Defense secretary offers alternative TV headlines to reporters to more favourably reflect US military campaign in Iran - key US politics stories from 13 March 2026Pete Hegseth has used a press conference at the Pentagon to criticize journalists over their coverage of the war in Iran, at one point proposing alternative TV headlines.The US defense secretary claimed Iran had been left without a functioning air force, navy or missile defense network after 13 days of strikes, and said the combined US-Israeli air campaign had hit more than 15,000 targets since the war began. Continue reading...

Former US senator's admission comes after Heather Ammel sued her under North Carolina's homewrecker' lawKyrsten Sinema, a former US senator, admitted in court filings to having a romantic and intimate" relationship with a married man who was a member of her security detail during her final year in office - but argues that his estranged wife should not be able to sue her over it.The admission to the multi-state affair came in response to a lawsuit filed by Heather Ammel, who accused the former Arizona senator in federal court of breaking up her marriage under North Carolina's so-called homewrecker" law. Continue reading...

Arrest of asylum seeker Elvis Joel TE and his two-year-old, without a warrant, had sparked widespread outrageA federal judge ruled on Friday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) must release a Minneapolis man and asylum seeker who has been unlawfully detained for 50 days.The man, identified as Elvis Joel TE in court filings, was arrested on 22 January at the height of ICE's aggressive raids in Minneapolis. The case sparked widespread outrage as Elvis TE was detained with his two-year-old daughter while they were returning home from the store, and ICE quickly flew both of them to Texas despite a court order barring their transfer out of Minnesota. Continue reading...

Top US regulators met with Bill Anderson to discuss supreme court action' over glyphosate weed killerTop US regulators met with Bill Anderson, Bayer's CEO, last year to discuss litigation" issues - including supreme court action" over its glyphosate weed killer - just months before the Trump administration took a series of steps to boost Bayer's case at the high court, internal government records show.The 17 June meeting, between officials at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Anderson and two other top Bayer executives, came as the Germany-based company was working to quash costly US litigation brought by tens of thousands of people who allege they developed cancer from their use of the company's glyphosate-based herbicides, such as Roundup. Continue reading...

Fake pictures look authentic - and authentic ones get mistaken for fake. Here are three rules for navigating the war coverageThe videos look authentic - and they are spreading like wildfire on social media. One, for example, shows Iranian missiles exploding upon the airport in Tel Aviv, Israel. Another shows US soldiers being held at gunpoint by Iranian military.They aren't real but - often made with the help of cutting-edge AI - they are wildly misleading. They may get debunked, but somehow that doesn't make a dent. Continue reading...

Rent strikes have become more common in recent years with all-time high increases and more corporate investingNadia Langley had been organizing tenants in and around her south Minneapolis neighborhood since 2024, when, two months ago, the fledgling union saw a sudden explosion in interest.The jump was prompted not by a downturn in housing conditions or a rise in rents, but by the arrival of thousands of federal agents in the city as part of the Trump administration's recent mass immigration crackdown. Many immigrants and residents of color were afraid of agent run-ins and wouldn't leave their homes, even to go to work. To protect their neighbors, residents organized group chats to alert their communities about immigration agent sightings and to provide food, aid and more. Continue reading...

Why would Trump launch a foreign war when he is so domestically weak? Precisely because he is weakIn the lead-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, members of the George W Bush administration presented the case for war exhaustively, repeatedly, and in public. The then national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, who played a major role in green-lighting waterboarding of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, wrote an editorial in the New York Times claiming that Iraq was lying about its so-called weapons of mass destruction".Meanwhile, Colin Powell, then the secretary of state, went to a meeting of the United Nations security council in New York. There, before America and the world, he held up a tiny vial of substance meant to represent anthrax, a chemical weapon that had terrorized the US in a series of mail attacks just over a year before; Powell claimed that Iraq had the weapon and was willing to use it. Bush himself routinely addressed the American people, making the case for war. They were all lying, it turned out, but the lie served a purpose: it was a concession to the idea that the American people would have a say in whether or not their country went to war. Continue reading...

