US news | The Guardian

President's move has convulsed Washington in a manner arguably unseen since the Saturday Night Massacre of 1973For its potential to provoke a constitutional crisis, Donald Trump's attempted freezing of trillions of dollars of federal funds - rescinded on Wednesday in what appeared to be a panicked retreat in the face of an angry backlash - evoked the darkest days of Watergate.Monday's memo from the White House office of management and budget (OMB) ordering a temporary pause" on a vast array of spending activities across the US federal government convulsed official Washington in a manner arguably unseen since the Saturday Night Massacre of 1973. Continue reading...

New law mandates detention of undocumented immigrants charged with theft-related crimes, among other provisions

Phyllis Fong had told colleagues that she intended to stay after the White House terminated her on FridaySecurity agents escorted the inspector general of the US Department of Agriculture out of her office on Monday after she refused to comply with her firing by the Trump administration, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.Phyllis Fong, a 22-year veteran of the department, had earlier told colleagues that she intended to stay after the White House terminated her on Friday, saying that she did not believe the administration had followed proper protocols, the sources said. Continue reading...

Health secretary nominee once identified as pro-choice' but said he agrees with Trump every abortion is a tragedy'Robert F Kennedy Jr, Donald Trump's nominee for health secretary, faced questions about his about-face on reproductive rights in a US Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday.Kennedy identified as pro-choice" during his presidential campaign as a Democrat, but said repeatedly in Wednesday's hearing for secretary of health and human services (HHS) that he agreed with Trump that every abortion is a tragedy". Continue reading...

Howard Lutnick testified at his US Senate confirmation hearing for his nomination to head commerce department

President has made clear he wants rates to fall as benchmark interest rate now sits at a range of 4.25% to 4.5%Federal Reserve officials decided on Wednesday to hold interest rates steady as uncertainty over Donald Trump's impact on the US economy looms and inflation remains above the central bank's target levels.This is the first time Fed policymakers have met since the president, who has made clear he wants rates to fall, returned to the White House. The benchmark interest rate now sits at a range of 4.25% to 4.5%. Continue reading...

If you're an out-of-towner, it's tempting to urge Californians to get the hell out. But please don't do thatWhy don't you just leave? It's always an incendiary question.When you ask it of people in bad romances or miserable careers, they can be forgiven for ghosting. The word just" is the poison. As if leaving were simple. It is never simple. The reasons to stay in a job or a relationship - children, money, comfort, love - can be every bit as compelling as the reasons to hit the road. Continue reading...

Western resource-hunger has fuelled a vast humanitarian crisis. Donors must now press Rwanda to pull back from this warThere are bodies on the streets, hundreds of thousands of civilians fleeing and overwhelmed hospitals draining fuel from ambulances to keep respirators running. The rapidly escalating conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) - which has seen rocketing sexual violence, the execution of children and the displacement of 400,000 people this year alone - has just exploded with the M23 rebel group's seizure of Goma, in the east.Their advance comes thanks to backing from Rwanda, despite the coyness of the Rwandan president, Paul Kagame. Mr Kagame suggests that M23 is defending the country's Tutsis, victims of Rwanda's 1994 genocide, against an armed group set up by former genocidal killers. But the threat those fighters pose appears greatly exaggerated: analysts believe the real aim is to seize mineral-rich territory. There is a striking parallel with Russia's tactics in eastern Ukraine in 2014. On Wednesday, Rwandan troops were seen heading towards Bukavu, another key city, with the M23 fighters.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...

Advocates say email sent to 3 million employees offering resignations is dangerous and of questionable legality'

Heading for kick-off in March, Women's Elite Rugby releases names and logos for six inaugural teamsIlona Maher may be dominating headlines in women's rugby union with her stint with Bristol in England but things are also stirring in the star's native US, where on Wednesday the Women's Elite Rugby semi-professional league took another step towards kick-off in March with the release of team names, crests and colors.Katherine Aversano, vice-president of the new league and a historian of the US women's game, said: Rugby, its athletes, and fans are not one thing - each is multifaceted and may discover the game in a different way. Our six team identities resonate with that modern complexity but are visually rooted in the bold American sports landscape." Continue reading...

