US news | The Guardian

The longer the war goes on, the more the early anti-Putin momentum could be stalled by political stresses, an energy crisis and the huge bill for military and humanitarian aid

Arguing for sex-based categories in sports such as swimming and cycling is not bigotry. It’s fairnessIf you want a case study of how not to handle the question of transgender athletes in sport, look to the treatment of British cyclist Emily Bridges. As a talented male junior, Bridges won three silver medals at national championships and seemed destined for the Olympics.Bridges came out as trans in 2020 but had continued to participate in men’s events while transitioning. Having sufficiently reduced her testosterone levels, she became eligible to compete in women’s races. Her first such race would have been yesterday at the National Omnium Championships alongside the likes of five-time Olympic champion Laura Kenny. Continue reading...

Larry Ray accused of psychological abuse at the prestigious Sarah Lawrence college, in trial that echoes Nxivm caseNew York is accustomed to high-profile trials, the details picked over like canapés at a cocktail party.But the trial of Lawrence “Larry” Ray, on federal charges of sex trafficking, extortion and conspiracy has caused revulsion and horror, and raised troubling questions that go far beyond criminal justice. Continue reading...

Analysis: As oil prices – and diplomatic tensions – rise, two of the biggest US allies are questioning the basis of their relationshipAs Joe Biden moved to open US strategic oil reserves, his two biggest oil-producing allies have kept their tanks firmly shut. The UAE and Saudi Arabia continue to rebuff the US president as he attempts to counter soaring oil prices prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. And both countries have been unusually frank about their refusal to step in.The five-week-old war is bringing tensions to a head in several parts of the world, but perhaps nowhere is a regional order more under strain than the Middle East, where two of America’s biggest allies are now seriously questioning the foundations of their relationship. Continue reading...

Herschel Walker, frontrunner for party nomination in Georgia, claimed to have graduated in top 1% – but never actually graduatedA Republican Senate candidate in Georgia said for years that he graduated in the top 1% of his university’s class – but actually never graduated college at all.Herschel Walker, a former pro football player who is running as a Republican in Georgia’s US Senateprimary, has publicly stated multiple times that he graduated in the top 1% of his class at University of Georgia despite never completing his degree. Continue reading...

Giving the prince centre stage at Philip’s memorial service was a foolish misstepIt’s six weeks since Prince Andrew settled out of court with his accuser, Virginia Giuffre, for a sum estimated at £12m. Cheap at the price, it was suggested, if the money (source unexplained) prevented sexual assault charges and a public trial ruining his mother’s platinum jubilee. Whatever’s left to be ruined, that is, after mixed results from the Cambridges’ vintage-inspired Caribbean visit in which only Kate’s elaborate wardrobe signalled that anything had changed since 1953.Since Andrew testified in the settlement to a hitherto unsuspected concern for victims of sex trafficking, along with a newfound regret for knowing Jeffrey Epstein, the deal was also welcomed as a victory for Giuffre’s fellow survivors. A lawyer for Sarah Ransome, one of those abused by Epstein, called the settlement a “banner day”; survivors had “been heard and were no longer silenced”. Continue reading...

Northern Irishman admits 2015 injury set him back in the majors and after a quiet 2022, he says: ‘Lower expectations are good’Life was sweeter than ice cream for Rory McIlroy in the first half of 2015. He was the reigning Open and US PGA champion, had finished a career-best fourth at the Masters and posted a Top 10 at a quirky US Open at Chambers Bay. He won the Dubai Desert Classic, WGC Match Play and Wells Fargo Championship – which included a course-record 61 – by late May. Form was not so temporary.It seemed inevitable McIlroy would make a serious tilt at defending the Claret Jug at the Old Course at St Andrews, a venue he adores. Cue an extraordinary social media bulletin on 6 July confirming McIlroy had ruptured left ankle ligaments playing football. He has not played the game since. “And deliberately,” he says. “I don’t want to do that again. I pride myself on not making the same mistake twice. I have played other things but never football because that could happen.” He provides only half a smile. Continue reading...

‘We must teach that America is good’ says top Republican of bill banning teaching that US is ‘fundamentally racist’The Georgia senate passed a bill on Friday that would limit discussions of race in kindergarten through 12th grade classrooms.House Bill 1084, the “Protect Students First Act”, was approved by the Georgia senate. The measure requires local school boards and administrators to ban discrimination on the “basis of race” by limiting how race can be discussed in classrooms. Continue reading...

