US news | The Guardian

The White House has confirmed that the objects shot down over North America did not come from worlds beyond. ‘There is no indication of aliens or terrestrial activity with these recent takedowns. I wanted to make sure that the American people knew that,’ press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. John Kirby added that closer scrutiny of airspace may partially explain the increase in objects detected but that they were not assessed as a threat to people on the ground and showed no signs they had manoeuvring or propulsion capability Continue reading...

Group gathered outside Arizona stadium to protest the team’s name and the insulting gesture and chant performed by its fansThe Kansas City Chiefs may have won the Super Bowl in an epic game, but for some there will be no victory until the football team changes its name and symbol and its fans stop performing an insulting gesture and chant.A small but loud group protested outside the stadium hosting the Super Bowl in Arizona on Sunday, aggrieved that the team from the city that straddles the Kansas-Missouri border continues to refuse to drop its name and arrowhead symbol, which Native American leaders class as a racist mascot and symbol that devalues Native traditions. Continue reading...

The league may want to pretend it has changed but TV coverage in the US reminded us that it remains in love with its own importanceWith Tom Brady finally, probably off the scene and the age of Patrick Mahomes upon us, this year’s Super Bowl promised a new beginning for football in America, a kind of cultural reset after the Kaepernick-Trump years. Rihanna back on stage for the first time in four years! Two Black quarterbacks facing off for the first time in Super Bowl history! Greg Olsen’s emergence as America’s favorite play-by-play guy and the enduring gap-toothed charm of Michael Strahan! At each turn of the half-day behemoth that was Fox’s pre-game coverage, viewers were handed some fresh invitation to believe that we have entered a new era. But as kickoff grew closer and the jingoism thickened, a darker truth became clear: the NFL has not changed. It’s just found a new and bigger cast of characters to buy into its bullshit.No country has America’s gift for blending sport, militarism, celebrity, and consumerism into a single package, and there’s no better demonstration of that gift than the Super Bowl. Fox, a network completely at ease with the death cult of modern America, is maybe the perfect home for an assignment like this, its on-air talents blending football pedigree and thoughtless patriotism in perfect, Super Bowl-ready proportion. Continue reading...

In forcing her audience to confront her physical reality, the pop star took ownership of her body – and she did it in real timeRihanna’s Super Bowl set lasted just shy of 13 minutes. But the image of the pregnant pop star, cradling her belly in a red silk Loewe catsuit as she descended from the heavens on a Perspex box, is surely up there with the greatest pregnancy reveals of the Instagram age.Even before she had switched into a puffer coat with built-in gloves by Alaia, it had become more than a half-time performance. Here was a woman, returning to work for the first time since having a baby, somehow converting this moment into a tightly controlled but highly visible moment, while putting paid to the difficult second pregnancy reveal. In forcing her audience to confront her physical reality, Rihanna went past making a fashion statement. She took ownership of her body, and she did it in real time. Continue reading...

Plane heading for San Francisco took steep dive shortly after takeoff in dramatic incident in mid-DecemberA United flight from Maui to San Francisco plummeted to less than 800ft above the Pacific Ocean shortly after takeoff in December, an apparent near crash and previously unreported safety incident revealed by airline industry publication the Air Current.Flight tracking data analysis revealed that the Boeing 777-200 had reached an altitude of roughly 2,200ft when it began a steep dive, descending at a rate of about 8,600ft a minute. After dipping below 775ft, the flight recovered altitude and traveled to San Francisco without further issue. Continue reading...

Judge ruled certain sections will be made public this week, including one involving witnesses who may have lied under oathPortions of a Georgia grand jury’s report on whether Donald Trump and allies committed crimes when they tried to overturn the 2020 election will be made public this week, but the entirety of the report will remain secret until the Fulton county prosecutor decides whether to bring charges, a judge ruled on Monday.The sections that will be made public are the report’s introduction, conclusion and a section discussing whether some of the witnesses who testified before the special purpose grand jury lied under oath. The section does not identify which witnesses may have lied. Continue reading...

