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Donald Grant’s execution was the first in the US in 2022 and third in the state since it resumed lethal injections in OctoberOklahoma executed a man on Thursday for the murders of two hotel workers during a robbery in 2001.Donald Grant, 46, received a lethal injection at the Oklahoma state penitentiary in McAlester and was declared dead at 10.16am. It was the first execution in the US in 2022 and the third in Oklahoma since the state resumed lethal injections in October following a nearly seven-year hiatus. Continue reading...

The Tennessee legislature’s splintering of Nashville is just one example of the gerrymandering taking place across the USHello, and happy Thursday,On Tuesday afternoon, Jim Cooper, a moderate Democrat who has been in Congress for more than three decades, announced he was retiring. The timing was not a coincidence. Continue reading...

The 83-year-old US supreme court justice is stepping down – and allowing Biden to chose a successor before the midterms. Thank God for thatThat sound you hear is Democrats in Washington and across the country letting out a sigh of profound relief: Associate Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring in June, at the end of the US supreme court’s current term. News of the 83-year-old’s choice to step down broke on Wednesday – evidently a little earlier than the man himself would have liked – giving Joe Biden his first opportunity to fill a vacancy on the nation’s highest court.The decision from Breyer ends months of speculation and a determined pressure campaign to convince the ageing liberal justice to retire while Democrats still held both the White House and the Senate, that rare and precarious circumstance that is now required for any Democratic president to see his federal court nominees confirmed. Breyer’s decision to step down this summer gives the Democrats a narrow window to appoint his replacement before they are expected to lose control of the Senate in the November midterms. Continue reading...

On Holocaust Memorial Day, it is vital we remember all the people targeted by the NazisMany people, even those with no more than a passing interest in sport, have heard of Jesse Owens, the American athlete who ruined Adolf Hitler’s moment in the sun. For there can be no question that Hitler saw the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin as the ideal platform from which to amplify Nazi propaganda and demonstrate his white supremacist ideology. But Owens, the grandchild of a slave, shattered that illusion.Owens became the first US track and field athlete to win four gold medals at a single Olympiad. For most of the watching world, his dominance in the 100m, 200m, long jump, and 4x100m relay was a powerful repudiation of Hitler’s myth of a superior race of humans, the Aryans. So stung were the Nazis by Owens’ exploits in their own backyard that their chief propagandist, Joseph Goebbels, would later write in his diary that “white humanity should be ashamed of itself”. By this he meant that it had been a mistake to allow black athletes to compete at the world’s grandest sporting event.Olivia Marks-Woldman is the chief executive and Farayi Mungazi is the senior communications officer at the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust Continue reading...

Apps like Tinder and Hinge give straight men unfettered access to women – and a new sense of boldness through a seemingly endless set of optionsIf you’ve managed to live your life so that you’ve somehow avoided the “West Elm Caleb” saga that’s unfolded over the last week, then you’re probably a happier, less perplexed person because of it. And if you’re a single straight woman who uses dating apps and have never dated a young man who resembles West Elm Caleb, then that is nothing less than a miracle.In brief: West Elm Caleb is a guy, 25, who got outed on TikTok for allegedly dating multiple women he met on dating apps, all at the same time, leading them on and then ghosting them. “Back in my day we just called that a fuckboy,” said my friend Amelia, 29. Yes, I know. Back in 2015, I wrote a story for Vanity Fair entitled Tinder and the Dawn of the Dating Apocalypse in which I reported: “A ‘fuckboy’ is a young man who sleeps with women without any intention of having a relationship with them or perhaps even walking them to the door post-sex.”Nancy Jo Sales is a New York-based writer. Her latest book is Nothing Personal: My Secret Life in the Dating App Inferno

Details of every event at this year’s Winter Olympics in China Continue reading...

New York families have been caught in a web of child protective services that disproportionately affects poor families of colorPaullette Healy can tick off the ways her family’s life has been disrupted over the last three months: her younger child’s nightmares, the hours she has poured into collecting evidence to prove she’s a fit parent and an arduous legal process that still looms to clear her name.From early November through 1 January, the Brooklyn family was under investigation by the administration for children’s services, or ACS, the New York City agency tasked with looking into suspected cases of child abuse and neglect. Healy had been reported for “educational neglect” for not sending her two children to school amid Covid fears, though she says her kids kept up with their work remotely. Continue reading...

