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From capturing Maduro to proposing a take over of Greenland - people respond to the president's rhetoricAs Donald Trump continues to call for theUS to take control of Greenland,not long after theUS captured the deposed president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, we asked people in the US what they thought about Trump's foreign intervention and rhetoric. Here are some of their responses. Continue reading...

The Seattle Seahawks quarterback has endured a rocky NFL career. But in the biggest game of his career, he delivered the performance of a lifetimeMoments after clinching a Super Bowl berth, Sam Darnold strolled over for his obligatory television interview. He was thrilled; the Seahawks had just toppled the Rams in a 31-27 thriller. But he was also measured. Unlike receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who would follow and was teeming with emotion, Darnold simply spoke about his love for his teammates. And when asked about his improbable journey, he replied, I haven't really thought about it that much."He may not have, but the rest of us have. And whether Darnold likes it or not, his comeback story will be the prevailing storyline of Super Bowl 60. How can it not, especially after the quarterback saved what may have been the best performance of his life for Seattle's third, and most important, tilt with the Rams this season. Continue reading...

Mark Carney and other custodians of the order are right to contemplate its death, but are they really willing to unpick the the entire system?When precisely did the rules-based order die? Mark Carney's speech last week at Davos was the first time a western head of state has said outright what has been hanging over political proceedings for some time. The rules-based order is fading", in the middle of a rupture" and there's no going back. But outside Davos, the G7 and Nato, that is old news - many believed the rules-based order had expired long ago, depending on what moment you take as your watershed.There were several components to the order, which of course was a layered, complex thing. The first is structural, that is, the agreement between powerful and prosperous countries that there would be certain mechanisms and protocols to maintain political stability, contain the outbreak of wars and promote their mutual economic interests. All the bodies that direct international traffic - the EU, Nato, the UN, the WTO, the IMF - make up that top layer of organisation. Continue reading...

Rising fears that another US shutdown looms pushes gold price to new height amid nearly 90% rise since Trump's inauguration

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Sixth seed marches into quarter-finals with 6-3, 6-4 victory while the defending champion must pay forfeit agreed on with her podcast co-hostWhile speaking on a podcast before her big match against Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula was discussing their battle last January in the Adelaide final. Keys's performance, Pegula recalled, had prompted Pegula to accurately predict to their mutual friends that Keys would win the Australian Open two weeks later. It is normal for players to discuss future opponents, but they do not usually do so in conversation with each other. With a chuckle, Keys interjected: Jess is like, I hope I don't see that level [tomorrow].'"She did not. Keys's reign at the Australian Open came to a difficult end in the fourth round as the defending champion and ninth seed was crushed under the weight of her hefty unforced error count and a spotless performance from Pegula, the sixth seed, who marched into the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-4 win. This was, in some ways, a historic match on Rod Laver Arena: the first grand slam singles match between two podcast co-hosts. Continue reading...

This is the news we should be paying attention to. At least for the moment, everything else is a distractionWhen we talk about our inability to pay attention, to concentrate, we often mean and blame our phones. It's easy, it's meant to be easy. One flick of our index finger transports us from disaster to disaster, from crisis to crisis, from maddening lie to maddening lie. Each new unauthorized attack and threatened invasion grabs the headlines, until something else takes its place, and meanwhile the government's attempts to terrorize and silence the people of our country continue.So let me break it down. There is one story: our country is on the brink of an authoritarian take-over. In Minneapolis an innocent poet and an ER nurse at a VA hospital were both killed in cold blood by federal agents. It is happening now. Toddlers are being sent to detention centers; videos of their gyms for kids recall the youth choruses that the Nazis so proudly showed off at the Terezin concentration camp. Intimidation and violence are being weaponized against the citizens of Minneapolis, some of whom are afraid to leave their houses for fear of being beaten, arrested and shackled, regardless of whether they are US citizens or asylum seekers or people from another country peacefully living and working here for decades.Francine Prose is a former president of PEN American Center and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Continue reading...

Two Democratic ex-leaders warn core American values are under assault - key US politics stories from Sunday 25 January at a glanceDemocratic ex-presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton have spoken out against the fatal shooting of a 37-year-old nurse in Minneapolis, the second person to be shot dead by federal immigration officers in the city this month.In a statement released on Sunday, Obama and his wife, Michelle, described the killing of Alex Pretti as a heartbreaking tragedy" and a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault". Continue reading...

