The idea that the US might sell state-of-the-art nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia, potentially enabling Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s reckless regime to build nuclear weapons, sounds so far-fetched as to be almost grotesque.
After all the near-hysterical American and Israeli warnings about the risk of Iran, the Saudis’ arch-rival, acquiring the bomb, surely even Donald Trump would balk at such breathtaking – and dangerous – hypocrisy?
Continue reading...Filmmaker was born to French-Algerian parents and made his home, and his name, in multicultural London. But he never felt a sense of belonging. Then Hollywood called …
Where are you from? It’s a question I’ve always had a hard time with. And since moving to the US four years ago, I’m asked it on a regular basis. Maybe it’s the combination of a brownish face, London accent and French names that throws people off. Who knows? But this question, hearing it asked over and over these past few years, has forced me to confront unresolved questions I have about identity: how I grew up and how those experiences led me to being a director.
People tend to like things compartmentalised and simple, but it’s never been that simple for me. I’ve never had any sense of a “national identity” or, for that matter, a sense of belonging to any one tribe. I’m mixed race: French white mother, Algerian father. So “I’m a Londoner” is my standard go-to short response when the question comes up. That’s the simplest answer I feel comfortable giving without getting into it.
Continue reading...Trump wins for worst actor and worst screen combo, but the Will Ferrell detective comedy scores for worst film and director
President Donald Trump and a comedy movie take on Sherlock Holmes on Saturday topped the annual Razzie awards for the worst performances and films of 2018.
Holmes & Watson, starring Will Ferrell and John C Reilly, was the biggest winner, taking four trophies including worst film and worst rip-off. Reilly also was named worst supporting actor in what Razzie founder John Wilson called the “clueless parody” of the classic detective tale.
Continue reading...Children and teenagers from Sunrise Movement say Dianne Feinstein reacted with ‘smugness + disrespect’
The California senator Dianne Feinstein is facing criticism over a video of her response to a group of children and teenagers asking her to support the Green New Deal.
The video clip shows parts of a Friday morning meeting between the Democrat and young activists from the Sunrise Movement. Founded in 2017, the group organizes young people to fight climate change and support the Green New Deal.
Continue reading...Country braced for violence after clashes early on Friday leave two dead and 15 injured
The US has condemned Venezuela’s military after soldiers shot dead two people and injured 15 others trying to keep the country’s border with Brazil open for aid deliveries.
The White House warned in a statement: “Egregious violation of human rights by [President Nicolás] Maduro and those who are following his orders will not go unpunished.”
Continue reading...Authorities unhappy with pair walking the streets of Hanoi and causing a ‘disturbance’
Vietnamese authorities were not amused when an impersonator of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, wandered the streets of Hanoi on Friday, just days before the second summit between Kim Jong-un and the US president, Donald Trump.
Howard X, an Australian, said Vietnamese authorities questioned him and another impersonator dressed as Trump and warned them they could be deported after they had taped an interview at a local TV station. The interview was not aired.
Continue reading...Indictment filed in Illinois and seen by Guardian includes nine counts involving victims aged between 13 and 17
R Kelly is in police custody in Chicago after turning himself in at the Chicago police precinct on Friday night.
Earlier in the day, the R&B star had been charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in Illinois for incidents dating back as far as May 1998.
Continue reading...Communications between senior figures, including Mark Zuckerberg, shed new light on data use
Documents posted online Friday appear to be confidential internal Facebook communications that reveal new details of the company’s treatment of user data.
About 60 pages of un-redacted exhibits from a lawsuit between Facebook and Six4Three, an app developer, were posted anonymously on GitHub on Friday. They include emails between various Facebook executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and a “highly confidential” 2012 memo detailing various policy matters.
Continue reading...Allegations emerged this week that jury members followed media coverage of high profile trial, despite orders not to
Lawyers for convicted drug trafficker Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán intend to petition for a new trial after a news report indicated that multiple jurors followed media coverage of the trial against the instructions of the judge in the case.
Allegations of juror misconduct came to light earlier this week in an article published by Vice News. In the piece, an anonymous juror said jurors had routinely violated the judge’s instructions to “stay away from media coverage, not doing any research on the internet or otherwise and [to not] communicate anything about the case to anyone”.
Continue reading...Ahmed Ali Muthana files suit after officials said New Jersey-born daughter was not a US citizen and would not be allowed home
The father of an Alabama woman who joined the Islamic State group in Syria is suing to bring her home after the Trump administration took the extraordinary step of declaring that she was not a US citizen.
Hoda Muthana, 24, told the Guardian this week that she regretted leaving the US to join the terrorist group and wants to return from Syria with her 18-month-old son. She has said she is willing to face prosecution in the United States over her incendiary propaganda on behalf of the ruthless but dwindling group.
