People from tech executives to foreign leaders and even some mainstream media figures are acquiescing in advance', experts say, because of greed and fearWhen Justice for All", a dirge-like version of the national anthem sung by defendants jailed over their alleged roles in the January 6, 2021 insurrection, was played last month at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, guests stood with hand on heart.Among them was Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire founder of Facebook. Continue reading...
Last week's photo op with the Reform leader and X owner was further evidence of the UK's inevitable march towards the far right. Merry Christmas!There's a new photo of Nigel Farage and the Reform treasurer, Nick Candy, who partied through the pandemic at Lord Shaun Bum and Boobs" Bailey of Paddington's Pissedmas disco with a load of dancing Tory spads in horrible Christmas jumpers, meeting Elon Musk at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago document storage unit slash vanity art display mausoleum. How's that for an opening para? It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. They think it's all over. It is now.The last time Farage posed like this was eight years ago, with his fellow bad boys of Brexit and Trump himself at the same Trump Tower lift where Michael Gove contemporaneously observed an immensely dignified African American operator". But now Farage is finally standing next to the organ-grinder in charge of democracy's hand-cranked dance of death, instead of the orange monkey whose jaunty capering distracts the punters while their passports are lifted and burned.Stewart Lee tours Stewart Lee vs the Man-Wulf next year, with a Royal Festival Hall run in July. He is also a guest of all-female Fall karaoke act the Fallen Women, at the Lexington, London, on 28 DecemberDo 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...
Complaints about the president are growing among Russian military and business leaders. Now is the time for the west to turn up the heatAs Bashar al-Assad fell, Russian nationalist military bloggers turned on the Kremlin. Ten years of our presence," fumed the Two Majors" Telegram channel to its more than one million subscribers, dead Russian soldiers, billions of spent roubles and thousands of tonnes of ammunition, they must be compensated somehow." Some didn't shy away from lambasting Vladimir Putin. The adventure in Syria, initiated by Putin personally, seems to be coming to an end. And it ends ignominiously, like all other geopolitical' endeavours of the Kremlin strategist." These weren't isolated incidents. Filter Labs, a data analytics company I collaborate with, saw social media sentiment on Syria dip steeply as Assad fell.It was in stark contrast to Putin's silly claim at his annual news conference last week that Russia had suffered no defeat in Syria. Unlike social media, legacy media tried to walk the Kremlin line, but even here there were splits. You can bluff on the international arena for a while - but make sure you don't fall for your own deceptions", ran an op-ed in the broadsheet Kommersant, penned by a retired colonel close to the military leadership. He then used Syria as an example of how in today's world, victory is only possible in a quick and fleeting war. If you effectively win in a matter of days and weeks, but cannot quickly consolidate your success in military and political terms, you will eventually lose no matter what you do." Though the piece didn't mention Ukraine, Vasily Gatov, a media analyst at the University of Southern California, told me he thought it was a message from the general staff to the Kremlin: be realistic about what we can achieve in Ukraine, too. Continue reading...
In choosing the UK's new ambassador, Keir Starmer is gambling that the rewards will justify the risksFrom Prince of Darkness to deputy prime minister to Your Excellency. It is fair to say that the latest incarnation of the politician with nine lives is not a universally acclaimed appointment. In conversation with a cabinet minister a couple of weeks ago, I brought up the idea of Peter Mandelson becoming the UK's man in Washington. The minister arched a sceptical eyebrow before saying: We already have a very good ambassador there."There were considerable qualms within government about giving such a pivotal role to one of the most controversial figures in British politics and quite a lot of support for extending the term of the well-regarded Dame Karen Pierce. Sir Keir Starmer was ultimately persuaded that it will take more than the skills of a career diplomat to handle relations with the US during a second Trump term which everyone expects to be a noisy and perilous ride. I think it is a super smart appointment," remarks one government loyalist. My instinct is that Trump respects serious operators and we all know what an operator Peter is." A friend of Lord Mandelson reports: He knows what his job is going to be. It is to be the voice of Britain in the president's ear." The calculation at Number 10 is that Donald Trump, a man bored by conventional diplomatic types, will be sufficiently intrigued by a figure as vivid as Lord M to pay him attention. Continue reading...