Local district attorney’s office calls for investigation following incident involving police officer Evan Driskill and Delane Gordon

BlackRock’s Robert Kapito is right about the entitlement problem in the US: we have a very entitled generation of executives who seem to think sacrifice is just for poor peopleRobert Kapito, the president of asset management behemoth BlackRock, earns about $20m a year and is worth in the region of $400m. You can buy a lot of fancy trinkets with that kind of money but, alas, it doesn’t seem to purchase much self-awareness. We are in the middle of a cost of living crisis, with low-income households disproportionately affected by the highest inflation in 40 years. People are struggling to heat their homes thanks to surging energy prices and worrying about feeding their families thanks to rocketing food prices. Kapito’s reaction to all this? To complain to a bunch of energy executives about how entitled young people are and how it’s about time they learned a thing or two about how tough life is.Arwa Mahdawi’s new book, Strong Female Lead, is available for order Continue reading...

A mysterious gap of 7 hours 37 minutes in phone records for 6 January 2021 coincides with the insurrection in Washington DCAt 2.26pm on 6 January last year, Donald Trump picked up a White House phone and placed a call to Mike Lee, the Republican senator from Utah. The communication came at a very significant moment.Thirty-seven minutes earlier, a riot had been declared by Washington DC police. Minutes after that the then vice-president, Mike Pence, was rushed out of the Senate chamber, where he had been presiding over Congress’s certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, and put into hiding. Continue reading...

In Republicans’ fevered imaginations, schoolchildren are browbeaten into admitting they are racistOn the southern steps of the Mississippi state capitol last week, a group of protesters gathered in front of a bronzed casket.It was empty, but for piles of paper, strewn across the inside. They were printouts of dozens of bills that have died in the state legislature in recent months; a bill to expand healthcare coverage for new mothers; a bill to help provide healthy food options in rural and underserved communities, a bill to restore voting rights to formerly incarcerated people. Continue reading...

In a state marked by inequality and staggering housing prices, nearly 20% of community college students report experiencing homelessnessAt Long Beach City College, a nearly 100-year-old community college south of Los Angeles, at least eight students have been given permission to sleep in their cars in a campus parking facility, as part of an official campus program to help college students who cannot afford a place to live.The college parking garage, which has a security guard, wifi, and bathrooms nearby, is seen as a safer alternative to students sleeping in their cars on the street, where fears of being robbed or written up by the police make it even more difficult for them to succeed at school. At least 98 students enrolled at the school are known to be experiencing homelessness this semester, according to the college’s basic needs program manager, with at least 25 of them living in their cars. Continue reading...

Native Hawaiian musician to be depicted in 2023 as part of program honoring eminent American womenThe late Native Hawaiian hula teacher Edith Kanaka’ole is among five women who will be individually featured on US quarters in 2023 as part of a program that depicts notable women on the coins.The US Mint described Kanaka’ole, who died in 1978, as a composer, chanter, dancer, teacher and entertainer. Continue reading...

Martha Mitchell, wife of Nixon’s attorney general who ordered the break-in at the scandal’s heart, was drugged and kidnappedThe phone call came five days after the Watergate break-in. Martha Mitchell began telling a reporter that she would leave her husband, former US attorney general John Mitchell, if he did not quit the “dirty business” of politics.But the conversation ended abruptly and Mitchell was heard shouting: “You just get away – get away!” Then the line went dead. She had been accosted by a former FBI agent and would be forcibly tranquilized and held captive for days. Continue reading...

The North Carolina representative is becoming one of the fastest rising stars in his party – but has also found himself condemned by some on his own sideThe way he told it, Madison Cawthorn was set to go to the prestigious US Naval Academy before a car crash left him partially paralysed.According to Cawthorn, he had also been accepted into Harvard and Princeton, and worked full-time for a congressman, before being elected to the House of Representatives. Continue reading...

The former governor says she will ‘combat the left’s socialist, big-government, America-last agenda’Sarah Palin has announced her run for Alaska’s only seat in the US House of Representatives, marking her first run for public office in over a decade.“America is at a tipping point,” Palin said in a statement released on her Twitter account announcing her candidacy. “As I’ve watched the far left destroy the country, I knew I had to step up and join the fight. Continue reading...

