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The top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell, 81, has suffered high-profile lapses but Democrats are reluctant to question his age when Joe Biden, 80, is America's oldest presidentThe question was simple: what are your thoughts about running for re-election in 2026? Oh," said Mitch McConnell with a half-chuckle, a mumble and then: silence. The most powerful Republican in the US Senate stared into space and said nothing for more than 30 seconds.It was the second time in little more than a month that 81-year-old McConnell had frozen while speaking to reporters. But there were few voices in the Democratic party calling on him to step down. Continue reading...

Circuit court judge rules proposal results in the diminishment of Black voters' ability to elect their candidate of choice'A judge in Florida has ruled in favor of voting rights groups that filed a lawsuit against a congressional redistricting map approved by Ron DeSantis in 2022. Voting rights groups had criticized the map for diluting political power in Black communities.In the ruling, Leon county circuit judge J Lee Marsh sent the map back to the Florida legislature to be redrawn in a way that complies with the state's constitution. Continue reading...

Whatever the problem, some TikToker or YouTuber is offering to solve it. How did a wonder of science end up in the hands of astrologers and witches?I've just been doing my semi-regular roundup of what's new in the world of woo-woo, so let me fill you in. Grazia has a $15k an hour intuition coach" teaching A-listers to tap into their sixth sense, which is a little tame, but I struck gold with the Atlantic, which has introduced me to the concept of subliminals". This is properly out there: TikToks or YouTube videos that, the claim goes, can work magic, giving you a smaller nose, making you smell of vanilla (?) or getting your crush to call you IMMEDIATELY". They remind me of the slips of paper that used to arrive in our letterbox when I lived in Brussels from local marabouts (sorcerers), promising sexual potency, the removal of curses, weight loss, guaranteed parking spots and more.It's another iteration of a wave of magical thinking that shows no sign of weakening. I've ticked off manifesting (willing what you want into being), lucky girl syndrome (erm, believing you're lucky?), ghost, psychics and #witchtok. There are people all over Instagram drawing tarot and offering blessings, spells, virtual aura readings and cures". Astrology never went away, but it's in rude health: Chaos awaits as Mercury retrograde spins into Venus," reads my latest unsolicited email. What next? Perhaps alchemy is due a reboot? God knows we could all do with some free gold. Continue reading...

Keep our Republic aims to educate voters about elections and democracy, while North of 29 pushes debunked fraud claimsIn Wisconsin, two groups of activists are touring the state spreading seemingly opposing information about the state's election system. One of them, led by a former Republican state senator, aims to restore trust in the administration and outcomes of elections, while the other rejects the results of the 2020 election and promotes debunked claims about widespread voter fraud in the state.Former state senator Kathy Bernier's efforts form part of a multi-state push by the non-partisan group Keep Our Republic to educate the public about elections and democracy issues before it is too late", according to the organization's website. Continue reading...

Twice re-elected and comfortable in her political skin, the Democratic congresswoman makes clear that Biden can't take progressives for grantedThe campaign office of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sits deep in the Bronx, across the street from a Chinese takeaway and 99-cent discount store, near enough to a railway bridge to hear the rumble of passing trains. The front window of the plain redbrick building is dominated by a big, smiling photo of the US congresswoman and notices that say: We welcome all races, all sexual orientations, all gender identities, all religions, all abilities," and We say gay in the Bronx". Inside, the words AOC! ORGANIZING BASE" are printed in giant purple letters on a wall.Ocasio-Cortez, who at 29 became the youngest woman and youngest Latina to serve in the House of Representatives, is now 33, twice re-elected and comfortable in her political skin. She could hardly be described as an old hand but nor does she channel the shock of the new. She deploys social media with enviable authenticity; she grills congressional witnesses like a seasoned interrogator; she is an object of perverse fascination for Fox News and rightwing trolls; she has been around Washington long enough to draw charges of co-option" and selling out". Continue reading...

