As the All-Star break looms, it’s time to look at the hits and the misses of the season so farIt’s a longstanding NBA custom to jump to conclusions. MVP chatter begins in the first week of the season, coaches are on the hot seat by week two, and before even a month has passed, “burn it down” roster discussions emerge. Far be it from me to stray from tradition. So here, a month before the All-Star break, are my too-early NBA Season Superlatives, a selection of premature evaluations and awards plucked out of thin air. Continue reading...
Leftwingers, rightwingers: Mindy Kaling’s new TV show has outraged them all. She’d have gotten away with it, if it wasn’t for those meddling viewersWe live in a hyperpartisan world where nobody can agree on anything. And yet, every now and again something comes along that bridges political differences and brings people together. This latest unifier appears to be a Scooby-Doo spin-off, Velma, which is targeted at adults. Whatever their political persuasion, everyone seems to hate it. (Except, rather weirdly, the Guardian, which gave it four out of five stars.) The cartoon premiered last week to mostly abysmal reviews. Things are so dire that there are even conspiracy theories swirling that Mindy Kaling, its star and an executive producer of the show, made Velma terrible on purpose in order to make the left look bad.Why would Kaling do something like that? I have no idea. My understanding is that she probably didn’t and that people are just getting angry online because people like getting angry online. The left appears to be angry at Kaling because she once liked a tweet by JK Rowling, which supposedly means she is an irredeemable transphobe who should be cancelled immediately. The right, meanwhile, doesn’t seem to like the fact that Velma is a lesbian in the show and Kaling is a brown woman. One rightwing comedian called it “openly racist against white people”. Other people are saying the series is “insulting to the Scooby-Doo fanbase”. The series really touches pretty much every aspect of the culture wars. Continue reading...
Wages, incarceration rates and unemployment benefits access worse when compared with states allowing the procedureWages, employment security, incarceration rates and access to unemployment benefits are all worse in US states where abortion is restricted or banned, compared with those where it is protected, a new report has found.The report by the Economic Policy Institute also found that minimum wages are, on average, $3.75 an hour lower in abortion restrictive states compared with protective states ($8.17 compared with $11.92); and that restrictive states incarcerate people at 1.5 times the rate of protective states. Continue reading...
The New York fabulist has been assigned to the small business and the science, space and technology committeesGeorge Santos – the New York Republican congressman under local, state, federal and international investigation over his largely made-up résumé, suspect campaign finances and potentially criminal aspects of his personal history – has been reportedly given two committee assignments, after the Republican speaker of the House pledged that he would “get seated on committees”.Santos has reportedly been assigned to the small business committee and the science, space and technology committee, multiple news outlets reported. Continue reading...
Walshe, 47, was seen on video buying $450 worth of cleaning supplies the day after his wife, Ana, disappearedA Massachusetts man already facing a charge of misleading investigators in the search for his missing wife has now been charged with murder in her disappearance, a top prosecutor said on Tuesday.Norfolk district attorney Michael Morrissey said in a video statement that Brian Walshe, 47, who is being held on $500,000 bail after pleading not guilty to the misleading charge, will be arraigned on the more serious charge on Wednesday. Continue reading...
The Warriors returned to the White House on Tuesday for the traditional honorary visit made by the NBA champions after not making the trip during the Donald Trump years Continue reading...
by Dani Anguiano in Los Angeles and agencies on (#67XMG)
Baby, teenage mother, elderly woman among six killed in ‘targeted’ attack on home searched by police for illegal drugs last weekCalifornia authorities are looking for at least two suspects responsible for the “horrific massacre” of six people, including a 10-month-old baby found in the arms of his 16-year-old mother, in what the sheriff described as a targeted attack.The killings, the victims of which were all immediate family, took place in and around a home in Goshen, in California’s main agricultural valley, in the early morning hours on Monday. The Tulare county sheriff, Mike Boudreaux, linked the violence to the illegal drug trade, saying deputies had conducted a drug-related search warrant at the same home last week and that the family was targeted: “We believe this was a message being sent.” Continue reading...
