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The farcical scenes among US Republicans have echoes in our Tory party. Both promise disruption, then deliver exactly thatThe US right has this week been staging a clown show that has had liberals in that country and beyond pulling up a chair and breaking out the popcorn. There has been a karmic pleasure in watching the Republicans who won control of the House of Representatives struggle to complete the most basic piece of business – the election of a speaker – but it’s also been instructive, and not only to Americans. For it has confirmed the dirty little secret of that strain of rightwing populist politics that revels in what it calls disruption: it always ends in bitter factional fighting, chaos and paralysis. We in Britain should know, because Brexit has gone the exact same way.Start with the karma that saw House Republicans gather two years to the day since they sought to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from one party to another: often overlooked in the anniversary recollections of 6 January 2021 is that, mere hours after rioters had stormed the US Capitol, a majority of Republican House members voted to do precisely as the rioters had demanded and overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Yet here were those same House Republicans on 6 January 2023, having prevented the smooth transfer of power from one party to another – except this time, the party they were thwarting was their own. Continue reading...

California Republican finally able to convince hard-right detractors after a week of negotiations and concessionsThe Republican leader Kevin McCarthy was elected as speaker of the US House of Representatives in a dramatic late-night vote, after quelling a days-long revolt from a bloc of far-right conservatives to finally capture the gavel on a historic 15th attempt.McCarthy’s ascension to speaker came after 14 defeats and a string of concessions to ultraconservative lawmakers that would significantly weaken his power while strengthening their influence over the party’s new House majority. After winning over most of the holdouts earlier on Friday, McCarthy withstood a surprise defeat on the 14th ballot later that evening and finally clinched the gavel on the next round with the slimmest majority, just 216 votes, in the early hours of Saturday morning. Continue reading...

Albuquerque police say houses and workplaces of state and county politicians have been hit by gunfire over the last monthNew Mexico authorities are investigating at least five shootings apparently directed at the homes and offices of local elected officials, the Albuquerque police department said on Thursday.The shootings occurred over approximately the past month and were directed at two county commissioners, two state senators and New Mexico’s new attorney general, according to KQRE News. Continue reading...

Republicans had placed their hopes in a deal with far-right detractors, but Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert thwarted that planIn a stunning setback, Republican Kevin McCarthy failed to persuade the remaining bloc of far-right holdouts in his party to back him for speaker during a late-night vote on Friday – his 14th attempt in four days – leaving the embattled leader one vote shy of clinching the gavel.Walking onto the chamber floor, McCarthy appeared confident that the vote would be his last. But the Republican’s optimism soured when it became clear that he had once again failed to reach the threshold needed to break the impasse that has paralyzed the start of the new Congress. Continue reading...

Authorities said they had arrested the boy for shooting a female teacher at Richneck elementary school in Newport NewsA six-year-old child deliberately shot a teacher at an elementary school in Virginia on Friday afternoon, according to police.Police said in a statement that they have arrested the boy accused of shooting a female teacher at Richneck elementary school in Newport News, Virginia, a city in the south-eastern part of the state. Continue reading...

House party leader says he’s confident he has the votes after losing 13 straight rounds

Norman Pattis cannot practice in Connecticut after releasing medical records of Sandy Hook families during Infowars host’s trialA judge has suspended the license of a lawyer who was representing Alex Jones when the attorney appeared to have accidentally released sensitive court records surrounding the defamation lawsuits after the Sandy Hook school killings that the notorious conspiracy theorist lost.In a court order that she issued on Thursday, Connecticut judge Barbara Bellis suspended New Haven-based Norman Pattis from practicing law in the state for six months. Continue reading...

The president spoke with passion about police officers and election officials who held the line on the second anniversary of the attempted insurrectionJoe Biden has marked the second anniversary of the January 6 insurrection by awarding medals to heroes who “did not flinch” when the US Capitol came under attack and warning that democracy cannot be taken for granted.The US president on Friday awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal to 14 people, some posthumously, and spoke with passion – and flashes of humour – at a White House ceremony. Continue reading...

