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Accusations of rape against the actor have divided the nation, with some referring to him as the last monstre sacre'On 20 December, during a 135-minute-long interview on French television, dedicated to topics such as the new law on immigration, the future bill on assisted dying, the war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict, Emmanuel Macron was asked about Gerard Depardieu. France's president could have chosen to be cautious and not comment on a case that has divided France. It would probably have been wiser to have remained silent, but Macron doesn't do caution; he speaks his mind.You will never see me taking part in a manhunt," he said. As for stripping the actor of the Legion d'honneur, a procedure recently started by his culture minister Rima Abdul Malak, Macron replied, looking straight at the interviewer: The order of the Legion d'honneur is not a moral order." His culture minister had got ahead of herself". Macron talked about his admiration for the actor, adding that Depardieu had made France proud". The backlash was immediate. Continue reading...

PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf pledged to outline their plans by the year's end but details remain murkyThe concept of peace in our golfing time was always more interesting than the level of detail required to turn that dream into a reality. The sporting world was rocked by the announcement on 6 June that the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund would combine to form a new entity. Vitriol attached to LIV's march on to the scene would supposedly vanish on the basis those controlling the elite game had decided to kiss and make up.Another date, 31 December, became key. The parties had identified the end of 2023 as the cut-off point to turn a framework agreement into something binding. This always looked a hugely optimistic target. Continue reading...

Despite Rishi Sunak using his girls to show his grasp of women's rights, he still brushed James Cleverly's spiking gag asideIn his time in office, Rishi Sunak has done much to popularise an intensifier favoured by men wanting to advertise their commitment to women's interests while effacing any earlier indifference: As a father of daughters."Without his in-house epiphanies, Sunak might never have understood, as a father to daughters", the need for girls to feel safe walking around in the evening or to be educated to the same extent as boys. Which is disturbing, but still. Better late, etc. His daughters are credited, too, in Sunak's tribute to the Lionesses' victories and with - women's rights are personal to me" - his appreciating the need for women's single-sex spaces. Continue reading...

Special counsel Jack Smith says in filing that suggestion Trump cannot be held accountable for crimes threatens the country'Special counsel Jack Smith urged a federal appeals court Saturday to reject former president Donald Trump's claims that he is immune from prosecution, saying the suggestion that he cannot be held to account for crimes committed in office threatens the democratic and constitutional foundation" of the country.The filing from Smith's team was submitted before arguments next month on the legally untested question of whether a former president can be prosecuted for acts made while in the White House. Continue reading...

Central coast officials warn of 20ft waves while San Francisco Bay Area braces for 26-30ft wavesCalifornia's coastal communities, already battered by powerful swells from Pacific storms on Friday, faced another round of towering waves and possible flooding on Saturday.The National Weather Service in Los Angeles forecast significant flooding in low-lying coastal areas with powerful waves and strong rip currents posing an exceptional risk" of drowning and damage to structures like piers and jetties. Continue reading...

On Saturday, Kaine joined chorus of Democrats criticizing Biden for going around Congress and demanded an explanationVirginia senator Tim Kaine has added his voice to a rising chorus within the Democratic party questioning the Biden administration's legislatively unconstrained transfer of US munitions to Israel.In a news release on Saturday, the Democratic senator - a member of the Senate armed services committee - said weapons transfers must come under congressional oversight. Continue reading...

Sally Snowman waxed philosophical about her 20 years tending the lighthouse on Little Brewster Island in MassachusettsSally Snowman, the last remaining official lighthouse keeper in the US, retires this weekend from her post looking after the first lighthouse built in North America, on a tiny island in Boston harbour, in what would later become the United States.Snowman, 72, has been looking after Boston Light Beacon on Little Brewster Island for two decades, and it's now being sold to a private owner. The arrangement - the new owner will be required to preserve it - comes almost 60 years after it was designated a national landmark and government funding was secured to keep it staffed, making it the last staffed lighthouse in the country. Continue reading...

