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With Denmark's Queen Magrethe abdicating, Mary may come to fulfil an imaginative role as a local queen for Australians when her husband Prince Frederik accedes to the throneThe new year 2024 has begun with Queen Margrethe II of Denmark handing in a shock abdication. After 52 years of monarching, the sovereign of the wealthy little kingdom in the north has called it quits.World citizens who have never known another Danish queen - or, indeed, maybe have never known that a prosperous parliamentary social democracy in Europe had a queen at all - are now confronted with a sudden upset in the formal dinner seating. A succession is taking place - fortunately, without the formal public oiling of the new monarch, as is the British way.Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Continue reading...

Sarah Matthews, Cassidy Hutchinson and Alyssa Farah Griffin insist Trump's behavior would be worse if he wins second termThe re-election of Donald Trump in 2024 could end American democracy as we know it", according to three women who worked for him in the White House during his chaotic term in office.All three gave testimony to the US House committee investigating Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat as well as the 6 January Capitol attack staged by his supporters. And they warned in an unprecedented television interview on Sunday that time was short to prevent a second Trump administration in which they insist his behavior would be much worse. Continue reading...

Over 300,000 people were on track to cross as Biden makes urgent efforts to curb migrant flows that have become political liabilityMore than 300,000 people were on track to cross the US-Mexico border in December without authorization and are being processed by American immigration officials, a tally that sets the latest monthly record, according to government figures obtained by CBS.The number of crossings, averaging roughly 8,400 apprehensions a day by US border agents, comes amid urgent efforts by the Joe Biden White House to curb migrant flows that have become a domestic political liability for him as he seeks re-election in 2024. Continue reading...

Man fatally shot his wife and their sons before dying by suicide in a suburban New York home, according to policeA police sergeant, his wife and their two sons - ages 10 and 12 - were found dead in a suburban home in New York in what police said was a triple murder-suicide.Watson Morgan, 49, a sergeant with the Bronxville police department, fatally shot his wife, Ornela Morgan, 43, and their sons before dying by suicide, police said. They were discovered just past midnight Saturday at the family's home in Clarkstown - 18 miles north of Manhattan - after Morgan failed to show up for work at the police department in nearby Bronxville.The Associated Press contributed reportingIn the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

After a lifetime of activism, a son of Jesse Jackson marks his first year as a politician representing IllinoisJonathan Jackson's eyes brim with tears as he recalls the 1984 campaign of his father, Jesse, to become the United States' first Black president. To see my great-grandmother, who couldn't read or write, vote," the US congressman says, his voice faltering. It let me see how meaningful it was to be able to vote."Jackson is a lifelong political activist who has come to elected office late in the game. He was a spokesperson for the Rainbow Push Coalition, an international human and civil rights organisation founded by his father. In Chicago the younger Jackson fought against the closure of public schools and worked on false-confessions cases involving the police. More recently, he co-sponsored a House resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Continue reading...

Democrat speaks on supreme court stepping in to adjudicate Maine and Colorado rulings that removed Trump from ballotsSupreme court justice Clarence Thomas must recuse himself from ruling on Donald Trump's eligibility for the 2024 presidential election, a prominent Democrat said Sunday, warning that the leading Republican candidate is seeking to become a political martyr" as he pursues a second presidency.Maryland congressman Jamie Raskin was speaking ahead of the nation's highest court stepping in to adjudicate recent state rulings in Maine and Colorado that struck the former president from the general election primaries under the US constitution's 14th amendment insurrection clause. Continue reading...

A blizzard of confetti in the early 90s was supposed to help cleanse an area known for its porn theaters and peep showsOn 31 December 1992, armchair revelers tuned to CBS for the annual New Year's Eve festivities, broadcast live from New York. The Cheers actor and emcee for the night Jay Thomas volleyed hosting duties to Fame actor Nia Peeples, who stood atop a building in nearby Times Square.[It's] Times Square ... some of the men are women and some of the women are men so be careful who you pet out there," Thomas gruffly warned Peeples, with more than a dose of transphobia and disdain for sex workers. Continue reading...

Doctors told Kentucky woman she would need quadruple amputation to save her life after kidney stone infection spreadA Kentucky woman who unexpectedly learned she would lose her legs and arms during what she thought would be a relatively routine bout with a kidney stone is confronting her plight by focusing on what she still has.I'm just so happy to be alive," Lucinda Cindy" Mullins - who's raising two sons with her husband - recently told the Kentucky news station WLEX. I get to see my kids. I get to see my family. I get to have my time with my husband. Continue reading...