National wealth can mask, or even create, other problems. After all, we're more than an economy: we're a societyNow, more than ever, complaining about the state of the country is one of the main ways that Britain talks about itself. But in all the endless exchanges about the decay of public services and the cost of living, there is one theme that typically is raised only briefly before the conversation moves on.How does today's Britain compare with other rich countries? The answer is increasingly unsettling. Despite facing many of the same problems, such as an ageing population, the climate crisis and the diminishing returns for most people from modern capitalism, Britain seems to be struggling more than other western states. From our fragile education and transport infrastructure to our sluggish productivity, our unusually high inflation to our relatively poor public health, it appears to be falling behind traditional peers such as France and Germany, while being steadily caught up by previously much poorer societies such as Slovenia and Poland.Andy Beckett is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

This kind of behavior is a way to contradict women's achievements, and knock them downIt was a moment of superlative achievement for Jenni Hermoso, the prolific scorer on Spain's women's national team. The 2023 tournament was Hermoso's third World Cup - and, at 33, it may well have been her last. But it was the first Women's World Cup she had won: in fact, the first Spain ever won. Sweaty and exhilarated, Hermoso joined her teammates after the match for a medal ceremony, a moment that for any athlete would mark the pinnacle of her career. And then Luis Rubiales, a Spanish soccer official, decided to make the moment about him. He grabbed Hermoso, in front of television cameras and thousands of onlookers, and forced his mouth on hers.Hermoso, in that moment, was demeaned and downgraded by Rubiales, denied her triumph, stripped of her status, and shown not as the victorious athlete that she was, but as a woman, subject to men's violence and whims. It was supposed to be the high point of her career; instead, he made it the moment when she was internationally humiliated, subjected to a sexual assault broadcast around the world.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

Small liberal arts college is being steadily eroded by a DeSantis-aligned board, in ominous sign for higher studies in a country torn by culture warsWhen Nicholas Clarkson submitted his letter of resignation as an assistant professor of gender studies at New College of Florida (NCF) on 17 August, he became the 41st faculty member who has chosen not to return to its Sarasota campus during this year's fall semester.The decision was not a hasty one: throughout the first half of 2023, Clarkson went about his teaching responsibilities even as he witnessed how the progressive, inclusive ethos of the small liberal arts college was being steadily eroded by a board of trustees dominated by political allies of Ron DeSantis, the rightwing Florida governor, whom he named in January. Continue reading...

A proposed ban on abuse of religious objects only helps to silence critics and dissentersShould governments ban the improper treatment of objects of significant religious importance to a religious community"? That is what the Danish government is suggesting in a new law it announced last week that could see offenders imprisoned for two years. The proposed ban comes after a spate of incidents in Sweden and Denmark in which Qur'ans have been publicly burned, provoking an outcry across the Muslim world.The answer to the question is both simple and complex. It is simple because any law outlawing any kind of blasphemy is unacceptable and should be opposed. Having abolished its blasphemy law in 2017, for Denmark to seek to reintroduce it in a new form is retrogressive.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk Continue reading...

Tens of thousands of 'burners' at the Burning Man festival have been told to stay in the camps, conserve food and water and are being blocked from leaving Nevada's Black Rock desert after a slow-moving rainstorm turned the event into a mud bath. As of noon on Saturday, Nevada's Bureau of Land Management declared the entrance to Burning Man shut down for good. There was no estimated time for reopening. The event is officially over on Monday, but many attendees usually begin leaving on Saturday night or Sunday. However, the wet weather showed no signs of easing

Messi Mania swings through Los Angeles on Sunday night, the city where David Beckham's leap of faith on a barely profitable league nearly two decades ago made all of it possibleOn Sunday night, Messi Mania makes its next stop when Inter Miami visit LAFC at BMO Stadium and the latest chapter of the great American soccer superstar experiment comes full circle in Los Angeles.In many ways, the latest away scene on Leo's Magical Mystery (and Soccer Mythmaking) Tour is nothing new: an urban metropolis galvanized for a breathless, priceless night (see: Philadelphia, Nashville, and New York, er, Harrison, New Jersey, in recent weeks). Apple and Adidas marketing teams smiling once more, and over again. Continue reading...

