San Andreas and San Jacinto fault systems in critically loaded state', increasing chance of big one' quake in futureSouthern California's San Andreas and San Jacinto fault systems are at their highest levels of tectonic stress in 1,000 years in what scientists describe as a critically loaded state", according to a study published earlier this month.Our results show that stress levels on multiple fault segments are now at or above the highest values seen in the past millennium and that the region may be capable of a large through-going rupture involving both fault systems," Liliane Burkhard, the lead author of the study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, said in a statement. Continue reading...
The Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool in Washington DC has turned green with algae shortly after it had undergone a renovation. The no-bid contract to waterproof and repaint the site was awarded to Atlantic Industrial Coatings, a Virginia-based company that had previously carried out work on a swimming pool at one of Donald Trump's golf clubs.
The recent abandonment of plans for a Franco-German fighter jet sent a disastrous signal. Strategic autonomy will be jointly achieved or not at allIt has become a truism to assert that Europe needs to fast-track its own strategic independence in a volatile world. A recent paper from the European Council on Foreign Relations describes the continent's leaders as grappling with a Schrodinger's NATO' moment, in which America remains formally inside the alliance while behaving as though it were not, just as the Russian threat looms larger". Donald Trump's United States has become at best an unreliable and at times reluctant ally, as Vladimir Putin's revanchist ambitions have exposed the need to strengthen Europe's defences.But if the goal of greater autonomy is to be achieved, far better coordination of resources and cooperation between national defence industries will be required. Neither has been much in evidence this month, with France and Germany abandoning a joint 100bn project to build a new fighter jet as part of an updated Future Combat Air System. Originally launched by Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel in 2017, plans for the jet were pulled as a result of irresolvable disagreements between Dassault, the French aviation company involved, and Airbus, the European aerospace company whose defence unit is based in Germany.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...
We would like to hear from small business owners in the US about how they're adapting to challenges such as inflationAn index of US small business optimism reportedly fell in May to the lowest level since October 2024, which Bloomberg says has erased almost all of the gains seen since President Donald Trump was elected for a second term".The National Federation of Independent Business optimism index fell 0.6 points to 95.3, according to data put out last week. The measure had previously hit a six-year high in December 2024 following Trump's re-election. Continue reading...
Twelve animal cases have been confirmed so far among cattle, goats, sheep and a dog in Texas and New MexicoScrewworm cases are rising in the US as the outbreak spreads beyond the initial contamination zones.Twelve animal cases have been confirmed so far, a significant increase from the first case detected in a calf in south Texas on 3 June. The growing number of infections has alarmed agricultural experts, who warn that a wider outbreak could have serious consequences for the Texas beef industry. Continue reading...
by Joseph Gedeon in Washington, Guardian staff and ag on (#76B75)
JD Vance says specifics to be worked out as Senate Republicans say there are many unanswered questionsRepublicans have expressed tentative skepticism of the agreement Donald Trump has reached with Iran, and urged the White House to release more information.The memorandum of understanding (MOU) announced on Sunday to end the war in Iran, set for a ceremonial signing on Friday in Geneva, is centered around reopening the strait of Hormuz and lifting the United States's naval blockade in the region, along with financial incentives for Iran if it meets certain benchmarks. Both Trump and JD Vance, the US vice-president, have digitally signed the document, along with Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf on Tehran's behalf, a senior US official confirmed. Continue reading...
Eleanor Ross cited an abundance of caution for potential perception of bias' over a Fani Willis-linked eventA federal judge who was disciplined after an investigation found that she had sex with a police officer in her chambers and attended a partisan event - then lied when confronted with the allegations - has recused herself in a fight over Georgia election records after the US justice department raised questions about her ability to be impartial.The justice department sought to remove Eleanor Ross, a US district judge, from the case, citing her reported attendance at an event for Fani Willis, the Fulton county district attorney who prosecuted Donald Trump in between his two presidencies. Ross on Tuesday filed an order recusing herself, writing that she was doing so out of an abundance of caution for the potential perception of bias". Continue reading...
