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Washington and Florida insiders are exploring lucrative deals for a post-communist Cuba crushed by ever-increasing US sanctionsSpanish hotel chains. A Canadian mining firm. European shipping giants. Visa and Mastercard. Scores of foreign companies have been driven out of Cuba this summer over fear of being hit with potent, new secondary sanctions. Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, told Axios last month there are no escape valves" from his unprecedented pressure campaign against the island.But not everybody is losing out. A growing cast of Washington and Florida insiders - from billionaire Trump cronies and Rubio-linked lobbyists to Cuban exiles - are jockeying for control of the communist-ruled island-nation's key assets, charging top dollar to help clients navigate the ever-expanding web of sanctions, and positioning themselves for lucrative business opportunities in the case of regime collapse. Continue reading...

Make ICE Pay Act would block nearly $140bn in funding and redirect money to places reeling from Trump crackdownThe US congresswoman Ilhan Omar is set to introduce a bill that would make federal immigration agencies pay the price" for terrorising vulnerable communities, blocking nearly $140bn in funding and redirecting it to local recovery efforts, the Guardian has learned.The Make ICE Pay Act, due to be introduced on Thursday, targets funding previously designated for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) under Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill". Continue reading...

Shutdown of study is latest for Trump administration, which has canceled, frozen and otherwise disrupted more than 5,700 medical research grants over two yearsScientific funding cuts imposed by the Trump administration may force researchers to close a study on Alzheimer's disease risk among 600 ageing people without sharing the results of cognitive tests with participants - even though researchers have all the data to do so.The Trump administration canceled a federal research grant studying two low-income, majority Black neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in August. Researchers were given 90 days to shut down the study - more than five months earlier than planned. Now, they lack the time and money to assess data collected from trial participants. Continue reading...

LeBron James was once one of the world's most outspoken athletes. Now he's plugging a predictions market and an authoritarian leaderThere was a time when LeBron James's views on abuses of political power were considered dangerous enough that Donald Trump's allies told him to shut up and dribble. But over time, James has become less outspoken. After he built a reputation as a voice on social issues and human rights, anti-government protesters in Hong Kong burned his jersey over what they saw as his lack of support for their campaign. Alongside plenty of other US athletes, he has barely spoken on politics during Trump's second term in power. There was the recent dismal sight of him promoting a prediction market (although at least he kept his clothes on). Now he is happily associating with - and helping promote - an authoritarian leader.On Sunday, Angola's president, Joao Lourenco, welcomed two of the most famous people in America - James and Will Smith - to his presidential palace. Continue reading...

Man behind US college football's landmark match in London has dedicated his life to improving crowd safety since his daughter was killed in a crowd crush at a concert aged 23On Saturday afternoon, as he looks out at the crowd of 60,000 he has helped entice to Wembley Stadium, Brian Dubiski's dream will become a reality. But, as Arizona State and Kansas make history by playing the first US college football game in Britain, Dubiski will think most of his daughter, Madison, who was crushed to death at the age of 23.Madison and nine other people were trampled and suffocated by a crowd at a Travis Scott concert in Houston in November 2021. Dubiski now dedicates his life to keeping people safe at sporting events and concerts and, since December, Wembley is one of the stadiums that follows the protocols he introduced. Continue reading...

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President stumps for Senate nominee Michael Whatley in North Carolina and urges voters to crush the communists'Donald Trump returned to the campaign trail on Wednesday, imploring North Carolina voters to pretend I'm on the ticket" and crush the communists" in the November elections at a rally in support of the Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley.Despite Trump's deep unpopularity, Republicans hope to once again turn the president's loyal following into a political force as the party confronts an unforgiving midterm landscape. Continue reading...

LeJames Norman, 40, killed at Huntsville penitentiary while scheduled execution in Georgia halted by judgeA man convicted over the shooting deaths of three people was executed on Wednesday in Texas, while another execution scheduled for the same time in Georgia was halted by a judge.It's the fifth execution in Texas this year. Georgia has yet to put anyone to death this year. The nation's busiest death chamber is in Florida, which accounted for more than half the 25 executions already carried out in the US this year. Continue reading...

