by Helen Sullivan (now); with Chris Stein in Chicago on (#6Q616)
This blog is closing now, thanks for following along. You can find all of our US elections coverage here.Now comes Pat Ryan, who represents a New York battleground district in the House of Representatives.He hit out at Donald Trump for his reported insults towards military veterans, then obliquely referenced the newfound optimism Democrats are feeling since Joe Biden ended his bid for a second term:These last few weeks have felt like a new day in America, when we are waking up, rising up, patriots, to demand a president who does not just treat our veterans with respect, but everyone with respect.We do not retreat, we are the United States of America, we lead! Continue reading...
The right to disconnect' has changed France for the better - and could soon be law in the UK if Labour goes through with its plansEvery August, the same set of transatlantic memes about work and holiday circulate on social media. The European is depicted as out of the office with a strict attitude towards switching off and not responding to clients (I'm away camping for the summer - please contact me as of 2 September") while for the American there is no such luxury (I'm in the hospital - I'm so so sorry for the 30-minute delay in getting back to you!").There's more than a kernel of truth to this stereotype. Europeans often fret that they are falling behind" the US economically, but in reality, per capita GDP in the US is 30% higher than in France largely because Americans work 25% more hours every year than French workers. Indeed, the term la rentree doesn't have a great translation into (American) English in part because it's not just a word, it's a cultural phenomenon: the return to everything" in September - work, school, book releases, museum exhibitions, concerts and other cultural events, and of course, political brouhaha - when everyone comes back from at least a month's holiday.Alexander Hurst is a Guardian Europe columnist Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: The presidential nominee's big speech, no speaking slot for a Palestinian American, and a glut of celebrities Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. For today's newsletter, we're bringing you coverage of Kamala Harris's speech accepting the Democratic nomination for president courtesy of Rachel Leingang, in a preview of our newsletter covering the US election, The Stakes. You can sign up here.Hello from Chicago, where it's like the Oscars, but for people with slightly less charisma.Education | The aftermath of the Covid pandemic has been squeezed out of GCSE results as students received grades more similar to pre-pandemic levels. But there were wide regional variations, with students in London powering ahead of pre-pandemic grades, while top grades in Wales and Northern Ireland came down with a bump compared with last year.Politics | Rachel Reeves has insisted there will be no blank cheques" for public sector unions amid Conservative claims that the government's attempt to end long-running strikes has made it a soft touch. Reeves said that the cost of not increasing pay for police officers, the armed forces and teachers would have been very damaging".Italy | The British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch has been confirmed dead by search and rescue authorities after his yacht sank off the coast of Sicily during a violent storm. A spokesperson for the Italian fire brigade said it could take days before the last missing person was found.Health | The UK's health regulator has rejected a drug that can slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease, saying its benefits are too small to justify the costs of the therapy. The drug is not a cure, but in clinical trials slowed cognitive decline by 27% in early Alzheimer's patients.Media | Jermaine Jenas, a presenter on The One Show and pundit on Match of the Day, has been sacked by the BBC after complaints about his workplace conduct, allegedly involving text messages and other digital communication. The former footballer said he was seeking legal advice. Continue reading...
Her acceptance address was short on policy and poetry, but the Democratic nominee took the fight to Donald TrumpIt was not a political address for the ages. It was not even the best of the convention (no one can compete with the Obamas). But Kamala Harris did enough in her speech accepting the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday to put an exclamation mark on one of the most dramatic turnarounds in modern political history.And she made you reflect that you would not want to be Donald Trump facing her in next month's televised debate. A speech that was short on policy and poetry was nevertheless devastating in skewering the menace from Mar-a-Lago. Trump can expect the same kind of interrogation when the two go head to head that would make most mortals tremble. Continue reading...
Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic presidential nomination on the final day of the conference in Chicago, laying out the stakes of the election and delivering a forceful rebuke of her Republican opponent Donald Trump Continue reading...
Despite protests and laws, sexual violence remains pervasive. India's misogynist patriarchal culture is holding women backWith a rape occurring every 16 minutes, violence is one of the biggest deterrents to women working in India. On the eve of India's independence day, 14 August, tens of thousands of women took to the streets across the eastern Indian state of West Bengal in a reclaim the night" march, after the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata.But we have been here before - too many times. Most notably in 2012, when we protested at the murder of a young paramedic in Delhi. Jyoti Singh was raped in a moving bus by several men and left to die on the streets. Continue reading...
