|  |  |  | | | | | The Guardian World News | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Senate majority leader turned up heat on calls for Romney to release returns as candidate tells Reid to 'put up or shut up' Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has angrily hit out at claims that he paid no tax for a decade, telling his accuser, Senate majority leader Harry Reid, to "put up or shut up". Speaking on Friday while on the stump in Nevada, Romney addressed the claims head-on, stating: "I have paid taxes every year, and a lot of taxes. So Harry is wrong." It comes a day after Reid turned up the heat over demands that the Republican candidate publish more of his annual returns to the IRS – an issue which has dogged Romney for weeks. Speaking on the floor of the Senate, Reid said: "The word's out that he hasn't paid any taxes for 10 years. Let him prove he has paid taxes because he hasn't." So far Romney has refused to release any more tax records other than the two years worth he made public back in January. Those documents revealed that the former Massachusetts governor and his wife recorded an income of $21.6m dollars in 2010. Of that, they handed over $3m in tax at a rate just shy of 14%. The couple's effective tax rate is expected to increase a little on 2011's earnings, when they are expected to pay 15.4% on $20.9m. On both years the rate of tax paid is far lower than the average American. The presidential candidate has refused to release any further records, despite persistent demands from media and political allies of Barack Obama. It comes amid speculation that the Republican candidate paid little or no tax in some years, and that he had squirrelled away vast chunks of his fortune in tax havens such as the Cayman Islands and Switzerland. The latest accusation by Reid prompted a forthright response from Romney during a radio interview on Thursday evening. He carried on the fight Friday with statements while on the road. The Republican candidate told reporters that the claims were "patently, simply false" and challenged his accuser to come clean over who had given him the information. For his part, Reid has said his allegations came from an "extremely credible" source. Keeping the spat alive on Friday, the Senate leader accused Romney of insulting voters over his refusal to release any more tax returns. He also took a swipe at proposals that would see tax relief for the rich extended under a Republican presidency. Describing the former Massachusetts governor as "the most secretive presidential candidate since Richard Nixon", Reid said: "It's hard to say which is more insulting to Americans' intelligence, Mitt Romney's tax plan or his refusal to show the American people what's in his tax returns." Reid added: "Thumbing your nose at the people you're asking to vote for you won't fly in Nevada, just like it won't fly in the rest of the country."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | • Latest triumph is 21st medal in total for legendary American
• Missy Franklin wins third gold in women's 100m backstroke
• Watch Phelps in our brick-by-brick animation The greatest Olympian in the history of the modern Games, Michael Phelps, last night swam his last ever individual race, and won his 17th gold medal and 21st overall, claiming victory in the 100m butterfly at the Aquatic Centre. In front of a packed and deafening crowd, expectant for Rebecca Adlington's appearance in the 800m freestyle, the race immediately following his own, Phelps started badly and lagged dangerously in the first half of the race, but swam a remarkable final 50m to come from 7th position at the turn to win the race in 51.21seconds. As befits almost the final encounter of an extraordinary career, it was an extraordinary finish, concluding with a dead heat for silver between South Africa's Chad le Clos and the Russian Evgeny Korotyshkin, both of whom touched the wall in precisely 51.44, as well as a dead heat for fourth, between the German swimmer Steffan Deibler and Milorad Cavic of Serbia, whom Phelps had narrowly beaten in the same event in Beijing, each in 51.81. Phelps has said he will not race again after these Games, meaning that his performance tomorrow evening in the final of the 4 x 100m medley relay will be his last ever competitive appearance in a swimming pool. "I didn't have a good finish and didn't have a good turn but I am just happy to defend that title," he said immediately after emerging from the pool. "It's a good way to finish my last individual swim ever." The win brings Phelps's medal tally from the Games to three golds and two silvers from six events, having earlier won the 200m individual medley and 4x200m freestyle relay. The swimmer, who claimed a record eight swimming golds in Beijing four years ago, had entered only seven events in London, but failed to win a medal in his first race, the 400m individual medley. Earlier, the Aquatic Centre had witnessed the American teenager Missy Franklin win her third gold of the games in the 200m backstroke in a world record time of 2.04. 06. Britain's Lizzy Simmonds just missed out on the medals, finishing fourth in a time of 2.07.26, behind Anastasia Zueva of the Russian Federation, who took silver, and Elizabeth Beisel of the US. For the 17-year-old Franklin, who has already claimed 100m backstroke and 4x200m freestyle golds as well as a bronze in the 4x100m freestyle relay, descriptions as the female Phelps, inheriting the mantle of her compatriot, seem ever more inevitable. By his own stratospheric standards, Phelps's Olympics had begun with a disappointment and continued, for a time, to be merely excellent. After the shock of the 400m individual medley on the first day of the Games, in which his overhyped "duel" with compatriot Ryan Lochte finished with Phelps without a medal for the first time in an Olympic event since 2000, he could manage only a silver the following evening, when a storming French foursome stole the 4x 100m relay from the US squad in the final moments of the race. The following day, in what was supposed to be his very best event, the 200m butterfly, he was pipped to the line behind the South African Chad le Clos, having to console himself with another silver. That he had just equalled the record for the greatest number of Olympic medals in history, at 19, was almost incidental. He would surpass Larissa Latinyna, the Soviet gymnast who had previously held the record, only an hour later, and his 20th Olympic medal, this time, was also his 15th gold. Another gold followed on Thursday, when he pipped Lochte on the line to win the 200m individual medley. It was as if the great swimmer had realised, at last, quite how limited were his remaining opportunities to show quite what he could do. In an Aquatic Centre that has roared itself hoarse, all week, at the appearance of any Briton, Phelps's reception in every swim has been scarcely less rapturous. He received a personal phonecall from Barack Obama, he revealed on Friday, telling reporters" "The craziest thing was just when I answered the phone and they were like, 'Michael?' And I said: 'Yes.' "And they said: 'Please hold for the President of the United States' and I was, like, 'OK!'" Obama had told him "how everyone is supporting me and is behind me at home, and how proud everyone is of me", Phelps said, before making him promise to tell his mother the president had said "Hi". "It was a good call." The race brought a popular silver for Clos who, as well as claiming his first Olympic win in the 200m butterfly, had endeared himself to the world by bawling from the podium throughout the South African national anthem, even as his father Bert won over millions of BBC viewers in an infectiously effusive interview after his son's win. Clos has been outspoken in his admiration for Phelps, describing him as "an inspiration and role model". "I have all his major races on my computer," he said. "I think I have watched the 100m butterfly Beijing final, when he beat Cavic by 0.01 seconds, a million times. I have it in seven different languages." Phelps, in response, has tipped the 20-year-old South African as having the talent to assume his dominant role in men's swimming. He had given the younger man some advice, it emerged, while the two posed for photographs immediately after le Clos had beaten him to silver, telling him to "live the moment and enjoy it because it really is special."