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New York judge said there was no evidence Trump had conducted a thorough search for the records sought by attorney generalA New York judge on Friday denied a request from Donald Trump’s lawyer to end a contempt-of-court finding against the former US president and kept in place $10,000-a-day fine over his failure to comply with a subpoena issued by the state attorney general investigating the business practices of Trump’s family company, the Trump Organization.Justice Arthur Engoron in New York state court in Manhattan said he was not satisfied with an affidavit provided by Trump and said there was no evidence Trump had conducted a thorough search for the records sought by New York’s attorney general, Letitia James. Continue reading...

With 2,000 tactical warheads at his disposal, we must hope the Russian president’s warnings are tacticalAs the war in Ukraine and its consequences weaken Russia’s conventional military, Vladimir Putin’s government has resorted to nuclear threats designed to project strength. Mr Putin wants to intimidate his opponents. But his strategy is failing. Instead of Ukraine’s allies backing down, they are stepping up their support. The US Congress this week approved $11bn of arms to Ukraine, three times the total military aid Washington has so far given.The US president, Joe Biden, was right to call out Mr Putin for making “idle comments” about nuclear weapons. It is unthinkable that blunders and miscalculations would take the world to the edge of the nuclear abyss. Yet that is where the world is heading. Whereas the Cuban missile crisis lasted 13 days, Russia’s war is already into its third month. With no clear end in sight, more deadly battles look inevitable – increasing the chances of mistakes. Continue reading...

The US army has presented an Italian woman with a birthday cake to replace the cake that American soldiers stole from her as it cooled on a windowsill 77 years ago. Meri Mion, who turned 90 the day after the presentation, wiped away tears at a ceremony in Vicenza and said she had not been expecting the cake, although she clearly remembered the moment when the one baked for her 13th birthday had 'disappeared'.The event marked the anniversary of the day on which the 88th Infantry Division fought its way into the city on 28 April 1945, during one of the final battles of the second world war

‘I don’t think he should be our nominee,’ ex-president’s attorney general tells NewsmaxWilliam Barr, Donald Trump’s former attorney general, said in an interview on Thursday that it would be a “big mistake” for the Republican party to nominate Trump for president in 2024.Appearing on the Newsmax television channel, Barr said Trump, who has hinted that he will run again, would not be a sound choice. Continue reading...

Willy Joseph Cancel, 22, was killed while working for a military contracting company that sent him to Ukraine, his mother saysA former US Marine has been killed fighting alongside Ukrainian forces – the first US citizen known to have died in combat in the war with Russia.Willy Joseph Cancel, 22, was killed on Monday while working for a military contracting company that sent him to Ukraine, his mother, Rebecca Cabrera, told CNN. Continue reading...

CDC planned to suggest in 2020 that religious communities hold services online but key passages were struck outDonald Trump’s administration overrode Covid-19 guidance to religious organizations, according to newly released emails, which would have encouraged churches to consider virtual religious services rather than in-person worship.In May 2020, as coronavirus cases and deaths surged, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent the White House a draft of its planned guidance to faith-based communities, seeking approval for publication. Continue reading...

As his poll numbers crater, Biden appears to be offering no course correction. He still hasn’t signed a stack of potentially wildly popular executive orders on matters ranging from debt cancellation to drug pricing Continue reading...

Competition is weaker than ever. Without pressure to keep prices down and quality high, all of us will suffer

Severe maternal morbidity has also increased in recent years, especially among people of color, according to NPWF reportA growing number of non-white women are resorting to alternatives to hospitals for labor and delivery in the US, a new report has revealed.According to the National Partnership for Women and Families, a nonprofit organization that focuses on public policies surrounding women and families, community births – births carried out at home or in community birthing centers – increased by 20% from 2019 to 2020, with the spike largely situated among communities of color. Continue reading...

Zelenskiy calls for ‘strong response’ to strikes that came hours after Biden announced US would double aid. Plus, British Virgin Islands premier arrested on cocaine charges

The MSNBC counter-terrorism expert and former US navy servicemember discusses his decision to take up arms in UkraineMalcolm Nance, MSNBC’S former military and counter-terrorism expert, is always fighting someone.As a personal and professional acquaintance of Nance, I wasn’t the least bit surprised when the literary agent to whom I had introduced him a few months ago, interrogated me about whether I knew that Nance had joined the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine in March.Michael Harriot is a writer and author of the upcoming book Black AF History: The Unwhitewashed Story of America Continue reading...

