US news | The Guardian

Republican senator, who flew to Mexico as Texas faced deadly cold snap, complains of serious security threats' to lawmakersThe Texas Republican senator Ted Cruz, who achieved viral infamy in 2021 when he was seen at Houston airport for a flight to Cancun even as his state faced a historic and deadly spell of cold weather, this week moved a step closer to securing police escorts for lawmakers at airports.Under an amendment to the Federal Aviation Authority Reauthorization bill introduced by Cruz, members of Congress and other prominent officials, and some family and staff members, will be offered security escorts if they are deemed currently ... or previously ... the subject of a threat, as determined by such applicable federal protective agency". Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. For more on the FTX founder's sentencing, read our full report:

We don't know if they were warned before the impact,' says wife of one of eight construction workers who was on the bridgeThe construction workers who were on the Francis Scott Key Bridge when it collapsed in the early hours of Tuesday were on break in their cars, according to the wife of one of the construction workers who survived.Speaking to NBC on Thursday, the wife of Julio Cervantes, one of the eight construction workers who was on the bridge when it collapsed, said: All of the men were on a break in their cars when the boat hit. We don't know if they were warned before the impact." Continue reading...

National security spokesperson says US passed on warnings and dismissed Russian allegations Ukraine was involved as nonsense'The US repeatedly alerted Russia that extremists were planning to attack large gatherings in Moscow ahead of last week's concert hall attack that claimed more than 140 lives, the White House has said.The national security spokesperson, John Kirby, said on Thursday that US officials passed on warnings - including one in writing - and dismissed Russian allegations that Ukraine was involved as nonsense". Continue reading...

The Rev Al Sharpton makes comment to MSNBC amid backlash over Republican's latest moneymaking schemeThe spectacle of Donald Trump selling $60 Bibles is a spit in the face of people that really believe", the Rev Al Sharpton said, amid widespread backlash over the presumptive Republican presidential nominee's latest moneymaking scheme.Blasphemy certainly comes to mind," Sharpton told MSNBC. Continue reading...

Brian Pritchard, first vice-president of state party, voted in nine elections while on probation for 1996 forgery felony convictionAn official in the Georgia Republican party who has said the 2020 election was stolen was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and will receive a public reprimand for voting illegally nine times, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Thursday.Brian Pritchard, the first vice-president of the state Republican party, illegally voted in nine elections from 2008 to 2010 while he was still on probation for a 1996 forgery felony conviction in Pennsylvania. Georgia and 14 other states require people to have completed their sentence, including probation, before they can vote. About 163,475 people could not vote in Georgia in 2022 because they were on felony probation, according to an estimate by the Sentencing Project, a criminal justice non-profit. Continue reading...

Federal court allows map to be used for 2024 election despite earlier finding it discriminates against Black votersA federal court will allow South Carolina Republicans to use their congressional map for the 2024 election, it said on Thursday, despite an earlier finding that the same plan discriminates against Black voters. The decision is a big win for Republicans, who were aided by the US supreme court's slow action on the case.In January 2023, a three-judge panel struck down the state's first congressional district, which is currently represented by Nancy Mace, a Republican. The judges said legislative Republicans had impermissibly used race when they redrew it after the 2020 census. As part of an effort to make it more solidly Republican, lawmakers removed 30,000 Black voters from the district into a neighboring one. Republicans argued that they moved the voters to achieve partisan ends, which is legal. The district was extremely competitive in 2020, but Mace easily won the redrawn version in 2022. Continue reading...

The Stanford neuroscientist is highly credentialed and endearingly earnest on his popular wellness podcast, but is now facing claims against his credibilityI'm going to divulge something rather embarrassing: earlier this year I got sucked deep into the Hubersphere", the cult-like following of Andrew Huberman, the controversial neuroscientist and podcaster who is the subject of a viral New York Magazine article that came out this week. Huberman has racked up a massive (and lucrative) following with his data-driven protocols" for a better life. These protocols involve things like taking enormous amounts of expensive supplements, ensuring you view early morning sunlight for 10-30 minutes after waking, carefully timing when you drink coffee, and plunging yourself in ice baths.Sounds like your run-of-the-mill scammy wellness influencer, right? Not quite. What makes Huberman different from others in the Goop for bros" wellness space is that he is highly credentialed and endearingly earnest. The 48-year-old describes himself as a neuroscience professor at Stanford and a lab director at Stanford School of Medicine. He leans heavily on his affiliation with the Ivy League to bolster his credibility and frequently has other Stanford professors on his podcast, which was the third most popular in the world last year, according to Spotify. Continue reading...

