US news | The Guardian

New York mayor-elect reaffirms past criticisms of president after agreeing to work with him on cost-of-living concernsZohran Mamdani has reiterated his view that Donald Trump is a fascist" and a despot" just days after the pair had a surprisingly cordial meeting at the White House.Speaking to NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, the New York City mayor-elect was asked if he still considered Trump a threat to democracy. Everything that I've said in the past I continue to believe," Mamdani replied. I think it is important in our politics that we don't shy away from where we have disagreements." Continue reading...

Christian Jimenez, Oregon high school senior, faces possible obstruction charges after traffic stop by immigration agentsImmigration officers detained a student at a high school in Oregon during his lunch break on Friday, according to the student's family.Seventeen-year-old Christian Jimenez, a US citizen and senior at McMinnville high school, was driving his father's vehicle around 12.30pm during lunch when agents from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stopped him, his older brother, Cesar Jimenez, told Oregon Live. Continue reading...

Users posing as rightwing Americans are operating internationally, per the platform's transparency featureMany of the most influential personalities in the Make America great again" (Maga) movement on X are based outside of the US, including Russia, Nigeria and India, a new transparency feature on the social media site has revealed.The new tool, called about this account," became available on Friday to users of the Elon Musk-owned platform. It allows anyone to see where an account is located, when it joined the platform, how often its username has been changed, and how the X app was downloaded. Continue reading...

Statement by Trump administration confirms longstanding suspicions that Musk-led agency is on its way outThe department of government efficiency" (Doge) has apparently been dissolved with eight months still remaining on its contract, ending a drawn-out campaign of invading federal agencies and firing thousands of federal workers.That doesn't exist," office of personnel management (OPM) director Scott Kupor told Reuters earlier this month when asked about Doge's status, adding that it was no longer a centralized entity". Continue reading...

In a city where football is more than a sport, the gun death of John Beam has provoked an outpouring of emotionFootball in Oakland, California, is more than a sport. It's a community. In many schools, coaches are like parental figures who get young people through vulnerable times, into universities and sometimes even drafted to the National Football League.So when gun violence came for longtime Oakland football coach John Beam, whose mentorship had changed the lives of generations of students, the devastation reverberated around the city. Continue reading...

Guilty plea by far-right activist lays bare plans for bombings, school shootings and Santas handing out poisoned candiesMichail Chkhikvishvili, a self-described cult leader who called himself Commander Butcher", did not look like a Hollywood vision of a contemporary terrorist, despite the bizarre, almost made-for-TV extremist actions he planned, such as having people dressed as Santa Claus hand out poison candies on the streets of New York.Chkhikvishvili appeared in a Brooklyn court last week as one might find an office IT tech: close-cropped hair and black-rimmed glasses, attentive, clear-spoken and cooperative as he was questioned about his understanding of a plea that could see him imprisoned for up to 18 years at his March sentencing. Continue reading...

Danielle Bensky, who was abused by Jeffrey Epstein, says president was incredibly disrespectful' in recent commentsA survivor of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse has condemned Donald Trump for dismissing the victims' fight for transparency as a hoax".Shortly after signing a bill to release the Epstein files, the US president posted a lengthy social media rant accusing Democrats of weaponising the scandal against him. Continue reading...

Trump's wrecking-ball approach to America has a precedent: the Maga evangelical perversion of Jesus's message of radical love to one of hate and aggressionTrumpism's most revealing and defining moments - not its most important, nor cruelest, nor most dangerous, nor stupidest, but perhaps its most illuminating - came earlier this autumn. In the course of a few weeks, the US president started showing everyone his plans for a gilded ballroom twice the size of the White House and then began unilaterally ripping down the East Wing to build it. Then, after nationwide protests against his rule, he posted on social media an AI video of himself wearing a crown and piloting a fighter jet labeled King Trump", which proceeded to bomb American cities and Americans with a graphically vivid load of human poop.He has done things 10,000 times as bad - the current estimate of deaths from his cuts to USAID is 600,000 and rising, and this week a study predicted his fossil fuel policies would kill another 1.3 million. But nothing as definitional. No other president would have dared - really, no other president would have imagined - unilaterally destroying large sections of the White House in order to erect a Versailles-style party room, with the active collaboration of some of the richest Americans, almost all of whom have business with the government. And no one - not Richard Nixon, not Andrew Jackson, not Warren Harding, not anyone - would have imagined boasting about defecating on the American citizenry. Even the worst American leaders were willing to maintain the notion that they represented all the people; Trump has managed to turn America's idea of itself entirely upside down. And he has done it with the active consent of an entire political party. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, when asked about the poop video, for once did not bother lying that he had not seen it. Instead he said: The president uses social media to make the point. You can argue he's probably the most effective person who's ever used social media." Continue reading...

