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Hearing comes as Republicans have accused FBI and DoJ of political bias in investigations of Trump and Biden's son

Convicted sexual offender, attacked in cell by Shane McMillan, made comment during Wimbledon match on TV, source saysA prisoner suspected of stabbing Larry Nassar at a federal penitentiary in Florida said the disgraced former sports doctor provoked the attack by making a lewd comment while they were watching a Wimbledon tennis match on TV, a person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press.The inmate, identified as Shane McMillan, was previously convicted of assaulting a correctional officer at a federal penitentiary in Louisiana in 2006 and attempting to stab another inmate to death at the federal Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, in 2011, court records show. Continue reading...

The summit in Lithuania has reaffirmed the organisation's newfound sense of purpose. But immense challenges lie aheadDespite excitable speculation before the Vilnius summit, there was never a serious prospect that Ukraine could join Nato while it is at war - as Kyiv has acknowledged. Membership cannot be granted retrospectively amid a conflict. Article 5, which sets out the principle of collective defence - an attack on one is treated as an attack on all - works as a deterrent, not as a do-over.Nor was there much prospect of this meeting even agreeing to a concrete timetable for membership afterwards. The alliance operates by consensus, but the US calls the tune because it pays two-thirds of the piper's wages. It has made clear repeatedly that it regards membership for Ukraine as a distant prospect. Continue reading...

Ons Jabeur, Aryna Sabalenka, Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the final four on another dramatic dayIt's sunny on No1 now and Keys is into stride, holding comfortably for 1-2. But at the end of the game she approaches the umpire, who then makes a call with the lesser-spotted telephone. All I heard was she doesn't want to make it a thing, so perhaps she's a minor twinge - we shall see.Email! Then, we end our day with a brute," says James W, quoting me back to me. Carlos Alcaraz is, quite simply, the future of tennis, a bouncing bundle of joy and violence improving on grass with every set.'

Saudi Arabia is pouring a fortune into soccer, including 180m a year for Cristiano Ronaldo. But while the counterfeiters see a chance to make money, the fans won't forget human rightsI saw something to make me scoff with amused despair, a thing embodying many a madness and badness of our age. It was a child-sized replica football shirt, swinging gently on its hanger, at a seaside market stall on the Adriatic coast. It's a noticeably well-appointed retail operation, this stall. Beach towels, Bluetooth speakers, snorkels, fridge magnets, swimwear, pouches of lavender, imitation handguns ... you know the kind of thing.The football strips included plenty of Croatian national team shirts, plus those of clubs with Croatian players: Modri's name printed on Real Madrid shirts, Perii's on Tottenham's, Kovai's at Chelsea and so on. (I didn't ask, but there is probably a deal to be done on that Chelsea shirt, as Kovai is now at Man City). I doubt any of these garments were what you might call authenticTM official(C) merchandise(R). But whatever. Continue reading...

Minimum age raised to 18 in state that allowed 16- and 17-year-olds to wed with written permission from parent or guardianThe governor of Michigan signed legislation Tuesday that aims to eventually end child marriage in that state, raising the minimum age at which one can get married to 18 years old under all circumstances.The state previously allowed 16- and 17-year-olds to wed with written permission from a parent or legal guardian. Minors under 16 were able to get married with judicial approval. Continue reading...

When Elon Musk took over the platform, the downward slide was depressing. But then, the horror may always have been a big part of its appealAnd he couldn't do it. He could not fucking die. How could he leave? How could he go? Everything he hated was here." The end of Philip Roth's Sabbath's Theater is a perfect distillation of how many of us felt about Twitter when Elon Musk bought it last October. But I didn't know that from reading it, even though I have; I knew that because someone faster, smarter, probably younger, with a better memory (@hayleycampbell), put it on Twitter.So even though everything I hate is there, so is a lot of what I love. My father never owned a TV, because he said every time you thought you were good at something - cooking, repartee, being alive - on the telly, there'd be someone who was better at it than you. I thought that was just an unlovely overhang of a 40s childhood: the whole point of repartee, and indeed cooking and being alive, is that the more people who can do it, the better. Also, I really wanted a TV.Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Lawsuit challenges statute that under-18s must get permission from parent or guardian before leaving state for an abortionAbortion rights advocates sued the Idaho government on Tuesday, claiming a state law that prohibits adults from helping minors get an abortion is unconstitutional.Idaho has one of the strictest abortion bans in the nation, forcing patients to seek care in neighboring states such as Oregon and Washington, where the procedure is legal. But in April, Idaho lawmakers passed legislation requiring any person under 18 to get permission from a parent or guardian before traveling out of state to get an abortion. The controversial law marks the first major push since the fall of Roe v Wade in 2022 to explicitly block people from traveling across state lines to access abortion. Continue reading...

