US news | The Guardian

A massive blaze in Houston, Texas, sent black smoke billowing for miles across the city. About 100 firefighters were deployed to put out the flames. The cause of the fire was not immediately known Continue reading...

City hails victory after US officials sued over ordinance that limits LA's cooperation with immigration authoritiesA California court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump's administration against Los Angeles over a city ordinance limiting its cooperation with federal immigration authorities.Fernando Olguin, a judge in the central California US district court rejected the administration's argument that the city's policy was unconstitutional. He gave the administration permission to file an amended complaint. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed.

Trump's claims that vandals' are to blame don't hold water so far - key US politics stories from Monday 22 JuneDonald Trump is claiming - without providing evidence - that the sorry state of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool weeks after a $14m renovation is the work of vandals".On Monday, Trump was adamant it was not the pool company to blame for the algae blooms and peeling paint, instead pointing to five people arrested for vandalism and five more are under investigation. Continue reading...

While warehouse fires are often extinguished in a day, the Boyle Heights blaze is on its sixth day. Here's what to knowLos Angeles firefighters are on their sixth day of battling a fire at a massive warehouse near downtown that stores frozen food.Smoke has billowed from the warehouse, which was covered in solar panels and insulated like a freezer, filling the air surrounding the roughly 500,000-sq-ft (46,450-sq-meter) facility. Continue reading...

21st Century Road to Housing Act, which aims to boost supply and stop investors buying up homes, heads to HouseSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe Senate on Monday passed a bipartisan measure aimed at lowering housing costs by streamlining construction and permitting, ending months of fraught negotiations on a priority for both parties ahead of November's midterm elections.The 21st Century Road to Housing Act would limit investors' ability to buy homes, waive some federal permitting rules in a bid to ease new construction, and authorize pilot programs to facilitate grants for home improvements and planning affordable housing. It passed the Senate overwhelmingly, with a vote of 85-5, and now heads to the House of Representatives. Continue reading...

President says vandals' to blame for algae blooms and peeling paint as $14m renovation to undergo further repairsThe Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool is set to be drained again after Donald Trump said on Monday - without providing proof - that five people were arrested for vandalism and five more are under investigation in connection to the algae blooms and peeling paint that appeared weeks after his ill-fated $14m renovation attempt.It's not a lot of damage, but we'll probably have to let the water out and refix it. They went in there with a knife," Trump told reporters, describing what he first said was a 290- to 300ft slit in the paint but then later amended to a 350ft slit. He also said someone had put fertilizer into the water, which caused the algae to grow. Continue reading...

Company wants to sell objects despite agreements to only display them at museums and traveling exhibitionsA plan to auction more than 100 artifacts salvaged from the wreckage of the Titanic - including personal belongings, currency, kitchen items and decor - is facing pushback from the US government, according to newly unsealed court documents.RMS Titanic Inc, the company that owns exclusive salvage rights to the famous wreck deep in the North Atlantic, wants to sell the artifacts for the first time despite previous agreements to only display them at museums and traveling exhibitions. Continue reading...

Firms including BP and 7-Eleven accused of coordinating prices to wring more money from pockets of consumers'Gas station operators including BP, Circle K, Marathon, 7-Eleven, Walmart and Albertsons were sued on Monday by California drivers who accused them of using artificial intelligence to boost prices at the pump.According to a proposed class action, the defendants violated California's main antitrust law, the Cartwright Act, by using an AI-based tool that uses data from competing gas stations to coordinate high prices and wring more money from the pockets of consumers". Continue reading...

Officials say Sarita Kimble, 62, and Delores Shelton, 83, killed in Mount Vernon as several buildings destroyedAuthorities in Illinois say that two older residents were killed and at least five other people were injured in a tornado that ripped through a rural county and destroyed several buildings on Sunday evening.The fatalities occurred in Mount Vernon, Sheriff Jeff Bullard of Jefferson county said on Monday. He identified the victims as Sarita Kimble, 62, and Delores Shelton, 83, who were inside separate structures leveled by the tornado. Continue reading...