It's a creepy time of year from The Archers to Nosferatu to Mark Gatiss' Woman of StoneThis Christmas, find some pity for Lynda Snell MBE. Fans of the BBC radio soap The Archers know Lynda as the stalwart organiser of every Christmas panto in the fictional village of Ambridge. This year, she found herself tasked with something more arduous: voice-coaching the hard-living Mick, who had volunteered to play Father Christmas at the local pub, only for the landlords to discover that Mick had a performance voice so rasping and gravelly it was guaranteed to terrify the children.Readers who, like me, are incurable listeners of The Archers will know the solution: Lynda sparkily announced that this year, Ambridge would host a creepy Christmas" event, allowing Mick to snarl to his heart's content as Krampus, not Santa, and a range of other Christmas bogeymen. Hilarity, by Ambridge standards, ensued when Lynda found herself scrambling to hide Mick and his demonic horns from the vicar. Continue reading...
After Syria, Israel and the US fear Tehran will build an atomic bomb. Their threats may produce that very outcomeChoices, choices. In life, there's always a choice, or so that complacent saying goes. It didn't really hold true for the people of Syria, bound and gagged by tyranny for half a century. Yet finally, after infinite pain, they chose freedom. Now the Middle East spotlight shifts to other victims of state oppression. Who's next for revolution? Step forward, Iran.A sudden collapse of the hardline theocratic regime in power since the Shah's overthrow in 1979 is unlikely. True or false? Surprises happen, as all Syria knows. How Iran navigates the changing post-Assad landscape is fiercely debated in Tehran. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior mullahs facefateful decisions about the country's path. Continue reading...
Trump, who is married to Donald Trump's son Eric, co-chaired Republican National Committee in 2024 electionLara Trump, daughter-in-law of Donald Trump, said on Saturday she had removed her name from consideration to replace the outgoing US senator Marco Rubio.Rubio has been tapped by Trump to serve as secretary of state. The Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, will pick a replacement for Rubio, who is expected to resign as senator when Trump takes office on 20 January. Continue reading...
Mark Burnett, who also created Survivor, Shark Tank and The Voice, lacks diplomatic and foreign policy experienceDonald Trump has appointed Mark Burnett, a British television producer who helped produce Trump's show The Apprentice, as the US's special envoy to the UK.In an announcement on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump hailed 64-year-old Burnett, saying: With a distinguished career in television production and business, Mark brings a unique blend of diplomatic acumen and international recognition to this important role." Continue reading...
According to complaint, Baldoni retaliated after crisis meeting attending by Lively's husband, Ryan ReynoldsActor Blake Lively has made accusations against her former It Ends with Us co-star/director Justin Baldoni, filing a legal complaint in California claiming sexual harassment and making allegations of a coordinated PR effort to damage her reputation.According to Lively's complaint, matters got so bad during the production of the film, which premiered in August this year, that a meeting was held to address her claims of a hostile work environment that was attended by husband, Ryan Reynolds. Continue reading...
Average price of eggs rose nearly 30 cents since October, with egg production down 4% from prior yearThe accelerating spread of bird flu through US poultry flocks is pushing the price of eggs to highs rivaling or exceeding the cost in December 2022 at the height of the post-pandemic inflation scare.The average cost of a dozen Grade A large eggs was $3.65 in November, up from $3.37 in October, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week, up from $2.50 at the start of the year, as farmers battle with a fatal strain of H5N1 that continues to disrupt the US egg supply. Continue reading...
Interest in the United Healthcare CEO shooting suspect's background underscores research that the media covers white and Black perpetrators differentlyLuigi Mangione, the 26-year-old who allegedly shot and killed the United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has received an avalanche of media attention as people attempt to understand what may have driven him to commit such a violent crime.Since Mangione's arrest, news reports have attempted to piece together his supposed motivations, with some suggesting that a back injury - and his resulting inability to have intercourse - fueled his alleged resentment against the healthcare industry. Other reports have painted Mangione as a recluse who rejected his affluent upbringing, openly speculating on the baffling journey" of a star student". Continue reading...
by Joseph Gedeon and Lauren Gambino in Washington and on (#6T2CY)
Measure averting government shutdown did not include demand by Trump to raise debt ceilingThe US Senate has approved a stop-gap funding measure to avert a government shutdown shortly after a midnight deadline with a bill that defied Donald Trump's demand for a debt-limit suspension. The legislation was signed by Joe Biden on Saturday morning, the White House confirmed.The Senate passed the bill in an 85-11 vote, hours after an overwhelmingly bipartisan 366-34 vote in the House. It was passed 38 minutes after the deadline but the government did not invoke shutdown procedures in the interim. Continue reading...
