US news | The Guardian

President insists I don't make bad deals!' as hawks from his own party call proposed agreement a disaster - key US politics stories from Sunday 24 May at a glanceDonald Trump defended himself against criticism from fellow Republicans on Sunday as he appeared on the verge of agreeing a deal with Iran to end the war.As hawks in his party called the proposed agreement a disaster and questioned why the US president had launched the conflict in the first place, Trump claimed on social media that his deal would be THE EXACT OPPOSITE" of the one agreed by Barack Obama, which Trump pulled out of in 2018. Continue reading...

A margin of a fraction of a second separated winner from second place at the landmark raceFelix Rosenqvist swung to the outside of David Malukas, then found a way past the Team Penske driver to win the closest Indianapolis 500 in history by a margin of 0.0233 seconds on Sunday.Malukas looked as if he was in position to win when he passed race leader Marcus Armstrong off the final restart with one lap to go while Meyer Shank Racing teammates Rosenqvist and Armstrong battled wheel to wheel down the back straightaway and through the fourth and final turn. Continue reading...

Lee Zeldin says low-volume release' of flammable chemicals is most likely amid fears of explosion at Orange county facility near DisneylandGovernment officials in Orange county, California, have warned that an overheated chemical tank will fail" and could result in a chemical explosion in the area, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator said on Sunday.We're being told that the tank will fail, but there are different scenarios as to what that means," Lee Zeldin, told CNN's State of the Union on Sunday. Zeldin, a former Republican congressman with no prior experience in environmental policy, was chosen by Trump as the head of the EPA. Continue reading...

Emma Raducanu suffered her first opening-round loss with an error-strewn display against Argentina's Solana SierraKhachanov has reached the last eight of this competition twice - Wimbledon likewise - and the last four of the other two slams. That tells us he's got an all-court game, with the eye-test advising that he lacks the power-augmenting finesse go further. He does, though, have Gea's number ... so of course, as I type, the young Frenchman flat-bats an incredible pass cross-court to save set point. For all the difference it makes, Khachanov closing out from there to lead 6-3.It looks a lovely day in Paris, by the way - which isn't always the case. It's going to be seriously hard work for those involved in tight matches, given clay-court rallies and soaring tempteratures. Continue reading...

Trump insists US won't rush talks with Tehran after rebukes from Republicans, including Ted Cruz and Lindsey GrahamRepublican hawks have issued a rare rebuke of Donald Trump over his planned peace deal with Iran, describing it as a disaster" and questioning why the US president launched the war in the first place.Allies of Trump who strongly backed his controversial decision to order war on Iran alongside Israel urged him to hold the line" this weekend, despite mounting economic costs and no sign of progress on many of the the initial objectives set out by his administration. Continue reading...

GOP congressman says his party is set to count cost of Trump disappointment syndrome' after primary defeatDonald Trump's Republican party is on course for a damaging rejection at the ballot box in November, according to a maverick US congressman ousted by a challenger handpicked by the president.Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, became the latest of Trump's targets to be defeated in the party's primaries this week. He had repeatedly broken with the president over military action against Iran, government spending and the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Continue reading...

Suspect who died after exchanging fire with agents had tried to enter the complex last summer, records showA gunman who opened fire outside the White House on Saturday before he was shot by federal agents was already known to the US Secret Service, court records show.The man, 21, was taken to a nearby hospital, before he was later pronounced dead. He had previously tried to enter the complex, according to an affidavit filed in DC superior court in 2025, following an arrest nearby. Continue reading...

The United States' rail system has a dedicated customer base, but remains a niche option for most this summerSebastian Caillat didn't know how fascinating the dental industry could be until he sat next to a dentist on an Amtrak ride from college in New York City to his childhood home in Washington DC in 2023. They spent the ride discussing the dentist's efforts to self-fund his own practice. Caillat was surprised to learn the extraordinary cost of dental technology equipment - but also how interesting a conversation about dental technology equipment could be.In Caillat's view, that conversation represented the magic of Amtrak trains, a mode of transport that he says encourages social interaction. He also saw this dynamic play out last summer, when he rode from New York City to Philadelphia for a Club World Cup match between Palmeiras and Botafogo. Fans of the Brazilian clubs engulfed a train that traveled through New York City and New Jersey, an area home to more than 70,000 Brazilians. Continue reading...

