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Smartmatic sued OAN in 2021, saying it was a victim of OAN's disinformation' that its equipment flipped the election for BidenThe voting equipment company Smartmatic has agreed to settle a defamation lawsuit with the far-right One America News Network (OAN) over lies broadcast on the network about the 2020 election.Erik Connolly, a lawyer for Smartmatic, confirmed the case had been settled, but said the details were confidential. Attorneys for Smartmatic and OAN notified a federal judge in Washington on Tuesday that they were agreeing to dismiss the case, which Smartmatic filed in 2021. Continue reading...

Airline says it experienced IT issue during upgrade to system that calculates weight and balanceThe US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a ground stop advisory on Wednesday for Alaska Airlines, saying: All Alaska mainline and subcarrier flights ground stopped."In a separate statement, the FAA said the carrier asked the FAA to pause the airline's mainline departures nationwide". It did not provide a reason for the stoppage. CNBC reported that the problem may have been an IT issue and that the airline's system used to calculate weight and balance for flights was not functioning correctly. Continue reading...

Luther Hall was severely injured by his own colleagues while undercover at a 2017 protest in MissouriA Missouri judge awarded more than $23m to a former St Louis police officer who was beaten by other officers while working undercover at a protest in 2017.On Monday Luther Hall was awarded the significant sum in a default judgment by Joseph Whyte, the St Louis circuit judge, after one of the defendants failed to respond to a lawsuit over the 2017 attack. Continue reading...

The president's moral failure in Gaza has taken on historic proportions, like Lyndon Johnson's in Vietnam before himAmerica is big, diverse and polarized. Yet, when it comes to the war in Gaza, opinions here are converging. A Gallup poll in March found 55% of respondents disapprove of Israel's actions", up from 45% in November. Among registered Democrats, the figure is 75%. As the number of citizens voting uncommitted" in Democratic primaries makes plain, President Biden's unqualified support for Israel is a problem. Beyond the human carnage - 32,000 Palestinians, including over 14,000 children, have been killed by Israel in Gaza - Biden's Israel policy could cost him the election.We have given Biden and his administration and the party a gift," said Layla Elabed, organizer of the Listen to Michigan campaign, where 100,000 voters marked the uncommitted" box in February. The vote in Michigan, a battleground state where Biden beat Trump by a little more than 154,000 votes in 2020, has triggered a cascade of protest votes in primaries across the country. At least 25 uncommitted delegates will be sent to the Democratic national convention in August. Continue reading...

Restored trifecta could allow Democrats to pass laws protecting voting rights and election administrationSpecial elections for two vacant seats in the Michigan house of representatives flipped control back to Democrats, who organizers say could use their restored trifecta in the state to pass legislation protecting voting rights and election administration.A push to codify voter protections stalled after two Democratic lawmakers resigned and the party lost its majority in the house of representatives last November. With the election on Tuesday of Mai Xiong and Peter Herzberg, who represent sections of Detroit and its suburbs, legislators could use their newfound majorities to renew those efforts. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Residents of Ukraine's second city tell of impact of Russian attacks targeting suburbs and power suppliesKharkiv is at risk of becoming a second Aleppo" unless US politicians vote for fresh military aid to help Ukraine obtain the air defences needed to prevent long-range Russian attacks, the city's mayor has warned.Ihor Terekhov said Russia had switched tactics to try to destroy the city's power supply and terrorise its 1.3 million residents by firing into residential areas, with people experiencing unscheduled power cuts for hours at a time. Continue reading...

Providers are optimistic for a different future for abortion in the state even as Republicans flounder in their responseThe waiting room of the Acacia Women's Center in Phoenix, Arizona, was calm and quiet on Friday. Patients sat with their mothers, friends or partners, paying no mind to the slapstick Tyler Perry movie on the TV and an arrangement of Vogue magazines resting on a table.It had been three days since the state's highest court reinstated an 1864 law that would ban almost all abortions and send abortion providers to prison for up to five years. Continue reading...

Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush face formidable challenges but Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar in Summer Lee much stronger positionsQuarterly campaign finance reports reveal the Democratic representatives Jamaal Bowman of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri - progressive Squad" members - will face formidable challenges in their 2024 congressional primaries, partly due to the influence of pro-Israel lobbying groups.Ilhan Omar, of Minnesota, and Summer Lee, of Pennsylvania, meanwhile, have far outspent their primary challengers, and the Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian-American member whose outspoken criticism of Israel has brought the ire of her political opponents, does not yet face a challenger. Continue reading...

