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World No 1 offers enviable consistency while Rory McIlroy risks the week getting away from him after only one roundRory McIlroy can talk boring, no doubt he could make you an anagram of it, find a rhyme for it, and give you a couple of pretty good definitions of it too. But hard as he tries, the one thing he can't do is play that way. Good golf at Augusta feels like boring golf," he said the week before the tournament, before promising, again, that he was going to try and play it that way this year. His approach lasted all of one hole, which he covered in par after missing a putt from 10 feet, and failed him as soon as he reached the 2nd tee, where he blazed a ferocious drive 340 yards into the trees beyond the dogleg.McIlroy's ball fetched up closer to the 4th green than the 2nd fairway, and he had to thread his second shot back through a little sliver of a gap under the branches of a dogwood and the bough of a loblolly pine. It fetched up on the far left of the fairway. Then he hit his third over the back of the green, and took three putts to get in. One of the secrets to playing Augusta National is picking up shots on the par-5s, McIlroy had just dropped one on the first he had come to this week. Continue reading...

Shayne Sutherland, 29, died in California after being held face down, a year before a law banned maneuvers that lead to asphyxiaThe city of Stockton, California, has agreed to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Shayne Sutherland, a 29-year-old who died after being held face down by police officers in 2020, for $6m, the family's attorneys announced Thursday.Sutherland's mother, Karen Sutherland, said that nothing can replace her son, but that the settlement feels like an acknowledgement of responsibility from Stockton police, which she had been hoping for. Continue reading...

Proposal sails through, with one vocal opponent saying gay first cousins do not risk having a child with birth defectsThe Republican-led Tennessee legislature has overwhelmingly voted to send the Republican governor, Bill Lee, a proposal that would ban marriage between first cousins.The statehouse cast a 75-2 vote on Thursday on the bill after the senate previously approved it without any opposition. Continue reading...

The death of the once-loved NFL star and actor leaves a trail of wreckage from his tabloid notoriety as double murder suspect

Kyle Benjamin Douglas Calvert, 26, allegedly put stickers on state buildings with antifa, anti-police and anti-Ice sentimentsAn Alabama man has been charged with detonating an explosive device outside the state attorney general's office.In a statement on Wednesday, the justice department announced that authorities had arrested 26-year-old Kyle Benjamin Douglas Calvert of Irondale on charges of malicious use of an explosive and possession of an unregistered destructive device. Continue reading...

Ex-CEO and former crypto mogul, 32, was found guilty of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy to launder money in NovemberSam Bankman-Fried appealed his fraud convictions and 25-year prison sentence on Thursday.The ex-CEO of the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange was found guilty on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy to launder money in November and sentenced to more than two decades in federal prison in late March. The former crypto mogul, 32, had signaled he would contest the court's rulings shortly after he learned of his sentence. It's not yet clear on what grounds Bankman-Fried will argue for an appeal, which could take years. Continue reading...

Planned bill to ban already illegal practice is latest Republican step to spread falsehoods about immigration and voter fraudDonald Trump and the House speaker, Mike Johnson, plan to push for a bill to ban non-citizens from voting, the latest step by Republicans to falsely claim migrants are coming to the country and casting ballots.Voting when a person is not eligible - for instance if they lack US citizenship - is already illegal under federal law. It is unclear what the bill Johnson and the former president will discuss in their Friday press conference at Mar-a-Lago will do to alter that. But it is one more way for the former president to focus on election security and to ding the Biden administration over the situation at the US-Mexico border, a key issue for likely Republican voters this November. Continue reading...

The 88-year-old held court on the secret to a long life and his political heroes while insisting humans will soon live to 140The start was running just a little behind time at the Masters this year, made three hours late by the storm that blew through early in the morning. It was 10am already when Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson made it to the practice range, and just gone 10.15 when they walked from the clubhouse through the gallery to the 1st tee. Player stopped to press a ball into the palm of a lady waiting by the ropes. Her name was Barbara, and she was 88. We're the very same age," she says, smiling like a little kid who'd just discovered the big presents tucked around the back ofthe Christmas tree.Player gives her a kiss on the cheek on his way back in, too. Turns out this is one of his Masters traditions. It's the third time he's done it," Barbara says. My husband said if he did it again this year then I shouldn't come back home afterwards." Continue reading...

