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Дорога к дому длиной в 28 лет и 42 тысячи километров. Что путешественник-рекордсмен будет делать дальше?
Клиенты Binance вывели $3,6 млрд, как только биржа заработала после крупнейшего в истории криптовзлома
Snowball fight: Cadbury owner in trademark row over festive chocolate treat
Mini Snow Balls’ maker Mondelēz is demanding vegan brand Moo Free remove its White Choccy Snowballs from shelves
The owner of Cadbury and Toblerone has demanded that a small vegan chocolate brand remove its products from shelves in a trademark dispute over the use of the word snowball.
Mondelēz International has written a legal letter to Moo Free accusing it of trademark infringement by selling its White Choccy Snowballs – gluten-free biscuit-flavoured rice balls covered in dairy-free white chocolate.
Continue reading...Trump tells GOP "we gave this a very strong shot" as campaign winds down
Record bounty offered for fugitive drug kingpin "Chubby Jos"
Snowball fight: Cadbury owner in trademark row over festive chocolate treat
Mini Snow Balls’ maker Mondelēz is demanding vegan brand Moo Free remove its White Choccy Snowballs from shelves
The owner of Cadbury and Toblerone has demanded that a small vegan chocolate brand remove its products from shelves in a trademark dispute over the use of the word snowball.
Mondelēz International has written a legal letter to Moo Free accusing it of trademark infringement by selling its White Choccy Snowballs – gluten-free biscuit-flavoured rice balls covered in dairy-free white chocolate.
Continue reading...What can Democrats actually do now they have won Congress?
Democrats have taken back the House and Senate in the 2026 midterms. Here’s what a majority in Congress means for them – and for Trump
Tell us: what do you want to know about the midterm election results?
Democrats win control of Senate as US voters reject Trump’s agenda
Democrats have flipped the US Senate and House of Representatives in a massive rebuke of Republicans and Donald Trump’s agenda. With Democrats majorities in both chambers, the final two years of Trump’s presidency will look markedly different from the first half. But what can Democrats actually do with with congressional power?
Continue reading...Пока вы учите агентов читать чеки, ABBYY Hot Folder просто работает
На написание этой статьи меня натолкнула недавняя публикация модели Xiaomi-OCR-0. Мои AI-агенты давно уже умели читать тексты с картинок, да и я сам темой распознавания символов много лет интересуюсь, но, так или иначе, в моих взаимоотношениях с OCR с самого начала был еще один участник…
O_O тройничок! Посмотрим, посмотрим...Haley Stevens backs Mike Rogers. And, Gulf states brace for potential attack on Iran
Democrats in Michigan are considering their options after Haley Stevens endorsed GOP candidate Mike Rogers for Senate. And the Gulf states are bracing for a possible U.S. attack on Iran after the midterms.
(Image credit: Finn Gomez)
Watch: King Charles III caught in torrential downpour at Antigua and Barbuda parade
ICE rapidly re-arresting immigrants released after winning court petitions
Many are challenging their detention using habeas corpus filings only to be arrested again, in violation of court orders
Immigrants who have been granted release from detention after winning habeas corpus petitions in court are being re-arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The Guardian has identified at least 20 cases nationwide relating to people who were detained after being released on habeas corpus petition in the last year, according to court records, attorneys and media reports.
Continue reading...Crossings: Laura Pannack’s award-winning images of South African youth – in pictures
The British visual artist and photographer Laura Pannack has been named the winner of the inaugural Tom Stoddart award for excellence 2025. A collaboration between Gost Books and the Ian Parry photojournalism grant, the award supports photographers engaged in long-form documentary work. South Africa has one of the world’s highest levels of social inequality and a rapidly growing youth population; Pannack’s project Crossings looks at the journey to and from school and its physical and psychological challenges for young people
Continue reading...A lackluster response to North Carolina flooding disasters is eroding Republican support in one county
At more than $52m, the race has become the most expensive in US history, but residents are fed up with flooding
Aida Havel mulled her fate over coffee after working the early voting polls all day in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. “We are trapped,” she concluded.
The Dare county commission candidate lives about 50 miles (80km) south, on Hatteras Island on the state’s Outer Banks.
