capitalism electronics food forums gamedev games news opinion programming tech
South Sudan is facing the world’s most severe food insecurity crisis, yet the local groups most effective at delivering aid are not being directly funded, according to a new report.Only 0.4% of humanitarian funding meant for food is directly channelled towards South Sudanese NGOs, despite them being the most effective at tackling hunger, according to the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (Cafod).South Sudan has 7.7 million people facing acute malnutrition or starvation as it enters its fifth year of severe food insecurity, according to new research measuring the intensity of food insecurity across populations, produced by Cafod and anti-poverty group Development Initiatives.Humanitarian funding for food in South Sudan has been cut by 38% since 2020, according to the report, with the UK government alone cutting its budget for South Sudan by 59% in 2021.Floods, droughts and conflicts have fuelled the crisis and, according to Cafod, local organisations have been best placed to serve hard-to-reach populations. They often continue to work in high-risk areas, even after international organisations withdraw, while building more trust with the populations they serve.“The local organisations, who are on the frontline in responding to crises in areas where no one else can go, are too often ignored. If we are ever going to tackle entrenched humanitarian crises, we need to properly fund those on the frontline,” said Gloria Modong Morris of Titi Foundation in South Sudan.“The UN and international NGOs talk a good game about the best model to responding to a crisis being as local as possible, but the reality couldn’t be more different.”According to Cafod, local NGOs are usually given only short-term grants, which makes it hard for them to plan projects with lasting impact or invest in staff and systems for delivering support. The report said that while NGOs are often asked for information on conditions, they have only limited involvement in decision-making. This played a part in humanitarian responses failing to create long-term resilience, it concluded.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionHoward Mollett, Cafod’s head of humanitarian po
(read more)
Apparently it took Michelangelo a little over four years to paint the 343 figures on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. He was in his mid-30s at the time and not entirely sure he was the right man for the job, given he was primarily a sculptor. “Every gesture I make is blind and aimless,” he lamented in a poem published in 1509. “I am not in the right place – I am not a painter.”All the best transformations rely on a similar holy trinity of time, patience and, crucially, persistence. Which is why Italy’s vibrant performance against France at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday made for such absorbing viewing. Yes, they should have kept calmer towards the end of their 29-24 loss. Yes, they gave the French too much of a head start. But it was their ability to give it a real go that really stood out. Making up the numbers? Not any more.It was a refreshing contest in other ways as well. For years there have been questions about Italy’s place in the Six Nations, which they j
(read more)
I spend a lot of time – too much time – thinking about recycling and the main thing I think, over and over, is: it shouldn’t be this hard. Eighty per cent of UK households are “still unclear” about how to recycle effectively, according to research last year – and who can blame us?Labelling often requires a doctorate in semiotics to decode, kerbside collections are a postcode lottery and council recycling centres are often difficult to access without a car. At home, packaging piles up – no one knows what to do with toothbrushes or the cat’s treat packages, and we’re squabbling over pizza boxes. All of it amounts to us collectively wondering whether recycling is ultimately pointless because it’s all going to end up in landfill in the developing world.“We’ve made something that could be fairly simple really complicated,” says Libby Peake, of the environment thinktank Green Alliance. “And that’s quite frustrating for the public who want to do the right thing when it comes to recycling.”Things are changing, though, if much too slowly. “We have come a long way,” Steve Eminton of industry news website Let’s Recycle reminds me. “Ten years ago, places wouldn’t recycle milk bottles or yoghurt pots.” The findings of a government consultation on “consistent collections” are due imminently and the hope is that eventually this will mean not just plastic, glass, paper and card but also cartons (Tetra Paks and similar) will be collected from all homes.There’s also the proposed Deposit Return Scheme, under which consumers would pay a returnable deposit for plastic bottles and cans (and glass in Wales), but not until 2024 at the earliest. Eventually, technological advances will make a difference too: AI-enabled sorting, apps that allow you to scan packaging before you bin it, and a watermarking system for materials are all in the works, according to Archipelago, a fund investing in solutions for hard-to-recycle stuff.But in the meantime, what can we do? For a start, maybe fixate less on recycling. That’s an odd thing to say in an article about recycling, but it’s supposed to be a last resort: limiting waste has more impact and reuse is a better strategy where possible. As Peake says: “The messages of the three Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle), I think, have been lost in a lot of ways, and we focused on the thing that is the least important but probably the easiest to grasp.”Next, don’t “wishcycle”: putting stuff in the recycling because you wish, or hope, it could be recycled causes more problems than if you chucked it in the bin. It’s also important to maintain pressure on manufacturers, retailers and government: things won’t improve unless we show we want them to.Subject to these caveats, here is a guide to what to do with some of the household items we struggle with, or don’t know how to recycle. If you’re still unsure, the Recycle Now website is a godsend. Managed by waste charity Wrap, it provides a guide to what can and can’t be recycled in your postcode.Should’ve gone to Specsavers … contact lens packaging. Photograph: Douglas Sacha/Getty ImagesThe depressing mountain of foil-topped plastic blister packs from my sons’ daily contacts launched me on this quest. There are solutions: Specsavers collects contact lenses and lens packaging in every store and recycles them in the UK with a company that turns them into construction materials. Boots Opticians will also take back lenses and packaging but theirs is recycled through TerraCycle. It’s fair to say the recycling world is agnostic at best when it comes to TerraCycle: BBC Panorama has reported on issues with the company’s supposed UK recycling ending up in Bulgaria or left to pile up with subcontractors, or possibly ending up in landfill in the US. I have suggested alternatives where they exist.GlassesLions International has recently expanded its scheme collecting spectacles at its Birmingham HQ, then partnering with charities to get them to eye centres and clinics in the developing world (currently the Gambia, Nigeria, Chad, Bangladesh and Mali). You can find out how to donate by emailing [email protected] or calling free on 0345 8339502. Alternatively, Specsavers, Boots Opticians and Peep Eyewear take glasses for recycling.CosmeticsOne for the builders … lipstick tubes. Photograph: Tatiana Gromova/AlamyMascara, lipstick, makeup palettes, travel miniatures … Boots takes all of these in store, from any brand or source. They go to a UK-based recycler to be transformed into construction board. Boots guarantees nothing goes to landfill and nothing is incinerated.PumpsThe tops from soap, shower gel or other dispensers can’t go in your normal plastic recycling. Ideally, refill and reuse pump bottles as far as possible, but the Boots cosmetic recycling scheme also takes them.Dental stuffWhen it comes to toothbrushes, electric toothbrush heads, floss containers and those interdental brushes dentists love, there isn’t much good news currently. TerraCycle will accept them if you can find a dropoff point, with the reservations explained above. Toothpaste tubes can go in Boots cosmetic recycling boxes. For the rest, “reuse them as much as you can for cleaning or something”, advises Eminton. Conventional dental floss can’t be recycled, but there are now silk or plant-based flosses (I use a corn starch one) and glass dispensers that can be refilled indefinitely.Insulin pensBoots and Superdrug take these through the PenCycle scheme.Pill blister packsThis is tricky. “Because it’s pharmaceutical, it’s very stringent on what plastics you can use, so a lot of them are PVC and, from a recyclability perspective, that’s very difficult,” says Adam Herriott of Wrap. Superdrug runs a blister pack recycling scheme in stores where it has an in-store pharmacy – the store locator allows you to filter to find one. Returned packs are turned into boards for the construction industry.Some people report difficulty in having their blister packs accepted in stores: Superdrug says the scheme is still live, but it doesn’t have the capacity to cope with large-scale community collections, only individual drop-offs, which may be the issue. There may be an alternative local scheme in your area: a group of GP practices is running a pilot in mine.Black plastic containersProblem solved … black food packaging. Photograph: Kornienko Alexandr/AlamyFinally, some unequivocally good news. In the past, black plastic takeaway and ready meal containers could not be recycled. “It’s not an issue at all nowadays,” says Herriott. Even something that appears black is unlikely to use the problematic carbon that was the barrier to recycling in the past, and recycling equipment is perfectly able to deal with all widely used pigments these days. Recycle away.Bags and wrappersOne of the big innovations of recent years has been the front-of-store collection boxes for flexible plastic in supermarkets. They take salad bags, carrier bags, crisp and biscuit packets, ready meal film lids and more: if it springs back when you crumple it, it can go in there.At Co-op, recycling takes place in the UK, where material is sorted by polymer type and made into bin bags, rigid storage items and our old favourite, construction boards. One key point to make about this stuff: please do rinse, as food soiling is likely to make it impossible to recycle.Pizza boxesEminton puts this one to bed for me: “They can be recycled unless they’re really dirty – it’s just common sense.” Grease stains are fine.Food and pet food pouchesAll of these can go into the flexible plastic collection points in supermarkets, though it’s worth highlighting that they are among the most difficult plastics to recycle, because of their multiple layers. So they become – you guessed it – construction boards. Pets at Home will also recycle pet food pouches of any brand in its 320 stores – it asks that you rinse them out first.FoilIt’s worth checking on the RecycleNow website or directly if your council collects foil kerbside – I discovered mine does. Otherwise, your local recyc
(read more)
Recriminations have broken out among EU officials after a possible visit by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to Brussels was leaked, raising concerns over his security.Zelenskiy was reported to be planning a trip to Brussels this Thursday to meet EU leaders in person at a summit and address the European parliament in an extraordinary session.He is thought to have only left Ukraine once since Russia’s invasion last February: he made a surprise visit to Washington in December, where he addressed a joint session of the US Congress and urged more military support. That trip was planned in top secrecy because of concerns for his safety, although details leaked the day before.About 48 hours before the mooted trip to Brussels, the visit was reported by Italian media and later announced in a tweet by the European People’s party (EPP), the centre-right group of MEPs. “We look forward to welcoming you in Brussels, Mr President,” the tweet read. The post was swiftly deleted, but captured in a screenshot by Politico.The European Council president, Charles Michel, who organises EU summits, holds the European parliament responsible for leaking the information. His spokesperson has neither confirmed nor denied the visit, saying: “There is an open invitation to President Zelenskiy to visit Brussels.”The row is an embarrassment for the European parliament president, Roberta Metsola, whose officials are blamed for leaking the information. She is also a member of the EPP group, which briefly publicised the visit.Zelenskiy last week played down any suggestions of a trip to Brussels, saying: “there are big risks if I go somewhere.”The row reveals how rival EU institutions are jostling to show solidarity with Ukraine and demonstrate their support for Zelenskiy.Separately, EU diplomats have said Michael and the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, are vying to show support for Ukraine. The pair have both spoken in glowing terms about Ukraine’s prospects of joining the EU. But many member states argue the EU leaders should tone down their public rhetoric to avoid raising hopes of rapid accession to the bloc.