Nine powerful atmospheric rivers delivered about 24.5tn gallons of water across the state, causing over $1bn dollars worth of damageSunshine beamed across parts of California on Tuesday, signaling a hopeful end to extreme downpours that drenched the Golden State. The nine powerful atmospheric rivers that bore down in quick succession over the last three weeks – dropping an estimated 24.5tn gallons of water across California from 26 December to 11 January – left death and disaster in their wake.At least 20 people have been killed during the deluges, as the severe storms submerged streets, produced fast-moving flash floods and tore into inundated hillsides that sent mud sliding onto homes and highways. Along with torrents of rain, blustery winds ripped down trees and power lines, leaving hundreds of thousands without electricity during the storms. Continue reading...
House Republicans are seeking to embarrass president over retention of papers from time as vice-presidentThe Biden administration is calling on House Republicans to “come clean” about the deals Kevin McCarthy made to win election as House speaker, and accusing the party of embracing extreme policies.“House Republicans have yet to come clean with the American people about the secret agreements Kevin McCarthy made with the most Maga members of their conference in order to end their leadership election debacle,” the White House said in a statement. “But as we learn more about what was hashed out behind closed doors, it has become clear that these hidden agreements could impact the lives of every American.”An unprecedented tax hike on the middle class and a national abortion ban are just a glimpse of the secret, backroom deals Speaker McCarthy made with extreme MAGA members to end this month’s chaotic elections and claim the gavel. The few agreements we know about would fundamentally reshape our economy in a devastating way for working families and criminalize women for making their own health care decisions. They’re also planning to plunge the economy into chaos and take millions of American jobs and 401k plans hostage unless they can cut Medicare. What other hidden bargains did Speaker McCarthy make behind closed doors with the most extreme, ultra MAGA members of the House Republican conference? The American people have a right to know – now – which is why we are calling on him to make every single one of them public immediately. Continue reading...
Parents speak out about their fear of a school shooting taking place and how school officials should not ignore ‘red flags’A Kentucky teen who was charged with creating a list of classmates that he wanted to kill is being allowed to return to school, upsetting local parents.Several parents spoke at the Boone county board of education meeting last week about the 14-year-old student being reinstated after making the “kill list” containing names of his classmates, NBC News reported. Continue reading...
Once, it seemed an economical and adventurous alternative to a hotel. But I doubt I’ll be using it againSome people call it “wasting time on Twitter”. I call it “qualitative research”. Having engaged in a lot of qualitative research recently, I’ve discovered the following: everyone is sick of Airbnb. In its early years, Airbnb was a more economical and adventurous alternative to a hotel. Nowadays, it costs a small fortune to rent a shack on Airbnb and, when you get there, you are forced to abide by a long list of rules and buy your own toilet paper. It’s become a bit like staying with your cheapest, most uptight friend – and paying them for the privilege.I’m not the only person to have made this observation. Every few weeks a tweet dunking on Airbnb seems to go viral. The latest example comes courtesy of a writer called Jeremy Gordon, who got more than 100,000 likes for tweeting the following: “Decided to stay in a Holiday Inn instead of an Airbnb for an overnight trip and strongly feel, one hour after check-in, that there has never been a more luxurious experience in all of human history.” Continue reading...
One person critically hurt after firing broke out at family event in park in Fort Pierce: ‘People were just running in all directions’A shooting which erupted on a packed Martin Luther King Jr Day block party in Florida and left eight people wounded late on Monday was the 30th mass shooting in the US this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.Authorities said one person was critically hurt in the shooting during the holiday event in Fort Pierce. Seven others were also shot and wounded, and at least four more hurt in the panic that followed. Continue reading...
Another criminally misogynist police officer pleads guilty, and officials voice surprise. No wonder women feel betrayedIn July 2021, a man pleaded guilty to the murder of Sarah Everard, which he had carried out while serving as a Metropolitan police officer. He had already pleaded guilty to her kidnap and rape. The then Met chief, Cressida Dick, stood on the steps of the Old Bailey and declared: “Everyone in policing feels betrayed.”And yet, did they? That very same month – the same month – an allegation of rape was made against David Carrick. This allegation led to Carrick’s arrest. But that arrest, for alleged rape – alleged rape – did not even lead to Carrick’s suspension. It led only to his being put on restricted duties. Continue reading...
