US news | The Guardian

Mike Banks, who led Trump's border crackdown, resigned weeks after reports of prostitution allegations

Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee and more are pushing to eliminate Democratic districts after supreme court rulingUS southern states are rushing to redraw congressional maps to eliminate Democratic districts and dilute the influence of Black voters in electing candidates, a bare-knuckled blitz occurring even in some states where voting in congressional primaries has begun, and prompted by the US supreme court's decision gutting section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.Tennessee Republicans have already enacted a new map, carving up the majority Black city of Memphis into three different congressional districts to get rid of the state's lone Democrat in Congress. Louisiana, the state at the center of the supreme court's Voting Rights Act decision, is on the brink of implementing a new map that would eliminate the seat of one of the state's two Black Democrats in Congress. Alabama has successfully petitioned the US supreme court to allow it to eliminate a district currently represented by a Black Democrat. Instead, it will use a map this cycle that a court previously ruled was intentionally drawn to discriminate against Black voters. Continue reading...

Cuba's capital city, Havana, is facing rolling blackouts amid a US blockade that has caused the country to completely run out of diesel and fuel oil. Residents in Havana gathered around fires in streets to protest against the power cuts that have left many neighbourhoods without light for hours a day.The US has put pressure on Cuba since seizing the Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, in January. Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on any country selling oil to Cuba and cut off their Venezuelan oil shipments. In March, Trump said he expected to have 'the honour of taking Cuba'

Transcripts reveal billionaire Ted Waitt's relationship with Epstein accomplice and $7.2m breakup payout

A state department document seeks to justify the war as part of a years-long conflictIs the war in Iran over? Within hours of secretary of state Marco Rubio's assurance that the operation is over" last week, Donald Trump used social media to declare that it most decidedly was not. Should Iran fail to accept the US peace plan, Trump warned that the bombing would resume and at a much higher level and intensity than it was before". No bombs have since fallen, but the standoff remains. If it is unclear when and how this war will end, can we at least agree on when it began?Evidently not. That is the upshot of the state department's document of 21 April, the administration's first full effort to supply a legal justification for Operation Epic Fury". The document was notably tardy, coming nearly two months after the bombing campaign began. More remarkable still is how completely it rejects the justification offered by the president on 28 February in his prerecorded television address announcing the start of the assault: Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime."Lawrence Douglas is the author, most recently, of The Criminal State: War, Atrocity, and the Dream of International Justice. He teaches at Amherst College Continue reading...

Subpoenas demanded birthdays, social security numbers and addresses of patients who got gender-affirming care

Shawn Montgomery, whose parked vehicle was hit by a speeding driver, says top US freight broker should be liableThe supreme court on Thursday allowed a man to sue a major logistics company after he lost part of his leg in a semi tractor-trailer crash, a decision that could have ripple effects across the trucking industry.The US's highest court ruled unanimously in favor of Shawn Montgomery, whose parked vehicle was hit by a speeding truck driver on an Illinois highway in 2017. Continue reading...

Chinese president's comments published after two-hour meeting with US president during Beijing summit

South Carolina's state senate majority leader offered a nuanced case for rejecting Trump's redistricting demandsHow does a Republican leader say no to Donald Trump? How do they criticize the US president's policies without facing a social media riot, or losing their career?As the party scrambles to redraw key congressional districts after the supreme court effectively gutted a major section of the Voting Rights Act that prevented racial discrimination, all eyes turned this week to South Carolina.I had never had the privilege of speaking with the president of the United States until last week. And it really was - it was a privilege. I enjoyed the conversation. It was a very good conversation. He gave me more time in a phone call than I could have expected...The president told me, he said: Look, I hope you can help us out." He said: But I understand you got to do what you're comfortable with, you got to do what you think is right."I would hope that the home team can retain the majority. And I would also hope that if the home team retains the majority, that they'll actually do something productive with it. Over the last year and a half, I suspect if we look back at what they've done with the majority, I don't know that anybody in here could name more than one piece of legislation they've passed.And no matter how big and beautiful it was, there's a whole lot more that they've left on the table. And that, to me, is disappointing - to have a majority that doesn't do anything with it.Trying to go to 7-0 I think is extremely risky from a political standpoint. I think at best you're going to get 6-1 and you may even go 5-2. I've told the press a number of times, I think if you get cute with this, you could end up in a 5-2 scenario. I don't want to go 5-2.I don't want [Democratic House minority leader] Hakeem Jeffries as the speaker of the House. I think the best chance that South Carolina has to prevent that from happening is with our current maps.I cannot in good conscience surrender this authority that has been preserved to, for, and by the states, and merely take orders from those who are not in South Carolina ...I absolutely understand what the president's concern is here. I understand what the president's issue is here. I don't disagree with that. But there are other concerns that we have to consider. Those concerns have not been considered at all with the proposal that we have. Those concerns affect South Carolina and South Carolinians. And it is up to us to consider those things.We've been able to punch above our weight regardless of the administration, regardless of who the president is, regardless of who occupies the White House. South Carolina has been able to deliver not just for South Carolina, but for the country and the world.We have had that influence. Doing this will absolutely diminish that influence. It just will. And everybody knows it. Everybody in here, everybody who's familiar with the process, we understand what's going to happen here ... Continue reading...

