Gateway founder Robert Morris allegedly told survivor Cindy Clemishire in 2005 to put a price on it'Texas megachurch founder and pastor Robert Morris, who recently resigned after confessing to sexually assaulted a child in the 1980s, attempted to pay his abuse survivor for her silence, according to a leaked phone transcript.The transcript from 22 September 2005, provided to NBC by a former employee of Gateway church, shows Morris telling his victim, who recently revealed herself to be Cindy Clemishire, to put a price on it", when she asked to be compensated for the trauma inflicted on her. Continue reading...
Jill Biden has firmly resisted calls in the past to do so, but others in the president's inner circle also have his earIn March 1968, president Lyndon Johnson abandoned his reelection bid, citing the awesome duties of this office", partisan divisions in the country, and America's sons in the fields far away" in Vietnam. I shall not seek, and will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president," Johnson said.It was a remarkable moment, recalls veteran Democratic political consultant Hank Sheinkopf: No one gives up being the most powerful person in the world," he says. It just doesn't happen."Biden v Trump: 90 miserable minutesWho won the meme wars?Biden's performance sends Democrats into panicSix who could replace BidenTrump and Biden's claims - factchecked Continue reading...
Historic treasure' found in Florida will now be displayed at Roosevelt's Old Orchard museum in Cove Neck, New YorkTheodore Roosevelt's pocket watch has been recovered after being stolen nearly four decades ago from a museum exhibit about the former president.The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that it had managed to get back the historic watch in a news release published on Thursday. Continue reading...
Cory Ulmer, 41, died in custody at Cook county jail, which authorities tried to portray as a medical emergency'Civil rights advocates in Illinois are demanding answers over the death of a handcuffed Black man following a violent confrontation with county jail deputies who attempted to portray the case as a medical emergency.Cory Ulmer, 41, died following his 20 June arrest for violating bond conditions as he awaited trial on assault and robbery charges. According to the investigative organization Injustice Watch, a spokesperson for sheriff Tom Dart at first insisted Ulmer had suffered a medical emergency", while personnel from the Cook county sheriff's office told Ulmer's stepfather he died in the hospital. Continue reading...
We'd like to hear your views on the performance of Biden and Trump following the first debateFollowing Thursday's debate on CNN, commentators focussed on Democratic party's panic over Joe Biden's halting performance in which he struggled to land his lines.Donald Trump made claims with no evidence on issues such as immigration by stating that millions of people" are coming across the border and receiving social security benefits. He also falsely claimed that ending Roe v Wade protections was something everyone wanted", despite consistent polling that shows the public desires at least some access to abortion under the law. Continue reading...
Old comments have been recycled to fire up the American team before the two nations vie for supremacy in the Paris poolCowbells. Australia's Olympic swimmers could be hearing them in their sleep, and definitely will be hearing them in their waking hours at the Paris Olympic pool, after the US-Australian rivalry ignited this week.Comments that Australia's former sprint queen Cate Campbell made last year about the sweetness of beating the US team and their infernal cowbell" were the talk of the US swimming trials that finished in Indianapolis earlier this week. Continue reading...
But he didn't foresee that lies, conspiracy theories and misinformation would ride the internet as easily as truth and transparencyThe two most consequential Australians in history are surely Rupert Murdoch and Julian Assange. Germaine Greer would come a distant third.Unsurprisingly, Assange and Murdoch have gained their notoriety through journalism and the media. More surprising - but significant - is the fact both of them could be described as libertarians. Continue reading...
Even Trump's usual lies could not distract from the president's decrepitude. But these debates don't move the needleWho could have foreseen that the scariest thing about the presidential debate on Thursday night wouldn't be the lies, the bombast or the threats to democracy, but the spectacle of Trump's slightly wolfish restraint. Heading into the encounter, Democrats felt the kind of anxiety more usually endured before watching a child perform, with that same crushing sense of raw emotions. That Trump barely mocked Biden, or went after his age or his son, seemed less rehearsed than a shrewd response to what all of us were seeing: a president so compromised that all Trump had to do was grin, lean back and let the optics work for him.And still, despite the evidence, it feels wanton to say this. Biden, whose voice was hoarse from a cold, rushed his delivery, fought to find words and stumbled in a style not entirely new to him. The difference on Thursday night was one of degree. Oh my God" was the general consensus, texted around the country, when the debate opened in Atlanta. While Trump's remarks were predictably ludicrous, full of lies and inflated claims, nothing he said could distract from the image of Biden saying sensible things in a manner so crepuscular that the entire event jumped from politics to tragedy. It made me think of a line from Rilke: It had almost hurt to see." Continue reading...
