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With the country in stalemate, people have lost faith in government. But citizens' assemblies show one way forwardWhen Notre Dame burned, something in the flames seemed to speak to the combustibility of our age. Nothing is for ever, the fire said, even those edifices - stone or institutional - that we assume will always be there. In almost every democracy, there are similar forces of backlash and disaffection. The anger is diffuse and the discontents vary, but there is a general agitation that seems to boil down to the feeling that someone should do something.At the moment, France seems to have crystallised this phenomenon in a way that other democracies might draw both warnings and lessons from. Will Francois Bayrou last longer as prime minister than Michel Barnier? Perhaps. But the basic impediment remains: the country is politically split roughly into thirds (and the left" is split among itself), with the end result that creating a majority for anything is almost impossible. Continue reading...

It may feel hopeless to see supportive states continue to back Israel, but bearing witness matters for future reckoningA consensus is building. On 5 December, Amnesty International concluded after an investigation that Israel has committed and is continuing to commit genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip". A few days later, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) stated that after research and analysis, it concluded that there is a legally sound argument that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza".A few days after that, Human Rights Watch (HRW) declared that Israeli authorities are responsible for the crime against humanity of extermination and for acts of genocide", and Medecins Sans Frontieres reported that its medical teams in the north of Gaza are seeing clear signs of ethnic cleansing". Earlier in November, HRW also concluded that Israel's actions in Gaza amounted to war crimes" and crimes against humanity", and appeared to also meet the definition of ethnic cleansing". Continue reading...

They can be silly and tasteless - and there's something suitable for almost any age and audienceA clown walks into a bar. Seriously. Bear with me a minute here.The clown sees a Santa Claus impersonator propped up on a stool with a beer. The clown gambols across to sit on Santa's lap, and then pees his pants before shooting everyone else in the bar. He steals Santa's costume, ties him up, douses him with liquid nitrogen and proceeds to smash him to bloody pieces. Ho ho ho. Continue reading...

Katie Miller picked to join Musk and Ramaswamy's advisory board as Stephen Feinberg tapped for No 2 Pentagon roleDonald Trump announced a series of appointments to his incoming administration on Sunday evening, including top positions in the Department of Defense and one of the first members of Elon Musk's department of government efficiency".The president-elect said he would nominate billionaire investor Stephen Feinberg to serve as deputy secretary of defense, the No 2 role at the Pentagon. Continue reading...

Trump also warns he would not let a vital national asset' for the US fall into the wrong hands'Donald Trump has demanded that the Panama Canal be given back to the US if Panama did not manage the waterway in a fashion that was acceptable to him - and he accused the central American country of charging excessive rates for use of the ocean-connecting ship passage.The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the US," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform late Saturday, a little more than a month before the start of his second US presidency. This complete rip-off' of our Country will immediately stop...." Continue reading...

Democratic former president Barack Obama renamed the mountain using the local natives' name of Denali in 2015, after a decades-long naming battleUS president-elect Donald Trump has said he will rename Denali, Alaska natives' name for North America's tallest mountain, after William McKinley, the 25th US president who was assassinated in 1901.Democratic former president Barack Obama in 2015 officially renamed the mountain as Denali, siding with the state of Alaska and ending a decades-long naming battle. The peak had been officially called Mount McKinley since 1917. Continue reading...

Footage showed an assailant igniting woman's clothing, with emergency personnel declaring her dead at sceneNew York City police took a man into custody who they believe is connected to the early morning death of a woman who was intentionally lit on fire on a stationary subway train.The incident took place on Sunday morning aboard an F train at the end of the line at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station in Brooklyn. Continue reading...

Man crashes into mall after a police pursuit, striking four people before he was fatally shot by law enforcementA fleeing motorist drove a pickup truck into a busy JCPenney store in Texas on Saturday, injuring five people before he was fatally shot by law enforcement, authorities said.Four of the injured people were taken from the Killeen mall to hospitals and the fifth went on their own, Sgt Bryan Washko of the Texas department of public safety said in an evening media briefing. They ranged in age from six to 75 years old, and their conditions were not immediately known. Continue reading...