Ah'lyric, six, used tactic instilled by her mother to fight back against assailant, with police later arresting 32-year-old suspectBefore someone tried to abduct her, a six-year-old girl in Miami named Ah'lyric had learned one strategy from her mother to protect herself if ever faced with such a plight.Bite. Continue reading...

Debris from wrecked homes and businesses fills Montpelier's streets two days after Winooski River broke banks amid heavy rain

Attorney who successfully defended actor in last year's defamation trial makes remarks in interviewCamille Vasquez, the attorney who successfully defended Johnny Depp during the actor's internationally publicized defamation trial last year, has said she hopes she inspires fellow Latina professionals trying to establish themselves in their fields.I was able to accomplish something on a national stage when people might have not thought of me as the first choice for the job," Vasquez told Hispanic Executive magazine in a recently published interview. I was given the opportunity because I was the best person for the job. I was the hardest working, and I was the most prepared. I hope what translates here is that if you work hard and find some opportunities, you can rise to the occasion." Continue reading...

Both men faced backlash for attempts to control their girlfriends. Unfortunately, this behavior is far from uniqueLast week, Darius Jackson, the father of actress Keke Palmer's child, came under fire for his very public criticism of an outfit she wore to Usher Raymond's Las Vegas show, which he deemed inappropriate for a mother.A few days later, Jonah Hill's ex-girlfriend Sarah Brady posted several disturbing messages the actor allegedly sent to her during their relationship online, which she describes as emotionally abusive. In them, Hill tells Brady (who is a surfing instructor) to take down any surfing photos or videos that showed her ass in a thong" from her Instagram page. He also shared a list of things she wasn't allowed to do if they were going to be together, which included surfing with men", modeling" and being friends with women who are in unstable places".Tayo Bero is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

Residents face toxic and drowning hazards as officials in Vermont and Massachusetts survey damage from devastating inundationAs parts of the US grapple with a historic combination of rising temperatures and severe flooding, officials are warning people to avoid swimming or driving in flood waters because they pose toxic and drowning hazards.The unprecedented high temperatures, paired with the onslaught of rain, have prompted federal agencies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Weather Service to issue statements emphasizing: Turn around, don't drown!" Continue reading...

Iowa's state legislature voted on Tuesday night to ban most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, a time before most women know they are pregnant. Republican lawmakers, who hold a majority in both the Iowa house and senate, passed the anti-abortion bill after the governor, Kim Reynolds, called a special session to seek a vote on the ban. The bill passed with exclusively Republican support in a rare, one-day legislative burst lasting more than 14 hours

Mikala Jones, a Hawaiian surfer known for shooting awe-inspiring photos and videos from the inside of barreling waves, has died after a surfing accident in Indonesia. He was 44 years old. Jones had gone out into the ocean during a trip to the Mentawai Islands off the western coast of Sumatra when his surfboard fin cut his femoral artery, said his father, Dr John Jones.Jones, who first learned to surf as a child and later became a professional surfer, loved to share videos of his surfing to 'inspire others to make memories of their own'. His Instagram account shows stunning images of waves curling around him from above while he crouches on his board. He father described him as a 'humble artist'.

Legislation latest in raft of state anti-abortion laws since Roe v Wade was overturned. Plus, Trump not entitled to immunityIowa's state legislature voted last night to ban most abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy, a time before most people know they are pregnant. Republican lawmakers, which hold a majority in the Iowa house and Senate, passed the anti-abortion bill after the governor, Kim Reynolds, called a special session to seek a vote on the ban.The legislation will take immediate effect after Reynolds signs it on Friday and will prohibit abortions after the first sign of cardiac activity - usually around six weeks, with some exceptions for cases of rape or incest. It will allow for abortions up until 20 weeks of pregnancy only under certain conditions of medical emergency. Abortions in the state were previously allowed up to 20 weeks.The plot thickens. Lawyers reportedly said the new evidence suggested that Mr Trump was motivated by a personal grievance' stemming from events that occurred many years prior to Mr Trump's presidency". Continue reading...

