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Kari Lake and Mark Finchem are in running for crucial state roles. Plus, tributes paid to Nichelle NicholsGood morning.Arizona Republicans are on the verge of nominating two of the US’s most prominent election deniers for governor and secretary of state, the latest in a series of primary contests with serious consequences for American democracy.What do the experts say? “It’s a dangerous time for elections because you have a couple of people who are relying on people to vote for them but then will turn around and say the election system is rigged, despite the lack of any evidence as such. There’s no talk of policy or anything. It’s all looking backward to 2020,” said Barrett Marson, a Republican consultant in the state.Why is this so important? Ukraine is one of the world’s biggest grain producers. The blockade has caused a worldwide grain shortage and price rises, which pushed some countries that are reliant on grain imports, mainly in the Middle East and Africa, towards famine. Continue reading...

As parents, we are bombarded with rituals and superstitions to get our children sleeping through the nightI’m not going to tell you whether or not my baby is sleeping. If I say he is and your baby is not, then you will hate me. And if I say that he isn’t, I will immediately be bombarded with unsolicited advice, usually for a fee. The shysters are already circling.Besides, nothing lasts for ever. When the baby was very small and I wondered if he might become “a good sleeper”, other parents delighted in telling me about the four-month sleep regression. Then I found a scientific article claiming it was a myth and decided that if I refused to believe in it, then it would not come for me. I’ll let you know how that goes, I could say, but I won’t. I’m very tired, but most of all I’m tired of talking and thinking about baby sleep.Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is a Guardian columnist and author Continue reading...

While some have praised the Biden administration for the deal, others are upset over the prospect of releasing Viktor Bout, nicknamed the ‘Merchant of Death’A proposal by the Biden administration to exchange notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for WNBA star Brittney Griner and former marine Paul Whelan, two high-profile Americans currently detained in Russia, has been met with praise, confusion and fury.While some have praised the Biden administration and state department for doing whatever it takes to bring back Griner and Whelan, others have cast skepticism towards the deal, especially when it comes to releasing Bout, who has a notorious international reputation. Continue reading...

It’s much bigger than just Taytay and her tiny civilisation ending aeroplane(s). But she has to stop, they all do, one way or another

Kari Lake and Mark Finchem running for governor and secretary of state in primary contests that could have serious consequencesArizona Republicans are on the verge of nominating two of America’s most prominent election deniers for governor and secretary of state, the latest in a series of primary contests with serious consequences for America’s democracy.Kari Lake, a former news anchor, and Mark Finchem, a state lawmaker, are running for governor and secretary of state, respectively. Both have built their campaigns around the lie that the 2020 election was stolen. Both are frontrunners in their races and if elected, would take over roles with considerable power over how elections are run and certified in a key battleground state. Continue reading...

Just weeks after Lizzo responded to my viral tweet by changing her lyrics, Queen Bey has made the same mistake on RenaissanceIt’s not very often that I don’t know what to say, rendered speechless by ignorance, sadness and a simmering anger born of bone-deep exhaustion. But that’s how I feel right now.Six weeks ago I called out American singer, Lizzo, on Twitter for her use of an ableist slur (“spaz”) in a new song. That tweet of mine – which explained how the slur was connected to my disability, cerebral palsy – took me less than five minutes to write and it went viral, landing on the front page of global news outlets including the BBC, New York Times and the Washington Post. Continue reading...

I recycle, have cut my meat intake and don’t have kids. And now I have to care about the environment more than everI find the environment and the climate emergency the most boring topic on the (burning) planet. When people talk about it, it makes me wish that the planet would succumb sooner rather than later, so I didn’t have to hear one more word about plastic straws and recycling. I flunked my geology exam on purpose, because studying for it was hell. When I see the images of little polar bears on melting ice, I feel nothing.Once, I posted a clip on Instagram from a documentary I made where I threw a set of scales into a lake to make a point about diet culture. The entire internet was enraged until I posted another video of the producer diving into the lake to pick it up again.Sofie Hagen is a writer and comedianDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 300 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at guardian.letters@theguardian.com Continue reading...

