The England football manager was once derided as woke' and soft'. But he has succeeded where his predecessors failedIt's just a game, right? Wrong. You don't have to be on nodding terms with, let alone a fan of, the beautiful game to see that Sunday's final of the European Championship - and the fact that England are in it - has a significance that goes beyond sport. It has implications for all the things that usually preoccupy us on these pages: politics, culture wars, race, masculinity, identity and our national story - and, unusually, most of those implications are good.We can dispense swiftly with the most obvious. Keir Starmer likes to say his favourite Labour leader is Harold Wilson, the man who was in Downing Street the last (and only) time England's men won a major international football tournament. Wilson milked that 1966 success the same way he capitalised on Beatlemania, and who could blame him? Success in Berlin on Sunday would give a feelgood boost to the country and be one more bit of luck for a new prime minister who, in recent weeks at least, seems to have been gifted with a crateload of magic lamps and a full squad of genies. Continue reading...
After the disastrous debate with Trump, the president is trying hard to redeem himself, but the gaffes keep comingIn the two weeks since that disastrous debate performance, Joe Biden has been busy.He spent the first few days visiting donors, trying to reassure his financiers that he was up to the job. Then - more than a week later - he kicked off his public reconciliation tour, holding a series of interviews as he seeks to convince Americans that his halting 27 June debate appearance was just a bad night. Continue reading...
Activists plan counter-programming at the Republican convention to warn voters of the dire election stakesFour years ago, progressives in the crucial battleground state of Wisconsin were energized about the presidential race, feeling ready and eager to elect Joe Biden and end four years of Donald Trump's chaotic leadership.This year, the nominees for president remain the same, but much has changed. Before Biden's damaging debate performance, leaders of progressive groups were already combating disillusionment and disengagement among many of their supporters, who sharply criticized the president's response to the war in Gaza. Now, with days left before Republicans arrive in Milwaukee to nominate Trump for the third time, the groups' leaders are confronting a fractured Democratic party wrestling with the question of whether to replace their presumptive nominee. Continue reading...
Gareth Southgate's side have made the hardest possible work of this - such is the only script our national psychodrama permitsLight the touchpaper on your flares, because England stands on the threshold of two days of giddy possibility. There is, quite simply, no greater weekend available to an England football supporter than the one leading up to the climax of a major tournament in which the national side has made the final. Truth be told, there is not a whole lot more English than trying to sound insouciantly au fait with that type of weekend. Let's face it, we barely know what we're talking about on this front (also very English). The reality is that England have previously made precisely two of those finals in the entire history of the game, and one of those was on a Saturday, not a Sunday. But listen: three of anything makes a trend.Just as the long buildup to Christmas can be infinitely more joyful and infinitely less stressful than the day itself, so this is a weekend to be intensely savoured before the inevitable tip over into mindless something-or-other when the whistle blows for the end of play on Sunday night. To be clear: I am hoping for mindless euphoria but also preparing for one of the other mindless options available. Expect anything and everything other than mindfulness. With a dedicated breathing coach and movement therapist, there is a definite holistic approach to Gareth Southgate's team bubble - but it's fair to say English fandom remains wholly untouched by wellness. Unless you count sticking a flare up your arse - arguably the England fan's equivalent of Gwyneth Paltrow sticking a jade egg up her vagina.Marina Hyde 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...
Scotland face Eagles at Audi Field but Alan Gilpin, World Rugby CEO, is also focusing on the women's game and moreAlan Gilpin, chief executive of World Rugby, arrived in Washington at a busy time in the US capital.I don't think we knew about the Nato summit when we organised this trip," he says, from a couch on the top floor at the National Association of Realtors, the Capitol dome looming outside. Continue reading...