New DHS secretary Kristi Noem ends extension that allows people to stay if they cannot return safely to home countryThe Trump administration has revoked an extension of deportation protections that the previous Biden administration granted to more than 600,000 Venezuelans already in the United States.The homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, on Tuesday rescinded an 18-month extension of the temporary protected status (TPS) program, which allows for people to temporarily stay in the US if they cannot return safely to their home country. Continue reading...

The actress sobbed her way through a video about the president's deportations. The right was furious - so were progressivesOne certainty we can rely on in these distressing and turbulent times is that while every right-thinking person is looking with horror towards Donald Trump, many of us also reserve significant side-eye for each other. What is a political opposition without instant, feverish infighting, the pettier the better? I refer you to Selena Gomez's now-deleted Instagram video on Monday in which the actor sniffled and wept about Trump's immigration crackdown. The 32-year-old was instantly trolled by Trump-loving monsters, but there were plenty of sighs and tuts coming at her from Trump haters, too. Gomez had Done the Wrong Protest and would have to pay.The difficulty of course is that Trump's flood the zone" approach in his first week of office has made organising a response to him incredibly hard, not just collectively but at the individual level. What is the right reaction to a president who, five minutes into his tenure, launches a crypto coin in his own name, appoints a TV host to run the US military and attempts to freeze billions of dollars in federal funding - and that's before you get to his interesting take on the 14th amendment?Emma Brockes 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...

A brief shutdown of the federal health insurance program struck fear into patients - and concern about what's to comeEvery January, Andrea Pitzer feels a simmering anxiety until the letter arrives: her mother's Medicaid renewal. Without it, her mother's care would cost about $10,000 a month.On Tuesday, when the system for processing Medicaid payments to all 50 US states shut down unexpectedly, Pitzer's anxiety erupted into full-blown fear. Continue reading...

American Axle and Manufacturing's acquisition of Dowlais follows exodus of London-listed companies in 2024The British car parts maker Dowlais has agreed to a 1.2bn takeover by its US rival American Axle & Manufacturing, in the latest departure from the London stock market.The main operation of Dowlais, which has been listed on the FTSE 250 index since 2023, is GKN Automotive, which formed part of the GKN engineering business that was bought by the private equity group Melrose in an acrimonious 8bn takeover battle in 2018. Continue reading...

Bird flu has already proven a disaster for humans and animals alike. And it could get far worseThree days after Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the World Health Organization, a Long Island farm began euthanizing 100,000 ducks due to an outbreak of bird flu. It marked the latest spread of a virus that has also killed more than 100 million chickens and turkeys nationwide. Though fewer than 70 Americans have contracted the illness so far, scientists have warned that this strain may be just one mutation away" from achieving the capacity for rapid transmission.Whether or not those predictions go the way of Chicken Little's, bird flu has already proved a disaster for humans and animals alike. From infected pets to egg prices soaring by 37%, Americans have abundant cause for concern and complaint. Amid the pathogenic unpredictability, another fact remains clear: the main culprit here is factory farming.Katrina vanden Heuvel is editor and publisher of the Nation, she is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and has contributed to the Washington Post, New York Times, and Los Angeles Times Continue reading...

Labour peer says president has won fresh respect' ahead of expected confirmation as ambassador to the USPeter Mandelson has said his past remarks that Donald Trump was a danger to the world" were ill-judged and wrong" before his expected confirmation as ambassador to the US.Speaking to Fox News on Wednesday morning, Lord Mandelson said Trump had won fresh respect" with his dynamism and energy". Continue reading...

Memo says aim is to retain only those employees who are reliable, loyal, trustworthy'. Plus, 85% of Greenlanders reject US advancesGood morning.The Trump administration has offered buyouts to almost all of the roughly 3 million people who work for the US government if they leave their jobs by 6 February in exchange for seven months' salary, as the White House attempts to gut the civil service.What are the details? The email had the same subject line - Fork in the road" - as one sent by Elon Musk to employees at Twitter in 2022 when he bought the social media platform. It asked interested workers to reply with the word Resign".How did the employees' union react? The American Federation of Government Employees denounced the offer. It said it was an effort to pressure workers who are not considered loyal to the new administration to leave their jobs - which could cause upheaval in federal programs.What do we know about the death toll so far? Local officials counting casualties into hospital tents said at least 38 were feared dead while other officials and doctors have given death tolls ranging from 15 to 50. Continue reading...

