US news | The Guardian

An 11-acre plot in the California desert ruled over by a faux sultan is attracting thousands of citizens' looking for an escape from everyday lifeOne evening in late June, as the day's heat settled to a temperate 102F (38C), a small crowd gathered on a desolate plot of land in the far reaches of the California desert.An unrecognizable flag whipped high above a concrete square, where a weather-beaten wooden desk and phone booth had been strategically placed. A glassy security guard booth set in the dirt instructed visitors to register with border police", but inside stood only a stoic mannequin wearing a police uniform. Clouds of sand hung like fog on the horizon. Continue reading...

President to sign proclamation on Tuesday for monuments across three sites honoring Black teen who was lynched in 1955Joe Biden is expected to sign a proclamation to establish a national monument honoring Emmett Till, the Black teenager whose abduction, torture and lynching in Mississippi in 1955 after he was accused of whistling at a white woman helped to galvanize the civil rights movement.A White House spokesmen told the Associated Press that Biden will sign a proclamation on Tuesday - which falls on Till's birthday, 25 July 1941 - to create national monuments to the slain 14-year-old and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, across three sites in Illinois and Mississippi. Continue reading...

As a small-business owner, I don't ask employees to account for their hours - what's important is they're doing their jobsYou know what the worst thing about working for someone else is? It's wasting your time.Many years ago I worked at a small pharmaceutical company. I did a lot of time-wasting. I was a senior accountant and I reported to the company's chief financial officer. He was very old school. My hours were from 8am to 6pm and I was expected to always be at or near my desk during that period. My boss also worked the same hours, sometimes even longer. He stayed until the CEO left for the day, and it was expected that I would stay until he left for the day. Continue reading...

The governor of Illinois went viral with a speech about seeing idiots in one's midst. I have a few pointers of my own to offerIf you want to be successful in this world, you have to develop your own idiot detection system," the governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker, recently told the Northwestern University Class of 2023. Pritzker, a billionaire and self-described cheugy dad", clearly knows a thing or two about successful commencement speeches: his talk has gone viral. While the 20-minute speech, which was organized around quotes from characters in The Office series, wasn't entirely about idiot-spotting, that section of it seemed to resonate the most.You can see why. We live in a golden age of grifters, bullshitters and scammers. We live in an age where some of the world's most powerful people threw millions of dollars at Elizabeth Holmes, without doing proper due diligence, because she came from the right background and sounded like she knew what she was talking about. A fantasist like George Santos managed to successfully fib his way into government. And Marjorie Taylor Greene has a seat in US Congress despite routinely going on unhinged rants about, inter alia, the gazpacho police". Clearly not enough people have functioning idiot detection systems.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

The QAnon adjacent' film, co-opted by the right wing, has a pay it forward' scheme resulting in sold-out shows but empty theatersSound of Freedom, the religious, QAnon adjacent" child-smuggling film that has enthralled conservatives across the US, passed the $100m mark in ticket sales on Thursday.But as the movie continues to cause controversy - with its star touring conservative media to peddle conspiracy theories about unnamed persons harvesting chemicals from children's blood and anti-trafficking experts criticizing the film's entire premise - questions are also being asked about who is actually watching it and whether that many people are watching it at all. Continue reading...

Candidates for Republican nomination attack First Step Act enacted under Trump in attempt to look tough on crimeAs a Republican congressman, Ron DeSantis was a supporter of legislation that made moderate reforms to the federal prison system intended to reduce recidivism and mass incarceration - a cause that was also championed by then president Donald Trump and his deputy, Mike Pence.Five years later, DeSantis, now Florida's governor, and Pence are struggling to overtake Trump's lead among Republicans as they vie for the party's presidential nomination, and have turned against the criminal justice measure they both supported in an effort to win over conservative voters. Continue reading...

Widespread industrial action could cloud president's Bidenomics' pitch to voters but some see a chance to shine as a champion of working peopleIt became known as the winter of discontent. After the Labour government tried to freeze wages to stem inflation, Britain was convulsed by labour strikes and disruptions in public services. Rubbish piled in the streets, bodies went unburied - and a fierce political backlash swept Margaret Thatcher's Conservatives into power.Forty-five years later a summer of strikes is roiling industries from coast to coast in America. Continue reading...

