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Donald Tusk is working hard and fast on a great transformation, but travel the country and it's clear what a difficult task that isMy formative journalistic years were spent reporting on the final freeze of the cold war - days of hard times and soft currencies. When I return to those countries now, I test myself on how well I guessed what would follow in the three decades since. On Poland in particular, I would have been hard pressed to predict the giddy zigzag of power still featuring a generation who marched to topple communism, but whose protagonists feud bitterly about how to govern the country in the 21st century.We talk a lot about places that have recently bought a one-way ticket towards authoritarian politics - Russia and Turkey for the full-fat versions, and Hungary's democratic backsliding and stifling of independent institutions. Continue reading...

If the high-rollers surrounding the disgraced FTX founder had any qualms about taking his money, they didn't show itLater today, a man who has recently turned 32 will be hauled in front of a Manhattan judge. Already convicted of huge fraud, he knows he's going to prison. The only question is for how long. If the US government gets its way, he will not emerge before his 80th birthday.This is the final disgrace of Sam Bankman-Fried. The judge, politicians and the world's press will declare him one of the biggest swindlers in American history. They will note how within three years he built a marketplace for digital currencies, or crypto, that was worth around $32bn - and made himself the world's richest person under 30. Still it wasn't enough. He spent perhaps $8bn of his customers' savings on luxury homes, risky investments and whatever else took his fancy. Continue reading...

Authorities say bodies of Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera found by divers in pickup truckThe bodies of two men trapped in their vehicle have been recovered from the waters beneath the Baltimore bridge that collapsed early on Tuesday when a container ship crashed into it, officials announced on Wednesday.The authorities identified the men as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, a 35-year-old originally from Mexico who was living in Baltimore, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, who was from Guatemala and was living in Dundalk, Maryland. Continue reading...

The National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) investigator in charge, Marcel Muise, reads out data from the Dali's voyage data recorder, providing a timeline of events that led to the cargo ship crashing into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland.

Lieberman, Connecticut senator for four terms, was Al Gore's Democratic running mate in 2000The former US senator Joe Lieberman, who ran as the Democratic nominee for vice-president in the 2000 election and became the first Jewish candidate on a major-party ticket for the White House, alongside presidential candidate Al Gore, has died at the age of 82.Lieberman died in New York due to complications from a fall, according to a statement from his family. He was a Connecticut senator for four terms. Continue reading...

Rockford police chief says one person remains in critical condition following attacks, as investigators seek motiveFour people were killed and seven were hurt in stabbings in northern Illinois on Wednesday, authorities said.A suspect is in police custody and was being questioned, according to the police chief in Rockford, Carla Redd. She said one of the people who was wounded remained in critical condition. Continue reading...

Lawyers for president's son to challenge criminal charges he evaded taxes and argue prosecutors bowed to Republican pressureAttorneys representing Hunter Biden asked a US judge in Los Angeles to dismiss the criminal case accusing him of evading $1.4m in taxes, arguing that prosecutors bowed to political pressure from Republican lawmakers investigating his father, Joe Biden.Hunter's lawyers appeared before the US district judge Mark Scarsi in federal court in Los Angeles on Wednesday to press several legal challenges to the charges, including an argument that he was selectively targeted by prosecutors in response to Republican criticism. The 54-year-old was not present in the courtroom. Continue reading...

Six men presumed dead reportedly were construction workers from Latin American countries, including a father of threeThe six men presumed dead in the Baltimore bridge collapse on Tuesday all appeared to be construction workers originally from Latin American countries, according to reports, including a father of three, Miguel Luna, from El Salvador, as authorities said they had recovered the black box recorder from the ship.Since the container ship Dali crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge after losing power early on Tuesday morning, six members of a construction crew filling potholes on the major bridge are now presumed to be dead, according to state officials. Continue reading...

Two bodies recovered from water beneath Francis Scott Key Bridge as authorities in Maryland continue their investigation

Maryland secretary of state police Roland Butler said that divers found two of the six missing bodies inside a vehicle from the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Four other workers who had been on the bridge remain missing, presumed dead.