A group of 12 people - nine skydivers, two tandem jumpers and a pilot - were killed in the weekend crash in ButlerA high school music teacher, a cancer survivor and a new father with two baby boys have been identified by family members as victims of a weekend skydiving plane crash in Missouri that killed 12 people.According to the Bates county department of emergency management, the aircraft, a Pacific Aerospace P750XL, was carrying nine experienced skydivers, two tandem jumpers and a pilot. Continue reading...
Hundreds of anti-regime protesters gathered outside the Los Angeles Stadium before Iran's match against New Zealand. The team's participation in the World Cup has been politically divisive, but alongside the large number of demonstrators, many fans expressed their support for Iranian players. Donald Trump said this week that a peace deal between Washington and Tehran was 'all signed' and that the strait of Hormuz would be 'completely open' from Friday Continue reading...
Oscar-winning actor to write and direct fact-based movie that will follow a police officer mixed up in 2021 Capitol riotSean Penn will direct a new film about the January 6 riot set to star Bradley Cooper.According to Deadline, the star, who recently won his third Oscar, will bring what's been described as a passion project" to the screen and act as both writer and director.This article was amended on 16 June 2026. An earlier version stated that Sean Penn had won two Oscars, not three. Continue reading...
Andy Lewis, also known for slacklining and tricklining, and Danny Joe Kregle of Arizona were killed in accident in Utah canyonA weekend Base jumping accident in a Utah canyon killed two people, one of them a daredevil athlete best known for performing on stage with Madonna at the 2012 Super Bowl, authorities said.The sheriff's office in Grand county, Utah, confirmed one of the dead was Andy Lewis, an extreme athlete known for feats in Base jumping, a dangerous sport that involves parachuting to the ground after jumping from a tall fixed object such as a building, a bridge or a desert cliff overlooking a deep canyon. Continue reading...
Rejected citing conflict of interest', the ad took aim at Trump allies David Ellison, Paramount Skydance chief, and his billionaire father, Larry EllisonParamount Skydance refused to air an ad submitted by a press freedom group that heavily criticized the network's leadership and merger with Warner Bros Discovery, with an advertising associate deeming it a conflict of interest".The Freedom of the Press Foundation had hoped to air the 30-second ad during Sunday's Ultimate Fighting Championship broadcast at the White House, which aired on the streaming service Paramount+ - though a client partner for Paramount told the organization's ad-buyer that such placement was not guaranteed. Continue reading...
At least eight states have banned the plant-derived product as more people use it and some claim it's addictiveIn 2024, Maizie Hepner, 24, started visiting a bar in Dubuque, Iowa that did not serve alcohol and instead offered beverages containing kava and kratom, psychoactive substances derived from plants.The drinks were marketed as herbal tea mocktails". Hepner, who works as a server and bartender, said. I asked the guy who owns" Kava Kava if it was addictive, and he said, Absolutely not'". Continue reading...
A Liverpool fan and an influencer explain what it's like to be hired for a Truman Show-style experimentWhen Kevin Kotoko heard that he had been selected as one of Fox's chief World Cup watchers he had no hesitation in accepting. What self-respecting football fan could turn down the opportunity to be paid $50,000 (37,000) to take in all 104 games at this World Cup, after all?The only issues were that he would have to watch every match in a custom-built viewing cube in the heart of Times Square and let his employers know that he wouldn't be coming in for work the next day. I quit my job," admits Kotoko, a Liverpool fan who is from Florida and was working as a waiter in a restaurant. I found out on Thursday that I had won the competition and so I told them on Friday that would be my last day!" Continue reading...
