The president is pushing for cuts in spending that Congress needs to approve to take effect - but what exactly are they?Congressional Republicans are pushing for passage of a rescissions package, legislation requested by Donald Trump that will claw back $9bn in funding intended for foreign aid programs and public broadcasting.The bill, which is part of the president's campaign to slash government spending, has passed the Senate by a narrow margin of 51 votes to 48. Continue reading...
The rate of voluntary sterilization among young women jumped abruptly after Dobbs, and there's no reason to believe it will drop offDobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization, the US supreme court case that rescinded the constitutional right to abortion, is failing on its own terms. Since the ruling, in June 2022, the number of abortions in the US has risen. Support for reproductive rights is on the upswing. And the rate of voluntary sterilization among young women - a repudiation of Trumpian pronatalism, if a desperate one - jumped abruptly after Dobbs, and there's no reason to believe it will drop off.Also rising at an alarming clip are preventable maternal deaths and criminal prosecutions of pregnant people. Continue reading...
The move would likely weaken influence of the state's fast-growing non-white population and backfire on the GOPAt the behest of Donald Trump, Texas Republicans are poised to redraw their state's congressional map to try and gain as many as five congressional seats, a move that is likely to further weaken the influence of the state's fast-growing non-white population and could wind up backfiring on the party.The effort to redraw the map represents a blunt and undemocratic effort by Republican lawmakers to pick the voters who elect them, and comes at a time when many of the party's positions are unpopular. The US president and national Republicans are making the push because the GOP holds a 220-212 advantage in the US House (there are three Democratic vacancies) and Trump's party typically loses seats in the midterm elections, which will happen next year. Continue reading...
As the anti-Trump resistance has grown, so has talk of 3.5%, a figure which stems from research on previous movementsThe number is frequently cited in leftwing circles, serving as a rallying cry for people who oppose Donald Trump: if 3.5% of a population protests against a regime, the regime will fail.Left-leaning content creators, activists and media have boosted the 3.5% rule as the anti-Trump resistance has grown. A Pod Save America episode in June was headlined The 3.5% Protest Rule That Could Bring Down Trump. Social media posts from protest groups broke down the rule and its limitations. Continue reading...
President battles rare backlash from supporters, many of whom say he is hiding vital information. Plus, a climate expert calls for AI and crypto tax Don't already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up hereGood morning.Donald Trump has turned on his Maga base, blasting his supporters as gullible weaklings" for believing the government is holding out on crucial information about the disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.What are his supporters upset about? A key sticking point has been the government's announcement that Epstein did not keep records of a client list". It's particularly contentious because the attorney general, Pam Bondi, had previously said such a list was sitting on my desk right now to review", though she later claimed she was referring to other documents.How were the findings verified? Using open-source information and through analysis by weapons experts. Continue reading...
It seems paradoxical to look to Trump to save Palestinians, yet no recent US president has been better placed to stop IsraelIt seems paradoxical to look to Donald Trump to save the Palestinians, yet no recent American president has been better placed to insist that the Israeli government stop its extraordinary repression and brutality. Trump so far has largely given Israel carte blanche to continue its genocide in Gaza, but Benjamin Netanyahu would be remiss to count on the fickle and self-serving American president. And there may be a way to turn Trump around.Most US presidents have stuck with the Israeli government regardless of its atrocities because the political fallout of deviating was too high. Any pressure on Israel would be sure to trigger outrage from Christian evangelicals (Israel's largest group of supporters in the US) and the conservative segment of American Jews represented by the lobbying group Aipac. Continue reading...
Members vote 51 to 48 in favour of president's request to slash $9bn in spending already approved by CongressThe US Senate has approved Donald Trump's plan for billions of dollars in cuts to funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting, handing the Republican president another victory as he exerts control over Congress with little opposition.The Senate voted 51 to 48 in favour of Trump's request to cut $9bn in spending already approved by Congress. Continue reading...
Musk says Trump should release files and point out which part is the hoax' as the president struggles to contain crisis within Maga base. Key US politics stories from Wednesday 16 July at a glanceElon Musk has mocked Donald Trump's claim that files related to the federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein are a hoax".Wow, amazing that Epstein killed himself' and Ghislaine is in federal prison for a hoax," Musk wrote on his social media platform X in response to the US president's attempt to deflect questions about Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, by casting doubt on the authenticity of the documents his justice department has refused to release. Continue reading...
