Dolly Parton was one of the greatest singer-songwriters in country music and a pioneer for women throughout her career. The Guardian US's deputy arts editor Owen Myers reflects on a career and legacy whose impact transcends generations
Exposure to two compounds approved can result in sudden death' and range of other serious health risks, lawsuit warnsThe Trump administration has approved two new datacenter chemicals to which exposure can result in sudden death" and a range of other serious health risks, like cancer, eye corrosion, neurological damage and reproductive harm, a new lawsuit warns.The two compounds approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for import and immediate use in facilities across the US are photoacid generators that also appear to be Pfas forever chemicals", though it is unclear because much of the EPA documents are redacted. Some Pfas are commonly used in the production of semiconductors. Continue reading...
The Portland Thorns midfielder fills a role few in the US player pool can match, and she's in a race against time to be fit for BrazilOlivia Moultrie is no stranger to setting her own timeline. Half a decade ago, her desire to go pro at age 15 helped change NWSL rules, which previously forbade teams from signing players under the age of 18. The ensuing half-decade has seen her go from one of the nation's top prospects to a proven high-level midfielder, a developmental success with the Portland Thorns.Today, Moultrie instead finds herself in a race against time. The 2027 World Cup kicks off in just over 300 days, and her recovery from a torn ACL suffered at the start of this month has only just begun. Moultrie may not be among the biggest stars in the United States' player pool, but her recovery from this injury should be closely monitored. Simply, there are few like-for-like alternatives who operate in possession as tidily and dangerously as she does. Continue reading...
They should ask the question Reagan asked at the end of his debate against Jimmy Carter: Are you better off now than you were before this presidency?'The midterm elections are already upon us, and every Democrat and Independent running against a Republican should ask voters the question Ronald Reagan asked on 28 October 1980, at the end of his televised debate against Jimmy Carter: Are you better off now than you were before this presidency?"Unless you're very, very rich, the answer is obviously: No, I'm worse off."Energy bills have increased three times faster than the rate of inflation while Trump has been president. The national average monthly utility bill reached $280 in early 2026, a 12% increase since the end of 2024, just before the second Trump administration took office. Continue reading...
Trump administration has moved away from high-profile, militarized raids as its deportation spree has ramped upThe Trump administration arrested and deported a record number of immigrants in July, according to newly released government data - apprehending an average of 1,500 people and removing 1,100 people daily.This latest data confirms what attorneys and immigrant advocates have been seeing across the US - although the administration has moved away from the high-profile, militarized raids that came to define its immigration enforcement approach last year, it is quietly ramping up its operations. Continue reading...
The quiet-spoken Canadian prime minister has spoken unutterable truthsIs it perhaps a sign of the times that Mark Carney, the prime minister of Canada, has become a thrilling orator? A sober banker, he speaks calmly, without many vocal inflections. We expect Canadians to be somewhat flat; even a little boring, and yet Carney has already delivered two remarkable speeches in 2026, and the year is far from over.The first, at Davos, described a rupture in the world order", and the end of a pleasant fiction". By that, he meant that the world could no longer depend on the United States to lead the Pax Americana that has largely kept the peace since the end of the second world war. Continue reading...
by Oliver Milman in New York, with photos and video b on (#77YNF)
Jack Klein takes heat readings, gives fans to overheated passengers and lugs big jugs of water into the stationsOn a recent August day in the subterranean furnace of New York City's subway, one bearded, curly haired man was studying his phone for different reasons than the other wilting passengers - to track the soaring temperatures and ponder how underground train stations can cool down in an era of climate crisis.Jack Klein, a 31-year-old construction site manager, has in the past two years taken it upon himself to become a sort of guerrilla subway heat operative, sticking teardrop-shaped thermometers to steel beams in seven of the hottest Manhattan stations and posting social media videos of the hades-like summer temperatures that commuters have to endure. Continue reading...
The star known as Bayou Barbie is shining in Atlanta. The longer her haters dwell on her lowlights, the more they miss her transformation into an all-around forceOn 16 August, the Atlanta Dream faced the Indiana Fever in the WNBA's showcase matchup, and Angel Reese had a chance to don the cape. Tied at 81, the Dream had possession with five seconds left in regulation when Rhyne Howard launched a deep three-pointer. Reese was perfectly positioned under the basket, snagging Howard's air ball with an outstretched hand. But in the rush to win the game, Reese forced a shot off the backboard that caromed off the front rim - and Naz Hillmon's putback fizzled as the buzzer sounded. After Indiana escaped with a 95-91 overtime victory, Reese beat herself up over the loss.I didn't sleep," she told reporters days later. The competitor in me wanted to win that game so bad. I replayed that play so many times." Reese vowed to shrug the game off and do better. Damned if she hasn't proved herself to be a woman of her word. Continue reading...