Authorities say cause of the explosion has not been determined and they didn't know whether victims were relatedAuthorities in Michigan say four people have died and two others were injured in a house explosion 45 miles west of Detroit that could be heard from miles away and destroyed the home entirely, leaving only the basement intact.Police said six people were in the home. Four of those at the home died at the scene, and two others were hospitalized in critical condition. They added that they had not determined the cause of the explosion - which occurred about 3.30pm Saturday - and did not know if the victims were related.The Associated Press contributed reporting Continue reading...

Shenna Bellows is latest politician to be victim of fake emergency call to police with the intent they will show up at a residenceA fake emergency call to police resulted in officers responding Friday night to the home of Maine's secretary of state, Shenna Bellows, just a day after she removed Donald Trump from the state's presidential primary ballot under the US constitution's insurrection clause.She becomes the latest elected politician to become a target of swatting, which involves making a phone call to emergency services with the intent that a large first responder presence, including Swat teams, will show up at a residence. Continue reading...

Potential trial delays mean the former president could spend less time in courtroom and more time on the campaign trailWhen Donald Trump was indicted in multiple criminal cases this summer, the conventional wisdom was that the former US president could spend vast amounts of time during the height of the 2024 presidential campaign stuck in courtrooms for back-to-back trials in New York, Florida and Washington.But the reality is that with the federal 2020 election interference case on hold pending appeals, and repeated delays pushing the classified documents case behind schedule by several months, for instance, Trump may find himself in courtrooms far less than expected. Continue reading...

Mainstream music's take-up of the format has led to soaring demand. But beware a trend that drives out indie labels and drives up pricesAt first, it looked like it might be a momentary revolt against the digital future that would inevitably fade away: a rebellion based on plastic, cardboard and century-old technology that was simply too quaint to last. But after at least 15 years of growth, the renaissance of old-fashioned vinyl still seems to be alive and well. This Christmas was surely a case in point: thousands of us will have unwrapped records, the hardware that plays them, or both.In 2022, 5.5m vinyl records were bought in the UK, the largest volume of sales since 1990. Over the first nine months of last year, British vinyl sales increased 13% year on year. The retail chain HMV has just returned to its famous premises on Oxford Street in central London: ceremonially opened in 1921 by Sir Edward Elgar, recently occupied by one of those irksome faux-American sweet shops, but now back in business as an updated version of its former self. It sells a lot more than records, but has set aside space for a mountain of vinyl, marketed to a younger customer base" rather than the stereotype of nostalgic dads with money to burn.John Harris is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

A victory in 2023 in Alabama after a supreme court ruling may be short-lived as three cases pose a dire threat to voting rightsAs 2023 comes to a close, the Voting Rights Act is facing a series of dire threats that could significantly weaken the landmark civil rights law.A suite of three different pending cases could gut the ability of private plaintiffs to challenge the Voting Rights Act, make it harder to challenge discriminatory election systems, and limit the Voting Rights Act's protections in areas where a single racial minority doesn't constitute a majority. Continue reading...

Even amid the despair that haunts our world, good can come out of evil. We need to believe that, for the sake of our future

Winner of the MacArthur genius' grant in 2023 has forged his own style in San Francisco while often subverting stereotypes of hula itselfFor Patrick Makuakne, hula isn't just a way to preserve his Native Hawaiian heritage. It's also a way to create something new.As the visionary leader of the San Francisco-based hula school and dance company N Lei Hulu I Ka Wkiu since 1985, Makuakne has forged his own style of hula that blends traditional movements and chants with contemporary music, costumes and themes such as colonialism, sovereignty and gender fluidity - while often subverting stereotypes about hula itself. Continue reading...

I trust the Guardian to illuminate what's really happening as America faces an election in which one of the two likely candidates engaged in an attempted coupThe reason I write a column for the Guardian is the same reason I read it daily: I trust it.Not just the facts it conveys but also its judgment about what to convey - the stories it believes worthy of reporting, and doing it in ways that illuminate what's really happening.Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. His newest book, The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It, is out now. He is a Guardian US columnist. His newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com Continue reading...