Plaintiffs alleged collusion between homeland security and justice agencies to potentially deport people from hearingsTwelve immigrants and their legal advocates filed a class action lawsuit on Wednesday against the Trump administration, alleging that the justice department and the Department of Homeland Security colluded to arrest and deport potentially thousands of people at their immigration hearings.A coalition of immigrant advocacy groups - including the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Legal Education and Services (RAICES), National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), Democracy Forward and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area (LCCRSF) - filed the suit on behalf of 12 plaintiffs, the majority of whom were seeking protection in the US from anti-LGBTQ+ violence or female genital mutilation. Continue reading...
Noaa initially issued a tsunami warning in the state's southern coast, which it later downgraded to an advisoryA stretch of Alaska's southern coast was under a tsunami advisory on Wednesday after a strong earthquake was felt throughout the region.The US Geological Survey described the earthquake as a magnitude 7.3. After the quake, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a tsunami warning, which it later downgraded to an advisory. Continue reading...
Children removed from California home of couple who were arrested in May and had said they wanted a large family'More than 20 children are in the custody of a California child-welfare agency while authorities investigate a Los Angeles-area couple and whether they misled surrogate mothers around the country.Fifteen children were removed from the couple's opulent home in Arcadia after an abuse allegation in May, and another six living elsewhere were also located, said Arcadia's police lieutenant, Kollin Cieadlo. They range in age from two months to 13 years, with most between one and three. Continue reading...
by David Hammer of WWL Louisiana in New Orleans on (#6YPPM)
Outcome could have major effects on whether the Catholic archdiocese settles its expensive, five-year-old caseAs New Orleans's bankrupt Roman Catholic archdiocese finalizes a plan to settle 633 clergy abuse claims filed against it, the church's investors are arguing in US bankruptcy court that about half of those survivors could have their claims thrown out.Church officials said on Wednesday they would not necessarily seek that, though the eligibility of claims will be determined by a court-appointed examiner. If the investors' arguments prevail, it could have major effects on whether the US's second-oldest Catholic archdiocese settles its expensive, five-year-old bankruptcy case - or if victims of abuse by its clergy will pursue their claims individually in civil court. Continue reading...
Announcement that people from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Cuba and Yemen were deported comes after eight others were sent to South Sudan this monthThe US has flown five immigrants from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Yemen and Cuba to the small, African country of Eswatini - an absolute monarchy with a troubling human rights record.The move signals that the US is again ramping up so-called third country" deportations after the US supreme court cleared the practice last month. Continue reading...
University announces move as it tries to restore $400m in funds frozen over alleged failure to protect Jewish studentsColumbia University has agreed to adopt a controversial definition of antisemitism as it pursues an agreement with the Trump aimed at restoring $400m in federal government grants frozen over its alleged failure to protect Jewish students.In a letter to students and staff, the university's acting president, Claire Shipman, said it would incorporate the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism into its anti-discrimination policies as part of a broad overhaul. Continue reading...
Trio allegedly took cash to file false reports that would allow noncitizens to qualify for special visa to let them stay in USFederal authorities have charged three current or former Louisiana police chiefs with taking bribes in exchange for filing false police reports that would allow noncitizens to seek a visa that lets certain crime victims stay in the US.The false police reports would indicate that the immigrant was a victim of a crime that would qualify them to apply for a so-called U visa, US attorney Alexander C Van Hook said on Wednesday at a news conference in Lafayette, Louisiana. He said the police officials were paid $5,000 for each name they provided falsified reports for - and that there were hundreds of names. Continue reading...
Lawsuit claims Fema lacks power to cancel multibillion-dollar Bric program after it was approved by CongressA group of 20 mostly Democratic-led US states filed a lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to block the Trump administration from terminating a multibillion-dollar grant program that funds infrastructure upgrades to protect against natural disasters.The lawsuit filed in Boston federal court claims that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) lacked the power to cancel the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program in April after it was approved and funded by Congress. Continue reading...
New England Society for Psychic Research announced the sudden' death of Dan Rivera, 54, the organization's leaderA paranormal investigator who was helping lead a national tour of the allegedly haunted Annabelle doll has suddenly died over the weekend.On Tuesday, the New England Society for Psychic Research announced the sudden" death of 54-year-old Dan Rivera, the organization's lead paranormal investigator and an army veteran. Continue reading...
