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New aircraft, to be called F-47, is intended to operate alongside dronesDonald Trump on Friday awarded Boeing the contract to build the US air force's most sophisticated fighter jet, handing the company a much-needed win.The Next Generation Air Dominance program will replace Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor with a crewed aircraft built to enter combat alongside drones. The plane's design remains a closely held secret, but would probably include stealth, advanced sensors and cutting-edge engines. Continue reading...

Three members of the pioneering band were detained and returned to the UK after flying to Los Angeles for a gig

The Zimbabwean has global sport's top job but Britain's Sebastian Coe was snubbed, and with good reason: he might have changed thingsCongratulations to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the surprise election of its new president, Kirsty Coventry, confirming its status as one of the few electorates on Earth never to have had a change election. Another one is Fifa, with those two organisations' eternal contest to be the worst-run governing body remaining easily the hardest-fought rivalry in world sport.Yes, the IOC has been in its 144th special session to elect a new leader. Don't worry - it hasn't been all hard beds, spartan canteens and bad lighting, as is inflicted on the poor old cardinals in Conclave. The three-day event inevitably took place at a five-star luxury Greek resort.Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnistDo 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...

US president's war on information has wide-ranging ramifications beyond the media and must be called outDonald Trump, the big thinker" as Peter Dutton has described him, is day by day demonstrating the reverse, showing just how shortsighted he is.Or is he? Continue reading...

The president wants to eliminate the agency backing libraries and museums. But the institutions do far more than lend booksWhen President Trump recently proposed eliminating the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), librarians and educators voiced outrage, confusion and fear. Soon afterward, the appointment of Keith E Sonderling as acting director of IMLS highlighted the administration's intention to reshape the agency's priorities toward promoting American exceptionalism" and cultivating patriotism".As someone deeply involved in the library world, I wasn't surprised by Trump's move. Continue reading...

Progressive political stars say president and billionaire Elon Musk are turning US into oligarchy at rally in ArizonaBernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez delivered a scathing rebuke of Donald Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk at a huge rally in Arizona on Thursday, accusing them of screwing over" working- and middle-class Americans as they turn the country into an oligarchy.Speaking to an overflowing arena as part of his Stop Oligarchy tour - a series of events with the progressive New York congresswoman that has attracted huge attention among Democratic supporters disillusioned with what they feel is the party's otherwise tepid reaction to Trump's radical agenda - Sanders, the senator from Vermont, warned the president: Continue reading...

Lawsuit alleges US plane maker's treatment of John Barnett caused his death after he raised safety concernsThe family of a whistleblower at Boeing who killed himself last year is suing the US plane manufacturer, alleging the company's conduct caused his death.Boeing pushed John Barnett to his death by harassing and intimidating him after he raised safety concerns about the company's plant building the 787 Dreamliner in Charleston, South Carolina, a wrongful death lawsuit filed in federal court in the state alleges. Continue reading...

Leading Democrats vainly hope for a return to the politics of the past - they must engage with the realities of the presentIs this the way the Democratic party ends - not with a bang, but with a whimper? Last week, the party's Senate caucus seemed poised to do something that they had never done before: block the Trump administration's proposed continuing resolution, and shut down the government. It would have been a largely symbolic move, one that signaled opposition to the Trump administration's usurpation of Congress's spending authority and a willingness to play procedural hardball in order to slow Elon Musk's radical anti-government agenda. It would have signaled, too, a party willing to take itself seriously as the opposition to a president with authoritarian ambitions.Government shutdowns are unpopular, but so, right now, is the Democratic party: several senators from swing states seemed ready to stick their necks out, ready to bet that it would be better to be seen doing something - anything - to oppose the Trump agenda than to roll over yet again. And for a few days, at least, it looked like Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, would back them up. Continue reading...

Executive order denounced as unconstitutional. Plus, Musk's daughter says his gesture definitely Nazi salute'

Authorities' heavily armed perp walk' of alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter may have aided in raising more than $700,000The organizer of an online campaign that has raised more than $700,000 for Luigi Mangione's legal defense in connection with the fatal shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, believes the accused killer's infamous, post-arrest perp walk" may have backfired" on New York authorities and spurred some of the financial support effort.In remarks on an upcoming podcast exploring Mangione's case, Sam Beard says the campaign eclipsed its goal by more than double after the public saw authorities treating him like Hannibal Lecter", referring to the fictional serial killer protagonist in The Silence of the Lambs film. Continue reading...

