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After successes in Michigan, Minnesota and Hawaii, local organizers urge voters to keep pressure on Biden for ceasefireThe movement among Democrats to cast a Gaza protest vote against President Joe Biden in the primary election moves to Washington state on Tuesday.Organizers with Vote Uncommitted WA have been working for two weeks to ramp up outreach to voters via phone, text, online and in-person connections to explain how they can use their primary ballots to check uncommitted delegates" to send a message to Biden in support of a permanent ceasefire. Continue reading...

I stupidly said yes to a job I should have run a mile from. This must stopI'm working on something right now that involves reading a book I don't understand. It's on a topic so abstract and vast that I've cried several times trying to understand the first few chapters. The thing is, when I was offered this job, I knew I was temperamentally unsuited and too stupid for it. The conventional test for whether to agree to some future task is: would I want to do it if it were happening today? My answer would have been: Absolutely not - are you crazy?" So why didn't I say no?Memoirist Leslie Jamison recently wrote in the New York Times about her Notebook of Noes", where she lists everything she turns down (speaking gigs, magazine commissions) and what that allows her to say yes to (more time with her daughter, her partner, her writing). It was inspiring: I cannot stress how little I am in demand, but even so, there are things I should decline (work I'm too dim for) to say yes to others (spying on garden bird drama). Continue reading...

When I got back on the apps, I made up my mind to embrace midlife, menopause and online dating. So much for optimismI need an online dating intervention. Or a miracle.It's 2am and I'm wide awake - weary, wired and spun out.Shanti L Nelson is a writer and photographer Continue reading...

Republican congresswoman, who has spoken about surviving rape, accused ABC host of trying to shame her about her pastRepublican South Carolina congresswoman Nancy Mace says she is unbothered by her choice to support Donald Trump's run for a second presidency despite previously arguing that he should not hold office again because his supporters attacked the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.I listened to my voters in South Carolina, and they've moved beyond January 6th," Mace said Sunday on ABC News's This Week, alluding to how the former US president dominated the recent presidential preference primary in that state as well as others. Voters held him accountable through our Republican primaries this year. He's won overwhelmingly." Continue reading...

Claremont Institute officials closely involved with Society for American Civic Renewal, which experts say is rooted in Christian nationalismThe president of the rightwing Claremont Institute and another senior Claremont official are both closely involved with the shadowy Society for American Civic Renewal (SACR), an exclusive, men-only fraternal order which aims to replace the US government with an authoritarian aligned regime", and which experts say is rooted in extreme Christian nationalism and religious autocracy.The revelations emerge from documents gathered in public records requests, including emails between several senior members of SACR: Claremont president Ryan P Williams; its director of state coalitions and Boise State University professor Scott Yenor; and others including former soap manufacturer and would-be warlord" Charles Haywood. Continue reading...

Boston are beating opponents by near record margins so far this campaign. But there are signs they may crack again when the pressure is really onWhen they crushed the Golden State Warriors 140-88 at the start of this month, the Boston Celtics simultaneously exorcised some of the ghosts of the 2022 NBA finals and added further lustre to what is on course to be a historically high-achieving regular-season campaign.Thanks to 29 points from Jaylen Brown and 27 from Jayson Tatum on his 26th birthday, it was the third-highest margin of victory in Celtics history and their third 50-point win of the season - an NBA record. It was also their 11th win in a row, a run during which they had demolished their opponents by an average of 22 points, a margin of victory unmatched in NBA history over a single-season winning run of 10 or more games. Continue reading...

Aerospace group chief executive urges UK and Europe to pool efforts and merge fighter jet programmesEurope is unprepared for war with Russia or the risk that Donald Trump could withdraw the US from Nato and needs to ramp up spending on defence equipment, the boss of Airbus has said.Guillaume Faury, the chief executive of Europe's biggest aerospace and defence company, said it was a defining moment" for the continent's defence industry, after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 brought war to western Europe's borders. Continue reading...