New rules around kickoffs are a boost to a player who may sign for the Super Bowl champions. But a practice squad remains his likely destinationIf ever there was time, if ever there was a place, for Louis Rees-Zammit to chase his NFL dream, this is it. The former Welsh rugby union star is reportedly nearing a deal to join the Kansas City Chiefs, the back-to-back Super Bowl champions.Rees-Zammit is likely to join the team for their annual training camp, a kind of extended trial as he learns the rigors of the NFL. He will join a 90-man training camp roster that will eventually be whittled down to 53, with 16 further places up for grabs on the practice squad, an effective reserve team. This season also marks the first time that teams will have an extra spot available on the practice squad carved out for players who have come through the league's International Player Pathway program. Since the IPP was introduced, 37 international players have signed with teams and 18 remain on rosters. Continue reading...

Former New Jersey governor's decision closes another door on No Labels, the non-partisan group seeking to mount a campaignChris Christie, the former New Jersey governor and two-time losing candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, said he would not mount a third-party White House run - closing another door on No Labels, the non-partisan group seeking to mount a campaign.I appreciate the encouragement I've gotten to pursue a third-party candidacy," Christie said. Continue reading...

Robotic dog, controlled remotely by state troopers, deployed in house to locate person and found someone armed in basementA robotic dog is being thanked by state police in Massachusetts for helping avert a tragedy involving a person barricaded in a home.The robotic dog named Roscoe was part of the Massachusetts state police bomb squad and deployed on 6 March in a Barnstable house after police were fired upon. Police sent in two other robots often used for bomb disposal into the house to find the suspect along with the robotic dog. Continue reading...

The Republican challenger to Democrat Sherrod Brown for US Senate in Ohio has made dubious claims in his campaignBernie Moreno, the Republican candidate for US Senate in Ohio who expected to mount a stern challenge to Sherrod Brown, the incumbent leftwing Democrat, says his family fled socialism when they came to the US from Colombia in 1971, when he was four years old.Though such statements formed a central part of Moreno's campaign message on his way to securing the Republican nomination with support from Donald Trump, they do not withstand historical scrutiny. Continue reading...

Four other construction workers who were on the Francis Scott Key Bridge when it collapsed this week still missing and are presumed dead. Plus: the cost of a burrito

Bruce Carnegie-Brown says disaster could cost billions and result in largest single marine insurance loss everThe collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge is likely to lead to the largest single marine insurance loss ever, the chair of Lloyd's of London has said.Bruce Carnegie-Brown said he expected to see insurers incur multibillion-dollar losses after the disaster, which resulted in the deaths of at least two people, with four others missing and presumed dead. Continue reading...

Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association warned of the dangers of bigger cargo vessels and smaller crews not at par with US levelsA top labor union for maritime engineers has sounded the alarm against corporate profiteering in the wake of Tuesday's cargo ship crash into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, claiming the industry is probably the worst offender".The Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association (Meba) warned of the dangers of growing vessels and shrinking crews - claiming that those from overseas are not up to the standards" required in the US. Continue reading...

The way musicians are compensated is highly unfair. A new bill in the US Congress could fix that - and it's about timeMany of the younger musicians I know - musicians in the full flush of their career - don't see a path forward toward making a living. These aren't artists failing to connect with a public; on the contrary, they are releasing widely reviewed albums, going on tours and communicating (constantly) with their fans via social media. But this work is not paying them enough to manage without second jobs or side hustles.That's a broken system. It's not just broken for individual artists, it's broken for our society as a whole. We all benefit from music. And I believe we as a society want that music to come from as wide and deep and rich and varied sources as exist. How could we not? Continue reading...

After a Trump-backed purge of the RNC this month, promoting the 2020 stolen election lie has become a litmus test for loyaltyIf you're seeking employment at the Republican National Committee (RNC), you're likely to be asked in your job interview if you believe the 2020 election was stolen. And if you say no, well, you might as well seek a job with George Santos.After a Trump-backed purge of the RNC this month, agreeing to the false claim has become a kind of litmus test for gaining employment - no less than it's become a litmus test for running for public office as a Republican. Continue reading...

The Dodgers have committed more than $1bn to just two players but Atlanta are a brilliant all-round team while the young Orioles are posed to shineBaseball has always been unfair. It wasn't fair" when players were bound to the same teams for their whole careers, and it isn't fair" that the Dodgers spend so much more than the Athletics. But I'm more concerned about the many teams that could be spending more but abstain. AK Continue reading...

