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The film and TV industry has always relied on financial precarity for the people who make it tick. It only takes one shock to put freelancers into hardshipI can pinpoint the exact moment I knew I wanted to be a film-maker. I'd received The Fellowship of the Ring extended edition DVD for my 11th birthday and devoured the behind-the-scenes footage faster the film itself. I felt my chest flutter with excitement as I watched the crew recount how important the experience was to them. I wanted to follow in their footsteps and make people feel the way I had watching that film.Years later, that ambition became a reality. But now, when I think of film-making, I feel knots of dread in my stomach instead of excitement. I'm one of the thousands of workers in the UK who have lost their jobs as a direct result of the actors' strikes in the US. In July, actors joined writers on the picket line fighting for more equitable residuals in an ever-changing streaming landscape, and for fair compensation for the use of their likeness by AI. Continue reading...

Europe's captain Luke Donald exudes confidence before the renewal in Rome ... with one US sporting icon's supportThis feels like an early win for Europe. Michael Jordan, a long-time cheerleader for the US in Ryder Cups, believes Luke Donald's team will prevail at Marco Simone next Sunday. Donald, a neighbour of Jordan, had dinner with the NBA icon in recent weeks. He tipped the Europeans to win," Donald says. Take whatever you want out of that one.He is a good friend. He would be very supportive of me having a great experience. I think ultimately he wants the US to win." Yet Jordan's faith is in Europe. Continue reading...

The south-eastern part of New York state plumped for Republican candidates, but the Biden impeachment inquiry could add to backlashIn Anthony D'Esposito's New York congressional district, Democrats are licking their lips.The Republican won an unexpected election to the House of Representatives in 2022, styling himself as a moderate in a historically Democratic district that Joe Biden had easily won by 14 points two years earlier. Continue reading...

State party's decision to allow Trump on to presidential ballot without loyalty oath shows governor's iron grip is looseningThere haven't been many good days for Ron DeSantis's flailing presidential campaign lately, and news that the Florida governor has slumped to fifth place in a poll for the New Hampshire primary will hardly have lifted his spirits.Yet the biggest blow of the past week came from Florida's once fiercely loyal Republican party, which appears to be souring on the idea of their man in the White House. Continue reading...

Unprecedented and extremely dangerous' attacks threaten justice system and prosecutorial independence, say former politiciansRising verbal attacks by Donald Trump and key political allies against a Georgia district attorney and two other prosecutors who have filed criminal charges against the former US president are endangering prosecutorial independence and might spur acts of violence, ex-federal prosecutors and ex-House Republicans warn.Trump's attacks on the federal and local prosecutors who have brought cases against him are unprecedented and extremely dangerous," Michael Bromwich, the former justice department inspector general, told the Guardian. Continue reading...

After five days of negotiations with studios and streaming services, union says it has a deal for members to vote on. Plus, meet the oldest fish in captivityGood morning.Hollywood writers are poised to end their nearly five-month strike after reaching a tentative agreement with studios, the writers' union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said on Sunday night, though the full details of agreement still have to be formally approved.What happens now? Union leaders are expected to vote on the full terms of the new three-year contract on Tuesday, according to the union's email to members, which was posted on social media.Over the weekend, John Fetterman became the first US Senate Democrat to suggest Menendez should quit, while a Democratic New Jersey congressman announced he would run against Menendez in next year's primary election. Continue reading...

Miami steamrolled the Denver Broncos, scoring the most points in a game since 1966. They could have had a lot moreThe Miami Dolphins broke out the cheat code on Sunday. Before half-time.Some NBA teams struggle to score 70 points in a game. But here we are in the NFL, and Mike McDaniel's state-of-the-art offensive machine were putting up 35 before the third quarter arrived, then kept cranking out video game numbers in a surreal 70-20 scorching of the Denver Broncos. Continue reading...

