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Gail Lee, who has challenged the registrations of hundreds of voters in the county, was nominated by the local Republican partyAn Atlanta-area county has appointed a staunch election denier, with a history of challenging voter registrations, to the county's board of registration and elections, a pivotal position to cast doubt on the results of future elections.DeKalb county's Republican committee nominated Gail Lee and a second Republican activist, but the nomination of William Henderson was rejected last week by the chief judge of the DeKalb county superior court, Shondeana Morris, after a letter campaign against the two promoted by the county's Democratic committee and voting rights activists. Continue reading...

Democratic mayors challenge new rules that give millions of people less time to enroll in coverageNew Trump administration rules that give millions of people a shorter timeframe to sign up for the Affordable Care Act's health care coverage are facing a legal challenge from Democratic mayors around the country.The rules, rolled out last month, reverse a Biden-era effort to expand access to the Affordable Care Act's health insurance, commonly called Obamacare" or the ACA. The previous Democratic administration expanded the enrollment window for the coverage, which led to record enrollment. Continue reading...

Week of 20 June was highest level of risk for Fordham Tick Index as scientists remind people to take precautionsTicks have been flourishing recently in the United States.This year, as compared to recent years, there has been an increase in the reported number of blacklegged ticks, the number of such ticks that carry Lyme disease and visits to the emergency room because of bites from the tiny parasitic arachnid, according to data from universities and the US federal government. Continue reading...

Mark Carney's Strong Borders Act would mean a crackdown on refugees as Canada seeks to bolster its relationship with the USThere are many stereotypes about Canada - that we are a nation of extremely polite people, a welcoming melting pot, and that we're the US's laid-back cousin who lives next door.But right now, Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, is bucking all of that lore after pressure from the US in the form of Donald Trump's concerns" about undocumented migrants and fentanyl moving across the US-Canada border. In response, the recently elected Liberal PM put forward a 127-page bill that includes, among other worrying provisions, sweeping changes to immigration policy that would make the process much more precarious for refugees and could pave the way for mass deportations. Continue reading...

Legislation now goes to the House where it is unclear if the changes will be accepted. Plus, the heatwave scorching Europe

Zhi Alan Cheng, 35, admits to filming assaults of patients and acquaintances in his apartment and workplaceA New York City doctor charged with raping or otherwise sexually abusing several hospital patients and acquaintances has pleaded guilty.Zhi Alan Cheng, a gastroenterologist, acknowledged filming assaults in his apartment and the hospital where he had previously worked, New York-Presbyterian Queens, state prosecutors said in a statement on Monday after his guilty plea. Continue reading...

The justices' decision limiting judicial injunctions gives a red light to the most effective check on the president's power grabEver since Donald Trump returned to power, he has carried out an unprecedented assault against the country's rule of law. But we can be thankful that one group of people - federal district court judges - have bravely stood up to him and his many illegal actions.His excesses include gutting federal agencies, deporting immigrants without due process, seeking to cut thousands of federal jobs despite their legal protections, and ordering an end to birthright citizenship. Intent on upholding the constitution and rule of law, district court judges have issued more than 190 orders blocking or temporarily pausing Trump actions they considered illegal. Their decisions have slowed the US president's wrecking ball as it demolishes federal agencies, devastates foreign aid, decimates scientific research and demoralizes government employees.Steven Greenhouse is a journalist and author, focusing on labour and the workplace, as well as economic and legal issues Continue reading...

It shouldn't be hard to lure them into my spaceship. I'd just have to tell them it was hosting a multimillion-dollar wedding partyThoughts and prayers to the thousands of Norwegians who have just had one of the best weekends of their lives, followed by one hell of a comedown. Thanks to a currency conversion snafu by the state lottery operator, numerous people were incorrectly informed on Friday that they had won life-changing amounts of money in the Eurojackpot. On Monday, a text message was sent to players informing them of the mix-up.It seems Norwegians are a prudent bunch; I haven't found any examples of people spending Jeff Bezos-levels of money as soon as they were told they had won big. Me? I would have gone into evil billionaire mode immediately. Continue reading...

