US news | The Guardian

Move allowing whole and 2% milk to be served in cafeterias overturns Obama-era limits to higher-fat milk optionsWhole milk is heading back to school cafeterias across the country after Donald Trump signed a bill on Wednesday overturning Obama-era limits on higher-fat milk options.Non-dairy drinks such as fortified soy milk may also be on the menu in the coming months after adoption of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, which cleared Congress in the fall. Continue reading...

It's unclear whether bear removed from Altadena house is same one seen under other homesLast week, it appeared the the saga of a black bear that had captivated the Los Angeles community of Altadena for months had come to an end: the Bear League, a Lake Tahoe-based non-profit, was able to successfully remove a 550lb black bear that had been living in a crawlspace under Ken Johnson's home in Altadena since late November.This week, however, reports emerged of bears appearing under other homes. Continue reading...

The Trump administration indefinitely suspended immigrant visa processing from 75 countries - see which nations have been affected

Slate journalist Laura Jedeed documented hiring process and said she got offer despite not completing paperworkA reporter has become embroiled in a public dispute with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after penning an article on how she was in effect offered a position with the organization following an interview that took less than six minutes and did not require her to complete a single signature on agency paperwork".Her hiring, and latter claim about the hiring process, have both been challenged by the Department of Homeland Security and called a lie". Continue reading...

Scenic coastal throughfare from Los Angeles to San Francisco had been cut in tourism-reliant Big Sur areaA portion of California's scenic Highway 1, which winds through rugged cliffs along the coast and has long been a highlight for travelers admiring the ocean views, reopened on Wednesday after a years-long closure.A large section of the road in Big Sur has been cut off due to landslides since 2023, creating challenges for visitors and businesses that rely on tourism. Continue reading...

The state department cites welfare use as it pauses visa processing for Brazil, Iran, Russia, Somalia and othersThe Donald Trump administration has indefinitely suspended immigrant visa processing for people from 75 countries, marking one of its most expansive efforts yet to restrict legal pathways to the United States.The freeze, which takes effect on 21 January, targets applicants officials deem likely to become a public charge" - who they describe as people who may rely on government benefits for basic needs. Continue reading...

Funding to end immediately for up to 2,800 grantees of US agency that serves thousands seeking help and in recoveryThe Trump administration on Tuesday evening unexpectedly canceled up to $1.9bn in funding for substance use and mental health care, which providers say will immediately affect thousands of patients.It feels like Armageddon for everyone who's on the frontlines of the addiction and mental health space," said Ryan Hampton, founder of Mobilize Recovery, a national advocacy organization for people in and seeking recovery. Continue reading...

Agents searched Hannah Natanson's Virginia home and seized devices in inquiry tied to a classified materials caseThe FBI raided the home of a Washington Post reporter early on Wednesday in what the newspaper called a highly unusual and aggressive" move by law enforcement, and press freedom groups condemned as a tremendous intrusion" by the Trump administration.Agents descended on the Virginia home of Hannah Natanson as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified government materials. Continue reading...

Democrats and Republicans called on president to circumvent legislative process to implement Freedom' bill

A line has been crossed, and it's vital to understand that. A system that sends paramilitaries on to the streets will observe no limitsA few years ago, towards the end of the second Obama administration, a friend and her wife flew back to New York from a holiday in Mexico, landing for a connecting flight in South Carolina. At immigration, the officer looked from one to the other, asked their relation to one another and on receiving the reply, made a noise of disgust - ugh". On the pretext that American citizens can't go through the same lane as a spouse on a green card (not true), he sent them to the back of the line, causing them to miss their connection. But that's not the point of the story.My friend is a white Australian who is generally conflict-averse; her wife is a Japanese-American who can stop traffic with a single, hard stare, and who teaches in the South Bronx, where many of her students have been harassed by law enforcement since the day they were born. As trouble got under way, my friend kicked off like a good'un, swearing and muttering sarcastically in the Australian style, while her wife shot her desperate, angry looks. Shut up. Shut Up. SHUT UP.Emma Brockes 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...

