Spencer Gear, 32, faces 22 counts of threats to kill, including Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg and Justice Juan MerchanA man in Nevada has been charged with making a death threat against the prosecutor who secured Donald Trump's criminal conviction in New York and the judge who oversaw the trial, according to court records and a person familiar with the case.Spencer Gear, 32, was charged in Nevada federal court on 16 July with 22 counts of making threats to kill or injure federal and state officials, including making a call threatening to kill two individuals in New York referred to as AB" and JM". Continue reading...
Officials say the transition is fueling new energy as they address questions over the process of choosing a new candidateJoe Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race and the emergence of Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee seems to have been absorbed by Democratic delegates faster than a spill in a napkin commercial.Delegates to the Democratic national convention seem to have been poised for a pivot. In conversations since Biden's decision, many say they've moved from fear to relief to a kind of euphoria almost instantly. Continue reading...
Executive order gives guidance on how to remove tents and says decision for removal remains up to local authoritiesThe California governor, Gavin Newsom, issued an executive order on Thursday calling for the removal of homeless encampments across the state.The policy calls for shutdowns of encampments on state property and urges local governments to follow suit. The order cites a controversial US supreme court decision in June saying unhoused people sleeping outside can be ticketed and jailed even when there is no shelter available. The ruling was the most consequential on homelessness in the US in decades and sparked widespread concern from advocates for the unhoused, who argued that criminalization exacerbates the crisis, making it harder for people to get the help they need. Continue reading...
by Niall McVeigh (later), Yara El-Shaboury and Tom Da on (#6PFM8)
Lim Si-hyeon set an archery world record while the women's football, handball and rugby sevens events got under wayEarly drama in this second-half. The Dutch score early to make it 20-18 but then Nenganga gets brought down and earns a penalty. She is 4/4 from the line but her fifth is saved by Yara ten Holte, who is only being brought on to save penalties. Nenganga looks at her bench in disbelief.At the other end, Juliana Machado pushes an opponent hard from behind. She gets a two-miunte suspension. A moment later, her teammate gets a one-minute suspension. A double power-play! Dutch take advantage and it is 23-20. Continue reading...
Presidential hopeful tells American Federation of Teachers convention: When unions are strong, America is strong'Kamala Harris sought to bolster her pro-labor credentials on Thursday days into her run for the presidency, telling a convention of one of the US's biggest unions: When unions are strong, America is strong."Addressing the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) convention today in Houston, Texas - her fourth event in four days across four states - the vice-president said: Donald Trump and his extreme allies want to take our nation back to failed trickle-down economic policies, back to union-busting, back to tax breaks for billionaires." Continue reading...
The vice-president blends a prosecutor's precision with pearls of wisdom. Experts shed light on her languageWhat can be, unburdened by what has been" is a phrase Kamala Harris uses so often there are minutes-long supercuts available to watch on YouTube. It even has its own Wikipedia page. In other speeches, Harris has also expressed a belief in the significance of the passage of time" and a desire to honor the women who made history throughout history".Since becoming the presumptive nominee, Harris has invigorated the Democratic party. It's not only that she's a much younger candidate than Biden; she also has a stump speech style that embraces metaphor and a new age vernacular not often heard in national politics. The meme accounts love to quote it. It's even led some to draw comparisons with Julia Louis-Dreyfus's portrayal of Selina Meyer, the frothy politician in Veep. (In one episode, Meyer stumbles through a speech saying: We are the United States of America because we are united ... and we are states.") Continue reading...
Christopher Wray, the FBI director, said there were doubts about whether Donald Trump was hit in his ear by a bullet or shrapnel during the assassination attempt. Testifying before Congress, Wray said: 'With respect to former president Trump, there's some question about whether or not it's a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear'
The actor criticised Trump's running mate's views on Kamala Harris and other Democratic politicians in the US - adding that she hoped his daughter never needed IVFJennifer Aniston has taken issue with JD Vance's description of some of the most powerful people in US politics as childless cat ladies".Writing on Instagram, the actor said: I truly cannot believe this is coming from a potential VP. All I can say is ... Mr Vance, I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children of her own one day". Continue reading...