The 24-year-old quarterback made a single, costly error against the Kansas City Chiefs but was otherwise superb in defeat for PhiladelphiaJalen Hurts made one mistake in Super Bowl LVII, as Kansas City and Philadelphia were trading blows early in the second quarter in Glendale, Arizona. Facing third and five from his 49-yard line, the Eagles star fielded a shotgun snap and lunged forward in an obvious quarterback draw play, only to immediately find himself under pressure from the Chiefs’ pass rush. As Hurts staggered to his right to avoid incoming Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton, the ball slipped out and tumbled backward on to the turf. Without breaking stride, Bolton scooped it up at the 36-yard line and, with a three-man Chiefs convoy, sprinted into the endzone to tie the game at 14-14.It was the kind of play that could have dented Hurts’s confidence, given that the last time he stumbled on a stage this big was when he was leading Alabama in the 2018 college national championship game. This time, however, a back-up wasn’t trotting on to the field to replace Hurts, because his error didn’t permanently halt the Eagles momentum. But it didn’t spare them from a 38-35 defeat either. In the end Kansas City were simply the more resilient team thanks to their Michael Jordan in cleats, Patrick Mahomes. The official record should reflect that, but for a play here or there, it could have easily been Hurts basking in MVP glory after leading his team to victory. Continue reading...

The Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl champions for a second time in four years after a hobbled Patrick Mahomes led them to victory over the Philadelphia Eagles from a 24-14 deficit at half-time. Mahomes entered his third Super Bowl in four seasons nursing a sprained right ankle but was one of the chiefs most valuable players in the second half, completing 13 out of 14 passes for 93 yards and two touchdowns.

Military general says he will not rule out any explanation as fourth object this month is downed over North America. Plus, is Florida running out of orange juice?

It’s no fun getting older in our youth-obsessed culture. As for those who would mock their elders, two words of advice: just waitJust before President Biden turned 80 in November, he said something that I could identify with – that he didn’t even want to say his age out loud.That’s how I’ve felt ever since I turned 40 – which was, let’s say, not a recent event.Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture Continue reading...

The Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl champions for a second time in four years after a hobbled Patrick Mahomes marshalled a game-winning drive to seal a 38-35 comeback win over the Philadelphia Eagles. 'It hasn't even sunk in yet,' Mahomes said before adding, 'I appreciate it more because of the failures of losing a Super Bowl and losing an AFC Championship game.' Following their defeat, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts said, 'we came here to win and came up short. There's something that I know: it'll motivate me'

Voting rights groups say there’s no time for complacency as restrictive laws take toll on a battleground stateAfter mobilizing voters for several statewide elections last year, from the primary to the November midterm and then the December runoff, voting rights groups in Georgia say there’s no time to rest. Organizers from New Project Georgia are hitting the streets and going door to door to register voters to continue expanding the state’s electorate, building Georgia’s growing influence on national politics.Keron Blair, the group’s chief field and organizing officer, is coordinating upwards of 50 organizers in an effort to accelerate voter expansion during this time when many voters become disengaged. Continue reading...

Control of state supreme court could flip from conservative to liberal with big consequences for most gerrymandered US stateVoting is under way in an under-the-radar race that could ultimately wind up being the most important election in America this year.At stake is control of the Wisconsin supreme court. Because control of state government in Wisconsin is split between Democrats and Republicans, the seven-member body has increasingly become the forum to get a final decision on some of the most consequential issues in the state – from voting rights to abortion. Continue reading...

