Jones ordered to pay $4.1m for defaming Sandy Hook parents by claiming shooting was a hoax, but could be forced to pay moreA financial expert testifying for the parents of a child killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting has estimated that Alex Jones and his media company are worth between $135m and $270m as they seek punitive damages beyond the $4.1m they secured a day ago for the US conspiracy theorist’s falsehoods about the massacre.The expert, Bernard Pettingill, said from the witness stand in an Austin courtroom that Jones and his Free Speech Systems company earned more than $50m annually between 2016 to 2021 – even as popular social media companies banned him from promoting himself through them – due to his “rabid following” of millions. Continue reading...
Thomas Connally, 56, of West Virginia pleaded guilty to making threats over Fauci’s handling of Covid pandemicA federal judge sentenced a West Virginia man to three years in prison by for sending intimidating emails to public health chief Anthony Fauci, including threats to kill the US’s top infectious disease official over his handling of the Covid pandemic.US district judge Paula Xinis in Greenbelt, Maryland, on Thursday sentenced Thomas Connally, 56, of Snowshoe, West Virginia, to 37 months in federal prison and another three years of supervised release after he pleaded guilty in May to a federal charge of making threats against a federal official. Continue reading...
Basketball player who won a record 11 championships and was the first black star player and first black head coach in the NBAIn his 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Boston Celtics, Bill Russell, who has died aged 88, won 11 championships, a record unmatched in team sports. But his place as one of the most influential American athletes of the 20th century, behind only Muhammad Ali and perhaps the baseball player Jackie Robinson, is based on more than his implacable will to win, and his intelligence in allying his skills to his teammates’ to facilitate that process.He was the NBA’s first black star, five times the league’s most valuable player. His defensive leaping ability transformed basketball from a horizontal to a vertical game. And in 1966, when the Celtics coach Red Auerbach stepped down and named Russell his successor, he became the first black head coach in modern America’s four major sports leagues. Continue reading...
Vice-president under George W Bush denounces, in campaign ad for daughter Liz, ‘coward … who lost his election, and lost big’Dick Cheney has branded Donald Trump the greatest “threat to our republic”, in a new campaign ad for his daughter, Liz Cheney, who is running for re-election in Wyoming.“In our nation’s 236-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” said Cheney, who served as vice-president for two terms under George W Bush. Continue reading...
Footage shows an SUV being driven through a Native American celebration in Gallup, New Mexico. Multiple people were injured including two police officers. People can be seen enjoying the celebration from the pavement as the cream-coloured vehicle crashes through, causing panic. State police arrested several people and have said no one was killed in the incident. The celebration to honour the culture and traditions of Native Americans dates back more than a century
Former news anchor campaigned on proposed election measures, including bans on vote-counting machines and voting by mailKari Lake, a former news anchor who has embraced Donald Trump’s false claims that voter fraud cost him the 2020 election, has been projected to win the Republican nomination for governor of Arizona.Lake campaigned on enacting many new election measures, including getting rid of vote-counting machines and banning voting by mail. Continue reading...
Amy Weirich stirred outrage for bringing criminal charges against Pamela Moses, whose conviction was subsequently overturnedAmy Weirich, the Memphis prosecutor who stirred national outrage for bringing criminal charges against a Black woman for trying to register to vote, has lost her re-election bid.Weirich, a Republican who has been the district attorney general in Shelby county since 2011, lost to Democrat Steve Mulroy, a law professor at the University of Memphis and a former county commissioner. Continue reading...
The Arizona senator said she had agreed to last-minute changes on the measure’s tax and energy provisionsSenate Democratic leaders say they have reached an agreement on the party’s major $739bn climate and economic bill with Kyrsten Sinema – the centrist Democrat whose opposition remained a major hurdle to passing the most ambitious US climate legislation yet.The support of Sinema, a former member of the Green Party who has evolved into one of Congress’ most conservative Democrats, was crucial to the passage of the bill, which tackles energy, environment, health and tax measures. Its success is seen as the Democratic party’s most substantive chance to deliver domestic policy progress before the midterm elections. Continue reading...