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Judge refuses to allow 10 defence witnesses as lawyer claims women are being tortured with lack of food and sleep By the end of the first week of Pussy Riot's trial, everyone in the shabby Moscow courthouse was tired. Guards, armed with submachine guns, grabbed journalists and threw them out of the room at will. The judge, perched in front of a shabby Russian flag, refused to look at the defence. And the police dog – a 100lb black Rottweiler – no longer sat in the corner she had occupied since the start of Russia's trial of the year, but barked and foamed at the mouth as if she were in search of blood. The trial of the three band members, jailed since March after performing a "punk prayer" against Vladimir Putin in Moscow's main cathedral, has been about more than the charges brought against them – formally, hooliganism motivated by religious hatred. In five days of testimony, lawyers and witnesses have laid bare the stark divide that has emerged in Russian society: one deeply conservative and accepting of a state that uses vague laws and bureaucracy to control its citizens, the other liberal bordering on anarchist and beginning to fight against that state with any means it can. The court is dominated by a glass cage that holds the three women – Maria Alyokhina, who has emerged as their unofficial spokeswoman; Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, whose chiselled features have made her the band's unofficial face; and Yekaterina Samutsevich, who sits in a corner of the cage looking every bit the disgruntled punk. After five days' sitting in the cage, some days for 10 hours at a time, the women appear exhausted. Violetta Volkova, one of their lawyers, said they were being tortured – denied food and adequate sleep. After a week of being dismissed and lectured by the judge, she could no longer hide her anger. On Friday, as the judge, Marina Syrova, denied yet another defence objection, Volkova began to shout. Syrova, her glasses forever perched perfectly in the middle of her nose, answered tartly: "You're losing the frames of dignity." "Those frames long haven't existed here," Volkova replied, seething. According to Pussy Riot's lawyers, Russia has revived the Soviet-era tradition of the show trial with its case against the group. "Even in Soviet times, in Stalin's times, the courts were more honest than this one," lawyer Nikolai Polozov shouted in court. Outside, during a rare break, he explained: "This is one of the most shameful trials in modern Russia. In Soviet times, at least they followed some sort of procedure." In one week, Syrova has refused to hear nearly all the objections brought by the defence. One objection claimed that exactly the same spelling errors were found in several witness statements, implying they were falsified. The prosecution was allowed to call all its witnesses, mainly people who were inside the church at the time of the performance or who had viewed a video of it on YouTube. They answered questions like: "What does your Orthodox faith mean to you?", "Was the women's clothing tight?" and "What offended you about their balaclavas?" One witness said she heard music during the band's performance in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, although footage shown in court showed the women singing with no live instruments. The music was added later to their viral video clip, "Virgin Mary, Chase Putin Out!" "What kind of music did you hear?" asked the defence. "It wasn't classical – and it wasn't Orthodox," the witness replied. The defence, meanwhile, tried to call 13 witness, including opposition leader Alexey Navalny and celebrated novelist Lyudmila Ulitskaya. Syrova only allowed them to call three. The prosecution launched the questioning of all its witnesses with the same question: Are you an Orthodox believer? When the defence tried to ask the same question of one of its three witnesses, Syrova shouted: "Question stricken." The defence knows they are fighting a losing battle in a judicial system that is notoriously politicised. But the media battle remains. Pyotr Verzilov, Tolokonnikova's husband, has spent the trial perched in the seat closest to his wife's cage. He tweets furiously, and constantly checks how often his message is spread. On Friday, three men climbed on to a ledge across from the courtroom windows, wearing white, purple and green balaclavas and shouted "Freedom to Pussy Riot!". There have been reports of imitation stunts carried out in other cities in Russia. "At first, after the [anti-Putin] protests started in December, the authorities got scared that they had lost control," Polozov said. "Now they've recovered and have started to react – and the trial against Pussy Riot is the clear first step." Every day as the trial begins, dozens of journalists gather on the stairs outside the court, repeating a tradition launched with the second trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the oil tycoon and Putin foe, which was held in the same room. Amid the crush stands Samutsevich's father and Alyokhina's mother, Natalya. "My daughter and I had very different views about politics," Alyokhina said. "But this trial is bringing them closer." Putin said this week that the women should not be judged "too harshly". They face up to seven years in jail if convicted but their lawyers took Putin's comments as a signal that they would not receive the full sentence. A verdict is expected next week.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Judge refuses to allow 10 defence witnesses while lawyer claims women are being tortured with lack of food and sleep By the end of the first week of Pussy Riot's trial, everyone in the shabby Moscow courthouse was tired. Guards, armed with submachine guns, grabbed journalists and threw them out of the room at will. The judge, perched in front of a shabby Russian flag, refused to look at the defence. And the police dog – a 100lb black Rottweiler – no longer sat in the corner she had occupied since the start of Russia's trial of the year, but barked and foamed at the mouth as if she were in search of blood. The trial of the three band members, jailed since March after performing a "punk prayer" against Vladimir Putin in Moscow's main cathedral, has been about more than the charges brought against them – formally, hooliganism motivated by religious hatred. In five days of testimony, lawyers and witnesses have laid bare the stark divide that has emerged in Russian society: one deeply conservative and accepting of a state that uses vague laws and bureaucracy to control its citizens, the other liberal bordering on anarchist and beginning to fight against that state with any means it can. The court is dominated by a glass cage that holds the three women – Maria Alyokhina, who has emerged as their unofficial spokeswoman; Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, whose chiselled features have made her the band's unofficial face; and Yekaterina Samutsevich, who sits in a corner of the cage looking every bit the disgruntled punk. After five days' sitting in the cage, some days for 10 hours at a time, the women appear exhausted. Violetta Volkova, one of their lawyers, said they were being tortured – denied food and adequate sleep. After a week of being dismissed and lectured by the judge, she could no longer hide her anger. On Friday, as the judge, Marina Syrova, denied yet another defence objection, Volkova began to shout. Syrova, her glasses forever perched perfectly in the middle of her nose, answered tartly: "You're losing the frames of dignity." "Those frames long haven't existed here," Volkova replied, seething. According to Pussy Riot's lawyers, Russia has revived the Soviet-era tradition of the show trial with its case against the group. "Even in Soviet times, in Stalin's times, the courts were more honest than this one," lawyer Nikolai Polozov shouted in court. Outside, during a rare break, he explained: "This is one of the most shameful trials in modern Russia. In Soviet times, at least they followed some sort of procedure." In one week, Syrova has refused to hear nearly all the objections brought by the defence. One objection claimed that exactly the same spelling errors were found in several witness statements, implying they were falsified. The prosecution was allowed to call all its witnesses, mainly people who were inside the church at the time of the performance or who had viewed a video of it on YouTube. They answered questions like: "What does your Orthodox faith mean to you?", "Was the women's clothing tight?" and "What offended you about their balaclavas?" One witness said she heard music during the band's performance in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, although footage shown in court showed the women singing with no live instruments. The music was added later to their viral video clip, "Virgin Mary, Chase Putin Out!" "What kind of music did you hear?" asked the defence. "It wasn't classical – and it wasn't Orthodox," the witness replied. The defence, meanwhile, tried to call 13 witness, including opposition leader Alexey Navalny and celebrated novelist Lyudmila Ulitskaya. Syrova only allowed them to call three. The prosecution launched the questioning of all its witnesses with the same question: Are you an Orthodox