US news | The Guardian

Plaintiffs in trial six years in the making say state's computerized voting machines put votes at unacceptable risk of being alteredA federal trial beginning this week in Atlanta could change the way people vote in next year's election in a key swing state, and potentially affect voters in other states for years to come.The trial, six years in the making, pits a non-profit organization and a handful of Georgia voters against the state, claiming that vulnerabilities in the state's computerized voting machines place a voter's choices at an unacceptable risk of being altered, infringing on their constitutional rights. Continue reading...

First months of conflict produced more planet-warming gases than 20 climate-vulnerable countries do in a year, study shows. Plus, the Greenland startup shipping glacier ice to UAE

Arab, Muslim and younger voters face a choice between Biden, who does little to stop mass Palestinian death, and the xenophobic TrumpWe have a chaotic and unpredictable election year ahead. That would normally elicit anxiety, but mostly I'm feeling hopeless.

Mike Johnson and Chuck Schumer say they have a deal to avert a shutdown - but a divided Congress could yet stall its progressCongressional leaders reached an agreement on overall spending levels to fund the federal government in 2024, a significant step toward averting a shutdown later this month. But political divisions on immigration and other domestic priorities could stall its progress.The deal is separate from bipartisan Senate negotiations that would pair new border security measures with additional funding for Israel and Ukraine. That proposal is expected to be released sometime this week. Continue reading...

The Friends star appeared at the Golden Globes more or less unchanged from the 90s, when the world seemed full of promiseJennifer Aniston arrived at the Golden Globes sporting the same haircut she had when she played Rachel Green, in the earliest years of Friends. It stopped many star-gazers dead in their tracks, because the public record is quite clear on this: Aniston hated that look, thinking it was ugly. But she dusted it off anyway, as a gift of cultural nostalgia, a portal back to an innocent time, when Matthew Perry was still alive and young people could afford to pay rent, and the world was full of promise - and, for a girl with the right highlights, nothing could stand in her way. If Aniston can alter this little, after this much time, maybe nothing is as different as it feels?But the more powerful hit of times past came from Gillian Anderson's dress: it looked elegant, unremarkable, maybe a little bridal, even. Nothing to see here, just a fine-looking woman in white. Look closer, and you'll see it's embroidered; closer still, that the pattern is like nothing you've seen before. She called it her vagina dress, which was very on-brand, given her role as the sex therapist mum in Sex Education, yet at the same time very off-brand, because those are actually vulvas. Continue reading...

As floods, fires and storms escalate, it's time for a body with the expertise and resources to protect people and the planetIn 1859 a Swiss businessman, Jean-Henri Dunant, travelled to northern Italy to discuss his investments in Algeria with the French emperor. The business meeting took place near the site of the battle of Solferino - a key confrontation in the war of Italian independence. Moved by the carnage and the sight of 40,000 wounded soldiers, abandoned on the battlefield, Dunant decided to dedicate his life to bringing humanitarian relief to war zones.He was surprisingly effective. Thanks to his initiative, in 1863 the Red Cross was established, soon to be joined by the Turkish Red Crescent. In 1864, representatives of the main European powers signed the first Geneva convention for the amelioration of the condition of the wounded in armies in the field". In 1867 Dunant declared bankruptcy, his business interests entirely eclipsed by his philanthropic devotion.Lorenzo Marsili is a philosopher, activist, author and director of the Berggruen Institute Europe Continue reading...

It may seem impossible to seek a deal amid war. But the consequences of not doing so are too painful to contemplateWith all hope currently buried beneath the rubble of Gaza and Israel's abandoned kibbutzim, it is hard not to despair about the prospects of an Israeli-Palestinian peace. The hostages have to be returned immediately and the killing of civilians has to stop, yet a ceasefire alone will not solve the fundamental challenge of achieving an enduring settlement, and while it is hard to make a plan amid such trauma, it is impossible to end years of violence without one.And in reality, a blueprint does exist for an alternative to this deadly cycle of destruction and retribution. The attempts in the Oslo process (whose five-year timetable for a two-state solution did not materialise), the failed Clinton-Arafat-Barak Camp David talks and the doomed Obama 2013-14 initiatives are well documented. Less well known is the 2007-08 peace plan. After talking to some of its leading proponents in the past few days, I believe this will, sooner or later, offer anew the best starting point for delivering a durable peace. Continue reading...

