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Updated 2025-12-18 14:30
Trump administration announces arms sales worth about $11bn to Taiwan as China condemns move – US politics live
Beijing says arms sales heightens risk of military confrontation and war' in Taiwan Strait; if approved by Congress, sale would be would be largest-ever American weapons package for TaiwanDemocratic lawmakers will release more photographs from evidence gathered from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein if the Department of Justice fails to meet the Friday deadline to disclose investigative documents, Congressman Robert Garcia (D-Ca.) told CNN yesterday.Speaking to Erin Burnett, Garcia said a petition to the federal court by Ghislaine Maxwell - Epstein's convicted accomplice - to have her conviction on sex trafficking charges thrown out and to obtain a pardon do not trigger an exemption to the law Congress passed mandating a release of documents by the DoJ. Continue reading...
Inside DoJ’s controversial prosecution of a Texas ‘antifa cell’ charged with terrorism
DoJ says a group of protesters at an ICE detention center was part of a terror cell; legal experts say it is an effort to crack down on leftwing groups and deter protestersAfter the assassination of Charlie Kirk in September, Donald Trump and others pledged a no-holds barred crackdown on leftwing activists.We have radical left lunatics out there and we just have to beat the hell out of them," Trump said after Kirk's shooting. Top White House officials, including JD Vance and Stephen Miller, repeatedly publicly vowed that a crackdown was coming. In particular, the government focused on Antifa." short for antifascist, is not an organization but rather an ideology that broadly describes a variety of left-leaning beliefs. Continue reading...
Whistles, Signal and school patrols: how ordinary Americans are fighting back against ICE
As Trump carries out his mass deportation operation, residents are banding together to block raids and distribute groceriesA year into his second term, Donald Trump's pledge to stage the largest deportation operation in American history" has already made an indelible mark on the nation.Nearly 300,000 people have been deported, and a record 65,000 people are being held in detention centers. Aggressive raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, sometimes with the backing of federalized national guard units, have terrorized immigrant communities from Charlotte to Chicago, New Orleans to New York. Enabled by a supreme court ruling that effectively legalized racial profiling", immigration enforcement has separated families, forced targeted individuals to miss work, school and doctors appointments, and caused communities to cancel festivals and gatherings. Continue reading...
US prices continued to rise despite Trump claims they are ‘rapidly’ falling
Longest federal government shutdown meant data was only collected for second half of NovemberUS prices rose 2.7% in the year to November, according to federal data released a day after Donald Trump claimed they were falling very fast" on his watch.The latest consumer price index, released on Wednesday morning, was down from 3% in September, and short of economists' expectations of about 3.1% for last month. Continue reading...
Analysis: how prices for the cheapest World Cup tickets have rocketed
A Guardian study of past ticket prices for the men's World Cup, compared with current 2026 figures, shows how the barrier for entry has been raised for most fansIn the past, a fan's ability to attend a World Cup hosted in their nation hinged more on bid books than their checkbooks. For 2026 in the US, Mexico and Canada, even the least expensive tickets are a luxury commodity by comparison.An analysis by the Guardian of men's World Cup ticket pricing shows that amid the general rise in ticket prices for the 2026 World Cup, the most extreme of those hikes have often applied to the cheapest tickets. The analysis is based on official Fifa pricing dating back to 1994, with more robust data available starting in 2006. Prices for 2026 games are accurate as of 16 December 2025, and do not include the 1.6% of sellable tickets for each game that Fifa recently made available for a fixed $60 price. Continue reading...
This Christmas, let’s ban the world’s most miserable gift-giving game | Dave Schilling
White elephant parties - in which people are invited to steal each other's gifts - are the last thing we need right nowHappy forced frivolity season! We have once again arrived at the eye of the storm for the holidays, where cheerfulness is mandatory and lack of goodwill towards people is punishable by stoning in the town square. Surely, I don't have to tell you that such quaint human emotions as happiness" and hope" are in short supply these days. This year, of all years, no one should be blamed for plugging their ears any time Mariah Carey comes on in the lobby of the unemployment office. And yet, we carry on with the rituals of joy that seem more and more incongruous, when life feels like some never-ending episode of MTV's Ridiculousness, where God comments on clips of the human race getting hit in the face with a plastic baseball bat.I'm certainly making an effort to put on a pleasant facade. I've cobbled together some nice gifts for my friends and family. I say hello to strangers, even the ones that look like they might want to deny me my basic rights as outlined in the US constitution. And I say yes to just about every holiday party invite - save for one massive exception.Dave Schilling is a Los Angeles-based writer and humorist Continue reading...
