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Pacific storm brought damaging winds and more rain and snow to saturated state, as heavy rain and snowmelt could cause floodingThe start of spring offered little reprieve for California as another atmospheric river doused the saturated state with more rain and snow. Five deaths have been linked to the storm across the Bay Area, after thrashing winds toppled trees and branches and thousands were left in the dark across the state due to widespread power outages.California’s unexpected siege of wet weather after years of drought has loaded mountains with so much snow that roofs have been crushed and crews have struggled to keep highways clear of avalanches. Tuesday’s storm, which came on the first full day of spring following the state’s extraordinary winter, was the result of a Pacific low pressure system interacting with California’s 12th atmospheric river since late December, according to the National Weather Service, which warned that flood risks remain across the region into Wednesday. Continue reading...

Major blow to ex-president as Evan Corcoran loses legal bid to avoid giving notes and audio transcripts to investigatorsDonald Trump’s main lawyer – who was involved in turning over classified-marked documents at the Mar-a-Lago resort to the justice department last year – must provide his notes and audio transcripts to the criminal investigation after a federal appeals court rejected twin efforts to block the order.The US appeals court for the DC circuit on Wednesday rejected two separate appeals from the former president and his lawyer Evan Corcoran to stop a sealed order, piercing attorney-client privilege and work-product doctrine protections issued in a court decision last week. Continue reading...

Grand jurors are considering whether to recommend charges to former president for Stormy Daniels paymentYesterday, the candidates for Wisconsin’s state supreme court election went head to head in a debate. We’ve been closely watching this race, which has huge implications for the entire country when it comes to issues like abortion, education and election law.In a packed conference room at the Wisconsin State Bar Association on Tuesday, candidates Janet Protasiewicz and Daniel Kelly clashed on questions about abortion, redistricting and public safety. The debate reflected the tone of the campaigns, with conservative candidate Kelly casting his opponent as a liar and a partisan, while Protasiewicz reaffirmed her liberal positions on issues like redistricting and abortion and pointed repeatedly to Kelly’s ties to right wing groups as disqualifying. Continue reading...

Florida governor repeats criticism of Trump in Fox Nation interview as he attempts delicate balancing actDonald Trump may be in legal trouble over his alleged weakness for vice, but his predicament is increasingly placing Ron DeSantis – his chief rival for the Republican presidential nomination – in a political vise.The Florida governor must join Republican attacks on Alvin Bragg, the Democratic Manhattan district attorney whose indictment of Trump over a hush money payment to a porn star is reportedly imminent, while trying not to lose ground in a primary he has not formally entered. Continue reading...

China’s leader knows full well his country cannot pay the price – economic or political – of openly challenging the westThe three-day visit of Xi Jinping to Russia was packed with action: a crepe and quail meal, photo ops and ceremonial signings. Pomp and circumstance aside, Xi’s visit to Russia did not live up to Putin’s hopes and expectations. As it turns out, the obvious similarities between the two leaders – their autocratic hold on power and their tenuous relationship with the west – do not directly translate into common interests and goals. Xi came and went, making no firm commitments and leaving Putin and his cronies agape with disappointment.Russian hopes for this visit could not have been any higher. Russia looks to China, the only major power that has not condemned the invasion of Ukraine, as its economic bondsman, a potential weapons supplier and a “peace” advocate. From the first days of the invasion, Russian intellectuals and opinion leaders have prominently featured China as a key player that would help Russia win the war. China would jump in to substitute the lost western exports, provide Russia with much needed military equipment and supplies, and help negotiate peace on Russia’s terms. What was always missing from these accounts, however, is China’s motivation. Continue reading...

In an advertisement posted to their Facebook page, the department is seeking people who are fit, trusting and courageousThe New Mexico department of game and fish is seeking “professional bear huggers” to patrol parks and wilderness areas and potentially encounter some of the state’s 6,000 black bears.In a job advertisement posted to Facebook, the department said applicants would require fitness, trust and “courage”. Continue reading...

Manhattan grand jury on standby about meeting on Thursday as adjournment sparks flurry of speculation among Trump alliesThe Manhattan grand jury expected to consider criminal charges against Donald Trump over his role in the payment of hush money to the adult film star Stormy Daniels will not meet on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the matter, and is on standby about meeting on Thursday.The reason for the schedule change was not immediately clear. Continue reading...

