Staunch Trump ally facing multi-million dollar defamation lawsuit related to his attempts to undermine the US presidential electionsRudy Giuliani, the staunch ally of Donald Trump who is facing a multi-million dollar defamation lawsuit related to his attempts to undermine the US presidential elections, has embraced a new potential earning stream.Internet users, should they be inspired to do so, can now buy customized video messages from Giuliani, who has joined Cameo, a service that sells personalized videos recorded by celebrities. Continue reading...

Biden administration considering reimbursing school officials who lose their pay if DeSantis follows through on his threatAs school districts in Florida resist efforts to ban masks in schools amid a surge in Covid cases, the Biden administration has said it will consider supporting education leaders who are financially penalised for taking such action by the state’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis.On Tuesday the Broward county school board in Florida, one of the largest in the state, became the latest to flout an order by DeSantis outlawing mask requirements. Earlier this week the governor said he would permit the state board of education to withhold payment of school district leaders who implemented mask mandates. Continue reading...

‘Society is not going to allow it,’ says New Hampshire man who lived off-the-grid life until his cabin burned down last week“River Dave”, an 81-year-old New Hampshire man who lived an off-the-grid life for three decades until last week when his cabin burned down, said he no longer thinks he can return to his hermit lifestyle.“I don’t see how I can go back to being a hermit because society is not going to allow it,” David Lidstone said in an interview with the Associated Press on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Anerican won the US PGA at 50 in May but Steve Stricker would be better off leaving the six-times major winner out of the US teamIt provided the story of this and plenty other golfing years. Phil Mickelson, a few weeks short of his 51st birthday, strode to US PGA Championship glory at Kiawah Island as giddy crowds engulfed the 72nd fairway. Mickelson had done his bit for ageing sportspeople everywhere by virtue of a freakish result on account of form alone.Mickelson balanced South Carolina “realism” – the concept that he may never win again with the potential to go on a streak. By July and the Open Championship, a dejected Mickelson departed after 36 holes. “I’m having some challenges staying sharp,” he said. His focus, one assumes, was hardly helped by a needless and very public spat with a local reporter in Detroit immediately before he signed for rounds of 80 and 72 at Royal St George’s. Continue reading...

David Boies, the lawyer representing an American woman who alleges that Prince Andrew sexually assaulted her when she was 17, said on Tuesday the royal would not be able to 'ignore the courts' after she filed a civil case against him in the US. The prince has repeatedly denied the allegations in the lawsuit, brought by one of the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime accusers, Virginia Giuffre. Boies said his team tried to open settlement talks with Andrew's lawyers but they were ignored

Lawmakers approve Democrats’ budget resolution on party-line 50-49 vote hours after passing $1tn infrastructure billDemocrats pushed a $3.5tn framework for bolstering family services, health and environment programs through the Senate early Wednesday.The overnight vote advances Joe Biden’s plans for reshaping federal priorities, and came hours after passing a $1tn infrastructure package. Continue reading...

President Biden has hailed efforts of Democratic and Republican senators to pass bill that will create ‘millions of jobs’. Plus: have lockdowns fuelled unhealthy attitudes towards drinking at home?Good morning.The US Senate passed a giant bipartisan infrastructure bill in the early hours of Wednesday morning, with 19 Republicans joining the entire Democratic caucus to push it through. Continue reading...

State- and city-based campaigns target people at neighborhood level where vaccination rates are low despite the spread of DeltaAs a police sergeant in a rural town, Carlos Cornejo isn’t the prototypical social media influencer. But his Spanish-language Facebook page with 650,000 followers was exactly what Colorado leaders were looking for as they recruited residents to try to persuade the most vaccine-hesitant.Cornejo, 32, is one of dozens of influencers, ranging from busy moms and fashion bloggers to African refugee advocates and religious leaders, getting paid by the state to post vaccine information in hopes of stunting a troubling summer surge of Covid-19. Continue reading...

