by Edwin Rios in New York and agencies on (#62YFN)
President condemns Republicans’ current political ideology in remarks at Democratic National Committee fundraiserIn fiery remarks on Thursday night that set out a combative platform for Democrats ahead of the midterm elections, Joe Biden decried Republican loyalty to Donald Trump’s political brand as “semi-fascism”.The US president delivered a barbed speech in Maryland, calling out Trump as a threat to US democracy and decrying his penchant for embracing political violence and stoking anger. Continue reading...
Wife of founder of People of Praise says members ‘were always crying’ during discussions about women’s subservience to menThe People of Praise, a secretive Christian faith group that counts the conservative supreme court justice Amy Coney Barrett as a member, considered women’s obedience and subservience to men as one of its central early teachings, according to leaked remarks and writings of the wife of one of the group’s founders.A leaked video of a recent private People of Praise event, marking its 50th anniversary, shows Dorothy Ranaghan explaining how some female followers of the faith group cried intensely in reaction to the group’s early teachings on “headship” and the “roles of men and women”, in which men are considered divinely ordained as the “head” of the family and dominant to women. Continue reading...
by Edwin Rios in New York and agencies on (#62YB8)
‘I just want to live an honest, free life,’ says Walter, who was just 17 when he was locked up based on disputed identification evidenceSullivan Walter was just a teenager when he was arrested in connection with a rape during a home invasion in New Orleans.More than three decades later, a Louisiana judge determined Walter, now 53, was wrongfully convicted for a crime he didn’t commit and freed him from prison on Thursday. Continue reading...
Officials have not said when or why the decision was made to eliminate Northwest public schools’ Saga newspaperAdministrators at a Nebraska school closed down the award-winning student newspaper just days after an edition that included articles and editorials on LGBTQ+ issues.The action prompted press freedom advocates to decry an act of censorship. Continue reading...
A single ticket purchased at an gas station in Des Plaines, Illinois, won the gigantic sumThe winner of a $1.34bn lottery prize has not yet come forwards almost a month after it was announced that a single ticket purchased at an Illinois gas station had won the gigantic sum.Lottery officials said it was possible the holder of the winning ticket did not know they had won the jackpot, or were just gathering their emotions and had not yet decided to contact anyone. Continue reading...
Biden will get backlash from Republicans whether he does a little or a lot – so you might as well do a lotPolitics is not like regular life; it’s worse. Things that are held as treasured virtues in the normal world are often political liabilities. We’ve all just been served with a shining example of how reflexive moderation – which is good when estimating measurements for recipes, or having drinks at a work party – becomes the tendency of a political fool. The wellbeing of countless Americans has long been sacrificed on the altar of moderation by the Democratic party, and all the Democrats win for it is maximal disgust.This week Joe Biden announced that he will be canceling $10,000 in federal student loan debt (or $20,000 for Pell grant recipients) for people who earn under $125,000 a year. This policy is both unquestionably wise, and unquestionably a half-measure. There has long been a movement on the left to cancel all student debt, and even Democratic stalwarts like Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren were pushing for the cancellation of $50,000 in debt. Joe Biden was pulled towards this action, in large part, by his inability to get other, bigger economic policies through Congress. But even in taking unilateral action, he has succumbed to the overwhelming tendency of Clintonian Democrats to cut any good policy idea in half and call it political wisdom.Hamilton Nolan is a writer based in New York Continue reading...
by Joan E Greve in Rockville, Maryland on (#62Y0T)
A flurry of wins – passage of a climate and healthcare package, and the Inflation Reduction Act – give hope for the midterm electionsJoe Biden has transformed his rough July into a jubilant August. Last month, the US president was drowning in negative headlines about his handling of numerous crises, from the war in Ukraine to record-high gas prices and the apparent demise of his signature legislative proposal.Now, as the summer draws to a close, Biden is riding high, powered by the passage of Democrats’ climate and healthcare package and glimmers of hope for his party’s prospects in the midterm elections. That optimism was on vivid display on Thursday, as Biden took the stage for a rally held by the Democratic National Committee in Rockville, Maryland. Continue reading...
