US news | The Guardian

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai say rates of heart attack and respiratory illness matched worst years of Covid'In the first 90 days after the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires that destroyed entire Los Angeles neighborhoods, there was a 46% increase in ER visits for heart attack symptoms at LA's Cedars-Sinai hospital, according to a newly released study.Rates of heart attacks in January 2025 actually surpassed heart attack rates during all the prior Januaries, even during the Covid years," Dr Susan Cheng, director of public health research at Cedars-Sinai and the study's senior author, told the Guardian.This story was amended on 17 December 2025 to correct a misprint in the journal study. The was a 118% increase in blood-test abnormalities after the January wildfires. Continue reading...

District judge says hundreds of federal layoffs at four agencies not allowed under law Congress passed last monthA federal judge on Wednesday said she would block Donald Trump's administration from laying off hundreds of federal employees, the latest legal setback for the president's efforts to downsize the US government workforce.US district judge Susan Illston during a hearing in San Francisco said hundreds of layoffs at four agencies were likely not allowed under a law Congress passed last month to end a 43-day government shutdown. Continue reading...

District judge says policies deeming ICE field offices off-limits for congressional oversight' violates federal lawA federal judge on Wednesday said Donald Trump's administration cannot bar members of Congress from making unannounced visits to immigrant detention facilities.US district judge Jia Cobb in Washington DC said US Department of Homeland Security policies deeming Immigration and Customs Enforcement field offices off-limits for congressional oversight" and requiring seven days' notice for visits violated federal law. Continue reading...

Fulton county DA hits back at Republican opponents who investigated her over relationship with special prosecutorFulton county district attorney Fani Willis testified on Wednesday at a combative Georgia state senate committee about her prosecution of Donald Trump for election interference.The state senate created the special committee in early 2024 to investigate Willis after the revelation that she had a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, special prosecutor in the Trump case, which ultimately derailed the prosecution of the now-re-elected president. Continue reading...

New plaques on Presidential Walk of Fame' scorn divisive' Obama and by far the worst' Biden - but Reagan is praisedWhite House officials on Wednesday revised what they call the Presidential Walk of Fame," installing plaques beneath portraits of former presidents that reflect Donald Trump's own views, including branding former president Joe Biden as the worst president in American history".The changes are part of Trump's broader effort to reshape the White House environment to match his preferences. Along the colonnade, portraits of past presidents now feature expanded text that permanently records Trump's assessments of their records. Continue reading...

Ex-special counsel tells House panel US president's actions alone underpinned now-dropped prosecutionsJack Smith, the former US justice department special counsel who brought two now-dropped criminal cases against Donald Trump, defended his investigation before a House of Representatives panel on Wednesday, telling lawmakers that the basis for the prosecutions rests entirely with President Trump and his actions".Smith gave private testimony to the Republican-controlled House judiciary committee following months of disclosures from Trump appointees at the justice department, and Republican lawmakers intended to discredit Smith's investigation and bolster Trump's claims that the cases were an abuse of the legal system. Continue reading...

Brendan Carr's declaration raises concerns amid Trump efforts to exert greater control over independent agenciesThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is not an independent" agency, its chairman suggested on Wednesday, as the word was scrubbed from its online mission statement.Brendan Carr's declaration to senators raised concerns of a further power grab by the White House, amid concerns surrounding efforts by Donald Trump and his officials to exert greater control over independent agencies since his return to office in January. Continue reading...

More than 3,500 cases of dressing, including Hidden Valley Ranch, recalled after foreign objects' were discoveredThousands of cases of salad dressing have been recalled in the US after foreign objects" were discovered in the products, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).The recall involves items produced by California-based Ventura Foods and affects dressings distributed to retailers nationwide. Continue reading...

Stunning move comes after House Republicans pushed ahead with bill that doesn't address soaring premiums if Affordable Care Act tax credits expire

Son of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner who is being held without bail did not enter a pleaNick Reiner, who has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of his parents, acclaimed actor and director Rob Reiner and photographer Michele Singer Reiner, made his first appearance in court on Wednesday.The 32-year-old, who is being held without bail, did not enter a plea, and his arraignment has been delayed until January. Continue reading...

Senate advances 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, which White House says Trump will sign into lawThe US Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to advance a $901bn bill setting policy for the Pentagon, sending the big piece of legislation to the White House, which has said Donald Trump will sign it into law.The fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, is a compromise between separate measures passed earlier this year in the House of Representatives and Senate. It authorizes a record $901bn in annual military spending, with a 4% pay raise for the troops, purchases of military equipment and efforts to boost competitiveness with US archrivals China and Russia. Continue reading...

