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High mortgage debt and a broken rental system is taking its toll on a country once seen as the example for others to followGiven media coverage, one could, in late 2022, have been forgiven for thinking that little of importance was going on in Sweden besides gang violence and hand-wringing over Nato accession. But a November report in the newspaper Aftonbladet suggested that something else just as important was afoot. In Södertälje, in southern Stockholm, it was widely observed that children were eating “much more” at school on Mondays than previously. One food supplier spoke of an “avalanche-like” change.My mind went back to this evidence of increasing child poverty when, four months later, the European Commission’s latest forecasts predicted Sweden to be the worst performing of all EU economies in 2023 – a projection in line with the Swedish government’s own.Brett Christophers is a professor in the Institute for Housing and Urban Research at Sweden’s Uppsala University and author of Our Lives in Their Portfolios: Why Asset Managers Own the World Continue reading...

Qin Gang rebuked Washington over its Taiwan policy and the balloon incident, while praising Beijing’s relationship with Russia. Plus, the secret history of Merle Oberon

Florida’s rightwing governor and legislature want to gut one of the United States’ most important first amendment rulingsRon DeSantis, the Florida governor, and his cronies, not content with destroying free speech in public schools, have set for themselves a new target: destroying press freedom and every Floridian’s right to criticize public officials. Along the way, they aim to overturn the most important first amendment US supreme court decision of the 20th century.The latest bill to raise eyebrows sounds like it’s made up by the opponents of Florida Republicans to make them sound ridiculous. Unfortunately, it’s real. The proposed law, authored by state legislator Jason Brodeur, would – I kid you not – compel “bloggers” who criticize the governor, other officers of the executive branch, or members of the legislature to register with the state of Florida. Under the bill, anyone paid to write on the internet would have to file monthly reports every time they utter a government official’s name in a critical manner. If not, they’d face potentially thousands of dollars in fines.Kill off a large part of Florida’s journalist “shield bill”, which protects reporters from being forced to testify in court.Presume any news report written with anonymous sources is defamation.Roll back Florida’s anti-Slapp law, which ironically protects “little guys” like independent newspapers when they are sued by wealthy individuals for the primary purpose of bankrupting them.Weaken the “actual malice” standard from Sullivan, to make it easier for public officials to sue newspapers or critics. Continue reading...

AI could benefit society, but it could also become a monster. To guide the way, we need leadership and understandingWe’re at a Frankenstein moment.An artificial intelligence boom is taking over Silicon Valley, with high-tech firms racing to develop everything from self-driving cars to chatbots capable of writing poetry.Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. His new book, The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It, is out now. He is a Guardian US columnist. His newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com Continue reading...

After decades on the edge, Pakistan is now fully in crisis. And a general election later this year is unlikely to bring changeLast month, Anthony Soshil went to renew his passport in Lahore at a normally sleepy bureaucratic office. He had a contact there and expected to be ushered straight to the counter. Instead, he was flung into a melee of thousands of desperate people. Fights were breaking out everywhere. Police were summoned to quell the crowds. Quickly overwhelmed, the police called the army.Last year, more than 800,000 Pakistanis left the country in search of better economic prospects abroad. With rocketing inflation and the rupee devaluing by 30% during 2022, millions of urban middle-class people have been pushed to the brink of poverty. Cataclysmic floods have ravaged the rural poor. With only enough foreign reserves to pay for less than a month of imports, the state is on its knees.Moni Mohsin is a Pakistani writer based in London and the author of The End of Innocence Continue reading...

The former US 5000m champion believes that elite sports are guilty of erasing women’s bodies, leading to unnecessary problems for competitors“If males got boobs during puberty there would be a free sports bra in every locker and we wouldn’t even be having this conversation,” says Lauren Fleshman, laughing but not joking. “When teams issue uniforms a sports bra should be part of that uniform.”Fleshman, a former professional runner and elite college athlete with multiple national titles during her time at Stanford University, is now running a race to highlight how the sports industry fail women. Continue reading...

