US news | The Guardian

Kenneth Chesebro - low-profile, bright, seemingly decent - is not your average Trump guy. So how did he become the architect of the election subversion scandal?One individual stands out among the 18 Donald Trump acolytes who were indicted in Georgia this week over their participation in the former president's alleged racketeering enterprise to overturn the 2020 election.He is distinct not for his chutzpah and braggadocio - those qualities are trademarked by Trump. Instead he stands out for the opposite characteristics: his demure, scholarly demeanor that has left those who have known him utterly baffled by his eruption from a left-leaning attorney working in relative obscurity into a key figure in the glaring lights of a historic criminal prosecution. Continue reading...

Students trying to attend university in the US tell of their frustration after being rejected over the immigrant intent' testYalda Azamee blinked back tears as she stared down at the American consular officer.He did not even give me a chance to explain myself; he rejected me right away. He didn't even look at my documents," she said, rushing out of the US embassy building on to the streets of Islamabad to cry. Continue reading...

The candidate is emerging as a challenger - however slight - in a race still thoroughly dominated by the former presidentVivek Ramaswamy was at the Iowa state fair, a must-visit destination for any presidential candidate, when he decided to rap.Wearing a red cap and a baggy white polo shirt, the millennial founder of a biotech company launched into a spirited rendition of Eminem's Lose Yourself, as the governor of Iowa, Kim Reynolds, edged further and further towards the edge of their shared stage. Continue reading...

When I moved to LA, I discovered my house had been the scene of a notorious 1920s crime involving a leading lady, her vaudeville star husband and an actor with matinee idol looks ...Even as a novice crime writer, I probably ought to have discovered the killing that took place in my own front room sooner than I did. After all, the coroner declared it the most brutal murder that has ever come under my notice" and the Los Angeles Times labelled my home the Hollywood House of Death".Or perhaps I have that the wrong way round, and it was living here that turned me into a crime writer. Certainly, I had no such ambitions or qualifying expertise when I moved in: my previous book was a sci-fi comedy, and the protagonist of my crime novel is not a detective but an NHS junior doctor, the job I was doing when a screenplay I wrote first landed me some writing work in Los Angeles. Continue reading...

I grew up in South Africa, and vigorously refuted parallels with Israel. But in the Netanyahu era, the charge is becoming factIsrael 2023, South Africa 1948. I've lived through it before: power grabbing, fascism and racism - the destruction of democracy. Israel is going where South Africa was 75 years ago. It's like watching the replay of a horror movie.In 1948, as a teenager in Cape Town, I followed the results of the 26 May election on a giant board on a newspaper building. The winner-takes-all electoral system produced distorted results: the Afrikaner Nationalist party, with its smaller partner, won 79 parliamentary seats against 74 for the United party and its smaller partner. Continue reading...

Vote on party lines punished Katie Rinderle for reading book to her fifth-grade class in violation of vaguely worded policyA Georgia school board voted along party lines on Thursday to fire a teacher after officials said she improperly read a book on gender fluidity to her fifth-grade class.The Cobb county school board in suburban Atlanta voted 4-3 to fire Katie Rinderle, overriding the recommendation of a panel of three retired educators. The panel found after a two-day hearing that Rinderle had violated district policies but said she should not be fired. Continue reading...

US president, Yoon Suk Yeol and Fumio Kishida meet as they agree to take trilateral defence cooperation to unprecedented levels'A standalone summit bringing together the leaders of Japan and South Korea would have been almost unthinkable just over a year ago, when the north-east Asian neighbours were embroiled in disputes over their bitter wartime legacy.Bilateral ties were at a low point before the South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, took office in May 2022, due to compensation claims by Koreans over Japan's use of forced labour during its 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean peninsula, and the longstanding controversy over Korean women who were coerced into working in Japanese military brothels.It is a historic event, and it sets the conditions for a more peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific, and a stronger and more secure United States of America. Continue reading...

Officials have said class will not count toward graduation credit but some schools offer course as local elective'The six Arkansas schools that planned to offer an Advanced Placement (AP) course on African American studies say they will continue to do so despite state officials saying the class will not count toward a student's graduation credit.The North Little Rock and Jacksonville North Pulaski school districts and eStem charter schools said on Thursday they would offer the course as a local elective" despite the Arkansas education department saying it is not considered a state-approved course. They join two other school districts that have said they will continue offering the class. Continue reading...

