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FAA says contact remained during incident, which comes after series of Newark outages that shook public confidenceThe Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Thursday that Denver air traffic control lost communications for about two minutes on Monday, but was able to maintain contact through an emergency frequency.FAA communications failures have gained attention due to a series of telecom outages at the facility overseeing Newark air traffic that shook public confidence. Unlike the 28 April incident at the facility that handles Newark traffic, radar screens did not go blank in Denver. Continue reading...

Doctors are keeping Adriana Smith on life support months after medical emergency until baby is ready, family saysA pregnant woman in Georgia was declared brain dead after a medical emergency and doctors have kept her on life support for three months so far to allow enough time for the baby to be born and comply with Georgia's strict anti-abortion law, family members say.She could be kept in that state for months more. Continue reading...

New Mexico judge rules immigrants did not know they were entering US military zone, marking setback for TrumpA federal judge in New Mexico on Thursday dismissed trespassing charges against dozens of immigrants caught in a new military zone on the US-Mexico border, marking a setback for Trump administration efforts to raise penalties for unlawful crossings into the US.Chief US magistrate judge Gregory Wormuth began filing the dismissals late on Wednesday, ruling that immigrants did not know they were entering the military zone in New Mexico and therefore could not be charged, according to court documents and a defense attorney. Continue reading...

Tiffany Slaton of Georgia went missing during a blizzard in April while on solo trip through Sierra NevadaA hiker who went missing for weeks during a solo camping trip in the California wilderness has been found safely, after she became trapped in a blizzard and took refuge in an empty lakeside cabin.Tiffany Slaton of Jeffersonville, Georgia, was found near a lake in Fresno county, California, after the owner of Vermilion Valley Resort, a lodging site between Yosemite and Kings Canyon national parks, was checking on his property and noticed that one of his cabins was occupied by a woman, according to the Fresno county sheriff's office. Continue reading...

Law goes against concerns of public health experts but aligns with Robert F Kennedy Jr's viewsRon DeSantis, the Republican governor of Florida, on Thursday signed a bill making it the second state after Utah to ban adding fluoride, or any other additives, to drinking water.Legislators approved the bill last month that goes against the concerns of public health experts and medical professionals, who say the measure will increase tooth decay and cavities, especially in children. Continue reading...

Trump administration policies on immigration, families and children have been pockmarked by contradictionsSome of the children were too young to stand on their own. Instead, they sat on their parents' knees or in their parents' arms, waving American flags. Many of them seemed confused about what, exactly, was even happening.But these kids were in the midst of making history: their families were among the first to take advantage of Donald Trump's February executive order granting white South Africans refugee status in the United States, on the grounds that Afrikaner landowners - who make up just 7% of South Africa's population yet, decades after the end of apartheid, control about half of its land - are facing persecution. While the doors to the US refugee program have been slammed shut to virtually everyone else, these Afrikaners showed up in the US earlier this week, their refugee status promising a path to US citizenship. Continue reading...

University says it strongly denounces' commencement speech by Logan Rozos, who called out atrocities' in GazaNew York University is withholding a student's diploma after he condemned Israel's deadly war on Gaza during his graduation ceremony speech.On Wednesday, Logan Rozos, an undergraduate student speaker from NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, delivered his commencement speech in which he said: The only thing that is appropriate to say in this time and to a group this large is a recognition of the atrocities currently happening in Palestine." Continue reading...

Record-high heat so early in the season means state has been hotter than Death Valley, the hottest place on EarthTexas is in the grip of an extraordinary heatwave this week, with record-breaking temperatures sweeping across the central and southern regions of the state.While 100F days are common in Texas summers, such early-season heat is unusual. The record-high heat means that Texas has been recently hotter than Death Valley, California, which is often cited as the hottest place on Earth. Continue reading...