New York ruling that 26 congressional districts were illegally distorted deals major blow to party’s quest to retain HouseNew York’s highest court on Wednesday dealt national Democrats a major setback in their quest to keep control of the US House, when it struck down the state’s 26 congressional districts because they were illegally distorted in favor of Democrats.New York is critical for Democrats in the decennial process of redrawing congressional districts. The state’s 26 seats offer the party one of the richest opportunities to use mapmaking power to their advantage. Democrats currently have a 19-8 advantage in the congressional delegation, but drew a map that gives them three additional seats, increasing their advantage to 22-4 (New York is losing a congressional seat because of population loss). It would give the party 85% of the congressional seats in a state Joe Biden won with about 61% of the vote. Continue reading...

Learning how to find things out is what the scientific method is all about. The UK’s curriculum would benefit from more of itI’ve been giving considerable thought recently to the way we teach science at school – and whether we have the balance right between catering for those children who will become the scientists and engineers of the future (and how would we be able to tell this anyway?), and those who don’t think they have a natural aptitude for science, or are simply more interested in other subjects.The issue goes beyond which science topics we should be teaching, and in what depth. I’m more concerned by the obsession with making children memorise scientific “facts”, and whether this is what we should be focusing on so much. Perhaps spending more time learning how we “do” science – what’s called the scientific method – is more valuable than simply “knowing” stuff.Jim Al-Khalili is a theoretical physicist, author and broadcaster. His new book, The Joy of Science, is out now Continue reading...

A suddenly distorted wide receiver market – thanks, Jacksonville! – turned a position once considered an NFL draft afterthought into the focal point of Thursday’s first round

A 19-hour journey from New York to Chicago filled me with wonder. Partly, as in the UK, at the priceAmtrak trains leave New York from the Moynihan Train Hall, a vast Beaux Arts building that used to house the city’s main post office. Like its equivalents in London – Paddington or St Pancras – it is designed to give travellers a sense of soaring possibility, the first stage in a journey that might take them anywhere. Last week, over Easter, my two seven-year-olds and I boarded a train at Moynihan for the 19-hour journey to Chicago. We could barely have been more excited if we’d been setting out in covered wagons.The romance of train travel is an anachronism that climate activists are keen to revive, but it’s a tough sell. In the US, the national train network is slow, patchy and underfunded. Amtrak teeters, apparently indefinitely, on the brink of bankruptcy, requiring multiple government subsidies – the latest, in November last year, totalled $66bn. In Britain, the issue is cost, too, although it’s one largely borne by the consumer. Andy Burnham’s recent Twitter fury about the cost of rail fares between London and Manchester – £369 for a last-minute return, which, as the mayor of Manchester pointed out, might buy you a return flight to Brazil – highlighted an exorbitant system so riven with fare rules as to make it unusable beyond the narrowest of circumstances.Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

The bolide, which disintegrated in Louisiana, was also reportedly spotted in Arkansas and MississippiA loud boom prefaced a streaking fireball spotted in three Southern states, scientists confirmed Thursday.More than 30 people in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi reported seeing the exceptionally bright meteor in the sky around 8am Wednesday after hearing loud booms in Claiborne county, Mississippi, and surrounding areas, Nasa reported. It was first spotted 54 miles (87 km) above the Mississippi River, near Alcorn, Mississippi, officials said. Continue reading...

Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert among those poised to receive letters requesting voluntary cooperation, sources sayThe House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol is expected to issue letters requesting voluntary cooperation from House minority leader Kevin McCarthy and around a dozen other Republican members of Congress, according to two sources familiar with the matter.The panel intends to issue a letter to McCarthy – the top House Republican – and is considering further letters to Scott Perry, Jim Jordan, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Mo Brooks, Lauren Boebert, Andy Biggs, as well as some Republican senators, the sources said. Continue reading...

