US news | The Guardian

Nearly 50 years after it adopted the slam dunk contest from the ABA, perhaps it's time to once again for the NBA to look outward for a solution to its perpetual All-Star problemTo paraphrase a Nobel laureate on the perennial crises facing another form of live entertainment, the NBA All-Star Game is an institution that has been dying for 70 years but has yet to succumb. The complaints are persistent, well-documented, and mainly attributed to a single factor: players' lack of effort. An absence of defensive activity, in particular, is said to make All-Star Games almost unwatchable.For some players, the lack of effort is not an accident - the game falls in the middle of the NBA's All-Star Break, a six-day pause in competitive play that serves as the only meaningful time off during the league's 82-game regular season. Indeed, many of the players not named to All-Star teams use the break to go on holiday. Despite this tendency, however, the league's leadership regularly alters its All-Star Weekend program in an (often ineffective) effort to encourage competitive play. Continue reading...

Language can open eyes', Salman Rushdie wrote, yet still ideas of profanity are being used to silence dissenting voicesWhatever the attack was about, it wasn't about The Satanic Verses." So insists Salman Rushdie in Knife, his Meditations After an Attempted Murder", written after he almost lost his life in a ferocious assault in Chautauqua, a small town in upstate New York, where he had gone to give a talk in August 2022.As Rushdie rose to speak, a young man rushed towards him wielding a knife with which he inflicted terrible wounds to my neck, to my chest, to my eye, everywhere", excruciatingly severing the optic nerve of Rushdie's right eye. The talk he never gave was to have been about the importance of keeping writers safe from harm". Continue reading...

The betrayal of Ukraine is a final warning to the UK and its continental allies to put a lot more energy and money into rebuilding their defencesIt was, Sir Keir Starmer told members of his inner circle, one of his most meaningful visits abroad. In the middle of last month, he flew to Kyiv to double-down on the commitment to back Ukraine's struggle for freedom, a pledge he first made a defining feature of his leadership when Labour was in opposition. Hands were warmly clasped with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, wailing air raid sirens greeted a Russian drone attack, financial promises were made, and signatures were inscribed on a 100-year partnership treaty. The prime minister solemnly intoned the western mantra about backing the resistance to Russian tyranny for as long as it takes" for Ukraine to become free and thriving once again".All of which now sounds for the birds, thanks to Donald Trump. It was with his trademark contempt for his country's traditional allies that the US president blindsided them by announcing that he had initiated peace negotiations with Vladimir Putin over the heads of Ukraine and the European members of Nato. The UK received no more warning of this bombshell than anyone else. So much for the vaunted special relationship". The US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, then unleashed another punch to the solar plexus of European security by publicly declaring that Ukraine would have to accept the surrender of large chunks of its territory and should forget about becoming a member of Nato. The future defence of Ukraine, he went on to declare, would be down to Europe, because the US wouldn't be sending any of its troops to sustain a security guarantee. Continue reading...

Principled, charismatic and humorous, the murdered Russian opposition leader was everything Vladimir Putin is notIt is exactly one year since Alexei Navalny, Russia's best-known opposition leader and anti-corruption activist, was murdered in an Arctic penal colony by Vladimir Putin's regime. Countless other political opponents, critics and dissidents have been killed, jailed or exiled since Putin first became president 25 years ago.All vestiges of an open society, democratic accountability, independent media and free speech in Russia have been eviscerated in that time. Accused of war crimes in Ukraine, which he invaded three years ago this month, Putin poses an undeniable threat to Europe and Britain - as well as to his own people. Yet this is the man with whom Donald Trump now wants to be friends.Do 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...

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission moves to withdraw cases that conflict with Trump order on two sexesThe US commission that enforces civil rights laws against workplace discrimination has moved to dismiss six cases it brought on behalf of workers alleging gender-identity discrimination, it was revealed on Saturday.The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964, said in court papers it was looking to dismiss the cases in Illinois, Alabama, New York and California, because they now conflict with a Trump administration executive order to recognize only two immutable" sexes, male and female. Continue reading...

