News (old posts, page 863)

Mamdani’s defeat of Cuomo offers Democrats a path out of the wilderness

Mamdani signifies a generational change and rebuke to a party establishment grown complacent and hypocritical

The party was on its knees. It failed to beat Donald Trump, a twice impeached convicted felon, and lost both chambers of Congress. Since November, Democrats have been searching for a path out of the wilderness. On Tuesday, they found one.

But instead of celebrating Zohran Mamdani’s apparent victory in the New York mayoral primary election, the first major Democratic contest since Trump’s win, many in the party establishment went into panic mode.

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New Jersey Democratic representative pleads not guilty to Ice protest charges

Prosecutors allege LaMonica McIver interfered with law enforcement during arrest of Newark mayor, Ras Baraka

LaMonica McIver, the New Jersey Democratic representative who is facing felony charges after a recent incident during a congressional oversight visit to an Ice detention facility, pleaded not guilty in federal court on Wednesday.

Prosecutors allege that McIver forcibly interfered with law enforcement officials in a 9 May confrontation outside Delaney Hall federal immigration facility in Newark, New Jersey. If found guilty, she faces a maximum sentence of 17 years in prison.

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Lionel Messi remains MLS’s highest-paid player at more than $20m per year

  • Messi’s salary more than the payroll of 21 MLS teams

  • Complete MLS salary figures released on Wednesday

Lionel Messi is the highest-paid player in Major League Soccer for the third straight year with total annual compensation of $20,446,667 – an amount greater than the entire payroll of 21 MLS teams.

Messi’s base compensation is $12m the Major League Soccer Players Association said on Wednesday. His total figure of $20.4m covers his MLS deal, which runs through the 2025 season, and includes any marketing bonus and agent’s fees. They do not account for any additional agreements with the team or its affiliates, or for any performance bonuses.

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The Guardian view on the Nato summit: Europe must take the path of strategic self-reliance | Editorial

Donald Trump upholds the alliance for now, but the era of confidence in US security guarantees is over

There is more to Nato than article 5 of its founding charter, but the alliance depends on that commitment to mutual assistance. Enemies are deterred because an attack on one is understood as an attack on all. That is why Donald Trump’s record of ambivalence has been so destabilising.

Nato leaders, gathered for their annual summit in The Hague this week, were heartened to hear the US president say he is “with them all the way”. It was a stronger affirmation of the alliance’s purpose than the one he had given the previous day. Asked about his commitment to article 5, Mr Trump equivocated, saying: “It depends on your definition.”

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

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The Guardian view on China, Africa and disappearing donkeys: an unexpected crisis offers a clue to perils ahead | Editorial

The surging export of hides created domestic tensions – and shows how globalisation plays out in unexpected ways

What can help to protect women’s health, boost the incomes of impoverished families and thus allow girls to avoid early marriage? What – when it disappears – can set back children’s education, damage mental wellbeing, drive conflict within communities and become a vector for racial hatred?

The humble donkey has rarely been in the spotlight. Yet Chinese demand for its skin proved so destabilising that African governments agreed to a continent-wide ban on the slaughter of the animal for its hide last year. This week, officials are meeting in Ivory Coast to discuss implementation.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

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Mexico’s president threatens to sue over SpaceX debris from rocket explosions

Company’s Starbase launch site in Texas near the Mexican border has seen test failures resulting in large explosions

Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has threatened legal action over falling debris and contamination from billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket launches across the border in the United States.

Mexico’s government was studying which international laws were being violated in order to file “the necessary lawsuits” because “there is indeed contamination”, Sheinbaum told her morning news conference on Wednesday.

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