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Real Madrid forward faces former club amid legal war and bitterness, after watching PSG grab the glory he left to pursueThis is a tale of blackmail and revenge, or so it goes. Of power and money, lots of money. It is also a story of sport. The buildup to the semi-final of the Club World Cup between Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, those two empires and enemies, didn't begin with a fitness update from Atlanta or Palm Beach; it began on Monday morning New York time with news from Paris that Kylian Mbappe had withdrawn a legal claim accusing his former club of extortion and harassment. Two days before kick-off, it was time for the football.Well, sort of. The Real Madrid striker and his entourage want to calm the situation and concentrate exclusively on sporting issues," L'Equipe reported. Definitely nothing to do with their prospects of winning the case, then. Besides, there is still the demand for 55m in allegedly unpaid wages and bonuses, which led to PSG's accounts being momentarily blocked. PSG claim Mbappe agreed to waive the 55m when he went and the club have made a counter-claim of 98m. The accusations and counter-accusations are multiple, the amounts eye-watering, the bitterness inescapable even as it is hidden behind a polite exterior. Continue reading...

Adriana Smith was legally dead for months, but kept on life support in Atlanta because she was pregnantOn Friday 13 June, a baby was born in an Atlanta hospital to a woman who had been dead for four months. Adriana Smith, a 30-year-old Black nurse and mother, was declared brain dead in February after blood clots formed in her brain. Legally, and by all meaningful measures, she was dead then: the woman who loved her family, laughed with her friends, comforted her son, helped her colleagues and cared for her patients was gone then, and was never coming back. But the state of Georgia, and the administrators of the hospital where she was declared dead, kept her corpse in a state of artificial animation for months. That's because when Smith went to the hospital in February complaining of a headache, and later became unresponsive, she was about eight weeks pregnant. According to her family, doctors at Emory hospital, in Georgia, told the family that the state's abortion ban required them to maintain the regimen that falsely animated their daughter's corpse so that the fetus inside her could continue to grow.The Georgia state attorney general denies that the state's abortion ban required this abuse of Smiths's body. But other supporters of the law disagree. The result, either way, was the same: in deference to a law that created genuine ambiguity about what freedoms Smith's doctors and family had in the wake of her death, a woman who did nothing other than be pregnant was denied the right to rest in peace.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

Physician made a post wishing that Maga supporters in Kerr county get what they voted for' amid flash floodingA pediatrician for a chain of clinics affiliated with a prominent Houston hospital system is no longer employed" there, according to officials, after a social media account associated with her published a post wishing the Maga" voters of a Donald Trump-supporting county in Texas to get what they voted for" amid flash flooding that killed more than 100 people, including many children.We were made aware of a social media comment from one of our physicians," read a statement from Blue Fish Pediatrics circulated late Sunday. The individual is no longer employed by Blue Fish Pediatrics." Continue reading...

From Houston's all-in bet on Kevin Durant to the Pelicans' puzzling pick swap, here are the early verdicts on who's up and who's down after a wild first week of NBA free agencyIt's a time-honored convention among NBA fans and analysts alike to jump to premature conclusions a week or so into free agency, and far be it from me to stray from tradition. So, here are the very early winners and losers of this season's game of NBA musical chairs, thus far: Continue reading...

Without decisive action, we risk stripping the global legal order of its remaining protections for less-privileged nations