What does representing Europe mean given the disparate nationalities uniting in a common cause against the US?It started in January in Abu Dhabi. At the all-European Hero Cup, an early precursor to the Ryder Cup, Luke Donald put some messaging in place. Three of Donald's predecessors as Europe's captain, Thomas Bjorn, Jose Maria Olazabal and Paul McGinley, delivered impassioned speeches to players. Olazabal focused on the spirit of Seve Ballesteros. Bjorn talked of the importance of the traditions handed down by European teams of old. McGinley, whose 2014 captaincy was lauded by all who encountered it, carefully outlined what it takes to prevail against the United States. Players were said to be spellbound by the trio.Donald is not the tub-thumping, rabble-rousing type. There is no chance he will rampage around the locker room at the Marco Simone club outside Rome in the coming week, screaming in the face of Europe's contingent. Yet there must be subtle and consistent messaging towards a team who are looking to reclaim the trophy after being embarrassed in Wisconsin two years ago. Continue reading...

Senator Menendez was indicted on a set of explosive charges of corruptly aiding the government in CairoThe indictment of Senator Bob Menendez on charges of corruptly aiding the Egyptian government has set the stage for a week of renewed pressure on US lawmakers to withhold military aid to Egypt.Menendez stepped town temporarily from his position as head of the Senate foreign relations committee on Friday after he was indicted by New York's southern district court on a set of explosive and detailed charges. Continue reading...

Events this week with former president's son pushed back to December after earlier being moved from July amid claims of visa trouble

Nancy Sampson, 61, was sightseeing on the Blue Ridge parkway when she fell 150ft from a cliff near a popular nature siteA hiker died after plunging off a waterfall overlook along the Blue Ridge parkway in North Carolina during the weekend, according to the US National Park Service.Nancy Sampson of Greer, South Carolina, was sightseeing at the park at about 12.15pm on Saturday when she tumbled over a cliff around the Glassmine Falls overlook. Continue reading...

The World Cup and Olympic champion was a serial winner for her country. But fans at her final match also acknowledged her contributions off the fieldMegan Rapinoe ended her international career in familiar fashion: victorious and mischievous.The star and her USA teammates defeated South Africa 2-0 in a friendly at Soldier Field in Chicago. Though Rapinoe will play a few more games for her club team, OL Reign, Sunday marked her last with the US and was the final stanza in a near two-decade career in which she won 203 caps, two World Cups and an Olympic gold medal. Continue reading...

Former US president, who has been in ill health for several years, is set to turn 99 on 1 OctoberFormer president Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, have made a surprise appearance at a peanut festival in their Georgia home town, the Carter Center wrote in a social media post on X, formerly known as Twitter.The former president, who was also once a peanut farmer, and his wife are seen in a video riding through the Plains Peanut Festival in a black SUV. Continue reading...

A Washington Post-ABC poll showed results that diverge from most other surveys, and even the pollers made a caveatA new Washington Post-ABC poll showing Joe Biden trailing his presidential predecessor Donald Trump by 10 percentage points was excoriated by leading political pollster Larry Sabato.Noting that the pollsters themselves cautioned that their survey was an outlier, Sabato - the director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia - called the decision to release it ridiculous". Continue reading...

Ex-president reportedly told Gen Mark Milley in 2019 that severely wounded soldier should be banned from public appearancesPete Buttigieg, the US transport secretary and a military veteran, has criticized Donald Trump after a report that he sought to bar a severely wounded veteran from public appearances during his presidency.In an interview with the Atlantic, Mark Milley, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said Trump had been irritated after Luis Avila - who lost a leg and suffered brain damage after an IED attack in Afghanistan - sang at Milley's 2019 welcome ceremony. Continue reading...

Erin Dupree's Loonacy Cannabis Co reportedly sold products stronger than recently enacted marijuana legalization allowedThe recently appointed director of Minnesota's new marijuana regulatory agency, Erin Dupree, has resigned amid reports that she sold illegal cannabis products in the state.Dupree ran a business that sold products exceeding state limits on THC potency, owed money to former associates and accumulated tens of thousands of dollars in tax liens, Minnesota Public Radio reported. Continue reading...

