Reaction to beloved bird's demise typifies the eccentricity and warmth of the cityThe death of Flaco the owl, erstwhile symbol of New York, beloved avian icon, and brief good news item in a sea of grim tidings, continues to reverberate two days after he suffered the most urban of fates and flew into the side of a building on the city's Upper West Side. He was found late on Friday night, dead on the sidewalk, a few blocks from Central Park. Continue reading...
Alex Magleby, CEO of champion New England Free Jacks, says Toronto and New York will be missed as the show goes onAt the end of 2023, in little more than week, Major League Rugby lost two teams. First the Toronto Arrows, the sole Canadian team, then the New York Ironworkers, champions in 2022, ran out of money and options.For Alex Magleby, a US Eagles flanker turned co-founder and chief executive of the New England Free Jacks, the reigning MLR champions, losing Toronto and New York proved traumatic". Continue reading...
Baseball entrusted the manufacturing of their new uniforms with Fanatics, a company whose dismal reputation for quality embodies the less-for-more worst of late-stage capitalismBack in the '90s there was this executive with the New York Yankees - the assistant to the traveling secretary, if memory serves - who was a big believer in the power of the breathable uniform. But it's unlikely even George Costanza would have cottoned to baseball's latest wardrobe change.Ahead of the upcoming season, Major League Baseball announced plans to update the playing uniforms for all 30 clubs. The rollout has gone about as well as the league's other attempts to breathe fresh life into America's stodgy old pastime in recent years. What's more, it's almost too fitting that the poster boy for this problem is the game's biggest draw. Continue reading...
After two centuries of peace, and a fire-sale of public infrastructure, the country has never been so vulnerableThe Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 came as a rude awakening for Sweden. Across the country people suddenly realised that national security vulnerabilities were everywhere. The entire public transit rail network in Stockholm, for example, is operated by MTR, a Hong Kong-based company with ties to the Chinese Communist party.In the event of Stockholm being attacked by foreign forces, most of the detail about critical infrastructure and tunnels running under the city centre - home to the Swedish parliament, the prime minister's residence, the state department, the royal castle - could be shared with enemies. Continue reading...
by Gabrielle Canon , Edward Helmore and agencies on (#6K0FE)
Governor issues disaster declaration as emergency crews work to contain dozens of wildfires burning across Texas PanhandleDozens of wildfires are causing chaos across the Texas Panhandle as the Smokehouse Creek fire - now the largest blaze in state history - grew to more than 1mn acres on Thursday, even as a dusting of snow brought a measure of relief.At least two people have died, according to officials. The second victim, confirmed by the Texas department of public safety Thursday afternoon, has been identified as Cindy Owens, a 40-year-old woman who was reportedly overtaken by the fire when she got out of her truck in the town of Canadian. The first, 83-year-old grandmother Joyce Blankenship, was killed in her neighborhood of Stinnett, north-east of Amarillo. Continue reading...
Company accused of violations including Chinese employees improperly downloading files relating to Pentagon programsBoeing said on Thursday it had reached a $51m settlement with the US state department for numerous export violations including Chinese employees in China improperly downloading documents related to US Pentagon programs.The state department said from 2013 through 2017 three Chinese employees at Boeing facilities in China downloaded technical data involving programs including the F-18, F-15 and F-22 fighter jets, the E-3 airborne warning and control system, the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter and the AGM84E cruise missile. Continue reading...
Ex-president's lawyers ask judge Aileen Cannon for delay, even as they're forced to propose start date, choosing 12 AugustLawyers for Donald Trump have once again suggested to the federal judge overseeing his criminal case on retaining classified documents that the trial should not take place this year, even as they complied with a court order that forced them to propose a potential start date.On Thursday, the former president reluctantly proposed two trial dates, under orders from US district judge Aileen Cannon: a 12 August trial date for Trump and the Mar-a-Lago club maintenance chief Carlos De Oliveira, and a 9 September trial date for Trump's valet Walt Nauta. Continue reading...