Continue reading...Harry Kane’s Ballon d’Or party gives way to anxiety-filled hangover for Bayern Munich | Andy Brassell
Dortmund did not read the script, remaining level on points with the defending champions at the top of the table
It was the moment they had all been … not so much waiting for, but planning, pushing and yearning for. In the videos that announce the starting lineup on the giant scoreboard before kick-off, every Bayern Munich player turns to face the camera with their personal salute, greeting or goal celebration, the playful progression from the standard folding of arms. Except on Saturday evening, the No 9 turned around smiling, and cradling the golden trophy.
In the midweek DFB Pokal stroll against Magdeburg there had been a salute, the players welcoming Harry Kane on to the pitch with a guard of honour to commemorate his Ballon d’Or victory two nights before. This, however, was the real party, the moment where the England captain’s and Bayern’s successful union and the apex it has reached was celebrated in front of a global audience. There was every reason to believe it would be a full and satisfying victory lap, even in Der Klassiker, with proper competition so often bringing the best out of the Rekordmeister.
Continue reading...You can go your own way: US diverges from world on emergency preparedness
As governments urge public to prepare for cyber-attacks and natural disasters, US focuses on military preparation
Governments around the world are spearheading new campaigns to encourage the general public to be prepared for a host of emergencies that could disrupt essential services, including cyber-attacks and natural disasters. The United States, however, is taking a different approach: focusing on military preparation, as opposed to the general population.
With an influx of global messaging regarding emergency preparedness, the Guardian spoke with emergency experts about the Pentagon’s latest initiative and the state of US disaster preparedness at large.
Continue reading...Как мы спроектировали склад с 3D-шаттлами для 3PL-оператора
Клиенту 3PL-оператора нужен правильно собранный заказ в оговоренный срок. Подбор водителей погрузчиков, комплектовщиков и другого персонала часто становится проблемой для склада. Чтобы система, которая в большинстве своём состоит из людей, работала качественно и без ошибок, приходится прикладывать немало усилий. Если людей не хватает, склад рискует сорвать отгрузки, а вместе с ними потерять прибыль.
Между тем труд дорожает, а запросы клиентов растут: они заказывают коробочный отбор и смешанные паллеты, меняют состав заказов и ждут своевременной отгрузки даже в пик. Оператору необходимо учитывать все нюансы и двигаться навстречу клиенту, чтобы не отстать от быстро развивающегося рынка. Учитывая все обстоятельства, руководство крупнейшего 3PL Юга России решило усилить свои мощности и пойти в проект с роботизацией склада, чтобы сохранить конкурентоспособность и предложить клиентам более высокий уровень сервиса. Мы взялись им помочь.
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This Shark vacuum is 50% off — and no, that’s not a typo
New twist in Michigan Senate race and a fatal jet crash in Florida: Morning Rundown
2 of the Most Effective Democrats of the Midterms Aren't on the Ballot, Campaign Operatives Say
One is a former mayor, White House hopeful, and Transportation Secretary. The other preaches from the pulpit once claimed by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when he isn’t casting votes in the Senate.
Neither Pete Buttigieg nor Sen. Rafael Warnock of Georgia are on the ballot this year, but both have been all over the campaign trail, stumping for candidates across the country ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Democratic operatives say they are two of the most in-demand boosters this cycle. While the likes of Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York are surefire base pleasers and former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton are draws for legacy Democrats, Warnock and Buttigieg offer an efficient and plain-spoken manner that admirers say cuts across ideologies and generations.
It’s the kind of positive feedback that is sure to gain notice as handicapping for the 2028 presidential race begins in earnest after Tuesday.
And, coincidentally, both men’s stump schedules have sent them to places that may prove crucial to anyone with White House ambitions. Just last month, Warnock made stops in South Carolina, which is due to kick off the Democratic nominating calendar, as well as Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Michigan, and Wisconsin. He also dipped into Mississippi as Democrats are hopeful that a Blue Wave might just be big enough to flip a Senate seat there.