Accusations of rape against the actor have divided the nation, with some referring to him as the last monstre sacre'On 20 December, during a 135-minute-long interview on French television, dedicated to topics such as the new law on immigration, the future bill on assisted dying, the war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict, Emmanuel Macron was asked about Gerard Depardieu. France's president could have chosen to be cautious and not comment on a case that has divided France. It would probably have been wiser to have remained silent, but Macron doesn't do caution; he speaks his mind.You will never see me taking part in a manhunt," he said. As for stripping the actor of the Legion d'honneur, a procedure recently started by his culture minister Rima Abdul Malak, Macron replied, looking straight at the interviewer: The order of the Legion d'honneur is not a moral order." His culture minister had got ahead of herself". Macron talked about his admiration for the actor, adding that Depardieu had made France proud". The backlash was immediate. Continue reading...

PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf pledged to outline their plans by the year's end but details remain murkyThe concept of peace in our golfing time was always more interesting than the level of detail required to turn that dream into a reality. The sporting world was rocked by the announcement on 6 June that the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund would combine to form a new entity. Vitriol attached to LIV's march on to the scene would supposedly vanish on the basis those controlling the elite game had decided to kiss and make up.Another date, 31 December, became key. The parties had identified the end of 2023 as the cut-off point to turn a framework agreement into something binding. This always looked a hugely optimistic target. Continue reading...

Despite Rishi Sunak using his girls to show his grasp of women's rights, he still brushed James Cleverly's spiking gag asideIn his time in office, Rishi Sunak has done much to popularise an intensifier favoured by men wanting to advertise their commitment to women's interests while effacing any earlier indifference: As a father of daughters."Without his in-house epiphanies, Sunak might never have understood, as a father to daughters", the need for girls to feel safe walking around in the evening or to be educated to the same extent as boys. Which is disturbing, but still. Better late, etc. His daughters are credited, too, in Sunak's tribute to the Lionesses' victories and with - women's rights are personal to me" - his appreciating the need for women's single-sex spaces. Continue reading...

Special counsel Jack Smith says in filing that suggestion Trump cannot be held accountable for crimes threatens the country'Special counsel Jack Smith urged a federal appeals court Saturday to reject former president Donald Trump's claims that he is immune from prosecution, saying the suggestion that he cannot be held to account for crimes committed in office threatens the democratic and constitutional foundation" of the country.The filing from Smith's team was submitted before arguments next month on the legally untested question of whether a former president can be prosecuted for acts made while in the White House. Continue reading...

Central coast officials warn of 20ft waves while San Francisco Bay Area braces for 26-30ft wavesCalifornia's coastal communities, already battered by powerful swells from Pacific storms on Friday, faced another round of towering waves and possible flooding on Saturday.The National Weather Service in Los Angeles forecast significant flooding in low-lying coastal areas with powerful waves and strong rip currents posing an exceptional risk" of drowning and damage to structures like piers and jetties. Continue reading...

On Saturday, Kaine joined chorus of Democrats criticizing Biden for going around Congress and demanded an explanationVirginia senator Tim Kaine has added his voice to a rising chorus within the Democratic party questioning the Biden administration's legislatively unconstrained transfer of US munitions to Israel.In a news release on Saturday, the Democratic senator - a member of the Senate armed services committee - said weapons transfers must come under congressional oversight. Continue reading...

Sally Snowman waxed philosophical about her 20 years tending the lighthouse on Little Brewster Island in MassachusettsSally Snowman, the last remaining official lighthouse keeper in the US, retires this weekend from her post looking after the first lighthouse built in North America, on a tiny island in Boston harbour, in what would later become the United States.Snowman, 72, has been looking after Boston Light Beacon on Little Brewster Island for two decades, and it's now being sold to a private owner. The arrangement - the new owner will be required to preserve it - comes almost 60 years after it was designated a national landmark and government funding was secured to keep it staffed, making it the last staffed lighthouse in the country. Continue reading...

Maine and Colorado have said he is ineligible under the 14th amendment due to his actions during the January 6 Capitol attackDonald Trump is reportedly expected to file legal challenges early next week to rulings in Maine and Colorado knocking him off primary ballots amid mounting pressure on US supreme court justices to rule on whether his actions on 6 January 2021 constitutionally exclude him from seeking a second term in the White House.The New York Times said that Trump's legal moves could come as early as Tuesday. Continue reading...

Brought together by a Bay Area volunteer program, Nathaniel Todd and Bruce Armstrong found support and solace in each otherBruce Armstrong thought it was going to be an awkward call.It was the summer of 2020, and the San Francisco venture capitalist had responded to a newspaper ad placed by Miracle Messages, a Bay Area non-profit seeking volunteers to alleviate the social isolation of people experiencing homelessness. Continue reading...