The podcast host and author of The Persian reflects on why Israel's precision in Iran caught him off guardAs the author of a novel depicting the Mossad's snatch-and-assassination squads inside Iran, David McCloskey was less shocked than most by the stunning killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the theocratic regime's most powerful figure, in a strike carried out by Israel.What caught him more off guard were reports that the up-to-the-minute, pinpoint accurate intelligence essential for its success was provided by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Continue reading...

Following Taylor's death, the US limited no-knock warrants. But the Trump administration has quietly rescinded those limitsThe night Breonna Taylor died began quietly.She had spent the evening at home in Louisville. The 26-year-old was an emergency room technician, someone who worked to prevent other people's tragedies. Continue reading...

The 2026 NWSL season kicks off on Friday. Our writers discuss the teams, players and story lines they're watching this yearHow the High Impact Player (HIP) rule evolves the NWSL's place in the global transfer market. The league has regained some control of the is the NWSL still the best league in the world" narrative, keeping Trinity Rodman on a deal via this new mechanism. The next transfer window or two will be a fascinating test of the league's willingness to ease restrictions and let its teams reach as far as they'd like. JR Continue reading...

A state visit is a connecting of people, not governments; of cultures, not commentators - our national bonds should be honouredShould King Charles's state visit to the United States next month be cancelled? The case for doing so is powerful. America is waging an unprovoked war on Iran in which more than 1,000 innocent people have already been killed. The collateral damage to the global economy, including Britain's, is becoming astronomical. All Donald Trump can do is insult Britain's prime minister as a loser" and no Winston Churchill" for failing to join him. Should the monarch honour such a man by attending a Washington banquet?The call is close. The occasion is the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States with the declaration of independence. Of course this merits celebration. But now? British public opinion is emphatically opposed to the US war on Iran. Many more Britons think the royal visit should be abandoned (46%) than think it should go ahead (36%), with 18% undecided. Just as the war is staged by Trump for personal political gain, so he can be expected to exploit a royal visit.Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist and the author of A Short History of America: from Tea Party to Trump Continue reading...

From a 28-game losing streak to the top of the East, the Pistons have rebuilt themselves the old Detroit way - defense, defiance and a refusal to stay downIn Detroit, the black-eyed Susan grows along lonely highways and in vacant lots. It pushes through gravel and broken glass. It survives heat that cracks the earth and winters that freeze it solid. When the wind bends its stem, it cracks back in place.Its petals are a grungy yellow, the shade of anxiety, orbiting a bruised center. Black-eyed, signaling it can take a punch. It's the kind of flower Pistons legend Dennis Rodman would wear in his hair. Hard to kill. Just like the Detroit Pistons. Continue reading...

From violent collision contests to celebrity-backed offshoots, spin-off sports are finding captive audiences. Their spectacle masks something more sinisterA few weeks ago a clip went viral of a strange new contact sport emerging from the antipodes. Two burly men, one of them holding a football, sprint at each other on a kind of catwalk, waiting for the bloop-bloop-bloop of an electronic countdown before they launch into their runs. Neither wears any kind of padding or protective gear. Surrounded by baying spectators, the men collide in the middle of the track, making impact through shoulders, knees, hips, stomachs: in most instances, one of the runners is knocked flat on his back or face from the force of the collision, and the other stands tall in triumph. We are literally getting dumber as a civilization," noted one of the many comments on the clip on X.Run Nation Championship, as this new sport is known, launched in Australia last year, and is now holding combines ahead of RNC03, its third instalment. Many of the competing athletes seem, from the early video evidence, as wide as they are tall; the risk of injury - to their limbs, to their heads, to their brains - is obvious. But this is all part of the pitch. Like all new mixed martial arts and contact sports, RNC owes an obvious debt to UFC in the way it's named, structured, and promoted; like UFC and UFC boss Dana White's newer sport, Power Slap, in which two opponents face each other across a table and slap the side of each other's faces as hard as they can until one collapses, Run Nation is not so much a sport as an exploration of the frontier of sporting violence, a macabre social experiment to see how far athletes will push their bodies in the pursuit of victory and money. Continue reading...