Democrat Ras Baraka appeared in federal court for trespassing charge after arrest at Ice detention centerRas Baraka, the Democratic mayor of Newark, said federal prosecutors were seeking to humiliate and degrade" him by making him give fingerprints and have a mugshot taken for a second time on Thursday.The move came after a court appearance on a trespassing charge stemming from his arrest at an immigration detention center where he was protesting with several members of Congress. Continue reading...

Justices heard trio of cases stemming from president's January order in dispute that could expand his power

Charl Kleinhaus confirms he owns account that contained posts, as White House uses antisemitism as rationale for deportations

Interfaith group responds after books on Black, Jewish and LGBTQ+ history were burned and shared in racist videoA group of faith leaders in Ohio denounced a recent alleged hate crime in the state, in which a man burned books belonging to a public library. The destroyed books were on Jewish, African American and LGBTQ+ history.Unfortunately, this is one of those things that's, like, I'm shocked, but not surprised, every time it happens," Rev Ryan Wallace of Fairmount Presbyterian told the Guardian in an interview. We need to not get complacent. Every time it happens, we have to be there to say, this is unacceptable.'" Continue reading...

Nashville establishments owned by Trump supporter Steve Smith struggled as undocumented staff left mid-serviceThe restaurant Kid Rock's was among several others in Nashville owned by the conservative restaurateur and Donald Trump supporter Steve Smith where undocumented kitchen staff were asked to go home to avoid rumored immigration raids this weekend.The restaurant - whose full name is Kid Rock's Big Ass Honky Tonk Rock N' Roll Steakhouse, and is licensed by the rightwing musician Kid Rock, who has also become one of the US president's highest-profile supporters - reportedly found itself struggling to serve post-concert crowds on Saturday night after the order from managers instructing employees without legal status to leave, according to the Nashville Scene. Continue reading...

Justice department investigation into health insurance giant reported as company's CEO says he will retireShares in the UnitedHealth Group tumbled after it was reported that the largest health insurer in the US is under investigation over possible criminal Medicare fraud.The US Department of Justice has been investigating the health insurance giant since last summer, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. Continue reading...

The bronze figure, which replaced a wooden statue destroyed by arson in 2020, has been taken from SevnicaThe first Melania Trump statue in her native Slovenia was destroyed by fire and now its bronze replacement has gone missing, prompting a police investigation.The lifesize bronze statue of the US first lady was unveiled near her home town of Sevnica in 2020, towering over a field on a tree stump, after arson had destroyed the previous wooden one. Continue reading...

Russia's failure to send a top-level delegation to planned talks with Ukraine in Istanbul has reduced optimism that a peace deal could be made quickly. Donald Trump said on Air Force One that Vladimir Putin would not attend talks without his presence. 'Nothing's going to happen until Putin and I get together,' Trump said

Retailer expects annual sales to continue to rise but we aren't able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins', CEO saysWalmart will have to start raising prices later this month due to the high cost of tariffs, executives said on Thursday.US shoppers will start to see prices rise at the end of May and certainly in June, said John David Rainey, Walmart's chief financial officer, in a CNBC interview. Continue reading...

Three people tell stories of when stockpiling in case of natural disasters and precarious employment paid offThe average prepper isn't some end-times fantasist, more of a resourceful planner. They know that having healthy stockpiles of all basic needs pays off in case of natural disasters, electricity outages, or even the more basic reality of precarious employment. From food and water, to blankets, batteries and romance paperbacks - their basements bulge with the just-in-case.As part of our Armageddon complex series on people preparing for end times, here are the stories of three preppers who were grateful they had made provisions. Continue reading...

Ben Cohen and others interrupted RFK Jr at hearing to protest Israel's Gaza blockade and Medicaid cutsBen Cohen, the co-founder of Ben & Jerry's ice-cream, has been charged with crowding and obstructing" others after he was arrested while protesting against the Gaza blockade during a US Senate hearing.Cohen - the Ben in Ben & Jerry's - made his stand on Wednesday while Robert F Kennedy Jr was addressing a hearing of the health, education, labor and pensions committee. A group of activists heckled the health secretary over his anti-vaccine posture, yelling: When Bobby lies, children die," and Anti-vax, anti-science, anti-America". Continue reading...

