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Signs and symbols are increasingly being wielded by politicians around the world in place of reasoned debate about serious issuesIf one town could be emblematic of the vicissitudes of blue-collar life in America, Springfield, Ohio, might be as good a pick as any. At the heart of the midwest, Springfield's prosperity was built on manufacturing and publishing. But its decline began early. The giant Crowell-Collier publishing plant closed on Christmas Eve 1956. Three decades later, in 1983, Newsweek dedicated a whole issue to Springfield. Entitled The American Dream", it concluded sadly that The times have not been hospitable to dreaming".The years that followed proved even less hospitable as manufacturers deserted the town and wages plummeted. A 2016 Pew Research report found that Springfield had lost more high-income earners and gained more low-income earners than any other metropolitan area in America. The town became stalked by the diseases of despair that now haunt many other post-industrial working-class communities, from soaring alcohol and opioid addiction to rising numbers of suicides.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...

The former president remains the likelier winner of the election, and the UK needs a working relationship with whoever is in the White HouseIn April 1966, according to legend, a chance encounter in a traffic jam on Sunset Boulevard led to the formation of the rock group Buffalo Springfield. They took their name from a steamroller built by the Buffalo-Springfield Roller Company, whose factory was located in Springfield, Ohio. In a brief career, they produced some great music, including one all-time classic, the protest song For What It's Worth.Two of its members, Neil Young and Stephen Stills, went on to superstardom. And that was the 15 minutes of fame for the town of Springfield ... until a few days ago, when Donald Trump relaunched it into the spotlight, and prompted a thousand memes, by asserting in the presidential debate with Kamala Harris that the Haitian immigrant community in Springfield were abducting dogs and cats from their neighbours and eating them. Continue reading...

Kim Darroch says the Democratic nominee must focus on US swing states and avoid repeating Hillary Clinton's errorsDonald Trump will remain the likelier winner" of the US presidential election on 5 November unless the Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris, addresses key failings in her campaign, a former British ambassador to Washington says on Sunday.Kim Darroch says that despite clearly getting the better of Trump in last week's televised head-to-head debate, Harris risks making two crucial mistakes in the final weeks of campaigning, which mean the former Republican president is still the favourite. Continue reading...

President and vice-president highlight importance of Black voters for November win and warn against Trump threatPresident Joe Biden and vice-president Kamala Harris spoke on Saturday at the Congressional Black Caucus's Phoenix Awards dinner, bringing a message that its members were in a battle for the soul of the nation".Biden highlighted his relationship with the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and Black voters. Continue reading...

Europe rallied late but will need a big swing in their favour in Sunday's singles with USA leading 10-6The anchor match is out and about. Anna Nordqvist tees off and immediately looks at her partner with concern. Where did that ball go? She lost it in the sun. No worries, it's straight down the middle. Nordqvist was serenaded with a chorus of We love you Anna, we do, oh Anna we love you!" but that's nothing compared to the mighty roars ringing in Lilia Vu's ears as she splits the fairway. It's all happening, then!Lexi Thompson and Maja Stark take turns to send average approaches into 1. Thompson on the fringe front right, from where Lauren Coughlin will give Georgia Hall a read, because Europe's ball is in the road, ten feet further up. Continue reading...

Danny Torres, 27-year veteran who forcibly arrested Hill in Florida on Sunday, suspended for total of about 50 daysThe police officer who detained NFL player Tyreek Hill in Florida had racked up six suspensions and multiple reprimands before his encounter with the Miami Dolphins wide receiver, records from his agency show.According to employee records reviewed by NBC, Danny Torres, the Miami-Dade police department officer who forcibly arrested and handcuffed Hill last Sunday, has a tainted disciplinary record that includes being suspended for as many as 50 days between 2014 and 2019. Continue reading...

