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Lawmakers threatening legal action face major obstacle: those with legal power in this case are the ones accused of failing to follow the lawAfter Donald Trump's justice department failed on Friday to release all documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as required by law, multiple Congress members didn't only voice outrage - they threatened legal action as well.Several attorneys told the Guardian that those making the legal threats do have tools with which to try to follow through. But there's a major obstacle: those with legal authority in this case are the ones accused of failing to follow the law. Continue reading...

Timothy Loehmann's firing is fourth known time in seven years that he left a department following public backlashThe former Cleveland officer who fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice in 2014 was fired from his post as a ranger at a West Virginia resort community, the fourth known time in seven years that he left a small department following public backlash.Timothy Loehmann was fired on Friday from his position at the Snowshoe Resort Community District (SRCD). The district's board announced Loehmann's firing in a statement following their emergency meeting. Continue reading...

Thien Ho considers his book The People vs the Golden State Killer part of a trilogy' after two books by different authorsBefore Joseph DeAngelo, a 74-year-old navy veteran and former police officer, admitted responsibility for his brutal crimes in court, prosecutor Thien Ho had a request for the judge overseeing the proceedings. He wanted the world to see the killer's face.It was 2020, the first year of the pandemic, and social distancing and masking requirements were in full swing. But Ho asked that DeAngelo - the man known as the Golden State Killer, who had covered his face during a more than 10-year reign of terror across California - be required to wear a clear face shield as he pleaded guilty. Continue reading...

A video posted on the X account of the US homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, shows aerial footage of a helicopter approaching a vessel at sea. She wrote: 'In a pre-dawn action early this morning on Dec 20, the US Coast Guard with the support of the Department of War apprehended an oil tanker that was last docked in Venezuela.' It follows the seizure of another oil tanker off Venezuela's coast on 10 December. Both vessels were heading to Asia

Schab was a 21-year-old navy musician aboard USS Dobbin when Japan carried out surprise attack in 1941A second world war veteran who was among the last survivors of the 1941 Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor died on Saturday.Ira Ike" Schab, who served in the US navy at the time of the bombing, was 105, according to a statement from the USS Arizona Memorial, which pays tribute to military members who were killed at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.The Associated Press contributed reporting Continue reading...

Robert F Kennedy Jr is pushing a plan to block medical treatments, the latest move against bodily autonomyOn Thursday, when Robert F Kennedy Jr announced an effort to block medical treatments for transgender youth, he used the term sex-rejecting procedures" in place of gender-affirming care".And where transgender advocates and healthcare providers view puberty blockers, hormones and (in rare cases) surgical interventions as suicide prevention measures, the health secretary claimed that these procedures" will do the opposite: rob children of their futures."Judith Levine is a Brooklyn-based journalist, essayist and author of five books. Her Substack is Today in Fascism Continue reading...

Since just 3% of Americans use platform Trump owns, public may be unaware of his mental state and performanceWhen Donald Trump has something to say, he takes to Truth Social.Trump has used the platform to announce policies on everything from the economy to travel bans, making declarations that are key for Americans seeking information about his government. Continue reading...

Trump's movement has used the Christian faith to fuel oppression. Here's how we are standing against itDonald Trump wants us to believe that the war on Christianity" is spreading across the globe. The US president recently sounded the alarm on the mass slaughter" of Christians in Nigeria while threatening a US invasion of the African nation. We shouldn't be surprised. This falls right in line with Trump's ongoing attempts to project Maga Christianity on to the global stage and crack down on religious freedom.Maga Christianity represents a self-serving, commercialized version of the Christian faith - putting power over service and empathy - and it is everywhere in our federal government. In February, Trump announced a taskforce led by Pam Bondi with the goal of rooting out anti-Christian" bias. In September, Trump announced his plans to protect prayer in schools. Later that month, he issued a memorandum identifying anti-Christianity as a potential driver of terrorism. These are not just one-off incidents. This is a national effort to push the Maga Christianity agenda on Americans, and we're already seeing the consequences.Doug Pagitt is executive director of Vote Common Good. The Rev Lori Walke is the senior minister at Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ in Oklahoma City Continue reading...

