US news | The Guardian

Policy that can't work and laws written purely for campaign slogans are clear symptoms of a moribund regimeThe language of bureaucracy, while rarely poetic, sometimes has a sinister eloquence. Residents on board the Bibby Stockholm, the barge moored in Dorset to house asylum claimants, are classified by the Home Office as non-detained" persons. They are not imprisoned, but nor are they free.Occupants of the vessel can travel to places agreed with local agencies" on special buses provided by the Home Office. They are not subject to a curfew, but there is a register. Checks are made to count people out and in again. Continue reading...

Jinchao Wei's mother told her son providing information could help him get a job with Chinese government, prosecution saysThe mother of a US navy sailor charged with providing sensitive military information to China encouraged him to cooperate with a Chinese intelligence officer, telling her son it might help him get a job with the Chinese government someday, the prosecution said on Tuesday.The assistant US attorney Fred Sheppard made the accusation at a hearing in federal court in San Diego in urging the judge not to release Jinchao Wei, who was arrested last week on a rarely used espionage charge. Continue reading...

Proposal would have made it considerably harder to amend state constitution as voters give verdict on Issue 1Ohio voters on Tuesday rejected a proposal that would have made it considerably harder to amend the state constitution in a major win for reproductive rights and democracy advocates in the state.The result means that Ohio will keep its current process for amending the state constitution in place. The procedure first requires voters to collect a certain number of signatures from at least 44 of the state's 88 counties to send an amendment proposal to the ballot and then a simple majority to pass it. Continue reading...

John Lauro slams indictment as full of holes and says Mike Pence could help former boss fight off 2020 election conspiracy chargesDonald Trump's attorney has suggested that Mike Pence could help his former boss fight off the 2020 election-related criminal conspiracy charges against Trump, claiming that the former vice-president would be the best witness" for the defence.In an interview with CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday, attorney John Lauro played down differences between the former president and Pence's accounts of what happened in the run up to the 6 January 2021 certification of Joe Biden's victory over Trump, whose supporters attacked the US Capitol that day. Continue reading...

Judge writes: Fear of retaliation will exist unless Memphis seven, apparently terminated for their union support, are reinstated'A US appeals court on Tuesday rejected Starbucks Corp's challenge to a ruling requiring the coffee chain to rehire seven employees at a Memphis, Tennessee, store who were allegedly fired for supporting a union.The decision by the Ohio-based sixth US circuit court of appeals is the first from an appeals court involving a nationwide campaign that has seen workers at more than 300 Starbucks locations vote to unionize. Continue reading...

Maura Healey calls on federal government to provide urgent action' as shelters housing migrants and refugees reach capacityMassachusetts governor Maura Healey declared a state of emergency on Tuesday as shelters housing migrants and refugees reached capacity, and called on the federal government to help.In a letter addressed to US secretary of homeland security Alejandro Mayorkas, Healey said: To our partners in the federal government, Massachusetts has stepped up to address what sadly has been a federal crisis of inaction that is many years in the making. Continue reading...

One man in custody and two others expected to surrender after a group of white men attacked a Black boat worker in MontgomeryThree arrest warrants were issued on Tuesday by authorities in Montgomery, Alabama, relating to the chaotic riverfront brawl that broke out on Saturday during which punches were thrown, people were hit with chairs, and others were thrown into the river.Montgomery police chief Darryl Albert announced on Tuesday that one man is in custody and two others were expected to turn themselves in. Montgomery mayor Steven Reed said none of the three are residents of the city. Continue reading...

This blog has now closed. Read our latest story on Biden's national monument hereAbout a year ago, former Donald Trump adviser Peter Navarro was indicted for defying a subpoena issued by the congressional committee investigating the January 6 attack.Navarro's case still has not been resolved, and Politico reports that in a filing today, the ex-president's ally is seeking to further delay his trial: Continue reading...

Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut says the Senate needs to change rules to sidestep Tommy Tuberville's block on promotionsThe Alabama Republican senator Tommy Tuberville is prepared to burn the military down" with his block on promotions in protest of Pentagon policy on abortion, the Connecticut Democratic senator Chris Murphy said.I think everybody's been hoping that Senator Tuberville would back down," Murphy told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Snake dropped from the grasp of a hawk in the sky and wrapped itself around the woman's arm, then the bird tried to retrieve itA Texas woman is rattled but recovering after being viciously attacked by a snake and a hawk at the same time.Peggy Jones, 64, was mowing her lawn with her husband at around 8pm in the evening on 25 July in Silsbee, Texas - less than an hour from the Louisiana border - when a large snake fell from the sky and landed on her. Continue reading...

