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Congress members Jamie Raskin, Eric Swalwell and Ilhan Omar among speakers as demonstrators denounce fascism'Demonstrators estimated to be in the tens of thousands gathered in Washington on Saturday in a display of mass dissent against Donald Trump's policies that organizers hoped would snowball into a rolling cycle of protests that could eventually stymie the US president in next year's congressional elections.Anger with Trump and his billionaire lieutenant, the SpaceX and Tesla entrepreneur Elon Musk, was expressed in a sea of placards and banners on the Washington mall, in the shadow of the Washington monument. Multiple messages denounced the two men for shuttering government agencies, cutting jobs and services and - in often graphic terms - for threatening the survival of US democracy. Continue reading...

Thousands of Hands Off' protesters - in the US and across major European cities - took to the streets Saturday in a show of defiance Continue reading...

Green-card holder and activist led campus pro-Palestinian rallies and is now fighting Trump effort to deport himMahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University student activist who led campus pro-Palestinian rallies and is now resisting the Trump administration's deportation efforts, has accused the university of laying the groundwork for my abduction" and called on the student body to continue demonstrations and protests.Khalil, a green-card holder who is in custody in Louisiana as his case moves through the courts, was detained on 8 March. The Trump administration is seeking to deport him under a provision in federal immigration law that permits the state department to deport non-citizens considered to be a threat to US foreign policy. Continue reading...

The popularity of Adolescence has provided an icebreaker for these conversations, but having them is not a responsibility women can shoulderThe fitness coach starts his very early morning routine by removing a piece of tape from his mouth," CNN reports. The manfluencer" in question, Ashton Hall, spends the rest of his day dunking his face in ice water, rubbing banana peel on his skin and chugging down Saratoga Water". This is apparently the modern western definition of hardcore masculinity.Friends, maybe - just maybe - we should restart that conversation about western manhood because if it involves banana peel, you are not demonstrating what it means to be a human adult; you are culturally appropriating a clown. Continue reading...

Protesters across the US rallied against Donald Trump's policies on Saturday. The 'Hands Off!' demonstrations are part of what the event's organisers expect to be the largest single day of protest against Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk since they launched a rapid-fire effort to overhaul government and expand presidential authority

State officials say they don't believe US Department of Education has authority to demand end to DEI practicesNew York state officials have told the Trump administration that they will not comply with its demands to end diversity, equity and inclusion practices in public schools, despite the administration's threats to terminate federal education funding.Daniel Morton-Bentley, counsel and deputy commissioner of the state's department of education, said in a letter dated Friday to the federal education department that state officials do not believe the federal agency has authority to make such demands. Continue reading...

Some resettled Ukrainians reportedly were told Homeland Security would terminate their legal protections

The viral response to US influencer Ashton Hall's morning routine shows that the manosphere is now mainstreamHow does the perfect morning begin? With gentle stretching, a coffee in bed? It could be a walk in the sun, a hot breakfast or simply managing to spend the first 20 minutes off your phone before spending the next 20 on Instagram. Lately, it may feel like the answer is being more productive.The optimised morning routine has become a near-mythical ideal for young people, sold by fitness influencers posting obsessively about their 5.30am starts, claiming to finish their weight training, macronutrient-rich meals and emails before our first alarm - promising that everything in your life would be better if you, too, had the discipline to just get up early. Continue reading...

Will the lure of a state visit help keep Britain's burden lower?

Texas senator's comments another sign of Republican unease over reciprocal tariffs' and stock market plungeTed Cruz, the US senator from Texas, has warned that his fellow Republicans risk a bloodbath" in the 2026 midterm elections if Donald Trump's liberation day" tariffs cause a recession.Cruz also warned that the president's tariffs, if they stay in place for long and are met by global retaliation on American goods, could trigger a full-blown trade war that would destroy jobs here at home, and do real damage to the US economy". Continue reading...

