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No charges despite willfull' retention of material but Robert Hur stresses president's age and allegedly faulty memoryThe US Department of Justice special counsel investigating Joe Biden's handling of classified documents after his vice-presidency released a report on Thursday concluding that he willfully" kept and shared classified information - but that the now US president will not face criminal charges. Biden was declared pleased" but his team criticized inappropriate" comments in the report and investigative excess".Here are the key points: Continue reading...

Complete text of Robert Hur's year-long investigation into president's improper retention of classified materials

Former White House trade adviser sentenced to four months for contempt of Congress's January 6 investigation but is appealingA federal judge on Thursday denied Trump White House official Peter Navarro's bid to remain out of prison while he appeals his contempt of Congress conviction for refusing to cooperate with an investigation into the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol.Navarro was sentenced last month to four months behind bars after being found guilty of defying a subpoena for documents and a deposition from the House January 6 committee. The former White House trade adviser under President Donald Trump had asked to be free while he fights that conviction and sentence in higher courts. Continue reading...

Search under way for Lifei Huang, who was reported missing on Sunday night after not returning from Mount Baldy areaAuthorities in southern California are searching for a 22-year-old woman who was reported missing after going hiking alone on Sunday as an atmospheric river drenched the region.Lifei Huang was reported missing around 11pm on Sunday night after not returning from the Mount Baldy area of the San Gabriel mountains, the San Bernardino county sheriff's department said in a statement. She had set out around 2pm that day and was last heard from around 4pm. Continue reading...

Previous bill that also included border security measures failed amid Republican oppositionThe Senate on Thursday advanced a wartime aid package for Ukraine and Israel, reviving an effort that had stalled amid Republican opposition to a border security bill they demanded and later abandoned.A day after blocking a measure that would have paired harsh new border restrictions with security assistance for Ukraine, Israel and other US allies, the Senate voted 67 to 32 to begin consideration of the $95bn emergency aid bill. Several Republicans who voted to block the broader border package agreed to open debate on the foreign policy-only version of the measure after securing the opportunity to propose changes, including the immigration enforcement measures that were stripped out. Continue reading...

The chief justice of the US supreme court, John Roberts, argued that removing Donald Trump from states' primary ballots for the presidential election could mean some states would remove the Democratic candidate, some states would remove the Republican candidate, leaving the presidential election to just a few states.A majority of justices, including some from the court's liberal wing, voiced concern about the chaos that would ensue if they allowed states to decide whether to disqualify candidates when they debated Colorado's decision to rule Trump ineligible to run for office for inciting insurrection

Colorado supreme court ruled the ex-president ineligible to run for office for inciting insurrection under the 14th amendment

It is hard to believe that life could get worse for Palestinians there - but there is every sign that it willThe last refuge is no longer a refuge. Around half of Gaza's 2.3 million people have found some kind of shelter in Rafah, often under canvas, raising the border city's population fivefold. Now, though desperate, traumatised and exhausted, many are readying to flee again.Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israeli troops will soon enter, despite warnings from Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general, that it would increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare with untold regional consequences". Strikes on the city appeared to be intensifying on Thursday.Do 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...

House majority leader received autologous stem cell treatment after being diagnosed with multiple myeloma in AugustThe Republican House majority leader, Steve Scalise, will return to work in Washington after receiving autologous stem cell treatment for multiple myeloma, a blood cancer.Scalise announced he was diagnosed with the disease in August. His cancer treatment represents the second serious health scare for the representative since he took office to represent Louisiana in 2008. In 2017, Scalise was one of four people shot during practice for a congressional baseball game. Continue reading...

Austin police say attack was bias-motivated' when Zacharia Doar was attacked after attending a pro-Palestinian protest with friendsThe recent stabbing of a 23-year-old Palestinian American in Texas meets the standard for a hate crime, police announced on Wednesday.Bert James Baker, 36, was arrested on Sunday for allegedly attacking 23-year-old Zacharia Doar after Doar and friends were returning from a pro-Palestinian protest on Sunday near the University of Texas at Austin. Continue reading...

Small radio station forced to go silent after unbelievable' theft of giant tower, which would cost over $100,000 to replaceAn Alabama radio station has been forced to temporarily shut down after thieves stole a 200ft radio tower.WJLX, a station in Jasper, Alabama, was ordered to go off air by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) after thieves took the station's AM tower last week, the Guardian first learned. Continue reading...

