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Updated 2024-10-15 17:30
Sydney Leroux’s mother says abuse and bullying in Canadian soccer drove daughter to US
Sandi Leroux says allegations of bullying and abuse around the Vancouver Whitecaps and Canada’s youth teams were well known – and not dealt withSandi Leroux remembers the yelling the most.The mother of Sydney Leroux has a story to tell about her daughter’s experience climbing the ladder of Canadian soccer’s elite player programs before she switched allegiance to the United States, with whom she won Olympic and Women’s World Cup titles. Continue reading...
MLS 2021 playoff predictions: will anyone stop the New England Revolution?
New England have faced heartbreak in the final before. But this year they could finally end up lifting MLS CupThe regular season was defined by ...The number of MLS big beasts who experienced a fallow year. While the Seattle Sounders stayed competitive near the top of the Western Conference, the two Los Angeles teams found themselves at different stages of a rebuild, with Toronto FC preparing for a major overhaul in the East. The Columbus Crew, the defending MLS Cup champions, failed to make the playoffs while DC United also missed out. From early on, it was clear many teams already had their sights set on 2022. GR Continue reading...
US legislation banning ‘forever chemicals’ far from certain as Senate fight looms
Despite mounting evidence of the chemicals’ toxicity, a similar bill that passed the House was filibustered in the SenateBipartisan legislation introduced this week in Congress would ban PFAS “forever chemicals” in US food packaging and significantly reduce exposure to the highly toxic compounds, supporters say, but its passage is far from certain as a fight with industry allies in the Senate looms.PFAS are a class of compounds that are used across dozens of industries to make products resistant to water, heat, stains and grease. The chemicals are especially common in food packaging because they repel grease and liquid, which prevents paper products from disintegrating. Continue reading...
Derek Carr’s treatment of Ruggs and Gruden highlights his nuanced compassion
The Las Vegas Raiders quarterback has set an enviable leadership standard during a turbulent time for his teamTragic is the only word to describe the downfall of Henry Ruggs III. The young wide receiver had dedicated his football career to Roderic Scott, his best friend who died in a car accident during high school. Ruggs honored his friend while announcing his college football commitment to Alabama in a heart-rending video partially filmed at Scott’s grave site.For it all to end with the 22-year-old killing a young woman in an early morning car crash while driving at speeds of up to 156 mph under the influence of alcohol makes you want to scream. The NFL and his now former team, the Las Vegas Raiders, surely warned him about how easy it is to get sucked into just such a nightmare during their mandatory rookie orientation sessions. Continue reading...
Angels’ Shohei Ohtani, Phillies’ Bryce Harper win Most Valuable Player awards
New England Patriots whitewash lowly Atlanta Falcons for fifth straight victory
‘It’s like a cemetery’: the trend turning San Francisco’s colorful houses ‘gentrification gray’
More and more, the pastels and gold-leaf embellishments have given way to the contemporary, but unimaginative, tungsten hueRichard Segovia’s house is as loud as the Latin rock music he teaches children to play in his basement studio. With colors ranging from jungle green and royal blue at the pavement to a red and yellow sunburst at the ridge, the otherwise modest Spanish-style home is essentially one enormous mural, a crowded portrait of long-gone musicians, Segovia’s family members, social activists, various psychedelia, and the odd jungle animal.Segovia has lived in San Francisco’s Mission district since 1963, and he sees himself as a custodian of the neighborhood’s culture, specifically as the birthplace of Latin rock. (Carlos Santana, a family friend, grew up nearby.) But increasingly the 68-year old “Mayor of the Mission” finds himself face to face with a stark representation of all the color that has been bled out of the city over successive waves of tech-fueled gentrification. Continue reading...
