Ban on travellers from Europe stacks the odds even further in favour of Steve Stricker’s team at Whistling StraitsThe vast array of superlatives attached to the Ryder Cup ignore the recent propensity for predictable outcomes. Since Europe trounced the United States in Michigan, 17 years ago, there has been just a single away victory. When that transpired, at Medinah, we all saw fit to brand it a “miracle”. The past three Ryder Cups have been won by the length of a par five.Related: R&A scrap ‘no-readmission’ policy at Open tournament from 2022 Continue reading...
by David Tindall (now) and Emma Kemp and Geoff Lemon on (#5NQWX)
It was an exciting opening to the Games with some surprises along the way2.53pm BSTThanks for reading everyone. Lots to enjoy on day one and we’ll be back again tomorrow.2.48pm BSTWheelchair basketball: And that’s it. In the final action of day one, Spain score a 63-53 victory over Korea thanks to a dominant final quarter (22-13). Continue reading...
Teams bet big on young quarterbacks in this year’s draft. And the NFL has shown a willingness to test young talent early in recent seasonsIt’s an unusual year for rookie quarterbacks. Ordinarily, when a first-round quarterback steps into an organization, they do so in the midst of some sort of rebuild. The rookie is drafted to kick off a new cycle.And that’s the case for two of this year’s five first-round draft choices: Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville and Zach Wilson with the New York Jets. But the three other first-rounders are stepping into more settled situations, for teams with legitimate playoff expectations. Continue reading...
Granddaughters of mobster selling a collection of artwork, letters, pocket watch and his personal Colt .45 pistolThe life of the notorious mobster Al Capone is under scrutiny more than seven decades after his death with an online auction in California of some of his most personal effects.The three living granddaughters of the Prohibition-era gangster known as Scarface are selling a collection of artwork, letters, a diamond encrusted pocket watch and even Capone’s personal Colt .45 pistol among a 174-lot inventory valued at up to $715,000 (£520,810). Continue reading...
For many American parents struggling to make ends meet during the Covid crisis, Biden’s child tax credit has already made a huge differenceFour weeks ago the Biden administration officially began implementing the child tax credit in what was hailed by Columbia University as an initiative that could “cut child poverty in half in the US”. Most eligible families have received just one monthly installment so far – but for many American parents struggling to make ends meet during the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, it has already made a huge difference.The American Rescue Plan – passed in March – included expanded credit payments, which increased from $2,000 in 2020 to $3,600 for each child under age six, and $3,000 for children ages six through 17, this year. The funds are distributed in monthly payments of either $250 or $300 for each child. Continue reading...
President cites growing threat of a terrorist attack as he resolves to end evacuation effort by 31 AugustGood morning.Joe Biden is standing by his 31 August deadline to withdraw from Afghanistan, rejecting the pleas of domestic and international allies to keep troops there for evacuation efforts beyond the end of the month. Continue reading...
Bond amounts increased under Trump, and government lawyers are still asking immigrants to pay tens of thousands of dollars to be releasedThe cost of bonds – the payment used to secure the release of an immigrant from federal authorities – is out of reach for many people and straps many who borrow money to pay them with enormous debts.It’s among the Trump-era policies that could be easily changed by the Biden administration through a simple memo, but in the past six months, bond amounts ordered by the Department of Homeland Security and issued by immigration judges have remained high. Continue reading...
Since 1979, the Black August holiday has honored Black freedom fighters. Today, we can celebrate the occasion by demanding the release of prisonersWhile the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement has increased the profile of holidays like Juneteenth and Black History Month, there is one important Black celebration that remains at the margins of American popular consciousness. Black August is a month-long commemoration dedicated to freedom fighters lost in the struggle for Black liberation, particularly those who were killed by US authorities or who perished behind bars.Celebrants of Black August view crimes committed by some of these revolutionaries as acts of war against a system already at war with them. With the release of movies like Shaka King’s biopic of the assassinated Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton and data showing that a large number of Americans now see individual acts of police violence as part of a larger racist system, the politics and culture behind Black August are becoming increasingly mainstream. If new generations of Americans can understand the war that was waged against Black radicals, and against Black Americans as a whole, they should honor Black August by demanding the release of the radicals still incarcerated in a racist system. Continue reading...
Gavin Newsom remains popular but Democrats appear far less likely than Republicans to vote in the electionWhen Gavin Newsom first elected governor of California in 2018, he captured a greater share of the vote than any other Democrat in state history. And he has remained broadly popular, despite a global pandemic, economic catastrophe, and a scandalously ill-timed visit to the Michelin-starred restaurant the French Laundry.But with California’s gubernatorial recall election under way, Newsom is fighting for his political life. The Democratic governor of a deep blue state could narrowly lose his seat to a fringe rightwing radio host – in large part due to inertia and apathy among voters. Continue reading...