No event signals Las Vegas's arrival as a US sporting mecca like the Super Bowl, which takes place in the city after an abrupt reversal in philosophy

Led by Native people, an Oklahoma program provides life-saving supplies and addiction care to remote tribal areasTwice a week, Coleman Cox drives a white sprinter van full of life-saving supplies along winding rural Oklahoma roads from Tahlequah, the capital of the Cherokee Nation, to Vinita, a town of 5,000 about 70 miles (113km) north. It's a hot spot for drug use in the northern part of the reservation.Cox, who's 38, is the director of the Cherokee Nation harm reduction program, an evidence-based public health strategy designed to mitigate the adverse effects of drug use, such as infectious diseases, overdose and death. The mobile unit was launched in September 2023 to bring harm-reduction supplies to remote areas of the reservation. Vinita is its first distribution site. Continue reading...

Former senator will star on The Residence, based on the US president's private home while in officeAl Franken, the former Minnesota Democratic senator, will play a senator on TV in a Netflix comedic drama about the White House.The show, called The Residence, is based on the residence at the White House, the president's private home while in office. Continue reading...

New Orleans man asks White House to follow through on Biden's promise to respond if you harm an American' in mother's caseA New Orleans-area man who has reported that Israeli troops kidnapped his mother - a US citizen - from a family home on the occupied West Bank Palestinian territory is asking Joe Biden's White House to follow through on the president's recent promise to respond if you harm an American".Ibrahim Hamed said he realized that Biden's remarks on Friday - if you harm an American, we will respond" - came after the United States and Britain attacked Houthi targets in Yemen in retaliation for a drone strike that killed three US army troops. But he said the sentiment should apply equally even in the case of a Palestinian American who has been taken by Israeli troops. Continue reading...

Legal documents said to suggest former bank CEO and child sex offender used third person to communicateThe former chief executive of Barclays Jes Staley allegedly stayed in contact with Jeffrey Epstein long after joining the UK bank, according to legal documents that reportedly contradict claims he cut ties with the convicted child sex offender and disgraced financier in 2015.Documents from a now-settled lawsuit, seen by Bloomberg News, allegedly suggest that the two men used an unnamed third person, who acted as an intermediary for messages between Staley and Epstein", to stay in contact after Staley took over as chief executive of Barclays in December 2015. Continue reading...

The creative industries in this country are boys' clubs. Conversations about meaningful change are long overdue

Fans and players hope for the best at the start of any season. But there are always factors holding back even the best teamsA new season brings hope - when the game is played on paper, it always seems easier to win.It also brings doubt. What if we missed on our offseason signings? What if a European suitor snags our best player in the summer window? What if we, uh, forgot to hire a coach? Continue reading...

Letter sent to UN raises concerns about Alice Wairimu Nderitu's ability to act with effectiveness and impartiality'. Plus, have the Dutch found the answer to burnout culture?

Red Cross says only a third of households who sought emergency shelter have moved into homes, as governor's pledge rings hollowEvery afternoon Diana Tevaga rushes back from work to her hotel room to feed her pitbull, Pe'a, and tabby cat, Kenzie, bracing herself for another dispiriting evening searching online for an affordable apartment in Maui.Tevaga, 41, has been living in a hotel since losing her home - a rent-controlled apartment she'd shared with her mother and pets - in the catastrophic Lahaina wildfire on 8 August. Before the fire, she spent evenings with her nephews and nieces, who lived in the same neighborhood. Now, Tevaga watches reality TV and eats Red Cross meals with other survivors who have no place else to go. Continue reading...

Zelenskiy aide says foreign policy has become a hostage of internal politics' after Republicans torpedo aid billThe repeated failure of the Biden administration to get a funding package for Ukraine approved by the Senate will have real consequences in terms of lives on the battlefield and Kyiv's ability to hold off Russian forces on the frontline, say Ukrainian officials.The latest move by Senate Republicans to torpedo a bipartisan bill that would have combined $60bn (48bn) in aid for Ukraine with aid to Israel and increased border security measures is a bitter blow for Kyiv. It could signal a very grim year ahead as the US political agenda settles into an election year with Donald Trump all but certain to be the Republican candidate. Continue reading...

