President claims broadcaster intentionally, maliciously and deceptively' edited 6 January speech before Capitol attackThe BBC has vowed to defend itself against the $10bn lawsuit that the US president, Donald Trump filed against it.In a complaint filed on Monday evening, Trump sought $5bn in damages each on two counts, alleging that the BBC defamed him, and that it violated Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. Continue reading...
Flight logs reveal three British women onboard who were allegedly trafficked by convicted sex offender, according to BBCNearly 90 flights linked to Jeffrey Epstein reportedly arrived at and departed from UK airports, some with British women onboard who allege they were abused by the convicted child sex offender.Analysis by the BBC found three British women who were allegedly trafficked appear in Epstein's records of flights in and out of the UK and other documents related to the late disgraced billionaire. Continue reading...
by Kat Lay Global health correspondent on (#726NR)
Survey by world's largest network for sexual and reproductive health shows devastation to services, particularly in Africa and the Middle East, and amplification of anti-rights voicesCuts to US aid funding have directly led to the closure of more than 1,000 family planning clinics, new figures shared with the Guardian reveal.Millions of people have been left without access to contraceptives or care, including those who have suffered sexual assault, as part of a radical shift towards conservative ideologies that deliberately block human rights", according to the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). Continue reading...
The best we can hope for is that Paul does not get seriously hurt. Joshua, Netflix and the sport itself should know betterPrecisely 85 years ago, one of the most fearsome heavyweight boxers in history stunk out the joint. JoeLouis was in the midst of his Bumof the Month club": a staggering run of 13world title defences in 29 months against an assortment of stiffs, wild men and colourful characters. And when he arrived in Boston on 16 December 1940, most believed that Al McCoy would rapidly become his next victim. Only it didn't quite turn out that way.McCoy was expected to crumple under the first punch Louis tossed in his direction," the NewYorkTimes' correspondent wrote. Instead, the wily NewEngland veteran made Louis appear ludicrous at times. Adopting a crouching, bobbing, weaving style, McCoy was an elusive target for the paralysing fists of the titleholder." After the messy contest was stopped at the end of the fifth, a storm of jeers rang out. Louis had won, but only his bank balance had been enhanced. Continue reading...
US Southern Command says boats were engaged in narco-trafficking'The US military has launched a fresh round of deadly strikes on foreign vessels suspected of trafficking narcotics, killing eight people.The US Southern Command posted footage of the strikes on social media on Monday, announcing it had hit three vessels in international waters. Continue reading...
by Callum Jones in New York and Jeremy Barr in Washin on (#726FZ)
President accuses corporation of intentionally, maliciously and deceptively' editing speech in Panorama broadcastDonald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the BBC over its editing of a speech he made to supporters in Washington before they stormed the US Capitol in 2021, requesting up to $10bn in damages.The US president alleged the broadcaster intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively" edited his 6 January speech before the insurrection, in an episode of Panorama just over a year ago. Continue reading...
Order classifies opioid as potential chemical weapon amid administration's attempts to combat drug smugglingDonald Trump signed an executive order on Monday designating fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction" - classifying the synthetic opioid not only a lethal drug, but as a potential chemical weapon.The order also directs the Pentagon and justice department to take additional steps to combat production and distribution of the drug. The designation comes amid the administration's use of escalating and increasingly militaristic tactics to combat drug smuggling. Continue reading...
Lawmakers from both sides criticize petty' posts; Trump seeking $10bn in damages from BBC - key US politics stories from 15 December 2025Celebrities and lawmakers from both of the US's major political parties have condemned Donald Trump after the president blamed the death of Rob Reiner on what he described as the acclaimed Hollywood director's dislike of him.After the apparent killings of Reiner, 78, and his 68-year-old wife, Michele, who were found dead at their home Sunday in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, Trump took to social media to call the director tortured and struggling". Trump also claimed Reiner died due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind-crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME". Continue reading...
