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Remember how horrified we all were when Trump became president and now it’s like noooo go away

Co-owner of Club Q, where five people were killed, says targeting of drag event is linked to hate fostered by lies about the communityThe co-owner of the Colorado Springs gay nightclub that was the scene of a mass shooting believes the attack is a reflection of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment that has evolved from prejudice to incitement.Authorities haven’t said why the suspect allegedly opened fired at the club on Saturday, killing five people and wounding 17 others. The suspect, Anderson Lee Aldrich, has not entered a plea or spoken about the incident but is facing possible hate crime charges. Continue reading...

President says he will seek to pass gun control before new Congress is seated in January, but odds of success are lowJoe Biden reiterated his calls on Thursday to ban assault weapons after mass shootings at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs on Saturday and a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, on Tuesday left 11 people dead.While visiting a firehouse on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, to thank first responders on Thanksgiving, Biden told reporters he would attempt to pass some form of gun control before a new Congress is seated in January, possibly renewing his attempt to ban assault weapons. Continue reading...

When the US meet England on Friday night, they will effectively be facing one of the reasons for the sport’s rising profile back homeUSA captain Tyler Adams was a 13-year-old New York Red Bulls academy prospect in 2012 when NBC became the exclusive US media rights-holder for the Premier League in a deal that has since been credited with propelling soccer to new heights of popularity in the United States.Until then, nearly all English league matches were carried on Fox Soccer, a pay channel buried deep down the cable listings, inevitably limiting the sport’s mainstream exposure. NBC’s deal for both the English- and Spanish-language media rights to all 380 Premier League fixtures – for a then-bargain fee of $250m over three years that has since been renewed for $2.7bn over the next six – established soccer in the American sports firmament like never before by making matches available on both free-to-air television and NBC’s family of cable networks. Continue reading...

Law enforcement killed Glass, 22, after he called 911 amid what his mother called a mental health crisisA grand jury has indicted two Colorado sheriff’s deputies in the death of a 22-year-old man who was shot after calling 911 for roadside assistance while experiencing what his mother described as a mental health crisis, according to online court records.The indictments of the former Clear Creek county sheriff’s deputies Andrew Buen and Kyle Gould were returned on Wednesday, five months after law enforcement killed Christian Glass. The case has become a flashpoint amid a national outcry for police reforms focused on crisis intervention and de-escalation. Continue reading...

City’s board of supervisors to consider proposal involving remote-controlled devicesThe San Francisco police department has proposed that it be allowed to use robots with “deadly force” while responding to incidents, according to a policy draft.The document outlines how the department proposes to use its collection of robots, which number 17 in total although 12 are not operational. Continue reading...

Suit alleges university caused ‘acute stress reaction’ that led to goalie’s suicideThe family of Katie Meyer, a star soccer goalie for Stanford University who died by suicide in March, has sued the university for wrongful death.The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday and reviewed by CNN, alleges that the university administrators’ actions caused her to “suffer an acute stress reaction that impulsively led to her suicide”. Continue reading...

Ex-vice-president considering the request, according to sources, but said last week he would not testify to the January 6 panelThe US justice department has asked Mike Pence to testify in the criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, according to a person familiar with the matter.The request came before the attorney general, Merrick Garland, appointed a special counsel last week to oversee inquiries examining Trump, which are focused on two areas: potential mishandling of national security documents, and the January 6 Capitol attack. Continue reading...

JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank also face lawsuits in connection with Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged sex traffickingA New York law that temporarily allows adult survivors of sexual abuse to sue their abusers beyond the statute of limitations for civil claims came into effect on Thursday – and with it, the first of what could be hundreds of new legal actions.Among the first claims filed under the Adult Survivors Act (ASA), signed into law in May by Governor Kathy Hochul, is that of E Jean Carroll, a writer who accused Donald Trump of rape. Carroll filed an upgraded lawsuit against Trump minutes after the new state law took effect. Continue reading...

Man tells reporter he was relieved his child ‘wasn’t gay’ after hearing about shootingThe father of the suspected Colorado Springs shooter has provoked a backlash over comments he made over the armed attack on LGTBQ+ bar that killed five and wounded 17.In a series of interviews, Aaron Brink told San Diego’s CBS8 that when he first received a telephone call from his child’s public defender, his first reaction was to question why his child was in the club.This article was amended on 24 November 2022. An earlier version misstated the location of Aldrich’s mother’s house. Continue reading...

