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Advocates warn that Trump's promised deportations will flood Mexico with migrants and spur organized crimeIt is cold and quiet in Casa del Migrante, a shelter in Ciudad Juarez, on the US-Mexico border. A group of men play dominoes, another shoots hoops alone, and a young couple watch their kids play with superhero toys.Some people get here and don't want to go back outside," said Ivonne Lopez, a social worker. They're afraid." Continue reading...

Contractor Zachary Young wins damages over Afghanistan story in trial notable for prosecution's aggressive stanceA combative defamation trial in Florida, involving CNN and a former US security contractor in Afghanistan, is providing a roadmap for a crackdown on media independence during the second Trump administration, experts believe.The case was already unusual because CNN chose to defend itself and risk millions in damages, while other media giants such as ABC News and the Washington Post have opted to back down in the face of threats of persecution from the incoming president. Ultimately, after 18 hours of deliberation, the jury found that CNN defamed the contractor and awarded Zachary Young $4m in lost business and $1m in personal damages. Continue reading...

Buy a bargain panettone and a month's supply of chocolates - and consider developing a historical ailment such as bilious humour. It will all be over soonI don't want to alarm anyone on this, the 95th day of January, but I have just realised that there are still almost two weeks before February starts. I don't know about you, but the January 2025 time loop has broken me: my blood has become toxic ectoplasm and my bones are jelly worms. I don't so much live the 43 minutes of daylight we get in North Yorkshire as sullenly, listlessly exist through them. This morning, putting on leggings to go to the gym defeated me, so I just lay on the bathroom floor instead.This is not our first January rodeo - we have survived before; we will survive again. Last year, some idiot even tried to claim January was sort of great" (yes, that idiot was me). But the coping strategies I have found online all seem rather worthy, rather preachy, rather hello birds, hello sky". So to expiate for last year's idiocy, I have devised some better survival tips, none of which involve spending time in nature", gentle stretching" or nourishing soup". Continue reading...

His greatest successes came in domestic policy. Inheriting a post-pandemic economy, Biden orchestrated the best recovery in the industrial worldWith his characteristic dyspeptic vitriol, Donald Trump scorns Joe Biden as the worst president in the history of America". The historian Robert McElvaine hails him as a great president", arguing that his accomplishments rival those of both Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson, the two most effective of 20th-century presidents", and since Biden didn't enjoy the congressional majorities of those giants, he had to do it, as was said about Ginger Rogers doing everything that Fred Astaire could do, backwards and in high heels".What is clear is that after four contentious years, Biden leaves Washington as a remarkably consequential one-term president.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...

Some say Trump part two needs a new strategy as the novelty of mass mobilization has kind of worn off'Prominent leftwing activists across the US say a second Trump administration demands new tactics to achieve their goals, amid expectations the huge protests that marked both the Biden and first Trump presidencies won't materialize in the same way.As many as 4.6 million people attended Women's Day marches in the US the day after Donald Trump's first inauguration. The Saturday before Trump was inaugurated for a second time, thousands turned out in Washington DC and in cities around the country as part of the People's March, this year's version of the Women's March - though the turnout was much smaller than in 2017. Continue reading...

All the talk coming into Sunday was about Josh Allen v Lamar Jackson. But it's often errors rather than brilliance that decide big gamesJosh Allen v Lamar Jackson was set to be an epic. The idea of this season's MVP favorites sharing a field was chill inducing. Because whichever quarterback punctuated a brilliant individual season with a conference championship berth would do so because he outplayed his counterpart.Then the actual game was played in snowy Buffalo. It turns out there's so much more to a football game than the two men under center, even men as supremely talented as Allen and Jackson. Many will blame Jackson for Buffalo's 27-25 win over the Ravens, especially as the weeks and months go on. They'll credit Allen too. But neither player was the key factor in the outcome. It's often the easy chances players don't take rather than flashes of brilliance that decide games. Continue reading...

Even before Trump, we were on the way to losing our democracy - but we did not pay attention. Now, we have no choice but to attend to itIf you're feeling despair over Trump's second regime, which begins today, I understand.Yet I remain hopeful about America. Let me explain why.Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. His newest book, The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It, is out now. He is a Guardian US columnist. His newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com Continue reading...

