Documents allegedly leaked by Jack Teixeira show US knew of at least four balloons beyond one shot down in FebruaryUS officials were aware of up to four Chinese surveillance balloons, beyond one that flew over the continental US and was shot down in February, according to leaked top intelligence. One balloon flew over a US carrier strike group located in the Pacific Ocean, in an incident that was never reported.The information comes from documents that were allegedly leaked by Massachusetts air national guard member Jack Teixeira that were first reported by the Washington Post. Continue reading...
The NBA postseason (proper) tips off Saturday with the field of 16 fixed. Here’s what to watch for if you’re only just tuning inMuch has been made of the toll that 82 games can take on the human body over the course of an NBA season, as it pertains to the players in those games and their ability to stay healthy enough to participate in most (let alone all) of them. But even for fans of the sport, 82 can be a lot of games to keep up with. As we find ourselves, once again, at the best time of the year – the NBA playoffs – it’s understandable to feel a little scrambled about what it is we’re looking at. So, here’s a primer of sorts. A CliffsNotes, if you will, for all of the first-round matchups: what to expect, what to be excited about, and what to look out for. Continue reading...
The description of ultra-processed food in Henry Dimbleby’s book, Ravenous, is startling and chasteningI want to believe that books can change lives. But I’m not quite convinced they ever do, especially those about food (Middlemarch may be a different matter). On the shelf behind me, after all, is a neat row of excellent titles about what we eat, and why – Joanna Blythman is there, and so is Bee Wilson – and yet, if I’m honest, none of these has drastically altered the way I shop or cook, even if they have affected the way I think, sometimes profoundly. Words on the page are such a puny match for modern life, so busy and tempting and perilously expensive.But maybe I’m wrong. I’ve been reading Henry Dimbleby’s bestselling Ravenous, in which the co-founder of the alternative fast food chain Leon (and the government’s former food tsar) catalogues the catastrophic damage already done to our food systems and bodies, and tentatively makes suggestions as to how we might reverse it. And what do you know? I think this book really might be a little bit life-changing. It may want for extended onion metaphors and lyrical descriptions of sourdough (I’m joking; these are the last things I’m after). In the end, though, its concision and clarity more than make up for their absence, which may be why Ravenous reminds me so much of Maurice Hanssen’s peppy 1984 handbook, E for Additives – another bestseller, and one that had a profound impact on parents (and ultimately on policy) when I was growing up. Continue reading...
Dan Snyder’s record $6.05bn sale of the Washington Commanders will mark the end of a 24-year tenure defined by scandal, dysfunction and ineptitudeThe long national nightmare could soon be over. NFL fans in and around the nation’s capital haven’t stopped buzzing since word spread this week that Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder had agreed to sell the storied NFL franchise. With that hurdle cleared, it’s now down to the league’s 31 other team owners to rubber stamp the record $6.05bn deal. The rumored purchase price would exceed the guestimate Forbes came up with earlier this year for the Dallas Cowboys, ostensibly the world’s most valuable sports franchise, as well as the record $4.65bn cost of the recently sold Denver Broncos.Never mind that the 58-year-old Snyder, one of the great sports villains of the last quarter-century, makes off like a bandit in the exchange. The news of his imminent departure has landed like Dorothy’s farmhouse in the Land of Oz. “DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD,” tweeted one Commanders fan. Another, speaking to radio station WTOP, likened the breakup to a “bad marriage/relationship for 20-something years, then you finally get that divorce and find a hotter, young lady that comes and puts a smile on your face.” Continue reading...
Kristi Noem tells audience at NRA forum toddler has a shotgun, a rifle and a ponySouth Dakota’s governor told an audience of people that her two-year-old grandchild has several guns.While speaking on Friday at a National Rifle Association (NRA) lobbying leadership forum in Indiana, the Republican governor Kristi Noem told audience members her toddler grandchild has multiple guns, reported Mediaite. Continue reading...
