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Revelation emerges at hearing for Anthony Odiong, 55, charged with several counts and held in Texas on $5.5m bailA Roman Catholic priest with links to Texas and Louisiana who is facing criminal charges for allegedly abusing his position of authority within the church to pursue sex with vulnerable women fathered at least two children with victims of his behavior, authorities have alleged.The stunning information about Anthony Odiong surfaced at a bail hearing on Tuesday in Waco, Texas, where prosecutors have charged him with several counts of sexually assaulting women to whom he ministered. Continue reading...

Attorney Jamieson Greer to play key role in trade team and investor Jim O'Neill picked to be RFK Jr's health deputyDonald Trump announced his selections for a series of positions in his administration Tuesday evening. The posts include the president-elect's picks for deputy secretary of health and human services, US trade representative and head of the national economic council, among others.Jamieson Greer, an attorney who served under Trump's previous trade representative Robert Lighthizer, will serve as US trade representative. In his announcement, Trump said: Jamieson played a key role during my First Term in imposing Tariffs on China and others to combat unfair Trade practices, and replacing the failed NAFTA deal with USMCA, therefore making it much better for American Workers." Continue reading...

US authorities allege Californian man Raj Matharu tried to conceal more than 1kg of drugs soaked into items of clothingAn alleged would-be drug smuggler soaked a cow onesie in methamphetamine, part of a whole suitcase full of clothes he tried to sneak aboard a plane, US justice officials have said.Raj Matharu allegedly checked in two bags at Los Angeles international airport on a flight to Sydney, Australia, the US Department of Justice said on Tuesday. Continue reading...

This live coverage has ended. you can find our US politics stories here.Donald Trump has used the fentanyl crisis gripping the US to support his ambition to impose trade tariffs on China. It gives the incoming US president an opportunity to both appear to be addressing the narcotics emergency, while also reinforcing one of his key aims in terms of US trade.China is the dominant source of chemical precursors used by Mexican cartels to produce fentanyl, while Chinese money launderers have also become key players in the international drug trade, US authorities say.Trump has said that, as soon as he gets into office, he will impose a 25% tariff on ALL products coming into the United States" from Mexico and Canada.He says the tariffs will remain in place until both countries clamp down on migrants and drugs crossing the border into the US.Trump also says he will impose a further 10% tariff above any additional tariffs" on all products coming into the US from China.It was not entirely clear what this would mean for China as Trump has previously pledged to end China's most-favoured-nation trading status and slap tariffs on Chinese imports in excess of 60% - much higher than those imposed during his first term.The reasons for the China tariff, Trump said, was their failure to curb the supply of drugs into the US. China is a major producer of the chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl. Continue reading...

Officials sign memorandum of understanding although details suggest some breaks with standard practiceDonald Trump's team announced on Tuesday it had signed an agreement to start the complex process of transferring control of the federal government to themselves, although the details of the plan suggested some breaks with standard practice.The incoming White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said the team would now be sending in landing teams" into the various departments and agencies as it prepares to take over the bureaucracy of the executive branch. Continue reading...

Firefighter was lowered into shaft and dog, who was a good sport', was secured and raised out', authorities saidFirefighters fetched a dog from an abandoned mine shaft in northern California after it fell 50ft.Firefighters were called around 3.40am last Thursday to a mine located in El Dorado county, roughly 68 miles east of Sacramento. Continue reading...

Tom Homan issues threat to Democrat Mike Johnston, who says he will resist Trump's mass deportation planTom Homan, Donald Trump's hardline incoming border czar, has threatened to put the mayor of Denver in jail after the latter said he was willing to risk incarceration to resist the president-elect's migrant mass deportation plan.The threat was issued against Mike Johnston, a Democrat, who said he was not afraid of being jailed and encouraged people to protest against mass round-ups of immigrants in their cities and communities. Continue reading...

Daniel Andreas San Diego, 46, was wanted in connection with two office building bombings in 2003One of the FBI's most wanted fugitives has been arrested in the Welsh countryside.Daniel Andreas San Diego, 46, has been on the FBI's most wanted terrorists" list for almost two decades for his alleged involvement in two office building bombings in San Francisco in 2003. Continue reading...