Nicolas Maduro's future uncertain as Trump prepares for White House return with contrasting administration picksVenezuela's dictator, Nicolas Maduro, has overcome the first major obstacle facing him in 2025 after staring down domestic and foreign foes to extend his 12-year rule.[I'm] the people's president ... and I will forge ahead with the hurricane-like, volcanic strength of a people who cherish their homeland, cherish their future and cherish peace," the 62-year-old proclaimed on Friday at an inauguration his opponents vowed, but failed, to disrupt. Continue reading...

Rinehart lauds outstanding leader' while Pratt says he is honored to support your call to Make America Great Again'

President-elect tells thousands of supporters at rally: You're gonna have a lot of fun watching television'An exultant Donald Trump has promised to act with historic speed and strength" when he returns to the White House on Monday, teeing up a barrage of executive orders targeting illegal immigration, transgender rights and other rightwing priorities.We won, we won," Trump declared on Sunday during a triumphant return to Washington, where he held a raucous victory rally" with thousands of supporters in a downtown sports arena. What a good feeling. We like winning, don't we, eh? We're going to make our country greater than ever before." Continue reading...

During a rally the day before his inauguration, Donald Trump called on the social media app to be saved. Trump had called for the app to be banned in 2020 during his firm term as president

Experts say fire weather likely to return as firefighters make progress containing wildfires and Trump plans trip to stateAs firefighters in Los Angeles made progress on Sunday containing wildfires that have destroyed much of the Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods, forecasters warned that fire weather is likely to return on Monday.Donald Trump told NBC news he plans to travel to California to inspect the damage after his inauguration, probably, at the end of the week". California governor Gavin Newsom had initially invited the president-elect to visit more than a week ago, even as Trump attacked him on social media and spread misinformation about the state's Democratic leadership response to the fires. Continue reading...

His pick for secretary of state may have given measured assessment of world affairs, but crazy' Trump will call the shotsWestern allies of the US are braced for the return of Donald Trump, still hoping for the best, but largely unprepared for what may prove to be a chaotic and disorientating worst.The run-up to his inauguration has sent out a catherine wheel of signals as Trump turned up the volume on tariffs against Canada, China and Mexico, vowed to buy - and if not, invade - Greenland and the Panama canal, and used his leverage to press Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a Gaza ceasefire that the Israeli PM had resisted since May. Continue reading...

Overwhelmed by loss but buoyed by friends and strangers alike, Angelenos who lost their homes prepare to rebuild their livesUntil last Tuesday, Ryan and Endea Marrone lived with their two young sons in Altadena, California, in a picturesque two-bedroom home tucked into the base of the San Gabriel mountains. Behind the house, Ryan, a music producer, had created a mini recording studio, where he adorned the walls with pictures that his kids drew for him. Their wooded neighborhood was tight-knit: it was a community that wasn't populated by the ultra-wealthy, where many homeowners had lived for decades and still exchanged holiday presents and housewarming gifts.Now, a week later, the Marrones' home - and their surrounding neighborhood - are all ash. The only thing that remains of their house is the chimney, singed black from flames and smoke. The front steps lead to a huge, leveled expanse of charred debris. Everything, from their sons' Legos, to a school art project, to a photo from Ryan and Endea's first date, was completely incinerated. Continue reading...

Asset triples in price from $20 per token to more than $70, with at least $24bn in trading as of Sunday morningDonald Trump has launched a cryptocurrency meme coin" ahead of his inauguration for a second term as US president, called $Trump.He announced the launch on Truth Social and X on Friday night. The asset has since soared in value, more than tripling in price from about $20 per token to more than $70, with at least $24bn in trading volume as of Sunday morning and more than $14bn in market capitalization. Continue reading...

Activist who was convicted of mail fraud in the 1920s influenced Malcolm X and other leader leadersPresident Joe Biden on Sunday posthumously pardoned Black nationalist Marcus Garvey, who influenced Malcolm X and other civil rights leaders and was convicted of mail fraud in the 1920s. Also receiving pardons were a top Virginia lawmaker and advocates for immigrant rights, criminal justice reform and gun violence prevention.Congressional leaders had pushed for Biden to pardon Garvey, with supporters arguing that Garvey's conviction was politically motivated and an effort to silence the increasingly popular leader who spoke of racial pride. After Garvey was convicted, he was deported to Jamaica, where he was born. He died in 1940. Continue reading...

