by Associated Press in Rochester, Minnesota on (#5NP14)
Vovkovinskiy, who was 7ft 8.33in, died of heart disease on Friday in Rochester, MinnesotaIgor Vovkovinskiy, the tallest man in the US, has died in Minnesota. He was 38.His family said the Ukrainian-born Vovkovinskiy died of heart disease on Friday at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. His mother, Svetlana Vovkovinska, an ICU nurse at Mayo, posted about his death on Facebook. Continue reading...
Photographs published by Gizmodo appear to show sections of the partially constructed wall torn apart by monsoon rainsWhen Donald Trump launched his presidential campaign in 2015 by saying “Nobody builds walls better than me”, it was to say the least a questionable claim.Trump insisted the “great wall” he planned for the southern US border, to keep out unwanted migrants, would be “impenetrable, physical, tall, powerful, beautiful”. Continue reading...
The flooding in rural areas on Saturday took out roads, cellphone towers and telephone lines, leaving families uncertain about whether loved ones survived. Many of the missing live in neighborhoods where the water rose fastest, Humphreys county sheriff Chris Davis said.At the White House in Washington, Joe Biden said he expressed his 'deepest condolences for the sudden and tragic loss of life through this flash flood'
The 30-year-old enters the Tokyo Paralympic Games as America’s biggest hope for gold in the wheelchair tennis singlesSports by nature to many, can be seen as simply a game, mere entertainment at that. To some, it’s a wonderful activity to maintain or improve physical health. To others, it’s the adrenaline rush they gain from competition, the thrill of victory or the potential financial reward that awaits them. Yet, for countless people and athletes with disabilities, having sports present in their lives has proven to be life-altering, game-changing if you will, to the point beyond explanation. Dr Ludwig Guttmann, the founder of the Paralympic Games, once said, “Paraplegia is not the end of the way. It is the beginning of a new life.”Dana Mathewson, the highest ranked male or female American wheelchair tennis player in the world, embodies that statement to the utmost, as she gears up to represent Team USA in singles and doubles at the Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan this month for the second time in her career. A pro on the ITF/Uniqlo Wheelchair Tennis Tour for over a decade, the American has stood firm as the top-standing woman from the US for the majority of that period. Her status has only heightened, as she currently ranks a career-high No 9 in singles and No 7 in doubles, and has thrived in one of the fastest growing wheelchair sports across the world that is predominantly dominated by international players, where she is currently the only American woman ranked in the top 25 singles rankings. Continue reading...
A protest on Sunday in Portland, Oregon culminated in a gunfight, when antifascist demonstrators returned fire at a man who shot at them with a handgun in a downtown street.Portland police bureau confirmed that a man had been arrested over the shooting, which came after a day of protest descended into running clashes involving hundreds of protesters and counter-protesters
Civil rights leader and Jacqueline Jackson admitted to a Chicago hospital on SaturdayThe Rev Jesse Jackson and his wife, Jacqueline Jackson, remained under doctors’ observation at a Chicago hospital on Monday and were “responding positively to treatments” for Covid-19, their son said.Related: Jesse Jackson: 'The gated community does not protect you from the pandemic' Continue reading...
Agency issues message after misinformation about ivermectin, a medicine used to deworm livestock, spreads on social mediaAhead of full US authorisation of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had a simple message for Americans contemplating using ivermectin, a medicine used to deworm livestock, instead of getting a Covid shot.Related: FDA gives full approval to Pfizer vaccine for Covid-19 Continue reading...
A 1978 law tried to remedy adoption practices created to forcibly assimilate Native children. Now conservative lawyers are arguing that the law constitutes ‘reverse racism’George Armstrong Custer of the Seventh Cavalry was infamous during the nineteenth-century Indian wars for riding into the enemy camp, holding Native women, children and elders hostage at gunpoint, and forcing the surrender of the tribe. He systematically attacked and captured civilians to crush Indigenous resistance, which is partly how he defeated the Cheyenne at the Battle of Washita River in 1868. Cheyenne, Lakota and Arapaho warriors later killed Custer as he fled after trying the same hostage-taking ploy at the Battle of Greasy Grass in 1876.Attacking noncombatants, especially children, to enable the conquest of land by destroying the family, and therefore Indigenous nations, wasn’t unique to Custer or the US military. Continue reading...
Authorities in rural northern counties spread misinformation and launched aircraft surveillance in response to false rumors about antifa ‘infiltrators’, according to records obtained by the GuardianOn 1 June 2020, a law enforcement official in the small northern California city of Redding sent screenshots of two social media posts to her staff, asking them to investigate.One was an Instagram story. “BE AWARE … I have heard, from a reliable source, that ANTIFA buses with close to 200 people (domestic terrorists) are planning to infiltrate Redding and possibly cause distraction and destruction,” it read. Continue reading...
