by Kate Connolly in Berlin and Andrew Roth in Washing on (#6P56M)
Military scheme agreed to by Nato called serious threat', while weapons experts warn of new arms race riskedA US announcement of a plan to station long-range missiles in Germany for the first time since the cold war has set off a diplomatic furore between Washington and Moscow and elicited comparisons to the European missile crises of the 1980s.Russian and US officials both accused each other of provoking the escalation on Thursday, as arms control experts warned that the deployments of missiles on the European continent, after the collapse of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, could fuel a new arms race. Continue reading...
by Ramon Antonio Vargas in New Orleans on (#6P56N)
Accuser's lawyer says legal and religious establishment delaying case in hope Lawrence Hecker, 92, dies before trialKey parts of New Orleans's legal and religious establishments are running out the clock" on rape and kidnapping charges pending against the admitted child molester and retired local priest Lawrence Hecker, an attorney for the case's alleged victim said Thursday.Richard Trahant delivered his comments after the clergyman, 92, received a sixth trial delay meant to help determine his mental competence. Continue reading...
Campaign taking steps to ensure they don't push president to withdraw amid escalating panic among DemocratsDonald Trump and his campaign want Joe Biden to stay in the race, according to people familiar with the matter, and have discussed taking steps to ensure they don't push the president to withdraw amid escalating panic among Democrats following his recent debate performance.The latest thinking inside Trump's campaign is for them not to pile on the concern about Biden's age and mental acuity in case their attack ads push Biden to step aside. Continue reading...
The toll from Israeli airstrikes and hunger continues to grow, but the US is resuming some paused arms shipmentsNine months after Israel's assault on Gaza began, in retaliation for the Hamas atrocities of 7 October, the suffering has not ended. Gaza City is experiencing some of its heaviest strikes of the war. Health authorities in the territory say that 38,345 people have been killed. Save the Children warned recently that an additional 4,000 children are thought to be under the rubble, and 17,000 are unaccompanied or separated from their families. Surgeons say that Israeli-made weapons designed to spray large amounts of shrapnel are disproportionately harming children.When Russia bombed a children's hospital in Kyiv on Monday, the White House quickly rushed out a statement expressing Joe Biden's widely shared revulsion. Yet no such declaration of sympathy has been made for victims of the Israeli strikes on or near four schools in Gaza where people were sheltering, carried out in just four days. The latest, on Tuesday, hit close to the gate of al-Awda school in Khan Younis during a football game. The Israeli military has blamed Hamas fighters or officials for using the sites as bases.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
England has moved on from nostalgic pretensions of greatness to a patriotism rooted in equality and self-expressionNationalism does not make nations. But it helps to invent them. Nowhere is this more true than in football. When England kicks off this Sunday against Spain in the final of Euro 2024, a victory would mark the end of 58 years of men's footballing heartbreak in major tournaments. But it would also signify the triumph of a new country and legitimise the radical positions taken by an England team distinguished by youth and talent that their critics rarely display. The nation's identity is inextricably tied up in the sport: England's semi-final win was the most-watched programme this year.The hinge around which this history turns was the last men's Euro tournament, when before every match the England team took the knee" as an expression of solidarity with anti-racist protests and was booed by a section of the fans. Rightwing newspapers and politicians stepped in to criticise the players. When England ended up losing in the final to Italy, three black players who missed penalties faced a torrent of racist abuse. Fast forward to 2024. When England lost to Iceland in a warm-up game, Bukayo Saka - who was only on the pitch for 25 minutes - appeared in some newspapers as responsible for England's defeat with headlines like Black ice". Continue reading...
Four Chinese vessels were transiting in international waters but still inside the US exclusive economic zone'Multiple Chinese military warships were spotted off the coast of Alaska over the weekend, the US Coast Guard announced.In a statement released on Wednesday, the US Coast Guard said that it detected three vessels approximately 124 miles (200km) north of the Amchitka Pass in the Aleutian Islands, as well as another vessel approximately 84 miles (135km) north of the Amukta Pass, a strait between the Bering Sea and the north Pacific Ocean. Continue reading...