Optimistic video has Beyonce's anthem as a soundtrack and touches on gun violence, health care and abortionThe Harris for President campaign has launched its first official video, less than a week after US President Joe Biden announced he was dropping out of the race and his vice-president Kamala Harris said she was running for the nomination.The ad caps a week during which Harris also broke funding records and quickly clinched enough delegate support to become the presumptive nominee in an election that is now just over 100 days away. Continue reading...
Charli xcx declared the VP brat and the KHive is rejuvenated - can gen Z's enthusiasm make a difference in November?In a series of events over 24 hours that would have been unimaginable a week ago, Kamala Harris ascended to the top of the Democratic ticket, secured the backing of Joe Biden and key leaders, brought in a record-breaking $81m, and became the face of brat summer.kamala IS brat," pop star Charli xcx declared on Sunday, a reference to her new album released last month that has launched countless memes declaring it the season of the brat. A brat, in the British singer's own words, is that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes, who feels herself, but then also maybe has a breakdown, but kind of parties through it". Continue reading...
Make sure you don't miss a thing with our full, updating guide to the dates and times of all the events at Paris 2024Search for every event and start time at the Paris Olympics with our comprehensive live schedule. From the football pitch to the pool, via track and field and much more, use our filter tool to pinpoint the sports and disciplines you want to follow most so that you don't miss a thing. Continue reading...
Black Americans with diabetes are four times more likely to suffer amputations than white AmericansAfter her right foot became infected and riddled with gangrene last summer, Jemia Keshwani, 40, was terrified that it would need to be amputated.Keshwani is a former warehouse security guard from LaGrange, Georgia, and she had spent quite a lot of her career on her feet. She was first diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 25 years ago, just after her father died while in a diabetic coma. Like many people with the silent disease", the condition marked by dangerously high sugar in the blood, her father did not realize he had diabetes until he was hospitalized. Several years ago, a friend of Keshwani's with diabetes underwent a below-the-knee amputation. This was both a disease and a procedure with which she was dreadfully familiar. Continue reading...
The GOP ticket of JD Vance and Donald Trump, from menstrual surveillance' to sexual assault, has made itself clearThe Republican party of the United States remains the party of denying women fundamental human rights. The US press as a whole remains the instrument of softening up or ignoring this reality.Trump has long been criticized for his public treatment of women," ran a CNN headline. The ones in his life argue he's different in private." What follows is a puff piece in which prominent Republican women say nice things about him, and his history of alleged sexual assault is mentioned several paragraphs down. Continue reading...
Rightwing playbooks used in past election campaigns are being dusted off for an all-out assault on the vice-presidentFor Barack Obama there was birtherism" and a name they said sounded like a specific Middle East terrorist. For Hillary Clinton there was Lock her up" and merchandise that said, Trump that bitch", Hillary sucks but not like Monica" and Life's a bitch: don't vote for one."Rightwing playbooks deployed in past election campaigns are being dusted off for an all-out assault against Vice-President Kamala Harris, the de facto Democratic nominee aiming to become the first Black woman and first person of south Asian descent to be US president. Continue reading...
It was hard to get the president to talk about abortion at all, but Harris seems to realize that abortion rights are a winning issueWhen he was still the nominee, Joe Biden's preferred euphemism for abortion was Roe". He would talk about upholding" Roe v Wade even after June 2022, when the US supreme court struck it down. Reproductive rights advocates bristled at this, pointing out how many people had been denied abortions under Roe, and how flimsy the decision's protection of reproductive rights had been on personal-autonomy or sex-equality grounds.Frankly, it was hard to get the president to talk about abortion at all. He seemed to avoid even the word abortion". When he did talk about the procedure - and the bans on it that Republicans have unleashed across the country - he preferred to focus on women who had been denied emergency abortions for wanted pregnancies in the midst of tragic health complications.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...
by Beau Dure, Bryan Armen Graham and Andrew Lawrence on (#6PFPC)
Will the US top the medal table? Will we see the arrival of a new global star? Our writers answer the biggest questions as the Olympics get underwayMedal count winner ...USA. In terms of overall medals, it'll be a wide margin. In terms of gold medals it'll be a bit narrower because China so thoroughly dominates diving and table tennis. For the first week or so, China may be ahead, but USA's track and field contingent will take charge in week two. BD Continue reading...
