In Manhattan court, Don Jr couldn't remember much about the company he works for - and brother Eric had trouble, tooIn 1990, Ronald Reagan testified at the trial of John Poindexter, his former national security adviser caught up in the Iran-Contra affair. Two years out of office, questioned for eight hours, the former US president memorably said I don't recall" or I can't remember" no less than 88 times.This week, the two adult sons of one of Reagan's Republican successors took the stand in New York, for testimony in a $250m civil fraud trial in which the judge has already determined the family's guilt and now seeks to determine their penalty. Continue reading...
Frick Pittsburgh staff said exhibit would be insensitive' to Jewish community, but decision angered both Muslims and Jewish peopleOfficials at a Pittsburgh museum have promised to repair our relationships with the Muslim community" amid criticism of its decision to postpone an Islamic art exhibition because of the Israel-Hamas war.Staff at Frick Pittsburgh believed pressing ahead with its Treasured Ornament: 10 Centuries of Islamic Art exhibition, which had been scheduled to open Saturday, would be insensitive" to the Jewish community and others, according to the museum's director and internal emails reported by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Continue reading...
Ex-president's second son says he relied on accountants and lawyers to check financial records judge has ruled to be fraudulentEric Trump, one of the two sons trusted to run Donald Trump's real estate empire, testified on Friday that he was not involved with the financial documents a judge has ruled to be fraudulent, in a trial that threatens to hobble his family's business.In a second day on the witness stand, the former US president's second son said he relied on outside accountants and lawyers to check financial documents. His older brother Donald Trump Jr made the same argument in his testimony earlier this week. Continue reading...
Suspect had been asked to leave by security at Oconee nuclear station about an hour earlier and remains at largeA driver tried to crash through the exit gates of a South Carolina nuclear plant on Thursday night about an hour after security asked the same car to leave when it tried to enter, authorities said.A pop-up security barrier stopped the car with an Arkansas license plate at the Oconee nuclear station near Seneca around 8pm, the Oconee county sheriff's spokesman, Jimmy Watt, said in a statement. Continue reading...
The race for the inaugural NBA Cup tips off on Friday night with all 30 teams set to compete for a newly minted trophy and cash bonusesWhen Greg Popovich is enthused, you know you're onto something. The often-reserved coach of the San Antonio Spurs is known for keeping his composure and not using hyperbole. It's what's helped his team win five NBA championships during his ongoing tenure. Now, though, as the league is set to embark on its latest endeavor - the in-season tournament, beginning on Friday night - the 74-year-old coach says that the event is exciting for everybody". Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the Spurs coach reminded those listening just how driven NBA players are. So, with a chance at winning the new NBA Cup, Pop says teams will rise to the challenge.You have to understand all these guys are very competitive," Popovich says of the NBA workforce. If you put something out there like this, it just adds to that competition." Continue reading...
If it can retake its place at the high table of Middle Eastern politics, the Kremlin would be harking back to the Soviet Union's superpower glory daysOn 26 October, a Hamas delegation headed by politburo member Mousa Abu Marzouk turned up in Moscow for talks that - according to Russian readouts - focused on the safety of Russian citizens in Gaza and the release of hostages. The Russians kept tight-lipped about the real purpose of the visit. The simultaneous presence in Moscow of Iran's deputy foreign minister, Ali Bagheri Kani - who also met Hamas - suggested a troubling degree of coordination between Hamas on the one hand, and Russia and Iran on the other. The Israelis were quick to lodge a protest with Moscow.Feting Hamas just weeks after its terrorist raid on Israel is part and parcel of Vladimir Putin's deliberate strategy of bolstering Russia's waning influence in the Middle East. Deft diplomacy and cynical opportunism can help the Kremlin carve out a role for itself in a region long deemed essential to Russia's great power ambitions. It would not be the first time.Sergey Radchenko is Wilson E Schmidt distinguished professor at the Henry A Kissinger Center, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in BaltimoreDo 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...
