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The world needs global leaders to clearly and firmly denounce the havoc Trump is wreaking on the US and international orderHundreds of global CEOs, finance titans, and more than 60 prime ministers and presidents are in Davos, Switzerland, for the annual confab of the world's powerful and wealthy: the World Economic Forum.This year's Davos meeting occurs at a time when Donald Trump is not just unleashing his brownshirts on Minneapolis and other American cities, but also dismantling the international order that's largely been in place since the end of the second world war - threatening Nato, withdrawing from international organizations including the UN climate treaty, violating the UN charter by invading Venezuela and abducting Nicolas Maduro, upending established trade rules, and demanding that the US annex Greenland.Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a Guardian US columnist and his newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com. His new book, Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America, is out now Continue reading...

Coyote is thought to be the first ever to reach the notorious former prison island off the coast of San FranciscoA coyote recently stunned observers by swimming to Alcatraz, braving the treacherous waters surrounding the notorious former prison island off the coast of San Francisco in plain view of a tourist recording video.The coyote in question is thought to be the first ever to reach Alcatraz, now a tourist attraction, in that manner. While it's uncertain why the animal doggy-paddled there, the consensus is that the creature probably came from San Francisco - about 1.25 miles away - or other islands near Alcatraz where coyotes have been spotted. Continue reading...

It's time to stand up for ourselves. With targeted action and tariffs, we can help push back the bully in chief

European leaders who know their continent's history must now see that the US president is siding with the forces of tyrannyIn January 2018, when Donald Trump was in the second year of his first term as US president, Angela Merkel, in her 13th year as German chancellor, gave a gloomy speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos. She opened her remarks with a warning from Europe's past. Politicians had sleep-walked" into the first world war. As the number of surviving eyewitnesses to the second world war dwindled, she added, subsequent generations would have to prove they understood the fragility of peace. We need to ask ourselves if we have really learned from history or not."Fast forward eight years. Vladimir Putin's territorial aggression harries Europe's eastern flank. To the west, Trump, now in his second term and guest of honour at Davos, threatens to annex Greenland. This is not a world that has internalised the lessons of the 20th century. Continue reading...

President also declines to offer any reassurances about his commitment to the stability of Nato allianceDonald Trump ratcheted up the uncertainty over how far he would be willing to go to acquire Greenland as he warned the Nato alliance on Tuesday that it was only as strong as the United States allowed it to be.You'll find out," Trump said in a terse reply at a White House press briefing before moving to the next question. Continue reading...

US president boards another aircraft to continue trip to World Economic Forum in Davos, SwitzerlandThe US president's plane, Air Force One, has been forced to abort its flight to Switzerland and turn back after what officials described as a minor electrical issue".Donald Trump boarded another aircraft, an Air Force C-32, a modified Boeing 757 normally used for domestic trips to smaller airports, and continued his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos shortly after midnight. Continue reading...

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Trump warned alliance it was only as strong as the US allowed it to be - key US politics stories from 20 January at a glanceJust how much is Donald Trump willing to risk in his quest to seize Greenland? Is he prepared to blow up the Nato alliance that formed when he was a toddler?You'll find out," the US president replied when a reporter posed that question to him during a lengthy, rambling press conference on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Minnesota governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey among officials who received subpoenasThe justice department subpoenaed several top officials in Minnesota on Tuesday as part of its investigation into whether Minneapolis officials have conspired to impede federal immigration efforts there.A copy of a subpoena to the office of the Minneapolis mayor, Jacob Frey, obtained by the Guardian, requests guidance and policies related to immigration enforcement in Minnesota since last year. It also requests communication regarding those policies with other state agencies, as well as documents related to hindering, doxxing, identifying, or surveilling immigration officers". Continue reading...