Courts are currently backlogged with 3.7m cases as US president demands more deportationsThe Trump administration fired 20 immigration judges without explanation, a union official said on Saturday amid sweeping moves to shrink the size of the federal government.On Friday, 13 judges who had yet to be sworn in and five assistant chief immigration judges were dismissed without notice, said Matthew Biggs, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, which represents federal workers. Two other judges were fired under similar circumstances in the last week. Continue reading...

Cuts to nuclear security workforce were made on Thursday - but agency can't find workers to offer them their jobs backThe US agency charged with overseeing nuclear weapons is looking to contact workers who were fired on Thursday as part of the Trump administration's federal cost-cutting measures, but are now needed back.Officials with the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) attempted to notify some probationary employees who had been let go that they are due to be reinstated - but they struggled to find them because their contact information was missing. Continue reading...

Agencies say Trump's latest push to trim government could impede firefighting efforts and create crises at national parksThe US Forest Service is firing about 3,400 recent hires while the National Park Service is terminating about 1,000 workers under Donald Trump's push to cut federal spending and bureaucracy, according to a report on Friday.The terminations target employees who are in their probationary employment periods, which includes anyone hired less than a year ago, according to Reuters, and will affect sites such as the Appalachian trail, Yellowstone, the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr and the Sequoia national forest. Continue reading...

US president's announcement prompts government to publish green paper weeks ahead of scheduleThe government has rushed forward plans for a 2.5bn investment in the UK steel industry after Donald Trump announced 25% tariffs on all imports of steel and aluminium into the US.The business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, will publish a green paper entitled Plan for Steel on Sunday - several weeks before schedule - in a sign of how Trump's tariffs are sending shock waves through a UK government desperate to kickstart economic growth. Continue reading...

Republicans will need Democrats' help to pass funding bill by 14 March as hard-right lawmakers push to cut costsWith the US federal government expected to shut down in one month unless Congress approves a funding bill, Democratic lawmakers are wrestling with just how far they are willing to go to push back against Donald Trump's radical rightwing agenda that has thrown American politics into turmoil.Specifically, Democrats appear divided on the question of whether they would be willing to endure a shutdown to demonstrate their outrage over the president's attempted overhaul of the federal government. Continue reading...

The ramifications of the president's appeasement of Russia will be felt widely, not least in the alliance he recklessly underminedIn Graham Greene's 1955 novel, The Quiet American, Alden Pyle, a CIA agent, reckons he has all the answers to conflict in colonial era Vietnam. Pyle's ignorance, arrogance and dangerous scheming, intended to bring peace, result instead in the deaths of many innocents and ultimately his own. In today's too-real, nonfiction world, Donald Trump is Pyle. Except he's The Noisy American.He thinks he's a great deal-maker. Henever stops trumpeting his brilliance. Yet his North Korea deal of the century" was a fiasco. He handed Afghanistan to the Taliban on a plate. Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu runs rings around him. Now Trump-Pyle proposes another rubbish deal - selling out Ukraine. America's very own surrender monkey is Vladimir Putin's usefulidiot. No matter how officials spin it, Trump's concessions, made before ceasefire talks with Russia even begin, are calamitous, primarily for Ukraine but also for Europe's security, the transatlantic alliance, and other vulnerable targets, such as Taiwan. As stated, Trump's giveaways - accepting the loss of sovereign Ukrainian territory to Russian aggression, denying Nato membership to Kyiv, withholding US security guarantees and troops - are shameful appeasement, amounting to betrayal. Continue reading...

George Orwell's publishers thought his parable was too specific. They needn't have worried, 80 years on it's as salient as everI feel sorry for the old horse," my son said, drinking his Coke in the interval.We all feel sorry for the horse," I replied. Continue reading...

