Don't give in to moral panic, fellas! Here are some tips from my own bumpy literary journeyIf you really want to make a name for yourself, publish comment insisting you've been silenced.It happened again last week in a nationwide publication. Under a byline, accompanied by a headshot and the covers of two of his books, an Australian author counted himself among those writers deemed pale, stale and male" by the publishing industry, who seem to have become cancelled because of our age". Continue reading...
by Abené Clayton in Sacramento, California on (#6V1Q6)
Women who have faced both domestic violence and community gun violence say it's clear the threats share root causes. So why are we treating them like separate problems?By August of 2023, Alisha Thomas* had come to realize that she had two choices: leave her husband, or die. Their 20-year relationship had been rife with verbal and physical violence. Over the years, her husband had choked her, run over her foot with a car and thrown her down a flight of stairs, resulting in a miscarriage. She had told him their marriage wasn't going to survive. The verbal abuse and harassment only worsened.Four months later, her husband returned to their home one night, loaded his shotgun and berated her for hours - his finger on or near the trigger the entire time. The couple's teenage daughter heard the commotion and called the police, which gave Thomas a chance to escape the home and run to a local store, where she waited until the police arrived. Thomas tells me this story in September, displaying a mix of calm and disbelief at the realization that she had survived years of violence and a childhood and adolescence that made it all feel normal. Continue reading...
A rightwing thinktank has been targeting the royal ever since he confessed to taking drugs - and is demanding his immigration forms be releasedWhile he may not be quite as popular as he was, Prince Harry still has a lot of fans in the US. Unfortunately, Donald Trump is not one of them: the president has never had anything nice to say about the Duke of Sussex and once claimed that the Biden administration was too gracious" to the British immigrant. Which might not be a big deal were it not for the fact that some Trumpers have long been champing at the bit to get Harry deported.The Heritage Foundation, a rightwing thinktank famous for masterminding Project 2025, a roadmap for Trump's second term, has been obsessed with Harry's immigration status ever since he released his memoir Spare. This isn't because they thought it was a crime against literature (certainly debatable) but because Harry talked about using illegal drugs. And anyone who has ever tried to get a US visa knows that admitting to taking illegal drugs is a really great way to ensure you never get into the country. So the question is: did Prince Harry lie on his immigration forms or was he granted special treatment? The Heritage Foundation has been engaged in a long legal battle to try to get Harry's visa application made public in order to answer that question.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...
Resources for contraception, gender-affirming care, STIs and HIV flicker in and out of existence or vanish completelySeveral federal government websites and databases dedicated to public health have gone dark in recent days, sparking fears about the Trump administration's plans to remove, alter or otherwise censor vital health information repositories.Between Friday and Tuesday, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) resources for tracking, preventing and treating HIV; handling sexually transmitted infections (STIs); and prescribing contraception have flickered in and out of existence. A guide to gender-affirming care and young people, once hosted on the website for the office of the assistant secretary for health, was gone as of Tuesday. Continue reading...
Markers of bladder cancer found in canines with higher levels of exposure to chemicals such as flame retardantsDogs with higher levels of exposure to chemicals in common household products are more likely to have bladder cancer, new research suggests, and that may also have implications for humans who live in the same homes and have genetic similarities to their pets.Duke University researchers affixed silicone devices that collected chemicals for five days on more than 100 dogs' collars. The peer-reviewed paper targeted 120 chemicals, and found about 40 in at least half the pets, but the volume and number of chemicals dramatically increased in warmer areas. Continue reading...
Office of personnel management workers say anxiety is palpable amid intimidation and threat of dismissalUS government workers are describing an atmosphere of fear" and madness" as they grapple with a barrage of executive orders issued by Donald Trump and threats to their jobs from the office of personnel management, the agency tasked with managing the federal civil service, which has been taken over by the billionaire Elon Musk.Weeks before the administration transition, federal worker unions reported low morale among workers in anticipation of pushes for intimidation, mass firings and harassment. Continue reading...
by Ramon Antonio Vargas and David Hammer of WWL Louis on (#6V1MV)
Clergy abuse survivors and their supporters express pain over sports officials' efforts to soften coverage of scandalSurvivors of Catholic clergy abuse and their supporters expressed disgust, pain and disbelief after the Guardian and WWL Louisiana's investigation on Monday into hundreds of emails showing officials with the NFL's Saints and NBA's Pelicans aided New Orleans' Roman Catholic archdiocese efforts to soften critical media coverage about the church's management of a clerical molestation scandal.Richard Windmann said it was disturbing" to see the emails mention his decision to go public about his abuse as a child at the hands of a priest and janitor at Jesuit high school in New Orleans in the 1970s. Continue reading...