My dad, my brother and I maxed out the credit cards and went to the Serengeti, working through our grief amid the animalsThe summer after my mum died, my brother came up with a plan. Rather than mark the first anniversary of her death in London, where we had all lived together, we should take ourselves on the most extravagant holiday possible. Why cry at home, he reasoned, when we could cry on the beach in luxury?It was June 2014 and I was 20, on summer break from my second year at university. For the previous four years, I had been living with the fear and understanding that my mum's death was imminent. She had been diagnosed with a rare form of sarcoma in 2009 and only given six months to live. Thankfully, a brutal surgery and experimental dose of chemotherapy helped her into remission before the cycle began again: surgery, chemo, recovery, fear.Ammar Kalia is a writer and author of A Person is a Prayer Continue reading...
Ukrainians are determined to fight on whatever the result, but without US support their position would be perilousIt's a safe bet that no leader outside the United States is following its current election more closely than Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy - and with good reason. If Kamala Harris wins the US presidential election in November, she will almost certainly continue Joe Biden's policy toward Ukraine, but if Donald Trump returns to the White House on 20 January, he could cease military support for Ukraine, meaning it would eventually run out of the weaponry it needs to resist Russia.Or Trump could continue arming Ukraine for a while, but as a segue to a settlement - ideally one presided over by him. During his speech accepting the Republican party's presidential nomination, Trump vowed to end the war in Ukraine. In a phone call with Zelenskiy the next day, he pledged to achieve a just peace", but Kyiv has good reason to fear that he would, at a minimum, allow Russia to retain the Ukrainian territory it holds and also shut Nato's door on Ukraine. Continue reading...
Many sub-Saharan Africans feel they have no choice but to leave home, myself included. I wanted them to know that their lives - and stories - matterI knew of the global migration crisis involving crossings of the Sahara long before I wrote a novel about it. Military dictatorships, interventionist policies by foreign governments, poverty, corruption, hunger and violence have left many sub-Saharan Africans feeling they have no choice but to abandon their home in search of perceived safety and prosperity in Europe or the US.The continent's many problems have instilled a sense of desperation among its youth. There is also the perception that anything western is superior due to a deeply ingrained colonial worldview. Continue reading...
In a speech marking both the conclusion of his re-election campaign and the beginning of the end of his more than five decades in politics, Joe Biden warned America that the fight for democracy was far from finished. 'Now, in just a few months, the American people choose the course of America's future,' the US president said Continue reading...
In Oval Office address, Biden said it was time for fresh voices', emphasized his track record and endorsement of Kamala HarrisJoe Biden addressed the nation Wednesday to explain his historic decision to withdraw from the presidential race, delivering a reflective and hopeful message about the need to begin a new chapter in America's story.I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America's future all merited a second term, but nothing - nothing - can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition," Biden said in the Oval Office. Continue reading...
In the 1970s, David Duke was grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. In the 80s, he was elected to Louisiana's house of representatives - and the kinds of ideas he stood for have not gone awayOn 21 January 1989, the day after George HW Bush's inauguration, David Duke, the former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, a neo-Nazi, and the head of an organisation called the National Association for the Advancement of White People, finished first in an open primary for the 81st legislative district of the Louisiana house of representatives. Running as a Republican, he came out ahead of the state party's preferred candidate, John Treen. Republican National Committee staff members went to Louisiana to bolster Treen's faltering campaign and work against Duke. We will do anything to defeat this man," the Bush campaign manager and then RNC chief Lee Atwater declared to the Wall Street Journal.The former and current Republican presidents endorsed Duke's opponent and made advertisements on his behalf, to little avail: Duke would go on to win the runoff vote a month later and enter the state legislature. Over the next three years, Duke would aspire to higher and higher office. These subsequent campaigns, unsuccessful though they were, garnered Duke an ever-expanding platform for himself and his cause, bedevilled the establishment, and suggested deep structural failures in American society and its political system. But how did Duke, previously an abject failure in personal and political life, come to defy the direction of his chosen party and represent the crack-up of an old order? Continue reading...
