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Damaging lawsuit filed by ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura, the singer Cassie, alleges Combs abused her for more than 10 yearsSean Combs, a hip-hop icon and the founder of Bad Boy Records, has been accused of rape and abuse in a major lawsuit filed by the singer Cassie that alleges he used his powerful network to keep her trapped in a violent relationship with him.Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, dated Combs for more than a decade. She alleges that over the course of their relationship, Combs assaulted her multiple times - viciously beating and raping her - and controlled every aspect of her life, the New York Times first reported on Thursday. She faced a cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking" until their relationship ended in 2018, according to the lawsuit. Continue reading...

Kelsey Hatcher, a 32-year-old expecting baby girls, was not diagnosed with the rare anomaly uterus didelphys until last springAn Alabama woman with two uteruses is expecting baby girls in both wombs, an astounding" and rare pregnancy, according to doctors.Kelsey Hatcher, a 32-year-old mom of three was born with a rare uterine anomaly called uterus didelphys, or two uteruses. However, she was not diagnosed with the condition until last spring, when she discovered she was pregnant - in each uterus. Continue reading...

Trial judge Arthur Engoron had imposed gag order last month after the former president maligned a court clerkA New York appeals court judge on Thursday paused a gag order that barred Donald Trump from commenting on court staffers in his civil fraud trial. The trial judge had imposed the gag order last month and later fined Trump $15,000 for violations after the former president made a disparaging social media post about a court clerk.In his decision, Judge David Friedman of the state's intermediate appeals court cited constitutional concerns about restricting Trump's free speech. He issued a stay of the gag order, allowing Trump to comment freely about court staff while a longer appeals process plays out. Continue reading...

Rightwing conspiracy theorist convicted of attempted kidnapping and assault in 2022 attack on Paul PelosiDavid DePape, the rightwing conspiracy theorist who attacked Nancy Pelosi's husband in their San Francisco home, has been convicted of attempted kidnapping and assault.The federal jury's decision on Thursday comes after a dramatic trial in which Paul Pelosi testified about the traumatic" hammer attack he suffered on 28 October 2022, days before the midterm elections. DePape also took the stand in his defense, saying he had planned to interrogate the former House speaker and post footage of her online. Continue reading...

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Florida chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine say order by Republican governor violates their free speech rightsA pro-Palestinian student group in Florida is suing the state's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, and the university system for trying to deactivate" it in a manner that violates the students' free speech rights.The University of Florida chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (UF SJP) filed the suit on Thursday in a federal court in Gainesville. It calls on the court to block what amounts to one of the first attempts in the US to silence a pro-Palestinian student group amid the roiling fallout of the Israel-Hamas war on American campuses. Continue reading...

Ceasefire Now Coalition says 90 activists injured by police using violent tactics to break up protest outside DNC headquarters

Limited liability corporations allow landlords to conceal their identities, which can pose a big problem for tenantsYears before Emily Gallagher was elected to the New York state assembly in 2020, she attended a protest in Brooklyn. Los Sures, a neighborhood organization, had organized the protest for a tenant who was being harassed by their landlord.However, the tenant and their supporters had one big problem: they didn't know where the landlord was. All of the rent checks had been made out to a limited liability company (LLC) and sent to a retail-store mailbox. Continue reading...

Fulton county's Scott McAfee issues order after outlets published details of videotaped statements from former Trump lawyersThe Fulton county judge overseeing the 2020 election subversion case against Donald Trump and his top allies in Georgia issued on Thursday a protective order against the release of certain discovery materials, ruling that further leaks of evidence could taint the jury pool before trial.The order entered by Fulton county superior court judge Scott McAfee came after media outlets published details of videotaped statements that former Trump lawyers Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro gave as part of their plea deals. Continue reading...

New York representative's falsehoods, detailed by House ethics committee report, range from serious to mundane to bizarreNew York representative George Santos's extensive lies and financial improprieties have started to catch up to him, with criminal charges in New York and a newly released House ethics committee report.The congressman built a campaign on a fake resume, made-up personal stories and a host of complex financial transactions that benefitted his personal bank account, the report and other reporting show. His falsehoods ranged from serious to mundane and, at times, bizarre. Continue reading...

