US news | The Guardian

State prohibits the pseudoscientific diagnosis authorities have frequently cited to justify killings at hands of law enforcementCalifornia has become the first state to ban the use of excited delirium" as a cause of death, prohibiting the pseudoscientific diagnosis that authorities have frequently cited to justify killings at the hands of law enforcement.Excited delirium - a term rejected by major medical groups, including the American Medical Association - suggests that people can develop superhuman strength" due to drug use. Medical examiners and coroners have argued that the condition caused victims of brutal police force to struggle and collapse from cardiac arrest, essentially excusing the role of officers who were holding them down, choking or suffocating them. Continue reading...

Prisoners in Arkansas settle lawsuit for $2,000 each after accusing Washington county detention center of medical experimentation'The four Arkansas prisoners who sued their jail over allegations they knowingly prescribed them ivermectin to treat Covid without consent have settled the dispute for $2,000 each.The quartet previously said they were administered the drug as a form of medical experimentation" without prior informed consent or knowledge of the drug's contents and potential side effects. Instead, the doctor at the jail told them they received vitamins, antibiotics, and/or steroids". Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. For our latest reporting on Israel-Hamas war, you can read our live coverage here.Special counsel for the federal January 6 case has also requested that Trump be restricted from doing juror research and publishing the identities of jurors, the Guardian's Hugo Lowell reports.The request is, in part, because of Trump's previous use of social media to attack others", argued the special counsel. Continue reading...

Republican says party is a train wreck' after Matt Gaetz initiates removal of Kevin McCarthy from House speakerThe former Maryland governor Larry Hogan said he had not ruled out a presidential run, as he contemplated the train wreck" his Republican party had become amid infighting in Congress and the ascendancy in primary polling of the 91-times criminally charged Donald Trump.Hogan also called the Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, the instigator of last week's historic removal of Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the US House, a cancer on the party and on the Congress". Continue reading...

Prosecutors questioned former chief financial officer about the value of Trump's triplex apartment in Trump TowerThe former former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization was grilled over discrepancies in financial statements as the second week of Donald Trump's fraud trial kicked off in New York.Prosecutors questioned Allen Weisselberg, who worked at the company for decades, about whether the Trump Organization was aware of inconsistencies between documents. The New York attorney general's office has been trying to prove that Weisselberg and others at the Trump Organization knowingly inflated the value of Trump's assets to boost his net worth. Continue reading...

Body of Honoree Fleming found near Castleton campus of Vermont State University as police ask local residents to send in any tipsFive days after a retired college dean was shot and killed on a recreation trail near a Vermont University campus, students returned to classes on Tuesday, some on edge, a day after police urged residents to remain vigilant, lock doors and to report any tips that might help them identify and find the killer.Honoree Fleming, a retired dean and professor, was found shot dead on Thursday afternoon on the Delaware and Hudson rail trail about a mile south of the Castleton campus of Vermont State University. The shooting happened during the school's week-long fall break. The university reopened on Monday but students were excused from classes. Continue reading...

Twitter's accelerating demise is not among the worst atrocities of the past week. But, at a crucial time, it has managed to add to the world's miseryAs the horrors of last weekend's attack on Israel by Hamas unfolded, people all over the world frantically searched for accurate information.If they thought they could find it on what used to be Twitter, they were quickly disillusioned. Continue reading...

Negotiations were fraught but the financial figures meant an uneasy peace was brokered between organisers and the IOCIt remains one of the more striking moments in Olympic history: a star-spangled rocket man hovering over the Los Angeles Coliseum at the opening ceremony in 1984, heralding a new era of commercialism and pizzazz. And although history is unlikely to precisely repeat when the Games return in five years' time, it will rhyme: LA 2028 plans to go big and brash again.That was made even more evident on Monday when the LA bid team confirmed the Guardian's exclusive that five new sports - cricket, flag football, baseball/softball, lacrosse and squash - would be proposed for 2028. Most observers had expected just two to get in, given the pressures they would put on the International Olympic Committee's quota of 10,500 athletes. Ultimately, though, both sides understood the benefits of a compromise - and saw the dollar signs stretch out from Hollywood Boulevard to Madison Avenue. Continue reading...

Jackson Frank was let go by PhillyVoice.com after he responded Solidarity with Palestine' to a 76ers tweet condemning HamasA sports reporter in Philadelphia has lost his job after tweeting his solidarity" with Palestine in the wake of Hamas's deadly attack on Israel.Jackson Frank, a writer who covered the Philadelphia 76ers professional basketball team, is no longer employed by PhillyVoice.com" after he expressed support for the Palestinian cause on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, PhillyVoice.com chief executive Hal Donnelly told the New York Post. Continue reading...

