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Communities bargain for shelter and investment in return for giant real estate projects. But what happens when the deal is done and developers stall?For more than a decade, John Fisher, the owner of the Athletics Major League Baseball team, has been threatening to move the club out of Oakland if the city didn't pony up enough public money for a new ballpark.Among his final bids were plans for a massive West Oakland redevelopment that included far more than just a stadium. It involved 1.8m sq ft of commercial space, a hotel, a performing venue and, most important for a region undergoing an immense housing crisis, 3,000 residential units. Arguments over how many of those units would be deemed affordable" kept erupting and were often cited as the major hangup keeping shovels out of the ground. It was unclear how much of this was public posturing because, ultimately, any plans to keep the Athletics in Oakland were ditched. Continue reading...

Both Fifa and the IOC have avoided statements denouncing Israel's war and the ensuing humanitarian crisis, a decision in stark contrast to their handling of Russia's invasion of UkraineAs the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli bombs in Gaza continues to rise - and amid reports that pockets of famine" have started to emerge in the territory - there seems to be few ways they can defend themselves. One method could be through something that unites the world: sport.On New Year's Eve, Jordan's Football Association (JFA) released a statement calling on the global sports community to take decisive action to stop the aggression against Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied territories."Karim Zidan writes a regular newsletter on the intersection of sports and authoritarian politics. Continue reading...

Eat food that is mostly healthy, but also eat delicious food that isn't healthy: these are the eminently sensible words of ... Arnold SchwarzeneggerIn this, the most glowering month of the year, we all need a guru, and I have found mine. He is a one-time bodybuilder, turned action movie hero, turned (soft) Republican politician and his name is Arnold Schwarzenegger.At the very end of last year Arnie took to a site which, because I'm an old nostalgic who thinks names should have more than one letter, I like to call Twitter. He said he had been told that lists go viral, so he had written one. The first piece of advice was: You should mostly eat food you know is healthy. There is no magic food." Continue reading...

If it lets an insurrectionist like Trump on the ballot, the supreme court will be putting out a welcome mat to autocracyOver the decades, several US supreme court justices have warned that the US constitution is not a suicide pact - in other words, that the constitution shouldn't be interpreted in ways that jeopardize the survival of our nation and our democracy.Right now, however, I worry that the supreme court's rightwing supermajority, in its anticipated rush to prohibit states from kicking Donald Trump off the ballot, will turn the constitution into a suicide pact. By letting an insurrectionist like Trump remain on the ballot - a man who spurned centuries of constitutional tradition by refusing to peacefully turn over the reins of power to the man who defeated him - the supreme court would be putting out a welcome mat to a candidate who has made no secret of his plans to trample all over the constitution and trash our democratic traditions. Continue reading...

Revealed: review of internal state department documents shows special mechanisms have been used to shield Israel from US human rights lawsTop US officials quietly reviewed more than a dozen incidents of alleged gross violations of human rights by Israeli security forces since 2020, but have gone to great lengths to preserve continued access to US weapons for the units responsible for the alleged violations, contributing - former US officials say - to the sense of impunity with which Israel has approached its war in Gaza.An estimated 24,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed by Israeli forces since Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, a death toll that has spurred condemnation of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US president Joe Biden, who has been criticized for failing to rein in Israel's indiscriminate" bombing of Gaza. Continue reading...

While it's easy to look at individual success stories as signs of progress, the industry numbers paint a very different pictureBetween history-making wins and thoroughly life-affirming speeches, Black women definitely took center stage at this year's Emmys. And after a night like that, it's whiplash-inducing for me to recall just how shabbily veteran actress Taraji P Henson and her co-stars were allegedly treated while filming the $100m Steven Spielberg-produced remake of The Color Purple.Henson, a Golden Globe winner, spoke candidly to the New York Times about how much she had to fight for on the set of the Warner Bros film - not just for herself, but for all of the members of the hugely talented ensemble cast, which included Tony-nominated actress Danielle Brooks and Grammy-winning Fantasia Barrino. Continue reading...

