Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, says that during a press conference at the G20 summit in India the told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to 'end this war of aggression' in Ukraine. Blinken says he urged Russia to reverse a decision to end participation in the New Start treaty. 'No matter what else is happening in the world or in our relationship, the United States will always be ready to engage and act on strategic arms control,' he said
Those who hoped the presidential race would be an inflection point for the country have been disappointedIt is perhaps unsurprising that many Nigerians are dissatisfied with the outcome of the presidential election. The winner, Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), ran on the slogan “It’s my turn”. It seemed to epitomise the uninspiring campaign of an immensely wealthy veteran powerbroker trailed by corruption claims, which he denies. The main opposition Peoples Democratic party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and the outsider challenger, Peter Obi of the tiny Labour party, want the results scrapped, citing problems with both voting and counting. On any account, Mr Tinubu hardly gained a ringing endorsement, with just 37% of the vote (and less than 10% of those registered to cast a ballot), while the PDP took 29% and Mr Obi 25%.Under the APC’s Muhammadu Buhari, Africa’s most populous country and largest economy, with dynamic arts and culture, and a thriving tech sector, has endured two recessions, high inflation and low growth. A botched attempt to replace banknotes worsened matters. In a global index of the commitment to reducing inequality, Nigeria ranks 159th of 161 countries. Multiple security crises include jihadist insurgencies in the north-east, deadly clashes between farmers and herders, and kidnappings by armed gangs. The state has proved both ineffective and brutal, as its bloody suppression of the mass #EndSars protests against police abuses showed. Many Nigerians are voting with their feet. Continue reading...
Bernie Sanders moves to summon chief executive Howard Schultz to Senate committee to explain repeated anti-union violationsStarbucks is under fire over the company’s response to unionization efforts as senator Bernie Sanders threatens to call its chief executive before his committee on alleged labor violations and staff petition for it to end “intimidation” of organizers.Sanders, chairman of the Senate health, education, labor and pensions (Help) committee, announced on Wednesday that the committee will be voting on whether to issue a subpoena to compel the Starbucks chief, Howard Schultz, to testify about Starbuck’s federal labor law violations, and to authorize a committee investigation into labor-law violations committed by major corporations. Continue reading...
by Associated Press in Nashville, Tennessee on (#69CYC)
Governor Bill Lee, who was pictured in drag, has vowed to sign law banning ‘male or female impersonators’ in certain locationsTennessee lawmakers advanced legislation on Thursday that would severely limit where certain drag shows can take place, a proposal the Republican governor, Bill Lee, has promised to sign into law.Tennessee is among a number of Republican-run states to have passed the most anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in the past few years. No other state has acted as fast to ensure drag shows cannot take place in public or in front of children. Continue reading...
City settles lawsuit after hundreds of protesters were arrested, detained and subjected to excessive force in the BronxNew York City has agreed to pay millions of dollars to hundreds of protesters who were arrested, detained and subjected to excessive force during a protest over the murder of George Floyd in 2020.According to the lawsuit against the New York police department, the city and several high-ranking officials, an estimated 320 protesters were subjected to “kettling”, a controversial police tactic in which officers encircle protesters. Continue reading...
Former vice-president, expected to run for Republican nominee for president, says ‘different times call for different leadership’Twice given a chance to say he would support Donald Trump if he was the Republican nominee for president in 2024, Mike Pence, Trump’s former vice-president, declined to do so.“I’m very confident we’ll have better choices come 2024,” Pence told CBS on Wednesday. “And I’m confident our standard-bearer will win the day in November of that year.” Continue reading...