United Auto Workers faces first real test in campaign to unionize 13 automakers across US as Volkswagen workers vote in TennesseeThe United Auto Workers (UAW) has launched an ambitious campaign to unionize 13 non-union automakers across the US, and the first big test begins this Wednesday when 4,300 Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, start voting on whether to unionize. Many VW workers are predicting victory.We're going to win," said Lisa Elliott, a quality control worker at VW. We have the momentum. I know this will be a historic event." Continue reading...

House speaker seeks to split US aid into separate votes. Plus, Trump rebuked by judge in warning against juror intimidation'

SpaceX is trying to kill a federal agency that accused it of labor violations. Ostensibly progressive brands have leaped to join inElon Musk boasts that he's a free speech absolutist", but that didn't stop his rocket company, SpaceX, from firing eight workers who had criticized him for making light of reports that SpaceX had settled a sexual harassment claim against him.Not stopping there, SpaceX has moved to put the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the US's top labor watchdog, out of business. Earlier this year, a day after the board accused SpaceX of illegally retaliating against those workers, SpaceX filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit that seeks to have the labor board - which has successfully overseen relations between business and unions since the 1930s - declared unconstitutional and shut down.Steven Greenhouse, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, is an American labor and workplace journalist and writer Continue reading...

Mike Flynn, Mike Lindell and others to attend event on election fraud by Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers AssociationA group of far-right sheriffs is set to meet Donald Trump allies in Las Vegas on Wednesday for talks with dozens of Republican state officials and candidates focused partly on potential election fraud by non-citizens, which experts say is wildly overblown.The far-right Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, which the former Arizona sheriff Richard Mack founded in 2011 and which boasts hundreds of members nationwide, is hosting the day-long event, which it bills as a training session". The group is known for attacks on Covid mask mandates and gun control measures. Continue reading...

Carrier says three-week grounding of 737 Max 9 planes after Alaska Airlines blowout cost it profitUnited Airlines has blamed a $200m (161m) hit to its earnings in the first three months of the year on the mid-flight blowout that forced it to ground many of its Boeing planes.The US carrier said the three-week grounding of 737 Max 9 jets after a cabin panel blew out on a flight operated by rival Alaska Airlines at the start of January contributed to a $124m loss in the three months to the end of March. Continue reading...

Dozens indicated they could not be fair and impartial to the ex-president in his home town - others were even more expressiveAs jury selection in Donald Trump's criminal hush-money case started this week, it seemed like the former president would face a tough crowd. When Judge Juan Merchan asked the first group of 96 prospective jurors whether any thought themselves incapable of being be fair and impartial, more than 50 raised their hands.These prospective jurors were excused from serving on the case, of course, but it still might have smarted for the real estate tycoon turned TV star turned America's 45th president. New York is Trump's home town, but it appears he's so polarizing that his fellow citizens wanted an out.A guide to Trump's hush-money trial - so farThe key arguments prosecutors will use against TrumpHow will Trump's trial work?From Michael Cohen to Stormy Daniels: the key players Continue reading...

The franchise has long been dismissed as backwards looking. But it is set to draft a star who happily pushes back on athlete stereotypesAmong the NFL's heirloom franchises, the Chicago Bears are the still living in the last century - the pride of George Papa Bear" Halas, a league founding father. From their neoclassical stadium to their 101-year-old owner-matriarch to their stubborn reverence for Bear Weather" (ie: lake-effect winter conditions that only affect the other team), everything about the franchise is old-fashioned. Even the Bears being in position to select a quarterback with the first pick in this month's draft has arrived about 30 years too late in a league where the passing game dominates. What's notable is that the passer in their sights isn't the second-coming of 1940s hero Sid Luckman or a Harvard man or some other statuesque golden boy. It's Caleb Williams, Gen Z's poster boy quarterback.On paper, Williams would appear to possess precisely the resume that Virginia McCaskey, the owner-matriarch in question, might describe as the cat's pajamas." He went to USC - a college football program that Chicagoland's many Notre Dame fans at least respect. He won the Heisman trophy, putting him in a league with early Bears two-way star Johnny Lujack. And Williams played most of his college games in the LA Memorial Coliseum, one of the few stadiums left that can rival Soldier Field's antiquity - so he shouldn't be a snob about the patchy quality of the Bears natural home turf. Continue reading...

Democrat praised for serving with immense dignity and courage' during five-decade career while also perfecting workdays' to connect with constituentsFormer US senator and two-term Florida governor Bob Graham, who gained national prominence as chairman of the Senate intelligence committee in the aftermath of the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks and as an early critic of the Iraq war, has died aged 87.Graham's family announced the death in a statement posted on X by his daughter Gwen Graham on Tuesday. Continue reading...