(read more)
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) complained that the U.S. military didn’t do enough to snatch the suspected Chinese spy balloon from the sky instead of shooting it down.“We had plenty of capacity to scoop that balloon out of the air,” he said on Fox News on Monday. “We used to do it all the time.” But Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) ― who served in the Air Force ― was standing by with a fact-check, writing on Twitter: Having served on active duty, I know for a fact the US does not have a balloon scooper aircraft. Newt Gingrich, who never served in the military, has no idea wha
(read more)
The mother of a missing woman who vanished more than a month ago with her newborn baby and her convicted sex offender boyfriend has issued an open letter to her daughter.Virginie de Selliers pledged to stand by Constance Marten, 35, and her grandchild, telling her: “You are not alone in this situation. We will support you in whatever way we can.”Marten and her partner, Mark Gordon, 48, have been travelling around the UK by taxi since their car was found burning on the M61 in Bolton, Greater Manchester, on 5 January.Police believe the couple are sleeping rough in a blue tent and fear for th
(read more)
UK house prices were roughly flat in January, having fallen in the previous four months, according to Halifax.Average prices were stable at £281,684 last month, the lender said, after sharp falls of 1.3% in December and 2.4% in November.However, the pace of annual growth in house prices slowed to 1.9% from 2.1% in December, marking the lowest rate since October 2019, as higher mortgage rates and the wider cost of living crisis have dampened demand. The average house price is about £12,500, or 4.2%, below its peak in August, although it remains about £5,000 higher than a year ago.The housing market has slowed across all nations and regions and is expected to slow further this year, and many forecasters expect price falls of up to 20%. Halifax predicts a drop of 8% this year.“We expected that the squeeze on household incomes from the rising cost of living and higher interest rates would lead to a slower housing market, particularly compared to the rapid growth of recent years,” the director of Halifax Mortgages, Kim Kinnaird, said. “As we move through 2023, that trend is likely to continue as higher borrowing costs lead to reduced demand.”She said that lower prices could make it more affordable for people to get on the housing ladder as the year went on.“For those looking to get on or up the housing ladder, confidence may improve beyond the near term. Lower house prices and the potential for interest rates to peak below the level being anticipated last year should lead to an improvement in home buying affordability over time.”Soaring inflation prompted the Bank of England to raise interest rates to 4% last week, the 10th rise in a row, piling more pressure on mortgage holders and businesses struggling to pay off their loans. The Bank said inflation “is likely to have peaked” and a recession would be less severe than previously predicted, but added that Brexit was damaging the economy faster than it had anticipated.Jeremy Leaf, a north London estate agent, said: “It was inevitable that the shock of the mini-budget at the end of September, which prompted a steep rise in mortgage rates and the inexorable increase in the cost of living, would have an impact on the housing market.“However, since the turn of the year, buyers and sellers have been slowly coming to terms with the changed environment. Buyers are negotiating hard, especially the c
(read more)
Key eventsThe BBC’s Chris Mason has more on the proposed changes to the departmental infrastructure around Whitehall.The three existing departments expected to face restructuring are business, international trade and culture.There will also be a Science, Innovation&Technology department. The existing Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will retain responsibility for online safety. There will also be a reshuffle of government ministers, with names to be confirmed later.— Chris Mason (@ChrisMasonBBC) February 7, 2023 The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which is led by Michelle Donelan, is expected to keep responsibility for the online safety bill, even if a new science and digital department is created, my colleague Jessica Elgot reports.Source at DCMS saying they believe Online Safety staying within that department for now, even if digital infrastructure moves to reshaped department— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) February 7, 2023 What Sunak said about creating new Department of Energy during Tory leadership campaignWhen he stood for the Tory leadership in the summer, Rishi Sunak proposed re-establishing a department of energy as part of his “energy sovereignty strategy”. Here is an extract from the news release carrying the announcement. He said he would:Bring in a new legal target to achieve ‘energy sovereignty’ by 2045 at the latest, ensuring the UK produces as much energy as it uses, with the aim of reaching the target even sooner. The new target will sit alongside the existing net zero emissions target to ensure there’s a balanced approach to driving down bills and protecting the environment. Establish a new energy security committee to coordinate cross-government action ahead of the winter to keep critical power stations online and protect UK gas reserves. The committee will also be tasked with reforming the UK’s energy markets to cut bills. Re-establish a Department of Energy by splitting up the department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), with a new secretary of state charged with delivering energy sovereignty.Energy and climate change used to be a stand-alone department until it was merged with BEIS in 2016.Cabinet meeting 'delayed until afternoon', Sky reportsToday’s cabinet meeting has been postponed until this afternoon, Sky’s Sam Coates reports.Reshuffle dayGovernment reorganisation now underwayAnnouncements this morning Cabinet now happening this afternoon, not this morning We won't see any cabinet ministers walk in this morning, just for cabinet meeting— Sam Coates Sky (@SamCoatesSky) February 7, 2023 Normally cabinet starts at 9.30am, but overnight there were reports that it was being delayed until 10.30am, to allow new appointments to be made first. Either those reports were based on a duff briefing, or else Rishi Sunak may have concluded that the reshuffle will take longer than planned.Andrew Mitchell, the development minister, has been on media round duties this morning, primarily to talk about the British response to the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. Asked about the reshuffle, and whether he wanted to be the next party chairman, he told GB News:Wel
(read more)
Former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele called out Fox News host Tucker Carlson for an on-air meltdown over President Joe Biden’s selection of judges. Specifically, Carlson seems to think Biden isn’t appointing enough white men. “Out of 97 federal judges confirmed under Joe Biden, total number of white men: Five,” he griped on Monday night. “Twenty-two are Black women, so this is race-based hiring. It’s illegal!” The federal judiciary is overwhelmingly white and male. The American Bar Association said last year that 70 percent of all sitting Article III federal judges are male while 78 percent are white. In addition, the organization said 16 states have no federal trial judges of color at all.The problem only got worse under Donald Trump, who appointed the smallest share of nonwhite judges in more than 25 years (with no complaint from Carlson).Steele was blunt in pointing that out on Twitter: Tuckems, of 226 federal judges appointed by Trump the total number of Black people? 9!! (he says in that high pitched voice of someone awaiting puberty). I guess those white judges were raced-based, illegal hiring that was not about looking like America but punishing people. Putz https://t.co/gLPOzNJVMp pic.twitter.com/uBDy35p3hf— Michael Steele (@MichaelSteele) February 7, 2023The clip was part of a larger rant where Carlson complained “no administration has ever looked less like America... than the Biden administration” and said the administration was “discriminating against certain classes of people who don’t vote for them.” Carlson, who has admitted to lying, has repeatedly shared white nationalist talking points. In an extensive report last year, New York Times reporter Nicholas Confessore wrote that Carlson’s Fox News broadcast “may be the most racist show in the history of cable news.” Carlson’s other critics chimed in: Tucker: *gets 9,000,000 lollipops in a row**black woman gets two in a row*Tucker: SHES STEALING MY LOLLIPOPS!! WAAAAAAAAAAA!— Jay Black (@jayblackisfunny) February 7, 2023NO! Not 22 qualified black women judges, Tucker!!👩🏾⚖️👩🏾⚖️👩🏽⚖️👩🏽⚖️👩🏽⚖️👩🏽⚖️👩🏽⚖️👩🏾⚖️👩🏾⚖️👩🏾⚖️👩🏾⚖️👩🏾⚖️👩🏽⚖️👩🏾⚖️👩🏾⚖️👩🏾⚖️👩🏽⚖️👩🏾⚖️👩🏽⚖️👩🏾⚖️👩🏽⚖️👩🏾⚖️ https://t.co/T9LZA1czBl— STRIKE PAC 🗽 (@StrikePac) February 7, 2023Yeah I bet that bothers a stone cold racist like Tucker a lot so that's nice. Of course he's pretending these people aren't supremely qualified which they are (Unlike ACB and those ten or so Trump judges specifically rates unqualified) https://t.co/ogc1QNYb6a— Woke Jesus (@newkingofmedia) February 7, 2023It's the President's prerogative to appoint whatever judge he or she wants on the bench, Tuck. I mean, Trump pretty much appointed unqualified white wingers. https://t.co/kABIfhHCHh— Jon Easter (@johnnystir) February 7, 2023And if we look at all the currently serving judges we see that they are still overwhelmingly and disproportionately white men. We're not even close to having a judi
(read more)
Olivia (Madelaine Petsch, a regular from streaming series Riverdale) is a senior at an exclusive all-girls high school in an unidentified but posh-looking US suburb. Clearly hothoused from a young age by her bougie parents, Olivia’s one burning, all-consuming ambition is to get into Stanford University. To that end, she has turned herself into hard-working, top-stream student, captain of the debating society and all that jazz. She has even bought sweatshirts with the name Stanford emblazoned across the chest. But she has checked the numbers and knows that the admissions board will probably only take two or three students from her school, so there is a lot of unspoken tension between her an
(read more)
Rufus Sewell is to star in the eagerly awaited drama fictionalising Prince Andrew’s infamous interview on the BBC’s flagship current affairs show, Newsnight.The film, which starts shooting in Lond
(read more)
A senior official at the World Health Organization warned Monday the death toll from the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria could rise “eightfold” as rescue efforts continue.Catherine Smallwood, WHO’s senior emergency officer for Europe, told the AFP injuries and fatalities linked to severe earthquakes often rise “significantly” in the week after the disaster. She made the comments when the estimated toll was 2,600 people, meaning the eventual death toll could rise to more than 20,000.“There’s continued potential of further collapses to happen so we do often see in the order of eightfold increases on the initial numbers,” Smallwood told the news agency. “We always s
(read more)
Jürgen Klopp takes a seat in the press conference room at Molineux and answers questions about Liverpool’s latest defeat. He looks a little haggard these days, like a homeless wizard: the face worn
(read more)
Nurses are to continue industrial action on Tuesday as the government was accused of being “on strike” itself during the biggest walkout in NHS history.Nurses are set to strike at 73 trusts in England, up from 55 during January’s strike days and 44 in December.The bitter dispute shows no sign of a resolution in England as unions and ministers appear to be at loggerheads over 2022-23 pay for NHS staff.On Monday, the junior minister Will Quince answered an urgent question on the strikes in parliament, prompting accusations from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) that senior government figures including the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, and health secretary, Steve Barclay, were “missing in action”.“People may wonder if the government is also on strike,” Pat Cullen, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary, said. “Rishi Sunak is letting the country’s most important and beloved institution deteriorate rapidly – but it is not too late. I am urging him to come to the table to negotiate and halt this action now.”Quince, who responded on Barclay’s behalf, said the health secretary was attending a Cobra meeting so could not be in the House of Commons to answer urgent questions.NHS leaders said it would be the “most disruptive week of strikes to date” – but urged people to seek urgent and emergency care if they needed it and attend appointments as planned unless they had been contacted in advance.Monday was the largest strike in NHS history as tens of thousands of workers in England staged walkouts, including members of the RCN alongside GMB and Unite paramedics, call handlers and other staff at ambulance trusts.About 88,000 procedures or outpatient appointments have been postponed because of strikes over the last eight weeks.Ministers have said they want to look forward to next year’s pay award but unions have said this year’s pay needs to be addressed. The government has been warned of a “constant cycle” of strikes until the issue has been resolved.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionAmbulance crews and call handlers were returning to work on Tuesday but are due to walk out again on Friday, while physio
(read more)
Like many of us, Suzan-Lori Parks thought the Covid-19 shutdown would last a few weeks.The Pulitzer prize-winning playwright, writer, musician, and all around multi-hyphenate, was on the set of Genius: Aretha, a season in National Geographic’s anthology series that focused on the life of singer Aretha Franklin.“They said, ‘[It’ll be] a couple of weeks, you know, go home, put your feet up right. We’ll be back,’” said Parks to the Guardian.But soon, weeks turned into months, and months turned into over a year of lockdown with her young son and husband in their one-bedroom New York apartment. Parks did what she always does: stayed present and wrote.“I believe that in the moment is the point of power,” said Parks on the importance of writing in real time while quarantining.The culmination of material is what makes up Plays for the Plague Year, Parks’ latest show set to reopen this spring at the off-Broadway Public Theater’s Joe’s Pub. Parks and her family have since moved out of the apartment. The playwright, the first Black woman to receive the Pulitzer prize for drama, has other upcoming projects, including an original musical based on the 1972 film the Harder They Come.But, for Parks, the desire to look, to stay connected, to “pay attention” remains. Pa
(read more)
When it comes to staffing the tight end position, NFL teams definitely have a type. A standout player combines ox-like strength with deer-like speed and hops. He excels at blocking and catching. He seems like the kind of guy who would judge another man by his calf size, or babble on about his crypto killing when he’s not swilling beer upside down from a keg. With his shirt off. You know the type: A real bro.This weekend’s Super Bowl pits two of the league’s best tight ends against each other. On one side there’s Philadelphia’s Dallas Goedert – a labradoodle of a man with charisma and retrieving knack for days. On the other, there’s Kansas City’s Travis Kelce, a probable Hall of Fame who is the standard-bearer in stats and swagger. It’s no surprise that either man could be the x-factor in this matchup, nor is it a coincidence that either man could reasonably be described as a bro.I’m talking about the kind of guy who may call you “bro” repeatedly in conversation, regardless of whether you in fact identify as male. He wears his baseball cap backwards, turns handshakes into arm wrestles, thinks Dane Cook is hilarious. I’m talking about the very specific brand of fratty white dude who has become the quarterback’s best, well, bro. A list of the league’s top tight ends reads like a Greek Week roll call. Besides Kelce and Goedert, there’s San Francisco’s George Kittle, Baltimore’s Mark Andrews and Arizona’s Zach Ertz – a key figure in the Eagles’ last Super Bowl run. In a league that’s more than 70% non-white, a Black tight end like Cleveland’s David Njoku is something of an outlier. But even he exhibits bro tendencies from time to time, like bleaching half his dreadlocks and hosting news conferences while shirtless.Of course, some seasoned football watchers won’t see anything unusual in the homogenization of the tight end; the offensive line skews white, after all, so it only figures that the skill player most often slotted in with them would too. But it wasn’t always thus. Back in the day, the NFL’s star tight end weren’t bros. They were brothers. They were guys like Ozzie Newsome and Kellen Winslow – rare talen
(read more)
I am a married woman in my 50s who enjoys an active and enjoyable sex life. Unfortunately, I can’t climax any more without a great deal of drama, including moaning, heavy breathing, even crying or shouting. We have teenage children and I worry about the embarrassment that I might cause them. Do you think they are likely to be adversely affected? And do you have any tips for how to have quieter sex?Rather than trying to gag your natural response, it might be better to do what many people do in family households – find time to have sex when your children are not at home, or find an alternative location. Some people believe that making love should be spontaneous, and are unwilling to plan it, but in fact, making preparations can actually enhance the experience.In your case it would be very wise, since your concern about it suggests you are now pairing sexual pleasure with anxiety about your children, which may eventually negatively affect your sexual response.In certain situations, an erotic experience can actually be heightened when there is an impediment present, such as the potential for someone to hear you – but that would be inappropriate here.In general, while it’s not a bad thing for children to become aware that their parents have sex lives, there is a chance they may feel uncomfortable about it and judge or resent you for it if they find out in the wrong manner. Pamela Stephenson Connolly is a US-based psychotherapist who specialises in treating sexual disorders. If you would like advice from Pamela on sexual matters, send us a brief description of your concerns to [email protected] (please don’t send attachments). Each week, Pamela chooses one problem to answer, which will be published online. She regrets that she cannot enter into personal correspondence. Submissions are subject to our terms and conditions. Comments on this piece are premoderated to ensure discussion remains on topics raised by the writer. Please be aware there may be a short delay in comments appearing on the site.
