A look at those who have been and could be offered key positions when Trump takes officeDonald Trump, the former US president set to return to the White House in January for a second term, has begun making selections for his administration, opting for those who have displayed loyalty over those with deep experience.Trump has tasked Howard Lutnick, a longtime friend, with recruiting officials who will deliver, rather than dilute, his agenda. During his first term, several of Trump's key appointees tried to convince Trump out of his more extreme plans. Continue reading...
President-elect's nominee for attorney general is dogged by sexual misconduct allegationsDonald Trump has reportedly told associates that Matt Gaetz, his nominee for attorney general, has a less than 50-50 chance of being confirmed by the Senate, even while pushing forward with his nomination amid damaging sexual misconduct allegations.The president-elect has continued making calls in support of his beleaguered nominee despite resistance from Republican senators because he is confident his insistence will alter the standard for acceptable cabinet choices even if Gaetz fails, the New York Times reported. Continue reading...
California governor will wait until new LA district attorney Nathan Hochman is in office before deciding brothers' fateGavin Newsom said this week that he will postpone a decision on clemency for the Menendez brothers until the new Los Angeles district attorney reviews the case.George Gascon, the current DA, announced late last month that he would recommend the brothers Lyle and Erik be resentenced for the 1989 killings of their parents, arguing they had paid their debt to society" and wrote to the governor in support of the pair. The brothers have long said they killed their parents after years of abuse. Continue reading...
Governor, who has praised pick of Robert F Kennedy Jr for health secretary, says he is open to working with TrumpDespite launching a governors' group focused on safeguarding democracy during Donald Trump's second term, Governor Jared Polis of Colorado said the coalition wasn't about Trump, a president he's willing to work with on several key issues.In recent days, Polis, a Democrat, also praised Trump's pick of Robert F Kennedy Jr for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, an unexpected endorsement from a governor of a blue state that bucked the national trend and largely moved to the left in the election. Continue reading...
Morning Joe host accuses critics of being disconnected from the real world' amid outcry over Mar-a-Lago visitThe Morning Joe star Joe Scarborough brushed off criticism of last week's meeting with Donald Trump in Florida amid reports that the get-together was motivated by the liberal news network show host's fear of retribution from the US president-elect.Scarborough, along with his co-host, Mika Brzezinski, revealed during Monday's broadcast that they personally met with Donald Trump last week to restart communications" following their unrelenting opposition to his campaign for the White House. Continue reading...
No wonder pop stars and others feel uneasy about the project. However well-intentioned, it now does more harm than goodHey y'all: listen up to the chartbusting, pop-pickin', time-addled DJ: Yes indeed, Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas is back with a bang, a twist and a mix! This time our ultimate white saviour anthem is ready for for a generation weaned on AI remixes: a menage a trois of the original 1984 version mixed in with the 2004 and 2014 versions. Britain is about to feel good and Africa" is finally about to get fed! WICK-ED! Joining us to discuss this is my mate, a fountain of all that is good in the world, the great Sir Bob Geldof ..."We don't know exactly what the forthcoming, 40th-anniversary version of Do They Know It's Christmas?, featuring a mashup of previous versions into a new ultimate mix", will sound like. But I do fear the worst.Nels Abbey is an author, broadcaster and the founder of Uppity: the Intellectual Playground Continue reading...
In 1987, the great and good of the art scene designed rides for an avant garde theme park' in Hamburg. Decades later, Luna Luna has been lovingly resurrectedFive years ago, the creative director Michael Goldberg was working from home when he spotted a reference to Luna Luna on an obscure website. I may have yelled on my couch," he laughs now.Goldberg had chanced upon the lost world of Luna Luna, an avant garde theme park" staged in Hamburg in 1987, created by the artist Andre Heller, which featured surreal and playful rides designed by the great and the good of the art world. It included a ferris wheel by Jean-Michel Basquiat, a carousel by Keith Haring, a swing ride by their fellow 80s New York name Kenny Scharf, a funhouse by Salvador Dali, a glass maze by Roy Lichtenstein and an entranceway by the abstract art pioneer Sonia Delaunay, to name a few.Top: The carnival is reconstructed. Bottom: Luna Luna Carousel in Los Angeles. Continue reading...