Joe Biden now has the chance to act on his campaign promise to make sure a Black woman becomes one of the justices

It’s time to tell the truth about the big lieAccording to a number of polls and surveys, significant majorities of Republican-aligned voters seem to believe the big lie that Trump was the rightful winner of the 2020 US presidential election and, consequently, the Biden administration is illegitimate.Taking these data at face value, a growing chorus insists that we’re living in a “post-truth” era, where members of one political party, the Republican party, can no longer tell facts from falsehood. As a result of the Republican party becoming unmoored from reality, the narratives typically continue, America is drifting headlong into a fascist takeover or a civil war.Musa al-Gharbi is a Paul F Lazarsfeld fellow in sociology at Columbia University Continue reading...

Phoenix’s new ‘heat tsar’ is betting on less asphalt, more green canopy and reflective surfaces to cool the sprawling heat islandA surge in heat-related deaths amid record-breaking summer temperatures offer a “glimpse into the future” and a stark warning that one of America’s largest cities is already unlivable for some, according to its new heat tsar.Almost 200 people died from extreme heat in Phoenix in 2020 – the hottest, driest and deadliest summer on record with 53 days topping 110F (43C) compared with a previous high of 33 days. Last year there were fewer scorching days, but the death toll remained staggeringly high, with people experiencing homelessness and addictions dying disproportionately. Continue reading...

A new generation of employees is refusing to simply ‘tough out’ bad treatment and bad pay. What’s so wrong with that?There’s nothing older generations enjoy more than complaining about the young. Their childhoods are too coddled and full of non-dangerous toys, then they get to school where they are not beaten with sticks and therefore do not build character, then they go to university where they bully statues and either have too much or not enough sex.Now, as millennials have aged into their uncool middle-manager era, and Gen Z enter the workforce, they have inspired a number of books and articles and speeches about how kids these days don’t know the value of a hard day’s work.Hannah Jewell is the author of We Need Snowflakes and 100 Nasty Women of History Continue reading...

Canada, Mexico and the US are frontrunners for a place at Qatar 2022. But there have been several important changes since the teams last playedIn the next seven days, Concacaf teams will play three matches that will go a long way to deciding who clinches a spot at Qatar 2022. With six games to go, Canada, the US and Mexico occupy the three automatic qualifying places in the table. Here’s what to look out for in the coming days. Continue reading...

Reaching the Super Bowl through the AFC now means battling past a host of brilliant young quarterbacks. Has the NFC become the easy option?Last Sunday’s epic between the Chiefs and Bills was about more than an individual game. It redefined what is possible in a playoff game, and what is now expected for a team to compete at the top of the AFC.Twenty-five points in the final two minutes. One haymaker after another. The Mahomes-Allen Show made one thing clear: Having a great quarterback used to be the league’s greatest advantage in making a deep playoff run. Now it is a prerequisite. Continue reading...

Robert Keith Packer of Virginia pleads guilty to parading, demonstrating or picketing in Capitol buildingA Virginia man who wore a “Camp Auschwitz” sweatshirt at the US Capitol during last year’s riot pleaded guilty on Wednesday to joining the mob of people who stormed the building.Photographs of Robert Keith Packer wearing the sweatshirt with the antisemitic message went viral after the 6 January 2021 insurrection. Continue reading...

Advocates and displaced residents condemn move amid fears for safety: ‘They are just trying to survive’Officials in Los Angeles have cleared a homeless encampment near SoFi stadium, where the Super Bowl will take place in three weeks, drawing backlash from human rights groups and the unhoused residents who have been displaced.On Monday and Tuesday, the state transit agency Caltrans shut down the tent community, which visitors would probably have passed on their way to the big game, calling it a “safety issue”. Continue reading...

