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Updated 2024-10-12 02:45
‘Dying laughing’: Uber Eats delivery person wanders into Duquesne-Loyola game
Tyre Nichols’s death after police encounter was ‘failing of basic humanity’, says Memphis chief
Memphis police chief says January traffic stop that preceded man’s death was ‘heinous, reckless, and inhumane’The police chief of Memphis, Tennessee has described the circumstances surrounding the death of Tyre Nichols, a Black man who died three days after a 7 January encounter with police, “heinous, reckless, and inhumane”.“Aside from being your chief of police, I am a citizen of this community, we share; I am a mother, I am a caring human being who wants the best for all of us; this is not just a professional failing,” CJ Davis said in a video statement released on YouTube. Continue reading...
'Toothless' Leopards and 'battered' Abrams: Russian TV mocks Nato tanks promised to Ukraine – video
Russian state TV reacted with acerbic putdowns on Wednesday to the news that the US and Germany had finally agreed to send tanks to Ukraine. The Rossiya-24 TV channel broadcast a series of mocking stories. In one on-air sequence titled 'Toothless cats', the presenter said the German-made tanks were 'more primitive', heavier, less manoeuvrable and had a shorter firing range compared with Russian T-90s. Pointing to an on-screen graphic showing a fictional battle between T-90 and Leopard tanks, the news anchor said half of the Nato platoon would be hit before even reaching the battlefield. Another withering sequence called the US-made tanks 'battered Abrams' and showed footage of the armoured vehicles being struck in a number of past battles
Why are M&M’s caving to right-wing anti-woke pressure? | Tayo Bero
The brand made a vague symbolic gesture – and rightwing pundits twisted it into a devious agenda. Now they’re retreatingThey were inciting a communist takeover. They were promoting radical wokeness. Worst of all, they weren’t hot any more.A year after it first began, one of the most ridiculous back-and-forths between a large corporation and the media I’ve witnessed in my lifetime is finally over. The M&M’s have pulled their beloved spokescandies.Tayo Bero is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...
Russia retaliates with mass missile attack on Ukraine after tanks promise | First Thing
Sending tanks is seen as growing ‘direct involvement in the conflict’ from US and Nato, Kremlin says. Plus, how did America’s eggs get absurdly expensive?
Nineteen massacred in three days in one state. When will we say enough is enough? | Jill Filipovic
Why does America allow civilians to amass weapons of war, but not to live free of a constant threat of random violence?Three days. Three mass shootings. One state. Nineteen dead.These numbers are stark enough that, in a sane society, they’d engender outrage and then change. But this is the United States, and when it comes to our tolerance of mass gun deaths, we are truly exceptional. Thanks to our feckless supreme court and the Republican party death cult, even the most progressive parts of the country have no real ability to crack down on guns and keep their residents safe. We are collectively stuck living in a dangerous, weapon-happy dystopia, all because reactionary, fearful conservatives want to cosplay as tough guys with deadly toys.Jill Filipovic is the author of the The H-Spot: The Feminist Pursuit of Happiness Continue reading...
New Yorker jailed during ‘war on drugs’ becomes cannabis pioneer
Roland Conner, 50, opens pop-up marijuana shop in Greenwich Village, only second legal dispensary in the stateAs a New York City teenager, 50-year old Roland Conner found himself harshly punished for only minor offenses related to marijuana.A 1991 arrest resulted in a months-long incarceration, as America’s flawed “war on drugs” had an unfairly disproportionate impact on Black and brown youth. Continue reading...
Arizona: elections director in county that refused to certify results quits
Lisa Marra, who worked in Republican Cochise county, condemns ‘physically and emotionally threatening’ work environmentThe elections director of a rural Republican Arizona county that refused to certify the state’s 2022 elections has resigned.The Washington Post reported that Lisa Marra, the appointed elections director in Cochise county, will leave the role. The county has not yet confirmed the resignation to the Guardian. Marra could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. Continue reading...