Non-profit that organizes annual Minneapolis festival cut ties with retailer after 18 years after it drops DEI policiesTwin Cities Pride, the non-profit that organizes an annual Pride festival in Minneapolis, Minnesota, announced that it had raised more than $50,000 after publicly dropping Target as a corporate sponsor.The group said it had removed Target as a sponsor of the festival after the company dropped some of its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies on 24 January: Target said it would stop its anti-discrimination efforts, including participation in external surveys, such as one run by the Human Rights Campaign, which tracks LGBTQ+ inclusive corporate policies such as spousal and domestic partner benefits and outreach to communities. The company also said it would end a program that helped it carry more products from Black- and minority-owned businesses, among other changes. Continue reading...

Imagine my shock when our three-year-old came home singing about ... an NFL team. I blame the teachersParents, beware! If you send your impressionable young child to school in the US they are at risk of contracting a nasty case of the woke-mind virus. There's a good chance a teacher will turn your kid trans and, in the middle of maths, whip out surgical equipment to perform gender-affirming surgery. We know this because - despite any evidence to back it up - our esteemed leader, Donald Trump, has said as much.Can you imagine you're a parent and your son leaves the house and you say, Jimmy, I love you so much. Go have a good day in school,' and your son comes back with a brutal operation," Trump said at a rally last year.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Anti-vaccine rhetoric has been a lucrative enterprise for RFK Jr - one he is now trying to distance himself fromAnti-vaccine rhetoric and lawsuits were a lucrative enterprise for Robert F Kennedy Jr, leading up to his nomination to be secretary of health - one he is seeking to distance himself from as he enters confirmation hearings this week.Last week, he promised to resign from his consultancies and chairmanship of Children's Health Defense, a leading anti-vaccine nonprofit, if he is confirmed. That is cold comfort to public health experts anxiously eyeing his confirmation. Continue reading...

Tribes accuse Related development company of freezing them out of discussion on future of trove of relicsNative American tribes in Florida have accused a development company of freezing them out of a discussion on the future of a trove of historical artifacts from a downtown Miami construction site, and hawking them around the US without their consent or knowledge.Representatives of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida and the American Indian Movement of Florida told the Guardian that they were angered by the Related Group's approach to a number of out-of-state universities to see if they were interested in curating and housing the relics believed to be from an ancient Tequesta Indian village. Continue reading...

Philadelphia and Kansas City face each other for the championship for the second time in three seasons. They remain formidable teamsThis year's Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles will be the second time the teams have faced each other for the championship in three seasons: the Chiefs came out on top, 38-35, in Super Bowl LVII at the end of the 2022 season.This season's Chiefs and Eagles show how much one franchise can change over time, while another can roll with the if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy. The Eagles have been all about the differences, while the Chiefs, quite understandably given their success, have been more about stability. Continue reading...

LeBron is not walking through that door. But the surging Cavaliers have the Eastern Conference's best record and appear to be bona fide contendersThe poet Hanif Abdurraqib opens There's Always This Year - his 2024 volume on the Cleveland Cavaliers, basketball and Ohio - with a meditation on the shared pain of Cavs fans before the arrival of LeBron James, and the unfettered joy he delivered with the 2016 NBA championship:You are putting your hand into my open palm, and I am resting my one free hand atop yours, and I would like to commiserate here and now, about our enemies. Continue reading...

The man who once declared TikTok a national emergency' has detected a very different mood among young AmericansWhen asked for his reasons for delaying the ban on TikTok, President Trump, a man not unfamiliar with changing his mind, said: Because I got to use it."This is quite some change of heart. It was he who, in 2020, signed an executive order citing the national emergency" posed by the Chinese-owned video-sharing platform. Five years later, Trump, now positioned as the saviour of TikTok, has said that he has a warm spot" for the platform. Coached by his son Barron, Trump amassed 15 million TikTok followers and says the platform is the reason he won the youth vote by 36 points (a claim that is not substantiated).Emily Taylor is an associate fellow in the International Security Programme, Chatham House, CEO of Oxford Information Labs and editor of the Journal of Cyber Policy Continue reading...

