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It's a great betrayal: poor communities neglected while multimillionaires peddle a global Maga agenda. How is that America first?THE CORRUPTION IS AT LEVELS RARELY SEEN BEFORE," Donald Trump posted on Truth Social in February 2025. He was not referring to his own administration, but to the US Agency for International Development (USAID). CLOSE IT DOWN!" the president added.Just a few hours later USAID was in effect closed down, with most of the staff placed on indefinite administration leave. This was framed as part of Trump's America first" agenda. USAID, the Trump administration and his sycophants in the rightwing media had argued, was wasting taxpayers' hard-earned money on ridiculous projects abroad instead of improving life at home. In the lead-up to the shuttering of USAID, for example, one of the most shameless lies about the agency, repeated without any evidence by the likes of Fox News, was that it was spending millions on condoms for Gaza.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Democratic socialist is frontrunner in four-way race to face Republican Tom Tiffany in test of anti-establishment moodWisconsin voters will decide on Tuesday whether to nominate a democratic socialist for the state's highest office in the latest test of an anti-establishment wave among Democratic primary voters.Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist state lawmaker, emerged as the frontrunner in a four-way race to succeed Tony Evers, the Democratic governor who is not seeking another term. Continue reading...

State's Democratic lieutenant governor bests Angie Craig in another election contest pitting a progressive against a moderatePeggy Flanagan, Minnesota's lieutenant governor, won the Democratic primary for US Senate in a race centered on immigration enforcement after the Trump administration crackdown turned deadly and destructive earlier this year.Flanagan ousted congresswoman Angie Craig in yet another example of progressive campaigns toppling moderates amid an anti-establishment wave among Democrats. Continue reading...

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Journalists and others were allowed to fly on presidential jet despite security threat while Trump was spirited away

Nearly 500 personnel battle Timber fire in Los Padres national forest as blaze grows to 3,000 acresEvacuations have been ordered for areas along California's famous Big Sur coast as a wildfire burns in the nearby steep, rugged mountains.The Timber fire in Monterey county started on Sunday and grew to nearly 3,000 acres by Tuesday evening, according to Cal Fire, the state's fire agency. Nearly 500 fire personnel had been assigned to the fire in the Los Padres national forest. Continue reading...

Norman beat out Russell Fry, a congressman, and Mark Sanford, a former governor, to advance is closely contested race

According to manufacturer, shock is usually effective in bringing individuals into compliance in less than three seconds'ICE plans to spend up to $20m (15m) to purchase thousands of gloves for officers and agents that can deliver painful electric shocks by March, according to a notice published Monday by the Department of Homeland Security.The devices, called Glove (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter), are manufactured by Compliant Technologies LLC of Lexington, Kentucky. Continue reading...

Brittany Boltinhouse's attorney says removal of title and crown another troubling example of cancel culture'A lawyer for beauty queen Brittany Boltinhouse, dethroned as Miss North Carolina USA last week, is threatening legal action, claiming the actions of pageant organizers were wrongful and unjustified".The attorney, Patrick Mincey, described the removal of her title and crown another troubling example of cancel culture". Continue reading...

Ruling expands on earlier order that prevented implementation in 23 mostly Democratic-led states

Group says new executive order is attempt to evade supreme court's earlier ruling against the president

Revocations targeted foreign nationals who allegedly broke terms of their visas, government saysThe US Department of State has canceled more than 175,000 visas since Donald Trump returned to office, quadrupling the pace of revocations under Joe Biden's final year in the White House, according to a new tally released by the department this week.The announcement said the revocations targeted foreign nationals who allegedly broke the terms of their visas, committed crimes, called for violence against Americans, defrauded US citizens, abused the immigration system or endangered national security. Many followed run-ins with law enforcement, the department said, with assault, drunk driving, theft and drug offenses the leading causes, alongside reckless driving, sexual assault, child abuse and fraud. Continue reading...

