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The restaurant means little to activists - it's simply a tool to bludgeon perceived enemies and flex conservative powerFirst they came for the Smithsonian. Then they came for Cracker Barrel.Whether it's the museums or the corporations - or the universities, law firms, federal departments and agencies - the attack lines of the Trump culture war and its culture warriors are the same. The vicious full-scale assault on the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain after the company naively wandered on to the battle zone by altering its Old Timer" logo exposes the cynicism of the whole operation and its ulterior motive to impose an authoritarian regime over every aspect of American society.Sidney Blumenthal, former senior adviser to President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, has published three books of a projected five-volume political life of Abraham Lincoln: A Self-Made Man, Wrestling With His Angel and All the Powers of Earth. He is a Guardian US columnist. Continue reading...

First US pope in history prays for victims of last week's shooting that left two children dead and 18 others injuredPope Leo XIV called for the pandemic of arms, large and small" to end during a weekly public prayer with crowds in St Peter's Square on Sunday that also addressed the plague of mass shootings in the US.The first US pope in history, a native of Chicago, spoke in English as he prayed for the victims of last week's shooting during a Catholic school mass in Minnesota which saw two children killed and others seriously injured. Continue reading...

Experts raise questions about the DoJ's interview with the Epstein associate that left questions remainingAs deputy US attorney Todd Blanche announced last week that the justice department would release transcripts of his interview with Ghislaine Maxwell, he described this disclosure as being in the interest of transparency".Except for the names of victims, every word is included. Nothing removed. Nothing hidden," Blanche also said of his two-day sit down with Maxwell, who was convicted sex trafficking in relation to Jeffrey Epstein's abuse of teenage girls. Continue reading...

Former NLRB counsel Jennifer Abruzzo says firings and court rulings have left agency toothlessJennifer Abruzzo, general counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) under the Biden administration, was one of the first officials to be fired by Donald Trump once he took office in January. She wasn't the last.Since then, Trump has fired a slew of government officials, including the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) chair, Gwynne Wilcox, the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, and most recently, he has attempted to fire the Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook. Continue reading...

Changes to an injury compensation program could make it hard to keep vaccines on the market - or make new onesWhile unrest and new vaccine restrictions have kept US health agencies in headlines, there's one vaccine program in particular that Robert F Kennedy Jr, secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), recently vowed to fix", which experts say could further upend the vaccine industry and prevent people experiencing rare side effects from vaccines from getting financial help.While some changes to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which compensates people who suffer very rare side effects from vaccination, must come from Congress, Kennedy could take several actions to reshape or affect the program's operations. Continue reading...

It is reasonable and moral to think that when others are harmed, you should feel the injury, but our sympathy should not be limited to painA friend of mine called the other day with news of two major life achievements: his first book had been published, and his university had granted him tenure. And yet, he said, he was miserable. How could he be happy about his success when so many terrible things were happening in the world?It's a good question, and one that I hear from a lot of people these days. As I write these words, humanitarian disasters are unfolding in Gaza, Sudan, Yemen, Myanmar, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Global climate action has not moved fast enough, and we are perilously close to creating an uninhabitable planet. Meanwhile here in the United States, immigrants have been rounded up and shipped to foreign countries without legal protection. Trans people have been demonized. Meaningful government agencies have been cut. Research destroyed. Universities attacked. The legal system pushed to the brink and corruption rampant.Avram Alpert is a lecturer in the Princeton Writing Program. His most recent book is The Good-Enough Life Continue reading...

Cities fight back as purge of street art broadens from Pulse nightclub memorial to bike lane designed by fourth-gradersA battalion of transportation workers armed with cans of black paint has been deployed to open a new front in Ron DeSantis's war on woke", while young students trying to make their schools safer have joined the LGBTQ+ community as targets of Florida's Republican governor.The saga began with the state moving in the dead of night to paint over a rainbow-colored crosswalk outside Orlando's former Pulse nightclub, where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting. The city's mayor, Buddy Dyer, called the erasure of the memorial to the mostly LGBTQ+ victims a cruel political act". Continue reading...