Everyone can see that the Iran war has been a strategic disaster for the US, while a failing president pretends he is winningNow is the twilight of Donald Trump's supremacy. The US is still the richest and most heavily armed nation on Earth. That status is secure. The current president, contemptuous of law and indulged in lawlessness by a supine Congress, enjoys even greater power than the constitution allows.With those advantages it takes a special talent for incompetence to look as thwarted and impotent as Trump does with more than two years of his second term still to run.Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
The incumbent senator Dan S Sullivan has condemned ex-school teacher Dan J Sullivan, claiming he is running at the behest of Democrats to confuse supportersRepublican senator Dan S Sullivan will be joined on the November ballot in Alaska by a challenger with a nearly identical name from the same party, election officials confirmed on Tuesday, adding a twist to what is expected to be one of the most hotly contested races of the midterms.The Republican senator is running for a third term against Democrat Mary Peltola, a former US House representative whom polls show is neck-and-neck with him in a state that hasn't sent a Democrat to the Senate since 2008. Continue reading...
Move by state department to limit access is part of Trump's crackdown on both lawful and undocumented immigrationAll US immigrant visa applications have been paused by the Trump administration as the state department moves to tighten restrictions and limit access to applicants who they deem could end up relying on US assistance, a state department official confirmed Tuesday.The agency launched the initiative at all embassies and consulates in early August, according to the official and visa appointments had to be adjusted to accommodate in-depth training", according to the official. The state department has been working on updated guidance and training since early this year, to ensure all consular officers are fully equipped to evaluate every visa applicant comprehensively and consistently", they added. Continue reading...
by George Chidi in Columbia, South Carolina on (#77YEP)
Darline Graham, sister of late Lindsey Graham and backed by Trump, overcomes concern about lack of experienceSouth Carolina voters have chosen Darline Graham as the Republican nominee for US Senate, the seat formerly held by her late brother, Lindsey, on November's ballot.Darline Graham, with Donald Trump's full-throated support, overcame concern about her lack of legislative experience to beat five-term congressman Ralph Norman in Tuesday's Republican special primary runoff. Continue reading...
Democratic Senate candidate for Michigan distances himself from Twitch streamer and debates Fox News hostThe Democratic candidate for Senate in the swing state of Michigan has spent the week trying to keep his affordability message front and center as scrutiny mounts from both ends of the political spectrum.In the span of two days, Abdul El-Sayed distanced himself from leftwing streamer Hasan Piker, spoke out against rightwing hate directed at the Muslim community, and debated Fox News host Jesse Watters on taxing billionaires. The clip circulating most from the Fox interview, though, focused on circumcision - specifically, El-Sayed asking Watters whether he circumcised, in a retort to Watters' question about gender-affirming care. Continue reading...
Stanley Druckenmiller said he was proud of using it' as wider media grapples with parameters around AI useStanley Druckenmiller, a billionaire investor, said he used artificial intelligence to pen his viral Wall Street Journal op-ed in which he sharply criticized the interference of Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, in the US bond market.Many news outlets, including the Guardian, covered the editorial, highlighting Druckenmiller's rebuke of his former mentee, Bessent. As the story circulated online, some readers questioned rhetorical choices that resembled AI-generated text. Continue reading...
Samuel Bateman, 50, is convicted of three state child abuse counts after previous conviction on federal countsA polygamous sect leader already serving a 50-year federal sentence for orchestrating sex involving children was given another 24 years in prison Tuesday on separate state convictions for child abuse for hauling girls in an unventilated trailer in Arizona.Samuel Bateman, 50, was convicted of three child abuse counts stemming from an August 2022 traffic stop in Flagstaff that led to the discovery of three girls, aged 11 to 14, in the trailer. It had a makeshift toilet, sofa and camping chairs and lacked air conditioning and seat belts. Someone tipped off authorities about the trailer after seeing small fingers reaching through gaps in the doors. Continue reading...