Several groups and individuals are rallying against Bezalel Smotrich’s visit over his comments to ‘wipe out’ a Palestinian townThe Biden administration is under growing pressure to block a visit by Israel’s extremist finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, over his call to “wipe out” a Palestinian town that was the target of an attack by Jewish settlers.Smotrich’s plan to speak at an investment conference in Washington, DC next week has drawn unusually strong criticism, including accusations that he is promoting “Jewish supremacy”, from individuals and groups that are more usually ardent defenders of Israel. Continue reading...

Plans for the Israeli judicial system are an anti-democratic coup – and will be resisted

China's new foreign minister, Qin Gang, has warned that the US and China are heading towards inevitable conflict if Washington does not change its approach. In his first media appearance as foreign minister, Qin held a press conference to outline his foreign political agenda for the coming years, presenting China and its relationship with Russia as a beacon of strength and stability, and the US and its allies as a source of tension and conflict. He said the US's perception of China was 'seriously distorted', suggesting 'this leads to a complete deviation of healthy policy towards China'

Memphis guard has indulged in risky and erratic behavior. He could learn from someone who had a tougher backgroundWe all make mistakes. Last week I burned more than a thousand words celebrating the Memphis Grizzlies for taking up the NBA’s tough-guy mantle, never thinking their star player would carry the notion so far over the line.Tuesday’s regular-season series finale against the Los Angeles Lakers will mark the second game the Grizzlies won’t be able to call on their All-Star guard, Ja Morant. The truly frustrating part: he isn’t sitting out with an injury; no, Morant is unavailable because he plays too much on the internet. Continue reading...

The failure of Pete Buttigieg, the US secretary of transportion, to appear for nearly three weeks recalls the incompetence of Fema during Hurricane Katrina“Where’s Pete Buttigieg?” someone shouted at a February 15 town hall meeting in East Palestine, Ohio. “I don’t know,” Mayor Trent Conaway replied.Twelve days earlier, a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous chemicals had derailed near the town. Three days later, the company announced it was going to carry out a controlled burn of vinyl chloride that would send dangerous gasses into the air, forcing many of East Palestine’s 4,700 residents to evacuate. They returned after receiving assurances that the air and water were safe, but a strong chemical odor clung to the town, and many continued to complain of headaches, nausea, and burning throats. And so several hundred residents had crowded into a local school to demand answers. Conaway said that two weeks had passed before anyone at the White House had contacted him, and the US secretary of transportation still hadn’t materialized.Michael Massing is the author most recently of Fatal Discord: Erasmus, Luther, and the Fight for the Western Mind Continue reading...

Alexander Lukashenko put our airbases and resources at Russia’s disposal. His fall would accelerate victory for UkraineLast week, residents of Machulishchy were intrigued as soldiers and police swarmed across their small town on the edge of Minsk, the capital of Belarus.Cordons and checkpoints were hastily erected for miles around the local airbase, which has played host to Russia’s forces during its abominable war against Ukraine. Continue reading...

Last month, a blizzard caused road closures, roof collapses and trapped residents in their homesResidents of mountain towns in southern California have continued to struggle to dig out and get necessities in the aftermath of a record-setting blizzard last month that dumped so much snow that roads became impassable and roofs collapsed.Here’s a closer look at the situation: Continue reading...

Media Matters for America raised issue of Murdoch handing Jared Kushner confidential information about a Biden ad with the FECA US Federal Election Commission complaint over the collusion of Fox Newswith the Trump campaign in 2020 could be the first of many, the complainant said, amid continued fallout from dramatic court filings in Dominion Voter Systems’ $1.6bn defamation suit against the network.Media Matters for America, a liberal watchdog, filed its FEC complaint last week, over the revelation that Rupert Murdoch personally gave Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, confidential information about a Biden campaign ad. Continue reading...