James Beard-winning chef Sean Sherman's cookbook Turtle Island pushes readers to view food systems through an Indigenous lensAs a child growing up on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota in the 1970s and 80s, Sean Sherman, an Oglala Lakota member and a James Beard award-winning chef, recalls pounding dried bison and mixing it with chokeberry to create a snack called wasna. He and his cousins would often hunt for pheasants and grouse, or harvest wild berries and Thipsila, a wild prairie turnip that's a staple Lakota food. Sherman's earliest memories of food were full of history, culture and spiritualism.His idealistic experiences of harvesting and hunting for food on the reservation were juxtaposed with the legacy of colonialism. Most of the time, Sherman and his family ate government-issued food such as canned beef, or blocks of cow cheese, which diverged from their traditional diet. It's a tale that Sherman, co-founder of the Minneapolis-based Indigenous restaurant Owamni, shares along with other stories in a new cookbook that highlights Indigenous cuisines throughout North America. Continue reading...

The bespoke agreements are full of peril for the universities, allowing the federal government to quietly exert controlIn October, President Trump proposed a compact for higher education, a federal takeover of state and private institutions thinly disguised as an offer of preferential funding consideration. Most of the initially targeted universities rightfully have rejected Trump's unlawful and unconstitutional compact, but some schools, including the University of Virginia and Cornell, have since signed separate agreements with the federal government. Initial media coverage largely portrayed the deals as compromises that allowed the universities to preserve institutional autonomy and resolve outstanding federal investigations. But subsequent revelations about the coercive ouster of UVA's former president underscore how, in fact, deals" like these represent a dangerous new front in the Trump administration's war on higher education.UVA's settlement, announced on 22 October, appeared to focus narrowly on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, to safeguard academic freedom, and to avoid external monitoring or monetary penalties. Cornell paid $60m and made various promises related to admissions, DEI, antisemitism, and foreign financial ties in exchange for a restoration of federal funding. UVA's leaders hailed a constructive outcome" that uphold[s] the university's principles and independence", while Cornell's declared that federal funding would be restored without sacrificing academic freedom. But the reality is very different.Serena Mayeri and Amanda Shanor teach law at the University of Pennsylvania Continue reading...

The costs of groceries, housing, childcare, education and healthcare have become intolerable to manyFrozen dinners were useful when no one was home to cook. A fancy cheese or apple roll felt like a family treat. But not any more. We can't afford to do those little luxuries any more because they're just too expensive to feed five with," says Cat Hill. There's not any wiggle room."The 43-year-old from Hornby, New York, has been hit by both higher grocery prices and rising costs for her small business running a horse stable. Under Donald Trump, she worries it may get even harder. With this administration, it doesn't appear to be stabilising," she adds. It's hard to think about how exactly we are going to ride this out." Continue reading...

Organizers are breaking down barriers and creating clever campaigns to welcome people new to protesting

The army secretary has little in his resume to suggest he can end the war between Russia and UkraineLittle in Dan Driscoll's resume - past or present - suggests he has the qualifications to understand the often-tortured and bloody history of relations between Russia and Ukraine.A former investment banker with a degree in business administration, the current US army secretary's main calling card for a prominent role in the Trump administration may be a friendship with JD Vance dating from when they were at Yale Law School together. Continue reading...

The dangers of artificial intelligence and its potential to consolidate power are clear. But used fairly, it can be a boon for good governmentDemocracy is colliding with the technologies of artificial intelligence. Judging from the audience reaction at the recent World Forum on Democracy in Strasbourg, the general expectation is that democracy will be the worse for it. We have another narrative. Yes, there are risks to democracy from AI, but there are also opportunities.We have just published the book Rewiring Democracy: How AI will Transform Politics, Government, and Citizenship. In it, we take a clear-eyed view of how AI is undermining confidence in our information ecosystem, how the use of biased AI can harm constituents of democracies and how elected officials with authoritarian tendencies can use it to consolidate power. But we also give positive examples of how AI is transforming democratic governance and politics for the better.Nathan E Sanders is a data scientist affiliated with the Berkman Klein Center of Harvard University and co-author, with Bruce Schneier, of the book Rewiring Democracy: How AI Will Transform Our Politics, Government, and Citizenship. Bruce Schneier is a security technologist who teaches at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University Continue reading...

