US news | The Guardian

Two executives questioned whether trips to Israel could make US officers ‘more likely to use force’Senior leaders of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the US-based non-profit organization known for combatting antisemitism and tracking extremism, debated whether to end a controversial program that connects American law enforcement officers with police leaders and members of the military in Israel, a 2020 internal document reveals.The ADL, which works closely with US police on trainings related to bias and hate crimes, has for years run a program that sends delegations from US law enforcement departments to Israel to “study first-hand Israel’s tactics and strategies to combat terrorism”. The trips have long faced criticism from US civil rights groups, who argue that the trainings could encourage US police to further militarize their forces and exacerbate police violence. Continue reading...

Disney and its CEO, Bob Chapek, spoke out against the bill in an internal staff email but refused to publicly condemn itDisney staff members this week and next are staging walkouts over Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill.The Parental Rights in Education bill, which critics have dubbed as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, was recently passed by Florida Republicans but has not yet been signed into law. The controversial bill bans all discussion of sexuality and gender identity in schools. Continue reading...

The Coyotes’ relationship with Glendale provides a grim and vivid tale about how things can go south for taxpayer subsidized sports venturesDivorces are often messy and almost always emotional. When Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew tried to leave for Austin a few years ago claiming business problems, a lawsuit stopped them in their tracks. The Los Angeles Rams recently won the Super Bowl, and this past December St Louis – their former home city – received $790m as part of a settlement related to their relocation.Relations sour quickly when a pro sports team up and leaves. Or threatens to. Or the numbers don’t add up. And things between Glendale and the Arizona Coyotes had been on the skids for years when a missed rental payment brought the disorder to national attention at the end of last year. Still, beyond the headlines, the Coyotes and Glendale divorce provides a grim and vivid tale about how things can go south for taxpayer subsidized sports ventures.1996 – the Winnipeg Jets relocate to Phoenix, Arizona.2003 – the Phoenix Coyotes relocate to nearby Glendale and the Gila River Arena.2005 – Jerry Moyes buys the team.2009 – Moyes places the team in bankruptcy. The NHL takes over and signs a short-term lease extension with the City of Glendale.2010 – An ownership bid to buy the team is derailed by the threat of litigation.2013 – After the league threatens to relocate the team, Glendale signs a 15-year lease to support a new ownership group: Renaissance Sports & Entertainment. In 2014, they change their name from the Phoenix Coyotes to the Arizona Coyotes.2015 – Glendale voids the long-term lease after an alleged violation of conflict of interest laws.2016 – the Arizona Coyotes announce plans to move to the Arizona State University campus in Tempe, a 25-minute drive from Glendale, and build a new arena there. The university subsequently backs out of the deal.2016 – Glendale enters into a contract for sports entertainment firm AEG to manage the Gila River Arena. Continue reading...

Will this finally be Gonzaga’s year to cut down the nets? Who is this season’s Cinderella team? Our writers break down the bracket for the NCAA tournamentNope. Yeah, we know the Zags have an amazing record, a glittering statistical profile and a number of players that will go very high in the draft, but where have we heard that before? Gonzaga have landed in arguably the hardest region in the tournament and might be in for a few fights to the death just to reach the Final Four. Tyrell Feaster Continue reading...

I faced Russia’s wrath for my TV series, Occupied. The Kremlin knows art can tell the truth about war – and it fears thatIn 2015, the first season of Occupied was broadcast on Norwegian television. The series depicts a Russian occupation of Norway, something that is tacitly accepted by the EU and the United States as a way to restart oil production facilities that had been shut down by the green Norwegian government.My aim for the show was to focus on the moral dilemmas faced by ordinary people in an extreme situation – to parallel what our parents and grandparents experienced during the German occupation of Norway between 1940 and 1945. The manoeuvring between a smaller country, a powerful neighbour and the rest of the world’s ruling nations, balancing political principles against economic considerations and their own security, was the backdrop.Jo Nesbø is a bestselling Norwegian novelist, screenwriter and musician. This article was translated from the Norwegian by Alice Menzies Continue reading...

Analysis finds nearly 23,000 mail-in ballots were discarded as part of tough new Republican effort to reshape American electionsTexas threw out mail votes at an abnormally high rate during the US’s first primary election of 2022, rejecting nearly 23,000 ballots outright under tougher voting rules that are part of a broad campaign by Republicans to reshape American elections, according to an analysis by the Associated Press.Roughly 13% of mail ballots returned in the 1 March primary were discarded and uncounted across 187 counties in Texas. While historical primary comparisons are lacking, the double-digit rejection rate would be far beyond what is typical in a general election, when experts say anything above 2% is usually cause for attention. Continue reading...