Orders come after a levee is breached following a week of heavy rain amid a flash-flood warningOfficials in Washington state ordered immediate evacuations in three south Seattle suburbs on Monday after a levee failed following a week of heavy rains.The evacuation order from King county covered homes and businesses east of the Green River in parts of Kent, Auburn and Tukwila. Continue reading...
by Richard Luscombe, Maya Yang and agencies on (#72600)
Manhunt continues for killer of two students on campus Saturday, with suspect considered armed and dangerousThe governor of Rhode Island insisted on Monday evening that everything was being done by law enforcement to catch the person responsible for the mass shooting at Brown University in the state's capital on Saturday that killed two people and wounded nine others, as a huge manhunt continued.We want to see the individual that pulled the trigger on these young kids identified, apprehended and brought to justice," Daniel McKee, the state's governor and a Democrat, said at a press conference early on Monday evening. Continue reading...
Video released during a press conference showed an individual dressed in dark clothing before the mass shooting at Brown University. The individual walked alone and they do not appear to be carrying anything in their hands. The individual's face is concealed and appears to have a light complexion. 'We're asking for the public's assistance in ... identifying this individual,' said Providence police chief Oscar Perez, urging the public to contact the tipline set up by law enforcement regarding the person responsible for the shooting.
Company to scrap several electric models and focus on gas and hybrid as US president pulls support for EVsFord said on Monday it will take a $19.5bn writedown and is killing several electric-vehicle models, in the most dramatic example yet of the auto industry's retreat from battery-powered models in response to the Trump administration's policies and weakening EV demand.Ford, based in Dearborn, Michigan, said it will stop making the F-150 Lightning in its electric vehicle form, but will pivot to producing an extended-range electric model, a version of a hybrid vehicle called an Erev, which uses a gas-powered generator to recharge the battery. Continue reading...
Dr Susan Monarez to head PHNIX, a response to Trump administration's dismantling of public health safeguardsGavin Newsom, the California governor, announced the appointment of two prominent scientists who left the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in recent months over conflicts with the Trump administration to state positions.Dr Susan Monarez, the former director of the CDC, will lead California's new public health initiative, the Public Health Network Innovation Exchange (PHNIX). Continue reading...
Rob Reiner has died aged 78 in an apparent homicide, along with his 68-year-old wife, Michele Singer Reiner. The director and actor had a celebrated career spanning All in the Family, The Princess Bride, This Is Spinal Tap and the beloved romcom When Harry Met Sally - with his films creating a number of oft-quoted lines
Fans pay tribute to When Harry Met Sally and The Princess Bride film-maker and his wife after apparent homicideLos Angeles mourned the death of beloved Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele on Monday morning, as police announced the arrest of their son on suspicion of murder.News of the apparent homicide of the film-maker behind When Harry Met Sally, Misery, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride and This is Spinal Tap sent shockwaves across LA, from the wealthy Brentwood neighborhood where he and his wife were found dead, to Hollywood Boulevard. Continue reading...
As EU countries face multiple challenges in a new era, they must fight to preserve the continent's social model. That means a new economic approachMore than a year after the election that handed Donald Trump a decisive comeback victory, the Democratic party has still not released its postmortemanalysis. But last week, an influential progressive lobby group published its own. Kamala Harris's campaign, its authors argued, failed to connect with core constituencies because it did not focus enough on addressing basic economic anxieties. By prioritising the menace to democracy that Maga authoritarianism represented, progressives neglected the bread-and-butter issues that were uppermost in many people's minds.As the EU braces for a tumultuous period of politics between now and the end of the decade, that is a lesson that needs to be fully absorbed in Brussels, Paris and Berlin. The White House, as its recently published national security strategy makes clear, is hopeful that patriotic" parties in Europe will soon replicate Mr Trump's success. In the EU's Franco-German engine room, Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN) and Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) lead the polls, backed by large swaths of blue-collar voters. But among mainstream leaders and parties, it is hard to discern a response that is adequate to troubling times. Continue reading...
President's statement blaming acclaimed director's death on his dislike of him described as disgusting' and vile'Celebrities and lawmakers from both of the US's major political parties are condemning Donald Trump after the president blamed the death of Rob Reiner on what he described as the acclaimed Hollywood director's dislike of him.After the apparent killings of Reiner, 78, and his 68-year-old wife, Michele, who were found dead at their home Sunday in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, Trump took to social media to call the director tortured and struggling". Trump also claimed Reiner died due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind-crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME". Continue reading...
We want to hear from people about the news moments that were a ray of light in among the more difficult headlines and bad news storiesThough there have been many challenging news stories this year, we'd like to hear about the headlines that lifted your mood.What was a moment in 2025 that stood out for you as a ray of light? Do you have a story that gave you hope or brought you happiness? What is your favorite positive news story of the year? Continue reading...
