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Secretary of state nominee defends Trump's foreign policy vision and his own hawkish record in Senate hearingMarco Rubio said that both Russia and Ukraine will have to make concessions" in order to reach the peace deal promised by Donald Trump as he offered a full-throated defense of the president-elect's vision for America's role around the world - and his own hawkish record on foreign policy.Rubio, Trump's nominee for secretary of state, told the Senate foreign relations committee that the war in Ukraine had become a stalemate" and has to end"; that the US should show China that it would pay too high" a price for invading Taiwan; and that European countries have to stop treating US support for Nato as an excuse to ... spend on domestic needs". Continue reading...

Pam Bondi, former Florida attorney general and Trump loyalist, said she would resist White House pressure if confirmed

Investment bank beats Wall Street expectations as it reports earning $11.95 per share in fourth quarterGoldman Sachs posted its biggest profit since the third quarter of 2021 to beat Wall Street expectations, driven by bankers who brought in more fees from dealmaking, debt sales and strength in trading.The investment bank's shares rose 2.6% before the bell on Wednesday as it earned $11.95 per share in the fourth quarter, compared with $8.22 expected by analysts, according to estimates compiled by the London Stock Exchange Group. Continue reading...

Ex-prosecutors alarmed by attempt to hide 2020 election subversion effort and by pledge to pardon January 6 riotersDonald Trump's desperate legal battles to block a damaging special counsel report about his efforts to subvert his 2020 election loss and his sentencing for a 34-count felony conviction in New York ultimately failed, but former prosecutors say they nevertheless reveal his continual disdain for the rule of law and his penchant for rewriting history.One area where that may imminently play out, as Trump prepares to return to the White House, is with his repeated pledge to issue major pardons" to participants in the 6 January 2021 assault on the Capitol in Washington. Continue reading...

Exclusive: US companies are increasingly shipping toxic waste to other countries, where some argue it poses a riskUS companies ship more than 1m tons of hazardous waste to other countries each year, raising questions over possible impacts on health and the environment, an investigation by the Guardian and Quinto Elemento Lab has found.Exports of toxic waste, most of which is shipped to Mexico and Canada, have climbed 17% since 2018, US records show. And while sending it away for recycling and disposal is legal, some experts are concerned that more and more of America's most dangerous discards are leaving the country. Continue reading...

The secretary of state said that the negotiations were right on the brink' on Tuesday. Plus, Pete Hegseth grilled on sexual assault and drinking claimsGood morning.The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has described negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza as right on the brink", with warring sides reportedly close to inking a deal on Tuesday.What are we waiting for? According to Blinken, mediators were awaiting Hamas's response. AP reported that Hamas had accepted the draft ceasefire and hostage deal, citing two anonymous sources. But the group has not publicly confirmed this, and an Israeli official said details were still being finalized.How likely is Hegseth to be confirmed? After Joni Ernst, a Republican of Iowa who initially expressed skepticism, backed him, Hegseth's confirmation appears highly probable. Continue reading...

Legislation has new life in wake of Los Angeles catastrophe but US fossil-fuel industry is already mobilizing against itIn the year preceding the devastating Los Angeles county wildfires, big oil fiercely lobbied to kill a polluter pay" bill that moved through the California senate and would have forced major fossil fuel companies to help cover the costs of climate disasters.Fossil-fuel industry lobbying in California spiked to record levels during the 2023-24 legislative session, and the polluter pay bill was among the most targeted pieces of legislation, a Guardian review of state lobby filings found. Continue reading...

Nicole Kidman's Babygirl, which features an erotic dairy-based scene, is the latest reminder of the debate about mature milk-drinkersSeveral years ago, I tried to impress a new girlfriend (now my wife) with my cultural credentials by dragging her to an off-off-off-off-Broadway play about psychedelics in a tiny East Village theatre. I can't remember much about the play - other than it was terrible - but I will never forget the young man sitting in front of us. He arrived late, awkwardly clambered over a few people to get to his seat, and then proceeded to down a carton of milk. The lateness and the clambering I could excuse. But the milk-drinking? That was horrifying. There is something undeniably unsettling about adults who drink cold cow's milk in public.I have tried to scrub the East Village milkman from my mind but I was reminded of the incident last week when Nicole Kidman chugged a glass of milk while accepting her award for best actress in the film Babygirl (which features an erotic milk-based scene) at the National Board of Review Awards. Babygirl isn't the first film to use milk, a liquid strongly associated with childhood and innocence, in a symbolic manner. Adult milk-drinking has long been used to evoke creepiness in films," Vice proclaimed in a 2022 piece that cited the milk bar in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971) and the famous milk scene in Inglourious Basterds (2009). Continue reading...