Shift marks start of a long period of population decline as China wrestles with demographic time bomb. Plus, Adidas denies revolutionary plan over Cambodia working conditionsGood morning.China has entered an “era of negative population growth”, after figures revealed a drop in the number of people for the first time since 1961.Why are people resistant to having bigger families? Online, some Chinese people were unsurprised by the announcement, saying the social pressures driving the low birthrate remained. “Housing prices, welfare, education, healthcare – reasons why people can’t afford to have children,” said one commenter on Weibo. “Now who dares to have children? Housing prices are so expensive, no one wants to get married and even fall in love, let alone have children,” said another.What does the Democratic party want to do? Democrats want South Carolina, a more racially diverse state than Iowa and New Hampshire, to have first say in whom the Democratic party should nominate for president. The proposal would mean New Hampshire would vote a week later, along with Nevada, while Georgia – another racially diverse state, and one that was crucial to Biden’s 2020 victory and the Democrats’ successful holding of the Senate in 2022 – would go next. Continue reading...
Measures in Texas would raise criminal penalties and create voting-focused law enforcement unitRepublican lawmakers across the country have already filed dozens of bills that would restrict voting, including proposals in Texas that would increase criminal penalties on people who violate voting laws and enact a new law enforcement unit to prosecute election crimes.The 2023 legislative session comes in the wake of an election that was described by many voting rights advocates as a triumph of democracy, despite the restrictive voting laws that were in place in 20 states for the first time last year. Continue reading...
For very different reasons, New Hampshire and Georgia remain obstacles to Joe Biden’s bid for equityThe Democratic party’s rationale for shaking up its presidential primary process was fairly straightforward: the current system is dominated by two predominantly white states who vote first, giving people of color little say in choosing the potential next president.Facing fuming New Hampshire officials, however, and a Georgia Republican party happy to meddle in Democrats’ plans, the Joe Biden-led effort to make things more equitable now looks increasingly in peril. Continue reading...
Deals for tens of millions of dollars make headlines. But they contain plenty of caveats, and lesser known players are offered few protectionsThe cardiac arrest suffered by the Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin during a game earlier this month and his future financial prospects shone a spotlight on contract conditions in the NFL – America’s most lucrative major league but also its least generous. Here are a few of the more striking facts about players’ working conditions. Continue reading...
Solomon Pena ran for the New Mexico state legislature in 2022, but lost to the Democrat incumbentA failed Republican state legislative candidate, who authorities say was angry over losing an election last November and made baseless claims that the vote was “rigged”, has been arrested in connection with a series of drive-by shootings targeting the homes of Democratic lawmakers in New Mexico’s largest city.Albuquerque Police chief Harold Medina held a news conference on Monday evening hours after Swat officers arrested Solomon Pena at his home. Continue reading...
Residents of Selma, Alabama, find resilience in civil rights leader’s legacy as US marks MLK DayAs the US marked Martin Luther King Jr Day on Monday, the town of Selma, Alabama, that hosted his historic 1965 march was still reeling from a tornado that destroyed buildings, swept away roofs and tossed around mobile homes.Thursday’s twister in Selma was categorized as EF-2, indicating “significant”, and about 40 miles away in Autauga county, where it claimed seven lives – including four from the same family – it was EF-3 or “severe”. Continue reading...
Police searching for two suspects in what is believed to have been a targeted attackSix people – including a 17-year-old mother and her 6-month-old baby – were killed in a shooting early on Monday at a home in central California, and authorities are searching for at least two suspects, sheriff’s officials said.Deputies responded around 3.30am to reports of multiple shots fired at the residence in unincorporated Goshen, just east of Visalia, the Tulare county sheriff’s office said. Continue reading...
Federal Aviation Administration looks into close call on Friday evening between American Airlines and Delta aircraftsThe Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a close call at JFK international airport on Friday evening in which two planes nearly collided on the runway.The incident took place between a Delta Air Lines aircraft bound for the Dominican Republic and an American Airlines flight. Continue reading...
Mayor says city’s strained care system can’t handle influx and blames government for lack of coordination during El Paso visitIn an unprecedented visit by a New York City mayor to the Mexico border, Eric Adams said his city doesn’t have enough “room” to host more migrants in its strained care system.He made his remarks on Sunday at a news conference during his trip to El Paso, Texas, the first visit of its kind by a New York mayor, after an ongoing crisis sparked by the controversial decision of some Republican governors in the south to send migrants to mostly Democratic-administered municipalities around the US. Continue reading...