Ex-president offered cordial handshakes to white well-wishers, while some Black players were pulled in for hugsMeeting the USA men's basketball team before their departure for the Olympic Games in Paris, Barack Obama appeared to recreate a classic comedy sketch in which he is portrayed greeting Black supporters effusively while offering cordial handshakes to white people.In remarks at USA Basketball's 50th anniversary party in Las Vegas on Tuesday, the former president - the first and only Black person to hold that office - gestured to his famous love for the sport when he said: It is true I am the hooper-in-chief. Continue reading...
Asked about speculation over US president's health, PM says he dealt with issues at pace and was across all detailKeir Starmer has said Joe Biden was on good form" and went through serious issues at pace during their first bilateral talks at the White House as he was asked about claims the US president could be senile.The prime minister said his personal view, having spent almost an hour in private talks with Biden and attended a dinner for Nato leaders at the White House, was that he was mentally agile. Continue reading...
While playing decent tennis requires a certain degree of skill, pickleball felt like a simpler game to masterAs a child, it seemed like everyone in my world played tennis. I grew up in a small outer suburb where sport had currency and tennis was at the heart of our community. The clubhouse and red clay en-tout-cas courts sat in the centre of town, surrounded by a local hall, a kindergarten and a plot of land for the mobile library to park each Tuesday afternoon.Those courts were always in use. Juniors on a Saturday, lessons after school and adult competitions on weekdays. I played as much sport as I could when I was young and tennis dominated for years. When I wasn't playing, I was watching, hanging around competitions and waiting to pounce on famous players for their autographs in my little red book. Continue reading...
Board calls Trump a chilling choice against this national moment' days before Republican national conventionThe editorial board of the New York Times has declared that Donald Trump is unfit to lead" in an urgently worded article published just ahead of the Republican convention, where Trump will once again be formally named the party's choice for president.Noting that the former president and convicted felon has now become the Republican nominee three times in eight years, the board said: A once great political party now serves the interests of one man, a man as demonstrably unsuited for the office of president as any to run in the long history of the republic, a man whose values, temperament, ideas and language are directly opposed to so much of what has made this country great." Continue reading...
Truck driver rescued baby near where the child's four-year-old brother was found dead; the mother is now in custodyA Texas truck driver is being praised for rescuing a one-year-old boy who was seen crawling along a busy highway after surviving on his own for two days amid weather from Hurricane Beryl.Reginald Walton, a driver for DHL Supply Chain, spotted the infant near a section of Interstate 10 in Calcasieu parish, Louisiana, near the state's south-western border. Continue reading...
The Texas fossil fuel mogul has poured nearly $30m to drive the state legislature to the far-right, and now the evangelical Christian wants to spread his ideology to the federal governmentMoney, according to Tim Dunn, only makes it easier to perpetuate the illusion of control".In reality, the west Texas oilman drawled, each person is in control of only three things: who or what you trust or depend on, how you look at things - your perspective, and what you do."Steve Bannon: his War Room podcast is shaping the Republican narrativeCharlie Kirk: Republicans are turning on the former youth guruKevin Roberts: the force behind Project 2025Cleta Mitchell: the ex-Democratic firebrand turned election denierHans von Spakovsky: the man who cries voter fraud Continue reading...
House approves measure based on claims that people who have crossed US-Mexico border illegally could cast ballotsThe Republican-controlled US House of Representatives, fueled by Donald Trump's false claims about election fraud, approved a bill on Wednesday that would ban non-citizens from registering to vote in federal elections, a rare practice that is already illegal.Less than four months before Trump's 5 November election showdown with Democratic president Joe Biden, the House voted 221-198 to approval the measure, which is based on claims that people who have crossed the US-Mexico border illegally could cast ballots in this year's presidential and congressional elections. Continue reading...
The decision to hold the RNC in the city is a slap in the face' for Black voters who have come under attack by the party's sweeping voter ID measure and move to limit early votingShortly after the 2022 midterm elections, Robert Spindell sent out an email to his fellow Republicans explaining why he was pleased with the results even though Tony Evers, a Democrat, had just won a second term.Spindell, one of three Republicans on the body that oversees elections in Wisconsin, said we can be especially proud of the City of Milwaukee (80.2% Dem vote) casting 37,000 less votes than cast in the 2018 election with the major reduction happening in the overwhelming Black and Hispanic areas." Continue reading...