This election was a referendum on America's political establishment. And Harris was firmly on the side of the establishmentTwo weeks have passed, and Kamala Harris's convincing electoral defeat still has Democrats pointing fingers at who - or what - to blame. If only Biden had dropped out sooner. If only Harris had picked a different running mate. If only she went on Joe Rogan's podcast. If only, if only, if only.There is an obvious reason for the lack of consensus. From failing to defend Biden's record on inflation and immigration to being perceived as too leftwing, Harris's loss was in some sense wildly overdetermined. And while Democrats were quick to attribute Trump's victory in 2016 to white racial resentment, that's a harder story to tell against the backdrop of Republican's sizable gains among Black, Hispanic, Asian and Native American voters. Continue reading...
The USMNT hammered Jamaica 4-2 to clinch their Nationa League quarter-final tie. Here's what we learnedTim Weah is a big reason why Mauricio Pochettino is the USMNT head coach - the winger's 18th-minute red card for punching Panama defender Roderick Miller in the Copa America in June arguably cost Gregg Berhalter his job. Continue reading...
South Carolina Republican Nancy Mace introduces bill two months before Sarah McBride is to be sworn inAfter Delaware elected the first ever openly transgender member of Congress earlier this month, a Republican introduced a bill to ban her from using the bathroom that corresponds with her gender identity.The South Carolina Republican Nancy Mace introduced the bill, which comes a little less than two months before Sarah McBride is due to be sworn in as the first openly transgender member of Congress. The measure would charge the House sergeant at arms with enforcing the bill, though it is unclear exactly how, according to the Hill. Continue reading...
No billionaire or corporation controls us: the Guardian answers only to the public. Please help us raise the $4m we need to hold power to account in 2025Reliable and independent sources of news are now threatened by growing alliances of oligarchs and authoritarians.The mainstream media doesn't use the term oligarchy" to describe the billionaires who are using their wealth to enlarge their political power around the world, but that is what is happening. Continue reading...
Hope that federal judiciary can provide guardrails as Trump plans for largest domestic deportation effort in US historyA week after Donald Trump entered the White House for the first time in January 2017, he signed executive order 13769, known as the Muslim travel ban, barring entry to the US for refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries.Mayhem ensued. Protests erupted in airports. Panic spread around the world. Continue reading...
Polite, obedient and diligent, my son is the product of three government schools. I wish him success and satisfactionI hope you're not going to do something like this," warns my son on his way to attend a surprise 18th party courageously arranged by his friend's mother. That tone squelches any desire I had to do something similar.Never thought of it," I shrug with a nonchalance I don't feel.Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Continue reading...
The twentysomething podcaster and venture capitalist talks about his $400m investment fund, his mum - and the power of new media to influence politicsIf you're going to discuss the significance of Donald Trump's presidential election win for the tech industry, then a podcast studio is as good a location as any.Harry Stebbings, the 28-year-old podcaster-turned-investor, is used to asking the questions around the studio table in London, having interviewed an array of tech founders, executives and venture capitalists since the first episode of his 20VC show in 2015. Continue reading...
This least deserving of nepo-babies struggles at the best of times to catch Trump Sr's attention - and now the world's biggest billionaire is in the wayAs the Trump presidency bears down on the world, I hope we can all concur on the prospect of being subjected to regular appearances by Donald Trump's eldest son, Don Jr. Can you stand him, this pissy little Ivy League Uday, whose chin successfully escaped from the rest of his body at some point in the last Trump administration, and whose every political intervention my brain simply translates as look Daddy - I used the potty!"? If so, please send tips.There really is no beta like the beta son to the alpha father, and Don Jr embodies the form. He is a full 46 years old, yet forever at hand with the intimation that his dad could beat yours in a fight. It is impossible to watch a single one of Don's public honkings without imagining his reedy inner voice going: Did you see it, Dad? Did you see what I said on TV? Dad? Dad? No, OK you're busy ..."Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnistA Year in Westminster: John Crace, Marina Hyde and Pippa Crerar. On Tuesday 3 December, join Crace, Hyde and Crerar as they look back at a political year like no other, live at the Barbican in London and livestreamed globally. Book tickets here or at guardian.live Continue reading...
Influencer lights joint in first episode of podcast to honor dying wish of father, who appeared in videos as Papa PizzaA YouTube baking influencer made her late father the star of the first episode of her new podcast by smoking cannabis grown in a pot of his ashes.What appeared to be an attention-grabbing stunt by Rosanna Pansino - a social media star with more than 14.6 million followers - was intended to be a serious examination of grief and its effects on loved ones, she insisted during the 54-minute episode of her Rodiculous podcast. Continue reading...