The influential Democratic podcast has become skeptical of the president's ability to winOn 15 June, Joe Biden flew to Los Angeles for a star-studded campaign fundraiser with Barack Obama, Jimmy Kimmel, Julia Roberts and George Clooney.Three of the hosts of the influential Democratic podcast Pod Save America were among the guests and later said the event left them disturbed. The former Obama spokesperson Tommy Vietor said they and other guests had found it chilling". Continue reading...
Republican secretary of state sends vaguely worded letter to voters weeks before primaryTennessee's top election official asked more than 14,000 registered voters to prove their citizenship in a vaguely worded letter last month in what voting and immigrant groups say is an attempt to intimidate voters.The office of the Tennessee secretary of state, Tre Hargett, a Republican, sent the letter to 14,375 voters on 13 June, weeks before early voting was to begin for the state's August primary. Our office has received information that appears to indicate that your voter information matches with an individual who may not have been a United States citizen at the time of obtaining a Tennessee license or ID card," the letter says. Continue reading...
The most talented US men's basketball team since the London Olympics is a Marvel-esque crossover event. Their run for a fifth straight gold in Paris will be can't-miss theaterIn the final scene of Spike Lee's beloved, sports-movie-pantheon-occupying He Got Game, an incarcerated Denzel Washington rockets a basketball over the prison yard wall. The ball magically transcends space and time, landing on the court of Big State and in the hands of his son, played by Ray Allen. The mysticism of the ending remains polarizing, but it beautifully expressed a passing of the torch, a transfer of energy, in a way that few filmmakers have done before or since. Twenty-five years later, in an electric T-Mobile Center on Wednesday evening, I was reminded of this moment as Team USA's LeBron James collected a defensive rebound, spotted Anthony Edwards running back in transition, and propelled a full-court, quarterback-style pass to him, which Edwards converted with a dunk at the other end: basketball's present, and soon-to-be past, throwing the ball to its clear future. Two timelines overlapping. It was poetry.It was crazy," Edwards told the Guardian when asked about the transcendent moment. It's crazy, man, playing on the court with LeBron and Steph. It's a dream come true. I remember watching them going against each other in the finals. So being in the room with them, on the bus with them, all of it. I'm just soaking everything up." Continue reading...
US president introduced Volodymyr Zelenskiy as President Putin' at a Nato summit, but later showed command of thorny foreign policy issues. Plus, the subversive screen presence of Shelley Duvall
Sean O'Brien accused of bolstering most anti-union party and president' by senior members of his own unionTeamsters International president Sean O'Brien has been accused by senior members of the union of disgracing it by agreeing to an unprecedented appearance at next week's Republican national convention.O'Brien's decision was branded unconscionable" by John Palmer, vice-president at large at Teamsters, who accused him of lending support to the most anti-union party and President" in a generation. Continue reading...
Billboards will go up in seven swing states as campaign seeks to publicize manifesto and tie it to ex-presidentDemocrats will put up billboards in swing states that show Donald Trump and tie him to Project 2025, a conservative manifesto that could become reality if he wins in November.The Democratic National Committee's paid media campaign escalates liberal efforts to publicize Project 2025 and tie it to the former president after he sought to distance himself from the plan. The blueprint for a second Trump administration is led by the rightwing thinktank the Heritage Foundation and counts support from more than 100 other conservative groups. Continue reading...
Knockout rounds in the South American championship advance straight to penalties after full-time to help ease the burden on playersFans enjoying the feast of football served up this month by Copa America and Euro 2024, running concurrently on either side of the Atlantic, will have noticed one key difference between the two tournaments: there is no extra time at the end of tied games in the knockout stage of the South American championship.Conmebol, South American soccer's governing body, decided that there would be no extra time played if scores were level at full-time in the quarter- and semi-finals. Instead, as was the case in three of the four quarter-final fixtures, the teams skipped straight to a penalty shootout. Only if all is square between Argentina and Colombia at the end of 90 minutes in the final will there be the conventional extra period of 30 minutes. Continue reading...