People who have experienced the kind of authoritarianism the US used to condemn abroad highlight worrying signsWhen it comes to the rise of autocracy in America, Justice Potter Stewart's famous pronouncement on pornography might be particularly appropriate at the moment: I know it when I see it."The cult of personality was apparent as Donald Trump's cabinet convened on Wednesday in a marathon session that could have embarrassed even a seasoned strongman, providing for three hours and 17 minutes of fawning television coverage. Continue reading...

Nottinghamshire council has borrowed the US president's playbook - but may soon find that it needs the media more than it thoughtOn the day that he returned to office in January, Donald Trump signed an order renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America". A few days later, the Associated Press, a leading global news agency that is also a linguistic bible for newsrooms across the US, said that while it would acknowledge Trump's order, it would mostly continue to use the original name. In response, the White House banned AP journalists from certain media availabilities. Trump accused the agency of failing to follow the law. The AP said the government was trying to dictate what words it can and cannot use.This week, Nottinghamshire's Reform-led county council said that it would impose a sweeping ban on the Nottingham Post, its affiliated website and BBC-funded reporters who work there. At issue, apparently, was a story that the paper had written about a proposed reorganisation of local government. The leader of the council insisted that he welcomes scrutiny, but has a duty" to combat misinformation". The Post's editor called the decision a massive attack on local democracy" - and it's hard to disagree. Continue reading...

Media figures say gold rush is over', as attacks on diversity and inclusion have led to some advertisers avoiding outletsPublications aimed at LGBTQ+ and other diverse audiences are facing good old-fashioned discrimination" as advertisers avoid them after political attacks on diversity and inclusion campaigns, editors have said.Senior figures at publications aimed at the gay community and other minority groups said a previous gold rush" to work with such titles was over. Continue reading...

Brandon Johnson has signed an executive order to counter plans to send federal agents into the city. Key US politics stories from Saturday 30 August at a glanceResistance is growing to Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, with the mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, signing an executive order to counter the president's move.The order prevents the Chicago police department from collaborating with federal authorities on patrols, immigration enforcement, or conducting traffic stops and checkpoints. It also restricts officers from wearing face coverings to hide their identities. Continue reading...

Brandon Johnson's order directs city police not to collaborate with federal agents in immigration enforcementThe mayor of Chicago has signed an executive order outlining how the city will attempt to resist Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.Brandon Johnson pushed back on Saturday against what he called the out-of-control" Trump administration's plan to deploy large numbers of federal officers into the country's third-largest city, which could take place within days. Continue reading...

Players' tempers have frequently flared at Flushing Meadows, with end of season tension and boisterous New York crowds offered as explanationsDaniel Altmaier had nothing more to say. Moments after one of the biggest wins of his career, the German unwittingly found himself on the receiving end of Stefanos Tsitsipas's ire during their handshake at the net. Before Tsitsipas could finish, though, Altmaier had walked away from the net and he refused to engage in the Greek's attempts to argue with him.Altmaier shrugs at the first mention of the incident: Even if I would have lost, I would not enter discussions because it's just like heat of the moment. You need to cool down; let's see if he reacts to it or he sticks to his opinion while cooling down on an exercise bike in the player gym late at night." Continue reading...

Jannik Sinner was tested in a four-set fightback against Denis Shapovalov, while Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka both claimed gusty victoriesGauff, looking more relaxed than she did the other night against Vekic, skips from 0-15 to 0-30 to 0-40 on Frech's serve. Three early break points. And she then drags Frech to one corner and then the other, before dispatching the forehand winner. That'll shake off any nerves. Gauff's got the break and leads 2-0.Musetti has pressed the accelerator on Louis Armstrong. From 2-2, he now leads 5-2, and then flashes a forehand pass on his way to set point on Cobolli's serve. Cobolli cooly finds a way to hold. But Musetti soon has three set points on his own serve, and he serves out the 6-3 set to love. He's the first player with a set to his name on day seven. Continue reading...

Acting CEO of parent agency makes announcement one day after judge blocks her from firing VOA directorThe agency that oversees Voice of America and other government-funded international broadcasters is eliminating jobs for more than 500 employees, a Trump administration official said. The move could ratchet up a months-long legal challenge over the news outlets' fate.Kari Lake, acting CEO of the US Agency for Global Media, announced the latest round of job cuts late Friday, one day after a federal judge blocked her from removing Michael Abramowitz as VOA director. Continue reading...