The World Cup is about places and people. In Seattle, it should be about Pride | Leander Schaerlaeckens
The US host city's resolve in maintaining its Pride Match' should be commended as exactly the sort of thing this tournament is forThere are two World Cups. The product, marketed and monetized for all it will yield, and the experience.Only one of those is the real thing. And in one case, it's holding strong. In Seattle, the local organizing committee long ago designated the 26 June game slated for Lumen Field as the Pride Match" to mark the city's LGBTQ+ pride weekend celebration. Continue reading...
CDC officials urge US flu vaccination after record child deaths last year
Americans told time to get vaccinated is now' as concerning mutation of influenza virus circulates in USOfficials are urging doctors to vaccinate their patients and provide flu antivirals after deaths among children reached record highs and as a concerning mutation of the virus circulates in the US.Influenza activity is increasing in the US. The time to get vaccinated for this season is now," Timothy Uyeki, the chief medical officer of the influenza division at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said in a call with clinicians last week. Continue reading...
Deadline nears for release of Epstein files – what we know so far
Justice department must release most documents by Friday, and failure to do so would provoke a firestormIn less than 48 hours, Donald Trump's justice department must release most of the files related to Jeffrey Epstein in its possession. Last month, Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required the release of those materials by 19 December, except in narrow cases where they would jeopardize current investigations, harm national security or foreign policy goals, or reveal information about Epstein's victims.Since Trump signed the legislation, his administration has been silent on its progress. Earlier this month, a bipartisan group of lawmakers asked Pam Bondi, the attorney general, for a briefing on the department of justice's progress, but she did not provide one. Two Democratic senators among that group subsequently pledged to block some civilian nominees, because they were concerned the administration is gearing up to disregard the law we led the fight in the Senate to pass, which overwhelmingly passed both chambers of Congress". Continue reading...
This student group agrees US universities are too elitist – but aims to transform, not destroy them
Class Action, a grassroots network formed after the affirmative action ruling, seeks to be critical of universities in their current formLast spring, as the Trump administration was freezing billions in federal research funding for universities and threatening the visas of thousands of international students, Emily Hettinger, a senior at Yale, joined a campus protest in defense of higher education.It was a strange place to be for Hettinger, who had been growing disillusioned with Yale over what she saw as its elitism and disinterest in the disadvantaged community surrounding its Connecticut campus. I remember feeling this sort of dissonance," Hettinger said. I wanted to defend higher education, but I didn't want to defend it in its current form." Continue reading...
‘We wanted to take action’: US toy company fights back over Trump tariffs
Learning Resources is suing the administration, claiming the president's tariffs are illegal - and millions of dollars are on the lineThe conveyors whir in the massive warehouse, boxes gliding at fast clip, filling up with toys ready to be shipped out for holiday gifts across the country. They make their way to shipping trucks, nearly full with hundreds of boxes by the afternoon of a recent Thursday.The 364,000 sq ft warehouse in the suburbs outside Chicago is just one of Learning Resources' investments in the US. The company and its affiliated brands employ more than 500 people. They make about 2,000 different products, mostly educational toys such as children's binoculars, cash registers and learning games. Continue reading...
First Thing: US military announces strike on Pacific boat that kills four, taking death toll to 99 people
UN condemns strikes as extrajudicial executions. Plus, Trump's end-of-year Bah! Humbug!' addressGood morning.The US military has carried out another lethal strike on a vessel it claimed was engaged in drug trafficking in the eastern Pacific, according to the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth.How do human rights groups view the airstrikes? The UN, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have described them as extrajudicial executions. The family of one man killed in a bombing, from Colombia, have filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, alleging that he was killed unlawfully on 15 September.What did the speech tell us? This was not an address by a self-confident man dishing out Christmas presents to the nation," Smith wrote. It smacked of desperation from one who can feel the December windchill of opinion polls - a Reuters/ Ipsos poll on Tuesday showed just 33% of US adults approve of how Trump has handled the economy." Continue reading...
