The jurors will determine what the case represents in the eyes of the law, but to a divided America the implications are much larger
After the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, who as a 17-year-old fatally shot two men and wounded a third, finally closed and the jury was sent out to deliberate its verdict, a crowd of supporters stood outside the Kenosha county courthouse volleying chants in the cold November dark.
“Black Lives Matter!” one group shouted.
Continue reading...Remote working has made it easier than ever for staff to moonlight. But how do they cope with clashing meetings and two bosses? And can the rewards be worth the lies?
Second jobs can be incredibly lucrative – just ask any of the MPs who gained at least £6m collectively from their side gigs since the start of the pandemic. But it’s not only MPs benefiting from second jobs: ordinary white-collar workers have been getting in on the act. And these workers aren’t just taking on positions that might require a couple of days’ work a month. Instead, they are juggling several traditional full-time jobs, and keeping each one a secret from their other employers – leading, in effect, multiple lives
Among them is Jamie, a 25-year-old based in the UK. Over lockdown, Jamie found himself spending a significant amount of each working day playing video games. His role as a software engineer is undemanding and barely monitored by his company. It allowed him to live comfortably, but he was on what he considered a modest salary.
Continue reading...The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, disputed recent media reports that the US vice president, Kamala Harris, is struggling with her role in Joe Biden's administration. ‘She's a key partner,’ Psaki said. ‘She's a bold leader, and she is somebody who has taken on incredibly important assignments,’ including immigration and voting rights. With questions being raised about the president's willingness to seek a second term, speculation is mounting over Harris’s chances in a contest for the next Democratic nomination.
‘I don't have any predictions of whether she will run, when she will run,’ Psaki added. ‘I will leave that to her, but I can tell you that there's been a lot of reports out there and they don't reflect his view or our experience with the vice president'
Continue reading...US president Joe Biden has told Chinese leader Xi Jinping that he hoped to have a candid conversation about human rights and security issues as the two began a meeting meant to lower tensions between the two global superpowers. Biden added that the two leaders must make sure their relations do not veer into open conflict, including by installing ‘common sense’ guardrails. Biden spoke with Xi over a video conference as the two leaders engaged in their most extensive talks since Biden became president in January. Xi said the two sides must increase communication and cooperation to solve the many challenges they face.
Continue reading...The signing of a $1.2tn infrastructure act was a much-needed win but Washington’s deep divisions were all too apparent
“Here is what I know to be true, Mr President,” Vice-President Kamala Harris said on Monday, as she addressed Joe Biden. “You are equal parts believer and builder. And because you are, we are all better off.”
Biden is a believer in the ability of the American people, US democracy and Democrats and Republicans to work together and get things done. It was the theory of his candidacy for president.
Continue reading...Duke of Sussex says issue needs to be tackled by policies including investment in local journalism
Prince Harry has described online misinformation as a “global humanitarian issue” that needs to be tackled by policies including investment in local journalism and cracking down on super-spreaders of false content.
The Duke of Sussex contributed to a report by a US thinktank into disinformation, which made 15 recommendations after a six-month study.
Continue reading...Trump ally, indicted after defying subpoena from House panel, urges supporters to ‘stay focused, stay on message’
Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former president Donald Trump, appeared in court on Monday charged with contempt of Congress, regarding the investigation of the deadly Capitol attack.
Bannon did not enter a plea, and the brief hearing determined that he be arraigned on Thursday. He was released after being ordered to surrender his passport, report once a week to pre-trial services and report travel plans.
Continue reading...New York court considers jury selection arrangements for trial of British socialite on sex trafficking charges linked to Jeffrey Epstein
Less than 24 hours before Ghislaine Maxwell will be in a courtroom with prospective jurors who will decide her fate in a Manhattan federal court sex trafficking case, the former British socialite appeared notably at ease during a proceeding on Monday morning.
One woman, who identified herself as a family member to a court security officer, waved at Maxwell shortly before proceedings started. She carried a yellow legal pad and scribbled notes throughout the proceeding.
Continue reading...Investor Bill Ackman trying to win approval for a controversial penthouse overlooking Central Park
The billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman will on Tuesday attempt to convince New York’s powerful Landmarks Preservation Commission to allow him to build a “flying saucer” penthouse on top of a historic apartment building in the Upper West Side overlooking Central Park.
Ackman, a Harvard-educated activist investor who famously made $2.6bn (£2.2bn) profit in a single day betting on the financial impact of coronavirus during the early days of the pandemic, has been engaged in a years-long public relations battle with his merely millionaire neighbours to garner support for his planned Norman Foster-designed two-storey penthouse that has been described as a “temple to a titan”.