An indictment doesn’t necessarily lead to an early trial, but the Russian leader should still be suffering sleepless nightsThe announcement by the international criminal court (ICC) of an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin is historically significant. In some ways, it was always inevitable: this is Putin’s illegal war of aggression, after all. But few inside or outside Ukraine believed it would happen so soon.There are obvious questions about the practicalities of delivering Putin to the court – how, where, when? (Answers: with difficulty; who knows; and not soon.) But the essential rationale is undeniable. Holding senior political and military leaders to account is exactly what the ICC was set up for, 25 years ago. If not Putin, who? Continue reading...

State could also pass harsher bill to criminalize transgender people using public bathrooms based on gender identityArkansas has become the latest Republican-run US state to ban transgender people in schools using the bathroom that matches their gender identity.The Arkansas governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, signed the bill on Tuesday. It applies to multi-person restrooms and locker rooms in public and charter schools for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, ABC reported. Continue reading...

Workers hold protest in Seattle outside of Starbucks’ headquarters in response to the company’s aggressive anti-union effortsStarbucks workers at over 100 stores around the US walked out on Wednesday ahead of the company’s annual shareholder meeting and held a protest in Seattle outside Starbucks’ headquarters.The actions were launched in response to Starbucks’ aggressive anti-union efforts against worker organizing, which have included allegations of firing dozens of workers in retaliation for union organizing, intimidation, store closures, withholding benefits, schedule cuts and delays in bargaining a first union contract. Starbucks has denied or rejected all allegations and charges of labor law violations. Continue reading...

In everything from family life to careers, it doesn’t pay to constantly seek the next exciting thingUpon a box containing some fancy collagen supplement stuff, it said: “Life is too short for hard-to-swallow pills and boring powders.” Ain’t that the truth? How many times have I contemplated swallowing a paracetamol tablet, or wearily stirred some Andrews liver salts into water, and wailed in desperation that life is just too damn short for such chores? Never, obviously.In a similar vein, do you have an electric vehicle charger at home? Are you, you know, a bit bored with it? I mean, why wouldn’t you be? Worry not. Help is at hand. A company specialising in more exciting chargers – colour and finish combinations to choose from!” – invites you to “say goodbye to boring chargers”. Picture the scene: the whole family, dog and all, gathered together on the drive to bid farewell to the old charger. It charged very nicely but was just too darned boring. The man from Fancy Chargers Ltd has just fitted an exciting new one and he’s taking the boring old one away. You wave it off on its final journey, to landfill probably. Emotional.Adrian Chiles is a broadcaster, writer and Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Death investigation under way after remains discovered near Humboldt on SaturdayA man searching for deer antlers in Kansas instead found a human skeleton, officials said.The Kansas bureau of investigation and the Allen county sheriff’s office were conducting a death investigation after the discovery of the remains near Humboldt, about 100 miles east of Wichita, on Saturday. Continue reading...

The second day of spring brought more wintry weather to storm-weary California on Tuesday with torrential rain and heavy winds that left homes and cars underwater. Trees and power lines were downed, leaving thousands without electricity. The state had been deep in a drought until the new year brought a series of atmospheric rivers that caused severe weather and flooding. The state's rainy season typically stretches only into the first three months of the year before falling off dramatically

Two inmates dug their way out of cell using toothbrush but were apprehended within hours at Ihop branchTwo prisoners in Virginia managed to escape their cell by digging a hole through a wall with the aid of a toothbrush but were apprehended within a few hours after being tempted to visit a pancake restaurant.In a statement, the Newport News sheriff’s office said two inmates were found to be missing during a routine head count around 7pm on Monday at the Newport News Jail Annex. Continue reading...

President Ulysses S Grant’s penchant for speeding in his horse-drawn carriage landed him in trouble with police in 1872Donald Trump may be preparing to become the first US president to be criminally indicted but should his perp walk for paying hush money to a porn star come to pass – perhaps granting his reported wish to be seen handcuffed – he will not be the first president ever arrested.In 1872, President Ulysses S Grant was nicked for speeding in his horse-drawn carriage. Continue reading...

The two-way superstar’s once-in-a-century skillset led Japan over the US to a World Baseball Classic championship while helping vault the tournament to newfound levels of popularityTuesday’s World Baseball Classic final between the US and Japan may have been played in Miami but, judging by the atmosphere throughout the stadium, Japan’s status as the home team was more than just an official designation. Although the crowd at LoanDepot Park seemed evenly split between Japanese and American factions, with frequent music and (a sincerely exhausting amount of) jumping up and down, it was the Japanese fans’ energy which electrified the stands for much of the game.Most tellingly, during the player introductions before the game, it was Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani, rather than any of the American players, who received (by far) the loudest cheer. Perhaps this shouldn’t be surprising – Ohtani’s ability to draw a crowd is unquestionable at this point. For example, when asked what prompted them to attended Tuesday’s game despite not often attending baseball games back home, Shoko Mitomi and Kyoji Kimura of Okinawa were to the point: “We wanted to see Ohtani.” Continue reading...

