Ohio has voted to add abortion rights to the state's constitution in a major victory for women's reproductive rights. The vote to approve 'Issue 1' passed with nearly 60% of the vote. Abortion access has been a contested issue in Ohio since the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade in 2022, sending the question back to the states and leading 16 states to ban nearly all abortions. Lauren Blauvert, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, welcomed the pro-choice victory in a speech: 'There was no choice, we had to win. We had to end the ban'
Mei Xiang and Tian Tian have been on loan to US from China for more than two decades and are being transported with their cubThe two giant pandas at the Smithsonian's National zoo officially began their return to China on Wednesday.The two panda bears, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, had been in the United States on loan from China for more than two decades as part of a research agreement set to expire early next month. Their cub, three-year-old Xiao Qi Ji, is also going. Continue reading...
Yusef Salaam's victory comes two decades after DNA used to overturn mistaken conviction in 1989 rape caseThe exonerated Central Park Five" member Yusef Salaam has won a seat on the New York City council, marking a stunning reversal of fortune for a political newcomer who was wrongly imprisoned as a teenager in the infamous rape case.Salaam, a Democrat, will represent a central Harlem district on the city council, having run unopposed for the seat in one of many local elections playing out across New York state on Tuesday. He won his primary election in a landslide. Continue reading...
Civilians given four-hour window to leave encircled capital but fears many are still trapped. Plus, Salman Rushdie on peace, Barbie and what freedom cost him
Gender conservatism does not tend to attract as much notice as the other pillars of the far-right ideology, but it is central to the Republican ideologyLate last month, when House Republicans ended their chaotic, weeks-long search for a new speaker by elevating Louisiana's Mike Johnson, a curious trend of stories began appearing in national media. Democratic operatives (and perhaps a few of Johnson's Republican adversaries, too) had begun leaking what's known in Washington as oppo", or opposition research - unflattering truths about political rivals - about the new speaker.For many politicians, the embarrassing secrets revealed in an oppo dump are somewhat oblique; usually, they're about money. Maybe the candidate, as a young lawyer, represented a bank in a case where he aimed to repossess the home of a poor widow; maybe the candidate's husband or daughter was appointed to a job they did not seem quite qualified for, raising questions about nepotism or access trading. The aim of such stories is to make a politician appear corrupt, or unscrupulous - like someone beholden to greed and not to principle. Continue reading...
From Daniel Radcliffe to Paul Mescal, a star name will fill theatres. And if most of the audience aren't there for the acting, that's not always a bad thingPoor Kenneth Branagh. His West End production of King Lear has been savaged by critics - including the Observer's Susannah Clapp - as an emotionally stilted, insubstantial affair. Branagh is, of course, a trained Shakespearean actor, although he hasn't performed on stage in eight years. His luxuriant bouffant - making him possibly the most follicularly blessed Lear since Laurence Olivier - is all Hollywood, as is the surprising third-act revelation that this Lear comes with abs.I'm being a little unkind. But perhaps theatre audiences could do with a bit more unkindness, particularly when it comes to A-listers. While several good-looking stars got their start treading the boards, more than a few have entered stage right and left it coming off as total planks. (There's a reason you've probably never heard about Ricky Martin's stint in Evita.) Continue reading...
More than 70 Orange County firefighters battled a blaze at one of two 17-storey-high hangars at the former Tustin airbase. The fire broke out in the historic hangar facility at about 1am and prompted a three-alarm fire response from fire crews. The twin blimp hangars are two of the world's largest freestanding wooden structures and date back to the second world war Continue reading...
