James Edward Oakley, 58-year-old man living in Vallejo, was crushed by piece of excavating equipment last yearNew details have emerged in the death of a northern California man who was killed by a piece of excavating equipment during a city sweep of what officials have referred to as an illegal dumping site.James Edward Oakley, a 58-year-old man who lived on the streets of Vallejo, was found dead at the site in the city last Christmas eve. Continue reading...
Minority leader laments Hobson's choice' but says shutdown would give Trump and Musk carte blanche'The Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, said on Thursday he would vote for a Republican-written bill to fund federal agencies through September and avert a government shutdown.Schumer's comments suggest that his members are prepared to provide the necessary votes to clear a procedural hurdle ahead, allowing the seven-month spending measure to advance to a final vote. Continue reading...
Key US stock index closes more than 10% down from February peak amid volatility caused by president's tariffsThe S&P 500, a key US stock market index, closed in correction territory on Thursday as the volatility of Donald Trump's trade wars rattled investors.The index closed more than 10% down from its 19 February peak as Wall Street approaches the end of a second week of pressure. Continue reading...
Grijalva, who backed environmental causes during 12 terms in Congress, dies from cancer treatment complicationsDemocratic US representative Raul M Grijalva of Arizona, who championed environmental protection during his 12 terms in Congress, died on Thursday of complications from cancer treatments, his office said.Grijalva, who was 77, had risen to chair the US House natural resources committee and was the top Democrat on the committee until earlier this year. He had been absent from Congress as he underwent cancer treatment in recent months. Continue reading...
by Guardian staff and agencies in Nuuk on (#6VXEM)
We don't want to be Americans. We don't want to be Danes. We want to be Greenlanders,' says Jens-Frederik NielsenGreenland's probable new prime minister has rejected Donald Trump's effort to take control of the island, saying Greenlanders must be allowed to decide their own future as it moves toward independence from Denmark.Jens-Frederik Nielsen, whose centre-right Democrats won a surprise victory in this week's legislative elections and now must form a coalition government, pushed back on Thursday against Trump's repeated claims that the US will annex the island. Continue reading...
The US president, Donald Trump, said he thinks 'Nato might have to get involved' in the US takeover of Greenland as the country needs it 'for national security'. When asked about a 'potential annexation' of Greenland during a meeting with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, Trump said he was 'sitting with a man who could be very instrumental'. Rutte responded by saying he did not 'want to drag Nato into it'. When questioned about Greenland's recent election and whether its people would potentially have a say, Trump added that the result was very good for the US and 'the person who did the best is a very good person as far as we're concerned'
The US president said he was getting good signals' from Russia about the proposed 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine and that it would be very disappointing for the world' if Moscow did not do the right thing'. Donald Trump also congratulated the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, saying Nato is stepping up through this man'. Vladimir Putin had earlier hinted at a future phone call with Trump, to which the US president said he would love to meet or speak to him' on the matter
Demonstrators led by Jewish Voice for Peace demanding release of Palestinian activist stood in US president's New York City buildingProtesters organized by a progressive Jewish group occupied the lobby of Trump Tower in New York City on Thursday to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian Columbia University student held by US immigration authorities. About 100 were arrested.Chanted slogans included: Free Mahmoud, free them all" and: Fight Nazis, not students." Continue reading...
Will-they-won't-they over a ceasefire does not change the underlying dynamics of US retreat from supporting KyivA three-year conflict has taken bewildering, lurching turns in under a fortnight. Less than two weeks after Donald Trump berated Volodymyr Zelenskyy, ejected him from the White House and cut off Ukraine's support, he U-turned to threaten financial measures that would be very bad for Russia" if it did not reach a deal with Kyiv. Ukraine's acceptance of a 30-day ceasefire proposal, building on its own suggestion ofahalt in air and maritime conflict, threw the onusonMoscow. On Thursday, Vladimir Putin claimed to support the idea in theory - but warned of seriousissues" to address.Ukraine's agreement prompted the resumption of US intelligence sharing and military aid, which may well have been Kyiv's primary aim. Mr Trump would like to take the credit - and perhaps aspires to a Nobel prize - for a peace deal. Mr Trump, who was hosting Nato's secretary general, Mark Rutte, described the Russian president's remarks as very promising" albeit not complete". Even if he outsources the patience and focus required to reach an agreement, it is clear that he has no interest in the injustice or illegality of the invasion, that his sympathies lie with Mr Putin, and that he bears a deep grudge against Mr Zelenskyy.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...