Trump claims US makes a lot of money' when oil prices go up, but rising costs could become political liability - key US politics stories from 12 MarchDonald Trump on Thursday shrugged off the economic toll the war in Iran is taking on gas prices across the US, writing on social media that when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money".The president's comment came as the American Automobile Association reports that the average price for a gallon of gas hit $3.60, a week after the beginning of the US-Israel military operation against Iran prompted the largest price spike since the opening days of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. Read the latest hereUS defense officials told senators on the armed services committee that the cost of the war on Iran totaled more than $11.3bn in the first six days alone, according to multiple reports.The New York Times was first to break the news about the conflict's price tag, citing three people familiar with the closed-door briefing on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Multiple law enforcement agencies responded on Thursday afternoon to reports in Michigan of a shooter at a synagogue in a Detroit suburb after a driver crashed a vehicle into the building and shots were fired. Michael Bouchard, the Oakland county sheriff, confirmed the attacker had died and that one security officer had been taken to hospital

Gavin Newsom says drone concerns always top of mind' and it's about preparedness for worst-case scenarios'

Records could be smashed in southern California as experts warn weather set to be exceptional - and not in a good way'States across the US west are bracing for a brutal early-season heatwave threatening to cook several cities through the weekend and into next week. Forecasters warned temperatures will spike 20-30F above normal for several days.Daily records could be shattered in southern California this week, the National Weather Service said, with a possibility that all-time records for March will be broken as well. Following the warmest winter on record across most of the region, the intense conditions are expected to eat into low snowpack levels, deepening drought concerns. Continue reading...

The bipartisan bill's future is uncertain, though, as Trump threatens to stall all legislation until voter-ID law is passed

Trump continues contradictory messaging on Iran; US will release 172m barrels of oil from strategic supplies. Key US politics stories from 11 MarchDonald Trump has continued his contradictory messaging over the Iran war, telling a rally in Kentucky that the war is won" but we don't want to leave early, do we?".With Trump and his fellow Republicans under pressure, according to polls, due to a stuttering economy, immigration crackdowns and the Iran conflict, the president noted this year's midterm elections are going to be very, very important". Continue reading...

Administration opens new trade investigation into manufacturing in foreign countriesThe Trump administration on Wednesday opened a new trade investigation into manufacturing in foreign countries - an effort that comes after the supreme court struck down Donald Trump's previous use of tariffs by declaring an economic emergency.The US president and his team have made clear that they're seeking to replace the hundreds of billions of dollars in lost revenues after the supreme court's February ruling by using different laws to establish new tariffs . Continue reading...

While offering no details to hundreds of supporters, US president seemed to suggest conflict would not end soon

Diego Villavicencio also made violent threats against an unnamed individual, who appears to be Jerome Powell

Google founder backs both Republican and Democrat in governor's race while ex-CEO fights billionaire tax

Failure to appoint Jeremy Carl is a rare setback for Trump, with Republican-controlled Senate mostly approving his appointmentsDonald Trump's nominee for a top diplomatic post has been withdrawn from consideration after a growing backlash over his past remarks on race and Jewish people left him without crucial Republican support.Jeremy Carl, who had been tapped to serve as the assistant secretary of state for international organisations - a role overseeing US policy towards bodies such as the UN - announced on Tuesday that he was stepping aside after failing to secure unanimous backing from Republicans on the Senate foreign relations committee. Continue reading...

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President and his Pentagon chief offer mixed messages as strikes on Iran continue - key US politics stories from 9 March at a glanceHow much longer will US strikes on Iran continue? Getting a clear answer from the Trump administration has been difficult - getting a consistent one, even more so.According to Donald Trump, the war is very complete". At least that's what he told CBS News in a call on Monday. Continue reading...

