Case marks significant step in Trump's efforts to politicize the justice department and punish political enemiesThe former FBI director James Comey pleaded not guilty in court on Wednesday in connection with federal charges that he lied to Congress in 2020.Comey entered the federal courthouse shortly before 10am through a private entrance. He was joined in court by his legal team, as well as his wife and daughter, Maurene, who was fired last month as a federal prosecutor in the southern district of New York. Troy Edwards Jr, Comey's son-in-law who resigned as a prosecutor in the eastern district of Virginia immediately after Comey was indicted, was also seen at the courthouse. Continue reading...
Mobile county sheriff, Paul Burch, faces backlash after skeletons in sombreros and ICE' shirts spotted in his yardA sheriff in Mobile county, Alabama, is facing criticism for putting up a Halloween display that featured two fake skeletons in sombreros and traditional Mexican ponchos being chased over a fence by three skeletal figures dressed in ICE" T-shirts.The display outside sheriff Paul Burch's home has drawn ire online, from neighbors and from Hispanic interest groups. Continue reading...
President accused Brandon Johnson and JB Pritzker of failing to protect Ice officers as troops deploy to ChicagoDonald Trump on Wednesday called for the imprisonment of Brandon Johnson, Chicago's mayor, and JB Pritzker, the Illinois governor, accusing them of failing to protect US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officers.Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers!" Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday morning. Governor Pritzker also!" Continue reading...
Memphis lawmaker to go up against Steve Cohen, joining wave of younger candidates calling for generational changeJustin Pearson, a Memphis state lawmaker who rose to prominence in 2023 as part of the Tennessee Three" gun control advocates, on Wednesday launched a primary challenge against Democratic congressman Steve Cohen, joining a wave of younger candidates calling for generational change in the party.For too long, our district has been told to keep going' with the same leadership and the same outcomes, even as Memphis's poverty rate at 22.6% is nearly double the rate for all Tennesseans," Pearson, 30, said in a statement, announcing his candidacy. We can't afford more of the same." Continue reading...
Every year players are pushed to their limits in a sport that chases the sun. But the number of retirements, withdrawals and injuries this season has been shockingJannik Sinner had tried everything but after baking for two and a half hours inside the suffocating sauna of Shanghai's stadium court, he was finished. Even around midnight, the humidity was still so oppressive that Sinner had spent the final 20 minutes of his third-round match against Tallon Griekspoor cramping, panting and in considerable pain. Eventually, he could not even walk properly. Midway through the final set, the 24-year-old hobbled slowly to his chair using his racket as a crutch and terminated the match.Those scenes were representative of the Shanghai Masters so far as, throughout the past week, so many players have wilted in brutal conditions. Terence Atmane and Hamad Medjedovic both retired after struggling with the heat. Francisco Comesana appeared close to collapsing and he had to be helped mid-match by his opponent Lorenzo Musetti. Despite the benefit of competing at night, Novak Djokovic repeatedly vomited in two consecutive matches and there were times in his fourth round win over Jaume Munar where he too looked as if he had reached his limit. Continue reading...
For NWSL and WNBA players' unions, collective actions have been key to their successes in wholly different sportsAs the WNBA's biggest stars warmed up for the All-Star Game on 19 July, the message came through loud and clear. All wore shirts reading Pay Us What You Owe Us," with the Women's National Basketball Players' Association (WNBPA) logo prominently displayed below. The visual immediately went viral, drawing attention to the union's ongoing negotiations with the league for a new collective bargaining agreement.Had the messaging started and ended with those shirts, it would have been notable, but limited in scope. Instead, a continuing campaign became just one example of the ways the two most prominent women's players' unions in the US have worked together to advance their causes. Continue reading...