Authorities are investigating whether the 33-year-old may have suffered heat stroke or a heart attackA New York City police recruit died Wednesday after suffering an apparent medical episode at a training facility in the Bronx, just days before he was set to graduate as an officer.The 33-year-old, identified as probationary police officer Edgar Ordonez, lost consciousness at 11:30am while at Rodman's Neck, an operations base used by police for weapons and tactical training, a spokesperson for the New York police department said. He was pronounced dead shortly after at a nearby hospital. Continue reading...
Motherhood had stripped me of everything that came before. In a small Italian villa, I was reunited with my old selfIn May this year, I left my husband and three children to spend a month in Italy with a group of people I'd never met before. It was the first time in my life I had ever done anything so self-centred.It all began just before Christmas, when I was invited to apply for a place at a writers' retreat. As the default parent to three boys aged 10, seven, and five, I was reluctant. I usually navigate mealtimes, school drop-off and pickup, swimming, martial arts and various musical instrument lessons. I was not sure how my husband would manage on his own.Saima Mir is a freelance journalist and author of the 2021 novel The KhanDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
I just wanted to tell the famous historian how much I loved his book. But he wasn't having any of itThere are few things worse than trying to engage in conversation someone who plainly does not want to talk to you. As a teenage boy, I went through the pain barrier several times while trying in vain to get a girl interested in me or anything I had to say. But awful as it was, I knew it came with the territory, so I had no choice but to grin and bear it. If anything, the older I get, the harder I find it. And I'm not talking about the dating game here, just normal conversation with civilised people in polite society.I was at an event, a book launch, hosted by a famous historian. He was not the author of the book in question, but he was the writer of a biography that I happened to be reading. I thought this particular work to be luminously brilliant, so I was keen to have a chat with him. I circled him for a while, waiting for my chance to strike. My dad told me at a very young age that the best thing to talk to people about was their favourite subject, which invariably was themselves. This advice has served me well over the years, and I would be sure to abide by it here. Anxious as ever to avoid talking to someone who plainly wasn't interested in talking to me, I put some thought into my approach. Phase one: tell him how brilliant I think his book to be. Phase two: share with him my favourite quote from the book. What could possibly go wrong?Adrian Chiles is a broadcaster, writer and Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
This has become a game of chicken. If the biggest donors stop funding Biden and he stays in the race anyway, he'll loseAt a rally in Madison, Wisconsin last Friday, Joe Biden said: Some folks ... are trying to push me out of the race."To whom was the president referring? Continue reading...
Gregg Berhalter will not lead the US into their home World Cup in 2026. Here are a few possibilities to succeed himGregg Berhalter is out. So, who comes next? With a home World Cup looming, US Soccer has some thorny questions to work through. Do they chase someone with experience at the international level or look for a fresh face? Do they look for a big name or someone with domestic credibility? Do they want a hired-gun for one tournament or someone who can build beyond 2026?The decision will sit with technical director Matt Crocker, who, after an exhaustive process in 2023, decided to rehire Berhalter. Oops. Continue reading...
NYC has lagged behind the UK in waste disposal. But with wheelie bins replacing bin bags, we're finally catching upLast year, 200 composting bins were rolled out in New York City, with a unit on every other corner you could open and close via an app. This was exciting for those of us who have hit an age when rubbish disposal is something we think about. For a while, my kids indulged me in my need to discuss composting - whether our bag would fit in the bin; how good the exercise made us feel; whether it actually did anything useful or not - before pointing out I was talking about it too much. This week, a new fleet of wheelie bins has been introduced across the city, and the excitement has been almost too much to bear.The trash revolution" as Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, put it while placing a black bin bag in a wheelie bin in front of reporters on Monday, sounds like a characteristic piece of hyperbole from the man, but for once he wasn't exaggerating. Like banking technology, rubbish disposal is one of those baffling areas in which the US in general, but New York in particular, is wildly behind Britain.Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Keeping cockatoos out of them, fending off crocodiles with them - four decades of using wheelie bins has taught Australians they're not just a place to dispose of your wasteNew York City has unveiled its latest tactic in a trash revolution" to wrangle control of its city back from rats.So innovative is this beautiful rat-fighting piece of engineering", discovered by a consultancy firm paid $1.6m for its efforts, that the city's mayor, Eric Adams, demonstrated how to use it during the announcement. Continue reading...
