Emirates Airlines boss says manufacturer in last chance saloon' as supplier Spirit AeroSystems finds new production glitchBoeing will have to delay deliveries of more of its bestselling 737 Max planes after a supplier found new production glitches, adding to pressure on the beleaguered US manufacturer.The aircraft maker will have to conduct work on about 50 undelivered planes after supplier Spirit AeroSystems discovered two holes drilled incorrectly, Reuters has reported. Continue reading...
The Pennsylvania Democrat's support for Israel and for migrant restrictions at the border has irritated many on the leftThere was a time when John Fetterman, the rough-and-ready Pennsylvania senator, was a budding star of the left.Endorsed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in his 2022 Democratic race, Fetterman had supported the democratic socialist Bernie Sanders for president in 2016. On the campaign trail, Fetterman said he would fight for an increased minimum wage, while he had previously suggested he wanted to see the implementation of universal healthcare. Continue reading...
Jill Habig has filed an amicus brief saying the 14th amendment applies to Trump - and the brief gives the court's originalists a taste of their own medicineWhen Jill Habig had an office down the hall from Kamala Harris in California, Barack Obama was US president, abortion was a constitutional right and January 6 was just another date on the calendar. A lot has happened since then.On Thursday Habig, now president of the non-profit Public Rights Project (PRP), hopes her arguments will persuade the supreme court that Donald Trump is an insurrectionist who should be disqualified from the 2024 presidential election. Continue reading...
In the fight for a balanced economy and healthier democracy, the increasing power of the ultra-rich is a calamity we cannot affordTo celebrate the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, Oxfam releases a study of how much of the world's wealth the ultra-rich own. This year's was a doozy. The five richest men in the world were revealed to have doubled their wealth in the years since 2020. Seven of the 10 biggest corporations in the world have a billionaire as their CEO or principal shareholder. Combined, the value of these companies - which include Apple, Microsoft and Saudi Aramco - exceeds the GDP of every single country in Africa and Latin America combined. That's 87 countries: virtually everything bought, sold, consumed produced and dreamed up by two billion people in a whole year.The charity also reported that, within a decade, the world will probably see its first trillionaire. A trillion is a number (it's one followed by 12 zeros) to numb the mind. Even Ronald Reagan - a friend and ally to the ultra-rich if there ever was one - could not wrap his head around it. A few weeks ago I called such a figure, a trillion dollars, incomprehensible, and I've been trying ever since to think of a way to illustrate how big a trillion really is," he said in 1981 when talking about the US national debt. And the best I could come up with is that if you had a stack of thousand-dollar bills in your hand only four inches high, you'd be a millionaire. A trillion dollars would be a stack of thousand-dollar bills 67 miles high." Continue reading...
Biden urges Congress to pass bill that includes measures to temporarily close US-Mexico border if more than 5,000 undocumented people cross a day. Plus, why we should prioritize friendshipsGood morning.US senators released the details of a highly anticipated $118bn package yesterday evening that pairs federal enforcement policy on the US-Mexico border with wartime aid for Ukraine, Israel and others, launching a long-shot effort to push the bill past sceptical, hard-right House Republicans - whom Democrats accuse of politicizing immigration while being in thrall to Donald Trump.What has the impact of the stall been? With Congress stalled on approving $60bn in Ukraine aid, the US has halted shipments of ammunition and missiles to Kyiv, leaving Ukrainian soldiers outgunned as they try to come out on top of a grinding stalemate with Russian troops. The United States and our allies are facing multiple, complex and, in places, coordinated challenges from adversaries who seek to disrupt democracy and expand authoritarian influence around the globe," Schumer said in a statement.What has The National Weather Service said? This is a DANGEROUS SYSTEM [sic] with major risks to life and property," NWS Los Angeles warned in a Sunday afternoon forecast discussion, adding that roads and highways would become inaccessible, rockslides were likely through canyons, and rising waters would surge into homes and businesses in low-lying neighborhoods. Continue reading...
