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Michael Cassidy charged under Iowa's hate crime statute after figure depicting Baphomet destroyed beyond repair' in DecemberA Mississippi man accused of destroying a statue of a pagan idol at Iowa's state capitol is now being charged with a hate crime.The statue was brought to the capitol by the Satanic Temple of Iowa under state rules allowing religious displays in the building during the holidays. The move drew strong criticism from state and national leaders, including the Iowa governor, Kim Reynolds, and the Florida governor and former presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, both Republicans. On 14 December, the figure depicting the horned deity Baphomet was destroyed beyond repair", according to the group. Continue reading...

Three donors say that they - and, in two cases, their spouses - were reimbursed for donations to the New York City mayor's 2025 campaign, a tactic that violates state law

After struggling for game time with Borussia Dortmund, the USMNT star has signed for the Premier League club on a loan for the remainder of the seasonGio Reyna needs to play. That - a lack of game time - has become the defining issue of the young American's career. A series of injuries, followed by a nasty feud between his family and coach around the 2022 World Cup, halted his development as one of the most exciting young talents ever produced by the United States. This season, Reyna has been out of favour at Borussia Dortmund, but a loan move to the Premier League could help him see the forest through the trees again.Nottingham Forest have given Reyna an opportunity to get his career back on track and he must make the most of it. The 21-year-old is only be on loan at the City Ground until the end of the season, but the next few months could profoundly alter Reyna's trajectory. This is a big chance to make up for lost time. Continue reading...

The Canucks have never won the Stanley Cup, and were a mess a year ago. But this season everything seems to be going their wayAround this time last year, the Vancouver Canucks were verging on disarray. In the middle of January, team president Jim Rutherford held a press conference to address the team's terrible season, which began with eight straight losses and didn't improve much from then on. I'm pretty disappointed in the job I've done," Rutherford said at the time. The team's fans felt the same way, especially regarding how the team was treating then-coach, Bruce Boudreau, who was rumoured to be on the chopping block, with Rick Tocchet apparently already waiting in the wings to take over. At the presser, Rutherford could merely only offer that Bruce is our coach, and that's the way it is today." The Canucks fired Boudreau a few days later and, as predicted, Tocchet took over. It was messy.But winning clears things up - and the Canucks have done a lot of it this year. As the NHL pauses this week for the All Star break, the Canucks sit atop not just the Pacific Division, but the entire Western Conference. They went 8-0-2 through their last 10 games before the break, a record second only in the West to the streaking Edmonton Oilers, who the Canucks shocked with back-to-back defeats to open the season - losses that sent the Oilers, a pre-season Stanley Cup favourite, reeling for months. Continue reading...

I have suffered dreadful abuse online since winning my libel action, but the message is clear: defamation has consequencesOn Tuesday on Sky News, I was asked by Kay Burley if I had any sympathy for Laurence Fox. I nearly said yes. But that night, he was back to tweeting about my cock. What a difference 12 hours can make.If you're new to this saga, I've just won a libel battle against Fox in the high court. I sued him for calling me a paedophile in October 2020. He retaliated, countersuing me for calling him a racist (apparently Mr Free Speech Absolutist is not so keen on speech that he does not agree with). In a judgment released on Monday (more than three years later), he lost on both counts.Crystal is a drag performer, DJ and TV hostDo 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...

US study confirms that communities living downwind of cities are likely to have more rainfallDoes it ever feel like the rain always falls where you live? You may have a point. It has long been known that urban environments modify their own weather, and a study has confirmed that cities also modify the weather in the surrounding area, with communities living downwind of a city more likely to bear the brunt of the rain.Acres of tarmac, skyscrapers and miles of suburbs all alter the amount of solar energy that land absorbs and re-radiates. The built environment modifies the weather that a city receives; but how far does a city's influence over the weather extend? Continue reading...