Hilda Ramirez Sanan and her two US citizen children were illegally and forcefully detained', the lawsuit allegesA US immigrant with legal status and her two American children have filed a lawsuit against ICE, after they were hospitalized following a violent" and unlawful" detention in Massachusetts.Hilda Ramirez Sanan, a green card holder who has lived in the United States for more than 20 years, and her two US citizen children were illegally and forcefully detained", the lawsuit alleges. Continue reading...
FBI director said his agency helped detain person of interest' in Brown shooting - who was released hours laterKash Patel, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, is once again facing criticism for rushing to social media to tout his agency's work on tracking down a person of interest in a shooting prematurely.After a shooter killed two and injured nine at Brown University on Saturday, Patel, a lawyer and rightwing commentator before his job in the administration, posted on X that his agency had helped detain a person of interest in a hotel room" in Coventry, Rhode Island, acting off a lead from the Providence police. Continue reading...
Danny Ceisler's defeat in sheriff's race of incumbent who had signed an agreement to work with ICE sends a message on US's contentious debate around immigration policyOnly 40 miles north of Philadelphia, Bucks county has gained a reputation as the swingiest" county in the swing state of Pennsylvania and one of the most pivotal political bellwethers in the country.Party registration in the county is almost evenly split among Democrats and Republicans. Joe Biden won it in 2020, Donald Trump triumphed there in 2024. November's elections there were local - but a hot race for county sheriff drew much wider attention as a microcosm for America's contentious debate around immigration policy - and the result signaled a shake-up in how the county approaches enforcement. Continue reading...
Law enforcement and public health experts worry that potential cuts to resources that save lives and stop the flow of drugs into the state could raise overdose deathsThe Trump administration's proposed cuts in federal funding for law enforcement and public health agencies could have a devastating impact on Alaska, which a Guardian analysis found has struggled to curtail overdose deaths even amid a general decline in national overdose fatalities.Law enforcement and public health experts are sounding the alarm as the Trump administration has prioritized waging its war on drugs" outside US shores, including with a controversial bombing campaign of fishing boats off the coast of Venezuela. Continue reading...
Representative says her son was let go once he showed ID as Trump ramps up operation targeting Somali population in MinneapolisDemocratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar told a Minneapolis broadcaster that her son had been stopped over the weekend by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, after Donald Trump ordered an operation targeting the Minnesota city's Somali population.Yesterday, after he made a stop at Target, he did get pulled over by [ICE] agents, and once he was able to produce his passport ID, they did let him go," Omar said on Sunday in an interview with WCCO. Continue reading...
A person who was taken into custody after two people were killed and several more critically injured was later releasedTwo people have been killed and several more critically injured in a shooting at Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island. Here's what we know so far:A person in their 20s was taken into custody on Sunday morning, but then released later in the day. Police chief Col Oscar Perez declined to say whether the person of interest was the same person seen in surveillance footage released by authorities on Saturday. Officials did not name the person. The person was later released without charge as the authorities said the evidence took the investigation in a different direction".A shooter dressed in black killed at least two people and wounded nine others at Brown University during final exams on the Ivy League campus.Brown University president Christina Paxson confirmed that the two people killed were students. A shelter-in-place in effect for the area was lifted on Sunday morning.Eight people with gunshot wounds were taken to Rhode Island hospital, where seven were in critical but stable condition, Paxson said on Sunday. One person remains in a critical condition, she added. One other student was discharged from hospital on Saturday night and left with their parents, Paxson said.Providence's mayor Brett Smiley said he had visited the victims of the attack in hospital, praising their resilience and the efforts of emergency medical staff who treated them.The two slain have been identified by loved ones as Ella Cook, a second-year Brown student from Alabama, and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an Uzbek national in his first year of studies at the Ivy League institution. Cook was vice-president of Brown's chapter of College Republicans of America, and Umurzokov had dreams of becoming a neurosurgeon, those who knew them have said.The university announced that all remaining classes, exams, papers and projects were cancelled for the rest of the semester.Officials refused to say whether a gun used in the attack had been found. A small Glock handgun with a laser sight attached and a revolver were found in a hotel room where the person of interest was apprehended, federal law enforcement sources have told CNN.Law enforcement agencies were seen at a Hampton Inn hotel in Coventry, Rhode Island, roping off rooms as part of the investigation into the shooting. An FBI agent said the person of interest had been arrested at the hotel, which is a short drive from Brown University.The FBI used cellphone data to locate the person of interest, the agency's director Kash Patel said.Donald Trump paid tribute to the victims in the attack. Speaking at the White House, the US president said: I want to just pay my respects to the people, unfortunately two are no longer with us, Brown University, nine injured and two are looking down on us right now from Heaven." The president added: So to the nine injured: get well fast. And to the families of those two that are no longer with us: I pay my deepest regards and respects, from the United States of America. Thank you very much. It's a very important thing to say, and we mean it."The shooting occurred in the Barus and Holley building, a seven-story complex that houses the School of Engineering and physics department. According to the university's website, the building includes more than 100 laboratories, dozens of classrooms and offices. Brown, one of the America's most prestigious colleges, has roughly 7,300 undergraduates and more than 3,000 graduate students. Continue reading...