We look at the new season with its many title contenders and exciting new faces on the pitch, as well as big ambitions off itThe National Women’s Soccer League commences a new season this weekend in what promises to be an exciting year in the US, straddling a hotly-contested World Cup tournament. Here are some things to keep your eye on as the NWSL’s 12 teams prepare to kick off on Saturday evening. Continue reading...

Sources say former president plans to turn appearance into a spectacle. Plus, eight things the world must do to avoid the worst of climate emergency

The political and racial maneuvering here is obvious and ridiculous, but that doesn’t make it less dangerousThe last several months have seen former president Donald Trump dust off his tired strategy of stoking white nationalist sentiment, and this time he’s taking on the prosecutors.He started with the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, who is currently bringing charges against Trump over alleged hush money paid to former actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 elections.Tayo Bero is a Guardian US contributing writer Continue reading...

The debate about cultural appropriation is fractious and gets muddled. But then I think about a man who makes it all clearA Black person growing up in the west will experience moments of shock. There is the first time you knowingly experience racism, and here, for me, was another: the first time I realised that the man who sang the soul classic What You Won’t Do for Love was white.Long before there was Ed Sheeran, Adele, Justin Timberlake or, before them, Simply Red, Lisa Stansfield, Jon B (the only white musician Tupac Shakur ever made a record with), or even the current underground king of blue-eyed soul Mayer Hawthorne, there was Bobby Caldwell, who died last week. Continue reading...

Sweating profusely has improved my life, with the heat wringing all the worry out of me. But an unexpected conversation sent me spirallingDon’t ask me why, but I keep a list in my head of inane and avoidable ways I might meet an untimely end. When I lived in New York and used a bike-share to get everywhere, crashing into a halal food truck while swerving to avoid a low-flying pigeon was at the top of that list. Either that or tripping over my small and erratic dog.When I moved to a house in Philadelphia, falling down the stairs while carrying my laptop in one hand and half-drunk coffee cups in the other usurped those scenarios to take the top spot. As of a few weeks ago, however, a new No 1 has emerged: passing out in the sauna or getting infected with a brain-eating amoeba after spending time in a steam room. Continue reading...

For democrats, a stubborn economic malaise is more existentially threatening than any example set in Moscow or BeijingOnce again the world is divided into competing spheres of eastern and western power, but is it a new cold war or reheated leftovers from the last one? The answer is a bit of both. For Vladimir Putin, the superpower rivalry of the 20th century never ended, although in economic and military terms there was a clear winner and it wasn’t the Soviet Union. Russia’s president is determined to reverse that humiliation, in the national imagination, at least. In other realms, the trajectory is further decline.Russia can still make a global nuisance of itself. A nuclear-armed rogue state with an appetite for territorial expansion can’t be ignored. But parity with the US is a distant memory for the Kremlin. For China it is a destination on the near horizon. Continue reading...

Ex-president attempts to capitalize on anticipated charges over hush money payments to Stormy DanielsDonald Trump is attempting to capitalize on his anticipated arrest over hush money payments to an adult film star by bombarding supporters with fundraising emails to support his presidential election campaign.In a series of messages in recent days Trump and his acolytes have urged people to donate to the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee, established to support Trump’s bid for president in 2024. Continue reading...

People close to former president said to be unsure whether he is serious about wanting to do a perp walkDonald Trump has told advisers that he wants to be handcuffed when he makes an appearance in court, if he is indicted by a Manhattan grand jury for his role in paying hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels, multiple sources close to the former president have said.The former president has reasoned that since he would need to go to the courthouse and surrender himself to authorities for fingerprinting and a mug shot anyway, the sources said, he might as well turn everything into a “spectacle”. Continue reading...

Tsai Ing-wen will visit allies Guatemala and Belize next week, and stopover in the US, after Honduras said it would establish ‘official relations’ with ChinaTaiwan’s defence ministry has contingency plans for any moves by China during Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s visit to the US and Central America, deputy defence minister Po Horng-huei has said ahead of Tsai’s departure next week.China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, carried out large-scale, live-fire war games around the island last August after a visit to Taipei by then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Continue reading...

