Drop in price comes as Covid-19 infections rise in China, which could hit demand for energy suppliesGlobal oil prices have fallen back below $100 (£77) a barrel amid ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine and concerns over the rapid growth in Covid infections in China.The price of a barrel of oil slid to $99 on energy markets on Tuesday, before rising back to just above $100 in early afternoon trading. It comes amid a decline from a 14-year high of close to $130 reached earlier this month after Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine. Continue reading...
Republican senator makes remark and cites Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at private event to raise funds for Liz CheneyAt a private event in Virginia, senior Republican senator Mitt Romney delivered a stark warning about the threat to US democracy in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.“We are really the only significant experiment in democracy, and preserving liberal democracy is an extraordinary challenge,” the Utah senator and former Massachusetts governor and Republican presidential nominee said, according to attendees at the event in McLean, Virginia, who spoke to CBS News. Continue reading...
The mug featured prominently on Hawley’s website on Tuesday despite a cease and desist letter issued by PoliticoThe Republican senator Josh Hawley must stop using an infamous picture of him raising his fist to protesters at the US Capitol on January 6 on campaign merchandise, the news site Politico said.The shot was taken on 6 January 2021 as Hawley, from Missouri, made his way into the Capitol for the certification of electoral college results in Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump. Continue reading...
Democrats tout Biden’s role in responding to Russian aggression and highlight contrast with Putin-friendly Trump. Plus, Pete Davidson is going to spaceGood morning.Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has given Joe Biden a second chance to demonstrate the steady leadership he promised, raising hopes among Democrats that the White House’s efforts to punish Moscow for its shocking aggression will resonate with voters in this year’s midterm elections.Should Democrats be hopeful? Recent surveys have shown an increase in support for Biden, buoyed by approval of his handling of the conflict in Ukraine, though his overall ratings are still mired in the low 40s.Do Americans support the administration’s response to the conflict? Broadly they say support the response. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, Americans overwhelmingly favor a ban on oil and gas purchases from Russia, even if it means paying more at the pump.Is China going to send economic aid to Russia? US officials fear China has already decided to provide Russia with economic and financial support and is contemplating sending military supplies such as armed drones.What’s happening to the Russian oligarchs? Spain has temporarily seized a $140m superyacht in Barcelona that belongs to Sergei Chemezov, a former KGB officer. Meanwhile, four protesters who occupied the home of Oleg Deripaska have been arrested by police.What else is happening? Here’s everything we know on day 20 of the Russian invasion. Continue reading...
Legislation in New York’s senate and assembly would create a council with powers to establish workplace standardsDolma Sherpa worked as a nail technician for four years in New York City, up until the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the industry and left her with severely reduced work hours when the industry reopened.The work was already unstable, Sherpa explained, as she often worked seven days a week during busy times of the year, and then struggled to get hours and work through the winter. Continue reading...
Rafael Nadal has said he feels 'terrible' for Naomi Osaka, but admitted the heckling she endured during her straight-sets defeat by Veronika Kudermetova at Indian Wells in California 'happens in the real world'. The 21-times grand slam champion added: 'Even if it's terrible to hear, we need to be prepared.'
The end of games are often scarred by timeouts and intentional fouls. Small tweaks could make the league much more exciting for fansThere are 21.7 seconds left on the clock. Team A’s center grabs a rebound with his team up by two, and he’s promptly fouled by Team B. Nineteen free throws, eight fouls, and about 20 minutes of real-time later, the final buzzer sounds.The center? Andre Drummond. Teams A and B? The Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks last month. Fans’ excitement after a fantastic game of basketball? Shattered. Continue reading...
The baseball season was threatened by a labor dispute. The NFL is being sued by a coach. It doesn’t really matter to team owners while the money keeps comingThere have been no games in either league for more than a month, but there has been plenty of conflict and drama in both Major League Baseball and the National Football League. On one hand, we had MLB locking out its players – delaying the start of the 2022 season – to put maximum pressure on the players’ association. On the other, the NFL is preparing its response to former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores’s racial discrimination lawsuit.What’s the connection? Well, both situations involve entities that represent the interests of team owners – all fantastically wealthy – in very real public relations battles. In both situations, the NFL and MLB have acted as if they have the edge thanks to their very substantial financial resources. It’s entirely possible that they’re both right, although MLB may be pushing things farther than it realizes. Continue reading...