Take it from someone who grew up with a ‘low-ranking’ passport – Brexit has made international travel inherently more chaotic and stressfulWhenever I’m flying with someone who is a relaxed traveller – someone who arrives just before check-in closes, then has a full sit-down breakfast while I approach meltdown – I tease them about something I call “border privilege”. Chances are that relaxed traveller was born with access to a passport that has a high “power ranking”.If you don’t know what that is, lucky you, for you are probably a holder of a passport that is high on the Henley passport index – a global ranking of countries in terms of the travel freedom their passports enjoy. The higher your passport ranks, the more “border privilege” you have – that is, the ability to cross national boundaries with, at best, a sense of excitement and, at worst, mild annoyance at the inconveniences of travel.Nesrine Malik is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Reports that House speaker could visit Taiwan have riled China; analysts say she may yet do so in unofficial capacityThe US House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has begun a tour of Asia but questions remain over whether it will include a stop in Taiwan.In a press release on Sunday, Pelosi said a delegation would travel to the Indo-Pacific “to reaffirm America’s strong and unshakeable commitment to our allies and friends in the region”. Continue reading...

The American actor has died at the age of 89. Loved for her inspirational, groundbreaking role as Lt Uhura on Star Trek, here we look back at her life and career Continue reading...

Rewritten $739bn bill, now called the Inflation Reduction Act, that tackles US debt and the climate crisis could pass Senate this weekWest Virginia Democratic senator Joe Manchin on Sunday hailed the legislation he almost killed off, calling the rewritten $739bn bill he agreed to last week to pay down US debt and tackle the climate crisis “great for America”.Manchin, on a tour of all five Sunday morning TV politics talk shows, told CBS’s Face the Nation that the energy and climate deal he’s now supporting will tackle inflation because it will be “aggressively producing more energy, to get more supply, to get the prices down”. Continue reading...

President feels well, White House says, after he tests positive only days after he tested negativeJoe Biden continued to test positive for coronavirus on Sunday and will “continue his strict isolation measures” his physician said.The US president feels well, the White House said. Biden tweeted about the economy and about regretting being unable to meet in person to commiserate with military veterans and their families visiting Capitol Hill in support of a long-awaited bipartisan bill that would expand healthcare access for those exposed to toxic burn pits. Continue reading...

First wife’s resting-place in Trump’s New Jersey golf course might benefit ex-husband’s long-held tax planning purposesWhen Ivana Trump, Donald Trump’s first wife, was buried last month near the first hole of Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, few immediately guessed that her grave’s location might also serve her ex-husband’s long-held tax planning purposes.Tax code in New Jersey exempts cemetery land from all taxes, rates, and assessments – and her grave, as such, potentially has advantageous tax implications for a Trump family trust that owns the golf business, in a state where property and land taxes are notoriously high. Continue reading...

Heatwaves are getting ‘more dangerous and deadly’ from climate change as catastrophic flash flooding leaves at least 28 people deadAs the flash floods in Kentucky claim lives and continue to leave behind a trail of devastation, residents and officials in the state are increasingly grappling with the costly impacts of the climate crisis.Earlier this week, the state saw eight to 10 inches of rainfall in a 24-year period, marking what experts are calling a 1-in-1,000 year rain event. Amid the onslaught of rain and catastrophic flash flooding, at least 28 people have died while dozens more are reported injured. Continue reading...

Members of the House will now get up to $10,000 to upgrade their home security as experts warn such threats endanger the health of US democracyMembers of the US House of Representatives will now receive up to $10,000 to upgrade security at their homes in the face of rising threats against lawmakers, the House sergeant at arms announced last week, in yet another sign that American politics has entered a dangerous, violent new phase.As support for political violence appears to be on the rise in the US, experts warn that such threats endanger the health of America’s democracy. But they say the country still has time to tamp down violent rhetoric if political leaders, particularly those in the Republican party, stand up and condemn this alarming behavior. Continue reading...