ICE and CBP's North Carolina operation faced an early-warning system run by thousands of volunteersThe operation is not over and it is not ending anytime soon."The message from the Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin went out to Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday afternoon, in response to an announcement by Sheriff Garry McFadden that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was done with its immigration enforcement sweep. Continue reading...

Despite the US's economic success, income inequality remains breathtaking. But this is no glitch - it's the systemThe Chinese did rather well in the age of globalization. In 1990, 943 million people there lived on less than $3 a day measured in 2021 dollars - 83% of the population, according to the World Bank. By 2019, the number was brought down to zero. Unfortunately, the United States was not as successful. More than 4 million Americans - 1.25% of the population - must make ends meet with less than $3 a day, more than three times as many as 35 years ago.The data is not super consistent with the narrative of the US's inexorable success. Sure, American productivity has zoomed ahead of that of its European peers. Only a handful of countries manage to produce more stuff per hour of work. And artificial intelligence now promises to put the United States that much further ahead. Continue reading...

The outrage a J Crew jumper has provoked shows that the US right's sense of masculinity is far more fragile than it would care to admitA men's jumper by the all-American preppy label J Crew has sent thousands of Maga Americans into meltdown. From a fashion point of view, it couldn't be more innocuous. It's got a crew neck. It's made from wool. It has a Fair Isle pattern at the upper yoke. There's nothing asymmetric about it, no fringing or tassels, no slogan blasted across the front; no Make America Kind Again". So what's the big deal? Reader, the jumper is pink.The main storm broke underneath a tweet by conservative social media commentator Juanita Broaddrick, in which she asked: Are you kidding me?? Men, would you wear this $168 sweater?" The consensus among her followers was a resounding no, and not because of its price. No man in my family would wear it!" wrote MOMof DataRepublican". My husband wouldn't use a pink bathroom towel," assured another. Another X user was even more passionate: HELL NO. I'm a man, not gay and won't be dressing up as a Golden Girl anytime soon." Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican congressman, called the sweater something a sorority girl would wear in the 80s". I think he meant it witheringly; I read that and think it sounds quite fun.Ellie Violet Bramley is a freelance writer Continue reading...

Inequality, immigration and civil rights are the battlegrounds on which the church, and some other Christian denominations, are fightingThe supreme court can't do it - it's packed with conservatives who owe him their jobs. Congress won't do it - Republicans slavishly follow his orders, Democrats are ill-led and divided. For today's White House, the concept of constitutional limits on executive power is a quaint relic. The news media, or sections of it, does its best amid constant legal threats. But, too often, they pay him off. Brave reporters who insist on asking awkward questions are insulted or silenced: Quiet, piggy."So who will tame Donald Trump? Who will halt his rolling constitutional coup - his ongoing evisceration of US democracy, civil rights, living standards, global reputation and moral integrity? Voters may try to indirectly rein him back in next November's midterms (as they did recently in New York and elsewhere). But those elections are a year away. The emergency is today.Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator Continue reading...

The ultra-loyal Maga star announced her departure in typical shocking fashion, but president says he would love to see her back in politics - key US politics stories from 22 November 2025The surprise resignation of Marjorie Taylor Greene reverberated through Saturday, as figures from across the political spectrum gave responses ranging from criticism to acclaim, including Donald Trump, who hinted at a future political career for her.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democratic congresswoman and Greene's frequent sparring partner, criticized her voting record on healthcare and claimed She's carefully timing her departure just 1-2 days after her pension kicks in", adding: ... her actions have not backed up the rhetoric. For all her talk, she's still voting with them to gut healthcare ... " Continue reading...

Four-time F1 champion races to victory under the lights as Lando Norris holds on for secondKravitz, after talking with Crews, extols the virtues of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Great show indeed. One of the last great US TV comedies.OK, they get Terry. Vegas was made for F1 and vice versa." Continue reading...

Federal appeals court declines to put hold on lower court's finding that administration violated migrants' due processA federal appeals court on Saturday declined to clear the way for Donald Trump's administration to expand a fast-track deportation process to allow for the expedited removal of immigrants who are living far away from the border.A 2-1 panel of the US court of appeals for the District of Columbia circuit declined to put on hold the central part of a ruling by a lower-court judge who had found that the administration's policies violated the due process rights of immigrants who could be apprehended anywhere in the US. Continue reading...