US president's lawyers in court filing say Washington arts complex must undergo repairs or risk demolitionThe John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts could be demolished if repairs are not carried out, the Trump administration warned in a court filing on Monday.Lawyers for the US president said the national arts complex in Washington DC must undergo a $250m renovation or risk facing the wrecking ball. Continue reading...
The 12-bath, seven-bed home near the state capital boasts a 5,000-bottle wine cellar, a pool and a tennis courtCalifornia governor Gavin Newsom has put his Sacramento-area mansion up for sale, before his term will end in January.The 12-bath, seven-bed Spanish-style home in Fair Oaks, a suburb of the California capital, hit the market on Monday with an asking price of $7.5m. The estate, which sits on a 8.2-acre (3.3-hectare) parcel of land, boasts an array of amenities including a full-size tennis court, a 5,000-bottle wine cellar, a pool, a cold plunge and a hot tub, according to a Zillow listing from realtors Matthew Hindy and Nick Sadek. Continue reading...
Agents arrest women who almost died' after they were hit by vehicle and their car flipped over four times, family sayAn Ecuadorian mother and daughter were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at a hospital after a car crash in central Florida.On 20 August, Grace Stephanie Calero Cabanilla, 39, and her daughter, Giulianna Mia Carriel Calero, 19, were involved in a car crash in Poinciana, Florida, according to arrest reports reviewed by multiple news outlets. Continue reading...
As wildfires rage and intense heat builds across the region, daytime highs of 110-11F (43-46C) are forecastSurging temperatures are expected to broil more than 45 million people as a heat dome settles in across the south-western US through the end of August and into early September, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).As wildfires rage in some parts and intense heat builds across the region, daytime highs of 110-115F (43-46C) are forecast, with limited cooling relief in the evenings and overnight. Experts predict that some record highs could be tied or broken this month and the weather agency warned of the scorching late summer heat as a potential health hazard. Continue reading...
Home in Billings was also set on fire, with victims representing four generations of a blended familyA man killed eight of his relatives, including four children, on Sunday evening in a shooting at a home in Billings, Montana, that was also set on fire, according to authorities and local media reports.Police have characterized the case as a family disturbance, according to Montana news outlet KULR. Continue reading...
Arrest of Luis Manuel Aviles, 48, sparked backlash as he was detained while his son, Joshua, was deployed in Middle EastThe father of a US navy sailor who has been deployed in the Middle East for a record-breaking nine months on the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier has been released from immigration detention, according to his family.His arrest sparked intense backlash after the Associated Press reported that his son was entering his ninth month on the Lincoln with the navy when his father was detained. The carrier had just set a US military record for uninterrupted time at sea and has raised concerns about supply shortages and deteriorating mental health among those serving onboard. Continue reading...
One more day of testimony expected as closing arguments set for Thursday and jury likely begins deliberations FridayOne more day of rebuttal testimony was expected this week in the trial against Lindsay Clancy, followed by closing statements likely on Thursday.The jury, which will likely begin deliberations on Friday, will decide whether the Massachusetts mother was experiencing postpartum psychosis when she killed her three children in January 2023.In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...
Alarm as Republicans warn that flooding' stores with 300,000 metric tons of beef imports will hit US farmersDonald Trump is facing growing criticism from within his own party over his decision to temporarily pause US tariffs on foreign beef in a bid to bring down grocery prices.The president's announcement that the US will import up to 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef without charging higher tariffs has alarmed some senior Republicans, who warn that flooding" stores with imports will hit US ranchers. This comes as the US faces a 75-year low in cattle inventory. Continue reading...
Tariffs on Canada, threats against Iran's partners and bond market intervention show a president weaponising US power while making Americans poorer at homeThree moves in the last week have exposed the limits of Donald Trump's economic bullying. The US slapped 50% tariffs on another $20bn of Canadian goods - then threatened the same rate on the cars, trucks, parts and steel that America Inc depends on. On Monday, the Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, menaced Iran's trading partners with exclusion from the US financial network, hoping that coercion can deliver what months of war have not. And as the costs of war, tariffs and pro-billionaire tax cuts helped send US bond yields higher, the Treasury stepped in to tame long-term rates. These are not contradictory policies but a gamble: that US economic power can be repeatedly weaponised without reducing others' willingness to depend on it.The Trump administration's D-day" sanctions are potentially the most consequential because they expose the scaffolding of American financial power. While markets shrugged off the immediate threat, that calculation might change were the US to target a major Chinese refinery or bank. Such an escalation could spark a trade war with Beijing. The US has leverage. But China has pressure points - especially farmers in Republican states - that make using it costly. In the long run, there is a price to pay. Nations hold one another's currencies partly because they trust the political relationship. Mr Trump is testing what happens when they don't. Continue reading...