From Comets-Liberty and Lynx-Sparks to Wilson-Gray and the StudBudz, the feuds and friendships that have shaped 30 years of the WNBA

In July, Donald Trump hid in a catering truck and reportedly secretly switched planes in a security ruse prompted by a credible Iranian assassination threat.The Guardian breaks down the footage from that day, showing how the president reportedly boarded the old Air Force One jumbo jet in view of television cameras, and then was secretly shuttled minutes later to a smaller plane via an airport catering truck typically used to load meals and other supplies preflight. Trump's actual location was concealed from journalists and some White House staff, who thought they were traveling with Trump on the older plane

Amid public concern over the impact of new technology, Silicon Valley's use of its wealth to influence specific election races is an unwelcome developmentAs the huge societal ramifications of artificial intelligence have become clear, some of the tech industry's most senior figures have taken to writing thinkpieces on what comes next. The latest to do so is Mark Zuckerberg, who this week published 6,500 words making the case for a laissez-faire approach to AI development. Worrying too much about regulation, Meta's CEO unsurprisingly opines, could lead to the United States falling behind in the race to own the future.Mr Zuckerberg's plea for maximum autonomy is, of course, self-serving. Much of his essay - which airily envisions invention superpowers" for every entrepreneur and an abundance of jobs in the future" - reads like unadulterated tech-utopianism. But the lobbying at least has the merit of being out there in the open. As midterm elections loom in the US, darker arts are also being used to counter popular concern about what AI will mean for a host of topics, from the labour market to child safety, the environment and cybersecurity. Continue reading...

Jacob Jake' Whisenant died in Sequoia and Kings Canyon wilderness in climbing-related incident', authorities sayA 30-year-old California climber known for breaking speed records died after falling in the Sierra Nevada wilderness last week, according to authorities.Jacob Jake" Whisenant, from Mammoth Lakes, California, died in the Sequoia and Kings Canyon wilderness on 3 August, according to the Tulare county sheriff's office coroner unit and the National Park Service (NPS). Continue reading...

Our children should be able to visit our nation's capital without having to think about Donald Trump and about how much he did to deface itHistory has shown us how much dictators and aspiring dictators love building monuments to themselves. They enjoy reminding the world that they can do anything, no matter who is responsible for the physical labor or who will be paying the financial and human cost.They prefer outsized structures, heroic arches, towers and columns designed to prove that their signature and their esthetic will be with us forever, even after they're dead, though dictators often seem to believe they are too powerful to die.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...

Prosecutors allege that Mangione gunned down Brian Thompson outside New York City hotel in December 2024Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, appeared Tuesday morning in Manhattan state court for a final pre-trial conference, where the judge addressed contentious issues surrounding media access at the highly anticipated trial.Judge Gregory Carro announced that there would be an overflow courtroom for the 8 September trial. The media access plan for Mangione's case did not initially include an overflow courtroom - which is common in high-profile cases, such as Donald Trump's New York criminal trial. Continue reading...

Baltimore officer Dequwan Houchins, 30, indicted for allegedly making false traffic stop reports for monthsA Baltimore, Maryland, police officer avoided service calls by claiming he was on traffic stops when he was in fact sitting idle in his car", according to an indictment filed by city prosecutors.Dequwan Houchins, 30, is accused of four counts of false entry in a public record and five counts of misconduct in office and could face 12 years in jail and a $4,000 fine for each of the false entry charges, if convicted. Continue reading...

Buildings collapse and more than 470 people hurt in 7.4-magnitude quake. Plus, in such a vast universe why is there no sign of aliens?

Tuskegee University's dress code is a marker of a harmful politics of respectability. In my academic career, it's become all too familiarIn anticipation of the coming school year, the president of Tuskegee University, Dr Mark A Brown, sent welcome letters to students and their parents last month. Part of the message focused on the university's policy for student attire. A newly enforced dress code prohibits students from wearing revealing clothing in class, to the cafeteria or in official settings like Convocation. They are also not able to wear bedroom shoes, bonnets, or durags to class or the cafeteria." Dr Brown goes on to let the students know: Faculty will be empowered to respond to students who are inappropriately dressed based on these guidelines."The policy has produced polarized responses. Supporters believe that since the university is a private school, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have often been places where Black people learn discipline and earn entrance into the professional world, this dress code is simply reinforcing a tradition that calls for students to exhibit professionalism during their training. It harkens back to WEB DuBois's idea of a Talented Tenth", which would consist of upwardly mobile Black leaders such as teachers and other professionals whose example of hard work and social standing would uplift the entire race. Continue reading...

