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Politics
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A mosque in Ohio was attacked for the third time. Members doubt Trump’s FBI will call it a hate crime
Latest attack happened amid Islamophobic blowback against Arab and Muslim Americans running for office Nashid Shakir describes how assailants used wire cutters to break into the Westwood Islamic Community Center in the early hours of 3 August. “They cut the wire and broke the window to get in. They broke into the office, too. It was total disarray,” says Shakir, a board member, and member, at the community center since the 1960s. Continue reading...
Trump’s new attorney general poses a huge threat to abortion rights | Moira Donegan
A call revealing Todd Blanche’s plans to crack down on mifepristone lays bare the danger The abortion pill is a miracle. Mifepristone, then called RU-486, was synthesized by a French lab in the 1980s; in combination with misoprostol, commonly used as ulcer medication, it cuts off the body’s supply of progesterone, halts the development of a pregnancy, and incites contractions, which empty the uterus. The drug allows pregnancies to be terminated with a shocking degree of reliability and ease. Gone are the concoctions of ergot and Spanish Fly dispensed by 19th century midwives, which only sometimes worked to induce a miscarriage; gone are the backroom procedures of the pre-Roe US, when drunk, lascivious, incompetent or cruel providers wielded bent coat hangers in dirty rooms. The abortion pill is safe, effective and cheaper than ever. And since Dobbs, it’s everywhere: even if you live in a state with an abortion ban, you can get the pills shipped to your house in the mail. Since Roe was overturned, there has not been a return to the terror of mass death that marked the pre-Roe era of septic abortion wards, where women routinely found themselves maimed, sickened or killed. There’s exactly one reason why: because illegal abortions were largely unsafe without the pill, and they are extremely safe with it. So of course, the Trump administration and their allies on the American right are trying to get rid of it. And this month, they gained a powerful new ally when Todd Blanche, Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and an anti-abortion zealot, was confirmed as attorney general. Continue reading...
US kindergarten vaccination rates dip as exemptions hit record high
New CDC data shows MMR vaccination among kindergarteners declining slightly as non-medical exemptions climb to 4.2% A week after Donald Trump made a series of misleading claims about vaccines – including that some injections look “like the size of a soda bottle” – the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the latest data on national kindergarten vaccination rates. CDC communications downplayed the changes – a three-sentence announcement said, “overall vaccination rates among kindergarteners remained high” – but medical experts immediately saw cause for concern in the trends. Continue reading...
ICE agent jailed on allegations of breaking into ex-girlfriend’s apartment
Thomas Bailey, 58, faces charge of unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling near Covington, Louisiana A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) officer was jailed on Friday on allegations of breaking into a woman’s apartment. Thomas Bailey, 58, faces a charge of unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling after his arrest by the sheriff’s office of St Tammany parish, Louisiana, the agency said in a statement. Continue reading...
Sean Duffy’s family road-trip reality series: we watched it – will anyone else?
Trump transport chief’s YouTube show vowed to ‘celebrate America’s story’ – it’s debatable whether it celebrates anything besides the Duffys themselves It would be fair to say that the Trump administration’s celebration of the United States’s 250th birthday has been unorthodox – involving, as it has, an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event at the White House, a poorly attended state fair, and a car race through Washington, before which the US president will take a lap of honor. On Tuesday, however, Donald Trump officials dropped perhaps their weirdest 250th offering yet: a six-part travel show in which the US secretary of transportation take his entire family on a startlingly self-involved, creatively funded road trip around the country. Continue reading...
‘Its pretty much a guarantee you’ll get stung’: jellyfish keep swimmers out of Delaware beaches
Beach patrols report hundreds of stings a day as warmer waters and drought create favorable conditions for jellyfish An unusually high number of jellyfish are crowding Delaware’s beaches this summer amid climate change and other environmental factors – keeping some beachgoers out of the ocean and stinging lifeguards as well as bathers. Beach safety patrols in the state have reported hundreds of daily stings as the jellyfish have increased with intensifying environmental factors, including warmer waters, hot and dry conditions, and water circulation favorable to the invertebrates. Continue reading...
‘Multiple’ people die in crash involving police vehicle and car in North Yorkshire
The A66 is closed after number of people die at scene of collision near Middlesbrough in early hours of Saturday Multiple people have died in a collision involving a police vehicle near Middlesbrough, police said. A number of people died at the scene of the crash in the early hours of Saturday morning on the A66 in South Bank, North Yorkshire, according to local authorities. Continue reading...
