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The earthquake in Venezuela, a brutal heatwave in Europe, the resignation of Keir Starmer and the World Cup - the past seven days as captured by the world's leading photojournalistsWarning: this gallery contains images some readers may find distressing Continue reading...

Our writers reacted to the latest news from the tournament before the blockbuster Group I match between France and NorwayKylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland will go head-to-head later on as France take on Norway and they have both scored the same amount of goals so far this tournament with four. They could go top of the Golden Boot standings this evening but who is currently there? Have a look:Ecuador fans' nerves will be eased for now but that is not the case for all the nations yet as all of the knockout spots have not been allocated. Here is how the third-place spots are shaking out: Continue reading...

Jurors in California deliberated for over 13 hours, before announcing that they were deadlockedA federal judge declared a mistrial in the arson case against the 29-year-old man accused of sparking the deadly 2025 Palisades fire in Los Angeles, after the jury said it could not agree on a verdict.Jurors deliberated for over 13 hours on Thursday on whether to convict Jonathan Rinderknecht on three federal charges, before announcing that they were deadlocked. Continue reading...

Sarah B Rogers speech at conference in London included far-right memes and conspiracy theories about Da Yookay'Claims by a senior official in the Trump administration that British police were making thousands of freedom of speech" arrests have been rejected by the UK government.Sarah B Rogers, who has become the public face of the US state department's hostility to European liberal democracies, was accused by MPs of echoing far-right memes and conspiracy theories during a speech at an international rightwing conference in London. She also referenced the death of the British teenager Henry Nowak and a recent incident in which a child was thrown into a zoo's crocodile pit. Continue reading...

City's mayor has consistently argued that rising housing costs have made it increasingly unaffordableA New York City housing board has voted to freeze rent for approximately 1m apartments.In a major victory for Zohran Mamdani, the mayor who campaigned on a pledge to freeze rent, the Rent Guidelines Board voted 7-1 on Thursday to freeze increases on one- and two-year leases. The decision will provide relief to tenants in more than 1m rent-stabilized apartments, representing over 40% of the city's rental housing. Continue reading...

Ex-national security adviser turned Trump critic could face prison for sharing classified information with relatives

Scrutiny of Black's association with Epstein has intensified after DoJ released millions of files last year and this yearThe billionaire financier Leon Black is scheduled to appear before the House committee on oversight and reform on Friday morning as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.The interview will be conducted behind closed doors, though the committee is expected to release a transcript at a later date, as it has done with previous interviews. Continue reading...

Two of boxing's ascendant stars have been tabbed for greatness since they were teenagers. On Saturday night at Barclays Center, one will claim the signature win both have been chasingIt is the type of fight boxing routinely claims to want and too rarely delivers. When Jaron Boots" Ennis and Xander Zayas step into the ring at the Barclays Center on Saturday night, they will be putting more on the line than their undefeated records. They will be risking the carefully cultivated aura of inevitability that has surrounded both men since they were teenagers.In an era when promising fighters are routinely steered around danger rather than toward it, Ennis and Zayas have chosen a different road. The result is one of the year's most compelling fights: a showdown between two undefeated champions tabbed for stardom since adolescence whose reputations still outpace their resumes. Continue reading...

Her motivations for returning may be hard to gauge but there is no doubt the returning former champion will steal the early spotlight at SW19At the southernmost point of the All England Lawn Tennis Club's vast grounds, Serena Williams was starting another day of training as the clock ticked down to her first singles match after four years of retirement. Her training partner for the morning, Marta Kostyuk, soon joined her on court 10 in Aorangi Park, the quaint practice area reserved only for players.Kostyuk is one of the more extroverted players on the tour and she is widely known for speaking her mind under all circumstances, but when Williams greeted Kostyuk and thanked her for the training session, for once the Ukrainian looked at a loss for words: No, thank you for playing with me," she responded. Continue reading...

The Trevor Project non-profit that helped pioneer LGBTQ+ press 3' option for 988 hotline is being shut out as it restartsThe Trump administration is moving to restart the specialized LGBTQ+ option for youth who contact the 988 crisis intervention hotline - but the group that helped pioneer the idea is being shut out.The Trevor Project, the New York-based leading non-profit for suicide prevention in LGBTQ+ young people in the US, may not be allowed to offer the service it had helped develop for the 988 Lifeline just a few years ago. Continue reading...