Had Cuomo not been a sex pest, he would have gotten away with hiding thousands of deaths in nursing homes to protect his donorsThe amazing thing about Andrew Cuomo’s announcement this week that he is stepping down as governor of New York is not that he left office, it is that it took this long for him to resign. And among the most troubling parts of the interminable saga is how many crimes he and New York politicians normalized in the process – because so many of these officials were complicit, too.Cuomo resigned in the wake of Attorney General Tish James’s report detailing his sexual crimes. But here’s the truth that’s hard to say aloud: if the New York governor had not been a sex pest, he likely would have gotten away with hiding thousands of people’s deaths in nursing homes and shielding his healthcare industry donors from any liability – all while profiting off a $5m book deal and being venerated by liberals and corporate media outlets as a shining star. Continue reading...

A system ‘built for men’ exposes women to chemicals that have been linked to miscarriage, birth defects and slowed fetal growthSofia Huston panted heavily as she pushed to close the gap between herself and the colleague in front.Clad in bright yellow heavy-duty uniforms, hard hats and gloves, the crew trudged up “Cardiac Hill”, a grueling terrain south-east of Santa Clarita, in Los Angeles county, and so steep “you could kiss the ground in front of you”. Continue reading...

Ellen Havre Weis directed the Museum of Modern Mythology, celebrating the likes of the Michelin Man and Colonel SandersThe Jolly Green Giant, Mr Clean and the Frito Bandito lost one of their most enthusiastic supporters last month with the passing of Ellen Havre Weis, a California museum founder and author who recognized the mythology in America’s advertising characters.Weis co-founded and directed the Museum of Modern Mythology, a once renowned San Francisco tourist destination where a vinyl Michelin Man rubbed elbows with a lifesize statue of Colonel Sanders and a plastic figurine of the monocled Mr Peanut featured among thousands of other advertising characters. Continue reading...

Violence erupted between antifascist protesters and supporters of a far-right preacherA Washington state man who was involved in an armed brawl at a contentious protest in downtown Portland over the weekend was also charged, along with his son, over his presence during the attack on the Capitol in Washington DC on 6 January.Jeffrey Grace’s ongoing participation in far-right street politics since January – which has included trips to the southern border – indicates that widespread charges against those involved in the Capitol attack have not deterred at least some militant pro-Trump supporters from further direct actions. Continue reading...

A juvenile black bear was filmed on video by stunned shoppers after it wandered into a Los Angeles area supermarket. The bear was spotted inside the Ralphs supermarket in Porter Ranch before it was shooed out. It was later seen outside and was tranquillised and relocated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service Continue reading...

In the shocking new documentary Alliances Broken, the behind-the-scenes story of ‘the Fyre festival of sports’ is brought to light“It was the wealthy trying to make more money off lower level people and they just used them,” 23-year-old film-maker Steven Potter says of his new documentary Alliances Broken. “Used them and abused them.”His film follows the swift decline of the 2019 American football league, the Alliance of American Football. The film presents, as Potter characterizes it, a disastrous story of abusive avarice, promises broken and dreams dashed. Continue reading...

Experts say contamination presents ‘extremely troubling’ health threat in America’s largest estuaryGroundwater on military bases along the Chesapeake Bay is contaminated with toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” at levels many times above the level some regulators say is safe for drinking, and they are likely ending up in blue crabs, oysters and other marine life that are consumed by humans.The Chesapeake Bay holds a diverse ecosystem that stretches about 200 miles from northern Maryland to southern Virginia, and is among the world’s most productive estuaries. Its brackish saltwater is renowned for shellfish like oysters and blue crabs, the latter of which largely drives the state’s $600m seafood industry that sends product across the globe. Continue reading...

Senate expected to reintroduce Democrats’ marquee election reform bill known as the For the People Act before summer recessTop Democrats in the Senate are poised to make another attempt to push through voting rights legislation before the chamber leaves Washington for a summer recess, in a sign of their determination to counter a wave of Republican-led ballot restrictions across the nation.Related: Biden hails Senate passage of giant $1tn bipartisan infrastructure bill Continue reading...