Lawmakers pass a $79bn tax cut package with broad bipartisan support, giving both parties coveted policy winsThe House accomplished something unusual Wednesday in passing, with broad, bipartisan support, a roughly $79bn tax cut package that would enhance the child tax credit for millions of lower-income families and boost three tax breaks for business, a combination that gives lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle coveted policy wins.Prospects for the measure becoming law are uncertain with the Senate still having to take it up, but for a House that has struggled to get bills of consequence over the finish line, the tax legislation could represent a rare breakthrough. The bill passed by a vote of 357-70. Continue reading...

Ex-South Carolina governor's new campaign highlights senior moments' of both men who are likely headed for a rematchRepublican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has launched a new attack on her rivals in the 2024 election - fellow party member Donald Trump and US president Joe Biden, with an advertisement campaign targeting their age.In a new series of political ads, first reported by the New York Times, under the theme of Grumpy Old Men," the former governor of South Carolina and US ambassador to the United Nations has an explicit strategy to go after the age of the two men likely to secure their respective parties' nominations for president. Continue reading...

Tech tycoon awaiting fraud trial in US brings case against Serious Fraud Office in LondonMike Lynch, the technology tycoon once lauded as the UK's answer to Bill Gates and now facing criminal fraud charges in the US, is suing the Serious Fraud Office.Lynch, who was extradited to the US last year to face trial over allegations he duped Hewlett-Packard into overpaying when it struck an $11bn (8.6bn) deal to buy his software firm Autonomy in 2011, has filed a data protection claim against the SFO in the high court in London. Continue reading...

The atmospheric river systems have the potential to wreak havoc, especially in areas where wildfires have left burn scars

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Ex-president and co-defendants are seeking to block Fani Willis over alleged affair with special prosecutor Nathan WadeThe Fulton county district attorney, Fani Willis, and Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor in her office, have both been subpoenaed to testify at a 15 February hearing seeking their disqualification from the criminal racketeering case against Donald Trump and 14 others for their efforts to overturn the election.It is not guaranteed that either will actually testify. Both could seek to quash the subpoena. Continue reading...

Stringent voter ID laws, gerrymandering and harsher sentences for voter registration errors are particular barriers for Black votersPeople of color make up nearly 30% of eligible voters in the US, but cast just over 22% of all votes - a significantly smaller share of the vote relative to their representation in the voter population, according to a new analysis.As the gap in voter turnout between people of color and white people continues to widen, the study broke down the numbers showing how Latinos, Asian Americans and Black people are persistently underrepresented in the electorate - which, as evidenced by Guardian reporting, is not in small part due to voter-suppression efforts. Continue reading...

The House speaker, Mike Johnson, reiterated his attack on the Senate's immigration policy deal, saying that, though its exact provisions had not yet been released, he did not think it would cut down on migrant arrivals to the degree he demands.He specifically took issue with reports that, under the deal's proposed terms, the border would be closed once crossings exceeded 5,000 people in a given day

CEOs of Meta, X, TikTok, Snap and Discord questioned before Congress over alleged harms to young users on their platformsIn a stunning moment during a congressional hearing over alleged online harms to children, the Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, turned to parents of victims on the Senate floor and apologized.I'm sorry for everything you have all been through," Zuckerberg said as parents held up photos of their children who have died following sexual exploitation or harassment via social media. No one should go through the things that your families have suffered and this is why we invest so much and we are going to continue doing industry-wide efforts to make sure no one has to go through the things your families have had to suffer." Continue reading...

At last: a judgment that injects a dose of sanity into the process of handing out executive rewardsWas the world's richest man overpaid?" begins Kathaleen McCormick in her ruling from the Delaware court of chancery. You bet. An incentive package worth up to $55.8bn for Elon Musk at Tesla in 2018 was over the top, unnecessary to secure the great man's services and thus unfair" to other shareholders because of the dilutive effect on their holdings. Read the 200-page judgment and it's hard to disagree with any step in her argument.Musk and his fanclub are enraged, naturally. I recommend incorporating in Nevada or Texas if you prefer shareholders to decide matters," said Tesla's chief executive. And it's true that shareholders approved the scheme by a 73% majority back in 2018. Some said on Musk's X that they'd happily do so again today because he hit his performance-related targets and Tesla's value improved by a turbo-charged $600bn. (Back in 2018, remember, the electric vehicle company was worth $50bn-ish and there was a lively debate in the investment world about whether it would soon run out of money.) Continue reading...

