US news | The Guardian

The former tech entrepreneur joins a sprawling but stagnant field to succeed Gavin NewsomMatt Mahan, the centrist Democrat and mayor of San Jose, announced on Thursday that he would run for governor of California, joining a sprawling but stagnant field to succeed Gavin Newsom.Mahan, 43, is a former tech entrepreneur who was first elected mayor of Silicon Valley's largest city in 2022. Continue reading...

Tom Homan acknowledges immigration enforcement needs certain improvements', without offering any details

Anthony Kazmierczak faces federal assault charges after he appeared to spray the congresswoman with liquid from a syringeThe Department of Justice has filed federal charges against the man accused of attacking Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar at a town hall in Minneapolis on Tuesday. In newly filed court documents, a close associate" told investigators that the alleged attacker previously said that someone should kill" the Minnesota lawmaker.Local police arrested and booked Anthony James Kazmierczak, 55, for third-degree assault after he appeared to spray Omar with an acidic-smelling liquid from a syringe as she addressed constituents from a lectern. Continue reading...

Lawmaker from Estonia says photo celebrates the greatest war criminal of the 21st century'Donald Trump has apparently added a framed photo of himself standing with Vladimir Putin to the White House decor, prompting criticism from a senator, members of the media and beyond.Newly surfaced photos from the Palm Room, which connects the West Wing to the executive residence, show a framed image of the US president and the Russian president at their summit in Alaska last August. Notably, that event marked the first in-person meeting between US and Russian leaders since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022. The meeting drew complaints from Democrats who accused him of cozying up" to Putin, and rolling out the red carpet" for the Russian leader instead of standing with Ukraine and our allies". Continue reading...

Protesters need support following the bloody crackdown by a zombie' regime - not wild threats or worse from the US presidentThe brutality of Iran's crackdown on protesters is almost unfathomable. Despite the authorities cutting off communications and destroying evidence, it is clear that a regime never reluctant to shed its citizens' blood has done so with unprecedented zeal, sensing an unprecedented threat from unrest across the country, challenging not only its policies but its very existence.Officials have reported 3,000 deaths, but human rights groups have tallied many more, and a network of medical professionals has estimated that 30,000 could have been killed. Security forces shot people dead as they fled a fire and are arresting doctors for helping the wounded. Continue reading...

International sporting events don't often see teams refuse to participate for a cause - but when it's happened, it hasn't been effectiveIt was probably fitting that the first call from someone with genuine power should emanate from Germany, long one of soccer's moral centers. The time has definitely come," German soccer federation vice-president Oke Gottlich told the Hamburger Morgenpost, to seriously consider and discuss" a boycott of the 2026 World Cup.What were the justifications for the boycotts of the Olympic Games in the 1980s?" added Gottlich, who is also the president of FC St. Pauli, Hamburg's earnestly countercultural club. By my reckoning, the potential threat is greater now than it was then. We need to have this discussion." Continue reading...

Alberta activists' covert meetings with US officials revealed, outlining group's increasingly emboldened effortsCovert meetings between separatist activists in the Canadian province of Alberta and members of Donald Trump's administration amount to treason", the premier of British Columbia said on Thursday.To go to a foreign country and to ask for assistance in breaking up Canada, there's an old-fashioned word for that - and that word is treason," David Eby told reporters. Continue reading...

Donald Trump says time is running out' for Iran as the threat of war appears to loom closer. A huge US armada is being moved towards the country and is seen as the starkest indication yet that Trump intends to strike. The US president had called on the Iranian regime to negotiate a deal on the future of its nuclear programme, only weeks after he promised Iranian protesters help was on the way' before backtracking days later. Nosheen Iqbal talks to the Guardian's deputy head of international news, Devika Bhat, about what Trump could do next Continue reading...

Hundreds of actions are set to take place across the country on 30 and 31 January to protest against ICE violenceA strike and hundreds of protests are set to take place across the country on 30 and 31 January, as grassroots organizers take action against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in their communities.After the deaths of at least eight people in connection to ICE since the start of the year - including the high-profile killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis - activists are demanding the permanent removal of ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from towns and cities across the US. Continue reading...

Sean Grayson receives maximum possible sentence for second-degree murder conviction in 2024 fatal shootingA former Illinois sheriff's deputy was sentenced on Thursday to 20 years in prison for fatally shooting Sonya Massey, who had dialed 911 to report a possible prowler outside her Springfield home.Sean Grayson, 31, was convicted in October. Grayson, who is white, received the maximum possible sentence. He has been incarcerated since he was charged in the killing. Continue reading...

