US news | The Guardian

The US government was shut down for weeks - and then Democrats shrugged their shoulders and gave upChuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, has a pair of very sweet imaginary friends. They're a middle-class couple called Joe and Eileen Bailey and they live on Long Island. At one point the imaginary couple, who feature in Schumer's 2007 book, Positively American, were called the O'Reillys. According to the Hill, one Schumer aide said the name then was changed because the publisher thought O'Reilly was too ethnic" for mass consumption. Another aide said that claim was false, and Schumer just wanted a name that sounded more national". Naming strategy aside, the key point here is that Schumer has said he runs all his policy decisions by this completely fictional couple. He's referred to them hundreds of times throughout his political career.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Ex-FTC chair was among first to go after practice of folding local firms into larger ones leading to higher pricesExperts say New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's selection of Lina Khan, the former Federal Trade Commission chair, for his transition team acts as a warning to private equity firms in the state that have raised rents and monopolized local healthcare industries.Throughout the US, private equity has increasingly monopolized industries through the practice of roll ups," acquiring many small local firms and rolling them into one larger firm, giving them power to simultaneously raise prices and lower quality. Continue reading...

Scramble to find replacement for George Tidmarsh shines light on dysfunction at US regulatory agencyAfter the dramatic ousting of the top drug regulator at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) two weeks ago, officials have scrambled to find a replacement in a process that has revealed the agency's internal cracks and tensions.It's troubling news for a regulatory agency that has previously enjoyed a reputation for stability and consistency. Continue reading...

Official Trump social media accounts have been using The Life of a Showgirl snippets to promote his agenda. Why has Swift, who once wanted to be on the right side of history', said nothing?In the last two weeks, the Trump administration has used music from Taylor Swift's latest album, The Life of a Showgirl, in three posts on social media. The first, shared by the official White House account on TikTok, was a patriotic slide show of images set to lead single The Fate of Ophelia. As Swift sings pledge allegiance to your hands, your team, your vibes", the video cuts to pictures of the US flag, President Trump, the vice-president, JD Vance, and the first and second ladies. The second and third were posted by Team Trump, the official account for the Trump Campaign. One, set to Father Figure, riffs on the lyric this empire belongs to me" with the caption this empire belongs to @President Donald J Trump", while the other, celebrating Melania Trump winning something called the Patriot of the year award, is soundtracked by Opalite.The Trump administration has found itself in dicey waters for using popular music in the past. The White Stripes and the estate of Isaac Hayes have both attempted to sue the administration for using their music without permission, while artists including Celine Dion, Beyonce, Rihanna, Abba and Foo Fighters have released statements demanding Trump stop using their songs at campaign rallies and public appearances. Most recently, Olivia Rodrigo condemned the administration after the official Department of Homeland Security and White House Instagram account used her song All-American Bitch on a video promoting its controversial deportation efforts (the song was later removed by Instagram). Continue reading...

Pair devised responses to public outrage about Epstein's criminal history, his treatment by the justice system, and his friendships with powerful people

Marina Lacerda, 37, recounts the abuse she experienced and what inspired her to speak publicly amid new revelationsWhen Marina Lacerda woke on Wednesday to learn that thousands of documents about Jeffrey Epstein had been released by House Republicans, she braced herself for a spate of new revelations.Before deciding to waive her anonymity in September, Lacerda was known for years as Minor Victim-1" - unknown, unheard, another teenager groomed and abused by the paedophile financier. Continue reading...

Sydney Sweeney has become the poster child of a predicted rightwing cultural domination. So why is no one watching her films?I was on a walk around my local area in London when I was stopped in my tracks by a young man sauntering past me, wearing stone-wash jeans, a pair of shades and a Reagan-Bush '84" T-shirt. He gave off an incredibly smug air but, to be fair, he did look good. It's a nice T-shirt, not like those garish Reform-branded football kits, so I could see why it might be appealing. A quick search informed me that for gen-Z rightwingers in the US, it has become the conservative take on a band shirt or the once-ubiquitous Che Guevara tee".That casual display of conservative aesthetics reminded me of something else too: a much discussed cover of New York magazine from earlier this year, after Trump 2.0's inauguration, which showed young rightwingers celebrating as they contemplate cultural domination". Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed.