The quarterback may be a rookie but he doesn't play like one. And his skillset could well help the Commanders spring a surprise in Detroit on SaturdayThere's a legitimate argument to be made that if you're a rookie NFL quarterback, and your team makes the playoffs, you are no longer a rookie. By your first postseason game, your opponent has a full season of your game tape and tendencies, you're playing with more on the line, and the experience is completely different in both importance and intensity.In the case of the Washington Commanders' Jayden Daniels, we may have to forward that point a bit. Because Daniels, the second overall pick in the 2024 draft, rarely looked like a rookie when he was. In the regular season, he completed 69.0% of his passes for 3,568 yards, 25 touchdowns, nine interceptions, and a passer rating of 100.1, which ranked 10th among regular starting quarterbacks. Add in Daniels' 148 rushing attempts for 891 yards (6.0 yards per carry) and six touchdowns, and it's abundantly clear that he's well past whatever limitations we can reasonably expect from a first-year quarterback of any stripe. Continue reading...

Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's nominee for US secretary of defence, was repeatedly interrupted by protesters during a Senate confirmation hearing. The Fox News host was being questioned by Democratic lawmakers about allegations of sexual assault, excessive alcohol use and financial mismanagement. Protesters heckled Hegseth during his opening statement, with one attacking him as a 'Christian Zionist' who supported the war in Gaza. Authorities escorted the protesters out of the room

New polling says much of the world will welcome Trump. Europe will need to be more transactional abroad - but less so at home

Firefighters expect difficult and treacherous day as red flag warning forecasts winds of up to 75mph. This blog is now closed

Influential musician confirms loss of extensive record collection amassed over 30 yearsThe celebrated hip-hop producer Madlib has confirmed the loss of his extensive record collection and much of his recording equipment along with his home in the wildfires that have swept across California and killed at least 25 people.The influential musician, who has worked with some of the most prominent names in rap including Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg and MF DOOM, is known for his sample-heavy production style. His record collection, amassed over 30 years, acted as the backbone of that work. Continue reading...

Region faces extreme fire risk' warnings and significant risk of rapid fire spread' as official death toll expected to riseAs forecasters warn of another particularly dangerous weather situation" across northern Los Angeles, residents braced for new wildfire evacuation orders, even as the official death toll from last week's fires in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades was expected to rise.Los Angeles, and parts of Ventura county to the north, faced extreme fire risk" warnings through Wednesday, with officials warning of significant risk of rapid fire spread" due to the Santa Ana winds - which have gusts of up to 75mph - . The particularly dangerous weather situation" designation is used very rarely, and was designed by meteorologists to signal the extreme of the extremes". The winds were predicted to reach near hurricane-force in some areas. Continue reading...

Stars from Beyonce to Eva Longoria, Halle Berry and Meghan Markle supporting families and frontline workersCelebrities are chipping in to help the region that's helped them grow to prominence - southern California - as wildfires continue to sweep across the state.As of Tuesday afternoon, the Los Angeles-area fires had killed at least 25 people, displaced thousands of others and destroyed more than 12,000 structures. Two of the largest blazes, the Palisades and Eaton fires, had charred almost 40,000 acres (16,187 hectares) combined and were still only partially contained. Continue reading...

Gregory Rodriguez, 56, who faced 97 counts, convicted of crimes in one of state's largest prison abuse scandalsGregory Rodriguez, a former California women's prison correctional officer, who was at the center of one of the state's largest prison abuse scandals, was convicted of 64 sexual abuse charges on Tuesday.The jury's guilty verdict includes convictions for rape and sexual battery on behalf of 13 incarcerated women. Continue reading...