The Los Angeles sheriff's department (LASD) released body-camera footage on Friday of an officer fatally shooting Niani Finlayson, 27, who had called 911 for help during a domestic violence incident.The footage from the 4 December encounter showed that deputy Ty Shelton shot Finlayson four times within roughly three seconds of entering her home.The killing in Lancaster, a city in north LA county, sparked national outrage last week, with civil rights activists questioning why deputies failed to de-escalate the conflict and instead used fatal force against a woman who had sought their assistance and was a victim of abuse.In a statement Friday, LASD said the deputy, whom the department previously identified as Shelton, had been removed from the field as an investigation continued, in line with standard policy

In 1965, police publicly raided a sanctioned drag ball, inadvertently raising awareness of police brutality against the LGBTQ+ communityAs 2024 draws near, LGBTQ+ activists are taking stock of a traumatic year for the queer community. Lawmakers across the country introduced hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ laws, with particular emphasis on trans people. Now, as queer folks are looking toward hope and change in the New Year, they are reflecting on the past resilience of their community.On New Year's Day 1965, a group of drag queens and gay activists held a drag ball at California Hall in San Francisco. They strutted in, dressed in their finest, ready to dance and celebrate the promise of a new year. It was a historic evening: it would be the first time in American history that a group of Christian ministers would publicly sponsor and host an event for queer people. However, by the end of a night that would come to be known as San Francisco's Stonewall, police would raid the ball, which had more than 600 people in attendance, make arrests, and inadvertently raise awareness of the plight of queer people and overpolicing. Continue reading...

To help you look back, here are 10 memorable moments from the year in patriarchy, from Spain's reckoning with sexism to Taylor Swift's takeover2023 was the hottest year on record. And it wasn't just a year of extreme weather - the political climate also became more heated, with the far-right gaining traction around the world. In the US, Republicans banned books, censored discussions of gender identity, and tried their best to prosecute any woman who dared to so much think of having an abortion. In Italy, Giorgia Meloni's far-right government went on a crusade to erode LGBTQ+ rights. In Afghanistan, two years of oppressive Taliban rule have resulted in what some activists are terming gender apartheid.' From Kabul to Kentucky, it feels like we went backwards in 2023 when it comes to the rights of women and minorities.While it's been a bad year politically for women, things have been a little brighter in popular culture. 2023 was a banner year for female sports with events such as the Women's Six Nations, the Women's World Cup and the women's Ashes notching up record viewing figures. It was also a big year for women in film, with Barbie leading the charge: Greta Gerwig's feminist take on the plastic, anatomically incorrect doll, topped $1bn in global box office ticket sales and spawned approximately 9 million thinkpieces. As one viral tweet noted, we've all got a little Barbie in us (the microplastics). Continue reading...

An ice chunk broke loose from shore, stranding 122 winter anglers 30ft from shore until first responders were able to evacuate themMore than 100 people stranded while fishing on an ice chunk that broke free on a Minnesota lake were rescued on Friday, authorities said.The anglers were on an ice floe in the south-eastern area of Upper Red Lake in Beltrami county - about 200 miles (322km) north-west of Minneapolis - when it broke loose from the shoreline. Continue reading...

Centrist No Labels says 2024 ticket could hurt Trump as much as Biden and rejects comparisons with Jill Stein and Ralph NaderThird parties could hurt Donald Trump as much as Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential election, the group No Labels has claimed, insisting that its contentious effort to build a unity ticket cannot be compared to spoiler candidates of the past.We're not spoiling anything," No Labels' Jay Nixon, a lifelong Democrat who spent 30 years serving Missouri as a governor, attorney general and state senator, told the Guardian. Continue reading...

SB4, scheduled to go into effect on 5 March, is one of the strictest immigration laws ever passed in American historyThe US Department of Justice has threatened to sue the state of Texas if it implements a law that would allow state police to arrest any person deemed suspicious of crossing the border illegally.The law, called Senate Bill 4, is scheduled to go into effect on 5 March. One of the strictest immigration laws ever passed in American history, SB4 seeks to prohibit sanctuary city' policies, that prohibit local law enforcement from inquiring about a person's immigration status and complying with detainer requests". Continue reading...