(read more)
The All Blacks coach Gilbert Enoka, who introduced what he called a “no dickheads policy” into the New Zealand set-up, has joined Chelsea on a short-term consultancy basis, the rugby team said on Tuesday.Enoka has worked with the All Blacks since 2000 in a number of roles. He has spent the past seven years as their leadership manager after 15 years as mental skills coach.Quick GuideHow do I sign up for sport breaking news alerts?ShowDownload the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for 'The Guardian'.If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.In the Guardian app, tap the Menu button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.Turn on sport notifications.Hi
(read more)
Few public figures alive today have done more to reduce the stigma around HIV than Gareth Thomas. Since he declared his status in 2019 (saying he had been forced to, following threats of blackmail by a tabloid newspaper), the former rugby player has campaigned to promote better understanding of the virus.It’s regrettable that such a popular figurehead recently found himself at the centre of a legal controversy. Last week, it was announced that Thomas had settled a case brought by his ex-partner, Ian Baum, who in a civil claim accused Thomas of hiding his HIV status while they were a couple between 2013 and 2016. Baum alleged that Thomas “deceptively” transmitted the virus to Baum, hiding his HIV medication and “coercing” him into unprotected sex. While agreeing to pay a settlemen
(read more)
Angeline Nyabieli cooks at home on her grass island in Paguir village. Four consecutive years of heavy rains and flooding have left about two-thirds of South Sudan under water. ‘If the floods increase I will stop my children going to school because there will be no funds,’ she says Nyachuana Lok dismantles her damaged home in the village to reuse the materials on drier land. The floods have wiped out acres of farmland across Fangak county, leaving people struggling for food
(read more)
Jacobean manor, KentBoys Hall, a gorgeous Jacobean house in Ashford, Kent, has been restored as a restaurant with rooms. There are five suites with original four-poster beds, window seats and roll-top baths; three doubles with en suite bathrooms; and two smaller doubles with shower rooms. The oak-beamed dining room looks out on to the walled garden and serves dishes inspired by classic British comfort food: fillet of venison with spinach and smoked garlic (£32), say, followed by beef suet sticky toffee pudding (£9). There is also a wood-panelled pub serving Kentish ales and posh bar snacks such as confit duck eclairs. The Grade II-listed hall, built in 1616, has more than a hectare of landscaped grounds; treatment rooms and luxury cabins around the pond are in the pipeline.Doubles from £160 B&B, boys-hall.comHikers’ haven, Derbyshire Photograph: Adrian Ray PhotographyBike and Boot, whose first hotel opened in Scarborough in 2020, is opening a second outpost in the Peak District this spring. Like the original, B&B Derbyshire is design-conscious but relaxed, welcoming dogs, bikes and muddy boots. The new hotel, which is between Hathersage and Hope, has 60 rooms, a bar/restaurant/cafe, a 24-hour lounge with free hot drinks all day and cake at teatime, facilities such as bike storage and services including dog grooming. There is also a free cinema club showing three films a day. Future plans include hotels in Wales and Scotland.Doubles from £99, opens in May, bikeandboot.comBudget beach stay, CarmarthenshireA long-awaited budget beach hotel is finally opening this spring after setbacks including the pandemic and storm damage. The Caban, a 14-room hotel sleeping with dou
(read more)
BP’s annual profits more than doubled to $28bn (£23bn) in 2022 as a sharp increase in gas prices linked to the Ukraine war boosted its earnings, adding fuel to calls for a toughened windfall tax.The huge profit is likely to anger consumer and green groups, as oil companies reap rewards from higher gas prices while many households struggle to cope with a sharp rise in energy bills.The Labour party last week asked for Britain’s energy profits levy to be revamped to capture more of the exceptional earnings made by oil and gas firms, after Shell’s profits more than doubled to $40bn, the biggest profits in its 115-year history.The introduction of a windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas firms last year followed comments by the BP chief executive, Bernard Looney, in which he likened the company to a “cash machine” and admitted the levy would not prevent it making any planned investments.BP said it had incurred total taxes of $15bn worldwide – its highest annual total. In the North Sea, which it said accounts for less than 10% of global profits, it will pay $2.2bn in tax for 2022, including $700m because of UK windfall taxes, known as the energy profits levy. In November, it said it expected to pay $800m in windfall tax on its North Sea operations.The oil and gas company reported underling profits of $4.8bn for the final three months of the year, bringing its annual earnings to $27.7bn, well ahead of the underlying profits of $12.8bn posted in 2021.The fourth-quarter pro
(read more)
Nature: Wales, friend’s house, 2011‘I made hundreds of photographs over this time, setting up scenarios that invited other subjects to trigger the shutter – birds, apples, balls, my dog and finally, the lights and sounds of the darkroom. Here a TriggerSmart fires the camera shutter when something breaks the infra-red beam. I set up the beam, link the boxes to the camera and place seed on the perch. Birds land, they break the beam and photograph the inside of the room. I’m in there, with my camera, and photograph them as they unknowingly photograph me’
(read more)
January went quite nicely, at first. Jazzer and Tracy finally got engaged despite much fumbling interference from Brad and Chelsea. Justin, for reasons as yet mysterious, decided to put himself forward for shifts in the village shop. Sales of chenin blanc and luxury truffles have never been higher.The Archers has long had a thing with brothers. Of the Cain-and-Abel, Romulus-and-Remus, chalk-and-cheese variety: William and Ed; Rex and Toby; David and Kenton. This January, it was the turn of Jakob, the “easy on the eye” (Lilian’s words) veterinary surgeon, to produce a sibling.Erik, who pa
(read more)
We have now heard for the first time from David Carrick’s victims – the women a serving Met police officer raped, controlled, threatened and abused. Their victim statements, read out by prosecutor Tom Little during Carrick’s sentencing hearing on Monday, painted a picture of terror, violence and control; of being made to feel “worthless”, “degraded”, “ashamed”, “like a piece of dirt on his shoe”.I hope that Carrick’s sentencing for his 49 offences will bring some sense of closure to his victims. But it should offer no sense of an ending to the Metropolitan police. Becau
(read more)
Halfway through Paul Harding’s new novel, This Other Eden, a reporter, a photographer, two doctors and three local councillors visit an isolated island somewhere along the coast of Maine. They have travelled there as part of an official survey committee and are being escorted by a white missionary teacher, Matthew Diamond, who wants to teach Latin and Shakespeare to the island’s racially diverse residents but also feels a “visceral, involuntary repulsion… in the presence of a living Negro”. The story is set in the early-20th century US, when anti-black prejudices were frequently mistaken for scientific truths, and the two doctors in the surveying group could brazenly become members of the “Section on Eugenics in the American Breeders’ Association”. The doctors go about meas
(read more)
Alison Dunne – stage name Fish – has formed a punk band at the age of 58 because, as she said: “I’ve got no fucks to give any more about what anyone thinks of me.”She does care about one thing though: “This is definitely not a ‘cutesy grannies have a go at punk’ band – this is serious fun,” she said. “We write our own music and we’ve got a lot to say about everything we’re angry about. I’ve been enraged for years,” she added.Fish is just one of the older women from all classes and ethnicities who have joined the the Leicester-based, Unglamorous Music project. Founded last year by 61-year-old Ruth Miller, the aim is to create a local punk scene for older, all-female bands who write their own music. Prior musical experience is immaterial – enthusiasm is everyt
(read more)
At the weekend I bought an advance ticket on the LNER website for a trip on 1 February from King’s Cross to Retford which I did not realise at the time was a day when there would be a rail strike.On its website LNER says cancellations are non-refundable but for a further £10 (the ticket cost £40) I could change the booking to a different day. This is no use to me because I could only meet the person I was meeting on Wednesday.How can the railways sell tickets for travel on trains they know will not be running and then refuse to give you a refund?I can’t be the only person who has made this mistake during the recent train strikes and it must add up to thousands of pounds being taken from UK passengers.Why don’t rail companies prevent consumers from buying a ticket they know they won
(read more)
Irish film-maker Treasa O’Brien has created a valuable and empathic documentary essay project about history, memory and community; it is executive produced by The Act of Killing’s Josh Oppenheimer, whose influence is detectable in one verbatim-cinema-type “dream re-enactment” scene (although I must say that this is the one creative avenue that doesn’t really go anywhere).Town of Strangers is set in the town of Gort in County Galway, perhaps best known for being the site of Coole House, the home of Lady Gregory and the Irish literary revival of Yeats, Synge, O’Casey and Shaw. None of that is mentioned, however: O’Brien focuses on its 21st-century distinction of having Ireland’s highest percentage of migrants. O’Brien auditions for people to come and be involved in her docu
(read more)
I have a great GP. I’m not saying that to show off, or to rub anyone’s nose in anything. I’m not saying it to undermine the case overall that general practice is on its knees, in the middle of a recruitment crisis, nationwide burnout and deliberate, long-range underfunding. It just feels as if patients have been backed into a corner where, if we complain about our access to general medicine, some tax-avoiding Tory pops up to suggest that we should pay for appointments, while, if we say it’s fine, they say: “There you go – it’s all going great and nobody knows what doctors are complaining about.” There ought to be some space between these two options where you can acknowledge the pressure GPs are under, while still noting that they’re good. It is fashionable to call this
(read more)
Key eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureRussia almost certainly now lacks the munitions and manoeuvre units required for successful offensives, UK Ministry of Defence saysMoscow will continue to demand sweeping advances, but it remains unlikely that Russia can build up the forces needed to substantially affect the outcome of the war in the coming weeks, according to the UK Ministry of Defence’s latest intelligence update.The update comes as Russia pours reinforcements into eastern Ukraine ahead of a new offensive that could begin next week.The update said:Russian forces have only managed to gain several hundred metres of territory per week. This is almost certainly because Russia now lacks the munitions and manoeuvre units required for successful offens
(read more)
The premier of one of Solomon Islands’ most populous provinces and one of the most vocal critics of the country’s relationship with China has been ousted in a vote of no confidence.The move led to protests in Auki, Malaita province on Tuesday. Police confirmed to the Guardian that they had used teargas to disperse protesters and said one police officer had been injured, but said the situation was now under control.Malaita provincial premier Daniel Suidani has been one of the most outspoken critics of the country’s relationship with China. He objected to the national government signing a controversial security pact with China last year, as well as the decision to break ties with Taipei in favour of Beijing in 2019.He faced a vote of no confidence at the provincial assembly on Tuesday.
(read more)
Consent10pm, Channel 4Emma Dennis-Edwards has written a queasy drama about sexual abuse and harassment in schools that gets under the skin and is excruciating from beginning to end. Set in a private school, it follows scholarship student Natalie, who doesn’t remember having sex with classroom crush Archie. But the boys in his “#slutsandstuff” WhatsApp group (including skin-crawling Raffy, played by David Tennant’s son Ty) know exactly what happened. Hollie RichardsonKnow Your Sh!t: Inside Our Guts8pm, Channel 4This hit new series continues to be surprisingly upbeat and genuinely helpful. Dropping into Lisa and Alana’s Poo HQ today are two women whose guts put them off dating: yoga teacher Ashara has Crohn’s disease and businesswoman Carmel gets “wet wind”. HRThe Shamima Beg
(read more)
Labour plans to reach thousands of people with addiction or mental health issues “written off” by the Department for Work and Pensions to help them back into employment, with personalised support offered through treatment centres.Visiting a centre in Nottingham which offers wraparound treatment, benefits and employment support, the shadow work and pensions secretary, Jon Ashworth, said it was wrong to assume those undergoing treatment for drug and alcohol addiction did not want to find ways to work.He said employment support should start at the beginning of treatment, rather than only as an end goal.“If you can support people in the first weeks or the first couple of months of the worklessness because of ill health, you’re more likely to help those people return to work than if the
(read more)
It is midday, and in New York the costume designer Patricia Field is gearing up to talk about Sex and the City. A “costume person and a fashion person”, Field, who turns 82 this week, is best known as the woman who put Carrie in a tutu and Samantha in Giorgio di Sant’Angelo bodysuits, convincing us along the way that a newspaper columnist could fit 200 pairs of shoes inside a Manhattan studio apartment. There was nothing in the script, but the party line, according to one of Field’s costume assistants, is that Carrie had a storage container in Brooklyn.She is also the person who put Aidan Shaw, Carrie’s lapdog-of-a-suitor, in turquoise jewellery and expected us to get behind him. “He [John Corbett] had just done some sapless show and he wanted to repeat the look,” she says of
(read more)
As the government lurches between screw-ups, sleaze and scandals, it is ironic that one of its key policy agendas is based on the premise that the rest of us aren’t working properly. The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has highlighted the “economically inactive” as a key issue facing the UK. The number of working-age people either unable or unwilling to take a job has increased by about 630,000 since 2019, according to government estimates, resulting in a staggering 9 million people missing from the job market.Broadly, Hunt is concerned about two camps: the over-50s who took early retirement during the pandemic, and the increasing number of people who can’t work because of long-term health conditions and disabilities – a state of affairs put down to factors ranging from soaring NHS wait
(read more)
A “significant number” of households in Great Britain received financial support they did not need through the government’s £69bn package to cushion the blow of rising energy bills, the public spending watchdog has said.A report by the National Audit Office (NAO) said the blanket nature of the financial support meant it helped a “deadweight” of households and businesses that could have afforded to absorb the price rises. It also warned that the speed at which it was distributed left the schemes open to fraud.The government has provided billions of pounds in household and business support through a string of policies designed to limit the impact of huge increases in energy bills, pushed up by rising gas prices linked to the war in Ukraine.The NAO estimates that the support, first
(read more)
Matt Fearnley’s charity owes almost £1m in rent to its landlord – but that bill is likely to keep growing unless his long list of complaints ranging from black mould to leaking ceilings is addressed.Fearnley, the chief executive of homelessness charity Noble Tree Foundation, has withheld several months’ rent from Home Reit, a London Stock Exchange-listed real estate investment trust, over what he says is £3.2m owed for repairs and insurance that have not been forthcoming.“The model hasn’t worked for the tenants,” says Fearnley, whose charity manages 421 homes with 1,013 beds in Northampton, Newcastle, Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton and London. “We’ve got properties that are unfit for people to live in and we’ve had to shut some of them down because they are just not right for anybody, let alone a vulnerable person.A Home Reit property in Northampton managed by Noble Tree. Both say the residents – a mother with her young child – will be rehoused. Photograph: Noble Tree Foundation“We’ve been promised an amount of money that hasn’t been delivered. We pay for refurbishments as best as we can, but we can’t pay for everything. Tenants are living in substandard accommodation.”Home Reit was established in 2020 as the first London-listed property fund tackling homelessness, and had ambitions to grow into a £1bn fund and take 10,000 people off the street. Now, it has been embroiled in a ballooning crisis over rent arrears, and has fallen prey to short sellers that bet on falls in a company’s share price.Its crisis mirrors wider problems across the listed property sector – spanning offices to shopping centres – as rising interest rates,