Barack Obama has called on US citizens to resist Donald Trump's political agenda, and warned Americans to prepare to 'possibly sacrifice' in support of democratic values. The former US president was speaking at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, on Thursday

New York-based photographer Eric Kogan uses shadows, reflections and fortuitous timing in order to create optical illusions in his work. It's more of a life's journey than a project," he says, but if I had to describe it, it's all about spotting unusual moments in everyday places." In his daily walks around the city, he keeps an eye out for interesting juxtapositions or humorous framings: a pigeon balancing on a ghostly tree; a cloud caught in a net; statues miraculously coming to life. At the root it's about seeing, but maintaining the right state of mind is also everything. I'm hoping the photos will connect with others, and, with each individual, take on personal narratives."

Carmaker says action will allow it to consider how to mitigate cost of 25% tariff on importsJaguar Land Rover (JLR) will pause shipments of its UK-made cars to the US for a month as it considers how to mitigate the cost of Donald Trump's tariffs.The 25% tariff imposed by the US on imported cars and light trucks took effect on 3 April. Continue reading...

It is up to all of us to fix this,' former president said in speech at Hamilton College in New YorkBarack Obama has called on US citizens, colleges and law firms to resist Donald Trump's political agenda - and warned Americans to prepare to possibly sacrifice" in support of democratic values.It has been easy during most of our lifetimes to say you are a progressive or say you are for social justice or say you're for free speech and not have to pay a price for it," Obama said during a speech at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, on Thursday. Continue reading...

Temporary protected status lets people stay when it's not safe for them to go home, but Ice is arresting them anywayVenezuelans with legal permission to live and work in the United States are being unlawfully arrested by federal authorities at their homes, in their cars, at regular immigration check-ins and on the streets, attorneys say.They are then stuck in immigration detention around the country, sometimes for weeks, despite the law explicitly banning the government from keeping them behind bars. Continue reading...

Vote fell mostly along party lines and now goes to the House, where it could be voted on as soon as next weekSenate Republicans plugged away overnight and into early Saturday morning to approve their multitrillion-dollar tax breaks and spending cuts framework, hurtling past hardened Democratic opposition toward what Donald Trump calls the big, beautiful bill" that is central to his agenda.The vote, 51-48, fell along mostly party lines, but with sharp dissent from two prominent GOP senators. It could not have come at a more difficult political moment. The US economy is churning after the president's vast tariff scheme sent stocks plummeting, and experts are warning of soaring costs for consumers at home and threats of a potential recession. Republican senators Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky both voted against the bill. Continue reading...

The first lady spoke about (wait for it) diversity as she presented awards to courageous women from around the worldLet's take a quick break from the increasingly dreadful news for a little check-in, shall we? So ... how are you holding up right now? How are those stress levels? Continue reading...

The Base, terrorist group founded in 2018, free to export violence abroad as Trump pulls FBI from pursuing far rightA US neo-Nazi terrorist group with a Russia-based leader is calling for targeted assassinations and attacks on the critical infrastructure of Ukraine in an effort to destabilize the country as it carries out ceasefire negotiations with the Kremlin.The Base, which has a web of cells all over the world, was founded in 2018 and became the subject of a relentless FBI counter-terrorism investigation that led to several arrests and world governments officially designating it as a terrorist organization. Continue reading...

Why is everything computerised, automated or impossible to turn off these days?I believe, deep in my soul, that car companies' number one goal in life is to ruin the experience of driving. I don't have any direct evidence of this conspiracy to rob us of the pleasure of the open road, other than the cacophony of beeps, blips, bloops and blops that greet us in the latest models. Oh, and the screens. Every year, they try to find a new place to glue a touchscreen in a car, like Pizza Hut hunting for more orifices to stuff cheese into one of their pies.Everything is computerized, automated or impossible to turn off. According to surveys of new-car buyers by the market research firm Strategic Vision, satisfaction with car controls plummeted by 23 percentage points in the last nine years. The whiz-bang gizmos foisted on the North American car buyer have devolved from the glorious, life-saving back-up camera to gesture controls that allow you to turn an invisible knob to crank up the volume on Espresso without touching a single thing in your vehicle.Turn the volume up: circle your finger in a clockwise direction.Turn the volume down: circle your finger in a counter-clockwise direction.Accept a call: point to the BMW iDrive touchscreen.Select navigation/custom setting: use two fingers to point to the touchscreen.Change rearview camera angle: draw a circle using your forefinger and thumb.Regret your life choices: look in the mirror for 10 seconds. Continue reading...