The US were on the verge of an encouraging draw in a meaningless game, but they insist that losing to Turkey changes nothing about what's to comeThroughout the week preceding the United States' final group game, the matchup with Turkey was discussed as something of a formality. The new World Cup format made it impossible to begin speculation on a possible opponent until the third wave of matches kicked off on Wednesday, but the co-hosts' place in the round of 32 was already secure.There were ample questions about how much Mauricio Pochettino would (and should) rotate. Christian Pulisic's every movement, including whether or not he was donning a sleeve on his calf, was closely scrutinized. The atmosphere around training was light and jovial, a rare eye of the hurricane" moment where the intensity seemed to wane and positivity permeated every corner of the team's camp in Irvine. Continue reading...

Stores over-stock their shelves, then toss out what they don't sell. Meanwhile, workers struggle to make ends meetTo most grocery shoppers, rotisserie chickens look like a mouth-watering and easy option for dinner. But whenever I pass by the rotisserie case in a supermarket, I see chicken carcasses piled up in the trash, their once glistening juices congealing into a slimy jelly.

Research finds immune systems still responding to toxic chemical exposures' related to East Palestine derailmentIn the weeks after the East Palestine train wreck culminated in a towering fireball and chemical release in the small Ohio town, Jessica Boersma was seriously exposed to the stew of compounds emitted from the derailment site.Boersma lives less than a quarter mile away, and, as a city council member, she had to spend significant time at the site coordinating with first responders. Continue reading...

Spanning a six-lane highway and located in a public park, this crossing is part of a larger restoration of endangered Texas prairie land

Critics say the government is creating a boogeyman' in its drive to use the antifa' label to frame protesters as terroristsThe federal US government is sweeping up protesters against Cop City, a police training center outside Atlanta, in its push to prosecute what it calls antifa" - even as state attempts to prosecute activists over the same incident failed for the second time this week.The case offers insight into the Trump administration's drive to link the idea of anti-fascism to terrorism, drawn into focus by the decades-long sentences given to protesters against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Prairieland trial in Texas, also this week. Continue reading...

Sarah Steele spoke of degrading' experience under US military justice after assault in England. Plus, why Toy Story 5 is the ultimate millennial girl movieGood morning.A UK justice minister has described the case of a British woman strangled by a US fighter pilot on UK soil as really serious" and said the Ministry of Justice would examine it.Why did a US fighter pilot avoid British trial after strangling a woman in England? Technically, the UK authorities should have primary jurisdiction to prosecute crimes allegedly perpetrated by US service members off duty and off base. But the Wulfson case is one of several uncovered by the Guardian in which UK police and prosecutors appear to be ceding responsibility to their US military counterparts.What is temporary protected status (TPS), and why is it under threat? People with TPS have permission to live and work in the US because the Department of Homeland Security deemed their home countries to be unsafe. The Trump administration has attempted to slash the program for various countries in its anti-immigrant crusade. Continue reading...

Committee will meet in July to discuss peptides now sold in gray market despite limited evidence of safety and efficacyAdvisers to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will soon hold a meeting about whether to ease restrictions on access to some research peptides, a group of drugs with a zealous following and thin evidence to support them.If restrictions are eased, US compounding pharmacies would be able to produce and fill prescriptions for Americans - a change that would effectively legalize a thriving gray market. Continue reading...

First amendment groups call 50-to-100-year prison terms chilling as legal experts say sentences unusually longThe decades-long prison sentences for a group of Texas activists convicted of terrorism and other charges in connection to a Fourth of July protest last year has caused widespread alarm, given their unusually punitive length and for the apparent harsh criminalization of protest activity under Donald Trump's justice department.Eight people who participated in a protest at the Prairieland ICE detention facility in Alvarado, Texas, were sentenced on Tuesday to between 50 and 100 years in prison. A ninth person, Daniel Sanchez-Estrada, the husband of one of the demonstrators, did not participate in the protest, but was sentenced to 30 years in prison after he was convicted of moving boxes containing leftwing zines and other materials after a prison phone call from his wife. Continue reading...

Disillusioned America firsters, like Carson and Greene, are angry at Trump's foreign interventions, may sit out the midterm electionsFormer Fox News host Tucker Carlson and former Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene - once among Donald Trump's most prominent champions - announced recently that they have left the Republican party.Both rightwing superstars had feuded with the president throughout his second term, but their split was provoked by Trump's war with Iran and what they viewed as his elevation of foreign affairs over domestic concerns like inflation and high gas prices. Although both have said that they will not support Democrats, their defection points to serious divisions within the Republican party that could weaken its prospects in the midterm elections and beyond.Geoffrey Kabaservice is the director of political studies at the Niskanen Center in Washington, as well as the author of Rule and Ruin: The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party Continue reading...

Berhalter was USA's pass master, McKennie led the side well but back line struggled against Turkish attacksMatt Turner In a surprise start, Turner was unable to stop the three shots he faced on his net, which will do little for the nearly extinguished case for him to start over Matt Freese. Then again, there were a couple of timely sweeper actions and he is now part of a select group of US goalkeepers to start in multiple World Cups. 4 Continue reading...

