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Although both leading presidential candidates have addressed healthcare costs, neither has tackled the biggest issue - its costIn a few short months, 37-year-old Kimberly Cooley went from sprinting up stairs to faltering after several steps. Unbeknownst to her, she was experiencing a cascade of symptoms related to autoimmune hepatitis, a rare and chronic inflammation of the liver.She was diagnosed, shot to the top of the liver transplant list, and quickly realized she could not handle the financial repercussions of such a surgery alone. A private person by nature, Cooley took the extraordinary step of publicizing her condition - a step she understood well as a marketing consultant. Continue reading...

Israeli troops reach heart of Khan Younis as Benjamin Netanyahu calls on Hamas fighters to surrender. Plus, the oldest black hole ever observed

Roman Abramovich's yachts are said to emit more carbon than many small countries. This is unsustainable, and wrongThe rich gazed at their superyachts, and decided they were not enough. The new breed of megayachts, which are at least 70 metres (230ft) in length, may be the most expensive moveable assets ever created.Roman Abramovich's custom-designed Eclipse is estimated to be worth upwards of $800m. When he tires of its swimming pool, submarine and armoured plating, he can use one of its helipads to fly to the $475m Solaris, which he also owns. On the way he might, perhaps, glimpse the $600m Azzam, commissioned by the former president of the United Arab Emirates.Chris Armstrong is a professor of political theory at the University of Southampton in the UK and the author of A Blue New Deal: Why We Need a New Politics for the Ocean and the forthcoming Global Justice and the Biodiversity Crisis: Conservation in a World of Inequality Continue reading...

The suicide rate is at its highest since 1941. In addition to a stronger safety net, we must face hard truths about US societyI want to talk about an uncomfortable topic that needs much more open discussion than it's receiving: the United States' extraordinarily high level of anxiety.A panel of medical experts has recommended that doctors screen all patients under 65, including children and teenagers, for what the panel calls anxiety disorders.Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. His newest book, The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It, is out now. He is a Guardian US columnist. His newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com Continue reading...

JD Vance, one of GOP lawmakers who voted to block Ukraine aid package, asks what $61bn would accomplish that $100bn hasn't'Ukraine may need to cede land to Russia in order to end the Russian invasion there, Republican US senator JD Vance said Sunday.The comments underscore how a bloc of GOP lawmakers are staunchly opposed to extending US support for Ukraine nearly two years on from when the world rallied around it after Russia's invasion of its borders. Continue reading...

The former Trump lawyer faces trial in Washington DC over baseless accusations against Ruby Freeman and Shaye MossA closely watched defamation trial kicks off on Monday in which Rudy Giuliani is set to defend himself against having to pay tens of millions of dollars to two Georgia election workers whom he made false statements about the 2020 election about. Continue reading...

Western allies are running short of cash, but they could help release billions and hurt Putin's war effort at the same timeThe White House has warned that the US will run out of funds for Ukraine by the end of the year if Congress doesn't approve a new assistance package. In Hungary, the Viktor Orban government has threatened to take the EU's Ukraine facility hostage. Meanwhile, Russia hasn't given up its goal of subjugating or destroying Ukraine. Its economy is gearing up for years of war, and its latest budget for 2024 boosts defence spending by nearly 70%. The aggressor is effectively circumventing sanctions by selling oil above the price cap or importing western chips for its drones and missiles.Hopefully, the aid packages being debated in the US and Europe will be approved, but there is also a straightforward way to unlock more funding for Ukraine. While we are grateful for every penny of international assistance, it is time to make Russia pay too: by confiscating the $300bn (238bn) in Russian central bank assets currently frozen by western states. The G7 and EU could work towards this in coalition.Olena Halushka is co-founder of the International Center for Ukrainian VictoryAndrii Mikheiev, international lawyer at the International Center for Ukrainian Victory, contributed to this article

In a season where even the best teams have flaws, the veteran quarterback only needs to be competent when he has a brilliant defense backing him upWhen the NFL season started, Joe Flacco watched it like most of us: from the couch. Unsigned coming into the season, the 38-year-old stayed in shape and threw with his brother just in case an offer came along. But he was mostly shifting his focus toward a coaching career.Then the Cleveland Browns called after their $230m man Deshaun Watson went down with a season-ending shoulder injury. He started last week and was average, though significantly more productive than the Flacco we saw play for the New York Jets last season. In Sunday's statement 31-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Flacco was better, certainly above average. Maybe even very good. We're talking about Flacco here so it's never going to be a jaw-dropping fireworks show, especially at this point in his career, but boy is he solid. He ended Sunday 26-of-45 for 311 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. He was savvy, including getting the coverage to bite on a fake to Kareem Hunt on the opening drive that left tight end David Njoku wide open for the first of his two scores. There were mistakes and a few missed opportunities but mostly Flacco played like an experienced and reliable game manager. Continue reading...

