - have tried to leverage the gathering spaces for political gain. But the vice-president's recent tour is about more than a photo opFive years ago, with an eye toward South Carolina's 2020 Democratic presidential primary, Kamala Harris dropped by a barbershop in the state capital for a roundtable with a group of Black men led by 2 Live Crew's Luther Campbell, of Me So Horny fame. Pitted against some skeptical voters, Harris won the room over with her personal stories and willingness to let her hair down some. I'm all about straight talk, and there's no better place to do that than in the barbershop," she said. In that 20-minute discussion, which largely focused on entrepreneurship, Harris introduced many of the points that form the core of the Opportunity Agenda for Black Men unveiled this week.The Black barbershop ranks among the most enduring tropes in American politics - the go-to place for office-seekers looking to win the Black male vote without getting into specifics. Democrats in particular have used the setting as their official co-sign, submitting to naturalistic photo-ops in hydraulic chairs with the fellas when they aren't directly addressing Black church congregations or glad-handing at fish fries. Even Donald Trump has leveraged the barbershop trope for his own ends, dropping by a Maga-friendly location in the Bronx on Thursday for a private meet-and-greet. Continue reading...
Case of Anthony Thomas TJ' Hoover II is under investigation by state and federal government officialsA man who had gone into cardiac arrest and been declared brain dead woke up as surgeons in his home state of Kentucky were in the middle of harvesting his organs for donation, his family has told media outlets.As reported Thursday by both National Public Radio and the Kentucky news station WKYT, the case of Anthony Thomas TJ" Hoover II is under investigation by state and federal government officials. Officials within the US's organ-procurement system insist there are safeguards in place to prevent such episodes, though his family told the outlets their experience highlights a need for at least some reform. Continue reading...
House oversight committee's report further called the ex-president's term world's greatest get-rich-quick scheme'Donald Trump billed the government for Secret Service accommodations at his hotels many times over what other guests were charged, particularly foreign dignitaries, according to a report released Friday from Democratic members of the House oversight committee.Describing the former US president's term in office as the world's greatest get-rich-quick scheme", the report's authors referred to documents obtained by subpoenas of the Mazars firm, Trump's accountants, citing guest logs for Trump International hotel in Washington, DC, between September 2017 and August 2018. Continue reading...
Nearly 1,900 pages of documents provide small glimpse into evidence prosecutors will present if case goes to trialThe judge overseeing Donald Trump's 2020 election interference case made public Friday a heavily redacted trove of documents that provide a small glimpse into the evidence prosecutors will present if the case ever goes to trial.The nearly 1,900 pages of documents collected by special counsel Jack Smith's team were initially filed under seal to help US district judge Tanya Chutkan decide what allegations can proceed to trial following the supreme court opinion in July that conferred broad immunity on former presidents for official acts they take in office. Continue reading...
Three-month audit by FAA was not triggered by a specific event but is part of its oversight of safety cultureThe Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Friday it will open a three-month review of Boeing's compliance with safety regulations, continuing the agency's closer oversight of the company since a panel blew off a Boeing jetliner during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.The FAA said its review will examine key areas of safety processes at Boeing to make sure that they result in timely, accurate safety-related information for FAA use". Continue reading...
by Chris Stein in Moundsville, West Virginia on (#6RJRM)
Jim Justice, West Virginia's Republican governor, is seen as a shoo-in for the seat being vacated by Joe Manchin. But his opponent says Justice isn't as popular as he appearsThe man in the blue shirt leveled his gaze at Glenn Elliott, who had just walked into his yard in the quiet, conservative town of Moundsville and introduced himself as a candidate to represent West Virginia in the US Senate.It would take a lot to make me like any politician right now," the man replied. Continue reading...
With their perfect hair, kindly demeanour and songs about thrilling romance, boybands such as One Direction induce feelings that have much to teach us about lifeThe first time I fell in love, I was 13. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach constantly. I took any opportunity to mention my love, no matter how tangential to the conversation. If the subject came up organically, I felt as if I could burst with joy. I never met them, but that didn't make the feelings any less real. That I was in love with Take That was irrelevant: it was love all the same.When the British boyband split up in 1996, the press conference was broadcast live. During the Q&A, a journalist from BBC Manchester told the sombre group: We've just had a 14-year-old fan phone in tears. What's your message to her?" Looking a little befuddled, Mark Owen replied: Erm ... we're sorry, I suppose." Continue reading...