As the summer season warms up, long-haul truck drivers lament their bills and vendors worry about raising pricesThe self-proclaimed largest truck stop in the world offers drivers just about everything they might need during a break. The Iowa 80 parking lots offer 900 spots for trucks and dozens more for passenger cars, while the varieties of snacks, drinks and souvenirs in the market are uncountable. Elsewhere on the premises is a dentist, a barber and a chiropractor, a weight room, a 24-hour diner and a movie theater. There is also a Truckomat, to wash your truck, and a Dogomat, to wash your dog.But the one thing that Iowa 80 does not offer is relief from the price of gas, which has increased sharply ever since the US joined Israel in attacking Iran and sparking a global energy crisis. On a recent afternoon, a gallon of regular gasoline at the sprawling stop in eastern Iowa went for $4.26, and diesel $5.72. Continue reading...

La Brea Tar Pits - the only urban, active ice age excavation site in world - gets a mammoth face lift for the first time in nearly 50 yearsLos Angeles is known for famous museum such as the Getty and the Lacma, but perhaps fewer people are aware that - in the heart of the city - lies a museum that contains one of the world's most remarkable fossil sites.The La Brea Tar Pits and Museum is home to the remains of more than 2 million ice age flora and fauna, including mastodons and saber-toothed cats, that became trapped in oily pools that still bubble up today. Continue reading...

The document is full of disclaimers and does not address fundamental issues, including Gaza and the Biden-to-Harris transitionWhen the Democratic National Committee finally released its autopsy on the 2024 election disaster, not even the DNC chair could defend it. I don't endorse what's in this report," Ken Martin conceded as the autopsy went public on Thursday. After several months of withholding the autopsy on the grounds of not wanting it to be a distraction, Martin fessed up at last: When I received the report late last year, it wasn't ready for primetime. Not even close. And because no source material was provided, fixing it would have meant starting over, from the beginning."In response, a former Obama speechwriter, Jon Favreau, summed up eight stages of Martin's tortuous process that has spanned more than a year: Promise to release autopsy; put incompetent friend in charge; incompetent friend produces incoherent product; announce you're not releasing the autopsy; lie about why; gaslight people who ask, saying they're the problem; face internal revolt; release autopsy."Norman Solomon is the director of RootsAction and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. His latest book is The Blue Road to Trump Hell: How Corporate Democrats Paved the Way for Autocracy Continue reading...

The director of national intelligence was sidelined as the president abandoned his pose as the candidate of peace'Tulsi Gabbard, the US director of national intelligence, stayed loyal to Donald Trump until the end - and nurtured the president's grievances against his political enemies. Last year, she accused Barack Obama and several of his top national security officials of leading a treasonous conspiracy" to highlight Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. In January, Gabbard showed up at the scene of an FBI raid in Georgia where officials sought ballots from the 2020 election, even though her role is mainly focused on foreign intelligence.On Friday, Gabbard submitted her resignation to Trump, saying she would leave her post on 30 June, so she could support her husband after he was recently diagnosed with cancer. News reports quickly emerged that the White House had forced Gabbard to resign. The Guardian reported last month that Trump had privately asked cabinet members whether he should replace her from the post that oversees 18 US intelligence agencies.Mohamad Bazzi is director of the Center for Near Eastern Studies, and a journalism professor, at New York University Continue reading...

Ohio State is grappling with sexual abuse allegations and questions over donor influence as financial pressures mount across higher educationWhen Rocky Ratliff transferred to Ohio State University in Columbus to study political science and wrestle for the college in the mid-1990s, he soon found himself being sexually abused by a prominent member of the university athletic department's medical staff.At the time, Dr Richard Strauss, who is believed to have abused hundreds of student athletes over a period of decades at Ohio State, and who killed himself in 2005, would subject young men to intense abuse, including rape. Continue reading...