Jack Teixeira’s arrest has exposed a system weakened by the legacy of 9/11 and caught off guard by an enemy that is increasingly withinJack Teixeira, 21 years old, clean-shaven, with buzz-cut hair and proudly uniformed, is the face of America’s newest security threat, one it is struggling to resolve.The formidable US counter-intelligence infrastructure is adept at finding spies and rooting out whistleblowers. Teixeira, charged on Friday on two counts of the Espionage Act, is neither spy nor whistleblower. Continue reading...
Family of Lashawn Thompson call for criminal investigation after his death in custody in filthy jail cellAn Atlanta man died in a local jail after being eaten alive by bed bugs, alleges a lawyer representing the man’s family.The family of Lashawn Thompson, 35, is calling for a criminal investigation into Thompson’s death and for the closure and replacement of a local jail after alleging that Thompson died in custody from bed bugs in a squalid jail cell. Continue reading...
Former secretary of state and Trump ally decides not to challenge ex-boss for the Republican nominationFormer US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said on Friday that he will not run for president in the 2024 election.The devoted ally and defender of Donald Trump opted out of a contest that would have put him into competition with his former commander in chief. Continue reading...
Joe Biden concluded his visit to Ireland with a passionate riverside address to tens of thousands of people in his ancestral town in County Mayo. The US president turned his farewell speech in Ballina into a celebration of Irish and American values, saying: 'My friends, people of Mayo, this is a moment to recommit our hearts, minds and souls to the march of progress.' Biden landed in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and met the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, before embarking on a four-day tour
by Coral Murphy Marcos in Rhode Island on (#6ATR5)
Ernesto Ortega Lima and his family were separated in 2018 as they tried to cross into the US while fleeing gang violence in GuatemalaOn a rainy spring afternoon, Nery Ortega Lima, a 47-year-old Guatemalan man living in Rhode Island, held his wife’s hand at a bodega-style market while his nine-year-old daughter threw boxes of strawberry milk and some tomatoes into the family’s basket.The market was packed with other neighbors getting their grocery shopping off their to-do lists, but for Ortega Lima, this simple errand has become heavenly after years of his family being torn apart. Continue reading...
We are witnessing the logical culmination of win-at-any-cost politics – and Donald Trump has encouraged itAmerica no longer has two parties devoted to a democratic system of self-government.We have a Democratic party, which – notwithstanding a few glaring counter-examples, such as what the Democratic National Committee did to Bernie Sanders in 2016 – is still largely committed to democracy.Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is 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 new 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...
by MacKenzie Ryan in Salt Lake City, Utah on (#6ATR3)
The lake was at a record low before historic snowfall fueled its rise – along with violent runoff that is difficult to controlOnly months ago, scientists reported the megadrought water levels in Utah’s Great Salt Lake were at a record low and the body of water risked disappearing after years of drought.But following a historic winter snowfall and rapidly warming temperatures, the lake’s storyline has a bemusing twist: the body of water the size of Delaware is rising. A series of unprecedented weather patterns brought not only remnants of the west coast’s atmospheric rivers but widespread wet avalanches, which are quickly sending spring runoff to the lake and its tributaries. Continue reading...
US president says Ireland trip ‘reinforced my sense of optimism about what can be done’Joe Biden left Ireland in the early hours of Saturday vowing to run again for president, promising to formally announce his decision to run for a second presidential term “relatively soon”.At the same time he spoke of his hope of an epoch of renewal in Northern Ireland, restating the “incredible” US investment opportunities that lay ahead if peace endures. Continue reading...
Marcus Silva’s lawsuit is a metaphor for the creepy, stupid and cruel nature of the anti-choice movementIt wasn’t initially clear how Marcus Silva, a Texas man, even knew about his ex-wife’s abortion. Last month, just weeks after the divorce his wife had filed for was finalized, Silva filed a “wrongful death” lawsuit against three of her closest friends, seeking $1m from each. He claims that the women helped his wife obtain abortion medication in July 2022 – two months after she had filed for divorce from him, and just a few weeks after the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v Wade and states like Texas outlawed abortion. And Silva had text messages to prove it.His legal complaint included photos of what Silva claimed was a group chat between his then wife and the three women he is now suing. In it, the women can be seen working together to help their friend end her pregnancy and extricate herself from Silva. In the group chat, the women delegate tasks, each taking on the responsibility to look for abortion providers or financial assistance. They also speak of the need to keep both the pregnancy and the abortion from Silva, speculating that his wife will be made to suffer more if he finds out. “Delete all conversations from today,” one woman tells Silva’s then wife. “You don’t want him looking through it.” Continue reading...