Lounging by the pool is at best ill-advised, but for residents daily life has turned into an ordealI've had my fair share of messages from friends abroad recently asking if it really is as hot as they say" in Greece. Hot, I usually retort, doesn't say it all. It's mind-meltingly blistering, baking from morning to night. You struggle to sleep, you struggle to eat, you're ill-tempered and you can't even drink; a consolatory sundown cocktail is usually the kiss of death."After the emojis and exclamation marks, the response has invariably been: Well, over here it's all cloud and rain, I'll make sure to pack my factor 30+. Looking forward!" Continue reading...

Accursed, ostracised but heedless of the misery he causes, this accused war criminal is dragging his people into a moral abyssEveryone wants a piece of Russian president Vladimir Putin. Vira Chernukha, defiant amid the ruins of her village in north-east Ukraine, curses him each morning. She wants to see him spinning in his coffin, tormented, unshriven and damned for all eternity. Chernukha might be said to speak for her nation if not the entire western world.The International Criminal Court (ICC) wants to arrest Putin for war crimes, alleging mass child abductions. Mutinous Wagner mercenaries briefly wanted to topple his regime - and gravely weakened him. Heroic opposition leader Alexei Navalny just wants him to shut up. He's been forced to listen to the same Putin speech in jail each day for more than 100 days. Continue reading...

Their sportswashing seduces players and leagues - and its ultimate target: the policymakersJordan Henderson has been captain of Liverpool FC for eight years. He is a senior member of the England squad. He has been one of the most a vocal champion of LGBT rights within football. I do believe when you see something that is clearly wrong and makes another human being feel excluded you should stand shoulder to shoulder with them," he wrote two years ago in a Liverpool matchday programme about his support for gay rights.Yet, to the dismay of many of his admirers, Henderson is on the verge of a move to Al-Ettifaq, a club in Saudi Arabia, a country in which homosexuality is banned, and in which gay men have been beheaded. His decision has no doubt been made easier by a reported weekly wage of 700,000. But it has led to condemnation from LGBT organisations and to denunciations of his hypocrisy". Continue reading...

Tommy Fleetwood was the talk of the Open on Saturday but a fairytale major victory seems an increasingly unlikely resultYou could see the black cloud coming over the horizon. It wasn't rain (though there was enough of that), nor a collection of anything menacing like hornets; it was just a phalanx of monochrome waterproofs rolling irresistibly up the side of the fairway.This was Tommy Fleetwood's army, the thousands of people who flocked to Hoylake on Saturday to support the local lad, second on the leaderboard overnight, as he staged his attempt to get within touching distance of the Claret Jug. He had called for them, and they were there, now he had to play his part. Continue reading...

The 800 gold coins date back from 1840 to 1863 and may have been buried as a result of state's declaration of neutrality during warA man has dug up over 800 gold coins in a Kentucky cornfield dating back to the civil war era that is estimated to be worth millions.On 9 June, coin dealer GovMint.com uploaded a video onto YouTube of the remarkable discovery. In the video, the unidentified man can be heard identifying $1, $10 and $20 gold coins that he dug up, adding that the discovery was the most insane thing ever". Continue reading...

Northern Irishman, in Beatles shoes, had plenty of chances during round three but failed to make the most of themIt feels like Rory McIlroy has been doing this to us for practically his whole career. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory and victory from defeat - like someone who gives you butterflies on a first date and then doesn't text back, leaving us tossing and turning in our sleep; sweating, ponderous, infuriated.But that is part of the charm, the contract we all unwittingly sign when following somebody like McIlroy. At last year's Open Championship at St Andrews, he held a joint four-shot lead over the rest of the field after the third round, before falling away as Cameron Smith surged to claim the Claret Jug. Last weekend at the Scottish Open, McIlroy finished birdie-birdie after two outrageous approaches on the 17th and 18th to claim the 1.2m prize from under the nose of home favourite Bob MacIntyre, with McIlroy calling the latter shot one of the best of my career". He is frustrating and thrilling in equal measure, but never boring. Continue reading...

State law provision SB 254 that went into effect on 17 May greatly hinders transgender adults from obtaining gender-affirming careOn Friday, several state and national civil rights groups filed an amended complaint to an existing Florida lawsuit, asking a federal judge to bar the state from enforcing provisions of a state law that greatly hinder transgender adults from obtaining gender-affirming care.Friday's motion comes several weeks after district judge Robert Hinkle issued an injunction barring the state from enforcing provisions of the law. He also ruled then that the plaintiffs were likely to prevail on their claim that those prohibitions are unconstitutional. But the protections issued in that initial ruling did not extend to adults. Continue reading...