After a contentious redrawing of Alabama's congressional map, two candidates will compete in November for a seat, and perhaps congressional controlShomari Figures, an attorney and Obama White House executive from a politically-prominent civil rights family, has won the Democratic nomination to run in Alabama's redrawn second congressional district Tuesday night, defeating state representative Anthony Daniels.The runoff election has been closely watched because of its implications for control of Congress in November, and for the effect of supreme court orders requiring southern states to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act and eliminate racial gerrymandering. Continue reading...

Asna Tabassum says university is succumbing to a campaign of hate meant to silence my voice' after decision to scrap speechThe University of Southern California is facing intense backlash for the decision to cancel the valedictorian speech of a Muslim student at the commencement ceremony in May, a decision which the student has criticized as being silenced by anti-Palestinian hatred for her views on human rights.In a missive to the USC community, the university's provost, Andrew Guzman, wrote that the Los Angeles university took the unprecedented step of canceling Asna Tabassum's planned speech because the alarming tenor" of reactions to her selection as valedictorian - along with the intensity of feelings" surrounding Israel's ongoing military strikes in Gaza - had created substantial risks relating to security". Continue reading...

Juan Merchan admonishes ex-president for gesturing and speaking in the direction of the juror' as jury selection continuesDonald Trump met a stern rebuke on Tuesday from the jurist presiding over his criminal hush-money trial, with the judge warning: I won't have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom."Trump's apparent misbehavior did not derail the trial's progress; seven jurors were picked by day's end.A guide to Trump's hush-money trial - so farThe key arguments prosecutors will use against TrumpHow will Trump's trial work?From Michael Cohen to Stormy Daniels: the key players Continue reading...

It has not taken long for Donald Trump to land himself in hot water with Juan Merchan, the judge in his hush-money trial

Animal recaptured without harm, local outlet reports, and is safe with handlers after escaping Jordan World CircusAn elephant escaped from the circus and ambled through the streets of Butte, Montana, before being recaptured without harm, local news reported.NBC Montana showed a video of the enormous pachyderm walking across a busy multi-lane street in front of stopped cars and gawping drivers. A later picture showed the elephant standing on a suburban house's lawn. Continue reading...

The Piper PA-32, a single engine plane, crashed off the coast across from Trump's LA golf club in Ranchos Palos VerdesA pilot and his dog survived a plane crash off the California coast, swimming to shore where they were met by authorities responding to the incident.A 911 call came in on Sunday afternoon at 5.22pm about a plane crashing into the ocean off the coast across from the Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles, in Ranchos Palos Verdes, the Los Angeles county sheriff's department said on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Engineer Sam Salehpour calls on planemaker ahead of testimony before Senate homeland security committeeA whistleblower has urged Boeing to ground every 787 Dreamliner jet worldwide after warning they are at risk of premature failure ahead of a high-profile hearing on Capitol Hill.The planemaker has been grappling with its latest crisis since a cabin panel blowout in January raised fresh questions about the production of its bestselling commercial jet, the 737 Max. Continue reading...

Democratic members have argued the articles are a matter of policy dispute and not high crimes' outlined in the constitutionHouse Republicans on Tuesday formally presented articles of impeachment against Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, to the Senate, part of the party's attempt to force an election-year showdown with the Biden administration over immigration and border security.In a ceremonial procession, 11 House Republican impeachment managers carried the two articles of impeachment across the rotunda of the US Capitol, where they informed the Senate they were prepared, for the first time in American history, to prosecute a sitting cabinet secretary for willful and systemic refusal" to enforce border policies and a breach of public trust". Continue reading...

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Outcry as Cotton says those inconvenienced by protesters blocking roads and airports should take matters into own hands'The Republican senator Tom Cotton has urged Americans to take matters into their own hands" when encountering pro-Palestine supporters, an apparent call to vigilantism as Israel's military strikes in Gaza continued despite global calls for a ceasefire.Demonstrations on Monday by supporters of Palestine blocked roads in major US cities, including New York and Philadelphia; delayed flights at the bustling Chicago O'Hare and Seattle-Tacoma international airports; and caused traffic congestion on San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. Continue reading...

If court curtails use of statute in connection with Capitol riot it could eliminate two of the four charges against Donald TrumpThe US supreme court expressed concern on Tuesday with prosecutors using an obstruction statute to charge hundreds of January 6 Capitol riot defendants, with the justices leaning towards a position that could jeopardize those prosecutions and the criminal case against Donald Trump.The Trump case was not mentioned at the argument. But a decision curtailing the use of the obstruction statute in connection with the Capitol attack could eliminate two of the four charges against the former president. Continue reading...

