US news | The Guardian

Prince Harry’s comments about visiting his grandmother have provoked uncontrollable fury among Elizabeth II superfansLike all truly patriotic Britons, I hugely enjoy how mad Prince Harry makes some people. Mad in both the British and American senses of the word. More than two years after he stepped back from royal duties to become yet another boring Californian, seemingly every utterance of Harry’s induces proper steam-out-of-the-ears stuff in a whole demographic of British people who insist they never want to hear another word from him – yet absolutely refuse to simply stop reading about him.Is HRH doing it on purpose, like some clever, extremely high-status troll? That’s a nice idea, but feels unlikely. The Windsors have never exactly been fabled for their intellects. It’s possible the situation is actually extremely uncomplicated: Prince Harry just wibbles out some stuff every now and then, at which point millions of grownups are completely unable to handle it.Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

The incumbent president has made life harder for Muslims in France, but most will vote for him reluctantly

Ukrainian leader tells residents in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia not to give personal information to Russian forces. Plus, 350,000 fewer American kindergarteners vaccinated against common diseases

The meeting comes in the wake of other family members such as Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner testifying to the committeeDonald Trump Jr. has agreed to meet in the near future with the US House of Representatives panel that is investigating the 6 January 2021, attack on the US Capitol, the New York Times reported Thursday, citing a source.Trump, the eldest son of former president Donald Trump, is set to meet with the House committee of his own will and without the threat of a subpoena, the outlet said without reporting when the testimony was scheduled. Continue reading...

Governor Ron DeSantis is set to sign bill revoking 1967 law allowing Disney to self-govern a roughly 25,000-acre Orlando areaFlorida legislators passed a bill on Thursday that would revoke Walt Disney Co’s special tax status in a move widely seen as tit-for-tat for the company’s opposition to a new “don’t say gay” state law limiting discussion of LGBTQ+ issues in schools.The bill now heads to the desk of Governor Ron DeSantis, who is all but guaranteed to sign it. Continue reading...

On Monday, Pamela Moses is set to make her first court appearance since having her six-year prison sentence for trying to register to vote overturnedHello, and happy Thursday,On Monday morning, I’ll be in Memphis, where Pamela Moses is set to make her first court appearance since having her six-year prison sentence for trying to register to vote overturned. Moses, a 44-year-old Black Lives Matter activist, will probably find out whether prosecutors intend to pursue a new trial against her.Moses lost her voting rights in 2015, when she was convicted of a felony and sentenced to seven years of probation. But no one told her she was ineligible to vote and election officials never removed her from the rolls. She continued to vote regularly.In 2019, Moses attempted to go through the process for people with felonies to register to vote. Election officials became aware of her ineligibility because she was running for mayor.Even though a probation officer signed a form saying she was eligible, and Moses says she didn’t know she couldn’t vote, a jury convicted her of knowingly consenting to false information on an election document in November 2021She was sentenced to six years in prison in January this year.In February, the Guardian published a document showing that the Tennessee department of corrections had investigated the matter and blamed the probation officer. That document had not been provided to Moses before her trial and the judge overseeing her case granted her request for a new one.The Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, is moving ahead with a brazen effort to blunt Black political power in his state.The Ohio supreme court has again blocked Republicans from enacting state legislative districts that are severely distorted to benefit the party.The Wisconsin supreme court adopted new legislative maps drawn by Republicans, a decision that will make it virtually impossible for Democrats to take control of the state assembly for the next decade. Continue reading...

Plan drawn by Ron DeSantis gives Republicans a significant boost and is one of the most aggressively gerrymandered maps in USFlorida Republicans approved a new congressional map that severely curtails Black voting power in the state on Thursday, taking a final vote as Black lawmakers staged a sit-in on the floor of the legislature.The new plan, which was drawn by Governor Ron DeSantis, gives Republicans a significant boost in the state and is one of the most aggressively gerrymandered maps passed in recent months. Republicans would be expected to win 20 of the state’s 28 congressional districts, a four seat increase from the 16 they hold now. It also eliminates two of four districts where Black voters have been able to elect the candidate of their choice. Continue reading...

New book reveals post-insurrection anger from Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy, who said of Trump: ‘I’ve had it with this guy’In the days after the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell, the two top Republican leaders in Congress, privately told associates that they believed Donald Trump should be held responsible for the attack.A new report from the New York Times, the reporting for which comes from a forthcoming book by reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns called This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America’s Future, details private conversations that McCarthy and McConnell had with colleagues revealing the extent of their anger toward Trump. Continue reading...