There is magic in that van,' former owner Preston Martin tells AP. It should have been toasted, but here we are'Preston Martin figured the retro blue Volkswagen van he slept in for a year during college was a goner, given that he had parked it in a Malibu neighborhood just before the Palisades fire ripped through, reducing homes and cars to rubble and charred metal.So the surfboard maker was stunned to find that the vehicle had survived. Not only that, a photo of the vibrant bus taken by an Associated Press photographer was circulating widely on television and online, giving viewers a measure of joy. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Findings suggest weakening of west' as relations become more transactional, say report's authorsEuropean anxiety about Donald Trump's return to the White House is not shared in much of the world, a poll has shown, with more people in non-western powers such as China, Russia, India and Brazil welcoming his second term than not.The 24-country poll, which also included Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Indonesia and Turkey, found that Switzerland, the UK, 11 EU nations surveyed and South Korea were alone in feeling Trump 2.0 would be bad for their country and for peace in the world. Continue reading...

Deal negotiated through Catholic church will involve gradual' release of 553 political prisoners, says HavanaThe Biden administration has notified Congress that it will remove Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism in a deal the country's communist government said would involve the gradual" release of 553 political prisoners.The deal, which administration officials said was negotiated through the Catholic church, was announced on Tuesday, just five days before Biden exits the White House and Donald Trump is inaugurated as the country's 47th president. Continue reading...

Two Democrats back measure that passes 218-206 but bill would need Democratic support in Senate to pass thereHouse Republicans pushed through sweeping legislation on Tuesday to block transgender women and girls from school sports, escalating a fierce culture-war battle that puts federal education dollars on the line.The bill passed 218-206 in a vote that saw two Texas Democrats break ranks to support the Republican measure. It marks the first standalone federal legislation targeting transgender rights to clear either chamber of Congress. Continue reading...

Authorities piece together timeline of radicalization of Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the US army veteran behind the attackBefore plowing a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year's revelers in New Orleans and killing 14 people, the man who carried out the Islamic State group-inspired attack had researched how to access a balcony on the city's famed Bourbon Street and looked up information about a similar attack at a Christmas market in Germany, the FBI said.Nearly two weeks after Shamsud-Din Jabbar's rampage, the FBI continues to uncover new information detailing the extensive planning by the 42-year-old US army veteran who scouted out the area multiple times in the months leading up to the attack. Authorities have also been piecing together a timeline of his radicalization. Continue reading...

President-elect vows creation of agency as soon as he takes office in further push for regime of taxes on foreign importsDonald Trump has said he will create an external revenue service" as soon as he returns to the White House next week, adding further substance to his campaign vow to establish a new regime of tariffs on foreign imports.I am today announcing that I will create the EXTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE to collect our Tariffs, Duties, and all Revenue that come from Foreign sources," the president-elect posted on his Truth Social network on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Private efforts to combat wildfires are not just for the superrich - many work for insurers seeking to minimize the policies they'd have to pay out

Trump Pentagon pick grilled by Democrats at Senate confirmation hearing amid concerns of his personal historyPete Hegseth, Donald Trump's pick for US secretary of defense, defended his record in a contentious Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, acknowledging he was not a perfect person" as Democratic lawmakers grilled the military veteran and Fox News host on allegations of sexual assault, excessive alcohol use and financial mismanagement.Hegseth can only afford to lose the votes of three Senate Republicans, assuming every Democratic senator opposes his nomination, but none appeared ready to break ranks despite some having previously voiced concerns about Hegseth's personal history and his views on women in the military. Continue reading...

Democrats outraged as Republicans seek to take advantage of temporary majority before special house electionDemocrats in the Minnesota house of representatives refused to show up to start a legislative session on Tuesday in an unprecedented move designed to boycott attempts by Republicans to take advantage of a temporary majority in the chamber.The house came out of the November election tied 67-67, and top leaders from both parties started to work out a power-sharing agreement that presumed a tie. But a judge late last month declared that a newly elected Democrat did not live in his heavily Democratic district. Continue reading...

There is a certain pathos to special prosecutor's insistence that his unfulfilled investigation was not in vainA forlorn note from Jack Smith to Merrick Garland, the attorney general, provides a poignant epitaph into the unfulfilled and ultimately fruitless two-year criminal investigation into Donald Trump.While we were not able to bring the cases we charged to trial, I believe the fact that our team stood up for the rule of law matters," the special prosecutor wrote in a letter attached to the 137-page report, which concludes that the president-elect would have been criminally convicted for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election if he had not been re-elected four years later. Continue reading...