Read more: The Key Congressional Races to Watch on Election Night
Meanwhile, Buttigieg has campaigned in 38 states this year—18 of them more than once. His final week of campaign travel alone had him in Michigan and Wisconsin—both recent swing states—as well as Colorado and Minnesota. All told, Buttigieg has campaigned for more than 70 candidates in person this cycle—including 24 House hopefuls in Republican districts marked by national Democrats as top contenders for flipping.
Both itineraries suggest the hustle of someone already running for President.
Democratic strategists say each figure brings a unique constituency to the table. But they share an overlapping ability to inspire activists’ imaginations while also appealing to middle-of-the-road voters who just want to skip past the partisan screaming that seems to dominate the discourse this late in the campaign.
“No one confuses these guys for socialists,” says one Democratic strategist who has pushed for the party to move back to the center.
Adds a second: “These guys aren’t hacks.”
Buttigieg, a Harvard-educated veteran who is a technocrat at his core, has become, along with his husband Chasten, favored advocates for the Democratic brand. Buttigieg has proven an able sparring partner with Fox News personalities, showing how Democrats can go into unfriendly territory and hold their own. It’s why the former Mayor of South Bend, Ind., who ran the Department of Transportation in the Biden Administration, is a frequent mention when Democrats mull their bench for 2028. In August, Buttigieg said he’s “more inclined than not” to launch another White House run.
“One of the things the voters have seen is the loud-mouth guy at the end of the bar is a source of noise but not a source of strength,” Buttigieg said during a swing through New Hampshire for the Senate campaign of Rep. Chris Pappas. “Right now, voters are looking for the strength that comes with discipline and not chaos. People have had enough of the chaos. They want people to get things done.”
Warnock, meanwhile, has made inroads with a different slice of the Democratic Party. Representing a swing state that was not too long ago viewed as deep-red, he is a clear-eyed pragmatist in the Senate, where he has managed to work with Republicans like Ted Cruz on infrastructure programs and has privately counseled colleagues on showing restraint during heated moments. Warnock has maintained his role as the senior pastor at the Atlanta church once led by King, and is known among colleagues as the Reverend Senator. His stump speeches are often regarded by attendees more as sermons than straight politicking.
“We lose elections by the margins of our disengagement,” Warnock said during a visit to another deep-red state last month. “Mississippi is a blue state. It just doesn’t know it yet.”
When asked in September if he planned to launch a presidential bid, Warnock responded, “We’ll see what happens.”
The two men are among a long list of aspiring Presidents showing up for fellow Democrats on the trail. Sens. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Mark Kelly of Arizona have all been popular draws from the savvy and curious members of their party eager to start building for a post-Donald Trump era. Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, and Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland are certainly in the mix. And a pair of Michiganders, Sen. Elissa Slotkin and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, are also discussed.
But it’s Warnock and Buttigieg who are proving to be the most dynamic surrogates for swing-state candidates given their communications skills.
Warnock’s connection with Black voters in particular has drawn the attention of grateful candidates looking to shore up that crucial voting bloc. Last month, he dashed to Detroit to lend his credibility to Abdul El-Sayed, who is locked in a tense and pivotal Senate race in Michigan against Rep. Mike Rogers. “This is not just for our U.S. Senate seat,” El-Sayed said on Oct. 20. “It is for control of the entire United States Senate. There's a reason that the Reverend is here. It's because he really wants to make sure that he's not in the minority for the next two years.”
True. But that’s only part of it.
Could a Democrat Win the Race for the Late Lindsey Graham's Seat in Deep-Red South Carolina?
South Carolinians have elected Republican senators in every election cycle in the 21st century. But recent polls indicate that GOP Sen. Darline Graham is facing a tough fight against her Democratic challenger in the race for the seat long held by her late brother, Lindsey Graham.
Polling by the New York Times/Siena, released last week, found that likely voters in South Carolina are essentially evenly split over whether they would vote for the Republican nominee, who was appointed by the state governor to finish the remainder of her late brother’s term after he died in July and later announced that she would run for the seat in the midterms, and Dr. Annie Andrews, a pediatrician who won the Democratic primary in June.
In August, the Cook Political Report rated the South Carolina race as “Solid Republican,” indicating that the GOP was widely expected to retain control of the Senate seat. But the election forecaster later shifted the race slightly in Democrats’ favor to “Likely Republican;” then, on Oct. 20, it changed its rating again to “Lean Republican.”