I got blood clots in my lungs, a pulmonary embolism, and all the doctors could tell me was to do things in moderationAt 4.58pm on New Year's Eve, a globule of blood lodged itself in my right lung. The heart is a pump and it behaved the way most pumps do when encountering a blockage: it strained, and strained some more, and began to break down.At the time, though, I found this all fairly academic - lying on a gurney in the emergency room, I had the distinct sensation my heart was applying shear force to itself and I was about to die.Tiger Webb is a dour bureaucrat Continue reading...

Fort Worth authorities said some were trapped in basement before found by rescue crews and one person was in critical conditionAn explosion at a historic Texas hotel on Monday injured more than 20 people and trapped some in the basement before they were found by rescue crews, authorities said. One person was in critical condition.Fort Worth fire department spokesperson Craig Trojacek said investigators are confident the blast was some kind of gas explosion". The 20-story Sandman Signature hotel in the heart of downtown Fort Worth was undergoing construction. Continue reading...

Wenheng Zhao, 26, pleaded guilty in October to passing sensitive military information to Chinese intelligence officerA US navy petty officer who pleaded guilty to providing sensitive military information to a Chinese intelligence officer was sentenced to more than two years in prison on Monday, the US justice department said.Wenheng Zhao, 26, and another US sailor, Jinchao Wei, were arrested in August on suspicion of spying for China. Continue reading...

Wayne LaPierre, chief executive who resigned last week, accused of taking millions for personal benefit' in corruption schemeSenior executives of the National Rifle Association, including Wayne LaPierre, its former chief executive who resigned last week, pilfered millions of dollars from the gun rights organization for personal benefit" in an orchestrated scheme of corruption, a prosecutor said on Monday afternoon.Monica Connell, New York's assistant attorney general, made the claim during opening statements on the first day of a civil trial in Manhattan that will hear testimony that LaPierre and two other NRA leaders squandered the money on luxury travel and other perks for themselves and family members. Continue reading...

Brandon Jamal Nation III was reportedly fatally shot in a Bessemer home on Sunday and his barber, also shot, was taken to a hospitalA five-year-old boy was killed when someone shot into a home where he was getting his hair cut, according to Alabama police.The shooting happened at about 10am on Sunday in Bessemer. The child was identified as Brandon Jamal Nation III, of Fairfield, according to the Jefferson county coroner's office. Continue reading...

Police called to Washington home of Tanya Chutkan on Sunday night after shooting reported - but no such incident took placeA home owned by the judge overseeing the federal election subversion case against Donald Trump was targeted by a fake emergency call on Sunday night, the latest in a spate of similar false swatting" reports at the homes of public officials in recent days.Police responded at about 10pm to a report of a shooting at a Washington DC home linked in public records to the US district judge Tanya Chutkan. But officers quickly found out that no shooting happened, the Metropolitan police department said on Monday. Continue reading...

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US president says 2024 a battle for truth over lies in Charleston speech interrupted by protesters calling for Gaza ceasefireFrom the pulpit of a Black church that was the site of a racist massacre in 2015, Joe Biden cast this year's presidential election as a battle for truth over lies told by those who seek to whitewash" the worst chapters of American history - from the deadly assault on the US Capitol to the civil war.This is a time of choosing," Biden implored Americans during a visit to Mother Emanuel AME church, where nine Black worshippers were murdered by a white supremacist gunman who they had welcomed into their Bible study. Without mentioning Donald Trump by name, Biden assailed his predecessor and likely 2024 Republican opponent as a loser" who sought to overthrow the will of the 81 million Americans who voted for the Democratic president. Continue reading...

