400 years since slavery: a timeline of American history. Many Americans’ introduction to US history is the arrival of 102 passengers on the Mayflower in 1620.
But a year earlier, 20 enslaved Africans were brought to the British colonies against their will. As John Rolfe noted in a letter in 1619, “20 and odd negroes” were brought by a Dutch ship to the nascent British colonies, arriving at what is now Fort Hampton, then Point Comfort, in Virginia. Though enslaved Africans had been part of Portuguese, Spanish, French and British history across the Americas since the 16th century, the captives who landed in Virginia were probably the first slaves to arrive into what would become the United States 150 years later.
Four hundred years on, the captives’ arrival has informed nearly every major moment in American history, even if that history has been framed around anyone but Africans and African Americans. In 1992, Toni Morrison told the Guardian: “In this country, American means white. Macron accuses English-language media of 'legitimising' violence in France. Facing protests in the Muslim world over his response to terror attacks in France, President Emmanuel Macron phoned a New York Times media columnist to rail against “bias” in the English-language media and accuse some newspapers of “legitimising this violence”.
Trump impeachment inquiry sparks 'bedlam' at Fox News. Donald Trump’s impeachment inquiry is causing chaos at Fox News, with reports of “management bedlam” as hosts battle over how to approach a political drama that threatens its ratings as well as its valuable presidential TV star.
Fractures in coverage of the Ukraine whistleblower report were publicly exposed in on-air dispute between afternoon anchor Shepard Smith and prime-time host Tucker Carlson. On Tuesday, the semi-moderate Smith invited Judge Andrew Napolitano, a legal analyst, on to his show. Napolitano suggested Trump had committed a “crime” by pressuring Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to consider investigating former vice-president and current Democratic 2020 hopeful Joe Biden and his son Hunter. “It is a crime for the president to solicit aid for his campaign from a foreign government,” Napolitano said.
All you need to know about Roblox. Roblox may not be as famous a children’s game as Fortnite or Minecraft, but it recently announced that it has more than 100 million active monthly players.
It has flown more under the media radar than those rivals, leaving parents whose children are now asking to play it (or playing it without asking) in need of a primer. What is Roblox? It’s not a single game, but rather a collection of more than 50m games, all created by its community of players. German police detain 'French Spiderman' after Frankfurt feat. Amber Guyger was justified in shooting black man, Dallas ex-police chief says. 'It's heartbreaking': a coastal community watches its beach wash away. Noel Burns started work on Stockton beach as a council lifeguard in 1971 and spent 37 years with his eyes fixed on the surf and the sand.
“Mate, I’m broken-hearted,” says the 70-year-old. “It’s terrible what it looks like now. They have been studying this [erosion] for 20 years but nothing is getting done. Everyone is getting angry now.” Stockton beach in New South Wales is being washed away by dramatic coastal erosion which has already claimed a childcare centre, and the community is now demanding emergency action from the state government. ‘You broke our glacier’: the Mont Blanc resort on the climate frontline.
Mercedes F1 team sack four over racist bullying of Muslim colleague. Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes team have sacked four of their staff members and disciplined three more for racist bullying.
The team launched an inquiry into racism at their Northamptonshire headquarters in July and concluded that the four men had breached their equality policy. They were dismissed on 2 August and their final appeal was held last week. The Sun newspaper reported on Saturday that the abuse at the Brackley site included a member of staff allegedly being referred to as a “Muslim terrorist fuck”. During Ramadan the sacked workers, believed to be from the IT department, were reported as putting up a poll on which they signed and dated guesses of when their co-worker would break his fast. UK weather forecasters warn of torrential rain and gales. Torrential rain and strong winds are expected across the UK this weekend, with forecasters issuing 25 flood alerts.
The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning from 6pm on Saturday to 5pm on Sunday and warned of persistent rain and a risk of flooding across the north-west and south-west of England and Wales. The flood alerts, which warn people to be prepared for possible flooding, were issued mainly for north-west and south-west England, with eight in force for Wales. No police action over Farage vow to 'take knife' to Whitehall. Teachers feel they are ‘punchbags’ for parents over Brexit. Teachers are being “used as punchbags” for families to vent their frustration over Brexit, schools have warned.