US trade policies since 2016 highlight a broader global retreat from globalisation, driven by geopolitical tensions and shifting economic prioritiesDonald Trump's broadside against America's three largest trading partners, with whom it runs a $500bn trade deficit, should surprise no one. Since 2016, both MrTrump and Mr Biden have departed from established norms in international trade. The two presidencies diverged significantly in approach: MrBiden emphasised systemic reform while MrTrumprelied on rhetoric and theatrics. Although both administrations faced criticism for driving up costs through tariffs and industrial policy, global events wereprimarily behind rising prices.Mr Trump's self-declared fondness for tariffs is closely tied to his ability to authorise them unilaterally, bypassing Congress under claims of national security. This may explain his recent announcement of plans to impose 25% tariffs on all goods from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% on Chinese imports, unless these countries address alleged issues of illegal immigration and fentanyl smuggling. The US president-elect clearly sees tariffs as more than mere policies; they are a calculated means of gaining leverage. By threatening to impose them, MrTrump is signalling a desire to negotiate - but only on his terms.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...

Rule expected to shorten wait for organs for all, as before it such transplants could only be done as part of researchPeople with HIV who need a kidney or liver transplant will be able to receive an organ from a donor with HIV under a new rule announced on Tuesday by US health officials.Previously, such transplants could be done only as part of research studies. The new rule, which takes effect on Wednesday, is expected to shorten the wait for organs for all, regardless of HIV status, by increasing the pool of available organs. Continue reading...

Claudia Sheinbaum rebukes Trump and says his plan would do nothing to stem flow of migrants or drugs bound for USMexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has rebuked Donald Trump's threat to impose steep tariffs on Mexico, arguing the plan would do nothing to halt the flow of migrants or drugs bound for the US border, and vowing that Mexico would hit back with tariffs of its own.One tariff would be followed by another in response, and so on until we put at risk common businesses," Sheinbaum said, warning that tariffs would cause inflation and job losses in both countries. What sense is there?" Continue reading...

Lincoln Continental with one human bone inside could belong to New York couple who disappeared on drive home from FloridaA Georgia police department says it has found a car that could contain the remains of a New York couple who have been missing since 1980.The car, a Lincoln Continental with one human bone inside, was found in a pond between the Royal Inn Hotel and Interstate 95 on New Jesup Highway, by a non-profit investigative group from Florida called the Sunshine State Sonar Team, police said. Continue reading...

US president-elect posted on social media about plan to impose 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada over immigrationJustin Trudeau has called an emergency meeting with provincial premiers across Canada after the US president-elect, Donald Trump, threatened a 25% tariff on the United States' northern neighbour.Trump posted on social media that he would sign all necessary documents" to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% tariff on all goods products coming into the United States, adding the levy would remain in place until such time as drugs, in particular fentanyl, and all illegal aliens stop this invasion of our country!" Continue reading...

Extreme weather expected to bring dangerous wind chills, lake effect snow, and severe thunderstorms'Millions of Americans will face severe weather - and low temperatures - as they travel for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.The National Weather Service (NWS) issued an announcement on Monday that an arctic blast is expected to bring dangerous wind chills, lake effect snow, and severe thunderstorms". Continue reading...

While self-help books might suggest manifesting new people in your life or cold-water plunges to change your entire personality, the key to finding a community is much simplerIt started in my mid-30s: The Great Slipping Away. Gradually, and then suddenly, the friends I had in New York started to disappear. Some moved out of the city. Others moved into different phases of their lives: they became laser-focused on their careers and had no spare time. Or they had kids, and hanging out became harder.Then I became one of the people who had kids and moved out of the city and all my local friends slipped away. A couple of years ago I moved to Philadelphia, a city where my wife and I only vaguely knew a grand total of two people. We were drawn to Philly by its affordability but we underestimated just how difficult it is to build a new community from scratch. As an introverted freelancer who doesn't have colleagues I see every day (even if just over Zoom), I certainly didn't anticipate how much effort I would have to make if I didn't want to become a complete hermit. Continue reading...

