Sunshine Protection Act needs approval from the House, and the signature of Joe Biden, to become lawThe Senate unanimously approved a measure Tuesday that would make daylight saving time permanent across the United States next year.The bipartisan bill, named the Sunshine Protection Act, would ensure Americans would no longer have to change their clocks twice a year. But the bill still needs approval from the House, and the signature of Joe Biden, to become law. Continue reading...

The pupil from east London was humiliated, and we should be outraged. It seems police racism and misogyny is as bad as ever

The spa shootings in Georgia killed six Asian women but as a community tries to heal, hate incidents are on the riseRobert Peterson has been quietly grieving the death of his mother, Yong Ae Yue, in private for the last year – remembering her Korean cooking, the way she adored her grandchildren, and the pride she took in casting her vote as an American citizen. He holds on to those personal memories one year on, while many others reflect on the chilling public memory of the last moments of her life, when she was shot and killed at the spa where she worked.The 63-year-old Korean American was one of six Asian women murdered on 16 March 2021 in a shooting rampage that targeted three Atlanta-area spas. Two others were also killed in the shootings. That attack has come to symbolize a pattern of violence that emerged with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and continues to haunt Asian American communities today. Continue reading...

Forget about seeds, records and RPIs. We’ve ranked the 68 schools in this year’s field by the only reasonable metric: the coolest person who went thereThis year’s NCAA tournament kicks off in earnest on Thursday at noon. But rather than analyze and deconstruct the bracket right now (don’t worry, we will be doing that later), we’ve ranked the 68 schools in this year’s field by the coolest person who went there. Gonzaga might be the favorite on the hardwood, but where do they rank in cultural cachet?68) Davidson: Woodrow Wilson Continue reading...

Attorneys reject explanation that Juror 50 ‘flew through’ screening questionnaire, which would have flagged he had been sexually abusedGhislaine Maxwell’s lawyers have said the juror who did not disclose childhood sexual abuse provided a dubious explanation for the omission as they once again requested a new trial.The juror, Scotty David, was questioned in court on 8 March about his lack of disclosure. David, who was Juror 50, told the judge, Alison Nathan, that he was distracted when he flew through a screening questionnaire for potential panelists. Continue reading...

US prosecutors should have little trouble convincing a jury. Full speed ahead is the only proper courseOn 8 March, a jury took three hours to render a guilty verdict against Guy Reffitt, a January 6 insurrectionist. Donald Trump could not have been pleased. DC is where Trump would be tried for any crimes relating to his admitted campaign to overturn the election.Jurors there would have no trouble finding that the evidence satisfies all statutory elements required to convict Trump, including his criminal intent, the most challenging to prove. That is our focus here. Continue reading...

Labor strategists hope wins will turn into a larger trend but acknowledge it won’t be easy as corporations fight fiercely against unionizationThe recent, much-publicized wave of union victories in the US at companies as varied as the giant coffee chain Starbucks, trendy outdoor outfitters REI and media group the New York Times is spurring hopes that this will somehow turn into a much larger unionization wave that lifts millions of Americans.This is an unusually promising moment for unions, labor strategists say, as they strain to figure out how best to build a larger wave, although they acknowledge it won’t be easy because US corporations fight so fiercely against unionization. Continue reading...

Plainclothes unit and enthusiasm for facial recognition technology are worrying civil rights advocatesWhile New York City’s mayor, Eric Adams, has been defending his veganism and equating drug dependency to liking cheese, he has been escalating the city’s police powers, deeply concerning civil rights advocates.Adams, the second Black person to serve as New York mayor, largely won the mayorship through securing the votes of Black, brown and working-class New Yorkers. Continue reading...