The race is just one example of how Republicans are apparently struggling to maintain voter support in this election cycle. Most generic ballot polls show that voters are more likely to back Democrats than Republicans in this midterm election. Other polling suggests that GOP candidates are even having trouble keeping leads in states that are typically considered strongholds for the party, such as in Texas, where most surveys have found that the Democratic candidate James Talarico is ahead—by a narrow margin—of Republican Ken Paxton in a heated and expensive Senate race heading into Election Day on Tuesday.
This trend is also visible in gubernatorial races, such as the one in Ohio, where Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has launched an aggressive and controversial campaign against his Democratic opponent Dr. Amy Acton. The last time Ohioans elected a Democrat to be their governor was in 2006, but the Cook Political Report recently shifted its rating of the race from “Toss Up” to “Lean Democrat.”
Political experts say the battle for South Carolina’s Senate seat is in line with this national trend. They also say, though, that there are local circumstances that have contributed to how tight the race has become.
Why is the race for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham's seat so close?
According to political experts, part of the reason the race in South Carolina has become so close is because the current national political environment is challenging for Republicans.
Historically speaking, the sitting President’s party tends to lose seats in Congress during midterm elections. And right now, the pressure on Republicans is being compounded by the fact that President Donald Trump’s approval rating has dropped to a new low; the last time a President’s approval rating fell to a comparable level heading into the midterms was in 1946, when Harry Truman was in the Oval Office.
Polling shows that the economy and the war in Iran are significant contributors to the public’s dissatisfaction with the President and his Administration.
“That’s hurting Republicans everywhere across the country,” says Joseph Ura, a professor of political science at Clemson University. “You see tight races in places that aren’t usually tight for Republicans, like Texas and in Ohio … so that’s everywhere, including South Carolina.”
On top of that, there are local circumstances at play that were set in motion by Lindsey Graham’s death in July. Before his death, Lindsey Graham, who had held his seat in the upper chamber since 2003 and served in the House before that, was running for re-election and won the Republican primary in June by a nearly 28-point margin. He was widely expected to win the general election in November. But his death “fundamentally changed the race,” says Shannon Bridgmon, a political scientist at the University of South Carolina.
Although Darline Graham is technically running as an incumbent, she has been in the upper chamber for only a few months, so “the race is functioning as an open race within the state,” Bridgmon says. “That—I don’t want to say never happens here, but it’s certainly rare.”
Over the summer, a crowded field of Republican candidates sought the party’s nomination to vie for Lindsey Graham’s seat. But no candidate was able to secure a majority of the vote in the August primary, so the race advanced to a runoff election later that month between Darline Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman. Darline Graham ultimately emerged victorious by a less than 5-point margin.
The primary, Bridgmon says, “created this significant fracture” within the Republican party, as voters were split between Darline Graham and Norman. The divisions within the GOP have become even more apparent as Norman has said that he has no plans to join the Senator’s campaign. He has said, however, that he intends to vote for her.
“There seems to be some sort of dissatisfaction within the party that [Darline Graham] is the nominee,” Bridgmon says. “There were questions about ‘Should she just gracefully finish out the late Sen. Graham’s term and step aside?’ There were some resentments there in some of those camps, and there have even been whispers and, well, rumblings, I would say, about a write-in campaign for Norman among his most ardent supporters.”
Scott Huffmon, a professor of political science at Winthrop University and director of the Center for Public Opinion & Policy Research, says that some Republicans seem to feel that Darline Graham was “ordained” as the party’s candidate. In July, Trump publicly praised her, urging her to run in November even before she had announced her intention to vie for a full term.
Huffmon adds that some of the more conservative members of the Republican Party had not been big supporters of Lindsey Graham because they thought he was “too liberal.”
“Now you have a situation where the most conservative people within the party feel that their voice has been ignored, they’ve had a candidate foisted on them, and that candidate happens to be the sister of the person they had a problem with before,” Huffmon says. “Their internal fight has sort of made this a race that Darline Graham is kind of fighting to win instead of coasting.”