Republican claims ethics-report finding of fraudulent activity' related to congressional campaign is disgusting political smear'The New York Republican congressman, fabulist and criminal defendant George Santos said he would not seek re-election next year, after the US House ethics committee issued a report detailing grave and pervasive campaign finance violations and fraudulent activity" and recommended action against him.I will NOT be seeking re-election for a second term in 2024 as my family deserves better than to be under the gun from the press all the time," Santos said, calling the report biased" and a disgusting politicised smear". Continue reading...

With US group's might behind it, upmarket UK chocolate firm may overcome recent stumbling blocksI firmly believe that buying Rabot estate was destiny," said Angus Thirlwell, the co-founder of Hotel Chocolat. A customer clearing out an office sent him a 1920s book about chocolate making just as he was visiting his father in the Caribbean. The book inspired Thirlwell in 2006 to buy the 101-hectare (250-acre) cocoa estate in St Lucia.We wanted to get close to the origins of chocolate," he said in a company video in 2008. It just made sense to do the opposite of everyone in the industry." Continue reading...

Republican Kevin Stitt denounced as an embarrassment' for recording video in support of Oklahoma Gamefowl CommissionThe Oklahoma governor, Kevin Stitt, has been soundly denounced by animal rights activists after making a video in support of a cockfighting organization.Stitt made a video in support of the annual meeting for the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission, a group that has been working to reduce penalties for cockfighting in the state. Continue reading...

Democratic senator is leaving Congress but there's speculation he might be eyeing a third-party bid for the presidencyJoe Manchin, the controversial Democratic US senator from West Virginia who is stepping down from Congress, has warned that if Donald Trump is sent back to the White House in next year's presidential election he will destroy democracy in America".Manchin delivered a withering attack on Trump a week after he announced that he will not seek re-election in 2024. He said that it would be dangerous" if the American people gave Trump a second term as he would use the opportunity not merely to shake up the political establishment as he did first time round, but to break it. Continue reading...

US attorney says two men from New York indicted in the largest-ever seizure of counterfeit goods in US history'Federal prosecutors arrested two men on Wednesday and seized more than 200,000 counterfeit handbags, clothes, and other luxury items worth $1.03bn, making it the largest-ever seizure of counterfeit goods in US history".The indictments of Adama Sow and Abdulaj Jalloh were unsealed this week, revealing both men had been charged with trafficking in counterfeit goods. Continue reading...

This year's postseason was designed to bridge the gap between a North American audience and soccer traditionalists. But it sapped the competition of momentumNothing ever stays still in Major League Soccer for long. The allocation order, for example, was used for years to determine which clubs have priority to sign a player until its abolishment in January. This season an entire month was set aside for the first-ever Leagues Cup only a few years after the creation of the Campeones Cup, another mid-season competition. No change, however, has been more consequential - and controversial - than the tweaks to this season's playoff format.Eighteen teams (nine from each conference) entered this season's expanded postseason, up from 14 the season before. In total, 62% of MLS's 29 teams made the playoffs, prompting complaints that the bar had been lowered too much. The NBA is the only other big North American sports league to admit a comparable number of teams into its postseason, but at least the NBA boasts quality throughout. There are stars on every team. Did MLS fans really need to see more of Charlotte FC or the San Jose Earthquakes this season? Continue reading...

Democratic-majority Senate and Republican-controlled House of Representatives' next deadline is in JanuaryThe US Senate took the risk of an impending partial government shutdown off the table on Wednesday as it passed a stopgap spending bill and sent it to Joe Biden to sign into law before a weekend deadline.The 87-11 vote marked the end of this year's third fiscal standoff in Congress that saw lawmakers bring Washington to the brink of defaulting on its more than $31tn in debt this spring and twice within days of a partial shutdown that would have interrupted pay for about four million federal workers. Continue reading...