Pair accused of misappropriating millions in taxpayer dollars as Trump officials target alleged fraud in blue statesFederal law enforcement officers have arrested two employees of California-based homelessness non-profits on corruption charges, alleging that they misappropriated millions in taxpayer dollars.The US justice department has arrested Michael Young, a founder of the Culver City-based nonprofit Home At Last, and Lakiya Malone, an employee of the Los Angeles-based Special Service for Groups. The two are expected to appear in court on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Act divides Democrats and Republicans, with some saying it gives president power that could be turned against US alliesThe US Congress has passed a sweeping bill allowing Donald Trump to raise tariffs on top buyers of Russian energy and issue other punishing sanctions against the Kremlin following a pitched battle between lawmakers backing Ukraine and sceptics worried the bill gives the president too much power.The Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 passed in a 262-159 vote on the last day before Congress goes on recess ahead of the midterm elections. Graham, who died earlier this year, co-authored and submitted the bill more than a year and a half ago. Continue reading...

GAO report shows how use paid administrative leave rose by 435% from 2023 to 2025 and incurred a sixfold costThe US government paid federal workers $9.5bn not to work in 2025 as part of the Trump administration's attempts to shrink the federal workforce.As part of efforts by the department of government efficiency" (Doge), spearheaded by Elon Musk, federal agencies' use of paid administrative leave rose 435% from 2023 to 2025 - costing six times what the government spent in 2023 - according to a new report released on Tuesday by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), an independent watchdog. Continue reading...

Galeano, who has had asylum application pending for about seven years, was pulled over by agents while driving for LyftVeteran journalist Luis Galeano, one of at least 94 Nicaraguans whom the Ortega Murillo regime has stripped of citizenship in recent years for opposing the government, has been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).Galeano, who has continued critically reporting on the Sandinista government online through his platform, Cafe con voz, since shortly after arriving in the US in 2018, has had an asylum application pending for about seven years, according to his wife, Daykel Santamaria. He also has a work permit and a social security number, she said. Continue reading...

Gen Dan Caine comments at Washington summit come after US revealed it has deployed weapons in spaceAmerican troops need to prepare for combat not only in Earth's orbit but around the moon, Donald Trump's top military adviser said on Wednesday, looking ahead to a new frontier in warfare after the US revealed for the first time that it has deployed weapons in space.Gen Dan Caine, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, told service members and industry figures at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference outside Washington that the US military should adapt now so it is prepared to fight, endure and win ... from the seabed to cislunar space". Continue reading...

Trump urges lower rates after central bank agrees increase by quarter-percentage point to range of 3.75% to 4%

Billionaire has refused to comply with subpoenas from House oversight committee as part of Epstein inquiry

Tierra Walker, 37, was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia at 20 weeks, and family says denial of abortion led to deathA wrongful death lawsuit filed on Tuesday accuses Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, doctors and state health officials of contributing to the death of a pregnant San Antonio woman whose family says she was denied an abortion that could have saved her life.Tierra Walker, 37, died in December 2024 while 20 weeks pregnant after being diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, a dangerous pregnancy-related high blood pressure condition that can be fatal. Continue reading...

The administration has used a list of 235 keywords - such as gender' and racist' - to prevent topics from being fundedResearchers filed a class action lawsuit against the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Wednesday, arguing the Trump administration is blocking and cancelling scientific grants to censor topics with which it disagrees.The administration has used a list of 235 keywords - such as gender" and racist" - to prevent topics from health equity to climate change from being funded. The NIH is the world's largest public funder of biomedical research. Continue reading...

Los Angeles NBC anchor Colleen Williams confirmed on air that the station's helicopter had crashed on 16 September. The crash occurred while the team was covering a traffic collision. Aerial photojournalist Eliana Moreno, pilot George Marciniw and one person on the ground died in the crash. Continue reading...

A generous wedding gift' from a dear friend' raises questions not entirely answered by Bettina and Don Jr's Instagram caption

The extraordinary success of the rebels, and Saudi counterstrikes, threaten economic havoc. But the country's civilians are paying the highest priceEven in a region beset by turmoil and learning to expect the unexpected, the lightning advance of Yemen's Houthis along the Red Sea coast has shocked observers. More than 100,000 people have been forced to flee in a country where immiseration and displacement have become routine and half the population depend on humanitarian aid. But outsiders are paying close attention, because by claiming thousands of kilometres in a matter of days, and seizing strategically important islands, the Iran-backed rebels now control the Babal-Mandab strait - the other major regional energychokepoint after the Hormuz strait.The Iran war has forced Saudi Arabia to rely on moving oil via its east-west pipeline to Red Sea ports. Now drone strikes - blamed on an Iran-backed militia in Iraq - have shut the pipeline: on one estimate, a month-long closure could cut global crude supply by 120m barrels. The halt to shipping through the Bab al-Mandab strait could be much more protracted. Taking the oil north is a far slower and more expensive route to Asian markets, and does not preclude attacks by the Houthis, who are also targeting oil facilities.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