Largest for-profit hospital system and operator in the US reported $6.8bn in profits, while employees find it difficult to make ends meetUnion workers with HCA Healthcare, the largest for-profit hospital system and operator in the US, are holding picket protests across the country as they push for pay and staffing increases in a new contract.The hospital system has over 300,000 employees in the US and the UK, with 22,000 US workers represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) who are in contract negotiations with HCA. Workers are asking for a pathway to a $25 an hour minimum wage, improved wage scales and raises that match the increased cost of living, along with benefits including paid vacation, sick time and bolstered work protections. Continue reading...

It doesn't have to be this way. We know what needs to be doneDisturbing news about our water resources is now constant and unrelenting. In just the past few weeks, media have reported that Puerto Rico is suffering a deep water crisis as severe drought has cut water supplies to thousands. The Rhine and Po rivers in Europe are at record low levels. The seven states sharing the Colorado River in the US are fighting over unprecedented shortages, while its major reservoirs have shrunk to their lowest levels since they were built.Hungary's only nuclear power plant is on the verge of shutting down because there isn't enough water in the Danube River to cool it. Toxic chemicals have been found in all English water bodies. Continue reading...

Two advisers have links to a venture fund co-investing in US defense companies that benefit from federal spendingPete Hegseth's appointments to a key Pentagon advisory body include two men with ties to the venture capital fund where Donald Trump Jr is a partner, which has lucrative investments in military and space technology.Defense Policy Board appointee Marc Andreessen's firm, Andreessen Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley's largest venture capital firms and known by the name a16z", co-invests alongside the Trump partnership 1789 Capital in three defense contractors. Fellow DPB appointee Blake Masters also sits on the boards of three ventures tied to 1789 Capital. Continue reading...

From progressive and moderate to election deniers, state sees wide spectrum of candidates in test of direction for both partiesMinnesota voters on both sides of the aisle are weighing the direction of their parties - and their chances of winning over the general electorate - in marquee statewide races on Tuesday.On the left, Peggy Flanagan, the state lieutenant governor and a progressive, faces off against Angie Craig, a US representative, for the Democratic bid for US senate in a race punctuated by the role of immigration enforcement in the state that saw two residents killed by immigration agents in a winter surge. Continue reading...

Republicans, including Graham's sister Darline, expedite campaigns to replace late senator in special primary raceIn the race to replace the late US senator Lindsey Graham, 10 candidates have been barnstorming South Carolina diners, church halls and recreation centers, compressing a normal year of campaigning into about a fortnight.The Republican party is staging a special primary election in the state on Tuesday to choose Graham's replacement. His sister, Darline, who has been serving as interim senator following his sudden death last month, is on the ballot. Continue reading...

There's no evidence that vaccines cause autism, or that we should separate MMR shots. This order is dangerousThis is based on what I feel." That was the president last September, explaining why he wanted the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine broken into three separate shots. On Monday, he signed an executive order instructing exactly that.Four decades in intensive care have taught me what a feeling costs once it becomes national policy. Children will be hospitalized who did not need to be. Some of them will die. No one can name those the vaccine has saved, because prevented harm is invisible by definition, and that invisibility is what makes preventive medicine easy to dismantle and hard to defend. Continue reading...

A recent letter signed by 1,367 researchers and engineers at frontier AI labs - mainly OpenAI, Anthropic and Google Deepmind - points to a dangerous momentIt is fashionable in certain circles to dismiss the catastrophic risks of AI. One often hears that the real experts" who work on the technology every day are really not concerned at all; that only doomers" and Luddites" espouse a fringe" view from a position of ignorance"; that all talk of potential catastrophe is just science fiction".Fortunately, an open letter has been published that lets us hear from the real experts who work on the technology every day, in their own words. And are they worried? Very. Continue reading...

