by Dani Anguiano, Cecilia Nowell, Erum Salam, Anna Be on (#6RB71)
This blog is closing down - you can follow all the latest in our new blog hereHere is some footage from the town of Treasure Island in Florida, which shows already deserted streets as Hurricane Milton approaches.Adria R Walker reports for the Guardian that when people don't flee their homes due to weather crises despite warnings from government officials, there are typically two reasons why. That is according to Cara Cuite, an assistant professor in Rutgers University's department of human ecology. She said they either don't believe they're at risk or that the risk is overblown, or there are situational or structural elements that prevent them from doing so. Continue reading...
FCC chair condemns state health department for sending cease-and-desists over spot supporting abortion rightsThe Florida health department has fired off cease-and-desist letters to local news stations over an advertisement urging people to vote in favor of a ballot measure that would expand abortion rights in the state.In the ad, a woman identified as Caroline from Tampa, Florida, talks about being diagnosed with brain cancer while pregnant. The state currently bans abortion past roughly six weeks of pregnancy. Continue reading...
Dashcam footage shows wind and heavy rain lashing the Matlacha coast, flinging debris across roads and bending trees. Docked fishing boats swayed in rough waters, while empty streets reflected the urgency of evacuation orders. Motorists battled heavy rain, with many opting to leave as the storm's intensity increased. Local residents, still recovering from Hurricane Helene just weeks earlier, braced for what could be another devastating blow
British drugmaker agrees payment to resolve 80,000 cases alleging cancers were linked to drug known generically as ranitidineThe British drugmaker GSK has struck an agreement to make a payment of up to $2.2bn (1.7bn) to resolve litigation brought in the US over its heartburn treatment Zantac.The company said it had struck agreements with 10 plaintiff law firms who represent about 93%, roughly 80,000, of the US state court product liability cases pending against it. Continue reading...
The woman, who has not been named, near Poulsbo, Washington, called the county sheriff, who sent deputiesFeeding wild raccoons around her home had seemed harmless enough, if odd, for one woman in the north-west for 35 years - until about 100 of them surrounded her home and demanded food.The woman, who has not been named, was essentially trapped in her home near Poulsbo, Washington, and scared as the animals can be aggressive. She called the sheriff's office, saying the raccoons were around her place day and night after their population exploded" about six weeks ago. Continue reading...
Despite being in evacuation zones, correctional facilities will keep thousands of residents on siteSeveral Florida jails and prisons are refusing to evacuate their residents ahead of Hurricane Milton despite being in the evacuation zone of the storm.Manatee county jail, which has 1,200 incarcerated people and is located on the south-east side of Tampa Bay, in the path of the hurricane that was roaring towards it across the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, will not be evacuating, a representative of the jail told Newsweek on Tuesday. Continue reading...
Officials say Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, had purchased AK-57 rifles in scheme to target large crowds on 5 NovemberThe FBI arrested an Afghan man who officials say was inspired by the Islamic State terrorist organization and was plotting an election day attack targeting large crowds in the US, the justice department said.Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, of Oklahoma City told investigators after his arrest on Monday that he had planned his attack to coincide with election day next month and that he and a co-conspirator expected to die as martyrs, according to charging documents. Continue reading...
We would like to hear from Americans about their feelings about the US economy ahead of the November electionThe cost of living is the number one issue for US voters. After years of outsized price rises, some economists say inflation is finally under control and the US economy is heading for a so-called soft-landing" with price increases slowing and the jobs market remaining strong. Polls show many Americans feel less confident.How do you feel about the US economy? How is inflation still impacting you? Continue reading...
I must own two dozen pillows - and not one of them will guarantee me a good night's sleep. Maybe if I buy just one more ...Happiness is a comfortable pillow. Not that I would know, as I've never had one. If ever I do find one at a hotel or some such, I will certainly steal it. Even if I've chanced upon it sleeping in a high-security establishment such as the White House, or a prison, I will risk the consequences of being caught smuggling it out - it's that important. Before I die, I must find a pillow that works for me. And then I will die happy, not least because I will leave instructions for my head to rest upon it in my coffin for eternity.Buying a pillow is like buying a bed, or a house. You can't know if any of these things will work for you until you have spent a few nights living with them. You can't try them out properly. Yes, I know there are companies that will take your pillow or bed back after 100 days or whatever if you are dissatisfied. But I never believe them. They wouldn't really take them back, would they? And I'm not sure I would ever be bothered to take a pillow back, lugging it down the post office squished into some giant envelope. Apart from the faff, there is the shame of having snored and snuffled and dribbled and drooled upon it. No one deserves to have to deal with that. Continue reading...