Vermont senator says Kennedy is endangering the health of the American people as head of the US health departmentBernie Sanders has joined in on growing public calls for Donald Trump's health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, to resign, after recent chaos across US health agencies.In an op-ed published in the New York Times on Saturday, the Vermont senator accused Kennedy of endangering the health of the American people now and into the future", adding: He must resign." Continue reading...

A hospital's cooling tower was harboring bacteria as seven people died and 90 were hospitalized over three weeksNew York City has declared the deadly legionnaires' disease outbreak in central Harlem over, nearly three weeks since it began.On Friday, city health officials announced that there have been no new cases among residents who live or work in the area since 9 August. As of Friday, there have been 114 cases of legionnaires' disease, with 90 people hospitalized - six of those remaining in hospital - and seven deaths. Continue reading...

The growing threat of fires has shaken the Napa valley wine industry, as fears of smoke-spoiled grapes and soaring insurance rates put vintners on edgeElton Slone and his colleagues at the Robert Craig Winery in Napa valley had gathered for their annual pre-harvest company party last week - complete with copper pot carnitas and grape tacos - when one of his co-workers noticed an alert on her phone. The Pickett fire, a blaze that had started about 10 miles (16km) away near the town of Calistoga, was moving toward their vineyards on Howell Mountain.Knowing that the Glass fire - a 2020 blaze that damaged numerous wineries and spoiled a year's harvest - had burned along the same path, Slone hoped no fuel remained for this new fire. But that was not the case," he said. Within the week, the winery's Candlestick Vineyard would become a sacrificial lamb for the town of Angwin" when firefighters lit a controlled burn on their property to control the larger fire. Continue reading...

A federal appeals court said the president overstepped his authority when he imposed sweeping import dutiesDonald Trump suffered the biggest defeat yet to his tariff policies on Friday, as a federal appeals court ruled he had overstepped his presidential powers when he enacted punitive financial measures against almost every country in the world.In a 7-4 ruling, the Washington DC court said that while US law bestows significant authority on the president to undertake a number of actions in response to a declared national emergency", none of those actions allow for the imposition of tariffs or taxes. Continue reading...

What likely started as a routine refresh spiraled into a political storm that went all the way to the US presidentIt was supposed to be a simple rebrand - or so Cracker Barrel thought.Earlier this month, the 56-year-old southern restaurant chain known for its country-store charm and nostalgic Americana aesthetic unveiled a new look: a minimalist logo, more modern interiors and a handful of new menu items. Continue reading...

Western academics now speak of genocide' with newfound authority. Why weren't our voices enough?Today I watched those children again, the ones who stood before the cameras at al-Shifa hospital on 7 November 2023. They spoke in English, not their mother tongue, but the language of those who they thought might save them.We want to live, we want peace, we want to judge the killers of children," one boy said. We want medicine, food and education. We want to live as the other children live."How holy their concern now sounds, rising over a land emptied of the living.As if starving a child pre-disposed to death makes the violence more justified?Ahmad Ibsais is a first generation Palestinian American, law student and poet who writes the newsletter State of Siege Continue reading...

Will she go Maga? Will it change the NFL or lift the stock market? The left-field claims are everywhereBreaking news alerts were pinged to phones around the world; Swifties screamed in the street; the Prince and Princess of Wales delivered their royal approval; Donald Trump wished them luck. By now it will not have escaped your attention that Taylor Swift, the reigning queen of pop, is engaged to Travis Kelce, a podcaster who also plays football.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Experts say extremists openly talking of how home-built drones will be critical tool in so-called second civil warTaking their cues from modern warfare, the far-right American terrorist movement sees off-the-shelf or home-built first-person viewer (FPV) drones as a critical weapon in their own future war against the US government, which has American authorities on edge.And there's ample reasons for those fears: in the open and closed online spaces where far-right extremists congregate, talk is commonplace of how these cheap drones are revolutionizing current wars and will be the critical tools of a so-called second civil war. Continue reading...