Big corporations are using inflation as cover to raise prices. Yet the US Federal Reserve is raising interest rates – further hurting AmericansThe US Federal Reserve is aiming its powerful firehose at the living room but it’s the forest that’s ablaze. As a result, people may drown even as their house catches fire.This about sums up the sorry state of inflation-fighting in America.Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. His new 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...

According to a new report, we need to go to the gym more. But that ignores the exertions of everyday lifeIn the latest round of scolding women and pretending it’s for their own good comes the news that we’re not doing enough exercise – at least of the “vigorous” sort. According to Nuffield Health, 47% of women they surveyed hadn’t engaged in activities such as running, swimming or a class at the gym that would help them to keep fit and healthy in mind and body; markedly more than men, of whom only just over a third responded similarly. Two-thirds of the women, and half of the men, cited a lack of motivation; other reasons included not knowing where to start, and simply not having enough time.To be clear, it’s not Nuffield doing the telling-off – more what we might call the discourse that greeted their findings, which immediately started to discuss issues of childcare deficits and the heavier burden of unpaid labour that continues to fall on women and prevent them from getting to Zumba. But although these barriers to exercise are demonstrably valid, they also reinforce the idea that we are failing to do something we ought.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

Vermont senator opposed ‘corporate welfare’ to firms paying huge salaries to executives – but Chips and Science Act passed CongressWhen it comes to alliances in Washington, few are as unlikely as the common ground the democratic socialist senator Bernie Sanders briefly found with the Heritage Foundation and Americans for Prosperity, two architects of conservative policies across the United States.Yet that is what happened this week when Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with the Democrats, made a lonely and unsuccessful stand against a $280bn bill funding scientific research and, controversially, giving computer chip manufacturers financial incentives to build more production in the United States – one that rightwing groups also encouraged lawmakers to make. Continue reading...

Former US Marine with a progressive take on identity and masculinity hopes Missouri Democrats will pick him as their nominee for US SenateLucas Kunce thinks populism has been given a bad name. “It’s outrageous,” he says, “that people call the Josh Hawleys, the Eric Greitens, the Donald Trumps of the world populist. Populism is about everyday people coming together to have power in a system that’s not working for them. So do that, Josh Hawley. I mean, good Lord, what a charlatan.”Kunce is running for the Democratic nomination for US Senate in Missouri, in the fight to take the state’s second seat in Washington, alongside Hawley. The primary is on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Chronic ill health was rising before Covid; now a report warns it explains almost 88% of the increase in economic inactivityYou know what turned out to be rubbish? Mid-pandemic predictions of Covid-19’s legacy. Claps aside, the promised new dawn of better conditions for essential workers never arrived. Meanwhile, the extension of furlough meant the feared wave of unemployment never arrived. Instead, one legacy that no one saw coming has: a major rise in economic inactivity (those neither in nor looking for a job) of around half-a-million people.Now, we shouldn’t forget the UK’s very respectable levels of labour market activity internationally, but understanding the drivers of this recent deterioration is important because its cause will tell us how worried to be about it. We know it’s concentrated among older workers and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has argued that more retirements are the single biggest driver. In so far as this reflects older workers deciding they prefer not to work post-pandemic that’s something policymakers might be relaxed about. Continue reading...

The alarming rise in children on diets should be a wake-up call to us allIn 2015, a poster for weight-loss products with a model in her bikini and the caption: “Are you beach body ready?” was voted the worst advert of the year. You might remember it, that poster, that summer, when we were gently radicalised on our daily commute. The company denied it was “body shaming”, saying instead its intention was to make the “nation healthier and fitter”. You can see how the confusion arose – there was a lot of it about.2015 was also the year that a survey of adolescents revealed 60% of them exercised to lose weight (compared to 7% in 1986) and another of 10-year-old girls found 80% had been on a diet. An odd time. A moment. This was a time when burgers were “dirty”, of course, and the concept of “cheat days” had gone mainstream, and body-positive influencers were dancing in knickers all over Instagram. A moment maybe, when adults were starting to react, en masse, to decades of body shame and a diet culture that told us it was virtuous to stay thin. Were saying they refused to conform to the idea that our body weight had moral or ethical implications. But – we forgot to tell the children. Continue reading...

