Officials say not enough lifeguards to open pools safely but critics say decision to cut services during Covid has had knock-on effect
A nationwide shortage of lifeguards is forcing local pools across the US to close for the summer, according to reports.
In major cities such as New York, Chicago, New Orleans, and elsewhere, public pools are reducing their hours of operation, or shutting down entirely amid an apparent shortage of lifeguards.
Continue reading...Decision from former president would clear way for one-time adviser to testify before committee investigating Capitol attack
Donald Trump is considering waiving executive privilege for his longtime political adviser Steve Bannon, which would clear the way for a key ally of the former president to testify before the congressional committee investigating the deadly January 6 attack on the Capitol.
Trump is reportedly considering sending a letter to Bannon, his former White House strategist, acknowledging that he granted Bannon executive privilege on 21 September but is now willing to give up the claim if Bannon reaches an agreement to testify before the House committee investigating the Capitol insurrection, the Washington Post first reported, citing sources familiar with the situation.
Continue reading...Gary Volesky, three-star general who took on lucrative consulting role, suspended over Twitter post that appeared under his name
The US army has suspended a retired three-star general from a lucrative consultant’s role after a social media post appearing under his name taunted first lady Jill Biden’s support of abortion rights.
Former top army spokesperson Gary Volesky, who retired as a lieutenant general and earned a silver star for gallantry while serving in Iraq, was making $92 an hour advising military officers, staff and students who were taking part in war games and other similar activities.
Continue reading...Brandy Bottone, who is 34 weeks pregnant, pulled over by police for driving in high-occupancy vehicle lane for two or more people
A pregnant woman in Texas told police that her unborn child counted as an additional passenger after being cited for driving alone in a high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane, offering up a potentially clever defense for motorists navigating the legal landscape following the supreme court’s striking down of nationwide abortion rights last month.
Brandy Bottone of Plano, Texas, tried to fight a ticket for driving with only one passenger in an HOV lane – which requires at least two people in the car – by arguing that her unborn baby should count as her second passenger.
Continue reading...Ant-Man actor befriends Brody Ridder of Colorado, whose classmates refused to sign his yearbook
The actor Paul Rudd has sent a handwritten letter to a 12-year-old boy after he received just two signatures from fellow students in his school yearbook.
The pair also spoke on FaceTime after Brody Ridder, from Colorado, came home from school with the yearbook.
Continue reading...Beijing’s ‘alignment with Russia’ is complicating relations, US secretary of state tells Wang Yi in talks aimed at defusing tensions
China’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine is complicating US-Chinese relations at a time when they are already beset by rifts and enmity over numerous other issues, the US secretary of state has told his Chinese counterpart
In five hours of talks in their first face-to-face meeting since October, Antony Blinken said he expressed deep concern to the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, about Beijing’s stance on Russia’s actions in Ukraine and did not believe Beijing’s protestations that it was neutral in the conflict.
Continue reading...CDC study finds glyphosate, controversial ingredient found in weedkillers including popular Roundup brand, present in samples
More than 80% of urine samples drawn from children and adults in a US health study contained a weedkilling chemical linked to cancer, a finding scientists have called “disturbing” and “concerning”.
The report by a unit of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that out of 2,310 urine samples, taken from a group of Americans intended to be representative of the US population, 1,885 were laced with detectable traces of glyphosate. This is the active ingredient in herbicides sold around the world, including the widely used Roundup brand. Almost a third of the participants were children ranging from six to 18.
This story is co-published with The New Lede, a journalism project of the Environmental Working Group
Continue reading...Nine Colorado employees claim their dismissals came after an organizing campaign in response to safety concerns and pay problems
Nine Starbucks workers at three stores in Denver, Colorado, who were fired shortly after their stores voted to unionize allege they were dismissed in retaliation for union organizing at the American coffee chain giant.
The firings are among a few dozen cases around the US where workers have alleged they have been fired from the coffee retail chain during a union organizing campaign at their store. More than 180 Starbucks corporate retail stores in the US have voted to unionize, and more than 300 have filed for union elections.
Continue reading...President urged to act more forcefully to deal with rising inflation, gun violence and dire supreme court rulings
At an Independence Day barbecue, crises cascading around him, Joe Biden declared that he had “never been more optimistic about America than I am today”.
Of course there were challenges, grave ones, the US president told the military families assembled on the south lawn of the White House. And the nation had a troubling history of taking “giant steps forward” and then a “few steps backwards”, he acknowledged.
Continue reading...Analysis: billionaire could be fined $1bn for walking away – and he risks new lawsuits and even his job, experts say
Elon Musk withdrew his $44bn bid to buy Twitter on Friday after a months-long saga that rankled investors and shook the market, kicking off what may be a long legal battle with the company.
