US news | The Guardian

People took to the streets of Greenland and Denmark on Saturday as part of the Hands Off Greenland' rallies in protest against Donald Trump's insistence the US should take control of the self-governing territory

US health department's new food pyramid places red meat and cheese high in saturated fats over plant-based proteinsThe new food pyramid rolled out in US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr's Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) places animal-based proteins, including cheese and red meats high in saturated fats, above plant-based proteins, which has raised alarm bells among health and environmental experts.This rejiggered food pyramid is in line with Kennedy's previous signals that he will recommend increasing saturated fat in US diets as part of the Make America healthy again" movement. Continue reading...

Warner Bros is also being pursued by Paramount Skydance, helmed by David Ellison, son of president's allyDonald Trump bought at least $1m worth of bonds in Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), according to a financial disclosure form, days after he said would be involved" in a proposed merger between the two companies.The White House released a financial disclosure report on Friday which showed that Trump made two purchases from Netflix and two purchases from WBD, each amounting to at least $502,000. Continue reading...

Philadelphia sheriff Rochelle Bilal's words have become a rallying cry against Trump's immigration crackdownYou don't want this smoke," Rochelle Bilal, Philadelphia's sheriff, warned Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during an 8 January press conference. Her words have since become a rallying cry for resistance to the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. At the conference with Larry Krasner, Philadelphia's district attorney, and city council members, Bilal spoke out against the 7 January fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. We stand here today with all those who stand against the made-up, fake, what you can call ICE, professional law enforcement," she said at the conference. I don't call them none of that. I call them made-up, fake, wannabe law enforcement. Because what they do is against not only legal law, but the moral law."Bilal is part of a growing body of elected officials who are speaking out against the Trump administration's immigration policies and ICE's alleged misconduct and aggressive enforcement tactics. As the first Black female sheriff of Philadelphia elected in 2019, Bilal has faced perhaps the most vitriol from opponents who have targeted her for her race and gender. Race played a big [role in the] response," Bilal told the Guardian in a conference room on her Philadelphia office floor. The negative, nasty messages that are being received is ridiculous." Since the video of her speech went viral, Bilal told the Guardian that death threats that she's received have required her to increase her security detail. In a Facebook post, ICE also said that she should resign. Continue reading...

A year after then candidate Trump promised to cut energy bills in half, rising costs are pushing many Americans' household budgets to the brink

The Trump administration's immigration policies hearken back to the racist 1924 Immigration Act, meant to whiten the USOn 14 January, the Trump administration announced a stop on issuing immigrant visas for applicants from 75 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as 10 countries from eastern Europe. The Department of Homeland Security justified the decision by claiming that immigrants from these countries are at high risk" of reliance on welfare and becoming a public charge".As an immigration scholar, I was immediately struck by the falsehood of this economic justification. The vast majority of immigrants have been legally disqualified from cash welfare since 1996. Those who do qualify for benefits like Snap and Medicaid use them at much lower rates than non-immigrants. Through their taxes, immigrants are net contributors - especially undocumented immigrants who are excluded from federal benefits. Continue reading...

I was a child actor, exploited by strangers on the internet. Now millions of children face the same dangerWhen I was a little girl, there was nothing scarier than a stranger.In the late 1980s and early 1990s, kids were told, by our parents, by TV specials, by teachers, that there were strangers out there who wanted to hurt us. Stranger Danger" was everywhere. It was a well-meaning lesson, but the risk was overblown: most child abuse and exploitation is perpetrated by people the children know. It's much rarer for children to be abused or exploited by strangers. Continue reading...

The secretary of state - a neoconservative foreign policy hawk turned America First cheerleader - has defied expectations that he would not last in Trump's cabinetThe exchange seemed to crystallize a master-servant relationship in a single instant.Early in January, in a White House gathering with oil executives invited to discuss investment in Venezuela after the US overthrow of Nicolas Maduro, its strongman president, Macro Rubio discreetly passed a note to Donald Trump. Continue reading...

Strong media presence in Minneapolis has ensured Renee Good's shooting, and its fallout, has received wide coverageAfter a federal immigration agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with grisly videos quickly going viral on social media, news organizations from around the state, country and world dispatched correspondents and anchors to the scene.In the days since, that media presence has ebbed and flowed - though a well-resourced local news corps and many national journalists have remained, including reporters for the Guardian, covering additional clashes between police and protesters. Continue reading...

