US news | The Guardian

Collision occurred as canine ran out from behind another car, but autonomous vehicle could not stop in time to avoid contactA Waymo self-driving car killed a small dog in San Francisco while in “autonomous mode” last month, the latest in a string of incidents that have led city officials to protest a planned expansion of the company’s driverless taxi services.The 21 May collision occurred just before 11am on Toland Street in San Francisco as the car was in “autonomous mode” with a test driver in the front seat. A Waymo spokesperson said that an initial review showed that the system correctly identified the dog when it ran out from behind a parked car, but “was not able to avoid contact” due to how fast the canine was moving. The company said it was investigating the matter. Continue reading...

Former US vice president says was proud to stand by Trump but goes on to criticise attempts to overturn election result in Iowa campaign launchWe’re about an hour away from Mike Pence’s campaign launch in Iowa, and a CBS News reporter at the event noticed something telling in his campaign’s arrangements for the media.As noted below, the password for the wifi provided to journalists seems to be a reference to Pence’s refusal to go along with Trump’s demand that he block Congress’s certification of Joe Biden’s election win on January 6: Continue reading...

Pence says Trump ‘demanded I choose between him and the constitution’ and that someone like that ‘should never be president again’Mike Pence officially announced he is running for the Republican presidential nomination in a video posted early Wednesday and formally addressed a crowd of supporters in Ankeny, Iowa, on Wednesday afternoon.In his speech, the former Indiana governor chastised Donald Trump for his “reckless” actions on 6 January 2021, took swipes at Joe Biden and singled out “enemies of freedom” around the world, including a three-second frame of Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, and China’s president, Xi Jinping, in the video. Continue reading...

Tens of millions of people in the US were under air quality alerts on Wednesday, as smoke from Canadian wildfires drifted south, turning the sky a murky brown and saturating the air with harmful pollution. Hundreds of fires are burning in Canada, from the western provinces to Nova Scotia and Quebec in the east Continue reading...

New York City streets emptier than usual as smoke from Canada’s wildfires engulfs more than a dozen US statesIrania Sanchez, 53, was gasping for breath during her walk in the New York City borough of Queens on Wednesday morning. The air was thick and smelled of the smoke that had descended over the metropolis and a swath of the US.She was on her way to visit a friend who recently had surgery but then wanted to go on a walk with Sanchez. Continue reading...

Virginia representative calls for more gun safety policies after suspect was arrested for killing two people and wounding fiveA high school student and a relative were killed on Tuesday evening at a mass shooting at the young man’s graduation event in Richmond, Virginia, where five other people were shot and wounded.Gunfire rang out outside a downtown theater, where the graduation ceremony had just ended, causing hundreds of attendees to flee in panic, weep and clutch their children, authorities and witnesses said. Continue reading...

The prince’s claims about phone hacking will now be tested in court – at the start of what could be a long legal fightPrince Harry’s war with the tabloid press this week became a courtroom battle, with words as weapons. His antipathy can be traced to his mother’s death, which he blames on reckless journalists. As a child he was deeply affected by an aggressive, intrusive press. Newspapers reported with “surprising” detail how he broke his hand as a 14-year-old. Two years later, it was “Harry’s Cocaine Ecstasy and GHB Parties”. While remarking how stressful such stories were, in seven hours of testimony over two days, he remained calm. An invasive tabloid culture produced, he confessed, a “huge amount of paranoia”.The first British royal to be cross-examined in a court of law since the 19th century, the prince contends that journalists working for the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and People hacked his voicemails and illegally used private investigators to obtain stories about his private life. The 38-year-old says that he was a victim of phone-hacking “on an industrial scale”. The newspapers deny this, saying that they obtained the stories legitimately. Much of the prince’s evidence is circumstantial. Continue reading...

Congressman Adam Schiff condemns ‘acts of violence’ as punches thrown outside meeting about designating June as Pride monthDemocratic politicians across California condemned a volatile anti-gay protest outside a suburban Los Angeles school board meeting on Tuesday, as the school board heard public comment on whether to officially designate June as LGBTQ+ Pride month.Footage from a local television station showed crowds of people shoving, kicking and throwing punches outside a school district building in Glendale, California. Continue reading...