Tennessee court halts construction of warehouse as residents say black fungus from ‘angel’s share’ is coating neighbourhoodsAt least it makes the angels happy.Ethanol vapour released through porous whiskey barrels during the ageing of bourbon might bring a smile in the heavens – the fumes are known as the “angel’s share” – but it can mean misery for local mortals. A strain of black whiskey fungus feeds on the alcoholic gases, coating neighbourhoods around distilleries with a stubborn mouldy crust. Continue reading...
by Associated Press in Hollywood, Florida on (#69CR3)
Michael Ortiz seeks millions from Hollywood, Florida, and Henry Andrews, who also faces a misdemeanor charge for 2021 shootingA Florida man who was paralyzed when a police officer shot him after mistaking his handgun for his stun gun filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the city of Hollywood, the officer and others, saying: “My life got destroyed.”Michael Ortiz is seeking unspecified millions of dollars from Hollywood, Florida, and Henry Andrews, 50, the officer who also faces a misdemeanor charge for the 2021 shooting, one of several over the last 20 years in which officers have said they mistook their gun for their Taser. The federal civil rights lawsuit also names officers Dionte Roots and Jhonny Jimenez, who were subduing Ortiz when Andrews shot him. Continue reading...
The agency is familiar with dioxins, having researched its adverse effects, and if they test the soil in East Palestine for it, they will find itThe decision to release and burn five tanker cars of vinyl chloride and other chemicals at the site of a 38-car derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, just over three weeks ago unleashed a gigantic cloud full of particulates that enveloped surrounding neighborhoods and farms in Ohio and Pennsylvania.It is well documented that burning chlorinated chemicals like vinyl chloride will generate dioxins. “Dioxin” is the name given to a group of persistent, very toxic chemicals that share similar chemical structures. The most toxic form of dioxin is 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin or TCDD. TCDD is more commonly recognized as the toxic contaminant found in Agent Orange and at Love Canal, New York and Times Beach, Missouri, both sites of two of the most tragic environmental catastrophes in US history.Stephen Lester is a toxicologist and the science director of the Center for Health, Environment & Justice, a project of the People’s Action Institute Continue reading...
by Associated Press in Columbia, South Carolina on (#69CP1)
Former president releases video tribute for Edith Childs, South Carolina county councillor who is retiring after 24 yearsMarking the retirement of the woman credited with popularizing the chant “Fired up, ready to go!” that epitomized his campaigns, Barack Obama said her energy played a key role in lifting his spirits and his candidacy for president first time round.“It was early in my campaign, and I wasn’t doing that good,” Obama recalled in a video provided by the Obama Foundation, harking back to a 2007 campaign stop in Greenwood, South Carolina, on a dreary, rainy day. Continue reading...
More important than culture-war noise are the multiple threats to British children learning to love books of any kindBack in the days when everything took place on Zooms and Teams, I was part of a World Book Day event that was livestreamed from the set of the hit musical Matlida. The set is magical: a child’s swing with an explosion of books fire-working up behind it. Now, of course, Matilda has become a battlefield in the Roald Dahl chapter of our culture wars.It is worth noting that World Book Day has always been a battlefield. Every year teachers, carers and librarians defend the joy of reading from the forces of darkness. Almost as soon as someone suggested dressing up might be fun, predator supermarkets caught the scent of anxiety on the hurrying bodies of young parents and pounced, selling them bundles of single-use Where’s Wally costumes. But schools pushed back and now instead of parades of children dressed in expensive landfill, you’ll find schools where the pupils come dressed in their pyjamas and cosy up to listen to stories, making the day into one long dreamy sleepover. I’ve been to schools where, instead of parents or carers dressing up children, children are invited to dress wooden spoons, or their classroom door. Another where the teachers sat in their classrooms reading their favourite stories and the kids could chose which one to go and listen to. There are whole school book swaps. And “home and away” reading, where children from one class go and read to another. More ideas every year. Continue reading...
Florida’s Republican governor offers insight into his potential 2024 run with Reedy Creek choices after taking control of districtAs Ron DeSantis continued to wage his Floridian culture war this week, wresting control of a Walt Disney Company-controlled county district, he also offered an insight into the kind of people he will value should the Republican governor successfully run for president in 2024.DeSantis took control of Reedy Creek improvement district on Monday, and immediately installed five people to the district’s board, including the founder of a rightwing parent group, a Christian nationalist and a deep-pocketed Republican party donor. Continue reading...