Biden called for generational change and buried his resentments, but not without a pointed comment about his qualificationsThere was 6 January 2021, and a violent coup attempt by a president desperately trying to cling to power. Then there was 24 July 2024, and a president explaining why he was giving up the most powerful job in the world.Joe Biden's address on Wednesday night was a moving piece of political theatre, the start of a farewell tour by a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings" who entered politics in 1972 and made it all the way to the Oval Office. For diehard Democrats it was a case of: if you have tears, prepare to shed them now. Continue reading...
I've decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation,' Biden said in a speech from the Oval OfficeJoe Biden has explained his decision to drop out of the presidential race, saying it was the best way to unite our nation".The US president's remarks were broadcast from the Oval Office, his first televised appearance since announcing he would end his bid for re-election, and conveyed a reflective and hopeful message.My fellow Americans, I'm speaking to you tonight from behind the resolute desk in the Oval Office. In this sacred space, I'm surrounded by portraits of extraordinary American presidents.Thomas Jefferson wrote the immortal words that guide this nation. George Washington showed us presidents are not kings. Abraham Lincoln, who implored us to reject malice. Franklin Roosevelt, who inspired us to reject fear. Continue reading...
Bill passes 416-0 in favor of bipartisan group to look at security failings surrounding Pennsylvania rally shootingThe House voted on Wednesday to form a taskforce to investigate the security failures surrounding the assassination attempt against Donald Trump earlier this month.The vote underscores the bipartisan outrage over the shooting at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump came within inches of losing his life. One rally-goer was killed and two others severely injured. Lawmakers have responded quickly with hearings and widespread calls for accountability. Continue reading...
Joe Biden gave his first speech since quitting the race - here's what to know from the roughly 10-minute addressJoe Biden addressed the nation from the Oval Office on Wednesday night in an emotional speech that encompassed some of the reasons that led him to withdraw from the presidential race. This was the first speech Biden has made since he announced his withdrawal from the race on Sunday.Most notably, the 81-year-old president, who was recovering from Covid-19 this week, highlighted the importance of passing the torch to a new generation, referring to his endorsement for Kamala Harris as the new contender for November's elections. Continue reading...
Party will legally nominate their candidate, presumably Vice-President Kamala Harris, as early as 1 AugustThe Democratic National Committee's rule-making group established procedures for candidates to contest the primary nomination ahead of the convention in Chicago next month, largely eliminating any chance of a 1960s-style floor fight.Democrats will legally nominate their candidate - presumably Vice-President Kamala Harris - as early as 1 August through a virtual roll call vote, the first time Democrats have used such a process. Continue reading...
We factcheck the Israeli prime minister's statements about letting aid trucks into Gaza, safeguarding civilians and negotiations with HamasBenjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress was filled with combative remarks, as well as claims about the war in Gaza, now almost in its tenth month.Israel's assault on the territory was triggered by the 7 October Hamas attacks on southern Israel, and has so far killed more than 39,000 people, with thousands more believed to be buried underneath the rubble. Continue reading...
by Erum Salam in New York and Léonie Chao-Fong in Wa on (#6PF9V)
Sole Palestinian American in Congress protests as other progressives call for Israel arms embargo and Gaza ceasefireBenjamin Netanyahu's visit and address to a joint session of the US Congress on Wednesday was met with a personal protest in the chamber by the sole Palestinian American member of Congress, while some lawmakers gave the Israeli prime minister a standing ovation, others stayed away, and demonstrations by thousands of protesters took place outside.The Michigan representative Rashida Tlaib, a leading progressive Democrat and fiercely outspoken opponent of Israel's war in Gaza, held up a sign that said war criminal" as Netanyahu was speaking. She also wore a Palestinian flag pin and a keffiyeh, the black and white scarf that has been linked with the Palestinian struggle for over half a century. Continue reading...