He died waiting on justice,' grandnephew says of Ellis, who was an outspoken activist for reparations over the 1921 massacreOne of the last known survivors of the Tulsa race massacre of 1921 has died, his family has confirmed in a statement.Hughes Van Ellis died from cancer Monday night at the age of 102, his family said. Continue reading...

I don't have bedbugs. I may never have bedbugs. So why am I lusting after the kit that would let me zap an infestation?In the midst of all the bedbug brouhaha, and the worry that the wingless creatures might cash in their Club Eurostar points and invade the UK, a minor detail set my pulse racing.According to bedbug specialists (a profession whose time has truly come), one way of eradicating the blood-sucking pests is by using a steamer on your sheets. Few things make me happier than the prospect of investing in a new gadget; 20 years on, I still mourn the demise of the Innovations catalogue.Anita Chaudhuri is a freelance journalist

He took Twitter, sacked staff and reduced its checks and standards. Now, in this time of crisis, we see why that mattersWay back in the mid-1990s, back when UK cable TV was considered new media, the notorious former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie was launch boss for a rolling station called Live TV. The channel's offering was an eclectic mix of neuron-slaughtering dross, to put it kindly, including Topless Darts, the News Bunny - a giant rabbit who stood behind the newsreader and emoted according to the story being read out - and Tiffani's Big City Tips, wherein a model stripped to her underwear while telling you where to invest (in rival telly companies, would seem to be the short answer). A guy who'd played an Oompa Loompa in Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory did the weather forecast while bouncing on a trampoline.Looking back, it does sound quite like some of the worst bits of modern life online, or perhaps the best bits, depending on your view. But it quickly turned to shit - again, quite like some of modern life online - and the ill-suited and vindictive MacKenzie hit on a ruse for cutting costs and amusing himself at the same time. He would walk in to the studio or production gallery and fire someone at random. If this summary loss of personnel did not appear to affect the live broadcast happening at the time - if it contrived to stay rolling, one way or another - then he'd regard the financial saving as well made. How important, really, could that person actually have been?Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Frederick C Morello was discovered in parachute gear on lawn of a house in TitusvilleA skydiver was found dead in the yard of a Florida home after an apparent accident while parachuting, local police said.Frederick C Morello, 69, was discovered outfitted in parachute attire and gear on the lawn of a house in Titusville in the center of the state near Cape Canaveral at about 12.30pm on Saturday. Morello was pronounced deceased at the scene. This remains an ongoing investigation," police said in a statement. Continue reading...

Former Texas congressman, who failed to gain much support during his campaign, said Haley is now best option for RepublicansThe former Texas congressman Will Hurd has ended his long-shot bid to secure the Republican nomination for US president and has instead endorsed Nikki Haley, the ex-governor of South Carolina.Hurd is a relatively moderate GOP member and critic of the party's subservience to Donald Trump, who remains the clear frontrunner for the Republicans' 2024 election nomination. But Hurd has failed to garner much support during a brief presidential campaign. Continue reading...

Video of incident in which Johnny Hollman Sr died will be released as early as Thursday, Fulton county spokesperson saysThe family of a 62-year-old Black deacon who died after an Atlanta police officer shocked him with a stun gun contends that the officer should be charged with murder.Relatives of Johnny Hollman Sr have seen video of the traffic stop that led to his death on 10 August - and, after a meeting with prosecutors on Monday, their lawyer said it could be publicly released as early as Thursday. Continue reading...

Robert Hur talked with the president on Sunday and Monday in what Biden's team called an act of cooperationJoe Biden voluntarily granted an interview to the special counsel investigating the president's handling of classified documents before he won the Oval Office, his administration said late Monday.Robert Hur talked with Biden at the White House on Sunday and Monday in what the president's team called an act of cooperation. Continue reading...

The former England striker's DC United tenure was mostly a failure. But learning his craft away from the spotlight has allowed him to develop at his own paceDC United wanted Wayne Rooney to pull off the managerial equivalent of his finest moment in Major League Soccer as a player. Every fan of DC United remembers the former England captain's tackle and assist in the dying moments of a match against Orlando City in August 2018, when Rooney essentially did everything himself to turn around a game on his own. DC United hired him to do the same as a manager.Unsurprisingly, the ploy didn't work. Rooney announced his departure as DC United boss on Saturday after his team were all but eliminated from playoff contention. Rooney is now expected to take over at Birmingham City, who sacked John Eustace on Monday to clear space in the St Andrew's dugout. The Championship club co-owned by Tom Brady wanted a big-name manager and Rooney certainly ticks that box. Continue reading...