National security adviser Jake Sullivan makes comments as US, Japan and South Korea agree to new security pledgeThe United States is concerned" about the national security implications of North Korea and Russia reportedly cooperating on nuclear missile technology, the Biden administration said, as the US welcomed the leaders of Japan and South Korea to Camp David on Friday for an unprecedented trilateral summit.The US, Japan and South Korea agreed to a new security pledge committing the three countries to consult with each other in the event of a security crisis or threat in the Pacific, according to the Biden administration. Continue reading...

A Trump presidency is Giuliani's final hope - or failing that, some payment for all his legal work at leastMondayDonald Trump's legal woes grow in Georgia, as the former president faces new charges of election interference, bringing his total felony count to 91 and returning his co-defendant - former Time magazine Person of the Year (2001), Rudy Giuliani - to the headlines. Like a Jane Austen heroine who allies herself with a plainer girl to accentuate her own charms, Trump's proximity to Giuliani has the extraordinary effect of making him, temporarily at least, seem like not the worst or weirdest guy in the room. Continue reading...

Alex Crow was previously accused of acting inappropriately with students and remains under orders by archdiocese to return homeA Roman Catholic priest in Alabama who fled to Europe with a recent high school graduate whom he met through his work has drawn scrutiny from law enforcement and been told to stop presenting himself in public as a cleric.Alex Crow, an expert in the theological study of demons and exorcism, is suspected of having groomed [multiple] young girls" before going to Italy with an 18-year-old, according to an interview that local sheriff Paul Burch recently gave to Fox Nation's Nancy Grace. The teen's family has been trying to convince her to return home.In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453 or visit their website for more resources and to report child abuse or DM for help. For adult survivors of child abuse, help is available at ascasupport.org. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800; adult survivors can seek help at Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International. Continue reading...

Request for Enrique Tarrio sentence comes as another convicted member of far-right group goes missing days before court dateThe US justice department is seeking 33 years in prison for Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys leader convicted of seditious conspiracy in one of the most serious cases to emerge from the attack on the US Capitol, according to court documents.The harsh sentence request came as it emerged that Christopher Worrell, another member of the extremist group, has disappeared, days before he was due to be sentenced on Friday Continue reading...

Australia and New Zealand have provided a tournament that has showcased the strength in depth of football across all continentsFour years ago, the 2019 Fifa Women's World Cup, won by the US, was hailed as a pinnacle moment for women's football. The accolade was deserved. But if 2019 was a pinnacle, what can be said about this year's even more remarkable contest? The 2023 World Cup reaches a peak in Sydney on Sunday, when England and Spain face each other in the final. Yet if the contest over the last month proves one big thing, it is that, in women's football, every pinnacle and peak still conceals another even higher one than the summit just reached.The achievements of 2023 go beyond even England's understandable delight and excitement at reaching - and hopefully winning - a first football World Cup final since the men's now long distant victory in 1966. The most important of these wider successes is this tournament's wonderful confirmation of real strength in depth in the women's game on every continent. Although two European sides will contest the final, the global attainment gap is everywhere narrowing. Australia, Colombia and Japan deservedly reached the last eight (and Australia went further). Jamaica and Nigeria came close to joining them. China, Morocco, the Philippines, South Africa and Zambia all won group stage games. It can only be a matter of time before an African, Asian, Caribbean or Oceanian team gets to the final. Continue reading...

Private information about members of grand jury that indicted former president has been published onlineLaw enforcement officials in the US state of Georgia were on Friday intensifying their investigations into threats targeting members of the grand jury that indicted former president Donald Trump and 18 of his allies earlier this month, after private information about jurors was published online.The Fulton county sheriff's office announced that it was aware that personal information of members of the Fulton county grand jury is being shared on various platforms" and was working to track down the origins of the threats in Fulton county, where Atlanta is located, and other jurisdictions.Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report Continue reading...

Ex-president's team seek to delay start date more than two years from date proposed by federal prosecutorsLawyers for Donald Trump asked the judge in Washington DC overseeing his federal election interference trial to push back the start date to April 2026, almost 18 months after the next presidential election and more than two years from the trial date proposed by the US government.The former president's legal team filed the request to the US district court judge Tanya Chutkan, after Trump was indicted earlier this month on charges that he conspired to defraud the United States, conspired to obstruct an official proceeding, obstructed an official proceeding and engaged in a conspiracy against rights. Continue reading...

