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Congress, federal watchdogs and advocates call for closures of facilities as DHS inspector general reports medical shortages, sanitation violations and neglect of detaineesAmerica's private immigration detention industry is enjoying a surprise boost from the Biden administration and expecting a windfall from Donald Trump despite being skewered by watchdogs and critics for running civil detention centers with some horrific" and even lethal conditions.As a Guardian investigation revealed on Thursday, Donald Trump's plan to deport millions of people and expand private immigration prisons to hold them during that process is already getting a multi-billion dollar head start from Joe Biden's continued tack to the right on immigration. Continue reading...

The club of David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovi and Robbie Keane has been through a downturn. A sixth title would restore some shineAs Major League Soccer moved into a new age with Inter Miami's signing of Lionel Messi last year, the LA Galaxy had seemingly been left behind as a relic of different era. The club of David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovi and Robbie Keane failed to make the playoffs for the fifth time in seven seasons. Supporters protested against the Galaxy's leadership and boycotted matches. MLS's original glamour club had lost its shine.Now, though, the Galaxy are just one game from a record sixth MLS Cup title with Greg Vanney's team hosting the New York Red Bulls in Saturday's championship decider. Ten years after they last lifted the trophy, the Galaxy have the opportunity to reassert their standing as the league's marquee franchise while Messi and Co watch from home. Continue reading...

The league's newest franchise start play next year and have zero players. That will be fixed on Friday when they absorb talent from other teamsNext season the WNBA will add a team from the Bay Area, the Golden State Valkyries, before Portland and Toronto start play in 2026, with another franchise likely to arrive in 2028.These teams, of course, will need new players. And Golden State will pick their new stars on Friday through an expansion draft. The WNBA has so far enjoyed five expansion drafts - in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2006, and 2008. This year's edition will allow the Valkyries to select at least 11 players to their roster. They also have Nos 5, 17, and 30 in next year's draft. Continue reading...

There's a disconnect between citizens and leaders. Tackling that will need measures such as truly including women in politics

From an early age boys are treated as though they are smarter and more talented than girls. It can lead to a damaging overconfidenceThe stories come around with horrible frequency. The TV presenter of a certain age who prances around naked with nothing but a sock on his cock or who grabs the head of a kneeling production assistant who is cleaning his trousers, and thrusts his groin towards her face. The sports presenter who is sacked for inappropriate behaviour. The radio DJ who is accused of sexual assault.And yes, we understand, it's all about power imbalances. The talent" is venerated, the power goes to the man's head, it makes him feel invincible, he believes he has impunity. He knows his employers can't afford to lose him.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...

Top donor with links to Musk to offer leadership on two areas critical to the future of American competitiveness'Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he was nominating podcaster and former PayPal chief operating officer David Sacks to be his White House artificial intelligence and crypto czar, continuing a pattern of rewarding big donors with political power.Sacks, a venture capitalist and Silicon Valley insider, hosted big spenders at his San Francisco mansion in June to support the Trump campaign, with tickets ranging up to $300,000 a head. The event reportedly raked in more than $12m. Continue reading...

Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff join for performances by Trombone Shorty, Trisha Yearwood and James TaylorAs he presided over his final Christmas tree lighting at the White House, Joe Biden on Thursday said his wish for the nation now, and always, was that we continue to seek the light of liberty and love, kindness and compassion, dignity and decency"Biden spoke briefly to the crowd who were decked out in heavy winter layers as frigid winds and chilly temperatures hit the nation's capital. Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, were also in attendance. The tree has been set up on the Ellipse, beyond the White House South Lawn, and it's visible on the streets. Continue reading...

This blog has now closed. You can read our latest story hereThe acting director of the US Secret Service, Ronald Rowe, laid out a series of changes that the agency is enacting following the attempted assassination attempt against Donald Trump at a campaign rally in July.Rowe told the House task force examining the assassination attempt that the Secret Service has created an aviation unit for drone surveillance of potential threats, expanded the use of counter-drone systems, streamlined communication at protective sites and increased security of Trump throughout the rest of the presidential campaign. Continue reading...

Gunman named as Glenn Litton, 56, who killed himself after wounding two children at Oroville elementary schoolOfficials in northern California have identified the man who shot two kindergarteners at a religious elementary school on Wednesday afternoon before turning the gun on himself, the Butte county sheriff's office said.The Butte county sheriff's office shared new details of the shooting at a media briefing late on Thursday afternoon. The shooter was identified as Glenn Litton, a 56-year-old with a lengthy criminal history" for forgery and identify theft, and a history of mental health issues, Kory Honea, the Butte county sheriff, told reporters. Continue reading...