Fire-resistant upgrades are included in replacement structure less than a year after fires destroyed 13,000 homes

Why was the US president so pleased to hang with the democratic socialist? Perhaps we'll never knowZohran and Donald. Donald and Zohran. Not since Turner met Hooch has a couple so captivated the American psyche. This might be the meet-cute of the decade, unless you count RFK Jr and Olivia Nuzzi. Which was actually not cute at all, when I think about it.Why can't we all stop talking about the New York City mayor-elect and his No 1 fan in the White House? Probably because absolutely none of this makes even a tiny bit of sense. From almost the beginning of his rise, Zohran Mamdani positioned himself as an anti-Trump democratic socialist who would use the bully pulpit of Gracie Mansion to battle Maga attacks on the city. Trump, sensing an opportunity to create yet another punching bag, called Mamdani a communist and questioned his American citizenship. He even went to the trouble of endorsing Mamdani's opponent, Andrew Cuomo, in the mayoral election.Dave Schilling is a Los Angeles-based writer and humorist Continue reading...

Journalist, daughter of Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg, reveals she has acute myeloid leukemiaTatiana Schlossberg, a journalist and the granddaughter of John F Kennedy, disclosed on Saturday that she has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, saying her doctor informed her that she has less than a year left to live.The environmental writer also addressed her cousin, Robert F Kennedy Jr, criticizing the influence his policies as secretary of health and human services have had on her experience with the illness. Continue reading...

Three-time NBA champion senses weird deja vu' as his former side returns to playoff contention with a fellow Australian critical to the resurgenceLuc Longley chooses his words carefully when talking about Chicago Bulls point guard Josh Giddey, not wanting to heap any more expectation on the young Australian still finding his feet in the ferocious competition of the NBA.He says he doesn't watch every Bulls game these days - only about half of them. That he hasn't spoken to Giddey much since his move to Illinois. That Longley's life in Australia, where he part-owns the Sydney Kings and Flames, takes up most of his energies rather than what is happening on the shores of Lake Michigan. Continue reading...

Anna Kepner, 18, from Titusville, was found dead of asphyxiation under a bed on a Carnival cruise shipThe 16-year-old stepbrother of a Florida teenager found dead aboard a Carnival cruise ship this month has been identified as a suspect in her death.Anna Kepner, an 18-year-old from Titusville, was found dead under a bed on the Carnival Horizon on 8 November, wrapped in a blanket and covered by life vests, ABC News reported. Preliminary findings indicate she died of asphyxiation from a bar hold - an arm across the neck - with investigators noting two bruises on the side of her neck. A final autopsy and toxicology report are still pending. Continue reading...

A new congressional map was abruptly passed by Republicans in mid-September - but voters have a chance to rebuke politicians and stop it from going into effectWhen canvassers fan out across neighborhoods, they usually rely on sophisticated lists that will tell them things like a voter's political party and how likely they are to support a given cause. Jill Imbler isn't bothering with any of that.The 69-year-old has lived in Moberly - a Missouri town of about 14,000 people - her entire life. She doesn't use a GPS when she drives around, knows where people live, and what time they're likely to be home. And there's a pretty good chance that she, or one of her six siblings, knows them personally. Continue reading...

Some Republicans offered congresswoman plaudits, but AOC was scathing in her dismissal of her frequent sparring partnerMarjorie Taylor Greene's surprise resignation from Congress late on Friday, saying she refused to be a battered wife" following her public fallout with Donald Trump, has been slammed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democratic congresswoman and Greene's frequent sparring partner.She's carefully timing her departure just 1-2 days after her pension kicks in," Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement on her Instagram account, and criticized her voting record on healthcare. Continue reading...

Years of hollowed out shops, safety worries and stalled leadership have left the famed coastal city searching for a way backSanta Monica is a city that would seem to have everything. A glorious, wide sandy beach. A fabled pier framed by palm trees and views of the southern California mountains. An aura of Hollywood magic, with a native honor roll that runs from Shirley Temple to Sean Penn. Streets that smell like the Mediterranean, filled with restaurants, cafes and interesting one-off shops.And yet, for the past several years, almost nothing has gone right for a beach resort known and envied in the Los Angeles area for its beauty, its excellent public schools, and a progressive political culture that has sought to keep the city accessible and affordable to people of all income levels. Continue reading...