Federal judge rules subpoenas linked to Trump's immigration operation were issued for unlawful reasons'

Other measures include Washington lifting sanctions on Tehran's oil exports and reopening the strait of HormuzIran has agreed to allow UN nuclear inspectors back into the country as part of an agreement under which Washington will lift sanctions on Tehran's oil exports and the strait of Hormuz will reopen, the US vice-president, JD Vance, has said.Long-term independent monitoring of Iran's nuclear programme, which it says is for energy purposes only, was in effect halted last summer after Israel and the US attacked the country. Tehran suspended cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in response to strikes on its nuclear facilities. Continue reading...

Appeals court had ruled Pedro Hernandez, 64, was wrongly convicted over 1979 disappearance of New York six-year-oldThe US supreme court has reinstated a murder conviction in the long winding case of Etan Patz, whose 1979 disappearance at age six from New York City garnered national headlines.In a 6-3 decision on Monday, the supreme court agreed with New York prosecutors in their request to reverse a lower court ruling that had thrown out the murder conviction of Pedro Hernandez, 64, in the Patz case. Continue reading...

American economist and long-serving head of the Federal Reserve widely praised for the US boom whose reputation was re-evaluated in the wake of the 2008 crashFor his work chairing the US Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, who has died aged 100, was regularly hailed by financiers, politicians and journalists for his handling of the economy. He was variously dubbed the Oracle, the Wizard and the Maestro.As head of the central bank of the US from 1987 to 2006, tasked with setting interest rates and supervising and regulating banks and other financial institutions, he easily ranked as one of the most powerful individuals in the world. He served under four presidents: Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush, Bill Clinton - even though Greenspan was a lifelong Republican - and George W Bush. Continue reading...

Monday's news included reaction to Cape Verde's draw with Uruguay and weather warnings across the US east coastBeiranvand, by the way, holds the world record for the longest throw in a competitive match - 61.0026m - and for the longest drop-kick, 78.014m. Not bad for someone who was once sleeping rough.But let's return to Iran for a moment. Their goalie, Alireza Beiranvand - or The Wall of Persia" as he's known - had to run away from home to become a footballer, his old fella less than enchanted by the ruse and cutting up his gloves. I wonder how he feels now his boy has been player of the match at a World Cup. Continue reading...

Trump's pre-Fourth of July renovation project has endured problems with algae, peeling paint and an inflating price tagDonald Trump's rush to repaint the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, a symbol of Washington DC, has hit roadblock after roadblock as the country's 250th anniversary nears.The public has been gripped by the ill-fated $14m attempt to renovate the reflecting pool, which the US president vowed to make beautiful" in time for this summer's birthday celebrations at the capital. Continue reading...

Death of Kohen Wiley is latest in series of troubling police encounters that have outraged community membersThe recent fatal shooting of a one-year-old boy by police who were responding to a shoplifting call has ignited simmering tensions between police and Black residents in the small town of Senatobia, Mississippi.The death of Kohen Wiley is the latest in a series of troubling encounters with police that have outraged community members in recent years. It has led to protests and calls for greater police accountability in the town of 8,000, with some civil rights activists pointing to Kohen's death as another example of a Black life lost over something of nominal value. In this case, it was an allegation of stolen diapers, which the boy's family has denied. Continue reading...

Unidentified man fell into vault toilet at Camp Edison while trying to retrieve sunglasses he dropped, officials sayAn unhappy camper spent about 15 minutes submerged in sewage in the putrid tank of a California campground's vault toilet after falling in trying to retrieve sunglasses he dropped, according to officials.The latest entry into the annals of bizarre US campground mishaps took place on Saturday at Shaver Lake's Camp Edison, about 50 miles north-east of downtown Fresno. A spokesperson for the Fresno county sheriff's office said specialist rescue crews from Cal Fire were required to extricate the unidentified man from the confined tank beneath the waterless, non-flushing toilet. Continue reading...

Alberto Carvalho put on leave after news of warrants but officials have not provided details of nature of investigationThe superintendent of Los Angeles public schools has resigned five months after the FBI served search warrants at his home and the LA Unified school district headquarters.Alberto Carvalho had been put on leave after news of the federal investigation. He denied any wrongdoing earlier this year and had asked to be reinstated as head of the nation's second-largest district. Continue reading...