The bill would require transgender people to be identified on birth certificates, a measure some compare to pink triangles'On Tuesday afternoon, the Iowa house education committee met to debate House Study Bill 649, a bill proposed by the Republican governor, Kim Reynolds. The bill, as drafted, would end legal recognition for transgender people anywhere male" and female" appear in Iowa code and would require special gender markers for transgender people on birth certificates, measures that were compared to pink triangles" once used to identify LGBTQ+ people by Nazis in the 1940s. Perhaps the most ambitious attempt to discriminate against transgender people in the proposed legislation, however, is through redefining the word equal" in the bill.The bill states that when it comes to transgender people, The term equal' does not mean same' or identical'," which raises the question: what does equal" even mean? The bill does not define the word, only declares that equal" no longer means same" or identical" within the state of Iowa for transgender people. When the sponsor was asked directly what the word equal" means in this bill, the representative Heather Hora answered: Equal would mean ... um ... I would assume that equal would mean ... I don't know exactly in this context." Continue reading...

The Palestinian nationalist, jailed for violence in the Second Intifada, may be the key to negotiating a two-state solutionThe Israeli public's desire to bring home all of the hostages from Gaza is forcing hard choices for Israel's rightwing government, which has tried to resist Hamas's demands that Israeli hostages be exchanged for specific Palestinians held prisoner by Israel, including some who took part in the 7 October attacks on Israeli civilians. The situation has put a spotlight on one man in particular - the Palestinian nationalist Marwan Barghouti, who may be the most important prisoner of all.Hamas, an Islamist group that has traditionally been bitter rivals with Barghouti's secular Fatah faction, is now demanding Barghouti's release from Israeli prison if Israel wants the hostages returned. Even if Israel refuses this demand, Hamas wins support from Barghouti's supporters. Continue reading...

Since the US supreme court's overturning of Roe v Wade, 16 states have enacted stringent bans on nearly all abortions. But that is not enough for a new generation of organised and passionate activists intent on pushing even stricter laws across the country. Carter Sherman spends time with students and organisers at the annual March for Life in Washington DC and meets the influential woman spearheading the national movement Continue reading...

Trying them out, I felt like a cyber hero but my kids doubled up with laughter. It's a $4,000 way to shred your dignityThe first thought I had, as I put on the Apple Vision Pro headset, was that I was somehow going to fail at virtual reality. For 20 minutes I'd watched as people with appointments ahead of me at the Apple store pinched the air, interacting with invisible stimuli. They looked ridiculous in the manner of mature adults trying to adopt new technology - all right, Grandma - which triggered my second, even more geriatric thought: what if there was a fire while you were in one of these things and you didn't notice and burned to death?In fact, the most startling thing about the release of Apple's new virtual reality headset in the US last week was the nationwide scramble to book appointments for a demo, and with it, the opportunity to spend almost $4,000. The Vision Pro won't be available in the rest of the world for some time and, while Apple hasn't released sales figures, pre-orders were said to be somewhere between 160,000 and 180,000 during the first pre-order weekend.Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

The San Francisco quarterback is one of the lowest paid at his position in the NFL. That has allowed his team to surround him with talentAfter leading the San Francisco 49ers to the NFC Championship Game as a rookie last season and following that up by taking them all the way to this Sunday's Super Bowl, quarterback Brock Purdy has made a mockery of the Mr Irrelevant" label he was slapped with as the 262nd - and last - overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft.This past regular season the 24-year-old ranked fifth in total passing yards (4,280) - one spot higher than his upcoming Super Bowl opponent Patrick Mahomes (4,183) - third in passing touchdowns (31 - again beating out Mahomes, who had 27) and first in passer rating (113.0). Continue reading...