President’s request includes over $20bn in military aid, $8.5bn in economic aid to Kyiv and $3bn in humanitarian relief

Effort to ‘help prevent children from becoming the next generation of smokers’ likely to face stiff opposition from big tobaccoThe US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday issued a long-awaited proposal to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, a major victory for anti-smoking advocates but one that could dent sales at tobacco companies.The proposal, which comes a year after the agency announced the plan, still needs to be finalized, and could take years to implement as it is likely to face stiff opposition from big tobacco. Continue reading...

It’s peculiar that we think certain elements about ourselves are set in stone, even if there’s no real evidence to suggest thatFor the last year I’ve been going to the physio once or twice every week, a by-product of having hips and knees that tend to seize up like elastic bands that have been pulled too tight. What began as a demoralising routine of strength tests and painful needling, has recently felt triumphant: I’m completing increasingly strenuous rehab exercises – successfully completing them. I’m not only in less pain, but I’m stronger than I thought I was.“You’re the dux of rehab,” my best friend Brigid texted when I bragged about graduating to another difficulty level. I was in no position to disagree. Continue reading...

Make or Break’s behind-the-scenes look at the World Surf League engages fans and non-fans alike even if some hard questions remain ignoredThere is a moment early in the first episode of Make or Break, a new series from Apple TV+ about the World Surf League, when Tyler Wright neatly encapsulates the tension at the heart of professional surfing. “We come from a sport of, ‘aww we’re hippies’,” says the Australian surfer, a two-time WSL champion. “We’re not. We’re competitive little assholes.”Surfing has long grappled with this bipolar identity; a sport initially beloved by the counter-culture movement that grew popular, some would say too popular, on the back of booming commercial and competitive success. Make or Break, an entertaining seven-part series, is the latest attempt by the surfing elite to capitalise on its popularity. Given the show has already been renewed for a second season – before it even went to air – they will most likely succeed. Continue reading...

Bill approved without discussion or debate now heads to the Republican governor, Kevin Stitt, who is expected to sign itThe Oklahoma house gave final approval on Thursday to a Texas-style abortion ban that prohibits the procedure after about six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant.The bill approved by the GOP-led house on a 68-12 vote without discussion or debate now heads to the Republican governor, Kevin Stitt, who is expected to sign it within days. The assault on abortion rights is one of several culture-war issues conservatives in GOP-led states have embraced, like restricting LGBTQ+ rights, that drive the party’s base in an election year. Continue reading...

Seattle came back from a two-goal deficit amid a hostile atmosphere as they attempted to score a rare continental triumph for MLSWhen it comes to the Pumas UNAM, the only certainty is uncertainty. In that sense, Wednesday night’s first-leg of the Concacaf Champions League final lived up to its billing in a match filled with surprises, twists and VAR-filled drama. By the time the final whistle blew, the Pumas had thrown away a two-goal lead in a 2-2 draw that felt like a loss for a team who departed the Estadio Olímpico Universitario wondering what could have been. In contrast, Seattle head home for the second leg upbeat after escaping what had looked like a heavy defeat.Drama peppered the match: four VAR reviews, and the same number of penalties, the last of which was scored in the ninth minute of added time by Nicolás Lodeiro to give the Sounders a crucial draw. Continue reading...

After prosecutors dropped criminal charges against Moses for trying to register to vote, I met her in person – and learned what’s next now that her case is overHello, and Happy Thursday,I’ve been closely following the criminal case against Pamela Moses, who was sentenced to six years in prison for trying to register to vote, for the last few months. But on Monday I met her in person for the first time. Continue reading...

Move could thwart state’s retaliation against company’s opposition to ‘don’t say gay’ lawDisney has told investors that attempts by the state of Florida to repeal the company’s ability to operate a private government in the state are unlawful, in a move that could thwart Florida’s retaliation against Disney’s opposition to a “don’t say gay” law.Ron DeSantis, Florida’s governor, has pushed legislation that would eliminate the Disney-operated Reedy Creek Improvement district, a move which would have huge financial implications for the company. Continue reading...