Our climate is in crisis, but authoritarians and technocrats don’t have the answersWhat the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s report confirmed this month is that the stable climate many of us grew up with is gone and has been replaced by a fundamentally unstable one. Sea levels will almost certainly rise and storms will get more intense. Amid a drumbeat of depressing news and decades of inaction, there’s a sort of folk wisdom emerging that liberal democracy might just be too slow to tackle a problem as urgent and massive as the climate crisis. It’s an enticing vision: that governments can forgo the messy, deliberative work of politics in favour of a benign dictatorship of green technocrats who will get emissions down by brute force. With a punishingly tiny budget of just 400 gigatonnes of CO2 left to make a decent shot of staying below 1.5C of warming, is it time to give something less democratic a try?It would be easy to look at the longstanding stalemate around climate policy in the US, the world’s second biggest emitter and embattled superpower, as evidence that something more top-down is needed. Yet the failure isn’t one of too much democracy but too little. The US Senate empowers West Virginia’s Joe Manchin – a man elected by fewer than 300,000 people – to block the agenda of a president elected by more than 80 million. Climate-sceptical Republicans, backed by corporate interests, have attempted to gerrymander their way to electoral dominance, halting progressive climate action in its tracks. The fossil fuel industry can engulf lawmakers with lobbyists and virtually unlimited campaign donations to sway their votes. And as the Republican party’s leading lights flirt with authoritarians like Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, comprehensive bipartisan climate action remains a pipe dream. Continue reading...
Joe Biden says the US is 'on pace' to finish its Afghanistan evacuation efforts by 31 August, despite pleas of domestic and international allies to keep troops on the ground. The president cited a growing terrorist threat as a reason to continue its mass evacuation. 'The sooner we can finish, the better. Each day of operations brings added risk to our troops,' he said
Today the media are looking for scapegoats, but 20 years ago they helped facilitate the disastrous interventionEveryone is to blame for the catastrophe in Afghanistan, except the people who started it. Yes, Joe Biden screwed up by rushing out so chaotically. Yes, Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab failed to make adequate and timely provisions for the evacuation of vulnerable people. But there is a frantic determination in the media to ensure that none of the blame is attached to those who began this open-ended war without realistic aims or an exit plan, then waged it with little concern for the lives and rights of the Afghan people: the then US president, George W Bush, the British prime minister Tony Blair and their entourages.Indeed, Blair’s self-exoneration and transfer of blame to Biden last weekend was front-page news, while those who opposed his disastrous war 20 years ago remain cancelled across most of the media. Why? Because to acknowledge the mistakes of the men who prosecuted this war would be to expose the media’s role in facilitating it. Continue reading...
Bill that requires places with history of discrimination to be under federal supervision passes 219-212 – but could fail in the SenateThe US House of Representatives has passed an update to the 1965 Voting Rights Act, restoring a critical provision of the landmark civil rights law that requires places with a history of voting discrimination to be under federal supervision.The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act passed 219-212 on a party-line vote. Continue reading...
Inspector general’s report offers new details into shortcomings by law enforcement during 6 January insurrectionUS Capitol police (USCP) didn’t adequately respond to frantic calls for help from officers when they pressed panic buttons on their radios seeking immediate backup as scores of pro-Trump rioters beat officers with bats, poles and other weapons, an inspector general’s report found.Related: US Capitol police clear officer who shot dead 6 January rioter Ashli Babbitt Continue reading...
Press secretary says assessment of safety of vice-president was carried out and she continued her journeyUS vice-president Kamala Harris’ trip from Singapore to Vietnam was delayed by several hours on Tuesday by an investigation into two possible cases of the so-called Havana syndrome in Hanoi, administration officials said.The investigation was in its early stages and officials deemed it safe for Harris to make her scheduled stop in Vietnam, which is part of her trip across Asia meant to reassure allies about American foreign policy amid the tumultuous evacuation of US forces from Afghanistan. Continue reading...
US president acknowledges that completing airlift by 31 August depends on Taliban continuing to cooperateJoe Biden has rejected the pleas of domestic and international allies to keep troops in Afghanistan for evacuation efforts beyond the end of the month, citing the growing threat of a terrorist attack.In a move likely to fuel criticism that America is abandoning Afghan partners to the Taliban, the US president made clear that he is resolved to withdraw forces from Kabul airport by next Tuesday’s deadline. Continue reading...