Waterstones and Barnes & Noble owner looks to list booksellers on stock market
US hedge fund Elliott thought to prefer IPO in London over New York, which could be welcome boost to UK stock market
How many big names have paid the price for being linked to Jeffrey Epstein? Fewer than you might think | Emma Brockes
Remarkably, most of the men connected to the convicted sex offender have barely experienced any fallout. That says as much as the scandal itselfA couple of weeks ago, the annual DealBook Summit got under way in New York. It's a series of public talks billed as conversations with the world's most consequential people", and is part of that circuit of live events in which the worst people on Earth gather on stage to address the second-worst people on Earth, their paying audience. Hosted by Andrew Ross Sorkin, the conference was a characteristically starry affair, but in a lineup that included Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and changemaker" Halle Berry, it was Ehud Barak, the former prime minister of Israel and a former associate of Jeffrey Epstein, who really caught the eye.My first thought about Barak's appearance was: Larry Summers must be spitting. Summers, the former president of Harvard and another Epstein associate, was very much not on stage at the DealBook Summit, nor is he anywhere else in polite society right now. One can only imagine how bitter he must be feeling about the variance in fortunes of the men - and occasional woman - with known connections to Epstein. Of this list, two are dead (Marvin Minsky and Jean-Luc Brunel), one is in jail (Ghislaine Maxwell) and one has lost his house, his title and his invitation to the family Christmas (Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor). But for the rest of the prominent associates, email correspondents, birthday-card signatories, grant recipients and dinner companions of the late convicted paedophile - all of whom insist that, while in Epstein's orbit, they remained in total ignorance as to the man's true nature - the cancellation fairy's aim has been predictably inconsistent and wide.Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnistDo 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...
Trump’s ‘Bah! Humbug!’ address suggests he is feeling the chill of opinion polls
Primetime speech - delivered with shouty spirit but no cheer - betrayed a figure dogged by a cost of living crisis and the looming release of the Epstein filesIt will go down in history as the Bah! Humbug!" address.Surrounded by Christmas trees and garlands before a fireplace, Donald Trump on Wednesday gave a convincing rendition of Ebenezer Scrooge, the elderly miser who despises Christmas and blames everyone but himself. Continue reading...
US strike on alleged drug boat in Pacific kills four, as Trump accuses Venezuela of taking ‘our oil’
The announcement from Pete Hegseth comes a day after Trump issued a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving VenezuelaThe US military carried out a lethal strike on a vessel it said was engaged in drug trafficking in the eastern Pacific, according to defense secretary Pete Hegseth, as Trump further ratcheted up pressure on Venezuela, accusing the country of taking US oil.On Wednesday Hegseth said the lethal kinetic strike" on a vessel engaged in narco-trafficking operations" had killed four people. The latest strike in the Pacific brings the death toll to 99 since the US began its campaign of striking alleged drug-trafficking boats in September. Continue reading...
Peter Arnett, Pulitzer prize-winner who reported on Vietnam and Gulf wars, dies aged 91
Arnett won 1966 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting for his Vietnam War coverage for the Associated PressPeter Arnett, the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who spent decades dodging bullets and bombs to bring the world eyewitness accounts of war from the rice paddies of Vietnam to the deserts of Iraq, has died at 91.Arnett, who won the 1966 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting for his Vietnam War coverage for the Associated Press, died on Wednesday in Newport Beach, California, and was surrounded by friends and family, said his son Andrew Arnett. He had entered hospice on Saturday while suffering from prostate cancer. Continue reading...
US military says it carried out lethal strike on vessel in Pacific, killing four, as Trump addresses country – as it happened
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US government admits negligence in helicopter-plane collision that killed 67
Official response to lawsuit filed by victims' relatives admits FAA and army failures played role in Washington DC crashThe US government admitted Wednesday that the Federal Aviation Administration and the army played a role in causing the collision in January between an airliner and a Black Hawk helicopter near the nation's capital, killing 67 people in the deadliest crash on American soil in more than two decades.The official response to the first lawsuit filed by one of the victims' families said that the government is liable in the crash partly because the air traffic controller violated procedures about when to rely on pilots to maintain visual separation that night. Plus, the filing said, the army helicopter pilots' failure to maintain vigilance so as to see and avoid" the airline jet makes the government liable. Continue reading...
