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Democratic senator and former combat pilot dismisses billionaire who wrote You are a traitor' after Ukraine tripElon Musk is not a serious guy", said Mark Kelly, the US fighter pilot and astronaut turned Arizona Democratic senator, after the Tesla owner and close Donald Trump ally called him a traitor" for visiting Ukraine in support of its fight against Russia's invading troops.On Sunday, Kelly posted to social media photos of his visit and a lengthy statement. Continue reading...

Resident made marshmallow treats outside around when New York fires ignited, prompting closures and evacuationsAuthorities suspect the wildfires that broke out over the weekend in New York's Long Island were ignited by a local resident toasting the marshmallow, chocolate and graham cracker treats known as s'mores.According to what the Suffolk county police commissioner, Kevin Catalina, said on Monday, investigators' operating theory" is that the fires were sparked by a resident making s'mores over a fire in a back yard in the hamlet of Manorville. The person used cardboard to light up the fire on Saturday, which he was having trouble starting because of strong winds. Continue reading...

Porter, a former consumer protection attorney, enters a crowded field in which Kamala Harris may eventually enterThe former Democratic House member Katie Porter announced on Tuesday that she is entering California's 2026 gubernatorial contest, joining a crowded field of candidates that could be upended if former vice-president Kamala Harris joins the race.Porter, who became a social media celebrity by brandishing a whiteboard at congressional hearings while grilling CEOs, promised in a campaign launch video to be an aggressive counterweight to Donald Trump's administration at a time when the heavily Democratic state has clashed with the White House over issues from water management to immigrant rights. Continue reading...

President shares more than 100 Truth Social posts as stock markets react shakily to his refusal to rule out recessionDonald Trump posted to social media more than 100 times on Monday in a frenzy of self-aggrandizing messages even as the global stock market fell sharply amid fears that his economic policies could produce a US recession.Far from rushing to calm troubled waters after markets reacted shakily to his refusal to rule out a recession, the US president instead shared a blizzard of links on Truth Social, the platform he owns, starting at 11.44am ET with a link to a Fox News article about Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, raising defense spending before visiting Washington last month. Continue reading...

Elizabeth Oyer claims justice department senior bullied' her due to Trump's relationship with actor sentenced for domestic violence in 2011The pardon attorney of the US justice department was recently fired after refusing to recommend that Mel Gibson be allowed to own guns again, a right denied since the actor, director and prominent ally of Donald Trump was sentenced to probation for domestic violence in 2011, the New York Times reported.The pardon attorney is a non-political role, supervising matters of clemency and recommendations for presidential pardons. Elizabeth Oyer was appointed under Joe Biden's presidency in 2022. She told the Times she had been working on a project to restore gun ownership rights to some people convicted of crimes and misdemeanors, a power held by the justice department but not often used. Continue reading...

The Guardian can reveal comments by Ed Martin advancing false and racist claims. Plus, just seven countries meet WHO dirty air guidelines

Russian officials said two people were killed after Ukraine launched 337 drones at Russia on Monday night, with 91 of them targeting the Moscow region. Air and train travel were suspended as a result of the attack, with all four of Moscow airports closing for several hours. The attack came as Ukrainian and US officials prepared to meet in Saudi Arabia for the first time since Volodymyr Zelenskyy's meeting with Donald Trump in Washington last month, after which the US president cut off crucial military assistance and intelligence sharing with Ukraine

The movement unites family values' conservatives and tech bro rightwingers. Will this incoherent coalition hold?In his first address to the United States after becoming vice-president, JD Vance stood on stage and proclaimed: I want more babies in the United States of America." Weeks later, Donald Trump signed an executive order pledging support for in vitro fertilization, recognizing the importance of family formation and that our nation's public policy must make it easier for loving and longing mothers and fathers to have children".In late January, a Department of Transportation memo directed the agency to prioritize projects that give preference to communities with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average". And last week, it was reported that Elon Musk, the unelected head of the government-demolishing department of governmental efficiency" and a man who has said that the collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far", had become a father of 14. Continue reading...