Deepfake porn is a potent new weapon for harassment - and it's not a coincidence Swift has become its most prominent victimTaylor Swift is having quite a month. The singer-songwriter saw her image in disgusting deepfake porn images that were circulated online, prompting a necessary and overdue conversation on how AI and deepfake porn is used to harass, humiliate, degrade, threaten, extort and punish (mostly) women. And then her boyfriend, the football player Travis Kelce, saw his team make it to the Super Bowl, which set off a wave of rightwing anti-Swift hysteria and conspiracy theorizing. The most powerful pop star in the world has everything going for her - and has also become an avatar for widespread anxieties about female power, sexuality and gender politics.Deepfake porn brings up a whole host of moral, ethical, philosophical and legal questions. Those questions grow even more complicated when applied to celebrities. A famous 1988 first amendment free speech case in the US pitted the pornographic magazine Hustler against the homophobic and misogynist evangelical activist Jerry Falwell. Continue reading...

No one else on board single-engine plane that crashed at busy junction along golf course by Buchanan Field airport in ConcordThe pilot of a single-engine plane was killed on Tuesday when the aircraft crashed on a city street near a small San Francisco Bay Area airport, authorities said.The crash was reported at about 11am at a busy intersection along a golf course adjacent to Buchanan Field airport in Concord, officials said. Continue reading...

Exclusive: union's president, Sean O'Brien, accused of having publicly humiliated' Black and Hispanic workersThirteen former Black and Hispanic employees for the Teamsters International Union filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the union and its president, Sean O'Brien, alleging racial discrimination over their firings after O'Brien assumed the helm in March 2022.The lawsuit was filed in Washington DC last February, alleging violation of the DC Human Rights Act. The Teamsters paid $2.9m to settle the lawsuit, according to three union officials. Continue reading...

Aircraft maker suspends financial guidance as it grapples with serious challenge' of winning back trust amid 737 Max 9 crisisBoeing faces a serious challenge" to win back the confidence of regulators and airlines, its CEO has said, as the aircraft maker faces intense scrutiny after a cabin panel blowout.Dave Calhoun acknowledged the business has much to prove" since a brand-new 737 Max 9 jet was forced into an emergency landing earlier this month. Continue reading...

Kevin Konther, 58, convicted of rape of girl in 1995 and woman in 1998, confessed to crimes in secret recordingsA California man who attempted to blame his identical twin brother for rapes he committed in the 1990s has been sentenced to 140 years in prison.Kevin Konther, 58, of Highland, California, was sentenced after being convicted of the rapes of a girl in 1995 and a woman in 1998, the Orange county district attorney's office said in a statement.Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html Continue reading...

Errant payments and instruction to return them has drawn bipartisan ire in state in which average teacher pay is $54,800With four young children and a fifth on the way, Kristina Stadelman was ecstatic after qualifying for a $50,000 bonus for taking a hard-to-fill job as a special education teacher in Oklahoma. She used the money to finish home improvements and buy a new car for her growing family.Then a letter arrived from the Oklahoma state department of education: it told her she received the money in error and must repay it, quickly. Continue reading...

Rory McIlroy has 'changed his tune' and now believes that there should be no penalty for LIV rebels who want to return to play on traditional golf tours. After taking an initial hardline stance against the LIV Golf Series, McIlroy said: 'I've come to the realisation I'm not here to change people's minds, I'm here to just try, especially when I was at the board level, trying to give them the full picture of where things are at and hopefully where things are going to go. They can do with that information what they want. But at the end of the day I think I'm done with trying to change people's minds and trying to get them to see things a certain way.' A deal is currently in the works, of which McIlroy was very supportive. 'The sooner that we can all get back together and start to play and start to have the strongest fields possible I think is great for golf,' he said.