Minnesota governor pressures president to end surge of immigration officers in his state before it costs another lifeMinnesota governor Tim Walz appealed to Donald Trump to withdraw federal agents from Minnesota on Sunday, a day after US border patrol officers shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse who was monitoring the immigration crackdown.What's the plan, Donald Trump?" Walz asked at a news conference. What do we need to do to get these federal agents out of our state?" Continue reading...

Former president and first lady say killing should be wake-up call' and federal agents are not operating in lawful wayPressure mounted on Donald Trump's administration on Sunday to fully investigate the previous day's killing by federal immigration officers of 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.Calls for an investigation have come from all sides of the political divide after video analysis showed officers had removed from Pretti a handgun he was reportedly permitted to carry - and which he was not handling - before fatally shooting him. Continue reading...

GoFundMe campaign quickly surpasses goal of $20,000 a day after federal agents killed US citizen in MinneapolisAn online fundraiser benefiting the family of Alex Pretti had raised nearly $700,000 by Sunday afternoon, a day after federal agents killed the US citizen and nurse in Minneapolis in a shooting that ignited another round of street protests against Donald Trump's administration and its immigration crackdown in the city.In a substantial indication of public sentiment, the Alex Pretti is an American Hero" campaign on the GoFundMe platform surpassed its goal of $20,000 quickly after organizer Keith Edwards launched it on Saturday. Continue reading...

Scene of a growing vigil is all too common in city as killing comes less than three weeks after Renee Good's deathThe temperature hovered around zero degrees as news crews and mourners stopped by the site where another Minneapolis resident was shot and killed by federal agents flooding the city to carry out the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.People put up makeshift barriers in the street immediately after the shooting on Saturday, blocking off traffic with wooden pallets, trash cans and furniture. Later, the city had put up a perimeter around the area in the aftermath of the shooting and protests against immigration agents that saw agents shooting chemical irritants and flash-bangs at people. Some of the debris from those weapons was still evident in the streets. Continue reading...

Groups typically aligned with Trump call for investigation as NRA wades into the national dialogueThe National Rifle Association (NRA) has joined other gun lobbying and advocacy groups that are typically aligned with Donald Trump in calling for the Republican president's administration to conduct a full investigation" into the killing of Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old nurse who was shot dead by federal immigration officials in Minneapolis on Saturday.Pretti was reportedly legally permitted to carry a gun and is a citizen of the US, where it is a constitutional right to bear arms. Widely circulated video of his shooting death does not depict him ever holding a gun. It does show an officer reaching to Pretti's lower back and stepping away with what appeared to be a pistol - and Pretti being subsequently shot to death. Continue reading...

Setback for justice department as it pursues demonstrators, including Don Lemon who recorded protest as a journalistA US appeals court rejected federal justice department's bid to charge five more people accused of disrupting a Minnesota church service on 18 January, according to court documents made public on Saturday, revealing the lengths the Trump administration has gone to prosecute those involved in the demonstration.The ruling by the eighth US circuit court of appeals is the latest legal setback for Trump's justice department as it pursues demonstrators who interrupted a service in protest of a pastor's apparent connection to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). One judge involved in the case said the department's request appeared to be unprecedented. Continue reading...

Donald Trump's leverage over Visa and Mastercard highlights a blind spot in Europe's independence' strategy. Emulating India's response might helpWhen the centre-left French politician Aurore Lalucq posted a warning last Wednesday that Donald Trump could cut off Europe from international payment systems, the clip went viral. To many, her message made sense. After all, if Mr Trump was prepared to test allies' boundaries over Greenland, it is not far-fetched to imagine Visa and Mastercard becoming used against a recalcitrant Europe.The US can turn off payment systems it controls. Russia learned this first-hand after sanctions were rightly applied for its invasion of Ukraine. As up to 60% of Russian retail transactions depended on Visa and Mastercard for authorisation, the ban left many ordinary people stranded without access to funds and unable to buy goods. Under Mr Trump, America's goal is to help Europe correct its current trajectory". Given such talk, Ms Lalucq, who chairs theEuropean parliament's economic and monetary affairs committee, is not wrong in calling for an Airbus of European payments" to protect the EU. Continue reading...

