At least three people killed across state since atmospheric river storms began earlier this weekMudslides buried cars and homes up to their windows in a California mountain town as a powerful storm system brought the wettest Christmas in decades to the southern part of the state.As much as 12in of rain fell across the area on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service, triggering flooding and washing out roads. Continue reading...
Stevenson Charles, Yusuf Minor and Naod Yohannes, all incarcerated for murder, recaptured on TuesdayThree men who escaped from a Georgia jail for three days hijacked a Lyft rideshare as part of a brazen attempt to flee to south Florida, according to newly released federal court documents.Stevenson Charles, 24; Yusuf Minor, 31; and Naod Yohannes, 25, are accused of escaping from the DeKalb county jail, located 15 miles (24km) outside Atlanta, on Sunday before being recaptured in Florida on Tuesday. Continue reading...
Some even celebrated mass killing' and the president's resolve' in attacking Islamic State targetsThe US's Christmas Day strikes against Islamic State targets in Nigeria have been met with praise by Donald Trump supporters who for months had been agitating for the president to respond forcefully to the killings of Christians in the country.I can't think of a better way to celebrate Christmas than by avenging the death of Christians through the justified mass killing of Islamic terrorists," the far-right political activist Laura Loomer posted on X. You've got to love it! Death to all Islamic terrorists! Thank you." Continue reading...
Every Sunday, protesters from Florida and beyond go to the notorious immigration jail and advocate for its closureThey come on buses, in cars and RVs. Some ride on motorcycles. Every Sunday afternoon, convoys of protesters from all over Florida, and others from out of state, descend on the notorious Alligator Alcatraz" immigration jail in the Everglades to stand vigil for those held inside.It is a ritual that began in August, a month after the opening of the remote detention camp celebrated by Donald Trump for its harsh conditions, and hailed by Florida's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, as a model for the president's aggressive detention and deportation agenda. Continue reading...
Alain Rodriguez Colina was working at a scrapyard that the UPS cargo plane crashed into on 4 NovemberThe death toll from the UPS cargo plane crash in Kentucky in early November has risen to 15 after a man injured on the ground died on Christmas from his wounds, according to officials.Alain Rodriguez Colina was working at a scrapyard that was one of the businesses into which UPS Flight 2976 crashed as it took off from Louisville's airport on 4 November. Kentucky's governor, Andy Beshear, and Louisville's mayor, Craig Greenberg, each confirmed that Rodriguez died on Thursday. Continue reading...
Fiber artists across the US are using their craft to protest against everything from national guard deployments to rollbacks on abortion rightsIn early October, Tracy Wright invited a group of other women in her social circle - all fellow knitters - to gather outside the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in their home town of Portland, Oregon. They were armed with their weapons of mass construction".Donald Trump had just ordered national guard troops deployed to the city, which he called war ravaged" in order to protect ICE facilities he said were under siege" by anti-fascists and other domestic terrorists". Continue reading...
Week 17 delivers a decisive at Soldier Field as Chicago and San Francisco battle for positioning in a crowded NFC race for the No 1 seed and a precious first-round byeChicago Bears (11-4) v San Francisco 49ers (11-4) Continue reading...
President's professed satisfaction with his cabinet may be a reflection of how difficult it would be to get a replacement confirmedFor more than a decade he built his brand on two words: You're fired!" And in his first term in the White House, Donald Trump did not hesitate to show his staff the door, often via an abrasive tweet.But since resuming the US presidency in January, Trump, the former host of the reality TV show The Apprentice, appears to have become an uncharacteristically bashful boss, more disposed to hiring than firing. Continue reading...
After the writers' and actors' strikes, the pandemic, and structural shifts in technology, LA's trying to find its footing in a changed industryThe veteran Hollywood cinematographer Bruce McCleery knows all about Los Angeles's struggles to maintain its dominance in the entertainment industry, because for most of the past 16 years he has lived on the road, never short of work but unable to land a major job within striking distance of his home and family in southern California.It's an increasingly common experience for many successful professionals in Hollywood who are hired by studios and production houses still largely based in Los Angeles, but do the actual work in Atlanta, or Toronto, or London, or Budapest. Continue reading...