In ancient Athens, tragic stories brought catharsis, a purging of emotions through art. Today, music helps teenagers process traumatic, stressful livesHow should we understand violent songs, beyond simply calling them the creation of a folk devil? There must be another way. Because in my youth work with teenagers over the past decade – which has included mentoring many rappers with experience of serious youth violence – I’ve come to view the narratives of music as a force to be harnessed and critiqued, not suppressed and censored.In my search for solutions, including looking at how music forms have been effectively criminalised, I’ve found it helpful to trace the etymology of a word and idea that’s repeatedly used in common parlance but rarely interrogated: catharsis.Ciaran Thapar is a London-based youth worker and author of Cut Short. He writes about youth culture, social change and city life and has a weekly newsletter called ALL CITY, in which a version of this article first appearedDo 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...
The right has, for decades, relied on abortion to rally their conservative base, but now their unified policy is flaggingDemocrats have taken multiple actions in response to what they say is a “draconian” and “dangerous” decision by a federal judge in Texas threatening access to the most commonly used method of abortion in the US.Several Democratic governors have begun to stockpile doses of the drugs used in medication abortions. Nearly every Democrat in Congress signed onto an amicus brief urging an appeals court to stay the decision, while some called on the Biden administration to simply “ignore” the ruling, should it be allowed to stand. A group of House Democrats introduced a bill that would give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) final approval over drugs used in medication abortion. Continue reading...
Some of Trump’s party’s signature policies enjoy only meagre public support but rightwing judges and state legislators are proving adept at finding workarounds“We called for you all to ban assault weapons, and you respond with an assault on democracy.” These were the words of Justin Jones, a Black Democrat, to Tennessee Republicans after he and a colleague, Justin Pearson, were expelled for leading a gun protest on the state house of representatives floor.A week later, Jones and Pearson were reinstated amid applause, whoops and cheers at the state capitol in Nashville. But few believe that the assault on democracy is at an end. What happened in Tennessee is seen as indicative of a Donald Trump-led Republican party ready to push its extremist agenda by any means necessary. Continue reading...
Marjorie Taylor Greene calls Jack Teixeira ‘white, male, Christian and anti-war’ as Tucker Carlson says his sin was ‘telling the truth’Washington lawmakers have written off Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old air national guardsman accused of being behind the worst US intelligence leak in a decade, as an “alleged criminal” after his arrest yesterday, but that hasn’t stopped him from winning praise from the political right.“He revealed the crimes, therefore he’s the criminal. That’s how Washington works. Telling the truth is the only real sin,” declared the Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson on Thursday evening in the opening monologue of his show, which is the most watched on cable television. “The news media are celebrating the capture of the kid who told Americans what’s actually happening in Ukraine. They are treating him like Osama bin Laden,” the late al-Qaida terrorist leader. Continue reading...
An online sleuthing group, a news media outlet and the FBI all followed digital breadcrumbs leading to the 21-year-oldUntil Jack Teixeira appeared in federal court on Friday morning, the unmasking of the alleged Pentagon leaker had taken on the air of a fascinating mystery novel.Among those vying for starring roles were the online sleuthing group Bellingcat, which on 9 April publicly identified the private Discord server where Teixeira is said to have posted classified documents; and the New York Times, which matched images of the Teixeira family kitchen where the top secret papers were supposedly photographed to the 21-year-old defendant’s social media profile. Continue reading...
Measure against popular app now awaits signature of Republican governor but is expected to face legal challengesMontana lawmakers gave final passage on Friday to a bill banning the social media app TikTok from operating in the state, a move that is bound to face legal challenges but also serve as a testing ground for the TikTok-free America many national lawmakers have envisioned.The measure now goes to the Republican governor, Greg Gianforte, for his consideration. Continue reading...