James ‘Jimmy’ Chilimigras took entrance exam last year and scored 174, the highest tally in his home state, Alabama and LouisianaA 15-year-old Mississippi boy is reportedly preparing to start law school later this year and has the chance to become one of the youngest people ever to obtain a juris doctorate.James “Jimmy” Chilimigras took the law school entrance exam last year when he was just 14 and scored a 174, the highest tally in his home state, Alabama and Louisiana, according to a report from the news station WLOX, which covers his home town of Bay St Louis, Mississippi. Continue reading...

Joseph Hutchinson and Olivia Pollock, whose brother is also a January 6 defendant, had ankle monitors that were removed or alteredThe FBI is searching for a Florida woman who was supposed to stand trial on Monday on charges stemming from the January 6 Capitol attack as well as another riot defendant who has also gone missing, officials said.A federal judge in Washington issued bench warrants for the arrest of Olivia Pollock and Joseph Hutchinson III last week after the court was notified that they had tampered with or removed the ankle monitors that track their location, said Joe Boland, a supervisory special agent with the FBI’s Lakeland, Florida, office. Continue reading...

Francisco Severo Torres also attempted to open the aircraft’s emergency door and was taken into custody after the plane landedA man on a plane flying from from Los Angeles to Boston has been arrested after stabbing a flight attendant and attempting to open the aircraft’s emergency door, the justice department has announced.The Massachusetts man, Francisco Severo Torres, 33, was arrested at Boston Logan international airport after United Airlines flight 2609 landed and he was charged with interference with flight crew members and attendants and using a dangerous weapon. Continue reading...

Mark Finchem, who ran for secretary of state, was rebuked by the court for his ‘groundless’ claims of fraud in loss to Adrian FontesMark Finchem, the extremist Republican and longtime member of the Oath Keepers anti-government militia group, has been slapped with penalties for his “groundless” lawsuit seeking to overturn his loss in the election to become Arizona’s secretary of state.Maricopa county superior court judge Melissa Iyer Julian had already thrown out a lawsuit brought by Finchem in which the rightwinger claimed that electoral fraud had cost him victory when he was defeated in November’s midterm elections by Democrat Adrian Fontes. Continue reading...

Matt Rosendale of Montana says he unwittingly posed for picture: ‘I absolutely condemn and have zero tolerance for hate groups’A Republican congressman from Montana said a photo of him in front of the US Capitol with two neo-Nazis was a mistake, claiming he unwittingly posed with the men, one of whom appeared to be wearing a trench coat of a style worn by German soldiers in the second world war.Matt Rosendale told the Billings Gazette: “I absolutely condemn and have zero tolerance for hate groups, hate speech and violence. I did not take a meeting with these individuals. Continue reading...

Gavin Newsom said in a statement the state will not do business with any company that ‘puts women’s lives at risk’California will not do business with Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc, Gavin Newsom, the state’s governor, said in a tweet on Monday, days after the pharmacy chain said it will not dispense abortion pills in some Republican states.The state refuses to do business with Walgreens or “any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women’s lives at risk”, the Democrat said. Continue reading...

Governor condemns other states’ Covid responses and celebrates Florida as a ‘citadel of freedom’ in speech

Bill before Florida legislature to make online critics of governor register is ‘an embarrassment’ says former House speakerA Florida bill that would require bloggers who write about the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, to register with the state proved a step too far even for the godfather of far-right Republicanism, the former US House speaker Newt Gingrich.“The idea that bloggers criticising a politician should register with the government is insane,” Gingrich wrote on Twitter. Continue reading...

Move follows violent weekend clash at proposed construction site of Georgia police training facility in forestAtlanta police on Monday charged 23 people with state domestic terrorism charges, a day after officers detained dozens of people following a violent clash at the proposed construction site of what has been dubbed “Cop City” – a $90m police and firefighter training center in a forest near Atlanta.As a “week of action” against “Cop City” unfolds, the charges amplify alarm from activists and experts that Georgia authorities would rely on charging demonstrators with domestic terrorism as a way to suppress opposition. Continue reading...