Ruling enables providers to offer procedure, which voters enshrined in state constitution after fall of Roe in 2022In a massive victory for abortion rights supporters, a Missouri judge on Friday blocked a licensing requirement for abortion clinics that providers said prevented them from offering the procedure.Planned Parenthood announced shortly after the judge's ruling that its clinics would once again perform abortions in Missouri. Continue reading...

Luigi Mangione expressed gratitude on new website to people writing him, saying they transcend class divisions'The 26-year-old golf club heir charged with murdering UnitedHealthcare's chief executive officer in an ambush outside a Manhattan hotel in December has touted receiving support that has transcended political, racial and even class divisions" in a rare public statement.I am overwhelmed by - and grateful for - everyone who has written me to share their stories and express their support," Luigi Mangione said in a statement posted to a website launched on Friday by his defense team. Continue reading...

Police search for member currently on the lam from charges linked to killings across the countryThe killing of US border patrol agent David Maland near the Canadian border in January and five other homicides in Vermont, Pennsylvania and California have been tied to a cultlike group.Interviews and online postings reveal how young computer scientists described by those who know them as highly intelligent appear to have become increasingly violent. Continue reading...

More Black people are leaving religion, challenging tradition and redefining communityIn 2015, Mandisa Thomas faced a harrowing confrontation while tabling for Black Nonbelievers Inc, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and increasing visibility for Black atheists. The event, hosted by the Atheist Alliance of America, coincided with the Women of Color and Ministries Conference in the same hotel.There was one Black woman in particular who came up to our table," Thomas recalls. She became very belligerent, even though I was polite to her. She told me that she could not believe I had the nerve to identify as an atheist in front of white devils. She said I had a slave mentality and that she was going to bathe me in the blood of Jesus. She [said she] felt sorry for my mama and my kids. It was just absolutely mind-boggling." Continue reading...

Thousands of Ukrainians who call Cleveland home are in limbo as fate of temporary protected status remains murkyMykola Vashchuk may be thousands of miles from Kyiv, his home town, but life has never been busier.He runs pierogi food businesses here in Cleveland and back in Ukraine, works part-time for a local charity, while studying for a law degree at Cleveland State University. His wife works at a daycare and the couple is raising two sons. He and his family have built a new life on the shores of Lake Erie, having fled Ukraine after a Russian bomb blew out two windows of their Kyiv apartment in December 2022. Continue reading...

Reading fiction fosters empathy in a polarized world. I've learned how arts organizations can do the sameOn 12 August 2022, I was about to begin interviewing Salman Rushdie at the Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York when he was attacked. Now, more than two years later, the trial of the attacker has begun.I was on stage as co-founder of City of Asylum in Pittsburgh, part of an international organization inspired by Rushdie to protect exiled, endangered writers in long-term residencies. Shortly after the attack, I wrote about how the audience - an intentional community of readers - rushed to the stage to subdue the attacker. I called this the reader effect", a response based on empathy that comes from reading fiction.Henry Reese is a retired entrepreneur, who in 2004 co-founded City of Asylum Pittsburgh with his wife, the artist Diane Samuels Continue reading...

Republican-run states may see worst fallout from slashes to NIH medical funding as maternal mortality climbs in USOn Tuesday, a few days after the Trump administration announced its plan to slash billions of dollars in funding for biomedical and behavioral research, an investigator at a maternal health research center in Pennsylvania told Dr Meghan Lane-Fall that the cuts may lead her to leave academia altogether.Lane-Fall urged her not to make any sudden moves. It's not like nothing has happened. No one's threatened her job," said Lane-Fall, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. But if she looks six months down the line, it looks uncertain." Continue reading...

Paul Sheehy and Chris Dunlavey trumpet health of US league and say producing American players is keyLike the rest of Washington, the rugby field on the National Mall was covered with snow this week. But Old Glory DC were safely indoors, preparing for the return of Major League Rugby, the US professional rugby union competition that kicks off year eight this weekend.It's about 73 degrees inside" the St James, the sports, wellness and entertainment complex" in Springfield, Virginia, where Old Glory train, said Paul Sheehy, with a laugh. Continue reading...