The International Olympic Committee wants to find a pathway for Russians to compete in Paris despite the war in UkrainePicture the mise-en-scène in Paris next year, on the opening day of the Olympics. At the final of the 10m air rifle shooting mixed team event, the Russian Sergey Kamenskiy presses his eye to his gun, squeezes the trigger, and – a millisecond later – is triumphantly celebrating gold. Meanwhile 1,500 miles away in Kyiv, rubble from homes and hospitals continues to pile up, along with the bodies of the dead.Far fetched? Hardly. The International Olympic Committee is determined to establish a pathway for Russians to compete in Paris. And it won’t be deterred by widespread condemnation from Ukrainian athletes, or the expectation that 35 countries – including the UK and United States – will call for a ban this week. Instead on Sunday the IOC president, Thomas Bach, doubled down by denying his organisation was on the wrong side of history. Continue reading...

Companies such as Amazon, Disney and Walmart funded Florida governor who has imposed curbs on teaching about race in schoolsPolitical activists in Florida have condemned the “hypocrisy” of large corporations that use Black History Month to denounce racism while donating hundreds of thousands dollars to the state’s rightwing governor, Ron DeSantis.

Kansas City’s supremely gifted playmaker was close to flawless when it counted against Philadelphia, building his case as the greatest quarterback to ever lace them upNow imagine if he had two good ankles. Patrick Mahomes hopped and hobbled to the sideline at the end of the first half, unable or at least unwilling to put any weight on his right leg after Eagles linebacker TJ Edwards had dragged him down by it. He showed no such struggle two quarters later, as he accelerated away from the league’s best pass rushers and into the open field on the 26-yard run that set his team up to win Super Bowl LVII.This is what the great ones do, putting their troubles to one side and their teams on their backs in the moments that matter. Mahomes aspires to be the greatest. “That’s what he wants to do, that’s how he goes about his business,” said Andy Reid afterward. “The great quarterbacks make everyone around them better, including the head coach. He’s done a heck of a job.” Continue reading...

Military general says he will not rule out any explanation as fourth object is downed over North America this month

How do you switch off at the end of the day if there’s no journey involved? Gardening? Sex? Crisps?If you’re reading this standing in a stationary train’s vestibule, squeezed between a furtive flosser and someone eating a keto breakfast of hard-boiled eggs and sardines, while everyone listens to Jolyon on speakerphone review the new draft pitch deck, take heart: commuting is good for you.It’s the second outing I have spotted for this argument. In 2021, the Harvard Business Review asserted the value of commuting in setting and maintaining boundaries between work and home selves, thus avoiding burnout. Now the concept is back, with US researchers further exploring the role of the commute as a “liminal space” that allows for psychological detachment and recovery from work. There are psychological as well as physical and temporal dimensions to the commute, they argue, and “the experience of rolelessness” during it may create a mental space for “psychological role transition and recovery”.Emma Beddington is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Is Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the notorious Wagner group, a Kremlin-sanctioned bogeyman or a real threat to the president?The rise of Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian oligarch, Putin confidant and head of the notorious Wagner private military company, is a sign of the erosion of the rule of law in Russia. It shows that the state is willing to tolerate extreme, unaccountable violence as long as it serves its interests. This could ultimately become a threat to the regime itself.Prigozhin is a private citizen who was previously a restaurant magnate – known as “Putin’s chef” due to the president’s patronage of his restaurants and catering firms. But at some point in 2014, he co-founded the Wagner Group along with former Russian military personnel, and has since become a major player in Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.Samantha de Bendern is an associate fellow in the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House and a political commentator on LCI television in France Continue reading...

Measures to combat overdose crisis include stiffer penalties but some worry it may signal a turn away from harm reductionJoe Biden’s call for stronger penalties to crack down on fentanyl trafficking during the his State of the Union address last week drew mixed responses from experts.On Tuesday, the president laid out a series of measures to combat the country’s overdose crisis including increased drug detection machines, cargo inspections and harsher penalties surrounding fentanyl trafficking. Continue reading...