Most people would jump at the chance to see a West End musical. The prospect fills me with dreadI’m off to see Groundhog Day, the musical, at the Old Vic in London. It’s based on the 1993 film in which Bill Murray’s character relives the same day over and over. Although I’m sure it will be great, it involves one obvious drawback: having to leave the house. These days, I have less and less appreciation of how the outside world works. Having to interact with anyone or anything outside my normal daily routine leaves me with a feeling of cold dread.It turns out that I’m more than happy in my own little groundhog day. I wake up, work all day at my computer in my kitchen (the nearest working space to the kettle), probably pop to the supermarket at some point, maybe fit in some exercise, watch telly, go to bed, rinse and repeat. My life is a predictable triangle. Leaving the boundaries has become increasingly stressful. Continue reading...

Business Ready pilot edition to debut in 2024, replacing Doing Business ratings that were found to be influenced by political pressureNew methods and safeguards for assessing the business and investment climate in as many as 180 countries could give governments and citizens around the world “a common language for deciding where they’re going and how they get there”, according to spokespeople for the recently unveiled project.The World Bank announced last month that it was preparing to implement new Business Ready rankings after eliminating the predecessor Doing Business ratings in September 2021, citing internal reviews as well as an outside investigation which found senior leaders at the organization had exerted pressure on subordinates to manipulate data to favor China. Continue reading...

Instead of falling for fitness and diet fads, focus on the things that will bring you true health and happiness this summerAs summer weather begins, and bare arms and legs start to appear across the country, and people start to worry about their “beach body”, maybe falling for claims that a particular diet or workout can achieve wonders in just a few weeks. This is not only impossible – there is no diet or exercise that can transform your body so quickly – it’s unhealthy at its core. Doesn’t anyone who simply walks on to a beach have a beach body?The focus on aesthetics (can I take off my shirt? Can I wear a bikini to look a certain way?) distracts from the real purpose of our body and the functionality of fitness, exercise and nutrition (do I feel strong and healthy within my body, and can I do what I want to do with it?)Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh Continue reading...

The former vice-president has joined the Republican presidential field for 2024 but his White House experience may count for littleMike Pence enters the 2024 presidential race with a murky path to capturing the Republican nomination and a contentious relationship with his former boss and now primary opponent, Donald Trump.Pence formally launched his campaign on Wednesday with a video announcement, after the former vice-president spent months traveling to early voting states and speaking at Republican party events. Pence is scheduled to hold his first official campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa, on Wednesday afternoon. Continue reading...

Apple’s AI-powered upgrade will stop its phones changing ‘Aperol’ to ‘a peril’ – and end an innocent, hilarious blip in timeAnyone who has spent any time in the world of Instagram wellness will be familiar with the notion that gratitude can ward off the blues.It’s said that people who take the time to write down what they are grateful for – usually part of a practice called journaling – worry less and generally feel better about their lives. It’s not something I do often, but feeling inspired earlier I gave it a go on my iPhone, typing out on the Notes app: “Today I am grateful to live in a moment where ducking [sic] hell is still auto cucumber [sic] to something far more beautiful.”Coco Khan is commissioning editor for Guardian B2B and a writer. She is co-host of the politics podcast Pod Save the UK Continue reading...

Key players in the world of men’s golf have made a dramatic turnaround after spending 12 months attacking the new tourThen “I would ask any player that would consider leaving – have you ever had to apologise for being a member of the PGA Tour?” 12 June 2022 Continue reading...

Involvement of top prosecutor Jay Bratt in the Florida grand jury could suggest questions about Espionage Act violationsFederal prosecutors have subpoenaed multiple witnesses to testify before a previously unknown grand jury in Florida in the criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s handling of national security materials and obstruction of justice, according to people familiar with the matter.The new grand jury activity at the US district court in Miami marks the latest twist in the investigation that for months has involved a grand jury that had been taking evidence in the case in Washington but has been silent since the start of last month. Continue reading...