How a master sommelier couple built a wine bar with a diverse following
In an industry still dominated by white men, San Francisco’s Ungrafted is a refreshing change from the stuffy wine bars of oldThere’s no shortage of bars and restaurants with impressive wine lists in the culinary mecca of San Francisco. Deciding where to sip a glass of cabernet often comes down to the vibe, finding an environment where you find yourself inspired, or perhaps just feel comfortable. Especially if you’re a woman or person of color.The $63.7bn US fine wine industry still is dominated by white males. And if you’re not a white male, finding a place where the person pouring wine takes your opinions seriously can be incredibly challenging. Continue reading...
My dad died five years ago. I’ve learned it’s better to talk about death imperfectly than not at all | Owen Jones
I didn’t have a proper vocabulary to talk about loss, but discovered that breaking the taboo was vital for healingDid my father know that his death was imminent? After he was wheeled back to my parents’ flat in Edinburgh for his last Christmas five years ago, delusion seemed to prevail. He was getting better, he reassured me; then aged 72, he insisted would make it to his 80s. But his eyes seemed to suggest otherwise: there was something about how they welled up as I blared Edward Elgar’s Nimrod from the living room speakers. He loved that variation. My mother hasn’t been able to listen to it since, because it’s one of those emotional landmines that grief lays after a bereavement. Why stand on it, if you have the choice?Just over two weeks later, he was dead, but he wouldn’t have felt disappointment in that moment of finality. Sometimes I wonder if he could hear his family in that hospice, whispering their love, or the baritone notes of the Bruce Springsteen songs we played. Before he fell ill, he used to loop around his armchair, clicking his fingers and roaring out the chorus as he listened to the Boss. His eyes seemed to moisten in those final moments, too. But was this a silent emotional response to his family wishing him farewell, or just another symptom of a human body shutting down for good?Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Biden claims ‘no regrets’ but classified papers case could come back to bite him
While there are major differences between the president and Trump’s cases, the controversy arrives at a delicate time for BidenAt the invitation of Joe Biden’s legal team, federal investigators carried out an extraordinary 13-hour search of the president’s Delaware residence, scouring every room of the house from the bedrooms to the bathrooms.It was a remarkable gesture meant to demonstrate the president’s full cooperation with the investigation. But it also led to the discovery of half a dozen items with classified markings, the latest in a series of findings that have put Biden and his presidency on the defensive as he prepares to seek a second term. Continue reading...
Bible study and work without pay: the shadowy world of sober living homes
In a largely unregulated industry, some residents trying to get sober are made to work 40 hours a week at restaurants – but don’t receive a paycheckThis article was first published in Montana Free PressKaitlyn, 32, applied for a spot at Hope Center Ministries near the end of 2021 because it seemed like her best option at the time. She had pleaded guilty in February to one count of criminal endangerment related to reckless driving and, after being released, violated her probation by reportedly failing to show up for check-ins and possessing drug paraphernalia.Court records say she had told her probation officer she’d been using methamphetamine, even as she denied having a problem with drugs or alcohol. The women’s sober living home, her attorney advised, would help her get out of jail and give her a structured environment to recover from substance use. Continue reading...
Jets, Dolphins or back to the Ravens: where will Lamar Jackson end up in 2023?
The 2019 MVP’s future is still up in the air. Will he stay put or head to a team desperate for a quarterback of his extravagant talent?With apologies to Tom Brady’s impending free agency/retirement, Lamar Jackson’s standoff with the Baltimore Ravens lingers as the most intriguing storyline of the offseason.Jackson is a perennial MVP candidate, the closest thing the league has to a one-man offense. He’s only just turned 26. But he also plays a distinctive, collision-based style, and his last two seasons have ended with injuries. His current style has a shelf life – and there are questions about whether he can evolve as he ages or how that evolution affects his value. Continue reading...
Amid managerial tumult, USA launch new World Cup cycle with Serbia loss
Baby Trump set to fly again as Museum of London reinflates blimp
Inflatable produced to lampoon former US president during his UK visits undergoes testing prior to installation in museum’s protest collectionWhile Donald Trump’s hopes for re-election as US president may be faltering, the nappy-wearing depiction of him made famous during a UK protest in 2018 has had new life breathed into it, as the Museum of London has reinflated it.The baby blimp inflatable, which flew above a march in Parliament Square in London in July 2018, was given a test inflation this week. Continue reading...