Annelle Sheline says I no longer wanted to be affiliated with this administration,' claiming Biden is flouting US law over Israel

Downing of Francis Scott Key Bridge disrupts shipping of cars and parts and risks loss of Baltimore's cargo trade to other portsThe US transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, has warned of major and protracted impact to supply chains" following the closure of the Port of Baltimore for the forseeable future after Tuesday's catastrophic bridge collapse, though some experts said the impact was likely to be targeted to particular regions and industries.Spanning more than 2km and with four lanes of traffic, the Francis Scott Key Bridge - a vital artery in Baltimore's industrial heartland - took nine years to plan and almost five to build, but came down in under a minute after being struck by a cargo ship in the early hours of Tuesday. Continue reading...

The phrase, which conspiracy theorists use to describe public distractions from nefarious plots, was trending online following the collisionFar-right commentators have declared Tuesday's dramatic collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge a black swan event", a niche phrase that has recently captured the imaginations of deep state" conspiracy theorists.Nothing is safe," wrote manosphere" influencer Andrew Tate on X, about six hours after a container ship collided with the bridge. Black Swan Event imminent."This story was amended on 27 March 2024. A previous version stated that search-and-rescue teams continued looking for victims on Wednesday, the same day Mike Flynn, Donald Trump's former national security adviser, appeared on Infowars. These events happened on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Controversial law that allows police to arrest migrants they suspect of unathorized entry caught in whirlwind legal battleA controversial Texas law that would criminalize unauthorized entry into the state has been placed back on hold by a federal appeals court.The law has been caught in a whirlwind as the state and federal governments battle for the right to control the flow of US immigration, particularly at the southern US border. Continue reading...

Kouri Richins, 33, was charged with murder last year for the alleged murder of Eric Richins, 39, with a fentanyl-spiked beverageAn author from Utah who is accused of killing her husband and then publishing a children's book on grief has been hit with a further charge - for allegedly attempting to previously poison him via a sandwich.Kouri Richins, 33, was charged with aggravated murder last year for the alleged killing of Eric Richins, 39, at their home in Kamas, Utah, in March 2022. Eric was found unresponsive after having a drink to celebrate his wife's business deal. Authorities allege that Kouri spiked the beverage with fentanyl, after a medical examiner found five times the lethal dose of the drug in her husband's system. Continue reading...

Marilyn Lands elected to state legislature in deep red state by significant margin after centering reproductive rights in campaign

The Wall Street Journal correspondent is not a spy. He is a journalist, and should be released immediately from his Russian jailEvan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, has spent nearly a year in a Moscow prison, awaiting trial for a crime he did not commit. Mr Gershkovich was arrested last March in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg and jailed on espionage charges. He is not a spy. He is a journalist, and should be released immediately. Hostage diplomacy lies behind his incarceration. As the US ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, said, Mr Gershkovich's case is not about evidence, due process, or rule of law. It is about using American citizens as pawns to achieve political ends".Vladimir Putin indicated in February that a prisoner exchange could lead to the release of Mr Gershkovich. There have been high-profile prisoner swaps in the past. In December 2022, Moscow traded a US basketball star convicted of a drugs offence in Russia for a Russian arms trafficker. But a journalist's detention to secure the release of a Russian hitman would underscore Russia's retreat into a Soviet past. In 1986 an American journalist, Nicholas Daniloff, was arrested and charged with espionage. He was let go after two weeks when the US released a Soviet diplomat accused of spying. MrGershkovich has been inside for nearly 12 months. Continue reading...

Tourism oversight board members approve agreement, ending nearly two years of litigation after DeSantis's takeoverAllies of Ron DeSantis reached a settlement agreement with Disney in a lawsuit over who controls Walt Disney World's governing district, easing tensions between the entertainment giant and Florida's governor.Lawyers for the state had sued Disney over 11th-hour deals" that members of the district board - all company-appointed at the time - had passed before they were replaced by DeSantis appointees. Continue reading...