The Blair-Trump fantasy for postwar Gaza shows the former PM still thinks that free enterprise can solve all the world's illsThere are two types of politician," Tony Blair observed in 2012. Reality creators and reality managers." While postwar politics was generally a matter of steady management, he claimed, the emerging order called for more creativity, both in the economy and foreign policy". Only a particular type of visionary leader was fit for the task.More than a decade later, Blair has now joined forces with the pre-eminent reality-creator, Donald Trump, to draft a hallucinatory 20-point plan for Gaza. It aims to turn the devastated Strip into what seems to resemble a colonial protectorate: cleansed of armed conflict, buzzing with development projects and a special economic zone" through which foreign capital can flow, and overseen by an international board of peace" with Trump himself as chair. Continue reading...
Residents in Michigan city on edge as threats against their community rise, and some are reassessing their support for TrumpAmirah Sharhan recalls it being a regular fall afternoon in October 2024.The Yemeni American, who had been living in the Dearborn and Detroit area for four years, was preparing dinner while her mother took Amirah's seven-year-old daughter, Saida, to a nearby playground to play with her friends. Continue reading...
Drew Scanlon, a resident of San Francisco, said the case was close to him as a friend and his mother are affectedThe man whose befuddled facial expression on a recorded video live stream in 2013 birthed what the internet collectively dubbed the Blinking White Guy meme has managed to convert his online notoriety into more than $300,000 for multiple sclerosis research, he said in a new interview.Drew Scanlon explained to ABC News that donating to the US's National Multiple Sclerosis Society is important to him because a friend of his and her mother both have the chronic, autoimmune disease that attacks people's central nervous systems. Continue reading...
Exclusive: employees would be reimbursed for fees paid to childcare facilities under plans initiated by Ilhan OmarCongressional Democrats are introducing a bill that would provide childcare relief to federal workers affected by the shutdown of the federal government, as it drags on through a second week.Parents would be reimbursed for fees paid to childcare facilities during the shutdown under plans initiated by Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. Continue reading...
When Weiss was named editor-in-chief, it was the latest turn in the network's confounding departure from its rootsIf you're old enough to have admired CBS in its heyday, watching its decline has been painful.Decades ago, it was dubbed the Tiffany Network - home of the great journalist Walter Cronkite (the most trusted man in America"), and innovator of the top-flight magazine program, 60 Minutes. Continue reading...
by Robert Mackey (now); Shrai Popat, Lucy Campbell an on (#70JRZ)
This liveblog is now closed. You can find more of our politics coverage hereBefore we turn our attention to Capitol Hill, we're also keeping an eye on Illinois today. On Monday, a federal judge did not immediately block the president's move to deploy national guard troops, including hundreds from Texas, to Chicago.Instead, the judge set a hearing for Thursday, leaving room for the military to make their way to the windy city as soon as today. Continue reading...
CEO Elon Musk touts SUV and sedan, with starting prices of $39,990 and $36,990, as way to tap wider swath of buyersTesla rolled out affordable" versions of its best-selling Model Y SUV and its Model 3 sedan, but the starting prices of US$39,990 and US$36,990 were too high, some said, to attract a new class of buyers to the electric vehicle brand.CEO Elon Musk has touted the car as a way to tap a wider swath of buyers, saying last year that a price below $30,000, after incentives, was the key. Continue reading...
Military presence comes after US district judge declined to immediately block troops from entering city - key US politics stories from 7 October at a glanceTexas national guard troops have arrived in the Chicago area, marking an escalation of Donald Trump's crackdown on the city.Chicago has already seen a ramping up of immigration enforcement in the past few weeks, as well as increasingly violent altercations in the suburb of Broadview, where law enforcement has been filmed deploying teargas and pepper gas against protesters. Continue reading...
New York City's mayoral candidate sits in with Brad Lander after commemorating Israeli and Palestinian victimsThe New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday evening attended a vigil in Manhattan convened by Israelis for Peace, an anti-occupation group of Israelis in New York who have rallied weekly since 2023 to call for a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages.Sitting in Union Square alongside New York City comptroller Brad Lander, his one-time rival for the Democratic nomination who has been campaigning for him, Mamdani listened as speakers at the event - which marked the two-year anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel - called for an end to the killing and to Israel's occupation, and for equal rights for Palestinians. Continue reading...