Despite his tough early life, the footballer Patrice Evra went on to captain Manchester United and France. Now, he hopes to use his experience to help in the fight to protect children around the worldI bet that most people reading this have long abandoned their new year resolutions. For me, I'm sticking to mine. I like the discipline. They aren't for everyone, but they help me focus my mind, set my priorities and measure what matters.Childhood matters. But it seems we've forgotten that. Forgotten that happy, healthy adults grow from safe, stable children. Continue reading...

The actor, dancer and singer, who has died aged 91, did not just provide great entertainment on stage. She was an eloquent, mischievous chronicler of musical theatreChita Rivera had been answering questions about West Side Story for some 60 years when yet another journalist called her up to hear the story. You could have forgiven this indomitable triple-threat star - celebrated for her singing, acting and dancing - for going through the motions in a 15-minute phone interview. But seconds into what would be the first of a few conversations we had over the years, it was clear she'd be a hoot.I love that accent!" she mock-purred with a laugh before recalling the thick Manchester fog when she brought the show over in 1958. She was an anglophile and had happy memories of the show's London run, where she resumed the role of Anita. She'd recently given birth to Lisa, lovingly described as her Shark-Jet daughter": Chita's husband was Tony Mordente, who played one of the Jets, while Anita was with the Sharks. The gangs had rehearsed separately for the show in order to heighten tensions on stage - a phenomenal idea" from choreographer Jerome Robbins - so they'd tried to keep their romance secret. She brought a maternal quality to Anita's friendship with Maria but Rivera loved how saucy and passionate the character is too. Continue reading...

Republican-led committee sends two articles of impeachment against Alejandro Mayorkas to House of RepresentativesHouse Republicans voted along party lines after midnight on Wednesday to move toward impeaching the homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, for a willful and systematic" refusal to enforce immigration laws as border security becomes a top 2024 election issue.In a charge against a cabinet official unseen in nearly 150 years, the homeland security committee debated all day on Tuesday and well into the night before recommending two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas to the full House. Continue reading...

Far-right influencers claim singer is Pentagon asset' conspiring to manipulate' voters after rigged' Super Bowl favors Chiefs. Plus, documents show fossil fuel industry knew of climate danger as early as 1954Good morning.Taylor Swift is a Pentagon asset", an election interference psyop" who, with unnamed left-leaning forces, has conspired to rig" the Super Bowl and then endorse Joe Biden in the presidential election.Why else is Swift in the news? A bipartisan group of US senators introduced a bill yesterday that would criminalize the spread of nonconsensual, sexualized images generated by artificial intelligence. The measure comes in direct response to the proliferation of pornographic AI-made images of Taylor Swift posted on X, formerly Twitter, in recent days.Will social media platforms now start taking AI-generated porn seriously? Women who have been victims of the creation and sharing of nonconsensual deepfake pornography hope that this week's spotlight on the issue will force social media companies and legislators into action.What has Netanyahu said? On Tuesday, he repeated his vow not to pull troops out of Gaza until total victory", a reminder of the huge gap in the public stances of the warring sides over what it would take to halt combat even temporarily. Continue reading...

Gaza is on the brink of famine. If the US and UK fail to use every possible lever to stop the catastrophe, they will be complicitGaza is experiencing mass starvation like no other in recent history. Before the outbreak of fighting in October, food security in Gaza was precarious, but very few children - less than 1% - suffered severe acute malnutrition, the most dangerous kind. Today, almost all Gazans, of any age, anywhere in the territory, are at risk.There is no instance since the second world war in which an entire population has been reduced to extreme hunger and destitution with such speed. And there's no case in which the international obligation to stop it has been so clear.Alex de Waal is the executive director of the World Peace Foundation at Tufts University and the author of Mass Starvation: The History and Future of Famine Continue reading...