It is chilling to witness Robert Fico's purge of state-run arts institutions - and the country's steady creep to authoritarianism

Pete Hegseth, US defense secretary, also seeks review of retired general's rank in latest move by Donald Trump's administration against his criticsThe Pentagon has confirmed that the new US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, is revoking the security clearance and personal security detail for Mark Milley - the retired decorated army general and former chair of the joint chiefs of staff who served under Donald Trump's first presidency and went on to criticise him.Hegseth also directed the defence department's inspectorate general to determine whether it is appropriate to reopen an assessment of Milley's military grade, the Pentagon said late on Tuesday. Continue reading...

President's push to unravel programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion will affect everything from healthcare and education to cancer research, if allowed to proceedA federal judge has temporarily blocked a move by US president Donald Trump to pause trillions of dollars in federal loans, grants and other financial assistance, moments before it was due to take effect.Trump's acting head of the office of management and budget (OMB), Matthew Vaeth, had earlier instructed all federal agencies to temporarily pause all activities related to obligations or disbursement of all federal financial assistance" in a two-page internal memo. The directive was seen as part of Trump's desire to unravel programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Continue reading...

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The former ambassador to Australia says she feels an 'obligation to speak out' now that her cousin Robert F Kennedy Jr has beennominated by Donald Trump to besecretary of health. Kennedy says professionals across the American health care system deserve a leader who is 'committed to evidence and excellence'

Proposal from state board of education condemned by teachers and rights groups, as parents and students protestParents enrolling children in Oklahoma public schools will be required to provide proof of their child's US citizenship or legal immigration status under a proposed rule approved Tuesday by the state board of education.The board voted unanimously to approve the rule aimed at helping Donald Trump's immigration policies. It still needs to be approved by the legislature and the governor. Continue reading...

President makes major concession to Israeli PM, US ally who is wanted by international court for war crimesDonald Trump has invited Benjamin Netanyahu to be the first foreign leader to visit the White House, in a major concession to a US ally who is wanted by the international criminal court for war crimes.The invitation was made in a letter from the US president, which invited the Israeli prime minister to come to the White House on 4 February to discuss how we can bring peace to Israel and its neighbors, and efforts to counter our shared adversaries". Continue reading...

Exclusive: UNHCR chief orders clampdown on spending, including 90-day delay in ordering new supplies and hiring freezeUN agencies have begun cutting back their global aid operations following the 90-day suspension of all foreign assistance ordered by the Trump administration.Filippo Grandi, the head of the UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, responsible for providing life-saving assistance to the 122 million people forcibly displaced from their homes across 136 countries, sent out an overnight email to employees ordering an immediate clampdown on expenditure, including a 90-day delay in ordering new supplies except for emergencies, a hiring and contract freeze, and a halt to all international air travel, as the agency tries to adapt to the US funding freeze. Continue reading...

State water officials say military did not enter California' and federal government restarted federal water pumps'California water officials said this week there's no truth to Donald Trump's assertion that the US military has entered California and turned on the water".Trump's comments, made on Monday on his social media platform Truth Social, are the latest in a series of remarks he's made and actions he's taken related to the state's water policy following devastating wildfires that ripped through the Los Angeles area this month. He's often offering an incomplete or incorrect assessment of the state's water policies or tying together unrelated issues. Continue reading...

Levies threaten exporters to US market, while scrapping of subsidies will hit EV sales - and Tesla could gainThe internal combustion engine appears to hold a special place in Donald Trump's psyche. During his inauguration speech last week, he made a sacred pledge" to raise US car production to a rate that nobody could have dreamt possible just a few years ago".Car making and the oil industry - not AI, computer chips, or even cryptocurrencies - were the only two industries the new US president highlighted as he promised to make America a manufacturing nation once again". Continue reading...

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt says late-night dismissals came after White House's personnel office issued memoThe justice department fired more than a dozen federal prosecutors involved in the two criminal prosecutions against Donald Trump after receiving instructions to do so from the White House, indicating the late-night purge was a political directive that deputized the justice department.The termination of the career prosecutors were ostensibly at the direction of the acting attorney general, James McHenry, according to the notices sent to anyone remaining on the trial team of 18 who had worked for former special counsel Jack Smith. Continue reading...

