Attorneys and lawmakers who oppose pardons for Capitol rioters would not be able to stop him, legal analysts warnlf Donald Trump follows through on his promise to pardon people who participated in the January 6 riot at the US Capitol, attorneys and lawmakers who oppose such moves would not be able to stop him, according to legal experts.If Trump does issue the pardons, it could indicate to many of his supporters that there was nothing illegal about the riot to prevent the peaceful transfer of power, and would undermine the US constitution, the experts said. Continue reading...
City subjected to false rumors from Trump loses residents integral to community over mass deportation fearsFrom a tiny office behind a Haitian grocery store on Springfield's South Limestone Street, Margery Koveleski has spent years helping local Haitians overcome bureaucratic red tape to make their lives in the Ohio city a little bit easier.But Koveleski - whose family is Haitian - has noticed a major change recently. Continue reading...
Exorcisms are booming, witchcraft is having a moment, Tucker Carlson says he was attacked by a demon. It makes as much sense as anything at a time of climate crisis, war and TrumpHow good must it feel to gather up physical manifestations of your anxieties, shove them in a giant papier-mache demon and set fire to them? Wonderful, surely. The citizens of Santa Fe, New Mexico, think so: it was recently described in the New York Times as their secret to happiness". Every year, they stuff the Zozobra with glooms" - representations of their fears - before burning them. These days, anything clogging your psyche can go in there: wedding albums; medical bills; report cards; loved ones' ashes; parking tickets".My fascination with folklore was nourished by a decade in Belgium, where I was initially baffled by, then sought out, the country's best bits. I watched my sons' primary school headteacher gleefully set fire to a Zozobra-adjacent humanoid - bonhomme hiver - to banish winter; dodged carnival figures in straw-stuffed tunics, blank white masks and vast ostrich-plume headdresses hurling oranges into crowds; and heard children cry in real terror at the prospect of being stuffed in a sack and dragged to Spain by Saint Nick's nasty sidekick.Do 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...
Americans who elected a leftist Democrat and a Republican president say the pair share an anti-establishment spiritPolitics makes for strange bedfellows. US political minds will be reminding themselves of this fact as the dust settles on America's election, with some results showing that a few voters were able to simultaneously support Donald Trump and progressive-leaning Democratic candidates.In the Bronx in New York, a strongly Black, Asian and Latino community, Trump's support jumped 11 points to 33% over 2020, one of the largest margins citywide. At the same time, the leftwing firebrand Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez secured 68.9% of the vote, returning her to Congress for a fourth consecutive term. Continue reading...
Make America pro-life again' legislation includes banning abortion pills entirely and outlawing telehealth abortionsThe anti-abortion movement is ready for its comeback in 2025.With the return of Donald Trump to the White House, complete with a Republican-dominated Congress, anti-abortion groups are unfurling ambitious lists of policies they hope to see enacted under a sympathetic administration. Continue reading...
Focus on A-list talent such as Swift and Beyonce may have reinforced an out-of-touch vision, or maybe celebrity support holds no political powerThe names read like a who's who of A-list talent about to walk a red carpet or attend Vanity Fair's famous post-Oscar party. Oprah Winfrey, Megan Thee Stallion, George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bruce Springsteen and many, many more.These are just some of the bold-face name celebrities who backed Kamala Harris's failed run for the White House, making it one of the most star-studded political campaigns in US history. Even the world's biggest current star - singer Taylor Swift - got behind Harris. Continue reading...
This week a flurry of controversial and extremist picks for Trump's cabinet came at a hectic pace with a level of provocation that made heads spinWelcome back," Joe Biden told Donald Trump, his predecessor and successor, as the pair shook hands in the Oval Office. For Biden, it was important to show the world that America can still conduct a peaceful transfer of power. A transition that's so smooth it'll be as smooth as it can get," Trump said.It was an outward show of permanence and stability. But behind the two men a fire was burning fiercely in the grate. TV comedian Stephen Colbert observed: I do think it was fitting that they held the meeting in front of a roaring metaphor for the future." Continue reading...
by Ramon Antonio Vargas in New Orleans on (#6S9CK)
Terrier is a break-out star on social media after absconding from the second-story window of his guardian's houseThere are escape artists, and then there is the elusive dog from New Orleans known as Scrim.A local pet-adoption service owner rescued the terrier from a dog pound where he faced the possibility of euthanasia - but Scrim then fled the home of a family that adopted him and spent about six months on the run before an elaborate effort to capture him succeeded in October, according to media outlets, including Nola.com. Continue reading...