Continue reading...Court documents reveal stunning scheme used to trap 161 foreign nationals; Ice maintains the students knew the school was fake
The University of Farmington website described a college that would prepare students to succeed in an “ever-globalizing economy.” Students would show up at campus wearing backpacks and asking questions about classes. The US government listed Farmington as eligible to enroll foreign students. The school president, whose LinkedIn page is still online, sent emails to students describing his institution as “a nationally accredited institution authorized to enroll international students.”
But it was all a sham to snare immigrants.
Continue reading...Longtime Trump confidante is back in court over photo that showed the judge with what appeared to be crosshairs near her head
Judge Amy Berman Jackson, presiding over the Roger Stone hearing, has taken a break before ruling on Stone’s fate.
David Smith is reporting that Stone claimed one of his “many” volunteers who operate out of his house could have posted the photo. Stone was unable to identify which volunteer posted it, however.
Kravis: The defendant continued to give interviews to amplify the coverage. "That conduct amounts to... a desire to manipulate media coverage to gain favourable attention." That increased the "risk to the jury pool".
Jackson to Rogow: "After he apologised, he continued talking every single day. What will get him to stop talking other than a court order... How would you craft a court order that he will find clear enough to follow?"
Guardian reporter David Smith is tweeting from inside the DC court where Roger Stone is appearing.
Stone has told the court that he is “heartfully sorry” and admitted abusing the court order that originally allowed him out on bail.
Stone: I believe there was "a media distortion" of my intent. "I did not have a malicious intent, your honour... I'm not seeking to justify it. It was just an error."
Stone: "I felt the media was falsely saying that I was posing a danger, which was not my intention. This was not a crosshair, in my opinion, and I did not wish to be blamed for something that was not my intention."
Continue reading...Park safety director alleges buckets of uranium sat near exhibit for almost 20 years, but interior department says there’s no risk
For almost 20 years, workers and visiting school children at a Grand Canyon museum may have been unknowingly exposed to radiation from three buckets of uranium sitting next to a taxidermy exhibit, according to allegations from a National Park Service safety director.
The whistleblower says officials learned about the buckets last year and tried to hide the revelation, according to the Arizona Republic newspaper. Earlier this month, Elston “Swede” Stephenson emailed all park staff and brought the matter to the attention of the head of the interior department, which oversees the park service, and the agency’s internal watchdog.
Continue reading...Accomplished folk musician and teen star helped move the guitar-pop band beyond their manufactured image
Peter Tork, the bassist for the Monkees, has died aged 77.
Tork, who also sang on a number of the band’s songs and played keyboards, had been diagnosed with a rare form of tongue cancer in 2009, though the cause of his death, which was confirmed by his sister, has not been announced.
Continue reading...The actor Jussie Smollett claimed he was attacked and beaten by two masked men shouting racist and homophobic slurs because he was “dissatisfied with his salary” on the TV show Empire, Chicago police have said.
Related: Trump targets Jussie Smollett over what police say was fake attack – live updates
Continue reading...Lawmakers’ move, planned for Friday, sets up clash over presidential powers and immigration but is likely to fail
House Democrats will file a resolution Friday aimed at blocking the national emergency declaration that Donald Trump has issued to help finance his wall along the Southwest border, teeing up a clash over billions of dollars, immigration policy and the constitution’s separation of powers.
Though the effort seems almost certain to ultimately fall short – perhaps to a Trump veto – the resulting votes will let Democrats take a defiant stance against Trump that is sure to please liberal voters. They will also put some Republicans from swing districts and states in a difficult spot.
Continue reading...Second meeting between president and Kim Jong-un to be held in Vietnam next week
North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, must make a “meaningful” gesture if he wants to see sanctions lifted, Donald Trump said on Wednesday ahead of a second summit between the two men scheduled for next week.
“The sanctions are on in full. I haven’t taken sanctions off,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
Continue reading...Lieutenant Christopher Hasson allegedly intended to ‘murder civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country’
A neo-Nazi serving as a lieutenant in the US coast guard has been caught plotting to attack Democratic members of Congress, including congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and well-known media personalities, according to prosecutors.
Christopher Hasson intended “to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country”, according to a filing to federal court in Maryland. Law enforcement officers seized 15 guns and 1,000 rounds of ammunition from his home.
Continue reading...The state, which styles itself as the Democratic-led ‘resistance’, has launched 46 lawsuits against the Trump administration
The Trump administration’s plans to pull millions in federal funding from California’s high-speed rail project is just the latest in the ongoing antagonism between the president and the state that stands on the opposite end of his party’s ideological spectrum.
Governor Gavin Newsom called the move “political retribution” for the state’s lawsuit against Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency, but California and Trump have been at it since before he was even elected president.
Continue reading...As site grapples with flood of fake news, former Snopes editor says CEO’s crowdsourcing comments show he has ‘learned nothing’
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg revealed that he is considering crowdsourcing as a new model for Facebook’s third-party factchecking partnerships.
In the first of a series of public conversations, Zuckerberg praised the efforts of factcheckers who partnered with Facebook following the 2016 presidential election as a bulwark against the flood of misinformation and fake news that was overtaking the site’s News Feed.
Continue reading...