In Nevada, a key swing state, most Latino voters tend to chose Democrats. But the party hasn't solidified support - a problem for Biden, strategists sayIn East Las Vegas last week, there were few signs that Nevada was gearing up for the first presidential election contest in the western US, happening in mere days.The neighbourhood, the heart of the city's Latino community, was bereft of lawn signs and campaign banners. There were no clipboard-wielding canvassers crowding its wide, palm-tree-lined streets. An occasional ad on the local Spanish-language radio station, encouraging listeners to vote, was one of the few signals that the presidential primaries were coming up. Continue reading...
Anti-migrant rhetoric has reached the point of a congressman citing a far-right meme about Augusto Pinochet's death-flightsThree years ago, the Intercept published an illuminating article about the rise of the Hoppean snake" among far-right extremists, a meme which the Intercept labelled especially disturbing for its frightening historical reference". For the uninitiated, the Hoppean Snake in its various forms usually depicts a serpent wearing the military hat of the American-backed Chilean dictator Gen Augusto Pinochet in the foreground while figures are dropping out of helicopters to their death in the background.The meme specifically refers to Pinochet's known strategy of kidnapping, torturing, killing, and - here's the point - throwing his political opponents out of helicopters and into the ocean to dispose of them. The Intercept noted that many groups and individuals on the far right, such as the Boogaloo Bois, Proud Boys, Three Percenters, Oath Keepers, armed Trumpists, and the like wear T-shirts that offer free helicopter rides'." and when they do so, they are referencing a program of extermination."Moustafa Bayoumi is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...
With mass production of the cheese threatening to wipe out the bacteria needed to produce it, the troubled French president could do worse than throwing money at the problemNews so grave for France I can't quite understand how it hasn't provoked a general strike of its own: camembert is facing extinction.The French Centre for Scientific Research has reported that the bacteria required to make the cheese - Penicillium camemberti - are dangerously lacking in genetic diversity. This is because industrial cheesemaking has become dependent on one strain of the bug, rather than using the vigorous, multicoloured bacteria of the past. Until the 1950s, camemberts had grey, green and orangey mould, apparently (I feel a bit queasy thinking about it), but the food industry wanted camembert white and velvety. If I understand correctly, the albino bacteria it selected aren't able to reproduce with other strains. Now, mutations mean the bacteria are also losing the ability to reproduce asexually, putting the whole stinking enterprise at risk. Continue reading...
An enormous atmospheric river-fueled storm unleashed rain and furious winds across California on Sunday, leaving destruction and hazards in its wake. Howling winds tore down power lines and trees, and scattered debris in communities across the state, prompting officials to issue the first-ever hurricane-force wind warning along the coast. By late afternoon, streets in northern and southern regions of California were left submerged, with far more rain on the way
Harrison Butker, who will kick for the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, has said soccer helped him in American football. He is far from alone in the NFLOn Sunday in Las Vegas, Harrison Butker will suit up alongside Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Co in Super Bowl LVIII and attempt to claim a third championship in five years for the Kansas City Chiefs.And if the 28-year-old kicker is as accurate in this Super Bowl as he was in his previous three - in which he has made a combined five out of six field goals, including the game-winner in last year's edition - his success, he believes, will in part be due to his past as a high-school soccer standout. Continue reading...
Giorgia Meloni's much-touted plan has more to do with energy supply and EU politics than tackling longstanding inequalitiesNot so long ago, Giorgia Meloni was calling for naval blockades along the African coastline and regaling her millions of supporters with white-nationalist conspiracy theories. Now, just over a year into her mandate, Italy's far-right prime minister has radically sanitised her discourse. Last week, at a summit in Rome, Meloni declared that Europe's paternalistic" approach to Africa had failed. From now on, she promised, Italy would be pursuing a mutually beneficial" cooperation among equals", free from the predatory impositions" of the past.As a gesture towards this new approach, the government has pledged more than 5.5bn (4.7bn) to fund energy, education, healthcare and agriculture initiatives in Morocco, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Mozambique, Egypt, the Republic of the Congo and others. In exchange, Meloni hopes African nations will take measures to help stop irregular boat crossings in parts of the Mediterranean, which last year rose by approximately 50% on 2022.Jamie Mackay is a writer and translator based in Florence Continue reading...