Republican sued by Stephen Richer, top Maricopa county official, last year after she lost her gubernatorial bid and lied about himKari Lake signaled on Tuesday that she will not contest claims that she lied about a top Arizona election official and defamed him, a significant legal concession from the Arizona Republican who has become one of the country's most prominent election deniers.Stephen Richer, the top election official in Maricopa county, sued Lake, her campaign and an aligned Pac last year after she lost her gubernatorial bid and repeatedly lied about him. Lake, who is now running for the US Senate, falsely accused him of injecting 300,000 illegal votes into machines and intentionally misprinting ballots so they would be rejected by ballot tabulators. Continue reading...

Plan aims to cover workers' salaries, with state senate leader saying 15,000 people rely on port to put food on the table'

Audio reveals dispatchers telling police to close the Francis Scott Key Bridge to all traffic because a ship has 'just lost their steering'. Responders can be heard asking if construction workers were on the bridge as police tried to halt traffic moments before the structure collapsed.'The whole bridge just fell down,' a police officer is heard saying seconds later.State officials said six construction workers who had been missing since the container ship Dali crashed into the bridge on Tuesday morning were now presumed dead Continue reading...

Maryland's governor, Wes Moore, said it was 'imperative' to get the port of Baltimore up and running as quickly as possible, saying its closure would have an economic impact on everyone from car dealers to farmers.The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge is disrupting a vital shipping port, which Moore said was responsible for 51m tonnes of cargo from abroad. However, he said his current priority was search and rescue and to bring 'closure' to the families of six people unaccounted for and presumed dead who were part of a crew repairing potholes on the bridge

Republican National Committee, now run by Trump loyalists, does not deny that staff seeking to be rehired are grilled on big lie'A spokesperson for the Republican National Committee and Donald Trump did not deny a Washington Post report that said prospective RNC employees are being asked if they believe the 2020 election was stolen, constituting a litmus test" as the 2024 election approaches.Candidates who worked on the frontline in battleground states or are currently in states where fraud allegations have been prevalent were asked about their work experience," Danielle Alvarez, a spokesperson for the RNC and Trump, said in a statement. Continue reading...

Mother of Aliyah Jaico files lawsuit after child's death ruled accidental drowning and mechanical asphyxiaPolice in Houston are investigating the death of an eight-year-old girl whose body was found inside a large pipe for a lazy river at a Houston hotel where she had been swimming with her family.Aliyah Jaico's death on Saturday was ruled an accidental drowning by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. It said she died from drowning and mechanical asphyxia, when an object or physical force stops someone from breathing. Her autopsy report is pending. Continue reading...

US-based International Paper puts in 5.7bn takeover proposal for DS Smith, gatecrashing Mondi offerAn international bidding war is brewing for the UK packaging company DS Smith after a US-based paper producer put forward a 5.7bn takeover proposal, gatecrashing a deal it had agreed with the British rival Mondi.DS Smith confirmed it was now in talks with International Paper, the largest paper and pulp company in the world, over an all-stock offer, which would trump the 5.14bn deal put forward by Mondi earlier this month. Continue reading...

The remote island of St Helena, a British overseas territory, is best known for Napoleon's tomb - the island's biggest tourist attraction. However, while overseeing the construction of a long-awaited airport on the island, Annina van Neel learns that the remains of thousands of formerly enslaved Africans have been uncovered, unearthing one of the most significant physical remaining traces of the transatlantic slave trade in the world.Annina decides to advocate for this legacy, initiating a debate among the islanders - many of whom have shared ancestry with the enslaved -about how to create an appropriate memorial.Along the way, she enlists the help of African American preservationist and veteran activist Peggy King Jorde, who makes important connections in their shared history.Buried is available with Swahili and isiZulu translated subtitles which can be applied in the video settings. Continue reading...

