US news | The Guardian

Haji Najibullah imprisoned for role in capture of David Rohde, New York Times journalist held for months in 2008Haji Najibullah appeared unbothered as he walked into Manhattan federal court earlier this week to learn whether he would face life behind bars for his role in brutal violence during his time as a Taliban commander - including the 2008 kidnapping of US journalist David Rohde.Najibullah, who walked into the courtroom in shackles at about 9.50am Monday, sporting khaki jail garb and a black skullcap, could even be seen grinning at various points before proceedings started. Continue reading...

New York City mayor's stumping is irking some Democrats, but others see a cautious strategy from a rising political starThe New York Knicks are on an epic playoff run. The World Cup is here. And amid sizzling summer weather and a sports-induced, joyful buzz that has seized New York City in recent days, mayor Zohran Mamdani has been more ubiquitous than ever - donning an Arsenal kurta, Knicks gear and an affordable, NYC-inspired World Cup soccer jersey he himself launched as he zipped across the five boroughs from one event to the next.Early voting in New York also kicks off this weekend, in the first primary election since the November victory that cemented Mamdani as a political prodigy and hope of the left. Six months into his first term as New York City mayor and after early wins on issues like childcare and taxing the rich, he has been boosting fellow leftists in an effort to capitalize on his popularity to promote politicians - from Washington to Albany - aligned with the socialist, pro-Palestinian values that got him elected. Continue reading...

Grassroots outlet reports from New Jersey's Delaney Hall - and helps family members connect with loved ones inside

In the dead of night, behind a screen, the president's name was purged from the facade of the Washington buildingA crew of workers spent the night removing Donald Trump's name from the facade of the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, hours after a judge rejected an emergency appeal to block the removal of the president's name.Work began in the early hours of Saturday, shortly after the performing arts venue missed a federal judge's two-week deadline to excise the words The Donald J Trump and" from its exterior by Friday at 11.59pm local time. Continue reading...

Bill signed into law by the president bankrolls his mass deportation campaign through the end of his second termDonald Trump signed a new law this week that gives the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) roughly $70bn in additional funding, bankrolling his mass deportation campaign through the end of his second term in what critics say amounts to a huge blow for accountability.What will this increase in the power of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) mean for the US president's sweeping anti-immigration agenda? Continue reading...

Following a failed relationship in my 40s, solitude is tempting. But I'm not giving up on finding love, warts and allMy birthday is coming up next month. I will be, by my count, even more ancient than I was last year. I'll be far enough from 40 to make it irrational to lie and say I'm actually in my late 30s. I'm solidly, unequivocally in middle age.And when you're in middle age, you do a lot of looking back, soul-searching and other highly unproductive activities. I've been doing that even more thanks to being dumped by my girlfriend a month before my birthday. Yes, I am a 41-year-old man who uses the term girlfriend", a word that infantilizes me just typing it. What am I, a teenager sobbing to a Smiths song? In spirit, yes. I am. Continue reading...

Barbara McQuade's book is a piercing expose of how Trump is eroding democracy by turning the US into a mafia stateI believe in America."So says Amerigo Bonasera, a humble funeral director, in the opening scene of the 1972 film The Godfather. As Barbara McQuade recounts at the start of her new book, Bonasera has come to the shadowy office of Vito Corleone to ask him to avenge a brutal attack on his daughter. Ultimately, Corleone agrees, whispering: Someday, and that day may never come, I'll call upon you to do a service for me." Continue reading...

Immersed in the daily churn of Washington DC, I found an unexpected source of hope in the Knicks' improbable seasonWhen it comes to the length of my relationship with the New York Knicks, I'm more Taylor Swift than Timothee Chalamet.But it was inevitable. For months, Knicks fever was slowly drawing me in. A close friend said the team was singularly healing her from a breakup. Another from depression. I had inadvertently been subjected to playoff games through friends, or the daily turmoil of them, through colleagues. Continue reading...

Graham Platner's primary victory in Maine says more about the unpopularity of the Democratic party elite than any race to dateNot long after governor Janet Mills had effectively dropped out of the primary race, a storm grew around Platner's campaign. Rightwing operatives and liberal media mouthpieces started singing in unison that Platner was unfit for office, flimsy allegations poured in accusing the candidate of all sorts of alleged misconduct with former girlfriends.Chris Hayes, of the uber-liberal MS NOW network, questioned whether Platner was going after underage girls. Not to be outdone, Mika Brzezinski of the same network compared his behavior with that of Jeffery Epstein. All of this after an earlier campaign that claimed the former Marine's tattoo was indicative of his secret affection for Nazis. Continue reading...