Joe Biden saying the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, is a dictator was 'extremely incorrect and irresponsible political manipulation', a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday. The US president was asked whether he still held the view at a news conference after talks with Xi on the outskirts of San Francisco. 'Look, he is. He's a dictator in the sense that he's a guy who runs a country that is a communist country that's based on a form of government totally different than ours,' Biden replied

As the crisis in Gaza and Israel unfolds, we hunger for grand statements and moral clarity. But all I really feel is despairAbout 35 years ago I came up with a line which encouraged me to think I might be able to hack it as a writer. The line was: I am a Jew by food; I worship at my mother's fridge." It wasn't exactly Shakespeare, but it was tight and funny and most of all, it was true. As an atheist with no time for ritual or observance, who nevertheless was committed to his cultural Jewish identity, it did the job. Or at least it did the job until hate sprung eternal, for there is nothing better calculated to make you feel Jewish than overt antisemitism.It came at me courtesy of a section of Jeremy Corbyn's Labour party. Of course, it was countered with claims that antisemitism allegations were merely a smear by wealthy Jews to stop a leftwing leader gaining power, itself an antisemitic conspiracy theory. Which should be funny, but isn't. And now we have the horrors of events in Israel and Gaza, inflicted upon civilians on both sides, bringing more unmitigated hate including against the Jewish community. Continue reading...

Fears of election night unrest arose amid dispute with ultra-conservatives who insisted county use hand-count system for election integrity'The Shasta county elections office was prepared for a night unlike any other. On the evening of this November's special election, sheriff's deputies stood inside as workers processed ballots that would decide a school board race and the fate of a proposed fire department.Security guards were stationed outside the building in Redding, the county seat, while across Shasta, observers from the California secretary of state's office had come to ensure the election ran smoothly. Continue reading...

They seem to push the boundaries of what is possible, yet they understand reality better than anyone. This creates resilience Continue reading...

US president appears to acknowledge Israeli bombing campaign has been indiscriminate'. Plus, 10 ways the changing climate is creating a health emergency

Officers used flash-bang grenades, tear gas canisters, tanks and snipers and accused participants of terrorism'Police actions during a mass protest called Block Cop City" that drew people from across the US to Atlanta this week have been condemned as heavy handed after they included flash-bang grenades, tear-gas canisters, tanks and a press conference full of demonstrably false or misleading descriptions of the event.The Guardian also spoke with a protester who was detained, repeatedly called a terrorist", handcuffed and threatened with arrest in a supermarket parking lot near the march - only to be released with no charges. Continue reading...

It's like I fell asleep in the tropics and woke in the Sahara. With constant overheating, swimming is my main exercise joyNavigating menopause is challenging enough without having to add exercise to the mess. With the constant threat of overheating looming over my fuzzy head, I have to choose my activities wisely. Power-walking before sundown is a pointless venture - I need a cold shower before I'm even out the door - and the very thought of SoulCycle (admittedly, I'm still a bit unclear on the concept) induces enough hot-flashing to burn off my lunch without getting on a bike.I've managed to vehemently deny getting stiffer with age, challenging friends who suggest It's just part of menopause" until suddenly - what on earth? - I can't touch my toes and I'm hobbling to the loo in the wee hours, hunched and grumbling to myself about why the hell at 53, I'm hobbling. Continue reading...

Bill is being considered a week after Ohioans voted to enshrine abortion rights in state constitutionA week after Ohioans voted to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, members of the state legislature are considering a bill that would give tax credits for donations to anti-abortion facilities.On Tuesday, the Ohio senate finance committee discussed a bill from the state senator Sandra O'Brien, a Republican, who proposed that individuals who give to qualifying pregnancy resource centers" may be eligible for tax credits, at a cost of up to $10m to Ohio. Continue reading...

High-income Americans also almost as likely to defer healthcare over cost as people with low or average incomes in other countriesHigh-income Americans are almost as likely to defer healthcare because of cost as people with low or average incomes in eight other developed countries, a new survey brief by the Commonwealth Fund finds.The survey findings also show that nearly half of American adults (46%) faced a problem with a medical bill in the last year, and almost half with low or average incomes (46%) skipped or delayed needed care because of price - the highest rate in any of nine countries analyzed. Continue reading...