Doge wreaks havoc on HHS and CDC as Trump seeks to grant committee sweeping governmental powersThe department of government efficiency", the Donald Trump-created program known as Doge and headed by the billionaire Elon Musk, has accessed or requested access to sensitive systems at multiple health agencies as the US president attempts to grant the committee sweeping powers within the federal government.The bid for access comes amid an unprecedented effort to halt government spending, despite multiple court orders to unfreeze funds and reverse staff suspensions. Continue reading...

The detention facility is a worldwide symbol of American hypocrisy. It's majorly expanding againNine days into the country's 47th presidency, Donald Trump issued an executive memorandum that contained his latest mass deportation plan. The three-paragraph, 148-word order called for a migrant facility located at the US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to be expanded to full capacity". The US president later said the camp would house 30,000 migrants.Troop deployments quickly followed and on 4 February, the first planes carrying a few dozen migrants arrived at Guantanamo, with officials sending more each day. Continue reading...

Hit drama The Years has seen audience members fainting hysterically. Perhaps if we dispensed with the red flags, people would enjoy this fine play moreIf your Valentine disappointed you this weekend, spare a thought for the protagonist of The Years, the explosive WestEnd play based on the writings ofthe French novelist and Nobel laureate Annie Ernaux. A teenager is thrilled to discover she has attracted the temporary attention of an older man at summer camp. After he painfully takes her virginity, she gradually realises that he has told half the resort. She finds the word whore" scribbled across her bathroom mirror. Still she yearns for the validation of his returning desire.The play takes as its subject the full range of life experiences contingent on embodied womanhood. Like the Ernaux memoir from which it draws its name, its heroine tells her story in the plural we" and speaks for a generation of war-born French women. To the frustration of its artists, however, one of those experiences has captured all the headlines. Continue reading...

The UK is now a secular nation and the Church of England should no longer be one of the central pillars of stateThe national church of England" has been meeting this week in London and is in turmoil. Does it matter, other than to the 1.7% of the population of England who still worship under its roofs? Since the Church of England continues with an established" role in the life of the nation, the answer is yes.The argument within the C of E over safeguarding seems endless. It has brought the downfall of one archbishop and is vexing his successor. The church is divided over how to police abuse in future, whether through an independent agency or through internal discipline. This in turn reflects whether it sees itself as a dignified institution of state or just another religious sect.Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist

Continue reading...

As the US rips up its rules-based order and threatens sovereign nations, this is the time to make allies. Reparations might helpImagine this: a continent scarred by centuries of violence and exploitation, now standing united to demand justice. This weekend, the African Union (AU) is kicking off its annual summit with a bold, historic declaration: 2025 will be the year of Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations. This marks the first time in its history that the AU has placed reparations front and centre.At first, you might wonder: is this really the right moment? Former colonial powers have shown little interest in addressing their past, and global leaders like the US president, Donald Trump, are actively dismantling international institutions. But maybe this is exactly the right moment for Africa to demand accountability, and for Europe's democracies to finally offer a meaningful response. As the world grapples with shifting power dynamics, Africa's call for justice is more urgent than ever. Continue reading...

I lost my own husband at a young age. It's rare (and v.g.) to see a heroine trying to live joyfully despite her griefBridget Jones is back and once again blazing a new path, this time as a widow. In Mad About the Boy, our eternally chaotic but lovable everywoman is navigating single parenthood, dating apps and grief. But unlike most widows in romcoms, she's not here to wither away in a beige cardigan, politely mourning until society deems it acceptable for her to love again. Instead, she's in bed with a 29-year-old park ranger named Roxster, proving that healing doesn't have to be quiet reflection - it can also look like great sex with a younger man.This is where Bridget breaks the mould. In most romantic comedies, women's grief is pitched as a problem to be solved. We must undergo a period of deep self-reflection before we are allowed back into the world of desire. We must heal, learn and then - maybe - we can be kissed under some twinkly lights at the end of the movie. Hilary Swank's character in P.S. I Love You waits for divine permission from her dead husband's letters before even thinking about dating again, whereas poor Demi Moore in Ghost is emotionally tied to Patrick Swayze for ever, choosing to simulate foreplay with a memory over intimacy with the living. Continue reading...

