US news | The Guardian

Journalists call on homeland security officials to reduce law-enforcement confrontations as tensions flareAfter a year in which US journalists faced a dramatic increase in violence from law enforcement, news organizations and advocacy groups have recently tried to better protect reporters through outreach to the Department of Homeland Security.Over the last four months, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and a collection of New York news outlets have sent letters to the Department of Homeland Security attempting to open dialogue to reduce confrontations between law enforcement officers and journalists at protests, especially over efforts to deport alleged undocumented immigrants. Continue reading...

Police said one person was hit by the truck but nobody was seriously hurt, and that the driver had been detainedLos Angeles police responded Sunday after a person drove a U-Haul box truck down a street crowded with marchers demonstrating in support of the Iranian people, causing protesters to scramble out of the way and then run after the speeding vehicle to try to attack the driver.The U-Haul truck, with a window and side mirrors shattered, was stopped several blocks away and surrounded by police cars. Helicopter footage from the Los Angeles news outlet KABC showed officers keeping the crowd at bay as demonstrators swarmed the truck, throwing punches at the driver and thrusting flagpoles through the driver's side window. Continue reading...

Strike, amid an intense flu season, is expected to disrupt activity at institutions such as Mount Sinai and MontefioreThousands of nurses are set to walk off the job at several of New York City's largest hospitals on Monday, staging a strike amid an intense flu season.The action comes three years after a previous strike that compelled some of the same hospitals to move patients elsewhere and reroute ambulances. Continue reading...

US president claims Iran wants to negotiate' as rights groups report that regime's crackdown on protest has killed hundreds. Plus, how Grok's nudification tool went viral

Celtic's firing of the Frenchman brings back memories for two US coaches who faced similar strugglesBob Bradley has never seen Ted Lasso, the TV show set around an American college football coach who finds himself leading a soccer team in England.Everybody tells me that I should watch it but I have not," Bradley said from his home in New Jersey, almost nine years on from his experience. I lived that a little bit, so I'm not ready to watch it yet." Continue reading...

Party aims to turn tables after struggling to deal with criticisms about inflation during Biden presidencyIn their quest to undo Donald Trump's grip on voters, Democrats have staked their hopes on one word above all others: affordability.It has become a staple of press conferences, a priority of candidates and a subject of legislation ahead of the November midterm elections. When Democrats don't like something that Trump does - a frequent occurrence - their counter-argument is that Americans would have been better off if the president instead concentrated on making life less expensive. Continue reading...

As it did in 2003, the US is underestimating the potential for instability as Trump resurrects one of the Iraq war's biggest mythsLadies and gentlemen, we got him!" Paul Bremer, the US proconsul in Iraq, famously declared at a press conference in Baghdad on 14 December 2003, a day after US troops had captured Saddam Hussein. Iraqis in the audience broke out in cheers, leapt up from their seats and pumped their fists in the air - many had waited decades for that moment. This is a great day in Iraq's history," Bremer said, adding: The tyrant is a prisoner."I was in the audience that day in Baghdad, covering the Iraq invasion's aftermath as a correspondent for a US newspaper. It quickly became clear that Bremer and other jubilant US officials would use the occasion - US soldiers dragged the disheveled former Iraqi dictator out of a hole in the ground where he had been hiding near his home town - to declare that America's war had reached a decisive turn. Despite a growing insurgency led by ex-members of the Iraqi security forces, US officials in Baghdad and Washington projected confidence that victory was in sight now that Saddam was locked up and headed for the gallows.Mohamad Bazzi is director of the Center for Near Eastern Studies, and a journalism professor, at New York University Continue reading...

The big winners at this year's Globes basking in glory and letting their hair down, including Buckley and Graham alongside Teyana Taylor, Rose Byrne and Stellan Skarsgard Continue reading...

The US president's threats to the territory show Europe needs a new strategy for its far north: one based on cooperation, not dominationThe new year is still young, yet Donald Trump's fixation on expanding his homeland signals a troubling geopolitical shift. From Venezuela to Greenland, the world is unmistakably moving away from the relative stability of the post-cold war era - not least also because of Russia's war against Ukraine.This erosion of long-established norms has severe implications for Europe, a continent whose core political philosophy is built on limiting (national) power. A rules-based order, international law and negotiated solutions lie at the core of Europe's self-image. Yet in today's world, Europe can uphold this vision only if it evolves into a more muscular geopolitical actor itself - and nowhere is this more evident than in the Arctic.Robert Habeck served as German vice-chancellor and minister for economy and climate action from 2021 to 2025, and is now working at the Danish Institute for International Studies. Andreas Raspotnik is the director of the High North Center for Business and Governance at Nord University and a senior researcher at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute in Oslo, Norway Continue reading...