The Portland rink where Tonya Harding first skated was an affordable community institution for six decades. Its closure echoes the disappearance of mall ice across the USWhen the Lloyd Center shopping mall first opened its doors in 1960, it boasted a unique feature: an ice rink. In the nearly seven decades since, that ice rink - first outdoor, then enclosed by a glass ceiling that sheltered mall-goers from the elements - became a cultural epicenter for Portlanders.Children accompanying parents on errands spotted peers gliding across the ice and begged for lessons. Shoppers, taking a break from the stores, watched idly from the three levels that looked out over the ice. At Christmas, a giant tree adorned the middle of the rink, making Lloyd Center an essential part of the holiday season. Continue reading...

One of the player's WNBA rivals said the Fever guard is treated differently from her Black peers. There's plenty of evidence to back that statement upWhite privilege. An accusation that triggers multitudes of white people in America as if you had insulted their mother. Mention racism, and people may debate you. Mention discrimination, and people may even listen. But say the words white privilege", and suddenly defenses go up, outrage erupts, and people start explaining why privilege couldn't possibly have anything to do with what everyone just witnessed with their own eyes.Which brings us to DiJonai Carrington and Sophie Cunningham. Continue reading...

Elaborate ruse was used to transport president to military flight from Air Force One in JulyDonald Trump departed on a secret military flight from Turkey to Britain last month when the White House said he was flying aboard Air Force One, in an extraordinary ruse - prompted by an Iranian assassination threat - that involved hiding the president in an airport catering container, according to reporting from the Washington Post and the New York Times.The operation took place when Trump was in Ankara for a Nato summit with world leaders, according to the Post. The president reportedly boarded the old Air Force One jumbo jet in view of television cameras, and then was secretly shuttled minutes later to a smaller plane via an airport catering truck typically used to load meals and other supplies preflight, a US official told the Post. Continue reading...

Jennifer Balkcom to face Democrat Jamie Ager in race to represent North Carolina's 11th congressional districtNorth Carolina Republicans on Monday chose state lawmaker Jennifer Balkcom to replace Chuck Edwards, the incumbent congressman who earlier this month dropped his re-election bid after a US House investigation determined his conduct towards to young female staffers likely amounted to sexual harassment.Balkcom will face off against the Democratic nominee, Jamie Ager, in the November midterm elections to represent the 11th congressional district in western North Carolina. Though Donald Trump won the district by 10 percentage points two years ago, Democrats believe Ager may have a shot at winning amid the president's low approval ratings and frustration over the pace of recovery from Hurricane Helene, which devastated the region in 2024. Continue reading...

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New York mayor's office plans to appeal ruling, which comes after homeowners sued over property surcharges last weekA judge has temporarily blocked Zohran Mamdani's pied-a-terre tax, which would place a surcharge on second homes in New York City, dealing a blow to the progressive New York City mayor after homeowners sued over the policy.The tax would apply to people who own, but do not reside full-time in, any house worth more than $5m, or a condominium or cooperative unit worth at least $1m. Continue reading...

Company also announced a paid service for early access to president's posts on policies to the social media siteDonald Trump's media company - which owns the Truth Social platform favored by the US president - posted a $238m loss in the second quarter.Trump Media & Technology on Monday reported that losses in the three months through June came as the company branched into new ventures including crypto. The company's new chief executive, Kevin McGurn, announced at a conference call about the earnings that after a yearlong effort to expand into online betting and crypto, the company would be refocusing on social media. Continue reading...

Thousands mourn the death of the eagle at California's Big Bear Lake, whose life was closely followed via livestreamJackie - the beloved bald eagle at California's Big Bear Lake whose livestream was followed by millions of viewers as she birthed and raised chicks - died on Monday due to a mysterious illness. She was 14.Jackie had been receiving treatment at the Ojai Raptor Center since mid-July when she was found weak and unable to fly after a scuffle with two younger eagles. Experts at the center had discovered that she was suffering from severe anemia, and suspected she had been sick for weeks before the fight grounded her. Continue reading...