There is a fundamental tension between extreme wealth and the very possibility of democracy. That's because extreme wealth is always an extreme powerThe stock market listing of SpaceX has led to an outpouring of celebration, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. Yet those who rejoice in Elon Musk's fortune surpassing the $1tn mark need to be reminded of a simple and vital truth: the mere existence of trillionaires is a major political and economic problem, probably the defining issue of our time.Simply put, there is a fundamental tension between extreme wealth and the very possibility of democracy. Extreme wealth is always an extreme power. It's the power to stifle competition, the power to shape public discourse, the power to influence policymaking, the power to buy elections, the power to stall social progress.Gabriel Zucman is a professor of economics at the Paris School of Economics, a summer research professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and founding director of the International Tax Observatory. He is the author of We Need to Tax Billionaires. Continue reading...
by Ramon Antonio Vargas in Kenner, Louisiana on (#76BB2)
Sixteen-year-old tells police Juven Pineda treated her like a prisoner' and thretened to harm family in HondurasAn accused sex trafficker allegedly raped a 16-year-old girl to resolve a $13,500 debt that he claimed she and her family owed him, according to Louisiana police.Juven Pineda, 34, faces charges of second-degree rape and human trafficking after his capture in North Carolina and recent transfer to the custody of investigators in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner, who had obtained a warrant to arrest him.Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organizations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html Continue reading...
Josh Hokit's comment, made after the match at the White House, was condemned widely, but not by the presidentDonald Trump is facing growing pressure to condemn an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) competitor who used a White House appearance to push a sexist, racist and transphobic conspiracy theory about former first lady Michelle Obama.At a UFC event on the south lawn on Sunday, the US president's 80th birthday, Josh Hokit, a fighter, shouted into the microphone in front of Trump: Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?" Continue reading...
The new DC mayor will face a slew of challenges in the city, including how to handle the Trump administrationThere's a transplant from Mar-a-Lago at the center of DCs mayoral primary race on Tuesday, but his name is nowhere on the ballot.For the first time in more than a decade, Washington DC will have a new mayor this year as the city faces concerns about how to address public safety, housing affordability, and increased federal immigration enforcement in the district. How the next mayor handles Donald Trump is also key question on residents' minds, with many closely watching to see if any of the president's supporters are pouring money into the race, as well as the primaries for the city's congressional delegate. Continue reading...
by Adam Gabbatt, Tom Silverstone and Katie Arnold on (#76BB4)
Across the US, thousands of people are injecting themselves with unregulated peptides in pursuit of weight loss, muscle growth and younger-looking skin. Despite being labelled 'not for human consumption', the substances are readily available online and have surged in popularity among people disillusioned by traditional healthcare. To find out why so many Americans are willing to risk unknown side-effects for the promise of a quick fix, Adam Gabbatt meets the users and influencers driving the peptide boom, and investigates what's really inside some of these so-called 'miracle' drugs Continue reading...
The desecration of a ruler's symbols is among the oldest forms of political revoltThere's a reason the first two of the Ten Commandments prohibit worshiping false gods and making false idols. And a reason iconoclasm - the desecration of the monuments of a hated ruler or regime - is one of the oldest and most powerful symbolic forms of political revolt.The revolutionary power of iconoclasm is also why Donald Trump - who understands the manipulation of imagery as well as anyone on earth - has had a huge blue and white tarp draped across the facade of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts while the letters of his name are pried off under court order.Judith Levine is a Brooklyn-based journalist and frequent contributor to the Guardian. Her Substack is Today in Fascism Continue reading...
Iran begin disrupted campaign with hard-fought draw against the All Whites in Los AngelesAll Whites: 1 Max Crocombe (gk); 13 Liberato Cacace, 16 Finn Surman, 5 Michael Boxall, 2 Tim Payne; 6 Joe Bell, 8 Marko Stameni; 11 Eli Just, 10 Sarpreet Singh, 20 Callum McCowatt; 9 Chris Wood (c).Chris Wood will lead the line and the side into their third World Cup campaign. The XI is expected to settle into a more defensive 4-2-3-1 formation and rely on pace up front from Just, Singh and McCowatt. Crocombe is named goalkeeper ahead of Alex Paulsen. Continue reading...
A compromise deal packed with fudges'; Newsom says Trump weaponizing justice department against him. Key US politics stories from Monday 15 June at a glanceNews of a potential reopening of the strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquid gas pass, sent stock markets higher and oil prices lower on Monday morning. Iran had closed the waterway to most shipping in the early days of the war mounted against it by the US and Israel.The secretariat of Iran's supreme national security council said war and military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, would end permanently from Monday night. The precise terms of the peace deal remain unclear and Julian Borger writes that in reopening the strait, on a basis yet to be fully explained, Donald Trump achieves little more than fixing a problem that he caused himself. Even that is not in the bag yet. It is still a long way to Friday and a planned signing ceremony in Geneva, in view of all the fudges that have been packed into this compromise deal." Continue reading...