Imran Ahmed of Center for Countering Digital Hate files complaint against senior Trump alliesA US judge has blocked US authorities from detaining or deporting a British anti-disinformation campaigner who is among five European nationals targeted by the Trump administration because of moves to push back against hate speech and misinformation.Imran Ahmed, the chief executive of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), filed a complaint on Thursday against senior Trump allies including the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and the attorney general, Pam Bondi, in an attempt to prevent what he says would be an unconstitutional arrest and removal. Continue reading...
Donald Trump has said the US carried out airstrikes against Islamic State militants in north-west Nigeria on Thursday, after weeks of decrying the group for targeting Christians. Nigeria's foreign ministry said the onslaught was part of ongoing security cooperation with the US, involving intelligence sharing and strategic coordination to target militant groups. 'This has led to precision hits on terrorist targets in Nigeria through airstrikes in the north-west,' the ministry said in a post on X
by Catarina Fernandes Martins in Lisbon on (#72DA9)
Claudio Valente and one of victims, Nuno FG Loureiro, both studied at notoriously challenging Tecnico in LisbonAs investigators in Massachusetts work to piece together a motive for the murders of two Brown University students and an MIT physics professor, former classmates of the suspected gunman and one of the victims have been asking if the roots of the tragedy lie in their shared experience at a top university in Portugal.The suspected gunman, Claudio Valente, and one of those killed, Nuno FG Loureiro, studied at the prestigious and notoriously challenging University of Lisbon engineering and technology school, known locally as Tecnico, both graduating in 2000. Continue reading...
Trump also wishes merry Christmas to all, including the dead terrorists', after strikes. Key US politics stories from Thursday 25 DecemberDonald Trump has launched powerful and deadly" strikes on Christmas Day against Islamic State militants in Nigeria, weeks after the US president warned against any systemic assault on Christians in the country.Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Thursday that he had previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was". Continue reading...
Some parts of LA saw more than 11in of rain, with flooding, road closures and debris flows reported across the regionA strong rain and wind storm, carried by an atmospheric river from the Pacific, has been blamed for a third death in southern California as flooding, road closures and debris flows are reported across the region.A flood watch was also extended through Thursday for almost all of the area, as more than 11in of rainfall was measured in some parts Los Angeles county as of Wednesday night and evacuation warnings were issued for mountain communities in San Bernardino county. Continue reading...
by Eromo Egbejule west Africa correspondent on (#72D70)
President claims strikes targeted militants in country's north-west, accusing group of attacking Christian communitiesDonald Trump has said the US carried out airstrikes against Islamic State militants in north-west Nigeria on Thursday, after spending weeks decrying the group for targeting Christians.The president said in a post on his Truth Social platform: Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries! Continue reading...
When the president targeted me and my TV show, millions said no. So don't give up on us - and always remember, we're not all like himI have no idea if you know who I am, but I was asked to deliver this year's alternative Christmas message (which I've heard is a big deal) so I hope you do, but if not I host what you call a chatshow (we call it a talkshow) in what you call the colonies, I think? I honestly have no idea what's going on over there.I do know what's going on over here though, and I can tell you that, from a fascism perspective, this has been a really great year. Tyranny is booming over here. Continue reading...
Imran Ahmed, an anti-disinformation advocate, claims he is being targeted for scrutinising social media companiesA British anti-disinformation campaigner close to Keir Starmer's chief of staff has launched a legal challenge against the Trump administration after being told he could face deportation from the US in a row over freedom of speech.Imran Ahmed, the chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), has filed a complaint against senior Trump allies including the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and the attorney general, Pam Bondi, in an attempt to prevent what he says would be an unconstitutional arrest and removal. Continue reading...
Are her recent candid remarks about Trump an attempt to distance herself from an increasingly unpopular president?She was now one of the family. When Donald Trump addressed supporters in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, in early December, he asked: Susie Trump - do you know Susie Trump? Sometimes referred to as Susie Wiles."The US president was referring to his chief of staff, who he said had persuaded him to return to the campaign trail ahead of the 2026 congressional midterm elections. But a week later, Wiles appeared at risk of becoming the family outcast. Continue reading...
