List of All Articles with Tag 'americas'

The Senate has passed a bipartisan agreement forged by US president Joe Biden and House speaker Kevin McCarthy to raise the $31.4 trillion US debt ceiling after the deal survived a Republican rebellion in the House of Representatives. The Fiscal Responsibility Act, which will also implement new federal spending cuts, cleared the lower chamber with 314 votes in favour and 117 against on Wednesday night. The narrowness of its passage through the House was made possible through the support of Democrats, who stepped in to thwart a Republican rebellion that badly undermined Speaker McCarthy’s claims to control over his increasingly divided party. On Thursday, the Senate rejected 11 proposed amendments before passing the bill 63 for to 36 against. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer will now send the bill to President Biden’s desk for his signature. Full congressional approval was required before Monday 5 June, when the Treasury Department was expected to run out of funds to pay its debts for the first time in American history. Read More Underestimated McCarthy emerges from debt deal empowered as speaker, still threatened by far right Lauren Boebert didn’t turn up to vote on debt ceiling deal she furiously campaigned against What’s next for Biden-McCarthy debt ceiling deal as Senate races to beat default deadline?

Clashes between police and supporters of Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko left nine people dead, the government said Friday, with authorities issuing a blanket ban on the use of several social media platforms in the aftermath of the violence. The deaths occurred mainly in the capital, Dakar, and Ziguinchor in the south, where Sonko is mayor, Interior Minister Antoine Felix Abdoulaye Diome said in a statement. Some social media sites used by demonstrators to incite violence, such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter have been suspended, he said. “The state of Senegal has taken every measure to guarantee the safety of people and property. We are going to reinforce security everywhere in the country,” Diome said. Sonko was convicted Thursday of corrupting youth but acquitted on charges of raping a woman who worked at a massage parlor and making death threats against her. The court sentenced Sonko to two years in prison. He didn't attend his trial in Dakar, and was judged in absentia. His lawyer said a warrant hadn't been issued yet for the politician’s arrest. Sonko came in third in Senegal’s 2019 presidential election and is popular with the country’s youth. His supporters maintain his legal troubles are part of a government effort to derail his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election. Sonko is considered President Macky Sall’s main competition and has urged Sall to state publicly that he won't seek a third term in office. Corrupting young people, which includes using one’s position of power to have sex with people under the age of 21, is a criminal offense in Senegal that is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to more than $6,000. Under Senegalese law, his conviction would bar Sonko from running in next year’s election, said Bamba Cisse, another defense lawyer. “The conviction for corruption of youth hinders his eligibility, because he was sentenced in absentia, so we can’t appeal,” Cisse said. However, the government said that Sonko can ask for a retrial once he is imprisoned. It was unclear when he would be taken into custody. Shortly after the verdict was announced Thursday, clashes erupted throughout the country with Sonko’s PASTEF party calling for people to take to the streets. In Dakar, protesters threw rocks, burned vehicles and in some places erected barricades while police fired tear gas. Plumes of black smoke and the sound of tear gas being fired were seen and heard throughout the city. Those who weren't protesting stayed indoors, leaving much of Dakar a ghost town with boarded-up shops and empty streets as people feared the violence would escalate. “The verdict cements the criticism that Sall’s government is weaponizing the judiciary to eliminate prominent rivals that could shake his rule,” said Mucahid Durmaz, senior analyst at global risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft. “Despite being presented as a beacon (of) democracy, the Sonko cases demonstrate the structural issues Senegal grapples with. The court decision and the prospect of Sall’s bid for a third term in the election next year will fuel fierce criticism around erosion of judicial independence and democratic backsliding,” Dumaz said. Government spokesman Abdou Karim Fofana said that the damage caused by months of demonstrations has cost the country millions of dollars. “These calls (to protest), it’s a bit like the anti-republican nature of all these movements that hide behind social networks and don’t believe in the foundations of democracy, which are elections, freedom of expression, but also the resources that our (legal) system offers,” Fofana said. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide US reopens embassy in Seychelles after 27-year absence US expands slots for asylum app at land crossings as demand overwhelms supply Restoration lags for Syria's famed Roman ruins at Palmyra and other war-battered historic sites

