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Democrats finally had bargaining power and they caved. It's nothing new - but it's proof voters must make our demands clearChuck Schumer couldn't hold his senators together at a time when their unity and toughness were essential. And at a time when they were winning: most of the public was blaming Republicans for the shutdown, and pressure was growing to reopen the government (flight delays were mounting).Does this mean Schumer should go? Yes.Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a Guardian US columnist and his newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com. His new book, Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America, is out now Continue reading...

Text messages released by US House show convicted sex offender coaching Maga influencer on political messagingThe convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein apparently served as a behind-the-scenes adviser to the former Trump official and Maga influencer Steve Bannon during an August 2018 media campaign to defend Trump and his agenda, and to promote Bannon's media ventures.Text messages released by the House oversight committee on Wednesday detail a six-day exchange between the men from 17 to 23 August, and show Epstein coaching Bannon on television appearances and political messaging. Continue reading...

The broadcaster was once attacked by critics for being too progressive. But that stance appears to have changed for good in Trump's second termWhat happened to the Redskins, by the way?" Donald Trump asked in an interview on the Pat McAfee Show that notably did not stick to sports. His call-in appearance on Tuesday's program to mark Veterans Day was meant to be a major coup for ESPN, the first time Trump had been interviewed on the network as a sitting president. But viewers could have just as easily been mistaken into believing they were watching Fox News.Trump took his usual shots at Joe Biden, claimed credit for the Department for Veteran Affairs' high approval ratings and declared victory over the Democrats in a government shut down that dragged on for a depressing 43 days. Rather than push back against the political self-promotion, McAfee cheered Trump on before opening the floor to his lackeys to ask him which NFL coach would make a great president. It was all delivered live from South Carolina's Parris Island, the US's oldest Marine depot, which gave McAfee further excuse to goad the commander-in-chief into barking oorah" - a Marine battle cry that the recruits present were duty bound to respond to in kind. The only thing missing from the jingoistic scene was a monument to ESPN's fallen integrity. Continue reading...

Between 1934 and 1936, artist Dorothy Waugh was commissioned to create 17 posters for the National Park Service, a groundbreaking opportunity for a female designer at the time. Her designs, which were both accessible and avant-garde, are being celebrated in an exhibition for the first time at New York's Poster House. Blazing A Trail: Dorothy Waugh's National Parks Posters is on display until 22 February 2026 Continue reading...

With the season more than halfway done, we look at the outstanding figures from the 2025 campaign so farSam Darnold, QB, Seahawks. With apologies to Jonathan Taylor, we know how this story goes. MVP doesn't stand for Most Valuable Player anymore. It stands for Most Valuable Quarterback on a 12-win team with a nice storyline. That gives us three frontrunners: Matthew Stafford, Drake Maye and Darnold. Continue reading...

Midfielder is preparing for NWSL semi-final on her latest loan and hopes road will lead her to Gunners' first teamThe headline on Arsenal's website in early August 2023 was short and sweet. Teenage trio to join Watford on dual agreement," it read. That trio included Michelle Agyemang and Katie Reid, two players whose names were known to the keenest of fans then and who have since become part of mainstream conversation for hugely positive reasons. More recently they have hit the headlines for a more devastating reason, having both sustained anterior cruciate ligament injuries.In any footballer's career a bit of good fortune is needed, alongside a manager being brave enough to take a chance on you. The knee injury that led to Leah Williamson missing the start of the Women's Super League season created the space for Reid to be given an opportunity in the first team, while an Alessia Russo ankle knock led to Agyemang's first England call-up in April. Both subsequently shone, making the forced interruptions to their respective professional journeys especially cruel. Continue reading...

Sami Hamdi was detained after a pro-Israel group released a video purportedly showing him praising the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks on IsraelA British political commentator who was detained by immigration authorities in the US over his pro-Palestinian advocacy said shortly after returning to the UK on Thursday that his detention was less an attack on me and more an attack on Americans and the rights of Americans themselves".Sami Hamdi arrived in London on Thursday , three weeks after he was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at San Francisco international airport while on a speaking tour in the US. He agreed to leave the country after being guaranteed the right to apply for a new US visa, which he says he plans to do. Continue reading...