Brutal winds downed power lines in many areas leaving thousands of people without power in regions south of San FranciscoThe second day of spring brought more harsh wintry weather to storm-weary California on Tuesday with torrential rain and heavy winds that left thousands without power.At least one person was killed on Tuesday when a tree fell on a vehicle in San Mateo county in the San Francisco Bay area, the California highway patrol told media. In Santa Cruz county, one person was injured by a falling tree, according to the National Weather Service. Continue reading...

Seven deputies and three hospital workers charged with second-degree murder in death of Black man at Virginia mental facilityA large group of sheriff’s deputies and employees of a Virginia mental hospital pinned patient Irvo Otieno to the floor until he was motionless and limp, then began unsuccessful resuscitation efforts, newly obtained surveillance video of the incident earlier this month shows.The footage obtained on Tuesday, which has no audio, shows various members of the group struggling with a handcuffed and shackled Otieno over the course of about 20 minutes after he was led into a room at Central State hospital in Petersburg, Virginia, where he was going to be admitted on 6 March. For most of the duration of the video, Otieno is on the floor being restrained by a fluctuating group that at one point appeared to number 10 people pressing down on various parts of his body. Continue reading...

Thanh Tran and James King, formerly incarcerated advocates, on life inside San Quentin and the governor’s transformation planThanh Tran walked out of California’s San Quentin state prison on 11 May 2022 after 10 years behind bars. One month later, he hopped on a plane and flew 5,000 miles away – to Oslo, Norway.While in prison, Tran co-founded and co-hosted a podcast called Uncuffed, and in one of his first segments recorded as a free person, he toured the facilities of Norway, known for having significantly better conditions and less restrictive policies than seen in the US prison system. He immediately noticed the bright colors, guards playing games with residents, lack of prison uniforms and the huge spaces for rehabilitative programs. Continue reading...

After back-to-back attacks and amid rising anti-Asian hate, gun violence has become a key – and controversial – issue in communitiesFor Kevin Leung, a head instructor at a kung fu school in Monterey Park in Los Angeles county, California, the past eight weeks have been a disorienting readjustment to normalcy.His academy, the Siu Lum Pai Kung Fu Association, had for years held weekly classes at Star Ballroom Dance Studio, where he knew many members of the community. To combat the rise in anti-Asian violence during the pandemic, Leung also led many free self-defense classes there for Asian seniors. Continue reading...

Strike joined by teachers over better wages and increased staffing closes nation’s second-largest school systemTens of thousands of workers in the Los Angeles unified school district, accompanied by teachers, walked off the job on Tuesday over stalled contract talks for higher pay and better working conditions, shutting down the nation’s second-largest school system.The strike, which is expected to last three days, upended the lives of more than 500,000 students and their families from schools in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas, as bus drivers, cafeteria workers and teachers demanded more support at a time when educators in the city and elsewhere are struggling to afford to live where they work. Continue reading...

Most threats are directed at law enforcement and government officials, report says, after ex-president urged supporters to protest

Grand jury investigating ex-president over hush money payment to adult film star appears poised to complete its work soonLaw enforcement officials in New York on Tuesday continued preparing for possible unrest on the streets of Manhattan as a grand jury investigating Donald Trump over a hush money payment to the adult film-maker and star Stormy Daniels appeared poised to complete its work by criminally indicting the former president.Barriers were brought to the area around the Manhattan criminal courthouse in the lower part of the island. Uniformed police were out in force. So were reporters and protesters. Continue reading...

Whale collided with sailboat 13 days into group’s three-week sailing trip from Galápagos Islands to French PolynesiaA giant whale sunk a sailing crew’s boat in the Pacific Ocean before the group was rescued at the end of an ordeal that could have come out of a novel.Rick Rodriguez of Tavernier, Florida, and three friends spent 10 hours on a lifeboat and dinghy after a whale sunk the crew’s 44ft sailboat Raindancer, the Washington Post reported on Monday. Continue reading...

President to designate Avi Kwa Ame, a desert mountain in Nevada, Castner Range in Texas, and a marine sanctuary in the PacificJoe Biden is establishing national monuments in Nevada and Texas and creating a marine sanctuary in US waters near the Pacific Remote Islands south-west of Hawaii.The Democratic president is set to announce the measures on Tuesday at a White House summit on conservation action at the interior department. Continue reading...

A water main break caused by heavy rain left a busy Los Angeles highway submerged in water, as commuters slowly made their way through the flooded lanes. The state was deep in a drought until the new year brought a series of atmospheric rivers that caused severe weather and flooding. The state's rainy season typically stretches only into the first three months of the year before falling off dramatically

Abigail Zwerner, who was seriously injured in incident with pupil in January, made remarks in first interview with NBC Today showThe Virginia school teacher who was shot in her classroom by a six-year-old student in January “can’t get out of bed” some days because her recovery has been so physically and mentally exhausting, she has said in her first interview since the attack.“But … for going through what I’ve gone through, I try to stay positive,” 25-year-old Abigail Zwerner told NBC’s Today show in an interview aired on Tuesday. “You know, [I] try to have a positive outlook on what’s happened and where my future’s heading.” Continue reading...

