US news | The Guardian

Updates from the opening round at Shinnecock Hills

Several inches of rain expected in south-eastern US as forecasters expect storm to cause life-threatening floodingTropical Storm Arthur was downgraded from a cyclone to a low pressure area along the upper Texas coast as it made landfall and lost wind intensity on Thursday.Forecasters still expect the storm to cause life-threatening flooding, property damage and disruptions to commerce and travel. Several inches of rain are expected from the storm in the southeastern US into Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Continue reading...

Merlin Lu faces felony and misdemeanor charges after police released images of a suspect fleeing the sceneA 21- year old man who admitted to setting fire to a cross in Chicago's Grant Park last week is now in police custody on hate crime charges, per Chicago police.Merlin Lu was arrested and charged with four felony and four misdemeanor counts related to the incident on 9 June. Continue reading...

Federal agency to use herbicide to clear lands for replanting after 2021 Caldor fire - but public reaction to plan is fierceKatherine Levy remembers a childhood deeply rooted in the natural offerings of Lake Tahoe - water-skiing in the summer and working as ski instructor on the surrounding snow-covered mountains during winter months.She recently moved back to live out her retirement along the lake's north shore. But she doesn't like what she has found upon her return: a US government plan to spray multiple types of herbicides, including the cancer-linked glyphosate weed killer - within national forest property that abuts the community's cherished lake. Continue reading...

Moderna seeks FDA approval of its new shot, mFlusvia, as option for 50 and olderUS health advisers are debating a new kind of flu vaccine Thursday, the first made with the same mRNA technology that was key to ending the Covid-19 pandemic.Moderna is seeking Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of its new shot , dubbed mFlusiva, as an option for people 50 and older. The FDA advisory committee meeting is a step toward a final decision ahead of the winter flu season. Continue reading...

In US statecraft and warcraft, the president and Pete Hegseth are now saying previously quiet parts out loudThe Department of Defense will soon officially become the Department of War, if Republicans get their way. Key committees in the House and Senate have approved the name change, and Donald Trump is eager to sign it into law. The rebranding is candid and ominous, offering a future of heightened zeal for killing, maiming and destroying.Christened in 1949, the Department of Defense unified the military branches with the Pentagon as their headquarters. Since then, presidents have routinely promoted each new war as vital for the defense of the United States and its values, a pretense that has pervaded mainstream media and political discourse.Norman Solomon is an American journalist, media critic, left-leaning progressive activist, and former US Congress candidate Continue reading...

A proposed $8bn renovation of the hub has critics wondering if it's another example of the US president bolstering his legacy at taxpayers' expenseA proposed $8bn renovation of Penn Station in New York City has sparked questions from local leaders who want improvements to the western hemisphere's busiest transit hub but wonder what it will look like, who will pay for it and what role Donald Trump will play.The station, which was once considered one of New York City's most beautiful landmarks, is now seen by many as an ugly infrastructure that is hard to navigate, dark and claustrophobic. Continue reading...

New York police department say teenager thrown to the ground when horse bolted away from its driverA teenager thrown to the ground Wednesday when a Central Park carriage horse bolted away from its driver has died, according to police.The 18-year-old was riding in the horse-drawn carriage with three other passengers when the accident happened just before 3pm, according to the New York police department. At least two passengers were sent flying out of the careening cab. Continue reading...

The Minnesota Lynx point guard's creativity has made an impact in her first pro season and has fans racing to watch her highlight reelsFor dedicated WNBA fans, every morning begins with the same question: what did Olivia Miles do this time? A no-look pass through three defenders? A crossover that sends another grown woman staggering out of frame? Statue of Liberty layups launched from angles that flout Euclidean geometry? You just never know with this wonder woman. The rush she gives fans makes a double espresso feel like a nightcap.No player in the WNBA has brought more joy to the season's opening month than Miles, who has quickly emerged as one of the league's most compelling talents. Fifteen games into her professional career, the 23-year-old North Jersey native has already established herself as the engine of the Minnesota Lynx offense, pacing the team in average scoring (19.0) and assists (5.7) while sinking more than half her shot attempts. In a 99-83 road win against a short-handed Los Angeles Sparks team on Wednesday night, Miles poured in a season-best 31 points on a blistering 80% percent shooting in just 26 minutes. Continue reading...