I miss the mornings after a blizzard, when everything is transformed. It's not a dramatic sign of climate change - but it's certainly not normalIt hadn't snowed in New York City for 701 days - a record - so when it started to come down on Tuesday, children's jaws dropped like kids seeing bananas for the first time after the second world war. Older people, if they had lived in New York for more than a few years, promptly ruined the moment by pointing out it wasn't real snow, there wasn't enough for school to be cancelled, and it was unlikely to accumulate sufficiently for sledding. Ah, the magic of adulthood.It is alarming to see the environment change in one's lifetime, and this isn't anything close to a lifetime. Even a decade ago, New Yorkers were used to the city shutting down for a week at a time when the latest massive snow storm came in. In February 2010, a total of 36in fell in the city, part of a winter of 51in of snow. In 2006, a blizzard dumped 26.9in of snow on the area, a record rivalled 10 years later when so much snow fell across the state that the governor briefly banned travel. The cold front on Tuesday, by contrast, dumped, or rather lightly dusted, Central Park with about an inch of snow, followed almost immediately by rain. By the time schools let out, grumbling parents forced to head to the park watched in amazement as their snow-deprived children screamed with joy at the grey chips of ice.Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Six teams were eliminated in the wildcard round. Here are the issues each of them has to address in the coming months

Will I take my books and my schoolbag?' my niece asked as her parents packed the essentials: blankets, documents, food. There was no way to explainIn my home town of Khan Younis, a refugee camp to the south of the Gaza Strip, my family home has finally been evacuated. The building suffered substantial damage when 36 of my relatives were killed in a bombing on 26 October. But they had clung on to the small piece of safety they felt they had there and continued to live in the home anyway. Then, on Christmas Day, the terrifying news fell from the sky written on leaflets - a directive to evacuate.In the Christian story of Jesus, his mother and father travelled the land looking for somewhere safe to stay. Everywhere they heard: There is no room at the inn." One of the places they visited on this journey was Gaza. For Palestinians, more than 2,000 years later, the question remains: Where can we go?" Continue reading...

Second fiddle to Mark Spitz and swimming with a collapsed lung, the American's Munich story eclipses the medals' worthThe press release came through last week, publicising Thursday's sale of Olympic memorabilia at the RR auction house in Boston, USA. There's an Olympic torch from Berlin 1936, a postcard signed by Jesse Owens, a wooden clog from Amsterdam '28, a media pass from Tokyo '64, and, among them all, one complete set of medals.A bronze, a silver and a gold from Munich '72: they have a 66mm diameter and are 5mm thick, an image of the goddess Nike engraved on one side, the twin gods Castor and Pollux on the other, and they weigh 175g, the last 6g the gold plating. Right now, the leading bid is $8,985 (7,090) for the three. Which is cheap given what they cost the owner. So why sell? Continue reading...

With the MLS offseason in full swing and the regular season starting up in February, there are plenty of reasons for optimism across the leagueThe offseason is a time of hope. After all, teams almost always look good on paper - and they look even better with the promise of a key transfer deal floating somewhere on the horizon.From superstars ready to shine to savvy transfer moves to front office changes, here's why your team should be hopeful ahead of the 2024 season. Continue reading...

Does turning away Europeans with valid paperwork really make British borders safe and secure'? It's hard to imagineFour years after the UK officially left the European Union, you can still be taken aback reading about Brexit's self-defeating, if sometimes unintended, consequences. A Spanish woman was detained at Luton airport and denied re-entry after a Christmas visit to Spain, even though she had been living and working in the UK with her family for years. A French woman, married to a British citizen, had to give up her job after an apparent paperwork mix-up.Trapped in the grey area of backlog and conflicting rules, like tens of thousands of EU citizens after Brexit, these cases are a recurring tale in post-Brexit Europe. Asked by the Guardian about the plight of the Spanish woman, the Home Office response parroted generic lines: Border Force's number one priority is to keep our borders safe and secure, and we will never compromise on this," a spokesperson said.Maria Ramirez is a journalist and deputy managing editor of elDiario.es, a news outlet in Spain Continue reading...