Helen MacNamara's quietly devastating evidence to the Covid inquiry reminded me how desperately we need more women channelling their anger into politicsIt's a bleak reflection on 2023 that the Covid inquiry - painstakingly detailing how sloppy, hubris-fuelled mismanagement led to thousands of deaths - passes for light relief in current affairs, but it sort of does. I feel bad enjoying any element of the back-stabbing, score-settling and general squirming: it's a reminder of how noisy, macho gamification of public life characterised the Johnson administration and of the quiet private tragedies that accompanied it. Even so, there's a grim satisfaction in hearing all those unguarded WhatsApps and meeting notes flatly read out confirming, yes, they were just as bad as we suspected; everyone knew Boris Johnson was a callously catastrophic PM, Matt Hancock was a liability and Rishi Sunak's Eat out to help out" was face-palm folly.Anyway, the recent colourful useless fuckpigs" and magic hairdryer" phase has given me an earworm. Helen MacNamara's understatedly devastating evidence on the damage wreaked by an unbelievably bullish" Downing Street culture that failed to consider, respect or listen to women, combined with all those testosterone-heavy, shouty WhatsApps, reminded me of a video that keeps flitting across Instagram. It's Belgian, it's gone semi-viral and it features two female performers in black and pink doing a stompy dance while shouting Frustrated man in politics, take some fucking therapy / Angry woman in therapy, get involved in politics" against an insistent beat.Emma Beddington is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Jamie Raskin says it was an easy call' because Santos hasn't been convicted of a crime, though he faces 23 federal criminal chargesThirty-one Democrats voted not to expel the Republican lawmaker George Santos from the US House of Representatives because he has not been convicted of any crime and to eject him would set a dangerous precedent for Republicans to expel their ideological opponents, a leading congressman said.For me this was an easy call," said Jamie Raskin of Maryland, a law professor and influential progressive who sat on the January 6 committee and was lead manager in Donald Trump's impeachment for inciting the attack on Congress. Continue reading...
The US secretary of state is expected to call for localized pauses in fighting to allow aid into Gaza. Plus: Nicolas Cage and the power of dreamsGood morning.The US secretary of state has arrived in Tel Aviv to meet the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as Israel's military pushes further into Gaza City.Israeli forces have completed the encirclement of Gaza City" and are fighting with full force", according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), with troops surrounding it from several directions and deepening the ground offensive inside the city.The IDF is on very high alert" along Israel's border with Lebanon, with a speech expected this afternoon from Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah.In the US, the House of Representatives passed a Republican plan to provide $14.3bn in aid to Israel as it fights Hamas, despite Democrats' insistence that the plan has no future in the Senate and the White House's promise of a veto.The White House has condemned Fox News over its sickening attack on the rights and dignity" of Arab Americans after the rightwing channel's host Jesse Watters seemed to advocate violence. Continue reading...
Reyna was the standout player for the USMNT in October, but continues to struggle for playing time in DortmundIn just 39 minutes, Gio Reyna demonstrated the player he could still become for the US men's national team, scoring two goals in a 4-0 friendly demolition of Ghana. Folarin Balogun and Christian Pulisic also found the back of the net for a team often hailed as a golden generation, but it was Reyna's performance that provided the most tantalising of visions.The reminder of Reyna's talent was timely. The 20-year-old has barely featured for Borussia Dortmund this season, playing just 111 minutes across all competitions. Once seen as the Bundesliga club's next superstar-in-waiting after the likes of Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham and Jadon Sancho, Reyna's development has dramatically stalled. Continue reading...
by Callum Jones in New York and Will Craft in Oakland on (#6G37X)
Majority of $300m comes from states with officials belonging to conservative group that has attacked investment politicization'American states have announced $300m in Israeli bond purchases in the past four weeks, throwing their financial weight behind the country's government as its war with Hamas escalates.The majority of the money comes from states with senior financial officials who are members of a conservative group that has railed against the politicization" of taxpayer-funded investments, the Guardian found. Continue reading...
As a man soon out of a job, perhaps Rishi Sunak sat dreaming of his own future in Silicon ValleyA few weeks ago, Elon Musk was begging Taylor Swift to release some concert videos on his X platform, but she weirdly seems to have gone ahead with her plan to release the film of her Eras tour directly into movie theatres, foolishly making it by far and away the highest grossing concert film ever, with opening numbers similar to the last Marvel movie. Sad, really, when you think it could have been a tweet. Still, I tell you who Elon Musk can get to release exclusive footage directly on to his platform: UK prime minister Rishi Sunak. Who is, famously, a Taylor Swift fan, so ... next best thing.Sunak's interview of Musk was trailed by the PM with a post in which the famous 10 on the Downing Street front door morphed into the X logo, a somewhat excruciating stunt that unintentionally answered one of the key questions of the AI conference: just because you can do something, does it mean you should?Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Florida Republican governor raises hackles by using state resources for series of actions since the Israel-Hamas war beganHis pathway to the presidency looks more forbidding than ever, but tanking poll numbers and a stalled campaign have not dissuaded Ron DeSantis from running foreign policy as if he was the incumbent in the White House.Florida's Republican governor has raised eyebrows and hackles by using state resources for a series of actions and operations since the Israel-Hamas war began that come under the purview of the federal government. Continue reading...