Ruling reverses lower court decision that blocked 2023 law, exclusively backed by Republicans, from going into effectIowa's state supreme court on Friday told a lower court to let a strict abortion law take effect.The court's 4-3 ruling held that the law - which bans most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy - does not violate citizens' fundamental rights under the state constitution, rejecting a lawsuit by Planned Parenthood. Continue reading...
As Biden plans for second debate, more Democrats reiterate backing the president's re-election effortsA defiant Joe Biden resisted calls to abandon his re-election effort and step aside for a younger candidate after his calamitous showing in Thursday's presidential debate with Donald Trump.As Democrats panicked and openly talked about replacing the president with another nominee, the Biden campaign unequivocally ruled out that possibility.Biden v Trump: 90 miserable minutesWho won the meme wars?Biden's performance sends Democrats into panicSix who could replace BidenTrump and Biden's claims - factchecked Continue reading...
We start with evidence of humanity's unfathomable stupidity, before moving to exhibit B: GlastonburyA Highlands red deer known as Callum the Stag has had to be put down. His teeth had rotted, leaving him unable to forage for his natural diet, and his overall health had deteriorated largely, it is posited - though the National Trust for Scotland did not make the connection directly - because tourists kept feeding him their snacks whenever he approached them as they took his picture. Continue reading...
One day soon this case will come back, and the supreme court will allow states to ban emergency abortionsThe supreme court is a messy institution. It's six conservative justices are mired in infighting over both the pace of their shared ideological project of remaking American law and life according to rightwing preferences, and over their preferred methodological course for doing so. Their squabbling is not helped by the fact that two of them, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, keep embarrassing the court with gauche public scandals, which draw attention to the court's legitimacy crises like a vulgar flag waving above One First Street. For their part, the liberals are exhausted, impotent, and at times apparently publicly despairing. Their dissents have sometimes taken on tones of exasperation and peeved sarcasm, as if they're turning to the country and asking: Can you believe this?" Their most senior member, Sonia Sotomayor, recently told an interviewer that over the past several terms, since the court's conservative supermajority was sealed under the Trump administration, she has sometimes gone into her chambers after the announcement of major decisions and wept. She says she anticipates having to do so again: in one recent dissent, she warned ominously about the future of gay marriage rights.The court's partisans like to point out that it controls neither the military nor the federal budget; the court's legitimacy, they say, comes merely from the fact that people believe it to be legitimate. But increasingly, many of them don't. The court's approval rating remains at record lows, and the justices' conduct over the past several years has punctured the mystique of scholarly seriousness that the institution once pretended to. They don't seem like wise legal scholars, carefully and dispassionately deliberating the merits of competing interests and claims. Instead, they seem more like a bunch of bumbling partisan hacks - perhaps just more cynical and less clever than the average Republican operatives stuffed into suits throughout DC. Continue reading...
The court's current justices are some of the most hostile to labor rights in modern US historyUnder Chief Justice John Roberts, the supreme court has been supremely pro-corporate - one study even called the Roberts court the most pro-business court in history". Not only have many justices been groomed and vetted by the business-backed Federalist Society, but Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito have taken lavish favors from billionaire corporate titans. Thomas has even spoken at two Koch network fundraising donor summits", gatherings of rightwing, ultra-wealthy business barons.While the court is decidedly pro-corporate, most Americans probably don't know just how anti-worker and anti-union it really is. The justices have often shown a stunning callousness toward workers, and that means a callousness toward average Americans. One of the most egregious examples was a 2014 ruling - with an opinion written by Thomas - that held that Amazon, which holds workers up to 25 minutes after the ends of their shifts waiting to be screened to ensure they didn't steal anything, doesn't have to pay them for that time. Continue reading...