While a country of 250 million people grapples with multiple crises, the political struggle over Imran Khan's future continuesThe multiple crises facing Pakistan are not merely daunting, but immense. Six million more people have been plunged into poverty since the devastating floods inundated a third of the country last year; around two in five children in affected areas are suffering stunted growth due to malnutrition. The International Monetary Fund finally approved a $3bn bailout last month, but the economy is still reeling. Attacks by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and other militants have surged in the north-west. Amid all this, the outgoing government of Shehbaz Sharif has prioritised a new census and the redrawing of constituency boundaries.The real reason is to delay the general election that was due later this year. The purpose was made pretty plain by the fact that it was announced on the same day that the former prime minister Imran Khan was arrested after a court sentenced him to three years in prison on corruption charges and barred him from politics for five years. The precise details of the case are less significant than the fact that it is only one of well over 100 that he faces. The media has been silenced: broadcasters are unable to mention his name. And parliament has just pushed through more than 50 bills in just two days - handing draconian powers to its feared military intelligence agency. As one seasoned Pakistani observer has noted, removing Mr Khan from electoral politics is not the same as removing him from the political scene. But the army and rival civilian politicians are doing their best to achieve the latter together.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...

Federal regulation aims to reining in privately made firearms that are difficult for law enforcement to traceThe US supreme court on Tuesday granted a request by President Joe Biden's administration to reinstate - at least for now - a federal regulation aimed at reining in privately made firearms called ghost guns" that are difficult for law enforcement to trace.The justices put on hold a 5 July decision by US district judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth, Texas, that had blocked the 2022 rule nationwide pending the administration's appeal. O'Connor found that the administration exceeded its authority under a 1968 federal law called the Gun Control Act in implementing the rule relating to ghost guns, firearms that are privately assembled and lack the usual serial numbers required by the federal government. Continue reading...

US firm cuts revenue forecast as consumers opt for cheaper options amid cost of living crisisIt launched with the promise to eat what you love", but consumers' love affair with Beyond Meat's pricey meat substitutes is waning.Quarterly sales at the vegan burger maker have slumped by almost a third as shoppers shift away from expensive meat substitutes amid the cost of living crisis. Continue reading...

DeSantis law that clamps down on LGBTQ+and gender issues also says material sexual in nature should not be used in classesTeachers in a Florida county are preparing to use only excerpts of works by William Shakespeare, rather than whole plays, as part of an attempt to conform to hardline rightwing legislation on teaching about sex .There's some raunchiness in Shakespeare," Joseph Cool, a reading teacher at Gaither high school in Hillsborough county, told the Tampa Bay Times. Because that's what sold tickets during his time." Continue reading...

Boy, 15, killed by falling tree in South Carolina and man, 28, struck by lightning in Alabama, while more than 1,700 flights canceledMore than 300,000 homes and businesses in the eastern US were without power on Tuesday after another storm passed over the region, killing at least two people and disrupting air travel.A 15-year-old boy was killed after a tree fell on him as he got out of a car in South Carolina, and a 28-year-old man died after he was struck by lightning in Alabama. Continue reading...

USA's exit in the last-16, in a penalty-shootout loss to Sweden, marked their worst finish ever at a major tournament. Now what?There are many systemic issues to address within the US soccer ecosystem that have come to the fore in recent days. There is also an Olympics in less than a year, and work to be done on the field immediately. Here's a to-do list for the powers that be. Continue reading...

After revisiting Plath's book in my early twenties, I ended up writing a novel of my own as a way of understanding the recognition and repulsion I felt

Change should come around 2045, study of updated US census data predicts, but author says ageing is not race-neutral'Gen Z Americans - who were born between 1997 and 2012 - will be the last generation with a white majority and will give way to a post-2012 majority minority" Generation Alpha, according to a new study of updated US census data.That change - when non-Hispanic white people will fall below half as a share of the overall US population - should come around 2045, the study predicts. Continue reading...

