GoFan penalized for breaching privacy laws after students used service to sign up for football games and school promThe California Privacy Protection Agency has fined tech company GoFan $1.1m for swiping and selling data from high school students across the state who used the service to sign up for events including football games, school plays and senior prom.Before signing up for school events, software by GoFan - a ticketing business owned by PlayOn, a media company that streams high school sports games - prompted users to accept conditions, including allowing the company to collect users' personal information and sell it to advertisers. Users could only proceed to buy their tickets if they hit a white agree" button. They did not have the option to opt out. Continue reading...

Faculty members stop short of calling for Leon Botstein to resign in wake of revelations about ties with sex offenderMembers of Bard College's faculty have called on the group's board of trustees to develop a transition in leadership" plan for Leon Botstein but stopped short of calling for the college president to resign in the wake of revelations about his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.The board of trustees announced on 19 February that it had retained the outside lawfirm of WilmerHale to conduct an independent review" into communications between Epstein and Botstein, who has served as the college's president for 50 years.Do you have a tip on this story?

Frigate goes down off Sri Lanka as Washington and Israel step up their offensive and promise to hit deeper' targets in Iran

Latest outage darkens island facing dwindling oil reserves and increasing pressure from WashingtonA blackout hit the western half of Cuba on Wednesday, leaving millions of people in Havana and beyond without power in the latest outage to affect an island struggling with dwindling oil reserves and a crumbling electricity grid.The government's Electric Union confirmed the outage on social platform X, saying it affected people from the eastern town of Pinar del Rio to the central town of Camaguey. Continue reading...

California governor, promoting his memoir in LA, was asked if US should rethink military partnership with Israel

Democratic voters in Texas displayed a survival instinct in picking James Talarico as their US Senate candidate

State party chair had urged candidates with no viable path' to victory to drop out to ensure Democratic win in November

Deploying the world's most powerful military seems to exert an almost erotic fascination for Donald Trump

An unreliable and volatile American president makes a compelling case for closer security and defence cooperation with continental alliesThere is truth to Donald Trump's declaration earlier this week that the UK-US relationship is not what it was", although there is no indication that he understands the reasons for the change.The US president is very disappointed" that Sir Keir Starmer has been uncooperative" in the war against Iran, offering only limited logistical support to American forces. The prime minister's concession that RAF resources can be involved in defensive operations does not compensate for the prior refusal to put Britain's military assets at American disposal. It came too late for Mr Trump, whose irritation turned to culture-war jibes about windmills" ruining British landscapes and a false claim about the prevalence of sharia courts.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...

It's monstrously presumptuous? Unforgivably glib? Perhaps. But this stylised drama is the show we all need right nowIf you are looking for a break in the clouds from this terrible news cycle, can I direct you towards Love Story, the nine-part series executive-produced - but crucially, not written! - by Ryan Murphy, which documents the love and untimely deaths of John F Kennedy Jr and his wife, Carolyn Bessette. You might think this isn't for you, that it'll be too tabloidy or that you're not interested in JFK Jr. But while Love Story, which takes us back to a very particular version of early-1990s New York, might not seem like the show we want right now, it is exactly the show that we need.This probably sounds like a heartless summary of a true story that ends in the terrible deaths of two young people (in 1999, while flying his wife and her sister from New Jersey to Martha's Vineyard, Kennedy crashed his light aircraft, killing everyone on board). But that tragic end only suffuses the preceding nine hours of storytelling with a kind of pearly, nostalgic light, just the thing to see off the iron-grey wash of today's reality. The New York of Love Story isn't the city's current iteration, with its impossible rents and charmless finance bros ruining downtown. Nor is it the 1990s New York of, say, Home Alone 2, in which Donald Trump strides through the Plaza Hotel and Central Park is a crime-ridden disaster.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...

The Pentagon chief claims Tehran cannot outlast' US as strikes intensify and civilian toll climbsThe US will have complete, uncontested control of Iranian airspace within days, the Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, declared Wednesday, saying Iran cannot outlast" American military power and that its capabilities were evaporating by the hour".The joint US-Israeli operation to attack Iran, which began on Saturday, had already delivered twice the air power of shock and awe of Iraq in 2003" and seven times the intensity of Israel's previous operations against Iran during the 12-day war", Hegseth claimed at a press conference alongside Dan Caine, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. Continue reading...

