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U.S Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Waden, ends constitutional right to abortion - Reuters - June 24, 2022 (article + video)

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U.S Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Waden, ends constitutional right to abortion - Reuters - June 24, 2022 (article + video)

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U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, ends constitutional right to abortion

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The ruling hands a victory to Republicans and religious conservatives who want to limit or ban the procedure. Protesters gathered across the nation and President Biden said empowering states to ban abortion makes the U.S. an outlier among developed nations on protecting reproductive rights.

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The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Central Weekend 2022 - June 2022

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The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Central Weekend 2022 - June 2022

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The Queen's Platinum Jubilee: Best Moments - The Independent - June 2022 (video)

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The Queen's Platinum Jubilee: Best Moments - The Independent - June 2022 (video)

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The Queen's Platinum Jubilee: the best moments of the weekend celebrations

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The Queen's Jubilee - Dave Granlund USA - June 2022 - (Cartoon)

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The Queen's Jubilee - Dave Granlund USA - June 2022 - (Cartoon)

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BONUS Discover the Queen's secret message - The Queen's Jubilee Animation - June 2022 (video)

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BONUS Discover the Queen's secret message - The Queen's Jubilee Animation - June 2022 (video)

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The Queen's Jubilee | Platinum Jubilee 2022  | 2D Animation

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Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, ending right to abortion upheld for decades - NPR - June 24, 2022

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Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, ending right to abortion upheld for decades - NPR - June 24, 2022

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In a historic and far-reaching decision, the U.S. Supreme Court officially reversed Roe v. Wade on Friday, declaring that the constitutional right to abortion, upheld for nearly a half century, no longer exists.

Writing for the court majority, Justice Samuel Alito said that the 1973 Roe ruling and repeated subsequent high court decisions reaffirming Roe "must be overruled" because they were "egregiously wrong," the arguments "exceptionally weak" and so "damaging" that they amounted to "an abuse of judicial authority."

The decision, most of which was leaked in early May, means that abortion rights will be rolled back in nearly half of the states immediately, with more restrictions likely to follow. For all practical purposes, abortion will not be available in large swaths of the country. The decision may well mean too that the court itself, as well as the abortion question, will become a focal point in the upcoming fall elections and in the fall and thereafter.

Joining the Alito opinion were Justice Clarence Thomas, appointed by the first President Bush, and the three Trump appointees - Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Chief Justice John Roberts, appointed by President George W. Bush, concurred in the judgment only, and would have limited the decision to upholding the Mississippi law at issue in the case, which banned abortions after 15 weeks. Calling the decision "a serious jolt to the legal system," he said that both the majority and dissent displayed "a relentless freedom from doubt on the legal issue that I cannot share."

Dissenting were Justices Stephen Breyer, appointed by President Clinton, and Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, appointed by President Obama. The said that the court decision means that "young women today will come of age with fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers." Indeed, they said the court's opinion means that "from the very moment of fertilization, a woman has no rights to speak of. A state can force her to bring a pregnancy to term even at the steepest personal and familial costs."

"With sorrow - for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection - we dissent," they wrote.

Alito's opinion is a tour de force of the various criticisms of Roe that have long existed in academia

Alito's 78-page opinion, which has a 30-page appendix, seemingly leaves no authority uncited as support for the proposition that there is no inherent right to privacy or personal autonomy in various provisions of the Constitution - and similarly, no evidence that peoples' reliance on the court's abortion precedents over the past half century should matter.

Alito pointed for instance, to Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the 1992 decision that upheld the central holding of Roe and was written by Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Anthony Kennedy and David Souter, all Republican appointees to the court. Alito pointed to language in the Casey opinion that he said "conceded" reliance interests were not really implicated because contraception could prevent almost all unplanned pregnancies.

In fact, though, that 1992 opinion went on to dismiss that very argument as "unrealistic," because it "refuse[s] to face the fact" that for decades "people have organized intimate relationships and made choices ... in reliance on the availability of abortion in the event that contraception should fail." Not exactly the concession that Alito described.

It is not unusual for justices to cherry pick quotes but not so out of context and not from former colleagues who are still alive and privately, not amused at all.

In the end, though, Alito's opinion has a larger objective, perhaps multiple objectives.

Writing for the majority, he said forthrightly that abortion is a matter to be decided by states and the voters in the states. "We hold," he wrote, that "the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion." As to what standard the courts should apply in the event that a state regulation is challenged, Alito said any state regulation of abortion is presumptively valid and "must be sustained if there is a rational basis on which the legislature could have thought" it was serving "legitimate state interests," including "respect for and preservation of prenatal life at all stages of development." In addition, he noted, states are entitled to regulate abortion to eliminate "gruesome and barbaric" medical procedures; to "preserve the integrity of the medical profession"; and to prevent discrimination on the basis of race, sex, or disability, including barring abortion in cases of fetal abnormality.

Ultimately, the translation of all that is that states appear to be completely free to ban abortions for any reason.

Near the end of Friday's decision, Alito sought to allay fears about the wide-ranging nature of his opinion. "To ensure that our decision is not misunderstood or mischaracterized, we emphasize that our decision concerns the constitutional right to abortion and no other right. Nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion. "

But in his concurring opinion, Justice Thomas said the legal rationale for Friday's decision could be applied to overturn other major cases, including those that legalized gay marriage, barred the criminalization of consensual homosexual conduct, and protected the rights of married people to have access to contraception.

"For that reason, in future cases, we should reconsider all" of those precedents. because they are "demonstrably erroneous.'"

The court's liberals noted that Thomas's language cast doubt on Alito's assurances at the end of his opinion, that this opinion was really only about abortion.

"The first problem with the majority's account comes from Justice Thomas's concurrence-which makes clear he is not with the program," they wrote. "In saying that nothing in today's opinion casts doubt on non-abortion precedents, Justice Thomas explains, he means only that they are not at issue in this very case."

The next steps on abortion across the country will play out in a variety of ways, almost all of them resulting in abortion bans.

Several states - among them Mississippi, North Carolina, and Wisconsin - still have decades-old abortion bans on their books; with Roe overturned, those states could revert to a pre- Roe environment. Officials in such states could seek to enforce old laws, or ask the courts to reinstate them. For example, a Michigan law dating back to 1931 would make abortion a felony. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, has been working to try to block that law.

A cascade of newly active state laws

Another path to banning abortion involves "trigger bans," newer laws pushed through by anti-abortion rights legislators in many states in anticipation of the Supreme Court's action. Some 15 states - in the South, West and Midwest - have such laws in place, according to CRR and Guttmacher, but they fall into different categories.

Some states will act quickly to ban abortion. According to a new analysis by the Guttmacher Institute, South Dakota, Kentucky and Louisiana have laws in place that lawmakers designed explicitly to take effect immediately upon the fall of the Roe precedent. Idaho, Tennessee, and Texas - where most abortions are already illegal after about six weeks of pregnancy - have similar laws, which would take effect after 30 days. Guttmacher says seven other "trigger ban" states have laws that would require state officials such as governors or attorneys general to take action to implement them.

Sue Liebel, state policy director with the anti-abortion rights group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said she expects officials in many of those Republican-controlled states to take swift action to do so.

"We have been talking to all of those about acting immediately," Liebel told NPR. "So when that happens, let's be ready. How do you get that back into play?"

In recent years, many states also have passed gestational bans prohibiting abortion at various stages of pregnancy. Courts have blocked many of those laws in response to legal challenges, including laws in Georgia, Ohio, and Idaho that ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Now those laws may take effect immediately. So too, could a law recently enacted in Oklahoma, that makes performing abortion a felony punishable by time in prison.

"It will be a tremendous change in an incredibly short period of time," said Julie Rikelman, senior director of litigation at the Center for Reproductive Rights. Rikelman argued the Center's challenge to Mississippi's abortion ban at Supreme Court this term.

A host of other restrictions could limit where, by whom, and under what conditions abortion can be provided. Some examples include laws requiring parental notification or consent for abortions involving patients who are minors; and other health regulations for doctors and clinics that many medical groups say are unnecessary, expensive, and difficult to comply with.

Finally, Liebel said some governors may consider calling special sessions to pass new legislation in response to Friday's ruling.

More legal uncertainty

Legal experts say the court's decision will pose new questions for other courts to deal with - questions about how to apply the specific language of the final ruling to individual state laws.

Rikelman, the Center for Reproductive rights attorney, predicts "legal chaos" in states across the country in the immediate aftermath of the decision.

"I think what we will see is far more litigation in the federal courts - not less litigation," Rikelman said.

Some states such as Texas and Oklahoma have multiple abortion restrictions on the books, raising potential questions about which ones would be valid. Those laws each include different provisions and carry different penalties, adding to the potential confusion and prompting additional litigation in state and federal courts.

Liebel, with SBA Pro-Life America, acknowledged that more legal battles are likely.

"That's gonna take us back, frankly, to where we always have been. Each side tries to put their big toe right on that line and push the envelope," Liebel said.

Battles in state courts are also likely. Some state constitutions may offer protections for abortion rights notwithstanding the U.S. Supreme Court's interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. In Florida, for example, the American Civil Liberties Union and other reproductive rights groups are challenging a 15-week abortion ban modeled on Mississippi's law, on the grounds that it violates privacy rights protections guaranteed in Florida's state constitution.

Even without overturning Roe, Rikelman points to the Texas law known as S.B. 8, which took effect in September. The law, which has spawned several copycat proposals in other states, including Oklahoma, relies on individuals filing civil lawsuits to enforce an abortion ban.

Interstate enforcement battles

Abortion bans in restrictive states will likely bleed over to states that protect abortion rights as well, Rikelman said. She notes that some state lawmakers are trying to prohibit people in other states from providing abortions to their residents.

"What we are seeing already are states and state legislators impacting even people's ability to access abortion in places where it would remain legal," she said.

For example, an omnibus abortion law passed by a Republican supermajority in Kentucky earlier this year includes a host of new requirements for dispensing medication abortion pills, and a provision for extraditing people from other states who illegally provide abortion pills to Kentuckians. It's unclear how enforceable those types of laws would be.

Meanwhile, some states are trying to expand access to abortion in preparation for more patients traveling from restrictive states for procedures. Connecticut lawmakers passed legislation this year designed to protect abortion providers from out-of-state lawsuits.

"This just raises a whole host of issues," Rikelman said. "All of those different disputes will have to be worked out in the courts" including, potentially, in the U.S. Supreme Court.

What's more, the anti-abortion movement will not be satisfied with this win, observes University of Michigan law professor Leah Litman. "The next time the Republicans win control of the Senate and White House and the House of Representatives a national abortion ban is going to be on the table," she said in an interview.

Even as abortions have now become far more restricted overall, the Guttmacher Institute reports that the long-term decline in abortions has reversed. In 2020, there were 930,160 abortions in the U.S., an increase of 8 percent more abortions than in 2017. The Institute also said that at the same time, fewer people were getting pregnant and among those who did, a larger proportion chose to have an abortion.