One Battle After Another led this year's Golden Globes with four wins. Teyana Taylor was named best female supporting actor for her role in the film. In a tearful speech, she devoted her award 'to my brown sisters and little brown girls watching tonight'. On the TV side, the hit Netflix drama Adolescence continued its awards sweep by picking up four Globes, including for best limited series

The Buffalo Bills quarterback is not only a danger to opponents. His bravery and skill inspires his teammates to elevate their playTwo things about the NFL playoffs are predictable: Josh Allen will play out of his skin ... and Josh Allen will suffer a soul-sucking, stupefying loss. Except, maybe, this year.We all know about the postseason heartbreaks and shortfalls over the years for Allen and the Buffalo Bills. In each season since 2019, Buffalo's ride has ended in either the divisional or conference championship round, usually at the hands of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. But with no dominant team coming out of the regular season and no Mahomes this postseason, maybe it's time for Allen and the Bills to finally capture the franchise's first Lombardi Trophy. Continue reading...

Reform's new candidate for mayor claims people pity Londoners for living in an unsafe capital. But the evidence is clear: we're making our streets saferLast year, something extraordinary happened in London. As the conversation about crime got even louder, London quietly reached the lowest per capita homicide rate in its recorded history. Even London's harshest critics have to accept this is impressive progress.For too many, it will no doubt come as a surprise. In recent years, politicians and commentators have sought to spam our social media feeds with an endless stream of distortions and untruths - painting a dystopian picture of a lawless place where criminals run rampant.Sadiq Khan is the mayor of London Continue reading...

US president says company is playing too cute' after CEO responds sceptically to his push for oil investment after deposing Nicolas MaduroDonald Trump has said he might block ExxonMobil from investing in Venezuela after the oil company's chief executive called the country uninvestable" during a White House meeting last week.Darren Woods told the US president that Venezuela would need to change its laws before it could be an attractive investment opportunity, during the high-profile meeting on Friday with at least 17 other oil executives. Continue reading...

Fed chair accuses DoJ of threatening criminal charges over building renovation projects because central bank defied Trump's interest rate demandsThe Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve, a significant escalation in Donald Trump's extraordinary attack on the US central bank.Powell said the Department of Justice had served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas on Friday, threatening a criminal indictment related to his testimony before the Senate banking committee in June last year, regarding renovations to the Fed's historic office buildings in Washington DC. Continue reading...

Josh Allen leads Bills to victory with late drive

Possible next steps for US include military strikes, sanctions and cyber attacks - key US politics stories from 11 JanuaryDonald Trump is weighing up his options for responding to protests in Iran, including very strong" military action, as deaths mount in a crackdown on demonstrations against the regime in Tehran.Possible actions for the US include military strikes, deploying secretive cyber weapons against Iranian military and civilian sites, placing more sanctions on Iran's government and boosting anti-government sources online, sources say. Continue reading...

Multiple Torah scrolls were damaged after fire broke out early Saturday at Beth Israel Congregation in JacksonA suspect has been taken into custody after a historic synagogue in Mississippi was badly damaged in a fire that authorities described on Sunday as an arson case.According to officials, the blaze broke out shortly after 3am Saturday at Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson. No one was hurt in the fire. Continue reading...

Jacob Frey says Trump administration is so quick to jump on a narrative' over the truth after ICE fatally shot woman

After killing of Renee Nicole Good, city braces for what the agency describes as its largest enforcement operation yet

Health minister Nina Warken says Robert F Kennedy Jr's assertions that German doctors are facing legal action are unfoundedThe German government has sharply rejected claims by the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, that doctors in Germany have faced legal action for issuing vaccine and mask exemptions during the Covid-19 pandemic.The statements made by the US secretary of health are completely unfounded, factually incorrect, and must be rejected," Germany's health minister, Nina Warken, said in a strongly worded statement released late on Saturday. Continue reading...