The tennis legend couldn't be more famous, but seems puzzled that adoration eludes him. Likeability is complexThere is a truth, not quite universally acknowledged, but worth knowing by anyone who achieves public prominence. Being famous and successful doesn't necessarily equate to being liked. Just ask Novak Djokovic.One of the most recognisable people in the world for almost two decades, on the tennis court Djokovic often carries the aura of an invincible demigod. But in the court of public opinion, he has often shown himself to be a mere mortal.Mark Borkowski is a crisis PR consultant and author Continue reading...
Julio Cervantes Suarez tells NBC he is haunted by the final moments he had with his nephew, who died in the collapse: I relive it all the time'The only construction worker to survive March's deadly bridge collapse in Baltimore has said he is haunted by the fact that he told his nephew to go rest in his car - shortly before the relative fell, along with the vehicle, to his death and became one of six men killed in the disaster.If I had told him to come with me, maybe it would have been different," Julio Cervantes Suarez told NBC News in an interview that the network exclusively aired late on Wednesday. Maybe he would be here with us.The Associated Press contributed reporting Continue reading...
by Helen Sullivan (now) with Maanvi Singh and Léonie on (#6P59S)
This blog is now closed. You can read out main story here.Keir Starmer is now holding a press conference as he prepares to leave the Nato summit in Washington.The UK prime minister said he had brought a message of enduring and unwavering commitment" to Nato. Starmer said:Every policy we have in pursuit of our missions, everything we're doing to improve people's lives, all that we hold dear, depends on our security.That is our first priority. It is always our first priority. I made that crystal clear to the British people in our campaign and so I also came to this summit with a clear message.The US announced a new security package for Ukraine worth $225m, which includes a Patriot missile battery, additional ammunition for high-mobility artillery rocket systems and missiles. oe Biden told his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, we will stay with you, period" ahead of a bilateral meeting on Thursday.Zelenskiy urged Nato allies to lift restrictions on its use of long-range weapons against targets in Russia. He said doing so would be a gamechanger" in its war with Moscow, adding: If we want to win, if we want to prevail, to save our country and to defend it, we need to lift all the limitations."Hungary does not want, and will not support, Nato becoming an anti-China" bloc, foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said. Speaking on the sidelines of a Nato summit, Szijjarto also said Ukraine's admission to the alliance would weaken unity within the group.Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdoan, said that any possibility of a direct confrontation between Russia and Nato was worrying". He added: Any steps that could lead to this outcome should be consciously avoided."Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, will fly to Mar-a-Lago on Thursday to meet with Donald Trump, according to two sources with knowledge of the meeting. Orban has enraged his Nato allies by meeting with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping en route to the alliance's summit in Washington DC. He has also met with Zelenskiy in Kyiv, and is said to be quietly negotiating his own ceasefire plan without consulting either the Biden administration or other EU countries.France, Germany, Italy and Poland signed a letter of intent to develop ground-launched cruise missiles with a range beyond 500km (310 miles), aiming to fill what they say is a gap in European arsenals exposed by Russia's war in Ukraine. French defence minister Sebastien Lecornu said the new missile was meant to serve as a deterrent.Norway will donate 1bn Norwegian kroner ($92.69m) in support to Ukraine for its air defence, prime minister Jonas Gahr Store said. The donation comes a day after Norway announced it would give six F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to help it in defence efforts against Russian air attacks.Germany's chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said that France remained a key partner on the international stage as Emmanuel Macron struggles to build a coalition government after elections. France will be on the international agenda a big partner, a strong partner of all of us, and especially a partner for Germany," Scholz said at the Nato summit on Thursday.Romania, Bulgaria and Greece signed a deal to enable swift cross-border movement of troops and weapons to Nato's eastern flank, Romania's defence ministry said. The planned harmonised military mobility corridor between the three Nato and EU states was one of two such mobility corridors agreed on the sidelines of the Nato summit in Washington DC. Continue reading...
