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State attorney general threatened to prosecute doctors if they provided abortion care to a woman with a nonviable pregnancyWhen a Texas court ruled that a 31-year-old woman with a non-viable pregnancy could have an abortion despite the state's strict bans, the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, responded with a brazen threat to prosecute hospitals, doctors, or anyone else" who would assist in providing the procedure. The letter he sent Texas hospitals hours after the ruling, threatening first-degree felonies that could result in life in prison, was a stunning" move indicative of his longstanding crusade to criminalize abortion care, say legal experts and advocates.It is extraordinary that Paxton would threaten hospitals and doctors with this letter before even winning an appeal," Mary Ziegler, a UC-Davis law professor who focuses on reproductive rights, told the Guardian. It's a very unusual maneuver, but does certainly reflect his ultimate goal of wanting to go after abortion providers and supporters at all costs." Continue reading...

The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights protects the most vulnerable: we must fight to defend and extend itDuring the week when we mark 75 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1948 convention on the prevention and punishment of genocide, I have been thinking about the genesis of both events and how we should commemorate them now.Adopted within 24 hours of each other in Paris in December 1948, the universal declaration seeks to protect individuals, while the convention seeks to protect groups. That moment in Paris was revolutionary: a recognition that the rights of the state are not unlimited, that the days of being allowed as a matter of law to trample over human lives were over. Continue reading...

Two years ago, a woman like Cox was able to control her body on her own terms. Now, she has to go before a court and begIn most cases, we would never have learned her name. Kate Cox, a Texas woman, is in a sadly common set of circumstances: a 31-year-old mother of two, Cox was pregnant with her third child when doctors informed her that something was wrong. Pregnancy complications are common, but in a state like Texas, they have become newly dangerous, threatening women with potentially disfiguring health complications, along with unimaginable heartbreak, as the state's multiple bans have mandated grotesque and inhumane treatment of doomed pregnancies.Cox's fetus had trisomy 18, a chromosomal disorder. Trisomy 18 is a devastating diagnosis. Most pregnancies end in stillbirths; those infants born alive with the disorder live anguished, short and painful lives. Cox was informed that her fetus, in the sterile medical parlance, could not sustain life". The fetus had malformations of the spine, heart, brain and limbs. The pregnancy also posed dire threats to Cox's health; most significantly, she was at risk of losing her future fertility if she remained pregnant. Continue reading...

Marvin Haynes receives apology from DA who said prosecutors had no forensic evidence linking him to 2004 murderA man convicted of murdering a Minnesota flower shop clerk largely based on a single eyewitness identification has been freed from a sentence of life imprisonment, elating his supporters and him but outraging the slain victim's family.Marvin Haynes was 16 when the killing which sent him to prison for nearly two decades unfolded in 2004 in Minneapolis. His release comes amid the implementation of court-mandated reforms to the local police department, prompted in part by a former officer's murder of George Floyd in 2020. Continue reading...

The leaders of Harvard, Penn and MIT should have clearly condemned calls for genocide but the response has been almost as repugnantAmerica's prestigious universities play a big role in determining who gets into America's wealthy elite.A degree from Harvard, Penn or MIT, to take three examples, is a meal ticket to a lucrative job on Wall Street or a corporate law firm and to the richest and most influential people in the land. Continue reading...

There is wisdom gained through the years of being a human that offers insight and deep understanding. Why are women so reluctant to claim it as their own?Wisdom has oft been thought as a phenomenon that might only be found at the peak of a mountain, held in the fingertips of an older man who has taken himself away from the pesky happenings of the world below so as to contemplate the existence of truth. And then perhaps share that understanding with a book tour and motivational speaking encounter.One of my favourite stories about those who remove themselves from the world to live in caves to reach heightened states of wisdom and transcendence was the story of a monk who had spent a year in an isolated holding, on a mountain, without contact with the world. After that year of silence and contemplation, he reached a transcendent state and so found his way back down the mountain to live among the villagers below. He said it took only an hour before he felt enormous irritation arise - humans, it turns out, were quite annoying. He walked back up the mountain. I'm not sure how that story ended but maybe he never came back down. Continue reading...