Despite their Global Britain' rhetoric, both the UK's soft and hard power has diminished under 13 years of Conservative ruleFor a leader who is under siege at home, travel abroad can offer an alluring escape from domestic woes. When Rishi Sunak flies east this week to attend the G20 summit in New Delhi, he will be glad to put more than 4,000 miles between himself and the cost of living crunch, public services that are falling over and grisly opinion poll ratings. His international peer group will treat him with more courtesy than do many of his own MPs. Performing on what is loosely called the world stage" will be a salve to the prime minister's self-esteem.What else it will achieve is moot. There is little expectation that this G20 will come to much, not least because of the divisions between its western and non-western members about the war in Ukraine. It is being reported that Xi Jinping won't even turn up, scotching earlier talk from Number 10 of a bilateral between Mr Sunak and China's leader. Continue reading...

Telling a friend or spouse a secret can be complicated. So how about a stranger, who simply bears witness to what you have to say?When you turn up to do a celebrity interview, you never know how it's going to go. A famous actor known for their openness and jollity might greet you four hours into their film junket with a headache and growling list of notes on the conduct of your newspaper. They might be exhausted after fielding six previous interviewers' questions about their divorce, and unwilling or unable to perform warmth for even one more journalist. Even with decent wifi, Zoom might lead to a lack of connection. Or they might simply not like the interview process, admittedly a deeply weird experience for everyone involved, where two strangers meet in a hotel room and are forced to immediately talk about, for example, the death of the prettier one's father.Even when it works, you never really get to know who a person is - at best you get to know who they want to be. But I've noticed recently how very occasionally, even under these oddly pressurised circumstances - perhaps in fact because of them - an interview can reshape itself into something else entirely. Continue reading...

Let's see: he has brought Andrew back into public life, managed to grow his hair longer and, er...Now it's a year since a glut of articles asking what kind of king will Charles be?", maybe it's not too soon for a first appraisal. Even allowing for the coronation - you try finding a conductor who doesn't have anger management issues - some differences in reigning quality should by now be evident.Has he met expectations? It's not as if Charles lacked time or opportunities to plan for a job that, although it dawned on him early with the most ghastly inexorable sense", he never decided, like his reputation as a bit of a reformer, to repudiate.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk Continue reading...

Having children can create a welcome shift in perspectives, not least among politiciansSo many politicians strive to make the personal the political in their quest to explain how their own life story relates to what they want to do. The hope is that in humanising themselves they become more likeable; the reality is more often realised in clunky cliches than powerful stories. The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is something of a rarity in cheerily poking fun at himself for labouring his status as the son of a bus driver".One of Rishi Sunak's favourite points of reference is his daughters. Back in July 2022, he said that as a father of two girls" he wanted them to feel safe walking at night. Last November, the prime minister told voters he had taken safety for granted and wanted his daughters to be able to walk to school safely. In April, he wrote that as a father, women's rights are important to me". Continue reading...

Alex de Minaur has surged into the US Open final 16 and is now on the verge of being Australia's first top 10-ranked male player in 20 yearsSit close enough to a tennis court when Alex de Minaur is at full velocity and the sound of shrieking, audible and ever-present during a point, tells the story of the busiest feet in tennis.The shoes of the Australian, who has played with rare verve at the US Open over the past week, squeak and squeal as he scampers to retrieve shots that would pass most others by. Like the roaring and purring of a Formula 1 car racing around a track, the noise made by the No 13 seed's dancing feet alters depending on how fast and furiously a rally is unfolding. Continue reading...

