More than ever, franchises are a profit play as owners seek to boost income by building developments where people can live, work, shop, dine, drink and playPitching his vision of shifting the St Louis Rams to an ultra-modern stadium anchoring a massive land redevelopment near Los Angeles international airport, Stan Kroenke told his fellow NFL owners: This is what we do".Nearly eight years later, with the Rams successfully relocated and playing in the $5bn, 70,240-capacity SoFi Stadium complex, Kroenke is delivering on his declaration with the help of retailers, homebuilders, Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny. Continue reading...
As the anniversary of John Lennon's murder approaches, we are reminded again that the band's magic never disappearsMy friend Michael is a musicologist whose speciality is Johann Sebastian Bach. An author and lecturer, he speaks to erudite groups in many countries about, for example, Bach's Mass in B minor.Michael doesn't think much of most popular music.Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...
As clubs at the top of the European game continue to get richer and richer, they are looking for coaches with the one thing money cannot buyThe cascade of tributes that followed Terry Venables's death last week all circled around a single quality that made the former England, Spurs, and Barcelona boss a coach of such glinting gifts: charisma. El Tel's legendary talent as a man manager, tactician, and crooner, and even his notorious failures as a wig salesman and publican, were all an expression of this basic trait, his barrow-boy charm and scheming witAs a species, up-and-at-'em managers like Venables - artful dodgers reinvented as practitioners of the flexible 4-4-2 - may have gone the way of the upfield hoof, but the basic alchemy that explains their unique strength - the quality of charisma - is very much still with us. Continue reading...
The row over Omid Scobie's new book has reignited a depressing debate about mixed-race identity, with our voices barely heardThere are a few words and phrases I've muted on X (formerly Twitter) for a while, including: mixed-race, biracial, interracial relationship, and royal race row. But I would have had to have thrown my phone in the sea to avoid part two of the latter, involving Archie's skin tone, Meghan and Harry's unofficial biographer, Omid Scobie, and his new book, Endgame - in which the two royals who apparently commented on Archie's skin colour before he was born were named in the Dutch-language version of the book (which was promptly pulped by the publisher).I do sympathise - with Archie first and foremost, that is. Before he is even able to talk, his heritage has been loaded with meaning, his very existence described as progressive, transgressive, a step forwards or a step backwards, depending on whom you speak to. Being born into a story over which you have little control is a heavy load to bear. Many people of colour in white spaces and mixed-race" people will relate.Georgina Lawton is the author of Raceless: In Search of Family, Identity, and the Truth About Where I BelongDo 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...
The league has made noises recently about growing beyond 30 teams. But who would get a new franchise? And is a move outside North America possible?The NBA may boast the most talent it's ever had. There are all-time greats still dominating (LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant) and one-of-a-kind rookies (Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama). The league has 30 teams and only a few (Detroit, Washington, Portland) are devoid of an All-Star or a surefire future one.In short, the NBA is robust. That also makes it the perfect time for expansion, something NBA commissioner Adam Silver says the league intends to explore when its current media rights deals ends in 2025. But where would the league look, and what are its best options? The first stage of expansion would probably be for two more teams but a couple more in the years after that is not out of the question. Continue reading...
The onslaught on Gaza is not just harmful to US and western interests, but risks further destabilising the entire Middle EastJoe Biden has a Benjamin Netanyahu problem - and how he deals with it grows more urgent with each brutal, bloody day that passes. Thousands of Palestinian lives hang on the answer to this question. So, too, do hopes of stopping this hugely destructive war spreading beyond Gaza, and of progress towards a lasting peace.The Israeli prime minister's post-truce bombardment and ground invasion of southern Gaza is shaping up to be even more hellish", in a UN official's words, than the indiscriminate mayhem in the north that preceded it. The US president has the potential leverage and clout to rein him in where European and Arab leaders do not. Biden must take the lead.Simon Tisdall is a foreign affairs commentator. He has been a foreign leader writer, foreign editor and US editor for the Guardian Continue reading...
