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The former president's sudden passing would create an unprecedented, certainly unpredictable and possibly anarchic political vacuumIt's worthwhile trying to imagine what might have happened had Donald Trump been shot and killed after playing the fifth hole at his Florida golf course at the weekend. Though many people might love to see the back of an obnoxious man who incited others to violence, this weekend's incident has prompted calls for tighter security around the former president and weighty condemnation from his rival Kamala Harris, who says she is deeply disturbed" by the apparent assassination attempt and tweeted: I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America."Yet, with this, the second mortal threat, speculation is inevitable. And, paradoxically, Trump dead could be even more dangerous than Trump alive. Continue reading...

The FBI is investigating after Secret Service agents spotted gun barrel in bushes at former president's golf clubThe FBI is investigating what it has described as an attempted assassination of Donald Trump after Secret Service agents spotted the muzzle of a rifle poking through the fence close to where the former US president was playing golf at his club in Florida. A suspect has been arrested and an assault rifle was recovered at the course.The incident occurred at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. Continue reading...

Historian Peggy Gavan created Cats About Town with Dan Rimada, who runs an Instagram account about bodega catsEmily Warren Roebling was a groundbreaking engineer who took over construction of the Brooklyn Bridge after her husband, who had been leading construction, and son died of decompression sickness. On 24 May 1883, Roebling became the first human to cross the bridge during its opening ceremony. But the first creature to cross the bridge did so about a month earlier, when a cat named Ned claimed the honor.According to a New York Times article dug up by historian Peggy Gavan, a saloon keeper named CW McAuliffe and the city alderman James J Mooney set up the stunt, searching through Brooklyn strays to find a cat that, as they put it, was inclined to see the world". The pair stumbled upon a gray cat they named Ned, who, with the blessing of the bridge's chief engineer, was placed in a basket and let out on the center of the structure, and walked toward Manhattan. Continue reading...

People struck included two bystanders, one officer and man with blade who police had confronted for fare evasionFour people were wounded at a New York City subway station on Sunday when police officers shot a man threatening them with a knife, and inadvertently sprayed bullets that hit passengers, authorities said.The people struck by gunfire in Brooklyn included two innocent bystanders, one of the officers and the man with the blade, who the police initially confronted because he had not paid his fare, officials said. Continue reading...

Politicians and allies call on Secret Service to do what's necessary' as FBI investigate events at Florida golf course

Ryan Wesley Routh spoke to the Guardian in April 2022 when he arrived in Kyiv with a plan to stand with Ukrainians'In April 2022, a little over a month after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a stream of middle-aged European and American volunteers were passing through Poland on their way into Ukraine. There was the retired attorney delivering sweets to Ukrainian orphanages; the Irish former French Foreign Legion soldier carrying luggage for refugees, and the Englishman who had moved from France to help rescue pets. One American in his 60s was transporting dead frozen chicks from Poland to a zoo in western Ukraine. They called themselves the silent army" and the get-off-the-couch crew".Ryan Wesley Routh was like them but less subtle: he was standing in the frenzied station at Przemyl draped in a US flag. He had thin, blondish hair and a zealous gleam in his eyes, and said he had arrived at the station at 7.30am having travelled for four days - from Hawaii, to Los Angeles, to Krakow, to Przemyl. Next stop: Ukraine. Continue reading...

Oran Routh says dad, accused of targeting ex-president for unknown motivations, was passionate about Ukraine cause

The suspect, arrested after pointing a firearm through a fence at Trump's golf club, is alleged to have had delusional ideas' about supporting Ukraine's war effort. Plus, JD Vance admits to creating stories' on the campaign trail

A representative from Ukraine's foreign legion says that Ryan Wesley Routh's offers of a large number of recruits were not realistic'

The choice for America's future is encapsulated in the contrast between our two biggest politically active celebritiesWhat should we make of the fact that the richest person in the world has joined forces with Donald Trump and promises now to serve the United States as some sort of czar of government efficiency"? And what should we make of the world's biggest pop star endorsing Kamala Harris for president?Why should it matter that these mega-celebrities tell us what they want from politics and government? Continue reading...

We can't pretend things are going great in the US. But we also must reject the pessimism that says things must stay like thisI love the United States. My parents came here from Trinidad and Tobago the year before I was born, and they and my four siblings eventually became citizens. My parents struggled for many years to get established here, but it has offered us everything - security, belonging, opportunity.Yet for many Americans, particularly those who have been in this country for generations building the foundations of American prosperity, the American dream is not alive and well.Bhaskar Sunkara is the president of the Nation, founding editor of Jacobin and author of The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequalities Continue reading...

Former first lady, who faced lock her up' calls from Trump supporters, says tears welled up in her eyes at verdictHillary Clinton admitted on Sunday that her eyes welled with tears when Donald Trump was convicted of criminally falsifying business records to keep an alleged extramarital affair from becoming public ahead of the 2016 presidential election that she lost to him.The case ... was election interference," Clinton said in a lengthy interview on CBS News Sunday Morning. Looks like karma to me," she added, referring to how Trump taunted her throughout the contest with chants of lock her up" only to become a convicted felon while seeking a return to the White House. Continue reading...