The very stable genius' zigzagged wildly in a packed press room - Nato's future lies in the hands of a modern CaligulaI was quite the baseball player, you wouldn't believe," said Donald Trump, suddenly wistful as he recalled his salad days when his mother would tell him, Son, you could be a professional baseball player," and he would reply, Thanks, mom." Carpe diem!Not for the first time on Tuesday, the US president had veered wildly off topic. The point of this story was a big building" that loomed over the park" in Queens, New York, where he used to play little league baseball. When he asked why it had bars on the windows, she told him it was a mental hospital. Continue reading...

Emmy award winner faces charges of inappropriately touching a minor while on set directing a TV seriesA judge has ordered that actor Timothy Busfield be released from jail during a detention hearing on child sex abuse charges .The order Tuesday by state district court judge David Murphy is linked to accusations that Busfield inappropriately touching a minor while working as a director on the set of the series The Cleaning Lady. Continue reading...

Mark Ruffalo, Brian Eno and Abigail Disney sign letter timed for WEF in Davos saying wealthy are buying political influenceNearly 400 millionaires and billionaires from 24 countries are calling on global leaders to increase taxes on the super-rich, amid growing concern that the wealthiest in society are buying political influence.An open letter, released to coincide with the World Economic Forum in Davos, calls on global leaders attending this week's conference to close the widening gap between the super-rich and everyone else. Continue reading...

Second lady becomes first US vice-presidential spouse to be pregnant while her husband serves in officeJD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, announced on Tuesday that they are expecting their fourth child this summer.We're very excited to share the news that Usha is pregnant with our fourth child, a boy," the pair announced in a post shared on social media. Usha and the baby are doing well, and we are all looking forward to welcoming him in late July." Continue reading...

Seizing of vessel in Caribbean Sea is seventh apprehension in Trump's campaign to control Venezuela's oil flowsThe US military said it seized another oil tanker with links to Venezuela on Tuesday, in the Caribbean Sea.The report marks the seventh such apprehension since the start of Donald Trump's month-long campaign to control Venezuela's oil flows. Continue reading...

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Authorities believe that in 2022 Austin Thompson, then 15, went on killing rampage, beginning with his older brotherAn 18-year-old plans to plead guilty to a 2022 mass shooting in North Carolina that left five people dead - including his older brother - avoiding a trial in February, his attorneys have said.A written notice filed in Wake county court by the lawyers for Austin Thompson said their client intends to plead guilty to all charges against him. Continue reading...

Trump's demand for Greenland is a throwback to the 1884 Berlin conference: a transaction of land and people driven by a might makes right worldviewThe announcement on 17 January that Washington will impose punitive tariffs of 10% to 25% on eight European allies - unless they facilitate the complete and total purchase" of Greenland - is likely to be the death knell of the post-1945 transatlantic order. By linking the territorial sovereignty of a Nato ally to trade access, the US has transitioned from Europe's security guarantor to a 19th-century imperial rent-seeker.This is a moment of profound rupture. For decades, the western world believed that raw imperialism had been relegated to the past among advanced industrial powers. Even China, for all its assertiveness, largely couches its ambitions in the language of revanchism - the reclaiming" of lost territory. Washington's current demand for Greenland, by contrast, is a throwback to the age of the 1884 Berlin conference: a transaction of land and people driven by a might makes right worldview.Christopher S Chivvis is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former US national intelligence officer for Europe Continue reading...

A Matter Neuroscience project lets callers in liberal San Francisco and conservative Abilene speak across party linesTwo experimental payphones - one placed in San Francisco and the other in Abilene, Texas - are connecting strangers across party lines, allowing callers to speak directly with Democrats and Republicans in two of the US's most ideologically opposed cities.The project is the work of Matter Neuroscience, a Boulder, Colorado-based biotech company and is fashioned out of old payphones bought off Facebook. One phone sits outside Black Serum Tattoo parlor in San Francisco's Mission District - and the other is in downtown Abilene by the bookstore Seven and One Books. Each phone is marked with a sign explaining that callers will be connected to someone from the opposite end of the political spectrum. Continue reading...