Before she was appointed to finish out the remainder of her brother’s term, Darline Graham had never held an elected office. And her minimal political experience has generated criticism in recent months. She received blowback, including from members of her own party, after a debate against Norman before the runoff in August, in which she said “I’m not that informed on national security” upon being asked a question about Taiwan and the South China Sea.
“She does not have the same public standing in the state as her brother did and does not have the same kind of relationship with the voters in the state that [the late] Sen. Graham had,” Ura says.
Darline Graham is also up against a strong Democratic candidate, according to Huffmon. Andrews is “a great fundraiser” who has been able to spread strong campaign messaging in the state and “gins up excitement wherever she goes,” Huffmon says. Bridgmon points out that Andrews has even been able to secure bipartisan endorsements; two former South Carolina governors—Republican David Beasley and Democrat Jim Hodges—appeared in an Andrews campaign video in which they both endorsed Andrews in the race.
“Democrats are motivated to go against Trump anyway, but they are excited by Annie Andrews, so there’s a whole lot of excitement on that side,” Huffmon says. “Darline Graham is not an experienced campaigner. She’s not generating the excitement among her base that she needs to, and … the Republicans need it doubly so because of the lack of popularity of Trump, so her inability to generate enthusiasm among the people who should be her base is helping this go down to the wire.”
Could South Carolinians elect a Democratic senator?
Bridgmon says that Andrews “still has an uphill climb” to win the Senate seat. A critical question, Bridgmon says, is who will turn out to vote on Election Day: Will Norman’s supporters, for instance, show up to the polls, and if so, will they cast their ballots for Darline Graham, or for someone else?
Ura says that South Carolina is a state that “still leans Republican,” so he would be a little “surprised” if Andrews did end up on top after Election Day. But he notes that this race has taken an unexpected turn, and “will have effects for how Republicans and Democrats both campaign going forward.”
“This race is almost certain to be much, much closer and a much better performance for the Democratic nominee than anybody could have reasonably expected in 2024,” Ura says. “I still think the Republican is more likely than not to win this election, but it’s going to be probably the best performance by a Democrat in a statewide race in South Carolina in a very long time.”
We answered your US midterm questions on the economy, the Iran war, immigration and more
Millions of Americans are expected to vote in the midterm elections, which could reshape the country. What do you need to know before you head to the polls?
The US midterm elections could have an outsized impact on the future of the United States – that’s why over the last month, we’ve been hosting a series of reader conversations on big-ticket issues Americans will see on their ballots.
Democratic and Republican voters have picked their nominees for key races across the US, and our reporting team has been closely following the races, which will determine the balance of power in Congress.
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When You Should—and Shouldn’t—Use AI to Search the Web
ICE rapidly re-arresting immigrants released after winning court petitions
Many are challenging their detention using habeas corpus filings only to be arrested again, in violation of court orders
Immigrants who have been granted release from detention after winning habeas corpus petitions in court are being re-arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The Guardian has identified at least 20 cases nationwide relating to people who were detained after being released on habeas corpus petition in the last year, according to court records, attorneys and media reports.
Continue reading...Как мы обновили огромный корпсайт за 10 месяцев своими силами и выжили: опыт «КОРУС Консалтинг»
Перед нами стоял тот самый шкаф, который годами никто не разбирал. Вроде все нужное, но найти что-то стоящее уже отдельный квест. Мы пересобрали все: структуру, контент и дизайн, а после запуска получили +59% заявок, +37% к повторным визитам и +19% к общему трафику.
Рассказываем, как нам это удалось, почему обычный редизайн превратился в большую перестройку, и почему мы не могли поступить иначе. А в конце поделимся полезными советами от команды маркетинга для тех, кто затевает такую суету.
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Измерить без АБ: эффект от наружной рекламы
Расскажу об оценке наружной рекламы ипотеки в банке, когда простое сравнение «до и после» не подходит, и нужно привлекать аппарат математической статистики
Привет, меня зовут Николай Лыков, и я занимаюсь маркетинговой и продуктовой аналитикой в банках Топ-10. В этой статье я хочу поделиться практическим опытом, который может быть полезен другим аналитикам.
