US news | The Guardian

Cruise, the robotaxi firm, denies the city's claims its vehicle blocked ambulance which resulted in injured person's deathSan Francisco authorities and the company Cruise have offered conflicting accounts of an incident in which the fire department said two of the company's robotaxis delayed an ambulance transporting a patient with critical injuries who later died at a hospital.The company denied the city's claims and shared video with the Guardian that shows one of the vehicles quickly leaving the area. Reports of the incident have garnered outrage in San Francisco, which has been battling over the use of robotaxis vehicles in the city. Continue reading...

Sentencing of Enrique Tarrio caps one of the most significant prosecutions in the investigation into the January 6 attackThe former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison on Tuesday for his part in the failed plot to keep Donald Trump in power after the 2020 election.Prosecutors sought a 33-year term. The judge did not agree but nonetheless handed down the longest sentence yet in a case relating to 2020 and the January 6 Capitol attack. The longest sentence previously handed down was 18 years, to both Ethan Nordean, a member of the Proud Boys, and Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers militia. Continue reading...

Letitia James says Trump family is rehashing failed legal arguments in $250m civil suit over company's business affairsThe attorney general of New York state is seeking $20,000 in fines against Donald Trump, his adult sons, other defendants and their lawyers, for repeating frivolous" arguments rejected in court in a $250m civil suit over family business practices.In a filing on Tuesday, Andrew Amer, an assistant to Letitia James, the attorney general, noted repeated rejections of arguments deemed borderline frivolous even the first time defendants made them". Continue reading...

Reform is part of a settlement agreement in response to lawsuits about police behavior during the 2020 racial justice protestsThe New York police department (NYPD) has agreed to ban several controversial policing tactics used on demonstrators - as part of a settlement agreement in response to lawsuits about police behavior during the 2020 racial justice protests.The New York state attorney general Letitia James, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Legal Aid Society announced the reforms on Tuesday after the parties sued the city's police department. James issued a statement noting the agreement will significantly" change how the NYPD responses to mass demonstrations in future. Continue reading...

Coco Gauff beat Jelena Ostapenko to reach her first US Open semi, then Novak Djokovic saw off Taylor Fritz to reach the last four of a Grand Slam for a record 47th timeOstapenko 0-2 Gauff* Ashe is far too empty for a match of this quality and magnitude; I'm not sure why, but it's a nonsense. Ostapenko, meanwhile, is thrashing away, a big forehand making 15-all, but she misses with two more attempted winners, then Gauff sends an ace down the T, and that's the consolidation.*Ostapenko 0-1 Gauff (*denotes server) Gauff makes 15-30, then Ostapenko nets a forehand and immediately we have break points, two of them. But Gauff only needs one, Ostapenko netting a backhand, and she didn't really have to earn that. Continue reading...

Former Trump chief of staff joins 18 other co-defendants in pleading not guilty over illegal scheme to overturn election resultsMark Meadows, the former Trump White House chief of staff, has pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of participating in an illegal scheme to try to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia and will not appear in court in Atlanta this week.Scott McAfee, the Fulton county superior court judge, had scheduled arraignment hearings for Wednesday for Meadows, Donald Trump and the other 17 people charged last month in a sprawling indictment. By midday Tuesday, all of the defendants had filed paperwork pleading not guilty in filings with the court and waived their rights to an arraignment hearing. Continue reading...

Some of 61 defendants charged also face money laundering and domestic terrorism charges for environmental protestsDozens of activists who oppose a controversial police and fire training facility in Georgia known as Cop City have been charged with racketeering, appearing to confirm fears from civil rights groups that prosecutors are stepping up an aggressive pursuit of environmental protesters.A total of 61 people - most not from Georgia - were indicted for violating the state's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act last week, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Continue reading...

Historic trial in state senate centers on allegedly corrupt relationship with real estate developer Nate PaulThe impeachment trial of the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, began on Tuesday - a rare and historic event in the state.The ultra-conservative Paxton has a history of ethically questionable conduct that dates back to his first term in 2014, when he was fined by the Texas state securities board for violating financial laws. Continue reading...

