Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee will be celebrated with a six-minute fly past of more than 70 aircraft.

Planes from the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force (RAF) will soar over Buckingham Palace on June 2, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has confirmed.

The Queen is expected to watch the spectacle, which will take place on the first day of the jubilee weekend, from the palace balcony with other members of the royal family.

The 96-year-old monarch has limited appearances at the Trooping the Colour event to working royals only and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Prince Andrew will not be present on the balcony.

Prince Charles, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Anne are among the royals who will be joining the Queen for the historic occasion.

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “I’m proud that the Armed Forces are leading the nation in celebration with such a spectacular display.

“Throughout the Platinum Jubilee celebrations we will all enjoy the expertise, skill and talent of our Armed Forces as we celebrate Her Majesty’s 70 years on the throne.”

Prince Harry reportedly told the monarch that he wasn’t “keen” for himself and Meghan to appear on the balcony following their decision to step down as senior royals two years ago, although they will travel to the UK from California for the celebrations.

The couple’s biographer Omid Scobie wrote in a column for Yahoo!: “As is often the case, the reality is much less severe when you hear that Prince Harry had already spoken with his grandmother about the possibility of not attending Trooping the Colour long before last week’s announcements.

“I’m told by a source that the Duke of Sussex had actually expressed some time ago that he and Meghan were very keen to be a part of the Jubilee engagements, including the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral, but less so for the formal balcony moment, which was felt on both sides to be more appropriate for their lives prior to stepping back.”

Wanda Sykes is still “traumatised” by Will Smith’s Oscars slap.

The 58-year-old comedian has revealed she is struggling to process the actor’s decision to slap Chris Rock at the Academy Awards ceremony in March after the comic had joked about his wife Jada’s hair.

Speaking during a comedy gig in Orlando, Wanda said: “I’m still traumatised. I can’t talk about it. I get emotional.”

The star was also angered that Will, who claimed the Best Actor gong for his performance in ‘King Richard’, was allowed to remain at the ceremony following the controversial incident.

Wanda said: “I couldn’t believe he was still sitting there, like an a******. Shouldn’t you be sitting there with a lawyer or LAPD, motherf*****?

“I hope he gets his s*** together. Until then, f*** him.”

Sykes previously revealed that she “physically felt ill” after witnessing Smith’s slap and was furious that he wasn’t asked to leave.

She said of the actor, who has now been banned from the Oscars for 10 years: “And for them to let [Will] stay in that room and enjoy the rest of the show and accept his award, I was like, ‘How gross is this?’ This sends the wrong message.”

Wanda explained how Chris apologised to her following the incident as he knew it would overshadow the entire ceremony.

She recalled: “I saw Chris at [Guy Oseary’s afterparty] and as soon as I walked up to him, the first thing he said is, ‘I’m so sorry.’ I was like, ‘Why are you apologising?’

“He was like, ‘It was supposed to be your night. You and Amy (Schumer) and Regina (Hall) were doing such a great job. I’m so sorry this is now gonna be about this.'”

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, the leading Democratic candidate in the race to replace retiring Republican U.S. Senator Pat Toomey, said on Sunday he had suffered a stroke but was on his “way to a full recovery.”

Fetterman, who will face U.S. Representative Conor Lamb and two other candidates in the Democratic primary for the Senate seat on Tuesday, said in a statement issued from Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital that he suffered the stroke on Friday.

Fetterman, 52, who eschews suits for hoodies, has surged in opinion polls ahead of the May 17 primary, shocking political observers who had predicted a close contest with Lamb.

The state party establishment views Lamb, a former federal prosecutor and former Marine, as a safer choice to take on whoever Republicans choose to run in November’s general election. Lamb received major endorsements from party stalwarts, while Fetterman received almost none.

Lamb said on Twitter that he found out about Fetterman’s stroke on live television. “Hayley and I are keeping John and his family in our prayers and wishing him a full and speedy recovery,” he tweeted.

The winner of the Democratic primary could face celebrity surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz in the general election. If it is Fetterman, it would be a race of two anti-establishment candidates.