Joe Biden began by shattering his metaphorical vase, and spent the rest of the press conference putting it back togetherThe British politician Roy Jenkins once famously observed that Tony Blair's challenge in getting Labour elected in 1997 was like a man carrying a priceless Ming vase across a highly polished floor".Joe Biden dropped the vase, shattering it into a thousand crazy pieces, before his rare press conference even got started on Thursday. Continue reading...
The president was more at ease on foreign policy - but his remarks were overshadowed by a couple of high-profile gaffesDuring Joe Biden's press conference at the Nato summit, which many described as a test for the future of his re-election bid, he demonstrated clarity and conviction on foreign policy. But much was overshadowed by a couple of awkward gaffes and a shaky voice, at a time when the US is hyper-focused on his fitness to lead.After roughly eight minutes of prepared remarks, Biden answered reporters' questions on Nato, Ukraine, China and Israel, and just as many on his cognitive health and his vow to stay in the race. Continue reading...
Joe Biden misidentifies vice-president Kamala Harris as Donald Trump during a press conference on the final day of the Nato summit in Washington. 'Look I wouldn't have picked Vice-President Trump to be vice-president if she was not qualified to be president. So start there,' Biden says. Biden earlier introduced the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, as 'President Putin' in a gaffe that will fuel further concerns about his mental acuity that have threatened to scuttle his presidential campaign
Lawyers argue trial was tainted' by evidence that shouldn't have been allowed and that jury's verdicts must be vacated'Donald Trump's lawyers are imploring a New York judge to overturn his hush-money conviction and dismiss the case, arguing his historic trial was tainted" by evidence that shouldn't have been allowed because of the US supreme court's recent presidential immunity ruling.In a court filing dated 10 July but made public on Thursday, defense lawyers said the guilty verdict in the first-ever criminal trial of a US president should be set aside. Continue reading...
Joe Biden mistakenly referred to Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelenskiy as 'President Putin' before correcting himself at the Nato summit in Washington. 'And now I want to hand it over to the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination, ladies and gentlemen, President Putin,' Biden said, referring to Zelenskiy, before correcting himself. 'Going to beat President Putin, President Zelenskiy. I am so focused on beating Putin,' Biden said while correcting himself
Don Jr's involvement raises speculation that Senator JD Vance will be the vice-presidential pickDonald Trump's running mate will be introduced at the Republican national convention next Wednesday by his eldest son, according to people familiar with the matter, raising speculation that Senator JD Vance will be named the vice-presidential pick after being endorsed by Don Jr.The fact that Don Jr will speak immediately before the running mate delivers remarks, earlier reported by Axios, is seen as notable inside the Trump campaign because of Don Jr's close ties to Vance. Continue reading...
by Kate Connolly in Berlin and Andrew Roth in Washing on (#6P56M)
Military scheme agreed to by Nato called serious threat', while weapons experts warn of new arms race riskedA US announcement of a plan to station long-range missiles in Germany for the first time since the cold war has set off a diplomatic furore between Washington and Moscow and elicited comparisons to the European missile crises of the 1980s.Russian and US officials both accused each other of provoking the escalation on Thursday, as arms control experts warned that the deployments of missiles on the European continent, after the collapse of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, could fuel a new arms race. Continue reading...
by Ramon Antonio Vargas in New Orleans on (#6P56N)
Accuser's lawyer says legal and religious establishment delaying case in hope Lawrence Hecker, 92, dies before trialKey parts of New Orleans's legal and religious establishments are running out the clock" on rape and kidnapping charges pending against the admitted child molester and retired local priest Lawrence Hecker, an attorney for the case's alleged victim said Thursday.Richard Trahant delivered his comments after the clergyman, 92, received a sixth trial delay meant to help determine his mental competence. Continue reading...