Ukrainian president expected to press for tougher line on Russia and urge US to facilitate transfer of fighter jets. Plus, interest rates set to rise

Major League Soccer’s newest club, due to begin play in 2023, is using its platform to tell a virtually unknown part of Black history – and living its community-led values other ways tooWhen Major League Soccer decided to build Centene Stadium in St Louis, the first priority was honoring the “the hard truths of past”. The 22,500-seat soccer-specific stadium is designed with canopy shading and is 40ft below street level. It also sits on the same block that was once a part of Mill Creek Valley, the predominantly Black neighborhood on the Southwest end of St Louis once home to 20,000 residents, 800 businesses and more than 40 religious institutions. In addition to Madame ‘CJ’ Walker, America’s first Black woman millionaire, Mill Creek was also home to Josephine Baker, Scott Joplin and General William Tecumseh Sherman. Even poet Walt Whitman was known to visit the thriving Black community. But in the summer of 1959, the residents of Mill Creek Valley were displaced and the neighborhood demolished in the name of “urban renewal”.Now the embryonic MLS club St Louis City SC and Great Rivers Greenway are using the stadium as a platform to tell the story of Mill Creek Valley. Continue reading...

From Whoopi Goldberg to Jimmy Fallon, everyone seems to think they can write a great kids’ book, but very few people canAre you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin. Once upon a time there was a harried new parent (me, I’m talking about me) who sat down and read her baby a book. Then she read the baby another book and then she read the baby another book etc, etc. That’s what you’re supposed to do when you have a kid, isn’t it? You read them books so they can develop a passion for literature and grow up to have an impecunious future in the arts.As far as I can tell, my 10-month-old hasn’t developed a passion for literature yet. Unless you count putting books in her mouth, squealing, and then throwing them across the room as a “passion”. But I’ve certainly learned a lot from all this new reading material. And, because sharing is caring (a big theme in kids’ books), I’m going to share these learnings with you. Continue reading...

Some behavioral themes identified include concerning online content, a history of being bullied and financial instabilityA new US Secret Service report details a rising threat from men who identify as “involuntary celibates” or “incels”, due to their inability to form intimate relationships with women.The report released on Tuesday and prepared by the National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) highlights behavioral threat assessment themes identified in years of research examining targeted violence. Continue reading...

Vice-President Kamala Harris has tested negative but is cutting back on her schedule; both were vaccinated and had booster shotsDoug Emhoff, the US second gentleman, has tested positive for Covid-19, the White House announced on Tuesday. The vice-president, Kamala Harris, tested negative, but is curtailing her schedule as a result of her husband’s positive test.Harris’s spokesperson Sabrina Singh said Harris would not participate in a planned Equal Pay Day event on Tuesday evening at the White House with Joe Biden “out of an abundance of caution”. Continue reading...

State’s attorney says there’s insufficient evidence to charge officers in the deaths of Toledo and 22-year-old Anthony AlvarezNo charges will be filed against the Chicago police officers who chased and fatally shot 13-year-old Adam Toledo and 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez within days of each other last year, prompting sharp criticism of how the department handles foot pursuits, a prosecutor announced on Tuesday.The Cook county state’s attorney, Kim Foxx, said there was insufficient evidence to charge the officers in the deaths, which were captured on video that showed both suspects appeared to have handguns before the shootings. Continue reading...

Enrique Tarrio possessed document titled ‘1776 Returns’, with details to invade and occupy seven buildings, New York Times saysThe former leader of the Proud Boys, a violent far-right nationalist group whose members were prominent in the January 6 riot, was found in possession of comprehensive plans to “surveil and storm” government buildings, prosecutors said.Enrique Tarrio, the group’s former chairman who was arrested last week and charged with conspiracy over the deadly attack, had a nine-page document entitled “1776 Returns”, named for the year of American independence, the New York Times reported. Continue reading...

New York Times reports talks under way for plea agreement that could bring an end to one of biggest criminal cases in US historyKhalid Sheikh Mohammed and four co-defendants accused of planning the 9/11 attacks are reportedly in talks with US prosecutors over a potential plea deal that would see them plead guilty in exchange for avoiding the death penalty.The New York Times reported that negotiations are under way for a possible plea agreement that could bring to an end what is arguably the biggest criminal case in US history. The five defendants were first charged in 2008 with plotting or logistically supporting the terrorist attacks that led to the murder of almost 3,000 people in New York’s Twin Towers, the Pentagon in Washington, and in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Continue reading...

