US news | The Guardian

Retaliatory strike against gerrymandered maps in Texas now heads to voters in a special election this NovemberCalifornia governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday signed a sweeping redistricting proposal aimed at redrawing the state's congressional boundaries to create five new Democratic US House seats - a direct response to the gerrymandered maps Republicans in Texas are advancing at the behest of Donald Trump.The Democratic-controlled state legislature voted to advance a legislative package revising California's maps after hours of debate. With Newsom's signature, the measure now heads to voters in a special election this November. Continue reading...

President touts police takeover in rambling remarks and pledges new grass so DC parks resemble his golf coursesDonald Trump told law enforcement officials his administration will buy new grass for parks in Washington DC so they resemble his golf courses, during his visit to a US park police facility on Thursday - an event ostensibly scheduled to tout his crackdown on crime in the city.The president had indicated earlier in the day he would join police and national guard troops on something resembling a patrol, but his remarks at park police's Anacostia station was his lone stop on his excursion from the White House. Continue reading...

Vice-president extolled One Big Beautiful Bill Act's benefits for families while Senate hopefuls tried campaign materialThe US vice-president, JD Vance, previewed in Georgia on Thursday the lines of attack candidates will use to defend the president's signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act in the midterms next year, calling it the biggest tax cut for families that this country has ever seen".Vance touted an increase in the child tax credit, the elimination of taxes on overtime and on tips in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act while speaking in a warehouse for ATLA Refrigeration in Peachtree City, Georgia. Continue reading...

Matthew Brann finds US government used a novel series of legal and personnel moves' to try to retain Alina HabbaA federal judge ruled on Thursday that Donald Trump's former lawyer, Alina Habba, has been unlawfully serving as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey.In his order disqualifying Habba from prosecuting three defendants who challenged her appointment, chief US district judge Matthew Brann wrote: The Executive branch has perpetuated Alina Habba's appointment to act as the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey through a novel series of legal and personnel moves. Continue reading...

State department says all people who hold valid US visas are subject to continuous vetting', including of social mediaThe Trump administration is reviewing the records of more than 55 million US visa holders for potential revocation or deportable violations of immigration rules, in a significant expansion of Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.In a move first reported by the Associated Press, the state department said that all of the foreigners who currently hold valid US visas are subject to continuous vetting" for any indication that they could be ineligible for the document, including those already admitted into the country. Should such evidence come to light, the visa would be revoked and, if the visa holder were in the United States, they would be subject to deportation. Continue reading...

Move comes after state refused to remove gender identity, trans and nonbinary references from sex-ed curriculumThe Trump administration has terminated a grant that provided millions of dollars for a California sex education program after the state refused to remove all references to gender identity, transgender people and nonbinary people from its curriculum.Advocates fear more states could lose more money in a burgeoning war between the Trump administration and supporters of comprehensive sex ed. Continue reading...

Group cuts profit forecasts and launches review after mistake relating to North American armAlmost 600m was wiped off the market value of WH Smith on Thursday after the retailer cut financial forecasts and launched an independent review when it discovered an accounting blunder at its North American arm.Shares plunged 42% after investors took fright at the news that profits at the division had been overstated by 30m. Continue reading...

Divided decision by New York appeals judges dismisses excessive' penalty but leaves room for further appealsA New York appeals court has thrown out the massive civil fraud penalty against Donald Trump, ruling on Thursday in the state's lawsuit accusing him of exaggerating his wealth.The decision, which was not unanimous, came seven months after the Republican returned to the White House. A panel of five judges in New York's mid-level appellate division said the verdict, which stood to cost Trump more than $515m and rock his real estate empire, was excessive". Continue reading...

Selected employees will join Trump's mass deportation campaign and offer critical support' to Ice operationsThe Pentagon is recruiting civilian employees to join Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign and asking staff to sign up for deployments to immigration enforcement facilities across the United States.The defense department has posted a job listing requesting volunteers for civilian federal employees apply to join a volunteer force" supporting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) operations. On Wednesday, the department reportedly emailed civilian employees asking them to take up this opportunity. Continue reading...