President-elect took eight counties that went for Biden, and economic discontent appears to have been a key driverDonald Trump on 5 November expanded his coalition across the United States, and he did so even in deep-blue California.While Kamala Harris unsurprisingly beat out Trump in the Golden State - receiving about 60% of the vote - the former president nonetheless pulled off a victory, winning eight counties that supported Joe Biden in 2020. Continue reading...
It's difficult to face the fact that those who call themselves Christian can abuse, and hard to believe anyone thought silence was the right responseIt has been an unprecedented 10 days for the Church of England. The Makin report into abuse by John Smyth, barrister and Church lay reader, was leaked and landed a week ahead of its scheduled date, but still more than four years behind the original timetable.Much of the content is familiar to anyone who read Andrew Graystone's 2021 book Bleeding for Jesus. Justin Welby had been at the same Iwerne Trust Christian camps for boys as Smyth, sometimes at the same time, and seems to have heard rumours well before 2013, when he became officially aware of the abuse. His response was to announce that he had taken advice, and would not resign as archbishop of Canterbury; then, less than a week later, he did.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...
A documentary about unionising the company's Staten Island warehouse reveals new ways of negotiating with oppressive bossesThe union wants to protect workers. The employer wants to protect workers. How do I choose between them?" So asks one young worker in Union, a documentary about the battle to unionise an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island, New York. It is a telling comment on the confusion today about what it means to defend working-class interests and the difficulties in trying to build working-class organisations.Directed by Brett Story and Stephen Maing, two of the most engaging and innovatory documentary film-makers today, Union opens with a huge cargo ship piled high with containers, sailing slowly into view. The film then cuts to a line of people, half asleep in the early hours of the morning, waiting to be transported to an Amazon fulfilment centre" - a vast warehouse stuffed full of commodities, both goods and humans. It cuts again to a shot of the Blue Origin rocket carrying Amazon owner Jeff Bezos and a few friends and fellow billionaires into space. It is a visual metaphor for the disparity of power that lies at the heart of the story. Continue reading...
In offending Australia's First Nations people, the chef is at least offering a cautionary tale for other celebrity authorsShare the adventure of a lifetime in this incredible addition to the popular series, Reading with the Stars!It's almost Christmas and Jamie and his best publishing friends, Penguin, Random and House, are looking forward to selling lots of his latest adventure story, and discovering along the way just howmuch fun it is to make parentslooksilly! Continue reading...
The comeback of the legendary boxer, 58, against former YouTuber Jake Paul drew 120 million virtual viewers - and condemnationMike Tyson's return to professional boxing after nearly two decades generated considerable public attention before Friday night's comeback fight against the YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, but the reviews were not kind.The 58-year-old former heavyweight champion's lamentable performance in a dull defeat by a unanimous decision elicited disappointment and condemnation as boos rained down from the crowd of more than 72,000 spectators at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, about 20miles west of Dallas. Continue reading...
Palestinian groups shocked by US president-elect's favouring of outspoken supporters of far-right activists in the regionRightwing settlers and extremist nationalist Zionists in Israel have described top officials in Donald Trump's new administration as a dream team" which will offer a unique and special opportunity" to expand Israel's hold on occupied territory and permanently end any prospect of a Palestinian state.Palestinian groups and leftwing NGOs in Israel have been shocked by Trump's appointment of outspoken supporters of the projects of far-right Israeli activists and say the government of Benjamin Netanyahu has been emboldened by Trump's victory. Continue reading...
They celebrated his victory - but Trump's trade tariffs and America first policies could backfire on the likes of Orban, Meloni and WildersIn the end Viktor Orban didn't, as he'd promised, celebrate Donald Trump's win with several bottles of champagne". He was in Kyrgyzstan, he apologised, where they have different traditions" - so it was vodka. But it was still a fantastic result".History has accelerated," Orban crowed at an EU summit in Budapest last week. The world is going to change, and change in a quicker way than before. Obviously, it's a great chance for Hungary to be in a close partnership and alliance with the US." Continue reading...