The Jaguars temporarily rebranded their home in honor of their quarterback. But it merely highlighted how he has fallen short of expectationsWhen airports, streets or buildings are named to honor an individual it is typically thanks to a long record of accomplishment. Perhaps the Jacksonville Jaguars were trying to manifest greatness by temporarily rebranding their stadium around Trevor Lawerence over the weekend, but it was a move destined to be ridiculed. There were few smiles at TrEverBank Stadium on Sunday (not the Jags' first weird attempt at a rebrand of Lawrence) as a sloppy Jacksonville fell to the Cleveland Browns 18-13. They are now are in trouble at 0-2.We suck right now," Lawrence said (correctly) during his postgame press conference, referencing his offense. I've got to play better. I'm the leader of the offense. It's on me. The wideouts have to play better. The line has to play better. The running backs have to play better. The coaching has to be better." Continue reading...

Men's golf is still divided despite last year's framework agreement and Luke Donald's 2025 team could be weakenedJon Rahm has made his second decision. Only time will tell if this proves more successful than his first. If not, Europe's Ryder Cup scene is about to get messier than anybody could have expected.By his own admission, Rahm anticipated the pace of play towards collaboration in elite men's golf to be considerably sharper than has proven the case. He probably even expected his switch to LIV last December to accelerate talks between Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and traditional tours. Instead, the sport remains in a state of flux. Each entity ploughs its own furrow. Continue reading...

Another apparent Trump assassination attempt happened - as we brace for what has been dubbed a tinderbox election'It has happened again. Another serene and sunny weekend. Another lone suspect wielding a rifle. Another apparent bid to assassinate Donald Trump. And a nation hurtling into uncharted territory 50 days from a presidential election.On Sunday, Secret Service agents opened fire after seeing a man with a rifle near Trump's West Palm Beach golf club in Florida while the Republican candidate was playing. The suspect fled in an SUV and was later apprehended by local law enforcement. Continue reading...

Ex-president safe and well' after Secret Service agents opened fire when they spotted person with firearm

Donald Trump said he was safe after what the FBI said appeared to be an assassination attempt at the former US president's West Palm Beach golf club.Officials said US Secret Service agents opened fire when they spotted a person with a firearm at the Trump international golf course, near the former president's Mar-a-Lago resort home. The suspected gunman was later said to be detained after he fled in a car

Identity has not been confirmed but suspect named in media reports is described as construction worker who opposed invasion of UkraineThe suspect in the latest apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump was in custody on Sunday night after being apprehended unarmed, having apparently abandoned his assault rifle at the golf course before fleeing.The man in custody was Ryan Wesley Routh, three law enforcement officials told the Associated Press. The officials who identified the suspect spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation. Continue reading...

Palm Beach county sheriff Ric Bradshaw said a man was taken into custody after an apparent attempted assassination attempt of Donald Trump at his Florida golf course. Bradshaw said a man was about 400 to 500 yards away from Trump and hidden in shrubbery - while the former president played golf on a nearby hole - and had an AK-style rifle with a scope, two backpacks hanging on a fence and a GoPro camera. The incident came nine weeks after Trump survived another attempt on his life. Trump says he's safe and well

Donald Trump said he was safe after what the FBI said appeared to be an assassination attempt at the former US president's West Palm Beach golf club

Questions will be raised about Trump's exposure to attack, but Secret Service is also being commended for stopping itA US Secret Service spokesperson summed up an extraordinary afternoon at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida, in five chilling words: We live in dangerous times."The spokesperson made his assessment at a press conference on Sunday afternoon, just hours after an individual had been spotted with an AK-47-style semi-automatic rifle just a few hundred yards from where Donald Trump was playing golf. Continue reading...

Former president was unhurt in apparent assassination attempt at golf course in Florida

It was closer than many expected at the start of the day, but the USA held firm as Europe threatened a comeback, Lilia Vu emerging as the hero who regained the cup for the hostsMegan Khang is good for her birdie on 1, and it's enough to win the opening hole for the USA. The first splash of red on the board. But there's also a first splash of blue, as Charley Hull does a classic matchplay number on Nelly Korda at 2. Korda clips her second to four feet, but Hull, using a combination of backstop and backspin, responds by guiding her approach to three feet. Korda, who must have thought the hole was in the bag, misses her putt. Hull tidies up and it's not taken long for Singles Sunday to get going. Not long at all.1UP Hull v Korda (2)

Former presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr decries weaponization of our government' over 1994 incidentRobert F Kennedy Jr has said that he is being investigated by federal authorities for collecting the head from a decapitated whale carcass.During a campaign event on Saturday for the Republican nominee, Donald Trump, in Glendale, Arizona, the former independent presidential candidate said, I received a letter from the National Marine Fisheries Institute saying that they were investigating me for collecting a whale specimen 20 years ago." Continue reading...