President turns on Wacky Marjorie' after congresswoman criticizes effort to block release of key Epstein documentsDonald Trump announced Friday that he is withdrawing his support and endorsement of Republican lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene, a longtime ally and previously fierce defender of the president and the Maga movement.Trump's move away from Greene came just hours after she said in an interview she thought the president's attempts to stop the release of the files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein is insanely the wrong direction to go". Continue reading...

Newly revealed documents show sex offender messaging lawmaker, and may have influenced their questioningNewly released documents from Jeffrey Epstein's estate show the convicted sex offender appeared to be texting with a member of Congress during a 2019 House hearing with Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former fixer and personal attorney, and that those messages may have influenced the lawmaker's questioning.The documents provided to Congress this week include transcripts suggesting Epstein was in direct contact with the lawmaker as the hearing unfolded, the Washington Post reports. Continue reading...

Venezuelan-born Jose Barco detained upon early release from prison following attempted murder convictionAn army veteran and Purple Heart recipient who served two tours in Iraq was deported on Friday morning from an immigration detention facility in Florence, Arizona.Arizona state representative Raquel Teran told Fox 10 Phoenix that Jose Barco, a Venezuelan-born veteran whose family fled Cuba as refugees, was deported at 4am from Arizona. Continue reading...

US attorney general names Jay Clayton as lead investigator, hours after direction from US president - key US politics stories from 14 November 2025Pam Bondi announced on Friday afternoon that she had assigned Jay Clayton, the interim US attorney for the southern district of New York, to lead the investigation into Donald Trump's political adversaries and their ties to Jeffrey Epstein, hours after the president directed her to do so.Jay Clayton is one of the most capable and trusted prosecutors in the country, and I've asked him to take the lead," the US attorney general said of the lawyer, who also served as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) during Trump's first administration. As with all matters, the department will pursue this with urgency and integrity to deliver answers to the American people." Continue reading...

Mayor Barbara Lee calls John Beam a man who dedicated himself to building up the young people of this city'A US football coach who starred in the Netflix documentary Last Chance U, about struggling college teams, has died after being shot on campus, authorities in California said.John Beam, director of athletics at Oakland's Laney College, was hurt in a Thursday lunchtime incident at the school's field house, its downtown sports training complex. He later died, the Oakland police department said on Friday. Continue reading...

Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties prepare for deluge and possible landslides this weekendA powerful storm doused California with heavy rain on Friday, prompting evacuation warnings as the state braced for the potential of floods, mudslides, thunderstorms and even the chance of a tornado over the weekend.More than 4in of rain fell over coastal Santa Barbara county as the storm moved south toward Los Angeles, according to the National Weather Service. Continue reading...

Stephen Bryant, 44, convicted over 2004 murder, was shot dead despite growing backlash against barbaric' methodSouth Carolina executed a man by firing squad on Friday, marking the third time the state has used gunfire to kill a person on death row despite growing backlash against the method.Stephen Bryant, 44, had been sentenced to death for the October 2004 killing of Willard TJ" Tietjen and pleaded guilty to two other murders. Bryant's lawyers had argued in final appeals that the sentencing judge had been unable to consider his brain damage from his mother's alcohol and drug use during pregnancy, but South Carolina's supreme court declined to halt the execution on Monday. Continue reading...

Reaction follows Wall Street's worst day in a month and unprecedented slump in investment in China

Move diverges from July memo negating need for further inquiries, and comes amid intense Trump campaign to block filesPam Bondi announced on Friday afternoon that she had assigned Jay Clayton, the interim US attorney for the southern district of New York, to lead the investigation into Donald Trump's political adversaries and their ties to Jeffrey Epstein, hours after the president directed her to do so.Jay Clayton is one of the most capable and trusted prosecutors in the country, and I've asked him to take the lead," the US attorney general said of the lawyer, who also served as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) during Trump's first administration. As with all matters, the department will pursue this with urgency and integrity to deliver answers to the American people." Continue reading...

We want to hear from people in the US about how Donald Trump's economic policies may be affecting their plans for holiday shoppingWe'd like to find out more about your holiday spending plans this year. The New York Times reported on Friday that the Trump administration is pivoting to an affordability message and considering lowering some tariffs rates.The administration has floated policies that would lower prices for coffee and fruit, spoken about a 50-year mortgage proposal, and Trump has mused on social media about giving Americans $2,000 funded by tariff revenue. Continue reading...