US plaintiffs say waterfront site was improperly transferred for Trump's personal gainA group of Miami residents has filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump and the state of Florida over a land giveaway for his proposed presidential library.Almost three acres of prime waterfront land that once belonged to Miami Dade College (MDC) were illegally gifted to the US president by Florida's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, the lawsuit states. Continue reading...

Chinese president's comments published after two-hour meeting with Trump. Plus, Stacey Abrams on why gutting of the Voting Rights Act is evil incarnate'

Texas State ordered by judge to continue paying Idris Robinson after he was fired for talk he gave in another stateTexas philosophy professor Idris Robinson said he was breathing a bit easier this week nearly halfway through what he called the most stressful month of fatherhood so far".That's because Robinson was faced with losing his paycheck from Texas State University beginning 31 May, along with his academic affiliation, after he was fired for a talk he gave in another state on what he called the liberation of Palestine". The incident would have made it nearly impossible for him to find another job teaching - all with a 16-month-old son at home. Continue reading...

As Missouri asks voters whether to eliminate tax, experts say claims it will grow businesses and create jobs aren't trueHannah Rejali, 34, lived through the failed so-called Kansas Experiment" in the 2010s, when the Republican governor cut the state's income tax to try to give a shot of adrenaline" to its economy but instead left the state with a $900m budget shortfall.That meant, for example, that in 2015, at least eight school districts ended their academic year early. Continue reading...

The president's second term has been full of donors seeking access, favors for billionaires and apparent conflicts of interestEvery time Donald Trump has run for president, he has vowed to drain the swamp in Washington. But ever since he returned to the White House, not only has he not even tried to drain the swamp, he has pushed to gild it. Trump has used all the gold and glitz he can to cover up an increasingly putrid swamp - a morass filled with million-dollar donors scrambling for access, criminals seeking to buy pardons, corporate executives appointed to high-level government jobs and billionaire sycophants sucking up to Trump.Making the swamp smell even worse, the president and his sons have somehow managed, through crypto and other means, to increase their wealth by an estimated $4bn since Trump won a second term. At this point, we should probably call Trump's Washington not a swamp, but a colossal cesspool. Continue reading...

Zeal for the Hamptons of England' has rubbed off on sales, with luxury British fashion brand back to a full-year profit

Wall Street has proved incredibly resilient to instability, and while consumer confidence has dipped, shares have soaredIt was a dark Friday for Wall Street on 27 March. Oil prices were climbing and the war with Iran raged on. Markets responded accordingly, with the Dow and Nasdaq entering correction territory, falling more than 10% below their peak, after a month of selloffs.Fast forward seven weeks later to 13 May, and the situation in Iran only looked marginally better. Oil prices were high, and the strait of Hormuz was still closed. Peace talks with Iran seemed tenuous, even with the pressures of high gas prices. Donald Trump on Wednesday said he is not even a little bit" motivated by Americans' financial situation to end the war. Continue reading...