David Ige addresses would-be visitors amid climbing hospitalizations but stops short of banning travelHawaii’s governor has pleaded with tourists not to travel to the islands as the state struggles to control Covid-19 amid the growing spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.It’s “a risky time to be traveling right now,” David Ige warned on Monday, asking visitors and residents to limit their travel to essential businesses only. “I encourage everyone to restrict and curtail travel to Hawaii. It’s not a good time to travel to the islands,” he said. Continue reading...
by Associated Press in Bloomington, Minnesota on (#5NQDB)
Emily Claire Hari was found guilty last year related to the 2017 attack of a mosque in Bloomington, in which no one was injuredA militia leader convicted of orchestrating the bombing of a Minnesota mosque has asked a judge to legally acknowledge her transgender identity.Emily Claire Hari was found guilty last year of civil rights and hate crime charges related to the bombing of the Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington in August 2017. Continue reading...
The shelves are empty. Yet leavers, though no longer triumphant, can usually blame the problems on the EUBritain was not expelled from the European Union, although some of the dismay at the consequences of Brexit would make more sense in that scenario. Customs checks at the border are likened to a blockade. Rules that apply to all non-EU countries are described as punishment beatings. The expectation that Boris Johnson uphold the treaty he signed is cast as unreasonable spite.This is all consistent with the sacred rule of English Euroscepticism, according to which “Europe” must always be understood in terms of things done to us by them; never things we do to ourselves. Continue reading...
A Taliban spokesman has said in a press conference that the 31 August deadline for US evacuations from the country will remain, adding the Taliban are 'not in favour' of allowing skilled Afghans to leave the country and would regard a delay in US withdrawal as contrary to the US agreement with the Taliban.Zabihullah Mujahid also made clear that the Taliban would take 'a different stance' regarding the presence of US troops beyond 31 August
House leaders offer potential compromise by setting date to consider moderates’ $1tn package of road and public works projectsCompromising with moderates after confrontation failed, House Democratic leaders were set to try again on Tuesday to muscle Joe Biden’s multitrillion-dollar budget blueprint past a standoff that halted proceedings and risked upending their domestic infrastructure agenda.Related: Democrats’ divisions could still derail infrastructure bills Continue reading...
Linda Almond posted a 70-second live clip while trapped in her house as a torrent of murky brown water rushed by outsideA harrowing video posted to Facebook captured the terrifying moments a woman filmed as the floodwaters surged past her house, seconds before she herself was swept to her death.Related: ‘It’s just unbelievable’: Tennessee surveys wreckage after floods kill 22 Continue reading...
Former lieutenant governor Hochul, 62, who replaces Andrew Cuomo, says she ‘wants people to believe in our government again’Kathy Hochul, the first woman to become governor of New York state, will make her debut speech from the executive mansion in Albany on Tuesday, after she was sworn into the post in a private ceremony in the early hours.Related: From the archive: Cuomo’s demise – Politics Weekly Extra Continue reading...
Concerns in the towns and resort communities near the famed alpine lake as only 9% of the wildfire has been containedAn explosive wildfire is raging south-west of Lake Tahoe, sparking concerns in the towns and resort communities near the famed alpine lake.The Caldor fire, just 9% contained, has become the nation’s number one priority for firefighting resources, said Chief Thom Porter, director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Continue reading...
Hasan Piker, a leftwing commentator with a huge online following, has attracted criticism after buying an expensive new home. But shouldn’t the left be concentrating on other things, such as getting into power?Hasan Piker, AKA Hasan the Hun, AKA “woke bae”, has bought a house. If you’re extremely online then you’ll know exactly what this means and already have a strong opinion about it. If you are a normal, well-adjusted, human being then you will have no idea what I’m talking about. So, in brief: Piker is a 30-year-old dude who has gained a massive following through leftwing political commentary on the streaming service Twitch. Spending several hours a day ranting about politics on the internet hasn’t just earned him more than a million followers, it’s also made him a lot of money: Piker has just bought a $2.7m (£1.9m) house with a swimming pool in West Hollywood. Cue screams of “class traitor” and “hypocrite!”Piker’s new pad has drawn a lot of criticism from fans who think he has betrayed his socialist values. It has also drawn predictable ire from the rightwing media, who have used the story to try to prove socialists don’t have any values. There is nothing conservatives love more than an opportunity to write a story along the lines of “FRAUD: self-proclaimed socialist buys something!” They seem to think that you can’t possibly critique capitalism if you own any sort of property. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, for example has been criticised by rightwing commentators for owning a nice jacket and a Tesla; Bernie Sanders has been slammed for owning three houses; Patrisse Cullors, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter and self-described Marxist, has been dubbed a hypocrite for buying multiple houses. Continue reading...