Majority leader Chuck Schumer had hailed bipartisan legislation to stop partial shutdown due to occur this weekendThe Senate has passed a short-term funding bill following a House vote on Thursday afternoon, narrowly averting a partial government shutdown that was due to occur this weekend.Ahead of the Senate vote, the majority leader, Chuck Schumer, addressed the chamber floor, saying that he saw no reason this should take a very long time". Continue reading...
Dueling border visits of 2024 contenders 300 miles apart shows that immigration has become a central issue in the White House campaignIt might be seen as the first US presidential debate of 2024. Two candidates and two lecterns but 300 miles - and a political universe - apart.Joe Biden and Donald Trump spent Thursday at the US-Mexico border, a vivid display of how central the immigration issue has become to the election campaign. Since it is far from certain whether official presidential debates will happen this year, the duelling visits might be as close as it gets. Continue reading...
Manuel Rocha was arrested for allegedly engaging in clandestine activity' on the communist country's behalf since at least 1981A former career US diplomat told a federal judge on Thursday he will plead guilty to charges of working for decades as a secret agent for communist Cuba, an unexpectedly swift resolution to a case prosecutors called one of the most brazen betrayals in the history of the US foreign service.Manuel Rocha's stunning fall from grace could culminate in a lengthy prison term after the 73-year-old said he would admit to federal counts of conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government. Continue reading...
President implores Republicans to show a little spine' and support bipartisan border and security bill as Trump speaks at Eagle PassJoe Biden and his all-but certain Republican challenger, Donald Trump, made dueling visits to Texas border towns on Thursday, a rare overlap that sets the stage for an election-season clash over immigration.In Brownsville, along the Rio Grande on the border with Mexico, Biden implored Congressional Republicans to show a little spine" and support a bipartisan border security deal. Earlier this month Republican lawmakers blocked legislation they had previously clamored for, after Trump expressed his opposition to the measure. Continue reading...
Air national guard member was arrested in April over charges of leaking highly classified military documents on social mediaJack Teixeira, the Massachusetts air national guard member accused of leaking highly classified military documents on a social media platform, is expected to plead guilty in his federal case, according to court papers filed on Thursday.Prosecutors asked the judge to schedule a change of plea hearing for Monday, but no other details were immediately available. Teixeira had previously pleaded not guilty. Continue reading...
Measure intends to provide legal protection to clinics after state's supreme court ruled embryos were extrauterine children'Alabama lawmakers moved to protect in vitro fertilization treatments in the state, days after a state judicial ruling on embryos led to clinics that offered the reproductive technique to suspend services.Alabama's house and senate both passed a measure Thursday intended to provide legal protections to IVF clinics, a temporary fix to problems created by a supreme court ruling that deemed frozen embryos extrauterine children". Continue reading...
Health authorities in Gaza have said the IDF fired on people waiting for aid near Gaza City, with 112 Palestinians so far reported dead and 280 wounded. Israel's military denied shooting into large crowds and said most were killed in a crush or run over by trucks trying to escape. The US president, Joe Biden, has said he is reviewing reports and warned it is clear the incident will complicate talks on a ceasefire. Agencies have warned that, because of forced relocation and the lack of access to aid, much of the population of Gaza is suffering from food deprivation Continue reading...
Passage of bill comes after congressional leaders from both parties announced agreement on WednesdayThe House has passed a short-term funding bill, narrowly averting a partial government shutdown that would have taken place this weekend.The bill passed with a 320-99 vote on Thursday afternoon. Among Republicans, 113 voted yes and 97 voted no. Meanwhile, 207 Democrats voted yes and 2 voted against it. Continue reading...
Republican demands that justices come to a speedy verdict after supreme court decision to hear Trump election interference caseA Republican member of the January 6 committee has said the supreme court's decision to wade into Donald Trump's immunity case will deny Americans crucial information about the former president's efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat.Liz Cheney, a former Wyoming congresswoman who was ousted by primary voters angry at her participation in the hearings that followed the insurrection, also demanded the justices come to a speedy decision.Hugo Lowell contributed reporting Continue reading...