Both Biden and Trump know how important it is to go viral - and while both delivered soundbites, it was Biden's weak performance that captured attentionWinning a presidential debate is one thing, but coming out victorious in the meme wars is something else.Both Joe Biden and Donald Trump understand how important it is to go viral. According to NBC News, Biden's campaign headquarters enlisted 18 influencers with a combined following of 8 million to post about the event, amounting to a post-debate social media clip sharing battle".Biden v Trump: 90 miserable minutesWho won the meme wars?Biden's performance sends Democrats into panicSix who could replace BidenTrump and Biden's claims - factchecked Continue reading...
We didn't need this show. Each candidate has had time to show us who they are, and one is a felon trying to destroy democracyThe American people lost the debate last night, and it was more painful than usual to watch the parade of platitudes and evasions that worked in the debate format run by CNN. The network's glossy pundit-moderators started by ignoring the elephants in the room - that one of the two men standing at the podiums was a convicted felon, the leader of a coup attempt, an alleged thief of national security documents who was earlier this year found liable in a civil court for rape, and has promised to usher in a vengeful authoritarian regime if he returns to office.Instead they launched the debate with the dead horse they love to beat in election years, the deficit and taxes. Throughout the excruciating evening, Joe Biden in a hoarse voice said diligent things that were reasonably true and definitely sincere; Donald Trump in a booming voice said lurid things that were flamboyantly untrue. The grim spectacle was a reminder that this is a style over substance game.Rebecca Solnit is a Guardian US columnist. She is the author of Orwell's Roses and co-editor with Thelma Young Lutunatabua of the climate anthology Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility Continue reading...
The Canadian towers over his opponents, even in a sport for the very tall. But his attributes may not suit the modern gameFor those of you out there who might describe yourselves as tall," meet Olivier Rioux, the high schooler who just signed on to play for the University of Florida in the fall. Rioux is absurdly tall - 7ft 9in (for now) to be precise. Whether playing alongside his high school-age teammates or surrounded by them in the huddle, the 300lbs beanpole looks for all the world like one of those adults who passes themselves off as a teenage player just for the thrill of beating up on kids. The only thing about Rioux that's not tall are his tales.Rioux has been on a rapid growth curve for some time now: 5ft 2in in kindergarten, 6ft 1in by the time he was eight. By the time he was 12, and 7ft, he would have made the 6ft 9in LeBron James look undersized. Around that time, highlights of him dominating his tragically ill-equipped competition began making the social media rounds, an optical illusion to rival the dress meme. (Are the other kids six feet or six years old?) Four years ago, Guinness World Records pronounced the then 14-year-old Rioux as the world's tallest teen at 7ft 5in. That would have put Rioux a notch above the 7ft 4in NBA rookie of the year, Victor Wembanyama. He even looms head and shoulders above legendary NBA leviathans such as Gheorghe Murean (7ft 7in), Yao Ming (7ft 6in) and Sim Bhullar (7ft 5in). People see his size," Canada national team assistant coach Michael Meeks said of Rioux, and their expectations are pretty high." Continue reading...
The reality of the 2024 presidential contest is setting in now that thefirst debate of the election cycleshowcased the two main options voters have in November. Joe Biden, apparently sick with a cold, mumbled through the televised debate with Donald Trumpthat was marked bypersonalattacks - including a spat over golf. Trump, a prolific purveyor of falsehoods, repeatedly told lies and avoided answering tough questions
Biden tried to counter Trump's debate falsehoods with facts. But he often delivered them tepidly or hesitantlyFrom the moment the candidates walked out on to the stage in Atlanta, it was obvious that this debate was a big mistake for Joe Biden. By the end, it was a train wreck for his campaign.The incumbent president, who desperately needed to show vitality, looked from the start like an old man. His gait was stiff and his voice tentative. His energy was markedly different from his triumphant State of the Union address just a few months ago.Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture Continue reading...
After a dismal defeat to Panama, Monday's game against Uruguay may be the coach's last chance to save his jobIt may seem harsh that Gregg Berhalter's job as USMNT head coach is in acute jeopardy because one of his players decided to smack an opponent in the head.Then again, in the US's last big tournament test before it co-hosts the 2026 World Cup, a coach expected to reach at least the quarter-finals is staring at a group-stage exit in the Copa America, barring what seems an improbable triumph against one of the favorites, Uruguay, in Kansas City on Monday. Continue reading...
by Rachel Leingang, Chris Stein,Maanvi Singh and Cart on (#6NV5F)
Moderators for CNN's debate took a hands-off approach, letting lies and half-truths remain unchallenged. Here are the facts on some of the false claimsModerators in the first presidential debate in 2024 took a completely hands-off approach to factchecking the candidates, letting lies and half-truths, most frequently from Donald Trump, remain unchallenged.The former presiden frequently ignored the questions posed by CNN moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, instead talking about whatever he wanted. In a few instances, they reiterated the question and gave Trump a chance to answer it again. Continue reading...
