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Small business panel chair defends seat for freshman despite claim fabulist congressman bilked veteran out of $3,000 to save dog’s lifeThe chairman of one of two House committees on which George Santos will sit has defended the decision, despite the New York Republican’s résumé having been shown to be largely made up, and amid allegations of deceitful and criminal behaviour now including bilking a disabled veteran out of $3,000 raised to save the life of his dog, and fabricating a story about his mother surviving the 9/11 attacks.The disabled veteran, Richard Osthoff, told the news site Patch he was “crying his eyes out remembering Sapphire’s last day”. Continue reading...

Bronx clinic will be first of four free clinics to offer free abortion pills, followed by facilities in Brooklyn, Manhattan and QueensNew York’s mayor, Eric Adams, has announced free abortion pills will be provided at four public clinics across the city, making its health department the first in the nation to offer free medication abortion.Abortion pills are used in more than 50% of all US abortions, but most are given in a hospital where patients and their insurance are billed. Unlike hospitals, these clinics primarily target those on lower incomes and the uninsured. They are free to access. Continue reading...

Dallas-area native is charged with hate crimes and capital murder for killing 23 people in a racist shooting in El Paso in 2019US federal prosecutors will not seek the death penalty for a man accused of killing 23 people and wounding dozens in a racist shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, in August 2019.The Department of Justice disclosed the decision not to pursue capital punishment against Patrick Crusius in a one-sentence notice filed on Tuesday with the federal court in El Paso. Continue reading...

While many have pledged support, Germany has a unique historical responsibility toward Zelenskiy and his people. It cannot shirk itGermany has a unique historical responsibility to help defend a free and sovereign Ukraine. Europe’s central power is also uniquely qualified to shape a larger European response designed to end Vladimir Putin’s criminal war of terror in a way that deters future aggression around places such as Taiwan.As a signal of strategic intent to measure up to this double obligation, from the past and for the future, the Berlin government should commit at the Ukraine defence contact group meeting in Ramstein, Germany, this Friday not only to allow countries such as Poland and Finland to send German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine but also do so itself, in a coordinated European action. Call it the European Leopard plan.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...

Technology used to distance the military from the deaths they caused. Now everything is up close and personalMicrophone in hand, making radio, I don’t half find myself in some odd places. The inside of a shipping container, for example. This one was in an aircraft hangar at an RAF base somewhere in England. What it contained was the cockpit of a drone flying high above Syria and Iraq. For company in there, as I remember it, I had the pilot, the person in charge of firing whatever weapons this drone carried and a lawyer whose job it was to advise on who and what were legitimate, legal targets. And there was an RAF press officer, of course – I hadn’t just snuck in there.I don’t want to get into the morality or otherwise of drone warfare here – you may or may not be minded to put inverted commas around the words “legitimate” and “legal” above. It’s just that this whole fascinating, unsettling, disorientating experience came back to me during the furore over Prince Harry’s book and what he had to say about his experience of visiting death and destruction upon, it is to be hoped, legitimate and legal targets from Apache helicopters.Adrian Chiles is a writer, broadcaster and Guardian columnistDo 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...

Obit made no mention that Michael Haight shot his estranged wife, their five children and his mother-in-law before killing himselfA Utah newspaper apologized after publishing a glowing obituary of a man accused of killing seven members of his family in a murder-suicide. The piece was also deleted.On 4 January, Michael Haight of Utah, 42, shot his estranged wife, Tausha Haight, 40; their five children, aged four to 17; and Haight’s mother-in-law, Gail Earl, 78. Haight then shot himself, police said. Continue reading...

Solomon Pena, an election denier in New Mexico, took part in shootings at the homes of at least four Democrats, officials sayThe arrest of a New Mexico Republican election denier for gun attacks on the homes of Democratic opponents has brought new attention to the scourge of political violence by extremists, more than two years after the January 6 Capitol attack.Authorities say Solomon Pena, an ex-felon who lost his challenge for a seat in the state legislature in November, personally took part in shootings at the homes of at least four Democratic lawmakers, or conspired with and paid others to undertake them. He was scheduled to make a first court appearance on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Coco Gauff had too much for Emma Raducanu but Cameron Norrie made it through the men’s second round as Rafael Nadal crashed outGauff 5-2 Raducanu* (*denotes next server)Raducanu whips away a backhand crosscourt winner to secure 15-30 and sniffs a second straight break back. But there are just too many errors creeping in from the Brit and Gauff isn’t having to work as hard as she might for points. The American wins the next three and moves 5-2 in front. Continue reading...