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Former Elle columnist says I'm here to get my reputation back' as judge warns ex-president he could be kicked out of courtE Jean Carroll took the witness stand on Wednesday morning in her defamation trial against Donald Trump, marking the first time she has confronted the ex-president in a courtroom. Carroll's testimony so incensed Trump that he had numerous outbursts, prompting the judge to warn that he could be kicked out of court.I'm here because Donald Trump assaulted me, and when I wrote about it, he said it never happened," Carroll testified. He lied, and it shattered my reputation." Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. For more on the trial, you can read our latest:

Like an angry child the ex-president could not contain himself as he listened from feet away to the columnist's testimony

Heather Mack, 28, pleaded guilty to helping boyfriend kill Sheila Wiese-Mack in 2014 to gain access to $1.5m trust fundAn American woman who pleaded guilty to helping kill her own mother and stuffing the body in a suitcase during a luxury vacation in Bali has been sentenced to 26 years in prison.Judge Matthew Kennelly gave Mack credit for the approximately two years she spent in custody in Chicago awaiting trial since her return to the US in 2021. Mack's attorney Michael Leonard said her formal sentence will be about 23 years total. Continue reading...

Gavin Newsom says outright ban is not the answer', ending advocates' hopes for law banning tackle football for under-12sCalifornia's governor said he will not sign a proposed ban on tackle football for children under 12, ending advocates' short-lived hopes of having the bill become law this year.I will not sign legislation that bans youth tackle football," Newsom said in a statement late on Tuesday. I am deeply concerned about the health and safety of our young athletes, but an outright ban is not the answer." Continue reading...

Nikki Haley follows at 34% and Ron DeSantis is at 5%, as Florida governor's campaign switches focus to South Carolina

Extreme' Republican-backed bans have caused untold suffering' for women, senators say, and vow to restore federal abortion rightsSenate Democrats underscored their commitment to abortion rights in a press conference on Wednesday, ahead of the 51st anniversary of Roe v Wade. The now-overturned supreme court case provided American women with a constitutional right to abortion for nearly 50 years.Experts at the briefing described Republican-backed abortion bans across the country as cruel", extreme" and causing untold suffering" for American women, thousands of whom are forced to travel across state lines for abortions or be forced to remain pregnant. Continue reading...

Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Doug Burgum among party members embracing former competitor for presidential nominationDonald Trump's runaway victory in the Iowa caucuses has triggered a new slew of endorsements from prominent Republicans, among them at least four former rivals for the party's presidential nomination whom he has previously insulted.The Texas senator Ted Cruz became the latest to jump onboard on Tuesday night, tweeting he was proud" to back the former president to save our country from the Democrats' destructive agenda". Continue reading...

Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate concedes country has faced challenges' over dealing with race

The way we approach public safety is nonsensical - crime ebbs and flows, yet spending on law enforcement only ever goes upReports on 2023 in the United States are in, and a banner one is this: crime plummeted last year.According to the New York Times, citing FBI data, Detroit recorded its lowest murder figures in roughly half a century; homicides and shootings in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and most other major cities dropped precipitously; and car thefts were the only serious" criminal category that didn't see notable drop-offs over the course of the calendar year. In Minneapolis - which, after the police murder of George Floyd, became the epicenter in 2020 of the largest wave against racial injustice since the civil rights movement - homicides reportedly fell by 9% last year, gun violence by roughly a quarter, and carjackings by half. Continue reading...

Body of San Francisco woman, 27, recovered near site of crash involving single-engine plane believed to be carrying four peopleA plane that crashed into ocean south of San Francisco on Sunday was a light aircraft that can be built from a kit, authorities have said.Officials also said on Tuesday that they had identified a body that was found in the water near where the Cozy Mark IV plane crashed as a 27-year-old San Francisco resident. Continue reading...