Complaint claims officials violated state law by not contacting eligible Republicans nominated by their party to work the pollsWisconsin Republicans have hit the state election commission with complaints alleging that officials in the state's two largest cities illegally rejected Republican applicants for poll worker positions for the primary election.The complaints, filed by the Milwaukee county Republican party and Dane county Republican party, claim officials in Milwaukee and Madison violated state law by not contacting eligible Republicans nominated by their party to work the polls. The move furthers the GOP strategy of questioning election processes in key battleground states. Continue reading...

Former American football player who was acquitted of murder in 1995 died of cancer, according to a statement by his familyOJ Simpson, the former American football star, actor and notorious suspected double murderer, has died of cancer at 76, his family said in a statement on Thursday.His 1995 trial, and controversial acquittal, for the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman, provided one of the world's most-watched popular culture events of the last century.Associated Press contributed reporting Continue reading...

Reactions to Simpson's death range from points about domestic violence, to the decline of broadcast news to US race relationsOJ Simpson has died at the age of 76 and the words of remembrance people have been sharing reflect his complicated, infamous life.Usually the death of a celebrity prompts a flood of similar-sounding tributes, remembering the highlights of their lives and keeping a respectful distance on any of the lower moments and controversies.In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women's Aid. In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org. Continue reading...

Fumio Kishida warns of risks from China in address to Congress and says Japan determined to do more to share responsibilityJapan's prime minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday called on Americans to overcome their self-doubt" as he offered a paean to US global leadership before a bitterly divided Congress.Warning of risks from the rise of China, Kishida said that Japan - stripped of its right to a military after the second world war - was determined to do more to share responsibility with its ally the United States. Continue reading...

The NFL player was a star until he was charged with murder, and after his acquittal in 1995 he faced further legal troubles in the ensuing decades

Three rescued in the Pacific after making message in the sand with palm fronds, just as another group had done four years priorThree fishermen stranded on a remote Pacific atoll for more than a week were rescued after spelling out the word Help" in the sand using giant palm fronds.A crew from the US Coast Guard cutter Oliver Henry plucked the men, in their 40s, from Pikelot atoll, part of the Federated States of Micronesia, to safety on Tuesday after their message was spotted from the air. Continue reading...

It should not take a small dog to alert us all to the fact that cyclists are at-risk road usersI am a middle-aged man on a bicycle. I wear Lycra. According to the mainstream media, I'm a free-loading, red-light dodging, unregistered road warrior cruising on expensive cycle paths that would be better redesigned as traffic lanes.Yet every day I cycle, people smile at me. Tradies in utes lean out the window and give me the thumbs up. The other day a young woman stopped me and asked if she could take my photo. When I pause for the obligatory coffee midway through my ride, it's not uncommon for other diners to approach me, their faces beaming. When I share the footpath with pedestrians, they always make room for me after I sound my bell. Most of them grin and wave. Continue reading...

Patients were hospitalized after receiving Botox or possibly fake Botox, and showing symptoms that aligned with botulismThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reportedly investigating several cases of Botox-related illnesses and will warn doctors across the United States about fake Botox injections after several people have been hospitalized.Health officials in Tennessee and Illinois this week said they were investigating cases of botulism-like illnesses that appeared connected to Botox injections received in a non-medical setting. Continue reading...

With Slovakia the latest member to elect a Russia-leaning leader, the EU is increasingly open to hostile interferenceThe victory for Peter Pellegrini in Slovakia's presidential election is just the latest triumph for the far right in Europe. Even though the role of president is largely symbolic, his win over his pro-European rival, Ivan Korok, by a comfortable six-point margin, consolidates the power of the prime minister, Robert Fico. The result is one of a growing number of victories for politicians supportive of Vladimir Putin in Europe.Public support for the far right is sweeping across the continent. In the Netherlands and Portugal, far-right parties have also increased their vote share in recent national elections. Meanwhile, polling ahead of German local elections, and Austrian and Belgian parliamentary elections this year, suggests they are likely to make gains in these countries too. There is a real possibility that Austria's elections might see a return to power for the far right, Putin-supporting Freedom party, if another party can be convinced to join it in a coalition. There is a sense across Europe that the far right is gathering momentum and expanding beyond its usual core vote. Continue reading...