Grantees outline risks to vulnerable populations over uncertainty of funds creating gaps in careA counseling program in Alabama for people with HIV, helping them get into treatment and housing. A training program in New Hampshire for first responders learning how better to respond to people in mental health crises. Mental health counseling for children in Tennessee experiencing trauma.On Wednesday, the funding for these and thousands of other programs was rescinded. The halt affected about 2,800 organizations across the nation offering mental health and substance use services, often on the front lines of the dual crises, in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (Samhsa). Continue reading...

History tells us what happens when American presidents focus on foreign policy and neglect domestic economic policyDonald Trump's blitzkrieg since his 3 January seizure of the Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has been guided by his triumph of the will, as he told the New York Times. Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It's the only thing that can stop me ... I don't need international law."Trump treats the spectacle as a reality TV show in which he is both the executive producer and the host who ultimately declares himself the winner. At his 3 January press conference on the day of Maduro's seizure, Trump mentioned oil" 27 times, money" 13 times and democracy" not once. He trashed the democratic opposition as lacking respect" and support". The capture of Maduro was a decapitation, not regime change. Indeed, Trump served as a convenient agent of an internal coup of the existing powers, whom he declared an ally". We have to fix the country first," he said. You can't have an election."Sidney Blumenthal, former senior adviser to President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, has published three books of a projected five-volume political life of Abraham Lincoln: A Self-Made Man, Wrestling With His Angel and All the Powers of Earth. He is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

Colvin, who died this week, made a stand on an Alabama bus nine months before Rosa Parks. When we met, her message about the struggle was clearIn life, there's the beginning and the end," John Carlos, the African American sprinter who raised his fist in a black power salute from the podium of the 1968 Olympics, once told me. The beginning don't matter. The end don't matter. All that matters is what you do in between - whether you're prepared to do what it takes to make change. There has to be physical and material sacrifice. When all the dust settles and we're getting ready to play down for the ninth inning, the greatest reward is to know that you did your job when you were here on the planet."Claudette Colvin, who died earlier this week in a hospice in Texas, did her job while she was here on the planet, although it was several decades before her physical and material sacrifice was acknowledged. On 2 March 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, aged just 15, Colvin took a stand and refused to give up her bus seat to a white woman.Gary Younge is a professor of sociology at the University of Manchester Continue reading...

US president's increasingly bellicose demands for control of the island may force the EU to draw a line in the snow

Governor Tim Walz says weaponizing the justice system is an authoritarian tactic' as he and Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey reportedly will be subpoenaedThe US justice department is investigating Minnesota's political leaders for allegedly conspiring to obstruct the Trump administration's controversial immigration crackdown there, according to multiple reports.The investigation, which CBS News first reported, marks an extraordinary use of federal power to challenge two of the crackdown's most vocal Democratic critics, including the state's governor, Tim Walz, and the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey. Continue reading...

Each board member will manage defined portfolio critical to Gaza's stabilization and long-term success', according to White House - key US politics stories from Friday 16 JanuaryDonald Trump's so-called board of peace" has been announced as the US president seeks to manage the reconstruction of Gaza and its transitional administration amid a fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.The seven-member board includes US secretary of state Marco Rubio, former British prime minister Tony Blair, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff and World Bank president, Ajay Banga. Trump himself will serve as chair, with further appointments expected in the coming weeks. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed.

Lawyer for administration had apologized earlier for violating court order and admitted mistake'A US federal judge in Boston on Friday gave the Trump administration three weeks to rectify the mistake" it made by deporting a college student to Honduras while she was traveling home to visit her family for Thanksgiving as he recommended it issue her a student visa.The US district judge, Richard Stearns, imposed the deadline after a lawyer for the administration earlier this week apologized for having violated a court order that should have prevented 19-year-old Any Lucia Lopez Belloza from being sent to Honduras. She is a Honduran national who was brought to the United States by her mother when she was eight while seeking asylum. Continue reading...

After Renee Good's killing in Minneapolis, calls grow for accountability in the shooting of Keith Porter Jr on New Year's Eve

White House says seven-strong board, chaired by Trump, will steer Gaza through next phase of reconstructionDonald Trump has appointed the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and former British prime minister Tony Blair to a newly created Gaza board of peace", a body he claims will steer the next phase of reconstruction and governance in the war-ravaged territory.The White House said the seven-strong founding executive board" will also include Trump's special envoy, the property developer Steve Witkoff; the World Bank president, Ajay Banga; and the president's son-in-law and long-time adviser Jared Kushner. Trump himself will serve as chair, with further appointments expected in the coming weeks. Continue reading...

Grand jury in Ohio charged Michael David McKee, 39, with aggravated murder and burglary for fatal shootingsAn Ohio grand jury has indicted an Illinois surgeon in the double homicide of his ex-wife and her dentist husband, who were killed in their Columbus home in December in a case that initially generated nationwide mystery.Court records show a Franklin county grand jury charged Michael David McKee on 16 January with aggravated murder and aggravated burglary while using a firearm suppressor. Continue reading...

