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Lieutenant governor Winsome Earle-Sears misgendered Danica Roem, the first transgender person to serve in any state legislatureA top Republican in Virginia has apologized for misgendering a state senate Democrat in a row that caused legislative activity in the chamber to be temporarily suspended.We are all equal under the law. And so I apologize, I apologize, I apologize, and I would hope that everyone would understand there is no intent to offend but that we would also give each other the ability to forgive each other," the lieutenant governor, Winsome Earle-Sears, said in an address to the state senate on Monday. Continue reading...

Aaron Bushnell also grew up in a strict religious sect, the Community of Jesus, whose members would often join the militaryA uniformed airman who burned himself to death in protest over the US's role in Israel's military strikes in Gaza was an anarchist who grew up in a strict religious sect with links to a school in Canada that controlled, intimidated and humiliated" students, it was reported on Tuesday.Aaron Bushnell, an active-duty US air force senior airman from San Antonio, Texas, died in hospital on Sunday several hours after he doused himself in a flammable liquid and set himself alight outside the Israeli embassy in Washington DC.In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Multimillionaire Gary Pilnick was excoriated on the internet, especially as cereal prices have risen 28% over the last four yearsThe multimillionaire chief executive officer of the US food processing giant Kellogg's has drawn scorn from some quarters after recently suggesting that families with strained finances could cope by eating cereal for dinner".Gary Pilnick was speaking live on CNBC's Squawk on the Street on 21 February when he delivered the remarks in question, which some have compared to the let them eat cake" phrase frequently attributed without evidence to Marie Antoinette before her execution during the French Revolution. Continue reading...

Lawmakers postpone legislation that attempts to define a fetus as an unborn child' over concerns it could affect IVF treatmentsFlorida lawmakers have postponed a bill that would give fetuses civil rights after a similar ruling in Alabama has halted in vitro fertilization treatment at several clinics in the state.The fetal personhood" bill had been gaining support amid Florida's mostly Republican lawmakers. The legislation attempts to define a fetus as an unborn child", allowing parents to collect financial damages in the case of wrongful death, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Continue reading...

I spent much of my 20s working for a feminist magazine, but as a show at the Tate reminded me, my mum and auntie got there firstI often joke that my mum, dad and auntie will forever be cooler than I am, even as they head into their 60s. The latest evidence of this was when I started receiving pictures of my mum and auntie, the twins", taken at the Tate's landmark exhibition of feminist art, Women in Revolt!, showing them on the front cover of a radical zine called Shocking Pink.The twins had no idea they were going to be in the exhibition, and accepted the news in typically nonchalant style. They couldn't remember the magazine, having the picture taken, nor whether or not they did an interview for the magazine. I sighed and rolled my eyes, as I have been doing since I was a teenager. But inside, I was still pleased for them. As musicians, their legacy lives on in unexpected ways. I feel lucky to hear them on the radio every now and then, to see an old image of them in a restaurant toilet (true story), or to have a friend's parent tell me how much they loved their band, Soho.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Congressman Ken Buck introduces resolution claiming president is incapable of executing duties - but it has little chance of successA Colorado Republican introduced a congressional resolution calling for Kamala Harris to invoke the 25th amendment to the US constitution and remove Joe Biden because he is too old.The resolution from the US House member Ken Buck has little chance of success. Continue reading...

Department store will close dozens of outlets this year and the rest over a three-year period after issuing muted trading outlookMacy's has announced plans to close 150 underproductive" stores - more than a fifth of its department store empire - over the next three years.The business said it would shutter about 50 outlets by the end of 2024 after issuing a muted trading outlook for the year ahead. Continue reading...

Dramatic political and demographic changes have made Ronald Reagan's domain one of the few true purple regions in a deeply divided countryIn the battle between Democrats and Republicans for control of the US House of Representatives, one region could hold the key to victory - Orange county, California's historically conservative heartland.For decades, the region - perhaps most famously described by Ronald Reagan as the place where the good Republicans go before they die" - was a Republican stronghold and a hotbed for radical conservatives. Continue reading...

Faye Carruthers, Suzanne Wrack, Mark Parsons, and Megan Swanick look ahead to the new National Women's Soccer League seasonOn today's pod: Mark Parsons and Megan Swanick join to give you the full lowdown on what's to come in the forthcoming NWSL season. Who to look out for, and who their favourites are to win. The panel also asks: how does the draft system work and how do teams successfully navigate it?Also, the panel discuss the expansion teams' as two new clubs join the league, Bay FC and Utah Royals. Plus they assess the commercial viability of the league and deliver a team-by-team analysis of all their chances going into the season. Continue reading...