‘Trailblazer’ fought for civil rights protections at a time when people with disabilities were treated like second-class citizensThe savvy, wheelchair-using civil rights activist Judith Heumann, who led a movement to reimagine what it means to be disabled in the US, died on Saturday at a hospital in Washington DC.Heumann had been hospitalized for a week dealing with heart issues that may have stemmed from her lifelong challenge with polio, the Associated Press reported. She was 75. Continue reading...

I filmed as activists held Purdue Pharma’s owners to account via museums and galleries. Yet the US government has utterly failed to play its partAmong the outstanding films nominated for an Academy Award this year is Argentina, 1985, about brave young lawyers and victims of Argentina’s brutal dictatorship who prosecuted the military leaders responsible for the mass torture, rape and murder of thousands of civilians. They faced down death threats, risking their lives to testify against the perpetrators in power.The film bears witness to a simple truth: a society that does not confront its crimes is condemned instead to repeat them, and to reward those who commit them.Laura Poitras is a filmmaker and journalist. Her films include All the Beauty and the Bloodshed and Citizen FourDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 300 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at guardian.letters@theguardian.com Continue reading...

Plane traveling from Maryland to North Carolina shook violently before making emergency landing in deserted airportPassengers on a bumpy Southwest flight from Maryland to North Carolina described a horrific trip that caused several travelers to vomit and left them stranded in a closed South Carolina airport overnight.On Friday, at least two people aboard a Southwest flight from Maryland became ill after the plane shook violently due to weather-related issues while landing in Raleigh, North Carolina. Continue reading...

Police allege Travis Grafe, 40, attacked Rachel Knaus Grafe, 66, co-proprietor of famed farmstand, with flashlight in FebruaryThe co-owner of a south Florida farmstand famous for its cinnamon rolls has died after her son allegedly beat her with a flashlight last month.Rachel Knaus Grafe, 66, the co-proprietor of Knaus Berry Farm, died at about 1.45pm on Sunday, according to an announcement on Instagram from her business. Her son Travis Grafe, 40, has been in jail since after the 17 February attack, according to authorities. Continue reading...

Florida governor, expected to announce presidential run, says Democrats have been infected with a ‘woke mind virus’Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, took his fight against liberalism deep into the Democratic territory of California on Sunday, part of a national roadshow as he lays the ground for an expected White House bid.DeSantis has been meeting with wealthy donors in recent days and burnishing his national credentials in a series of speeches boasting about his achievements in Florida while lambasting the “woke ideology” of leaders in Democratic strongholds including California and New York. Continue reading...

The president spoke in Selma at the site of ‘Bloody Sunday’, which led to passage of historic voting rights legislation nearly 60 years ago. Plus, why women are mad as hell

Events like the Oscars are rare examples of monoculture in a pop-culture world increasingly fractured into tiny splinters“Ooh, the Hollywood issue!” was my first thought on pulling the glossy new Vanity Fair magazine – timed to this Sunday’s Academy Awards – from my mailbox.Then came my second thought: “Who are these people?”Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture Continue reading...

Most speakers focused on issues other than election integrity, but prominent election deniers were still given top billingIn the exhibit hall, vendors displayed various styles of hats declaring “Trump won” and attendees referred to former president Donald Trump as the rightful winner of the 2020 election.But on the event stage, most prominent Republican lawmakers at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) didn’t bring up Trump’s big lie. Instead they largely chose not to repeat his common talking point that rampant voter fraud cost him his re-election. Continue reading...