Whether shooting civil rights marches or Studio 54 style icons, the politically conscious photographer - who died last month - cast a critical eye on the American class system Continue reading...
Longtime PM Mark Rutte was a bulwark against the far right. Now he's gone - and Geert Wilders' party can start a wildfireIt has become something of a cliche to reflect on the state of your country after you have woken up to - putting it somewhat euphemistically - disappointing election results.Be it the Brexit referendum in 2016, Donald Trump's victory mere months after that, or the election victory of Geert Wilders and his Party for Freedom (PVV) in the Netherlands, the reactions were very similar. Analysts claimed that voters hadn't been properly listened to and that neoliberalism had left a trail of destruction, and the failure of the left was pointed out. Then came the obligatory mention of the elite, who are said to have alienated part of the electorate. The citizen no longer recognises himself in the administrators. As if citizens would have done so a few decades ago.Arnon Grunberg is a Dutch novelist and essayist Continue reading...
Agents will explore how lawyers and accountants in Cyprus helped shield assets of Kremlin-linked business peopleFBI agents tasked with investigating sanctions-busting have been dispatched to Cyprus as the global crackdown against Russian oligarchs, and the web of enablers who have helped hide their wealth, intensifies.The 24-strong team was expected to start assisting Cypriot police" with immediate effect after arriving on the eastern Mediterranean island late Sunday. Continue reading...
At town hall event in Iowa with Fox News host Sean Hannity, the former president was asked to deny that he would use power as retribution'Former president Donald Trump declined to rule out abusing power if he returns to the White House after Fox News host Sean Hannity asked him to respond to growing Democratic criticism of his rhetoric.The Republican presidential frontrunner has talked about targeting his rivals - referring to them as vermin" - and vowed to seek retribution if he wins a second term for what he argues are politically motivated prosecutions against him. As Trump has dominated the Republican presidential primary, president Joe Biden has stepped up his own warnings, claiming Trump is determined to destroy American democracy". Continue reading...
Rivers swell to dangerous levels and forces road and rail closures as rain relieves parched states of Washington and OregonAn atmospheric river deluged the US north-west for a third day on Tuesday, swelling rivers to dangerous levels, forcing road and rail closures, and possibly killing two people who may have been swept up in floodwaters, officials said.The rain has helped relieve the parched states of Washington and Oregon, which missed much of the historic rain that fell on California a year ago and ended that state's extended drought. Much of Washington and Oregon still face severe or moderate drought, according to the US Drought Monitor. Continue reading...
Jon and Carie Hallford to face charges of theft, forgery, money laundering and approximately 190 counts of abuse of a corpseRelatives who knew or feared that their loved ones were among the 190 abandoned bodies found decomposing in a Colorado funeral home watched in person for the first time Tuesday as the owners of the business appeared before a judge.Jon and Carie Hallford own Return to Nature Funeral Home, which has a facility in Penrose where investigators in early October discovered dozens of stacked bodies, some that had death dates as far back as 2019, according to a federal affidavit. The pair stand accused of abusing corpses, stealing, laundering money and forging documents. Continue reading...
Darryl George has already spent more than 80% of his junior year outside of his regular classroom, and was first cited in AugustA Texas high school sent a Black student back to in-school suspension Tuesday for refusing to change his hairstyle, renewing a months-long standoff over a dress code policy the teen's family calls discriminatory.The student, Darryl George, was suspended for 13 days because his hair is out of compliance when let down, according to a disciplinary notice issued by Barbers Hill high school in Mont Belvieu, Texas. It was his first day back at the school after spending a month at an off-site disciplinary program. Continue reading...
President spoke about risks Trump poses to democracy at event amid fears a second term would be far more autocraticThe US president, Joe Biden, said on Tuesday that he is not sure he would be seeking re-election in next year's election if he were not likely facing Republican Donald Trump.If Trump wasn't running, I'm not sure I'd be running," Biden said at a fundraising event for his 2024 campaign outside Boston. We cannot let him win." Continue reading...
