US news | The Guardian

At a time when men still wielded all the power, the young Elizabeth was a vital role model. It meant, at least, one female in official photographsThe past is sometimes less of a foreign country than you might imagine. On Friday morning, when my husband wondered aloud if we should get a new television “for the funeral” (ours is comically small), my mind turned not to the John Lewis website, but to the coronation, the generations connected, even now, by the allure of an outside broadcast.In 1953, the question of how and where events at Westminster Abbey might be watched was, for most of the population, somewhat pressing. As the year began, fewer than two million people owned a television set. Continue reading...

Leonard Francis, who pleaded guilty to fraud, is on the run, leaving questions about the role of military contractors in his wakeLeonard Glenn Francis, known as “Fat Leonard”, skipped house arrest on Monday and has, in all probability, crossed the US-Mexico border and is trying to make his way to Asia.Francis, who was due to be sentenced after pleading guilty to a decades-long military contractor fraud scheme, has left behind a headache for the US navy, and for the military broadly, in mounting foreign operations. Continue reading...

The Queen knew how to earn trust and respect around the world. Liz Truss should follow her example

Ty Cobb served during the ex-president’s administration and claimed it was one of his two toxic traits dictating his actionsA former lawyer who served in the White House during Donald Trump’s administration, said the ex-president is a “deeply wounded narcissist”, claiming that’s one of the two toxic traits that dictate his actions and decision making.Ty Cobb, who stepped down in 2018 because of Trump’s disapproval of his “conciliatory” approach, also said Trump is “incapable of acting other than in his perceived self-interest or for revenge”. Continue reading...

You don’t need to be productive as a kid and it feels good to revel in the joy of simpler things, silly or saneAs an only child, I am used to entertaining myself. Not only am I used to it, I am probably hardwired to enjoy it. And back in 2020, in between the toilet paper wars and the crushing weight of the pandemic becoming a reality, I sank into the ultimate form of nostalgia for comfort – I rediscovered activities from my childhood.There is less pressure to be productive as a kid. Your craft projects made out of sticky tape and cardboard don’t have to be a masterpieces and time in the kitchen can be spent baking things that can’t go wrong, like chocolate crackles or cakes made out of sand. Continue reading...

Medical advocates across the country are now pushing for 1m more transplants with increasing number of patients seeking procedureMedical advocates across the United States have launched a new push for 1m more organ transplants, after the milestone figure of the 1 millionth transplant in the US was met at the end of last week.Since the first kidney transplant was performed in 1954, the US has surpassed over 1m transplants. Nevertheless, with more patients seeking the procedure than ever before, the demand for organ donors has grown significantly. Continue reading...

A new ISO-approved measure will also allow sharing of suspicious purchases with law enforcementCredit card purchases of firearms in the US can now be tracked and purchases deemed suspicious can even be shared with law enforcement, according to a new measure approved by an organization that sets parameters for business transactions.The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) voted in favor of creating a merchant code for firearms stores, according to Reuters. Continue reading...

The 19-year-old Spaniard would be youngest ever men’s world No 1 if he can beat another emerging star in Norway’s RuudOver the course of an intense, chaotic and wildly entertaining US Open semi-final between Carlos Alcaraz and Frances Tiafoe, as their combined creativity, athleticism and joy merged to create entertainment in its purest form, Alcaraz absorbed so many blows. He conceded a difficult first set tiebreak with a double fault, then after establishing his dominance, he couldn’t hold on. Alcaraz continually lost his serve, failed to take a match point and found himself in a fifth set.There were so many moments when the momentum could have dangerously shifted, but no matter how the match twisted, he maintained his intensity until the end. Across the three consecutive five-set battles that have led him to the final, this resilience has been his defining characteristic. It will make him so hard to put away as he faces Casper Ruud for the men’s US Open title on Sunday. Continue reading...

Fire crews make progress on massive Fairview fire, as storm set to bring cooler temperatures but possible floodingSouthern Californians welcomed cooler temperatures and spotty rain Saturday from a tropical storm veering off the Pacific coast days after a relentless heat wave nearly overwhelmed the state’s electrical grid.Officials braced for flooding in coastal and mountain areas from the storm and feared powerful winds could expand the massive Fairview Fire about 75 miles (121 km) south-east of Los Angeles. Continue reading...