The detention center visit seemed to represent a landmark in a defining issue since even before his first term: migrationDonald Trump's tour of the bloodcurdlingly-monikered - and hastily-constructed - Alligator Alcatraz" migrants detention center in Florida's Everglades had the hallmarks of a calculatedly provocative celebration of the dystopian.Accompanied by Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, the Florida governor Ron DeSantis and a phalanx of journalists, the US president saw only virtue in the vista of mesh fencing, barbed wire and forbidding steel bunk beds. Continue reading...

It's been over two years since the A's were awarded public funding for their new ballpark. But despite last month's groundbreaking", its completion is anything but certainIt had just turned 8am on a crystal clear, late June Monday morning, but it was already 85F (29F). Despite the tolerable heat (for the desert), a giant air conditioned tent had been erected on the former site of the Tropicana, the famed hotel which was demolished in a controlled implosion last October. Athletics owner John Fisher, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred and a gaggle of politicians had all gathered on the compact, nine-acre site for a ceremony over two years in the making: the groundbreaking for the new A's stadium on the Strip, coming your way in 2028.On the surface, it was your run-of-the-mill pomp and circumstance: a series of uneven speeches mixed in with a few kids gushing over how much they can't wait to have the former Oakland and current A's in Las Vegas. But if you had been following the long-running A's stadium saga, one which led them to a temporary minor-league residency in Sacramento this season, you didn't have to look far beyond the rented heavy-duty construction props to see the farce, and you didn't have to dig much deeper than the dignitaries shoveling into the makeshift baseball diamond to understand what this ceremony really was: the latest stop on Fisher's neverending, would-be stadium tour. Continue reading...

A quarter-final collapse against Guatemala laid bare Canada's lack of control, composure and tactical clarity under Jesse MarschWhat a joyous Sunday for the American football family. A rare one too. Has an international fanbase ever celebrated two sudden-death wins in the space of four sweet hours?In a bitter Canadian irony, the only man inside the US Bank Stadium who could have spelled and pronounced schadenfreude on demand was the one on the end of it. Continue reading...

Paramount said it would pay the $16m to Trump's future presidential library and not to Trump himself. It also said the settlement did not include a statement of apology or regret.CBS parent company Paramount on Wednesday settled a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump over an interview broadcast in October, in the latest concession by a media company to the US president, who has targeted outlets over what he describes as false or misleading coverage.Paramount said it would pay $16m to settle the suit with the money allocated to Trump's future presidential library, and not paid to Trump directly or indirectly". Continue reading...

The bill will need approval from the House, where deep divisions among Republican lawmakers remain - key US politics stories from 1 July 2025After days of deliberations that went late into the night on Tuesday, the Senate passed Donald Trump's sweeping tax and spending cuts megabill, taking the deeply divisive piece of legislation one step closer to becoming law.At the 11th hour, minority Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer won a small victory in having the name of Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act" stricken, but it wasn't enough to stop its passage - the act was passed just minutes later. Continue reading...

This blog has now closed. You can read more of our US politics coverage hereThe senate has adopted an amendment offered by Republican senator Joni Ernst - who represents Iowa - to prevent jobless millionaires from claiming unemployment compensation.Lawmakers voted 99-1 to strike the AI regulation ban from the bill by adopting an amendment offered by Republican senator Marsha Blackburn. Continue reading...

Homeland security secretary attempting to end legal status for approximately 521,000 Haitian immigrantsA federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's bid to end temporary deportation protections and work permits for approximately 521,000 Haitian immigrants before the program's scheduled expiration date.Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security rescinded Joe Biden's extension of temporary protected status (TPS) for Haitians through 3 February. It called for the program to end on 3 August, and last week pushed back that date to 2 September. Continue reading...

Move comes after rightwing Republican accuses New York City mayoral candidate of concealing support for terrorism'The Trump administration has raised the possibility of stripping Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic mayoral candidate for New York City, of his US citizenship as part of a crackdown against foreign-born citizens convicted of certain offences.Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, appeared to pave the way for an investigation into Mamdani's status after Andy Ogles, a rightwing Republican representative for Tennessee, called for his citizenship to be revoked on the grounds that he may have concealed his support for terrorism" during the naturalization process. Continue reading...