The right's verdict is in: white, heterosexual, Christian men face the most discrimination in the US. The Giants don't want to push backOn 19 June, the New York Times published an article on the hostility toward minority members of the military at the Department of Defense and the blocking of several promotions of minority, non-male officers despite their decorations and accomplishments. The Times attributed the ideological climate to defense secretary Pete Hegseth, who, according to the newspaper, is waging a war on diversity". Four days earlier, California governor Gavin Newsom said that the Department of Justice was investigating him and his wife for alleged financial irregularities, adding to the speculation long held that Donald Trump's administration would spend its second term weaponizing the government to settle scores.As Hegseth attacks race, gender and diversity" through the military with the aim of restoring an unchallenged and unquestioned white, Christian leadership, and the justice department harasses Trump's political opponents, the DoJ used the San Francisco Giants' honoring of pride month to open yet another front in what the president sees as a culture war against white men. The Giants incurred additional damage, all of it embarrassingly self-inflicted. Their milky, cowardly response betrayed their own city, a large part of their fanbase and the organization's history.Howard Bryant is the author of 11 books, including The Heritage: Black Athletes, A Divided America, and the Politics of Patriotism and Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America. Continue reading...

The US men's national team have already made history this summer. They scored the most goals they ever have in a single World Cup game, won two straight games in the tournament for the first time in the modern era, and wrapped up top spot in an evenly-matched Group D with a game to spare.On Thursday evening they faced a far more familiar foe: World Cup adversity. And in the key moments - the kind of spots where knockout games are won and lost - they wilted. Kaan Ayhan's goal with the last kick of the game sealed a 3-2 win for Turkey, giving their disastrous tournament a positive ending. It also means the Americans go into last 32 - where they will play Bosnia and Herzegovina - with fresh questions. Continue reading...

The Socceroos locked in their place in the last 32 as Group D runners-up while Paraguay finished third and face a nervous wait after a goalless drawJonathan Liew considers the impact of this World Cup being the most individual > collective in tournament history.... something does feel qualitatively different this summer: a tectonic shift driven partly by events on the pitch and partly at the behest of the industry itself. This is a World Cup swimming in star names, and never have those star names been so unapologetically, unquestioningly invoked. France do not beat Iraq; instead Kylian Mbappe throws down the gauntlet to Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and the rest. According to Google, Miroslav Klose's goals record has been searched more at this tournament than in the year he set it. At times the group phase has felt like an inconvenient distraction from the real business of the Golden Boot race. (Can Lionel Messi lift the one trophy he hasn't won yet?) Continue reading...

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David Vander Meer was recently arrested for the death of his wife in national park 20 years ago after new information revealedA Las Vegas man and former youth pastor died days after he was arrested and charged with murdering his wife, who plummeted thousands of feet to her death while hiking in Utah's Zion national park in 2006.At a scheduled extradition hearing on Thursday, a Las Vegas judge announced that David Vander Meer was deceased, according to KSNV. Continue reading...

Supreme court ruling will allow Trump administration to block asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border - key US politics stories from Thursday 25 JuneThe US supreme court has given the Trump administration a green light to block asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border, in a decision that fundamentally reshapes the US asylum system.The decision allows the Trump administration to revive its so-called turn-back or metering" policy, allowing federal agents at the US border to stop migrants from physically setting foot on US soil, where federal law guarantees them the right to claim asylum and protection from persecution. Continue reading...

Plan to levy 5% tax on California billionaires championed by progressives - but state's super rich are forcefully opposed

Vice-president declares admiration for 37th president and claims Nixon and Trump are targeted by deep state' forcesJD Vance does not think the era-defining Watergate scandal would have lasted more than a single news cycle in today's fragmented, hyper-partisan political environment - and certainly would not have led to a president's downfall.Speaking at the Richard Nixon presidential library in Yorba Linda, California, on Thursday to promote his new book, Communion, Vance discussed his spiritual journey from atheist to Catholic convert before declaring his admiration for the 37th president. Continue reading...

Decision allows Trump administration to block migrants from entering US soil and the right to claim asylum

Kennedy repeatedly said 2019 Samoa trip had nothing to do with vaccines'. An email from his then colleague says they were on a vaccine-related mission'New evidence has emerged that Robert F Kennedy Jr was on a vaccine-related mission" when he visited Samoa ahead of a deadly measles outbreak in 2019, raising further questions about whether the US health secretary lied to the US Senate when he said the trip had nothing to do with vaccines".Records obtained by the Guardian show Kennedy's colleague told Samoan officials in an email that he and Kennedy were coming as part of a mission to study the island nation's medical records in the aftermath of a discontinuity in vaccinations". Continue reading...