Suit filed by victim against JP Morgan alleges Jes Staley knew of trafficking of young women and witnessed sexual abuseJes Staley, the former boss of Barclays, has been accused in documents lodged at a US court of “personally observ[ing] the sexual abuse of young women” by Jeffrey Epstein.Staley, 66, who resigned as chief executive of Barclays in November 2021 after a preliminary investigation by the UK regulators into his relationship with Epstein, is named in a lawsuit filed by one of Epstein’s victims. Continue reading...

Barbados beat us to it, but this week our prime minister made throwing off the colonial yoke a top priority. It won’t be easy, but watch this spaceBritain, take note. A post-Elizabethan era is taking shape here in Jamaica. And it looks like a republic. “The government will be moving with haste and alacrity towards transforming Jamaica into a republic,” said our prime minister, Andrew Holness, on Monday. “Please move ahead with speed,” he urged his minister of constitutional affairs. If there are obstacles, the government will do whatever it takes.But then, the signs have long been there. Little or no notice was taken in Jamaica of the Queen’s jubilee last year. There was no bunting, no official party at King’s House. The main celebration was a big party celebrating a different jubilee – the 50th anniversary of The Harder They Come, the Jamaican feature film that introduced reggae and Rastafari culture to the world. But our most notable celebrations in 2022 honoured the year in which Jamaica also celebrated 60 years of independence from British colonial rule, with many activities, memorials and galas honouring that national history.Barbara Blake-Hannah is an anti-racism activist and a former TV broadcaster in Britain Continue reading...

What will be the aging star’s next move: will he stay in Tampa, play elsewhere or finally retire?You probably heard the talk somewhere during the Dallas Cowboys’ 31-14 thrashing of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night: could we have just seen the final game in the Hall of Fame career of Tom Brady? Maybe. But it’s also possible that he will prolong his battle with Father Time for another season. Listed for your approval are possible destinations. Continue reading...

Chair of American Conservative Union denies claim from 2022 midterms campaign as lawyer says countersuit could be filedA staffer for Herschel Walker’s Republican Senate campaign filed a lawsuit against the prominent conservative activist Matt Schlapp on Tuesday, accusing Schlapp of groping him during a car ride in Georgia before last year’s midterm election.Schlapp denies the allegation. His lawyer said they were considering a countersuit. Continue reading...

Bear was shot and killed by local residents of predominantly Indigenous community after chasing multiple peopleA polar bear attacked and killed two people in a remote village in western Alaska, according to state troopers.Alaska state troopers said they received the report of the attack at 2.30pm on Tuesday in Wales, on the western tip of the Seward Peninsula, KTUU reported. Continue reading...

Greene will sit on House homeland security committee, Gosar on natural resources and both on oversightTwo far-right members of Congress whose threatening behavior prompted their removal from committees when Democrats controlled the US House were given assignments on Tuesday by the new Republican speaker, Kevin McCarthy.Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia will sit on the House homeland security committee and the oversight committee. Paul Gosar of Arizona was named to oversight and natural resources. Continue reading...

Denys Monastyrskiy and officials, as well as children, among dead after crash outside Kyiv. Plus, meteorologists describe what it’s like to have a front row seat to the climate crisisGood morning.Fifteen people including Ukraine’s interior minister and other senior officials were killed when a helicopter crashed outside Kyiv in the town of Brovary, the national police chief said.What has Volodymr Zelenskiy said about the tragedy? Writing on Telegram, Ukraine’s president said: “Today, a terrible tragedy occurred in Brovary, Kyiv region. A state emergency services helicopter crashed, and a fire broke out at the crash site … 25 people were injured, including 10 children. As of this minute, three children died. The pain is unspeakable. The helicopter fell on the territory of one of the kindergartens.”What else is happening in US politics? Republican lawmakers across the country have already filed dozens of bills that would restrict voting, including proposals in Texas that would increase criminal penalties on people who violate voting laws and enact a new law enforcement unit to prosecute election crimes. Continue reading...

Critics say this will make it harder for people who tend to lack identification – elderly people, the disabled and the poor – to voteOhio Republicans quietly enacted a measure earlier this month that imposes sweeping new restrictions on voting access in the state, including more stringent voter ID requirements, cutting the early voting period and giving voters less time to return their mail-in ballots.The new law puts Ohio among a handful of states with the strictest voter ID rules in the country. The state had already required voters to show identification at the polls, but allowed an exception for voters who couldn’t produce one, allowing them to present a bank statement, paystub or other document to prove their identity. The new law gets rid of that exception and only allows someone to vote if they provide certain forms of photo ID. Continue reading...