The former Liverpool and Barcelona striker, who turns 39 in January, has been productive but was benched for the tail end of Miami's title runInter Miami have re-signed striker Luis Suarez through the 2026 season, the MLS Cup champions announced Wednesday.The legendary Uruguay international had 17 goals and 17 assists in 50 appearances for the team in 2025. However, Inter Miami became a buzzsaw after Suarez was dropped to the bench by head coach Javier Mascherano. Replaced by Mateo Silvetti after Miami's 2-1 loss at Nashville SC in Round One, Miami won their next four games and outscored opponents 16-2 in route to the MLS Cup title. Continue reading...

The incendiary quotes don't disguise how dissatisfied people are about jobs, inflation or the cost of living

Community members have stepped up with carpools, food deliveries, school patrols and policy advocacyBefore the school bell rang on the morning of 19 November, dozens of parents - mostly dads - huddled outside schools all around Durham, North Carolina. Bleary-eyed from late-night meetings and dinging group chats, they passed out whistles and gloves before dispersing to stand along school perimeters.The parents had formed ad hoc welcoming committees for students being dropped off for school - and to serve as a united group of watchdogs against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). A week before Thanksgiving, federal immigration agents had descended upon the city as part of a massive statewide campaign that included Charlotte and smaller communities. For almost a month, masked agents, often in tactical vests or fatigues and some carrying rifles, patrolled quiet neighborhoods and vibrant shopping centers around North Carolina. ICE doubled its North Carolina arrests in 2025 from the previous year, totaling 3,400 arrests from 20 January through 15 October. Continue reading...

Officials had been surveilling Micah James Legnon due to ties to extremist anti-capitalist and anti-government groupPlans to carry out an attack" in New Orleans were thwarted after an ex-US marine was arrested while on the way to the Louisiana city with guns and body armor in the car, according to court documents obtained Tuesday by the Associated Press.Micah James Legnon, 28, was charged with threats in interstate commerce. Federal authorities said they had been surveilling Legnon due to ties to an extremist anti-capitalist and anti-government group. Four members of the group were arrested Friday in the Mojave desert, east of Los Angeles, as they were rehearsing a foiled plot to set off bombs in southern California on New Year's Eve, authorities said. Continue reading...

The New Jersey Democrat was charged with interfering with an immigration arrest while conducting her oversight dutiesThis year marked the start of LaMonica McIver's first full term as a member of Congress. Rather than a year spent learning the ropes of her new job, the New Jersey Democrat spent much of it fighting against federal criminal charges she sees as political retribution.On 19 May, McIver was charged with interfering with an arrest outside an immigration detention center in New Jersey earlier that month. Continue reading...

New York got a championship while a high-stakes meeting between the Thunder and Spurs showed where the NBA, and the NBA Cup, is todayAfter toppling the defending champion Boston Celtics in a shocking upset in the Eastern Conference semi-finals this spring, The New York Knicks immediately became the favorites to represent the conference in the NBA Finals. The Indiana Pacers, a team that will no doubt go down as having one of the most compelling Cinderella stories in modern NBA history, had other plans. Continue reading...

Statue of Johns, who protested poor conditions at her segregated Virginia high school, unveiled following removal of statue of Confederate generalThe US Capitol on Tuesday began displaying a statue of a teenaged Barbara Rose Johns as she protested poor conditions at her segregated Virginia high school, a pointed replacement for a statue of Confederate Gen Robert E Lee that was removed several years ago.An unveiling ceremony of the statue representing Virginia in the Capitol took place in Emancipation Hall, featuring Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic minority leader, Glenn Youngkin, Virginia's Republican governor, Virginia's congressional delegation and Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic governor-elect. Continue reading...

EarthQuaker Devices has served Smashing Pumpkins, PJ Harvey and Radiohead but says tariffs add costs up to 30%Julie Robbins and her team at EarthQuaker Devices have made guitar pedals for some of the biggest names in the world of music. The Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, PJ Harvey and others have sought out the company's bespoke, handmade pedals for their unique sounds and designs. Its most popular model, Plumes, has sold over 67,000 devices.Their made-from-scratch effects petals use more than 1,000 components, many which are imported directly from countries such as China and Vietnam or are bought from companies that bring them in from overseas. Continue reading...

