Ethel Kennedy, activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, dies aged 96

Kennedy, who remained dedicated to social causes and the family’s legacy, had been hospitalized after having a stroke

Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Senator Robert F. Kennedy who raised their 11 children after he was assassinated and remained dedicated to social causes and the family’s legacy for decades thereafter, died on Thursday, her family said. She was 96.

Kennedy had been hospitalized after suffering a stroke in her sleep on 3 October, her family said.

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Kennedy family members endorse Biden in stinging rebuke to RFK Jr

Siblings appear on stage with president at campaign event in Philadelphia and offer full-throated support of White House run

Prominent members of the Kennedy political dynasty delivered a full-throated endorsement of Joe Biden’s re-election campaign on Thursday, a pointed message that was in equal measure a stinging repudiation of their relative Robert F Kennedy Jr, who is making an independent run for the White House.

Kerry Kennedy, one of six siblings of the controversial candidate on stage at a Biden campaign event in Philadelphia, called the US president “my hero” as she celebrated a litany of his achievements she said would have pleased her father, the late former US attorney general Robert F Kennedy and late uncle and president John F Kennedy.

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Restorationists urge Jill Biden to erase Melania Trump’s Rose Garden makeover

A petition, signed by more than 54,000 people, calls on Biden to return the garden to its ‘former glory’ as Jacqueline Kennedy designed

Efforts to erase the Trump family legacy have reached the White House potting sheds and nurseries with Jill Biden being urged to restore the mansion’s garden to a state that predates ex-First Lady Melania Trump’s 2019 makeover.

An online petition calling on the first lady to return the Rose Garden to its “former glory” has been signed by more than 54,000 people. The petition says Biden’s predecessor “had the cherry trees, a gift from Japan, removed as well as the rest of the foliage and replaced with a boring tribute to herself”.

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JK Rowling returns human rights award to group that denounces her trans views

Author ‘follows my conscience’ after head of Robert F Kennedy Human Rights group says her views are transphobic

JK Rowling is returning the Ripple of Hope award given to her last year by the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights (RFKHR) organisation after its president, Kennedy’s daughter, criticised her views on transgender issues.

The award, which is for people who have shown a “commitment to social change”, was presented to Rowling in December for her work with her children’s charity, Lumos. On receiving the award, Rowling called it “one of the highest honours I’ve ever been given” and said “Robert Kennedy embodied everything I most admire in a human being”. Previous winners include Barack Obama, archbishop Desmond Tutu and Joe Biden.

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Sirhan Sirhan, the man who shot Robert Kennedy, stable after prison stabbing

75-year-old killer hospitalised after being wounded in jail in San Diego, government source confirms

Sirhan Sirhan, who has been jailed for more than 50 years for the assassination of Senator Robert F Kennedy, was in stable condition in hospital on Saturday after being stabbed by a fellow inmate at a San Diego prison.

Related: James R Leavelle, detective handcuffed to Lee Harvey Oswald when he was shot, dies aged 99

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Democrats hope Kennedy’s retirement will make courts a galvanizing issue for voters

Democratic activists are hoping to make the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary as much an issue for their voters as it has been for the Republican base for decades. Democratic activists are hoping to make the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary as much an issue for their voters as it has been for the Republican base for decades.

John Oliver Reacts to Justice Kennedy’s Retirement: ‘Everything is Terrible Now’

"The consequences here will almost certainly be extremely grim," said Oliver on Sunday's 'Last Week Tonight' before sharing clips of CNN's Jeffrey Toobin stating that abortions will soon become illegal in the United States. On Sunday's episode of Last Week Tonight , host John Oliver shared his take on the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Despite GOP controlling Senate, Democrats promise SCOTUS fight ahead of midterms

On the issues of LGBTQ rights, abortion access, money in politics and the environment, no member of the federal judiciary has been more influential in the last 30 years than Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. The announcement earlier this week of Kennedy's retirement sent political shock waves through both parties, and scrambled an already uncertain 2018 midterm landscape, as both parties gear up for what are sure to be contentious and complicated confirmation hearings for President Donald Trump's pick to take Kennedy's place.

From guns to gay rights, Justice Anthony Kennedy was the Supreme Court’s swing vote

Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, the ideological fulcrum of the high court whose support for gay rights culminated in his 2015 decision striking down state bans against same-sex marriage , is retiring at the pinnacle of his career. Kennedy's retirement will leave a hole for President Donald Trump to fill smack in the middle of the deeply divided court, where all nine justices tend to vote the way the presidents who nominated them expected.

Conservatives say the looming Supreme Court battle boosts their midterm prospects

President Trump hasn't yet named a replacement for Justice Anthony Kennedy, but conservatives are ready for a fight that could energize voters. Conservatives say the looming Supreme Court battle boosts their midterm prospects President Trump hasn't yet named a replacement for Justice Anthony Kennedy, but conservatives are ready for a fight that could energize voters.

The Latest: Trump explains Kennedy retirement to de Sousa

President Donald Trump speaks to the media regarding the announcement that Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy is retiring, during his meeting with Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, June 27, 2018. less President Donald Trump speaks to the media regarding the announcement that Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy is retiring, during his meeting with Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in ... more FILe - In this Feb. 18, 1988, file photo Anthony Kennedy, left, takes the constitutional oath as a Supreme Court Associate Justice from Chief Justice William Rehnquist at a White House ceremony in Washington.

Not all lawmakers on candidate Mike Kennedy’s endorsement list actually back him

Two dozen current and former Utah Republican state lawmakers endorsed U.S. Senate candidate Mike Kennedy on Friday, according to his campaign. But at least one of them said he did no such thing, and another said she hadn't given permission.