China's leader Xi Jinping met for the last time with US President Joe Biden but was already looking ahead at president-elect Donald Trump and his 'America first' policies, saying Beijing 'is ready to work with a new administration'. Without mentioning Trump by name, Xi appeared to signal his concern about the incoming president's protectionist rhetoric, saying that a 'small yard, high fence' approach was not what a major country should pursue.
Karolyi trained multiple Olympic gold medalists and help turn the US into an international gymnastics powerBela Karolyi, the charismatic if polarizing gymnastics coach who turned young women into champions and the US into an international power, has died. He was 82.USA Gymnastics said Karolyi died Friday. No cause of death was given. Continue reading...
by Lauren Aratani, Maya Yang and agencies on (#6S93R)
The two leaders also agreed humans, not artificial intelligence, should maintain control over nuclear weapons use in last meeting before Trump assumes US presidencyChinese leader Xi Jinping has said he is ready to work with the incoming US administration of Donald Trump as he met with outgoing president Joe Biden for what is expected to be the final time.China is ready to work with the new US administration to maintain communication, expand cooperation and manage differences, so as to strive for a smooth transition of the China-US relationship," Xi said, as the pair met for about two hours on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru. Continue reading...
Jose Zamora, 14, of Santa Clara had been spat on and hit on the back of the helmet by students, says Jose BautistaA teenage boy in Santa Clara, California, has taken his own life after being bullied by other students for being unhoused, his father said.Speaking to KTVU, Jose Bautista, the father of 14-year-old Jose Zamora, said his son died last Tuesday after being taunted by students, including those on his junior varsity football team. Continue reading...
Does self-protection have to mean rejecting men and sex and joining the 4B movement? Of course not - but it does mean recognising the power of cultural persuasionYour body, my choice," wrote the troll on a post about my mother dying. It was meant to intimidate me. Instead, it's launched me into strategy mode, thinking through how women and their friends may build the cultural resilience to survive this neo-Trumpian era.The slogan was coined by the white supremacist, antisemitic, misogynist Nick Fuentes. It's everywhere online. Hateful extremists of his calibre once struggled to find an audience among leprous worms. Fuentes dined with the new president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, as recently as November 2022. This is the reality we live in now - US women directly, the rest of us by association.Van Badham is a Guardian Australia columnist Continue reading...
Amid threats to its reason for being', the EU must stop squabbling and take a standFiddling while Rome burns fairly describes the antics of party leaders in the European parliament last week. The EU is under siege from present-day descendants of the Goths, Mongols and Vandals. But what were top MEPs doing? Haggling over who gets which well-padded seat in the European Commission - as if it really matters in a chaotic, predatory world where Europe is a tethered, bleating goat surrounded by wolves.Vladimir Putin's Russian horde is advancing from the north, devouring Ukrainian territory and setting the stage for more illegal annexations. To the east, Xi Jinping's China, leveraging a whopping 292bn (244bn) annual trade surplus, is playing European divide-and-rule while running aggressive covert intelligence and hacking ops. To the west, after an electoral clean sweep, America's Vandal-in-chief is itching for a fight. Continue reading...
After a man surrendered his rodents, the shelter is grappling with a rapidly multiplying mouse problemA New Hampshire animal shelter is grappling with how to handle nearly 1,000 mice that have been turned over in recent days, many of which are pregnant.Lisa Dennison, executive director of the New Hampshire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, called the situation crippling" and said the organization is scrambling to care for an overwhelming influx of rapidly reproducing rodents. Continue reading...
Other nominees - Matt Gaetz for attorney general and Peter Hegseth for secretary of defense - were also condemnedDemocratic lawmakers are slamming Donald Trump's nominee for director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, saying their former House colleague is a vocal supporter of Russia who poses a threat to US national intelligence.Jason Crow, a House Democrat from Colorado and a member of the House intelligence committee, told NBC News that he has deep questions about where her loyalties lie". Continue reading...
Fritz wins in three sets to book place in tomorrow's ATP final in TurinFirst set: Fritz 2-2 Zverev*Big serve down the T and smash to follow up from Zverev. Well placed serve out wide next up and Fritz's return finds the top of the net. A rally! Both players covering plenty of ground, Zverev tries a drop volley but Fritz gets there and makes the pass, even Zverev and his albatross wingspan can't reach it. Both players hitting plenty of first serves, not much time to draw breath, or type for that matter. Continue reading...