The 40-year-old has led Fluminense with experience and passion. Could he do the same for Brazil next summer?And then there was one. Nobody expected a Brazilian club to reach the Club World Cup semi-finals, and if any team was going to make a deep run in the tournament, it was not Fluminense. After winning the Copa Libertadores in 2023, they narrowly avoided relegation last year and have gone through four managers in less than two years.Thankfully for them, they are now coached by the charismatic Renato Gaucho, who told us earlier in the tournament: It's no use having a team of 500 million reais, because football is decided on the field." Throughout the tournament he has encouraged Brazilians to take pride in what their teams have achieved, despite being written off due to the wealth of the European sides. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: As Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump meet at the White House, a look at what is at stake for everyone involvedGood morning. The war in Gaza - which began with the horror of the Hamas slaughter and kidnapping of innocent Israelis on 7 October 2023, and has brought unimaginable death and destruction to the civilian population of Gaza almost every day since - has entered its 21st month.So far every attempt to end the conflict has failed. But the the fraying patience of the US president, Donald Trump, who has promised to deliver peace to Gaza, has seen Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu dispatch a team of negotiators to Qatar for indirect talks with Hamas, with the Israeli leader expected to come under pressure on this week's trip to Washington DC to agree to a ceasefire.Immigration | Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron are expected to announce plans for French police to do more to block small boats crossing the Channel at a summit in London this week, but a wider deal on returning asylum seekers is still up in the air.Iran | The Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said in an interview released on Monday that Israel, which last month fought a 12-day war with Iran, had attempted to assassinate him by bombarding an area in which he was holding a meeting.Poverty | Children in England are living in almost Dickensian levels of poverty" where deprivation has become normalised, the children's commissioner has said, as she insisted the two-child benefit limit must be scrapped.Environment | Millions of tonnes of treated sewage sludge is spread on farmland across the UK every year despite containing forever chemicals, microplastics and toxic waste. An investigation by the Guardian and Watershed has identified England's sludge-spreading hotspots and shown where the practice could be damaging rivers.US news | The Texas senator Ted Cruz ensured the Republican spending bill slashed funding for weather forecasting, only to then go on vacation to Greece while his state was hit by deadly flooding - a disaster that critics say was worsened by cuts to meteorology. Continue reading...

What do tariffs, Australian mining, geopolitics and the trade war between China and the US have to do with tiny magnets made from rare earth minerals like yttrium and scandium? Guardian Australia's Matilda Boseley explains

Trump announces new levies of up to 40% as he steps up his trade wars but also extends a previous pause. Key US politics stories from Monday 7 JulyDonald Trump's new tariff rates of as much as 40% for 14 countries have drawn muted responses from the hardest hit Asian countries who are hoping to renegotiate them before they come into effect next month.Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Kazakhstan and Tunisia were handed the lowest tariff rate of 25% while Laos and Myanmar - both facing high rates of poverty - were hit with the highest at 40%. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. You can find all of our live US politics coverage hereThe president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said she had a good exchange" with Donald Trump on Sunday, a Commission spokesperson told reporters during a daily press briefing this morning.The spokesperson said:We want to reach a deal with the US (by 9 July). We want to avoid tariffs. We believe they cause pain. We want to achieve win-win outcomes, not lose-lose outcomes. Continue reading...

The prime minister made the announcement at a dinner with the president, with the US expected to push Israel to agree a Gaza ceasefireBenjamin Netanyahu told Donald Trump that he would nominate him for the Nobel peace prize on Monday, as the two leaders met for the first time since the US launched strikes on Iran's nuclear program as part of a short-lived war between Israel and Iran.Trump was expected to press Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire in Israel's 21-month-old war against Hamas in Gaza amid an outcry over the humanitarian cost of an offensive that has led to nearly 60,000 deaths, most of them Palestinian. Continue reading...

Remains of two victims of seven people who went missing in the explosion are yet to be recoveredFamily members are still searching for answers following last week's explosion at a fireworks warehouse in northern California. Authorities confirmed on Sunday that the remains of the seven people missing in the blast have been recovered.Family and community members have confirmed five of the victims as Jesus Ramos, Jhony Ramos, Joel Junior" Melendez, Angel Voller and Carlos Rodriguez. Two victims are still unidentified. Continue reading...

Modelling finds Australia will experience a marginal impact from tariffs, while economists say it presents an opportunity

Dozens of officers and 90 California national guard descend on immigrant area and a mostly empty MacArthur ParkDozens of federal officers in tactical gear and about 90 California national guard troops descended on a historic immigrant neighborhood in Los Angeles on Monday - mounting a sweeping show that local leaders denounced as a reality TV spectacle" and intimidation tactic.The troops were deployed to a mostly empty park in the MacArthur Park neighborhood for about an hour, some on horseback and others in armored military vehicles. Agents were also operating an armored vehicle with a mounted rifle. Continue reading...