The vice-president rebuked Trump and urged optimism and faith' - but Beyonce did not make an appearanceThe Democratic national convention has ended in Chicago, with vice-president Kamala Harris formally accepting the nomination and making her pitch to voters. Here are some key takeaways from the fourth night:Democratic convention highlights:Tim Walz's acceptance speech channeled grit and empathyDemocrats issue warning over Project 2025What to know about Kamala Harris and Tim Walz Continue reading...
Roy Cooper, the North Carolina governor, spoke on the last night of the Democratic national convention in Chicago. He said to the Democratic faithful: 'Even if you don't agree with her on everything, Kamala Harris will fight for you to the very end. Are we going to stand up and fight for Kamala like she's going to fight for us?'
Appearing with actress Kerry Washington at the Democratic national convention in Chicago, Amara and Leela explained the pronunciation of vice-president Kamala Harris's name which continues to perplex some.First you say Kama like a comma in a sentence,' Amara said. Then you say 'la' like lalalala,' Leela said
As the DNC draws to a close in Chicago, Harris is leaning into the changing face of America, positioning Trump as yesterday's manAs an Australian onlooker, the pageantry of American politics - party conventions in particular - can seem like a spectacle compared with the austerity of Australian elections.But after the DNC celebrations in Chicago wind down, the Democratic party is facing the hard reality of a serious fight ahead of November's presidential election. Continue reading...
Four of the exonerated Central Park Five, who were wrongfully convicted of rape in 2016, spoke at the Democratic national convention in Chicago. Yusuf Salaam said Trump, who led the wrongful prosecution and called for the return of the death penalty in relation to the conviction, 'wanted us dead...he has never changed, and he never will'
Speaking at the Democratic national convention in Chicago, US senator Elizabeth Warren praised Kamala Harris's work as attorney general, saying she 'can't be bought or bossed around'. She went on to criticize Trump and JD Vance, saying she 'wouldn't trust them to move [her] couch'
by Chris Stein (now); Léonie Chao-Fong and Maya Yang on (#6Q5JG)
This live blog is now closed. For the latest on the Democratic national convention and Kamala Harris's speech, you can follow live coverage here.Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz is dropping by the Minnesota delegation's breakfast meeting in Chicago this morning, according to reports.Walz and his wife, Gwen, are expected to thank delegates at the breakfast for their support of the Harris-Walz ticket. Continue reading...
Peloton Interactive reports fourth-quarter revenue of $643.6m, exceeding analysts' expectationsPeloton Interactive reported its first sales increase in nine quarters and beat estimates, indicating that the fitness equipment maker's years-long turnaround efforts were paying off, sending its shares surging as much as 41% on Thursday.The restructuring aims to stanch a slump in sales of its high-end, at-home equipment following a boom during the pandemic as customers cut back on discretionary spending in the face of elevated interest rates and sticky inflation. Continue reading...
Amid a groundbreaking effort to credential social media stars, influencers are offering an intimate look at the event - and occasionally clashing with journalists
Satinder Pal Singh Raju sprayed with bullets' on highway in another attack targeting Khalistan advocatesA Sikh separatist leader was attacked on a California highway earlier this month in a shooting that his organization has described as an assassination attempt.Satinder Pal Singh Raju, an organizer with Sikhs for Justice and an advocate for the establishment of an independent Sikh state, Khalistan, was traveling on the Interstate 505 near Sacramento on 11 August when the truck he was in was sprayed with bullets". He survived the shooting. Continue reading...
Imitation fruits and vegetables are the latest sophisticated' tactic for Mexican cartels to smuggle drugs into the USEveryday fruit and vegetables are some of the latest methods Mexican cartels are using to smuggle drugs into the US, recent seizures of methamphetamine suggest.Around 2 tonnes of the powerful stimulant known colloquially as crystal meth was discovered recently in packages designed to look like bright green watermelons at the San Diego, California, port of Otay Mesa, according to US Customs and Border Patrol Protection officials. Continue reading...
Animal rights group says shades such as Dead Salmon and Au Lait ignore the sentience of fish and exploitation of cowsPeta has urged the paint manufacturer Farrow & Ball to rename colours that normalise exploiting animals".Citing the colours Dead Salmon, Smoked Trout and Potted Shrimp, Peta said in a letter to Farrow & Ball's colour curator that renaming animal product-monikered paints would be a fun way to appeal to more conscious consumers". Continue reading...
Increased offer in go shop' period could derail planned $28bn merger with independent studio SkydanceParamount Global, one of Hollywood's best-known companies, has received an improved last-minute offer from a group led by the veteran media executive Edgar Bronfman Jr that could gazump its planned $28bn (21bn) merger with the independent film studio Skydance.Bronfman, a former Warner Music CEO, and his consortium of investors have sweetened a proposed offer to acquire National Amusements, the vehicle that holds the media tycoon Shari Redstone's controlling stake in Paramount, which also owns CBS, Nickelodeon and the UK's Channel 5. Continue reading...