Polls show the Trump-endorsed Oz with a slight lead over his Republican rivals.

Fetterman said he had not been feeling well but ignored his symptoms until his wife insisted he go to a hospital.

“I had a stroke that was caused by a clot from my heart being in an A-fib rhythm for too long,” he said. “The amazing doctors here were able to quickly and completely remove the clot, reversing the stroke, they got my heart under control as well. It’s a good reminder to listen to your body and be aware of the signs.”

Fetterman said in his statement that he was “feeling much better” and suffered no cognitive damage. “I’m well on my way to a full recovery,” he said. “They’re keeping me here for now for observation, but I should be out of here sometime soon.”

(Reporting by Diane Bartz in WashingtonEditing by Tim Ahmann, Matthew Lewis and Jonathan Oatis)

Dua Lipa considered quitting music because of abuse from online trolls.

The ‘One Kiss’ hitmaker has become one of the biggest stars in the world of pop but revealed she had doubts about succeeding in the industry because of the nasty messages she received online.

Dua is quoted by The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column as saying: “There were moments of self-doubt, even though it was kind of unfair because a lot of the people that had sent those messages or were saying things online actually hadn’t been to any of my shows.

“Social media is kind of run on this toxic currency of who can make people laugh at the expense of others.”

Dua explained that she has learned to cast the trolls aside and that she longer cares about what people say or think about her.

The 26-year-old singer said: “Now, if anybody says anything, it doesn’t even bother me.”

Dua recently revealed that she decided to quit smoking to protect her voice for her current ‘Future Nostalgia’ tour, which had been postponed several times due the coronavirus pandemic.

The pop star revealed: “I had laryngitis in December and that kind of kickstarted me quitting smoking a month earlier than I was supposed to. But I did it and I have stuck to it.”

Dua has been travelling across the globe for her tour and revealed that the gigs have been demanding on her body.

The ‘New Rules’ hitmaker said: “It is a really, really demanding and relentless show. When you’re in rehearsals and I’m like, ‘Yeah, let’s do this dance routine here, and let’s do this and let’s do that.’ Nothing ever quite prepares you for the real thing, especially when the adrenaline hits and you’re on stage and you feel the energy from the crowd. That definitely helps you get in the zone and you don’t really think about the toll it can take on your body because the adrenaline is so high.”

By Tim Reid and Kanishka Singh

(Reuters) – An 18-year-old white man suspected of fatally shooting 10 people in a Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, appears to be the latest in a line of “copycat” gunmen carrying out deadlier mass shootings inspired by previous attackers, experts warned on Sunday.

Payton Gendron, who surrendered to police on Saturday after the attack, apparently publicized a racist manifesto on the internet and broadcast the attack in real time on social media platform Twitch, a live video service owned by Amazon.com. Authorities called the mass killing an act of “racially motivated violent extremism.”

Experts say the trend of mostly young white men being inspired by previous racist gun massacres is on the rise, citing recent mass shootings, including the 2015 attack at a Black church in Charleston, South Carolina, a 2018 shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh and a 2019 attack at a Walmart in an Hispanic neighborhood of El Paso.

Adam Lankford, a criminology professor at the University of Alabama, has studied trends in mass shootings over time. His 2020 study analyzing victim data showed that the “deadliest” shootings – where more than eight people are killed – had doubled in number since 2010, compared to the previous 40 years.

“It’s clearly not just random. They are not people dreaming this up on their own. They are learning it from each other,” Lankford said.

He added: “They want to be like the previous attacker, who is a role model.”

Lankford’s study found that the “deadliest” shootings comprised 25% of mass public shootings from 1966 to 2009, but from 2010 to 2019 had increased to 50% of mass public shootings, in which there was “direct evidence that perpetrator was influenced by another specific attacker or attackers.”

Lankford said the rise in these copycat mass killings have a specific trend: the gunmen find their inspiration from the personal life details of previous mass shooters. “It’s not repeating the incident that inspires them. It’s the intimate details of their lives that promotes the influence,” he said.

