The self-help author made the announcement after securing 3% of the vote in Nevada's primary electionSelf-help author and wellness guru Marianne Williamson has announced the end of her long-shot Democratic challenge to President Joe Biden.I hope future candidates will take what works for them, drinking from the well of information we prepared," Williamson wrote in a statement announcing the end of her bid. My team and I brought to the table some great ideas, and I will take pleasure when I see them live on in campaigns and candidates yet to be created." Continue reading...
Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa claimed to Fox News' Sean Hannity that man had been shoplifting, but NYPD has no evidenceAs Sean Hannity was interviewing the founder of the Guardian Angels, a New York City-based vigilante group known for targeting immigrants, an off-screen disturbance took place and the camera panned to show group members confronting an unidentified man, pushing him to the sidewalk and placing him in a headlock.The bizarre incident played out Tuesday night during the primetime segment on Fox News meant to highlight alleged disorder and crime Hannity claimed was caused by asylum seekers arriving in New York City. Continue reading...
by George Chidi in Montgomery, Alabama on (#6JF8J)
Helping those who can't read or write or who have disabilities to obtain, fill out or return a ballot is on par with serious feloniesA bill to criminalize some kinds of absentee ballot voter assistance - creating a felony on par with statutory rape or involuntary manslaughter - sped out of an Alabama state senate committee Wednesday.The proposed legislation on senate bill 1 initially prohibited people other than close family members or co-habitants from helping any voter request an absentee ballot, filling out that application or ballot or returning that ballot to elections offices. The bill carves out exceptions for people with disabilities and those who cannot read or write. Receiving or giving money for these activities could be prosecuted as Class B or Class C felonies, respectively, under the proposed law. Continue reading...
The chamber then attempted to advance a foreign aid package which included only funding for US allies outlined in the bipartisan billThe Senate blocked a bipartisan border and national security bill from advancing on Wednesday, as Democrats accused Republicans of bending to the political wishes of Donald Trump at the expense of their constituents.The vote was 49 to 50, with 45 Democrats and four Republicans supporting the bill's advancement. Sixty votes were needed to begin debate on the bill. Continue reading...
Crowds gathered around the wreckage left by a US drone strike on a car in Iraq.The strike, on a main thoroughfare in the Mashtal neighbourhood in eastern Baghdad, killed three members of the powerful Kataib Hezbollah militia, including a high-ranking commander, officials have said.Days earlier, the US military launched an air assault on dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria used by Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in retaliation for a drone strike that killed three US troops in Jordan in late January
Judge Lewis Kaplan, who ruled from the bench, reportedly said allowing for a mistrial would have been entirely pointless'Donald Trump's motions for a mistrial in the defamation case brought against him by the writer E Jean Carroll have been rejected by a federal judge, who added that the former president's issues with the verdict had no merit".In an order filed on Wednesday, Judge Lewis Kaplan said the motion for a mistrial made no sense" and that approving it would have been entirely pointless". Trump's lawyers had previously called for a mistrial in the middle of their cross-examination of Carroll, which the judge denied at the time, instructing the jury to disregard the counsel's remarks. He reiterated his decision and sharply criticized the efforts of Trump's attorney in the written order this week. Continue reading...
Police tried to defuse the situation at a Bank of America branch, but the suspect took two hostages and held a knife at one's throatA robber at a Florida bank took hostages after law enforcement arrived and was killed by a sheriff's sniper as he held a woman in a headlock with a knife to her throat, authorities said.Negotiators tried to defuse the situation on Tuesday at a Bank of America branch in Fort Myers, but the suspect instead took two hostages in the building, Carmine Marceno, the Lee county sheriff, said. Continue reading...
Gallup survey shows big drop in only three years among Black and Hispanic voters, a concern for Biden's re-election campaignBlack and Hispanic voters are deserting the Democratic party in numbers that will present a concern for Joe Biden's re-election effort, a poll has found.Among Black Americans expressing a party preference, the Democratic lead over Republicans has dropped by almost 20% in only three years, according to the Gallup survey. Continue reading...
Diversity-focused groups outline concerns in letter to Fortune 500 companies amid conservative attacks on inclusivity initiativesA coalition of business leaders sent letters to the CEOs of the Fortune 500 companies on Wednesday urging them to maintain a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives as they come under conservative attack.Business decisions intended to capture the value from diversity initiatives have been politicized by a vocal minority of ideologically motivated voices who ignore both facts and the law," the letter from groups including US Black Chambers and the Global Black Economic Forum read. We believe it is imperative that CEOs and other company leaders are able to make strategic decisions for their companies without threats of frivolous lawsuits and political pressure." Continue reading...