A congressional hearing this week underscored the danger a WBD deal would pose to journalism and the American publicDonald Trump wants CNN sold. He has said so repeatedly and publicly, demanding it should be sold" in any deal involving Warner Bros Discovery. Now one of America's largest media companies is racing to oblige him, while another looks to consolidate its power. Wednesday's House judiciary hearing on streaming competition - where lawmakers voiced concern over the Trump administration's influence and a potential merger's toll on consumers - made clear just how dangerous both options are for free speech, audiences and democracy itself.Netflix has bid $82.7bn for Warner Bros Discovery, only to be countered by a hostile $108bn takeover bid from Paramount Skydance, led by David Ellison, son of Trump's ally Larry. Neither deal serves the public interest, and both are dangerous for the future of free expression. Both would produce an unprecedented concentration of power over what Americans watch and which stories get told.Courtney C Radsch is director of the Center for Journalism and Liberty at the Open Markets Institute Continue reading...

Content creators are leverging their high follower counts to apply for the visa for individuals with extraordinary ability'Content creators and influencers in the US are now increasingly dominating requests for O-1 work visas. Astoundingly, the number of O-1 visas granted each year increased by 50% between 2014 and 2024, as noted by recent reporting in the Financial Times.These visas allow non-immigrants to work temporarily in the US. The O-1 category includes the O-1A, which is designated for individuals with extraordinary ability in the sciences, education, business or athletics and the O-1B, reserved for those with extraordinary ability or achievement". Continue reading...

National Portrait Gallery removes text on new portrait of Trump standing in Oval Office with a scowl and fists on deskThe National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC has removed a placard that referred to Donald Trump's two impeachments and his supporters' January 6 attack on the US Capitol, according to multiple news reports.The museum, part of the Smithsonian Institution, removed the text when it replaced an old portrait of Trump with a new image of him standing in the Oval Office with a scowl and his fists on the desk. Continue reading...

After her Altadena home burned down, Darlene Hamilton wondered whether her cats Merlyn and Kiki had escaped. A year later, she hasn't given up hopeMost nights for the last year, Darlene Hamilton slept four hours and woke at about 4.30am. She wanted to sleep, but she could not.Instead the 66-year-old started the day at her Altadena rental home in morning darkness with a familiar routine, scouring through websites of local humane societies and lost animal groups in search of two familiar little faces. For a year, her days often began and ended with this ritual. Continue reading...

A group of reporters meant to hold the Pentagon to account is full of pro-Trump sycophants ... what could go wrong?After US troops swarmed into Venezuela, seizing the country's president and his wife, there was little to be heard from the Pentagon.Typically, it would be a time for defense officials to talk to the Pentagon press corps: a group of journalists made up of some of the most talented reporters in the US. The Pentagon could have been expected to be held to account over what has been criticized as a violation of international law. Continue reading...

Much of what happened to Randall Gamboa Esquivel, 52, over his last weeks in federal custody in Texas remains a mystery to his family

Exclusive: Before Randall Gamboa Esquivel died, his health had deteriorated badly while he was in ICE custody

It may be tempting to dismiss the move as hopeless - but it interrupts the Trump administration's promise of impunityIn the wake of the killing of Renee Nicole Good, Congresswoman Robin Kelly has announced the filing of three articles of impeachment against Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary. Predictably, reactions have been muted at best: with the GOP holding both the Senate and the House, impeachment can be dismissed as purely performative, a helpless response to an in and of itself understandable moral imperative of just do something!"But such dismissals are too quick: this administration has been running on a promise of impunity at all levels, and Democrats have to start signaling that actions have consequences. They also need to break out of a fateful dynamic: during Trump 2.0, misdeeds and scandals are following each other in such rapid succession that neither the press nor the public ever seem to get to focus on one. Impeachment can concentrate minds and slow down political time.Jan-Werner Muller is a Guardian US columnist and a professor of politics at Princeton University Continue reading...

Soren Stevenson says Minneapolis shooting reminiscent in a scary way' - but he and his neighbors are feeling activatedIt was Soren Stevenson's third day in office as a Minneapolis city council member on Wednesday when Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by ICE on the edge of his district.On Thursday, he sat in an eerily quiet food court at lunchtime in Plaza Mexico, a mall of mostly Latino businesses in south Minneapolis, eating carne asada and talking about how his neighborhood was once again the center of a national firestorm. Continue reading...

Soviet invasions of allies helped destroy the Warsaw Pact - Trump's dangerous rhetoric risks repeating the mistake inside NatoDonald Trump's echoing of Russia's talking points in its war against Ukraine has long been a cause for alarm and dismay in the west.Now an even more disturbing Kremlin precedent dating from the cold war is being evoked by the US president's fixation on taking over Greenland - that of carrying out attacks on military allies. Continue reading...