City where police killed Mike Brown in 2015 was defendant in class-action suit by plaintiffs detained over inability to pay city finesThe city of Ferguson, Missouri, will pay out $4.5m to thousands of plaintiffs who allege that the city jailed them because of their inability to pay fines, fees and other municipal costs.The multimillion-dollar settlement is in response to a class-action lawsuit filed against Ferguson in 2015, the legal advocacy non-profit ArchCity Defenders announced on Tuesday. Ferguson officials were accused of jailing [plaintiffs] in deplorable conditions for an inability to pay and without the necessary legal process", read the press release. Continue reading...
Judge Tracie Porter had ordered Trump's removal from presidential ballot for his role in the US Capitol attackDonald Trump has appealed a decision from an Illinois state judge who decided he should be removed from that state's ballot because of the 14th amendment, an ongoing issue for Trump in the courts.Tracie Porter, the Cook county circuit judge, made the decision on Wednesday, reversing the previous decision by the Illinois state board of elections, which said Trump could stay on the ballot. The order was put on hold pending an appeal from Trump, which came swiftly on Thursday. Continue reading...
Heavy snowfall of up to 10ft in Sierras likely from what forecasters say may be strongest storm of the seasonA Pacific storm packing powerful winds and heavy snow is shaping up to be the strongest of the season, forecasters say, as it pushes toward California with potential blizzard conditions in the Sierra and up to 10 feet (3 meters) of snow in the mountains around Lake Tahoe by the weekend.The National Weather Service in Reno issued a blizzard warning on Wednesday for a 300-mile (482km) stretch of the Sierra from north of Lake Tahoe to south of Yosemite national park effective from early Thursday to Sunday morning. Continue reading...
Progressive may be squeezed between pro-Israel Adam Schiff and Barbara Lee, who advocated early for a ceasefireIn 2018, a political newcomer named Katie Porter defeated a two-term incumbent Republican to represent California's 45th district in the US House of Representatives, turning the famously conservative Orange county blue.Porter, a 44-year-old law professor and Elizabeth Warren protege, had a refreshing message, vowing to stay laser-focused on addressing the ways America's financial institutions prey on ordinary people. Continue reading...
Battleground state was magnet for baseless election fraud allegations and failed lawsuits against Biden's 2020 victoryLaw enforcement agencies, civil defense officials and election administrators have begun meeting in Pennsylvania to coordinate how they will identify and fight election threats with the presidential contest just eight months away in the battleground state, Governor Josh Shapiro's administration said on Thursday.Shapiro created the Pennsylvania election threats taskforce after the state became a magnet for baseless allegations about election fraud and failed lawsuits in an effort to undo Democrat Joe Biden's 2020 victory there and keep Donald Trump in power. Continue reading...
Do we really need real-time updates on our kids at daycare and stat-tracking packages like they're a draft prospect for the upcoming season? Alas, I AcceptLet's get this out of the way: I love my child very much and am deeply invested in her safety and happiness. God, you know an article is going to be a doozy when you've got to put that disclaimer up the top.A few years ago, by some mystic coincidence, a number of my friends all had babies around the same time. It was somewhat of a trend - like saying hot girl summer" or going to Italy, except this one came with the lifelong consequence of a human being. Continue reading...
Cantu used final words before lethal injection to maintain his innocence of 2000 killing of cousin and cousin's girlfriendA Texas inmate who had long claimed his conviction more than 20 years ago was based on false testimony and questionable evidence was executed on Wednesday evening for fatally shooting two people, including his cousin.Ivan Cantu received a lethal injection and was pronounced dead at 6.47pm at the state penitentiary in Huntsville for the November 2000 fatal shooting of his cousin, James Mosqueda, 27, and his cousin's girlfriend, Amy Kitchen, 22. In final words from the execution chamber, he said several times that he was innocent of the killings. Continue reading...
