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Jen Shah was set to go to trial on allegations that she partook in a telemarketing scheme that scammed hundreds of peopleReal Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah pleaded guilty to fraud charges Monday, dramatically ending her case as she was set to go to trial on allegations that she partook in a telemarketing scheme that scammed hundreds of people.“In 2012 to March 2021 … I agreed with others to commit wire fraud,” Shah told New York federal judge Sidney Stein in a prepared statement. “I knew this was wrong. I knew many people were harmed and I’m so sorry.” Continue reading...

Hopefuls deliver a word salad of fantasy economics and flannel as they launch leadership campaignsYou might say it’s a longstanding Conservative tradition to suspend reality throughout its leadership elections. Only the Tories have been struggling with reality for years. Just think. The Ukrainians voted for a comedian and got a serious leader. Three years ago, the UK voted for a comedian and got a sociopathic end-of-the-pier clown. Someone who visibly recoiled at the truth. The whole country is now in urgent need of treatment for PTSD as a result.Even so, we are now officially in gameshow territory. AKA the Tory party having a collective orgasm, as it exposes its deep dysfunction with countless deluded halfwits deciding they want to be prime minister while making promises they haven’t a hope in hell of keeping. I mean, Rehman Chishti. Not even his family knows who he is. Why waste everyone’s time? It’s not as if anyone is going to bung him a cabinet post. Continue reading...

The 18-time major winner admits he does not ‘see eye to eye’ with Greg Norman but focuses on positives before 150th OpenJack Nicklaus has not lost his skills of navigation at St Andrews. Whereas in 1970 and 1978 he plotted his way around the Old Course adeptly enough to claim the Claret Jug, in 2022 the 82-year-old sidestepped questions about golf’s ongoing civil war.He may have cause to be circumspect about the rebel LIV series, given he was reportedly offered tens of millions to advocate the Saudi Arabia-backed scheme. It is instead Greg Norman who is front and centre of all things LIV, which has led to the Australian not being invited by the R&A to past champion events here this week. Continue reading...

Manuel Oliver shouts ‘we have to do more’ as president gives speech marking measure at White HouseJoe Biden has been heckled by the father of a mass shooting victim during a White House event celebrating the passage of a federal gun safety law.The US president was delivering a speech on the South Lawn on Monday when he was interrupted by Manuel Oliver, whose 17-year-old son, Joaquin, was among 14 students and three staff members killed at a high school in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. Continue reading...

Cooperation of former Trump strategist could provide unique insight into inner-workings of Trump’s push to overturn electionSteve Bannon, the onetime strategist to Donald Trump who was involved in the former president’s efforts to invalidate his defeat in the 2020 election, has opened discussions with the House January 6 select committee about testifying to the inquiry into the Capitol attack.The move by Bannon gives the select committee a prime opportunity to gain insight into the inner-workings of Trump’s unlawful push to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s election win even as it amounts to a final gambit days before he goes to trial for contempt of Congress. Continue reading...

From Rishi Sunak’s slick love letter to himself, to Liz Truss’s high patriotism, the pitches are own goalsOne day, we will stop laughing at the video bids for the Tory leadership long enough to be afraid of these maniacs. Today is not that day. Rishi Sunak sprang first, with a love letter to himself and the country, told through his origin story – just another ordinary NHS-loving, hard-working family, who worked themselves so hard that they were able to send their child to Winchester College boarding school. That’s just how hard you work if you love your children, OK? “Wow, that was fast, to produce something so slick and convincing,” said absolutely no one, except the ones who were being sarcastic.Sunak looks up a lot in the video, at some unseen spectacle of beauty, presumably the future. “I think he thought he was a pop star,” said one outraged caller to BBC Radio 4’s Any Answers?. She had liked him before his stupid video, but this was frankly un-British. “He is British,” she clarified, “but I don’t think this video is particularly British.” Continue reading...