Maria Farmer, whose sister Annie was abused by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, says Epstein stole' nude imagesWhile Donald Trump's justice department did not deliver on a legal requirement to disclose all Jeffrey Epstein-related files by Friday, one document in an otherwise underwhelming disclosure lifted the veil on authorities' inaction - and its dire consequences for dozens of teen girls.That document is an FBI report from Maria Farmer, a painter who worked for Epstein around 1996. Continue reading...

As Congress cuts healthcare access to pay for tax cuts and poor Americans die earlier, billionaires invest in anti-ageingThere's a weird disconnect to the public debate about health in the United States. In January, millions of Americans may drop their health insurance as premiums skyrocket following the Trump administration's decision to end federal subsidies that helped some 20 million people afford insurance on the Obamacare marketplaces.Earlier this year, Republicans in Congress agreed to cut more than $850bn from the 10-year budgets of Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income people, and the Chip health insurance program for children, in order to pay for some tax cuts. Given the US's budgetary rules, that cut means an additional $500bn in funding for Medicare is at risk. Continue reading...

Britain's Anthony Joshua knocked out Jake Paul in the sixth round of their money-spinning heavyweight fight on a surreal Friday night in Miami, where boxing's oldest realities converged with a new, attention-driven world

Justice department hit with legal threats after authorities release limited, heavily redacted trove of files in apparent violation of Epstein Transparency Act. Key US politics stories from 20 December 2025Donald Trump's justice department was hit with legal threats and scathing outrage after authorities released a limited, heavily redacted trove of Jeffrey Epstein files in an apparent violation of the law mandating the near-complete disclosure of these documents by Friday.The justice department's document dump this afternoon does not comply with [Republican] Thomas Massie and my Epstein Transparency Act," Ro Khanna, the California Democratic congressman who co-authored the law requiring full disclosure of all Epstein files by 19 December, said in a video statement. Continue reading...

Agency hit with legal threats and scathing outrage after Friday release includes limited, heavily redacted trove. This blog is now closed.

Angel Urena said ex-president, pictured in some photos released by justice department, cut ties with Epstein in 2005A spokesperson for Bill Clinton accused the White House late on Friday of using him as a scapegoat after pictures of the former president with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as with a young woman in a pool, were included as part of congressionally ordered release of government files.The White House hasn't been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton," the spokesperson said in a statement on X. Continue reading...

Vessel does not appear to be on list of US-sanctioned vessels, which would represent escalation in blockadeUS forces on Saturday apprehended a second merchant vessel carrying oil off the coast of Venezuela in international waters in the midst of an American blockade against the country's oil, according to the US homeland security department.The stoppage follows the seizure by US forces of another oil tanker off Venezuela's coast on 10 December. Both vessels were headed to Asia. Continue reading...

Lawyers also attempting to throw out two federal charges, saying US attorney general has ties to UnitedHealth GroupLawyers for Luigi Mangione are attempting to avoid the death penalty and throw out two federal charges in the justice department's case against him, arguing that attorney general Pam Bondi is biased because she used to work at a lobbying firm that represents UnitedHealth Group.In court documents filed on Friday, Mangione's lawyers said that Bondi has a profound conflict of interest" because her former employer, Ballard Partners, a DC-based lobbying firm founded by the Trump donor Brian Ballard, counts UnitedHealth Group as one of its clients. Continue reading...

Suspect killed himself after allegedly killing an MIT professor and two Brown University studentsAn autopsy report on the suspect in the mass shooting at Brown University and the killing of an MIT professor in Massachusetts has shown that he died by suicide two days before he was found in a storage locker on Thursday.The New Hampshire attorney general's report estimates that Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48, a Portuguese national who had been living in the US, died on 16 December, the same day that his fellow countryman, MIT nuclear physics professor Nuno Loureiro died at a hospital in Massachusetts. Continue reading...