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A wildlife photographer out on a whale watching trip in waters off Seattle captured dramatic video and photos of a pod of killer whales hunting a seal that survived only by clambering onto the stern of her boat. Charvet Drucker was on a rented 20-foot (6-meter) boat near her home on an island in the Salish Sea about 40 miles northwest of Seattle when she spotted a pod of at least eight killer whales, also known as orcas. Drucker used the zoom lens on her camera to spot a harbor seal that was trying to flee from the pod Continue reading...

Attempts to persuade two female members of Congress to withdraw backing for petition appear to have failed - key US politics stories from Thursday 13 November at a glanceDonald Trump is facing the prospect of a politically damaging congressional vote on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files after attempts to press two female members of Congress to withdraw their backing for it appeared to have failed.The reported refusal of Lauren Boebert, a Republican representative from Colorado, and Nancy Mace, from South Carolina, to remove their names from a discharge petition to force a vote leaves Trump exposed on an issue that carries the possibility of turning segments of his Maga base against him. Continue reading...

Bryan Frederick Jennings, convicted over rape and murder of young girl in 1979, given three-drug lethal injectionA man found guilty in the 1979 rape and murder of a six-year-old girl was executed in Florida on Thursday.Bryan Frederick Jennings was pronounced dead at 6.20pm local time after being administered a three-drug lethal injection. Jennings was sentenced to death for the killing of Rebecca Kunash, whom he drowned in a canal, according to reports. Continue reading...

Move escalates legal battle over a redistricting effort designed to help Democrats flip House seats in 2026The justice department on Thursday joined a lawsuit brought by California Republicans to block the state's new congressional map, escalating a legal battle over a redistricting effort designed to give Democrats a better chance of retaking the House of Representatives next year.The lawsuit, filed in federal court in California, challenges the congressional map championed by Gavin Newsom, the state's Democratic governor, in response to a Republican gerrymander in Texas, sought by Donald Trump. The justice department's intervention in the case sets up a high-profile showdown between the Trump administration and Newsom, one of the president's chief antagonists and a possible 2028 contender. Continue reading...

Lewis was fined $5m and given three years probation by New York judge over brazen' insider trading schemeJoe Lewis, the British billionaire and former owner of Tottenham Hotspur FC, has been pardoned by Donald Trump over a 2024 conviction for his part in a brazen" insider trading scheme.Lewis, 88, was fined $5m (3.8m) and given three years probation by a New York judge last year but was spared jail time after pleading guilty to involvement in a plan that prosecutors said was designed to enrich his friends, lovers and employees. Continue reading...

Latest target of Trump's retribution campaign says only thing I am surprised about is that it took him this long'The Democratic congressman Eric Swalwell is the latest target of Trump's retribution campaign against his critics, the congressman confirmed on Thursday.NBC News reports that Swalwell is facing a federal criminal investigation for alleged mortgage fraud, just as three other Democratic officials have faced in recent months. The outlet says the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency sent a letter to the attorney general claiming Swalwell may have committed mortgage and tax fraud. Continue reading...

Donald Trump signed order creating Foster the Future' to develop opportunities and online hub for resourcesMelania Trump, the first lady, is spearheading a new initiative aimed at improving career and education opportunities for children raised in foster care.Her husband, Donald Trump, signed an executive order on Thursday that creates a Fostering the Future" program that brings together federal entities, non-profits, educational institutions and the private sector to develop those opportunities for foster youth. Continue reading...

Guardian reporter Hilary Andersson reports from the Oklahoma state penitentiary in McAlester where Tremane Wood, 46, was scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Wednesday. In an extraordinary turn of events, Kevin Stitt, the state's Republican governor, accepted the Oklahoma pardon and parole board's recommendation that Wood's sentence be commuted to life in prison without parole. Wood was convicted of felony murder in the stabbing death of Ronnie Wipf, a 19-year-old migrant farm worker from Montana, during a botched robbery in 2002

Even after Snap benefits return, damage will have been done: scarcity leaves trauma in its wakeWhen I was 13, a pair of foster siblings, Carla and Rodrigo, came to live with my family. For the two of them, the move brought a period of much-needed stability - and, for the very first time, reliable access to food.Yet scarcity had already left its mark.Priya Fielding-Singh is the director of policy and programs at the Global Food Institute at the George Washington University and the author of How the Other Half Eats: The Untold Story of Food and Inequality in AmericaThis article was updated on 13 November 2025 to reflect the end of the US government shutdown. Continue reading...