Former national security adviser says he will cast vote for ex-vice-president despite saying Trump must not be re-electedJohn Bolton, a former national security adviser to Donald Trump who wrote a tell-all book and now campaigns against him, will cast a write-in vote for the former vice-president Dick Cheney instead of Joe Biden this year - despite saying Trump must not be re-elected.Bemoaning Trump's focus on the 2020 election, which he lost conclusively but falsely insists was won with electoral fraud, Bolton told CNN that four years ago: I voted for Dick Cheney. Continue reading...

Arizona's state Republican leadership halted an effort by Democrats on Wednesday to repeal an 1864 law banning almost all abortions, which the state supreme court this week ruled could go into effect. Outraged Democrats erupted in finger-waving chants of: 'Shame! Shame!'The Arizona supreme court ruled on Tuesday that the 1864 law could go into effect - though it may not happen for weeks. Under the law, which predates Arizona's statehood, there are no exceptions for rape or incest and abortions are permitted only if the mother's life is at risk

Katie Wood, a transgender algebra teacher, has long gone by Ms Wood' but the law required students to say Teacher Wood'Florida cannot prohibit a 10th grade math teacher from asking her students to call her by her preferred pronouns, a federal judge has ruled.The decision from Mark Walker, the US district judge, is a blow to an anti-LGBTQ law championed by Ron DeSantis, the state's governor, which prohibits discussion of sexuality in public schools. A 2023 expansion of the measure, widely known as the Don't Say Gay" law, prohibits teachers and students from using pronouns that align with their gender identity. Continue reading...

The knockout stages have finally started to deliver, with standout performances from Phil Foden, Antoine Griezmann and Barcelona's reluctant fullbackPerhaps the quarter-finals are where the Champions League can be counted to catch light. This week's first legs saw goals aplenty, with a mix of veteran and young guns starring, with each second leg set up for even more excitement.Goalkeeper: Jan Oblak, Atletico Madrid Continue reading...

Historic action closes loophole and bolsters Biden administration's fight against gun violence. Plus: the true price of Indonesia's booming nickel industryGood morning.The US will require mandatory background checks on the sale of firearms on the internet and at gun shows, the US justice department announced on Thursday, closing a loophole that previously exempted private transactions from restrictions that apply to licensed dealers.How often did people take advantage of this loophole? The White House estimates that about 22% of guns owned by Americans were acquired without a background check.How have conservatives responded to the announcement? Republicans were lukewarm to near-identical proposals by Barack Obama in 2016 and, with a current House majority, have been resistant to calls for meaningful gun control measures since. However, Republican support is not actually necessary for this new rule to go through. Continue reading...

The radical right is correct that the west is waning. But it's rampant capitalism and endless wars that are causing its collapse, not wokeness'This century has one overarching theme: the fall of the west, that is, the US and its European allies. Every major crisis accelerates the unmistakable trend. The war in Gaza is just the latest manifestation. Western newspapers are now littered with articles full of the panicked realisation that more is buried in the rubble of Gaza than just thousands of unidentified bodies. The damage to Israel's reputation," writes Matthew Parris in the Times, so much less manifest than shattered hospitals in Gaza, is incalculable." Yes, but it would be an error to believe that it is Israel's problem alone. When the former Palestinian negotiator Diana Buttu told me this was an Israeli-American attack", she summed up what much of the world sees. That Israel faces a catastrophic strategic defeat and reputational calamity is dawning on even its most ardent supporters; soon it will be widely understood that this applies to its western cheerleaders, too.The west's decline long predates this current crime of historic proportions, but it is the radical right which has, to date, monopolised this conversation. For it, the explanations for the downfall are, variously, immigration, multiculturalism, Islam, wokeness", gender ideology", the disintegration of the nuclear family, and so on. Liz Truss's forthcoming book, Ten Years to Save the West, raging against a supposedly leftwing establishment blocking free-market innovation, is the latest addition to this genre. In fact, the explanation is really rather simple. In the aftermath of the Soviet collapse more than 30 years ago, western elites became intoxicated with a premature triumphalism. The hubris of the US neoconservative Midge Decter, speaking after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, sums it up well. It's time to say: we've won. Goodbye," she stated grandly. Continue reading...