Graphic artist Rebecca Burke was on the trip of a lifetime. But as she tried to leave the US she was stopped, interrogated and branded an illegal alien by ICE. Now back home, she tells others thinking of going to Trump's America: don't do itJust before the graphic artist Rebecca Burke left Seattle to travel to Vancouver, Canada, on 26 February, she posted an image of a rough comic to Instagram. One part of travelling that I love is seeing glimpses of other lives," read the bubble in the first panel, above sketches of cosy homes: crossword puzzle books, house plants, a lit candle, a steaming kettle on a gas stove. Burke had seen plenty of glimpses of other lives over the six weeks she had been backpacking in the US. She had been travelling on her own, staying on homestays free of charge in exchange for doing household chores, drawing as she went. For Burke, 28, it was absolute freedom.Within hours of posting that drawing, Burke got to see a much darker side of life in America, and far more than a glimpse. When she tried to cross into Canada, Canadian border officials told her that her living arrangements meant she should be travelling on a work visa, not a tourist one. They sent her back to the US, whereAmerican officials classed her as an illegal alien. She was shackled and transported to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention centre, where she was locked up for 19 days - even though she had money to pay for a flight home, and was desperate to leave the US. Continue reading...

Rather than an explosive split that many predicted, Musk instead appears set to keep close ties with Trump and retain influence on US politicsAfter months of exerting extraordinary power over the US government and becoming a mascot for Donald Trump's new administration, the first signs that Elon Musk may shift away from his prominent role in the White House began to appear this week.Both Trump and JD Vance have stated in interviews over the past few days that Musk would eventually leave the administration and the department of government efficiency" (Doge) that he founded, their most direct statements yet on his tenure. Politico also reported on Wednesday that Trump had told members of his inner circle that the Tesla CEO would be departing in the coming weeks, though Musk called the article fake news". Musk is a special government employee", a designation that technically carries a 130-day term that, depending on how the administration chooses to log those days, could run out at the end of May. Vance made sure to say that Musk would remain a close friend and adviser" to the administration even after leaving, further muddying the waters on how to mark Musk's potential departure. Continue reading...

Congressman tells the Guardian Trump is exploiting fight against antisemitism as a ruse to stamp his will on schoolsJerry Nadler, the most senior Jewish member of the House of Representatives, has accused Donald Trump of being a would-be dictator" who is cynically exploiting the fight against antisemitism as a ruse to stamp his will on top-flight universities.In an interview with the Guardian, the New York congressman lashed out against the president for using genuine dangers confronting American Jews as a guise to justify his attacks on Columbia, Harvard and other universities. Trump obviously doesn't give a damn about antisemitism, this is just an expression of his authoritarianism," he said. Continue reading...

Paula White, a millionaire televangelist who speaks in tongues, was criticized for an alleged cash-for-blessings schemeOn the campaign trail, Donald Trump repeatedly promised to protect religious liberty", and two weeks after his inauguration he acted: creating a White House faith office", which will be led by Paula White, a millionaire televangelist known to speak in tongues who called the Black Lives Matter movement the Antichrist" and once encouraged people to buy resurrection seeds" for $1,114.The move brought renewed focus on White, Trump's longtime spiritual guru. And for White, not all of it will be welcome. Continue reading...

