US news | The Guardian

The president was supposed to defeat Donald Trump and end the threat he posed to our democracy. Yet, here we areYou had one job."As we bid farewell to the 46th president of the United States, I can't get that Ocean's 11-inspired internet meme out of my head.Mehdi Hasan is the editor-in-chief and CEO of the media company Zeteo Continue reading...

For Donny Kincey, who lost his home and the home he grew up in, vultures are circling' and threaten gentrificationThere was too much for Donny Kincey to save. Flames were barreling into Altadena, where Kincey's relatives had lived for four generations, toward the homes his family had purchased after they escaped the Tulsa race massacre.The 46-year-old second-grade teacher and artist had stayed behind even as he saw fire raging across the hillside last Tuesday night. He was determined to protect his parents' home and his own. But hours on, embers began to set Poppyfields Drive aflame and a powerful gust, the same winds bringing destruction into his beloved neighborhood, knocked him to the ground. Continue reading...

Journalists from countries that have seen challenges to democracy give their view on the second Trump presidencyWhat is the view of US democracy from abroad, and what can Americans learn from other nations with a history of political tumult?During his first term Donald Trump tested democratic norms by undermining trust in fair elections, encouraging political violence and demonizing the media and public servants. He has promised to be a dictator on day one" of his second term. Continue reading...

Don't rush to mourn the end of a liberal international order that too often put order before liberalismThe historian Steven Shapin opened his account of The Scientific Revolution with the line: There was no such thing as the Scientific Revolution, and this is a book about it." It is tempting to say much the same about the liberal international order" (LIO), that there is no such thing as the liberal international order and there are hundreds of books about it". And this column, too.There was a Scientific Revolution. And there has been since the Second World War a global framework that has helped order international relations. But whether that framework can be described as liberal" or embodies what champions of the LIO claim it does - an open world connected by the free flow of people, goods, ideas and capital" that was, in the words of Antony Blinken, the outgoing US secretary of state, America's greatest contribution to peace and progress" - is questionable. Continue reading...

Allegations of sexual misconduct are proving hard for fans and friends of the geek royalty' author to processPerhaps uniquely in the history of #MeToo, the women now alleging sexual misconduct on the part of the fantasy writer Neil Gaiman would appear to have their alleged perpetrator's full support. Back when this movement seemed full of potential, in 2018, Gaiman urged the public to believe women like Christine Blasey Ford, whose allegations of sexual assault by Brett Kavanaugh were then being trashed.On a day like today it's worth saying," Gaiman wrote. I believe survivors. Men must not close our eyes and minds to what happens to women in this world." Continue reading...

The aggression from the Tesla billionaire is new; but Britain has years of experience in the consequences of falling for misleading promisesNever underestimate the power of ignorance." I came across this thought while looking for something to watch late at night after the television news on the horrors in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and the Los Angeles fires.The quote comes from an old episode of my friend Paul Whitehouse's The Fast Show. It applies, among many other things, to the background to the re-election of the criminal Donald Trump, and the continuing damage being wrought upon itself by a British electorate, 37% of whom voted, in frustration at other economic and social problems, for Brexit. With few exceptions they did not know what they were letting themselves in for; but they do now. Continue reading...

Former Trump White House adviser says supplication akin to Japanese surrender to allied forces in September 1945Steve Bannon, the former Trump White House chief strategist, has described the tech titans gathering at Monday's inauguration as supplicants" to Donald Trump making an official surrender", akin to the Japanese surrender to allied forces on the deck of the USS Missouri in September 1945.Bannon, who served as architect of Trump's 2016 presidential win but later fell out with the president-elect after he criticized his intellect and members of his family, told ABC News in an interview airing Sunday that Trump broke the oligarchs" who had previously been aligned against him. Continue reading...

A physician from North Carolina talks about what survivors share: layers of losses, insurance battles and a long recoveryWatching the images of fires burning in and around Los Angeles is very triggering. I'm sure it is the same for many of my neighbors in western North Carolina. It has not been that long since Hurricane Helene caused catastrophic flooding that devastated our communities, and it is not over for us.At first, you are energized to do what is needed to be done in the moment. But, then, you are left with emptiness, exhaustion, pain, trying to regain something resembling what has been lost. Continue reading...

Administration to send 100 to 200 officers to city on day two of new presidency, Wall Street Journal reportsDonald Trump's incoming presidential administration plans to launch a large immigration raid in Chicago the day after he takes office, according to unnamed officials talking to various media outlets.Federal immigration officers will target more than 300 people, focusing on those with histories of violent crimes, one official told the Associated Press, marking Trump's initial attempt toward fulfilling his campaign promise of large-scale deportations. Continue reading...