Kagame's regime is funding rape, killings and torture by the M23 militia, who have now cut off the city of Goma. But he can be stoppedThe M23 militia group attacked the town of Sake in North Kivu last month, wounding eight UN peacekeepers and sending much of its population fleeing towards the provincial capital, Goma. The fall of the town in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) means the M23 now controls all roads in and out of Goma - and, by extension, critical mining sites and trading networks.If the M23 wanted to overrun the capital, as it did in 2012, it would have done so by now. So why hasn't it? The militia would struggle to keep hold of the city without the support of neighbouring Rwanda. Three UN investigations, the latest in December, have concluded that the M23 is armed and supported by President Paul Kagame's regime. The UN imposed sanctions on the group in February. Continue reading...

US investment firm snaps up UK discount retail chain with huge potential' for undisclosed sumPoundstretcher has been bought by the US investment firm Fortress, the owner of the Majestic Wine off-licence and Punch pubs group, for an undisclosed sum.The deal for the UK discount retail chain, which includes its 322 shops, of which about 60 trade under the name Bargain Buys, is the latest twist in the history of one of Britain's first discounters, which has undergone a number of rescue deals. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Nilda Palacios fought to prove a California sergeant had assaulted and stalked her - by the time her claims were sustained', he'd quietly resignedNilda Palacios had nowhere to turn.It was June 2016 inside the Central California Women's Facility (CCWF), the state's largest women's prison, and her cellmate had become abusive and violent, she recalled in an interview. Officers had refused her request for a room transfer. Her final hope: begging for help from Tony Ormonde, the sergeant who ran the yard. Continue reading...

Republicans haven't moderated' their extreme stance on abortion, but much of the media is eager to give that impressionSometimes, in 2024 America, you have to pinch yourself to make sure you're not in a long-running dystopian nightmare. Then again, maybe we all are. And no amount of pinching will help.Two scenes from this week stand out.Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture Continue reading...

Run away or stand still? Make yourself look big or make yourself look small? I asked a dairy farmer how to react when a walk in the country turns nastyMany has been the time I've dragged my daughter out for a walk, and everything is ticking along nicely until the footpath takes us through a field of cows. She says she's scared; I say she's being silly. She breaks into a run; I don't. And the cows don't take a blind bit of notice.I thought all cattle encounters were a bit like this, but it turns out that sometimes, very rarely, things do get ugly and someone gets seriously hurt or even killed. I did a story about this last week on my radio show, though I really didn't want to frighten people when the chances of harm are surely greater on your journey into the countryside than during any walking you might do when you get there. Continue reading...