Susan Lorincz, who is white, charged with manslaughter in death of Ajike Owens, a Black mother of four, sheriff saysA Florida woman accused of fatally shooting her neighbor last week in the violent culmination of what the sheriff described as a 2.5-year feud was arrested late on Tuesday, the Marion county sheriff’s office said.Susan Louise Lorincz, 58, who is white, was arrested on charges of manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery and two counts of assault in the death of Ajike Owens, a Black mother of four, Sheriff Billy Woods said in a statement. Continue reading...

Hemsworth and Elizabeth Olsen are among the MCU stars – a group of people who once lived in mortal fear of the Marvel brass – to break rank and criticise their latest filmsIt is no secret that the tide has been slowly turning against the MCU. Critically, Marvel is in a slump, receiving its three lowest-ever Rotten Tomatoes scores in the last three years. Its working practices, too, have come into question, with what feels like the entire VFX industry lining up to give it a kicking.But, no matter how bad things get, at least Marvel could console itself with the knowledge that one group of people would never dare to badmouth it. That’s right, its actors: a group of people who live in such mortal fear of the Marvel brass that they joke about literally being murdered by a sniper whenever an interviewer asks them anything even remotely spoilery. And yet, here we are. Three Marvel stars have recently broken rank to reveal that their movies sort of suck. Continue reading...

Former Microsoft executive and venture capitalist, 66, stands as rank outsider against Trump and DeSantisDoug Burgum, the Republican governor of North Dakota, has announced his candidacy for the party’s presidential nomination next year.Burgum made the announcement in the the Wall Street Journal newspaper. A campaign event is scheduled for later on Wednesday in the city of Fargo. Continue reading...

Republican who narrowly escaped harm at hands of January 6 rioters jumps into nomination raceMike Pence, who as Donald Trump’s vice-president narrowly escaped harm at the hands of the January 6 rioters, launched his run for the Republican presidential nomination next year, pitting him against his former boss.Pence filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday afternoon and released his official campaign launch video early on Wednesday. His formal launch event was planned to take place in Des Moines, Iowa, on Wednesday – his 64th birthday. Continue reading...

Disrupter Greg Norman is not the only one attached to LIV who will surely soon discover their services are no longer requiredThe playing of a Presidents Cup, for so long the Ryder Cup’s poor relation, in Saudi Arabia now has to be on the table. The deal struck between LIV Golf and one-time rivals, the PGA and DP World Tours, is all about bang for buck.The Saudis will believe they have saved face by joining forces with golf’s establishment – there will be no more potentially embarrassing litigation – but their desperate bid to earn legitimacy via sport also means this deal has to work two ways. Continue reading...

Refugees are right to protest about a plan that forces them into unsuitable accommodation. It’s more cruelty by designSuitcases and bin bags full of simple possessions strewn across a central London street have become a powerful symbol of the government’s ramping up of the hostile environment against people seeking safety in Britain.Up to 40 people who had escaped war and atrocities in countries including Eritrea, Somalia, Iran and Iraq took to the streets last week after being given a hotel sleeping area of just 2 sq metres: four in a room with two bunk beds. Continue reading...

Hospital-based violence intervention programs could soon see funds provided by Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid programJosh Hatcher remembers the date: 11 April 2021. He was picking up a friend at a Bay Area Rapid Transit station in Oakland, California, and a ride-share car was holding up traffic. He and the driver got into an argument and both men got out of the car. Hatcher’s friend warned him that the driver might have a gun and that they should go. But as he moved to get back in the car, shots rang out. Five of them hit Hatcher – a father of three – in the back, close to his heart.When he woke up in the hospital, a frontline worker named Carlos met him there. Carlos, an Oakland native who shared common ground with Hatcher, was working with the Oakland non-profit Youth Alive. Programs like Youth Alive meet survivors of gunshot or stab wounds in the hospital, and fast – when the need is greatest. It’s at this moment that survivors are at their most vulnerable. They’re recovering from wounds, questioning their safety and facing a higher risk of re-injury and perpetuation of violence through retaliation. Continue reading...