Soldiers arrested university student Sama Safi, 20, along with members of Palestinian women's national soccer teamA 20-year-old Palestinian American woman has been held in Israeli military detention for nearly two weeks after Israeli soldiers stormed her family home in a pre-dawn raid on 2 June.Sama Safi, a psychology student at Birzeit University in the occupied West Bank, has not been charged with any crimes. A spokesperson for the Israeli military said she and three other women detained around the same time were arrested after promoting hostile terrorist activity and additional terrorist-related activities". Continue reading...

Show goes on for Trump's 80th birthday event - featuring a 92ft Claw', thousands of seats and a fighting cage - despite ominous weather forecastsThere may be swarms of bugs, rain showers and thunderstorms, but this isn't Exodus, or the apocalypse: the president of the United States will host the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) at the White House on Sunday, his 80th birthday.The iconic South Lawn - typically used by presidents to board Marine One on their way to summits, funerals and wars - has been blanketed by an octagon, ringed by thousands of seats in a mini coliseum, and dominated by a 92ft, 600-ton steel structure organizers have nicknamed the Claw", not unlike the alien tripods from the 2005 film War of the Worlds. Continue reading...

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Seb Hutchinson and Pablo Maurer as the USA begin their World Cup campaignRate, review, share on Apple Podcasts and join the conversation on email.On the podcast today: the USA ... might actually be very good? They blew Paraguay away in their opening game in LA. Christian Pulisic, we owe you a huge apology. Continue reading...

Every World Cup needs its hosts to start well, more so this one, and Mauricio Pochettino's team delivered on a fun day on the Pacific coastThe ball is magic, remember. Just keep watching the ball. On a lovely soft powder blue night in Los Angeles the World Cup produced an opening act on its US front that might have been conjured by the whirling hands of Gianni Infantino himself, a Fifa president who increasingly has the air and the mannerisms of an elite celebrity stage magician. Or at the very least, of a man who appreciates the power of the show.It turns out California really does know how to put on one of those. There was even a moment before kick-off that seemed to capture the cosmically strange nature of the entire Fifa multiverse. A little later the headline act Katy Perry would appear in a silver bustle and perform on a podium alongside a 10-year-old TikToker. Continue reading...

Folarin Balogun's double secured an emphatic victory for the co-hosts in their openerChris Richards is INA 100% record on our projected lineup, with Chris Richards getting his wish and cracking the opening lineup. So, a nominal lopsided 3-4-2-1 that plays as a 3-2-5 in attack and a 4-4-2 in defense.

All the action from Los Angeles Stadium where the final opening ceremony preceded the USMNT's resounding victory over Paraguay in Group D Continue reading...

Across the parking lot from Los Angeles Stadium sits the Forum. In the 1980s, it served as the stage for one of American sports' most enthralling entertainment outfits: the Los Angeles Lakers. Opening their campaign at the 2026 World Cup in front of 70,492 fans, the US men's national team embraced the Lakers' Showtime ethos.The US began their campaign with aplomb, playing Paraguay off the pitch in a 4-1 win. Continue reading...

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President says Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores killed in swift and lethal' military strike with help from VenezuelaThe US military has killed a leader in the Venezuelan street gang Tren de Aragua, Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, with the help of Venezuela, Donald Trump announced on Friday.At my direction, the United States Southern Command delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike to successfully execute Nino Guerrero, the infamous leader of Tren De Aragua, one of the most bloodthirsty Terrorist Organizations on Planet Earth," Trump wrote on Truth Social. Continue reading...

Appeals court in Washington DC rejected emergency appeal seeking to pause the removal of Donald Trump's name from the building on Friday - key US politics stories from Friday 12 June at a glanceThe ongoing fracas over the facade of Washington DC's Kennedy Center reached a key moment Friday night in the US capital.An appeals court in Washington DC rejected an emergency appeal seeking to pause the removal of Donald Trump's name from the building on Friday. Continue reading...

Officials given 21 days to comply with order after Angel Kelley condemns administration for telling half-truths'A US district court judge has ordered the Trump administration to reinstate any history or science materials it removed from the nation's public monuments, finding that the White House's actions set a dangerous precedent of censorship and sanitization".In March 2025, Donald Trump signed an executive order titled restoring truth and sanity to American history", calling upon the secretary of interior to examine monuments, memorials and statues to see if they had been altered after January 2020 to represent a false construction of American history". Continue reading...