With his Stormy Daniels trial about to begin, Trump's novelty value may finally be fading. Then again, this is the land of the surrealIt is a mark of the bleakness of expectations among American Democrats that, this week, President Biden's slight rise in the polls has been seized on as cause for giddiness. I did it myself. This was it! The beginning of the correction. Finally, the toll of various lawsuits and expensive judgments was coming home to roost in the form of a drag on Donald Trump's popularity. New York magazine urged cautious optimism. NBC News lost its mind and used the word behemoth" in a headline to toast Biden's burgeoning campaign. All this based on national polling that puts Trump 0.7% ahead.Still, it's better than the numbers were a few months ago. In Pennsylvania, a key battleground that flipped for Trump in 2016, a recent survey put Biden up 10 points, having led by only one in February. In a national poll conducted by NPR, Biden was actually two points ahead. (The same poll found that 40% of respondents reported being open to changing their minds". Who are these people and what is wrong with them?) But while older voters, particularly men, seemed to be moving en masse towards Biden, voters under 45 appeared less sure. Many young people still endorse Biden, but Trump, up a net 15 points in that demographic since 2020, is seemingly gaining ground with younger Americans.Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Franchises have the opportunity to transform their fortunes in the coming weeks. But some need to land their selections more than othersIn theory, the NFL draft is an even playing field. Unlike the Super Bowl, you don't automatically win the draft because Patrick Mahomes is nestled on your roster. Teams are free to build draft capital or ship it away in lieu of constructing the missing parts of their roster through trades and free agency.But the reality in 2024 is that, while a team like the Houston Texans can preen around for a while after nailing last year's draft, the pressure for most other teams is sky high. The teams below range from the terrible to those who need a bit of help to get to the next level. Continue reading...

Democrats stymied after state supreme court rules that 1864 law with no exceptions for rape or incest can go into effectArizona's state Republican leadership halted an effort by Democrats on Wednesday to repeal an 1864 law banning almost all abortions, which the state supreme court this week ruled could go into effect.The move came after Republican lawmakers in the state had denounced the court's decision, including some who previously expressed support for the law. Donald Trump and other high-profile Republicans, such as the Senate candidate Kari Lake, had also declared their opposition to the ruling with Lake urging lawmakers to come up with an immediate commonsense solution that Arizonans can support". Continue reading...

Any plans for national renewal' after the Tories must focus on freeing the UK from its vice of wallowing in guilt or gloryAddressing the Labour conference in October, Keir Starmer promised to lead a decade of national renewal. After Covid, Brexit and the cost of living squeeze, few will dispute the need, although people may reasonably debate what renewal implies or where the priorities should lie. This week, though, has offered a warning that renewal, desirable though it may be in principle, will also have many enemies.The essential first step is acknowledging you have a problem," writes the former Foreign Office chief Simon McDonald in his recent book on the future of British foreign policy. My Observer colleague Will Hutton writes: It is time to stop talking and thinking of Britain as a rich and broadly fair country," in his own call for a wider national remaking. We cannot help the world respond to the list of global problems if we ourselves are on it," echoes the ex-cabinet secretary Mark Sedwill in a pamphlet about the Foreign Office published this week.Martin Kettle is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Visitors to the countryside objecting to a variety of rural noises are such a problem that legislators feel compelled to actThe French parliament is taking aim at noise complaints in the countryside. Lawmakers say they are well acquainted with the problem of residents who have moved to the countryside from the big cities bemoaning the way livestock, church bells and other rural sounds impinge on their newly claimed right to pastoral quiet.A new law aims to stop these neoruraux (rural newcomers) from taking farmers to court over farming activities that were already happening long before they arrived. Opposition MPs have derided the new bill as hot air, because it mostly just reorganises existing bits of legislation. But what is new is an emphasis on what the justice minister, Eric Dupond-Moretti, calls le vivre-ensemble: living together in a respectful way - something I feel is sorely needed.Dale Berning Sawa is a freelance writer based in London Continue reading...

People will blame Brexit, Boris and austerity, but this country's demise goes back decades - and shows no signs of stoppingIn 1951, the county of Durham condemned 114 villages to a slow death. The older, smaller coalmines were approaching exhaustion, which meant, officials said, many of the rows of houses which grew up around the pitheads have outlived their usefulness". These rows of houses" were homes to 100,000 adults and children. Now they were designated Category D.D for de-industrial. D for demolish. D for decline.

By failing to take on clinicians who doubt the very existence of trans children and young people, the review lets down those it seeks to supportThe long-awaited Cass review of gender identity services (Gids) for children and young people is finally here, and people with a wide variety of views appear to be welcoming it. In more civil, fact-based times, in which transness was accepted as just another example of human variation, this outcome could be to its credit: appropriate for a review of clinical services by an expert clinician.However, we do not live in such times. Instead, in recent years, the UK has fallen to 15th in European LGBT+ equality rankings (in 2016, the UK ranked third) and was highlighted by the Council of Europe alongside Hungary, Turkey and Russia as a state where LGBT+ rights are under attack from political figures, including governments. We are also experiencing a steep rise in transgender hate crimes, which a UN report directly attributes to the toxic nature of the public debate surrounding sexual orientation and gender identity". Continue reading...