Sweeping policy bill had tumultuous road to passage in Senate - will the final version play well with US voters?When Donald Trump's sweeping policy bill arrived in the Senate in late May, its problems seemed unending.It was Trump's top legislative priority, and crafted in such a way that Democrats could not block it by using the filibuster. But it was greeted with skepticism by moderate Republicans, who blanched at the bill's cuts to two major safety net programs to offset expensive outlays elsewhere: tens of billions of dollars to fund mass deportations and build border walls, along with tax-cut extensions and new deductions that could increase the budget deficit by trillions of dollars over the coming decade. Continue reading...

Novak Djokovic overcame stomach problems to beat Alex Muller in four sets on a day when several big names went homePaul, yet to settle, hands Monday two break points ... which he hands straight back. From there, the hold is quickly secured.Thinking of Paul more generally, though, he's in the same section of the draw as Sinner. There's not loads else there, so he'll be wondering if, finally, he can beat someone better than him on the biggest stage. Continue reading...

Reignited quarrel centers around Musk's opposition to the president's signature tax bill as it moves through CongressDonald Trump and Elon Musk's feud reignited this week with the former political allies trading sharp public threats of retribution. The blowup, centered around Musk's opposition to Trump's signature tax bill as it moves through Congress, ends a period of rapprochement between two of the world's most powerful men.Musk posted escalating attacks against Trump's sweeping spending bill on his social media platform X, calling the legislation insane" and vowing to form a new political party if it passed late Monday. In response, Trump claimed he could look into" deporting the South Africa-born billionaire, while also suggesting he could cut government subsidies for Musk's companies or set the so-called department of government efficiency" (Doge) on its former leader. Continue reading...

Legislation goes to House but unclear if lower chamber will accept changes to tax and spending bill amid factional splitsSenate Republicans on Tuesday passed a major tax and spending bill demanded by Donald Trump, ending weeks of negotiations over the comprehensive legislation and putting it another step closer to enactment.But it remains unclear whether changes made by the chamber will be accepted by the House of Representatives, which approved an initial draft of the legislation last month by a single vote. While Republicans control both houses of Congress, factionalism in the lower chamber is particularly intense, with rightwing fiscal hardliners demanding deep spending cuts, moderates wary of dismantling safety-net programs and Republicans from Democratic-led states expected to make a stand on a contentious tax provision. Any one of these groups could potentially derail the bill's passage through a chamber where the GOP can lose no more than three votes. Continue reading...

Kristi Noem says we're working with [DoJ] to see if we can prosecute them' while president fumes over Iran reportingDonald Trump and administration officials have threatened CNN over what they said was its promotion of a new app that allows users to track and try to avoid Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents.Speaking to reporters in Florida on a trip to visit a new Ice detention center in Everglades, dubbed Alligator Alcatraz", the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, said her department and the Department of Justice were looking at prosecuting CNN over its reporting on the app, called IceBlock. Continue reading...

Trump's immigration crackdown has made many immigrant farmworkers scared to go to workLisa Tate is a sixth-generation farmer in Ventura county, California, an area that produces billions of dollars worth of fruit and vegetables each year, much of it hand-picked by immigrants in the US illegally.Tate knows the farms around her well. And she says she can see with her own eyes how raids carried out by agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) in the area's fields earlier this month, part of Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, have frightened off workers. Continue reading...

President says immigration jail in Florida Everglades is a little controversial, but I couldn't care less'Donald Trump on Tuesday toured Alligator Alcatraz, a controversial new migrant detention jail in the remote Florida Everglades, and celebrated the harsh conditions that people sent there would experience.The president was chaperoned by Florida's hard-right governor, Ron DeSantis, who hailed the tented camp on mosquito-infested land 50 miles west of Miami as an example for other states that supported Trump's mass deportation agenda. Continue reading...

New White House-approved painting was donated after Trump described the original as purposefully distorted'Months after Donald Trump expressed strong negative opinions about a presidential portrait of him in the Colorado state capitol that he described as purposefully distorted", a White House-approved replacement now hangs in its place.The new portrait, which Trump reportedly demanded be printed with a golden border so it would catch the light and glimmer", bears a close resemblance to Trump's official second-term photograph, which hangs in more than 1,600 federal buildings across the US and thousands more on a voluntary basis. Continue reading...

Jerome Powell says inflationary impact of the president's trade policies needs to be assessed before borrowing costs can be reducedThe chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, has blamed Donald Trump's tariffs for preventing the immediate interest rate cuts the president has demanded.Trump has repeatedly urged Powell to reduce borrowing costs in the US economy. On Tuesday, he said: Anybody would be better than J Powell. He's costing us a fortune because he keeps the rate way up." Continue reading...