‘Our phones are ringing off the hook,’ say organizers as workers seek to win good pay and conditions in newly legalized sectorAs cannabis legalization has spread throughout the US, workers in the now booming new industry are pushing to unionize, seeking to ensure the sector provides good-paying union jobs with benefits throughout its supply chain.In 2020, the cannabis industry grossed between $17.5bn and $21.3bn in revenue, providing between 240,000 and 321,000 full-time jobs, and is expected to grow to $41bn by 2026. Nineteen states in the US have legalized adult recreational cannabis use, with Rhode Island most recently legalizing adult recreational use in May, and 38 states have legalized medicinal use. Continue reading...

LIV Golf event takes a back seat as the crowds give former president a big welcome at his own golf clubIt didn’t take long for the barely veiled political undertones surrounding the LIV Golf tournament at Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf club to burst to the fore on Saturday afternoon.The several hundred spectators filling the grandstand behind the first tee erupted into rollicking chants of “Four more years!” that resounded across the grounds when the former US president emerged in a white polo shirt and red Make America Great Again cap to watch the leading group of Henrik Stenson, Patrick Reed and Phachara Khongwatmai begin their second rounds after the horn sent off the shotgun start at quarter past one. Continue reading...

McKinney fire has grown to 18,000 acres in less than 12 hours and has zero containment amid searing heat, drought and lightningEvacuations have been ordered around Klamath national forest in northern California after a major new wildfire broke out amid searing heat, a prolonged drought and lightning across the region.The fire, known as the McKinney fire, has grown to 18,000 acres in less than 12 hours and has zero containment. It has forced officials in Siskiyou county to order the evacuation of nearby communities, a virtual repeat of the Washburn and Oak fires that have recently ignited in California’s western Sierra Nevada. Continue reading...

US president had been taking Paxlovid, which has reported numerous cases of virus returning once medication is stoppedJoe Biden has tested positive for Covid-19 only days after testing negative and having apparently largely shrugged off an infection with the virus, the White House physician said in a statement.The president had contracted Covid and apparently recovered. But Biden had been taking the medication Paxlovid, which has reported numerous cases of effectively reducing the viral load of Covid only for it to return once the medication is stopped. Continue reading...

In forthcoming memoir, obtained by the Guardian, former adviser claims to have made hugely consequential interventionIn a forthcoming memoir, Jared Kushner says he personally intervened to stop Donald Trump attacking Rupert Murdoch in response to the media mogul’s criticism, at the outset of Trump’s move into politics in 2015.In the book, Breaking History, Kushner writes: “Trump called me. He’d clearly had enough. ‘This guy’s no good. And I’m going to tweet it.’ Continue reading...

His company’s motto is ‘move fast and break things’ – but if it doesn’t move fast it’ll soon be brokeThe great thing about history is that it often repeats itself – though not necessarily as Marx envisaged it. Here’s a story about the tech industry that illustrates the point.Act one begins in the spring of 1993, when Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina released the first graphical browser for the emerging world wide web. They called it Mosaic and it was a runaway success because it was the thing that enabled ordinary people to understand what this internet thingy was for. In 1994, Andreessen and Jim Clark set up a company that eventually became Netscape and in October that year released a new, improved browser called Netscape Navigator, which in three months had 75% of the nascent browser market. In August 1995, Netscape went public in a frenzied IPO that triggered the first internet boom. Continue reading...

Bill would require support from at least 10 Senate Republicans, and it isn’t certain that all 50 Democratic senators are onboardThe assault weapons ban in America passed by the House appears set to be doomed in the Senate amid implacable Republican opposition to gun reform, even in the wake of a series of mass shootings in the US.The legislation in the House, which would ban assault weapons for the first time since 2004, is interpreted as a sign that Democrats plan more aggressive gun violence prevention after a series of mass shootings using the military-derived weapons, including in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas. Continue reading...

