Ex-Fed governor Kevin Warsh is at top of his list to succeed Powell as central bank's chair, president says in interviewDonald Trump declared he should be listened to" by the Federal Reserve, as he weighs candidates to lead the central bank amid an extraordinary campaign by the White House to exert greater control over its decisions.The US president said on Friday that former Fed governor Kevin Warsh is currently top of his list to chair the central bank. Continue reading...
National Trust looks to halt construction, claiming Trump tore down historic East Wing without needed permissionDonald Trump is facing a federal lawsuit seeking to halt construction on his $300m White House ballroom, with historic preservationists accusing the president of violating multiple federal laws by tearing down part of the iconic building without required reviews or congressional approval.The legal challenge, filed on Friday by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the US district court for the District of Columbia, represents the most significant attempt yet to stop Trump's 90,000-sq-ft addition to the White House complex. The organization is seeking a temporary restraining order to freeze all construction activities until proper federal oversight procedures are completed. Continue reading...
by Lucy Hough Lucy Osborne Ryan Ramgobin Zoe Hitch on (#724FX)
A year-long investigation into the Free Birth Society reveals how mothers lost children after being radicalised by uplifting podcast tales of births without midwives or doctors.
The US is ramping up the pressure on Nicolas Maduro with a tanker seizure and expanded sanctions following threats and boat strikesEarly in his first term, Donald Trump mooted a military option" for Venezuela to dislodge its president, Nicolas Maduro. Reports suggest that he eagerly discussed the prospect of an invasion behind closed doors. Advisers eventually talked him down. Instead, the US pursued a maximum pressure" strategy of sanctions and threats.But Mr Maduro is still in place. And Mr Trump's attempts to remove him are ramping up again. The US has amassed its largest military presence in the Caribbean since the 1989 invasion of Panama. It has carried out more than 20 shocking strikes on alleged drug boats. Mr Trump reportedly delivered an ultimatum late last month, telling the Venezuelan leader that he could have safe passage from his country if he left immediately. There was already a $50m bounty on his head. This week came expanded sanctions and the seizure of a tanker.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
Oversight Democrats have released a new batch of photos from the Jeffrey Epstein estate, including images of Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Woody Allen, the former Prince Andrew, Steve Bannon and Bill Gates
The US made it clear this week that it plans to help the parties of the European far right gain power. Keir Starmer and his fellow leaders have to face this new realityWhen are we going to get the message? I joked a few months back that, when it comes to Donald Trump, Europe needs to learn from Sex and the City's Miranda Hobbes and realise that He's just not that into you". After this past week, it's clear that understates the problem. Trump's America is not merely indifferent to Europe - it's positively hostile to it. That has enormous implications for the continent and for Britain, which too many of our leaders still refuse to face.The depth of US hostility was revealed most explicitly in the new US national security strategy, or NSS, a 29-page document that serves as a formal statement of the foreign policy of the second Trump administration. There is much there to lament, starting with the sceptical quote marks that appear around the sole reference to climate change", but the most striking passages are those that take aim at Europe.Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
Displays include handcuffed baby Jesus and Mary wearing a gas mask in wake of Trump's immigration crackdownSatirical holiday displays mocking Donald Trump's aggressive immigration crackdown, portraying the newborn Jesus and his parents, Mary and Joseph, as victims of heavy-handed tactics by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE), have appeared across the US.One striking retelling of the Christmas story, at Lake Street church in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, features baby Jesus lying in a manger in the snow - but wrapped in the kind of thin, foil blankets given out in emergencies and regularly as bedding to ICE detainees, and with his wrists zip-tied. Continue reading...
An array of under-the-radar initiatives are taking hold across the US, often tied to immunization, fluoridation and raw milkEven within the freak show that is Donald Trump's cabinet, the health and human services secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has a singular knack for dominating the headlines with the most disturbing sort of carnivalesque spectacle.In recent months, he's amplified harmful misinformation linking Tylenol and autism and dismissed the entire CDC vaccine advisory committee, replacing them with skeptics and conspiracy theorists. And even as that agency debated and ultimately scrapped its hepatitis B vaccination recommendation for many newborns, Kennedy courted further controversy for his alleged involvement in a tabloid-fodder love triangle.Katrina vanden Heuvel is editor and publisher of the Nation, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a contributor to the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times Continue reading...