The former New York City mayor was spotted with a razor in hand at a dinner table this week. He’s not the first person to brush up in public, but some simple etiquette advice can help avoid upsetting onlookersName: Public grooming.Age: Pre-human. Continue reading...
Officers’ groups say 84-year-old Sundiata Acoli, convicted of murder of New Jersey state trooper, poses no threat to public safetyA coalition of current and retired Black police officers is calling for the release on parole of Sundiata Acoli, a former Black Panther member who has been incarcerated for 48 years for the 1973 murder of a New Jersey state trooper.Four Black law enforcement groups have joined forces to press the case for Acoli’s parole almost half a century after he was arrested. In an amicus brief filed with the New Jersey supreme court, they call his continued imprisonment “an affront to racial justice” and accuse the parole board of violating the law by repeatedly refusing to set the prisoner free. Continue reading...
Online communities are not just used for propaganda but are valuable fundraising tools and crucial to recruitmentThe Taliban took over Afghanistan in two weeks, ending 20 years of fighting with western troops and the Afghan national army. Many factors, such as a problematic peace deal, a lack of political will among the former Kabul administration to fight the Taliban and rampant corruption contributed to the group’s rapid advance and the fall of Kabul – but notable among them was a successful modern media strategy.Prior to 2001 the Taliban banned the use of the internet, dismantled state-run television stations, ordered citizens to stop watching TV altogether and banned music. But after they had been ousted by international forces, the group rapidly expanded its online presence, starting in 2003 with a new insurgency. They launched a new radio station called Voice of Sharia, which had its own website, Al Emarah. Despite numerous attempts to block and remove it, Al Emarah has remained the official website of the Taliban. The site primarily contains battlefield news and videos, as well as the Taliban’s official statements. In the aftermath of their defeat, the Taliban focused their efforts on reviving the group online, “a virtual emirate”, as one scholar called it. Continue reading...
President called upon to extend 31 August deadline to complete evacuations from AfghanistanGood morning.Joe Biden is facing growing pressure, both home and abroad, as the evacuations in Afghanistan and the pandemic come together in a perfect storm. Continue reading...
As a congressman, I have introduced new legislation to transform America’s workweek. It’s time to embrace this changeThe future of work is rapidly changing. Today, millions of Americans are enjoying flexible work because of the pandemic – and when it finally ends, they will want more, not less, freedom. These workers are ready for a new normal, and that’s exactly what a 32-hour workweek can provide.Pilot programs run by governments and businesses in countries such as Iceland, New Zealand, Spain and Japan have experimented with a four-day workweek and reported very promising results. According to pilot studies, workers reported anywhere from a 25% to 40% increase in productivity, as well as an improved work/life balance, less need to take sick days, more time to spend with family and children, less money spent on childcare, and a more flexible working schedule which leads to better morale. This is a global paradigm shift that will bring into question everything we thought we knew about the workplace. Continue reading...
School boards are used to local grievances. But amid fury over mask mandates, members face an unprecedented onslaughtRina Gallien doesn’t consider herself political, but when the 41-year-old mother of four heard that parents who oppose mask mandates in schools were organizing to attend the 12 August meeting of the St Tammany Parish School Board in Slidell, Louisiana, she took time off work to attend.“I didn’t want them to think that they are the only people who care about their kids,” said Gallien, who has three children still in school and strongly supports the mask mandate reinstated by the state’s governor amid soaring Covid-19 cases in early August. “I care about my kids too, and I want them to come home safe.” Continue reading...
The owner of a cabin which became surrounded by flames near Kyburz, California, managed to escape the Caldor fire after shooting the first part of this footage. The fire has burned more than 40,500 hectares (100,000 acres) in the north of the state since it started on 14 August, and more than 12,000 in just two days.
As the rescheduled Tokyo Paralympics kick off, here’s a look at 10 athletes from Team USA worth keeping an eye onRelated: David Brown: the world’s fastest blind athlete and the man who runs alongside him Continue reading...
Many of us are gloating at the US retreat, but there is dread in our hearts. We can’t forget how the Taliban brought their fight to our mosques and schoolsNot too long ago, Pakistan and Afghanistan were called Af-Pak: two countries joined at the hip, doomed to live and die together. You didn’t get to choose your neighbours, we were told. Geography, we were taught, was our destiny.There was a lot of talk about geostrategic significance – which was the Pakistan military’s way of saying there were great advantages to be derived from our unfortunate neighbours. Continue reading...