James Comer says action follows refusal by the former first lady and Bill Clinton to testify about Jeffrey Epstein

Federal agents clashed with protesters in Minneapolis on Tuesday, nearly a week after the fatal shooting of Renee Good. People who had gathered in protest against the continued presence and violent tactics of federal immigration officers in the city were hit with teargas, pepper balls and flash bangs

Physicians have disputed prevailing scientific views on vaccines and use of antidepressants during pregnancyThe health and human services secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, has appointed two new obstetrician-gynecologists to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine advisory committee. Both are physicians who have publicly disputed prevailing scientific views on vaccines and the use of antidepressants during pregnancy.Kennedy announced on Tuesday that the two doctors will join the advisory committee on immunization practices (ACIP), which advises the CDC on vaccine recommendations. The additions bring the committee's membership to 13, following Kennedy's controversial decision in June to dismiss the previous panel and replace it with 11 new members of his choosing. Continue reading...

Lawsuit from Mike Bost was viewed by Trump-aligned conservatives as route to continue attacks on mail-in voting

State attorney general found far-right group harassed Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and Jewish New Yorkers'New York's attorney general, Letitia James, announced a settlement on Tuesday with Betar US, a far-right pro-Israel group, after an investigation from her office that found the organization engaged in what her office described as bias-motivated assaults, threats, and harassment targeting Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and Jewish New Yorkers".The settlement requires Betar to immediately cease instigating or encouraging violence against individuals, threatening protesters, and harassing individuals exercising their civil rights", and subjects the organization to a suspended $50,000 penalty that will be enforced if the group violates the terms. Continue reading...

US president says Jamie Dimon was wrong to suggest he was undermining independence of central bank

Six puppies were revived and treated by first responders and are now being monitored at a local animal shelterSix puppies in rural Washington state will soon be up for adoption after being revived following a suspected drug overdose - and some of them might go home with the fire-station staff who saved them.Two people dropped off three of the sickened puppies at the Sky Valley fire station, about an hour's drive north-east of Seattle, on Sunday. Officials believe the animals either breathed or ate fentanyl. Continue reading...

USWNT stars have a world of options as their domestic league struggles to match European teams' ambitionSam Coffey's transfer from the Portland Thorns to Manchester City marks a tipping point: more than half of the USWNT's starting lineup that secured the 2024 Olympic gold medal now play their professional soccer in Europe. If free agent Trinity Rodman signs abroad, too, that'll leave only four players from that lineup on NWSL rosters to start the domestic season.The distribution of where USWNT players compete has dramatically shifted under Emma Hayes. So many star players have headed to European Goliaths, including Hayes's former club Chelsea, that last year she had to assure the NWSL board of governors she isn't pushing her athletes to leave the league, per a report from ESPN. Hayes insists she simply supports her players' aspirations, whatever they may be. Today, out of the seven players with the most USWNT minutes in 2025, only two of them - Emily Sonnett and Claire Hutton - are playing stateside. Continue reading...

TJ Sabula raises tens of thousands after he reportedly called Trump a pedophile protector' during Ford plant tourTens of thousands of dollars have been raised for an autoworker at a Ford plant in Michigan who was suspended without pay after heckling Donald Trump.TJ Sabula is said to have called the president a pedophile protector" as he toured the automotive giant's River Rouge complex on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Critics call move to cut payments after 1 February for number of Democrat-run states unconstitutional'Donald Trump has revived his stalled push to cut federal funding for a number of Democrat-run states, announcing that any with a perceived sanctuary city" will not receive payments after 1 February.The president made the statement during a freewheeling address at the Detroit Economic Club on Tuesday night, shortly after he flipped off a heckler at a Ford plant in the city. Continue reading...

It shouldn't take suing departments of corrections or capturing atrocities on illegal cellphones to see what happens behind prison wallsWhen a camera records an act of lethal violence against someone in official custody, the state cannot hide what it typically keeps in the dark. That's what happened when correction officers murdered Robert Brooks at Marcy correctional facility in New York. Restrained in handcuffs, Brooks was beaten to death by officers unaware that their own body-worn cameras were documenting every blow.The deaths of Brooks and another handcuffed man, Messiah Nantwi, were the catalysts of a recent investigation by the New York Times that found guards in New York prisons use violence at alarming rates. Because the public is largely unaware of what their tax dollars fund behind prison walls, these revelations are significant. But the violence is not unique to New York.Alex Duran is program director at Galaxy Gives and a co-producer of The Alabama Solution Continue reading...