You can't simply set out to create a so-bad-it's-good classic. But this year's thinly veiled Taylor Swift biopic, Christmas in the Spotlight, could be a contenderAs a lifelong enthusiast of the so-bad-it's-good" sub-strand of cinema, I approach every Christmas with a mix of excitement and trepidation. If at one end of the spectrum we have magical Christmas films (It's a Wonderful Life, Home Alone, Jingle All the Way), passing through the slurry of mediocre, sentimental seasonal cash-ins, what I hope to find at the other extreme is something so truly awful it achieves a peculiar kind of transcendence.Some recent contenders were Last Christmas (a January resolution to eat more vegetables masquerading as a Christmas film; weird Brexit subplot; insufficient George Michael) and Cats (genuinely creepy, but giving way to a confusing, cumulative high as the film progresses, so that by the time Judi Dench says a cat is not a dog" you have reached a sort of collective hysteria). Continue reading...
Musk's role in government shutdown drama could be a preview of role he plays for incoming president next yearDonald Trump's relationship with Elon Musk is showing no signs of fraying, even after at times he appeared to eclipse the president-elect's influence as he bullied House Republicans into paring down their bipartisan spending deal to avert a government shutdown with just hours to spare.The move by Musk to detonate the political equivalent of a nuclear bomb - by demanding that Republicans sink the deal or face a primary challenge - was viewed as a test run of the kind of role Musk might play to pressure Congress once Trump takes office, people familiar with the matter said. Continue reading...
Investigation by Senate Democrats found that Thomas accepted gifts and travel worth more than $4.75m since 1991A nearly two-year investigation by Democratic senators of supreme court ethics details more luxury travel by Justice Clarence Thomas and urges Congress to establish a way to enforce a new code of conduct.Any movement on the issue appears unlikely as Republicans prepare to take control of the Senate in January, underscoring the hurdles in imposing restrictions on a separate branch of government even as public confidence in the court has fallen to record lows. Continue reading...
Gerry Connolly, 74, beat AOC's bid to become lead Democrat on the House oversight committee thanks to Nancy Pelosi, then 85They may have lost the presidency, the House, and the Senate, but when it comes to avoiding introspection, the Democrats are completely undefeated. You'd have thought that after the disastrous presidential election, the Democrats might have taken some time to figure out what went wrong. You'd have thought they might have decided to try and refresh the party - make it more relevant to disenchanted voters. You'd have thought they might have realized that they needed to shake things up. Continue reading...
Experts say they're unsurprised by expressions of anger' at the healthcare system after the death of Brian ThompsonAmericans are sharing stories of heartbreaking insurance denials - ones that led to worse illness and death - in the aftermath of the killing of Brian Thompson, CEO of the mega-insurer United Healthcare.A rise in practices such as prior authorizations and automated denials of coverage have made it more difficult for Americans to access healthcare, and changes are urgently needed to reform practices like these and restore trust in the health system, experts said. Continue reading...
Key figures in the incoming administration follow Curtis Yarvin, who's pushing for an autocratic takeover of the USCurtis Yarvin is hardly a household name in US politics. But the neoreactionary" thinker and far-right blogger is emerging as a serious intellectual influence on key figures in Donald Trump's coming administration in particular over potential threats to US democracy.Yarvin, who considers liberal democracy as a decadent enemy to be dismantled, is intellectually influential on vice president-elect JD Vance and close to several proposed Trump appointees. The aftermath of Trump's election victory has seen actions and rhetoric from Trump and his lieutenants that closely resemble Yarvin's public proposals for taking autocratic power in America. Continue reading...
Trump is hardly the first US president to introduce miscast nominees, but he has nominated ambassadors at a rate not recalled in recent memoryThey seem an unlikely, almost motley, crew of emissaries.For the Bahamas, there is Herschel Walker, a former NFL star whose fledgling Senate campaign was undone by a string of personal embarrassments but who now is named to be the next US ambassador to the small island nation. Continue reading...
American confidence in the courts has hit a record low across party lines. This is worrying - if not surprisingThe US supreme court has been hijacked by the extreme right and corrupted to its core.American oligarchs bestow millions in gifts and largesse on rightwing justices. The court's conservative supermajority hands down deeply unpopular decisions that take away long-settled rights, concentrate power for themselves and their friends and grease the electoral rails for their party.David Daley is the author of the new book Antidemocratic: Inside the Right's 50-Year Plot to Control American Elections as well as Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn't Count Continue reading...