While the CEO of Nabisco’s parent company is paid nearly $17m a year, plants are closing, jobs outsourced to Mexico, and older workers are unable to retire on weakened pension benefitsThe pandemic drove many people to the cookie jar and helped Nabisco, maker of Oreos, Chips Ahoy!, Fig Newtons and other sweet treats weather the worst of the outbreak. But as the company’s profits continue to recover, workers at its US plants are striking over the outsourcing of jobs to Mexico and concessions demanded by their employer in new union contract negotiations.On 10 August, about 200 workers in Portland, Oregon, represented by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) went on strike. Union workers in Aurora, Colorado, began their strike on 12 August, followed by those in Richmond, Virginia, on 16 August and Chicago, Illinois on 19 August. Continue reading...
At school in New York, any whiff of competition is firmly avoided. Not so at my six-year-olds’ summer tennis campThere’s a game I play with my children that we never tire of, in which I share details – outlandish, unimaginable – of how things were in the olden days, when I was their age. Most of their favourites are safety related: no bike helmets, no car seats, no grownup in attendance when we walked to the shops. A few of them are monetary (the halfpenny sweet; 10p from the tooth fairy). Occasionally, it’s a food thing – milk floats; the horror of being denied a second dinner if we didn’t like the first – and of course, there’s a whole chapter on tech and rotary phones. There’s also a category of experience I don’t share with my children because, like smoking, they would simply find it too shocking. One of these is PE.Suburban schools in the US still lean heavily into competitive sports, but that is not the case in New York. At my children’s elementary school, it is hard to imagine an event like sports day taking place, in which unsporty children are made to compete and come last in front of the entire school. (There is an annual fun run, organised for fundraising purposes, at which kids trip over their own feet while running in different directions and, like something from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, nobody actually wins). They might play dodgeball in the gym, but the kids themselves don’t pick teams, avoiding the spectacle of the same one being picked last every week. The “ugh” sound, from the team that ended up with them by default, is a memory from childhood that never quite fades. Continue reading...
Former South Carolina governor talks about his memoir that links his decision to lessons learned from an extramarital affair in 2009 and his attempt to cover it upMark Sanford is not the first Republican to turn against former US president Donald Trump and pay a political price. But he is unique in publishing a memoir that links his decision to lessons learned from an extramarital affair and his attempt to cover it up.Sanford was the governor of South Carolina when, in 2009, he flew to Argentina to be with a woman who was not his wife but told his staff he was hiking the Appalachian Trail. The falsehood was rapidly exposed, made lurid headlines and ended his 20-year marriage. Continue reading...
The evacuation of thousands of Americans and their Afghan allies from Kabul would have been 'hard and painful no matter when it started or when we began', Joe Biden said on Sunday, amid fierce criticism of his administration’s handling of the US withdrawal.
Running street battle ends in gunfight after ‘Summer of love’ protest in a parking lot of a former Kmart storeA rightwing protest in Portland on Sunday has culminated in a gunfight, when antifascist demonstrators returned fire at a man who shot at them with a handgun in a downtown street.The firefight took place in the heart of downtown Portland, soon after 6pm. As antifascists followed a man at a distance who they were trying to eject from the area, he took cover behind an electrical substation box, produced a handgun and opened fire. He fired at least two shots before an antifascist returned fire with their own handgun. At least seven shots were fired. Continue reading...
From Sudan to Iraq to Afghanistan, self-righteous US and UK policies have more to do with power than peopleIn August 1998, two weeks after a little-known terror outfit called al-Qaida announced itself to the world with bomb attacks on the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the US president, Bill Clinton, retaliated with missile strikes against a pharmaceutical factory in Sudan. Central Khartoum was rocked in the middle of the night by the impact of a dozen Tomahawk missiles, which destroyed the plant, killing a night watchman and wounding 11 others. The US claimed that the factory – which was the largest provider of medicines in a country under sanctions – was secretly producing nerve agents on behalf of al-Qaida, but it didn’t take long for American officials to admit that the “evidence … was not as solid as first portrayed”.The attack, in other words, was simply an act of retaliation against a random target, without any connection to the crime purportedly being avenged. I was a university student in Khartoum at the time. I can remember the confusion the day after the explosions, then visiting the shattered site of the factory with other students. What was suddenly clear to us then, standing in front of the ruins in a sleepy city that had supposedly become the centre of Islamic terrorism overnight, was the real logic of the “war on terror”: our lives were fodder for the production of bold headlines in American newspapers, saluting the strength, swift action and resolve of western leaders. We, on the sharp end of it all, would never be the protagonists. Those were the policy and opinion makers far, far away, for whom our experience was merely the resolution of an argument about themselves. The operation was chillingly, but appropriately, called Infinite Reach. Continue reading...
by Associated Press in Placerville, California on (#5NMX1)
Zero containment of wildfire, one of about a dozen big blazes in drought-stricken state that have destroyed hundreds of homesA wildfire burning for a week in northern California continued to grow out of control on Sunday, as one of about a dozen big blazes in the drought-stricken state that have destroyed hundreds of homes and forced thousands of people to evacuate.Related: Burned paws, hungry bears: the race to help animals injured in wildfires Continue reading...