A file known as ‘The List’ has inspired long-distance runners to join a club that has relatively few membersAt the California International Marathon in December 2022, more than 270 women finished in under three hours. Among them was Ariane Hendrix-Roach. She completed the race in a time of 2hr 35min 39sec, making her the second-fastest US-born Black female marathoner of all time – and qualifying her for the 2024 Olympic trials.Throughout the history of marathon running, the number of Black women born in the US who have ever broken three hours adds up to 28. Sub-three-hour marathoners in the US include many white, Kenyan-born, and Ethiopian-born women – but not many US-born Black women. Why? Continue reading...
Putin’s genocidal war is turning my country into a graveyard. For our sake and for its own future, Europe must defend the revolution he is trying to crushNine years ago, Maidan, the main square of my home city Kyiv, was filled with people carrying EU and Ukrainian flags. Maidan, or the Revolution of Dignity, was the last successful European democratic revolution. The protesters won. They – we – managed to overthrow a regime that was actively preparing Russia’s political annexation of Ukraine. Nine years ago, the human ocean of Maidan carried on its shoulders the coffins of activists who had been shot dead by police. The tragedy was immense but the space for mourning was limited: the annexation of Crimea began and we realised that the Kremlin had gone to war against Ukraine, against us.We learned then that achieving the impossible might be romantically beautiful in songs or movies. It came at a price, however, a price that was too high from the very beginning. But that image of Maidan filled with European flags remained a point of reference and a symbol of the change we sought. Social togetherness and community, democratisation and responsible citizenship were our goals. Continue reading...
by Presented by Michael Safi with Nina Lakhani; produ on (#69C8K)
When a train derailed in a small town in Ohio last month, it shed its toxic load, spewed smoke and set off a political firestorm that is still ragingOn the evening of 3 February, a train made up of 149 carriages and more than a mile long came off the rails in the small Ohio town of East Palestine. No one was injured but the train shed its cargo, which included toxic chemicals including vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen.The Guardian’s Nina Lakhani has been reporting from East Palestine where residents have returned to their homes after those within the disaster’s exclusion zone were forced to leave the area. She tells Michael Safi that local people are furious about the way the accident happened – and how the cleanup has been handled. Continue reading...
The president celebrated in a speech his party’s successes so far in his first term while House Democrats eye regaining the chamberJoe Biden delivered a rallying cry to fellow Democrats on Wednesday, offering a glimpse of the president’s likely re-election message as he prepares to officially announce his plans for 2024.Speaking at House Democrats’ annual issues conference in Baltimore, Maryland, Biden celebrated Democrats’ legislative accomplishments over his first two years in office but told his allies that they still have more work to do. Continue reading...
Storms push snow depths to near record levels in Sierra Nevada mountains, as brutal weather stretches across western USCalifornia saw little reprieve on Thursday as severe winter weather continues to hammer the state, setting the stage for record breaking snow accumulation across the Sierra Nevada mountains. Heavy snowfall is choking off entry and exits from tourist towns, closing popular national parks, piling snow as high as rooftops, causing dangerous travel conditions and leaving thousands without power, with more snow on the way.California’s famous Yosemite national park has been closed indefinitely, citing concerns about dangerous travel in and out of the park, while further south, Joshua Tree national park also closed down due to “inclement weather”. Photos on social media showcased popular cabins and campgrounds buried in white. Locals in Tahoe, who began referring to last month as “februburied”, are bracing for more whiteout conditions as a series of winter storms pushed snow levels this season past 12ft – the highest they have been in decades. Continue reading...
Security discovered device during screening and suspect was apprehended after he left Lehigh Valley airportA man was arrested after an explosive was found in a bag checked on to a Florida-bound flight at an eastern Pennsylvania airport, federal authorities said.Marc Muffley, 40, is charged with possessing an explosive in an airport and possessing or attempting to place an explosive or incendiary device on an aircraft, according to a criminal complaint. Continue reading...