Campaign taking steps to ensure they don't push president to withdraw amid escalating panic among DemocratsDonald Trump and his campaign want Joe Biden to stay in the race, according to people familiar with the matter, and have discussed taking steps to ensure they don't push the president to withdraw amid escalating panic among Democrats following his recent debate performance.The latest thinking inside Trump's campaign is for them not to pile on the concern about Biden's age and mental acuity in case their attack ads push Biden to step aside. Continue reading...
The toll from Israeli airstrikes and hunger continues to grow, but the US is resuming some paused arms shipmentsNine months after Israel's assault on Gaza began, in retaliation for the Hamas atrocities of 7 October, the suffering has not ended. Gaza City is experiencing some of its heaviest strikes of the war. Health authorities in the territory say that 38,345 people have been killed. Save the Children warned recently that an additional 4,000 children are thought to be under the rubble, and 17,000 are unaccompanied or separated from their families. Surgeons say that Israeli-made weapons designed to spray large amounts of shrapnel are disproportionately harming children.When Russia bombed a children's hospital in Kyiv on Monday, the White House quickly rushed out a statement expressing Joe Biden's widely shared revulsion. Yet no such declaration of sympathy has been made for victims of the Israeli strikes on or near four schools in Gaza where people were sheltering, carried out in just four days. The latest, on Tuesday, hit close to the gate of al-Awda school in Khan Younis during a football game. The Israeli military has blamed Hamas fighters or officials for using the sites as bases.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
England has moved on from nostalgic pretensions of greatness to a patriotism rooted in equality and self-expressionNationalism does not make nations. But it helps to invent them. Nowhere is this more true than in football. When England kicks off this Sunday against Spain in the final of Euro 2024, a victory would mark the end of 58 years of men's footballing heartbreak in major tournaments. But it would also signify the triumph of a new country and legitimise the radical positions taken by an England team distinguished by youth and talent that their critics rarely display. The nation's identity is inextricably tied up in the sport: England's semi-final win was the most-watched programme this year.The hinge around which this history turns was the last men's Euro tournament, when before every match the England team took the knee" as an expression of solidarity with anti-racist protests and was booed by a section of the fans. Rightwing newspapers and politicians stepped in to criticise the players. When England ended up losing in the final to Italy, three black players who missed penalties faced a torrent of racist abuse. Fast forward to 2024. When England lost to Iceland in a warm-up game, Bukayo Saka - who was only on the pitch for 25 minutes - appeared in some newspapers as responsible for England's defeat with headlines like Black ice". Continue reading...
Four Chinese vessels were transiting in international waters but still inside the US exclusive economic zone'Multiple Chinese military warships were spotted off the coast of Alaska over the weekend, the US Coast Guard announced.In a statement released on Wednesday, the US Coast Guard said that it detected three vessels approximately 124 miles (200km) north of the Amchitka Pass in the Aleutian Islands, as well as another vessel approximately 84 miles (135km) north of the Amukta Pass, a strait between the Bering Sea and the north Pacific Ocean. Continue reading...
Ex-president offered cordial handshakes to white well-wishers, while some Black players were pulled in for hugsMeeting the USA men's basketball team before their departure for the Olympic Games in Paris, Barack Obama appeared to recreate a classic comedy sketch in which he is portrayed greeting Black supporters effusively while offering cordial handshakes to white people.In remarks at USA Basketball's 50th anniversary party in Las Vegas on Tuesday, the former president - the first and only Black person to hold that office - gestured to his famous love for the sport when he said: It is true I am the hooper-in-chief. Continue reading...
Asked about speculation over US president's health, PM says he dealt with issues at pace and was across all detailKeir Starmer has said Joe Biden was on good form" and went through serious issues at pace during their first bilateral talks at the White House as he was asked about claims the US president could be senile.The prime minister said his personal view, having spent almost an hour in private talks with Biden and attended a dinner for Nato leaders at the White House, was that he was mentally agile. Continue reading...