President has threatened to invoke 19th-century law as a means to control mobilization of national guard troopsDonald Trump has once again threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a law authorizing the president to deploy military forces on US soil, as a means to control the mobilization of the national guard as courts and governors in Democratic-led cities continue to stymie his attempts.But can he do that, and what does it mean? Here's what to know about the centuries-old law. Continue reading...
Oregon governor, Tina Kotek, accuses Ice of antagonizing protesters with teargas and by inviting influencers to filmKristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, toured the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) facility in Portland, Oregon, on Tuesday, getting a first-hand look at a small protest outside, which is entirely unlike the fiery siege" Donald Trump claims is taking place there.Noem, whose department has produced increasingly belligerent social media content of federal officers conducting immigration raids and firing teargas at protesters, was accompanied by a trio of conservative influencers who were whisked from the airport to the facility in her motorcade. Continue reading...
Money will aid with licensing fees and ensure artist's legacy continues to support' medium that made him popularThirty paintings created by the bushy-haired, soft-spoken Bob Ross will soon be up for auction to defray the costs of programming for small and rural public television stations suffering under cuts in federal funding.Ross, a public television stalwart in the 1980s and 90s, dedicated his life to making art accessible to everyone", said Joan Kowalski, president of Bob Ross Inc. This auction ensures his legacy continues to support the very medium that brought his joy and creativity into American homes for decades." Continue reading...
OMB argues an amendment to a 2019 act would not guarantee furloughed workers post-shutdown payThe White House's office of management and budget (OMB) is arguing that federal workers who are furloughed amid the ongoing government shutdown are not entitled to back pay.In a draft memo first obtained by Axios, OMB argued that an amendment to the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act (GEFTA) of 2019 would not guarantee furloughed workers back pay and that said funds must be set aside by Congress. Continue reading...
The attorney general clashed with Democrats over Trump, Epstein, and the weaponization' of the justice departmentIn an often tense hearing before the Senate judiciary committee on Tuesday, the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, stood accused by Democrats of weaponizing the US Department of Justice, fundamentally transforming" the department, and leaving an enormous stain on American history" that it will take decades to recover [from]".Bondi criticized Democratic lawmakers in personal terms as she faced questions over the department's enforcement efforts in Democratic-led cities, her mishandling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, and inquiries into Donald Trump's political adversaries. Here are the key takeaways from Bondi's appearance. Continue reading...
Former top doctors condemn health secretary's vaccine, research policies, saying ideology replaced science at HHSSix former US surgeons general - the top medical posting in Washington - warned in an opinion column published on Tuesday that policy changes enacted by the health and human services (HHS) secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, are endangering the health of the nation".The surgeons general - Jerome Adams, Richard Carmona, Joycelyn Elders, Vivek Murthy, Antonia Novello and David Satcher - who served under both Republican and Democrat administrations, identified changes in vaccine policy, medical research funding, a shift in priorities from rationality to ideology, plunging morale, and changes to staffing as areas of concern. Continue reading...
Deadly tornado upgraded to EF-5, first in US to get that classification in years, and at its largest was 1.05 miles wideA deadly tornado that tore across North Dakota this summer has been upgraded to an EF-5, the strongest kind of tornado and the first one to attain that classification on US soil in 12 years.The tornado on 20 June in Enderlin caused significant damage across the region and killed three people. The tornado touched down on the ground for just over 12 miles (19km), and at its largest, was 1.05 miles wide (1.69km). Continue reading...
Abigail Spanberger faces criticism for her support of fellow Democrat who speculated about Republican lawmaker getting two bullets to the head'A series of violent" texts sent by a Democrat seeking to become Virginia's attorney general has shaken up the state's governor's race, with Republican candidate Winsome Earle-Sears seizing on the controversy to try to reverse her opponent's double-digit polling lead.Earle-Sears has released new campaign advertisements condemning Democratic former congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, her opponenent in the governor's race, for continuing to support Jay Jones, whose private texts three years ago speculated about a senior state Republican getting two bullets to the head" and breeding little fascists". Continue reading...