The involvement of overseas foes in ‘anomalous health incidents’ suffered by US diplomats and spies was deemed ‘very unlikely’The mysterious set of symptoms known as “Havana syndrome” was not caused by an energy weapon or foreign adversary, US intelligence has concluded.The assessment concludes a multi-year investigation into approximately 1,000 “anomalous health incidents” (AHIs) among US diplomats, spies and other employees in US embassies and missions around the world. Continue reading...
FBI chief’s endorsement of Covid lab leak theory highlights the tussle between hawks and doves within the administrationThe FBI chief, Chris Wray, has endorsed the theory that the Covid pandemic was the result of a laboratory leak in China, further sharpening an increasingly combative bilateral relationship.In making his intervention, Wray, who was appointed by Donald Trump, was also taking sides in an internal debate over Covid’s origins, which has become a proxy for a broader tussle between hawks and doves within the administration. Continue reading...
by Chris Stein in Washington and agencies on (#69BNY)
President calls Su, who is still to be confirmed by the Senate, ‘the American dream’ as he picks her to lead US labor departmentCalling her “the American dream”, Joe Biden on Wednesday introduced his nominee to lead the US labor department, Julie Su, who if confirmed will become the first Asian American cabinet secretary in his administration.“Julie is the American dream,” the president said in a White House ceremony. Continue reading...
by Edward Helmore in Walterboro, South Carolina on (#69BNJ)
Closing arguments to be delivered in gripping case of prominent state attorney, accused of killing wife and son at family estateAfter six weeks of testimony, including 62 prosecution witnesses and 14 for the defense, including the defendant himself, the closing days in the double-murder trial of Richard “Alex” Murdaugh has resembled a fairytale of dynastic corruption and deep south Gothic horror.As the last prosecution witness stepped down from a South Carolina courtroom stand on Tuesday, closing the rebuttal phase of the trial, jurors on Wednesday headed off to tour the 1,700-acre country estate where Murdaugh’s wife Maggie and son Paul were found dead on 7 June 2021. Continue reading...
Railroads would be subject to new federal regulations and financial consequences under legislationRailroads like the one involved in last month’s crash and toxic chemical release in East Palestine, Ohio, would be subject to new federal regulations and financial consequences under legislation introduced on Wednesday by the state’s two US senators.The Railway Safety Act of 2023 is cosponsored by Sherrod Brown and JD Vance, a Democrat and Republican, and others of both parties. Continue reading...
‘We do not want a war within the PRC, a clash of civilizations,’ says ranking Democrat as new committee holds first hearingCongress must act urgently to counter economic and national security threats posed by China, lawmakers on a newly created special House committee warned in its first primetime hearing.China and the US are locked in an “existential struggle over what life will look like in the 21st century”, the Republican chairman, Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, said. Continue reading...
Move comes amid criticism of healthcare companies over rising costs of insulin, as CEO says cuts ‘should be the new standard’Eli Lilly will cut list prices by 70% for its most commonly prescribed forms of insulin, Humalog and Humulin, beginning from the fourth quarter of this year, the drugmaker said on Wednesday.The move comes amid criticism of healthcare companies by US lawmakers over rising costs of insulin, with Joe Biden’s signature Inflation Reduction Act including a $35 cap on insulin for those enrolled in Medicare health insurance plans. Continue reading...
Eric Adams says ‘Don’t tell me about no separation of church and state’ at an interfaith breakfastCivil rights groups blasted the mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, after he said he believed God had made him mayor, appeared to support compulsory prayer in public schools and said: “Don’t tell me about no separation of church and state.”The head of the New York Civil Liberties Union led the condemnation. Continue reading...
by Associated Press in Traverse City, Michigan on (#69BGR)
Cargo vessel the Ironton sank in 1894 killing five but has been rediscovered ‘remarkably preserved’ in cold waters off MichiganEven for the Thunder Bay area, a perilous swath of northern Lake Huron off the Michigan coast, the fate of the Ironton seems particularly cruel.On a blustery night in September 1894, the 191ft cargo vessel collided with a grain hauler, sinking both. The captain of the Ironton and six sailors clambered into a lifeboat but it was dragged to the bottom before they could detach it from the ship. Two crewmen survived. Continue reading...