It’s precisely at times of transition that we should take the chance to interrogate hereditary powerKing Charles III. As soon as one monarch dies, another takes her place. It is a seamless transition that, for many, is both necessary and reassuring, helping sustain the myth of monarchy that, while kings and queens may pass on, the institution endures. It is also for that very reason that the seamlessness is troubling.At moments such as these, republicans are faced with a dilemma. “We are saddened to hear the news of the Queen’s death and we wish to express our condolences to the royal family,” tweeted the campaign group Republic. “There will be plenty of time to debate the monarchy’s future. For now, we must respect the family’s personal loss and allow them and others to mourn the loss of a mother, grandmother and great grandmother.” Continue reading...

Stephen Miller and Brian Jack were summoned as authorities investigate funds related to the Save America Pac, currently sitting at $100mTwo of Donald Trump’s top officials are facing subpoenas for an investigation against him regarding fund-raisers following the 2020 elections that aimed to undermine the results of the election.Stephen Miller, once one of the former US president’s most senior aides, and Brian Jack, his former director of political affairs at the White House, were part of a large group of Trump’s officials and allies who were subpoenaed by the grand jury this week, the New York Times reported. Continue reading...

Public official Robert Telles arrested over death of Jeff German, who had reported bullying and favoritism in Telles’s departmentIn four decades of writing about the Las Vegas criminal underworld and government corruption, investigative reporter Jeff German took on plenty of powerful and dangerous people.The hard-bitten newsman was once punched by an organized crime associate and received veiled threats from mobsters. Continue reading...

New Mexico police say bike-builder Dillen Maurer cut off his foot with a chainsaw and did not suffer amputation in ATV accidentA prominent figure in America’s outdoor and cycling scene has lost a foot in circumstances that remain mysterious, as local police say he cut his foot off with a chainsaw, while he and his spouse maintain the amputation happened during a hit-and-run accident.The story was detailed in a GoFundMe post by Dillen Maurer’s wife, Jenn Maurer, who recounted how her husband – an established frame-maker at Baphomet Bicycles in New Mexico – lost his foot several inches above the ankle over the Labor Day holiday weekend. Continue reading...

The cable network’s CEO dramatic hiring and firing of on-air talent seems designed to woo the Fox News crowdCNN wants to be the new Fox News and it’s not even trying to hide it. Earlier this year Chris Licht became the new CEO of the cable network and immediately made it clear that he was going to change the network’s direction. One of Licht’s first moves was to embark on what Axios described as a “Capitol Hill diplomacy tour” and others described as a Republican boot-licking tour. Licht met with key lawmakers who had become wary of cable news and promised them that CNN was moving away from “alarmist” programming towards more neutral, objective reporting. Continue reading...

The president’s speech last week was a testament to the extraordinary danger democracy is facingPresident Biden’s speech in Philadelphia last week, on the imminent threat to democracy, marks an important moment in US history.The president was precise and direct about why democracy is under threat, and from whom. Throughout his speech, he made sure to distinguish between what he called “mainstream Republicans” on one side and extremist “Maga Republicans” on the other. But Biden also left no doubt that the extremist forces are not simply fringe phenomena, that today’s Republican party is “dominated, driven and intimidated by Donald Trump and the Maga Republicans”.Thomas Zimmer is a visiting professor at Georgetown University, focused on the history of democracy and its discontents in the United States, and a Guardian US contributing opinion writer Continue reading...

American commentators, academics and others are calling into reconsideration of monarchy’s lasting influencesThe death of Queen Elizabeth II revived longstanding criticism in the US over the monarchy’s enrichment from the British empire’s violent colonization of African, Asian and Caribbean nations and their diasporas.Since her death on Thursday, American commentators, academics, and a former US diplomat, among others, took to social media and elsewhere to call for fully wrestling with the British monarchy’s lasting influence in light of the monarch’s death. Continue reading...

After 20 years as a fan, I can’t justify supporting the ongoing carnage in football. As a sociologist who studies violence, gender and labor in sports, perhaps it was just a matter of timeOn Sunday, the NFL season will kick off in earnest. Sports news websites, team message boards and social media are already awash in coverage. To the unbridled joy of many, football is back. But for the first time in almost 20 years, I won’t be following.This summer, I decided I’m out – done with football. I can’t justify supporting the ongoing carnage in the sport. As a sociologist who studies violence, gender and labor in sports, perhaps it was just a matter of time. Continue reading...