Sinking time and money into mindfulness apps and resilience training ignores the real problem: workplace stressBosses want you to be well - but they may be making you ill. To help improve employee health, companies are doing everything from helping workers to stop smoking, offering diet plans and health food, and introducing yoga and exercise sessions, to installing bicycle-powered desks, giving employees apps that track their movements and sleep, providing therapists, taking employees on outdoor adventures and much more.Companies around the world spent $61.2bn on wellness interventions in 2021. That amount is projected to grow to $94.6bn in 2026. The problem is that most workplace wellbeing interventions cost money and take up time, but have little or no impact on employee wellbeing. In some cases, they may actually undermine workplace wellbeing. It turns out the most effective way to improve employee mental health is by reducing stress, rather than adding new ways to cope with it.Andre Spicer is professor of organisational behaviour at the Bayes Business School at City, University of London. He is the author of the book Business Bullshit Continue reading...

Victims had got out of minivan that lost control and another vehicle in Lackawanna county before being struckFive people were struck and killed by a tractor trailer on Interstate 81 in snowy north-eastern Pennsylvania after they had left their vehicles following another crash, state police said on Wednesday.A minivan had lost control and hit a median on the northbound interstate in Lackawanna county at about 5.30pm on Tuesday. Four people got out of the van as well as a person who had been following them in a separate car, police said. All were hit by the passing tractor trailer. Continue reading...

New discussions with president's son's attorneys could lead to him testifying in the near futureEfforts by House Republicans to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress appear to be in suspension following new discussions with his attorneys that could lead to the president's son testifying in the near future.The development follows Biden's surprise appearance at a congressional oversight committee meeting last week during which the Republicans complained he was refusing to make himself available in defiance of their subpoena for closed-door testimony. Continue reading...

Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas were both made to work hard for their wins, while Aryna Sabalenka also progressed on day fourBrenda Fruhvirtova 2-2 Aryna Sabalenka* (*denotes next server)Sabalenka can't return serve but she then smashes a volley to level 15-15. Fruhvirtova plays another unreturnable serve, it is becoming a real asset in this match, and Sabalenka's return is then long. Continue reading...

Two months ago, the defending NFC champions were the toast of football with the inside track on a repeat Super Bowl appearance. Then came the wildest in-season unravelling in NFL historyIt's long been said the NFL stands for Not For Long. Change comes quickly in a copycat league where winning strategies are examined, analyzed and imitated and constant innovation is central to continued success. But even by that standard, it's difficult to recall a more rapid fall from grace than what's gone down with the Philadelphia Eagles over the past two months.The Eagles were the envy of the league as recently as seven weeks ago, a winning machine fronted by an energetic young coach, ascendant franchise quarterback and one of football's most talented rosters from top to bottom. After romping to last year's NFC championship and coming up three points short of winning the Super Bowl, they'd raced out to the NFL's best record at Thanksgiving and appeared on course for a return trip to the sport's biggest stage. Continue reading...

Every year these houseplants delight us with their fiery foliage - and every year they sadden us when they lose it. Binning them is not the solutionHow heartless is the human spirit each January. Christmas trees, shedding needles like tears, are left out in the cold for disposal. Less visible, but no less callous, is the discarding of poinsettias. Redder than Santa's outfit, they radiate great cheeriness over Christmas before dreary January douses their flames. Into the bin the poor things go, not even honoured with a public chipping as a send-off. How callous we are.But not me: I have stuck with the poinsettia I bought not before last Christmas, nor the one before that, but the one before that; Christmas 2021. Throughout 2022, I cared for it with great diligence - feeding, watering, chatting, fondling and so on. I vaguely assumed it would reward my loyalty with a blazing return to glory come Christmas. But nothing. At this point, a lesser man would surely have dumped it, but not me. This underperforming poinsettia and I were in it for the long term. Continue reading...