believer? When the defence tried to ask the same question of one of its three witnesses, Syrova shouted: "Question stricken." The defence knows they are fighting a losing battle in a judicial system that is notoriously politicised. But the media battle remains. Pyotr Verzilov, Tolokonnikova's husband, has spent the trial perched in the seat closest to his wife's cage. He tweets furiously, and constantly checks how often his message is spread. On Friday, three men climbed on to a ledge across from the courtroom windows, wearing white, purple and green balaclavas and shouted "Freedom to Pussy Riot!". There have been reports of imitation stunts carried out in other cities in Russia. "At first, after the [anti-Putin] protests started in December, the authorities got scared that they had lost control," Polozov said. "Now they've recovered and have started to react – and the trial against Pussy Riot is the clear first step." Every day as the trial begins, dozens of journalists gather on the stairs outside the court, repeating a tradition launched with the second trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the oil tycoon and Putin foe, which was held in the same room. Amid the crush stands Samutsevich's father and Alyokhina's mother, Natalya. "My daughter and I had very different views about politics," Alyokhina said. "But this trial is bringing them closer." Putin said this week that the women should not be judged "too harshly". They face up to seven years in jail if convicted but their lawyers took Putin's comments as a signal that they would not receive the full sentence. A verdict is expected next week.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Battle for Syrian city appears to be nearing decisive phase with reinforcements continuing to bolster Free Syrian Army Fighting raged across Syria on Friday as Bashar al-Assad's armed forces pounded opposition strongholds after the shock resignation of the UN peace envoy Kofi Annan left the international community scrambling for effective policies. Rebel-held areas of the northern city of Aleppo came under attack from artillery, helicopters and fighter jets, though an expected government ground offensive did not materialise. The UN had predicted on Thursday that an attack was imminent. Battles erupted near the heart of Aleppo for the first time in the fortnight-long battle. Rebels claimed to control parts of the northeast, east and south of the city, but western Aleppo remained a regime stronghold. The battle for Syria's second city appears to be nearing a decisive phase with reinforcements continuing to bolster the Free Syrian Army (FSA) ranks. Several hundred fighters arrived from Idlib and Hama and rebel leaders say thousands more are expected before what they claim will be new phase in the fight sometime next week. The road northeast from Aleppo through al-Bab to the Turkish border is now in regime hands, securing a vital supply line to Turkey. Regime jets continued to soar across the skies of Aleppo as did helicopters. Rebel leaders believe that regime forces would fight till the end to defend the centre of the world's oldest city and are congregating around key government buildings and renowned landmarks such as the Grand Mosque and the ancient citadel in the centre. Video clips posted on the internet showed columns of smoke rising from the Salahedin neighbourhood after an attack by unidentified combat planes. Another image showed a girls' school badly damaged, apparently by shell fire, though it remains impossible to verify the content of the videos. "Fighting seems to have really intensified," reported a local activist who tweets as Edward Dark. "But no side seems to have the upper hand for now." On Thursday hundreds of elite Republican Guards were seen arriving at the city's airport. Food and fuel shortages and the humanitarian situation have worsened. In Damascus at least 20 people were reported killed late on Thursday when mortar shells hit the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in an apparent spillover from fighting in the nearby suburb of Tadamon, where the government used tanks and armoured vehicles to drive out fighters of the FSA. A lack of fuel prevented the transportation of the injured to field hospitals. Sana, the Syrian state news agency, blamed the bombardment on "terrorist mercenaries". Violence was also reported from Homs and Hama in the centre of Syria, Deir al-Zour in the east and Dera'a in the south, attesting to the fact that the uprising has spread throughout the country. Annan's resignation statement that the increasing militarisation of the conflict was making his mission impossible has been borne out by reports of government forces using artillery and air power and the rebels using tanks for the first time to attack a military airport north of Aleppo. Control of Aleppo is crucial not only because of its size but also because it could help the opposition carve out a safe zone across the whole of northern Syria including the Turkish border. The former UN chief blamed the international community for "finger-pointing" and recriminations which had undermined his mission to mediate in the 17-month long uprising, which has claimed an estimated 20,000 lives. But Annan's six-point peace plan, based on a ceasefire that never took hold and UN monitors who could report on killings but not stop them, had been moribund for weeks before he quit. William Hague, the foreign secretary, admitted on Friday that diplomacy had failed but he insisted that efforts to deal with Syria would continue. "Diplomacy has not worked so far, diplomacy has so far failed the people of Syria," Hague told the BBC. "That doesn't mean that we give up on diplomacy." Alistair Burt, the junior Foreign Office minister responsible for the Middle East, confirmed the UK would be providing further communications equipment to the opposition in Syria in the next month. It has already provided humanitarian assistance and other "non-lethal" aid. US media reported this week that President Barack Obama has signed a covert order authorising support, presumably by the CIA, for Syrian rebels, but that is not thought to include weapons deliveries. In New York, the UN general assembly which comprises all 193 member states, was preparing to vote on a resolution condemning Syria's use of heavy weapons and protesting at the failures of the security council, where the five permanent member states have vetoes. The text was put forward by Saudi Arabia, which openly supports the anti-Assad rebels. The Syrian UN ambassador, Bashar Ja'afari, called it a "strange paradox" that the states which were sponsoring the resolution were fuelling the violence. The language was watered down by removing a demand that Assad resign and a call for other countries to impose sanctions on Syria. It still criticised Russia and China – which have three times vetoed action against Syria – by "deploring the security council failure" to act. Ban ki-Moon, the UN secretary-general, told the assembly before the vote: "As we meet here, Aleppo … is the epicentre of a vicious battle between the Syrian government and those who wish to replace it. The acts of brutality that are being reported may constitute crimes against humanity or war crimes. Such acts must be investigated and the perpetrators held to account." Amnesty International urged the Free Syrian Army to carry out an "impartial, independent and comprehensive" investigation into the killings of 14 members of the Berri clan in Aleppo this week. Members of the Sunni pro-government clan were shown in a video, allegedly filmed by the FSA, being shot dead. The FSA described what appeared to be a summary execution as revenge for killings of its fighters, but later condemned it. "Killing captives is a serious violation of international humanitarian law and a war crime," warned Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa director Philip Luther. "The FSA leadership have a duty to end such violations immediately." The Russian defence ministry denied reports that Moscow is sending three warships carrying some 360 marines to the Syrian port of Tartous.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Rolling report: Follow the action from the Aquatics Centre with Paul Doyle as Rebecca Adlington loses her 800m freestyle title