The company had faults - not least its treatment of staff - but my former colleagues were unfailingly original and phenomenally talentedOn Friday it was announced that the media company Vice would lay off hundreds of workers and halt publishing. It's an ignominious end for an organisation that once promised to transform the way we consume media, and will have devastating consequences for young talent hoping to break into a shrinking industry.I joined Vice in 2015. I was 26. I had newly quit a soul-destroying corporate job. I had no experience, no contacts and no journalism qualifications. I cold-pitched editors at Vice incessantly, and eventually one gave me a three-month paid internship. When my internship ended, my boss - a woman of luminous, shining goodness, so much so that I'd paint her into the Sistine Chapel if someone gave me a ladder and a brush - got me a job as a staff writer.Sirin Kale is a features writer for the Guardian Continue reading...

The Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx plans to be tuition-free for students, after a $1bn donation from former professor Dr Ruth Gottesman. The donation is among the largest to date for an educational institution in the US. Half of Einstein's most recent class of students are New Yorkers, according to the medical school - 59% are women and the majority are people of color. Einstein's students graduate with higher amounts of debt than other medical students at New York City schools. Gottesman said she hoped that it made medical school more accessible to those who could not previously afford it

Weird things do happen in US politics, but unless something very weird happens, we are looking at this reality: a rematch of 2020Get Margaret Sullivan's latest columns delivered straight to your inbox.It can be diverting - even fun - to fantasize about who might become the next president of the United States.

Company's 5G network covers about 290 million people, who grappled with a disruption hampering ability to make 911 callsAT&T will award $5 credits to consumers affected or potentially affected last week by an outage across the US because of the service disruption last week, the company said late on Saturday.AT&T, whose 5G network covers about 290 million people across the US, grappled with interruptions to its service for more than 10 hours on Thursday. AT&T restored wireless service later that day, saying it believed the issue had been caused by the application and execution of an incorrect process used as we were expanding our network". The company said on Saturday it was crediting affected consumers for the average cost of a full day of service. Continue reading...

UN special rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, says denial of food is war crime and constitutes a situation of genocide'. Plus, Eric Clapton letters detailing George Harrison love triangle to be auctioned

A Trump presidency would usher in dark consortium dedicated to stripping millions of Americans of our freedomsFifty years ago, then governor Ronald Reagan headlined the inaugural Conservative Political Action Conference. He spoke of the US as a city on a hill, an example of human virtue and excellence, a divinely inspired nation whose best days were ahead.The speakers at last week's conference were decidedly less inspiring. A lineup of extremists, insurrectionists and conspiracy theorists gathered for panels like Cat Fight? Michelle v Kamala" and Putting Our Heads in the Gas Stove". At CPAC, you can drink Woke Tears Water", buy rhinestone-studded firearms and play a January 6-themed pinball machine. Continue reading...

Trump and Biden are likely to win on Tuesday, despite a complicated process and the Israel-Gaza warMichigan moved up its primary contest this year, creating a domino effect for the state's Republican party that led to a primary and a caucus being held in yet another confusing moment for the US primary election.The midwestern state's primary will be held on 27 February for Republicans and Democrats, who voted to move up the date to meet requests from national Democrats and President Joe Biden to diversify the states with earlier primaries. Continue reading...

Officers in the British Transport Police no longer have to take the bleep test' to prove their stamina. But I reckon a lot of menopausal women would smash it faster than the patriarchyThe British Transport Police have axed their annual compulsory fitness test, on the basis that it is discriminatory. Women were more likely to fail the bleep test" - a multi-stage, short-interval running test - and therefore more likely to get shunted to the back office, which a 2021 report showed was contributing to the gender pay gap.It was a particular source of indirect discrimination against menopausal women, which makes instinctive sense to people who conceive menopause as one universal, unavoidable negative - but I think, as an assumption, this is a little too casual. Menopause, however intense a form it takes - and the variation is massive - is a physical stocktaking event, and a lot of women end up fitter during and after it than they were before. I remember a personal trainer describing it as forcing you to engage with your body, and ask what kind of old age you wanted to have, concluding that women live longer than men because of that midlife period of reflection and adjustment. I said that in a meeting, once, and a colleague, who is also my friend, replied: That is complete bollocks."Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

From Aston Villa's maestro to Burnley's woes, we hand out honors (and dishonors) from the top-flight weekendAston Villa's Leon Bailey was in the middle of all that was right and good about his team's 4-2 win over Nottingham Forest. Bailey finished with a goal and two assists, tormenting the left side of Forest's defence.They have conceded more shots than any side this season other than Sheffield United.They have conceded more shots in February than Manchester City have all season.They rank 13th in goals per game.They've scored the eighth fewest goals in open play.They've been outscored in the expected goals tally in open play. Continue reading...