US treasury pushes back as budget office warns Biden’s bill will swell deficit - as it happened
Protesters react with joy as governor grants Julius Jones clemency –video
Supporters of Julius Jones celebrated outside Oklahoma’s capitol building as news broke that the governor of Oklahoma had granted clemency to the death row inmate, hours before he was due to be executed. Protesters had gathered to demand the state commute Jones’s death sentence to life imprisonment. Jones has been on death row since he was convicted of the murder of businessman Paul Howell in 1999. He has always maintained his innocence
Meghan uses Ellen DeGeneres interview to call for paid family leave in US
Duchess of Sussex renews call to ‘put families above politics’ as Congress considers Biden billThe Duchess of Sussex has renewed her call for the US to implement paid family leave, in an interview with the chatshow host Ellen DeGeneres.Appearing on NBC’s The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Thursday afternoon, Meghan stressed the importance of paid leave, which is included in Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill but is opposed by Republicans and at least one key Democratic senator. Continue reading...
Two men convicted of killing Malcolm X exonerated half a century later
Manhattan judge dismisses convictions of Muhammad Aziz and the late Khalil Islam – the men always maintained their innocenceTwo men who for decades steadfastly maintained their innocence in the 1965 assassination of the civil rights leader Malcolm X were exonerated on Thursday, after nearly two years of reinvestigation.Muhammad Aziz, now 83, and the late Khalil Islam were convicted in 1966, after a trial in which authorities withheld evidence favorable to the defense, said their attorneys, the Innocence Project and civil rights lawyer David Shanies. Continue reading...
‘I just killed a man’: defendant who fatally shot Ahmaud Arbery testifies
Travis McMichael says Arbery’s demeanor struck him as suspicious but that Arbery didn’t threaten him in any way before he opened fireHundreds of pastors rallied and prayed outside the trial of the three white men accused of murdering 25-year-old Black jogger Ahmaud Arbery in 2020, with the gathering on Thursday organized in response to a defense lawyer’s bid to keep Black church leaders out of the courtroom.Inside the court house, the defense rested its case on Thursday afternoon, shortly after Travis McMichael, who fatally shot Arbery on 23 February 2020, testified that the younger man’s demeanor struck him as suspicious but that Arbery didn’t threaten him in any way before he opened fire. Continue reading...
Elijah McClain’s family to reportedly receive $15m from Colorado in highest ever settlement
The 23-year-old’s family had sued the Aurora police department accusing them of a longstanding pattern of racism and brutalityThe city of Aurora, Colorado, has reportedly agreed to pay $15m to the family of Elijah McClain to settle a civil rights lawsuit filed over his death at the hands of police.It will be the highest police settlement in the history of Colorado, ABC News quoted an official close to the matter as saying. CBS News said three sources “familiar” with the agreement confirmed the $15m total for the settlement, which will close a civil rights lawsuit filed by McClain’s family. Continue reading...
‘Professor or comrade?’ Republicans go full red scare on Soviet-born Biden pick
Senator asks Saule Omarova, nominated to be comptroller of the currency, if he should call her ‘professor or comrade’
Oklahoma governor grants clemency to Julius Jones hours before scheduled execution
Jones, who has maintained his innocence for more than two decades, was scheduled to receive a lethal injection on ThursdayThe governor of Oklahoma, Kevin Stitt, has granted clemency to Julius Jones, a death row inmate who faced execution on Thursday afternoon.Following a recommendation from the state pardon and parole board, Stitt, a Republican, acted with hours to spare before the scheduled state killing. Continue reading...
Paul Gosar retweets same video aimed at AOC after House censures him – report
Republican congressman retweeted conservative podcaster Elijah Schaffer’s tweet of the violent videoJust minutes after being censured by the US House, the Republican congressman Paul Gosar of Arizona retweeted the violent video that depicts him murdering Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, US media reported.While Gosar had previously deleted the video, after the House voted to censure him, Gosar retweeted the conservative podcaster Elijah Schaffer’s tweet of the video that was captioned: “Really well done. We love @DrPaulGosar, don’t we folks?” The retweet appears to have since been undone. Continue reading...
This is what gerrymandering looks like | The fight to vote
We zoomed in on four districts that provide some of the clearest examples of how US politicians are locking in election results for the next decadeHello, and Happy Thursday,A few months ago, I sat down with my colleagues Alvin Chang and Andrew Witherspoon on the Guardian’s visual team asked to do something that I thought would be exceedingly difficult: could we show what gerrymandering looks like to our readers?Ohio Republicans were so secretive in drawing new gerrymandered state legislative maps that they shut out members of their own party. Now, they’re pushing ahead with drawing a gerrymandered congressional map.Georgia Republicans unveiled a new congressional map that heavily favors the GOP.Civil rights groups have filed a challenge to Texas’s new electoral maps. Continue reading...