US defense secretary was evasive when asked about the airstrike that Iranian officials say killed at least 165 students

UK's FTSE 100 up by more than 50 points, while pan-European Stoxx 600 share index rises 1.2%

YouGov poll shows 50% support as Kristi Noem defends terrorist' claim and shutdown drags onHalf of Americans support the abolition of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, a new poll has found, as opposition to Donald Trump's aggressive federal immigration crackdown continues to grow.The analysis by YouGov revealed that exactly 50% of respondents strongly or somewhat" want to see the agency dismantled, a 5% rise from a January poll taken between the deaths in Minnesota of US citizen protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti by immigration officers. Continue reading...

Judge notes New York legislature passed $9 fee and it was signed into law by governor before federal approvals

Trump's sweeping tariffs have left many businesses facing higher costs and uncertainty. We want to hear how smaller companies are navigating the falloutSmall businesses across the US are reportedly struggling to navigate the fallout from Donald Trump's global tariff wars and the legal battles surrounding them.Last month, the US supreme court struck down the president's so-called liberation day" tariffs, potentially opening the door to as much as $175bn in refunds for businesses that paid the import taxes but the process for claiming that money is complex and uncertain. Continue reading...

The future Hall of Famer's behavior over the years has been rash and erratic. But it's understandable given the scrutiny he finds himself underThey're calling the posts the KD Files". There's no definitive proof that Kevin Durant is the man behind the X account @gethigher77 (display name: getoffmydickerson), but if he isn't, somebody has done a phenomenal impersonation. In various screenshots splashed across the internet, getoffmydickerson took shots at Durant's teammates, as the player himself has done before. There was also creative and amusing trash talk, something Durant has shown a talent for. Some of it crossed the line: the account made a reprehensible joke about supplying drones (Durant invests in the company Skydio, which has provided the Israel Defense Forces with weapons) and called Durant's teammate Jabari Smith Jr retarded". When asked about @gethigher77, Durant said, I'm not here to get into Twitter nonsense" - far from a denial that he was behind it, and in the eyes of many, confirmation that he was. We've got people writing in-depth proofs that the account is real.Not that getoffmydickerson is Durant's only problem. Shortly after the tweets blew up, Boardroom, which defines itself as a sports, media, and entertainment brand" co-founded by Durant and his agent Rich Kleiman, laid off three of its staff writers, rationalizing the move as part of a pivot to video. (An aside: what's the point of having career earnings of half a billion dollars if you're not willing to invest some of it to protect your media company from financial headwinds?) Continue reading...

The MLS champions face a familiar conundrum: lend credence to a warmongering administration, or sit out and draw heatDonald Trump was not at the White House when the military he commands began bombing Iran over the weekend. He was at Mar-a-Lago, his estate in Florida, following the action from a makeshift situation room apparently built from those curtains that you can wheel away. That's also where he was when American forces kidnapped Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife a few weeks earlier.On Thursday, however, Trump will be at the White House for the really important business - namely, receiving Inter Miami as winners of the 2025 MLS Cup. Continue reading...

At a meeting of the board that governs the Boston's World Cup stadium, promises were made if not acceptedTuesday evening's meeting of the Foxborough, Massachusetts, Select Board is still minutes from starting, but a local resident can't keep himself from approaching the bench. He has an urgent question for the five members, who in effect serve as the town's primary governing body. His tone isn't one of anger, more of concern.Do you think we're going to have the World Cup here?" Continue reading...

Critics say administration has overstepped authority in using 1994 law to prosecute protesters and journalistsWhen dozens of protesters interrupted a church service in St Paul, Minnesota, earlier this year, it revived a fierce yet enduring debate about whether places of worship are appropriate arenas for dissent.In demanding the resignation of a pastor who leads a local Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office, demonstrators chanted ICE out" and Hands up, don't shoot!" at Cities church on 18 January. Religious and political leaders condemned the action, fueled by the church's statement that protesters had frightened children and created a scene marked by intimidation and threat". Continue reading...