Researchers probed posters' motivations on sites like Tattle Life and Guru Gossip - and found something unexpectedWe hear a lot these days about young people's infatuation with influencers - obsessive followers who treat social media stars like world-class musicians or decorated actors, as though posting sponsored content for a living conveyed dazzling talent. There are fans who hang on their every word, who travel far and wide to attend meet-and-greets with someone known for dance routines or kooky videos, who come out in the tens of thousands to buy up branded products, and who excitedly repost influencer pregnancy or engagement announcements as though they were about their closest friends.But we almost never hear about an arguably more dedicated group: their anti-fans. These are the people who unite around a shared hatred of particular social media stars. They post on sites such as Tattle Life, Guru Gossip and Reddit's Blogsnark, which host many forums where anti-fans post biting criticism of influencers' appearance, weight and lifestyle, calling them bad mothers or suggesting their partners have cheated. This rampant cruelty occasionally slips into territory that is actively dangerous, with posters doxing influencers and their families through chillingly crafty sleuthing.Sarah Manavis is an American writer covering technology, culture, and societyDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

US president's appearance on Late Night a rare media event as he faces criticism for avoiding traditional interviewsJoe Biden joked that a potential 2024 endorsement by Taylor Swift is classified" as he made a rare media appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers.Biden's arrival was apparently a surprise to the audience. He stepped on stage after the announced guest - the comedian and actor Amy Poehler - noted that Biden when vice-president had been a guest on Meyers's first show. Poehler said she could get him to return, prompting Biden to enter. Continue reading...

US president appears upbeat as Hamas reportedly mulls 40-day halt in fighting with Palestinian prisoners swapped for Israeli hostages

President Joe Biden says that he hopes to have a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza by the start of next week, saying his national security adviser has told him that 'we're close' to a deal. The US president offered the update spontaneously during a visit to New York on Monday, in response to reporters' inquiries. Over the weekend, Israel's war cabinet approved the broad terms of a deal to pause fighting for several weeks in exchange for hostage releases. However, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has vowed to continue Israel's bombardment after the pause.

Steve Marshall, state's attorney general, says no staff or personnel injured by explosion in Montgomery on SaturdayOfficials in Alabama said on Monday they had launched an investigation into the detonation of an explosive device outside the office of the state's attorney general at the weekend.Thankfully, no staff or personnel were injured by the explosion. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (Alea) will be leading the investigation, and we are urging anyone with information to contact them immediately," the attorney general, Steve Marshall, said in a statement. Continue reading...

President Zelenskiy says 'millions will be killed' if US aid is not approved within one monthVladimir Putin gains every day" the US House does not pass a new aid package for Ukraine, Joe Biden's national security adviser has warned, as its president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, warned of dire outcomes unless Ukraine receives US military aid within one month.Ahead of a crunch week in Washington that could end in a government shutdown - in part made possible by hardline Republican opposition to new support for Kyiv - Jake Sullivan told CNN that the reality is that Putin gains every day that Ukraine does not get the resources it needs, and Ukraine suffers". Continue reading...

Biden says he didn't know my good friend, apparently, is going' as he plans Brownsville visit while Trump heads for Eagle PassJoe Biden and Donald Trump will both travel to the US border with Mexico on Thursday, dueling visits by the president and his probable opponent for re-election underlining the importance of immigration as an issue in the coming campaign.Biden will visit Brownsville, Texas, in the Rio Grande valley, while his presidential predecessor will head for Eagle Pass, about 325 miles distant. Continue reading...

Manhattan district attorney prosecutors seek tailored order against ex-president to protect trial witnesses and juror identitiesManhattan prosecutors on Monday asked the judge presiding in Donald Trump's criminal case on charges of falsifying business records to impose a gag order on the former president, seeking to bar him from attacking potential witnesses and revealing juror identities.The request, submitted by prosecutors in the office of the Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, repeatedly referenced the gag order imposed in Trump's federal criminal trial in Washington to ask for similar limitations on what he can publicly say about the case. Continue reading...

Cayman Islands police believe incident in British Caribbean territory was targeted attack' that could be gang-relatedAt least seven people have been seriously injured in a shooting at a crowded football match in the Cayman Islands.The shooting, which police believe could be gang-related, occurred late on Sunday in West Bay, located in the north-west point of Grand Cayman island, authorities said. Continue reading...