In the final days of the legislative session, there’s also a push to create a mechanism to unseat county election board membersIn the final few days of this year’s Georgia assembly legislative session, Republican lawmakers raced to propose laws seeking to restrict voting access, and make it easier for citizens to challenge and subvert normal election processes.Senate bill 221, house bill 422 and house bill 426 are just a few of the newly proposed election laws, which come after state Republicans, including the secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, praised election officials for smooth elections in the past two years. They include measures to eradicate absentee ballot drop boxes, allow citizens to more easily challenge voter registrations – which Republican conspiracy theorists had already done with little backing evidence during the midterms – and even unseal ballots for review. Continue reading...

As a gay couple, my husband and I have to build our own vision of what a family looks like. Now I see that as an opportunityIn the summer of 2020 I left London, where I’d lived for 14 years, and moved back to my hometown of Hull. My family is there, and my husband and I want to become parents – the only way we’ll have even the slimmest of chances is to live somewhere with cheaper rents and start saving money in a serious way. If we go down the surrogacy route, it can cost upwards of £50k – and the tumultuous, lengthy process of adoption is not necessarily any easier.Amid all that uncertainty, another draw was that the prospect of family life in Hull felt familiar. My parents had me young – when I came along in the 80s, they had just turned 21 and 23 respectively; Mum a beautiful New Romantic, Dad the spitting image of Morrissey. As a kid, I found that I could score cool points by telling new friends about my young, hip parents. Then as I got older, I appreciated us having shared interests, like getting sloshed and loving Placebo. That’s the sort of dad I wanted to be – someone who defied convention.Samuel Sims is a freelance journalist Continue reading...

Many of the game’s top players have skipped the tournament in the past. But this year teams across the world are fielding strong rostersThere’s something different about the lead-up to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) this year. Don’t take a writer’s word for it – the players themselves have noticed. “The hype is a little bit higher this time around,” according to Nolan Arenado, the St Louis Cardinals’ All-Star third baseman. “There’s more guys that want to [play on the US team this year].”Arenado would know – he’s one of the few holdovers from the US team that won the previous tournament in 2017 (the 2021 edition was cancelled owing to Covid). Arenado’s teammate on the Cardinals, reigning National League MVP Paul Goldschmidt, was also on the 2017 squad. Possibly even more importantly, Goldschmidt may be one of the reasons for the increased interest in the WBC among Major League Baseball players. Continue reading...

The changes go beyond removing one or two offensive words – they’re hamfisted and tin-eared exercises in bowdlerismRecently it was announced that the novels of Roald Dahl, the notoriously bigoted but gifted and enduringly popular children’s author, had been edited to eliminate words, phrases and sentiments that readers might find upsetting.Novels such as The Witches, Matilda, and James and the Giant Peach have been cleansed of negative references to a character’s appearance, race or gender. “Enormously fat” had been changed to “enormous”, “mothers” and “fathers” to the more gender-neutral “parents”. The adjective “black” was eliminated, even in reference to objects. Jokes were explained, passages modified to assure the reader that Dahl’s snarky humor was all in good fun. Continue reading...

Powerful voting bloc looking to back pro-Israel politicians in hopes of dictating policy that fits their theological viewsWhen Israel’s former ambassador to the US said his country should worry less about what American Jews think and concentrate on Christian evangelicals as the “backbone” of support for the Jewish state, he had in mind the Texas megachurch pastor John Hagee.Hagee founded Christians United for Israel (CUFI), a group that claims 11 million members, who have had a significant influence on Republican party politics and in hardening Washington’s already strong support for Israel. Continue reading...

The president spoke in Selma at the site of ‘Bloody Sunday’ that led to passage of historic voting rights legislation nearly 60 years agoJoe Biden paid tribute to the heroes of the “Bloody Sunday” civil rights march nearly 60 years ago and used its annual commemoration to warn of an ongoing threat to US democracy from election deniers and the erosion of voting rights.The US president joined thousands of people in Selma, Alabama to mark the movement that led to the passage of landmark voting rights legislation shortly after peaceful marchers were brutally attacked by law enforcement on a bridge though town. Continue reading...