Maine and Colorado have said he is ineligible under the 14th amendment due to his actions during the January 6 Capitol attackDonald Trump is reportedly expected to file legal challenges early next week to rulings in Maine and Colorado knocking him off primary ballots amid mounting pressure on US supreme court justices to rule on whether his actions on 6 January 2021 constitutionally exclude him from seeking a second term in the White House.The New York Times said that Trump's legal moves could come as early as Tuesday. Continue reading...

Brought together by a Bay Area volunteer program, Nathaniel Todd and Bruce Armstrong found support and solace in each otherBruce Armstrong thought it was going to be an awkward call.It was the summer of 2020, and the San Francisco venture capitalist had responded to a newspaper ad placed by Miracle Messages, a Bay Area non-profit seeking volunteers to alleviate the social isolation of people experiencing homelessness. Continue reading...

The Los Angeles sheriff's department (LASD) released body-camera footage on Friday of an officer fatally shooting Niani Finlayson, 27, who had called 911 for help during a domestic violence incident.The footage from the 4 December encounter showed that deputy Ty Shelton shot Finlayson four times within roughly three seconds of entering her home.The killing in Lancaster, a city in north LA county, sparked national outrage last week, with civil rights activists questioning why deputies failed to de-escalate the conflict and instead used fatal force against a woman who had sought their assistance and was a victim of abuse.In a statement Friday, LASD said the deputy, whom the department previously identified as Shelton, had been removed from the field as an investigation continued, in line with standard policy

In 1965, police publicly raided a sanctioned drag ball, inadvertently raising awareness of police brutality against the LGBTQ+ communityAs 2024 draws near, LGBTQ+ activists are taking stock of a traumatic year for the queer community. Lawmakers across the country introduced hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ laws, with particular emphasis on trans people. Now, as queer folks are looking toward hope and change in the New Year, they are reflecting on the past resilience of their community.On New Year's Day 1965, a group of drag queens and gay activists held a drag ball at California Hall in San Francisco. They strutted in, dressed in their finest, ready to dance and celebrate the promise of a new year. It was a historic evening: it would be the first time in American history that a group of Christian ministers would publicly sponsor and host an event for queer people. However, by the end of a night that would come to be known as San Francisco's Stonewall, police would raid the ball, which had more than 600 people in attendance, make arrests, and inadvertently raise awareness of the plight of queer people and overpolicing. Continue reading...

To help you look back, here are 10 memorable moments from the year in patriarchy, from Spain's reckoning with sexism to Taylor Swift's takeover2023 was the hottest year on record. And it wasn't just a year of extreme weather - the political climate also became more heated, with the far-right gaining traction around the world. In the US, Republicans banned books, censored discussions of gender identity, and tried their best to prosecute any woman who dared to so much think of having an abortion. In Italy, Giorgia Meloni's far-right government went on a crusade to erode LGBTQ+ rights. In Afghanistan, two years of oppressive Taliban rule have resulted in what some activists are terming gender apartheid.' From Kabul to Kentucky, it feels like we went backwards in 2023 when it comes to the rights of women and minorities.While it's been a bad year politically for women, things have been a little brighter in popular culture. 2023 was a banner year for female sports with events such as the Women's Six Nations, the Women's World Cup and the women's Ashes notching up record viewing figures. It was also a big year for women in film, with Barbie leading the charge: Greta Gerwig's feminist take on the plastic, anatomically incorrect doll, topped $1bn in global box office ticket sales and spawned approximately 9 million thinkpieces. As one viral tweet noted, we've all got a little Barbie in us (the microplastics). Continue reading...

An ice chunk broke loose from shore, stranding 122 winter anglers 30ft from shore until first responders were able to evacuate themMore than 100 people stranded while fishing on an ice chunk that broke free on a Minnesota lake were rescued on Friday, authorities said.The anglers were on an ice floe in the south-eastern area of Upper Red Lake in Beltrami county - about 200 miles (322km) north-west of Minneapolis - when it broke loose from the shoreline. Continue reading...

Centrist No Labels says 2024 ticket could hurt Trump as much as Biden and rejects comparisons with Jill Stein and Ralph NaderThird parties could hurt Donald Trump as much as Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential election, the group No Labels has claimed, insisting that its contentious effort to build a unity ticket cannot be compared to spoiler candidates of the past.We're not spoiling anything," No Labels' Jay Nixon, a lifelong Democrat who spent 30 years serving Missouri as a governor, attorney general and state senator, told the Guardian. Continue reading...