Pennsylvania boy facing criminal homicide charges after 13 January shooting at family's homeAn 11-year-old Pennsylvania boy allegedly shot his father to death after previously having his Nintendo Switch handheld gaming system taken away.The boy is facing criminal homicide charges after a 13 January shooting at his family's home in Duncannon Borough. Continue reading...

Actor held without bond in New Mexico on child abuse charges stemming from twin brothers' complaintWith allegations of prior sexual misconduct against him continuing to mount, Timothy Busfield received an expression of support from his wife and fellow actor, Melissa Gilbert - as he was also ordered held without bond in connection with on-set child abuse charges in New Mexico.A statement that a representative for Gilbert, known best for her work on Little House on the Prairie, shared with media outlets said she supports her husband" and was keeping her focus ... on supporting and caring for their ... family, as they navigate this moment". Continue reading...

The 2021 killing of Vicha Ratanapakdee in San Francisco helped spark a national movement against anti-Asian hateA 24-year-old man was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of an elderly Thai man whose 2021 killing in San Francisco helped spark a national movement against anti-Asian American violence.A jury did not find Antoine Watson guilty of murder when it returned a verdict on Thursday for the January 2021 attack on 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee. Jurors found Watson guilty on the lesser charges of involuntary manslaughter and assault. Continue reading...

Lawmakers' decision makes Virginia at least third US state in 2026 to vote on future of abortion accessThe Virginia state senate voted on Friday to let voters decide whether to amend the state's constitution to protect abortion rights, in a move that will make Virginia at least the third state in 2026 to vote on the controversial topic.The state legislature first approved the proposed amendment in early 2025, but Virginia law dictates that suggested constitutional amendments must pass in two consecutive state legislatures. The state house of delegates approved the 2026 version of the amendment earlier this week. Continue reading...

Astrid Tuminez will step down as Utah Valley University president in May as school still reckons with Kirk's murderAstrid Tuminez, Utah Valley University's seventh president, will step down at the end of the semester. She announced the decision on Wednesday during a State of the University address, speaking to a packed audience of students and faculty.Tuminez, 61, said in an interview that the decision to step down had been building for some time. There's never a good time," she said. I love UVU so much." The choice, she explained, came with a mix of grief and relief. It is a swirl of emotion. I am heartbroken on one hand, but also happy and excited on the other, because life has its rhythms. Continue reading...

Donald Trump has been gifted the Nobel peace prize medal by Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. The gesture comes after Machado was unexpectedly sidelined by Trump when US forces abducted her political rival, Venezuela's president, Nicolas Maduro. Her supporters had hoped Trump would recognise her as Venezuela's new leader, but instead he gave his support to the dictator's second-in-command, Delcy Rodriguez. Continue reading...

The US president wants Americans to believe they are facing an emergency. The real danger is from his administrationIn Minnesota, armed and masked agents are ripping families apart. They are seizing parents while they wait with their child at a bus stop, going door to door seeking undocumented migrants and breaking car windows to drag people out. Last Wednesday an officer shot dead Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old American citizen. Her killing is a tragedy for all who loved her, and most of all for the three children left motherless. Italso marks her country's crossing of a Rubicon.Where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) once preferred to keep a low profile, it now seeks publicity and confrontation - pumped up on billions of dollars in funding, the aggression and brazenness ofthe administration and the licensing of bigotry.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...

Federal agents face widespread accusations of misconduct - but Trump administration leaders won't prosecute them

We'd like to hear from people of color who believe they have been targeted by immigration agents because of their race, language or locationAmid Donald Trump's latest immigration crackdowns throughout the nation, people of color increasingly have reported that they have been racially profiled by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.In the Minneapolis area, where about 2,000 ICE officers and 800 Customs and Border Protection agents have been deployed, federal agents have targeted Latino and Somali communities in recent weeks. On 15 January, the ACLU and other attorneys filed a class-action lawsuit against the Trump administration for the alleged racial profiling and unlawful arrest of three Minnesotans and others. One of the plaintiffs listed in the lawsuit, a US citizen, said that he was stopped by masked ICE agents as he walked to lunch. In another instance in Minneapolis, ICE officers asked people of color to provide documentation that they were legally in the US as they charged their electric vehicles. Continue reading...

Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on countries that do not 'go along' with his plan to annex Greenland, increasing pressure on European allies who have opposed his effort to take over the Arctic territory.Speaking at a White House event about the tariffs he slapped on pharmaceutical imports from the EU as part of his efforts to lower drug prices in the US, Trump added: 'I may do that for Greenland too. I may put a tariff on countries if they don't go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security.'

Federal judge rules Trump administration's efforts to obtain information on voters in the state is threat to democracy

We want to hear from people in Minnesota about the surge of thousands of federal immigration agents in the areaThousands of federal immigration agents have been sent into Minneapolis in recent days, with protests taking place in Minnesota and across the country in response to last week's shooting of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer.The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, accusing federal immigration authorities in Minnesota of racial profiling and unlawful arrests. Continue reading...

European countries sending troops to the island is only raising the temperature and generating fear - exactly what the US president wantsIs Greenland Donald Trump's 25th-amendment moment? Last time around, this was when the Washington grownups" debated his capacity to be president, notably in the final fortnight of his presidency, after the January 6 Capitol insurrection. Under the constitution, a president can be replaced should the vice-president and a cabinet majority decide their leader is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office". The trouble today is that there are no grownups.The US president's designs on Greenland are clearly mad. He claims Russia and China are scheming to seize the island and that Denmark should be forced urgently to transfer its sovereignty. Denmark had long allowed the US extended military access to Greenland, but Trump seems to want to own it. None of his staff has been able to say why.Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist and the author of A Short History of America: From Tea Party to Trump Continue reading...

When he returned to power last year, Trump was eager to negotiate a new deal with Tehran, but a diplomatic breakthrough has been elusiveWill Donald Trump order a US military attack on Iran? That question captivated the world for the past two weeks, as the US president issued bellicose threats warning the Iranian regime not to crack down on nationwide protests demanding economic and social reforms. On Tuesday, as he was scheduled to be briefed by Pentagon officials on various options for a strike, Trump posted a message on social media urging Iranians to continue their demonstrations and take over government institutions. The president signaled that he was leaning toward ordering an attack, telling protesters that help is on its way".But by Wednesday, Trump pulled back from the brink of a military intervention, saying he had received assurances from very important sources" that Iran had stopped killing protesters and was not moving forward with executions. A group of US allies in the Middle East - including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Turkey - seem to have succeeded in a last-ditch effort to convince Trump not to launch airstrikes against Tehran, warning it could unleash a wider conflict in the region. While many Sunni-led Arab states resent Shia Iran's influence in the Arab world, they are also worried about retaliatory attacks by Iran and its allies, an influx of refugees and a civil war that could lead to the collapse of the Iranian state. Continue reading...

No one wants to visit us any more - but they might pay $50,000 for a bag you could get here for $3There aren't many escapes from the grim onslaught of terrible news these days. You can stare at a blank wall, obsessively count the hairs on your arm, or, in a true moment of desperation, ponder the state of global fashion. I prefer the last one. I love being on the cutting edge of style, peacocking out in the decaying slopfest that is our planet. A crisp, well-made suit is a cure for all manner of emotionally trying times. I relish being hyper-aware of the goings-on of fashion, so I was one of the first sorry souls to learn of the current global obsession with flimsy canvas Trader Joe's shopping bags.For those unaware, Trader Joe's is an American grocery store chain known primarily for its affordable prices, whimsical tropical branding, and heart-attack-inducing parking lots - apparently designed to be small because the stores themselves are so tiny that they can't justify more spaces. I don't naturally see the use in swanning about with a tote bag promoting a demolition derby disguised as a market, but I'm not most people.Dave Schilling is a Los Angeles-based writer and humorist Continue reading...

To longtime immigrant rights activists, the reckoning around the fatal shooting in Minnesota may feel familiarAs mass protests erupted over the past week after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent killed Renee Nicole Good, thousands of Americans hoisted signs and marched to thunderous chants of abolish ICE".The mantra has quickly captured the bursting anger and grief of a nation; activists and progressive lawmakers like the representative Ayanna Pressley, and even the conservative commentator Bill Kristol have embraced the demand. Shri Thanedar, a Democratic representative from Michigan, said he plans to introduce the Abolish ICE act", a bill that would dismantle the federal agency and its current enforcement authority. For the first time, more US adults now support eliminating ICE than those who oppose it, according to a new Economist/YouGov poll. Continue reading...

As hospitals scramble and country reaches record-breaking rates of illness, officials cast doubt on flu shot's necessityAs the US reaches record-breaking rates of illness and hospitals scramble to care for flu patients, officials have stopped fully recommending the flu shot, casting doubt on the necessity and effectiveness of the vaccine.We are in the midst of a very severe flu season," said Seema Lakdawala, associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Emory School of Medicine. Despite this, the US is dismantling many of its vaccine recommendations. Flu vaccine recommendations for children changed in early January to shared clinical decision-making", which has typically meant a provider recommends the shot. Continue reading...