US president sets new 1 August deadline and warns Japan of 25% tariff, 30% for South Africa and others as high as 40%

Ryan Louis Mosqueda fired dozens of rounds at federal agents, injuring a police officer before authorities shot himA man with an assault rifle fired dozens of rounds at federal agents and a US border patrol facility in Texas on Monday, injuring a police officer, before authorities shot and killed him.Authorities identified the shooter as Ryan Louis Mosqueda, believed to be 27, who they said shot at agents exiting the building, which is near the US-Mexico border. McAllen police chief, Victor Rodriguez, said Mosqueda had a utility vest" in addition to the rifle when federal agents returned fire. Continue reading...

Lawsuit takes aim at RFK Jr's decision to advise against Covid vaccines for pregnant women and healthy childrenA pregnant physician who was denied a Covid-19 vaccine is suing the Trump administration alongside a group of leading doctors associations, charging that the administration sought to desensitize the public to anti-vaccine and anti-science rhetoric", according to their attorney.The lawsuit specifically takes aim at health secretary Robert F Kennedy's unilateral decision to recommend against Covid-19 vaccines for pregnant women and healthy children. Continue reading...

DHS said it would terminate temporary protected status for an estimated 72,000 Hondurans and 4,000 NicaraguansThe Trump administration has ended temporary protections for people from Honduras and Nicaragua in the latest phase of its effort to expel undocumented people from the US.The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it would end temporary protected status (TPS) for an estimated 72,000 Hondurans and 4,000 Nicaraguans in moves that will come into effect in about 60 days. Continue reading...

One of the US's deadliest floods in decades has claimed over 90 lives in central Texas, with over 40 still missing Continue reading...

Milestone comes as health secretary RFK Jr has injected upheaval into US vaccine policy and spread misinformationThe annual tally of measles cases in the US is the highest in 33 years, as an ongoing outbreak in west Texas continues to drive cases.The latest figures mean Americans will have to look back to 1992 to find a worse year with the vaccine preventable disease. The official tally very likely undercounts the scope of the outbreak, experts told the Guardian. Continue reading...

With their made-up scandal, combined with the pre-election editorial, the Times looks like it's on a crusade against MamdaniA recent New York Times news story immediately drew fire from readers - and for very good reason.Headlined Mamdani Identified as Asian and African American on College Application," the article centered on Zohran Mamdani, the candidate for New York City mayor who drew national attention recently with his stunning win in the Democratic primary election.Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture Continue reading...

The reproductive health giant has estimated that the defunding could force about 200 of their clinics to shutterPlanned Parenthood sued the Trump administration on Monday over a provision in Donald Trump's sweeping domestic policy bill that would strip funding from health centers operated by the reproductive healthcare and abortion provider.In a complaint filed in Boston federal court, Planned Parenthood said the provision was unconstitutional, and its clear purpose is to prevent its nearly 600 health centers from receiving Medicaid reimbursements. Continue reading...

Memo says investigators didn't find evidence to predicate an investigations against uncharged third parties'A review of files held by the US government on the financier Jeffrey Epstein has said there is no secret client list to be released, and confirmed his August 2019 death by suicide while in federal custody, both of which contradict conspiracy theories.A memo said that a Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) review of the files - which has for years been teased as a treasure trove of information about a larger network of wrongdoing - concluded that no further charges are expected, as investigators did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties". Continue reading...