Despite president-elect's vow, energy companies focus on managing resources to be profitable, not pumping more oilAt the Republican national convention in July, Donald Trump pledged to cut gas prices by boosting domestic oil production. We will drill, baby, drill," he declared.Despite the president-elect's promise, oil and gas companies probably have other ideas. For the past few years, US energy producers have focused on keeping costs down to stay profitable, balancing between producing enough oil to satisfy global energy needs and paying shareholders big dividends, according to energy experts. That's unlikely to change soon. Continue reading...
Veterans on Patrol believes government caused Helene with weather manipulation tech, Telegram chats revealA vigilante militia notorious for its patrols on America's border with Mexico has threatened to take on the US military in recent weeks, with its founder baselessly claiming that Hurricane Helene was deliberately caused by a government energy weapon that needs to be destroyed, according to private and public Telegram chats.Veterans on Patrol's (VOP's) conversations reveal that members believe the outlandish conspiracy theory that the US government caused the hurricane with weather manipulation technology, that the US military is spraying the American people with poisons, and that members should be willing to destroy government facilities in order to stop these activities. Continue reading...
Kremlin ups rhetoric over decision to allow Kyiv to use US long-range missiles inside Russia. Plus, dozens of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists jailedGood morning.Vladimir Putin has signed a decree lowering the threshold for using nuclear weapons, as the Kremlin intensified its rhetoric over Joe Biden's decision to permit Kyiv to use US-made long-range missiles for strikes inside Russia.What does the new nuclear doctrine say? It outlines the conditions under which Russia's leadership might consider launching a nuclear strike.It states that an attack using conventional missiles, drones, or other aircraft could be seen as justification for a nuclear response.What is the humanitarian cost of Russia's invasion of Ukraine? The UN said in August, that at least 11,743 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, and president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, in February, that 31,000 Ukrainian service members had been killed.The plans: Federalize state national guard personnel and deploy them for immigration enforcement, including sending troops from friendly Republican-governed states into neighboring states with governors who decline to participate.The cost: According to an estimate by the American Immigration Council, deporting 1 million people a year would cost more than $960bn over a decade.The criticisms: The American Civil Liberties Union has attacked Trump's immigration plans as inhumane". Continue reading...
The rookie head coach has had early success in LA, despite accusations of croneyism. Rivals could well take a chance when it comes to recruitmentThirteen games into the Los Angeles Lakers' season, freshman head coach JJ Redick is not the headline story - and that's a story in and of itself. There are, of course, plenty of other storylines for the Lakers already this year: for starters, the rumblings that they haven't done enough to provide a competent supporting cast around superstars Anthony Davis and LeBron James, the former of whom is having an MVP-caliber start to the season. Then there are the cries of nepotism at the signing of James' son, Bronny. They may not be true championship contenders, but at 9-4 the Lakers look, at least, like a solidly good NBA team. One might never guess that their coach has only a few weeks of experience.Redick, the sharpshooting NBA veteran turned podcaster turned broadcaster turned head coach, faced plenty of scrutiny when he was appointed this summer, dealing with accusations that he'd skipped the line" or that he'd only been granted the job opportunity in order to appease LeBron, Redick's podcast co-host as recently as this year. It's been widely reported, after all, that the only head coaching experience Redick possessed before he got the Lakers gig was with his son's youth team. When I asked him, a few months ago at his introductory press conference, what he was most looking forward to disproving from the chorus of naysayers, he (now infamously) said he didn't give a fuck". It's possible, of course, that the once chronically online Redick may have been trying to convince himself of this sentiment as much as he was trying to persuade the rest of the world. But it's clear that the one-time Duke legend has tuned out the noise enough to stay focused on the task at hand. Continue reading...
Sponsors and broadcasters are biding their time while the players' union has filed a lawsuit over plans for 2025 eventThis is the one thing the former Fifa president Sepp Blatter admits he should not have done: create the Fifa Club World Cup. It was a mistake," he told the Swiss daily 24 heures last month. Fifa must concern itself with national federations, not clubs." Yet this mistake" is a part of Blatter's legacy that his successor, Gianni Infantino, had no hesitation to embrace.As early as 2016 Infantino, nine months after his election, had proposed an expanded version to replace the old format, which, since 2005, had involved seven teams - the six continental champions plus a representative of the host country - every December, over a period of 10 days. We need to make the Club World Cup more interesting for teams, and also for fans around the world," he said. That will attract more sponsors and television companies from around the world." Continue reading...