Senator released humorous health update after he was released from hospital, suggesting he was doing well

The disclosure of emails from the paedophile financier has fuelled calls for the full release of FBI files on his caseIt is 20 years since Florida police first investigated the financier Jeffrey Epstein for the sexual abuse of underage girls; six years since he killed himself in prison following his arrest on federal sex-trafficking charges; and more than a year since Donald Trump said that he would have no problem" with releasing the FBI files on the offender.As the Democratic politician Ro Khanna noted, releasing the files was core to Trump's promise ... It was his central theme that the American corrupt elite had betrayed forgotten Americans". The question is notonlywhat Epstein's associates did, but also what they knew and what they did not do. It is not only about their own behaviour, but about any knowledge or suspicion of his crimes, and willingness tooverlook them.Do 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...

Britain was always going to prefer homegrown technology for the SMR reactors at Wylfe. The US would have done the sameIt had all been so harmonious two months ago. Together with the US, we're building a golden age of nuclear that puts both countries at the forefront of global innovation and investment," purred the prime minister about the new landmark" UK-US nuclear partnership.Now there's an atomic split over the first significant decision. The UK has allocated Wylfa on the island of Anglesey, or Ynys Mon, to host three small modular reactors (SMRs) to be built by the British developer Rolls-Royce SMR. The US ambassador, Warren Stephens, says his country is extremely disappointed": he wanted Westinghouse, a US company, to get the gig for a large-scale reactor. Continue reading...

The writer who features prominently in newly released Jeffrey Epstein emails has achieved extraordinary access but faced questions about his journalistic ethicsIn 2003 David Carr, the New York Times's late, great media columnist, disclosed a $50m bid to buy New York Magazine that had been orchestrated by the writer and journalist Michael Wolff.Among the big hitters whom Wolff helped assemble for the deal was the billionaire media tycoon Mort Zuckerman, the not-yet-convicted sex offender and Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, and the not-yet-convicted sex trafficker and financier Jeffrey Epstein. Continue reading...

Week by week, key moments from the 43-day shutdown that disrupted flights, food benefits and federal workWhen Senate Democrats decided in September to use the government funding bill to put up a fight over expiring healthcare subsides, it set the stage for a 43-day federal government shutdown marked by turmoil for hundreds of thousands of federal workers, a battle over food benefits, thousands of cancelled flights, and a rare Democratic stand against Donald Trump's second-term agenda that progressives had been demanding since the election.Each week brought new disruptions and frustrations, until a group of seven moderate Democrats and one independent struck a deal to reopen the government in exchange for a promised - but not guaranteed - vote on the healthcare subsidies by mid-December. Continue reading...

President's attempts to press two female members of Congress to withdraw backing for vote appear to have failedDonald Trump is facing the prospect of a politically damaging congressional vote on releasing the Jeffery Epstein files after attempts to press two female members of Congress to withdraw their backing for it appeared to have failed.The reported refusal of Lauren Boebert, a Republican representative from Colorado, and Nancy Mace, from South Carolina, to remove their names from a discharge petition to force a vote leaves Trump exposed on an issue that carries the possibility of turning segments of his Maga base against him. Continue reading...

Convicted sex offender said Trump knew about the girls' and called president a maniac'The public disclosure of more than 20,000 pages of newly released documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reignited a long-running scandal over his relationship with the rich and powerful.Democratic politicians released three emails obtained from Epstein's estate, saying they showed Donald Trump may have known more about Epstein's crimes than he has publicly acknowledged. Continue reading...

President's family business requested at least 184 foreign workers for Mar-a-Lago, Virginia winery and two golf clubsDonald Trump's family business increased the pace at which it hired foreign workers on temporary visas this year, even as his administration was placing obstacles in the way of other businesses that wanted to do the same, a report published Thursday claimed.According to Forbes, which analyzed data from the US Department of Labor, the Trump Organization sought to bring in at least 184 foreign workers in 2025 for temporary positions at the US president's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, two golf clubs and his Virginia winery. Continue reading...