The departure of Greg Bovino has not quelled ICE's raids - and hope that tensions are easing feels distantWhen the belligerent border patrol official Gregory Bovino finally left the Twin Cities this week, there was hope that the tension in the region would dissipate. But in the wake of the deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, residents say they are still dealing with immigration raids and threats to their safety - and fear the shock waves will be felt for a very long time.In St Paul, city council member Molly Coleman is still taking shifts to watch for ICE agents at her son's daycare. People are really guarding against false optimism," she said. I don't think anybody in Minnesota is under any illusions that we are suddenly safer than we were this time last week - that constitutional observers are safer, that immigrants are safer, that anybody who looks brown or Black on the streets is safer." Continue reading...

The future Hall of Famer was given a warm welcome against the team where he began his career. But Wednesday's game felt particularly poignantA 60-second tribute video honoring LeBron James has become routine over the past eight years whenever he returns to Cleveland, the city where his NBA journey began.But Wednesday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse was different - and it felt that way long before James's Los Angeles Lakers fell, 129-99 to the Cavaliers in a nationally televised game. Continue reading...

Despite an estimated outlay of $6bn since 2022, LIV appears to be far away from establishing itself in the the manner of PIF projects in other sportsIn one sense, it is difficult to detect anything warm and cuddly in all of this. Elite golfers, who were already obscenely rich, take the bounty on offer from a Saudi Arabian-backed disruption model before shuffling back whence they came - essentially for a trivial penalty - when the novelty wears off. This is hardly sport at its purest. Instead, an admission by Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed that they blundered in believing the fairways were greener on the LIV side. The PGA Tour, desperate to portray itself as the big boy in the playground, welcomes one-time pariahs back with open arms. Other golfers who spurned LIV's fluttering eyelashes scratch their heads, wondering why they bothered.There is, however, an underlying and endearing point. All the petroleum pounds in the world are no substitute for legacy. Trying to match the achievements of Arnold Palmer, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy carries significance. LIV golf has no relevance beyond its own domain. Saudi Arabia has made inroads into various sports but, in golf, the kingdom is unquestionably doomed. LIV is on the road towards oblivion, far earlier than most had anticipated. Only those who will gain financially from its continuation can try to spin an alternative story. Continue reading...

Kevin Couch says he resigned yesterday', amid recent turmoil following a leadership overhaul initiated by TrumpThe newly appointed senior vice-president of artistic programming at Washington DC's John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Kevin Couch, has resigned less than two weeks after his hiring was announced.Couch confirmed he resigned yesterday" in a statement to the Guardian on Thursday. Continue reading...

Alvaro Arbeloa's team have concerns as they look ahead to the knockout stages, while Jamie Carragher has concerns about the drawIt was billed by broadcasters as Matchday Mayhem". Finally, after 17 of the 18 final day matches had finished, came a chaotic denouement. Not even Jose Mourinho's long Champions League heritage had included a moment like this, though his wild celebration was familiar. Benfica were beating Real Madrid 3-2, and Mourinho's former club were already dropping out of the top eight. I was told [the scoreline] is enough, so let's close the door," said Mourinho. Continue reading...

A unit of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will join a US delegation to the Winter Olympics in Italy, sparking confusion and uproar in the country.Guardian reporter Jakub Krupa looks at what role the agency, which is embroiled in a violent US immigration crackdown, might have at the Milan-Cortina Games.ICE said agents would 'vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organisations' but not run enforcement operations.Milan's mayor, Giuseppe Sala, said the the agents would be unwelcome in the city. 'This is a militia that kills,' he said Continue reading...

Senator says she is running for every Minnesotan who wants ICE and its abusive tactics out of the state we love'Amy Klobuchar, the Democratic US senator and one-time presidential candidate, announced she will run for governor of Minnesota, an expected move after the incumbent governor, Tim Walz, dropped out of the race in early January.Klobuchar's announcement comes less than 24 hours after Walz said that he would never run for public office again. Continue reading...

Dr Mark Hyman, who claimed he reduced his biological age by 20 years, brought on as a contributorAmong the new hires at CBS announced by Bari Weiss is a doctor who has claimed that he has reduced his biological age by 20 years with therapies including cold plunges; that cod liver oil can treat autism and that conditions like Alzheimer's and dementia can be reversed with the kind of nutritional supplements he also sells on his online store.Dr Mark Hyman, who has been called a germ theory denialist" by medical author Harriet Hall, and has been brought on as a contributor in Weiss's revamping of CBS's news division. He is perhaps the most prominent exponent of so-called functional medicine" (FM), an alternative medicine that oncological surgeon David Gorski has described as pure quackery". Continue reading...