The Duchess of Sussex's lifestyle website will sell fancy goods at fancy prices. But is she really ready to compete with Goop's vagina candles?You know what the world really needs? More luxury marmalade options. Luckily, the Duchess of Sussex has it covered. As you may have heard, Meghan is launching a new lifestyle brand called American Riviera Orchard (ARO). Details are still hush-hush, but the trademark applications cover everything from pet-related accessories and homeware to marmalade and jam. She is going to sell fancy things toaspirationally fancy people.It was always likely that Meghan would move in this direction. She did, after all, run a lifestyle website called the Tig (described as a hub for the discerning palate"), which closed in 2017. Launching an aspirational brand is also the sort of thing every celebrity does these days. Reigning over the celebrity entrepreneur space, of course, is Gwyneth Paltrow. Her brand, Goop, is worth $250m (198m) despite (or possibly thanks to) the fact that it's a constant source of ridicule. Meghan is never going to be the next British queen, but maybe she thinks she has a shot at being the next Paltrow. Continue reading...

Thousands of voters registered their anti-war opinion through the ballot, showing the president it could sway the electionA key Democratic voting bloc intensely focused on Joe Biden's support for Israel in the war on Gaza could sway the 2024 election in November - depending on what happens in the war and how Biden works to win back these voters.The anti-war vote has shown in recent weeks that it is both organized and effective at using its voice at the polls, displaying one of the most effective grassroots electoral movements on the left in recent history.Michigan: 101,623 votes for uncommitted, about 13% of total votesMinnesota: 45,914 votes for uncommitted, nearly 19% of total votesHawaii: 455 votes for uncommitted, about 29% of total votesWashington: 89,753 votes for uncommitted delegates, nearly 10% of total vote Continue reading...

Trump's first criminal trial is officially set for 15 AprilYou're reading Guardian US's free Trump on Trial newsletter. To get the latest court developments delivered to your inbox, sign up here. Continue reading...

I worry about national security amid Trump's money ups and downs - they make way for influence-peddling and mischief

The anti-choice case relies on outlandish legal leaps. And if they can't win there, they'll redouble efforts to win the White HouseIt is a testament to how weak the plaintiffs' case is that the justices seemed so skeptical. Erin Hawley, a lawyer for the far-right antifeminist litigation shop Alliance Defending Freedom and the spouse of conservative US senator Josh Hawley, usually gets a much warmer reception at One First Street. But in Tuesday's oral arguments in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v FDA - a lawsuit which seeks to challenge FDA approval of the abortion drug mifepristone, and specifically to reverse regulatory changes that made the drug more easily accessible - she was on the defensive.The three Democratic appointees, along with Republican justices Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Roberts, all signaled at least some skepticism of her clients' claims to legal standing. Amy Coney Barrett, the Trump appointee known for her maximalist religious commitments, struggled to help Hawley establish a convincing merits case to restrict access to the drug. And the far-right extremists Sam Alito and Thomas Gorsuch spent their question time signalling their support for the Comstock Act, a long-obscure and once-forgotten 1871 statute that some anti-choice lawyers say could be used to ban abortion nationwide by executive order.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

On the same day as the vote, the White House declared, contrary to all evidence, that Israel has not blocked humanitarian aid from GazaAfter the US vetoed three previous resolutions, the United Nations security council voted on Monday to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during the remaining weeks of Ramadan. The UN resolution was approved after Joe Biden's administration dropped its veto threat and lifted its diplomatic cover for Israel, at least temporarily, by abstaining from the vote.Has Biden finally decided to use his leverage over Israel to stop its devastating war in Gaza, which has killed more than 32,000 people, the majority of them women and children and displaced over 75% of the population? It doesn't seem so: on the same day that the US abstained on the UN ceasefire resolution, allowing it to pass, the Biden administration inexplicably declared that Israel has not violated international law or blocked humanitarian aid from reaching desperate people in Gaza. Continue reading...

From minor leaguers to Hall of Famers, dozens of former players have sought public office after the end of their sports careerOn 5 March, former baseball star Steve Garvey made it into the runoff for the US Senate seat from California vacated by the late Dianne Feinstein. Garvey, a conservative Republican, will face Democrat congressman Adam Schiff in the November general election.Garvey faces an uphill battle in deep-blue California. During debates and public appearances, he's revealed little knowledge of the issues. He's relying on his 19 years (1969-87) in the major leagues with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres to propel his campaign. It's time to get off the bench. It's time to put the uniform on. It's time to get back in the game," he said in October when he announced his campaign.Peter Dreier is professor of politics at Occidental College and author of Baseball Rebels: The Players, People, and Social Movements That Shook Up the Game and Changed America, published in 2022.Isabella Flad and Sarah Jageler provided research assistance for this article. Continue reading...