Lankford said one way to try and combat the rise in such hate crimes is for the media to avoid publishing details of the shooters personal lives.

RED FLAGS

Hate-motivated mass shootings and fame-seeking perpetrators have rapidly increased since 2015, according to an analysis by The Violence Project, which tracks mass shootings in the United States.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which tracks hate and extremist groups, told Reuters on Sunday the Buffalo gunman “had a substantial online history in niche, toxic online communities.”

“From what he wrote online, by his own account he was radicalized through participation in these forums,” Susan Corke, director of SPLC’s Intelligence Project, said in an emailed statement.

The SPLC said that even though it had not seen any evidence yet of the gunman’s affiliation to a specific far right or racist group, there were red flags.

“He discussed building up a weapons cache and asked detailed questions about body armor on a Discord channel dedicated to gun culture. He also posted about allegedly killing a cat and dismembering it. He appears to have posted detailed plans for an attack as early as two weeks ago and posted frequently after that about his planning,” Corke added.

The SPLC said it had obtained a transcript of the suspect’s Discord chat log, adding they have “high confidence” when asked about its authenticity. Reuters could not independently authenticate the postings.

Social media and streaming platforms like Twitch, which said it removed the stream of Saturday’s shooting after less than two minutes, have grappled with controlling violent and extremist content for years.

The live-nature of the broadcasts make it particularly difficult to moderate as streaming platforms do not have time-delays like television broadcasts. Facebook has sought to address the livestream violence issue in 2019 after allowing 17 minutes of a livestream of a mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, before taking it down. It now has a one-strike policy which temporarily restricts users after breaking a rule.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on Sunday the stream should have been taken down faster and that she would take the matter up with social media platforms.

Democratic U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also urged social media companies to address and track down extremism on their platforms.

(Reporting by Tim Reid in Los Angeles and Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Aurora Ellis)

Washington (AFP) – Rebecca Gomperts, a 55-year-old Dutch physician, has spent years fighting for women’s access to abortion around the world.

Made famous by her “abortion boat,” as recounted in the 2014 documentary “Vessel,” she and her Women on Waves group have anchored the ship in international waters off the coasts of Poland, Spain, Mexico and other countries, offering medical abortions to women otherwise unable to obtain them.

But it is in the United States that interest has been surging in her other organization, Aid Access, which since 2018 has provided abortion pills over the internet.

Behind the fast-rising demand is what appears — based on a rare leak from the US Supreme Court — to be the imminent end of federal protection for abortion rights. Once the court makes its decision official, probably next month, some 20 states are poised to ban or severely restrict abortions.  

“We’re already seeing a huge increase in requests,” Gomperts told AFP, saying some people were “panicking.”

“It’s not only when this takes place; it has already made people aware how vulnerable they are.”

Aid Access, based in Austria, has been working with physicians to fill requests in the 20 US states where abortion pills can be legally prescribed by telemedicine.

For requests from the other states, Gompert’s group has exploited a legal loophole to send the pills from abroad.

Demand was strong even before word of the high court’s intentions leaked out. In a little more than a year (from October 2020 to December 2021), Aid Access says it received more than 45,000 requests from the United States.

Reasons for the requests vary: the high cost of other abortion services, the cost and difficulty of traveling to distant abortion clinics, or the impossibility of doing so due to job or child-care demands. 

After filling out a questionnaire, women are instructed on how to take the pills at home. The price is adjusted depending on their ability to pay, and the pills are mailed from a pharmacy in India. Aid Access checks in with the women afterward.

The most vulnerable

The pills are easy to find elsewhere on the internet, usually for a few hundred dollars. But those websites, also based outside the United States, are purely commercial and provide no medical support. 

For Gomperts, who in 2020 was listed as one of the world’s 100 most influential people by Time magazine, the fight for abortion rights is a matter of “social justice.”

“The biggest problem is that the women that are not literate, that cannot read and write, that have no access to internet — the most impoverished group — they will not be able to find these solutions,” she said.

Many of them would lack the resources to travel to a state where abortion remains legal.

“These are the women that might be forced to give birth or that will take drastic measures to end their pregnancy.”