by Michael Gonzalez in Brownsville, Texas on (#6JZZB)
President will visit the well-regulated crossing at Brownsville while Trump will make dueling trip to hotspot 300 miles upstreamJoe Biden will travel to the US-Mexico border on Thursday amid rising concerns expressed by voters nationwide over immigration, as pressure builds on the US president to respond to alarmist rightwing claims of invasion", crisis" and waves of migrant crime".But when Biden arrives in Brownsville, Texas, he is likely to encounter scenes like those prevailing earlier this week in the city of almost 200,000 that lies at the eastern end of the border. Shoppers walked the streets and preparations were under way for annual binational celebrations, Charro Days and Sombrero fest, which highlight the city's close relationship with its Mexican sister city, Matamoros. Continue reading...
Footage of Stinnett in Texas's northern panhandle region showed the burned-out town after it was hit by a wildfire. The Smokehouse Creek fire, now the second largest wildfire in the state's history, has burned more than 202,000 hectares (500,000 acres) since it began on Monday
Everyone deserves the right to a good death. Yet fears disabled people have about being coerced into euthanasia are justifiedHuman beings are not good at talking about death. That includes politicians. It is ironic - though understandable - that the one life event we will all experience receives barely any political attention.Hospices have their budgets cut in real terms without pushback; many receive no funding from the state in the first place, instead relying on piecemeal charity. Care homes, where large numbers of us will live out our final days, are frequently neglected too. Continue reading...
Organization affiliated with Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein spends more than half a million dollars on candidate who believes life begins at fertilization. Plus, Michigan anti-war campaign hails huge vote tally
Tracy Cohen alleges fashion label forced her to work around the clock and fired her for formally complaining about conditionsA woman who says she sold nearly $50m in products for Gucci is accusing the fashion label of forcing her to work around the clock while enduring discriminatory comments about her age and mental health before she was fired for formally complaining about her working conditions.In a pending lawsuit filed in federal court in Chicago, Tracy Cohen contends that her experience during a nearly 18-year career at Gucci is only one of several cases which illustrate a toxic work culture at the renowned luxury brand. Continue reading...
Voters want Biden to drastically change course on Gaza and deliver a ceasefire. Only stopping Israel's war will assuage votersThe Michigan Democratic primary was the first test of the electoral strength of the movement for a ceasefire in Gaza. It exhibited strength beyond what any observer expected, showing the size and enthusiasm of the peace movement and the danger to President Biden of continuing his current policy of full support for Israel. Organizers of the Listen to Michigan campaign to vote uncommitted in the Michigan primary set the bar at 10,000 votes - the margin of victory in Michigan's 2016 general election. Uncommitted" had blown past that number before even 10% of the vote had been counted. Biden needs to heed this flashing warning sign and drastically change course: call for a ceasefire, halt arms shipments to Israel and exert maximal diplomatic pressure now. The call for a ceasefire now can no longer be written off as a demand of only leftwing activists or Arab and Muslim communities. A large swathe of the Democratic base demands it.Biden can win uncommitted voters in the general election. These are consistent Democratic voters who turn out to Democratic primaries and powered Biden's win in the swing state in 2020. The uncommitted vote showed strength far beyond what both organizers and the Biden campaign expected. Uncommitted" won outright on college campuses like the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University, dominating predominantly Arab east Dearborn with over 80% of the vote. But the strength wasn't limited to progressive and Arab areas. Uncommitted" captured 10% or more of the vote across the state, from affluent suburban areas to rural areas, and did even better in the working-class Black-majority core of the Michigan Democratic electorate of Detroit, winning 23% of the election day votes in the city. Continue reading...
Artificial intelligence can make companies more efficient and workers happier - or cause mass misery. The choice is oursAs artificial intelligence spreads rapidly across America's economy, there's a lively debate about how it will transform the future of work. What many people fail to realize is that AI has already changed millions of workers' jobs - often for the worse.At Amazon, some warehouse and delivery drivers complain that AI-driven bots have fired them without any human intervention whatsoever. At some companies, surveillance apps track how much time workers spend in trips to the bathroom, with some workers protesting that the time limits are too strict. Continue reading...