Mothers giving birth with no medical help, babies without milk, one toilet between 500 people - but none of it evokes empathySometimes a disaster is so large that it obscures its own details. Behind the number of dead and displaced in Gaza, for women and girls the conflict has been disproportionately grinding. In a cruel inversion" of the history of this conflict, the head of UN Women told the Associated Press, women and children have borne the brunt of the war.The details are unfathomable. There are about 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza and 40% of those pregnancies have been classed as high risk; 180 give birth daily. The healthcare infrastructure has been all but obliterated. According to the charity Care: There is no doctor, midwife or nurse to support women during labour. There is no pain medication, anaesthesia or hygiene material when women give birth." Babies are born on the ground in the wilderness, umbilical cords cut with whatever sharp object there is to hand, and tins filled with hot water keep the newborn warm. C-sections, painful in the aftermath even when drugs are plentiful, are being performed without any anaesthesia at all, by surgeons who do not have any water to wash their hands, let alone sterilise them, and no antibiotics for any resulting infections. In some cases, according to Washington Post reporting, C-sections were performed on women postmortem.Nesrine Malik is a Guardian columnistDo 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...
by Ed Pilkington and Joanna Walters in New York and a on (#6JCB4)
Biden urges Congress to pass bill which includes measures to temporarily close border if over 5,000 undocumented people cross a dayUS senators on Sunday evening released the details of a highly anticipated $118bn package that pairs federal enforcement policy on the US-Mexico border with wartime aid for Ukraine, Israel and others, launching a long-shot effort to push the bill past sceptical, hard right House Republicans - whom Democrats accuse of politicizing immigration while being in thrall to Donald Trump.The proposal is the best chance for Joe Biden to bolster dwindling US wartime aid for Ukraine - a major foreign policy goal that is shared by both the Senate's top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, and top Republican, Mitch McConnell. The Senate was expected this week to hold a key test vote on the legislation, but it faces a wall of opposition from conservatives. Continue reading...
Mayor Abdullah Hammoud increases law enforcement near places of worship after piece calls Michigan city the jihad capital' of USThe mayor of Dearborn has ordered more police officers onto the streets, ramping up law enforcement presence across places of worship and major infrastructure points this weekend following an opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal that called the Michigan city the jihad capital" of the US.And on Sunday Joe Biden weighed in, denouncing anti-Arab hate and, without referring specifically to the newspaper, saying it shouldn't happen to the residents of Dearborn - or any American town." Continue reading...
Republican candidate attacks Trump for being more concerned with himself than with country ahead of South Carolina primaryNikki Haley pressed her case on Sunday to become the Republican presidential nominee by launching a sharp attack on her rival Donald Trump as a candidate who is set to spend more time in court than on the campaign trail this year and is intent on ranting about his own supposed victimhood rather than fighting for the American people.With less than three weeks to go before the Republican primary in her home state of South Carolina, which many observers see as the former governor and UN ambassador's last stand, Haley attacked Trump for being more concerned with himself than with the future of the country. She told CNN's State of the Union Sunday morning TV show that his multiple court cases, in which he faces 91 charges across four criminal cases, amounted to a real issue". Continue reading...
As Florida's governor returns after his failed presidential bid, some wonder if he's thinking about 2028 - or about his legacyTwo weeks have passed since Ron DeSantis crashed out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination, but many in Florida are questioning if the rightwing governor is still auditioning.On his return to Tallahassee following his national humiliation there was no period of quiet contemplation, or pause to refocus on his day job. Instead, DeSantis got straight down to business, little of it having immediate consequence to Florida or its voters. Continue reading...
by Amanda Ulrich in Jacumba Hot Springs on (#6JC6E)
Hundreds of migrants die during southern border crossings each year. Volunteers are hiking for miles to support themAt the southernmost edge of California, just a mile or two from the sprawling US-Mexico border wall, the terrain is perpetually hostile.Sheer desert mountains give way to narrow canyons of rock and sand. With few trails or paths in some areas, each step means navigating loose boulders and thorny vegetation; rattlesnakes and tarantulas can lurk just out of sight. In the summer months, temperatures can exceed 120F (49C), some of the hottest on Earth. This time of year, temperatures can plunge below freezing, with searing winds and the occasional snowfall. Continue reading...