Allan Lichtman's forecast model was meant to be foolproof. He explains to David Smith what was different this timeSurely not even Nostradamus could get it right all of the time.Allan Lichtman had correctly forecast the result of nine of the past 10 US presidential elections (and even the one he didn't, in 2000, he insists was stolen from Al Gore). His predictive model of 13 keys" to the White House was emulated around the world and seemed all but indestructible. Continue reading...
With the left desperately in need of a hero, perhaps it's time to reclaim John McClane's character battling global greedDonald Trump's appointments to his top team continue, as Rishi Sunak would have said, at pace". There's a vaccine sceptic in at health, a misogynist as attorney general, a possible Russia sympathiser as director of national intelligence and first choice for defence is a Fox News anchorman. Oh, and the new US ambassador to Israel believes there's no such thing as the West Bank.Yet what they may lack in intellectual rigour, moral rectitude and empathy, they more than compensate for in fake tans, chiselled jaws and mistresses. Where once Gordon Brown worked to build a goat" (government of all talents), Trump is opting for a government of old goats. We could discuss the social, economic and cultural failings over two centuries of US history that have brought it to this place. But I've only got 400 words, so let's talk Die Hard instead. (Die Hard 1, 2 and 3 obviously. Everyone lost interest by the last two.) Continue reading...
Mike Tyson was beaten by Jake Paul in their fight at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the former YouTuber winning the unanimous verdict by two scores of 79-73 and one of 80-72. Tyson, who has struggled with his mental and physical health since his heyday in the 1980s, looked a shadow of his former self as he fought for eight rounds wearing a knee brace. 'I didn't prove nothing to anybody, only to myself,' Tyson said after the fight. When asked about his injury, Tyson said: 'I can't use that for an excuse, if I did I wouldn't be in here.'
Democrats from California to Illinois prepare to Trump-proof' and fight to death' against his extreme proposalsAfter the November elections ushered in a new era of unified Republican governance in Washington, Democratic leaders across the country are once again preparing to lead the resistance to Donald Trump's second-term agenda.California's governor, Gavin Newsom, said he would convene a special legislative session next month to safeguard California values and fundamental rights". Continue reading...
Judge authorized Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss to begin selling ex-NYC mayor's assets to meet $148m judgmentRudy Giuliani has relinquished dozens of watches and a Mercedes once owned by movie star Lauren Bacall to two former Georgia election workers who won a $148m defamation judgment against him, his lawyer said.Joseph Cammarata said in a letter filed late on Friday in Manhattan federal court that the trove of watches and a ring were delivered by FedEx to a bank in Atlanta, Georgia, in the morning. Continue reading...
Katie Taylor remains the undisputed super lightweight champion of the world after she beat Amanda Serrano 95-94 on all three scorecards in a controversial bout. The evenly matched fighters went toe to toe for 10 rounds but Taylor was warned for excessive use of her head and in the eighth round she was deducted a point.After the fight in Dallas, Serrano said: 'She [Taylor] kept headbutting me but we knew that from the very beginning.' Taylor defended her tactics and called the fight, which was the main undercard contest to the Jake Paul v Mike Tyson bout, 'an absolute slugfest.'
Ever since the election, there have been endless headlines about US women emulating South Korea's fringe 4B movementSex sells. Sex strikes, meanwhile, make for an irresistible headline. Ever since Donald Trump overwhelmingly won the election, there have been endless headlines about how American women are emulating South Korea's fringe 4B movement (which encourages heterosexual women not to date, procreate, marry or have sex with men) and swearing off sex with men" in protest. Continue reading...
by Richard Luscombe in West Palm Beach on (#6S8Y3)
A succession of wannabe power brokers are flocking to Mar-a-Lago to seek the favour of the president-electThe shutters are down, the curtains are open, and Donald Trump's opulent, waterfront palace of intrigue is open for business once more. A succession of ambitious, ultra-loyal subjects has paraded through, vying for attention and seeking favors from the throne. Servants fall over themselves to indulge their master's every whim. And then there are the jesters ...Given this week's extraordinary developments at the president-elect's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, as he builds the cabinet with which he will govern in January, it is difficult to escape the notion that the operation is being run something akin to a royal court. Continue reading...