Phoenix Mercury player Skylar Diggins-Smith reacts after a Russian court sentenced her teammate Brittney Griner to nine years in prison and a 1m rouble fine for a drug offence.'Nobody wanted to even play today,' said Diggins-Smith during an emotional press conference with fellow Phoenix Mercury player Diamond DeShields. Griner, who played in Russia during off-seasons from the Phoenix Mercury team, was arrested for cannabis possession at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport in February
Kylie Jenner’s 17-minute private jet ride is a reminder that private jets are morally obscene and terrible for the climate. The planet can no longer afford these indulgencesKylie Jenner, Drake and other celebrities have recently faced criticism for carbon emission-heavy private jet rides, with one of Jenner’s flights reportedly lasting an offensively short 17 minutes.It might be less insulting if the flights were taken for reasons vital to the survival of the human race or at least the function of government. But these were entertainers and private individuals who have access to first-class commercial flights and the same conveniences of phone and video calls us humble common folk use.private aircraft still emit more than 33m tonnes of greenhouse gases, more than the country of Denmark … they are five to 14 times more polluting than commercial planes, per passenger, and 50 times more polluting than trains.Akin Olla is a contributing opinion writer at the Guardian Continue reading...
Gun-makers are openly marketing to – and perhaps even creating – the next generation of mass shooters, all in service of their bottom lineFrom 1995 to 2020, I worked for the firearms manufacturer Kimber. As the industry began to embrace extremism and conspiracy, I did what I could to fight back from the inside. When industry marketing celebrated armed vigilantism to sell guns, I left.I’m still a proud gun owner who believes in responsibility. These days I use my platform to advocate for commonsense gun safety measures and call out dangerous and toxic marketing in the industry – which is why I was invited to testify before the US House committee on oversight and reform last week.Ryan Busse is a former executive in the firearms industry who is now a senior policy adviser for Giffords. He is the author of Gunfight: My Battle Against the Industry that Radicalized America Continue reading...
Jennifer Abruzzo would like to ease the path to forming unions and curb employers’ coercion and intimidationAs the Biden administration lays claim to being the most pro-union in generations, many US labor leaders have hailed Jennifer Abruzzo as the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) most vigorously pro-union general counsel in decades.The top lawyer at the body charged with enforcing US labor law has been hailed as a champion by some and as a “radical” by her opponents. For others involved in the white-hot world of union organizing, she has not gone far enough. Continue reading...
The mercurial Cubs outfielder was one of the most prolific sluggers in National League history and still holds one of baseball’s most impregnable single-season recordsWith more than 40 home runs, nearly a hundred runs batted in and over a third of the season still to play, Aaron Judge is poised to complete the best season of his mighty career.Still, the New York Yankees slugger will have to pick up the pace to match Hack Wilson, one of the greatest and most rambunctious hitters in the history of Major League Baseball and the holder of one of the sport’s most impregnable records. Continue reading...
LA Galaxy’s signing of Riqui Puig, the 23-year-old not so long ago seen as Barca’s next big thing, is the latest stroke in a talent influx that’s included Bale, Bernardeschi and InsigneNot so long ago, Riqui Puig was seen as the face of Barcelona’s future. At a time when the identity of the Catalan club was in question, the young midfielder was the embodiment of what Barca aspired to be again. He ticked all the boxes: diminutive, homegrown and extremely talented. Puig was the next La Masia graduate primed to make it big at Camp Nou, so it’s somewhat surprising to now see the 22-year-old in Major League Soccer.The LA Galaxy announced the signing of Puig on a three-year deal on Thursday with Barcelona so keen to cut their bloated wage bill that they allowed the midfielder to leave for free. “Riqui is a very technical and well-educated player with incredible experiences for his age,” said Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney. “He will fit seamlessly into our group and style of play.” Continue reading...