Unsealed documents show defence team used Sarah Ransome's claims, later retracted, to show she manifestly lacks credibility'Jeffrey Epstein's defence team sought to undermine the reliability of one of the witnesses against him by revealing she had claimed the billionaire had kept sex tapes" involving prominent people, a new batch of unsealed documents has disclosed.Those who were filmed were alleged to have included Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton and Sir Richard Branson, according to the allegations made by Sarah Ransome. Continue reading...

Christian Ziegler was suspended in a special vote on Monday as police investigate the accusations against himThe Republican party of Florida ousted Christian Ziegler, their chairman, in a special vote on Monday as police investigate a rape accusation against him, a vote that came the week before the governor, Ron DeSantis, competes in Iowa's first-in-the-nation presidential caucus.The party suspended Ziegler last month and demanded his resignation, saying he could not effectively lead during a critical election year with the allegations, which Ziegler denies, swirling around him. DeSantis, US senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, and other Republican leaders have called on Ziegler to step down, but he has refused. Continue reading...

US Olympic gymnastics gold medalist tells of contracting rare form of disease last October in first TV interviewThe US Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton has said she face[d] death in the eyes" after a battle with pneumonia last year sent her to the hospital.The former gymnast's remarks about her health scare came on Monday during her first interview since the episode, with the Today show's Hoda Kotb. Continue reading...

Joe Biden's speech at Mother Emanuel church in Charleston, South Carolina was interrupted by pro-Palestine activists, who called for a ceasefire in Gaza. As the protest dissipated, Biden said: I have been quietly working with the Israeli government to get them to reduce and significantly get out of Gaza and using all that I can to do that'

I was miserable at my all-girls' school. According to rumour, so was the Princess of Wales. No wonder she wants to keep her son out of another single-sex establishmentThe Prince and Princess of Wales are at an unusual impasse about their son George's secondary school, according to rumours. A regular, incredibly rich couple might fight about whether or not to send their kid to boarding school because it means that the child will have to live somewhere else, and some parents don't like that. They might, in an alternative universe where one of them was politically engaged, have had a fight about whether or not to send George to private school at all.In fact, Kate's problem with Eton college, which is William's choice, is that it's single-sex; she got horribly bullied at school, which - you'll have to just surrender to the gossip mill, here, a causal link hypothesised by an anonymous insider - was because it was an all-girls' school. Continue reading...

A plug door tore off from the side of an Alaska Airlines jet after takeoff from Portland, Oregon, en route to Ontario, California. The incident depressurised the plane and forced the pilots to turn around and land safely back at Portland with all 171 passengers and six crew onboard. US regulators ordered the temporary grounding of 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft after the incident. NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said the plug door was recovered from a back yard in Portland, and investigations into how this happened are still ongoing. She added that design flaws were not suspected 'at this time'

Person who found phone posted that it was in airplane mode with half a battery and open to a baggage claim'The US's National Transportation Safety Board says it has recovered a working iPhone that likely" fell from the Alaska Airlines flight that required an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon, over the weekend after a passenger plane's door panel blew out while midair.An NTSB spokesperson issued a statement about the phone to the Guardian after the newspaper asked about a social media user's viral post which described finding the device on the side of the road. Continue reading...

Parts supplier Spirit AeroSystems also affected after US regulators ground 737 Max 9s with door plugs

Boeing is back in the spotlight after a door panel blew out of a plane, and all 737 Max 9s with similar door plugs have been grounded

Woman rescued on Sunday after driving car off road leading to Mount Baldy on Wednesday and surviving low temperaturesA woman fell nearly 100ft while driving on a road in the California wilderness and was trapped for four days before being rescued on Sunday, according to authorities.The unnamed woman survived low temperatures, precipitation and other natural elements after she inadvertently drove her car off the road leading to Mount Baldy on Wednesday night, CBS News reported. Continue reading...