All public universities in the state join growing direct admission' program that aims to reduce application anxietyTexas universities have joined a number of other colleges and universities across 35 states in participating in a program, revolutionizing the normally tedious college application process by allowing students to determine if they will get accepted to a school before even applying.Direct admission", which was piloted in 2021 and formally launched at the end of 2023, aims to streamline the college application process, with schools offering students admission even if they didn't apply. Notably, not all colleges and universities across the US are part of the program. Continue reading...
The Israeli PM could cite the Hamas leader's death as a total victory', but his far-right partners would revolt and his ally Trump would not be happyA good day for the world, said Joe Biden. The best day of my life, said Mohammed, a 22-year-old Palestinian in Gaza, who refused to give his last name to the New York Times for fear of being punished by Hamas for speaking out. A day of celebration, said countless Israelis.They were reacting to the death of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas and architect of the 7 October massacre of 1,200 Israelis that unleashed this last year of devastation, a war that has turned Gaza into rubble and taken the lives of thousands upon thousands of Palestinian civilians. As Mohammed put it: [He] started the war, scattered us and made us displaced, without water, food or money ... He is the one who made Israel do this."Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
The approach aims to avoid rewarding' assailants and prevent trauma reliving. Could it be a viable solution?In a Nashville courtroom in early July, survivors of the 2023 Covenant school shooting celebrated an unusual legal victory. Citing copyright law, Judge l'Ashea Myles ruled that the assailant's writings and other creative property could not be released to the public.After months of hearings, the decision came down against conservative lawmakers, journalists and advocates who had sued for access to the writings, claiming officials had no right to keep them from the public. But since parents of the assailant - who killed six people at the private Christian elementary school, including three nine-year-old children - signed legal ownership of the shooter's journals over to the families of surviving students last year, Myles said releasing the materials would violate the federal Copyright Act. Continue reading...
Two Georgia judges beat back Republican efforts to cast doubt on November's election, but the legal fight isn't overTwo court rulings in Georgia over the last week have beaten back efforts by Republican activists to empower political challenges to November's election results, though the expected legal fight over the election is far from concluded.Robert McBurney, a Fulton county superior court judge, ruled on Tuesday that elections officials had a legal obligation to certify an election, leaving disputes over results and allegations of misconduct to investigation by local district attorneys offices. The ruling rejected the assertion of Trump-aligned attorneys working with Julie Adams, a Republican appointee to the Fulton election board, that election board members could exercise their discretion in certification. Continue reading...
The Rue Dix marketplace and restaurant in Crown Heights offers Senegalese fashion and flavorNilea Alexander and her husband, Lamine Diagne, started out with a neighborhood coffee shop in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Over the past decade, though, their modest enterprise has evolved into what they call an experience". Next door to Cafe Rue Dix, which serves Senegalese cuisine, pastries and lattes, is Marche Rue Dix, their marketplace-boutique stocked with goods sourced directly from Senegal, Diagne's birthplace. The couple's goal is to create a one-stop destination where customers leave with both a story and a piece of Senegal.Rue Dix, or 10th Street" in French, is a nod to Diagne's roots in Pikine, a city to the east of the Senegalese capital of Dakar. Markets are very big in Senegal," he said. Visitors to the cafe can order its signature dish, thiebou jen - a savory blend of jollof rice, vegetables and red snapper stew. And then they can head to the boutique, which offers everything from traditional Ataya tea and an asymmetric crochet skirt to a gilded brass arm cuff and a bucket bag made from rope and plastic. Continue reading...
Turnout strong in battleground state still recovering from devastation of Hurricane Helene three weeks agoTurnout for early in-person voting has started strongly in the presidential battleground of North Carolina, including in mountainous areas where deadly Hurricane Helene destroyed property and upended lives but apparently did not dampen a fierce desire to participate in elections.More than 400 early voting sites opened as scheduled on Thursday for the 17-day period, including all but four of the 80 sites previously anticipated for the 25 western counties hardest hit by the storm, said the executive director of the state board of elections, Karen Brinson Bell. She credited election workers - including volunteers affected by the severe weather - emergency management officials and utility crews. Continue reading...
