Court turns aside GOP request to block new map, second setback in recent days for state's RepublicansNew Utah voting districts that give Democrats an improved shot at winning a US House seat can be used in this year's election, a federal court ruled Monday while turning aside a Republican request to block the new map.The ruling marked the second setback in recent days for Republicans, who also lost an appeal at Utah's state supreme court. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Trump's decision will be driven by envoys' judgment on whether Iran is stalling on a nuclear dealDonald Trump's decision to order airstrikes against Iran will hinge in part on the judgment of Trump's special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, about whether Tehran is stalling over a deal to relinquish its capacity to produce nuclear weapons, according to people familiar with the matter.The president has not made a final determination on any strikes, as the administration prepares for Iran to send its latest proposal this week, ahead of what officials have described as a last-ditch round of negotiations scheduled for Thursday in Geneva. Continue reading...
Other nations are catching up with the US in its traditional strengths such as snowboarding. But that's not necessarily a bad thing for AmericansIn 2002, on home ice and snow in Utah, the USA obliterated its records for most gold medals (10, beating the previous high of six) and most overall medals (34, more than two times the previous high of 13) by the country in a single Winter Olympics.In 2026, the USA broke that national record for gold medals with 12, and broke the 30-medal mark for the first time outside North America (Norway broke the overall record with 18 golds). Continue reading...
It is the third such attack in a week, and is part of increased US forces in the CaribbeanThe US military launched a strike on an alleged drug smuggling boat in the Caribbean, which killed three men - its third such attack over the course of a week.Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations," US Southern Command, which oversees operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, said on X. Continue reading...
Officials at California Democratic convention celebrated the former House speaker's advocacy as she prepares to retireIt was a Nancy Pelosi-palooza" in San Francisco over the weekend, as thousands of California Democrats gathered in her beloved city by the bay, a place the former speaker of the House has represented in Congress for nearly four decades. They were there to attend the state party's annual convention - but with Pelosi retiring at the end of her term, it was also a days-long celebration of a woman many Democrats regard as a living legend.A video salute during the general session charted her rise from a stay-at-home mom to the US House of Representatives, where she shattered the marble ceiling and became the first - and to this day only - woman to wield the speaker's gavel. Tote bags were emblazoned with her silhouette in every color of the rainbow - a nod to her trailblazing advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community. It also included one of her favorite aphorisms: We don't agonize, we organize." Continue reading...
Grey's Anatomy and Euphoria actor died on Thursday less than a year after he publicly revealed ALS diagnosisA GoFundMe campaign meant to provide financial support for the widow and daughters of Eric Dane after the actor's recent death had raised more than $415,000 as of Monday.The fundraising platform over the weekend had temporarily paused the In Honor of Eric Dane" campaign while it underwent a standard review. But by Monday, GoFundMe said it had verified the effort and listed the Grey's Anatomy star's family as the beneficiary. Continue reading...
Despite relentless attrition at appalling human cost, the Kremlin has not achieved its goals. Maximum economic pressure can undermine its war aimsFour years after Vladimir Putin launched the biggest conflict on European soil since the second world war, the human cost of his revanchist ambition mounts ever higher. Across a 750-mile frontline in the east of Ukraine, Russian forces make minimal progress despite relentless attrition, advancing more slowly than troops during the battle of the Somme. In 2025, the estimated number of Russian casualties in the meat grinder" was 415,000.For Ukraine, the suffering will scar generations to come. Battlefield casualties are estimated to be about 600,000. Since the invasion, as many as 6 million people have been displaced inside the country and 4 million, mainly women and children, have left. Civilian deaths soared last year as Russia stepped up its bombing campaign of cities and infrastructure in an effort to break Ukrainians' will.Do 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...
Ralph Abraham, who started CDC role in January, is second top official to step down from agency this monthRalph Abraham, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's principal deputy director, has stepped down, the agency said on Monday, announcing the exit of a top official for the second time in February.The agency known as the CDC - which is temporarily being run by Dr Jay Bhattacharya - said the departure was effective immediately and attributed it to unforeseen family obligations. It did not comment on who would replace Abraham. Continue reading...