Aircraft located near Pine Valley but snowy conditions hamper rescue teams trying to access itA Marine Corps helicopter that had been missing with five troops onboard as an historic storm drenched California was found on Wednesday morning in a mountainous area outside San Diego.The aircraft was located just after 9am local time by civil authorities near the mountain community of Pine Valley, about a 45-mile (72km) drive from San Diego but rescue crews said snowy conditions were making access challenging on the ground. Continue reading...
by Lauren Gambino, Andrew Witherspoon, Marcus Peabody on (#6JEY7)
What is behind the surge of people trying to cross the border and what dangers do they face? A visual explainerRecord levels of migration are straining an immigration system left nearly broken by decades of congressional inaction.Republicans have spent years amplifying scenes of turmoil and tragedy at the southern border, but Democratic leaders are also worried now, particularly big-city mayors and blue state governors who are demanding more federal resources to shelter and feed an influx of migrants. Continue reading...
USWNT co-captain criticized supporters' knowledge of the game. But her words ignored the role the women's team has played in building a soccer cultureLast Thursday, The Athletic dropped an interview with Lindsey Horan that probably didn't have fans flocking to buy her replica shirt.Apparently, the co-captain of the trailblazing US women's national team thinks that American soccer fans, most of them aren't smart ... They don't know the game. They don't understand." She did, admittedly, throw them a bone, adding: [But] it's getting better and better." Continue reading...
They lied to us ... We just want justice for our son,' says father of Treveon Taylor Jr, who died at hospital south of Atlanta last yearThe death of a baby who was decapitated during delivery was ruled a homicide by a Georgia medical examiner's office.The baby died last July after a physician allegedly applied so much force attempting to free the child from a woman's birth canal that the child's spine was completely severed. The finding by the authorities appears to confirm allegations made by the family's attorneys in a lawsuit filed last August against the hospital. Continue reading...
Alessandro DiNello, new executive chairman of regional US lender, acknowledges serious situation' as stock at lowest level in decadesShares in New York Community Bancorp (NYCB) continued to fall on Wednesday, heightening unease about the US's regional banking sector.The bank's stock has fallen by more than 60% to its lowest level in decades in recent days despite a scramble by the mid-sized lender to reassure investors of its financial strength. Continue reading...
The 2022 US Trans Survey of 92,000 transgender adults, finds continued discrimination, harassment and even violence at workThe largest survey of transgender Americans ever conducted has found trans people continue to suffer discrimination, harassment and even violence at work, in medicine and at school - but that people who transition have much higher satisfaction in life, and many have supportive families.This is the first report to document transgender experiences en masse in eight years, and comes amid sustained political attacks on trans rights from conservatives. Continue reading...
The Senate will vote on the bill after months of discussing aid to allies and changes to border policy - here's what to knowSenate negotiators presented their long-awaited national security bill on Sunday, after months of talks over funding for US allies abroad and changes to border policy. By Tuesday, it was clear it was not likely to pass either chamber of Congress.The Senate is still expected to vote on the bill on Wednesday. But members of both parties have already voiced criticism of the bill, and the House speaker, the Republican Mike Johnson of Louisiana, has declared the proposal would be dead on arrival" in the lower chamber. Continue reading...