Officials are offering $20,000 for information about dolphin, originally found intact but later with its head removedWildlife officials in North Carolina are offering a reward of $20,000 for information about the decapitation of a dolphin on a remote coastal island.The 8ft-long dolphin was initially found, intact, on Lea-Hutaff Island in the state by a member of the public. When staff from the marine mammal stranding team from the University of North Carolina Wilmington arrived a few days later to investigate, they found the animal's head had been removed. Continue reading...

I was told my life would change if I let strangers prod my deepest wounds. But I wasn't sure: were these group training sessions empowering or exploitative?On a Saturday in March in a conference room with ugly carpeting near Los Angeles international airport, I meekly muttered thank you" as a group of six people - all strangers until the day before - enumerated my deepest flaws.I see you, Katherine, as inauthentic," led the charge. Continue reading...

Study paints picture of universities increasingly willing to penalize students over expression of their viewsParker Hovis was four courses away from getting his computer science degree from the University of Florida when he was arrested along with several other students at a pro-Palestine protest on campus last spring. While the charges against him were dismissed and a school conduct committee recommended only minor punishment - a form of probation - the university president suspended him for three years. He'll be required to reapply if he wants to come back after that.Hovis, who has since left Florida and is working to pay off his student loans despite never graduating, is one of more than 1,000 students or student groups that were targeted by their universities for punishment between 2020 and 2024 over their speech, according to a report published today by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (Fire). Some 63% of them were ultimately punished. Continue reading...

Many people have decided a trip to the US isn't worth the risk after recent border detentions. But if you are going, what do you need to know? Immigration lawyers explain it allKindness doesn't cost a thing. Putting up a big no foreigners welcome" sign, threatening to annex your neighbour, and throwing visitors to your country into detention for minor visa infractions, however? Such actions are expensive. The United States is on track to lose $12.5bn (9.4bn) in international travel spending this year, according to a study published on Tuesday by the World Travel and Tourism Council.If the Trump administration is concerned that its aggressive rhetoric is costing tourist dollars, it's not showing it. During a recent press conference about the 2026 Fifa World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada, vice president JD Vance joked about deporting football fans who outstay their welcome. We'll have visitors from close to 100 countries. We want them to come..." Vance said. But when the time is up, they'll have to go home, otherwise they'll have to talk to [Homeland Security] secretary Noem." That's Kristi Noem, the woman who shot her own dog. Not someone you want to talk to when she's in a bad mood. Continue reading...

MLB's all-time hits leader was exiled from the sport he loved because of his gambling. Now the game is embracing betting at every opportunityThe not-so-bombshell decision on Tuesday by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred to reinstate Pete Rose, Shoeless' Joe Jackson and others to eligibility for the Hall of Fame, was actually months in the making. In January, representatives for Rose filed a petition in support of the former Reds star, who died last September, with MLB. Then in an April White House meeting, Manfred met with Donald Trump and discussed the Rose affair. Trump has made his opinions known about Rose for years. Though the wheels were already in motion, the meeting made Rose's reinstatement feel inevitable.Manfred was - and is - in a difficult position. Across American institutions - from law firms to media outlets to universities - the intense pressure from the White House to conform to Trump has been hard to ignore. And with immigration from countries that produce many of MLB's players a major source of contention, it's entirely understandable that Manfred would want to protect the interests of his sport. Continue reading...

Milan is one of the world's most iconic clubs, and Pulisic's performance has been a bright spot in a disappointing seasonIf AC Milan didn't redeem their lost season in the Coppa Italia final against Bologna on Wednesday, it was no fault of Christian Pulisic's.As his teammates failed to grind down their tightly packed opponents in a 1-0 loss, owing to Dan Ndoye's second-half goal, the American did all he could, just as he has all season, toiling and pressing and charging after balls hopeful and hopeless alike. Continue reading...