Dennis Rodman says visits to gay clubs inspired him during his NBA career
Kyrsten Sinema doesn’t want people discussing her clothes – she could distract them by communicating | Arwa Mahdawi
The Arizona senator’s flamboyant attire and ever-changing style has inspired headlines and intrigueThe Arizona senator Kyrsten Sinema, who memorably posted a photo of herself wearing a ring that said “Fuck Off”, thinks it is offensive that the media keeps discussing her sartorial choices. Sinema has become a household name in recent months because of her resistance to Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, but her flamboyant attire and ever-changing style has also helped keep the senator in the news. She’s inspired headlines such as Kyrsten Sinema’s Style Keeps Us Guessing (The New York Times) and Take note, AOC – Kyrsten Sinema’s bad style actually makes a statement (The New York Post).“It’s very inappropriate,” Sinema told Politico on Wednesday. “I wear what I want because I like it. It’s not a news story, and it’s no one’s business. It’s not helpful to have [coverage] be positive or negative. It also implies that somehow women are dressing for someone else.” Continue reading...
Trump’s allies think they can defy the Capitol attack panel. History suggests otherwise | Sidney Blumenthal
In the infancy of the Confederacy, Congress formed a committee to investigate – and everyone cooperatedDonald Trump’s extraordinary claim of executive privilege as a former president to prevent any of his aides and agents from testifying before the House select committee to investigate the 6 January attack on the US Capitol rests on the premise that the privilege resides with a president even after he leaves office. Trump is asserting that the position of former president is a recognized constitutional office with permanent rights and privileges. President Joe Biden, the incumbent president who rightfully holds executive privilege, has waived that privilege from covering the relevant documents and potential witnesses Trump wishes to keep secret and silent.Standing behind Trump’s supposed shield, a number of those subpoenaed by the committee refuse to cooperate with the investigation. Stephen Bannon, a Trump White House aide early in his term but not during the insurrection, has been cited for criminal contempt and indicted by the Department of Justice. Mark Meadows, Trump’s chief of staff, who was at the center of the plot, and Jeffrey Clark, the former assistant attorney general, who plotted to have states overturn lawful election results on baseless theories of fraud, have refused to cooperate on the grounds of an unspecified legal executive privilege. Continue reading...
Why are Americans so unhappy with Joe Biden? | Robert Reich
One answer might be that expectations were so high, that hopes were bound to be dashedAmerica is overflowing with good news. Unemployment is down, wages are up, consumer confidence is rebounding, and consumers are spending more (retail sales jumped 1.7% in October, the third monthly increase). Covid seems to be in retreat, at least among those who have been vaccinated. And two big parts of Biden’s legislative agenda – last spring’s $1.9tn America Rescue Plan, and his recent $1.2tn infrastructure plan – have been enacted.So what’s not to be happy about? Apparently, plenty. Biden’s current job approval rating is 12 points lower than when he took office – now just 41% (around where Trump’s was for most of his presidency). Most registered voters say that if the midterm elections were today, they’d support the Republican candidate. Even Trump beats Biden in hypothetical matchups. More than 60% of Americans say the Democrats are out of touch with the concerns of most Americans. And Republican congressional candidates now hold their largest lead in midterm election vote preferences dating back 40 years.Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. His new book, The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It, is out now. He is a Guardian US columnist. His newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com Continue reading...
‘Save-your-ass gas’: inside the remote California station where fuel is $6 a gallon
Gas prices at Najah’s Desert Oasis have shot up amid fuel shortages and high demand: ‘It’s not your average gas station’The Najah’s Desert Oasis gas station appears on the horizon like a mirage, the only fuel stop in a stretch of nearly 100 miles of mountains and desert in this remote part of south-eastern California. The numbers listed on its sign can evoke a similar feeling of disbelief.$6.39 a gallon for regular, the display read on Tuesday. Continue reading...
