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Court document released Wednesday confirmed some celebrity connections but also showed late sex offender's flimsy braggadocioWhile Jeffrey Epstein counted many rich and powerful men among his associates -including Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew - a court document released on Wednesday suggests the late financier so craved proximity to celebrity that he made spurious boasts about relationships with Hollywood A-listers.Johanna Sjoberg, an accuser of the late sex offender and financier, claimed in a deposition that he liked to talk about knowing movie stars, such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett, and that these statements appeared to come across as flimsy braggadocio. Continue reading...

Entrepreneur says DEI initiatives benefit companies after Musk called them just another word for racism'Elon Musk and Mark Cuban clashed late on Wednesday over the value of diversity, equity and inclusion programs within US companies following the resignation of Harvard's first Black president.Critics of Claudine Gay, who condemned tired racial stereotypes" in the campaign against her presidency, speculated she had benefited from Harvard's focus on diversity, rather than her credentials. Continue reading...

Countries including China and Saudi Arabia spent $7.8m, often lavishly', at Trump properties, report by House Democrats finds

President says preserving democracy central issue of his presidency' in ad timed for release on anniversary of January 6Joe Biden's first campaign ad of the year focuses on threats to US democracy, timed for release on the anniversary of the 6 January insurrection at the US Capitol.In the ad, Biden says that preserving American democracy has been the central issue of his presidency". As footage of political violence and rioting shows on screen, the president notes that there's an extremist movement that does not share the basic beliefs in our democracy". Continue reading...

Her resignation is merely the latest episode in the right wing's assault on education - a project that has increased in its virulence in recent yearsAny political observer who is not too stupid or too full of himself to notice what is going on knows that the resignation of Claudine Gay, the president of Harvard University who was driven from her job this week, had nothing to do with plagiarism.There are all sorts of factors that make this obvious: there is the reality that Gay's field, political science, is a data-driven discipline in which abstracts from one paper are not-infrequently copied as parts of a literature review in another, and that the borrowed phrases and summaries that account for Gay's plagiarism" are not crimes of theft but of sloppiness, with little bearing on the originality of her work.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

Campaigners call for scrutiny of gold rush' after economists estimate gambling tax surge may be roughly equal' to social costsA promised economic boom from online gambling's rapid expansion across the United States may be a mirage, according to new research.New Jersey, which led the charge for mobile sports betting's legalization, has received hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes from the sector. But economists cautioned that the cost of higher problem gambling rates could be roughly equal" to the state's takings. Continue reading...

State's politically appointed surgeon general claims vaccines can contaminate human DNA but experts say comment has no meritAn assertion by Florida's politically appointed surgeon general that Covid-19 vaccines can contaminate human DNA has been dismissed as scientific nonsense" by public health experts, who say he is putting lives at risk by wanting to block distribution.Dr Joseph Ladapo, who was handpicked by the state's far-right governor and fellow vaccine-skeptic, Ron DeSantis, to be the state's top public health official, called for a halt in the distribution and use of mRNA Covid boosters, in an official bulletin published on Wednesday by the Florida health department. Continue reading...

New York progressive star among subjects of The Rebels, survey of the modern US left by Joshua GreenDonald Trump memorably compared the New York Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Eva Peron, the Argentinian first lady known as Evita. But a new book reveals that when the young Latino leftwinger burst on to the US political scene in 2018, one US labour leader made perhaps a more telling comparison - to Bruce Springsteen.I was floored," Michael Podhorzer, then political director of the AFL-CIO, told the author Joshua Green. The best comparison I can make is to the famous Jon Landau line: I've seen rock'n'roll's future and its name is Bruce Springsteen.'" Continue reading...