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Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, ending right to abortion upheld for decades

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In a historic and far-reaching decision, the U.S. Supreme Court officially reversed Roe v. Wade on Friday, declaring that the constitutional right to abortion, upheld for nearly a half century, no longer exists.

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Cartoonists passionately take on the Supreme Court's abortion decision - The Washington Post, June 27, 2022 (cartoons)

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Cartoonists passionately take on the Supreme Court's abortion decision - The Washington Post, June 27, 2022 (cartoons)

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Liza Donnelly was a high-schooler in Washington, D.C., in 1973 when nearby, the Supreme Court passed the landmark Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion - or, as Donnelly puts it, "when women were finally given autonomy over their bodies."

The future political artist and writer understood the significance. "The ruling was part of the cultural fabric I was soon to enter as an adult; I felt free to live my life as I wanted." Now, however, the New York-based creator is responding strongly because "many women will not have that freedom."

Donnelly, who contributes cartoons to the New Yorker, was absorbing how a Supreme Court decision Friday on Mississippi's restrictive abortion law, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, led to the court's overturning Roe v. Wade, leaving states free to outlaw abortion.

"I felt sickened," she says. "I have done many cartoons about women's rights. This time, I felt a strong urge to express outrage, fear and sadness."

As she decided how to put those feelings into art, Donnelly considered that she could skewer antiabortion activists or conservative justices or supporters of Donald Trump - or could draw women "yelling at the top of their lungs demanding freedom." Instead, she chose to render what was at the forefront of her mind: "fear for our democracy." She drew a staggered Lady Liberty.

"Like me, I imagined she felt punched in the gut, taken off balance, in pain, insulted and crestfallen," she says. "However, like many other women, Lady Liberty will again stand strong for the principles on which our country was founded."

Donnelly was among many artists who published their powerful reactions over the weekend - some of whom also turned to iconic American symbols.

"I was trying my best to channel anger into action, reflecting on how this decision affects the health, rights and well-being of very many," says Juana Medina, an artist and author based in Fairfax, Va.

In her image, "Lady Justice is crying, the balance scales unsettled. She's caring for babies and children of multiple ages, including a pregnant child," Medina says. "I realized I couldn't finish the drawing and left it just as pencil traces - uncertain, like our future."

Pia Guerra drew two cartoons: In one, a Republican elephant pops champagne in celebration while standing over a bleeding woman's motionless body; in another, Death as apocalyptic horseman grips a scythe topped by a coat hanger - that symbol of unsafe abortions that visual artists employ as shorthand for imperiled reproductive rights.

Watching the news, Guerra saw "conservatives actually celebrating this ruling" with "not even a little pretense of solemnity - just full-on laughing in the faces of women. They don't give a crap about those who need this health care, that there are women right now being diverted out of state for lifesaving treatment because hospitals don't want to risk being sued.

"That level of callousness only says this is in no way about 'protecting the unborn,'" the Vancouver, B.C.-based artist adds, "but about punishing women for daring to claim autonomy. It's disgusting."

Ann Telnaes, a Washington Post political cartoonist and animator, drew a decapitated woman whose body is marked "property of the state."

"Creating the cartoon was a direct expression of my anger and belief that because of the Supreme Court majority's religious agenda, American women are now officially second-class citizens, and their bodies are controlled by the state," Telnaes says. "This country is a democracy, not a theocracy."

By contrast, Lisa Benson rendered a religious theme that supported the decision.

"The Supreme Court is correct on this one. There is no constitutional right to abortion," says the California-based syndicated cartoonist. "Now it will be up to the states to decide whether abortion will remain legal and available. Some will cheer the decision, others will be outraged, but I'm pretty sure God is smiling right now."

Meanwhile, political cartoonist Jen Sorensen posted to social media her comic from 2019 that has proved accurately predictive. Her six-panel strip, titled "End of the Roe," depicts stages of perpetually minimizing the signs that Roe v. Wade would soon be overturned.

"What inspired the cartoon was a sense of deep frustration over watching reproductive rights being chipped away year after year while many seemed to look the other way," says Sorensen, noting that she had been "profoundly alarmed about the future of the Supreme Court for a while."

"Like most people, I knew this decision was coming, so I wasn't surprised when it was announced," she says. "But a few hours later, the full weight of it suddenly hit me. Witnessing this extremism is deeply disturbing."

Here is a sampling of how some other political cartoonists reacted to the news:

"I noticed on social media that folks were commenting about offering women rides to other states. I wondered what an app or service for that might be called when the word Ub-Her came to mind. After that it was simply a matter of coming up with the image." - Tim Campbell

"I wanted to capture how quickly things can turn for the worse, as women's rights have been basically overturned. ... Rich women will be able to get abortions whenever they want. This is unjustly aimed at the poor and women of color - already underserved [populations]." - Lalo Alcaraz

"The radical Republican majority on the Supreme Court is illegitimate. It was appointed by two presidents who lost the popular vote. ... All three Trump justices misled the Senate about their intentions toward Roe. ... They're Federalist Society vandals, planted on the court to revoke the unenumerated rights the courts recognized during the 20th century. If Justice Thomas's words are foreshadowing, they'll be coming for marriage equality, contraception and far more. This ill-gotten majority's actions and intentions are obscene." - Darrin Bell

"Taking the group photo of the Roberts Court from last October and replacing the judicial robes of the three women on the court with the uniforms worn by the oppressed women of Gilead seemed fitting. ... There was something about the stark, grim image I used that seemed to genuinely reflect my feelings about the turn our country had just taken." - Clay Bennett

"I was playing around with ideas and came up with the 'Equal Justice Under His Eye' line. I thought it a strong message about the slow merger of church and state that is at the heart of the ruling. ... I'm worried that with this court, we're going to run out of frightening analogies." - Mike Thompson

"Things are bleak. I wanted to do a cartoon that was hopeful and shows a way forward." - Mike Luckovich

Roe v. Wade and abortion access in America

Roe v. Wade overturned: TheSupreme Court has struck down Roe v. Wade, which for nearly 50 years has protected the right to abortion. Read the full decision here.

What happens next?: The legality of abortion will be left to individual states. That likely will mean 52 percent of women of childbearing age would face new abortion limits. Thirteen states with " trigger bans" will ban abortion within 30 days. Several other states where recent antiabortion legislation has been blocked by the courts are expected to act next.

State legislation: As Republican-led states move to restrict abortion, The Post is tracking legislation across the country on 15-week bans, Texas-style bans, trigger laws and abortion pill bans, as well as Democratic-dominated states that are moving to protect abortion rights enshrined in Roe v. Wade.

How our readers feel: In the hours that followed the ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Washington Post readers responded in droves to a callout asking how they felt - and why.

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Cartoonists passionately take on the Supreme Court's abortion decision

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Liza Donnelly was a high-schooler in Washington, D.C., in 1973 when nearby, the Supreme Court passed the landmark Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion - or, as Donnelly puts it, "when women were finally given autonomy over their bodies." The future political artist and writer understood the significance.

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Bonus Video for B1+ - Roe v. Wade explained - NewsY - July 13, 2022 (video)

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Bonus Video for B1+ - Roe v. Wade explained - NewsY - July 13, 2022 (video)

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Brittney Griner: Russia extends WNBA star's detention again - BBC News - June 15, 2022

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Brittney Griner: Russia extends WNBA star's detention again - BBC News - June 15, 2022

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By Holly Honderich
BBC News, Washington

Image source, Getty Images

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As the WNBA season continues without her, fans and players alike have pushed for her safe return

US basketball star Brittney Griner's detention in Russia has been extended again, Russian state media report.

The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) player will remain in detention until at least 2 July, reports Tass.

The Phoenix Mercury star was held on 17 February at a Moscow-area airport after cannabis oil was allegedly found in her luggage.

Ms Griner, 31, could face 10 years in prison if convicted.

On Tuesday, her detention was extended for an additional 18 days at "the request of the investigation", according to a representative from the Khimki Court of the Moscow Region, reports Tass.

A Russian court previously extended her time in custody until 19 May and then again until mid-June, according to the BBC's US partner CBS News.

Representatives for Ms Griner did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

US state department spokesman Ned Price said on Tuesday that Ms Griner "should not be detained for a single day longer".

"Our position for some time on this has been very clear: Brittney Griner should not be detained," Mr Price said in response to questions about her case.

Last month, nearly 100 days after she was held, the state department designated Ms Griner as "wrongfully detained".

State department officials met on Monday with Ms Griner's WNBA team-mates to discuss the administration's work to bring her home.

"There is a lot involved in getting her back home and safe, they're working relentlessly," Phoenix Mercury star Diana Taurasi said after the meeting, in a statement released by the team.

"We're here to do whatever we can to amplify and keep BG at the forefront, which is more important than any basketball game and anything else that's going on in our lives."

Image source, Getty Images

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Ms Griner is rated as one of the best female basketball players in history

The WNBA season would have been Ms Griner's eighth. A three-time league champion and seven-time All-Star, she is considered one of the most dominant players in her sport's history.

In recent weeks players in both the women's and men's leagues have intensified calls for her release, many wearing clothing with her Mercury jersey number - 42 - and the phrase "We Are BG".

Ms Griner's loved ones and fellow basketball players have been able to communicate with her through email. The emails are printed out and delivered to her by her lawyer after they are examined by Russian officials.

Ms Griner had initially travelled to Russia to play for EuroLeague team UMMC Ekaterinburg, where she had worked since 2014 during the US off-season. Roughly half of WNBA players compete overseas in the off-season.

For most, it's a way to augment their domestic income: WNBA players receive roughly five times more in Russia than they do in the US.

More on this story

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Brittney Griner: Russia extends WNBA star's detention again

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The US state department says Brittney Griner should not be held "for a single day longer".

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Brittney Griner Situation Explained - CBS News - August 15, 2022

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Brittney Griner Situation Explained - CBS News - August 15, 2022

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Brittney Griner, a seven-time WNBA All-Star and two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, was found guilty on drug charges in Russia and sentenced to nine years in prison on Thursday.

She has been in Russian custody since being detained in February at Sheremetyevo International Airport. The Russian Federal Customs Service found vape cartridges containing the marijuana concentrate hashish oil in Griner's luggage.

The Phoenix Mercury, Griner's WNBA team, and the WNBPA both issued their support in early March, and in June the WNBA named her an honorary All-Star.

On Aug. 15, Griner's defense team filed an appeal for her 9 1/2-year sentence. Griner could have been charged a maximum of 10 years, but they are arguing that her punishment is still "excessive." The lawyers, as reported by the Associated Press, said other defendants in similar cases in Russia have received an average sentence of about five years, and about a third of them were granted parole.