The sooner you start talking to children about history and race, the better, Sisonke Msimang writes

One of UK's public faces of pandemic, JVT' was known for football-related metaphors in No 10 briefingsSir Jonathan Van-Tam, the UK's former deputy chief medical officer who became a household name during the pandemic, has become a senior medical consultant to the Covid-19 vaccine maker Moderna.Known by the initials JVT and remembered for the striking metaphors he used during Downing Street briefings on the progress of the virus, he took up the role as part-time clinical adviser to the American biotechnology company on 2 May. Continue reading...

It is right to hold an inquiry, but the hunt for lessons to be learned' and a system to blame can easily go too farThe agony of the death of a child is something most families these days will never suffer. Through illness, accident or even negligence, that loss, and the lifelong pain it causes, is every parent's greatest fear, but to know someone murdered a defenceless infant must be beyond endurance. How could she?We will never know what evil or insanity could have induced Lucy Letby to sweep away the lives of seven babies, and attempt the murder of another six. Everyone hearing the case of the worst serial killer of children in modern British history tries, and fails, to imagine the state of mind, the cause and how such a person grew up so apparently normal, her inner murderous impulses unobserved. Her responsibility for new lives inside the Countess of Chester hospital neonatal unit, which should be a sanctuary of the greatest safety, makes this feel like the deepest betrayal.Polly Toynbee 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...

At Index on Censorship, we don't buy into a global charm offensive that can't hide the fact that hundreds of activists and regime opponents are still being jailedIf you want proof Saudi Arabia is trying to improve its reputation, visit the website of the Saudi Tourism Authority. There you will find the Q&A section has recently been updated to state that LGBTQ visitors to the country are welcome. This from a country that executed five men for same-sex relationships just four years ago. The hubris is astonishing. And yet to directly challenge those contradictions isn't easy, something John Lubbock, Daisy Steinhardt and Max Colbert recently learned.As reported by the Guardian on Tuesday, the journalists had co-written an article for Vice World News, which looked at how LGBTQ Saudis face threats from their families and state authorities. It was commissioned before Vice declared bankruptcy and before part of it was bought by a Saudi-linked firm. The article's publication was first delayed and eventually spiked. The reason given? To protect staff at Vice's offices in Riyadh.Jemimah Steinfeld is editor-in-chief of Index on CensorshipDo 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...

While full list probably represent broader cross section of ages, deaths underscore risk for elderly people in fast-moving blazesAs the first victims of the fires that scorched Maui are identified by authorities and family members, an early pattern has emerged. Many who perished were over the age of 70.Scores more victims will be identified in the weeks and months to come. While the final list of fatalities will almost surely represent a broader cross-section of ages, the deaths underscore that elderly people are at greater risk in fast-moving blazes. Continue reading...

While the Fifa boss pontificates to all the women' that they just push the doors', we suggest he does his actual jobI regret to inform you that ahead of the women's World Cup final this weekend, Fifa president Gianni Infantino has made another one of his public statements. You may recall that at the start of the men's World Cup in Qatar last November, Infantino addressed the west" - a hilariously self-effacing gesture that puts me in mind of a video that the actor Richard Gere once released on the eve of some Palestinian elections. Hi, I'm Richard Gere," this began, and I'm speaking for the entire world." Infantino was also covering a lot of bases last year in Qatar, declaring: Today I have strong feelings. Today I feel Qatari, I feel Arab, I feel African, I feel gay, I feel disabled, I feel a migrant worker." Oh dear.Anyway, in the early hours of this morning, two days before England meet Spain in the final of a World Cup that has seen rapturous engagement, and record attendance and global viewing figures, Infantino announced he was addressing all the women". Continue reading...

It is important we stay level-headed as new subvariants emerge and mutate in the coming weeks and monthsCovid-19 is creeping back into the news cycle. As we head towards the autumn, disease rates are increasing in the community and a recent spike of interest in an Omicron subvariant, EG.5, which the World Health Organization has classified as a variant of interest, has caused concern among those whose memories of recent winters haven't faded. There is an undeniable feeling of deja vu. So how worried should we be?The WHO is tracking the spread of EG.5 globally, but notes that the risk posed to public health remains low. There is currently no indication of increased severity of infection or an increased hospitalisation rate with this new strain. For those who were asymptomatic or had a mild version of the disease, the continued talk of Covid may seem irrelevant or even scare-mongering. But for those who are suffering with long Covid, are immunocompromised or who lost a loved one during the pandemic, any news of increased prevalence of the disease must be worrying. These people know how devastating Covid can be.Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh Continue reading...