The rapper denies his private Christian academy was a dystopian institution'. But the bizarre allegations keep comingWhen you reach a certain level of wealth, a little switch seemingly gets turned off in your brain. The part of your mind that tells you: Nah, I'm not really qualified for this," is disabled and you become convinced that being filthy rich makes you an expert in everything. There are plenty of examples of money brain" out there, but one of the more glaring is Kanye West. Ye, as West likes to be known, seems to think that his success in music and fashion makes him qualified to do everything from run for president to set up a school.We all know how his presidential aspirations went, but we are only just discovering quite how bizarre the disgraced musician's foray into education was. A few years ago, Ye opened a private school in Los Angeles called Yeezy Christian Academy, which became Donda Academy. The school, which cost $15,000 (11,600) a year, was named after his late mother, Prof Donda West, and was highly secretive about its unorthodox approach. Continue reading...

The stress of trying to get Taylor Swift tickets this week led to feelings of anger and loathing. It's all part of a music culture that feels increasingly greedy and combativeThis week, hundreds of thousands of Taylor Swift fans around the UK, Ireland and Europe have been desperately trying to get tickets to the Eras tour, which kicks off in Paris in May 2024. When tickets for North America dates went on sale last year, it was a disaster: demand was so high that systems crashed, the sale had to be stopped and ticket prices spiralled out of control due to Ticketmaster's dynamic pricing" whereby costs increase with demand. Clearly Swift's team and Ticketmaster have worked hard to try to prevent the same thing happening here but it has involved dizzying bureaucracy: presale codes, waitlists and special ballots for general sale.In our dedicated Swiftageddon group chat, we had been discussing strategy and making spreadsheets for weeks, ensuring we had credit cards and log-ins for every possible date we could make, though there was no indication in advance of how much tickets would be. Presale opened, and we dutifully took our places in the lobby, the waiting room and then the hundred-thousand-deep queue in which places were randomly assigned (military-grade planning only gets you so far). Continue reading...

A storm that dumped up to two months' worth of rain in two days brought more flooding in Vermont and other parts of the north-east US.In Montpelier, flood water reached waist height and rescue crews were positioned as there was a temporary risk of Vermont reservoir overwhelming a dam protecting the state's capital

A bushfire broke out in Mead Valley, California, burning heavy vegetation at a rapid rate on Tuesday, according to Riverside county fire department. Officials say the 4 hectare (10 acre) fire has been stopped from its forward progress but has not yet been contained. Mead Valley is about 60 miles (97km) south-east of Los Angeles. 'Several outbuildings and vehicles were destroyed in the fire,' Riverside county fire department said on Twitter. The cause of the fire is not yet known Continue reading...

The dream is in place, the field has been built. Major League Cricket finally launches on Thursday outside Dallas. But will the people come?For decades, cricket's powers have dreamed of making it big in America. Starting on Thursday the grandest, richest attempt yet to get Americans hooked on cricket will begin in a converted baseball stadium (capacity: 7,200) on the outskirts of Dallas. Major League Cricket, as the new competition is known, has money: close to $50m already spent, with another $130m on the way. It has wealthy patrons: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella leads a roll call of leading Indian-American tech executives who've signed up to throw cash at the new venture. It has the blessing of an International Cricket Council desperate to lift its sport's profile in America ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States and the West Indies. It has powerful allies: four Indian Premier League franchises and two state cricket bodies from Australia have signed on as either full owners or operational partners for the fledgling league's six founding teams. It has a slot in the international cricket calendar that's relatively uncrowded, with only the men's and women's Ashes as real competition for the committed global cricket fan's attention. It has a list of team names that combine, in delightfully unbound American style, the patriotic (Washington Freedom) and ecological (Seattle Orcas) with the borrowed-from-the-IPL nonsensical (MI New York).Most importantly it has players, and some extremely capable ones at that: sprinkled among the little-known local talents (Corne Dry, anyone?) the new competition features the genuine stardust of Wanindu Hasaranga, Kagiso Rabada, Tim David and Anrich Nortje, among many other established T20 internationals who've made the trek out to the suburbs of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex to help launch cricket's latest big shot at success in America. But will Major League Cricket have any viewers? Will the American public thrill to the spectacle of a beefy heave through midwicket from Aaron Finch? Will it learn to lament, as millions of cricket fans throughout the world already do, the lost opportunities of a wasted PowerPlay? Will it grow to appreciate the finer points of an Adam Zampa strangler down leg side, or a topless cameo from Faf du Plessis on the player balcony? The final touches - the marking of the boundary barrier, the laying of the turf wicket, the engineering of the outfield - have just been applied to convert the former home ground of now-defunct off-brand baseball side the Texas AirHogs into an international-grade cricket venue. The dream is in place, the field has been built. But will they come? Continue reading...