For the first time since Griner's detainment, Russian officials confirmed on Aug. 11 they are undergoing negotiations with the U.S. government regarding a potential prisoner swap that could bring Griner home. Two days later, The Moscow Times reported Russia has confirmed it seeks to make convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout a part of the deal.

Bout, also known as the "Merchant of Death," was arrested in Thailand in 2008 and then extradited to the United States, where he is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence.

"The discussions on the very sensitive topic of an exchange are proceeding via the channels chosen by our presidents," said Alexander Datchiev, head of the North America department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, according to the Russian state-owned news agency TASS "Silent diplomacy continues and should bear fruit if Washington, of course, is careful not to fall into propaganda."

During the hearing on Aug. 2, Griner's lawyers argued the state-appointed forensic expert who examined the cartridges found in her luggage made some technical and procedural errors. CBS News reported the defense team called another forensic expert, Dmitry Gladyshev, to testify on the stand.

"The examination [of the cartridges] does not comply with the legislation regarding the completeness of the study and does not comply with the norms of the [Russian Criminal] Code," Gladyshev said.

On July 27, CNN reported the United States had offered to exchange Bout as part of a potential deal with Russia to release Griner and corporate security director Paul Whelan. That same day, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said publicly the U.S. government has put a "substantial proposal on the table" but did not confirm the reports regarding Bout.

According to CNN, the Russian government replied to the U.S.'s initial offer by requesting that convicted murderer Vadim Krasikov also be added to the proposed swap. Russian officials reportedly communicated the request earlier in July, but they did so through an informal backchannel. Due to the form of communication, the U.S. initially questioned the legitimacy of it. Also, the request to include Krasikov in the trade isn't a simple one: He was convicted of murder in Germany last year and still remains in German custody.

Per CNN, a German government source confirmed that U.S. officials did make quiet inquiries to Germany. However, it seems the U.S. is still not convinced Russia is cooperating.

"Holding two wrongfully detained Americans hostage for the release of a Russian assassin in a third country's custody is not a serious counter-offer," Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, told CNN. "It is a bad faith attempt to avoid the deal on the table that Russia should take."

Also on July 29, Blinken held a press conference and gave an update on his phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Blinken said he urged him to move forward with the proposal the U.S. had already offered them, but no more details were disclosed.

"I'm not going to characterize his response and I can't give you an assessment of whether I think things are any more or less likely, but it was important that he heard directly from me on that," Blinken said.

July 27 marked the first day Griner testified at her trial. She recounted the day of her arrest and said the interpreter did not provide a full translation, explaining she had to use a translation app on her phone to communicate with a customs officer. Griner also said she was also not offered an explanation of her rights or access to lawyers while being instructed to sign documents.

"Nobody explained anything to me," Griner said, per CBS News.

A day before Griner testified her defense team focused their angle on how cannabis has a medicinal use. However, they still emphasized that Griner had no criminal intent and accidentally put it in her luggage while packing in a rush. That explanation may not have much bearing in Russian court, however, as Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reportedly said the legalization of cannabis in the U.S. has no impact on Russia laws.

Griner had the third day of her trial on July 14, and, although she was expected to testify that day, she didn't. Instead, Griner had support from two character witnesses. One of them was Maxim Rybakov, director of Griner's Russian team UMMC Ekaterinburg, and the other was teammate Evgeniia Beliakova.

"Brittney has always been a very good teammate, so my role here is just to be with her, to support her," Beliakova told the Associated Press. "We miss her very much, we miss her energy. I was very happy to see her, and I hope this trial will be over soon and with a positive outcome."

Rybakov told reporters Thursday was the first time he'd seen Griner since February. He said she appeared to look and feel well.

Griner pled guilty to drug charges in Russian court on July 7, more than four months after her detainment. But despite her plea, Griner insists she had "no intent" of breaking the law.

"I'd like to plead guilty, your honor. But there was no intent. I didn't want to break the law," Griner said in English, which was then translated to Russian for the court proceedings, according to Reuters. "I'd like to give my testimony later. I need time to prepare."

While Griner could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted, her plea seems to be strategic. According to CBS News, less than 1 percent of defendants are acquitted in Russian criminal cases, and since acquittals can be overturned in the country, the chances of Griner staying out of prison with a not guilty plea were slim.

"Traditionally, the best defense is to admit your guilt and hope you get a lesser sentence," William Pomeranz, the acting director of the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute in Washington and an expert on Russian law, told ESPN in June. "There's not a lot of examples of people raising strong defenses and getting acquitted."

Griner's guilty plea could also lead to prisoner exchange between Russia and the United States, according to The New York Times. Whether that happens remains to be seen, but the next development in Griner's case will likely come on July 14, when she returns to court.

On July 4, Griner sent a letter to the White House appealing for her freedom directly to President Joe Biden. Griner wrote that she missed her wife, family and teammates, adding she spent the Fourth of July holiday thinking about the meaning of freedom.

"It hurts thinking about how I usually celebrate this day because freedom means something completely different to me this year," Griner wrote.

Two days later, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with Griner's wife, Cherelle. In a statement released by the White House, Biden offered his support to the Griner family, adding that his administration will "pursue every avenue" to bring Griner back to the United States.

On July 1, more than 130 days after her detainment, Griner officially began her criminal trial. According to TASS, Griner said in court she understood the charges but declined to immediately comment on them. The prosecution questioned two witnesses on Day 1, an airport customs official and an unidentified witness, with only the former speaking in open court, per the Russian news agency RIA-Novosti.

The trial will resume July 7, as the absence of two witnesses led to a week-long adjournment, according to RIA-Novosti. After the first day, Alexander Boykov, an attorney for Griner, was hesitant to share much detail regarding his client or her case.

"I wouldn't want to talk on the specifics of the case and on the charges and to comment on our position on it because it's too early for it," Boykov told reporters outside the court, per ESPN.

Earlier in the week, Griner's pretrial detention was reportedly extended six months, her fourth such extension. According to TASS, Griner's previous pretrial detention ran through July 2. Griner's detention had already been extended twice at that point.

A day before the announcement of Griner's third extension, the Associated Press reported the Mercury met with State Department officials to discuss her potential release. After the meeting, Mercury star Diana Taurasi reiterated their goal of bringing Griner home in a statement.

"There is a lot involved in getting her back home and safe, they're working relentlessly," Taurasi said. "We're here to do whatever we can to amplify and keep BG at the forefront, which is more important than any basketball game and anything else that's going on in our lives. We want BG to come home as soon as possible. It's No. 1 on our list."

The WNBA has remained supportive of Griner throughout her detainment. According to a June 2 report from the AP, Griner has received hundreds of emails and letters from players around the league. Griner's email has not been released to the public, but the WNBA Players' Union has shared it with members through text messages.

Russian officials examine the emails and letters sent to Griner before she reads them, and Griner has to respond either through writing on paper or dictation.

"She jokes in her letters. I don't know how she does it with what she's going through. She's an amazing soul," said Los Angeles Sparks forward Amanda Zahui B., one of many WNBA players who've communicated with Griner during her detainment. "She brings light in a situation like this. I don't think a lot of people could manage to do that."

The U.S. government has rallied to Griner's defense, declaring her "wrongfully detained" on May 3 and reportedly enlisting the help of former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson, who has several years of experience as an international hostage negotiator. With Griner's new designation, the U.S. government can immediately work to negotiate her return as opposed to waiting until her trial in Russia concludes.

"The Department of State has determined that the Russian Federation has wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Brittney Griner," a State Department spokesperson told ESPN. "With this determination, the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens will lead the interagency team for securing Brittney Griner's release."

According to State Department spokesperson Ned Price, a U.S. consular officer met with Griner on May 19, and the officer reported Griner was "continuing to do as well as could be expected under these exceedingly challenging circumstances." It was the second visit in a week, and Price wants even more access to Griner.

"Our message is a clear and simple one -- we continue to insist that Russia allow consistent and timely consular access to all U.S. citizen detainees," Price told ABC News. "One-off visits are not sufficient, and we will continue to call on Moscow to uphold its commitments under the Vienna Convention for consistent and timely access, as well."

Cherelle Griner spoke about the situation in a "Good Morning America" interview on May 25 and said the two haven't verbally communicated in over 100 days, as her wife's phone was taken away shortly after she entered police custody. However, they have traded letters "sporadically" in the time since.

Cherelle Griner also requested to meet with President Joe Biden during the interview.

"I just keep hearing that, you know, he has the power. She's a political pawn," she said. "So if they're holding her because they want you to do something, then I want you to do it."

Griner has more than the U.S. government on her side. In an interview at the NBA Draft Lottery on May 17, NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced he and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert are working "side-by-side" in securing Griner's release. The process has led Silver to communicate with "every level" of government.

"We've been in touch with the White House, the State Department, hostage negotiators, every level of government and also through the private sector as well," Silver told ESPN. "Our No. 1 priority is her health and safety and making sure that she gets out of Russia."

Video of Griner attempting to pass through airport screening emerged from Russian customs on March 5, but the service didn't identify the former Baylor star by name. TASS then confirmed it was Griner, and Russian state TV released an undated photo of her at a police station later that day. The two-time Olympic gold medallist was reportedly detained on Feb. 17.

According to a report from TASS on March 17, a Moscow court extended her pretrial detention until May 19. The court also denied Griner's request for house arrest, according to Insider. Griner, who is 6-foot-9, has complained about the jail cell's beds being too small for her, per the TASS report. She shares the cell with two other English-speaking inmates, and both reportedly have no prior convictions and are being held for "drug-related articles," per NBC.

Griner made a brief Russian courtroom appearance on May 13, when she reportedly learned her pretrial detention was extended until June 18. Alexander Boykov, Griner's lawyer, told the AP that the extension's relatively brief length means his client will soon get a trial. The lawyer added Griner did not have "any complaints about the detention conditions," but it's unclear whether the bed-size situation has been resolved.

On March 18, Ekaterina Kalugina, a representative of Moscow's Public Monitoring Commission that oversees how prisoners are treated, said the U.S. consul had yet to visit Griner. Kalugina says this is despite Russian authorities saying they will "create all conditions" for a visit to occur.

That changed less than a week later. On March 22, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told CNN a U.S. Embassy official was granted "consular access" to Griner, allowing them to evaluate her condition.

"Our official found Brittney Griner to be in good condition, and we will continue to do everything we can to see to it that she is treated fairly throughout this ordeal," Price said.

The visit comes after the U.S. embassy in Moscow "repeatedly asked" to speak with Griner immediately after detainment but was "consistently and improperly" denied access. John Sullivan, the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, then told the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to "follow international law and basic human decency to allow consular access to all U.S. citizen detainees in Russia, including those in pre-trial detention."

Russia launched a full-scale military attack against Ukraine on Feb. 24, prompting the U.S. and other countries to issue severe sanctions against Russia. It's unclear whether Russia's detainment of Griner, who has played for the Russian Premier League team UMMC Ekaterinburg during the past few WNBA offseasons, was a retaliatory act.