It's easy to get lost in the idea that the traditional housewife role is a soothing existence of baking bread and Agas. The reality is so much darkerI've been dipping pruriently into a kerfuffle that kicked off in the ruddy-cheeked and sourdough-scented world of the tradwife lifestyle influencer recently. Its brightest star, Hannah Neeleman of Ballerina Farm, has just prepared for and then competed in a beauty pageant, two weeks after giving birth to her eighth child.Even some fans of this corner of social media - where stay-at-home mothers document their lives as helpmeets to strong, outdoorsy gents, exalting labour-intensive domestic chores, child-rearing and churning your own butter - have found this a touch, well, much. At odds with Neeleman's shots of folksy simplicity; a harmful and unrealistic example for other new mothers, that kind of thing. But most think it's so inspiring!"Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk Continue reading...
Bones had been used to provide disproven scientific justification for white supremacy before being housed in the Penn MuseumThe remains of 19 Black Philadelphians have finally been laid to rest, almost 200 years after they were stolen and corralled into the Morton Cranial Collection, the world's largest 19th-century assemblage of human skulls. The individuals' bones had been used to provide pseudo-scientific justification for white supremacy in the lead-up to the American civil war.The Penn Museum, the branch of the University of Pennsylvania which has housed the remains since 1966, staged an interfaith service on Saturday to commemorate their restitution to hallowed ground. Continue reading...
Immigration is key issue in special election as Tom Suozzi takes on Mazi Pilip in New York race that could be bellwether for NovemberGeorge Santos, an overcoat draped around his shoulders like a villain's cape, finally left Washington in December, expelled from Congress as he faced more than 20 fraud charges, and after his almost entirely fabricated backstory fell apart.To hell with this place," Santos declared as he exited. Continue reading...
Nikki Haley is competing in the just the primary, but only the caucuses award delegates for the Republican presidential nominationWhen Nevada Republicans started receiving their mail-in ballots for the state's 6 February primary, Nikki Haley's name was on them, but a key person was missing: Donald Trump. It's not an accident.Instead of appearing on the primary ballot in the key swing state, Trump is participating in the separate Republican caucuses to take place two days after the primary, on 8 February. Haley isn't participating in those caucuses. The bizarre set-up means that Nevada Republicans will be asked to vote in a primary on 6 February and then in caucuses two days later to choose their party's nominee. Only the caucuses will determine how Nevada's 26 delegates are awarded at the Republican national convention. Continue reading...
As big tech celebrates AI, it's time to demand accountability for the harms tech has caused before they wreak further havocWhen Facebook first launched as a college-based social network 20 years ago this week, there was little indication that it would become what it is today. The company, now rebranded as Meta, controls the critical infrastructure of our information and communications systems and access to the public sphere, and is central to the digital economy.Who would have predicted that a company that started as a way to connect college students would be blamed for deteriorating mental health, genocidal violence and the rise of anti-democratic populism around the world?Courtney C Radsch is the director of the center for journalism and liberty at Open Markets Institute and the author of Cyberactivism and Citizen Journalism in Egypt: Digital Dissidence and Political Change Continue reading...
Danny Chauvin, 76, the honey-do dude' of Mississippi, fixes doors and unclogs drains to protect his mental health after his wife diedA retired US military veteran is coping with grief from his wife's death and post-traumatic stress from fighting in the Vietnam war by providing daily handyman services to people in his community - for free.Danny Chauvin is the so-called honey-do dude" of Waveland, Mississippi, according to a CBS Evening News profile of him published Friday. He told the news program that one of his favorite parts of his marriage to his wife had been the small, mostly repair and building tasks she would ask him to complete around the house, which Americans colloquially refer to as honey-do" jobs. Continue reading...
by George Chidi in North Charleston, South Carolina, on (#6JC2H)
President derided Trump after easily winning first primary contest for Democratic presidential nominationPresident Joe Biden won his first official primary election in a season that has become increasingly predictable with each contest.Biden and the Democratic National Committee had successfully lobbied to thwart tradition and designate South Carolina the first contest for the party's presidential nomination instead of Iowa and New Hampshire. On Saturday, Biden handily won more than 95% of the vote in the state that had launched his campaign in 2020. Long-shot candidates Dean Phillips, a congressman from Minnesota, and Marianne Williamson, a self-help author, trailed far behind. Continue reading...