In World Cup parlance, Qatar was Fifa president Gianni Infantino's qualifier. Now it's the big time for Trump's dictator-curious protegeI used to think Fifa's recent practice of holding the World Cup in autocracies was because it made it easier for world football's governing body to do the things it loved: spend untold billions of other people's money and siphon the profits without having to worry about boring little things like human rights or public opinion. Which, let's face it, really piss around with your bottom line.But for a while now, that view has seemed ridiculously naive, a bit like assuming Recep Erdoan followed Vladimir Putin's election-hollowing gameplan just because hey, he's an interested guy who likes to read around a lot of subjects. So no: Fifa president Gianni Infantino hasn't spent recent tournaments cosying up to authoritarians because it made his life easier. He's done it to learn from the best. And his latest decree this week simply confirms Fifa is now a fully operational autocracy in the classic populace-rinsing style. Do just absorb yesterday's news that the cheapest ticket for next year's World Cup final in the US will cost 3,120 - seven times more than the cheapest ticket for the last World Cup final in Qatar. (Admittedly, still marginally cheaper than an off-peak single from London to Manchester.)Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
With ICE targeting vendors and fear rising, community groups are organising fast to keep New Yorkers working on the streets safeOn a December day when temperatures dipped below 20 degrees, Street Vendor Project staff walked along a busy commercial street in the Bronx, handing out know your rights" information to vendors selling fruits and vegetables. Several vendors mentioned they were scared after watching videos of immigration raids across the city.We used to go around helping vendors apply for permits so they wouldn't get fined," said Eric Nava-Perez, Street Vendor Project's Spanish-speaking member organizer. But now, we're out here distributing immigration rights information." Continue reading...
A doorbell camera captured the moment an explosion erupted after a gas line rupture in Hayward, California, on Thursday. The incident injured at least six people, according to local news reports.The explosion in the San Francisco Bay Area broke out about 9.30am, several hours after a construction crew allegedly damaged a gas pipe
Lawyers say people don't feel safe to leave their home' as officials target recent arrivals and those awaiting hearingsImmigration agents appear to be increasingly arresting and detaining Afghan asylum seekers, especially men, who have arrived in the US recently and are awaiting court hearings to decide their cases.Amir - an asylum seeker who came to the US via Mexico in 2024 - was driving home from his English class in Bloomington, Indiana just after noon on Monday, when he was pulled over by an unmarked police vehicle. Minutes later, the asylum seeker from Afghanistan was cuffed and driven to a detention center. Continue reading...
Artificial intelligence could make income inequality even worse and create a new underclass. Governments and society must take actionNowadays there seems to be nonstop discussion about AI, with much of the conversation focused on whether there's a speculative bubble or whether the chipmaker Nvidia is really worth $5tn or whether OpenAI will beat its rivals in developing new generations of artificial intelligence. But the vast majority of Americans - just like the vast majority of Europeans and Asians - couldn't care less about those things.Their big concern is whether AI is going to cause huge layoffs and create a disastrous job market, especially for younger workers. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, a leading AI company, fed those fears when he said that AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs in the next one to five years and increase unemployment in the US to 10% to 20%. In October, Bernie Sanders, the top Democrat on the Senate education and labor committee, issued a report saying AI and automation could replace up to 97m jobs in the US over the next decade.Steven Greenhouse is a journalist and author, focusing on labour and the workplace, as well as economic and legal issues Continue reading...
Measure to add two GOP-friendly seats failed 19-31 after 21 Republicans joined 10 Democrats. Plus, how the Paris climate treaty changed the worldGood morning.Indiana Republicans rejected an effort to redraw the state's lines on Thursday in a rebuke to Donald Trump and Republican efforts to add two more Republican-friendly seats to Indiana's congressional districts.How might the administration react to the vote? Heritage Action, the advocacy branch of the conservative Heritage Foundation, posted on social media: President Trump has made it clear to Indiana leaders: if the Indiana senate fails to pass the map, all federal funding will be stripped from the state. Roads will not be paved. Guard bases will close. Major projects will stop. These are the stakes and every NO vote will be to blame."What are Democrats doing on redistricting? They've retaliated to the initial push by Texas to add five more likely Republican seats by redrawing maps in California.Has there been pushback to Trump's escalation? Yes - after the US seized a tanker named the Skipper off the coast of Venezuela, some US lawmakers expressed concern that Trump was sleepwalking us into a war with Venezuela". Continue reading...