Would-be leaders are trying to woo party members with a dangerous mix of fantasy policies and wild tax cutsEmpty power-lust is a dispiriting spectacle. The array of contenders jostling for the hollow crown are a motley ship of fools or knaves, striving to outbid each other with fantasy policies and vast tax cuts that never count the cost.Downright chancers and jaw-dropping improbables stand alongside obscenely rich frontrunners with dubious tax records. None look likely to win back “red wall” seats, according to heavily negative polling in the Times: the better their name recognition, the more they are disliked, while only Keir Starmer has a positive score (with eight points).Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

The Republican promise is to cut taxes and regulation. But the statistics show just how badly that argument has failedWith the recent US supreme court decisions gutting federal enforcement of civil rights and business regulation, and the public hearings of the House select committee investigating the Capitol attack, economic news has been pushed out of the center of public conversation. That’s a shame for two reasons.First, Joe Biden appears to be centering his presidency around the idea of rebuilding the middle class through government investment in ordinary Americans. This is a major shift – a sea change – from the past 40 years of Republican policy that says the economy would prosper if only the government slashed taxes and regulation, leaving more money and power in the hands of business leaders, those “makers” who would invest in new industries and provide more jobs. Watching the effect of his policies is a window into what works and what doesn’t.Heather Cox Richardson is an American historian and professor of history at Boston College. She is the author of Letters from an American, a daily newsletter about American politics and history. This article originally appeared in her newsletter Continue reading...

Flying Djokovic, furious Kyrgios, Jabeur’s shotmaking and Tan’s defeat of Serena made for a memorable fortnightBest shot Novak Djokovic’s sliding, open stance cross-court backhand passing shot winner against Jannik Sinner, which ended with him falling face down. He celebrated by lifting his arms and legs off the ground. Flying. Continue reading...

Women already make 30% less than men in the state, with new restrictions affecting women of color and single mothers“I was horrified.”Utah State Representative Angela Romero had long known that if the supreme court ruled to overturn Roe v Wade, her state’s trigger law would come into effect and elective abortions would quickly be banned. But, even armed with that knowledge she still couldn’t believe that scenario had become reality. Continue reading...

More than 124,000 confidential documents leaked to the Guardian expose attempts to lobby Joe Biden and other world leaders. Plus the US cruise ships using Canada as a toilet bowlGood morning.A leaked trove of confidential files has revealed the inside story of how the tech giant Uber flouted laws, duped police, exploited violence against drivers and secretly lobbied governments during its aggressive global expansion.How did ex-Obama aides help sell firm to world? Uber sought access to leaders, officials and diplomats through David Plouffe and Jim Messina, who both previously worked for Barack Obama, the leak shows.What has Uber said about the revelations? In a statement, Uber said: “We have not and will not make excuses for past behaviour that is clearly not in line with our present values. Instead, we ask the public to judge us by what we’ve done over the last five years and what we will do in the years to come.”Why was the tweet so pivotal? The select committee will say Trump sent the tweet knowing that for those groups, it amounted to a confirmation that they should put into motion their plans for January 6. It was from that point that the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers seriously started preparations, and Stop the Steal started applying for permits. Continue reading...

The American soccer trailblazer’s new memoir touches on her World Cup glory and the darker spaces between, like pawning her Olympic gold medals while laid up for years after a concussionBriana Scurry has a story to tell.Or two. Or three. Continue reading...

The New York congresswoman’s political profile has shifted dramatically as she has surged to prominence in WashingtonElise Stefanik was worried about chocolate milk.Stefanik, a Republican congresswoman representing much of northern New York state, sounded a clarion call on 4 March that New York City – perceived by many rightwingers as a hotbed of leftist depravity – was trying to cancel a wholesome children’s beverage. Continue reading...

Former president’s notorious ‘Be there, will be wild!’ tweet was catalyst for violent protests, congress members will argueThe House January 6 select committee is expected to make the case at its seventh hearing Tuesday that Donald Trump gave the signal to the extremist groups that stormed the Capitol to target and obstruct the congressional certification of Joe Biden’s electoral college win.The panel will zero in on a pivotal tweet sent by the former president in the early hours of the morning on 19 December 2020, according to sources close to the inquiry who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the forthcoming hearing. Continue reading...

The fury, the sadness, the shame: nothing compares to the brutality of ‘girlfriend divorce’I am at the stage in my life where, if I don’t like something or someone, I am absolutely fine with editing them out. If it’s wrong or unfair or stupid, I’ll pay my dues in this life or the next (I’m a Hindu), and I’m cool with that. But I am also at the stage in my life where I know there is a single exception to this hard-won self-care practice: my closest girlfriends.There is no denying that these women are in my life to stay – regardless of how much they irritate, infuriate or frustrate me. Why? Because the bald truth is: these girlfriends are the scaffolding of my life. Whenever they are absent, I come unstuck. I need them. Continue reading...