Firefighters have got their first hold on California’s deadliest and most destructive fire of the year and expect the blaze to remain stalled over the weekend. The McKinney fire, near the Oregon border, was 10% contained as of Wednesday night and bulldozers and hand crews were making progress carving firebreaks around much of the rest of the blaze, fire officials said Continue reading...
Eyvin Hernandez, a Los Angeles public defender, was jailed while on vacation. ‘Please do something,’ his mother saidThe family of a Los Angeles man detained in Venezuela earlier this year is publicly appealing to the US government to help secure his release, fearing he could be held longterm as a political bargaining chip.Eyvin Hernandez, a 44-year-old lawyer and criminal justice advocate in LA, was picked up by Venezuelan security forces on 31 March near the Colombia-Venezuela border and is facing “criminal association” and “conspiracy” charges, his family says. Continue reading...
Democratic leaders need to prepare their citizens for a long struggle over Ukraine – and a hard winterThe Russo-Ukrainian war is coming down to a race between the weakening political will of western democracies and the deteriorating military means of Vladimir Putin’s dictatorship. But this race will be a marathon, not a sprint. Sustaining that political will requires the kind of farsighted leadership which most democracies are missing. It calls for a recognition that our own countries are also, in some important sense, at war – and a corresponding politics of the long haul.Is this what you hear when you turn on your television in the United States (where I am now), Germany, Italy, Britain or France? Is this a leading topic in the Conservative party contest to decide Britain’s next prime minister, or the run-up to the Italian election on 25 September, or the campaign for the US midterm elections on 8 November? No, no and no. “We are at war,” I heard someone say recently on the radio; but he was an energy analyst, not a politician.Timothy Garton Ash is a historian, political writer and Guardian columnist Continue reading...
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said China 'will not isolate' Taiwan by preventing US officials from travelling there. Pelosi, who is currently leading a Congressional delegation to the Indo-Pacific region, with her last stop in Tokyo, said her visit was 'not about changing the status quo' but recognised China 'made their strikes probably using our visit as an excuse'. Pelosi said the Chinese have tried to isolate Taiwan, adding, 'we will not allow them to isolate Taiwan ... They are not doing our travel schedule.'
The Biden administration agreed to pause plans that would have destroyed a 51-year-old oceanfront parkThe Biden administration has agreed to pause plans for a double border wall that critics say would effectively destroy a 51-year-old oceanfront park that symbolizes friendship between the United States and Mexico.Chris Magnus, the US Customs and Border Protection commissioner, said he wanted to hear community concerns before settling on a wall design for Friendship Park, which then-first lady Pat Nixon inaugurated 1971. Continue reading...
Twitter rebuts billionaire’s lawsuit and his arguments for abandoning the takeover as legal standoff heats upTwitter has rejected Elon Musk’s claims in court that he had legitimate reasons to back out of a $44bn deal to purchase the social media platform, marking the latest development in a dramatic legal showdown.In a filing made public on Thursday, Twitter called Musk’s arguments for abandoning the deal “a story, imagined in an effort to escape a merger agreement that Musk no longer found attractive once the stock market and along with it, his massive personal wealth, declined in value”. Continue reading...
Florida governor ousted Andrew Warren of Tampa for ‘woke’ agenda including support for abortion and trans rightsRon DeSantis, the Republican governor of Florida, suspended the elected state prosecutor of Tampa on Thursday, for pledging not to enforce a new 15-week abortion ban and for supporting gender transition treatments for minors.The Republican governor announced the suspension of the Hillsborough county state attorney, Andrew Warren, at a news conference in the county’s sheriff’s office, where DeSantis and law enforcement officers criticized Warren. Continue reading...
Far-right Infowars owner faced defamation trial for repeatedly saying the school shooting was a hoaxThe jury in Alex Jones’s defamation trial on Thursday ordered the far-right conspiracy theorist to pay $4.1m in damages over his repeated claims that the deadly Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax.Jurors in Austin, Texas, gave their verdict after deliberating about one hour Wednesday and seven hours Thursday at the end of a nine-days-long trial. The verdict levied against Jones was far below the $150m or more the plaintiffs had requested that jurors award them. Continue reading...