The president's disregard for international law exposes the continent's reliance on the US. Leaders have hardened their language in support of Denmark, but the price of confronting him is high Don't get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereDonald Trump's threat to take control of Greenland one way or the other" has left the territory and its sovereign power Denmark reeling and the rest of Europe scrambling for ways to stop him.After the shock of the US's military raid on Venezuela Trump's ambition to put Greenland next on his hitlist is no longer being seen in Europe as bluster or fantasy, but a serious intention, driven by ideology, neo-imperial expansionism, US thirst for critical minerals, or all of the above. Continue reading...

Justice department says it rescinded 13 layoff notices issued in September for agency known as America's peacemaker'

As former federal prosecutors, we know an incident like the Minneapolis shooting must be followed by a credible inquiryLast Wednesday, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed Renee Good, a 37-year-old American mother. Already, the federal investigation into the killing raises serious concerns, which is why the parallel investigation Minnesota officials are conducting is vital.Mere hours after Good's death, the Trump administration prejudged the case before any investigation could begin. The administration was swift to blame the victim, with the president and the DHS secretary making disparaging, accusatory, and prejudicial statements about her motives and conduct; Donald Trump said she was a professional agitator" who had viciously" run over the officer, while Kristi Noem accused her of domestic terrorism". Additionally, JD Vance, the vice-president, incorrectly claimed the shooter had absolute immunity" from criminal prosecution by state officials. And the FBI has shut state investigators out. Continue reading...

Graffiti included Fuck Zionism' and RIP Renee', an apparent reference to killing of Renee Good in MinneapolisThe property of a Los Angeles-area Jewish temple that was destroyed in last year's wildfires was vandalized this week, officials said.On Sunday, a member of the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center spotted the lines Fuck Zionism" and RIP Renee" spray-painted on an exterior wall on the campus - the second line an apparent reference to the killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis on 7 January. Continue reading...

The Trump administration's assaults on liberty are the kinds of abuses that spurred the American revolution that the nation will commemorate this yearIt's garnered less attention than the other events of our already wretched new year. But to understand why Renee Nicole Good was killed on Wednesday, why the White House has designs on Greenland, and why the people of Venezuela may soon be governed, in effect, by a junta of oil companies backed by the US military, we should also consider an email Martin Peterson, a philosophy professor at Texas A&M, received about his course Contemporary Moral Problems last week.His syllabus, he was informed, contained material banned by the college's board of regents in December - part of the wave of censorship the Trump administration and the Republican party have encouraged at universities across the country. He was given two options: change the syllabus to remove the modules on race ideology and gender ideology, and the Plato readings that may include these" or teach another course. Continue reading...

Memo on US military raid to capture Venezuela's president effectively argued that presidents can blow through UN charter

Doctors in Tehran tell of overwhelmed medical staff as Donald Trump promises help is on its way'. Plus, how wildfires are destroying the world's forests Don't already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up hereGood morning.An ophthalmologist in Tehran has documented more than 400 eye injuries from gunshots in a single hospital, as overwhelmed medical staff struggle to cope with the toll of a brutal crackdown on nationwide protests by Iranian authorities.What did Trump say? Iranian Patriots, keep protesting - take over your institutions!!! ... help is on its way," he posted on Truth Social. Trump later told CBS News: When they start killing thousands of people - and now you're telling me about hanging. We'll see how that's going to work out for them."What do we know about the crackdown? More than 2,000 people have been killed in the protests - more than 90% of whom were demonstrators - and more than 16,700 people have been arrested, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said. Continue reading...

Labor department rhetoric, such as One Homeland. One People. One Heritage', prompt comparisons to Nazi sloganUnion leaders have accused the Trump administration of a rhetorical shift towards white supremacy" after social media posts by the US Department of Labor drew comparison with a Nazi slogan.Recent posts from the agency include a video captioned remember who you are, American", with the phrase: One Homeland. One People. One Heritage." Continue reading...

The ESPN broadcaster's comments about the ICE shooting in Minnesota moves him closer to the stance of another media figure he has long attackedThis past weekend there were hundreds of demonstrations across the United States after Renee Good, an American citizen and mother of three, was shot dead by Jonathan Ross, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, in Minnesota.The anger has permeated throughout the NBA as well. Steve Kerr and Doc Rivers, the head coaches of the Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks respectively, described Good's death as murder". Kerr also attacked the Trump administration's attempts to portray Good as a terrorist. Continue reading...