Officials investigate cause of crack after ski patrolers use rope to lower 174 people to ground at Winter Park ResortA crack in a Colorado ski lift forced the evacuation of more than 170 stranded skiers and snowboarders on Saturday, with people riding the gondolas lowered down by ropes over the course of hours.Officials are still investigating what cause the gondola lift at Winter Park Resort, about 70 miles (113km) west of Denver, to crack. The lift automatically stopped when it detected the crack in a structural piece of the lift just after noon on Saturday, resort spokesperson Jen Miller said. Continue reading...

Lifelong Democrat who became independent gives series of warnings to former party and predicts US is not going left'US senator Joe Manchin, a lifelong Democrat who left the party earlier this year to become an independent and is now stepping down from the Senate after 15 years, issued a series of warnings on Sunday to members of his former party.The D-brand has been so maligned from the standpoint of - it's just, it's toxic," Manchin told CNN, saying he had not been able to consider himself a Democrat in the form of what Democratic party has turned itself into". Continue reading...

State accused of systemic overdetention' that violates inmates' rights and costs taxpayers millions of dollars a yearLouisiana's prison system routinely holds people weeks and months after they have completed their sentences, the US justice department alleged in a lawsuit filed on Friday. The suit against the state of Louisiana follows a multi-year investigation into what federal officials say is a pattern of systemic overdetention" that violates inmates' rights and costs taxpayers millions of dollars a year.The justice department alleges that since at least 2012, more than a quarter of the people due to be released from Louisiana prisons have instead been held past their release dates. The DoJ warned Louisiana officials last year that the state could face a lawsuit if it didn't fix the problems - but lawyers for the department say the state's marginal efforts" to address the issues were inadequate" and showed a deliberate indifference" to the constitutional rights of incarcerated individuals. Continue reading...

In speech president-elect doubles down on idea that his clear but relatively narrow victory was in fact a landslideDonald Trump used a Sunday morning speech at a rightwing convention in Phoenix, Arizona, as a victory lap, doubling down on the idea that his clear though relatively narrow victory was in fact a landslide - and impressing upon his base the idea that he enjoys an overwhelming mandate.Our movement not only won a mandate," said Trump, who won the popular vote in November's election by about half a percentage point while clinching the electoral college 312-226. We've built majorities all over the place that will define our country's future." Continue reading...

Republican Kay Granger of Texas living at senior living facility, which she had not disclosed to publicA Republican congresswoman from Texas has not cast a vote in the US House since July while she has been grappling with dementia issues" and residing at a senior living facility, according to her family - something she did not disclose to the public before a Dallas media outlet figured out where she was during her prolonged absence.Kay Granger, 81, has represented Texas's 12th congressional district, which includes part of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, since 1997. And beginning in January 2023 she spent more than a year as the chairperson of the powerful House appropriations committee. Continue reading...

Anonymous note in Lincoln county told people to write license numbers to find those who may be undocumentedLaw enforcement officials in Lincoln county, Oregon, have condemned an anonymous letter encouraging residents to track down and report brown people" in the Pacific coast community, particularly those believed to be undocumented.The letter, titled brown round-up part 1, told recipients to write down the license plate numbers of cars driven by people of color in order to identify people who might not have permanent legal status, the New York Times reported. It instructed readers to send that information to the Department of Homeland Security after Donald Trump's inauguration. Continue reading...

Pilots recovered alive - one with minor injuries - after ejecting from fighter jet as US military says its guided missile cruiser mistakenly' fired on the F/A-18Two US navy pilots were shot down over the Red Sea on Sunday in an apparent case of friendly fire", the US military said, marking the most serious incident to threaten troops in more than a year of the country targeting Yemen's Houthis.Both pilots were rescued alive after ejecting from their stricken aircraft, with one suffering minor injuries. But the incident underlines just how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become amid the ongoing attacks on shipping by the Iranian-backed Houthis despite US and European military coalitions patrolling the area.The Associated Press and Maya Yang contributed reporting Continue reading...