While the stock market booms for the rich, cost of living is soaring for everyone elseSince 2020, the stock market has more than doubled. Americans who own substantial financial assets are reveling in economic success. For everyone else, the economy feels very different. This summer, the average family will spend nearly $800 just to keep their home cool, almost 40% more than in 2020 and up 10.5% since last summer.Americans now carry more than $1.2tn in credit card debt. Nearly 60% say they are living paycheck to paycheck. One in six households is behind on its utility bills. Every year, utilities disconnect electric service more than 13m times. Nearly 40% of lower-income households struggle to pay their energy bills.Mark Wolfe is an energy economist and serves as the executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association representing the state directors of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and the co-director of the Center on Energy Poverty and Climate. He also serves as an adjunct professor at the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy at George Washington University Continue reading...

President hails major win' for US as he attempts to exit war having failed to achieve regime change in Tehran. Plus: an investigation into the murky world of OnlyFans managers'Good morning.Donald Trump has signed a 14-point agreement with Iran, claiming it delivered a major win" for the US - even as it made significant political and financial concessions to Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz and prevent a worldwide depression".How have US Republicans reacted to the deal? Senator Lindsey Graham, a key Trump ally, appeared to soften his view of the deal after a very lengthy and productive" conversation with the the US special envoy Steve Witkoff. But his fellow senator Ted Cruz, who has backed the war, said: History teaches that giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is not a good idea. I think the president is receiving some very poor advice on this deal." And Senator Bill Cassidy declared: Reagan is rolling over in his grave."Why is Ukraine newly concerned about Belarus? Russian spy drones flying into Ukraine from Belarusian airspace have sharply increased since the beginning of the year, leading to Kyiv reinforcing fortifications on its northern border. What concerns Ukrainian and European officials is that Moscow appears to be attempting to integrate Minsk ever more closely into its war efforts, including through joint nuclear exercises earlier this year. Continue reading...

Jordan Matthew, who has no lifeguard training, rescued a young boy and two women from the dangerous currentA shuttle driver recently used his bare hands to rescue three tourists ensnared by a potentially deadly rip current off the southern Louisiana coast, actions which state officials hailed as heroic".In an interview published on 15 June, Reliant Shuttle driver Jordan Matthew told Guardian reporting partner WWL Louisiana that he had just dropped off a group of tourists from Oklahoma at a beach on Grand Isle days earlier when one of them frantically flagged him down. Continue reading...

The three-martini lunch allowed us to mix business and pleasure, a phenomenon that is missing during the AI boomAs a 46-year-old executive who now has both people and AI agents reporting to me on the org chart, I think corporate America needs to revive a much-mocked relic of mid-century American business life: the three-martini lunch.In 1978, Gerald Ford called the ritual the epitome of American efficiency", asking: Where else can you get an earful, a bellyful and a snootful at the same time?" He meant it as a joke, but in 2026, I think it should be our strategic plan. Continue reading...

A leaked version of the agreement shows the US is in a weaker position than before the warNo one gets a Nobel peace prize for ending a war he started, let alone for a pointless war of aggression that set back the causes that supposedly prompted the conflict. No amount of Donald Trump's spin can obscure the fact that his newly announced deal with Iran is one big lesson in why this war should never have been launched.The text of the deal, a 14-point memorandum of understanding, underscores its emptiness. The tyrants of Tehran are undoubtedly celebrating. Continue reading...

Who is winning the battle to be top scorer at the World Cup? Live and updated throughout the tournamentAll-time World Cup goalscorersThe Golden Boot is awarded to the World Cup's top goalscorer, with assists used as a tie-breaker if two or more players finish level. The 2026 tournament has three former Golden Boot winners taking part: Kylian Mbappe of France (eight goals in 2022), England's Harry Kane (six goals in 2018) and James Rodriguez of Colombia (six goals in 2014).Mbappe and Kane are among the pre-tournament favourites to finish top scorer in North America, alongside Norway's Erling Haaland - making his World Cup debut - and Argentina's Lionel Messi. Continue reading...