Global Pepfar program has long had Republican leadership and bipartisan support, but initiative is under fireUS midterm voters overwhelmingly support Pepfar, an initiative to end HIV/Aids that also has strengthened health systems against other infectious disease threats but has come under fire from the Trump administration.About three in four (74%) likely voters in the US midterm elections say they support funding the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Pepfar), with voters more likely to back candidates who support Pepfar, according to a recent poll. Four in five (80%) of the voters said there is a moral argument for supporting lifesaving treatment for people at risk for or living with HIV/Aids, regardless of their personal choices. Continue reading...

Global prices are approaching a tipping point that could trigger inflation, shortages and, over time, recessionIf a US-Iran deal is about to be reached, three months on from the launch of Donald Trump's Operation Epic Fury, it will not be a day too soon for oil markets, which are approaching a dangerous tipping point.The cost of a barrel of crude on the spot market - for immediate purchase, effectively - has bounced about $100 since Iran predictably responded to the onslaught from the US and Israel by closing the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...

His recent concerts are a thunderous call to fight for democracy. The nation could use more like himThe Bruce Springsteen concert I went to in Brooklyn last week was unlike any concert I've attended in decades. It was far more than a fabulous, joyous concert; it was also an inspiring resistance event.From the get-go, the Boss made clear that this concert would be part of the anti-Trump resistance. It was a three-hour-long ode to the resistance and a thunderous call to Springsteen fans to step up and do more to fight for democracy and against authoritarianism. In this way, Springsteen is serving as a model for how celebrities can stand up against Trump and fight for what's right.Oh, our Minneapolis, I hear your voiceSinging through the bloody mistSteven Greenhouse is a journalist and author, focusing on labor and the workplace, as well as economic and legal issues Continue reading...

Andrew Weissmann argues for new law to hold political liars like US president accountable for harming democracyPoliticians must be held accountable if their lies damage democracy, according to a former US federal prosecutor and FBI general counsel who was pursued by Donald Trump.The US must be as creative as possible" and introduce sweeping structural reforms if it escapes its current mess", said Andrew Weissmann, laying out a proposal for a legislative crackdown on election deceit.Liar's Kingdom: How to Stop Trump's Deceit and Save America is out now Continue reading...

Proposed framework hinges on a 60-day truce, reopening strait of Hormuz, and revived talks on limiting Iran nuclear programme Middle East crisis: live updatesDonald Trump has said a memorandum of understanding" in talks to end the US-Israel war on Iran has been largely negotiated".Official details of the deal remain scant and it remains possible some aspects of the memo could change, but here is what we know so far about the potential agreement that could bring an end to the war. Continue reading...

US secretary of state tells reporters peace talks with Iran have progressed but cautions that a deal not 'final' at this stage Continue reading...

President's claim is tempered by Pakistani PM's hopes of hosting more talks very soon', and Iran's Fars news agency saying strait of Hormuz will remain under Iranian control

Suspect dies after firing upon agents at White House checkpoint, Secret Service says, with a bystander also injuredA gunman has been shot dead after approaching a White House security checkpoint and firing at officers, federal officials have said.The White House, where Donald Trump was present, was briefly locked down on Saturday as the sound of a sustained volley of gunshots rang out, sending journalists in the area running for cover. Continue reading...

Donald Trump appeared upbeat about the prospects of an imminent deal with Tehran, although Iran and mediators Pakistan appear slightly less sure - key US politics stories from Saturday 23 MayDonald Trump appeared hopeful of an end to his war on Iran, saying the final aspects and details" of a deal were being discussed and would be announced shortly.An agreement has been largely negotiated, subject to finalization between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the various other Countries," Trump posted. Continue reading...