Twelve of the agency's 13,000 Gaza employees were allegedly part of the 7 October attack - so the US and its allies are meting a horrific collective punishmentOn Friday, the United States suspended funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the main lifeline for millions of Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Multiple western countries then followed the US's lead. The given reason? The Israeli government alleges that a dozen people working for UNRWA (which employs around 13,000 people in Gaza alone) were involved in the assaults of 7 October that killed around 1,200 people in Israel.There should be no question that the 7 October attacks were atrocities. But to punish the UNRWA - and, by extension, the Palestinian people as a whole - because of accusations against 12 people is unconscionable. It is an act of political retaliation that puts the lives of millions of people needlessly at risk and an abdication on an international scale of the United States' supposed western liberal values.Moustafa Bayoumi is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

Men's sport can be a hard place. But a rising number of stars are choosing to express themselves even if it annoys those with more old-fashioned viewsUSC quarterback Caleb Williams would appear to have a firm enough grip on football to project as the first pick in this year's NFL draft. But there's something about the Heisman trophy winner that keeps throwing off fans and talent evaluators alike, and it's right at his fingertips.Williams, you see, is one of those guys who decorates his nails, unveiling a new paint scheme every time he takes the field and drawing criticism for spelling out foul messages to opponents across his fingers. His gameday tradition dates back four seasons, to Williams's high school senior year, and takes inspiration from his mother, who is a nail technician. You gotta keep your hands fresh," Williams said. This is where all the gold comes from." Continue reading...

The LA Galaxy players who suddenly became team-mates of world's most recognizable athlete remember a regular dude' who helped a fledgling league to then-unthinkable heightsIn the midst of his prime, still the world's most recognizable athlete and on course to be a free agent in six months' time, David Beckham had the football world at his feet on 11 January 2007. That's why the news that broke that day - that the former Manchester United superstar was to leave Real Madrid at the end of the current La Liga season to join LA Galaxy in MLS - was so stunning.I'm coming there not to be a superstar," the 31-year-old said in a press conference to formally announce the move the following day. I'm coming there to be part of the team, to work hard and to hopefully win things. Continue reading...

Financial aid to UNRWA has dwindled since Israel's allegations over 7 October. Who will step in when its services shrink?Following allegations by Israeli intelligence that 12 employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) participated in the violence initiated by Hamas on 7 October, and that UNRWA staff have ties to militants, many countries have halted their financial contributions to the agency.Within Israel, the reaction to criticism of UNRWA has largely been one of vindication. The energy minister, Eli Cohen, said the true face of UNRWA has been exposed!" The foreign minister, Israel Katz, cancelled a meeting with the UNRWA commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, and wrote that supporters of terrorism are not welcome here". Israel Today's senior diplomatic commentator, Ariel Kahana, wrote that UNRWA is perpetuating the conflict", and that Israel has its first opportunity in 75 years to replace the agency, adding: We must not pass up on it."Etan Nechin is a writer based in New York and a contributor to HaaretzDo 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...

Nathan Wade enters temporary agreement' with estranged wife and avoids testifying on reported relationship with DA Fani WillisNathan Wade, the lead prosecutor in the case against Donald Trump over his alleged plot to overturn the 2020 election has entered into a temporary agreement" with his estranged wife, according to a filing posted on social media. This agreement means that special prosecutor Wade will avoid having to testify in a court hearing that was scheduled for Wednesday.During the now-canceled hearing, Wade was expected to shed light on his financial dealings and purchase of plane tickets for himself and Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis in 2022 and 2023, according to the Washington Post. The pair have been under increased scrutiny since 8 January when Michael Roman, a veteran Republican operative and one of the former president's co-defendants filed a motion to Fulton county's superior court that sought to disqualify Willis and Wade from the case. Continue reading...

Oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev had accused Sotheby's of conspiring with dealer over pieces including Salvator Mundi, which later became the most expensive art sold at auctionA US federal jury has ruled in favour of Sotheby's at a trial in which the Russian billionaire oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev accused the auction house of defrauding him out of tens of millions of dollars in art sales.Rybolovlev had accused Sotheby's of conspiring with Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier to trick him into paying inflated prices for four works including Salvator Mundi, a depiction of Christ attributed to Leonardo da Vinci that would become the most expensive artwork sold at auction. Continue reading...

Current definition was factor in Carroll's sexual abuse case, which was highlighted by Governor Kathy Hochul at bill ceremonyNew York will expand its legal definition of rape to include various forms of nonconsensual sexual contact, under a bill signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday.The state's current limited definition was a factor in writer E Jean Carroll's sexual abuse and defamation case against Donald Trump. The jury in the federal civil trial rejected the writer's claim last May that the former president had raped her in the 1990s, instead finding Trump responsible for a lesser degree of sexual abuse. Continue reading...

Aimenn Penny, 20, had firebombed the church in Chesterland in protest of a planned drag brunch and children's story hourAn Ohio man, who had allegedly been a member of a neo-Nazi white lives matter' group, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for firebombing a church that planned to host drag events, the US justice department announced on Tuesday.After making and throwing two Molotov cocktails at the Community Church of Chesterland in Chesterland, Ohio, on 25 March 2023, Aimenn Penny was arrested on federal charges for using fire to commit a federal felony, malicious use of explosive materials, and possessing a destructive device. Continue reading...

State senator Anthony Kern, who was a fake pro-Trump elector in 2020, says legislature should choose electorsA proposal from an Arizona lawmaker calls for the state legislature to decide on presidential electors instead of adhering to a popular vote.The state senator Anthony Kern, a Republican, served as a fake elector in 2020, falsely asserting that Donald Trump won the state. Those involved in the fake electors schemes in several states have been charged. In Arizona, the fake electors are under investigation by the Democratic attorney general, her office has confirmed. Kern also attended the 6 January 2021 rally at the US Capitol. Continue reading...

GOP moves forward with efforts to impeach homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as they lambast Biden border dealA partisan showdown was on display on Tuesday as House Republicans attempted to escalate immigration and border issues on two fronts.Republicans moved forward with efforts to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, as they lambasted the border deal recently brokered between the Joe Biden White House and a bipartisan group of senators, in a split-screen that Democrats criticized as hypocritical. Continue reading...

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Iran-backed militia Washington blamed for attack announces it has suspended anti-US operationsJoe Biden has said he has decided how to respond to a drone strike in northern Jordan which killed three American soldiers and wounded dozens more, as the Iran-backed militia that Washington blamed for the attack said it had suspended anti-US operations.As Washington pondered its response, Kataib Hezbollah announced the suspension of all its military operations against US troops in the region, claiming the decision was intended to prevent embarrassment" to the Iraqi government. Continue reading...

Bush says allegation she used funds for security services untrue but that she is fully cooperating' with DoJ investigationThe congresswoman Cori Bush has confirmed that the US Department of Justice is investigating whether the Missouri Democrat misused campaign funds for security services, an accusation she denied as simply false".In a statement, Bush said her campaign was fully cooperating" with the investigation and said she had always complied with all applicable laws and House rules". Continue reading...

Board of elections decision decided on narrow procedural grounds and will likely be appealedThe Illinois board of elections has voted unanimously to keep Donald Trump on its primary ballot, rejecting objections brought by voters who challenged Trump's eligibility on grounds that he had aided in insurrection on January 6.The decision was made on narrow procedural grounds, and is almost certain to be appealed. It is just the latest in a mixed series of official rulings on whether Trump can appear on the ballot amid a wave of challenges to his candidacy in multiple states. Continue reading...