I hold two thoughts in my mind: I love my daughter and at times I find it difficult to copeMy daughter was born on 4 January, overnight. It wasn't an easy labour. It lasted more than 24 hours and ended up in an emergency caesarean. When the nurse brought her to me from the surgery room, I thought to myself, Am I supposed to hold this baby now?" It was the first time I had held a baby. Most of my friends and relatives have kids, many of them were teenagers at that point, but somehow I had managed to never hold a baby. It wasn't by chance: I've never liked them and had always felt afraid of having my own.I have lived with depression since I was a teenager. It's hard to explain what suffering from chronic depression is like. Many of us learn how to operate on a daily basis, sitting with sadness in the moments when we are alone, or with our closest family. But there's a lot of suffering. For me, mornings are the worst. I struggle to find a reason to start my day, and I have to use every tool in my kit to get my mind out of that loop. Most of those tools involve allowing myself to be sad and grumpy for a couple of hours, while I gather strength and my mood starts to change. It's a tedious daily task that requires time and focus on oneself. Continue reading...
Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in the chamber, sparked criticism by defending the slogan from the river to the sea'The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted late on Tuesday to censure the Democratic representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan - the only Palestinian American in Congress - in an extraordinary rebuke of her rhetoric about the Israel-Hamas war.The 234-188 tally came after enough Democrats joined with Republicans to censure Tlaib, a punishment one step below expulsion from the House. The three-term congresswoman has long been a target of criticism for her views on the decades-long conflict in the Middle East. Continue reading...
Sole Palestinian American in US Congress defends her criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza and urges lawmakers to call for ceasefireThe progressive Michigan congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who is the only Palestinian American in the US Congress, on Tuesday defended her criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza and urged US lawmakers to join in calling for a ceasefire.Her comments on the House floor came minutes after Democrats paved the way for an effort to censure her for her remarks, which her detractors say disparaged Israel, and included an emotional and impassioned plea for free speech and equal treatment for Palestinians. The actual vote on whether or not to censure Tlaib is expected on Wednesday. Continue reading...
Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American member of Congress, defended her criticism of Israel ahead of a House of Representatives vote to censure her over her rhetoric about the Israel-Hamas war. The House ultimately voted 234-188to censure Tlaib. The Michigan Democrat said: 'I will not be silenced and I will not let you distort my words,' Tlaib said, adding, 'I can't believe I have to say this, but Palestinian people are not disposable'The censure measure was forwarded by the Republican Rich McCormick in response to what he said were 'falsehoods' about 'our greatest ally, Israel, and the attack on October 7'
The Steelers head coach has won a Super Bowl but remaining in the playoff hunt with a middling roster may make 2023 his finest year so farMike Tomlin, in his 17th season as the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, found a seat behind a table and two microphones last week and said he was really excited" that his team had rallied to beat the Tennessee Titans. Then, as usual, Tomlin abruptly began sweating the details.Obviously, it could have been cleaner, first and foremost, from a penalty perspective," Tomlin said. Part of being a tough team to beat, first, is not kicking your own butt, and we've been kind of doing that some. We've got to own that. And so, we will. We'll review it. We'll learn from it, we'll look at it. We'll bring more officials into our practice setting in an effort to be cleaner, because that was catastrophic, really, in a lot of instances to our effort." Continue reading...
The US national security spokesperson, John Kirby, said the US president, Joe Biden, does not support Israel reoccupying the Gaza Strip. Speaking to reporters at a press conference on Tuesday, Kirby said: 'President Biden's been very clear. We don't support a reoccupation of Gaza by the Israeli Defence Forces. We do think that there needs to be a healthy set of conversations about what post-conflict Gaza looks like and what governance looks like.'Kirby's statement comes after the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said his country would take security control over Gaza for an 'indefinite period'
While Europe is battered by the climate crisis, governments must reassure voters that green costs will be fairly sharedAt a time when we should be accelerating action, there is backtracking ... We are hurtling towards disaster, eyes wide open." A few months ago, the UN secretary general Antonio Guterres used these words to warn that the collective battle against the climate crisis is losing political steam. Guterres was right: the collective response is pitiful. But it's not just the politicians.Clear evidence of climate fatigue emerges from recent opinion polls on voting intentions in the next European parliament elections, in June 2024. While European green parties are expected to lose more than a third of their seats, rightwing climate-sceptic conservatives are expected to win big.Francesco Grillo is a visiting fellow at the European University Institute, Florence and director of the thinktank Vision Continue reading...