Suspect remains on the loose after a man was seen driving away from city of Laurel, authorities sayFour people were found dead on Thursday in two burning homes in a small town in rural north-eastern Nebraska and a suspect remains on the loose, authorities said.Col John Bolduc of the Nebraska state patrol said at a news conference that a man was seen driving away from the city of Laurel before the bodies were discovered and that investigators would like to speak to him. Continue reading...
A Moscow court has sentenced the WNBA star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison and a 1m rouble fine in a politically charged verdict that could lead to a prisoner swap with the US. Griner, who played in Russia during off-seasons from the Phoenix Mercury team, was arrested for cannabis possession at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport in February. Griner had pleaded guilty to all charges, but said the cannabis oil was prescribed for medical reasons. Her lawyer said Griner was very upset after the decision and would appeal against it, while the US deputy embassy chief in Moscow described the charges as a 'miscarriage of justice'
Woodfox, member of ‘Angola Three’, was wrongfully convicted of 1972 murder of Louisiana prison guard and released only in 2016Albert Woodfox, who is thought to have been held in solitary confinement longer than any individual in US history, having survived 43 years in a 6ft x 9ft cell in one of America’s most brutal prisons, has died aged 75.Woodfox’s death was made public on Thursday by his long-term lawyers, George Kendall and Carine Williams, and by his brother Michael Mable. They said he had died from complications caused by Covid. Continue reading...
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Two years of messages were inadvertently sent by Infowars host’s attorney to lawyer for Sandy Hook victim’s familyThe House January 6 committee has asked the attorney for a family suing Alex Jones for defamation to turn over up to two years’ worth of text messages from the far-right conspiracy theorist’s phone that he inadvertently received from the defense ahead of the trial.The request from the select committee – and another from federal law enforcement – was confirmed in an Austin, Texas, courtroom on Thursday by Mark Bankston, the lawyer for the parents of a child killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, which Jones has falsely claimed was a hoax. Continue reading...
Civil rights charges brought against current and former officers for role in fatal shooting of Black woman in Kentucky in March 2020The US Department of Justice on Thursday brought civil rights charges against four current and former Louisville police officers for their roles in the 2020 fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was killed in her home, a case that stirred national protests over police brutality.Federal investigators alleged that the members of a Louisville unit called Place-Based Investigations “falsified” the affidavit used to obtain a search warrant, violating Taylor’s civil rights. Continue reading...
Griner sentenced and fined 1m roubles in politically charged verdict that could lead to prisoner swap with the USA Moscow court has convicted the US basketball player Brittney Griner on drug charges, sentencing her to nine years in prison and a 1m rouble fine in a politically charged verdict that could lead to a prisoner swap with the US.Griner, a basketball talent who played in Russia during off-seasons from the Phoenix Mercury team, was arrested for cannabis possession at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport in February. Continue reading...
House report’s findings showed lengths firms went to in order to increase profits from properties: ‘They’re willing to destroy someone’s life’Elizabeth Warren and other lawmakers are looking to secure more tenants’ rights this week after a yearlong House investigation concluded that four corporate landlords aggressively evicted thousands of people, especially in communities of color, despite state and federal eviction moratoriums during the pandemic’s early days. They did so by misleading and deceiving tenants, even going as far as to falsely accuse tenants of neglecting their children.The House select subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis revealed last week that during the pandemic’s first 16 months, four firms – Siegel Group, Pretium Partners, Ventron Management and Invitation Homes – filed nearly 15,000 eviction notices between March 2020 and July 2021, more than three times more than previously publicly available data showed. Continue reading...