Trump news at a glance: Dan Bongino ‘wants to go back to his show’ says president, as deputy FBI director resigns
Bongino, a former Secret Service agent turned podcaster, will step down in January. Key US politics stories from Wednesday 17 December at a glanceThe FBI deputy director, Dan Bongino, confirmed on Wednesday that he is stepping down in January.In a statement posted on social media, Bongino thanked Donald Trump, FBI director Kash Patel, and Pam Bondi, the attorney general he reportedly clashed with over her decision not to release files from the federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Continue reading...
Health workers decry hasty House bills to ban gender-affirming care for children: ‘They hurt people’
Two bills, one passing House, mark first time Congress votes over national care bans and escalation of anti-trans rhetoricNicholas Mitchell took a deep breath and reached for the door handle. He never knew what to expect inside. Sometimes, the staffers for US House representatives were friendly; sometimes, he'd heard, they tore up their copies of the informational sheets Mitchell carried on a clipboard.This time, they were receptive. A policy aide for a Democratic representative said he had five minutes to talk, and Mitchell didn't waste any time as they settled into a conference room. Continue reading...
FBI deputy director Dan Bongino to step down in January
Former podcaster Bongino confirms departure after Trump tells reporters I think he wants to go back to his show'The FBI deputy director, Dan Bongino, confirmed on Wednesday that he is stepping down in January.In a statement posted on social media, Bongino thanked Donald Trump, Kash Patel, the FBI director, and Pam Bondi, the attorney general he reportedly clashed with over her decision not to release files from the federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender who socialized with Trump for more than a decade. Continue reading...
Heart attacks increased after Los Angeles wildfires, study finds
Researchers at Cedars-Sinai say rates of heart attack and respiratory illness matched worst years of Covid'In the first 90 days after the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires that destroyed entire Los Angeles neighborhoods, there was a 46% increase in ER visits for heart attack symptoms at LA's Cedars-Sinai hospital, according to a newly released study.Rates of heart attacks in January 2025 actually surpassed heart attack rates during all the prior Januaries, even during the Covid years," Dr Susan Cheng, director of public health research at Cedars-Sinai and the study's senior author, told the Guardian.This story was amended on 17 December 2025 to correct a misprint in the journal study. The was a 118% increase in blood-test abnormalities after the January wildfires. Continue reading...
US judge will block hundreds of Trump administration layoffs, citing shutdown law
District judge says hundreds of federal layoffs at four agencies not allowed under law Congress passed last monthA federal judge on Wednesday said she would block Donald Trump's administration from laying off hundreds of federal employees, the latest legal setback for the president's efforts to downsize the US government workforce.US district judge Susan Illston during a hearing in San Francisco said hundreds of layoffs at four agencies were likely not allowed under a law Congress passed last month to end a 43-day government shutdown. Continue reading...
US judge says Trump officials can’t ban surprise lawmaker visits to ICE facilities
District judge says policies deeming ICE field offices off-limits for congressional oversight' violates federal lawA federal judge on Wednesday said Donald Trump's administration cannot bar members of Congress from making unannounced visits to immigrant detention facilities.US district judge Jia Cobb in Washington DC said US Department of Homeland Security policies deeming Immigration and Customs Enforcement field offices off-limits for congressional oversight" and requiring seven days' notice for visits violated federal law. Continue reading...
Fani Willis defends Trump prosecution at contentious Georgia hearing
Fulton county DA hits back at Republican opponents who investigated her over relationship with special prosecutorFulton county district attorney Fani Willis testified on Wednesday at a combative Georgia state senate committee about her prosecution of Donald Trump for election interference.The state senate created the special committee in early 2024 to investigate Willis after the revelation that she had a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, special prosecutor in the Trump case, which ultimately derailed the prosecution of the now-re-elected president. Continue reading...
Trump attacks Democratic foes in White House presidential portraits
New plaques on Presidential Walk of Fame' scorn divisive' Obama and by far the worst' Biden - but Reagan is praisedWhite House officials on Wednesday revised what they call the Presidential Walk of Fame," installing plaques beneath portraits of former presidents that reflect Donald Trump's own views, including branding former president Joe Biden as the worst president in American history".The changes are part of Trump's broader effort to reshape the White House environment to match his preferences. Along the colonnade, portraits of past presidents now feature expanded text that permanently records Trump's assessments of their records. Continue reading...