Li-Ning, Anta and 361 Degrees all own facilities linked to Uyghur oppression - with Nike's supply chain also taintedWhen Enes Kanter Freedom appeared on a basketball court in his Boston Celtics jersey and a pair of trainers emblazoned with the slogan Free Uyghur", the reaction from Beijing was swift.Literally at the half-time, they cancelled every Celtics game on television [in China] for the rest of the year," the basketball player tells the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) and the Guardian. That game, in October 2021, marked a turning point in his career. That's when the NBA got really angry at me," says Freedom.This story was co-published with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Continue reading...

Group of five senators in letter to Marco Rubio call on US to use its full power' to help people facing starvationFive democratic US senators are demanding secretary of state Marco Rubio facilitate an immediate massive surge" of baby formula and humanitarian aid to Gaza, where infants are dying of starvation.The letter, led by Democrat Ruben Gallego of Arizona and obtained exclusively by the Guardian, comes as Gaza City and surrounding areas have been officially classified as experiencing famine by international monitors. More than 300 people, including at least 119 children, have died from hunger in Gaza since October 2023, according to health authorities. Continue reading...

Restaurant worker's case shows how Trump administration is inflicting the maximum punishment', experts sayLiset Fernandez spent most of the summer worried about her dad, Luis, but a few weeks ago she got some good news. After being held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) custody for weeks, an immigration judge in Texas granted him release on a $5,000 bond.Luis, came to the US from Ecuador in 1994, had been held in detention at a facility in Livingston, Texas, thousands of miles away from his home in Queens. Liset, 17, had taken on extra shifts working a retail job to support her mom and nine-year-old brother. Luis's co-workers at the Square diner, a railcar-style greasy spoon in Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood for over 100 years, had raised more than $20,000 to support him and his family. Continue reading...

Lawyers say arrest of man fighting Bear Gulch fire in Oregon was illegal and demand immediate release from detentionLawyers are demanding the release of a longtime Oregon resident arrested by Border Patrol while fighting a Washington state wildfire, saying Friday that the firefighter was already on track for legal status after helping federal investigators solve a crime against his family.His arrest was illegal, the lawyers said, and violated Department of Homeland Security polices that say immigration enforcement must not be conducted at locations where emergency responses are happening. Continue reading...

The storm ushered in a blow to the Black educator workforce, which has yet to fully recoverDr Adrienne D Dixson was furious as she sat in the back of a Louisiana courtroom in 2008. It was more than two years after thousands of New Orleans public school teachers had been terminated in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Some of those teachers had filed a lawsuit against the Orleans parish school board for wrongful termination and to be compensated for lost wages.The scene in the room was emotional, Dixson recalled, as many teachers broke down into tears throughout the hearing. It was clear the love and the care and the dedication that the teachers had," Dixson said. An associate professor in education at Ohio State University at the time, Dixson was conducting research on Black educators and the effects of Hurricane Katrina. They were just so profoundly hurt that they had been fired," she said. No one knew that the hurricane would also be a category 5 professional disruption." Continue reading...

President's targeting of Fed governor Lisa Cook highlights his efforts to remove diverse voices from governmentA day after Donald Trump announced that he was firing Lisa Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the board of governors of the Federal Reserve, the White House proudly released a photo. It showed Trump, his cabinet and other officials giving a thumbs-up. Of the 24 people in the Oval Office, only one was Black.For those who have studied the US president's long and troubling history of racism, the two events were more than mere coincidence. They were indicative of a man who has recently brought white nationalist perspectives from the margins back to the mainstream. Continue reading...

Anthony Tata, Trump's undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, files defamation lawsuit in FloridaA senior Pentagon official in Donald Trump's administration had a months-long extramarital affair with a woman claiming to be the internet's most notorious astrologer" - and claims in a defamation lawsuit filed in Florida that she cyberstalked him and his wife after they split up.Court papers in Palm Beach county allege that Amy Tripp, known as Starheal to her tens of thousands of social media followers, was so upset by the end of the relationship that she repeatedly threatened and harassed the victim, identified as Anthony Tata, who assumed office as the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness in July. Continue reading...

Paralegal dismissed by US attorney general for inappropriate conduct' towards troops deployed on the streets of WashingtonThe US attorney general, Pam Bondi, has fired a justice department official for making a vulgar gesture to members of the National Guard deployed in Washington DC on her way to work.The employee, Elizabeth Baxter, was a paralegal at the department's environmental defense section, according to a memo to her published by the New York Post, which first reported Friday's dismissal. Continue reading...