California newlyweds claim they returned to boat after dive to find it sailing awayA California couple has filed a $5m lawsuit against a tour company in Hawaii which it claims abandoned them in the middle of the ocean during a snorkeling tour.In September 2021, Elizabeth Webster and her husband, Alexander Burckle, were on their honeymoon in Hawaii during which they booked a snorkeling excursion with the boat tour company Sail Maui. Continue reading...

Former Maryland governor says in op-ed he won’t be entering 2024 race and warns Republicans of putting Trump back in White HouseA top Republican figure has warned that the party under Donald Trump has become a “cult of personality” and it could not afford to try and put the former US president back in the White House in 2024.Larry Hogan, a former Maryland governor, had been widely tipped to enter the party’s nomination race but instead used an op-ed in the New York Times on Sunday to announce he would not be running and to warn against Trump’s own 2024 campaign. Continue reading...

‘I know how to disrupt’: the two-time aspirant to the Democratic presidential nomination fleshes out her vision for the countryAuthor Marianne Williamson has said she doesn’t view her very outsider bid for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination as a direct challenge to Joe Biden but as “challenging a system”.The self-help writer and speaker, who also ran a nomination challenge in 2020, said voters “have to rise up” to secure an equitable economic future for the US. Continue reading...

Proposals include restrictions on gender identification, diversity programs, press freedoms, and relax concealed weapons lawsFlorida Republicans are planning a broad rightwing legislative push, including new restrictions on gender identification, diversity and equity programs, abortion and press freedoms, and further relaxation of concealed weapons laws and the ability of courts to impose death sentences.The basket of proposed legislation comes five months after the state’s rightwing Republican governor Ron DeSantis won re-election by a decisive margin and the Republicans established a convincing majority in the state legislature. Continue reading...

While the medication I take has hugely helped my health, it has also robbed me of the joy I took in foodI sat across from my dad having dinner this week. Thirty minutes after the sea bass with roasted cherry tomatoes arrived on the table, the bright red juices from the tomatoes seeping pleasingly into the creamy mash, most of mine remained on my plate. “That was perfectly cooked fish,” he noted. “Absolutely perfect.” I agreed before sadly shrugging: “But you know how it is now. No appetite.”This has been the state of things since last summer, when I was put on new medication. I take one pill each morning and the drug has been immensely helpful to my health, but one of its side effects is I have no desire for food. I once took so much joy in eating, but it now feels like such a chore that I long for a future where I can just take a pill for all my nutritional needs.Leila Latif is a freelance writer and criticThis article was amended on 5 March 2023. An earlier subheading said that Leila Latif took semaglutide for diabetes, but she is not using that medication and does not have diabetes Continue reading...

Train derailed while traveling south, a month after 38 cars derailed in East Palestine and caused a major environmental problemAbout 20 cars of a Norfolk Southern cargo train derailed near Springfield on Saturday evening, the second derailment of the company’s trains in Ohio in a month, officials said.But unlike the 3 February derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, a company spokesperson said there were no hazardous materials aboard the train, the Columbus Dispatch reported. Continue reading...

The former US president has promised to 'finish what we started' in an address to supporters at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland. Trump delivered the keynote speech, saying he was engaged in his 'final battle' as he tries to return to the White House. He left the Oval Office after a failed attempt to overturn his defeat by Joe Biden in the 2020 election, culminating in a deadly riot in the US Capitol

People living near the chemical disaster are wary of contamination, and even across the state line Pennsylvanians are worriedAs a dense cloud of toxic smoke descended across Darlington in western Pennsylvania, Patrick Dittman knew that the catastrophic train derailment across the state line in East Palestine could also pose a danger to his family.The 30-year-old bartender lives and works just a few miles from East Palestine, Ohio, where the Norfolk Southern’s 1.7-mile-long freight train carrying a hotchpotch of dangerous chemicals partly derailed and caught fire on 3 February. Continue reading...