Former first lady's office provides no explanation for plan to miss Trump ceremony in unusual break from traditionThe former first lady Michelle Obama will skip Donald Trump's upcoming presidential inauguration, marking her second absence from a major gathering of US political figures this month.While her husband and former president Barack Obama will join fellow formers Bill Clinton and George W Bush at the 20 January ceremony, Michelle Obama will not be in attendance. Her office provided no explanation for her planned absence from the event at the US Capitol. Continue reading...

Donald Trump's nominee for the post of defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, was pressed on his views about women in the military by the Democratic senator Kirsten Gillibrand during a Senate armed services committee hearing. Hegseth appeared to walk back his previous comments objecting to women serving in combat roles

Zuckerberg, Musk and Bezos are falling over themselves to suck up to the incoming president. And he's just as keen to let themOver the past month, we've learned that Donald Trump's inauguration fund has received million-dollar donations from, among others, Google, Meta overlord Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Apple boss Tim Cook. Hard to know whether it's encouraging or quite the opposite to find them being so public about it. Traditionally when industrialists have made knee-bending gestures to incoming self-confessed authoritarians, they've preferred to do it in a back room somewhere, rather than on a publicly available list that also risks implying they like Carrie Underwood's music.So let's deal first with the entertainers. Underwood will perform at Trump's inauguration, having previously insisted it was absolutely impossible to put her in some kind of ideological box. I feel like more people try to pin me places politically," she mused a few years ago. I try to stay far out of politics if possible, at least in public, because nobody wins. It's crazy. Everybody tries to sum everything up and put a bow on it, like it's black and white. And it's not like that." Update: it now is like that.Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Family of John Michael Murdoch demanding $900,000 for incident that occurred while he was allegedly awakeThe family of a man in Oregon is demanding $900,000 from the hospital where his face caught on fire mid-surgery while he was allegedly awake.The allegations are contained in a malpractice lawsuit filed by the wife of John Michael Murdoch against Oregon Health and Science University, as reported by the Oregonian. The lawsuit maintains Murdoch's ordeal unfolded as he was undergoing surgery in 2022 while being treated for squamous cell carcinoma - a cancer of the tongue. Medical staff failed to let alcohol swabbed on his face dry properly, and his face ignited, according to the lawsuit. Continue reading...

Wyoming's state house is the first to be controlled by a Freedom caucus, known for its hardline conservative stancesOn 7 January, Republican Wyoming state representative Jeremy Haroldson stood on checkerboard tiles at the heart of the state capitol rotunda and outlined the ascendant Freedom caucus's vision for a new Wyoming.This nation was founded on godly principles," said Haroldson, who is also a pastor. And those are the principles that we will continue to govern upon."Cy Neff is a freelance reporter. He spent 2024 covering Wyoming politics for USA Today Continue reading...

In report David Weiss sharply criticizes Joe Biden for maligning justice department when pardoning his sonThe criminal charges against Hunter Biden were the culmination of thorough, impartial investigations, not partisan politics", the prosecutor who led the inquiries said in a report that sharply criticized Joe Biden for having maligned the US justice department when the president pardoned his son.Other presidents have pardoned family members, but in doing so, none have taken the occasion as an opportunity to malign the public servants at the Department of Justice based solely on false accusations," said Monday's report from special counsel David Weiss, whose team filed gun and tax charges against the younger Biden that resulted in felony convictions that were subsequently wiped away by a presidential pardon from his father. Continue reading...

The self-styled misogynist has announced his intention to enter UK politics - and unfortunately, when it comes to influence, we can't just laugh him offThe desire to be a politician should bar you for life from ever becoming one," the comedian Billy Connolly once said. Never has this been truer. There was a time when unapologetic narcissists and sociopaths thrived on reality TV. Now they all seem to be pivoting to podcasts and politics.The latest would-be politico is Andrew Tate, the British American self-styled misogynist and influencer who was humiliated by Greta Thunberg. He is suddenly very interested in becoming prime minister of Britain - which I suppose makes sense when you look at the legal mess he's in. Tate and his brother, Tristan, are being investigated by Romanian authorities for alleged crimes including forming an organised criminal group, human trafficking, trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering. As the convicted felon and adjudicated sexual abuser Donald Trump has demonstrated, you can get away with absolutely anything as long as you're powerful enough. There is no better get-out-of-jail-free card than being the guy in charge of the jails. Continue reading...