Doting aunt, dance-loving mother, ‘Mr Nice’: community mourns Monterey Park shooting victims
Family accounts tell an interwoven story about the hope of starting afresh in a new country and shared joyAlong with dancing, Muoi Dai Ung loved eating and gambling – and sometimes, according to her family, she tried to do all three at once.At a candlelight vigil held by the city of Monterey Park on Tuesday night, city councilmember Thomas Wong shared a statement written by Ung’s family, which likened Ung to her community: “complicated, messy, easy to love and sometimes hard to understand from the outside”. Continue reading...
US-born Spanish woman, 115, becomes world’s oldest person
María Branyas Morera, born in 1907, now in Guinness record books after death of Lucille Randon, 118, in French town of ToulonMaría Branyas Morera has lived through two world wars, the Spanish civil war, the 1918 flu pandemic and Covid.Now the California-born woman is the world’s oldest living person. Continue reading...
Democrats urge McCarthy to deny George Santos access to classified data
Congressman, under intense scrutiny for largely fabricated résumé, a ‘significant risk’ to national security, letter saysTwo House Democrats have written to Republican speaker Kevin McCarthy demanding he deny New York congressman George Santos any opportunity to access classified information because he might be a “significant risk” to US national security.“We urge you to act swiftly to prevent George Santos from abusing his position and endangering our nation,” the two New York congressmen said. Continue reading...
Why is Trump allowed back on Facebook and will Meta’s ‘guardrails’ contain him?
Meta’s leadership say the risk has ‘sufficiently receded’, as the former US president has the ban on his accounts lifted for the first time in two yearsFormer US president Donald Trump will have the ban on his Facebook and Instagram accounts lifted for the first time in two years, parent company Meta has announced. But what are the “guardrails” it says will deter repeat offences, what will it mean for the platform, and what would it take for him to be banned again? Continue reading...
‘Reckless’: Fury among rights groups as Facebook lifts Trump ban
Civil rights groups voice anger at ‘unethical’ decision, while others say the public has an interest in hearing directly from candidates for political officeThe news that Meta will allow Donald Trump back on Facebook and Instagram following a two-year ban has been met with fury and indignation among civil rights and online safety advocates.The former US president will be allowed to return to the platforms “in coming weeks” but “with new guardrails in place to deter repeat offences”, Meta’s president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, wrote in a blogpost explaining the decision on Wednesday. Continue reading...
Virginia school ‘couldn’t be bothered’ to stop boy with gun, teacher’s lawyer says
Abigail Zwerner, seriously wounded in attack by six-year-old, plans to sue school district as superintendent sackedConcerned teachers and employees warned administrators at a Virginia elementary school three times that a six-year-old boy had a gun and was threatening other students in the hours before he shot and wounded a teacher, “but the administration could not be bothered” and didn’t call police, remove the boy from class or lock down the school, a lawyer for the teacher said.Diane Toscano, an attorney for Abigail Zwerner, told reporters on Wednesday she had notified the Newport News school board that the 25-year-old Richneck elementary school teacher plans to sue the school district over the 6 January shooting, which left Zwerner with serious injuries. Continue reading...
Trump’s Facebook and Instagram ban to be lifted, Meta announces
Ex-president to be allowed back ‘in coming weeks … with new guardrails in place’ after ban that followed January 6 attackIn a highly anticipated decision, Meta has said it will allow Donald Trump back on Facebook and Instagram following a two-year ban from the platforms over his online behavior during the 6 January insurrection.Meta will allow Trump to return “in coming weeks” but “with new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses”, Meta’s president of global affairs Nick Clegg wrote in a blogpost explaining the decision. Continue reading...
Victims named in mass shooting at Half Moon Bay mushroom farms in California
Suspect charged with murdering seven people in latest of a string of deadly shootings in the stateAuthorities in California have identified six of the seven victims killed in a “workplace violence” incident in the coastal town of Half Moon Bay on Monday, the second deadly mass shooting in the state in less than 48 hours.The San Mateo county coroner identified the victims as Zhishen Liu, 73, Marciano Martinez Jimenez, 50, Aixiang Zhang, 74, Qizhong Cheng, 66, Yetao Bing, 43, and Jingzhi Lu, 64. Charging documents named Jose Romero Perez as the other person killed. Continue reading...