Backlash against presidents of Harvard, UPenn and MIT has led to one resignation and implications for free speech on campusThe controversy over the comments of three elite US university presidents made at a congressional hearing on antisemitism could reverberate far beyond their campuses.On Tuesday, the Harvard Corporation, the school's highest governing body, announced that the university's president, Claudine Gay, would remain in her post after calls for her removal following the testimony. The news came days after another president, Elizabeth Magill of the University of Pennsylvania, quit following backlash to her responses to combative questioning at the hearing from the New York Republican congresswoman Elise Stefanik. Continue reading...

A growing number of Black women in the US are choosing IVF, surrogacy and other medical interventions to have children - and ending the silence around their difficulties conceivingWhen Monique Farook finally let go of what had been her secret shame, her mother's response was fast and painfully plain: Infertility? What is that?"Those were her exact words, recalled Farook, who spent six months trying to get pregnant, then almost four years trying to convince her husband that in vitro fertilization (IVF) or some other assisted reproductive technology was the way to go. After one failed intrauterine insemination (IUI), where sperm is injected into the uterus, and a successful round of IVF, where an embryo is implanted, Farook finally gave birth to her son, now six-year-old Omar. Continue reading...

The institution has progressed from its earliest, brutal form. But Marriage 3.0 still hands men the lion's share of benefitsIt sounds absurd, but the most compelling display of the collapse of modern American marriage in 2023 is happening on a show about Mormon polygamists.For 18 seasons, TLC's Sister Wives has followed Kody Brown and his four loudly Caucasian wives, who share 18 children and several houses in Arizona. The show started as a saccharine docu-soap about an unorthodox family trying to fit into an increasingly modern world. Now, I watch with rapt interest, practically foaming at the mouth, as one by one Kody's wives leave him. Continue reading...

French company to receive up to receive up to 657m, helping push electric vehicles unit AmpereFrance's Renault has said it will sell 5% of its shares in Nissan, the first step in a plan to rebalance a troublesome partnership with the Japanese carmaker.Renault will receive up to 765m (657m) from the sale, helping the launch of its electric vehicles unit, Ampere. However, it will book a loss of 1.5bn to reflect the sale price, which is lower than the value of the stake previously reported on its balance sheet, it said in a statement on Tuesday. Continue reading...

After months of disarray over the legality of abortion, the state supreme court will decide whether to reinstate zombie' ban. Plus, seven ways to make your holidays a little greenerGood morning.The Arizona state supreme court will today hear arguments in a case over whether to reinstate an abortion ban that originated in 1864, before Arizona even became a state. The ban blocks people from helping to procure the miscarriage" of a pregnant woman and allows abortions only to save her life. There are no exceptions for rape or incest.What's happening in Texas? The Texas supreme court yesterday overturned a lower court's ruling that would have allowed a pregnant woman to get an emergency abortion under the medical exception for the state's near-total abortion ban, granting a petition by the Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton. The ruling came hours after lawyers for the woman, Kate Cox, said in a court filing that she had left the state to obtain the abortion, but nonetheless wanted to pursue the case.What else is happening? The UN general assembly is due to vote today on a non-binding resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire" in Gaza - a call that the paralysed security council has so far failed to make. Continue reading...

Fighter opens up on his tough upbringing, escaping gang life and his stunning defeat of Kamaru Usman to become world championLeon Edwards laughs as he remembers how, seven years ago, he and a friend used to practise his interview technique at home in Birmingham. I was terrible at interviews," the UFC welterweight champion admits as his traumatic life, blighted by the murder of his father and his immersion in gangland strife as a teenager, had left him sounding broken and stilted.I was so nervous I'd be giving one-word answers," Edwards says with an amused grimace as he gets ready to defend his title against Colby Covington in Las Vegas on Saturday night. That's all I could do then." Continue reading...

The lurgy rules used to be clear. But now, if you want to go anywhere with a runny nose, you have to get your excuses in earlyIt was nearly midnight on Friday, and I was sitting in a TV studio with some balled-up tissue in one hand and a pack of chewing gum in the other, like a kid who had been asked by a police officer to turn out their pockets, and then unaccountably wandered into a current affairs programme. This is 100% true: I did not feel ill when I left the house. My best guess for why I was streaming with snot and my eyeballs were on fire was that I was allergic to the pine-scented car-freshener in the Uber. This is bound to pass," I thought, as I waited for the camera to move somewhere else so I could blow my nose again. It did not pass, and all was not well, and by all", I mean me".The rules of illness changed after Covid: previously there was an expectation that you would take your rhinovirus all round town until you dropped dead, and if you happened to give it to anyone, they would appreciate you even more, because now they would know how rubbish you felt. While the pandemic delivered nothing of the large-scale social revolution many of us hoped for at the start, it did at least ram home this trace of wisdom: maybe just stay in bed if you are not well?Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