Exclusive: move to purge those who worked for Jack Smith came from Trump, sources say, in show of unchecked powerThe US justice department fired more than a dozen prosecutors who worked on the criminal cases against Donald Trump hours after the president directly ordered it to take place in the Oval Office, according to two people familiar with the intervention.The move to purge people who worked for former special counsel Jack Smith had ostensibly come from the acting attorney general James McHenry, who sent the formal termination notices that said they could not be trusted to implement Trump's agenda. Continue reading...
The Eagles' star wideout was caught on camera reading a self-help tome on the sideline during a playoff game. Now the book is a No 1 bestseller and Philly are in the Super BowlSarah Jessica Parker is papped on the regular dashing around the West Village with a hot new novel in her grip. Actor and onetime Jonathan Safran Foer correspondent Natalie Portman uses Instagram to flaunt her bibliophile status, posting selfies with a cocked eyebrow peeking out from behind what is often a highbrow work in translation. Now there's a new bookfluencer on the scene: 27-year-old Philadelphia Eagles star wide receiver AJ Brown, who was spotted during the fourth quarter of a recent playoff game against the Green Bay Packers looking pensive on the sidelines with his nose burrowed in a paperback.Though Brown's performance that day was below his All-Pro standard, the Eagles won the game 22-10. Within 24 hours, the clunkily titled but undeniably winsome Inner Excellence: Train Your Mind for Extraordinary Performance and the Best Possible Life was the No 1 selling book across all categories on Amazon after previously being ranked 523,497th, beating out everything from Mel Robbins's blockbuster self-help tome Let Them and all the weird shapeshifter stories that are fueling the romantasy bonanza. Continue reading...
Everyone but the credulous media seems to understand what's behind Trump's attacks on diversity, equity and inclusionIt took fewer than 12 hours after Wednesday's disastrous plane collision at DC's Reagan National airport for Donald Trump to display his most powerful instinct: blaming others, whether the real guilty party is himself, one of his cronies, unknown, or no one at all.In a press conference on Thursday morning, the president moved quickly through the scripted bonds of affection and loyalty that unite us all", the heartbreak and solace in the knowledge that their journey ended not in the cold waters of the Potomac, but in the warm embrace of a loving God". Then he got down to business, naming his always-prime suspect, after illegal aliens": diversity, equity and inclusion.Judith Levine is a Brooklyn journalist and essayist, a contributing writer to the Intercept and the author of five books Continue reading...
In this unsettling world order, polite, middle-size democracies are easy prey for bullies. It is time to reassert European powerSqueezed between US oligarchy and Russian and Chinese autocracy, Europe's democracies stand out like a relic from a bygone age. The euphoria and sheepish groupthink on display at Donald Trump's inauguration last month may well herald either a new US golden age" or a hubristic bubble bound to burst. It is possible that China will succeed in reshaping the world in its image, or it may succumb to demographic decline and economic stagnation. Europe is not alone in being at a historic crossroads, but it is exclusively mired in pessimism, despondency and self-doubt.In 1492, as Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas and Spain embarked on its own siglo de oro, or golden age, Spanish troops were readying to take over large parts of Italy. Europe's highest concentration of wealth was to be found in cities such as Florence, Milan and Venice. Cities of beauty and civility, industry and trade; cities, above all, so mesmerised by their particular identities that they refused to form a unitary state. The eventual result was the partition of the Italian peninsula. There was no space for rival city states in a world of nations.Lorenzo Marsili is a philosopher, activist, author and director of the Berggruen Institute Europe Continue reading...
by Helen Sullivan (now); Dara Kerr, Chris Stein and M on (#6V0NJ)
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau says he had good call' with US president and that tariffs will be postponed for at least a monthSouth Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa has rejected Donald Trump's claim that the country is confiscating land.AFP reports that Ramaphosa said he was ready to explain his government's land reform policy to his US counterpart. Continue reading...
