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My father joined the program when I was eight months old and retired 46 years later. He would be encouraging journalists at CBS to speak outThe end of the 60 Minutes broadcast as we know it has sickened millions of longtime viewers, colleagues, and all of us who are offended and threatened by our current administration and its cronies' assaults on the first amendment. The news of Scott Pelley's firing hits particularly hard. He spoke of risking my life and the happiness of my family because of my devotion to the broadcast".Having literally grown up with that broadcast - my father, Morley Safer, joined the program when I was eight months old and retired 46 years later - I am acutely aware of the costs of that devotion. 60 Minutes, particularly in its early days, demanded commitments of time and travel that were keenly felt at home.Sarah Safer is the daughter of Morley Safer, who was a 60 Minutes correspondent for 46 years Continue reading...

Israel and its lobby will use section 224 of the National Defense Authorization Act to bind the US to a state that has gone rogueCongress is considering legislation that would embed Israel's military deeply within the US military-industrial complex. Stunned by the cratering of public support for Israeli policies in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank and towards Iran, Israel's advocates are frantically seeking to preserve and even escalate US support for the Jewish state in ways that do not rely on defense of its policies or permit scrutiny of the manipulations involved.Politically, this means avoiding public discussion of Israeli policies in Gaza, Lebanon, the West Bank or Iran and disguising the sources of massive amounts of money pouring into election races to defeat candidates raising questions about US support for Israel. The proposed legislation shows what this means bureaucratically. Continue reading...

A new book looks at how rituals, charms and curses are central to the identity of America's pastimeIt's a Chicago legend, nurtured like a hot dog with everything except ketchup. During the 1945 World Series, local bar owner William Sianis brought his pet goat, Murphy, to a game between the hometown Cubs and the Detroit Tigers. Murphy was denied entry, because he smelled. Thus began the Curse of the Billy Goat, dooming Chicago's NL entry to decades of also-ran status. As Sianis reportedly wrote team owner Philip Knight Wrigley after the Tigers won in 1945, Who smells now?" The Cubs would not win another title until 2016.Welcome to the world of magic in baseball. On the macro level, a goat can apparently change the fortunes of an entire team; on the micro level, batters engage in elaborate rituals at the plate, and no one dares to say no-hitter" until the final out. It's a narrative that goes back to baseball's 19th-century origins, and it's all chronicled in a new book out this week - The Magical Game: The Spirit and History of Baseball's Superstitions, Rituals, and Curses by author, journalist, astrologer and New York Mets fan Addy Baird. Continue reading...

Inside New York's notorious jail complex, nearly 2,000 incarcerated people watched Game 1 of the NBA finals, arguing calls, roasting celebrity fans and sharing in a rare citywide momentIt's nearly half past eight on Wednesday evening and approximately 30 men in tan uniforms drift into the common area of a housing unit deep inside the George R Vierno Center, an 850-bed jail and one of eight active facilities on New York's Rikers Island. Some hover around a folding table piled to the edges with snacks. Others make their way into the smaller rooms on the perimeter of the two-floor communal space and drag plastic chairs closer to the flat-screen televisions mounted inside. The excited chatter and nervous energy bubbles as a familiar refrain cuts through the din.Knicks in four.Pictured above: An exterior view of the Rikers Island jail complex on 3 June 2026. Pictured below: The bridge connecting Rikers Island to Queens crosses a sprawling employee parking lot before reaching the jail complex, which houses the vast majority of people held in New York City's custody. All photographs by Lauren Caulk. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: Global powers are focused on oil markets and elections but those living through conflict in the Middle East feel abandonedGood morning. It's been another week of brinkmanship via Truth Social and ceasefires broken before they've been announced.While US president Donald Trump claims an agreement with Iran could happen soon, for those living in the Middle East it does not feel like peace is anywhere near. People have seen more bombs dropped in Lebanon this week; and the death toll continues to rise, national economies falter, and displacement abounds.UK politics | Andy Burnham has signalled he would begin transforming the broken social care system this year if he became prime minister, he has said in an interview with the Guardian, accusing Westminster of flinching away" from tackling difficult policy problems.Environment | Humanity can raise living standards, reduce inequality and keep global heating within a 2C rise, according to a sweeping vision for planetary survival.Ukraine | The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has called for face-to-face negotiations in a public letter addressed directly to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.England news | The poorest and most nature-deprived communities in England will be further left behind in their access to green spaces if proposed changes to planning laws go ahead, a report finds.UK news | Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor received private income from subletting three cottages on his Windsor Royal Lodge estate while paying a peppercorn rent" to the crown estate, a report into royal property arrangements has revealed. Continue reading...