The certain result, Gomperts said, will be an increase in maternal mortality and morbidity.

A safe method

According to a 2017 survey of several thousand women in the United States, 20 percent of those who had attempted an at-home abortion used the pills, 29 percent used other drugs, 38 percent used plant-based infusions and 20 percent tried physical methods (some used more than one method, so the total exceeds 100 percent).

During recent demonstrations outside the Supreme Court, women protesters brandished a disturbing object, something that seemed an artifact from a long-ago era: metal clothes-hangers — a symbol of highly risky abortions performed clandestinely.

And yet, up to the 10th week of pregnancy, abortion pills are very safe, experts say. 

Today they represent half of all abortions in the United States (in France, by way of comparison, the figure is 70 percent). And their use outside of any medical setting is a “very acceptable” option, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Two drugs are used: first a dose of mifepristone is taken to block the hormones that support a pregnancy; then, 24 to 48 hours later, misoprostol is taken to induce contractions.

Complications that might require medical help — an excessive flow of blood, an infection or an allergic reaction — are rare. 

So, beyond the medical aspect, the real risk to at-home abortions is legal complications.

The NGO If/When/How has counted 60 cases in which women who allegedly self-managed abortions, or people who assisted them, were arrested, charged or sentenced between 2000 and 2020.

The group, which says it envisions “a future when all people can self-determine their reproductive lives free from discrimination, coercion or violence,” helps find legal representation for such women. 

It fears the trend toward criminalizing abortion will be greatly aggravated if the Supreme Court rules as expected.

Such a ruling, said Gomperts, “instills fear in people, and especially in health-care providers — and that is the biggest impact.”

Olivia Rodrigo and Kanye West won big at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards.

The annual ceremony returned to Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sunday night (15.05.22), and this year half of the winners were unveiled on TikTok and the other half during a live broadcast on Peacock and NBC in the US.

Teenage pop superstar Olivia, 19, and rap legend Kanye, 44, took home the most prizes.

Olivia won seven accolades for Top New Artist, Top 100 Artist, Top Streaming Songs Artist, Top Radio Songs Artist, Top Billboard Global 200 Artist and Top R B Female Artist, while ‘SOUR’ was crowned Top Billboard 200 Album.

As for Kanye, the ‘Jesus Walks’ rapper dominated the gospel and Christian categories, with ‘Donda’ taking home both Top Christian and Top Gospel Album. He also named Top Christian and Gospel Artist, while ‘Hurricane’ from ‘Donda’ was named Top Christian and Gospel Song, giving him a total of six prizes.

Doja Cat walked away with three prizes for Top R B Artist, Top Viral Song for ‘Kiss Me More’ with SZA and Top R B Female Artist.

The Weeknd was the most-nominated going into the ceremony, with 17 nods, but the ‘Blinding Lights’ hitmaker only walked away with a single prize for Top R B Male Artist.

The star-studded bash was hosted by Diddy and featured performances from Megan Thee Stallion, Silk Sonic, Burna Boy, Florence + The Machine, Ed Sheeran and Machine Gun Kelly.

Before the ceremony started, organisers caused controversy by allowing country star Morgan Wallen to make an appearance despite him being banned last year for use of a racial slur.

The 29-year-old singer-songwriter performed right after civil rights activist Tamika Mallory gave a speech about social justice and anti-racism, which raised a few eyebrows.

Travis Scott also performed, six months after the Astroworld tragedy, which saw 10 people lose their lives in a crowd surge at the rapper’s festival.

Before the event, host Diddy addressed the booking of Morgan and Travis.

He said: “To have Morgan and Travis be able to come back and touch the stage again with the mindset of getting a second chance at life.

“Everybody in the room is getting a second chance at life, you know, because we’re back outside with no masks on. We need love and I’m excited about celebrating that.”