Unlike most Israeli news outlets, my paper shows the suffering in Gaza and Lebanon. That's why the government has targeted us

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Company will no longer consider race and gender when making offers to suppliers and will remove LGBTQ+ merchandiseWalmart, the world's largest retailer, will phase out several diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in its workplaces, as far-right conservatives continue take aim at such programs.Among several sweeping changes, the company will no longer consider race and gender as a means to improve diversity when making offers to suppliers, several outlets reported. Continue reading...

Just one of millions of pet cats, to us she was the one. She soaked up my bad moods, angst, illnesses and purred them awayWhen my son was nine, he asked for a sibling. I negotiated him down to a pet and Mogget arrived in our lives as a two-month-old domestic short-hair kitten. Eighteen years and three months later, she stopped eating. And within a week, drinking.At the vet's, I learn she's lost a kilogram since her last visit - how did I not notice? The vet is kind. She dances around what needs to be said. I tell her Mogget continues to walk up and down our stairs, wakes me every day at 4.55am by bulldozing my head, loves lying in the sun. Continue reading...

President-elect taps allies to roll back rules and cut taxes in nakedly transactional' ploy critics call unprecedented'Donald Trump has quickly tapped big donors and political allies for top posts to roll back environmental and health regulations, cut taxes and government spending in ways that will benefit key backers, say government watchdogs.Armed with blueprints to expand presidential power in aggressive ways and backed by a bevy of billionaire donors and ultra loyalists who helped him win, the president-elect's transactional style of awarding powerful posts to backers such as X owner Elon Musk, or allies of others such as fracking mogul Harold Hamm, is seen as unprecedented", and will likely boost their bottom lines, say critics. Continue reading...

Prosecutors have recommended that John Reardon receive up to two and a half years in prison in plea agreementA Massachusetts man pleaded guilty on Monday to charges that he threatened to kill Jews and bomb a synagogue in a case that US prosecutors said reflected a growing nationwide torrent of antisemitism after the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza began last year.John Reardon, during a hearing in Boston federal court, pleaded guilty to threatening to bomb the Congregation Agudas Achim and threatening to kill children in a voicemail he left with the Attleboro, Massachusetts-based synagogue in January. Continue reading...

I know many are aggrieved with Starmer and co, but scrapping a government for Elon and a Shropshire publican seems like a stretchBy now you will be aware of the petition demanding another general election. Finally, an answer to what would happen if Maga had sex with the People's Vote. I assume we don't use the phrase bastard offspring" any longer, but in this case I'll be making an exception. To see the obnoxious essence of not one but two excruciating political movements hook up and push out a screaming signature-baby is not a pretty sight. I have immediately launched a petition to forcibly sterilise all political movements.To recap, this is the petition started by a Shropshire publican after he'd Googled how to change the prime minister" and it told him to start a petition. Not a great ad for Google's search accuracy, let's face it, but I guess we already knew that was ageing like an unsealed bag-in-box of Phillip Schofield wine. Anyway, the resultant petition has now garnered two and a half million digital signatures, probably many more by the time you read this, and been pushed by public figures ranging from Elon Musk to Michael Caine. Fine. The Jaws film where the shark genuinely follows the Brody family all the way to the Bahamas is no longer the stupidest thing Michael's done.Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnistA Year in Westminster: John Crace, Marina Hyde and Pippa Crerar. On Tuesday 3 December, join Crace, Hyde and Crerar as they look back at a political year like no other, live at the Barbican in London and livestreamed globally. Book tickets here or at theguardian.live Continue reading...

Trump threatens 25% tax on Mexican and Canadian products and 10% increase on Chinese goods. Plus, prosecutors drop Trump criminal charges for election interference as he prepares to retake the presidency

Amazon has aggressively opposed efforts and is challenging the federal labor watchdog that ruled against its actionsWorkers at a Whole Foods store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have filed to hold a union election, the first union filing at the supermarket chain since Amazon acquired it in 2017.The union drive comes as Amazon has aggressively opposed unionization efforts and is challenging the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal labor watchdog that has ruled against the company's anti-union actions. Continue reading...