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Police say the 21-year-old shot himself in the head while he was handcuffed in the back of a police car in Arkansas The FBI says it is "monitoring" the case of a police suspect who officers claim fatally shot himself in the head despite having his hands cuffed behind his back in the rear of a patrol car. Chavis Carter died last Saturday after being picked up in a traffic stop in Jonesboro, Arkansas, during which drugs were discovered in his vehicle. The 21-year-old black man had been searched twice by officers, but a handgun that officers say the suspect later used was not found. Questions have also been raised as to how the left-handed Carter was able to deliver a fatal shot to his right temple while in restraints, as it has been claimed. On Friday, the FBI confirmed to the Guardian that local police had shared "investigative information" relating to the incident and that federal agents would "monitor and assess the situation". Chavis died from a single gunshot wound to the head on Saturday night. He had earlier been detained – alongside two other suspects – by officers searching for drugs in the back of a truck they had noticed parked in the street with its lights on. Having found a set of scales giving off a strong smell of marijuana and a bag containing a white substance, a check was run on Carter revealing an outstanding warrant for the Mississippi resident, according to a copy of the police report posted online. The suspect was then handcuffed with his hands behind his back and led to the back seat of a patrol car. It was while in restraints and in the police car that Carter is reported to have shot himself. In an apparent copy of the official incident report posted online by TheGrio.com, an officer stated that he heard a "loud thump and a metallic sound" while speaking to the two other suspects. But he dismissed it as the sound of a car driving over a piece of metal on the roadway. It was only after the two other suspects were sent away that Carter's body was discovered, one officer recorded. "We went to the rear passenger side door, opened it and I observed Carter in a sitting position slumped forward with his head in his lap. "There was a large amount of blood on the front of his shirt, pants, seat and floor. His hands were cuffed behind his back." According to the police report, officers tried, but could not remove Carter's handcuffs due to the position of his body. Meanwhile a small handgun was discovered, the officers said. The incident has raised questions, not least over how officers apparently failed to find the gun on Carter during an initial search. It has also been said that the suspect died as a result to a gunshot wound to the right temple. Carter was left-handed and handcuffed at the time. The dead man's mother, Teresa Carter, has accused police of a cover-up. "I think they killed him, my son wasn't suicidal," she told WREG-TV. "They searched him twice. I just want to know what really happened, that is all I want to know." Jonesboro police chief Michael Yates has reportedly said that the incident "defies logic at first" but that footage from a dashboard video camera and witness statements do seem to back up the officers' account. Meanwhile, the police department has asked the local FBI to assist its investigation. Special agent Kimberly Brunell told the Guardian: "We are monitoring the situation and we have received certain information, investigative information has been shared with us."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Event comes two days after opponents of same-sex marriage turn out in droves to support restaurant amid anti-gay backlash Same-sex couples and supporters were gearing up Friday for a nationwide protest against the fast-food chain Chick-fil-A over the company's opposition to same-sex marriage and perceived hostility to the gay community. Activists planned to hold a "kiss-in" at Chick-fil-A outlets Friday evening. A Facebook page set up to organize the event, National Same Sex Kissing Day, called on participants to visit their local Chick-fil-A's at 8pm ET – and make out. The movement motto, Kiss More Chiks, plays on the restaurant's most famous ad slogan: "Eat Mor Chiken." "We need to show not just the Chick-fil-A company, but the rest of the country, that our numbers are great," kiss-in organizer Carly McGehee said in an interview with GLAAD. "By participating in the kiss-in, thousands of people will get out of the house and show their support for LGBT equality. This is what will make the biggest impact." The kiss-in comes two days after a "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day," declared by former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, saw thousands of supporters form long lines at locations around the country. Huckabee called for the rally on his Fox News show as controversy brewed over remarks Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy made late last month on a Georgia radio show. "I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say: 'We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage,'" Cathy said. "And I pray God's mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about." Cathy made the remarks on the Ken Coleman Show, a weekly talk show in Gainesville, Georgia. Chick-fil-A's corporate headquarters is in Atlanta. We're going to keep an eye on the Kiss-In and post updates here. Organizers have set up a Tumblr page to collect activists' stories and photos. The tagline: Lip-Smackin' Good. These chaps got a head start. Activists have taken to the internet to voice their opposition to the restaurant. Commenters on the Yelp page of an Atlantic-area Chick-fil-A contributed homoerotic reviews, with one pointing out that the restaurant's lockable bathrooms made them an ideal place for a hook-up. The comments have since been deleted. A clash of wits played out on Twitter.
From a Chick-fil-A branch at the Paramus Park Mall in New Jersey, Amanda Holpuch reports: Laura Fram, is a lesbian and a registered Republican, who married a man in order to circumvent discriminatory health insurance rules. She is from Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, and drove 18 miles to protest Chick-fil-A. She said: "I'm here today to lend my support to a possible kiss-in to show that I am in favor of same-sex couples and to show that I don't support Chick-fil-A giving money to recognized hate groups." On the appreciation day, she said: "If a whole lot of people who support bigotry want to get together, that's their choice."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | One-man show gets off to a surprisingly good start before going off the rails when Tyson tries to talk about women he's known Mike Tyson's one-man show, Undisputed Truth – or Undisputed Troof, in his lisping, snuffling delivery – is a very weird production. Written by Tyson's third wife Kiki and directed by Spike Lee, it opened Thursday night on Broadway after transferring from Las Vegas. Donald Trump was in the audience, and the baseball star Derek Jeter, and an odd combination of big men with thick necks and skinny hipsters unsure of what to do when Tyson starts throwing the word "faggot" around. To give you an idea: two of the biggest cheers of the night go up for "I didn't rape this woman" and "I lost 150lbs." Firstly, the show's inbuilt drama – can Tyson carry almost two hours of wordy monologue without a prompter, and the answer is yes. He is slick, articulate and funny, with a broad physical comedy and a wry humour that is totally unexpected. "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn my ass," he says, when describing his rough upbringing in New York's outer borough. Photos flash up on a screen above the stage: of his long dead mother, a "country girl" out of her depth in New York, who drank heavily and let Tyson run wild; of Tyson's "street family", the boys he hung out with, robbing and fighting until, by the age of 12, he had dozens of arrests to his name and going to juvenile detention was "like an episode of Cheers – everyone knew my name". And then of his first coach, the legendary Cus D'Amato, who introduced him to boxing and turned his life round. There are references to Tyson's "low self-esteem" and "addiction gene" and an unintentionally poignant photo of Muhammad Ali, who visited the facility when Tyson was inside and who he aspired, and failed, to be like. Cus told his young protegee: "how you fight a fight is how you live your life", which in Tyson's case would sometimes be outside the rules. D'Amato coached him to glory as the youngest heavyweight champion of the world, and, when he died, left the boxer unprotected in a sea full of sharks. So far so good, and Tyson is charming in this first half of the show, sweating profusely, dabbing his head with a handkerchief and breathing heavily. He engages effortlessly with the audience: "a friend of yours, Don?" he says, when a photo of Mitt Romney flashes up on screen and he teases Spike Lee for shoe-horning in politics. And then it all goes wrong. He would, said Tyson in the opening sequence, have liked to have called the show "boxing, bitches and lawsuits", eliciting shouts of endorsement from the crowd. More shouts when a photo of Tyson with his first wife, the actor Robin Givens, comes up onscreen. They have been divorced for over 20 years, but Tyson seems not to be over it. "Should I?" says Tyson coquettishly, while