Troops deployed as flood devastates Pacific north-west | First Thing
The military has been sent in to help stranded residents as premier warns the death toll is set to rise. Plus, big oil’s climate denial adsGood morning.The military has been deployed in British Columbia after a storm described as a “one-in-100-year event” caused devastating flooding and landslides across the same region that suffered a record-breaking heatwave five months ago.What is the death toll? At least one woman has been confirmed dead, and at least three people are missing.What about south of the border? Three-quarters of the homes in the Washington border town of Sumas were damaged by flooding.Why does it matter? The video is key because the prosecution argues it proves that Rittenhouse lied on the stand when he said he did not point his gun at protesters.This is the second mistrial request judge Bruce Schroeder has heard. Last week, the defense asked for one over what appeared to be out-of-bounds questions asked of Rittenhouse by the chief prosecutor. Continue reading...
The NFL season’s shock plots so far: Chiefs’ slow start and blunted Herbert
It’s just over the mid-point of the 2021 season, which is as good a time as any to reflect on some of the league’s most surprising storylinesPrior to the season, the Bucs, Rams and Packers all profiled as 13-win teams. Ferocious defenses. Smart coaches. Elite quarterback play. All three ticked every box. Surely, they would mop the floor with all before them and compete with one another for the coveted first-round bye, right? Not quite. Continue reading...
Rust script supervisor recalls moment of Alec Baldwin film shooting – video
Mamie Mitchell has said she relives the sound of the gun going off on the set of Rust 'over and over again'. Mitchell, who was the first to call 911 after the shooting, has filed a lawsuit against Alec Baldwin and the film's producers, alleging that the script never required the actor to fire the shot that killed the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured the director Joel Souza
Allyson Felix’s medal collection, Leeds v Spurs and supercars at night | Classic YouTube
This week’s roundup also features some UFC classics and a young Dwight Yorke schooling Manchester United’s youngsters1) On this day in 1985, Allyson Felix, quintuple Olympic champion and the USA’s most decorated Olympic athlete, was born. Enjoy all her Olympic medal races, while here she is breaking down running scenes from movies – including Forrest Gump – and here she is on Jimmy Kimmel.2) This weekend, Leeds visit Tottenham – which is more than enough reason to revisit this FA Cup classic between the sides from 1999. The game was settled by sensational goals from Darren Anderton and David Ginola, the latter also hitting the woodwork with two similarly stupendous efforts – the first of which George Graham, Spurs’ manager at the time, was certain went in. Otherwise, here’s a league match between the sides from the 1970-71 season featuring some vintage Barry Davies, and an FA Cup quarter-final from 1972. Continue reading...
‘This is not about me,’ AOC says as House censures Paul Gosar over violent video – as it happened
The Republican congressman loses his position on the oversight committee for what Nancy Pelosi called ‘an insult to the institution’
‘What is so hard about saying this is wrong?’, says AOC over Paul Gosar’s violent tweet – video
Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has blasted Republican House minority leader Kevin McCarthy for failing to condemn the violent tweet of fellow Republican Paul Gosar ahead of a censure vote against him. The Democratic-controlled US House of Representatives was poised to punish a Republican lawmaker over an anime video that depicted him killing Ocasio-Cortez and swinging two swords at President Joe Biden. ‘What is so hard, what is so hard about saying that this is wrong?’ Ocasio-Cortez said. ‘This is not about me. This is not about representative Gosar. But, this is about what we are willing to accept.’
Rust script supervisor sues Alec Baldwin and producers over shooting
Mami Mitchell says script did not require actor to fire shot that killed Halyna HutchinsAlec Baldwin and other producers on the movie Rust are facing a new lawsuit over the fatal shooting on the western’s set in New Mexico last month.The film’s script supervisor, Mamie Mitchell, filed the lawsuit on Wednesday, alleging the script had never required the actor to fire the shot that killed the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured the director Joel Souza. Continue reading...