Designed to invest in the national interest, sovereign wealth funds are typically funded by countries rich in natural resources and it is unclear how a US fund would operate or be financedDonald Trump has signed an executive order directing the US treasury and commerce departments to create a sovereign wealth fund. Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and Howard Lutnick, the nominee for commerce secretary, will lead the effort.We have tremendous potential," Trump said while signing the order from the Oval Office on Monday. I think in a short period of time, we'd have one of the biggest funds." Continue reading...
Plan sets aside $25m for legal battles against US government and $25m for legal groups to defend immigrantsCalifornia's Democratic-dominated assembly endorsed up to $50m in funding Monday to defend the state's progressive policies against challenges by the Trump administration.The legislation sets aside $25m for the state department of justice to fight legal battles against the federal government, and another $25m for legal groups to defend immigrants facing possible deportation. Continue reading...
The US agency distributes tens of billions of dollars' worth of aid every year and is a key tool to promote soft power around the worldDonald Trump's administration has confirmed plans to merge the US international aid agency USAid into the state department in a major revamp that would shrink its workforce and align its spending with Trump's priorities.The secretary of state, Marco Rubio, declared himself the acting administrator of the agency and employees have been locked out of its Washington DC headquarters, while others have been suspended. Continue reading...
by Ramon Antonio Vargas and David Hammer of WWL Louis on (#6V1AA)
Roger Goodell speaks as emails detail how team helped to spin coverage of clergy sexual abuse scandalNFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the New Orleans Saints are great corporate citizens" despite revelations in unearthed emails detailing how the football team's owner and other top executives coordinated with the city's Roman Catholic archdiocese in a campaign to soften media coverage of a decades-old clergy-abuse scandal engulfing the church.Saints owner Gayle Benson and other key lieutenants are very involved in this community, and they are great corporate citizens", Goodell said after media outlets provided the most complete accounts yet detailing the team's decision to help the New Orleans church's messaging about a scandal that has prompted state police and federal agents to jointly open a child sex-trafficking investigation into the archdiocese. Continue reading...
Officials are discussing executive order as part of efforts by Musk's Doge team to seize control of federal spendingThe Trump administration is weighing executive actions to dismantle the US education department as part of efforts by Elon Musk's so-called department of government efficiency" (Doge) to seize control of federal spending and slash the size of the government workforce, the Wall Street Journal reported.US officials have discussed an executive order that would shut down all functions of the education department that are not written explicitly into statute, or move certain functions to other departments, according to the paper, citing sources. Continue reading...
State's largest home insurer, which has paid customers over $1bn, claims fires put firm under increased financial strainState Farm General, California's largest home insurer, is seeking an emergency rate increase for homeowners following the Los Angeles wildfires last month. If approved, the hike would average a 22% increase for policyholders.The insurance giant claims that the fires have put the company under increased financial strain. The company has already received at least 8,700 claims and paid more than $1bn to customers and expects to pay out significantly more", according to a press release. Continue reading...
by Graeme Wearden in London and Callum Jones in New Y on (#6V0QS)
Markets recover some losses after Trump agreed to delay new duties on Mexico goods, sparking hopes of a reprieveGlobal stock markets came under pressure after Donald Trump signed off on new US tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico, prompting fears of a trade war.Markets recovered some of their losses early on Monday after it emerged that the US president had agreed to delay new duties on goods from Mexico for a month, sparking hopes of a reprieve. Continue reading...
by Richard Partington Economics correspondent on (#6V15H)
The US president has threatened to target Europe after launching then pausing import tariffs on Canada and MexicoDonald Trump has threatened to target the EU next after announcing punishing import tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, while warning that the UK is out of line" but could still reach a deal. On Monday Trump announced a one-month pause" in the threatened tariffs after conversations with his Mexican counterpart, Claudia Sheinbaum, and the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau. But much uncertainty remains.Here are five charts outlining what is at stake for the EU and the UK. Continue reading...
French president and other leaders call for cooperation with Washington but vow a robust response if neededThe EU will stand up for itself if its interests are targeted, Emmanuel Macron has said, as the bloc's leaders urged talks - but a firm response if needed - in response to Donald Trump's weekend threat to impose punishing tariffs.If our commercial interests are attacked, Europe, as a true power, will have to make itself respected and therefore react," the French president said as he arrived for an informal defence meeting with other leaders in Brussels on Monday. Continue reading...