Breyer, 83, had been under pressure from progressives eager to fill a seat on the supreme court while the Democrats hold powerJustice Stephen Breyer will retire from the supreme court, according to widespread media reporting on Wednesday, which, if confirmed by the court, will provide Joe Biden with the opportunity to fulfill a campaign pledge by nominating the first Black woman judge to the bench.Such a choice would be a milestone and bolster the liberal wing of the bench, even as it weathers a dominant conservative super-majority achieved under the Trump administration. Continue reading...

Analysis: president faces high expectations as he prepares make one of his most consequential decisionsIn his spare time, Justice Stephen Breyer enjoyed taking the bench at humorous “mock trials” of characters such as Macbeth and Richard III for Washington’s Shakespeare Theatre Company. The case usually turned on epic battles over succession.Now Washington is about to be consumed by the question of who will inherit Breyer’s crown following his reported decision to retire from the US supreme court. At 83, he is its oldest member, one of three liberals outnumbered by six conservatives. Continue reading...

A ‘devastating loss’ to the Atlanta zoo, the gorilla’s cause of death has yet to be determined by officialsThe world’s oldest male gorilla, named Ozzie, was found dead by his care team at the Atlanta zoo Tuesday, zoo officials announced. Ozzie was 61.The cause of the gorilla’s death was not immediately known though Ozzie began showing signs of low appetite last week, the zoo said in a news release. The zoo’s veterinary team treated Ozzie for symptoms including facial swelling, weakness and inability to eat or drink fluids. Continue reading...

One man allegedly responsible for half of San Francisco’s hate crimes, say authoritiesReports of hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the city of San Francisco increased dramatically last year, according to new police data, in what law enforcement called an “alarming rise”.Preliminary data from the San Francisco police department showed reports of incidents where police believe an anti-Asian bias played a role jumped from nine in 2020 to 60 in 2021, a 567% increase, in the city of 875,000 people. Continue reading...

Boat capsized in Atlantic Ocean between Bahamas and Florida in what officials say was ‘suspected human smuggling venture’The US Coast Guard was battling ocean currents and time on Wednesday after rescue teams found one body while a frantic search for 38 other people reported missing continued, after a boat capsized in the Atlantic between the Bahamas and Florida.The accident killed at least one person and left a single known survivor, while US authorities launched a criminal investigation into suspected human smuggling. Continue reading...

US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said 'there will be no change 'to Washington’s support for Ukraine’s right to pursue Nato membership, the most contentious issue in relations with Moscow.

San Jose city council approved the measure Tuesday, despite swift opposition from gun owners threatening lawsuitsA California city has voted to require gun owners to carry liability insurance in what’s believed to be the first measure of its kind in the United States.The San Jose city council on Tuesday night overwhelmingly approved the measure despite opposition from gun owners who said it would violate their second amendment rights and promised to sue. Continue reading...

‘Fraudulent elector certifications’ sent from states won by Biden in effort to subvert election result and declare Trump the winnerFederal prosecutors have launched an investigation into the attempt by Republicans in seven presidential battleground states won by Joe Biden in 2020 to subvert the election result by sending bogus slates of Donald Trump electors to Congress.The ploy was one of the central tactics used by Trump loyalists as part of the “big lie” that he had defeated his Democratic challenger. The fake slates of electors were forwarded to congressional leaders, who then came under pressure to delay certification of Biden’s victory on 6 January 2021, the day of the Capitol insurrection. Continue reading...

US investment bank to refurbish 42-storey building in London Docklands over next three yearsThe US investment bank Citigroup has embarked on an overhaul of its main tower in Canary Wharf that is expected to cost more than £100m.Citi will completely refurbish the 42-storey office block at 25 Canada Square in London Docklands over the next three years and create flexible work and collaboration spaces, alongside wellbeing zones for employees, to reflect the changing nature of work. Continue reading...

Demand for breast milk has surged during the pandemic, but supply from milk banks has fallen as people head back to workKayla Levering’s twin daughters just celebrated their first birthday, a momentous milestone for a family who just survived a challenging year involving long stays in the neonatal intensive care unit: two months for one daughter, five months for the other.It was a trying time, filled with surgeries and procedures and complications – and it was made more stressful by the pressure Levering felt to produce more breast milk for both babies. When a nutritionist finally mentioned donor milk, she felt as though a light had pierced the dark. Continue reading...