Jeffrey Epstein had unsuccessfully tried to reach out to another high-profile paedophile via a letter that was eventually returned to sender, a new trove of documents about the disgraced billionaire financier has revealed. The previously unreported letter was penned to Larry Nassar, who was sentenced to between 40 and 175 years in jail for abusing more than 150 women and young girls in the biggest sexual abuse scandal in sports history. The letter was found returned in the jail’s mailroom weeks after Epstein’s death, according to the more than 4,000 pages of documents reported by the Associated Press on Thursday. New details in the documents shed light on Epstein’s behaviour during his 36 days in jail, his death and its chaotic aftermath. Epstein, who was arrested in July 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy died in a prison cell of Metropolitan Correctional Center on 10 August 2019 as he awaited trial. The contents of the letter to Nassar were not included in the documents turned over to the news agency. “It appeared he mailed it out and it was returned back to him,” the investigator who found the letter told a prison official by email, according to documents. “I am not sure if I should open it or should we hand it over to anyone?” The documents were handed over by the Bureau of Prisons under the Freedom of Information Act and included a detailed psychological reconstruction of the events leading to Epstein’s controversial death, his health history, internal agency reports, emails, memos and other records. Just two weeks before he died by suicide, Epstein was seen sitting in a corner of his jail cell with his hands covering his ears as he desperately tried to muffle the sound of a toilet that kept running. After once living a life of luxury and comfort, Epstein complained of struggling to adapt to his new life behind bars and called himself a “coward” at one point. He remained agitated at times and was unable to sleep, the documents revealed. Epstein was on a suicide watch for 31 hours after a suicide attempt that left his neck bruised and scraped. He, however, insisted to a jail psychologist that he had a “wonderful life” and it “would be crazy” to end it. The night before his death, Epstein excused himself from a meeting with his lawyers and said he needed to make a call to his family. He told a jail attendant he was calling his mother, who had been dead for 15 years by then, according to a memo from a unit manager. His death came as a federal judge had unsealed about 2,000 pages of documents in a sexual abuse lawsuit against him just a day before he died. That event combined with the erosion of social connections, lack of significant interpersonal connections and “the idea of potentially spending his life in prison were likely factors contributing to Mr Epstein’s suicide,” officials wrote. The documents also exposed lapses in the management of the Bureau of Prisons and the now-shuttered Metropolitan Correctional Center. The guards who were on duty for Epstein that night were sitting on their desks just 15ft away from Epstein’s cell as they shopped online for furniture and motorcycles and did not make required rounds every 30 minutes, prosecutors alleged. The two guards, Tova Noel and Michael Thomas, were charged with lying on prison records after they said they made the required checks before Epstein’s body was found. Both appeared to be asleep during a two-hour period that night, according to their indictment. After arriving at the Metropolitan Correctional Center on 6 July 2019, Epstein complained about having to wear an orange jumpsuit like a “bad guy” and requested a brown uniform instead for his near-daily visits with his lawyers. He said during his initial health screening that he had 10-plus female sexual partners within the previous five years. According to records, he tried to make adjustments to his new lifestyle. He had signed up for a Kosher meal and sought permission to exercise outside. Just two days before he was found dead, he bought $73.85 worth of items from the prison commissary. The items included a radio and headphones. If you are a child and you need help because something has happened to you, you can call the NSPCC free of charge on 0800 1111. You can also call the NSPCC if you are an adult and you are worried about a child, on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adults on 0808 801 0331 Read More JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says he never heard of Jeffrey Epstein until after his 2019 arrest How Donald Trump’s sex abuse verdict is paving the way for countless women to hold powerful men to account Elon Musk subpoenaed by US Virgin Islands in Jeffrey Epstein lawsuit

Donald Trump returned to a familiar refrain on Thursday, insisting once again that he had done nothing wrong even as new challenges pop up seemingly every day for the ex-president who faces a bevy of criminal and civil investigations. Mr Trump returned to his favoured cable network, Fox News, for a town hall-style event moderated by primetime opinion host Sean Hannity, who is now the Fox star probably closest to the former president given the firing of Tucker Carlson, the network’s star pundit. And confronted with a new leaked recording indicating that Mr Trump knew that he was retaining classified materials after his presidential term ended, he once again insisted that he had done nothing wrong. “News broke yesterday there might be a tape recording where you acknowledged that you understood that these were classified documents [at Mar-a-Lago],” the Fox News host began. While asking also if the ex-president knew who had leaked the recording of the phone call, he questioned: “Do you know anything about this?” “No, I don’t know anything about it,” Mr Trump responded. “All I know is this: Everything I did was right. We have the Presidential Records Act, which I abided by 100 per cent.” He then moved on to attack President Joe