Sheriff's office says investigators are working to pinpoint origin of threats. Plus, the former Russian minister who is now a trucker in Michigan

Digital Public Public Library fights back against rightwing censorship with resource that works through geo-targetingMaia Kobabe's 2019 memoir Gender Queer is an after-dinner favorite in Jen Cousins' house. The family lives in Orange county, Florida, and all four children read the book when their mother first brought it home two years ago. She had to; she couldn't stop crying when she read the last page.For Saffy, her second oldest, who is now 14, Kobabe's memoir is more than an after-school read. It has become a lifeline. Saffy came out as non-binary two years ago and finished the book in just an afternoon. Looking up at their mom, they said they finally felt seen. Continue reading...

My country could be the first to limit fossil fuel extraction through direct democracy

The youngest Black woman to earn a Fifa referee badge, the Mississippi native, Jackson State alumna and proud Delta is breaking down barriers one assignment at a timeEarlier this year, Alyssa Nichols became the youngest Black woman, and the first from Mississippi, to earn a Fifa referee badge. She's not fazed by being the youngest - she is one of only two Black American women to hold the distinction - but she understands her achievement as a chance to encourage others.After Nichols started playing soccer at Murrah High School, in Jackson, Mississippi, one of her teammates, who worked as a youth officiator with Southwest Jackson Soccer League, a primarily Black club in the city, suggested that Nichols start officiating as a way to make money while balancing academics and athletics. Continue reading...

Rightwing Florida governor's talking points for the first Republican debate include defending Trump and attacking BidenSeeking to resurrect his flagging US presidential campaign, Ron DeSantis suffered a major embarrassment when memos about his preparation for the first Republican debate were reported by the New York Times.Including advice not to attack the clear frontrunner, Donald Trump, the memos to the rightwing Florida governor ahead of the debate in Milwaukee next Wednesday were posted online by a consulting firm owned by Jeff Roe, chief strategist to Never Back Down, a Super Pac backing DeSantis.Attack Joe Biden and the media 3-5 times.State [DeSantis's] positive vision 2-3 times.Hammer Vivek Ramaswamy in a response.Defend Donald Trump in absentia in response to a Chris Christie attack. Continue reading...

With September fast approaching we look at the figures who will be central to the biggest storylines in the 2023 campaignLast season's version of this list did not feature Brock Purdy (oops), was headlined by Trey Lance (double oops), and hit on Aaron Rodgers' impending divorce from Green Bay (we'll take it). Hopefully we do better this year (not guaranteed). Continue reading...

It happened 50 years ago, changed the course of world history - and revealed just how authoritarian conservatives areFifty years on, the 1973 coup in Chile still haunts politics there and far beyond. As we approach its anniversary, on 11 September, the violent overthrow of the elected socialist government of Salvador Allende and its replacement by the brutal dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet are already being marked in Britain, through a period of remembrance scheduled to include dozens of separate exhibitions and events. Among these will be a march in Sheffield, archival displays in Edinburgh, a concert in Swansea, and a conference and picket of the Chilean embassy in London.Few past events in faraway countries receive this level of attention. Military takeovers were not unusual in South America during the cold war. And Chile has been a relatively stable democracy since the Pinochet dictatorship ended, 33 years ago. So why does the 1973 coup still resonate? Continue reading...

Denis Sharonov is part of a historic exodus as hundreds of thousands of Russians seek to escape Vladimir Putin's warThe former minister drove his big white truck north until he reached Michigan. The Great Lakes provided a welcome relief from the scorching Texas heat.After years navigating the byzantine corridors of provincial Russian power, Denis Sharonov now works as a truck driver, steering his way through the vast highways of the US. Continue reading...

Herman Andaya's resignation comes after the deadly blaze in Maui killed at least 111 people and razed thousands of buildingsThe head of the Maui emergency management agency, who has been under fire for not activating disaster sirens during last week's wildfire response, resigned Thursday, citing health reasons.Richard Bissen, the Maui mayor, accepted the resignation of Herman Andaya, the county of Maui announced on Facebook. Continue reading...