Regardless of Russia's intentions, the U.S. government reportedly plans to initiate a "drawn-out battle" to return Griner to her home country.

How did American politicians immediately react?

The immediate reaction to Griner's situation was somewhat muted among American politicians over concerns of the former WNBA champion's privacy. However, three U.S. congress members representing Griner's home state of Texas gave their support.

Texas congressman Colin Allred, who is also a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he was personally working with the State Department to accelerate Griner's return to the U.S. Allred described the situation as "extremely concerning."

"Every day for anyone being held, particularly being held overseas, is a lifetime," said Allred, a former NFL linebacker who played football at Baylor in the early 2000s. "I recognize that for her friends and family, this must be an incredibly difficult time. And for her, I'm sure the uncertainty about what's happening is probably just terrible. And so, hopefully, whatever happens, we can get this moving quickly and get her out."

In a Twitter post, Texas congressman Joaquin Castro said he's "closely monitoring" Griner's Russian detention and demanded she be "safely returned."

"This follows a pattern of Russia wrongly detaining and imprisoning US citizens," Castro wrote on March 5. " ... US citizens are not political pawns."

Castro's comments were similar to those of Texas congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. Speaking in front of a crowd, Jackson Lee called for Griner's release and said she requested the State Department prioritize her case.

"If there's challenges and concerns about her actions, it should be dealt with diplomatically and she should be released," Jackson Lee said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House press secretary Jen Psaki both declined to directly comment on Griner's situation immediately after her detention went public, citing privacy concerns. Psaki noted federal privacy law requires the U.S. government to get written consent from a person in detention to discuss their situation.

Blinken did say his department is "doing everything we can" to ensure the rights of all Americans detained in Russia are "upheld and respected."

"Whenever an American is detained anywhere in the world, we of course stand ready to provide every possible assistance, and that includes in Russia," Blinken said on March 6.

Assistance won't be easy to provide in Griner's case, according to California congressman John Garamendi. Garamendi, who also serves on the U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, said the "nonexistent" diplomatic relationship between the U.S. and Russia will make securing her release "very difficult."

"Our diplomatic relationships with Russia are nonexistent at the moment," Garamendi told CNN in March. "Perhaps during the various negotiations that may take place, she might be able to be one of the solutions. I don't know."

Garamendi added Griner's sexual orientation -- she is a lesbian -- could make the process even more challenging because "Russia has some very, very strict LGBT rules and laws."

While it's yet to be determined whether Russia detained Griner to provoke the U.S., the State Department urged American citizens to immediately leave Russia to avoid the "potential for harassment" in an updated advisory on March 5.

Why was Griner in Russia?

Griner is one of about 70 WNBA players -- nearly half the league's 144 roster spots -- competing internationally during the 2022 offseason. She was also among the dozen-plus playing in Russia or the Ukraine -- all of whom, aside from Griner, have left. UMMC Ekaterinburg alone has five WNBA All-Stars in Griner, reigning WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart, Allie Quigley and Courtney Vandersloot on its current roster.

While Griner and Co. have varying reasons for playing internationally, many do so for financial purposes. The WNBA's minimum and maximum salaries are $60,471 and $228,094, respectively. Those numbers are far below what the NBA offers, as that league -- which plays 82 games compared to the WNBA's 36 -- has a minimum salary of $925,000 and maximum salaries starting at more than $28 million.

According to Cherelle Griner, Brittney Griner plays overseas because of the WNBA's pay. Griner reportedly earns $1 million per season to play for UMMC Ekaterinburg.

"BG would wholeheartedly love to not go overseas," Cherelle Griner told ABC News on May 25. "She has only had one Thanksgiving in the States in nine years since she's been pro, and she misses all that stuff. Just because, you know, she can't make enough money in the WNBA, like, to sustain her life."

The WNBA's relatively low salaries forced former league MVP -- and Griner's Mercury teammate -- Diana Taurasi to accept a contract worth a reported $1.5 million from UMMC Ekaterinburg in 2015 even though it would keep her from that year's WNBA season.

"The year-round nature of women's basketball takes its toll and the financial opportunity with my team in Russia would have been irresponsible to turn down," Taurasi wrote in an open letter to fans. "They offered to pay me to rest and I've decided to take them up on it. I want to be able to take care of myself and my family when I am done playing."

In 2020, the WNBA and WNBPA agreed to a new eight-year CBA that would raise the average salary to nearly $130,000, its first time above six figures. The WNBA's maximum salary was $117,500 the year prior.

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Brittney Griner situation explained: Russia confirms prisoner swap negotiations with U.S. regarding WNBA star

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Brittney Griner, a seven-time WNBA All-Star and two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, was found guilty on drug charges in Russia and sentenced to nine years in prison on Thursday. She has been in Russian custody since being detained in February at Sheremetyevo International Airport.

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Everything to Know About the WNBA Star in Russian Custody - The Cut - August 21, 22

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Everything to Know About the WNBA Star in Russian Custody - The Cut - August 21, 22

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As tensions between the U.S. and Russia continue to rise amid the latter's invasion of Ukraine, an American WNBA star has been detained in Russia for months. Brittney Griner, the two-time Olympic gold medalist who plays for the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA and for Russia's UMMC Ekaterinburg during the off-season, was arrested on drug charges in February after Customs found vape cartridges in her luggage at the airport. On August 4 - almost one month after Griner pleaded guilty - a Russian court convicted her of drug smuggling and sentenced her to nine years in a penal colony. Now, Griner's legal team has appealed the verdict. Here, everything to know about her case:

Brittney Griner was arrested in Russia in February and is currently on trial for drug charges.

Russia first announced Griner's detention on March 6, telling the world it had an American basketball player in custody. The player was later identified as Griner, and footage allegedly showing her stop at Customs was released. According to the New York Times, Russian law enforcement claimed Griner had been found with vape cartridges containing hashish oil and opened a criminal case against her on drug-smuggling charges, which carry a jail sentence of up to ten years in a penal colony.

After Russia announced Griner's arrest, her agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, told ESPN they were "in close contact with her, her legal representation in Russia, her family, her teams, and the WNBA and NBA." Colas's statement continued, "As this is an ongoing legal matter, we are not able to comment further on the specifics of her case, but can confirm that as we work to get her home, her mental and physical health remain our primary concern." Griner's wife, Cherelle Griner, also released a statement on Instagram thanking fans for their "prayers and support" and asking for privacy. Meanwhile, the WNBA released a statement offering Griner its "full support" and noting, "Our main priority is her swift and safe return to the United States." Phoenix Mercury and USA Basketball released similar statements.

Griner's arrest in Russia is especially troubling given her high-profile status as an American athlete and her identity as an LGBTQ+ Black woman. Russian president Vladimir Putin has taken an active stance against LGBTQ+ rights, having declared in 2020 that he would never legalize same-sex marriage in the country.

U.S. secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged Griner's arrest during a March 6 press conference, saying, "Whenever an American is detained anywhere in the world, we of course stand ready to provide every possible assistance. And that includes in Russia."

While coordinated efforts to secure Griner's freedom have remained private, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department claims the department has been " doing everything we can" to support Griner and work toward her safe release. On March 23, consular officials reportedly visited Griner in the cell she shares with two Russian inmates. While government officials are choosing to work quietly on Griner's case for fear that overpublicizing it will adversely affect her detention, many of Griner's supporters are outraged that the government isn't waging a louder campaign for her freedom.

In April,the Biden administration announced that Trevor Reed - a U.S.Marineveteranwho has been detained in Russia since 2019 -had been released as part of a prisoner swap between Russia and the U.S., renewing scrutiny of Griner's case. In June, a spokesperson for the Kremlin denied Griner was being held hostage or used as a political pawn, telling NBC in an interview that she was no different from "hundreds and hundreds of Russian citizens that were sentenced for carrying hashish." The spokesperson added, "Why should we make an exception for a foreign citizen?"

Griner's detentionwas extended multiple times, which the reports is typical of Russian courts. In June, dozens of organizations representing women, people of color, and LGBTQ voters sent a letter to the Biden administration, urging it to negotiate a deal for Griner's release as she "continues to endure inhumane treatment, deprived of contact with her family." On June 27, Griner's lawyer told the Griner had "no complaints" about her detention conditions.

During her July 7 court appearance - which took place hours after a Russian foreign minister reportedly accused the Biden administration of trying to " foment hype" over Griner's case - Griner admitted she brought cannabis into Russia but said she didn't mean to break the law. "There was no intent," Griner told the court. "I'd like to give my testimony later. I need time to prepare." Experts in Russian law believe admitting guilt is the best strategy to secure a lesser sentence; per CBS, it's also a necessary prerequisite to a potential prisoner exchange.

As her trial began, Griner wrote a personal letter to the president.

On July 4, Griner's family delivered a handwritten letter from the basketball player to President Joe Biden. "As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey or any accomplishments, I'm terrified I might be here forever," Griner wrote. "I realize you are dealing with so much, but please don't forget about me and the other American detainees. Please do all you can to bring us home."

Griner reportedly told Biden she voted for him in 2020 - her first time voting in a presidential race. "I believe in you. I still have so much good to do with my freedom that you can help restore," she wrote.

The White House confirmed Biden received the letter, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying the issue was "very personal to him." When reached for comment by the , Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, stressed that the government "continues to work aggressively" for Griner's release and said that the "president's team" was in contact with Griner's family but that whatever relationship they had seems to be devolving.

Griner's wife, Cherelle Griner, appeared on CBS Mornings on July 5 to defend her wife against Russia's allegations of drug trafficking and express her disappointment in Biden. Cherelle said that while she doesn't know why her wife decided to write to Biden directly, she suspects it's because of his failure to meet with her family directly. "I think the decision for her to feel the need to directly reach out to President Biden is because the failed attempts that we have had as a family," she said, adding that in her letters, Griner frequently asked whether Cherelle had been able to meet with Biden. She added that she was "terrified" for her wife and her mental health after seeing photos of her during her first court appearance.

While she previously kept her media appearances and communications to a minimum, Cherelle Griner said she was done being quiet. "I did that, and respectfully, we're over 140 days at this point - that does not work. And so I will not be quiet anymore," she said. "They are not moving, they are not doing anything, and so my wife is struggling, and we have to help her." According to a statement released by the White House, Cherelle spoke on the phone with Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris in early July. Biden reportedly assured her he is "working to secure" Griner's freedom and read her a draft of a letter he planned to send her.

Griner sent a message to her wife as she prepares to testify at trial.

Griner appeared in courtlast monthas her trial continued with expert testimony on the medicinal use of cannabis. Griner's defense previously presented a letter from a U.S. doctor recommending that the athlete use medical cannabis to treat chronic pain, but it's unclear if this will help her case, as all cannabis use is illegal in Russia. Other witnesses for the defense, as reported by ABC News, included the UMMC team doctor, who testified that Griner never tested positive for drugs while playing for the Russian club team.