Authorities arrest Yaoning Sun for allegedly working for Chinese government while trying to get politician electedA Chinese man was arrested this week on charges of acting as an illegal agent for Beijing while serving as the campaign manager for a Los Angeles-area politician, in a case that highlights rising concerns that the Chinese government has cultivated a network of operatives to influence US politicians and advance their interests.US authorities on Thursday arrested Yaoning Mike" Sun, 64, on accusations he worked for the Chinese government while trying to get an unnamed politician elected to a southern California city council. Continue reading...

Pennsylvania senator who's seeking to position himself as a bridge to the far-right advises Democrats to pace yourself'Senator John Fetterman - once a darling of the left but increasingly seeking to position himself as a bridge to the far-right - on Sunday doubled down on advice for fellow Democrats loathing the thought of the looming second Donald Trump presidency: You gotta chill out."You know, like the constant ... freak out - it's not helpful," Fetterman said. Continue reading...

Philosopher and management thinker who coined the phrase portfolio' career, and believed companies should retain their humanityFor a country that prides itself on its professional and financial services sector, the UK has produced remarkably few world-ranking management and organisational thinkers. At the very top of that pile, however, is Charles Handy, the writer and social philosopher - his preferred designation - who has died aged 92.As both a thinker and educator, Handy was unusual. Although a professor - he was a founding faculty member of the London Business School (LBS), the UK's first graduate business school, in the 1960s - he never followed the conventional path, ploughing a narrow furrow and publishing in specialist journals. Continue reading...

Hurricanes and an untreatable tree disease have left a once fruitful citrus industry with little to produce this yearFor decades it was the signature taste of Florida: orange juice from the state's plentiful groves advertised to a thirsty nation as your daily dose of sunshine". But now another hyperactive hurricane season, paired with the dogged persistence of an untreatable tree disease known as greening, has left a once thriving citrus industry on life support.Only 12m boxes of oranges will have been produced in Florida by the end of this year, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecasts show, the lowest single-year yield in almost a century. The figure is 33% lower than a year ago, and less than 5% of the 2004 harvest of 242m boxes. Continue reading...

Abortion debt is swelling. Providers and groups trying to fill the void created by bans are buckling under the weightEarly this fall, a woman desperate for an abortion messaged the Wild West Access Fund, an abortion fund in Nevada, asking for support. She guessed she was nearly 20 weeks pregnant and didn't have even a few hundred dollars to spend on the procedure. She wanted to prove she was doing everything she could to raise the money, and said she was trying to pawn her vehicle.Over the next few weeks she bounced from clinic to clinic, trying to put the money together as the price of the abortion she sought continued to increase. The cost of a first trimester abortion is about $500, around $2,000 in the second, and a third trimester abortion can range from a few thousand dollars to around $25,000. Since the US supreme court eliminated federal protections for abortion, more than a dozen states banned the procedure completely, while others set gestational limits, increasing travel costs for pregnant people in those states. Continue reading...

After the fall of the Assad regime, the country now faces challenges from Turkey, Israel and the enmity of the west

What's more depressing than the thought of a long, slow decline in health? The thought of several short, sharp declines. Thank you, science!I don't believe ageing is linear: I reckon we have long plateaux, then everything falls apart all at once. I realised this at the close of my harrowing 31st year, when I looked in the mirror and didn't recognise the sad, grey ghost staring back. I swear one day I was young and moderately dewy with a functioning musculoskeletal system; the next my face imploded, shortly followed by my knee (yes, it was a fun year). There's a phrase for this kind of sudden ageing in French: prendre un coup de vieux, which feels appropriate, since I was living in France during that first precipitous decline and prolonged exposure to the angry rigours of Parisian life was at least partly to blame.Anyway, now science is catching up. Earlier this year, researchers identified two peaks" for ageing at 44 and 60, and now a new paper points to three peaks in brain ageing. At 58, there are changes in proteins associated with wound healing, metabolism and mental health; at 70, it's age-related brain conditions; and when we hit 78, immunity and inflammation-associated proteins are affected. Continue reading...

