Rick Scott of Florida grilled on Fox News Sunday about suggested income tax rise and letting social security and Medicare fallA Republican senator and reputed presidential hopeful found himself in a tough spot when he claimed tax rises contained in his own “11 point plan to rescue America” were “Democratic talking points” instead.“No, no, it’s in the plan!” his interviewer exclaimed, on Fox News Sunday. “It’s in the plan!” Continue reading...
Let’s assume for a moment that Putin does fall. What happens next? Here are three scenariosVladimir Putin’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine aimed at toppling the Kyiv government – based on the preposterous claim that it’s run by “neo-Nazis” – has produced Europe’s worst war in a generation, and it has taken a terrible toll on civilians. The Russian armed forces have hit hospitals, apartment buildings, a shopping center and a theater that was serving as a shelter. The immense suffering has been made worse by sieges, above all the one around Mariupol, large parts of which have also been reduced to rubble.The war has also forced millions from their homes. The UN high commissioner for refugees reports that more than 3.7 million Ukrainians have fled their homeland and that another 6.7 million have been internally displaced. The two figures together – children account for nearly half the total – comprise 20% of Ukraine’s population.Rajan Menon is the director of the grand strategy program at Defense Priorities, senior research fellow at the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies at Columbia University, and Anne and Bernard Spitzer emeritus at Powell School, City College of New York Continue reading...
Talks to start in Turkey as Ukraine president seeks peace ‘without delay’. Plus, drama at the Oscars as Will Smith attacks Chris Rock on stageGood morning.Ukraine is willing to discuss “neutral status” at face-to-face talks with Russia in Turkey, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said.What else did he say? Zelenskiy said he was not willing to discuss demilitarisation, and said Ukrainians would need to vote in a referendum to approve their country adopting a neutral status.What about international diplomacy? The French president has cautioned against verbal escalations after the US is forced to deny it is seeking regime change.What else is happening? Here’s everything we know on day 33 of the Russian invasion.How did Hollywood react to the incident? Reactions to the most talked-about moment of the Oscars ranged from delight to concern.What else happened? The eventful 94th Academy Awards ceremony delivered drama in spades. Here are some of the standout moments. It was also an historic night for women.Who else won? Here’s a full list of all the Oscar winners. Continue reading...
by Annette McGivney in Cortez, Colorado on (#5XJTP)
Ban would shift US uranium production into overdrive – posing environmental and spiritual threats to Indigenous communities who live near the minesSacred Native American sites such as the Grand Canyon and Bears Ears may seem a long way from the devastation unfolding in Ukraine. But as the US mulls a ban on Russian uranium, part of economic levers to stop Putin’s war, Indigenous communities living near US mines could pay the price.John Barrasso, a senator from Wyoming, recently introduced a bill that calls for a ban on all forms of uranium imported from Russia. Uranium fuels America’s nuclear power plants, and about 20% of that comes from Russia, while close to another 30% is imported from the Russian allies of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Continue reading...
The best actor winner Will Smith apologised in his acceptance speech for striking presenter Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaven head.Accepting the Oscar for his role as Richard Williams, the father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, in King Richard, Smith apologised to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and his fellow nominees but not to Rock.'Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family,' a tearful Smith said and continued: 'Love will make you do crazy things', adding: 'I hope the academy invites me back'
The 2022 Oscars ceremony went off script in a dramatic way as Will Smith walked on stage and slapped comedian Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. Moments later Smith gave a teary acceptance speech and apologised for his outburst after winning the best actor award for his role as Richard Williams, the father of tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams, in King Richard. ‘Love will make you do crazy things,' Smith said.Troy Kotsur made history as the first deaf man to win an Oscar for his role in Coda, while West Side Story's Ariana DeBose won the best supporting actress award. Jessica Chastain won best lead actress for her role in The Eyes of Tammy Faye and delivered a powerful acceptance speech lamenting attacks on the LGBTQ community. ‘For any of you out there who do in fact feel hopeless or alone I just want you to know that you are unconditionally loved for the uniqueness that is you,' she said
A new, democratic Russia is impossible without a change of national mindset – and an acknowledgment of national guiltBombed-out Ukrainian cities and the corpses of children are not shown on Russian TV. Brave young people in Russia who protest against the war are being beaten up and arrested, while most people remain silent – there are no mass protests, no strikes. It hurts to see that many of my fellow citizens support the war against Ukraine: they put the Z on their windows at home and on their cars.Russian television now repeatedly shows an interview with the famous actor Sergei Bodrov, a cult figure in Russia. “During a war one cannot speak poorly of one’s own,” he says. “Even if they’re wrong. Even if your country is wrong during the war, you shouldn’t talk poorly about it.” And that’s what people do, willing to support “their own” even if they are shooting at Ukrainians.Mikhail Shishkin is a novelist, and the only author to have won the Russian Booker, Russian National Bestseller and Big Book prizes Continue reading...
