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Republican Florida governor's attack on universities suffers twin embarrassments of book dump and spending scandalIt has been a rough month for Ron DeSantis's rightwing rebranding of higher education in Florida. Embarrassments at two high-profile universities where the Republican governor has been waging his culture war against woke" have forced his administration into something of a cleanup.Sarasota's New College, the once liberal arts school subjected to a hostile takeover" by well-rewarded, ultra-conservative DeSantis allies, was exposed by the city's Herald-Tribune for dumping thousands of library books, including a clear-out of its gender and diversity center. Continue reading...

Vice-president enjoys post-convention glow but her policies are undefined as Trump searches for line of attackAs Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination for US president, and 100,000 red, white and blue balloons floated down from the rafters, Charlene Dukes' eyes filled with tears. It was when she spoke about her family, her upbringing, which is so similar to many of us," said Dukes, a Black woman from Maryland.Many of us were not born with a silver spoon in our mouths," added Dukes, who said the prospect of the US electing a woman of colour as president for the first time in its 248-year history left her feeling euphoric". Continue reading...

Architects of Team USA's squad say they salivate with the athleticism that could ... be in the pool' for 2028 debutAny NFL stars who are truly serious about joining the US's national flag football team when the sport debuts as an Olympic discipline at the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games will get their opportunity - but they will need to submit to what could shape up to be a trials process like no other, according to those in charge of picking the squad.Scott Hallenbeck and Eric Mayes of flag's American governing body, USA Football, told the Guardian in a recent interview that they are as excited as anybody to explore fielding NFL talent at the Olympics in a manner the NBA has done for the US since the 1992 Dream Team. Continue reading...

Far from acting as a broker, Beijing is playing both sides in a state torn by brutality and chaosThings fall apart, if you let them - and ethnically, religiously, ideologically fractured Myanmar, formerly Burma, has never been a model of harmonious, integrated nationhood. Yet since the 2021 military coup and ensuing civil war, new and old divisions have grown rapidly. Western and neighbouring states supporting a democratic restoration now face a more fundamental, urgent challenge: how to prevent Myanmar's anarchic disintegration.A break-up would send destabilising shock waves coursing across the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh and all of south-east Asia. The humanitarian implications for its 54million people are dire. A collapse would boost separatist forces and non-state actors elsewhere. And itwould severely dent China's claimsto regional leadership. If President Xi Jinping cannot manage Myanmar, what price Beijing's superpower pretensions?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...

The landscaper's daughter who couldn't crack her college team's lineup opens up about retiring while the getting's good from a career defined by overachievementIn the fall of 2012, when she was an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Florida, Danielle Collins joined a tennis team fresh off an NCAA championship and filled with collegiate players of the highest caliber. Unfortunately, she wasn't one of them. During her year in Gainesville, Collins wasn't able to crack the lineup.Collins and I first spoke by phone in May, on the heels of her back-to-back victories on the hard courts of Miami and the green clay in Charleston. She is the current world No 11 and, come the end of this 2024 season, after eight years on tour and nearly $9m in prize money, plans to retire. There is an uncanny delight in the fact that of her four WTA singles titles, half were won in quick succession in this final stretch of her career, as though somehow the conviction in what she wants for her life off-court - time, freedom, the chance to start a family - has unlocked a sense of liberated clairvoyance. She is going to retire, but first, she is going to win. In an era of players calling it quits when their bodies and years on courts have extended and bended long past their physical prime, Collins is doing an unusual thing. She's leaving the court while the getting's good. Continue reading...

Call it uncool to have a word, but you can't let young people just get hammered in a fieldThere are many parenting styles for teenagers, but sometimes it feels like there are just two: cool and uncool. Often, cool, liberal parents are lovely: just trying to let their kids breathe. Then you get the other kind, doing the cool parent" thing. The ones who are smug and tiring. Who make you feel fogeyish and hysterical about raising concerns (their attitude: What's the weather like in Daily Mail land?"). The ones who often seem misinformed and out of date. They are many things, but I've come to think they can also be dangerous.Cool parents are out in force right now. The uncool ones too: the anxious and alert. The TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp is in the news for letting her 15-year-old son go Interrailing with a friend, prompting a discussion about children and parental permissions. Continue reading...