Prince Harry aside, the royals excel at hiding information about themselves – and this prevents them being held to accountThis article won’t feature any revelations about how the then third-in-line to the throne lost his virginity in a field. There will be no details as specific as a dog bowl or a necklace left broken on a kitchen floor. And there will be nothing as bizarre as family broigus sparked by a beard. It won’t, in fact, reveal much about the royal family at all – and that is precisely the point.When there is no disgruntled prince on a truth rampage, the British royal family is remarkably good at controlling information about itself – even for records dating back 100 years. In a new investigation at Index on Censorship, published today, we found that there are hundreds of inaccessible files related to the royals, leaving behind a trail of frustrated historians and journalists who have tried to access them.Jemimah Steinfeld is editor in chief of Index on Censorship Continue reading...

Exclusive: retired FBI agent Coleen Rowley calls for clemency for Indigenous activist who has been in prison for nearly 50 yearsThe FBI’s repeated opposition to the release of Leonard Peltier is driven by vindictiveness and misplaced loyalties, according to a former senior agent close to the case who is the first agency insider to call for clemency for the Indigenous rights activist who has been held in US maximum security prisons for almost five decades.Coleen Rowley, a retired FBI special agent whose career included 14 years as legal counsel in the Minneapolis division where she worked with prosecutors and agents directly involved in the Peltier case, has written to Joe Biden making a case for Peltier’s release. Continue reading...

As the All-Star break looms, it’s time to look at the hits and the misses of the season so farIt’s a longstanding NBA custom to jump to conclusions. MVP chatter begins in the first week of the season, coaches are on the hot seat by week two, and before even a month has passed, “burn it down” roster discussions emerge. Far be it from me to stray from tradition. So here, a month before the All-Star break, are my too-early NBA Season Superlatives, a selection of premature evaluations and awards plucked out of thin air. Continue reading...

Plus: the tightest Premier League relegation battles at this stage and Sepp Blatter’s playing career

Steve Fitch’s black and white images of drive-in theatres tell a story of the American landscape – and religion too Continue reading...

Leftwingers, rightwingers: Mindy Kaling’s new TV show has outraged them all. She’d have gotten away with it, if it wasn’t for those meddling viewersWe live in a hyperpartisan world where nobody can agree on anything. And yet, every now and again something comes along that bridges political differences and brings people together. This latest unifier appears to be a Scooby-Doo spin-off, Velma, which is targeted at adults. Whatever their political persuasion, everyone seems to hate it. (Except, rather weirdly, the Guardian, which gave it four out of five stars.) The cartoon premiered last week to mostly abysmal reviews. Things are so dire that there are even conspiracy theories swirling that Mindy Kaling, its star and an executive producer of the show, made Velma terrible on purpose in order to make the left look bad.Why would Kaling do something like that? I have no idea. My understanding is that she probably didn’t and that people are just getting angry online because people like getting angry online. The left appears to be angry at Kaling because she once liked a tweet by JK Rowling, which supposedly means she is an irredeemable transphobe who should be cancelled immediately. The right, meanwhile, doesn’t seem to like the fact that Velma is a lesbian in the show and Kaling is a brown woman. One rightwing comedian called it “openly racist against white people”. Other people are saying the series is “insulting to the Scooby-Doo fanbase”. The series really touches pretty much every aspect of the culture wars. Continue reading...

Wages, incarceration rates and unemployment benefits access worse when compared with states allowing the procedureWages, employment security, incarceration rates and access to unemployment benefits are all worse in US states where abortion is restricted or banned, compared with those where it is protected, a new report has found.The report by the Economic Policy Institute also found that minimum wages are, on average, $3.75 an hour lower in abortion restrictive states compared with protective states ($8.17 compared with $11.92); and that restrictive states incarcerate people at 1.5 times the rate of protective states. Continue reading...

When the odds are stacked against women, for mental health and the birth experience, postpartum mental health should be integral

The New York fabulist has been assigned to the small business and the science, space and technology committeesGeorge Santos – the New York Republican congressman under local, state, federal and international investigation over his largely made-up résumé, suspect campaign finances and potentially criminal aspects of his personal history – has been reportedly given two committee assignments, after the Republican speaker of the House pledged that he would “get seated on committees”.Santos has reportedly been assigned to the small business committee and the science, space and technology committee, multiple news outlets reported. Continue reading...