When even some of the rich are warming to taxes on wealth, why is the Labour party still reluctant to propose them?

Federal regulators say quirky signs such as Hocus pocus, drive with focus' can distract drivers and will be phased out by 2026Use Yah Blinkah". Don't drive star-spangled hammered". Hocus pocus, drive with focus".Thanks to federal regulators, the slogans will no longer appear on highway signs across the United States as of 2026. Continue reading...

Pakistan says attacks killed two children in unprovoked violation' of its airspace, adding to instability sparked by Israel-Gaza war. Plus, the parents suing US social media firms after their children's death

The result of the Iowa caucuses was an easy tale foretold. But Trump's triumph over his legal troubles is far from certainDonald Trump's most dangerous race is not with other Republican candidates, but against the law. In his political match, he faces no serious contest. His victory in the Iowa caucuses results was crushing. But in his legal trials, he is on the run. For Trump, the legal is the political.The calendars overlap. His overarching strategy is not so much calculated to defeat his feeble Republican opponents but to delay his trials by any gambit necessary. The delays give him space to depict himself as a martyr, taking the slings and arrows for his believers, who are his hope to rescue him.Sidney Blumenthal is a Guardian US columnist. He is a former senior adviser to President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, has published three books of a projected five-volume political life of Abraham Lincoln: A Self-Made Man, Wrestling With His Angel and All the Powers of Earth Continue reading...

My dad was completely flooded in on his boat, with just a ukulele and three potatoes to tide him over. A bad situation, certainly - but still a better bet, perhaps, than those of us living in bricks and mortarMy dad lives on a boat. Despite the earrings, tattoos, missing teeth and bare feet, he is not a pirate - just a man with an expensive divorce and a public sector job, living in one of the most unaffordable cities in the UK.This month, his mooring in Oxford was hit by the kind of flood described as once in 100 years". Except the same thing happened 10 years ago. And three years before that. All along the same stretch of water. Continue reading...

Church leaders in 2016 crafted a palatable Trump - in return, he gave them institutional power and a supreme court that overturned RoeIowa Republicans showed up 15 January in force for Donald Trump, voting overwhelmingly in the nation's first primary for the former president, whose grip on his party has only deepened as he weathers numerous lawsuits and 91 felony charges relating to his business dealings and involvement in attempts to overthrow the 2020 election. The Iowa caucuses confirmed polls that have consistently shown Trump carrying a comfortable lead ahead of the remaining Republican challengers.Before the caucuses, Florida governor Ron DeSantis repeatedly reminded voters and the press that he had toured all of Iowa's 99 counties. Trump won 98 of them. With the exception of college graduates and voters under thirty, who for the most part caucused for DeSantis or former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, most other demographic groups reported strong support for Trump this year. Continue reading...

Represented by Teamsters, 5,000 workers at Anheuser-Busch's breweries prepare to strike after 99% voters favor authorizationWorkers who make Bud Light and other top-selling beers are threatening to strike in demand of significant wage increases, job security and improvements to retirement and benefits in the first big union contract battle of 2024.Five thousand workers, represented by the Teamsters at 12 Anheuser-Busch breweries in the US, are threatening to strike after voting 99% in favor of a strike authorization last month. Their current union contract is set to expire on 29 February. Continue reading...

The US was the first country to introduce substitutions and the backpass law. Here are five other innovations worthy of consideration for a wider rolloutSoccer in the US has continually experimented over the years, trying to find a balance between the game experienced around the world and serving up a uniquely Americanized product to its domestic audience, with rules echoing those found in the nation's major sports leagues.Some changes were revolutionary and stuck around - a rudimentary form of the backpass rule was an innovation of the North American Soccer League in the 1980s, for example, long before it was adopted throughout the game in 1992; likewise the use of substitutes, which was pioneered by the American Soccer League in the 1920s more than three decades before the idea was written into the laws of the game internationally. Continue reading...

