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He was once a moderate. As his party moved right, so did he - presiding over an ever-more partisan, acrimonious Senate

Body-camera footage shows Nex Benedict, 16, speaking with police after altercation in Oklahoma high school bathroomNewly released body camera footage gives new insight into a fight that took place at an Oklahoma high school just before a non-binary teenager who was bullied died.Body-camera footage released by the Owasso police department on Friday shows 16-year-old Nex Benedict and their mother speaking with police on 7 February, the same day the teenager visited an area hospital after a fight broke out at their high school, CNN reported. Continue reading...

Self-help author says Biden can't defeat Trump, who she calls a fascist' and a juggernaut of dark, dark vision'The self-help author Marianne Williamson un-suspended" her quixotic, all-but-certainly doomed campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, saying she did so because Joe Biden could not defeat Donald Trump, who she called a fascist" and a juggernaut of dark, dark vision".I am un-suspending my campaign for the presidency of the United States," Williamson said, in a social media video the morning after a Michigan primary in which despite having suspended her campaign she finished third, way behind Biden and uncommitted" but slightly ahead of the Minnesota congressman Dean Phillips, another rank outsider. Continue reading...

On both sides of the Atlantic, populists are peddling racism. I'm here in the UK to urge Black communities to see it for what it is

Republican Senate leader, hell-bent on getting the majority', said to be ready to push principles aside in quest for political powerMitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the US Senate, will look past a load of shit" to endorse Donald Trump for president, a GOP colleague said.He'll look past a load of shit to improve the path to the majority," the senator said, speaking anonymously to the Hill. That'd be the one reason why Mitch would rise above principle and do the politically expedient thing ... because he is hell-bent on getting the majority, and he'll make personal sacrifices for that." Continue reading...

We all know how devastating a second Trump term would be. It's also important to understand the damage that Biden is doing by funding a plausible genocideHere we go again, eh? For a short but wonderful period, it looked like Donald Trump's political career was over. An indicted former president running again? It had never happened before. Trump's legal problems looked insurmountable.And yet, like a phoenix with a toupee, Trump has risen from the ashes. It now seems inevitable that 2024 will be a repeat of 2020: a Joe Biden vs Trump rematch.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

David Martosko discovered Silas Burke enslaved a six-year-old named Fenton and suggests name change to honor him insteadA former reporter has launched a campaign to rename his Virginia hometown, Burke, to stop the commemoration of an enslaver and instead honor a child he enslaved, a six-year-old boy named Fenton.My town is named after an unusually horrible person," David Martosko said, but it doesn't have to be. Names say something about who we are and what we aspire to become. Continue reading...

Antoinette Candia-Bailey was a beloved administrator at Lincoln University. Her suicide devastated a community - and roiled Black academiaAntoinette Candia-Bailey couldn't wait to slap a Lincoln University bumper sticker on her mother's car upon receiving her acceptance letter to the historically Black college. After graduating in the late 90s with a degree in sociology, she made regular trips back to the central Missouri school to celebrate homecoming with her sisters of Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc, the nation's oldest Black sorority. When a position as vice-president of student affairs came available at Lincoln in spring 2023, Candia-Bailey - a polished administrator with a PhD in leadership studies, whom most knew as Bonnie" - saw fit to continue her higher-ed career where it started. I don't know anybody who loved that school more than she did," says Monica Graham, a former classmate.But when the two met up at homecoming last October, Graham couldn't help noticing a dip in her friend's school spirit. Things have gotten really, really bad at the university," Candia-Bailey told her, but I'm not going to let it kill me." Three months later, Candia-Bailey was found dead by suicide at age 49. Says Graham: My heart just dropped." Continue reading...

Westerners are financing the same bloodshed they condemn. The time for the world's deep concern' is over - Russia and Ukraine need action

Amid a lack of popular support for fetal personhood', GOP seeks to support IVF without drawing attention to its record of undermining itRepublicans have been forced to stake an uncomfortable position between their anti-abortion base and the wider American public, as fallout from an Alabama supreme court ruling that embryos are extrauterine children" continues into a second week.Meanwhile, Democrats have seized on the issue as the forewarned conclusion of decades of Republican policies to restrict reproductive rights, and pointed to contraceptives as the next frontier for restrictions. Continue reading...