Authorities discover malnourished man, who says he has been held captive since age 11, during a house fireA Connecticut woman has been accused of holding her stepson captive for approximately 20 years after authorities discovered him - now 32 years old, 5ft 9in and weighing just 68lbs - during a house fire last month.On Thursday police in Waterbury, Connecticut, arrested Kimberly Sullivan, 56, and charged her with assault in the first degree, kidnapping in the second degree, unlawful restraint in the first degree, cruelty to persons and reckless endangerment in the first degree. Continue reading...
Ruling by California judge applies to thousands of employees dismissed from six federal agenciesA federal judge in California granted a preliminary injunction to reinstate thousands of fired probationary workers at federal agencies as part of a lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Government Employees.The ruling by the judge William H Alsup in the US district court for the northern district of California applies to fired probationary employees at the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of the Interior and the Department of the Treasury. Continue reading...
System overhaul announced as new judge advocate generals being nominated after purge of predecessors. Plus, study finds marriage triples obesity risk in men - but not women Don't already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up hereHello.The defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, will overhaul the US military's lawyers in an effort to make the army less restricted by the laws of armed conflict, according to two sources close to the matter.How will the Jags overhaul do this? Sources say the aim is to retrain military lawyers to provide extensive legal advice to commanders to follow more aggressive tactics and be more lenient in charging soldiers with battlefield crimes.Is this the only setback to Doge? No - this week, a federal judge in Washington DC found the body held so much power that its records may be subject to public requests and it should begin a rolling" production of records within weeks. Continue reading...
Predictions that US firms could retain manufacturing plants in Ireland but move profits back to AmericaUS pharmaceutical companies based in Ireland are more likely to shift profits back to the US than close manufacturing plants after Donald Trump accused Ireland of stealing American tax and jobs, experts say.Aidan Regan, a professor of political economy at University College Dublin, said the US president was right to call out the trade imbalance created by US pharmaceutical companies in Ireland, arguing the warning signs have been there for years. Continue reading...
The quarter-finals have been decided with a dash of controversy. We hand out honours and dishonours from the latest round of actionReal Madrid Continue reading...
The ways the pandemic has shaken Guardian readers' worlds - from new businesses to difficulty socialisingIt's been five years since the Trump administration declared a nationwide emergency across the US on 13 March 2020, The announcement came days after the World Health Organization (WHO) designated Covid-19 a global pandemic.Since then, there have been 1,222,603 deaths from Covid in the US. Much of the country, along with the rest of the world, has moved on from the pandemic, with fewer people wearing masks and life returning to the way it was before the outbreak started. Continue reading...
Britain in middle as some of US's trading partners retaliate while others want pragmatic' route in hope levies are easedSailors crossing the Atlantic in March are used to dealing with rough seas. But when two shipments of steel from Marcegaglia Stainless Sheffield were slowed up in crossing the ocean by storms this week it meant more than a few days' extra journey: the metal was caught up in the global trade war started by the US president, Donald Trump, as well.Obviously, it's a massive frustration," says Liam Bates, the president of long products at the Italian steelmaker's northern England operation. The company had hoped to rush through two weekly shipments in order to avoid the Wednesday deadline for Trump's 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium. Instead, it will have to bear the costs - or hope for grace from the US government. Continue reading...
Football is living through a global case study on whether fairer actually makes for better in the world of professional sportThe number on the sign displayed prominently by the entrance of the football universe had been wiped away. IT HAS NOW BEEN ... 0... DAYS SINCE THE LAST VAR CONTROVERSY.The second leg of a scintillating Madrid derby in the Champions League round of 16 went to penalties on Wednesday, sending Real through over Atletico. Antonio Rudiger hit the winning spot kick, but the shootout truly turned on an especially eagle-eyed call by the video assistant referee.Leander Schaerlaeckens is at work on a book about the United States men's national soccer team, out in 2026. He teaches at Marist University. Continue reading...