Original organizers, joined by new wave, are demanding the government not undo four decades of progressOn a warm evening in June, hundreds of people holding candles marched toward the Stonewall Inn in New York City, the birthplace of the US LGBTQ+ rights movement. Once they arrived, they all dropped to the ground - on the sidewalk and in the roadway - and put their backs against the pavement. The Aids rally, marking 45 years since the first reported cases, ended the way many have since the 1980s: with a die-in, dozens of bodies lying still for a long moment of silence.The Aids crisis has killed more than 700,000 Americans and an estimated 40 million people worldwide since it was first named in 1981. But the marchers at Stonewall earlier this month were not only mourning the past. They came to protest a wave of federal policy moves to restrict Medicaid, slash international funding and shrink the National Institutes of Health's research budget. The original generation of HIV and Aids activists, joined by a new wave of organizers, were there to demand that the government not undo four decades of progress with catastrophic funding cuts. Continue reading...

The major winner has rebuilt both his swing and confidence and learned to function without the approval of the massesOn the evening before he won the US Open for a second time in four years, Wyndham Clark marched up the 18th fairway at Shinnecock Hills to put the finishing touches on a third round that would leave him six shots clear of the field. He had spent the past three days patiently defanging one of the crown jewels of American golf, building the third-largest 54-hole advantage held by a US Open leader since the second world war. The title was his to lose.Yet when Clark arrived at the final green on Saturday bathed in golden-hour light, one thing was conspicuously absent: the crowd. Most of the spectators had left or were leaving and the grandstands around the green were only thinly populated. It was a remarkably muted backdrop for America's once-and-future champion golfer as he stood on the doorstep of a rare wire-to-wire US Open victory. Continue reading...

At the same time, 29% of small-business owners also report having open positions they can't fillAmid rising fuel prices and inflation across the US, confidence among small-business owners has declined in recent weeks as many continue to grapple with higher costs and economic uncertainty.According to the National Federation of Independent Business, its Small Business Optimism Index fell by 0.6 points to 95.3 in May. At the same time, 29% of small-business owners reported having open positions they could not fill - the lowest level since the Covid-19 pandemic. Continue reading...

Investment company Castlelake made bid public for shareholders to evaluate but carrier describes offer as cheap'

Voters are upset that Trump has failed to deliver on his economic promises. That's bad news for Republicans in NovemberIf any demographic group was key to Donald Trump's election victories in 2016 and 2024, it was white, blue-collar voters. But in perhaps perilous news for Republicans, Trump's support from that group has plummeted - as many white, working-class voters have grown upset about everything from increased inflation and gas prices to Trump's war against Iran. These glaring cracks in Trump's blue-collar base point to big trouble for Republicans in this November's midterm elections.In 2024, Trump won 66% of white voters without a college degree, but a new CBS News poll found that 54% of that demographic disapprove of his performance. That was up from 45% disapproval in February (before Trump began bombing Iran) and up sharply from 32% in February 2025. Continue reading...

Darializa Avila Chevalier is running on universal healthcare, campaign finance reform and abolishing ICEA progressive Democrat challenging a veteran congressman to represent the party in a closely watched New York race for US Congress has claimed the city has deteriorated on his watch.Darializa Avila Chevalier, one of three allies that New York City's mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has endorsed in competitive congressional Democratic primaries in the city on Tuesday, is seeking to unseat incumbent Adriano Espaillat in the state's 13th congressional district. Continue reading...

White-collar work is at risk across the board, including at elite consulting firms that used to be a pathway to the 1%Consulting is a delicate contract: endure two challenging, formative years - and in return, get a golden ticket to anywhere. Firms like McKinsey tout themselves as the CEO factory", and boast they're not surprised" to be consistently named the best place for future leaders.The skills they promise to build - synthesis, sharp analysis, crisp communication, client-readiness, hypothesis-driven thinking - have enticed every generation's top graduates. Get an offer from a place like this, and everything else will fall into place: about as clear a guarantee of future success as you could get fresh out of a bachelors. These firms spent decades marketing themselves as production houses of excellence, and until recently, they were.Alice Lassman is an economist who writes The Intimacy Economy, a Substack and forthcoming book on the economics of connection, care and relationships Continue reading...

