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Driver, dressed as a Bud Light beer can, was pulled over for suspected drunk driving near Topeka, KansasA man wearing a beer can costume was arrested for alleged drunk driving.Oh, the non-irony. Continue reading...

The days of anarchic, festive demonstrations seem to be over in the face of draconian laws, threatening letters and pre-emptive arrestsLast Saturday morning, it felt strange setting out to take part in the republican protest in London while knowing that its organiser had already been arrested. A queasy mixture of mild shock, anxiety and defiance sat in my stomach all the way to Trafalgar Square. Demonstrators in longstanding authoritarian countries must be used to such sensations, but as someone who since the 80s has done most of their protesting in Britain, this sense that peaceful street politics was no longer necessarily tolerated by the authorities was new and unsettling.When I got to the square, it was reassuring to see that there was still a demonstration, but less so to realise that it was smaller than expected – a few hundred people – and that much of it was squashed into a narrow space between the National Gallery and a huge temporary wall, running almost right across the square, which appeared to have been built that morning specifically to make the protest as invisible as possible. Police ringed the demonstrators, while a constant stream of coronation-goers squeezed past. The usual atmosphere of the square on protest days, as one of Britain’s freest public spaces, was almost completely absent. Instead, the possibility of a crowd crush, more arrests or a confrontation never seemed far away. Continue reading...

Virgil Wheeler, who died in April, verbally agreed deal but made U-turn after learning he would have to register as sex offenderA US Roman Catholic cleric who admitted in criminal court to sexually abusing a child before his ordination backed out of a seven-figure settlement agreement with his victim after learning he would have to register as a sex offender, the Guardian has confirmed.The deacon in question – attorney Virgil Maxey “VM” Wheeler III – died earlier this year after writing a will expressing his desire to donate much of his money to prominent institutions, mostly in the Louisiana community in which he worked. His victim is now calling on the beneficiaries to reject those gifts from his abuser.In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International Continue reading...

Police officers in Oklahoma responding to what they thought was a man in need of aid instead found a very upset goatPolice officers in Oklahoma responding to what they thought was a man crying for help got a surprise on reaching the scene: the anguished cries they heard on a farm near Enid were actually those of a goat.In bodycam footage released by the Enid police department, officer David Sneed told his colleague, Neal Storey: “That’s a person.” Continue reading...

As the star kicks off her Renaissance dates, fans are battening down the hatches and avoiding coverage until she hits their city. Why have gigs become the equivalent of a Marvel plotline?Before I went to bed last night, I already knew that Beyoncé had crawled inside a robotic vagina on the opening night of the Renaissance tour in Stockholm. I knew that she had flown on a bedazzled horse called Reneigh, dressed as a cyber bee in a nod to the BeyHive, opened with a surprising string of ballads, and perturbed fans by apparently not dancing as much as they’d hoped – or was it that she had a leg injury? I was 1,400 miles away and I didn’t even go looking for this information; it just came to me ambiently as I clicked around my regular diet of culture sites. Vulture, Rolling Stone and Pitchfork were among the outlets liveblogging the show through the medium of embedded TikToks and tweets from those at the Friends Arena. My lucky friend Jeff was one of them, posting from the front row: when I watched his Instagram Stories, I too was close enough to almost get a strand of Beyoncé’s wind machine-blown hair in my mouth during Break My Soul.I don’t mind knowing the ins and outs of the Renaissance tour before it hits London later this month. (Admittedly it’s kind of my job to know.) But for many Beyoncé stans, these dispatches are tantamount to spoilers: as if her hair flicks and song segues were plot points out of the latest Marvel film or episode of Succession. Online, many fans are declaring that they’re muting hashtags and any accounts liable to give the game away before they get their own chance to see her in the flesh; our reviewer, in his five-star rave, spoke to one man who had travelled from Brazil in order to get the freshest possible perspective: “I want everything to be a surprise,” he said. Continue reading...

The former US president consistently spread falsehoods, lies and misinformation throughout his town hall hosted by CNN on Wednesday night in front of a crowd of mostly Republican voters in New Hampshire. Trump made false and misleading claims about the 2020 election, the January 6 insurrection, immigration, his border wall, abortion, his sexual abuse trial, the investigation into his handling of classified documents and other subjects. The host, Kaitlan Collins, attempted to interject and fact-check his claims in real time, though many falsehoods got through, as Trump followed his long history of touting baseless conspiracy theories amid his mounting legal troubles

Lies, ridicule and applause from a pliable audience – the ex-president gave the audience what they came for, much to the discredit of CNNOn Wednesday night, Donald Trump demonstrated why he leads the 2024 Republican field. The audience was his from “hello”. The town hall was a prime-time infomercial. Kaitlan Collins, the moderator, was no match. For good measure, he called her a “nasty person” and questioned her intelligence.Lloyd Green is an attorney in New York and served in the US Department of JusticeMoira Donegan is a Guardian US columnistMoustafa Bayoumi is a Guardian US contributing writerBhaskar Sunkara is the president of the Nation, the founding editor Jacobin, and the author of The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in An Era of Extreme Inequalities Continue reading...