‘Embryonic’: lost novel by French film-maker Éric Rohmer is republished
English translation of Élisabeth, the New Wave director’s 1946 book about young lovers in prewar Paris, receives rave reviews as precursor to auteur’s cinematic work In the dog days of the second world war, 24-year-old Maurice Schérer wrote a tale of young lovers in prewar small-town France. He described lazy August swims in the Marne River east of Paris. He wrote about age-gap affairs and semi-incestuous flirtations. Schérer gallantly used a nom de plume, Gilbert Cordier, to shield his Catholic family from scandal, but he needn’t have bothered as his concerns were unfounded. The finished novel, Élisabeth, barely made a ripple and quickly slipped out of print. Undeterred, Scherer adopted a second pseudonym – Éric Rohmer – and decided to try his luck as a film-maker instead. Now – eight decades on from its first publication, 16 years on from its author’s death – Élisabeth belatedly returns from the cold. Republished in an English-language translation by Aaron Kerner, Rohmer’s book has been greeted with glowing reviews, hailed as a lost modernist classic and a crucial origin story for the award-winning director of Claire’s Knee, The Green Ray and My Night at Maud’s. “It would be a rewarding, exciting read even if the identity of its author were unfamiliar,” wrote Richard Brody in the New Yorker. The fact that it’s by Rohmer? That’s the icing on the cake. Continue reading...
Lionel Messi fined for slapping opposition player in MLS game
Incident happened when Inter Miami met Philadelphia Union Argentinian lashed out at Quinn Sullivan in 2-2 draw Lionel Messi has been fined for slapping an opponent during a Major League Soccer game. The 39-year-old Inter Miami forward lashed out at Quinn Sullivan of Philadelphia Union during their match on Wednesday, catching the midfielder around the back of the head. The Argentinian appeared to be angry Sullivan had elbowed him after he had played the ball, with the referee intervening before the situation could escalate. The match at Subaru Park finished 2-2. Continue reading...
Persuasion, denial and bluster: Trump ‘stuck’ on Iran war ahead of elections
As the president tries to extract the US from his Iran war quagmire, leadership in Tehran is only too happy to crush his midterm dreams In the aftermath of his devastating election defeat, the US president remained haunted by regrets over Iran . Months before Jimmy Carter lost the 1980 presidential election to Ronald Reagan , eight US servicemen died in a botched high-risk rescue mission that failed to secure the freedom of dozens of US hostages seized in Tehran. Continue reading...
Former British and French diplomats urge action over Israel’s ‘erasure’ of Palestine
In letter to Macron and Burnham, more than 100 senior figures accuse Israel of ethnic cleansing and call for measures including trade ban More than 100 French and British former diplomats have said Palestine is being erased in front of the world’s eyes and called for urgent action including trade and arms sales bans to press Israel to accept a Palestinian state. An unprecedented joint letter dispenses with diplomatic language by accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing and warning that the world no longer sees Israel as a genuine democracy. Uphold the decisions of the international court of justice and the international criminal court. Suspend the EU-Israel association agreement and the UK-Israel trade and partnership agreement for breach of human rights provisions. Suspend arms transfers to and from Israel and all bilateral military cooperation. Insist on unrestricted aid access to Gaza, led by the UN Relief and Works Agency, other UN agencies and international NGOs, with consequences for non-compliance, and access too for journalists, diplomats and parliamentarians. Ban all trade with settlements, including goods, investment, insurance and other financial services. Warn potential bidders for the “red line” E1 settlement or other settlement financing/construction that their interests in and with the UK and France will suffer. Make it an offence for British and French citizens to buy property on stolen Palestinian land and remove charitable status from “charities” funding settlements. Continue reading...
US soccer wants excitement after the World Cup – the Open Cup provides it
MLS wants to build on the momentum of the World Cup. America’s top domestic cup competition is an obvious place to start The new commissioner of Major League Soccer, Larry Berg, isn’t keen on the idea of promotion and relegation, but he is a fan of jeopardy. When asked the obligatory pro/rel question in his introductory press conference , Berg responded, “I don’t think it’s appropriate for our league, but I think there are other ways to create jeopardy during the regular season, [and] again in the playoffs.” He referred to this summer’s World Cup, which was co-hosted by the US, and the excitement it provided, adding, “Millions of people across North America experienced that passion firsthand. They fell in love with the drama, the atmosphere, the supporter culture and the emotion that makes soccer unlike anything else. In the World Cup, we all enjoyed knockout games after the group stage. I call those games of consequence or games of jeopardy.” Continue reading...
‘It brings me joy’: how young people are making CDs cool again
Compact discs are back, with searches for players up 96% at John Lewis and popular models sold out online With more than 800 million people subscribing to a music streaming service, wireless speakers have become a familiar sight in homes. But expect to get reacquainted with a different object to play music soon: the CD player, once consigned to obsolescence, is back. John Lewis report that searches for CD players are up 96% since July, possibly owing to students heading to university and buying the systems for their rooms. The £79 Crosley Voyager , and the £129 Pure Classic C-D6 are both sold out online, with the Voyager scheduled to return in October. Portable CD players are also popular. Continue reading...
Unions worry Labour’s plan for zero-hours contracts may break manifesto pledge
Leaders claim scaremongering from business figures may cause key legislation to become ‘meaningless’ Trades unions are warning Andy Burnham that Labour’s policy on cutting zero-hours contracts risks failing to live up to the party’s manifesto. Union leaders are seeking reassurances from the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, amid what the TUC has condemned as “scaremongering” from business groups. Continue reading...