European players had long been dismissed as a risk by NBA teams. But two picks by the Portland Trail Blazers helped usher in the league's international eraNBA commissioner David Stern walked to the podium at the Felt Forum in Madison Square Garden on 17 June 1986. For the last pick of the first round of the NBA draft ... America's game," Stern said with a hint of a smile, the Portland Trail Blazers select Arvydas Sabonis of the Soviet Union."Boos rained down from the crowd. TBS hosts Bob Neal and Larry Donald burst into laughter. One Portland journalist said if Sabonis ever played in the NBA he'd jump off the Broadway Bridge. (Sabonis had actually been drafted by the Atlanta Hawks the previous year but it was voided because he was not yet 21.) Portland doubled down two rounds later, selecting Draen Petrovi from another communist country, Yugoslavia. Continue reading...

Tournament could hold up a useful hand mirror to the isolationism and divisiveness of Trump's joint-host nationOne of the best parts of following football across the world is theway it drags you into special places, local shrines, objects of profound cultural connection. The US, of course, has these holyspaces too.The queue of pilgrims in Philadelphia on Thursday morning stretched down the sun-blasted steps to the plaza at the bottom. Edging forward, the people in their ritual colours approached the figure at the top, arms outstretched in supplication, in a state of hushed deference. Called finally for his moment of communion, the man at the front of this line straightened his Ronaldinho shirt, clenched his fists above his head for the ceremonial Insta pic and shouted: Adrian! I did it." Continue reading...

Trump warning that Iran won't have a country' if it closes strait of Hormuz contrasts with vice-president's tone seeking to turn over new leaf' with Tehran - key US politics stories from Sunday 21 JuneDonald Trump threatened to resume war with Iran even as his vice-president JD Vance met Iranian officials to begin peace talks in Switzerland.Also overshadowing negotiations in Burgenstock was Tehran's announcement it had again closed the strait of Hormuz, a threat made because of ongoing Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon. Continue reading...

Newsom declares state of emergency as crews continue to fight stubborn Boyle Heights fire that has raged for daysCalifornia's governor has declared a state of emergency for the city of Los Angeles, as firefighters struggle to contain a stubborn warehouse blaze that has raged for days and blanketed parts of the city in smoke.Gavin Newsom announced he was directing state agencies to provide additional assistance and resources" to help battle the fire, located in the neighborhood of Boyle Heights in east Los Angeles. Continue reading...

Wyndham Clark survived a wobble to win his second US Open by one shot

Mayor says violence has no place in our city' as president criticizes governor for not accepting national guard troopsAt least seven people have been killed and dozens injured in several shootings in Chicago since Friday, police said, with Donald Trump once again calling for military intervention in the midwestern city.In a post on Truth Social, Trump questioned why Illinois's governor, JB Pritzker, had not welcomed military deployment. Continue reading...

FAA investigating incident involving Delta and American jets that forced Delta plane to abort landing attemptA Delta jet was roughly 300ft (90 meters) from an American Airlines plane during a close call at Boston's airport that forced the Delta aircraft to abort a weekend landing attempt, an aviation expert said on Sunday.The Federal Aviation Administration said it was investigating the incident between two commercial flights that happened Saturday at Boston Logan international airport. Continue reading...

Objections comes as Trump threatens to renew attacks on Iran if it doesn't rein in its proxy in LebanonUS political figures from left and right voiced fresh objections on Sunday to Donald Trump's provisional deal with Iran - even as the US president made new threats while Vice-President JD Vance hailed progress during the first round of direct peace talks in Switzerland.Negotiations in Lucerne between the US and Iran have already run into difficulties, after Trump wrote on Truth Social that Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble. If they don't, we'll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!" Continue reading...

Algae blooms and peeling paint mar $14.2m renovation as president claims pool has been seriously vandalized'Repair work will begin immediately" at the troubled Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool in Washington DC, Donald Trump said on Sunday, after suggesting the pool would need to be drained and blaming alleged vandals" for the disruption.The reflecting pool has been plagued by algae blooms and peeling paint following the controversial recent renovation efforts for America's 250th anniversary celebrations next month. Continue reading...

