Kevin McCarthy Is a Hostage

Published

2 years ago

September 14, 2023

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As Kevin McCarthy made his televised declaration earlier today that House Republicans were launching an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, the House speaker stood outside his office in the Capitol, a trio of American flags arrayed behind to lend an air of dignity to such a grave announcement. But McCarthy looked and sounded like a hostage, and for good reason.

That the Republican majority would eventually try to impeach Biden was never really in doubt. The Atlantics Barton Gellman predicted as much nearly a year ago, even before the GOP narrowly ousted Democrats from control in the House. McCarthy characterized the move as a logistical next step in the partys investigation into Bidens involvement with his son Hunters business dealings, which has thus far yielded no evidence of presidential corruption. But intentionally or not, the speakers words underscored the inevitability of this effort, which is as much about exacting revenge on behalf of the twice-impeached former President Donald Trump as it is about prosecuting Bidens alleged misdeeds.

From the moment that McCarthy won the speakership on the 15th vote, his grip on the gavel has seemed shaky at best. The full list of concessions he made to Republican holdouts to secure the job remains unclear and may be forcing his hand in hidden ways nine months later. The most important of those compromises, however, did become public: At any time, a single member of the House can force a vote that could remove McCarthy as speaker.

Read: Speaker in name only

The high point of McCarthys year came in June, when the House overwhelmingly approvedalthough with notably more votes from Democrats than Republicansthe debt-ceiling deal he struck with Biden. That legislation successfully prevented a first-ever U.S. default, but blowback from conservatives has forced McCarthy to renege on the spending provisions of the agreement. House Republicans are advancing bills that appropriate far less money than the June budget accord called for, setting up a clash with both the Democratic-controlled Senate and the White House that could result in a government shutdown either when the fiscal year ends on September 30 or later in the fall.

GOP hard-liners have also backed McCarthy into a corner on impeachment. The speaker has tried his best to walk a careful line on the question, knowing that to keep his job, he could neither rush into a bid to topple the president nor rule one out. Trump allies like Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Matt Gaetz of Florida have been angling to impeach Biden virtually from the moment he took office, while GOP lawmakers who represent districts that Biden wonand on whom the GOPs thin House advantage dependshave been much cooler to the idea. McCarthy has had to satisfy both wings of the party, but he has been unable to do so without undermining his own position.

Less than two weeks ago, McCarthy said that he would launch a formal impeachment only with a vote of the full House. As the minority leader in 2019, McCarthy had castigated then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi for initiating an impeachment probe against Trump before holding a vote on the matter. If we move forward with an impeachment inquiry, McCarthy told the conservative publication Breitbart, it would occur through a vote on the floor of the peoples House and not through a declaration by one person. By this morning, the speaker had reversed himself, unilaterally announcing an impeachment inquiry just as Pelosi did four years ago this month. (McCarthy made no mention of a House vote during his speech, and when reporters in the Capitol asked about it, a spokesperson for the speaker told them no vote was planned.)

The reason for McCarthys flip is plain: He doesnt have the support to open an impeachment inquiry through a floor vote, but to avoid a revolt from hard-liners, he had to announce an inquiry anyway. Substantively, his declaration means little. House Republicans have more or less been conducting an impeachment inquiry for months; formalizing the process simply means they may be able to subpoena more documents from the president. The effort is all but certain to fail. Whether it will yield enough Republican votes to impeach Biden in the House is far from clear. That it will secure the two-thirds needed to convict the president in the Senate is almost unthinkable.

Barton Gellman: The impeachment of Joe Biden

McCarthys announcement won praise from only some of his Republican critics. Barely an hour later, Gaetz delivered a preplanned speech on the House floor decrying the speakers first eight months in office and vowing to force a vote on his removal if McCarthy caves to Democrats during this months shutdown fight. He called the speakers impeachment announcement a baby step delivered in a rushed and somewhat rattled performance. A longtime foe of McCarthys, Gaetz was one of the final holdouts in the Californians bid to become speaker in January, when he forced McCarthy to grovel before acquiescing on the final ballot. I am here to serve notice, Mr. Speaker, Gaetz said this afternoon, that you are out of compliance with the agreement that allowed you to assume this role.

If McCarthy has become a hostage of the House hard-liners, then Gaetz is his captoror, more likely, one of several. Publicly, the speaker has dared Gaetz to try to overthrow him, but caving on impeachment and forsaking a floor vote suggests that he might not be so confident.

The speaker is as isolated in Washington as he is in his own conference. Senate Republicans have shown no interest in the Houses impeachment push, and they are far more willing to adhere to the terms of the budget deal that McCarthy struck with Biden and avert a government shutdown. Perhaps McCarthy believed that by moving on impeachment now he could buy some room to maneuver on the spending fights to come. But the impetus behind todays announcement is more likely the same one that has driven nearly all of his decisions as speakerthe desire to wake up tomorrow morning and hold the job at least one more day.