Severe weather cut short New York's star-studded Homecoming concert in Central Park, with Barry Manilow's set being interrupted by an announcement requesting concert goers leave the venue amid the threat of lightning.Designed to celebrate the city's recovery from coronavirus, the concert was headlined by Bruce Springsteen and also featured Paul Simon, Jennifer Hudson, LL Cool J and Andrea Bocelli
The former UK prime minister says the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan means 'our friends are now anxious and those people opposed to us feel heartened by it'.
Show was cut short, an hour and a half early, before Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon and Patti Smith could hit the stageIt started out well enough.In the heart of New York City, on Central Park’s Great Lawn, the weather was overcast leading up to We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert, a genre-spanning spectacle produced by the city itself, in partnership with legendary music executive Clive Davis and Live Nation. Continue reading...
Ex-president backs Mo Brooks, who is running for Senate and sympathised with man who threatened to blow up US CapitolDonald Trump staged a rally in Alabama on Saturday night, in a city that has declared a Covid emergency and in support of a congressman who both backed Trump’s attempt to overturn the election and this week sympathised with a man who threatened to blow up the US Capitol.Related: Capitol bomb claim suspect charged with weapon of mass destruction threat Continue reading...
Dying is a profitable business – yet funerals today are pretty much handled the same as they’ve been for decades“See that place?” my father always used to say when we drove by the local cemetery. “People are just dying to get in there. Ha ha!”It was funny – at least for the first 50 times I heard it. Hey, dads are allowed to tell dad jokes. But when someone does die it’s no joke to their families. Besides the grief, there’s the cost. And people have been grumbling about the costs of funerals since there have been … well … funerals. Continue reading...
Lake Charles has withstood four federally declared disasters in less than a year all while responding to the fourth wave of coronavirusAbout a foot of drywall is cut out near the floor in parts of the regional health department building in the city of Lake Charles, south-west Louisiana. The roof is leaking in one room and blue painter’s tape marks the walls that are still holding water. The agency attempts to conduct business as usual, despite missing pieces.The same can be said for people in the community, who have withstood four federally declared disasters in less than a year. Hurricane Laura – which made landfall as a Category 4 storm in August 2020 – dealt the first blow. Six weeks later, Hurricane Delta hit. A freeze this February followed by torrential rain in May destroyed more homes. Continue reading...
It’s easier than ever to carve US electoral districts to one party’s benefit – but it’s also easier to expose the practiceThe first time Kim Brace drew electoral district maps for the state of Illinois, more than 40 years ago, things moved slowly.He and his colleagues hung maps of the state on the walls in the office of the speaker of the state house of representatives. Someone would climb a ladder, moving different blocks of people into different districts while another took notes below. In the evenings, they would go to the largest bank in Springfield and use a mainframe computer to generate a daily report. Over the course of the four-month legislative session, Brace was able to draw about 10 possibilities for electoral maps. Continue reading...
Misogyny continued to run through society behind the ‘new Afghanistan’ facadeI am thinking about Farkhunda. You may have read about her six years ago and felt outrage at the Afghan men who killed her. All that represents Farkhunda now is a forlorn clenched fist emerging from a block of stone, silently aimed at the sky near the place where she was publicly tortured and murdered in 2015, a popular shrine in Kabul where pigeons circle and hawkers and beggars approach crowds of pilgrims. Her “sin” was burning pages of the Qur’an, a fake accusation aimed at her by the vendor of charms whom she had criticised.Farkhunda’s fate should also tell us that brutal corporal punishment meted out by the mob on religious grounds, especially to a woman, is not just the domain of the Taliban. More disturbingly, it should also tell us that even in the “new Afghanistan” there remained a troubling undercurrent of misogyny in some quarters of society. On that day, Afghan security forces stood by and watched as people tried to rip the young woman apart. I suspect the frustration of decades of being told to grudgingly accept women’s rights in public was unleashed on one small crumpled body. Continue reading...
Oregon pro-Trump organizers seem in disarray ahead of Sunday event but some on left still call for mayor to quitA united front against far-right groups appeared to be paying off for authorities and progressive groups in Portland, Oregon, ahead of a planned protest on Sunday.Related: Man charged in Capitol riot also engaged in rightwing street brawl Continue reading...