The biggest company on the market is threatening to leave. That is a different order of seriousness than seeing Flutter and CRH fleeLast July, Wael Sawan, the chief executive of Shell, told the BBC about the terrific time he had on a visit to the New York stock exchange. The welcome was exemplary", he enthused, and the locals even flew the Shell flag next to their own. They [the NYSE officials] said we continue to value a company that provides us the energy we desperately need," he continued, adding that he wouldn't rule out moving Shell's stock market listing to the US in time, an inflammatory suggestion given the general angst over the state of the London market.Now he's at it again. In remarks to Bloomberg published this week, he said Shell had a location" - meaning London - that clearly seems to be undervalued". His beef is the perceived undervaluation of Shell's shares versus those of New York-listed rivals Chevron and ExxonMobil. If the valuation gap doesn't close, we have to look at all options. All options," he emphasised. Continue reading...

Officers confirm man dead and five people, including a nine-year-old and 12-year-old, hospitalized as possibly two shooters at largeOne person was killed and multiple people injured, including two children, in a shooting in Washington DC on Wednesday evening.Police have issued a public alert for the car believed to be carrying the gunman that fled the scene. Continue reading...

Joe Biden and Fumio Kishida, the Japanese prime minister, have announced a new era of military cooperation aimed at countering China, during a White House state visit. The US president said the two nations' forces will cooperate on a joint command structure and, along with Australia, develop a new air missile defence network. This is the most significant upgrade in our alliance since it was first established", said Biden.

Tokyo and Washington have struck 70 pacts on defence cooperation during Japanese PM's White House state visitJoe Biden and Fumio Kishida, the Japanese prime minister, have announced a new era of military cooperation during the pomp and pageantry of a White House state visit aimed at countering China.The US president said the two nations' forces will cooperate on a joint command structure and, along with Australia, develop a new air missile defence network. Continue reading...

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US president and allied officials fear significant' strike within days in retaliation for Israeli bombing of consular building in DamascusJoe Biden has vowed that US commitment to defend Israel against Iran was ironclad" as concerns rose in Washington that a significant" Iranian strike could happen within days, in retaliation for the bombing of an Iranian consular building in Damascus.US and allied officials fear that a strike is imminent and could come in the form of a direct missile launch from Iran, rather than an attack through a proxy like Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel has vowed to respond in kind to such a direct strike, raising the prospect of a regional war, which US officials now believe is more likely than at any point since the beginning of the Gaza conflict on 7 October. Continue reading...

A deadline for the White House to review a proposal to ban the extra-addictive cigarettes expired last month with no actionA 1963 ad for Kool cigarettes features a Black man and woman, both holding lit cigarettes. The man, smiling, gazes down at the woman, who looks into the distance as she blows a stream of smoke from her mouth. The accompanying text reads: Only Kool gives you rich, mellow tobaccos ... and extra coolness ... a refreshing coolness you draw so smoothly through Kool's pure white filter ... from the very first cigarette in the morning, to your last cigarette at night."A 1971 ad from the cigarette brand L&M depicts a Black woman enjoying a luxurious bath. One arm dangles off the side of the tub, while the other holds a lit cigarette. Everybody's in bed and I'll be soon, but not yet, because the bath is so soothing and I can relax" the ad reads. This ... is the L&M moment." Continue reading...

US health and human services secretary said to have had private conversations about desire to succeed Gavin NewsomXavier Becerra, the health and human services secretary, is reportedly considering leaving his post to run for California governor.Becerra has discussed in private conversations his desire to leave Washington in November and join an already crowded field of candidates to succeed Gavin Newsom as governor, Politico reported, citing anonymous sources. Continue reading...