Bills crafted to stop what is widely viewed a loophole as abortion pills have helped mitigate bans dotting the USAs the Texas legislature convenes in Austin on Tuesday for the first day of its 2025 session, a number of anti-abortion bills have already been filed, largely aimed at halting the flow of abortion pills into the state.The bills were crafted to stop what is widely viewed as a loophole in abortion bans across the country, as pills have helped mitigate the impact of the bans now dotting the US. Texas Right to Life, the state's largest anti-abortion advocacy group, has had a hand in drafting a number of the bills, and is encouraging men to sue people who have supported their partners' abortions. Continue reading...

The latest actions of Musk and Zuckerberg are a sign of things to come, but the EU already has the power to give people back controlElon Musk's latest attempts at direct political interference illustrate the grave danger that Europe is facing. He has suggested overthrowing the UK government, asking if America should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government". Three days after that, he hosted Germany's far-right candidate for chancellor in forthcoming federal elections in a livestream discussion on the social media platform X, which he owns. It is likely that his rigging of X's algorithm helped push both into millions of people's feeds. It also emerged last week that Musk's SpaceX may start providing a major part of Italy's defence network.Europe's leaders should view this conduct as a sign of things to come. We foolishly allowed control of digital media and infrastructure to concentrate in the hands of a few US tech oligarchs. Now US big tech is Donald Trump's tool.Johnny Ryan is director of Enforce, a unit of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties Continue reading...

On his grand slam debut, Joao Fonseca, an 18-year-old Brazilian, beat Andrey Rublev, while there were also wins for Katie Boulter, Daniil Medevdev and Elena RybakinaMusetti, seeded 16, has taken the third-set breaker to lead Arnaldi by two sets to one; Shelton, seeded 21, leads Nakshima 7-6 7-5 6-5; and Popyrin and Moutet are locked into another brutal game, the clock ticking towards seven minutes when the Frenchman finally secures his hold for 2-1 in the first.Yet more Italian excellence: Cobolli - a favourite of Coach Calv, our resident expert, who thinks he's got the lot - leads Etcheverry 7-6. That breaker went to 10-8 and I'd not be surprised if we see a few more in a match that has potential to go on for epochs. Continue reading...

Workers call proposals almost laughable' with new CEO's pay package 10,000 times the median salary of baristaNegotiations between Starbucks and its union have broken down with workers calling the company's proposals almost laughable" and highlighting the multi-million pay package of the coffee chain's recently appointed CEO.Since late 2021, over 530 Starbucks stores have won union elections, representing more than 12,000 workers at the company. But talks aimed at negotiating a first union contract have stalled and the company has called the union's proposals not sustainable". Continue reading...

Killing people with paperwork instead of a gun doesn't make you any less of a murdererAt this very moment Luigi Mangione, who is accused of shooting UnitedHealthcare's CEO last month, is sitting in a federal jail cell in Brooklyn. He's got a barrage of court appearances scheduled and, once he has wound his way through the criminal justice system, he could be behind bars for the rest of his life.Which, of course, is as it should be. While there are a lot of reasons that many people find the 26-year-old alleged assassin sympathetic, you can't just gun a CEO down outside a hotel in Manhattan and face no consequences for it. And Mangione, who is, by all accounts, an extremely smart guy with an Ivy League education, should really have known better. He should have known that if he wanted to murder someone - and get away with it - there were far more socially acceptable ways of doing so.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

As fires licked the Los Angeles landscape, a network of volunteers plunged into action to rescue pets and livestockAs flames roared into communities on all sides of Los Angeles last week, and tens of thousands of residents rushed to evacuate, trailers across southern California were being hitched and trucks fueled. A network of volunteers was preparing to descend on the fire zones, ready to risk it all to save pets and livestock in need.In the rural enclaves tucked close to the canyons most prime to burn, scores of animals - horses, goats, pigs, chickens, and even emus among them - were in danger as the fast-moving fires swept closer. Some had been left behind during chaotic evacuations. Others required large trailers or a gentle hand to calmly coax them through the terror caused by howling winds, ashen air and the very strangers desperately trying to get them to safety. Continue reading...