Biden, before claiming: “I have the right to declassify as president.” The explanation was nothing new. Mr Trump has long claimed that any classified materials seized by investigators at Mar-a-Lago were in fact previously declassified by him during his presidency — though he has shown no evidence of an order to do so. And notably, the nod to the Presidential Records Act was another mistruth. The law does not allow for ex-presidents to retain original copies of presidential records after their terms end without the express consent of the National Archives, an agency that the former president has roundly denounced. Nonetheless, it was a familiar claim for the one-term president who escaped two impeachment proceedings despite bipartisan support for his removal; Mr Trump has long asserted that any investigation or civil suit filed against him is merely the work of his political foes in an attempt to block him from power. More follows... Read More Republicans want Biden to trip up – literally E Jean Carroll, Mary Trump, and Jennifer Taub are co-writing a romance novel Woman interrupts DeSantis speech to claim her son’s murder was covered up in Florida Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

Gov Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign event in Manchester, New Hampshire was interrupted by a woman who claimed that her son’s murder had been covered up in Florida. The woman who made the accusation was led out of the facility where the rally was being held. As she was walking out of the event, the woman threw down a DeSantis hat she was holding and vowed to replace with a hat representing former President Donald Trump. Mr DeSantis made his first swing through the Granite State on Thursday, making headlines at an earlier stop for snapping at a reporter who asked him why he hadn’t taken questions from voters at the preceding event. There were several Trump supporters at the DeSantis event in Manchester in red shirts with the words “Union Carpenters for President Trump 2024” on them. Mr DeSantis trailed Mr Trump by more than 20 points in a mid-May poll of New Hampshire, the first primary state on the Republican calendar in 2024. Read More Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

President Joe Biden fell on stage at the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation Thursday and the White House said he was “fine” after tripping over a sandbag. Biden had been greeting the graduates in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the front of the stage with salutes and handshakes, and turned to jog back toward his seat when he fell. He was helped up by an Air Force officer as well as two members of his U.S. Secret Service detail. Onlookers, including some members of the official delegation on stage, watched in concern before Biden, who at age 80 is the oldest president in U.S. history, returned to his seat to view the end of the ceremony. “He’s fine,” tweeted White House communications director Ben LaBolt. “There was a sandbag on stage while he was shaking hands.” Two small black sandbags were on stage supporting the teleprompter used by Biden and other speakers. Biden has been dogged by questions about his age and his fitness to serve, and his missteps have become fodder for political rivals as he campaigns for a second term in 2024. He has stumbled before going up the stairs and onto Air Force One and he once got caught up in his bike pedals while stopping to talk to reporters near his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Biden’s personal doctor said after the president’s most recent physical exam in February that Biden “remains a healthy, vigorous 80-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency.” Dr. Kevin O’Connor also documented the president's stiffened gait, which O'Connor said was the result of spinal arthritis, a previously broken foot and neuropathy in the Biden's feet. Biden is far from the first national political figure to stumble in public. President Gerald Ford fell down while walking off Air Force One in 1975. GOP Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas, the GOP presidential nominee at the time, fell off the stage at a campaign rally in 1996. President Barack Obama tripped walking up the stairs to a stage at a 2012 event. “I was so fired up, I missed a stair” he told the crowd. President Donald Trump's gingerly walk down a ramp at the 2020 West Point commencement also sparked concerns about his health. Trump, 76, was campaigning in Iowa when he heard about Biden's stumble and alluded to his own episode. “He actually fell down? Well I hope he wasn’t hurt,” Trump said after an audience member told him about what had happened to Biden. “The whole thing is crazy. You gotta be careful about that ... 'cause you don’t want that, even if you have to tiptoe down a ramp.” The audience laughed as Trump recounted slowly inching his way down what he said had been a slippery ramp at the U.S. Military Academy graduation. “If he fell, it’s too bad,” the former president said. “We gotta just get this thing back on track. That’s a bad place to fall when you’re making, I think it was the Air Force Academy, right? That’s not inspiring.” Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Drag shows on US military bases canceled by Pentagon after Republican criticism US retaliates for Russia's suspension of New START treaty by revoking visas of nuclear inspectors Trump and Maga allies mock Biden for Air Force graduation fall

Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma sparked a round of laughter in the a Senate hearing room after misspeaking and snapping “I don’t want reality!” at a witness. Mr Mullin’s comment came during a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) hearing on race and education where he was aggressively questioning a panel of witnesses about whether it’s better to teach the book Our Skin: A First Conversation About Race or the lyrics of the song “Jesus Loves Me.” After Mr Mullin became irritated with a response given by Cheryl Morman, president of the Virginia Alliance for Family Child Care Associations, and cut her off, Sen Bernie Sanders, the committee chair, asked Mr Mullin to allow her to answer the question he had posed. One of the witnesses started saying: “The reality is ...” at which point Mr Mullin cut her off. “No, I don’t want reality, I’m asking the question, which one is better?” Mr Mullin said. “That’s exactly what it is.” Spectators in the hearing room errupted with laughter as Mr Mullin acknowledged that he “misspoke” and then continued with his questioning. The HELP committee was convened for a hearing called “Solving the Child Care Crisis: Meeting the Needs of Working Families and Child Care Workers.” When it was Mr Mullin’s turn to question the panel of witnesses, he pulled out a copy Our Skin — a book meant to teach young children about the history and function of race — and announced that he would read a passage from it. “‘A long time ago, way before you were born, a group of white people made up an idea called race,” Mr Mullin said. “They sorted people by skin colour and said that white people were better, smarter, prettier, and they deserved more than everybody else.” Mr Mullin later said he disagreed with the book “one thousand percent” and suggested it would prejudice children against white people. Mr Mullin, who is a member of the Cherokee Nation, said schools should instead teach the song “Jesus Loves Me,” a Christian hymn written before the onset of the Civil War that would likely violate the prohibition against religious activity in many public school districts. Mr Mullin has frequently made headlines in the last several months for his conduct on the HELP committee, where he’s clashed with figures ranging from Mr Sanders to Teamsters president Sean O’Brien. Mr Sanders has significantly raised the profile of the committee since he took over as chair at the beginning of the current Congress, bringing a range of activists, labour leaders, and major CEOs like Starbucks’ Howard Schultz to Washington to testify in high-profile hearings. Mr Mullin, a multimillionaire business owner who was elevated to the Seante in a special election last year, has chafed in past hearings at Mr Sanders’ treatment of major corporate executives like Mr Schutlz. Read More Trump launches rant after reports of bombshell classified documents tape - live Roger Stone caught on hot mic explaining how he manipulated Trump Trump and Maga allies mock Biden for Air Force graduation fall Teamsters boss boasts about taking on ‘schoolyard bully’ Republican at fiery Senate hearing

Donald Trump surprised a crowd in Iowa by mocking people obsessed with using the Republican buzzword “woke”, insisting that most people cannot even define what it means. The former president has himself regularly used the phrase to attack opponents, and just last month his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, announced the launch of a “non-woke men’s lifestyle magazine.” The magazine, which is called Field Ethos, says that it will focus on “a forgotten lifestyle to those who refuse to conform,” with fishing and hunting articles written by “old-school adventurers who make no apologies for who we are.” Mr Trump’s main rival for the GOP 2024 presidential nomination, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, is also obsessed with the term and has said as president he would destroy the “woke mind virus.” In 2021, Mr DeSantis also signed into law Florida’s “Stop WOKE Act,” which banned college professors in the state from teaching critical race theory. “I don’t like the term ‘woke’ because I hear ‘woke woke woke’—it’s just a term they use, half the people can’t even define it, they don’t know what it is,” Mr Trump said at the Westside Conservative Club in Urbandale, Iowa, on Thursday. During the event, Mr Trump attacked trans athletes, a popular right-wing grievance, calling it a “woke” issue before catching himself. “I guess they define that as ‘woke,’ but that’s all woke. We have to bring common sense back to the country,” he said. Read More Trump news - live: Trump slammed for campaign ad amid silence on reports of bombshell classified papers tape DeSantis news - live: Florida governor snaps at reporter for simple question at New Hampshire campaign event Marjorie Taylor Greene cryptically says the FBI knows who mystery Capitol pipe bomber is Trump accuses DeSantis of faking his own name Oath Keeper who guarded Roger Stone before Jan. 6 attack gets more than 4 years in prison