Walshe, 47, was seen on video buying $450 worth of cleaning supplies the day after his wife, Ana, disappearedA Massachusetts man already facing a charge of misleading investigators in the search for his missing wife has now been charged with murder in her disappearance, a top prosecutor said on Tuesday.Norfolk district attorney Michael Morrissey said in a video statement that Brian Walshe, 47, who is being held on $500,000 bail after pleading not guilty to the misleading charge, will be arraigned on the more serious charge on Wednesday. Continue reading...

The Warriors returned to the White House on Tuesday for the traditional honorary visit made by the NBA champions after not making the trip during the Donald Trump years Continue reading...

Baby, teenage mother, elderly woman among six killed in ‘targeted’ attack on home searched by police for illegal drugs last weekCalifornia authorities are looking for at least two suspects responsible for the “horrific massacre” of six people, including a 10-month-old baby found in the arms of his 16-year-old mother, in what the sheriff described as a targeted attack.The killings, the victims of which were all immediate family, took place in and around a home in Goshen, in California’s main agricultural valley, in the early morning hours on Monday. The Tulare county sheriff, Mike Boudreaux, linked the violence to the illegal drug trade, saying deputies had conducted a drug-related search warrant at the same home last week and that the family was targeted: “We believe this was a message being sent.” Continue reading...

Nine powerful atmospheric rivers delivered about 24.5tn gallons of water across the state, causing over $1bn dollars worth of damageSunshine beamed across parts of California on Tuesday, signaling a hopeful end to extreme downpours that drenched the Golden State. The nine powerful atmospheric rivers that bore down in quick succession over the last three weeks – dropping an estimated 24.5tn gallons of water across California from 26 December to 11 January – left death and disaster in their wake.At least 20 people have been killed during the deluges, as the severe storms submerged streets, produced fast-moving flash floods and tore into inundated hillsides that sent mud sliding onto homes and highways. Along with torrents of rain, blustery winds ripped down trees and power lines, leaving hundreds of thousands without electricity during the storms. Continue reading...

House Republicans are seeking to embarrass president over retention of papers from time as vice-presidentThe Biden administration is calling on House Republicans to “come clean” about the deals Kevin McCarthy made to win election as House speaker, and accusing the party of embracing extreme policies.“House Republicans have yet to come clean with the American people about the secret agreements Kevin McCarthy made with the most Maga members of their conference in order to end their leadership election debacle,” the White House said in a statement. “But as we learn more about what was hashed out behind closed doors, it has become clear that these hidden agreements could impact the lives of every American.”An unprecedented tax hike on the middle class and a national abortion ban are just a glimpse of the secret, backroom deals Speaker McCarthy made with extreme MAGA members to end this month’s chaotic elections and claim the gavel. The few agreements we know about would fundamentally reshape our economy in a devastating way for working families and criminalize women for making their own health care decisions. They’re also planning to plunge the economy into chaos and take millions of American jobs and 401k plans hostage unless they can cut Medicare. What other hidden bargains did Speaker McCarthy make behind closed doors with the most extreme, ultra MAGA members of the House Republican conference? The American people have a right to know – now – which is why we are calling on him to make every single one of them public immediately. Continue reading...

Parents speak out about their fear of a school shooting taking place and how school officials should not ignore ‘red flags’A Kentucky teen who was charged with creating a list of classmates that he wanted to kill is being allowed to return to school, upsetting local parents.Several parents spoke at the Boone county board of education meeting last week about the 14-year-old student being reinstated after making the “kill list” containing names of his classmates, NBC News reported. Continue reading...

Once, it seemed an economical and adventurous alternative to a hotel. But I doubt I’ll be using it againSome people call it “wasting time on Twitter”. I call it “qualitative research”. Having engaged in a lot of qualitative research recently, I’ve discovered the following: everyone is sick of Airbnb. In its early years, Airbnb was a more economical and adventurous alternative to a hotel. Nowadays, it costs a small fortune to rent a shack on Airbnb and, when you get there, you are forced to abide by a long list of rules and buy your own toilet paper. It’s become a bit like staying with your cheapest, most uptight friend – and paying them for the privilege.I’m not the only person to have made this observation. Every few weeks a tweet dunking on Airbnb seems to go viral. The latest example comes courtesy of a writer called Jeremy Gordon, who got more than 100,000 likes for tweeting the following: “Decided to stay in a Holiday Inn instead of an Airbnb for an overnight trip and strongly feel, one hour after check-in, that there has never been a more luxurious experience in all of human history.” Continue reading...