In attacking a vital broadcaster, the US president is once again holding others to standards he flouts. But the Maga faithful might not let his links to the disgraced financier goTo confront Donald Trump is to engage in asymmetric warfare. It is to enter a battlefield that is not level, where he enjoys an immediate and in-built advantage over those who would oppose him or merely hold him to account. That fact has cost Democrats dearly over the past decade - exacting a toll again this very week - but it has now upended an institution central to Britain's national life: namely, the BBC.The key asymmetry can be spelled out simply. Trump pays little or no regard to the conventional bounds of truth or honesty. His documented tally of false or misleading statements runs into the tens of thousands: the Washington Post registered 30,573 such statements during Trump's first term in the White House, an average of 21 a day. In a single interview with CBS's 60 Minutes earlier this month, Trump spoke falsely 18 times, according to CNN.Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnistGuardian newsroom: Year One of Trumpism: Is Britain Emulating the US?

The child sex offender and the former US treasury secretary shared personal views about politics and relationships

Marine Mammal Center in Morro Bay and local harbor patrol teamed up for mission to reunite pup with its motherIt was a foggy October afternoon on the central California coast when the Marine Mammal Center got a call on their public hotline: there were distressed cries coming from the frigid waters in Morro Bay.The center's experts were able to determine that the calls - which sounded almost like a human baby screeching - were coming from a roughly two-week-old sea otter pup that had been separated from its mother. Continue reading...

Wall Street endured its worst day in a month on Thursday as fears that tech companies are now overvalued loom largeWall Street came under pressure on Thursday, enduring its worst day in a month as a sell-off of technology stocks intensified.After an extraordinary rally around hopes for artificial intelligence that propelled global stock markets to record highs, fears that tech firms are now overvalued loom large. Continue reading...

Text messages released by US House show convicted sex offender coaching Maga influencer on political messaging. Plus, readers' favourite photo booth moments 100 years after its inventionGood morning.The convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein apparently served as a behind-the-scenes adviser to the former Trump official and Maga influencer Steve Bannon during an August 2018 media campaign to defend Trump and his agenda, and to promote Bannon's media ventures.What else has been released in the flood of recent Epstein emails? Among many, many other things, one email shows an exchange between him and an associate in which they discuss girls" and travel. The justice department continues to downplay the possibility that other men were involved in Epstein's abuse of teen girls.What's happening with rest of the Epstein files? Trump is facing the prospect of a politically damaging congressional vote to release the files, after attempts to press two members of Congress to withdraw their backing for it appeared to have failed.What exactly is climate finance? Who pays it? And who gets it? Sixteen years ago, at the climate summit in Copenhagen, rich and polluting countries pledged to provide $100bn (76bn) each year by 2020 so that poorer countries could cut their emissions and adapt to a hotter world. Last year, they set a new target of $300bn (227bn) a year by 2035. Continue reading...

Documents include emails depicting coordinated effort to influence online search results and journalistsJeffrey Epstein and his associates worked to suppress negative press and rebuild his image in the years after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to state charges in Florida of solicitation of prostitution and of solicitation of prostitution with a minor, newly released documents reveal.The documents, among 20,000 pages released on Wednesday by Republican members of the House oversight committee, include emails and memos that depict a coordinated effort to influence online search results and journalists, and restore Epstein's reputation. Continue reading...

The world of soccer throws up no shortage of questions. Today, Graham Ruthven endeavors to answer three of themPep Guardiola has done a lot with his 1,000 matches as a manager. At Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City, he has lifted 40 trophies (including three Community Shields, because why wouldn't you count them?), yet not even this fact quantifies the way Guardiola has defined an entire era (or two) of the sport. Continue reading...

In Brooklyn, workers walked off the job in search of fair pay and conditions - and said many customers were in supportAt a popular Starbucks in Brooklyn's Clinton Hill, hundreds of people - including workers, union allies, and community supporters - filled the sidewalks. In 40F (4.4C) weather, picketers held signs, marched, and chanted What's disgusting? Union-busting!" and No contract, no coffee!"More than a thousand Starbucks workers across the US walked off the job on Thursday in over 40 cities, marking one of the largest coordinated actions yet by the rapidly-growing union movement inside the world's largest coffee chain. Continue reading...

Ben Wright and Rosemary Admiral say UTD severely restricted campus access after arrests at peaceful protestAs the Trump administration and Texas governor Greg Abbott restrict free speech on college campuses, two professors at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) are suing the university for retaliation stemming from 2024 arrests at a peaceful campus protest.History professors Ben Wright and Rosemary Admiral argue they should not have been arrested in the first place at the 1 May 2024 demonstration, where they were standing between their students and heavily armed law enforcement. Continue reading...