Griner held up photos of her wife, teammates, and friendsin court, using her court appearance to send a message to her wife, Cherelle, who just graduated law school. "Good luck on the bar exam," she told an ABC News reporter. When asked if she had any complaints in her detainment, she said, "No, no complaints. Just waiting patiently." Elizabeth Rood, the U.S. Embassy's charge d'affaires, told reporters that Griner "confirms that she is doing okay and as well as can be expected under these circumstances."

Griner testified that her rights weren't explained when she was detained in February.

Griner testified that she was not read her rights when she was taken into custody at a Moscow airport in February, and that she did not know she was being detained. Per the Washington Post, Griner said a translator present at the airport told her where to go but did not explain what was happening, and that officials made her sign documents without telling her what they meant. Griner told the court that her passport and phone were confiscated, and that she was forbidden from seeing her lawyers until the following morning. "At that point I felt like I was being held against my will," said Griner, who also testified that the translation provided to her during her months under Russian investigation was lacking. "I remember one time there was a stack of papers that [the translator] needed to translate for me," recalled Griner. "He took a brief look and then said the exact words were, 'Basically, you are guilty.'" Echoing her legal team's argument that she used cannabis oil to treat inflammation from sports-related injuries, Griner said she knew she was not allowed to carry the cartridges through the airport and again emphasized that she packed them accidentally. "I had no intention of breaking the law," she told the court.

The U.S. has proposed a prisoner swap to secure Griner's release.

At a news conference in Washington, D.C., last month, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken announced that the U.S. has proposed trading an imprisoned Russian arms dealer, Viktor Bout, in exchange for the release of Griner and Paul Whelan, another U.S. detainee in Russia. Per Blinken, the "substantial proposal" was backed by Biden and put forward in June, and the U.S. and Russia have "communicated repeatedly and directly" about it since. The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed the negotiations for the first time last week, with a spokesperson saying negotiations are "being conducted by competent authorities." "I'm hopeful," Biden said, following Russia's public comments. "We're working hard."

A Russian court found Griner guilty and sentenced her to nine years in a penal colony.

Earlier this month, a Russian court found Griner guilty of attempting to smuggle illegal narcotics into the country, sentencing her to nine years in a penal colony and issuing her a fine of roughly $16,300, according to Griner's lawyers. Though the verdict was widely anticipated - per the Times, Russian courts tend to issue harsher sentences to high-profile foreigners, and defendants are rarely acquitted - it arrived after both Griner and her team appealed for leniency. "I made an honest mistake," Griner told the judge in her testimony before the sentencing, adding, "I hope that in your ruling that it doesn't end my life here." Griner's freedom is now contingent on diplomatic negotiations between the U.S. and Russia, namely a potential prisoner swap. Her legal team called the guilty verdict "absolutely unreasonable," and confirmed on Monday that they are appealing, arguing that the Russian court committed "serious procedural violations" during Griner's arrest, investigation, and detention. Per the Times, the appeal could take up to three months to adjudicate, and Griner's lawyers have said they will withdraw it if it interferes with ongoing prisoner-swap negotiations.

In a joint statement, theWNBA and NBA commissionerscalled Griner's guilty verdict "unjustified and unfortunate, but not unexpected," stressing their mutual commitment to her safe return and their hopes that the end of the trial means "we are near the end of this process of finally bringing BG home to the United States." Biden also released a statement, calling Griner'sverdict "unacceptable" and calling on Russia "to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates."

A week after Griner's appeal was announced, former NBA star Dennis Rodman told NBC News that he would be making the trip to Russia to "help that girl," presumably speaking about Griner. "I got permission to go to Russia to help that girl," he said, adding, "I'm trying to go this week. It's unclear whether he actually received any formal approval by the government (which is still trying to negotiate for her release) for his trip, though he wouldn't technically need official permission to visit Russia. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time Rodman has seemingly taken international relations in his own hands. He famously formed a relationship with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, and has reportedly called Putin "cool."
This post has been updated.

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Everything to Know About the WNBA Star in Russian Custody

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As tensions between the U.S. and Russia continue to rise amid the latter's invasion of Ukraine, an American WNBA star has been detained in Russia for months. Brittney Griner, the two-time Olympic gold medalist who plays for the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA and for Russia's UMMC Ekaterinburg during the off-season, was arrested on drug charges in February after Customs found vape cartridges in her luggage at the airport.

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BONUS extra video for B1+ - CNN - March 7, 2022 (video)

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BONUS extra video for B1+ - CNN - March 7, 2022 (video)

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brittney griner: it'll be 'very difficult' to get detained us basketball star out of russia

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Wayne Sterling, Holly Yan and Emma Tucker, CNN

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It'll be 'very difficult' to get detained US basketball star Brittney Griner out of Russia, lawmaker says

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For days, family and friends have been clamoring for the release of two-time Olympic champion Brittney Griner after she was detained in Russia on drug charges.

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Women in Afghanistan one year after the Taliban takeover - UN Women - August 15, 2022 (article + video)

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Women in Afghanistan one year after the Taliban takeover - UN Women - August 15, 2022 (article + video)

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Stripped of their rights, under constant threat of violence, Afghan women and girls are relentlessly carrying on with their lives. For some, that means forming new civil society groups to address community needs; for others, it means re-opening their businesses and going back to work. For all, it is an act of unseen, unheard bravery.

One year after the takeover, we're sharing stories of women in Afghanistan today, written in their own words. These mostly anonymous first-hand accounts capture the fear, anger, and profound sense of loss that pervade the daily lives of Afghan women-as well as the resilience with which they continue to live them.

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In focus: Women in Afghanistan one year after the Taliban takeover | UN Women - Headquarters

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One year ago, on 15 August 2021, the Taliban entered Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul and captured control of the country. Over the past 12 months, human rights violations against women and girls have mounted steadily.

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Taliban Disperses Afghan women's march for work and freedom - Al Jazeera - August 22nd 2022

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Taliban Disperses Afghan women's march for work and freedom - Al Jazeera - August 22nd 2022

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The demonstrators carried a banner, which read 'August 15 is a black day' as they demanded rights to work and political participation [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

Taliban fighters beat female protesters and fired into the air on Saturday to dispersed a rare rally in the Afghan capital, Kabul, days before the first anniversary of the group's return to power.

About 40 women marched on the education ministry in Kabul, chanting "bread, work and freedom". Despite the pledges made when it retook power, the Taliban has limited Afghan women's rights, including keeping high school girl students out of school.

Some protesters who took refuge in nearby shops were chased and beaten by Taliban fighters with their rifle butts, according to the AFP news agency.

Brave women of #Afghanistan continue to protest against the strict Taliban rule on the streets of Kabul pic.twitter.com/D4uzrGqvmH

- Oliver Marsden (@OliverGMarsden) August 13, 2022

The demonstrators carried a banner, which read "August 15 is a black day" as they demanded rights to work and political participation.

"Justice, justice. We're fed up with ignorance," they chanted, many not wearing face veils.

"Unfortunately, the Taliban from the intelligence service came and fired in the air," said Zholia Parsi, one of the organisers of the march.

First they deny basic rights such as #education and the right to assembly then when #women do #protest it's taken to be a provocation and worthy of firing live rounds at. Sad state of #Afghanistan.

pic.twitter.com/WCqc1VCHtk

- Obaidullah Baheer (@ObaidullaBaheer) August 13, 2022

"They dispersed the girls, tore our banners and confiscated the mobile phones of many girls."

But protester Munisa Mubariz pledged to continue fighting for women's rights.

"If the Taliban want to silence this voice, it's not possible. We will protest from our homes," she said.

Some journalists covering the demonstration - the first women's rally in months - were also beaten by the Taliban fighters, an AFP correspondent saw.

'Making women invisible'

While the Taliban authorities have allowed and even promoted some rallies against the United States, they have declined permission for any women's rally since they returned to power.

After seizing control last year, the Taliban has gone back on its promises of women's rights and media freedom, bringing back memories of its harsh rule from 1996 to 2001.

Tens of thousands of girls have been shut out of secondary schools, while women have been barred from returning to many government jobs.

Women have also been banned from travelling alone on long trips and can only visit public gardens and parks in the capital on designated days, when men are not allowed.

In May, the country's supreme leader and chief of the Taliban, Haibatullah Akhunzada, ordered women to fully cover themselves in public, including their faces - ideally with an all-encompassing burqa.

The United Nations and rights groups have repeatedly slammed the Taliban government for imposing the restrictions on women.

These policies show a "pattern of absolute gender segregation and are aimed at making women invisible in the society", Richard Bennett, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, told reporters in Kabul during a visit in May.

Human Rights Watch on Thursday called on the Taliban to "reverse their horrifying and misogynistic" decision to bar women from education.

"This would send a message that the Taliban are willing to reconsider their most egregious actions," Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at the rights group, said in a statement.

Some Afghan women initially pushed back against the curbs, holding small protests.

But the Taliban soon rounded up the protest organisers, holding them incommunicado while denying they had been detained.

A study by the International Labor Organization (ILO) this year documented a disproportionate drop in women's employment in Afghanistan - 16 percent in the months immediately following the Taliban takeover. In contrast, male employment dropped by 6 percent.

Prior to the Taliban takeover, women made up 22 percent of the Afghan workforce. While the figure was still dismal, it reflected years of social progress in a deeply patriarchal and conservative society like Afghanistan.

Working women in Afghanistan are also vulnerable to unemployment shocks due to the existing economic crisis, restrictions on women's movement by the Taliban, and the prevalent patriarchy.

While the Afghan economy has severely suffered due to the Western sanctions on the Taliban, women-centric businesses were among the worst affected due to the additional restrictions on women.

A recent World Bank survey noted that 42 percent of women-owned businesses in Afghanistan had temporarily closed compared with the closure of 26 percent of the firms owned by men.

Additionally, about 83 percent of the businesswomen indicated that they were expecting revenue losses over the next six months, forcing them to engage in coping mechanisms such as downsizing their staff, often comprising largely of women.

Journalism 'bleeding to death'

Numerous media outlets have ceased their work and hundreds of journalists have lost their jobs in the last one year, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

"Journalism in Afghanistan is bleeding to death," RSF director Christian Mihr said in a statement on Friday.

"The Taliban have enacted numerous laws that restrict freedom of the press and encourage the persecution and intimidation of media and journalists," she added.

According to RSF, a good third of 550 media outlets that had been active as of August 15, 2021 - the day the Taliban took over control again after more than 20 years - have been shut down.