On Saturday night, Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano will earn $1m apiece for their bout. The pioneering Jane Couch and the promoter Eddie Hearn reflect on the rise of female fightersEddie Hearn and Jane Couch could hardly be more different but they are united this week by a shared disbelief and delight. As we approach the landmark moment on Saturday night when Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano step into the ring at Madison Square Garden in New York to contest the most significant and lucrative fight in the history of women’s boxing, the promoter and the pioneer sound relieved and ecstatic.Twenty-four years ago Couch won her case against the British Boxing Board of Control when the high court ruled that she should become the first woman in the UK to be granted a licence to box professionally. Until then the BBBC had banned women from the ring on the basis that they were too frail and “emotionally unstable” to box, owing to their menstrual cycle. Continue reading...

Some Republicans in Congress allegedly considered using martial law to keep Trump in office. Thankfully our institutions have held the lineThis week has seen developments in two important legal battles. At stake is whether we are a society ruled by law or not. Without law, we face not survival of the fittest but survival of the fiercest – those most willing to use intimidation, force and violence to get their way.First, a New York judge held Donald Trump in contempt for stiffing a subpoena from the state attorney general, Letitia James, for documents relating to her civil investigation of the Trump Organization. She is investigating Trump’s businesses for allegedly inflating financial statements to lenders. Continue reading...

Twitter is less like a ‘town square’ and more like any Starbucks, McDonalds, or shopping center. It has other obligations and interests that are at odds with completely unfettered speechOn Tuesday, as Elon Musk just started to learn how difficult his new part-time job as owner of Twitter would be, he thought to tweet out a policy pronouncement about his new toy.“The extreme antibody reaction from those who fear free speech says it all,” Musk declared, either amused or annoyed by those of us who consider him dangerous or unworthy of running a major global communication platform that has been a tool for harassment, disinformation and conspiracy-theory promotion since its inception in 2006.Siva Vaidhyanathan is a professor of media studies at the University of Virginia and the author of Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy Continue reading...

The actor’s response to criticism of The First Lady is astonishingly thin-skinned and misses our role in building dialogue and serving readersIt’s hard to see your idols torn down unfairly but it’s also galling when they attempt to tear you down without just cause. I am a Viola Davis fan; many of her performances have been majestic and the critics have often crowded round to say so, as far as I can tell.But some have not been kind about her portrayal of Michelle Obama in The First Lady and now she has said that critics “absolutely serve no purpose”, although her defenders suggest the comment refers to critics on Twitter, not the entire body of criticism.Arifa Akbar is the Guardian’s chief theatre critic Continue reading...

To avoid more people suffering, the UK government must ban this abhorrent practice outright, not only for gay peopleYou hear it all the time, the question: “When did you know you were trans?” The question should really be: “When did I know that the rest of the world didn’t behave in the same way as I did?”When I came out at 14, more than 30 years ago, my mother thought I was gay and confused. She thought that if I could just learn to pee standing up and toughened up a bit, there wouldn’t be a problem. Continue reading...

Russian leader says any country that intervenes will be hit with ‘lightning-fast’ retaliation as UK calls for more support for Kyiv. Plus, global measles cases surge by 80% in a year

From February until just this week, Mexico has been the second-to-last stop on a journey to a semblance of normalcy for Ukrainian familiesJust over the zigzag pathway of the Tijuana border crossing, a mile or so from the taco and churros stands that feed locals and tourists alike, rests a pop-up encampment for Ukrainian and Russian refugees fleeing an invasion they could neither endure nor support.From February until just this week, Mexico has been their second-to-last stop in a weeks-long journey; Tijuana a two- or three-day respite on the way to something better, something safer, where their children can slowly work toward normalcy after their lives were upended by war. Continue reading...

A slew of bills are rolling back recently won freedoms. Is America ready to fight for LGBTQ+ rights all over again?In 2019, the Atlantic ran an opinion piece titled “The struggle for gay rights is over”. Written by the rightwing academic James Kirchick, the piece was obviously meant as a provocation, but its argument that “for those born into a form of adversity, sometimes the hardest thing to do is admitting that they’ve won” was at least considered cogent enough at the time to publish.It came towards the end of a slew of political victories for the LGBTQ+ cause. At that time, it seemed as though the US supreme court would hand down a landmark ruling immediately before Pride Weekend every couple of years. The demise of the homophobic Defense of Marriage Act in 2013 was followed by the end of the federal ban on marriage equality in 2015. Widespread acceptance of same-sex marriage rights, gay people serving in the military and the need for protections for LGBTQ+ people followed. As recently as 2020, the court, then with two Trump appointees, ruled that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protected gay, lesbian and transgender workers. For all the terrible crises of our century, LGBTQ+ people’s rights were solidly enshrined, and attitudes were shifting in line with legislation. In 1985, 89% of parents said they would be sad if they discovered their child was gay or a lesbian. By 2015, it was down to 39%. Continue reading...