Democratic strategists want to persuade' over voters. But the real problem is Democratic voters not showing up to pollsMany people are drawing the wrong conclusions about what happened in the 2024 election. The conventional wisdom is that large swaths of population groups shifted their political allegiances to Donald Trump, propelling him to victory over Kamala Harris.A more careful reading of the data, however, shows that those conclusions are inaccurate, and the biggest problem for Democrats was a failure to turn out Democratic voters. Coming to terms with the unfounded faith in voter persuasion - at the extent of tried and true voter turnout programs - will have profound implications for the future of the Democratic party and the country.Steve Phillips is the founder of Democracy in Color, and author of Brown Is the New White: How the Demographic Revolution Has Created a New American Majority and How We Win the Civil War: Securing a Multiracial Democracy and Ending White Supremacy for Good Continue reading...

The warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant are also a reminder to governments arming Israel as it commits war crimes in GazaThe international criminal court's issuance of arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and former defense minister Yoav Gallant is an important step toward justice for the Palestinian people, who too often have known only injustice. The court allows charges to move forward for war crimes and crimes against humanity focused mainly on the Israeli strategy of starving the civilians of Gaza and depriving them of medical and other necessities. The arrest warrants will make the world much smaller for these senior Israeli officials.The Israeli government had advanced two principal arguments in the hope of avoiding the warrants, both of which the court rejected. First, Israel contended in essence that Palestine was not enough of a state to join the court and confer jurisdiction for crimes committed on its territory. The court reaffirmed a prior ruling finding that Palestine's status as a non-member observer state of the United Nations general assembly enabled it to ratify treaties such as the ICC's Rome statute.Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch from 1993 to 2022, is a visiting professor at Princeton's School of Public and International Affairs Continue reading...

They haven't just moved all the stuff, they've reversed half the aisles, so they run across instead of instead of along. It feels weirdly fake, like I've walked into a trick supermarketWhat they always say about cats - indeed, one of the reasons I prefer dogs - is that they don't like moving house. You have to trap them inside for the first week after you relocate or they'll make your life a misery, going back to the old house, getting into mischief on the way. I've always thought less of them for their inflexibility, their prima donna nose-twitching, their refusal to go with the flow. Always, that is, until someone remodelled my local Lidl.It is hell: they haven't just moved all the stuff, they've reversed half the aisles, so they run across instead of along. I'm baffled by the physical space before I've even started looking for anything I want. It feels weirdly fake, like I've walked into a trick supermarket, for the purposes of ... who knows, kidnapping? Reality TV? Continue reading...

Boris Epshteyn accused of asking potential administration nominees to pay monthly fee for lobbying president-electInternal rivalries spilled into public view on Monday as Boris Epshteyn, a top adviser to Donald Trump, found himself at the center of an ouster effort over accusations he asked potential administration nominees to pay monthly consulting fees in exchange for lobbying for them to the president-elect.The maelstrom engulfing Epshteyn suggested that barely 20 days since Trump won the election, the knife-fight culture of the first Trump presidency, where bitter aides took any opportunity to remove rivals, had returned. Continue reading...

President-elect attacks neighbors over immigration and accuses China over fentanyl entering US

This live coverage has ended now, You can read our full story at the link below:

US president and Jill Biden to attend swearing-in of Trump, who did not attend Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021

Michael Anton, national security official in first Trump term, reportedly removed name from contention over feudA frontrunner to be deputy national security adviser in Donald Trump's administration reportedly withdrew from the running after learning that he would have to work with Sebastian Gorka, the president-elect's choice as counter-terrorism adviser.Michael Anton, a conservative speech writer and national security official in Trump's first presidency, removed his name from contention over Gorka's appointment against a backdrop of acrimonious past relations between the pair, the Washington Post reported. Continue reading...