In 1997, the Comets defied the odds to win the league's inaugural championship. From clashing stars and run-ins with Hakeem Olajuwon to city parades and mourning Princess Diana on title night, this is the story of their historic seasonFran Harris remembers a late-night dinner in Sacramento. Her Houston Comets squad had just dispatched the lowly Monarchs by 10 points. To celebrate, she and a few teammates, including Cynthia Cooper, Tammy Jackson and Kim Perrot, decided to grab a bite. Cooper had scored 44 in the 25 July 1997 contest, and her talents dazzled even her dinner companions.I said to Cynthia, I just cannot believe how great you're playing - and I know how great you are!'" Harris tells the Guardian. And she goes, I know!' She was just, like, Yeah, I'm the motherfucker! I was like, You absolutely are!'" Continue reading...

Experts say prosecutions of parents could reshape accountability for mass shootings in the USIn early March a Georgia man was convicted of murder nearly two years after his 14-year-old son allegedly shot and killed two students, two teachers and injured nine others. Though Colin Gray, 54, didn't fire any shots and wasn't at the school during the shooting, he was punished as such.Gray's case marked the second time the parent of a school shooter in the US has faced a homicide charge, and legal experts say that it won't be the last. It's a development both the legal and gun violence prevention fields are watching closely. Will US prosecutors, desperate to stem the number of high-profile mass shootings, cast an ever wider net of responsibility? Continue reading...

Dawkins appears to have gone from atheist to AI-theist: perhaps he doesn't view AI as God, but he certainly seems to see it as God-likeAre you there God? It's me, Arwa. I'll be quite honest, I'm afraid I've never been a believer. I agreed wholeheartedly with Richard Dawkins, the world's most famous atheist, when he argued that belief in God is a pernicious" delusion. But perhaps I should reconsider my position. Recent events have led me to question Dawkins' judgment about life, the universe and everything.Those recent events are the evolutionary biologist publicly concluding that AI may be conscious. In an op-ed, Dawkins recounted how he gave the Anthropic chatbot Claude the text of a novel he was writing. Dawkins writes: He took a few seconds to read it and then showed ... a level of understanding so subtle, so sensitive, so intelligent that I was moved to expostulate, You may not know you are conscious, but you bloody well are!'" Continue reading...

The series quickly withdrew a shirt that stirred up a strong backlash. But IndyCar has been playing with fire for a whileThis could be the summer of IndyCar.Formula One fatigue is beginning to set in, both globally and among the American audiences who helped fuel the sport's recent boom. Nascar, for all its national reach in the US and lingering cultural import, remains a largely regional attraction. IndyCar, on the other hand, boasts a wealth of personalities, is anchored in real structural parity and delivers wheel-to-wheel action time and again. But as the buildup begins for the 110th running of this year's Indianapolis 500 - still the sport's commercial, spiritual centerpiece and Memorial Day weekend staple - IndyCar is at risk of tripping over itself in its rush to return to prominence. Continue reading...

A Kitt lookalike was filmed speeding in Brooklyn but the fine was sent to a museum where a replica is on displayA replica of the talking car Kitt from the 1980s US television action series Knight Rider for years has been parked in a museum about an hour's drive north of Chicago, so how did it get a speeding ticket in New York City?That is the question the Volo Museum is asking after it says it was recently mailed a $50 fine by New York City for a violation caught by traffic camera, alleging that its Knight Industries Two Thousand - Kitt for short and a black Pontiac Trans Am- got busted going 9mph over the speed limit in a 25mph zone on 22 April. Continue reading...

President's remarks come as midterm elections looks to be defined by economic concerns sparked by the conflict. Key US politics stories from Wednesday 13 May at a glanceDonald Trump has said preventing Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon is the only thing that matters" as the US midterm election campaign season looks to be defined by mounting economic concerns sparked by the conflict.I think about one thing: we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That's all," the US president told reporters at the White House before boarding a plane to China. Continue reading...

In apology, William Paul said he had had too much to drink' and the things he said don't represent who I really am'Republican senator Rand Paul's son William apologized on Wednesday for a drunken tirade at a bar in Washington DC, in which he reportedly told a Republican congressman he hates Jews and hates gays".Last night, I had too much to drink and said some things that don't represent who I really am. I'm sorry and today I am seeking help for my drinking problem," William Paul posted on social media under the handle TastyBrew1776. Continue reading...