In a video posted to her YouTube channel, former En Vogue singer Dawn Robinson admitted that she has been living in her car for nearly three years. Robinson said she decided to make the move after researching van living while her own living situation was uncertain, after difficulty with her mother and struggles with her manager over finding an apartment in LA Continue reading...
Trump pick to lead agency, the Republican ex-congressman Dave Weldon, has faced scrutiny over anti-vaccine viewsThe Trump administration withdrew its nomination for head of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the day he was due to face a confirmation hearing, multiple outlets reported.Two sources close to the Senate process said Dave Weldon, a doctor and former Republican Florida congressman, would not face a hearing as planned, according to Axios, which broke the news. Continue reading...
Parts of Los Angeles hit by January blazes under evacuation warnings as west coast braces for heavy rain and snowThe US west coast is facing an atmospheric river event threatening flooding and power outages due to heavy rain and snow, with more than 20 million people in southern California under flood watches.Evacuation warnings were issued by fire officials in the Pacific Palisades, Altadena and Pasadena areas, which were affected by the Palisades and Eaton fires in January. Continue reading...
Kevin Fagan, who spent decades at the San Francisco Chronicle, argues in a new book that atrociously unforgivable' US poverty must be addressedThe veteran journalist Kevin Fagan spent decades covering homelessness for the San Francisco Chronicle, reporting on a crisis that persists despite billions poured into housing and services and years of political debate.The issue is personal for him. Fagan was episodically homeless in his youth, sleeping in his car and camping outside while he attended college and later in doorways abroad as a traveling musician. Continue reading...
It will take a new movement of responsible readers and benefactors to protect independent mediaWhen Disney announced yet another round of layoffs at ABC News last week, it came on the heels of a year in which almost 15,000 media jobs were lost - and capped off a quarter-century in which we've seen thousands of independent publications shut down or merged with larger conglomerates.The upshot is that Americans now find ourselves trapped in an information environment more tightly controlled than ever by a handful of oligarchs.Katrina vanden Heuvel is editorial director and publisher of the Nation, she is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and she has contributed to the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times Continue reading...
by Theo Lloyd-Hughes, Kim McCauley, and Megan Swanick on (#6VWZJ)
The 2025 NWSL season kicks off this week. We convened a panel of writers to discuss what they're most looking forward to this yearSeeing if the Orlando Pride's 2024 is repeatable in any way, shape or form. I'm a firm believer that last year's Shield and Championship winning team delivered the most impressive season in the history of the NWSL. Last week, Marta herself said it best that in 2025 everyone will hunt us." Seeing how Orlando will carry themselves as defending champions will be fascinating. TLH Continue reading...
London, Manchester, Cardiff, Birmingham - I have favourite early-morning memories from each of themI've had enough of city living. London has been my home on and off since I came to university in 1986. I'm tired of it. But there's one bit I still love. That's when I find myself right bang in the middle of town early in the morning. I feel the same way about all the other cities in which I ply my trade: Birmingham, Cardiff and Manchester, mainly. At about 6am, all cities have a similar character.I write this in a cafe on Old Compton Street in Soho, in central London, at 6.30am. Here more than anywhere, it feels as though you're in the eye of a storm. There aren't many people about because the people, millions of them, are all jammed up on the roads and crammed on to public transport, getting in each other's way, trying to get here. So for another hour or so we have it to ourselves. We" being the early starters and a few late finishers. Continue reading...
Guardian data analysis shows administration transformed immigration enforcement in only a few weeksUS immigration enforcement officials arrested more people in the first 22 days of February 2025 than in any month over the last seven years, according to a Guardian review of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) data.The Guardian review, which analyzed DHS data from the first month of Donald Trump's presidency, in addition to interviews with immigration lawyers, advocates and former Ice officials, show how the administration has transformed immigration enforcement in the US within just a few weeks. Continue reading...