Our refusal to reckon with the dark side of Purim reflects a refusal to reckon with the dark side of ourselvesLater this month, on the holiday of Purim, Jewish people will dress in silly costumes, eat triangular pastries, and listen to an ancient story about attempted genocide. What we notice, and don't notice, about that story says a lot about what we notice, and don't notice, in Israel and Palestine.The tale comes from the book of Esther. It begins with a dissolute Persian king. He hosts a banquet, gets drunk, orders his queen to display her beauty" to the revelers, and, when she refuses, banishes her from the throne. As her replacement he chooses Esther, a beautiful young maiden who, unbeknownst to him, is a Jew. Then he makes a calamitous personnel decision: he selects Haman, a pathological Jew-hater, to be his right-hand man. The stage is now set for an epic clash. Continue reading...

Revealed: rhetoric by interim US attorney for DC includes falsely claiming Kamala Harris self-identified' as BlackTrump's appointee as interim US attorney for the District of Columbia and nominee to hold the position permanently, Ed Martin, has repeatedly made derogatory and racist comments in past social media posts and columns.Martin's rhetoric includes falsely claiming Kamala Harris is self-identified" as Black and calling her the new Rachel Dolezal, claiming Planned Parenthood targets Black communities for abortions, claiming that the supreme court justice Sonia Sotomayor made racist comments to white males about her own identity and invoking false claims about Dr Martin Luther King Jr to affirm support for the Republican party and the Tea Party movement. Continue reading...

Today's Jeddah summit will be crucial. But so too is the need for European unity to counter Russian aggression now, and deter it in the future

Economic uncertainty and polarisation are a potent cocktail that extremist politicians such as Clin Georgescu thrive onIn a forest outside Bucharest, a woman cradled her infant in one arm while raising the other in a Nazi salute. She was one of about 70 people who gathered on 30 November last year to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, a leader of Romania's interwar fascist Legionary Movement and head of its paramilitary wing, the Iron Guard.Codreanu and his ally, Ion Antonescu - Romania's virulently antisemitic wartime dictator - were central figures in the country's Holocaust history. Codreanu was assassinated in 1938 and Antonescu was executed as a war criminal in 1946. Continue reading...

The president has slashed $400m in funding from Columbia University. He wants to stifle criticism of Israel - but the real target is dissentFor those who fear Donald Trump is a despot in the making, don't worry: he has an answer. I've stopped all government censorship and brought back free speech in America," he triumphantly declared in his State of the Union address. It's back!" JD Vance scolded Europe in his speech at the Munich security conference last month, declaring that free speech is in retreat" across the continent.Like all authoritarian creeds, Trumpism turns reality on its head and empties words of their meaning in an effort to sow confusion and disarray among its critics. On the same day Trump announced the revival of free speech in Congress, he posted on Truth Social that federal funding for educational institutions that allow illegal protests" will be ceased. Notably, illegality was not defined, but the issue Trump is referring to, of course, is Palestine. Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came," he declared. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS!"Owen Jones 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...

Donald Trump's talk of tariffs and the unpredictability of a trade war is causing investor uncertainty in the ASX 200

From cries of McCarthyism' over Palestinian activist's detention to fears over a Trumpcession' - key US politics stories from Monday at a glanceThe Trump administration's decision to have immigration authorities arrest pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil for alleged support of Hamas is an attack on free speech, the American Civil Liberties Union warned on Monday.This arrest is unprecedented, illegal, and un-American," said Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. You can read the latest story hereSecretary of state Marco Rubio has announced that USAid will cancel the majority of its programs, while the rest will be folded into the state department.Writing on X, Rubio said:After a 6 week review we are officially cancelling 83% of the programs at USAID.The 5200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States. Continue reading...

Critics condemn arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, Columbia University graduate student who led protests over Gaza warA judge has blocked the deportation of the prominent Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University's protests against Israel over the war in Gaza. Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student at Columbia University until this past December who holds permanent US residency, is being detained by US immigration authorities at a facility in Louisiana after his arrest, according to information from officials.A spokesperson for the US's homeland security department - as well as the country's top diplomat - confirmed the arrest. In a statement to the Associated Press, a homeland security department spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, said Khalil's arrest was made to support Donald Trump's presidential orders prohibiting antisemitism". Continue reading...

US president's late-night social media post came after Turnbull criticised Trump's leadership as chaotic'

Health secretary accuses food companies of exploiting loophole' over food safety and urges greater transparencyThe US secretary of health and human services, Robert F Kennedy Jr, has directed the Food and Drug Administration to revise safety rules to help eliminate a provision that allows companies to self-affirm that food ingredients are safe.The move would increase transparency for consumers as well as the FDA's oversight of food ingredients considered to be safe, Kennedy said on Monday. Continue reading...