Former Trump prosecutor Jack Smith defends investigation in House testimony
Ex-special counsel tells House panel US president's actions alone underpinned now-dropped prosecutionsJack Smith, the former US justice department special counsel who brought two now-dropped criminal cases against Donald Trump, defended his investigation before a House of Representatives panel on Wednesday, telling lawmakers that the basis for the prosecutions rests entirely with President Trump and his actions".Smith gave private testimony to the Republican-controlled House judiciary committee following months of disclosures from Trump appointees at the justice department, and Republican lawmakers intended to discredit Smith's investigation and bolster Trump's claims that the cases were an abuse of the legal system. Continue reading...
FCC chair suggests agency is not independent amid fears of Trump power grab
Brendan Carr's declaration raises concerns amid Trump efforts to exert greater control over independent agenciesThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is not an independent" agency, its chairman suggested on Wednesday, as the word was scrubbed from its online mission statement.Brendan Carr's declaration to senators raised concerns of a further power grab by the White House, amid concerns surrounding efforts by Donald Trump and his officials to exert greater control over independent agencies since his return to office in January. Continue reading...
FDA recalls salad dressing after ‘plastic material’ found in ingredients
More than 3,500 cases of dressing, including Hidden Valley Ranch, recalled after foreign objects' were discoveredThousands of cases of salad dressing have been recalled in the US after foreign objects" were discovered in the products, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).The recall involves items produced by California-based Ventura Foods and affects dressings distributed to retailers nationwide. Continue reading...
Four Republicans join Democrats to force vote on bill that would extend Obamacare subsidies
Stunning move comes after House Republicans pushed ahead with bill that doesn't address soaring premiums if Affordable Care Act tax credits expire
Nick Reiner appears in court on murder charges in killing of parents
Son of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner who is being held without bail did not enter a pleaNick Reiner, who has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of his parents, acclaimed actor and director Rob Reiner and photographer Michele Singer Reiner, made his first appearance in court on Wednesday.The 32-year-old, who is being held without bail, did not enter a plea, and his arraignment has been delayed until January. Continue reading...
Congress passes $901bn defense bill that includes support for Ukraine and Europe
Senate advances 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, which White House says Trump will sign into lawThe US Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to advance a $901bn bill setting policy for the Pentagon, sending the big piece of legislation to the White House, which has said Donald Trump will sign it into law.The fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, is a compromise between separate measures passed earlier this year in the House of Representatives and Senate. It authorizes a record $901bn in annual military spending, with a 4% pay raise for the troops, purchases of military equipment and efforts to boost competitiveness with US archrivals China and Russia. Continue reading...
Inter Miami re-signs Luis Suárez for 2026 season after winning MLS Cup
The former Liverpool and Barcelona striker, who turns 39 in January, has been productive but was benched for the tail end of Miami's title runInter Miami have re-signed striker Luis Suarez through the 2026 season, the MLS Cup champions announced Wednesday.The legendary Uruguay international had 17 goals and 17 assists in 50 appearances for the team in 2025. However, Inter Miami became a buzzsaw after Suarez was dropped to the bench by head coach Javier Mascherano. Replaced by Mateo Silvetti after Miami's 2-1 loss at Nashville SC in Round One, Miami won their next four games and outscored opponents 16-2 in route to the MLS Cup title. Continue reading...
Susie Wiles interview might be a useful distraction from how poorly things are going for Americans
The incendiary quotes don't disguise how dissatisfied people are about jobs, inflation or the cost of living
USWNT star Sophia Wilson re-signs with Portland Thorns on a reported $1m deal
Dolphins to bench Tua Tagovailoa with playoff hopes dashed – reports
In Durham, North Carolina, neighbors are protecting neighbors from ICE: ‘We care for each other’
Community members have stepped up with carpools, food deliveries, school patrols and policy advocacyBefore the school bell rang on the morning of 19 November, dozens of parents - mostly dads - huddled outside schools all around Durham, North Carolina. Bleary-eyed from late-night meetings and dinging group chats, they passed out whistles and gloves before dispersing to stand along school perimeters.The parents had formed ad hoc welcoming committees for students being dropped off for school - and to serve as a united group of watchdogs against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). A week before Thanksgiving, federal immigration agents had descended upon the city as part of a massive statewide campaign that included Charlotte and smaller communities. For almost a month, masked agents, often in tactical vests or fatigues and some carrying rifles, patrolled quiet neighborhoods and vibrant shopping centers around North Carolina. ICE doubled its North Carolina arrests in 2025 from the previous year, totaling 3,400 arrests from 20 January through 15 October. Continue reading...