Lead was found in several parks in Durham, North Carolina, a legacy of industrial waste in the city's Black neighborhoods - and worsening segregation doesn't helpBuck Blue fondly remembers growing up in Walltown, a tight-knit Black community in Durham, North Carolina, in the 1960s and 1970s. He would be out all day, playing football and basketball with buddies at the park near his house. They'd spend hours in the creek there, which turned different hues depending on a nearby textile mill's dyeing work. They'd hang out in the tunnel that ferried the water across the road: That was our clubhouse," he said.But his memories have been tainted. Last year, Duke University researchers found that some of the soil in Walltown Park, including sediment along the creek's banks, is contaminated with lead. It's a lingering remnant of the property's days as a waste incinerator from around 1920 to 1942, one of five that the city operated. Continue reading...

Groups express opposing views over root cause of the attack, alongside differences over whether Gaza is still occupiedThe grim weekend attack by Hamas produced an unusual degree of unity on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian divide in the US, with widespread revulsion at the scale of the killings, the horrific video of bodies paraded through Gaza, and the abduction of civilians by the Palestinian armed group including the very young and elderly.But opinion in the US quickly divided as the broader battle for narrative took hold, particularly over the cause of the attack, alongside differences over whether Gaza is still occupied, as the Palestinian death toll, including entire families, rose sharply under Israel's retaliatory bombardment. Continue reading...

Israeli military says air force carrying out strikes on Gaza every four hours. Plus Minnesota man's 2,749lb pumpkin sets world record

Biden may be the last unalloyed pro-Israel Democratic president - but right now he sets the tone of US policyOnce again, the Middle East looms large in US politics. Hamas's attack on southern Israel will reverberate in the weeks and months to come. On Monday, Joe Biden announced that 11 Americans were killed. Already, the political fallout is being felt in the White House and Capitol Hill, in California and in New York.The strains between the Biden administration and Benjamin Netanyahu's government have subsided. As a result, the Republicans can no longer try to lay sole claim to the pro-Israel card heading into the 2024 elections. Continue reading...

Joe Biden said on Monday that the American people stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Israelis'It now seems that the Middle East is poised on the edge of a broader regional war. Whether or not this was the goal of the Hamas invasion of towns and cities deep inside Israel, it is the result. Israel has suffered its deadliest day since the state's founding, and the gruesome, unspeakable images of whole families shot in their homes and kidnapped Israeli children, women, youth and the elderly have galvanized almost the entire country in support of an overwhelming use of force against the Gaza Strip.Joshua Leifer is a member of the Dissent editorial board and a contributing editor at Jewish CurrentsAlex Kane is a senior reporter at Jewish CurrentsYousef Munayyer is head of the Palestine/Israel program at the Arab Center in Washington DCLibby Lenkinski is an activist and the vice-president for public engagement at the New Israel FundNoura Erakat is an associate professor at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, and the author of Justice for Some: Law and the Question of PalestineDiala Shamas is a senior staff attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights Continue reading...

My sister brings them back to life, only for me to start killing them again. Something has to changeMy friend has the most beautiful houseplants. They each have their own floating shelf, like they think it's 1992, and their leaves trail down the walls with great grace and verdancy. The sight is simultaneously calming and enlivening. I asked her how she kept them alive, and she said: I don't. When they die, I throw them away and get new ones."I didn't even know you were allowed to throw away plants. I thought when they died, you had to keep the carrion as memorial to your own fecklessness. I still have a dead succulent I got as a gift for my first wedding. It survived five years in storage, though of course it helped that it was already dead. Continue reading...

The images from the Hamas attack are an affront to humanity. But we mustn't forget the traumatic history shaping events

Workers contracted to work for western brands in Saudi Arabia have described conditions as like jail'

Another NHL season has arrived with no shortage of stories, trends and teams to watch. Will Connor Bedard live up to the hype? And can the Oilers dethrone the Knights?Four years ago, someone uploaded a highlight reel to YouTube of then-14-year-old Connor Bedard, already then a potential NHL prospect, lighting it up at a spring tournament in British Columbia for the Vancouver Vipers. Commenters mulled his hockey IQ. Was he really that good? I know his passing may be an issue," one wrote after watching Bedard score multiple times. But from this video, a lot of options weren't properly set up. I'd say he's experienced enough to see some people just shouldn't touch the puck." It's worth mentioning that among Bedard's teammates were two players also drafted to the NHL in 2023: Zach Benson (Buffalo Sabres) and Andrew Cristall (Washington Capitals) - that is, guys who should definitely touch the puck. He had someone to pass it to. He just didn't need to. Continue reading...