Rescuers find lost hiker on California mountain where Julian Sands is missing
Jin Chung, 75, was taken to hospital with a leg injury while search continues for the actor, 65, who was reported missing 13 JanuaryRescue personnel in California have found a 75-year-old hiker who was lost on the same snow-covered mountain where actor Julian Sands is missing.NBC LA captured images of Jin Chung, of North Hollywood, being loaded into an ambulance Tuesday afternoon. He had a leg injury and some weather-related injuries but was able to walk with assistance and was taken to a hospital, the San Bernardino county sheriff’s department said. His condition was not immediately known. Continue reading...
Pence discovery raises fresh questions over US handling of classified papers
Biden, Trump and Pence cases prompt calls to tighten government procedures as Republican congressman says ‘process is broken’The discovery of classified documents at the home of former US vice-president Mike Pence, following similar incidents involving Joe Biden and Donald Trump, is bringing new scrutiny to government procedures for handling and securing its most delicate secrets.The justice department and FBI are looking into how about a dozen classified-marked papers came to be found last week in an unsecure location at Pence’s Indiana residence, two years after he and Trump left office. Continue reading...
Pence documents discovery sparks scrutiny on US classification system – as it happened
Some lawmakers on both sides now asking if discoveries mean it’s time to look at how government manages its secrets
Patrick Mahomes is ‘ready to go’ before AFC title game despite ankle injury
Eight days, 25 dead: California shaken by string of mass shootings
A series of four attacks have upended communities across the state, from a city to farming townsAll the names of the dead from one California mass shooting had not yet been released when the news alerts started again on Monday afternoon: there had been another shooting. There was another gunman at large. Seven more people were dead.Gun violence takes a daily toll in California, but the brutality, scale and pace of the past week has felt different. In the course of just eight days, at least 25 people were killed in four separate mass shootings, defined as any shooting in which at least four people are injured. Continue reading...
Joe Biden says western tanks for Ukraine pose no offensive threat to Russia – video
The US president has announced at the White House that 31 Abrams M1 tanks will be sent to Kyiv after Germany's decision to send Leopard 2 vehicles. Joe Biden said the tanks posed no offensive threat to Russia. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, thanked his US counterpart for his 'powerful decision'
Suspicious death of ‘Pin’ the vulture adds to Dallas zoo’s mysterious woes
News comes after unusual activity at the zoo that included one of its clouded leopards missingA lappet-faced vulture at the Dallas zoo has died from a suspicious wound in its Wilds of Africa habitat. Officials called the mysterious death of 35-year-old Pin “devastating” and are offering a $10,000 reward for any information.The announcement follows a bout of unusual activity at the zoo. Last week it shut down after it reported one of its two clouded leopards, Nova, was missing. A zoo spokesperson assured the public the 25lb cat didn’t pose a threat to humans and Nova was found later that day on zoo grounds near her habitat. Continue reading...
The Guardian view on Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira: protect people, protect the planet | Editorial
Journalists and environmental defenders are at greatest risk in Latin America. All those who put them in danger must be held accountableThe murders of the British journalist Dom Phillips and the Brazilian Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira were not only a shocking and incalculable loss for their families and all those who loved them and admired their work. They were also a chilling reminder of the perils faced both by journalists and environmental defenders – particularly Indigenous peoples and those working with them – in Latin America.Seven months have passed since the men were killed in the Javari valley region of the Amazon. On Monday, Brazilian police announced that they had arrested the alleged mastermind. Rubens Villar Coelho, nicknamed Colômbia, was first detained on separate charges last July, when he denied any involvement in the crime. He has been accused of running an illegal fishing operation. Three other men are in custody over the deaths. Continue reading...