Move comes amid escalating campaign against Maduro as Venezuelan government condemns grotesque threat'. Plus, how to plan a polyamorous wedding

Experts decry Jason Reding Quinones's fishing expedition' as subpoenas reportedly issued to John Brennan and othersA Maga loyalist US attorney in Miami is expanding an investigation of ex-FBI and intelligence officials who incurred Donald's Trump's wrath with an inquiry into how Russia helped him win in 2016, despite the US justice department suffering stinging recent court rejections of indictments of two foes of the US president.Former prosecutors and legal experts call the Miami-based inquiry, which has issued some two dozen subpoenas so far, a fishing expedition". The investigation's apparent focus is to identify ways to criminally charge ex-FBI and intelligence officials who have already been investigated and effectively exonerated by two special counsels and a Republican-led Senate panel, which mounted exhaustive inquiries into Russia's efforts to boost Trump in 2016. Continue reading...

Decision will pave the way for Netflix to proceed with buyout of film and TV groupWarner Bros Discovery is poised to tell shareholders to reject Paramount's $108bn (81bn) hostile bid, according to reports, clearing the way for Netflix to proceed with its buyout of the Hollywood film and TV group.The board could announce a decision as early as Wednesday after Paramount Skydance - run by David Ellison and bankrolled by his billionaire father, Larry, who founded Oracle - went directly to shareholders with its rival offer almost two weeks ago. Continue reading...

The dismissal of a a renowned health leader who refused to ignore Palestine highlights false claims of universality in human rights, global health and academiaLast Tuesday afternoon, Dean Andrea Baccarelli at the Harvard School of Public Health sent out a brief message announcing that one of the country's most experienced and accomplished public health leaders, Dr Mary T Bassett, would step down" as director of the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights. The email struck a polite, bureaucratic tone, thanking her for her service and offering an upbeat rationale for a new focus on children's health".It omitted the fact that, according to a Harvard Crimson source, Bassett had been asked to resign just two hours earlier and instructed to vacate her office by the end of the year. The decision was not a routine administrative transition. It was the culmination of a year of escalating pressure on the Center for Health and Human Rights for its work on the health and human rights of Palestinians. Powerful figures inside and outside Harvard, including the former Harvard president and now thoroughly disgraced economist Larry Summers, condemned this work and claimed it foments antisemitism". A leading public health scholar whose career has been defined by work on racial justice, poverty, HIV, and global inequality appears to have been removed not because her commitments shifted, but because the political costs of applying those commitments to Palestinians became too great for Harvard to tolerate. Continue reading...

The legal action has made news and it will do damage. A potential disaster for the corporation and the UK, but a good day's work for this presidentLove Actually may be a terrible movie, but it provides one speech that's hard not to wish into reality this Christmas. Keir Starmer, the actual, nonfictional UK prime minister, needs to channel the one played by Hugh Grant - and stand up to an absurd US president now bullying the BBC with a $10bn lawsuit.Just imagine for one moment that Starmer decided to make Donald Trump's claim against the BBC the final straw for a special relationship that is increasingly special only in a bad way. That would not be outlandish, for not only has Trump taken aim against a British broadcaster, but earlier this week it seemed that his promise of an AI prosperity deal" (bought, let's not forget, with gurning invites to Windsor Castle) is set to evaporate. As the fictional Love Actually PM once said: A friend who bullies us is no longer a friend ... Since bullies only respond to strength, from now onward I will be prepared to be much stronger."Jane Martinson is professor of financial journalism at City St George's and a member of the board of the Scott Trust, which owns the Guardian Media Group. She writes in a personal capacity Continue reading...

Susie Wiles has spoken to Vanity Fair magazine in a series of 11 interviews that she has since dismissed as a hit piece'The president's chief of staff Susie Wiles has given her own, unvarnished thoughts about Donald Trump's administration, in a series of interviews published by Vanity Fair magazine, revealing details and opinions that presidential aides usually save for memoirs long after they have left power.From calling out attorney general Pam Bondi over her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, to criticising Elon Musk over the dismantling the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Wiles has offered an unusually candid look inside the White House, after maintaining a low profile for much of Trump's term. Continue reading...