Kristi Noem, the DHS secretary, announced the new version, raising privacy concerns for those using CBP OneOn day one of his presidency, Donald Trump issued a directive abruptly ending the government's use of CBP One - an online application that had served as the primary means for people at the southern border to apply for asylum in the US. On Monday, the administration announced it has reimagined the app as a platform for self-deportation".Kristi Noem, the secretary of Homeland Security, announced that the app had been rebranded as CBP Home" and that anyone with the old CBP One app would be redirected to the new version. Continue reading...

Judge denies Edward Kelley's motion to dismiss separate charges of plotting to kill federal agents investigating himA man pardoned by Donald Trump for his role in the January 6 insurrection who also was convicted of plotting to kill federal agents investigating him is still legally liable for the plot, a judge ruled on Monday.Edward Kelley was pardoned by the president for his role in the US Capitol riot, but he remained in prison on separate charges. The Tennessee man had developed a kill list" of FBI agents who had investigated him for the Capitol attack. Continue reading...

Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all down by at least 2% and Tesla shares fall 15% for worst day since September 2020The US stock market continued to drop on Monday as the White House denied that Donald Trump's trade policies were causing lasting chaos within the economy.The S&P 500 fell 2.7%, the Dow Jones dropped 2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 4% as investors sold shares in the so-called magnificent seven" - Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Nvidia and Tesla. Tesla's shares had their worst day since September 2020, falling 15%. Continue reading...

Darren Beattie, former Trump speechwriter who founded far-right website, repeated baseless innuendo on XA top official in the US state department deleted abusive tweets in which he said the then Florida senator Marco Rubio - who is now secretary of state - had a low IQ" and spread unsubstantiated rumors about his sexuality, CNN reported.In tweets from 7 January 2021, Darren Beattie referred to scurrilous online rumors and added: Forget the war promotion and the neocon sugar daddies, forget the low IQ, forget the 2016 primary, Rubio is TOUGH ON CHINA (and good for military industrial complex) So be a good DOG and vote for him!!!" Continue reading...

Nathan Hochman says he would consider support only if pair fully accept complete responsibility' for 1989 killingsThe Los Angeles district attorney has said he is opposed to the resentencing of Lyle and Erik Menendez, who have been in prison for decades for the 1989 killings of their parents, and said the brothers first needed to acknowledge and fully accept responsibility for the murders.Nathan Hochman said at a press conference on Monday that he would ask the court to withdraw the resentencing motion filed in the case by his predecessor George Gascon. The new DA, who took office in December, said last month that he did not believe the brothers should receive a new trial. Continue reading...

Surviving aid to be administered by state department in radical narrowing of definition of US national interest

Former central banker won landslide victory in Liberal party race as trade war with US hastens transfer of powerCanada's incoming prime minister, Mark Carney, has met with Justin Trudeau as the pair discuss a transfer of power after the former central banker's landslide victory at the Liberal party's leadership race.The meeting on Monday sets the stage for an imminent federal election and gives Canada a fresh leader to square off against the United States president, with the two countries locked in a bitter trade war provoked by Donald Trump. Continue reading...

President says in post his administration will not tolerate' actions of protesters at Columbia and other US universitiesDonald Trump said on Monday that the arrest of a prominent Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University's pro-Palestinian protests last year, is the first arrest of many to come".We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it," the US president wrote in a post on Truth Social. Continue reading...

Arrest of Mahmoud Khalil a targeted, retaliatory' attack on his first amendment rights, say civil rights groupsFree speech organizations and advocates are expressing outrage after a prominent Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University's pro-Palestinian protests last year, was arrested and detained over the weekend.Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent US resident with a green card, was taken into custody by federal immigration authorities on Saturday night, who reportedly said that they were acting on a state department order to revoke his green card. Continue reading...

Other major updates from second Trump administration's first 100 days include cuts to intelligence-sharing and reports of infighting between Musk and RubioLast week, Donald Trump shook global markets with his back and forth on tariffs, declined to rule out the possibility of a US recession because of his policies, and gave the longest-ever presidential address to Congress.The Trump administration also cut off intelligence-sharing with Ukraine, cut $400m in funds to Columbia University, and two key figures - Elon Musk and Marco Rubio - denied internal fighting after media reports on an angry exchange during the cabinet meeting. Continue reading...