Maxwell repeatedly requested a new trial after a juror on her case failed to disclose childhood sexual abuse during jury selectionGhislaine Maxwell’s bid for a new trial has been denied, the judge in her Manhattan federal court sex-trafficking case said on Friday.The daughter of the late British media baron Robert Maxwell repeatedly requested a new trial after a juror in the case failed to disclose childhood sexual abuse during jury selection. Continue reading...

Administration signals end of Title 42 immigration restrictions – ostensibly to fight Covid – but some fear electoral consequencesJoe Biden will next month end a controversial pandemic-related expulsion policy that effectively closed America’s asylum system at its border with Mexico, it was announced on Friday.The decision to lift the Title 42 public health order, which will take effect on 23 May, is seen as long overdue by immigration advocates who regard the order as inhumane. But it was seized on by Republicans and some electorally vulnerable Democrats, who warned of chaos at the border. Continue reading...

Gregg Berhalter’s exciting young side will face England, Iran and one of Wales or Scotland or Ukraine in their return to the World Cup stage following an eight-year absenceIt’s unclear when exactly the US will know the identity of their opponents in their first game, given the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, but some time in June appears most likely. Wales, who beat Austria 2-1 in a playoff semi-final on 24 March courtesy of two superb goals from Gareth Bale, will face the winners of a match between Scotland and Ukraine. Continue reading...

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention terminates Title 42 from 23 May, ending policy widely criticized as pretext to keep migrants out• Senate deal on drastically pared-down Covid aid package may be imminentUS adds 431,000 jobs as hiring spree cuts unemployment rate to 3.6%• Disney staff stage walkouts over ‘don’t say gay’ bill• Sign up to receive First Thing – our daily briefing by emailThe late supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is to be honoured by having a US navy ship named after her.The yet-to-be-built fuel tanker will join a fleet of John Lewis-class “replenishment oilers” named for historical figures in human and civil rights. The navy took delivery of the first of the fleet, a tribute to the former Democratic congressman, last summer. Continue reading...

Psaki will reportedly stay on until end of April before joining liberal cable news networkJen Psaki is reportedly preparing to quit as Joe Biden’s White House press secretary, to become a TV host with MSNBC.Axios first reported the move on Friday, citing anonymous sources “close to the matter”. Other outlets said they had confirmed the news, and reported that Psaki was expected to stay through the end of April. Continue reading...

Dominic Taddeo, 64, pleaded guilty in 1992 to killing three men in 1980s mob wars for Rochester, New York, crime familyA New York mobster who killed three people and attempted to kill two others has escaped from federal custody after recently being moved to a halfway house, according to the Bureau of Prisons.Dominic Taddeo, a hitman from a Rochester-area crime family, pleaded guilty in 1992 to racketeering charges that included the killings of three men during mob wars in the 1980s. Continue reading...

Some tasty groups have been thrown together after the draw for World Cup 2022 was made in QatarMore World Cup draw chat in this week’s Football Weekly Extra podcast. Barry claims the new Adidas ball is so amazing it may be able to go back in time.From David Hytner’s World Cup draw preview in which Gareth Southgate responds to questions about Qatar’s woeful labour rights record, its outlawing of homosexuality and its male guardianship system that denies women the right to make key decisions about their lives? Continue reading...

The ship will be part of a fleet named after important civil rights figures including John Lewis and Thurgood MarshallThe late supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is to be honoured by having a US navy ship named after her.The yet-to-be-built USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg fuel tanker will join a fleet of John Lewis-class “replenishment oilers” named for historical figures in US movements for human and civil rights. Continue reading...

Judge said Lonnie Coffman’s weaponry showed he had come to Washington ‘to do battle’An Alabama man found with a “small armory” of guns, ammunition and molotov cocktails in his pickup truck ahead of the 6 January 2021 US Capitol riot was sentenced to almost four years in prison, one of the stiffest sentences so far handed down.US district judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said the 46-month sentence reflected the seriousness of the charges against Lonnie Coffman, 72, who had pleaded guilty to possessing unregistered firearms. Continue reading...