Runoffs lasted nine weeks in previous elections – but under new law, timeline is shortened to 28 days after general electionGeorgia’s midterm election cycle continues with the state’s highly anticipated US Senate runoff between the incumbent Democrat senator Raphael Warnock and controversial Republican candidate Herschel Walker. However, unlike years past, under the state’s new election integrity law, early voting for the runoff begins just as the general election comes to a close, giving voters a historically small window of time to cast their ballot.In previous elections, runoffs lasted nine weeks. Under the new law, SB202, which includes a spate of new voting restrictions, the timeline has been shortened substantially and must occur 28 days after the general election. This timeframe is especially important because voters must now register 30 days before an election, making it impossible for new voters to register between the general election, which took place on 8 November, and the runoff. Continue reading...

Guns have killed 22 people and injured 44 in Thanksgiving week. Plus, could hemp be a key tool in the fight against global heating?Good morning.The six people killed by a gunman at a Walmart store in southern Virginia late on Tuesday have been named, in the latest mass shooting to strike the US, this time shortly before the Thanksgiving holiday.‘It’s the guns’. Twenty-two people have been killed and 44 injured by guns in Thanksgiving week, as 2022 shapes up to be one of the worst years in recent memory. But the public response has fallen quickly and predictably into patterns all too familiar to observers of America’s gun crisis.Did Trump commit a crime in connection with the events of January 6? Pence told NBC on Sunday: “I don’t know if it is criminal to listen to bad advice from lawyers.” Continue reading...

Rob Green and Bert Williams have unfortunate roles in the history of two teams who meet again in QatarAt least Rob Green can laugh about it now. “I was doing the school run when I found out England had drawn USA in their group at the World Cup,” the former goalkeeper wrote in the Mail on Sunday this week. “I had just enough time to send one tweet, with one emoji, a pair of eyes. As if to say: ‘Well this is awkward.’”But despite his blunder that helped the United States hold Fabio Capello’s side to a 1-1 draw in their opening match in 2010, Green – who is working as a pundit for BBC radio in Qatar – is not the only England goalkeeper to have bitter memories of facing them at a World Cup. Continue reading...

Gareth Southgate’s team selection worked perfectly against Iran but also showcased the importance of England’s finishersIn the 71st minute of England’s victory over Iran, Gareth Southgate brought on Phil Foden, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish. They are not traditional substitutes, they are the manager’s finishers – the players brought on to lift the tempo and see the match out. They made a difference and could do once more against the USA on Friday.Gregg Berhalter’s side struggled to hold Wales in the second half because their stamina levels were depleted and a tired challenge from Walker Zimmerman on Gareth Bale resulted in a late penalty. If the USA run out of steam in the same manner, they could face an even tougher final quarter against the freshness of England’s bench. Continue reading...

Sheng Thao says her experiences will help her lead the city through its severe housing crisisAt the steps of city hall, surrounded by supporters and a gaggle of press, Oakland’s new mayor-elect Sheng Thao exhaled.“It’s been a long journey,” she began. “We’ve been through a lot to get to this moment right here.” Continue reading...

Far-right Republican congresswoman has record of anti-LGBTQ+ statements that advocates call ‘dangerous’LGBTQ+ advocates in the US have criticized the far-right Colorado Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert as a hypocrite in light of her past anti-LGBTQ+ statements after she offered prayers to the victims of the recent Club Q mass shooting in Colorado Springs.The shooting at the LGBTQ+ club that left five dead took place on the eve of the Transgender Day of Remembrance. ACLU-Colorado’s senior policy strategist and trans activist Anaya Robinson called Boebert’s condolences “disingenuous”, and blamed incendiary comments about the community for such tragedies. Continue reading...

Don Shula’s team won every single game on their way to victory in Super Bowl VII. They are still the only NFL team to have recorded a perfect seasonIt’s been 50 years since the 1972 Miami Dolphins became the first (and, so far, only) team in NFL history to win every game in a season. For many who played on the Dolphins that year, it’s hard to reconcile the passage of time with the immediacy of the memories. “Fifty years is a long time ago,” laughs Dick Anderson, the Dolphins’ Pro Bowl safety in 1972, but it “feels like it was yesterday.”It’s useful to quickly clarify one aspect of the ’72 Dolphins’ achievement – for a finicky reason, the phrase “perfect season” (rather than “undefeated season”) is often used to describe the campaign. Although ties are uncommon in today’s game, they were once relatively prevalent. In the 1920s, four teams technically finished their seasons ‘undefeated,’ although each of them finished with at least one draw. As such, the Dolphins’ lossless and tieless 1972 season remains unique in NFL history. The league itself has acknowledged the team’s peerless performance – the ’72 Dolphins were judged to be the greatest team in NFL history during the league’s centennial celebrations in 2019. Continue reading...