The knees-up with old colleagues is like a time machine to the 90s, transporting me to an era when New Labour was new, Covid didn’t exist and I was youngIt was June 1997, politics had been renewed, the world was full of hope and the idea was born in my workplace that everyone should have a ceremonial lunch on Friday 13th. Well, not everyone – only 13 people. This was fine, because realistically 13 is the maximum number of people you are going to like in any office. Originally, it was male-only, but then I went wild – I think I threatened to take the lunch to a tribunal – and after that women were included.A few points of clarification. This was Fleet Street in the luxurious 90s (and not the Guardian). The world, especially the newspaper world, was swimming in money. It was not unusual to have to pay contributors with something other than money, because the fee for a single article would tip them into a new tax band. I distinctly remember an editor ducking into a side office to buy two grand’s worth of antiquarian books for some writer called Barry. It could have been Barry Norman, or Barry Humphries, or some completely different Barry, and it may have been three grand, because the other thing about the era was that we were all at lunch constantly, so after noon the details got a bit hazy and all the Barrys merged into one. Continue reading...
Keith Davis, 31, shot by police, was repeatedly charged over shooting at Pimlico race track in June 2015A Baltimore man who stood trial four times for the same killing had all charges against him dropped on Friday.In a statement, the Baltimore state attorney, Ivan J Bates, said his office had dismissed all charges against Keith Davis, 31, who was accused of the 2015 killing of Kevin Jones, a security guard at Pimlico Race Course, after police alleged Davis’s gun matched casings found at the scene of the shooting. Continue reading...
Even if disasters feel far away, we all live in the same planetary neighborhood. Can we unite in our response to the crisis?I live in the Bay Area, famous for its mild weather, a place where climate change feels a bit abstract – the problem of people residing in distant lands. It’s easy to scroll through images of the increasing weather disasters – cyclones, tornados, blizzards, floods, mud slides, rising seas and wildfires – feeling horror but also a little smug at the luck of living in the land of year-round shorts and relentless sunshine.But our luck changed on New Year’s Eve, when a line of killer storms began to assault California, soaking us with 24tn gallons of water, killing 19 people and causing more than 1bn dollars in damages. Continue reading...
Fewer precautions, recent holidays and subvariants have driven rise but boosters, masks and other measures still effective. Plus, will Donald Trump be allowed to return to Facebook?
by Dani Anguiano in Los Angeles and Gabrielle Canon i on (#67W4B)
The series of storms that have pummeled the state have killed at least 19 people and left swaths of land floodedAs more dangerous storms bear down on California, the state is only just beginning to grapple with the destruction and death left by weeks of extreme weather that wreaked havoc in nearly every region from the northern coast to Los Angeles.The series of storms that have pummeled California since late December have killed at least 19 people, brought hurricane force winds that toppled trees and power lines, cutting energy to thousands, and flooded roads and rivers, covering swaths of land in dense mud and debris that stretches for miles. Entire communities have been forced to evacuate while road closures and power disruptions left some rural regions isolated and almost cut off from the outside world. Continue reading...
by Richard Luscombe in Miami and agencies on (#67W4A)
Biden shifts toward political center as likely presidential rival Ron DeSantis calls out national guardAuthorities in Florida have been turning back growing numbers of undocumented Cubans and Haitians arriving by sea in recent weeks as more attempt to seek haven in the US.Local US residents on jet skis have been helping some of the migrants who attempted to swim ashore after making arduous and life-threatening, days-long journeys in makeshift vessels. Continue reading...
Members of an outreach program that provides housing and behavioral health services aim to tackle the issue at its rootLike millions of New Yorkers, Antoinette Wilson and Ciarah Richmond spend time on the subway system. One day last week, they were on a platform at 168th street in Washington Heights, where the 1 and A lines connect at one of the system’s warmest stations.That makes it a likely spot to meet people experiencing homelessness, an issue that appears to many to be observably worsening across the city. Continue reading...