Sayfollah Saif' Musallet, 20, was an ice-cream shop owner in Florida, and a beloved member of a tight-knit family with deep ties to the US and PalestineWhen Fatmah Muhammad thinks about her younger cousin Sayfollah Musallet, affectionately known as Saif, she pictures him behind the counter of his ice-cream shop in Tampa Bay, Florida, carefully decorating her knafeh with the same effort he brought to everything else.She makes the dessert from scratch, and would sometimes ship it from California, where the 43-year-old baker lives, so the family legacy could grow nationwide. Saif would sell the Palestinian dessert in his little Amish-style ice-cream shop that carried international treats from the world over. Continue reading...
Tom Donlon claims he was sidelined after warning Adams he had uncovered systemic corruption' by NYPD leadershipA former New York police commissioner is suing the city, Eric Adams, the mayor, and top police officials, accusing them of a coordinated criminal enterprise that had taken root at the highest levels of city government".Tom Donlon, who served for two months last year as New York's top cop, filed the 251-page claim in federal court on Wednesday. In it, among other explosive claims, he says he attempted to establish internal oversight into corruption at the NYPD, and uncovered systemic corruption and criminal conduct being perpetrated by the NYPD's leadership", but after he warned Adams he was sidelined. Continue reading...
The US president denies he would dismiss the Federal Reserve head after reportedly drafting letter to sack himDonald Trump has privately indicated he is on the verge of firing the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, rattling Wall Street and renewing questions over the US central bank's independence.The US president insisted on Wednesday that it was highly unlikely" he would dismiss the Fed chair, after reports he had suggested he would and shown a draft letter dismissing Powell to political allies. Continue reading...
Lawyers for Trump's justice department have said Maryland man will be detained if he is freedA federal judge in Tennessee could rule on Wednesday on whether to release Kilmar Abrego Garcia from jail to await trial on human smuggling charges, a decision that could allow Donald Trump's administration to try to deport the Maryland construction worker for a second time.Lawyers for the justice department have said US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) will detain Abrego Garcia if he is freed. Ice officials have said they will initiate deportation proceedings against the Salvadorian national and will possibly try to send him to a third country such as Mexico or South Sudan. Continue reading...
Kenneth Vinyard was trying to assist police when off-duty officer John J Hawk attacked himAn off-duty police officer who killed a bystander by striking him in the chest and knocking him to the ground as the victim tried to give Beaver county, Pennsylvania, investigators information about a shooting has been ordered to serve five years' probation.John J Hawk, 38, received the sentence on Tuesday after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the November 2022 attack outside a Walmart that led to the death of Kenneth Vinyard, 48. Hawk also pleaded guilty to assault and reckless endangerment. Continue reading...
Saga has pitted Trump against his base, with the president pleading with supporters to not waste time' on EpsteinThe Department of Justice's announcement that it did not have a list of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged clients, and that the convicted sex offender was not murdered, has plunged the rightwing world into turmoil.Conservative commentators and media figures, some of whom spent years pushing conspiracy theories about Epstein's death, have accused the government of covering up the hedge fund manager's crimes, with calls growing for Pam Bondi, the attorney general, to resign. Continue reading...
Forum speakers said Donald Trump's second term resembles strongman Viktor Orban's first years in powerDemocrats must organize urgently for the 2026 midterm elections and avoid a it can't happen here" mentality to stop Donald Trump from staging a full-scale autocratic takeover, a Hungarian opposition parliamentarian has said.Katalin Cseh, a critic of Hungary's strongman prime minister, Viktor Orban, told a forum on authoritarianism that the central European country's experience held vital lessons for Trump's opponents in their attempts to resist his assaults on US institutions and democratic norms since his return to the White House. Continue reading...
Descendants of Terminal Island's Japanese community see parallels between the second world war and Ice raids todayJohn Tonai was enraged when he learned that a human-made island in San Pedro Bay was being used as a staging ground for the workplace raids unfolding across Los Angeles.To Tonai, Terminal Island isn't just one of the country's busiest container ports. It's the site of a small fishing village where his parents and thousands of other Japanese immigrants helped establish California's tuna-canning industry. Continue reading...
Watchdog says NIH approved $12m in new dog studies months after pledge to reduce animal testingThe US National Institute of Health (NIH) is continuing to fund cruel and wasteful" animal experiments involving dogs and cats, despite their recent announcement to reduce animal research.The NIH director, Jay Bhattacharya, announced in April the launch of a new initiative to reduce testing in animals" and prioritise human-based technologies" such as organ-on-a-chip and real-world data, in a new era of innovation" in biomedical research. The move seeks to address longstanding translational failures of animal research to predict human outcomes in diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's, due to differences in anatomy, physiology, lifespan, and disease characteristics". Continue reading...