Unannounced trip reported by US media is said to be Ratcliffe's first known visit to Russia as CIA chiefThe CIA director, John Ratcliffe, has made an unannounced visit to Moscow, US media reported, after flight data showed an American military aircraft flew to the Russian capital, where a US diplomatic motorcade was later spotted.CBS News quoted sources familiar with the situation as confirming Ratcliffe's trip, saying it was his first known visit to Russia as CIA chief. Axios separately confirmed the visit, quoting a US official. Continue reading...
Confidence index drops to 89.4 in August from 90.2 in July amid frustration after five years of elevated inflationAmericans' confidence in the economy declined again this month as the ongoing conflict in Iran continued to push US gasoline prices above $4 per gallon.The Conference Board said on Tuesday that its consumer confidence index dipped to 89.4 in August from 90.2 in July. That was the lowest level in seven months but was essentially within the same lukewarm range it has been in since the beginning of the year. In late 2024 and early 2025, readings were consistently above 100. Continue reading...
A child isn't born to commit gun violence,' Francisco Villarruel saysFrancisco Villarruel and Gustavo Galvez sat in a park in Los Angeles reminiscing on their first boxing lesson together. They had gone to a big commercial gym, where they took turns hitting boxing pads and doing footwork exercises. They then started regularly training together.For Villarruel, 40, working out together wasn't really about boxing. It was about giving Galvez, 19, an opportunity to open up and to mentor someone whose pain he understands. I think a lot of the traumatic scenarios that he went through are very similar to mine in my upbringing," Villarruel said. Continue reading...
Multicultural Business Coalition sues New York City mayor, alleging plan for city-run stores will harm smaller grocersA New York City business group sued mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday over his plan to create five municipally owned grocery stores.The Multicultural Business Coalition, which says it represents hundreds of small supermarkets, filed two lawsuits in New York county supreme court on Monday, arguing that the plan violates the civil rights of smaller, immigrant- and minority-owned businesses. The group argues that smaller stores would be unable to match the discounts offered by the city grocery stores and therefore, will be put out of business," according to the lawsuits. Continue reading...
Kenya Glasgow and her toddler died after lightning struck in Margate, near Fort LauderdaleA mother and her toddler were killed recently by a lightning strike in south Florida, local authorities said.The tragedy happened in Margate, near Fort Lauderdale, on Sunday. The victims were Kenya Glasgow, 31, and her two-year-old daughter, named in media reports as Kennedi. Continue reading...
US president has been obsessed with restricting the ability to vote by mail, despite using it himself. Plus, why we are still fascinated with Meg from the White Stripes
At the sacred prairie of Pe' Sla in South Dakota, Indigenous and environmental groups banded together to halt drillingThis story was co-published and supported by the journalism non-profit the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.When two Oglala Lakota scouts heard drilling was expected to begin on Pe' Sla, the sacred prairie in the Black Hills of South Dakota, they set out on back trails. They needed to find out where. That's when they saw a deer break ahead and a red-tailed hawk soar above them - less like a coincidence than being led, the scouts said. Over a rise, they came upon a road freshly cut to the dirt. They followed it, past a parked truck. Oh my god," one of them said, seeing a drill turning. They're drilling now!" Continue reading...
Mathematicians are raising concerns that the technology could kill their profession. But they still have abilities AI doesn'tEarlier this month, about 40 top mathematicians gathered at OpenAI's offices to discuss the future of their profession. The meeting was off-the-record, but if recent articles by mathematicians are any guide, it was mostly pretty glum. People fear for their jobs, their careers and the work they love.We think the contrary view is more likely, at least in the short-term. AI models are nowhere near as capable as experienced academic mathematicians. Continue reading...
Trump administration proposes new rule to dismantle requirement for datacenters to publicly report air pollutionA new rule proposed by the Trump administration aims to kill public notification for datacenter air pollution, public health advocates warn, and allow emission permits to be issued behind closed doors.The datacenters are often sources of nitrogen oxide, which helps form ozone, carbon monoxide and heavy metals, among other pollutants. Continue reading...