Prostitution puts lives in danger yet sexual exploitation is permitted to thrive in the UKLabour's most ambitious pledge isn't to reach the highest sustained growth in the G7, or to transition Britain to zero-carbon electricity by 2030. It is to halve male violence against women and girls over the next decade. At least 100 women were killed by a man in 2023. So achieving this would be an extraordinary feat that would transform the experience of being female in the UK. But a real test of Labour's commitment is whether it is prepared to protect some of the most vulnerable women in society who find themselves trapped in prostitution.Prostitution puts women in mortal peril; it is hard to quantify precisely but women in prostitution are many, many times more likely to end up murdered than other women. Femicide Census figures highlight that 47 women involved in prostitution were killed by men in the UK between 2009 and 2023. Continue reading...

Strong winds and heavy rain may inflict damage over weekend, with wind raising wildfire risk on drier sidesTropical Storm Hone was approaching the southern edges of Hawaii on Saturday with gusts of wind and heavy rain, potentially inflicting flooding and wind damage on the Big Island over the weekend and raising the risk of wildfires on the drier sides of the islands.The National Weather Service has issued a tropical storm warning for Hawaii county, which includes all of the Big Island, and a red-flag warning for the leeward sides of all islands. Continue reading...

Winners of prizes such as the Nobel are concentrated in a handful of universities, which runs the risk of narrowing debateEconomists are pro-competition, warning against concentrated markets - dominated by a few large firms that face too little pressure to keep prices down or quality up.But where is concentration high and increasing? In economics itself, according to fascinatingnew research by US and Chinese academics. They gathered data on the top researchers (those receiving the most prestigious awards -, such as Nobel prizes) across different scientific fields, spanning engineering, natural and social sciences. Continue reading...

The Democratic contender tells it like it is about Donald Trump

Statue of congressman, who died in 2020 of cancer, replaces obelisk erected in 1908 celebrating the ConfederacyA 12ft-tall statue of John Lewis was unveiled in Georgia on Saturday morning, honoring the legacy of the civil rights leader and congressman who died in 2020.The statue stands in Decatur Square outside the historic Decatur courthouse in outer Atlanta, in a district Lewis represented in Congress from 1987 to his death. Lewis was 80 when he died due to complications related to pancreatic cancer. Continue reading...

The 21-year-old insists she's inspired being back at the scene of her remarkable New York triumph and won't change her methods whatever the criticismWhen Emma Raducanu first returned to New York two years ago to defend her unprecedented 2021 US Open triumph from the qualifying rounds, things did not go as smoothly as she had hoped. A year of scrutiny and unwelcome pressure had taken its toll and, with her body so frail, it seemed an injury or ailment was always around the corner. Raducanu fell meekly in the first round without winning a set.Having missed last year's edition as she recovered from surgery, the 21-year-old returns to Flushing Meadows seemingly in a better position than since the aftermath of her victory. Continue reading...

Hard-right hosts resurrect racist Obama birther conspiracy theory and lament Democrats' treatment of Joe BidenAs the Democratic party enjoys the afterglow of an exuberant national convention, the rightwing media has settled on consistent counter-programming: complaining about joy", hyping up pro-Palestinian protests and expressing a newfound concern for the treatment of Joe Biden.The coverage, which has at times avoided the more pointed Democratic criticisms of Trump by cutting to ad breaks, has also including the criticism of women both for smiling too much and not smiling enough, and the coining of a new name for Barack Obama: Barack-Stabber". Continue reading...

A study linking processed meat like ham to diabetes is further proof that no matter how tasty, we're better off without itWhile teetotalism has replaced veganism as the thing people tell you about themselves instead of having a personality, the harmful effect of processed meat remains a serious issue.A recent University of Cambridge study has shown that eating the equivalent of two slices of ham a day leads to an increased risk of diabetes. Continue reading...

Former head of the CDC's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease is expected to make a full recoveryAnthony Fauci is recovering at home from a West Nile virus infection, a spokesperson told news outlets on Saturday.The former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease was hospitalized for six days with the virus. Fauci, 83, is expected to make a full recovery. Continue reading...

The vice-presidential nominee's son, Gus, was unrestrained in his reactions at the Democratic conventionFor Gus Walz, the Democratic national convention in Chicago last week may not have been the light, good vibes fest that it was for adults in the 17,000-seat Chicago arena.The intense emotional response of vice-president hopeful Tim Walz's son to seeing his father on stage - That's my dad!" - thrust him into the spotlight as the convention's breakout star and with them raised the issue of nonverbal learning disorders, ADHD and an anxiety disorder that the 17-year-old is reported to experience. Continue reading...