Activists in swing Michigan county are alarmed by Hispanic voters backing Trump despite his anti-immigrant rhetoricDan Soza has seen the harsh realities of Donald Trump's immigration policies up close and so he is alarmed that many Latino voters in Saginaw, Michigan, do not take seriously the former US president's threats of mass deportations.As a child welfare officer in Saginaw, Soza places young unaccompanied refugees in foster families and watched the Trump administration's separation of children from their parents at the Mexican border in 2018 with alarm. He said the cruelty of that policy, and the former president's threats against refugees legally in the US, should serve as a warning that Trump might do what he says. Continue reading...
As the descendant of a survivor of a genocide, the Holocaust, I refuse to be a bystander to another genocideTime after time, Sha'ban al-Dalou, a 19-year-old software engineering student living in Gaza, nearly escaped death. He began studying at Gaza's al-Azhar University two months before it was destroyed in November by a US-made bomb dropped by Israeli forces.Sha'ban posted videos to social media, describing how his family - which he took care of, as the eldest of five - was displaced five times by the assaults and asking for financial support to flee to Egypt.Elena Stein is director of organizing strategy for Jewish Voice for Peace, the largest anti-Zionist Jewish organization in the world and currently the fastest-growing Jewish organization in the country. Continue reading...
The Kansas City Chiefs kicker became a hero on the right after a speech in May. Suddenly Fox News is OK with athletes in politicsIn a segment last week, Laura Ingraham could barely contain her glee when she announced that Harrison Butker had decided to venture into politics: a move sure to drive the liberals crazy".Butker, for those who aren't aware, is a kicker with the Kansas City Chiefs - who are famous in non-sporty circles for being the team that Taylor Swift's boyfriend, Travis Kelce, plays for. As well as being the highest-paid kicker in the NFL and the owner of a very impressive beard, Butker is what a polite person might call traditional" and a more direct person might call Taliban-adjacent". He essentially thinks women should stay at home making sandwiches for their husbands and looking after their kids. In May, the athlete caused a stir when gave a commencement speech at Benedictine College, a Catholic private liberal arts school, espousing these views. In the same speech, Butker also denounced dangerous gender ideologies", called Pride month a deadly sin", and rattled off various other conservative talking points. Continue reading...
Other leaders joined calls for ceasefire and humanitarian aid. Plus, half of young Americans hesitant' to have kids due to climate crisisGood morning.Kamala Harris has said that the death of the Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, provides an opportunity for Israel to finally end its war in Gaza, as Joe Biden joined international calls for a ceasefire.How have Israel and Hamas responded to Sinwar's death? Netanyahu claimed it was the beginning of the end" while simultaneously declaring Israel must continue to fight". Hamas has not yet commented.Will it end the war soon? Most analysts believe Israel remains set on continuing the war for the foreseeable future.What are the latest polls saying? One showed Harris continuing to lead among Black voters in battleground states: 84% of respondents in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin said they planned to vote for her.Where is the Democratic campaign's focus now? Harris is spending most of her remaining three weeks in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin - blue wall" states Hillary Clinton lost eight years ago. Continue reading...
Created as a constitutional afterthought, the system now holds millions of voters hostage to a handful of countiesThese are not easy days for supporters of American democracy. But what twists my innards is not the prospect that in three weeks' time, the majority of voters could hand the reins of power to a vengeful authoritarian demagogue. Instead, I'm sickened by the prospect that the electoral college can do that for us - that Kamala Harris could win the national popular vote, but come up short where it counts.We know the popular vote winner has already twice lost in this young century, in 2000 and again in 2016. But few realize how narrowly we missed a catastrophic result in 2020 when Biden won the national popular vote by a substantial margin - over 7 million votes. In every other democratic nation, such a result would have settled matters. Not in the US. Biden's margin of victory in three key swing states - Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin - was razor thin, with fewer than 44,000 votes combined.Lawrence Douglas is the author, most recently, of Will He Go? Trump and the Looming Election Meltdown in 2020. He is a contributing opinion writer for the Guardian US and teaches at Amherst College Continue reading...