Republicans such as Thomas Massie and Marjorie Taylor Greene slam redactions, but others express satisfactionConservative reaction to the partial release of documents in the Jeffrey Epstein case has been mixed, with Trump administration supporters highlighting the prominent presence of Bill Clinton and other Democrats in photographs, with others lamenting how the heavy redaction casts Donald Trump and Republicans in a bad light.Administration officials defended the redactions with fervent hyperbole. Never in American history has a President or the Department of Justice been this transparent with the American people about such a sensitive law enforcement matter," said Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, who released a six-page letter describing the redaction process. Continue reading...

Public exhibition, featuring billboard-sized portraits projected onto buildings, calls attention to Trump administration's attacks on civil libertiesEach evening, drivers on the busy 101 freeway in downtown Los Angeles pass billboard-size portraits of Angelenos that flash across the side of a building with a simple message next to their faces: Am I Next?Three Los Angeles institutions have teamed up to launch a response to federal immigration raids in the nation's second-largest city, projecting illuminated images of everyday LA residents in support of the thousands of community members who have been detained this year. Continue reading...

Company settles allegations it failed to honor shelf prices in multiple states, and customers anywhere in US may be eligible for repaymentsDollar General, the retail giant that promises convenience, quality brands and low prices", has agreed to pay at least $15m to settle claims that it overcharged customers at many of its 20,000 US stores.The settlement resolves lawsuits in multiple states alleging that shoppers at the dollar-store chain often see one price on the shelf but pay a higher price at the register. Customers anywhere in the US may be eligible for repayments. Continue reading...

Released images illustrate relationships Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell forged with significant figures

People are supporting economic boycotts to show discontent with businesses capitulating to Trump's agendaIt's the busiest shopping season of the year - and a time when many are trying to figure out where to ethically spend their money.Over the first year of Trump's second term, companies and institutions have fallen in line with the administration's anti-DEI and anti-immigration policies. As a result, people are supporting economic boycotts to show their discontent with the businesses capitulating to the president. Continue reading...

Epstein Files Transparency Act mandated full disclosure of all files by 19 December with certain exemptionsDonald Trump's justice department was hit with legal threats and scathing outrage after authorities released a limited, heavily redacted trove of Jeffrey Epstein files in an apparent violation of the law mandating the near-complete disclosure of these documents by Friday.The justice department's document dump this afternoon does not comply with Thomas Massie and my Epstein Transparency Act," Ro Khanna, the California Democratic congressman who co-authored the law requiring full disclosure of all Epstein files by 19 December, said in a video statement. Continue reading...

Defense department will still allow stabbing and burning, and weapon wounding' on animals to test weaponsThe US military will stop its practice of shooting pigs and goats to help prepare medics for treating wounded troops in a combat zone, ending an exercise made obsolete by simulators that mimic battlefield injuries.The prohibition on live fire" training that includes animals is part of this year's annual defense bill, although other uses of animals for wartime training will continue. The ban was championed by Vern Buchanan, a Republican congressman from Florida who often focuses on animal rights issues. Continue reading...

There were some bright spots in a year of dark news stories - here are the ones that brought readers the most joy2025 has been a trying year. From the devastating Los Angeles wildfires to mass federal layoffs in Washington DC to the assassination of the rightwing political activist Charlie Kirk, individuals of all walks of life have been affected by economic concerns, political division, climate change and beyond.Still, there were bright spots in the darkness. We asked Guardian readers to share some of their favorite news moments of the year. Continue reading...