Report says evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction' had Trump not been re-elected. Plus, dangerous winds return to LAGood morning.Donald Trump would have been convicted of crimes over his failed attempt to cling to power in 2020 if he hadn't won the presidential election in November: that's the finding of Jack Smith, the special counsel who investigated him.Why didn't the case go ahead? Smith acknowledged the justice department's policy prohibiting the prosecution of a sitting president, a factor that ultimately led to the dropping of charges against Trump after his 2024 victory. The report also references a supreme court ruling expanding presidential immunity, which complicated the case, and Trump's repeated legal attacks, which took up time and resources to fight.How did Trump respond? In a social media post, Trump called the special counsel a lamebrain prosecutor".What do we know about the terms of the potential deal? Reuters reports that negotiations are advanced over releasing 33 of 98 hostages still in Gaza in the first stage of the deal, citing an Israeli official. In return, Israel will free 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, according to the Palestinian source close to the talks, who said the first phase would last for 60 days.While negotiators meet, is the war still raging? Yes. Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 18 people overnight, including six women and four children, health officials said, and Gaza's civil defence agency reported that a wave of Israeli airstrikes killed more than 50 people in the Palestinian territory's main city on Monday. Continue reading...

Fascism in power in the 1930s brought the world to genocidal war. But memories have faded, as has the stigma attached to the far-right - and that's dangerousDemocracy is dying across the globe. This may sound alarmist and generate a follow-up question: what does that actually mean? Will there be no elections? Will the opposition be criminalised? If these are the metrics, then Vladimir Putin's Russia remains a democracy. Six political parties are represented in the State Duma, its federal parliament, and there are more than 20 registered political parties. Well, as you probably understand, Russia is no democracy: indeed, this is a nation veering past authoritarianism and into totalitarianism, with more Russians being persecuted for political activity than since the days of Joseph Stalin.Faith in democracy is unquestionably on the decline. A new study finds that a fifth of Britons under 45 believe that the best system for running a country effectively is a strong leader who doesn't have to bother with elections" compared with 8% of their older counterparts. That mirrors other findings across the world. A study by Cambridge researchers in 2020 examined attitudes in 160 countries and found that younger generations have become steadily more disillusioned with democracy". And according to the Pew Research Center, nearly two-thirds of citizens in 12 high-income nations were dissatisfied with democracy in 2024, up from just under half in 2017.Owen Jones is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

The president defended his record on Ukraine, Gaza and Afghanistan but foreign policy successes have been fewOn paper, few US presidents could boast the foreign policy bona fides of Joe Biden, a veteran statesman with nearly a half-century of experience before he even stepped into office.But as his term comes to an end, critics have said that the president will leave a legacy of cautious and underpowered diplomacy, as even allies have conceded that the administration is still grasping for a cornerstone foreign policy success. Continue reading...

Agency and DHS report possible threat from extremists in response to attack that killed more than a dozen peopleThe Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday warned of a potential public safety threat from violent extremists in response to the New Year's Day attack in New Orleans, Louisiana.The FBI and DHS are concerned about possible copycat or retaliatory attacks due to the persistent appeal of vehicle ramming as a tactic for aspiring violent extremist attackers. Previous attackers inspired by foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) who have conducted vehicle attacks in the United States and abroad have used rented, stolen, and personally owned vehicles, which are easy to acquire," the agencies said in a statement. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. For the latest on US politics, see full coverage hereIt's just past noon in Washington DC, meaning that one week from today, Joe Biden will no longer be president. The outgoing president is looking to make the most of his remaining time in office, and will at 2pm make a speech from the state department outlining his foreign policy accomplishments.When President Biden entered office, our alliances had been badly damaged. We had abandoned agreements that made America safer. We were falling behind in our competition with China. US troops were still engaged in America's longest war. Our adversaries were gaining strength. And the nation and the world were in the midst of a global pandemic," a senior administration official said, in previewing the speech.St John's Church Service

Death toll rises to at least 24 as first identifications emerge of Los Angeles residents killed in fires