As climate pledges become reality, opposition to the green agenda is growing. And the populist right is latching on to itWhen floods swept Europe in July 2021, killing more than 200 people in Germany, Belgium and neighbouring countries, it was a disaster that came as the climate crisis was moving to the top of Europe's political agenda. All of a sudden, climate was no longer an abstract threat that could be batted into a distant future; it was already here, causing shocking weather events, destroying lives and leaving people homeless.In northern Europe especially, spurred by the Fridays for Future school strikes, the climate crisis had already spilled into politics, pushing policy into action. But in 2021, measurable progress towards the goal of net zero emissions by 2050 began to be made. The EU didn't just limit itself to ambitious targets, enshrined in laws and regulations. It also put its money where its mouth was. Continue reading...

Nato and the EU are the twin pillars of European security, but Britain now has to pretend there is only oneNato must protect Ukraine from Russian aggression, and also Ukraine cannot join Nato while it is at war with Russia. That is the conundrum that leaders of the western military alliance grapple with at their annual summit in Vilnius.Kyiv craves the security of a mutual assistance pact - the ultimate solidarity that treats an attack on one Nato member as an aggression against them all. Nothing short of that guarantee, underwritten by US firepower, will persuade Russia to respect post-Soviet borders.Rafael Behr 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...

Legislation is latest in raft of anti-abortion laws passed in states across the country since supreme court overturned Roe v WadeIowa's state legislature voted on Tuesday night to ban most abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy, a time before most people know they are pregnant.Republican lawmakers, which hold a majority in both the Iowa house and senate, passed the anti-abortion bill after the governor, Kim Reynolds, called a special session to seek a vote on the ban. Continue reading...

In reversal justice department says presidency doesn't shield Trump from lawsuit, paving way for possible trial in JanuaryThe justice department has reversed its position on defending Donald Trump in a lawsuit brought by the writer E Jean Carroll, paving the way for a possible trial in January.The department said in a court filing on Tuesday that it could no longer conclude Trump was acting in his capacity as president when he made allegedly defamatory statements about Carroll in 2019. Continue reading...

Dozens of children died at the school a century ago but their grave sites have been lost to timeArchaeologists have started digging for the remains of children who died at a Native American boarding school in Nebraska. Grave sites of dozens of children who died at the Genoa Indian industrial school have been lost for decades, a mystery that archaeologists aim to unravel as they dig in a field that a century ago was part of the sprawling campus.Genoa was part of a national system of more than 400 Native American boarding schools that separated Indigenous children from their families and cut them off from their heritage. Continue reading...

Relentless temperatures upwards of 100F leave millions under extreme heat warnings and outdoor events cancelledRecord-breaking heat is baking the US south-west this week, putting millions under extreme heat warnings as temperatures upwards of 100F (38C) hit Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and southern California for days on end.Even desert residents accustomed to scorching summers are feeling the relentless grip of the heat. Phoenix, which hit a 12th consecutive day of 110F on Tuesday, could see its longest ever heatwave. Continue reading...

Van Houten, now 73, is out on parole after her conviction for participating in the 1969 LaBianca murders at age 19Leslie Van Houten, who was sentenced to life for participating in the infamous murders by the Charles Manson cult when she was 19, walked free from a California prison on Tuesday after 53 years behind bars.Van Houten, now 73, was convicted for helping Manson's followers carry out the 1969 killings of Leno LaBianca, a grocer in Los Angeles, and his wife, Rosemary. Continue reading...

Cause of landslide that destroyed a dozen homes remains unclear as officials say nothing can be done to stop descentThree days after a landslide destroyed a dozen hillside homes in southern California, the cause of the disaster is still unclear, even as the homes continue their slow descent into a canyon.Sixteen people have been displaced since the land between the homes began shifting and sliding over the weekend. Continue reading...