Uruguay were poor in the first half but upped their game and took a deserved point thanks to Maxi Araujo2 min The Saudi Arabia attack is led by Salem al-Dawsari, who scored the winner in their astounding win over Argentina four years ago.1 min Saudi Arabia kick off from left to right as we watch. The match is only four minutes behind schedule, so you can all go chill, relax. Continue reading...
Elections chief says bid by ex-teacher to challenge senator with same name was filed to confuse or mislead' votersThere will still be one Dan Sullivan on the ballot, but election officials in Alaska determined a second man by the same name cannot run against him in the high-stakes Senate race.A man named Dan Sullivan, or Daniel J Sullivan Jr, filed to run as a Republican against incumbent Alaska senator Dan S Sullivan, also a Republican. Republicans filed complaints against the other Dan Sullivan, saying the candidate had coordinated with a Democratic campaign to confuse voters. Continue reading...
The US-Iran ceasefire is welcome. But the US president is trying to disguise a failed war of choice as a diplomatic victoryThe US-Iran agreement to halt fighting for 60 days is welcome, because even cynical diplomacy is better than war. But Donald Trump should not be allowed to call this a triumph. He has bought a pause after an illegal war of choice that failed to secure its declared aims, devastated Iran, destabilised Lebanon and sent shocks through energy and fertiliser markets, leaving many people poorer and hungrier. A campaign launched to display US military strength is likely instead to be remembered for demonstrating its limits.A deal with Iran is better than war with Iran. But the US president is hailing as victory the partial easing of a crisis that he, and Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu, helped create. The measure of success will not be the reopening of the strait of Hormuz, which war had closed, but whether the next two months produce a verifiable nuclear settlement and put out the flames fanned by the US-Israel attacks.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...
Agent opened fire at car, striking it, as suspect fled scene and has not been located, Stafford Township police sayAn Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in New Jersey was reportedly struck by a vehicle and shot at the car as it fled the scene on Monday morning, according to local authorities.The police department of Stafford Township said in a statement that it had been provided with information that ICE was attempting to apprehend a suspect when the suspect fled from the scene in a vehicle, striking [an ICE agent]". Continue reading...
Eleven skydivers and a pilot were killed in Sunday crash as aircraft for Skydive Kansas City was taking off in ButlerThe Missouri skydiving community is mourning the loss of several of its members after a plane crash south of Kansas City killed 11 skydivers and a pilot.The crash occurred around noon on Sunday in Butler, Missouri, as an aircraft supporting operations for Skydive Kansas City was taking off, the company said in a statement on Monday, as reported by the local news outlet KCTV. Continue reading...
Residents of West Oakland, which suffers from toxic waste and high pollution rates, rally against a coal export facilityWest Oakland, a California neighborhood known for its rich history of Black activism from the Pullman Porters' union to the Black Panthers, might not seem like the site of the country's next great coal project.But that's exactly what the Trump administration is pushing for - with the injection of $75m to build a sprawling coal export terminal in the nearby port of Oakland. Continue reading...
Visitors say arbitrary and changing rules prevent visitation and cause stress to families and their detained loved onesIn January, Gabriela Soto's husband was detained in Delaney Hall, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Newark, New Jersey. She has been very stressed" in the months since, comforting her heartbroken children and spending thousands of dollars on asylum-related legal cases. She has regularly visited her husband on weekends at the facility. She is one of hundreds of visitors lining up every week to see loved ones.But Delaney Hall has rejected her visits time and time again over supposed dress code violations. More than 10 times, Soto said, she has been told that either she or her children could not visit because of what they were wearing. Continue reading...