The majority of those whose names appear in the documents are not accused of wrongdoing and have been mentioned previously

The New York venture Peoplehood invites you to pay to join a gather', and laugh and learn' with strangers. ShudderThe vogue in self-improvement this new year is for leaning out, that is, for giving yourself permission to relax on the understanding that some fugitive benefit will take hold to make you more competitive than those leaning in. I'm in favour of this for general reasons of lassitude, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out in the market. To wit: the team behind SoulCycle, once a phenomenally successful fitness franchise, now a dated brand with empty storefronts all over Manhattan, has launched a new business - notably, one in which no one has to do anything so basic as to sweat or hunch over a bike.Or rather, any sweat triggered by Peoplehood, a company that invites strangers to attend 60-minute discussion groups called gathers", will be for reasons of embarrassment, not exercise. Does the notion of attending a group workout for your relationships" amuse and appal you? Does the concept of a gather", with its strenuous avoidance of the gerund and vague whiff of Gilead, make you shake with laughter? Then you may want to learn more about Peoplehood (a hundred bucks says they toyed with the idea of capping the H and styling it PeopleHood), an enterprise which, on the earliest evidence, promises to offer a lot more value in this vein.Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Families of children killed in massacre call out manufacturers' push to sell weapons to adolescentsParents of children massacred in the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting are stepping up their anti-gun violence campaign by exposing how the firearms industry is marketing weapons of war specifically to vulnerable adolescents.In a fresh stage in their battle to staunch the rising loss of life from mass shootings, Sandy Hook parents are pressuring gun manufacturers to stop what they say is a cynical and aggressive effort to sell military-style weapons to young and impressionable Americans. They are alarmed by a shift in tone in gun advertising in which, they say, major companies have consciously decided to boost profits by targeting kids as young as 10. Continue reading...

Folarin Balogun has yet to replicate last season's form following a summer move to Monaco. But he remains at the forefront of Gregg Berhalter's 2024 plansIn four matches at the 2022 World Cup, Gregg Berhalter started three different center forwards. Haji Wright was the only one of the three to score - a mere consolation goal in a 3-1 defeat to the Netherlands in the round of 16. The US men's national team's dearth of quality options at the No 9 position was exposed for the world to see.Folarin Balogun's decision in May to play for the US over England and Nigeria considerably changed this landscape. Widely considered one of the world's best young strikers, the Arsenal academy graduate has started the USMNT's last six matches. Berhalter is building around Balogun. Continue reading...

Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, David Copperfield and Prince Andrew among high-profile names in court documents. Plus, 20 easy, mind-expanding ways to be more creativeGood morning.Numerous court documents identifying associates of the notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were made public last night.Epstein's elite circle was huge. What was the source of his $580m fortune? The documents released shed some light on the circumstances of Epstein's lifestyle, but they do not answer any of the pending questions about his financial arrangements with wealthy men, and how he came to amass such a fortune.Where can we see the unsealed court papers? Hundreds of pages of documents linked to Epstein associates were made public on Wednesday. You can read them here in full.What was behind the campaign to get her sacked? Some of the activists who campaigned most prominently against Gay made clear this week that their broader aim was opposing diversity, equity and inclusion" (DEI) programs in all US universities and attacking DEI as a movement, not just opposing the choices of one individual Harvard president. Continue reading...

The president's speech this Saturday will be about the future of democracy - yet the press seems reluctant to make that clearWhen Joe Biden talks on Saturday about US democracy on the brink, there's no doubt that it will be a campaign speech. Maybe the most important one of his life.But the speech will be more than that. It's intended as a warning and a red alert, delivered on the anniversary of the violent January 6 insurrection at the Capitol.Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

I am eschewing dry January for something arguably more difficult - one small glass a night, with two nights off each week. What could possibly go wrong ...Big respect for all those embarking on Dry January. I won't be joining you because ... January. But I am attempting a tricky challenge of my own: mindful drinking. No, this doesn't involve sipping merlot while chanting mantras (although four days in, that doesn't sound too bad). Instead I intend to pay more attention to how much I drink and whether I'm imbibing because I'm merely thirsty, bored or, most likely, hangry".My Dry(ish) January project is simple but not easy: one small glass a night, with two nights off. As a moderate tippler, why am I bothering? In part because when I read the news that pubs will be able to serve wine in pints, I had initially scoffed. How ridiculous - who on earth would drink a pint of wine in one night?" But then I noticed a scary detail: one pint equals 568ml. Continue reading...