Jacob Frey makes remark during announcement that Minneapolis reached $8.9m settlement in two excessive force lawsuitsThe mayor of Minneapolis said George Floyd would still be alive if the city’s police department had “done the right thing” and fired officer Derek Chauvin in 2017 after complaints he knelt on the necks of two people he arrested.Jacob Frey was speaking at a press conference on Thursday announcing the city had reached a $8.9m settlement in two excessive force lawsuits. Continue reading...
US president, whose son Beau Biden died of brain cancer in 2015, tearful after chance meeting with Fr Frank O’Grady in Co MayoJoe Biden broke down in tears on the final day of his four-day trip to Ireland after a chance meeting with the priest who gave his son Beau the last rites before he died in 2015.Fr Richard Gibbons, parish priest and rector of Knock Shrine, said Fr Frank O’Grady – the chaplain who was by Beau Biden’s side as he died – had moved to Knock to work there, leading to an unplanned meeting with the president. Continue reading...
Limits slated to go into effect at 12.01am Saturday following lower court’s order revoking the FDA’s approval of mifepristoneThe Biden administration appealed to the US supreme court on Friday asking it to halt an appellate ruling that adds onerous restrictions to a key abortion drug. The restrictions were slated to go into effect at 12.01am on Saturday morning.The ruling at the center of the emergency application to the high court was issued on Wednesday night by the fifth circuit court of appeals. The US Department of Justice had asked the appeals court to block a lower court order revoking the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of mifepristone in 2000. Continue reading...
Former IT specialist, 21, arrested on Thursday is accused of intelligence leak believed to have started on DiscordThe 21-year-old suspect in the recent leaks of Pentagon intelligence appeared in federal court in Boston on Friday.Jack Teixeira was detained at his home by FBI agents, the US attorney general, Merrick Garland, announced on Thursday. The arrest was made “in connection with an investigation into an alleged unauthorised removal, retention and transmission of classified national defence information”, he said. Continue reading...
Court filings reveal social posts of Daniel Perry, found guilty of killing Garrett Foster in 2020, as officials weigh pardon requestThe man who was found guilty last week of the murder of a Black Lives Matter supporter at a 2020 demonstration had previously gone on social media to discuss his desire to kill protesters amid a series of remarks that were also racist, according to a court filing ordered unsealed as Texas state officials weigh a request from the state’s governor to pardon him.Daniel Perry’s social media screeds resurfaced on Thursday at a delicate time in his case, which saw jurors reject his claim that he shot Black Lives Matter demonstrator Garrett Foster to death in self-defense. Continue reading...
After a brief stop in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Joe Biden undertook a three-day personal and political pilgrimage to the Republic of Ireland, timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement. The US president spent time in Dublin on Thursday, and on Friday visited County Mayo Continue reading...
US president’s ‘homecoming’ visit has alchemised politics, diplomacy and the personal into a feelgood glow for visitor and hostsJohn F Kennedy set the template for US presidential forays to Ireland with a rapturous visit in 1963 that he called the best four days of his life.Joe Biden’s visit this week did not quite match that fervour but at times it came close, alchemising politics, diplomacy and the personal into a feelgood glow for visitor and hosts. Continue reading...
Former IT specialist, 21, arrested on Thursday is accused of intelligence leak believed to have started on Discord. Plus, are Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson actually brothers?
Micheál Martin says remarks by former DUP leader during US president’s visit ‘misplaced’Ireland’s deputy prime minister, Micheál Martin, has criticised remarks by the former Democratic Unionist party leader, Arlene Foster, who said Joe Biden “hates” the UK.Martin said Foster was “wrong”, saying her remarks about the US president were “misplaced” as Biden did not hate anyone. “I’m very surprised by that comment,” Martin told RTÉ’s This Morning on Friday. Continue reading...