A grand jury had indicted officers from Antioch and Pittsburg for a wide range of offenses, including criminal conspiracyThe FBI arrested nine current and former California police officers on Thursday as part of a major criminal investigation into racist text messages of dozens of law enforcement officials, prosecutors said.Early-morning federal raids, first reported by the Bay Area News Group, rounded up officers from Antioch and Pittsburg, two cities east of San Francisco, after they were charged in four grand jury indictments. Continue reading...

Sheriff's office said investigators were working with local, state and federal agencies to track down origins of threats in Fulton countyLaw enforcement officials in Georgia say they are investigating threats targeting members of the grand jury that indicted former President Donald Trump and 18 of his allies, after private information about jurors was published online.On Thursday, the Fulton county sheriff's office announced that it was aware that personal information of members of the Fulton county grand jury is being shared on various platforms". Continue reading...

This blog is now closed, but continuing coverage of Trump's Georgia indictment can be found here and here.Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor, dismissed the suggestion that she is running in the 2024 GOP presidential race in order to become the vice president.In an interview with Politico, Haley said:I think everybody that says, She's doing this to be vice president,' needs to understand I don't run for second.That's something that I hear all the time, and I'll tell you that, look, we have a country to save, and I don't trust anybody else to do it.Sources tell ABC News that Trump's legal advisers have told him that holding such a press conference with dubious claims of voter fraud will only complicate his legal problems and some of his attorneys have advised him to cancel it. Continue reading...

Big corporations, golf courses and hotels have been taking water from locals for years. Now the fire may result in even more devastating water theftAll over Maui, golf courses glisten emerald green, hotels manage to fill their pools and corporations stockpile water to sell to luxury estates. And yet, when it came time to fight the fires, some hoses ran dry. Why?The reason is the long-running battle over west Maui's most precious natural resource: water. That's why, on Tuesday 8 August, when Terearii Chandler-ao was fleeing the fires in Lahaina, she grabbed a bag of clothes, some food - and something a little unconventional: a box filled with water use permit applications. Continue reading...

The Atlanta journalist stumbled upon a meeting of Republican fake electors in 2020 and was then summoned to testify before a grand jury that brought charges against the former presidentThe Fulton county sheriff laid orange barricades in front of the courthouse last week, anticipating a horde of protesters. Courthouse staff were asked to work from home this month. Witnesses before the grand jury contemplating charges in Donald Trump's latest legal case arrived and departed with arrangements made for privacy and protection. People are nuts, we are reminded. Stay safe, my friends whispered.I took a train from Stone Mountain downtown and walked in through the front door. Continue reading...

The HBO show understandably concentrates on New York's new quarterback. But it is a younger player who produces the most excitementAs Hard Knocks openings go, Aaron Rodgers delivered an all-time classic for HBO's 20th season of scenes from an NFL training camp. The New York Jets quarterback struts on to the field and mutters: Gonna give you some good shit today." It is trademark Rodgers: breezy, off-hand and ultra-confident. It is at this precise moment that Jets fans collectively respond: We got ourselves a quarterback." If they were smiling after the montage when Rodgers says their single Lombardi is looking lonely in the team's trophy cabinet, one can only imagine their ecstatic expression after this brash assurance.Well, that is unless they have never seen this hyperbolic roadshow before. This set piece along with every (and there are a lot) montage of Rodgers throwing perfect spiral after perfect spiral provides the archetypal opening gambit of Hard Knocks. The attempt to dupe us into mass Jets fever: that they are the best team in the league, never mind the numerous roadblocks on the way to February football. Of course Rodgers looks great throwing the ball because he is Aaron Rodgers, a Super Bowl winner and four-time NFL MVP. Continue reading...

Grand jury indicted father and son in November 2022 for attempted murder but Mississippi judge says detective made mistakesA Mississippi judge has declared a mistrial in the trial of a white father and son who allegedly chased and shot at a Black FedEx driver in January 2022.The judge made the declaration on Thursday, citing mistakes made by a detective at Brookhaven police department. Continue reading...

Authorities issue warnings about eating raw shellfish and exposure of wounds to salt or brackish water after vibriosis deathsThree people in New York and Connecticut have died as a result of flesh-eating bacterial infections, prompting authorities to warn residents about the potential dangers of consuming raw shellfish or exposure to salt or brackish water.One person from Suffolk county in New York, as well as two people in Connecticut, have died from vibriosis, a rare bacterial infection caused by several species of bacteria, including Vibrio vulnificus, according to authorities. Continue reading...