SB4, scheduled to go into effect on 5 March, is one of the strictest immigration laws ever passed in American historyThe US Department of Justice has threatened to sue the state of Texas if it implements a law that would allow state police to arrest any person deemed suspicious of crossing the border illegally.The law, called Senate Bill 4, is scheduled to go into effect on 5 March. One of the strictest immigration laws ever passed in American history, SB4 seeks to prohibit sanctuary city' policies, that prohibit local law enforcement from inquiring about a person's immigration status and complying with detainer requests". Continue reading...

The president's approval rating has sunk to 34% - can he stop Donald Trump from retaking the White House?Welcome to paradise. As rain dampened spirits in Washington, Joe Biden this week flew with family to St Croix in the US Virgin Islands to ring in 2024. Its lush landscape, turquoise water and humid air provided some welcome respite for a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders.Biden has fought numerous elections for the Senate and White House, but next year he faces possibly the toughest campaign of his career. Continue reading...

Swept up in the sheer force of nature, we huddled into a tighter group. As social animals we survive only as a community

As we celebrate the return to Wales of the peace petition sent to the US in the 1920s, we should also harness its spirit of togethernessOne significant anniversary in 2023 passed almost without mention. In May 1923, the Welsh women's peace petition was initiated - a plea from the women of Wales to the women of the US, urging the US to take its place in the newly formed League of Nations and encouraging its full participation in the permanent court of international justice, which had come into being in 1922. The text refers to American-Welsh cooperation in the 19th century, and welcomes the steps taken after the first world war to control the arms trade and tackle what we now call human trafficking and the movement of illegal drugs.These are issues that give it a startlingly contemporary ring. But more startling is the fact that nearly 400,000 women in Wales signed. The petition, with all its handwritten signatures (amounting to several miles' worth of paper), was received formally in Washington DC, and travelled all over the US, as far as the west coast. Housed in a purpose-made chest of Welsh oak, it ended up in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC - where, after an initial flare of enthusiasm, it was forgotten for decades. In its country of origin, it was commemorated only by a small plaque in the Temple of Peace in Cardiff. Continue reading...

US prosecutors say strong public interest' in prompt resolution of case against 31-year-old outweighs benefits of second trialUS prosecutors say they do not plan to conduct a second trial against Sam Bankman-Fried, who was convicted last month of stealing from customers of his now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange.In a letter filed on Friday night in federal court in Manhattan, prosecutors said the strong public interest" in a prompt resolution of their case against the 31-year-old former billionaire outweighed the benefits of a second trial. Continue reading...

Body camera reveals Los Angeles deputy fired at woman who sought help for domestic violence as nine-year-old daughter watchedThe Los Angeles sheriff's department (LASD) released body-camera footage on Friday of an officer fatally shooting Niani Finlayson, 27, who had called 911 for help during a domestic violence incident.The footage from the 4 December encounter showed that deputy Ty Shelton shot Finlayson four times within roughly three seconds of entering her home. Continue reading...

Antony Blinken tells Congress he made second emergency determination covering $147.5m sale for equipmentFor the second time this month the Biden administration is bypassing Congress to approve an emergency weapons sale to Israel as Israel continues to prosecute its war against Hamas in Gaza under increasing international criticism.The state department said on Friday that the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, had told Congress that he had made a second emergency determination covering a $147.5m sale for equipment, including fuses, chargers and primers, that is needed to make the 155mm shells that Israel has already purchased function. Continue reading...

Former Trump lawyer says he used AI program Google Bard and blames his lawyer for not fact-checking himMichael Cohen, the former attorney and fixer for ex-president Donald Trump, said in a newly unsealed court filing that he accidentally gave his lawyer fake legal citations that were made up by an artificial intelligence program.In a sworn declaration made public on Friday, Cohen told a Manhattan judge that the sham citations had been generated by the AI program Google Bard, and had made their way into his lawyer's filing because of a pair of misunderstandings - including his failure to realize that the information spat out by the program was not based in reality. Continue reading...