Kanye West's Golddigger booms out across the theatre. The crowd goes wild and off he goes. Slack scriptIt's not so much that it's offensive; although the wisdom of a convicted rapist making cute jokes about his ex accusing him of beating her up and not knowing the difference between menstrual blood, miscarriage blood and blood from a rape doesn't quite clear under the defense of edgy authenticity. It's more that the script goes slack, Tyson's performance loses its tension and he turns, in this long, long section, into a man shouting on a street corner. Like Alec Baldwin and Charlie Sheen before him, Tyson joins the rank of famous men who mistake ranting about their ex-wives as fuel for art, not therapy. The one redeeming feature in all this is the account Tyson gives of Brad Pitt, dating Givens at the time of the divorce, freaking out when Tyson confronts him. He refers to the actor as "a broken down, bootleg version of Robert Redford" and then asks him for a job. After that it's business as usual. The list of women – sorry, whores, bitches and tramps – who have victimised Mike grows. When he revisits his jail term for raping Desiree Washington it's to rehash his defense and question her credibility. No doubt, he says, he owes lots of women an apology. But she isn't one of them. He complains heartily about all the money he has dropped on his girlfriends over the years. He calls himself a "dumb nigger" and says he hates that word: "I wish white people had never invented it." Then it's on to Don King and more exploitation: when Tyson finally got around to auditing the notorious promoter, he says, he realised he'd been charging him $8,000 a week for towels alone. He deals swiftly with the Holyfield episode, thanking him for his forgiveness, sincere this time in contrast to the "contrived-ass" apology he gave when the ear-biting episode happened. There's a sentimental section on his eight children and how he could have been a better dad to them. The show ends with a dedication to his late daughter, Exodus. People will come to the show for the gossip and celebrity, and it is more than that, successfully prosecuting a character in what its makers no doubt consider "taboo-breaking" style. It doesn't break taboos. After the entertainment, what it does, primarily, is remind us how violent men who hate women attract boy crushes from other men who wouldn't dare. When, during the ovation, Spike Lee stands next to Tyson on stage, he looks like the class geek who can't believe the toughest kid in school wants to hang out with him. Well done.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | • Swiss world No1 beats Argentinian 3-6, 7-6, 19-17
• Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray his opponent in the final It is unlikely the glistening possibility of a golden slam (ownership of all four majors and an Olympic gold medal) blinded Roger Federer in sight of the prize. He is too cool for that. Juan Martín del Potro had no such distractions but, after an heroic effort, he could not survive the examination of a record-breaking semi-final and the Swiss, betraying occasional nerves between breathtaking ground strokes and 24 aces, won 3-6, 7-6, 19-17 in four hours and 26 minutes. The final set took two hours and 43 minutes. Legs held up, spirits soared and dipped, and records tumbled. The match was half an hour longer than the previous longest Olympic singles, between Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Milos Raonic in the third round here. It was also the longest three-set singles match in the Open era, beating the four hours and three minutes of the 2009 Madrid semi-final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Federer has not been detained this long in a single set since he finished off Andy Roddick 16-14 to win Wimbledon three years ago. That whole match, over five sets, took four hours and 16 minutes, ten minutes shorter than Friday's struggle over three. It also exhausted the ink in a colleague's pen; that's long. Del Potro's brutal shotmaking kept Federer deep in the first set, and he grabbed it 6-3. Federer had lost the first set 12 times in 52 matches this year, and recovered to win eight of those. Del Potro had lost to Federer five times in 2012, with only the memory of his win en route to his sole slam victory three years ago in New York to sustain his belief that, on his day, he has the measure of the Swiss. Friday was not quite one of those days and he broke down in tears after his final shot, a weary backhand, hit the net. "To lose this way hurts a lot," he said. "It's very hard to talk about it right now. Everyone has their time. The US Open was my time, not today." Federer was generous in victory: "Juan Martín did so well to hang in there. I don't think I have ever played as long a set in a best of three-set match. It was very physical at the end and so mental. I feel horrible for Juan Martín, but he can be very proud." Del Potro had three break points in the second set, Federer two, and Federer's serve, clicking beautifully in the tie-break, levelled it at a set apiece. Then they got down to business in their contrasting ways. Moving at times like Mrs Romney's horse – sideways with long legs pumping furiously – Del Potro used his extraordinary levers to retrieve some of Federer's teasing cross-court strokes. While Federer's conservatism governed his daring, Del Potro had to fight hard to retain the shape and distance in his ground strokes. Federer could not take advantage of break points in the seventh and ninth games, and snatched another break point in the 15th game when del Potro chose the right shot – down the line with his man stranded – but the wrong execution, and it went long. However, Federer wasted the chance, netting a dolly backhand. Del Potro's second double fault of the match gave Federer another glimpse at 30-all and this time he went on to secure the break when Del Potro mucked up a forehand. Federer was one game away from the final but, unbelievably, when he belted a backhand on to the net and out of bounds, he had lost his serve to love and they were level again. Federer had three break points in the 29th game when Del Potro's backhand strayed long, but the Argentinian scrambled back to deuce with shots that burned the chalk on either side of the oblong, and held with another glorious forehand that clipped the baseline. In the 35th game, Federer had three more break points. This time, he did not blow it. Del Potro did. Serving for the match for a second time, Federer surrendered to the joy of the moment when Del Potro gave him match point – then squandered it with netted backhand. A forehand winner down the line delivered him another shot at victory, Del Potro's concentration snapped for the last time and it was done.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | • Swiss world No1 beats Argentinian 3-6, 7-6, 19-17
• Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray his opponent in the final Roger Federer survived a brutal examination against Juan Martín del Potro to reach the final of the Olympic men's tennis tournament at Wimbledon. The world No1, who won his seventh Wimbledon title last month, needed three gruelling sets to beat the Argentinian, eventually winning a wonderful encounter 3-6, 7-6, 19-17 in four hours and 26 minutes, breaking the record set by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Milos Raonic earlier this week for the length of an Olympic match. It had appeared a shock was on the cards when Del Potro, a former US Open champion, broke Federer to lead 5-3 in the first set before holding serve to take a grip on the match. Del Potro lost from two sets up against Federer in the quarter-final of the French Open earlier this year and the memory of that defeat might have played on his mind as he failed to land a decisive blow in the second set. Federer saved a break point late in the second set and then levelled the match with a dominant display in the tie-break. There was nothing to separate the two players in an exceptional third set. Each man had his chances, both wasting chances to break, and with no tie-break in play the match effectively became a sudden-death shoot-out. Federer had been in a similar position against Andy Roddick in the 2009 Wimbledon final, a match he won 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 16-14 and it seemed a place in the final was his when he broke to lead 10-9, only for Del Potro to break back to love immediately. Eight holds of serve followed but Del Potro looked out of it again when Federer earned three break points at 14-14. Remarkably Del Potro saved them all and held. The torture continued for six more games until, finally, Federer broke again for an 18-17 lead when Del Potro slapped a backhand into the net. Asked to serve for the match for a second time, Federer made no mistake – even if he did need two match points, taking the second when Del Potro netted another backhand. A final against either Andy Murray or Novak Djokovic on Sunday awaits.