The quarterback has been guilty of sloppy play this season but the front office has failed to build a solid team around him

Their cod legalese and baffling histrionics have us rolling in the aisles - but what are these wacky no-confidence letters trying to distract us from?So Andrea Jenkyns's letter to Graham Brady calling for Rishi Sunak to go was, it turns out, just the warm-up missive of no confidence. Our democratically elected leader Boris Johnson," she wrote, who bravely fought for Brexit when parliament was in deadlock. Yes Boris, the man who won the Conservative Party a massive majority, was unforgivable enough."It seemed like the main event to me: clumsy syntax, pantomime histrionics, Jackanory cadence, ham-fisted recapping for the gerontocracy; could a Conservative sound any dumber? Well, happily, yes. Later in the same letter, Jenkyns warned of Keir Starmer and his imminent socialist cabal" in Downing Street, and the who-are-these-idiots bingo card was complete.Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

So much guilt, so much admin ... Life is far easier when you're a kid and don't have to worry about where you'll be pulling crackersWho is going to be where and with whom over Christmas? At either end of our lives, things become simpler because the decision tends to be made for us. It's in midlife when the arrangements are at peak complexity. In your early days, if - and it's a big if - you're not split between two parents, then you have Christmas at home or, in a foretaste of tricky stuff to come, at one or other set of grandparents. Then you grow up and, should you partner up with someone, there will have to be a discussion as to whose family you go to. Throw children into the mix and the pressure ratchets up a notch or two. Because Christmas is all about the children, as we established when we were children ourselves, therefore everyone's preferred option is to be with the bairns, and they can't be everywhere.Come midlife, you have adult children - and possibly their children! - to think about as well as your aged parents. Throw in a divorce or two in one or more of these generations and it all gets positively byzantine. There are your siblings, too, and their families to factor into your plans. Or you may be factored into their plans. Competing plans may clash, causing the logistics computer in your brain to crash. A reboot and rethink will be necessary.Adrian Chiles is a broadcaster, writer and Guardian columnist Continue reading...

The US and Chinese leaders agreed on sidelines of Apec summit to re-establish military communications and curb fentanyl production

To fight the ravages of poverty this winter, we urgently need a new social contract between companies and charitiesA few weeks ago, a father walked into a charity warehouse, dumped his distraught 16-year-old son and walked away for good, saying he could no longer afford to keep him.The distress of that teenager cannot be dismissed as an isolated incident: the Lancet, the medical journal, has reported that poverty, as distinct from neglect, parental addictions or domestic violence, is now a principal cause of children being forced into care. Indeed, in a survey of low-income families in Fife, 11% of parents reported that without essential goods provided by local charities, their children might already be in care. By 2025, according to the County Councils Network, there could be as many as 100,000 in care in England alone.Gordon Brown was UK prime minister from 2007 to 2010 Continue reading...

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Account of the summit from China's foreign ministry was mixed, portraying Xi as having taken a tough line, telling Biden to stop arming TaiwanJoe Biden has claimed that his summit meeting with Xi Jinping has brought substantial progress, including agreements on limiting narcotics trafficking, restoring militaries lines of communication, and to start talking about the global risks posed by artificial intelligence.However, it was clear that after more than four hours of talks in a mansion outside San Francisco, the meeting had not brought the US and China any closer on the fate of Taiwan, which Xi reportedly told Biden was the biggest, most potentially dangerous issue in US-China relations". Continue reading...

More than 1,000 people gather in the rain, shutting down a stretch of Hollywood BoulevardHundreds of demonstrators in Los Angeles shut down a stretch of Hollywood Boulevard on Wednesday afternoon in a protest demanding Joe Biden and US lawmakers call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.In the heart of Hollywood, along the palm tree-lined streets near Ripley's Believe It or Not! and the Walk of Fame, protesters waved Palestinian flags and held signs - not in our name" and let Gaza live". More than 1,000 people gathered in the rain, including a group that staged a sit-in at the intersection with flowers in hand and shirts reading Jews say ceasefire now" as tourists watched. Continue reading...