One person critically hurt after firing broke out at family event in park in Fort Pierce: ‘People were just running in all directions’A shooting which erupted on a packed Martin Luther King Jr Day block party in Florida and left eight people wounded late on Monday was the 30th mass shooting in the US this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.Authorities said one person was critically hurt in the shooting during the holiday event in Fort Pierce. Seven others were also shot and wounded, and at least four more hurt in the panic that followed. Continue reading...

Another criminally misogynist police officer pleads guilty, and officials voice surprise. No wonder women feel betrayedIn July 2021, a man pleaded guilty to the murder of Sarah Everard, which he had carried out while serving as a Metropolitan police officer. He had already pleaded guilty to her kidnap and rape. The then Met chief, Cressida Dick, stood on the steps of the Old Bailey and declared: “Everyone in policing feels betrayed.”And yet, did they? That very same month – the same month – an allegation of rape was made against David Carrick. This allegation led to Carrick’s arrest. But that arrest, for alleged rape – alleged rape – did not even lead to Carrick’s suspension. It led only to his being put on restricted duties. Continue reading...

Shift marks start of a long period of population decline as China wrestles with demographic time bomb. Plus, Adidas denies revolutionary plan over Cambodia working conditionsGood morning.China has entered an “era of negative population growth”, after figures revealed a drop in the number of people for the first time since 1961.Why are people resistant to having bigger families? Online, some Chinese people were unsurprised by the announcement, saying the social pressures driving the low birthrate remained. “Housing prices, welfare, education, healthcare – reasons why people can’t afford to have children,” said one commenter on Weibo. “Now who dares to have children? Housing prices are so expensive, no one wants to get married and even fall in love, let alone have children,” said another.What does the Democratic party want to do? Democrats want South Carolina, a more racially diverse state than Iowa and New Hampshire, to have first say in whom the Democratic party should nominate for president. The proposal would mean New Hampshire would vote a week later, along with Nevada, while Georgia – another racially diverse state, and one that was crucial to Biden’s 2020 victory and the Democrats’ successful holding of the Senate in 2022 – would go next. Continue reading...

Measures in Texas would raise criminal penalties and create voting-focused law enforcement unitRepublican lawmakers across the country have already filed dozens of bills that would restrict voting, including proposals in Texas that would increase criminal penalties on people who violate voting laws and enact a new law enforcement unit to prosecute election crimes.The 2023 legislative session comes in the wake of an election that was described by many voting rights advocates as a triumph of democracy, despite the restrictive voting laws that were in place in 20 states for the first time last year. Continue reading...

For very different reasons, New Hampshire and Georgia remain obstacles to Joe Biden’s bid for equityThe Democratic party’s rationale for shaking up its presidential primary process was fairly straightforward: the current system is dominated by two predominantly white states who vote first, giving people of color little say in choosing the potential next president.Facing fuming New Hampshire officials, however, and a Georgia Republican party happy to meddle in Democrats’ plans, the Joe Biden-led effort to make things more equitable now looks increasingly in peril. Continue reading...

Deals for tens of millions of dollars make headlines. But they contain plenty of caveats, and lesser known players are offered few protectionsThe cardiac arrest suffered by the Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin during a game earlier this month and his future financial prospects shone a spotlight on contract conditions in the NFL – America’s most lucrative major league but also its least generous. Here are a few of the more striking facts about players’ working conditions. Continue reading...

Solomon Pena ran for the New Mexico state legislature in 2022, but lost to the Democrat incumbentA failed Republican state legislative candidate, who authorities say was angry over losing an election last November and made baseless claims that the vote was “rigged”, has been arrested in connection with a series of drive-by shootings targeting the homes of Democratic lawmakers in New Mexico’s largest city.Albuquerque Police chief Harold Medina held a news conference on Monday evening hours after Swat officers arrested Solomon Pena at his home. Continue reading...

Residents of Selma, Alabama, find resilience in civil rights leader’s legacy as US marks MLK DayAs the US marked Martin Luther King Jr Day on Monday, the town of Selma, Alabama, that hosted his historic 1965 march was still reeling from a tornado that destroyed buildings, swept away roofs and tossed around mobile homes.Thursday’s twister in Selma was categorized as EF-2, indicating “significant”, and about 40 miles away in Autauga county, where it claimed seven lives – including four from the same family – it was EF-3 or “severe”. Continue reading...

Police searching for two suspects in what is believed to have been a targeted attackSix people – including a 17-year-old mother and her 6-month-old baby – were killed in a shooting early on Monday at a home in central California, and authorities are searching for at least two suspects, sheriff’s officials said.Deputies responded around 3.30am to reports of multiple shots fired at the residence in unincorporated Goshen, just east of Visalia, the Tulare county sheriff’s office said. Continue reading...