From starting new careers and reconstructing houses to keeping children's rooms the same, these parents are navigating a rollercoaster'The term empty nest" first emerged in the late 19th century, gaining traction in psychological and sociological discourse by the 1940s. Originally, it evoked a singular image: a mother alone in a quiet house, mourning the departure of her last child. But the reality, then and now, is far more nuanced. While the term was once gendered, today the emotional impact is felt across all parents, regardless of role or identity.The empty nest is not a fixed state but a mutable one. For some, it arrives with a deep ache, a sense of disorientation or loss. For others, it marks a period of renewal, space reclaimed, silence embraced, autonomy rediscovered. The nest may stay quiet or grow noisy again with boomerang children, ageing parents or new partners. Some preserve their homes like time capsules; others transform them entirely, reimagining their lives within, claiming room for new identities, desires and rhythms. Continue reading...

Survey shows 60% of students say they would personally feel impact of bill that sets new caps on borrowingWith Donald Trump's big, beautiful bill" set to alter how families and students finance higher education starting in July 2026, a new survey suggests the majority of college students expect to be affected by the bill.A US News & World Report surveyed nearly 1,200 college students, with most responders saying the changes will affect them. When asked about the law's broader effects, 61% of students said they would personally feel its impact, while 20% said they would not and 19% responded I don't know." Continue reading...

President threatened harsh measures' if Tina Peters - sentenced to nine years - isn't released from prisonDonald Trump again called for the release of a former election clerk in Colorado who was convicted for her role in breaching election data in a quest to find fraud, threatening he would take harsh measures" if she was not let out of prison.FREE TINA PETERS, a brave and innocent Patriot who has been tortured by Crooked Colorado politicians, including the big Mail-In Ballot supporting the governor of the State," Trump said on Truth Social. Let Tina Peters out of jail, RIGHT NOW. She did nothing wrong, except catching the Democrats cheat in the Election. She is an old woman, and very sick. If she is not released, I am going to take harsh measures!!!" Continue reading...

Category 2 storm led to evacuation orders and road closures, with rip currents and high surf forecast on FridayHurricane Erin, a large category 2 storm with winds reaching 105mph, was slowly moving away from the North Carolina coast on Thursday morning after hitting the state's Outer Banks with intense winds, large waves, storm surge and flooding.While Erin is not expected to make landfall, weather officials warn that the storm's effects are not over yet. Coastal communities up and down the east coast are bracing as storm conditions continue as life-threatening rip currents, flooding and dangerous surf, are forecast in some areas through Friday. Continue reading...

Republicans once championed the policy on economic grounds. Undoing it is disrupting students' lives and sowing confusion on campusesXimena had a plan.The 18-year-old from Houston was going to start college in the fall at the University of Texas at Tyler, where she had been awarded $10,000 a year in scholarships. That, she hoped, would set her up for her dream: a PhD in chemistry, followed by a career as a professor or researcher. Continue reading...

Continued detention of Mario Guevara is retaliation for his reporting and violates his first amendment rights, filing saysThe ACLU called Immigration and customs enforcement (Ice)'s continued detention of Atlanta-area journalist Mario Guevara an act of retaliation for his reporting on immigration raids, according to a federal petition filed on Thursday.Guevara, a Salvadorian immigrant who has been in the United States for more than 20 years, was arrested on 14 June by a police officer in suburban Atlanta while covering the No Kings Day protests in a neighborhood with a high density of immigrants. Despite all charges being dropped, Guevara has been in Ice detention in south Georgia for almost two months, the only journalist in America imprisoned as a consequence of their work today, the ACLU said. Continue reading...

Lawsuit claims that plaintiffs bought tickets for plane seats next to windows that instead were next to windowless wallsDelta Air Lines and United Airlines are being sued by a group of passengers who claim they paid extra money to sit in window" seats which were not actually next to windows.Proposed class actions were filed against United in San Francisco federal court and against Delta in Brooklyn, New York, federal court, seeking millions of dollars in damages for more than 1 million passengers at each airline. Continue reading...

Framework deal pledges to cut 27.5% tariff once EU tables legislation, and both sides say they want swift actionWashington will not lower steep tariffs on European cars until Brussels has introduced legislation to reduce its own tariffs on US exports, maintaining pressure on the EU's automotive industry.While the Trump administration has agreed to lower the current 27.5% US tariffs on European cars and car parts to 15%, details of a framework trade deal published on Thursday revealed the terms and conditions. Continue reading...