Fresh concerns raised over stripping away of measures put in place by Democrats after January 6 insurrectionTwo years after the January 6 insurrection, fresh fears are being raised over safety for lawmakers and staff at the US Capitol, especially as Republicans have stripped away some of the security measures installed in the wake of the deadly attack on Congress.House Republicans, who secured a narrow majority in the 2022 midterm elections, removed the metal detectors outside the House chamber ready for the first day of business of the 118th Congress on Tuesday 3 January. Continue reading...

In a speech at the White House, Joe Biden paid tribute to the law enforcement officers who defended the US Capitol against a violent mob of Donald Trump-incited insurrectionists two years ago

Hundreds of members of Congress gathered to pay tribute to five police officers whose deaths have been tied to the insurrectionSenior Democrats on Friday led a large and poignant gathering on the steps of the US Capitol in Washington to commemorate the “solemn day” on the second anniversary of the deadly January 6 insurrection by extremist supporters of Donald Trump.Hundreds of members of Congress paid tribute to five police officers whose deaths have been tied to the violent insurrection in 2021, as rioters overwhelmed law enforcement and broke into the Capitol at the urging of the then president, intent on stopping the official certification of his election defeat by Joe Biden. Continue reading...

Democrat Lucas Kunce says ‘I swear this coward is always running from something’ as he announces bid to challenge key RepublicanAnnouncing a run for US Senate in 2024, the populist Missouri Democrat Lucas Kunce released an ad focusing on how his prospective opponent, the Republican senator Josh Hawley, ran from the mob he encouraged on the day the US Capitol came under attack.“I’ve done a lot of running in my life,” Kunce said, over footage of a man in a ripped suit running on a country road, dropping a US flag pin. Continue reading...

Succession of powerful storms bring heavy rains and hurricane-strength winds, flooding streets and causing at least six deathsCalifornians used a brief lull in a series of brutal storms to survey the damage on Friday, while bracing for the next onslaught of extreme weather due to arrive this weekend.A succession of powerful storms have brought heavy rains and hurricane-strength winds over the past two days, knocking out power to thousands, battering the coastline, flooding streets, toppling trees and causing at least six deaths. Continue reading...

Immanuel Patton promised his mother while he was in kindergarten that they would get their degrees togetherA Maryland mother and son have both just graduated from the same university – almost two decades after a pledge the pair made to complete their degrees together.Immanuel Patton, 23, graduated alongside his mother, Carolyn, 63, last month from the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) in Adelphi, on the outskirts of Baltimore. Continue reading...

ChatGPT tool will be forbidden across all devices and networks in public schools over ‘concerns about negative impacts on learning’New York City schools have banned ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence chatbot that generates human-like writing including essays, amid fears that students could use it to cheat.According to the city’s education department, the tool will be forbidden across all devices and networks in New York’s public schools. Jenna Lyle, a department spokesperson, said the decision stems from “concerns about negative impacts on student learning, and concerns regarding the safety and accuracy of contents”. Continue reading...

Election spectacle shows any speaker will face significant hurdles in trying to advance legislation, including must-pass billsThe House Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy, began the first week of the 118th Congress striking a defiant tone, insisting he would not abandon his quest for the speakership until he was declared the winner.“I have the record for the longest speech ever on the floor,” McCarthy said on Tuesday. “I don’t have a problem getting a record for the most votes for speaker, too.” Continue reading...

Financial chief James Kehoe admits company may have overstated purported problem, which fueled rightwing outrage over crimeA major US drugstore chain that supposedly experienced a surge in shoplifting last year – fanning the flames of conservative outrage over a purported spike in crime and disorder – said on Thursday that it might have overstated the problem.Walgreens’ chief financial officer, James Kehoe, said during an earnings call that “shrinkage” – the difference between a balance-sheet inventory and actual stock – had returned to lower levels after a brief rise. Retail shrinkage is largely due to theft, though some is also due to accidental damage or loss. Continue reading...

Hakeem Jeffries and Nancy Pelosi have led an emotional commemoration on the steps of the US Capitol building to mark the second anniversary of the January 6 Capitol riot.