A third-grader was found with a loaded gun this week, the fourth time this year the district has uncovered a student with a gunA second Michigan school district has banned backpacks on school premises due to concerns about gun violence, after a third-grade student was found with a loaded gun.Grand Rapids public schools said on Wednesday the weapon was discovered that morning at Stocking elementary school. Continue reading...

At stake in E Jean Carroll’s lawsuit was not whether she would be believed but whether it would matter. Finally, it didIt’s been nearly seven years since the nation heard Donald Trump bragging on tape to Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush about his habit for sexually assaulting women. It’s been seven years since the Republican presidential candidate shrugged off the remark as “locker room talk” – classifying sexual abuse as private, unserious, a prerogative of what he still claimed, then at 70 years old, was his boyish playfulness. It’s been seven years since he won the presidency anyway – a historic humiliation of women that affirmed powerful men’s impunity for sexual abuse, and portrayed Trump’s boorish hostility to women’s dignity as compatible with the solemnity of presidential power. It’s been just over six years since those women poured into the streets in defiant declaration of their own citizenship at the Women’s March, and six years since a wave of anger at the rampant and habitual sexual abuse of women by men exploded into the #MeToo movement.But it took a New York jury less than three hours to unanimously agree that Donald Trump sexually abused the writer E Jean Carroll in a dressing room at a Manhattan department store in the mid-90s, and then defamed her when he said she was lying about it. When the verdict came down, it felt like letting out a breath you didn’t know you were holding.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnistInformation and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html. Continue reading...

Billionaire Sam Zell is the largest mobile home landlord in the US, but his tenants say they reckon with disrepair, neglect, flooding and rising rents. Some have had enough

Residents of the congressman’s New York district say they’re fed up with a system that enables his behavior“It’s like we’re living in madness,” said Danielle Gentile at a Brazilian restaurant in Long Island’s Westbury, one of a cluster of towns close to the eastern border of the fabulist Republican congressman George Santos’s third congressional district.“I know politicians lie all the time, but you’ve got to at least try to keep up,” Gentile added. “But what’s he going to say? I didn’t mean to lie? He’s like the Brian Williams of politics.” Continue reading...

Group tell of determination to fulfil American dream after compatriots were killed when SUV driver drove into bus stopAfter a tragic start to the week and a night of thunderstorms, a group of migrants in south Texas woke up newly determined to fulfill their American dream.Equipping themselves with soapy water, buckets, rags and a lot of spirit, about 30 Venezuelan men on Tuesday began operating a donation-based car washing service in a gas station right next to the border that divides Brownsville, Texas, from Matamoros, Mexico. Continue reading...

Ex-president and frontrunner for Republican nomination fielded questions from voters offering his thoughts on a range of topics. Plus, why the climate crisis is leading to a rise in pirate attacks

We must never stop speaking up on the damage it is doing to Britain’s economy, society, culture and standing in the worldNelson Mandela said: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” It’s one of many political quotes that I have on my office wall. Sadly, the Brexiters had it on their walls too. They showed how change once thought unthinkable can become the status quo. With the populist virus still rife in the Tory party, with Labour insisting it will “make Brexit work” and the Lib Dems also largely silent on it, it would appear to be the settled will of our politics that the Brexit decision cannot be revisited.But if converting the country to a bad Brexit was possible, so is restoring it to good sense. People by and large accepted the result. They gave the government the chance to show it could work. However, bit by bit, despite the welter of gaslighting propaganda, more and more have learned through direct experience that Brexit is damaging lives and livelihoods. Continue reading...

Aaron Rodgers is hopeful of winning a Super Bowl with the New York Jets. But he has entered a conference packed with stars under centerAaron Rodgers has joined the New York Jets with high hopes of winning a Super Bowl. But by swapping the NFC for the AFC, he has given himself a tough task. Not since the merger has one conference had such a concentration of quarterback talent as the AFC does heading into the 2023 season. And the conference could add another couple of stars if rookies CJ Stroud and Anthony Richardson prove to be hits.Let’s hop around the AFC and sort the quarterbacks into tiers (the rookies are excluded: we’ll wait to see them in the league before passing judgment). Continue reading...