Far-right activist Laura Loomer denounces Florida governor, who is expected to challenge ex-president for Republican nominationRon DeSantis is a “tyrant”, the far-right activist Laura Loomer said, after she and other Trump supporters were barred from a book signing staged by the Florida governor.“They told me to say anybody wearing Trump has to go right now,” a uniformed officer said in video posted online by Loomer, a failed congressional candidate, conspiracy theorist, Islamophobe and rightwing political gadfly. Continue reading...
Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson qualify for election on 4 April to replace city’s first Black female and gay mayorPaul Vallas and Brandon Johnson will meet in a runoff to be the next mayor of Chicago after voters denied the incumbent, Lori Lightfoot, a second term, a rebuke to a leader who made history as head of the third-largest US city.Vallas, a former schools chief executive backed by the police union, and Johnson, a Cook county commissioner endorsed by the teachers union, advanced to the 4 April runoff after none of nine candidates was able to secure more than 50% of the vote. Continue reading...
As Canada Soccer undercuts support for the women’s team in a World Cup year, Kaylyn Kyle discusses the disputeKaylyn Kyle is an Olympic bronze medalist turned broadcaster with deep, personal experience playing for Canada. Speaking exclusively to Moving the Goalposts this week, Kyle says that when it comes to the labour dispute between Canada Soccer and the women’s national team: “Everything is at stake.”Where are the funds? This is the resounding question defining the present fallout. It was asked pointedly by the Canadian Soccer Players’ Association (CSPA) in their original strike announcement. It was underlined by Kyle in speaking to the Guardian. Continue reading...
A revealing new book challenges the notion of miscarriage as a blip in the past, rather than an experience that can reverberate in the present“It’s the idea that everything is healed.” Jennie Agg is talking to me about miscarriage. Or, specifically, how it feels to have a baby after miscarriage – or miscarriages, plural; Agg had four before she gave birth to her boy. Life, Almost – her book detailing her experiences and investigating why miscarriage still remains such an under-researched and under-acknowledged experience – has just come out, and it’s a vital new examination of the subject, with each chapter given the title of some of the false, trite or dismissive things people say: “It’s just nature’s way”, “it’s not a real baby yet”, “everything happens for a reason”.In a book full of insights, perhaps one of the most affecting is the dawning understanding of the legacy that pregnancy loss can have. There is still an absurdly prevalent notion that finally getting a healthy baby – as most couples who experience miscarriage will – somehow wipes the slate clean, and makes everything that has happened in the past melt away. “Any residual grief, trauma or yearning is supposed to be washed away by the arrival of a longed-for child,” she writes. “After all – you got what you wanted, didn’t you?” Continue reading...
When Adams makes a fool of himself, he mainly just harms himself. But Musk has the power to harm othersEven a cursory exploration of race and racism around the world would yield the conclusion that there is nothing simple about it. Racial identity and race-based oppression emerge, morph and erode in different ways in different parts of the world.But leave it to Elon Musk to try to convince you that racism is simple and straightforward. Musk will tell you what is and is not “racist”. And he will explain to you which institutions are racist and to whom.Siva Vaidhyanathan is a professor of media studies at the University of Virginia and the author of Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy Continue reading...
As the state’s top prosecutor, Democrat Kris Mayes has the power to investigate voting crimes and bring charges against those who break election lawsIn less than two months on the job, Arizona’s Democratic attorney general, Kris Mayes, reassigned a unit tasked with investigating election fraud to instead focus on protecting voting rights. She then publicly took former attorney general Mark Brnovich, a Republican, to task for hiding documents that showed the 2020 election was free from widespread fraud.“Obviously, there are clear differences between me and my predecessor on these issues,” Mayes said. Continue reading...