Christopher Nolan's blockbuster biopic Oppenheimer has triumphed at this year's Oscars, taking home seven awards including best picture, best actor and best director. The atomic bomb drama lost its box office battle with Barbie during last summer's Barbenheimer showdown, but has now won the awards war. Greta Gerwig's Mattel comedy won just one Oscar, for best original song

The annual Oscars broadcast kicked off several minutes behind schedule after hundreds of protesters obstructed the red carpet and entrance to the Dolby Theatre, preventing many of Hollywood's biggest stars from getting to the show on time. Ahead of and during the red carpet, pro-Palestinian protesters shouted at fans and stars alike: Ceasefire now! Free Palestine."

US Forest Service reports two other skiers with serious injuries after hitting rocks and numerous other falls throughout the dayThe steep bowl at Tuckerman Ravine on New Hampshire's Mount Washington has long made it a favorite spot for expert skiers and snowboarders who are seeking adventure beyond the comparative safety of the state's ski areas.But hard and icy conditions on Saturday turned the bowl deadly. Continue reading...

From Kevin De Bruyne's magic to Kai Havertz's tumble, we hand out honors (and dishonors) from the top-flight weekendWelp, Manchester City have taken notes from the NBA and figured out how to set screens on set pieces. Continue reading...

Jaylen Johnson charged with manslaughter after shooting death of his mother at their home's back door in St Louis suburbA 25-year-old Missouri man says he mistook his mother for an intruder before shooting her to death at their home's back door.Prosecutors have charged Jaylen Johnson with manslaughter and armed criminal action in connection with the shooting death on Thursday of his mother, Monica McNichols-Johnson.The Associated Press contributed reporting Continue reading...

Comments come amid voters' views on president's age continue to be a growing liability for his re-election campaignTop Democrats came to Joe Biden's defense on Sunday, emphasizing the president's viability for re-election amid his colleagues' worries that voters see him as too old - concerns compounded by Donald Trump's lead over him in recent polls.On ABC This Week, host George Stephanopoulos pointedly asked Biden's transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg: How can an 81-year-old incumbent be the candidate of change? It's so critical in presidential elections." Continue reading...

Republican denied hiding fact that the abuse she referred to in her State of the Union rebuttal had actually occurred during Bush eraIn her first interview since delivering her widely ridiculed rebuttal to Joe Biden's State of the Union speech, Republican senator Katie Britt refused to apologize for invoking a story about child rape that she implied resulted from the president's handling of the ongoing crisis at the southern US border - even though the abuse occurred years earlier in Mexico while her party controlled the White House.Britt, 42, appeared on Fox News Sunday and denied hiding the fact that the rape and sex trafficking case to which she referred had actually occurred during the presidency of George W Bush. She also made it a point to criticize what she called the liberal media" for how they have covered her rebuttal to Biden's speech on Thursday, which earned being parodied on the latest episode of Saturday Night Live. Continue reading...

Move follows Alabama's recent killing of death row inmate Kenneth Smith using previously untested methodThree of the largest manufacturers of medical-grade nitrogen gas in the US have barred their products from being used in executions, following Alabama's recent killing of the death row inmate Kenneth Smith using a previously untested method known as nitrogen hypoxia.The three companies have confirmed to the Guardian that they have put in place mechanisms that will prevent their nitrogen cylinders falling into the hands of departments of correction in death penalty states. The move by the trio marks the first signs of corporate action to stop medical nitrogen, which is designed to preserve life, being used for the exact opposite - killing people. Continue reading...

About 400 more jobs at risk as cosmetics retailer struggles to pay suppliers in Australia after UK parent's collapseThe Body Shop has filed for bankruptcy in the US and Canada and is struggling to pay suppliers in Australia as the group's most profitable overseas businesses struggle with cash shortages after its UK parent's collapse last month.The US arm of the ethical cosmetics group has ceased trading at its 50 outlets. On Saturday, it filed for Chapter 7 insolvency, under which assets are sold off to clear debts, putting about 400 jobs at risk including those in a distribution centre that still holds millions of dollars-worth of stock. Continue reading...