Despite eye-bleedingly steep gym fees, I am actioning my spring fitness plan. It is very much a work in progressIt’s spring in New York, and the trees are vibrantly green – which can mean only one thing: time for my annual week-long obsession with exercise.My history in this area is completely consistent, in that it is reliably unimpressive and rooted in delusion. Over the past 10 years, I have leaned heavily on the phrase “structural exercise” to prop up my belief that I’m in good shape. I run around all day (for which read: back and forth between school drop-off and pickup, with a solid eight hours in a chair in between) and occasionally lift weights in a desultory fashion. Beyond that, I’m prone and staring at my phone.Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Penny Mordaunt did a magnificent job at the coronation but that’s no reason to make her leader of the Conservative partyLet’s be honest, the coronation wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But on one matter there was consensus: Penny Mordaunt was simply magnificent. Praise came from the left of politics as well as the right, from the young and the old, from fashionistas and arbiters of good taste everywhere. Even before the newly crowned king and queen had reboarded their carriage, acclaim for the lord president of the privy council was frenzied, feeding off itself. Odds on her becoming the next leader of the Conservatives were slashed; learned articles were penned marking this as the moment we knew she was destined for greatness.Now, if you search her name on Google, the first offering is “Penny Mordaunt sword”. Appropriately enough, given there’s a blade involved, there has been proper cut-through. She has carved a swathe through the whole wide world. Even my Croatian teacher, speaking from Zagreb, asked me about it. She says it’s a sociološki fenomen. She is right. Theses beg to be written.Adrian Chiles is a broadcaster, writer and Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Truth didn’t stand a chance as the former president talked too fast to be factchecked and too shamelessly to be interruptedThe nausea came gradually, then suddenly, and with disconcerting familiarity. We had been flung back in time to the political hellscape of 2016. Only the second time around, it was somehow worse.Donald Trump, the former US president appearing on CNN for the first time since that fateful election year, lied and lied and lied. He was a leviathan of lying, a juggernaut of junk, an ocean liner of mendacity that left little boats of truth spinning and overturning in its wake. Continue reading...

Ex-president and frontrunner for Republican nomination fielded questions from voters offering his thoughts on a range of topicsDonald Trump appeared at a CNN town hall on Wednesday night to unleash a litany of lies about the 2020 election and E Jean Carroll’s lawsuit, just one day after a New York jury found the former president liable for sexual abuse and defamation.Trump took questions from a friendly crowd of Republican and undeclared voters in New Hampshire, who often greeted the former president’s divisive comments and gestures toward moderator Kaitlan Collins with laughter and applause. Continue reading...

One of the first and most popular mommy bloggers, she wrote frankly about her children, relationships and other challengesThe pioneering mommy blogger Heather Armstrong, who laid bare her struggles as a mother and her battles with depression and alcoholism on her site Dooce.com and on social media, has died at 47.Armstrong died by suicide, her boyfriend Pete Ashdown told the Associated Press, saying he found her Tuesday night at their Salt Lake City home. Continue reading...

Republican voter event in New Hampshire comes after Trump is told to pay $5m in damages to E Jean CarrollDonald Trump just addressed yesterday’s verdict in advice columnist E Jean Carroll’s civil lawsuit against him, in which a federal jury found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation.“This woman, I don’t know her. I never met her. I have no idea who she is,” Trump said of Carroll, saying he had a picture taken with Carroll and her husband “years ago”. Continue reading...

The ex-president made false claims about the 2020 election, January 6, his sexual abuse trial and moreDonald Trump consistently spread falsehoods, lies and misinformation throughout his town hall hosted by CNN on Wednesday night in front of a crowd of mostly Republican voters in New Hampshire. The former president made false and misleading claims about the 2020 election, the January 6 insurrection, immigration, his border wall, abortion, his sexual abuse trial, the investigation into his handling of classified documents and other subjects.The host, Kaitlan Collins, attempted to interject and factcheck his claims in real time, though many falsehoods went unchecked as Trump followed his long history of touting baseless conspiracy theories amid his mounting legal troubles. Continue reading...