Trump had said defense bureau was high on list of world's richest man's federal budget and personnel slashing teamMembers of Elon Musk's department of government efficiency" arrived at the Pentagon Friday, in what appeared to be their first meeting with defense department staff, a US official told Reuters. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.Donald Trump has said the Pentagon would be an early target of Musk's government budget and personnel slashing team and that he expects the tech billionaire to find hundreds of billions of dollars in fraud and abuse in the department. Continue reading...

Workers for Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describe chaos and fear as lawsuits and basic functions grind to a haltThe termination email for a score of employees at the top US consumer watchdog arrived in the late hours of the night.Unfortunately, the Agency finds that you are not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge and skills do not fit the agency's current needs," dozens of probationary staffers at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) were informed on 11 February. Continue reading...

This blog has now closed. You can read our latest story here

Veteran official puts name to withdrawal of corruption charges to avert further mass resignations by prosecutorsUnder immense pressure from Donald Trump's justice department leadership, prosecutors in Washington have asked a federal judge to dismiss the criminal corruption case against Eric Adams, the New York mayor, rather than see the entire public integrity office be fired.The prosecutors, Edward Sullivan and Antoinette Bacon, filed the request on Friday night to withdraw the charges against Adams that included bribery, fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign contributions. Continue reading...

US vice-president's speech and meeting with Germany's AfD chief signal administration's wider plans for continentThe Trump administration is making a big bet on Europe's hard right.Speaking at a conference of Europe's leaders in Munich on Friday, the US vice-president JD Vance stunned the room by delivering what amounted to a campaign speech against Germany's sitting government just one week before an election in which the anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim AfD is set to take second place. Continue reading...

In a chastising speech on Friday that openly questioned whether current European values warranted defence by the US, the US vice-president painted a picture of European politics infected by media censorship, cancelled elections and political correctness. Vance accused European leaders of suppressing free speech, failing to halt illegal migration and running in fear from voters' true beliefs

Andrew Lester pleaded guilty to lesser charge in shooting of Black honor student who mistakenly rang his doorbellAn 86-year-old Kansas City man has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in the 2023 shooting of Ralph Yarl, a Black honor student who was then 16 and rang the man's doorbell by mistake.Andrew Lester's plea on Friday came days before he was supposed to stand trial on charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting of the teenaged student. Lester pleaded guilty to second-degree assault as part of a deal with prosecutors that averted the trial. Continue reading...

News agency, which has declined to use Gulf of America' name in stories, also barred from Air Force OneThe White House has announced that it is indefinitely blocking Associated Press journalists from accessing the Oval Office and Air Force One amid a growing standoff between Donald Trump's administration and the news agency over the Gulf of Mexico's name.The White House deputy chief of staff, Taylor Budowich, made the announcement on X, saying: The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America. This decision is not just divisive, but it also exposes the Associated Press's commitment to misinformation." Continue reading...

President phoned while PM was with Mark Burnett, the Apprentice producer appointed as special envoy' to UKDonald Trump has spoken to Keir Starmer again after what appears to have been a spur-of-the-moment phone call from the US president that was not expected by the British prime minister and his team.News of the call, which took place on Thursday evening, emerged in a Downing Street statement about Starmer's meeting with Mark Burnett, the British TV producer whom Trump has appointed as special envoy to the UK. Continue reading...

US vice-president meets with AfD leader Alice Weidel as Trump administration courts European populist partiesJD Vance has met with the leader of Germany's far-right Alternative fur Deutschland party, breaking a taboo in German politics as the Trump administration continues to court and promote far-right populist parties across Europe.At the meeting in Munich on Friday, the US vice-president and AfD leader, Alice Weidel, reportedly discussed the war in Ukraine, German domestic politics and the so-called brandmauer, or firewall against the right", that prevents ultra-nationalist parties like AfD from joining ruling coalitions in Germany. Continue reading...