These revelations reveal the political credulity and negligence that has surrounded the growing power of Silicon Valley• What are the Uber files? A guide to cab-hailing firm’s ruthless expansion tacticsThere were taxis before there was Uber, just as there were bookshops before Amazon and friends before Facebook. A large part of innovation is new ways to deliver old ideas. Technology gives the innovator an edge by lowering costs, enabling nimbler delivery and outcompeting established traders who are stuck with obsolescent methods.That is the foundational myth of Silicon Valley folklore. It was the story that Uber propagated about itself in the years of its most explosive growth from a service for hailing rides around San Francisco to a global tech powerhouse. Here was the archetypal digital disruption – an app to match demand to supply with a slickness that blew competition off the road.Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

White House opposition on security grounds seen as fatal obstacle to L3 Harris proceeding with purchaseThe American defence contractor L3 Harris has abandoned talks to acquire NSO Group’s surveillance technology after the White House said any potential deal raised “serious counterintelligence and security concerns for the US government”.The White House opposition, which was first reported by the Guardian and its media partners last month, was seen as an insurmountable obstacle to any transaction, according to a person familiar with the talks who said the potential acquisition was now “certainly” off the table. Continue reading...

President says he aims to reorient relations and meet with the crown prince, who he previously denounced as a pariahJoe Biden on Saturday defended his decision to travel to Saudi Arabia saying human rights would be on his agenda as he gave a preview of a trip on which he aims to reset ties with the crown prince, who he previously denounced as a pariah.The American president will hold bilateral talks with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his leadership team, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on his visit to the Middle East next week. Continue reading...

Vice-president highlights that down-ballot contests at local level would also be central to restoring abortion rightsVice-President Kamala Harris renewed pleas to voters ahead of the midterm congressional races to elect pro-choice candidates, as the Biden administration continues to face criticism from progressives over a perceived lackluster response to the recent landmark supreme court decision striking down federal abortion rights in the US.In an interview with CBS News on Sunday, Harris urged voters to elect a “pro-choice Congress” in November and highlighted that down-ballot contests at the local level would also be central to restoring abortion rights in certain parts of the country. Continue reading...

The UK’s creaking democracy is in crisis, and neither the Tories nor Labour have the answers to this frightening messOver the next few weeks, a maddening political game will unfold. The gaggle of MPs who want to be Tory leader and prime minister – some comically overconfident, others downright absurd – will make their pitch to Conservative MPs, party members and the general public. All of them will claim they can clear up the debris left by Boris Johnson. Amid what is already starting to look like frenzied internal warfare, some of the loudest noise will be made by contenders offering a thoroughgoing return to the Tory credo of the small state and free market.Meanwhile, another ritual will continue – one that is as essential, in its own way, to political business-as-usual grinding on. Whatever is suggested by polls done in the midst of such a huge Tory meltdown, the Labour party still faces a huge uphill struggle to win a parliamentary majority. It still has no convincing or even coherent narrative about what Britain has been through or where it is going, and a fresh fear may soon be nagging at its senior figures: when Johnson finally exits, what if a new Tory leader enjoys a honeymoon period and edges ahead? But whenever any frustrations with Labour start to surface, the electoral system ensures it has an almost brutal pitch to voters: if millions of people want to try to get rid of the Conservatives, it remains the only option they have.John Harris is a Guardian columnistJoin John Harris, John Crace and Jessica Elgot for a Guardian Live online event on Tuesday 12 July, for their take on Boris Johnson’s resignation and the Conservative leadership crisis. More information here Continue reading...

Some commentators think Democrats have moved too far to the left – too far from the so-called ‘center’. This is utter rubbishMuch of today’s Republican party is treacherous and treasonous. So why are Democrats facing midterm elections that, according to most political observers, they’re likely to lose?Having been a loyal Democrat for some 70 years, including a stint as a cabinet secretary, it pains me to say this: the Democratic party has lost its way.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...