Claim, by election deniers, would signal latest step by DoJ in moving away from protecting Americans' voting rightsMembers of Georgia's election denial movement have claimed in recent weeks that the justice department is investigating debunked fraud claims in the state stemming from the 2020 election.The development would be just the latest in a series of moves by Trump acolytes at the DoJ who are transforming the voting section of the agency from an office focused on protecting Americans' voting rights to one that is in lockstep with an election denial movement that incessantly demands investigations and drastic reductions in access to the polls based on Donald Trump's lies about elections. Continue reading...

Head of Nexus Project says ADL's plan to monitor' mayor-elect for antisemitism deepens divisions and plays into far-right agendaThe head of an antisemitism watchdog has come out against the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and other groups for their divisive, hyperbolic and aggressive response" to Zohran Mamdani's election, warning that a combative stance towards the New York City mayor-elect is a gift to the far right.The instrumentalizers of antisemitism are cheering on the divisions being created in New York City, because that's their goal: divide people, divide Jews from each other," said Jonathan Jacoby, the director of the Nexus Project, which works to combat antisemitism and its political abuse. Continue reading...

Democrats finally had bargaining power and they caved. It's nothing new - but it's proof voters must make our demands clearChuck Schumer couldn't hold his senators together at a time when their unity and toughness were essential. And at a time when they were winning: most of the public was blaming Republicans for the shutdown, and pressure was growing to reopen the government (flight delays were mounting).Does this mean Schumer should go? Yes.Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a Guardian US columnist and his newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com. His new book, Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America, is out now Continue reading...

Text messages released by US House show convicted sex offender coaching Maga influencer on political messagingThe convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein apparently served as a behind-the-scenes adviser to the former Trump official and Maga influencer Steve Bannon during an August 2018 media campaign to defend Trump and his agenda, and to promote Bannon's media ventures.Text messages released by the House oversight committee on Wednesday detail a six-day exchange between the men from 17 to 23 August, and show Epstein coaching Bannon on television appearances and political messaging. Continue reading...

The broadcaster was once attacked by critics for being too progressive. But that stance appears to have changed for good in Trump's second termWhat happened to the Redskins, by the way?" Donald Trump asked in an interview on the Pat McAfee Show that notably did not stick to sports. His call-in appearance on Tuesday's program to mark Veterans Day was meant to be a major coup for ESPN, the first time Trump had been interviewed on the network as a sitting president. But viewers could have just as easily been mistaken into believing they were watching Fox News.Trump took his usual shots at Joe Biden, claimed credit for the Department for Veteran Affairs' high approval ratings and declared victory over the Democrats in a government shut down that dragged on for a depressing 43 days. Rather than push back against the political self-promotion, McAfee cheered Trump on before opening the floor to his lackeys to ask him which NFL coach would make a great president. It was all delivered live from South Carolina's Parris Island, the US's oldest Marine depot, which gave McAfee further excuse to goad the commander-in-chief into barking oorah" - a Marine battle cry that the recruits present were duty bound to respond to in kind. The only thing missing from the jingoistic scene was a monument to ESPN's fallen integrity. Continue reading...

Between 1934 and 1936, artist Dorothy Waugh was commissioned to create 17 posters for the National Park Service, a groundbreaking opportunity for a female designer at the time. Her designs, which were both accessible and avant-garde, are being celebrated in an exhibition for the first time at New York's Poster House. Blazing A Trail: Dorothy Waugh's National Parks Posters is on display until 22 February 2026 Continue reading...

With the season more than halfway done, we look at the outstanding figures from the 2025 campaign so farSam Darnold, QB, Seahawks. With apologies to Jonathan Taylor, we know how this story goes. MVP doesn't stand for Most Valuable Player anymore. It stands for Most Valuable Quarterback on a 12-win team with a nice storyline. That gives us three frontrunners: Matthew Stafford, Drake Maye and Darnold. Continue reading...