Surveillance video shows Danelo Cavalcante, 34, who escaped from Pennsylvania prison last week, at popular botanical gardensAuthorities have moved and expanded the search area for a convicted murderer who escaped from a suburban Philadelphia prison last week, after he was spotted on a trail camera at one of the nation's premier botanical gardens.Danelo Cavalcante, 34, has been spotted five times since he escaped on Thursday from the Chester state prison. The most recent sighting came on Monday night at Longwood Gardens, where surveillance video captured him walking through the area with a duffel bag, backpack and hooded sweatshirt. Continue reading...

Court-appointed special master and cartographer will draw new map before 2024 election - although state is expected to appealA panel of federal judges has struck down Alabama's redrawn congressional map, saying the state clearly continued to violate the Voting Rights Act and had ignored a clear mandate from the federal judiciary to increase the political power of Black voters in the state.The panel said a court-appointed special master and cartographer would draw a new map before the 2024 election. Alabama is expected to appeal the decision to the US supreme court, which upheld an earlier ruling ordering the state to redraw its map. Continue reading...

Abaya-wearing girls are seen not simply as students, but as envoys of global Islamism conspiring against the French nationWhen Gabriel Attal, the French education minister, went on national television for an interview to mark the start of the new school term, he had a clear message: I have decided that the abaya can no longer be worn in school." He elaborated: When you walk into a classroom, you should not be able to identify the pupils' religion by looking at them." An official statement came a few days later confirming the ban on the long, loose dress worn by some Muslim women and girls. The practical effect of the announcement is that any young woman who turns up at the gates of her school wearing an abaya faces being barred from attending class or mixing with her classmates. But," added the minister, students will be welcomed and there will be a conversation with them to explain the meaning of the rule."The ban on wearing the abaya should be seen as part of the colonial relationship that exists between the French state and French citizens descended from postcolonial immigration. It has a history marked by three key events: in 1989 the principal of a school expelled three teenage girls for wearing headscarves in class. In 1994 a government memorandum created a distinction between so-called discreet" religious symbols, which it said were acceptable in schools, and ostentatious" religious symbols, which were not. In 2004 a new law banned the wearing of veils or any conspicuous" religious symbols in state schools.Kaoutar Harchi is a French sociologist and the author of As We Exist: A Postcolonial Autobiography Continue reading...

Residents of Wellington found more than 100 plastic bags containing anti-Jewish propaganda as well as an unknown pelletResidents of a Florida town received dozens of antisemitic flyers over the Labor Day weekend, prompting police warnings for them to discard the hate speech.People in the south-eastern Florida community of Wellington early on Monday said that they found more than 100 plastic bags containing antisemitic propaganda as well as an unknown pellet. Continue reading...

Harris Wolobah's cause of death not yet determined but relatives fear complications from Pacqui chip a factorA 14-year-old boy from Massachusetts died unexpectedly a short time after he ate a particularly spicy tortilla chip, leaving his family grieving and searching for answers.Harris Wolobah died on Friday, said a statement from officials at the Worcester public school district where the boy studied. Continue reading...

First lady experiencing only mild symptoms' amid late-summer rise in coronavirus infections in USJill Biden tested positive for Covid on Monday night, the White House said, the second time the first lady has tested positive for the virus.She is currently experiencing only mild symptoms. She will remain at their home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware," the first lady's communications director, Elizabeth Alexander, said in a statement. Continue reading...

Everyone piled in on the private jet-flying tech bros getting bogged down in the rain and mud. Can anyone blame us?Rumours of an Ebola outbreak, it unsurprisingly turns out, were greatly exaggerated. Speculation that festival-goers might turn on each other in Lord of the Flies fashion did not come to pass. There was no cannibalism. No human sacrifices took place. Anarchy was not loosed on the world. Instead, the rain stopped, the roads dried up, and, on Monday, an exodus from the northern Nevada desert began. The tens of thousands of festival-goers who had been stuck at the Burning Man festival because of flooding got in their vehicles and left. By now, most of the revellers are safe at home - no doubt telling everyone they know how life-affirming and radically self-sufficient their Burning Man experience was.While this year's festival may be over, let us not forget all the jokes that were made along the way. For a brief but beautiful moment, large swathes of the internet came together to delight in others' misfortune. People from the left and the right united in hilarity over the fact that 70,000 tech types were stranded in a desert, covered in mud, and having to deal with a less-than-enjoyable toilet situation. Continue reading...