Alex Holder’s Unprecedented shows ex-president perpetuating big lie about voter fraud – but his children are much less forthcomingA documentary film scrutinised by the congressional January 6 committee exposes divisions between the former US president Donald Trump and his children over the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol.Released to the public on Sunday, Unprecedented portrays Trump’s 2020 election campaign as a family affair and features interviews with him and his inner circle before, during and after the vote. Continue reading...

The president boasted his administration would use ‘every tool available’ to secure abortion access. So why is his order so lacking?Probably the most enthusiastic assessment that an abortion rights advocate can make for President Biden’s executive order that aims to “protect access to reproductive health services” is that it’s better than nothing. That’s because the order, signed by Biden in a brief ceremony at the White House on Friday as vice-president Harris and secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra looked on, has been spoken of by the White House in only the vaguest terms. The order consists of a series of directives aimed at HHS and the justice department, but these directives are imprecisely worded. They create few obligations for these agencies; they appear designed not to ruffle any feathers. It’s unclear what, precisely, the order will mean for abortion access, and specifically what actions those agencies will now be required to take.The executive order calls for expanded access to abortion medication in states where abortion has not been outlawed; it doesn’t say whether this will include eliminating the current, medically unnecessary restrictions on the drugs or making them available over the counter, as abortion rights advocates have called for. It asks HHS to make “updates to current guidelines”, for emergency medical care, in an effort to reduce deaths in pregnant women whose doctors refuse to intervene in medical crises for fear of harming a fetus and incurring liability; it does not call for HHS to solidify these guidelines into a rule that would more forcefully protect women’s lives.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

Bad Bunny, Real Madrid and Marvel have all made use of El Bebito Fiu Fiu, which mocks an alleged scandalA musical send-up of an embarrassing scandal involving a former Peruvian president unexpectedly reached first place in the Spotify Viral 50 ranking before it was withdrawn from the platform over a copyright violation.The song, known as El Bebito Fiu Fiu, sparked a mixture of curiosity and amusement as it swept through Spanish-language social media. The reggaeton star Bad Bunny sang it live on Instagram, Real Madrid’s official TikTok account played the song on a video introducing new players and Marvel Spain used it to promote its latest Thor movie. Continue reading...

Closing the economic gap in the UK has to be the key agenda for whoever succeeds Boris Johnson

The author of Just Boris says he should have stepped down long ago and may be struggling to confront the unpalatable truth about his lack of competenceAfter more than 50 resignations from Boris Johnson’s government last week (and by some accounts a call from the palace), he finally conceded that it was time for him to go. Or did he?Anyone expecting contrition and humility from his speech at the Downing Street lectern on Thursday were treated not to a 10-minute mea culpa, but rather the notion that it was everyone’s culpa except his own. Continue reading...

The latest craze in celebrity publishing is to bring a ‘ghost’ in. Do it yourself or not at all‘Dear UK publishers,” tweeted the writer and presenter Damian Barr on Wednesday as the resignation letters flurried in like the owl post down Harry Potter’s chimney. “Please don’t buy their memoirs.” I felt compelled to remind him that there was an infinitely worse prospect: that all these ex-ministers and parliamentary private secretaries would take advantage of their free time to write their “novels”. After all, if Nadine Dorries can do it (publishing a novel or being appointed to a cabinet post), the bar must surely be set low enough to make anyone feel they may as well have a go.There’s precedent, obviously. Plenty of politicians have been persuaded that writing fiction is a legitimate second job, in a long and respected tradition that stretches from Benjamin Disraeli to Ann Widdecombe. Tom Watson, the former Labour deputy leader, currently has a thriller out, co-written with the novelist Imogen Robertson, and Watson deserves a special round of applause for having the humility and honesty to give Robertson equal billing on the cover. Continue reading...

Just as the conservative justice reaches the zenith of his influence to press his agenda, a political scandal could yet tear him downClarence Thomas knows the loneliness of the long distance runner – and the rewards. In 1980, with five months’ training, he ran the Marine Corps Marathon in an impressive three hours and 11 minutes. He saw it as a metaphor for his life, he wrote later in his memoir.The marathon is certainly apt for Thomas’s three decades on the US supreme court. For the lion’s share of that time he was a fringe figure with extremist views. But then the court’s centre of gravity moved his way: Thomas is now the senior member of a group of rightwing justices with the votes to control it. Continue reading...