It was the second-largest lottery windfall in US history, with a lump-sum cash payment option of $834.9mA Powerball player in Arkansas won a $1.817bn jackpot in Wednesday's Christmas Eve drawing, ending the lottery game's three-month stretch without a top-prize winner.Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot higher than previously expected, making it the second-largest in US history and the largest Powerball prize of 2025, according to www.powerball.com. The jackpot had a lump sum cash payment option of $834.9m. Continue reading...
From emancipation to women's suffrage, civil rights and BLM, mass movement has shaped the arc of US historyTrump's first and second terms have been marked by huge protests, from the 2017 Women's March to the protests for racial justice after George Floyd's murder, to this year's No Kings demonstrations. But how effective is this type of collective action?According to historians and political scientists who study protest: very. From emancipation to women's suffrage, from civil rights to Black Lives Matter, mass movement has shaped the arc of American history. Protest has led to the passage of legislation that gave women the right to vote, banned segregation and legalized same-sex marriage. It has also sparked cultural shifts in how Americans perceive things like bodily autonomy, economic inequality and racial bias. Continue reading...
Many US immigrants are facing endless separations. In San Francisco, community groups offer solace - and purposeInside St Peter's Catholic church in San Francisco's Mission District, families took refuge from a chilly December night to celebrate a mass in honor of immigrant rights.A choir sang hymns. A majestic Christmas tree stood sentinel at the entrance. Continue reading...
AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler says union ready to stand up for struggling Americans: Which side are you on?'Donald Trump has staged a year of unrelenting attacks on working people," according to the head of the largest federation of the labor unions in the US. Now they're preparing to fight back.Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, said it was gearing up to challenge the US president's Billionaire First" agenda in 2026 - and drive candidates in key elections to stand up for struggling" Americans. Continue reading...
It felt like nothing would top Tiger Woods's Masters win, but then the Northern Irishman completed his career grand slam on an extraordinary final day at AugustaAt 7am on 14 April in an Augusta rental home, Rory McIlroy awoke and immediately spotted a Green Jacket draped over a chair. You think: Yeah, that did happen yesterday,'" he says. That." McIlroy was now the sixth man to win all four of golf's majors.The detail of what lay around in the bedroom of my own Augusta billet is of no interest to anybody. That was, however, a memorable morning. I had previously and wrongly believed nothing would top Tiger Woods's 2019 Masters win in respect of seismic reaction. Scores of messages from friends, colleagues, family members - umpteen of whom have no interest whatsoever in golf - had landed. Broadcast outlets across the world wanted my assessment of what had played out on Masters Sunday. Yeah, that did happen yesterday. Continue reading...
European leaders including Emmanuel Macron accused Washington of coercion and intimidation'. Key US politics stories from Wednesday 24 DecemberThe EU could respond swiftly and decisively" against the unjustified" US visa bans on five Europeans involved in combating online hate and disinformation, a European Commission spokesperson has said.European leaders including Emmanuel Macron accused Washington of coercion and intimidation", after the visa ban on the figures who have been at the heart of campaigns to introduce laws regulating American tech companies. Continue reading...
Governor declared emergency in several counties, with near white-out snow conditions in parts of the Sierra NevadaA powerful winter storm swept across California on Wednesday, with heavy rain and gusty winds leading to evacuation warnings for mudslides in parts of the southern part of the state, bringing near white-out snow conditions in the mountains and hazardous travel for millions of holiday drivers.California's governor, Gavin Newsom, declared a state of emergency in several counties, including Los Angeles. Continue reading...
DoJ says more documents have been uncovered amid criticisms for missing 19 December deadline for full releaseThe US justice department said on Wednesday that it has been told by federal prosecutors in Manhattan and the FBI that they have uncovered more than a million more documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case and processing these for release could take a few more weeks".In a post on X, the justice department said it had received the documents from the US attorney for the southern district of New York and the FBI in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, existing statutes, and judicial orders". Continue reading...
Joyce Beatty seeks to remove the president's name from the newly minted Trump-Kennedy Center'Democratic US representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio sued Donald Trump on Monday to seek the removal of his name from the John F Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington DC.The lawsuit from Beatty, an ex-officio trustee on the board, argued that the vote to rename the Kennedy Center is a flagrant violation" of law as congressional approval is required for such an action. Continue reading...