Decades of skewed policy have led to one of Europe's worst shortages of affordable homes. Now it is being weaponised against refugeesIreland is in a dark place. Riots in Dublin last month exposed to the world the presence of a small, nascent but emboldened far right. A complex range of factors underlie this: social media conspiracy theories, toxic masculinity, an ugly underbelly of racism and persistent social and economic inequalities. But the far right is also weaponising a decade-long housing and homelessness crisis that afflicts the entire country and has placed thousands of people in a state of chronic housing stress, anxiety and fear.The riots did not surprise those of us who have been warning about the rise of racism directed at immigrants. We have seen how the housing crisis is used to whip up hate against newly arriving asylum seekers. It doesn't much matter to those who attack temporary accommodation centres for refugees that such buildings would never become private homes. Their message is that Ireland is full" and we should house our own" first. Continue reading...

Total of 11.5bn in missing tax from foreign companies is suspected for 2022-23, according to UHY Hacker YoungUS multinationals underpaid 5.6bn in tax in the UK last year, HM Revenue & Customs believes, according to a national accountancy firm.The suspected deficit is 14% higher than the figure from the previous year, and would mean US companies now make up nearly half of underpaid tax into British coffers from foreign companies. Continue reading...

Stephen Gutgsell assaulted during an invasion' of a Fort Calhoun church and suspect was taken into custody, authorities saidA Catholic priest in a small Nebraska community died Sunday after being attacked in a church rectory, authorities said.Stephen Gutgsell was assaulted during an invasion" of St John the Baptist Catholic church in Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, the archdiocese of Omaha said in a Sunday statement. Continue reading...

Former president, who was expected to take the stand, announced on Truth Social on Sunday that he already testified to everythingDonald Trump announced he would not take the witness stand for a second time at his fraud trial in New York on Monday, the former US president's last chance to make his case as he combats a potential $250m fine that hangs over his family business.Trump had been expected to take the stand again as the hearings draw to a close. But on Sunday he announced on the Truth Social site that he would no longer be making an appearance. Continue reading...

Audience at gala event included allies that Trump is expected to tap for top roles should he be re-elected next yearDonald Trump tested the contours of his gag order in the federal criminal case over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, assailing his former attorney general and potential trial witness William Barr in remarks at a Saturday night New York gala event.I make this commitment to you tonight: we will not have Bill Barr as our attorney general, is that OK?" Trump said as he discussed a potential second presidency. He was a coward. He was afraid of being impeached." Continue reading...

Three deaths reported in Montgomery county and a further three in the suburbs of Nashville, officials saySevere storms and tornadoes in Tennessee killed at least six people on Saturday and caused what local emergency services described as extensive damage with tens of thousands of residents without power.Nashville police said in a statement Sunday that a two-year-old boy and his mother were among three people killed there. Continue reading...

Republican senator also declines to rule out voting for Biden, and added he wishes Joe Manchin would be the Democratic nominee'Utah senator Mitt Romney declined to rule out voting for Joe Biden next year and said he hasn't offered an endorsement in the Republican race because his backing would probably be a kiss of death".If I endorsed them, it would be the kiss of death - I'm not going to do that," Romney said during an interview on NBC's Meet the Press. Continue reading...

Los Angeles are getting both a brilliant pitcher and hitter in the Japanese star. They'll also reap an enormous boost in incomeCulturally, it's the biggest free agency splash in North American sports since LeBron James left Cleveland for Miami in The Decision" in 2010. Monetarily, it's much bigger than that. And competitively, it's a potential trump card in baseball's perpetual arms race between the league's highest-spending clubs.The Los Angeles Dodgers and unprecedented pitcher-designated hitter combination Shohei Ohtani have an agreement for a reported 10 years and $700m. When completed, the deal will be the largest by total and annual value in American sports history. The 29-year-old announced his decision to join the Dodgers, leaving the crosstown Los Angeles Angels, on Saturday. The club had not yet acknowledged the pact on Sunday - most likely waiting for the result of a physical exam, which is relevant because of a torn ulnar collateral ligament that will prevent Ohtani from pitching until at least the 2025 season. But the deal will settle eventually, Ohtani will move from Anaheim to Chavez Ravine. When he completes his move, one of the league's best teams will add its best and most marketable star. Continue reading...