The discrepancies between how the US and others are interpreting Trump's calls are adding upDonald Trump's shuttle diplomacy between Russia and Ukraine has at times resembled a game of broken telephone, and the US president's disregard for the details suggest the ceasefire he seeks is further off than his bullish statements may suggest.Consider the events of just the last week. After his call with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, Trump said that the two men had agreed to a partial ceasefire on energy and infrastructure" targets, indicating that Russia would not target bridges, hospitals, railways or other civilian structures. Continue reading...

A new 7 October 2023 taskforce says it'll investigate support for Hamas, paving the way for a legal strategy targeting free speechOn Monday, the Department of Justice announced the launch of Joint Task Force October 7 (JTF 10-7)". In an accompanying press release, the DoJ said it would bring to justice Hamas leaders who murdered and kidnapped innocent civilians in the deadly attack on Israel of 7 October 2023. Few would quarrel with this ambition. In the same breath, however, the press release claimed that the task force would also investigate acts of terrorism and civil rights violations by individuals and entities providing support and financing to Hamas, related Iran proxies, and their affiliates, as well as acts of antisemitism by these groups".In plain English, this means the student protesters. It could also include universities and colleges that have entered the government's crosshairs. Continue reading...

Egg interceptions' are up more than 150% at some ports of entry as a US avian flu outbreak fuels shortagesIn grocery stores across the US, egg shelves sitting empty and desolate have become a sign of the times. A surging bird flu affected nearly 19m birds in January alone, wiping out supply and sending prices soaring.Officials forecast a 41% increase in egg prices this year in what some are calling eggflation". Where eggs are available, consumers are often limited in the number they can purchase at a time. Breakfast chains from Waffle House to Denny's have added a surcharge of $0.50 per egg on their iconic dishes. Continue reading...

Kittery Wagner Ruiz saw two World Cups as a US Eagle and now coaches the Boston Banshees, one of six semi-pro sidesKittery Wagner Ruiz went to two World Cups with the US Eagles and on Saturday will help make history as head coach of the Boston Banshees against the New York Exiles in Women's Elite Rugby, a six-team semi-professional league kicking-off its first season. But even illustrious careers have to start somewhere, and Wagner Ruiz's story is typical of the American game in all its unruly glory.In high school, I played basketball, softball and soccer, and unfortunately, or fortunately, I was a little too aggressive for some of those," Wagner Ruiz said, before heading out for training. I had yellow cards, fallings out, all that kind of stuff. But I had a friend that said, There's this sport that you can actually hit people and you're not gonna get in trouble for it.' And clearly, I was an angry teenager, and needed that. And so I found rugby." Continue reading...

Agencies and organizations are complying with the directive to not lose funding, but are concerned vulnerable groups will sufferThe US government has ordered law enforcement agencies, the state department, and some non-profit organizations working to combat sex trafficking to remove references to victims' LGBTQ+ identities, race and immigration status from their communications and websites, a move experts warn will endanger vulnerable minors.Interviews with a prosecutor, government personnel, trafficking non-profit executives, as well as email correspondence reviewed by the Guardian show that agencies and organizations are complying with the orders to avoid losing federal funding. Experts in child safety say the policy is fostering a climate of fear, forcing organizations to acquiesce in order to retain crucial funding at the expense of helping victims. Continue reading...

That the US was once again bested by Panama showed that this is still a flawed team with ample chance to improveOn the eve of what turned out to be his first loss in a competitive match in charge of the United States men's national team and the end of his honeymoon with his newish employers, Mauricio Pochettino said something accidentally prescient.Football is about timing and it's about form and the situation of the player," he said to a room of reporters ahead of the US's 1-0 loss to Panama. Continue reading...

A historic vote to boost spending on defence and infrastructure shows the country is shedding its excess of caution - and its complacencyFew people outside Berlin's political bubble will have heard of Lars Klingbeil. They will soon, though, as he is about to become one of the pivotal players in the new German government. The co-leader of the Social Democratic party (SPD) captured the moment in this week's debate in the Bundestag, one of the most important in Germany's recent history.A few weeks ago, many would have thought that we couldn't have come to an agreement. The differences were too great," he said. What differentiates this country from others is that we are ready, as parties of the democratic centre, to find solutions and not to leave the ground for populist extremism to blossom."John Kampfner is the author of In Search of Berlin, Blair's Wars and Why the Germans Do It Better Continue reading...

