Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Summer Lee join rally to support Justin Pearson’s bid for Congress
More than a thousand people rallied for Justin Pearson, a Democratic state representative running for Congress, in the wake of four fatal shootings by members of Donald Trump’s Memphis Safe Task Force over the last two months.
Crowds packed New Direction Christian church in the city’s Hickory Hill neighborhood in support of Pearson, who is running in the now-fractured ninth congressional district’s Democratic primary.
Continue reading...Thousands gather outside presidential office for second day, following surprise government reshuffle. What we know on day 1,606
For a second day, thousands of Ukrainians have taken to the streets to protest against the sudden removal of popular and innovative defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, who has clashed with the more conventional military chief of staff, Oleksandr Syrskyi. Several thousand people gathered outside the presidential office after Fedorov was not reappointed in the surprise government reshuffle. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has defended his decision, saying he was forced “to choose between sides [when honestly] what I want most is unity”.
The move, which comes just as Kyiv appeared to be gaining some advantages in its war with Russia, has exposed a troubling flaw in the president’s leadership, and startled senior European officials. As Guardian senior international correspondent Peter Beaumont writes, the move is shocking because Fedorov had successfully leveraged drone and missile technology. “With hindsight, the conflict between the two men and their ideas about how to fight the war was inevitable: between an older – and old-school general – micromanaging a bruising war of attrition against a more numerous foe, and Fedorov, with his tech-driven, more improvisational approach that appeared in recent months to be showing dividends.”
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy on Friday took steps to repair a rift with key ally Poland over his decision in May to name a Ukrainian army unit in honour of second world war fighters who killed Poles. Zelenskyy pledged to expand investigations into those killings by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, a pro-independence armed group, and open intelligence files. Zelenskyy told a meeting of senior officials that improved ties were critical in view of Poland’s help to Ukraine against Russia. Polish prime minister Donald Tusk wrote on X that Poland was “ready for a serious and friendly dialogue on the issues that unite us and those that divide us”.
A Ukrainian drone attack on a logistics centre in the town of Kotovsk in western Russia killed seven people and wounded 24, while more than 370 drones were launched towards Moscow overnight. Governor of the Tambov region, Evgeny Pervyshov, said on Saturday the workers were killed when enemy UAVs hit a Wildberries logistics centre.
In Moscow, the mass drone attack was mostly neutralised by air defence forces, the Russian capital’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said on Saturday, with 64 enemy UAVs destroyed on approach to Moscow.
In Russia, authorities cracked down on dissent, detaining a blogger who criticised President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine, and fining an anti-war politician, a warning to Kremlin critics that Putin would brook no opposition ahead of September’s parliamentary election. The president and the dominant United Russia party are under pressure because of a slowing economy and fuel shortages triggered by Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries.
The blogger, Ilya Remeslo, was detained on Friday on suspicion of spreading false information about the Russian army, the TASS state news agency reported. RIA news agency quoted Remeslo’s lawyer, Sergei Badamshin, as saying the blogger denied the charges. Separately, Boris Nadezhdin, a politician who attempted to run against Putin in the 2024 presidential election on an anti-war ticket, was fined 1,000 roubles ($13) for displaying “extremist symbols”. The case was among a series of steps against Nadezhdin that could signal more serious consequences if he continues to criticise the government.
Russia continued its attacks in the Black Sea, hitting two Ukrainian port cities on Friday that killed three people, Ukrainian officials said. Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine’s maritime export arteries during the war, but the strikes have intensified in past weeks and focused on deepwater ports that handle grain and other cargo.
A Russian drone attack on port infrastructure at the southern city of Mykolaiv damaged three civilian foreign-flagged vessels, regional prosecutors said. One of the strikes, early on Friday, killed two Ukrainians on board a foreign vessel, they said. Another man was killed in a Russian attack on Odesa, Ukraine’s biggest seaport, local officials said.
Odesa Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said a later Russian strike hit a Marshall Islands-flagged vessel in one of the Odesa region ports, damaging the vessel, triggering a fire and injuring four of its 17 crew members. The strikes have led to a partial halt in grain shipments and an almost complete suspension of grain purchases at port terminals, traders and analysts say.
Continue reading...Tondra Madruga named as second victim in deadly capsizing as police continue search for two missing people
Police on Friday discovered the wreckage of a boat that sank this week in the San Francisco Bay after recovering the body of a missing person the day before.
The body was identified as Tondra Madruga, 58, also known as Tondra Miller, the San Francisco medical examiner said. She was one of three people missing after the Volare, a 49ft (15m) cabin cruiser, sank on Wednesday afternoon with 20 people onboard after being hit by a wave and capsizing. The group was on the boat to scatter the ashes of a loved one.
Continue reading...Officials haven’t released additional information about the person’s identity, age or details on when and how they fell ill
A legionnaires’ disease outbreak that has sickened dozens of people in New York City has claimed its first life, health officials said Friday.
Officials didn’t release additional information about the person’s identity, age or details on when and how they fell ill.
Continue reading...Husband of Nancy Pelosi has traffic infractions in California stretching back at least to 2011, according to public records
Paul Pelosi, husband of US congresswoman and former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, is facing a misdemeanor hit-and-run charge after he allegedly crashed into a parked vehicle and left the scene in early July, the Napa county district attorney announced on Friday.
No passengers were in the struck car, authorities said, but the vehicle was left with “major” damage. A spokesperson for the Pelosi family told several outlets in a statement that Paul apologized to the owner of the vehicle and was assuming responsibility for the damage.
Continue reading...Husband of Nancy Pelosi has traffic infractions in California stretching back at least to 2011, according to public records
Paul Pelosi, husband of US congresswoman and former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, is facing a misdemeanor hit-and-run charge after he allegedly crashed into a parked vehicle and left the scene in early July, the Napa county district attorney announced on Friday.
No passengers were in the struck car, authorities said, but the vehicle was left with “major” damage. A spokesperson for the Pelosi family told several outlets in a statement that Paul apologized to the owner of the vehicle and was assuming responsibility for the damage.
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