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Jury selection for the case, stemming from the shooting on the Rust movie set, will start on 9 July and the trial the next dayA New Mexico judge has set a trial date for Alec Baldwin on an involuntary manslaughter charge stemming from the 2021 deadly shooting on the set of the Western movie Rust.The scheduling order entered Monday calls for jury selection to begin 9 July, with the trial starting the following day with opening statements by special prosecutors and Baldwin's defense attorneys. The proceedings are expected to last eight days. Continue reading...

Senator John Thune previously denounced Trump for role in Capitol attack in 2021 but now vows to back him in 2024 electionThe No2 Republican in the US Senate, John Thune of South Dakota, endorsed for president Donald Trump - the man he previously called inexcusable" for seeking to overturn the 2020 election and inciting the deadly January 6 attack on Congress.Multiple media outlets reported Thune's endorsement. They also swiftly pointed out statements made by Thune after the 2021 US Capitol attack, now linked to nine deaths, more than 1,200 arrests and hundreds of convictions, some for seditious conspiracy. Continue reading...

Singer was asked about arrest at New York trial surrounding what he says were stolen, handwritten draft lyrics to Hotel CaliforniaDon Henley testified on Monday that a poor decision" led to his arrest in 1980, when authorities said they found drugs and a 16-year-old sex worker suffering from an overdose at the rock star's Los Angeles home.Henley was asked about the arrest as he testified at a criminal trial surrounding what he says were stolen, handwritten draft lyrics to Hotel California and other Eagles hits. Continue reading...

Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx receives huge donation from Dr Ruth Gottesman, one of its former professorsA New York City medical school plans to be tuition-free for students after a $1bn donation from a wealthy donor.The Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx borough received the sizable donation from Dr Ruth Gottesman, a 93-year-old former professor at the school, the New York Times first reported on Monday. Continue reading...

From Trump and his supporters to the meatheads' on GB News, Khan has been under attack ever since he was elected in 2016. Facts don't come into itMy kids have this stunt that I fall for every time: they ask me a question they know I'll answer in an incredibly long, unbroken monologue, and they can zone me out until I've finished. It is the equivalent of putting me in a playpen. They have been doing it since they were small - What dog will you have when you're old?" - and have refined it over time: What exactly happens in Heathers?"; What's wrong with having a single tax rate for everyone?"So yesterday, I got: Is Sadiq Khan a good mayor?" In normal times, I would have talked about how all politicians shout a good game on housing, but so few of them build anything, and how Khan has broken the mould on that, though he has been frustrated in the speed of his endeavour by what they call challenging market conditions", when they mean, since the Liz Truss disaster". I'd have mentioned his Hopper fare, which lets you get on as many buses as you like within an hour for a flat fare, and how that is quite a subtle piece of policymaking, directed at people on low incomes, but not so rigidly as to need means-testing. Maybe I would have mentioned that it speaks to a politician's ambient popularity when people generally call them by their first name.Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Investigation looking into whether groups overbilled Department of Veteran Affairs and arranged kickbacks between organizationsUS authorities are investigating organizations that coordinate organ donations over allegations that the non-profits are potentially defrauding the federal government.The federal investigation, first reported by the Washington Post, is looking at several organ procurement organizations (OPOs) that secure organs for transplants within the United States. Continue reading...

Joe Biden's son says he faces ultimate test for a recovering addict' as failure could be used against father in 2024 electionIn a rare interview, Hunter Biden said his battle to stay sober is unique because failure would be used as a political cudgel as his father seeks a second term as US president.Most importantly, you have to believe that you're worth the work, or you'll never be able to get sober," Joe Biden's son told Axios on Monday. But I often do think of the profound consequences of failure here. Continue reading...

Even before the court ruled in favor of this vulgar fiction, state authorities relied on the concept to intimidate and jail womenSomething that's important to remember about last week's ruling by the Alabama supreme court, which held that frozen embryos were persons under state law, is that the very absurdity of the claim is itself a demonstration of power. That a frozen embryo - a microscopic bit of biological information that can't even be called tissue, a flick laden with the hopes of aspiring parents but fulfilling none of them - is equivalent in any way to a child is the sort of thing you can only say if no one has the power to laugh at you. The Alabama supreme court is the final court of review in that state. It cannot be appealed. For the foreseeable future, frozen cells in Alabama have the same legal status there as you or I do. Is this an absurd elevation of the status of an embryo, or an obscene degradation of human beings? The answer, of course, is both.The decision immediately halted almost all IVF procedures in Alabama. Aspiring patents there - including women who had undergone rounds of injected hormone treatments and the invasive, gruelingly painful egg retrieval process in order to create the embryos - will now be unable to have the material implanted in an attempt to create a pregnancy. Hundreds of other frozen embryos - those that are not viable, or not needed by families that are already complete - can now not be destroyed as is typical IVF practice. They need to be continually stored in freezers, or what the Alabama supreme court refers to, in Orwellian style, as cryogenic nurseries", a term you almost have to admire for the sheer audacity of its creepiness.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