A proposal touting 50-year mortgages could double interest payments and worsen inequalityWould you like to buy a crumbling shack for $2m dollars? Well then, you're in luck, because that just about sums up the state of the housing market right now. Housing, particularly in places with a decent job market, has become increasingly unaffordable in the US. That's partly thanks to quantitative easing during the pandemic, which supercharged housing inflation. The median American home price in January was $418,000, about a 45% increase from $289,000 five years ago, per Redfin data. Wages haven't gone up at the same rate, and housing prices compared to income have reached an all-time high.In post-pandemic America, there are three groups of people. First, there are those who own their home outright and those who bought a house before the pandemic, then refinanced during the historically low interest rates we saw in 2020 and 2021. Many of those homeowners are now sitting on large piles of equity. Continue reading...

For centuries, the US government tried to erase Indigenous identity, with boarding schools, adoptions and a chilling mission: Kill the Indian in him, and save the man."In 1978, a law was passed to protect Native American families. But it didn't fix the system. Today, Native children are still being removed at shocking rates. In South Dakota, they're 13% of the child population but 74% of the children in the foster system.Neelam Tailor investigates why, and how a system built on separation is still failing Indigenous families Continue reading...

Former FBI director and New York attorney general say the prosecutor in their cases was unlawfully appointedJames Comey, the former FBI director, and the New York attorney general, Letitia James, will ask a federal judge on Thursday to drop the criminal charges against them, arguing that Donald Trump's hand-picked US attorney, who obtained the indictments against them, was unlawfully appointed.The hearing at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia in front of judge Cameron Currie will mark the first time a judge will consider one of several efforts James and Comey have made to dismiss the indictments before trials. Continue reading...

People in immediate area were in respiratory distress after a tanker truck spewed a plume of anhydrous ammonia gasHundreds of people were evacuated from a city in Oklahoma and others were told to shelter in place after a tanker truck that was leaking in a hotel parking lot spewed a plume of anhydrous ammonia gas, authorities said Thursday.The gas release happened shortly before 10pm on Wednesday. People in the immediate area were in respiratory distress and at least 36 people were taken to a local hospital, city officials said at a news conference. Continue reading...

One email, released by Democrats on House oversight committee, says Trump spent hours' with one trafficking victim. Plus, Al Gore wonders if bullying' Trump prompted Bill Gates to backtrack on climate

Two problems stand in the way of the party's efforts: their policies and their presidentTry as they might to present Zohran Mamdani as the exemplar of their opponents' radical-left lunacy, the platform the New York mayor-elect and other Democrats won on was affordability - the same platform on which Trump ran, and has spectacularly failed to deliver.So in their panic, Republicans are scrambling to reclaim affordability.Judith Levine is a Brooklyn-based journalist, essayist and author of five books. Her Substack is Today in Fascism Continue reading...

Residents are organizing in response to raids across the city amid Trump's wide-ranging operation midway blitz'Anais Robles didn't expect to get teargassed. The co-owner of Colibri Cafe, the coffee shop that opened this year in Chicago's East Side neighborhood, saw commotion outside in mid October and ran to see what happened.Robles saw federal agents donning masks and decided to step back, she was half a block away when the tear gas canisters hit. People were just in the streets, so to clear out the area, they teargas all of us, and like, multiple teargas [cannisters]," she said. Continue reading...

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The showdown channels centuries of Spanish tension and pride - and may soon collide with the NBA's ambitions to expand into EuropeScores of fans filed past the silhouettes of cranes and construction work surrounding Barcelona's Camp Nou last Friday night. But they weren't there for the world famous soccer stadium. Instead, the sea of Barca jerseys was heading for the club's basketball arena, the Palau Blaugrana. There was an expectant but apprehensive buzz in the air - the night marked a big occasion: Real Madrid were in town.It's widely accepted that the biggest rivalry in basketball is between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics; between them they have won almost half of all championships in NBA history. The Lakers-Celtics showdowns of the 1980s went beyond basketball and embodied different Americas: West Coast glitz versus East Coast grit; flashy fastbreak basketball versus fundamentals; and, frankly, though perhaps sometimes oversimplistically, Black versus white. Continue reading...