Justice department lawyers had appealed to stay a judge's order to remove Trump's name from facadeAn appeals court in Washington DC rejected an emergency appeal seeking to pause the removal of Donald Trump's name from the facade of the Kennedy Center on Friday.Justice department lawyers for Donald Trump and his hand-picked Kennedy Center board filed the emergency appeal earlier on Friday, asking the court to stay a judge's order that his name be removed from the facade of Washington's leading performing arts venue. Continue reading...

Housing and urban development department alleges fraud in administration's latest clash with CaliforniaThe Trump administration has suspended federal funding to Los Angeles's beleaguered homelessness agency.The announcement is the administration's latest move rescinding funding to California, where Donald Trump has feuded with the state's Democratic leaders. Continue reading...

No injuries reported as fire in Tracy destroys medical equipment warehouse and authorities investigate causeA fire at a 1m sq ft warehouse complex continued to burn out of control in California early on Friday, as authorities warned the blaze could take days to extinguish and may contain toxic hazards.The raging inferno was pumping thick black smoke up in billowing clouds as flame and a red hot glow were visible beneath from aerial images. The fire has destroyed the medical equipment warehouse in Tracy, in northern California, and prompted evacuations of other nearby facilities, with no injuries reported. Continue reading...

Cyle Larin grabbed a historic point for the co-hosts in Toronto after Jovo Lukic's first-half openerForget the World Cup just for a sec ... some news from Scotland.Canada: Crepeau, Johnston, De Fougerolles, Cornelius, Laryea, Buchanan, Kone, Eustaquio, Millar, Jonathan David, Oluwaseyi Continue reading...

Elon Musk has become the world's first trillionaire thanks to his company SpaceX, which now has the biggest IPO of all time. Public trading in the company has put it's valuation at over $2tn. The eye-watering sums of money pouring into AI are also boosting other tech titans, including OpenAI and Anthropic. Both companies are expected to go public this year with nearly trillion-dollar valuations. The Guardian's US tech editor Blake Montgomery tells Kai Wright that with these IPOs, all our financial futures are forever tied to AI's success, and more worryingly, its possible failure

Midland police reported that suspected shooter was dead after two-hour standoff

Agents seized phones and laptops of Ohio Organizing Collaborative, a group that does voter registration workThe FBI raided the office of a voting rights group in Ohio on Thursday, prompting immediate concerns the Trump administration is cracking down on such organizations ahead of the midterm elections.FBI agents raided the Cleveland office of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, a grassroots group that does voter registration work, said Prentiss Haney, a board member of the group. Agents seized computers and phones, he said, and also showed up at homes of people affiliated with the group throughout the state and interviewed them. Continue reading...

Gaudy arena is already built on South Lawn to celebrate US president's birthday and America's 250th anniversaryA federal judge refused on Friday to stop the White House from staging a UFC show this weekend in an elaborate ring already built on the South Lawn to celebrate the nation's 250th anniversary - on Donald Trump's 80th birthday.US district judge Amit Mehta's ruling allows organizers to use the White House lawn as the venue for Sunday's planned UFC mixed martial arts event. Continue reading...

The economic principles taught in school aren't as relevant as hype, connections and total, arbitrary control

Lookback law' allowed Pamela Lockridge to seek damages against late stepfather who abused her starting at age fourA north-west Louisiana jury recently awarded a staggering $1.1bn in damages to a woman who sued over childhood sexual molestation at the hands of her late stepfather in the 1960s and 1970s - a verdict that the plaintiff says sends a message that children are precious" and deserve protection".The outcome in Pamela Elaine Lockridge's lawsuit caused waves among Louisiana's legal community, illustrating how much civil juries are willing to award to plaintiffs for cases tried under the state's so-called lookback law". Continue reading...

Disorder in Belfast, Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, the Ebola outbreak, and the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs in the NBA finals - the past seven days as captured by the world's leading photojournalists Continue reading...

Canada tightens in anticipation | What is enough for US?

Brent crude falls as optimism rises that strait of Hormuz could reopen over the weekend

City has become caught up in the drama as team stands on brink of a first NBA championship in 53 yearsAfter the New York Knicks' furious comeback over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night, the last place anyone in the city wanted to be was at home. Taylor Swift and Larry David were among the celebrities who lingered at Madison Square Garden after the final buzzer sounded on the 107-106 victory as Frank Sinatra's New York, New York washed over the arena.The former Knick Iman Shumpert, sporting his old No 21 jersey, made a beeline from the arena to Times Square to join the stunned celebration. All over the city, car horns blared, raucous watch parties spilled on to the streets and perfect strangers greeted one another by barking Go Knicks!". As they might put it on Broadway: it was just one of those nights. Continue reading...