The president's inability to tell right from wrong fuels his increasingly dictatorial, illegal and erratic behaviourDonald Trump made 30,573 false or misleading" claims during his first term, according to calculations published in 2021 by the Washington Post. That's roughly 21 fibs a day. Second time around, he's still hard at it, lying to Americans and the world on a daily basis. Trump's disregard for truth and honesty in public life - seen again in his despicable response to the fatal shooting in Minneapolis - is dangerously immoral.Trump declared last week that the only constraint on his power is my own morality, my own mind". That explains a lot. His idea of right and wrong is wholly subjective. He is his own ethical and legal adviser, his own priest and confessor. He is a church of one. Trump lies to himself as well as everyone else. And the resulting damage is pernicious. It costs lives, harms democracy and destroys trust between nations.Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator Continue reading...

State department says armed colectivos' appear to be setting up roadblocks and searching vehicles for AmericansThe United States has urged its citizens to leave Venezuela immediately amid reports that armed paramilitaries are trying to track down US citizens, one week after the capture of the South American country's president, Nicolas Maduro.In a security alert sent out on Saturday, the state department said there were reports of armed members of pro-regime militias, known as colectivos, setting up roadblocks and searching vehicles for evidence that the occupants were US citizens or supporters of the country. Continue reading...

More than a thousand protests were held across the country in the wake of the ICE-related shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis - key US politics stories from 10 January 2026 at a glanceThe death of Renee has ignited anger across the US, with more than a thousand protests held across the country in the wake of the ICE-related shooting.Large crowds marched on Saturday in Boston, San Francisco and Portland, Oregon. In snow-covered Minneapolis, crowds reached into the thousands, chanting: Fuck ICE, ICE out!" and Renee Nicole Good's name. With planned actions in all 50 states, events will continue into Sunday. Continue reading...

Rhythm guitarist helped guide the legendary jam band through decades of change and successBob Weir, the veteran rock musician who helped guide the legendary band the Grateful Dead through decades of change and success, has died at age 78, according to a statement posted to his verified Instagram account on Friday.The Instagram statement, posted by his daughter Chloe Weir, said he was surrounded by loved ones when he died. Bob Weir had been diagnosed with cancer in July and succumbed to underlying lung issues", the statement said. Continue reading...

Adam Johnson served 75 days in prison before being pardoned by Donald Trump in January 2025A Florida man who was convicted then pardoned by Donald Trump after he grabbed then House speaker Nancy Pelosi's lectern and posed for photographs with it during the US Capitol riot is running for county office.Adam Johnson filed to run as a Republican for an at-large seat on the Manatee county commission on Tuesday. That was the fifth anniversary of the January 6 riot, when he was photographed smiling and waving as he carried Pelosi's lectern after the pro-Trump mob's attack in 2021. Continue reading...

Democrats ejected even though judge ruled Congress members can't be barred from visiting ICE facilitiesThree Democratic members of Congress from Minnesota, including House representative Ilhan Omar, were blocked from entering an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center located near Minneapolis on Saturday morning.The incident took place near the Whipple federal building in the Twin Cities as clashes and demonstrations continued after the shooting death of 37-year-old Renee Good by an ICE agent in south Minneapolis earlier in the week. Continue reading...

St Louis zoo identified the stray simians as vervet monkeys, but it's not known where they came fromSome residents in St Louis, Missouri, spotted monkeys roaming their streets this week in a situation that feels like the movie Jumanji come to life.A handful of monkeys were spotted in north St Louis by residents on Friday. Continue reading...

USDA notified state's governor of decision, citing inquiries into alleged fraud by local non-profits and businessesThe Trump administration announced it is suspending $129m in federal benefit payments to Minnesota amid allegations of widespread fraud in the state.The secretary of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Brooke Rollins, shared a letter on Friday on social media that was addressed to Minnesota's governor, Tim Walz, and the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, notifying them of the administration's decision and citing investigations into alleged fraud conducted by local non-profits and businesses. Continue reading...

Critics express doubt president can implement such a move without approval from CongressDonald Trump announced a one-year cap that would limit credit card interest rates to 10% this week, in a move that has prompted mixed reaction from lawmakers and beyond.The president's social media post on Friday night said the restriction would take effect on 20 January, but he did not provide specifics on how the government would implement it or ensure that companies comply. Continue reading...