President asks justice department to open an investigation but provides no proof to support his allegationsDonald Trump on Friday accused foreign-owned meat packers of driving up the price of beef in the US and asked the Department of Justice to open an investigation.The Republican president announced the move on social media days after his party suffered losses in key elections in which the winning Democratic candidates focused relentlessly on the public's concerns about the cost of living. Continue reading...
Aryna Sabalenka came through a gripping three-set battle with Amanda Anisimova and will face Elena Rybakina, who fought back to defeat Jessica Pegula in the first semi-finalFirst set: Pegula 2-2* Rybakina (*denotes next server) Rybakina had started the stronger but lost her way in that last service game. Can Pegula back up the break? An early double fault doesn't help matters, and Rybakina outlasts her in a rally to earn break point. From the middle of the court, Rybakina lands an inside-out forehand on the line, and we're back on serve.Cam Norrie is playing in the Metz semi-finals; he's trailing Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 0-1. In Athens, Novak Djokovic is facing Yannick Hanfmann; it's on serve in their semi-final. Continue reading...
Student, national and local groups across US organized day of action to condemn Trump's assault on academic freedomStudents, faculty and staff at more than 100 campuses across the US rallied against the Trump administration's assault on higher education on Friday - the first in a planned series of nationwide, coordinated protests that organizers hope will culminate in large-scale students and workers' strikes next May Day and a nationwide general strike in May 2028.The day of action was organized under the banner of Students Rise Up, a network of students including both local groups and national organizations like Sunrise Movement and Campus Climate Network. Students were joined by faculty and educational workers' unions like the American Association of University Professors and Higher Education Labor United. Continue reading...
Carrie Coyner conceded defeat after igniting text scandal over Democrat imagining two bullets' in rival's headThe Virginia Republican politician who shook up multiple statewide elections by disclosing text messages in which a prominent Democratic candidate fantasized about a rival receiving two bullets to the head" has conceded defeat in her own bid to retain office.Carrie Coyner was seeking a third two-year term in Virginia's house of delegates when she publicly shared the text messages that she had previously received from Jay Jones, a former Democratic colleague who ran in the state's attorney general election on Tuesday. Continue reading...
Economic concerns felt by Americans of different ages, incomes and political affiliations, survey findsThe federal government shutdown dragged consumer sentiment in the US to a near record low in November, according to a monthly survey conducted by the University of Michigan.Consumer sentiment fell about 6% in November, with the consumer sentiment index for November 2025 at 50.3, down from 53.6 in October, nearly three points below expectations. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal expected a 53.0 index reading. Continue reading...
European Commission confirms reports it is looking at postponing parts of landmark legislationThe European Commission is considering plans to delay parts of the EU's Artificial Intelligence Act, after intense pressure from businesses and Donald Trump's administration.The commission confirmed that a reflection" was still ongoing" on delaying aspects of the regulation, after media reports that Brussels was weighing up changes with the aim of easing demands on big tech companies. Continue reading...
In Marana, residents crowded into a town hall recently to learn the fate of a building that's been closed for two yearsIn an Arizona town where farmers have long wrested a living off the arid land, reports that a former prison complex may be turned into an immigration detention center have sparked a fierce backlash, with residents seeing the potential transition as the latest undesirable symbol of the Trump administration's massive escalation of immigration enforcement.The facility in Marana, a town of about 63,700 people located north of Tucson, sprawls across a flat expanse of desert studded with scrubby bushes and hardy trees. It was shuttered almost two years ago, and the Management and Training Corporation, the private company that owns it, informed the town manager of company plans to operate a detention center in the prison. Continue reading...
Zohran Mamdani, Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill focused their messages on the economy, but structural problems endureOn Tuesday, Democrats won right, left and center.In purple Virginia, Abigail Spanberger, the staunchly anti-socialist former CIA official won handily over her Republican counterpart. Meanwhile, Mikie Sherrill, a poster child for centrist Democrats, won big in light-blue New Jersey. And in ultra-progressive New York, the democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, predictably, took the mayoralty. With such varied success, what could be the common lesson?Dustin Guastella is the director of operations for Teamsters Local 623 in Philadelphia, and a research associate at the Center for Working-Class Politics Continue reading...