Working from home offered the chance for a great rebalancing of family, friendship and our careers. But the dream is fading fastI started my career in the corporate world and soon realised that I was extremely bad at corporate-ing. My main problem was that I liked to leave the office and have a life which was obviously a big no-no for anyone hoping for career progression.At one point a superior had to sit me down and tell me sternly that I should never be seen leaving before 8pm at the earliest, even if I had nothing to do. So, in a misguided attempt at climbing the greasy pole, I started printing Wilkie Collins novels, sticking them in an official looking binder, and poring over them with a highlighter, so it looked like I was doing important business things. No need to tell you that I didn't last very long at that job. Continue reading...

The sole question posed to voters in the special election is a direct attempt to stop the legalization of abortion through democratic meansTechnically, August special elections are supposed to be illegal in Ohio. Late last year, a Republican-backed bill passed the state house prohibiting most special elections in August, reasoning that timing an election in the dog days of late summer depressed turnout, and cost too much money. But those same Republicans changed their tune in May, when it became clear that abortion rights supporters in Ohio would be able to put a ballot measure to voters securing abortion rights in the state in the November 2023 election. Ohio has a six-week ban on the books, but it is currently blocked by a court, and abortion remains legal up to 22 weeks of pregnancy. The measure, if passed, would help keep it that way, amending the Ohio state constitution to grant individuals a right to make and carry out one's own reproductive decisions".Ballot measures have been extremely successful tools of the pro-choice movement since the supreme court abolished the federal abortion right last year in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health: pro-choice ballot initiatives passed by surprisingly large margins even in Ohio's heavily Republican neighbor state, Kentucky, as well as the similarly deep-red Kansas. Since Dobbs, every single time abortion rights have been put to the voters, they have prevailed. And so suddenly, the Ohio GOP felt that it was important that a vote be held in August: a vote, that is, to curtail the power of voting. Continue reading...

Sibley was stabbed after he confronted teens who taunted his group of gay, Black friends as they danced at a Brooklyn gas stationA funeral Tuesday in Philadelphia will honor O'Shae Sibley, who was fatally stabbed after he confronted teenagers who taunted his group of gay, Black friends as they danced at a New York City gas station.Meanwhile, on Monday, the 17-year-old arrested in connection with Sibley's slaying was arraigned on a count of murder as well as a hate crime charge. The suspect was identified as Dmitriy Popov, of Brooklyn, and he is being prosecuted under a New York law which allows anyone who is over the age of 13 and accused of murder to be tried as an adult. Continue reading...

Everything the mainstream debate shrinks from, O'Connor put front and centre. Her unmitigated candour made a differenceIn March 2016, Sinead O'Connor, who died last month at 56 and whose funeral takes place today in Bray, Ireland, went missing. I remember this specifically because the Telegraph ran a live blog on the singer's whereabouts after she had posted suicidal thoughts. A live blog. I pointed out to an editor at the paper that rolling updates about a person going through a severe mental health episode, an episode that might have ended fatally - and for all they knew, already had - was neither responsible nor compassionate. It was, coincidentally, Mental Health Awareness Week.On that occasion, O'Connor was found safe, if not well. It was not the only brutal public example of how her mental illness manifested, and mental illness was the blunt - accurate - term she used. Of contemporary public figures, O'Connor was perhaps the one whose experiences of psychiatric disorder - she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and complex PTSD - spoke most to the realities of those who live with, or endure, the kind of warped brain that can make even the simplest thing feel like a Sphinx's riddle.Hannah Jane Parkinson is a Guardian columnistIn the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. For more information visit www.samaritans.org. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 800-273-8255 or chat for support. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.orgComments on this piece are premoderated to ensure discussion remains on topics raised by the writer. Please be aware there may be a short delay in comments appearing on the site. Continue reading...

Execs make hundreds of millions of dollars, yet 87% of Sag actors don't make the $26,470 a year to qualify for health insuranceOn Friday, negotiators for the Hollywood studios finally sat down with the Writers Guild of America after a three-month standoff. But don't hold your breath. The Screen Actors Guild is still on strike, studio tycoons sound like Logan Roy and the two-union shutdown could drag on for months.Writers and actors want raises, residuals from streaming platforms and some regulation of AI.Kathleen Sharp is the author of Mr & Mrs Hollywood (Blackstone) and co-producer of The Last Mogul (ThinkFilm) Continue reading...