In a rebuke to Glenn Youngkin, the governor, voters rejected stricter abortion limits and conservative school policiesDemocrats have secured full control of the Virginia state legislature, winning a majority in the house of delegates and depriving the Republican governor Glenn Youngkin of the opportunity to enact a 15-week abortion ban.Democrats maintained their majority in the state senate and flipped control of the house of delegates, where Republicans previously held a narrow advantage. Democrats' victories quashed Youngkin's hopes of securing a Republican-controlled legislature that would be able to advance his policy agenda, casting doubt upon his prospects as a potential presidential candidate. Continue reading...
Republican managed to hold on to his position and beat out Democratic challenger in year-long election seasonBrandon Presley conceded to the incumbent governor Tate Reeves on Tuesday night after the Republican managed to hold on to his position.During the state's only gubernatorial debate this season, Reeves and Presley, who is related to Elvis Presley, had exchanged verbal blows, with Reeves alleging that Presley had been bought by out-of-state, liberal political interest groups. Presley hammered Reeves on his and his family's alleged involvement in the state's ongoing corruption scandal. Continue reading...
Republican-leaning state rejects GOP challenger Daniel Cameron, after Beshear's campaign focused on issueAndy Beshear, the Democratic incumbent governor, won a second term in the Republican-leaning state of Kentucky on Tuesday.Beshear's hope that his support of abortion rights would persuade voters was realized even as skepticism of the national Democratic party grows in the state. Continue reading...
Parker, who served for 10 years as state representative, promised to make Philly the safest, cleanest, greenest big city in the nation'Cherelle Parker was elected as Philadelphia's 100th mayor on Tuesday, becoming the first woman to hold the post.Voters were also choosing a new leader for Allegheny county, which is home to Pittsburgh. The races will set the electoral stage for 2024, when Pennsylvania will be a presidential battleground state, with candidates taking lessons about how Democrats see crime and the strength of progressives in local races into the next election cycle. Continue reading...
The Democratic contender defeated Republican Gerry Leonard to win the state's first congressional districtThe Democrat Gabe Amo defeated Republican Gerry Leonard to win Rhode Island's first congressional district seat Tuesday, becoming the state's first Black candidate elected to Congress.The former White House aide succeeds David Cicilline, a former Democratic representative, who stepped down this summer to become president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation. Continue reading...
Tensions rise after Paul Kessler, 69, died from a head injury sustained at pro-Israel and pro-Palestine demonstrationsAmid growing outrage over the death of a Jewish man following an altercation at a protest over the Israel-Hamas war, southern California police called for calm as they investigate the incident.Paul Kessler, 69, died on Monday from a head injury sustained at pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Thousand Oaks, a suburb north-west of Los Angeles, authorities said. Witnesses reported that Kessler was in the middle of a confrontation with protesters when he fell and hit his head, authorities said. Continue reading...
Former residents of Lord's Ranch, run by Ted Suhl, convicted of bribery in 2016, say abuse was systematic and widespread'Eight former residents of a youth treatment center that was run by an Arkansas man whose bribery conviction was commuted by Donald Trump have filed a lawsuit claiming they were victims of systematic and widespread" abuse at the now-shuttered facility.Attorneys for the former residents of The Lord's Ranch said the lawsuit was the first of several to be filed in the coming weeks alleging abuse at the facility that closed in 2016 after owner Ted Suhl was convicted in a federal bribery scheme. Suhl's conviction was commuted by Trump in 2019. Continue reading...