A fire at a medical equipment warehouse in northern California prompted evacuations from nearby facilities. Fire crews on the scene fought to get the blaze under control while thick black smoke poured into the sky. The company said everyone who was at the site at the time of the fire had been accounted for while authorities said they were still unclear as to what caused the blaze Continue reading...

Nearly 40 women detained at Delaney Hall join striking men and outline demands rooted in basic human rights'Dozens of women detained inside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility in New Jersey announced their participation in a hunger and labor strike, advocates announced on Thursday.The women, detained in unit 1 of the contentious privately run facility, also released a new list of demands. They are calling on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to release women under 21, women with medical conditions and mothers. They are also demanding improved conditions inside the facility and for their immigration cases to proceed more quickly. Continue reading...

Trump claims strikes called off as deal is close, but Tehran denies agreement near, while legal experts question if US targets may be a war crime. Plus 20 years of Taylor Swift's incredible influence on pop culture

Of all the bases Scotland fans could have found for their World Cup journey, it had to be the city renowned for chasing the English out of townSam Adams is the beer of Boston, named after the fourth governor of Massachusetts and founding father of the United States. Downtown, there's a tap room where you can drink it all day. On Thursday lunchtime the bar was packed, full of Scotland fans, and hanging over the first floor balcony was a big yellow flag. It bore the legend Remember Bannockburn 1315".Of all the bases the Tartan Army could have found for their World Cup journey, it had to be the city renowned for chasing the English out of town. Supporters dressed like William Wallace have been bonding with tour guides dressed like Paul Revere. Others have been walking around wearing Boston T Party" T-shirts, where the T stands for Tennent's. Meanwhile, next to the site of the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Scottish Football Association has rebranded a local pub as Scotland House, and even had it sponsored by M&S Food. Continue reading...

They're about to get more AI rammed down their throats, stuck into their pension plans and investment portfoliosAmericans are growing worried about what artificial intelligence portends for their futures. Eight in 10 Americans report concern over AI, compared with a third who report being excited, according to a recent Quinnipiac poll. More than half think it will do more harm than good in their daily lives. Seven out of 10 think it will reduce the number of available jobs.Skeptical though they may be, they are about to get more AI rammed down their throats and stuck into their pension plans and their investment portfolios, whether they want it or not - binding their futures ever more tightly to the frenzied, risky, multibillion-dollar dash by technology moguls to develop machines capable of mimicking human thought processes to take over cognitive tasks. Continue reading...

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Board seeks to stay judge's ruling that found Trump's name was illegally added to Washington performing arts venueDonald Trump's hand-picked board at the Kennedy Center is mounting a last-minute effort to keep his name on the facade of the performing arts facility before a court-ordered deadline to remove it by Friday.The board voted on Thursday to seek a stay of US district judge Christopher Cooper's 29 May ruling that said Trump's name was illegally added to the Kennedy Center, according to a person familiar with the move who requested anonymity to discuss a private meeting. Continue reading...

President claims US and Iran are on the verge yet again, but we've heard that before - key US politics stories from Thursday 11 JuneDonald Trump claimed on Thursday that the US and Iran are on the verge of signing a peace agreement and announced that he will cancel fresh missile strikes.His comments came in a new bout of public diplomacy by social media, which was not immediately confirmed by the Iranian leadership. Continue reading...

Mother and brother were rescued after wave engulfed trio in Laguna Beach, as mayor calls news heartbreaking'California officials have recovered the body of a five-year-old girl who earlier this week was swept into the ocean by turbulent waters.On Tuesday evening, the girl, her mother and brother were walking along the shore of Treasure Island Beach in Orange county, when a wave reportedly engulfed them. Continue reading...

Former SEC chair, who has reportedly socialized and played golf with president, has questioned integrity of US electionsDays before he was nominated as director of national intelligence, Jay Clayton discussed the potential of fraud in California's elections, falsely saying the state's laws left open the opportunity for fraud".Clayton, the US attorney for the Southern District and the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, has a lengthy legal resume in the private and public sector and a track record of unequivocal support for Donald Trump and his agenda.This article was amended on 11 June 2026 to clarify that Jay Clayton became US attorney for the southern district of New York in 2025. An earlier version misstated the timeline. Continue reading...