The new anti-woke academics say the universities are 'broken'. But they aren't giving up their tenured day jobs | Julia Carrie Wong
The anti-woke institution has no campus, no course catalog, no students, no accreditation. It does have a websiteWhen the brand-new president of the “University of Austin” announced the establishment of a brand-new institution “dedicated to the fearless pursuit of truth” last week, he painted a bleak picture of American academia.“So much is broken in America,” wrote Pano Kanelos, the former president of a small liberal arts college in Maryland in a post on the Substack of the noted New York Times self-canceller Bari Weiss. “But higher education might be the most fractured institution of all.”Dorian Abbot, a University of Chicago scientist who has objected to aspects of affirmative action, was recently disinvited from delivering a prominent public lecture on planetary climate at MIT. Peter Boghossian, a philosophy professor at Portland State University, finally quit in September after years of harassment by faculty and administrators. Kathleen Stock, a professor at University of Sussex, just resigned after mobs threatened her over her research on sex and gender. Continue reading...
Kyle Rittenhouse defense attorneys ask judge to declare mistrial over video
Attorneys argue they did not receive the same quality of key drone footage as the prosecutionDefense attorneys for Kyle Rittenhouse asked the judge on Wednesday to declare a mistrial, arguing that they did not receive the same quality of a key drone video as the prosecution.Defense attorney Corey Chirafisi said they initially received a compressed version of a video taken by a drone that the state prosecutors played for jurors during closing arguments. Continue reading...
‘Inciting violence begets violence’: Paul Gosar censured over video aimed at AOC
Trump loyalist removed from committee assignments for video showing him killing Ocasio-Cortez and attacking President BidenThe House delivered an extraordinary rebuke of congressman Paul Gosar on Wednesday, by formally censuring the Arizona Republican and removing his committee assignments for posting an animated video that depicted him killing Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and attacking Joe Biden.Gosar, a loyalist of Donald Trump and one of the most far-right members of Congress, sat in the chamber and listened as his colleagues debated the censure against him – the harshest form of punishment the chamber can mete short of expulsion. Continue reading...
Henry Ruggs ordered to court over missed alcohol test following fatal crash
Steve Bannon pleads not guilty to criminal contempt of Congress
Bannon faces a possible prison term and fines for refusing to cooperate with congressional investigation of the Capitol attackSteve Bannon has pleaded not guilty to two charges of criminal contempt of Congress, over his defiance of a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the deadly attack on the US Capitol.In documents filed on Wednesday, the rightwing gadfly, a former Trump campaign chair and White House strategist, waived his right to a formal reading of the indictment against him. Continue reading...
US to boost vaccine manufacturing and produce at least a billion doses a year
Plan is part of effort to shore up global supply for poorer countries while ‘preparing for the next pandemic’The Biden administration is planning to dedicate billions of dollars to build up vaccine manufacturing in the US to produce at least a billion doses each year, in an effort to shore up global Covid-19 supply for poorer countries while also pre-empting future pandemics.As part of a public-private partnership, the government will draw on knowledge from companies that already use mRNA technology to make vaccines. Its ambitious goal is to get to a point where the US can produce at least a billion doses each year starting around mid-2022, according to the New York Times, which first reported the news. Continue reading...
Two men convicted in assassination of Malcolm X to be exonerated
Muhammad Aziz and the late Khalil Islam to be cleared as prosecutors say authorities withheld evidenceTwo men convicted in the assassination of Malcolm X are set to be cleared after more than half a century, with prosecutors now saying authorities withheld evidence in the civil rights leader’s killing.Muhammad Aziz and the late Khalil Islam, who were incarcerated for a combined 42 years for the crime, were being exonerated after a nearly two-year investigation by their lawyers and the Manhattan district attorney’s office. A court date is expected on Thursday. Continue reading...
US Capitol rioter who wore horned headdress sentenced to 41 months
Jacob Chansley, who wore a horned helmet and a fur hat, took part in the deadly attack by Trump followersA federal judge on Wednesday sentenced the US Capitol rioter nicknamed the “QAnon shaman” for his horned headdress to 41 months in prison for his role in the deadly 6 January attack by former President Donald Trump’s followers.Prosecutors had asked US district judge Royce Lamberth to impose a longer 51-month sentence on Jacob Chansley, who pleaded guilty in September to obstructing an official proceeding when he and thousands of others stormed the building in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s election. Continue reading...