Trump, meanwhile, blasted Biden's immigration policies and blamed president for Riley's death at dueling Georgia rallyJoe Biden said Saturday that he regretted using the term illegal" during his State of the Union address to describe the suspected killer of University of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.Meanwhile, the Democratic president's all-but-certain 2024 Republican rival, Donald Trump, blasted Biden's immigration policies and blamed them for Riley's death while at a rally attended by her family and friends. Continue reading...

Biden took the State of the Union to the battleground state that was critical to his 2020 win ahead of Tuesday's primaryThe question isn't whether Democrats in Georgia will vote for President Joe Biden, either on Tuesday or in November. It's how many.Biden swung through Georgia on Saturday to collect the endorsements of political action committees representing Asian, Black and Latino voters, another stop on the march to the Democratic nomination. Continue reading...

Fury at the New York Times followed frustration at the justice system. Critics say the president's supporters are aiming at the wrong targetsWhen an opinion poll in the New York Times found that a majority of Joe Biden's voters believe he is too old to be an effective US president, the call to action was swift. But it was not aimed at Joe Biden.Amplifying flawed presidential polls, refusing to report on [Donald] Trump's cognitive issues, the NYT is biased for Trump," was a sample response on social media. If you have a subscription to NYT, cancel it." Continue reading...

Trader Joe's and SpaceX are among businesses challenging the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations BoardUpset by the surge in union drives, several of the best-known corporations in the US are seeking to cripple the country's top labor watchdog, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), by having it declared unconstitutional. Some labor experts warn that if those efforts succeed, US labor relations might return to the law of the jungle".In recent weeks, Elon Musk's SpaceX as well as Amazon, Starbucks and Trader Joe's have filed legal papers that advance novel arguments aimed at hobbling and perhaps shutting down the NLRB - the federal agency that enforces labor rights and oversees unionization efforts. Those companies are eager to thwart the NLRB after it accused Amazon, Starbucks and Trader Joe's of breaking the law in battling against unionization and accused SpaceX of illegally firing eight workers for criticizing Musk. Continue reading...

Tucker Carlson is among those railing against attempts to investigate Zyn's health effects. I thought I'd try it - never againIt began when Chuck Schumer, the Democratic senator, issued a call for Zyn to be regulated.The nicotine-flavored pouches had become something of a favorite among rightwing influencers and pundits, and backers including Tucker Carlson and others have variously claimed that Zyn can increase testosterone and turn a user into an unstoppable force". Continue reading...

New film First We Bombed New Mexico sheds light on effects of Oppenheimer's nuclear project and locals' battle for justiceCongresswoman Teresa Leger Fernandez watched Oppenheimer - a top contender at Sunday's Academy Awards and Christopher Nolan's treatment on the physicist who guided testing of the first atomic bomb at Los Alamos, New Mexico - months ago.And soon after the scene where Cillian Murphy, as J Robert Oppenheimer, peered through safety goggles in a fortified shed at the huge mushroom cloud, the New Mexico Democrat realized the untold story" lay on the cutting room floor. Continue reading...

The latest flop to make the papers was based, loosely, on Roald Dahl's story about Willy Wonka and his chocolate factoryThere is no joy quite so pure, quite so grand, as the joy that comes from picking over pictures of a failed immersive experience". Even typing the words makes me slightly delighted. In the past I have enjoyed reports from various British winter wonderlands" where open-hearted families bought tickets for what promised to be a magical tour of Santa's grotto but, upon entry, was revealed in fact to be a nightmare made of forks and cotton wool. A cardboard cutout of a reindeer would appear to be bleeding from the eyes, a child would be lightly maimed by a fallen star made of rust, that kind of thing - festive, fun and full of spirit. 35.The success of these Christmas experiences was so great that the teams behind them needed to work out a way to spread the joy all year round. The latest immersive experience to make the papers was based, loosely, on Roald Dahl's story about Willy Wonka and his chocolate factory. Some might say, perhaps, that those buying tickets to a Willy Wonka experience might have cause to expect, or even be seeking out, a day of workplace accidents, child death and small beleaguered staff trafficked by a maniac but, nonetheless, visitors to Willy's Chocolate Experience" in Glasgow were so angry they called the police. They called the police! Continue reading...