The 90-year-old sociologist on ‘vengeance politics’, cruelty and climate change as she looks back on half a century of activismFrances Fox Piven has a warning for America. Don’t get too relaxed, there could be worse to come.“I don’t think this fight over elemental democracy is over, by any means,” she said. “The United States was well on the road to becoming a fascist country – and it still can become a fascist country.” Continue reading...

As a teenager, I argued with my parents about covering up. Then I saw a photo of my mother wearing a short dress in 1950s SudanOn 16 September, Mahsa Amini was arrested by Iran’s morality police after supposedly wearing her hijab incorrectly and sporting skinny jeans. Later that night, she died in their custody. Amini’s family claim the morality police beat her to death, an accusation they have since denied. What has followed have been the country’s largest protests in recent years. Iranians of all ages, ethnicities and genders have joined in the demonstrations. I watched on and did my due diligence by posting on social media too, but I also couldn’t help reflect on my own relationship to clothing – and freedom.Can you be free and wear the hijab? It’s worn by many of my family and friends, and it was always presented to me as a choice when I was young. Modesty, however, was more important. I’m of Sudanese origin but I grew up in Northern Ireland, where, as a teenager, it wasn’t trendy to cover up. I spent years battling with my parents, who would be telling me that I was showing too much skin, that I should never show my cleavage or midriff. In the late 1990s fashions changed from crop tops to long T-shirts. I remember my mother’s relief that we wouldn’t have to go through the “go get changed” conversation every time I wanted to leave the house.Basma Khalifa is a Sudanese multi-disciplinary creative living 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.

The documentary maker Ondi Timoner explains why, having followed ‘impossible visionaries’ in movies such as Dig!, it made sense to record her father’s final daysLast year, I made the most personal film of my career, about my father Eli’s death. In January 2021, aged 92, Dad was in hospital, bedbound, with no prospect of recovery. My mother was struggling to cope. The only option appeared to be going to a facility for his remaining months.I’ve been a film-maker for 30 years and have always dreamed of telling my father’s story. I tend to make films about characters I describe as “impossible visionaries”: people with a singular vision who sometimes act impossibly to try and realise it – and to withstand the doubt and ridicule they incur. Continue reading...

Half an hour with no decisions to make? That’s my idea of blissI had an MRI scan recently. There I lay, strapped in, with a roof tile laid on my chest. Would I like to listen to some music? No, ta. Then I was told it would take half an hour and I changed my mind about the music, but the bloke had gone. Silence it was. Silence, that is, apart from the weird, irregular clanking and banging noises these things make. It was a feet-first entry, which felt like being loaded into a canon for a daredevil stunt. There was also a lot of going in and out. At first I thought this was the bloke trying to pick the right spot but it turned out this was the nature of this particular scan – something to do with veins that I barely understood. In a bit, out a bit, all the way in, a bit out, all the way out, back in a bit, and so on.It ought to have been stressful, but it wasn’t. It was the opposite. I was soon intensely relaxed, having no choice but to submit to this whole disorientating caper. And that was the point – I had no choice, no options. My life’s too full of options, with thousands of decisions, on matters big and small, necessary every day. Now, for an increasingly wonderful half-hour, there were none. I had one job: to keep perfectly still as I was slid in and out at random depths like some absurdist representation of uncertain sexual intercourse. Had they been available at the time, these scanners would certainly have featured in Woody Allen’s film Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid To Ask).Adrian Chiles is a broadcaster, writer and Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Peltola made history to become the first woman to represent the state when she won a special election in AugustMary Peltola, a Democrat and the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress, has won her bid to retain the state’s sole seat in the House of Representatives.Peltola made history when she won a special election this summer to replace the Republican Don Young after his death. She is also the first woman to represent Alaska in Congress since it became a state in 1959. Continue reading...