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!Football Daily would prefer not to have to think about Copa Gianni at all but we have a certain professional obligation to do so and have never knowingly been found shirking in the face of our responsibilities. To keep things simple, we prefer to view the tournament as a stand-alone competition that's taking place between the end of the last season and the beginning of the next one, but the fact that it's being contested by clubs instead of countries leaves plenty of room for debate. Watching Kingsley Coman sprint" on to a through-ball from Harry Kane during Bayern Munich's defeat by PSG as if he was running in knee-deep wet cement, we were presented with the sight of a player in next season's kit who was quite clearly exhausted by the exertions of the one that may or may not have ended before the tournament in which he was playing started. Does the goal he didn't score go down in the official xG column of last season, next season, or neither?There's me being able to walk down the stairs after I've played 90 minutes of football, there's me in the future when I have children being able to walk around properly, being able to bend down and pick up toys, there's me being able to do normal life things like put on socks without being in pain and, for the first time in a long time, I genuinely didn't think about the response of the public because that just wasn't a priority" - Millie Bright reveals how she is feeling better in her mind after taking the decision to miss Euro 2025 and prioritise her recovery from a knee injury.Sometimes Mauricio Pochettino wants it to be a penalty, sometimes he doesn't. There's just no pleasing some people. Extra moaning points for Poch insinuating that the officials were swayed by the pro-Mexico crowd for a game that USA USA USA were playing at home. P.S. A doff of the cap to Mexico for that uber cool black and gold kit ..." - Noble Francis.With a tip of the cap to The Usual Suspects ... the greatest trick Infantino ever pulled was turning me into a Chelsea fan for two hours rooting against Infantino's home team making the finals" - Harry Webb.I can't have been your only reader who paused between Friday's tea time email and big website's MBM coverage of the Jurassic reunion opening gig, to turn the dial of my retro digital transistors to the political satirical radio broadcast, Deadringers. I - and what I suspect to be 1,056 others - nearly choked on my fermented tofu when I heard a repeat of your dinosaur banter about the aforementioned group of monobrows. I assume the requisite phone calls were made - i.e. your people calling their people, etc - and payment made (four pack of budget Tin) before Tom Baker's closing remarks" - Nicholas Tipple.This is an extract from our daily football email ... Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions. Continue reading...

The US lost a final but gained competitive options at multiple positions, which should make some entrenched yet absent stars nervous.

A witness video captured the dramatic moment when a large explosion tore through a strip mall in Utah on Saturday night, triggering evacuation alerts to residents in the area. Herriman police confirmed in a statement on social media that a vehicle crash caused an explosion and structure fire in the area. Following the incident, residents on Terra Cruz Lane and Parasol Lane were advised to evacuate over concerns of a gas leak, police said. There was no immediate report of injuries from the authorities Continue reading...

British industry could still be hit by levy on exports to US as No 10 confirms deal on reduction not completed

President says team will start sending trade partners letters with new tariff rates ahead of this week's original 90-day deadline to make dealDonald Trump has said his administration plans to start sending letters on Monday to US trade partners dictating new tariffs, amid confusion over when the new rates will come into effect.It could be 12, maybe 15 [letters]," the president told reporters, and we've made deals also, so we're going to have a combination of letters and some deals have been made." Continue reading...

Residents observe day of prayer after floods that killed at least 82 people. Plus, lab-grown sperm and eggs could be just a few years away

President's supporters are gleeful but Everglades jail could prove to be a humanitarian and environmental tragedyAfter the cruelty, the mockery. As the first detainees were being hauled into Donald Trump's controversial migrant jail in the inhospitable, steamy wetlands of the Florida Everglades last week, his supporters were indulging in some parallel retail therapy.Surrounded by swamps & pythons, it's a one-way ticket to regret," the Florida Republican party's official X account crowed, hawking its new range of Alligator Alcatraz-themed shirts and hats. Grab our merch to support tough-on-crime borders! Limited supply - get yours before the gators do!" Continue reading...