Как всё начиналось
В тот, как всегда, напряженный, день ко мне пришли заказчики из Маркетинга и говорят, что запустили внешнюю рекламу. Щиты находятся в нужных местах, проходимость, а значит, и охват, хорошие. А теперь нужно посчитать эффект. И о‑о-о‑чень желательно быстро, за 1–2 дня.
Читать далееMinisters to hold urgent talks with Poundland chiefs
Находки в опенсорсе: доклады с большой встречи сообщества, конец опенсорса и питон 3.15; октябрь 2026
Всем привет! Очень большой получился дайжест: было очень много событий. Но тем будет интереснее!
17 октября прошла наша большая открытая встреча сообщества в Нижнем Новгороде, доклады с которой уже выложены в посте ниже.
Еще поговорим про Python 3.15 и его фичи, ведь он как раз был релизнут в октябре 2026. Посмотрим, что нам уже готовит Python 3.16.
Поговорим про проекты сообщества. Очень много крутых (и очень красивых!) штук подобралось.
С меня как всегда статья без нейрослопа и ИИ, с вас как всегда интересные комментарии и лайки! А вот тут ссылка на прошлый дайджест за сентябрь.
Погнали смотреть, что у нас в питоне происходило!
Читать далееКак измерять видимость сайта в ответах ChatGPT и почему одна итерация вопросов ничего вам не скажет
Вчера поиск ChatGPT сослался на сайт, сегодня на тот же вопрос ссылки нет. Позиции потеряны? Скорее всего, нет: в эксперименте SparkToro и Gumshoe 600 добровольцев прогнали 12 промптов через ChatGPT, Claude и Google AI, и один и тот же список брендов почти не выпадал.
Видимость сайта в ChatGPT — это вероятность попасть в ответ, поэтому разовая проверка не годится как замер. Отчёт о видимости без числа повторов на вопрос и разброса результата нельзя считать надёжным. Считать надо долю ответов с сайтом на серии повторов одного и того же вопроса и вместе с ней погрешность.
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The Supreme Court could make it impossible to sue federal officers
Let’s say that you’re savagely beaten by a federal officer despite the fact that you committed no crime. Or maybe your home is ransacked by FBI agents who didn’t even bother to get a warrant. Or maybe you’re shot in cold blood by immigration officials engaged in a paramilitary occupation of your home city.
The Supreme Court has worked hard, especially in recent years, to ensure that you will have little, if any, recourse against federal law enforcement officials who abuse their power. In one case, decided about six years ago, the Court’s Republican majority gave lawsuit immunity to a US Border Patrol agent who fatally shot a Mexican teenager in the face.
Now, the Court is poised to finish the job. On November 9, the Court will hear Nielsen v. Watanabe, a case that could eliminate all remaining hope that someone targeted by a federal officer with no regard for the Constitution might be able to hold that officer accountable in court. Among other things, the justices could use Nielsen to overrule its decision in Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents (1971), which established that federal law enforcement officers may sometimes be sued if they violate someone’s constitutional rights.
Bivens was rooted in something very similar to the Spider-Man Rule — with great power comes great responsibility. As the Court explained in Bivens, a federal officer who acts unlawfully “in the name of the United States possesses a far greater capacity for harm than an individual trespasser exercising no authority other than his own.” And thus the Constitution must offer some remedy to people who are injured by such an officer.
But Bivens quickly fell out of favor in the Supreme Court as its membership moved rightward. The Court’s current, Republican majority is so unrelentingly hostile toward Bivens that it is hard to imagine any plaintiff prevailing in a Bivens suit before this Court. The Court’s most recent decisions have described Bivens suits as a “disfavored judicial activity.” In one decision, they’ve said that it is “doubtful that we would have reached the same result” if Bivens were “decided today.” And they’ve instructed judges to reject Bivens claims if there is “any rational reason (even one)” to do so.
In Nielsen, the same justices who wrote these lines are now being asked to overrule Bivens altogether. Even if they decide not to go that far, they’ve already done so much to carve up Bivens that there is virtually no hope for anyone who sues a federal officer for violating their constitutional rights.
What’s the specific issue in Nielsen?