Jonathan Wilson answers your questions on the World Cup, VAR and the January transfer window

Officers killed at least 1,232 people last year - the deadliest year for homicides by law enforcement in over a decade, data showsPolice in the US killed at least 1,232 people last year, making 2023 the deadliest year for homicides committed by law enforcement in more than a decade, according to newly released data.Mapping Police Violence, a non-profit research group, catalogs deaths at the hands of police and last year recorded the highest number of killings since its national tracking began in 2013. The data suggests a systemic crisis and a remarkably consistent pattern, with an average of roughly three people killed by officers each day, with slight upticks in recent years. Continue reading...

After my mother's death, I turned to a man I barely knew, but it only brought heartbreak. Now I've cut ties - and it's liberatingWhen my mother died in my early 20s, I hoped my estranged father might become the parent I so badly needed. Our relationship was never the stuff of John Lewis Christmas adverts. In fact, for most of my life we had been strangers to each other. We only began to be in contact regularly after my mother's death and a DNA test officially confirmed I was his.If this sounds like a promising premise for a fairytale happy ending, I have yet to read that particular story - but at the time, I convinced myself I could live it. Now I'm in my 40s, I've come to realise I don't need him in my life. I haven't seen him for seven years, and we last spoke a year ago. I wish I had known earlier how liberating it would feel to cut off contact.Jennifer Barton is a freelance writer working on her first novel. Born and raised in New York, she is now based in LondonDo 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...

Iowa victory would give Trump crucial momentum, backstopped by rule changes his campaign forced through in early voting statesDonald Trump's presidential campaign anticipates winning the Iowa state caucuses and advisers have suggested internally they would only be concerned about the former president being upstaged if another candidate started polling within five or 10 points, according to people close to the campaign.The margin of the expected win has been an informal litmus test for several weeks, and with none of Trump's rival candidates close to breaching that threshold, the campaign has been confident Trump will win the state's first-in-the-nation nominating contest. Continue reading...

In these difficult times, it is easy to fall victim to despair and cynicism. We have no alternative but to stand and fightIt's no great secret. These are the most difficult and challenging times in modern history.We're dealing with the horrific situation in Gaza, Putin's war in Ukraine, the existential threat of climate change, obscene and growing levels of income and wealth inequality, attacks on our democracy and women's rights, increasing levels of bigotry and intolerance, unprecedented threats from artificial intelligence, a dysfunctional healthcare system, huge increases in military military - and much, much more. Continue reading...

A group comprising 2022 and 2023 interns signed a letter accusing the president of having betrayed' his promise by supporting IsraelA group of former White House interns signed an open letter to Joe Biden imploring his administration to support an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war.The signatories, which include interns who worked in the White House and executive office of the president during 2022 and the summer of 2023, accuse the president of having betrayed" his promise to pursue equality and justice by supporting Israel's bombardment in Gaza. Continue reading...

So far the risks of the horrific Gaza crisis escalating to a wider war remain low - but they can't be ruled out entirelySoon after Hamas's 7 October attack and Israel's retaliatory bombing campaign in Gaza, pundits began debating the odds of escalation. For its part, the Biden administration has tried to prevent the fighting between Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from spreading to other areas of the Middle East, if only to spare the roughly 45,000 US troops based there from another ill-fated war.Escalation" lacks a singular meaning. For some, it connotes a vast increase in death and destruction after at least one warring party starts using weapons that are far more powerful than it had employed previously. For others, escalation refers to wars that spread because additional countries or armed groups decide to join the fighting. Continue reading...