After huge lockdown profits from graphic content, the OnlyFans network realises that it costs to go legitWhen the paid social network OnlyFans announced on Thursday it was banning “sexually explicit” material, it was the equivalent of Playboy in its pomp deciding to publish only the articles. It’s not that some of the articles weren’t quite good, but they were obviously never the point. In the same way, while you can find plenty of stuff on OnlyFans that isn’t porn – training tips from athletes and DJs supplying “inspirational content” – everyone knows that isn’t the reason most people go to the site.All the same, OnlyFans prefers to draw a tactful veil over its adventures in the flesh trade. In the dust-dry words of its mission statement, it positions itself as a “social platform revolutionizing creator and fan connections”, which “allows [creators] to monetize their content while developing authentic relationships with their fanbase”. Or, in less corporate language, it lets your followers pay you for whatever you do. Users can set a monthly subscription, charge for individual posts or produce bespoke videos and pictures on request. Continue reading...
Larry Elder doesn’t believe in gun control or the gender pay gap. He has risen to the top of the Republican field in the recall election for governorLarry Elder is a confounding frontrunner in the Republican race to replace Gavin Newsom as California governor.Related: Grizzly Flats: the California town leveled by the Caldor fire – in pictures Continue reading...
Civil rights leader, who is vaccinated, being monitored along with his wife by doctors in ChicagoThe Rev Jesse Jackson, the civil rights leader and two-time presidential candidate, and his wife have been hospitalised after testing positive for Covid-19, according to a statement.He and his wife, 77, were being treated at Northwestern memorial hospital in Chicago, said his nonprofit Rainbow/Push Coalition. Jesse Jackson, 79, is vaccinated against the virus and received his first dose in January during a publicised event as he urged others to do so as soon as possible. Continue reading...
At the Jackson Hole bankers’ summit this week, the talk will be of ending quantitative easing – and this time it will be seriousIt is credited with preventing the worst global recession since at least the second world war from turning into something far worse. But after the injection of trillions of dollars into financial markets to cushion the blow from Covid-19, the era of quantitative easing could be coming to an end.This week, attention will turn to the gathering of central bank chiefs in Jackson Hole for clues about how the US Federal Reserve plans to bring its vast QE bond-buying programme to an eventual halt after more than a year of emergency stimulus. Continue reading...
by Associated Press in Placerville, California on (#5NM24)
The wildfire has destroyed dozens of homes and closed down a stretch of Interstate 50 to the Nevada state lineCrews were digging in and burning out fire lines amid fears that another round of high winds on Saturday could bring renewed fury to a northern California wildfire.“We have a firefight ahead of us and the wind today is going to make it very challenging,” said Keith Wade, a spokesman with Cal Fire. Continue reading...
The ‘forever war’ has finished with a debacle. If this marks the end of American interventionism, what will take its place?A few months ago there were US bases all over Afghanistan where you could immerse yourself in Americana, buy Coke and Snickers bars from vending machines and watch live sport on TV.Now the outpost has shrunk to one side of Kabul airport, a chaotic remnant of a 20-year stay where rearguard troops are trying to salvage the last scraps of dignity and honour, seemingly tossed aside by the political leadership in Washington, by trying to extract American stragglers and Afghan allies. Those allies, once inspired by talk of democracy, women’s rights and the free press, are now faced with the awful life-and-death dilemmas of preserving evidence of their work for or with the US-led coalition, in the hope of last-minute salvation, or destroying it, in a bid to escape execution. Continue reading...
Biden’s Afghan chaos means Europe can no longer rely on him. Let’s hope a more balanced security relationship emergesThe North Atlantic measurably widened last week. The more Joe Biden tried to shift blame for the Afghan chaos, the bigger the gulf with America’s UK and European allies grew. This US president, who preaches the virtues of multilateralism yet acted on his own, has done more in a few weeks to undermine the western alliance than Donald Trump ever did with all his bluster.Related: After the chaos in Kabul, is the American century over? Continue reading...
He offers sound financial advice on not ruining his children’s lives with extreme wealthFor many people, Daniel Craig climbing out of the sea in his swimming trunks is a turn-on; for me, it’s Daniel Craig talking about financial responsibility.“Isn’t there an old adage that if you die a rich person, you’ve failed?” the Bond star told Candis magazine, adding: “I don’t want to leave great sums to the next generation.” He says that his philosophy is to get rid of his fortune before he dies. In the same week that this interview emerged, Craig topped Variety’s list of movie star salaries, reportedly earning $100m following the sale of two sequels to the highly enjoyable mystery Knives Out, which leaves a lot of giving away to do. Continue reading...
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