Trump officials likely violated Francesca Albanese's rights by imposing measures after she criticized Israel, says judgeA federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked US sanctions against Francesca Albanese, a UN expert on the Palestinian territories, finding that the Trump administration likely violated her free speech rights by imposing the measures after she criticized US ally Israel's war on Gaza.The sanctions barred her from entering the US and banking there. Albanese, an Italian lawyer who is UN special rapporteur on the Israel-occupied Palestinian territories, recommended the international criminal court pursue war crimes prosecutions against Israeli and US nationals. Continue reading...

Cindy Burbank, who bested an alleged Republican plant, plans to step aside for Dan Osborn in general election

Lu Jianwang was accused of operating a secret police station' in Manhattan's Chinatown at the behest of BeijingA New York man was found guilty on Wednesday of acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government after he was accused of operating a secret police station" on behalf of Beijing in Manhattan's Chinatown neighborhood.Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said Lu Jianwang, 64, should have alerted the US attorney general that he was a Chinese agent when he helped open the so-called police station in 2022. They also said he helped China's government locate a pro-democracy activist living in California. Continue reading...

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In House committee transcript, commerce secretary denied any further contact with disgraced financier

The US supreme court demolished the 1965 Voting Rights Act when they ruled in Louisiana v Callais last month that states can't consider race in redistricting. Southern states from Tennessee to Alabama have rushed to erase majority Black districts, sparking chaos for the midterm elections. Kai Wright talks with Stacey Abrams, voting rights activist and former Georgia house minority leader, about the fallout from the decision, and why, even now, she thinks the way forward is still through engaging more voters to participate in democracy: They have fractured communities and said we're going to scatter these seeds. Our job is to grow." Continue reading...

Brian Kemp's move makes Georgia latest southern state to initiate map-making after dismantling of Voting Rights ActThe Republican governor of Georgia called a special session for next month to redraw electoral maps, the latest southern state to initiate new map-making after the US supreme court's dismantling of the Voting Rights Act.Brian Kemp announced the special session, which will start on 17 June, on Wednesday. It will focus on enacting, revising, repealing, or amending" district lines for the state legislature and congressional district, in light of the supreme court's decision in Louisiana v Callais. Continue reading...

Jordan Derrick charged in connection with deadly attack in the French Quarter on New Year's Day 2025

Justices said decision was due to improper external influences on the jury' by a court clerk during the trial

Tiffany McElroy says inmates assisted in delivering her baby in May 2024 after jail staff left her to fend for herselfAn Alabama woman has filed a federal lawsuit claiming that her civil rights and those of her infant daughter were violated after jail staff where she was incarcerated allegedly left her to labor alone for more than a day.Tiffany McElroy, now 28, was booked into an Alabama jail in May 2024. Three days after arriving, she said she felt her water break weeks before she was expected to give birth. Continue reading...

The US president's late-night Truth Social vitriol riddled with erratic capitalization and spelling? That's leadership

Tate Reeves cancels special legislative session but expects to redraw four congressional districts before 2027 electionsOn Wednesday morning, Mississippi's governor, Tate Reeves, said that he was canceling a special legislative session that was scheduled to redraw the state's supreme court districts next week. However, Reeves, a Republican, noted that he does expect the state to redraw its four congressional districts at some point in the near future.Reeves, in an appearance on SuperTalk radio, a conservative talk radio network, also said that it would be difficult for the state to redraw the congressional districts in the Republicans' favor in time for the upcoming midterm elections, slated for November. Doing so might also hurt Republicans in congressional races. Continue reading...

Richard Werstine, wanted in connection with killing of Cold as Life vocalist Rodney Barger, was arrested in PanamaA suspect accused of murdering his rock singer friend in 1993 has been apprehended in Central America after spending more than 30 years successfully evading authorities.According to the US Marshals Service, Richard Werstine, who was wanted in connection with the killing of Cold as Life vocalist Rodney Barger, was arrested in Panama. Continue reading...

The guard helped the Atlanta Hawks to their best season for years but sees room for improvementHe is a shooting guard that doesn't often shoot. A wing deployed less for lift than pressure. The style of Australia's best basketballer, Dyson Daniels, is difficult to describe. It's kind of hard for me to describe it too," he says. It's unique."He runs the point, and rebounds to make another. And, yes, he is perhaps the NBA's best defender. It's different every game, put it that way." Continue reading...