Logical situation of losing to get a better pick has led to big fines but June's superstar draft created a perfect storm'Imagine you are the director of football at a crisis-stricken Premier League club in a world where relegation doesn't exist and the planet's best teenagers become available for free in a draft every June.In this alternate universe, you are also aware of something else: the 2026 Premier League draft is one for the ages. Barcelona's Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi are in it. So are Bayern Munich's Lennart Karl and Real Madrid's Franco Mastantuono. Sign one of them and the glory days will suddenly beckon again. Continue reading...

Calls for a popular uprising and empty promises of help are reckless in the extreme - and no answer to my country's plight

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President makes evidence-free claim despite video showing US Tomahawk missile hit naval base next to schoolAs oil prices surged amid the widening war with Iran, Donald Trump suggested, without evidence, on Monday that the strike on an Iranian elementary school could have been carried out by Iran or somebody else".During back-to-back appearances in Florida, Trump was asked whether the US would accept responsibility for a strike that hit the school and killed scores of people, many of them children, after video evidence showed a US Tomahawk struck the naval base next to it. Continue reading...

Brothers who visited White House reunited with family after outcry from Texas lawmakers, including Republican congresswomanTwo teenage mariachi musicians were released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after their detention sparked widespread backlash, including from a Republican congresswoman.The Democratic representative Joaquin Castro of Texas announced the release of the brothers, Antonio Yesayahu Gamez-Cuellar, 18, and Caleb Gamez-Cuellar, 14, on Monday afternoon, sharing photos on social media of the family reuniting. Continue reading...

Trump is also pushing for the Save America Act to includes provisions to limit transgender youth's access to care and banning trans women athletes in women's sports - key US politics stories from Monday 9 March at a glanceDonald Trump renewed his push on Monday for the Save America Act, a curtailment of voting access, after threatening on Sunday not to sign any bills until Congress approves the legislation.All voters must show proof of citizenship in order to vote," Trump said during remarks on Monday at a Republican event in Miami. No mail-in ballots, except for illness, disability, military or travel." Continue reading...

The so-called Zorro Ranch was the site of numerous alleged abuses, but was not subject to intense scrutinyNew Mexico authorities launched a search of a ranch previously owned by Jeffrey Epstein, state officials announced on Monday.The late convicted sex offender and financier's so-called Zorro Ranch was the site of numerous alleged abuses, according to civil and criminal proceedings. But the location was not subject to the same scrutiny as other Epstein properties, and a Guardian investigation in February revealed that federal authorities apparently never searched the New Mexico ranch. Continue reading...

Save Act would limit voting access in the US and centers on Trump's unfounded claims of noncitizens stealing electionsDonald Trump renewed his push Monday for the Save America Act, a curtailment of voting access, after threatening on Sunday not to sign any bills until Congress approves the legislation.All voters must show proof of citizenship in order to vote," Trump said during remarks on Monday at a Republican event in Miami. No mail-in ballots, except for illness, disability, military or travel." Continue reading...

Victims remembered as cherished' and devoted' after shooting at EZ's Lounge that injured five others on Saturday

Oren, Alon and Tal Alexander convicted in New York after being accused of raping dozens of women

Senators say Trump allies such as Hegseth and Rubio should be forced to testify to Congress on unnecessary war'

Markets settled after Trump claimed US-Israel war with Iran is very complete', bringing oil prices down to $85 a barrel

Andy Ogles posted Muslims don't belong in American society,' among other statements, prompting Cair to call him an anti-Muslim extremist'

Republican senator warns of consequences' if kingdom does not join US strikes against Iranians

Request for records related to election audit appears latest part of Trump effort to spread false claims about votingA federal grand jury subpoenaed Arizona's legislature for records related the state senate's widely criticized review of the 2020 election, the state senate president said on Monday, in what appears to be the latest part of the Trump administration's efforts to spread false claims about the 2020 election and voting in the United States.Warren Petersen, the president of the Arizona state senate, confirmed on X on Monday the legislature had received a subpoena related to records of its review of the election results in Maricopa county, the most populous in the state. He added that the FBI has the records". Continue reading...