Winds and rain could disrupt Macy's parade and affect holiday travel - but also provide relief to drought conditionsA Thanksgiving Day storm is forecast to bring rain and potentially snow across the eastern half of the US, including to parts of New York.The storm, which is predicted to bring snow to California's Sierra Nevada early this week, is set to make its way to the north-east. As it travels further east, it is likely to strengthen after gathering more moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and eventually the Atlantic, according to AccuWeather. Continue reading...

Body of Ryan Kobayashi, who flew to LA to find daughter, found after police respond to reports of apparent suicideRyan Kobayashi, who flew to Los Angeles from Hawaii in search of his missing daughter, has been found dead near the Los Angeles international airport. Ryan Kobayashi had been searching for his 31-year-old daughter, Hannah Kobayashi, who was last seen at the airport on 8 November en route to New York City.After tirelessly searching throughout Los Angeles for 13 days, Hannah's father, Ryan Kobayashi, tragically took his own life," the family wrote in a statement shared by the Rad Movement, a missing persons non-profit. This loss has compounded the family's suffering immeasurably." Continue reading...

Congressman Dan Goldman says decision by Jack Smith establishes that Donald Trump is above the law'Responding to news that the special counsel Jack Smith had dropped all charges against Donald Trump for his attempt to overturn the 2020 election and retention of classified information, Dan Goldman, a prosecutor turned New York Democrat and member of the House oversight committee, lamented a shame for justice in this country".It establishes that Donald Trump is above the law," Goldman told CNN. The supreme court put him above the law [by ruling that he had absolute immunity' for official acts] but now he appears to escape full accountability for what were crimes charged by a grand jury." Continue reading...

Founder of Dallas-based The Potter's House was speaking to churchgoers when he sat down and began tremblingThe founder of the Dallas-based megachurch The Potter's House, Bishop TD Jakes, suffered what the church called a slight health incident" while delivering his sermon at the church.Jakes, 67, was speaking to churchgoers on Sunday when he sat down and began trembling as several people gathered around him, with one person asking for prayers. Continue reading...

Cable ads and bussed-in volunteers don't cut it any more. If the party wants to win, it must engage voters in a collective push for changeSince campaign season began, experts have assured us that Donald Trump had no ground game", a phrase that generally refers to a campaign's effort to mobilize voters through local outreach offices, phone calls, text messages, and door knocks. Pundits, politicos, and partisan observers repeated this charge and scoffed at his ramshackle, amateur, and fraud-riddled efforts, with some seasoned Republican operatives even sounding the alarm.A slew of articles and commentary unfavorably compared Trump's paltry" get-out-the-vote operation to the Democrats' supposedly well-oiled and professionally managed machine. Alex Floyd, the Democratic national committee's rapid response director, issued a confident statement in April: Donald Trump's Maga takeover of the [Republican national committee] has left the Republican party in shambles, lacking the ground game and infrastructure to compete this November." Continue reading...

The shock first-round victory of a far-right nationalist candidate has far-reaching and alarming implicationsIn a region shadowed by Vladimir Putin's revanchist ambitions, Romania has been a pillar of prowestern stability. Possessing a long border with Ukraine, the country has been a staunch ally to its neighbour under the outgoing president, Klaus Iohannis. As well as providing military aid, more than half a million refugees have been accommodated, and Ukrainian grain exports have been facilitated through the Black Sea port of Constanta. During the summer, President Iohannis at one point threw his hat into the ring to become Nato's new secretary general, a post eventually filled by the Netherlands' former prime minister, Mark Rutte.Disturbingly, this bulwark status is now in extreme jeopardy after one of the most remarkable election results in Romania's post-1989 history. The littleknown far-right independent Clin Georgescu, who topped the poll and now goes into a second-round runoff in December, is a virulent critic of Nato and aid to Ukraine, a vocal admirer of Donald Trump and has suggested Romanian foreign policy should take note of Russian wisdom". Mr Georgescu's brand of insular Christian nationalism shares similarities with Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban. Ahead of a crucial period after Mr Trump's re-election, his rise from nowhere risks undermining the fragile consensus underpinning European solidarity with Kyiv. Continue reading...