The wife of San Francisco fullback Kyle Juszczyk was the designer of the puffy winter coat worn by Taylor Swift that went viral over the weekendFor one night at least, San Francisco 49ers All-Pro fullback Kyle Juszczyk was not the biggest star in his family.All it took was pop superstar-turned-Chiefs fan Taylor Swift wearing a puffy winter coat designed by Juszczyk's wife, Kristin, that looked like the jersey of Swift's boyfriend, tight end Travis Kelce, to a playoff game in frigid Kansas City on Saturday night. Continue reading...

Senator's bid to make US military support conditional on whether Israel is violating human rights in Gaza fails by 72 votes to 11US senators have defeated a measure, introduced by Bernie Sanders, that would have made military aid to Israel conditional on whether the Israeli government is violating human rights and international accords in its devastating war in Gaza.A majority of senators struck down the proposal on Tuesday evening, with 72 voting to kill the measure, and 11 supporting it. Although Sanders' effort was easily defeated, it was a notable test that reflected growing unease among Democrats over US support for Israel. Continue reading...

Anderson Aldrich plans to plead guilty to federal charges with an agreement that would allow him to avoid the death penaltyThe shooter, who killed five people and endangered the lives of over 40 others at an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs, plans to plead guilty to new federal charges for hate crimes and firearm violations under an agreement that would allow the defendant to avoid the death penalty, according to court documents made public Tuesday.Anderson Aldrich, 23, made a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to 50 hate crime charges and 24 firearm violations, the documents show. Aldrich would get multiple life sentences in addition to a 190-year sentence under the plea agreement, which needs a judge's approval. Continue reading...

ABC forced to cancel after Nikki Haley says she will not take part unless Trump, who has not participated so far, does the sameABC News has cancelled the next Republican presidential debate after Nikki Haley said she would not appear on stage unless Donald Trump takes part.Trump has refused to participate in any of the Republican primary debates so far, making Ron DeSantis the only candidate committed to Thursday's event in New Hampshire. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. You can follow latest updates on the Senate vote hereNikki Haley has said in a new campaign advert attacking Donald Trump and Joe Biden that she is the better choice" for America, as the former South Carolina governor tries to regain momentum after narrowly losing to Ron DeSantis in the Iowa caucuses.Haley puts herself forward as the better choice than Biden and Trump, whom the narrator in the ad suggests are the two most-disliked politicians in America". Continue reading...

Lawyer for magazine columnist says Trump emboldened his followers to threaten and smear her after she accused him of rapeDonald Trump used his platform while he was US president to try to wreck E Jean Carroll's name after she accused him of rape, her lawyer argued in a New York court on Tuesday, adding that Trump had also emboldened hardline followers to hurl smears and threats at her.He had the biggest microphone on the planet ... He used it to tear her reputation to shreds - to defame her," Shawn Crowley, one of Carroll's attorneys, said during opening statements in the former Elle columnist's second defamation trial against Trump, which opened in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday afternoon. Continue reading...

Biden received 1,648 fewer votes than he should have and Trump was awarded 2,327 too many, county director of elections saysAs Donald Trump continues to pursue the lie that his 2020 presidential election defeat was the result of electoral fraud, elections officials in Virginia have admitted some results there were improperly reported - resulting in an artificially inflated total for Trump while votes were actually taken away from Joe Biden.Eric Olsen, director of elections for Prince William county, said: Election results were improperly reported by the previous administration during the 2020 election. Continue reading...

Trump had an overwhelming victory and is leading polls in other states, it's not clear where DeSantis can regain momentumMinutes after his second-place finish in the Iowa caucuses was confirmed, Ron DeSantis came onstage in a hotel ballroom to declare that everything was going according to plan in his campaign to win the Republican presidential nomination.They threw everything but the kitchen sink at us," the Florida governor told a crowd of supporters who had made liberal use of a nearby cash bar on Monday evening, in the hours they waited for him to speak in West Des Moines. Continue reading...