Bar-tailed godwit flies more than 12,000km from Alaska to New Zealand in 11 days
A bird said to have the aerodynamic build of a “jet fighter” has been tracked flying more than 12,000km (7,500 miles) from Alaska to New Zealand, setting a new world record for avian non-stop flight.
The bar-tailed godwit set off from south-west Alaska on 16 September and arrived in a bay near Auckland 11 days later, having flown at speeds of up to 55mph.
Continue reading...The region is unravelling faster than anyone could once have predicted. But there may still be time to act
At the end of July, 40% of the 4,000-year-old Milne Ice Shelf, located on the north-western edge of Ellesmere Island, calved into the sea. Canada’s last fully intact ice shelf was no more.
On the other side of the island, the most northerly in Canada, the St Patrick’s Bay ice caps completely disappeared.
Continue reading...Arctic permafrost is melting at an increasing rate, impacting lives and jeopardizing the planet’s future. Photographer Katie Orlinsky has documented this drastic shift in Siberia and Alaska
Governments are not doing enough to prevent rapid rebound, says agency’s report
The coronavirus pandemic is expected to cause a record 7% decline in global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in 2020, but governments are not doing enough to prevent a rapid rebound, according to an influential report.
Carbon dioxide emissions from energy use are expected to fall to 33.4 gigatonnes in 2020, the lowest level since 2011 and the biggest year on year fall since 1900 when records began, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its annual world energy outlook.
Continue reading...Company is unclear about whether patient was receiving vaccine or placebo in 60,000-patient study
Johnson & Johnson has paused its Covid-19 vaccine trial due to an “unexplained illness” in a participant, the company confirmed.
The pharmaceutical giant was unclear if the patient was administered a placebo or the experimental vaccine, and it’s not remarkable for studies as large as the one Johnson & Johnson are conducting – involving 60,000 patients – to be temporarily paused.
Continue reading...Millions of American voters will be unable to cast their ballot in this year’s presidential election and those affected will be disproportionately first-time voters and from minority groups, reports Sam Levine
As the November election approaches, Donald Trump is continuing to make stark claims about voter fraud, particularly focused on postal voting. Despite a lack of evidence, many are interpreting the president’s claims as a prelude to his challenging the result should he be defeated. Fears of fraud are also being used by many states to place more hurdles in the way of voters trying to cast their ballots.
The Guardian’s Sam Levine tells Anushka Asthana about the bureaucratic steps required to cast a legal vote in some states and how research shows that they mean the discounting of votes from disproportionately younger and minority voters. He also describes how millions of former prisoners are being denied votes decades after release due to bureaucratic errors or minuscule unpaid fines. He met Alfonzo Tucker, a resident in Alabama, who was struck from the register over a $4 fine and whose son of the same name was also prevented from voting. Meanwhile, there are growing fears of intimidation at the polls, not least following Trump’s performance at the presidential debate in which he failed to denounce white supremacists, telling the rightwing Proud Boys group to “stand back and stand by”.
Continue reading...President addresses mostly maskless crowd in key swing state of Florida: ‘I feel so powerful’
Keen to appear lively and well after his recent hospitalization for Covid-19, Donald Trump held his first rally since being diagnosed, addressing a packed, largely maskless crowd in Florida – a state he desperately needs to win.
Related: California investigates unauthorized ballot boxes installed by Republicans
Continue reading...Republicans sought to normalise her rushed nomination while Democrats maintained a laser-like focus on the future of Obamacare
That was rich. Senate Republicans, otherwise known as Donald Trump’s Praetorian Guard, lined up on Monday to pay pious homage to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the separation of powers and the halcyon days of political bipartisanship.
Related: What Amy Coney Barrett's likely confirmation means for America
Continue reading...Barrett’s expected elevation will give conservatives a bulletproof court majority, and many progressive causes are under threat
Senate Republicans have begun hearings to confirm Amy Coney Barrett as a supreme court justice. If confirmed as expected, Barrett would become the third justice on the court to be appointed by Donald Trump.
Here’s what it means:
Continue reading...A Black man who was led by a rope by two white officers on horseback has sued a south-east Texas city and its police department for $1m, saying he suffered humiliation and fear during his arrest.
Related: Texas police apologise after officers on horseback led black man by rope
Continue reading...
Senator Gary Peters of Michigan shared his family’s personal abortion story, with Amy Coney Barrett hearings underway.
Peters, a moderate Democrat locked in a tight reelection race, shared with Elle Magazine that in the 1980s, his first wife Heidi, had her water break when she was only four months pregnant, leaving the fetus without amniotic fluid.
My story is one that’s tragically shared by so many Americans.
It’s a story of gut-wrenching and complicated decisions — but it’s important for folks to understand families face these situations every day.https://t.co/VA3VDbjWrO
The significance is hard to overstate. Barrett represents the culmination of a decades-long project by conservatives to control the high court. Her confirmation would extend the conservative reach into every corner of American life, well beyond the size of their shrinking electorate.