Kate Cox, a 31-year-old unable to get abortion due to multiple state bans, is first woman to ask court to allow procedure since RoeA Texas woman filed an emergency lawsuit on Tuesday asking a judge to let her terminate her non-viable pregnancy. The woman recently learned of a lethal fetal diagnosis and her doctors said continuing the pregnancy threatens her life, health, and future fertility - but she's been unable to get an abortion due to Texas's multiple bans.It's the first time since the (now-overturned) Roe v Wade ruling in 1973 that an adult woman has asked a court to authorize an abortion. Continue reading...
by David Smith in Washington and agencies on (#6GXKE)
We have underscored to the Israeli government the need to do more,' Antony Blinken says during announcementIn a rare punitive move against Israel, the US has announced it will impose travel bans on extremist Jewish settlers implicated in recent attacks on Palestinians in theWest Bank.The secretary of state, Antony Blinken, announced the decision on Tuesday after warning Israel last week that Joe Biden's administration would be taking action over the attacks. Blinken did not announce individual visa bans, but officials said those would be coming this week and could affect dozens of settlers and their families. Continue reading...
Republican senator's block was in protest over Pentagon policy that facilitates abortions for service members and dependentsThe Senate in a single stroke on Tuesday approved about 425 military promotions after the senator Tommy Tuberville ended a monthlong blockade of nominations over his opposition to a Pentagon abortion policy.The move cleared the way for numerous generals and admirals to take new roles after a nearly 10-month protest over the military's abortion policy. Continue reading...
Explosion destroyed home and shook Virginia suburb of Arlington as police tried to make contact with suspect from outsideThe suspect who fired at officers from a duplex in an Arlington, Virginia, neighborhood before the home exploded on Monday night is presumed dead, according to authorities.James Yoo, 56, was identified by the Arlington county police chief, Andy Penn, at a press conference on Tuesday as the the owner of the duplex and the individual whose actions brought them to the home after firing a flare-type gun" from inside the house more than 30 times. Continue reading...
When something goes wrong, the finger is often pointed at us. But our work is more crucial than people knowIn 1977, Jimmy Carter visited Poland. It was a dismal December day, and Steven Seymour, hired to interpret during the arrival ceremony, got very cold while waiting for the presidential plane in the freezing rain. Carter began his address with a greeting, before going on to say: When I left the United States this morning ..." Seymour's translation, When I abandoned the United States ...", made the Polish-speakers in the audience chuckle. The president then said he was there to understand your desires for the future". Seymour's rendition of it, translated back into English as I desire the Poles", was reported in newspapers around the world.Back inside from the cold, Seymour admitted he might have used the occasional infelicitous verb. Most of the sensationalist coverage, however - grab at the Poles' private parts" and suchlike - had been made up. Seymour, who died in 2014, is warmly remembered by his former colleagues, who recently forwarded me a copy of a letter from his archive. It begins with Don't let the exaggerated criticisms disturb you" and is signed Your friend Jimmy Carter".Anna Aslanyan is a journalist and translator, and the author of Dancing on Ropes: Translators and the Balance of History Continue reading...
Ex-Republican congresswoman gives clearest indication she could mount challenge with new party, calling it' the cause of our time'Liz Cheney, a leading Republican critic and antagonist of Donald Trump, has said she is considering mounting her own third-party candidacy for the White House, as part of her effort to thwart the former president from returning to the Oval Office.In her most explicit public statements to date on a potential presidential run, Cheney told the Washington Post on Tuesday she would do whatever it takes" to block a Trump return. Continue reading...
Fetterman paid Santos $200 for video as a prank - but Santos didn't know the Bobby' he was recording video for was MenendezPennsylvania senator John Fetterman enlisted a Cameo video from disgraced lawmaker George Santos in support" of the also-disgraced New Jersey senator Bob Menendez, with Santos telling Menendez to stay strong" amid his legal woes.In a rare example of bipartisan financial support, Fetterman paid Santos, a Republican, $200 for the personalized video as a prank. Santos did not know the Bobby" he was recording the video for was Menendez. Continue reading...