Education secretary ordered to take all necessary steps' to dismantle department; US rejects Mexico's request for water - key US politics stories from Thursday at a glanceDonald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that instructs the US education secretary, Linda McMahon, to start dismantling the education department, seemingly attempting to circumvent the need to obtain congressional approval to formally close a federal department.The administration may eventually pursue an effort to get Congress to shut down the agency, Trump said at a signing ceremony at the White House on Thursday, because its budget had more than doubled in size in recent years but national test scores had not improved. Continue reading...

US president reverses threat to suspend security clearances and cancel federal contracts after meeting with chair of Paul, WeissDonald Trump rescinded an executive order targeting a prominent Democratic-leaning law firm after it agreed to provide $40m in free legal services to support his administration's goals.The White House has targeted law firms whose lawyers have provided legal work that Trump disagrees with. Last week, he issued an order threatening to suspend active security clearances of attorneys at Paul, Weiss and to terminate any federal contracts the firm has. Continue reading...

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Jeb Boasberg instructs Trump administration to explain how refusal to return flights did not violate court orderA federal judge instructed the Trump administration on Thursday to explain why its failure to turn around flights carrying deportees to El Salvador did not violate his court order in a growing showdown between the judicial and executive branches.James Boasberg, the US district judge, demanded answers after flights carrying Venezuelan immigrants alleged by the Trump administration to be gang members landed in El Salvador after the judge temporarily blocked deportations conducted under an 18th-century wartime law. Boasberg had directed the administration to return planes that were already in the air to the US when he ordered the halt. Continue reading...

Edward James received three-drug lethal injection under death warrant signed in February by governor Ron DeSantisA Florida man who killed an eight-year-old girl and her grandmother on a night in which he drank heavily and used drugs was executed on Thursday.Edward James, 63, was pronounced dead at 8.15pm after receiving a three-drug injection at Florida state prison outside Starke under a death warrant signed in February by Governor Ron DeSantis. The execution was the second this year in Florida, which is planning a third in April. Continue reading...

US claims tattoos prove membership of Tren de Aragua gang but relatives describe tributes to God, family and Real MadridLike many Venezuelans of his generation, Franco Jose Caraballo Tiapa is a man of many tattoos.There is one of a rose, one of a lion, and another - on the left side of the 26-year-old's neck - of a razor blade that represents his work as a barber. Continue reading...

Badar Khan Suri, who teaches at Georgetown University, being held incommunicado in Louisiana staging center'A US district judge has barred Donald Trump's administration from deporting an Indian academic from Georgetown University after the Department of Homeland Security accused him of having ties to Hamas.On Thursday, US district judge Patricia Giles in Alexandria, Virginia, prohibited federal officials from deporting Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at the university, in an order that is to remain in effect until it is lifted by the court, Reuters reports. Continue reading...

Doubts that whatever remains of department can govern student debt as one in four US adults under 40 has loansDonald Trump ordered the dismantling of the US Department of Education on Thursday, prompting uncertainty for those holding student debt and questions about what happens next.Trump's press secretary told reporters earlier on Thursday what remained of the department would continue to govern student debt. Continue reading...

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday calling for the dismantling of the US education department, advancing a campaign promise to take apart an agency that has been a longtime target of conservatives

Masih Alinejad had incurred the wrath of Tehran by campaigning for Iranian women to reject strict dress codesTwo men have been found guilty of plotting to assassinate the Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad at her home in New York City in a murder-for-hire scheme that prosecutors said was financed by the Iranian government.The verdict was returned at a federal court in New York on Thursday, ending a two-week trial that featured dramatic testimony from a hired gunman and Alinejad, an author, activist and contributor to Voice of America. Continue reading...

Donald Trump signed an executive order to undo the federal department on ThursdayDonald Trump has taken the overwhelming step of undoing the Department of Education on Thursday by signing an executive order to dismantle the agency in charge of the country's national education policy.With the stroke of a pen, Trump fulfills a campaign promise he made all the way back in 2016. Continue reading...