From Herschel Walker to Tim Scott, denying racism and extolling self-reliance is the Republican party lineAside from racial gerrymandering, suppressing votes, underfunding schools, upholding a biased criminal justice system, denying a woman’s right to choose, preventing access to healthcare, undermining democracy, opposing reparations and thwarting every effort for equal rights, perhaps the most preposterous part of conservative mythology is the insidiously racist idea of “bootstraps”.According to this wholly absurd construct, hard work – and hard work, alone – is a magical key that unlocks the promises of the American dream. And, if one accepts this premise, then the converse must also be true. Anyone who doesn’t achieve their dreams is simply not working hard enough. Continue reading...

Among the late supreme court justice’s items up for sale are a mink coat, ceramics by Picasso and a Warhol soup can paintingAn auction of artwork, including pieces by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol, and other personal items owned by the late supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is expected to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars next week.Much of her collection of paintings and ceramics forms a 115-lot modern art auction hosted by the Potomack company of Alexandria, Virginia, in an online catalog. An additional collection entitled “chambers and home” features 145 more lots of miscellaneous curios, including pewter bowls, crystal vases and numerous other personal items. Continue reading...

Even tiny territorial gains will allow Russia to declare success, regroup, and wait to reopen hostilities at a time of its choosingAs Russia builds up its offensive operations in the east of Ukraine, many in the west have suggested that Vladimir Putin has ordered his forces to deliver success in Mariupol in time for Russia’s Victory Day, on 9 May. That’s an assessment based largely on circumstantial evidence and the cult status of Victory Day itself – but it’s not one that’s supported by what Russia is telling its own population, where domestic propaganda channels are no longer making promises of a swift end to the conflict.Nevertheless, Putin is free to declare victory by whatever artificial deadline he chooses. Russia has already reinvented what its war was supposed to achieve, and can do so again if necessary. Moscow can say it has achieved its aims regardless of the facts on the ground and call an end to its “special operation” at will. This would present Ukraine with another harsh dilemma – the need to fight on while Russia appears to be offering peace, risking the erosion of support from western backers who would prefer an end to the fighting even if, in the long term, it could mean the end of Ukraine.Keir Giles works with the Russia and Eurasia programme of Chatham House. He is the author of Moscow Rules: What Drives Russia to Confront the West Continue reading...

Former US president claims video has been misleadingly edited to create buzz around TV presenter’s new showDonald Trump has said he did not storm out of an interview with Piers Morgan, instead claiming the British television presenter misleadingly edited a video of their meeting to create a buzz around his new show.A short clip released on Wednesday to promote talkTV, the new Rupert Murdoch-owned TV station, gave the impression that the former US president walked out of an interview with Morgan in anger at the tough line of questioning. Continue reading...

Here’s a rule of thumb: when eating in front of the telly, the bleeding pieces of meat should mostly be on your plate, not the screenWhen our children were small, the grindingly matey tones of Chris Tarrant could make me salivate. It was a classic Pavlovian response, because Tarrant ate dinner with us most evenings. Or to be more exact, we ate dinner with him. These, you see, were the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? years, when the show was reliably stripped throughout the early evening. And it turned out to be the perfect TV to eat your dinner in front of.The fact is, like so many young parents, we found the business of loving our babies utterly exhausting. Yes, a joy and an honour, but bloody hell, the little sods didn’t half take it out of us. Certainly, at the end of a long day’s vigorous 21st-century parenting, the last thing we wanted was one of those civilised catch-up dinners at the kitchen table that the relationship therapists recommend. No, we wanted to eat wordlessly in front of the telly, lubricated by a bucket each of sauvignon blanc. Both Millionaire and Tarrant were just the thing. You didn’t need to watch to know what was going on. Every time you looked up, all the important information would be there on the screen. You could focus instead on shovelling stuff into your face, while merely listening to Tarrant commiserate with some numbnuts who’d just lost £125,000 because they thought Hitler’s first name was Heil. Continue reading...

Trump’s indictment and conviction is overdue. The midterms will be a battle between his acolytes and supporters of fair electionsOn Friday, Trump endorsed JD Vance in the Ohio Senate Republican primary. This follows his endorsement of Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania’s Senate Republican primary and Herschel Walker in the Georgia Senate race.The media has framed these endorsements as long-shot bets that “could put [Trump’s] desired image as a kingmaker at risk”. But this misses the point. What’s really at stake for Trump is the selling of Trump and his big lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him. Continue reading...