Congresswoman demands answers after a DHS agent was apparently stationed outside her Minnesota town hallDonald Trump's administration is facing questions over whether it is using Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to surveil political opponents" after after an investigative agent was apparently stationed outside Democratic representative Ilhan Omar's monthly town hall meeting in Richfield, Minnesota.After the incident, Omar demanded the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) clarify whether Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents have been used to monitor any other activity" involving local, state, or federal officials" in the state. Continue reading...

Incidents of damaged trees at Burnt Cedar beach have been reported since 2022 and seem to be linked, officials sayPine trees near Lake Tahoe are being poisoned in what authorities believe are a series of interconnected incidents in the popular tourist community on border of Nevada and California.The incidents have damaged nearly 30 trees, some reportedly more than a century old, and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses. Continue reading...

Loyalist sworn in after Senate voted narrowly in favor of his confirmation on Saturday morningTodd Blanche has been sworn as US attorney general, cementing Donald Trump's installation of his former personal attorney in charge of the Department of Justice.Blanche, who has been serving as acting attorney general since April, was confirmed in his new position during a ceremony at the White House on Monday. The 52-year-old is the second Senate-confirmed attorney general of Trump's second term, after Pam Bondi, who was ousted earlier this year. Continue reading...

Scientists have made clear that the elevated heat in the US was being amplified by the human-caused climate crisisJuly was the hottest month ever recorded in the US, with repeated, scorching heatwaves across much of the country helping shatter all previous monthly temperature records stretching back over the full 132 years of reliable measurements.Last month's average temperature was 3.3F (1.8C) higher than the 20th century average for the contiguous United States, which excludes Alaska and Hawaii, according to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa). Continue reading...

Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has no interest in agreeing to a deal. For relief to come to Gaza, real US pressure must be exertedAt the end of July, Donald Trump announced that a monumental" US-backed deal had been struck on Gaza, securing the phased disarmament of Hamas in parallel with Israeli military withdrawal. Three days later it was reported that another 18 people had died in Israeli airstrikes. Not for the first time, it appeared that Mr Trump's rhetoric had only a distant relationship with the reality it purported to describe.Such suspicions were duly confirmed yesterday. Under pressure from far-right members of his coalition, Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, explicitly rejected the sequencing of a 15-point plan from the increasingly hapless Board of Peace - an international body set up by the US president - and poured scorn on a wave of rumours of ... Israeli withdrawals on all fronts". In a direct message to the White House, MrNetanyahu stated that we know how to stand our ground, even against our best friends when necessary."Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Move closes loophole but doesn't include definition of ultra-processed foods, promised earlier this yearThe US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is changing its rules on how food manufacturers notify them of ingredients brought to the market - but the Trump administration has once again punted on defining ultra-processed foods", promising more details later.While the move would close a regulatory loophole, it falls short of the administration's promises to reform food regulations dramatically even as one of the biggest foodborne illness outbreaks unfolds. Continue reading...

US president on Truth Social concedes contractor had cut some corners to finish $14m renovation project by deadlineDonald Trump has conceded his own administration's renovation of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool was rushed and shoddy, while insisting that alleged vandals were to blame for damage to the Washington landmark.In a post on his Truth Social platform, the US president said the pool's contractor had cut some corners to finish the $14m repainting project in time for a 4 July opening. As with many jobs, there was also some contractor error done by rushing the job," he wrote on Sunday, claiming the resulting damage from this was confined to a very small area" and relatively inconsequential". Continue reading...

Opponents fear Elon Musk firm's plan to develop 18-mile strip of Pecan Island will badly damage fragile ecosystemPlans by Elon Musk's SpaceX to build a vast rocket launch site on a stretch of Louisiana's rapidly eroding coastline have stirred a backlash among some local opponents who fear it will badly damage the area's fragile ecosystem.A deal for SpaceX to take control of 130,000 acres of coastal Vermilion parish is reported to be close to being finalized, allowing the company to escalate its number of launches, including of its new Starship mega rocket. SpaceX also has ambitions to deploy artificial intelligence datacenters in space, and while some experts have doubts about this, it has submitted regulatory filings to build a constellation of up to a million of them. Continue reading...