Homeowners association in Madison incites protests and calls for humane solutions after voting to kill geeseA homeowners association in Madison, Alabama, has incited protests and calls for humane wildlife management solutions after voting to kill off hundreds of local geese.Dozens of people gathered in the city's Edgewater neighborhood to protest against the non-unanimous plan by the homeowners association (HOA) there to euthanize the Canada geese at Lady Ann Lake by fatally gassing them in a chamber. They called for more humane alternatives such as using horns to scare off the geese or relocating the birds. Continue reading...
Despite a last-ditch legal bid to block the event, the White House spent the night as a marketing department for the private fighting companyA warm Sunday night on the South Lawn - with bright lights, fireworks, a fighter plane flyover, thousands of spectators, and the first major professional sporting event ever staged at the White House - produced many memorable scenes. One might linger more than most.Justin Gaethje, the American interim lightweight champion, stood alone in the Oval Office in his fight shorts, draped in an American flag, studying a framed Declaration of Independence before he turned to walk out to the cage. Continue reading...
Move is part of broad effort to open public lands to industry and other uses, threatening wildlife and ecosystemsThe Trump administration is executing a controversial plan to allow dirt bikes, ATVs, trucks, snowmobiles and other off-road vehicles to drive through tens of millions of acres of public lands and national parks, which environmental groups warn threatens endangered species and the environment.The plan's opponents say the impacts will be wide-ranging and that the vehicles will likely destroy sensitive habitats, harm waterways, drive large predators like grizzly bears into contact with humans, and otherwise damage pristine public lands and parks. Continue reading...
Daphy Michel, a vulnerable asylum seeker from Haiti, died at Pittsburgh bus shelter days after leaving federal custodyA medical examiner has ruled the death of a Haitian asylum seeker in Pennsylvania after being released from federal custody a homicide.Meanwhile, an attorney representing her family said he expects her relatives to sue Immigration and Customs Enforcement in connection with her death, though a spokesperson maintained in an email that the agency had NOTHING to do with this woman's death". Continue reading...
by Nathan E Sanders and Bruce Schneier on (#76AN4)
The list of government AI use cases has ballooned by 70% since Biden left office and includes many plans to hand over sensitive governmental functions to AIOn 14 April, the Trump administration quietly acknowledged the widespread use of AI to automate government processes. The office of management and budget (OMB) disclosed a staggering 3,611 active or planned use cases for AI across the federal government. The list has ballooned by 70% from the one published in the final year of the Biden administration, and includes many disturbing-seeming plans to hand over sensitive governmental functions to AI.Scanning this list, many readers may find many causes for alarm. It represents a transfer of decision processes from human to machine on a massive scale over matters of individual freedom, public health and wellbeing, nuclear reactor safety and more.Nathan E Sanders is a data scientist affiliated with the Berkman Klein Center of Harvard University and co-author, with Bruce Schneier, of the book Rewiring Democracy: How AI Will Transform Our Politics, Government, and Citizenship. Bruce Schneier is a security technologist who teaches at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University and University of Toronto's Munk School Continue reading...
The sordid UFC event represents his own efforts to symbolically fuse the federal government with his person, to insist that he is America and is the stateHitler dreamed of a 1,000-year Reich; Putin is said to have baroque dreams of territorial conquest meant to restore a dubiously historical empire he calls Greater Russia". Sure, there are people around Donald Trump who imagine using his rise to power to establish some sort of grand, civilizational project: there are the white nationalists who dream of a country purged of those they deem racially impure; there are the Christian nationalists who imagine a future theocracy in which women wear long braids and skirts, and don't vote; there are the techno-reactionaries who imagine a future of interplanetary colonies, techno-assisted eugenics, and polygamous harems.But Trump himself is conspicuously small in his dreams: his are comparatively little ambitions, not extending far beyond the reach of his ego and his senses.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...
The process to renew Daca immigration status used to take a few weeks - now it drags on for monthsIt's been six months since Claudia first applied to renew her US immigration status - a process that, for the last 14 years, would only take a few weeks.But now, the prolonged delay has put her life on hold. Claudia, who moved to the US when she was four, has maintained legal status as a Dreamer" with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) program, which was created in 2012 to protect undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children from deportation. Continue reading...
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