He would take candid snaps on the New York subway while pretending to adjust his camera. Now, a new monograph aims to bring the photographer's work to a wider audience Continue reading...
Anxieties about conflict are surfacing in film and TV. After a hard-fought election, France must learn to bridge its dividesIn 2016, it was the Anglo-American" world that seemed in lockstep, the US electing Donald Trump hot on the heels of Britain's own goal of Brexit. A few weeks ago, it seemed as if France would take the UK's place as the US's partner in implosion. But even though fireworks and cheers filled Paris's Place de la Republique on Sunday night following the success of a hasty marriage of convenience between leftwing parties and centrist coalitions to keep the far right out of power, they only temporarily drowned out reality. France's social and political fractures are not going away any more than a four-year respite from Trump means that Trumpism has gone away.France and the US have seen their neuroses about social fracture leading to civil conflict seep into politics, as well as playing out in film and TV dramas. The US's fractures are so deep that full-blown civil war is already the subject of fiction. Alex Garland's Civil War film skips over the reasons that the country is divided and jumps straight to the middle of the fighting, suggesting a politically improbable alliance of Texas and California to overthrow a president turned autocrat.Alexander Hurst is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
The terminal at Hawaii's Hilo International Airport was temporarily evacuated while a bomb squad checked if the grenades were able to explodeA Japanese man was arrested at Hawaii's Hilo International Airport after security screeners allegedly spotted two items in his bag that looked like grenades, but which turned out to be inert", said local police.Personnel responded to a report by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staff that two items resembling grenades were detected during x-ray screening within a carry-on bag", a statement from the Hawaii Police Department said. Continue reading...
Colombia beat Uruguay 1-0 in their Copa America semi-final on Thursday despite being reduced to 10 men before half-time in a game that ended with ugly scenes as players entered the crowd to confront fans.Jefferson Lerma's header booked Colombia's title decider against the defending champions Argentina. Continue reading...
Vermont senator of more than two decades implores president in an op-ed to step down for good of the country'Peter Welch, a long-serving member of Congress from Vermont, became the first Democratic senator to publicly call on Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential race.We cannot unsee President Biden's disastrous debate performance. We cannot ignore or dismiss the valid questions raised since that night," Welch, wrote in a Washington Post op-ed on Wednesday. For the good of the country, I'm calling on President Biden to withdraw from the race." Continue reading...
Senator Michael Bennet said Trump may win by a landslide' while two more senators echoed his concernsJoe Biden came under renewed moral pressure on Wednesday to abandon his presidential candidacy amid agonised appeals by a succession of senior Democrats for him to consider the broader picture.Those calls came as the US president dug in his heels to make it hard to supplant him as the nominee. Continue reading...
Archegos Capital Management's founder guilty of 10 of 11 criminal counts over investment firm that collapsed in 2021Sung Kook Bill" Hwang, the Archegos Capital Management founder, was convicted of fraud and other charges by a jury in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday. Prosecutors at a criminal trial had accused him of market manipulation ahead of the 2021 collapse of his $36bn private investment firm.The jury, which began deliberations on Tuesday, found Hwang guilty on 10 of 11 criminal counts and Patrick Halligan, his Archegos deputy and co-defendant, guilty on all three counts he faced. Hwang and Halligan sat flanked by their lawyers as the verdict was read by a soft-spoken foreperson. Continue reading...