Scott Yenor, who has offered views on women, marriage and LGBTQ rights, helped to found secretive fraternal orderThe Heritage Foundation, an influential rightwing thinktank currently mired in controversy over its president's apparent apology for extremism, has appointed as a director the founder of a secretive all-male network of Christian nationalist fraternal lodges.Scott Yenor, appointed as Heritage's new director of the B Kenneth Simon Center for American Studies, has also recently offered ultra-conservative opinions on women, marriage and LGBTQ rights in recent podcast appearances and speaking engagements. Continue reading...
Variety of agencies now deliberately provocative on social media, further inflaming discourse on serious issuesWhen Donald Trump posted during his first term on what was then called Twitter, his attacks and rants differed significantly from US federal agency staff's more cautious and traditional approach on social media.For example, in January 2017, in response to scrutiny of one of the president's executive orders, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted: We are & will remain in compliance with judicial orders. We are & will continue to enforce @POTUS's EO humanely and with professionalism." Continue reading...
At least two people were killed and nine others injured in Saturday attack that occurred in engineering building on Providence, Rhode Island campusA person of interest detained after a mass shooting at Brown University that killed two students and injured nine has been released after the investigation took law enforcement authorities in a different direction", officials said Sunday night.
In at least half a dozen states, librarians have joined forces with civil rights groups to oppose book bans, often facing personal and professional repercussionsFor decades, libraries served as a safe haven for many queer and marginalized youths in eastern Texas, says former county library director Rhea Young. Unlike the school cafeteria, the library was a space where they could explore and find acceptance in who they wanted to be.There were books where they can find characters like them, and realize it's okay to be who they are," Young said. There needs to be more places like that, not fewer." Continue reading...
Thousands of Jamaican workers who come to the US on an H-2A visa aren't sure if they'll be able to return from one year to the nextFarm worker Owen Salmon has picked apples in upstate New York for almost a decade, some 1,500 miles (2,400km) from home. In the midst of harvest season this year, Hurricane Melissa, a record-breaking category 5 hurricane, made landfall in Jamaica.It was terrifying," said Salmon, whose wife and two children were at home near Black River, a town on the country's south-western coast. For days, I couldn't hear from them. When I finally did, I heard my roof was completely gone. My wife and kids had to run for their lives, but thank God they're alive." Continue reading...
by Chris Stein in Bogalusa, Louisiana with photograph on (#725VS)
Federal funds helped Bogalusa address the deep roots of crime - but with the grant pulled, has momentum been lost for ever?Before the street outside her mother's home filled with gunfire, before panicked partygoers sprinted through the front yard, before she discovered that the body on the ground was a young man she had watched grow up, Khlilia Daniels knew something in Bogalusa had to change.It was December of 2022, and Daniels had spent the year watching her home town on Louisiana's border with Mississippi become a steadily more frightening place. Murders, once rare, now seemed to be happening almost every month, shootings every other week, and in a city of just over 10,000 people, that violence felt close, the losses personal. The victims and perpetrators were predominantly Black, usually young and too often cousins, neighbors or the children of friends, people whom Daniels would see around, until suddenly they were gone. Continue reading...