Democratic NYC mayoral nominee seeks to ease tensions with business leaders and critics over controversial phraseZohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York mayor, has told business leaders in the city he will not use the phrase globalize the intifada" and discourage others from doing so, according to reports.Mamdani, a democratic socialist who won the Democratic nomination last month, has been under pressure to clarify his position on the phrase that many regard as a call to violence against Jews, and one that he had previously declined to condemn. Continue reading...
Despite high costs, working parents of K-12 children face annual high stakes to find options and fight for camp spotsSummer camp had already begun for Tasmiha Khan's two sons when a work contract unexpectedly ended. Money was suddenly tight for the freelance communications strategist - and the $1,300 price for the school district's months-long summer camp became unaffordable. Khan had no choice but to pull her children out early.To give them an enriching summer, Khan tried a few alternatives. An Arabic immersion program still had spots open, but Khan wasn't impressed. Continue reading...
Martin says the party has to show voters that Everything we're for is exactly what the American people are for'As Democrats reckon with a deep inter-party divide that threatens their ability to repair the party's image and win back voters, Ken Martin said he not focused on internal bullshit" because most people could care less about the internal drama and soap opera of the Democratic party."Martin, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, told the Guardian that he knows Democrats have to earn back trust from communities across the country before the midterms. Continue reading...
Jo-Ann Mort and Beth Miller go head to head on Zohran MamdaniWhile headlines would have you believe otherwise, Jewish New Yorkers supported Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral Democratic primary in droves. We showed up because our communities want to live and thrive alongside our neighbors in an affordable city where no one is left behind, and because we want a mayor who believes in Palestinian human rights.Beth Miller is the political director of Jewish Voice for Peace ActionJo-Ann Mort is co-author of Our Hearts Invented a Place: Can Kibbutzim Survive in Today's Israel? She writes frequently about Israel for US, UK, and Israeli publications Continue reading...
When Richard Pryor saw the man firing in the parking lot, he sprang into action, buying time before guards arrivedA Michigan church deacon who had a hand in thwarting a rifle-wielding man's attempts to shoot worshippers at a service in June by ramming the attacker with his truck says he sprang into action because waiting for first responders' help was not feasible.I'm just realizing there's no time," Richard Pryor - who drew gunfire while protecting the congregation of CrossPointe Community church in Wayne, Michigan - said during a recent Associated Press interview in which he revisited his state of mind that day. I didn't have a weapon on me, in the truck or anything, so what are your options?" Continue reading...
We need counterstrategies against the Trumpists' usurpation of what should remain separate powersIt has been said many times, but saying it appears to have no consequences: our system of checks and balances is failing. The US supreme court allowing the president effectively to abolish the Department of Education only reinforces this sense; Sonia Sotomayor, in her dissent, explicitly wrote that the threat to our Constitution's separation of powers is grave" - but she did not explain how to counter the threat.The picture is complicated by the fact that what critics call the stranglehold the checks and balances narrative on the American political imagination" has prevented positive democratic change. Hence it is crucial to understand where the separation of powers itself needs to be kept in check and where it can play a democracy-reinforcing role. Most important, we need counterstrategies against the Trumpists' usurpation of what should remain separate powers. Continue reading...
US president talks of low tariff to give pharmaceutical firms a year or so to build, and then making it very high'Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on pharmaceutical products and semiconductors as soon as 1 August, the latest deadline for the introduction of his reciprocal" levies on individual countries.The US president told reporters late on Tuesday the taxes on drug imports could be announced probably at the end of the month, and we're going to start off with a low tariff and give the pharmaceutical companies a year or so to build, and then we're going to make it a very high tariff". Continue reading...
Scotland's domestic league has been dominated by Celtic and Rangers, but American investors see untapped potentialA club that plays in red, white and blue was always ripe for American investment. The arrival of Andrew Cavenagh and the San Francisco 49ers as Rangers' new owners has the potential to shake up a Scottish top division that has been won by Rangers' fierce rivals, Celtic, in 13 of the last 14 seasons.It's not just at the top, however, where American money is reshaping Scottish soccer. Six of the Scottish Premiership's 12 clubs are now American-owned. The 49ers' purchase of Rangers wasn't even the only US takeover of a Scottish club this summer: Calvin Ford, the great-great-grandson of Henry Ford, completed a deal to buy Livingston. Scotland's top division is now just one club away from having a majority of American owners. Continue reading...