In alienating vital allies over Gaza, Netanyahu is delighting those hoping for his country's collapseIt is widely predicted that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's fractious, rightwing ruling coalition will not survive acceptance of an extended Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal with Hamas, as tentatively proposed by Arab mediators last week.Far-right politicians such as the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, are vowing to collapse the government rather than condone what they claim would be a victory for terrorism after the 7 October atrocities. Opponents fervently hope they carry out their threat. Continue reading...
by David Smith in Columbia, South Carolina on (#6JC06)
The president's decisive victory in the first Democratic primary belies a difficult campaign ahead with various strikes against himSurprise! Joe Biden won the Democratic presidential primary in South Carolina with a high-90s percentage that would make even Vladimir Putin or Kim Jong-un blush.But despite the low energy and low turnout, there was a wider narrative on Saturday about representation, the changing face of the US and a rebuke to the white identity politics of Donald Trump. Continue reading...
by George Chidiin North Charleston, South Carolina on (#6JBZF)
The president easily swept past his opponents Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson to gain the state's nod for the nominationPresident Joe Biden has again won the South Carolina presidential primary, his first formal primary win of the election season.Amid low voter turnout, the Associated Press projected that Biden also won all 55 of the state's Democratic delegates. Another seven delegates are pledged by party leaders and elected officials, such as South Carolina's lone Democratic congressman, Jim Clyburn. Neither Dean Phillips, the congressman from Minnesota, nor author Marianne Williamson received at least 15% of the statewide vote or 15% of the vote in any congressional district, the threshold necessary to win delegates. Continue reading...
Joint operation to further disable militias follows attacks on US and international interests amid war in GazaThe United States and Britain struck at least 30 Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday in another wave of assaults meant to further disable Iran-backed groups that have attacked US and international interests in response to the Israel-Hamas war.Ships and fighter jets on Saturday launched strikes against the Houthis. It followed an air assault in Iraq and Syria on Friday targeting other Iran-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in retaliation for the drone strike that killed three US troops - William Jerome Rivers, Kennedy Ladon Sanders and Breonna Alexsondria Moffett - in Jordan last weekend. Continue reading...
Follow live as the state's Democratic voters choose their preferred candidate for the US electionsThe South Carolina Democratic primary took place on 3 February, and was chosen by the Democratic National Committee as the first election contest in the 2024 election year. Joe Biden is the clear frontrunner in the primary and hopes to recapture the enthusiasm that launched his campaign in 2020.The polls closed at 7pm. Continue reading...
by George Chidi in North Charleston, South Carolina on (#6JBYV)
The crucial task of ensuring a fair vote falls to a work crew that must be well prepared, even when few people show upTwo old men sat in the dark on a bench outside Dunston elementary school in North Charleston, South Carolina, waiting for a long day to start that would be quieter than they deserved.Few were expecting strong turnout for the Democratic primary in South Carolina on Saturday. In pre-election polls, Biden had more than 90% support. The nomination race has no drama. But people still have to vote. And the temperamental apparatus of elections has to prepare for that vote, even when it's not cast. Continue reading...
Speaker Mike Johnson is pushing for the package without addressing aid to Ukraine or security for the US-Mexico borderThe US House of Representatives plans to vote next week to advance $17.6bn in military aid to Israel without any accompanying spending cuts or assistance for Ukraine, according to Mike Johnson, the chamber's speaker.Johnson announced to his fellow House Republicans on Saturday that the vote would take place, while also criticizing a parallel move in the US Senate to pair funding for Israel in its military strikes in Gaza with aid for Ukraine as it fends off Russia's invasion. The Senate measure also aims to attach a raft of tough border and asylum measures favored by rightwingers to aid for Israel. Continue reading...