An abridged list of the 2022 Billboard Music Awards winners:

Top Artist

Drake

Top New Artist

Olivia Rodrigo

Top Male Artist

Drake

Top Female Artist

Olivia Rodrigo

Top Duo/Group

BTS

Top Billboard 200 Artist

Taylor Swift

Top Hot 100 Artist

Olivia Rodrigo

Top Streaming Songs Artist

Olivia Rodrigo

Top Song Sales Artist

BTS

Top Radio Songs Artist

Olivia Rodrigo

Top Billboard Global 200 Artist

Olivia Rodrigo

Top Billboard Global (Excl. U.S.) Artist

Ed Sheeran

Top Tour

The Rolling Stones (‘No Filter Tour’)

Top R B Artist

Doja Cat

Top R B Male Artist

The Weeknd

Top R B Female Artist

Doja Cat

Top Rap Artist

Drake

Top Rap Male Artist

Drake

Top Rap Female Artist

Megan Thee Stallion

Top Country Artist

Taylor Swift

Top Country Male Artist

Morgan Wallen

Top Country Female Artist

Taylor Swift

Top Country Duo/Group

Dan + Shay

Top Rock Artist

Glass Animals

Top Rock Tour

The Rolling Stones (‘No Filter Tour’)

Top Latin Artist

Bad Bunny

Top Latin Male Artist

Bad Bunny

Top Latin Female Artist

Kali Uchis

Top Dance/Electronic Artist

Lady Gaga

Top Christian Artist

Ye

Top Gospel Artist

Ye

Top Billboard 200 Album

Olivia Rodrigo, ‘SOUR’

Top Rap Album

Drake, ‘Certified Lover Boy’

Top Country Album

Taylor Swift, ‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’

Top Rock Album

twenty one pilots, ‘Scaled and Icy’

Top Latin Album

Karol G, ‘KG0516’

Top Dance/Electronic Album

Illenium, ‘Fallen Embers’

Top Christian Album

Ye, ‘Donda’

Top Gospel Album

Ye, ‘Donda’

Top Hot 100 Song

The Kid LAROI Justin Bieber, ‘Stay’

Top Streaming Song

The Kid LAROI Justin Bieber, ‘Stay’

Top Selling Song

BTS, ‘Butter’

Top Radio Song

Dua Lipa, ‘Levitating’

Top Collaboration

The Kid LAROI Justin Bieber, ‘Stay’

Top Billboard Global 200 Song

The Kid LAROI Justin Bieber, ‘Stay’

Top Billboard Global (Excl. U.S.) Song

The Kid LAROI Justin Bieber, ‘Stay’

Top Viral Song

Doja Cat ft. SZA, ‘Kiss Me More’

Top R B Song

Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak), ‘Leave The Door Open’

Top Rap Song

Lil Nas X ft. Jack Harlow, ‘Industry Baby’

Top Rock Song

Måneskin, ‘Beggin”

Top Latin Song

Kali Uchis, ‘telepatía’

Top Dance/Electronic Song

Sir Elton John Dua Lipa, ‘Cold Heart – PNAU Remix’

Top Christian Song

Ye, ‘Hurricane’ – winner

Top Gospel Song

Ye, ‘Hurricane’

Emeli Sandé hopes to start a family with her new girlfriend.

The ‘Next To Me’ hitmaker – who was married to university lecturer Adam Gouraguine from 2012 to 2014 – announced last month that she is now dating female classical pianist Yoana Karemova, and she has admitted she would love to have a child with her partner in the future.

Speaking to The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column, she said: “I’d love to have a child one day.

“It’s that balance – you want to get better at what you do, you want to keep pushing at your career, but at the same time you are a woman.

“If it happens then fantastic. But if I’m supposed to dedicate myself to my music, then so be it.

“Hopefully one day we can start a family.”

Last week, Emily admitted she finally felt like she could “breathe” after letting everyone know her sexuality and having such a positive reaction from her supportive fanbase.

She said: “Yeah, it’s been amazing. You know, I wasn’t sure especially coming out and talking about my new relationship. I wasn’t sure how people would see that. But it definitely got to a point in my life where I felt I have to be me. You know, I really have to be because it’s killing me not to be my real self. So now the reaction was so lovely.

“My fans have just been so supportive and I just feel finally I can be myself and breathe.”