Mike DeWine defied his party on gender-affirming care for youths and now legislature is set to reconvene early to push law throughA legislative showdown is brewing in Ohio after Governor Mike DeWine split from his party to veto a bill that would impose substantial new restrictions on the lives of trans children.The bill, HB 68, prohibits doctors from providing gender-affirming care to trans youths. It also blocks transgender female student athletes from participating in girls' sports. Continue reading...

The Clark county district court Judge Mary Kay Holthus was attacked by a defendant during a sentencing hearing on Wednesday. Deobra Redden had pleaded guilty to attempted battery with substantial bodily harm and had asked the judge not to send him to prison but when she appeared to decline this request, Redden lunged over the bench at her. Neveda state records show he had previously served prison time on a domestic battery conviction Defendant attacks judge in Nevada Continue reading...

Mary Kay Holthus and court officials injured in incident which has led to new charges against Deobra Delone ReddenA defendant has attacked a judge during a felony battery case, dragging her to the floor and sparking a brawl involving court officials and attorneys, officials and witnesses have said.In a violent scene captured on courtroom video on Wednesday, Deobra Delone Redden jumped over a defence table and the judge's bench, knocking the Clark county district judge Mary Kay Holthus from her seat and against a wall then pulled her to the floor. She sustained some injuries but was not sent to hospital, courthouse officials said. Continue reading...

Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, David Copperfield and Prince Andrew among names contained in court documents

The longtime Capitals star entered the season just 72 goals shy of Wayne Gretzky's storied career mark. But a ongoing scoring slump threatens to keep the lofty milestone out of reachOn 7 December, Alex Ovechkin notched his 1,500th point of his career - an assist during a 5-4 loss to Dallas. Ovechkin is just the 16th player in NHL history, and one of only two active players, to have hit the milestone. That other player is Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby. Ovechkin and Crosby, perennial rivals since they were drafted first overall consecutively in 2004 and 2005, have tracked nearly identical points-earning paths throughout their careers, differing only in how they accumulated them. Crosby's playmaking has given him 966 assists and 567 goals. For Ovechkin, the points combo was always the reverse of Crosby's: 675 assists and 827 goals. Continue reading...

The septuagenarian coach has been mum on his future ahead of what could be his last game with the Patriots, but the all-time wins record is in tantalising reach for himBill Belichick was asked again at a news conference Wednesday morning about his future with the New England Patriots - as if he'd suddenly spill the beans and blurt out that he planned to stop coaching them, or, perhaps planned to hoof it to another NFL team in 2024.Asked if he'd talked this week about his job to the team's owner, Robert Kraft, Belichick replied, Yeah, I'm looking forward to working, getting ready for the Jets here." Continue reading...

Hosting a workshop around issues muffled by a blanket of silence in our community felt daunting. But it was revelatory

From teenagers to tornados, the artist, film-maker and photographer captures the earth, dirt, soil and land' of his adopted home Continue reading...

So many citizens are angry and cynical, like Taxi Driver's Travis Bickle. I wish our leaders would ask themselves whyYou talkin' to me?" One of the most famous speeches of the past half-century is delivered with only a mirror for an audience. Alone in his cramped bedsit, clothes drying on a line in the corner, Travis Bickle dons a green army jacket and practises pulling out a pistol. And so unravels Taxi Driver, the classic film study of isolation and lethal madness. Well, I'm the only one here. Who the fuck do you think you're talkin' to?"Where does it come from, the paranoia that shrouds Bickle? From steering a yellow cab around and around New York's concrete claustrophobia. There is this kind of myth that the taxi driver was this friendly, joking kind of guy who was a character actor in movies," said the film's writer, Paul Schrader. But the reality is that it's a very lonely job, and you're trapped in a box for 60 hours a week." Continue reading...