Testimony could play a major role in establishing whether Trump oversaw a criminal conspiracy in efforts to overturn 2020 electionBehind closed doors in a nondescript conference room at the foot of Capitol Hill, the House select committee investigating 6 January next week expects to hear testimony about the connections between the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys militia groups and the Capitol attack.The panel expects to hear how the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys coordinated their plans and movements in the days before the insurrection to the same level of detail secured by the justice department and referenced in recent prosecutions for seditious conspiracy. Continue reading...
In this new series, I promise not to write as though I am the first ever to have given birth to a child, but I do have different questions to askIf you are reading this, it means that I have just become a mother. For reasons of practicality, and superstition, I am writing this column in advance. I am currently 29 weeks pregnant, just into my third trimester, but this will not run until, all being well, my baby is born.Born, too – hopefully less painfully – is this series, The Republic of Parenthood, which will hopefully speak to other parents, and examine some of the philosophical, political and cultural issues around modern parenthood. I chose the name to honour The Republic of Motherhood, a beautiful poem by Liz Berry that evokes the feeling of which many new mothers speak; of joining a new society, almost, which feels like a closed-off state separate from the rest of the world, one that necessitates the learning of new rules and customs:“I stood with my sisters in the queues of Motherhood –
Smith takes top actor prize for his role as Venus and Serena Williams’ father Richard as he guides his daughters to tennis success• Follow all the action with our liveblog
Best actor nominee Will Smith appeared to smack presenter Chris Rock in the face with an open hand and shouted a vulgarity at the comedian for making a joke about his wife's appearance at the Oscars ceremony. Rock made a joke about the hairstyle of Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith that referenced the movie GI Jane in which actress Demi Moore shaved her head. Pinkett Smith suffers from the hair loss condition, alopecia. Smith, who later won best actor for 'King Richard,' walked on stage and slapped Rock in what at first appeared to be a scripted joke. But the mood turned somber moments later when Smith, back in his seat, shouted back, 'Keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth'
French president Emmanuel Macron has called for restraint in both words and actions in dealing with the Ukraine conflict, after US president Joe Biden described Russian president Vladimir Putin as a ‘butcher’ and said he should not remain in power. ‘I wouldn't use this type of wording because I continue to hold discussions with president Putin,’ Macron told France 3. 'What do we want to do collectively? We want to stop the war that Russia has launched in Ukraine without waging war and without escalation.'
by Joe Callaghan at BMO Field, Toronto on (#5XJG9)
John Herdman’s team beat Jamaica 4-0 on Sunday in front of a packed house to complete a remarkable 12 months for Canadian footballOh? Canada? Yes, Canada.Almost four decades after their only appearance at a men’s World Cup, Canada are back, becoming the first North American nation to secure passage to Qatar 2022. Continue reading...
Adam Kinzinger vows to ‘get to the bottom’ of insurrection after Clarence Thomas’s wife reportedly urged White House to overturn Trump’s election defeatAdam Kinzinger, one of two Republican members on January 6 committee, on Sunday vowed to “get to the bottom” of events surrounding the 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol but refused to reveal whether the panel intends to question Ginni Thomas – wife of US supreme court justice Clarence Thomas – over reports of her urging the White House to overturn Donald Trump’s election defeat.Senior Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar said Clarence Thomas must recuse himself from relevant cases and warned the integrity of the supreme court is at stake. Continue reading...