The AFC East rivals face off in a game that could decide their conference's top seed, while a familiar face may return for the ColtsThere is some serious debate that could run over this week's top-shelf matchup. The Rams, the NFC's current No 1 seeds, are welcoming the Lions, who claimed top seed in the conference last season. The Denver Broncos, the AFC leaders, host the Green Bay Packers who still have a shot at a first-round bye in the NFC. Either way you go you won't be disappointed. Only there is a third way: Buffalo v New England. The emphasis is on the bounty that winning brings rather than the perils of defeat on Sunday. The Patriots can wrestle back the AFC's No 1 seed while Buffalo can give themselves a shot at snatching the AFC East title from New England. Oh, and two MVP candidates in Drake Maye and Josh Allen are running the show. It could be a classic. Continue reading...
The forward's blocked contract and a growing talent drain to Europe have nudged the NWSL into crisis mode. Here's what's happening and why it mattersThe Trinity Rodman contract saga has exposed a fundamental tension at the heart of the National Women's Soccer League: a salary-cap model built for stability and measured growth coming in collision with a global market that has accelerated far beyond it.Rodman is one of the most important young players in US soccer, arguably its most marketable female star and a centerpiece of the NWSL's future. Yet European giants have offered her salaries that America's top women's domestic league cannot legally match, prompting the NWSL to veto a record-breaking Washington Spirit deal (and the players' union to file a grievance in response). Continue reading...
A new book explores how an all-time great and a world famous franchise handle the waning of a monumental careerIn a book about LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, it's only fitting that one memorable scene involves a Hollywood star: Will Smith.Yaron Weitzman's latest book is titled A Hollywood Ending: The Dreams and Drama of the LeBron Lakers. Suffice to say the plot thickens when Smith goes to the Lakers' film room to speak to the team in 2022. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Congress members seek answers after Guardian revealed data to be shared for immigration enforcementMore than 20 members of Congress are demanding answers from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and homeland security officials after the Guardian revealed the VA is compiling a report on all non-US citizens employed by or affiliated with" the government agency that will then be shared with other federal agencies, including immigration authorities.The lawmakers, led by Illinois congresswoman Delia Ramirez - along with congressman Mark Takano of California and US senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, the top Democrats on the House and Senate veterans affairs committees - have written a group letter to be sent to the VA secretary, Doug Collins, and the secretary of homeland security, Kristi Noem, on Friday. Continue reading...
With the US threatening to support patriotic' parties here, we need better defences, starting with tough new rules about political donationsThe new threat is so dizzyingly bizarre that Europe, and especially Britain, is slow to believe it. The US declares itself our enemy. Europe emerges as its main adversary in the US national security strategy. Russia is its friend, not us. Everything that looked solid since the second world war is turned upside down; the land of the free becomes the destroyer of democratic values. Appeasement fails.He may ramble, but Donald Trump speaks plainly. He means what he says, and he hates everything European. Except its emerging patriotic" parties, which he wants to support. His strategy warns of civilizational erasure", claiming Europe will soon become majority non-European" and parroting the racist conspiracy known as the great replacement theory. Describing Europeans as weak", decaying" and destroying their countries", with real stupid" leaders, Trump responded to the question of whether they would still be allies, in a Politico interview, with a hint of threat: It depends."Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Proposals to change US citizenship rules leaves dual citizens like me caught in the crossfire. If push comes to shove, I know where my loyalty lies Continue reading...
Trump's press secretary suggested Trump was growing weary of process as Ukraine's president under immense pressure to sign US deal - key US politics stories from 11 December 2025When it comes to Ukraine peace talks, Donald Trump is sick of meetings just for the sake of meetings", White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday.Leavitt added that the White House may send a representative to meet with European and Ukrainian officials this weekend if it feels like a meeting is worthy" of the US's time, adding that Trump is extremely frustrated with both sides of this war". Continue reading...
by Andrew Roth in Washington and Tom Phillips in Rio on (#723M1)
Six more oil supertankers added to sanctions list, as well as members of Maduro's extended family, amid rising tensions following tanker seizureDonald Trump has exerted more pressure on Venezuela's president Nicolas Maduro, expanding sanctions and issuing fresh threats to strike land targets in Venezuela, as the South American dictator accused the US president of ushering in a new era of criminal naval piracy" in the Caribbean.Late on Thursday, the US imposed curbs on three nephews of Maduro's wife, Cilia Flores, as well as six crude oil supertankers and the shipping companies linked to them. The treasury department alleged the vessels engaged in deceptive and unsafe shipping practices and continue to provide financial resources that fuel Maduro's corrupt narco-terrorist regime". Continue reading...