Upper chamber appears to be heading for conclusion after debating amendments for more than 24 hours

A new justice department directive may signal a sweeping crackdown on US citizens as part of Trump's deportation agendaA justice department memo directing the department's civil division to target the denaturalization of US citizens around the country has opened up an new avenue for Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda, experts say.In the US, when a person is denaturalized, they return to the status they held before becoming a citizen. If someone was previously a permanent resident, for example, they will be classified as such again, which can open the door to deportation efforts. Continue reading...

Former presidents Barack Obama and George W Bush and singer Bono send emotional message to staff as organisation closesBarack Obama and George W Bush have criticised the closure of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), as a study warned it could result in a staggering number" of avoidable deaths - more than 14 million over five years.The former US presidents made rare public criticisms of the Trump administration as they took part in a video farewell for USAID staffers on Monday on its last day as an independent organisation. Continue reading...

Twenty-year-old man had once aspired to be a firefighter and had only minor contacts with area policeA 20-year-old man's life appeared to have begun to unravel in the months before authorities say he fatally shot two firefighters and severely wounded a third as they responded to a wildfire near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.Wess Roley was living out of his vehicle and his former roommate, TJ Franks Jr, said he shaved off his long hair and started to kind of go downhill". The two lived together for about six months in Sandpoint, Idaho, until Roley moved out in January, Franks said on Monday. Continue reading...

Homeland security secretary was paid by group listed as American Resolve Police Fund, according to PoliticoThe US homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, failed to disclose $80,000 that she accepted while serving as South Dakota's governor, according to a report published on Monday.The investigative news website ProPublica said that tax records from 2023 show Noem was paid the sum by a group listed as American Resolve Policy Fund - but it has never made it on to her public ethics disclosures. Continue reading...

The Trump administration has made repeated cuts targeting the organization's clinics. Now the US supreme court has struck another blowPlanned Parenthood, the massive, 108-year-old network of women's and reproductive health clinics that operates almost 600 health centers across the United States, may not survive the Trump administration. Long a hated symbol on the right, and unable to summon enthusiastic support from the left, the medical network has nevertheless remained a symbolic and material cornerstone of women's equality, serving millions of patients - many of them indigent or low-income - each year, and housing one of the biggest feminist and pro-choice lobbying and litigation shops in America, in addition to being one of the nation's largest healthcare providers.Since returning to power in January, the Trump administration has made repeated cuts targeting Planned Parenthood's clinics, excluding the group from the vast Title X family planning program, on the pretext of scurrilous claims that they have violated federal anti-discrimination law by adopting resolutions stressing their commitment to Black communities" and by providing medical treatment to undocumented immigrants.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

Former marine Arturo Flores condemns a level of psychological warfare I've only seen in theaters of war'As a United States marine, Arturo Flores served in Afghanistan and Iraq, where he worked as a military police officer and trained dogs to find roadside bombs.It's his experience in the military that has made what he's seen on the streets of southern California in recent weeks all the more disturbing to him, Flores said. Continue reading...

Fight between two groups occurred near Stonewall Inn while six people bear-sprayed in Washington Square ParkOne teenage girl shot another before being shot herself, and six other people were bear-sprayed at the tail end of New York City's Pride march on Sunday, bringing a violent end to the month-long LGBTQ+ celebrations.New York police said the shooting occurred near the historic Stonewall Inn in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, where the gay rights movement kicked off with an anti-police demonstration in June 1969. Continue reading...

Justice department charges 324 defendants in largest healthcare fraud initiative in its historyThe US justice department said on Monday that it halted a series of healthcare fraud schemes that sought to bilk the federal government out of $14.6bn.The operation, which the department called the largest healthcare fraud initiative in its history, led to criminal charges against 324 defendants and the seizure of more than $245m in cash, luxury cars and other assets. The actual loss to the US government totaled about $2.9bn, officials said.Guardian staff contributed Continue reading...