Court considering legality of state law banning guns on private property open to the public unless owner allows itThe conservative majority on the US supreme court appeared skeptical of a Hawaii law that bans people from bringing firearms on private property open to the public without permission from the property owner.The case, Wolford v Lopez, was brought by three Maui residents with concealed-carry permits and a local gun group who have support from Donald Trump's administration.Reuters contributed to this report Continue reading...

Rolling coverage of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where European Commission president says Europe must respond to geopolitical shocks

Email sent to diplomats by state department office's new boss is labelled racist' after dismissing Africa as a priorityUS diplomats have been encouraged to unabashedly and aggressively" remind African governments about the generosity" of the American people, according to a leaked email sent to staff in the US state department's Bureau of African Affairs this January and obtained by the Guardian.It's not gauche to remind these countries of the American people's generosity in containing HIV/Aids or alleviating famine," says the email. Continue reading...

If history teaches us anything, it is that making lists of Jews, no matter the ostensible purpose, is often a prelude to their and others' persecutionThis month, a judge ordered the University of Pennsylvania to justify its refusal to collect and disclose the names and personal contact information of Jewish faculty, staff and students to the federal government. Late last year, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued Penn to force compliance with this chilling demand, made in the name of fighting antisemitism. Jewish and non-Jewish community members at Penn and beyond have united to support the university's resistance to compiling and releasing data about members of campus Jewish organizations, the Jewish studies department, and individuals who participated in confidential listening sessions and surveys about antisemitism.That such a diverse array of organizations, including Penn's Hillel and Meor chapters, AAUP-Penn, the Association for Jewish Studies, the American Council on Education and Pen America, as well as local chapters of the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Federation and the American Jewish Committee, have all spoken against the EEOC's lawsuit reflects how deeply disturbing it is to think of the government demanding such a list. The Trump administration claims to act in the name of Jewish safety and against antisemitism, but this common reaction from groups with often divergent views may reflect a growing concern that its actions belie those laudable aims. Continue reading...

Labour must urgently seek new roles and alliances, while also enhancing the UK's own military capabilities

Judge rules homeland security can insist lawmakers provide week's notice of intention to inspect facilitiesThe Trump administration won a legal victory on Monday that temporarily allows it to keep elected officials out of immigration detention camps, while it advanced two other court actions in support of its surge into Minnesota.A federal judge in Washington DC ruled that the homeland security department (DHS) can continue to insist that lawmakers provide a week's notice of their intention to inspect immigration facilities, even though she blocked an identical policy last month. Continue reading...

Democrats lead legislative charge to block imposition of tariffs as some Republicans break from TrumpLawmakers from both parties promised legislative action to block Donald Trump's threatened tariffs against European allies on Monday, though Republicans willing to publicly break with the president on Greenland remain in short supply.Senator Peter Welch, a Democrat, announced plans to introduce a resolution aimed at terminating tariffs Trump threatened to impose over the weekend on eight European nations, including Nato allies Denmark, the UK, Germany and France. The president first mused about the tariffs on Friday at a White House roundtable, then punctuated his threat with new details that included a 10% levy beginning in February, escalating to 25% by June unless a deal is reached for what he called the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland." Continue reading...

California governor says world leaders are played' by the US president and urges them to stop rolling over

ChongLy Scott' Thao of Minnesota says agents pointed guns at his family, and his four-year-old grandson watched and criedFederal immigration agents forced open a door and detained a US citizen in his Minnesota home at gunpoint without a warrant, then led him out onto the streets in his underwear in subfreezing conditions, according to his family and videos reviewed by the Associated Press.ChongLy Scott" Thao told the AP that his daughter-in-law woke him up from a nap Sunday afternoon and said that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were banging at the door of his residence in St Paul. He told her not to open it. Masked agents then forced their way in and pointed guns at the family, yelling at them, Thao recalled. Continue reading...