While playing decent tennis requires a certain degree of skill, pickleball felt like a simpler game to masterAs a child, it seemed like everyone in my world played tennis. I grew up in a small outer suburb where sport had currency and tennis was at the heart of our community. The clubhouse and red clay en-tout-cas courts sat in the centre of town, surrounded by a local hall, a kindergarten and a plot of land for the mobile library to park each Tuesday afternoon.Those courts were always in use. Juniors on a Saturday, lessons after school and adult competitions on weekdays. I played as much sport as I could when I was young and tennis dominated for years. When I wasn't playing, I was watching, hanging around competitions and waiting to pounce on famous players for their autographs in my little red book. Continue reading...
Board calls Trump a chilling choice against this national moment' days before Republican national conventionThe editorial board of the New York Times has declared that Donald Trump is unfit to lead" in an urgently worded article published just ahead of the Republican convention, where Trump will once again be formally named the party's choice for president.Noting that the former president and convicted felon has now become the Republican nominee three times in eight years, the board said: A once great political party now serves the interests of one man, a man as demonstrably unsuited for the office of president as any to run in the long history of the republic, a man whose values, temperament, ideas and language are directly opposed to so much of what has made this country great." Continue reading...
Truck driver rescued baby near where the child's four-year-old brother was found dead; the mother is now in custodyA Texas truck driver is being praised for rescuing a one-year-old boy who was seen crawling along a busy highway after surviving on his own for two days amid weather from Hurricane Beryl.Reginald Walton, a driver for DHL Supply Chain, spotted the infant near a section of Interstate 10 in Calcasieu parish, Louisiana, near the state's south-western border. Continue reading...
The Texas fossil fuel mogul has poured nearly $30m to drive the state legislature to the far-right, and now the evangelical Christian wants to spread his ideology to the federal governmentMoney, according to Tim Dunn, only makes it easier to perpetuate the illusion of control".In reality, the west Texas oilman drawled, each person is in control of only three things: who or what you trust or depend on, how you look at things - your perspective, and what you do."Steve Bannon: his War Room podcast is shaping the Republican narrativeCharlie Kirk: Republicans are turning on the former youth guruKevin Roberts: the force behind Project 2025Cleta Mitchell: the ex-Democratic firebrand turned election denierHans von Spakovsky: the man who cries voter fraud Continue reading...
House approves measure based on claims that people who have crossed US-Mexico border illegally could cast ballotsThe Republican-controlled US House of Representatives, fueled by Donald Trump's false claims about election fraud, approved a bill on Wednesday that would ban non-citizens from registering to vote in federal elections, a rare practice that is already illegal.Less than four months before Trump's 5 November election showdown with Democratic president Joe Biden, the House voted 221-198 to approval the measure, which is based on claims that people who have crossed the US-Mexico border illegally could cast ballots in this year's presidential and congressional elections. Continue reading...
The decision to hold the RNC in the city is a slap in the face' for Black voters who have come under attack by the party's sweeping voter ID measure and move to limit early votingShortly after the 2022 midterm elections, Robert Spindell sent out an email to his fellow Republicans explaining why he was pleased with the results even though Tony Evers, a Democrat, had just won a second term.Spindell, one of three Republicans on the body that oversees elections in Wisconsin, said we can be especially proud of the City of Milwaukee (80.2% Dem vote) casting 37,000 less votes than cast in the 2018 election with the major reduction happening in the overwhelming Black and Hispanic areas." Continue reading...
Authorities are investigating whether the 33-year-old may have suffered heat stroke or a heart attackA New York City police recruit died Wednesday after suffering an apparent medical episode at a training facility in the Bronx, just days before he was set to graduate as an officer.The 33-year-old, identified as probationary police officer Edgar Ordonez, lost consciousness at 11:30am while at Rodman's Neck, an operations base used by police for weapons and tactical training, a spokesperson for the New York police department said. He was pronounced dead shortly after at a nearby hospital. Continue reading...