Some parents can now opt students out of LGBTQ+ book readings. The writers warn of increased book bans and biasSarah Brannen, an illustrator and children's book author, was riding in the car with her sister when she received an alert on her phone in late June. She was in a group chat with other authors whose books were being debated in a US supreme court case, and the messages soon poured in. Her book, Uncle Bobby's Wedding, highlights a same-sex marriage, and is at the center of a contentious case that could have widespread implications for public school education throughout the nation.As per the 27 June ruling, a group of Maryland parents have the option to remove their public elementary school students from classes where Uncle Bobby's Wedding and other storybooks with LGBTQ+ themes are read. The justices decided through a 6-3 vote that the Montgomery county school board violated parents' right to freely exercise their religion by forbidding kids from opting out of instruction. The parents argued that the board impeded them from teaching their kids about gender and sexuality in a way that aligned with their belief system. Continue reading...

DTE Energy had denied involvement in dark money non-profits, but court documents show a $100,000 donationNewly released court documents show power utility DTE Energy knowingly contributed $100,000 to a dark money non-profit that helped sabotage Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer's Covid lockdown policies.The documents contradict previous DTE statements that claimed the utility was not involved with the donation. Continue reading...

Detention comes amid Trump crackdown against perceived political enemies, including immigrants and labor leadersFarm worker activist Alfredo Lelo" Juarez Zeferino, 25, was driving his partner to her job on a tulip farm north of Seattle one March morning when they were pulled over by an unmarked car. A plainclothes agent for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) emerged and shattered Juarez Zeferino's front window before handcuffing him, his partner said.The officer drove Juarez Zeferino to a nondescript warehouse - the same one he and other activists had years ago discovered is an unmarked Ice holding facility. After his 25 March detention, dozens gathered outside to demand his release. Continue reading...

Prosecutors claim Chavez treated gang rivals like a punchbag' before Ice arrested Mexican boxer in CaliforniaThe Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr was a henchman for the Sinaloa drugs cartel and used his skills to pummel rival gang members like a punchbag" before his recent arrest in the US, prosecutors in Mexico have alleged.Chavez, 39, son of legendary world boxing champion Julio Cesar Chavez Sr and himself a former middleweight titleholder, was arrested in California on Tuesday by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents, who cited cartel affiliations, multiple criminal convictions and an active arrest warrant in Mexico for weapons trafficking and organized crime. Continue reading...

Demanding that the University of Virginia's president resign is taken from the Viktor Orban playbook of authoritarianismUnder pressure from the Trump administration, the University of Virginia's president of nearly seven years, James Ryan, stepped down on Friday, declaring that while he was committed to the university and inclined to fight, he could not in good conscience push back just to save his job.The Department of Justice demanded that Ryan resign in order to resolve an investigation into whether UVA had sufficiently complied with Donald Trump's orders banning diversity, equity and inclusion.Universities are controlled by leftwing foundations. They're not controlled by the American taxpayer and yet the American taxpayer is sending hundreds of billions of dollars to these universities every single year.I'm not endorsing every single thing that Viktor Orban has ever done [but] I do think that he's made some smart decisions there that we could learn from.Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a Guardian US columnist. His newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com Continue reading...

Case is the first of several legal challenges to White House's sweeping crackdown on universities to make it to trialA lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's effort to deport foreign students over pro-Palestinian views goes to trial in a Massachusetts federal court on Monday, where the government for the first time will need to defend its extraordinary position that it can deport noncitizens over their political speech.The case was brought by the national American Association of University Professors (AAUP); its Harvard, Rutgers and New York University chapters; and the Middle East Studies Association (Mesa) following the arrest and detention of several noncitizen students and scholars who have spoken out on Palestinian rights. The government has claimed the authority to deport noncitizens who have committed no crimes but whose presence it deems poses a threat to US foreign policy. Continue reading...

Jason Hackett's army of muttonistas' adore his beer reviews - in New York, the Guardian found, even star actors are fansYou might not be familiar with Prime Mutton. Maybe you haven't heard his catchphrases - absolute creamer", muttonista", or the still-in-development creamerisimo".If so, you're missing out on a man who in the space of a year has created little short of a cult: an army of more than 160,000 social media fans, including celebrities, who cheer along online and in person as their leader - basically - reviews beer. Continue reading...