Six million people under high surf warning as powerful storms sweep through California and OregonGiant waves as tall as 30ft crashing on to California's coast have caused injuries and property damage, prompting evacuation warnings.At least eight people needed hospital treatment after towering waves crashed over seawalls in southern California on Thursday, engulfing seaside neighborhoods. On Friday, more than 6 million people remained under a high surf warning across California and Oregon. The National Weather Service (NWS) has predicted waves up to 40ft, warning: Stay away from rocks, jetties, piers, and other waterside infrastructure. Never turn your back to the ocean!" Continue reading...

Republican Mike DeWine made the surprise move after talking with parents of trans children and trans adultsOhio's governor, Mike DeWine, on Friday vetoed a bill by fellow Republicans that would have banned gender-confirming healthcare for minors in the state, and prohibited transgender athletes from taking part in girls' and women's sports.The surprise move, which DeWine said was ultimately about protecting human life", was largely welcomed by pro-LGBTQ+ activists, although the governor indicated he still intended to enact some of the provisions of the bill through executive action. Continue reading...

Marianne Williamson and Dean Phillips will appear on stage together on 8 January, two weeks before state's primaryThe lonely political vigil of long-shot Democratic presidential candidates Marianne Williamson and Minnesota congressman Dean Phillips will be transformed on to the debate stage early next month in New Hampshire - without Joe Biden, who is neither on the state ballot nor agreeable to any debate interaction with competitors.The debate between self-help author Williamson and Phillips is set to be held at the New England College on 8 January, and moderated by Josh McElveen, former political director of radio station WMUR, two weeks before the state holds its primary. Continue reading...

Storms have left at least eight people needing hospital treatment. Waves more than 20ft high poured over seawalls and the tops of low cliffs along the Pacific coast, flooding nearby streets and leaving many injured. In a video taken on Thursday morning, people are seen fleeing Pierpont beach - just north of Los Angeles - as a rogue wave engulfs the area

Military sexual assaults and harassment have increased almost every year since 2006, prompting Congress to pass new legislationIncidents of sexual harassment and assault have been on the rise across the US military for roughly the last 15 years. Now, a new law has been passed that will change how they are dealt with, putting independent lawyers in charge of decisions and sidelining commanders.It's the most important reform to our military justice system since the creation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice in 1950," the US defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, said in a statement.Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html Continue reading...

Filipino nurses for Ohio-based company say they have been forced to pay thousands in fees after signing training contractsFilipino nurses are calling for the US's top labor watchdog to review controversial stay or pay" training repayment agreement provisions that have left them facing lawsuits and thousands of dollars in fees after they quit their jobs.Training repayment agreement provisions (Trap) are contracts employers require workers to sign before beginning a job and stipulate that if a worker leaves the job before a specified time, they owe substantial fees. Continue reading...

Police release footage in investigation of deaths of Savannah Soto, 18, and Matthew Guerra, 22, whose bodies were found on TuesdayTexas police have released surveillance footage they hope will lead to answers in the killings of an 18-year-old pregnant woman and her boyfriend. The couple were found shot in the head in a car and may have been dead for days.Police on Friday had not named a possible motive or suspects as family and friends mourned the deaths of Savanah Soto, 18, and Matthew Guerra, 22. Soto went missing before Christmas just before she had been scheduled to have an induced labor. Continue reading...

Military service defines who you are in Israeli society but dissent has a long tradition, despite the many obstaclesLast week, 18-year-old Tal Mitnick was jailed for 30 days for refusing Israel Defense Forces enlistment, becoming the first conscientious objector imprisoned since the Israel-Hamas war began. I refuse to believe that more violence will bring security. I refuse to take part in a war of revenge," Mitnick wrote in a statement.Military conscription is a unifying cornerstone in Israeli society. It is hard to completely trust the IDF figures due to a lack of transparency, but its official numbers show that 69% of men and 56% of women are conscripted for service at 18. This makes the military uniform an emblem of collective national identity, perhaps even more important than the flag, epitomised by the Israeli maxim: A nation building an army is a nation building itself." Continue reading...

Napping, eating and showing your emotions are IN Continue reading...