Town of Eureka evacuated due to risk from Iron fire as officials forecast more hot weather in week aheadExtreme heat and dry, windy conditions are fueling multiple wildfires across the US west, including a massive blaze in Utah that forced the evacuation of a small town, with hot weather in the forecast raising the risk of more blazes in the week ahead.The Iron fire in Utah's Juab county was first detected on Saturday and has so far blackened more than 2,000 acres. The fire, about 70 miles (113km) south-west of Salt Lake City, forced the evacuation of Eureka, population 1,000, and people at a nearby ranch. Continue reading...

Officers find man unconscious and unresponsive with injuries indicating a fall from an elevated position'A 51-year-old man fell to his death during a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday night, police said.Officers responding to a 911 emergency call at about 9.51pm found the man unconscious and unresponsive with injuries indicating a fall from an elevated position", New York police said in a statement. Continue reading...

Groups say new directive fails to respect Native sovereignty amid complicated history of Indigenous child removalsOne morning early last July, Micha Bitsinnie arrived at work to an onslaught of messages from confused families.New Mexico's governor Michelle Lujan Grisham had just issued a directive mandating the state's child welfare department seek custody of all newborns who had been exposed to drugs and alcohol in utero. Some parents wondered whether medications that they were taking for addiction recovery, such as methadone, would flag their cases. Healthcare providers wondered whether the fentanyl in an epidural counted as a drug exposure. Continue reading...

After the US said seeking affordable medical care for their son would not impede their re-entry, Tamila Vashchuk and her 10-year-old were issued removal ordersTamila Vashchuk and her husband, Mykola, are minor celebrities in this corner of Ohio.The Ukrainian couple have appeared on the cover of local magazines and been invited onto morning television shows. En route to building a successful pierogi food business, they've met with the governor. A recent law graduate from Cleveland State University, Mykola is hoping to do his bar exams someday. Most Sundays, they volunteer at the local church. Continue reading...

Father's Day event aims to help strengthen connections between parents and children and soothe mental healthMore than a hundred eager families poured into a prison visiting room on 13 June, having just endured a security search after hours of travel on a bus. But the energy shifted once their incarcerated loved ones walked through the door for an early Father's Day celebration.Hearts became full, tears filled eyes and arms embraced. Young children ran and jumped on their fathers, and mothers waited patiently for their turns to say hello. Continue reading...

Mauricio Pochettino's players have got off to a scorching start to the tournament. Going all the way will require the team reaching a whole new levelThe United States can win the World Cup. The US players say so. So does Zlatan Ibrahimovi. Because you are a smart Guardian reader, you know that, theoretically, any team who are not yet eliminated can win the World Cup. And you know that this US team have won their opening two World Cup games convincingly, securing the top spot in Group D and a place in the knockout round with a game to spare. Making the World Cup final, and winning it, is in the realm of possibility.But can they? Within the team, there has been belief they can go all the way for some time. US head coach Mauricio Pochettino laid down the marker in his introductory press conference, and has stuck to his belief. His players have followed suit. But now, even famous pundits with outsized egos are saying the US can shock the world and capture the men's World Cup for the first time on home soil. Continue reading...

New College of Florida to acquire USF Sarasota-Manatee in deal that leading Democratic lawmaker says reeks of grift'A liberal arts college seized by Florida's hard-right governor, Ron DeSantis, and transformed into a model for conservative higher education is to triple in size after state Republicans engineered a hostile takeover of a rival university's campus.New College of Florida, which is controlled by DeSantis's hand-picked board of trustees, will acquire the Sarasota-Manatee campus of the University of South Florida (USF) next month in a deal described by a leading Florida Democrat as a grift". Continue reading...

Less than a third are likely to be registered in November. We must work to ensure they have a voiceAbout 4 million Americans will turn 18 in 2026, but if past trends continue, under a third of them will be registered to vote in the November elections. Automatically registering every American when they come of age would be the fairest, most effective way to protect US democracy, yet we have built an electoral system that does the opposite.Every year, millions of 18-year-old Americans go unregistered and excluded from the electoral process. In a typical midterm year, US census data shows fewer than 30% are registered to vote, compared with nearly 75% of those aged 45 and up. Because they are outside of state voter files, candidates, campaigns and pollsters ignore them. Their voices and energy go untapped; their policy and programmatic needs go unfunded. Continue reading...