Ilcehin Pehlivan, 59, lost consciousness while captaining flight from Seattle to Istanbul before co-pilot took overA Turkish Airlines flight from Seattle to Istanbul made an emergency landing at New York's John F Kennedy airport after its 59-year-old captain died mid-flight.Flight 8JK, an Airbus A350-900, landed around 6am, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, after initial medical intervention to help the man who had lost consciousness onboard proved ineffective. A co-pilot took over the plane and successfully landed it. Continue reading...
Landmark hotel and gambling parlor is demolished by controlled implosion to make way for new baseball stadiumWith a rumble and colorful flashes, the last true mob-era casino in Las Vegas, the Tropicana, a landmark hotel and gambling parlor, was reduced to rubble on Wednesday.It was no accident, the legendary haunt of the Rat Pack and the place James Bond said he heard was quite comfortable" in 007's 1971 film Diamonds Are Forever, the Tropicana's heyday, was intentionally destroyed in an elaborate implosion in the early hours. Continue reading...
Floridians are clogging interstates in an effort to escape the path of Hurricane Milton as it intensifies. Plus: the Afghan women holding the Taliban accountable
Parts of the country are starting to treat cannabis like alcohol when it comes to policing intoxicated drivingAs states around the country continue to legalize recreational and/or medical cannabis use, more are beginning to treat cannabis like alcohol when it comes to policing intoxicated driving.A recent unanimous decision by the Illinois supreme court found that the smell of burnt cannabis alone does not give police license to conduct a warrantless vehicle search, making it the sixth state supreme court to make such a ruling. In contrast, Wisconsin's supreme court, ruled the opposite just last year. They found that cannabis odor in a vehicle is probable cause to justify a search (unlike in Illinois, adult recreational cannabis is still illegal in Wisconsin). Continue reading...
Resources are stretched thin as the south-east grapples with hurricanes and the west swelters in high temperaturesIt's been a brutal week in weather-related disasters across the US. Large parts of the south-east are still grappling with the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, and another potentially catastrophic storm is barreling towards Florida. At the same time, much of the west has been sweltering amid scorching temperatures, which have elevated fire risks and fueled extreme fire behavior.Hurricanes and fires aren't abnormal in early autumn. But the climate crisis has turned up the dial and created more opportunities for catastrophes to overlap, ultimately adding strain on relief resources, emergency response, and those who have been impacted by the dangerous and destructive events. Continue reading...
The two Americans were on our list five years ago but their paths show the professional game is rarely straightforwardCareer paths are rarely straightforward, whether in football or any other area of life. Circumstances often change. Injuries and illnesses happen, there are often changes in leadership which have an impact on the individual while personal lives also play a part.Career paths are therefore very difficult to predict. Looking down the list of our 2019 Next Generation, which we have now followed for five years, there were no guarantees any of the players would become household names. OK, Alex Holiga, who covers the Balkans for us, was confident that Josko Gvardiol would make it big - which he has - but apart from him, and perhaps Ansu Fati, Eduardo Camavinga and Jeremy Doku, there were no certainties.A remarkable year for the youngster. Made his Bundesliga debut on 18 January and has not looked back since. He now has 23 first-team appearances and has established himself as a starter and one of the most talented young players in Europe. I'm still learning a lot tactically," he said in August. There is a very big difference between youth and professional football. Making the right movements and creating space for myself and others is what I still need to learn the most.A tumultuous year for the young American who was caught in the crossfire of a feud between his own family and the USMNT coach, Gregg Berhalter, after the World Cup, during which he played a mere 52 minutes of the US's four games. Injuries have once again hampered him but he is back to full fitness now and a US return seems likely too after talks with Berhalter. Continue reading...
US Open semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe aimed a torrent of expletives at the chair umpire after losing his third-round match at the Shanghai Masters.Tiafoe targeted Jimmy Pinoargote in a minute-long tirade after his 7-5, 5-7, 6-7 defeat against unseeded Roman Safiullin. The American was angered after being docked his first serve for a time violation at 5-5 in the decisive tiebreaker.