Harm-reduction policies have contributed to the first decline in the number of overdose deaths in five yearsThe Biden administration saw unprecedented levels of US opioid overdose fatalities, but those deaths are now declining faster than they have in decades - progress a second Trump administration could continue or threaten, experts say.The number of overdose deaths in the US declined for the first time in five years in 2023, and have continued to decline more rapidly this year, according to provisional data. Continue reading...
There are elements on both right and left who prefer to govern without majorities and view competitive elections as a threatOhio's extreme gerrymanders have enabled more than a decade of corruption, lawless behavior and unpopular legislation passed by lawmakers safely insulated from the ballot box.Voters tried to fix it by bringing a citizen-led independent redistricting commission to the ballot. Due to Republican subterfuge, they ended up voting against themselves. With breathtakingly Orwellian tactics, Ohio Republicans twisted the ballot language and presented it to voters as an initiative that would require gerrymandering rather than end it. Continue reading...
YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul won an eight-round unanimous decision over Mike Tyson at the AT&T Stadium in Texas on Friday night. The 58-year-old former world heavyweight champion managed to win just two rounds on all three judges' scorecards, losing by scores of 80-72 and two of 79-73. 'I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn't want to hurt someone that didn't need to be hurt,' Paul said afterwards, and claimed Tyson's best punches 'didn't actually hurt'.
The UFC's CEO has become a kind of impresario for a new class of right-wing influencers, podcasters, streamers and wellness bros, helping Trump dominate the testosterone voteWhen Dana White barreled up to the microphone, at Donald Trump's request, to say his piece on election night, it represented confirmation of the UFC CEO's status as one of the key members of the president-elect's inner circle. But White's brief speech also signaled his own growing importance as a kind of impresario for a new class of Trump-supporting influencers, podcasters, streamers and wellness bros. I want to thank the Nelk Boys, Adin Ross, Theo Von, Bussin' with the Boys, and last but not least, the mighty and powerful Joe Rogan," White enthused.With the exception of Rogan, who's about as close to a household name as the world of podcasting has today, none of these figures would probably be familiar to anyone who observed the election through traditional media or cable TV. Theo Von is a comedian and former reality TV contestant whose podcasts, like those of many of his peers, often extend to several hours; Bussin' with the Boys is hosted by a pair of NFL players; the Nelk Boys are former college pranksters with a brand of hard seltzer and a taste for casual cruelty; Adin Ross is a streamer who's been banned multiple times (most recently permanently) from the gaming platform Twitch for hateful conduct. These online creators" form a network: they all appear on each other's shows, which often feature far-right streamers like Nick Fuentes and Andrew Tate alongside more mainstream figures of the Maga movement like Tucker Carlson, Ben Shapiro and Elon Musk. Continue reading...
Connor Brackin, 24, reportedly quit job after alleged killing of animals whose wellbeing he was sent to check onA sheriff's deputy from the US state of Tennessee is facing criminal charges and reportedly quit his job after he fatally shot seven dogs whose wellbeing he had been sent to check on.Connor Brackin, 24, was on duty for the McNairy county sheriff's office on 4 November when he was tasked with going to a home in Bethel Springs to check the condition of some dogs there, the Tennessee bureau of investigation (TBI) said in a recent statement. Continue reading...
Assumptions were made about clashes between Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and Amsterdam locals - and the far right took advantageIn the aftermath of a sudden eruption of violence or unrest, there is often a brief, vital window when the narrative about what actually happened is up for grabs. Last Friday, the day that street violence between Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans and local people in Amsterdam made headlines around the world - with reports of antisemitic hit-and-run" attacks in the Dutch city - the decision of the Israeli state to send military planes to airlift fans home, and of the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, to describe the events as an antisemitic pogrom", were crucial in cementing a particular story. So too were the words of the Dutch king, who said that his nation had failed" the Jewish community as it had during the second world war - when three-quarters of the Dutch Jewish population were murdered by the Nazis.But then, as more evidence emerged, a more complex picture came into view. It was revealed that from the night before the match onwards, hardline supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv - a club with a reputation for racism and hooliganism among some of its fans - had torn down a Palestinian flag from the facade of a building and burned it, attacked one taxi with their belts, and vandalised others. Among the deplorable chants they saw fit to shout on the streets of Amsterdam, home to a large Muslim community, were: Let the IDF [Israeli army] win, we will fuck the Arabs", Fuck you Palestine" and Why is there no school in Gaza? There are no children left there." Continue reading...
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