Order facilitates support for 40,000 people told to evacuate Orange county as responders try to divert explosionCalifornia's governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Saturday in response to the looming threat of chemical disaster in Orange county.The proclamation directs the governor's office of emergency services and other state agencies to provide additional support to Orange county responders. The governor's office is also making state-owned properties available to shelter the 40,000 people ordered to evacuate from the area. Continue reading...

George Russell backed up his fractious sprint race win in Montreal with pole position in qualifyingOuch. Lance Stroll's car is in pieces. Suspension problem, Collins diagnoses.Lewis Hamilton zooms by on a scooter, setting a good example to any watching kids by wearing a helmet. Continue reading...

Order aimed at preventing spread of Ebola to US affects travelers who have visited three countries in last 21 daysUS authorities have temporarily banned green-card holders from entering the country if they have traveled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda or South Sudan in the last 21 days.The order issued on Friday is part of an expanding attempt to prevent Ebola from entering US borders. A previously announced travel restriction blocked only people without US passports who had visited those countries from entering but exempted US citizens and lawful permanent residents. Continue reading...

A Mad Men-style steakhouse break would be welcome. But I've had it with the Lunch Industrial ComplexIt's 12.30pm as I write this. My mind is preoccupied with moving my fingers from key to key on my ageing laptop, a task I paused briefly to remove a hair from the screen. Then, I scratched my leg again, which kicked up another hair. I should get back to work, but I can't concentrate. Why? Because I'm incredibly hungry. It is, after all, lunchtime - the most worthless part of any work day.It is not that there's shame in lunch. It's just that we're not programmed to eat at a certain time. We're all different and the whole concept of the office lunch is obsolete nonsense in 2026. Let it go.Dave Schilling is a Los Angeles-based writer and humorist Continue reading...

SpaceX launched its biggest, most powerful Starship yet on a test flight on Friday. It was an upgraded version of the spacecraft Nasa is counting on to land astronauts on the moon. It blasted off from the southern tip of Texas, carrying 20 mock Starlink satellites that were released midway through the hour-long flight that stretched halfway around the world. Despite some engine trouble, the spacecraft reached its final destination in the Indian Ocean where it erupted into flames on impact. The fire was not unexpected, according to SpaceX

With razor-thin majorities in Congress, the US president needs the votes of the very people whose careers he has destroyedAs Abba's Dancing Queen played, Donald Trump walked across a lawn featuring cornhole, oversized Connect Four, a ferris wheel and a food tent offering short ribs, mac and cheese and apple pie. Members of Congress and their families had come for the annual White House picnic. But not every member of Congress.Missing the fun was Thomas Massie, a longtime thorn in the US president's side. Massie was at home in Kentucky, suffering a primary election defeat that made him the latest victim of Trump's revenge tour. We won the Massie thing," the president told guests at the picnic on Tuesday evening. He was a bad guy. He deserves to lose." Continue reading...

Figures from around the American men's soccer scene agree that the talent level is rising, but much work remains to improve the US men's national teamThe US men's national team roster for the 2026 World Cup will be unveiled on Tuesday, and according to head coach Mauricio Pochettino, the team is suffering from a talent deficit.We are USA," he said after a 2-0 loss to Portugal in March, which followed a 5-2 loss to Belgium three days earlier. And we are competing against Belgium, Portugal. I think for sure Belgium and Portugal have in the top 100 players, few or some players playing in that top 100. I think we don't have [that]." Continue reading...

Millions are being dragged into starvation, while people everywhere pay a Trump war tax. But there are plenty of powers who could bring him to heelWith the deadlocked war in Iran about to enter its fourth month, loose comparisons with previous US quagmires in Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam are bandied about. When the conflict began, warnings of another forever war" seemed exaggerated. No longer. As matters stand, the negative international humanitarian, economic and geopolitical fallout from this fiasco looks set to prove more permanently globally damaging than any of those past US-made disasters.That being the case, an urgent question arises, not least today as reports suggest the US president and his secretary of war are planning to rain more bombs on Iran: who will stop Donald Trump?Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator Continue reading...