(read more)
An escalation of gang violence, political instability and a deadly cholera outbreak in Haiti has left half its children relying on humanitarian aid to survive, Unicef says.At least 2.6 million are expected to need immediate lifesaving assistance this year as the overlapping crises leave Haiti’s children in the worst position since the earthquake of 2010, Unicef’s Haiti representative, Bruno Maes, told the Guardian.“Haitian children don’t just face challenges accessing food and potable water while the health system collapses around them,” Maes said. “There is also a lack of protection. Children are being abused, young girls are being raped and services are not there at the scale they should be for their survival and development.”Gang violence has escalated in Haiti since President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in July 2021, and the Caribbean country’s economy and security order is in freefall. Gangs have seized control of two-thirds of the capital, bringing human rights abuses, unprecedented malnutrition and the return of cholera.A mother and daughter run past a roadblock during police protests in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, late January. Photograph: Odelyn Joseph/APHaiti is experiencing the worst level of hunger in its history, with 4.7 million people suffering from acute hunger, the World Food Programme recently warned. Anarchy reached new heights in late January when police – the last line of defence against the gangs – staged a revolt. Angry officers terrorised Port-au-Prince, firing guns into the air, creating roadblocks of burning tyres and trapping the prime minister in the airport.Children are particularly vulnerable to the violence and many of the
(read more)
The already-sour relationship between ex-Pink Floyd bandmates Roger Waters and David Gilmour seemed to take an irreparable turn on Monday. Gilmour’s wife, novelist and lyricist Polly Samson, fired off a tweet accusing Waters of being “antisemitic to your rotten core” and called him “a Putin apologist and a lying, thieving, hypocritical, tax-avoiding, lip-synching, misogynistic, sick-with-envy, megalomaniac.”It’s not clear what specifically prompted the message, but it may have been an interview Waters did with Germany’s Berliner Zeitung newspaper in which he said he stood by comments comparing modern Israel to Nazi Germany for its treatment of Palestinians, accused the Israelis of genocide and defended his boycott of the nation. Waters, who quit Pink Floyd nearly 40 years ago, also wrote on his website that the “Israel lobby” is trying to silence him via a “despicable smear campaign” while he insisted he’s not antisemitic. He also posted another message in response to Samson, calling her comments “incendiary and wildly inaccurate,” and implied he was considering legal action. Gilmour, who posts only very occasionally on social media, hit back later in the day with a tweet that said his wife was delivering just the basic facts:Waters is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement that targets Israel over the treatment of Palestinians. Some argue his words and actions have crossed the line into antisemitism, which Waters has angrily denied. Waters has also defended Russian President Vladimir Putin, criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and called U.S. President Joe Biden a war criminal over the war in Ukraine. His former bandmates, on the other hand, reunited last year to release a single under the Pink Floyd name in support of Ukraine. “Hey, Hey, Rise Up!” features vocals by Andriy Khlyvnyuk of the Ukrainian band BoomBox as well as a Ukrainian choir.In his new interview, Waters trashed the band as “really, really sad” and “lacking in humanity” over the move. Waters has had a famously contentious relationship with the other members of Pink Floyd even when he was in the band. He ultimately quit
(read more)
An episode of the Simpsons that references “forced labour camps” in China has been removed from Disney+ streaming services in Hong Kong.The episode is the second in the long-running US cartoon’s latest season. One Angry Lisa sees Marge buy an interactive training exercise bike, similar to a Peloton bike. On an interactive tour, the guide takes Marge to the Great Wall of China with its wonders of “bitcoin mines, forced labour camps where children make smartphones, and romance”.China’s government has long faced accusations of operating forced labour camps, particularly with Uyghur workers from the Xinjiang region.The Guardian has confirmed, as first reported by the Financial Times, that One Angry Lisa is not available in Hong Kong, with the streaming platform showing all other episodes from the season.The Walt Disney Co was contacted for comment.Hong Kong is a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), but until recently had maintained far greater cultural, political, and social freedoms.After a crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in 2019, it has come under increasing control of the PRC government, with intensifying censorship of political expression. Media outlets, political parties, bookshops and libraries, human rights websites, muse
(read more)
Residents retrieve an injured man from the rubble of a collapsed building in the town of Jandaris, near Syria’s northwestern city of Afrin. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images Residents search for victims and survivors amid destroyed buildings in the village of Besnaya in Syria’s north-western Idlib province. Photograph: Omar Haj Kadour/AFP/Getty Images Damaged roads in Fevzipasa, a town of Gaziantep’s Islahiye district. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
(read more)
Human rights abuses committed by security forces and economic deprivation are among the most important drivers of recruitment to extremist groups in Africa, a survey has found.Researchers working for the UN Development Programme (UNDP) interviewed more than 1,000 active or recent militants across eight countries in Africa in the pioneering study.Their report – Journey to Extremism in Africa: Pathways to Recruitment and Disengagement – is one of the biggest anywhere in the world on the motivations of militants, and comes against a background of increasing extremist violence across a swath of the continent.Though deaths worldwide from terrorism have declined over the past five years, attacks in sub-Saharan Africa have more than doubled since 2016, and in 2021 they comprised almost half of the global total.The Sahel region has been particularly badly hit, with Islamic militancy fuelling acute political instability, but violent extremism has also spread or worsened in other parts of the continent, such as Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.“Sub-Saharan Africa has become the new global epicentre of violent extremism with 48% of global terrorism deaths in 2021. This … threatens to reverse hard-won development gains for generations to come,” said Achim Steiner, the UNDP administrator.The report calls for greater emphasis on prevention and lists dozens of factors that make individuals less likely to be drawn into extremism, including quality education, exposure to different cultures and parental attention when young.“All else being equal, a one-point increase in the childhood happiness rating decreases the odds of voluntary recruitment by around 10%. A one-point increase in the parental involvement rating decreases the odds of voluntary recruitment by around 25%,” the report says.Though it confirms findings of other similar surveys as well as much reporting of extremism around the world, the UNDP report is likely to have a greater impact due to its scale and the way researchers sought to isolate factors leading to radicalisation by comparing the responses of people involved in violence with those of others of similar age, background and li
(read more)
Seth Meyers is calling for a more appropriate name for the alleged Chinese “spy” balloon that dominated headlines before and after it was shot down in U.S. airspace over the weekend. “We should stop calling it a Chinese spy balloon when a far more accurate name is shitty Chinese spy balloon,” the “Late Night” host said Monday. “The only way this balloon could’ve had a higher profile is if it had its own Instagram account.”“There’s something about it being a balloon that just makes it very hard to take seriously,” he added. “Like, it would be one thing to send a fleet
(read more)
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) has, again, appeared to pray for the demise of President Joe Biden.In a sermon streamed by the Storehouse Dallas church in Texas over the weekend, Boebert preached politics to attendees, repeating comments that attracted fierce backlash last June.“Joe Biden’s president. We don’t know what to do, Lord!” Boebert said. “It’s all right, we pray for our presidents. You know, it says, ‘Let his days be few and another take his office.’”The audience was heard laughing after the remark.“That’s why I filed articles of impeachment for Joe Biden,” Boeb
(read more)
Low-income women in some cities are more likely than their wealthier counterparts to be targeted by Google ads promoting anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers when they search for abortion care, researchers at the Tech Transparency Project have found.The research builds on previous findings detailing how Google directs users searching for abortion services to so-called crisis centers – organizations that have been known to pose as abortion clinics in an attempt to steer women away from accessing abortion care.The researchers set up test accounts in three cities – Atlanta, Miami and Phoenix, Arizona – for women of three different income groups suggested by Google: average or lower-income rate, moderately high-income rate and high-income rate. They then entered search terms like “abortion clinic near me” and “I want an abortion”. In Phoenix, 56% of the search ads shown to the test accounts representing low- to moderate-income women were for crisis centers, compared with 41% of those served to moderately high-income test accounts and 7% to high-income accounts. In Atlanta, 42% of ads shown to the lower-income group were for crisis pregnancy centers, compared with 18% for moderately high-income women and 29% for high-income women.In Arizona and Florida abortion is banned after 15 weeks of pregnancy. In Georgia, it is banned after six weeks, at which point many people do not know they are pregnant.“By pointing low-income women to [crisis pregnancy centers] more frequently than higher-income women in states with restrictive laws, Google may delay these women from finding an actual abortion clinic to get a legal and safe abortion,” says Katie Paul, the director of the Tech Transparency Project.“The time window is critical in some of these states,” she adds.Lower-income women are the group least likely to be able to travel for abortion care because traveling can cost thousands of dollars in lost work, transportation, babysitting and accommodation fees.In Phoenix, a Google search by a lower- or average-income test account searching for ‘Abortion fund’ yielded an ad for a crisis pregnancy center with the header ‘Free Abortion Help – 100% Confidential’. Photograph: Tech Transparency Project“Lower-income women are being targeted, and they’re the ones that are going to suffer the most under these policies,” Paul says.The results wer
(read more)
Clip: BBC News In the Arctic, in space, and at international research centres such as CERN, scientists have collaborated with colleagues from around the world to push the boundaries of human knowledge. Since the invasion of Ukraine last February some of that work has come under threat, as Russia’s ongoing role in scientific projects and institutes has come under scrutiny. Ian Sample speaks to physicist Prof John Ellis, who has spent much of his career at CERN, and Arctic governance expert Svein Vigeland Rottem about how the invasion has affected these organisations and the role of science in global diplomacy. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AP Support The Guardian The
(read more)
The name Monet conjures up pictures of water lilies, Rouen Cathedral, the Houses of Parliament and French haystacks, some of European art’s best known works.Now a Paris exhibition will focus on another, lesser known, Monet: Léon Monet, the artist Claude Monet’s long overlooked elder brother who supported him when he was poor and struggling to make his name.It will be the first time an event – which also includes previously unseen works and sketches by the painter known as the ‘father of impressionism’ – has focused on the elder sibling.Léon Monet, a chemist and industrialist, has been largely ignored by posterity but was one of the first patrons of the blossoming impressionist movement in the 19th century. He not only supported his brother but also helped his painter friends including Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro and Alfred Sisley.Géraldine Lefebvre, curator of the new exhibition that opens next month at the Musée du Luxembourg, said very little was known about him.“I contacted the family, Monet’s descendants, and went through public and private archives but there was very little information,” Lefebvre said. “I saw his name here and there but not much else. It really piqued my curiosity.”Digging deeper, the curator discovered that Léon, like his brother, had been passionate about colour, and had been a key figure helping Claude financially by buying his paintings and introducing him to the rich industrialists who could support him.Léon w
(read more)
Key eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureMy colleagues Ben Doherty and Mostafa Rachwani have this report on the earthquake survivors joining the search for the missing:“There is a family I know under the rubble,” Omer El Cuneyd said, standing amid the chaos of the shattered city of Sanliurfa.“Until 11am or noon, my friend was still answering the phone. But she no longer answers. She is down there. I think her battery ran out,” he said, hoping against hope, for a miracle.On the road, a stream of cars crawled north out of the city, taking traumatised residents away from the scene of Turkey’s most powerful earthquake in decades.Nearby, a distraught family walked in the freezing rain, their belongings piled into a pram, look for a shelter to spend the night in.Sanliurfa, an historic, once-bustling city in southeastern Turkey, was devastated by the series of massive earthquakes that struck southern Turkey early on Monday morning, claiming more than 4,300 lives across the mostly Kurdish regions of the country and in neighbouring Syria.SummaryMy name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest from the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. You can get in touch with me directly on Twitter here if you see news you think we may have missed.The death toll from the two quakes has risen to more than 4,300 according to government figures. At least 2,921 have been confirmed dead in Turkey, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said, and 1,444 in Syria, according to figures from the Damascus Government and rescue workers. Thousands more are injured, and the death toll is expected to rise.In 1999, when a tremor of similar magnitude hit the heavily populated eastern Marmara Sea region near Istanbul, it killed more than 17,000. The WHO warned that the toll from Monday’s earthquakes could pass 20,000.Here is what we know so far: The first quake struck as people slept, and measured magnitude 7.8, one of the most powerful quakes in the region in at least a century. It was felt as far away as Cyprus and Cairo. The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said preliminary data showed the second large quake measured 7.7 magnitude, and was 67km (42 miles) north-east of Kahramanmaraş, Turkey, at a depth of 2km. In 1999, when a tremor of similar magnitude hit the heavily populated eastern Marmara Sea region near Istanbul, it killed more than 17,000. The death toll could rise to over 20,000, the World Health Organization’s senior emergency officer for Europe, Catherine Smallwood, said. “There’s continued potential of further collapses to happen so we do often see in the order of eight fold increases on the initial numbers,” she told AFP, speaking when the estimated toll stood at 2,600. “We always see the same thing with earthquakes, unfortunately, which is that the initial reports of the numbers of people who have died or who have been injured will increase quite significantly in the week that follows,” Smallwood added. US President Joe Biden spoke with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday to offer condolences and reaffirm Washington’s readiness to assist
(read more)