Streaming giant planning to use the lavish location as a venue for premieres and events after $70m renovationHollywood's 100-year-old Egyptian Theatre is reopening this week after a $70m renovation from Netflix, with the streaming giant planning to use the lavish location as a venue for premieres and events.The Egyptian, which hosted Hollywood's first-ever movie premiere in 1922, will screen classic movies on the weekends, programmed by American Cinemateque, the non-profit which previously owned the theater. During the week, it will host screenings for Netflix, which purchased the building in 2020. Continue reading...
Charles III's opening of parliament was marked by waffle and filler, a perfect expression of Rishi Sunak's leadershipThe lords and ladies started filing into the upper chamber two hours before proceedings were due to start. A riot of scarlet and ermine. No dressing-up box left unturned. Old costume tiaras from Claire's Accessories dusted down. Apart from one woman sitting near the throne who appeared to have a vegetable garden growing out of her head. They do things differently in the upper chamber.Most of all there was the sense of entitlement. There wasn't a man or woman in the Lords who had a moment's doubt they deserved to be there. The great and the good. The chosen ones. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, others have greatness thrust upon them. All forms of greatness were found here. Even the youngest peer, Charlotte Owen. No one still knows why she was made a baroness. But ours is not to question the righteous order of things. Merely to bow low. We are not the chosen ones. Silence is all that is required from us.A year in Westminster: John Crace and Marina Hyde live in London and online
Allowing structure in Tustin, California, to collapse is only way to fight the fire, which could continue burning for days, officials sayA giant second world war-era wooden hangar that was built to house military blimps based in southern California was destroyed on Tuesday in a raging fire that authorities expect could continue burning for days.Firefighters responded to the blaze just before 1am, the Orange county fire authority said, and found the hangar fully engulfed" with flames tearing through the roof. The ferocity of the fire brought more than 70 firefighters to the scene and prompted authorities to make the unusual decision of deploying helicopters typically used to fight wildfires in an effort to slow the blaze. Continue reading...
Former press chief Kayleigh McEnany, now a Fox News host, upset by sketch of ex-president, found liable in New York caseAmid Donald Trump's rambling court appearance in his fraud trial on Monday, there was one thing that really piqued Fox News: the former president's appearance in a courtroom sketch.A travesty," was the verdict of Kayleigh McEnany, who served as Trump's press secretary during the dying embers of his one-term presidency before she became a Fox News host. Continue reading...
Portion of Interstate 10 closed after wildfire smoke combines with fog to severely reduce visibilityAt least one person died as several vehicle accidents were reported near New Orleans after an extremely dense fog rolled into the area on Tuesday morning.Officials closed a portion of Interstate 10 in both directions after a combination of wildfire smoke and fog produced what is known as a super fog in the area. Visibility for drivers on Tuesday was reduced to about a quarter of a mile, the National Weather Service said. Continue reading...
University of North Florida study shows governor trailing Trump by 39 points, 60% to 21%, among Republican voters in his stateA new poll shows Florida's hard-right governor, Ron DeSantis, falling even further behind Donald Trump in his own state, one day before the embattled candidate for the Republican presidential nomination takes the debate stage in Miami.The study by the University of North Florida (UNF) published on Tuesday shows DeSantis trailing Trump by 39 points (60-21) among Republican Florida voters, with the former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley a distant third on 6%. Continue reading...
You are going to cost me the presidency!' Trump yelled at Todd Blanche after hush-money trial scheduled for primary seasonThe extent of Donald Trump's frustrations over the timing of his multiple scheduled court appearances in the thick of the 2024 presidential race, as well as the disdain with which he treats his own lawyers, is laid bare in a new book by Jonathan Karl.The Washington correspondent for ABC News reveals Trump's furious reaction when told by a Manhattan judge earlier this year that his criminal trial in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case would start on 25 March 2024. That places it right in the middle of the Republican primaries, and just 20 days before the all-important Super Tuesday in which 15 states decide their preferred candidate. Continue reading...