Mistruths and outright lies abound in Republican advertising as the state gears up for crucial vote on abortion rights, say criticsMike DeWine's ad left Shyla Thurston infuriated.In the ad, DeWine, Ohio's Republican governor, stands next to his wife, Fran DeWine, as they speak directly to the camera. They assure voters that they have carefully studied" Issue 1, the name of a November ballot initiative to enshrine abortion rights in Ohio's state constitution. And, the couple say, they have realized it goes too far. Continue reading...
The centrist congresswoman is boosting Virginia Democrats for election day, and perhaps even eyeing the governor's mansion for 2026As two dozen volunteers prepared to knock doors on an unseasonably warm afternoon in late October, Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger reminded them that their work helped flip her battleground House seat in 2018. She predicted it would pay off again for Virginia Democrats this year.It is how we have won in hard races across Virginia and across the country, and it is certainly why I feel confident that we are on the right path headed towards November 7," Spanberger said, speaking to campaign volunteers in a sunny parking lot in Manassas. Continue reading...
As we hit the midpoint of the season, let's look at the imperfections that could sink the teams with realistic championship aspirationsBaltimore Ravens (6-2) Continue reading...
Giorgia Meloni and the hard right are celebrating JRR Tolkien's saga - while taking over Italy's key cultural institutionsAs a longtime fan of JRR Tolkien, I've long felt put out by Giorgia Meloni's bizarre obsession with The Lord of the Rings. Over the years, Italy's ultra-conservative prime minister has quoted passages in interviews, shared photos of herself reading the novel and even posed with a statue of the wizard Gandalf as part of a campaign. In her autobiography-slash-manifesto, she dedicates several pages to her favourite book", which she refers to at one point as being a sacred" text. When I read the news this week that Italy's culture ministry is spending 250,000 to organise a Tolkien show at Rome's National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, and that Meloni will attend the opening, I couldn't help wondering: why? What is this government trying to achieve by stamping its mark so aggressively on one of the world's most loved fantasy sagas?My Italian friends don't get the fuss. This is everyday politics, they say, a simple branding exercise to soften Meloni's image. Perhaps. But there's a deeper, and frankly stranger, side to this story. When The Lord of the Rings first hit Italian shelves in the 1970s, the academic Elemire Zolla wrote a short introduction in which he interpreted the book as an allegory about pure" ethnic groups defending themselves against contamination from foreign invaders. Fascist sympathisers in the Movimento Sociale Italiano (MSI) quickly jumped on the provocation. Inspired by Zolla's words, they saw in Tolkien's world a space where they could explore their ideology in socially acceptable terms, free from the taboos of the past. Meloni, an MSI youth wing member, developed her political consciousness in that environment. As a teenager she even attended a Hobbit Camp", a summer retreat organised by the MSI in which participants dressed up in cosplay outfits, sang along to folk ballads and discussed how Tolkienian mythologies could help the post-fascist right find credibility in a new era.Jamie Mackay is the author of The Invention of Sicily. He lives in Florence, Italy Continue reading...
The 2018 NBA MVP was officially introduced as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday afternoon, sounding hurt at times while taking parting shots at his latest former teamDamn, it's small in here," James Harden observed to himself, with a touch of disappointment, as he entered a packed conference room on Thursday afternoon. Harden took a seat at the podium, visibly uncomfortable by the claustrophobic setting. Here he was in his hometown to give his much-anticipated first public remarks as a Los Angeles Clipper following a drama-filled, drawn-out request to be traded away from Philadelphia, to maybe less fanfare than he anticipated.There weren't exactly innumerable suitors for Harden, the Most Valuable Player of six seasons ago who demanded a trade from his third team in as many years and has thusly earned a reputation as perhaps the NBA's least dependable superstar. He is an offensive savant, and almost universally acknowledged as one of the most gifted scoring talents the league has ever seen. But even putting aside his penchant for dissatisfaction in the workplace, the 34-year-old Harden has compiled a less-than-stellar track record in big playoff moments - the entirety of which made trading him a hard sell for 76ers GM Daryl Morey this offseason. Continue reading...