The longest US government shutdown in history ended on Wednesday after more than 42 days, following the House of Representative's passage of a bill negotiated by Republicans and a splinter group of Democrat-aligned senators. The legislation restarts federal operations but does not include the healthcare funding the minority party demanded

Documents show staff kept Epstein informed of Trump's air travel - and Epstein kept up with news about former friendA tranche of documents released by the House oversight committee on Wednesday revealed that Jeffrey Epstein's staff kept him apprised of Donald Trump's air travel as it related to his own transportation - and that the late sex trafficker kept up with news about his former friend years after their relationship soured.This disclosure of about 20,000 pages from Republican members of the committee related to Epstein comes as Trump continues to battle with the political fallout related to their past friendship - and his justice department's failure to release documents as he had long promised on the campaign trail. Continue reading...

After 42-day standoff, government is back open - and minority party won no concessions from party in powerMore than 42 days ago, beleaguered congressional Democrats employed a tactic they were not known for using - refusing to fund the government unless their demands, in this case, an extension of tax credits that lowered costs for Affordable Care Act health plans, were met.Fast forward to Wednesday evening, and the federal government is back open, the Democrats' resistance breached by the combined forces of Congress's Republican majorities and a splinter group of Democratic senators who provided just enough votes to get a funding bill past the chamber's filibuster. Continue reading...

Bill passes House with with 222 in favor and 209 against. Here's how Republicans and Democrats votedThe US House of Representatives voted to pass the funding bill to end the longest government shutdown in US history. Trump signed the bill into law on Wednesday night.The legislation comes in the wake of a Senate-brokered compromise in which a handful of Democrats voted toforego the extension of expiring healthcare subsidies, which have been at the heart of the long impasse. The bill extends government funding at current levels through January. Three year-long provisions, which fund programs at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the USDA and FDA, and legislative branch operations, are also included. Continue reading...

President signs bill to restart federal operations after House passes measure in 222-209 voteThe longest US government shutdown in history ended on Wednesday after more than 42 days, following the House of Representative's passage of a bill negotiated by Republicans and a splinter group of Democrat-aligned senators.The compromise sets the stage for government operations to return to normal through January, while leaving unresolved the issue of expiring tax credits for Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare health plans, which most Democrats demanded be extended in any deal to reopen the government. Continue reading...

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Release of messages by Democrats on House oversight committee likely to add to pressure on White House to release Epstein files - key US politics stories from 12 November 2025 at a glanceDamning new emails that suggest Donald Trump knew about the conduct of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were released Wednesday, including one in which Epstein said of course [Trump] knew about the girls" procured for Epstein's sex-trafficking ring, and another that said Trump spent hours" with one victim at Epstein's house.The release of the three messages by Democrats on the House oversight committee is likely to heap significant pressure on the White House to publish in full the so-called Epstein files, which reportedly detail the long-running scandal that has overshadowed Trump's second term in office. Continue reading...

Mike Johnson announces move hours after swearing in Adelita Grijalva, Democrat whose signature triggered voteMike Johnson, the US House speaker, said on Wednesday he would put the bill compelling the release of government files related to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on the House floor next week.We are gonna put that on the floor for [a] full vote next week, [as] soon as we get back," Johnson told reporters, as the chamber gathered to debate legislation to reopen the government. Continue reading...

Mike Johnson, the House speaker, had prevented the representative from taking her seat after a special electionArizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva was sworn in by Mike Johnson, the US House speaker, on Wednesday, ending a contentious seven-week standoff that prevented the incoming representative from taking her seat and clearing the path for a vote to release the Jeffrey Epstein files.House Democrats burst into applause after Grijalva took the oath of office, in a floor ceremony that took place shortly before the chamber was poised to take up legislation that would end the longest federal government shutdown in US history. The House was already out of session when Grijalva won a late September special election to succeed her father, the longtime representative Raul Grijalva, who died in March. Johnson, who kept the House in recess as a tactic to pressure Senate Democrats to compromise with Republicans on legislation to fund the government, had said he would not swear in Grijalva until after the chamber returned. Continue reading...