Report on Dominion voting machines produced after 2020 election was not the work of volunteer in Trump’s post-election legal teamWeeks after the 2020 election, at least one Trump White House aide was named as secretly producing a report that alleged Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden because of Dominion Voting Systems – research that formed the basis of the former president’s wider efforts to overturn the election.The Dominion report, subtitled “OVERVIEW 12/2/20 – History, Executives, Vote Manipulation Ability and Design, Foreign Ties”, was initially prepared so that it could be sent to legislatures in states where the Trump White House was trying to have Biden’s win reversed. Continue reading...

The Black, low- and middle-income residents who make up Gordon Plaza and Press Park have fought for decades to be relocatedA group of New Orleans residents whose homes were built on a toxic landfill decades ago have won a $75.3m court judgement against the city, its housing authority and the local school board.State district Judge Nicole Sheppard’s ruling said 5,000 residents are entitled to that total amount for emotional distress and property damage involving the former Agriculture Street landfill, according to the Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate. Continue reading...

The former Empire actor will be freed after posting a personal recognizance bond of $150,000, meaning he agrees to come to court as requiredJussie Smollett was ordered released from jail Wednesday by an appeals court that agreed with his lawyers that he should be released pending the appeal of his conviction for lying to police about a racist and homophobic attack.The ruling came after a Cook county judge sentenced Smollett last week to immediately begin serving 150 days in jail for his conviction on five felony counts of disorderly conduct for lying to police. In an outburst immediately after the sentence was handed down, the former star of the TV show Empire proclaimed his innocence and said, “I am not suicidal. And if anything happens to me when I go in there, I did not do it to myself. And you must all know that.” Continue reading...

Joe Biden told reporters that Vladimir Putin was 'a war criminal' after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. After first appearing not to have properly heard the reporter's question, Biden asked for it to be repeated. The reporter asked again, 'Is Putin a war criminal, sir?' to which Biden replied, 'Oh, I think he is a war criminal'

Ukrainian president receives standing ovation as he urges US to send more military aid and impose further sanctions

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, pleaded with American lawmakers to do more to protect his country from Russia's invasion in an address to the US Congress on Wednesday.Zelenskiy urged President Joe Biden to be the world's 'leader of peace'. He invoked American history, asking members of both houses to remember the Pearl Harbor bombings and the 9/11 attacks

Prosecutors have launched a series of criminal cases including one involving an alleged attempt to smear a congressional candidateUS prosecutors have accused Chinese government agents of trying to spy on and intimidate dissidents living in the United States, including a congressional candidate, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in federal court in New York.The US justice department convened a Washington news conference to detail the accusations in a series of criminal cases. Continue reading...

The UK needs to reduce its reliance on Russian oil. But the answer is not a kingdom that has just staged its largest mass execution

Sharon Lee Gallegos, found partially buried in a wash in 1960, was allegedly abducted from her grandmother’s New Mexico houseA little girl whose burned remains were found over 60 years ago in the Arizona desert has finally been identified.The Yavapai county sheriff’s office said Tuesday the girl had been identified as four-year-old Sharon Lee Gallegos of New Mexico. Continue reading...

Prosecutors say Scott Charmoli of Wisconsin routinely drilled or broke his clients’ teeth on purpose, raking in millions from schemeA Wisconsin dentist was found guilty of healthcare fraud and other charges after he intentionally damaged his patients’ teeth to boost profits, raking in millions from his scheme.Scott Charmoli, 61, was convicted of five counts of healthcare fraud and two counts of making false claims about his clients’ treatment last Thursday, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Continue reading...

Schultz will be CEO of coffee chain for a third time, while workers across 27 states petition to hold unionization votesStarbucks’ former leader Howard Schultz will replace chief executive Kevin Johnson as the coffee chain deals with a wave of unionization drives among its baristas.The shakeup in leadership, announced on Wednesday, comes as Starbucks workers across the country are pushing to form unions. Since a Starbucks store in Buffalo, New York became the first store to vote to unionize in December, workers at six other locations have unionized, and workers at 130 other stores across 27 states have petitioned to hold votes. Continue reading...

Sunshine Protection Act needs approval from the House, and the signature of Joe Biden, to become lawThe Senate unanimously approved a measure Tuesday that would make daylight saving time permanent across the United States next year.The bipartisan bill, named the Sunshine Protection Act, would ensure Americans would no longer have to change their clocks twice a year. But the bill still needs approval from the House, and the signature of Joe Biden, to become law. Continue reading...