Thousands of vehicles were filmed leaving the site of Burning Man, after organisers reopened the road leading out of the remote Nevada desert festival.Unexpected summer rain turned the weeklong event into a quagmire as up to 70,000 people were ordered to stay put and conserve food and water as officials closed the roads

Farris and Dan Wilks' deep pockets fund climate denialism education, conservative politicians and pro-fossil fuel projectsTwo billionaire Texas brothers whose fortunes derive from oil and gas fracking have pumped millions of dollars into rightwing media outfits that have promoted climate-crisis denialism and sent more big checks to back an array of evangelical projects and conservative Texas politicians.The fracking billionaires Farris and Dan Wilks have each doled out millions of dollars through separate foundations over the last decade to a number of high-profile conservative and religious groups including the Heritage Foundation, Family Research Council and Focus on the Family. Continue reading...

Organisers of event in Nevada desert have asked people to stagger their departure after thousands were stranded over weekend. Plus, has US learned to cope with extreme heat?

Robert Fico, the former PM who showers praise on Moscow and models himself on Viktor Orban, is leading the polls for the coming electionsSlovakia matters far more than Europe realises. On 30 September, the small European country holds a parliamentary election that will have ramifications far beyond its borders. If the opinion polls are correct, it would mark the return of Robert Fico: a man who lavishes praises on Moscow and models himself on Viktor Orban, the alt-right" leader in neighbouring Hungary. The European Union and Nato could soon have a new troublemaker within.When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Slovakia went all in to defend Ukrainian sovereignty. Per capita, it has been one of Kyiv's staunchest backers, becoming the first Nato country to send fighter jets. If Fico is elected, it is in danger of doing a 180-degree turn and giving its support to Vladimir Putin. Continue reading...

The annual parade kicked off in New York City on Monday with brightly coloured costumes, steel bands, flag waving and street dancing. The Brooklyn parade is the culmination of carnival week and one of the world's largest celebrations of Caribbean culture. The parade routinely attracts more than 1 million people for what has become one the city's most spirited annual events Continue reading...

Players are showered with cash and adulation. But the pressures of life in the league can also bring isolation and mental health burdensMaking it to the NBA is a dream come true. Fans can see it on the faces of the players on draft day when their names are called. They arrive at the podium with visions of celebrity, multimillion dollar paydays and glamor as they shake the commissioner's hand. But no matter how exciting the prospect is of playing in the league, there is more to being human than simply providing entertainment for big bucks. So, what happens when the dream fades and issues of loneliness and trust become part of a person's day-to-day?You dream about something for your whole life," NBA veteran Kelly Oubre Jr tells the Guardian. And when you finally reach that dream - everybody wakes up at one point in time. When I woke up, life really hit me." Continue reading...

Andrey Rublev, Madison Keys and Carlos Alcaraz made it to the quarter-finals during a humid day's play at Flushing MeadowsOne of the more adorable sorry not sorries.Already, Vondrousova is mixing it up, taking pace off in a bid to quell Stearns' fire. I imagine she'll also target the backhand as it's the weaker flank and she's a lefty, but so far it's not yet the case. Vondrousova holds to 30 and is on the board at 1-3. Continue reading...

Ferry captains, mates and engineers appear to be reaching deal after more than a decade without a union contract with the cityOne of the lengthiest wage disputes in the US is reported to be drawing to an end, as Staten Island ferry captains, mates and engineers appeared to be reaching a deal after 13 years without a union contract with New York City.A deal between the marine engineers' beneficial association, which represents some 150 ferry workers, that has eluded negotiators since 2010, was set be announced Monday, according to the Daily News, Continue reading...