The far-right leader may be banned from running in the next French presidential election - and she's responded with all guns blazingEveryone has stolen from the cash register except the National Front!" exclaimed Marine Le Pen on French TV in 2004, commenting on an embezzlement scandal unfolding in Paris's city council. At the time she had yet to become the leader of her father's far-right party or to run three times for president. French people are fed up with elected officials who embezzle public money."Flash forward 20 years and Le Pen - along with 24 other National Rally (RN) party officials, employees, former EU lawmakers and parliamentary assistants - stands accused of having embezzled more than 4m from the European parliament. She furiously denies any wrongdoing. The case centres on an alleged fake job scheme - she and the others are accused of using EU funds to pay staff in France who were working for the party.Pauline Bock is a French journalist based in ParisDo 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...
Wyoming was the only state to explicitly ban abortion pills - one of the laws struck down on MondayA Wyoming judge has struck down the state's overall ban on abortion and its first-in-the-country explicit prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy - in line with voters in further states voicing support for abortion rights.The Teton county district judge, Melissa Owens, has ruled three times since 2022 to block the laws while they were disputed in court. Continue reading...
Suit accuses Club Q of lax security and says authorities' deliberate inaction' enabled shooter to carry out attackTwo days shy of the second anniversary of a hate-fueled mass shooting at a queer nightclub in Colorado Springs, victims and mothers of those killed have filed lawsuits against the club for lax security and against the sheriff's office for failing to trigger the state's red flag law to disarm the shooter and ensure they could not purchase any more weapons.Club Q advertised itself as a safe place' for LGBTQIA+ individuals. But that was a facade," read the two complaints, which contain allegations of negligence. Continue reading...
Gigantiello, who let singer film in church, stripped of duties after inquiry shows he sent parish funds to Eric Adams aideThe leader of a New York City church where pop star Sabrina Carpenter filmed provocative scenes for a music video was stripped of his duties on Monday after church officials said an investigation revealed other instances of mismanagement.Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello was relieved of any pastoral oversight or governance role" at his church located in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, Bishop Robert Brennan said in a statement issued by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn. Continue reading...
Former Republican congressman from Wisconsin was also a cast member on MTV's The Real World: BostonDonald Trump has named Sean Duffy, a former Republican congressman from Wisconsin,and former cast member of the MTV show The Real World, to serve as the secretary of transportation. He was also a co-host on Fox Business but left that role on Monday, according to Fox News Media.Duffy served in Congress from 2011 until 2019. Before being elected to public office, he was district attorney for Ashland county, Wisconsin, from 2002 to 2008 and previously had a reality TV show role. Duffy was a cast member on The Real World: Boston in 1997 where he would meet his wife, Fox news contributor Rachel Campos-Duffy. Continue reading...
City also pauses major repairs to aqueduct as residents and local agencies ordered to cut down on water usageNew York City on Monday issued its first drought warning in 22 years and paused major repairs to its main water aqueduct out of concern for the lack of rainfall.Dry conditions across the north-east have been blamed for hundreds of brush fires. They had already prompted New York and state officials to implement water-conservation protocols when Mayor Eric Adams upgraded the drought warning and temporarily halted the $2 bn Delaware aqueduct project, which was intended to repair leaks in the 80-year-old tunnel. Continue reading...
President-elect's surrogates accuse president of seeking to spark world war three' over decision to allow limited strikesAllies of the president-elect, Donald Trump, have lashed out angrily at Joe Biden for his decision to permit Ukraine to use long-range US missiles to launch attacks inside Russia for the first time, in what the Kremlin has termed an escalation" in the war.Key Trump surrogates, including his son Donald Trump Jr, hardline congressional Republicans, and other backers have accused Biden of seeking to spark world war three" before Trump's presidential inauguration in January. Continue reading...
Suit made against Ice comes as Trump vows to deport millions of undocumented immigrants upon taking officeThe American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) seeking more information about how the agency might carry out Donald Trump's plans for a mass deportation program.The US president-elect has vowed to deport millions of undocumented immigrants upon taking office, a threat that he has doubled down on since winning the presidential race earlier this month. On Monday, Trump confirmed a report that he intended to declare a national emergency to activate military resources as part of the mass deportation operation. Continue reading...
Ruling of 4-3 ends issue in which some Democratic counties ignored precedent and counted ballots that weren't datedPennsylvania counties must not count mail-in ballots from voters who did not date their envelopes, the state supreme court ruled on Monday, ending a simmering issue in which some Democratic counties were ignoring prior court rulings and counting the ballots anyway.[W]e have clarified that mail-in and absentee ballots that fail to comply with the requirements of the Pennsylvania Election Code, shall not be counted for purposes of the election held on November 5, 2024," the majority wrote. Continue reading...
