United States: When sport becomes a political football
Issued on:
In America, football players are idols for millions. It's unusual for them to take part in political protests, however. But all that changed when Donald Trump singled out players who refused to stand for the national anthem. The controversy went up a notch this week when Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys and a known Trump supporter, knelt alongside his team ahead of the national anthem as a sign of solidarity with the rest of the NFL.
Meanwhile, the latest attempt to overturn Obamacare failed this week after three Senate Republicans said they could not support it. That made what should have been a shoe-in for the Republican-controlled chamber a failure. That's infuriated the party's conservative flank and could lead to some major fallout in the US congressional elections next year.
And after English, French and Arabic, France 24 has launched its latest channel in Spanish! The editorial staff is based in the Colombian capital and the new channel's team comprises 35 journalists, 10 correspondents and a palette of nationalities.
Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning
Subscribe