The US president's tariffs are vengeful and impetuous - and will have immense costs with no clear goalWith the huge and painful tariffs that Donald Trump announced on Thursday, Tariff Man" is acting like a paranoid 12-year-old bully who is convinced that everyone has wronged him, and he wants revenge. But the president's instrument of revenge - massive tariffs - is going to do serious damage to the US and global economies. Stock market investors are convinced that's the case, with Wall Street and world stock markets losing trillions of dollars in value in recent days as a result of Trump's obsession.The president has escalated his risky, vengeful trade war even though the US economy was in strong shape when he took office - the jobless rate was just 4.1%, inflation was below 3% and US economic growth was the strongest in the industrial world, with its stock market at record levels. So it's unclear whether the US economy needed the shock treatment that Trump is inflicting. The price increases resulting from his tariffs - which are a tax on imports - will cost the average American family $3,800 a year, according to the Budget Lab at Yale. Continue reading...

Alarm over the health of the nation's children' follows federal workforce cuts by health secretary RFK JrMultiple maternal and child health programs have been eliminated or hollowed out as part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) layoffs, prompting alarm and disbelief among advocates working to make Americans healthier.The fear and anxiety come as a full accounting of the cuts remains elusive. Federal health officials have released only broad descriptions of changes to be made, rather than a detailed accounting of the programs and departments being eviscerated. Continue reading...

Our industry must reckon with how we've trivialised activism by turning it into comms strategy - only to abandon itNobody likes to admit we need marketing, but the discipline has always been necessary to match people with the products and services that fulfil their needs and desires.It started simply enough, with us focusing primarily on brands' features and tangible benefits. But as consumer society evolved, we moved on to symbolic benefits: identities, lifestyles. Finally, we began selling values: an ideology that hit its zenith between 2015 and 2022 in the era of brand purpose".Eugene Healey is brand strategy consultant, educator and creatorDo 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 economic assault on the world stunned economists and sent stock markets into a spiral. Who will pay the price?

A record number of humanitarian workers were killed last year. My staff's red uniforms should have protected them. Instead they became their death shrouds

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Organisations that pumped money into overturning Roe v Wade are making inroads in Europe. Women's rights are truly at riskWith Donald Trump as president, there is now a heavy strain of Christian nationalism driving the US political agenda. From draconian abortion policies to ending birthright citizenship, some of Trump's first executive orders sound startlingly like something out of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, the dystopian novel turned TV show set in Gilead, a fundamentalist, fascist version of the US where women have no rights. But it is urgent we understand that what is happening in the US could happen here. This road to Atwood's Gilead is charting a course straight through the UK and Europe, and we may well be sleepwalking on to it.In November 2024 I debated with the American conservative lawyer Erin Hawley at the Oxford Union. The motion was This house regrets the overturning of Roe v Wade", the US supreme court's landmark decision that once protected the right to have an abortion at the federal level. Hawley is vice-president of the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), an anti-LGBTQ+ hate group", according to the Southern Poverty Law Centre, founded by the US Christian right. She is also a high profile lawyer and supported the state of Mississippi on the Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization case that overturned Roe. Continue reading...

Most senior American prelate in Catholic church to face accusations of sexual abuse died in state of MissouriThe first cardinal to be defrocked by the Pope over allegations of sexual abuse has died in the United States, a senior US churchman said on Friday.Theodore McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington and the most senior American prelate in the Catholic church to face claims of abuse, died in the state of Missouri aged 94, the New York Times reported, citing a Vatican statement. Continue reading...

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Disgraced Republican congressman made a mockery' of election system and merits long sentence, US officials sayProsecutors are seeking more than seven years in prison for disgraced former congressman George Santos after he pleaded guilty to federal fraud and identity theft charges.The US attorney for the eastern district of New York argued in a court filing on Friday that a significant sentence was warranted because the New York Republican's unparalleled crimes" had made a mockery" of the country's election system. Continue reading...