The global political right is flailing. If it is to reinvent itself, it will need a fresher vision than that espoused by Peter ThielWhere on earth is conservatism going? In Britain, at least, the simple answer seems to be opposition, and possibly for a long time. Non-Tories scarred by previous Conservative poll recoveries and shock victories may not quite believe it yet, but a Tory implosion at the next general election is becoming likely, as their dramatically shrunken support in recent byelections has shown. Our electoral system can be brutal towards any party whose share of the vote falls below a third, and for many months most polls have put the Tories closer to a quarter.Yet political disasters, or even just the threat of them, can also create new possibilities: the abandonment of old taboos and assumptions; the rise of new ideas, personalities, messages and alliances. Particularly since 2021, as three successive Tory premierships have become exercises in frantic reinvention, but also over a longer period of self-doubt and experimentation, a new Conservatism has been struggling to emerge.Andy Beckett is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Mikel Arteta and Roberto De Zerbi are taking advantage of the re-introduction of five subs. But should managers go further?Jose Mourinho wore many faces as a Premier League manager. Chameleon-like, shifting from rambunctious to cantankerous.If Chelsea's 2015 Premier League title win had all the hallmarks of a Tom Wambsgans redemption arc, his 2004 to 2007 incarnation was defined by his Logan Roy lead character energy. Every game felt tinged with Mourinho razzmatazz - good or bad. No wonder, then, when Chelsea lost to neighbors Fulham for the first time in 27 years on 20 March 2006, Mourinho preserved his role as chief headline maker. Continue reading...
Led by House speaker Mike Johnson, Republican plan passes Thursday 226-196 as Biden threatens vetoThe US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a Republican plan to provide $14.3bn in aid to Israel as it fights Hamas, despite Democrats' insistence it has no future in the Senate and the White House's promise of a veto.The measure passed 226-196, largely along party lines, with most Republicans supporting the bill and most Democrats objecting. Continue reading...
Chelsey Napper tells court she was scared to death' on night Taylor, 26, was shot dead by Louisville police in botched raidBreonna Taylor's neighbor recalled her horror as police bullets flew into her apartment near her sleeping son as a federal trial for the former Louisville officer who fired those shots began Thursday.Former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison fired 10 shots during the botched raid in March 2020 that left Taylor dead, though it was another officer who fatally shot the 26-year-old Black woman. Hankison, 47, is charged with two federal civil rights violations for endangering Taylor, her boyfriend and Taylor's neighbors, who shared a wall with her apartment. None of Hankison's shots hit anyone. Continue reading...
by Lauren Aratani and Dominic Rushe in New York on (#6G2J9)
Donald Jr says he relied upon accountants' for financial statements while Eric says he never had anything to do' with themTrump's eldest sons claimed on Thursday that they had no knowledge of the financial statements at the heart of the family's $250m fraud trial.Eric and his older brother Donald Trump Jr claimed in court that they had relied on accountants and others to make sure their financial records were correct. Continue reading...
Desmond Mills Jr is one of five officers charged in the beating death of the Black man who called for his mother as he was attackedA former Memphis police officer pleaded guilty on Thursday in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, becoming the first of five officers charged to reverse course, with prosecutors recommending up to 15 years in prison.Desmond Mills Jr entered his plea during a hearing at the Memphis federal courthouse as part of a larger agreement to settle charges in state court as well. It was not immediately clear if any of the other officers would follow suit. Continue reading...
This live blog is now closed.Israel's conflict with Hamas continues as its troops push deeper into the Gaza Strip.We have a separate live blog covering it, and you can read it here: Continue reading...
Brianna Suggs questioned by corruption squad as Eric Adams cancels several Washington DC meetingsThe home of a consultant with ties to the New York city mayor, Eric Adams, was raided by the FBI on Thursday.Brianna Suggs, Adams's top campaign fundraiser, was questioned by the FBI's public corruption squad as they searched her house in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, the New York Times reported. Continue reading...
Teenager nabbed in National Booty Behavior Protection' truck says it was just funny, it was never meant to be anything bad'The driver of a Booty Patrol" truck in Florida, parodying border patrol vehicles, was pulled over by local police.The driver was cited by Florida police on Sunday under a law that bans vehicles from having similar lights of those used by law enforcement. Continue reading...