Comparative quiet on Saturday in Washington contrasts sharply with white-knuckled fury of inaugural rallyEight years since its gargantuan first protests as a reaction to the incoming president being serially accused of sexual misconduct and misogyny and campaigning on restricting reproductive rights, the Women's March on Saturday reprised in the nation's capital before the return of that man to the White House - with, as in 2017, spin-off rallies taking place in various other US cities.Rebranded and reorganized, the protest was given a new name by organizers, the People's March, as a means to broaden support, especially during a difficult and introspective time for progressive organizing after Donald Trump's decisive win in November. Continue reading...

Crews make progress but strong winds anticipated in Los Angles basin next week, carrying potential perilAnother round of fire-provoking Santa Ana winds are anticipated to sweep across the Los Angeles basin next week, carrying new peril as the area continues to assess the damage of the wildfires that devastated the Pacific Palisades and Altadena communities 10 days ago.We're looking at more Santa Ana winds ... and high fire danger. It could be a prolonged event next week," said Alex Tardy, meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in San Diego. The bottom line: we're in uncharted territory this deep into the winter, or rainy season," in having barely any rain, he added. Continue reading...

Having a GoFundMe does not disqualify someone from aid - but it might affect their eligibility to cover specific needsAfter the house that she grew up in burned down in the Eaton fire in Altadena, California, last week, Steven Celiceo's wife Kiri suggested that the couple visit the local library. As a librarian herself, she knew there were resources being distributed - and Fema agents available - at nearby branches.The couple had heard some concerning claims on social media and wanted to sort fact from fiction. Like hundreds of other Angelenos, Celiceo had launched a GoFundMe for his in-laws - but rumors were floating around that its existence could prevent the family from receiving badly needed funds. Continue reading...

What will become of liberty when these two take control of the United States of America?

This brief, fragile pause is a chance for all involved in the Israel-Palestine conflict to accept that violence does not workThe ceasefire in Gaza, due to begin tomorrow, will bring welcome relief from daily violence but amounts, at present, to little more than a fragile, temporary pause in a conflict that is far from over. Israel has not achieved its principal war aim, as defined by its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu: the total elimination of Hamas. Nor has Hamas achieved its objective: the destruction of Israel. The leaders responsible for the 7 October 2023 terrorist atrocities are dead. The organisation's capabilities are severely reduced. But it has survived - which its supporters claim is a victory for Palestinian sumud (steadfastness).Most of the 98 remaining Israeli hostages, alive and dead, will not be freed in this first phase of the ceasefire, which is to last for six weeks. There is no agreed day after" strategy for devastated Gaza, where nearly 47,000 Palestinians have died and where the hungry and mostly homeless residents exist in a state of near-anarchy, plagued by criminal gangs. And there is nothing in sight that remotely resembles what the Americans call a pathway to peace" - a long-term plan to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict on the basis of two independent, sovereign states. Continue reading...

Trump's pick to lead US health policy lobbied to rescind 2021 authorization and to deny any future vaccineRobert F Kennedy Jr reportedly sought to block the historic and pioneering new Covid-19 vaccinations in 2021, six months after they began being rolled out at the height of the pandemic when many thousands of people were dying of the virus.In a petition filed with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May 2021, Donald Trump's pick to lead the $1.8tn Department of Health and Human Services - who was not an elected politician or public official at that time - called on health officials to rescind emergency government authorization for the shots and to refrain from approving any Covid vaccine in the future, the New York Times reported on Friday. Continue reading...

The city was clearing the area around the Ebenezer Baptist church before the MLK Day celebration on MondayCity workers in Atlanta have killed a man living in a tent while clearing a homeless encampment with construction equipment near Martin Luther King's famous Georgia church.The death of Cornelius Taylor on Thursday afternoon resulted from an effort to reduce the visibility of people without shelter near the city's historic Ebenezer Baptist church as an accommodation for crowds expected in the area to celebrate King this weekend and on Monday, the federal holiday dedicated to the civil rights leader's life and legacy. Taylor's death has infuriated homelessness advocates and prompted a round of soul searching among city leaders. Continue reading...

On the eve of his return, it's clear that world leaders, whether they like him or loathe him, can't ignore this unpredictable showmanMichelle Obama's one-woman boycott of Donald Trump's presidential inauguration on Monday requires no explanation. It's plain that the former first lady has zero tolerance and even less love for a man who delights in racist and sexist behaviour. Lots of other people, especially among US allies in Europe, would boycott Trump, too, if they could. Yet, inescapably, they must deal with him for the next four years.Such fear and loathing is by no means universally shared. A poll, published last week by the European Council on Foreign Relations, found that in China, India, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, South Africa and Brazil, more people welcome Trump's return than deplore it. In contrast, people in the UK, France, Germany and a clutch of other west European countries are frankly appalled at the prospect. Continue reading...