State lawmaker beats Jasmine Crockett in fiercely contested election marked by record turnout and confusion at pollsJames Talarico won the Democratic nomination for a US Senate seat in Texas on Tuesday, capping a remarkable rise from state lawmaker and seminary student to the party's standard-bearer in one of the key races of the 2026 midterm cycle.With his blend of faith-based populism, bipartisan appeal and generational energy, Talarico defeated Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, a firebrand beloved by the party's base but who struggled to dispel concerns that she could defeat a Republican in a state that has not elected a Democrat statewide in more than 30 years. Continue reading...

My family is in Tehran; I am in Abu Dhabi. Across the region, ordinary people are paying the price for these attacksSince Saturday, my mind has been torn between the place I live, Abu Dhabi, and Tehran, which has been the focus of my work and research for more than 15 years, and where I still have family. When I saw that Israel and the US had attacked Iran, I started worrying for family, thinking about potential consequences. But I barely had time to consider that before Donald Trump announced that this was about regime change. At that moment, I knew this was going to be big - worse than last June - and that it would lead into a regional schism. Predictably, Iran's response started shortly after: first against Israel, then against states across the Gulf region, including the United Arab Emirates. It all followed the worst-case escalation scenarios we had been outlining since June, and especially since January, when - in the midst of protests - Donald Trump said help" was on its way.I kept on trying to reach family when the internet there was working, which is, at best, for a few minutes a day. Each conversation is short, practical: are you OK? Is your area affected?Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi is an associate fellow at the Chatham House Middle East and North Africa programme Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. More election coverage can be found here:

Neither Ken Paxton or John Cornyn captured 50% of the vote in Texas, forcing another poll in MayA bitter primary contest between the four-term Republican US senator John Cornyn and the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, ended in a runoff on Tuesday.In Texas, a primary runoff is declared if neither candidate are able to capture 50% of the vote. Paxton and Cornyn will now face that election on 26 May. Continue reading...

US Southern Command said joint mission with Ecuadorian forces involves decisive action' against narco-terroristsUS and Ecuadorian forces have launched joint operations to combat drug trafficking, the US Southern Command said on Tuesday, but neither side gave more details.Southern Command, which encompasses 31 countries through South and Central America and the Caribbean, said in a statement on X that the decisive action" was aimed at combating illicit drug trafficking. Continue reading...

Rubio said the US was reacting after learning that Israel planned to strike Iran, but Trump on Wednesday contradicted that explanation - key US politics stories from Tuesday 3 March at a glanceDonald Trump attempted to counter a simmering anti-Israel backlash in Congress and among his own Maga supporters on Tuesday by denying suggestions that he had been bounced into attacking Iran because Israel had already decided to do so.Amid growing criticism from opponents and allies, Trump rebuffed claims that he had struck Iran only because Israel had forced his hand, a suspicion fueled by comments made by the secretary of state, Marco Rubio. Continue reading...

Former Democratic governor Cooper to take on Trump-backed Whatley for seat held by retiring Thom Tillis

Trump said service members killed were true American patriots' but warned more US deaths in Iran war likelyThe US Department of Defense on Tuesday identified four of the six American soldiers who were killed Sunday during a drone strike on a US base in Kuwait. Donald Trump said there will likely be more" service members killed before it ends".The soldiers were identified as Captain Cody Khork, 35; Sergeant Nicole Amor, 39; Sergeant Declan Coady, 20; and Sergeant Noah Tietjens, 42. Continue reading...

Homeland security department appears to be looking into comments made about Minnesota's top federal prosecutorThe Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has opened an internal investigation into allegations that Gregory Bovino, a senior border patrol official, made disparaging remarks about the Jewish faith of Minnesota's top federal prosecutor, the New York Times reported.Bovino, who became the public face of the heavily scrutinized immigration crackdown in Minnesota that left two US citizens dead at the hands of federal agents, allegedly mocked federal prosecutor Daniel Rosen during a January phone call with state prosecutors. According to the Times, Bovino allegedly made sarcastic comments about Rosen's observance of Shabbat - the weekly period of rest from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset - and used the phrase chosen people" in a derisive tone during the 12 January call. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. For the latest on US politics, you can follow our US midterms blog here.In a late night post on Truth Social, Donald Trump said that the US munition stockpiles at the medium and upper medium grade" have never been higher or better".He added that the US has a virtually unlimited supply of these weapons", meaning that wars can be fought forever'". Continue reading...