In 2011, I launched a campaign called Action for Happiness. A week before the World Happiness summit, the question is: why can't we all be more content?What kind of society do we want? The most obvious answer is simple: we want people to be happy. We want our children to be as happy as possible, so why not everyone else? The goal should be a world where people enjoy their lives, and feel satisfied and fulfilled.This noble idea was born in the 18th-century Enlightenment. It was probably the most important idea of the modern age. Yet somehow it is seldom talked of today in debates about our future. Some people say it is too ambitious; others say it is not ambitious enough. It is neither. We simply want to make people as happy as possible. And, especially, we want to reduce misery. Continue reading...

Jonathan Katz accuses Britt of being dishonest' in State of the Union rebuttal with story about Karla Jacinto RomeroDoubts have been cast on the accuracy of a story about horrific child sex abuse told by the Republican senator Katie Britt in her widely ridiculed speech delivered in rebuttal to President Joe Biden's State of the Union address.The journalist and author Jonathan Katz has accused Britt of being fundamentally dishonest" for invoking the case of a woman who had been sex-trafficked at age 12 and raped multiple times to illustrate the supposed failure of the Biden administration's border control policies. Continue reading...

United flight 821 from San Francisco to Mexico City landed at Los Angeles international airport after crew reported hydraulics issueUnited Airlines' bad week for safety issues continued on Friday afternoon when a plane was forced to make an emergency diversion due to an issue with its hydraulic system.United flight 821 from San Francisco to Mexico City made an emergency landing at Los Angeles international airport after the crew reported a hydraulics issue, the Federal Aviation Authority said. Continue reading...

Karen Casbohm and Loreen Bea Feralo were arrested after they allegedly used the body of deceased housemate to access cashIn a case that bears more than a passing resemblance to the plot of the 1989 film Weekend at Bernie's, two Ohio women have been accused of driving a dead man's body to a bank to withdraw money from his account.Karen Casbohm, 63, and Loreen Bea Feralo, 55, were charged Tuesday in Ashtabula with, among other things, gross abuse of a corpse. Police said they received a call Monday that two anonymous women had dropped off a body at a hospital. Later one of the women contacted the hospital - the Ashtabula county medical centre - with information on the deceased, identified as Douglas Layman, 80, of Ashtabula. Continue reading...

Having a good cry is nothing to be ashamed of, as Jason Kelce showed when he made his tear-stained retirement announcementIt's not often that you see two pirate-bearded, beer-chugging bruisers hugging it out and having a good old cry. Yet that was the spectacle last week when Philadelphia Eagles stalwart Jason Kelce announced his retirement from the NFL. In a tear-streaked press conference, the American football star spoke movingly about his relationship with his younger brother, Kansas City Chiefs' Travis, Taylor Swift's boyfriend, who had been busy sobbing in the front row.How heartwarming and healthy. It's high time that male emotion was normalised. Mine was perhaps the last generation to be taught that boys don't cry. Sure, you were allowed the odd meltdown while still in short trousers but, once your age hit double figures, it was time to stiffen that upper lip. Toughen up. Don't be a cry baby. Grown-up male tears were the preserve of disgraced public figures fishing for sympathy and other attention seekers. The only time a real man's eyes watered was while tucking into a vindaloo. Another pint of Kingfisher please, waiter, we've got a lively one here. Continue reading...