With different planting, and by rejecting insecticides, even small green spaces can promote biodiversityGardeners' attitudes to insects, like those of humans in general, are a mixed bag. Butterflies' brief, fluttering lives make them beloved wonders. Bees have long been a source of fascination as well as honey. But the reason why some creepy-crawlies have been classified as pests while others haven't goes beyond appearances. Horticulturalists, like farmers, generally object to insects that eat what they grow.This hasn't saved the creatures that don't consume crops or garden plants. Habitat loss resulting from urbanisation and deforestation, and pesticide use in agriculture, mean that global insect populations are in steep decline. In the UK, the number of flying insects is estimated - by looking at vehicle number plates - to have fallen by 58.5% between 2004 and 2021. Awareness of the importance of bees and other pollinators has risen in the past decade. But human dependence on insects goes beyond this. They form a crucial part of multiple ecosystems. Continue reading...

Swede's rapid rise is no surprise with the former world No 1 amateur unlikely to be overawed by his team debut in RomeIt did not take long for Ludvig Aberg to turn heads among professional golf's elite. In an infamously selfish environment, Aberg's rapid progress prompted intrigue. Just ask Justin Rose.I don't follow the college scene that closely so I wasn't really aware of all the names coming through but obviously I was very much aware of this European stud, turning pro," the former world No 1 says. His name was very quickly on the leaderboard. It became easy to follow him. Continue reading...

Facility put on lockdown after inmates refused to return to cells amid extreme high temperaturesA Minnesota prison was put on lockdown after about 100 incarcerated people refused to return to their cells on Sunday morning amid extreme temperatures.The dispute at the Stillwater prison, Minnesota's largest close-security institution for adult men, was resolved peacefully" on Sunday, according to an update from Paul Schnell, commissioner of the Minnesota department of corrections. Continue reading...

It's not utopian thinking to imagine that, for the first time in world history, everyone could have a decent standard of livingAs we celebrate Labor Day, 2023 let's take a quick look at the economy over the last few years.Never before in American history have so few owned so much and has there been so much income and wealth inequality. Continue reading...

Franklin Foer, author of biography of president, makes comments amid widespread questions about Biden's age and competencyThe author of a new biography of Joe Biden has said it wouldn't be a total shock" if the president cancels his re-election bid by the end of the year.Franklin Foer, whose book The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden's White House and the Struggle for America's Future is published this week, told NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday that it doesn't take Bob Woodward to understand that Joe Biden is old", referring the Watergate reporter who, like Biden, is 80. Continue reading...

Even if Erik Ten Hag's men had burgled a win on Sunday, it could not have disguised the issues of investment, personnel and tactical structure

I have started listening to a Jungian podcast full of fascinating conversations and dream analysis. But I can hear my dad turning in his graveMy dad was a criminologist, but he self-identified as a behavioural psychologist. I only ever knew two things about behaviourism. One was a joke: two behaviourists have sex, and one turns to the other and says: That was great for you; how was it for me?" There's a funnier joke about a guy who has a fear of monsters under his bed, and after cycling through all the therapy in the world lands at a behaviourist who tells him to cut the legs off his bed.You get the picture, right? Humans' deepest motivations are all right there to see in their behaviour. Whatever you do, make it literal and solutions-based, and don't get any metaphors involved. There's probably a bit more to it than that, but never mind. None of us has to practise as a behaviourist in the next 20 minutes, and if and when we do, someone will train us. Continue reading...

Festivalgoers were stranded at the annual event in Nevada's Black Rock Desert due to floods, as police launched an investigation into a death at the site, but released no further details.The stranded attendees were finally able to begin leaving the site on Monday, after days of heavy rain made conditions too wet and muddy for vehicles to get out. Footage showed people trudging through thick mud. The events traditional finale - the burning of an effigy - has been postponed until Monday night according to organisers, as a result of the weather

I read so many horror stories I started to see potential abusers everywhere - it was time to log offThere are few places on the internet as misunderstood as Mumsnet. To the uninitiated, it is a safe space where home counties housewives bicker about the correct way to slice an avocado. But people who've actually been on the site know it for what it is: a forum where desperate, often disadvantaged, women go for help.If you ever want to get an idea of how many mothers in this country are living impecunious half-lives, with the boot of an abuser on their necks, spend an hour on the Mumsnet relationship boards. It's eye-opening, and not in a good way. Small wonder that the feminism espoused there is pretty hardline. There is very little in the way of girl-boss, all-choices-are-great cheerleading on Mumsnet. The women who write back to posters are feminists of the radical kind. They have experienced the sharp end of male entitlement. Their wisdom is hard-won and their advice is tough and practical.Tabitha Lasley is the author of Sea StateDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk Continue reading...