Hospitality giant responded to Guardian story about Ice's use of Sheraton hotel to hold families prior to deportationMarriott, the hospitality giant, has not disputed recent revelations that a Louisiana hotel in its portfolio was used to detain migrant families before deportation, which contradicts a 2019 policy that it would not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice). In a new statement to the Guardian, the company suggested that its acceptance of business" did not mean it supported the Trump administration's immigration policies.The Guardian reported on Tuesday that a Sheraton hotel in the city of Alexandria, situated close to a major Ice deportation hub, has been used to hold family groups before they are removed from the US. The Sheraton brand is owned by Marriott International. Continue reading...

Workers were led away in zip ties after CBP officials raided a workplace in Edison, New JerseyDozens of immigrant workers were detained at a warehouse in New Jersey on Wednesday, in the latest federal raid as part of Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.Agents from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) descended on the warehouse, in Edison, New Jersey, at 9am on Wednesday, the New York Times reported. Officers led some workers away in zip ties, employees told the Times, while people they deemed to have legal status in the US were given yellow wristbands. Continue reading...

In the Arms Down program at San Quentin in California, incarcerated men analyze the violence, heartbreak and poor choices that have shaped their livesOn a recent Friday morning, the chapel of San Quentin prison was abuzz as more than 100 incarcerated men and their friends and families took their seats at tables filling the room. A banner with large orange lettering hanging at the front read Arms Down: Teaching there are options between the first and second amendment", and the mood was festive, with the men hugging their spouses, parents and siblings.Now sheltered from the foggy, misty Marin county morning, participants and leaders of this first-of-its-kind program stepped onto the stage and started to talk, about mistaking being feared for being respected, about living with unaddressed trauma, about leaning into misconceptions of manhood and how that led them to rely on firearms as a source of safety and power. Continue reading...

Democrats hope to negate Republican gains with their own redistricting. Plus, seeking a safe place to abandon a babyGood morning.The Republican-controlled Texas House passed a redrawn congressional map requested by Donald Trump on Wednesday despite the attempts of Democrats to thwart it.What happens now? The measure will go to the state Senate, where it is expected to pass, before being signed into law by the state's Republican governor.Could other states do the same? Yes - Trump has said Florida, Indiana, and others are looking to do the same thing". Even Democrats highly opposed to the brazen practise of gerrymandering are backing aggressive efforts to counter the Republicans' efforts.What has the administration been asking for? It has instructed museum officials to issue content corrections" including replacing divisive" language. Continue reading...

Lawyer for Winnie Greco says cash for journalist was gesture of friendship and not an attempted bribeA former longtime adviser to the mayor of New York City who resigned while under FBI scrutiny gave a reporter a potato chip bag filled with cash Wednesday after a campaign event.A lawyer for Winnie Greco, the former adviser, insisted the cash was not an attempted bribe. Continue reading...

Coco Gauff is once again the home favourite while this is Aryna Sabalenka's last chance to win a grand slam this yearAryna Sabalenka Is 2025 just not the world No 1's year? Finishing as runner-up in Melbourne and Paris and falling in the semi-finals at Wimbledon, Sabalenka has failed to get over the line at slams this season despite being a constant favourite. But with her powerful game and a devastating serve - especially on hard courts - she has the tools to make a deep run as the defending champion in New York. The Belarusian has racked up a total of 52 weeks as the world No 1, surpassing her compatriot Victoria Azarenka's 51 for the 13th-most weeks atop the WTA rankings since they began in 1975. Perhaps, like Roger Federer in 2008, the 27-year-old can triumph in the final slam of the year after making two finals and a semi. Continue reading...

It's not about Nato or the Soviet Union. It's about democracyIt may be difficult for a real-estate mogul like Donald Trump to recognize, but Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine is not about slices of war-torn land in eastern Ukraine. It is about Ukraine's democracy. Putin fears that the Russian people will see that democracy as an enticing alternative to his stultifying autocratic rule. Trump is unlikely to secure a peace deal unless he acts on that reality and changes the cost-benefit analysis behind Putin's continuing war.Much of the public analysis of the Alaska summit between Trump and Putin, and the Washington collection of European leaders protecting the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, from the temperamental Trump, has been replete with red-herring issues. For example, Putin did not invade Ukraine because of feared Nato expansion. The unanimous consent of all Nato members required to admit Ukraine is nowhere on the horizon, especially since article 5 of the Nato treaty would require all Nato members to defend Ukraine from the ongoing Russian incursion.Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch (1993-2022), is a visiting professor at Princeton's School of Public and International Affairs. His new book, Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments, was published by Knopf and Allen Lane Continue reading...