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Workers say they deserve a greater share of the windfall and want protection from ICE and invasive data collectionWorkers at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, are voting on whether to authorize a strike one week before World Cup soccer games are slated to begin in the Los Angeles area.Unite Here Local 11's strike authorization vote comes as ongoing negotiations for a new contract with stadium operator Legends Global have stalled, with workers saying they deserve a greater share of the windfall from a packed schedule of coming mega-events that include the World Cup, the Super Bowl and the Olympics. Continue reading...

Platner says claims in New York Times article of physical misconduct and offensive remarks politically motivated'Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for the US Senate, has rejected an explosive new report about his treatment of women, insisting that allegations of abusive behavior are politically motivated".Platner, a progressive running for election in Maine, was responding to a New York Times article published on Thursday that included an interview with a Republican operative who accused him of womanizing, physical misconduct and making troubling comments about rape. Continue reading...

Trump's plan for an anti-weaponization' fund that could issue financial settlements to people connected to the January 6 insurrection has sparked dissent in his party - key US politics stories from Thursday 4 June at a glanceSenate Republicans on Thursday narrowly scuttled an attempt by Democrats to stop Donald Trump from creating a $1.8bn fund to pay his allies, even as signs emerged that dissent over the proposal was spreading inside the US president's own party.Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer had proposed inserting language barring the payouts into Republican-backed legislation to fund Trump's mass deportation campaign through the duration of his term. Continue reading...

Legislation would also sanction key segments of Russian economy, overriding objections from Republican leadersThe House passed legislation Thursday that would aid Ukraine and sanction key segments of the Russian economy, overriding objections from Republican leaders who warned the bill would undermine negotiations designed to achieve a comparable but stronger result.The 226-195 vote is a sign of impatience with Donald Trump's approach to the war and represents the House's second major foreign policy break with Trump this week. The day before, the House, for the first time, approved a war powers resolution aimed at halting US military action against Iran. Continue reading...

Pulte, who is the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, is a staunch loyalist of the presidentDonald Trump has suggested his controversial ally Bill Pulte will investigate rigged elections" while serving as the country's top intelligence official, as the US president continues to make unfounded allegations about voting.But Pulte, whom Trump appointed as acting director of national intelligence earlier this week, will only serve in the role temporarily, the president claimed on Thursday. Continue reading...

Blanche, whom Trump plans to nominate to replace ex-attorney general, served as Bondi's deputy at DoJFormer attorney general Pam Bondi told lawmakers that Todd Blanche, the man Donald Trump has lined up to replace her, was in charge" of the US Department of Justice's controversial handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.Appearing before the House oversight and reform committee, which is investigating the late financier and convicted sex offender, Bondi also said she was not certain of the extent" that Trump knew about the crimes of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Epstein who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex-trafficking crimes, before they became public. Continue reading...

Announcement follows DoJ's recent findings that medical schools at UCLA and Yale illegally used race in admissionsThe US Department of Justice's civil rights division has launched investigations into 15 medical schools over allegations of potential race discrimination in their admissions processes.Thursday's announcement follows the DoJ's recent findings that the medical schools at the University of California, Los Angeles and Yale University illegally used race in their admissions. Continue reading...

US president announces plans for two new coal plants, in Alaska and West Virginia, using Defense Production ActDonald Trump is using wartime presidential authority to hand $700m to coal-fired power plants in the US, the latest move by the president to bolster what he called clean, beautiful coal", despite it being the dirtiest of fossil fuels.Today, we're taking historic action to bring down the price of energy and the cost of living for all Americans with the power of clean, beautiful coal," he said at xa press conference on Thursday. Continue reading...

Three GOP senators join Democrats as dispute over proposed payouts exposes party divisions

Justice department filed charges against Trump's former adviser in 2025 as part of onslaught against president's critics

Hair stylist Frederic Fekkai and ex-Miami Beach mayor Philip Levine accused in new testimony, lawmakers revealRepublican lawmakers have asked the Department of Justice to investigate sexual assault allegations involving two men made by Jeffrey Epstein's longtime assistant.In a transcribed closed-door interview in late May, as part of a congressional investigation into Epstein, Sarah Kellen, one of the late sex offender's former aides, told the House oversight and reform committee she was sexually and psychologically abused" by him during her employment - but also alleged she was sexually assaulted by the French celebrity hairstylist Frederic Fekkai, and by Philip Levine, the former mayor of Miami Beach, in separate incidents in the early 2000s. Continue reading...