Democrats tout president’s role in responding to Russian aggression – and bid to highlight contrast with Putin-friendly Donald TrumpJoe Biden came into the White House vowing to restore American leadership on the world stage. But the tumultuous end to the war in Afghanistan last year shook Americans’ confidence in their new commander-in-chief, raising doubts about his competence and judgment and sending his approval ratings tumbling.Now Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has given Biden a second chance to demonstrate the steady leadership he promised, raising hopes among Democrats that the White House’s efforts to punish Moscow for its shocking aggression will resonate with voters in this year’s midterm elections. Continue reading...
Democratic Pac alleges former president is raising campaign money without announcing candidacyA Democratic fundraising organization has announced that it is filing a complaint to the Federal Election Commission in which it accuses former president Donald Trump of violating campaign finance laws by spending political funds for a 2024 presidential bid without officially declaring his 2024 candidacy.The American Bridge Super Pac, which filed the complaint on Monday, said in the complaint that “Trump has been illegally using his multi-candidate leadership PAC to raise and spend funds in excess of Commission limits for the purpose of advancing a 2024 presidential campaign. Continue reading...
The 334-metre Ever Forward ran into trouble in the Chesapeake Bay, a year to the month after its cousin blocked the canal in EgyptA year to the month after the Ever Given blocked the Suez canal for a week – prompting global fascination and countless memes – the container ship’s cousin has run aground in the Chesapeake Bay.Officials are now scrambling to refloat that container ship, ironically named the Ever Forward, after it got stuck on Sunday night as it tried to head from the Port of Baltimore to Norfolk, Virginia, Bloomberg reported. Continue reading...
The increase in asylum-seekers is 35 times the number who crossed the border in Mexico during the same time period last yearMaksim Derzhko calls it one of the most terrifying experiences of his life. A longtime opponent of Vladimir Putin, he flew from Vladivostok to the Mexican border city of Tijuana with his 14-year-old daughter and was in a car with seven other Russians. All that separated them from claiming asylum in the United States was a US officer standing in traffic as vehicles inched toward inspection booths.The emotions are “hard to put into words,” he says. “It’s fear. The unknown. It’s really hard. We had no choice.” Continue reading...
Bill signed by Republican governor sparks opposition from Black lawmakers who say it will quash debate on racism’s harmful effectsMississippi’s governor signed a bill on Monday to limit how race can be discussed in classrooms, marking the latest move in a Republican-driven battle over “critical race theory”, an academic framework that examines how racism has shaped US public policy and institutions.The Mississippi bill has sparked opposition from Black lawmakers, who have said its passage could squelch honest discussion about the harmful effects of racism. Continue reading...
Conservative activist who runs a political lobbying firm, says she briefly attended rally but left before Trump addressed crowdVirginia “Ginni” Thomas, wife of the supreme court justice Clarence Thomas, has admitted attending a rally which preceded the January 6 attack on the US Capitol but denied helping to plan it.In an interview with the Washington Free Beacon, Thomas, a conservative activist who runs a political lobbying firm, said she briefly attended the rally near the White House on 6 January 2021 but left before Donald Trump addressed the crowd. Continue reading...
If we are not talking about the conflict, and the unimaginable horror of it, we are thinking about it. The rest just seems gibberishWhen you have known someone for a long time, you can cover a lot of ground extremely fast. I met a friend of 30 years, by the recycling bins. She had just been on the phone to someone who was going with a fleet of ambulances to Ukraine, and had asked her to go with them. “I was just saying ‘yes’, when my phone ran out of battery. Then I realised that I don’t have a skill set for this. No nursing training. I haven’t driven since I was 11. Imagine how embarrassing that would be; driving across five countries and you can’t even take over for two hours. I don’t even have the competence to keep my phone charged when I’m right next to some electricity.” We just stood for a bit and boggled at the unimaginability of that idea. You might accidentally agree to drive into a war zone, having forgotten that you couldn’t drive, and that doomed enterprise was only averted because you’d forgotten to charge your phone. But the whole thing is unimaginable.It turns out it is possible to veer, all day long, between very strong emotions: impotent compassion, guilt and anger. Rage is the convenient feeling, more energising than compassion and much more comfortable than guilt. That’s why you always end up hating someone if you wrong them. Your infinitely creative brain finds a reason that it’s their fault. Continue reading...