The Russian strategy of exporting chaos to provoke extremism only works if liberals succumb to cynicism and despairI once spent an exasperating week showing a Russian friend around London. He insisted on seeing everything and admiring nothing. Museums, monuments, shops - all compared unfavourably with St Petersburg and Moscow. This got tiresome after a few days, so I asked my friend if there was anything at all about Britain that impressed him. The stability," he said without hesitation. You can feel the stability."That was a different world; the late 1990s. I don't remember the year, but I remember knowing what my friend was talking about because I had felt the same culture shock in reverse when first visiting Russia.Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

In successful challenge, X argued the video wasn't excessively offensive and was an objective record of a public event of historical and political significance'

This blog has now closed. Read our latest story hereWiles also said she had told Donald Trump that his second term was not supposed to be a retribution tour.We have a loose agreement that the score settling will end before the first 90 days are over," she said in an interview in March.I mean, people could think it does look vindictive. I can't tell you why you shouldn't think that.I don't think he [Trump] wakes up thinking about retribution. But when there's an opportunity, he will go for it.Some clinical psychologist that knows one million times more than I do will dispute what I'm going to say. But high-functioning alcoholics or alcoholics in general, their personalities are exaggerated when they drink. And so I'm a little bit of an expert in big personalities. Continue reading...

Move comes amid escalating campaign against Maduro as Venezuelan government condemns grotesque threat'Donald Trump has ordered a total and complete" blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, ramping up pressure on the country's authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro.The move comes amid an escalating campaign by the Trump administration against Maduro that has included a ramped-up military presence in the region and more than two dozen military strikes on vessels in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea near Venezuela, which have killed dozens of people. Continue reading...

Change marks an abrupt end to 30 years of established medical guidance and follows vote earlier this monthThe US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday ended a long-standing recommendation that all US newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine.The agency's move follows a vote from health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.'s vaccine advisory panel that a birth dose should only be given to newborns whose mothers test positive for hepatitis B or whose status is unknown. Continue reading...

Trump said US armada will only get bigger' until Venezuela returns all of the oil, land, and other assets that they previously stole from us' - key US politics stories from 16 December 2025Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a naval blockade of sanctioned oil vessels" leaving and heading to Venezuela, sharply escalating his pressure campaign against Caracas.The US has for months been building a major military deployment in the Caribbean - with the stated goal of combatting drug trafficking, but Venezuela views the operation as a campaign to oust Nicolas Maduro. Continue reading...

Development is latest in case in which carmaker accused of falsely marketing and overstating self-driving capabilitiesA California regulator has put on hold an order to suspend Tesla sales in the state, the latest development in a case in which it accused the electric vehicle maker of falsely marketing and overstating self-driving capabilities.The decision grants a reprieve to Tesla in a case that could force it to halt sales in its biggest US market. Continue reading...

Providence police say video shows person of interest casing the area' before attack in which two people were killedThe Providence police department has released a new video of the person of interest in the Brown University shooting and is calling on the public to pay special attention to the shooter's posture, gait, and body language in order to identify them.The newly released footage was captured on the East Side of Providence on Saturday afternoon, about two hours prior to the shooting. In the video, a masked individual wearing a black beanie, green jacket, and black gloves walks in the residential neighborhood by Brown's campus. Continue reading...

Los Angeles County district attorney Nathan Hochman announced on Tuesday that Nick Reiner will be charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of his parents, filmmaker and actor Rob Reiner and photographer and producer Michele Singer Reiner. Prosecutors said the charges include special circumstances of multiple murders and allegations of using a deadly weapon, which could carry a sentence of life in prison or the death penalty

Senate duo condemn Trump administration and say there can be no business as usual until justice is delivered'Two Democratic senators have announced that they will attempt to block any pending civilian nominations before the Senate in response to what they describe as the Trump administration's failure to provide a briefing to lawmakers" on the release of the files related to Jeffrey Epstein.Senators Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, who both sponsored the Epstein Files Transparency Act, said in a statement on Tuesday that there can be no business as usual until justice is delivered for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein's horrific crimes". Continue reading...

US imposes restrictions on Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria, in addition to initial list of 12 countriesDonald Trump signed a proclamation on Tuesday that further restricts and limits the entry of foreign nationals to the United States, the White House said.The US has imposed full restrictions and entry limitations on nationals from five countries - Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria - in addition to the initial list of 12 countries. Full restrictions have also been imposed on individuals holding Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents, the White House said. Continue reading...