The Socceroos and United States both made a fast start to their campaign - here is what the Group D rivals must do to maintain momentum in SeattleBack Nestory Irankunda: the 20-year-old was expected to be an impact player at this World Cup, coming on as a substitute to affect matches against tiring opposition. A player of the match performance when starting against Turkey showed how Irankunda has become one of the Socceroos' most important players. While still learning his wing-craft, his speed and determination without the ball are vital in a Socceroos outfit seemingly happy to give their opponents' possession, and his ability to make the most of transition and direct opportunities - as seen for his opening goal against Turkey - can be a superpower. Continue reading...

Fabio Cannavaro's White Wolves entered Mexico City to take on the world No 13 side but their valiant efforts ended in defeatFabio Cannavaro has continued with the 3-4-3 that served Uzbekistan well in qualifying. Khusanov is the only man in the starting XI to play in one of Europe's top five leagues. The promising playmaker Fayzullaev is on the cusp of bigger things at stanbul Baakehir, where he is teammates with the proven goalscorer Shomurodov. Everyone else in the squad is drawn from clubs in Uzbekistan, Iran, or the UAE.1 Yusupov; 18 Abdullaev, 5 Ashurmatov, 2 Khusanov; 13 Nasrullaev 7 Shukurov, 6 Mozgovoy, 24 Karimov; 22 Fayzullaev, 11 Urunov, 14 Shomurodov. Continue reading...

President signs memorandum at Palace of Versailles where Germans were humiliated after losing first world war. Key US politics stories from Wednesday 17 June at a glanceThe Trump administration declared a major win" but likewise the Hezbollah chief, Naim Qassem, proclaimed a great victory" as the text of the 14-point US-Iran memorandum of understanding became public.Iran's chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said: The agreement is a record of US failure. People will see it and judge." Irna, Iran's official state news agency, released a photograph of Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, holding up a Persian-language document apparently showing his signature alongside that of Trump. According to Reuters, Ghalibaf told state TV: Everything we sought to achieve through military action, we obtained several times over through negotiation; it was not even comparable." Continue reading...

This liveblog is closed. For the latest on the Middle East crisis, follow our new liveblog here.Sign up for the Breaking News US emailDonald Trump also denied (again) that the memorandum of understanding includes a $300bn fund for Iran, and denied that he had asked the Gulf states to commit funding.It's false," Trump told reporters as he sat alongside Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. You can invest if you want. What am I going to do, say no one is ever allowed to invest? We're not investing, we're not putting up 10 cents and people can decide to do it. That's up to them."In short, what it does is it opens the strait of Hormuz immediately ... It also provides a framework whereby if the Iranians give us what we need - on stopping the funding of terrorism, on no longer pursuing a nuclear weapon - then they can get some benefits, be re-invited into the world economy. Continue reading...

Clouds of dark smoke and ammonia rose from cold storage and freezing facility in Boyle Heights near downtownThe solar panel-covered roof of a 500,000 sq-ft cold storage facility in Los Angeles caught fire Wednesday, sending up thick clouds of dark smoke and ammonia, leading city officials to order nearby residents to shelter in place.About 110 firefighters responded in the afternoon to a blaze at the cold storage and freezing warehouse owned by Lineage in the Boyle Heights neighborhood near downtown, according to spokesperson Jennifer Middleton of the Los Angeles fire department. Both the city and Los Angeles county deployed firefighters and hazmat teams to contain the fire. Continue reading...