US president offers few concessions on tariffs after durable alliance fractured by trade war and annexation threatsDonald Trump said there is mutual love" but natural conflict" between the US and Canada as he hailed progress towards a trade deal but offered few concrete concessions on steep US tariffs during a visit by the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney.Carney's second visit to the US comes as one of the world's most durable and amicable alliances has been fractured by Trump's trade war and annexation threats. Among the topics up for discussion are trade and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which is critical to Canada's economy and is up for review next year. Continue reading...
Brian K Williams, who worked for Karen Bass, admitted he falsely told police he received call about bomb in city hallA former member of Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass's senior staff was sentenced on Monday to a year of probation for calling in a fake bomb threat to city hall while attending a virtual meeting in 2024.During his sentencing hearing in US district court, Brian K Williams admitted that he falsely told police in October 2024 that he had received a call on his city-issued cellphone from an unknown man who said he had placed a bomb in city hall, the Los Angeles Times reported. Williams was a longtime law enforcement oversight official who served as Bass's deputy mayor of public safety. Continue reading...
Far-right influencer's comments on X came after president evidently left door open to pardoning the Epstein associateA noncommittal response from Donald Trump over whether he would pardon the convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell provoked a response from the president's staunch ally and far-right influencer Laura Loomer.Do not do it," Loomer wrote on X, tagging Trump, JD Vance and Pam Bondi, the US attorney general. I repeat. Do not do it. There will be no coming back from that. I repeat again. For the love of God. Do Not Do It." Continue reading...
Officers say woman was in chase ending in ramming border patrol vehicle during Trump's immigration crackdownThe attorney for a woman who was shot by federal agents in Chicago over the weekend after she allegedly rammed a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) vehicle has claimed that body-camera footage captures one of the officers saying: Do something, bitch," before opening fire, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.The shooting occurred on Saturday morning in Chicago's Brighton Park neighborhood, as immigration agents, at the behest of the second Trump administration, have been scouring Illinois's largest city for people to deport. Continue reading...
To the bewilderment of researchers like me, the historical racial fertility gap has shrunk. Conventional explanations for this come up shortIn recent years, the United States' total fertility rate - the average number of children a woman will have over her childbearing years - has hovered at historic lows. The ongoing decline has bolstered fears about the nation's ability to manage its vast economy - and maintain its ever-so fragile position as a global superpower. While America's fertility dip isn't unique - after all, about half of countries worldwide have fertility rates well below replacement levels (the minimum fertility amount needed to sustain a population) - its situation is becoming uniquely intricate, maybe even irreversible. To understand why, you need only look at the case of America's Black population.Historically, Black and other non-white women have had higher fertility rates than white women, but in recent years, to the bewilderment of researchers like me, these gaps have rapidly shrunk due primarily to Black people foregoing children. In a poll conducted in March by the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School, only 37% of Black respondents said that having kids was important, compared with 51% of white people and 46% of Hispanics. Why? One contentious explanation is that Black people may be both consciously and unconsciously deciding not to have children over fears about increasing racism in America.Jerel Ezell is an epidemiologist and visiting professor at the University of Chicago Medical Center. He studies the cultural and racial aspects of health Continue reading...
Nearly 28,000 people relied on Glenn Medical center for its services, but now they will have to travel more than 30 miles for careFor the better part of a century, Glenn Medical center dealt with all kinds of injuries, ailments and emergencies in the far northern reaches of California's Sacramento valley - heart attacks, car collisions and even plane crashes.The only hospital in this agricultural county, not far from the rice fields and almond orchards, many of the area's 28,000 residents have a story about how the hospital saved them, or a loved one, said Lauren Still, the medical center's chief administrative officer. Continue reading...
Medical helicopter crashed on a Highway 50 in Sacramento, critically injuring three people aboardA medical helicopter crashed on a highway in Sacramento, critically injuring three people aboard - including a woman who was pinned underneath and was rescued with the help of motorists who lifted part of the aircraft, according to officials.The helicopter had taken a patient to a hospital and was on the way back to the place it had been dispatched from when it experienced an in-air emergency" just after 7pm local time on Monday, said Justin Sylvia, a spokesperson for the Sacramento fire department. He said it looked like the helicopter crashed upside-down and left a large debris field. Continue reading...