When I started out in journalism, my bosses expected me to get the kettle out whenever they were thirsty. Thirty years on, the very idea makes me queasyThe queue for my morning coffee was short but slow-moving. I was next but one up, but the woman in pole position seemed to have ordered an awful lot of takeaway coffees, each one subtly different. They weren't being made so much as constructed. Cappuccino, latte, oat, skinny, hot, wet, permutations thereof, etc, etc. You know the kind of thing. The queue lengthened behind me. I noted a Just Eat bloke standing there and was vaguely cheered that he was being paid enough to afford a Caffe Nero coffee. But then the woman in front of me was served her drink and it dawned on me that the eight takeaway coffees weren't for her - they were all for Mr Just Eat. Not for him to enjoy, of course, but to deliver unto others.Many questions came to me in my woozy pre-caffeinated state, not least WHO IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS HOLY BLOODY WELL GETS COFFEE DELIVERED? Second question: how could there be anything left in the cups by the time he got to whichever weirdos had ordered them? I'd have done a great deal of spilling even if I'd only had to walk them next door. What kind of Cirque du Soleil standard of act must this guy have been to keep them upright on his bike? Perhaps he had some kind of gimbal mechanism in his bag to keep them level, designed by the same people who make snooker tables for superyachts.Adrian Chiles is a broadcaster, writer and Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Netanyahu knows he's barely clinging to power, Biden is playing a bigger game, and Hamas's leadership cares little for the vast suffering since 7 OctoberThe people of Gaza cry out for a ceasefire. Each day brings more bloodshed, more devastation, hunger, disease and tears. Spell it out: nearly twenty-eight thousand Palestinian dead. In total, about 100,000 killed, injured or missing. Among the survivors, huge numbers of children, maimed, orphaned, traumatised for life.Around the world, millions of protesters demand a ceasefire. They appeal to politicians to do more, do anything, to stop the carnage now. In mosques, churches, synagogues, people of all faiths pray the slaughter will end. To Israel's 1,200 October dead are daily added the lost lives of soldiers sent to avenge them and the hostages cruelly seized by Hamas.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...
Group demands school divest from companies including Boeing and RTX, who they say profit from Israel's military attacks in GazaA group of 19 students at Brown University have gone on hunger strike, calling for the school to divest from companies which profit from human rights abuses in Palestine".The move follows months of protests and sit-ins at universities around the country, which have seen students arrested as they protest against Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza. Continue reading...
If the current tragedy offers any hope, it's a growing clarity on how Palestinians and Israelis could forge a brighter future for their childrenIn 1948, my father was severely wounded in the final days of the Arab-Israeli war, referred to by Israelis as the War of Independence, and by Palestinians as the Nakba, or catastrophe" in Arabic. The left side of his body was blown away, including his left arm. When I was a little boy, he often told me about his friends who had died in battle, and said that he dreamed of the day when there would be peace between Israelis and Palestinians, so that my generation would no longer have to fight these wars. In 1990, during the first intifada, I served in an Israel Defense Forces combat unit in Gaza. And here we are, all these decades later. So much for my father's dreams.We are being inundated with commentary about the culpability for this conflict, with biased dissections of history, culture and religion, and with predictable posturing through the use of selective sources of information and disinformation. Despite maximalist demands from the Israeli and Palestinian camps, defended by religious endorsement and amplified at a time of war, neither side is going to self-deport and create another homeland elsewhere. What is missing, tragically, is a serious discussion of a vision and solution that might actually be acceptable to all sides. Before everyone dismisses this idea as naive, let's take a moment to revisit the prevailing choices.Daniel Levin is a member of the board of the Liechtenstein Foundation for State Governance, which is engaged in track 3 mediation initiatives in the Middle East, including hostage negotiationsDo 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...
When is kickoff time? When do Reba and Usher perform? What about that Taylor Swift-Kelce-Biden conspiracy? Who will win? We (mostly) have the answersThe Super Bowl will take place on Sunday, and if you're anything like millions of people around the world then you're probably wondering: when can I watch it, and how?But is that all you really need to know? What about those absurd rightwing conspiracy theories going around social media, and will Taylor Swift be able to make it all the way from Tokyo? How much would it cost you to place a small ad during the game? Read on for all the answers ... Continue reading...
The press is covering the 2024 campaign as if climate isn't on the ballot, but 56% of US voters are concerned' or alarmed' about the crisisFact one: more voters face national elections in 2024 than ever before in recorded history - about 4 billion people, nearly half the human population.Fact two: last year was the hottest in recorded history - and scientists warn that oil, gas and coal burning must be rapidly phased out if we are to preserve a livable planet.Mark Hertsgaard is executive director and co-founder of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration committed to more and better coverage of the climate story, and the Nation magazine's environment correspondentKyle Pope is executive director of strategic initiatives and co-founder of Covering Climate Now, and a former editor and publisher of the Columbia Journalism ReviewThis article is published here as part of the global journalism collaboration Covering Climate Now Continue reading...