The days of predictable voting patterns are gone. But this started long before the 2016 voteSky Sports irritates me. Not its coverage, which is great. But its tendency to imply that football only started in 1992, when the Premier League launched. We risk doing something equally misleading when it comes to politics - tracing everything back to Brexit. The reality, as the recent UK in a Changing Europe report underlines, is somewhat more complex.None of which is to say that Brexit wasn't hugely significant. It was - in the language of the British Election Study team - an electoral shock" that affected politics and public opinion in a number of ways.Anand Menon is director of the UK in a Changing Europe and professor of European politics and foreign affairs at King's College London Continue reading...
An explosion destroyed a property in a Virginia suburb of Washington DC. Hours before the explosion, a suspect inside his home fired a flare gun 30 to 40 times into the neighbourhood, drawing a large police response. Arlington county police said all officers escaped serious injury in the blast and it was unclear what happened to the person inside the home. They said police had tried to make contact with the suspect by phone and loudspeakers but he had remained inside without responding
Brian Laundrie's parents expressed hope his fiancee would be found despite call from him saying Petito was gone', lawsuit claimsThe fiance and killer of the domestic violence murder victim Gabby Petito desperately called his parents and told them that she was gone" weeks before she was discovered dead - yet they later shared messages expressing hope that search efforts for her would end in success, her family has alleged.Petito's parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, made the claim in a lawsuit that they are pursuing against Brian Laundrie's family and their attorney in the latest chapter to a case that has generated international news headlines. Continue reading...
I can see the former PM channelling Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men. But ignore all that - this was his mess, his debacleAccording to all the people he's leaked his witness statement to, Boris Johnson will tell the Covid inquiry not to pay much attention to WhatsApp messages on the basis that we can never know the tone in which they were intended ... Dark humour is lost or morphs into mockery." Totally. Who among us can honestly say we are capable of parsing a WhatsApp message from Dominic Cummings dated 23 August 2020 that reads: I also must stress I think leaving Hancock in post is a big mistake - he is a proven liar who nobody believes or shd believe on anything, and we face going into autumn crisis with the cunt in charge of NHS still."Does it help that Cummings has appeared before the inquiry and explained that this meant he was stressing that leaving Hancock in post was a big mistake, because he was a proven liar who nobody believed or should believe on anything, and that the UK faced going into an autumn Covid crisis with the ... health secretary ... in charge of the NHS still? No. No it doesn't help. That could mean anything, right? I'm positively drowning in its subtleties here, and like many people I simply can't wait for Johnson to take the stand at the inquiry on Wednesday and Thursday so he can explain that what this message actually implied was, Boris Johnson saved lives". Continue reading...
I used to be devoted to discovering new music. Now my gig-going is mostly driven by nostalgia - and I'm not aloneI was standing in a field with my friends drinking from a flask as Interpol played, and it wasn't 2006. A man in front of us in a red Fred Perry zip-up top - I was pretty sure I'd seen it on The OC once - was dancing as if someone had put scalding hot porridge under his bare feet, but that he kind of liked it.This was my wedding song!" he shouted to my friend, as Bloc Party started. Continue reading...
Twenty-three indie' clinics closed this year, leaving over a dozen states without a brick-and-mortar clinic that provides abortionsDozens of independently owned reproductive health clinics shuttered in 2023, the year after the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade, according to a new report from the Abortion Care Network.The group found that 23 independently owned clinics closed this year, on top of the 42 that shuttered in 2022, leaving over a dozen states, mainly in the American south and midwest, without a single brick-and-mortar clinic that provides abortion. Continue reading...
Country has had 38 mass shootings - in which at least 203 people have died - so far this year, passing previous high of 36A series of murders over the weekend have propelled the United States to a grisly new record: the most recorded mass shootings in a year.Two attacks on Sunday occurring within a couple of hours of each other in Texas and Washington state were the year's 37th and 38th mass shootings. Authorities believe a murder-suicide was responsible for the death of five family members in Vancouver, a suburb of Portland, Oregon, just across the border in Washington, while in Dallas a 21-year-old with a previous aggravated assault charge shot five people in a house, including a toddler. Continue reading...