Midfielder is preparing for NWSL semi-final on her latest loan and hopes road will lead her to Gunners' first teamThe headline on Arsenal's website in early August 2023 was short and sweet. Teenage trio to join Watford on dual agreement," it read. That trio included Michelle Agyemang and Katie Reid, two players whose names were known to the keenest of fans then and who have since become part of mainstream conversation for hugely positive reasons. More recently they have hit the headlines for a more devastating reason, having both sustained anterior cruciate ligament injuries.In any footballer's career a bit of good fortune is needed, alongside a manager being brave enough to take a chance on you. The knee injury that led to Leah Williamson missing the start of the Women's Super League season created the space for Reid to be given an opportunity in the first team, while an Alessia Russo ankle knock led to Agyemang's first England call-up in April. Both subsequently shone, making the forced interruptions to their respective professional journeys especially cruel. Continue reading...

Sami Hamdi was detained after a pro-Israel group released a video purportedly showing him praising the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks on IsraelA British political commentator who was detained by immigration authorities in the US over his pro-Palestinian advocacy said shortly after returning to the UK on Thursday that his detention was less an attack on me and more an attack on Americans and the rights of Americans themselves".Sami Hamdi arrived in London on Thursday , three weeks after he was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at San Francisco international airport while on a speaking tour in the US. He agreed to leave the country after being guaranteed the right to apply for a new US visa, which he says he plans to do. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed.

A wildlife photographer out on a whale watching trip in waters off Seattle captured dramatic video and photos of a pod of killer whales hunting a seal that survived only by clambering onto the stern of her boat. Charvet Drucker was on a rented 20-foot (6-meter) boat near her home on an island in the Salish Sea about 40 miles northwest of Seattle when she spotted a pod of at least eight killer whales, also known as orcas. Drucker used the zoom lens on her camera to spot a harbor seal that was trying to flee from the pod Continue reading...

Attempts to persuade two female members of Congress to withdraw backing for petition appear to have failed - key US politics stories from Thursday 13 November at a glanceDonald Trump is facing the prospect of a politically damaging congressional vote on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files after attempts to press two female members of Congress to withdraw their backing for it appeared to have failed.The reported refusal of Lauren Boebert, a Republican representative from Colorado, and Nancy Mace, from South Carolina, to remove their names from a discharge petition to force a vote leaves Trump exposed on an issue that carries the possibility of turning segments of his Maga base against him. Continue reading...

Bryan Frederick Jennings, convicted over rape and murder of young girl in 1979, given three-drug lethal injectionA man found guilty in the 1979 rape and murder of a six-year-old girl was executed in Florida on Thursday.Bryan Frederick Jennings was pronounced dead at 6.20pm local time after being administered a three-drug lethal injection. Jennings was sentenced to death for the killing of Rebecca Kunash, whom he drowned in a canal, according to reports. Continue reading...

Move escalates legal battle over a redistricting effort designed to help Democrats flip House seats in 2026The justice department on Thursday joined a lawsuit brought by California Republicans to block the state's new congressional map, escalating a legal battle over a redistricting effort designed to give Democrats a better chance of retaking the House of Representatives next year.The lawsuit, filed in federal court in California, challenges the congressional map championed by Gavin Newsom, the state's Democratic governor, in response to a Republican gerrymander in Texas, sought by Donald Trump. The justice department's intervention in the case sets up a high-profile showdown between the Trump administration and Newsom, one of the president's chief antagonists and a possible 2028 contender. Continue reading...

Lewis was fined $5m and given three years probation by New York judge over brazen' insider trading schemeJoe Lewis, the British billionaire and former owner of Tottenham Hotspur FC, has been pardoned by Donald Trump over a 2024 conviction for his part in a brazen" insider trading scheme.Lewis, 88, was fined $5m (3.8m) and given three years probation by a New York judge last year but was spared jail time after pleading guilty to involvement in a plan that prosecutors said was designed to enrich his friends, lovers and employees. Continue reading...

Latest target of Trump's retribution campaign says only thing I am surprised about is that it took him this long'The Democratic congressman Eric Swalwell is the latest target of Trump's retribution campaign against his critics, the congressman confirmed on Thursday.NBC News reports that Swalwell is facing a federal criminal investigation for alleged mortgage fraud, just as three other Democratic officials have faced in recent months. The outlet says the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency sent a letter to the attorney general claiming Swalwell may have committed mortgage and tax fraud. Continue reading...

Donald Trump signed order creating Foster the Future' to develop opportunities and online hub for resourcesMelania Trump, the first lady, is spearheading a new initiative aimed at improving career and education opportunities for children raised in foster care.Her husband, Donald Trump, signed an executive order on Thursday that creates a Fostering the Future" program that brings together federal entities, non-profits, educational institutions and the private sector to develop those opportunities for foster youth. Continue reading...