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Taliban disperses Afghan women's march for 'work and freedom'

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Taliban fighters beat female protesters and fired into the air on Saturday to dispersed a rare rally in the Afghan capital, Kabul, days before the first anniversary of the group's return to power. About 40 women marched on the education ministry in Kabul, chanting "bread, work and freedom".

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Speak Up on Behalf of Afghan Women - The Diplomat - June 2nd 2022

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Speak Up on Behalf of Afghan Women - The Diplomat - June 2nd 2022

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When the Taliban announced on May 7 that women and girls should not leave their homes unless necessary and should do so only with their whole bodies including their faces covered, some people were surprised. Others were not.

Among the surprised: Some diplomats and other Afghanistan watchers who listened to Taliban leaders promise during negotiations and at their news conference two days after seizing the capital that they would respect all women's rights this time, including their freedom of movement and access to employment and education.

And those who were not surprised: Afghan women who lived through the last period of Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001 and Afghan women's rights activists.

Afghan women's right activists warned all along that the Taliban's promises to respect women's rights were false. They warned in the days after the Taliban took the capital, Kabul, on August 15, 2021, that the group would intensify their crackdown on women. And that's what happened.

The list of Taliban violations of the rights of women and girls is long and growing. The Taliban appointed an all-male cabinet. They abolished the Ministry of Women's Affairs and replaced it with the Ministry of Vice and Virtue, which issued the most recent order. They banned secondary education for girls and banned women from almost all jobs. They blocked women from traveling long distances or leaving the country alone. They dismantled the system to protect women and girls from violence and made it difficult for them to get health care. They issued new rules for how women must dress and behave. They enforce these rules through violence.

Women - with extraordinary courage - took to the streets in protest. The Taliban beat, threatened, pepper sprayed, abducted, and detained them.

The latest order is a chilling escalation. Not only does it make every woman or girl who is outside her home a suspect, but it also strips women and girls of the shreds of autonomy they still had, the ability to resist. The order states that if a woman or girl disobeys, the punishment - including imprisonment - will be inflicted on her male guardian. In this way the Taliban coerce every man to become complicit in their abuse, each man the jailer of his female relatives.

What can be done? There are no easy answers. But neither is there any excuse for inaction.

Since the Taliban takeover there have been many statements condemning their abuses from an impressive range of international and regional organizations and countries. What there has not been, however, is a clear plan for how the countries condemning Taliban abuses will work together to defend the rights of Afghan women and girls and pressure the Taliban to end these abuses. The donors that were deeply involved in Afghanistan over the last 20 years have failed to even act effectively to end the financial crisis their departure created, which has left 95 percent of Afghans hungry.

But countries around the world can - and should - do more. There are things the Taliban want from the international community. At the top of that list are things like legitimacy, respect, and status, but also relief from sanctions and financial assistance.

As long as there are things the Taliban want, there is leverage. As broad a range of countries as possible should agree on a roadmap for making it clear to the Taliban that the only way they can move toward achieving their goals is through actions including massive reforms to human rights, which are inseparable from the rights of women and girls.

Six countries should lead this process. They are the countries that have pledged to have a feminist foreign policy: Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, Norway, and Sweden. The United States - which has led the international engagement in Afghanistan over the last 20 years - should encourage, welcome, and support these countries in doing so. What is happening right now in Afghanistan is the most serious women's rights crisis in the world today, and the most serious women's rights crisis since 1996, when the Taliban took over the last time. There is no time to lose.

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When the Taliban announced on May 7 that women and girls should not leave their homes unless necessary and should do so only with their whole bodies including their faces covered, some people were surprised. Others were not.

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For all afghan women - Cartoon Movement (cartoons)

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For all afghan women - Cartoon Movement (cartoons)

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European Network of Migrant Women - August 2022

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European Network of Migrant Women - August 2022

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Stand Up with Afghan Women: Public Solidarity Event III - European Network of Migrant Women

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August 2022 marks one years since the Taliban took over Afghanistan making hundred of thousands of women and girls flee the country. Many more still remain in Afghanistan. While the attention of the international community and policy-makers has shifted away from Afghanistan, the women inside the country have been subjected to more and more restrictions by the new de-facto Taliban government.

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BONUS extra reading for B1+ - The New Yorker - August 24, 2022

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BONUS extra reading for B1+ - The New Yorker - August 24, 2022

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The Afghan Women Left Behind The New Yorker

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First images from the JWST - NASA - July 12, 2022 (video)

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First images from the JWST - NASA - July 12, 2022 (video)

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Highlights: First Images from the James Webb Space Telescope (Official NASA Video)

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James Webb Space Telescope ( JWST) is a telescope that was launched on 25 December 2021. It is a replacement for the Hubble Space Telescope which was launched in 1990.

The telescope is named after James E. Webb, who was a director at NASA and created the Apollo program that put astronauts on the moon.

It has a main mirror that is 6.5 metres (21 feet) wide. This is 6 times larger in area than Hubble. It is so large that it is made in 18 pieces that fold together during the launch, so that it can fit into a rocket. It is mainly an infrared telescope but also works in the red part of the visible light (the pictures will be coded with false color so we can see them). It is plated with gold because gold reflects infrared very well. It is able to see things that the Hubble Space Telescope cannot. Infrared vision can be used to see heat radiation (like some kinds of night vision goggles), so the telescope itself must be kept as cool as possible. It is protected by a large sunshield the size of a tennis court to keep it cool and dark.

NASA released the first image from JWST on 11 July 2022, the oldest and highest resolution image of the Universe.

The JWST is in orbit far from Earth, to avoid heat radiating from the Earth and moon. This special orbit is beyond the moon, at the second Lagrange point (L2) of the Sun-Earth system, a place of stable gravity. This orbit is 1,500,000 kilometres (930,000 miles) from Earth, about four times farther away from us than the moon. This keeps it in the Earth's shadow most of the time; it does not actually go around the Earth, but goes around the sun at the same speed as the Earth.

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James Webb Space Telescope - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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James Webb Space Telescope ( JWST) is a telescope that was launched on 25 December 2021. It is a replacement for the Hubble Space Telescope which was launched in 1990. The telescope is named after James E. Webb, who was a director at NASA and created the Apollo program that put astronauts on the moon.

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NASA's Webb Reveals Cosmic Cliffs - NASA - July 12, 2022

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NASA's Webb Reveals Cosmic Cliffs - NASA - July 12, 2022

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NASA's James Webb Space Telescope reveals emerging stellar nurseries and individual stars in the Carina Nebula that were previously obscured

Images of "Cosmic Cliffs" showcase Webb's cameras' capabilities to peer through cosmic dust, shedding new light on how stars form

Objects in the earliest, rapid phases of star formation are difficult to capture, but Webb's extreme sensitivity, spatial resolution, and imaging capability can chronicle these elusive events

This landscape of "mountains" and "valleys" speckled with glittering stars is actually the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region called NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula. Captured in infrared light by NASA's new James Webb Space Telescope, this image reveals for the first time previously invisible areas of star birth.

Called the Cosmic Cliffs, Webb's seemingly three-dimensional picture looks like craggy mountains on a moonlit evening. In reality, it is the edge of the giant, gaseous cavity within NGC 3324, and the tallest "peaks" in this image are about 7 light-years high. The cavernous area has been carved from the nebula by the intense ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds from extremely massive, hot, young stars located in the center of the bubble, above the area shown in this image.

The blistering, ultraviolet radiation from the young stars is sculpting the nebula's wall by slowly eroding it away. Dramatic pillars tower above the glowing wall of gas, resisting this radiation. The "steam" that appears to rise from the celestial "mountains" is actually hot, ionized gas and hot dust streaming away from the nebula due to the relentless radiation.

Webb reveals emerging stellar nurseries and individual stars that are completely hidden in visible-light pictures. Because of Webb's sensitivity to infrared light, it can peer through cosmic dust to see these objects. Protostellar jets, which emerge clearly in this image, shoot out from some of these young stars. The youngest sources appear as red dots in the dark, dusty region of the cloud. Objects in the earliest, rapid phases of star formation are difficult to capture, but Webb's extreme sensitivity, spatial resolution, and imaging capability can chronicle these elusive events.

These observations of NGC 3324 will shed light on the process of star formation. Star birth propagates over time, triggered by the expansion of the eroding cavity. As the bright, ionized rim moves into the nebula, it slowly pushes into the gas and dust. If the rim encounters any unstable material, the increased pressure will trigger the material to collapse and form new stars.

Conversely, this type of disturbance may also prevent star formation as the star-making material is eroded away. This is a very delicate balance between sparking star formation and stopping it. Webb will address some of the great, open questions of modern astrophysics: What determines the number of stars that form in a certain region? Why do stars form with a certain mass?

Webb will also reveal the impact of star formation on the evolution of gigantic clouds of gas and dust. While the effect of massive stars - with their violent winds and high energy - is often apparent, less is known about the influence of the more numerous low-mass stars. As they form, these smaller stars create narrow, opposing jets seen here, which can inject a lot of momentum and energy into the clouds. This reduces the fraction of nebular material that seeds new stars.

Up to this point, scientists have had very little data about the influence of the multitude of young and more energetic low-mass stars. With Webb, they will be able to obtain a full census of their number and impact throughout the nebula.

Located roughly 7,600 light-years away, NGC 3324 was imaged by Webb's Near-Infrared Camera ( NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument ( MIRI).

NIRCam - with its crisp resolution and unparalleled sensitivity - unveils hundreds of previously hidden stars, and even numerous background galaxies.

In MIRI's view, young stars and their dusty, planet-forming disks shine brightly in the mid-infrared, appearing pink and red. MIRI reveals structures that are embedded in the dust and uncovers the stellar sources of massive jets and outflows. With MIRI, the hot dust, hydrocarbons, and other chemical compounds on the surface of the ridges glow, giving the appearance of jagged rocks.

NGC 3324 was first catalogued by James Dunlop in 1826. Visible from the Southern Hemisphere, it is located at the northwest corner of the Carina Nebula (NGC 3372), which resides in the constellation Carina. The Carina Nebula is home to the Keyhole Nebula and the active, unstable supergiant star called Eta Carinae.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world's premier space science observatory. Webb will solve mysteries in our solar system, look beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency). NASA Headquarters oversees the mission for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages Webb for the agency and oversees work on the mission performed by the Space Telescope Science Institute, Northrop Grumman, and other mission partners. In addition to Goddard, several NASA centers contributed to the project, including the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston; Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California; Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama; Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley; and others. NIRCam was built by a team at the University of Arizona and Lockheed Martin's Advanced Technology Center. MIRI was contributed by ESA and NASA, with the instrument designed and built by a consortium of nationally funded European Institutes (The MIRI European Consortium) in partnership with JPL and the University of Arizona. Download full-resolution, uncompressed versions and supporting visuals for this image from the Space Telescope Science Institute: https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2022/news-2022-031

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NASA's Webb Reveals Cosmic Cliffs, Glittering Landscape of Star Birth - NASA

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This landscape of "mountains" and "valleys" speckled with glittering stars is actually the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region called NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula. Captured in infrared light by NASA's new James Webb Space Telescope, this image reveals for the first time previously invisible areas of star birth.