Against the backdrop of the King's illness, Britons remain divided: should our royal family be subject to evolution, reform or abolition?On this, at least, everybody can identify with King Charles. His cancer diagnosis this week is a traumatic moment, and not just for him but for his family. It has also triggered instinctive public sympathy, not least for the monarch's refreshing relative openness about his condition. All this has fired up a powerful media story, made more irresistible by the Prince Harry subplot, that will be part of our national life for months.But do this week's events actually have institutional implications for the monarchy? The instant reflex of many will be to say no. The British monarchy's recent history of adaptiveness, under Queen Elizabeth II and now Charles, points that way too. After all, the firm" is hardwired for continuity. Seamless adaptation is what the monarchy does. It has been doing it again this week, albeit wrapped in the privileged language in which going back to work becomes the resumption of duties". Few politicians have any interest in questioning any aspect of this.Martin Kettle is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

After revelations of a secret meeting with neo-Nazis, huge anti-AfD protests have erupted across the country. But what would it mean to ban a party riding high in the polls?The idea of banning the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) party seems to me a lot like magical thinking. Outlaw them - poof, they're gone! But the case that the entire party (rather than individual statements) represents a clear and present danger to our democracy is far from watertight. Imagine losing! And in some regions of Germany the AfD represents a third of the electorate. Excluding all of them from participating? Not a good idea.Mariam Lau is a political journalist for Die Zeit Continue reading...

There are things ministers must do but also actions we can take to help fellow citizens. Both are now essentialEven if the government issued newspaper editors with D-notices banning any public mention of the word poverty", it could hardly do more to create a wall of silence around Britain's biggest social crisis. By eliminating any ministerial admission of our deepening poverty epidemic from public discourse, it has left Britain with a hidden emergency whose forgotten and voiceless victims are the hundreds of thousands of children behind closed doors, in bedrooms without beds, homes without heating and kitchen tables without food, and whose suffering is worsening by the day.Since the ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office, people across Britain have been asking why it took so long for the government to exonerate innocent post office operators who faced such appalling treatment. In years to come, I believe, people will be asking how it was that government walked by on the other side when thousands of children were suffering abject deprivation, and failed to support them in their hours of need. Continue reading...

The self-help author made the announcement after securing 3% of the vote in Nevada's primary electionSelf-help author and wellness guru Marianne Williamson has announced the end of her long-shot Democratic challenge to President Joe Biden.I hope future candidates will take what works for them, drinking from the well of information we prepared," Williamson wrote in a statement announcing the end of her bid. My team and I brought to the table some great ideas, and I will take pleasure when I see them live on in campaigns and candidates yet to be created." Continue reading...

Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa claimed to Fox News' Sean Hannity that man had been shoplifting, but NYPD has no evidenceAs Sean Hannity was interviewing the founder of the Guardian Angels, a New York City-based vigilante group known for targeting immigrants, an off-screen disturbance took place and the camera panned to show group members confronting an unidentified man, pushing him to the sidewalk and placing him in a headlock.The bizarre incident played out Tuesday night during the primetime segment on Fox News meant to highlight alleged disorder and crime Hannity claimed was caused by asylum seekers arriving in New York City. Continue reading...

Helping those who can't read or write or who have disabilities to obtain, fill out or return a ballot is on par with serious feloniesA bill to criminalize some kinds of absentee ballot voter assistance - creating a felony on par with statutory rape or involuntary manslaughter - sped out of an Alabama state senate committee Wednesday.The proposed legislation on senate bill 1 initially prohibited people other than close family members or co-habitants from helping any voter request an absentee ballot, filling out that application or ballot or returning that ballot to elections offices. The bill carves out exceptions for people with disabilities and those who cannot read or write. Receiving or giving money for these activities could be prosecuted as Class B or Class C felonies, respectively, under the proposed law. Continue reading...

At least seven dead across state and wet weather dumped over 1ft of rain in region, causing 475 mudslides around Los Angeles

The chamber then attempted to advance a foreign aid package which included only funding for US allies outlined in the bipartisan billThe Senate blocked a bipartisan border and national security bill from advancing on Wednesday, as Democrats accused Republicans of bending to the political wishes of Donald Trump at the expense of their constituents.The vote was 49 to 50, with 45 Democrats and four Republicans supporting the bill's advancement. Sixty votes were needed to begin debate on the bill. Continue reading...