US secretary of state speaking in Qatar on latest leg of Middle East tour also warned that Israel-Gaza war could metastasise'. Plus, Oppenheimer and Succession dominate Golden GlobesGood morning.Antony Blinken has warned that Palestinians must not be pressed to leave Gaza" as he continues his fourth tour of the Middle East since the 7 October attacks by Hamas.What else did Blinken say? He also warned that the Israel-Gaza war could spread across the region without concerted peace efforts. He said: This is a moment of profound tension for the region. This is a conflict that could easily metastasise, causing even more insecurity and suffering."What does the data tell us about what's been happening in Gaza? From death tolls to destroyed buildings and lost hospital beds, these are the figures that cut through the fog of war and reveal the extent of the destruction in Gaza.Who hosted the event? The Filipino-American comedian Jo Koy, a last-minute pick for host announced just two weeks before the ceremony, stuck to his promise for an uncontroversial ceremony. Unlike Jerrod Carmichael's relatively edgy hosting work last year, Koy avoided mention of politics.What do the winners tell us about the upcoming Oscars? So often the Globes are no guide to what happens on Oscar night, but Oppenheimer's resounding success could spell a landslide at the Academy Awards. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Sergey Kolesnikov has supplied building materials to Russian military and for use in occupied UkraineAn oligarch who has supplied building materials to the Russian military machine and for construction in occupied areas of Ukraine is being assisted by Morgan Stanley and Allen & Overy in his attempt to gain control of a huge Russian oil asset, the Guardian can reveal.Sergey Kolesnikov, originally from Russia but now a Maltese citizen under its golden passport" scheme is estimated to be worth $1.2bn (940m) as a result of the building materials business he co-founded. Continue reading...

Jacksonville looked like they were cruising to a postseason berth until their campaign crumbled. Was their quarterback the problem?The Jacksonville Jaguars had every opportunity to make the 2023 season a success. Instead they made it a disaster, culminating with their 28-20 loss at the Tennessee Titans on Sunday afternoon. The Jaguars needed only to beat a 5-11 team to clinch the AFC South. But Trevor Lawrence threw two interceptions and got stacked up shy of the goalline on a decisive fourth-and-goal keeper from the Titans' one-yard line. A last-gasp effort by the Jaguars wasn't enough to overcome a 15-point deficit entering the fourth quarter. And now the organization embarks on an offseason of figuring out how a year with such promise went so awry. The Houston Texans, not the Jags, will represent the division in the playoffs.The Jaguars have been lousy for most of the 21st century, and they reached fresh depths of ignominy when they posted the league's worst record in both 2020 and 2021. (In the latter year, the franchise became a special kind of embarrassment because of the slapstick leadership of an overmatched head coach, Urban Meyer.) But the team made a quantum leap in 2022. Lawrence, the franchise quarterback they'd drafted with the first pick a season earlier, blossomed into one of the better quarterbacks in football. Edge rusher Josh Allen led a feisty defense. The Jaguars mounted a late-season charge to win the AFC South, and then pulled off a thrilling comeback win over the Los Angeles Chargers. They even scared the eventual Super Bowl winners, the Kansas City Chiefs, in the next round. Continue reading...

The conflict has spilled over into Lebanon, Yemen, Iran and the Red Sea - yet the context is barely discussed or understoodIt may be a small detail, but it tells a big, clarifying story: the Biden administration did not appoint an ambassador to Cairo until March of last year. After he came to office, President Biden's orders to his foreign policy staff were to keep the Middle East off my desk". The idea was that the Arab case was largely closed. The Middle East is quieter today than it has been in decades," said the US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, in a fate-tempting speech just a week before the Hamas attacks.The plan was to ultimately integrate" the region by encouraging further normalisation between Arab states and Israel, thereby isolating and taming Iran. As the scholar Edward Said once put it: It is quite common to hear high officials in Washington and elsewhere speak of changing the map of the Middle East, as if ancient societies and myriad peoples can be shaken up like so many peanuts in a jar." Continue reading...

Lawmakers must negotiate how much agencies can spend to avert the start of a government shutdownThe top Democrat and Republican in the US Congress on Sunday agreed on a $1.59tn spending deal, setting up a race for bitterly divided lawmakers to pass the bills that would appropriate the money before the government begins to shut down this month.Since early last year, House of Representatives and Senate appropriations committees had been unable to agree on the 12 annual bills needed to fund the government for the fiscal year that began 1 October because of disagreements over the total amount of money to be spent. Continue reading...