David Streever was issued a warning notice' after sending an email critical of ICE to the agency's director in JanuaryThe Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may no longer issue a warning notice" - threatening prosecution against a US citizen - for criticizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a federal judge in Washington DC ruled on Tuesday.Judge Rudolph Contreras sided with David Streever, a New York man who accused DHS officials of violating his first amendment rights when they showed up first at his home in June with a warning notice", claiming he made a threat against former ICE director Todd Lyons, and then to a hotel where Streever and his young daughter were staying. Continue reading...

Sunny, who joined the Obama family at the White House in 2013, was the second Obama dog after Bo, who died in 2021Sunny Obama, the Obama family's second beloved Portuguese Water Dog, died on Tuesday, Barack Obama announced on Wednesday morning.Yesterday, we lost a cherished member of our family," the former president wrote on social media, attaching a photo of the 14-year-old dog whom he called a force of nature". Continue reading...

Cuts hit all 50 states and DC, with environment, health, nutrition and disaster relief making up the largest shareThe Trump administration has cut or frozen up to $177bn in federal grants since the president took office for his second term, according to a tracking tool released Wednesday by a pro-democracy non-profit and a group of researchers and scientists.The cuts affected all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with health, nutrition, the environment and disaster relief making up the largest share of cuts, the States United Democracy Center and Grant Witness organization found. Continue reading...

Black has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and said he did not know of Epstein's criminal activitiesMore than a dozen survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse praised the House oversight committee for unanimously voting to recommend that billionaire investor Leon Black be held in contempt for refusing to comply with subpoenas by the panel seeking his testimony and nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) as part of its investigation into Epstein.We commend Chairman Comer for showing real resolve in pursuing accountability in the Epstein investigation," the survivors said in a statement. They said that the 41-0 vote sends a clear message that wealth and influence do not put anyone beyond the reach of congressional oversight". Continue reading...

Kardashian received the compensation she requested, lawyers said, after eight people were found guilty last year for their role in the robberyA Paris court has awarded 1 to Kim Kardashian for having been the victim of an armed robbery in the French capital in 2016, the amount of compensation she had asked for, according to a lawyer involved in the case.The court last year found eight people guilty for their roles in what Kardashian described as the most terrifying experience of my life". She and the stylist Simone Harouche, who was present during the robbery, expressed gratitude to the French justice system in a joint statement. Continue reading...

John Hanson, 84, took advantage of fine amnesty at library to return copy that could've amounted to $12,055 in late feesA current affairs magazine that was checked out from a New Hampshire library at the end of the 19th century has finally been returned as a piece of history - more than 130 years overdue.Staff at Concord Public Library were surprised when an 84-year-old man walked into the branch earlier this month with what NBC News said was a relatively well-cared-for edition" of The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine from September 1894. Continue reading...

Kansas are taking on Arizona State in the Union Jack Classic, with 60,000 and noisy fans expected at WembleyBy No Helmets RequiredFollow No Helmets Required on Facebook Continue reading...

Vote comes amid Republican call to impeach defense secretary Pete Hegseth. Plus a catnapped bodega cat in Brooklyn is returned home

Announcement of visa restrictions follows Trump's false claims of white genocide' taking place in South AfricaThe US has announced visa restrictions on some South Africans as Donald Trump's administration continues to claim that South Africa's government racially discriminates against white minority Afrikaners.The announcement did not specify individuals who were barred from the US. Trump has spent his second term falsely claiming there is a white genocide" in South Africa and railing against its affirmative action policies. Continue reading...

Pictures of Georgia Democrat looking into middle distance proliferate - and social media skills have boosted his profileDelivering a speech in Atlanta last month, Jon Ossoff accused Donald Trump of corruption, incompetence and fecklessness, and peppered his remarks with substantive observations of dates and times and places. But the comment that ricocheted across the internet - a clip of just a few seconds - was an almost-throwaway reference about how the US president wants to travel with Natalie" onboard Air Force One.The crowd cheered the US senator, who is running for re-election in battleground Georgia and is increasingly seen as a potential Democratic candidate for president in 2028. But his target audience that day - and this year - spanned far beyond the concert hall. Continue reading...