Jannik Sinner broke his silence after an independent tribunal cleared the Italian tennis player of fault or negligence for two positive anti-doping tests. The world No 1, who tested positive for clostebol in March, said: 'I always believe that I kept playing tennis because in my mind I knew that I haven't done anything wrong'.

GOP lawmakers have made the state hostile for trans youth. These teens and their parents vow to assert themselves'Some parents have stockpiled medications in hidden locations. Some have stopped socializing with neighbors. Some have made plans to flee the state.In Missouri, transgender youth and their families are grappling with an onslaught of attacks on their rights. Last year, Republican lawmakers outlawed critical healthcare treatments for trans youth and banned many trans athletes from school sports. Local school districts worked to censor LGBTQ+ books and prohibit trans children from using bathrooms that match their gender identity. Continue reading...

Extracurricular classes teach the majesty and value of Black history' from the origins of Africa to Jim Crow policiesWhen I say, because', you say: Black people invented it,'" Renee Scott Best told a class of predominantly Black students one Monday last month. The call and response from the kids grew louder as they read a fictional story about a dystopian world without African Americans and their inventions. A folding bed, tricycle, clock, toilet, heating furnace, thermostat and air conditioner were among the innovations that no longer existed because, Black people invented it," the students shouted.Because we were brought here as slaves, they try to make us think we're not very smart," Best said toward the end of the lesson. She stood beside a poster that displayed the cover of her poetry book about 50 Black inventors, Black Inventors Poetry in Motion, which inspired the day's lesson plan. She said: We know that's not true, because without all of the Black inventions in and around your home, you'd be in a cabin!" Continue reading...

Rambling speeches peppered with insults, narcissism and an obsession with crowd size have raised questions about the former president's fitness for officeEven some of Donald Trump's supporters are now asking the question that was the undoing of Joe Biden: is the former president fit for office?But while Biden's run for re-election was largely sunk by a single disastrous televised debate before a national audience, Trump is ramping up doubts with each chaotic, disjointed speech as he campaigns around the country. Continue reading...

Test your knowledge of tennis, cricket, the Paralympic Games - plus American and association football Continue reading...

Decline in early prenatal care was accompanied by 5% rise in number of patients who received no prenatal care at allFewer women received early and adequate prenatal care in 2023, new data released this week by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows.The small year-over-year decline comes amid tectonic shifts in women's rights and access to reproductive healthcare in the US and in spite of a federal government initiative meant to improve prenatal care access. Seventeen states ban abortion at conception or soon after. Continue reading...

Putin is attempting to wipe us off the map, but on this independence day it seems that he has inadvertently finalised the formation of our stateAt 35, I'm younger than many things - such as the internet or Apple computers. And yet I'm older than my country's independence.For most people, the independence of their birth state is so ironclad they rarely get to really think about it. Others won independence centuries ago and mark it as a general occasion for a fun celebration, rather than one focused on thinking about what they as a nation sacrificed to be free.Olga Rudenko is the editor-in-chief of the Kyiv IndependentDo 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...

The Kursk offensive and Putin's hubris give the country hope. But Ukrainians are under no illusion that peace will come soonWhen the new Russian assault on Ukraine's northern Kharkiv region began in May I travelled there to see how it was coping. Everywhere I saw billboards portraying firefighters and communal workers on duty, with the slogan Kharkiv invincible". Residents were angry about the bombs falling on their heads, but alongside fear there was grim optimism and determination.Nataliya Gumenyuk is a Ukrainian journalist and CEO of The Public Interest Journalism Lab Continue reading...

Ex-president takes stage with Kennedy in Arizona, hours after independent candidate suspends White House bid

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Ronald Syvrud, 66, taken into custody over alleged social media threat as Trump pays visit to border stateAn Arizona man who was wanted after threatening over social media to kill Donald Trump was arrested on Thursday, the Cochise county sheriff's office said.Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president, was in Cochise county on Thursday when he visited the US border with Mexico as part of his campaign. Continue reading...

Joseph Emerson charged with 83 counts of reckless endangerment over incident on flight to San FranciscoAn Alaska Airlines pilot who attempted to shut off the engines of a passenger plane mid-flight after ingesting magic mushrooms said his actions were unfathomable", in some of his first public remarks after he was indicted on 83 counts of reckless endangerment.In an interview with ABC's Good Morning America, Joseph Emerson described the events of 22 October as 30 seconds of my life that I wish I could change, and I can't". Continue reading...