It's crucial for Democrats to connect with ordinary voters on the topic and focus on state capitols where Donald Trump allies are pressing for sweeping bansDemocrats should hammer extremist Republicans as out of touch" with ordinary voters on abortion rights ahead of crucial state legislature elections next November, a leading party fundraiser says.Heather Williams, whose appointment as president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) was first shared with the Guardian on Tuesday, urged her party to stay focused on state capitols, where allies of former US president Donald Trump are pursuing sweeping abortion bans. Continue reading...

The Italian defender left Juventus for LAFC in 2020. With his playing career winding down, his move to MLS has laid the tracks for what comes nextAt 6.07 pm on a chilly, stormy Saturday in central Ohio, Giorgio Chiellini reached a crossroads that no professional athlete can avoid.The 39-year-old center-back, who has played for Major League Soccer's Los Angeles FC since July 2022, must now decide whether to continue a career that featured numerous team and personal honors for Juventus and Italy. Continue reading...

Fumi Nagasaka had never been to the deep south before visiting Dora in Walker County - the people she met and photographed there confounded her expectations Continue reading...

Many Europeans fail to realise that EU enlargement is the only way to counter Russia and China - but this week, leaders must act

Paterson residents describe anger, sadness, desperation' after US vetoes UN resolution calling for ceasefireA general strike called after the US blocked a UN resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza took hold across New Jersey's Arab American communities on Monday, in the latest expression of opposition to Israel's devastating military offensive in the Palestinian territory.Along Palestine Way in the city of Paterson, dozens of business owners, community leaders and families with young children, swathed in keffiyeh scarves against the cold, heeded the call from Palestinian leaders to show, in symbolic, political and economic terms, deepening anger and distress about an Israeli military operation that began after a Hamas cross-border attack on 7 October. Continue reading...

Filing suggests experts could connect former president's tweets with the movements of January 6 rioters who stormed the CapitolSpecial counsel prosecutors indicated on Monday they will call three expert witnesses at Donald Trump's trial over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election who could potentially show how January 6 rioters moved on the Capitol in response to the former president's tweets.The witnesses, according to a three-page filing, involve two experts on geolocation data to show the crowd's movement during and after Trump's speech at the Ellipse, and an expert on cellular phone data to testify about when and how Trump's phone was being used, including over the same time period. Continue reading...

City audit says police flights cost $3,000 an hour with unclear benefit, but police chief disputes findingsLos Angeles spends nearly $50m a year on its police helicopter program, or roughly $3,000 for every hour of flight, according to a new audit that raises questions about the financial and environmental impacts of the city's aerial surveillance.The LA controller's report released on Monday suggests the use of LA police department (LAPD) helicopters is nearly constant across the city, and the majority of flight time is not in response to reports of major crimes, but instead for transportation, ceremonial trips or patrols. The flights are a major source of pollution and appear to disproportionately affect some communities of color, the audit said. Continue reading...

Georgians are seeking $15.5m-$43m in damages from former New York City mayor for his false statements about ballot counts

Plaintiff are seeking up to $43m in damages in defamation case and Giuliani's lawyer tells court it would be the end' of him if he loses

Court filing shows former representative in negotiations with prosecutors following 1 December expulsion from US HouseUS prosecutors said on Monday they were engaged in plea negotiations with the former US representative George Santos to resolve criminal charges ahead of trial, a court filing showed.Santos's fellow lawmakers voted on 1 December to expel him from the House of Representatives over the charges and accusations of misspending campaign money. Continue reading...

Representative celebrates UPenn president's resignation as critics point to her support of Trump, who associates with antisemitesCongresswoman Elise Stefanik celebrated the resignation of the president of the University of Pennsylvania in a storm over campus antisemitism, but faced criticism regarding her support for Donald Trump, who associates with antisemites himself.Referring to Liz Magill, who quit after a stormy congressional hearing last week, and the presidents of Harvard and MIT, who by Monday had not stepped down, Stefanik - the House Republican caucus chairperson - tweeted: One down. Two to go." Continue reading...