Party worries crowded field to replace Gavin Newsom - and quirk of primary system - could open door for Republicans in NovemberIt's been three decades since Democrats last had a wide open contest for the California governorship, one of the most visible and most powerful positions in the US. Instead of relishing in the competition of a crowded field, though, party leaders worry that the race to succeed Gavin Newsom could blow up in their faces.On Tuesday, the state's Democratic party chair, Rusty Hicks, wrote in an extraordinary open letter to the candidates: If you do not have a viable path to make it to the general election, do not file to place your name on the ballot for the primary election." Continue reading...

Democrats have decried Marco Rubio's briefings as inadequate in articulating the goals of warDonald Trump attempted to counter a simmering anti-Israel backlash in Congress and among his own Maga supporters on Tuesday by denying suggestions that he had been bounced into attacking Iran because Israel had already decided to do so.Amid growing criticism among opponents and allies alike, Trump rebuffed claims that he had struck Iran only because Israel had forced his hand, a suspicion fueled by comments made by Marco Rubio, the secretary of state. Continue reading...

Homeland security secretary was grilled in Senate hearing over immigration enforcement crackdown in Twin Cities

Religious freedom group says 200 troops sent complaints of superiors using extremist Christian rhetoric to justify warUS military commanders have been invoking extremist Christian rhetoric about biblical end times" to justify involvement in the Iran war to troops, according to complaints made to a watchdog group.The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) says it has received more than 200 complaints from service members across all branches of the armed forces, including the marines, air force and space force. Continue reading...

Wigdor LLP accuses billionaire of trying to destroy those who seek to hold him to account for alleged sexual assault'A law firm that represented multiple women who accused former Jeffrey Epstein associate Leon Black of sexual misconduct alleged in a Manhattan civil suit on Monday that the powerful financier deployed multiple frivolous and malicious lawsuits" as retaliation for representing these accusers.Wigdor LLP claimed Black, who co-founded and formerly chaired Apollo Global Management, tried to use his billions to buy his own form of justice" and to weaponize the civil justice system to silence and destroy those who seek to hold him to account for alleged sexual assault". Black has emphatically denied all wrongdoing. Continue reading...

Donald Trump's commerce secretary has acknowledged visiting convicted sex offender on private island in 2012

US president criticises prime minister for third time 24 hours, describing him as not Churchill' over initial refusal

Jorge Pederson, 30, had been on life support after weekend attack which left more than a dozen others wounded

Donald Trump has insisted that Israel did not put pressure on the US to launch the initial strikes over the weekend, telling reporters that Iran 'was going to attack first'. The US president also threatened to cut off all trade with Spain after the Nato ally refused permission for two jointly operated bases to be used in US strikes on Iran

Move comes day after department said it would drop fight against law firms that stood up to Trump's executive orders

George Calicut Jr has been in prison for more than 25 years for murder, though there were no witnesses or evidence against him

Proponents of the measure announce they have collected 1.3m signatures to put the issue on the midterm ballot

Prosecutors argued Colin Gray gave 14-year-old son, who is accused of killing four in 2024 shooting, access to firearm

More than 1,000 lawsuits were resolved last year, including multimillion-dollar payouts tied to overturned convictions

Jurors hear how July 4 protest outside ICE turned violent, sparking rare federal case against left-wing demonstratorsA little after 11 pm on the 4th of July last year, police officer Jeremiah Zapata, adrenaline pumping through his body, crawled along Tanglewood drive, a quiet residential street on the outskirts of Fort Worth.A few minutes earlier, an urgent call had come over the radio. A lieutenant responding to a call at the Prairieland detention center, a nearby ICE facility, had been shot. Zapata was one of the first officers to respond to the scene, where another officer told him that the suspects had fled along Tanglewood. Moving slowly in his cruiser underneath a light rain, Zapata used the spotlight on his police cruiser to search for what he assumed the suspect looked like - someone dressed in all black, running with a rifle. Zapata admitted he had tunnel vision" as he frantically searched for a suspect. Continue reading...