New York billionaire told to revise plans for ‘temple to a titan’ penthouse
Bill Ackman’s plan to build on top of a historic Manhattan building overlooking Central Park failsThe billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has been told to revise his plan for a penthouse apartment on top of a historic Manhattan building after his neighbours complained that it looked like “a Malibu beach house that got blown on to our New York roof”.Ackman, who has built up an estimated $3.3bn (£2.5bn) from his hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management, failed to convince New York’s Landmarks Preservation Commission to approve the Norman Foster-designed two-storey penthouse atop an Upper West Side building overlooking Central Park. Continue reading...
Backlogged LA port struggles to implement 24/7 schedules: ‘We’ve had very few takers’
Promise of round-the-clock operations remains unfulfilled but fines for containers left at docks are helping to clear the wayJoe Biden announced a deal last month to establish around-the-clock operations at the Port of Los Angeles to break an unprecedented container ship traffic jam blamed for driving up consumer prices. But that hasn’t happened yet.Gene Seroka, the Port of Los Angeles executive director, said in an online briefing on Tuesday that the sprawling complex has “24/7 capability”, but a shortage of truck drivers and nighttime warehouse workers poses problems in establishing a nonstop schedule, along with getting importers to embrace expanded hours. Continue reading...
LA Lakers’ home to be renamed Crypto.com Arena in reported $700m deal
David Cameron quits Afiniti role after founder accused of sexual assault
Ex-PM steps down as advisory chair at software firm after ex-employee’s claims against Zia ChishtiDavid Cameron has quit his role at the software company Afiniti after a 23-year-old former employee accused the firm’s multimillionaire founder of sexual assault.The former UK prime minister announced on Wednesday that he was immediately standing down from his position as Afiniti’s advisory chair after Tatiana Spottiswoode detailed a string of allegations against the chief executive, Zia Chishti, to members of Congress in the US on Tuesday. Continue reading...
Stephen Curry greeted by MVP chants in Brooklyn as Warriors dominate Nets
What we learned from Concacaf qualifying: USA wobble as Canada surge to the top
Gregg Berhalter’s team are far from perfect but are good enough to make Qatar 2022. Canada, meanwhile, look like a force for years to comeThe US will qualify for the World CupThis is not the nightmare from the previous qualifying cycle. For one thing, the challenges are more or less the exact opposite. Then: reliance on a core of fading, dyspeptic veterans under an experienced coach on a rescue mission with a shallow talent pool. Now: abundant experimentation from a younger tactician with the time to winnow a wide array of improving and perky up-and-comers. Continue reading...
There’s a brutal conflict in Ethiopia. My family there ask: why does no one hear us? | Magdalene Abraha
People in Tigray are crying out for the world’s help, as war has left them starving and fearing for their livesOn 4 November 2020 the world was occupied with the results of the US election. For myself and many others with family and friends in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, however, that day marked the beginning of a year-long nightmare. And it’s one which the world has, for the most part, ignored.When on that day the Ethiopian prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, a Nobel peace prizewinner, announced a military offensive in Tigray, it was hard to predict the scale of the human suffering that would ensue. But almost instantly Tigray, a region in the far north of the country that is home to more than 7 million people, was cut off from the world: phone lines were shut down, the internet was cut off, banks were closed and journalists were barred from the region. Continue reading...
Republicans are ‘cracking and packing’ voters to secure minority rule | David Daley
This partisan free-for-all could perpetuate Republican minority rule in Congress and state legislatures for the next decade – if not longerSalt Lake is the largest county in Utah, containing not only the state’s capital, Salt Lake City, but 40% of the state’s population. While Donald Trump carried the safely conservative state, Joe Biden defeated him in Salt Lake county, soundly, by 53% to 42.1%. Two different Democrats have captured a competitive congressional seat there over the last decade, most recently Ben McAdams, who defeated the incumbent Mia Love by fewer than 700 votes in 2018, then lost by less than a percentage point to Burgess Owens in 2020.Don’t expect a tight rematch next year. Utah’s new congressional map, approved by the state legislature this week, divides Salt Lake county into four pieces, attaching pieces to conservative rural counties hundreds of miles away. It ignores the recommendation of an independent commission established by initiative in 2018, and scatters voters here across four districts so uncompetitive and safely Republican that the non-partisan Princeton Gerrymandering Project graded it an F.David Daley is the author of Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn’t Count and Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back to Save Democracy. He is a senior fellow at FairVote Continue reading...