More people are avoiding boring' or depressing' news for scrolling social media, but accurate reporting has never been more vitalThe other night I broke a long-cherished habit. At home in time for the BBC News at 10, I could only manage a couple of headlines before I turned it off, flicking through the channels instead for something that would make me smile, a comedy or anything about dogs.News of the torture and murder of a little girl, followed by reports from yet another seemingly intractable conflict, had turned me into one of the biggest threats to my own profession, if not democracy - I had become a news avoider.Jane Martinson is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Instability is growing, Putin's hybrid war in Europe is heating up and for fear of escalation we have encouraged global nuclear proliferationThere are human activities in which both sides can win. War is not one of them. Either Ukraine wins this war or Russia does. Ukraine's former foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba says bluntly that unless the current trajectory is changed, we will lose this war".To be clear: this is still avoidable. Suppose the roughly four-fifths of Ukrainian territory still controlled by Kyiv gets military commitments from the west strong enough to deter any further Russian advances, secure large-scale investment in economic reconstruction, encourage Ukrainians to return from abroad to rebuild their country, and allow for stable, pro-European politics and reform. In five years, the country joins the EU, and then, under a new US administration, starts the process of entering Nato. Most of Ukraine becomes a sovereign, independent, free country, firmly anchored in the west.Timothy Garton Ash is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
Democrats had put emphasis on federal courts following Trump's first term, when he filled three supreme court seatsJoe Biden secured the 235th judicial confirmation of his presidency Friday, an accomplishment that exceeds his predecessor's total by one after Democrats put extra emphasis on the federal courts following Donald Trump's far-reaching first term, when he filled three seats on the supreme court.Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, teed up votes on two California district judges, which were likely to be the last judicial confirmations this year before Congress adjourns and makes way for a new, Republican-led Senate. Continue reading...
President-elect, yet to take office, faces internal rebellion, with the specter of President Musk' looming largeDonald Trump is still a month away from returning to the White House and already his relationship with Republicans on Capitol Hill is fraying, signalling trouble ahead for both sides.The president-elect's inability to intimidate members of his own party in the House to back a spending resolution just to keep the government open ahead of a midnight shutdown surely has implications for his ability to drive through his ambitious agenda in the face of tiny majorities in both congressional chambers once he returns to office. Continue reading...
Group of nine plaintiffs allege administration has abandoned them and their familiesA group of Palestinian Americans trapped in Gaza have sued the Biden administration, alleging it has abandoned them and their families, leaving them trapped in a war zone despite rescuing similarly situated Americans of different national origins".The plaintiffs - Khalid Mourtaga, Salsabeel ElHelou, Sahar Harara, Sawsan Kahil, Marowa Abusharia, Mohanad Alnajjar, Mariam Alrayes, Heba Enayeh and Samia Abualreesh - are all either US citizens, legal permanent residents, or their immediate relatives. Continue reading...
The lizard species, one of the world's largest, is native to Australia and is rarely seen outside that countryTwo new baby lizards have hatched at the Los Angeles zoo, the first of their species to be bred there, zoo officials said on Thursday.Perentie lizards, or Varanus giganteus, are native to Australia and are among the world's largest lizards, dwarfed only by the Komodo dragon and a few others. Continue reading...
Company went into bankruptcy in January 2023 under $1.7bn in debt, but remaining $800m too much to overcomeThe party is over at Party City, once the largest supplier of balloons and other fun-time supplies in the US, as the company announced Friday it was closing down all of its stores, ending nearly 40 years in business.Barry Litwin, the Party City CEO, told employees that the chain was winding down" operations immediately and that today would be their last day of employment. Continue reading...
Richard Allen received the maximum term for the killings in Delphi of Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14An Indiana man convicted in the 2017 killings of two teenage girls has been sentenced to 130 years in prison - the maximum term the trial judge was able to impose.Richard Allen, 52, was convicted last month in the murder of best friends Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, in the small town of Delphi, close to eight years after the children's bodies were found near a hiking trail. Continue reading...
More than a dozen schools warn international students of visa threat, with some urging them to return to campusUS colleges and universities are issuing warnings to their international students to return to campus before Donald Trump assumes office as president in preparation for a repeat of potential travel bans seen during his first term.More than a dozen US schools have issued advisories. Some students must be back soon anyway since their spring semester begins before the president-elect takes office, but others are warning that students who depend on an academic visa may be at risk and should return to campus before Trump's inauguration on 20 January. Continue reading...
Move is in response to continuing reports of mysterious drone flights and speculations into their originsFederal aviation authorities have extended a month-long drone ban over New Jersey to parts of New York state as mysterious overflights continue to roil the population despite official efforts to tamp down wild speculation about their origins.A new temporary ban covers parts of Brooklyn, Queens and two communities on Long Island. New York's governor, Kathy Hochul, said the overflight ban included some of New York's critical infrastructure sites". Continue reading...