Emmitt Martin pleaded guilty to federal civil rights violations in killing that renewed calls for police reformFederal prosecutors recommended a 40-year sentence for a former Memphis police officer who pleaded guilty on Friday to federal civil rights violations in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols.Emmitt Martin is the second former officer to plead guilty in the killing that sparked outrage and renewed calls for police reform. Three former officers still face trial in federal court in September, and two of their former colleagues could testify against them. Continue reading...

The world No 1 has spoken publicly for the first time since failed tests were revealed and denied claims of favouritismAs the countdown to the last grand slam tournament of the year has moved to its final days, the news of Jannik Sinner's anti-doping case has dictated the tennis discourse. The topic has dominated discussion across the US Open tournament grounds and it has been the talking point du jour in the various pre-tournament events across New York City.On Friday, Sinner finally spoke in public for the first time since an independent tribunal determined that he would bear no fault and negligence for two positive anti-doping tests for the banned substance clostebol. In his press conference, Sinner described the verdict as a relief. Continue reading...

Independent candidate's campaign, seen as a threat by both Harris and Trump, had been dogged by controversiesRobert F Kennedy Jr, the scion of the Democratic Kennedy family whose independent presidential campaign threatened to draw votes from both Republicans and Democrats, has suspended his campaign and endorsed Donald Trump.Kennedy said he would be removing his name from the ballot in critical swing states, but will remain on the ballot in other states and some voters could still cast ballots for him. Continue reading...

January retrial likely after judge declines to dismiss two charges against Boston woman accused of killing boyfriendThe Massachusetts judge presiding over the high-profile murder trial of Karen Read has rejected a defense motion to dismiss two charges, including murder, setting the stage for the case to be retried in January after jurors deadlocked this summer.Read, 44, is accused of killing her boyfriend, the Boston police officer John O'Keefe, 46, by hitting him with her sport-utility vehicle and leaving him to die in a snowbank. She pleaded not guilty to charges including second-degree murder, manslaughter while under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of a deadly crash. Continue reading...

Kennedy supporters bitterly disappointed as independent props up two-party system by endorsing Donald Trump

Eddie Duran charged over death of Roger Fortson, who was shot multiple times when he opened apartment doorA Florida sheriff's deputy is facing a charge of manslaughter with a firearm in connection with the fatal shooting of a US air force member who opened his apartment door while holding a gun.The former Okaloosa county deputy Eddie Duran was charged on Friday in the 3 May shooting death of senior airman Roger Fortson, assistant state attorney Greg Marcille said. That is a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison. Continue reading...

Ex-president's 48 posts during speech confirm his trouble in maintaining discipline on the campaign trailKamala Harris's Democratic national convention speech provoked a torrent of outrage from Donald Trump as the former US president fired off a volley of ripostes, rebuttals and angry calls to TV stations.Trump posted 48 times on his Truth Social network during Harris's 37-minute presidential acceptance speech, which was nearly an hour shorter than his own effort at the Republican convention last month. Continue reading...

As the independent candidate suspends his campaign and endorses Trump, an endlessly bizarre run comes to an end

Pro-Palestine movement and Israelis share common goal for Gaza ceasefire at Kamala Harris's nominationIt was late in the evening when Ruby Chen, whose son Itay was kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October and later killed, approached and kneeled down next to Abbas Alawieh, a delegate from the Uncommitted" pro-Palestinian movement who was planning to bed down for the night on the cement outside the venue where Kamala Harris this week formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination.For the four days of the Democratic National Convention, while many visiting delegates were popping bottles of champagne at parties across Chicago, the two men were busy working the rooms at delegate breakfasts, juggling media interviews and courting high-profile Democrats to try to influence the administration's policies in Gaza. Continue reading...