Rising interest in dollhouses suggests people find solace and joy in tiny things - especially when real homes are so priceyIt's the summer of Barbie, and I'm thinking about her Dream House.Not its recent incarnations - so much pink and plastic! - but the 1962 folding cardboard original. The studio apartment came with modest furnishings: a small bed, a couch, books, a TV. Continue reading...

Voters weigh in on constitutional amendment process in decision with huge consequences for abortion rightsOhioans will decide on Tuesday how difficult it should be to amend the state's constitution in an election that will have huge consequences for reproductive rights and the future of majority rule in the state.Currently, Ohio requires activists to get a certain number of signatures on petitions, both statewide and in 44 of 88 counties, to send an amendment to the ballot. In each of the 44 counties, the total number of signatures needs to be equivalent to 5% of the vote in that county in the last gubernatorial race. Statewide, the total has to be equivalent to 10% of the same. Continue reading...

Inside California's oldest prison, a mix of hope and fear as the governor's $380m plan to reimagine' incarceration beginsOn the recreation yard of San Quentin prison on a recent morning, dozens of residents were jogging around an open track, playing basketball and lounging on grass and picnic tables. Lt Guim'Mara Berry was leading a media tour of California's oldest prison, touting its acclaimed running club and a recent pickleball game between staff and residents.Officials had brought in a group of reporters to promote Governor Gavin Newsom's plan to completely reimagine what prison means" by transforming the complex into a rehabilitation center" inspired by prisons in Norway, where officers act more like social workers. Continue reading...

Exclusive: memo reveals Gregory Aymond disregarded recommendations from board advisers to publicly label certain accused clerics as credibly suspected molestersWhen he took over leadership of New Orleans's Roman Catholic archdiocese in 2009, one of the administrative tools that archbishop Gregory Aymond inherited was a board of advisers which was set up to help determine the credibility of sexual abuse allegations made against clerics under his command.But, multiple times, Aymond has demonstrated his comfort with disregarding recommendations from those advisers to publicly label certain accused clerics as credibly suspected molesters. Continue reading...

Politicians including chairs of US and UK foreign affairs committees criticise lack of pressure placed on Serbia'

Thousands of flights have been cancelled and more than 1m homes and businesses are without power. Plus, why are Americans obsessed with secret societies?Good morning.A wave of destructive strong storms moving through the north-east of the country has left two people dead, caused thousands of flight cancellations and left more than 1.1m homes and businesses without power.What about the heatwaves? Triple-digit temperatures are persisting in the south of the US, from Arizona to Florida, with heat indexes as high as 115F as the heatwave affects more than 65 million Americans. Extreme heat advisories remain active in several cities including Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans and Orlando.What did he say in response to interviewer Dasha Burns asking how he would know deadly force was being used against the right people? Same way a police officer would know," DeSantis said. Same way somebody operating in Iraq would know. You know, these people in Iraq at the time, they all looked the same. You didn't know who had a bomb strapped to them. So those guys have to make judgments." Continue reading...

Asked how authorities would distinguish cartel members from migrants, governor likens Mexico border strategy to Iraq warThe rightwing Florida governor and 2024 presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis has sparked controversy by outlining a hardline border policy of deadly force despite acknowledging that drug traffickers could be difficult to distinguish from migrants crossing into the US.DeSantis, whose ailing campaign has failed to cut into the lead of the Republican frontrunner, Donald Trump, said that under his direction as president, US law enforcement on the lookout for drugs would not mistakenly use lethal force on migrants because US agents would have rules of engagement" similar to police or US forces in war zones like Iraq. Continue reading...

Prize has inflated because no one has matched the game's winning numbers since 18 April - but this could all end on TuesdayA Mega Millions lottery jackpot has grown to $1.55bn, making it the third-largest ever ahead of Tuesday night's drawing.The prize has ballooned because no one has matched the game's six winning numbers since 18 April, amounting to 31 straight drawings without a big winner. Continue reading...