Eric Hovde campaign ramps up efforts to tie Democrat to funding for LGBTQ+ care for youth, as race becomes toss-upAs the race between Wisconsin senator Tammy Baldwin and her Republican challenger Eric Hovde tightens, the Hovde campaign and outside groups supporting the candidate have ramped up efforts to tie Baldwin to funding for LGBTQ+ care for youth - echoing the anxieties and biases of the rightwing parents rights" movement.According to the nonpartisan campaign analysis group Cook Political Report, the race between Hovde and Baldwin - in which Baldwin previously enjoyed an ample lead - is now a toss-up. Internal polling reportedly reflects that trend. The race in Wisconsin is one of a handful that could determine control of the Senate next year. Continue reading...
by Ramon Antonio Vargas in New Orleans on (#6RB7A)
Chiefs got out of the woods after Kelce shook off hit, beating Khalen Saunders' Saints as the pop star watched in personA backup dancer on Taylor Swift's Eras tour has said it was the play of the game" when his brother spectacularly intercepted a pass on Monday Night Football - immediately after landing a thunderous hit on Swift's boyfriend - all while the pop superstar watched in person from a luxury box.The sequence of events that brought together Eras performer Kameron Saunders, his pro football-playing sibling Khalen, Swift and her partner, Travis Kelce, left the 14-time Grammy winner leaning into someone next to her, animatedly pointing at the field in plain view of a television camera, and incredulously saying: That's my backup dancer's brother." Continue reading...
The pandemic, Russia-Ukraine war and corporate price-gouging have all contributed to inflation - not Kamala HarrisAs the presidential campaign enters the home stretch, one of Donald Trump's most dishonest - and effective - attacks is that Kamala Harris is to blame for inflation.That attack makes no sense. Several things caused a surge in inflation, but the US vice-president wasn't one of them. Blame inflation on the pandemic or on Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, but don't blame it on Harris. Blaming her for inflation makes as much sense as blaming her for the leak in your roof. In seeking to blame Harris for inflation, Trump is absurdly trying to turn her - a vice-president who, like other veeps, has very little power - into some all-powerful economic tsar who somehow controls everything from egg prices to gasoline prices. Continue reading...
Only a quarter of battleground voters think the country is going the right way. Why is Harris touting the approval of the elite?Kamala Harris and Liz Cheney's campaign event last week in Ripon, Wisconsin, the birthplace of the Republican party, was a dramatic component of Harris's ongoing outreach to Republicans. That outreach, begun under President Joe Biden and continuing even more aggressively under Harris, was made clear in an open letter on Thursday in which two dozen Republican former officials and lawmakers in Wisconsin endorsed Harris and her running mate, the Minnesota governor, Tim Walz.We have plenty of policy disagreements with Vice President Harris," the Republicans wrote. But what we do agree upon is more important. We agree that we cannot afford another four years of the broken promises, election denialism, and chaos of Donald Trump's leadership." Continue reading...
Defenses have dominated so far this season but there are hopeful signs for the league's quarterbacks. Or some of them at leastPassing pyrotechnics Continue reading...
Eerie footage from the town of Treasure Island in Florida shows deserted streets as Hurricane Milton approaches. Florida's western coast was making emergency preparations on Tuesday for the impact of the powerful storm, with thousands of evacuees clogging highways, contending with fuel shortages, and the mayor of Tampa warning residents bluntly 'you are going to die' if they stayed behind. The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Milton would retain major hurricane status and 'expand in size' as it approached Florida after passing the Mexican city of Merida before swerving north towards the US
The US and Europe are failing to provide decisive military aid. A Trump victory could soon reveal the depths of this mistakeIn the corridors of Brussels, there is a sinking feeling that the political will to help Ukraine prevail over Russian aggression is ebbing - on both sides of the Atlantic. One senior western official told me it may take a second shock" of the magnitude of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 to jolt western countries out of their funk, and spur Europeans to take more radical steps to boost and integrate their own defences. That shock may involve a sudden collapse of Ukrainian frontline defences, another Bucha-style massacre by Russian forces, or perhaps victory for Donald Trump on 5 November. Any of those would be a disaster for Kyiv.For now, the US is preoccupied with its presidential election and an escalating war in the Middle East that has pushed Moscow's grinding advance on the Donbas battlefield out of the headlines. France is distracted by a political and fiscal crisis, with Emmanuel Macron's power at home and influence in Europe waning fast. Germany is paralysed by feuding in its moribund three-party coalition, which may or may not stagger on until a general election due in September 2025.Paul Taylor is a senior visiting fellow at the European Policy Centre Continue reading...