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Smile we're on Camera - Bill Bramhall - The Dallas Morning News - July 13, 2022 (cartoon)

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Smile we're on Camera - Bill Bramhall - The Dallas Morning News - July 13, 2022 (cartoon)

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Etienne Klein admits 'space telescope image' of Proxima du Centaure was a slice of chorizo - "The Chorizo Gate" - CNN - August 8, 2022 (article + video)

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Etienne Klein admits 'space telescope image' of Proxima du Centaure was a slice of chorizo - "The Chorizo Gate" - CNN - August 8, 2022 (article + video)

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étienne klein admits 'space telescope image' of proxima centauri was actually a slice of chorizo - cnn

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Scientist admits 'space telescope image' was actually a slice of chorizo

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A French scientist has apologized after tweeting a photo of a slice of chorizo, claiming it was an image of a distant star taken by the James Webb Space Telescope.

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Cartooning for peace - Global warming: a summer of fires and heat waves - July 2022

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Cartooning for peace - Global warming: a summer of fires and heat waves - July 2022

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Les dessins de presse nous font rire. Sans eux, nos vies seraient bien tristes. Mais c’est aussi une chose sérieuse : ils ont le pouvoir d’informer mais aussi d’offenser

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Sacheen Littlefeather: Oscars apologises to actress after 50 years - BBC - August 16th 2022

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Sacheen Littlefeather: Oscars apologises to actress after 50 years - BBC - August 16th 2022

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"And the reasons for this being the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry and on television in movie re-runs, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee," she said - in reference to a violent stand-off with federal agents at a site of significant importance to the Sioux people.

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Sacheen Littlefeather: Oscars apologises to actress after 50 years

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"And the reasons for this being the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry and on television in movie re-runs, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee," she said - in reference to a violent stand-off with federal agents at a site of significant importance to the Sioux people.

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Rejecting Brando's Oscar cost her dearly, but Sacheen Littlefeather is finally getting her apology - CBC News - August 16, 2022 (article + video)

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Rejecting Brando's Oscar cost her dearly, but Sacheen Littlefeather is finally getting her apology - CBC News - August 16, 2022 (article + video)

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The Associated Press · Posted: Aug 16, 2022 9:52 AM ET | Last Updated: August 17

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Rejecting Brando’s Oscar cost her dearly, but Sacheen Littlefeather is finally getting her apology | CBC News

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Nearly 50 years after Sacheen Littlefeather stood on the Academy Awards stage on behalf of Marlon Brando to speak about the depiction of Indigenous people in Hollywood films, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences apologized to her for the abuse she endured.

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Academy Awards apologizes to Sacheen Littlefather for Oscars speech abuse - The Guardian - August 16, 2022 (article + video)

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Academy Awards apologizes to Sacheen Littlefather for Oscars speech abuse - The Guardian - August 16, 2022 (article + video)

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Ampas), the body that oversees the Oscars, has issued a formal apology to Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American activist who appeared at the 1973 Academy Awards ceremony as part of Marlon Brando's refusal to accept his award.

Brando was awarded the best actor Oscar for his role as Vito Corleone in The Godfather, but did not attend as a protest in support of Native American rights, in part inspired by the ongoing two-month occupation of the site of the 1890 Wounded Knee massacre by the American Indian Movement (AIM). Instead, Littlefeather declined to accept the statuette from presenters Roger Moore and Liv Ullmann, and made a short speech, in which she said that Brando's stance was due to "the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry ... and on television, in movie reruns, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee."

The speech was greeted with jeers from the audience, and Littlefeather, then 26, later reported that actor John Wayne had to be restrained by security guards backstage from assaulting her, while other individuals backstage made offensive gestures.

Ampas has issued a statement of reconciliation signed by its former president David Rubin that described her appearance as "a powerful statement that continues to remind us of the necessity of respect and the importance of human dignity".

"The abuse you endured because of this statement was unwarranted and unjustified. The emotional burden you have lived through and the cost to your own career in our industry are irreparable. For too long the courage you showed has been unacknowledged. For this, we offer both our deepest apologies and our sincere admiration." The organisation has also planned an evening of "conversation, reflection, healing, and celebration", including an appearance by Littlefeather with Bird Runningwater, co-chair of the Academy's Indigenous Alliance.

Littlefeather, now 75, responded by saying: "Regarding the Academy's apology to me, we Indians are very patient people - it's only been 50 years! We need to keep our sense of humour about this at all times. It's our method of survival."

"I never thought I'd live to see the day," she added. This is a dream come true. It is profoundly heartening to see how much has changed since I did not accept the Academy Award 50 years ago."

The Wounded Knee occupation started in February 1973, and was a highly publicised protest by a 200-strong group of Oglala Lakota and members of AIM on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, on the same site where some 290 Lakota were killed by the US army in 1890. The Oscars took place in March, and the occupation ended in May after agreement with federal authorities to disarm.

In 2021, Littlefeather told the Guardian that she arrived at the ceremony only a few minutes before Brando's award was announced, and had been given an eight-page speech by Brando to read if he won. However, the show's director Howard Koch told her she could only have 60 seconds and so she improvised a speech instead. She also said she promised Brando that she would not touch the statuette. "I went up there like a warrior woman. I went up there with the grace and the beauty and the courage and the humility of my people. I spoke from my heart."

This article was amended on 17 August 2022 because an earlier version referred to David Rubin as president of Ampas; his term in that role ended on 2 August 2022..

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Academy Awards apologises to Sacheen Littlefeather for Oscars speech abuse

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Ampas), the body that oversees the Oscars, has issued a formal apology to Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American activist who appeared at the 1973 Academy Awards ceremony as part of Marlon Brando's refusal to accept his award.

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Marlon Brando Academy Awards Acceptance Speech Data Base - The Godfather - 1972 (article + video)

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Marlon Brando Academy Awards Acceptance Speech Data Base - The Godfather - 1972 (article + video)

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Academy Awards Acceptance Speeches - Search Results | Margaret Herrick Library | Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences

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Pope Francis apologizes for abuse at indigenous schools - PBS - July 28, 2022 (video)

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Pope Francis apologizes for abuse at indigenous schools - PBS - July 28, 2022 (video)

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Pope Francis apologizes for abuse at Indigenous schools, but the pain remains for many

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"This heatwave is the new normal" - World Meteorological organization - July 19, 2022

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"This heatwave is the new normal" - World Meteorological organization - July 19, 2022

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Without human-caused climate change temperatures of 40°C in the United Kingdom would have been extremely unlikely, according to a rapid analysis from a group of internationally renowned scientists at World Weather Attribution.

On Tuesday 18 July, 40.3°C was reached in Coningsby in Lincolnshire, breaching the 40°C threshold for the first time ever and breaking the previous maximum temperature record of 38.7°C set in 2019, according to the UK's Met Office. Local records were broken in 46 stations across the country. Minimum temperatures were also extremely high with 25.8°C provisionally being recorded in Kenley in Surrey, breaking the previous record from 1990 by 1.9°C.

The unprecedented temperatures occurred during a widespread and long-lasting heatwave in Europe, accompanied by drought, wildfires and stress on health systems.

"We have broken an all-time high in the UK", said WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas. "Heatwaves will happen more frequently because of climate change. The connection has been clearly demonstrated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change."

"In the future, this kind of heatwaves are going to be normal. We will see stronger extremes. We have pumped so much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that the negative trend will continue for decades. We haven't been able to reduce our emissions globally," said Prof. Taalas. "I hope that this will be a wake-up call for governments and that it will have an impact on voting behaviors in democratic countries", he said.

The heatwave was very well forecast, and the Met Office issued a top-level Red Alert, complementing a Level 4 Heat-Health warning by the UK Health Security agency - used when a heatwave is so severe and/or prolonged that its effects extend outside the health and social care system. At this level, illness may occur among the fit and healthy, not just in high-risk groups.

Scientists from South Africa, Germany, France, Switzerland, New Zealand, Denmark, United States of America and the United Kingdom, collaborated to assess to what extent human-induced climate change altered the likelihood and intensity of the heatwave.

Using published peer-reviewed methods, they analysed how human-induced climate change altered the likelihood and intensity of this heat wave in the region of the red alert warning. To capture the duration of the event as well as the record temperatures we look at maximum temperatures as well as the highest 2-day averages observed.

While Europe experiences heatwaves increasingly frequently over the last years, the recently observed heat in the UK has been so extreme that it is also a rare event in today's climate. The observed temperatures averaged over 2 days were estimated to have a return period of approximately 100 years in the current climate, according to World Weather Attribution.

The likelihood of observing such an event in a 1.2 °C cooler world (pre-industrial era) is extremely low, and statistically impossible in two out of three stations analysed by the study.

" Heatwaves during the height of summer pose a substantial risk to human health and are potentially lethal. This risk is aggravated by climate change, but also by other factors such as an ageing population, urbanisation, changing social structures, and levels of preparedness. The full impact is only known after a few weeks when the mortality figures have been analysed. Effective heat emergency plans, together with accurate weather forecasts such as those issued before this heatwave, reduce impacts and are becoming even more important in light of the rising risks, " the scientists concluded.

The hottest temperature ever recorded in Europe was 48°C (Greece, 1977). A suspected new record may have occurred in 2021 (48.8°C in Sicily) and is being reviewed by WMO.
The new normal
According to IPCC, temperatures will rise more quickly in European areas than elsewhere. In the Mediterranean, a worrisome combination of climatic impact-driver changes (warming; temperature extremes; increase in droughts and aridity; precipitation decrease; wildifire increase; mean and extreme sea levels; snow cover decrease; and wind speed decrease) is expected by mid-century if global warming exceeds 2°C.

The IPCC Special Report on Extremes also shows that heatwaves will be more frequent, longer and more intense in the 21st century. Early warning systems and reinforced health systems will be needed.
Pollution & health
"Stable, stagnant atmosphere traps atmospheric pollutants, including particulate matter, resulting in a degradation of air quality. Sun rays lead to ozone formation. Both impact health, particularly among vulnerable people, and also impact vegetal life", said Bob Stefanski

Health systems are challenged by heatwaves. "When a heatwave goes along with high levels of pollution it exacerbates respiratory, cardiovascular diseases and conditions especially in large urban spaces that are not adapted to cope with these high temperatures," said Maria Neira, Director of Environment and Health at WHO. "We have been alerting for a long time that climate change is severely affecting human health and therefore taking measures to reach the zero carbon and accelerating the transition to clean renewable sources of energy will be extremely important."
Watch WMO-WHO joint press conference on UN TV

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"This heatwave is the new normal," says WMO Secretary-General

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Without human-caused climate change temperatures of 40°C in the United Kingdom would have been extremely unlikely, according to a rapid analysis from a group of internationally renowned scientists at World Weather Attribution.