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Former Minnestota governor Tim Pawlenty, a leading VP contender, was forced to correct his campaign disclosure forms after questionable telecom payments were revealed The touting of Tim Pawlenty as potential running-mate for Mitt Romney has reignited questions over his refusal as governor of Minnesota to release tax returns during a scandal over payments from a company owned by a close political ally. Democrats have been digging into a web of allegations from nine years ago which involved Pawlenty's use of a shell corporation to shield $60,000 in payments from a telecommunications group during his election campaign that were not declared to the state's campaign finance board. The money came from a firm run by a prominent Republican strategist. Pawlenty had until recently been a board member. Opponents accused Pawlenty of accepting an unethical and possibly illegal salary to campaign. The scandal widened because the telecommunications group making the payments was exposed for scamming customers, many of them elderly. Pawlenty is touted as a leading candidate to be Mitt Romney's running-mate in part because his background is seen as a political antidote to Romney's life of privilege. He is the working class son of a truck driver, who knows adversity after his mother died while he was a boy and his father lost his job. But if he is on the Republican ticket, a fresh airing of the allegations from 2003 is not only likely to undermine Pawlenty's attempts to portray himself as the voice of the working man but threatens to draw unwelcome attention to difficult issues for Romney – the pressure to release his own tax returns, the morality of his business practices and the parking of millions of dollars in shell companies. The accusations against Pawlenty centered on payments made to him for more than a year, from August 2001 until just before the election, while he was campaigning to become governor of Minnesota. During that time, Pawlenty: • accepted $4,500 a month from a company headed by a business partner, campaign adviser and Republican strategist, Elam Baer, but failed to declare the income to the state's Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board; • set up a shell company to receive the money, with only one employee – himself; • was formerly a director of, and remained an investor in, NewTel, the parent company of the firm making the payments to him. New Tel headed a telecommunications group heavily penalised for scamming customers in 10 states; • subsequently refused to make public his tax returns on the grounds they were private. At the heart of the allegations was a claim by Pawlenty's political opponents that the payments from a New Tel subsidiary, Access Anywhere, amounted to a salary for him to campaign as a gubernatorial candidate arranged by Baer. Jack Uldrich, then chair of the Minnesota Independence Party – the party of Pawlenty's predecessor as governor, Jesse Ventura – was among those pressing the claims. He told the Guardian: "Tim Pawlenty had a job with a company from which he was receiving a lot of money – $60,000 – and he wasn't doing any work for it. It was a buddy of his who was essentially paying him to run for governor. From my perspective it was certainly unethical and I thought it was illegal. We tried to get him to explain what he did for that money and he never did." A former Republican governor of Minnesota, Arne Carlson, also remains critical of Pawlenty, saying that he was "engaged in several questionable things". "The whole business was very bothersome," he said. "I regarded Pawlenty as a man who used public office for his own personal ambitions and he didn't care how he got there. He regarded politics as a chess game in which you do what necessary to win and hope not to get caught." Months after he was elected governor, when the payments were exposed, Pawlenty "corrected" his disclosure report to acknowledge that during the campaign he received the payments from Access Anywhere. At the time, he described his failure to declare the $60,000 payment as the result of "oversights" and "confusion" over what was legally required. Under pressure, he also released a five-page contract that said he was hired to "assist the company with regulatory compliance issues". But he declined to say whether he actually did any work for Access Anywhere. Pawlenty continued to refuse to release his tax returns by saying that to do so would be to "reward reckless behaviour" by his opponents in levelling allegations against him. Asked by the Guardian if he would make the relevant tax returns public if Romney selects him as the Republicans' vice-presidential candidate, Pawlenty said he would not because they had already been reviewed by the Minnesota legal authorities. "I did present them to the authorities at the time and they reviewed them and issued a public report certifying that all income was reported and all taxes were paid and the claims were without merit," he said. But if Pawlenty makes it onto the GOP ticket, Democrats intend to exploit the issue, which they believe would underline Romney's vulnerability on key character questions. "This year's it's made doubly relevant by the fact that Romney's refusing to disclose and Pawlenty's refusing to disclose," said John Lesch, a Minnesota state prosecutor and Democratic member of the state legislature then and now, who was among those leading the push for Pawlenty to make public his tax returns in 2003. "This calls up a lot of issues the Republicans will have to face. Why they pay a lower percentage of tax. How they make their money. And who they owe when they take money while they campaign. The public needs to know: who do you owe?"
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Aditi Avhad, 24, was killed when the bus slammed into a bridge pillar along Interstate 55 as dozens more were injured One woman has died after a packed double-decker Megabus crashed into an Illinois interstate bridge, hurling passengers from their seats and resulting in nearly 40 injuries. Aditi R Avhad, 24, a native of India, was killed in the crash, Illinois state police trooper Brad Lemarr said late Thursday. Lemarr said Avhad was on her way to Columbia, Missouri. According to her LinkedIn profile, Avhad qualified as a dentist in India and was a graduate student at University of Missouri-Columbia. She also worked as a compliance officer at a student-operated community health clinic at the university. Authorities also did not know where she was seated on the bus, which was traveling between Chicago and Kansas City. Trooper Doug Francis said 38 people were taken to hospitals for injuries from the crash, which left the bus sitting with its crumpled front end smashed up against the bridge support. Rescue crews climbed ladders to reach those trapped inside, while others tended to injuries along the side of Interstate 55. "There was a lot of screaming and crying," said 16-year-old passenger Baysha Collins, of Minneapolis, who was traveling to St Louis to visit relatives. "There was blood everywhere. I was just in shock." Megabus spokeswoman Amanda Byers said the bus was at full capacity, carrying 81 passengers, when it crashed near Litchfield, about 55 miles northeast of St Louis. It left from Chicago and was to stop in St Louis and Columbia, Missouri, before arriving in Kansas City. "We don't know what happened," Francis said. "Somebody reported to us it was a blown tire, but we haven't confirmed that yet." The trooper said 33 people were taken by ambulance to hospitals, two were flown by helicopter to St Louis hospitals and three were flown by helicopter to a hospital in Springfield, Illinois. A string of crashes involving low-fare buses in recent years has prompted calls for tougher regulation. Four passengers were killed in September 2010 when the driver of a double-decker Megabus smashed into a low bridge outside downtown Syracuse, New York. The driver was acquitted earlier this year of homicide in the deaths. Fifteen people were killed in May 2011 when a bus swerved off Interstate 95 in New York City and was sliced in two. Two days later, another bus drove off the New Jersey Turnpike and struck a bridge support, killing the driver and a passenger. Megabus, owned by the British-based Stagecoach group, said in a statement that it is working with law enforcement authorities to investigate the cause of Thursday's crash. "Safety remains our number one priority," the statement said. "The thoughts and prayers of our entire staff go out to the passengers involved." School buses took about 36 passengers from the crash site to the community center in Litchfield, said Janis Johns, transportation director of Litchfield Community