Ron Wyden, Ed Markey and Jeanne Shaheen unveiling bill requiring CBP to issue refunds and pay interestA trio of Senate Democrats is calling for the government to start refunding roughly $175bn in tariff revenues that the supreme court ruled were collected because of an illegal set of orders by Donald Trump.Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire are unveiling a bill on Monday that would require US Customs and Border Protection to issue refunds over the course of 180 days and pay interest on the refunded amount. Continue reading...
As multiple investigations unfold back at home footage emerged of Patel whooping it up with team in locker roomThe FBI director, Kash Patel, has a lot on his plate just now. There's the shooting death of the armed man who entered Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home; the weeks-old search for missing Nancy Guthrie, mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie; not to mention the ongoing furor around the so-called Jeffrey Epstein files.So eyebrows were raised on Sunday when phone footage emerged of Patel whooping it up with the men's USA hockey team in Milan after their gold medal victory against Canada at the Winter Olympics. Continue reading...
Solidarity campaign mobilizes as thousands of children like Liam Ramos taken amid Trump's immigration crackdownOn 28 January, hundreds of protesters gathered near the Dilley immigration processing center in south Texas, where hundreds of children are being held. Days earlier, immigration lawyer Eric Lee filmed a video of detainees screaming and chanting libertad," or freedom."Soon after, solidarity events arose in the state. Community members saw the children and families crying out [and] having their own protests from within and said to everybody: we need to show up there too," said Rev Erin Walter, executive director of the Texas Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry. Continue reading...
Health secretary probably referred to Harvard psychiatrist who says he's never used the word cure" in my work'Psychiatric researchers are pushing back against the claims by the health and human services secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, that a doctor at Harvard cured schizophrenia using keto diets", while also acknowledging that a carefully supervised ketogenic diet shows promise for a variety of mental health conditions.Kennedy Jr's statement probably referred to the Harvard psychiatrist Dr Christopher Palmer, who said he has never once used the word cure' in my work. I have never claimed to have cured any mental illness, including schizophrenia," but added: I have talked about ketogenic diet being a very powerful treatment, even to the point of inducing remission of symptoms of schizophrenia." Continue reading...
Survivors say US healthcare system not ready for new cases - the only thing to fix polio is the polio vaccine'With preventable infectious diseases surging and a top US vaccines adviser saying all vaccine recommendations may be reconsidered, experts are bracing for more polio cases while survivors say the medical system is not ready for polio.We don't have a healthcare infrastructure to take care of a polio outbreak," said Grace Rossow, an operating-room communications coordinator in Illinois, who has long-term health issues following a case of polio as an infant. Continue reading...
Dollar slumps and gold rises as authorities say they will halt levies linked to emergency powers but give no word on refunds. Plus, meet some of the people suing the president over civil liberties
Ties to the disgraced financier run deep through the academic world, documents released by the DoJ showMajor institutions of higher education in the US are reckoning with the latest release of the Epstein files after discovering the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein's relationships with board members, professors and administrators on campuses across the country.In some cases, professors have been placed under review, research centers closed or conferences canceled. Students and staff have responded in different ways, including petitions, open letters and campus forums. Continue reading...
Three thoughts on the opening weekend of MLS in 2026, including a new Galaxy forward to fear and a pointed celebration in DCYou know a situation is dire when it casts Luis Suarez as its level-headed participant.Such were the scenes after Inter Miami opened their MLS Cup defense with a pitiful 3-0 defeat at Los Angeles FC. Through 90 minutes, with LAFC coming off a midweek continental match, both team's stars stuck it out to try starting the 2026 season on the right foot. Son Heung-min made it 89 minutes, subbed out when the result was beyond doubt. Lionel Messi played every minute but was held without a goal contribution, failing to place either of his shot attempts on target and seeing all three created chances go uncashed by his teammates. Continue reading...