The 35-year-old singer feels like she is “floating on a cloud” she’s so smitten with her girlfriend.

She gushed: “I think I have such a physical reaction falling in love. You just feel like you’re floating on a cloud. Everything’s good. I remember just you know, a few months after just knowing her, life is really nice. Like everything seems good. I feel optimistic. And I think since I met Yoana, I think your body tells you and life becomes just like a dream.”

Apple is planning it put a USB-C in the iPhone 15, says an Apple analyst.

The tech giant is thought to be swapping out their Lightning -which was first added in 2012 to the iPhone 5 – port out for a USB-C one, which some expecting the next model to be portless and rely on wireless charging.

Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst who looks at Apple wrote on Twitter: “My latest survey indicates that 2H23 new iPhone will abandon Lightning port and switch to USB-C port. USB-C could improve iPhone’s transfer and charging speed in hardware designs, but the final spec details still depend on iOS support.”

In a follow-up tweet, the often right analyst added: “It’s expected to see existing USB-C-related suppliers of Apple’s ecosystem (e.g., IC controller, connector) become the market’s focus in the next 1-2 years, thanks to vast orders from iPhones and accessories’ adoption of USB-C ports.

According to Mark Gurman, a fellow analyst writing for Bloomberg, the innovative company is indeed working on adding a USB-C to their new model – which is expected out in 2023 – after they already added to their other product line-up such as the iPad and their Macbook models.

Last week, Apple discontinued their last iPod product, the iPod Touch after the original – and revolutionary – product made its debut in 2001, more than 21 years ago and 400 million sold worldwide.

On their website, they said: “Since its introduction over 20 years ago, iPod has captivated users all over the world who love the ability to take their music with them on the go. Today, the experience of taking one’s music library out into the world has been integrated across Apple’s product line — from iPhone and Apple Watch to iPad and Mac — along with access to more than 90 million songs and over 30,000 playlists available via Apple Music..

“Among the incredible ways to enjoy music across a range of devices, including a wide variety of models from the new iPhone SE to the latest iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone is the best device for streaming Apple Music or storing an entire music library on the go.”

JK Rowling has mocked transgender activists who dressed up as ninjas and tried to stop a group of women’s rights activists.

The ‘Harry Potter’ author took to social media to lament the Manchester Trans Rise Up protestors, who came dressed in balaclavas and tried to stop the women from speaking out in front of a statue of the founder of the Suffragette movement, Emmeline Pankhurst, at Manchester’s St Peter’s Square.

She tweeted: “There is no conflict between women’s rights and our ideology.

“To prove it, we’ve dressed up as ninjas to block public access to a statue of a suffragette.

“We’re confident this has done wonders for our cause and definitely isn’t an unintentionally hilarious own goal.”

In an other post, Rowling added: “I never expected the right side of history to include so many people in masks intimidating and assaulting women, did you?

“But she never have dropped her flag. Emmelline would be proud.”

Rowling has been in an opposing ideological battle with the transsexual community since she made her stance on biological sex clear in a social media post made a few years back.

Commenting on a headline which read: “Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate.”

The writer wrote: “‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”

Although Rowling has made her opinion on the importance of biological sex clear, the philanthropist insists she supports the trans community, but she has to defend the rights of women as a feminist.

She previously posted: “If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth. (sic)”

Rowling also revealed she’s researched the issue over the “last three years” and rubbished suggestions she doesn’t have any knowledge of the subject.

She said: “I’ve spent much of the last three years reading books, blogs and scientific papers by trans people, medics and gender specialists. I know exactly what the distinction is. Never assume that because someone thinks differently, they have no knowledge. (sic)”

By Lawrence Hurley

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday further undermined campaign finance restrictions and handed a victory to Senator Ted Cruz, striking down as a free speech violation part of a bipartisan 2002 law challenged by the Texas Republican that federal officials had called an anti-corruption provision.

The justices, in a 6-3 ruling, found that a $250,000 cap on the amount of money political candidates can be reimbursed after an election for personal loans to their own campaigns ran afoul of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech by unjustifiably burdening political expression.