Watching this UAW is like seeing sunrays after a dark night - unions are coming not just for the few, but for everyoneImagine that you live on an island. Over time, you realize that the water around you is rising. The only way to avoid being inundated is to build a 10ft-high wall. That's a big project. It will take uncommon levels of resources and cooperation. Everyone will have to set aside their differences and work together - fast. It won't be easy. But the alternative is destruction.That sounds like a lot of work, though. And the water isn't here yet. So you build a 1ft-high wall, and keep a positive attitude. Consequently, you drown.Hamilton Nolan is a writer on labor and politics, based in New York City Continue reading...
The act is believed to have saved 99% of listed species from extinction, but rightwing lawmakers are chipping away at itImagine a cosmic rock billions of years old yet vibrant with water, light and life. Not too close to the sun and not too far away. Tilted on its axis and turning daily to render seasons, sunrises and sunsets. A place so bountiful and varied that it has nourished and inspired humanity through our entire history. This is Earth, our only home. And that stunning array of life - countless species evolved over millennia and evolving still - is what scientists today call biodiversity.That biodiversity is in trouble. Continue reading...
Whether you settle on Mathilda, Deke or Ebenezer, it's bound to be exactly the right name. My own son is living proofPeople who are expecting a baby spend an incredible amount of time talking about what to call it. This is probably a diversion away from difficult questions, such as: What if I'm bad at being a parent, and society shuns me?" or: What if this ruins our relationship, which is currently very beautiful?" As such, the naming debate is a brilliant one. The rest is way too hard.Newsflash, though: it doesn't actually matter what you call your child. The baby is bigger than the word. As soon as that is its name, that is its only possible name. For ages, you'll think your baby is the one true carrier of the name, and everyone else called Mathilda is faking it.Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Former UFC star has hinted at run for political office. He has the fame, wealth and social media number to attract a followingIn response to a comment from a right-wing influencer last week, Elon Musk appeared to endorse the idea of Conor McGregor - the former UFC champion - running for political office in Ireland.Not a bad idea," Musk posted to his 164 million followers. Continue reading...
by Greta Thunberg and Fridays for Future Sweden on (#6GX42)
Young climate activists haven't been radicalised' - solidarity with marginalised people has always been at the heart of our messageMore than 15,000 people, of whom at least 6,000 were children. That's how many people Israel has reportedly killed in the Gaza Strip in a matter of weeks - and those numbers are still rising. Israel has bombed basic societal infrastructure and civilian targets such as hospitals, schools, shelters and refugee camps. Israel has imposed a siege, preventing food, medicine, water and fuel from reaching the 2.3 million Palestinians trapped in the occupied Gaza Strip, leading Oxfam to accuse Israel of employing starvation as a weapon of war".Dozens of United Nations experts have described the situation as a genocide in the making", hundreds of international scholars have warned of an unfolding genocide and prominent Israeli genocide expert Raz Segal has called it a textbook case of genocide". But most of the world, particularly the so-called global north, is looking the other way.This article was written by: Continue reading...
General Motors service faces $1.5m penalty over allegations it misled regulators after a driverless car ran into a pedestrianCalifornia regulators are alleging a San Francisco robotaxi service owned by General Motors covered up the severity of an accident involving one of its driverless cars, raising the specter they may add a fine to the recent suspension of its California license.The potential penalty facing GM's Cruise service could be around $1.5m, based on documents filed late last week by the California public utilities commission. Continue reading...
Suspect was charged in the fatal shootings of the three men and one suburban resident and also with residential robberyProsecutors have charged a Los Angeles man with four counts of murder in the fatal shootings of three men who were unhoused in the city and a suburban resident last month.Jerrid Joseph Powell was also charged with one count of residential robbery and one count of being a felon with a firearm, the Los Angeles county district attorney's office said in a statement. He also faces special circumstances of committing multiple murders, murder in the course of a robbery, as well as personal use of a firearm allegations, the statement said. Continue reading...