The extreme Republicans blocking Kevin McCarthy are refusing to accept a loss – the core of the Trumpist playbookAutocrats around the world, after a pretty bad 2022, must be delighted: just in time for the second anniversary of the Capitol insurrection, the US is providing a spectacle of democratic dysfunction for stunned global audiences to behold. But the Republican faction holding the country hostage – the farthest right inside what de facto has become a far-right party – wants to convince us that this is simply what democracy looks like – messy and frustrating, but all happening for the sake of a better result in the end. The Groundhog Day-style procedures are dignified as – in the words of failed speaker of the House candidate Byron Donalds – a “deliberative, open process” necessary for the “constitutional republic that is America”.The fact is that the Republicans blocking Kevin McCarthy’s bid for speaker are not crazy when they suggest that good-faith debate within the same political party can be beneficial for a democratic polity. Except that their political performance art is really about a refusal to accept a loss – the very core of the Trumpist playbook. This is not what democracy looks like; this is what acting out a belief in minority rule looks like. Continue reading...

Lawsuit filed by Sandra Garza alleges ex-president’s ‘campaign of lies’ played a ‘significant role’ in the death of Brian SicknickThe partner of Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick, who died after the January 6 attack on Congress, has sued Donald Trump, alleging that the former president’s “campaign of lies and incendiary rhetoric” about the 2020 presidential election motivated the mob, and played a “significant role in the medical condition” that killed the officer.The lawsuit, filed in Washington DC federal court, names Trump and two other January 6 rioters who attacked Sicknick, and demands millions in damages. It was brought by Sicknick’s longtime partner, Sandra Garza, a day before the insurrection’s second anniversary. Continue reading...

The Biden administration made two moves to protect medication abortionThere have been so few victories for the pro-choice movement over the past year that women’s rights advocates can be forgiven for taking pleasure in two moves that the Biden administration made this week.The first, from the Department of Justice (DoJ), was a statement meant to push back against a legal absurdity that is gaining popularity on the anti-choice right: the idea that the 1873 Comstock Act, an archaic anti-obscenity law, prohibits the sending of abortion medication through the mail. The second was a move by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow mifepristone, one of the two drugs used in medication abortions, to be distributed at retail pharmacies, rather than exclusively from doctors.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

Law enforcement killed at least 1,176 people or about 100 people a month last year, making it the deadliest for police violenceUS law enforcement killed at least 1,176 people in 2022, making it the deadliest year on record for police violence since experts first started tracking the killings, a new data analysis reveals.Police across the country killed an average of more than three people a day, or nearly 100 people every month last year according to Mapping Police Violence. The non-profit research group maintains a database of reported deaths at the hands of law enforcement, including people fatally shot, beaten, restrained and Tasered. Continue reading...

Ahead of a high-stakes presidential election next year, American democracy will face another testIn 2022, America’s democracy survived an enormous test.As a movement to sow doubt about American elections grew – fomented by Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 race – the 2022 election ran largely smoothly. Eligible votes were counted and the valid winners of contests were seated in office. Continue reading...

Impasse over choosing House speaker continues as Republican falls short of votes held up by his detractors. Plus, an expert’s tips for better sleepGood morning.Despite House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy entering the third day of voting for House speaker with fresh momentum for his candidacy, the 118th Congress made history again yesterday, as he failed to win for the 11th time after eight hours of voting.Who are the hardline House members voting against McCarthy? A group of about 20 hardline Republicans have brought Washington to a standstill. They include Pennsylvania’s Scott Perry, who is the chair of the caucus, Florida’s Byron Donalds, Texas Republican Chip Roy and Lauren Boebert, who has expressed support for the QAnon conspiracy theory.What did Bowers Bowers tell the House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection? He said that shortly after the November 2020 election he had received a phone call personally from Trump, who asked him to take the state’s 11 electoral college votes away from Biden and hand them to him. Bowers replied: “Look, you’re asking me to do something that is counter to my oath … I will not do it.” Continue reading...

Climate disasters continue to ravage our country – more international aid is urgently needed to save millions from misery

Rusty Bowers is one of 12 people who took risks to protect US democracy who will be honored on anniversary of January 6Rusty Bowers, the former top Republican in Arizona’s house of representatives who stood up to Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and was punished for it by being unseated by his own party, is to receive America’s second-highest civilian honor on Friday.Bowers will be among 12 people who will be awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by Joe Biden at the White House at a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the 6 January 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol. It will be the first time that the president has presented the honor, which is reserved for those who have “performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens”. Continue reading...