Mother: ‘If they want to not have memorials on their street corners they need to stop murdering our loved ones on street corners’Plans to remove a street-corner memorial to Daunte Wright have been put on hold, after protests from the family of the 20-year old Black man who was killed by a Minnesota police officer during a traffic stop last year.“If they want to not have memorials on their street corners they need to stop murdering our loved ones on street corners,” said Wright’s mother, Katie Wright. Continue reading...
The war in Ukraine is showing up the inconsistency and moral sloppiness of how Britain deals with regimesWar is a good time to bury scruples. We may hate Vladimir Putin, but one dictator at a time appears all we can handle. So Britain’s Boris Johnson is to make a humiliating dash to plead with Saudi Arabia’s ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to lower the price of oil. What will he offer in return? Will it be a blind eye to the state murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the continued devastation of the Yemenis, or the execution at the weekend of 81 men, some of them political prisoners? Who next is to be appeased, the “oligarchs” of the UAE, or Nicolás Maduro, ruler of oil-rich Venezuela? How kind must Britain suddenly be to China, as the latter equivocates in its attitude to Putin and greedily eyes Taiwan?Ukraine has brought an enhanced moral sloppiness to British policymaking. Sanctions were thought a price worth paying in lieu of coming more directly to Kyiv’s aid against Putin. But as the war has not gone well for Putin, nor have sanctions for the west. They have sent energy prices and inflation soaring. At first this was to be a noble display of sharing Ukraine’s agony, sort of. Now it has all got too much. Political scientists may call it realpolitik, but in truth it is merely starting to hurt.Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
by Associated Press in Dolton, Illinois on (#5X36T)
Family were sitting in their car when child somehow found weapon owned by father and fired itA three-year-old boy accidentally shot his mother dead as the family sat in their car in a parking lot at a supermarket in a suburb of Chicago, police said.The woman was shot on Saturday in Dolton and pronounced dead at hospital, police said. Continue reading...
Suspect believed to have attacked people sleeping on the streets in both cities, killing two and injuring threePolice in Washington DC and New York said they were searching for a man believed to have attacked people sleeping on the streets in both cities, killing two and injuring three.District of Columbia police said on Sunday investigators were working with the New York police department to find the man who left a victim in a burning tent after fatally shooting and stabbing him on Wednesday, then killed another man on Saturday in New York.The Associated Press contributed to this report Continue reading...
Barbara Goldberg Goldman wrote in her email that three previous attempts to elect a Black governor had failedDoubts about the electability of Black candidates “should have no place in America in 2022”, a contender for the Democratic nomination for governor in Maryland said, after an email from a party official and donor expressing such doubt went public.The email from Barbara Goldberg Goldman, deputy treasurer of the state Democratic party, was obtained by Axios. The news site noted the disparity between such doubts and Democratic reliance on Black voters in states across the US, not least in the election of Joe Biden as president. Continue reading...
The quarterback still believes he has plenty to offer his team. But it is often the game, rather than the player, that decides when a career is overApparently, we haven’t learned anything from horror movies. If we had, we would have remembered that the villain always returns the very second the world believes they are finally vanquished. So, it was on a random Sunday night in March – during the hours normally set aside in the US for college basketball discussion – that Tom Brady announced he is returning to the NFL.“These past two months I’ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands,” Brady wrote on his Twitter account. “That time will come. But it’s not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I’m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business. LFG.” Continue reading...