At event with 6,000 Black women in Indianapolis, vice-president urges voter mobilizationOn the fourth day, Kamala Harris spoke, again.Following Joe Biden's Sunday withdrawal from the presidential race and endorsement of Harris as the Democratic nominee, she delivered what has become the core of her stump speech to more than 6,000 members of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated. Continue reading...
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of the US Congress on Wednesday, amid widespread protests in Washington. Thousands of demonstrators gathered in the US capital, calling on the US to end arms sales to Israel and to implement an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.As Netanyahu entered the chamber to address Congress, he was welcomed with a standing ovation from US lawmakers. Netanyahu thanked the US for its support for Israel and laid out his vision for a post-war Gaza, amid growing pressure on his government to wind down and end the war. The Israeli leader said his country did not seek to resettle the territory, but that a future Gaza would have to be 'demilitarised' and 'de-radicalised'
Case, brought after host George Stephanopoulos said Trump had been found liable for rape', allowed to proceedA federal judge in Miami has denied a motion to dismiss Donald Trump's defamation lawsuit against the ABC News TV network and one of its star journalists, George Stephanopoulos, concerning remarks made by the anchor in March that the former president had been found liable for rape".In a 21-page ruling issued on Wednesday, the judge, Cecilia Altonaga of the US district court for the southern district of Florida, rejected arguments brought by the news division and its host. She said that a reasonable jury" could conclude that Trump had been defamed, and, as a result, dismissal is inappropriate". Continue reading...
Tech-focused Nasdaq retreats 3.6% and S&P 500 also down in wake of lacklustre results from big-tech companiesWall Street suffered its worst day of trading in 19 months as disappointment around earnings from Tesla and Google challenged the recent big-tech rally.The benchmark S&P 500 index dropped 2.3% as a sell-off triggered its biggest single-day fall since December 2022. Continue reading...
Republican VP nominee introduces book by Kevin Roberts, head of rightwing plan that Trump has tried to disavowThe Republican senator and vice-presidential nominee JD Vance has written the foreword to a forthcoming book by the head of Project 2025, the vast rightwing plan for a second Trump administration Democrats say shows the authoritarian threat posed by the GOP - and which Donald Trump has tried to disavow.In publicity material for the book, Vance says of Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation: Never before has a figure with [his] depth and stature within the American Right tried to articulate a genuinely new future for conservatism." Continue reading...
Containing Brenda Banda will be the USWNT's biggest challenge in Nice. But Naomi Girma leads a group capable of shutting down the most potent attacksWhile Paris prepares for the official Olympic kickoff on Friday, an immovable object will collide with an unstoppable force.The venue is Nice, the coastal city that hosted the final stage of the Tour de France a few days ago and is one of the hosts for the Olympic soccer tournament. On Thursday, that's where the enigmatic US women's soccer team will face an upstart team from Zambia. Continue reading...
Hawarden fire in Riverside county burned 527 acres, injured two people and destroyed six homesIllegal fireworks ignited a blaze in southern California over the weekend that destroyed six homes and caused $10m in damages, officials said this week.The Hawarden fire in Riverside county has scorched 527 acres, damaged seven homes and cost the county more than $1m in emergency response, Patricia Lock Dawson, the city's mayor, said at a press conference on Monday. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Fred C Trump III shares story of presidential nominee using N-word and describes Trump's attitude on raceIn a new book, Donald Trump's nephew recalls the future US president, at the start of his New York real estate career, surveying damage to a beloved car and furiously using the N-word.The shocking scene appears in All in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got This Way by Fred C Trump III, which will be published in the US next Tuesday. The Guardian obtained a copy. Continue reading...
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