Bill faces few hurdles from being passed as state's house, senate and governor's office are all Republican-controlledIowa's state legislature held a special session on Tuesday ahead of voting on a bill the same day that would ban most abortions at around six weeks of pregnancy, when most people don't yet know they are pregnant. The state is the latest in the country to vote on legislation restricting reproductive rights after the overturning of Roe v Wade last year, which ended the nationwide constitutional right to abortion.Iowa's Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, called for the special session last week, vowing to continue to fight against the inhumanity of abortion" and calling the pro-life" movement against reproductive rights the most important human rights cause of our time". Lawmakers in the GOP-controlled legislature will debate house study bill 255, which was released on Friday and seeks to prohibit abortions at the first sign of cardiac activity except in certain cases such as rape or incest. Continue reading...

Aileen Cannon sets 18 July for hearing as ex-US president asks for trial delay; grand jury to decide if Trump has case to answer on election interference

Gal Luft charged in absentia with arms trafficking, violations of sanctions on Iran and making false statementsA US thinktank chief who accuses Joe Biden of China-linked corruption involving his son, Hunter Biden, and who has been presented by Republicans as a missing" witness against the president, was charged with China-linked offenses including failing to register as a foreign agent, arms trafficking and violations of sanctions on Iran.Gal Luft, 57 and a dual US-Israeli citizen, is co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security (IAGS), based in Maryland, near Washington. Continue reading...

Djokovic equals Federer's record to reach 46th grand slam semi-final and Svitolina stuns Swaitek to keep dream run alive.Pegula and Vondrousova have just come out on No 1 Court. Both look very focused, this is new ground for both of them. Neither has ever made it past the Wimbledon third round before. Vondrousova reached the French Open final back in 2019, but has had three wrist surgeries since then. She has certainly found some form here, though, losing just one set so far this tournament.

Deadly deluge has saturated parts of New England and New York, while the south and west are under worsening heatwaveA Vermont reservoir on Tuesday risked overwhelming a dam protecting the state's capital and exacerbating catastrophic" flooding that has already shut roadways leading out of town and trapped some residents in their homes.The dangerous storm that has dumped up to two months' worth of rain on Vermont in two days has cut off the capital of Montpelier from the rest of the state while the deadly deluge that saturated parts of New England and New York continues to spark flash flood warnings. Continue reading...

Grand jury will decide later this summer whether the former president and his associates will face criminal chargesA grand jury selected in Georgia on Tuesday is expected to say whether Donald Trump and associates should face criminal charges over their attempt to overturn the former president's defeat by Joe Biden in the 2020 election.The district attorney of Fulton county, Fani Willis, has indicated she expects to obtain indictments between the end of July and the middle of August. Trump also faces possible federal charges over his election subversion, culminating in his incitement of the deadly January 6 attack on Congress. Continue reading...

The court has vastly overextended its own power and flaunted its corruption. It will take a political movement to stop themHow much do the supreme court's six Republican justices care about what Americans think of them? The question haunts most accounts of the supreme court, an anxious subtext detectable in every discussion among court watchers and pundits when the court agrees to hear a specific case and after every oral argument.There is a safe assumption - borne out in the conservative supermajority's decisions, in their statements and in their pre-court careers - that they are all personally inclined to take the maximalist conservative route. If they were unconstrained by other factors, like public opinion and the legitimacy of the court, one gets the distinct sense that they would do the worst thing possible: reverse the most social progress, cause the most suffering, undermine democratic representation as much as possible and accrue as much political power as they can to themselves. What stops them, or slows them down, is not an instinct for moderation, or a sense of respect for the other branches, or the law. What slows them down is a caution about public opinion, a fear of what will happen if their institution is delegitimized in the minds of the people - what slows them down, that is, is something like shame.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

Trump's long-shot competitors had to have known that their entry into the race would only make his renomination more likelyAlready in this early stretch of the Republican presidential primary campaign, there are nearly as many candidates in the field as there were in 2016, when Donald Trump bested a slew of the Republican party's most prominent figures on his way to the White House. But unlike 2016, of course, Trump has been the race's perhaps prohibitive favorite from the jump - over the last three months, Trump has moved from plurality to outright majority support from the Republican electorate in the polls.Far from damaging his candidacy, his two indictments have, if anything, encouraged more and more Republican voters to rally to his side. And, unfortunately for those hoping he loses the nomination, the sheer size of the field will make it difficult for any one of his rivals to consolidate enough of the non-Trump vote to mount a real challenge to his candidacy. Each of his long-shot competitors had to have known that their entry into the race would only make his renomination likelier. Yet they jumped in anyway. Why?Osita Nwanevu is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

Man who used bedsheets made into a rope to escape jail is getting some assistance' to stay in the area, according to policeA homicide suspect who used bed sheets to escape from a north-western Pennsylvania jail is probably still in the area and someone may be helping him to evade capture, police said after discovering possible campsites in nearby woods.Michael Burham, 34, fled the Warren county prison late last Thursday by climbing on exercise equipment, climbing through a window and down a rope fashioned from jail bedding, authorities said. Burham was being held on $1m bail and was charged with kidnapping, burglary and other counts. Continue reading...