Jamie Raskin says report on Ivan Raiklin, who calls himself Trump's secretary of retribution', is deadly serious'A senior Democrat called for congressional leaders to denounce a Trump loyalist's claim to have compiled a deep state target list", of public figures to be detained if the former president returns to power next year.This is a deadly serious report," Jamie Raskin, of Maryland, told Raw Story, regarding its extensive discoveries about Ivan Raiklin, a former US army reserve lieutenant colonel and US Defense Intelligence Agency employee the site said was seeking to enlist rightwing sheriffs while calling himself Donald Trump's future secretary of retribution". Continue reading...
Actor charged with involuntary manslaughter over 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on film setAlmost three years after the fatal shooting on the movie set of Rust, prosecutors began to lay out their case against Alec Baldwin in a packed Santa Fe courtroom, painting a picture of an unsafe workplace on a tight budget with a lead actor who violated the cardinal rules of firearm safety".Proceedings in the actor's involuntary manslaughter trial kicked off on Wednesday with the prosecution and defense offering their opening statements. The courtroom was filled to capacity with dozens of media as well as Baldwin's wife and brother, who sat just behind the actor. Continue reading...
Judge says dismissal is likely, given difficulties the court has had in getting straight answers from Giuliani about financesA US judge on Wednesday said he is likely to discontinue Rudy Giuliani's bankruptcy process, which would enable lawsuits for defamation, sexual harassment and other claims to proceed in other courts against Donald Trump's former lawyer.Sean Lane, a US bankruptcy judge, said at a court hearing in White Plains, New York, that he would rule on Friday on competing requests from Giuliani and his creditors about the future of his bankruptcy case. Continue reading...
Trump reportedly dislikes beards, but brushed off subject in interview, saying Ohio senator looks like a young Lincoln'JD Vance is still in contention to be named Donald Trump's running mate, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee indicated on Wednesday, despite the Ohio senator committing what Trump is reported to consider a heinous faux pas.According to multiple reports, Vance's offence does not lie in past decisions to call Trump America's Hitler" and Trumpism the Opioid of the Masses". Continue reading...
by Sam Levine and Maya Yang in New York on (#6P46A)
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's salvo seeks accountability over conservative supreme court justices' ethics controversiesCongresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced articles of impeachment against the conservative US supreme court justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito on Wednesday over the justices' pattern of refusal to recuse from consequential matters before the court".The articles of impeachment are unlikely to gain traction in the US House, which is controlled by Republicans. The effort follows calls from two US senators, Sheldon Whitehouse and Ron Wyden, for the US attorney general to appoint a special counsel to investigate potential criminal violations of federal ethics and tax laws by Thomas. Continue reading...
The actor says he talked to Biden at LA fundraiser and concluded: We are not going to win with this president'The Hollywood actor George Clooney, one of the Democratic party's biggest fundraisers, has called on Joe Biden to step aside to save democracy from Donald Trump.In an opinion article in the New York Times, Clooney expressed deep affection for the US president but said that personal interaction with him at a recent fundraising event in Los Angeles - the Democratic party's most successful ever, raising more than $30m - suggested that the stumbling performance in last month's debate in Atlanta was not an aberration. Continue reading...
Governor Greg Abbott faces criticism for his absence, while heat index is expected to reach 105F today in HoustonNearly 1.7 million people in Texas are entering a third day without power in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl. The acting governor, Dan Patrick, said in a statement that bringing back power will be a multi-day restoration event".Governor Greg Abbott, who is on a trip to Asia, is facing criticism for his absence from the state during a natural disaster. Continue reading...
How can we find hope when grieving? By surrendering to the sun, the sky, and bounties of natureI'm late. It's a clear pale morning, and light is seeping into the sky behind the steeple. I'm rushing to meet the sun, to watch it lift out of the ocean. We do this every week, but Old Sol keeps changing the time, rising earlier every day, so I'm racing, scanning the empty street, watching my feet on the stairs behind the sandstone church, scooting down the back lane. Finally, I make it to the crumbling uphill path, its surface perilous after recent storms. Hurry - the sun won't wait.But no: a stop is imperative.Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Continue reading...