The Twitter chair, Bret Taylor, said on Friday that the social media firm would sue in a Delaware court to enforce the deal. The deal included a “specific performance” clause, a provision that may force Musk to buy the company as long as he has financing in place. Musk in May said he had secured financing to complete the deal.
Continue reading...Construction crew found elderly Lulu in bushes after thinking she was a bear
An Alaska family had given up hope of finding their blind, elderly golden retriever who wandered away from their home three weeks ago, but a construction crew found Lulu in salmonberry bushes after initially confusing her for a bear.
Lulu was barely alive after being found Tuesday, but she is being nursed back to health and is back home with her family, the Daily Sitka Sentinel reported.
Continue reading...It’s official; Biden has formally signed an executive order protecting access to abortion and other reproductive healthcare services.
Here is a previous post detailing what is in the executive order.
Continue reading...Drop boxes may be placed only in election offices and voters must return ballot in person, in blow to Democrats in battleground state
Wisconsin’s conservative-controlled supreme court ruled on Friday that absentee ballot drop boxes may be placed only in election offices and that no one other than the voter can return a ballot in person, dealing a critical defeat to Democrats in the battleground state.
The court did not address the question of whether anyone other than the voter can return his or her own ballot by mail. Election officials and others had argued that drop boxes are a secure and convenient way for voters to return ballots.
Continue reading...US unemployment rate held steady at 3.6%, labor department said, as jobs report indicated resilience
The US economy added 372,000 jobs in June, an indicator of resilience despite signs of slowing economic growth.
The jobs reports is seen as a key indicator on whether high inflation – and central bank efforts to tame it with interest rates rises – is beginning to bite down on the wider American economy.
Continue reading...Washburn fire is burning near southern portion of the park, Mariposa Grove, home to over 500 mature giant sequoias
Yosemite national park has been partially closed as firefighters try to contain a wildfire that has now stretched across more than 60 acres.
The Washburn fire is burning near the southern portion of the park, Mariposa Grove, which is home to more than 500 mature giant sequoias in the park, officials said.
Continue reading...Violators of the new law, which includes exceptions for traffic stops, will face a misdemeanor charge and up to 30 days in jail
A new law in Arizona bans people from taking close-range recordings of police, ostensibly to prevent them getting dangerously close to potentially violent encounters, though some critics have described it as a threat to the first amendment.
The new law prohibits anyone within 8ft of law enforcement officers from recording police activity. Violators will face a misdemeanor charge and up to 30 days in jail, though only after ignoring a verbal warning.
Continue reading...Move by president signals start of White House fightback after supreme court struck down Roe v Wade
Joe Biden is to sign an executive order offering protections to millions of American women denied the constitutional right to an abortion.
The move signals the start of a White House fightback after the supreme court last month struck down Roe v Wade, its landmark ruling that for half a century had legalised abortion nationwide.
Continue reading...Top Democrats ‘deeply troubled that gun manufacturers continue to profit from the sale of weapons of war’
Could Donald Trump have had the IRS carry out its most stringent audit on two of his political foes? That’s the question posed by a story published yesterday in The New York Times that says former FBI director James Comey and his deputy Andrew McCabe were both selected for random audits by the tax authority, which is run by an appointee of the former president.
A spokesman for Trump denied knowing anything about the matter, and experts quoted in the story wondered whether it was even possible for a president to order the IRS to carry out such an action. The coincidence is nonetheless abnormal. Here’s how one former IRS official put it to the Times:
“Lightning strikes, and that’s unusual, and that’s what it’s like being picked for one of these audits,” said John A. Koskinen, the I.R.S. commissioner from 2013 to 2017. “The question is: Does lightning then strike again in the same area? Does it happen? Some people may see that in their lives, but most will not — so you don’t need to be an anti-Trumper to look at this and think it’s suspicious.”
Continue reading...The decision by California jurors brings to close a 13-week trial of Elizabeth Holmes’ former lover and business partner
The former Theranos executive Sunny Balwani has been convicted on all 12 fraud charges brought against him for his role at the now-defunct blood testing company.
The decision closes the final chapter of Theranos’ legal saga, nearly eight years after serious concerns were raised about the startup’s blood testing technology. The conviction of Balwani, who at one point oversaw the Theranos lab and put millions of his own fortune into the company, also marks a more severe judgment than that of his former lover and business partner Elizabeth Holmes, who was convicted of only four of 11 of the same charges in January.
Continue reading...The British socialite was sentenced to 20 years in prison last month
The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has officially appealed against her conviction and sentence in the United States for sex trafficking.
The 60-year-old was found guilty by a jury of luring young girls to massage rooms for the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein to molest between 1994 and 2004.
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