Republican faces backlash for saying Democrat shook his pimp cane' at Trump during congressional addressThe extremist Republican US House member Lauren Boebert has been accused of racism, ableism and hypocrisy in one fell swoop after criticizing a Black Democrat for shaking his pimp cane" at Donald Trump during the president's recent speech to Congress.Al Green was given multiple opportunities to stand down, to sit down, to behave, to show decorum," Boebert told Real America's Voice, a far-right outlet, while discussing the Texas Democratic congressman's ejection from the House chamber for shouting about Trump's threats to social benefits spending on 6 March. Continue reading...

From Washington to Sacramento, communities rallied against the Trump administration Continue reading...

Insurance market says fine art losses were limited because rich residents took such possessions with themLloyd's of London expects losses of $2.3bn (1.78bn) from the California wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles this year, but fine art losses were limited because rich residents took their prize possessions with them.The Eaton and Palisades blazes in Los Angeles in early January killed 29 people and were only fully contained after 24 days, having burned more than 14,973 hectares (37,000 acres) and destroyed more than 16,000 buildings. Continue reading...

Nate Vance reportedly spent three years trying to help Ukraine repel Russian troops and has been alarmed by his cousin's remarks

Election of Trump and threats to democracy front of mind as activists remember peaceful marchers attacked by policeWhat would John Lewis do today?On a Sunday morning 60 years ago, activists rewrote the story of the civil rights movement in their own blood on the streets of Selma, Alabama. State troopers turned their truncheons on a peaceful march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge at the behest of Alabama's stridently and infamously racist governor George Wallace, protecting Alabama segregation and white supremacy. Continue reading...

Projects to detect, treat and research new ways to fight TB among those disrupted by sudden funding freezeDangerous new forms of tuberculosis (TB) for which there is no treatment could emerge as a result of US aid cuts, a top doctor has warned.Dr Lucica Ditiu, who heads the Stop TB Partnership, said she feared that interruptions to people's treatment would allow the airborne bug to mutate into a new, untreatable form. Continue reading...

The Seattle Sounders are as deep as they appear, while Sporting KC set an ignominious mark with yet another lossIt's time for celebration in Seattle - the Sounders have vanquished their bogey team. After knocking LAFC out of the playoffs with a 2-1 win in November, Saturday's 5-2 result felt like conformation that LAFC no longer have Seattle's number after they knocked the Sounders out of the Open Cup and Leagues Cup in 2024. Those results were part of a 10-match unbeaten run against Seattle that dated back to May 2021. Continue reading...

The three-time MVP has a strong case to win his fourth award. But that is to ignore the brilliance - and freshness - of Shai Gilgeous-AlexanderOn Sunday afternoon, two of the best teams in the NBA's Western Conference faced off on national television. When it was over, the Oklahoma City Thunder had routed the Denver Nuggets 127-103, pulling away in the fourth quarter thanks to a barrage from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 40 points on the day. But because it was the NBA, the game was less about the teams and more about the stars at the center of the action - who just so happen to be the league's top two MVP candidates.Denver's Nikola Joki has been named NBA MVP three times in the past four years. That's rarefied air. Only three men - Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird - have won the award three times in a row. And only a small number of guys, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and LeBron James, have won it three out of four years. The year Joki didn't win it during his streak, he lost a close vote to Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid in an especially heated contest that included accusations of racism. Continue reading...

Former central banker has positioned himself as uniquely able to handle Canada's trade war with the US. Plus, why Michael Sheen paid off more than $1m of his neighbors' debts

Donald Trump was out of town when the shooting occurred, and the man has been hospitalizedAn armed man believed to be traveling from Indiana was shot by US Secret Service agents near the White House after a confrontation early Sunday - while Donald Trump was out of town, according to authorities.No one else was injured in the shooting that happened around midnight about a block from the White House, according to a Secret Service statement. The president was in Florida at the time of the shooting. Continue reading...

Lawmakers proposed seven bills curbing trans rights in this legislative session. Five passedWhen Wyoming legislators in 2022 passed a law banning trans girls from competing in middle and high school girls' sports, the Cowboy State, by its governor's own estimate, had a grand total of four transgender student athletes competing within its boundaries.Still, in this year's legislative session, which wrapped up on Friday, trans athletes were again a focus of lawmakers. They introduced bills to extend the ban on trans women in athletics to intercollegiate sports and ban universities from competing against teams with trans women. Continue reading...