Russia changes tactics as US warns of risk of cyber-attacks on Ukraine’s allies. Plus, Trump campaign ordered to pay Omarosa Manigault Newman over $1.3mGood morning.Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian forces to blockade the Mariupol steelworks rather than storming the area, after his defence minister admitted thousands of Ukrainian troops continued to resist there.Facebook posts disputing evidence of alleged war crimes in Bucha have been shared hundreds of thousands of times, analysis by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue has found.Russian forces are moving towards Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine, British intelligence suggests, while Putin likely wants to demonstrate “significant successes” ahead of 9 May Victory Day celebrations.Russia has fined Google 11m roubles ($137,000) for failing to delete what it called “fake” information about the Ukraine war.What did the memoir say? Among other allegations, Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House included the claim that the Trump was a “racist” who used the N-word. She also released audio recordings of Trump officials.Is this the first Trump NDA case? No – the former president has lost other cases, including by a former campaign worker who said he forcibly kissed her. Continue reading...

Deaths continue apace this year, with Black victims disproportionately harmed, amid calls to reduce traffic encountersPolice in the US have killed nearly 600 people during traffic stops since 2017, with the deaths continuing apace this year, a review of national police violence data shows.The numbers add urgency to the growing push from advocates to prevent deadly stops and remove officers from traffic enforcement following the police killing of Patrick Lyoya, a Black Michigan man, earlier this month. Continue reading...

Electric car giant’s CEO says he is not in talks on new bonus scheme after completing 2018 deal early

After two days on the stand in a $50m defamation case brought by Johnny Depp against his former wife, the actor concluded his narrative of their marriage by testifying on Wednesday that accusations of domestic violence brought by Amber Heard had destroyed his career.Depp testified that Heard had become enraged when he had started drinking in Australia during the filming of one of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise films and had thrown a bottle of vodka at him, severing the top of his finger.'Blood was pouring out,' he said. 'I think I went into some sort of … I don’t know what a nervous breakdown feels like, but that’s probably the closest that I’ve ever been. Nothing made sense.'Depp said he had hidden in a bathroom, and was later taken to a hospital where he told doctors the digit had been caught in large accordion doors.The trial continues

Ukrainians know the war is not over, so each day we clean up, document the destruction, and do our best to prepareNear one of the oldest and most beautiful squares in Kyiv, Sofiivska, I met Andriy Khlyvnyuk – a famous Ukrainian singer who recently joined the police civil defence. I wrote about him during the first days of the war. The video of him singing the century-old march Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow went viral. Pink Floyd collaborated with Khlyvnyuk and issued their version of the track, Hey Hey Rise Up, in support of Ukraine.At the start of the war, the streets of Ukrainian cities emptied. So when strangers meet now they say hello, and when you come across someone you know, even a distant acquaintance, you hug each other. I told Khlyvnyuk I’d just come from Donbas, and had a feeling of irreversible tragedy lying ahead in anticipation of possibly the biggest battle of the war. “How are you holding yourself together?” Andriy asked me. “I’m not thinking too hard,” I told him. “I just focus on what I should do next.” “The same with me,” he said. This is the case with most of my friends and the people I meet.Nataliya Gumenyuk is a Ukrainian journalist specialising in foreign affairs and conflict reporting, and author of Lost Island: Tales from the Occupied Crimea (2020)

Some have been known to retch at the sight of it, but I am a great enthusiast for urinals in the home. Mine has pride of place beneath the West Brom crestThose Hollywood fellows Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are never far from social media virality. Last week they were at it again. For reasons that remain unclear, the pair of them have bought Wrexham AFC, in the fifth tier of English football, and pumped some money into the place. Now Reynolds has made McElhenney a birthday present of a urinal at the club’s stadium, placing a commemorative plaque next to it.This put me in mind of a friend of mine, the late and much-missed Jon Brookes, drummer with the Charlatans. When West Brom demolished their home fans’ end of the stadium, he nicked some bricks from it for an extension that his brother, another West Brom fan, was getting built. It was only on the way home with the bricks, in his brother’s Capri, that they realised the bricks were from the toilet block. The stench was awful. But, like the true fans they were, they used them anyway and after a few months the smell abated. Continue reading...

A 15-month long investigation resulted in Jerry Braun’s arrest on 12 April; he’s been charged with violent entry and disorderly conductOn 6 January 2021, Jerry Braun hailed an Uber in Washington DC and got in the car, nursing a bleeding eye wound. The Uber driver noticed and asked, “So, has it been violent all day?”“Well it started around, right when I got there. I tore down the barricades,” Braun bragged. Continue reading...