In the ruling authored by Chief Justice Roberts, the court’s conservative justices were in the majority and liberal justices in dissent. Roberts wrote that the law in question “burdens core political speech without proper justification.”

Roberts wrote that the government had failed to show that the measure “furthers a permissible anti-corruption goal, rather than the impermissible objective of simply limiting the amount of money in politics.”

In a blistering dissenting opinion, liberal Justice Elena Kagan said the court was effectively aiding and abetting corruption in Washington by allowing donors to contribute to a campaign after an election in a way that benefits the candidate personally.

“In striking down the law today, the court greenlights all the sordid bargains Congress thought right to stop,” Kagan wrote.

Politicians will know that such payments will go directly to them via the campaign, Kagan added, and the donors will hope for something in return.

“The politician is happy; the donors are happy. The only loser is the public. It inevitably suffers from government corruption,” Kagan said.

Cruz had sued the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the agency that enforces election laws.

Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration, acting on behalf of the FEC, had appealed a Washington-based three-judge panel’s 2021 ruling unanimously striking down the provision on free speech grounds. Cruz was backed by some fellow Republicans in the case.

The provision at issue was part of a major campaign finance law that already has been chipped away at by the Supreme Court including in a landmark 2010 ruling https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-politics/landmark-supreme-court-ruling-allows-corporate-political-cash-idUSTRE60K3SK20100121 that allowed unlimited independent spending by corporations and unions during elections as constitutionally protected free speech.

In finding that the limit was not justified to deter corruption, Roberts said restrictions already exist on how much money individuals can donate during an election cycle, currently capped at $2,900. Roberts added that the status quo likely benefited incumbents over challengers because new candidates often have to loan money to their campaigns and can find it more difficult to attract donations.

Cruz, first elected to represent Texas in the Senate in 2012, sued the FEC after his successful 2018 re-election race against Democratic rival Beto O’Rourke. Cruz had lent his campaign organization $260,000 but was limited by the law to a $250,000 reimbursement from his campaign.

The Supreme Court has struck down various provisions of the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), often called the McCain-Feingold law in recognition of its main Senate sponsors, John McCain and Russ Feingold.

Cruz unsuccessfully sought his party’s 2016 presidential nomination, later becoming a prominent supporter of former President Donald Trump.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham)

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Representative Liz Cheney called on fellow Republicans to reject white supremacism, days after a teenage gunman motivated by the right-wing “great replacement” theory allegedly killed 10 people in a racist shooting in western New York state.

“The House GOP leadership has enabled white nationalism, white supremacy, and anti-semitism,” Cheney, an outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump and his allies in the House of Representatives, wrote on Twitter.

“History has taught us that what begins with words ends in far worse. @GOP leaders must renounce and reject these views and those who hold them,” she tweeted.

Political fallout from the weekend shooting could become a new hurdle for Republicans, as they try to minimize infighting over party fealty to Trump in the run-up to the Nov. 8 midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.

A 180-page manifesto that circulated online, believed to have been authored by the 18-year-old white man accused in the killing spree, outlined the “Great Replacement Theory,” a racist conspiracy theory that white people were being replaced by minorities in the United States and elsewhere.

Cheney is one of two Republicans on a congressional committee that has subpoenaed House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy and four other party lawmakers to testify about the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by hundreds of Trump supporters.

Cheney was joined by Representative Adam Kinzinger, a fellow maverick Republican who is also on the committee, in blaming the party’s leadership for not condemning the racism that fueled the attack in Buffalo, New York, where 11 of the 13 wounded were Black Americans.

“Here is my replacement theory: we need to replace @EliseStefanik, @GOPLeader, @RepMTG, @CawthornforNC and a number of others,” Kinzinger said Sunday in a tweet referring to McCarthy, House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik and hard-line Trump supporters Marjorie Taylor Greene and Madison Cawthorn.

“The replacement theory they are pushing/tolerating is getting people killed,” said Kinzinger.