Group calls ceasefire a roadmap to annihilate part of the Lebanese people', throwing regional peace talks into doubtHezbollah has rejected a US-brokered ceasefire plan agreed by the Lebanese and Israeli governments, throwing the future of a truce in Lebanon and regional peace negotiations into question.The group's leader, Naim Qassem, called the plan a roadmap to annihilate part of the Lebanese people" in a statement on Thursday. Continue reading...

Republican-led states growing renewable capabilities at faster rate as Texas emerges as clean-energy leaderDemocratic-led states are eroding their climate policies, as red states are scaling up their clean energy deployment.California on Friday scaled back its cap-and-invest program, offering more than $3bn in free pollution allowances to polluting companies. Earlier the same week, New York weakened its groundbreaking climate law, delaying a plan to regulate carbon from 2024 until 2028 and reducing emissions-slashing targets. Rhode Island's governor, meanwhile, is attempting to roll back aggressive clean-energy programs. Continue reading...

US president alleges there is big cheating' in elections for governor and Los Angeles mayor as results are pendingDonald Trump has alleged without evidence that Democrats are cheating in California's primaries and claimed in a late-night social media post that the US attorney's office in Los Angeles was investigating.As counting continues in the most populous state in the US, the president's unfounded remarks are likely to further alarm election observers, who have warned of the risk of escalating misinformation in the absence of a final result. Continue reading...

Justices uphold FCC authority to impose in-house penalties, rejecting AT&T and Verizon jury trial claims

Deletion of the bureau's website content is just the most recent part of a larger plan to undermine an agency that's helped people'The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau deleted at least 2,200 webpages from its website last month, a move advocates say is part of the Trump administration's latest effort to dismantle the federal consumer finance watchdog.The removed content was all published before Trump's second term, and includes press releases, consumer advisories, congressional testimonies, speeches and blog posts. Some of the material dates back to as early as 2010, when the agency was formed. Continue reading...

The former Seahawks quarterback won a championship with Seattle and was a 10-time Pro Bowler. That doesn't mean he's seen as an all-time greatWhen a quarterback makes 10 Pro Bowls, wins the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, and leads his team to one Super Bowl win and (almost) another, you'd expect his Hall of Fame discussion would be fairly uncomplicated.But in the case of one Russell Carrington Wilson, who appeared to announce his retirement on Wednesday after 14 seasons to join CBS Sports as an analyst, that discussion is multi-layered - much like Wilson's career and legacy. Continue reading...

Retail theft ring' stole goods from logistics sites in Pennsylvania, Virginia and New Jersey and sold them in New York, officials sayEight people were indicted this week in New York in connection with what prosecutors describe as a wide-ranging retail theft ring" that stole nearly $5m worth of goods - from steaks to cheeses to copper wiring and cigarettes.The Manhattan district attorney's office announced charges against the eight individuals on Wednesday, accusing them of conspiring to impersonate shipping carriers in a wide-ranging retail theft ring throughout the north-east". Continue reading...

The ceasefire has held just enough to prevent a return to all-out war, but neither side is close to achieving peaceThe US-Iran ceasefire is entering yet another round of escalation since it came into effect on 8 April. This week, there have been further strikes on Iran by the US, and Iranian retaliation on Kuwait and Bahrain, alongside Israeli escalation in Lebanon. Earlier flare-ups over the past two months were quickly contained. Both sides have tried to keep the balance between no war and no peace. But as this ceasefire drags on it risks becoming yet another Middle East stalemate, albeit one with international economic and political consequences.Four obstacles are preventing progress. The first is trust. Iran does not believe Donald Trump can deliver a deal, much less stick to one. The fear is not only that Washington will walk away again but that the goalposts will keep moving, where first nuclear limits are imposed, followed by missiles, then regional policy and finally further political concessions dressed up as security guarantees.Sanam Vakil is the director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House Continue reading...