The 2024-page document released by a US judge is littered with names, but some secrets stay hiddenIt has long been known that the disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein operated at the center of a globe-spanning network of the rich, famous and powerful but the documents released Wednesday were nonetheless shocking in revealing the sheer magnitude of his elite circle.Through the prism of a defamation lawsuit involving allegations against the Wall Street estate planner" Epstein and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, the scale of their social network came into harsh focus. Continue reading...

Stainless steel mesh beneath iconic 1.7-mile span took decades of advocacy and is already workingA long-awaited suicide prevention barrier at the Golden Gate Bridge has been completed, officials announced on Wednesday, marking the culmination of a tireless campaign by families who lost loved ones at the famous structure.Crews had been working to finish installing stainless steel nets on both sides of the bridge before a promised 2024 deadline. Continue reading...

Hundreds of pages of documents linked to Epstein associates were made public on Wednesday. You can read them here in full

Colorado supreme court issued ruling on Tuesday but in anticipation of appeal stayed it until 4 JanuaryDonald Trump appealed to the US supreme court on Wednesday to undo the Colorado ruling that removed him from the ballot in the western state under the 14th amendment to the US constitution, for inciting an insurrection.In our system of government of the people, by the people, [and] for the people,' Colorado's ruling is not and cannot be correct," Trump's lawyers wrote in their Wednesday filing. They also said the Colorado supreme court's ruling if allowed to stand, will mark the first time in the history of the United States that the judiciary has prevented voters from casting ballots for the leading major-party presidential candidate". Continue reading...

I was scared, out of my depth in the water and out, but I was there. The hope and the welcome propelled me alongOn my morning walks, I used to look at the older, pink-capped women swimming in the ocean and project myself decades into my future.One day I'll be a mermaid," I hoped, as I watched the Morning Mermaids swimming group in the golden light. I'll live near the sea, and throw myself into it. I'll leave behind my self-conscious shame, I'll be me, I'll be at one with the watery world." Coming from a non-swimmer, this was quite the fantasy. Continue reading...

Formerly redacted names of the financier and sex offender's network were revealed in records unsealed on Wednesday

Cleric was attacked outside Masjid-Muhammad-Newark on Wednesday morning in NewarkA New Jersey imam was shot and killed on Wednesday outside a mosque in the state's largest city, authorities said as officers worked to identify and arrest the shooter.The cleric, Imam Hassan Sharif, was shot after 6am outside the Masjid-Muhammad-Newark mosque, Newark's public safety director, Fritz Frage, said in an emailed statement. Sharif was taken to nearby University hospital and was in critical condition, authorities said. He later succumbed to his injuries. Continue reading...

Black residents were stopped the most, while Native Americans were searched most frequently compared to all racial groupsLaw enforcement in California handcuffed and detained Black and Indigenous residents during traffic stops at significantly higher rates than white people in 2022, according to data released on Wednesday.The annual racial profiling report from a state board analyzed 4.5m vehicle and pedestrian stops conducted by 535 law enforcement agencies, the first time departments from across the state contributed data.Black residents were stopped the most, making up 5.4% of the state's population, but 12.5% of stops.Latinos were also disproportionately stopped, making up 32.4% of the population, but 42.9% of stops.White and Asian American residents were stopped at lower rates than their proportion of the population.Native Americans were searched most frequently compared to all racial groups, in 22.4% of stops, nearly twice the rate of white people, who were searched in 12.4% of stops. Native Americans were also handcuffed at the highest rate of all groups at 17.8% of stops, compared with less than 10% for white people.Black residents were detained on the curb or in a patrol car at the highest rate, at 20.2% of stops, and also ordered to exit their cars more frequently than all other groups, at 7.1% of stops. Black residents were also issued a sole charge of resisting arrest at a rate more than three times the state average, making up 19.2% of those cases. Continue reading...