Deaths have occurred as officials warn visitors that trail temperatures can soar to 120F - in the shadeA man died while hiking the Grand Canyon over the weekend, bringing the number of deaths at the popular national park in Arizona over the last month to three, according to officials.Causes of death had not been publicly released for any of the hikers as of Wednesday. But the deaths occurred as much of the US this summer has dealt with extreme heat connected to the climate emergency which experts say the burning of fossil fuels has spurred - and as authorities at the Grand Canyon warn visitors that temperatures on the park's trails can soar to 120F (48.9C) in the shade. Continue reading...
The reality of the court's decision is that there isn't a number to quantify Black pain for survivors and their lineageThe story of the last known Tulsa race massacre survivors has always been a race against time. A race to preserve and uplift the history of the brutal moment, a race to give the last living survivors the time and platform to tell their story, and more important of all, a race to allow survivors to see a semblance of compensation for the trauma they experienced.The reality of the Oklahoma supreme court's decision last month to uphold a Tulsa county district court judge's decision to dismiss their lawsuit is that survivors have likely had their last chances for reparations denied. The reparations conversation around the Tulsa massacre has always been convoluted by an indignant air by the courts and state legislators of why should we have to pay for this" and even more of an: Isn't acknowledging it happened enough?" When we consider the estimated 300 Black people who died from the violence and the challenges faced by families in the years after to fight for justice or compensation, acknowledgement - particularly with just two survivors left - feels like pennies in comparison. It's difficult for any descendants to be made whole when parts of their family tree were wiped out so swiftly. But the Tulsa race massacre is a reminder that while there isn't a magic number that can quantify Black pain, there are real economic reverberations that Black trauma can have across generations. Continue reading...
Day after day, week after week, term after term, the challenges keep coming. Even at primary school, I realised this was outrageousHow does anyone survive their schooldays? I mean, nearly everyone does, obviously, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't count as one of life's great achievements. The happiest days of your life? For some of us, maybe. For a few others, the worst of days. But for everyone, in their own way, they are as challenging as anything adult life throws at you. I base this view on my own schooldays, my children's, their friends', and the children of my friends. In nearly every case, the kids involved have been just fine, they've done well, but I can't help feeling these successes are achieved against all odds.Day one is monumental enough. My mummy dropped me off and left me with a bunch of children I didn't know, and a nice lady called Mrs Timmins. Blimey, I thought, this is a big deal. I got through it, though. When my mum picked me up to take me home for lunch, my little chest was puffed out with pride. I'd done well, everyone said. But after lunch the bombshell was dropped that I'd be going back there for the afternoon. What? And I'd be going back the following day, and the day after that, and every subsequent day for the foreseeable future. This hadn't been made clear to me. I thought it was a one-time event to be brave about, like a visit to the nurse for a jab, or a trip to a safari park. Nobody told me it was a whole new way of life. I was outraged.Adrian Chiles is a broadcaster, writer and Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Sheldon Whitehouse and Ron Wyden demand inquiry into supreme court justice's possible ethics and tax violationsThe US attorney general should appoint a special counsel to investigate potential criminal violations of federal ethics and tax laws by the supreme court justice Clarence Thomas, two Democratic senators have said.Thomas has been at the center of an ongoing scandal over undeclared gifts, many from the rightwing mega-donor Harlan Crow, which have included flights, vacations, school fees and a property purchase. Continue reading...
George Stephanopoulos, who interviewed president days ago, says he should not have answered passerby's questionThe ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos was captured on camera saying he did not think Joe Biden could serve another four years in office, four days after a major TV interview with the US president and amid a re-election campaign in crisis.The comment came after Biden attempted to assuage concerns among Democrats about his age and mental acuity, including in the recent interview with Stephanopoulos, previously a prominent political operative. Continue reading...
The government should send a clear message to creators and sites that advertise this abusive contentMost people's fears about AI are focused on the future. But we're not paying nearly enough attention to how these technologies are already dramatically increasing cases of sexual abuse in the present.Take deepfake pornography, a form of image-based sexual abuse in which digitally altered sexual images of victims are created and shared without people's consent. This is rising dramatically in Britain: Google deepfake porn" and the top results will not be critical discussions of this abuse, but sites where one can buy and access these abusive images. I've been writing about sexual abuse for years, and I'm deeply concerned that we're not doing enough to stop this. Continue reading...
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