Olympia Auset started SUPRMARKT to provide her community easy access to food and healthy produceThe plate is her canvas.Imani Cohen never wants her dish to look too brown nor too starchy. She gravitates toward foods bright with luminous colors such as greens, purples and orange, during her weekly Saturday visits to the farmer's market - a ritual she's kept for herself and family as a way to be intentional in the foods she purchases for quality health and manifesting energy. Continue reading...

Gentrification and the cruelties of the rental market kept forcing me to move. This Christmas, I know I'll find happiness wherever I am

A growing trend of state laws permit the sale of cannabis drinks - and beverage companies are angling to make the next hit alcohol alternativeLaws around the US - most recently in Hawaii - are cropping up that allow THC in beverages, a move that some experts say will have mixed benefits for those seeking an alternative to alcohol.It's part of a growing trend of policies that make THC drinks available, often where alcohol is sold. About a year ago, Minnesota passed a law allowing THC drinks to be sold in liquor stores; ever since, these beverages have begun to appear on shelves around the country. Continue reading...

People from tech executives to foreign leaders and even some mainstream media figures are acquiescing in advance', experts say, because of greed and fearWhen Justice for All", a dirge-like version of the national anthem sung by defendants jailed over their alleged roles in the January 6, 2021 insurrection, was played last month at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, guests stood with hand on heart.Among them was Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire founder of Facebook. Continue reading...

Last week's photo op with the Reform leader and X owner was further evidence of the UK's inevitable march towards the far right. Merry Christmas!There's a new photo of Nigel Farage and the Reform treasurer, Nick Candy, who partied through the pandemic at Lord Shaun Bum and Boobs" Bailey of Paddington's Pissedmas disco with a load of dancing Tory spads in horrible Christmas jumpers, meeting Elon Musk at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago document storage unit slash vanity art display mausoleum. How's that for an opening para? It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. They think it's all over. It is now.The last time Farage posed like this was eight years ago, with his fellow bad boys of Brexit and Trump himself at the same Trump Tower lift where Michael Gove contemporaneously observed an immensely dignified African American operator". But now Farage is finally standing next to the organ-grinder in charge of democracy's hand-cranked dance of death, instead of the orange monkey whose jaunty capering distracts the punters while their passports are lifted and burned.Stewart Lee tours Stewart Lee vs the Man-Wulf next year, with a Royal Festival Hall run in July. He is also a guest of all-female Fall karaoke act the Fallen Women, at the Lexington, London, on 28 DecemberDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk Continue reading...

Complaints about the president are growing among Russian military and business leaders. Now is the time for the west to turn up the heatAs Bashar al-Assad fell, Russian nationalist military bloggers turned on the Kremlin. Ten years of our presence," fumed the Two Majors" Telegram channel to its more than one million subscribers, dead Russian soldiers, billions of spent roubles and thousands of tonnes of ammunition, they must be compensated somehow." Some didn't shy away from lambasting Vladimir Putin. The adventure in Syria, initiated by Putin personally, seems to be coming to an end. And it ends ignominiously, like all other geopolitical' endeavours of the Kremlin strategist." These weren't isolated incidents. Filter Labs, a data analytics company I collaborate with, saw social media sentiment on Syria dip steeply as Assad fell.It was in stark contrast to Putin's silly claim at his annual news conference last week that Russia had suffered no defeat in Syria. Unlike social media, legacy media tried to walk the Kremlin line, but even here there were splits. You can bluff on the international arena for a while - but make sure you don't fall for your own deceptions", ran an op-ed in the broadsheet Kommersant, penned by a retired colonel close to the military leadership. He then used Syria as an example of how in today's world, victory is only possible in a quick and fleeting war. If you effectively win in a matter of days and weeks, but cannot quickly consolidate your success in military and political terms, you will eventually lose no matter what you do." Though the piece didn't mention Ukraine, Vasily Gatov, a media analyst at the University of Southern California, told me he thought it was a message from the general staff to the Kremlin: be realistic about what we can achieve in Ukraine, too. Continue reading...