Exuberant celebrations are an longstanding tradition in US college sports. But a number of injuries have left some wondering if changes need to be madeUS college students seem to love running into a moshpit after big sporting victories. What's the deal with that? It's a tale as old as time in American college sports: field storming (or court storming, in the case of basketball). It has been happening for decades: The home team wins a game against a highly touted opponent, usually as an underdog, and then thousands of undergraduates celebrate by rushing out of their seats and streaming into a mass of humanity on the playing surface.Sounds fun. Everyone must love that, right? Not exactly. Lately, a litany of coaches, administrators, and media have called for an end to field-storming. Duke men's basketball coach Jon Scheyer, ESPN's top analyst Jay Bilas, and some of the most high-profile athletic executives in the country are pushing for the elimination of the practice, with various proposed solutions to get it out of college sports. Continue reading...
Apologists for the mass slaughter of Palestinians are held up as mainstream, respectable moderates. Meanwhile, the destruction of Gaza goes onA new consensus has emerged in British politics: peaceful protesters are dangerous, hateful extremists, but apologists for the mass slaughter of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians are mainstream, respectable moderates. From his prime ministerial bully pulpit, Rishi Sunak declares there is a growing consensus" that mob rule is replacing democratic rule". The world has been turned upside down, and you are entitled to ask why.How this all unfolded is instructive. Last week, the Scottish National party used one of its three annual opposition days to table a motion demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Labour was in a bind: under pressure from voters who are opposed to Israel's brutal war, a huge parliamentary rebellion beckoned, with shadow ministers prepared to resign.Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Organization affiliated with Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein spends half a million on candidate who believes life begins at fertilizationA group connected to anti-abortion billionaire Trump mega-donors has funneled more than half a million dollars to an Alabama supreme court judicial candidate who said embryos were human beings whose lives begin at fertilization".Alabama's supreme court was thrust into the limelight earlier this month when eight of the court's nine justices ruled that embryos created for in vitro fertilization (IVF) were extrauterine children" in the eyes of the law. Continue reading...
by Joseph D'Hippolito, in Carson, California on (#6JZT2)
Inter Miami's trip to LA represented a passing of the torch from the MLS's old glamor franchise to its new oneThe atmosphere surrounding Lionel Messi's most recent match at the Dignity Health Sports Park featured the kind of energy, anticipation and hype that permeated the place when an England international called it home.David Beckham, that international, propelled Major League Soccer into global significance during his 5 1/2 seasons with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Messi - who became the first MLS player to win the FIFA Ballon d'Or last year as a member of Inter Miami - now becomes the league's focal point to expand that influence in his first full season. Continue reading...
As the draft approaches and thoughts turn toward free agency, a number of teams are looking to make moves that could alter their trajectoryWhat the Bears do with the draft's top pick is the hinge point of the offseason. They have three options:They can take Caleb Williams, the top quarterback in the class, and trade Justin FieldsThey can trade the pick and stick with FieldsThey can draft Williams and keep Fields Continue reading...
With talk of sending troops to Ukraine, the French president is asking how far the west will go to stop Putin. But his bombshell could backfireEmmanuel Macron sure knows how to make a headline.But did the French president, who once called Nato brain dead, really mean it when he said this week that Europe shouldn't rule out sending ground troops to Ukraine to prevent Russia winning the war? Was it a trial balloon, an off-the-cuff soundbite uncoordinated with allies, or the start of a real strategic debate? Continue reading...
Richard Lewis, Larry David's co-star in Curb Your Enthusiasm and a beloved standup comedian has died at the age of 76. The acclaimed comedian was a regular performer in clubs and on late-night TV for decades and was known for exploring his neuroses in stream-of-consciousness diatribes, leading to his nickname The Prince of Pain. Lewis said last year that he had Parkinson's disease and was stepping off the standup stage. Despite that partial retirement, he was in the currently airing Season 12 of Curb Your Enthusiasm on HBO.