The company has blamed password-sharing and the war in Ukraine for its plight. But the real problem might be its programmingAfter years of exponential growth, Netflix reported on Tuesday that it had lost subscribers for the first time in more than a decade. The announcement spooked Wall Street and sent shares plummeting more than 35%, erasing more than $50bn in market capitalization from a company whose stock was already down more than 40% on the year.To explain the downturn, Netflix posited everything from the war in Ukraine to people sharing passwords. But what if the reason is much simpler – that Netflix just isn’t really making much people want to see any more? Continue reading...

Republican senator makes demand in Wall Street Journal but does not suggest what a ‘woke adviser’ is or what one might recommendJoe Biden must act to reduce mounting economic pressure by ditching “woke advisers”, Mitt Romney said.The Utah senator and former Republican presidential nominee made the demand in a column for the Wall Street Journal. Continue reading...

Wildfire triples in size as wind gusts of up to 50mph kick up flames as high as 100ft outside a tourist townAn Arizona wildfire tripled in size on Wednesday to more than 19,000 acres, a day after heavy winds kicked up a towering wall of flames outside a northern Arizona tourist and college town.Flames as high as 100ft raced through an area of scattered homes, dry grass and Ponderosa pine trees on the outskirts of Flagstaff as wind gusts of up to 50mph pushed the Tunnel fire over a major highway. The blaze has ripped through two dozen structures and sent residents of more than 700 homes scrambling to flee. Continue reading...

State senate passes measure with big tax implications as governor clashes with company over its criticism of lawThe Florida senate passed a bill on Wednesday to repeal a law allowing Walt Disney World to operate a private government over its properties in the state, escalating a feud with the entertainment giant over its opposition to what critics call the “don’t say gay” law.The proposal could have huge tax implications for Disney, whose series of theme parks have over the decades transformed Orlando into one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations. And Democrats have warned that the move could cause local homeowners to get hit with big tax bills if they have to absorb bond debt from Disney – although such details are far from clear. Continue reading...

Piers Morgan Uncensored 30-second trailer apparently shows former president irritated by US 2020 election questionsFormer US president Donald Trump appeared to storm out of an interview with Piers Morgan after he was questioned about losing the 2020 election.A dramatic 30-second advert for Morgan’s new show – Piers Morgan Uncensored, to feature on Rupert Murdoch’s TalkTV – also showed the former president calling the presenter “dishonest” and “a fool”. Continue reading...

Ruling closes case over former aide’s alleged violation of a non-disclosure agreementDonald Trump’s campaign has been ordered to pay his former aide Omarosa Manigault Newman more than $1.3m in legal fees, closing a case over her alleged violation of a non-disclosure agreement.Celebrating the ruling, Manigault Newman compared herself to David and the former president to Goliath. Continue reading...

State officials deliver highest level of rebuke and say production demonstrated ‘plain indifference’ to employee protectionThe state of New Mexico on Wednesday issued its maximum citation against the producers of the western movie Rust for safety lapses before what the authorities called the “avoidable” shooting death of the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during filming last autumn.An investigation into Hutchins’ death found the company, Rust Movie Productions, knew firearm safety procedures were not being followed on set and demonstrated “plain indifference” to employee safety, the New Mexico environment department said in a statement. Continue reading...

Ruling by district court judge in Florida that Covid-19 measure was illegal is opposed by 49% of Americans, poll shows

Proposed map would chop up the fifth district into four new ones where Black voters would comprise a much smaller share of the vote – a visual guideFlorida’s Governor Ron DeSantis is brazenly trying to curtail Black political power in his state as he redraws its congressional districts to significantly benefit Republicans.The Florida legislature is meeting this week to consider a proposal from DeSantis that would give Florida Republicans a 20-8 advantage over Democrats in the state’s congressional delegation. That’s a four-seat increase from the 16-11 advantage Republicans hold now (Florida gained an additional seat in Congress because of population growth). The Florida senate approved the plan on a party line vote on Wednesday. It is still being debated in the Florida house of representatives. Continue reading...