United States Studies Centre finds Americans are not convinced the Indo-Pacific should be a priority region for the Biden administration

Man held after two people killed and three wounded in New York and Washington DC in less than two weeksA gunman suspected of stalking homeless people asleep on the streets of New York City and Washington DC, killing at least two and wounding three, was arrested early on Tuesday, police said.Law enforcement arrested the man in Washington, Metropolitan police (MPD) said on Twitter. Police in the two cities released surveillance photographs including a close-up clearly showing the man’s face, and urged people who might know him to come forward. Continue reading...

Outrage as state becomes first in US to pass ban modelled on Texas law that allows family members to sue abortion providersIdaho has become the first US state to pass an abortion ban modeled after a controversial Texas law that prohibits abortions after about six weeks or when a heartbeat is detected.The news comes with abortion rights under assault across the US – despite clear majority support for such rights. The conservative-dominated US supreme court is thought likely to overturn Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling which established the right, later this year. Continue reading...

Victim, 67, was entering her apartment building when Tammel Esco approached her from behind, Yonkers police saidA man in Yonkers, New York was arrested for attempted murder after he punched an Asian woman 125 times and called her a racial slur, police said.The 67-year-old victim was entering her apartment building on Friday evening when the perpetrator, whom police identified as 42-year-old Tammel Esco, saw her and called her an “Asian bitch”, Yonkers police said. Continue reading...

Li Jinjin, 66, was fatally stabbed in his New York law office by Xiaoning Zhang, 25, for allegedly refusing to take her on as a clientA dissident legal scholar who was jailed for two years in China after participating in the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement was killed on Monday in his law office in New York, where he settled after seeking asylum in the US, police said.Li Jinjin, 66, was stabbed to death in the city where he had long worked as an immigration lawyer, advocating publicly for people jailed or killed by Chinese authorities during the nation’s democracy movement. Continue reading...

Drop in price comes as Covid-19 infections rise in China, which could hit demand for energy suppliesGlobal oil prices have fallen back below $100 (£77) a barrel amid ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine and concerns over the rapid growth in Covid infections in China.The price of a barrel of oil slid to $99 on energy markets on Tuesday, before rising back to just above $100 in early afternoon trading. It comes amid a decline from a 14-year high of close to $130 reached earlier this month after Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine. Continue reading...

Republican senator makes remark and cites Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at private event to raise funds for Liz CheneyAt a private event in Virginia, senior Republican senator Mitt Romney delivered a stark warning about the threat to US democracy in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.“We are really the only significant experiment in democracy, and preserving liberal democracy is an extraordinary challenge,” the Utah senator and former Massachusetts governor and Republican presidential nominee said, according to attendees at the event in McLean, Virginia, who spoke to CBS News. Continue reading...

The mug featured prominently on Hawley’s website on Tuesday despite a cease and desist letter issued by PoliticoThe Republican senator Josh Hawley must stop using an infamous picture of him raising his fist to protesters at the US Capitol on January 6 on campaign merchandise, the news site Politico said.The shot was taken on 6 January 2021 as Hawley, from Missouri, made his way into the Capitol for the certification of electoral college results in Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump. Continue reading...

Democrats tout Biden’s role in responding to Russian aggression and highlight contrast with Putin-friendly Trump. Plus, Pete Davidson is going to spaceGood morning.Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has given Joe Biden a second chance to demonstrate the steady leadership he promised, raising hopes among Democrats that the White House’s efforts to punish Moscow for its shocking aggression will resonate with voters in this year’s midterm elections.Should Democrats be hopeful? Recent surveys have shown an increase in support for Biden, buoyed by approval of his handling of the conflict in Ukraine, though his overall ratings are still mired in the low 40s.Do Americans support the administration’s response to the conflict? Broadly they say support the response. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, Americans overwhelmingly favor a ban on oil and gas purchases from Russia, even if it means paying more at the pump.Is China going to send economic aid to Russia? US officials fear China has already decided to provide Russia with economic and financial support and is contemplating sending military supplies such as armed drones.What’s happening to the Russian oligarchs? Spain has temporarily seized a $140m superyacht in Barcelona that belongs to Sergei Chemezov, a former KGB officer. Meanwhile, four protesters who occupied the home of Oleg Deripaska have been arrested by police.What else is happening? Here’s everything we know on day 20 of the Russian invasion. Continue reading...