Indonesia's president was welcomed as the first to have emerged from outside its elites. Now his son is being propelled towards powerThe handing down of power from father to son sounds like it belongs to the age of kings and emperors. Yet dynasties continue to thrive in democracies as well as dictatorships, as Canada's current prime minister, Justin Trudeau, demonstrates. A 2018 study found that more than one in ten leaders worldwide came from families where a close relative was already involved in politics.Now dynastic rule appears to be entrenching itself further in south-east Asia. After four decades in charge, and following another stage-managed election, Cambodia's authoritarian leader Hun Sen this year handed over the prime ministership to his son, Hun Manet. The West Point-educated leader reportedly has a more diplomatic manner than his father, but there is no sign that he plans to diverge from him politically. Continue reading...
Lawsuit argues ex-president should be not be allowed to run in 2024 in state over efforts to overturn 2020 election and January 6Attorneys at the Minnesota supreme court argued on Thursday that the former president Donald Trump should not be allowed to appear on the state's ballots for president because of his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and role in the insurrection.A group of voters wants the courts to weigh a clause in the 14th amendment, which disqualifies an officer of the United States" who has taken an oath to defend the constitution from holding office if they have engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the country. In dozens of pages in their initial court filing, they cite examples of Trump's election interference, from the fake electors scheme to his comments to rioters on 6 January 2021. Continue reading...
Jonathan Karl says far-right ally used phrase Come Retribution' - linked to plot to assassinate Lincoln - in wake of March speechThe far-right Donald Trump ally and adviser Steve Bannon used Confederate code words linked to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln to describe a speech by the former US president before his historic first criminal indictment, a new book says.On 6 March this year, addressing the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland, Trump took aim at Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney then widely expected to bring charges over hush-money payments to the porn star Stormy Daniels, thereby making Trump the first former president ever criminally indicted. Continue reading...
Patrick Dai, a junior, charged with threatening to murder Jewish students and will remain in custody until next court appearanceCornell University canceled classes on Friday as officials acknowledged the extraordinary stress" on students following the arrest of a junior accused of threatening to murder Jews on campus.Patrick Dai, 21, appeared in federal court on Wednesday charged with making threats to the university's Jewish community in the wake of Israel's retaliation in Gaza for last month's attacks by Hamas.Erum Salam contributed reporting Continue reading...
It often takes two incomes to make rent in the US, which is why a separation can push ex-partners into unusual arrangementsIn July 2020, Lauren White, a middle-school counselor, was sitting on her deck with her husband, discussing the impending sale of their home south of Richmond, Virginia, and the new home they had under contract.The four-bedroom, 2,500 sq ft house had an easier commute and a fenced-in backyard that made White, 41, dream of future barbecues with their children, ages four and eight. They'd sent letters to the seller in hopes of standing out from other buyers - and it worked. They got the home they wanted and were days away from closing. Continue reading...
Decision of Ken Buck, who condemned party for questioning Biden's victory, is good news for the country', ex-president saysDonald Trump welcomed the news that Ken Buck, a prominent conservative who criticized his party for questioning the validity of Joe Biden's election win, will quit Congress at the next election, crowing: Good news for the country!"Buck, from Colorado, announced his retirement on MSNBC on Wednesday and said he was disappointed that the Republican party continues to rely on this lie that the 2020 election was stolen and rely on the January 6 narrative and political prisoners from January 6 and other things." Continue reading...
Israel's stated war aim is to destroy Hamas; Hamas wants Israel to commit such barbarities in response to its attack that it loses international supportInternational calls for a ceasefire in Gaza are growing louder as the scale of destruction and humanitarian suffering visited on its population becomes ever clearer. Others, including the UN, call for at least a humanitarian pause". Is either likely? And could they pave the way to peace?Ceasefires, like peace processes, only work when both belligerents are either willing or can be persuaded to accept one and stick to it. In Gaza, this looks unlikely. In Syria in 2015-16 and in Sudan this year, similar attempts have failed dismally. In Ethiopia, a ceasefire with Tigray was achieved only after the two sides had fought each other to a standstill, at the cost of tens of thousands of lives.Nicholas Westcott is professor of practice in diplomacy at Soas University of London and former managing director for the Middle East in the EU's European External Action Service Continue reading...