The past year has been turbulent for Tinder and Bumble. Fortunately, it turns out the real world has its charmsValentine's Day is mercifully behind us for another year, so we can all go back to not loving each other again. How wonderful it is to be freed of the burden of expressing our emotions in public. I didn't post a flowery declaration of devotion for my girlfriend on social media, and I kept expecting a flood of messages asking me if we'd broken up already. Such is the peer pressure of a holiday designed purely to justify our own self-worth. Well, someone is willing to put up with me, therefore I have value.Needing to rub your love into other people's faces is a natural outgrowth of how absolutely miserable it is out there for finding romance. The world is not exactly filled with optimism these days, as we all hunker down with our cans of tinned fish, waiting for the next disaster to strike. Couple that (pun intended) with the onslaught of digitized dating solutions like the apps Hinge, Raya and Bumble and you have a rancid stew of solitude to look forward to. Why not mark yourself safe from loneliness by posting a picture of you and your partner snogging in the middle of a Walgreens (contraception aisle, of course)? Continue reading...
East coast scrambles to prepare for storm forecast to bring major disruption to more than 35 million peopleNew York mayor Zohran Mamdani has ordered a citywide travel ban for all but emergency travel, as the north-eastern United States was preparing for an intense winter storm that is forecast to reach blizzard strength and bring major disruption.Residents along the east coast scrambled to prepare for the late-winter storm that spurred weather warnings from Maryland to Massachusetts, affecting more than 35 million people. More than a foot of snow was expected, with wind gusts of up to 70mph and warnings of potential coastal flooding from Cape Cod to Delaware. Continue reading...
President and first lady were in Washington DC at time of intrusion at their Florida residence - key US politics stories from 22 February 2026 at a glanceUS Secret Service agents have killed an armed man who breached the perimeter of Mar-a-Lago. Donald Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, were not at the club and residence at the time.The authorities said agents confronted a white male in his early 20s carrying shotgun and gasoline can early on Sunday. Continue reading...
Two Olympic finals between Canada and the US were settled by sudden death. The format made the showpieces feel more like a coin toss than a climaxTwo Olympic finals against the US, two strong performances, two sudden-death losses. Canada is so over overtime.While all good things must come to an end, it's hard to fathom why hockey's international rule-makers think that the very best things - huge clashes that were some of the hottest tickets of the entire Olympics - should be ended using three-on-three golden-goal overtime, a concept beloved only by people with a train to catch or firm dinner reservations. Continue reading...
Emboldened by recent wins, elected officials gathered in San Francisco to share strategy for a midterm reckoning'Fury at Donald Trump was the coin of the realm, as thousands of California delegates, activists and elected officials gathered in San Francisco this weekend, emboldened by a string of victories and confident the Golden State would help deliver a power check on the president in the upcoming midterm elections.On Saturday, Democrats streamed through the Moscone Center convention complex, sporting lanyards emblazoned with Gavin Newsom's name and tote bags adorned with one of Nancy Pelosi's favorite aphorisms: We don't Agonize, we organize" - symbols of a party in transition as the former speaker approaches retirement and the term-limited governor eyes a presidential campaign. Continue reading...
The outcry and activism of the 2010s - itself enabled by earlier generations of feminists - brought us to this moment. But if the Trump administration has its way, opposing forces will prevailThis week, for the first time since 1647, a member of the royal family was arrested in the United Kingdom, not over allegations of sexual wrongdoing but for trade-related communications with the supplier of those victims, Jeffrey Epstein, to whom he is supposed to have leaked state secrets. The public outrage in the US about Epstein forced the government to release the files, including emails between Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Epstein now under investigation in the criminal case.The arrestee formerly known as Prince Andrew was accused by Virginia Guiffre with having had sex with her when she was a minor being trafficked by Epstein. He has always denied wrongdoing. Until his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office, only his family had held him accountable for his ongoing association with Epstein after Epstein's 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution. Today our broken hearts have lifted," Virginia Giuffre's family stated, at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty."Rebecca Solnit is a Guardian US columnist. She is the author of Orwell's Roses and the forthcoming The Beginning Comes After the End: Notes on a World of Change Continue reading...