Domestic workers and day laborers - many of whom are undocumented immigrants and ineligible for US aid - face unique burdens amid raging wildfiresMayra Chacon's home cleaning service, Ocean Housekeeping, employs Guatemalan and Mexican immigrants who arrived in the US less than six months before. They clean dozens of houses around Los Angeles and, every Saturday, send their paychecks to loved ones back home.But as wildfires erupted earlier this month, Ocean Housekeeping lost more than 50% of its business overnight. Fires burned down 25 homes in the Palisades that Chacon's company cleaned on a weekly basis, and 10 homes in Altadena and Pasadena. Her employees speak little English and don't know how to find work elsewhere, Chacon said. With the plunge in revenue, she's offering a 25% discount to new customers so she could book more jobs to keep everyone paid. Continue reading...

Though party leadership called it inhumane, 48 members of Congress voted for the bill to deport immigrants accused, not convicted, of petty theftThe first act of the 119th Congress of the United States was to pass a bill that would require federal immigration enforcement to detain and potentially deport any unauthorized immigrant accused of minor crimes including petty theft or shoplifting.The bill, which is to be passed on 20 January, is a meaningful departure from current policy, which requires not one but two or more convictions - not accusations - of crimes of moral turpitude to trigger deportation proceedings. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) estimates that it would cost $29.6bn to implement, requiring an additional 110,000 detention beds and 10,000 detention and removal personnel.Heba Gowayed is an associate professor of sociology at CUNY Hunter College and Graduate Center and author of the book Refuge: How the State Shapes Human Potential Continue reading...

Darren Jones defends decision to allow app to continue running in UK as it stops working in US ahead of national banTikTok users posting videos of cats or dancing do not pose a security threat to the UK, a cabinet minister has said, as he defended the government's decision not to ban the Chinese-owned video platform.The government has allowed the app to continue running in Britain, as it stopped working in the US before a federal ban comes into force. Continue reading...

Community baselessly demonized by Republicans dread what Trump's return means for TPS and immigrantsWhen then president Donald Trump's Department of Homeland Security attempted to end temporary protected status (TPS) for Haitians in 2017, Gilbert Fortil had just arrived in Springfield, Ohio.Fortil, from Gonaives in northern Haiti, has spent the years since then working to make a new life in Springfield. He has opened a radio station to serve the growing Haitian community, bought and renovated abandoned properties, and been joined by thousands of other Haitians who have helped revive a once-struggling town in western Ohio. Continue reading...

Across the world, societies are reverting to oligarchies. How to resist? Fight for democracy with all we've gotSeldom in recent history has class war been waged so blatantly. Generally, billionaires and hectomillionaires employ concierges to attack the poor on their behalf. But now, freed from shame and embarrassment, they no longer hide their involvement. In the US, the world's richest man, Elon Musk, will lead the federal assault on the middle and working classes: seeking to slash public spending and the public protections defending people from predatory capital.He shares responsibility for the Department of Government Efficiency with another billionaire, Vivek Ramaswamy. They have been recruiting further billionaires to oversee cuts across government. These plutocrats will not be paid. They will wage their class war pro bono, out of the goodness of their hearts.George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Outgoing agency head was a determined antitrust enforcer during her tenure, but some detractors say she was a bully with unchecked powerLina Khan was installed as the US's top antitrust watchdog with a mandate to turn the page on an era of light-touch enforcement. According to her critics, Khan was a bully" with unchecked power". But, by her reckoning, this new era brought off the charts" success.In Silicon Valley and beyond, industry leaders argue she went too far. Some officials inside the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complained the agency was hamstrung by mismanagement. And now, as Khan prepares to step down, her successor has made no secret of his plan to break with her agenda. Continue reading...

Money, Lies, and God exposes a Christian nationalist movement funded by the super-rich seeking to secure their wealth at the expense of othersThere is a real and very, very present" threat to the US from a shadowy collection of rightwing leaders, a new book on the movement behind Donald Trump warns, with the aim being an end to pluralistic democracy".Katherine Stewart, a journalist who specializes in the religious right, spent years researching the money and influence that has aided and encouraged tens of millions of Americans in their worship at the throne of Trump. 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...

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