Gun violence-prevention programs are another casualty of Trump's immigration enforcement crackdownLast June, hundreds of federal agents descended on Los Angeles in the first major immigration enforcement operation of the second Trump administration. Immigrants were swept up at Home Depots and car washes, in front of food stands and at garment factories.In some Latino and immigrant communities, residents were afraid to go to work; kids stayed home from school and petrified families had friends and neighbors make their grocery runs, too scared to go outside themselves. Continue reading...

The DOI placed QR codes in national parks, inviting visitors to report content deemed negative about either past or living Americans'. Instead, it became a mode of resistanceOver the past year and a half, Donald Trump and his administration have launched a campaign to censor American history at US national parks and federal lands.As part of Executive Order 14253, Restoring truth and sanity to American history", the Department of Interior (DOI) ordered park rangers to review all signs, brochures, books and films for content that inappropriately disparages" Americans by suggesting that the United States was inherently racist, sexist or oppressive". It's resulted in dozens of sign removals across the US, most of them related to slavery, Indigenous history and the climate crisis. Continue reading...

A growing cohort of performers clown' as a means to innovate traditional protest and create social changeOn a humid morning on 15 July, Tillie the Clown, a Brooklyn-based drag performer whose real name is Taylor Horne, was waiting to be let inside a New York City council meeting. Horne had started getting into character at 5am, for a makeup and clown-costuming process that would take two hours. It would be another 10 hours before Horne was allowed to address the city council about the passing of Romanch's Law, which would phase out and ultimately ban New York's horse carriage industry.From the moment Horne walked into the meeting room, carriage horse proponents ridiculed them, pointing and laughing. Dressed in a black top hat and gloves with their face painted white and red, Horne began their three-minute speech: We pride ourselves on being a world-class destination ... yet we are clinging to the exploitation of horse-drawn carriages. A giant prey animal is not built to thrive in New York's overstimulating concrete environment." Horne later learned that those carriage horse supporters went on social media to poke fun at their display. They fell right into my trap," Horne said. They decided to critique the messenger and not the message." Continue reading...

The 16-year-old Union star isn't the first wunderkind to be feted by the American soccersphereThe trouble with trying not to hype up Cavan Sullivan is that he keeps on doing cool stuff. Like this past weekend, when he scampers along on a Philadelphia Union breakaway, loses his man by stopping so suddenly it's as if he's pulled a ripcord, back-heels the cutback behind his standing leg, watches it slowly kiss off the far post and in, and celebrated the goal by bowing and doffing an imaginary top hat to the crowd.Like when he doubles the score by setting up an attack and finishing it himself with a left-footed lash through the goalkeeper's legs form an acute angle. Like when he fashions yet another goal by holding up the play and then suddenly springs a teammate up the right flank. Continue reading...

Not only would the plan do vast economic damage - it assumes that Americans are easily bamboozledWhenever Donald Trump gives a speech, it's filled with so many lies and self-serving exaggerations that when he does utter something true, I see that as a sort of marvel. That's what happened nearly an hour into Trump's marathon speech last Wednesday at the Republican midterm convention, when he declared: Only I can make this promise to you." Trump said that just before he made a promise that was so shameless and irresponsible that what he said was indeed true: only Donald Trump could make such a preposterous promise.Feeling very generous with other people's money, Trump promised to give $5,000 to every American adult if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in November. It certainly looked and smelled like a bribe.Steven Greenhouse is a journalist and author, focusing on labor and the workplace, as well as economic and legal issues Continue reading...

The president's assistant travelled with him to Ireland - which really shouldn't be much of a story. But his comms team seems determined to make it onePassport, money, emotional support human: Donald Trump had all the travel essentials on his recent trip to Ireland. The president flew into Dublin on Saturday morning to play golf, meet the country's leaders and make provocative comments about unification. Melania didn't accompany her husband on the trip (Uh, she sends her regards," Trump said), but his devoted aide Natalie Harp was obviously at his side.You'll know Harp: the 35-year-old assistant was headline news last month after Democratic senator Jon Ossoff quipped that Trump didn't want to do his job; he just wanted to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie". That comment would have been quickly forgotten were it not for the Trump administration's unhinged response (sample: Jon Jackoff has to be the biggest cuck loser in politics"), which sparked a media frenzy. There was suddenly a spotlight on Harp, who is nicknamed the human printer" because she trails the president with a portable printer, ready to hand him hard copies of flattering coverage. She appears to be disturbingly obsessed with her boss and he seems to appreciate the attention: it was recently revealed that Trump gave her (and two other female aides) a cash gift of $45,000 (33,000) for a nice holiday. Continue reading...