The Chiefs beat the Eagles in a classic game after staging a second-half comeback in Glendale, Arizona

Federal workplace authorities fined the popular Pennsylvania candy factory $14,500 and categorized citation as ‘serious’US federal workplace authorities have fined a popular Pennsylvania candy factory more than $14,500 after two of its employees fell into a large tub of chocolate last year.In a scene that seemingly could have come straight out of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, two workers last June landed in the tub at the Mars Wrigley factory in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. Neither of the two workers had any injuries when the sticky situation unfolded as they did maintenance work and tumbled into a tank that was partially filled with chocolate. Continue reading...

‘Chinese were caught lying',’ says Senate majority leader as US and Canadian military scramble to recover piecesUS and Canadian military are continuing to search by sea and land amid hostile weather conditions in a scramble to recover portions of three flying objects shot down over North American airspace in the past week.The Democratic majority leader of the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, told ABC’s This Week on Sunday that he had been briefed by the White House and that officials were now convinced that all three of the flying objects brought down by air-to-air missiles this week were balloons. He put the finger of blame firmly on China. Continue reading...

Medical professionals attribute the increasing cases of disease to inadequate prenatal healthcare and understaffed workforceMississippi has registered an alarming rise in the number of infants being treated for congenital syphilis.According to hospital billing data shared with NBC, the amount of babies who have been treated for the sexually transmitted disease has increased by more than 900% over five years. Continue reading...

A US warplane shot down an unidentified object over North American airspace, the Canadian prime minister said on Saturday. It was the second day in a row in which the US military shot down an unidentified airborne object

President says at White House dinner that passage of infrastructure laws is evidence of ‘some bipartisan progress’Joe Biden appealed to Republican and Democratic governors on Saturday to continue working across political divides to improve Americans’ lives and rebuild the economy after the hardships brought by the Covid-19 pandemic.Speaking at a black-tie dinner at the White House, the president told 31 governors that the passage of laws on investing in infrastructure and domestic manufacture of semiconductors was evidence of “some bipartisan progress” among Republicans and Democrats. Vice-President Kamala Harris was also in attendance. Continue reading...

There must be a better euphemism. But ‘sensual’ just makes me think of a bare-chested StingI was fascinated by a recent interview with Amrapali Gan, the newish CEO of OnlyFans. Not by her blandly rehearsed claims that the platform isn’t mainly porn, and is, in fact, enabling diverse and empowered creativity – sports, cookery, fashion! – but by her use of the word “spicy”, which cropped up four times as a synonym for sexually explicit. “A bunch of spicy content … something on the spicier side … some of it might be spicy … spicier content.”That feels oddly coy, when you’re talking about a site hosting, for example, “super-specific niche fetish” and “vanilla hardcore”, as an OnlyFans content creator described it on a forum. (I can’t explore further, because I’m certain if I do, a wailing Internet Pervert klaxon will resonate throughout my neighbourhood. Yes, I’m extremely well adjusted, thanks.)Emma Beddington is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

As a child, Ramzan’s fight for an education almost cost her her life. Worldwide, there are 222 million children out of school who urgently need our help

The office expenses I’ve saved on since 2005 have come at the expense of my company’s cultureThe pandemic is “over” – sort of. But one big question it generated is here to stay: should we ever go back to the office? It’s a question I have been asking myself for 18 years.My technology consulting company went fully virtual in 2005. Prior to that we – I ran the business with my father – had an office in a suburban neighborhood of Philadelphia. When my father passed away I started to spend more time in the office and I realized something: the office wasn’t so great. Continue reading...

The region’s popularity has seen a surge, sending real estate prices soaring and pushing locals outLate last year, Lake Tahoe earned a spot on an exclusive travel guide. But the mountain destination, famed for its cobalt blue waters and Olympic-quality ski resorts, wasn’t there for the reason you’d think.Fodor’s “No list” highlighted beloved getaways that needed a break, and Tahoe was up there with the neediest. Citing a pandemic influx of remote workers, second home buyers, traffic gridlock and packed beaches, the guide concluded “Lake Tahoe has a people problem”. Continue reading...