Five wins from seven turf races was an invaluable contribution for the British and Irish racing ecosystems at the US spectacleIt will not garner anything like the acclaim and attention that Europe's Ryder Cup team enjoyed when they thrashed the Americans in September, but five wins from the seven turf races at the 2023 Breeders' Cup over the weekend was an impressive return. Around 4.2m in win prize money alone will find its way back into the British and Irish racing ecosystems, and while it is undoubtedly true that most of the winning owners are not exactly strapped for cash, the success of Big Evs in Friday's Juvenile Turf Sprint was very much one for the little guys.And putting money to one side, most of the European stars, both human and equine, performed up to their very best, making an essential and invaluable contribution to the spectacle. Mawj, the 1,000 Guineas winner, got a great ride from Oisin Murphy in the Mile before being nailed on the line by an even better ride by William Buick on Master Of The Seas. Likewise, Warm Heart, in the Filly & Mare Turf, did everything right before Frankie Dettori and Inspiral closed her down. Continue reading...
Tuberville is performing Trump's retribution against a military he believes confounded his coup - and is preparing the groundwork for his takeover in 2025Tommy Tuberville plays the fool with such conviction that he makes it difficult to imagine a motive behind his idiocy. He is really, truly, actually not acting. In ordinary times others might qualify as the stupidest member of the Senate, but none have matched his performance at a moment of profound and precarious international crisis. Tuberville's freeze on promotions of general staff officers unless the federal government denies reproductive health services - abortions - to women in the military has significantly disrupted readiness, upended the chain of command and otherwise endangered national security. Of 852 general and flag officers, he has placed 387 holds so far. By the end of the year, 90% of generals and admirals will be out of position. The chief of naval operations, Admiral Lisa Franchetti, says it will take two or three years to fix. One hundred and twenty officers are now being forced to perform two jobs.When General Eric Smith, the commandant of the Marine Corps, who was performing several jobs at once, suffered a heart attack, Tuberville cavalierly dismissed any responsibility. Come on, give me a break. This guy is going to work 18-20 hours a day no matter what. That's what we do. I did that for years," he said.Sidney Blumenthal is the author of The Permanent Campaign, published in 1980, and All the Power of the Earth: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, 1856-1860, the third of a projected five volumes. He is the former assistant and senior adviser to President Bill Clinton and senior adviser to Hillary Clinton Continue reading...
Kim Reynolds, governor of state that has long held first caucuses in presidential nominating contests, says she thinks Trump can't winThe Iowa governor, Kim Reynolds, broke her neutrality in the Republican primary and endorsed Ron DeSantis for president on Monday, saying she does not believe Donald Trump can win the general election.I believe he can't win," Reynolds said in an interview with NBC. And I believe that Ron can." Continue reading...
Edmonton were tipped by many to go all the way this season. Then they lost their opener 8-1. Things haven't got much better sinceWere we all wrong about the Edmonton Oilers? The supposed Stanley Cup favourites opened the season with an 8-1 loss against the Vancouver Canucks. A fluke? No. Two nights later, another loss - again, to the Canucks. The Oilers went 2-7-1 through their first 10 games and now sit in seventh place in the Pacific division. On Monday night, the Oilers lost again, 6-2 - to the Canucks. How did this happen?Special teams: The team's once-mighty power play, which was an impressive 32.4% last season, is converting only a quarter of the time nowadays. Continue reading...
Priced out of their homes or unable to rent office space, some people in the US live or work in storage units. A few renters explain what they do with their spacesIf it seems like those self-storage places - brightly colored row upon row of doors - are popping up everywhere, it's because they have. Over the last five years, more than 250m sq ft of storage were constructed in the US. That now makes up more than 15% of the country's real estate inventory, according to the listings site StorageCafe. One in five Americans keeps belongings in these very convenient spaces outside their homes. Stashing stuff is a growth industry.But while storage may reflect American overconsumption, the boom in these facilities is an indicator of trends in affordable residential and commercial real estate. Even as housing prices rise, new apartments are getting smaller. And commercial office or work space has gotten out of reach for many entrepreneurs. Continue reading...