British tech entrepreneur who sold his Autonomy software group to Hewlett-Packard and was later cleared after a long-running US fraud caseMike Lynch, who has died aged 59 in the wreck of his yacht, was sometimes described as Britain's Bill Gates". It was a huge exaggeration, but Lynch could claim two parallels with Gates: he developed world-leading technology (in his case in machinelearning or AI) and, unlike so many UK scientists, he learned how to turn it into commercial success.Such was this success that his company, Autonomy, was valued at $11bn when he sold it to Hewlett-Packard in 2011, but the fall-out from the sale would come to overshadow his technological achievements, and lead to a national debate about the circumstances in which UK citizens may be extradited to the US. Continue reading...
Group says Harris campaign denying a Palestinian speaker at the Democratic convention is a terrible message'On the third night of the Democratic national convention, the group Muslim Women for Harris released a statement announcing that it was disbanding in response to the Harris-Walz campaign's refusal to allow a Palestinian person to speak on the main stage.The statement was released as members of the Uncommitted National Movement, which won 30 delegates to the convention, and their supporters held a sit-in outside of the convention. Ilhan Omar joined the demonstration for some time, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called in to the sit-in via FaceTime. The sit-in came after the anti-war group was told a Palestinian person would not be allowed to speak on the main stage - until then, whether or not such a speech would happen was up in the air. Continue reading...
Democratic nominee, who has overturned Trump's poll lead, aims to persuade voters to back her vision for the USKamala Harris will tonight face the biggest test of her political life so far when she addresses the Democratic national convention in Chicago in a bid to persuade American voters to defeat Donald Trump in November's presidential election and put her in the White House.The vice-president's rocket-fueled campaign is still barely a month old following Joe Biden's decision to withdraw from seeking re-election in the face of a disastrous debate performance and questions over his age and mental acuity. Continue reading...
Sarah Liberti says her mother's urn was accidentally given to Palmetto Goodwill in Bluffton, South CarolinaA Virginia woman is seeking help in locating her mother's ashes after they were accidentally donated to a Goodwill store in South Carolina.Sarah Liberti told WTOC that her parents were living together in Sun City Hilton Head, an age-restricted community in South Carolina, before her mother passed away. Following her mother's death, Liberti began the process of relocating her father to Virginia to live with her and hired a woman to help her move. Continue reading...
by Sam Levine in New York and Ankita Rao, David Smith on (#6Q5SV)
Younger generations have anointed the vice-president, but the traditional base may not relate to the pop culture termSix hours and 26 minutes after Joe Biden endorsed Kamala Harris to be the Democratic presidential nominee, a three-word tweet upended the presidential race.Kamala IS brat," singer Charli xcx tweeted. Continue reading...
What if there were geraniums? YuckConfronting my own mortality in my 30s, with silky skin and two young kids, was not something I was going to do lightly. And yet, heroically, I wrote my will.Voluntarily instigating contact with lawyers turned my stomach enough to earn me at least a year of procrastination. Sure, you don't want to unexpectedly die and leave your affairs in a shambles, but nor do you want to spend your precious time on Earth finding a lawyer and talking to them.Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Continue reading...
Rodney Vicknair, who died earlier this year of cancer, was serving 14 years in prison for the crimeThe city of New Orleans was ordered by a federal jury on Wednesday to pay $1m to a teenager who was sexually assaulted by one of the city's police officers in 2020.The federal civil trial, which was brought against the city by the teenager's family on her behalf, began on Monday and lasted three days. Continue reading...
One in 10 Americans identify as multiracial. Many identify with the Democrat - and see her heritage as an advantageFor Sonia Smith Kang, it hasn't come as a surprise that Kamala Harris's ethnic background has been challenged by her opponent and other members of the Republican party. It's what mixed folks have been dealing with for a long time," said Smith Kang, who is both Mexican and Black and is married to a Korean man.Since Donald Trump's false attacks on the racial identity of Kamala Harris at the National Association of Black Journalists' annual convention last month, he has purposely mispronounced her name, posted a photo of her in a traditional Indian sari and employed supporters to claim that the Democratic presidential candidate is not Black. For mixed-race voters who heard Trump state that Harris happened to turn Black", feelings of anger, frustration and annoyance instantly arose. Continue reading...