Joint event had been planned ahead of Doha Forum that would have set process in motion to grant group diplomatic recognitionThe US was poised to set the Taliban on the path to diplomatic recognition before the plan was derailed by the Afghan rulers’ sudden U-turn on a promise to allow girls’ education, the Guardian understands.The group prompted international outrage and confusion on Wednesday when it reneged on a deal to allow teenage girls to go to secondary school, just a week after the education ministry announced that schools would open for all students. Continue reading...
Howard Hubbard made admission during a deposition last year as part of a response to dozens of claims filed in New YorkThe former bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Albany, New York, has acknowledged covering up allegations of sexual abuse against children by priests in part to avoid scandal and protect the reputation of the diocese.Howard Hubbard made the admission during a deposition taken last year as part of a response to dozens of claims filed under New York state’s Child Victims Act. A judge ordered the deposition released on Friday. Continue reading...
The Russian president may look isolated over Ukraine, but important players are hedging their betsWhen Vladimir Putin recognised Donetsk and Luhansk as independent republics, days before his invasion of Ukraine, one of the most powerful denunciations came from Kenya’s envoy to the UN. Martin Kimani cited his country’s own history as he warned against irredentism and expansionism: “We must complete our recovery from the embers of dead empires in a way that does not plunge us back into new forms of domination and oppression,” he said.On two general assembly resolutions – the first denouncing the invasion, the second blaming Russia for creating a humanitarian crisis – 140 or more nations have approved. Only four have voted with Russia to oppose them: a rogues’ gallery of Belarus, Eritrea, Syria and North Korea. Yet widespread condemnation, along with the west’s unexpected unity, should not be mistaken for Russian isolation. Having boasted of a relationship with “no limits”, and sharing a common interest in countering the global might of the US and Nato, China is now seeking to portray itself in a more nuanced light and avoid economic and political damage – but is not, in reality, distancing itself from Russia. Beijing is not alone. Few of the world’s most populous nations, and only a few leading players outside the west, have assailed Mr Putin. Continue reading...
Journalist’s new show begins on archrival CNN’s streaming service after nearly 20 years with the right-leaning cable channelChris Wallace has said working at Fox News became “increasingly unsustainable” before he jumped ship to CNN last December after almost 20 years with the right-leaning cable channel.His departure dealt a blow to Fox’s news operation at a time when its opinion side had become preeminent. The veteran journalist’s new show begins on archrival CNN’s streaming service this week and the 74-year-old spoke to the New York Times. Continue reading...
Ex-president also had warm words for Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un at event as primary races heat up before midterms electionsDonald Trump chose a rally in Georgia on Saturday night once again to praise Vladimir Putin, calling the Russian president “smart” even as he said the invasion of Ukraine amounted to a “big mistake”.The Republican former president also had warm words for China’s president Xi Jinping and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and referred to such leaders collectively by saying: “The smartest one gets to the top.” Continue reading...
Ginni Thomas’s advocacy for an overturned 2020 election show a clear conflict of interest on the supreme courtGinni Thomas is a rightwing firebrand, married to the supreme court justice Clarence Thomas. She is also wedded to the lie that Joe Biden stole the 2020 presidential election. In a recently revealed 10 November 2020 email to Mark Meadows, Trump’s then chief of staff, she opined: “The majority knows Biden and the Left is attempting the greatest Heist of our History.” It was up to Meadows to help overturn the election.Unfortunately for all of us, Justice Thomas may agree with his wife’s political agenda. In February 2021, Thomas dissented from the rejection by the court of a challenge brought by Pennsylvania Republicans to the results of the 2020 election. He called the refusal by the six-person majority “inexplicable”, even as he acknowledged that the election had been “free from strong evidence of systemic fraud”. Continue reading...
With a potential second booster on the horizon for vulnerable groups, the White House is still struggling to drum up interest for additional shots – and fundingAs vaccine makers seek authorization for a fourth dose of their Covid vaccines in America, existing delays with vaccination and a lack of federal funding could slow the next booster rollout across the country, experts say.“We’re way behind the eight-ball,” said Eric Topol, founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute. The rollout of the first round of boosters, authorized in the US last fall, “just fell off the cliff”, with many Americans still not realizing they are eligible or that the booster is recommended. Continue reading...