Uline, owned by billionaire Republicans Richard and Liz Uihlein, halts construction of a new facility in KenoshaUline, a business and shipping supplies company owned by billionaire Trump supporters Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, is pausing the construction of a new distribution facility in Kenosha, Wisconsin, citing economic uncertainty.The construction pause comes in a key battleground state, where Trump won in 2016 and 2024, but lost to Biden in 2020. Continue reading...

Exclusive: In letter seen by the Guardian, 30 members of Congress warn US president's Cuba military operation would worsen mass suffering'

State officials told vendors at the facility to prepare for a breakdown of the tented camp beginning next month

Experts say latest move by acting attorney general suggests more cases against foes amid claims of vindictive DoJThe second indictment of ex-FBI director James Comey, a top target of Donald Trump in his drive for revenge against critics, suggests more charges could be coming against other Trump foes as the US president continues to use the department of justice to settle political scores, ex-prosecutors and law professors said.Legal critics also see the new indictment by acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, as embarrassing" and ridiculous" and revealing Blanche's desire to quickly appease Trump and persuade him to make his appointment as America's top justice official permanent. Continue reading...

Facility would require more power than entire state uses and suck up vast amount of water in drought-stricken areaA plan to create one of the world's largest datacenters, a gargantuan project spanning an area more than twice the size of Manhattan, has provoked a furious public backlash in Utah amid concerns over its vast energy use and impact upon the state's stressed water supplies.The Stratos artificial intelligence datacenter footprint will cover more than 40,000 acres (62 sq miles) over three sites in Box Elder county in north-western Utah. The facility will require about 9GW of power, which is more than the entire state of Utah currently consumes, and suck up a significant amount of water in an area that has been hit by severe drought in recent years. Continue reading...

The Iran war will cast a long shadow over the talks. Plus, the 100 best novels of all timeGood morning.Donald Trump is due to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday evening, the first visit to China by a US president since he was last there nearly a decade ago, as he seeks to mend power and prestige weakened by the war in Iran.What is the state of US-China relations? The two countries remain locked in a fragile tariff truce, reached last autumn after tensions threatened to erupt into a full-scale trade war. Trump has long complained about China's trade surplus with the US, while Beijing has opposed American export controls and sanctions.What is the latest with the US-Iran ceasefire? The war has entered its third month, with Tehran tightening its grip over the strait of Hormuz and Washington struggling to turn a fragile ceasefire into a lasting settlement. Behind the scenes, US officials have spent weeks urging China to put pressure on Iran to reopen the strait and accept US terms for peace.What did the Atlantic allege? It reported that Patel's alcohol consumption had become a recurring source of concern across the government" which made him a national-security vulnerability", citing interviews with more than two dozen people including current and former FBI officials. Patel denies all the allegations, calling them outrageous" and malicious". Continue reading...

Fugitive faces charges including corruption and money laundering in US and Malaysia for role he allegedly played in scandalThe fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low, a central figure in the multibillion-dollar scandal at the state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), is reportedly seeking a pardon from the US president, Donald Trump.Low faces multiple charges including corruption and money laundering in the US and Malaysia for the important role he allegedly played in the misappropriation of at least $4.5bn (3.3bn) from 1MDB. Continue reading...

The man who shaped the Raptors' NBA title has moved to Texas. But his ideals may clash with his new team's ownershipOn its face, the fit between Masai Ujiri and the Dallas Mavericks is perfect. It's almost like a match made in heaven," Ujiri said after being introduced as the franchise's president of basketball operations and alternate governor last week. Every single one of us in this world is chosen for something special, and we just have to find it," he added. And I found basketball."Since he became the first African to run a major sports franchise in the United States as the general manager of the Denver Nuggets in 2010, Ujiri has accomplished everything. After winning Executive of the Year with the Nuggets in 2013, he moved to Toronto and inherited a Raptors franchise unsure of itself. The Raptors were the only NBA team outside the US - one centered in a city that hadn't won anything since 1993 - and Ujiri had to convince Raptors fans to believe in themselves. He built one of the deepest and most international teams in the NBA after hitting on numerous draft picks and finally swapping franchise cornerstone DeMar DeRozan for pending free agent Kawhi Leonard in 2018. Continue reading...

Tours of the Forbidden City, state dinners and theatrical handshakes. We a look back at previous visits ahead of Donald Trump's trip Continue reading...