Factory in Sturgis, Michigan shut down in May after storms that produced torrential floodingA key baby formula plant shut down by torrential rains last month has resumed operations, again spurring hope that the nationwide baby formula shortage could ease up.Abbott Laboratories, the United States’ largest baby formula manufacturer, closed down production at its main plant in Sturgis, Michigan, on 16 June after storms that produced catastrophic flooding. That came only two weeks after it had resumed work following a shutdown in February prompted by a Food and Drug Administration investigation that found contamination at the facility. Continue reading...

Officials say not enough lifeguards to open pools safely but critics say decision to cut services during Covid has had knock-on effectA nationwide shortage of lifeguards is forcing local pools across the US to close for the summer, according to reports.In major cities such as New York, Chicago, New Orleans, and elsewhere, public pools are reducing their hours of operation, or shutting down entirely amid an apparent shortage of lifeguards. Continue reading...

Elders testify in Oklahoma about beatings, whippings and sexual abuse at institutions that sought to assimilate Native childrenNative American tribal elders who were once students at government-backed Indian boarding schools testified Saturday in Oklahoma about the hardships they endured, including beatings, whippings, sexual assaults, forced haircuts and hurtful nicknames.They came from different states and different tribes, but they shared the common experience of having attended the schools that were designed to strip Indigenous people of their cultural identities. Continue reading...

His eight-shot victory in 2000 completed the career grand slam but this year could be his farewell act at the Old CourseIt is nothing other than guesswork to suggest Tiger Woods will bid farewell to the Open in the coming week. Even the man himself seems unsure about the extent to which he can compete with a body that has endured far more turmoil than is natural within 46 and a half years. Still, the standard five-year gap between St Andrews Opens means it is legitimate to believe this may be his farewell to the home of golf.The focus placed by Woods on taking his place in this 150th staging of the major looked to be with a bigger picture in mind. He was not in strong enough physical condition to play in last month’s US Open but there was never any prospect of him skipping the final major of 2022. Continue reading...

Decision from former president would clear way for one-time adviser to testify before committee investigating Capitol attackDonald Trump is considering waiving executive privilege for his longtime political adviser Steve Bannon, which would clear the way for a key ally of the former president to testify before the congressional committee investigating the deadly January 6 attack on the Capitol.Trump is reportedly considering sending a letter to Bannon, his former White House strategist, acknowledging that he granted Bannon executive privilege on 21 September but is now willing to give up the claim if Bannon reaches an agreement to testify before the House committee investigating the Capitol insurrection, the Washington Post first reported, citing sources familiar with the situation. Continue reading...

Gary Volesky, three-star general who took on lucrative consulting role, suspended over Twitter post that appeared under his nameThe US army has suspended a retired three-star general from a lucrative consultant’s role after a social media post appearing under his name taunted first lady Jill Biden’s support of abortion rights.Former top army spokesperson Gary Volesky, who retired as a lieutenant general and earned a silver star for gallantry while serving in Iraq, was making $92 an hour advising military officers, staff and students who were taking part in war games and other similar activities. Continue reading...

Brandy Bottone, who is 34 weeks pregnant, pulled over by police for driving in high-occupancy vehicle lane for two or more peopleA pregnant woman in Texas told police that her unborn child counted as an additional passenger after being cited for driving alone in a high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane, offering up a potentially clever defense for motorists navigating the legal landscape following the supreme court’s striking down of nationwide abortion rights last month.Brandy Bottone of Plano, Texas, tried to fight a ticket for driving with only one passenger in an HOV lane – which requires at least two people in the car – by arguing that her unborn baby should count as her second passenger. Continue reading...

Democracy isn’t just about turning up to the polls every couple of years, it’s about constantly pushing your representatives and leaders to do betterAfter several weeks of twiddling their thumbs, reciting poems, and breaking out into song, the Democrats have finally done something halfway useful about the rightwing assault on reproductive rights. On Friday Joe Biden signed an executive order safeguarding access to abortion, abortion pills and contraception. The executive order obviously doesn’t restore the nationwide right to an abortion (the president alone doesn’t have the power to do that), but it does set out a plan of action. Of particular note is a provision that would seem to protect women who travel out of state to get the procedure done.Arwa Mahdawi’s new book, Strong Female Lead, is available for order Continue reading...