Donald Trump kicked off a frenzy about the issue at a June rally and Kamala Harris has hurriedly matched his promiseKristine serves gamblers playing countertop video poker screens at the center bar of Las Vegas's Ellis Island casino. She declines to share her last name for privacy reasons, but is not timid about her support for Donald Trump when asked about his campaign promise to end federal taxation on tips.I want that!" Kristine says as she fulfills cocktail waitresses' orders. Our tip compliance is too high. They take so much from our paycheck." Continue reading...
The party mounted a compelling and diverse spectacle as Bill Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and Stevie Wonder all took to the stageIf elections were decided by the party conventions, the race for the White House could have been over already.Democrats in Chicago are mounting a more compelling, energetic and diverse spectacle than Republicans in Milwaukee a month ago and drawing a bigger TV audience. Continue reading...
Benjamin Dowling died in 2019 from injuries suffered when Terry McKirchy was babysitting him 40 years agoA former babysitter pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Wednesday for the 2019 death of a man she was accused of disabling as an infant 40 years ago and was sentenced to three years in prison, finally admitting that she hit him numerous times.Terry McKirchy, 62, accepted a plea deal for the death of Benjamin Dowling, who died at age 35 after a life of severe disabilities caused by a brain hemorrhage he suffered in 1984 when he was five months old while at McKirchy's suburban Fort Lauderdale, Florida, home. Continue reading...
Invented images of Taylor Swift fans in T-shirts supporting the former president aren't meant to be believed - he just craves the attentionA couple of weeks ago, Donald Trump decided it would be fun to accuse the US vice-president, Kamala Harris, of using AI in images showing a large crowd greeting her at an airport. Has anyone noticed that Kamala CHEATED at the airport?" Trump furiously thumbed into his phone. There was nobody at the plane, and she AI'd it [...] She should be disqualified because the creation of a fake image is ELECTION INTERFERENCE. Anyone who does that will cheat at ANYTHING!"Just as some animals are more equal than others, some politicians are more honest. So this week, when the former president himself posted an obviously AI-generated image of what looks like the back of Harris's head in front of an enormous communist crowd with a huge hammer and sickle unfurled above them, he presumably did not consider it election interference. Trump has also recently shared AI-generated images of himself, Elon Musk and Taylor Swift. Continue reading...
In an exclusive interview, commissioner Jessica Berman discusses the decision to become the first major US sports league to remove the draft, increasing revenue and expanding mental health support for playersEarly on Thursday, the National Women's Soccer League announced a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with its players' association. Ratified almost two years ahead of schedule, it's a landmark deal underscoring the league's commitment to innovation and player empowerment. Key elements of the agreement include increased salary minimums and a growing salary cap, expanded healthcare options and a groundbreaking shift to a fully free agency model, making the NWSL the first US professional league to abolish the draft.The timing of this agreement is strategic. With the CBA now extending to 2030 (the former CBA was set to expire in 2026), NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said that the goal of this preemptive return to the negotiating table was to lay a solid foundation for long term labor stability. While only in the second year of their immediate media rights deal - already historic for its 40-fold increase - she said sights are already set on the next set of contracts due in 2027. Continue reading...
Underneath the Super Bowl wins and coaching records and the paparazzi swooning over the Travis Kelce-Taylor Swift relationship is a different, more sinister narrativeThe hype is both manufactured and real. A new NFL season is inching closer, and the sights and smells of hope are intoxicating. No 1 overall draft pick Caleb Williams has one sensational series in the first quarter of the first preseason game and Bears fans already have amnesia when it comes to the franchise's long history of underwhelming signal-callers. Maybe Williams will be the next Patrick Mahomes - he really looked like a stud.But for now, and until he stops playing quarterback at a level in a different stratosphere than everyone else, Mahomes is the unquestioned face of the NFL. And the Kansas City Chiefs, with their ticket seemingly punched to the Super Bowl on an annual basis, are the gold standard of NFL organizations. Jolly Andy Reid, once underestimated but shrewd as hell, is the coaching face of the league. And of course, Travis Kelce is the face of the NFL for Swifties new to the football or anyone who cares about celebrity gossip. Continue reading...
Students at the vice-president's alma mater express pride and hope, but say Harris still needs to earn their supportOn Tuesday, day two of the Democratic national convention in Chicago, Howard University, in Washington DC, was abuzz with students excited about alumna Kamala Harris's presidential candidacy. The Guardian spoke to several students who expressed pride that one of their own may assume the highest office, which they hoped would shine a light on historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Others emphasized the need to hold Harris accountable on Gaza policy, as well as on issues that affect Black communities, such as overpolicing and high maternal death rates.I was pretty happy to not only be a Howard student, but to be Black as well," Shondo Green, a 20-year-old biology major, said about Harris's nomination. The general sentiment on campus since classes started on Monday has been uplifting - everyone is smiling, he said. There's something different about this year compared to my previous two years. There's something in the air." Continue reading...