Putting pressure on social media companies to tackle hate and misinformation is a start, but there's more that the centre left can do

The Meta boss has embraced masculinity and abandoned fact-checking and decorum. Is this the future of the tech industry?Years ago the Economist magazine had a striking cover in which Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, was portrayed as a languid clone of the Roman emperor Augustus. This was inspired by stories that Zuck was fascinated by Gus. On honeymoon in Rome in 2012, for example, he took so many photos of the emperor's sculptures that his wife joked it was as if there were three people on the holiday. The couple even named their second daughter August.Explaining his fascination for Rome's first emperor, Zuckerberg told the New Yorker that basically, through a really harsh approach, he established 200 years of world peace... What are the trade-offs in that? On the one hand, world peace is a long-term goal that people talk about today [but] that didn't come for free, and he had to do certain things." Continue reading...

Voters in swing-state Michigan unimpressed with party's election critique and say fundamental shift is neededThe meeting was billed as an opportunity for the voters of Saginaw, Michigan to ask elected Democrats difficult questions about why Donald Trump, and not Kamala Harris, is moving into the White House on Monday.Vincent Oriedo, a biotechnology scientist, had just such a question. What lessons have been learned, he asked, from Harris's defeat in this vital swing county in a crucial battleground state that voted for Joe Biden four years ago, and how are the Democrats applying them? Continue reading...

GoFundMe is now the backbone of American comeback stories. But the people with better connections get lifted up firstI love my landlord. I don't mean that I find him charming, though I do. I mean I moved on to a swath of dirt in Los Angeles county with three ancient cabins on it, and over the course of six years, went from pleasantries in the driveway to saying: Love you Jeri, bye!" on the phone.When I moved into one of the rickety structures on his unlandscaped property in Topanga Canyon, one of the last hippie enclaves just north of the Pacific Palisades, I was the latest in a very long line of tenants. It was a bucolic slice of land and it had to be, because without the scenery, you would notice the three cabins were one good gust away from falling down the cliff.Kelton Wright writes ShangriLogs, a diary from another fire country in Colorado Continue reading...

The old alliances have been swept away, and foreign policy needs to reflect this new realityFriday 20 January2017, Washington DC: overcast skies with the threat of rain for the inauguration of the new president, Donald J Trump. All of Washington was there: former presidents, senior politicians, supreme court justices and, in the seats furthest from the action, the Washington diplomatic corps. But our viewpoint, on the uppermost levels of the temporary amphitheatre erected on the West Front of the Capitol, allowed us to see beyond the stage, all the way down the National Mall; and note that the crowd below looked rather smaller than the 1.8 million estimated to have attended Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration.Trump would say afterwards that the rain stopped, as if by divine intervention, at the moment he began to deliver his inaugural address. We diplomats in the gallery had exactly the opposite impression - that the heavens opened just as the speech started, with Trump's opening words drowned out by the rustle of several hundred plastic ponchos being unfolded and donned (with George W Bush memorably failing to locate the appropriate aperture in his, and resorting to draping it over his head like a collapsed umbrella). Continue reading...

The state's Operation Lone Star inflicted harsh treatment on people crossing the border from MexicoImmigration policy in the United States may be on the verge of a seismic shift, as two new chapters begin: not only is Donald Trump about to start his second term as president but the Texas legislature is convening for a new session - and those events are likely to exert a strong influence on one other.By 20 January, Republicans will hold the governmental trifecta in both the Texas and federal systems, in addition to majorities on their respective supreme courts. State and federal officials in both administrations have touted merciless immigration crackdowns. Continue reading...

Meta's CEO frets that too much feminine energy' is neutering the corporate world. Fear not, this handy guide can helpPlease excuse my feminine energy" for a moment while I give a dainty little shudder. My delicate constitution, you see, has been terribly disturbed by the overpowering masculine energy of two very manly men: Mark Zuckerberg and Joe Rogan. The Meta CEO appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast recently for a very long chat and there was so much testosterone in that studio it's a wonder the walls didn't explode. Continue reading...

A standout for Black generational wealth, the Los Angeles county town also was home to creatives and leaders from Octavia Butler and Sidney Poitier to Eldridge CleaverFor 34-year-old Stephan McGrue and his family, the historic Altadena area has been a haven for decades. McGrue's relatives - some from Haiti, some from Oklahoma - were drawn to Altadena because of its breathtaking scenery and comfortable living, an opportunity to be surrounded by nature at an affordable price.What got our Black families there was being able to feel comfortable and feeling like you are living on top of a hill," McGrue said. It was just a comfortable place where we were able to raise generations of families in a way that most people dream of." McGrue and his family all lived within one mile of each other, forming a rectangle", he said. Continue reading...