The Cash App founder’s death highlights that public safety remains a contentious topic for city leaders to reckon withLast Wednesday, San Francisco woke to shocking news of the death of Bob Lee, the 43-year-old founder of the popular Cash App. Police had found Lee overnight suffering from multiple stab wounds on a sidewalk in the city’s Rincon Hill neighborhood. He was transported to a hospital, where he died.For days, law enforcement officials stayed mum on the circumstances around the case, and the San Francisco mayor, London Breed, urged residents not to jump to conclusions. Continue reading...
Florida’s new catalog of hardline legislation may not grab headlines but signals demonization of immigrants is a top priority as governor prepares for White House runA popular political souvenir in Florida currently is a range of merchandise touting the services of a nonexistent travel company named DeSantis Airlines.T-shirts, drinks glasses and car decals alike bear the motto “Bringing the border to you”, a mocking commemoration of the time last year when Ron DeSantis, the state’s Republican governor, baited a load of mostly Venezuelan asylum seekers on to two chartered planes in Texas with false promises of jobs and housing in Boston, then promptly dumped them in Martha’s Vineyard. Continue reading...
US planemaker says latest snag with troubled bestselling model is not ‘safety of flight issue’Boeing has revealed that deliveries of its bestselling 737 Max plane will be delayed, in the latest blow to the US manufacturer in its long recovery from a crisis started by the troubled model.The company said a “significant” number of 737 Max deliveries would be delayed because a supplier, Spirit AeroSystems, had made a component using a “non-standard” manufacturing process. Continue reading...
Phoebe Waller-Bridge has received $60m from Amazon without making a new show, and it appears she’s not aloneHow hard do you have to work to earn $60m in just three years? The answer, for Phoebe Waller-Bridge, at least, is not very hard at all. In 2019 the Emmy-winning creator of the hit TV show Fleabag signed a $20m-a-year deal with Amazon Studios. Originally, she was supposed to collaborate with Donald Glover on a series based on the 2005 movie Mr and Mrs Smith, but she reportedly left the show after a few months because of clashing creative styles. No worries, Amazon said, you can work on a Tomb Raider series instead. However, the Hollywood Reporter notes, since a showrunner (the person who has overall creative authority over a show) was also being hired, it’s questionable just how much work would actually be needed by the Fleabag creator. In short: Waller-Bridge has collected $60m from Amazon over the last few years without ever making a new show.I’m not shaming Waller-Bridge, to be clear. I think this is brilliant work if you can get it. Taking away some of Jeff Bezos’s joyrides-in-space money as payment for staring into space? A+ work! And I should state for the record that Amazon Studios has rejected recent allegations that Waller-Bridge is being paid simply to exist. Apparently, she is “feeling very committed” to Tomb Raider and they expect her to be worth the money. “When she does deliver, she delivers,” the Amazon Studios head of television, Vernon Sanders, has said. Not everyone is so sure the deal was a good idea, however. One showrunner described Amazon’s behavior to the Hollywood Reporter as “star-fucking”. Continue reading...
Bill gives governor key political victory ahead of expected presidential campaignThe Republican-dominated Florida legislature on Thursday approved a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, a proposal supported by the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, as he prepares for an expected presidential run.DeSantis, a Republican, later signed the bill into law. “We are proud to support life and family in the state of Florida,” he said in a statement. Florida currently prohibits abortions after 15 weeks. Continue reading...
Firefighters rescued one employee from the fire at South Fork Dairy family farm near DimmittMore than 18,000 cows died after an explosion and fire at a family dairy farm in west Texas, marking the deadliest such barn blaze on record in the United States.Firefighters rescued one employee from the South Fork Dairy near Dimmitt on Monday as flames raced through a building and into holding pens, according to images and statements from the Castro county sheriff’s office. Continue reading...
Nima Momeni, 38, appears to work in tech industry and reportedly knew Lee who was found with stab wounds on TuesdaySan Francisco police have made an arrest in the killing of the tech executive and Cash App creator Bob Lee, who was fatally stabbed last week in a crime that sent shock waves through the city and the tech industry.Law enforcement officers made an arrest early Thursday morning in nearby Emeryville, officials confirmed at a press conference Thursday afternoon. The suspect in the case, Nima Momeni, knew Lee, officials said, and appears to work in the tech industry. Continue reading...
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