The league is transforming kickoffs. But there are other tweaks to football that could improve the sport for players and fansThe NFL will look radically different next season. The league's owners voted on Tuesday to approve a new kickoff rule originally adopted in the XFL.It is one of the most groundbreaking changes in league history. After slowly legislating the kickoff out of the sport, the league is embracing a new hybrid' approach that turns the kickoff into something approaching a traditional football play. No longer will kickoffs be passing moments, a chance for broadcasters to cram in a couple of commercial breaks. Continue reading...

Donald Tusk is working hard and fast on a great transformation, but travel the country and it's clear what a difficult task that isMy formative journalistic years were spent reporting on the final freeze of the cold war - days of hard times and soft currencies. When I return to those countries now, I test myself on how well I guessed what would follow in the three decades since. On Poland in particular, I would have been hard pressed to predict the giddy zigzag of power still featuring a generation who marched to topple communism, but whose protagonists feud bitterly about how to govern the country in the 21st century.We talk a lot about places that have recently bought a one-way ticket towards authoritarian politics - Russia and Turkey for the full-fat versions, and Hungary's democratic backsliding and stifling of independent institutions. Continue reading...

If the high-rollers surrounding the disgraced FTX founder had any qualms about taking his money, they didn't show itLater today, a man who has recently turned 32 will be hauled in front of a Manhattan judge. Already convicted of huge fraud, he knows he's going to prison. The only question is for how long. If the US government gets its way, he will not emerge before his 80th birthday.This is the final disgrace of Sam Bankman-Fried. The judge, politicians and the world's press will declare him one of the biggest swindlers in American history. They will note how within three years he built a marketplace for digital currencies, or crypto, that was worth around $32bn - and made himself the world's richest person under 30. Still it wasn't enough. He spent perhaps $8bn of his customers' savings on luxury homes, risky investments and whatever else took his fancy. Continue reading...

Authorities say bodies of Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera found by divers in pickup truckThe bodies of two men trapped in their vehicle have been recovered from the waters beneath the Baltimore bridge that collapsed early on Tuesday when a container ship crashed into it, officials announced on Wednesday.The authorities identified the men as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, a 35-year-old originally from Mexico who was living in Baltimore, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, who was from Guatemala and was living in Dundalk, Maryland. Continue reading...

The National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) investigator in charge, Marcel Muise, reads out data from the Dali's voyage data recorder, providing a timeline of events that led to the cargo ship crashing into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland.

Lieberman, Connecticut senator for four terms, was Al Gore's Democratic running mate in 2000The former US senator Joe Lieberman, who ran as the Democratic nominee for vice-president in the 2000 election and became the first Jewish candidate on a major-party ticket for the White House, alongside presidential candidate Al Gore, has died at the age of 82.Lieberman died in New York due to complications from a fall, according to a statement from his family. He was a Connecticut senator for four terms. Continue reading...

Rockford police chief says one person remains in critical condition following attacks, as investigators seek motiveFour people were killed and seven were hurt in stabbings in northern Illinois on Wednesday, authorities said.A suspect is in police custody and was being questioned, according to the police chief in Rockford, Carla Redd. She said one of the people who was wounded remained in critical condition. Continue reading...

Lawyers for president's son to challenge criminal charges he evaded taxes and argue prosecutors bowed to Republican pressureAttorneys representing Hunter Biden asked a US judge in Los Angeles to dismiss the criminal case accusing him of evading $1.4m in taxes, arguing that prosecutors bowed to political pressure from Republican lawmakers investigating his father, Joe Biden.Hunter's lawyers appeared before the US district judge Mark Scarsi in federal court in Los Angeles on Wednesday to press several legal challenges to the charges, including an argument that he was selectively targeted by prosecutors in response to Republican criticism. The 54-year-old was not present in the courtroom. Continue reading...

Six men presumed dead reportedly were construction workers from Latin American countries, including a father of threeThe six men presumed dead in the Baltimore bridge collapse on Tuesday all appeared to be construction workers originally from Latin American countries, according to reports, including a father of three, Miguel Luna, from El Salvador, as authorities said they had recovered the black box recorder from the ship.Since the container ship Dali crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge after losing power early on Tuesday morning, six members of a construction crew filling potholes on the major bridge are now presumed to be dead, according to state officials. Continue reading...

Two bodies recovered from water beneath Francis Scott Key Bridge as authorities in Maryland continue their investigation

Maryland secretary of state police Roland Butler said that divers found two of the six missing bodies inside a vehicle from the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Four other workers who had been on the bridge remain missing, presumed dead.