Team USA looked set for victory until Caroline Hedwall and Carlota Ciganda rallied late to ensure Europe retained the cupEurope need something to happen ... and Leona Maguire provides it on the 2nd! She rakes in a 30-foot birdie putt to level up her match with Rose Zhang. Meanwhile back on 1, Anna Nordqvist sends a garden-variety wedge to 12 feet, while Jennifer Kupcho half-fluffs her chip from the rough at the back, leaving herself a long birdie putt. Slight advantage to the Swede.Jennifer Kupcho up next on the 1st tee. She's been up and down this week, but has always played aggressively, and there's no change in approach here. She takes driver and finds the rough at the back of the green. Anna Nordqvist doesn't have the power game to reach the green so sends a 3-wood down the right. And off they go on their journey. Continue reading...

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is just the latest voice in a Democratic chorus calling for the New Jersey senator to leave officeAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez has joined the calls for Bob Menendez to resign, after the Democratic US senator from New Jersey was charged with accepting gold bars, a Mercedes-Benz and other gifts as bribes.Speaking on Sunday, Ocasio-Cortez said the charges against Menendez were extremely serious" and he should step down. Continue reading...

Former White House aide to Trump's chief of staff tells CBS News Sunday Morning she could not go back to my apartment'The former Donald Trump White House aide who became a pivotal January 6 witness remembers wanting to make a last-minute run for it before delivering her crucial testimony about the US Capitol attack that the defeated president's supporters staged.But Cassidy Hutchinson kept her nerve, and the cost of breaking ranks with Trump and his fanatical supporters was steep. Continue reading...

Much of the attention this season has been on two superteams: the Aces and Liberty. But their playoff opponents are capable of causing upsetsThe 2023 WNBA season has been defined by superteams, with the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces and the new-look New York Liberty claiming the top two seeds in the league before sweeping their way through the first round of the playoffs. And that new superteam shine has benefitted the league, with viewership up 21%, making this the WNBA's most watched season in 21 years.But even with the array of talent in Las Vegas and New York, the league is deeper overall than ever, with stars sprinkled throughout the country. In fact, all 12 teams had at least one All-Star this season. And some teams had two, including the No 4 seed Dallas Wings, who will meet the Aces in one semi-final matchup, which starts on Sunday, and the No 3 ranked Sun, who will tip off against the Liberty on the other side of the country. Continue reading...

Fundraising down 48% as Movement Voter Project's director says sense of urgency' has dissipated in people's minds'Progressive political fundraising in America is facing a crisis, according to a leading Democratic grassroots donor organization, which warned this month that donations to progressive groups are way down in 2023 across the board".According to the Movement Voter Project, progressives have a five-alarm fire going into 2024". The organization's director, Bill Wimsatt, said he was pressing the panic button" because donor inaction is creating a movement-wide crisis. Continue reading...

Nearly a dozen US football players have died of heat in recent years as teams reckon with training in a changing climateAt the end of a pre-season football practice in late July, Myzelle Law, a 19-year-old defensive lineman for MidAmerica Nazarene University in Kansas, returned to the locker room, and began showing signs of seizure. It was hot outside, but Law's internal body temperature had reached 108F (42.2C), his family said. He died about a week later, of heat-related illness.Last summer, the same thing happened to the 17-year-old lineman Phillip Laster Jr, a rising senior at Brandon high school in Mississippi. In 2021, 16-year-old Drake Geiger, a player for Omaha South high school in Nebraska, died after collapsing on a practice field. Continue reading...

Mayor Max III carries the mantle of the golden retrievers who went before him, led by his human chief of staffA sandy-haired hedonist with a penchant for hamburgers and kissing babies - on paper, Mayor Max III might seem like your typical US congressman. In reality, he's the only politician in the world who can close his mouth on command, according to his chief of staff (and owner), Phyllis Mueller.She dangles a treat above his snout as he demonstrates. Good boy, Max!" she says. Continue reading...

Millions of Democrats and independents view Trump's four years in office as a disaster but for supporters it is his biggest assetWearing a shirt festooned with countless images of Donald Trump, Leverne Martin was looking cheerful for a man who had set off from Poplar Bluff, Missouri, at 9pm and driven through the night, arriving in Dubuque, Iowa, at 5.30am. When did he intend to sleep?As soon as President Trump is back in the White House," the 55-year-old handyman replied without missing a beat. If we don't get him back in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, where he belongs, we're in a mess, man. That's why I'm voting for President Trump. That's why I drove nine hours." Continue reading...