Tim Walz draws on his Americana background at the Democratic national convention in Chicago. Plus: a penguin movie star Day 1 of the convention: in picturesGood morning.As the crowd chanted coach" and held up Coach Walz" signs, Tim Walz closed out Wednesday's Democratic convention in Chicago by accepting the Democratic party's vice-presidential nomination. The Minnesota governor garnered loud cheers in his well-received speech that drew on his rural bona fides and Americana background as a teacher and coach.Who else spoke? Before Walz, the former president Bill Clinton and former House speaker Nancy Pelosi took the stage, as well as rising stars in the party, the Maryland governor Wes Moore and transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg. The comedian Kenan Thompson and actor Mindy Kaling also spoke, but perhaps the most rousing speech was from a surprise guest, Oprah Winfrey, the Chicago-based talkshow host and political independent, who called on fellow independents to rally around the Harris-Walz ticket.What's next? Kamala Harris will take the stage tonight in the biggest test of her political life so far: persuading American voters to defeat Donald Trump in November's presidential election and put her in the White House.What is happening in Gaza? Palestinian health officials said on Thursday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 22 people. One strike on a house in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya killed 11 people, while another killed six, including a local journalist, in a house in al-Maghazi camp in the central Gaza Strip, medics said. Five others were killed in separate strikes in the south. Continue reading...
by Ramon Antonio Vargas in New Orleans on (#6Q5GK)
Stanley Burkhardt, who investigated child abuse cases and acknowledged preying on minors, recently releasedThe president of a child sexual molestation survivors' advocacy organization says children have been left at risk" after his abuser, Stanley Burkhardt, was recently released from a federal halfway house with relatively few limits on his movements.Burkhardt is a former Louisiana detective who has acknowledged preying on minors and has been investigated in connection with a series of murders. Richard Windmann said the latest opportunity at comparative freedom granted to Burkhardt - who previously investigated child abuse cases for the New Orleans police department - is abhorrent" and a repeated injury to his victims". Continue reading...
Climate goals and Gaza ceasefire top the list of expectations for millions of young and progressive votersProgressive lawmakers have presented a united front at the Democratic national convention this week, as they throw their full support behind Kamala Harris as the new presidential nominee.But even as those lawmakers talked up the genuine enthusiasm surrounding Harris's campaign, they made clear they expect her to deliver policy wins for her progressive coalition if she is elected in November. When she addresses the convention Thursday to formally accept the presidential nomination, Harris will have a chance to show that she intends to follow through on her promises. Continue reading...
As a half Kiwi, the only cultural exports I had growing up were the bloke from Crowded House and Shortland Street. How times have changedWhen I was growing up, the sum total of New Zealand's contribution to global culture was, essentially, the singer from Crowded House and Shortland Street - that's to say, middle-of-the-road music for a middle-of-the-day soap opera crowd. I probably only noticed because my father is from New Zealand - he still uses the Edmonds cookbook and memorably described the birth of my son as far out" - and since the age of about nine I have held a Kiwi passport.So it has been a particular thrill this year to look across the listings for the Edinburgh festival fringe and see that it is packed with young, exciting New Zealand talent genuinely rivalling that from Europe and America. There's Rose Matafeo, of course; star and co-writer of Starstruck, competitor in Taskmaster and voice in the forthcoming Moana 2. There's Guy Montgomery, standup and presenter of Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont Spelling Bee, which is simply clamouring for a UK television deal. Then you have standups Alice Snedden, Paul Williams, James Roque, Guy Williams and clown Trygve Wakenshaw. Continue reading...
Tim Walz accepted the VP nomination, and celebrity power continued with Stevie Wonder and John Legend performing and Oprah Winfrey, Bill Clinton, Amanda Gorman and more speaking
If you simplify your English, you are freed from the worst follies of orthodoxy, wrote Orwell. That applies today more than everI would like to start a petition for journalists - and everyone else - to immediately stop using the C-word. Centrist. It's an insidious word that has degraded how we think about politics and distorted how we see the world.Perhaps that statement sounds a little over the top. After all, being a centrist" sounds eminently reasonable, doesn't it? A centrist is a moderate, right? Someone who is rational and practical and takes the middle ground. Someone who isn't extreme like those crazy ideologues on the far right or far left. A centrist, logic dictates, is really what everyone should strive to be. Continue reading...
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