Campaign to vote uncommitted' in protest of Biden's support of Israel shows Arab American and young voters' fury in swing state

Tamarin Norwood's son, Gabriel, lived for 72 minutes, all spent in her arms. Now she has written a memoir of her pregnancy and his death Continue reading...

As the Israeli PM talks of indefinite military control in post-war Gaza, all the Biden administration has done is wag its fingerBenjamin Netanyahu, announced his plan on Friday for post-war Gaza, revealing that Israel would maintain indefinite military control and create buffer zones" in the territory. The Israeli prime minister is planning a military occupation, dressed up under a vague civilian administration made up of Palestinians who would be willing to collaborate, once Israel ends its devastating assault on Gaza. Netanyahu's plan is slap in the face to Joe Biden, who has insisted for months that the US won't accept an Israeli military occupation or attempts to seize parts of the Gaza Strip.Since Biden announced his unconditional support for Israel after the brutal Hamas attacks on 7 October - embracing Netanyahu in a bear hug during a visit to Tel Aviv - Netanyahu has openly defied Israel's most important ally and paid no price for it. Each week, Biden and his top aides vent at Netanyahu and his handling of the conflict, but they continue to provide US diplomatic cover and weapons shipments that allow Israel to sustain its war. Continue reading...

What happens to Kinsey Institute may signal if conservative US lawmakers can dictate the bounds of research on sexualityThe future of the Kinsey Institute, the world's premier sex research center, is in limbo.Last April, lawmakers in Indiana's Republican-dominated state legislature voted to block the Kinsey Institute from receiving any state funds through Indiana University (IU), which houses the institute. Its researchers have spent the months since scrambling to figure out what this means for their work - and Indiana University, they say, has largely left them out of the discussion. Continue reading...

Police have long known the dangers of holding people in prone restraint. So why do so many keep dying?On a Thursday morning in October 2020, less than five months after George Floyd was held on his stomach by Minneapolis police officers until he died, Shayne Sutherland called 911 from a convenience store in Stockton, California, and asked for a taxi.When the operator told Sutherland he'd dialed 911, he said someone was trying to rob him. Continue reading...

Congressional leaders work to keep government funded and pass wartime aid for Ukraine as far-Republicans refuse to budgeWith a government shutdown looming and Ukraine desperate for Washington's aid, the House returns to session on Wednesday to face a towering to-do list and strong objections from the Republican right flank.Congressional leaders worked frantically to reach a deal ahead of the 1 March deadline to avert a partial government shutdown that could shutter vital services in several key departments, temporarily endangering access to federal food assistance programs and federal housing vouchers. Continue reading...

Critical resources' on way to draw contrasts with Republicans tied to Trump and to hammer home reproductive rightsDemocrats are targeting seven battlegrounds in their first campaign spend of the year on state legislature elections, the Guardian has learned, and intend to draw clear contrasts" with Republican candidates tied to former US president Donald Trump.The latest round of investments will deliver critical resources" to Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) said. Continue reading...

US climate chief hits out at disinformation' and demagoguery' by special interests to delay climate action. Plus, the lost 80s song baffling the internetGood morning.The populist backlash against net zero around the world is imperilling the fight against climate breakdown and must be countered urgently to avoid facing planetary destruction beyond comprehension", the US climate chief, John Kerry, has warned.Did he name any politicians? No. Though Kerry refused to name any specific interests or people, his words reflect the widespread concern that the climate is likely to be weaponised in the US election campaign this year, and in other countries as billions of people around the world head to the polls.How did Trump do? Donald Trump has won Michigan's Republican primary election, the latest in a string of primary victories as he closes in on the GOP presidential nomination. The Associated Press called the race for Trump over the former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley at 9pm ET. Continue reading...

I have investigated the EU border agency's role in the Adriana shipwreck. There is a chasm between rhetoric and reality

A focus on young South American players has underpinned Miami's star-driven transfer strategyInter Miami already had the actual Sergio Busquets. Now they also have the young midfielder described as his natural successor. Federico Redondo certainly isn't the biggest name or most recognisable face to have pitched up at Chase Stadium recently, but his arrival in Major League Soccer proves Inter Miami's project is about more than just Messi.Of course, a lot of it is about Messi. He's the reason countless celebrities - including Will Smith for last week's season opener - have made the trip to Fort Lauderdale for a game. He has doubled Inter Miami's valuation as a franchise to $1bn and sold out stadiums in El Salvador, Hong Kong, Japan and Saudi Arabia on a global pre-season tour. There is a gravity around Messi and MLS has been sucked into it. Continue reading...