As we move towards the second anniversary of the extremists retaking power, this denial of education must be addressedTwo years of ever-intensifying repression since the Taliban seized power in August 2021 have not dimmed the resilience of girls and women in Afghanistan, who continue to risk their lives fighting for their right to an education and employment. But no one should be in any doubt that what Afghan girls are experiencing is not a temporary disruption. It is nothing less than gender apartheid", the chilling words used recently by the permanent representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations. Only a term as devastating as this can capture the grave violations of rights involved. It is time to declare it a crime against humanity, and the prosecutors of the international criminal court (ICC) should open an investigation into the repression ordained by the Taliban regime.Even now, under fear of arrest, detention and torture for transgressing the Taliban's rights-violating edicts, brave children across Afghanistan are attending underground schools. A major initiative on internet learning in universities has also recently started, with support from the refugee agency UNHCR and the consortium Connected Learning in Crisis. Many families have realised that the only chance of education for their daughters is through emigration. That still leaves an estimated 2.5 million girls and young women with no education at all, and they will soon be joined by a further 3 million who are about to complete their primary education. Unable to move up to secondary school, yet another generation of Afghan girls will be denied a chance to realise their talents and fulfil their dreams. Continue reading...

A new Netflix documentary shows the college football great as a man unwilling - or perhaps unable - to move on from his pastEven the most casual US sports fan isn't likely to have forgotten about Johnny Manziel, football's Charlie Sheen. The latest instalment of Netflix's sports documentary series Untold devotes an episode to the bad boy quarterback's controversy-stained rise in college football, his NFL flameout and his off-field tumble into infamy and disgrace. Titled Untold: Johnny Football, the 72-minute runtime barely covers everything, and resolves even less.For a start, director Ryan Duffy (the Vice media alum who also co-stewarded Untold's excellent two-part deep dive into college football cat-fishing victim Manti Te'o) could have fast-forwarded through Manziel's humble Texas small town beginnings and jumped straight to 12 November 2012: the day Manziel led Texas A&M to a shock upset over the vaunted Alabama on the Crimson Tide's hallowed home turf. That victory, the film rightly points out, didn't just make Manziel a household name across the US. It also changed the economics at Texas A&M, a military school in the Lone Star hinterlands that had recently jumped into the SEC - the top-level conference known for churning out future pros.Untold: Johnny Football is available on Netflix on 8 August.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

The consultancy business model is catching on

Trump's lawyers want the ability to widely share some evidence, including sensitive witness transcriptsFederal prosecutors asked a federal judge to reject Donald Trump's request for fewer restrictions over how he can publicly share evidence in the case involving his efforts to subvert the 2020 election, arguing the former president was seeking to abuse the discovery process.The defendant seeks to use the discovery material to litigate this case in the media," prosecutors wrote in an eight-page brief on Monday. But that is contrary to the purpose of criminal discovery, which is to afford defendants the ability to prepare for and mount a defense in court." Continue reading...

Annette Pershal, 68, who was shot multiple times with a pellet gun, was full of love', said daughter Brandy NazworthTwo San Diego teenagers have been arrested in the fatal shooting of Annette Pershal, a 68-year-old unhoused woman who had lived on the streets for years and was known to locals as Granny Annie".Pershal was found on the street unconscious on 8 May and taken to the hospital where doctors discovered she'd been shot multiple times with a pellet gun, officials said. She died several days later and her death was ruled a homicide. Continue reading...

Order was issued against the city of Sacramento after advocates called out the municipality for violating its own orderAmid a heatwave that is sweeping through parts of the American west, a federal judge in California has placed a temporary ban on sweeps of homeless encampments.US district court judge Troy L Nunley issued the order against the city of Sacramento on 3 August, after advocates called out the municipality for violating its own order by sweeping an encampment during a time of excessive heat, which is anything over 90F. Continue reading...

Ex-president claimed that writer defamed him when saying he raped her, but judge said term is commonly used and understood' in contextDonald Trump suffered another legal reversal on Monday, losing his counterclaim for defamation against E Jean Carroll, the writer against whom he was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation and fined $5m, and who continues to pursue a separate defamation case against him.Dismissing the counterclaim, a judge in New York, Lewis A Kaplan, said that when Carroll repeated her allegation that Trump raped her, her words were substantially true". Kaplan also set out in detail why it may be said that Trump raped Carroll.Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html Continue reading...

Mayor Eric Adams plans to house as many as 2,000 adults seeking asylum, in tent city where center opened and then closed last yearNew York City's mayor, Eric Adams, announced a plan Monday to house as many as 2,000 migrants on an island in the East River where a migrant center was set up last year and then taken down weeks later.The state will reimburse the city for the cost of operating a tent city for adult migrants on Randalls Island, Adams said. Continue reading...