Progressives today can look to the American past for examples of political movements transitioning from short-term defeat to long-term successThings are not looking good for Joe Biden. At his 20 January news conference, Joe Biden admitted that Build Back Better, the $2tn social infrastructure bill, was dead. That failure, in combination with Biden’s botched effort the week before to energize the campaign for voting rights, have inclined many progressives to join the chorus of centrist and rightwing voices pronouncing Biden a failed president.There are good reasons for disappointment in progressive ranks, especially as Donald Trump continues to thunder on about the “big lie” and as the country barrels toward a 2022 midterm that Republicans, in multiple states, are trying to rig in their favor. But progressives should refrain both from heaping excessive blame on Biden himself and from losing hope. Let’s take a step back. Continue reading...

US makes preparations to avoid European gas crisis if flow from Russia is cut, while talks aimed at defusing tensions continue. Plus, 224 new species foundGood morning.Joe Biden has said he will consider personal sanctions against Vladimir Putin if Russia invades Ukraine, as western leaders step up military preparations and make plans to shield Europe from Russian gas being cut off.Why are Germany and France at odds with the Anglosphere over how to handle Russia? The differences reflect not just different short-term assessments on intelligence, but a deep fissure going back decades about what Germany and France, as opposed to the Anglosphere, regard as the best way to handle Russia.What’s happening today? Johnson faces MPs in the weekly prime minister’s question time today. You can follow along here. Last week during the fixed session, some of his own MPs called for him to resign.Did Johnson have a birthday party in lockdown? Apparently so, although one Tory MP claimed it wasn’t a proper party and that Johnson was “ambushed with a cake”. Social media erupted with mockery at the MP’s remarks. Continue reading...

Environmental Protection Agency seeks to protect local community from sites suspected of air pollution violationsThe Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has unveiled plans to conduct unannounced inspections of plants suspected of air pollution violations in the heavily industrialized region in Louisiana known as Cancer Alley and other locations around the US south.The move, announced on Wednesday morning alongside other significant new enforcement and monitoring actions, is aimed at reining in pollution in an area with much of America’s most toxic air. Continue reading...

After the governor commuted his sentence, the Pulitzer finalist tells the Guardian his hopes for his craft and community workRahsaan “New York” Thomas the acclaimed journalist who co-hosts the Ear Hustle podcast from inside San Quentin prison, was granted clemency this month, prompting celebrations from listeners and supporters across the country.But it could be months – or years – before he walks free. Continue reading...

The women’s team won gold in Tokyo last year and now their male counterparts are on course to make their first World Cup since 1986In keeping with the times, Bill Manning did his own research.Toronto FC’s president was inspired in his online trawling not by pandemic conspiracies but Canada’s sporting past. Continue reading...

Concrete mixer drivers and plant workers allege employers refuse to negotiate and are purging unionized workers“Every day is different,” said Tim Davis, a concrete mixer truck driver in the Seattle, Washington, area.The work Davis and his coworkers do on a daily basis provides the foundation for every big construction and infrastructure project in the region, with long hours and varying start times every workday, leaving little time to spend with family. “We live in those trucks day in and day out,” Davis said. Continue reading...

NFL rules when a game ends in a tie after four quarters are imperfect. But football is brutal and players can’t be expected to keep going foreverFootball played by human beings is not like a Madden game, where the “progressive fatigue” factor can be switched off. The players we like to think of as giant Energizer Bunnies get tired. Case in point: the Buffalo Bills defense on Sunday.The Kansas City Chiefs, the Bills’ opponents in an exhilarating AFC divisional round playoff game, ran 16 plays in their final three possessions. The Chiefs covered 194 yards and scored two touchdowns, plus a field goal that they needed to send the game into overtime. They faced third down on only two of those 16 plays, converting both. Continue reading...