Phone snubbing, or interacting with your mobile while ignoring partners and friends, is bad for relationships', scientists have just discovered. But when is it OK?I witnessed a spectacular row in a beer garden this summer. My fellow voyeurs and I guessed the couple were on a date - not their first but perhaps their second or third - and he'd checked his notifications too often for her liking. Why don't you just date your phone instead?" she snapped, standing up to leave. Hope you're happy together."I've edited out a few F-bombs but that was the gist. Sadly, she drained her drink rather than sloshing it in his face. Reader, I nearly stood up and applauded. Phubbing" - a portmanteau of phone snubbing", or deciding to interact with your mobile rather than a person - is a 21st-century epidemic. Continue reading...

Temecula Valley district had previously rejected the material due to its inclusion of gay rights activist and politician Harvey MilkA school district in southern California has decided to adopt the state's new social studies book and curriculum after previously rejecting it for its reference to LGBTQ+ figures in history.The Temecula Valley unified school district voted to accept the curriculum following a lengthy meeting on Friday at which parents, teachers and community members spoke for and against it. The decision was welcomed by Gavin Newsom, California's governor, for thwarting an attempt to whitewash history" and removed the threat of sanctions against the school district for not adopting the curriculum. Continue reading...

Opening matches at World Cups are often a practice in figuring out what works. The USWNT's 3-0 win over Vietnam to launch their three-peat bid suggests they're not yet an entirely finished productSophia Smith admitted that she was nervous - and she is never nervous. Savannah DeMelo? She had some nerves, too, after finding out less than 24 hours earlier that her first international start would take place in the United States' opening match of the 2023 World Cup.I mean, it's a World Cup," Smith said of the nerves. I feel like that just shows how much it means." Continue reading...

Timothy Spall's extraordinary performance lifts this drama, which is more interested in the victims than the killer, to a different levelIt's hard to imagine better television - more dignified, more noticing - than The Sixth Commandment, which began last week on BBC1.Mostly, I loathe true crime. To make entertainment of the horrifying acts of a Dennis Nilsen or a Jeffrey Dahmer isn't just gratuitously exploitative; it can only bring more pain to those who loved the men they killed. Continue reading...

Marjorie Taylor Greene's tawdry act in Congress may have broken federal laws - fitting for a truly bankrupt individualMarjorie Taylor Greene is a morally bankrupt attention-seeker who seems to think her job as a congresswoman entails stirring up culture wars rather than representing her constituents. She's become a household name thanks to her nonstop taxpayer-funded trolling. Continue reading...

State condemned as the bottom of the barrel on rights restoration' after change by state's division of electionsTennessee, already one of the strictest and most complicated states in the country for voting rights restoration, has enacted a new policy that makes it nearly impossible for people with felony convictions to regain their right to vote.Tennessee has one of the highest rates of disenfranchisement in the United States. More than 9% of the voting age population, or around 471,600 Tennesseans, can't vote because of a felony conviction, according to a 2022 estimate by the Sentencing Project, a criminal justice non-profit. More than 21% of Black adults are disenfranchised. Continue reading...

A spectacular 94th-minute winner sealed a dream debut for the Argentinian at Miami's sold-out home ground, where Messi Mania has reached fever pitchAs soon as I saw the free kick was given, I thought: This is the way it's meant to end,'" a teary-eyed Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham - who knows a thing or two about planting dead balls into top corners - said at full time.It unfolded just as the owner foresaw, with the absurd inevitability of his new signing's brilliance. In the 94th minute, the debutant Lionel Messi curled in a signature 25-yard strike to secure a 2-1 win over Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup, a tournament between clubs from MLS and Liga MX. Continue reading...

The state has emerged as an example of how Democratic lawmakers can take proactive steps to bolster abortion accessWhen the US supreme court upended the federal right to abortion enshrined in Roe v Wade, the immediate task before Democrats seemed simple: keep abortion legal in as many states as possible.But over a year since Roe's demise, some leaders in the reproductive rights movements worry that Democrats have tunnel vision, focusing their messaging and resources entirely on the legal tug-of-war over abortion bans in the midwest and south. Continue reading...