The Carabao Cup final showed the difference between a settled squad assembled over a decade and one chucked together for $1bnLife must be very confusing right now if you're a Chelsea exec. You've spent $1bn buying kids and found yourself ridiculed for it and then you go and lose 1-0 in the Carabao Cup final to a load of Liverpool's kids and somehow everybody's praising them for it.Yet even by the end of extra-time, by which point Liverpool seemed to have raided the club creche in search of bodies to chuck into the fray, the XI that Chelsea had on the pitch had a combined age 16 years lower than that of Jurgen Klopp's. It was Liverpool, though, who were hailed for believing in youth, while Chelsea were derided as bottlers who had wasted a great opportunity. But that's the difference between exigency and what might loosely be described as the plan. Klopp was rightly praised for having faith in his young players - the 19-year-old midfielder James McConnell in particular stood out for his presence and composure on the ball - but he was using them only because of injuries. Continue reading...

A long-lost family connection helped me make sense of the role music had always played in my lifeOne might think they have a grasp on their origin story, but sometimes a sudden ancestral discovery can change everything.In the middle of 2022, my mother, Shelagh, and our close-knit family were shocked to discover that, at the age of just six days old, Mum was adopted. This revelation led us on a unique journey, discovering not only the secrets of her past but a surprising new thread in our family's history. Continue reading...

Aaron Bushnell, 25, declared he will no longer be complicit in genocide' before setting himself alight in Washington DCAn active-duty member of the US air force has died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington DC, while declaring he will no longer be complicit in genocide".The man was identified as the 25-year-old airman Aaron Bushnell of San Antonio, Texas. Continue reading...

Steve Kramer said easy-to-use technology' enabled him to send automated call while New Orleans magician says he was paid $150 to make itA longtime Democratic political operative has admitted he commissioned a robocall which featured an AI-created imitation of Joe Biden discouraging voters from participating in the New Hampshire presidential primary.In a statement to NBC News on Sunday, Steve Kramer said he resorted to easy-to-use online technology" to mimic the president's voice and send out the infamous automated call to 5,000 Democrats who were most likely to vote in the 23 January primary. Continue reading...

Biden faces a campaign for uncommitted' pro-Palestine votes, and ousted RNC chair Karina Karamo is holding her own party conventionMichigan is holding its presidential primaries on Tuesday, with campaigns by pro-Palestine activists to abandon Joe Biden and factional chaos in the state Republican party defining an otherwise sleepy election day.There's little drama in predicting the winners: Biden and Donald Trump are expected to romp in their respective contests. But the dynamics of the contests hint at the deep divisions within the Democratic and Republican camps as the nationally unpopular candidates prepare to square off in a presidential general election rematch this fall. Continue reading...

In 2020, Troy McAlister ran into two women while on parole, fueling a campaign to undo reforms. Three years later, the city faces the falloutOn the afternoon of 31 December 2020, as San Francisco prepared to celebrate the first New Year's Eve of the pandemic, Troy McAlister drove a stolen car through a red light in the city's SoMa neighborhood and hit another vehicle.The collision sent McAlister's car crashing into two women who were crossing the street. Hanako Abe, a 27-year-old real estate analyst, and Elizabeth Platt, a 60-year-old radio DJ who was struggling with homelessness, did not survive the hit. Continue reading...

Healthcare in the state's prisons is known for being deathly inadequate - and the incarceration rate may keep growingLois Ratcliff says she hardly survived watching her son slowly die in one of the US south's most brutal prisons.Ratcliff's son, Farrell Sampier, was one of the at least 500 incarcerated people - most of whom were Black men over the age of 55 - who died within Louisiana's prison system in the last three years, according to a recent report by Loyola University New Orleans's college of law. And another report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that the most prison deaths between 2018 and 2022 occurred at Louisiana's infamous Angola prison. Continue reading...

Toilets, yearbooks, snakes and toilets again! Spot the fakes among these gems from the 45th and 46th presidentsDeepfakes have arrived to US elections, with a faked audio call purporting to be Joe Biden reaching voters in New Hampshire earlier this year.Artificial intelligence tools allow people to create spoofed audio easily and cheaply - so easily and cheaply that a journalist can do it! Continue reading...