The Republican congressman George Santos, exposed for lying extensively about his background and campaign finance disclosures, emerged from the federal courthouse in Long Island using Donald Trump-like rhetoric to attack the criminal case against him as a conspiracy to damage him politically. After pleading not guilty to charges of fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements, Santos said he was 'going to fight the witch-hunt'. 'I am going to take care of clearing my name, and I look forward to doing that,' he said

Edward Bronstein, 38, shouted ‘I can’t breathe’ as officers restrained him after a traffic stop in March 2020California will pay a $24m civil rights settlement to the family of a man who died in police custody after screaming “I can’t breathe” as multiple officers restrained him while trying to take a blood sample, lawyers said Tuesday.Seven California highway patrol (CHP) officers and a nurse were charged with involuntary manslaughter earlier this year in connection with the 2020 death of Edward Bronstein, 38. Continue reading...

House prices have spiked and well-priced rentals are increasingly hard to come by. How has the dream of an affordable home become so hard to reach?America is in the midst of a housing shortage. Affordable housing options are shrinking, and there is an ongoing spike in housing costs. For many people, the rollercoaster housing market and US housing policy are a cause of instability.Expensive housing also drives increasing economic and racial inequality and worse health outcomes. Meanwhile on any one night, there are over half a million Americans who are unhoused, and millions more live, if not on the streets, then on the edge of homelessness. Continue reading...

New York congressman known for lying appears in federal court on charges also including theft of public fundsThe Republican congressman George Santos, exposed for lying extensively about his background and campaign finance disclosures, on Wednesday pleaded not guilty in federal court in New York to multiple charges of fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements.Santos denies all 13 counts and was released on a $500,000 bond, though US magistrate judge Arlene Lindsay forced Santos to surrender his passport and ordered him to give notice for any travel outside Long Island, New York City and Washington, DC, where he was expected to return almost immediately. Continue reading...

Ex-president will take questions from voters in New Hampshire one day after being found liable for sexually abusing E Jean CarrollDonald Trump could face questions about being found to have sexually abused E Jean Carroll when he participates in a CNN town hall on Wednesday night.The town hall comes just one day after a jury found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation, underscoring the former president’s mounting legal threats amid his effort to recapture the White House next year. Continue reading...

Senator says she is returning to work in Washington DC on ‘a lighter schedule’ due to her ongoing health issues as she recovers from shinglesWe’re heading towards Joe Biden’s main public engagement of the day, a speech in New York about “why Congress must avoid default immediately”.The president is due to speak at 1.30pm ET, at SUNY Westchester Community College. The speech comes after a difficult Tuesday debt ceiling extension meeting at the White House.McCarthy read aloud old quotes from Democrats including Biden and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi about the need to negotiate around the debt limit.Biden, in turn, asked McCarthy why House Republicans’ Limit, Save and Grow Act – which extended the debt limit by $1.5tn while slashing agency outlays – cut veterans funding by 22%. McCarthy then told the president that was a lie. That exchange stunned some in the room. Continue reading...

Panel remained positive on the effectiveness of the pill, Perrigo’s Opill, currently approved for prescription useA US Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Wednesday voted in favor of using Perrigo Co’s contraceptive – Opill – without a prescription, paving the way for the country’s first approval for an over-the-counter birth control pill.Contraceptives have been in focus since the US supreme court last year overturned the constitutional right to terminate pregnancies as it scrapped a landmark ruling in the 1973 Roe v Wade case. Continue reading...

A jury verdict finding the former president liable for sexual abuse and lies won’t fix US politics. But it still mattersA 79-year-old advice columnist – along with a handful of other brave women who testified in her case – has done what legal and political institutions have not yet managed: held the former president Donald Trump accountable in law for his actions, and for his lies.In finding that he sexually abused E Jean Carroll in the 1990s, and subsequently defamed her, albeit not finding him liable for rape, the jury in her civil suit laid down an important marker.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...

Invitation comes despite rising concerns about human rights and democratic backsliding under Modi’s leadership in IndiaJoe Biden will host India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, for an official state visit on 22 June, the White House has announced, as the US works to deepen ties with the world’s largest democracy.The state visit, the highest level of diplomatic reception, will boost the US and India’s “shared commitment to a free, open, prosperous and secure Indo-Pacific”, the White House said. Continue reading...

Daniel Perry, 36, convicted of killing Garrett Foster, 28, at Black Lives Matter protest in 2020 while working as ride-share driverA US army sergeant was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Wednesday, for fatally shooting an armed man during a Black Lives Matter protest in Texas – even after the Republican governor said he wanted to pardon the man.Daniel Perry, 36, was convicted of murder in April for killing Garrett Foster during the downtown Austin protest in July 2020. Continue reading...