Walmart employee says gunman, who police say killed himself, was manager who opened fire on workers gathered in break roomSix people were killed when a gunman opened fire at a Walmart store in southern Virginia late on Tuesday, in the latest mass shooting to strike the US, this time shortly before the Thanksgiving holiday. The gunman killed himself, police said.A witness, Jessie Wilczewski, told a local TV station, WAVY, the gunman began shooting at a group of about 14 employees gathered in a meeting room at the start of their shift in the store, located in the city of Chesapeake. Continue reading...

Patrons at Club Q flipped over tables for shelter after shots suddenly rang out across the venueDeanne VanScyoc said she had dropped to the floor behind a pool table at Club Q and called 911 as the first shots rang out just before midnight, hitting people at the bar.VanScyoc was facing the entrance from behind a glass wall when the shooter came in, she said. The shooter turned right and fired a single shot toward the bar, then three more in rapid succession, then a flurry of shots. As pop music pounded and a strobe light flashed, VanScyoc saw the shooter, in body armor, move in a crouch down a ramp, rifle at eye level, and head toward the dance floor. Continue reading...

Several politicians voice concerns about dominance of ticket sales company after botched release for singer’s tourA US Senate antitrust panel will go ahead with a hearing on the lack of competition in the country’s ticketing industry after Ticketmaster’s problems last week managing the sale of Taylor Swift tickets.Tickemaster’s parent company, Live Nation, has blamed presale problems for Swift’s Eras tour – the pop superstar’s first US tour in five years – on “unprecedented demand” and an effort to keep out bots run by ticket scalpers. Continue reading...

Speech of suspect in nightclub attack appears slurred as they are ordered held without bailThe alleged shooter facing possible hate crime charges in the fatal shooting of five people at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ nightclub was ordered held without bail in an initial court appearance on Wednesday, as the suspect sat slumped over in a wheelchair.Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, could be seen with injuries visible on their face and head in a brief video appearance from jail. Aldrich appeared to need prompting by defense attorneys and offered a slurred response when asked to state their name by the El Paso county court judge Charlotte Ankeny. Continue reading...

Les Rouges are still hunting their first ever World Cup goal, yet one can’t help but marvel at how far they’ve comeThe opportunities came one after another. From distance and from close range. From corners, free kicks and open play. The fearless upstarts from Canada who have spent the past couple of years upending North American’s football long-standing order had arrived on the global stage and were taking it to the world’s No 2 team.All of them shone on Monday night, from the stars to the supporting cast. Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan David, Tajon Buchanan, Alphonso Davies, Richie Laryea, Junior Hoilett, Alistair Johnston and the ageless captain Atiba Hutchinson, three months shy of his 40th birthday, made demands of Belgium’s creaking backline and their world-class goalkeeper. Any one of them might have written themselves into history as Canada’s first goalscorer at a men’s World Cup. Continue reading...

Bystander Valentina Orellana-Peralta, 14, was killed last year when police officer shot at assault suspect in storeA Los Angeles police officer who killed a 14-year-old girl in a clothing store last December was found to have violated police department policy when he fired multiple shots during an incident at the store, including one that struck and killed the teen.This week’s findings by the city’s police commission concern a case that shocked Los Angeles. Valentina Orellana-Peralta was killed on 23 December 2021 while shopping with her mother at a North Hollywood Burlington Coat Factory. The police officer, William Dorsey Jones Jr, opened fire at a man suspected of assaulting customers in the store. One of the bullets he fired struck and killed the teen, who was in a dressing room with her mother. Continue reading...

Republican ex-secretary of state called Randi Weingarten ‘most dangerous person in the world’ and said teachers taught ‘filth’Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), has denounced the former secretary of state Mike Pompeo for calling her “the most dangerous person in the world” and asserting that the nation’s schoolteachers teach “filth”.Speaking to the Guardian Weingarten said Pompeo’s remarks were not just demagogic, but also dangerous, warning that they could incite violence. She said Pompeo, who also served as Donald Trump’s CIA director, attacked her because she is “Jewish, gay, teacher and union” and was clearly stoking rightwing hate as he considers a presidential run. Continue reading...

Lower court’s ruling overturning the ban put on hold while state supreme court considers an appealThe Georgia state supreme court on Wednesday reinstated the state’s ban on abortions after roughly six weeks of pregnancy. The high court put a lower court ruling overturning the ban on hold while it considers an appeal.A Fulton county superior court judge, Robert McBurney, ruled on 15 November that the state ban was invalid because when it was signed into law in 2019, US supreme court precedent under Roe v Wade and another ruling allowed abortion well past six weeks. Continue reading...