Single ticket in Illinois has the winning numbers for one of the biggest lottery prizes in recent US historyA single ticket in Illinois has the winning numbers for one of the biggest lottery prizes in recent US history meaning that for at least one lucky person the dream of netting the billion-dollar-plus prize has turned into a reality.The Mega Millions lottery ended up worth $1.28bn and Friday night’s winning numbers were: 13-36-45-57-67, Mega Ball: 14. Continue reading...

A bill introduced in the North Carolina legislature last year was largely performative but was part of the right’s strategy to make the unthinkable mainstreamIs it legal to kill someone who is about to have an abortion? I know that sounds like a ridiculous question, but some people on the far right would like it to be. Social media was recently awash with outrage over a bill introduced by North Carolina state legislators that would legalize violence against anyone undergoing or performing an abortion. North Carolina House Bill (HB) 158, sponsored by a Republican state representative, Larry Pittman, proposed that abortion be considered first-degree murder and would allowed civilians to use deadly force to prevent someone from ending a pregnancy. Continue reading...

The rightwing group is planning a future more authoritarian, more extreme and more ruthless – with or without the former presidentHe spoke in lurid detail of cities overrun by violent crime. He railed against the media, deep state and liberal elites. And he touted his wall with a dire warning: “Millions of illegal aliens are stampeding across our wide open borders, pouring into our country. It’s an invasion.”Donald Trump’s return to Washington this week was deja vu all over again. The former US president’s 90-minute speech at a luxury hotel was eerily reminiscent of the nativist-populist campaign that won him the White House in 2016. But while Trump himself never evolves, his audience this time around was different. Continue reading...

In a memoir obtained by the Guardian, former campaign manager risks embarrassing powerful rivals with description of apologyDonald Trump made an uncharacteristic apology to Ted Cruz after insulting his wife and father during the 2016 campaign – only for the Texas senator still to refuse to endorse Trump at the Republican convention.In a new memoir, Trump’s then campaign manager, Paul Manafort, writes: “On his own initiative, Trump did apologise for saying some of the things he said about Cruz, which was unusual for Trump.” Continue reading...

The US has nearly 5,000 confirmed cases of the virus, but getting vaccinated has not always been straightforwardFor 67-year-old Peter Madero, getting a monkeypox vaccination from the Chelsea sexual health clinic in Manhattan on Friday was a matter of staying protected amid increasing cases of virus as it spreads across the country and world.But Madero admits that he was “one of the lucky ones”, successfully securing a vaccine after a month of waiting. Continue reading...

Plea by Addison Gardner during public hearing against bill that would prohibit procedure in nearly all cases goes viralAn impassioned plea from a 12-year-old girl has gone viral after she spoke to West Virginia Republican lawmakers during a public hearing for an abortion bill that would prohibit the procedure in nearly all cases.On Wednesday, Addison Gardner of Buffalo middle school in Kenova, West Virginia, was among several people who spoke out against the bill. Continue reading...

Restrictions that expired 10 years after 1994 vote revived as bill passes 217-213, but effort likely to fail in US SenateThe House has passed legislation to revive a ban on semi-automatic guns, the first vote of its kind in years and a direct response to the firearms often used in the crush of mass shootings ripping through communities nationwide.Once banned in the US, the high-powered firearms are now widely blamed as the weapon of choice among young men responsible for many of the most devastating mass shootings. But Congress allowed the restrictions first put in place in 1994 on the manufacture and sales of the weapons to expire a decade later, unable to muster the political support to counter the powerful gun lobby and reinstate the weapons ban. Continue reading...