White House games last-minute strategy to bolster Ukraine, including $20bn in loans and sweeping sanctions on RussiaThe White House has gamed out a last-minute strategy to bolster Ukraine's war position that involves an avalanche of military assistance and sweeping new sanctions against Russia, according to a background briefing from a National Security Council spokesperson.National security adviser Jake Sullivan met with the head of the office of the Ukrainian president Andriy Yermak for more than an hour on Thursday, committing to provide Ukraine with hundreds of thousands of additional artillery rounds, thousands of rockets and hundreds of armored vehicles by mid-January, according to the briefing shared with the Guardian. Continue reading...

Chamber votes 206-198 against publication of report into former Florida representative, who resigned last monthThe House on Thursday voted 206-198 to block the release of the ethics committee's long-awaited report investigating allegations of sexual misconduct and potential illegal activities involving former Florida Republican representative Matt Gaetz.The report in question details allegations that Gaetz engaged in illicit drug use, misuse of campaign funds and sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old girl, and allegations of obstructing the House investigation. Gaetz has consistently denied the claims. Continue reading...

Quake triggered a tsunami warning for at least 5.3 million Californians, which was later withdrawnA large earthquake struck the northern California coast on Thursday morning, rattling communities and activating emergency alerts for both shaking and tsunami risks just before 11am local time.Registered as a magnitude 7.0 and originating near the town of Ferndale in Humboldt county, the quake could be felt in San Francisco more than 260 miles (418km) away. Roughly 1.3 million people felt the quake , according to initial estimates provided by the US Geological Survey (USGS), which also reported that risks to human life remained low. Continue reading...

Mark McAfee, whose products have been repeatedly contaminated with bird flu, asked by RJK Jr to apply for jobMark McAfee, a California raw milk producer whose products have been recalled several times recently due to bird flu contamination, said he has been approached by Robert F Kennedy Jr's team to guide the upcoming administration on raw milk policy.McAfee, whose dairy products were recalled after state officials detected bird flu virus in milk samples, said that the transition team for Kennedy, the nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, asked him to apply for a position advising on raw milk policy and standards development. The idea, he told the Guardian, would be to create a raw milk ordinance", mirroring the existing federal standard milk ordinance". Continue reading...

Neely's father has accused the Marine veteran of negligence and assault and battery leading to his son's deathThe father of the victim at the center of the fatal New York City subway chokehold trial has sued the defendant as a Manhattan jury continued to deliberate the case Thursday.Jordan Neely's father, Andre Zachary, filed the suit Wednesday against Marine veteran Daniel Penny in New York supreme court. Continue reading...

Bureau of Prisons closes California facility and suspends operations at six others as rights activists call for clemencyThe US Bureau of Prisons (BoP) announced on Thursday it was permanently closing a California women's prison plagued by staff sexual misconduct scandals, and suspending operations at six other federal institutions.The shutdowns come as the federal agency is facing intensifying scrutiny surrounding guards' rampant sexual abuse of incarcerated residents, a crisis of suicides and preventable deaths across its prisons and reports of severe medical neglect. Continue reading...

Americans turn to social media to discuss dire experiences at hands of health insurance companiesIn the aftermath of the killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, while Thompson's colleagues grieve and politicians decry his murder, some online discussion has shown little sympathy for Thompson or the industry he represented.Instead, social media has been in engulfed in expressions of anger at many Americans' dire experiences at the hands of health insurance companies and outrage at the large profits that they generate. Continue reading...

Republican representative accuses agency's acting director at hearing over response to Trump assassination attemptsA hearing examining the Secret Service's response to the assassination attempts against Donald Trump went off the rails on Thursday, when a screaming match broke out between the agency's acting director, Ronald Rowe, and a Republican representative.The hearing, hosted by the House taskforce established shortly after the first assassination attempt against Trump in July, was meant to explore the steps that the Secret Service has taken to improve security measures of protectees, but Pat Fallon, a Republican of Texas, took the questioning of Rowe in a different direction. Continue reading...

Move comes as board of regents is expected to weigh other rollbacks to the university's DEI initiativesThe University of Michigan will no longer ask for diversity statements from faculty when considering hiring, promotion or tenure, the latest cut to its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.The statements, which require a declaration from potential hires on how they will maintain DEI, are solicited from university employers on a case-by-case basis. (Michigan does not have a university-wide policy.) Continue reading...