New legislation will mandate paid leave, prohibit non-compete clauses and bar captive anti-union meetings, among other measuresMinnesota’s Democratic governor and legislature has enacted one of the most pro-worker packages of legislation that any US state has passed in decades which includes paid family and medical leave, prohibits non-compete clauses, bars employers from holding anti-union captive audience meetings, and strengthens protections for meatpacking workers and Amazon warehouse employees.Minnesota’s new legislation mandates paid sick days, allows teachers’ unions to bargain over educator-to-student ratios and creates a statewide council to improve conditions for nursing home workers. Continue reading...

US National Security Council says burst dam has probably caused ‘many deaths’ as fears grow for missing people. Plus, scientists trace the origins of masturbationGood morning.About 42,000 people are at risk from flooding on both sides of the Dnipro River after the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam, Ukrainian officials have said, with flood waters expected to peak on Wednesday.How are the relief efforts going? Relief workers on the Ukraine-controlled right bank of the river have reported having to operate under fire. “The biggest difficulty right now is not the water. It’s the Russians on the other side of the river who are shelling us now with artillery,” said Andrew Negrych, who was coordinating relief efforts yesterday for a US charity, Global Empowerment Mission.What has Volodymyr Zelenskiy said? The Ukrainian president has used his social media channels to issue another statement about the destruction of the dam, claiming that hundreds of thousands of people have been left without access to drinking water. He said: “Russian terrorists have once again proved that they are a threat to everything living. The destruction of one of the largest water reservoirs in Ukraine is absolutely deliberate.”What’s the biggest concern? Air-quality alerts are triggered by a number of factors, including the detection of fine-particle pollution – known as “PM 2.5” – which can irritate the lungs. “We have defenses in our upper airway to trap larger particles and prevent them from getting down into the lungs. These are sort of the right size to get past those defenses,” said Dr David Hill of the American Lung Association’s national board of directors. “When those particles get down into the respiratory space, they cause the body to have an inflammatory reaction to them.” Continue reading...

Ten years on, Nick Hopkins recalls how the Guardian defied the intelligence agencies to publish revelations of mass state surveillanceThe phone call came at an unfortunate moment.It was late May 2013, early evening, during a leaving drink for a colleague in a busy bar in London. At the time, I was defence and security editor, which made me the point person for contact with the UK’s intelligence agencies. Continue reading...

The one-time UFC title challenger has gone from helping children deal with trauma to a mouthpiece for Vladimir Putin’s regimeOn 23 May 2023, Jeff Monson – a veteran mixed martial arts fighter and former UFC title challenger – arrived at the US consulate in Istanbul and officially turned his back on the land of his birth.“I renounced my US citizenship because of the politics of this country,” Monson told Russian state-owned media agency TASS after handing over his American passport at the consulate. “All my thoughts and my future are connected only with Russia. Now I am no longer an American. I am only a Russian.” Continue reading...

In today’s newsletter: As Sunak attempts to broker mini deals for business and agreement on Ukraine, he’s also trying to secure a post-Brexit spot for Britain on the global stage

The prime minister arrives in Washington with no real leverage in Europe – and therefore no real leverage with Joe BidenThe Americans know how to make a prime minister feel special. It isn’t hard. Saying “you are special” or words to that effect, usually does the trick. It helps to say it in the White House, within earshot of the British press corps.Westminster hacks and Downing Street aides, most of whom are unhealthily obsessed with US politics, love a Washington summit for the same reason that Harry Potter fans queue to visit the Warner Bros studio in Watford. Standing on the stage where the magic happens is its own reward.Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Police say a graduate, 18, was one of the dead while a 19-year-old was arrested for second-degree murderSeven people were shot, two fatally, when gunfire rang out outside a downtown theater in Virginia where a high school graduation ceremony had just ended, causing hundreds of attendees to flee in panic, weep and clutch their children, authorities and witnesses said.A 19-year-old suspect tried to escape on foot but was arrested and would be charged with two counts of second-degree murder, interim Richmond police chief Rick Edwards, said during a news conference on Tuesday night at which he confirmed the two fatalities. Continue reading...

Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie announced his presidential run in a town hall at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics in Manchester, New Hampshire. Christie joins the primary as a rank outsider but promises a campaign with a singular focus: to take the fight to Donald Trump, who Christie said was 'obsessed with the mirror, who never admits a mistake, who never admits a fault and who always finds someone else and something else to blame for whatever goes wrong, but finds every reason to take credit for anything that goes right'.

Pugilistic politician joins Republican primary with singular focus – to take the fight to Donald TrumpThe former New Jersey governor Chris Christie announced his bid for for the Republican presidential nomination at a New Hampshire town hall.In an unconventionally contrite speech, Christie said: “I can’t guarantee you success in what I’m about to do. But I guarantee you that at the end of it. You will have no doubt in your mind, who I am and what I stand for and whether I deserve it.” Continue reading...

Michael Tisius, 42, received a lethal injection for killing Leon Egley and Jason Acton at the small Randolph county jail in 2000A man who shot and killed two rural Missouri jailers nearly 23 years ago during a failed attempt to help an inmate escape was executed on Tuesday evening.Michael Tisius, 42, received a lethal injection of pentobarbital at the state prison in Bonne Terre and was pronounced dead at 6.10 pm . He was convicted of the 22 June 2000 killing of Leon Egley and Jason Acton at the small Randolph county jail. Continue reading...

Officials claim the people, mostly from Colombia and Venezuela, consented to the travel, refuting allegations from Gavin NewsomFlorida confirmed on Tuesday that it was behind two private jet flights that brought three dozen people seeking asylum from the US southern border to California amid accusations that the individuals were coerced to travel under false pretenses.The state’s division of emergency management said in a statement that the passengers all went willingly, and refuted allegations from California officials such as the governor, Gavin Newsom, who had threatened Ron DeSantis, Florida’s governor, with kidnapping charges. Continue reading...

Some higher-income residents – who already enjoy subsidies for solar – oppose paying more than low-income householdsCalifornia will soon become the first state to determine residents’ electricity fees based on their income as part of a new effort to spur households toward full electrification and bring down the state’s soaring electricity costs for low-income Californians.Electricity bills are made up of fixed costs as well as fees that vary based on the amount of electricity residents use. Last year, the state passed a law giving the California public utilities commission a 1 July 2024 deadline to determine a fixed charge for household electric bills based on people’s income. Continue reading...

Heritage Foundation, which claims duke may have lied about past drug use on application, wants US government to release recordsA federal judge has given the US government a week to decide how to respond to a rightwing thinktank that alleges Prince Harry may have lied about past drug use on his visa application.The Duke of Sussex moved to southern California with his wife, Meghan Markle, an American citizen, and their young family in 2020 after they left British royal life and embarked on new projects, including the release of his memoir, Spare in January. Continue reading...

Bad blood is bound to linger despite LIV and PGA Tour merger bringing immediate end to the legal battles between both sidesFor nearly two years, the battle for golf’s soul has raged across fairways and in courtrooms, between Middle East and west, oil money and established tradition. But on Tuesday the sport’s bitter civil war came to an abrupt end as the PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed rival LIV golf agreed to merge in a deal that was immediately condemned as a “gigantic victory for sportswashing”.The merger, which came on the same day that Real Madrid’s striker Karim Benzema was unveiled by the Saudi champions Al-Ittihad as their latest star signing, will lead to the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, PIF, pumping billions of pounds into a new commercial golf venture. But the deal is less about money and more about making a statement. There are no doubts now. Saudi Arabia is a major player in global sport. Continue reading...

Nicole Daedone of OneTaste accused, along with ex-head of sales Rachel Cherwitz, of running years-long cult-like conspiracyThe founder of OneTaste, a sexual wellness company that claims to teach “orgasmic meditation”, has been charged with running a cult-like conspiracy involving forced labor, federal prosecutors said on Tuesday.Nicole Daedone, the founder who served as chief executive until 2017, and Rachel Cherwitz, the company’s former head of sales, were accused of inducing volunteers, contractors and employees to incur debt to take courses that they claimed could heal sexual trauma and dysfunction. Continue reading...