“There is a family I know under the rubble,” Omer El Cuneyd said, standing amid the chaos of the shattered city of Sanliurfa.“Until 11am or noon, my friend was still answering the phone. But she no longer answers. She is down there. I think her battery ran out,” he said, hoping against hope, for a miracle.On the road, a stream of cars crawled north out of the city, taking traumatised residents away from the scene of Turkey’s most powerful earthquake in decades.Nearby, a distraught family walked in the freezing rain, their belongings piled into a pram, look for a shelter to spend the night in.Sanliurfa, an historic, once-bustling city in southeastern Turkey, was devastated by the series of massive earthquakes that struck southern Turkey early on Monday morning, claiming more than 4,300 lives across the mostly Kurdish regions of the country and in neighbouring Syria.The disaster felled thousands of buildings across the two countries, injuring tens of thousands, and leaving an unknown number trapped under debris.The sheer scale of the disaster appears overwhelming.On one of Sanliurfa’s main boulevards, dozens of rescuers searched for survivors among the remains of what was once a seven-storey building, reduced in an instant to mounds of dirt and debris.Crews try to reach a woman under the rubble of a collapsed building in Sanliurfa. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesAt least 30 people are known to have died in this province alone, where 200 buildings crumbled from the 7.8-magnitude pre-dawn quake, a second, 7.7-magnitude tremor, and incessant waves of aftershocks.In front of Omer El Cuneyd lay the gutted remains of a sofa, a chair with splintered metal legs, and torn curtains, signs of a quiet, unassuming life suddenly shattered.Around him, dozens of people tried to lift massive slabs of concrete debris, urgently listening for hints of life. The rescuers took regular silent pauses, peering into the rubble, filled with a mixture of exhaustion, anguish and hope.Omer said he and his friends would stay at the site of the collapsed building all night, regardless of the snow, the rain and their exhaustion. “I have to,” he said.‘Can anyone hear me?’In Adana, more than 350 kilometres west, rescue workers and civilians spent Monday passing chunks of concrete and household goods across mountains of rubble, moving tons of wreckage by hand in a desperate search for survivors.“Can anyone hear me?” rescuers shouted into the rubble.Turkey’s Kahramanmaras province was the epicentre of the quake.About 20 people, some in emergency rescue jackets, used power saws to carve out space that would let any survivors climb out or be rescued. Later, excavators joined the efforts as bright spotlights illuminated the wreckage.Ruined residential buildings in the Pazarcık district of Kahramanmaras in Turkey. Photograph: Dia Images/Getty ImagesDozens crouched to look below a massive sheet of concrete propped at an angle by steel bars. They crawled in and out, trying to reach survivors. Excavating equipment dug through the rubble below. Multi-storey buildings continued to collapse hours after the initial quakes.Elsewhere in the province, rescuers
(read more)
“Daily Show” guest host and comedian Chelsea Handler tore into Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) after the conspiracy theorist complained that her job is “practically year-round” and doesn’t allow lawmakers to be “regular people.”Handler was left in disbelief. “First of all, you’re not a ‘regular person,’ you moron. You’re a congressperson because you campaigned and somehow won, which requires you to work year-round,” she fired back. “I also don’t want to work year-round, and that’s why I don’t.”Greene, who last year spoke at a white nationalist event, also griped that she meets people who tell her “crazy things... that they believe because they read i
(read more)
A powerful earthquake struck southern Turkey and northern Syria in the early hours of Monday morning. The shockwaves were so strong they were felt as far away as
(read more)
It’s a familiar sight every weekday morning and afternoon all over Japan: children as young as six creaking under the strain of a leather backpack crammed with textbooks.The randoseru – a Japanese derivation of ransel, the obsolete Dutch word for backpack – is a fixture of primary school education, a repository for everything a child needs to get through a day at school.But now the children themselves are speaking out, complaining that their backpacks are so heavy that they leave them with sore backs and shoulders.More than 90% of children aged 6-12 who use randoseru say the weight is a problem, according to a recent survey by Footmark, a Tokyo-based manufacturer of swimwear for school
(read more)
Dude, where’s your chemistry?Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher proved to be the antithesis of Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac on the red carpet during two recent film premiere appearances.The ac
(read more)
Does anyone want to be president?Donald Trump arrives onstage at his Mar-a-Lago club on November 15, 2022, to announce his 2024 campaign. (Joe Raedle / Getty)February 6, 2023, 5:45 PM ETThis is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.By this time in an American president’s term, the next presidential race is typically in full swing. But the GOP’s Trump problem is making the 2024 race an unusual one.First, here are three new stories from The Atlantic.A Frozen FieldWhen Donald Trump gave his 2019 State of the Union address, several of the Democrats listening inside the House chamber had already declared their plans to run against him. But when Joe Biden delivers his speech tomorrow night, his only official competition will be Trump. My colleague Russell Berman wondered over the weekend, Does anyone want to be president?By the time a president gives the State of the Union address at the beginning of his third year in office, at least half a dozen people are typically already in the presidential race, Russell explained. But this year is different. Besides former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who is expected to announce her candidacy next week, the 2024 campaign is off to an extremely slow start.“This [is] what happens when you have a former president who lost reelection but still inspires fear in his party, along with a Democratic incumbent—the oldest to ever serve—who is not exactly itching to campaign,” Russell explained.Allies of President Biden have said that they expect him to formally announce his reelection bid sometime after tomorrow’s State of the Union, but the announcement could also be months away. A late announcement isn’t unusual for incumbents, who are already familiar to voters and want to be perceived as being focused on their presidential duties. And at this point, the president’s allies are assuming that Biden would have the Democratic field all to himself. But no president since Ronald Reagan has faced as much uncertainty about whether he would run for reelection; in 1983, Reagan was the oldest president in American history, but he was eight years younger than Biden is now.Still, the bigger question is what happens to the GOP between now and 2024. As Russell noted, “Until Haley put out word about her announcement last week, no one in the emerging field—which could include Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, among others—was willing to be the first target of the barrage of insults and invective Trump would surely hurl their way.”A large proportion of Republican officials are worried about how a 2024 Trump campaign could damage the GOP; they’re aware of the former president’s volatility and the fact that he presided over three failed election cycles after taking office. “Aside from his most blinkered loyalists, virtually everyone in the party agrees: It’s time to move on from Trump,” my colleague McKay Coppins wrote last week. But the party doesn’t have much of a pla
(read more)
Mark Pomerantz, a former Manhattan prosecutor who investigated Donald Trump’s business holdings, said Sunday that everyone who looked into the former president’s business dealings agreed he had lied about his assets to appear billions of dollars richer than he actually was.Pomerantz served as a special assistant district attorney in New York investigating Trump’s businesses, spending a year homing in on reports he had inflated his assets to seek favorable loans from banks. He resigned in protest a year ago, after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg decided not to seek an indictment o
(read more)
Kevin McCarthy, the House speaker, called on Joe Biden to agree to compromises and spending cuts, as the two remain deadlocked over raising the nation’s $31.4tn debt ceiling.McCarthy spoke on Monday before Biden gives the annual State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, aiming to get ahead of the president and reinforce his role as the leading congressional negotiator.The White House has said Biden will discuss federal spending cuts with Republicans, but only after the debt ceiling is lifted, while McCarthy has said Republicans will only lift the ceiling if Biden
(read more)
Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said personnel changes on the border and frontline will bolster Ukraine’s military efforts amid uncertainty over the future of his defence minister. “We are bolstering our managerial positions,” Zelenskiy said in his Monday evening address. “In a number of regions, particularly those on the border or on the frontline, we will appoint leaders with military experience. Those who can show themselves to be the most effective in defending against existing threats,” he said. The EU is preparing for a potential visit by Zelenskiy to Brussels on Thursday to meet the bloc’s leaders and address parliament, officials said Monday. European Council chief Charles Michel has invited Zelenskiy to take part in a “future summit” of the 27 EU nations, his spokesperson said Monday. Zelenskiy is invited “to participate in person” at a Brussels summit, the spokesperson said in a tweet, adding that, for security reasons, “no further information will be provided”. Russia launched five missile and 12 air attacks as well as 36 shelling incidents over a 24-hour period, hitting southern targets such as Kherson, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in a Monday evening statement. Ukrainian aircraft have launched nine strikes on a concentration of Russian forces and two anti-aircraft positions, it said. Battleground reports could not be immediately verified. Weeks of intense fighting continued to rage around the city of Bakhmut and the nearby towns of Soledar and Vuhledar, Ukraine’s presidential office said. Ukraine said on Monday evening that Russian forces had trained tank, mortar and artillery fire in Bakhmut in the past 24 hours. The UK’s Ministry of Defence said Russia was continuing to make small advances in its efforts to encircle Bakhmut. “While multiple alternative cross-country supply routes remain available to Ukrainian forces, Bakhmut is increasingly isolated,” the ministry said on Twitter. Russian forces are attempting to tie down Ukrainian forces with fighting in the eastern Donbas region, Ukraine has said. Moscow is reportedly assembling additional troops there for an expected offensive in the coming weeks, perhaps targeting the Luhansk region. “The battles for the region are heating up,” said Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of Donetsk. In Luhansk, fellow governor Serhiy Haidai said shelling there had subsided because “the Russians have been saving ammunition for a large-scale offensive”. The western area of the Luhansk region is likely to be the focus of any new Russian offensive, Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, who has been tipped to take over the Ministry of Defence, has said. In an interview with the Financial Times, he said that offensive would most likely be launched by “proper mechanised brigades” rather than the ill-trained reservists and Wagner mercenaries who have been suffering heavy casualties in recent battles. Ukraine has faced temperatures as low as -20C this winter, at the same time as dealing with a humanitarian crisis as Russia hits key civilian infrastructure. Areas in Dnipro, Donetsk and Kharkiv are particu
(read more)
The diplomatic row has escalated over the Chinese high-altitude balloon that flew across the US before being shot down, as the first wreckage was salvaged off the Atlantic coast.Beijing on Monday accused the US of “overreaction” and the “indiscriminate use of military force” in shooting down a Chinese balloon, warning of damage to bilateral relations.Joe Biden said that relations between Washington and Beijing had not been weakened by the incident, telling reporters: “We made it clear to China what we’re going to do. They understand our position. We’re not going to back off.”A state department spokesperson, Ned Price, pointed out that the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, had warned his counterpart, Wang Yi, on Friday that the US would take “appropriate actions to protect our interests”.“It should not have come as a complete surprise” to Beijing when the balloon was shot down the following day, Price said.If it had been a US airship over China, “you can only imagine the response from Beijing”, he added.The moment a suspected Chinese spy balloon is shot down over east coast of US – videoThe Pentagon said the first bits of debris had been found on the ocean surface off the South Carolina coast, while work continued to find the bits and pieces that had sunk to the sea bed. It called on the public to report any fragments that washed up on shore.The White House national security spokesperson, John Kirby, said the United States was able to study the balloon while it was flying and officials hope to glean valuable intelligence on its operations by retrieving as many components as possible.The head of North American Aerospace Defence (Norad) Command, General Glen VanHerck, described the balloon as being 200 feet (61 metres) high, with a surveillance payload the size of a regional passenger jet.When it was first spotted passing over the US Aleutian Islands, the general said he decided not to shoot it down.“It was my assessment that this balloon did not present a physical military threat to North America – this is under my Norad hat – and therefore, I could not take immediate action because it was not demonstrating hostile act or hostile intent,” VanHerck told reporters.He said the aircraft was able to manoeuvre to some extent by taking advantages of different wind directions at different altitudes, and that the balloon’s route appeared to have been deliberately planned to navigate those currents.China has claimed the aircraft was a weather balloon that had been blown off course. The country’s vice-foreign minister, Xie Feng, lodged a formal complaint with the US embassy on Sunday over the incident, accusing Washington of overreacting to an accident “caused by force majeure”, according to a statement posted on the Chinese foreign ministry website.“The facts are clear … but the United States turned a deaf ear and insisted on indiscriminate use of force against the civilian airship that was about to leave the United States airspace. It obviously overreacted and seriously violated the spirit of international law and international practice,” Xie was quoted as saying.He accused Washington of “dealing a
(read more)
People who cohabit with a partner have lower blood sugar levels, even if they do not get along with them, according to a study that warns social isolation may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.The researchers believe that living with someone is an important source of social support for adults in mid to later life, according to the study published in the British Medical Journal’s diabetes journal. They found the effects were the same regardless of whether the relationship was harmonious or acrimonious.The lead author, Katherine Ford, formerly of the University of Luxembourg and now at Carleton University in Ottawa, said: “Increased support for older adults who are experiencing the loss of a marital/cohabitating relationship through divorce or bereavement, as well as the dismantling of negative stereotypes around romantic relationships in later life, may be starting points for addressing health risks, more specifically deteriorating glycemic regulation, associated with marital transitions in older adults.”The study builds on previous work that has identified health benefits from marriage and cohabiting, particularly for older adults, along with studies that have concluded that type 2 diabetes risk is associated with social isolation, loneliness and social network size.The team from Luxembourg and Canada investigated if there was an association between marital status and marital quality with average glycemic levels in older adults, using biomarker data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). This is a sample of adults living in England aged 50 and older and their partners, who provide data biannually, of whom the researchers used data from 3,335 adults aged 50 to 89 without previously diagnosed diabetes between 2004 and 2013.Participants gave blood samples to measure their average glycemic or blood glucose levels, and were asked whether they had a husband, wife or partner with whom they lived, along with questions to measure if the relationship was supportive or strained.Information on several factors was also gathered such as details about age, income, employment, smoking, being physically active, depression, body mass index, and having other social relationship types in their social network (child, other immediate family, friend).The study also tested the odds of prediabetes, which were lower among those who were married or cohabiting.Analysis of the data over time showed that people whose relationships changed, for example through divorce, also experienced significant changes in their blood sugar levels and odds of pre-diabetes.Surprisingly, the quality of the relationship did not make a significant difference to the average levels of blood glucose, suggesting that having a supportive or strained relationship was less important than just having a relationship at all.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionAs an observational study, the researchers said they were unable to establish cause, or, for example, whether people in worse health were more likely to get divorced.Ford said the researchers treated marriage and a cohabitating partnership as the same, meaning they do not know whether marital status con