Ban forbids all products that contain more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per package - a trace amount present in most CBD productsThe US hemp industry is preparing for a ban on most hemp products that Senator Mitch McConnell slipped into the spending bill just before the Senate voted to pass it and end the government shutdown.Many in the industry have criticized the last-minute change, arguing that it should have been subject to open hearings rather than added at the last minute to a bill whose passage was essential for the government reopening. The ban, which goes into effect 12 months after the law's passage, forbids all products that contain more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per package - a trace amount that is present in most CBD products, not just those whose primary component is THC. Continue reading...

Move could affect hundreds of Somalis who fled civil war in their home countryDonald Trump said on Friday night that he's immediately" terminating temporary legal protections for Somali migrants living in Minnesota, further targeting a program seeking to limit deportations that his administration has already repeatedly sought to weaken.Minnesota has the nation's largest Somali community. Many fled the long civil war in the east African country and were drawn to the state's welcoming social programs. Continue reading...

A year and a half after his unstoppable rise was hijacked, the 26-year-old boxing star aims to become a three-weight champion against big-punching Brian Norman JrRain falls in thin, needling lines over Hell's Kitchen as Devin Haney walks into the Victory Boxing Gym. Somewhere along Ninth Avenue an ambulance threads through the congestion, its siren drawn out into a long, mournful ribbon that slips past the gym's walls. He nods to a few familiar faces, peels off a Supreme Vanson leather jacket and begins to unwrap himself from the city. His father, Bill, arrives a step behind him, not so much entering the room as taking possession of it.The youngest undisputed champion!" Bill cries out, half to the gym, half to himself. He's done it on three continents! Twenty-six years old and still writing history! Let the sparks fly!" Continue reading...

As many as 250 federal agents are expected to descend on the city imminently - despite falling crimeNew Orleanians are bracing for a major deployment of US border patrol officers to the city, as Donald Trump forges on with his mass deportation agenda and sweeping federal immigration crackdown in Democrat-led cities.Despite falling crime, as many as 250 federal agents are expected to descend on New Orleans imminently to begin laying the groundwork for Operation Swamp Sweep", which the Associated Press reported is due to launch in south-east Louisiana and Mississippi on 1 December with the stated aim of arresting 5,000 people. Continue reading...

Her privileges in America's two-tiered legal system reportedly range from from unlimited toilet paper to puppy playtimeI don't know what, if anything, keeps Ghislaine Maxwell up at night. But it's certainly not the prospect of running out of toilet paper in the minimum-security prison where she's residing. Maxwell is serving a 20-year-sentence for her role in Jeffrey Epstein's sex-trafficking operation. Rather than doing hard time, however, it seems Maxwell is having a relatively easy go of it. While most inmates get an allocation of two rolls of toilet paper per week, for example, CNN reports that Maxwell gets an unlimited supply.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Temporary hold on lower court ruling will remain in place while supreme court considers whether to allow new mapThe US supreme court on Friday temporarily blocked a lower court ruling that found Texas's 2026 congressional redistricting plan pushed by Donald Trump likely discriminated on the basis of race.The order, signed by Justice Samuel Alito, will remain in place at least for the next few days while the court considers whether to allow the new map, which is favorable to Republicans, to be used in the midterm elections. Continue reading...

The philosopher and the sex trafficker were in contact long after Epstein was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor, documents revealThe prominent linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky called it a most valuable experience" to have maintained regular contact" with Jeffrey Epstein, who by then had long been convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor, according to emails released earlier in November by US lawmakers.Such comments from Chomsky, or attributed to him, suggest his association with Epstein - who officials concluded killed himself in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges - went deeper than the occasional political and academic discussions the former had previously claimed to have with the latter. Continue reading...

The Maga star won on the Epstein files and could have founded a Republican resistance movement but is instead the latest dissenter to head for the exitIt has been a head-spinning 48 hours in Washington. Liberal TV host Rachel Maddow showed up at the funeral of conservative vice-president Dick Cheney. Donald Trump embraced Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist set to be the first Muslim mayor of New York, like a brother.And then Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Trump acolyte-turned-nemesis who bested him over the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, stunned the political establishment again. In what should have been her hour of triumph, the Maga star abruptly announced that she was quitting the House of Representatives. Continue reading...