The president's approval rating has sunk to 34% - can he stop Donald Trump from retaking the White House?Welcome to paradise. As rain dampened spirits in Washington, Joe Biden this week flew with family to St Croix in the US Virgin Islands to ring in 2024. Its lush landscape, turquoise water and humid air provided some welcome respite for a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders.Biden has fought numerous elections for the Senate and White House, but next year he faces possibly the toughest campaign of his career. Continue reading...

Swept up in the sheer force of nature, we huddled into a tighter group. As social animals we survive only as a community

As we celebrate the return to Wales of the peace petition sent to the US in the 1920s, we should also harness its spirit of togethernessOne significant anniversary in 2023 passed almost without mention. In May 1923, the Welsh women's peace petition was initiated - a plea from the women of Wales to the women of the US, urging the US to take its place in the newly formed League of Nations and encouraging its full participation in the permanent court of international justice, which had come into being in 1922. The text refers to American-Welsh cooperation in the 19th century, and welcomes the steps taken after the first world war to control the arms trade and tackle what we now call human trafficking and the movement of illegal drugs.These are issues that give it a startlingly contemporary ring. But more startling is the fact that nearly 400,000 women in Wales signed. The petition, with all its handwritten signatures (amounting to several miles' worth of paper), was received formally in Washington DC, and travelled all over the US, as far as the west coast. Housed in a purpose-made chest of Welsh oak, it ended up in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC - where, after an initial flare of enthusiasm, it was forgotten for decades. In its country of origin, it was commemorated only by a small plaque in the Temple of Peace in Cardiff. Continue reading...

US prosecutors say strong public interest' in prompt resolution of case against 31-year-old outweighs benefits of second trialUS prosecutors say they do not plan to conduct a second trial against Sam Bankman-Fried, who was convicted last month of stealing from customers of his now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange.In a letter filed on Friday night in federal court in Manhattan, prosecutors said the strong public interest" in a prompt resolution of their case against the 31-year-old former billionaire outweighed the benefits of a second trial. Continue reading...

Body camera reveals Los Angeles deputy fired at woman who sought help for domestic violence as nine-year-old daughter watchedThe Los Angeles sheriff's department (LASD) released body-camera footage on Friday of an officer fatally shooting Niani Finlayson, 27, who had called 911 for help during a domestic violence incident.The footage from the 4 December encounter showed that deputy Ty Shelton shot Finlayson four times within roughly three seconds of entering her home. Continue reading...

Antony Blinken tells Congress he made second emergency determination covering $147.5m sale for equipmentFor the second time this month the Biden administration is bypassing Congress to approve an emergency weapons sale to Israel as Israel continues to prosecute its war against Hamas in Gaza under increasing international criticism.The state department said on Friday that the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, had told Congress that he had made a second emergency determination covering a $147.5m sale for equipment, including fuses, chargers and primers, that is needed to make the 155mm shells that Israel has already purchased function. Continue reading...

Former Trump lawyer says he used AI program Google Bard and blames his lawyer for not fact-checking himMichael Cohen, the former attorney and fixer for ex-president Donald Trump, said in a newly unsealed court filing that he accidentally gave his lawyer fake legal citations that were made up by an artificial intelligence program.In a sworn declaration made public on Friday, Cohen told a Manhattan judge that the sham citations had been generated by the AI program Google Bard, and had made their way into his lawyer's filing because of a pair of misunderstandings - including his failure to realize that the information spat out by the program was not based in reality. Continue reading...

Six million people under high surf warning as powerful storms sweep through California and OregonGiant waves as tall as 30ft crashing on to California's coast have caused injuries and property damage, prompting evacuation warnings.At least eight people needed hospital treatment after towering waves crashed over seawalls in southern California on Thursday, engulfing seaside neighborhoods. On Friday, more than 6 million people remained under a high surf warning across California and Oregon. The National Weather Service (NWS) has predicted waves up to 40ft, warning: Stay away from rocks, jetties, piers, and other waterside infrastructure. Never turn your back to the ocean!" Continue reading...

Republican Mike DeWine made the surprise move after talking with parents of trans children and trans adultsOhio's governor, Mike DeWine, on Friday vetoed a bill by fellow Republicans that would have banned gender-confirming healthcare for minors in the state, and prohibited transgender athletes from taking part in girls' and women's sports.The surprise move, which DeWine said was ultimately about protecting human life", was largely welcomed by pro-LGBTQ+ activists, although the governor indicated he still intended to enact some of the provisions of the bill through executive action. Continue reading...