One alleged shooter was known previously to security agencies, the Australian PM said. Plus, what we know about the Assad family's new life after fleeing Syria last year
Congress must work to stop the president from leading us further into a South American quagmireDonald Trump seems determined to have a military confrontation with Venezuela. He has deployed a massive military arsenal in and around the Caribbean Sea and taken a series of provocative actions off the Venezuelan coast, justifying it as necessary to stem the flow of drugs into the United States.The Council on Foreign Relations says that deployment includes an aircraft carrier, destroyers, cruisers, amphibious assault ships, and a special forces support ship. A variety of aircraft have also been active in the region, including bombers, fighters, drones, patrol planes, and support aircraft." This is the largest display of American military might in the western hemisphere since we invaded Panama in 1989.Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell professor of jurisprudence and political science at Amherst College, is the author or editor of more than 100 books, including Gruesome Spectacles: Botched Executions and America's Death Penalty Continue reading...
The Colts quarterback was coaching high school football before his surprise return. And he showed brains are almost important as brawn at his positionIs quarterback the most demanding position in sports? It's close enough to make no difference: players must memorize a complicated playbook, orchestrate an entire offense, scan for open receivers while 280lb opponents sprint toward them with violent intent, and then thread a pass to a target who could be 30 yards downfield amid a crowd of defenders. Now try doing all that as a 44-year-old grandfather, exactly 1,800 days since you last started an NFL game.Philip Rivers broke that historic streak for the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. The longest layoff before then belonged to another 44-year-old quarterback who returned to action after years out of the game, and some time in coaching - Steve Deberg for the Atlanta Falcons in 1998. Continue reading...
Culture is not immune from the advances of the hard right - but it isn't too late for resistanceInto the pale stone wall of the Kennedy Center, above its elegant terrace on the edge of the Potomac river, are carved bold and idealistic sentiments. This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor. To further the appreciation of culture among all the people, to increase respect for the creative individual, to widen participation by all the processes and fulfillments of art - this is one of the fascinating challenges of these days." Those are the words of John F Kennedy, after whom the US's national performing arts centre is named. The impulse to build it came from Dwight D Eisenhower; it was given JFK's name after his assassination; and it opened in 1971, to the music of Leonard Bernstein and the choreography of Alvin Ailey, in the presidency of Richard Nixon. The Kennedy Centre, in short, was designed to be bipartisan, a place of gathering for Democrats and Republicans alike, a proud showcase of the best of America's dance, opera and music.For 50 years it carefully trod that line, its board balanced by members of Congress from both sides of the political divide. But it turns out it can take just months to unravel half a century of high-minded purpose.Charlotte Higgins is the Guardian's chief culture writer Continue reading...
The director and actor, who has been found dead at home with wife Michele Singer Reiner, had a celebrated career spanning Stand By Me, All In The Family, The Princess Bride, This is Spinal Tap and the beloved romcom When Harry Met Sally
Donald Trump addressed shooting as politicians urged action to improve gun controls - key US politics stories from Sunday at a glanceDonald Trump on Sunday paid his respects to two people killed and nine who were injured in a shooting at Brown University.Before we begin, I want to just pay my respects to the people, unfortunately two are no longer with us, Brown University, nine injured and two are looking down on us right now from Heaven," the president told guests at a holiday reception at the White House. Continue reading...
Trump praises Vince Haley, his ex-speechwriter tasked with creating Arc de Triomphe knockoff amid affordability crisisAmid concerns that he has failed to address a worsening affordability crisis, with health insurance premiums about to spike dramatically for over 20 million Americans, Donald Trump revealed on Sunday that his domestic policy chief's main priority is building a triumphal arch for Washington DC.Speaking at a White House holiday party, the president praised Vince Haley, his former speechwriter and a longtime aide to Newt Gingrich who now leads the White House Domestic Policy Council. Continue reading...
As federal agents target families, teens are left to care for siblings - from accessing bank accounts to medical recordsVilma Cruz, a mother of two, had just arrived at her newly leased Louisiana home when federal agents surrounded her vehicle in the driveway. She had just enough time to call her oldest son before they smashed the passenger window and detained her.The 38-year-old Honduran house painter was swept up in an immigration crackdown that has largely targeted Kenner, a New Orleans suburb with a large Hispanic population, where some parents at risk of deportation had rushed to arrange emergency custody plans for their children in case they were arrested. Continue reading...
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