Continue reading...Thanks to climate change, armadillos, native to southern America, are making their way up north. And there’s no sign of them stopping their relentless march
In the pitch dark, Jason Bullard adroitly shoulders his rifle and levels it at the object. “That looks like one!” he mutters. It turns out to be a fuse box. Another candidate, again aimed at with the gun, reveals itself as a rock.
In this town besieged by armadillos, anything with a passing similarity to the armored nemesis is under suspicion.
Continue reading...Michael Flynn, Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, was widely condemned after calling for the establishment of “one religion” in the US.
Religious freedom is enshrined in the first amendment to the US constitution, which says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”.
Continue reading...Arrested in New Hampshire last year, Maxwell is charged with alleged sex crimes, conspiracy and perjury related to Epstein
When jury selection starts in earnest on Tuesday for British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial in Manhattan federal court, many observers might think that they will finally learn the full truth about the crimes of her consort, disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein – and any subsequent cover-ups.
On the surface, this conjecture makes sense: Epstein killed himself in jail more than two years ago, while awaiting his own sex trafficking trial, leaving many to wonder whether there would ever be justice for victims.
Continue reading...Ezra Blount had been in a coma after suffering serious injuries in the tragedy at a Travis Scott concert on 5 November
A nine-year-old Dallas boy has become the youngest person to die from injuries sustained during a crowd surge at the Astroworld music festival in Houston.
Ezra Blount of Dallas died on Sunday at Texas children’s hospital in Houston, family attorney Ben Crump said.
Continue reading...Mako Komuro arrives with husband in US, leaving behind her royal status after months of public outcry and frenzied media attention
Japanese former princess Mako Komuro has arrived in the United States with her husband, Kei Komuro, swapping ancient imperial rites for the bright lights of New York after leaving the royal family and relinquishing her royal title.
The pair tied the knot in Tokyo last month in muted fashion, following years of public attention over a minor financial scandal involving Kei Komuro’s mother, which Mako Komuro said caused her “sadness and pain”.
Continue reading...Baghuz bombing of people trying to escape fighting was covered up, says NY Times report
The US military has confirmed for the first time a 2019 air strike in Syria that killed up to 80 people, mostly women and children, but claimed the strike was justified as it killed Islamic State fighters who were attacking coalition forces.
The confirmation from US Central Command followed a report by the New York Times in which former and current Pentagon officials alleged there had been a cover-up of a likely war crime. Central Command argued that because some women and children had taken up arms for IS, whether by indoctrination or choice, they “could not strictly be classified as civilians”.
Continue reading...Aides to Joe Biden took to the political talk shows on Sunday in a bid to talk up the US economic recovery despite confidence in the president continuing to plunge amid a crisis over inflation and supply chain problems.
In alarming news for the White House, only 41% of voters approved of Biden in a Washington Post/ABC survey published on Sunday, continuing a steady downward trend in the president’s ratings.
Continue reading...Lincoln Children’s Zoo says deaths of Ranney, Everest and Makalu are ‘truly heartbreaking’, as two tigers recover
Three snow leopards have died at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo in Nebraska of complications from Covid-19.
The zoo made the announcement in a Facebook post on Friday, describing the deaths of the three leopards – named Ranney, Everest, and Makalu – as “truly heartbreaking”.
Continue reading...How much extra time on screen have you had in the past 18 months? It may be causing nearsightedness – but there’s hope for reversing it
How close is the smartphone or laptop you’re reading this on from your eyes? Probably just a few inches. How long have you spent looking at a screen today? If you’re close to the average it’s likely to be over nine hours.
New research from ophthalmologists shows that our constant screen time is radically changing our eyes. Just like the rest of our bodies, the human eye is supposed to stop growing after our teens. Now it keeps growing.
Continue reading...From being called conspiracy theorists to working on legislation to reform conservatorships in California, organizers are realizing their power
Friday’s liberation of Britney Spears from her nearly 14-year conservatorship was a landmark moment for the pop star. It was also a once-unimaginable triumph for the #FreeBritney movement, the fan-led campaign that was largely dismissed by the public and that Spears’s father had called a “joke” run by “conspiracy theorists”.
Fans had been pushing to “free Britney” from the conservatorship for years, but the movement took off in 2019. With full-time jobs and no professional organizing background, they took it upon themselves to investigate the arrangement that controlled Spears’s life, scouring the star’s social media posts for clues, examining court documents, organizing online and holding demonstrations outside court hearings and concerts to raise awareness of what was going on.
Continue reading...Associate of financier Jeffrey Epstein faces charges of sex trafficking and enticement of minors
Ghislaine Maxwell is to emerge from her New York prison cell on Monday after a 15-month wait for the start of a trial for sex trafficking children, perjury and the enticement of minors while she was a close associate of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The 59-year-old, the youngest child of the British newspaper magnate Robert Maxwell, has been held on remand in a Brooklyn detention centre since shortly after her arrest in July 2020.
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