Democratic nominee shares a Miller High Life in late-night TV chat, and discusses Trump, Gaza and Vladimir PutinWhen they go low, she goes high. Miller High Life to be precise.Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, took her election campaign to late night television on Tuesday by cracking open a can of the lager with host Stephen Colbert. The moment set her apart from Joe Biden and Donald Trump - both, famously, teetotallers. Continue reading...
The widow of US senator Robert F Kennedy is getting best care possible', her family said in a statement on XEthel Kennedy, a human rights advocate and widow of US Senator Robert F Kennedy, is recovering from a stroke she suffered last week, according to a statement her grandson, the former representative Joseph P Kennedy III, shared on X on Tuesday.Unfortunately on Thursday morning she suffered a stroke in her sleep," her grandson posted on X. She was brought to an area hospital where she is now receiving treatment." His aunt, Kerry Kennedy, later posted the same statement. Continue reading...
by Dani Anguiano, Chris Stein, Anna Betts and Yohanne on (#6RA93)
National Hurricane Center announces sustained winds of up to 165mph, as US president says his team is doing everything to save lives'. This blog is now closed.
From his perch on the International Space Station, Nasa astronaut Matthew Dominick got a view of Hurricane Milton as it churned across the Gulf of Mexico towards Florida's west coast. 'Here is the view out the Dragon Endeavour window,' he posted
Vice-president takes campaign to radio show popular with white men amid a series of sit-down interviewsKamala Harris appeared on the Howard Stern show on Tuesday, calling Donald Trump a sore loser" and receiving an endorsement from the host, Howard Stern.Her appearance on the radio show, whose listenership skews white and male, comes as Harris embarks on a series of sit-down interviews on popular talkshows and podcasts, including Stern, The View, the podcast Call Her Daddy and the Late Show With Stephen Colbert. Continue reading...
A team of 'hurricane hunters' from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) flew through Milton as the category 4 hurricane barrelled towards Florida's coast. The team from NOAA gathered data on the storm, which is expected to be one of the worst to hit the US in decades. Joe Biden warned that evacuation orders for residents in the storm's path were a matter of 'life and death' as he announced that he had cancelled his trips to Germany and Angola to remain in the US as the storm hit.
Garland v VanDerStok first in series of high-profile cases justices hear in what is set to be contentious termThe US supreme court signalled a willingness to uphold the regulation of ghost guns" - firearms without serial numbers that are built from kits that people can order online and assemble at home.The manufacturers and gun rights groups challenging the rule argued the Biden administration overstepped by trying to regulate kits.
Mohamed Bahi allegedly deleted Signal, the app he used to communicate with the mayor, amid FBI investigationA former aide to Eric Adams was arrested Tuesday on charges of witness tampering and destroying evidence in relation to a federal investigation that has spawned FBI raids, a string of resignations and bribery charges brought against the New York mayor.Mohamed Bahi, who ran the mayor's community affairs office, had already stepped down when he was charged on Tuesday with instructing multiple witnesses to lie to federal investigators about a December 2020 fundraiser for Adams' victorious mayoral election campaign. Continue reading...
by Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington on (#6RANT)
Inquiry by Sheldon Whitehouse found White House and FBI misled' about inquiry into supreme court nomineeThe Trump administration protected Brett Kavanaugh from facing a full FBI investigation in the wake of serious allegations that he sexually assaulted two women - once in high school and once in college - during his controversial 2018 Senate confirmation to become a supreme court justice, according to a new report.An investigation led by the Democratic senator Sheldon Whitehouse also found that both the Trump White House and the FBI misled the public and the Senate" about the scope of the investigation it did conduct into the sexual assault allegations by falsely claiming that the FBI had conducted its investigation thoroughly and by the book". Continue reading...
We'd like to hear from people from US swing states who are still undecided about whom to vote for in the 2024 presidential election, and for what reasonsWith less than a month to go until the 2024 US presidential election, and voting already underway in many parts of the country, we're interested to hear from US voters who live in swing states and are still undecided how they may vote.If you live in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona or Nevada we'd like to know why you are still undecided if that applies to you - whether it's because of particular events or developments that make it difficult to make up your mind, because you require more clarity on certain policy areas or the candidates themselves, or for any other reason. Continue reading...