Motherhood had stripped me of everything that came before. In a small Italian villa, I was reunited with my old selfIn May this year, I left my husband and three children to spend a month in Italy with a group of people I'd never met before. It was the first time in my life I had ever done anything so self-centred.It all began just before Christmas, when I was invited to apply for a place at a writers' retreat. As the default parent to three boys aged 10, seven, and five, I was reluctant. I usually navigate mealtimes, school drop-off and pickup, swimming, martial arts and various musical instrument lessons. I was not sure how my husband would manage on his own.Saima Mir is a freelance journalist and author of the 2021 novel The KhanDo 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...
I just wanted to tell the famous historian how much I loved his book. But he wasn't having any of itThere are few things worse than trying to engage in conversation someone who plainly does not want to talk to you. As a teenage boy, I went through the pain barrier several times while trying in vain to get a girl interested in me or anything I had to say. But awful as it was, I knew it came with the territory, so I had no choice but to grin and bear it. If anything, the older I get, the harder I find it. And I'm not talking about the dating game here, just normal conversation with civilised people in polite society.I was at an event, a book launch, hosted by a famous historian. He was not the author of the book in question, but he was the writer of a biography that I happened to be reading. I thought this particular work to be luminously brilliant, so I was keen to have a chat with him. I circled him for a while, waiting for my chance to strike. My dad told me at a very young age that the best thing to talk to people about was their favourite subject, which invariably was themselves. This advice has served me well over the years, and I would be sure to abide by it here. Anxious as ever to avoid talking to someone who plainly wasn't interested in talking to me, I put some thought into my approach. Phase one: tell him how brilliant I think his book to be. Phase two: share with him my favourite quote from the book. What could possibly go wrong?Adrian Chiles is a broadcaster, writer and 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...
This has become a game of chicken. If the biggest donors stop funding Biden and he stays in the race anyway, he'll loseAt a rally in Madison, Wisconsin last Friday, Joe Biden said: Some folks ... are trying to push me out of the race."To whom was the president referring? Continue reading...
Gregg Berhalter will not lead the US into their home World Cup in 2026. Here are a few possibilities to succeed himGregg Berhalter is out. So, who comes next? With a home World Cup looming, US Soccer has some thorny questions to work through. Do they chase someone with experience at the international level or look for a fresh face? Do they look for a big name or someone with domestic credibility? Do they want a hired-gun for one tournament or someone who can build beyond 2026?The decision will sit with technical director Matt Crocker, who, after an exhaustive process in 2023, decided to rehire Berhalter. Oops. Continue reading...
NYC has lagged behind the UK in waste disposal. But with wheelie bins replacing bin bags, we're finally catching upLast year, 200 composting bins were rolled out in New York City, with a unit on every other corner you could open and close via an app. This was exciting for those of us who have hit an age when rubbish disposal is something we think about. For a while, my kids indulged me in my need to discuss composting - whether our bag would fit in the bin; how good the exercise made us feel; whether it actually did anything useful or not - before pointing out I was talking about it too much. This week, a new fleet of wheelie bins has been introduced across the city, and the excitement has been almost too much to bear.The trash revolution" as Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, put it while placing a black bin bag in a wheelie bin in front of reporters on Monday, sounds like a characteristic piece of hyperbole from the man, but for once he wasn't exaggerating. Like banking technology, rubbish disposal is one of those baffling areas in which the US in general, but New York in particular, is wildly behind Britain.Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Keeping cockatoos out of them, fending off crocodiles with them - four decades of using wheelie bins has taught Australians they're not just a place to dispose of your wasteNew York City has unveiled its latest tactic in a trash revolution" to wrangle control of its city back from rats.So innovative is this beautiful rat-fighting piece of engineering", discovered by a consultancy firm paid $1.6m for its efforts, that the city's mayor, Eric Adams, demonstrated how to use it during the announcement. Continue reading...
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