Across Britain, families are calling for an end to the violence. But what should be shared and discussed with younger members?It is always at bedtime that the horror of Gaza hits Naila Khan. You know the images of those Palestinian parents, where they're rocking their dead child?" she asks me, from Manchester. Every evening when I'm rocking my child, all I can imagine is those mothers holding their children and I think to myself: my child is breathing, is alive, is healthy, safe, has got shelter. We're not being bombed."Khan is a mother of four and, like many parents, she is struggling to process this war and the horrific impact on the children of Gaza. The death toll is unprecedented in our lifetimes, as is the on-the-ground footage we are seeing. I now understand why my mother couldn't watch the news for years after I was born, and yet I can't turn away. This war has galvanised my friends and acquaintances on social media, many of them parents. I get a lot of parenting content from Instagram, and use the platform to share my experiences. The horrifying footage of dead and injured children and distressed parents is now mixed in - it is a constant on my feed - eroding any barrier to empathy that might have existed between us before the age of social media.Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is a Guardian columnist and author Continue reading...

Authorities say accident sent vehicles and workers into river as Biden promises to fund rebuilding of crucial structureMaryland state police say the six people who were missing after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed Tuesday in Baltimore, Maryland, are now presumed dead.Authorities said the accident sent a number of vehicles and eight construction workers into the Patapsco River. Two people were rescued on Tuesday, but Jeffrey Pritzker, a senior executive at Brawner Builders, the employer of the construction workers, said the other six were presumed dead, given the water's depth and the length of time since the crash. Continue reading...

Most Germans insist their ancestors weren't Nazis. Jonathan Glazer's film pries away at the cracks in this narrativeThere is something unsettling about sitting in a German theatre laughing at Nazis. How unsettling depends on the type of humour that prompts the laughter. Is it meant to set the audience apart from the stage action, or does the laughter stem from the discomfort of proximity? When I saw the satire Nachtland staged recently at Berlin's prestigious Schaubuhne (a production also runs in an English translation at the Young Vic in London until 20 April), I perceived the ripples of laughter filling the room as a sort of embarrassed self-awareness. Like a tense moment of getting caught - a feeling that every storyteller ultimately longs to evoke.In the play, which has a present-day setting, two siblings find a painting signed by A. Hitler" in their dead father's house. Once they realise that the kitschy artwork is worth more than 100,000 if they can credibly authenticate the artist as Hitler, the siblings start recasting their entire family history in a different light. While the previous narrative had insisted that our family had nothing to do with the Nazis" (the dominant account in most German households), now suddenly the late grandmother is not only found to be a comitted follower of Nazi ideology, but to have had a love affair with Hitler's secretary. As the new family history pragmatically, and profitably, unfolds, it becomes much more realistic, ironically, than the hitherto official version.Fatma Aydemir is a Berlin-based Guardian Europe columnist Continue reading...

Maryland authorities said the six people who were missing after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in Baltimore, Maryland, have been presumed dead. Maryland state police, said that the search and rescue mission was transitioning to one of search and recovery.

Former president sells Trump-endorsed Bible in concert with Lee Greenwood, country singer whose music is played at his ralliesPatriotic, prayerful and rightwing Americans are being offered the chance to purchase - for a mere $59.99 - a Bible endorsed by Donald Trump, in the latest example of the former US president touting wares to the American public.In a post to his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, the current presumptive Republican nominee and 88-times charged criminal defendant said: Happy Holy Week! Let's Make America Pray Again. As we lead into Good Friday and Easter, I encourage you to get a copy of the God Bless the USA Bible." Continue reading...

Toy company makes request after altered images - which hide suspects' identities in line with state law - go viralA southern California police department has been handcuffed by Lego after the toy company asked the agency to stop adding Lego heads to cover the faces of suspects in images it shares on social media.The Murrieta police department has been using Lego heads and emojis to cover people's faces in posts on social sites since at least early 2023. But the altered photos went viral last week after the department posted a statement about its policy, prompting several news articles and, later, the request from Lego. Continue reading...