Loss of high fructose corn syrup would be a major blow for producers if Trump's health pick is true to his wordIn the farms and fields of Darke and Shelby counties in western Ohio, Donald Trump enjoys near-unfettered support. In the 5 November election, more than 80% of voters here backed the president-elect - the highest rates of any counties in Ohio.But western Ohio is also prime corn growing ground, and with Robert F Kennedy Jr Trump's pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services, many here may find themselves struggling if Kennedy is allowed to reshape America's food industry to his liking. Continue reading...

To admirers, Biden will remain one of the most consequential one-term presidents in US history - to detractors, he was undone by a fatal flawHis back straight, his voice steady, Joe Biden stood at the US Capitol just days after a violent insurrection and declared: Democracy has prevailed." Fast forward three and a half years and America's president cut a different, diminished figure. We finally beat Medicare," he muttered in confusion in Atlanta, Georgia.From the soaring hopes of inauguration day to that grim debate night against Donald Trump, the very public decline of the 46th president had the makings of an American tragedy that paved the way for the return of Trump to the White House. Continue reading...

Unusually late migration season means poultry operations may continue to see H5N1 outbreaks, officials sayMaryland has detected bird flu among three different commercial poultry flocks in the past week, marking the state's first outbreak in more than a year. The discoveries come shortly after the establishment of a joint command with Delaware following the latter state's detection of H5N1 in two other poultry operations.Although the deadly bird flu has circulated in North America since 2022, the past few months have been especially brutal for the poultry industry. More than 20 million egg-laying hens died in the fall, the worst rates since the outbreak began, and egg prices have risen as a result. Continue reading...

The United States' remarkably durable veteran is making his case for Mauricio Pochettino's World Cup squad with 500 days to go before the big show kicks off on home soilOn Saturday in Fort Lauderdale, Mauricio Pochettino leads the United States in his fifth match in charge of the aspirational co-hosts of the next World Cup. All of his star players are absent. But the mandate remains the same: prepare the program for a history-making run when the US launch their cause in Inglewood.Given the present timing - the US are set to host friendlies with Venezuela and Costa Rica outside of an official Fifa window - Pochettino's third camp is a youth-driven affair, defined by hopeful talents with an outside chance of making the World Cup team. Potentially, a few could break in. A handful of positions in particular need are worth studying closely: center-back, goalkeeper, an understudy at full-back or two. In light of the team's needs, not to mention the laudable staying power of one particular veteran, a pivotal figure to observe in this off-window affair is that of 37-year-old center-back: Tim Ream. Continue reading...

Three years out from the flag football's debut as an Olympic sport in Los Angeles, few women have seized on the opportunities it's created like Ashlea KlamAshlea Klam won a world championship in flag football - and is in prime position to pursue an Olympic gold medal for the US - without ever having the chance to compete for a state title at her high school. And that is something the 20-year-old from Texas is striving to change with whatever time she can find away from her training and college classes.I think it is just absolutely crazy that I have been able to represent my country at this sport, but I was never able to represent my high school," said Klam, who became a world-class player of a sport debuting at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in large part thanks to a program founded by her parents. When states don't have flag football in their sanctioned varsity sports ... it hurts. It hurts deeply because it's taking away so many opportunities for younger girls to be able to play this sport." Continue reading...

What to know about Trump's inauguration committee - from what rules are in place to how much it has raisedDonald Trump's inauguration committee has raised a record $170m for the bonanza of balls, receptions, parades, dinners and related events that will surround his swearing in as president on Monday.The financial takings - which, with money reportedly still coming in, could reach $200m by inauguration day - outstrips the $106m raised for the returning president's first inaugural in 2017, itself a record at the time. It also far exceeds the $65m donated to Joe Biden's inauguration four years ago. Continue reading...

Thao, 39, removed from office in November recall, accused of key role in sprawling corruption and bribery schemeSheng Thao, the former mayor of Oakland, and three others have been indicted for a slate of federal charges including conspiracy and bribery. The indictment, which was unsealed and announced in California on Friday, is the culmination of an investigation led by the FBI, the US Postal Inspection Service, and the US Internal Revenue Service.Also charged in the indictment were Andre Jones, Thao's longtime romantic partner, and David and Andy Duong, a father-son business duo who own Cal Waste Solutions, the company that picks up the recyclables of Oakland's more than 436,000 residents. The foursome are accused of orchestrating a scheme in which Thao allegedly extended contracts for Cal Waste Solutions, appointed high-level officials who would allegedly help the Duongs' business interests, and bought housing units from another company owned by the Duongs. Continue reading...