Charles R Drew is training 60 students to serve communities where underinvestment has led to health inequitiesIt was too late for Sanam Ahadi's grandmother, Karima Lutfi.Ahadi's family, originally from Afghanistan, had feared taking Lutfi to the hospital when she contracted the Covid-19 virus early in the pandemic. Information was low. Visitors were restricted, and the unknown was inescapable, including the virus's possible deadliness among older adults. In Lutfi's case, there was also a language barrier. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. For our latest on Republicans' demands on immigration policy, you can read our latest story

Emmer completes full House of Republican leaders - Mike Johnson, Steve Scalise and Elise Stefanik - backing ex-presidentDonald Trump secured the endorsement of Tom Emmer on Wednesday, completing a full House of Republican leaders backing the former US president even though Trump dynamited the majority whip's own bid for speaker just two months ago.Democrats have made clear they will use every tool in their arsenal to try and keep Joe Biden and his failed policies in power," Emmer said. Continue reading...

As the right celebrates the resignation of the Harvard president as victory', concerns rise over equality initiatives in universitiesOn Tuesday afternoon, Claudine Gay resigned from her post as president of Harvard University, making her six-month tenure the shortest in university history. In the aftermath of her departure from the position, many argued that the aggressive nature of the campaign against her was motivated not by questions about her academic integrity or about her response to campus controversy, but by her race.Pressure on Gay to resign grew following her 5 December congressional testimony, where she, along with the presidents of MIT and the University of Pennsylvania, answered questions regarding allegations of on-campus antisemitism related to the Israel-Gaza war. Shortly thereafter, plagiarism allegations published on conservative website the Washington Free Beacon mounted against Gay, ultimately leading to her resignation. Continue reading...

The assassination of a Hamas leader in Beirut and Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea increase the risksFrom the moment that the full extent of the 7 October atrocities by Hamas in southern Israel became evident, the spectre of an ensuing regional conflict loomed in the background. Since then, attention has been fixed on Israel's pummelling of Gaza, where the death toll passed 22,000 this week, according to Palestinian health authorities. Yet in recent weeks the risk of a greater conflagration has grown.The assassination of the senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut marks a new and dangerous moment, as Israel (which did not publicly claim responsibility) will have known. Arouri was the group's key conduit to Lebanon-based Hezbollah and to Iran. His death is a blow not only to Hamas but the broader network. It follows last week's killing - which Tehran blames on Israel - of an Iranian military official who oversaw the shipping of arms to Hezbollah. Continue reading...

Eugene Peterson, retired sergeant major who served in both the Philippines and Vietnam, says soda is the secret to longevityA US army veteran who just turned 101 years old has revealed what he thinks is the key to a long life: Dr Pepper.Eugene Peterson, a retired sergeant major who was drafted into the army in 1941 and served in both the Philippines and Vietnam, extolled the virtues of the soda pop while celebrating his birthday at Travis air force base in Fairfield, California, where he is a volunteer. Continue reading...

From September 2021 to April 2023, Aid Access tracked roughly 48,400 advance provision requests for mifepristoneMore Americans are now stockpiling abortion pills in case they get pregnant, according to new research published Tuesday.Before Roe v Wade was overturned in June 2022, Aid Access, an organization that mails abortion pills to people across the US, received an average of 25 requests a day from people seeking the pills despite not being pregnant. After the leak of the supreme court decision to overturn Roe, that average shot up to 247 requests each day, the research published on Tuesday found. Continue reading...