Opponents have manufactured different versions of the truth in an effort to disrupt, delay, subvert and confuse

President arrives to survey damage left by Hurricane Idalia but governor Ron DeSantis has no plans to meet BidenJoe Biden said that no one can deny the impacts of the climate crisis anymore after he visited Florida on Saturday and surveyed the damage left behind by Hurricane Idalia.Speaking to reporters in front of fallen trees and debris, the US president pointed to this year's extreme weather events and disasters, saying: Nobody can deny the impact of climate crisis. There's no real intelligence to deny the impacts of the climate crisis anymore." Continue reading...

Ex-New Mexico governor, energy secretary, congressman and UN ambassador spent his later years helping Americans held abroadBill Richardson, a 2008 presidential candidate, former New Mexico governor, congressman, secretary of energy and UN ambassador under the Clinton administration who later found a role as an international hostage negotiator, has died. He was 75 years old.Richardson was reported to have died on Friday at his summer home in Chatham, Massachusetts. Governor Richardson passed away peacefully in his sleep last night," said Mickey Bergman, vice-president of the Richardson Center for Global Engagement, which Richardson founded to promote international peace and dialogue. Continue reading...

Schooner Trinidad hailed as significant shipwreck' after successful sonar search reveals well preserved vesselA long-lost shipwreck dating back to the late 1800s has been discovered in Lake Michigan.The Wisconsin Historical Society announced that the shipwreck hunters and historians Brendon Baillod and Bob Jaeck located the wreck of the schooner Trinidad in 270ft of water off Algoma, Wisconsin, earlier this year. Continue reading...

The Jacksonville shooting is a reminder of the long history of terrorism against Black people, their colleges and their communitiesJust nine years after Augusta Institute's founding in Georgia, a bloody massacre took place directly across the Savannah River in Hamburg, South Carolina. Since 1867, the leaders of the institute - a small, all-Black seminary - had endured various attacks by local white citizens for educating Black students following the civil war. But the Hamburg massacre, which resulted in the execution of six Black men ahead of one of the most contentious presidential elections in US history, epitomized the extent of post-emancipation violence against Black advancement. Designed to terrorize newly freed citizens, the massacre set the standard for how Black communities could be punished for amassing political and institutional power.After learning firsthand that Black political mobility and Black education stoked white resentment and violence, the seminary men fled to Atlanta. They strategically broke new ground for their institution on former Union army barracks; its location on a hill at the city's highest elevation point gave them a vantage of any attempts upon it. Two decades later, the school was renamed Morehouse College, at the time one of the nation's only colleges for Black men. A few years after that, Spelman College, a college for Black women, relocated less than a mile away from Morehouse, to achieve safety in numbers. Continue reading...

Florida governor has no plans to meet Biden, claiming security preparations would impair recovery effortsRon DeSantis will not meet Joe Biden on the president's tour of Hurricane Idalia damage on Saturday, the Florida governor's office has said, adding that he thought Biden's visit would disrupt recovery efforts.We don't have any plans for the governor to meet with the president" DeSantis's spokesperson, Jeremy Redfern, told CNN in a statement. Continue reading...

The Starlink system has been vital to Zelenskiy's forces, but it can't be good to have a volatile billionaire playing a crucial role in a major European warIn February 2022, as Russian tanks rumbled into Ukraine, a cyber-attack took down the satellite system run by Viasat that was providing high-speed communications for Ukrainian military forces, rendering them instantly blind, deaf and dumb. With his forces knocked offline, the Ukrainian digital minister sent a plea to an American billionaire, one Elon Musk, for help. Within hours, Musk responded that his Starlink system had been activated in Ukraine. Days later Starlink terminals began to arrive.Pause for context update. Musk is the founder and Supreme Leader of SpaceX, an innovative firm that has found a way of building reusable heavy rockets that can launch cargo into Earth orbit and safely return ready to be used again, which is a very big deal, and probably why Nasa has become one of its regular customers. In 2019, SpaceX started launching smallish - sofa-sized", according to the New York Times - communications satellites into low-Earth orbit with the aim of eventually providing a global mobile phone system called Starlink. Thus far, it has mostly been providing internet connectivity to 60 countries via about 4,500 satellites, but it's said that Musk plans to have 42,000 of them up there eventually, which is an awful lot of flying sofas. Continue reading...