Annelle Sheline says I no longer wanted to be affiliated with this administration,' claiming Biden is flouting US law over Israel

Downing of Francis Scott Key Bridge disrupts shipping of cars and parts and risks loss of Baltimore's cargo trade to other portsThe US transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, has warned of major and protracted impact to supply chains" following the closure of the Port of Baltimore for the forseeable future after Tuesday's catastrophic bridge collapse, though some experts said the impact was likely to be targeted to particular regions and industries.Spanning more than 2km and with four lanes of traffic, the Francis Scott Key Bridge - a vital artery in Baltimore's industrial heartland - took nine years to plan and almost five to build, but came down in under a minute after being struck by a cargo ship in the early hours of Tuesday. Continue reading...

The phrase, which conspiracy theorists use to describe public distractions from nefarious plots, was trending online following the collisionFar-right commentators have declared Tuesday's dramatic collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge a black swan event", a niche phrase that has recently captured the imaginations of deep state" conspiracy theorists.Nothing is safe," wrote manosphere" influencer Andrew Tate on X, about six hours after a container ship collided with the bridge. Black Swan Event imminent."This story was amended on 27 March 2024. A previous version stated that search-and-rescue teams continued looking for victims on Wednesday, the same day Mike Flynn, Donald Trump's former national security adviser, appeared on Infowars. These events happened on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Controversial law that allows police to arrest migrants they suspect of unathorized entry caught in whirlwind legal battleA controversial Texas law that would criminalize unauthorized entry into the state has been placed back on hold by a federal appeals court.The law has been caught in a whirlwind as the state and federal governments battle for the right to control the flow of US immigration, particularly at the southern US border. Continue reading...

Kouri Richins, 33, was charged with murder last year for the alleged murder of Eric Richins, 39, with a fentanyl-spiked beverageAn author from Utah who is accused of killing her husband and then publishing a children's book on grief has been hit with a further charge - for allegedly attempting to previously poison him via a sandwich.Kouri Richins, 33, was charged with aggravated murder last year for the alleged killing of Eric Richins, 39, at their home in Kamas, Utah, in March 2022. Eric was found unresponsive after having a drink to celebrate his wife's business deal. Authorities allege that Kouri spiked the beverage with fentanyl, after a medical examiner found five times the lethal dose of the drug in her husband's system. Continue reading...

Marilyn Lands elected to state legislature in deep red state by significant margin after centering reproductive rights in campaign

The Wall Street Journal correspondent is not a spy. He is a journalist, and should be released immediately from his Russian jailEvan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, has spent nearly a year in a Moscow prison, awaiting trial for a crime he did not commit. Mr Gershkovich was arrested last March in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg and jailed on espionage charges. He is not a spy. He is a journalist, and should be released immediately. Hostage diplomacy lies behind his incarceration. As the US ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, said, Mr Gershkovich's case is not about evidence, due process, or rule of law. It is about using American citizens as pawns to achieve political ends".Vladimir Putin indicated in February that a prisoner exchange could lead to the release of Mr Gershkovich. There have been high-profile prisoner swaps in the past. In December 2022, Moscow traded a US basketball star convicted of a drugs offence in Russia for a Russian arms trafficker. But a journalist's detention to secure the release of a Russian hitman would underscore Russia's retreat into a Soviet past. In 1986 an American journalist, Nicholas Daniloff, was arrested and charged with espionage. He was let go after two weeks when the US released a Soviet diplomat accused of spying. MrGershkovich has been inside for nearly 12 months. Continue reading...

Tourism oversight board members approve agreement, ending nearly two years of litigation after DeSantis's takeoverAllies of Ron DeSantis reached a settlement agreement with Disney in a lawsuit over who controls Walt Disney World's governing district, easing tensions between the entertainment giant and Florida's governor.Lawyers for the state had sued Disney over 11th-hour deals" that members of the district board - all company-appointed at the time - had passed before they were replaced by DeSantis appointees. Continue reading...

Republican sued by Stephen Richer, top Maricopa county official, last year after she lost her gubernatorial bid and lied about himKari Lake signaled on Tuesday that she will not contest claims that she lied about a top Arizona election official and defamed him, a significant legal concession from the Arizona Republican who has become one of the country's most prominent election deniers.Stephen Richer, the top election official in Maricopa county, sued Lake, her campaign and an aligned Pac last year after she lost her gubernatorial bid and repeatedly lied about him. Lake, who is now running for the US Senate, falsely accused him of injecting 300,000 illegal votes into machines and intentionally misprinting ballots so they would be rejected by ballot tabulators. Continue reading...

Plan aims to cover workers' salaries, with state senate leader saying 15,000 people rely on port to put food on the table'

Audio reveals dispatchers telling police to close the Francis Scott Key Bridge to all traffic because a ship has 'just lost their steering'. Responders can be heard asking if construction workers were on the bridge as police tried to halt traffic moments before the structure collapsed.'The whole bridge just fell down,' a police officer is heard saying seconds later.State officials said six construction workers who had been missing since the container ship Dali crashed into the bridge on Tuesday morning were now presumed dead Continue reading...