US-born pontiff addresses likely the deadliest natural disaster in his home country since assuming role in MayPope Leo XIV on Sunday voiced his sympathies for the families whose lives have been upended by the flooding in Texas's Hill Country, which left about 80 dead - many of them children - and others missing.After reciting Angelus prayers at the Vatican, the American-born pontiff remarked in English: I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters who were in a summer camp in the disaster caused by flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas. Continue reading...

Eight were held for weeks at a US military base in Djibouti while their legal challenge played out in courtEight men deported from the US in May and held under guard for weeks at an American military base in the African nation of Djibouti while their legal challenges played out in court have reached the Trump administration's intended destination, war-torn South Sudan, a country the state department advises against travel to due to crime, kidnapping and armed conflict".The men from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, Vietnam and South Sudan arrived in South Sudan on Friday after a federal judge cleared the way for the Trump administration to relocate them in a case that had gone to the supreme court, which had permitted their removal from the US. Administration officials said the men had been convicted of violent crimes in the US. Continue reading...

We've been living in a great experiment: can finance provide basic human rights such as housing? The answer is increasingly noThe housing crisis is now as big a threat to the EU as Russia," Jaume Collboni, the mayor of Barcelona, recently declared. We're running the risk of having the working and middle classes conclude that their democracies are incapable of solving their biggest problem."It is not hard to see where Collboni is coming from. From Dublin to Milan, residents routinely find half of their incomes swallowed up by rent, and home ownership is unthinkable for most. Major cities are witnessing spiralling house prices and some have jaw-dropping year-on-year median rent increases of more than 10%. People are being pushed into ever more precarious and cramped conditions and homelessness is rapidly rising. Continue reading...

My brother is a man who leaves space for silence. If you want to hear him speak you must learn to be quiet

The president said the US will notify countries of higher tariff rates by 9 July, but the rates won't take effect until 1 August. Key US politics stories from Sunday 6 July.Stock markets slipped amid confusion as to when - and at what level - new US tariffs would be applied, as Donald Trump's self-imposed 9 July deadline edged closer.The US is close to finalising several trade agreements in the coming days and will notify other countries of higher tariff rates by Thursday, the president said on Sunday, with the higher rates to take effect on 1 August. Continue reading...

US president railed against his former adviser online after tech billionaire said he will start and bankroll America partyDonald Trump called Elon Musk's decision to start and bankroll a new US political party ridiculous" on Sunday. Third parties have never worked, so he can have fun with it but I think it's ridiculous," the president told reporters traveling with him back to the White House from his New Jersey golf club.He then elaborated, at great length, in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social. I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely off the rails,' essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks," the president wrote. He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States". Continue reading...

Residents observe day of prayer after 82 people killed and 10 girls and one camp counselor still unaccounted forResidents in central Texas were observing a day of prayer on Sunday for at least 82 people killed and dozens missing in Friday's devastating flash flooding, as a search and rescue operation for survivors began to morph into a grim exercise of recovering bodies.Relatives continued an anxious wait for news of 10 girls and one camp counselor still unaccounted for from a riverside summer camp that was overwhelmed by flash flooding from the Guadalupe River, which rose 26ft (8 meters) in 45 minutes on Friday morning after torrential pre-dawn rain north of San Antonio. Continue reading...

Terrifying flash floods from Guadalupe River left 70 dead, many of them children, and miles of destruction

People recounted their ordeal after deadly flooding swept through central Texas on Friday morning. At least 50 people, including 15 children, have died as a result of the floods, authorities say, as rescuers continued to search for those still missing

Major development in case against Rafael Caro Quintero accused of taking part in Camarena's 1985 murder in MexicoThe US justice department has begun to hand over audio recordings of the 1985 torture and killing of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent Enrique Kiki" Camarena to a Mexican kingpin's legal defense team, according to a court document filed on Friday.Rafael Caro Quintero, one of the founders of the Mexican Guadalajara cartel, is facing federal prosecution in the eastern district of New York for alleged drug trafficking. Caro Quintero is accused of having participated in Camarena's torture and murder in 1985 in Mexico. Continue reading...