Joe Biden tripped and fell on stage as he took part in the Air Force graduation ceremony in Colorado. The president dropped to his knees but was quickly helped back to his feet by officials during the event at the service academy in Colorado Springs on Thursday. Mr Biden, 80, pointed to a black sandbag on the stage seemingly blaming it for the stumble. The president did not appear hurt by the fall and continued to stand on stage until the ceremony ended several minutes later, according to the White House pool. “President Biden fell down on stage after handing out the last diploma to the Air Force cadets. He appeared to slip and fall going down on his knees. He was helped up by Air Force officials,” the pool report stated. White House communications director Ben LaBolt took to Twitter to say that Mr Biden was fine. “There was a sandbag on stage while he was shaking hands,” he tweeted. Mr Biden, a Democrat, is running for re-election in 2024 and his doctors declared him fit and healthy after his February physical examination. Earlier, during the commencement address, Mr Biden warned the graduates that they would enter military service in an increasingly unstable world, citing challenges from Russia and China. And he predicted that Swedend would “soon” join NATO, without giving any details of their entry into the alliance. “It will happen, I promise you,” he said, Read More Watch Biden trip and fall on-stage at Air Force graduation ceremony Biden and McCarthy’s debt limit deal went through – but there are winners and losers Biden tells US Air Force Academy graduates their leadership needed in increasingly confusing world Boeing signs alternative fuel deal with Los Angeles startup to cut carbon footprint Underestimated McCarthy emerges from debt deal empowered as speaker, still threatened by far right Senate passes GOP bill overturning student loan cancellation, teeing it up for Biden veto

A Republican measure overturning President Joe Biden's student loan cancellation plan passed the Senate on Thursday and now awaits an expected veto. The vote was 52-46, with support from Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana as well as Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent. The resolution was approved last week by the GOP-controlled House by a 218-203 vote. Biden has pledged to keep in place his commitment to cancel up to $20,000 in federal student loans for 43 million people. The legislation adds to Republican criticism of the plan, which was halted in November in response to lawsuits from conservative opponents. The Supreme Court heard arguments in February in a challenge to Biden's move, with the conservative majority seemingly ready to sink the plan. A decision is expected in the coming weeks. “The president’s student loan schemes do not ‘forgive’ debt, they just shift the burden from those who chose to take out loans onto those who never went to college or already fulfilled their commitment to pay off their loans,” said Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, lead sponsor of the Senate push. The legislation aims to revoke Biden’s cancellation plan and curtail the Education Department’s ability to cancel student loans in the future. It would rescind Biden’s latest extension of a payment pause that began early in the pandemic. It would retroactively add several months of student loan interest that was waived by Biden’s extension. The GOP challenge invoked the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to undo recently enacted executive branch regulations. Passing a resolution requires a simple majority in both chambers, but overriding a presidential veto requires two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate, and Republicans aren't expected to have enough support to do that. "If Republicans were to get their way and pass this bill into law, people across the country would have relief they are counting on snatched away from them,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. ___ The Associated Press education team receives support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Atlanta police have arrested three organisers behind a nonprofit group that provides bail and legal support to arrested protesters involved with a monthslong campaign against a sprawling, multi-million dollar law enforcement complex. Marlon Kautz, Adele Maclean and Savannah Patterson – all board members with the Atlanta Solidarity Fund – were charged with one count each of money laundering and charity fraud on 31 May. If convicted on money laundering charges, the organisers could face up to 20 years imprisonment and tens of thousands of dollars in fines. Bail fund organisers and civil rights groups have warned that the arrests mark a rapid and unconstitutional escalation of law enforcement retaliation against demonstrators involved with the “Stop Cop City” movement. Atlanta activists also fear that prosecutors are planning to indict those arrested in connection with the protests as a “criminal organisation” under Georgia’s sweeping state-level statute that has been used to target organised crime. Lauren Regan, executive director of the Civil Liberties Defense Center, called the arrests an “extreme provocation” from Atlanta Police Department and state prosecutors. “Bailing out protestors who exercise their constitutionally protected rights is simply not a crime,” she said in a statement. “In fact, it is a historically grounded tradition in the very same social and political movements that the city of Atlanta prides itself on. Someone had to bail out civil rights activists in the [1960s] – I think we can all agree that community support isn’t a crime.” The Atlanta Public Safety Training Center project has been at the centre of “Stop Cop City” protests and occupations since its proposal in 2021, expected to occupy 85 acres in a historically and environmentally significant forest area owned by the city of Atlanta. The police training facility in the South River Forest has drawn widespread opposition from environmental groups and criminal justice reform advocates. Police have arrested dozens of people during protests, including more than 40 people facing “domestic terrorism” charges. The Atlanta Solidarity Fund – among similar organisations across the country that provide bail support and legal aid – has predated the “Stop Cop City” movement and provided grants to a number of groups in