Authorities in Orange county say tank holding methyl methacrylate actively in crisis' and urge residents to leaveAuthorities in Orange county, California have ordered the evacuation of 40,000 people over concerns about a chemical leak that threatened to spill or explode.The problem arose on Thursday at a facility owned by GKN Aerospace in the town of Garden Grove, where a storage tank holding methyl methacrylate began off-gassing and threatened to fail. The chemical, which is highly flammable, is used to fabricate resins and plastics. Continue reading...

Gabbard leaves after tumultuous stint during which she was largely left out as Donald Trump launched attacks on Venezuela and Iran - key US politics stories from Friday 22 May at a glanceTulsi Gabbard is leaving her post as US director of national intelligence following a tumultuous stint in which she was largely sidelined as Donald Trump launched attacks on Venezuela and Iran.In a letter to the US president, she said she would resign and leave her post on 30 June. While we have made significant progress ... I recognize there is still important work to be done," she wrote. Continue reading...

Phone company launched by Donald Trump's family says names and contact details appear to be affected, but not credit card or banking informationA phone company launched by Donald Trump's family business is investigating a potential security flaw on its website that appears to have exposed the personal details of an estimated 27,000 people who sought to buy a gold-coloured smartphone.Trump Mobile said in a statement that it was investigating the issue - with the assistance of independent cybersecurity professionals" - in which the full names, addresses and phone numbers of people who filled out preorder forms appeared to be exposed. Continue reading...

Over 15 months, the ex-Democrat without an intelligence background took actions seemingly meant to flatter TrumpTulsi Gabbard's tumultuous 15-month tenure as the nation's top intelligence official ended Friday, when she submitted her resignation as director of national intelligence.Gabbard was an unconventional choice for the role: the former Democrat lacked an intelligence background and her foreign policy views at times diverged with Donald Trump, particularly on questions of overseas military intervention. And yet she also took unusual measures to ingratiate herself to the president by vowing to root out politicization across US spy agencies and embracing his agenda of election denial. Continue reading...

Change criticized by advocates marks the latest significant move by the Trump administration on immigration policyForeigners seeking to adjust their immigration status in the United States to secure green cards will have to do so from outside the country via the state department, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said on Friday, in a move criticized by aid groups, policy analysts and immigration attorneys.USCIS announced the move in a policy memo, which directed officers to consider relevant factors and information on a case-by-case basis when determining whether extraordinary relief is warranted. Continue reading...

Former Wall Street banker takes over amid growing concern over cost of living - and disapproval of Trump's agenda

Judge said Trump administration would not have prosecuted Abrego had he not challenged his high-profile deportation

White House reportedly forced Gabbard to resign after she was sidelined from Iran and Venezuela operations and becomes fourth woman to depart Trump's cabinet

The Ebola outbreak, Israeli strikes in Gaza, Putin in Beijing and Arsenal win the Premier League - the past seven days as captured by the world's leading photojournalists Continue reading...

US president previously said he would try and make' Donald Trump Jr's nuptials but timing is not good' for himGet Me to the Church on Time, sang Alfred Doolittle in the musical My Fair Lady. But for Donald Trump, attending a wedding is not simple - even when it's that of his son.The US president will not attend Donald Trump Jr's nuptials, he confirmed on Friday, blaming circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America". Continue reading...

Officials seized guns from Caleb Vazquez's father last year amid alarm over teen's views on mass shooters and NazismOne of the two white supremacist shooters who attacked a mosque in California on Monday and killed three people had already been on law enforcement officials' radar, according to US media reports.Local officials were so alarmed by Caleb Vazquez's idolization of mass shooters and Nazism that they seized his father's guns a year before the shooting, the New York Times reports. Similarly, Bloomberg reports that Vazquez had already been flagged by the FBI as a potential threat" last year. Continue reading...

Democrats allege that conservative groups may be propping up campaign of Maureen Galindo for House seat