US president Joe Biden and British PM Keir Starmer fear secret arms link-up amid talks in Washington over UkraineBritain and the US have raised fears that Russia has shared nuclear secrets with Iran in return for Tehran supplying Moscow with ballistic missiles to bomb Ukraine.During their summit in Washington DC on Friday, Keir Starmer and US president Joe Biden acknowledged that the two countries were tightening military cooperation at a time when Iran is in the process of enriching enough uranium to complete its long-held goal to build a nuclear bomb. Continue reading...

Singer's backing could sway undecided voters in key states, but Tay Tay should beware - political endorsement can backfireWill Taylor Swift's recent endorsement of Kamala Harris affect the US presidential election? It certainly can. I've been a researcher of celebrity involvement in American politics for several years. The research shows that for most American voters a celebrity endorsement won't make a difference. Voters have strong partisan allegiances and very few Americans are in the undecided category. Recent polling from YouGov suggest that about 5% of Americans are undecided between Trump and Harris. However, these 5% can be the difference between winning and losing. The same YouGov poll shows Trump and Harris tied at 45% each.The research I have seen suggests that about 11% of US adults can be persuaded by a celebrity endorsement and about 19% of young adults say the same. The impact of a celebrity endorsement is strongest among irregular or new voters. People that are newly interested in political issues or those who are typically preoccupied by other concerns, such as celebrity gossip, are the people for whom Swift's influence could matter. At this point both Trump and Harris are trying to attract the marginal undecided voters, while simultaneously energising their core supporters.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...

Ad from Bob Casey campaign called insensitive and incorrect by wife of murdered journalist Jamal KhashoggiPennsylvania Democrats have withdrawn a campaign ad after the widow of Jamal Khashoggi said it was insensitive to the memory of her late husband, who was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.The ad, sponsored by the re-election campaign of Democratic senator Bob Casey, alleges that Republican challenger Dave McCormick demanded his hedge fund stay loyal to the murderers to protect their investments" in Saudi Arabia. Continue reading...

A research experiment revealed that listening to people makes you more likeable but no more persuasiveIf you want to persuade someone, start by listening to them. We've all heard that, and it sounds right. But it's not true, concludes interesting new American research.The authors put together a big experiment, setting up Zoom calls between experienced canvassers and members of the public recruited via Facebook ads. The experiment was to test the impact of the canvassers (who presented as people who supported undocumented migrants being able to access tuition in state colleges) on the opinions of the punters (who were selected for being sceptical of such policies).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...

The president warned that such a move would put Nato at war with Moscow

Michaela Mabinty DePrince, a trailblazer and inspiration to many in the ballet world, has died at 29. DePrince went from being an orphan in war-torn Sierra Leone to performing with Beyonce. A spokesperson announced her death on her Instagram page on Friday, saying: 'Her life was one defined by grace, purpose, and strength.' No cause of death has yet been reported

While Netflix's show takes aim at the 1%, the top 10% of earners also hoard opportunities on a mass scaleIt's hard to satirise the super-rich. Not that we don't enjoy trying. The most recent attempt - The Perfect Couple, a murder mystery starring Nicole Kidman set around a mansion in Nantucket, has been at the UK's top spot on Netflix since it came out last week. The White Lotus is to return for a third season; Glass Onion, Triangle of Sadness, The Undoing and Big Little Lies were all runaway hits.These satires are curious things, though, all of the same pattern. They don't focus much, for example, on where the money has come from. Instead, they work hard to show us that the 1% are, in fact, flawed: they are lazy, insecure, have affairs, are unpleasant to staff and are - as in other sectors of society - even capable of crime. Continue reading...

Trump's bizarre rant about pet-eating Haitians is just the latest in a hoary US tradition of scapegoating immigrantsLess than half an hour into Tuesday's presidential debate, former president Donald Trump deployed an updated version of a century-old slur against immigrant communities: that newcomers are eating other people's pets and vermin.They're eating the dogs, the people that came in, they're eating the cats," Trump said about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. In the past four years, 15,000 Haitians have settled in the city of almost 60,000, most of whom through a legal resettlement program for migrants. They're eating the pets of the people that live there, and this is what's happening in our country, and it's a shame." Continue reading...