Shanahan, 38, may be best known as the ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, and was one of Kennedy's biggest donorsRobert F Kennedy Jr, the prominent anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist who is running for president as an independent, announced on Tuesday that his running mate will be Nicole Shanahan. A Silicon Valley attorney and wealthy philanthropist, Shanahan has never held office and has little background in politics.Shanahan, 38, was previously best known in the media as the wife of Google co-founder and tech billionaire Sergey Brin. Their divorce in 2021 made headlines after the Wall Street Journal reported that Shanahan allegedly had an affair with Brin's friend and fellow tech mogul Elon Musk, resulting in a falling out between Brin and the Tesla chief executive. Shanahan and Musk denied any affair took place. Continue reading...

There is only political upside for Albanese in picking up the phone to Biden, not waiting for an appeal to wend its way through the UK courtsThe decision by the UK high court to allow the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange leave to appeal against his extradition if the US does not provide assurances about his right to the first amendment, no death penalty and equal treatment under US law, is yet another milestone in this long-running case. Meanwhile Assange languishes in the notoriously harsh Belmarsh prison in London.Assange faces criminal charges carrying a possible sentence of 170 years' imprisonment for publishing materials in 2010 which exposed war crimes by the US in Iraq and Afghanistan. Continue reading...

Severe criticism followed hiring as pundit of McDaniel, who headed Republican National Committee during Trump yearsThe former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel is on her way out of NBC less than a week after joining the network, NBC announced in a memo from NBCUniversal News Group chairman Cesar Conde.Conde said he had listened to the legitimate concerns" of many network employees. No organization, particularly a newsroom, can succeed unless it is cohesive and aligned," he wrote. Over the last few days, it has become clear that this appointment undermines that goal." Continue reading...

Independent candidate for president selects Shanahan, 38, a wealthy philanthropist formerly married to Sergey BrinRobert F Kennedy Jr selected Nicole Shanahan, a tech attorney and wealthy philanthropist, as his running mate in an independent campaign that could upset the 2024 race for the White House.Kennedy, an environmental attorney who gained notoriety as a vaccine sceptic and conspiracy theorist, announced his pick at a campaign event on Tuesday in Oakland, California, where Shanahan was born. Continue reading...

Locals gather at convenience store near entrance of bridge - closest they could get - as search under way for missingAcross Baltimore residents were struggling to make sense of what had happened after waking up to news of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, one of the city's main thoroughfares. It seems impossible," said Reginald Jones, a 67-year-old Baltimore resident.The bridge crumpled into the Patapsco River like a house of cards at 1.30am on Tuesday after it was struck by a giant cargo ship leaving the city's port. Continue reading...

A crew of construction workers from Mexico and Central America were on Francis Scott Key Bridge when it was struck by cargo ship

Trump Media & Technology trading on Nasdaq under DJT' ticker, using Trump's initials and closing up 15% after first day of tradingThe firm behind Donald Trump's Truth Social went public on Tuesday at a price that values the minnow social network at close to $8bn.Shares in Digital World Acquisition, the shell company with which Trump's social media business has merged, have been surging since the turn of the year. Continue reading...

The Biden administration U-turned as its frustration with Benjamin Netanyahu grew. But don't expect much moreThe extent of the Biden administration's shift at the United Nations security council on Monday should not be underestimated. The US is not only by far Israel's most important ally and supplier of aid, but has provided it with stalwart diplomatic support. That it abstained instead of vetoing a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire - as it had previously done - was a major departure and leaves Israel looking extremely isolated, as Benjamin Netanyahu's angry reaction showed.Yet the US has since done its best to talk down its decision, with officials insisting that there has been no change in policy and describing the resolution as non-binding. That is not the view of other security council members or the UN itself. Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general, wrote that it would be unforgivable" to fail to implement the resolution, which also called for the unconditional release of hostages. But Israeli airstrikes have continued. Continue reading...