Prosecutors seek expedited decision on whether former president has immunity amid concern that appeals process could delay trial

Zelenskiy's government faces growing criticism at home and abroad. But support for Kyiv is not based on sentimentalityA year ago, Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived in Washington as not merely the respected leader of a courageous nation, but as a global star. His address to Congress was greeted with thunderous cheers. As he returns for a third trip on Tuesday, he is seeking to win over key legislators, and the public, after Republican senators blocked $106bn in aid, primarily for Ukraine and also Israel. They have tied the spending to US immigration measures. The administration has warned that funding could run out by the end of the year. Kyiv is also trying to shore up support from its other main ally, the EU. In talks this week, Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, is threatening to veto 50bn of support and is blocking progress on accession.The failure of Ukraine's counteroffensive has hit morale at home and enthusiasm for the cause abroad. Last month the commander in chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, acknowledged the stalemate and warned that there will most likely be no deep and beautiful breakthrough". This is now, more than ever, a war of attrition. GenZaluzhnyi's words demonstrated not only frustration but also the growing evidence of friction between political and military leaders. The US is also more openly discussing differences, primarily over military tactics, but also over issues such as corruption. Continue reading...

Col Sean Riley's removal announced along with report on investigation into leak that led to charges against Jack TeixeiraThe US air force has removed the commander of the unit where a low-ranking national guard member accused of leaking highly classified military documents worked.Col Sean Riley's removal as commander of the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis air national guard base in Massachusetts was announced along with a report containing the results of an internal investigation into the classified materials leak which led to federal charges against 21-year-old Jack Teixeira. Continue reading...

From Alisson Becker's excellence to another dismal day at Old Trafford, we hand out honors (and dishonors) from the Premier League weekend

Former president received 51% support despite facing 91 criminal charges and warnings of authoritarian threat he posesA little over a month before the Iowa caucus kicks off the Republican presidential primary, Donald Trump has expanded his commanding" lead in the first-to-vote state, a new Des Moines Register/NBC News poll found.The 77-year-old former president faces 91 criminal charges including 17 for attempting to overturn his 2020 election defeat, and civil suits including a defamation trial arising from a rape allegation a judge called substantially true". Warnings of the authoritarian threat he poses have been rising in volume. Continue reading...

New Hampshire man faces federal charge after allegedly sending text message threatening to attack Republican candidate's eventA man from Dover, New Hampshire, faces a federal criminal charge after threatening the Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and attendees at a campaign event.The US attorney's office for New Hampshire said Tyler Anderson, 30, received a text message from the victim's campaign notifying him of a political event in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Continue reading...

Purchase is latest in series of big takeovers in oil and gas industry and will give Occidental more than 94,000 net acres in TexasOccidental Petroleum has agreed to buy energy producer CrownRock in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $12bn, the latest in a string of vast fossil fuel takeovers in the United States.The acquisition will increase Occidental's acreage in the oil-rich Permian basin, America's largest oil-producing area, and boost its production in the region by about 170,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.Reuters contributed to this story Continue reading...

Incident occurred when Republican politician participated in conversation with Elon Musk, Alex Jones and othersVivek Ramaswamy, a candidate for Republican nominee for US president in 2024, inspired accusations of taking the rightwing talking point about draining the swamp" too literally when his microphone appeared to broadcast himself urinating during an X Space conversation with Elon Musk, Alex Jones, Andrew Tate, Matt Gaetz and others.On the same day that Musk welcomed Jones - the notorious conspiracy theorist - back to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter that banned Jones in 2018 for abusive behavior, Musk invited him to speak with a constellation of far-right media figures and politicians. Continue reading...