Party officials in Catoosa county required would-be commissioners to answer a series of ideological questionsTaxes. Vaccinations. Chickens.Republican party leaders in Catoosa county, in the north-west corner of Georgia, ran prospective GOP candidates through a battery of ideological questions, permitting some to run in the party primary while denying others. Continue reading...

Olaf Scholz's endless dithering over Ukraine is playing into Putin's handsNational stereotypes are unfair, insulting - and strangely reassuring. It's somehow good to know in an unpredictable, fast-changing world that Italians may be relied upon to be melodramatic, the French rude, the Americans loud and the English drunk. When nations act out of character, and refuse to conform to type, it feels a little disconcerting.This seems to be what's happening in Germany today as Europe looks on, perplexed. What has become of that hackneyed Teutonic efficiency, decisiveness, reliability and steely-eyed determination? The past victors of countless poolside deckchair skirmishes now flirt with chaos in ways that make Westeros look wellordered. Continue reading...

We won't fear the rise of the robots when we realise they're just another tool to take the tedium out of our livesThe dystopian novels of the last century were mostly filled with terrifying visions of the rise of technology - a genre of which we are still to tire. Charlie Brooker's hugely successful Black Mirror series in which technology kills, maims or subjects people to terrible fates will have a seventh incarnation this year.But just for balance, just for once, I'd like to see a dystopia in which humans of the 2020s are catapulted into a world equipped only with the technology of a few decades ago. The repetitive domestic chore. The mind-numbing assembly-line job. The tyranny of a thousand paper forms to fill out by hand, post and file. Continue reading...

Most Muslims outside of Gaza tell me their observances this year will be a time of mourning and griefAs Ramadan approaches, with its solemnity of spiritual abstention and fasting, and the anticipation of nightly feasting, I feel a stone in the pit of my belly.Or perhaps it's a boulder that is weighing me down with this dull, leaden dread, this unshakeable guilt and this feeling of deep inadequacy and shame. Continue reading...

Coinciding with multistate tour, 60-second ad shows president joking about age and stressing strongest economy in the world'Joe Biden's campaign kicked off a $30m TV and digital ad blitz in key swing states on Saturday with an ad in which the president directly addresses concerns about his age.Set to run for six weeks on stations including Black- and Hispanic-owned outlets, and released shortly after his fiery State of the Union address, the 60-second spot does not shy away from what many voters say is growing concern with the president's age. The ad, titled For You, opens with Biden in light-hearted form. Look, I'm not a young guy. That's no secret," the 81-year old president says. But I understand how to get things done for the American people." Continue reading...

WPATH is no model inthe search for evidence-based care of transgender childrenThe medical transitioning of children has become one of the most controversial and polarising issues of our time. For some, it is a medical scandal. For others, life-saving treatment.So, when hundreds of messages were leaked from an internal forum of doctors and mental health workers from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, it was bound to spark interest. WPATH describes itself as an interdisciplinary professional and educational organisation devoted to transgender health". Most significantly, it produces standards of care (SOC) which, it claims, articulate professional consensus" about how best to help people with gender dysphoria. Continue reading...

Yes, there's been a frightening rise in antisemitism in the UK, but that shouldn't be used as a pretext for the authoritarian banning of marchesOn my way to a recent march, I found myself feeling nervous. Sitting on the tube withmy placard, its painted slogan calling for the release of hostages as well as a ceasefire, I realised I wasavoiding people's eyes and that my heart was racing. When I got out of the underground and heard the drumsand the chanting, I wondered if I should havestayed home. As a Jew, was I safe?If I had taken advice from Robin Simcox, the government's commissioner for countering extremism, I would have stayed home. He stated last week that London turns into a no-go zone for Jews every weekend". He is following many others, such as the Telegraph's Allison Pearson, who said that Jews were too intimidated to venture into the heart of their own capital city", or Simon Schama, who said the marches were weekly public calls for their [Jewish] annihilation", or the Jewish Chronicle's Stephen Pollard, who also called London on Saturdays a no-go zone for Jews". Such comments really do stoke a sense of vulnerability.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...