White House joined suit to stop city of Evanston, Illinois, from compensating victims of housing discrimination

Parents of children with autism are turning to a controversial stem cell treatment backed by the US Health Secretary. A growing number of clinics in the US are charging parents tens of thousands of dollars for stem cell therapy, which is being given to children as young as 18 months old. The Guardian's chief reporter Ed Pilkington tells Kai Wright about his months-long investigation into the providers of these treatments, and their connections to the health secretary ,Robert F Kennedy Jr. He also spoke with figures in the science community who fear the FDA may be loosening its rigorous restrictions on stem cell treatment for autism

New York judge imposes life without parole after emotional statements at Rex Heuermann's sentencing

Officers responding to call about screaming woman', who was celebrating Knicks win, shot dog named JamesonAs the Los Angeles police department faces mounting scrutiny after officers shot and killed a two-year-old golden Saint Bernard doodle, the city's political leaders have backed calls for an investigation into the incident.On Saturday, LA police officers responded to a radio call about a screaming woman" in the Canoga Park neighborhood, about 30 miles (48km) from downtown, which turned out to be celebratory noise in reaction to the New York Knicks's long-awaited championship win. Continue reading...

Four states file alongside FTC, claiming WPath made deceptive claims about gender-affirming care for minorsThe Federal Trade Commission and four states sued the World Professional Association for Transgender Health on Wednesday, in the latest push by Donald Trump's administration and others to limit gender-affirming care for transgender minors.The suit alleges the group, known widely as WPath, made deceptive claims about gender-affirming care for minors and that its members profited off the claims. Alaska, Iowa, Nebraska and Texas filed along with the FTC. Continue reading...

Lawmakers cite rushed timeline and public input despite pressure to redraw districts after supreme court opinionGeorgia Republicans declined to redraw the state's congressional map during a special session, defying calls from Donald Trump for widespread redistricting in the wake of a recent US supreme court decision that effectively gutted a major section of the Voting Rights Act.We believe that it's important to do things the Georgia way, responsibly, transparently, and with ample opportunity for public input," said Jon Burns, the Georgia house speaker. Continue reading...

Open markets committee says economic activity is expanding at a solid pace' in first meeting under new chair Kevin WarshUS stock markets dropped Wednesday afternoon after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and signaled a possible rate hike before the end of the year.The Fed was widely expected to keep rates at a range of 3.5% to 3.75%, where it has remained since December. The decision was unanimously supported by the Fed's voting committee. Continue reading...

Groups cite detainee maltreatment and degradation of surrounding land as reasons to close facility permanently

Move will allow Trump's controversial pick, Bill Pulte, to assume role and remain in place for at least several weeks

A small plane crashed on a highway and caught fire in Laredo, Texas, on Tuesday night. Police and bystanders frantically tried to smash the cockpit window to free people inside. Police say six people were onboard. Five were injured and one was killed. The plane had left San Jose del Cabo in Mexico and was bound for Austin, Texas, according to the Federal Aviation Administration

Victims' families spoke in court as Heuermann was imprisoned for killing spree that spanned decadesRex Heuermann, the Manhattan architect who methodically planned and carried out the murders of eight women over at least 17 years on Long Island, was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without parole.The sentence, the maximum the New York law allows, was handed down by Judge Timothy Mazzei after a morning of grueling victim's family impact statements on the effect Heuermann's murder spree had on the children and relatives of his victims. Continue reading...

Dig at Boston site reveals ammunition intriguing finds from 1775 clash that launched revolutionary war in earnestGenerations of Boston families played and picnicked on the grassy, sloping lawns of the Bunker Hill Monument.Musket balls and other artifacts from one of the American Revolution's most consequential battles were buried just below their feet the whole time. Continue reading...

You cannot take a rules-based order seriously when only some of the participants are playing by the rulesWhen 200,000 protesters gathered to meet the G8 summit in Genoa, 25 years ago, their point (our point, in fact; I went on a coach, it took two and a half days) was that eight rich nations shouldn't dictate the rules to the rest of the world. If you accept that power concedes nothing without a demand, this demand probably sounds a bit broad, boiling down to abnegate your power". But it was part of a wider anti-globalisation movement, in which many of the precise mechanisms by which the developed world exploited the developing had been nailed down.Many of the protest tactics and networks had been honed at the battle for Seattle in 1999, outside the World Trade Organization summit, along with an agenda that was capacious and versatile. Unfortunately, the authorities had also learned a thing or two, and both the elaborate security of the G8's red zone and the police brutality outside it were met with some astonishment from the world's (liberal) media, but not from anyone with a memory exceeding two years. Continue reading...