Joe Biden has backed a Native American lacrosse team's bid to compete at the Los Angeles Games in 2028. But IOC rules stand in their wayLacrosse is returning to the Olympics in 2028, and the Haudenosaunee Nationals have no intention of watching from the sidelines. The team represents the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the sport's birthplace, which straddles the US-Canadian border and is made up of the Mohawk, Oneida, Tuscarora, Seneca, Onondaga and Cayuga people. The Haudenosaunee Nationals' Olympic campaign in 2028 wouldn't be a first. In 1904 a team of Mohawk players took part in the St Louis Olympics, but they were officially representing Canada. Now these longtime contenders on the international scene seek to make history and play under their own flag at Los Angeles 2028, making them the first North American Indigenous nation to do so.[Lacrosse] is part of our existence," says Leo Nolan, executive director of the Nationals. It's us, so it's as important as anything else in our lifestyle, who we are. It's about who we are, so it's absolutely important for us to contribute this game to the rest of the world." Continue reading...

As president, Trump's approach was chaotic - but after four years of international upheaval, his views may resonate with the American peopleDonald Trump has all but clinched the Republican presidential nomination, kicking off a US general election campaign between two elderly one-term presidents, each of whom is profoundly unpopular in their own way. Perhaps more unusually for the US, however, it also kicks off an election in which the foreign policy stakes are far higher than usual, and one in which the two presidential rivals offer radically different visions of the US's role in the world.Political scientists have long known that American voters do not typically vote on foreign policy issues, which pale in comparison with economic or social issues. In 2024, however, that rule is not likely to hold. A plethora of recent polls suggest that Americans are increasingly concerned about foreign policy; one survey found that four in 10 voters rank the issue among their top concerns.Emma Ashford is a senior fellow with the Reimagining US Grand Strategy programme at the Stimson Center, Washington DC, and the author of Oil, the State and War Continue reading...

Defeated former South Carolina governor has pledged to stay in Republican presidential primaries at least through Super Tuesday

Firearms expert says he sees no evidence gun was broken, despite actor's claim it went off without his pulling the triggerCourtroom testimony by an independent gun expert on Tuesday cast new doubt on Alec Baldwin's account that his gun went off without his pulling the trigger in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer during a 2021 rehearsal on the set of the western movie Rust.Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter, with a trial scheduled for July in the death of Halyna Hutchins during a movie rehearsal on the outskirts of Santa Fe. Continue reading...

People who lost loved ones or were injured may be eligible for payout from fund announced Tuesday - but there's a catchHawaii governor Josh Green unveiled on Tuesday a multimillion-dollar fund to compensate families of people who were killed on Maui during the deadliest wildfire in the nation in more than a century.The announcement marks the first phase of the $175m One Ohana Fund that was proposed on 8 November, two months after at least 101 were killed in Lahaina, a coastal town on Maui. If found eligible, people who lost a loved one will receive $1.5m, and disbursements for those who survived but were gravely injured will vary, according to Green's press release. The fund will begin accepting applications on 1 March. Continue reading...

Taking photos of random strangers in public places can create little gems of personal interactionDo you ask before you take someone's picture?" It's the first question people ask when they see my photos. The answer is no. If I see an interesting scene like this shirtless sunbaker, I frame it and press the shutter button.This is kind of unremarkable to me - candid street photography is a genre almost as old as the medium itself, and I spend a lot of time looking at it. But I can see why going for little walks to take pictures of strangers might seem a strange, even slightly deviant, hobby. Continue reading...

Biden faces campaign by anti-war activists to abandon him, while Trump faces local leaders embroiled in a factional dispute

All 11 board members sign as sponsors of historic' resolution, with several supervisors stating this was just the start of reparationsSupervisors in San Francisco formally apologized Tuesday to African Americans and their descendants for the city's role in perpetuating racism and discrimination, with several stating that this was just the beginning of reparations for Black residents and not the end.The vote was unanimous with all 11 board members signed on as sponsors of the resolution. Continue reading...

Joint statement announces agreement to work toward labor agreements on constructive path forward'Starbucks and the union organizing its US workers said Tuesday they have agreed to begin talks with the aim of reaching labor agreements.The announcement was a breakthrough for the two sides, which have been at odds since Workers United first organized baristas at a Starbucks store in Buffalo, New York, in late 2021. Continue reading...