During Hollywood strikes, studios turn to reality TV. But reality stars are sick of poor treatment - and ready to fight backLast month, UPS workers, organized by the Teamsters, won a historic agreement that significantly raises the pay and benefits of more than 300,000 workers. In a statement, Fred Zuckerman, the Teamsters general secretary-treasurer, hailed it as the richest national contract I've seen in my more than 40 years of representing Teamsters at UPS".There have been at least 72 labor actions across the country this summer, with no signs of slowing down. The struggle for workers' rights is a tale as old as labor itself. This clash of forces between workers and management is as compelling now as it was more than 100 years ago when Upton Sinclair published The Jungle, a fictional expose on the very real horrors workers experienced at meat-packing plants. It's the stuff that makes for excellent cinema - if only Hollywood writers and actors weren't also striking for fair pay.Nelini Stamp is the director of strategy and partnerships for the Working Families Party, the co-founder of the Resistance Revival Chorus and the founder of the Instagram account Real Housewives of Politics (@rhopol) Continue reading...

Four decades after their incarceration in the second world war, survivors received redress. Now veterans of the movement are fighting for reparations for Black AmericansKay Ochi still remembers the small, brown envelope her family received from the US Department of Justice more than 30 years ago.It looked like any other piece of official government mail, with a Washington DC postmark. But inside was a printed letter, signed by President George HW Bush - and two checks for $20,000, one for each of her parents. Continue reading...

Rat tourism become latest must-experience trend in city besieged by infestations that affect residents' quality of lifeThe Empire State Building. The Statue of Liberty. Central Park. Times Square. A horde of rats sprinting between an underground nest and a restaurant, squeaking and squealing as a group of tourists cheer them on.New York has never lacked for attractions, but that last one on the list is one of its most unexpected. Continue reading...

The National Labor Relations Board has reinstated 28 of the more than 200 pro-union workers fired since late 2021Alicia Flores had worked at Starbucks in Portland, Oregon, for seven years until June, when she received a voicemail from a manager - filling in for her usual boss, who was taking a leave of absence - who informed her she was being fired.Flores is far from alone. Continue reading...

Natal conference, to be held in Austin in December, promoted on far-right podcast circuit and set to host self-described eugenicists. Plus, the age problem neither US political party wants to talk aboutGood morning and happy Labor Day!Due to an error, Friday's First Thing was not sent out. We apologize for the inconvenience.What is eugenics? Broadly, eugenics is a group of beliefs and practices aimed at improving the genetic quality of a human population. It became the basis of a popular movement from the late 19th century, and led to governments around the world adopting policies such as forced sterilization of disabled and mentally ill people. The field was discredited after the second world war due to its association with racial policies in Nazi Germany, and many critics have attacked it as a pseudoscience.What does the future look like for the center? The future of the procedure in the state is decidedly uncertain. Although Florida already bans abortion past 15 weeks of pregnancy, Ron DeSantis, the governor, signed a six-week abortion ban into law earlier this year. (It is on hold pending a review by the state's supreme court of the 15-week ban.) Continue reading...

Enough pandering to wealthy foreigners: amendments to a new bill could boost transparency and toughen sanctionsToday, this government will have an unprecedented opportunity to end Britain's role as a hub for kleptocrats and criminals who want to launder their cash. The long-awaited economic crime and corporate transparency bill returns to the House of Commons, where MPs will vote on a slew of amendments from the Lords that seek to close gaping loopholes.The role of the UK and its offshore territories in pandering to wealthy foreigners was thrown into sharp focus by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February last year. Those closest to Vladimir Putin and his war machine - many of whom have long used Londongrad" as a playground - were slapped with sanctions, and their known assets frozen. The government hastily passed its Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022, making it easier, among other measures, to prosecute anyone involved in busting sanctions. Continue reading...