Moscow won't stop short of subjugation of Kyiv. That's why the Nato allies must ignore talk of talks and start fighting to winThey still don't get it. Even after 18 months of horror in Ukraine, too many prominent politicians in the US and Europe appear unable or unwilling to grasp the existential threat that Vladimir Putin's Russia poses to all.They continue to assume this war, like other conflicts, will eventually end in negotiations. Yet the Kremlin demands nothing less than Kyiv's total capitulation - and that is not going to happen.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk Continue reading...

Former president's social media platform is asking shareholders in Digital World for another year to complete mergerA complex deal to take Donald Trump's social-media platform Truth Social public faces a crucial test next week that could determine whether it becomes a multibillion-dollar company that the former US president once vowed would stand up to big tech" or instead languish in financial limbo.Under the terms of the deal, announced in October 2021, Trump's Trump Media & Technology Group was destined to merge with Digital World Acquisition Corp, a special-purpose acquisition company, or Spac. Continue reading...

All the old arguments for hanging on to looted treasures like the Benin bronzes have crumbledThat belongs in a museum." So do you!" Indiana Jones (youthful, anti-establishment, recent thief of priceless treasure) is the first speaker; Panama Hat (fusty remnant of colonial Britain) the second. The scene is famous. But it also strikes the modern viewer as rather out of date: those fighting over what belongs in a museum now split, politically and demographically, in precisely the opposite direction.Western museums still tend to think of themselves as culturally open, their purpose to celebrate diversity and international understanding. But in recent years young progressives have been turning against them, arguing that a number of their displayed items - particularly looted ones - should be returned to their countries of origin. The rightwing establishment, meanwhile, generally believes these objects should stay put. Continue reading...

The Spanish FA chief Luis Rubiales - arrogant and cowardly', according to his uncle - is living the mantra of never apologize, never explainSorry. Five letters, two syllables: it's a fairly straightforward word. Its Spanish equivalent, lo siento, has an extra couple of syllables but it's not exactly difficult to say. Continue reading...

Mayor denounces cowardly act' targeting US soldier involved in death of hundreds of Native Americans in 19th centuryPolice in New Mexico's capital city are investigating the partial destruction of a public monument to a 19th-century frontiersman and US soldier who had a leading role in the death of hundreds of Native Americans during Anglo-American settlement of the American West.The monument to Christopher Kit" Carson has been encircled by a plywood barrier for its own protection since 2020, when Santa Fe was swept by the movement to remove depictions of historical figures who mistreated Native Americans amid a national reckoning over racial injustice. Continue reading...

Democratic congresswoman calls for acknowledgment of past intrusion in effort to restore trust in US leadership in the regionAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a prominent member of Congress and leading voice of the American left, has called on the US government to issue an apology to Latin American countries for decades of meddling in their affairs and causing instability in the region.The Democratic congresswoman from New York was speaking after a visit to Chile in advance of the 50th anniversary of the coup against Salvador Allende, a democratically elected socialist president actively opposed by Washington. Continue reading...

The president promised federal government would support the island after deadly wildfires, but residents say the response is scattershot and insufficientAs Joe Biden toured the devastated town of Lahaina and met with survivors of the deadly wildfires that swept through Maui last month, he vowed that the federal government would support the island throughout the long and arduous recovery process ahead.The country grieves with you, stands with you, and we'll do everything possible to help you recover, rebuild, and respect culture and traditions when the rebuilding takes place," the president said. To the people of Hawaii, we're with you for as long as it takes, I promise you." Continue reading...