World

Women’s Euros: Concerns for player safety as tournament kicks off in Switzerland

Published

3 hours ago

July 2, 2025

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Women's Euros: Concerns for player safety as tournament kicks off in Switzerland

The Women’s Euros begin in Switzerland today – with extreme heat warnings in place.

Security measures have had to be relaxed by UEFA for the opening matches so fans can bring in water bottles.

Temperatures could be about 30C (86F) when the Swiss hosts open their campaign against Norway in Basel this evening.

Players have already seen the impact of heatwaves this summer at the men’s Club World Cup in the US.

It is raising new concerns in the global players’ union about whether the stars of the sport are being protected in hot and humid conditions.

FIFPRO has asked FIFA to allow cooling breaks every 15 minutes rather than just in the 30th minute of each half.

There’s also a request for half-time to be extended from 15 to 20 minutes to help lower the core temperature of players.

FIFPRO’s medical director, Dr Vincent Gouttebarge, said: “There are some very challenging weather conditions that we anticipated a couple of weeks ago already, that was already communicated to FIFA.

“And I think the past few weeks were confirmation of all worries that the heat conditions will play a negative role for the performance and the health of the players.”

Football has seemed focused on players and fans baking in the Middle East – but scorching summers in Europe and the US are becoming increasingly problematic for sport.

While climate change is a factor, the issue is not new and at the 1994 World Cup, players were steaming as temperatures rose in the US.

There is now more awareness of the need for mitigation measures among players and their international union.

FIFPRO feels football officials weren’t responsive when it asked for kick-off times to be moved from the fierce afternoon heat in the US for the first 32-team Club World Cup.

FIFA has to balance the needs of fans and broadcasters with welfare, with no desire to load all the matches in the same evening time slots.

Electric storms have also seen six games stopped, including a two-hour pause during a Chelsea game at the weekend.

This is the dress rehearsal for the World Cup next summer, which is mostly in the US.

The use of more indoor, air conditioned stadiums should help.

There is no prospect of moving the World Cup to winter, as Qatar had to do in 2022.

And looking further ahead to this time in 2030, there will be World Cup matches in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. The temperatures this week have been hitting 40C (104F) in some host cities.

FIFA said in a statement to Sky News: “Heat conditions are a serious topic that affect football globally.

“At the FCWC some significant and progressive measures are being taken to protect the players from the heat. For instance, cooling breaks were implemented in 31 out of 54 matches so far.

“Discussions on how to deal with heat conditions need to take place collectively and FIFA stands ready to facilitate this dialogue, including through the Task Force on Player Welfare, and to receive constructive input from all stakeholders on how to further enhance heat management.

“In all of this, the protection of players must be at the centre.”

World

Women’s Euros 2025: Where is it, how to watch and when are England and Wales playing?

Published

3 hours ago

July 2, 2025

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Women's Euros 2025: Where is it, how to watch and when are England and Wales playing?

England are looking to defend their title at the 2025 Women’s Euros.

But conquering this year’s competition will be tricky right from the group stages.

The Lionesses will come up against Wales, who made history by qualifying for their first major tournament, and two other European heavyweights: France and the Netherlands.

As the tournament kicks off, extreme temperatures have raised questions about whether players are being protected in hot and humid conditions.

Here is everything you need to know about Euro 2025.

Where is Euro 2025 being held?

This year’s Women’s Euros is being held in Switzerland.

The competition kicks off on Wednesday 2 July, with the final on Sunday 27 July.

Matches will be held in eight venues across Switzerland from Zurich to Geneva, with the final game being played in Basel.

What teams have qualified?

A total of 16 teams have qualified for the competition.

Eight teams progressed directly from the qualifying league stage and seven teams qualified via the play-offs.

As hosts, Switzerland qualified automatically.

The teams playing in the tournament are:

• England
• Belgium
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Iceland
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Sweden
• Spain
• Switzerland
• Wales

How much do the winners get?

This year, the total available prize money for the tournament stands at €41m (£34m) – more than doubling from the prize pot in 2022.

All competing sides receive a €1.8m (£1.5m) participation fee, with the remaining money going to the quarter-finalists, semi-finalists, runners-up and winners.

The maximum prize money achievable for the tournament winners, if they also win their three group stage matches, is €5.1m (£4.3m).

Who has (and hasn’t) made the England squad?

Some notable names will be missing from the England squad this year.

Goalkeeper Mary Earps announced in May that she is retiring from international football with immediate effect.

Within days, two other names, Fran Kirby and Millie Bright, also announced they would not be taking part in Euro 2025.

The departure of Bright, Earps and Kirby is a loss of three experienced players – between them they have 218 international appearances.

So who has manager Sarina Wiegman picked for the 23-person squad, and who has been snubbed?