Bari Weiss is touting a new debate series at the network as the billionaire Ellisons' media power growsHas feminism failed women? I know that may seem like a silly question to ask when women's rights are declining around the world thanks to rightwing authoritarian politics, but trust me, OK? The problems with feminism are what we really need to be focusing on right now.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Georgia residents share their vastly different shopping habits - from food pantries and Snap aid to $300 steak dinners and Whole Foods runs

The network's fate has become a battle of corporate ownership, not a question of what benefits AmericansOn Thursday evening, as rumors about the Brown University gunman swirled, CNN's Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, noting the confusion and directing people to her network's 9pm newscast.CNN is certainly not a flawless news source, but her words rang true to me. The network is one of the outlets where you can find reality-based and largely dependable reporting - especially in breaking news situations like the one that was developing near a New Hampshire storage facility. Continue reading...

A $1,000 fix is out of reach for many Americans - and so is good public transportationCars are essential to everyday life for most Americans, and more than 75% of people use cars to commute every day according to the 2025 census. But emergency car costs can upend families financially.Of 10 parents who joined a WhatsApp group to regularly chat with Guardian journalists, nearly every one said that an emergency car expense had left them struggling financially this year, if not decimating their savings. That's a deeply American experience: most car owners spend more than $1,400 annually to keep their vehicles running, said the travel organization AAA, which also conducted research that found 64 million Americans go into debt to absorb these costs. Continue reading...

Anthony Joshua has said he wants to take on Tyson Fury next, after knocking Jake Paul out in the sixth round of their fight in Miami on Friday night. Joshua dropped Paul four times in the one-sided affair, and then called out Fury - even impersonating his fellow British heavyweight as he urged him to 'sign the contract'. On YouTuber turned boxer Paul, who went to hospital with a broken jaw, Joshua said: 'Jake has spirit, he has some heart. He tried his best and I take my hat off to him.'

Most Americans have yet to see this boom - but they've certainly heard a lot about it from the presidentMoments into his second term, opening his inaugural address, Donald Trump was unequivocal. The golden age of America begins right now," he declared.At a White House reception last weekend, a little over 10 months later, the US president appeared to acknowledge just how far his timeline had shifted. Continue reading...

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Long-awaited tranche of documents is heavily redacted but viewable files include images of Epstein with figures such as Bill Clinton and Michael Jackson - key US politics stories from 19 December 2025The Department of Justice on Friday released a long-awaited and huge tranche of documents detailing its investigations into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a major development in the lengthy saga that turned into one of the biggest political setbacks Donald Trump has suffered since his re-election last year.While significant portions of the files are redacted, those that were viewable included images of Epstein socializing with an array of prominent figures, including entertainers like Michael Jackson, Chris Tucker and Diana Ross, and the entrepreneur Richard Branson. Bill Clinton appears in several photos, including one in which he is in a swimming pool along with Epstein's convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. The images also show former British royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Continue reading...

Photos included in tranche of documents as Democrats accuse Trump officials of failing to comply with law

Most transparent' administration has slow-walked and stonewalled - the incomplete release smells of a cover-up

Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, and Richard Branson are among the people who appear in the thousands of documents released by the US justice department on Friday Continue reading...

Interview from 2019 reveals specific preferences for recruitment, including age and race

Suspect Claudio Manuel Neves Valente was found dead in New Hampshire storage facility after five-day manhuntInvestigators turned on Friday to the search for a motive in the murders of two Brown University students and a physics professor in Massachusetts in separate but linked attacks, after the prime suspect was found dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound.The body of Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48, a Portuguese national and formerly very briefly a student at Brown, was discovered in a New Hampshire storage facility on Thursday night after a five-day manhunt. Continue reading...

The latest trove of Epstein files have been released. You can follow live coverage here.

Pope Leo names Rev Manuel de Jesus Rodriguez, who has criticized US immigration policies, as bishop of Palm BeachPope Leo XIV on Friday named the Rev Manuel de Jesus Rodriguez, now pastor of a predominantly Hispanic church in the Queens borough of New York City, as bishop of Palm Beach, Florida.The diocese is home to the Mar-a-Lago estate of Donald Trump, whose get-tough immigration policies have drawn objections from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. Continue reading...