Key factors will drive the Kremlin's decision. Can Russia fight on and for what? Or is there more benefit in allying with Donald Trump?At this stage of the crisis, it is important to be clear-sighted. The US-Ukraine meeting in Jeddah was a damage-control operation. Both parties reset relations that had been damaged, largely by Washington's impatience. The US reversed its previous decisions in exchange for something Ukraine was ready to provide anyway: privileged access to Ukraine's natural resource wealth and a willingness to start a peace process.It is encouraging to see renewed US-Ukraine dialogue to end the war. As Churchill said, the only thing worse than fighting with allies is fighting without them. The public mugging in the Oval Office, calling Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator and the pause in military and intelligence support were hard to fathom. Ukrainians wondered why President Trump was putting the blame and the pressure on the victim, and protecting the aggressor. Trump's beautiful" deal involved bullying the weaker and reassuring the stronger. He finds it more natural to put pressure on allies, be it Ukraine or Canada, and relax it on adversaries. Continue reading...
Tax-exempt special interest groups like lobbyists and non-profits are exercising power with little democratic oversightThe repression that began under the Biden administration has accelerated under Trump. Mahmoud Khalil's detention by federal agents - reportedly Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers - despite his legal, permanent resident status will probably have its intended effect. People will speak up less; their fear of the irreversible harm meted out by a vengeful state is justified. Now we are all left to contend with the wreckage of the first amendment to the US constitution, which used to guarantee the right to speech in this country.Responsibility for the erosion of our rights is attributable - in part - to the bipartisan embrace of the non-governmental, non-profit sector. That's because from the 1940s onward, the federal government has ceded much state authority to philanthropies and non-profits. Those groups, in turn, have acted to craft policy - everything from how to develop equitable housing or the benefits of inoculating children to ensuring that speech targeting Israel is punishable by law. Continue reading...
I've always believed the people are powerful. Now we know the world's richest man does tooOn Saturday morning, I woke up to a nightmare of notifications. On Sunday, it got worse. Elon Musk had tweeted and amplified inflammatory lies about me and Tesla Takedown, a growing national grassroots movement peacefully protesting at Tesla showrooms that I'm proudly a part of. Musk tweeted: Costa is committing crimes."As a longtime local activist and organizer in Seattle, I'm accustomed to some conflict with powerful forces. The intention of the Tesla Takedown movement is to make a strong public stand against the tech oligarchy behind the Trump administration's cruel and illegal actions, and to encourage Americans to sell their Teslas and dump the company's stock. Protests like these - peaceful, locally organized, and spreading across the world - are at the heart of free speech in a democracy and a cornerstone of US political traditions. So it's telling that the response from so-called free speech absolutist" Musk has been to single out individuals - and spread lies about us and our movement. The harassment that's followed his post has been frightening. Continue reading...
We are seeing a pale version of military Keynesianism, and for what? That money would be better spent fighting the climate crisisThings could be worse for Rachel Reeves, but not much. The economy is stagnant. Donald Trump has decided the UK will not be exempt from tariffs on steel and aluminium exports to the US. Stock markets have taken fright and share prices are tumbling.Five years on from the start of the Covid-19 lockdown, the scars of the pandemic have proved to be deep and long-lasting. The spring statement on the economy that Reeves will deliver later this month will announce cuts to welfare in order to prevent the government breaking its own borrowing rules.Larry Elliott is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
The government's move to abolish diversity, equity and inclusion policies is a naked attempt to appeal to prejudice - but it may well backfireAlmost a decade ago, I started a business called Rent-A-Minority, which enabled companies to hire a minority ethnic person whenever they needed an injection of diversity to boost their image. I had a variety of inclusivity-enriching hires available, including an ethnically ambiguous" category and a selection of smiling Muslim women (guaranteed not to support Islamic State or your money back).Like every good startup, Rent-A-Minority posted testimonials from clients and influencers on its website. I made up all the blurbs, because that is the Silicon Valley way: fake it till you make it. One of those fake comments was from Donald Trump, who was still considered a long shot for the presidency in January 2016, when my business launched. When I'mpresident, I'll shut this site down," Trump's blurb read. Continue reading...
Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider harmful effects of pollution; justice department demands shelter release names of migrants - key US politics stories from Wednesday at a glanceDonald Trump has previously called the climate crisis a hoax" and dismissed those concerned by its worsening impacts as climate lunatics", but now the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has gone even further under his authority, issuing an extraordinary cavalcade of pollution rule rollbacks.The agency has announced it would potentially scrap a landmark 2009 finding by the US government that planet-heating gases, such carbon dioxide, pose a threat to human health. Continue reading...
by Robert Mackey, Chris Stein, Maya Yang and Amy Sedg on (#6VW0Q)
Republicans only have 52 yes votes and senator says Democrats won't help get to the 60 votes needed for the bill to pass. This blog is now closed.Congressional brinkmanship, including repeated near-misses with shutdowns and over the nation's $36 trillion in debt, has contributed to global ratings agencies' moves to downgrade the US federal government's once-pristine credit rating, reports Reuters.Democrats have long chided Republicans for threatening or voting for government shutdowns, and Republicans were quick to call them out for considering votes that could risk one. Continue reading...
Canadian government says it will follow dollar-by-dollar' approach and institute 25% tariffs on US importsCanada announced retaliatory tariffs on nearly C$30bn worth of American imports after US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports went into effect on Wednesday.The Canadian government said it will be following a dollar-by-dollar" approach and institute 25% tariffs on American imports, including steel, computers and sports equipment. Continue reading...
Senate minority leader says Democrats will not provide votes for stopgap measure and calls for bipartisan effortSenator Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, said on Wednesday that Democrats would not provide the necessary votes to pass a stopgap funding bill, dramatically raising the risk of a partial government shutdown at the end of the week.Announcing the decision in a speech on the Senate floor, Schumer urged Republicans to consider a shorter funding extension that would give congressional negotiators more time to consider a bipartisan path forward. Continue reading...
Baher Azmy, director of Center for Constitutional Rights, said: 'Mr Khalil's detention has nothing to do with security. It is only about repression.' Khalil, who is a student at Columbia University, was arrested by immigration officials on Saturday over his role in the college's encampment protests against Israel's war on Gaza. Although he is a legal permanent US resident and green card holder, he currently sits in Ice detention in Louisiana
US president said of Senate minority leader: He's not Jewish any more. He's a Palestinian'Donald Trump has been condemned by a leading US Muslim civil rights group for seeking to use the word Palestinian" as an insult when he attacked the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, as not Jewish any more".President Trump's use of the term Palestinian' as a racial slur is offensive and beneath the dignity of his office," said Nihad Awad, the national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or Cair. Continue reading...
Keith Self, Republican chair of a US House subcommittee, adjourned the hearing after he was challenged for misgendering Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender member of Congress. McBride, a first-term Democratic congresswoman from Delaware, elected last November, shot back at the chair by responding: 'Thank you, Madam Chair.' She was joined by Bill Keating, a Massachusetts Democrat, who defended her saying: 'This is not decent'
Subpoena issued to Manhattan hotel asks for a list of full names of aliens currently residing' at the siteFederal prosecutors have sent a criminal subpoena to a Manhattan hotel housing undocumented immigrants through a New York City program providing shelter to asylum seekers, according to a copy of the filing obtained by the Guardian.The subpoena issued on Wednesday asks the hotel to provide a list of full names of aliens currently residing" at the site as well as any corresponding identifying information", including dates of birth, nationality and identification numbers. The subpoena also asks the hotel to give evidence about an alleged violation" of federal immigration law. Continue reading...
by Anna Betts and Erum Salam in New York on (#6VW79)
Court document claims potentially serious foreign policy consequences' amid outcry over Palestinian activist's arrestThe US government is relying on a rarely used provision of the law to try to deport a prominent Palestinian activist who recently completed his graduate studies at Columbia University, where he was a leader in last year's campus protests.A government charging document addressed to Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent US resident and green card holder who is currently being held in a Louisiana detention center, said that secretary of state Marco Rubio has reasonable ground to believe that your presence or activities in the United States would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States". Continue reading...
The US president, Donald Trump, says a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia is 'getting close' after Ukraine agreed to accept a 30-day break in fighting. Trump says he has people on the way to Russia and is hopeful Moscow will accept the deal. However he also makes veiled threats that Russia could face 'devastating' financial repercussions if it decides to continue the warWe have people going to Russia right now,' says Trump as Zelenskyy hopes for strong steps' if Russia rejects ceasefire - Europe live Continue reading...
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