The actor and influencer has been called out for glorifying restricted eating. What is it with the rich and their weird ideas about wellness?This time there aren’t any vaginas involved. I say that because half the time Gwyneth Paltrow is in the news it’s vagina-related. On this occasion, however, it’s because a lot of people are seemingly annoyed that she – a woman who has amassed a fortune doling out strange and often suspect health advice via her lifestyle brand Goop – follows that advice herself.The trouble started when Paltrow appeared on an episode of Dr Will Cole’s The Art of Being Well podcast and shared what she eats in a typical day. Which, no points for guessing, isn’t much. She doesn’t eat until about noon which, in normal-person-speak, means she skips breakfast. In wellness land it means she’s doing “a nice intermittent fast”. Then she has something that won’t spike her blood pressure, such as coffee. She often follows that up with “bone broth”. An hour of “movement” ensues, wrapped up with some vigorous dry brushing and the sauna. Finally: an early dinner. “I try to eat according to paleo,” she says. “So lots of vegetables. It’s really important for me to support my detox.” I’m sorry, detox? You can’t detox if there was never any tox in the first place. Continue reading...

Kiley Swaine filed suit against Torrance after his car was seized by officers during arrest and came back defacedA California city has agreed to a $750,000 settlement with a Jewish man who accused police of spray-painting a swastika in his car.Kiley Swaine filed a lawsuit against Torrance, 15 miles south-west of Los Angeles, in 2022 after his car was seized by Torrance officers and defaced. Continue reading...

The former PM is wheeling out the old clown act to rebuff the Partygate allegations. Let’s hope it’s for the last timeOne last heave – in all senses of the word – for Boris Johnson, Britain’s worst ex, who tomorrow flops himself out in front of the standards committee and asks it to consider an auto-satirical question: did the foremost British liar of the age tell a lie? If you want a sense of our self-respect as a nation, an entire parliamentary investigation has spent 10 months gathering evidence on that question, while £220,000 and rising has been spent by the taxpayer on Johnson’s legal defence. It is, let’s face it, a long way to go to reach the conclusion, “Lol of course he told a lie – it’s BORIS JOHNSON?!?!?!?!?”Strip away the incidental details of this latest adventure in a career of turbo-fibbing and you are faced with a reality as old as bullshit itself. Johnson, who last told the truth during the Reagan administration – and then only accidentally – has somehow got the government to fund state-of-the-art lawyers to prove he wasn’t aware of parties happening in his own house, attended by his own self, against his own rules, and in at least one case against his own laws, having gone on telly every single night to tell people that compliance to the letter of said rules and laws was a matter of life and death. Please bear this in mind if you tune in to his appearance tomorrow afternoon, along with the question: does our country have a path to dignity? Because this ain’t it.Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Missouri’s Republican attorney general sidesteps GOP-led state senate as it struggles to pass similar legislation. Plus, how mass shootings are reshaping Asian Americans’ views on guns

Success can be elusive for Black restaurateurs, but a cohort of buzzy chefs is working to change thatFew food personalities enjoy as high a profile as Joseph Johnson. “Chef JJ”, as the New York chef is known to his fans, has a colossal social media following, a long-running cooking show and a name that’s a staple of the who’s who lists that appear in major food publications.Trained at the Culinary Institute of America, Johnson took a break from the US restaurant scene early in his career to spend time in kitchens in West Africa. The experience, he says, forever changed how he looked at the food of his ancestors, which was largely absent from the types of restaurants with crisp white tablecloths and punctilious waitstaff. Johnson decided he would devote himself to addressing that imbalance. Continue reading...

Angel Pittman says her dream to create a mobile hair salon was thwarted when a neighbor harassed her with racist comments and vandalized her busesAngel Pittman’s dream was to create a mobile hair salon. So the 21-year-old stylist bought less than an acre of unrestricted land in North Carolina for $10,000 in September and purchased three school buses for $14,000 with money she had saved since she was 17.“I’ve never seen anybody driving around doing people’s hair,” she said. “But not only did I want to get paid for doing hair, but I wanted to drive around, do a couple of homeless people’s hair and maybe go to some prisons and help incarcerated people.” Continue reading...