As the world awaits Beijing’s response to the Ukraine war, history shows its reaction could be complicatedThe troops gathered on the border. The supreme leader decided that it was time to invade, to teach the other side a lesson. Shortly afterwards, troops breached the internationally recognised border and clashed with local forces.Not Ukraine 2022, but Vietnam 1979. In January of that year, the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping told the US president Jimmy Carter that he wanted to “spank the butt” of his neighbours. For a month, Chinese and Vietnamese forces clashed, leading to a death toll of tens of thousands. Chinese troops withdrew in March 1979, when, unlike Vladimir Putin, Deng sensibly decided to declare a famous victory and head home. Since then, there has been no unambiguous breach of an international border by Chinese troops. Continue reading...
The brave protests of 1968 spawned an organisation that is still giving voice to Putin’s critics todayIn August 1968, as Soviet tanks rolled into Prague, a small group of students and writers in Moscow organised a protest in solidarity with the people of Czechoslovakia. The poet Natalya Gorbanevskaya and seven other dissidents sat down in Moscow’s Red Square and unfurled banners with slogans that have a chilling resonance today: “We are Losing Our Friends”; “Shame on Occupiers”; “For Your Freedom and Ours”; and “Long Live a Free and Independent Czechoslovakia”.This extraordinary act of courage was met with customary brutality. The activists were arrested and most served long sentences in penal colonies. Gorbanevskaya was sent to a psychiatric hospital. Continue reading...
Without any declared candidacy, and with little spent on Republican candidates, the purpose of Trump’s war chest remains opaqueDonald Trump’s ferocious money-raising machine, powered in equal measure by grassroots giving and large individual and corporate donations, has never really stopped turning – and it is currently raising huge sums of cash.As of this month, Trump has $123m saved in his Save America political fund, more than the Republican and Democratic national committees combined, and 12 times as much as the fund – Pac for the Future – for the Democratic House speaker, Nancy Pelosi. Continue reading...
Nebraska Republican Jeff Fortenberry stepped down after concerted pressure from both Washington and his own stateThe Nebraska congressman Jeff Fortenberry has resigned from office after a California jury convicted him of lying to federal authorities about an illegal campaign donation from a foreign national.In a letter to the House on Saturday, nine-term Republican Fortenberry said he was resigning from Congress, effective 31 March. Continue reading...
President’s ‘tax on richest 700 Americans’ may face opposition from conservative DemocratsJoe Biden is set to announce a tax aimed at US billionaires as part of his 2023 budget plans on Monday in a move that will likely delight many progressives in his party but could meet opposition from conservative Democrats who have already stymied his domestic agenda.The Washington Post, citing five sources and an internal administration document, said the “billionaire minimum income tax” plan would establish a 20% minimum tax rate on all American households worth more than $100m. Continue reading...
President seeks to re-establish US as a leader in global affairs after years of Trump-led disengagementIn a speech in Poland on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Joe Biden indicated his intent to re-position the US as a leader in global affairs after four years of disengagement during the Trump administration.It is not a task many thought Biden would so firmly take on when he took office in 2021. Initially, Biden focused on healing domestic wounds following four chaotic years of the Trump administration and the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic. Continue reading...
Few people on Putin’s TV network were true believers... which is the really frightening thingWhen Adolf Hitler was ascendant, the American foreign correspondent Dorothy Thompson invented the “macabre parlour game” of guessing who would “go Nazi” if the Germans invaded. With Vladimir Putin, there is no need to imagine who would collaborate, as so many have already collaborated with the Russian propaganda effort.Some were convinced ideologues. Others were has-been politicians such as Alex Salmond and George Galloway: conceited old men, grateful that Putin’s RT (Russia Today) network still wanted to broadcast them. The rest were not has-beens but never-beens: wannabe pundits the national media would not touch; TV presenters who never had star billing; desperate young reporters who could not break into the UK’s exploitative media sector. Continue reading...
Poland is taking ‘significant responsibility’ in the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, the US president, Joe Biden, said during a visit to Warsaw, adding that other Nato countries should help share the burden.Biden also told his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda, he viewed Nato’s Article 5 guarantee of mutual defence between member states as a ‘sacred commitment’.More than 2 million people have fled the war to Poland, out of the roughly 3.8 million who have left Ukraine all together
Huge search and resue mission discovered body of Craig Clouatre, who went missing north of Yellowstone this weekA Montana sheriff has thanked a huge search and rescue mission, involving people on the ground as well as helicopters, that discovered a missing hiker who appears to have been killed by a grizzly bear north of Yellowstone national park.“We’re fortunate to have a group of experienced volunteers on our [search and rescue] team and we’re thankful for the folks who have come to help,” the Park county sheriff, Brad Bichler, said in a statement. Continue reading...