Our likely next PM’s surreal ‘solutions’ to the UK’s omnicrisis feel like they’ve been beamed in from a galaxy far away“Cost of living” is an expression now used so frequently, including by those in positions of power, that it’s possible to end up forgetting how incredibly bleak those words are as a concept. (See also: “human resources”.) Maybe we should revitalise the cliche by calling it the “price of existing” crisis. It is, after all, a perfectly matter-of-fact way of suggesting that there is a point at which many may simply find it too expensive to endure. People generally make too much fuss about cliches, but – in one of the very richest countries in the world – this one does feel worth urgently denormalising.So who’s going to do it? Liz Truss?! The light from even the stars we can see without telescopes can take years to reach us – sometimes thousands of years. On Tuesday Truss was in the West Midlands, with the public able to look at an emanation from her that read: “I will support businesses to get our economy firing on all cylinders – delivering growth and opportunity in the West Midlands and beyond.” How many years ago were these words beamed out? This morning the energy price cap hit £3,549. You sense West Midlands businesses – to whom the price cap doesn’t even apply – would like to know how on earth they’re supposed to afford to switch on the cylinders at all.Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnistWhat Just Happened?! by Marina Hyde (Guardian Faber, £18.99). To support the Guardian and Observer, order your copy at the Guardian BookshopMarina Hyde will be in conversation with Richard Osman at a Guardian Live event in London on 11 October. Join them in person or via the livestream – book tickets via the Guardian Live website Continue reading...
Pirates rookie Oneil Cruz is already setting StatCast records but struggling at the plate. Does the 6ft 7in shortstop have what it takes to be baseball’s next star?On Wednesday, Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz did something we’ve never seen an MLB player do before. Well, not that we know about, seeing as the StatCast era didn’t begin until 2015. Against the Atlanta Braves, Cruz cracked a base hit that clocked at 122.4mph off the bat, which surpassed New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton’s previous record of 122.2mph.It was an impressive “exit” velocity, even if Cruz’s record-setting hit only went for a single in PNC Park. He may have hit it too hard to get a double out of it, though it would have been a home run in most ballparks. Still, it might have been the highlight for hometown fans who watched their team get blown by the Braves, not a shocking result for a Pittsburgh team trapped in the cellar of the NL Central. Continue reading...
First major ruling since US supreme court’s landmark decision on weapons rights says state ban unconstitutionalA federal judge in Texas has thrown out the state’s ban on people aged 18 to 20 carrying handguns in what appears to be the first major judicial decision since a landmark ruling on weapons rights by the US supreme court in June.The challenge to the Texas statute that bans young adults not in active military service from having handguns in public was filed in 2021 by the Firearms Policy Coalition, a gun owners’ rights group. The group said the ban violated the US constitution’s second amendment, which says states can organize militias and that “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”. Continue reading...
Move to electric vehicles hailed as ‘monumental’ but challenges in consumer affordability and charging infrastructure lie aheadCalifornia has approved a ban on the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035 as the state takes dramatic steps to reduce emissions and combat the climate emergency.In a vote on Thursday, state regulators moved forward with a plan to phase out the sale of gas cars over the next 13 years in America’s largest auto market. Continue reading...
Affidavit is expected to contain information about investigation into Trump’s retention of government secrets at Mar-a-LagoA federal judge ordered on Thursday that the affidavit justifying the search warrant used to seize sensitive government documents from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida earlier this month should be partly unsealed according to redactions proposed by the justice department.The order from Judge Bruce Reinhart, who approved the FBI search warrant and is overseeing the case, instructed the justice department to release a redacted version of the affidavit that he had reviewed before noon on Friday. Continue reading...
Aimee Harris stole items from Ashley Biden’s room and conspired Robert Kurlander to sell them to activist group, prosecutors sayTwo people have pleaded guilty in a scheme to peddle a diary and other items belonging to Joe Biden’s daughter to the conservative group Project Veritas for $40,000, prosecutors said Thursday.The two, both from Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property, Manhattan US attorney Damian Williams’s office said. Continue reading...
Federal appeals court affirms ruling stopping state enforcing 2021 law before trial on possible permanent block in OctoberA federal appeals court on Thursday said Arkansas cannot enforce its ban on transgender children receiving gender-affirming medical care.A three-judge panel of the eighth US circuit court of appeals affirmed a ruling temporarily stopping the state enforcing the 2021 law. A trial is scheduled in October before the same judge on whether to permanently block the law. Continue reading...