Washington Post says local medical examiner found asphyxia' to be cause of Geraldo Lunas Campos's death. Plus, how Trump's dismantling of federal agencies has impacted children with cancer Don't already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up hereGood morning.The death of a man who was being held at a federal detention camp in Texas in early January may be investigated as a homicide after the local medical examiner reportedly found the preliminary cause was asphyxia due to neck and chest compression".What did ICE say about his death? In a press release, the agency claimed he died after experiencing medical distress" and said his cause of death was under investigation.What have the peace prize organizers said? Earlier in the day, they posted on X: A medal can change owners, but the title of a Nobel peace prize laureate cannot." Continue reading...

Family members left stunned and bereft after their loved ones were spirited away by federal immigration agents

The postseason continues with the Broncos and Seahawks entering the fray, but there could be trouble for one of the frontrunnersWhat the Bills need to do to win: Keep winning short-yardage situations. The tush push on fourth down that propelled Josh Allen 10 yards and helped secure Buffalo's win over Jacksonville last weekend epitomised how the Bills dominated the game's crucial moments. The Bills converted four of their five third downs with four yards or to go last Sunday, and they finished fifth in third-down rate in the regular season in the same situations. Denver were eighth this season in third-and-short defensive efficiency (50.6%). Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady will have to find ways to create leverage for Allen and the Bills in those vital moments to keep the scoreboard moving. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Jesse Binnall and Joe Flynn, who campaigned to overturn 2020 election, seek to win Bosnia deal for little-known US firmLeading members of Donald Trump's campaign to overturn the 2020 presidential election are seeking a huge European pipeline contract, the latest figures from the US president's circle to mix business and geopolitics.Jesse Binnall, a lawyer who worked on legal actions advancing Trump's baseless claim that the vote was stolen from him, and Joe Flynn, who also sought to undermine Joe Biden's victory, have been in Bosnia this week to discuss the project. Continue reading...

The right is unafraid to show its might on the world stage - meanwhile the prime minister is tinkering with potholes. That just about sums up the centre-leftLast weekend, as the world wondered whether Donald Trump would swipe Greenland, Keir Starmer made his own big geographic intervention: he published a map of which councils were fixing potholes.Yes, potholes. Yes, a map. Barely 18 months into office, with crucial elections just ahead and his party lagging behind the ragtag troops of Nigel Farage and even Kemi Badenoch, this was how Team Starmer kicked off 2026. To be fair, as the young people say, the map is colour-coded.Aditya Chakrabortty 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...

Carl Schmitt wanted empires that dominated the small countries in their orbits. But the US president's chaotic actions are not that strategicIt is axiomatic to many of his critics that the US president, Donald Trump, is a fascist. Indeed, some have seen echoes of the work of the Nazis' crown jurist" and political theorist, Carl Schmitt, in the Trump administration's domestic policies, particularly his doctrine of the exception", which can be used to suspend certain constitutional rights. After a tumultuous few weeks in geopolitics, his work is being discussed for its contemporary relevance again.In the wake of the release of the new US National Security Strategy in 2025, its raid on Venezuela, the president's rhetoric on Greenland, Panama, Colombia, Mexico and Cuba, and his apparent indulgence towards Vladimir Putin's Russia, the question now being asked is whether Trump is also an advocate of aspects of Schmitt's concept of great space".Brendan Simms is director of the Centre for Geopolitics at Cambridge University and author of Hitler: Only the World Was EnoughDo 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...

Washington Post reports local medical examiner found asphyxia' to be cause of Geraldo Lunas Campos's deathThe death of a man who was being held at a federal detention camp in Texas in early January may be investigated as a homicide after the local medical examiner reportedly found the preliminary cause was asphyxia due to neck and chest compression".Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban migrant who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in July last year, was pronounced dead on 3 January. He had been in ICE custody at Camp East Montana, a sprawling tent camp at the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed.

Heather Ammel says ex-Arizona senator pursued romantic relationship with her husband that led to couple's breakupKyrsten Sinema, a former US senator from Arizona, had a romantic relationship with a member of her security detail that led to the breakup of the man's marriage, his ex-wife alleges in a lawsuit seeking at least $75,000 from Sinema.Matthew and Heather Ammel had a good and loving marriage" with genuine love and affection" before Sinema interfered, pursuing Matthew Ammel despite knowing he was married, Heather Ammel alleges in her lawsuit. Continue reading...