News of Tracee Mergen's decision came before agents fatally shot Alex Pretti, another US citizen in MinneapolisA supervisor in the FBI's Minneapolis field office who unsuccessfully attempted to investigate the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent who fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in the city on 7 January has resigned, according to multiple reports.News of agent Tracee Mergen's resignation surfaced shortly before federal agents fatally shot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday. Pretti and Good were both 37-year-old US citizens. Continue reading...

Multiple small-business indexes show an uptick in optimism as well as an easing of cost pressures and uncertaintyRegardless of all the challenges they face, small businesses have been doing pretty well in this country across the board. Don't believe me? Take a look at some of the latest numbers.For more than 50 years, the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) has published a monthly report of small-business economic trends, based on a random sample of the organization's approximately 300,000 member firms. This survey is one of the longest and most consistent of any I follow, using the same questionnaire since 1973. So where do things stand? Continue reading...

Generative AI is being pushed into healthcare - and diagnostic risks may deepen the class divideIn southern California, where rates of homelessness are among the highest in the nation, a private company, Akido Labs, is running clinics for unhoused patients and others with low incomes. The caveat? The patients are seen by medical assistants who use artificial intelligence (AI) to listen to the conversations, then spit out potential diagnoses and treatment plans, which are then reviewed by a doctor. The company's goal, its chief technology officer told the MIT Technology Review, is to pull the doctor out of the visit".This is dangerous. Yet it's part of a larger trend where generative AI is being pushed into healthcare for medical professionals. In 2025, a survey by the American Medical Association reported that two out of three physicians used AI to assist with their daily work, including diagnosing patients. One AI startup raised $200m to provide medical professionals with an app dubbed ChatGPT for doctors". US lawmakers are considering a bill that would recognize AI as able to prescribe medication. While this trend of AI in healthcare affects almost all patients, it has a deeper impact on people with low incomes who already face substantial barriers to care and higher rates of mistreatment in healthcare settings. People who are unhoused and have low incomes should not be testing grounds for AI in healthcare. Instead, their voices and priorities should drive if, how, and when AI is implemented in their care.Leah Goodridge is a lawyer who worked in homeless prevention litigation for 12 yearsOni Blackstock, MD, MHS, is a physician, founder and executive director of health justice, and a Public Voices Fellow on technology in the public interest with The OpEd Project Continue reading...

In his fresh intoxication with global conquest, Trump is following an established pattern - one that promises disasterTo many observers, Donald Trump's open bellicosity - his threats to attack Greenland and Iran, and his recent kidnapping of Venezuela's president, Nicolas Maduro - looks like an ideological reversal. Donald Trump betrayed his MAGA base today [by] launching a war of choice to bring regime change in Venezuela," tweeted Democratic congressman Ro Khanna on 3 January. The day before, former Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote: President Trump threatening war and sending in troops to Iran is everything we voted against in 24." On 20 January, National Public Radio reported that Trump supporters share confusion and anger over the president's focus on Greenland".The sense of whiplash is understandable. As a candidate, Trump often denounced war. Now he is infatuated with it. But while Trump seems uniquely set on dismantling the postwar order in the service of his quest for global domination, there is precedent for his transformation. Continue reading...

The president's approval ratings are plummeting and most Americans see him as an aberration. It is now up to them to curtail his despotic reignDonald Trump is a monster, and a stupid one at that - as his foul slander of British soldiers who served in Afghanistan shows. His bid to seize loyal ally Denmark's sovereign territory; his norm-shattering, profoundly ignorant speech in Davos last week; and his contemptuous bullying of UK and EU leaders have definitively demonstrated what an existential, unappeasable, unspeakable menace the 47th US president truly is.All the post-Davos talk is about what the UK, the EU and Nato must do in future to resist and constrain Trump, and how to counter his attempts to demolish the global rules-based order. Yet a sense of proportion is required. If his policies and posturing are removed from the equation, it's clear that the unedifying but familiar postwar world of great power rivalries and de-facto spheres of influence remains largely unchanged. Continuities outnumber ruptures. It's also clear this crisis is not ultimately one Europe can solve.Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator Continue reading...