Gratitude journalling leaves me cold, but Ross Gay's delight practice' turns out to be exactly what I need to cope with this whole being-a-human-in-2024 thingNo doubt about it, these are dark days. I'm writing this from the west of Scotland, where at this time of year there are only brief glimmers of daylight before twilight descends again. Then, of course, there is the metaphorical darkness of current news events, inescapable wherever you live.I was feeling pretty bleak about this whole being-a-human-in-2024 thing until I read about an intriguing idea from Catherine Price in the New York Times. She writes about the American poet Ross Gay and his essay collection The Book of Delights, in which he challenges himself each day to document one frivolous, quirky or downright strange thing that provokes joy. Conducted over the course of a year, it's a gloriously unpredictable compendium of observations and celebrations of a life lived with full attention.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Republicans have criticized Alejandro Mayorkas's handling of the unprecedented crisis at the US-Mexico borderUS House Republicans will seek to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas, Joe Biden's secretary of homeland security, alleging egregious misconduct and refusal to enforce the law" in relation to immigration policy and the southern border.In a statement to CNN on Wednesday, a spokesperson said the House homeland security committee had conducted a comprehensive investigation into Secretary Mayorkas's handling of, and role in, the unprecedented crisis at the south-west border. Continue reading...

Two explosions have killed at least 103 people and injured scores more at a memorial ceremony in Iran marking the fourth anniversary of the killing of Qassem Suleimani, head of Iran's Quds Force and one of the most powerful men in the Middle East. A senior official called the blasts a 'terroristic' attack, without saying who could be behind them. Eyewitnesses spoke of two explosions 10 minutes apart in the central southern city of Kerman, while some said they heard four. Suleimani was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad in 2020 and was seen as the leader directing Iranian proxy forces in Iraq and Syria

Too long demeaned and treated as playthings by executives, female artists are finally getting the attention they deserveMadonna, Beyonce, Britney, Whitney: if you think about the most iconic names in mainstream pop history, you'll probably come up with a list of women. And this week, we have solid confirmation of female artists' dominance. British audiences listen to more female musicians than male, according to the latest industry figures for 2023.It was the most successful performance for women on the UK singles chart since it began in 1952, the British Phonographic Institute (BPI) found. This included artists such as Raye and PinkPantheress, both of whom saw their music proliferate on TikTok this year, and those global heavy hitters you'd probably expect: Miley Cyrus - whose single Flowers stayed at No 1 for 10 weeks on the UK chart - Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo et al. Continue reading...

Recent storms wash up rusted device along coast of Pajaro dunes in Santa Cruz countyA practice bomb from the second world war era washed up on a California beach after rising tides and larger waves hit much of the area over the holiday weekend.The rusted device was found on New Year's Eve along the coast of the Pajaro dunes in Santa Cruz county, about 22 miles (35km) south of Santa Cruz. Continue reading...

Jeff Jackson made a splash in his single term but will be running for North Carolina attorney general after a newly partisan state supreme court redrew his district mapA little over nine months after he was sworn in to his first term in Congress, Jeff Jackson, a freshman US representative for North Carolina, announced he would leave the body at the end of his term.To an outsider, that might seem like a surprising decision. In just his first few months in Congress, Jackson had become well-known for smart, short videos explaining what was going on at the Capitol. By April, he had more followers on TikTok than any other member of Congress, the Washington Post reported (as of mid-December he had 2.5 million). By all accounts, he was a rising star. Continue reading...

Of his properties in Georgia, Alabama, New York, North Carolina, Texas and Vermont, Fox host says the one in Florida is now homeFollowing Donald Trump, Jerry Seinfeld's screen parents and other ageing and querulous New Yorkers, Sean Hannity has moved to the free state of Florida", full-time.I've been threatening now to do this for quite a while," the 62-year-old Fox News prime-time host said on his iHeartRadio show on Tuesday, but we are now beginning our first broadcast from my new home and that is in the free state of Florida. I am out. I am done. I'm finished." Continue reading...

The Texas governor has imposed harsh border policies and bussed tens of thousands of migrants to Democrat-run citiesThe Biden administration has asked the US supreme court to allow border patrol agents to cut through razor-wire fencing that Texas placed along the US-Mexico border.In an emergency appeal by the justice department, the solicitor general said that fencing installed by Texas's Republican governor had actually prevented border agents from detaining migrants at the border, and said federal law allows the government to remove it. Continue reading...