Nielsen arises out of an alleged violation of the Eighth Amendment, which forbids “cruel and unusual punishments.” The Supreme Court has long held that this amendment requires prisons to provide medical care to incarcerated people, because if the prison does not provide them with care, they will have no other way to treat their illnesses or injuries.
The last time the Court ruled in favor of someone who sued a federal officer under Bivens was Carlson v. Green (1980), a decision that allowed the estate of a man who died in prison due to poor medical care to sue prison officials under Bivens. The Nielsen plaintiff, a formerly incarcerated man named Kekai Watanabe, raises a similar claim to the one in Carlson. Watanabe was assaulted by fellow inmates, and received some medical care for “severe back pain.” But when he asked to be treated in a hospital, that care was denied.
He claims that, for months, he “received only intermittent and short-term treatment for pain, often over-the-counter medication,” despite repeated requests for more care. After seven months, according to his brief, Watanabe was finally given an X-ray, which revealed that he had a fractured tailbone and that “bone chips had migrated into the surrounding soft tissue.” Watanabe also claims that he was never given treatment by a medical specialist, and “remains in tremendous pain today.”
A federal appeals court concluded that Watanabe’s legal claim “is identical to Carlson in all meaningful respects,” and thus his lawsuit against a prison health provider could move forward. Though the Supreme Court “has cautioned against extending Bivens remedies,” the lower court explained, “it has consistently maintained that” Carlson is “still good law.”
On the one hand, the appeals court is correct that Watanabe alleges a legal violation that is very similar to the one in Carlson. In both cases, someone incarcerated in a federal prison alleged that their Eighth Amendment rights were violated because the prison did not provide them with adequate medical care. So that does suggest that Watanabe should be allowed to bring a Bivens claim for as long as Carlson remains good law.
Still, the Court’s recent cases tell judges to rule against Bivens plaintiffs if there is “any rational reason” to do so. And there are certainly some distinctions that can be drawn between Carlson and Nielsen. The plaintiff in Carlson, for example, had an asthma attack and died within hours, while Watanabe is still alive and his medical condition played out over many months. The defendants’ lawyers in Nielsen also argue that Congress has changed the law governing suits brought by federal prisoners in ways that make their case meaningfully different from Carlson.
These distinctions are fairly minor. But if judges are really supposed to look for any rational reason to deny Bivens claims, then these distinctions are almost certainly enough. Again, it’s hard to imagine this Supreme Court ruling in favor of any Bivens plaintiff, including Watanabe. In Nielsen, the lawyers asking the Court to overrule Bivens claim that, since Carlson, the Court has rejected 13 different suits raising Bivens arguments.
For what it is worth, the legal debate over Bivens focuses on whether Congress must specifically authorize suits against federal officers before those suits can move forward. The Court’s Republicans claim that the absence of such a law means that no suits against federal officers are allowed (a federal law does authorize suits against state officials who violate constitutional rights).
Meanwhile, proponents of Bivens argue that the 1971 decision merely added coherence to a long line of pre-Bivens decisions permitting suits against federal officials — some of which stretch back to the early 1800s. As the Court said in Larson v. Domestic & Foreign Commerce Corp. (1949), “the principle that an agent is liable for his own torts ‘is an ancient one and applies even to certain acts of public officers or public instrumentalities.’”
But it matters little who is correct about this debate, because Republicans control six seats on the Supreme Court, and those six justices are fully dug into their opposition to Bivens.
The biggest open question in Nielsen, in other words, is whether the Court will take the defendant’s lawyers up on their invitation to overrule Bivens in its entirety. Just a few years ago, a decision overruling Bivens would have been a very big deal. But, in light of the Court’s decisions holding that judges should look for reasons to deny Bivens claims, little of Bivens remains to be further undermined by this Court.
Federal officials already enjoy such broad immunity from suit that an opinion overruling Bivens will probably do little more than rescue judges from the menial task of hunting through legal records in Bivens cases, searching for a reason to rule against the plaintiff.
Livestream: Scaling Agentic Development With Air Governance
Join us on November 18, from 4:00–5:00 pm CET, for a livestream with Viktor Kiselev and Guillaume Garnier from the JetBrains Air product team.