US fast-food chain says pilot program ‘seeks to take the complexity out of the ordering process’The next time someone asks for fries with their shake, they might be talking to a robot. At least, that’s what the US fast-food chain Wendy’s has planned.Next month, Wendy’s will be testing an artificial-intelligence-powered chatbot with the capability to speak with customers and take their orders. Continue reading...

The arrest of the former PM is yet another chapter in the conflict between the country’s all-powerful army and political classThe arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan on charges of corruption has sent shock waves throughout Pakistan and the wider world, raising the prospect of an imminent disintegration of the country’s fragile social and political fabric.For many, however, it also speaks to a well-established tradition: the incarceration of political leaders who fall foul of the country’s all-powerful military.Farzana Shaikh is associate fellow in the Asia-Pacific Programme at Chatham House Continue reading...

Residents were not at home in Hopewell Township when rock appeared to hit house on MondayA possible meteorite crashed into a bedroom of a New Jersey home, puncturing a hole into the roof and leaving residents rattled, though they were not home at the time.The metallic object in the Monday incident looks like a shiny rock, about 4in by 6in, police in Hopewell Township said. Continue reading...

Lawsuits are piling up, but with Ron DeSantis fading, and Joe Biden losing ground, Trump’s 2024 prospects are undimmedIt is the worst of times and the best of times for Donald Trump. On Tuesday, he suffered another legal defeat. A federal jury found him liable for the sexual abuse, forcible touching, and defamation of E Jean Carroll. She was awarded $5m in damages.The 45th president, however, escaped liability for rape. He also leads Joe Biden in their latest hypothetical match-up, while Ron DeSantis fades in the rearview mirror.Lloyd Green is an attorney in New York and served in the US Department of Justice from 1990 to 1992 Continue reading...

Columnist tells NBC’s Today show ‘this is about getting my name back’ after jury finds ex-president sexually abused herE Jean Carroll said she was “overwhelmed with joy for the women in this country” after a jury found Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in a New York department store in 1996.“I’m overwhelmed, overwhelmed with joy and happiness and delight for the women in this country,” the writer and former Elle magazine columnist told NBC’s Today a day after the verdict in the civil trial. Continue reading...

Annual rate has fallen sharply since hitting 40-year high last June but prices are still rising at a rate over twice the Fed’s targetThe price of goods and services in the US remained stubbornly high in April, rising 4.9.% from a year ago, the labor department reported on Wednesday,The annual rate of inflation has fallen sharply since hitting a 40-year high of 9.1% last June. April’s rise nearly matched the 5% rise recorded in March. It was the 10th consecutive month the rate has declined, but prices are still rising at a rate that is more than twice the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2% a year. Continue reading...

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Cheney says ‘Trump has proven he is unfit for office’ in ad focusing on ex-president’s incitement of the Capitol attackThe former House January 6 committee member Liz Cheney released an attack ad against Donald Trump in New Hampshire on the eve of his appearance there in a controversial CNN town hall.“There has never been a greater dereliction of duty by any president,” Cheney warns in the ad, which focuses on Trump’s incitement of the deadly Capitol attack on 6 January 2021. Continue reading...

Being found liable for sexual assault would normally leave your career in tatters. But the cult of Trump means nothing is out of the questionDonald Trump has boasted about grabbing women by the pussy without their consent. He has made innumerable misogynistic comments. He has been accused of sexual misconduct by at least 26 women. He has suggested that some of the women who have accused him of misconduct were too unattractive to assault. And, until this week, he has managed to get away with all of it. Trump has faced no meaningful consequences for his actions; he has given every impression of being above the law.Until this week. It may have taken decades, but the law has finally caught up with Trump. On Tuesday, a jury in New York found that the former president sexually abused the advice columnist E Jean Carroll in the changing room of a department store 27 years ago. It was a civil case, so Trump hasn’t been taken away in handcuffs, but his reputation and his wallet have suffered a blow. While the jury did not find that Trump raped Carroll, its verdict brands him a sexual predator. Carroll was awarded $5m (£4m) in total: $2.02m in compensation and damages for her battery claim and $2.98m in compensation and damages for defamation, as a result of Trump calling her a liar. Continue reading...

Reintroduced federal legislation pushes to expand Osha coverage in 24 states not currently covered by the actEvery day 343 workers die from hazardous working conditions in the US. In 2021, the latest year with data available, 5,190 workers in the US were killed on the job and an estimated 120,000 deaths were attributed to occupational diseases.Since 1970, more than 429,000 workers have been killed on the job, but only 128 of those cases have been criminally prosecuted under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (Osha). Continue reading...