Carolyn Maloney says sorry for broaching the issue in a debate but that she will support Biden if he does seek a second termA senior New York Democrat predicted on Thursday that Joe Biden will not run for re-election in 2024, even as she apologised for saying that previously and also said she would support him if he did stand again.Speaking to CNN, the congresswoman Carolyn Maloney said sorry for broaching the issue in a debate – but then said again she thought Biden would not run. Continue reading...
ACLU says there are nearly 50 cases of Sikhs saying religious headwear was taken as they passed through CBP checks in ArizonaAgents from US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) have been accused of seizing turbans from Sikh asylum seekers at the southern border.In a letter to CBP, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arizona said there had been nearly 50 documented cases of Sikhs saying religious headwear was taken and never returned as they passed through CBP checks in Yuma, Arizona. Continue reading...
Rusty Bowers, who refused to help overturn Trump election loss, says he has no regrets despite losing bid for state senate seatRusty Bowers, the Arizona Republican who defied Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn his defeat in the state then testified to the House January 6 committee, has no regrets despite losing his bid for a state senate seat.“I would do it again in a heartbeat,” he told the Associated Press. “I’d do it 50 times in a row.” Continue reading...
Spokesman for Wisconsin senator targeted by Democrats in midterms says he is not trying to end spending on key programsA swing-state Republican senator denied threatening social security and Medicare, after Democrats accused him of putting them “on the chopping block”.Ron Johnson, who entered Congress on the Tea Party wave of 2010, is up for re-election in Wisconsin. As they attempt to keep hold of the Senate, Democrats think they have a chance of winning the seat. Continue reading...
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Officer was pursuing a suspected thief when Donovan Johnson walked by and was pinned down, according to lawsuitA police officer in suburban Boston who was pursuing a white suspect pinned a 20-year-old Black man to the ground and placed a knee on the man’s neck despite having no evidence he was involved in any crime, according to a federal civil rights lawsuit filed on Wednesday.Donovan Johnson was minutes from home after leaving work in February 2021 when the white officer ran up, drew his gun and threw Johnson to the snow-covered ground face first, the lawsuit filed against the town of Arlington, Massachusetts, and three officers alleges. Continue reading...
The maddening impulse to be productive on holiday has given way to having fun – and I’m enjoying every minuteIt has been the same story every summer for the past 20 years: a conflict between the desire to kick back and chill out, and the guilt triggered by taking time off. (When I lived in Britain, I could stretch this period of relaxation out to a fortnight. In the US, where no one takes two weeks off at a time, anxiety kicks in after roughly 10 days.) It’s the most self-defeating dynamic there is – taking leave, only to fret that you’re not “using” it profitably. How am I being improved by this holiday? Am I catching up on my reading? Am I seeing and doing new things? Am I recharging in a way that will sharpen my performance come the first week of September? It would be nice, one day, to stop doing this.This summer, I’ve come the closest I’ve been to silencing this voice. It hasn’t happened by design, but rather, as is often the case with parents of young children, by becoming aware of an unhealthy behaviour because I’m passing it down. In June, I chose a summer camp for my kids that promised to improve them through eight hours of intense activity a day. From nine to five, for six weeks, they would be in a programme with almost no breaks, no fun in the sprinkler, no goofing off. Instead, they would be living (my) dream of having new skills – in this case, ballet, music and voice – drummed into them. After a week, one came home crying and the other looked miserable. I ripped them both out, with no idea how we’d get through a further eight weeks of summer.Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist based in New York Continue reading...
Lawsuit says Texas Department of Public Safety ‘declined to provide any meaningful information’ regarding events of that dayMore than a dozen major US news organizations are banding together to sue the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) for failing to release public records related to the shooting at Robb elementary school in Uvalde that left 19 children and two teachers dead.The lawsuit comes after reporters from these local and national news outlets were denied over 70 requests made to the DPS surrounding the shooting under the Texas Public Information Act, which requires governmental bodies to release information in the interest of the public. Continue reading...