As flames approached, Kimberly Price fled her beloved California hometown of Greenville. An hour later, most of it was goneAfter weeks of fire, smoke and warnings, Kimberly Price’s beloved hometown had run out of time.With wind driving the Dixie fire directly into Greenville, Price’s longtime partner, John Hunter, told her she needed to leave. Price, 58, had spent most of her life in the close-knit Sierra Nevada community. She couldn’t bear the thought of leaving, but the flames were everywhere. Continue reading...

Comeuppance for Democrat’s towering arrogance and egotism, and evidence of a growing shift from New York’s notoriously macho and hardball politicsChris Cuomo, a prime time host on CNN, had a question for his brother: “With all of this adulation that you’re getting for doing your job, are you thinking about running for president?”Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York state, where polls showed 87% approval for his response to the coronavirus pandemic, insisted he was not. But the question persisted as Cuomo became the most prominent and trusted Democratic voice during a public health crisis that had then US president Donald Trump flailing. Continue reading...

White House and top New York Democrats hail courage of women who came forward with their storiesTwo more women who identified themselves as victims of New York governor Andrew Cuomo’s pattern of sexual harassment in the workplace came forward on Tuesday to add their voices to the reaction to his resignation announcement.An attorney for the two women said her clients were “vindicated and relieved that Cuomo will no longer be in a position of power over anyone”. Continue reading...

The New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, has resigned after an investigation by the state attorney general that found he sexually harassed multiple women, most of whom worked for him, and also retaliated after some made complaints. The Democratic governor had lost the support of the party establishment, with Joe Biden calling on Cuomo to resign and similar demands issued by House speaker Nancy Pelosi

New York will its first female governor in Hochul, a centrist Democrat, following Andrew Cuomo’s resignation over sexual harassment allegationsWhen the New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, leaves office in 14 days time after resigning over allegations that he sexually harassed at least 11 women, the state will finally get its first female governor.Related: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s top aide resigns amid sexual harassment scandal Continue reading...

Children accounted for 15% of new Covid cases reported last week, American Academy of Pediatrics data analysis showsAs Covid cases among children continue to rise in the US due to spread of the Delta variant, experts are urging the federal government to fast-track vaccine approval for those under the age of 12.New data analysis from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) indicated that children accounted for 15% of new cases reported last week, with a total of almost 94,000 cases. There was a 4% increase in child cases over the past two weeks, the AAP found. Continue reading...

The Duke of York is the subject of a US civil suit brought by Virginia Giuffre, who alleges she was abused while a minor“I could have worse tags than ‘Air Miles Andy’”, Prince Andrew once remarked, “although I don’t know what they are.” Yeah, well … SPOILERS. I’m not sure if the Duke of York would have better luck if he considered the question again today, in light of Various Events of the past few years. His infamous Newsnight interview revealed him to be a man of such baroque stupidity that in some ways its most sensational revelation was that Prince Edward must have been the clever one.And so to events overnight in New York. For the first time, the Queen’s second son has been made the subject of a US lawsuit, a civil case brought by Virginia Giuffre, formerly Roberts, teenage victim of Andrew’s former close friend, the late underage sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Giuffre alleges that the Queen’s second son sexually abused her when she was a minor on three occasions – in London, in New York, and in the US Virgin Islands. Quite a lot of air miles, there, though I fear we can rule out HRH cashing them in for a free flight to the US any time soon. The prince has not commented on the case but he has always denied the claims saying they’re false and without foundation. Continue reading...

Sales at UK’s biggest supplier of Rolex and Omega watches rise 43% on pre-pandemic levelsThe UK’s biggest seller of Rolex and Omega watches said sales had surged as Britons splashed lockdown savings on luxury watches and jewellery, including wedding and engagement rings.Watches of Switzerland’s UK sales rose 43% compared with the pre-pandemic levels in the 13 weeks to 1 August, as the company bounced back from the coronavirus lockdowns. Continue reading...