Supporters argue Bible verses contextualize art and literature as opponents say it is biased towards ChristianityTexas education officials are expected to hold a vote on Monday on the use of Bible readings in the public school curriculum for kindergarten through fifth grade English and language arts classes.The board listened to hours of testimonies from those for and against Bluebonnet learning", a new curriculum that will affect millions of the state's elementary public school students. Continue reading...
Lawyer representing two women alleges Gaetz paid them for sex and that one witnessed him having sex with minorAn attorney representing two women who he says testified before the House ethics committee has claimed that the former congressman Matt Gaetz paid both women for sex and that one of the women alleged she witnessed Gaetz having sex with a minor.The new allegations were revealed by the attorney Joel Leppard during an interview with ABC News on Monday - less than a week after Gaetz resigned from Congress following his nomination by Donald Trump to serve as attorney general in his second administration. Continue reading...
Weihong Hu, a New York City hotel developer, was previously the subject of a joint investigation by the Guardian, the City and DocumentedFederal law enforcement agents have raided a hotel owned by a businesswoman who has been linked to potentially illegal campaign contributions to the New York City mayor, Eric Adams.Federal officials executed a search warrant on Thursday at a hotel that the hotel developer Weihong Hu owns in Long Island City, Queens, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter. The hotel hosts a shelter program for formerly incarcerated people which has resulted in millions of city contract dollars going to Hu's business. Continue reading...
Leadership accused of betraying party values after sudden announcement of layoffs without severanceThe union representing workers at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has accused the party's leadership of a callous" betrayal of party values after the sudden announcement of layoffs of permanent employees without severance.Despite record-breaking fundraising, the DNC failed to provide any financial support to those who have tirelessly served the Democratic Party and its mission," said the union in a press release. Continue reading...
Golden Girls actor appears on illustrated stamp that exudes her spritely sense of fun' for 2025 releaseThe late actor Betty White will be honored with a US postage stamp bearing her likeness starting in 2025, according to officials.The US Postal Service (USPS) announced on Friday that it would be releasing a postal stamp featuring a digital illustration of White. Continue reading...
Dutch photographer Robin de Puy travelled across the US to find underrepresented voices during a turbulent time for a new project examining a country under strain. The portraits will be displayed in a series of billboards across Nevada's Route 50, highlighting the path that was taken to find the Americans on show Continue reading...
Zelenskyy must now show that missiles will change this war, and his European allies must unify ahead of the Trump presidencyUS president Joe Biden's last-gasp decision to permit Ukraine to fire western-made, long-range missiles at military targets deep inside Russian territory runs the risk of triggering a sharp increase in retaliatory sabotage, such as cyber and arson attacks on Britain and its European Nato partners.Vladimir Putin, who ordered the full-scale, illegal invasion of Ukraine 1,000 days ago tomorrow, has long warned that Kyiv's expanded use of US-, British- and French-made missiles would be viewed by Moscow as an act of war by Nato, and could trigger catastrophic consequences. Now Putin's bluff, if it is a bluff, is being called. Continue reading...
The world's best-loved naturalist has had his voice cloned - and misused - by AI. Soon, we won't believe anything we hear unless we are in the same room as the speakerIt sounds too fanciful and too outrageous to be true, but nothing is too outrageous for the world the tech bros have bequeathed us. The BBC has revealed that various websites and YouTube channels are using AI to clone the voice of David Attenborough and get him to say things - about Russia, about the US election - that surely he would never say.It's not the first time it has happened to a celebrity - Scarlett Johansson refused to license her voice to ChatGPT and accused them of creating it anyway, in a character called Sky. ChatGPT's developer, OpenAI, said Sky was a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice", but it pulled the voice out of respect for Ms Johansson". Elsewhere, lawyers continue to tussle, using precedents that pre-date the existence of AI by several decades, which is to say with one hand tied behind their back. Continue reading...
We're keen to hear from people who were legally able to vote in the election but did not, and want to know whyThe 2024 US election was heralded by both sides as one of the most crucial contests in recent American history with Democrats in particular warning of the threat of a Donald Trump return to the White House.Both sides urged their supporters to come to the polls to save the nation. Continue reading...
Republican president-elect says he wants to dismantle the US education department and fire radical left accreditors'Donald Trump hates the state of higher education in the US so much that he wants to start a new online university that will dole out bachelor's degrees free of charge to challenge existing colleges.Trump has also vowed to deport pro-Hamas radicals and make our college campuses safe and patriotic again". He wants to dramatically alter the accreditation process that ensures colleges meet set standards, opening the door for programs that currently do not. Continue reading...
US news | The Guardian