The ex-president repeated the rightwing talking point during the debate with Harris, and now even Fox News is validating itExcuse me for a moment while I state the bleeding obvious: there is no state in the US where it is OK" to kill a baby after it is born. That is homicide and there are one or two laws that frown on that sort of thing. Unless you've just suffered some sort of traumatic head injury, then there's really no excuse for confusion when it comes to this. Continue reading...

From war orphan in Sierra Leone to international ballet star - the trailblazing Sierra Leonean-American ballet dancer has died aged 29

Springfield's immigrant community was targeted by far-right extremists months before Trump shared racist rumorsWhile Donald Trump made baseless, dangerous claims that immigrants in Ohio were eating people's pets in front of millions of viewers at Tuesday night's presidential debate, Johnson Salomon, a Haitian man who moved to Springfield in 2020, was watching cartoons with his kids before putting them to bed.He got a text from a friend telling him to turn on the debate. When he saw the headlines about what the former president and Republican nominee in November's election had said, he was in total shock. Continue reading...

Heritage Foundation blueprint describes an America poisoned by wokeness' and overtaken by lawlessness that only conservatives can save

Celebrities today are not just viewed as entertainers, but also an extension of a fan's moral, social and political valuesEarlier this week, the much-anticipated presidential debate between Kamala Harris, the vice-president, and the former president Donald Trump took place. But one of the most newsworthy events of the night occurred after the sparring concluded, when the pop-megastar Taylor Swift took to Instagram to endorse Harris. The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth. I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election," Swift wrote in her caption, under a photo of her holding a cat. With love and hope, Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady."Swift's reach was massive and immediate - fellow celebrities including WNBA breakout star Caitlin Clark and Jennifer Aniston liked the post, which amassed millions of likes in minutes. More than 300,000 new visitors went to vote.gov as a direct consequence of Swift's post, an action she reinforced in her remarks at the VMA awards ceremony the following night: If you're over 18 please register to vote for something else that is important - the Presidential election." Continue reading...

Harris, believed to be the debate winner, establishes crucial advantage over Trump ahead of the race's final stretchKamala Harris has re-established a crucial polling advantage over Donald Trump following this week's debate, which a clear majority of voters believe she won, according to a range of surveys.The latest Guardian polling trends tracker shows the US vice-president regaining a small lead over the Republican nominee since Tuesday's encounter in Philadelphia, a shift from surveys at the start of the week when the pair were essentially tied. Continue reading...

Harris won on points - and came across as confident and cool - but the race is still at equilibriumA total of 67 million Americans watched the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on Tuesday, and the first polls taken after the event all show the vice-president gaining a little ground over the former president.Harris's lead ranges from three to five points, depending on the poll, but we need to be careful about drawing any exaggerated conclusions. One poll by Reuters has Harris leading by five points, but she had been leading by four in their previous poll published on 21 August. Another by Morning Consult also revealed similar results, but her lead had been three points the day before the debate and four the day of the debate.John Zogby is senior partner at the polling firm of John Zogby Strategies and is author of Beyond the Horse Race: How to Read the Polls and Why We Should Continue reading...

Archdiocese's proposal comes as survivors of sexual abuse by clergy request very reasonable' $1bn to settle claimsWith a self-imposed deadline looming to file a plan to reorganize New Orleans' bankrupt Roman Catholic archdiocese, a committee representing about 500 survivors of clergy sexual abuse in south-east Louisiana on Friday proposed that the organization, its affiliated churches, ministries, schools and their insurers should pay more than $1bn to settle their claims.The archdiocese quickly answered with its counter-proposal: $62.5m, or more than $900m less. Continue reading...

What is wrong with people in this country?!