Unit School District 12. The passengers were either uninjured or mildly injured and included some children, Johns said. Collins, who was among those at the community center, was on the upper deck of the Megabus when, "all of a sudden, I heard a big boom. It felt like the wheel was skidding. It felt like the bus was going to tip over." The teenager said that when the bus struck the pillar, she flipped out of her seat and landed on a stairway leading to the lower deck. Collins said she could hear people in the front of the bus moaning and crying. By evening, many of the uninjured passengers already had been taken by bus from the community center to St Louis. Others were picked up by relatives, including 27-year-old Megan Arns of St Charles, Missouri, a suburb of St Louis. Her parents made the 70-mile trip to get her. Arns was on the top deck of the bus near the back talking to a woman next to her when "all of a sudden it felt like the bus ran over something really, really big." She said she could feel the bus lose control as it rolled into the median and toward the pillar. "Absolute panic. People were screaming," said Arns, who got away with just a scrape on her head. Arns and 22-year-old Enrique Villaroel of Chicago said passengers began helping each other almost immediately after the wreck. "Panic at first, then total calm," Villaroel said. "Some people were carrying other people off the bus." Villaroel said he also was on the upper level of the bus sleeping when he was awakened by screams. "I flew out of my seat and a little girl flew past me," he said, adding that the child appeared to be OK and he escaped with a few bruises.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Aditi Avhad, 24, was killed when the bus slammed into a bridge pillar along Interstate 55 as dozens more were injured One woman has died after a packed double-decker Megabus crashed into an Illinois interstate bridge, hurling passengers from their seats and resulting in nearly 40 injuries. Aditi R Avhad, 24, a native of India, was killed in the crash, Illinois state police trooper Brad Lemarr said late Thursday. Lemarr said Avhad was on her way to Columbia, Missouri. According to her LinkedIn profile, Avhad qualified as a dentist in India and was a graduate student at University of Missouri-Columbia. She also worked as a compliance officer at a student-operated community health clinic at the university. Authorities also did not know where she was seated on the bus, which was traveling between Chicago and Kansas City. Trooper Doug Francis said 38 people were taken to hospitals for injuries from the crash, which left the bus sitting with its crumpled front end smashed up against the bridge support. Rescue crews climbed ladders to reach those trapped inside, while others tended to injuries along the side of Interstate 55. "There was a lot of screaming and crying," said 16-year-old passenger Baysha Collins, of Minneapolis, who was traveling to St Louis to visit relatives. "There was blood everywhere. I was just in shock." Megabus spokeswoman Amanda Byers said the bus was at full capacity, carrying 81 passengers, when it crashed near Litchfield, about 55 miles northeast of St Louis. It left from Chicago and was to stop in St Louis and Columbia, Missouri, before arriving in Kansas City. "We don't know what happened," Francis said. "Somebody reported to us it was a blown tire, but we haven't confirmed that yet." The trooper said 33 people were taken by ambulance to hospitals, two were flown by helicopter to St Louis hospitals and three were flown by helicopter to a hospital in Springfield, Illinois. A string of crashes involving low-fare buses in recent years has prompted calls for tougher regulation. Four passengers were killed in September 2010 when the driver of a double-decker Megabus smashed into a low bridge outside downtown Syracuse, New York. The driver was acquitted earlier this year of homicide in the deaths. Fifteen people were killed in May 2011 when a bus swerved off Interstate 95 in New York City and was sliced in two. Two days later, another bus drove off the New Jersey Turnpike and struck a bridge support, killing the driver and a passenger. Megabus, owned by the British-based Stagecoach group, said in a statement that it is working with law enforcement authorities to investigate the cause of Thursday's crash. "Safety remains our number one priority," the statement said. "The thoughts and prayers of our entire staff go out to the passengers involved." School buses took about 36 passengers from the crash site to the community center in Litchfield, said Janis Johns, transportation director of Litchfield Community Unit School District 12. The passengers were either uninjured or mildly injured and included some children, Johns said. Collins, who was among those at the community center, was on the upper deck of the Megabus when, "all of a sudden, I heard a big boom. It felt like the wheel was skidding. It felt like the bus was going to tip over." The teenager said that when the bus struck the pillar, she flipped out of her seat and landed on a stairway leading to the lower deck. Collins said she could hear people in the front of the bus moaning and crying. By evening, many of the uninjured passengers already had been taken by bus from the community center to St Louis. Others were picked up by relatives, including 27-year-old Megan Arns of St Charles, Missouri, a suburb of St Louis. Her parents made the 70-mile trip to get her. Arns was on the top deck of the bus near the back talking to a woman next to her when "all of a sudden it felt like the bus ran over something really, really big." She said she could feel the bus lose control as it rolled into the median and toward the pillar. "Absolute panic. People were screaming," said Arns, who got away with just a scrape on her head. Arns and 22-year-old Enrique Villaroel of Chicago said passengers began helping each other almost immediately after the wreck. "Panic at first, then total calm," Villaroel said. "Some people were carrying other people off the bus." Villaroel said he also was on the upper level of the bus sleeping when he was awakened by screams. "I flew out of my seat and a little girl flew past me," he said, adding that the child appeared to be OK and he escaped with a few bruises.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Nonfarm payroll figures are the highest in five months but were not enough to bring down 8.3% unemployment rate The US added 163,000 new jobs in July, ahead of economists' expectations and offering some relief for President Barack Obama as the economy emerges as the key battleground of the 2012 election. Private companies added 172,000 jobs last month, while governments shed 9,000 positions. Most economists had expected the latest nonfarm payroll figure to be around 95,000. The US added just 64,000 jobs in June. While the number was far better than expected it was not enough to bring down the unemployment rate, which edged up to 8.3%. That number is derived from a separate survey and economists said it tends to be volatile but the rise was immediately seized upon by Obama's opponents. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney called the figures "a hammer blow to struggling middle-class families". "President Obama doesn't have a plan and believes that the private sector is 'doing fine'. Obviously, that is not the case. We've now gone 42 consecutive months with the unemployment rate above 8%. Middle-class Americans deserve better, and I believe America can do better," he said in a statement. The labor department said that since the beginning of this year, employment growth has averaged 151,000 per month, about the same as the average monthly gain of 153,000 in 2011. The labor market has slowed sharply after strong gains of over 200,000 a month in the winter, spelling trouble for Obama ahead of the November 6 election. Gus Faucher, senior economist at PNC Financial Services, had forecast a rise of 125,000 ahead of the labor department's release and said he was pleasantly surprised by the news. "This is the best month for the private sector since February. There were big gains in manufacturing, which is always good to see, and in leisure and hospitality." Faucher said the slight rise in unemployment was disappointing but said the household survey, from which the number is derived, was volatile. "One month's figure doesn't tell us much but it is something we will have to watch," he said. Despite the good news on numbers, the headline unemployment rate presents Obama with a problem. "Two years after Obama admin said 'Welcome to the recovery,' unemployment still above 8%," Republican house speaker John Boehner said via Twitter. "This month's jobs numbers underscore the failure of the Obama Administration's policies," tweeted Eric Cantor, Republican leader. A recent Ipsos/Thomson Reuters poll showed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney ahead of President Barack Obama on the economy with 36% of registered voters believing he has a better plan compared to 31% who had faith in Obama's policies. The closely watched employment report comes two days after the Federal Reserve said the economy had "decelerated somewhat" over the first half of the year sent and signaled it would step in if the faltering recovery does not pick up. Weak job growth in recent months has been compounded with other signs that the US recovery is faltering. The commerce department said earlier this month that growth in US gross domestic product (GDP) had slowed to 1.5% in the second quarter, down from 2% in the prior three months, and 4.1% in the fourth quarter of 2011.