Obama urges support for Clinton
Barack Obama took to the Democratic national convention stage in Philadelphia to give an optimistic and emotional endorsement of Hillary Clinton that drew sharp distinction between the Democratic message and what he called Donald Trump’s bag of “resentment, blame and anger and hate”. In a Wednesday night address that carried the weight of a valediction, Obama warned that “home-grown demagogues will always fail” and said Trump is neither a “plans guy” or “a facts guy”. The departing president was joined on stage by Hillary Clinton, making her first surprise appearance.
Barack Obama urges US to back Clinton in last big speech
Earlier, speakers shared out anti-Trump duties. “This guy doesn’t have a clue about the middle class,” blasted vice-president Joe Biden, a politician who revels in his blue collar roots. “Not a clue.” Tim Kaine took on the issue of Trump’s tax returns. “Does anyone believe Donald Trump has been paying his fair share?” Leon Panetta tackled the Trump’s call for Russia to find Hillary Clinton’s emails, calling it “inconceivable that any potential president would be that irresponsible”. Michael Bloomberg spoke of Trump’s “record of bankruptcies … and customers who feel they’ve been ripped off.”
Trump walks himself into more controversy
The Republican nominee appeared to encourage Russian hackers to find and publish Hillary Clinton’s private emails. The challenge, issued in the impulsive Trump style at a press conference, is the first time a presidential contender has encouraged a foreign power to break US law. The challenge drew a sharp response from Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy adviser, Jake Sullivan. “She does not view this as a political issue; she views this as a national security issue,” he said.
Donald Trump to Russia: hack and publish Hillary Clinton’s ‘missing’ emails
US mass deportations fuel crisis: report
Mass deportations and inadequate asylum procedures in the US and Mexico for refugees fleeing Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala – three of the five most dangerous countries in the world – is creating a humanitarian crisis, according to a new report. The crackdown is forcing migrants to pay higher fees to smugglers, crooked officials, and kidnappers, and use riskier, more isolated routes through Mexico. Last year, Mexico deported 165,000 Central Americans, while the US expelled 75,000.
US and Mexico’s mass deportations have fueled humanitarian crisis, report says
MH370 pilot’s plotted course
Australian officials have confirmed that data recovered from a home flight simulator owned by the captain of Malaysia Airlines flight 370 showed that someone had used the device to plot a course to the southern Indian Ocean, where the missing jet is believed to have crashed. It is not known whether the simulation was made by Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, but the simulator was in his home.
MH370 pilot’s flight simulator plotted course over southern Indian Ocean
Teen faces jail time over marijuana
Devontre Thomas, 19, faces a federal trial time for possession of a small amount of weed – enough for about one joint – in a case that critics say is a waste of resources and raises questions about how the US Department of Justice enforces laws on Native American territories. The drug is sold recreationally in four states but remains outlawed at the federal level.
Native American teen faces a year in prison for possessing one gram of weed
Putin says Russian athletes are victims
Vladimir Putin has accused the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) of “blatant discrimination” for banning 67 members of Russia’s Olympic track and field team from the Rio games. Putin said the decision had “gone beyond legal boundaries as well as beyond the point of common sense”. The Russian president also called the decision “an attempt to bring the rules of world politics into the world of sport”.
Vladimir Putin says banned Russian athletes are victims of ‘discrimination’
New York veggie burger that bleeds
Chef David Chang introduced a veggie burger for meat eaters. The Impossible Burger is the product of a $80m investment to see if a meat-free burger substitute could convince meat eaters to choose plants over animals. John Falco, a self-described burger snob, said the burger was “close enough and good enough” to a meat burger. “Absolutely, I would eat it again,” he said.
Impossible burger: New York’s latest food craze is a veggie burger that bleeds
Can celebrities shake up racial debate?
In 1939, Billie Holiday first performed the harrowing protest blues, Strange Fruit. It sold more than a million copies. Syreeta McFadden wonders if black celebrities such as Beyoncé, Jay Z, Miguel and Swizz Beats – all artists speaking out for Black Lives Matter – can shake moderates out of complacency. “Black musicians and artists are key partners in dramatizing equality and justice for black citizens,” McFadden asserts.
Can black celebrities shake America out of its racial justice slumber?
The Declaration of Sentiments
Last weekend, the Guardian visited Seneca Falls, New York – the home of the women’s rights movement in America. We asked women there to read aloud from the Declaration of Sentiments, the 1848 riff on the American declaration of independence in which delegates called not only for the right to vote, but for, among other things, the right to custody of their children, the right to equal pay and the right to participate in public life as full equals to men.
In case you missed it …
Ben Child reports on the latest bookmaker prediction that Australian actress Margot Robbie is the clear favorite to play a Bond girl in the next 007 movie. Should we care? Clearly, yes. “It would be nice to think that Robbie has also passed the stage where she needs to take these kind of parts. You would not see Jennifer Lawrence, admittedly an Oscar winner, signing up to play a Bond girl,” Child says. His advice to Robbie: don’t waste your time. Earlier this week, Robbie called her recent Vanity Fair cover story ‘really weird’.
Margot Robbie is more than a ‘love interest’: don’t waste her as a Bond girl