All three people on board, including the pilot, a flight nurse and a paramedic, were killed on 20 January in western OklahomaA dead goose was found in part of the flight control system of a medical helicopter that crashed in western Oklahoma, killing all three people on board, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).While it highlights the goose's presence on board, the report stops short of specifying a suspected cause of the deadly crash. The report notes that other geese were found in the debris field left by the wreck. Continue reading...
by David Smith in Columbia, South Carolina on (#6JBWG)
After Biden urges turnout on X, voters cast ballots to stop Trump' and share thoughts on 2024 presidential electionAs predicted, South Carolina's Democratic primary Saturday is proving to be a low-key affair - but that hasn't stopped Joe Biden from trying to boost turnout.The president posted a video on the social media platform X in which he said simply: South Carolina, go vote today!" Biden also made a stop at his 2024 campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, alongside vice-president Kamala Harris. Continue reading...
Federal court documents filed Friday show Demetrio Trujillo, 42, said he was hired by Solomon Pena, who was arrested in 2023A New Mexico man has said he was hired by a failed Republican candidate for political office to carry out drive-by shootings targeting the homes of Democrats who would not abide by false election-rigging claims.Demetrio Trujillo, 42, indicated in federal court documents filed Friday that he had been hired for the spate of attacks by Solomon Pena, whose run for a seat in the New Mexico state legislature in November 2022 ended in defeat. Trujillo pleaded guilty to charges of election interference, criminal conspiracy and firearms-related offenses, and he could face several years in prison as he awaits a sentencing hearing that wasn't immediately scheduled, the US attorney's office in Albuquerque said in a statement. Continue reading...
by David Smith in Columbia, South Carolina on (#6JBR4)
Vice-president's trip to the state signals she is vital to the campaign because of her ability to galvanise Black voters and her abortion rights messagingJoe Biden's closing argument on Friday to South Carolina, the state that rescued his White House dreams four years ago, was not made by Joe Biden. Instead it was Kamala Harris who strode out under a brilliant blue sky to the thunderous cadence of South Carolina State University's drumline.It was because South Carolina's voters showed up in the middle of a historic pandemic that Biden became president, she told a modest but enthusiastic crowd in Orangeburg, and I am the first woman and first Black woman to be vice-president of the United States". Continue reading...
Initial earthquake followed by at least eight smaller ones as residents across state reported feeling shakingA 5.1 magnitude earthquake shook an area near Oklahoma's capital late Friday night, followed by smaller quakes during the next several hours, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported.The agency said the earthquake struck at 11.24pm and was centered 8kms (5 miles) north-west of Prague, Oklahoma, about 57 miles(92km) east of Oklahoma City. Continue reading...
The billionaire is bankrolling a pro-drugs version of the Olympics, but does he care about the whole women-having-rights thing? NahHave you ever dreamed up a completely deranged business idea but lacked the cash to execute it? Peter Thiel, the secretive tech billionaire who co-founded Paypal, doesn't have that problem. He, along with a group of other venture capitalists, is currently deploying part of his vast fortune to help bankroll a pro-drugs version of the Olympics called the Enhanced Games. It's exactly what it sounds like: a sporting competition in which participants are encouraged to take as many performance-enhancing substances as they can get their steroid-enlarged hands on. All in the name of science and innovation, naturally. Continue reading...
During a routine day at the Port of Houston, four marine inspectors heard barking from amid 10,000 containersIt was just another routine day of inspecting shipping containers at the Port of Houston for US Coast Guard officer Ryan McMahon when he and his team thought they heard barking coming from inside one of the thousands of containers that surrounded them.Oh, it's scratching, dude," one of the inspectors said on a video they recorded Wednesday morning as the team looked up at the container, stacked about 25ft (8 metres) in the air. Continue reading...
From San Diego to Capitola, historic piers have taken a beating, and cities plan their rebuilds - strategicallyMore storms, rising seas and huge waves are taking their toll on California's iconic piers that have dotted the Pacific coast since the Gold Rush, posing the biggest threat yet to the beach landmarks that have become a quintessential part of the landscape.At least a half-dozen public piers are closed after being damaged repeatedly by storms, with multiple atmospheric river storms hitting the state over the past year. Repair costs have climbed into the millions of dollars. Continue reading...