From the Maga crowd to Nato's secretary general, everyone is addressing the president of the US as if he was their actual father. Make it stop!Is your name Barron, Donald Jr, Eric, Ivanka or Tiffany Trump? No? Then I regret to inform you that President Donald John Trump is almost certainly not your daddy. I say almost certainly" because narcissistic billionaires do have a nasty habit of spawning willy-nilly. Just look at Elon Musk and Pavel Durov - the latter is the Telegram founder, who has more than 100 children in 12 countries via sperm donation.Still, unless you are a very high-IQ individual, with an orange glow, an insatiable appetite for money-making schemes, and a weird belief that you invented the word caravan", I think it's safe to say that you're probably not Trump's offspring. Continue reading...

Senators extend vote-a-rama', in which bill faces series of amendments, into second day

Spending may seem scattergun but new weapons, from Liam Delap to Joao Pedro, will help Chelsea tackle low blocksWhen Enzo Maresca became Chelsea's head coach last summer, those who had studied the Italian's tactics at Leicester predicted his appointment would accelerate the end of Ben Chilwell's time at Stamford Bridge. Enzo doesn't play with a left-back," a source said. Chilwell won't be able to do what Enzo wants. He just won't play him."The prediction was spot-on, with Chilwell quickly discounted from selection. It was nothing personal, though. The logic was merely that Maresca does not play with a conventional back four in possession but wants one full-back inverting and the other shifting inside to play as an extra centre-back in a 3-2-4-1 system. Continue reading...

Democrats have attacked bill for its $1.2tn in cuts, largely to Medicaid and food stamps. Plus, Israel ratchets up bombing of Gaza as scores of people killed on MondayGood morning.The US Senate is still holding a marathon vote on a sprawling budget that is vital to Donald Trump's agenda and would see sweeping tax breaks and cuts to healthcare and food programs if passed.What's in the bill? Among other things, $1.2tn in cuts, largely to Medicaid and food stamps, by imposing stricter work requirements; $4.5tn in tax cuts; rolling back billions of dollars in green energy tax credits; and a $350bn infusion for border and national security.What have opponents said? The rift with Trump deepened as Elon Musk vowed on X to unseat lawmakers who support the bill: Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame! And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth."This is a developing story. Follow our live coverage here.What is the current aid situation? More Palestinians were killed on Monday as they sought aid: Nasser hospital in Khan Younis said it had received the bodies of 11 people who were shot while returning from an aid site associated with the Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund, and 10 others were killed at a UN aid warehouse, according to the health ministry.Is a ceasefire edging closer? It could be. Yair Lapid, the Israeli opposition leader, on Monday added his voice to those in Israel calling for an end to the war. There is no longer any benefit for the state of Israel from continuing the war in Gaza. Only damage on the security, political and economic level," Lapid told a meeting of parliamentarians. Continue reading...

The lessons of Zohran's victory are hopeful for the left and the Democrats - if the party takes them to heartIn a lifetime of activism, I have canvassed and phone-banked, raised money, and twisted arms for dozens of political candidates. Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old Indian-Ugandan democratic socialist and presumptive winner of the New York City Democratic mayoral primary, is the only one I've both supported without reservation and believed could win.Volunteering for a campaign always teaches you something. Often, it's discouraging - like the moment my partner and I saw Hillary Clinton's team selling lawn signs for $25 instead of blanketing Philadelphia by distributing them free, and predicted she'd lose. But the lessons of Zohran's victory are hopeful for the left and the Democrats - if the party takes them to heart.Judith Levine is a Brooklyn journalist and essayist, a contributing writer to the Intercept and the author of five books Continue reading...

Experts say the push to cut federal funding for programs that provide health coverage to children speaks to the lack of youth protections in the USEvery school year, midwife Lisa Isman meets dozens of eighth graders for an annual tour of the clinic where she works. Students gather first in the office's waiting room, where neon green couches, young adult romance novels and pamphlets on loneliness and sexual wellness greet them. On the tour of the Ungdomsmottagning - Swedish for youth clinic" - the students in this suburb of Stockholm, Sweden, will take a peek at the different exam rooms, meet clinic counselors, and pay a visit to the clinic's kondomeria", a cupboard decorated with condoms posed like action figures and stocked with a variety of brands.The required school tour is an opportunity for Isman and her colleagues to explain to students that, from ages 12 to 22, this is their clinic. And they can decide for themselves" whether to book an appointment, with or without their parents' involvement, Isman says. Continue reading...