(read more)
Pamela Anderson will host her own cooking show focused on plant-based recipes.Pamela’s Cooking With Love has been ordered to series by Food Network Canada, with the Canadian American actor set to cook meals with chefs on-screen for her family and friends at her home in Ladysmith on Vancouver Island, where she grew up.Anderson’s latest venture comes amid a wider reckoning over the media’s treatment of her during the height of her fame in the 1990s when she was posing for Playboy magazine and starring in Baywatch. This was also the period when footage of her having sex with then-husband Tommy Lee was stolen and published online without her consent. When this was dramatised in Hulu show P
(read more)
There are still no good answers about America’s favorite cookware.Getty; The AtlanticFebruary 6, 2023, 5:38 PM ETI grew up in a nonstick-pan home. No matter what was on the menu, my dad would reach
(read more)
Nearly 60 lawsuits claiming hair relaxer products sold by L’Oréal USA Inc and other companies cause cancer and other health problems will be consolidated in a Chicago federal court, according to a Monday order from the US judicial panel on multidistrict litigation.At least 57 lawsuits have been filed in federal courts across the country over the products, which use chemicals to permanently straighten textured hair, court records show. The lawsuits allege the companies knew their products contained dangerous chemicals but marketed and sold them anyway.The actions will be centralized into a multidistrict litigation before US district judge Mary Rowland, which will streamline discovery effor
(read more)
Monday marks 48 years in prison for Leonard Peltier, the Indigenous rights activist who the U.S. government put behind bars after a trial riddled with misconduct and lies ― and who definitely doesn
(read more)
Hundreds more of England’s dwindling bus services could be axed next week with a funding shortfall looming, transport authorities have warned.Labour said the government had “just 10 days to act” before operators start having to cut routes because of the expiry of post-pandemic state support.The bus recovery grant, brought in to keep services running as passenger numbers slowly returned after Covid-19, will run out at the end of March, after an emergency £130m six-month extension averted a similar financial cliff-edge last summer.Although the government says it has spent more than £2bn propping up bus services since the start of the pandemic, no long-term funding arrangement has yet been decided. The Urban Transport Group, which represents the seven biggest city transport authorities, has warned the Treasury that public transport “hangs in the balance” as the funding deadline approaches.Bus operators have to give six weeks notice of planned cuts or alterations to routes, with many under review. According to the Confederation of Passenger Transport [CPT], which represents bus companies, about 10-15% of services could be cut.According to analysis by Labour, that means over 1,600 more routes could be affected this spring, leaving England with fewer than 10,000 routes for the first time since the numbers were first recorded, just over 20 years ago.Shadow transport secretary, Louise Haigh, said the government was “asleep at the wheel, risking the future of services millions of passengers depend on”.She added: “They have 10 days to act, or services could plunge to a record low. After 13 years of the Conservatives, the bus services communities depend on are stumbling from one crisis to the next.”Graham Vidler, CPT chief executive, said: “Bus passengers face uncertainty because local authorities and operators are in limbo over keeping some services afloat, if the Bus Recovery Grant is not replaced in April.“Without a replacement, government support for bus services next year is set to be over 20% lower in real terms than a decade previously. While operators and local authorities will work hard to protect vital services, a reduction of government f
(read more)
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders will deliver the GOP’s response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night ― but viewers might want to do some fact-checking before taking anything she says at face value.During Sanders’ two-year tenure as the press secretary for Donald Trump’s White House, stint as a Fox News commentator and new job as Arkansas’ Republican governor, Sanders has earned a reputation among her critics for lying with ease ― something she’s admitted under oath to doing ― and fiercely defending Trump’s most offensive behavior.In no particular order, here are some of Sanders’ most egregious lies and outrageous remarks you should reacquaint yourself with before her Tuesday night address:She said Trump’s policy of separating children from their parents at the border and locking them in detention facilities was “very biblical.” When Trump retweeted three unverified, Islamophobic videos, Sanders insisted it didn’t matter if the videos were “real” and told reporters that if they’re focusing on “the nature of the video, you’re focusing on the wrong thing.”Weeks after a gunman slaughtered 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, she declared in a speech that “we will make
(read more)
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) sought to reassure investors Monday that the U.S. government will not see a first-ever default on its debt as a result of the looming showdown later this year over the Treasury Department’s borrowing limit.In livestreamed remarks from the hallway just outside his office, McCarthy said: “Defaulting on our debt is not an option. But neither is a future of higher taxes, higher interest rates and an economy that doesn’t work for working Americans.”Though touted as “an address,” the remarks, taking roughly 10 minutes, broke little new ground in the standoff. The White House has said it will not negotiate over the limit; Republicans say they want unspecified budget changes in return for lifting the debt ceiling, with an implied threat of default if they are not placated.In a response to McCarthy’s remarks sent to reporters only minutes before they were delivered, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said Republicans want to throw the economy into a tailspin through a debt default.“Tomorrow, President Biden will show the American people his plan to build on the unprecedented deficit reduction his leadership has already delivered by having the richest taxpayers and big corporations pay their fair share and lowering prescription drug prices,” Bates said of Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday night.In his talk, McCarthy repeated several points Republicans have made before as they seek to paint the White House as unreasonable in wanting no strings attached to a debt limit boost. He said that Social Security and Medicare are “off the table” and that Republicans would “preserve our ability to defend this nation against threats abroad,” which could be seen as a pledge of no defense spending cuts.“Defaulting on our debt is not an option. But neither is a future of higher taxes, higher interest rates and an economy that doesn't work for working Americans.”- House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)The government bumped up against the $31.38 trillion limit in January, forcing the Treasury Department to dip into its bag of accounting of maneuvers to keep from breaching it.While those “extraordinary me
(read more)
Two pilots battling a blaze on Western Australia’s southern coast have managed to free themselves after their Boeing 737 firebomber aircraft crashed.The national large air tanker crashed at 4.15pm on Monday afternoon while responding to a bushfire in the Fitzgerald River national park, Western Australia’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services (Dfes) said.The two pilots survived the crash with minor injuries and escaped the aircraft wreckage. They were retrieved by helicopter and conveyed to hospital.Police received the report of the crash at about 4.40pm, a little over an hour after the aircraft had departed Busselton-Margaret River regional airport.A bushfire watch and act warning had been issued for the Fitzgerald River national park on Monday morning. The blaze had burnt 900 hectares by the evening, according to ABC Emergency. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup The Western Australian government announced in December last year that the Boeing 737 fireliner nicknamed “Phoenix” was the second large air tanker to arrive in Western Australia and would be based in Busselton for the beginning of the fire season.The fireliner used to fight Californian wildfires was funded by the commonwealth but the Western Australian government was to meet its operational costs during its deployment in WA.Catherine King, then acting minister for emergency management, said Australia’s aerial firefighting capability would be significantly boosted by the national large air tanker.“Phoenix is a highly customised Boeing 737 – able to reach anywhere in the country within hours and drop 15,000 litres of fire-retardant or water,” King said.The tanker, owned and operated by Coulson Aviation, was under contract to the government. In a statement, the company’s CEO Wayne Coulson expressed his gratitude that the two team members walked away from the accident safe.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionThe Australian Transport Safety Bureau and Dfes will conduct separate investigations into the crash.The transport safety bureau’s investigators will interview the pilots and witnesses
(read more)
Shocker: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) wasn’t a fan of Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ devilishly extra, red leather-heavy Grammys performance.The fiery, hell-themed rendition of their smash hit “Unholy” was bound to ruffle some feathers. Enter Greene, who offered her analysis in a nonsensical, conspiracy-laden tweet Monday.“The Grammy’s featured Sam Smith’s demonic performance and was sponsored by Pfizer,” the anti-vaccine extremist and Christian nationalist wrote.“And the Satanic Church now has an abortion clinic in NM that requires its patients to perform a satanic ritual before services. American Christians need to get to work.”Smith and Petras made history Sunday night after they won the award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Unholy.” Smith, a four-time
(read more)
Call it a Grade A-certified moment of hilarity. “Saturday Night Live” host Pedro Pascal broke character during a sketch about steak over the weekend that caused the duration of the skit to devolve (or perhaps evolve?) into a fit of giggles.In “Lisa from Temecula,” Ego Nwodim played Lisa, a woman who cuts her “extra-extra-well-done” steak at a restaurant so aggressively, it causes the table to shake uncontrollably — and Pascal to completely lose it. The “Last of Us” star did attempt to get the sketch back on track by delivering a few lines, but the damage was done. Nwodim’s request for “ketchup” with her hockey-puck steak and then putting her leg on her chair to get more leverage for her chaotic carving eventually made everyone else in the skit burst out laughing.The
(read more)
Newcastle are anxiously awaiting news of former midfielder Christian Atsu amid reports that he had been rescued after being trapped in rubble after the earthquakes which hit Turkey and Syria on Monday.The 31-year-old Ghana international, now playing his football with Turkish Super Lig side Hatayspor, was said to be missing after teammates and members of the club’s technical staff had reportedly been pulled from rubble.Several reports on Monday evening said Atsu, who was reportedly missing alongside the Hatayspor sporting director, Taner Savut, had been found alive, with Portuguese outlet A Bola saying he had sustained “injuries to his right foot and breathing difficulties”.These reports, however, remain unconfirmed by Hatayspor, with teammate Kerim Alici also seeming to suggest in an Instagram story posted on Monday night that the two remained in trouble.Atsu was part of the Magpies team which won promotion back to the Premier League in 2017 after joining on loan for the season from Chelsea, and later completed a permanent move.Atsu, who scored deep into stoppage time on Sunday to secure a 1-0 win over Kasimpasa, left St James’ Park during the summer of 2021 after making 12
(read more)
Claire Bridges had survived, but just barely. She’d flatlined three times. Her legs were gone below the knee. The surge of drugs pumping through her system, combined with the shock of her circumstance, had resulted in a bout of psychosis in the hospital. Months later, she would still sometimes have to remind herself, This is real. I’m real. I’m here.Bridges had survived COVID-19. She contracted the disease in January 2022, and a congenital heart condition called aortic valve stenosis had exacerbated the virus’s effect on her body. Tingles in her extremities quickly turned into a critical lack of blood flow. Surgery, life support and dialysis followed. Rhabdomyolysis — damaged muscle tissue poisoning Bridges’ blood — necessitated amputation.She left the hospital last March and quickly learned that by doing so she’d be admitted into a growing club of people whose tragedies and medical emergencies have been turned into anti-vaccine propaganda. Thanks to a conspiracy theory-hawking film and a corresponding social media movement, anyone who had, as the saying goes, “died suddenly” — or in Bridges’ case, escaped a sudden death — regardless of the cause, was a target. Now, as their ranks swell and their frustration mounts at seeing lies about themselves and their loved ones, some are speaking out, refusing to stay silent as their experiences are hijacked.Bridges’ fight for truth began with the first articles about her discharge from Tampa General. The New York Post wrote about Bridges’ experience, and a summary of the article appeared on the paper’s Instagram page, noting that she was a young model who, “despite being fully vaccinated,” had su
(read more)
The news about Matthew McConaughey’s latest role is rocking the entertainment world.It seems the Oscar-winning actor has set his sights on portraying singer Elvis Presley.But McConaughey’s version of the King won’t be anything like the one that propelled Austin Butler to an Oscar nomination this year. Instead, he will be portraying Elvis as a spy for a Netflix animated series, “Agent Elvis.”The series features a fictionalized Presley giving up his trademark jumpsuit for a jetpack as part of a secret government spy program, according to Variety.Don’t worry: The King is only moonlighting and continues his day job as a rock star, according to The Hollywood Reporter.Presley’s former wife, Priscilla Presley, is listed as a co-creator of the series with John Eddie, but “Archer” veteran Mike Arnold will be the showrunner and head writer.The show is set to premiere next month.You can see the teaser clip here.McConaughey announced the casting on his Twitter page, adding that “Elvis Presley always dreamed of being a superhero ― now, Priscilla Presley is making his dream a reality!”Elvis Presley always dreamed of being a superhero — now, Priscilla Presley is making his dream a reality! Agent Elvis, a new animated series created by Priscilla Presley andJohn Eddie. Premieres March 2023. @netflix pic.twitter.com/2DVwIC3BGo— Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) February 6, 2023Although McConaughey seems excited about playing Elvis, who died in 1977, he might want t
(read more)
St Andrews have been forced to remove a paved area next to the Swilcan Bridge after a huge backlash swelled against the changes to the feature at the Old Course. Stonework leading up to the bridge was recently installed to protect the surrounding grass, which would often become muddy with heavy foot traffic, with Sir Nick Faldo one of the leading opposing voices to the new masonry.The bridge, which is more than 600 years old, is located on possibly the most hallowed ground in all of golf and so any alterations are heavily scrutinised, with the new addition described by some as “a garden pati
(read more)
Salman Rushdie said he feels overwhelmingly grateful and eager to keep writing, saying “you can’t regret your life,” in his first interview since surviving last summer’s brutal stabbing attack. “I’m lucky. What I really want to say is that my main overwhelming feeling is gratitude,” he told The New Yorker while continuing to recover, both physically and mentally, after being stabbed more than a dozen times during a literary event in western New York.“There have been nightmares — not exactly the incident, but just frightening. Those seem to be diminishing,” he said. “When
(read more)