Congressman Jamie Raskin alleges FBI director authorized substantial recurring payments to agents in his inner circleFBI director Kash Patel has been accused of directing more than $1m in taxpayer-funded bonus payments to a small circle of loyalist agents as part of a personal slush fund" that may have violated federal law.Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the ranking member of the House of Representatives judiciary committee, alleged Patel had authorized substantial recurring payments to agents in his inner circle and security detail. Continue reading...

Sir Keir Starmer offered his best wishes to the England team before their entry into the tournamentIt is Wednesday, so you can feast upon your weekly dose of The Knowledge.Socceroos forward Awer Mabil on that viral video.The reason why it went viral is because it was raw. It was not edited. It was just purely what the players wanted to say and all put together. It had an effect because individually Australians can feel and relate with it." Continue reading...

Child was fatally shot and his mother's friend is wounded after Senatobia police responded to shoplifting callA one-year-old boy is dead and another person wounded after a northern Mississippi police officer shot at a vehicle while responding to a shoplifting call, according to authorities and the child's grandfather.Kohen Wiley, the slain child, was in the car at the center of the shooting on Sunday alongside his mother and her friend, said Marquell Bridges, a local community advocate. Continue reading...

Australia lean into their underdog status while fans and media build hype around highly anticipated Group D matchThe poisoned words have added sizzle to the Socceroos' clash against the USA, and underlined the Australians' belief in their status as underdogs. Commentators have described the Socceroos as a lay up" for the Americans. That they don't have any good players. That they are nothing but an average team with a smug" coach.USA midfielder Sebastian Berhalter - even as some teammates took a more conciliatory tone on Wednesday - chose to continue the war of words: I think one [of this team's core beliefs] is that we're American. We don't take shit." Continue reading...

The jet, owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, lost contact with air traffic control and crashed in Laredo

Keith Sonderling, acting head of the agency, threatens to withhold administrative funds from states for first time in historyKeith Sonderling sent letters to 53 states and US territories demanding action to combat waste, fraud, and abuse" within the unemployment insurance program, threatening to withhold administrative funds from states for the first time history.We are officially putting governors on notice," said the acting US secretary of labor. The American people will no longer tolerate the blatant waste, fraud, and abuse of their hard-earned tax dollars - no state should allow it either. If states allow it, they will suffer the consequences. This department is no longer afraid to use every lever available to ensure taxpayer money is protected." Continue reading...

An AI tool is no replacement for a doctor, and regulation is essential. But together, physicians and AI could prove beneficialA calf cramp should not be a brush with death. Mine almost was.For five days, I had what felt like a stubborn muscle spasm in my left calf. It was tender, swollen and getting worse. I assumed it was a muscle problem and went to my chiropractor, who treated it as a muscle issue.Gleb Tsipursky, PhD, serves as the CEO of the future-of-work work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts and wrote The Psychology of Generative AI Adoption at Work (Georgetown University Press, 2026) Continue reading...

Group of hikers encountered a bear and her cubs and the mother bear charged the group, swiping at one of the teensA teenage hiker was injured by a black bear in a mountainous recreation area outside Seattle on Tuesday, according to officials, who closed the trail where it happened.About 12.45pm on Tuesday, a group of three basketball players from Thomas Jefferson high school were about 2.7 miles (4.4km) up the Mount Si trail in the Mount Si Natural Resources Conservation Area when they encountered a bear and her cubs. The conservation area is composed of four mountain peaks, and about 35 miles south-east of Seattle. Continue reading...

Jimmy Chilimigras graduated high school at 12 and is now pursuing a master of laws degree - and he wants to find an area to do some good'A Mississippi teenager who in May became one of the youngest ever law school graduates says he wants to help reform US tax law as well as litigate against social media companies over claims that they design their products to be addictive - and therefore harmful - to youths.What they're creating is extremely predatory and harmful, and yet they're sending it out knowing that it's ... harmful and not really taking any action to reduce the harm or address it," 18-year-old Jimmy Chilimigras said with respect to his interest in participating in such social media litigation. Continue reading...