More than 750 health workers say Kennedy's misinformation fuels violence and endangers livesCurrent and former employees at US health agencies released a letter on Wednesday outlining how misinformation spread by Robert F Kennedy Jr is endangering the lives of federal employees and the American people.Experts emphasized to the Guardian that he's an existential threat to public health". Continue reading...

US president told top advisers trilateral meeting would take place after leaders of the two countries have met firstDonald Trump intends to leave Russia and Ukraine to organize a meeting between their leaders without directly playing a role for now, according to administration officials familiar with the situation, taking a step back from the negotiations to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine.The next stage in Trump's eyes to end the war in Ukraine remains a bilateral meeting between Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, the officials said. Continue reading...

Glaswegian teacher's moan about the weather has racked up 4m views - and opened conversations about race on both sides of AtlanticIt began with a good-natured rant about the Scottish summer weather and has developed into a global conversation about history, diaspora and diversity on both sides of the Atlantic.Last week, Torgi Squire uploaded a TikTok post that any Scottish parent could relate to: why is it, he asked, that without fail the washout summer weather always improves the week that the kids go back to school? Continue reading...

USA center was the kid in the pink scrum cap' then soared with a winning blend of speed, power and body positivityOne Saturday in September 2014, the women's rugby team from Quinnipiac University in Connecticut travelled to Norwich, Vermont. On the home team, a powerful 18-year-old prop scored three tries in a convincing win.Quinnipiac coach Becky Carlson turned to her assistant. Oh man," she remembered saying. Who's the kid in the pink scrum cap? I'd give my right arm to have her. Continue reading...

Host of TV show Caught in Providence billed his courtroom as a place where people and cases are met with kindness'Frank Caprio, a retired municipal judge in Rhode Island who found online fame for his compassionate nature as host of the reality courtroom series Caught in Providence, has died aged 88.Caprio's official social media accounts said that he passed away peacefully" after a long and courageous battle with pancreatic cancer". Continue reading...

In a draw filled with many of the best singles tennis players in the world, the Italians made a decisive case for the importance of teamwork in this disciplineAcross two frantic days in New York, Andrea Vavassori and Sara Errani repeatedly made their intentions clear. As the only doubles specialist team in a tournament that had banished the rest of their kind, they were on a mission to prove their worth by succeeding on the court.Shortly before midnight on an Arthur Ashe Stadium still filled with raucous spectators, the mission was complete. They triumphed in spectacular fashion at the reimagined US Open mixed doubles championship by closing out the star singles pairing of Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud, the third seeds, 6-3 5-7 (10-6) in a supreme, intense tussle to defend their title. Continue reading...

Amid review of institution, a White House document argues Smithsonian has overly negative portrayal of American history. Key US politics stories from Wednesday 20 AugustAfter Donald Trump on Tuesday lashed out at the Smithsonian Institution - a premier museum, education and research complex for US history and culture - over what he called an excessive focus on how bad Slavery was", the Guardian has revealed the shape his administration's targeting of seven flagship museums will take.Trump suggested he would pressure the institution to accept his demands, just like he did with colleges and universities by threatening to cut federal funding. The White House said last week it would lead an internal review of some Smithsonian museums after Trump earlier this year accused it of spreading anti-American ideology". Continue reading...

Former US president wades into national conflict over House maps, as Texas lawmakers approve map to favor GOPBarack Obama waded into states' efforts at rare mid-decade redistricting efforts, saying he agreed with California governor Gavin Newsom's plan to counter the new Texas congressional map by launching an effort to redraw his own state's map and create more Democratic-friendly districts, calling it a responsible approach".I believe that governor Newsom's approach is a responsible approach. He said this is going to be responsible. We're not going to try to completely maximize it," Obama said at a Tuesday fundraiser on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. We're only going to do it if and when Texas and/or other Republican states begin to pull these maneuvers. Otherwise, this doesn't go into effect." Continue reading...