In choosing the UK's new ambassador, Keir Starmer is gambling that the rewards will justify the risksFrom Prince of Darkness to deputy prime minister to Your Excellency. It is fair to say that the latest incarnation of the politician with nine lives is not a universally acclaimed appointment. In conversation with a cabinet minister a couple of weeks ago, I brought up the idea of Peter Mandelson becoming the UK's man in Washington. The minister arched a sceptical eyebrow before saying: We already have a very good ambassador there."There were considerable qualms within government about giving such a pivotal role to one of the most controversial figures in British politics and quite a lot of support for extending the term of the well-regarded Dame Karen Pierce. Sir Keir Starmer was ultimately persuaded that it will take more than the skills of a career diplomat to handle relations with the US during a second Trump term which everyone expects to be a noisy and perilous ride. I think it is a super smart appointment," remarks one government loyalist. My instinct is that Trump respects serious operators and we all know what an operator Peter is." A friend of Lord Mandelson reports: He knows what his job is going to be. It is to be the voice of Britain in the president's ear." The calculation at Number 10 is that Donald Trump, a man bored by conventional diplomatic types, will be sufficiently intrigued by a figure as vivid as Lord M to pay him attention. Continue reading...

It's a creepy time of year from The Archers to Nosferatu to Mark Gatiss' Woman of StoneThis Christmas, find some pity for Lynda Snell MBE. Fans of the BBC radio soap The Archers know Lynda as the stalwart organiser of every Christmas panto in the fictional village of Ambridge. This year, she found herself tasked with something more arduous: voice-coaching the hard-living Mick, who had volunteered to play Father Christmas at the local pub, only for the landlords to discover that Mick had a performance voice so rasping and gravelly it was guaranteed to terrify the children.Readers who, like me, are incurable listeners of The Archers will know the solution: Lynda sparkily announced that this year, Ambridge would host a creepy Christmas" event, allowing Mick to snarl to his heart's content as Krampus, not Santa, and a range of other Christmas bogeymen. Hilarity, by Ambridge standards, ensued when Lynda found herself scrambling to hide Mick and his demonic horns from the vicar. Continue reading...

After Syria, Israel and the US fear Tehran will build an atomic bomb. Their threats may produce that very outcomeChoices, choices. In life, there's always a choice, or so that complacent saying goes. It didn't really hold true for the people of Syria, bound and gagged by tyranny for half a century. Yet finally, after infinite pain, they chose freedom. Now the Middle East spotlight shifts to other victims of state oppression. Who's next for revolution? Step forward, Iran.A sudden collapse of the hardline theocratic regime in power since the Shah's overthrow in 1979 is unlikely. True or false? Surprises happen, as all Syria knows. How Iran navigates the changing post-Assad landscape is fiercely debated in Tehran. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior mullahs facefateful decisions about the country's path. Continue reading...

Trump, who is married to Donald Trump's son Eric, co-chaired Republican National Committee in 2024 electionLara Trump, daughter-in-law of Donald Trump, said on Saturday she had removed her name from consideration to replace the outgoing US senator Marco Rubio.Rubio has been tapped by Trump to serve as secretary of state. The Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, will pick a replacement for Rubio, who is expected to resign as senator when Trump takes office on 20 January. Continue reading...

Mark Burnett, who also created Survivor, Shark Tank and The Voice, lacks diplomatic and foreign policy experienceDonald Trump has appointed Mark Burnett, a British television producer who helped produce Trump's show The Apprentice, as the US's special envoy to the UK.In an announcement on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump hailed 64-year-old Burnett, saying: With a distinguished career in television production and business, Mark brings a unique blend of diplomatic acumen and international recognition to this important role." Continue reading...

So far today I have dealt with 200 customers. I have smiled 200 times, but that's getting harder. Consider me a checkout robot

According to complaint, Baldoni retaliated after crisis meeting attending by Lively's husband, Ryan ReynoldsActor Blake Lively has made accusations against her former It Ends with Us co-star/director Justin Baldoni, filing a legal complaint in California claiming sexual harassment and making allegations of a coordinated PR effort to damage her reputation.According to Lively's complaint, matters got so bad during the production of the film, which premiered in August this year, that a meeting was held to address her claims of a hostile work environment that was attended by husband, Ryan Reynolds. Continue reading...