The pupil from east London was humiliated, and we should be outraged. It seems police racism and misogyny is as bad as ever

The spa shootings in Georgia killed six Asian women but as a community tries to heal, hate incidents are on the riseRobert Peterson has been quietly grieving the death of his mother, Yong Ae Yue, in private for the last year – remembering her Korean cooking, the way she adored her grandchildren, and the pride she took in casting her vote as an American citizen. He holds on to those personal memories one year on, while many others reflect on the chilling public memory of the last moments of her life, when she was shot and killed at the spa where she worked.The 63-year-old Korean American was one of six Asian women murdered on 16 March 2021 in a shooting rampage that targeted three Atlanta-area spas. Two others were also killed in the shootings. That attack has come to symbolize a pattern of violence that emerged with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and continues to haunt Asian American communities today. Continue reading...

Forget about seeds, records and RPIs. We’ve ranked the 68 schools in this year’s field by the only reasonable metric: the coolest person who went thereThis year’s NCAA tournament kicks off in earnest on Thursday at noon. But rather than analyze and deconstruct the bracket right now (don’t worry, we will be doing that later), we’ve ranked the 68 schools in this year’s field by the coolest person who went there. Gonzaga might be the favorite on the hardwood, but where do they rank in cultural cachet?68) Davidson: Woodrow Wilson Continue reading...

Attorneys reject explanation that Juror 50 ‘flew through’ screening questionnaire, which would have flagged he had been sexually abusedGhislaine Maxwell’s lawyers have said the juror who did not disclose childhood sexual abuse provided a dubious explanation for the omission as they once again requested a new trial.The juror, Scotty David, was questioned in court on 8 March about his lack of disclosure. David, who was Juror 50, told the judge, Alison Nathan, that he was distracted when he flew through a screening questionnaire for potential panelists. Continue reading...

US prosecutors should have little trouble convincing a jury. Full speed ahead is the only proper courseOn 8 March, a jury took three hours to render a guilty verdict against Guy Reffitt, a January 6 insurrectionist. Donald Trump could not have been pleased. DC is where Trump would be tried for any crimes relating to his admitted campaign to overturn the election.Jurors there would have no trouble finding that the evidence satisfies all statutory elements required to convict Trump, including his criminal intent, the most challenging to prove. That is our focus here. Continue reading...

Labor strategists hope wins will turn into a larger trend but acknowledge it won’t be easy as corporations fight fiercely against unionizationThe recent, much-publicized wave of union victories in the US at companies as varied as the giant coffee chain Starbucks, trendy outdoor outfitters REI and media group the New York Times is spurring hopes that this will somehow turn into a much larger unionization wave that lifts millions of Americans.This is an unusually promising moment for unions, labor strategists say, as they strain to figure out how best to build a larger wave, although they acknowledge it won’t be easy because US corporations fight so fiercely against unionization. Continue reading...

Plainclothes unit and enthusiasm for facial recognition technology are worrying civil rights advocatesWhile New York City’s mayor, Eric Adams, has been defending his veganism and equating drug dependency to liking cheese, he has been escalating the city’s police powers, deeply concerning civil rights advocates.Adams, the second Black person to serve as New York mayor, largely won the mayorship through securing the votes of Black, brown and working-class New Yorkers. Continue reading...

Ukrainian president expected to press for tougher line on Russia and urge US to facilitate transfer of fighter jets. Plus, interest rates set to rise

Major League Soccer’s newest club, due to begin play in 2023, is using its platform to tell a virtually unknown part of Black history – and living its community-led values other ways tooWhen Major League Soccer decided to build Centene Stadium in St Louis, the first priority was honoring the “the hard truths of past”. The 22,500-seat soccer-specific stadium is designed with canopy shading and is 40ft below street level. It also sits on the same block that was once a part of Mill Creek Valley, the predominantly Black neighborhood on the Southwest end of St Louis once home to 20,000 residents, 800 businesses and more than 40 religious institutions. In addition to Madame ‘CJ’ Walker, America’s first Black woman millionaire, Mill Creek was also home to Josephine Baker, Scott Joplin and General William Tecumseh Sherman. Even poet Walt Whitman was known to visit the thriving Black community. But in the summer of 1959, the residents of Mill Creek Valley were displaced and the neighborhood demolished in the name of “urban renewal”.Now the embryonic MLS club St Louis City SC and Great Rivers Greenway are using the stadium as a platform to tell the story of Mill Creek Valley. Continue reading...

From Whoopi Goldberg to Jimmy Fallon, everyone seems to think they can write a great kids’ book, but very few people canAre you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin. Once upon a time there was a harried new parent (me, I’m talking about me) who sat down and read her baby a book. Then she read the baby another book and then she read the baby another book etc, etc. That’s what you’re supposed to do when you have a kid, isn’t it? You read them books so they can develop a passion for literature and grow up to have an impecunious future in the arts.As far as I can tell, my 10-month-old hasn’t developed a passion for literature yet. Unless you count putting books in her mouth, squealing, and then throwing them across the room as a “passion”. But I’ve certainly learned a lot from all this new reading material. And, because sharing is caring (a big theme in kids’ books), I’m going to share these learnings with you. Continue reading...