Human Rights Campaign says emergency stems from ‘unprecedented and dangerous spike in anti-LGBTQ+ legislative assaults’LGBTQ+ Americans are facing a state of emergency as states continue targeting them with legislation, the community’s largest advocacy organization has declared.The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has issued a statement on the emergency that emerged from “an unprecedented and dangerous spike in anti-LGBTQ+ legislative assaults sweeping state houses this year”. Continue reading...

Judge says Republican fabulist has until Friday to appeal order to disclose who guaranteed $500,000 bond on fraud chargesThe Republican congressman and serial fabulist George Santos has until Friday to appeal an order to reveal the identities of three people who guaranteed his $500,000 bond on fraud charges, a New York judge said on Tuesday.A lawyer for Santos had said identification of the guarantors would imperil their “health, safety and wellbeing”, and claimed the New York congressman would rather go to prison than reveal the names. Continue reading...

Forget the talk of released tension: this deal is merely a depressing illustration that money can disrupt and distort everything in sportThe cliches have already been trotted out – a great moment for golf, a long-awaited delivery of a united front. Some would have you believe the shock announcement of peace in our time is cause for epic celebration. That the war is over, the adults in the room have won.The reality is of course entirely different. No level of spin can alter that. The willingness of the PGA Tour, especially, and DP World Tour to forsake entrenched opposition to LIV Golf contradicts so much that has been said and done over the past two years. This serves as the latest, depressing illustration that bottomless pits of money can disrupt and distort everything in sport. And not just any bottomless pit; one emanating from a kingdom guilty of human rights abuses and which is using golf – plus football, plus anything else it can lay its hands on – as a tool to make people look the other way. Sportswashing works, kids. This chapter is to the tune of several billion dollars; chump change to the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF). Continue reading...

A long-anticipated campaign seems to have begun. Kyiv desperately needs good news – but even that would come at a high priceThe current fog of war in Ukraine is in large part artificially generated: “Plans love silence,” Kyiv observed in a typically well-executed video released on social media on Sunday, showing its soldiers holding fingers to their lips. After months of speculation, and amid perceptible impatience in some foreign capitals, its long-awaited counteroffensive appears at last to be in its preliminary stages.The deputy defence minister has acknowledged that “offensive actions” have begun in some areas. They appear to be testing and – perhaps – creating Russian vulnerabilities, presumably with a view to determining where to commit key troops along the 600-mile frontline. Russia has created multiple layers of defences; US sources have suggested that those could prove less formidable than they appear. Continue reading...

Washington Post reports that European intelligence service told CIA Ukrainian military was planning attackThe Biden administration received an intelligence report that Ukraine had a plan for an attack on the Nord Stream pipelines three months before an underwater explosion disabled the natural gas link from Russia to Germany, the Washington Post has reported.A European intelligence service told the CIA that the Ukrainian military was planning an attack using a small team of divers who reported directly to the commander in chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, the paper reported. Continue reading...

AH Analytics study of 90 US cities shows 12.2% drop in first five months of 2023 – but murder rates have increased in some placesThe murder rate in numerous large US cities has undergone a “sharp and broad decline” this year, new research has found, even as the number of mass shootings around the country continues to climb.Statistics compiled by New Orleans-based AH Analytics show a 12.2% drop in murders in 90 US cities to the end of May over the same period last year, although the study notes there are places, such as Memphis and Cleveland, where the murder rate has actually increased. Continue reading...

Tech and media cheerleaders want to believe that using technology to trick a human being into going on a date with you is actually a good thingOver the last few months, there’s been a stream of stories in the media that try very hard to convince us that artificial intelligence – AI – is a wonderful new trend in dating app messaging technology. In other words, you don’t have to talk to your matches on dating apps any more – you can have one of the many new AI messaging apps do it, and the person it’s talking to never has to know that it’s not actually you flirting with them in that slightly stilted way.On Valentine’s Day, Wired ran a piece that argued so strenuously in favor of these AI Cyranos you might almost think it had a stake in the success of this enterprise. “By normalizing this behavior,” said the piece, “we can free people from writing a thousand introductory messages, giving them energy to focus on the humans on the other side.”Nancy Jo Sales is the author, most recently, of Nothing Personal: My Secret Life in the Dating App Inferno Continue reading...