The over-50s Bachelor spinoff is surprisingly popular, perhaps because its stars appear calmer and wiser than the average contestantIn the opening moments of The Golden Bachelor, the newest addition to the US reality show franchise, a dapper man who could be in his late 50s straightens his tie before picking up a hearing aid and discreetly fitting it behind one ear. This is Gerry, who, we learn, lost his wife several years ago and is soon depicted sobbing unrestrainedly in a way that, were this a crime drama, would send him straight to the top of the suspects list. Instead Gerry, at 72, is the first pensioner to lead America's biggest and longest-running dating show. How lucky would I be," he asks, with exquisite delivery of concept, to find a second true love in my lifetime?"Dating shows don't tell us much about the world we live in except via the back door of whom they leave out. In the US, The Bachelor - in which a single man dates a pool of women, ostensibly with the intention of choosing a wife - has been running since 2002, and didn't have a Black male lead until 2021. Occasionally, the producers accidentally book a closeted gay man who comes out after filming (Colton Underwood, season 23) but no one has ever put a gay bachelor in on purpose. In the UK, the closest the dating show landscape has come to pushing the boundaries is My Mum, Your Dad, an ITV1 show hosted by Davina McCall that launched earlier this year and featured adult children nominating their middle-aged single parents, and the hot young gay men of BBC 3's I Kissed a Boy, fronted by Dannii Minogue.Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Barkan was diagnosed with ALS in 2016 and said his illness clarified the cruelty of our profit-driven system'Ady Barkan, an attorney and healthcare activist whose journey with motor neuron disease prompted a fight to overhaul the US healthcare system, died at the age of 39 from complications with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).Barkan's wife, Rachael Scarborough King, announced his death in a post to X, formally known as Twitter. Continue reading...
Alabama Republican continues blockade over Pentagon abortion policy, escalating standoff as defense officials say move endangers national securityRepublican senators angrily challenged Tommy Tuberville on his blockade of almost 400 military officers Wednesday evening, taking over the Senate floor for more than four hours to call for individual confirmation votes after a months-long stalemate.The Republican senator from Alabama stood and objected to each nominee - 61 times total, when the night was over - extending his holds on the military confirmations and promotions with no immediate resolution in sight. But the extraordinary confrontation between Republicans, boiling over almost nine months after Tuberville first announced the holds over a Pentagon abortion policy, escalated the standoff as defense department officials have repeatedly said the backlog of officials needing confirmation could endanger national security. Continue reading...
Guns are used so often in suicide that if the left were associated with lax gun laws, the right might accuse liberals of conspiring to kill white menThe gunman who a week ago killed 18 people in Lewiston, Maine, finished his bloodbath by shooting himself. Like many mass shootings, his rampage appears to have been a suicide that took others with him. Mass shootings draw deserved media attention, but they are a small percent of all gun deaths in the US; suicide is the most common way people die by gun. That is, if you own or have access to a gun, the person you're most likely to kill is yourself. Fifty-four percent of US gun deaths are suicides, which means access to a gun is a major risk factor for dying this way.This fact, often cited but rarely examined, means the gun industry is pushing guns the same way the tobacco industry pushed cigarettes: their intentions toward their customers are blithely murderous. It also undermines the advertisements and arguments claiming that guns provide safety and protection. Of the 48,117 reported gun deaths in the US in 2022, 26,993 were suicides - a stunning number, a gun death every 11 minutes, the equivalent to a mid-sized town being wiped out annually.Rebecca Solnit is a Guardian US columnist. She is the author of Orwell's Roses and co-editor with Thelma Young Lutunatabua of the climate anthology Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility Continue reading...
Method has not been used before to carry out a death sentence but now is likely to be used in execution of Kenneth Eugene SmithA divided Alabama supreme court said the state can execute an inmate with nitrogen gas, a method that has not previously been used carry out a death sentence.The all-Republican court in a 6-2 decision Wednesday granted the state attorney general's request for an execution warrant for Kenneth Eugene Smith. The order did not specify the execution method, but the Alabama attorney general indicated in filings with the court that it intends to use nitrogen to put Smith to death. The exact date of the execution will be set later by Kay Ivey, Alabama's governor. Continue reading...
Moving to California may not have had the same impact as David Beckham but the jockey is enjoying relative anonymityFrankie Dettori walked into a bar ... but don't expect a punchline, because nobody paid any attention. I went to a restaurant the other day with my wife," he says, and I went to buy a drink at the bar and I found myself looking round to see if people were looking at me. But I realised that no one knew who I was, and I thought, this is great!'"The last significant sporting celebrity from Britain to divert his career path towards Los Angeles would have struggled to maintain such a low profile. Posh and Becks went straight into the upper reaches of the Hollywood A-list. Tom Cruise, Eva Longoria and Arnie were among the stars in attendance when David Beckham made his debut for LA Galaxy. Continue reading...
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