Ten seasons ago, Minnesota entered the playoffs with a chip on their shoulders and won a championship. Can they channel the same energy this year?Williams Arena (now known as The Barn) in Minneapolis was packed to capacity on 4 October 2017, when Cheryl Reeve sent Sylvia Fowles into Game 5 of the WNBA finals and watched her take off. Reeve, chasing her fourth championship after losing out in 2016, had learned her lesson the previous year, when she put Fowles back into a finals game too late.Fowles answered the call. She racked up 17 points and broke her own WNBA rebounds record with 20. Her effort was matched by that of Maya Moore, with 18 points and 10 rebounds; Lindsay Whalen, who had 17 points and eight assists; and Seimone Augustus, who added another 14 points, six assists and six rebounds. The Lynx showed out, clinching the franchise's fourth title, with Fowles named finals MVP. Continue reading...

US grapples with federal firefighter shortage as crews say they're spread thin and lack resources during unrelenting year of fireFirefighters battling enormous wildfires in the United States say the federal government is failing them at a time when supercharged blazes have made their jobs exponentially more dangerous.While the US continues to grapple with a critical shortage of federal firefighters - with especially large gaps in essential management positions - the Trump administration has increased pressure on firefighting forces to rapidly and aggressively contain the flames. Continue reading...

The stark reality is this: we don't know how to maintain control of these systems. But there are actions we can takeWith Jacob Coxon's resignation from Anthropic, we have reached the AI risk tipping point. Millions of people are finally coming to understand what experts have known for years: AI companies have been gambling with all of our lives, and the odds are not good.In response, the Anthropic CEO, Dario Amodei, has introduced a proposal for pacing the frontier", endorsed by Sam Altman and Elon Musk. Can we breathe a sigh of relief? Are we about to step back from the edge of extinction?

An NBC helicopter crashed in Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, near the site of a bus crash that occurred hours earlier on Wednesday. The helicopter crashed near a one-storey building as news crews were covering the bus crash that left at least two people dead and six others injured, according to the Los Angeles fire department

Accident occurred as news crews in Los Angeles were covering a bus crash that had killed at least two people hours earlierA news helicopter crash in a Los Angeles neighborhood has killed at least three people, after it came to the ground and burst into flames near the site of a bus crash that occurred hours earlier.The helicopter crashed near a one-storey commercial building in the neighborhood of Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley, as news crews were covering the bus crash that left at least two people dead and six others injured, according the Los Angeles Fire Department. Continue reading...

Hiker Timothy Smith, 53, missing after late-August floods but officials decline to identify remainsHuman remains have been discovered near Arizona's Crystal Rapids, over two weeks after a flash flood tore through the Grand Canyon, leaving two people dead and one person missing.National Park Service personnel recovered the remains, before transferring them to the Coconino county medical examiner's office, the agency confirmed over email. Continue reading...

Intelligence services allegedly attempted to pay people to surveil and kill people perceived to be aligned with UkraineRussia's intelligence services are plotting to carry out targeted killings in the United States and in European nations supporting Ukraine, federal authorities said Tuesday as they announced charges against five people who remain at large.An indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court said a network of the intelligence services had paid and attempted to pay individuals in the United States and in other countries to surveil targets to be killed with plans to then kill them. Continue reading...

Powerful bombs prompted such concern about mass deaths in Gaza that Biden officials paused delivery two years agoThe Trump administration is planning to deliver powerful 2,000lb bombs to Israel as part of an upcoming arms deal, weapons that prompted such concerns about the possibility of mass casualties in Gaza that the Biden administration paused their delivery two years ago.The $2.8bn package includes 40,000 bombs, made up of 20,000 MK-84s and 20,000 BLU-117s, according to two US officials and a person familiar with the plan who spoke on Tuesday on condition of anonymity to discuss the package, which is not yet final. Continue reading...

Bears came through bedroom window and swiped tent at campground, causing scratch marks and puncture woundA black bear burst through a Colorado teenage girl's window and scratched her, days after a bear also bit a camper in the state, according to wildlife officials.On Friday, a woman at a campground in south-west Colorado heard a growl and felt something hit her outdoors tent, according to a news release. Continue reading...

President says he will block renovation project unless court decision to bar his name from being added is overturned