A total of 14 states have now passed legislation restricting how and what teachers can teach about race and racism in America. But resources aboundRightwing legislators across the country have seized on the bogeyman of so-called “critical race theory” as the latest weapon in their centuries-long practice of trying to scare white people that their hold on the country is slipping away. A total of 14 states have now passed legislation restricting how and what teachers can teach about race and racism in America. But their ideological, white people-first zeal far surpasses their actual understanding of US history. Even after the rushed attempts to whitewash US history, there is still abundant material to cover that can give a clear, accurate and truthful picture of this country and the centuries-long role of systemic racism in shaping the United States of America.The most far-reaching and proscriptive of these bills is the legislation passed last year in Texas, and I have done a deep dive into the revised Texas education code so that you don’t have to (finally putting to good use the experience gained from serving on a school board for eight years, passing controversial policies to diversify San Francisco’s literature curriculum, and being a lawyer for 24 years). So, as a resource for people who believe in teaching the truth, here are five documents you still can – and should – teach even under the new anti-CRT laws.Steve Phillips is the founder of Democracy in Color and author of Brown is the New White: How the Demographic Revolution Has Created a New American Majority. He is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...
The four-time grand slam champion was reduced to tears by a heckler at Indian Wells. But abuse from the stands appears to be on the increaseNaomi Osaka’s emotional, tear-filled comments after she was heckled during her second-round loss in Indian Wells on Saturday immediately drew comparisons to the infamous incident at the same tournament in 2001 when the Williams sisters were mercilessly – and unjustly - booed. While the setting was the same and both instances reveal an ugly side of fandom, the circumstances surrounding each are decidedly not similar.At the 2001 tournament, minutes before a highly anticipated semi-final clash between Venus and Serena (who at that point were already both slam champions), Venus withdrew due to an injury. The next day, during the final between Serena and Kim Clijsters, a significant portion of the crowd heckled and booed Serena, as well as Venus and their father Richard who were watching the match at courtside. Serena eventually won the final as a proud and defiant Richard looked on. Continue reading...
Zelenskiy pushes for meeting with Putin after deadly strike near Polish border. Plus, are there more wheels or doors in the world?Diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine have increased, with Ukrainian and Russian negotiators to resume talks after Russia attacked a base near the Polish border and fighting raged across Ukraine.A barrage of Russian missiles hit Yavoriv International Center for Peacekeeping and Security, a base just 15 miles (25km) from the Polish border that previously hosted Nato military instructors, killing 35 people and wounding 134, a Ukrainian official said yesterday.What’s happening in the villages Russia has taken over? Witnesses have said Russian soldiers are shooting randomly at buildings, throwing grenades down roads and going from house to house confiscating phones and laptops. People have also been shot dead in the street.Why is Tucker Carlson in the news today? According to a report on Sunday, earlier this month the Putin regime in Moscow sent out an instruction to friendly media outlets: use more clips of Carlson.What else is happening? Here’s everything we know on day 19 of the Russian invasion. Continue reading...
Guardian review of company’s policies raises privacy concerns amid fears records could be shared or monetizedThe Biden administration is proposing to expand a controversial surveillance program that tracks the whereabouts of more than 180,000 immigrants awaiting their day in court. But there is little transparency about what data is collected by the private company with an exclusive contract to run the program, or what may happen to that data in the future.In a letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), US lawmakers on 23 February raised fresh concerns about the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program, and the data collection practices of BI Inc, the private company running the effort for US Immigration and Custom Enforcement (Ice). Continue reading...
Questions also arise about possible violations of a lobbying disclosure law known as the Foreign Agents Registration ActConservative influence powerhouse CPAC and the American Conservative Union that sponsors it, face criticism on multiple fronts over financial and other dealings with foreign backers, and charges their gatherings have become pay-to-play affairs with corporate lobbyists as Donald Trump allies gain power and influence.The Conservative Political Action Conference’s annual meeting is a hugely influential date on the conservative calendar every year and attracts a wide array of power players in the Republican party and broader conservative movement. CPAC’s “straw poll” is seen as a potential predictor of Republican presidential candidates. Last month it was held in Florida where Trump was the star attraction, and won the straw poll by a healthy margin. Continue reading...