Global markets plunge for a second day as Fed chair defies Trump's call for interest rate cut and warns of price pain for consumers - key US politics stories from 4 AprilDonald Trump's sweeping tariffs are roiling global financial markets, with stocks tumbling across the board from New York to London.Wall Street suffered its worst week since the onset of the Covid-19 crisis five years ago as investors worldwide balked at the US president's risky bid to overhaul the global economy with the vast tariffs. Continue reading...

We have had to be resilient because no one has come to our aid. Myanmar needs tangible support before the humanitarian crisis claims even more livesTwo thoughts entered my head as soon as I saw that Myanmar, my home country, had been hit by an earthquake: Is everyone OK?", followed by, We just can't catch a break".My loved ones thankfully turned out to be badly shaken but physically OK. There were material losses but nothing compared with what so many others are going through. Continue reading...

Millions in grants that would promote diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives may be frozen following rulingThe US supreme court is letting the Trump administration temporarily freeze $65m in teacher-training grants that would promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in a 5-4 decision.The decision came down on Friday afternoon, with five of the court's conservatives - Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh - in the majority. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson all dissented. Continue reading...

Number of cases of highly contagious disease so far this year now at more than double amount seen all of 2024Texas on Friday reported another large jump in measles cases and hospitalizations, leaving the US with more than double the number of measles cases so far this year than it saw in all of 2024.Other states with active outbreaks - defined as three or more cases - include New Mexico, Kansas, Ohio and Oklahoma. The virus has been spreading in undervaccinated communities, and since February, two unvaccinated people have died from measles-related causes. Continue reading...

White House has said US courts can't order return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose wife has been protesting outside courtA federal judge on Friday afternoon ordered the US to return a Maryland man mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison after a Trump administration attorney was at a loss to explain what happened.The wife of the man, who was flown to a notorious Salvadoran prison had earlier joined dozens of supporters at a rally before a court hearing on Friday, where his lawyers had asked the judge - Paula Xinis - to order the Trump administration to return him to the US. Continue reading...

Former Skadden, Arps, Meagher & Flom employees say firm has caved' to the administration's bullying' in letterMore than 80 former employees of Skadden, Arps, Meagher & Flom sent a letter to the law firm on Friday expressing deep outrage" over its decision to reach an agreement with Donald Trump in order to avoid an executive order punishing the firm.Skadden, a top-ranked law firm, reached an agreement, announced on 28 March, to commit at least $100m in pro-bono services to causes both the firm and the president support, including assisting veterans, law enforcement, local government officials and combatting antisemitism. The agreement also says Skadden won't engage in race-based hiring. Continue reading...

We'd like to hear from people on whether they are stocking up or avoiding buying certain productsWe're interested in finding out more about how people's buying habits have changed due to Donald Trump's tariffs.With the rising prices of eggs, have you decided to avoid purchasing them? Perhaps there are certain items you are stocking up on? We'd like to hear from people and the reasons they are changing their shopping habits. Do you have any concerns? Continue reading...

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has downplayed the impact on global markets of Donald Trump's tariffs. Speaking at a press conference during a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Brussels, Rubio said the US needed 'to get back to a time where we're a country that can make things' Business live - latest updates US politics live - latests updates Continue reading...

Companies with suppliers in Asian countries are likely to have to raise prices after the US president's measures

Owner of Simplified says White House bypassed required procedures when setting 20% tariff on Chinese goods

The white nationalist has been in Trump's orbit for years, although the White House has tried to sideline her at timesLaura Loomer, a rightwing extremist and political influencer known for her incendiary social media presence, appeared to have been sidelined at points by Donald Trump's election campaign and then by his new administration.But she has long had the US president's ear and may have it again, at least for now. Continue reading...

As global stock markets fall, personal investments including pensions and stocks and shares could be affectedGlobal stock markets have been falling sharply for a second day running after Donald Trump's announcement that the US planned to charge tariffs on goods from around the world. A global trade war intensified when China responded on Friday by announcing tariffs of 34% on imports of US goods, accelerating the market sell-off. For people in the UK, there are reasons to be concerned about the falls: Continue reading...