Republican vice-presidential candidate defends spreading false, racist claims demonizing Haitian immigrantsIn a stunning admission, the Republican vice-presidential candidate, JD Vance, said he was willing to create stories" on the campaign trail while defending his spreading false, racist rumors of pets being abducted and eaten in a town in his home state of Ohio.Vance's remarks came during an appearance on Sunday on CNN's State of the Union, where he said he felt the need to create stories so that the ... media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people". Continue reading...

Enrique Delgado-Garcia, 25, died in hospital one day after suffering medical crisis' in defensive tactics trainingA Massachusetts state police recruit died a day after he became unresponsive and suffered a medical crisis" during a defensive tactics training exercise, authorities said.While authorities would not elaborate, the Boston CBS affiliate WBZ reported that Enrique Delgado-Garcia was mortally injured during a boxing exercise that was a standard part of the police academy which he was attending. He was knocked out for nearly 10 minutes after absorbing a blow to the head, the outlet reported, citing sources familiar with details about the recruit's death, which occurred less than a month before he was set to graduate from the training academy.The Associated Press contributed reporting Continue reading...

People keep coping until they absolutely can't, and parents are at breaking point. Why aren't politicians treating this as an emergency?It is the kind of statistic that makes you do a double-take, because it can't be right. It is, though: 41% of US parents are so stressed that they can't function. That was the number that snagged my attention, but reading further into the newly released advisory by the US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, 48% of parents surveyed also said their stress is completely overwhelming".Things are not much better in the UK. In a survey last year for the United Nations Children's Fund, 49% of parents of under-fours said they had felt overwhelmed all or a lot of the time in the past 12 months (43% felt anxious, 36% unsupported and 26% lonely). Continue reading...

The state, usually a Republican stronghold, is in play in a nail-bitingly tight contest for the presidencyLandon Simonini found himself standing in the middle of a Charlotte highway lane at 2.30 in the afternoon, stuck in an artificial traffic jam while drivers waited for Kamala Harris's plane to land and the motorcade to clear for the rally later that day.He was out of his car, because why not? He wasn't going anywhere soon. His red Make America great again cap stood out among others cursing the traffic gods. Continue reading...

The spiritual aridity of modern life can be tough to handle. Maybe that's why the singer, and his new album Wild God, have struck a nerveThere is a tension in 21st-century life that may come close to defining how millions of us now live. Whenever we want to commune with other people, we need only reach for an object the size of a Twix and there they all are: scores of acquaintances and a veritable galaxy of complete strangers, offering insights and opinions on a huge range of subjects. But our online lives too often revolve around a mixture of anger, silliness and superficiality.Where do we go and who can we find to meaningfully share our thoughts about life's inescapable fundamentals: love, loss, death, fear, bereavement, regret? To properly do so might require real-world company, which can be an equally big ask. Think about all this, and you will sooner or later collide with something that predates the internet: the long and steady secularisation of life in the west and the vast social holes it has left. Once, for all their in-built hypocrisies - and worse - churches at least offered somewhere to ritualistically consider all of life's most elemental aspects. Now, beyond communities with high levels of Christian observance, they are largely either empty or woefully underattended.John Harris is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

One candidate revels in AI-generated images of cats and geese, while the other posts real photos of her grandparentsIn their first, and likely only debate, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump argued about artificial intelligence. They spoke of China, chips and domestic innovation". The country learned how Harris, Trump and their allies would - or intentionally wouldn't - use artificial intelligence for their own ends.But the real lessons were in the aftermath. The online furor over the IRL confrontation revealed that Republicans use AI to illustrate their political points. Democrats do not. Continue reading...

Inspectors nixing homemade drinks are easy targets but do we really need children selling warm liquids on the street?Would you eat ice-cream or cookies baked in some kid's kitchen? Or drink a cup of lemonade made and poured by a first-grader? I don't even feel safe eating at a Chipotle nowadays let alone consuming products made by six-year-olds with grubby hands and boogers on their fingers.So why is everyone so shocked by the countless tales of lemonade stands - like the ones in Texas, Alabama, Virginia, Colorado and Wyoming, all run by children - that were shut down out of health violation concerns? Or maybe the snow-shoveling business in New Jersey run by two teenagers that was forced to cease because it wasn't deemed safe? Or the nine-year-old who was selling cookies baked at home that raised red flags with safety inspectors? Continue reading...

Anthony Odiong is accused of sexual assault by at least eight women whom the priest had been counselingThe criminal case that authorities are building against a Roman Catholic priest accused of preying on women whom he met while working in south-east Louisiana and Texas is progressing, with a grand jury in the latter state indicting him on three felony sexual assault charges.Anthony Odiong, 55, faces two counts of second-degree sexual assault as well as one of first-degree sexual assault in the charges handed up against him recently in the McLennan county, Texas, state court. Continue reading...

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...