John Victor Russell, 75, was charged with two felony counts, including cruelty to animalsA North Carolina horseman of the year" has been arrested after he allegedly shot his son's horse dead during an argument.John Victor Russell, 75, has been charged with two felonies after the shooting, police said. The shooting came a month after he was recognized for his services to horses during a ceremony in Tryon, North Carolina. Continue reading...

The state has become the focus of the nation's divisive reparations conversation as it advances its reparations effortsAs California considers implementing large-scale reparations for Black residents affected by the legacy of slavery, the state has also become the focus of the nation's divisive reparations conversation, drawing the backlash of conservatives criticizing the priorities of a liberal" state.Reparations for Slavery? California's Bad Idea Catches On," commentator Jason L Riley wrote in the Wall Street Journal, as New York approved a commission to study the idea. In the Washington Post, conservative columnist George F Will said the state's debate around reparations adds to a plague of solemn silliness". Continue reading...

The legislation is designed to remove those arriving by irregular routes - this will be devastating for survivors of modern slaveryI remember the day I decided I was finally ready to report my trafficker's abuse after the false promise of a job turned into sexual exploitation. It was September 2018, and a woman from the organisation Women at the Well, which provides support to people affected by trafficking, came out to meet me at Starbucks with a notepad.I told her going to the police was the last thing I wanted to do. I worried about what he would do if he found out, if his other victims would be OK, whether I had broken the law and would be deported. But mostly I just wondered if anyone would believe me. My ability to trust people was almost nil: after all, my trafficker had proven to me that I shouldn't trust anyone. Continue reading...

Our galloping infantilisation continues at a new centre where there will presumably be less screaming than usual, greater participant continence and a bar. Is this what modern life has come to?There is a generational sweet spot - I'm guessing anyone between 65 and 80? - who won't know what soft play is. You take the principle of a playground, then move it indoors, often to a windowless space in which redeeming features such as fresh air have been removed. Then you add a load of padding and hollow plastic balls in primary colours and reduce the mean age of the children to three or under - when they are mainly screaming or making bad choices. Mess with the acoustics - it's either the lack of windows or the aggressively cheap corrugated wall material - so that the cacophony is warped and comes from every direction, then submerge all the children beneath the balls, which mysteriously makes them louder, but now invisible.Now, every adult is in a chamber of hypervigilant solitude - you can't see your kid and you can't figure out whether that noise is coming from him or her, or a pack of wolves - and disoriented by the visual overload. Continue reading...

Agnes Callard has her view - but we'd be better off if more people were willing to experience new places with open mindsThe peak summer travel months are upon us, and that means millions of people the world over are packing a bag and setting off to somewhere else - maybe a familiar every-summer destination, maybe on a new adventure. This summer travel season is projected to be among the busiest on record.But why travel at all? Continue reading...

A hazing scandal uncovered by the student newspaper brought down Northwestern's football coach. After what appears to be a failed cover-up, should the university president be next?The grotesque Northwestern University football hazing scandal is an almost too-perfect case study in how cultures of harm are allowed, even encouraged, to flourish in the world of big-time US college football.The details of how younger players were subjected to abusive hazing, brilliantly reported by the university's student paper, The Daily Northwestern, are appalling, including the disturbing practice of running", in which first-year players who had made mistakes in practice would be subjected to 8-10 upperclassmen dressed in various Purge-like' masks, who would then begin dry-humping' the victim in a dark locker room". In another hazing practice, freshmen were forced to strip naked and perform various acts, including bear crawling and slingshotting themselves across the floor with exercise bands." The Daily Northwestern's report catalogs additional forms of hazing as well. Collectively, these allegations were supported both by an independent report by law firm ArentFox Schiff and by subsequent reporting from ESPN's Adam Rittenberg and WildcatReport.com's Louie Vaccher. Continue reading...