In a might-makes-right world, US allies, not to mention the emerging powers of the global south, would begin to hedge their bets in dangerous waysWhat is wrong with resurrecting the prerogative of major powers to claim a sphere of influence in which they dictate and others must follow? That idea informs the Donroe Doctrine" behind the US invasion of Venezuela to seize Nicolas Maduro. Donald Trump seems to believe that, as the world's strongest military power, the United States should be allowed to invade other countries at will. Trump's homeland security adviser, Stephen Miller, says the real world" is governed by strength", by power", so we should get used to it.There is a beguiling simplicity to this abandonment of the norms long designed to govern the behavior of states big and small. China has touted it as the reality that its Asian neighbors must live with. Russia, a third-tier power by comparison but still a nuclear-armed regional heavyweight, has periodically treated the boundaries of post-Soviet states as mere suggestions. But do we really want to return to the law of the jungle in which the guy with the biggest stick calls the shots? Continue reading...

This week, Trump's granddaughter announced she definitely doesn't want to go into politics. Expect a run for office very soonLast week Kai Trump, Donald Trump Jr's daughter and the president's eldest grandchild, publicly declared she had no plans to run for office. The 18-year-old appeared on Logan Paul's Impaulsive podcast, where she stated that politics is such a dangerous thing ... I think if both sides met in the middle, everyone would be so much more happier." (Maybe tell that to your grandpa, kid.) To be honest with you," she said, I stay out of politics completely ... I don't want anything to do with politics."Look, I know you're still very young, Kai, so here's a little advice from an old lady: maybe work just a teeny bit harder at keeping a safe distance from politics. It has not gone unobserved that the influencer and golfer has made a lot of content about life behind the scenes at the White House. She's also launched an apparel collection, which she's modelled on the White House lawn. And, notably, she spoke at the 2024 Republican national convention (RNC), where she insisted Trump was just a normal grandpa". I don't know about that; my grandad didn't invade Venezuela.

How do you retain a space of democracy in a world that is reverting to violent conquest? By building a protective moat of federalism around itHe keeps encouraging me ... to choose between Europe and the US. That would be a strategic mistake for our country," Keir Starmer said in response to Ed Davey's question in the House of Commons last week, about whether a US move against Greenland would mean the end of Nato.What about Europe, though? As Danish and Greenlandic ministers prepared to face JD Vance in the White House, the question was would Europe finally choose between Europe and the US? Will its leaders have the courage to tell the full truth - that the US isn't simply abandoning its allies and destroying the international order but is now in the position of active and hostile predation by force - and more importantly, to act on it? To offer Denmark moral and material backing, and Greenland a future of self-determination and membership, rather than subservience to US resource plunder?

Federal agents use teargas against protesters as homeland security officials tell of largest operation in DHS history'Eight people were arrested outside a federal building in Minneapolis on Tuesday, according to the Department of Homeland Security, as the Trump administration doubled down on threats to protesters and city and state officials who might try to impede their mass deportation agenda.Throughout the afternoon, crowds of people who gathered in protest against the continued presence and violent tactics of federal immigration officers in the city were hit with teargas, pepper balls and flash bangs. Demonstrators have amassed in the city and across the country after the Minneapolis mother Renee Nicole Good was killed by a federal immigration agent. Continue reading...

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President speaks to CBS News about killing of woman by ICE agent and defends immigration crackdownDonald Trump has defended his administration's increasingly violent immigration crackdown, describing the 37-year-old woman killed by federal agents as likely a wonderful person" whose tough" actions justified a lethal response.Trump's comments, made during an interview with CBS News after touring a Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan, came as tensions continue to rise in Minneapolis days after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good at the wheel of her SUV on a residential street last week. Continue reading...

Administration issues warning to US citizens: Leave Iran now' - key US politics stories from 13 January at a glanceDonald Trump has told Iranians to keep protesting and said help was on the way, in the clearest sign yet that the US president may be preparing for military action against Tehran.Iranian Patriots, keep protesting - take over your institutions!!! ... help is on its way," Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday. He added that he had cancelled all meetings with Iranian officials until the senseless killing" of protesters stopped. Continue reading...