State is a tight race for vice-president and Donald Trump, with less than a percentage point between them on FridayKamala Harris, in an interview with Brian Taff of Philadelphia's 6abc Action News, re-emphasized many of the points she made in Tuesday's debate and throughout her brief campaign, including her stance on guns.In the 11-minute interview aired by the ABC affiliate on Friday, the Democratic nominee for president spoke about gun control, unity among Americans, and her goal of creating an opportunity economy". Continue reading...

A dominant USA took a 6-2 lead over Europe on the first day in Virginia with Nelly Korda in outstanding formThis morning's final foursomes match turns up for work. Carlota Ciganda, Europe's hero last time round, looks well up for the battle. So too does the US's second rookie, Sarah Schmelzel, who dances her way out of the tunnel and onto the tee. No obvious sign of nerves there. Hey, it helps when the world number two, Lilia Vu, has your back. Ciganda smiles wryly as she carves her opening drive into thick nonsense down the right. Vu, who came so close to retaining her British Open title last month, flirts with a fairway bunker but finds the short stuff. Everyone up and running now!Match three is out. Emily Pedersen finds the first cut down the left, as does Ally Ewing. Up on the green, Celine Boutier makes up for finding the sand by draining a 25-footer to save par. Lauren Coughlin has a 15-footer to win the hole, but races her birdie putt three feet past. It's not conceded, but Rose Zhang tidies up, then mimes a slam dunk by way of celebration. A huge smile as she leaves the grene. Continue reading...

Judge reduces sentence to four years of probation for Peter Cichuniec, who injected McClain with ketamine in 2019A Colorado paramedic convicted in the death of Elijah McClain, a Black man whose name became part of the rallying cries for social justice that swept the US in 2020, is being released from prison after a judge reduced his sentence to four years of probation on Friday.Judge Mark Warner ruled that unusual and extenuating circumstances" in the case justified reducing the five-year prison sentence for Peter Cichuniec, the Denver Post reported. Continue reading...

During a meeting with the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, the US president, Joe Biden, said that he does not think much about Russia's president, Vladimir Putin. The comment came in response to a reporter's question about Putin that suggested allowing Ukraine to fire long-range missiles into Russia could mean that Nato was at war with Russia

US secretary of state announces new sanctions against the Russian state-backed media companyThe US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has announced new sanctions against the Russian state-backed media company RT, formerly known as Russia Today, after new information gleaned from the outfit's employees showed it was functioning like a de facto arm of Russia's intelligence apparatus".The Russian government in 2023 established a new unit in RT with cyber operational capabilities and ties to Russian intelligence", Blinken claimed, with the goal of spreading Russian influence in countries around the world through information operations, covert influence and military procurement. Continue reading...

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Actions of Burt Jones in 2020 ruled reasonable and not criminal' by Peter Skandalakis, head of prosecutors' councilBurt Jones, Georgia's lieutenant governor, will not face criminal charges over his involvement in Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the election, a special prosecutor announced on Friday.Jones, a Republican state senator in 2020, served as one of the 16 fake electors for Trump - all of whom signed a document, submitted to the National Archives, claiming Trump won Georgia. Trump lost the state to Joe Biden by 11,779 votes. Continue reading...

Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore make first public comments since capsule left for Earth without themStuck-in-space astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams said on Friday it was hard to watch their Boeing capsule return to Earth without them.It was their first public comments since last week's return of the Boeing Starliner capsule that took them to the International Space Station in June. They remained behind after Nasa determined the problem-plagued capsule posed too much risk for them to ride back in. Continue reading...

Trump spews hate again toward Ohio's Haitian migrants, where residents are fearful over bomb threats and hateDonald Trump repeated racist claims about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, on Friday, doubling down on anti-immigrant rhetoric as residents in the town have faced bomb threats and have detailed their fears amid harassment.In Springfield, Ohio, 20,000 illegal migrant Haitians have descended upon a town of 58,000 people, destroying their way of life. They've destroyed the place," Trump said during a rambling press conference at his golf course in Los Angeles. People don't like to talk about it. Even the town doesn't like to talk about it, because it sounds so bad for the town. They live there ... for years it was a great place. Safe. Nice. Now they have 20,000 and I actually heard today it's 32,000." Continue reading...