Former congresswoman makes comments as she continues to warn of dangers that a second Trump presidency would presentUS House speaker Mike Johnson and his fellow Republicans who comprise a majority in the chamber cannot be trusted to protect the American constitution, former congresswoman Liz Cheney said Sunday.Cheney made the comments on ABC's This Week as she continued to warn of the dangers that a second Donald Trump presidency would present following the release of her book Oath and Honor: A Warning and a Memoir. In the book, she is deeply critical of Johnson, who played a key role in Trump's legal strategy to contest the election and organized an amicus brief signed by 126 US House members urging the supreme court to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election won by Joe Biden. Continue reading...

Trump's 2020 lawyer will face mother and daughter at trial who claim he destroyed their lives and caused them emotional distress by maliciously accusing them of election fraudRudy Giuliani, the politician who was once lauded as America's mayor" but descended into the rabbit hole of Donald Trump's election denial lies, will face a Washington DC jury on Monday in a landmark case which could see him saddled with millions of dollars in damages.For the first time at trial, Giuliani will be confronted in a federal district court with the consequences of the conspiracy theories he disseminated as Trump's 2020 election lawyer. He will come eye-to-eye with the mother and daughter poll workers from Georgia who claim that he destroyed their lives and caused them ongoing emotional distress by maliciously accusing them of election fraud. Continue reading...

Top aide to mayor objected to referendum measure's wording just before city official was to introduce itA back-room meeting between local power brokers in Atlanta, including a top aide to the city's mayor, led to the last-minute scuttling of an ordinance that could have helped people get to vote on whether to build a controversial police and fire department training center known as Cop City".Mounting a referendum campaign allowing voters to decide on Cop City is one of many strategies opponents to the center have adopted in a movement that has gained worldwide attention while taking on concerns ranging from police militarization to environmental racism and deforestation in an era of climate crisis. The center is planned for a 171-acre footprint in a forest south-east of Atlanta. Continue reading...

Former House speaker, who has driven out by Trump loyalists, also expressed interest in joining his cabinet should Trump win in 2024Former US House speaker Kevin McCarthy has endorsed Donald Trump in the 2024 race for the Oval Office while also expressing interest in joining his administration should he win, even though loyalists of the ex-president drove the congressman into an early exit.While serving as a House leader, McCarthy did not formally endorse Trump's campaign for a second presidency, though the California representative was generally supportive of his fellow Republican. But, four days after announcing in an opinion column in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal that he was leaving Congress at the end of December, McCarthy appeared on CBS News Sunday Morning and made clear that he backed Trump's attempts to return to power. Continue reading...

The 34-year-old was outclassed by Devin Haney in their world title fight. But by showing his humanity he looked more like a champion than everThe terrible marks of battle covered the face of Regis Prograis, the fallen champion, as he came out first for the inquisition in the basement of the Chase Center in San Francisco. An hour earlier, soon after the final bell which confirmed that his ordeal was over and he had suffered a shutout defeat to the brilliant Devin Haney who became the new WBC junior-welterweight world champion, Prograis spoke with raw honesty in the ring.That motherfucker's good, he's better than I thought he was," Prograis said of Haney, who had knocked him down in the third round and hurt him again on numerous occasions during a long and painful beating. I just couldn't get to him. I thought he was a soft puncher, but he does have power. I was down and I was like: What the fuck happened?'" Continue reading...

We all do it: waiting in queues at the shop or the bus stop or for a class to start. But is it making us miserable?It's hard not to feel personally attacked by some research (does that make me a raging narcissist? Probably). With crisps and now sitting down recently ruled empirically bad, it seems science is coming for everything I hold dear. Now, my one true love is being targeted: staring at my phone.A new study, discussed in the excellent Techno Sapiens newsletter, explored how using your phone to avoid stranger awkwardness makes you feel worse than if you didn't". For the research, 395 strangers were split into groups and asked to wait together for a (pretend) test. Half had phones, half not, and participants assessed how they felt at five-minute intervals. The researchers' theory was that non-phone people would enjoy their time more, but that the digital comfort blanket would feel better in the short term. That was wrong. Phones failed to confer any detectable benefits." Even in the first five minutes, non-phone users were happier. People may be acting against their own best interest when they use phones in social situations," the study concluded. Continue reading...

The UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, has said he would not give up seeking a ceasefire in Gaza after the US wielded its veto to block the move at the security council, leaving the UN without a clear route to stop the conflict. Speaking at a Doha Forum in Qatar, Guterres did not directly criticise the US in his address but said the council was 'paralysed by geostrategic divisions'

Academics at Columbia College in Chicago are in a fierce dispute over cuts to courses and poor working conditionsThe longest strike of adjuncts in US labor history is still ongoing, with academics at Columbia College in Chicago remaining in a fierce dispute over cuts to college courses and a host of complaints over poor working conditions.The fierce dispute began when Columbia College leadership suddenly announced plans to implement significant cuts to courses and course sections, and consolidating classes which have ballooned class sizes, citing a $20m budget shortfall. Continue reading...

IVF has helped hundreds of thousands get pregnant. But Black women in the US, saddled with the myth of hyper-fertility and biased reproductive care, often lack the assistance they needIn 1991, a Kansas state legislator proposed paying women on welfare to get Norplant, a contraceptive that when inserted in the upper arm would prevent pregnancy for five years. His proposal followed a 1990 Philadelphia Inquirer editorial that linked two news events - the federal government's approval of Norplant and a report that showed half the country's Black children were living in poverty.The editorial suggested women on welfare - presumed to be Black - should receive Norplant for free: Dare we mention them in the same breath? To do so might be considered deplorably insensitive, perhaps raising the specter of eugenics. But it would be worse to avoid drawing the logical conclusion that foolproof contraception could be invaluable in breaking the cycle of inner-city poverty." Continue reading...

Counties in swing states like Georgia overwhelmed with requests at the same time as they scramble to prepare for 2024Deb Cox has been elections director of Lowndes county in southern Georgia for more than a decade - and has never before received so many time-consuming demands for public information.Like many elections officials across the country, Cox has been inundated with Freedom of Information Act and open records requests from rightwing activists who believe the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump. That's forced her and other local officials to spend an unusual amount of time and money providing polling documents to partisan groups - an additional burden as they scramble to prepare for the fraught 2024 presidential election. Continue reading...

Tyler Goodson, 32, was killed by police in Woodstock, Alabama, after public radio mega-hit brought fame - but not much elseThat fame can come with a price is a truism most associated with stars of film and screen or other arts. But the inhabitants of one small town in rural Alabama, deep in the American south, have discovered the truth of that notion via one of the most popular mediums of the internet age: the podcast.Woodstock, a speck on the map halfway between Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, was the subject of the hit 2017 podcast S-Town, which followed the often bizarre goings-on, and even more complex relationships, in a small American community where nothing was ever quite as it seemed. Continue reading...

Hungarian appearance at two-day event part of Orban's transatlantic attempt to bolster Russia's warAllies of Hungary's far-right prime minister Viktor Orban will hold a closed-door meeting with Republicans in Washington to push for an end to US military support for Ukraine, the Guardian has learned.Marton Ugrosdy, the deputy state secretary for the prime minister's political director's office, and Attila Demko, a leading pro-Orban academic, along with members of the Hungarian embassy in Washington, will on Monday begin a two-day event hosted by the conservative Heritage Foundation thinktank. Continue reading...

On the eve of a major summit, the UN high commissioner for refugees shares his vision and calls for a new global mindsetAt a time of multiple conflicts, deep geopolitical divisions and rising numbers of people forced to flee their homes, to proclaim that an international conference can find solutions for the world's refugees might seem to be stretching the definition of optimism.According to our latest estimates, there are 36.4 million refugees worldwide, out of a total displaced population (including the internally displaced) of a staggering 114 million. This global refugee population has doubled within the past seven years, a reflection of the violence and human rights abuses that seem to be afflicting more and more countries. Continue reading...

Last year Erin Matson led the UNC Tar Heels to the NCAA field hockey title as a student-athlete. Now the 23-year-old has done it again as a coach who's just barely older than her playersSleep eludes Erin Matson. It's been three weeks since the University of North Carolina's most decorated field hockey player-turned-head coach shepherded her players to an NCAA championship victory in her debut season; the 23-year-old is believed to be the youngest ever college coach to win a national title. Still, the interview requests haven't stopped rolling in, even as Matson's other coaching duties beckon her attention. Matson isn't complaining, though.Field hockey doesn't get this kind of coverage at all," says Matson, who led the UNC team to four NCAA titles over five seasons as a student-athlete. US field hockey is having a moment, and far be it from Matson to hold it back. Much like the way she plowed through her opponents on the field, Matson only knows one direction and that's forward. Continue reading...