Some British media have been mocking New Zealand for going into Covid lockdown over one case, but it’s hard to find downsides to the approachPhysician, heal thyself. This phrase has been in my thoughts ever since global media outlets, most of them British, started mocking New Zealand’s Covid elimination strategy last week.I’m a proud British passport holder, and spent some of my best years in London, but not once during this pandemic have I ever wished to be anywhere except New Zealand. That holds true even though we’re now back in lockdown while the British freely enjoy what passes for a summer there. Continue reading...
In major speech delivered in Singapore, US vice president says America stands with its allies in the Indo Pacific in the face of threats from ChinaUS vice president Kamala Harris has delivered a sharp rebuke to China for its incursions in the South China Sea, warning its actions there amount to “coercion” and “intimidation” and affirming that the US will support its allies in the region against Beijing’s advances.“We know that Beijing continues to coerce, to intimidate and to make claims to the vast majority of the South China Sea,” she said in a major foreign policy speech Tuesday in Singapore in which she laid out the Biden administration’s vision for the Indo-Pacific. “Beijing’s actions continue to undermine the rules-based order and threaten the sovereignty of nations.” Continue reading...
by Associated Press in Albany, New York on (#5NP3H)
Democrat submits resignation and will end his term at 11.59pm, making Kathy Hochul the state’s first female governorAndrew Cuomo defended his record over a decade as governor of New York and portrayed himself as the victim of a “political firecracker on an explosive topic” on Monday, as he prepared for a midnight power transfer that will make Lt Gov Kathy Hochul the state’s first female governor.Cuomo, a Democrat, was set to end his term at 11.59pm, just under two weeks after he announced he would resign rather than face an impeachment battle over sexual harassment allegations which he denies. Continue reading...
Fruman, who helped Giuliani try to uncover dirt on Joe Biden, to change plea in court hearing scheduled for WednesdayA man who helped Rudy Giuliani try to unearth damaging information about President Joe Biden in Ukraine is expected to plead guilty in a case alleging illegal campaign contributions to US politicians, according to a court filing.Igor Fruman was charged in 2019 with arranging hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to Republicans and political action committees while trying to get Americans interested in investigating Biden’s son in Ukraine. Continue reading...
Reforms to be implemented six years after Guardian investigation found Kern county to be America’s deadliest for police killingsCalifornia’s justice department has announced a court-enforced reform settlement with the Bakersfield police department, following a years-long state civil rights inquiry initiated after a 2015 Guardian investigation found that police in the state’s Kern county were the deadliest in America.The settlement, known as a stipulated judgment or “consent decree”, was announced on Monday by the California attorney general, Rob Bonta, more than four years after the department commenced its investigation, and requires the police department to revise and reform its policies, overseen by an independent monitor. Continue reading...
SB1 would tighten restrictions on mail voting and prohibit 24-hour and drive-through voting – both which offered Covid protectionsTexas Republicans brought back their voting bill Monday with no changes as some Democrats returned to the Capitol for the first time since ending their holdout, making it clear that the bill is on track to become law after their 38-day walkout.Dozens of people showed up to testify before lawmakers to seize their last chance for public input on the the bill that will tighten voting rules in ways the GOP says will ensure election integrity and that Democrats say amounts to voter suppression for disabled people and minorities. Continue reading...
President Biden urged Americans to come forward to receive the Pfizer vaccine after it received FDA approval. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is trying to finish its licensing process for the drug as soon as Monday.The president spoke directly to Americans who have said they would wait to get vaccinated until one of the vaccines received full FDA approval. 'It has now happened,' Biden said. 'The moment you’ve been waiting for is here. It’s time for you to go get your vaccination – and get it today'
Lack of planning and coordination has left the west scrambling to do the right thingAt the weekend, in advance of Tuesday’s crisis meeting of G7 leaders, Boris Johnson tweeted that it was vital for the international community to work together to “ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people to secure the gains of the last 20 years”. Had this exhortation been made at June’s G7 summit in Cornwall – when America’s intention to pull out of Afghanistan at reckless speed was already known – it would have been a little more impressive and meaningful.Delivered belatedly against a backdrop of lethal chaos and confusion at Kabul airport, the prime minister’s words serve only to underline how little planning and coordination took place when both were urgently required. As a result of Joe Biden’s precipitate haste to get the withdrawal over and done with, and the negligent response of allies such as Britain, a humanitarian crisis is already in train. For tens of thousands of justifiably terrified Afghanis, the evacuation process is a dangerous lottery that represents a betrayal of the trust they placed in the west. The “gains of the last 20 years”, such as greater freedoms for women and girls, will now be subject to the internal politics of the Taliban, as it decides which face it wishes to present to the world. Continue reading...
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