Fox News and other conservative networks have mostly avoided covering the president's ties to the sex traffickerWhen House Democrats released emails which showed Jeffrey Epstein claiming Donald Trump knew about the girls", rightwing news channels in the US reacted the same way: with silence.Viewers of Fox News and other conservative networks would have had no idea that the president allegedly spent hours at Epstein's home with one of his victims. Rightwing media largely kept quiet on all of it, apart from a notable slip when a progressive guest on Sean Hannity's show repeatedly told his audience: Trump's all over the Epstein files." Continue reading...

US officials to hold high-level talks in Brussels amid unhappiness in Washington at slow action on July dealThe EU and US are set to restart trade negotiations next week after a two-month pause to try to settle unresolved sticking points in their controversial tariff deal struck in July.The US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, and trade representative Jamieson Greer will hold high-level meetings in Brussels on Monday with ministers, EU commissioners and industry bosses. Continue reading...

The plan would leave Ukraine's democracy in jeopardy and its sovereignty compromisedFor a moment, Donald Trump seemed to have seen the light on Ukraine. After promising severe consequences" in August if Vladimir Putin continued to obstruct ceasefire talks - but then doing nothing as Putin did just that - Trump finally on 22 October imposed significant sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, seriously compromising Putin's ability to finance his invasion. But now, with his 28-point peace plan for Ukraine, drafted by US and Russian officials without Ukrainian or European participation, Trump has reverted to his pro-Putin norm.Trump's plan would reward Putin for invading Ukraine while leaving Ukraine's democracy in jeopardy. The plan's ringing proclamation that Ukraine's sovereignty will be confirmed" rings hollow when so much of the plan compromises that sovereignty. A Kremlin dream, the plan would be a Ukrainian nightmare.Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch (1993-2022), is a visiting professor at Princeton's School of Public and International Affairs. His book, Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments, is published by Knopf and Allen Lane. Continue reading...

The abject obedience of GOP members for the president has not augured well in the 4 November electionsThe elections of 4 November were the end of a grandiose illusion. After his 2024 victory Donald Trump claimed he had an unprecedented and powerful mandate", that his mandate" was massive", and that his Maga movement" was irresistible, the wave of the future. It lasted 10 months, in which he had betrayed his chief promise to lower inflation, turned the public against him on every issue and Republicans at last faced a battering by voters.Trump's image of omnipotence has rested upon a pyramid of dread. His ability to maintain the servility of the Republican Congress, whose members are intimidated by the danger that if they defy him he would support primary opponents to run against them, has been the political foundation for all the other forms of fear he incites throughout American institutions. Trump could not have leveraged himself as dictator on day one" without congressional abdication. The Republicans immediately fell into lockstep. But within two weeks of the 4 November elections, only one Republican in the House voted against the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files which Trump had called a hoax" before he felt compelled to bend in the cyclone to sign the bill - and yet still suppresses the files.Sidney Blumenthal, former senior adviser to the 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...

Experts infuriated by president accusing Democrats of sedition' for urging soldiers to refuse illegal ordersVeterans have condemned the politicization of the military after Donald Trump accused Democratic lawmakers of sedition, punishable by death" after a small group of them released a video in which they urged US soldiers not to follow any unlawful" orders.The extraordinary exchange was sparked after Democratic lawmakers with military or national security backgrounds - the Congressional representatives Maggie Goodlander, Jason Crow, Chris DeLuzio and Chrissy Houlahan, and the senators Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin - posted a video on Facebook addressed to US service members. Continue reading...

A pension-pot World Cup looms and with Trump in the White House and a crown prince at his back, it is now a safe spaceIt was hard to choose one favourite photo from football's double-header at the White House this week. In part this is because the pictures from Donald Trump's state dinner with Mohammed bin Salman and his in-house hype men Cristiano Ronaldo and Gianni Infantino were everywhere, recycled feverishly across the internet, dusted with their own drool-stained commentary by the wider Ronaldo-verse.Mainly there were just so many jaw-droppers. Perhaps you liked the one of Trump and Ronaldo strolling the halls of power, Ronaldo dressed all in black and laughing uproariously, like a really happy ninja. Or the one of Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez standing either side of a weirdly beaming Trump at his desk, holding up some kind of large heraldic key as though they've just been presented with their own wind-up wooden sex-grandad. Continue reading...

A moment of peril demands a new approach - on everything from funding to the BBC charter