The deals struck between Kevin McCarthy and the far-right House Freedom Caucus will give the most conservative figures considerable powerThe deals struck between the new House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, and almost 20 members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus are already emboldening the most conservative figures in the Republican party with moves set to give the caucus considerable power in the months ahead.In order to secure the speakership McCarthy was forced into a humiliating series of defeats before his deal-making and concessions finally offered enough to bring rebel members of the Freedom Caucus onboard. Continue reading...
Where does the responsibility lie in the recent shooting in Newport News, Virginia, for a country so inured to gun violence?The shooting of a Virginia teacher by her six-year-old student last week left the town of Newport News and the rest of the US shaken and shocked.Even in a country long used to the sort of school shootings that are rare in much of the rest of the world, the astonishingly young age of the shooter prompted a bout of public agonizing in the US about its gun violence problem. Continue reading...
The far-right Republican congresswoman was served with a cease-and-desist letter after she soundtracked a promotional video with his 1999 hit Still DreDr Dre has successfully blocked Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from using his music in any context to do with her political career after she used his 1999 hit Still Dre to soundtrack a promotional video.In the nearly two-minute video, posted on 9 January with the caption, “It’s time to begin … and they can’t stop what’s coming”, the far-right Georgia lawmaker walks out of her office in slow motion to the familiar first notes of the song, which features Snoop Dogg. Continue reading...
Before this season, the New York Giants QB was best known for tripping over his own feet. Now he is a formidable dual threatThe NFL boasts quarterbacks with signature styles. There’s Patrick Mahomes and his bag of tricks. Joe Burrow oozing with confidence on the field while donning fur and smoking stogies off it. Lamar Jackson, the ultimate offensive threat. Then there’s Daniel Jones who doesn’t look like anything remarkable, has almost no swagger, and prior to this season was best known as the guy who tripped over himself on an 80-yard run during the 2020 season.That was then. This is now. Jones showed glimpses of his talent before Brian Daboll arrived as head coach of the New York Giants. With limited offensive help, Jones put up 400 yards and shepherded a comeback win over the Saints in 2021, he’s dominated Washington, and that run in which he stumbled over himself … it had a top speed of 21.23mph, one of the fastest for any quarterback in history. But Jones also made a number of mistakes and collected too many losses in his first few years in New York. The Giants declined Jones’s fifth-year option, and his future had been talkshow fodder in the Big Apple. Continue reading...
The ex-president was banned after the Capitol riots in 2021. Will his return rile social media’s ‘cauldron of extremism’?It’s been a little more than two years since Meta suspended Donald Trump from Facebook and Instagram over his actions during the January 6 Capitol riots. Now, a major decision looms – reinstate Trump’s account, or keep him off the platform for good?It’s a widely-watched decision that will set a new precedent for how social media firms balance free speech with content moderation, especially when it comes to world leaders and other newsworthy individuals. Continue reading...
Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson grilled on why Jared Kushner should escape scrutiny for profiting from proximity to presidencyThe Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson refused to say Republicans planning investigations of Hunter Biden for profiting from his connection to the presidency should also investigate Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser who secured a $1.2bn loan from Qatar while working in the White House.“I’m concerned about getting to the truth,” Johnson insisted. “I don’t target individuals.” Continue reading...
New York congressman’s résumé is largely fiction and campaign finance questions abide but support is vital for speaker McCarthyThe New York Republican congressman George Santos, whose résumé has been shown to be largely fictional, whose campaign finances are the subject of increasing scrutiny and who is under local, federal and international investigation, is a “bad guy” who has done “really bad” things, the new House oversight committee chairman said on Sunday.But Santos should not be forced to quit, James Comer said. Continue reading...
Death toll at 19 after prolonged spell of rain and snow caused by atmospheric rivers set to continue until TuesdayJoe Biden has declared a major disaster in California following devastating winter storms leading to flooding and mudslides and the deaths of at least 19 people.On Saturday, Biden ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in areas affected by storms since late December. Continue reading...
President gave sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and spoke about the need to protect democracyJoe Biden marked what would have been Martin Luther King Jr’s 94th birthday with a sermon on Sunday at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, celebrating the legacy of the civil rights leader while speaking about the urgent need to protect US democracy.Biden said he was “humbled” to become the first sitting president to give the Sunday sermon at King’s church, also describing the experience as “intimidating”. Continue reading...
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