Issue animated conservatives for 50 years but has tormented Republicans since the fall of Roe - and it's unclear also whether it will continue to fuel Democratic victoriesAs the 2024 election season ramps up, Republicans continue to struggle to find a winning national strategy on the flashpoint issue of abortion - where restricting the procedure has animated the conservative movement for half a century but tormented the party since the fall of Roe.The supreme court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade delivered Republicans one of their most significant policy victories in a generation. But in the year and a half since the Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization, the ruling has also become one of their biggest political vulnerabilities. Continue reading...

A quarter of its population could die within a year due to outbreaks of disease caused by this unprecedented conflict

But former president will not be disqualified from the ballot in California. Plus, war in Gaza intensifies

The Israeli prime minister has his own agenda to galvanise his coalition and strengthen himself. A wider war is a real dangerWarnings about a region-wide escalation engulfing the entire Middle East have been circulating since the first fraught days after the 7 October Hamas terrorist atrocities. The most dangerous flashpoint is generally believed to be Israel's northern border with Lebanon, where lethal clashes between the powerful Shia militia Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have greatly intensified in recent days.Sporadic Israeli airstrikes inside Syria, repeated limited attacks by Islamist militants on US bases in Iraq and US reprisal raids - such as that ordered by the president, Joe Biden, on Tuesday - fuel the narrative of an approaching, broader conflagration. Drone and missile attacks on Red Sea shipping by Yemen's Houthi rebels, explicitly launched in support of Hamas and the Palestinians, are adding to the angst. Continue reading...

For many, he represents the nation's cultural presence. But he is also a cause celebre for those frightened by #MeToo and progressive changeI remember the moment my Scottish flatmate showed me a clip of Gerard Depardieu in Le Camion by Marguerite Duras from 1977, proof of his youthful attractiveness. As a woman born in France in the 1980s, my recent memory pictured him as a more imposing figure, someone prone to debordements in the sense of excess - a national treasure: a symbol of a certain Rabelaisian laisser-aller, an overindulgence of man's appetites.I won't lie and say that the latest Depardieu controversy - the accusations of past rape and sexual assault - came as a shock in my parents' home north of Paris, where I am spending the quiet days between Christmas and new year.Elsa Court is a lecturer in French at the University of OxfordDo 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...

Miami and Baltimore meet with the Ravens able to clinch the No 1 seed while the Dolphins can stay in the hunt and win the AFC EastAs the regular season draws to a close, we'll take a look each Friday at a game likely to affect the playoff race, along with the teams whose fortunes are rising and falling. And, so we don't neglect the also-rans, we'll see which teams are in the hunt for next year's No 1 pick. Continue reading...

As the world's attention turns to other conflicts, the onslaught here continues. This is the story of one December day in KyivFrom early, picket lines are set up near the walls of Kyiv's city state administration. My friends and acquaintances are protesting, demanding that the capital's budget be directed not to the repaving of roads, but towards the purchase of drones and FPVs for the battlefield. People close to me are saying: I don't want new roads; I want my friends to come back alive." Continue reading...

Joe Gow says that his free speech rights were violated after the Universities of Wisconsin board of regents decided to fire himFormer University of Wisconsin-La Crosse chancellor Joe Gow has said he was fired by the school's governing board because members were uncomfortable with him and his wife producing and appearing in pornographic videos.The Universities of Wisconsin board of regents, which oversees 11 regional campuses, voted unanimously during a hastily convened closed meeting on Wednesday evening to fire Gow. Continue reading...

Escaping poverty, violence and the climate crisis are factors, but the main driver is rich societies demanding cheap labourWe seem to be living in times of unprecedented mass migration. Images of people from Africa crammed into unseaworthy boats desperately trying to cross the Mediterranean, asylum seekers crossing the Channel into Britain, and caravans" of migrants trying to reach the Mexico-US border all seem to confirm fears that global migration is spinning out of control.A toxic combination of poverty, inequality, violence, oppression, climate breakdown and population growth appear to be pushing growing numbers of people from Africa, Asia and Latin America to embark upon desperate journeys to reach the shores of the wealthy west.Hein de Haas is professor of sociology at the University of Amsterdam, and the author of How Migration Really WorksDo 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...