Lawsuit filed against Southern California Edison over death of Evelyn Cathirell in Altadena, while extreme winds recedeThe mother of a woman who was killed in the Eaton fire, one of the extensive wildfires that devastated Los Angeles neighborhoods, is lodging a wrongful death lawsuit against Southern California Edison (SCE), the area's power provider.Since the fire began on 7 January, at least 13 other lawsuits have been filed against SCE. But this lawsuit, filed on behalf of Altadena resident Evelyn Cathirell, whose daughter Evelyn Petey" McClendon was found dead in their shared home, appears to be the first death-related one. Continue reading...

Critics call Democratic lawmakers spineless' for joining GOP in making bill potentially big legislative win for Donald TrumpThe US Senate on Friday cleared the way for final approval of a bill that targets undocumented immigrants accused of theft-related crimes, a preview of how Republicans will use their majorities to help Donald Trump deliver on his long-promised border crackdown - and an early test of how Democrats will respond.The Laken Riley Act, named after a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who was murdered last year by a Venezuelan national, cleared a key procedural hurdle by a vote of 61-35, with 10 Democrats joining Republicans to advance it. A vote on final passage was scheduled for early next week, making it potentially one of the first pieces of legislation he signs as president. Continue reading...

Officers said pilot had bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol before planned flight from Savannah to ChicagoPolice at a Georgia airport arrested an airline pilot on a DUI charge as he was making pre-flight checks aboard a Southwest Airlines flight with bloodshot eyes and reeking of what smelled like alcohol, according to a police report.Passengers had boarded the Southwest Airlines flight from Savannah to Chicago and were awaiting takeoff on Wednesday morning when police boarded the plane and took the pilot away in handcuffs. Continue reading...

Our guide on what to know about the moment Trump becomes 47th US president, including the oath of office and who is attendingDonald Trump, the 45th and soon to be 47th president of the United States, will be inaugurated in Washington on Monday, in an event moved indoors by freezing weather from the Capitol steps where he was first sworn into power eight years ago.Trump will again take the oath of office, and complete an astonishing political comeback. Continue reading...

Sean Curran, who has headed Trump's details for the last two and a half years, will be the agency's new directorAn agent who helped cover Donald Trump when a gunman opened fire at him during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania has been chosen by the president-elect to lead the US Secret Service.

She's past 40 with a knee made of titanium, but Lindsey Vonn's comeback is already bucking expectations and crackling with the promise of a fifth Olympic GamesThere's no denying the nervous apprehension that rippled through the ski racing world after Lindsey Vonn announced her shock comeback in November. She'd walked away nearly six years earlier due to a battered right knee worn down by a string of gruesome crashes and multiple surgeries, no longer able to endure the punishing demands of the circuit. Now she was proposing a return on the wrong side of 40 with a knee made of titanium to a high-risk sport where no woman has ever won a top-flight race past 34 years old.But a funny thing happened on the way to Vonn's humiliation. In the two months since her unretirement, she's finished 14th in a super-G at St Moritz, before improving to sixth and fourth in her next two races at St Anton. Incredibly, she says she feels healthier now than when she called time on her extraordinary career in early 2019. And after only three races, Vonn's chances of competing in a fifth Olympics next year at Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo seem more than plausible. From the NBC point of view, it's a possibility that could be described in industry jargon as manna from heaven. Continue reading...

The agreement reached this week is basically the plan Joe Biden unveiled in May. So much pain, terror and death could have been avoidedWhen news of the ceasefire and hostage-release deal between Israel and Hamas first broke on Wednesday, a friend offered the kind hope that now, at last, there could be a sense of joy. I wanted very much to feel that way but, at that moment, I could not - and here's why.For one thing, a mere announcement did not seem enough. When it comes to the Middle East, believe it when you see it" tends to be a good operating principle. Sure enough, there followed 48 hours of hitches and last-minute delays and even now, as I write this and after the Israeli security cabinet approved the deal, it seems like tempting fate to assume everything will run smoothly. Continue reading...

Status of measure enshrining gender equality in law remains ambiguous despite president's declarationJoe Biden announced on Friday that the Equal Rights Amendment should be considered a ratified addition to the US constitution, inserting himself into a long-running legal battle over gender equality just days before he is set to leave office.It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people," Biden said in a statement. In keeping with my oath and duty to Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: the 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex." Continue reading...