Two-way contracts have given fringe NBA players a chance to prove they can play at the highest level, but ask them to live in two worlds at onceAccording to the rules of physics, a body can't be in two places at once. But some of today's NBA players are attempting to prove that scientific maxim false. Yes, the subsection of pro basketball players on two-way" contracts often feel as if they are in multiple places at any single given moment, stretched between different rosters, playing styles, positions, playbooks and cities. But such is the life of a two-way athlete, someone who is walking a dual-pronged path, while also trying to find a permanent home in the league of milk, honey and millionaires. But how do these guys navigate this unique lifestyle and what does it take to succeed?Every day," the Detroit Pistons' Jared Rhoden tells the Guardian, you never know where you're going to be or what's going to happen. What your role will be, what position [you'll play]. It's about staying ready for anything." Continue reading...

Police say that despite life-saving efforts, the suspect was pronounced dead at hospitalSan Francisco police said they shot and killed a driver who crashed into the Chinese consulate.Official details of the incident were incomplete, and police said the identity of the motorist and what precipitated the crash were not yet known. There was no mention of anyone else being injured in the incident. Continue reading...

Horticultural teacher Travis Gienger brings gourd - dubbed Michael Jordan - across country for California contestA Minnesota horticultural teacher set a new world record for growing the heaviest pumpkin - a gargantuan jack-o'-lantern gourd weighing 2,749lb.Travis Gienger set the record at the 50th World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, California. The plump pumpkin beat the previous record, set in 2021 by Stefano Cutrupi of Italy, by 47lb. Continue reading...

Public school principal reinstates 17-year-old's leadership role and scholarship endorsement and requests leave for rest of school yearA Louisiana public school principal has apologized and requested leave for punishing a student and questioning her religious beliefs after he saw a video of her dancing at an off-campus party.The 17-year-old student government president and scholarship candidate was videotaped dancing at an off-campus party following Walker High School's 30 September homecoming festivities. A hired DJ took the video and posted it on social media. Three days later, Jason St Pierre, principal of the public high school near the state capital of Baton Rouge, told the student she would be removed from her position with the student government association and that he would no longer recommend her for college scholarships. Continue reading...

James Murphy, nicknamed Stoneman Willie' because of hard skin from experimental embalming, has been gawked at long enough'The mummified remains of a petty thief nicknamed Stoneman Willie have been laid to rest in Pennsylvania, concluding a fascinating and somewhat macabre episode stretching back 128 years.Willie, whose real name was revealed to be James Murphy at his burial in Reading, 60 miles north-west of Philadelphia, on Saturday. He was embalmed shortly after his death in 1895 by a mortician experimenting with new preservation techniques. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. For our latest reporting on Kennedy's presidential candidacy, you can read our latest report:

Sister Helen Prejean, known for 1995 film Dead Man Walking, accues board of pardons of breaking state's public meetings lawSister Helen Prejean, the Catholic nun and anti-death penalty advocate, is accusing Louisiana's board of pardons of breaking the state's public meetings law to effectively delay clemency petitions for death row inmates.The action pits the 84-year-old sister, who came to prominence as the author of the book behind the 1995 film Dead Man Walking, against Louisiana's far-right attorney general, Jeff Landry. Landry is part of a legal effort seeking to block the pardon board from hearing mass clemency petitions. Continue reading...

Independent candidate's three sisters and brother post joint statement denouncing his run as dangerous to our country'Robert F Kennedy Jr's run for the White House as an independent candidate is perilous" for the US, his siblings said in a statement on Monday, immediately following their brother's campaign launch in Philadelphia.The decision of our brother Bobby to run as a third party candidate against Joe Biden is dangerous to our country," said sisters Rory Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend; and brother Joseph P Kennedy II in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. Continue reading...

Police investigating case say four assailants battered the victim while hurling homophobic slurs at himA 72-year-old New York City man was severely beaten in what authorities have confirmed to be an anti-LGBTQ hate crime.The attack took place on 15 September near the corner of West 17th Street and Ninth Avenue in the heart of the Chelsea neighborhood, which is popular with gay residents and visitors. Police investigating the case said four assailants beat the victim while hurling homophobic slurs at him. Continue reading...