Maryland's governor, Wes Moore, said it was 'imperative' to get the port of Baltimore up and running as quickly as possible, saying its closure would have an economic impact on everyone from car dealers to farmers.The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge is disrupting a vital shipping port, which Moore said was responsible for 51m tonnes of cargo from abroad. However, he said his current priority was search and rescue and to bring 'closure' to the families of six people unaccounted for and presumed dead who were part of a crew repairing potholes on the bridge

Republican National Committee, now run by Trump loyalists, does not deny that staff seeking to be rehired are grilled on big lie'A spokesperson for the Republican National Committee and Donald Trump did not deny a Washington Post report that said prospective RNC employees are being asked if they believe the 2020 election was stolen, constituting a litmus test" as the 2024 election approaches.Candidates who worked on the frontline in battleground states or are currently in states where fraud allegations have been prevalent were asked about their work experience," Danielle Alvarez, a spokesperson for the RNC and Trump, said in a statement. Continue reading...

Mother of Aliyah Jaico files lawsuit after child's death ruled accidental drowning and mechanical asphyxiaPolice in Houston are investigating the death of an eight-year-old girl whose body was found inside a large pipe for a lazy river at a Houston hotel where she had been swimming with her family.Aliyah Jaico's death on Saturday was ruled an accidental drowning by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. It said she died from drowning and mechanical asphyxia, when an object or physical force stops someone from breathing. Her autopsy report is pending. Continue reading...

US-based International Paper puts in 5.7bn takeover proposal for DS Smith, gatecrashing Mondi offerAn international bidding war is brewing for the UK packaging company DS Smith after a US-based paper producer put forward a 5.7bn takeover proposal, gatecrashing a deal it had agreed with the British rival Mondi.DS Smith confirmed it was now in talks with International Paper, the largest paper and pulp company in the world, over an all-stock offer, which would trump the 5.14bn deal put forward by Mondi earlier this month. Continue reading...

The remote island of St Helena, a British overseas territory, is best known for Napoleon's tomb - the island's biggest tourist attraction. However, while overseeing the construction of a long-awaited airport on the island, Annina van Neel learns that the remains of thousands of formerly enslaved Africans have been uncovered, unearthing one of the most significant physical remaining traces of the transatlantic slave trade in the world.Annina decides to advocate for this legacy, initiating a debate among the islanders - many of whom have shared ancestry with the enslaved -about how to create an appropriate memorial.Along the way, she enlists the help of African American preservationist and veteran activist Peggy King Jorde, who makes important connections in their shared history.Buried is available with Swahili and isiZulu translated subtitles which can be applied in the video settings. Continue reading...

The Duchess of Sussex's lifestyle website will sell fancy goods at fancy prices. But is she really ready to compete with Goop's vagina candles?You know what the world really needs? More luxury marmalade options. Luckily, the Duchess of Sussex has it covered. As you may have heard, Meghan is launching a new lifestyle brand called American Riviera Orchard (ARO). Details are still hush-hush, but the trademark applications cover everything from pet-related accessories and homeware to marmalade and jam. She is going to sell fancy things toaspirationally fancy people.It was always likely that Meghan would move in this direction. She did, after all, run a lifestyle website called the Tig (described as a hub for the discerning palate"), which closed in 2017. Launching an aspirational brand is also the sort of thing every celebrity does these days. Reigning over the celebrity entrepreneur space, of course, is Gwyneth Paltrow. Her brand, Goop, is worth $250m (198m) despite (or possibly thanks to) the fact that it's a constant source of ridicule. Meghan is never going to be the next British queen, but maybe she thinks she has a shot at being the next Paltrow. Continue reading...

Thousands of voters registered their anti-war opinion through the ballot, showing the president it could sway the electionA key Democratic voting bloc intensely focused on Joe Biden's support for Israel in the war on Gaza could sway the 2024 election in November - depending on what happens in the war and how Biden works to win back these voters.The anti-war vote has shown in recent weeks that it is both organized and effective at using its voice at the polls, displaying one of the most effective grassroots electoral movements on the left in recent history.Michigan: 101,623 votes for uncommitted, about 13% of total votesMinnesota: 45,914 votes for uncommitted, nearly 19% of total votesHawaii: 455 votes for uncommitted, about 29% of total votesWashington: 89,753 votes for uncommitted delegates, nearly 10% of total vote Continue reading...