Thanksgiving week has seen 22 people killed and 44 injured by guns, as 2022 is shaping up to be one of the worst years in recent memoryIt was the final hour of extended store opening on Tuesday at the Walmart Supercenter in the commercial heart of Chesapeake, Virginia’s second-largest city. Shoppers scrambled to make last-minute purchases for Thanksgiving. Then shots rang out.Shortly after 10pm an employee, said to be a manager, entered a break room at the back of the store where staff were gathering at the start of the overnight shift, and according to an eyewitness “just started spraying”. The gunman used a pistol to shoot his victims and then turned the weapon on himself, all within minutes. Continue reading...

Suspect to face murder charges after car tag reader flags his vehicle in Miami BeachA suspect was arrested in Florida after four Chinese nationals were killed at a marijuana farm in Oklahoma, the Oklahoma state bureau of investigation said.In a statement on Facebook, the bureau said the suspect, Wu Chen, 45, was arrested by police in Miami Beach after a car tag reader flagged the vehicle he was driving. Chen was then transported to the Miami-Dade county detention center. Continue reading...

Hady Amr, held in high regard by Israeli and Palestinian diplomats, appointed to Washington-based roleJoe Biden has appointed a new special representative for Palestinian affairs, a significant upgrade in relations with Ramallah, despite the fact the American diplomatic mission in Jerusalem, closed by Donald Trump in 2019, is yet to reopen.The White House informed Congress on Tuesday that it had promoted Hady Amr, previously the deputy assistant secretary of state for Israeli-Palestinian affairs, to the newly created, Washington-based role, Axios and the Times of Israel reported. Continue reading...

John Sinatra strikes down key provision, in victory for gun owners challenging state law that went into effect in SeptemberA federal judge has blocked the state of New York from restricting the carrying of guns on private property under a Democratic-backed law adopted in September.A Tuesday ruling by John Sinatra, a US district judge in Buffalo, struck down a provision in the law that made it a felony for a licensed gun owner to possess a firearm on private property unless the property owner allowed it with a sign or express consent. Continue reading...

Officers face battery charges for September attack on Black man detained for traffic violation and drug possessionThree employees at a sheriff’s office in Georgia were arrested and charged after video was released showing them beating a detained suspect.Jarrett Hobbs, 41, was being held at the Camden county jail, about two hours outside Savannah, on 3 September for a traffic violation and on drug possession charges, the Associated Press reported. Continue reading...

After the alcohol ban in Qatar, there is the possibility that England could win the World Cup roared on by sober fans

Hemgenix frees patients from repeated treatments but initial cost makes it most expensive medicine in the worldUS drug regulators have approved a one-off gene-therapy treatment for adults with the genetic blood disorder hemophilia B that frees patients from repeated treatments but costs $3.5m a dose, making it the most expensive medicine in the world.The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved CSL Behring’s hemophilia B gene therapy Hemgenix on Tuesday. It cuts the number of bleeding events expected over the course of a year by over half, a study found, and frees 94% of patients from the need for regular infusions to control the condition. Continue reading...

There will come a time for negotiations – but calls to reach a deal with the Kremlin now are more wrong-headed than everAs we mark the end of the ninth month of the largest, most brutal war in Europe since 1945, the worst thing we can do for peace on our continent is to push for peace negotiations with Vladimir Putin. The best thing we can do for peace is to increase our military, economic and humanitarian support for Ukraine, until one day it can negotiate from a position of strength.Donald Trump recently hinted that he might be the perfect candidate to practise the art of the deal with Putin. Silvio Berlusconi has also proposed himself as a mediator. What a dream team they would be together – Moscow’s dream team. Putin would like nothing more than to have a ceasefire in Ukraine while these two sit around his Covid-secure long table in the Kremlin. Meanwhile, the Russian dictator’s battered, demoralised armed forces could dig in to defend the still-large expanse of Ukraine they occupy, regroup, rest, rearm, bring in the recently conscripted reinforcements – and then start up the war again, sending a thank-you consignment of vodka to Berlusconi and Trump. Continue reading...

The 500lb one-year-old moose fell through a basement window and became trapped, requiring six people to help get him outFirefighters in Alaska got an unusual request for assistance last Sunday, from Alaska wildlife troopers.“They were looking for some help getting a moose out of a basement,” said Capt Josh Thompson of Central Emergency Services on the Kenai Peninsula. Continue reading...