Unions have mobilized thousands of members to convince them that Harris is a far better ally than TrumpEven though the vast majority of US labor unions have endorsed Kamala Harris, many union members support Donald Trump, and with the race so close, unions have stepped up efforts to convince those workers that Trump is no friend of unions or workers.In Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin - states that Harris badly needs to win - union households are an important voting bloc, and unions have mobilized thousands of members to engage in worksite conversations, door-knocking and phone-banking to make the case that Harris is far better for workers than Trump. Continue reading...
Events in Austria are alarming. Because there and elsewhere, progressives hold up their hands and ask: what can we do?Last Thursday, on a cool Vienna night, anti-fascist protesters thronged through the pretty boulevards of Austria's capital. The far right - in the shape of the Freedom party (FPO), led by bespectacled ideologue Herbert Kickl - had secured first place in September's elections, unprecedented in postwar Austria. The protesters waved placards with slogans like FPO ist so 1938", referring to the year of Adolf Hitler's Anschluss annexation, and chanted Nazis raus!" (Nazis out!"). They were boisterous and determined, but without a clear strategy to drive back the rightwing authoritarian surge that threatens to rot western democracies from within.What is happening in Austria should alarm you, because it reflects a wider trend. It's certainly true that the FPO is different from other far-right parties because it can directly trace its roots to Europe's fascist past: its first leader in the 1950s was a former Nazi functionary, and its leader in the 1990s - Jorg Haider - praised Nazi employment policies and lauded former Waffen-SS members as decent men". When the conservative Austrian People's party (OVP) brought him into coalition in 2000, this breaching of the cordon sanitaire, which was supposed to separate the centre right and what lies beyond, led to EU sanctions and mass protests at home and abroad.Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Former president says territory where 41,000 people have been killed could be better than Monaco' if developedDonald Trump's truthfulness as well as his knowledge of Middle East geography has come under fresh scrutiny after the former president claimed to have been to Gaza - although there is no evidence of him ever visiting the war-torn Palestinian territory.Trump raised eyebrows after the Republican nominee in November's presidential election told Hugh Hewitt, a rightwing radio host, that he had been in the tiny coastal strip where more than 41,000 people have been killed and the majority of buildings badly damaged or destroyed in blistering Israeli military attacks responding to last year's 7 October attack by Hamas. The Hamas attack killed 1,200 about Israelis and took about 250 hostage. Continue reading...
After fewer than 100 days, it's hard to think of anyone who has squandered so much electoral capital so quickly for so littleDay two of Keir Starmer's reset, and it's impossible not to get caught up in the thrill of revolution. Running as the change candidate against your own administration, fewer than 100 days into it, is a genuinely exciting place to be. Has it been done before? I've got a feeling it will be again - and soon.The weekend's big news was the vanquishing of Sue Gray, the breakout star of the Sue Gray report. Starmer's erstwhile chief of staff has been made an envoy", which is an honour on a par with having special projects" in your job title if you work in the media. As for her vanquisher, the chief of staff role has now been subsumed by Starmer's political chief, Morgan McSweeney. Visually speaking - the only way to judge a book - McSweeney has the look of a supporting actor in a regional detective show. I see him as the local number two to the guy who's sent to an unfamiliar place (in this case, government) and forced to do something that its denizens are increasingly hostile towards (in this case, be prime minister). Continue reading...
A doctors' ability to provide sound patient care diminishes with age. We need a comprehensive, fair and respectful way of assessing fitness to practiceAt my medical graduation over 25 years ago, the earnest guest speaker made us promise we would get ourselves a GP. All 160 of us humoured him, secretly believing illness was something that happened to other people.I was 23 years old then. It took me 20 years to honour the promise. In that time, no friend issued me a prescription or arranged any tests: I guess I was lucky. During pregnancy, my obstetrician took charge but didn't mention getting a GP. Becoming a parent made me realise the importance of objectivity in healthcare, which is how my family found a GP. To be clear, I don't recommend any doctor delay finding a GP like I did, especially in this environment of stress and burnout. Continue reading...
US's former longtime top public health official describes terrifying' disorientation from the virusThe US's former longtime top public health official Anthony Fauci says his recent bout with West Nile virus nearly took [him] down".In an opinion piece published Monday by the New York Times, Fauci explained how he likely contracted the virus - which spreads through mosquito bites - outside his home in Washington before he was hospitalized in August. Continue reading...
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