California shootings reveal barriers to care in Asian American community, including language access and cultural stigmasOne Saturday evening, as she was watching TV at home, Barbara heard what she assumed were fireworks going off for a Lunar New Year festival. It was not until the next morning that she learned that the popping had not been celebratory fireworks, but gunshots at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, California, the site of a mass shooting last month that left 11 people dead and nine injured. It was the studio her own parents attended weekly for the past 30 years.After fleeing the Vietnam War and resettling as refugees in the United States, Barbara’s parents, both in their 70s, found joy, comfort and community at Star Dance. Barbara had been to the studio countless times to watch their performances and, occasionally, pick them up late at night when they had “partied too hard”. The only reason they weren’t there that night was because they were away on a cruise. Continue reading...

The former prime minister’s lack of self-awareness would be comedy gold if her prose weren’t so desperately dullTwo massive comebacks were proclaimed last week: Liz Truss and Fawlty Towers. Truss returned to the political fray and John Cleese announced that he and his daughter will be making a new series of the renowned hotel sitcom. Exciting times! But both developments raise the same nagging question: can it be as funny the second time round?Can the intensity of hysterical chaos be matched? Could such fast-moving and unexpected, cringeworthy yet compulsively watchable farcical consequences be brought about again? Both Truss and Cleese have been criticised for the brevity of their masterpieces – though, in running for two series of six weeks, Fawlty Towers long outlasted Truss’s tenure of power – but is it a mistake to try to add to something perfect? They may be the finest artists of calamity in their respective genres but are they unwise to compete with their former selves? Continue reading...

Europe was made whole in 1989. Now concern about migrant ‘invaders’ is turning the continent, and other global regions, into fortressesTo drive into the heart of West Berlin on a dark, snowy night in December 1988 was to descend on to the cinematic frontline of the cold war. Watchtowers manned by armed East German border guards, searchlights, barbed wire, the blackened facade of the gutted Reichstag by the frozen River Spree – it was all there, just like the movies. Yet it was only too real. Holding centre stage: the sinister Berlin Wall.

Coming of age during Covid was no joke, so don’t mock young people for trying to establish a few rules of polite behaviourIn my innocence, I thought the very concept of etiquette had long been banished to social Siberia. It would appear not. New York magazine’s The Cut recently published 140 rules on new social etiquette. While some may have responded with giddy excitement, others mocked the guide as a “woke” Debrett’s of generation Z carping and nitpicking. A NY Post columnist lambasted the rules as “deeply infantilising”.Whatever happened to the freedom of youth? we wailed. Laying the law down on everything from dating, parenting, privilege and misgendering to tipping, mask wearing , posting and hosting, this seemed less generation Z and more generation Zzz, or Generation Take-a-Chill-Pill. With the debate still raging, I wonder: has this list sparked yet another bout of intergenerational misunderstanding? Continue reading...

Will Patrick Mahomes capture his second NFL title with Kansas City? Or will Philly’s all-round excellence prevail in the Arizona desert?Cut off Travis Kelce. Easy, right? The only Chiefs player with more than 1,000 yards receiving in the regular season, and the target for one-third of all passes his team has thrown in the postseason, he is the person that an injured Mahomes will want to look for when the pressure is on. NB Continue reading...

The democracies have confounded the Russian tyrant with their resolve to support Ukraine. That must be sustained in 2023It was an easy mistake for a tyrant to make. When Vladimir Putin launched his savage assault on Ukraine in February last year, he did not just misjudge its valiant people and their determination to fight for freedom. He also misread the western democracies.You can see why. As Russia’s military was beginning what was intended to be a lightning blitz to crush its neighbour, the UK’s clown car government was being consumed by Partygate. France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, had previously despaired that Nato was in the throes of “brain death”. Germany, with its dangerous dependence on Russian hydrocarbons, had a newly elected chancellor in Olaf Scholz, presiding over an untested three-party coalition. America had rattled confidence in its leadership with the ignominious scuttle from Afghanistan. It wasn’t just Putin, it was a growing number of people in the free world who thought the democracies had become too debilitated, decadent and divided to defend their values. The Kremlin’s dictator is not the only one who underestimated the resistance of the Ukrainians and the staying power of their supporters in the west. Continue reading...