Jannik Sinner started his title defence, Naomi Osaka won in three sets after turning heads with her outfit and Katie Boulter was beaten by the in-form Belinda BencicFritz's 2025 was a slight disappointment, he didn't quite push on from his US Open final appearance in 2024, and as a result he's no longer the highest-ranked American - that's Ben Shelton. Fritz has also been dealing with a knee injury during the early stages of this season, but he leads Royer, the Frenchman who's making his Australian Open debut, 7-6, 5-5.I'm loving the new multiview action on Discovery+. It's making this job much easier. Gone are the days of needing an extra laptop, mobile and iPad just to keep track of everything. So I'm currently keeping an eye on Sinner v Gaston, Boulter v Bencic, Fritz v Royer and Dimitrov v Machac. Continue reading...

Steven Meyer suffered an injury to his arm and Kimberly Meyer had a hip injury from the attack, authorities saidAn Indiana state court judge and his wife were in stable condition Monday as authorities continued to search for suspects who shot the couple the day before at their Lafayette home.Steven Meyer, a Tippecanoe superior court judge, suffered an injury to his arm and his wife - Kimberly Meyer - had a hip injury from the attack, authorities said. Continue reading...

The US House speaker, Mike Johnson, said on Tuesday he was confident that Britain and the US would work through differences on Greenland that threaten to upend bilateral ties. Johnson's visit to mark the 250th anniversary of US independence from British rule comes at an awkward time for transatlantic relations, days after President Donald Trump threatened Britain and other European countries with tariffs unless they agree to the US acquiring Greenland Continue reading...

Driver said he could barely see the cars in front of him and heard bangs and booms' behind himMore than 100 vehicles smashed into each other or slid off the interstate in Michigan on Monday as snow fueled by the Great Lakes blanketed the state.The massive pileup prompted the Michigan state police to close both directions of Interstate 196 just south-west of Grand Rapids on Monday morning while officials worked to remove all the vehicles, including more than 30 semitrailer trucks. The state police said there were numerous injuries, but no deaths had been reported. Continue reading...

US-based biotech firm is developing treatment for allergies such as nuts, milk and eggs in children and adults

From community watch to mutual aid, grassroots networks in the Twin Cities build on efforts spurred during the 2020 George Floyd protests

A review of Trump's bold promises about immigration, the economy, the US's standing in the world and much moreThere was no debate about record crowd sizes this time. With the temperature plunging to 27F (-3C) and a wind chill making it feel far colder, Donald Trump's second inauguration was held in the rotunda at the US Capitol in Washington on 20 January 2025.The great and the good of the political elite were there, including former presidents Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama and outgoing president Joe Biden. So were tech oligarchs such as Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. At 12.10pm, they listened intently as Trump began a half-hour-long inaugural address. Continue reading...

Oleksandra Oliynykova made life hard for the American with a vicious concoction of drop shots, slices and moonballs up to the roofFans seated in the upper bowls of the vast Rod Laver Arena are long accustomed to watching tennis from a considerable distance away, but on Tuesday afternoon they enjoyed the rare sight of the tennis ball frequently rising as high as their seats.That is the magic of Oleksandra Oliynykova, who made life hell for Madison Keys in the first match of the American's Australian Open title defence with a vicious concoction of drop shots, slices and, most notably, moonballs that seemed to graze the stadium roof. Despite facing two set points in the opener, Keys showed her mental fortitude as she advanced to the second round with a 7-6 (6), 6-1 victory. Continue reading...

The idea that the liberal rules-based order can survive his presidency now seems complacent. This is a historic moment - and a time to actA European-wide chorus of resistance, led this morning by Keir Starmer, has greeted Donald Trump's plan to take over Greenland, by force if necessary, and to start a tariff war if any country stands in his way. Have no doubt, this is a moment: if pursued as a non-negotiable demand, Trump's plan ends any lingering hope that the liberal rules-based order can stumble on through his remaining time in office. The real question now is whether the 2020s will be defined by the complete collapse of the order's already crumbling pillars and the atrocities accompanying it, or whether an international coalition of the willing can come together to build a new global framework in its place.For, in quick succession, the US has abandoned its longstanding championing of the rule of law, human rights, democracy and the territorial integrity of nation states. Gone is its erstwhile support for humanitarian aid and environmental stewardship. Gone, too, is the founding principle of the postwar settlement: that countries choose diplomacy and multilateral cooperation over aggression and unilateral action. We cannot doubt any longer that the president meant it when he said he doesn't need international law", and that the only constraint on his exercise of power would be my own morality, my own mind".Gordon Brown is the UN's special envoy for global education and was UK prime minister from 2007 to 2010 Continue reading...