Trio file lawsuit against homeland security department, alleging questions about faith were in violation of constitutional rightsThree Muslim Americans filed a lawsuit this week alleging that US border officers questioned them about their religious beliefs in violation of their constitutional rights when they returned from international travel.The men involved in the lawsuit claim that US border officers at land crossings and international airports peppered them with questions about whether they were Muslim and attended a mosque and how often they prayed. Continue reading...
Eric Adams says officials will place people in ‘healthy living conditions with wraparound services’ as debate swirlsNew York mayor Eric Adams has ordered that every homeless encampment in the city should be taken down within two weeks, arguing that the situation is not only dangerous to those living there but to the city itself.“We’re going to rid the encampments off our street and we’re going to place people in healthy living conditions with wraparound services,” Adams said Friday, though he provided few details on exactly how that extra provision would be provided for them. Continue reading...
Wife of supreme court justice Clarence Thomas sent texts to Trump’s chief of staff urging overturning of 2020 election resultMembers of the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack are weighing whether to demand that Ginni Thomas, the wife of the supreme court justice Clarence Thomas, cooperate with the inquiry, according to two sources familiar with the matter.A move to request cooperation from Ginni Thomas, who was revealed to have pushed in text messages to Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows to overturn the results of the 2020 election, would mark one of the most aggressive steps taken by the panel. Continue reading...
Race marshal says trio’s decision to bring dogs inside ‘affected the competition for racers’ as Peta condemns Alaska raceA fierce winter storm in the last stretch of this year’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog, which ultimately forced six mushers to quit the same day, now has seen three mushers punished for sheltering their dogs instead of leaving them outside in the harsh conditions.Mille Porsild of Denmark, Michelle Phillips of Canada and Riley Dyche of Fairbanks were penalized for taking dogs inside shelter cabins to ride out the storm with winds so strong, they whipped up white-out conditions, the Anchorage Daily News reported Friday. Continue reading...
Complex social and political elements swirl round gang – with roots in El Salvador – accused of hacking four US teens to deathThe mythology of the street gang is rooted in American popular culture, from West Side Story to The Warriors to Training Day.But a recent trial in the seemingly endless suburban landscape of Long Island, New York, has thrown a spotlight on the harsh reality of gang activity, and the circumstances in which it flourishes. In particular, one of the most brutal organizations at work in the US: Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13. Continue reading...
Abortion bans, anti-LGBTQ laws, book bans – the party sees hot button issues as a tried and test path to victory. Democrats ignore it at their peril, experts say“Sue-thy-neighbour” laws that ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy in Texas and now Idaho. A “don’t say gay” bill censoring discussion of sexual orientation in schools in Florida. A ban on Maus, a graphic novel about the Holocaust, by a school board in Tennessee.America’s national government might be under Democratic control but its red states are on the march with sweeping laws targeting abortion, LGBTQ+ people and the teaching of race in schools that threaten to turn back the clock to an era when a citizen’s rights depended on where they lived. Continue reading...
From a friend’s charming stories to a senator’s heartfelt backing, here are some non-enraging moments from the SenateThe confirmation hearings of Ketanji Brown Jackson officially wrapped up this week after four days of extensive questioning, heated exchanges and other contentious moments.But Jackson, who was questioned by Republican senators on a variety of issues, was widely praised for her patient demeanor and thoughtful responses. Continue reading...
Property where LGBTQ+ rights champion Cleve Jones lives was purchased by a new owner last monthA prominent San Francisco LGBTQ+ rights activist is being uprooted from his home in the Castro neighborhood after the new owner of the property nearly doubled his rent to $5,200.Cleve Jones, 67, who moved to San Francisco in 1973 and first conceived of the Aids Memorial Quit, is reportedly moving out of his rent-controlled, one-bedroom apartment this week. The move comes after he was notified of a significant price increase from the property’s new owner, who claims that the apartment is not Jones’ primary residence. Continue reading...