StadWithUs filed charge with US education department accusing Lara Sheehi of hate speech and discrimination against studentsAn Arab professor and lecturer in diversity has accused George Washington University of “colluding” with a rightwing pro-Israel group over a federal complaint accusing her of antisemitism.The group, StandWithUs (SWU), filed a complaint with the US education department’s civil rights office claiming that Lara Sheehi, an assistant professor of clinical psychology, discriminated against Jewish students by refusing to accept their definitions of antisemitism. Continue reading...

The president sparred with Republicans at the State of the Union and has won legislative victories but polls show little enthusiasm for a re-election bidIt was the moment that America’s State of the Union address, once a staid affair punctured only by applause, turned into a verbal brawl more akin to Britain’s House of Commons.Joe Biden accused some Republicans of wanting to “take the economy hostage” and slash social welfare entitlements. “Booo!”, “No!” and “Liar!” came the response. US presidents typically ignore hecklers but Biden chose to take them on. Continue reading...

Billy Welsh stepped up when he heard his former marine comrade John Gladwell urgently needed a new kidneyWhen Billy Welsh went on social media more than two years ago and said he urgently needed a new kidney, his former US marines comrade John Gladwell stepped up and donated one of his.Little did the two men know that Gladwell’s act of friendship – which preceded a monumental health crisis of his own – would give both men the chance to share a once-in-a-lifetime trip: attending Sunday’s Super Bowl to see their favorite football teams face each other in the big game. Continue reading...

Demetrius Haley allegedly took part in a 2015 incident at a county prison that resulted in an entire cellblock writing a letter to the corrections directorYears before Memphis police officer Demetrius Haley pulled Tyre Nichols from his car on 7 January, setting in motion a deadly confrontation, Haley was accused of taking part in the savage beating of an inmate at a county prison.The 2015 assault of the inmate was so disturbing that 34 others – the entire cellblock – signed a letter to the corrections director. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Subpoena was issued last month after the folder was observed in Trump’s private quarters at the propertyDonald Trump’s lawyers turned over an empty manilla folder marked “Classified Evening Briefing” after the US justice department issued a subpoena for its surrender once prosecutors became aware that it was located inside the private quarters of the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort, two sources familiar with the matter said.The previously unreported subpoena was issued last month, the sources said, as the recently appointed special counsel escalates the inquiry into Trump’s possible unauthorized retention of national security materials and obstruction of justice. Continue reading...

High-altitude object the size of a small car was downed on Friday but its owner and purpose have yet to be identifiedQuestions remain after the US government shot down two high-altitude objects, one near Deadhorse, Alaska along the north-eastern Alaskan coast and a second near Yukon, Canada, that have yet to be identified.Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau tweeted on Saturday afternoon that he had ordered the takedown of an unidentified object in Canadian airspace. Continue reading...

CDC says positive tests for virus, which causes nausea, diarrhea and stomach pain, peaked at 16% in JanuaryThe US is seeing a rise in the norovirus informally called the stomach flu or stomach bug, according to the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with positive tests for the contagious illness peaking at 16% in January.The rise in infections spans the US, according to the healthcare agency, with infection rates not seen since last spring. Continue reading...

Burger chain’s bus stop advertisement in Cornwall, England, provokes restrained backlash and a few chucklesThe US fast-food restaurant chain McDonald’s has pledged to remove an advertisement for its new McCrispy chicken sandwich that was placed across from a crematorium in England.The McCrispy advertisement was placed at a bus stop in Cornwall, England, that is next to a road sign pointing motorists toward the Penmount crematorium, according to the local news outlet Cornwall Live. Continue reading...