Tennessee, Texas and Idaho join eight other states as millions of women will lose access to abortion and in certain cases doctors will be punished for performing procedureA slew of trigger bans across three US states kicked in on Thursday as Tennessee, Texas and Idaho join eight other states that have formally outlawed abortion since the supreme court overturned Roe v Wade in June.Depending on the state, trigger laws are designed to take effect either immediately following the overturn of Roe or 30 days after the supreme court’s transmission of its judgment, which took place on 26 July. Continue reading...
Man was driving when Jordan Patrick Leahy spewed racial slurs and attempted to run him off the roadA federal grand jury found a Florida man guilty on hate crime charges for a “racially motivated” attack on a Black man traveling with his family in Seminole, 24 miles west of Tampa, the US justice department announced on Thursday.The Black man, identified only by as “JT”, was driving with his daughter and girlfriend last August when Jordan Patrick Leahy, 29, spewed racial slurs and attempted to run him off the road for nearly a mile. Continue reading...
by Martin Pengelly in New York and agencies on (#62W89)
Haddon, Morgan and Foreman say Maxwell put brother in charge of paying legal fees but he only covered a fractionA law firm that helped defend Ghislaine Maxwell, the socialite convicted of helping the financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underage girls, has sued her, her brother and her husband, saying it was never paid more than $878,000 for its work.In the lawsuit, filed in district court in Denver, Colorado, Haddon, Morgan and Foreman (HMF) calls itself “a small law firm based in Denver [which focuses on] defending clients in criminal matters and related civil litigation”. Continue reading...
Lori McClintock, wife of California Republican, had dehydration and gastroenteritis caused by leaf often used as health supplementA coroner’s report shows that Lori McClintock, the wife of the California Republican congressman Tom McClintock, died from dehydration due to gastroenteritis caused by “adverse effects of white mulberry leaf ingestion”, it was reported on Wednesday.Kaiser Health News (KHN) said McClintock’s death, ruled an accident by the Sacramento county coroner, illuminates the risks surrounding the booming yet under-regulated, $54bn dietary supplement and herbal remedies business. Continue reading...
Son-in-law and former adviser says ex-president has ‘given me some compliments on’ critically panned 500-page tomeDonald Trump was notoriously averse to reading his briefing papers as president but according to Jared Kushner he has started reading Breaking History, his son-in-law and former adviser’s 500-page White House memoir.Speaking to the Fox News host Brian Kilmeade on Wednesday, Kushner said: “When I gave it to him, he said, ‘Look, this is a very important book. I’m glad somebody wrote a book that’s really going to talk about what actually happened in the room.’ And he says, ‘I’m going to read it.’ Continue reading...
US district judge rules state cannot prosecute anyone who is performing an abortion if the health or life of the mother is at riskA federal judge in Idaho barred the state from enforcing a strict abortion ban in medical emergencies over concerns it violates a federal law on emergency care.The ruling on Wednesday evening came after a federal judge in Texas made the opposite call, barring the federal government from enforcing a legal interpretation of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act that would require Texas hospitals to provide abortion services if the health or life of the mother is at risk. Continue reading...
The initiative’s income cap and unclear bureaucratic process could fail to address the racial disparities that already existAs Joe Biden announced the details of his plan to help those with student loan debt, Kat Welbeck wrestled with the idea. For millions of Americans, the unprecedented relief would be “life-changing”, especially for low-income and Black and Latino Americans, who are disproportionately saddled with decades-long debt, she said.But the plans’ income cap on who can receive cancellation, and its unclear bureaucratic process for Americans seeking debt relief could perpetuate the inequities that underpin the nation’s student loan system, Welbeck, director of advocacy and civil rights counsel for the Student Borrower Protection Center, said. Continue reading...
Government intervention, crucial during Covid, is just as vital now, as energy prices soar and living standards plummetIt’s six months this week since Russia invaded Ukraine and, let’s face it, things could be going better. The conflict is dragging on and the economic costs of the war are rising. Europe has been pushed to the brink of a deep recession by the Kremlin’s weaponisation of energy.But it is not just that Vladimir Putin has killed off the global recovery that followed the end of lockdowns. Just as significantly, he has also driven another nail into the coffin of laissez-faire economics. For the second time this decade, Britain – along with the rest of Europe – is on an economic war footing. Radical action is needed to prevent an economic catastrophe this winter, just as it was when Covid-19 arrived in early 2020.Larry Elliott is the Guardian’s economics editor Continue reading...