We will see if this is a legal and valid election,' congresswoman says and claims that the 2020 presidential election was not fair'Leading US House Republican congresswoman Elise Stefanik on Sunday declined to commit to certifying the results of the 2024 White House race no matter the outcome, three years and a day after a mob of Donald Trump supporters staged the January 6 Capitol attack while refusing to recognize that he had lost the presidency to Joe Biden.Stefanik - a New York representative who serves as the House's Republican conference chairwoman - was asked by Kristen Welker of NBC's Meet the Press whether she would vote to certify the results of the 2024 election, no matter what they show". Continue reading...

US defence secretary's deputy, Kathleen Hicks, took over thinking Austin was on vacation when he was in intensive care - unknown to even the presidentThe US defence secretary Lloyd Austin's hospitalisation remained secret for longer than previously known, officials disclosed on Sunday, with his deputy on a long list of people up to President Joe Biden who were in the dark for days.The Pentagon released new details on Sunday about Austin's continued hospitalisation, saying he had an initial medical procedure as far back as 22 December from which he went home a day later. Continue reading...

Former president sidestepped signing state's loyalty oath, which opponents Nikki Haley and Chris Christie also have not signedJoe Biden's 2024 election campaign has lambasted former president and most likely Republican opponent Donald Trump for failing to sign a loyalty oath in the state of Illinois, in which candidates pledge against advocating an overthrow of the government.The Biden campaign was responding to an investigation by Illinois news outlets WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times, which reported that Trump sidestepped signing the McCarthy era voluntary pledge that is part of the midwestern state's package of ballot-access paperwork submitted by 2024 electoral candidates last week. Continue reading...

Colorado police reportedly arrived after Jayson Boebert called and claimed he was victim of domestic violence' and punched in faceRightwing US congresswoman Lauren Boebert is denying allegations that she punched her ex-husband in the face in public after police in Colorado were reportedly called out to an encounter involving the pair Saturday night at a restaurant.The incident was first reported by the Daily Beast. The news site said that Jayson Boebert called police claiming that he was a victim of domestic violence". In an interview with the Daily Beast, Jayson Boebert alleged that the congresswoman had punched" him in the face several times. He claimed to have a witness to the events. Continue reading...

Meanwhile, Sierra Nevada storm with heavy snow in the west shut down a stretch of interstate and leaves thousands without powerA major winter storm bringing heavy snow and freezing rain to some communities spread across New England on Sunday morning, sending residents scurrying to pull out their shovels and snowblowers to clear sidewalks and driveways.Winter storm warnings and watches were in effect throughout the north-east, and icy roads made for hazardous travel as far south as North Carolina. Continue reading...

Boeing faces fresh scrutiny after door panel blows out of brand new plane, leaving a hole the size of a refrigerator'US aviation investigators were on the ground in Oregon on Sunday trying to figure out what caused a door panel to blow out of a brand new Boeing passenger jet just minutes after takeoff, forcing pilots to make an emergency landing with a hole the size of a refrigerator" in the side of the plane.The American jet maker was facing fresh scrutiny as regulators temporarily grounded the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft after a section of a plugged exit door on an Alaska Airlines flight detached 16,000ft (4,877 meters) above Portland, Oregon, on Friday with 171 passengers and six crew on board. The weeks-old plane had been modified, requiring fewer emergency exits because it had fewer seats. Continue reading...

Lloyd Austin apologises for lack of disclosure but questions about medical procedure and the secrecy surrounding it remain unansweredUS defense secretary Lloyd Austin has said he takes full responsibility" for secrecy surrounding an ongoing, week-long hospitalisation for a still-unspecified medical condition.Austin, who is 70, was admitted on New Year's Day to Walter Reed national military medical center for what the Pentagon has said were complications following a recent elective medical procedure", a fact the defence department kept under wraps for five days.Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report Continue reading...