People understand gender differently, and I was taught to respect all ideas. But the vitriol I recently experienced was not a healthy debateFor as long as I can remember, I have known I am a girl. That certainty is as instinctive as knowing I am right-handed. It is difficult to explain to someone who has never been transgender or loved someone who is, but I have never lived this way to gain an advantage or take something from someone else. I live this way to honor what I know is true.I transitioned at four years old. By sixth grade, my identity was public. I grew used to the double takes, the questions, the quiet skepticism. Most of it did not bother me. Curiosity, even when clumsy, is human. People understand gender differently, and I was taught to respect all ideas, just as I hope others respect mine.Lina Haaga is a transgender student athlete Continue reading...

Two-thirds of Americans say they are worried about climate but level of media coverage does not reflect thisUS political and media discourse has drifted away from the climate crisis amid a frontal assault by Donald Trump upon policies to limit global heating and the president's pugnacious demands to drill, baby, drill" for more oil and gas.Yet while elite attention on climate has waned, even among some previously vocal Democrats who have wound back on criticism of the fossil fuels that are overheating our planet, the American public remains concerned about the climate crisis and continues to favour action to deal with it, according to experts and polling. Continue reading...

Republicans question details of deal set to be signed later in the week as European leaders seek to join talks. Plus: can we refreeze the Arctic?Good morning.Donald Trump, facing severe criticism from some domestic supporters for conducting a war against Iran that has met hardly any of its original objectives, has backed a joint G7 leaders' statement that welcomes his proposed peace deal.What is the domestic criticism of the deal? Many Senate Republicans said there were still unanswered questions and they needed thorough briefings before it was finalized. Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of Trump and a longtime hawk on Iran, said: The way Iran describes it, it's awful. The way we describe it, it makes sense to me. Let's look at it and see what it actually is."How do people in Iran feel about the deal? The Guardian's Deepa Parent found a shared sense of exhaustion, and anger that nothing has really changed.What does the deal mean for US-Israeli relations? The strategic interests of the US and Israel appear to be diverging and Benjamin Netanyahu has been left in a political bind, facing an election having led Israel in three wars - in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran - without a clear victory in any of them.How are authorities cracking down on protests against ICE? Fifteen people in Minnesota have been charged with conspiracy to impede or injure federal officers over their response to a deadly immigration enforcement crackdown in the state earlier this year. The prosecutors allege the defendants were part of two Minneapolis-based antifa" groups that violently oppose immigration law enforcement". Continue reading...

Steven Mills and Tiffany Score reached an agreement with the biological parents of their child after fertility clinic's mix-upA Florida couple who learned they had been given the wrong embryo after their newborn, Shea, appeared to be of a different race, will retain permanent custody of the child.Steven Mills and Tiffany Score reached a custody agreement with Shea's biological parents - identified anonymously as Patient 004 - in a court filing last week from their lawsuit against the Florida clinic allegedly responsible for the embryo snafu. Continue reading...

Federal Tort Claims Act, over which DoJ has total discretion, provides workaround to Trump's $1.8bn slush fundJanuary 6 defendants who assaulted police officers are pursuing legal claims for millions in compensation from the Trump administration using an obscure federal process with minimal oversight, but which offers the Trump administration a way to compensate those responsible for violence even after scrapping its anti-weaponization fund".The defendants are pursuing their claims using the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), which allows individuals wronged by the government to file claims for monetary damages. The justice department has complete and unchecked discretion over whether to settle the claims, giving the Trump administration a powerful vehicle to reward those responsible for violence on January 6. The claims would be paid out from the judgment fund, a perpetual appropriation allowed for by Congress and the same pot of money Trump's $1.8bn slush fund was going to draw from. All of the defendants seeking compensation received a pardon from Trump. Continue reading...