Review of court and election papers raises questions about whether the 19 people charged knowingly committed fraudSeveral Floridians facing criminal voter fraud charges, loudly trumpeted by Governor Ron DeSantis last week, believed they were eligible to vote, and in some cases said they were advised by government officials that they could cast ballots.Court and election documents reviewed by the Guardian raise questions about whether the 19 people charged last week knowingly committed fraud or whether they were confused about their eligibility. All those charged have prior murder or sexual offense convictions, which means they cannot vote in Florida unless they receive clemency. All of the defendants also submitted voter registration applications, which were approved by local election officials, ahead of the 2020 election, and several said they had received voter registration cards in the mail, which they took as a signal that they were eligible to vote. Continue reading...
Pete Arredondo defends law enforcement response to attack that left 21 dead. Plus, Missouri school district to reinstate corporal punishmentGood morning.The Uvalde school district in Texas has fired the police chief Pete Arredondo following the widely condemned law enforcement response to the shooting that left 19 students and two teachers dead.How did he respond? Arredondo did not attend the meeting where he was fired, but released a defiant 17-page letter through his lawyer defending the police response and attacking the school board. Arredondo’s attorney said he was being treated as a “fall guy”.What has Uvalde done since? Officials have moved to further protect school buildings against attack, with “8ft, non-scalable perimeter fencing”, as well as security cameras, better locks and training for staff. Continue reading...
We know that this debt won’t go away – for us or Americans of any age – unless we stand up and fight itToday, the White House announced its long-awaited debt cancellation plan. Joe Biden will erase $10,000 for borrowers who make under $125,000 a year, and $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients. The federal student loan payment moratorium will also be extended until December 31.Sadly, this news does almost nothing for me and millions of others. It falls far short of what economic and racial justice demands. That’s why I have joined over 250 people, all over age 50, who are pledging to strike our student loans when payments resume. Our numbers are growing every day. Continue reading...
Eric Calhoun, a Black resident who sued Pleasant Grove’s discriminatory voting system in 2018, was sworn in as council member MondayA few years ago, Eric Calhoun felt out of touch with his city council in Pleasant Grove, a small Alabama city of just under 10,000 people outside of Birmingham.Calhoun, who is 71 and has lived in the city for nearly three decades, couldn’t find contact information for any of the five council members online. During the 2016 election, none of the white candidates running asked him for his vote. Voters in the city had never elected a Black person to the city council. Calhoun, like 61% of the city, is Black. Continue reading...
More than 85 workers heavily involved in organizing at coffee chain dismissed in recent months, says Starbucks Workers UnitedMore than 85 workers at Starbucks who were heavily involved in union organizing efforts at giant coffee chain have been fired over the past several months, according to the workers group Starbucks Workers United.Workers have filed numerous unfair labor practice charges over the firings and a federal judge recently ordered the reinstatement of seven workers in Memphis, Tennessee, who were fired in February, a ruling Starbucks has said it disagrees with and intends to appeal. Continue reading...
The Uvalde school district has fired its police chief, Pete Arredondo, in a unanimous vote over the botched response to the worst school shooting in US history. Nineteen students and two teachers were killed in late May when a teenage gunman entered Robb elementary school. Arredondo was criticised by victims' families and the wider community for failing to take charge of the situation and enter sooner the classroom where the gunman was, despite the presence of nearly 400 officers
Even though Serena Williams may be ready to say her goodbyes at this year’s US Open, anyone who’s been watching her this long would be a fool to count her out altogetherSerena Williams was on the ropes. After sailing through the 2012 US Open draw, she found herself down 3-5 to Victoria Azarenka in the third set of the final. Then the world’s top-ranked player, Azarenka had done what no other player could so far that year at Flushing Meadows. She ran Williams ragged, frustrated her into forehand errors and disrupted her most unstoppable weapon: Williams’ lightning bolt of a serve, arguably the greatest shot in the history of the women’s game.Even though Williams would valiantly close the gap to 4-5 on serve without recording an ace, Azarenka still had the title on her racket. To hear Williams tell it afterward, she was so spent, so done that she had already begun drafting a runner-up speech in her head. And when Azarenka jumped out to a 40-love lead and triple championship point, it seemed as if it wouldn’t be long before the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd heard it. But something deeper inside wouldn’t allow her to back down. When Azarenka missed a deep crosscourt forehand by a hair’s breadth, that inner force was revealed itself. It shone through her determined point construction, her relentless defense and her unmissable appetite for combat. Just as suddenly as Williams was facing certain elimination, she won 16 of the last 22 points for a 7-5 third-set edge to claim her fourth US Open title. Continue reading...