Crowds gathered around the wreckage left by a US drone strike on a car in Iraq.The strike, on a main thoroughfare in the Mashtal neighbourhood in eastern Baghdad, killed three members of the powerful Kataib Hezbollah militia, including a high-ranking commander, officials have said.Days earlier, the US military launched an air assault on dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria used by Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in retaliation for a drone strike that killed three US troops in Jordan in late January

Judge Lewis Kaplan, who ruled from the bench, reportedly said allowing for a mistrial would have been entirely pointless'Donald Trump's motions for a mistrial in the defamation case brought against him by the writer E Jean Carroll have been rejected by a federal judge, who added that the former president's issues with the verdict had no merit".In an order filed on Wednesday, Judge Lewis Kaplan said the motion for a mistrial made no sense" and that approving it would have been entirely pointless". Trump's lawyers had previously called for a mistrial in the middle of their cross-examination of Carroll, which the judge denied at the time, instructing the jury to disregard the counsel's remarks. He reiterated his decision and sharply criticized the efforts of Trump's attorney in the written order this week. Continue reading...

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Police tried to defuse the situation at a Bank of America branch, but the suspect took two hostages and held a knife at one's throatA robber at a Florida bank took hostages after law enforcement arrived and was killed by a sheriff's sniper as he held a woman in a headlock with a knife to her throat, authorities said.Negotiators tried to defuse the situation on Tuesday at a Bank of America branch in Fort Myers, but the suspect instead took two hostages in the building, Carmine Marceno, the Lee county sheriff, said. Continue reading...

Gallup survey shows big drop in only three years among Black and Hispanic voters, a concern for Biden's re-election campaignBlack and Hispanic voters are deserting the Democratic party in numbers that will present a concern for Joe Biden's re-election effort, a poll has found.Among Black Americans expressing a party preference, the Democratic lead over Republicans has dropped by almost 20% in only three years, according to the Gallup survey. Continue reading...

Diversity-focused groups outline concerns in letter to Fortune 500 companies amid conservative attacks on inclusivity initiativesA coalition of business leaders sent letters to the CEOs of the Fortune 500 companies on Wednesday urging them to maintain a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives as they come under conservative attack.Business decisions intended to capture the value from diversity initiatives have been politicized by a vocal minority of ideologically motivated voices who ignore both facts and the law," the letter from groups including US Black Chambers and the Global Black Economic Forum read. We believe it is imperative that CEOs and other company leaders are able to make strategic decisions for their companies without threats of frivolous lawsuits and political pressure." Continue reading...

Aircraft located near Pine Valley but snowy conditions hamper rescue teams trying to access itA Marine Corps helicopter that had been missing with five troops onboard as an historic storm drenched California was found on Wednesday morning in a mountainous area outside San Diego.The aircraft was located just after 9am local time by civil authorities near the mountain community of Pine Valley, about a 45-mile (72km) drive from San Diego but rescue crews said snowy conditions were making access challenging on the ground. Continue reading...

What is behind the surge of people trying to cross the border and what dangers do they face? A visual explainerRecord levels of migration are straining an immigration system left nearly broken by decades of congressional inaction.Republicans have spent years amplifying scenes of turmoil and tragedy at the southern border, but Democratic leaders are also worried now, particularly big-city mayors and blue state governors who are demanding more federal resources to shelter and feed an influx of migrants. Continue reading...

USWNT co-captain criticized supporters' knowledge of the game. But her words ignored the role the women's team has played in building a soccer cultureLast Thursday, The Athletic dropped an interview with Lindsey Horan that probably didn't have fans flocking to buy her replica shirt.Apparently, the co-captain of the trailblazing US women's national team thinks that American soccer fans, most of them aren't smart ... They don't know the game. They don't understand." She did, admittedly, throw them a bone, adding: [But] it's getting better and better." Continue reading...

They lied to us ... We just want justice for our son,' says father of Treveon Taylor Jr, who died at hospital south of Atlanta last yearThe death of a baby who was decapitated during delivery was ruled a homicide by a Georgia medical examiner's office.The baby died last July after a physician allegedly applied so much force attempting to free the child from a woman's birth canal that the child's spine was completely severed. The finding by the authorities appears to confirm allegations made by the family's attorneys in a lawsuit filed last August against the hospital. Continue reading...

Alessandro DiNello, new executive chairman of regional US lender, acknowledges serious situation' as stock at lowest level in decadesShares in New York Community Bancorp (NYCB) continued to fall on Wednesday, heightening unease about the US's regional banking sector.The bank's stock has fallen by more than 60% to its lowest level in decades in recent days despite a scramble by the mid-sized lender to reassure investors of its financial strength. Continue reading...