Lebanese government agrees ceasefire with Israel but Israeli drone strikes continue. Plus the story of the man who launched Cuba's first independent magazineGood morning.Israel and Lebanon have agreed to implement a ceasefire to end hostilities, the Trump administration has announced - but it comes with caveats. Not only is the deal contingent on a complete cessation of fire from the Iran-aligned Hezbollah armed group, and on the evacuation of all its fighters from the area south of the Litani River, but Hezbollah has not been part of the talks.Where has Israel been targeting? William Christou in Beirut reports that three hospitals in southern Lebanon have been attacked by Israel in under a week, wounding more than 150 people and killing nine. Analysts and human rights experts have said the attacks on healthcare facilities were aimed at degrading the conditions for life in south Lebanon.What did Israel say about it? The military said it had struck Hezbollah infrastructure in the area of Tyre" and acknowledged a hospital was affected incidentally". It accused Hezbollah of taking over" one of the hospitals it struck.Is that number significant? Yes, the 90-day threshold is important because the 1973 War Powers Resolution lays down that a president must seek congressional approval to continue waging war after hostilities have continued that length of time. Trump's White House has rejected that argument, citing a temporary ceasefire that has been in place since 8 April - although it has been broken several times by the US, Israel and Iran. Continue reading...

The New York Knicks are fighting history as well as the Spurs. On Wednesday night in San Antonio, they took a crucial step towards defeating bothIt is uncommon to begin counting down after the opening game of an NBA finals, but these are uncommon times in New York, and the Knicks have been counting since Richard Nixon was president, their coach, Mike Brown, was three years old, and their opponent, the San Antonio Spurs, played in the American Basketball Association. After the Knicks took Game 1 105-95, the anticipation in New York rose to yet another level.Game 1 was not a good game, but it was a great game. The first quarter was ragged. So was the second. Neither team could shoot from distance - the Knicks shot 31% from three, the Spurs 26%. The Spurs' Victor Wembanyama, the sport's heir apparent, made his finals debut with six turnovers, 6-for-21 shooting from the field, defensively alive but never transcendent. Both Wembanyama and Jalen Brunson, the Knicks' superb, always underestimated engine, took nine three-pointers. Each made two.Howard Bryant is the author of 11 books, including The Heritage: Black Athletes, A Divided America, and the Politics of Patriotism and Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America. Continue reading...

White House says caps will lower tuition costs, but critics say they will exacerbate the country's nursing shortage

Cenk Uygur was due to appear at SXSW alongside streamer Hasan Piker but Home Office cancelled travel authorisation

While wealthy Americans hail a booming stock market, the rest of us worry about rising inflation and people struggling to make ends meetIn case you're not familiar with the concept of the K-shaped economy, it's an important idea that captures a lot about Trump's America. Wealthy Americans are represented by the line of the K that angles sharply upward to the right, while the line of the K that dips downward represents non-rich Americans and the difficulties they face.The economy's K-shape has been growing worse in recent months, in large part because of Donald Trump's policies. The wealthy people's line is climbing further upward, while the line for the non-wealthy - the vast majority of Americans - has fallen further. Continue reading...

We look at Mikel Arteta's next steps, Liverpool potentially missing out on an old flame and Anthony Gordon's move to BarcelonaThe margins were so narrow that Arsenal might have finished Saturday as European champions had Gabriel Magalhaes not skied his penalty in the shootout. Similarly, the Champions League trophy may have ended up in their grasp had Cristhian Mosquera stopped himself from tripping Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to give Paris Saint-Germain a way back after the Gunners had taken an early lead. Continue reading...

The Center for Photography at Woodstock (in Kingston, New York) recently opened the first-ever New York Upstate Photography Biennial, featuring the work of 39 artists who live and work across the Hudson valley and beyond. The show, co-curated by Marina Chao and Adam Giles Ryan, highlights the diverse work of photographers in the upstate region. Their images will be on view until 6 September 2026 Continue reading...

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Attack brings death toll to at least 207 since administration began targeting people it calls narcoterrorists'The US military attacked a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, killing two men, as the Trump administration wages a months-long campaign against alleged traffickers in Latin America.The latest attack brings the number of people who have been killed in boat strikes by the US military to at least 207 since the administration began targeting people it calls narcoterrorists" in early September. Continue reading...

Vote sends resolution to the US Senate, where the chamber must promptly take up the measure under law - key US politics stories from Wednesday, 3 June at a glanceThe US House of Representatives delivered a stunning rebuke to Donald Trump over his war on Iran on Wednesday, as representatives backed a move to force him to seek approval from Congress or withdraw US forces.The House voted 215 to 208 in favor of the war powers resolution, as four Republicans voted with Democrats. The dissident Republicans were Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Tom Barrett of Michigan. Continue reading...