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Olympics 2012 Women's soccer: Live minute-by-minute coverage as the USA take on New Zealand at the quarter final stage in Newcastle.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Xinhua says thinly veiled comments over China's investment in continent were 'cheap shots' aiming to sow discord Chinese state media took a swipe at Hillary Clinton on Friday, saying she was either ignorant of the facts about the Asian nation's investment in Africa or was ignoring them. The acerbic comments from the official Xinhua news agency come after Clinton, while on an official visit to Africa, appeared to question China's motives in the region. China has poured billions into Africa in recent years, emerging as the continent's main trading partner and a major source of investment for infrastructure. But its presence has also sparked concerns regarding claims of labour abuses and corruption. On Wednesday, in a veiled criticism of China's role in Africa, Clinton told a university audience in Senegal that African leaders should embrace democracy and partnerships with responsible foreign powers as a means of improving their living standards and addressing the root causes of extremism on the continent. Though she did not mention China by name, it's clear that Africans are being asked to ponder their relationship with China. "Whether Clinton was ignorant of the facts on the ground or chose to disregard them, her implication that China has been extracting Africa's wealth for itself is utterly wide of the truth," Xinhua said. Africa has become a major source of resources for China's economy, now the second largest in the world after the US, and trade between the two sides hit a record $166bn (£106bn) last year, a threefold increase since 2006. Xinhua said ties with Africa were rooted in "friendship and equality" and the "friendly and mutually beneficial interaction between China and Africa gives the lie to Clinton's insinuation". It said Clinton's "cheap shots" had a hidden agenda to discredit China's engagement with Africa and "drive a wedge between China and Africa for the US selfish gain." Clinton's 11-day African tour includes Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa and Ghana. China hosted a summit with African leaders last month and pledged $20bn in credit to be used for infrastructure and other development. President Hu Jintao said China would continue to support African nations' independent development paths, in a speech that waved off calls for China to consider human rights and other potential abuses when it made investments.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Speaking in London, Russian president says he hopes the court will deliver a 'correct, well-founded ruling' Vladimir Putin has called for a Russian court to show leniency toward feminist punk band Pussy Riot, calling into question the independence of Russia's notoriously politicised court system. Putin criticised the band's appearance in Moscow's Christ the Saviour cathedral in February, where it performed an anti-Putin "punk prayer" to highlight the Orthodox Church's support for the powerful president. "There is nothing good in this," Putin told journalists at the end of a one-day trip to London. "I wouldn't really like to comment, but I think if the girls were, let's say, in Israel, and insulted something in Israel … it wouldn't be so easy for them to leave." If they "desecrated some Muslim holy site, we wouldn't even have had time to detain them", he added. "Nonetheless, I don't think they should be judged too severely for this," Putin said. "But the final decision rests with the courts – I hope the court will deliver a correct, well-founded ruling." Three members of Pussy Riot – Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich – face up to seven years in prison if found guilty on charges of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred. They have argued that they were carrying out a political protest against the church's support of Putin ahead of contentious elections that saw Putin return to the presidency for the third time amid unprecedented protests. "On the one hand, Putin's statement is without doubt a manoeuvre for the international community, because he is clearly worried and traumatised by the international reaction, as it is out of his control," said Mark Feygin, a lawyer for Pussy Riot. "On the other hand, he is frantically trying to find an exit, so as not to take responsibility." Defence lawyers have likened the case against Pussy Riot, which continued to be heard on Friday, to a show trial. "Every day, the level of absurdity grows and grows," said Nikolai Polozov, another lawyer for Pussy Riot. The prosecution has concluded questioning their witnesses, mainly those who were inside the cathedral during the performance. The judge has yet to rule on whether the defence will be allowed to call witnesses. Among those the defence hopes to call is opposition activist Alexei Navalny, currently facing his own charges of fraud as Russia's crackdown on dissent grows. Lawyers initially said they expected a verdict early next week, but said Putin's public statements on the trial called that into question.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Join Sean Ingle at the Olympic Stadium for all of the latest news as the first day of athletics competition gets under way
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Phil Bryant said the denial of a wedding for Charles and Te'Andrea Wilson by a church has tainted Mississippi's image The governor of Mississippi, Phil Bryant, has said it was unfortunate that a predominantly white church in the state wouldn't allow a black couple to get married in its sanctuary, adding that the state should encourage the union of any couple – as long as it was made up of a man and a woman. Charles and Te'Andrea Wilson said they weren't allowed to marry in July at First Baptist Church of Crystal Springs, a small town south of Jackson. The Rev Stan Weatherford, pastor of the church, married the Wilsons at a church nearby. The wedding was moved after some congregants at First Baptist told Weatherford they opposed allowing black people to marry in the church. "As hard as we work to try to convince the rest of the world that Mississippi has changed – and, in fact, we have – to see an unfortunate situation like that occur is very disappointing," Bryant said. The Republican governor spoke to reporters after he gave a speech at the Neshoba County Fair, an annual gathering in the red clay hills of east central Mississippi. The fair attracts tens of thousands of people, including extended families who live for several days, in the peak of summer heat and humidity, in more than 600 brightly painted, shotgun-style cabins. Bryant, who is Methodist, has campaigned throughout his career as a conservative who opposes same-sex marriage and abortions. He also has close ties to the Tupelo-based American Family Association, which boycotts corporations it believes embrace gay rights. Bryant said the denial of a wedding for a black couple at a the church has "tainted" Mississippi's image. "I'm sure there are very good people of Crystal Springs and in that Baptist church that don't feel that way and are supporting that effort," Bryant said of the Wilsons' desire to marry in the church. "Look, when people want to get married, we ought to let them get married," Bryant said. "We have enough people that won't go and get married. I want to make every opportunity I can for any couple that wants to, to go get married." But when asked if that should include couples where both partners are of the same sex, he added: "I wouldn't say gay couples, no," Bryant said. "I'd say a man and a woman. Let me make sure, let's get that right. When I say couples, I automatically assume it's a man and a woman." In the November 2004 general election, 86% of Mississippi voters approved an amendment banning same-sex marriage. Bryant, who was state auditor at the time, publicly supported the amendment.
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