Communication between player and coach has been seen as a benign infraction for years. But in New York this year it has become legalTo the casual tennis fan, there’s likely a sense that the US Open has looked and felt different this fortnight from prior years. And that impression would be entirely accurate. Aside from the return of full attendance in Flushing Meadows following the Covid intrusion upon all live events in 2020 and 2021, several rule changes implemented over the last 13 months have changed the look, action and rhythm of the competition.In 2020, Novak Djokovic was defaulted in the first set in his fourth-round match against Pablo Carreno Busta when, in a moment of intense frustration, he smacked a ball away, hitting a lineswoman in the neck. His tournament came to an immediate halt. Continue reading...

Extreme temperatures, especially in the state’s interiors, has left the vulnerable population reeling from the heat’s effectsWhen temperatures soar over 100F in Fresno, California, Kathleen Dortland sometimes has to choose: the air conditioner or the oxygen machine?The small AC unit in the bedroom of the fifth-wheel trailer she shares with her four cats doesn’t cool much of the house, but without it her home is uninhabitable. She also needs the oxygen that she has relied on since cancer weakened her lungs. This week as California faced a punishing heatwave, Dortland had to run both devices at the same time and she was painfully aware of what that would cost her. Continue reading...

Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal held for more than a year after being stopped while hiking along Iraqi border in 2009Three Americans who were jailed by Iran for more than a year and accused of being spies while hiking along the border with Iraq are suing their former captors, hoping to persuade a judge to award them damages for the torture they say they endured.The lawsuit being pursued by Sarah Shourd, her ex-husband and fellow journalist Shane Bauer, and their friend Josh Fattal is being overseen by federal judge Richard Leon in Washington, who in 2019 ordered Iran to pay Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian $180m for imprisoning him for more than a year on false espionage charges. Continue reading...

One longtime Bannon watcher says it’s too early to count him out – even a prison term could enhance his status among the Maga crowdWhen Steve Bannon heard that he was, after all, going to face charges last week for allegedly ripping off contributors to a multimillion-dollar fund to build a wall on the Mexican border, he claimed it was a sign of his success.Donald Trump’s former strategist said his arrest on Thursday was an attempt to shut down his War Room pod and video cast because it is driving grassroots support for the former president’s Make America Great Again (Maga) movement and reshaping the Republican party ahead of the midterm elections. Continue reading...

Ex-adviser says president in 2020 agreed that his son-in-law had to be replaced by Steve Bannon but did not dare try to fire himIn June 2020, less than five months before polling day, Donald Trump agreed to a “coup d’état” to remove his son-in-law Jared Kushner from control of his presidential re-election campaign and replace him with the far-right provocateur Steve Bannon.The coup had support from Donald Trump Jr but according to a new book by the former Trump aide Peter Navarro it did not work, after Trump refused to give Kushner the bad news himself. Continue reading...

The Republican candidate for Pennsylvania’s governor spoke during a video call hosted by a Christian nationalist group memberA week before the Capitol attack, on a video call organised by a member of a Christian nationalist group, a Pennsylvania state senator who is the Republican candidate for governor in the battleground state prayed that supporters of Donald Trump would “seize the power” on 6 January 2021.Doug Mastriano attended the pro-Trump rally in Washington that day, after which supporters, told by Trump to “fight like hell” to overturn his election defeat, stormed Congress in an attempt to stop certification of Joe Biden’s victory. Continue reading...

The ex-president keeps dropping hints he will run again without taking the plunge – and finance as well as politics may be a factorIn Tennessee in June, he asked a crowd: “Would anybody like me to run for president?” Then in Nevada in July he remarked: “We have a president who ran twice, won twice and may have to do it a third time. Can you believe it?”In Pennsylvania earlier this month, he vowed that “in 2024, most importantly, we are going to take back our magnificent White House”. Continue reading...

District judge to assess candidates put forward, as well as disagreements over the powers a special master would have to review retrieved documentsThe US justice department and lawyers for Donald Trump were unable to agree Friday night on who to have as the so-called special master to review for potential privilege protections the materials that the FBI seized from the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort earlier this month.The justice department and Trump met a deadline to submit a joint filing but failed to reach consensus on most of the key issues at stake: not only the identity of the special master but also the scope of the work, and who should pay for the added expense. Continue reading...

We somehow imagined she could stay with us forever – an indestructible force that always bounced back from adversities both personal and nationalI suspect Queen Elizabeth II’s death has struck so hard for many for two main reasons.The first is that the Queen was a constant and rock-solid presence for almost the entire postwar era – there was a sense of certainty and strength in the values she brought to public office, in an age whose only certainty seemed to be change itself. Continue reading...