There’s plenty to play for as the NFL wraps up its regular season on Saturday and Sunday. Here’s a primer for the games that will decide the last remaining playoff spotsWith the final week of the NFL regular season kicking off on Saturday and continuing into Sunday, the postseason picture remains incomplete. Here’s a primer for the games that will decide the last remaining playoff berths: Continue reading...

Mexican authorities have captured Ovidio Guzmán, a son of the incarcerated drugs kingpin Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, prompting a furious response from cartel gunmen in the northern city of Culiacán.

Buffalo Bills player remains in intensive care after cardiac arrest during game but is communicating and showing good signs of recovery, say doctorsBuffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin is awake and able to communicate with his medical team after the NFL safety suffered cardiac arrest on the field during a Monday night game in Cincinnati, his doctors say.Two physicians caring for the 24-year-old told reporters on Thursday he was “demonstrating signs of good neurological recovery” and was able to communicate in writing. Continue reading...

After more than eight hours and five votes, would-be speaker Kevin McCarthy lost his 11th speakership ballot. This is the most drawn-out speakership vote since 1859. With McCarthy's supporters and foes locked in stalemate, feelings of boredom and desperation seemed increasingly evident with no quick end in sight

The impasse over choosing a House speaker continued as Republican fell short of votes held up by his detractorsThe 118th Congress made history again on Thursday, as House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy failed to win the speakership for the 11th time after eight hours of voting. The protracted stalemate marks the first time since 1859 that the House has required more than nine ballots to determine a new speaker.McCarthy entered the third day of voting with fresh momentum for his candidacy, amid reports that he had made significant concessions to his roughly 20 detractors within the Republican conference. Continue reading...

Meet the most prominent ultraconservative GOP members blocking the California representative’s bid for the gavelA group of about 20 hardline Republican have brought Washington to a standstill by torpedoing party favourite Kevin McCarthy’s bid to become speaker of the US House of Representatives across successive rounds of voting this week.The House cannot perform any of its vital functions – including overseeing national security, investigating government misconduct and passing legislation – until its presiding officer is in place. Continue reading...

Police not looking for anyone else after finding family, including five children, dead at homeA Utah man fatally shot his five children, his mother-in-law and his wife and then killed himself two weeks after the woman had filed for divorce, according to authorities and public records.Police also revealed during a Thursday news conference that officers investigated the 42-year-old man and his family a “couple of years prior”, suggesting possible earlier problems inside the household. Enoch police chief Jackson Ames did not elaborate. Continue reading...

If you return to the same spot often enough, you’ll get to know the regularsThe movie adaptation of Tim Winton’s novel Blueback is out this week. It focuses on a friendship with a big friendly fish – the blue groper; and the powerful response to humans threatening the animal. As with My Octopus Teacher, it’s a highly emotive story, and seen by most people as unusual or unique. Because humans only befriend domestic animals such as cats and dogs. Or do they?Let’s start with the blue groper. This is a charismatic Australian native, with many interesting characteristics. They are protogynous hermaphrodites, starting life as juveniles with the potential to be male or female; and always starting as green-coloured females. The dominant male has a harem and, if he dies, the largest female will become male and adopt the striking blue hue which gives the fish its name. These fish can live up to 70 years and are the state emblem of New South Wales. Continue reading...

Officials order evacuations in high-risk coastal area in latest in rapid series of ‘atmospheric rivers’ to hit stateIt has been a deadly and destructive start to the year in California, as a series of severe storms slammed the state this week, toppling trees, submerging streets and sending water cascading into homes and businesses.The latest storm hit hard on Thursday – a powerful “atmospheric river” that brought with it hurricane-force winds and torrents of rain. At least two deaths have been reported in connection with the latest storm, including a child whose home was hit by a falling tree in Sonoma county. By Thursday morning, more than 163,500 people were without power, with little reprieve in sight. Continue reading...

Ex-secretary of state will assume position on 1 February, working alongside the School of International and Public Affairs deanFormer US secretary of state Hillary Clinton will join Columbia University as a global affairs professor at its School of International and Public Affairs (Sipa), it was announced on Thursday.The university president’s Lee Bollinger announced the new position for Clinton, who was secretary of state for Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013. Continue reading...