Some behavioral themes identified include concerning online content, a history of being bullied and financial instabilityA new US Secret Service report details a rising threat from men who identify as “involuntary celibates” or “incels”, due to their inability to form intimate relationships with women.The report released on Tuesday and prepared by the National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) highlights behavioral threat assessment themes identified in years of research examining targeted violence. Continue reading...

Vice-President Kamala Harris has tested negative but is cutting back on her schedule; both were vaccinated and had booster shotsDoug Emhoff, the US second gentleman, has tested positive for Covid-19, the White House announced on Tuesday. The vice-president, Kamala Harris, tested negative, but is curtailing her schedule as a result of her husband’s positive test.Harris’s spokesperson Sabrina Singh said Harris would not participate in a planned Equal Pay Day event on Tuesday evening at the White House with Joe Biden “out of an abundance of caution”. Continue reading...

State’s attorney says there’s insufficient evidence to charge officers in the deaths of Toledo and 22-year-old Anthony AlvarezNo charges will be filed against the Chicago police officers who chased and fatally shot 13-year-old Adam Toledo and 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez within days of each other last year, prompting sharp criticism of how the department handles foot pursuits, a prosecutor announced on Tuesday.The Cook county state’s attorney, Kim Foxx, said there was insufficient evidence to charge the officers in the deaths, which were captured on video that showed both suspects appeared to have handguns before the shootings. Continue reading...

Enrique Tarrio possessed document titled ‘1776 Returns’, with details to invade and occupy seven buildings, New York Times saysThe former leader of the Proud Boys, a violent far-right nationalist group whose members were prominent in the January 6 riot, was found in possession of comprehensive plans to “surveil and storm” government buildings, prosecutors said.Enrique Tarrio, the group’s former chairman who was arrested last week and charged with conspiracy over the deadly attack, had a nine-page document entitled “1776 Returns”, named for the year of American independence, the New York Times reported. Continue reading...

New York Times reports talks under way for plea agreement that could bring an end to one of biggest criminal cases in US historyKhalid Sheikh Mohammed and four co-defendants accused of planning the 9/11 attacks are reportedly in talks with US prosecutors over a potential plea deal that would see them plead guilty in exchange for avoiding the death penalty.The New York Times reported that negotiations are under way for a possible plea agreement that could bring to an end what is arguably the biggest criminal case in US history. The five defendants were first charged in 2008 with plotting or logistically supporting the terrorist attacks that led to the murder of almost 3,000 people in New York’s Twin Towers, the Pentagon in Washington, and in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Continue reading...

United States Studies Centre finds Americans are not convinced the Indo-Pacific should be a priority region for the Biden administration

Man held after two people killed and three wounded in New York and Washington DC in less than two weeksA gunman suspected of stalking homeless people asleep on the streets of New York City and Washington DC, killing at least two and wounding three, was arrested early on Tuesday, police said.Law enforcement arrested the man in Washington, Metropolitan police (MPD) said on Twitter. Police in the two cities released surveillance photographs including a close-up clearly showing the man’s face, and urged people who might know him to come forward. Continue reading...

Outrage as state becomes first in US to pass ban modelled on Texas law that allows family members to sue abortion providersIdaho has become the first US state to pass an abortion ban modeled after a controversial Texas law that prohibits abortions after about six weeks or when a heartbeat is detected.The news comes with abortion rights under assault across the US – despite clear majority support for such rights. The conservative-dominated US supreme court is thought likely to overturn Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling which established the right, later this year. Continue reading...

Victim, 67, was entering her apartment building when Tammel Esco approached her from behind, Yonkers police saidA man in Yonkers, New York was arrested for attempted murder after he punched an Asian woman 125 times and called her a racial slur, police said.The 67-year-old victim was entering her apartment building on Friday evening when the perpetrator, whom police identified as 42-year-old Tammel Esco, saw her and called her an “Asian bitch”, Yonkers police said. Continue reading...

Li Jinjin, 66, was fatally stabbed in his New York law office by Xiaoning Zhang, 25, for allegedly refusing to take her on as a clientA dissident legal scholar who was jailed for two years in China after participating in the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement was killed on Monday in his law office in New York, where he settled after seeking asylum in the US, police said.Li Jinjin, 66, was stabbed to death in the city where he had long worked as an immigration lawyer, advocating publicly for people jailed or killed by Chinese authorities during the nation’s democracy movement. Continue reading...