Plans for New Orleans attack thwarted after ex-marine arrested
Officials had been surveilling Micah James Legnon due to ties to extremist anti-capitalist and anti-government groupPlans to carry out an attack" in New Orleans were thwarted after an ex-US marine was arrested while on the way to the Louisiana city with guns and body armor in the car, according to court documents obtained Tuesday by the Associated Press.Micah James Legnon, 28, was charged with threats in interstate commerce. Federal authorities said they had been surveilling Legnon due to ties to an extremist anti-capitalist and anti-government group. Four members of the group were arrested Friday in the Mojave desert, east of Los Angeles, as they were rehearsing a foiled plot to set off bombs in southern California on New Year's Eve, authorities said. Continue reading...
LaMonica McIver expected a quiet first term in Congress. Instead, she was charged
The New Jersey Democrat was charged with interfering with an immigration arrest while conducting her oversight dutiesThis year marked the start of LaMonica McIver's first full term as a member of Congress. Rather than a year spent learning the ropes of her new job, the New Jersey Democrat spent much of it fighting against federal criminal charges she sees as political retribution.On 19 May, McIver was charged with interfering with an arrest outside an immigration detention center in New Jersey earlier that month. Continue reading...
The Knicks have a trophy and Wembanyama has a chip on his shoulder: Five NBA Cup takeaways
New York got a championship while a high-stakes meeting between the Thunder and Spurs showed where the NBA, and the NBA Cup, is todayAfter toppling the defending champion Boston Celtics in a shocking upset in the Eastern Conference semi-finals this spring, The New York Knicks immediately became the favorites to represent the conference in the NBA Finals. The Indiana Pacers, a team that will no doubt go down as having one of the most compelling Cinderella stories in modern NBA history, had other plans. Continue reading...
Statue of teen civil rights icon Barbara Rose Johns replaces Robert E Lee at US Capitol
Statue of Johns, who protested poor conditions at her segregated Virginia high school, unveiled following removal of statue of Confederate generalThe US Capitol on Tuesday began displaying a statue of a teenaged Barbara Rose Johns as she protested poor conditions at her segregated Virginia high school, a pointed replacement for a statue of Confederate Gen Robert E Lee that was removed several years ago.An unveiling ceremony of the statue representing Virginia in the Capitol took place in Emancipation Hall, featuring Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic minority leader, Glenn Youngkin, Virginia's Republican governor, Virginia's congressional delegation and Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic governor-elect. Continue reading...
World Cup prize money increased by 50% as Fifa offers $50m for 2026 winners
Trump’s tariffs are choking small US manufacturers – even those making music magic
EarthQuaker Devices has served Smashing Pumpkins, PJ Harvey and Radiohead but says tariffs add costs up to 30%Julie Robbins and her team at EarthQuaker Devices have made guitar pedals for some of the biggest names in the world of music. The Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, PJ Harvey and others have sought out the company's bespoke, handmade pedals for their unique sounds and designs. Its most popular model, Plumes, has sold over 67,000 devices.Their made-from-scratch effects petals use more than 1,000 components, many which are imported directly from countries such as China and Vietnam or are bought from companies that bring them in from overseas. Continue reading...