About 70 senators appear poised to carry the bipartisan package to passage with final Senate vote expected Tuesday morningAfter weeks of fits, starts and delays, the US Senate is on track to give final approval to the $1tn bipartisan infrastructure plan, with a growing coalition of Democrats and Republicans prepared to lift the first phase of Joe Biden’s rebuilding agenda to passage.Final Senate votes are expected around Tuesday mid-morning, and the bill would then go back to the House of Representatives for further consideration. Continue reading...

Two more of the state’s largest school districts announced mask mandates as a county-owned hospital in Houston raised tentsThe Texas governor, Greg Abbott, appealed for out-of-state help to fight the third wave of Covid-19 in his state amid dire warnings while two more of the state’s largest school districts announced mask mandates in defiance of the increasingly hardline Republican.Abbott’s request came on Monday as a county-owned hospital in Houston raised tents to accommodate their coronavirus patient overflow. Continue reading...

A new docuseries offers a fresh perspective on the infamous 2004 melee that changed the shape of basketball as we know itFor my money, the indelible image from the Malice in the Palace – the notorious 2004 on-court riot that pitted NBA players against spectators and changed the shape of basketball as we know it – wasn’t Ron Artest pouncing on that wide-eyed fan in the stands. Or Artest and his fellow Indiana Pacers making their off-court escape as the unruly crowd hailed down their half-consumed concessions from on high. Or even the hard foul Artest committed on the Detroit Pistons’ Ben Wallace at the end of this nationally televised Pacers blowout that kicked off the ugly affair.Related: Untold review – gripping doc series delivers an irresistible sports fix Continue reading...

If the Evia fire ferry video seems extraordinary, it’s not only because of what it shows but because of how it shows itTo have lived through the last few decades is to have, in our minds, an all too accessible video library of historical nightmares. The assassinations of JFK, MLK, RFK. The collapse of the Twin Towers. Derek Chauvin’s knee on George Floyd’s neck. The 6 January insurrectionists swarming the Capitol building. We can call up these scenes whenever we choose. They haunt us, uninvited.The latest grim addition to that ineradicable collection is a video that surfaced, days ago, of a tourist ferry sailing across the water from the raging fire incinerating the Greek island of Evia. Continue reading...

Some say the greenback’s dominance of cross-border payments will be erodedThis week marks the 50th anniversary of “the weekend that changed the world”, when the US president Richard Nixon suspended the dollar’s convertibility into gold at a fixed price and rang down the curtain on the Bretton Woods international monetary system. The subsequent half-century brought many surprises. From a monetary standpoint, one of the greatest was the dollar’s continued dominance as a vehicle for cross-border transactions.Under Bretton Woods, the dollar’s supremacy was readily explicable. The financial position of the US coming out of the second world war was impregnable. Changes in the price at which dollars could be converted into gold were unthinkable, first because of that financial strength and then, as the country’s monetary position weakened, because of the possibility that one devaluation would create expectations of another. Continue reading...

US president expected to deliver climate legislation after damning UN report. Plus: the robot dog that is supposed to have ‘real emotions and instinct’Good morning.A stark UN report showing that the US, like the rest of the world, is running out of time to avoid disastrous climate impacts is turning up the heat on Joe Biden, who will be keen to do his part in preventing a critical global heating threshold of 1.5C being breached far earlier than previously expected. Continue reading...

Their ancestors were exterminated and displaced – now Indigenous leaders are being asked to help bring in tourism dollarsThis story was published in partnership with the Texas Observer.Texas, which exterminated or displaced most of the Indigenous people in the state, now wants to cash in on them. Continue reading...