This blog has now closed. You can read more of our US politics coverage hereThe meeting between Donald Trump and Syria's president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, in Saudi Arabia was the culmination of months of diplomacy by the Syrians, as well as their Turkish and Saudi allies, who believed face time with Trump would help end Syria's international isolation, writes William Christou.Damascus had prepared a pitch to Trump that included access to Syrian oil, reassurances of Israel's security and a proposal to build a Trump tower in Damascus. Continue reading...

Trump's foreign policy approach in the Middle East is coming under scrutiny as he announces new deals on his Gulf tour. Key US politics stories from Wednesday 14 May at a glanceAs Donald Trump brushed off fierce criticism over his plan to accept a $400m luxury jet from the Qatari government, the president announced a lucrative deal for Boeing to supply the Gulf nation with 210 planes.Trump announced the $96bn contract -the largest-ever order of widebody Boeing planes - during a trip to Doha on Wednesday. The White House claims the aviation agreement will support 154,000 American jobs annually, though it was unclear how those figures were calculated. Continue reading...

Two highest-ranking employees fired due to opposition to Trump, says Tulsi Gabbard's office, without giving examplesTulsi Gabbard, the US director of national intelligence, has fired the two highest-ranking officials at the National Intelligence Council (NIC) just weeks after the council released an assessment that contradicted Donald Trump's justification for using the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members without due process.Mike Collins was serving as acting chair of the National Intelligence Council before he was dismissed alongside his deputy, Maria Langan-Riekhof. They each had more than 25 years of intelligence experience. Continue reading...

Health secretary cites new data' that emerged from flawed study conservatives are using to pressure US governmentThe US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, said on Wednesday that he had directed the FDA to review the regulations around the abortion pill mifepristone.The review, he said, was necessary due to new data" - data that emerged from a flawed analysis that top US anti-abortion groups are now using to pressure the Trump administration to reimpose restrictions on the abortion pill, if not pull it from the market entirely. Continue reading...

Measure targeting immigrants is to help close added $12bn deficit that Newsom blamed on Trump slump'The California governor, Gavin Newsom, wants his state to stop enrolling more low-income immigrants without legal status in a state-funded healthcare program starting in 2026 and begin charging a monthly premium the following year to those already enrolled.It is one of several measures proposed by Newsom on Wednesday to help close an additional $12bn deficit, a budget shortcoming the Democratic governor squarely placed on the shoulders of the Trump slump". Continue reading...

Georgetown postdoctoral fellow Badar Khan Suri had visa revoked and was arrested by immigration officials in MarchThe Georgetown academic Badar Khan Suri was released from Ice detention hours after a Virginia federal judge's order on Wednesday.Khan Suri was among several individuals legally studying in the US who have been targeted by the Trump administration for their pro-Palestinian activism. He has spent two months in detention. Continue reading...

Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, leapt out of his seat as protesters disrupted his committee hearing on Wednesday. Demonstrators could be heard shouting pro-Palestine slogans and confronting RFK on his record on Aids

Health secretary demurs on questions about vaccine stance and defends Republican plans to cut healthcareThe US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, refused to say whether he would vaccinate his children if he had to choose today, and defended Republicans' proposal to cut healthcare to fund tax cut extensions.Kennedy's back-to-back testimonies before House and Senate committees were his first appearances before lawmakers since his confirmation in February. The secretary was called to discuss Donald Trump's proposed budget, which would impose disproportionately large cuts to scientific enterprises at the health department. Continue reading...

Last-minute add to budget bill aims to stop laws that would create guardrails for automated decision-making systemsRepublicans in US Congress are trying to bar states from being able to introduce or enforce laws that would create guardrails for artificial intelligence or automated decision-making systems for 10 years.A provision in the proposed budgetary bill now before the House of Representatives would prohibit any state or local governing body from pursuing any law or regulation regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems" unless the purpose of the law is to remove legal impediments to, or facilitate the deployment or operation of" these systems. Continue reading...