The parallels between the science fiction writer's five-year-old story and present-day events are startlingFive years ago, the science fiction writer Cory Doctorow published a short story whose plot might seem eerily similar to followers of the past few weeks' news.In Radicalized, one of four novellas comprising a science fiction novel of the same name, Doctorow charts the journey of a man who joins an online forum for fathers whose partners or children have been denied healthcare coverage by their insurers after his wife is diagnosed with breast cancer and denied coverage for an experimental treatment. Slowly, over the course of the story, the men of the forum become radicalized by their grief and begin plotting - and executing - murders of health insurance executives and politicians who vote against universal healthcare. Continue reading...
An effective fight against the president-elect requires a struggle that takes the frustrations of working-class voters seriouslyAs Donald Trump prepares for his inauguration, many have begun to debate how best to build a committed political opposition. Instead of reviving the 2016 era #resistance - which was big on spectacle and short on substance - those on the left would do well to take seriously the frustrations of working-class voters and craft a strategy accordingly.Trump's victory can credibly be read as a class revolt. Blue-collar voters - Black, white, Latino and Asian, in rural and urban areas alike - gave a big middle finger to the progressive professional class elite. Kamala Harris represented the epitome of a Democratic party that has become increasingly dominated by affluent and educated voters (and funded by even wealthier donors). Her ascension itself represented the transformation of the party of the people" into an aristocratic private club, liberal elites were so terrified of the hoi polloi that they ensured not one ordinary person would vote on her nomination to lead the Democratic party into battle. Are we shocked that the same voters failed to show-up on the battlefield? Hardly. Continue reading...
Commentator claims he was target of man holding a gun and crossbow who was later fatally shot by Illinois policeThe far-right American political activist Nick Fuentes said he was a possible target of a man later fatally shot by Illinois police after the man apparently appeared at his door armed with a gun and a crossbow.The man, 24-year-old John Lyons, who was also wanted in an earlier triple homicide, was shot and killed by police in the Chicago suburb of Berwyn after a Wednesday night foot chase, according to authorities. The pursuit started on the block where Fuentes, 26, lives. Continue reading...
by Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Alice Herman in Pleasa on (#6T2CQ)
Exclusive: Experts believe the alleged shuttle support' program used by Uline - a company owned by billionaires Liz and Dick Uihlein - is likely illegal and exploitative of workersA company owned by two of Donald Trump's top mega-donors has routinely brought dozens of its workers from Mexico to staff its warehouses in Wisconsin and other locations even though they do not appear to have permission to work in the US, according to a Guardian investigation.Uline - a giant Wisconsin-based office and shipping supply company controlled by billionaires Liz and Dick Uihlein - shuttles in its own workers from Mexico, who are using tourist visas and visas meant for employees who are entering the US temporarily to receive professional training, known as B1 visas. But instead of being part of a dedicated training program, the Mexican employees stay for one to six months and - sources with direct knowledge of the matter allege - perform normal work in Uline's US warehouses. Continue reading...
For decades I accepted what sitcoms and soaps told me: that groups of like-minded people form and stay together effortlessly. Now the former Friend has told it like it isLisa Kudrow says being and staying friends with her Friends co-stars was tough at times. That six-way relationship took some work - and we did it," she told the Armchair Expert podcast. They worked hard at being friends".This is no Sex and the City-style daggers-drawn revelation - Kudrow essentially said that they sometimes had to act like sensible adult humans to maintain the easy screen intimacy we all watched play out on Monica's couch. But for me it came as a relief and a confirmation of something I only recently muddled out: TV friendships aren't real.Emma Beddington is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
by Ramon Antonio Vargas in New Orleans on (#6T2D0)
Some in church case worry whether connections mean they are getting a fair shake'Links have continued surfacing between a bankruptcy case in Houston that forced a judge there to resign - while thrusting him under FBI investigation - and a contentious, costly financial reorganization being pursued by the clergy abuse-plagued Roman Catholic archdiocese of New Orleans.Perhaps the most notable so far: a portion of a transcript from a March 2023 hearing that until now had largely gone unnoticed shows how - before corruption allegations prompted his resignation - David Jones exalted the wisdom of one of the most tendentious rulings made by fellow bankruptcy judge Meredith Grabill with respect to the New Orleans archdiocese's chapter 11 reorganization. Continue reading...
Americans are encouraged to get vaccinated in early fall, but getting Covid and flu shots today can still be a good ideaPerhaps you procrastinated - that Halloween costume wouldn't make itself and neither would the Thanksgiving turkey - and now you've realized, just as you're about to gather with your friends and family again, that you've neglected your seasonal vaccines.Public health authorities recommend people get annual vaccines for influenza and Covid-19 in the early fall - around September and October. But infectious disease experts say even if you didn't get shots then, it can make a difference today. Continue reading...
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