Use our slider below to look through some of the key players, or see a list of the full England squad, here.

History-making Wales squad announced

The Welsh women’s national football team has qualified for an international tournament for the first time.

Their 23-player squad was announced by head coach Rhian Wilkinson at the summit of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) on Thursday morning.

Midfielder Angharad James captains the side, and is one of four players to have played over 100 times alongside fellow Wales veterans Jess Fishlock, Hayley Ladd and Sophie Ingle, who also made the cut.

Ingle hasn’t featured for club or country since suffering an ACL injury during a pre-season friendly for Chelsea last September.

The 33-year-old returned to full training at the beginning of the month and her inclusion comes as a significant boost ahead of Wales’ first major tournament.

Fishlock, Wales’ record appearance holder and goalscorer, will hope to add to her 47 international goals as she leads the line.

The side beat the Republic of Ireland 2-1 in a play-off match to secure their spot in the Euros.

Wales head coach Rhian Wilkinson said after the match: “This team found a way. They never broke for each other, they stayed strong. I’ve never been prouder of a team.

“This team stands on the shoulders of giants [the pioneering female footballers] who came before, and now they’ve proven how good they are.”

What are the Euro 2025 groups?

Similarly to the World Cup, teams in the Euros are split into four groups.

The top two teams in each group will progress to the knockout stage, where games will be decided by extra-time and penalties if needed.

The knockout stage pits the winners of the group against the runners-up, meaning Germany, Poland, Denmark or Sweden could lie in wait for England and Wales in the last eight.

Group A: Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Finland

Group B: Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Italy

Group C: Germany, Poland, Denmark, Sweden

Group D: France, England, Wales, Netherlands

When are England and Wales playing?

The Lionesses start their bid for the Euros title on 5 July when they take on France. The game will take place in Zurich at 8pm UK time.

Wales kick off their campaign earlier the same day, against the Netherlands. That game starts at 5pm UK time in Lucerne.

The two nations will be the last teams in Group D to face each other.

Their showdown will be held in the city of St Gallen, on Sunday 13 July. Kick-off is at 8pm UK time.

Can England win the Euros again?

The Lionesses lifted the Euros trophy in front of a home crowd in 2022, after beating Germany 2-1.

Chloe Kelly delivered the deciding goal in extra time, but can the team do it all again?

Lucy Bronze admitted to Sky News that the team faces “one of the hardest” groups going into the tournament, but added: “We know on any given day, when we play at our best we can beat any team in the world.”

The right-back said: “We have got one of the most talented squads going into the Euros… I wouldn’t want to be a defender on the other team going against some of our players.

“We know it is going to be difficult, there are maybe a handful of teams that are capable of winning it, and we are definitely one of them.”

After naming her squad in May, Weigman told Sky News sports correspondent Rob Harris: “This group is a very well-balanced mix of players with multiple tournaments on their CVs and also those that will make their tournament debuts.

“I am excited to see what we are capable of this summer.”

How to watch the Euros 2025

Eevery single match of the Women’s Euros will be shown across the BBC and ITV, with the two broadcasters showing half of the 31 matches each, except the final, which will be shown on both channels.

Every match will also be screened live at three venues across London and Birmingham.

TOCA Social at The O2 and Westfield White City in London and The Bullring in Birmingham is hosting watch parties for fans hoping to catch all the action.

World

Snake captured on passenger plane – as expert reveals how it got there

Published

3 hours ago

July 2, 2025

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Snake captured on passenger plane - as expert reveals how it got there

A flight in Australia was delayed for two hours after a stowaway snake was found in the plane’s cargo hold.

The reptile was found as passengers were boarding Virgin Australia Flight VA337 at Melbourne Airport bound for Brisbane.

Snake catcher Mark Pelley said he thought it could be venomous when he approached it in the darkened hold.

But it turned out to be a harmless 60cm green tree snake.

“It wasn’t until after I caught the snake that I realised that it wasn’t venomous. Until that point, it looked very dangerous to me,” Mr Pelley said.

He said when he entered the cargo hold, the snake was half hidden behind a panel and he feared it could flee deeper into the plane.

“I had one chance to grab it, and if it escaped past me it would have gone into the panels, and then that would have been extremely hard to catch,” he told Sky News.

“Snakes are very fast-moving, thin and agile,” he added.

Mr Pelley said he told an aircraft engineer and airline staff they would have to evacuate the aircraft if the snake disappeared inside the plane.

“I said to them if I don’t get this in one shot, it’s going to sneak through the panels and you’re going to have to evacuate the plane because at that stage I did not know what kind of snake it was,” he explained in a separate interview.

“But thankfully, I got it on the first try and captured it,” he added. “If I didn’t get it that first time, the engineers and I would be pulling apart a [Boeing] 737 looking for a snake still right now.”