Cassville superintendent says a survey last year revealed that additional discipline measures was parents’ major concernA Missouri school district has decided to reinstate corporal punishment in its classrooms, allowing students to be punished with a paddle under a new policy.The school board approved the policy in June and notified parents that Missouri’s Cassville school district is bringing back spanking – a disciplinary measure abandoned by the district in 2001, according to the Springfield News Leader. Continue reading...
Pete Arredondo defended the police response to the massacre in a 17-page letter that also lashed out at state officialsThe Uvalde school district fired police chief Pete Arrendondo on Wednesday, making him the first officer to lose his job over the hesitant and fumbled response by law enforcement at a Texas elementary school as a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers in a fourth-grade classroom.In a unanimous vote held after months of angry calls for his ouster, the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District’s board of trustees fired Arredondo in an auditorium of parents and survivors of the 24 May massacre. His firing came three months to the day after one of the deadliest classroom shootings in US history. Continue reading...
by Julian Borger in Washington and Martin Chulov in B on (#62W8C)
Nuclear negotiations under way, as US-led mission against the Islamic State exchanges fire with armed groups in Syria and IraqUS-led forces and Iran-backed militias exchanged fire for the second day in a row, but the Biden administration said the fighting would not affect nuclear negotiations with Tehran.US Central Command said the two bases, Conoco and Green Village, used for the US-led mission against the Islamic State (IS) had come under rocket attack on Wednesday evening, but there were no serious injuries. The US struck back with attack helicopters, killing “two or three suspected Iran-backed militants conducting one of the attacks” and destroying vehicles. Continue reading...
US president Joe Biden has delivered on his campaign promise to tackle student debt. Biden promised loan forgiveness of up to $10,000 for those struggling with student debt after leaving college. The president set out three fundamental changes to relieve tens of millions of Americans from 'unsustainable debt', including holding colleges accountable for fraud. 'The burden is so heavy that even if you graduate, you may not have access to the middle-class life that the college degree once provided,' he said during his speech in the White House
Congressional investigation finds new evidence of efforts to override health decisions early in pandemicOfficials in the Trump White House tried to pressure health experts to reauthorize a discredited Covid treatment, according to a congressional investigation.A report published on Wednesday by the Democratic-led House select subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis contained new evidence of efforts to override Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decisions early in the pandemic. Continue reading...
by Chris Stein in Washington, Lauren Aratani in New Y on (#62VF8)
President delivers on campaign promise and outlines debt relief measures for those on lower incomes in White House speechMillions of Americans received welcome news on Wednesday when Joe Biden delivered on a campaign promise to provide $10,000 in student debt forgiveness.Borrowers who earn less than $125,000 a year will be eligible for loan forgiveness, with those whose low incomes qualified them for federal Pell Grants receiving up to $20,000 in relief. About a third of US undergraduate students receive Pell Grants. Continue reading...
Aide to TV doctor and Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz said Fetterman could have avoided stroke by eating vegetablesThe Democratic candidate for US Senate in Pennsylvania, John Fetterman, has fired back at Mehmet Oz, after a senior aide to the Republican said Fetterman might have avoided a serious stroke in May had he only eaten more vegetables.“I had a stroke. I survived it,” Fetterman said. “I know politics can be nasty, but even then, I could never imagine ridiculing someone for their health challenges.” Continue reading...
There’s nothing like recording an audiobook to make you question every word you write. The classics would definitely take a trimMy head hurts, my throat hurts, my backside hurts. I can’t think, read or speak. I’ve been recording my audiobook, you see. It has been murder. If it is as painful to listen to as it has been to record, I will be sending out refunds.The people who do these things well deserve the highest praise. Baftas ought to be awarded. I particularly revere Michael Jayston for his work reading Le Carré. I could listen to Jayston – who was in the seminal TV adaptation of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy alongside Sir Alec Guinness – read anything by Le Carré. In fact, I’d happily listen to Michael Jayston read anything: iTunes’ terms and conditions, last year’s racing results, my itemised phone bill – he’s that good. Continue reading...
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