After an unequivocally successful first rodeo, it's a solid Las Vegas bet that the in-season tournament is here to stayIt couldn't have been scripted better. The first ever NBA Cup final in Las Vegas on Saturday night: budding star Tyrese Haliburton and his Cinderella story of an Indiana Pacers team against face-of-the-league, battling-father-time-with-a-machete LeBron James and his physically imposing Los Angeles Lakers. The new and exciting v the iconic and tenured. Frenetic and kinetic v gritty and tough. A perfect balance, something for everyone. The teams in the final stage of the NBA's maiden in-season tournament represented the latest what went right" in an increasingly long list of favorable breaks for Adam Silver and Co in their bid to make the slog of the regular season between October and Christmas a little more interesting.As the extended NBA universe touched down in Vegas over weekend, it found itself in a culture clash, as a rodeo convention hit the city at the same time as the league landed on The Strip. Middle-aged guys in cowboy hats, arm and arm with bleach blondes in bedazzled denim, dominated much of Vegas, and almost every bar and casino was blaring country music to accommodate them. But as evidenced by the number of Kobe Bryant jerseys in their midst, and the noise levels at the arena for the Cup final, there were plenty of basketball fans (especially of the Lakers persuasion) as well: the city is, after all, only a four-hour drive from LA. And there was an air of excitement surrounding the arena - and the event's extended footprint at neighboring Park MGM - that can only be attributed to the thrill of attending something brand new. Continue reading...

The presidents were asked about non-existent calls for genocide on American campuses, while the potential dangers of genocide in Gaza were ignoredLast week in Congress, Representative Elise Stefanik proved how well she can throw a dead cat.Let me explain. During an hours-long hearing on 5 December, members of Congress grilled university presidents from Harvard, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania, some of the country's most elite institutions of higher learning, about antisemitism on their campuses. But it was Stefanik's questioning that grabbed the spotlight. She repeatedly asked the presidents essentially the same question: does calling for the genocide of Jews on your campus constitute harassment, yes or no?Moustafa Bayoumi is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

Carlson was the most popular host at Fox News until his firing in April, and will now launch the Tucker Carlson NetworkSeveral months since his dismissal from Fox News, Tucker Carlson is launching his own $72-a-year subscription streaming service.We've been out of work for seven or eight months now," the host says in a video announcing the Tucker Carlson Network. Hard to know, time flies when you're unemployed. But actually, we've been working in secret and producing an awful lot of material for months now - interviews, et cetera - and all of it has now found its way to tuckercarlson.com. We're launching a brand-new thing very soon." Continue reading...

Was Bristol University giving into woke ideology', or simply cutting the least good song from an overlong ceremony?The University of Bristol has dropped the UK national anthem from its graduation ceremony programme, and will now play it only when a member of the royal family is present. This seems like a polite compromise, with the anthem being the equivalent of a carriage clock that you only put on display when the person who gave it to you comes round for tea. No offence given, and everybody's happy.Of course not everybody is happy. The Sun claimed university bosses have been accused of hating British culture and pandering to wokes". The deputy prime minister, Oliver Dowden, posted on X, formerly Twitter, to ask: If Bristol University are too ashamed of their British heritage, presumably they no longer want to be subsidised by [the] British taxpayer?" The education secretary, Gillian Keegan, also weighed in, saying universities should stand up for our British values and stop giving in to woke ideology".Tim Dowling is a regular Guardian contributor Continue reading...

Mutual aid helps these women navigate the tolls of infertility, offering support many say they rarely receive in clinical settingsFor many Black women in the US, infertility has a complicated duality. The inability to conceive is often invisible, pushed out of view by shame, the racist notion that Black women are hyperfertile, or the idea that such struggles should remain private. Yet for people aspiring to parenthood amid fertility problems, getting the family they want often requires complete transparency about their condition.Community support is particularly critical for Black women, who face a slew of health disparities in fertility medicine. They're much less likely to be referred by doctors for fertility treatment - perhaps due to the myth Black women get pregnant with ease - even though studies suggest that they experience infertility at a rate twice as high as white women. Continue reading...

US department store chain that also owns Bloomingdale's reportedly received approach from two existing investorsThe department store chain Macy's is reportedly the target of a $5.8bn (4.6bn) offer that would result in one of the best-known names in US retail disappearing from the stock market.Two existing investors, Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital, banded together to offer $21 a share, the Wall Street Journal first reported. Continue reading...

Although both leading presidential candidates have addressed healthcare costs, neither has tackled the biggest issue - its costIn a few short months, 37-year-old Kimberly Cooley went from sprinting up stairs to faltering after several steps. Unbeknownst to her, she was experiencing a cascade of symptoms related to autoimmune hepatitis, a rare and chronic inflammation of the liver.She was diagnosed, shot to the top of the liver transplant list, and quickly realized she could not handle the financial repercussions of such a surgery alone. A private person by nature, Cooley took the extraordinary step of publicizing her condition - a step she understood well as a marketing consultant. Continue reading...