Battery fires at recycling centres are costing UK £1bn a year, figures show
Experts say fires caused by wrongly discarded lithium batteries, such as those in vapes, are putting lives at risk Fires at recycling centres caused by wrongly discarded lithium batteries such as those found in vapes are occurring at the rate of more than 10 a week, according to new figures. Experts say the sheer volume of battery fires now occurring at waste facilities has reached a crisis that is putting lives at risk, costing £1bn a year and frustrating fire chiefs. Continue reading...
‘We fear lessons will not be learned’: Chloe Moffat’s parents on their fight to hold Treasury to account
Couple considering suing for wrongful death after coroner found disciplinary process materially contributed to suicide When a coroner ruled this month that the Treasury “materially contributed” to Chloe Moffat’s death , her parents breathed out in bittersweet relief. For a year, David and Anne Moffat had been forced to become detectives in the worst case any parent could have to solve: why their daughter took her own life. Chloe, 26, went to her job as a personal assistant at the Treasury on a Monday last May “happy as Larry” after a weekend she’d told her friends was a “10 out of 10”. She was planning a holiday with her sister, Alice, and arranging for friends to come for a dinner party the next weekend. She was, according to her father, living “the best life”. Continue reading...
Sorrow as community pays tribute to ‘shining light’ Lily Hooper after NSW hiking tragedy
The 18-year-old remembered as a talented athlete with an infectious smile and ‘one of those people who everyone simply liked’ Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Tributes have flowed for 18-year-old Lily Hooper, remembered as an adventurous, multitalented athlete with an infectious smile, after her body was found on Thursday afternoon, eight days after she disappeared while hiking in the New South Wales southern highlands. The teenager was a fixture across local sporting and community groups in the Wollondilly region, training in martial arts, alongside her job as a Sydney BridgeClimb guide. Continue reading...
Coles website down after viral Reddit post sees customers buy cases of alcoholic drinks at nearly 80% discount
Supermarket’s website and app go offline as customers save more than $100 on some 24-packs The Coles website and app have gone offline hours after a viral Reddit post highlighted a nearly 80% discount on 24-packs of premixed alcoholic drinks. For several hours on Saturday, both the Coles website and app displayed a message advising “we’re currently offline – but not for long”. The website and app came back online before the website went down again on Saturday afternoon. It was back up at around 4pm AEST on Saturday. Continue reading...
Is this the end of Harry and Meghan’s American dream?
The Sussexes are returning to the UK with significantly reduced media deals in an industry where fame alone can no longer guarantee success Having settled in California in the aftermath of their dramatic decoupling from the royal family in 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced a partnership that appeared to set a clear destination for their new lives outside the House of Windsor. With every global media stable clamouring for their signature, the couple revealed a deal with Netflix reportedly worth $100m . The ambitions were lofty and broad, including scripted and unscripted projects, shows for all ages and documentaries. Continue reading...
Premium bonds: more chance of win as NS&I ups prize fund rate again
Savings bank estimates there will be 308,000 more prizes available in September draw than the month before Premium bond holders will have more chances of winning prizes after changes announced this week. From September there will be more prizes up for grabs for the 22 million people who hold the government-backed savings bonds. Continue reading...
Canada vows to match Trump’s 50% tariffs after trade deal talks fail
Mark Carney accuses Washington of ‘unfair’ last-minute changes to deal, as US and Canada fail to reach agreement after three-day extension of talks Canadian prime minister Mark Carney has promised to match US tariffs “dollar for dollar”, after the two sides failed to agree a trade deal by the midnight deadline. “Last-minute changes in the US proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal,” Carney said in a statement. Continue reading...
US Postal Service rule tightens mail-in voting despite federal court orders
Rule would require states to provide federal government with information on voters in return for delivering ballots The US Postal Service prepared to publish a final rule late on Friday to impose new requirements on states to provide the federal government with information on voters before the November midterm congressional elections, despite a pair of court orders that currently block the changes from taking effect. The USPS acknowledged in the text of the final rule posted online Friday, which is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register next week, that two injunctions issued by federal courts in California and Massachusetts currently bar it from moving ahead with the changes to comply with a March executive order signed by Donald Trump. Continue reading...
Trump says he views strait of Hormuz as ‘American territory’
President at rally in South Carolina makes comments on key strategic waterway and also jokes about bombing Iran Donald Trump called the strait of Hormuz “an American territory” on Friday, as the US continues its military blockade of Iran’s shipping and ports while Trump’s administration struggles to end its war with the country. “We don’t even know if we won, because I view the strait of Hormuz as an American territory right now,” Trump said, addressing a crowd in South Carolina. He was campaigning for senator Darline Graham, who is running to permanently fill her late brother Lindsey Graham’s Senate seat. Continue reading...
Attack on Ukraine shopping centre that killed 16 is ‘terror by design’, says EU foreign policy chief
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat, threatens harshest sanctions yet on Russia after strike on Kryvyi Rih, the home town of Volodymyr Zelenskyy Russian drones have slammed into a busy shopping centre in central Ukraine, killing 16 people in an attack that Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned as “cynical and despicable”. The EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, condemned Friday’s attack on Kryvyi Rih – the president’s home town – as “terror by design” and said she was “putting forward the most far-reaching Russia sanctions listings since the start of the war” when ministers meet in Ireland next month. Continue reading...