Judge said cuts were another example' of Trump administration tying state assistance to its immigration crackdownA federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's efforts to reduce federal homeland security funding, including for disasters, for states that do not comply with immigration enforcement policies.US district judge Mary McElroy of Rhode Island, a 2018 Trump appointee, ruled on Monday that the latest case was another example" of the Trump administration tying state and local government assistance to its immigration crackdown. Continue reading...
The city is responding with strategized resistance' as masked men roam the streets carrying out immigration raids at traffic stops, supermarkets and courthousesAny Lucia Lopez Belloza will not be home for Christmas. The 19-year-old freshman was on a business scholarship at Babson College near Boston, when she decided to take a surprise flight home to Austin, Texas, to spend Thanksgiving with her parents and sisters.Just before she boarded her flight at Logan airport on 20 November, she was arrested by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and within 48 hours was deported back to Honduras, a country she left aged seven seeking asylum, with chains on her waist, ankles and wrists. Continue reading...
Tashkent Supermarket's new West Village location offers staples like plov and samsas hot and fresh - a taste of Central Asia for everyoneWhen I first stepped into the Tashkent Supermarket in Brighton Beach, I could barely get around. The store was bustling, packed with the familiar unsmiling faces of post-Soviet people eager to get their hands on foods like manty - intricately shaped dumplings filled with minced beef, onion and, depending on where you're from, pumpkin for the subtle sweetness. Or chak-chak, a dessert made of small pieces of fried golden dough held together by honey syrup. Kompot, too, a drink made by simmering seasonal or dried fruits.Growing up in Kazakhstan, these were staples in school cafeterias and at home. Manty was one of the first dishes my mom taught me to make - I thought she was a magician, the way she rolled the stretchy dough out so wide and thin, yet thick enough to hold the filling without tearing. I was rarely allowed to have soda or sugary drinks, but homemade kompot with fruits and berries from our garden was an exception. And though I never mastered chak-chak, the store-bought version was always a treat. As I got older and traveled across other former Soviet republics, I found comfort in knowing I would always find plov and samsas at eateries in Moscow, Baku and Tbilisi. Continue reading...
Water treatment and landfill companies given chance to make case that EPA rules should not apply to themRepublicans are attempting to exempt some major polluters from paying for Pfas forever chemical" cleanup. If successful, it could mark a major setback in US effort to rein in Pfas pollution.The Republican-led House energy and commerce committee recently held a hearing at which it invited representatives from the water treatment and landfill industries, among others, to make the case about why they should be exempted from rules that hold polluters financially accountable for the cleanup of two types of dangerous Pfas. Continue reading...
Critics compare offensive to Iraq war, citing familiar mix of regime-change rhetoric, security pretexts and oil interestsDonald Trump's recent claims that the US should keep Venezuelan oil from seized tankers are part of a broader belief in rightwing resource imperialism", experts say.In recent weeks, the Trump administration has escalated pressure on Venezuela, invoking drug-trafficking claims. This month, the US intercepted two tankers carrying Venezuelan oil and began pursuing a third, while intensifying its campaign against the country's president, Nicolas Maduro. Continue reading...
Critics say deployment is unwarranted and could cause fear in the city, which has seen a decrease in violent crime ratesThe Trump administration is deploying 350 national guard troops to New Orleans ahead of the new year, launching another federal deployment in the city at the same time that an immigration crackdown led by border patrol is under way.Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on Tuesday that guard members, as they have in other deployments in large cities, will be tasked with supporting federal law enforcement partners, including the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Parnell added that the national guard troops will be deployed through February. Continue reading...
Trump has shown erratic and bizarre behavior throughout the year, leading to questions about his mental acuityIn an address from the White House in December, Donald Trump claimed that, over the past 11 months, his administration had brought more positive change" than any government in US history.There has never been anything like it," Trump added.America is respected again as a country. We were not respected with Biden. They looked at him falling down stairs every day. Every day, the guy's falling down stairs."I said: It's not our president. We can't have it.' I'm very careful, you know, when I walk downstairs for - like I'm on stairs, like these stairs, I'm very - I walk very slowly. Nobody has to set a record, just try not to fall because it doesn't work out well. A few of our presidents have fallen and it became a part of their legacy.We don't want that. Need to walk nice and easy. You not have - you don't have to set any record. Be cool, be cool when you walk down, but don't, don't bop down the stairs. That's the one thing with Obama, I had zero respect for him as a president, but he would bop down those stairs, I've never seen - da da da da da da, bop, bop, bop, he'd go down the stairs, wouldn't hold on. I said, it's great, I don't want to do it. I guess I could do it, but eventually bad things are going to happen and it only takes once, but he did a lousy job as president." Continue reading...