Fresh Geneva negotiations suggest Trump's team believes the Iranian government is making serious proposalsIran and the US are expected to meet for a further round of talks in Geneva this week in a sign that Donald Trump's team believes Tehran is making serious proposals to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and show it is not seeking a nuclear weapon.As fears loomed of renewed conflict after Washington carried out a major redeployment of military assets to the region, the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said he thought there was still a good chance of finding a diplomatic solution. Continue reading...
Authorities say agents confronted a white male in his early 20s carrying shotgun and gasoline can early SundayThe US Secret Service shot and killed an armed intruder who breached the perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump's Florida residence and private club in Palm Beach, early on Sunday.Although the US president often spends weekends at the oceanfront resort, he was at the White House in Washington during this incident, as was first lady Melania Trump. Continue reading...
by Edward Helmore and Lisa O’Carroll on (#73REP)
Jamieson Greer also said US won't pull out of deals with UK, EU and others after court declared Trump tariffs illegalTop US trade negotiator Jamieson Greer insisted on Sunday that the Trump administration was set to persist with its tariffs policy, two days after the supreme court declared many of Donald Trump's tariffs illegal.The ruling issued on Friday by the highest US court was a sharp rebuke to the Republican president that toppled a key pillar of his aggressive economic agenda - even as it prompted Trump to announce a new global tariff using different statutes, albeit temporary. Continue reading...
DHS official reportedly says Global Entry program would remain halted amid partial government shutdownThe Department of Homeland Security partially reversed course Sunday morning on an order that had suspended the TSA PreCheck and Global Entry airport security programs as a result of staffing shortages caused by the partial government shutdown.TSA PreCheck remains operational with no change for the traveling public," the Transportation Security Administration said in a social media post. As staffing constraints arise, TSA will evaluate on a case by case basis and adjust operations accordingly."Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report Continue reading...
After Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest, officials said nobody is above the law'. Sadly that doesn't seem trueSchadenfreude isn't a particularly noble sentiment. But who cares, eh? These days bad things never seem to happen to bad people; accountability is fleetingly rare. So I think we should all take a moment to really appreciate how glorious the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public office on Thursday was. Not only was the disgraced royal dragged in for questioning like a mere commoner; the arrest happened on his 66th birthday. Instead of birthday cake, he got his just deserts. And, to top things off, the occasion was immortalized with a photo - an instant classic - of Andrew leaving the police station looking shell shocked and decrepit.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
US secret service and local police officers shot and killed an intruder armed with a shotgun early on Sunday after he breached the perimeter at Donald Trump's resort in Palm Beach, Florida, law enforcement officials said. Trump was not at his residence at the time
Highly rated councilmember makes last-minute entry after endorsing former ally Karen Bass - can she build a campaign to win?Nithya Raman, a progressive urban planner, entered Los Angeles politics with a bang when she was elected to city council in 2020, defeating an incumbent Democrat endorsed by Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton.More than five years on, the 44-year-old is making waves again with her last-minute entry into the LA mayoral race. Raman filed to run just hours before the deadline - after recently endorsing Mayor Karen Bass for re-election - to the surprise of constituents, and political allies and opponents alike. Continue reading...
In the world being ushered in by Trump, power will prevail over cooperation. We will come to rue having taken this pathThe Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, inspired a wave of enthusiastic nodding among the cosmopolitan crowd gathered in Davos last month when he took to the podium and proclaimed that the world order underwritten by the United States, which prevailed in the west throughout the postwar era, was over.The organizing principle that emerged from the ashes of the second world war, that interdependence would promote world peace by knitting nations' interests together in a drive for common security and prosperity, no longer works. The US blew it up. Continue reading...