Tribe says city has been breaking federal law by continuing to ticket Native Americans within sovereign boundariesThe Muscogee (Creek) Nation filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, arguing that police are continuing to ticket Native American drivers within the tribe's reservation boundaries, despite a recent federal appeals court ruling they lacked jurisdiction to do so.The tribe filed the lawsuit in federal court in Tulsa against the city; the mayor, GT Bynum; the chief of police, Wendell Franklin; and the city attorney, Jack Blair. Continue reading...

US and Chinese presidents meet in San Francisco to discuss the economy, climate, military relations and TaiwanJoe Biden and Xi Jinping met in California on Wednesday, exchanging handshakes and smiles as they embarked on face-to-face dialogues that both sides hope will stabilise US-China relations.The US president opened his remarks by saying that tensions between the two countries should not veer into conflict". Continue reading...

Resolution calls for release of hostages held by Hamas and for humanitarian corridors across the Gaza StripSix weeks after the start of the war in Gaza, the UN security council has come together to back a resolution calling for urgent extended humanitarian pauses for [a] sufficient number of days to allow aid access" to the embattled territory.The vote late on Wednesday overcame an impasse which saw four unsuccessful attempts to adopt a resolution. Continue reading...

Extremist Republican says in book not one Democrat was willing to stay to defend the chamber' but claim rejected as patently false'In a new book, the extremist Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene claims no Democrats stayed in the House chamber on January 6 to help defend it against rioters sent by Donald Trump to block the certification of Joe Biden's election win - a claim one Democrat who did stay labeled patently false".Greene's book, MTG, will be published next week. The Guardian obtained a copy. Continue reading...

Workers say outdoor gear retailer retaliated against employees, restructured jobs without union input and stalled bargainingREI, the camping and outdoor sports equipment retailer, was accused on Wednesday of dozens of violations of US labor law at eight retail stores that have unionized since last year.Workers at stores in New York, California, Chicago and Boston, among others, filed a total of 80 complaints with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeking to force the company to bargain with their unions. Continue reading...

National Transportation Safety Board begins work looking for cameras and other evidence from five vehicles involved in crashA National Transportation Safety Board team was planning to start work on Wednesday at the scene of a deadly highway crash in Ohio involving a charter bus filled with high school students that left six people dead and 18 injured.Jennifer Homendy, the NTSB chair, said the team would be looking for cameras and other evidence from the five vehicles involved in Tuesday's crash on westbound Interstate 70 in Licking county, about 26 miles (42km) east of Columbus. Homendy said the team will likely be in the area for five to seven days and a preliminary report would likely be issued within the next few weeks. Continue reading...

Independent reviewers cite problems with FAA including shortages of air traffic controllers and lack of fundingAn independent US aviation review team called on Wednesday for urgent action" to prevent plane crashes, and made a series of recommendations to boost safety after a series of close calls involving passenger jets.The panel, named by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), released a 52-page report citing problems that included shortages of air traffic controllers, technology issues, outdated systems and dramatic funding needs. Since January, the National Transportation Safety Board has opened seven investigations into near-miss incidents, including some that could have been catastrophic. Continue reading...

Earthquake occurred in town of Standard, and was felt in parts of Wisconsin, Iowa and Indiana, US Geological Survey saysA magnitude 3.6 earthquake rattled northern Illinois and parts of three other states early on Wednesday, awakening some residents and spurring reports to 911 about homes shaking, the US Geological Survey and police said.The small earthquake was detected about 4.41am local time and was centered about sixth-tenths of a mile (1km) south-south-east of Standard, Illinois, a town that is about 100 miles (161km) south-west of downtown Chicago, the federal agency said. Continue reading...

Former president's lawyers allege overwhelming bias' from Judge Arthur Engoron's bench but long-shot legal bid destined to failDonald Trump has filed a motion for a mistrial in a New York court, alleging the judge overseeing the $250m fraud case is biased.Trump's lawyers are asking the New York judge Arthur Engoron for a mistrial given bias" and improper co-judging" on the bench. Continue reading...