Experts say guidance is refreshing' as it puts more emphasis on responsibility of companies and societyThe American Academy of Pediatrics has released new guidance on how to protect children's mental health in the digital age - emphasizing the need for systemic changes as well as parental engagement that goes beyond limiting screen time.Jessica Schleider, an adolescent psychologist and professor at Northwestern University whose lab develops digital mental health interventions, said the new policy statement was really refreshing to see", because it contrasts with conventional wisdom that places too much of the safety burden on individual parents. Common advice like limiting individual youth access to screens", or asking parents to keep tabs on their children's every digital movement is not only impossible, but for adolescents in particular, potentially invasive", Schleider said. Continue reading...

A video filmed by a bystander shows the moment ICE federal agents shoot and kill a man in Minneapolis.The US Department of Homeland Security said that Alex Pretti was pronounced dead at the scene. The federal agency said an agent fired 'defensive shots' during the altercation.

The US was founded on boycotts of British imports. As we mark the country's 250th anniversary, that spirit is alive and wellThis year, as the United States commemorates the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding and the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it's worth remembering the substantial role boycotts played in the American resistance and independence movement.The founders' sustained protest of Great Britain's Stamp Act and Townshend Duties -which taxed printed materials, glass, lead, paper, paint and tea in the colonies - placed enough pain and pressure on British merchants and the parliament that the majority of these taxes were repealed. And while the colonists were boycotting taxed British imports, they built an alternative made-in-America marketplace in the process, becoming domestic producers of homespun clothing, paper and other necessities. This building of alternative institutions and self-reliance were an essential complement to their boycott. They divested from British goods while investing in homemade goods. Both types of actions were necessary.Michael Shank is director of programs at the Albert Einstein Institution and adjunct faculty at New York University's Center for Global Affairs and George Mason University's Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution. Continue reading...

With midterms looming some in Congress have dissented from the president - but it still falls well short of a rebellionDonald Trump pulled back from the brink on Greenland but not before causing untold damage to the Nato alliance. The US president's sabre-rattling may also have shaken the faith of his own Republican party.Trump's fleeting threat to conquer the Danish territory prompted the most strident Republican opposition to anything he has done since taking office a year ago. It came on the heels of challenges to his authority over military powers, healthcare legislation and the Jeffrey Epstein files. Continue reading...

Target, Delta and Hilton targeted with actions leading up to economic blackout of no work, shopping or schoolSome of the US's biggest companies are coming under increasing pressure to speak out about the Trump administration's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)'s operations in Minnesota.Workers throughout Minnesota have been pressuring their employers to act following the death of Renee Good, an unarmed woman killed by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis earlier this month. Continue reading...

Alex Pretti's death could be a moment of reckoning for Democrats to call time on Trump waging war on his peopleWearing helmets, gas masks and camouflage fatigues, the federal agents took aim and prepared to open fire. It's like Call of Duty," one could be heard saying via a TV mic, referring to a first-person shooter military video game. So cool, huh?"This was the scene on the streets of Minneapolis on Saturday after armed agents, wearing masks and tactical vests, wrestled 37-year-old Alex Pretti to the ground and shot him dead. The killing took place just over a mile from where Renee Good was fatally shot on 7 January, a scene that itself was less than a mile from where police murdered George Floyd in May 2020. Continue reading...

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Maxwell Alejandro Frost says attacker told me Trump was going to deport me' as police say suspect arrestedThe Florida congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost said he was assaulted by a man who said Donald Trump would deport him at a party during the Sundance film festival in Utah.Last night, I was assaulted by a man at Sundance Festival who told me that Trump was going to deport me before he punched me in the face," Frost said in a Saturday post on X. He was heard screaming racist remarks as he drunkenly ran off. The individual was arrested and I am okay." Continue reading...

Announcement comes as anger toward DHS - which oversees ICE - intensifies after Alex Pretti fatally shotIn the wake of another fatal shooting of a US citizen in Minnesota by a federal officer, the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, said his party would block a funding package next week if it includes money for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).The announcement, which dramatically escalates the potential for another partial government shutdown, comes as anger towards homeland security, which oversees ICE, intensifies among the party after a group of federal agents violently restrained and then fatally shot 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Continue reading...