Republican ex-president has received $14.1m oil and gas industry making it his fourth-biggest source of cashDonald Trump has raised more money from the oil and gas industry than at this stage of his previous campaigns for the US presidency, with a surge of fossil fuel funding coming in the six months since he directly requested $1bn from oil executives and then promised he would scrap environmental rules if elected.While the Republican nominee hasn't quite managed to get to that $1bn figure, he has received $14.1m from the oil and gas industry in the period up to 31 August, donation filings show. This is more than he got from the industry at the same stage of his presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2020. Continue reading...
Trump's planned rally at Madison Square Garden will be the ultimate act of ego and the climax of his Hitlerian rhetoricFor the apotheosis of his entire poisoning of the blood" campaign, Donald Trump has planned a spectacular extravaganza in Madison Square Garden on 27 October, a week before the election. When JD Vance sings Trump's fulsome praises to introduce him, his ominous tribute will not inspire comparison to the night in the Garden of 19 May 1962, when Marilyn Monroe sang Happy Birthday, Mr President to John F Kennedy.Trump's climactic rally will not be in the spirit of any past presidential event ever held there. His gathering for the great racist replacement theory will be the culmination of his spiraling descent since the Charlottesville rally in 2017 when neo-Nazis chanted, Jews will not replace us." Fine people on both sides," Trump said then. Now, at his night at the Garden, Trump will revive the memory of the infamous American Nazi mass rally held there on 20 February 1939 through his reflected Hitlerian rhetoric. Continue reading...
It has been called the great paradox' - when communities who most need government support vote for a Republican party hell-bent on dismantling itA few hundred yards from the shoreline- where the Gulf of Mexico meets the small town of Cameron in south-west Louisiana - my feet are crunching over four-year-old detritus.I am standing among the battered pews of a Baptist church, on shards of glass and wood that are strewn across the floor, gazing at its partly collapsed roof. The relics of the back-to-back hurricanes that pummelled this community in 2020 are still scattered here and throughout much of Cameron. Residents have long referred to this distant part of the US as the end of the world" - but the adage feels more prescient now than ever. The population has dwindled from nearly 2,000 to a few hundred since the storms; empty foundations mark the locations of many homes that were swept away in tidal surges; and a gargantuan gas export terminal looms on the horizon. Continue reading...
A rebuild is afoot in Toronto, Cincinnati's woes continue, while a new contender emerges in the Pacific NorthwestWelcome back to the Guardian's MLS Power Rankings, where I have a beef with your specific team and your specific team alone. Unless you're the last-place San Jose Earthquakes, in which case you have enough to worry about without me getting all up in your face.Now, as a reminder, these aren't your standard, run-of-the-mill power rankings. We're still ranking teams from worst to first. But along with the rankings, we're diving deep into a handful of teams from around the league who are doing particularly interesting things. Continue reading...
Living in Marseille, I see how bread is a source of daily joy - but the reality of French bakery is not as charming as it seemsFor many French people, the first experience of being allowed out alone as a child is going to the local bakery. The smell of bread mingles with a sense of newfound freedom as the tip of the baguette, le quignon, is torn off on the way home. This is a romantic story, but it holds some truth about the esteemed role that bread and the baker hold in France - and it is partly what drew me, an English baker, to the country.Having worked and lived in Paris and Marseille, I've since learned that although there is much to admire about the French relationship to bread, it is all underpinned by a web of political, social and economic relations that make it not as charming as it may seem from the outside. For one, the sale of pre-frozen, industrially made bakery goods is on the rise. The Spanish company Europastry, one of the top producers in this growing sector, recently claimed that in a blind test you can't tell which is which" between their frozen products and the unfrozen, artisanal equivalent. In France, frozen pastries and sweet baked goods accounted for a remarkable 24% of all pastries in 2021, higher than Britain and Spain.Lizzie Parle is a baker in Marseille Continue reading...
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