LA district attorney says charges could carry the death penalty, after Nick Reiner arrested in murder of his parents

Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal and Chris Van Hollen go after tech firms including Google and AmazonThree Democratic US senators announced Tuesday that they are investigating whether big tech companies are passing the soaring utility costs of energy-guzzling" data centers on to ordinary Americans. The trio sent letters to the heads of Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta as well as the data center operators CoreWeave, Digital Realty and Equinix asking for greater transparency, cost-sharing and accountability.Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut wrote that they were alarmed by reports that these data centers caused residential electricity bills to skyrocket". Regions with significant data center activity have already endured price increases by as much as 267% over the past five years, the three lawmakers wrote. According to the Energy Information Administration, a federal agency, the average cost of a US family's electricity bill had risen 7% year-over-year as of September. Continue reading...

Susie Wiles gives strikingly unguarded comments in 11 interviews, starting before election, with Vanity FairDonald Trump believes there's nothing he can't do, nothing, zero" as US president, the White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, said in a rare interview that shines an unvarnished spotlight on his second administration.Speaking to Vanity Fair, Wiles described Trump - who is teetotal - as having an alcoholic's personality", an insight she ascribed to her relationship with her late father, the broadcaster and NFL star Pat Summerall, who had alcoholism. Continue reading...

The US president has repeatedly targeted American media in an attempt to muzzle debate and scrutiny. His attempt to export the bullying must be resistedOn the day that the government launched a high-stakes consultation to consider fresh ways of funding the BBC in the digital era, the corporation could have done without another difficult news event of its own. Donald Trump's decision to follow through on threats to sue over the content of a Panorama programme broadcast in October 2024 may not have come as a surprise, given Mr Trump's litigious record in the United States. But it will add to the general air of beleaguerment at the corporation and further embolden its domestic political enemies.A terse BBC statement on Tuesday suggested that there would be no backing down in the face of White House bullying. That is the right response to absurd claims of overwhelming financial and reputational harm" caused to the US president, and a fantastical request for damages amounting to $10bn. The BBC has rightly apologised for the misleading splicing together of separate clips from Mr Trump's rabble-rousing speech on January 6 2020, prior to the violent storming of the US Capitol. A serious error of judgment was made in that editing process - though the House of Representatives January 6 committee concluded that Trump did use his speech to incite an insurrection. But the claim that a programme not broadcast in the US was part of a malicious plan to defame Mr Trump and subvert the democratic process ahead of last year's election is utterly specious. Continue reading...

Marco Rubio calls drug-trafficking militia, present in at least 20 of Colombia's departments, violent and powerful'The US has designated the Gulf Clan, Colombia's largest and most powerful illegal armed criminal group, as a foreign terrorist organisation.The notorious drug-trafficking militia with its roots in far-right paramilitary forces, is present in at least 20 of Colombia's departments, and dominates people- and drug-smuggling routes through the Darien Gap. It has also battled unsuccessfully against leftwing rebels for control of criminal networks along the Venezuelan border. Continue reading...

Cair claims in lawsuit that Florida governor's order blocking group from state resources was unconstitutionalA leading Muslim civil rights group in the US has sued Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor, over his order designating it and another organization as a foreign terrorist organization", saying the directive was unconstitutional.The Council on American-Islamic Relations, known as Cair, has more than 20 chapters across the United States and its work involves legal actions, advocacy and education outreach. Continue reading...

The BBC has vowed to defend itself against the $10bn lawsuit that the US president, Donald Trump, filed against it. Trump alleges the broadcaster intentionally, maliciously and deceptively" edited the 6 January speech he gave before the attack on the US Capitol. On Tuesday, a BBC spokesperson said: As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case. We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings."Lucy Hough speaks to the head of national news, Archie Bland Continue reading...

Rescheduling marijuana might seem an unlikely move for a Republican president - but it perfectly coheres with his America First' worldviewFor decades, the issue of cannabis reform was firmly viewed as a leftist pipe dream. To most conservatives, particularly US Republicans, legalising weed was as realistic as nuclear disarmament, or abolishing national borders.Think of the phrase war on drugs" and the first people that probably come to mind are Republican presidents Nixon, Reagan and George HW and George W Bush. Although the clampdown reached its harshest levels during the presidency of Mr I didn't inhale" Bill Clinton, it always seemed as if the GOP owned the position of being tough on drugs". As recently as 2023, Mitch McConnell, then Senate Republican leader, reaffirmed this reputation by stating that: Democrats are struggling with the basics. This should not be this hard. Drugs belong off our streets."Dr Kojo Koram is professor of law and political economy at Loughborough University, and writes on issues of law, race and empire. He is the author of Uncommon Wealth: Britain and the Aftermath of Empire Continue reading...