Pair testify that Pretti did not hold weapon and was trying to help woman federal agents had shoved to the groundTwo witnesses to the killing of Alex Pretti have said in sworn testimony that the 37-year-old intensive care nurse was not brandishing a weapon when he approached federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday, contradicting a claim made by Trump administration officials as they sought to cast the shooting of a prone man as an act of self-defense.Their accounts came in sworn affidavits that were filed in federal court in Minnesota late Saturday, just hours after Pretti's killing, as part of a lawsuit brought by the ACLU on behalf of Minneapolis protesters against Kristi Noem and other homeland security officials directing the immigration crackdown in the city. Continue reading...

Protests erupt across US after American citizen Alex Pretti shot dead, as video shows he had been holding a phone and not a gun, contradicting federal claims - key US politics stories from 24 JanuaryUS federal law enforcement officers fatally shot an American citizen in Minneapolis in the second such killing in less than three weeks, sparking major protests in cities across the country.Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old registered nurse living in Minneapolis, was shot dead after being sprayed with a chemical agent and wrestled to the ground by federal agents when he appeared to come to the aid of a person being shoved to the ground by an officer. Continue reading...

Wave of demonstrations comes a day after thousands marched through Minneapolis streets to protest ICELarge protests spread across US cities on Saturday - including Minneapolis, New York City, San Francisco, Boston and Providence, Rhode Island - after 37-year-old Alex Pretti, a registered nurse living in Minneapolis, was shot dead by federal agents.The wave of demonstrations come just one day after thousands marched through the streets of Minneapolis to protest against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Protesters again braved the extreme cold to speak out against the agency and show support for Pretti and others who have been harmed by the surge of immigration agents who have flooded the city in recent week. Continue reading...

Video evidence reviewed by Guardian shows Alex Pretti, killed by agents in Minneapolis, held a phone, not a gunVideo recorded by witnesses to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday shows that the 37-year-old registered nurse was holding a phone, not a gun, when he was tackled and shot, directly contradicting the claims of senior Trump administration officials that he threatened to massacre" officers.In the aftermath of the killing, which was recorded by multiple witnesses, the Department of Homeland Security released an image of a handgun, which Donald Trump referred to as the gunman's gun" in a social media post. Kristi Noem, the DHS secretary, said at a briefing that Pretti had approached US border patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun", though she later declined to say whether or not Pretti pulled the gun out. Continue reading...

Nurse Alex Pretti, 37, shot dead as heartbroken' parents condemn administration's sickening lies' about killingUS federal law enforcement officers on Saturday fatally shot an American citizen in Minneapolis, the second such killing in less than three weeks.The killing of US citizen Alex Pretti, 37, comes after Renee Good, also a 37-year-old American citizen, was shot dead on 7 January by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis, with video showing her trying to drive away from a confrontation, sparking protests nationwide. Continue reading...

Pretti, 37, worked in the ICU at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System and had assisted on scientific research

A 37-year-old nurse was shot and killed on Saturday. Much remains unknown, unclear or unconfirmed

Dangerous weather engulfing large area of country as 16 states plus DC declare states of emergencyA powerful winter storm with more than 140 million Americans in its crosshairs started sweeping across much of the US on Saturday, packing heavy snow and sleet as well as freezing rain and causing widespread power outages.Snowfall was already being reported on Saturday morning across parts of the plains, the south and the midwest, including in areas of Oklahoma, Iowa, Tennessee, Kansas, Texas and Missouri. Continue reading...

Ilhan Omar said: It is beyond shameful these federal agents are targeting our residents' after Alex Pretti fatally shot

Federal agents release chemicals into the air and arrest people after shooting and killing a 37-year-old man

Video provided to the Guardian appears to show the moments before the fatal shooting of a man by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday. At a news briefing, the Minneapolis police chief, Brian O'Hara, said the person who was shot is believed to be a 37-year-old man who lived in Minneapolis and was an American citizen. Continue reading...

Eyewitness video appears to show the incident during which a man was shotby fedral law enforcement officers in Minneapolis.At a news briefing, the Minneapolis police chief, Brian O'Hara, said the person who was shot is believed to be a 37-year-old man who lived in Minneapolis and was an American citizen.In a statement, the assistant homeland security secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, said the shooting occurred as ... officers were conducting a targeted operation in Minneapolis" against a person they said was present in the country illegally and wanted for assault. McLaughlin's statement said an individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun", and that officers attempted to disarm" him. The statement accused the man shot of having resisted" Continue reading...