Pontiff, 87, likens abortion to assassination' and condemns Trump over immigration plansPope Francis on Friday criticized Donald Trump over his plan to deport millions of immigrants and Kamala Harris over her stance supporting abortion rights.Asked about the US presidential election on his flight back to Rome from Singapore, the pope said not welcoming migrants is a grave" sin, and likened having an abortion to an assassination. Continue reading...

Justin Timberlake pleaded guilty to driving while impaired, a reduced traffic offence, resolving his drink-driving criminal case. The star was arrested in early June and charged with driving while intoxicated in the Hamptons in New York. Sag Harbor village police said Timberlake ran a stop sign and drifted out of his lane. In a statement after the legal proceedings, Timberlake said: 'I did not live up to the standards that I try to hold for myself.'

A bomb threat in Springfield, Ohio, came after Trump repeated baseless rumor about immigrants eating pets'Joe Biden on Friday said the hostile attacks on Haitian immigrants in the US [have] to stop" after Donald Trump repeated a false and derogatory claim about a Haitian community in Ohio.It is simply wrong that the proud Haitian community is under attack right now in this country," Biden said. There's no place in America. This has to stop - what he's doing. It has to stop," the US president said at a White House event marking Black excellence.Fears mount that election deniers could disrupt vote count in US swing statesMicrosoft billionaire fights US election disinformationPalestinian advocacy groups pressure Harris as election loomsPresidential poll tracker Continue reading...

Forget the mugs and jigsaws - an exhibition at the National Gallery reminds us that nothing compares to seeing the original masterpiecesOn Saturday the National Gallery in London opens its doors for its new Van Gogh exhibition, remarkably the first in its 200-year history. Exactly 100 years ago, the National purchased Van Gogh's Sunflowers for 1,304, a bargain even for the times.Far from a safe bet, guaranteed to bring in the crowds, Van Gogh was considered a rather risky addition in 1924. Slipping under the National Gallery's 1900 cut-off date - later works go to the Tate - by just a decade, he is a visionary modernist among old masters. His paintings might be the stuff of a million tea towels today, but there is nothing dusty or cosy about VanGogh.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...

Tua Tagovailoa's latest concussion has prompted calls for Dolphins' $212m quarterback to retire. Those well-intentioned pleas should not be the main takeawayIn Thursday night's NFL game between the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills, Miami's $212m quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered his fourth documented concussion, and third since joining the NFL, after colliding with defensive back Damar Hamlin, who himself nearly died in a game less than two years ago. The reactions from inside the football world were immediate and telling.Dez Bryant, longtime Dallas Cowboys wide receiver: That's it ... NFL go ahead and do the right thing. Tua has had entirely way too many concussions. He need to retire for his longevity health concerns."Shannon Sharpe: three-time Super Bowl champion turned pundit: Really hope Tua is ok, but he's gotta seriously think about shutting it [down]. I [hate] saying this. His concussions are getting worse and worse and he's a young man with his entire life ahead of him."Antonio Bryant, former All-Pro wide receiver: In all seriousness Tua may want to rethink playing football in the future depending on severity. Concussions not something to mess with."Robert Griffin III, Heisman trophy winner: Really just praying for Tua's long term health. Another concussion puts him at 3 officially and countless other scares. Think of the person not just the player."Nathan Kalman-Lamb is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of New Brunswick. Derek Silva is Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminology at King's University College at Western University. They are co-authors of The End of College Football: On the Human Cost of an All-American Game (UNC Press, November 2024) and co-hosts (with Johanna Mellis) of The End of Sport podcast. Continue reading...

One measure would enshrine the state's current 12-week ban, while the other would allow abortion up to 24 weeksNebraska residents will vote this November on two competing ballot measures to expand or limit abortion rights, the state supreme court ruled on Friday.One of the measures that will be put to voters would enshrine Nebraska's current abortion ban, which outlaws the procedure past 12 weeks of pregnancy, into the state constitution. The other would amend the state constitution to add the right to abortion up until fetal viability, or at about 24 weeks of pregnancy. Continue reading...