The ground stop is expected to stay in effect until 0330 GMT and has a medium probability of an extensionAll SkyWest Airlines flights were grounded for 21 minutes on Friday night at the request of the airline, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration.A ground stop advisory was issued at 0149 GMT and canceled at 0210 GMT, according to the FAA. Continue reading...

Decorated navy pilot who served in House of Representatives pleaded guilty to accepting illegal giftsRandy Duke" Cunningham, whose feats as a US navy flying ace during the Vietnam war catapulted him to a House of Representatives career that ended in disgrace when he was convicted of accepting $2.4m in bribes, has died. He was 83.Cunningham died Wednesday at a hospital in a Little Rock, Arkansas, according to former representative Duncan L Hunter, who spent time with him a week before his death. Continue reading...

Ruling is biggest blow yet to Trump's tariffs; critics slam move against vice-president as act of revenge'. Key US politics stories from Friday 29 August at a glanceA US federal appeals court has ruled that most of president Donald Trump's tariffs are illegal, describing the levies as unbounded in scope, amount and duration".The ruling, which will take effect on 14 October, is the biggest blow yet to Trump's tariff policy and will likely mean the supreme court will have to rule on whether Trump has the legal right as president to upend US trade policy. Continue reading...

Appellate panel upholds lower court's ruling as homeland security spokesperson attacks activist' judgesA federal appeals court on Friday blocked Donald Trump's plans to end protections for 600,000 people from Venezuela who have permission to live and work in the US, saying that plaintiffs are likely to win their claim that the president's administration's actions were unlawful.A three-judge panel of the ninth US circuit court of appeals unanimously upheld a lower court ruling that maintained temporary protected status for Venezuelans while TPS holders challenge actions by the Republican president's administration in court. Continue reading...

Trump found to have overstepped authority with tariff policies as president accuses court of political biasDonald Trump overstepped his presidential powers with most of his globe-rattling tariff policies, a federal appeals court in Washington DC ruled on Friday.US law bestows significant authority on the president to undertake a number of actions in response to a declared national emergency, but none of these actions explicitly include the power to impose tariffs, duties, or the like, or the power to tax", the court said in the 7-4 ruling. Continue reading...

State follows Texas's lead in Trump's push to gain more House seats for Republicans in 2026 midtermsThe Missouri governor, Mike Kehoe, has moved to help the Republican party gain an additional seat in Congress, calling a special legislative session to redraw congressional districts in his state.Kehoe's announcement on Friday followed a pressure campaign from Donald Trump, who has urged Republican states to reshape district boundaries to more heavily favor Republicans, boosting the party's chances of maintaining control of the House of Representatives in 2026. Continue reading...

Carlos Alcaraz eased into the last 16, Emma Raducanu was outclassed by Elena Rybakina, Ben Shelton retired injured, and Jasmine Paolini and Frances Tiafoe also departedThis game follows the first-set script as Rybakina moves to 40-30, set point. But then she throws in a double! A glimmer, perhaps, for Raducanu. But Raducanu can't make the most of the reprieve. She bashes a backhand return into the net on the second set point and it's been a near-rout for Rybakina, who leads 6-1.Raducanu gets on the board as a forehand winner seals a hold to 15. That'll have felt good. But Rybakina, undeterred, swiftly holds to 15 herself amid a flurry of errant forehands from Raducanu. Rybakina has this way of looking so calm, composed and effortless, while also being so powerful and destructive. And that's exactly how she gets herself a double break. It's 5-1. After just 22 minutes, the ninth seed will serve for the opening set. Continue reading...

As leaders at Centers for Disease Control quit after director's firing, Kennedy stokes controversy with pet theoriesIn a week of chaos at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Donald Trump's health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, has continued to make questionable medical and health claims - and has been slammed for them by experts and lawmakers alike.In recent days, Kennedy has been facing increasing calls for his resignation following the Trump administration's firing of the CDC director, Susan Monarez, which in turn prompted four other top officials to quit the agency. The chaos across US health agencies also comes as Kennedy released a slew of controversial and contradictory rules surrounding Covid-19 vaccines. Continue reading...