The internet has become transfixed with the idea of watching Greta Gerwig's bubblegum comedy next to Christopher Nolan's dark drama but it proved to be a nightmarish combo

The crown estate no more belongs to the monarch than No 10 does to Rishi Sunak. So why such a huge handout?There have been growing calls for an end to royal secrecy in recent months, with historians, campaigners and journalists demanding greater access to the official records of the UK's head of state. That secrecy has been compared unfavourably to MI5, with the royals having an absolute exemptionfrom the Freedom of Information Act while squirrelling away thousands of official records in their archives in Windsor.There is a reason why the monarchy is more secretive than our security services: it has plenty to hide. It is not unreasonable to conclude that the institution is corrupt, if corruption is the abuse of public office for personal gain. Whether it's using tens of millions of pounds each year to cover costs such as travel or palatial homes, or lobbying the government in pursuit of their private interests or political agendas, the royals exploit their status and position week in, week out.Graham Smith is CEO of Republic and the author of Abolish the Monarchy: Why We Should and How We Will Continue reading...

Anxious Democrats say centrist No Labels group - which could back Joe Manchin - would act as spoiler against Joe BidenOn a small stage in New Hampshire this week, West Virginia senator Joe Manchin and former Republican Governor Jon Huntsman sat together extolling the virtues of bipartisanship and talking very much like running mates. They were there on behalf of the centrist political advocacy organization No Labels, which is considering fielding a third-party ticket in the 2024 presidential election, and had enlisted the two men to debut its 67-page policy manifesto.Early on in the evening, the moderator asked the question looming over the event: were Manchin and Huntsman running for president? After a smattering of applause died down, Manchin deflected, saying they were simply there to explain to you that we need options". But Manchin's refusal to announce whether he will seek re-election for the US Senate next year, and his presence at the town hall, has drawn speculation that he and No Labels may combine to upend the 2024 election. Continue reading...

Shelby White, collector and benefactor of the prestigious New York art museum, did not knowingly buy stolen antiquities, lawyer saysA major collector of antiquities and benefactor of the Metropolitan Museum of Art took a reputational hit this week as efforts by the Manhattan district attorney to return looted artifacts to their countries of origin moved into high gear.Shelby White is a Met trustee whose name, with that of her late husband, Leon Levy, hangs over the spectacular Greek and Roman Art galleries at the museum on Fifth Avenue. White also sat on a committee advising the museum on acquisitions. Continue reading...

US and Australian navy chiefs and dignitaries present as littoral combat ship with a crew of 50 has colours hoisted to the mast

Dae Young Lee paid Jose Huizar and his assistant to help resolve a labor organizations appeal blocking development of residencesA real estate developer was sentenced Friday to six years in federal prison for paying $500,000 in bribes to a Los Angeles city councilman for help with a downtown project.Dae Yong Lee, AKA David Lee," was also fined $750,000 and a company that he controlled was fined $1.5m plus prosecution costs, the US attorney's office said in a statement. Continue reading...

Vice-president condemns extremist so-called leaders' in speech in Florida speech amid outcry over new school board guidance

Vice-president decries extremist so-called leaders' and says new teaching standards will rob children of knowing true US historyKamala Harris went to Florida on Friday to address the state board of education's controversial new standards for Black history, which include the contention that some Black people benefited from being enslaved.In an impassioned afternoon speech, the vice-president predicted the standards would rob children of knowing true US history that the rest of the world has been taught. Continue reading...

The state's snowpack, full from winter storms, has not yet melted, while the rest of the region bakes in summer temperaturesWhile most of California swelters through a prolonged, extreme heatwave, Mammoth Mountain ski resort in the eastern Sierras announced that it would be extending its season into early August.We are stoked to announce that we're staying open," the resort, which saw its snowiest season on record this winter, announced on Instagram. Mammoth Mountain had planned to remain open through the end of July and is now planning to close on 6 August. Located along eastern Sierra Nevada, the resort often stays open into June or July - but this season will be only the third to extend into August in its 69-year operating history. Continue reading...

Phoenix and Californian town of Needles experiencing 70th day in which temperatures have reached 90FA brutal heatwave is persisting throughout much of the US, with cities across the south-west reaching all-time records for hottest consecutive days. Intense heatwaves are becoming more frequent as a result of the climate crisis, but alarmingly, these streaks of hot days are also lasting longer.People living in cities in Arizona, California and Texas are entering their second month of days in which the temperature reaches 90F (32.2C) and above. Cities such as Phoenix, and Needles in California, have had no relief from this extreme heat in the past 70 days, with Phoenix recently experiencing three consecutive weeks of temperatures reaching 110F (43.3C) and above. Continue reading...