Trump's personal desire to play the part of peacemaker should not be dismissed - it should be encouragedTwo years after the horrors of 7 October, few names evoke the tragedy more than Kfar Aza, a small, bucolic kibbutz less than two miles from Gaza that came under brutal attack that day.For years, I visited Kfar Aza with groups of policymakers and American guests on trips designed to help them understand what life on the border meant and what a path toward conflict resolution might entail.Jeremy Ben-Ami is president of J Street, the pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy advocacy organization. Continue reading...
This year was the year of Partiful, a purple mess that won't even let me be passive-aggressive without chastising meStop inviting me to your parties. I think I have not only aged out of going to some non-stop rager hosted by you, specifically for your benefit, but I also can't keep track of when your unnecessary gatherings even occur. You might think I sound incredibly unfun, but actually, I'm the life of the party. It's just that at my age, all the life has been sucked out. Tom's 32nd BDay Bash!!!" at Squirrel Lodge is 2 November, but then Shelly's Pre-Turkey Day Shindig?" is two days later. You actually think I'm going to both of those?Besides, I can't recall what I ate for breakfast, let alone what day your party is. Unfortunately, technology has a solution to my memory problem. Continue reading...
The deportation hub seemed on the point of closure but has been revived as a black site ... people are being disappeared'For two weeks at the end of August Alligator Alcatraz", the harsh immigration jail in the Florida Everglades notorious for allegations of inhumane treatment and due process violations, looked like it was done.A district court judge ruled that its hasty construction in the fragile wetlands breached federal environmental laws, and state officials appeared to be complying with her closure order by shipping out hundreds of detainees and winding down operations. Continue reading...
The administration is trying to make nine universities an offer they seemingly cannot refuseSticks are bad, but sometimes corruption through carrots is worse. The Trump administration - after having brutally cut federal funding earlier this year - is now trying to make nine universities an offer that they seemingly cannot refuse. In exchange for preferential treatment in funding and bonuses like invitations to White House events" - apparently the same logic as a fancy credit card that promises you backstage access at concerts - the universities are expected to sign a compact" with the government. All nine institutions must reject this proposal: it is a thinly veiled attack on academic freedom; it is a test case for whether Trumpists can get away with demanding loyalty oaths; it exceeds the president's powers to begin with; and it is bound to achieve the opposite of its stated goal of academic excellence in higher education" (as opposed to what kind of excellence in education, one is tempted to ask).Some features of the compact might look reasonable at first sight. No one is against addressing ever-rising tuition fees (never mind that the Republican party at the same time is capping federal loan programs and shoveling money to high-cost private lenders). And some might welcome the Stephen Miller-lite version of xenophobia: capping the number of foreign students at 15% and forcing foreigners to take American civics" (it is unclear who would decide the content of lessons about how great our country is").Jan-Werner Muller is a Guardian US columnist and a professor of politics at Princeton University Continue reading...
The Monaco striker speaks on a Copa America experience that left him with frustration but also hunger' to achieve more with the USMNTThe road to the AS Monaco training center isn't an easy, linear drive from the coast. You're reeled in to higher ground on winding roads with tight turns. They keep your speed in check before you reach the beautiful facility, tucked into a mountain in the French commune of La Turbie, boasting a breathtaking view of the Mediterranean.The club officially unveiled this facility in September 2022. A year later, they bought striker Folarin Balogun from Arsenal for 40m ($44m). That fee, including add-ons, is tied for the third-highest in club history and Monaco's biggest since the pandemic by far. It carried the expectation that Balogun - who bagged 22 goals in 39 games in the previous season on loan at Reims - would resume his rise in Ligue 1 and elevate his new team in the Champions League. After a modest eight goals and seven assists in 32 games in his first season for Monaco, the pressure mounted. Continue reading...
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