Treasury inspector general to launch audit as judge mulls whether access to sensitive data was unconstitutionalA government watchdog is to launch an inquiry into security over the US treasury's payments system as a judge on Friday considered whether access by Elon Musk's department of government efficiency" (Doge) to the highly sensitive data base was unconstitutional.Amid mounting court cases concerning Doge's activities, the treasury department's inspector general said it would launch an audit after Democrats complained about the access gained to a 25-year-old Musk associate, Marko Elez, who was briefly granted edit access within the system, meaning he had the potential to change entries. The access was later rescinded by an interim court ruling. Continue reading...

Transport safety board said recording suggests crew missed directive before crashing into passenger plane, killing 67The crew of the helicopter that collided in midair with an American Airlines jet near Washington DC's Ronald Reagan National airport might not have heard instructions from the air traffic controller to pass behind the plane, investigators said on Friday.The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chair, Jennifer Homendy, said the recording from the Black Hawk helicopter cockpit suggested the crew may have missed the key instruction just before the 29 January collision, in which all 67 people onboard the two aircraft were killed. Continue reading...

US vice-president questions whether European values are worth defending as he rails against threat from within'

The slogan has been appearing on posters, fliers and social media in support of the small and racially diverse suburbThe day after the Eaton Canyon wildfire, still reeling from the destruction of her home and her business, Gaby Murguia scrawled a message on the windows of her truck: Altadena is not for sale."In the month since historically destructive fires raged across Los Angeles, the same slogan has been appearing on posters at local protests, on fliers at restaurants and across new and old social media accounts in the small and racially diverse suburb of Altadena. Continue reading...

The US vice-president and the Ukrainian president were locked in bilateral discussions at the Munich Security Conference as part of Donald Trump's push for a negotiated peace agreement to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Zelenskyy referred to it as a 'good conversation' and both spoke of more talks to come

Global immunisation programmes are under risk as the US slashes its aid programme and the UK considers cutting fundingIt is easy to become so used to scientific and social advances that we take them for granted. But sometimes we should pause to celebrate - to feel genuine awe - at the wonders that we have seen. Amidall the wars, the disasters and the crimes of thelast half century, we have witnessed nothing shortof a miracle.Vaccination, in addition to clean water, sanitation and improved nutrition, has been one of the greatest contributors to global health. It is responsible for much of the astounding fall in child mortality, which plummeted by 59% between 1990 and 2022. It has saved more than 150 million lives, mostly of infants, since the Expanded Programme on Immunisation was launched by the World Health Organization in 1974. Initially designed to protect children against diseases including smallpox, tuberculosis, polio and measles, the scheme has since been extended to cover more pathogens. Then, in 2000, came the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (Gavi), a public-private organisationthat provides financial and technical support for vaccination in poorer countries and negotiates with manufacturers to lower costs. Continue reading...

Getting rid of separate best actor and best actress categories is not the answer to lack of diversity in the industryThe Guardian style guide advises writers to use the term actor" regardless of the performer's identity: avoid actress except when in name of award, eg Oscar for best actress". As the awards season is upon us, this instruction goes to the heart of a question that has been asked behind the scenes - should we still have separate best actor and actress categories? Or are they exclusionary and outdated? There's no Academy award for best female sound engineer.Last year, Variety magazine reported that the Academy was considering eliminating the separate awards, following the example of the Grammys in 2012 and other film and TV honours since, but that this was still in early exploration". The arguments in favour are that this would put male and female actors on an equal footing and include non-binary actors. Thecase against is the danger of fewer or no women at all being nominated: the Brits' decision to combine the best soloartist awards in 2022 was immediately followed byan all-male shortlist. Continue reading...

State's surgeon general presents illness-preventing jabs as personal choice in move that experts call infuriating'