When my partner and I moved to Austin in 2020, I faced numerous obstacles in registering to vote. There is no state where it’s harder to cast a ballot than TexasMy partner and I moved to Austin from New York in the summer of 2020, when the US was in the throes of what felt like the highest-stakes election of our lifetime. As a freelance reporter for the Guardian, I wrote about voting rights and how Texas’s byzantine laws disproportionately disenfranchised Black, Latino and young voters, even as I – a Latina in my mid-20s – was registering to vote.As experts walked me through Texas’s complex web of voting restrictions for articles, I simultaneously took note of exactly what I needed to do to participate in the upcoming election. I had to be registered roughly a month before election day. Texas had no real online registration, so I would need to send my application through the US Postal Service. Well before the early October deadline, I carefully filled out and posted my voter application. Then, I waited. Continue reading...

The colorful paper creations have come to be a staple at children’s parties in the US, but some are pushing its boundariesA turquoise and silver body glistens, with variations of color that suggest feathers. There are two eyes and a ruby-red mouth, but no beak and no sign of wings. This whimsical bird-like creature looks like a sculpture, but it is, in fact, an incredibly detailed piñata – made from cardboard and paper.Roberto Benavidez, a Mexican-American artist hailing from Texas but now living in Los Angeles said his ornate piñata oeuvre is inspired by Hieronymus Bosch, a Dutch medieval painter known for his fantastical creatures. Continue reading...

The former vice-presidential candidate, who prefigured the rise of the Maga movement, is running for Alaska’s sole seat in the House of RepresentativesFourteen years after her star power and incendiary rhetoric rallied crowds in her bid for the US vice-presidency, Sarah Palin takes the stage again on Saturday night – with a very different man at her side than during the 2008 election.Palin was the running mate of presidential nominee John McCain, a war veteran and Republican party stalwart who was this week posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Joe Biden. Continue reading...

Nine Colorado employees claim their dismissals came after an organizing campaign in response to safety concerns and pay problemsNine Starbucks workers at three stores in Denver, Colorado, who were fired shortly after their stores voted to unionize allege they were dismissed in retaliation for union organizing at the American coffee chain giant.The firings are among a few dozen cases around the US where workers have alleged they have been fired from the coffee retail chain during a union organizing campaign at their store. More than 180 Starbucks corporate retail stores in the US have voted to unionize, and more than 300 have filed for union elections. Continue reading...

President urged to act more forcefully to deal with rising inflation, gun violence and dire supreme court rulingsAt an Independence Day barbecue, crises cascading around him, Joe Biden declared that he had “never been more optimistic about America than I am today”.Of course there were challenges, grave ones, the US president told the military families assembled on the south lawn of the White House. And the nation had a troubling history of taking “giant steps forward” and then a “few steps backwards”, he acknowledged. Continue reading...

Spaniard is embracing chance to emulate Seve Ballesteros and win the Open at St Andrews, one of the ‘highest pinnacles in sport’Conventional thought dictates Jon Rahm should feel the heavy burden of expectation in the coming days. But conventional thought ignores the formidable mindset of the man himself.The triumph of Seve Ballesteros at St Andrews in the Open Championship of 1984 remains one of the major’s marquee moments. The beaming smile, the dance of delight and the panache with which the Claret Jug was claimed were all so typically Seve. Ballesteros won the Open three times but glory at the home of golf resonates even today. Continue reading...

The basketball star’s wife revealed that the president had followed up the Fourth of July note with one of his ownJoe Biden replied to a letter from the detained US basketball star Brittney Griner, in which she described fearing she would never return home from Russia, her wife told reporters on Friday.“I was able to read [Biden’s] letter, and it brought so much joy as well as BG,” Cherelle Griner said, using a nickname for her wife. “I believe every word that she said to [Biden] he understood, and he sees her as a person, and he has not forgotten her, which was her biggest cry in her letter.” Continue reading...

Construction crew found elderly Lulu in bushes after thinking she was a bearAn Alaska family had given up hope of finding their blind, elderly golden retriever who wandered away from their home three weeks ago, but a construction crew found Lulu in salmonberry bushes after initially confusing her for a bear.Lulu was barely alive after being found Tuesday, but she is being nursed back to health and is back home with her family, the Daily Sitka Sentinel reported. Continue reading...