Francisco Gaspar-Andres died in El Paso hospital after being detained at Fort Bliss - his wife was deported to Guatemala without a chance to see himA Guatemalan man has become the first person to die in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Fort Bliss army base in Texas. His wife of 25 years was deported from the same camp without a chance to see her dying husband.Francisco Gaspar-Andres, 48, died on 3 December at a hospital in El Paso, as Democratic lawmakers and immigration advocates were ramping up demands that the camp be closed down amid allegations of inhumane conditions there. The DHS has said such allegations are categorically false". Continue reading...
Americans are not paying high prices because of other western countries. Pharmaceutical companies are to blameWhen Donald Trump spoke about drug prices on 19 December, he struck a familiar note. Americans, he said, were paying far too much for medicines - and it was everyone else's fault.There would be no talk of reining in private insurers or pharmaceutical profits. Instead, Trump blamed foreign governments for getting a better deal. Countries like France, Germany and Japan, he argued, were piggybacking on the United States by keeping their drug prices low.Susi Geiger and Theo Bourgeron are the authors of Peak Pharma: Toward a New Political Economy of Health (Oxford University Press) Continue reading...
by Katharine Viner, Annie Kelly, Eleanor Biggs, Jem T on (#72CCQ)
It has been a year dominated by Donald Trump. It has not yet even been 12 full months since his return to the White House in January but already the changes he has wrought - both in the US and around the world - seemed scarcely conceivable in 2024.
From the Super Bowl to UFC cards to the US Open to the Ryder Cup, the US president has turned sport into his own personal stage. There's more to comeConsidering he's the self-declared hardest working president to ever hold the office, Donald Trump has spent a remarkable amount of the past year away from it. In 2025, he loomed over sports like no American politician before him, his visits to stadiums and arenas and golf courses and race tracks so frequent they began to feel like part of the job. But if Trump's presence on the sporting scene has seemed hard to escape, gird yourselves for 2026, when the American presidency no longer merely intersects with sport but threatens to subsume it. The World Cup is on the way, the Olympics are right behind it, a UFC card is coming to the White House lawn (not a joke) and the commander-in-chief's well-documented fondness for jumbotrons is becoming less of a habit than a dependency.Trump's grand tour sportif began less than three weeks after his second inauguration, when he become the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl. One week later he was at the Daytona 500, where Air Force One buzzed the speedway on arrival before his armored limousine, The Beast", paced the field for a couple of ceremonial laps. Continue reading...
Portland Fire are set for their debut season in the WNBA. Their coach has completed an unlikely journey to the top of his sportAs an aspiring basketball coach in his teens and early 20s, Alex Sarama was often met with snickers when he talked about the game he loved. For the British-born Sarama, who on 28 October was named the head coach of the WNBA's newest expansion team, the Portland Fire, people doubted him before he even put two sentences together.There was a lot of skepticism," he tells the Guardian. A lot of coaches heard the accent and they'd say straight away this Alex guy can't coach!" Continue reading...
The surprisingly strong growth reflected increases in consumer spending, exports and government spending', according to officials. Key US politics stories from Tuesday 23 DecemberThe US economy surged over the summer, the commerce department announced on Tuesday, with gross domestic product (GDP) - a broad measure of the value of goods and services - rising at an annualized rate of 4.3% over the third quarter, far higher than expected and its fastest rate in two years.The report comes as polls show Americans have soured on Donald Trump's handling of the economy and his tariffs. The supreme court is currently weighing legal challenges to those levies. Continue reading...
Kimberlee Singler was arrested in London in 2023, a week after her daughter, 9, and son, 7, found dead in ColoradoAn American woman accused of killing two of her children after a Colorado judge demanded she comply with a custody order has been extradited from Britain, where she was arrested, to the United States to face charges.Kimberlee Singler was arrested in Kensington, west London, by officers from the UK's National Crime Agency in December 2023, a week after her nine-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son were found dead in their home in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Continue reading...
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