Kushner becomes first member of Donald Trump’s family to speak to investigatorsJared Kushner testified on Thursday before the House select committee investigating the 6 January attack on the Capitol, becoming the first member of Donald Trump’s family to speak to investigators.Democrat Elaine Luria, a member of the select committee, confirmed that Kushner appeared before the panel “voluntarily”, although she would not provide details on what he said. Continue reading...

Whitney Young high school says in email to students teacher hung doll from projector string and was challenged by Black colleagueA prestigious Chicago high school that counts Michelle Obama among its alumni launched an investigation after a white teacher hung a Black doll by its neck in his classroom and was challenged by a Black colleague.In an email to students and families obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, Joyce Kenner, principal of the Whitney Young magnet high school, wrote of the Monday incident: “Unfortunately … a teacher hung a small stuffed African American football doll by a pull-down string from a projector screen in their classroom. Continue reading...

Trans people are nearly twice as likely as lesbian and gay people to undergo interventions that range from prayers to forced rapeLast night, No 10 backed down on its plans to scrap its long-promised ban on “conversion practice” for lesbian, gay and bisexual people, but crucially it has chosen to leave trans people unprotected. As someone who underwent nearly 20 years of conversion practices, which resulted in me being hospitalised twice, I find this utterly unforgivable.Conversion practice is any intervention that seeks to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. These interventions can involve pseudo-scientific counselling sessions, being prayed over, exorcisms and even corrective rape. I put myself through years of “healing prayer” ministry, sharing some of my most intimate moments and relationships with strangers in the hope that we might “find the key” as to why I was attracted to women. I even took part in exorcisms, paying thousands of pounds in the process. I was constantly told that my prayers were unanswered because of my lack of faith, or because I wasn’t holy enough. Part of the trauma of these abusive practices is that you, the victim, are always left with the burden of being told it is your fault, that you are not healed. It nearly broke me, but I survived. Sadly, many others are not so lucky. Continue reading...

The $10bn in funds is half the amount the White House sought and slashes aid for global vaccine drivesThe US Senate is coming close to reaching agreement on a pared-down $10bn emergency aid package for Covid response, amid anger that the deal looks likely to ditch most funding for critical global vaccine efforts.Senate leaders were indicating to reporters on Friday that a deal was within reach, with a possible vote over the next week. But the package is a pale reflection of the original White House request for $22bn, cutting deep into even the most recent proposal set at $15.6bn. Continue reading...

Country posts 11th consecutive month of 400,000-plus gains, with labor force now just 174,000 below pre-pandemic levelThe US added 431,000 jobs in March as the coronavirus pandemic receded and employers went on a hiring spree in America.The gain was lower than expected but was also the 11th consecutive month of gains above 400,000, the longest such stretch of growth on record. The unemployment rate fell from 3.8% to 3.6%, its lowest level since the pandemic struck the US. Continue reading...

As the 2022 draw takes place in Doha, the Gulf state’s migrant labour force continues to face exploitationAs some of the biggest names in football gather in Doha for today’s World Cup draw, commentators will no doubt point out how much money Qatar has lavished on its preparations for the sporting mega-event.They will talk of its vast, gas‑fuelled wealth and the $500m (£380m) a week it was at one stage spending on new stadiums, transport links and infrastructure. Continue reading...

The talented Spaniard reflects on his 2017 triumph and the reasons behind his struggles at Augusta in the years that have followedOnly 54 men have won the Masters, which tells you everything about the exclusivity of that particular club. Boyhood dreams are made of a Sunday evening drive along Magnolia Lane with the Green Jacket in hand.It is testament to Sergio García’s talent level that, for many observers, the long-awaited fulfilment of his major ambitions at Augusta National in 2017 was not enough. No sooner had the Spaniard ended his major drought – at the 74th time of asking, after a famous battle with Justin Rose – than people started asking when García would become a multiple champion. He had prepared himself for the narrative. Continue reading...