Your developers want to use the best AI agents for the job. As an engineering leader, you need to know who has access, what’s being used, and what it costs. Air Governance brings access, usage, and spend management together in one place.
In this livestream, we’ll explore how to configure policies for agents such as Claude Agent, Codex, and Junie, set spending limits, and review analytics on AI usage, impact, and cost. You’ll see how these settings follow developers across JetBrains IDEs, the CLI, and Air on the web.
We’ll also share practical rollout tips and answer your questions in a live Q&A.
Speaking to you: Viktor Kiselev, Lead Product Manager for Air Governance, and Guillaume Garnier, Product Manager for AI Analytics.
Steve Ellis, frontman of Everlasting Love hitmakers Love Affair, dies aged 76
Singer hit No 1 with pop-rock band in 1968 and scored three more Top 10 hits with them, before solo career featuring collaborations with Paul Weller
Steve Ellis, the singer who found fame as the frontman of 60s pop-rockers Love Affair, has died aged 76. A message on social media announced that Ellis died “peacefully” on 30 October, after “complications from a chronic illness”.
With his stirring, heartfelt croon, Ellis gave voice to one of the most enduring hits of the 1960s: Everlasting Love, which topped the UK chart in 1968.
Continue reading...WSL talking points: Kang could have a problem and how long can Slegers hang on?
Arsenal dropped points again despite dominating while Lauren James had to go off in Chelsea’s 6-0 win at Charlton
London City Lionesses may have lost 2-1 to champions Manchester City, but their performances and league position have shown their European aspirations are far from unrealistic. Aided by Arsenal’s poor start, London City are third in the WSL table and were frustrated to end the day with a six-point gap to the top two after dominating in Bromley. “It’s doubly frustrating, because I think the result was not the one we deserve,” said their coach, Eder Maestre. “Manchester City are more mature. They are more used to it. When you have this consistency and you are very used to playing these kinds of games, maybe you have more experience.” Maestre’s team have a three-point lead over fourth-placed Tottenham and if they continue their upwards trajectory and qualify for the Champions League, Uefa will be forced to tackle the possible scenario of two Michelle Kang-owned clubs, London City and OL Lyonnes, qualifying sooner than they perhaps anticipated. Suzanne Wrack
Match report: London City Lionesses 1-2 Manchester City
WSL roundup: Arsenal stall against Villa despite Russo strike
WSL roundup: James injured in Chelsea’s win over Charlton
Continue reading...‘Sad lost souls’: Taika Waititi lambasts critics after Klara and the Sun box-office disaster
The Jojo Rabbit director blamed the dismal numbers for his film of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel on ‘obsolete’ reviewers’ notices, adding that he works ‘for the people’ – whose Rotten Tomatoes ratings are much higher
Taika Waititi has launched a furious broadside at “critics” following the disastrous commercial performance of Klara and the Sun, his new film adapted from a Kazuo Ishiguro novel.
In a post on social media, Waititi wrote: “This Halloween, let’s spare a thought for those sad lost souls who couldn’t achieve their dreams of becoming artists, and thus settled, and became critics.”
Continue reading...‘Sad lost souls’: Taika Waititi lambasts critics after Klara and the Sun box-office disaster
The Jojo Rabbit director blamed the dismal numbers for his film of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel on ‘obsolete’ reviewers’ notices, adding that he works ‘for the people’ – whose Rotten Tomatoes ratings are much higher
Taika Waititi has launched a furious broadside at “critics” following the disastrous commercial performance of Klara and the Sun, his new film adapted from a Kazuo Ishiguro novel.
In a post on social media, Waititi wrote: “This Halloween, let’s spare a thought for those sad lost souls who couldn’t achieve their dreams of becoming artists, and thus settled, and became critics.”
Continue reading...Sales slump at UK’s largest brickmaker as housebuilding downturn deepens
Ibstock, which has cut production by a fifth, criticises government for delay in help for housing sector
Sales at the UK’s largest brickmaker plunged by more than a fifth over the summer, as it criticised the government for not introducing fresh help for the housing sector faster.
Leicestershire-based Ibstock said on Monday that sales slumped by 22% below its expectations in the three months to the end of September, prompting it to slash production levels by a fifth.
Continue reading...