Emergency declaration used to sell $106.5m worth of ammo for Israel's tanks as reports of fierce fighting in southern Gaza city of Khan Younis emerge

Only five years after the founder members nearly skipped town, the French manager's opportunistic, effervescent Crew SC are the MLS Cup winners for a second time in four seasonsDiego Rossi, Julian Gressel, Malte Amundsen, Rudy Camacho and Christian Ramirez played their parts. But the key transfer for the Columbus Crew, the move that turned a team that missed the playoffs in the previous two years into the 2023 MLS champions, was the capture of the head coach.Whatever the Crew paid Montreal in compensation a year ago to hire Wilfried Nancy, it was worth it. First Nancy shaped Columbus into the league's most effervescent team. Then he molded them into its biggest winners. Continue reading...

Time magazine's person of the year interview shows a woman who can't dish enough dirtIs Taylor Swift pop music's last great troublemaker? Or has it always been the done thing for the Time magazine person of the year to use their illustrious anointing to air old beef?For the magazine has indeed chosen Swift as the 2023 Time person of the year. The global music phenomenon joins the roll call of presidents, popes, peacemakers and 2022's pick, the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Swift is the first to feature for contribution to the arts, and the first woman to be honoured twice (she was part of a group of #MeToo silence breakers" in 2017). Continue reading...

The vanilla version the politician has presented in the jungle is worryingly relatable, and therein lies the rubAnt and Dec, the hosts of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, have some frustrating news for demagogues.Dec (the shorter one): I think we do a year without any politicians."Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk Continue reading...

Trump ahead 47% to 43%, worrying some Democrats as others caution avoiding mad poll disease'Donald Trump has nudged ahead of Joe Biden in national polling for the 2024 presidential election, a survey published on Saturday revealed, a day after the US president branded his predecessor as despicable" at an event in California.The Wall Street Journal poll shows Biden with the lowest approval rating of his presidency, a finding broadly in line with other recent studies that have sparked concern in Democratic circles less than a year before voters go to the polls. Continue reading...

Elizabeth Magill has resigned her position as leader of the beleaguered collegeElizabeth Magill, the president of the University of Pennsylvania, has resigned her position as leader of the beleaguered college in the wake of a fierce debate over free speech and antisemitism.Universities across the United States have been accused of failing to protect Jewish students amid a spike of antisemitism amid fallout from Israel's intensifying war in Gaza, which faces heightened criticism for the mounting Palestinian death toll. There has also been a spike in Islamaphobia in the US. Continue reading...

On Fox News, wife of Ron DeSantis mistakenly invites moms and grandmoms' to cross state lines and illegally vote in caucusCasey DeSantis, the wife of Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis, has upset party officials in Iowa by urging her husband's supporters from around the US to descend" on the state and illegally take part in next month's caucuses.The former television news reporter, who has become the Florida governor's chief supporter on the campaign trail, made the faux-pas during an appearance with him on Fox News on Friday, in which she wrongly stated it was legal for out-of-state residents to participate. Continue reading...

Ethan Crumbley apologized before the sentencing for the 2021 high school shooting as parents still in jail on related chargesA judge sentenced a Michigan teenager to life in prison on Friday for killing four students and terrorizing others at Oxford high school in 2021, after listening to hours of gripping anguish from parents and wounded survivors.Judge Kwame Rowe rejected pleas from defense lawyers for a shorter sentence and ensured that Ethan Crumbley, 17, will not get an opportunity for parole. Continue reading...

One woman's bizarre claim about a Scholastic book featuring a single kiss is part of a coordinated assault on US free speechA moment of silence, please, for 20-year-old Lanah Burkhardt, who has suffered through a harrowing ordeal that should chill us all to the very core. The tragic tale began when Burkhardt was just 11 years old and opened up a Scholastic children's book which contained what she describes as a single kiss". Continue reading...

A new attraction at the Rockefeller Center allows visitors to stage Lunch atop a Skyscraper, at a less scary 12ft off the groundLooked at in a certain way, one of history's most famous photographs is actually rather dull.It's just a bunch of men, sitting in a line. Some of them are holding lunchboxes, one is lighting a cigarette, another is holding a glass bottle that looks like it might contain liquor. No one is planking, or giving someone bunny ears, or pulling a funny face. Continue reading...