Investigation by forest service into Smokehouse Creek fire says decayed Xcel Energy pole had broken off at ground level'The biggest wildfire in Texas state history, which killed two people and scorched more than 1m acres, was caused by a power line pole that had decayed at the base, an investigation has concluded.The finding comes from a Texas A&M forest service investigation into the Smokehouse Creek fire, which blazed through the state's Panhandle region and into neighbouring Oklahoma after breaking out near the small town of Stinnett on 26 February. Continue reading...

Last week the six biggest operators - Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft and ByteDance - were forced to toe the line on competition, advertising, interoperability and more. It was a gamechangerLast Wednesday was a landmark moment for the tech industry, or at any rate for that part of it that aspires to do business in the EU. It was the day when six of the biggest companies in the world had to start complying with the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) - the most sweeping law thus far aimed at regulating their activities in one of the world's biggest marketplaces.The act - which aims to promote fair competition and limit the market power of the largest tech companies (gatekeepers") - has been long in gestation, and was vigorously opposed by them from the outset. So the fact that it emerged from the Brussels lawmaking process with some of its teeth still intact is itself a small miracle. But what is even more delicious is to see these behemoths grudgingly announcing how they are going to comply with what they see as an infuriating infringement of their freedom to do whatever they please. Continue reading...

Celebrity plan to turn a much-loved retro cinema into a sports bar faces stiff opposition from thousands of angry movie goersIn central St Andrews, the New Picture House (NPH) independent cinema, with its 1930s facade and distinctive pointed roof towering above nearby restaurants and houses, has stood relatively unchanged for the past 94 years.Open every day of the week and boasting three screens, the category B listed building has showed blockbusters and independent films, as well as plays, community events and festivals, for the best part of a century. Continue reading...

University of Georgia filed complaint on behalf of news outlet and transparency research organization, saying queries unansweredA law clinic at the University of Georgia has sued the Atlanta Police Foundation, after the non-profit organization repeatedly ignored records requests from journalists and researchers about its role in backing the controversial police-training center opponents have dubbed Cop City.The complaint, filed on behalf of the digital news outlet Atlanta Community Press Collective and the Chicago-based digital transparency research organization Lucy Parsons Labs, details how numerous queries to the foundation under Georgia's Open Records Act have not been answered. Continue reading...

US president told supporters Hungary's premier was looking for dictatorshipJoe Biden has criticised his election rival Donald Trump for meeting Viktor Orban, saying the Hungarian premier was looking for dictatorship".Orban travelled to Florida on Friday to meet his good friend" Trump. Orban has frequently expressed hope for the Republican's return to power. Continue reading...

Watching what is happening in Gaza feels almost too painful to bear sometimes, but it is important that none of us look awayI want to state the following as clearly and unequivocally as possible: Israel, with the help of the US, is deliberating starving the population of Gaza to death. Continue reading...

British fighter offered an impressive display of clinical efficiency in Riyadh but these events should not happenThe sudden end was as shocking as it was predictable. Francis Ngannou, a very good heavyweight champion in the contrasting world of mixed martial arts, walked slowly and unsteadily towards Anthony Joshua. He had already been knocked down twice before in only his second bout as a professional boxer. Joshua, an Olympic gold medallist and a two-time former heavyweight champion of the world, stepped forward to close the show. He knocked out the reeling novice with a cold and ruthless finish.In the early hours of Saturday morning in Riyadh it was totally expected and yet still strangely alarming. Joshua had so much time he could plant his feet, take aim and unleash a ferocious overhand right that stuck Ngannou so forcefully on his temple that he began slipping into unconsciousness as he slumped to the canvas. Within seconds, he was stretched flat on his back. The referee, waving his left arm frantically to signal the fight was over in the second round, ran to his rescue. Continue reading...