Consumers could be using a new digital pound as an alternative to cash by the end of the decade under plans being drawn up by the Bank of England and the Treasury.The government is speeding up its response to the rise of privately issued cryptocurrencies and stable coins with a four-month public consultation process on a “Britcoin” starting on Tuesday.After the volatility of cryptocurrencies and the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX, the Bank and the Treasury will seek to reassure the public that a state-backed digital currency would be as safe as cash.Officials will explore the technica
(read more)
Labour will seek to shift defence procurement to an “urgent operational footing” to help buy fresh arms for Ukraine and replenish stockpiles depleted by previous gifts of military aid if it wins the next election.The opposition party believes it has taken too long for the Ministry of Defence to buy fresh munitions, citing a near year-long wait to agree a contract to replace the 4,000-plus Nlaw anti-tank bazookas sent to Kyiv before and in the early stages of the war.In a speech on Tuesday, John Healey, the shadow defence secretary, will argue that Britain’s defence purchasing is wasteful and in need of an urgent overhaul to support Ukraine in its war with Russia.“We need to shift parts of our defence industry and MoD procurement on to an urgent operational footing, both to support
(read more)
Rishi Sunak is planning a mini-reshuffle to replace Nadhim Zahawi as Conservative party chair as he tries to reassert his grip over his divided party, according to reports.The prime minister is also believed to be considering a shake-up of Whitehall by splitting the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy into two or three new departments to better reflect his priorities.The changes are likely to take place on Tuesday morning, with sources saying the morning cabinet meeting has been moved back to 10.30am.Sources suggested that there could be a new energy department, with business and trade merged and a separate science and digital department too, with responsibilities removed from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. However, the Guardian understands that c
(read more)
Countries have rushed to dispatch aid, personnel and equipment to help rescue efforts in quake-stricken areas of Turkey and Syria. Here’s a glance at what’s being provided so far:— The European Union has mobilized search and rescue teams to help Turkey, while the 27-nation bloc’s Copernicus satellite system has been activated to provide emergency mapping services. At least 13 member countries have offered assistance. The EU said it’s also ready to offer help to Syria through its humanitarian assistance programs.— The United States is coordinating immediate assistance to NATO-member Turkey, including teams to support search and rescue efforts. U.S.-supported humanitarian partners are also responding to the destruction in Syria.— Russian rescue teams from the Emergencies Minist
(read more)
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A 6-year-old Virginia boy who shot and wounded his first-grade teacher constantly cursed at staff and teachers, chased students around and tried to whip them with his belt and once choked another teacher “until she couldn’t breathe,” according to a legal notice filed by an attorney for the wounded teacher.The incidents were described in a notice sent to the Newport News school district by Diane Toscano, an attorney for teacher Abby Zwerner, informing the district that Zwerner intends to sue. The notice of claim, which was obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request, outlines prior behavioral issues the boy had at Richneck Elementary School and troubling interactions he had with teachers and students.Two days before the shooting, the boy al
(read more)
If you want a sense of how fraught US-China relations are, consider this: A balloon derailed a diplomatic summit and forced the latest standoff between Washington and Beijing. Okay, not just any balloon — a surveillance balloon that belongs to the People’s Republic of China, which drifted through US airspace before being shot down Saturday off the coast of South Carolina by an F-22 fighter jet, which fired a single missile to take it out. The downing of the balloon partly ended a days-long saga that included Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponing a planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping; a cameo from another suspected spy balloon near Costa Rica; domestic political recriminations about when and where to down the balloon; and a slew of questions about the Chinese gov
(read more)
This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us TV series. Do not read unless you have seen episodes one to four …After the heartbreaking spectacle of Bill and Frank’s two-hander, here we saw Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) return to centre stage as they embarked on an epic road trip and adjusted to life post-Tess.All was going swimmingly until they got to Kansas City, where the highways were blocked and they needed to find a detour. Of course, this being The Last of Us, nothing can go to plan. After a quick gunfight, in which Joel swiftly took out two of their attackers, a third took advantage of Joel’s poor hearing to creep up and get the better of him. Thankfully, Ellie, who had been pleading for a gun, had squirrelled one away while rooting around at Bill’s place
(read more)
On a sunny Saturday in Los Angeles, a packed outdoor crowd of 6,000 people at the Greek Theater cried, sang and swayed together as they bid adieu to one of the city’s most treasured residents: a mountain lion known as P-22.In a city more synonymous with billboards than biodiversity, an ageing bachelor puma made tracks into people’s hearts. When he was euthanized at the end of 2022 after being hit by a car, it stung.The tickets for the celebration at the famed concert venue sold out – Taylor Swift-style – in just hours, and thousands tuned in to see the events on a live stream around the world. The event brought together scientists, politicians, celebrities and Indigenous leaders – a testament to how P-22 united a city. Even the DJ Diplo showed up, sharing the stage with a stuffed
(read more)
Kate Middleton shared a never-before-seen family photo over the weekend, to help promote a new campaign close to her heart. The Princess of Wales posted a photo of herself with her father, Michael Middleton, at age 5. She explained why the picture was so significant in a rare personal caption on an Instagram post that she signed with a “C” (as her full name is Catherine). The Princess of Wales visits Kirkgate Market on Jan. 31 in Leeds, England. The princess's visit coincides with the launch of her new "Shaping Us" campaign to raise awareness of the unique importance of early childhood.Samir Hussein via Getty Images“‘Faces are a baby’s best toy,’” the royal wrote in a photo that she said was taken by her mom, Carole.“On Tuesday we launched #ShapingUs to raise awareness of t
(read more)
Harry Styles appeared to have a surprise ally in ex-girlfriend Taylor Swift on Sunday as he received the Album of the Year Grammy for “Harry’s House.” “Harry’s House,” Styles’ third solo album, was both a critical and commercial smash. Still, the British pop star’s win was widely perceived as an upset over Beyoncé, whose disco-infused, genre-defying album “Renaissance” was considered the front-runner for the night’s biggest prize. As Styles took the stage to accept the award, audience members inside Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena could be heard expressing their frustrations. Among those to do so was journalist Ernest Owens, who shared a short video of the moment on Twitter. “Beyoncé was robbed,” he tweeted. “This was so underwhelming.”Pitchfork’s editor-i
(read more)
Under intense pressure to compete with ChatGPT — the buzzy AI chatbot that has become a viral sensation — Google announced on Monday that it’s releasing its own “experimental conversational AI” tool, called “Bard.” The company also said it will add new AI–powered features to Google search. Google will first give Bard access to a group of trusted external partners, according to a company blog post on Monday; it said it plans to give the public access “in the coming weeks.” What the public will have access to starting this week are search results that sometimes show AI-generated text, especially for complex queries. While Google has for years used AI to enhance its products behind the scenes, the company has never released a public-facing version of a conversational c
(read more)
“Body shape is a metric that people use to judge character.”The Atlantic / GettyFebruary 6, 2023, 4:03 PM ETThis is an edition of Up for Debate, a newsletter by Conor Friedersdorf. On Wednesdays, he rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Later, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.Last week, I asked readers, “What are your thoughts … about weight gain, the weight-loss industry, diet, exercise, beauty standards, diabetes, medical treatments for obesity, or anything related?”Vera writes that “the weight-loss industry has ruined my life.” She explains:If I had never gone on that first diet, I’d be a slightly chubby, slightly more-than-middle-aged, comfortable-in-my-skin woman. Instead, I
(read more)
A Eurasian-eagle owl named Flaco escaped New York’s Central Park zoo on Thursday night after his enclosure was vandalized and is still on the loose in Manhattan.Flaco was spotted at different times since fleeing by various onlookers, once on a sidewalk on Fifth avenue, across the Plaza Hotel, and perched on trees around Central Park.A quick look at Flaco the Eurasian Eagle-Owl this Monday morning as he watches, perhaps wistfully, over his longtime home, the Central Park Zoo, from East Drive and 63rd Street inside Central Park. pic.twitter.com/QsLCHF0zI5— Manhattan Bird Alert (@BirdCentralPark) February 6, 2023 Zoo staff tried to lure “Flaco” back by leaving food out for him, but it was left untouched.“The [owl’s] exhibit had been vandalized and the stainless steel mesh cut …
(read more)
When redecorating your living room or upgrading your home entertainment system, you’re probably looking for a television that has good image quality while a game or show is on. But what about a TV that looks just as good when it’s off? Allow me to introduce you to the Samsung’s The Frame, which is currently up to 33% off at a variety of retailers.Designed to look a piece of framed artwork, this flush-mounting 4K HDR smart TV displays life-like paintings and photographs when it’s not playing your favorite movies or TV shows. You can order custom frame art from independent artists on Etsy or get a subscription to the Samsung art store for access to over 1,400 new and classic artworks to display when the TV isn’t in use. When you are streaming your favorites, it connects all your apps and works with Alexa for hands-free control, so you never need to stress about finding the remote again. While reviews indicate that this may not be the best TV for heavy-duty gamers or serious cinephiles, it’s definitely the ideal television for people who prize environmental aesthetics and hate looking at televisions taking up a ton of space in their living rooms. All three sizes that are on sale today are QLED 4K, ensuring bright color and contrast showing every detail on the screen. They also have anti-reflection and matte display film to nix any glares or disruption from light. The slim-fit wall hanging kit is included to help you mount this baby flush to the wall, though it also comes with slim feet if you want to have the television standing or resting on a credenza. HuffPost receives a share from retailers on this page. Every item is independently selected by the HuffPost Sh
(read more)
The Grammys, for a while now, have been out of touch with the pulse of the culture, shutting out some of the most relevant and moving artists throughout generations all because a committee of a lot of old white men refuses to either give up its power or actually listen to a truly vast and inclusive array of music. The 65th Grammys ceremony on Sunday showed that although the Recording Academy wants to convince its audience that it’s changing, it’s still the same flawed institution at its core. The night was full of historic moments, exciting performances and moving tributes that made for one of the more entertaining Grammys in recent years. Bad Bunny opened the ceremony with an all-Spanish performance of “El Apagón” and “Después de la Playa.” An overflowing lineup of hip-hop all-stars honored the genre’s 50th anniversary with a medley that would’ve made the Academy shutter just 20 years ago. And Beyoncé became the most decorated artist in Grammy history with her four wins on Sunday, bringing her trophy count to 32. Along with the highs came some disappointments that cut deep. The omission of Gangsta Boo during the in memoriam segment — and during a year when celebrating hip-hop was at the forefront — was unforgivable. Documented abusers were celebrated and praised throughout the night, including Dr. Dre, who received an inaugural award named after him. And the Recording Academy did exactly what we knew it’d do — though we naively hoped otherwise — by awarding Album of The Year to a white man whose album was good, but by no means surpassed the brilliance and impact of two of its competitors: Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” and Bad Bunny’s “Un
(read more)
Federal authorities have arrested and charged two neo-Nazis for allegedly plotting to attack Baltimore-area power substations, in what would be the latest attempt by far-right extremists to destroy energy facilities across the country.The Justice Department announced Monday that law enforcement arrested Sarah Beth Clendaniel of Maryland and Brandon Clint Russell of Florida on charges of conspiracy to damage energy facilities. The two planned “to inflict maximum harm” on the power grid with the aim to “completely destroy” Baltimore, U.S. Attorney Erek Barron said at a press conference.According to authorities, Clendaniel told an FBI confidential source on Jan. 29 that she planned to shoot up energy substations surrounding Baltimore, including in Norrisville, Reisterstown and Perry Hall, Maryland. The 34-year-old said she was “determined” to carry out the infrastructure attacks and said they would “probably permanently completely lay this city to waste,” according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Monday.Clendaniel, under the online moniker “Nythra88,” told the source that she had a kidney-related terminal illness and was unlikely to live more than a few months, the complaint said. She allegedly wanted the FBI source to purchase a rifle for her “within the next couple of weeks” so she could “accomplish something worthwhile” before she died.The complaint included a photo of a woman, who authorities say is Clendaniel, wearing tactical gear bearing a swastika, holding a rifle and carrying a pistol in a drop holster on her left leg. The FBI also said a search of Clendaniel’s Google accounts revealed a document she allegedly wrote that referenced the Unabomber and Adolf Hitler.“I would sacrifice **everything** for my people to just have a chance for our cause to succeed,” the document said, according to the complaint.Clendaniel is accused of conspiring with Russell, the 27-year-old leader of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen who was sentenced to prison in 2018 after the FBI found an explosive device and extremist materials belonging to him. Russell’s roommate, who was charged with killing their other two roommates in 2017, told authori
(read more)
“You People” is currently the most popular movie on Netflix, according to the streaming service’s public ranking system.This new rom-com from “Black-ish” creator Kenya Barris follows an interracial couple played by Jonah Hill and Lauren London as they navigate issues of religion, race and family in modern-day Los Angeles. Their parents are played by Eddie Murphy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Nia Long and David Duchovny.Next in the ranking is “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile,” the 2022 musical comedy adaptation of the popular children’s book by Bernard Waber. Following its theatrical release in the fall, the movie joined Netflix on Feb. 4 and features a star-studded cast including Javier Bardem, Constance Wu, Shawn Mendes and Ego Nwodim.Columbia Pictures"Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile" on Netflix.A couple of other family-friendly films are in the current ranking. “Flushed Away” is a 2006 animated comedy about rats in a sewer, while “Minions: The Rise of Gru” is the 2022 sequel to 2015′s “Minions” and the fifth installment in the “Despicable Me” franchise.On the nonfiction side of things, the documentary “Pamela: A Love Story” is also trending on the streaming service. Using personal videos and diary entries, Pamela Anderson shares the highs and lows of her rise to fame,
(read more)