As Israel marks one month since the Hamas attack that killed 1,400, the Israeli PM rules out a general ceasefire and looks toward the future of Gaza. Plus: online disinformation and climate reparations
As the last few weeks have made abundantly clear, Palestinian lives don't countI do not want to ever hear western democracies lecture the rest of the world on human rights ever again.As I write this more than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's bombardment of Gaza. Almost half of them children. One child is being killed every 10 minutes in Gaza. Those numbers, it should be noted, only count the kids who are dying as a direct result of Israel's indiscriminate bombing. The kids who were lucky' enough to die instantaneously in an air strike. And the not so lucky' ones: innocent children buried under rubble, dying painful and protracted deaths as they are suffocated by the eviscerated remains of their home.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...
Persistent problem has grave impacts on patient care, on residents' wellbeing, and is causing spiraling burnout for staffFor Linda Long, who has worked in nursing homes since 1997, working at the same facility outside of Tacoma, Washington, since 2003, understaffing has always been a problem.It only got worse during the Covid-19 pandemic where she said coworkers were turning over due to the short staffing, constant Covid outbreaks, and the immense workloads that staff were left with to fill in the void. Continue reading...
New PEN America data reveals incarcerated persons are being robbed of magazines and even recipe booksReading bans are rising at an alarming rate in prisons across the country, with new PEN America data revealing that those incarcerated are being robbed of the occasional magazine and even recipe books on how to make ramen.For almost 22 years, Zeke Caligiuri subscribed to the New Yorker magazine from prison in Minnesota. He was meant to receive 52 annual issues but claimed during his sentencing to have never gotten the full amount. Instead, a non-delivery notice with vague wording would arrive at the prison post room, sometimes flagging an advertisement that was deemed inappropriate or just one article in an issue of many. After searching for information about what he couldn't read, Caligiuri would sink into a period of overwhelming defeat. Continue reading...
Despite a puerile display in court in the New York fraud case, Trump outpolls Biden, whose impressive record isn't translating into supportOne has signed historic climate and infrastructure legislation, steered the economy past a recession and rallied the west against Vladimir Putin. The other spent Monday on trial for fraud ranting and raving against a judge in a puerile display from the witness stand.And if a presidential election were held today, Joe Biden would lose to Donald Trump by a lot, according to the latest swing state polls. Continue reading...
by Joan E Greve in Fredericksburg, Virginia on (#6G648)
Republicans look to maintain narrow majority in house and flip state senate, which could carry national implicationsAs he approached another door in Fredericksburg, walking past Halloween decorations and trees starting to lose their autumn leaves, Muhammad Khan prepared his pitch to voters. Over the past several weeks, Khan has spoken to many of his Virginia neighbors, stressing to them that the upcoming legislative elections will determine the future of their state.Addressing fellow union organizers on Friday morning, Khan said: We really need to fight, and we need Virginia blue." Continue reading...
Voters could strike blow for abortion rights in Ohio and choose governors, legislators and mayors in off-year elections across USMillions of Americans go to the polls on Tuesday to vote in elections and ballot measures that could offer an interim verdict on Joe Biden's presidency a year out from his bid to retain the White House.Voters will choose governors in Kentucky and Mississippi, decide legislative control in New Jersey and Virginia and determine whether the Ohio state constitution should protect abortion rights. Continue reading...
Vote will have both political and medical consequences that go beyond Ohio as supporters of Issue 1 are cautiously optimisticAbortion rights are back on the ballot on Tuesday, with voters in Ohio heading to the polls to vote on Issue 1, a proposal to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.The vote will have both political and medical consequences that stretch beyond Ohio. Issue 1 is the only abortion-related referendum this year, and the results will indicate whether the backlash to the demise of Roe v Wade will continue to translate into wins at the ballot box. Continue reading...
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