Legislation in New York’s senate and assembly would create a council with powers to establish workplace standardsDolma Sherpa worked as a nail technician for four years in New York City, up until the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the industry and left her with severely reduced work hours when the industry reopened.The work was already unstable, Sherpa explained, as she often worked seven days a week during busy times of the year, and then struggled to get hours and work through the winter. Continue reading...

Rafael Nadal has said he feels 'terrible' for Naomi Osaka, but admitted the heckling she endured during her straight-sets defeat by Veronika Kudermetova at Indian Wells in California 'happens in the real world'. The 21-times grand slam champion added: 'Even if it's terrible to hear, we need to be prepared.'

The end of games are often scarred by timeouts and intentional fouls. Small tweaks could make the league much more exciting for fansThere are 21.7 seconds left on the clock. Team A’s center grabs a rebound with his team up by two, and he’s promptly fouled by Team B. Nineteen free throws, eight fouls, and about 20 minutes of real-time later, the final buzzer sounds.The center? Andre Drummond. Teams A and B? The Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks last month. Fans’ excitement after a fantastic game of basketball? Shattered. Continue reading...

The baseball season was threatened by a labor dispute. The NFL is being sued by a coach. It doesn’t really matter to team owners while the money keeps comingThere have been no games in either league for more than a month, but there has been plenty of conflict and drama in both Major League Baseball and the National Football League. On one hand, we had MLB locking out its players – delaying the start of the 2022 season – to put maximum pressure on the players’ association. On the other, the NFL is preparing its response to former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores’s racial discrimination lawsuit.What’s the connection? Well, both situations involve entities that represent the interests of team owners – all fantastically wealthy – in very real public relations battles. In both situations, the NFL and MLB have acted as if they have the edge thanks to their very substantial financial resources. It’s entirely possible that they’re both right, although MLB may be pushing things farther than it realizes. Continue reading...

Democrats tout president’s role in responding to Russian aggression – and bid to highlight contrast with Putin-friendly Donald TrumpJoe Biden came into the White House vowing to restore American leadership on the world stage. But the tumultuous end to the war in Afghanistan last year shook Americans’ confidence in their new commander-in-chief, raising doubts about his competence and judgment and sending his approval ratings tumbling.Now Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has given Biden a second chance to demonstrate the steady leadership he promised, raising hopes among Democrats that the White House’s efforts to punish Moscow for its shocking aggression will resonate with voters in this year’s midterm elections. Continue reading...

Democratic Pac alleges former president is raising campaign money without announcing candidacyA Democratic fundraising organization has announced that it is filing a complaint to the Federal Election Commission in which it accuses former president Donald Trump of violating campaign finance laws by spending political funds for a 2024 presidential bid without officially declaring his 2024 candidacy.The American Bridge Super Pac, which filed the complaint on Monday, said in the complaint that “Trump has been illegally using his multi-candidate leadership PAC to raise and spend funds in excess of Commission limits for the purpose of advancing a 2024 presidential campaign. Continue reading...

The 334-metre Ever Forward ran into trouble in the Chesapeake Bay, a year to the month after its cousin blocked the canal in EgyptA year to the month after the Ever Given blocked the Suez canal for a week – prompting global fascination and countless memes – the container ship’s cousin has run aground in the Chesapeake Bay.Officials are now scrambling to refloat that container ship, ironically named the Ever Forward, after it got stuck on Sunday night as it tried to head from the Port of Baltimore to Norfolk, Virginia, Bloomberg reported. Continue reading...

The increase in asylum-seekers is 35 times the number who crossed the border in Mexico during the same time period last yearMaksim Derzhko calls it one of the most terrifying experiences of his life. A longtime opponent of Vladimir Putin, he flew from Vladivostok to the Mexican border city of Tijuana with his 14-year-old daughter and was in a car with seven other Russians. All that separated them from claiming asylum in the United States was a US officer standing in traffic as vehicles inched toward inspection booths.The emotions are “hard to put into words,” he says. “It’s fear. The unknown. It’s really hard. We had no choice.” Continue reading...