the Atlanta area. The fund also has provided legal aid and bail assistance to protesters facing excessively high bonds, with some as high as $300,000. A statement from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation accuses the three arrested organisers with committing “financial crimes”; an arrest warrant for Ms Patterson connects a “money laundering” charge to reimbursements from the nonprofit to a personal PayPal account for expenses including “gasoline, forest clean-up, totes, [Covid-19] rapid tests, media, yard signs and other miscellaneous expenses.” In a statement defending the arrests, Georgia’s Republican Governor Brian Kemp called bail organisers “criminals” who “facilitated and encouraged domestic terrorism”. “As we have said before, we will not rest until we have held accountable every person who has funded, organized, or participated in this violence and intimidation,” Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said. The arrests of the bail fund organisers on 31 May comes roughly one week after news of the project’s $67m price tag, more than double the $30m projected cost, and days before the Atlanta City Council’s anticipated vote on 5 June on whether to fund the facility. In a written statement prepared in the event of an arrest, Kautz said that criminal charges against the Atlanta Solidarity Fund “will have repercussions on the ability of movements to create change across the country,” a tactic from “a new playbook that criminalizes the coalition of advocates who are providing financial and physical support to movements.” Fair Fight Action, a voting rights organisation founded by Stacey Abrams in 2018, stressed that “legal aid groups and bail funds are, and have long been, critical resources for those seeking to make their voices heard in their communities.” “The timing of the state actions – just one week before a controversial vote – is not a coincidence,” the group said in a statement condemning the arrests. “Bail funds were integral during the Civil Rights Movement, oftentimes serving as the only path to freedom for arrested protesters. The incendiary rhetoric against and criminalization of these institutions by the Kemp administration represents an alarming escalation of tensions in the face of serious community concerns.” Sherilynn Ifill, former president and director counsel of the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund, said the arrests “demand explanation” from Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and Atlanta Police Department chief Darin Schierbaum. “They may wish to recall that targeting the charitable status [and] legitimacy of groups involved in civil rights organizing has a long and ugly history in the South,” she said. “This is dangerous stuff. It is anti-democratic and menacing to organizing and protest – core protected activity in a democracy.” State Senator Josh McLaurin lambasted Mr Carr for what he called an “attempt to score cheap political points by being reckless with people’s lives.” “This empty, 1990s-style tough-on-crime bull**** is tired and dangerous,” he said. Georgia state Rep Saira Draper, whose district includes the area where the arrests were made, said she is “deeply concerned” about the case and the “grossly excessive” use of a SWAT team and helicopters to make the arrests. “What I do know is weaponizing the powers of the state for political gain is abuse of power,” she said. Atlanta City Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari also said the case deserves “the utmost scrutiny and sensitivity as it moves through the legal process.” Read More Marjorie Taylor Green falsely claims slain Georgia activist killed police officer at Cop City protest Autopsy strengthens case that ‘Cop City’ activist didn’t fire first before being gunned down by police

"I'm not the best person for hobbies," says Dr Rachel Levine. In her 40 years of practicing medicine, four of which were spent running the health department of the state of Pennsylvania, she has rarely had much time for recreation. Now she is not only the assistant secretary of state for health for the whole United States under president Joe Biden, but also the most senior openly transgender government official in American history. More than that, she has taken a strong line supporting trans children and transition healthcare at a time when they are under unprecedented attack. According to the non-profit Human Rights Campaign, 19 states have banned transition healthcare for under-18s, and eight more are considering doing so. Meanwhile, medics and patients – including at Boston Children's Hospital, which established the nation's first trans health programme for children and adolescents in 2007 – have received a storm of harassment and threats. "I know the people who developed that clinic. I know them all personally," says Levine, 65, who grew up in Massachusetts and still speaks with a touch of New England in her accent. "I remember when that clinic was formed... now it's under siege by people with political and ideological motivations. "So we need to support trans youth, we need to support their families and we need to support these expert providers that are providing this careful, intentional care according to well-established evidence-based standards." Levine is speaking to The Independent via Zoom from her office in Bethesda, Maryland, flanked by flags, her white hair tied tightly behind her head. As a four-star admiral in the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, she wears military-style blue overalls modeled on those of the US Navy and Coast Guard. She does not, she explains, consider herself to