Jaclyn Jackie' Elmquist disappeared on night of 30 November, and was found on Friday in a Manhattan building's trash compactorA 24-year-old woman who had gone missing before her body was found in a luxury Manhattan apartment building's trash compactor died after falling down a garbage chute, police in New York City have concluded.The police's determination comes after mystery surrounded the disappearance of Jaclyn Jackie" Elmquist, who disappeared after meeting with co-workers at a nearby restaurant on the night of 30 November. She was found on Friday in the basement trash compactor at +Art, a residential building in the city's Chelsea district. Continue reading...
Republican governor of North Dakota had launched his campaign in June touting economy, energy and national security concernsDoug Burgum, the North Dakota governor, ended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination on Monday despite a stronger-than-expected showing fueled by a gift card-for-campaign donation gimmick that helped get him on the debate stage.Burgum, a second-term governor and wealthy software entrepreneur, was little known nationally when he launched his 2024 presidential campaign in June, touting his priorities of energy, the economy and national security, as well as his small-town roots and leadership of the sparsely populated state. Continue reading...
Executive committee rejects banning members who espouse or tolerate antisemitism' and deny Holocaust, arguing clause is vagueMembers of Texas's Republican party are free to associate with Nazi sympathizers without worries of violating internal policy after they held a vote on Saturday.In a 32-29 vote, the party's executive committee decided against excluding from their organization those known to espouse or tolerate antisemitism, pro-Nazi sympathies or Holocaust denial". A proposal to ban such individuals was included in a resolution supporting Israel as it wars with Hamas in Gaza. Continue reading...
As Israel pursues Hamas, the horrifying cost to civilians demands our attention. The ramifications don't end thereWe cannot and must not look away from what is happening in Gaza. Half its population was forced from the north by merciless bombardment; now the Israel Defense Forces' attacks upon the south have intensified and dozens of tanks have entered. Adults and children alike anticipate their deaths. More than 15,900 people in Gaza have been killed already, the vast majority of them women and children, according to Palestinian officials. Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has directed the military to act with increasing force" in its pursuit of Hamas, this time facing an even larger, denser population in even more desperate circumstances.The IDF says its concern for civilians is evinced by its evacuation orders. Given the lack of power and connectivity, even the most assiduous would struggle to keep up with complex and fast-changing instructions - and this is a hungry, exhausted, grieving and traumatised population, many of whom have already moved multiple times. In any case, there is nowhere to go: Safe places have no water, no sanitation, are often not safe anyway ... They are not safe in hospitals, they are not safe in shelters," JamesElder, a Unicef spokesperson, said on Monday.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...
About 29,000 workers of the California Faculty Association are on strike as disparity between admin and professor pay increasesCalifornia State University faculty at four campuses went on strike on Monday to demand higher pay and expanded parental leave for thousands of workers at the largest public university system in the US.The California Faculty Association, which represents 29,000 workers, is staging one-day work stoppages at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; San Francisco State University; California State University, Los Angeles and California State University, Sacramento. Continue reading...
Since being expelled from Congress, Santos has joined website that offers access to celebrities available to give a personalized messageGeorge Santos wasted no time seeking a new income stream since being expelled from Congress on Friday, adding his name and availability as former congressional Icon'!" to the website Cameo, a website that offers access to thousands of celebrities for request of a personalized video message for any occasion".It was not clear early on Monday if the George Santos" on Cameo was genuine. The congressional office for New York's district three had no information, and requests for confirmation from Cameo were not returned. However, Santos himself added the link to his supposed Cameo page to his Twitter/X biography. Continue reading...
Kelsey Carpenter was jailed while mourning her loss: I don't want others to experience what was the worst experience of my life'California prosecutors have dismissed a murder charge against a woman who was facing life in prison after her newborn died in a home birth, resolving a case that sparked national outrage.Kelsey Carpenter, 34, was arrested in November 2020 for child endangerment after she gave birth at home and called 911 when her baby did not survive. Although the county coroner deemed the death an accident", and state law prohibits the prosecution of women for pregnancy losses, the San Diego district attorney, Summer Stephan, charged her with murder with malice". Continue reading...
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