Jose Fajardo beat backup goalkeeper Ethan Horvath in the 83rd minute to give Panama a 2-1 victory over the US at the Copa America on Thursday night, putting the Americans in danger of elimination if they don't beat Uruguay in their group-stage finale.In a chaotic game that saw the two sides combine for 22 fouls, the US played for most of the match a man down. Timothy Weah was shown a red card in the 18th minute after he struck Panama defender Roderick Miller away from the ball. Continue reading...
Pulisic whips the free kick into the middle of the penalty area, where Richards rises above the crowd. It's saved off the crossbar and post, and Ream pokes it back to McKennie, who slams it into the net.But was Ream offside? They're taking a look ... Continue reading...
If Aileen Cannon excludes even some of Trump's former lawyer's memos, it could gut some of the most incriminating evidence against himThe federal judge overseeing Donald Trump's prosecution for retaining classified documents on Thursday ruled that she would schedule a hearing to weigh excluding key evidence that forms the backbone of the obstruction-of-justice part of the case against the former president.The US district judge Aileen Cannon said she would hold an evidentiary hearing to revisit another judge's decision to allow prosecutors to access damaging memos, made by the ex-Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran, under what is known as the crime-fraud exception. Continue reading...
Bipartisan election commission finds rightwing activists failed to submit sufficient signatures in recall petitionA protracted push by rightwing activists to recall Wisconsin's Republican assembly speaker failed for a second time after the bipartisan commission overseeing elections in the state voted to toss their petition, finding they failed to submit a sufficient number of signatures.The effort to trigger a recall election for Robin Vos illustrates a growing chasm between the Wisconsin Republican party establishment, which has been led by the powerful assembly speaker for more than a decade, and the party's Maga base. Continue reading...
The oil major's net zero plans have made it a sector leader but have yet to win over investors while fossil fuels are boomingGrand corporate strategies are launched in weighty declarations by chief executives who fancy themselves as visionaries. That was how Bernard Looney, the then chief executive of BP, did it back in February 2020 when he said the company would get serious about cutting greenhouse gas emissions and investing in renewables. The direction is set. We are heading to net zero. There is no turning back," Looney told his City audience.By contrast, the watering down of ambition tends to happen in increments. Thus, when Looney last year scrapped BP's aim to reduce hydrocarbon output by 40% by 2030, versus 2019's level, in favour of a 25% cut, he claimed the change was a case of leaning in" to the same strategy, just in the new circumstance of a world that was worrying more about energy security after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...
A vast sinkhole has appeared in the middle of an Illinois soccer pitch that was laid above a limestone mine, just days after amateur teams stopped using the ground for practice. The collapse happened at Gordon Moore Park in Alton, Illinois, about 18 miles north of St Louis, Missouri, on Wednesday. The sinkhole was 30 metres wide and 9 metres deep. No injuries have been reported but all sports at the park have been cancelled Continue reading...
Report decries eight officers and four civilian employees for ignoring warnings resulting in fatal shootingTwo Baltimore police department employees could lose their jobs and another 10 could face lesser disciplinary actions for their responses to a July 2023 mass shooting at a neighborhood block party.Two people died and 28 others were injured when gunshots tore through a large crowd in the courtyard of south Baltimore's Brooklyn Homes public housing complex as the annual Brooklyn Day summertime celebration continued after nightfall. Most of the victims were teenagers and young adults. Continue reading...
Officials urged the continued evacuations of hundreds of homes in the area as stronger winds were forecastedA wildfire near a popular vacation destination in Oregon's high desert has been spreading rapidly since erupting on Tuesday, forcing hundreds of families out of heir homes and businesses.The fire exploded near the popular vacation destination of Bend in central Oregon, an area known for its microbreweries, hiking, river rafting and skiing on nearby Mount Bachelor. Continue reading...