First Thing: Trump orders blockade of oil tankers under sanctions from entering and leaving Venezuela
Move comes amid escalating campaign against Maduro as Venezuelan government condemns grotesque threat'. Plus, how to plan a polyamorous wedding
Maga loyalist expands investigation into intelligence officials who angered Trump
Experts decry Jason Reding Quinones's fishing expedition' as subpoenas reportedly issued to John Brennan and othersA Maga loyalist US attorney in Miami is expanding an investigation of ex-FBI and intelligence officials who incurred Donald's Trump's wrath with an inquiry into how Russia helped him win in 2016, despite the US justice department suffering stinging recent court rejections of indictments of two foes of the US president.Former prosecutors and legal experts call the Miami-based inquiry, which has issued some two dozen subpoenas so far, a fishing expedition". The investigation's apparent focus is to identify ways to criminally charge ex-FBI and intelligence officials who have already been investigated and effectively exonerated by two special counsels and a Republican-led Senate panel, which mounted exhaustive inquiries into Russia's efforts to boost Trump in 2016. Continue reading...
Warner Bros reportedly poised to reject Paramount’s $108bn hostile takeover bid
Decision will pave the way for Netflix to proceed with buyout of film and TV groupWarner Bros Discovery is poised to tell shareholders to reject Paramount's $108bn (81bn) hostile bid, according to reports, clearing the way for Netflix to proceed with its buyout of the Hollywood film and TV group.The board could announce a decision as early as Wednesday after Paramount Skydance - run by David Ellison and bankrolled by his billionaire father, Larry, who founded Oracle - went directly to shareholders with its rival offer almost two weeks ago. Continue reading...
A Harvard scholar’s ouster exposes a crisis of institutional integrity | Eric Reinhart
The dismissal of a a renowned health leader who refused to ignore Palestine highlights false claims of universality in human rights, global health and academiaLast Tuesday afternoon, Dean Andrea Baccarelli at the Harvard School of Public Health sent out a brief message announcing that one of the country's most experienced and accomplished public health leaders, Dr Mary T Bassett, would step down" as director of the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights. The email struck a polite, bureaucratic tone, thanking her for her service and offering an upbeat rationale for a new focus on children's health".It omitted the fact that, according to a Harvard Crimson source, Bassett had been asked to resign just two hours earlier and instructed to vacate her office by the end of the year. The decision was not a routine administrative transition. It was the culmination of a year of escalating pressure on the Center for Health and Human Rights for its work on the health and human rights of Palestinians. Powerful figures inside and outside Harvard, including the former Harvard president and now thoroughly disgraced economist Larry Summers, condemned this work and claimed it foments antisemitism". A leading public health scholar whose career has been defined by work on racial justice, poverty, HIV, and global inequality appears to have been removed not because her commitments shifted, but because the political costs of applying those commitments to Palestinians became too great for Harvard to tolerate. Continue reading...
Trump’s $10bn attack on the BBC doesn’t have to make sense. In his absurd world, he has already won | Jane Martinson
The legal action has made news and it will do damage. A potential disaster for the corporation and the UK, but a good day's work for this presidentLove Actually may be a terrible movie, but it provides one speech that's hard not to wish into reality this Christmas. Keir Starmer, the actual, nonfictional UK prime minister, needs to channel the one played by Hugh Grant - and stand up to an absurd US president now bullying the BBC with a $10bn lawsuit.Just imagine for one moment that Starmer decided to make Donald Trump's claim against the BBC the final straw for a special relationship that is increasingly special only in a bad way. That would not be outlandish, for not only has Trump taken aim against a British broadcaster, but earlier this week it seemed that his promise of an AI prosperity deal" (bought, let's not forget, with gurning invites to Windsor Castle) is set to evaporate. As the fictional Love Actually PM once said: A friend who bullies us is no longer a friend ... Since bullies only respond to strength, from now onward I will be prepared to be much stronger."Jane Martinson is professor of financial journalism at City St George's and a member of the board of the Scott Trust, which owns the Guardian Media Group. She writes in a personal capacity Continue reading...
From ‘odd’ Musk to ‘painful’ tariffs: key takeaways from interviews with Trump’s chief of staff
Susie Wiles has spoken to Vanity Fair magazine in a series of 11 interviews that she has since dismissed as a hit piece'The president's chief of staff Susie Wiles has given her own, unvarnished thoughts about Donald Trump's administration, in a series of interviews published by Vanity Fair magazine, revealing details and opinions that presidential aides usually save for memoirs long after they have left power.From calling out attorney general Pam Bondi over her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, to criticising Elon Musk over the dismantling the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Wiles has offered an unusually candid look inside the White House, after maintaining a low profile for much of Trump's term. Continue reading...
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