Teachers have told the Observer they are experiencing a wave of confrontations with angry and anxious parents, while pupils as young as six are coming into school scared and confused. Over the past year schools have started discussing Brexit in classrooms and assemblies as teachers seek to reduce tensions in the playground and reassure children who may have misunderstood what they have seen or heard on the news. There is little teachers can do, however, to placate parents who are feeling extremely frustrated about Brexit. “Ever since the referendum result was announced, levels of anger have slowly been building among parents,” said Anthony White, headteacher at Pound Hill Junior School in Crawley, Sussex.
When the UK failed to leave the EU by the original deadline of 29 March, tensions rose. Trump acts as if he is above the law. The law has begun to fight back. Nancy Pelosi’s decision to begin a formal impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump, following reports that he used the power of his office to solicit interference by a foreign government in the 2020 US election, makes him only the fourth president in US history to have this notable distinction, with Bill Clinton in 1998, Richard Nixon in 1973 and Andrew Johnson in 1868.
The picture changes by the hour, but the main story concerns Trump’s apparent offer to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to unfreeze $40m in (Congress-approved) military aid if he would investigate Joe Biden, the current frontrunner in the Democratic primaries. The conversation so shocked a member of the intelligence community that they filed an official whistleblower complaint. End front-page falsehoods and regain the public’s trust. The postmortem on how we got ourselves into this mess will be long and complex.
But at its heart will lie this simple proposition: good democracy relies on good information. What does “good information” look like? We might say: information that is not only true but also believed. And therein lies the problem. We’re no longer very willing to believe almost anybody. The Observer view: MPs must move soon to end Johnson’s toxic rule. A prime minister’s job is to speak for the nation. And in his first speech in his new job, that is exactly what Boris Johnson pledged to do. But every action he has taken since entering Downing Street has made those words ring hollow. The Observer view: MPs must move soon to end Johnson’s toxic rule. How Lady Hale’s giant spider brooch sent the web into a spin.
The past month has seen fashion weeks in London, New York, Paris and Milan. It has seen J-Lo on the Versace catwalk. But for many in fashion, the standout memory is of the 74-year-old president of the supreme court. The spider brooch Lady Hale was wearing as she declared Boris Johnson’s prorogation of parliament “void and of no effect” has become a fashion phenomenon, with fans of the baroness immediately seeking to imitate her. Search engine Lyst reports that “spider brooch” has been a breakout search term in the UK since 24 September, with searches for brooches in general, but particularly animal shapes, up 126%. After Vogue declared Hale’s brooch “maximalist perfection”, shoppers have been seeking out brooches as close as possible to that arachnid accessory. Andreas Kronthaler hints at end to fashion weeks for label. In Westminster, MPs felt Brexit fury. At home they see hate rising.
Shortly after 1pm on Friday, detectives left the ground-floor offices of the Labour MP for Dewsbury. After talking to Paula Sherriff for more than an hour, West Yorkshire police launched three separate investigations into death threats made against her. Maitlis: BBC 'looks out of touch' over Munchetty decision. Two men in critical condition after east London shooting. Death threats made to owners of London bus maker that folded. The family that owns the ailing Wrightbus firm has faced death threats since it collapsed, a former company director said. Two men in critical condition after east London shooting. Atlético Madrid 0-0 Real Madrid: La Liga – as it happened. Sustainability expert Michael Mobbs: I’m leaving the city to prep for the apocalypse. Texas officer who made headlines for his turban and beard killed in traffic stop. A Texas police officer who made headlines for being one of the first to wear traditional articles of faith as part of his uniform was killed during a routine traffic stop on Friday.
Graham prepares Trump defence as impeachment fury intensifies. Speaker John Bercow summons party leaders to peace talks. Commons Speaker John Bercow has summoned party leaders to an emergency meeting on the growing use of inflammatory language in Westminster, amid concerns that MPs are facing an increasing safety risk before a potential election. Michel Barnier: Boris Johnson’s behaviour has ‘limited the chance’ of a Brexit deal. Jennifer Arcuri’s mystery £700,000 loan adds to pressure on Johnson.
Brexit countdown: inside Boris Johnson’s terrible week. Johnson ‘whipping up riot fears to avoid Brexit extension’