Pam Bondi said the three accused had caused of violent destruction' of Tesla cars and charging stationsThe US attorney general announced charges against three people she accused of violent destruction of Tesla properties", amid protests and controversy over Tesla owner Elon Musk's role in slashing US government staffing and budgets under Donald Trump.In a statement on Thursday, Pam Bondi said: The days of committing crimes without consequence have ended. Let this be a warning: if you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars." Continue reading...

The Not Invisible Act Commission's resource was historic for Native Americans. It's now been scrubbed from federal websites

Investigators say he ran mafia-like' enterprise and is charged with crimes including drug traffickingFederal authorities have taken into custody on Wednesday an alleged longtime leader of a Los Angeles street gang who investigators say ran a mafia-like" criminal enterprise that included murder, human trafficking and extortion while he also worked as an entertainment entrepreneur, officials announced.Eugene Henley Jr, known as Big U", was one of 18 members of the Rollin' 60s Neighborhood Crips charged in a federal complaint with a litany of federal crimes including drug trafficking, conspiracy and firearms offenses, the United States attorney's office said in a statement. Continue reading...

We want to hear from federal workers and others whose area of work has been impacted by the Trump administration's policiesSince inauguration on 20 January, the Trump administration has sought to move quickly across a swathe of policy areas.From radically reducing the civil service, immigration, education, health, taxes and tariffs, aid, foreign policy and more, Donald Trump has sought to remake US policy, signing 92 executive orders in 2025 - the most in a president's first 100 days for decades. Continue reading...

A vote expected to be tense, tight and protracted turned out to be one-sided and extraordinarily brief, ending with Kirsty Coventry's election as IOC presidentIn addition to the seven candidates a total of eight IOC members will not be allowed to vote in the first round. They are using an electronic voting process that involves some kind of smart card, which are currently being distributed.All of the important procedural stuff are in the preamble or at the bottom of this page. Continue reading...

Justin Eichorn, 40, faces federal charge after allegedly trying to meet with underage girl found through sex adA Minnesota state lawmaker who is accused of trying to buy sex from an underage girl resigned from the state senate on Thursday before his colleagues were set to vote to expel him.Justin Eichorn, a Republican, was charged with a felony in federal court on Wednesday for attempted coercion and enticement of a minor after responding to online sex ads and trying to arrange a meetup with a 17-year-old. Continue reading...

Wendell Grissom, executed for fatally shooting a woman, will be one of four people put to death in US this weekOklahoma executed a man on Thursday for fatally shooting a woman during a home invasion and robbery 20 years ago.Wendell Grissom, 56, was declared dead by lethal injection at the Oklahoma state penitentiary in McAlester at 10.13am, a prison official told the Associated Press. It was Oklahoma's first execution of 2025. Continue reading...

Senate and House committee chairs warn against plan for US to relinquish command of Nato forces in EuropeRepublicans on Capitol Hill are threatening a revolt against a defence shake-up reportedly planned by the Trump administration that could see the US relinquish its command of Nato forces in Europe.The two top Republicans on the Senate and House of Representatives armed services committees, Roger Wicker and Mike Rogers, signaled their opposition in an extraordinary joint statement warning that the change would risk undermining American deterrence around the globe". Continue reading...

Johnathan Buma, who said his concerns about Rudy Giuliani were ignored, charged with disclosing classified informationA veteran FBI agent who blew the whistle on alleged political bias during Donald Trump's first presidency was arrested at New York's JFK airport moments before boarding an international flight.Johnathan Buma, a 15-year counterintelligence officer and eventual whistleblower, now faces charges of illegally disclosing classified information through a prospective tell-all book about his career. Continue reading...

Here's how to catch the college basketball's most chaotic three weeks on television and streaming, plus what to know about tip-off time, the Final Four and more Continue reading...

Israel's PM wants to transfer' Palestinians from Gaza, purge his traditional domestic rivals - and keep the right wing in power for ever

Political scientist Mneesha Gellman on the deportees' fates, dire prison conditions and Bukele-Trump parallelsThe Trump administration has flown 238 Venezuelans to an El Salvador prison that human rights groups say is designed to disappear people.Despite a judge's order temporarily blocking the move, the US government flew more than 200 men that it had accused of gang membership to the Terrorism Confinement Center", or Cecot - a draconian mega-prison that has become central to the promise of the Salvadorian president, Nayib Bukele, promise to rid his country of crime. Continue reading...

The Computer & Communications Industry Association named Australia's News Media Bargaining Incentive in its submission