Order, which lacks the force of law, also creates taskforce whose sole responsibility' will be challenging states' AI lawsDonald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that seeks to halt any laws limiting artificial intelligence and block states from regulating the rapidly emerging technology. The order also creates a federal taskforce that will have the sole responsibility" of challenging states' AI laws.At a signing ceremony, the president touted AI companies' enthusiasm for wanting to invest" in the United States and said that if they had to get 50 different approvals from 50 different states, you could forget it". Continue reading...
Abrego plans return to Maryland as DHS pledges to appeal judge's decision, calling ruling naked judicial activism'Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been freed from an immigration detention facility in Pennsylvania after a federal judge in Maryland ordered his release on Thursday.Abrego was released shortly before 5pm ET, his attorney told the Associated Press. He plans to return to Maryland, where he has lived for many years with his US citizen wife and child after first entering the country illegally as a teenager. Continue reading...
Explosion led to three-alarm blaze in Hayward, California, neighborhood after construction crew damaged a gas pipeA big explosion erupted in a San Francisco Bay Area neighborhood of Hayward, California, after a gas line rupture on Thursday, injuring at least six people, according to local news reports.The explosion broke out around 9.30am local time, several hours after a construction crew damaged a gas pipe. At least eight fire engines and two fire trucks responded to the three-alarm blaze. Continue reading...
New York attorney general dodges indictment for second time in a week as Trump's justice department seeks retributionA federal grand jury has declined to indict Letitia James, the New York attorney general, on mortgage fraud charges for the second time in a week, according to a person familiar with the matter, in an embarrassing blow to the Trump justice department as the president has sought retribution against one of his political rivals.The department has attempted to twice file new charges against James after a judge dismissed an indictment against her after determining the prosecutor handling the case had not been properly appointed. Continue reading...
Trump hands 760 acres of California public land to the navy for a new defense zone, deepening border militarizationThe US's southern border is poised to become more militarized following an announcement by Trump administration officials that armed forces would now oversee 760 acres of public land for a three-year period.The US Department of Interior said in a statement that jurisdiction over this acreage - located in California's San Diego and Imperial counties - would be transferred to the US navy to establish a National Defense Area to support ongoing border security operations". Continue reading...
UC Berkeley apologizes to Israeli sociologist and dance teacher and Pomona to create taskforce on Jewish lifeTwo California colleges have reached settlements with Jewish organizations and individuals who filed complaints alleging antisemitism arising from pro-Palestinian campus protests, including a $60,000 payment to an Israeli sociologist and dance researcher who says she was not rehired by the University of California, Berkeley despite the popularity of her class.The UC Berkeley chancellor, Rich Lyons, on Wednesday issued an apology to Yael Nativ, a visiting 2022 professor who was found in a campus investigation to have been the victim of discrimination, the Los Angeles Times reported. She is also invited to teach her class in a semester of her choosing. Continue reading...
Lindell, an election conspiracist who still maintains the 2020 election was stolen, joins a crowded Republican fieldMike Lindell, a pillow salesman and election conspiracist, is running for governor of Minnesota, he announced on Thursday.Lindell, an ally of Donald Trump's and major player in efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, joins a crowded Republican primary in the left-leaning state, where his pillow company, MyPillow, is headquartered. Continue reading...
Retired Adm Mike Mullen said political environment facing officers is difficult as we have gotten so much more divided'The US's sharpening ideological polarization is affecting a wider and much more junior cross-section of the country's armed forces and challenging the military's ability to remain above the political fray, a former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff has said.Retired Adm Mike Mullen, who was the US's top military commander under presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama, called the political environment facing currently serving officers challenging" and the most dangerous time" in his memory. Continue reading...
by Jonathan Yerushalmy and Edward Helmore on (#723AD)
The Skipper, a tanker sanctioned by the US in 2022, is thought to have been carrying 1.1m barrels of Venezuelan oilThe US has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, a ship that was previously sanctioned by the US in 2022 while sailing under another name, in a dramatic operation that further ratchets up tensions between the Trump administration and the government of Venezuela's president, Nicolas Maduro.Over recent months the US has built up the largest military presence in the region in decades, which includes the USS Gerald R Ford, the world's newest and largest aircraft carrier. It has more than 4,000 sailors, plus fighter jets and accompanying warships. Continue reading...