Cheney and Kinzinger maintain that House leaders are pandering to Trump allies and supporters who advocate white nationalism as the party tries to take control of the House in November’s midterm elections.

Stefanik’s office in a statement rejected that criticism.

“Any implication or attempt to blame the heinous shooting in Buffalo on the Congresswoman is a new disgusting low for the left, their Never Trump allies and the sycophant stenographers in the media,” said Alex DeGrasse, a senior adviser to Stefanik.

Stefanik, who represents a New York state congressional district, replaced Cheney as the No. 3 House Republican last year after Cheney condemned Trump for the January 2021 Capitol attack by his supporters.

Greene on Twitter said that responsibility for the shooting lay only with the gunman. The offices of McCarthy and Cawthorn did not respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Scott Malone and Jonathan Oatis)

New York (AFP) – American fast-food giant McDonald said Monday it will exit Russia in the wake of the Ukraine invasion, ending a more than three-decade run begun in the hopeful period near the end of the Cold War.

The restaurant chain, which launched in Moscow in January 1990 to great fanfare almost two years before the Soviet Union was dissolved, characterized the withdrawal as difficult but necessary.

“The humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, and the precipitating unpredictable operating environment, have led McDonald’s to conclude that continued ownership of the business in Russia is no longer tenable, nor is it consistent with McDonald’s values,” the company said in a statement.

The chain is looking to sell “its entire portfolio of McDonald’s restaurants in Russia to a local buyer.”

The burger giant is one of numerous foreign firms that have pulled out of the country or suspended operations following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in late February.

Earlier on Monday, French automaker Renault announced it had handed over its Russian assets to the government, marking the first major nationalization since the onset of Western sanctions against Moscow’s military campaign.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into pro-Western Ukraine on February 24, triggering unprecedented sanctions and sparking an exodus of foreign corporations including H&M, Starbucks and Ikea.

In March, citing “unspeakable suffering to innocent people,” McDonald’s closed all of its 850 restaurants in the country, where it says it employs 62,000 workers.

But on Monday the “Big Mac” maker went a step further, saying the company “is pursuing the sale of its entire portfolio of McDonald’s restaurants in Russia to a local buyer.”

After the sale, the restaurants would no longer be able to use the McDonald’s name, logo, branding or menu, though the company will retain its trademark in the country, the company said.

Russia currently accounts for nine percent of the company’s revenue and three percent of its operating profit.

McDonald’s expects to a one-time charge of $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion to write off the investment.

A ‘new era’

The withdrawal offers a stark contrast to the optimism that surrounded the arrival of the quintessentially American brand in Russia in the waning days of the Cold War.

The company began discussing the Russian business at the 1976 Olympics in Canada where the McDonald’s let Russian athletes use the “Big Mac Bus” in a sign of good will.

That led to 14 years of negotiations, “culminating in the glorious day in January of 1990 when the first McDonald’s opened to so much hope and excitement in Pushkin Square,” recalled McDonald’s Chief Executive Chris Kempczinski in a message to employees.

“In the history of McDonald’s, it was one of our proudest and most exciting milestones,” Kempczinski said. “After nearly half a century of Cold War animosity, the image of the Golden Arches shining above Pushkin Square heralded for many, on both sides of the Iron Curtain, the beginning of a new era.”

In the subsequent decades, McDonald’s operations in Russia expanded far beyond Moscow as the company invested billions of dollars and grew its supply chain.

But Kempczinski said the Russia investment was no longer viable in terms of business, or consistent with company values. 

Still, he closed his message on a hopeful note, saying, “let us not end by saying, ‘goodbye’… (but) ‘Until we meet again.'”

The company’s decision to divest “underlines a view that relations with Russia will not soon be normalized,” said Neil Saunders, a retail expert at GlobalData.

The conditions of the exit, including the financial challenges facing prospective Russian buyers means “it is unlikely the sale price will be anywhere near the pre-invasion book value of the business,” said Saunders, adding that the departure “will leave a hole” in McDonald’s growth plans “that is not easily filled in the near-term.”

Shares of McDonald’s fell 0.4 percent to $243.24 in mid-morning trading.