Plane giant's agreement to plead guilty to fraud after two jet crashes was called sweetheart' deal by relatives of victimsA US federal judge on Thursday rejected plane giant Boeing's agreement to plead guilty to fraud after two fatal crashes of its 737 Max passenger jets, faulting a diversity and inclusion provision in the deal regarding the selection of an independent monitor to audit the company's compliance practices.Boeing and the US justice department now have 30 days to update the court on how they plan to proceed in the case, Judge Reed C O'Connor of the northern district of Texas ordered. Continue reading...

Exhaustive' investigation finds discrimination against Black people and conduct that violates people's civil rights'The US Department of Justice said Memphis police regularly violate the Constitution" and law enforcement often punishes people who don't immediately follow directions", in a press conference Thursday morning.The conference addressed a comprehensive and exhaustive" investigation, culminating in a report released the previous day that found that the Memphis police department uses excessive force and discriminates against Black people. Continue reading...

Annual event featuring 35ft red spruce set for Thursday evening at the Ellipse park south of the White HouseJoe Biden is set to take part in the annual national Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Washington DC on Thursday evening, for the final time before leaving the White House.This year, the centerpiece of the 102-year tradition will be a 35ft red spruce from the George Washington and Jefferson national forests in Virginia. Continue reading...

Two female and three male alala released after years of preparation in ongoing effort to return species to its homeFive Hawaiian crows on Wednesday were released on Maui for the first time as part of an ongoing effort to return the species to its home, conservationists said.The Hawaiian crows, or alala, were last found on Hawaii's Big Island, but they went extinct in the wild in 2002, officials with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance said in a statement. The birds, described as intelligent and charismatic, are the last survivors of all the Hawaiian crow species. Habitat loss, predation and disease by introduced species are threats, among other factors. Continue reading...

New York police use facial recognition as they work to identify suspect in killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO

Senior party figures consider withholding contributions to presidential library to express anger at pardon for sonSenior Democrats are reportedly considering withholding contributions to Joe Biden's future presidential library amid a mounting backlash over his decision grant a blanket pardon to his son Hunter.The threat has emerged as simmering anger among congressional Democrats - already building over the president's insistence on seeking a second term before belatedly stepping aside as the party nominee in favour of Kamala Harris - has burst into the open over Sunday's pardon, which Biden had previously vowed not to give. Continue reading...

They are trying to slowly and sneakily acclimatise us, like we are frogs boiling in water. But this frog won't be boiledUnless you've been living under a rock (or perhaps even something heavier than a rock, like Dwayne The Rock' Johnson), you would know by now that the movie musical Wicked is in theatres. As someone who wastes a lot of useful time being useless on the internet, I have been absorbing the strange press tour and countless memes along with everyone else, and I've been on the fence about actually going.I haven't seen the stage version of Wicked, but I know some references and enjoy musicals generally. I love some movie musicals (hello Hairspray), but a lot of them are not great - and if they are bad, they are punishing. If I'm going to take out a second mortgage on my avocado toast in order to pay for a movie on the big screen, I need to be sure I'm making the right choice. Continue reading...

The proposed rule change has been met with widespread derision. But MLB has two teams in temporary homes and an avalanche of pitcher injuriesThe first time I saw a mention of a baseball golden at-bat" came on Monday. A few entries flashed on X, my spam detector dismissed them immediately and I moved on in search of my next distraction. A day later, I was back wasting life away on social media and there it was again: the golden-at bat". The internet had won: I did a little research.Multiple entries described a potential rule change in Major League Baseball that would allow a team to send their preferred player to the plate, at any time, even if it wasn't his turn to hit, once a game. I resisted asking the universe the myriad questions which sprung to mind, such as, what happens if that golden" player is already on base? This was obviously a gag. Such a rule change wouldn't be a slight adjustment to how the sport is played: we're not talking about ads on uniforms or even ghost runners helping to decide extra inning slogs. A golden at-bat? That instantly transforms the game into a different code entirely, at least for me. I'm still not buying it. Continue reading...

The 2024 first-round QBs entered the league with varying degrees of expectation. Who has flown and who has struggled?Williams walked into the NFL with sky-high expectations. He was compared to Patrick Mahomes and was billed as someone who could, almost single-handedly, turn Chicago into a playoff contender. Continue reading...

As the president-elect and his allies plan a multi-pronged attack on DEI policies, companies and campuses are complying with threats even though they don't have toIn 2020, Donald Trump signed an executive order against race and sex stereotyping and scapegoating" which would have set the stage for sweeping attacks on diversity initiatives in the public sphere. In January 2021, on his first day in office, Joe Biden rescinded Trump's anti-DEI order and signed one promoting racial equity and support for underserved communities".Now Trump is returning to office, he expected to restore his directive and double down on it. The people that run diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at public and private institutions are expecting mass crackdown. Project 2025 has labeled them woke culture warriors" and pledged to wield the full force of the federal government against their efforts to create a more equitable society. Continue reading...