Workers are under intense strain amid grueling schedules, union contract negotiations and an arcane attendance policy systemAmerican railroad workers are criticizing a new restrictive attendance policy at one of the largest railroad freight networks in the US, as they experience grueling schedules and labor cuts in the midst of new union contract negotiations, which have hit an impasse, prompting federal mediation.The Guardian spoke with several railroad trainmen and engineers who requested to remain anonymous as they are prohibited by their employer from speaking to the media. Continue reading...
Russian government document instructed outlets to show Fox News host ‘as much as possible’, Mother Jones saysThe Fox News primetime host Tucker Carlson has been widely accused of echoing Russian propaganda about the invasion of Ukraine. According to a report on Sunday, earlier this month the Putin regime in Moscow sent out an instruction to friendly media outlets: use more clips of Carlson.Mother Jones, a progressive magazine, said it had obtained memos produced by the Russian Department of Information and Telecommunications Support. Continue reading...
Analysis: Disputes with Biden administration mean Riyadh and Abu Dhabi are likely to drive hard bargainJoe Biden’s hardline stance on Russia has won him widespread plaudits, but with the most serious oil shock in decades now a reality, the US president’s attempt to cushion the blowback continues to meet resistance from the two allies he needs most.Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Mohammed bin Salman, and his counterpart in the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed, are yet to agree to a phone call with the west’s most powerful man – a scenario all but unthinkable during previous administrations. Continue reading...
Man who was denied entrance on Saturday for previous incidents of disorderly conduct identified as 60-year-old Gary CabanaVideo from the Museum of Modern Art in New York City showed the moment a man leaped over a reception desk and stabbed two employees as they tried to flee on Saturday.The video released by police showed a man identified as 60-year-old Gary Cabana enter the museum lobby through a revolving door then climb onto the desk and jump over it as a man carrying what appeared to be a walkie-talkie tried in vain to stop him. Continue reading...
by Associated Press in Charleston, West Virginia on (#5X256)
Supermajority runs out of time to greenlight House version of bill but does pass abortion restrictionRepublicans who enjoy a supermajority in the West Virginia legislature nonetheless failed to pass a controversial bill restricting how race is taught in public schools because they missed a midnight deadline in the final moments of the 2022 session.Lawmakers spent weeks during the legislative session debating and advancing proposed bills similar to the Anti-Racism Act of 2022. It wasn’t immediately clear why Republicans waited until late on Saturday to take a final vote. The act had passed the Senate and House overwhelmingly and the vote was merely to greenlight the House version. Continue reading...
Tom Rice faces Trumpist challenger because of vote to impeach over the deadly Capitol attackA Republican congressman attacked by Donald Trump at a rally in South Carolina on Saturday called the former president a “would-be tyrant”.Tom Rice voted to impeach Trump over the deadly Capitol attack and will face a Trump-endorsed challenger later this year. Continue reading...
by Eric Berger, graphics by Andrew Witherspoon on (#5X234)
It has been two years since the US declared a national emergency because of Covid – these graphics show the costs and cautious hopes for the futureThe Covid-19 pandemic has hit the United States hard, sparing no region, race or ethnicity, though some groups have suffered more than others.The virus has caused more than 965,000 US deaths; strained healthcare systems; changed companies and employees’ expectations of one another; and sparked political battles over vaccine mandates and controls. Continue reading...
Chair of board advising on legalisation of psychedelic mushrooms resigns after being accused to standing to profit from own rulesThe chair of a board advising on the legalisation of psychedelic mushrooms in Oregon has resigned after being accused of standing to profit financially from the potentially $1bn industry he is helping to shape.In 2020, after a landmark US-first vote, Oregon legalized the therapeutic use of psilocybin. But the ructions at the board could throw the whole industry into disarray. Continue reading...
by Aliya Uteuova and Andrew Witherspoon on (#5X235)
A variety of factors, from Russia’s invasion to the pandemic, are causing higher bills – and Americans should expect to see higher prices until the end of the year
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