Security agent spotted cat inside bag last week and saved it from being transported on to aircraft luggage holdA cat that sneaked into an air traveller’s luggage was trapped there until it was discovered by an X-ray machine at JFK airport in New York, possibly saving it from a grim fate in an aircraft luggage hold, travel authorities said.NBC News reported that the cat’s brush with potential tragedy was detected on 16 November when a bag was checked from JFK to Atlanta for a connecting flight to Florida. Continue reading...

Legal experts raise questions about run-up to granting immunity in civil case involving murder of journalistWhen the Biden administration filed a legal brief last week calling for the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, to be granted sovereign immunity in a civil case involving the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, it said it was strictly a legal determination that did not reflect its views on the “heinous” killing.“In every case, we simply follow the law. And that’s what we did,” Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, later said. Continue reading...

Order ends three-year battle to see returns former president has long refused to release. Plus, the latest from the Qatar World Cup

Russia is turbocharging its indoctrination of young people, using games and influencers to draw them into a militarised Youth ArmyIt might seem that Russia’s government has lost the support of its young for good. Western media cover stories of young Russians fleeing conscription and attacking military recruiters. And the handful of reliable surveys of Russian public opinion suggest that, while approval for the “special military operation” and Putin remains high overall, young Russians are less likely than their elders to voice their support.But the regime is also turbocharging indoctrination efforts aimed at its youngest subjects. This includes well-worn tactics such as closing off social media and online dissent, and rolling out propaganda lessons in schools. But its most effective tool may be a myriad of new youth groups that introduce children to the Russian state’s world of constant war with a dazzling barrage of social media infotainment.Ian Garner is a historian of Russian war culture. He is the author of the forthcoming book Z Generation: Into the Heart of Russia’s Fascist Youth Continue reading...

Federal lawmakers failed to increase the minimum wage, but US workers made other gains, and they are setting their sights on new goalsTen years ago next week, 200 fast-food workers walked out at 20 New York City restaurants, demanding $15 an hour in pay. At the time, many observers scoffed at $15 as an absurd, pie-in-the-sky demand. As the movement’s anniversary approaches, the Fight for $15 movement has proven the naysayers wrong.Congress has failed to increase the federal minimum wage, which has been stuck at $7.25 an hour since 2009. But across the country, states and companies have raised wages in the wake of Fight for $15’s efforts. While, for many, $15 an hour is still too low, the increases have been especially important in the current era of rising inflation. Continue reading...

Brandon Wolf was at the Orlando club when a gunman opened fire. His community knew another tragedy was comingI woke up on Sunday morning to a call from a CNN producer asking if I would come on the news to talk about what had happened in Colorado Springs. I had no idea what she was saying, but as a Pulse survivor I could feel it in my gut. While she had me on the phone, I tried to get up to speed on what happened.The news started to filter through: five dead, many more injured. I called friends in the area to make sure they were OK. Immediately, my heart was broken, and I was transported back to the worst night of my life. Continue reading...

I was part of the team that beat England in 1993. My advice for the Americans on Friday? The game rewards bravery and punishes cowardsWhat a strange World Cup this is. It’s happening inside a bubble and underneath a cloud that everyone’s pretending isn’t there. Talking to our players in Qatar, nobody can escape the fact that so many people died building these stadiums. This is the cloud under which nobody can breathe, and these guys are still trying to go out and get a result on the field.And yet, 45 minutes into the US’s first men’s World Cup game in eight years, after so much anxiety from everyone around American soccer about how we were going to do, the Wales game was the best I’d seen the team play in years. Continue reading...

Cutting open bears, wrangling cows: retracing her voyage across the Rocky Mountains made me realise how extraordinary this woman wasEveryone has heard of Amelia Earhart, the great aviator. Or Florence Nightingale, the revered statistician. But what about Isabella Bird, the 4ft 11in Victorian adventurer who rode 800 miles across Colorado solo on a horse? The tragedy is that this pioneering explorer has largely been forgotten by history – until now.In April, alongside the Spice Girl Melanie Brown and the comedian Emily Atack, I travelled to the Rocky Mountains to retrace Isabella’s footsteps and pay homage to this trailblazer. As I became immersed in her life, she quickly became my heroine.