Aryna Sabalennka, twice Australian Open champion, walloped Elina Svitolina, then Elena Rybakina saw off Jess Pegula to set up a repeat of the 2023 finalSabalenka to serve, ready ... play.You can't argue with Svitolina's run to the last four. She's beaten Shnaider, Andreeva and Gauff - who, admittedly, had her absolute worst day - without losing a set, won in Auckland before that, and won't ever have felt better about her game. I'm excited to see what her plan is, because we can be sure she'll have one. Continue reading...

Mayor was a highly visible presence during icy blizzard and, unlike some of his predecessors, seemed to get things rightWinter storms have historically been a landmine for New York City's mayors, with every inch of snow bringing the potential for public criticism over unglamorous issues such as plow deployment and salt distribution.There's a long history of experienced mayors getting it wrong. But Zohran Mamdani, the newly elected New York City leader, appears to have passed his first test with flying colors. Continue reading...

Death of Kristen Galvan, who had disappeared at age 15, was confirmed after DNA matched with remains found in 2020Kristen Galvan, a teen girl who went missing after being sex-trafficked in 2020, has been confirmed to have been murdered.Galvan's death was determined through a recent DNA testing of partial remains of a girl found under a bridge in Missouri City, Texas, three weeks after she disappeared at age 15, said Robyn Cory, her mother. Continue reading...

In the winter of despair, it was a day of the vile and a night of the obsceneIt was the worst of times and then even worse; it was the age of lies and then more lies; it was an epoch of preening and cowardice. In the winter of despair, it was a day of the vile and a night of the obscene. It was a tale of two films, one featuring the stark killing of a protester on a cold Minneapolis street and the other starring Melania Trump striking poses in a documentary" shown at a private screening at the White House.Throughout the day of Saturday, 24 January, videos of the killing by ICE agents of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse at the Veterans Administration hospital, on a street in Minneapolis were broadcast endlessly on TV news channels and seen by tens of millions online. The videos clearly showed Pretti with his phone in his hand, holding his hands up as he approached ICE agents who had pepper-sprayed a woman. He was coming to her aid, a Good Samaritan. The ICE agents instantly attacked him. One frame of a video shows one agent with his gun drawn, pointed at Pretti's back as he fell hands still in the air. Agents appear to have shot him 10 times in five seconds. Continue reading...

With the year's first games out of the way, open questions remain for Emma Hayes' side in each positionThe first international window of 2026 has come and gone for the US women's national team - though you'd be forgiven if it felt like a continuation of a familiar, looping theme.Once again, Emma Hayes used the window to examine fresh faces among her incredibly deep player pool. Even considering the constant shuffling under Hayes after the 2024 Olympics, this was an especially experimental squad. Per the federation, the lineup for Saturday's 6-0 thrashing of Paraguay featured the fewest average caps for a starting 11 (9.6) in a quarter of a century. On Tuesday, that record was broken again: a 5.2 cap average across the lineup. Continue reading...

As senators refuse to fund Trump's immigration crackdown, a partial shutdown is likely. For Democrats, it's the right moveShut it down!It took not one but two killings of unarmed white American citizens by immigration enforcement agents for the Democrats to commit to withholding funds from the Department of Homeland Security, the agency of which Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the border patrol - the killers - are part. Continue reading...

People who knew Pretti describe him as generous with his time' and denounce the Trump administration's assessment of himTravis Vanden Heuvel had been following the recent news out of Minnesota for weeks. On Saturday morning, like many others, he saw video clips of the second fatal shooting by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis this month.But the story became personal later that day. That afternoon, Vanden Heuvel's former choir director reached out to tell him that the man who had been shot was Alex Pretti - a childhood friend with whom he had been in choir. Continue reading...

While the desperation to keep Trinity Rodman is understandable, tweaking the salary cap could be a big mistakePerhaps it was all worth it in the end. As a tearful Trinity Rodman signs the most lucrative contract in the history of women's football - flanked by the Washington Spirit owner, Michele Kang, and a young fan called Emma in pink braids - the internet is already burning white hot. The podcasters will feast for days. After months of bungling US soccer finally has its money shot and, in more ways than one, the numbers are going to be stratospheric.But then Rodman has always been an effortless creator of content: a true footballer for the TikTok generation. From the spectacular strikes to the famous Trin Spin, from the vivid streaks in her hair to the viral goal celebrations, Rodman's ability to convey the joy of the game in snackable morsels is the root of her appeal. Aged 23 she already has an Olympic gold medal and 49 international caps, to which she can now add a 1.5m-a-year deal and her very own rule. Continue reading...