Announcement, and lack of details in the weeks following, represents major departure from previous FDA prioritiesAs the US's top vaccine officials come under pressure from lawmakers and former leaders, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it will release information soon" about changes to regulations following unconfirmed claims of deaths after Covid vaccination.It's part of a sweeping effort, led by Robert F Kennedy Jr, secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to change the routine vaccines given in childhood, limiting access to and casting doubt upon safe and effective vaccines. Continue reading...
by Lucy Hough Devika Bhat Ryan Ramgobin Zoe Hitch on (#723H2)
US forces have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela in a major escalation of Donald Trump's campaign against the country's president, Nicolas Maduro, whose government called the seizure an act of international piracy.The Trump administration is facing increasing scrutiny over a series of attacks on boats off the Venezuelan coast. At least 87 people have been killed in 22 known strikes since early September.Lucy Hough talks to the Guardian's deputy head of international news, Devika Bhat. Continue reading...
Residents were evacuated as homes and vehicles were submerged in the north-western US state after an atmospheric river smacked the region on Tuesday. Governor Bob Ferguson told the public he was 'requesting an expedited emergency declaration from the federal government' and has activated the state's national guard to respond to flooding. Rainfall from the storm could reach 5-10cm (2-4 inches) across lower elevations and 25cm higher up in the Cascades, alongside 45mph gusts of wind
Two protesters disrupted House panel hearing, with one yelling line made famous in 1973 horror filmProtesters briefly interrupted the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, during a Capitol Hill hearing on Thursday, evoking a quote from the film The Exorcist.As Noem delivered her opening remarks before the House committee on homeland security, two protesters disrupted the session, with one yelling: Stop ICE raids! The power of Christ compels you! End deportations, the power of Christ compels you!" Continue reading...
Some warn proposal will decimate US tourism industry as free speech advocates say it will lead to people self-censoringFree speech advocates have accused Donald Trump of shredding civil liberties" and censorship pure and simple" after the White House said it planned to require visa applicants from dozens of countries to provide social media, phone and email histories for vetting before being allowed into the US.In a move that some commentators compared to China and others warned would decimate tourism to the US, including the 2026 Fifa World Cup, the Department for Homeland Security said it was planning to apply the rules to visitors from 42 countries, including the UK, Ireland, Australia, France, Germany and Japan, if they want to enter the US on the commonly used Esta visa waiver. Continue reading...
Success doesn't mean you can speak your mind - and criticizing Paul Dano is like kicking a bunny at a birthday partyThere are many things Hollywood is known for: lavish parties, subtle (or not so subtle) plastic surgery, the concept of juice as a meal. What it is not traditionally known for is honesty. I live in Los Angeles, work in the entertainment industry when I'm not moonlighting as a semi-reputable journalist and have done my fair share of lying ... or, more accurately, omitting the truth. One of the least pleasant experiences in town is being asked to give honest feedback to someone who is at best an acquaintance. It's worse yet if that person is a friend, lover or family member who actually takes your opinion seriously. Overall, the notion of offering honesty to a peer is akin to rubbing poison oak on your privates.And yet, despite knowing how gruesome this can be, I still solicit feedback on scripts, films and even nascent ideas I'm toying with. Naturally, I feel guilty doing it. I blubber about how gracious the person is for taking the time to engage with my creative output, how generous they are and how crucial this step is to any sort of actual success in the industry. I'm even lying when I say that to someone. I should tell them: I'm sorry I just asked you to do the equivalent of punching several of your own teeth out for free. Please don't destroy my self-esteem completely. Let my mother finish the job."Dave Schilling is a Los Angeles-based writer and humorist Continue reading...
Thanksgiving travel and low vaccination rates have contributed to 27 new cases in state during past weekSouth Carolina health officials have reported an accelerating" measles outbreak in the state in the wake of Thanksgiving travel and a lack of vaccinations, with hundreds of people in quarantine.The outbreak, which appears centered on a single church and several schools in Spartanburg county in the state's north-west, according to an epidemiologist for the state's department of public health, totaled 111 cases. Continue reading...
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