US president also says Paramount Skydance chief David Ellison, whom he called amazing', could be bust' if he'd lostDuring an interview with CBS Evening News, Donald Trump claimed new anchor Tony Dokoupil wouldn't have his job if his opponent in the 2024 presidential election, Kamala Harris, had won.A year and a half ago, our country was dead," he argued. We had a dead country. You wouldn't have a job right now. If she got in, you probably wouldn't have a job right now... You wouldn't have this job, certainly whatever the hell they're paying you." Continue reading...

US president's flustered response to shouts calling him a pedophile protector' was to issue rude hand gestureDonald Trump gave someone the middle finger on Tuesday, reportedly responding to shouts admonishing him as a pedophile protector" as he toured a Michigan Ford plant. The celebrity news and gossip site TMZ shared a short video featuring the US president's flustered response to someone heckling off-screen, during which he appears to issue the hand gesture.Trump spent Tuesday afternoon touring Ford's River Rouge complex in Dearborn before giving a speech at the Detroit Economic Club. Continue reading...

Ilhan Omar said her caucus will oppose all funding' for immigration enforcement unless militarized policing endsProgressives in the US Congress on Tuesday vowed to oppose legislation funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unless it included significant reforms to immigration enforcement, amid a widening roar among Democrats following the killing of a US citizen in Minnesota last week.The declaration by the Democratic-aligned Congressional Progressive caucus comes as the Senate and House of Representatives race to meet an end-of-the-month deadline to approve a series of funding bills or risk a partial government shutdown. Continue reading...

Critics condemn bigoted attack' as Trump bids to revoke citizenship of naturalized immigrants convicted of fraudThe Trump administration is terminating temporary protected status (TPS) for Somalis living in the United States, giving hundreds of people two months to leave the country or face deportation.The homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, said in a statement that conditions in the east African country had improved sufficiently and that Somalis no longer qualified for the designation under federal law. Continue reading...

A ruling against two athletes in West Virginia and Idaho could have far-reaching implications for civil rightsThe US supreme court on Tuesday appeared poised to uphold laws banning transgender girls and women from competing in female sports in two conservative states, in a landmark legal battle that could carry profound implications for trans rights across US society.During oral arguments on two cases of trans students who sued over Republican-supported laws in West Virginia and Idaho that barred them from girls sports, one member of the court's conservative majority after another voiced skepticism about the students' cases. Continue reading...

Actor denies allegations of abuse centering on two preteen boys in video statement: I'm going to confront these lies'The actor and director Timothy Busfield surrendered on Tuesday to New Mexico authorities, four days after they obtained a warrant to arrest him on child sexual abuse allegations, according to officials.The Albuquerque police department spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos confirmed Busfield turned himself over to officers after it was widely reported that the agency was working with US marshals to search for the Emmy winner. Continue reading...

Two Target employees forced to the ground, then into SUV, then dumped in different parking lotTwo US citizens who are employees of a Minnesota Target store were detained by federal immigration agents, before at least one was dumped in a different parking lot, community leaders and a Democratic politician have alleged.The Richfield incident is one in a growing number of violent encounters between civilians and federal agents captured on video since the killing of Renee Nicole Good by the ICE officer Jonathan E Ross on 7 January. Continue reading...

Mark Zaid, a national security attorney, regains access to classified material after accusing White House of retaliationAfter the Donald Trump administration revoked his security clearance in March, attorney Mark Zaid reported learning on Monday that the memorandum revoking his clearance is no longer in effect" - and that his access to classified info is restored".The development comes after Zaid sued the president's administration in May over the revocation of his security clearance. Continue reading...

The unwritten rule in professional tournaments? Do not hog the practice court. But as leading players testify - the reality is very differentOn a cool Wednesday afternoon before the USOpen last year, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev were busy fine-tuning their games in an intense practice set at Louis Armstrong Stadium. Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison, semi-finalists in the mixed doubles tournament, were scheduled to take their place at the hour and the American pair duly arrived a couple of minutes before their allotted slot.An amusing scene soon unfolded. Medvedev and Zverev were clearly desperate to continue playing for a little longer, but their court time had run out. The pair began to sheepishly deliberate over whether to attempt to play another game, even lining up on the baseline again, and they still occupied the court past the hour. Finally, they admitted defeat, allowing Collins and Harrison, whohad been standing quietly on the sidelines, to begin. Continue reading...