High-stakes case on whether 14th amendment prohibits Trump from holding office because of his actions on January 6 2021The US supreme court will hear oral argument on Thursday in one of the most high-stakes cases in American politics this century, thrusting a beleaguered court to the center of the 2024 election.The court is considering whether Donald Trump is eligible to run for president. The novel legal question at the heart of the case, Donald J Trump v Norma Anderson et al, is whether the 14th amendment to the constitution prohibits Trump from holding office because of his conduct on 6 January 2021. Section 3 of the amendment says that any member of Congress or officer of the United States who takes an oath to protect the constitution and then subsequently engages in insurrection cannot hold office. That ban, the amendment says, can only be overridden by a two-thirds vote of each house of Congress. Continue reading...
Americans will stake $23bn on Sunday's game as the NFL strengthens its ties with the gambling industry. Many are worried about the human costsFor the first time, this year's Super Bowl will take place in Las Vegas. And NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is aware that a gambling mecca and pro sports teams could be a dangerous mixture: he issued a memo in the run-up to Sunday's game, reminding team personnel they should not even walk into a sportsbook, let alone place a bet on the game.For the general public it's a very different story. The clash between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers is expected to be the biggest single-game betting event in US history. The American Gaming Association (AGA) expects 26% of US adults will bet on the game for a combined total of $23bn. That's no surprise given the magnitude of the occasion and the explosive growth of the sector since a 2018 US supreme court ruling cleared the path for regulated sports gambling beyond Nevada. Continue reading...
The quarterback and Travis Kelce are Kansas City's stars, but it has been the team's defense, led by their cornerback, that has guided them to Sunday's gameIn this year's divisional round, Patrick Mahomes was posed a question he had never fielded in the playoffs before: can you win on the road? A trip to upstate New York to face the surging Buffalo Bills was a huge test for the Kansas City machine. This was unknown territory against a supreme foe in Josh Allen, a quarterback desperate to turn the tables on his rival after two bitter postseason defeats from seasons past. This was Buffalo's time, they had the superior offense flowing through Allen while Mahomes finally appeared fallible. Despite his struggles, KC's superstar remained the franchise's face but this season the keys had been loaned to a new trustee, a defender so reliable that a single glance from him in a receiver's direction can make a quarterback think twice.Under the spotlight, the script totally flipped as Mahomes matched Allen step for step in a thrilling offensive tug of war. After all their stratospheric production, Kansas City's defense were failing to hold up their end of the bargain. The Bills had a 24-20 final quarter lead, a shot at redemption. But Mahomes knew his defenders could stifle the Bills as he issued a rallying cry: Y'all shut it down and we'll win this football game. We'll go to the AFC Championship Game." Continue reading...
As we prepare to join Nato, it's time we stopped flattering ourselves and our history. We've never been morally superiorThe civil defence minister recently issued Swedes with the warning that there could be war in Sweden". The reactions were swift and loud: many people said they felt scared, others protested about the needlessly alarmist tone. The military commander-in-chief, who backed up the warning, was accused of being a warmonger. Deep down, most of us Swedes are still convinced that nothing bad can happen to us and that our neutrality, a synonym for our goodness, will protect us.Sweden formally applied to join Nato in 2022 and has been stuck in the US-led alliance's waiting room first by the political grandstanding of Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdoan, and now by Viktor Orban, who is holding up ratification as part of another poker game within the EU. But as Sweden prepares to abandon its cherished neutrality to join the alliance, it is time we stopped flattering ourselves and our history. We have never been a neutral country.Gunnar Ardelius is a Swedish author Continue reading...
Election day off to a quiet start with no major candidates in the state and with voters slow to trickle into polling sitesPolls have closed in Nevada, which is holding its first presidential primary contest in the US west, has been damp - and oddly quiet.None of the major candidates are in the state, and voters have been slow to trickle into polling sites. Only about 12,000 people had opted to vote at polling stations on election day. About 151,000 people voted early, the majority of them by mail. Continue reading...
Assistance package worth $17.6bn, seen as ploy to block broader Senate-backed measure, fails to win two-thirds majorityThe US House of Representatives rejected a Republican-led bill on Tuesday that would provide $17.6bn to Israel, as Democrats said they wanted a vote instead on a broader measure that would also provide assistance to Ukraine, international humanitarian funding and new money for border security.The vote was 250 to 180, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed for passage. Continue reading...
by Joan E Greve and Lauren Gambino in Washington on (#6JE1M)
Democrats denounced effort to remove Alejandro Mayorkas as partisan stunt to boost electoral prospects of Donald TrumpHouse Republicans on Tuesday narrowly failed to impeach the homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, a stinging - but possibly only temporary - setback for the majority's deeply partisan effort to punish a cabinet official in a presidential election year.In a vote of 216-214, four Republicans joined all Democrats in opposing the two articles of impeachment against the secretary. When the gavel came down, Democrats burst into applause, having assailed the impeachment case against Mayorkas as a bunch of garbage" designed to boost Donald Trump's electoral prospects in the November election. Continue reading...