Brianna Grier, 28, suffered significant injuries during fall from moving police vehicle and died six days later in Atlanta hospitalThe parents of a Georgia woman who died after she fell from a moving patrol car following her arrest fought back tears on Friday as they demanded answers in their daughter’s death.Brianna Grier, 28, suffered significant injuries on 15 July and died six days later at an Atlanta hospital. The Georgia bureau of investigation said this week that the deputies who put Grier in the back of a patrol car to take her to the Hancock county sheriff’s office failed to close the rear passenger-side door before driving away. Continue reading...

Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov charged over accusations he sought to spread division and propaganda and meddle in electionsA Russian man orchestrated a yearslong effort to puppeteer political groups in Florida, Georgia and California to sow discord in the US, spread pro-Russia propaganda and meddle in American elections, justice department officials alleged on Friday.Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov of Moscow was charged with conspiring to have US citizens act as illegal agents of the Russian government, according to a justice department statement. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison. Continue reading...

Prosecutors expect former president to try to invoke executive privilege to prevent his ex-officials from speaking

Crews achieve 45% containment by Friday morning, with blaze having consumed more than 19,200 acres in Mariposa countyFirefighters have made significant progress battling the ferocious Oak fire burning in the Sierra Nevada foothills near Yosemite national park, achieving 45% containment by Friday morning. The blazehas consumed more than 19,200 acres, fueled through the dry, overgrown vegetation coating the hillsides and favorable fire conditions that spurred erratic and extreme behavior.Many have still been kept from their homes as the fire continues to spread since igniting last week, as residents await word on whether theirs was one of the 162 structures reported destroyed. That number could go up as damage assessment crews work to investigate the destruction, and hundreds of houses still lie in the fire’s path. Continue reading...

Will Smith has posted an emotional video to his social channels expressing remorse over the Oscars slap. The 53-year-old actor caused controversy at this year’s ceremony after he slapped Chris Rock onstage after a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and her appearance. Uploaded on his YouTube channel and Instagram page, the video shows Smith answering questions that have circulated since, starting with why he didn’t apologise to Rock in his acceptance speech

Mandy Gutierrez was placed on leave following release of report that was critical of school security and lock that had not been fixedThe principal of the Texas elementary school where an intruder shot 19 students and two teachers to death in May is back at her job after a brief paid suspension, officials said.Mandy Gutierrez of Robb elementary school in Uvalde had been put on paid administrative leave on Monday after the release of a 17 July report from the Texas state legislature that, among other aspects of campus security it addressed, criticized her not fixing a lock on a school door. Continue reading...

ExxonMobil posts second-quarter profits of $17.85bn – four times last year’s figure – with Chevron making $11.62bnThe US’s biggest oil companies pumped out record profits over the last few months as Americans struggled to pay for gasoline, food and other basic necessities.On Friday, ExxonMobil reported an unprecedented $17.85bn (£14.77bn) profit for the second quarter, nearly four times as much as the same period a year ago, and Chevron made a record $11.62bn (£9.61bn). The sky-high profits were announced one day after the UK’s Shell shattered its own profit record. Continue reading...

Pfizer and Moderna expected to roll out reformulated boosters, likely to be authorized for anyone 12 and older, in SeptemberInstead of expanding eligibility for a fourth Covid-19 booster shot now, the Biden administration will push this fall to get Americans to take another booster vaccination that is predicted to better protect against the Omicron BA.5 subvariant of the coronavirus.Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna are expected to start rolling out the reformulated boosters, which are expected to be authorized for anyone 12 and older, in September. Continue reading...

The appetite to watch women fighting is infinite, and Vardy v Rooney has given us enough material to keep going for decadesThe verdict has been reached in one of the most expensive libel cases in British history: Rebekah Vardy v Coleen Rooney, or to give it its proper name, Wagatha Christie. It was so dramatically nonsensical that for the court to merely put it up on its website feels rather inadequate. The judge should have delivered it in a self-destructing Snapchat, or at the very least, in skywriting.Nonetheless, here it is: Coleen Rooney won. But before we drill into whether we agree with that, as a newspaper (joking! I speak only for myself, and I do agree with it), here’s a quick recap into what went down between Vardy and Rooney, and the social conditions that created their epic dispute. Continue reading...