Cultural appropriation is the bogeyman of our time. Let's celebrate the joy of cross-pollinationHuman beings have, ever since they developed distinct cultures, always worried that their purity might soon be blemished. In ancient Greece, Therpandrus caused offence by adding an extra string to his lyre. In 16th-century China, the emperor ordered all seafaring ships destroyed because of fears about the cultural changes that foreign trade missions might induce. In 19th-century Germany, the composer Richard Wagner worried that Jews might spoil the authenticity of German culture.Traditionally, it has been the right that opposed and the left that defended new cultural influences. But, in recent years, many progressives have also started to worry about ways in which cultures might cross-pollinate. While they celebrate a great variety of traditional cultures, they now warn about the dangers of cultural appropriation".Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk Continue reading...

The influence of News Corp is overstated - and politicians need to revamp their tactics and schmoozing accordinglyWhat are you going to do about the Sun?" It was the first question Neil Kinnock asked, when a bunch of eager young political advisers setting up a now long-forgotten campaign for Britain to join the single currency begged his advice. By then an EU commissioner, Kinnock had never forgotten the paper's devastating 1992 front page asking the last person left in Britain to turn out the lights if Labour won. But for decades now, his question has haunted the liberal left.The Murdoch press has earned a fearsome reputation among progressives as a kind of giant toad squatting in the road, blocking the way to everything from higher taxes to gay rights and, above all, closer relations with Europe. Few did more to pave the way for Brexit than the immigrant-bashing, Brussels-baiting Sun, whose once cheeky Euroscepticism had descended by 2015 to the nadir of a Katie Hopkins column describing migrants drowning at sea as cockroaches. Show me pictures of coffins, show me bodies floating in the water ... I still don't care," she wrote. Across the Atlantic, Rupert Murdoch's Fox News channel offered a similarly shrill platform for the angry, increasingly paranoid voices who would propel Donald Trump to power. Though he eventually came to regret enabling Trump, when the 92-year-old Murdoch finally relinquished the reins of his empire to his son Lachlan last week, it was with one last defiant populist attack on the elites" supposedly setting the political narrative. Continue reading...

Best-selling American author says the new Netflix-endorsed city break doesn't show the best features of her adopted home - free preschool, university and healthcareThe news flashed up like a red beret: Netflix has endorsed a real-life Emily in Paris-themed trip to the French capital, based on its hit TV show. The four-night visit includes a masterclass on the art of flirting" (taught by a woman meant to resemble Emily's cruel-but-sexy boss); a lesson on baking pain au chocolat; optional runs along the Seine, like Emily takes in the series; and many evening aperos.There is no shortage of Emily-themed activities in Paris. The tourist office publishes its own guide to destinations from the show, and there are dozens of unofficial tours (several warn participants not to attempt their three-hour walks wearing stilettos). Last autumn I attended an American's Emily-themed bar mitzvah here; the party T-shirt had stars of David inserted into the cross-hatches of the Eiffel Tower. Continue reading...

House in West Milford collapsed due to unknown cause' and explosion under investigation by detectives and fire marshalsFive people were hospitalized after an explosion at a New Jersey home on Friday night, police said.The house in West Milford was heavily damaged by the explosion about 9 pm, the local police department said in a statement. Continue reading...

European captain insists team competition represents a complete contrast to the personal interests dominating golfLuke Donald, Europe's captain, believes the pure sport" of the Ryder Cup means it stands high above the controversy that has dominated golf in recent times.The creation of LIV Golf, with legal rows attached, has been the sport's talking point in recent times. While the DP World Tour, PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund - which backs LIV - announced plans for peace in June, the golf world remains a highly volatile place. Continue reading...

Michael Alford, 59, of Harlan county was moving a bag of potting soil when bees attacked him from inside the packageA Kentucky man has died after a swarm of bees attacked him on his porch.On Monday, the 59-year-old man whom local reports identified as Michael Alford was moving a bag of potting soil in Harlan county when he was stung by a swarm of bees from inside the package, authorities said in a statement. Continue reading...