The Ukraine war has revealed the double-standards of the global north’s immigration policies. Refugees from Africa, Asia and Latin America deserve the same sympathyGlobal migration policy has started to move in a more humane direction in response to the invasion of Ukraine. While many states are welcoming displaced Ukrainians, this is a far cry from how those states typically treat refugees. Activists and scholars have lamented the lack of similar response to people displaced from south Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The uneven global response to migration on display sets a chilling precedent for the displacement that is likely to come with the climate crisis.Race plays a defining role in how states think about their borders and who gets let in. In the 19th century, racial politics shaped the formation of international law – including how we understand concepts like sovereignty – and legitimized exclusionary policies whose impacts reverberate today. We can see the impact of race on the way in which refugee policy was developed. Drawing on research by T Alexander Aleinikoff, philosopher Serena Parekh explains that refugee flows were primarily east to west (rather than south to north) in the first half of the 20th century. During this period, resettlement was the standard way of helping refugees. When refugee flows from non-European countries increased (from the global south to global north), states changed their policy: instead of resettlement, voluntary repatriation was preferred.Olúfẹ́mi O Táíwò is an assistant professor of philosophy at Georgetown University and the author of Reconsidering Reparations and the forthcoming book Elite CaptureBeba Cibralic, a PhD student in philosophy at Georgetown University, has written for Foreign Policy and other publications Continue reading...

Trump, Putin, Xi – these men aren’t stupid. But they have no way of eliciting, recognizing, or assessing useful criticismIt appears that Vladimir Putin’s aides have misinformed him about the war, fearful of his reaction.On Wednesday, American officials revealed that, according to American intelligence, Putin’s strict isolation during the pandemic and willingness to publicly castigate advisers have contributed to him getting incomplete or overly optimistic reports about the progress of Russian forces. Continue reading...

Kristina Karamo is running for Michigans’s chief elections officer, and if she wins she would have considerable sway over how the presidential election is conducted in 2024Donald Trump will return to Michigan on Saturday for his first visit since November 2020 when he spent the final hours of his presidential election campaign desperately trying to hold on to the state and fend off nationwide defeat to his Democratic rival Joe Biden.This time his visit will be motivated by an attempt to forge a path to victory in the 2024 presidential election, in which he has hinted he may run again. If that is his intention, he is going about it in a very irregular fashion. Continue reading...

Republican-led Senate passes bill that could hamper growth of solar energy by removing popular financial incentiveIn one of America’s sunniest states, a Republican-led Senate recently passed a bill that could hamper the growth of solar energy by removing a popular financial incentive among consumers.Environmentalists are decrying the measure, arguing that the expansion of rooftop solar is a necessary step in the fight against the climate crisis. The bill was passed in Florida, as another extremely sunny state, California, considered a similar update to its solar policies. Continue reading...

UN atomic watchdog investigates claims Russian troops left after high doses of radiation. Plus, Trump may face court date thanks to reggae singer lawsuit.Hello and good morning.The UN atomic watchdog is investigating Ukrainian claims that Russian soldiers occupying Chernobyl nuclear power station left after receiving high doses of radiation.What is Chernobyl? The plant is the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident in 1986. Staff continue to oversee the safe storage of spent nuclear fuel and supervise the concrete-encased remains of the reactor that exploded.When did Russia take control of Chernobyl? Russian troops seized the nuclear plant soon after the 24 February invasion. There have been concerns over the past month about power cuts and fighting making staff shift rotations difficult.What claims is the UN agency likely to investigate? Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk claimed Russian troops dug trenches in the forest and were exposed to radiation. Some reports suggest soldiers are being sent to a special medical facility in Belarus after driving tanks through the “dead zone” around the nuclear plant, kicking up radioactive dust. (These claims are unverified.) Continue reading...

The Bureau of Indian Affairs’ missing and murdered unit was launched by Deb Haaland a year ago to tackle an epidemic of violence against Native people. But initial results have disappointedOne month after Ranelle Rose Bennett disappeared, agents from the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services’ newly created missing and murdered unit (MMU) arrived at her house on the Navajo Reservation.Her mother, Rose Yazzie, had initially reported the 33-year-old missing to Navajo Nation police after Bennett hadn’t shown up to her daughter’s 10th birthday party in June 2021 but said it took over a week for an officer to even file a missing report. Continue reading...

The musician sued the former president and his administration over the use of his song Electric Avenue in an ad in 2020Reggae singer Eddy Grant may succeed where the attorney general of New York state and other powerful figures have struggled – by forcing Donald Trump to answer questions under oath in a legal proceeding.Grant sued the former president and his campaign over the use of the song Electric Avenue in an ad in 2020. Continue reading...