Independent candidate is polling at about 8%, but could be a spoiler in November contest between Trump and BidenRobert F Kennedy Jr, the independent US presidential candidate polling at about 8%, won't be at tonight's Biden-Trump TV smackdown in Atlanta. But he's not taking the diss quietly, and has accused debate host CNN of colluding with the major party campaigns to exclude him.In an email statement on Wednesday, the Kennedy campaign claimed that 71% of Americans want to see him on the debate stage, and in an act of counter-programming he plans an alternative real" debate on Elon's Musk's Twitter/X platform at the same time. Continue reading...
The exclusion of women's voices and discussion of their rights from next week's summit allows the Taliban to oppress us with impunity. We must be heardSince it became clear that the Taliban will be the only Afghan voices at the table and women's rights will not officially be on the agenda at the UN meeting on Afghanistan in Doha, I have received thousands of messages from women inside and outside the country expressing their deep despair, shock and disappointment.There is increasing concern about the tone that the international community - especially the UN mission in Afghanistan, Unama - have adopted to normalise the human rights violations in Afghanistan in an effort to secure the Taliban's participation in the Doha talks. Continue reading...
NTSB sanctions plane maker for blatantly' breaching rules as it investigates January Alaska Airlines incidentBoeing has been sanctioned by the top US accident investigator for having blatantly violated" regulations by revealing private information to the media and speculating about what caused January's cabin panel blowout on a brand-new airplane operated by Alaska Airlines.The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it is cooperating with the Department of Justice, which is deciding whether to prosecute Boeing after declaring it had breached a settlement over two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019. Continue reading...
A secret election by white town council blocked Newbern mayor Patrick Braxton from serving for four years: we can put this behind us'Patrick Braxton, the first Black mayor of an Alabama town that has not held elections in several decades, has spent the last four years fighting to be recognized. Finally, after an extensive legal battle, he and the town officials who refused to acknowledge him as mayor have reached a settlement, according to federal court documents.Per the settlement agreement, Braxton will be officially seated as the mayor of Newbern, Alabama, and be able to fully serve in this capacity for the first time in nearly four years, pending approval by Judge Kristi K DuBose of the southern district of Alabama. Continue reading...
Notable Israelis add their voices to oppose invite extended by Mike Johnson, which Democrats plan to boycottA group of prominent Israelis - including a former prime minister and an ex-head of Mossad, the foreign intelligence service - have added their voices to the growing domestic calls in the US for Congress to withdraw its invitation to Benjamin Netanyahu to address it next month, calling the move a terrible mistake".The plea, in an op-ed article in the New York Times, argues that the invitation rewards Netanyahu, Israel's current prime minister, for scandalous and destructive conduct", including intelligence failures that led to last October's deadly Hamas attack and the ensuing bloody war in Gaza which shows no sign of ending. Continue reading...
Patrick Dispoto was returning to beach to warn swimmers of lightning danger when he was struck and killedA man was killed by a lightning strike after returning to a beach in New Jersey to warn other bathers of the dangers of an approaching storm.Local television station WABC reported that Patrick Dispoto, 59, and his girlfriend, Ruth Fussell, had left the beach at Seaside Park as the storm approached when Dispoto decided to go back and tell some young people still in the water of the impending danger. Continue reading...
Xi Jinping suggested sending pandas to California as envoys of friendship' between China and the USTwo giant pandas are on their way to the US, where they will end up at the San Diego zoo - the first such import of the huge bears from China in more than two decades.The loan was finalized in February after the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, suggested sending pandas to the San Diego zoo as envoys of friendship" between China and the US. Continue reading...
For the first time in more than 50 years, Republicans will rerun a candidate who lost a presidential election - and even longer since a presidential candidate faced a true rematchWhen Joe Biden and Donald Trump secured enough delegates to lead the Democratic and Republican party presidential tickets in November, they confirmed what many voters expected but fewer actually wanted: a redo of the 2020 election.Republicans skeptical about giving Trump a second shot tried in vain to elevate a viable primary opponent. Powerful donors, including the Koch-aligned Americans for Prosperity Action, poured money into former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley's campaign, but Haley was unable to claw enough support away from Trump to pose a threat to the former president. Continue reading...
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