The US president is testing the limits of executive authority, sidelining Congress and enriching allies while destabilising the global economyDonald Trump is provoking a US constitutional crisis, claiming sweeping powers to override or bypass Congress's control over spending in a brazen attempt to centralise financial power in the executive branch. If he succeeds, Nobel laureate Paul Krugman warns, it would be a 21st-century coup - with power slipping from elected officials' hands. The real story hidden behind the president's trade war, he says, is the hijacking of government. And Mr Krugman's right.By usurping the authority to shut down government programmes at will - even those funded by Congress - Mr Trump could slash federal spending and taxes while pretending to balance the books. In reality, he'd be robbing the poor to enrich the wealthy. In a world where economic jargon has been corrupted to depict exploitation as wealth creation", the audacity of Mr Trump - and his lackeys - to personally profit is breathtaking. Mr Trump's philosophy is simple: let the uber-rich do whatever they want, with little or no oversight. The result will be vast wealth for a select few while life grows nastier and shorter for the many. Continue reading...
Describing a 'good conversation' between herself and her US counterpart, Donald Trump, Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, announced their agreement to hold off imposing tariffs for one month. Trump had previously signed an executive order placing tariffs of 25% on all goods from Mexico, which was scheduled to come into force on Tuesday.Mexico had agreed to send 10,000 members of its national guard 'to prevent drug trafficking from Mexico to the US, in particular of fentanyl'. In return, the US had agreed to work to prevent high-powered weapons crossing the border into Mexico
Britain is less vulnerable to US tariffs than other nations, but shares a historic responsibility. A recession would mean dark days for everyoneCan a country ever be too big to fail? Waiting for global stock markets to open this morning felt grimly reminiscent of the beginnings of the sub-prime lending crash, the moment many finally understood the old cliche that when the US sneezes, everyone catches a cold. But when it threatens to hack its nose off with a chainsaw, before changing its mind at 10 minutes to midnight, then nobody knows where they stand.The world's biggest economy is now experiencing what looks like its very own Liz Truss moment, only this time in a country powerful enough to take everyone else down with it. If the US really is prepared to keep playing this mad game of chicken - threatening ruinous tariffs against Mexico then postponing them, sowing fear and discord constantly among its allies - that risks creating the kind of all-American supernova that sucks everyone into a black hole.Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Organization, which promotes religious diversity within the diplomatic corps, was ordered to pause operationsA Christian employee organization at the US state department has been unexpectedly suspended, with leadership instructed to immediately cease all programmatic activities.Grace, an employee resource group founded during the first Trump administration to promote religious diversity within the diplomatic corps, has been directed to pause its operations by Global Talent Management, according to an internal email obtained by the Guardian. Continue reading...
The Star-Spangled Banner has been heartily jeered north of the border after Donald Trump announced tariffs. Similar protests have happened beforeIt's not as if national anthems are the only way of telling that many pro sports leagues straddle the border between Canada and the US. The line can't be ignored. There's an exchange rate, for one thing, as well as different tax rates. There are cultural differences, too, if slight, but present enough that in some cases, pro players eschew Canadian teams in favour of American ones (it's rarely the other way around). The border is always there. Still, on any given game day, it could be ignored. It could just be about the sport. If it weren't for the anthems.To be clear, they don't always play both anthems, except in places like Buffalo, where hockey fans listen to O Canada even when the city's NHL team, the Sabres, are facing another American team. Generally, it's only if a US team are facing a Canadian team that they play both anthems. And you have to stand there and listen. And you are meant to reflect, not on the team you've come to watch, but on that other one, Canada and the United States. That's where the trouble starts. Continue reading...
by Robin Buller in Oakland, California on (#6V0W6)
As rumored raids fuel anxiety about mass deportations, outlets are offering resources and debunking falsehoodsAfter immigration authorities targeted agricultural laborers in a surprise raid in California's Kern county this year, fear-induced rumors circulated in communities around the state.In San Francisco, a middle school student mistakenly reported seeing an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agent board a transit bus, prompting the city's school board to broadcast - and later retract - a warning to parents. In Oakland, an attorney published a post on Instagram alleging raids were occurring around the Bay Area. And in the Central valley, a medical clinic serving migrant farm workers saw patient numbers drop after rumors claimed Ice agents were targeting its patients. Continue reading...