Most of southern California remains under flood watches after storm battered northern part of state, killing three peopleThe powerful atmospheric river that brought record amounts of rain to California and led to nearly 400 mudslides in recent days began to ease on Tuesday, but forecasters said the risk for floods and landslides remained.The intense weather left a trail of destruction as it made its way across the state, with violent winds and rain causing downed trees and destructive mudslides that damaged homes and buried vehicles. At least three people were killed by falling trees. Continue reading...
People who lost loved ones say Jennifer Crumbley's involuntary manslaughter conviction means a step towards accountabilityThe father of one of four victims of Michigan's Oxford high school shooting welcomed Tuesday's conviction of the killer's mother on involuntary manslaughter charges, and said it meant people could no longer look the other way" over their own accountability for loved ones' actions.Craig Shilling, who lost his 17-year-old son Justin in the November 2021 shooting, spoke to reporters after a jury handed down guilty verdicts on Jennifer Crumbley, 45. Crumbley faces up to 15 years in prison on each count after she failed to inform authorities her son Ethan had access to firearms before opening fire, killing four students and wounding six people, including a teacher. Continue reading...
Former Fox host was spotted in the Russian capital, where he says he was to interview Putin about Ukraine war for X/Twitter showFar-right pundit and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson confirmed on Tuesday he was in Moscow to interview Vladimir Putin, and said he will air his conversation with Russia's president to counter what he described as pro-Ukraine fawning pep sessions" by western media covering the war.Speculation had been growing for days that Carlson, who was dumped by Fox last year for getting too big for his boots", had traveled to the Russian capital to meet Putin, whose reasons for invading Ukraine he says have a right to be heard by the American public. Continue reading...
Co-founder pushed out in 2019 has been trying to meet co-working company for months to negotiate deal, lawyers sayFive years after his infamous ousting from the co-working company he founded, Adam Neumann is trying to buy back WeWork.Lawyers representing Neumann's new venture, Flow Global, sent a letter to WeWork advisers on Monday revealing he has been trying to meet with the company for months to negotiate a deal to buy back the company or provide it with debt financing. Continue reading...
Tens of millions of Americans estimated to bet record $23.1bn on game as concern mounts over gambling addiction ratesAn estimated 67.8 million Americans will bet a record $23.1bn on this weekend's Super Bowl, according to an industry survey, as a nationwide gambling boom continues.Super Bowl LVIII is widely expected to be the biggest sports betting event in United States history. It will take place in Las Vegas amid mounting concern over rising gambling addiction rates. Continue reading...
President Joe Biden accused Republicans of caving in to Donald Trump's wishes and opposing a bill to tighten immigration policy that the party had demanded. The $118bn package would pair federal enforcement policy on the US-Mexico border with wartime aid for Ukraine, Israel and others, overhauling the asylum system with tougher enforcement and giving presidents new powers to expel migrants if border authorities deem themselves overwhelmed by the number of people requesting asylum. In his speech at the White House, Biden said the bill would help the country, but because it would not aid Trump's bid for presidency, it wold not make it to the Senate floor to be discussed
State attorney general says source of calls identified and issued cease-and-desist orders as well as subpoenas to two companiesUS authorities issued cease-and-desist orders on Tuesday against two Texas companies they believe were connected to robocalls that used artificial intelligence to mimic Joe Biden's voice and discourage people from voting in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary last month.During a news conference to discuss the investigation, officials described the calls as the clearest and possibly first known attempt to use AI to interfere with an election in the US. Continue reading...
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell praised Taylor Swift's impact on the NFL and her ability to bring new audiences to the game. 'Taylor is obviously a dynamo, everything she touches, there are people following. And so we count ourselves fortunate and we welcome it', Goodell said at his Super Bowl news conference. Since Swift began dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce she has appeared at many of his games, bringing attention to the NFL Continue reading...
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