State department says it will stop writing the word Turkey and use preferred spelling of Türkiye in public communicationsThe US state department has said it will largely stop writing the word Turkey and instead call the country Türkiye, agreeing to a request by the Turkish government, which resents the inadvertent association with poultry.In a statement announcing measures to disrupt financiers of the Islamic State group, the state department wrote of joint action between “the United States and Türkiye”, written with an umlaut over the u. Continue reading...

State plans to pay $15,000 to those sterilized against their will in 1930s eugenics movement and more recently in state prisonsAbout 600 people alive today can’t have children because California’s government sterilized them either against their will or without their knowledge, and now the state is trying to find them so it can pay them at least $15,000 each in reparations.But after a year of searching, the state has approved just 51 people for payments out of 310 applications. There is one year left to look before the $4.5m program shuts down and the challenges remain steep. State officials have denied 103 people, closed three incomplete applications and are processing 153 others – but they say it is difficult to verify the applications as many records have been lost or destroyed. Continue reading...

Joe Biden has announced new border enforcement moves, expanding the parole process for Venezuelans to Nicaraguans, Haitians and Cubans, and imposing fresh penalties on people who attempt to cross the border unlawfully, increasing use of expedited removal.

The former policeman – who sustained injuries during the US Capitol attack – says January 6 was a ‘wake-up call’Nearly two years after American democracy was nearly derailed by the January 6 insurrection, a survivor of the attack gathered with Democratic lawmakers outside the US Capitol to warn that the Republican party’s paralysis of Congress is a sign that political violence is as much a threat as ever.“The events of that day felt like a wake-up call for me – and many others – that political violence is real. The worst part is that our elected leaders allow this to happen. And yet, this week people who encouraged and even attended the insurrection are now taking their places as leaders in the new House majority,” said Michael Fanone, a former Washington DC police officer who sustained grievous injuries while battling supporters of Donald Trump. Continue reading...

Authorities tested family’s household trash for DNA and found match on knife sheath, court documents showThe suspect accused of murdering four University of Idaho students in their beds was linked to the slayings after authorities tested his family’s household trash for DNA and found a match on a knife sheath at the scene, according to court documents released on Thursday.The newly disclosed filing also portrays a chilling account of survival, with one roommate telling police that the mask-clad killer walked past her as he left. Continue reading...

The vacancy will make Michigan’s Senate seat one of the most competitive in the nation, as Republicans vie for more controlMichigan senator Debbie Stabenow, a member of the Democratic leadership, announced on Thursday that she would not seek re-election in 2024, setting the stage for a fierce contest to claim an open seat in a critical midwestern battleground state.Stabenow, 72, is the first Senate Democrat to announce her retirement ahead of 2024, when the party will try to defend its razor-thin majority by fending off challenges to incumbents in several states that former president Donald Trump won. Continue reading...

Decision means state’s ban with exceptions for rape and incest will be immediately and permanently struck downThe South Carolina supreme court has ruled that the state’s six-week ban on abortion is unconstitutional, under the right to privacy.The 3-2 decision will mean the state’s six-week abortion ban with exceptions for rape and incest will be immediately and permanently struck down. Abortion will remain legal in South Carolina up until 22 weeks of pregnancy. Continue reading...

Firefighters describe struggling through butter ‘three inches thick’ on steps as they battled blaze at factoryA fire that broke out a Wisconsin dairy plant on Monday night sent a river of melted butter flowing across the factory floor and into nearby storm drains, where it clogged a historic water artery.The conflagration erupted at an Associated Milk Producers facility in Portage around 9pm local time, firefighters said on Wednesday. Nobody was injured. Continue reading...

Workers face stagnant wages and short staffing despite the airline enjoying soaring profits coming out of the pandemicWorkers at Delta Air Lines are currently holding union organizing drives, citing tough working conditions in the US airline industry in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and stagnant wages despite the airline making hefty profits.The unions are in the process of collecting a majority of union authorization cards to merit a union election with the National Mediation Board, announcing a joint collective effort several weeks ago. Continue reading...