She worried about her drinking, smoking and weight - but there was never any doubt she would have a job and be able to pay her rent. It's a very different world for gen ZIt is 29 years since the book Bridget Jones's Diary was published, but the column itself, which ran in the Independent (without a byline for Helen Fielding, although everyone knew it was her) and the Daily Telegraph, is 30 years old this year. That's two years younger than our heroine when she first appears, a patchwork wreck of singleton-anxiety, professional disaster, chardonnay, Silk Cut and weighing scales. And maybe being old enough to remember with clarity anything from 30 years ago predisposes you to think of it affectionately. But, actually, no: some things were better for women, better for young people, better for everyone, in 1995. And some things were worse. To coincide with the fourth film, out on Valentine's Day, here's the audit.The startling thing about the comic creation was how completely she lacked any kind of self-discipline - always drinking more than she meant to, always weighing more than she intended, always determined not to smoke yet somehow also smoking. At the time, this had long been a staple for male self-fashioning: lad-mag culture was focused (ironically) on birds, but fuelled by benders. If you woke up somewhere and couldn't remember how you got there, that was social nirvana, the ultimate night out. Ladette culture was in many ways built as a mirror to that, though a distorted one, in the sense that you had to be off your head but you couldn't look sloppy or ill-kempt. You were meant to drink like Johnny Vegas but look like Kate Moss. Continue reading...
It was heartening - if no surprise - to see Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Charli xcx and Chappell Roan all grab gongs, while an award for the Beatles suggests confidence in AI News: Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar lead Grammy awards in aftermath of LA fires
by Philip Wen, Léonie Chao-Fong and Jennifer Rankin on (#6V0G8)
Trump takes softer line on UK, while Mexico and Canada vow levies and to strengthen ties with each otherDonald Trump has threatened to widen the scope of his trade tariffs, repeating his warning that the European Union - and potentially the UK - will face levies, even as he conceded that Americans could bear some of the economic brunt of a nascent global trade war.It comes as Trump's tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, announced on Saturday, sparked retaliation from all three countries. Mexico and Canada have vowed levies of their own while China and Canada are seeking legal challenges. Continue reading...
Fortune plays a larger part than we like to think in sporting success. But luck means nothing if teams don't have the ability to exploit itThe Roman philosopher Seneca is credited with saying, Luck is where preparation meets opportunity."In sports, some teams prepare better than others. But some also get more opportunities than others. Continue reading...
No wonder the American public thinks of Democrats as out of touch, opportunistic, and cowardly. That is because they areWhat does the Democratic party believe in? It's difficult to tell. In 2024, Joe Biden and then Kamala Harris ran a campaign of moderation, reconciliation, and emphasis on restoring institutional norms. This failed to capture much public attention when compared with the Trump campaign's carnival of grievance. In the months since their defeat, the Democrats have been confused, conflicted, and internally contentious over how to best proceed.The results have been contradictory and ineffectual. The Democrats have alternated between declaring Trump a fascist and a would-be dictator, and congratulating themselves on peacefully handing over the reins of power to him; they have railed against his corruption and his subordination to the unelected South African billionaire Elon Musk, but have also made themselves available to cooperate with Musk's project to gut the federal bureaucracy and reshape it in his own interests, the initiative that has been moronically termed Doge". Continue reading...
Some say it's embarrassing. But as a Swiftie dad' attending the Eras tour, I felt the same rush as seeing Oasis in 1994This year, assuming I can get a ticket, I will be seeing Oasis on their reunion tour. I will be surrounded, I expect, by thousands of fellow middle-aged men lustily singing You and I are gonna live forever" - while knowing some of us won't even make it through the decade.Lately I have noticed that much of the music I listen to and the gigs I attend now have their roots in the past. I first saw Oasis when I was 23, and my greatest hope for this summer's concert is that it might briefly transport me back to the 1990s. I saw Pulp in 2023 and it was incredible - but mostly because it brought back memories of seeing the band decades ago. The same goes for Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan, who I saw last year. For my generation, gigs seem to function as temporary time machines that give you a chance to revisit the glory days.Sarfraz Manzoor is an author, broadcaster and screenwriterDo 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...
After standoff, Doge members gained control over access system, letting them lock out workers and read emailsTwo senior security officials at the US Agency for International Development (USAid) have been put on administrative leave after they blocked efforts by members of Elon Musk's department of government efficiency (Doge) to access sensitive data from the agency, five current and former USAid officials have told the Guardian.The demands led to a tense standoff during which a senior deputy to Musk threatened to call the US marshals in to grant access to the building. The officials said John Voorhees, USAid's director of security, and a deputy blocked efforts by Doge members to physically access restricted areas. Continue reading...
US news | The Guardian