Samuel Meyer, 99, received France's highest decoration by Laurent Bili, the country's ambassador to the USFor decades, Samuel Meyer has been New Orleans's most celebrated hatter, devoted to a now-iconic business founded by his grandfather in 1894, and steering it into its second century with a fifth generation of family members in training.On Tuesday, the 99-year-old military veteran was celebrated for an altogether different achievement: becoming a chevalier of the French Legion of Honor in recognition of his service to the allies during the second world war. Continue reading...

Amin Mitchell, who is Black, posted about incident on social media and believes it was racist response to disagreement with managerBus drivers in Missouri staged a protest this week after a coworker found a noose at his work station and posted about it on social media.Amin Mitchell, a diesel mechanic, shared video of the noose on the floor of his employer - Missouri Central School Bus - on Facebook on 22 February. Continue reading...

An anonymous Brooklyn federal jury delivered the verdict on Tuesday in the trial of Karl Jordan Jr and Ronald WashingtonTwo men have been convicted of murder in the 2002 slaying of Jam Master Jay, a member of the pioneering hip-hop group Run-DMC.On Tuesday, a Brooklyn jury found Karl Jordan Jr and Ronald Washington guilty, prompting much commotion in the courtroom. Both men had been charged with one count of murder while engaged in narcotics trafficking and one count of firearm-related murder for the fatal shooting of Jason Mizell, better known as Jam Master Jay. Continue reading...

President met congressional leaders ahead of partial shutdown threat on Friday; Schumer and Johnson both described talks as frank' and intense' Biden and Harris meet congressional leaders to try to avert government shutdownIn brief remarks at the start of his meeting with congressional leaders, Joe Biden warned that a government shutdown would significantly" damage the nation's economy, which saw strong growth last year despite tenacious inflation and high interest rates.Here's what he had to say, from CNN: Continue reading...

Chuck Schumer says we're hopeful we can get this done quickly' after meeting in Oval Office before 1 March deadlineJoe Biden and Kamala Harris met congressional leaders on Tuesday in hopes of striking a deal to try to avert a government shutdown.We're making good progress, and we're hopeful we can get this done quickly," the top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said after the meeting, adding that the Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, said unequivocally he wants to avoid a government shutdown". Continue reading...

Vote to sanction New College follows investigation into governor's politically, racially, and ideologically motivated attacks'A national university professors union has voted to sanction New College of Florida, the former liberal arts school where Ron DeSantis orchestrated an unprecedented aggressively ideological and politically motivated" takeover by a group of ultra-conservative cronies.The vote to sanction New College came after an investigation by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), which has placed only 12 other universities on its sanctioned list since 1995. Continue reading...

Lieutenant governor Winsome Earle-Sears misgendered Danica Roem, the first transgender person to serve in any state legislatureA top Republican in Virginia has apologized for misgendering a state senate Democrat in a row that caused legislative activity in the chamber to be temporarily suspended.We are all equal under the law. And so I apologize, I apologize, I apologize, and I would hope that everyone would understand there is no intent to offend but that we would also give each other the ability to forgive each other," the lieutenant governor, Winsome Earle-Sears, said in an address to the state senate on Monday. Continue reading...

Aaron Bushnell also grew up in a strict religious sect, the Community of Jesus, whose members would often join the militaryA uniformed airman who burned himself to death in protest over the US's role in Israel's military strikes in Gaza was an anarchist who grew up in a strict religious sect with links to a school in Canada that controlled, intimidated and humiliated" students, it was reported on Tuesday.Aaron Bushnell, an active-duty US air force senior airman from San Antonio, Texas, died in hospital on Sunday several hours after he doused himself in a flammable liquid and set himself alight outside the Israeli embassy in Washington DC.In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Multimillionaire Gary Pilnick was excoriated on the internet, especially as cereal prices have risen 28% over the last four yearsThe multimillionaire chief executive officer of the US food processing giant Kellogg's has drawn scorn from some quarters after recently suggesting that families with strained finances could cope by eating cereal for dinner".Gary Pilnick was speaking live on CNBC's Squawk on the Street on 21 February when he delivered the remarks in question, which some have compared to the let them eat cake" phrase frequently attributed without evidence to Marie Antoinette before her execution during the French Revolution. Continue reading...