The NBA’s era of simmering grudges appeared to be long gone. But a thrilling young Memphis team have an issue with everyone, from opponents to fansNBA rivalries used to be about something: an exclusive claim to hoops supremacy, intra-divisional beefs, a perceived lack of respect. But it’s been hard to keep up those grudges during an era in which players come into the league as childhood pals, move teams constantly and barely play defense against one another. Nowadays only one team keeps the others on edge, and it’s the Memphis Grizzlies. Everybody hates them.Their bad boy arc starts with a classic betrayal. In summer 2019 the Grizzlies were part of a three-team swap that brought Andre Iguodala to Memphis. Iguodala is the gold standard for NBA glue guys, a former finals MVP who remains valuable as an unofficial player-coach and clutch contributor despite his advanced age. But when he balked at filling that same role for a rebuilding Memphis squad and didn’t even show up to their facility, team management reportedly agreed to buy out his $17m contract or trade him to a playoff contender. Naturally, his new teammates swiftly took offense at Iguodala’s stance, beating their chests when Memphis defied expectations and passed Golden State, his former team, in the Western Conference standings. “We all had the vision,” said Memphis’ Dillon Brooks. “He didn’t, which is perfect. Send him back to the Warriors and let him do his thing over there.” Continue reading...
Kasabian was the lookout for the group of cult members who carried out the murder of film star Sharon Tate in 1969Linda Kasabian, a member of the notorious cult led by Charles Manson that murdered film star Sharon Tate in 1969, has died at the age of 73.Her death was announced in the Tacoma News Tribune, but the cause of death was not immediately made public. Kasabian had kept a low profile since the killings and according to her death certificate had changed her name to “Chiochios” to protect her identity. Continue reading...
The agreement was important for reasons beyond the protocol. Better relations could lead to a reset and talks about a raft of key issuesBrexit is done and also it will never be done. Rishi Sunak’s deal to fix the Northern Ireland protocol ends a process that is only beginning. If that sounds paradoxical it is because British politics uses the B-word to describe many things, or rather it confuses different things by pretending they are one.Brexit was an insurrection against the status quo and a promise to upend the established ways of Westminster government. But Brexit is also a technical project and a diplomatic minefield that can’t be navigated without those old skills of establishment statecraft.Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Babysitting is all very well, but to truly lighten a woman’s load, partners must juggle physical, emotional and cognitive labour‘Like many men of my generation, I wanted to be a more present father than my own had been.” As I read the first sentence of another article about fathers staying at home, I thought about how we glorify men (or how men want to be glorified) for selflessly deigning to set their careers aside, which is usually seen as being “for” their spouse, and getting away with doing the bare minimum.Staying at home with the children is not babysitting – it is a complicated business of physical, emotional and cognitive labour. Continue reading...
Fans of the game that became a pop-culture phenomenon speculate value could be even higher, as rare cards draw steep pricesThe card game Magic: the Gathering is known for its dedicated fanbase – a community who gather together to play during Friday-night basement matches or during lunch period.The game involves casting spells and using creatures to attack your opponent but players can only gain those abilities from collecting a big variety of cards. That means it’s also a big trading business, with a reported 40 million people playing the game annually. That community drives a healthy resale market, where rare cards and memorabilia can go for thousands of dollars. Continue reading...
Elvis François devoured ketchup while at sea for almost a month and now the brand is providing him a new ride for his dedicationA US ketchup manufacturer is making arrangements to provide a new boat to a man who ate the company’s signature condiment to survive being lost at sea for nearly a month.The Heinz food company, based in Pittsburgh, has made contact with the saved sailor, Elvis François, about buying him a new sailing vessel after it launched a social media campaign which was titled #FindtheKetchupBoatGuy that quickly went viral. François had abandoned his old boat when he was finally rescued. Continue reading...
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