Exclusive: White House flags seven institutions including those for Latino, African and Asian art for review, document showsAmid the Donald Trump administration's heavy-handed review of Smithsonian museums, the Guardian has seen a document compiled by the White House that details examples of how the widely visited cultural institutions have overly negative portrayals of US history.The document, based on public submissions shared with the administration, points to what it says are problematic exhibits at seven different museums, including a Benjamin Franklin exhibit that links his scientific achievements to his ownership of enslaved people and a film about George Floyd's murder that it says mischaracterizes the police. Continue reading...

This liveblog is now closedThe White House launched an official TikTok account on Tuesday, as Donald Trump continues to permit the Chinese-owned platform to operate in the US despite a law requiring its sale.America we are BACK! What's up TikTok?" read a caption on the account's first post, a 27-second clip, on the popular video-sharing app. Continue reading...

Forms posted online show Trump made over 600 financial purchases the day after he was inaugurated for second termDonald Trump has bought more than $100m in company, state and municipal bonds since taking office in January, according to new disclosures which shed further light on the vast holdings of the US's billionaire president.The forms, posted online on Tuesday, show the Republican former real estate mogul made more than 600 financial purchases since 21 January, the day after he was inaugurated for his second term in the White House. Continue reading...

Redrawn map fiercely opposed by Democrats now moves to state senate, where it is expected to passThe Republican-controlled Texas house on Wednesday approved a redrawn congressional map requested by Donald Trump and fiercely opposed by Democrats, who led a weeks-long protest to stall the effort that kicked off a redistricting arms race between red and blue states.With the house's approval, the measure next goes to the state senate, where it is expected to pass, possibly as soon as Thursday. Continue reading...

Administration officials given legal right to move towards deportation of people from Nepal, Honduras and NicaraguaA federal appeals court on Wednesday sided with the Trump administration and halted for now a lower court's order that had kept in place temporary protections for 60,000 migrants from Central America and Nepal.This means that the Republican administration can move toward removing an estimated 7,000 people from Nepal whose temporary protected status designations expired on 5 August. The TPS designations and legal status of 51,000 Hondurans and 3,000 Nicaraguans are set to expire 8 September, at which point they will become eligible for removal. Continue reading...

US vice-president, at Washington's Union Station with Stephen Miller and Pete Hegseth, defends use of troops in area with less crimeJD Vance was booed and heckled with chants of Free DC!" during a photo op with national guard troops at Union Station in Washington on Wednesday afternoon.Handing out burgers to troops deployed last week by Donald Trump, at the station's Shake Shack alongside the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and White House deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, Vance told soldiers we appreciate everything you're doing" and asserted: We brought some law and order back." Meanwhile, a crowd of demonstrators protested outside. Continue reading...

Attorney general Ken Paxton orders two organizations and an individual to end unlawful conduct' or face lawsuitThe heated US war over abortion pills warmed up another degree on Wednesday, as the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, sent cease-and-desist letters to two organizations and an individual that he accused of mailing abortion pills to Texans or facilitating their shipment. Paxton threatened to sue if they do not stop their alleged activities.These abortion drug organizations and radical activists are not above the law, and I have ordered the immediate end of this unlawful conduct," Paxton said in a news release announcing the letters. Continue reading...

Secretary of state Marco Rubio announces US assets frozen over efforts to prosecute Americans and IsraelisThe Trump administration has ramped up its efforts to hobble the international criminal court in what the ICC has denounced as a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution".The US state department on Wednesday announced new sanctions on four ICC officials, including two judges and two prosecutors, saying they had been instrumental in efforts to prosecute Americans and Israelis. As a result of the sanctions, any assets that the targets hold in US jurisdictions are frozen. Continue reading...

Federal judge said the transcripts pale in comparison to what documents the government already has on EpsteinThe government lost its bid to unseal grand jury transcripts in the sex-trafficking case against Jeffrey Epstein.Richard Berman, a federal judge in New York, said the transcripts pale in comparison to the documents the government already has on Epstein and that disclosing them could harm victims. Continue reading...

Grants Pass reaches settlement with advocacy group that accused it of discriminating against people with disabilitiesThe Oregon city at the heart of a major US supreme court homelessness ruling has agreed to ensure camping spaces for at least 150 people as part of a settlement reached with a disability rights group that sued the city over its camping rules.Disability Rights Oregon, which sued Grants Pass in January, said on Friday that it had reached a settlement agreement. The advocacy group accused the city of discriminating against people with disabilities and violating a state law requiring cities' camping regulations to be objectively reasonable". Continue reading...