Related: What Amy Coney Barrett's likely confirmation means for America
Continue reading...Top US infectious diseases expert said on Sunday he had not agreed to be featured in Trump ad; Italy moves as daily infections reach highest levels since March
Below are updates of what’s happened in recent hours. I am now handing the blog over to my colleague Archie Bland, who will continue bringing you live updates. Thanks for following.
• Malaysia on Monday announced that it will impose some restrictions on movement in its capital city and in the neighbouring state of Selangor from Wednesday, as the country grapples with a fresh surge of coronavirus cases.
Italy is set to ban private parties and limit the numbers of guests at weddings and funerals among new restrictions aimed at curbing a surge in coronavirus infections, according to a draft decree seen by Reuters.
The decree, which could be issued as early as Monday, prohibits people from hosting more than 10 guests in their homes or in any other private premises.
It also states that no more than 10 guests will be allowed at weddings, and no more than 15 people can be present at funerals.
Italy on Friday topped 5,000 new Covid-19 cases in a single day for the first time since March. Daily infections remained above 5,000 on both Saturday and Sunday.
Deaths linked to Covid-19 are far fewer, normally below 30, compared with peaks above 900 per day around the end of March.
Under the draft decree, amateur contact sports involving more than 6 people, such as soccer, are to be suspended and more severe social distancing is to be imposed in some workplaces.
Eldercare advocates argue that facilities have allowed asymptomatic staff members with Covid-19 in, but kept loved ones out
Martha Marie Duncan was as bright as the blue Texas sky of the Rio Grande Valley where she was born, and when she was young, she styled her hair to just about touch it. She was clever, fashionable, and determined to climb the corporate ladder.
She worked her way up to become vice president of one of America’s largest advertising firms, and bought a dark red Porsche and mauve Pendleton suits along the way.
Continue reading...Four days of hearings are scheduled before the Senate judiciary committee, beginning with opening statements on Monday
Judge Amy Coney Barrett will appear on Capitol Hill for the opening of her supreme court confirmation hearings on Monday, setting the stage for an extraordinary partisan clash three weeks before election day.
Four days of hearings are scheduled before the Senate judiciary committee, beginning with opening statements on Monday, followed by two days of questioning. Thursday, the Senate panel will hear from outside experts.
Continue reading...Dr Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease expert, has criticised Donald Trump’s re-election campaign for using his words out of context to make it appear as if he was praising the president’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. In the video released on Saturday, Fauci can be heard saying: 'I can’t imagine that … anyone could be doing more' as the advert boasts of Trump’s response to Covid-19, which in the US has killed more than 214,000 and infected more than 7.7m. The clip came from an interview Fauci gave to Fox News, in which he was describing the work that he and other members of the White House coronavirus task force undertook to respond to the virus
Continue reading...Doctor says use of his comments to praise president in Republican campaign ad is misleading
Dr Anthony Fauci, the US’s top infectious disease expert, has criticised Donald Trump’s reelection campaign for using his words out of context to make it appear as if he was praising the president’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
“In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate,” Fauci said in a statement to CNN on Sunday. “The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP [Republican] campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials.”
Continue reading...A television station security guard has been arrested after the incident outside the city’s art museum
Police have identified a 30-year-old man as the suspect in a fatal shooting that took place in downtown Denver during duelling protests between leftwing and rightwing groups.
Matthew Dolloff, a private security guard working for local television station KUSA TV, was arrested for first degree murder in connection with Saturday afternoon’s shooting, Denver police said in a social media post.
Continue reading...In opening remarks at confirmation hearing on Monday, supreme court nominee will say court ‘should not try’ to create policy
Amy Coney Barrett, Donald Trump’s latest controversial nominee for the US supreme court, will tell senators in her high-stakes confirmation hearing this week that she will approach cases based on the law, not her personal views, as Democrats urged her to step aside on upcoming contentious cases.
Barrett, a fervent Catholic with a record of opposing abortion rights, will say that courts “should not try” to create policy, during Monday’s opening remarks, which were obtained by multiple media outlets on Sunday.
Continue reading...Questions remain over the president’s health as he plans to return to the campaign trail in Florida on Monday
Donald Trump has claimed he no longer has coronavirus and is now “immune” to Covid-19 as he prepares to return to the campaign trail on Monday for a barrage of rallies in swing states in his pursuit of a second term in the White House.
Numerous opinion polls have continued to show the US president trailing his Democratic challenger Joe Biden by a significant margin nationally, adding urgency to Trump’s desire to get back to the in-person appearances he believes are key to his success on the 3 November election day.
Continue reading...A man has been shot dead during rival protests by left and rightwing groups in the US city of Denver. Police arrested a suspect who NBC News affiliate, KUSA-TV, said was working as a security guard to protect the station’s crew, according to its website. The shooting took place on Saturday in a courtyard at the Denver Art Museum during a so-called 'Patriot Rally' that was met by counter-protests.
Continue reading...