Israeli troops reach heart of Khan Younis as Benjamin Netanyahu calls on Hamas fighters to surrender. Plus, the oldest black hole ever observed

Roman Abramovich's yachts are said to emit more carbon than many small countries. This is unsustainable, and wrongThe rich gazed at their superyachts, and decided they were not enough. The new breed of megayachts, which are at least 70 metres (230ft) in length, may be the most expensive moveable assets ever created.Roman Abramovich's custom-designed Eclipse is estimated to be worth upwards of $800m. When he tires of its swimming pool, submarine and armoured plating, he can use one of its helipads to fly to the $475m Solaris, which he also owns. On the way he might, perhaps, glimpse the $600m Azzam, commissioned by the former president of the United Arab Emirates.Chris Armstrong is a professor of political theory at the University of Southampton in the UK and the author of A Blue New Deal: Why We Need a New Politics for the Ocean and the forthcoming Global Justice and the Biodiversity Crisis: Conservation in a World of Inequality Continue reading...

The suicide rate is at its highest since 1941. In addition to a stronger safety net, we must face hard truths about US societyI want to talk about an uncomfortable topic that needs much more open discussion than it's receiving: the United States' extraordinarily high level of anxiety.A panel of medical experts has recommended that doctors screen all patients under 65, including children and teenagers, for what the panel calls anxiety disorders.Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. His newest book, The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It, is out now. He is a Guardian US columnist. His newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com Continue reading...

JD Vance, one of GOP lawmakers who voted to block Ukraine aid package, asks what $61bn would accomplish that $100bn hasn't'Ukraine may need to cede land to Russia in order to end the Russian invasion there, Republican US senator JD Vance said Sunday.The comments underscore how a bloc of GOP lawmakers are staunchly opposed to extending US support for Ukraine nearly two years on from when the world rallied around it after Russia's invasion of its borders. Continue reading...

The former Trump lawyer faces trial in Washington DC over baseless accusations against Ruby Freeman and Shaye MossA closely watched defamation trial kicks off on Monday in which Rudy Giuliani is set to defend himself against having to pay tens of millions of dollars to two Georgia election workers whom he made false statements about the 2020 election about. Continue reading...

Western allies are running short of cash, but they could help release billions and hurt Putin's war effort at the same timeThe White House has warned that the US will run out of funds for Ukraine by the end of the year if Congress doesn't approve a new assistance package. In Hungary, the Viktor Orban government has threatened to take the EU's Ukraine facility hostage. Meanwhile, Russia hasn't given up its goal of subjugating or destroying Ukraine. Its economy is gearing up for years of war, and its latest budget for 2024 boosts defence spending by nearly 70%. The aggressor is effectively circumventing sanctions by selling oil above the price cap or importing western chips for its drones and missiles.Hopefully, the aid packages being debated in the US and Europe will be approved, but there is also a straightforward way to unlock more funding for Ukraine. While we are grateful for every penny of international assistance, it is time to make Russia pay too: by confiscating the $300bn (238bn) in Russian central bank assets currently frozen by western states. The G7 and EU could work towards this in coalition.Olena Halushka is co-founder of the International Center for Ukrainian VictoryAndrii Mikheiev, international lawyer at the International Center for Ukrainian Victory, contributed to this article

In a season where even the best teams have flaws, the veteran quarterback only needs to be competent when he has a brilliant defense backing him upWhen the NFL season started, Joe Flacco watched it like most of us: from the couch. Unsigned coming into the season, the 38-year-old stayed in shape and threw with his brother just in case an offer came along. But he was mostly shifting his focus toward a coaching career.Then the Cleveland Browns called after their $230m man Deshaun Watson went down with a season-ending shoulder injury. He started last week and was average, though significantly more productive than the Flacco we saw play for the New York Jets last season. In Sunday's statement 31-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Flacco was better, certainly above average. Maybe even very good. We're talking about Flacco here so it's never going to be a jaw-dropping fireworks show, especially at this point in his career, but boy is he solid. He ended Sunday 26-of-45 for 311 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. He was savvy, including getting the coverage to bite on a fake to Kareem Hunt on the opening drive that left tight end David Njoku wide open for the first of his two scores. There were mistakes and a few missed opportunities but mostly Flacco played like an experienced and reliable game manager. Continue reading...