The fierce weather comes with a risk of flash floods and gusts that could fuel wildfires burning across the stateA tropical storm surging up the California coast brought fierce winds on Friday that threatened to fuel ferocious wildfires already burning across the state.After days of record-breaking heat that tested California’s energy capacity, baked moisture out of the drought-stricken landscapes and spurred the spread of deadly fires , the arrival of Tropical Storm Kay produced heavy rains that caused flash floods and threatened more trouble for the state’s electric grid. Continue reading...

The vice-president blasts the supreme court’s conservative majority over abortion rights in an interview with NBCKamala Harris has excoriated the US supreme court for being an “activist” institution after stripping away nationwide abortion rights earlier this year.The vice-president’s remarks criticizing the supreme court’s conservative majority for its decision in June to reverse the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling that established the federal right to an abortion came during an interview with Chuck Todd of NBC’s Meet the Press. Continue reading...

The governor’s latest step is a way to boost low vaccination rates in areas where the virus has been foundNew York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, declared a disaster emergency on Friday and said the state was stepping up its polio-fighting efforts after the virus was detected in the wastewater of yet another county in the New York City area.Health officials began checking for signs of the virus in sewage water after the first case of polio in the US in nearly a decade was identified in July in Rockland county, close to the city. Continue reading...

Polish world No 1 has won a slam and all her six finals in 2022 while Tunisian wants to make up for losing Wimbledon finalThe two best players in the world will face off in the final of the last grand slam tournament of the year. It is not a situation that has occurred much in the past few years of women’s tennis, but it is the defining narrative of the US Open final as Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur stare each other down on Saturday.With just a few notable exceptions – Ashleigh Barty for a year and Naomi Osaka on hard courts for a short period – in recent years women’s tennis has been characterised by its openness. Seemingly anyone has been able to win on any given day, few players able to maintain their form for long. The last major final of the year, however, pits the No 1 and the No 2 in the WTA race against each other in what could well be a new rivalry in the sport. Continue reading...

Who switched? Who quit? Who took a hit? Continue reading...

Over the past 71 years, the Queen visited America as both a princess and queen, and met more US presidents than any other head of state, according to the White House Continue reading...

Court ‘not the appropriate forum’ for former president’s complaint that Democrats unfairly linked his winning campaign to RussiaA US judge has dismissed Donald Trump’s lawsuit against his 2016 rival Hillary Clinton, saying the former Republican president’s allegations that Democrats tried to rig that election by linking his campaign to Russia was an attempt to “flaunt” political grievances that did not belong in court.In throwing out Trump’s lawsuit on Thursday night, judge Donald Middlebrooks of the US district court for the southern district of Florida said the lawsuit was not seeking “redress for any legal harm” and that the court was “not the appropriate forum” for the former president’s complaints. Continue reading...

Opposition by quintet means Republicans lack votes in upper chamber to end filibuster, with bill heading back to state houseFive Republicans in South Carolina’s state senate have joined the Democratic minority to reject a near-total abortion ban, thwarting the controlling party’s intention to capitalize on the supreme court’s decision to overturn federal protections for the procedure.Their opposition at a special session called on Thursday to approve a restrictive bill passed earlier in the South Carolina House meant Republicans lacked enough votes in the upper chamber, which they control 30-16, to end a filibuster. Continue reading...

Biden has repeatedly hammered the theme of Republican extremism in recent weeks as midterm elections loomDemocrats are trying to defy history in November. Since 1932, there have only been two midterm elections – in 1998 and 2002 – when the president’s party gained seats in the House of Representatives. Democrats hope that the pattern will be broken for a third time.While midterms are generally viewed as a referendum on the sitting president and his party, Biden and other Democratic leaders have instead sought to reframe the upcoming elections as a test of American democracy itself. Democrats believe that, if Americans view the elections as a choice between extremists threatening their fundamental rights and candidates seeking to protect those vulnerable freedoms, then the party may be able to maintain their congressional majorities. In Democrats’ view, a historic election calls for a history-defying result.This article was amended on 9 September 2022 to correct a quote by Joe Biden. Continue reading...

Judge’s special master ruling bars prosecutors from reviewing seized records as part of criminal investigationThe US justice department and the legal team of Donald Trump were due on Friday to jointly file a list of possible candidates to serve as a “special master” to review the records seized by the FBI from the former president’s home.US district judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee in Florida, granted Trump’s request for a special master earlier in the week. Her order temporarily bars prosecutors from reviewing the seized records as part of their criminal investigation. Continue reading...