by Bridget Bennett in Minneapolis and St Paul on (#73R80)
Many people have been sheltering at home. Protests have become part of the daily rhythm. Community networks continue to patrol and document agents' interactionsIn St Paul, Minnesota, Brittany Kubricky pulled into a school parking lot. Normally, she was there just to pick up her daughter. But today, two of her daughter's schoolmates also climbed into the backseat. Their mother had been sheltering at home for weeks, afraid of a run-in with federal immigration agents. So friends coordinated school pickup for her.In December, the Trump administration launched Operation Metro Surge, deploying a reported 3,000 agents to Minnesota to target undocumented immigrants with criminal records, officials said. But in two months, agents have instead detained thousands of people, regardless of legal status, including US citizens pulled out of their cars, taken from their homes and picked up while working. Agents have also killed two Minneapolis residents - and US citizens - Renee Good and Alex Pretti, while they were monitoring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities. Continue reading...
Former employees stepped up to create the National Public Health Coalition to advocate for public health after Trump's cuts to the agencyAbby Tighe thought she had landed her forever job. She joined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in December 2023, managing a national youth substance abuse prevention program. The project focused on rural communities, and Tighe, whose family is from Appalachia, was proud to be using her public health training to support often-overlooked parts of the country. The CDC was different than anywhere else I've worked," says Tighe. People didn't care about their own ambitions as much as they cared about the larger mission. It was always my dream to work there."That dream ended a year ago, when Tighe received a form email on 14 February letting her know the Trump administration was firing her. Classified as a probationary worker, she was one of the first to lose her job in what quickly became a dramatic downsizing of the CDC workforce. To date, the current administration has either fired or is in the process of firing more than 4,000 CDC employees - a third of the agency. Continue reading...
Self-declared sleuths have inserted themselves into the search for Nancy Guthrie, compromising the investigation for views and clicksOn the 10th day of the search for Nancy Guthrie, reporters camped outside of the missing woman's home noticed a strange man strut right up to the front door. It had been more than a week since the mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie had disappeared, and authorities had just announced they had a new lead from Ring footage of what looked like a potential subject" attempting to tamper with the doorbell camera on the morning of her disappearance. So now who was this unknown person, clad in a gray top and black pants, carrying a large black bag and striding to the door?It was a Domino's delivery driver. Continue reading...
Weak connections known as bridge ties' cross the boundaries that normally structure our lives. We must restore this connective tissueThe first time a woman I'll call Shoshana went toBrandi Carlile's music festival, she arrived alone. She had just been through another unsuccessful round of IVF. During one of the songs, about motherhood, she began to cry in the middle of the crowd. Then two women she had never met stepped closer and wordlessly wrapped their arms around her until her breathing slowed.That's when I realized," Shoshana told me in an interview, this place isn't just about music."Eva M Meyersson Milgrom is a social scientist and professor emerita from Stanford University, where she was affiliated with the department of sociology, the Institute of Economic Policy, and the Graduate School of Business. She is working on a book on the importance of diversifying our social networks Continue reading...
Puerto Rican rapper speaks at concert of Colon's influence after trombonist, vocalist and composer dies aged 75Tributes have poured in from stars including Bad Bunny for Willie Colon, the pioneering trombonist, vocalist and composer who died on Saturday aged 75.With more than 30m albums sold, multiple platinum records and 11 combined Grammy and Latin Grammy nominations, Colon is among the most successful salsa artists of all time. Continue reading...
From opposing apartheid in South Africa to supporting Palestinian rights, the US civil rights leader left his mark across the globeWhen Jesse Jackson called for the Democratic party platform to include Palestinian statehood, the pushback was fierce. While we had strong support from delegates at the convention, there was still a fear factor that the issue couldn't be discussed," recalls James Zogby, who was deputy manager of Jackson's presidential campaign. I was told by the [nominee Michael] Dukakis negotiators, if you even say the P-word, you'll destroy the Democratic party."Jackson's effort did not succeed at the 1988 Democratic National Convention in Atlanta. But 10 Democratic state parties had already passed resolutions in favour of Palestinian self-determination. And as the decades rolled by, more and more progressives came to share Jackson's stance. Zogby, founder of the Arab American Institute, reflects: He was way ahead of the base. Even the activists who supported Palestinians did not have the same depth of understanding." Continue reading...
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