When AI is (badly) informing health policy and enabling bad actors, it's time to regulate the tech companiesNearly a year into parenting, I've relied on advice and tricks to keep my baby alive and entertained. For the most part, he's been agile and vivacious, and I'm beginning to see an inquisitive character develop from the lump of coal that would suckle from my breast. Now he's started nursery (or what Germans refer to as Kita), other parents in Berlin, where we live, have warned me that an avalanche of illnesses will come flooding in. So during this particular stage of uncertainty, I did what many parents do: I consulted the internet.This time, I turned to ChatGPT, a source I had vowed never to use. I asked a straightforward but fundamental question: How do I keep my baby healthy?" The answers were practical: avoid added sugar, monitor for signs of fever and talk to your baby often. But the part that left me wary was the last request: If you tell me your baby's age, I can tailor this more precisely." Of course, I should be informed about my child's health, but given my growing scepticism towards AI, I decided to log off.Edna Bonhomme is a historian of science Continue reading...
There's plenty to ponder over as Major League Baseball takes a rare pause before the second-half stretch runThe Major League Baseball season has reached its halfway point, or, more accurately, we've landed at the All-Star break, with 60% of the schedule already in the books. So, how did it go? Here's a handful of storylines to chew on as we prepare for the second-half stretch run. Continue reading...
The 2011 Open winner practised on Tuesday with the Masters champion and Tom McKibbin, and is keen for all three to make their markThe 7am tee-time practice trio on Tuesday at Royal Portrush: Darren Clarke, Rory McIlroy, Tom McKibbin. The galleries grew and grew. The venue for the Open this week was the site of a starstruck McIlroy meeting Clarke on his 10th birthday in 1999. Clarke's foundation played a key role in the early development of McIlroy. McKibbin, as a 13-year-old playing at McIlroy's home club in Holywood, was invited by him to play in the Irish Open's pro-am in 2016. The connections are as uplifting as they are strong.Clarke's description of seeing McIlroy win the Masters in April, completing his set of majors, is therefore understandable. I watched every shot," Clarke says. I couldn't take my eyes off it. Rory winning there was almost like watching my two boys, Tyrone and Conor, win. I was that emotional. Continue reading...
There is no guarantee the US president's impatience with Russia will last, but the Kremlin may come to regret testing his patienceBefore Donald Trump was a politician he was a property tycoon. Naturally, he thought he could fix the Ukraine war with a real-estate deal. In exchange for a ceasefire, Vladimir Putin would get to keep territory he had already seized.But before Putin was a politician he was a KGB agent who mourned the collapse of the Soviet Union. His idea of a fair solution begins with Ukraine's total submission to an imperial Russian motherland.Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Grijalva beat Gen Z activist Deja Foxx in the race and will succeed her late father, Raul Grijalva, in the roleAdelita Grijalva won the Democratic House primary in Arizona to succeed her father, beating a young social media activist in a closely watched election seen as a test of the party's generational divide.Raul Grijalva, a longtime congressman in southern Arizona, died from cancer earlier this year and left a vacancy in the state's seventh district. The younger Grijalva, a 54-year-old who served for 20 years on a Tucson school board, has been a Pima county supervisor since 2020. Continue reading...
President is looking to clawback money from public media and foreign aid programs to seemingly control US debtSenate Republicans on Tuesday advanced Donald Trump's request to cancel about $9bn in previously approved spending, overcoming concerns about what the rescissions could mean for impoverished people around the globe and for public radio and television stations in their home states.JD Vance broke the tie on the procedural vote, allowing the measure to advance, 51-50. Continue reading...
Police say suspect arrested in connection with the deaths after finding the couple's bodies with gunshot woundsLos Angeles police discovered American Idol music supervisor Robin Kaye and her husband, musician Thomas Deluca, dead in their Encino home on Monday, in what authorities are investigating as a double homicide.After responding to the neighborhood for a welfare check, officers told celebrity news site TMZ, which first reported the news, that they found blood outside the couple's $4.5m home. Inside, police discovered Kaye and Deluca's bodies, in separate rooms, with gunshot wounds, NBC Los Angeles reports, citing police statements. Continue reading...
Donald Trump told reporters he doesn't understand why his supporters are so interested in the 'sordid, but boring' crimes of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 'He's dead for a long time,' the president said. 'I think, really, only pretty bad people, including fake news, want to keep something like that going,' he said. Trump's comments came after the justice department announced Epstein's death was a suicide and that, despite conspiracy theories to the contrary, there was no list of his clients to be made public
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