Mother of Nasir Davis calls Andrew Podolak, 33, who averted a potential tragedy in Cleveland, Ohio, a really special person'An Ohio man who used his arm to deflect a hockey puck flying directly toward a four-year-old boy - sparing him from serious injury or worse - is being heralded as a hero.The heroic - and coordinated - feat took place last Thursday at a minor league hockey game in Cleveland. The Cleveland Monsters match was nearly finished when a hockey puck launched into the crowd headed straight for little Nasir Davis. Continue reading...

Kelly Slater's long career appears to be ending after the 52-year-old - widely acknowledged as the greatest surfer - missed the World Surf League's mid-season cut at Margaret River. Missing the cut means he has not qualified for the rest of the 2024 Championship Tour, as well as the start of next year's. The 11-time WSL champion was holding back tears as he said: "Everything comes to an end. If you don't adapt, you don't survive."

Baywatch star will return to the big screen in the remake of the 80s and 90s crime spoof, directed by the Lonely Island's Akiva SchafferPamela Anderson is headed back to the big screen for a remake of the Naked Gun, opposite Liam Neeson.The Lonely Island alum Akiva Schaffer will direct the as-yet-untitled remake, based on the series of crime spoof comedies released in the 1980s and 90s, for Paramount. Schaffer, Doug Mand and Dan Gregor - the trio behind the popular Emmy-winning Disney+ movie Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers - will pen the script. Continue reading...

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg alleges former president violated gag order with Truth Social posts about witnesses in hush-money case

Congressman Thomas Massie says he would co-sponsor motion to vacate resolution introduced by Marjorie Taylor GreeneA second House Republican has joined the effort to oust the speaker, Mike Johnson, escalating the risk of another leadership election just six months after the Louisiana congressman assumed the top job.Congressman Thomas Massie, a Republican of Kentucky, announced on Tuesday that he would co-sponsor the motion to vacate resolution introduced last month by Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican of Georgia. Continue reading...

Bill strengthens yellow flag' law, boosts background checks and makes it a crime to recklessly sell guns to a prohibited personAfter experiencing the deadliest mass shooting in the state's history last year, Maine is poised to pass a series of new gun safety bills meant to minimize the chances of an even worse attack occurring in the future.Maine's state house on Monday followed its senate in approving the governor's omnibus gun safety bill that strengthens the state's so-called yellow flag" law, boosts background checks for private sales of guns and makes it a crime to recklessly sell a gun to a prohibited person. The bill also funds violence prevention initiatives and opens a mental health crisis receiving center in Lewiston, Maine, where 18 people were killed and 13 others were wounded in a shooting on 25 October. Continue reading...

As a rising crop of young stars lead their teams into the NBA postseason, the league's old guard are thriving past their sell-by dates - and none more than the Lakers' ageless superstarThe second-youngest team in the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder, just clinched the top seed in a feverishly competitive Western Conference. A Minnesota Timberwolves squad, led by 22-year-old phenom Anthony Edwards, are hot on their tails. But on the bottom end of the bracket, and the other end of the age spectrum, await surefire first-ballot Hall of Famers like Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and LeBron James.Yes, their respective teams had up-and-down seasons that left them with unfavorable seedings entering the NBA postseason, which soft-launches on Tuesday night with the play-in tournament. And no one would argue that the future isn't looking bright in the association with stars like Edwards and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in full bloom. But the youngsters in Oklahoma and Minnesota would be the first to tell you: the NBA's old guard is still waiting in the wings, cleaver in hand. Continue reading...

Uri Berliner suspended without pay for five days by National Public Radio for unauthorised outside work for another outletThe National Public Radio employee who recently published a scorching letter accusing the media organization of a liberal slant has been suspended without pay for five days.Uri Berliner, an NPR senior business editor, was punished last Friday after backlash from an article he wrote for the Free Press, a website operated by the former New York Times editor Bari Weiss. Continue reading...

The first female vice-president was supposed to be the future of the Democratic party - now she looks like ancient historyRemember Kamala Harris? Just a few years ago the first female vice-president of the US was surrounded by fanfare, splashed on the cover of Vogue and being feted as the future of the Democratic party. For a brief moment, it seemed plausible that Joe Biden, the oldest inaugurated president in history, might serve just a single term and then gracefully hand the reins over to his VP. Ms Harris now finds herself the most clearly positioned heir to the White House," the New York Times mused after the 2020 election.Four years on and Harris's position is a lot less clear. Indeed, you could be forgiven for forgetting that the vice-president even exists. And, to be fair, that's because part of her job is ensuring she doesn't steal the spotlight from her boss. Very few vice-presidents shine in the role; there is a reason Teddy Roosevelt once opined that the position is not a stepping stone to anything except oblivion". Biden, of course, was an exception to that. Still, he jokingly complained that being number two was a bitch" back in 2014, when he was VP.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...