School districts sees success with ‘Transformation Schools’ that offer a socioeconomically mixed student bodyThis story about Transformation Schools was produced by the Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter.When Lauren McKinnon heard a new public elementary school was opening close to her home in Dallas, it was good news; but when she learned the school would offer an all-girls education format with a focus on Stem, she was even more excited, knowing inequities often exist for girls – like her daughters – in math and science. Continue reading...
Even in conservative Kansas, abortion rights are popular. The Democrats need to stop shying away from abortion and make it a campaign issueIt wasn’t even close; it was a blowout. With an unexpectedly large turnout and a huge margin, Kansas voters on Tuesday rejected a measure that would have removed the right to an abortion from their state’s constitution. Nearly 60% of voters in the deeply conservative state rejected the anti-abortion measure. Only about 40% supported it.The so-called Value Them Both Act would have dramatically devalued women in Kansas. The bill was designed to amend the state’s constitution in response to a 2019 ruling by the state supreme court, which found that abortion was protected in the state charter’s guarantee of “equal and inalienable rights” to all citizens. In contrast to the US supreme court, the Kansas court rejected the idea that civil rights were frozen in time at the time of the document’s ratification; instead, they extended those equal rights to women. “We are now asked: is this declaration of rights more than an idealized aspiration?” the court wrote. “And, if so, do the substantive rights include a woman’s right to make decisions about her body, including the decision whether to continue her pregnancy? We answer these questions, ‘Yes.’” Overwhelmingly, by a margin of roughly 20 points, Kansan voters agreed with them.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...
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If Trump or any of the likely Republican nominees win in 2024, they will immediately move to protect those who attempted to overturn the 2020 electionOn Tuesday CNN reported that key January 6 texts have been erased by officials of Donald Trump’s defense department in addition to homeland security and the Secret Service. Not even a clueless Hamlet could avoid smelling “something rotten in the state of Denmark”.With the growing list of deletions, there is a whole new criminal conspiracy to investigate: one to destroy evidence of the grave federal crimes already under investigation. Nothing so focuses the prosecutorial mind or underscores the need to accelerate a criminal investigation as evidence that the investigation’s target may have plotted to erase the proof of his wrongdoing that is needed to hold him accountable. Continue reading...
Republican nominees in Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania are on the verge of claiming offices where they would have enormous power over electionsHello, and Happy Thursday,I’m writing this as we’re still digesting the results of Tuesday’s primary elections in several states, the latest test of whether Republican candidates who have embraced lies about the 2020 election can get the backing of GOP voters. So far, the results only add to the considerable evidence showing election denialism remains remarkably powerful in Republican politics.Arizona’s attorney general debunked a claim from Cyber Ninjas that nearly 300 dead people could have voted in the 2020 election in ArizonaSome voters were stealing pens from voting sites in Arizona, egged on by a conspiracy theoryA retired supreme court justice hired by Wisconsin Republicans to review the 2020 race publicly said in March lawmakers should consider decertifying the race. Privately, he said doing so was “a practical impossibility”. Continue reading...
Vin Scully, the LA Dodgers broadcaster of nearly seven decades who died on Tuesday at 94, leaves behind a towering legacy as a paragon of joy in a world of anger and calm in a time of chaos“Hi everybody! And a very pleasant good evening to you, wherever you may be.”Whether they were navigating Los Angeles traffic, retreating to their couch after work, preparing their dinner or eating it, millions of Angelenos turned on their televisions or radios at 7pm to join their nightly summer appointment with Vin Scully. Continue reading...
Revelation contradicts claims Jones had nothing on his phone pertaining to 2012 shooting he long called a hoaxAttorneys for Alex Jones “messed up” and sent to his legal adversaries “every text message” he had written in the past two years – contradicting claims Jones had nothing on his phone pertaining to the deadly Sandy Hook school shooting, which he long maintained was a hoax, it was revealed at his defamation trial on Wednesday.The revelation surfaced during an exchange in an Austin, Texas, courtroom between Jones and Mark Bankston, a lawyer representing the parents of a six-year-old boy killed in the 2012 attack. Continue reading...