The human costs of lockdown in Shanghai have sparked frustration and despair. But leaders have no exit strategyEven by the standards of China’s overzealous censors, suppressing a hashtag that simply quoted its national anthem was striking stuff. The opening line – “Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves!” – had been deployed to express the growing anger and distress in Shanghai as what was supposed to be a short, sharp lockdown stretched on for weeks, with gruelling results for individuals as well as damaging effects on the economy. On Wednesday the city eased restrictions somewhat, with millions allowed to leave home for the first time in weeks. Yet even if the worst proves to be over in the financial centre, experiencing China’s biggest outbreak since the virus first emerged in Wuhan, concerns about the country’s insistence on a zero-Covid strategy will persist.Outside China, the attention has been on the draconian nature of restrictions, with reports of the separation of small children from their parents, people dying from other medical problems because they could not access help, and the beating to death of a dog whose owner had apparently been sent to a quarantine centre. Plenty in China have lambasted the inhumanity, but it is also the inefficiency of authorities which has shocked. An international, sophisticated metropolis is asking why officials insisted there would be no lockdown until the last minute, leaving residents no time to prepare; why the testing and isolation process appears beset by confusion; why conditions are so poor in crowded quarantine centres; and why food is in such short supply. Officials have admitted “difficulties”. Delivery remains at the centre of the party’s legitimacy, even if nationalism has become an increasingly potent force. Continue reading...

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) has contracted with private data brokers to get around some areas’ sanctuary laws, documents showOver the last decade, a growing number of American cities and states have restricted the information local law enforcement departments can exchange with immigration authorities.But new documents reveal that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) has tapped a network of private technology companies to skirt such sanctuary policies, facilitating access to “real time” information about incarcerations and jail bookings, which enables them to pick up immigrants targeted for deportation. Continue reading...

After a judge struck down the mandate on transportation what anti-Covid mask rules apply in places from hospitals to theaters?Most US airlines and airports, the ride-sharing company Uber and national train service Amtrak are now lifting Covid-related mask mandates that have been in place for more than a year.The shift comes after a judge in Florida ruled against a federal mandate and the Biden administration said it would not enforce one even as Covid-19 infections are rising again in the US, and more than 400 people are dying every day from the airborne disease. Continue reading...

Russia’s humiliated military and intelligence blocs know they have let their leader down, and need the war to go onRussia’s war in Ukraine is not going according to plan. The sinking of the Moskva – the flagship of the Black Sea fleet – is the latest major military setback. In the course of almost two months, Russia has lost six major generals and between 15,000-20,000 troops, all the while failing to secure any appreciable gains.Reports of low morale and defection, coupled with sightings of mercenaries deployed by the Kremlin, hint at recruitment problems. This, along with Russia’s apparent inability to replenish lost military equipment – a consequence of western sanctions – has led some observers to wonder whether the Russian war machine is running out of road.Olga Chyzh researches political violence and repressive regimes. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto Continue reading...

President says US can deliver ‘most successful’ rugby events in history, for men in 2031 and women in 2033, with decision in MayA letter from Joe Biden to Sir Bill Beaumont, chairman of World Rugby, was part of a finalised World Cup package submitted by USA Rugby in its bid to host the men’s event in 2031 and the women two years later.World Rugby is due to announce the success or not of the US bid on 12 May. Alan Gilpin, chief executive of the governing body, has said World Rugby believes it “can deliver the right outcomes with this hosting plan”. Continue reading...

Tracey Meares had highest grades at Springfield high school but was denied title, sharing ‘top student’ award with white peerIn 1984, Tracey Meares was on her way to becoming her Illinois high school’s first Black valedictorian, with the highest academic ranking at Springfield High. Instead, she was declared “top student” – alongside Heather Russell, a white student.Thirty-eight years later, Meares is valedictorian at last, after she was finally presented with the title last Saturday after a screening of the documentary No Title for Tracey. Continue reading...

‘We have pharaohs in neighboring countries,’ Zelenskiy recently said. I was privileged to join a group of refugees celebrating sederOn the first night of Passover, more than 100 Ukrainian refugees gathered for a seder at the Doubletree-Hilton in Warsaw, Poland. The Haggadah, the accompanying liturgical libretto, directs its readers to see themselves as if they had personally exited from slavery. This year, Russia made that task easier.“We have pharaohs in neighboring countries,” Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, speaking to the world from Ukraine.Lloyd Green is an attorney in New York. He was opposition research counsel to George HW Bush’s 1988 campaign and served in the Department of Justice from 1990 to 1992 Continue reading...