In the end, Maga is nothing but a scam with hate in its heart and other people’s money in its pocketsBy all appearances, Steve Bannon likes to think that he represents the soul of the Maga movement. He sees himself as a tireless champion of the common man, fighting their battles against America’s corrupt elites. It’s not for nothing that his radio show is called War Room and carried by the Real America’s Voice network. But just like everybody else who has worked closely with Donald Trump, Bannon is either delusional or trying to delude. He’s not the everyman – he’s the corrupt elite.This was driven home once again on Thursday, when Bannon surrendered himself to New York prosecutors to face charges of defrauding donors to We Build the Wall, a non-profit organization that raised over $25m to build a wall to keep immigrants from crossing America’s southern border. Although donors to the group were assured that 100% of their money would be used on construction, large sums were siphoned into the pockets of those running the group. And who as chairman of the board allegedly took the greatest sum of all? None other than Steve Bannon.Andrew Gawthorpe is a historian of the United States and host of the podcast America Explained Continue reading...

A child welfare investigation drove us from our conservative state. Little did we know that rightwing governors across America would soon be embracing this kind of persecutionOne autumn day in 2011, an investigator from our state’s department of children and families knocked on our door. At the time we lived in a conservative state in the American south. Someone had made an anonymous complaint accusing us of child abuse for allowing our child to have a girlhood. A lawyer told us that, in this state with decades of Republican-appointed judges, we were at risk of losing custody of our transgender daughter.The investigator’s visit felt like a bizarre clerical error; our four kids were thriving and we were well-liked in our community. The investigator ultimately found us to be good parents doing what was best for our child. However, it had become urgently clear that we would have to leave the deep south and move to a place where our youngest daughter, who had recently transitioned to she/her pronouns and a nickname, would have basic rights to equal education, housing, healthcare and, as she grew up, employment.Carolyn Hays is an award-winning, critically acclaimed, bestselling author. She is the author of A Girlhood: Letter to My Transgender Daughter, which she has written under a pseudonym Continue reading...

Death brings end to Britain’s second Elizabethan era and heralds reign of King Charles III. Plus, rural Virginia pivots from coal to green jobsGood morning.Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch in British history, has died aged 96, drawing to a close the country’s second Elizabethan era and heralding the reign of her son, King Charles III.How did Joe Biden pay tribute? In a statement issued jointly with the first lady, Jill Biden, the president said: “Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, was more than a monarch. She defined an era.” Tributes have also poured in from former leaders.How have people reacted to the news? From the UK to the Commonwealth and beyond, admirers of the Queen have paid their respects to the longest reigning monarch in British history while crowds gathered at royal residences.What happens now? The UK now enters a period of official mourning which will last for 10 days. Elizabeth II will be accorded a state funeral at Westminster Abbey, expected to be held on Monday 19 September though that has not yet been confirmed.What else is happening? Top former Trump strategist Steve Bannon has been charged in New York with money laundering, conspiracy and scheme to defraud. The former Trump adviser surrendered to authorities in Manhattan on Thursday. Continue reading...

As one of the most brutal September heat events dragged on, the red numbers climbed ever higherCalifornia this week endured one of its longest and most intense September heatwaves, smashing temperature records up and down the state.Since 1 September, more than a dozen cities across the state set new all-time highs, with numerous others tying previous records or setting new monthly records. Thermometers in Sacramento, California, recorded a stunning 116F (47C) on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Visual effects workers enduring long hours and low pay look to secure the same protections as film industry colleaguesVisual effects are increasingly relied upon in the entertainment industry with the explosion of content through streaming services, but the people behind this work have reported poor working conditions, including long hours without overtime, low pay, a lack of benefits, intense workloads and productivity demands.Visual effects (VFX) workers are currently pushing to unionize with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE ), which currently represents over 150,000 workers in arts, media and entertainment. Continue reading...

Bannon joins the ranks of several Trump allies to be recently prosecuted by the Manhattan district attorney’s officeWhen the far-right firebrand Steve Bannon was hit with fresh fraud charges for an alleged border wall fundraising scheme, he joined the ranks of several close Donald Trump cronies recently prosecuted by the Manhattan district attorney’s office.In 2019, then district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr brought mortgage fraud charges against Paul Manafort, Trump’s 2016 campaign chairman. And in 2021, the current district attorney, Alvin Bragg, charged the former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg with fraud, and Ken Kurson with felony cyberstalking, in separate cases. Continue reading...