Lawsuit filed against FTX founder, 31, includes memo that detailed plans to purchase Pacific island in case world came to an endThe disgraced cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried, who founded the FTX exchange, had planned to purchase the small Pacific island nation of Nauru in case the world came to an end, according to a new lawsuit.The lawsuit, filed on Thursday by FTX against its 31-year-old founder and three other former executives, and seeking $1bn, included a memo created by Bankman-Fried's younger brother Gabriel and an FTX Foundation executive. The memo detailed plans to buy Nauru. Continue reading...

Katherine Banks leaves role amid pushback over Kathleen McElroy's work to promote diversity and inclusion in newsroomsTexas A&M University said on Friday its president had resigned, after the hiring of a Black journalist at one of the largest US campuses unraveled amid pushback over her work to promote diversity and inclusion in newsrooms.Katherine Banks said in a resignation letter she would retire immediately as president, because negative press has become a distraction" at the nearly 70,000-student campus in College Station. Continue reading...

Last year's US PGA Championship winner shot 11 over par on Thursday having managed just three top-10 finishes this yearIt just doesn't make sense," said Justin Thomas with a look of genuine mystification on his face. I'll hit shots like the No 1 player in the world and then I'll make a nine on the last hole of the tournament. I made two doubles and a quad. It's eight-year-old, nine-year-old stuff, not someone who's trying to win the British Open. I mean, you just can't do stuff like that!"Thomas, the two-times major winner and indeed a former world No 1, was speaking on Friday afternoon shortly before his failure to make the cut at this year's Open was confirmed. Just 24 hours earlier he had entered its annals of infamy. Continue reading...

Women from Honduras and El Salvador recount border experience as justice department investigates troubling reports'Two pregnant migrant women who were trying to turn themselves in to US immigration authorities have alleged that Texas national guard soldiers refused to provide them with water.Speaking to CNN at a shelter in Eagle Pass, Texas, the two women, identified as Carmen from Honduras and Maria from El Salvador, recounted their experiences at the border amid recent reports of inhumane" behavior by American border authorities. Continue reading...

The latest anime from director Hayao Miyazaki aced at the box office without any marketing. All credit to his unique vision and passionate fansIn the razzmatazz that has greeted the big releases of the last fortnight, Mission: Impossible and Barbie, a far more interesting event has passed almost unnoticed in the west. A film with virtually no advance publicity had fans in Japan queueing around the block, taking $17.5m (13.5m) in its first weekend.How Do You Live? is a new anime by the revered director Hayao Miyazaki, who reversed an earlier decision to retire for what he has intimated will be his final full-length film. Until the eve of its opening, when a free-to-use illustration was released, the film's only publicity was a single poster, published last year. It showed a crayon sketch of what - given the film's stated debt to a 1937 novel by the Japanese children's author Genzaburo Yoshino - was surmised to be a blue and white heron. Continue reading...

Police charge 61-year-old man after freeing girl who had been snatched days earlier in Texas from parked car in Long BeachA 13-year-old girl kidnapped in Texas was rescued in southern California when passersby saw her hold up a help me" sign in a parked car, police said.The rescue occurred 9 July in Long Beach, south of Los Angeles, when officers responded to a call and found the visibly emotional and distressed girl", police said in a press release on Thursday. Continue reading...

Doctors report busy burns units with some patients having passed out and collapsed on superheated outdoor surfacesDoctors in the US south-west have reported a rise in first-, second-, and third-degree contact burn cases amid extreme heat conditions.The reports of severe burn incidents, some fatal, came from hospitals in Arizona and Nevada, where temperatures have recently reached triple digits and deaths from heat-related conditions have surged. Continue reading...

Firstly, congratulations for raising a politically aware young person. You have been entrusted with a wonderful and frightening task

The red in tooth and claw classic now requires parental guidance rather than being suitable for anyone. This may seem quaint in the digital age, but it raises important questionsWhen the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) changes its certificate for an old movie, it is generally to ease up a bit and concede, like strict parents letting their teens have a glass of wine at dinner, that all right, times have changed. The Alien movies were once rated 18; now they're 15.

Tourism to UK close to pre-Covid levels as Czech Republic, Ireland and Denmark also leap in popularityWhere once holidaymakers flocked south for the summer in search of scorching getaways, the climate emergency may be signalling a reversal of that trend.It seems some tourists are shunning continental Europe, where temperatures are soaring to as high as 48C in the current heatwave, in favour of Britain's cooler climes. Continue reading...