In the past year, the Biden administration has extended contracts for private sector jails before Trump's plan for mass deportationsDonald Trump's plan for the mass deportation of undocumented people and a related expansion of US detention facilities is getting an unexpected head start from Joe Biden - and private prison companies are already cashing in.The Biden administration has, for the past year, been in the process of extending contracts for private sector immigration jails across the US and exploring options for expanding detention capacity, a Guardian investigation has found. Continue reading...

The leaker went to jail for a patriotic, if illegal, act. She has a lot to offer the world if she's allowed to move onIn late November, Reality Winner - who turned 33 this week - finished her lengthy punishment for sending a government document to a news organization.It's past time for her to be pardoned so that she can move on with her life and, particularly, her education. She wants to be a veterinary technician, get a good-paying job and move out of her mother's Texas house, but having a felony in one's background doesn't help with any of that.Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture Continue reading...

Eric Murphy and Jasmin Lawrence, the children of the comedy legends, are engaged. What better setup for their next collaboration?His dad was the Nutty Professor. Her dad was Big Momma. And now they could be teaming up for their biggest blockbuster yet - a proper showbiz wedding.Over the weekend Eric Murphy, the oldest of Eddie's 10 children, announced his engagement to Jasmin Lawrence, the first of Martin Lawrence's three kids; a slickly produced Instagram video features Eric dropping to one knee and popping the question in a candlelit room full of roses. God truly blessed us with a love that feels like destiny," read the caption. We couldn't be more excited for this chapter." Continue reading...

Authorities are looking for the suspect who shot dead Brian Thompson outside the Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan in a brazen' attack. Plus, Amnesty alleges that Israel's war amounts to genocideGood morning.New York police are searching for the suspect who shot and killed the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, one of the US's largest health insurers, on Wednesday in midtown Manhattan.Had Thompson had threats made against him? His wife, Paulette Thompson, said there had been threats", adding: Basically, I don't know, a lack of coverage? I don't know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him."What else did it base the claim on? It cited the obstruction of aid and power; destroying medical infrastructure; the unprecedented speed and scale of death and destruction in Gaza; and repeated attacks on civilians. Continue reading...

If the purpose of universities is to cultivate the mind, it is nearly impossible to deny that football, by degrading the brain, is antithetical to the processIt is clearly the duty of the colleges which have permitted these monstrous evils to grow up and become intense to purge themselves of such immoralities ... Intercollegiate and interscholastic football ought to be prohibited until a reasonable game has been formulated."Those were the words of Harvard University president Charles W Eliot in 1906, a year after three college players died playing football, part of a spate of deaths that led many universities to abandon the sport and President Roosevelt to call for safety reforms in the game he loved. Sadly, Eliot's words resonate as if written today: on 29 November, Alabama A&M linebacker Medrick Burnett Jr died from a head injury he had suffered in a game the previous month. He was just twenty years old.Nathan Kalman-Lamb is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of New Brunswick. Derek Silva is Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminology at King's University College at Western University. They are co-authors of The End of College Football: On the Human Cost of an All-American Game (UNC Press, November 2024) and co-hosts (with Johanna Mellis) of The End of Sport podcast. Continue reading...

Language experts rounded up the year's winners (losers?) in the US and UK - and provided the correct pronunciationsAt the Democratic national convention, Kamala Harris's nieces explained how to pronounce Harris's name. Chappell Roan gave fans a friendly final warning" about the pronunciation of hers. And Zendaya settled the matter on video.All three helped to define 2024 - and spent the year hearing people get their names wrong: each appears on lists of the year's most mispronounced words in the US and UK, produced by the language-learning website Babbel, which reminds us that they're pronounced COM-a-la HAR-iss, CHAP-uhl ROHN and Zen-DAY-a.The Dutch Kooikerhondje (COY-ker-HUND-che), a breed of dog owned by the world's best baseball player, Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ohtani's dog won fans after throwing" the first pitch at a game (he carried the ball from the pitcher's mound to his crouching owner at home plate).Shein, the fast-fashion site - it's SHE-in, not SHEEN or SHINE.The drug in the weight-loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy is semaglutide (sem-ah-GLOO-tide).Phryge, the mascot of the Paris Olympics and summer Paralympics, is pronounced FREE-je. It was a nod to the Phrygian cap, an emblematic accessory of the French revolutionaries.The flygskam (FLEEG-skam) - or flight-shame - movement is pushing people to cut down on flying to help the planet.Also in the word of professional sports: Joko Gvardiol (YOSH-ko GVAR-dee-ol) plays soccer (FOOT-ball) for Manchester City and Croatia.And the mispronunciation of the word espresso (es-PRESS-oh) as ex-PRESS-oh sparked outrage among some coffee fans. The word has been in the news thanks to the song by Sabrina Carpenter, who also made headlines for her relationship with Keoghan. Continue reading...