County sheriff's office euthanize animal after removing it from the water, but identity of the dead person yet to be establishedAuthorities euthanized a 13ft alligator with human remains in its mouth after the animal turned up on Friday afternoon in a canal in Largo, Florida.The Pinellas county sheriff's office said in a news release that the male alligator measured 13ft 8.5in and was humanely" killed after being removed from the water. The sheriff's dive team recovered the human remains from the waterway. Continue reading...

Darryl George, 17, of Texas has been serving an in-school suspension since 31 August for refusing to cut his dreadlocksThe family of a Black high school student in Texas who was suspended over his dreadlocks filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Saturday against the state's governor and attorney general, alleging they failed to enforce a new law outlawing discrimination based on hairstyles.Darryl George, 17, a junior at Barbers Hill high school in Mont Belvieu, has been serving an in-school suspension since 31 August. Officials with the Houston-area school say his dreadlocks fall below his eyebrows and ear lobes and violate the district's dress code. Continue reading...

The prime minister has trashed the consensus on climate to no electoral avail for the ToriesDavid Cameron went into No 10 promising to lead the greenest government ever" a few years after visiting the melting Arctic ice cap and posing with huskies. It was supposed to indicate the start of a new relationship between the Conservatives and the environment. He and his successors may have a chequered record on the substance of green policy, but they at least had an unwavering commitment to the headline political commitment. It was during Theresa May's premiership that the government passed legislation to bind the UK to a net zero emissions target by 2050 and under Boris Johnson's tenure that the UK assumed the presidency of Cop26.Rishi Sunak now appears willing to trash the political consensus in favour of net zero in order to make a desperate pitch for votes ahead of the next election. In a speech last week, he insisted he remained committed to the 2050 legal commitment. But everything else he said indicated he regards the stability and certainty of UK climate policy as fair game in his attempts to try to open a new political dividing line, by framing a false trade-off protecting the environment and boosting growth in the long term, and the cost of living in the here and now. Continue reading...

From four down after the morning session on Friday, Europe are back on level terms after taking the day-two fourballs 3-1Maja Stark chips to six feet at 1, and Linn Grant steers in the right-to-left slider. Birdie, and an opening statement by the European duo. What does it say that Caroline Hedwall is still not getting a match?" wonders Richard Hirst. Her confidence must be taking a battering." The 34-year-old Swede certainly hasn't been on top of her game in recent years - her tie for 66th at the recent British Open was the first time she's made the cut at a major in four years - but she's a captain's pick so for that reason alone it'll be a surprise if she doesn't get a run-out this afternoon. Either way, Hedwall has a world of experience to fall back on, having become the first player in Solheim Cup history to win all five of her matches, back in 2013. So all is not lost.Pedersen/Ciganda A/S Vu/Kupcho (3)

Gina Pellettiere, a high school band director, and Beatrice Ferrari, a volunteer chaperone, died when bus fell down 50ft ravineA high school community in Farmingdale, New York, is grieving after a school bus crash killed a band director as well as a volunteer chaperone.Gina Pellettiere - the 43-year-old director of the Farmingdale high school marching band and wind ensemble - and Beatrice Ferrari, 77, a retired social studies teacher, were killed when the bus they were on overturned Thursday off an embankment into a 50ft ravine. Continue reading...

Florida governor's constant attacks on the education system have led to an increasing backlash from a wide range of peopleThis summer, Iris Mogul - a junior at a Miami high school - found out that she wouldn't be able to take an AP African American history course that she had planned for the coming semester because it had been blocked by the state's department of education. As presented, the content of this course is inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value," the department said in a statement.It felt so far away when I first heard about all of this," says Mogul, who only had a passing knowledge of book challenges and changes to school curriculum previously. But that is really when it hit me - when it started to affect me directly." Continue reading...

Why does society embrace the shameless yet punish those with principles?Anyone remember Ned Fulmer? Fulmer was one of the Try Guys, a quartet of fairly inoffensive comedians whose YouTube channel was in 2022 valued at $6m. But one day last year, Fulmer was unceremoniously deprived of his living. The problem was that he had pretended, in public, to be a devoted husband, but it then emerged that he'd had an affair. Scandal followed and the gang expelled him. It was very shocking to us," his colleagues explained, blocking him on social media as an extra precaution.Or perhaps you remember Ellen DeGeneres, the talkshow host who urged viewers to be kind" at the end of every show? (She'd had it printed on hats and tote bags too.) One day rumours surfaced that she was not so kind when the cameras were off - in fact, she could be aggressive" and mean"' to staff, and tolerated toxic" behaviour from her executives. The show faltered and was brought to an end. Continue reading...