Beyoncé’s Dubai performance isn’t just an affront to LGBTQ+ fans, but workers’ rights in the UAE
Arguments focusing on the low application of the UAE’s anti-gay laws overlook the privilege it takes to evade them – and the reality of the labour that builds Dubai’s luxury playgroundIt’s not a Beyoncé comeback if it doesn’t “cause all this conversation”, and the musician’s first concert in more than four years has been no exception. Over the weekend, Beyoncé was paid a reported $24m to perform at the unofficial opening of luxury Dubai hotel Atlantis the Royal, in front of an invitation-only audience of celebrities, influencers and journalists. But this choice of location for Beyoncé’s return to live performance – her first since the release of last year’s widely acclaimed Renaissance, although none of the album’s tracks were on the set list – has proved divisive.Fans may well feel disappointed to see Beyoncé prioritise a private performance in Dubai for largely wealthy attenders, including Ronan Keating and Michelle Keegan of all people, given that she’s yet to release videos for the album, let alone announce the long-anticipated Renaissance tour – for which ticket prices are expected to be eye-watering. But the majority of online criticism has been driven by UAE’s laws criminalising homosexuality and gender reassignment. Continue reading...
Sending tanks to Ukraine makes one thing clear: this is now a western war against Russia | Martin Kettle
Volodymyr Zelenskiy is finally getting the help he wants, but it places more of Ukraine’s future in US handsSending more western tanks to support Ukraine does not mean, as some politicians occasionally come dangerously close to implying, that the war is now almost over – save only for the fighting. The Ukraine war will still last months, if not years, and today’s decisions are more of a strategic body swerve than a complete and fully executed U-turn. Nevertheless, this is an unmistakably big moment, and for three main reasons.The first is that battle tanks give Ukraine a military advantage that, in the words of Ed Arnold of the Royal United Services Institute, could be transformative. The three types of western battle tank now being committed to Ukraine – the US’s M1 Abrams, Germany’s Leopard 2 and the UK’s Challenger 2 – are all significantly more powerful than the Soviet-era T-72s that form the bulk of the Russian and Ukrainian tank forces. The same goes for the French Leclerc tanks, whose dispatch to Ukraine has not been ruled out either. Continue reading...
Paul aims to emulate past US heroes at Australian Open after beating Shelton
Tommy Paul is first American male semi-finalist at Melbourne Park since Andy Roddick but must now face Novak DjokovicBen Shelton was 11 months old the last time an American man won a grand slam. His quarter-final conquerer, Tommy Paul, was at least of an age to understand what tennis was, though having just turned six at the time, he does not remember watching Andy Roddick win the 2003 US Open.What he does recall is the countless times it has been drilled into him since. “Since I was young that’s all we’ve been hearing,” Paul said on Wednesday after becoming the first American semi-finalist at the Australian Open since Roddick in 2009. “Since like 14 years old the coaches have been telling us ‘we need new Americans, we need new Americans’. It’s kind of engraved in my head. It’s important to me. I think we all want it pretty bad for ourselves, but we want it for US tennis too.” Continue reading...
We're meant to find Brendan Fraser in a fat suit tragic, not funny. Is that really progress? | Phoebe-Jane Boyd
I’m desperate to see fat characters who aren’t ‘comic’ – but The Whale’s appeal for pity is still far from the dignity they deserveI can only assume that acting – pretending, convincingly, to be someone you aren’t – is an incredibly boring, unrewarding profession if you are an able-bodied person playing other able-bodied people. That must be the case, considering how many professional actors who happen to fall into that group take on roles they perhaps shouldn’t, and are then celebrated for it by their peers – now including, of course, Brendan Fraser in The Whale.Fraser’s casting in the film – or whether the film should even exist in 2023 – may be under even more scrutiny now it has Academy Award nominations, including one for best actor, to add to its treasure trove of accolades.Phoebe-Jane Boyd is a content editorDo 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...
Imperious Shiffrin moves closer to overall World Cup record with 84th win
How I would fix Twitter if I were CEO | Margaret Sullivan
My name was floated as a potential head of the social media platform. Here’s what I’d do if I were suddenly in chargeElon Musk and I aren’t exactly old friends, but we do go back quite a few years – to early 2013 when I was the public editor (a kind of ombudswoman) at the New York Times. The Tesla head honcho was harshly accusing the paper of sabotage after its review of some new ultra-fast charging stations. The Times review featured a devastating photograph of the cherry-red Model S on a flatbed truck after it reportedly ran out of juice on the last leg of the road trip. My investigation determined that the Times did nothing unethical, though I found some of the reviewer’s methods less than ideal. I don’t think either Musk or the Times was particularly thrilled with my findings.Now, a decade later, Musk and I could be ready for a new adventure – an even more contentious one. The tech-news website CNET recently suggested me as a potential chief executive for Twitter, the global social media platform which Musk has been busy running into the ground after buying it for a stunning $44bn last fall. The company has lost about half of its top advertisers since Musk took over, and stands to lose 30 million users over the next two years, according to various estimates.Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture. Continue reading...