Trump's pick for director of national intelligence has long been regarded as dangerous for her Syria contacts and stance on UkraineIn 2018, a Syrian dissident codenamed Caesar was set to testify before the House foreign affairs committee about the torture and summary executions that had become a signature of Bashar al-Assad's brutal crackdown on opposition during Syria's civil war.It was not Caesar's first time in Washington: the ex-military photographer had smuggled out 55,000 photographs and other evidence of life in Assad's brutal detention facilities years earlier, and had campaigned anonymously to convince US lawmakers to pass tough sanctions on Assad's network as punishment for his reign of terror. Continue reading...

Authorities say hospitalized students are aged five and six, and man on scene was found dead of self-inflicted gunshotTwo students were injured in a school shooting in northern California, officials said on Wednesday afternoon, and the suspected shooter is dead.The injured students, five- and six-year-old boys, are in extremely critical" condition and being treated at a Sacramento-area trauma center, the Butte county sheriff, Kory Honea, told reporters on Wednesday evening. Continue reading...

Report marks end of inquiry launched after death of Tyre Nichols, who died after being beaten following traffic stopThe Memphis police department uses excessive force and discriminates against Black people, according to the findings of a US Department of Justice investigation launched after the beating death of Tyre Nichols after a traffic stop in 2023.A report released on Wednesday marked the conclusion of the investigation that began six months after Nichols was kicked, punched and hit with a police baton as five officers tried to arrest him after he fled a traffic stop. Continue reading...

Former Fox host tries to charm Republican senators amid growing questions over suitability; Atkins named amid flurry of appointments. This blog is now closed.

A look at the people who have been and still could be offered key positions when Trump takes officeDonald Trump, the former US president set to return to the White House in January for a second term, has announced a number of choices for his administration.Trump has tasked Howard Lutnick, a longtime friend and pick for commerce secretary, with recruiting officials who will deliver, rather than dilute, his agenda. During his first term, several of Trump's key appointees tried to steer Trump away from his more extreme plans. Continue reading...

A look at the people who have been and still could be offered key positions when Trump takes officeDonald Trump, the former US president set to return to the White House in January for a second term, has announced a number of choices for his administration.Trump has tasked Howard Lutnick, a longtime friend and pick for commerce secretary, with recruiting officials who will deliver, rather than dilute, his agenda. During his first term, several of Trump's key appointees tried to steer Trump away from his more extreme plans. Continue reading...

President-elect says Navarro, his former White House trade adviser, will focus on tariffsDonald Trump said he would name former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro as senior counselor for trade and manufacturing.Navarro made headlines earlier this year when, in March, he was jailed for contempt of Congress. Continue reading...

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Police look for suspect who shot and killed Brian Thompson, 50, outside Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan

Lawyers argue that sitting president is immune from indictment or any criminal process, state or federal'Donald Trump's attorney in Georgia has asked the state's appellate court to dismiss election interference charges against the president-elect, arguing that a sitting president is completely immune from indictment or any criminal process, state or federal".The filing by attorney Steve Sadow before the Georgia court of appeals asks the court to dismiss Trump's appeal of a lower-court decision to allow Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis to remain as prosecutor on the case, because the Fulton county superior court no longer has jurisdiction, given Trump's electoral victory. Continue reading...

Pete Hegseth, who has been accused of drunken, irresponsible and predatory behavior, would be in charge of the world's most powerful militaryIt takes a lot to get a man's mother to declare him an abuser of women". Mothers, as a rule, are not known for their ungenerous assessments of their sons' behavior. But Penelope Hegseth, the mother of the Fox News personality Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Defense, once did just that in an email to her son.I have no respect for a man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego," Hegseth's mother wrote to him. You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains and embarrasses me to say that, but it's the sad, sad truth." The email - which Hegseth's mother later disavowed - appears to have come around the time of the dissolution of Hegseth's second marriage; during Hegseth's first marriage, according to a new report by Vanity Fair, he confessed to no fewer than five affairs.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...