Galveston Island was the site of the final end of US slavery but Republicans are testing what remains of the 1965 Voting Rights Act to draw a controversial redistricting mapThe square in front of the county courthouse on Galveston Island, a barrier island on the Gulf coast of Texas, is dominated by a 40ft statue titled Dignified Resignation that depicts a Confederate soldier coming home at the end of the civil war. He stands tall and defiant, and at his feet is a scroll that reads: Glory in defeat."The statue, erected in 1911 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, is especially toxic given its location. Galveston Island was the busiest slave port in antebellum Texas, trafficking more than 11,000 enslaved people; it is also the birthplace of Juneteenth, the official US holiday that celebrates the final end of US slavery. Continue reading...

Once a national model for sustainability, San Francisco's Bart is facing a dire future as ridership slumps. What lessons does it hold for the city, and for the promises of public transportation?On a bright day in early June, a crowd of activists dressed in black gathered in downtown San Francisco for a funeral procession. The crowd wailed and shared impromptu eulogies, not for a person, but for a public transit system.Ashes to ashes. Bus to bus", one intoned, as the pallbearers carrying cardboard replicas of trains and buses on top of coffins lay them to rest in front of city hall. Continue reading...

The US and China are building rival global coalitions as the UN stumbles. Tackling collective challenges will be harder in a fragmented worldThe EU is talking about admitting new members again, after years of blanking Balkan neighbours. The US is strengthening security ties with India's authoritarian leader and assorted Asia-Pacific strongmen". Even the Saudi outcast, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is back in western favour.China is courting African and Arab countries and the global south" with seductive talk of a brave new multipolar world, an expanded Brics and an egalitarian G20. Ostracised Russia clings ever more desperately to Beijing, North Korea and like-minded rogue states. Continue reading...

A 911 call by a military pilot who ejected from his fighter jet after he lost control of it has been released. In a bizarre call from the home of a person whose backyard he landed in, the pilot is heard repeatedly requesting an ambulance be sent out. 'We got a pilot in the house, and I guess he landed in my backyard, and we're trying to see if we could get an ambulance to the house, please,' the resident said to a stumped dispatcher, who replied: 'I'm sorry what happened?' The pilot went on to explain that he'd lost his plane and needed an ambulance to be sent

It's part of the language of environmental activism in the global south. But living in a UK city, I'd never connected with itThere stood, outside my front room window, until about a month ago, a proud little elder tree. A bough grew entwined with a towering hedge, separating our front garden from next door's.

Baton Rouge officers allegedly brutalized and disrobed detainees in storage shed once used for anti-street crime unitAcross from an industrial hose and gasket supplier's office, in a mostly empty and fenced-off lot behind a precinct house belonging to the police department of Louisiana's capital city, there sits a white storage shed without any markings explaining its purpose.That single-story warehouse - within a couple of blocks of a daycare center, an eatery specializing in chicken wings and a gasoline station frequented by unwary residents - is now the focus of local and federal authorities examining alarming claims that officers with the Baton Rouge police department (BRPD) took detained people there and brutalized them. Continue reading...

Thousands of people have arrived, yet hostile Italian and hypocritical EU leaders offer no help - to them or to the 6,000 islandersIt is nothing new for Lampedusa to be waved about politically as the symbol of a supposed European migrant invasion. Yet the latest operational emergency, in which up to 15,000 people arrived on the island in a few days, could have been foreseen and properly responded to by a country of Italy's size. The situation here is a crisis only because we have a population of just 6,000.Lampedusa experienced a similar wave of boat landings in 2011 after the Tunisian revolution. Then, large numbers of people crossed the Mediterranean to flee the political unrest after the regime's collapse - and the population of the island doubled in a matter of weeks, causing a political outcry. Continue reading...