CCTV shows Monterey Park gunman being confronted at dance studio –video
CCTV footage at the Lai Lai Ballroom in California shows a gunman being confronted and disarmed. Brandon Tsay can be seen wrestling a modified 9mm submachine gun-style weapon from the man, identified by police as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran. Tran had already attacked the Star Ballroom dance studio in Monterey Park, California, fatally shooting 11 people and wounding nine others who were celebrating lunar new year's eve on 21 January. Tran then traveled to Alhambra, where he was stopped in the lobby of the Lai Lai studio by Tsay, a computer coder who helps run the dancehall for his family. Tsay took control of the weapon and ordered Tran to 'go, get the hell out of here' before watching him drive away in a white van
George Santos admits ‘personal’ loans to campaign were not from personal funds
New campaign finance filings reported by Daily Beast do not shed light on real source of $600,000 in fundingIn a new twist to one of the most bizarre American political scandals in decades, the New York Republican congressman George Santos appeared to admit on Tuesday that more than $600,000 in loans to his campaign did not come from personal funds, as was originally claimed.But new campaign finance filings first reported by the Daily Beast did not shed light on where the funds actually came from. Continue reading...
Russia to blame for ‘worst food crisis since WW2’, says US envoy
Cindy McCain warns food supplies will not be safe until Russian invasion of Ukraine has ended
Monterey Park shooter was a patron of dance hall he attacked | First Thing
The 11 victims of the shooting have now been identified, with all except one being in their 60s and 70s. Plus, the rise of pre-date questionnaires
Is the tiny little neighborhood the city of the future?
Why the hyper-local ‘15-minute city’ is gaining ground in urban planning circlesAt first glance, O’Fallon, Illinois, has little in common with Paris, France. Paris has its world-class museums and cream-colored Haussmann-style apartment buildings. O’Fallon, an outer-ring suburb of St Louis with a population of 32,000, has a collection of squat brick buildings settled around a little-used freight rail track in its city center, and a proliferation of mid-century ranch homes on the blocks beyond.On the other hand, there are macarons for sale at O’Fallon’s Sweet Katie Bee’s organic bakery cafe. And last year, when O’Fallon adopted a 180-page master plan to guide its development for the next two decades, it chose the same “organizing concept” that Paris’s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, made the backbone of her 2020 re-election campaign: the 15-minute city. Continue reading...
Gambling ads and the NHL: should Gretzky and McDavid do better?
In the first edition of our monthly NHL column, we look at concerns around gambling endorsements in ice hockeyThe advert begins in a small hockey arena. Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid sticks around after practice to take multiple shots on a nameless goaltender. Every shot finds the back of the net, naturally. Behind the glass nearby, hockey great Wayne Gretzky approaches a man who tells him, “Connor’s just finishing up, he’s going to be pumped you’re here.” No rush, Gretzky replies, glancing down at his phone, and seeing the New York Knicks have just taken the lead in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers. “Come on!” Gretzky shouts in frustration, throwing McDavid off. “Trying to practice here, Wayne,” McDavid tells him. “You need it,” Gretzky replies.Two of the biggest ever stars of ice hockey are together to promote what’s on that little screen: BETMGM, one of the latest in a plethora of sports betting sites that have, since the US and Canadian governments opened the door to single-game betting, flooded NHL broadcasts with advertising – relying on big names to do it. McDavid and Gretzky aren’t alone. Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews has his own spot, for Bet99.net, a Canadian sportsbook. They are inescapable, relentless, and for many, extremely annoying. “These gambling ads are out of hand,” one Reddit user posted in October. “We’re not even finished the first period of the Leafs game and there have already been around 10 DraftKings ads. This is ridiculous.” Continue reading...