Lawmakers postpone legislation that attempts to define a fetus as an unborn child' over concerns it could affect IVF treatmentsFlorida lawmakers have postponed a bill that would give fetuses civil rights after a similar ruling in Alabama has halted in vitro fertilization treatment at several clinics in the state.The fetal personhood" bill had been gaining support amid Florida's mostly Republican lawmakers. The legislation attempts to define a fetus as an unborn child", allowing parents to collect financial damages in the case of wrongful death, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Continue reading...

I spent much of my 20s working for a feminist magazine, but as a show at the Tate reminded me, my mum and auntie got there firstI often joke that my mum, dad and auntie will forever be cooler than I am, even as they head into their 60s. The latest evidence of this was when I started receiving pictures of my mum and auntie, the twins", taken at the Tate's landmark exhibition of feminist art, Women in Revolt!, showing them on the front cover of a radical zine called Shocking Pink.The twins had no idea they were going to be in the exhibition, and accepted the news in typically nonchalant style. They couldn't remember the magazine, having the picture taken, nor whether or not they did an interview for the magazine. I sighed and rolled my eyes, as I have been doing since I was a teenager. But inside, I was still pleased for them. As musicians, their legacy lives on in unexpected ways. I feel lucky to hear them on the radio every now and then, to see an old image of them in a restaurant toilet (true story), or to have a friend's parent tell me how much they loved their band, Soho.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...

Congressman Ken Buck introduces resolution claiming president is incapable of executing duties - but it has little chance of successA Colorado Republican introduced a congressional resolution calling for Kamala Harris to invoke the 25th amendment to the US constitution and remove Joe Biden because he is too old.The resolution from the US House member Ken Buck has little chance of success. Continue reading...

Department store will close dozens of outlets this year and the rest over a three-year period after issuing muted trading outlookMacy's has announced plans to close 150 underproductive" stores - more than a fifth of its department store empire - over the next three years.The business said it would shutter about 50 outlets by the end of 2024 after issuing a muted trading outlook for the year ahead. Continue reading...

Dramatic political and demographic changes have made Ronald Reagan's domain one of the few true purple regions in a deeply divided countryIn the battle between Democrats and Republicans for control of the US House of Representatives, one region could hold the key to victory - Orange county, California's historically conservative heartland.For decades, the region - perhaps most famously described by Ronald Reagan as the place where the good Republicans go before they die" - was a Republican stronghold and a hotbed for radical conservatives. Continue reading...

Faye Carruthers, Suzanne Wrack, Mark Parsons, and Megan Swanick look ahead to the new National Women's Soccer League seasonOn today's pod: Mark Parsons and Megan Swanick join to give you the full lowdown on what's to come in the forthcoming NWSL season. Who to look out for, and who their favourites are to win. The panel also asks: how does the draft system work and how do teams successfully navigate it?Also, the panel discuss the expansion teams' as two new clubs join the league, Bay FC and Utah Royals. Plus they assess the commercial viability of the league and deliver a team-by-team analysis of all their chances going into the season. Continue reading...

The company had faults - not least its treatment of staff - but my former colleagues were unfailingly original and phenomenally talentedOn Friday it was announced that the media company Vice would lay off hundreds of workers and halt publishing. It's an ignominious end for an organisation that once promised to transform the way we consume media, and will have devastating consequences for young talent hoping to break into a shrinking industry.I joined Vice in 2015. I was 26. I had newly quit a soul-destroying corporate job. I had no experience, no contacts and no journalism qualifications. I cold-pitched editors at Vice incessantly, and eventually one gave me a three-month paid internship. When my internship ended, my boss - a woman of luminous, shining goodness, so much so that I'd paint her into the Sistine Chapel if someone gave me a ladder and a brush - got me a job as a staff writer.Sirin Kale is a features writer for the Guardian Continue reading...

The Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx plans to be tuition-free for students, after a $1bn donation from former professor Dr Ruth Gottesman. The donation is among the largest to date for an educational institution in the US. Half of Einstein's most recent class of students are New Yorkers, according to the medical school - 59% are women and the majority are people of color. Einstein's students graduate with higher amounts of debt than other medical students at New York City schools. Gottesman said she hoped that it made medical school more accessible to those who could not previously afford it

Weird things do happen in US politics, but unless something very weird happens, we are looking at this reality: a rematch of 2020Get Margaret Sullivan's latest columns delivered straight to your inbox.It can be diverting - even fun - to fantasize about who might become the next president of the United States.