be a politician. She has never run for or been elected to office. Instead she sees herself as simply a doctor and a public servant, who now has a rare ability to advocate for her community, as well as overseeing public health areas raging from abortion rights through long Covid to the unequal impact of pollution and natural disasters. But politician or not, her identity has made her a lightning rod for criticism and, sometimes, viotriolic bigotry from anti-trans conservatives. Her name is a fixture in online extremist spaces, where her appointment is painted as part of a conspiracy to overturn traditional gender roles. "When I receive that pushback, I sublimate it," she says, using the psychological term for turning a negative mental energy towards useful ends. "I am a positive and optimistic person because I choose to be positive and optimistic. I can be pessimistic and in despair, but that doesn't motivate change." ‘Trans healthcare is medicine like any other’ Born in 1957, Levine attended an all-boy's school near Boston and studied medicine at Harvard and Tulane University, before completing her training at a hospital in New York City where she specialised in paediatrics and psychology. In 1993, in what she has called her wryly called "most difficult transition", she moved southwest to become a professor at the Penn State, a position she still holds today. In 2015, however, her life took a different turn when Pennsylvania's incoming Democratic governor Tom Wolf asked her to co-chair his health policy transition team and then to be his physician general – a job that would put her right in the merciless gaze of national politics and media. Four years earlier, after decades of "compartmentalising" her feelings, Levine had come out as a trans woman in her fifties. Yet although the backlash against trans rights was already in the offing, her appointment was unanimously confirmed by the state legislature, later becoming Pennsylvania's health secretary and leading its response to Covid-19. Her US Senate confirmation hearing in 2021 was another matter. Republican senator Rand Paul asked her whether children were capable of consenting to medical transition, falsely describing sex reassignment surgery as "genital mutilation". All 50 Democrats and two Republicans voted to confirm her, while the other 48 Republicans voted against. "My confirmation hearing was – interesting," says Levine now, with only the shortest pause, "but not unexpected, and so I was able to navigate that." She adds that although she doesn't deal frequently with Congress, most politicos have treated her "respectfully". As a paediatrician, Levine argues that treatments such as puberty blocking drugs and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for under-18s should be treated just any other childhood medicine. (Breast removal surgery is rarely prescribed for trans teenagers, and never for younger children, while genital surgery for under-18s is almost unheard of). "Transgender care for youth is medical care; it is mental health care; it is literally suicide prevention care," says Levine. "And it is based upon a well-established standard of care which continually gets updated, as all standards of care do... "It always needs to be done carefully, usually with national or international standards, and then it's individualised to the patient and the family. That's how we do paediatric care. It is no different for transgender medicine." One supportive adult can make the difference Critics of medical transition sometimes liken gender dysphoria – that is, feelings of discomfort or horror related to one's gender – to eating disorders, arguing that both involve an irrational aversion to one's natural body. Levine, who is an expert on eating disorders, pooh-poohs that idea, saying the causes of and solutions to each condition are completely different. Although young trans people do have worse mental health on average than the US population, she says evidence shows that is not caused by being trans but by the way they are being treated by others – a problem exacerbated by anti-trans laws and rhetoric. "Young people who receive support and standard of care treatment have excellent mental health outcomes," she says. "They have depression and anxiety because they're being harassed and bullied, and they're not being allowed to transition. If you facilitate them being who they are, their mental health gets better." Nor is there any evidence, she says, for a theory widespread among anti-trans activists: that young people are being falsely persuaded that they are trans by "social contagion" from their peers. She describes an often-touted 2018 paper by medicine professor Lisa Littman, proposing that trans children may be suffering from "rapid onset gender dysphoria" (ROGD), as "flawed". A group of medical organisations including the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric has since warned against applying the concept of ROGD in clinical contexts, describing it as based on "unsupported claims" and likely to "stigmatise" trans people. Littman corrected her paper in 2019 after intense criticism of its methods, and the journal that published it issued an apology. "All the evidence really points to better communication and understanding about gender identity among young people, so that they understand who they are and they come out," says Levine. "There's a lexicon, there's a language, there's support. And more parents understand, and there has been more availability of treatment, and there still is availability of treatment." All of those are things Levine herself never had as a child. "I grew up in the