Incumbent leads in primary, but with less than 50% of votes must face either Spencer Pratt or Nithya RamanLos Angeles's high-profile mayoral contest remained unsettled Wednesday evening as the city waited to learn who will join incumbent Karen Bass in November's general election.Bass came out ahead in Tuesday's heated primary but, after securing less than 50% of the vote, she'll have to defend her seat against either Spencer Pratt, a former reality TV star, or progressive city council member Nithya Raman. As of Wednesday evening, with more than 60% of votes counted, Pratt had secured just under 30% of the vote, while Raman had won nearly 23%. Continue reading...

Order strips job protections from workers earning up to about $200,000 a year and deemed to be influencing' policyDonald Trump has signed an executive order making it easier to fire thousands of the best-paid workers in the US government aspart of a broader drive by his administration to overhaul the federal workforce.The order, released by the White House and the office of personnel management (OPM) on Wednesday, strips job protections from a mostly senior group of federal workers - about 8,000 employees - earning up to almost $200,000 a year, and who are deemed to be influencing" government policy. Continue reading...

Guardian sources say Ernst Tanner has not rejoined the club after he was found to have violated league policiesDespite being eligible for reinstatement, former Philadelphia Union sporting director Ernst Tanner has not resumed duties with the club, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation said this week, in part because he has yet to complete his league-ordered restorative practices training.Tanner was suspended through 1 June by Major League Soccer after a league-ordered investigation found he had violated policies and standards of professional conduct required of League and Club leadership". That investigation, which concluded in March, was the league's second inquiry into alleged misconduct by Tanner; he had previously been investigated after an MLS Players Association complaint alleged multiple instances of racist, sexist and homophobic behavior. Continue reading...

Ocean Observatories Initiative, $368m network that has provided crucial climate data, latest victim of Trump cutsThe Trump administration plans to dismantle a $368m deep-sea observation system that has for more than a decade provided crucial data on ocean systems and climate change.In a notice, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that it had initiated descoping of the Ocean Observatories Initiative" (OOI), a vast ocean observation network comprising more than 900 instruments that collect data on ocean health, including current patterns, climate variability and marine biodiversity. Continue reading...

Hearing in New York state case over shooting of healthcare executive sealed at short notice at request of the defense'Luigi Mangione's New York state case in the killing of the healthcare executive Brian Thompson descended into secrecy on Wednesday when Judge Gregory Carro held sealed proceedings despite press objections.Mangione's state trial for allegedly shooting dead Thompson on a Manhattan Street in late 2024 is scheduled for 8 September. Mangione also faces a federal trial in relation to Thompson's killing. The murder triggered an intense manhunt but also prompted an outpouring of public rage against the practices of the for-profit US healthcare industry. Continue reading...

Faculty who support Palestinian rights are applying for compensation, claiming they faced harassment as Jews for their positionsWhen Columbia University reached a settlement with the Trump administration last year, the deal included a $21m fund to compensate Jewish employees for an allegedly hostile work environment due to heated protests against Israel's war in Gaza.This week, as the window to file claims with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission came to a close, several Jewish faculty members filed claims to say they had experienced harassment as Jews on campus - but probably not on grounds Trump's EEOC intended. Continue reading...

Early results show Steve Hilton, Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer emerging in front, with many ballots to be counted

Two-time Grammy winner was best known for songs from Beauty and the Beast and AladdinPeabo Bryson, the R&B singer best known as the voice behind the Oscar-winning Disney film duets Beauty and the Beast with Celine Dion, and A Whole New World with Regina Belle from Aladdin, has died. He was 75.His family said in a statement that Bryson, who won two Grammy awards, died on Tuesday, days after having a stroke. Continue reading...

Prosecutors seek to try 17-year-old as adult after animals injured at major barrel racing eventA teenage girl who allegedly stabbed three show horses at a weekend rodeo in Las Vegas, Nevada, is a crazy, obsessed stalker" who waited in a darkened barn to commit the attacks, the owner of one of the animals has said.The Nevada city's police department arrested a 17-year-old female on Saturday for the incidents at the National Barrel Horse Association's supershow, a competition for the sport's top riders at the South Point equestrian arena on the Las Vegas strip. Continue reading...