The vice-president's many and varied expressions said as much as her words in rebutting her Republican rivalAs Kamala Harris, newly installed as a presidential candidate, sought to change the weather on the Democrats' faltering campaign in late July, she made an appeal to Donald Trump that delighted a crowd of her supporters in Atlanta.Trump sure seems to have a lot to say about me", she told the crowd, before challenging him to debate with her: As the saying goes, if you've got something to say, say it to my face." Continue reading...

Alejandro Mayorkas says radicalized individuals could disrupt voting by targeting polling places and workersThe secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, has warned that one of the top threats facing the US in the lead-up to November's presidential election are lone offenders" aiming to disrupt voting and other public targets.In the aftermath of 9/11 the most prominent terrorism-related threat facing our nation was that of sophisticated foreign terrorist networks," Mayorkas said in a keynote speech at a closed-door conference, hosted by the Soufan Center in New York. Continue reading...

Former president argued that the case violated the supreme court's recent presidential immunity rulingA US appeals court late on Thursday declined to interfere with a lower court decision to keep Donald Trump's already-decided criminal case, over hush money paid to an adult film star, in state court, dealing another blow to the former US president's bid to move the case to federal court.On 29 August, nearly three months after he was convicted in the first-ever criminal trial of a US president, Trump asked US district judge Alvin Hellerstein to move the case from New York state court in Manhattan to federal court, arguing the trial violated his constitutional rights. Continue reading...

While other tech execs endorse politicians, Steve Ballmer wants to provide impartial statistics on key issuesIf you stay up late enough watching TV in the US, you may come across what appears to be a short educational program packed with numbers.The man hosting the program may only be instantly recognizable to a handful of people, though according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, he is currently the eighth wealthiest person in the world. Continue reading...

Activists are tentative in supporting Democrats without an arms embargo and ceasefire in GazaIn the days leading up to last month's Democratic national convention (DNC), some pro-Palestinian groups and individuals expressed cautious excitement about Kamala Harris's ascendence to the candidacy. Representative Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said that there was a sense that there's an opening" with the vice-president, referring to a possible shift in US policy on Israel's war on Gaza, while others voiced more measured optimism.However, following the convention, during which party officials refused to allow a Palestinian to speak on the main stage, and where Harris hawkishly affirmed her support for arming Israel, many of those groups' initial hope has turned into a belief that Harris will remain in-line with Joe Biden's Israel policies. The result has been a splintering of sorts: some organizations are still attempting to push Harris toward a more anti-war stance; others have decided to support Harris through the election regardless, citing the risk of a Donald Trump presidency. Continue reading...

At least 239 election deniers have signed up to Trump's election integrity' conspiracy theories, survey findsFears are rising that the vote count in November's presidential election could be disrupted as a result of the proliferation of Donald Trump's lies about stolen elections and rampant voter fraud in the key swing states where the race for the White House will be decided.A new survey of eight vital swing states reveals that at least 239 election deniers who have signed up to Trump's election integrity" conspiracy theories - including the false claim that the 2020 election was rigged against him - are actively engaged in electoral battles this year. The deniers are standing for congressional or state seats, holding Republican leadership positions, and overseeing elections on state and county election boards. Continue reading...

The Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion for the third time in his NFL career, leaving his team's game on Thursday night against Buffalo after running into defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting his head on the turf. Tagovailoa was down for about two minutes in the third quarter before walking to the sideline. He soon made his way to the tunnel, looking to the stands before smiling and walking to the locker room.The Dolphins later announced it was a concussion. The team said he had two in the 2022 season, and Tagovailoa was diagnosed with another concussion while a college player at Alabama. Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season - making him one of the highest-paid players in the league - and was the NFL's leading passer in Week 1. Tagovailoa left with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, which was the final score. Continue reading...