Adam Hamilton, a liberal megachurch pastor, is challenging incumbent Republican Senator Roger Marshall in this year's midterm electionIn one of the first ads of his campaign to represent Kansas in the US Senate, the Democrat Adam Hamilton stands grilling steaks at a barbecue and attacks his opponent, Senator Roger Marshall, a Republican, for supporting tariffs and war".If history is any guide, it is Hamilton who is set to get cooked. Kansas has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1932, and more than half a century has passed since one of their nominees even came close. But he and his supporters believe circumstances have conspired to end this streak - and potentially deliver Democrats control of the Senate. Continue reading...
A recent memo claiming executive privilege over communications with private advisers invites corruptionA recent office of legal counsel memo on executive privilege maintains that private advisers to a president can avoid responding to a subpoena by asserting the president's executive privilege. The ability of presidents to shield communications from public view through claims of executive privilege, whether their own or those of a senior adviser, was already a powerful tool for presidents to avoid accountability. But if courts accept the OLC's new interpretation of presidential privilege, it will be substantially harder to call witnesses to testify before Congress or in court proceedings regarding possible wrongdoing by the presidents.Equipping presidents with extensive power to block witnesses in legal proceedings is a dangerous practice that invites corruption by presidents and their advisers. Consider the former White House counsel Don McGahn's 2019 refusal to testify in response to a subpoena by the House judiciary committee in connection with the special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Donald Trump. McGahn didn't come up with that idea on his own. It was the Trump White House that sought to bar McGahn from testifying through an assertion of a type of executive privilege known as testimonial immunity." Ironically, Mueller was investigating whether Trump obstructed justice, among other things, by demanding that McGahn fire Mueller himself. Trump's insistence that McGahn not testify, backed up by a 2019 OLC opinion, effectively made the first Trump administration complicit in the very obstruction under investigation. Continue reading...
Nearly a decade after I watched him defy Erdoan at great personal cost, the ex-NBA player is using his hard-won freedom to turn transgender people into a punchlineNine years ago, I watched Enes Kanter ask America to take him in. It was May 2017, inside the National Basketball Players Association's offices in midtown Manhattan. Kanter had just returned from a frightening detention at Bucharest airport, where Romanian border police told him Turkey had canceled his passport. He'd just turned 25, an NBA center with a green card and no country he could safely call home.I'm open for adoption," he joked from the head of a table in a nondescript conference room, addressing a dozen reporters hastily summoned by his manager. Then he turned serious: My next move is to just become an American citizen." Continue reading...
The Slovenian is one of the best players on the planet. But factors largely beyond his control have started to turn his career into a slogLuka Doni must feel as though, these past few months, he's been twirling in a washing machine. He announced a separation from his fiancee in March; reports followed of a prolonged custody battle over their two daughters. As Doni plays in the NBA and his children live in Slovenia, he doesn't see them much as is. But after the reports of the rift with his ex emerged, he started playing some of the best basketball of his life: he led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 15-2 record in March, a stretch that included a torrential 60-point display against the Miami Heat. Behind Doni's brightening star, the Lakers seemed to be sharpening into a real contender. Then Doni tweaked his hamstring in April and the illusion shattered. He watched from the sidelines as the Lakers limped out of the playoffs with an inevitable second-round defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder.Actually, Doni must feel as if he's been in turmoil for the past few years. He made his first - and so far only - NBA finals in 2024, leading the Dallas Mavericks there with a barrage of awesome shotmaking. As the best offensive player on the court while playing through multiple injuries, Doni and his Mavs lost to the far deeper Boston Celtics in five games. As thanks, the Mavericks traded Doni to the Lakers, citing defensive concerns, when what had really doomed them against the Celtics was that no one aside from Luka - who led his team in points, rebounds, assists and steals in that series - could play at the requisite level to win. Continue reading...
While Cavan and Quinn Sullivan star in MLS with the Philadelphia Union, brothers Ronan and Declan have connected with their South Asian heritageRonan Sullivan had tried a panenka twice in his life. Both attempts were at practice on the other side of the world, and one hit the crossbar. But his twin brother, Declan, was hardly surprised when Ronan turned to him and told him he'd chip the fifth penalty of a shootout that could win a scoreless tournament final, as millions tuned in online to see his Bangladesh side play against India in the Under-20 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship.He didn't even need to say it. I knew he was gonna do that the whole time," Declan remembered, sitting next to his brother on the couch of their dorm room at Saint Joseph's University. I knew that if he got the last pen to win it, he was gonna do that. That's just the him thing to do." Continue reading...
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