Richmond residents say 50 dead birds have been found, with signs of injuries maybe caused by BB gun or slingshotResidents of Richmond, a Bay Area town north-east of San Francisco, are grappling with a disturbing mystery after multiple birds were found dead, with some appearing to explode" mid-air.Security footage from one neighborhood captured a bird falling from a power line after a loud popping sound. Concerns and speculation followed. Continue reading...

European tour cancelled after Mexican citizen Yamal Said of Texas-based band detained, despite having US green cardThe Texas-based rock band Lord Buffalo has cancelled its European tour after its drummer, Yamal Said, was detained by US Customs and Border Protection on Monday.Said was removed from a plane en route to the band's summer tour and has had no contact with his bandmates for two days, according to a message posted to the band's Instagram account. Said is a Mexican citizen but a legal permanent resident of the United States, holder of a green card and resident of Austin since the 1980s, according to the Austin Chronicle. Continue reading...

US international affairs scholar who pointed to soft power as a complement to military and economic mightJoseph Nye, who has died aged 88, owed his fame in the diplomatic world to just two words: soft power". The international affairs scholar came up with the phrase while sitting at his kitchen table trying to find a way to condense and encapsulate his approach to US foreign policy.He acknowledged military force and economic power were essential components in pursuit of the national interest but argued there was a third element, one not requiring force, that was under-appreciated. He called it soft power: influence gained through aid, culture, news and agencies promoting human rights, democracy and freedom of speech. Continue reading...

Brothers, convicted of parents' 1989 murders, resentenced to 50 years to life, making them immediately parole eligibleAfter months of delays and decades behind bars, Erik and Lyle Menendez now have a long-awaited chance at freedom after a judge reduced their sentences for the 1989 killings of their parents.Their family and extensive network of supporters celebrated on Tuesday when Judge Michael Jesic resentenced the brothers from life in prison without the possibility of parole to 50 years to life. The judge's decision means they are immediately eligible for parole under California's youthful offender law because of their young ages at the time of the murders. Continue reading...

President announces record-breaking $96bn deal to sell Qatar up to 210 jets and $38bn in future defense investment

An estimated 80,000 people died from overdoses last year - down from 110,000 in 2023 - but still above pre-Covid levelThere were 30,000 fewer US drug overdose deaths in 2024 than the year before - the largest one-year decline ever recorded.An estimated 80,000 people died from overdoses last year, according to provisional Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released on Wednesday. That is down 27% from 110,000 in 2023.Increased availability of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone.Expanded addiction treatment.Shifts in how people use drugs.The growing impact of billions of dollars in opioid lawsuit settlement money.The number of at-risk Americans is shrinking, after waves of deaths in older adults and a shift in teens and younger adults away from the drugs that cause most deaths. Continue reading...

Jay Bratt asserted constitutional right to silence before panel pursuing people involved in prosecutions of TrumpThe former special counsel prosecutor Jay Bratt asserted his fifth amendment right not to answer questions during a Wednesday deposition before a Republican-led House committee looking for evidence of politicization in the prosecutions of Donald Trump, a spokesman said.Bratt, who led the federal criminal case over the US president's alleged mishandling of classified documents as a top deputy to the former special counsel Jack Smith, was invited to testify by the House judiciary committee, which is chaired by the Ohio Republican Jim Jordan, a prominent defender of the president. Continue reading...

Commerce chief Howard Lutnick's firm backed controversial crypto giant Tether as Bukele ties deepenedTrump administration's commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, and his family have had extensive business interests linked to El Salvador, whose authoritarian leader Nayib Bukele has grown close to the White House and who has courted controversy by imprisoning people deported from the US in an immigration crackdown.El Salvador also plays host to a booming cryptocurrency and new media industry, which has numerous ties to Donald Trump allies who are seeking to make money from various ventures which have sometimes drawn the attention of authorities or ethics watchdogs. Continue reading...