Trump says failure to receive the Nobel peace prize means he no longer feels the need to think purely of peace' - key US politics stories from 19 JanuaryAn extraordinary text message exchange between Donald Trump and Norway's prime minister has revealed the US president no longer felt an obligation to think purely of peace" because he didn't get the Nobel peace prize, as he again declined to rule out seizing Greenland by force.The disclosure of the exchange with prime minister Jonas Gahr Store comes amid a concerted push by Trump to grab the territory, a largely self-governing part of Denmark. In recent weeks, he has said the US would take control of the Arctic island one way or the other" and, over the weekend: Now it is time, and it will be done!!!" Continue reading...

Holiday marked with parades and services but tempered by anxieties over racial and social equality under TrumpMartin Luther King Jr Day was marked with parades and services across the US on Monday. But the celebration for the achievements of the slain 60s civil rights leader was tempered by contemporary anxieties over racial and social equality and Trump administration's crackdown in Minneapolis.At a rally in Harlem, the Rev Al Sharpton referred to Renee Good, the 37-year-old mother of three who was killed by an immigration officer in Minneapolis earlier this month. Continue reading...

Victor Manuel Diaz was found unresponsive at Camp East Montana in what ICE officials claim is presumed suicide'

Blair, Putin, Erdoan, Orban: the names of those invited to serve say it all. And it's about so much more than GazaThe fate of the Palestinian people offers a warning about the future of humanity. When I recently visited the West Bank, Palestinians kept impressing the same point on me: Israel has turned their land into a laboratory. The technology of oppression that it has deployed - including in its genocide in Gaza - ranges from hi-tech surveillance to military drones and AI on the battlefield. These technologies have been exported to oppressive states across the world. And it doesn't stop there.This brings us to Donald Trump's board of peace", now set to rule Gaza. In the sleepy Oxfordshire village of Sutton Courtenay, where George Orwell lies buried, the ground itself ought to be shaking. This isn't peace. It's naked neocolonialism.Owen Jones 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...

Europe could use powerful but untested law amid pressure over Greenland - but it could also lose out from a trade war

The Democratic representative plans to introduce a bill halting subsidies and tax advantages for the super-richThey had the best seats in the house. When Donald Trump was sworn in as US president a year ago this week, tech titans Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, Elon Musk, Sundar Pichai and Mark Zuckerberg were sitting closer than even some of his cabinet picks, living symbols of the US's new gilded age.It was so gross," Rashida Tlaib, a Democratic representative from Michigan, recalled in a phone interview. It was like a reunion of all the billionaires. Some of them didn't even like each other, but boy, did they come together for Trump." Continue reading...

EU should issue smart' response to US president's threat of tariffs against several countries, say business leaders

US justice department announced it is investigating protesters in Minnesota who disrupted church servicesKristi Noem first denied that federal agents were using chemical agents against protesters, then after being shown video footage turned to blaming the protesters themselves, as tensions continued to run high amid the Trump administration's surge of federal officers into Minneapolis.The head of homeland security, who has acted as spearhead for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in the city - known as Operation Metro Surge" - told the CBS show Face the Nation on Sunday that her department had not used pepper spray against crowds. Continue reading...

New Jersey musician said during concert in home state that US core values have never been as endangered' as nowBruce Springsteen used a Saturday concert to decry what he called the Gestapo tactics" of the Trump administration's surge of immigration officers and said the country's founding values have never been as endangered as they are right now".While performing in his home state of New Jersey, Springsteen dedicated his 1978 song The Promised Land to Renee Good, the 37-year-old woman who was shot and killed by an ICE officer in Minnesota. Continue reading...