Advocates say proposals that cut debt to zero for some borrowers and reduce monthly interest payments are good newsJoe Biden's new student-loan plan is an important and large step forward on student debt forgiveness in the US even after a previous debt reduction program was controversially struck down by the supreme court, advocates say.When the justices ruled against Biden's plan to forgive up to $20,000 in federal student loans per borrower in June, 40 million debt-burdened Americans were left with questions - especially as monthly payments would resume in October after being paused for over three years because of the Covid pandemic. Continue reading...

NLRB framework means companies committing illegal acts during unionization efforts will be forced to bargain immediatelyAmerica's resurgent labor movement has won a useful victory with a decision by the National Labor Relations Board that will make unionization easier at firms that break the law while resisting organizing campaigns.The new framework means companies that are found to have committed illegal acts during unionization-election efforts will be forced to immediately bargain with the union rather than just have to run the election again - which is what happened previously. Continue reading...

Singer best known for his hit Margaritaville died in his sleep, according to a statement on XThe American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett has died aged 76.The musician, who was best known for his hit Margaritaville, died in his sleep, a statement said. Continue reading...

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The former Trump lawyer also waived his right to appear at an arraignment set for 6 SeptemberRudy Giuliani on Friday pleaded not guilty to Georgia charges that accuse him of trying, along with former president Donald Trump and others, to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 election in the state.In filing his not guilty plea with the court, the former New York mayor and Trump attorney also waived his right to appear at an arraignment hearing set for 6 September. He joins the former president and at least 10 others in forgoing a trip to Atlanta to appear before a judge in a packed courtroom with a news camera rolling. Continue reading...

Swiatek cruises through, Tiafoe made to sweat and Wozniacki's comeback storie continues.Townsend takes it to deuce with a wonderful return. She has an interesting approach to returning serves, starting in an almost exaggerated batting stance seen in cricket. One foot in front of the other staring down the line. It's working, she has a break point.Townsend aces to take the first game. 1-0 up against Muchova. Continue reading...

Dominic Pezzola sentenced to 10 years, Ethan Nordean sentenced to 18 for roles in 2021 insurrectionTwo members of the far-right Proud Boys militia group who took part in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol with the intention of keeping Donald Trump in the White House were sentenced to lengthy prison terms on Friday.Ethan Nordean, described by prosecutors as a leader of the extremist group, received an 18-year sentence for crimes that included seditious conspiracy, committed when thousands of Trump supporters overran the Capitol building. Continue reading...

Zunyu Zhao and Xionwei Xiao made the plea in a California federal court for smuggling the marine life from MexicoWildlife traffickers pleaded guilty this week in federal court in California to illegally importing endangered sea cucumbers - which are prized in China for food and medicine and as a reputed aphrodisiac - from Mexico.Zunyu Zhao and Xionwei Xiao were charged with conspiracy and illegal importing of brown sea cucumbers worth over $10,000 from 2017 to 2019 and are scheduled to be sentenced in September and November, respectively. Continue reading...

President to recognize Larry Taylor, who risked his life to rescue a reconnaissance team that was about to be overrunThe White House says Joe Biden will award the Medal of Honor to a US army pilot who risked his life to rescue a reconnaissance team in Vietnam that was about to be overrun.The president will recognize Larry Taylor of Signal Mountain, Tennessee, at a ceremony on 5 September. The Medal of Honor is the US military's highest decoration given to service members who go above and beyond the call of duty, often risking their lives through selfless acts of valor. Continue reading...

Dominic Pezzola's sentence is less than 20-year term prosecutors proposed while Ethan Nordean will also be sentenced. This blog is now closedWe're expecting Joe Biden to soon speak about the government's August employment report that came out a few hours ago, which shows employment growth remaining steady in the world's largest economy, despite the sting of high interest rates, as the Guardian's Lauren Aratani reports:The US jobs market is holding steady as interest rates sit at a 22-year high, with US employers adding 187,000 jobs in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Continue reading...