We know how important play and imagination are to children. But what is it about building, specifically, that feels so necessary?David Beckham apparently unwinds at the end of a long day by playing with Lego, which he’ll do until the wee hours – two, three, four in the morning. “It relaxes me,” he said during an interview.It’s something I thought about a lot earlier this year, as my family existed in the perpetual, foggy fugue state otherwise known as “everyone got Covid the day before we were supposed to go on our first family vacation in more than two years, and so now we’re stuck in our apartment and can’t leave, and we thought this was over, already”.Sophie Brickman is a contributor to the New Yorker, the New York Times and other publications, and the author of Baby, Unplugged: One Mother’s Search for Balance, Reason, and Sanity in the Digital Age Continue reading...

Rwanda has a long tradition of hospitality. But many asylum seekers view this British plan with suspicionIn the aftermath of genocide, Rwanda turned to tradition to help rebuild the country. There is a saying: turi bene mugabo umwe Gihanga – we all have the same father. Hospitality is part and parcel of this custom, a natural reflex of living together rather than an obligation. Sasa bugari, another saying goes, or widen your bed and always make room for the unknown traveller who may seek hospitality at any time. In the shack where we landed after being exiled, my mother immediately set about weaving two mats for any unexpected guests who may drop in, certain of a warm welcome.My father, too, would be up at cock’s crow, before dawn, and off into the savannah in search of more fertile earth on which to grow the next crop. Come nightfall, seeing smoke above a banana plantation, he knew he could simply lay down his staff outside a hut and call out “Yemwe abaha” (hey folks) to be received with all the respect and discretion that was due to a traveller. Early the next day he would set off again, secure in the knowledge that when the sun set behind the hills a woman somewhere would have prepared a welcome mat for the passing traveller.Scholastique Mukasonga is a French Rwandan novelist and author of Our Lady of the Nile and The Barefoot Woman. This article was translated by Harry Forster Continue reading...

A focus on open, inviting and community-centric interiors aims at appealing to a broad range of Black customers, including eldersWhen Kika Keith and her daughter opened a cannabis dispensary in South Central Los Angeles last year, they faced a design challenge: how could they create a store where older Black customers, who had seen all the ravages of the “war on drugs”, would feel comfortable making a purchase?It had been a tough battle for Keith to open a dispensary as a Black woman, in a post-legalized marijuana market where most of the business owners had become white men. She and her daughter, Kika Howze, wanted their store, Gorilla Rx Wellness Co, to reflect their focus on neighborhood investment and their hip-hop aesthetic. Continue reading...

Fears of a crime wave have fueled calls for harsher policing – but we’ve been down this road, says researcher James Forman JrIn the past two years, warnings of a pandemic-induced crime wave have become a staple of America’s evening news. A historic rise in homicide rates and reports of frequent retail thefts and “smash and grab robberies” have refreshed paranoia about a wave of violence and property crime. These fears have driven recall efforts against progressive prosecutors and calls from officials and residents alike to strengthen police forces.But this isn’t the first or even the second time the US has faced a moment of hysteria related to crime, reflexively calling for harsher punishments for perpetrators and more police officers on city streets. Continue reading...

Shawnee State University in Ohio had reprimanded Nicholas Meriwether, who then sued on first amendment groundsA public university in Ohio has agreed to pay $400,000 to one of its professors after it rebuked him for refusing to use a student’s preferred pronouns.In 2018, Nicholas Meriwether, a philosophy professor at Shawnee State University in southern Ohio, addressed a transgender student as “sir” when she raised her hand in class. Continue reading...

Shelling and strikes in Donbas increasing but Russians hampered by logistical problems, UK claims. Plus, Biden’s $6bn effort to save nuclear plants

New NCAA rules mean colleges can now pay athletes up to $5,980 per year for getting good grades. But few of them have plans to do soIn its athletic department’s mission statement, UCLA promises to “recruit only student-athletes who exhibit both an interest in the academic component of undergraduate life and the potential to succeed in the increasingly competitive academic environment of UCLA.” Duke University likewise “requires that students engaged in intercollegiate athletics be students first.”Yet, despite the supposed commitment to academics at these two premier universities – who have endowments of $7.4bn and $12.7bn respectively – neither has chosen to take up new NCAA rules which allow colleges to pay their athletes up to $5,980 per year for getting good grades or merely retaining eligibility. Just this week Duke publicly acknowledged that the it “has not yet made a decision on whether we will provide benefits for academic performance that are now permitted by the NCAA.” Nor are Duke and UCLA outliers: ESPN reported this month that only 22 of the 130 schools at the highest level of college football have firm plans to pay players for academic performance this year. Continue reading...