State senator Colton Moore calls for review of Fulton county district attorney's actions after indictment of ex-presidentA Republican state senator in Georgia has moved to impeach the Fulton county district attorney, Fani Willis.The move comes in the wake of Willis's delivery of a 41-count indictment against the former president Donald Trump and his operatives on state racketeering and conspiracy charges over efforts to reverse Trump's 2020 presidential election loss in the state. Continue reading...

CNN reports the mayor turned Trump attorney visited in April but that ex-president didn't seem very interested'The New York mayor turned Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani made a largely fruitless visit to Mar-a-Lago to plead for help paying ballooning" legal fees arising from work for the former president, CNN reported.Citing unnamed sources, the network said Giuliani met Donald Trump at his Florida resort in April. Trump, who is notoriously strict about dipping into his own coffers, didn't seem very interested" and only verbally agreed" to help pay some bills and to support fundraisers for his ally, according to CNN. Continue reading...

A wave of young adults bought their first home with the help of student loan pauses and remote work - but will the boom last?Vicki Buehler never thought she would own a home. By her mid-30s, her student loan balance had ballooned to $200,000 after she deferred payments, and she eventually went into default, leading to a subprime credit score. She was a workers' comp attorney in Binghamton, New York, and earned about $60,000. Having my own home was a pie in the sky dream," she said.This changed suddenly in 2021, when Buehler, a millennial, became part of a wave of homebuyers among Americans her age. Continue reading...

While it's hard to imagine Trump winning the popular vote in 2024, our archaic and unfair electoral college is another matterRead the indictment handed down by a Fulton county, Georgia, grand jury: weighing in at 98 pages, it is a breathtaking document, granular in its description of a coordinated criminal enterprise that brazenly broke numerous Georgia state laws.The 19 persons named in the racketeering charges are not, however, members of some sleazy organized crime syndicate; rather, they include the former president of the United States, his chief of staff, a former mayor of New York, a former law school dean and a former official in the US Department of Justice. Together they stand accused of knowingly and willfully joining a conspiracy to subvert the outcome of a fair, democratic election.Lawrence Douglas is the author, most recently, of Will He Go? Trump and the Looming Election Meltdown in 2020. He is a contributing opinion writer for the Guardian US and teaches at Amherst College Continue reading...

Animal shelter has been staff tending to several dozen wounded animals since the fires ravaged Lahaina, but it is hoping for a surgeMore than a week after wildfire destroyed Lahaina, burning thousands of homes and killing at least 110 people, Maui Humane Society is still waiting for the wave of animals.The animal shelter has been bustling in the days since the disaster began, with volunteers sorting through thousands of donations, staff tending to several dozen wounded animals and limited vet crews on the ground searching for more. But with as many as 3,000 animals missing, Maui Humane Society is hoping for a surge. Continue reading...

Surely as fans we want to see performers express themselves in concert - however misguided they sometimes might beEarlier this week, the Killers were subject to boos and walkouts while onstage in Georgia after bringing a Russian man onstage to play drums with them. We don't know the etiquette of this land, but this guy's a Russian," frontman Brandon Flowers told the crowd. After the audience became visibly perturbed, Flowers doubled down: You can't recognise if someone's your brother? He's not your brother? We all separate on the borders of our countries? ... Am I not your brother, being from America?"The answer from the crowd seemed to be a unanimous no" - a fair enough response, given that it was only 15 years ago that Russia invaded Georgia and still occupies around 20% of the territory (as well as significant portions of Ukraine). It hasn't been the only time lately that a musician has put their foot in it with regards to cultural norms, either: the 1975 were banned from Malaysia last month after lead singer Matty Healy kissed his bandmate Ross MacDonald onstage in Kuala Lumpur. Homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia - and now the Good Vibes festival, which hosted the band, is demanding Healy and co pay damages to cover the costs of the event, which they were forced to cancel after the incident. Continue reading...

The NWSL's Kansas City Current, co-owned by Patrick and Brittany Mahomes, are months away from moving into a revolutionary venueHanna Glas started playing soccer at five years old in the small town in Sweden she grew up in, four hours north of Stockholm. She played because her older brother did, and she always wanted to copy him.Excitedly, they'd rush out to the small patch of grass by their house, kicking the ball around until they got tired. But Glas could never have dreamed of playing professionally. Continue reading...