Move is latest push by Trump to reverse policies set by the Biden administration to protect transgender peopleDonald Trump has signed another executive order aimed at the transgender community on Tuesday, this time prohibiting gender transitions for people under the age of 19.It is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called transition' of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures," reads the president's executive order. Continue reading...

Karoline Leavitt's debut press briefing was standing room only - and she was slick, pugnacious and fiercely loyal to her bossClear a path!" shouted the big shots of TV news as they tried to squeeze their way through reporters packed like sardines into the White House briefing room to get to their front-row seats. Tempers frayed, foreheads perspired and necks strained similar to those of passengers itching to get off a plane.The first press briefing of a new administration is always a standing-room-only event. This time, it was the second Donald Trump administration and the debut of Karoline Leavitt, who pointed out that she is the youngest person to serve as White House press secretary. The 27-year-old beats the record of Ronald Ziegler, who was 29 when he was Richard Nixon's spokesperson. Continue reading...

Administrative stay pauses the government's action, which would upend nearly every corner of US society, till Monday

World's largest coffee chain in drive to boost sales and win back customers as new CEO urges fundamental change'Starbucks reassured Wall Street with a smaller-than-expected drop in comparable sales, an early sign that its efforts to revive sluggish demand could be bearing fruit.The world's largest coffee chain, which earlier this month announced that people using its cafes cross North America need to buy something, is in the midst of a turnaround bid to win back customers. Continue reading...

Lawmakers and state officials say portals inaccessible for one of largest health insurance programs in US

Man found with knife and two molotov cocktails planned to kill Mike Johnson and Seth Hegseth, prosecutors sayA man arrested in Washington DC near the US Capitol building on Monday with a folding knife and two molotov cocktails intended to kill the prominent Republican politicians Mike Johnson, Pete Hegseth and Scott Bessent, federal prosecutors have alleged in court filings.The man, named as Ryan English in the court documents, turned himself in to police near an entrance to the Capitol. A search of English, prosecutors allege, showed he had two destructive devices" on him in the form of 50ml bottles containing Absolut brand vodka with torn clothing stuffed into them. He was also carrying a folding knife, they say in filings obtained by the Guardian and first reported on by Politico. Continue reading...

Spokesperson defended new federal measures and said briefing room would now be open to new media' outlets

This was not the enemy,' says press secretary on flurry of drones spotted in east coast skies in DecemberThe White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said on Tuesday that the mysterious drones that were spotted in skies around New Jersey and the east coast at the end of last year were authorized to be flown by the FAA".In the first press briefing of Donald Trump's second administration, Leavitt said that she had news directly from the president of the United States that was just shared with me in the Oval Office". Continue reading...

Local advocates dismayed after Trump halts funding while evaluating whether programs meet new agendaJimiyu Evans woke up at 5am, on three hours of sleep, full of dread, to see whether he could still get into his federal funding account from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).No dice. His account was down for maintenance" according to the website. Evans started calling around to other leaders of state agencies and local non-profits working on homelessness, mental health, substance abuse treatment and disability services, and the story was the same, he said. Continue reading...

Scathing letter warns senators about danger her relative poses if confirmed as health secretaryCaroline Kennedy, cousin to the current pick for health and human services secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, penned a scathing letter warning senators about the danger her relative poses if elected to power and calls him a predator".I have known Bobby my whole life; we grew up together. It's no surprise that he keeps birds of prey as pets because he himself is a predator," she wrote, before going on to say that his victims have included family members and the parents of sick children. Continue reading...

Palestinians are returning to the north - but the US president's desire to just clean out' the strip, however unrealistic, is deeply concerningPalestinians are returning home to northern Gaza, though few of their homes still stand. Their hospitals, schools and other basic infrastructure are destroyed. For some there are tearful reunions; others search for the bodies of their loved ones. They seek hope amid therubble of their former lives.Yet new threats loom. Israel and the United Nations are in a standoff over the future of Unwra, the relief agency for Palestinians. An Israeli law ending all cooperation with the agency is due to come into force on Thursday - just as desperately needed aid is finallysurging into Gaza. Aid experts say no other entity has the capacity to provide its residents with thelong-term support needed. Continue reading...

Senator denounces order to pause all funding and says it'll have devastating impact' on most vulnerable people' in US

Investors' surprise over Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek echoes the belief in first-mover advantage of the dotcom bubble