Bear was not, as initially thought, solely responsible for all instances of property damage - there are other Hanks'A notorious, extremely food-habituated" 500lb female black bear known as Hank the Tank has been detained in the Lake Tahoe area of California more than a year after the wildlife equivalent of an APB was issued by the state's wildlife authorities.Hank, who was initially misgendered as a male, was matched by DNA to more than 21 home break-ins and other instances of property damage in the Lake Tahoe region since 2022. She was safely immobilized" by tranquilizer dart and apprehended Friday morning, according to state officials, and will now be moved to a sanctuary in southern Colorado. Continue reading...

Tou Thao sentenced to four years and nine months in prison for holding crowds back as other officers restrained George FloydA former Minneapolis police officer convicted in state court for his role in the killing of George Floyd was sentenced on Monday to four years and nine months in state prison even as he continued to deny any role in Floyd's death.Tou Thao, who had held crowds back as other officers restrained Floyd, was found guilty of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter by a jury in May. He had claimed that he merely served as a human traffic cone" during the deadly encounter. Continue reading...

In the US, gun purchases by Latinos have surged in recent years - including among self-described progressives. Some are anxious about being armed but feel they have little choiceOn a crisp Sunday afternoon in Royse City, Texas, 32-year-old Cesar Hurtado unzipped a hardshell case to reveal a custom-built AR-15-style rifle in his living room. Emblazoned on the side of the gun is the tagline no war, no gods, no masters".Hurtado's interest in firearms started with hunting, but after the 2019 Walmart shooting in El Paso that targeted Latinos, Hurtado felt he had to embrace firearms for his own protection. For white gun owners, they feel they have a right to a gun," Hurtado said, but for Latino gun owners, it's a matter of survival and safety." Continue reading...

Florida Republican governor admits Biden won as Trump leads DeSantis by more than 30 points in most polling averagesOf course" Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, Ron DeSantis said in an interview broadcast Monday - after being pressed on the issue.Appearing on NBC, the Florida governor and nearest challenger to Trump for the nomination in 2024 was asked: Yes or no - did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?" Continue reading...

Trump antagonist and former House speaker also says classified documents and 2020 election interference charges are exquisite'Indictments of Donald Trump regarding his attempt to overturn the 2020 election and his retention of classified information are exquisite ... beautiful and intricate", the former House speaker Nancy Pelosi said.The indictments against the president are exquisite," Pelosi, 83 and a regular antagonist of the 77-year-old former president, told New York magazine in an interview published on Monday. Continue reading...

The World Cup champion's career on the sporting stage is drawing to a close. But she was always more complex that many would have us believeThe sun had barely risen over half of the United States on Sunday when a wave of schadenfreude swept the nation like an August heatwave.On the other side of the world, the mighty US women's soccer team had crashed out of the World Cup. For many Americans, this was sad news. But in a country still in the throes of the Great Polarization, many people who would call themselves patriotic delighted, with no apparent awareness of irony, in an American defeat. Continue reading...

Charles Gregory rescued by US Coast Guard after enduring jellyfish stings as sinking boat filled with waterA Florida man survived after being stranded at sea for more than 24 hours while enduring a blazing sun and stings from jellyfish as his sinking boat filled with water.Charles Gregory, 25, left for a for a fishing trip off the coast of St Augustine, Florida on Friday when his 12ft jon boat became partially submerged. Continue reading...

Ex-president's open criticism of team started in 2019, when Megan Rapinoe said she wouldn't visit White House after winningLess than 24 hours after the US women's national team suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of their longtime nemesis Sweden in the second round of the 2023 Women's World Cup, Donald Trump gloated about the team's elimination on social media.The former president, a longtime vocal critic of the team, specifically Megan Rapinoe, a blue-haired talisman and outspoken LGBTQ+ advocate who missed a crucial penalty during the final moments of the game, said that the team's loss is fully emblematic of what is happening to our great Nation under Crooked Joe Biden". Continue reading...

Fight appeared to start when a worker objected to a pontoon boat preventing a larger river boat from docking, and was attacked by a group of white menA dramatic brawl on the Montgomery, Alabama, riverfront pitted people standing up for a Black riverboat worker against a group of white people who began beating him for telling them to move their illegally parked pontoon.The Saturday night fight, which was captured in multiple videos posted to social media, appeared to unfold largely along racial lines. And many social media users celebrated footage of the riverfront dust-up, which showed the white assailants get the tables turned on them by Black people who rushed to the riverboat worker's aid. Continue reading...