Ahead of his blockbuster Madison Square Garden clash with Shakur Stevenson on Saturday night, boxing's most mercurial star reflects on pressure, purpose and parenthoodTeofimo Lopez's boxing career has unfolded in untidy extremes, and few places have captured those contradictions like Madison Square Garden. It's the building where he boat-raced Richard Commey inside two rounds to win his first world title aged 22, saw his fast track to superstardom abruptly derailed as a heavy favorite, then returned two years later to dismantle Josh Taylor as the underdog and stamp himself as a two-division champion. Now on Saturday night, when he defends his junior welterweight title against Shakur Stevenson in a clash of arguably the two best American fighters active today, the Garden may finally make it clear which version of Lopez is here to stay.It's the magnitude of it all," says Lopez, one of boxing's most charismatic and mercurial personalities, filling my screen with warmth and effortless third-person bravado during the final days of his training camp in Hollywood, Florida. Who's going to really set the tone for the sport? You've got Shakur Stevenson, who wants that baton, and you've got Teofimo Lopez who believes he's the better representation for boxing." Continue reading...

After months of community resistance, the president backed down. Leadership from below succeeded when politics as usual failedFor most politicians and journalists, the answer to nearly every question is to look up. Not at the moon, the stars or even the chimney tops, but at their leaders: the people who sit atop institutions, wield power and set the line that others follow. The top of the totem pole is the sole focal point, and the stories that count usually come from the heights of power.Bend your neck back far enough and Davos becomes not a talking shop in a Swiss ski resort, but a gathering of world leaders; Keir Starmer flying into Beijing is a summit of great powers; even who should be the MP for Gorton and Denton is really all about the Labour leadership. For this piece, the Guardian's research librarians counted how many times the words leader" or leadership" appeared across the British press. Over the past week alone, the rough total stands at 2,000. A third of those stories concern one man: Donald Trump.Aditya Chakrabortty is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Three newly discovered videos show the Minneapolis ICU nurse being tackled by federal agents in a prior confrontation

After saying the US would attack if protesters were harmed, the president appears now to be tying the threat of airstrikes to Iran's nuclear programmeDonald Trump has warned that Iran must come to the table to negotiate a deal over its nuclear programme or face the possibility of airstrikes and regime change, capping off a month of bellicose posturing and whiplash inducing u-turns from the US president.The US president's demands threaten to open a new chapter in America's long and tumultuous relationship with Iran, which in just over a decade has seen rapprochement, broken deals, targeted assassinations and unprecedented airstrikes. Continue reading...

This blog has now closed. Read our latest story hereTwo federal officers fired their guns during the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, according to an initial review by the Department of Homeland Security that was obtained by NBC News.Three sources told NBC News that the preliminary report, from a Customs and Border Protection internal investigation led by the agency's Office of Professional Responsibility, was sent to congressional committees yesterday, including the House homeland security and judiciary committees. Continue reading...

Ruling follows arrests under DHS re-vetting' operation of more than 100 refugees who had been lawfully resettledA federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from detaining refugees in Minnesota, following a spate of arrests in the state.More than 100 refugees who had lawfully resettled in the state had been arrested in recent weeks, according to attorneys and advocacy groups. Some were flown to detention centers in Texas, according to attorneys representing the cases, and then were abruptly released - and left to find and pay their own way back home. Continue reading...

County spokesperson says warrant seeks number of 2020 election records while FBI declines to give further detailsThe FBI executed a search warrant at the election office in Fulton county, Georgia, on Wednesday for records related to the 2020 election, according to a spokesperson for the county and the FBI.The warrant sought all ballots from the 2020 election in Fulton county, tabulator tapes, ballot images and voter rolls, according to a warrant obtained by the Guardian. Continue reading...

US president tells Tehran that time is running out to make a deal on future of nuclear program - key US politics stories from 28 January 2026President Trump has again raised the spectre of military intervention in Iran, warning the country to Come to the Table" and quickly negotiate a deal.Noting that time was running out, Trump threatened that if an agreement could not be reached: The next attack will be far worse! Don't make that happen again." Continue reading...

Move sets up clash with Republicans that could see government partially shut down in coming daysChuck Schumer, the Senate's top Democrat, on Wednesday demanded that legislation funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) include a ban on wearing masks and other reforms aimed at federal agents involved in immigration enforcement, setting up a clash with Republicans that could see the government partially shut down in the coming days.Congress is racing to head off a lapse in federal funding from beginning after Friday, and the Senate's Republican leaders plan to hold a key procedural vote on Thursday on the DHS funding measure and five bills that authorize spending by several other government departments. Continue reading...