The three conditions feed off each other to create a vicious cycle, demanding urgent actionNorthern California’s Dixie fire this weekend swelled to become the single largest fire incident the state has ever recorded, a mammoth that has leveled mountain towns, produced flames that shot 200ft in the air, and scorched through close to 490,000 acres.“It is just the perfect storm,” says Rick Carhart, the California department of forestry and fire protection (Cal Fire) public information officer, adding that the difficult and steep terrain, parched vegetation, and hot, dry weather had all come together to fuel the conflagration that has sent flames 200ft into the sky. Continue reading...

The governor is facing calls for dismissal after a report found he sexually harassed 11 women. But how does impeachment work?New York governor Andrew Cuomo is on the brink of being impeached by the state legislature and, if he doesn’t resign first, he could lose the job he has held for a decade.Related: Kathy Hochul: lieutenant governor who could take over for Cuomo Continue reading...

The landmark IPCC report paints a bleak picture for our planet’s future. We asked five climate change experts how they are staying strongThe latest report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has left many of us feeling despondent and full of despair for the future of the planet. It is often said that action is the antidote to anxiety and despair. The problem for most people though is what action should that be? Recycling, or riding to work can feel futile when at the same time political leaders announce a new coalmine the size of Sydney. Here is why I am still feeling hopeful. Continue reading...

Mary Trump’s new book The Reckoning, seen by the Guardian, describes a national trauma worsened by her uncleDonald Trump was “afraid” when he put on a display of bravado at the White House after being treated for a severe coronavirus infection, his estranged niece Mary Trump has claimed.The then US president had a pained expression that Mary recognised from her grandmother, but dared not admit his fear even to himself, she recalls in a scathing new book seen by the Guardian. Continue reading...

15 September deadline could be pushed up if vaccine receives final US regulatory approval by FDAMembers of the US military will be required to have the Covid-19 vaccine beginning on 15 September, under a plan announced by the Department of Defense (DoD) on Monday and endorsed by Joe Biden.That deadline could be pushed up if the vaccine receives final US regulatory approval, beyond its current emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or if rising infection rates continue. Continue reading...

Elaine Thompson-Herah was a star, the new sports shone and the hosts were friendly, despite not being able to attendBest moment of the Games Continue reading...

Roberta Kaplan is latest prominent figure to quit in wake of scandal engulfing CuomoRoberta Kaplan has resigned as chairwoman of Time’s Up after facing widespread criticism for allegedly advising New York governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration on sexual harassment allegations against him.Kaplan, a prominent lawyer who founded Time’s Up legal defense fund and represents the writer E Jean Carroll in a defamation lawsuit against Donald Trump, resigned on Monday, becoming the latest prominent figure to quit in the wake of the scandal engulfing Cuomo. Continue reading...

As our departure date loomed, I worried about the results – but it was the soaring prices and small print that sent me into an anxiety spiralIt started next to a caravan at the back of a church. We were going to Morocco – but only if the kids first had negative PCR tests. From a distance, it’s a formality, like checking in online and carefully confirming that you haven’t got a Swiss army knife in your hand luggage. Only when the date loomed up close did the reality kick in that they might actually have Covid and it would be wiser not to get too excited until we had the results.By then, of course, it was too late. I was already too excited and all that anticipation segued effortlessly into nail-biting dread. My son was also biting his nails, which my daughter hates, but nothing drives her more bananas than when we both do it at the same time. It’s not the biting, apparently, but the melodramatic terror in our eyes. He wasn’t even worrying about the test, he was worried that the testing lady hadn’t got his passport number right and that he would get turned back on a technicality. “She asked me to check it against my passport and I said I had, but I’d only skimmed it.” Continue reading...

Dixie fire grew to an area of 765 sq miles by Sunday evening and was just 21% containedFirefighters battling the second largest wildfire in California history faced a return of fire-friendly weather, as the thick smoke that held down winds and temperatures from the scenic forestlands picked up.The changing weather conditions near the Dixie fire, which is burning the state’s far north, concerned firefighters working in unprecedented conditions to protect thousands of threatened homes in rural communities of the Sierra Nevada. Continue reading...