Former Chelsea manager is back in London for friendly with Lionesses and targeting World Cup glory with USWNTSitting in a makeshift press conference room on the dance floor of Camden's Underworld music venue, beneath the World's End pub, Emma Hayes breaks into a big grin. Thankfully it still smells of fart and feet," she says. It was a big indie place for me back in the day. I've definitely not seen this place in the daylight, so that's refreshing." Hayes is home in London and with another grin declares: I've got my mojo back."The head coach of the US women's national team is back where it all began for her in preparation for the showpiece friendly on Saturday between her Olympic champions and the European champions, England, at Wembley. This week her cultures are colliding, as she brings her team from the US, where she spent a number of formative years coaching, to London, where she grew up, played and became one of the world's best. Thanksgiving will be celebrated at the training ground of the team she supported as a child, Tottenham. This will be a special week. Continue reading...

Special counsel Jack Smith dismisses the two federal criminal cases before president-elect's inauguration

Porsha Ngumezi, 35, is the fifth pregnant woman ProPublica reports to have died in connection to the fall of Roe v WadeA Texas woman has died after receiving inadequate medical treatment for a miscarriage, according to a new report from ProPublica - the fifth pregnant woman the publication has found to have died since the fall of Roe v Wade after receiving inadequate care or being denied a legal abortion.Porsha Ngumezi, a 35-year-old mother of two, died in June 2023 after experiencing a miscarriage in Texas, where nearly all abortions are banned, ProPublica reported on Monday. Ten weeks into her pregnancy, Ngumezi started to bleed and went to Houston Methodist Sugar Land, which is part of the Houston Methodist hospital chain and located in the Houston metropolitan area. While at the hospital, Ngumezi continued to bleed for several hours. She underwent multiple blood transfusions. Continue reading...

Governor Gavin Newsom plans on creating new version of state rebate program as president-elect threatens EV creditsCalifornia could offer state tax rebates for electric vehicle (EV) purchases if the incoming Trump administration eliminates the federal EV tax credit, the state's governor said on Monday.Gavin Newsom will propose creating a new version of the state's successful Clean Vehicle Rebate Program, which was phased out in 2023 after funding 594,000 cars and saving 456m gallons of fuel, the governor's office said in a statement. Continue reading...

The climate crisis will cause dramatic, life-threatening events, but also a general, broad-brush worsening of everythingThe concept of enshittification" was invented by the Canadian-British sci-fi writer Cory Doctorow, only last year, to describe online platforms and the process of their decay. A tech policy expert, Rose Payne, explained the concept to me; you'll recognise it immediately from pretty much any online service you've signed up to: You enter into it, and at the beginning, it's good, but once they have network effects, they degrade the quality of their offering. So you're trapped in a space that's no longer useful to you."Pretty soon, in fact amazingly quickly, people were using the word to describe everything - to the extent that Doctorow wondered this year whether we'd entered the enshittocene". Repurposed to describe the effects of the climate crisis, it means something different, but just as evocative: say we sail beyond 1.5C of warming but do manage to stick at 2C, there will be dramatic, life-threatening events, there will be mass migration, but there will also be a general, broad-brush worsening of everything. Continue reading...

Largest US department store chain delays release of quarterly earnings report to investigate erroneous accounting entries'Macy's revealed on Monday that a single employee was responsible for hiding up to $154m in expenses over the course of nearly three years, prompting the company to delay the release of its quarterly earnings report.The US's largest department store chain, which owns other brands such as Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury, found so many internal accounting irregularities that they were forced to conduct an independent forensic accounting investigation. Their full quarterly earnings report, originally planned for release on Tuesday, will now not roll out until 11 December. Continue reading...

Olympic gold medalist argues in video that podcaster's remarks about war in Ukraine is result of Putin-led plotThe podcaster Joe Rogan is repeating Russian propaganda" about the war in Ukraine, the former world heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko charged in remarks on social media, adding that Rogan should invite him on his podcast to discuss the issue like free men".I listen to your latest podcast," said Klitschko, whose brother Vitali Klitschko was also a world champion boxer and is now mayor of Kyiv. Continue reading...