Tennessee officials report eight deaths as forecasters say another potentially major winter storm could hit east coastDozens of weather-related fatalities have been confirmed since the start of the powerful winter storm that swept across much of the US in recent days, with current estimates being as high as 60 so far.Tennessee officials have reported eight deaths as forecasters are now monitoring another potentially significant winter storm that could hit parts of the east coast this weekend. Continue reading...

Fallout from second fatal shooting amid immigration operation in city dogs White House, though raids continueThe two agents who fatally shot a man in Minneapolis over the weekend have been on administrative leave since Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Wednesday, as Donald Trump tried to quell the backlash even while immigration raids in the city continued.The move, which the DHS emphasized is standard protocol when agents are involved in fatal shootings, comes as the president suggested he would de-escalate" his immigration enforcement crackdown in the state, but without offering details or whether tactics would change. Continue reading...

Demonstrations will be held across the US against ICE's reign of terror with flagship event in Twin CitiesA third No Kings protest will be held on 28 March, organizers announced on Wednesday. Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, one of the groups coordinating No Kings, said that he expected it to be the biggest protest in American history".Protests will be held nationwide, with a flagship event in Minnesota's Twin Cities - Minneapolis and Saint Paul - where this month federal immigration agents killed two residents, Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, amid their escalated operations in the region. Continue reading...

Action comes amid federal agencies' campaign in the city, prompting an official complaint to US embassy in QuitoAn Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent attempted to enter Ecuador's consulate in Minneapolis, but was turned back by an employee, prompting an official complaint to the US embassy in Quito, the country's foreign ministry said.The Tuesday incident came as ICE and other federal agencies continue their aggressive campaign of arresting people in Minnesota's largest city suspected of being in the United States illegally, despite outrage over the deaths of two US citizens in the operation dubbed Metro Surge". Continue reading...

Fed voted to pause cuts to interest rate, which currently sits between 3.5% and 3.75%, after slashing it three times in fallThe US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged after its first rate-setting meeting of the year on Wednesday, resisting enormous pressure from the White House to lower rates.A majority of members in the Fed's federal open market committee (FOMC) voted to pause interest rate cuts after slashing rates three times in the fall. Rates currently sit at a range of 3.5% to 3.75%. Continue reading...

Local officials confirmed that ICE will conduct immigration operations during 8 February game in Santa ClaraUS Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) agents are expected to conduct immigration enforcement operations during next month's Super Bowl game in Santa Clara, California.Local officials confirmed to media that ICE is expected to deploy for the game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. ICE's Homeland Security Investigations team has long worked the Super Bowl and other major sporting events, largely focused on preventing human trafficking and stopping the sale of counterfeit goods, but immigration operations would be unusual. Continue reading...

Video filmed from inside Ecuador's consulate in Minneapolis shows an ICE agent trying to enter the building but being prevented by consulate staffers, according to the country's foreign ministry. Reuters confirmed the location as the Ecuadorian consulate in Minneapolis, from the doors, windows, walls, ceiling fixtures and building across the street that are seen in the video which matched file imagery of the consulate and the area. The date was verified by Ecuador's ministry of foreign affairs that said an ICE agent attempted to enter the consulate's facilities in Minneapolis on Tuesday 27 January.

US president says armada heading towards Iran is prepared to fulfil its missions with violence if necessary'The threat of war between the US and Iran appeared to loom closer after Donald Trump told Tehran time was running out and that a huge US armada was moving quickly towards the country with great power, enthusiasm and purpose".Writing on social media, the US president said on Wednesday that the fleet headed by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was larger than the one sent to Venezuela before the removal of Nicolas Maduro earlier this month and was prepared to rapidly fulfil its missions with speed and violence if necessary". Continue reading...

Singer says song is in response to state terror' visiting city, painting image of unrest due to King Trump's private army'Bruce Springsteen has released a new song dedicated to Minnesota's largest city as a response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis" and the recent killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by ICE agents in the city.In a message shared on social media, Springsteen explained: I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It's dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Stay free." Continue reading...

Secretary of state says administration does not intend to take such action but Trump does reserve the option'Marco Rubio has declined to rule out future US military action in Venezuela but insisted the Trump administration did not intend to take such steps, as he faced questions from lawmakers over Washington's unprecedented intervention.The US secretary of state appeared before the Senate foreign relations committee on Wednesday to defend the removal of Nicolas Maduro, which has left Venezuela under the control of interim president Delcy Rodriguez while the US seizes and sells its oil. Continue reading...