The Chicago convention capped a month that has changed US politics. But there are 10 weeks still to goLittle more than a month ago, what the Democratic party has achieved in Chicago this week would have seemed unthinkable. Yet, in a few short weeks, the party has dumped a stumbling Joe Biden as its nominee, seamlessly installed Kamala Harris as his unchallenged replacement, acclaimed Tim Walz as her running mate, reinvigorated its campaign and its finances, and made itself competitive against Donald Trump again. If that was not enough, MsHarris's acceptance speech on Thursday topped off a convention week that at times brimmed with commitment and enthusiasm.It all adds up to a textbook political transformation. It has had many in the party pinching themselves in disbelief. Though they all left it dangerously late, those who made this happen deserve the gratitude of millions, and not just in the US. The campaign has now achieved as powerful a liftoff as could have been hoped in the circumstances. Yet this is only the start. There is still an election to win, an election that will shape America and the world. The feelgood mood in Chicago will turn to ashes if Mr Trump is elected. Continue reading...

Biden program could give US citizenship through marriage to nearly half a million people without legal statusOpponents are suing to end a federal program that could potentially give nearly half a million migrants without legal status who are married to US citizens a path to citizenship.Sixteen Republican-led states filed suit on Friday to halt the program launched by Joe Biden in June, saying in court filings that the Biden administration bypassed Congress to create a pathway to citizenship for blatant political purposes". Continue reading...

DoJ lawsuit claims firm's algorithm helps landlords coordinate rental prices and violates antitrust lawsThe US Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit on Friday against the real estate software company RealPage Inc, accusing it of an illegal scheme that allows landlords to coordinate to hike rental prices.The lawsuit, filed alongside attorneys general in states including North Carolina and California, accuses the company of violating antitrust laws through its algorithm that landlords use to get recommended rental prices for apartments. Continue reading...

We're braver, we're pissed off, we're badly depressed, we're losing hair, we've never felt so good. A cliche is never as simple as it seems

Call it the Walz effect

Fed chairman hails progress in battle to bring down inflation, with rate cuts starting from SeptemberThe time has come" for the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, its chairman declared, hailing progress in the battle to bring down inflation from its highest level in a generation.With price growth now on a sustainable" path back to normal levels, Jerome Powell signaled that the central bank was ready to start reducing rates from next month. Continue reading...

Donald Trump told CNN he would certainly be open' to Kennedy playing a role in his administrationThe independent US presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr has filed paperwork to withdraw from presidential ballots in the state of Arizona, the Arizona secretary of state, Adrian Fontes, said.The withdrawal came as Kennedy was set to address the nation on Friday in Arizona amid reports that his presidential ambitions are coming to a close, with falling numbers both in fundraising and in the polls. Continue reading...

Channel 4's bold move to appoint deaf actor Rose Ayling-Ellis as a host is a timely antidote to the BBC's over-sentimentalityThe boccia may not start until Thursday but the Paralympic broadcasters have already started scoring points. There was probably no better way of ensuring that British people tune in over the next couple of weeks than announcing that Rose Ayling-Ellis will be hosting its afternoon coverage. The actor beloved for her Strictly Come Dancing win two years ago communicates an uncontrived joyfulness every time she appears in front of a camera.She knows that her deafness will present a particular challenge in live sports presenting. It is both why it has never been done before, and what drew her to it. I think I'm addicted to being the first of doing something," she said this week. I didn't realise how hard it is. I did panic a bit and think, what have I signed up for?" The producers at Whisper TV, the company behind Channel 4's coverage, are adapting their working methods around a role that traditionally relies on in-ear talkback. Continue reading...

The vice-president gave the biggest speech of her life to close out a star-studded Democratic national conventionHello from Chicago, where it's like the Oscars, but for people with slightly less charisma.The last day of the Democratic national convention brought out A-list actors, iconic musical artists, swing-state politicians and Harris family members - a better lineup, to be sure, than Hulk Hogan and Kid Rock, the stars at the Republican convention. Continue reading...

Pro-Palestinian protesters at the Democratic national convention have been met with stony faces, jeers - and violenceGot any spare brooms to hand? I think the folk at the Democratic national convention may need a few extra because they've been very busy this week trying to sweep the carnage in Gaza under the rug. Continue reading...

Democratic nominee makes sweeping convention speech and promises to prosecute case against Donald TrumpKamala Harris accepted the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday with a sweeping, pointed speech in which she vowed to prosecute the case against Donald Trump and carry the country to a brighter and fairer future.In an address that balanced optimism with scathing criticism of her opponent, Harris acknowledged her unlikely" path to the nomination and extended her hand to voters of all political ideologies who believe in America's promise. Harris would make history if elected - as the first woman, first Black woman and first Asian American woman to serve as president - but she instead focused on the history that the country could change in November. Continue reading...