Speaking to reporters in Washington, Joe Biden said he would consider personal sanctions against Vladimir Putin if Russia invaded Ukraine, citing 'severe consequences'. The threat of sanctions came as the US helped prepare for the diversion of natural gas supplies from around the world to Europe in the event that the flow from Russia is cut

Scroll through our visual guide to see why proposed Tennessee maps amount to a masterclass in gerrymanderingRepublican lawmakers in Tennessee gave final approval on Monday to an aggressive plan to split Nashville, a Democratic bastion, in a deeply Republican state, into several congressional districts as part of an effort to tilt the state’s congressional map in their favor. The plan is now waiting for approval from Governor Bill Lee, who is likely to sign it.Nashville currently sits in the state’s fifth congressional district, represented by Jim Cooper, a Democrat who has held the seat for nearly 20 years. It’s a solid Democratic district - Joe Biden carried it by nearly 24 points in 2020 - but on Tuesday, Cooper announced he was retiring from Congress. Continue reading...

The chocolate characters are getting new footwear to promote inclusivity. And conservative pundits are furiousNo doubt I speak for every woman on Earth when I say this: thank you, Mars! When I was a little girl I felt as if I could never be my authentic self because of the way the green M&M mascot used to dress. Every time I saw her tottering around in advertisements wearing white go-go boots and fluttering her long eyelashes, a little part of me would die inside. Although young, I recognised something profound: women would only be free when multinationals allowed anthropomorphised chocolate to wear sensible shoes.At long last, that time has come. Last week, Mars Wrigley, the international purveyor of sugary goods, announced that it was revamping (or, rather, de-vamping) its six M&M characters to promote inclusivity. Most notably: the green one is switching out boots for trainers and the brown one is swapping stilettos for kitten heels. It is kind of questionable that they are still forcing the brown one into heels of any kind if you ask me. Nevertheless, it is still a massive step forward for feminism.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

The LA artist-photographer’s cinematic portraits of people in free fall arose from a desire to examine the human turmoil experienced during the pandemic Continue reading...

Officials working with global suppliers to avoid European gas crisis if flow from Russia is cut as Biden says he would consider personal sanctions against PutinThe US has helped prepare for the diversion of natural gas supplies from around the world to Europe in the event that the flow from Russia is cut, in an effort to blunt Vladimir Putin’s most powerful economic weapon.As fears of an invasion of Ukraine have grown, US officials said on Tuesday that they had been negotiating with global suppliers, and they were now confident that Europe would not suffer from a sudden loss of energy for heating in the middle of winter. Continue reading...

After Jeremy Grantham’s warning, analysts fear more volatility ahead – and will be watching tech’s latest results with interestThe tech sector led US stock markets on a pandemic boom last year. Now markets are whipsawing on fears that the Federal Reserve will end the era of easy money, all while a potential war in Ukraine looms. Some warn of a bigger correction to come on a scale not seen since the dotcom collapse of the late 1990s.On Monday, US stock markets crashed then rallied. The Dow Jones at one point lost more than 1,000 points before ending up just over 100. Tuesday was more of the same with the Dow losing 800 points only to gain most of it back. Analysts expect more volatile days ahead. The Fed on Wednesday issued its latest update on its plans to raise rates in order to curb inflation, and the world’s largest tech firms are preparing to issue their latest results to investors, who appear to have grown more skeptical about their prospects. Continue reading...

Wilbert Mora’s death follows the death on Friday of fellow officer Jason Rivera after they responded to a domestic violence callA second police officer who was shot on Friday in New York City while responding to a domestic violence call has died, the city’s police commissioner said on Tuesday.Keechant Sewell called officer Wilbert Mora, 27, “three times a hero” as she announced his death. Continue reading...

Governor Kathy Hochul has insisted students and teachers should continue to wear face covering despite a judge’s rulingRepublicans in New York reacted furiously on Tuesday after state officials told school administrators to continue enforcing a mask mandate for students and teachers despite a judge overturning it, causing confusion as some districts rushed to make masks optional.Lee Zeldin, a US congressman from Long Island, addressed the governor he hopes to replace in November. Continue reading...