Discontent in the community, especially in swing states such as Michigan, Arizona and Georgia, will hamper the president's re-election bidLast week, Muslim and Arab American leaders in Michigan refused an invitation to attend a listening session with Joe Biden's campaign. It was too late, they said, for the president to win their support after ignoring their communities' pleas for a ceasefire in Gaza for the past four months. Their dissatisfaction with the president could be detrimental to his success in crucial swing states, which he desperately needs to win in order to be reelected.The session was the first time that a delegation was sent to Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit where more than half of the 109,976 residents are of Middle Eastern or North African descent. Still, the Dearborn mayor Abdullah Hammoud, along with some 15 other leaders, declined the meeting, citing the US-backed Israel-Gaza war in which more than 25,000 Palestinans - most of them women and children - have been killed. Continue reading...
Prior authorization requires permission to be sought before prescribing critical drugs, which could cost lives, doctors sayIn the midst of the worst overdose epidemic in US history, addiction medicine specialists say a bureaucratic hurdle is adding to the difficulty of getting people in treatment: an insurance industry tactic called prior authorization".Loathed by doctors of all stripes, prior authorization requires healthcare providers to seek permission from insurance companies before they prescribe a treatment. Doctors in addiction medicine said the requirement is both unnecessarily burdensome and could cost lives. Continue reading...
The hip-hop pioneer was shot in a New York studio in 2002 but now a key witness is revealing what he says really happenedWho killed Jam Master Jay has been one of rap's most enduring mysteries. But this week a Brooklyn court heard from a witness who was in the New York recording studio when the Run-DMC hip-hop pioneer - born Jason Mizell - was gunned down in 2002.Across the courtroom, studio gofer Uriel Tony" Rincon dramatically pointed to the rap star's godson Karl Jordan Jr, also known as Little D, and told jurors: He kind of walked directly to Jay and gave, like, half a handshake, with an arm. And at the same time, that's when I hear a couple of shots." Continue reading...
The sanctions do not target Israeli officials who enable violence in the West Bank, nor affect the more urgent crisis in GazaPresident Joe Biden's executive order allowing financial and travel sanctions on Israelis involved in settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank is a rare and positive step to address Israeli persecution of Palestinians. The Biden administration's rhetoric reveals growing frustration with the increasingly hard line of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his far-right government. The sanctions, coming on top of similar travel bans issued in December and imposed as Biden was about to visit the electoral swing-state Michigan, which has a large Arab American population, add some bite to the administration's words.But the West Bank violence, devastating as it is to its immediate victims, is a sideshow when compared with the extraordinary violence being unleashed against the people of Gaza. And even in the West Bank, the focus of the sanctions is limited. They can be understood as a shot across the bow - a warning that the Biden administration is willing to act - but their modest character and evasion of the Gaza debacle leave considerable room for more decisive action. Continue reading...
Born next to a frontier, I criss-cross the continent all the time. Our borderless network is a privilege we can't take for grantedI'm a French writer based nominally in Italy, but Europe is my homeland. My mobile-phone provider makes me pay dearly for this fact. In any given year, I spend nearly nine months on the road, travelling the length and breadth of the continent: doing research, speaking at conferences, or just because I want to. Contrary to the spirit of the age, my life is mobile and cosmopolitan.In 2023, I visited 18 European countries; five more than I did the year before. I'm a European citizen of no fixed abode, a hybrid supranational nomad, a kind of Homo europaeus, as Friedrich Nietzsche imagined in Human, All Too Human. Like Charles Baudelaire's flaneur, I take great pleasure in choosing a life of change, escape and endless movement across the European continent. Continue reading...
by David Smith in Columbia, South Carolina on (#6JBKG)
State holds party's first official primary under new schedule, with president polling at 70%Joe Biden aims to build on recent momentum on Saturday, when South Carolina officially launches the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.The US president received a boost last month when he won an unsanctioned primary election in New Hampshire without even appearing on the ballot. A grassroots write-in campaign ensured that he brushed aside his challengers Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson. Continue reading...
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