Lawmakers and advocates condemn disastrous' decisions that allow Trump officials to strip away migrant protections

Florida immigration jail that became byword for cruelty and cost state taxpayers $1.2m a day shuts down after a yearRon DeSantis, Florida's Republican governor, boasted on Thursday of deporting 21,000 people from Alligator Alcatraz, as he confirmed the closure of the notorious immigration jail hastily erected in the Everglades that became a byword for cruelty, human rights abuses and environmental damage.Standing beside Tom Homan, Donald Trump's so-called border czar, at a press conference at the now dismantled site in Ochopee, in the environmentally sensitive region in south Florida, DeSantis presented its year-long operation as a victory for the president's aggressive immigration enforcement agenda. Continue reading...

Gun control advocates decry ruling striking ban on carrying guns in most public spaces as deeply dangerous'

Senior official alleges in court filing that damage included about 70 fence post tops thrown' into the poolA senior National Park Service (NPS) official has said a liner along the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool was cut with a sharp knife or razor" earlier this month, repeating Donald Trump's claims of vandalism.Frank Lands, the deputy director for operations for NPS, made the allegation in a court filing on Wednesday, as part of a lawsuit brought by a non-profit group seeking to stop the US president's renovation of the site. Continue reading...

Seattle's World Cup committee is pushing forward with Pride Match" celebrations this week despite backlash from Egypt and Iran, who have called for the cancellation of LGBTQ+ rights festivities around the game.Last year, Seattle's local organising committee, which is separate from Fifa, made plans for 26 June to be a Pride-themed match coinciding with the city's annual Pride weekend.In December, Egypt and Iran were drawn to play each other on that date in Seattle, causing a swift firestorm and condemnation from the two countries, as Sam Levin explains

Decision affects hundreds of thousands of people who have permission to live and work in the US because their home countries are unsafe

Wyden says in a letter addressed to Robert F Kennedy Jr that HHS is preparing an unprecedented legal framework'Ron Wyden, a US senator of Oregon, accused the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) of preparing to use what he describes as an unprecedented legal framework" to deport more than 500 unaccompanied migrant children currently in the custody of the agency's Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).In a letter addressed to the HHS secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, Wyden said he had obtained credible information" that the department was using a list of more than 500 children as targets for expedited removal under a new administrative process that he says lacks statutory authority. He called the reported initiative deeply alarming" and urged HHS to immediately suspend any related screening or removal efforts. Continue reading...

Top Democrat signals party will not back paying for unpopular conflict never authorized by CongressThe White House has requested Congress approve $87.6bn in new funding, much of which would go towards the costs of Donald Trump's war with Iran, but a top Democrat has signaled the party will not support paying for an unpopular conflict that lawmakers never authorized.The Trump administration's supplemental funding request released on Wednesday comes amid a logjam in US Congress sparked by the president's demand that the Senate pass a measure to impose sweeping new restrictions on voting nationwide. Continue reading...

Consumer prices rose 4.1% in May from a year earlier - a sign rising costs could pose problem for Trump in midtermsThe Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge rose to a new three-year high in May as gas prices peaked, a sign rising costs could pose political problems for Donald Trump and his political party as midterm elections near.Consumer prices rose 4.1% in May from a year earlier, the US commerce department said Thursday, the largest annual increase since April 2023. On a monthly basis, inflation was 0.4% last month, matching April's increase and down from 0.7% in March. Continue reading...

The case, Monsanto v Durnell, specifically dealt with claims that the company failed to warn users of product risks

Ruling comes amid drive by Republican administration to reshape rules around voting ahead of midtermsThe Trump administration's plan to deny mail-in ballots to states that would not give their voter rolls to federal officials was blocked Thursday morning by a federal judge in Boston.US district judge Indira Talwani ruled that the provisions of an executive order issued by Donald Trump on 31 March requiring the postal service to require the use of a barcode tracking system for ballot envelopes tied to US Citizenship and Immigration Services data was unconstitutional. Continue reading...

We are looking to hear from people born on 4 July about what it means to share a birthday with the US when it turns 250 years oldThe United States will celebrate its 250th anniversary of its independence on 4 July, marking a milestone in the nation's history with events and commemorations across the country.For some Americans, however, the date carries a more personal significance: it's also their birthday. Continue reading...

As the country reaches this historic milestone, we would like to hear from people in the US on how they are feeling about the country's futureThe United States will mark 250 years since declaring independence from the British on 4 July, with commemorations in Washington DC overseen by Donald Trump and a series of events planned across the National Mall.The milestone also comes at a turbulent moment for the country. Internationally, the Trump administration has moved away from some longstanding European allies while navigating ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Continue reading...