Average price of eggs rose nearly 30 cents since October, with egg production down 4% from prior yearThe accelerating spread of bird flu through US poultry flocks is pushing the price of eggs to highs rivaling or exceeding the cost in December 2022 at the height of the post-pandemic inflation scare.The average cost of a dozen Grade A large eggs was $3.65 in November, up from $3.37 in October, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week, up from $2.50 at the start of the year, as farmers battle with a fatal strain of H5N1 that continues to disrupt the US egg supply. Continue reading...

Interest in the United Healthcare CEO shooting suspect's background underscores research that the media covers white and Black perpetrators differentlyLuigi Mangione, the 26-year-old who allegedly shot and killed the United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has received an avalanche of media attention as people attempt to understand what may have driven him to commit such a violent crime.Since Mangione's arrest, news reports have attempted to piece together his supposed motivations, with some suggesting that a back injury - and his resulting inability to have intercourse - fueled his alleged resentment against the healthcare industry. Other reports have painted Mangione as a recluse who rejected his affluent upbringing, openly speculating on the baffling journey" of a star student". Continue reading...

Measure averting government shutdown did not include demand by Trump to raise debt ceilingThe US Senate has approved a stop-gap funding measure to avert a government shutdown shortly after a midnight deadline with a bill that defied Donald Trump's demand for a debt-limit suspension. The legislation was signed by Joe Biden on Saturday morning, the White House confirmed.The Senate passed the bill in an 85-11 vote, hours after an overwhelmingly bipartisan 366-34 vote in the House. It was passed 38 minutes after the deadline but the government did not invoke shutdown procedures in the interim. Continue reading...

You can't simply set out to create a so-bad-it's-good classic. But this year's thinly veiled Taylor Swift biopic, Christmas in the Spotlight, could be a contenderAs a lifelong enthusiast of the so-bad-it's-good" sub-strand of cinema, I approach every Christmas with a mix of excitement and trepidation. If at one end of the spectrum we have magical Christmas films (It's a Wonderful Life, Home Alone, Jingle All the Way), passing through the slurry of mediocre, sentimental seasonal cash-ins, what I hope to find at the other extreme is something so truly awful it achieves a peculiar kind of transcendence.Some recent contenders were Last Christmas (a January resolution to eat more vegetables masquerading as a Christmas film; weird Brexit subplot; insufficient George Michael) and Cats (genuinely creepy, but giving way to a confusing, cumulative high as the film progresses, so that by the time Judi Dench says a cat is not a dog" you have reached a sort of collective hysteria). Continue reading...

Musk's role in government shutdown drama could be a preview of role he plays for incoming president next yearDonald Trump's relationship with Elon Musk is showing no signs of fraying, even after at times he appeared to eclipse the president-elect's influence as he bullied House Republicans into paring down their bipartisan spending deal to avert a government shutdown with just hours to spare.The move by Musk to detonate the political equivalent of a nuclear bomb - by demanding that Republicans sink the deal or face a primary challenge - was viewed as a test run of the kind of role Musk might play to pressure Congress once Trump takes office, people familiar with the matter said. Continue reading...

Investigation by Senate Democrats found that Thomas accepted gifts and travel worth more than $4.75m since 1991A nearly two-year investigation by Democratic senators of supreme court ethics details more luxury travel by Justice Clarence Thomas and urges Congress to establish a way to enforce a new code of conduct.Any movement on the issue appears unlikely as Republicans prepare to take control of the Senate in January, underscoring the hurdles in imposing restrictions on a separate branch of government even as public confidence in the court has fallen to record lows. Continue reading...

Gerry Connolly, 74, beat AOC's bid to become lead Democrat on the House oversight committee thanks to Nancy Pelosi, then 85They may have lost the presidency, the House, and the Senate, but when it comes to avoiding introspection, the Democrats are completely undefeated. You'd have thought that after the disastrous presidential election, the Democrats might have taken some time to figure out what went wrong. You'd have thought they might have decided to try and refresh the party - make it more relevant to disenchanted voters. You'd have thought they might have realized that they needed to shake things up. Continue reading...