Spring Walks, you would think, is feelgood telly. The crunch of boot on path. The upbeat presenter on an endorphin high. The baaing of lambs. And, above all, the wholesome twittering you don’t get from social media.Not so. Spring Walks (BBC Four) is feelbad telly, even when fronted, as this first episode is, by the Dragons’ Den regular and crafting entrepreneur Sara Davies. It is the product of the same self-harming philosophy as 1970s kids’ show Why Don’t You Just Stop Watching TV and Go and Do Something Less Boring Instead? But, instead of bumptious teens telling you how you should be spending your summer holidays, Spring Walks weaponises virtue-signalling celebs to show you that what you’re doing is wrong.The TV critic is the last person you want reviewing a walking programme. What do telly reviewers know about the great outdoors? Only that it’s out there. Was it Nietzsche who said: “Remain seated as little as possible … All prejudices take their origin in the intestines.” Yes it was. Shut up, Nietzsche. You don’t know me.And there’s another problem. Spring? It’s still winter. I’ve scarcely seen the snowdrops yet.But my biggest problem with Spring Walks can be best explained by reference to an old Finnish joke. Two men are in the pub. After a long silence, one pipes up: “Great beer.” The other says: “Are we here to drink or talk?” I feel the same way about Spring Walks; the walking to talking ratio is all screwy.“This village,” says Davies of Fearsby, “is just something else.” But what, precisely, Sara? “This is a beautiful church. This is an absolutely beautiful church,” she says of St Paul’s in Healey. If this is going to be the level of insight, perhaps best spend the next half hour on silent mode.“What was that noise?” Davies asks. The caption on screen tells us it’s the alarm call of the oystercatcher. “I wish I’d paid attention when me dad tried to tell us the sounds of all the birds.” We all do, Sara. “Wonder what type of crop it is?” she asks, strolling through a field. Wheat, sown in October for August harvest, answers the on-screen caption. Wheat sounds like white noise, the caption add
(read more)
Google is releasing its own artificial intelligence chatbot, called Bard, in response to the huge success of the Microsoft-backed ChatGPT.The company is also adding the technology behind Bard to the Google search engine to enable complex queries – such as whether the guitar or piano are easier to learn – to be distilled into digestible answers.Bard will be released to specialist product testers on Monday and will then be made more widely available to the public in the coming weeks, Google says. Like ChatGPT, Bard is powered by a so-called large language model – in Google’s case called LaMDA.Large language AI models such as LaMDA and the one behind ChatGPT are types of neural network – which mimic the underlying architecture of the brain in computer form – that are fed huge amounts of text in order to be taught how to generate plausible responses to text-based prompts.ChatGPT has become a sensation among users after its public release in November, creating all kinds of content from academic essays to poems and job applications.Sundar Pichai, Google’s chief executive, emphasised Bard’s ability to deliver responses based on up-to-date information. Google’s announcement contained an example of Bard answering a query about how to explain new discoveries made by Nasa’s James Webb space telescope to a nine-year-old, as well as learning about the best strikers in football “right now” while getting training drills to emulate top players.“Bard seeks to combine the breadth of the world’s knowledge with the power, intelligence, and creativity of our large language models,” said Pichai. “It draws on information from the web to provide fresh, high-quality responses.”Google also said its latest AI technologies – such as LaMDA, PaLM, image generator Imagen and music creator MusicLM – would be integrated into its search engine. Pichai said new AI-powered features in its search engine would distill complex information and multiple perspectives into “easy-to-digest” formats.Pichai used the example of asking Google which is the easier instrument to learn between a guitar and a piano, with Google then releasing an example of a conversation-s
(read more)
At least 2,600 people have been killed after two powerful earthquakes struck Turkey and Syria within the space of 12 hours. The death toll is expected to rise, with search and rescue operations under way across the region as many buildings have collapsed, and there are thought to be many people trapped in the rubble Turkey and Syria earthquake: latest updates Syria and Turkey earthquake: what we know so far
(read more)
An 82-year-old woman was pronounced dead at a New York nursing home only to be found breathing three hours later at the funeral home where she had been taken, authorities said.It was the second time in about a month something of the sort has happened in the US, according to officials.The woman in the more recent case was at Water’s Edge Rehab and Nursing Center at Long Island’s Port Jefferson at 11.15am Saturday when she was pronounced dead, the local county police said.The woman, whose name was not released, was reportedly taken to the OB Davis Funeral Homes in Miller Place, New York, at
(read more)
Ever since the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, a major suspected culprit for the high death toll has been that there weren’t enough lifeboats on board. It’s a decision that has been dramatized as hubris on the part of the White Star Line, but the ship actually surpassed safety standards for the time. The Merchant Shipping Act of 1894 required the largest-class ships, those weighing over 10,000 tons, to carry at least 16 lifeboats. Even though the Titanic, which launched in 1911, weighed 45,000 tons, that minimum was the same. The Titanic carried 20 lifeboats, giving it enough capacity for roughly half of the people on board the night the ship sank. Until the Titanic disaster, lifeboats weren’t seen as a substitute for an entire ship. The giant liner itself, which featured 16 compartments separated by watertight bulkheads, was supposed to stay afloat even after taking on water. Then, using a new piece of technology — the Marconi wireless telegraph — signal for help from a nearby ship, using lifeboats to methodically ferry passengers off the sinking ship. This scenario played out perfectly just a few years before the Titanic disaster, in 1909, when a ship accidentally rammed the RMS Republic. The Republic sank, but nearly everyone on board was safely ferried off before it did, and the prevailing thought at the time was that disasters at sea had become a thing of the past. When the Titanic went down, that all changed. Just two years later, the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) mandated all passenger ships carry lifeboats for everyone on board. Today, the SOLAS requirement is for 125 percent of a ship’s capacity. You can find this video and all of Vox’s videos on YouTube. $95/year $120/year $250/year Other Yes, I'll give $120/year Yes, I'll give $120/year
(read more)
At least 2,600 people were killed after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria in the early morning hours of February 6. A 7.5-magnitude earthquake followed later that afternoon, along with scores of powerful aftershocks, adding to the devastation in a region already roiling from years of conflict and economic and humanitarian crises. A more than 10-year civil war in Syria has destabilized the region for years, which is still suffering from an ongoing — and chronically underfunded — humanitarian emergency. Millions are displaced within Syria or have fled to Turkey, which is contending with high inflation and a deepening economic crisis. The earthquake unleashed widespread damage and destruction in some of the most at-risk areas in the region. Thousands are injured, and the death toll is expected to rise as search and rescue operations continue in difficult, cold, and stormy conditions. Thousands of buildings collapsed, driving people from their homes or leaving them waiting in cars as aftershocks continued. The magnitude 7.8-earthquake struck near Nurdağı, in southern Turkey, according to the United States Geological Survey. Southeastern Turkey and northern Syria were among the hardest hit areas, but the quake was felt as far away as Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, and Israel. This catastrophe hit an already fragile region, which has been marred by decades of civil war in Syria, and economic, humanitarian, and public health crises. Turkey is facing a profound economic crisis, with a collapsing currency and extraordinary inflation that hit around 80 percent last year, the highest in about 25 years. A survey from late summer found that almost 70 percent of
(read more)
Move over, Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe. The sports-talk world had another feuding pair to watch in disbelief on Monday: ESPN host Stephen A. Smith and analyst Jay Williams on “First Take.” (Watch the videos below.)The two got personal in a snipe fest over Kyrie Irving after the Nets traded the star guard to the Dallas Mavericks. Sports Illustrated called their cringey debate “beautifully awkward TV.”“You get plenty of time of to talk on this show. ... What a bunch of B.S. you talking right now!” Smith said in shooting down Williams’ complaint about being unable to make a point.“Just because you label it B.S. doesn’t make it B.S., Stephen A. Smith,” Williams said.Irving sparked the verbal tiff by ending another stormy tenure with an NBA team. He refused to get vaccinated and was forced to miss dozens of games last season. He promoted an antisemitic movie on Twitter this season, which earned him a team-imposed suspension, and requested a trade last week after the Nets had developed into contenders.Smith was fed up — with Irving and with Williams, who appeared to defend fellow Duke alum Irving at times.Williams baited Smith further. “But you’re the one that seems very emotional,” Williams said, pivoting to Smith’s forceful reactions to Irving. “I’m just saying how it’s interesting to me; it just carries such a bigger momentum in particular with you, more so than anybody else.”“Stop telling us what you find interesting and just tell us
(read more)
There’s something scary trying to get inside in M Night Shyamalan’s new chiller Knock at the Cabin, which opened at number one over the weekend. On the surface, it’s a home invasion narrative about a mysterious foursome with grisly-looking weapons trying to break their way into a remote cabin, inhabited by a visiting family. On closer look, it’s actually about violent visions of a biblical apocalypse trying to pierce through vulnerable minds with outsiders claiming the end is near unless the invaded make a terrible sacrifice. But with the three characters in jeopardy a gay couple and their adopted daughter, the film morphs again into something else, the horrors of reality forcing their way into the fragile idyll of progressivism.It’s a strange, at times strangely not very good, movie (the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw called it all “deeply ridiculous”), but one that’s strangely fascinating for reasons it might not always be cognisant of, existing in a political space that feels mildly inadvertent and majorly confusing.The glacially paced increase in visibility for gay characters at the multiplex (from ongoing blink-and-you’ll-miss-it tokenism in recent blockbusters like Thor: Love and Thunder and Jurassic World: Dominion to hard-to-miss centre staging in box office bombs like Bros and Spoiler Alert) has still, predictably, come with caveats and limitations. Within genre fare, queer characters have slowly started to appear on the sidelines in films like Truth or Dare, Freaky or 2022’s Scream but the closer they edge toward the spotlight, the more likely they are to be ushered away to a streamer, as shown with the Fear Street trilogy, Hulu’s Midnight Kiss or last year’s They/Them. Box office concerns, fear of alienating the straights, trump all.There’s something quietly monumental then about Shyamalan, a proud commercialist, turning his eye toward Paul Tremblay’s 2018 novel The Cabin at the End of the World, an uneven yet eerie little nightmare that centres a gay couple and their adopted daughter. In the story, four strangers interrupt their remote vacation with a collection of gnarly weapons, claiming that the world will come to an end unless they decide to kill one of their own. The couple assume, as many queer people would, that the invasion is a homophobic attack, that these zealots have crafted an elaborate scheme in order to punish them for their sexuality. It makes for uneasily compelling tension, playing on relatable fears of religion, Republicanism and rural America, with acts of violence against LGBTQ+ people in the US surging in the last year.But the imposers insist that this is not the case, an unusually polite plea for peace offered up for people tied to chairs, and we soon discover that these biblical plagues are real and the only way to stop them is to make a terrible decision.Regardless of intention – and I genuinely don’t believe that the film is coming from a place of bigotry – there’s something almost comical about the first ever glossy, wide-releasing studio thriller to centre gay characters hinged on the idea that if they don’t rip apart their family, God will punish us all. We see the wa
(read more)
Lawyers for the family of a climate activist who was shot dead by police in Georgia last month have condemned officials’ attempts to brand his fellow protesters of Atlanta’s planned “Cop City” training facility as domestic terrorists.Attorneys representing relatives of Manuel Esteban Paez Terán were speaking at a news conference Monday as a large number of officers, including heavily armed tactical teams, descended again on the site in Atlanta’s South River forest where the building of the $90m so-called Cop City is planned.Paez was shot at least 13 times and killed there on 18 January while a minimum of seven other protesters were arrested and charged with criminal trespass and domestic terrorism.At a press conference on Monday at the local county courthouse, Jeff Filipovits, attorney for the Paez family, said the Georgia bureau of investigation (GBI) agents looking into the shooting were not answering questions yet still sending a warning.“The terrorism charges are meant to send a message, and that message is clear: ‘If you stand in our way, we will take you out of our way,’” he said.“We will not tolerate this. There are plenty of other criminal laws that can be used if anyone has broken a law. There are plenty of crimes that can be charged against any individual who engages in acts of violence. We cannot ignore this worsening environment that started here in Atlanta, and that one day will be used against other groups.”In addition to the charges against those arrested on the day Paez was killed, several senior Atlanta police officials have attempted to portray the protests against the training facility as terrorism, alarming civil rights analysts.In comments to community stakeholders in December, Atlanta’s assistant police chief Carven Tyus appeared to suggest the charging of activists at a protest that month was based on geography.“None of those people live here, they do not have a vested interest in this property, and that is why we consider that domestic terrorism,” he said, according to saportareport.com.The police chief, Darin Schierbaum, echoed the view at a press conference last month after a protest in downtown Atlanta in which several windows were broken and a police car was set on fire.“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist or an attorney to tell you that breaking windows and setting fires is not protest,” he said. “It’s terrorism.”The GBI has so far not produced any video or audio evidence to back its claim that Paez first drew a handgun and fired at a state trooper – who was wounded – before Paez was shot by officers from multiple agencies.Dozens of officers from the Atlanta police department, the Dekalb county police, the Georgia state patrol, the GBI and the FBI swept through the protest camp in what was described as a “clearing operation” on 18 January. Yet the shooting was not captured on any body camera worn by officers, prompting calls for an outside agency to review the case.In a press release, the GBI said Paez legally bought a handgun in September 2020 “that was used in the shooting of a [state] trooper”.Filipovits on Monday suggested the claim was selective. “It is a
(read more)
Henry Arundell and Henry Slade have made welcome returns to the England squad preparing to face Italy this weekend with Steve Borthwick seeking to kickstart his side’s Six Nations campaign. Arundell and Slade are back from foot and hip injuries respectively and come into the frame to add considerable zip to Borthwick’s side on Sunday.Courtney Lawes is not under consideration to face Italy, however, as he continues his rehab from a calf problem but the availability of Slade and Arundell is a significant boost for Borthwick following England’s defeat by Scotland last Saturday.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionArundell made his comeback from the bench for London Iris
(read more)
A powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake rattled across Turkey and Syria early Monday morning. Another quake with a magnitude of 7.7 rocked the region a few hours later. The quakes killed more than 2,60
(read more)
A health union boss has described Rishi Sunak as deluded for suggesting NHS staff should abandon their campaign to secure a bigger pay rise this year.The GMB’s national secretary, Rachel Harrison, made the remark in response to Downing Street’s insistence that it would not talk about improving the £1,400 pay award for frontline personnel for 2022/23 even though it has triggered the wave of NHS strikes.The spat blew up on Monday, the day tens of thousands of nurses and ambulance staff staged an unprecedented joint stoppage in the biggest strike in NHS history.The prime minister’s official spokesperson said Sunak wanted to look ahead to the pay deal for 2023/24 and “not backwards”.A
(read more)
Welcome back, then, to chapter two in the slow-burn but undeniably gripping story of Manchester City and the case of the financial regulations.At times in the past three years it has been tempting to
(read more)