Kennedy, who had been running as a Democrat, says he feels pain' leaving party of uncle John and father BobbyRobert F Kennedy Jr, the scion of the Kennedy political family who has spent the last six months running for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination, announced on Monday he would continue his long-shot pursuit of the White House as an independent.The 69-year-old conspiracy theorist and vaccination opponent gave a fiery speech from Philadelphia, declaring his independence from the Democratic party and all other parties", and telling a gathering of several hundred supporters of his pain" at leaving the party of his uncle and father, John F Kennedy and Robert F Kennedy. Continue reading...

American gymnast won four golds at the world championships after a two-year absence and, more importantly, is enjoying her sport againIn the aftermath of an astounding comeback in which she won four gold medals and a silver after a two-year international absence, Simone Biles had every reason to celebrate her renewed dominance and a historic performance that marked her as the most decorated gymnast of all time.Instead, as she faced up to the press on Sunday evening at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Biles was firm. She did not care about the medals. Continue reading...

Eight people wounded and a 22-year-old man died at the scene while police say they believe more than one shooter involvedOne person was killed and eight wounded in a shooting during a private party at a Pennsylvania community center early on Sunday, authorities said.State police said nine people between the ages of 18 and 23 were shot shortly after 12.30am at the Chevy Chase community center in White Township. A 22-year-old Pittsburgh man died at the scene. Continue reading...

Republican US senator's blockade is protest over Pentagon policy which facilitates abortions for service members and dependentsThe Republican senator Tommy Tuberville has said he will continue to block hundreds of military leadership appointments despite the Hamas attack on Israel, a close American ally, that has triggered a deadly escalation in the Middle East conflict.Tuberville has for several months put a hold on at least 300 military nominees, which are typically confirmed in a routine manner by the US Senate. His blockade is a protest over a Pentagon policy that facilitates abortions for service members and dependents. Continue reading...

We are in shock as we digest the Hamas attacks and the failings of Netanyahu's government. The worry now is what comes nextIt is still impossible to digest these darker-than-dark days, that began with sirens jolting us awake on Saturday morning, a day that seems endless and probably won't end for many days to come. The thought of the abductees in the Gaza Strip is crumpling me down with pain. Every thought of them leaves a layer of terror on the skin. The images and reports of bodies strewn in every corner, of families held hostage for hours as human shields in their own homes by Hamas militants, still haunt the mind, freezing the heart.The absolute shock caused by Hamas's attack on southern towns has taken various forms as the hours pass: fear, helplessness, anger, and above all, a deep sense of chaos. The colossal failures of Benjamin Netanyahu's government and the security apparatus are converging into a sense of total breakdown. The intelligence system, which surveils every aspect of Palestinians' lives in Gaza and the West Bank, had no prior knowledge of the attack; civilians were left defenceless for many hours against Hamas militants, who trapped them in their homes and slaughtered them without military intervention - the same military tasked with protecting every settler in the West Bank at any given moment.Orly Noy is a journalist and editor at the Hebrew-language news magazine Local CallDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Florida Republican said it was nonsense that House Republicans would consider kicking him out of either their caucus or Congress

The so-called international community must also make up for its neglect of Israel-Palestine: there has to be a ceasefire

Distribution of New York's $200m from pharmaceutical firms to combat the epidemic has stalled due to bureaucracy tie-upsThe woman on the phone had nowhere else to turn.My son's going to be calling. I already lost two sons this year. Help him, because I can't have all three of my sons dying in one year," she pleaded with the addiction support centre in Buffalo, New York. Continue reading...

The Biden administration can, instead, expand labor pathways, update the US's humanitarian protections to meet 21st-century challengesThe Biden administration's plan to erect a new section of border wall is disappointing not only because it contradicts a campaign promise, nor just because physical barriers are a return to the same tired policy responses of the Trump era.Rather, this week's news around the project - slated for a rural region along the Texas-Mexico border - is upsetting most of all because it stands in stark contrast to the solutions the US immigration system needs right now.Alexandra Villarreal is a policy and advocacy associate at the National Immigration Forum. Continue reading...

Sikh dissidents expressing their support for an independent state face increasing risks. It is time to stand up to IndiaWatching news of Justin Trudeau's explosive statement about intelligence indicating Indian involvement in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar did not shock those familiar with India's security and intelligence operations. Friends and family of Sikh activists regularly express concern about our wellbeing due to a fear of being surveilled by Indian agents, and ultimately being subject to some form of violent reprisal.The statements made in Canada's parliament were finally an acknowledgement of the reality that young Sikhs like me have lived through for decades: Sikh dissidents expressing their support for an independent state may face the risk of imminent harm, even in the diaspora.Prabjot Singh is a lawyer and founding editor of the Panth-Punjab Project Continue reading...