Sixties and Seventies," she says. "There was no terminology, there was no internet, there was no Google. And so I did not understand the thoughts and feelings I was having about gender identity." Even though she had supportive adults in her life, she says there was no way to ask them about being trans because the concept was so unknown. "Who are you going to tell? And what would you have said? None of the language was there." Today she frequently touts a study by The Trevor Project, an American LGBT+ support charity, showing that having even one adult in their life who supports their gender identity can meaningfully lower a young trans person's likelihood of attempting suicide. It is why she is so concerned about Florida's so-called "Don't Say Gay" law and other similar laws, which ban teachers from discussing LGBT+ issues in public schools. "That one supportive adult might be a parent or a relative, but it might not," says Levine. "It might be a teacher, or a coach, or guidance counsellor, or someone else in the community that makes that difference... "[Florida's law] makes it so difficult for a young person to be able to talk to, potentially, that teacher or that coach or that guidance counsellor, because that person then has to immediately tell the young person's parents by that state law." While Republican state legislators seek to pass laws that would make it more difficult for trans people to get healthcare, work in education, or exist in public, a few figures have explicitly called for violence. One GOP candidate last year called for supporters of trans rights to be tried and executed for treason, while a conservative pastor said LGBT+ people should be “lined up against the wall and shot in the back of the head”. ‘Most people in the country don’t hate us’ Some trans people and supporters see all this as a potential precursor to genocide, accusing opponents of wanting to "eliminate" trans people from society by making transition all but impossible. Machaela Cavanaugh, a progressive state legislator in Nebraska, told The Independent last month that trans healthcare bans were a form of "extermination". Does Levine agree? "I would not characterise it as that," she says, although she adds: "I understand the feelings of people who say that, given the hateful rhetoric and the laws and actions being taken." There are many people in the public who have been misled, and I think they are able to be educated about the truth Rachel Levine She likewise rejects the more adversarial approach to fighting for LGBT+ rights that is pithily summarised in the slogan "the first Pride parade was a riot". Instead she sees Pride Month as an opportunity for "advocacy" – for trans people to tell their stories and help educate those who do not understand their lives. The reason, she claims, is that true bigots are merely a "vocal minority", part of a coordinated campaign by conservative think tanks and politicians who lost the argument against gay marriage and are now looking for the next "wedge issue" to divide the electorate. "We're probably not going to change their minds," she says. "But then there are many people in the public who have been misled, and I think they are able to be educated about the truth." She cites the trans author Jennifer Finney Boylan, who wrote that "it's impossible to hate anyone whose story you know", as well as the Jedi master Yoda, who intoned: "Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering." In other words, people fear what they don't understand – and if they understand more about actual trans people rather than the demonic caricatures of anti-trans invective, they won't go down that path. "I think this is a significant setback, which happens on the road to equality and fairness and freedom. We have seen this in many other times," she says. "So I do not think it will stand, and I think the wheel will turn. "But I do freely admit that it is very difficult and very challenging for members of our community... I think that we are strong, and I think that we are resilient, and I think that we are strong." She pauses for a moment. "But I have to tell you, I choose to believe that." Not all LGBT+ activists feel the same way. Some have accused the Biden administration not doing enough to stem the tide of anti-trans bills, while others have attacked its recent guidance on trans participation in school sports as a surrender to conservatives. Yet Levine is confident that President Biden "supports our community unconditionally", and says there has never been such strong solidarity with LGBT+ people at the top levels of any US government. She cites the President's 13-point executive order last Pride aiming to curb anti-LGBT+ discrimination, the health department's action against conversion therapy, and her work with the Office of Civil Rights to reverse Trump-era changes that weakened rules against discrimination in healthcare. At age 65, she has already seen transgender people go from complete social pariahs, living in the shadows of a society that made no provision for them, to having access to medical transition and at least a chance – sometimes a good chance – of being fulfilled and successful while being open about who they are. So if and when she does have time for hobbies again, what would she do? "I would like to have more time to meditate," she says. "I have meditated in the past and it's pretty hard to add it to my current day, but I have found mindfulness and meditation to be very helpful." Hikes and long walks, too, would be on her agenda. "I used to run," she adds, a little wistfully. "Now I walk." 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