Kentucky senator, 82 and the longest-serving Senate leader in history, will step aside as minority leader at end of this yearMitch McConnell of Kentucky will step down as Republican leader in the US Senate at the end of this year, a move that will shake up US politics yet more in a tumultuous election cycle.McConnell is 82 and the longest-serving Senate leader in history. He is also a highly divisive figure in a bitterly divided America and the subject of fierce speculation about his health after recent scares in public. Continue reading...
US justice department scrutinizing whether door blowout violated 2021 agreement with Boeing after two fatal plane crashesThe Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is giving Boeing 90 days to come up with a plan to fix quality problems and meet safety standards for building new planes, as the justice department reportedly reviews whether a mid-flight plane door panel blowout in January violated a previous settlement agreement between the company and the US government.The FAA said on Wednesday that the directive follows meetings with top Boeing officials, including the company's chief executive at FAA headquarters in Washington. Continue reading...
Judge Tracie Porter sides with voters who sought disqualification but delays ruling from taking effect in light of expected appealAn Illinois state judge on Wednesday barred Donald Trump from appearing on the Illinois Republican presidential primary ballot because of his role in the attack at the US Capitol on January 6, but she delayed her ruling from taking effect in light of an expected appeal by the former US president.The Cook county circuit judge Tracie Porter sided with Illinois voters who argued that the former president should be disqualified from the state's March 19 primary ballot and its 5 November general election ballot for violating the anti-insurrection clause of the US constitution's 14th amendment. Continue reading...
US district judge Aileen Cannon rejects Trump's motion to review special counsel filing on redacting classified informationA federal judge on Tuesday rejected an attempt by Donald Trump to review a sensitive court filing submitted by special counsel prosecutors that detailed their reasons for wanting to redact some of the classified documents that would be turned over to the former president in discovery.The attempt by Trump to access the filing was a brazen move that would have defeated the purpose of rules to protect national security in Espionage Act prosecutions and potentially thrown into disarray the scope and viability of continuing the case against Trump. Continue reading...
Lieutenant governor pardons' animal and Republican local politician adopts it after it's saved in New OrleansA piglet that was rescued after being tossed like a football near a Mardi Gras event in New Orleans was pardoned" on Wednesday and has found a permanent home with a Louisiana lawmaker.The weeks-old pig - dubbed Earl Piglet" Long, a play on the name of the 45th governor of Louisiana - was ceremoniously pardoned by the lieutenant governor, Billy Nungesser, on the Louisiana capitol steps. Continue reading...
by Léonie Chao-Fong and Lauren Gambino in Washington on (#6JZ5C)
Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith rejects Access to Family Building Act, saying bill is vast overreach full of poison pills'Senate Democrats' attempts to move forward a bill that would have granted Americans federal protections for in vitro fertilization access have failed.The bill, sponsored by the Illinois Democrat Tammy Duckworth, came after a recent Alabama supreme court ruling that declared frozen embryos are children and led to the closure of multiple infertility clinics across the state. Continue reading...
by Terence Wesley-Smith and Gerard Finin on (#6JZHC)
Pacific leaders are increasingly concerned that Washington's actions in the region conflict with their objectivesA delay by the US in providing crucial funding to Pacific Island nations is fuelling concern in the region - but questions about the competing visions held by the US and regional leaders are even more pressing.The funding is part of longstanding agreements the US has with three nations in the north Pacific, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Marshall Islands and Palau. The agreements, known as the Compacts of Free Association (Cofa), provide a range of assistance to these nations, including visa-free entry to the US, grant assistance, trust fund contributions, and support for government services including the US postal service. In exchange, the US gets exclusive military access to large parts of the north Pacific.Terence Wesley-Smith is Professor Emeritus in the Center for Pacific Islands Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa and former director of the CenterGerard Finin is former director of the Pacific Islands Development Program, East-West Center, and is now affiliated with the Georgetown University's Center for Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Studies Continue reading...
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