Charles McCrory has spent decades in prison for the murder of his wife, convicted on the strength of bite mark evidence. The problem? CSI-style forensics is bad scienceCharles McCrory is haunted by a memory from his 1985 trial in which he was accused of murdering his wife, Julie Bonds, in a bloody attack at their home in Andalusia, a small town in deepest Alabama.What haunts him is the look on the jurors’ faces as they listened to the testimony of the prosecution’s star witness, a dentist named Richard Souviron. He was a founding father of a cutting-edge branch of forensic science known as bite-mark analysis, which claimed to be able to identify violent criminals by matching their unique dental patterns to the bite wounds on victims’ bodies. Continue reading...

Our writers take a look at the best prospects coming out of college, and which teams need to get it right in the coming daysThis is a great draft class! It is unusually loaded at edge rusher and offensive tackle, two of the game’s premier positions. Where discussing this class gets sticky is that there are such slender gaps between the upper tiers of any given position group: there isn’t an obvious ‘elite’ sect. There are 50 players this year worthy of going in the first round. It just so happens they don’t play the game’s most valuable position. OC Continue reading...

Report released by Minnesota’s human rights department says agency and city will negotiate an agreement to address problemsThe Minneapolis police department has engaged in a pattern of racial discrimination for at least a decade, including stopping and arresting Black people at a higher rate than white people, using force more often on people of color and maintaining a culture where racist language is tolerated, a state investigation launched after George Floyd’s murder by an officer found.The report released Wednesday by the Minnesota department of human rights, following a nearly two-year investigation, said the agency and the city would negotiate a court-enforceable agreement to address the long list of problems identified in the report. Continue reading...

Plea agreement filed in federal court calls for Louis Enrique Colon to admit to a single felony charge and cooperate with prosecutorsA member of the far-right Proud Boys group on Wednesday pleaded guilty to obstructing police officers when he joined the 6 January 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol by supporters of then-president Donald Trump, in their attempt to overturn his election defeat.The plea agreement filed in federal court in Washington, DC, calls for Louis Enrique Colon of Missouri to admit to a single felony charge and cooperate with prosecutors. Continue reading...

US leaders reflect on legacy of US secretary of state as family shared memories at Washington National CathedralPresidents and dignitaries gathered in Washington on Wednesday to remember Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve as US secretary of state, while drawing upon her life’s work to warn of the increasing precariousness of freedom and democracy.Family members and colleagues of Albright shared loving and affectionate memories of her during the funeral service at Washington National Cathedral, while US leaders reflected on her legacy. Continue reading...

Legal fight over process could be a factor in the battle between Democrats and Republicans for control of the HouseNew York’s highest court on Wednesday rejected the state’s new congressional district maps, which had been widely seen as favoring Democrats.The legal fight over New York’s redistricting process could be a factor in the battle between Democrats and Republicans for control of the US House. Continue reading...

Consulting firm was protecting client confidentiality, chief says, and wasn’t obliged to disclose work advising drug manufacturerThe head of the influential and secretive consulting firm McKinsey & Company has denied the company illegally hid work for Purdue Pharma, the drug-maker that kickstarted the opioid epidemic, while also advising for the Food and Drug Administration.But Bob Sternfels, McKinsey’s global managing partner, apologised for the company’s work with Purdue, manufacturer of the powerful painkiller OxyContin that initially drove an epidemic that has claimed more than one million lives over the past two decades. Continue reading...

Fears grow in UK that any proposals could downgrade workers’ rights despite assurances on both sidesBritain’s trade talks with the US are moving ahead with only “minimal” input from workers, small businesses and thinktanks, according to MPs who accused the UK trade secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, of shielding her department from outside scrutiny.Conservative and Labour MPs on the trade select committee also said scrutiny of a deal struck with Australia and New Zealand was in danger of being “rushed through” parliament before they could make an assessment of its impact on imports and exports to and from the Commonwealth countries. Continue reading...