Why it’s time to stop filming strangers in public for social media thrills | Jason Okundaye
None of us has an absolute right to privacy in public, but whatever happened to respecting people’s basic dignity?Once, when I was younger and would dress somewhat outrageously, I caught a stranger recording me on his phone as I danced on the tube, on my way to a gay club. The video never surfaced online to my knowledge – perhaps he simply sent it to a group chat – but for months I looked over my shoulder when dancing.Turning strangers into online content for the purposes of comedy and entertainment has become a global pastime. And we lap it up. A drunk person relieves themselves in the street, a loved-up couple gets a bit steamy in a supermarket, a man is in his own world loudly singing out of tune on crowded public transport – the content is endless. But the line between lighthearted teasing and digital harassment seems to be getting thinner by the day.Jason Okundaye is a London-based writer and researcherDo 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...
Brazil, Kenya, the US – tech giants are putting democracy in peril the world over | Odanga Madung
Billions of us are due to vote in the next two years as the scourge of online misinformation grows ever worse. It’s time to regulateAs we look back on the erosion of democracy in recent years, it is becoming increasingly clear that technology platforms are playing a significant role in its downfall. The ability to incite insurrections and coups through these platforms has made a once difficult task alarmingly easy.The dangers information pollution pose for democracy have long been acknowledged by civil society actors and regulators, but the storming of Brazil’s presidential palace earlier this month serves as a sobering reminder of just how real these dangers have become. More than 1,200 people were arrested in Brazil for attempting a military coup. Continue reading...
US airport worker warned before being sucked into jet engine
Alabama crew had ‘safety huddle’ about how to move around the plane and employee who was killed received warning to stay backA worker at an airport in Alabama who died after being sucked into a jet engine this past New Year’s Eve had been warned repeatedly about the dangers of going near it, federal investigators revealed this week.The Montgomery regional airport employee, along with other colleagues of the facility’s ground crew, had undergone a “safety huddle” about how to move around the plane at the center of the case 10 minutes before it arrived at the gate on 31 December, and there was another similar briefing just before the aircraft arrived at the gate, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a report Monday. Continue reading...
The offcuts conspiracy: from sausages to sweets, are we all just eating discarded scraps?
An acquaintance is convinced that almost every product in the shops is the detritus of some elite product we can’t afford. Could they be right?I’m not allowed to write about my mother any more, in case she has enough and decides to protest against the injustice of 25 years of me doing it. It’s a risk, I guess. There comes a point in most people’s lives when they wake up thinking their neighbour has stolen their paying-in book. This would be like that, except true: I have been stealing her best material for a quarter of a century.Anyway, someone else I know from the prewar generation – born before 1945 – has a new conspiracy theory. (Gen prewar is different from boomers – born between 1946 and 1964 – even though society tends not to distinguish between one pensioner and another, which happens either because society is ageist or because boomers are greedy and want the category to themselves. But we can discuss that another time.) Continue reading...
Older suspects in California shootings defy typical mass shooter profile
Given the rarity of the subjects, researchers know relatively little about the older perpetrators of mass public shootingsAs California, and the United States, reel from two devastating mass shootings in three days that have left 18 people dead and many more injured, detectives are combing through the crime scenes in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay in search of motives.One aspect they will have to grapple with that makes the California tragedies stand out from the grim pack of American gun massacres is the older age of the shooters. In both cases the alleged killers were in their 60s and 70s, placing them in a very rare group. Continue reading...
McCarthy vows to block Schiff and Swalwell from House intel panel
Move seen as retribution against House Democrats who booted Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar from their committeesSpeaker Kevin McCarthy reiterated Tuesday that he will block Democratic Representatives Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell of California from serving on the House committee that oversees national intelligence, saying the decision was not based on political payback but because “integrity matters, and they have failed in that place”.In the previous Congress, Democrats booted Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona from their committee assignments for incendiary commentary that they said incited potential violence against colleagues. Continue reading...
Washington Circle K shooter apparently kills self as police close in
Police say 21-year-old Jarid Haddock ‘just walked in and started shooting’, killing three in a ‘random situation’A 21-year-old man wanted in connection with the random killing of three people at a convenience store in Yakima, Washington, early Tuesday shot and killed himself as officers approached him behind some warehouses several hours later, authorities said.Yakima police chief Matt Murray said in a video message posted online that a woman called 911 on Tuesday afternoon. The caller reported that the man had used her phone to make a call. Continue reading...
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