Turns out, Harvard students aren’t that smart after all | Tayo Bero
A whopping 43% of white students weren’t admitted on merit. One might call it affirmative action for the rich and privilegedEver wondered what it takes to get into Harvard? Stellar grades, impressive extracurriculars and based on a recently published study, having deep pockets and a parent who either works or went there. Those last two are pretty important for Harvard’s white students because only about 57% of them were admitted to the school based on merit.In reality, 43% of Harvard’s white students are either recruited athletes, legacy students, on the dean’s interest list (meaning their parents have donated to the school) or children of faculty and staff (students admitted based on these criteria are referred to as ‘ALDCs’, which stands for ‘athletes’, ‘legacies’, ‘dean’s interest list’ and ‘children’ of Harvard employees). The kicker? Roughly three-quarters of these applicants would have been rejected if it weren’t for having rich or Harvard-connected parents or being an athlete. Continue reading...
Yes, yes, YES! Vibrator adverts are finally coming to the New York subway | Arwa Mahdawi
After a three-year legal battle, there’s something new to break up the posters for boob jobs and erectile dysfunction pillsBoobs to the right of you; phallic objects to the left of you; sexual innuendo in front of you. This, my friends, is a pretty typical subway ride in New York. The chance of your train coming on time is much smaller than the chance of coming across an in-your-face ad for breast augmentation or a trying-embarrassingly-hard-to-be-edgy poster for a dating app.I’m not complaining about this, by the way. I’m not clutching my pearls here. I don’t spend a lot of time worrying about subway ads because whenever I take the train I do what every normal person does: ignore everything around me and stare at my phone. I’m just bringing this up to provide a little context and demonstrate that the modern New York public transport system is not what anyone would describe as a puritanical environment. The Museum of Sex has had no problem advertising on Gotham buses; erectile dysfunction medication brands have had no concerns about using phallic imagery on subway ads; plastic surgery companies have had little issue papering train cars with cleavage shots. You know who has had a problem getting their ads up, though? Female-focused companies. Thinx, the period-proof underwear brand, had to fight to get ads on New York transit. Women-centred sexual health companies have also been prevented from advertising on trains.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Fears death toll will rise as Pacific north-west storm wreaks havoc | First Thing
Record rainfall destroys highways and leaves tens of thousands in US and Canada without power. Plus, Britney Spears speaks outGood morning.At least one person has been killed and several more are feared dead after a huge storm hit the Pacific north-west, destroying highways and leaving tens of thousands of people in Canada and the US without power.The Washington governor, Jay Inslee, declared a severe weather state of emergency in 14 counties.All rail access to Vancouver has been cut by floods and landslides, the port of Vancouver announced.A woman’s body was recovered from the site of the landslide during a search the previous night, the Royal Canadian Mounted police confirmed.What did he say during the hearing? “I’ve been to jail before and what I’ve seen here, I’ve never seen anywhere else. This place needs to be shut down immediately.” Continue reading...
This community’s Black families lost their ancestral homes. Their white neighbors got richer
A chemical firm bought out Mossville’s Black homeowners and dismantled their community – but paid them less than neighboring white residents, new analysis findsThe company called it one of the most generous industrial buyouts in history.But Sasol, the South African chemical firm, offered significantly less money to Black homeowners than white homeowners in an attempt to entice them to relocate away from an expanding chemical complex in southwest Louisiana, according to a new analysis, published for the first time by the Guardian. Continue reading...
Britney Spears 'grateful for each day' after conservatorship lifted – video
Britney Spears has spoken out about the realities of her new freedom after her conservatorship was lifted last week 'I’ve been in the conservatorship for 13 years. It’s a really a long time to be in a situation you don’t want to be in,' she said in a video posted to social media. 'So I’m just grateful for each day and being able to have the keys to my car, to be able to be independent and feel like a woman. Owning an ATM card, seeing cash for the first time … It’s the little things.'
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