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"Heat waves are hitting around the world" - CBS News - July 23, 2022

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"Heat waves are hitting around the world" - CBS News - July 23, 2022

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As much of the nation swelters under temperatures that have canceled outdoor sports, sparked wildfires and taxed the infrastructure keeping people cool, experts warn that heat waves will only get more common.

Heat waves are just one of the types of extreme weather climate change becoming more frequent - but it's already led to deaths both in the U.S. and around the world this year.

"This is the climate change that we've been promised by scientists," Michal Nachmany, founder of Climate Policy Radar, told CBS News foreign correspondent Ramy Inocencio about record-breaking temperatures in the U.K. this week.

"This level of extreme weather is life-threatening, and we really want to make sure that people are not under any illusion, that this is serious and this is here to stay for the foreseeable future," Nachmany said.

In Phoenix, for example, heat kills as many people as homicides, David Hondula, the city's director of heat response and mitigation, told ' Ben Tracy.

Climate scientist Daniel Swain, who writes about weather in the Western U.S. on his website, pointed out last week that what he called "a prolonged and locally intense heatwave across all of western North America in the coming weeks" is "the least extreme such event currently ongoing across multiple continents," including Europe and China.

The Associated Press reports that heat waves in China earlier this month - specifically in the Zhejiang province, east of Shanghai - saw temperatures exceeding 42 degrees Celsius (up to 107 degrees Fahrenheit). The heat also hospitalized people in the Henang, Sichuan and Heilongiang provinces.

The human toll of heat this year is rising both around the world and closer to home. In North Texas, where firefighters battled 780% more blazes in July compared with last year - and officials said a 66-year-old woman died from heat-related causes this week - La Niña is helping drive drought conditions and high heat.

"We have a pretty significant drought all across north and central Texas. This drought caused us to go into summer much earlier than we normally see," Sarah Barnes, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Fort Worth, Texas, told CBS News' Kris Van Cleave.

Those drought conditions prompt more hot temperatures, the NWS said.

"We're certainly seeing more extreme weather due to climate change," Barnes added.

While air conditioning is one of the best ways to stay cool, it isn't common everywhere. And when the power goes out, air conditioning goes out with it.

"There's been a doubling in the number of blackouts per year in the last five years, and the majority of the blackouts are happening in the summer, in warm weather," Brian Stone, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology who studies urban climate change, told CBS Moneywatch earlier this year.

In Texas, the electrical grid has already been taxed by extreme temperatures this summer - and officials in other states warn their power infrastructure could be as well.

"Most summers these days are the hottest summer ever. What overlays that is just a creeping risk of antiquated infrastructure ... and those trends are converging at the wrong time," Stone said.

This week the U.K. saw a record 40 degrees Celsius,or about 104 Fahrenheit - 30 degrees hotter than typical summer temperatures in a country where less than 5% of homes were estimated to have air conditioning, CBS News foreign correspondent Roxana Saberi reports.

"Climate change has everything to do with the extreme weather that we're seeing at the moment, and it's human-induced climate change. It's not a natural variation," Kirsty McCabe, a meteorologist at the U.K.'s Royal Meteorological Society, told CBS News correspondent Roxana Saberi.

The extreme heat has contributed to wildfires in the U.K. and across Europe - including in France, Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal.

"We used to look at polar bears, and then we used to say, 'This is about our children and our grandchildren.'" Nachmany said. "This isn't. This is us. This is here. This is now."

Protecting the Planet: Climate Change News & Features
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Heat waves are hitting around the globe. Scientists say climate change is making them more frequent.

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As much of the nation swelters under temperatures that have canceled outdoor sports, sparked wildfires and taxed the infrastructure keeping people cool, experts warn that heat waves will only get more common. Heat waves are just one of the types of extreme weather climate change becoming more frequent - but it's already led to deaths both in the U.S.

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Oak Fire: Photos of the "Unprecedented Yosemite Wildfire" - Time - July 27, 2022 (article + video)

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Oak Fire: Photos of the "Unprecedented Yosemite Wildfire" - Time - July 27, 2022 (article + video)

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A fast-moving wildfire in near Yosemite National Park in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains has engulfed nearly 19,000 acres. It was sparked July 22, and in just three days, it charred more than 18,000 acres.

Cal Fire officials warned that the unpredictable behavior of the blaze is "really unprecedented." With temperatures in the area hovering around 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the flames fed on extremely dry vegetation, a result of climate change bringing frequent droughts and rising heat levels to the state over the last 20 years.

As of July  27, the fire has burned dozens of homes, threatened some 1,400 structures and required evacuation orders for more than 6,000 people.

Firefighters saw some success Monday as aircraft dumped 300,000 liters of water on the flames. The roughly 2,500 firefighting personnel on the job had contained nearly one-third of the fire by the next morning. As they got a handle on the emergency, smoke from the blaze spread over more than 200 miles, clouding the skies above Yosemite, as well as parts of Nevada and Northern California.

Below are a selection of photos from one of California's most intense, unpredictable wildfires yet.

Write to Julia Zorthian at julia.zorthian@time.com and Kim Bubello at kim.bubello@time.com.

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The Oak Fire Near Yosemite Is One of California's Most Unpredictable Blazes Yet

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A fast-moving wildfire in near Yosemite National Park in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains has engulfed nearly 19,000 acres. It was sparked July 22, and in just three days, it charred more than 18,000 acres. Cal Fire officials warned that the unpredictable behavior of the blaze is "really unprecedented."

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UK's record breaking heatwave - BBC News - July 29, 2022 (video)

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UK's record breaking heatwave - BBC News - July 29, 2022 (video)

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UK's record-breaking heatwave 'basically impossible' without climate change - BBC News

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Zoe: The World's First Named Heatwave - World Economic Forum - August 2, 2022 (video)

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Zoe: The World's First Named Heatwave - World Economic Forum - August 2, 2022 (video)

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The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. Incorporated as a not-for-profit foundation in 1971, and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the Forum is tied to no political, partisan or national interests.

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BONUS: extra reading - Orcas are eating great white sharks' livers off South Africa - The Washington Post - July 2, 2022

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BONUS: extra reading - Orcas are eating great white sharks' livers off South Africa - The Washington Post - July 2, 2022

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Marine biologist Alison Towner examines a great white shark carcass that washed up on a South African beach, probably the victim of an orca attack. Towner led a study that found orcas are displacing great whites as the apex predator off South Africa's coast. (Courtesy of Dyer Island Conservation Trust)

In 2017, five great white shark carcasses washed ashore in four months in South Africa. Four of them were missing livers, and one had its heart removed.

Now, scientists have zeroed in on the suspects: a pair of male orcas named Port and Starboard with a taste for energy-rich shark liver.

The attacks have continued, and the pair are probably not the only orcas terrorizing great whites in the area. A study published in the peer-reviewed African Journal of Marine Science on Wednesday found that orcas are displacing great whites as the top predator in Gansbaai, a popular shark viewing destination about 75 miles east of Cape Town. With great whites increasingly absent, smaller predators can multiply unchecked, threatening prey species and destabilizing the entire ecosystem.

Similar responses when a new top predator arrives in a land ecosystem have been well-studied, but documenting the same phenomenon in the ocean is rare, according to Alison Towner, a marine biologist at the Dyer Island Conservation Trust who led the study.

"We now have direct evidence that one of the oceans largest apex predators completely displaces the another, and it is the first time in the world that white shark carcasses have been available for scientific examination directly after being hunted by Killer whales," she wrote in an email to The Post.

Researchers launched the study in 2017 after performing necropsies on the likely victims of Port and Starboard, identified by their distinctive dorsal fins.

The waters off Gansbaai are normally teeming with sharks - in the months leading up to the 2017 attacks, scientists were logging close to seven sightings per day. But following the orca attacks, sightings immediately plummeted to 1.17 per day on average for the next six months. The average remained under two sightings per day for 2018 and 2019.

Before 2017, there had only been two periods since data collection began that great whites had not been observed for a week or more, a week in 2007 and a three-week stint in 2016. In 2019, scientists were averaging almost 10 weeks between sightings.

The rapid departure and prolonged absences - which lengthened as sightings of orcas went up - led the researchers to conclude that fear of the larger predators was probably driving the great whites away from those waters.

Orcas can grow to 50 percent larger than great whites, and a previous study showed that they displaced great whites off the coast of San Francisco. But they had never been documented doing so off South Africa, according to the study published Wednesday.

It turns out, great white sharks are scared of something, too

The researchers likened the great whites' behavior to wild dogs in the Serengeti in Tanzania, which abandon territory for the long term when lions move in.

The study also examined how the ecosystem responded to the missing great whites. They warned that it could lead to a trophic cascade, when the decline or disappearance of one level of the food web destabilizes the entire ecosystem.

"Ecology is a balance," Towner wrote. "Remove sharks at the top and everything is disrupted, smaller predators dominate and the system can potentially collapse or certainly some species within it."

In the absence of the great whites, smaller bronze whaler sharks moved into the territory for the first time, a sign of the rapid effects it could have lower on the food chain, researchers said.

In Gansbaai, great white sharks keep the local Cape fur seal population in check. Without a predator to fear, they will be able to prey on endangered African penguins or gorge on the small fish the penguins rely on.

The researchers considered alternative explanations for the great whites' absence, such as sea surface temperatures and fishing, but neither could explain the "sudden localized decline" at Gansbaai. In Mossel Bay, another area frequented by great whites roughly 200 miles to the east, the orca pair was not seen and shark sightings remained stable.

The orcas may have been drawn to the area by a decline in prey elsewhere in their territory, according to the study. Scientists are examining whether changing conditions offshore linked in part to climate change are driving orcas out of their normal hunting grounds, according to Towner.

Though great whites are becoming more prevalent in certain areas, such as off the California coast, their overall population remains fragile and the emergence of a new predator is concerning, according to the researchers.

The great white shark next door

Towner said the study serves as a warning sign of more ecological damage to come.

"[It's] almost as if the science cannot keep up with how rapid the ecology is changing," she said. "The evidence is there, it needs to be taken into account by policy makers to [to avoid] the situation escalating completely beyond help."

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Orcas are eating great white sharks' livers off South Africa's coast

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Placeholder while article actions load In 2017, five great white shark carcasses washed ashore in four months in South Africa. Four of them were missing livers, and one had its heart removed. Now, scientists have zeroed in on the suspects: a pair of male orcas named Port and Starboard with a taste for energy-rich shark liver.

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Jim MORIN - Immigrants go home - The Miami Herald (cartoon)

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Jim MORIN - Immigrants go home - The Miami Herald (cartoon)

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Jim MORIN - Yhe Miami Herald-Immigrants-Cartoon