Public spending on private sweep contractors is soaring across the state - and unhoused people allege poor treatmentThis story was produced in partnership with Type Investigations with support from the Wayne Barrett ProjectOn an October morning, a small army arrived to evict Rudy Ortega from his home in the Crash Zone, an encampment located near the end of the airport runway in San Jose, California, Silicon Valley's largest city. As jets roared overhead, garbage trucks and police squad cars encircled Ortega's hand-built shelter. Heavy machinery operators stood by for the signal to bulldoze Ortega's camp. Continue reading...

Simpson's former agent and two friends of Al Cowlings - who drove the vehicle during the infamous chase - hope to fetch $1.5mThe current owners of the white Ford Bronco at the center of the infamous 1994 OJ Simpson police chase say they hope to sell the vehicle for at least $1.5m now that he has died.Simpson's former agent Michael Gilbert and two friends of Al Cowlings - the SUV's original owner - said they would probably sell the vehicle amid burgeoning interest following Simpson's death on 10 April, the collections website cllct first reported. Continue reading...

My sister Loujain has been placed under a travel ban and lives in constant fear of arrest. She is one of many

Marty Small and his wife, a local school district superintendent, were charged with assaulting daughter on multiple occasions'The mayor of New Jersey's Atlantic City, Marty Small, and his wife - the local school district superintendent - were charged on Monday with abusing and assaulting their teenage daughter on multiple occasions, including hitting her in the head with a broom and knocking her unconscious.The Atlantic county prosecutor's office said it filed charges of endangering the welfare of a child against both parents.In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453 or visit their website for more resources and to report child abuse or DM for help. For adult survivors of child abuse, help is available at ascasupport.org. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800; adult survivors can seek help at Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International Continue reading...

Chance Brannon firebombed a Planned Parenthood clinic in 2022 and had plans to attack a power station and a Pride celebrationA former US marine was sentenced on Monday to nine years in prison for firebombing a southern California Planned Parenthood clinic in 2022, federal prosecutors said.Chance Brannon, 24, pleaded guilty in November to four felony counts, including malicious destruction of property by fire as well as explosives and intentional damage to a reproductive health services facility. Continue reading...

Caitlin Clark's professional basketball career has begun after she was selected by the Indiana Fever as the No 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft. The former Iowa star became a household name among basketball fans during her record-breaking college career, and she will now try and help revive the Indiana franchise along with last season's No 1 pick, Aliyah Boston, who previously played with Clark on the USA Basketball Under-19 team

About 27 children have died of hunger and malnutrition, raising concerns many more will suffer lifelong effects. Plus, dozens of potential Trump trial jurors excusedGood morning,Iran's attack on Israel tested the country's air defences, but has for now repaired Tel Aviv's fractured relationship with Washington - pushing the war and tightening famine in Gaza out of the headlines and down the diplomatic agenda.What's the latest on famine in Gaza? The UN World Food Programme says malnutrition is spreading at record pace among children. More than 90% of young children and pregnant and breastfeeding women are subsisting on two or fewer food groups - mainly bread - with no access to fruit, vegetables, milk or proteins.Compounding the problem: Gaza's healthcare system has collapsed, making malnutrition alleviation nearly impossible.What is Israel's position on retaliation against Iran? On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff said the launch of so many missiles, cruise missiles and drones" will be met with a response." The IDF interprets the use of ballistic missiles as an escalatory factor by Iran. Continue reading...

In fact, terror attacks and hostage-taking sparked several recent conflicts that US presidents of both parties labeled genocideMy old boss Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, bravely said recently what Joe Biden has been afraid to: Palestinian civilians do not deserve to suffer for the sins of Hamas, and Israel has a moral obligation to do better. The United States has an obligation to do better."The ongoing violence, Schumer noted, threatens not just the lives of Palestinians but the security of Jewish people worldwide by alienating global allies appalled by the bloodshed. If Benjamin Netanyahu refuses to desist, he concluded, the US must start shaping Israeli policy by using our leverage" - which obviously includes military, diplomatic and economic aspects. Continue reading...

Thousands of people held demonstrations across the US on Monday, blocking roads and traffic along major thoroughfares to protest against Israel's war on Gaza. People were seen calling for a ceasefire on San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, Wall Street and on the Kennedy expressway into Chicago O'Hare airport, one of the country's busiest hubs