Bill signed by Republican governor sparks opposition from Black lawmakers who say it will quash debate on racism’s harmful effectsMississippi’s governor signed a bill on Monday to limit how race can be discussed in classrooms, marking the latest move in a Republican-driven battle over “critical race theory”, an academic framework that examines how racism has shaped US public policy and institutions.The Mississippi bill has sparked opposition from Black lawmakers, who have said its passage could squelch honest discussion about the harmful effects of racism. Continue reading...

Leaders prepare to welcome Ukraine president before Wednesday speech amid divisions over question of planes

Conservative activist who runs a political lobbying firm, says she briefly attended rally but left before Trump addressed crowdVirginia “Ginni” Thomas, wife of the supreme court justice Clarence Thomas, has admitted attending a rally which preceded the January 6 attack on the US Capitol but denied helping to plan it.In an interview with the Washington Free Beacon, Thomas, a conservative activist who runs a political lobbying firm, said she briefly attended the rally near the White House on 6 January 2021 but left before Donald Trump addressed the crowd. Continue reading...

If we are not talking about the conflict, and the unimaginable horror of it, we are thinking about it. The rest just seems gibberishWhen you have known someone for a long time, you can cover a lot of ground extremely fast. I met a friend of 30 years, by the recycling bins. She had just been on the phone to someone who was going with a fleet of ambulances to Ukraine, and had asked her to go with them. “I was just saying ‘yes’, when my phone ran out of battery. Then I realised that I don’t have a skill set for this. No nursing training. I haven’t driven since I was 11. Imagine how embarrassing that would be; driving across five countries and you can’t even take over for two hours. I don’t even have the competence to keep my phone charged when I’m right next to some electricity.” We just stood for a bit and boggled at the unimaginability of that idea. You might accidentally agree to drive into a war zone, having forgotten that you couldn’t drive, and that doomed enterprise was only averted because you’d forgotten to charge your phone. But the whole thing is unimaginable.It turns out it is possible to veer, all day long, between very strong emotions: impotent compassion, guilt and anger. Rage is the convenient feeling, more energising than compassion and much more comfortable than guilt. That’s why you always end up hating someone if you wrong them. Your infinitely creative brain finds a reason that it’s their fault. Continue reading...

Mother: ‘If they want to not have memorials on their street corners they need to stop murdering our loved ones on street corners’Plans to remove a street-corner memorial to Daunte Wright have been put on hold, after protests from the family of the 20-year old Black man who was killed by a Minnesota police officer during a traffic stop last year.“If they want to not have memorials on their street corners they need to stop murdering our loved ones on street corners,” said Wright’s mother, Katie Wright. Continue reading...

The war in Ukraine is showing up the inconsistency and moral sloppiness of how Britain deals with regimesWar is a good time to bury scruples. We may hate Vladimir Putin, but one dictator at a time appears all we can handle. So Britain’s Boris Johnson is to make a humiliating dash to plead with Saudi Arabia’s ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to lower the price of oil. What will he offer in return? Will it be a blind eye to the state murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the continued devastation of the Yemenis, or the execution at the weekend of 81 men, some of them political prisoners? Who next is to be appeased, the “oligarchs” of the UAE, or Nicolás Maduro, ruler of oil-rich Venezuela? How kind must Britain suddenly be to China, as the latter equivocates in its attitude to Putin and greedily eyes Taiwan?Ukraine has brought an enhanced moral sloppiness to British policymaking. Sanctions were thought a price worth paying in lieu of coming more directly to Kyiv’s aid against Putin. But as the war has not gone well for Putin, nor have sanctions for the west. They have sent energy prices and inflation soaring. At first this was to be a noble display of sharing Ukraine’s agony, sort of. Now it has all got too much. Political scientists may call it realpolitik, but in truth it is merely starting to hurt.Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...