The Maga machine is clicking into gear to ensure that defeat is all but impossible in next year's midterm electionsAfter the joy, the trepidation. Or at least the preparation. Democrats, along with many others around the world, cheered this week's wins in a clutch of off-year elections that saw Donald Trump's Republicans defeated from sea to shining sea. But now they need to brace themselves for the reaction. Because Donald Trump does not like losing. And he will do everything he can to ensure it does not happen again - by means fair and, more often, foul. Indeed, that effort is already under way.For now, the Democrats are still clinking glasses, enjoying a success that tastes all the sweeter for coming exactly a year after they lost everything - the House, the Senate and the White House - to a returning and triumphant Trump. The most dramatic win was Zohran Mamdani's history-making victory in America's most populous city, New York, but there was success too at the other end of the continent, as voters in California backed Democrats on an apparently technical measure that could prove hugely significant. In between, Democrats won the governorships of New Jersey and Virginia by healthy, double-digit margins.Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist and host of the Politics Weekly America podcast Continue reading...
The president has put Snap benefits in jeopardy amid a fight over Medicaid. The nation has lost its moral authorityThe Democrats had a great day on Tuesday. It's crucial that they hone their economic message for next year's midterms to focus on affordability and fairness.Trump is doing the opposite. Although a federal court ordered him to continue to provide food stamps to about 42 million low-income Americans who depend on them, Trump threatened to deny them anyway until the end of the government shutdown.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...
The 23-year-old has little in common with the basketball great but has helped the Bulls to their best start to an NBA season since peak Mike' in 1996Josh Giddey couldn't help but crack a smile. The normally composed half-court conductor had just been told by a reporter that he was the first Chicago Bull to record back-to-back triple doubles since Michael Jordan more than 30 years ago.The Australian's starring role in the 24-point comeback against Philadelphia this week, when he gathered double-digit tallies in points, rebounds and assists - hence triple" double - ended with an exclamation point. Continue reading...
Eduardo Flores-Ruiz pleaded guilty to illegally re-entering US and will soon be deported, his attorney saysAn immigrant who was arrested after a judge in Wisconsin allegedly helped him dodge federal agents has been sentenced to time served for illegally re-entering the United States and will soon be deported, according to his attorney.Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 31, has spent nearly seven months in jail since he was arrested outside the Milwaukee county courthouse. He pleaded guilty in September to illegally re-entering the country after he reached a deal with prosecutors to not fight deportation. Prosecutors in exchange agreed to recommend a time-served sentence. Continue reading...
Investigation ongoing after package was sent to the home of the US president's Air Force OneSeven people were briefly hospitalized after a suspicious package containing a white powder" was sent to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, home to the US president's Air Force One, on Thursday.According to a spokesperson for the base, someone opened the package sometime in the afternoon, and it was cleared up by early in evening. Continue reading...
Glen Casada and his ex- chief of staff were accused of running scheme to win taxpayer-funded mail business from lawmakersDonald Trump has pardoned the former Tennessee state House speaker and a onetime aide of public corruption charges after the White House said the Biden administration justice department significantly over-prosecuted" both for a minor issue.Glen Casada, a former Republican state representative, was sentenced in September to three years in prison, and his former chief of staff, Cade Cothren, was also convicted and received a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence. The case centered on their actions after both had been driven from their leadership roles and were accused of running a scheme to win taxpayer-funded mail business from lawmakers. Continue reading...
President jets in to speak at ritzy American Business Forum as millions see their food aid slashed - crisis, what crisis?It was the week in which Republicans took a beating at the polls, the government shutdown became the longest in history, and 42 million people across the country, including 3 million in Florida, saw their federal food aid slashed.But in the alternative reality of Miami, where tickets to an overwhelmingly conservative business conference headlined by Donald Trump cost up to $1,990, and billionaires from Saudi Arabia rubbed shoulders with equally wealthy American tycoons such as Jeff Bezos and Ken Griffin, those events created barely a ripple. Continue reading...
After nearly 40 years in the Congress, the former House speaker is stepping down, reigniting interest in the raceNancy Pelosi's announcement that, after nearly four decades in Congress, she will not seek re-election has reignited interest in the race for her long-held San Francisco seat.The retirement of the former speaker of the House was long-anticipated, and two Democrats had already declared their intent to run. Saikat Chakrabarti, a former tech executive who previously served as the chief of staff to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Scott Wiener, a state senator, kicked off their campaigns this year. Continue reading...
If this stretches to Thanksgiving, we'll be facing a nightmare. The obvious solution: move back in with your parentsIn our modern age, the only thing worse than flying - cramped seats, bad food, someone potentially calling you a racial slur - is not flying at all. I will suffer all manner of indignity, up to and including a drunk puking up Jersey Mike's on to my trousers, but if you dare say that I might not be able to board the Flying Nightmare Tube at the scheduled date and time, I will throw the kind of fit you only see in YouTube videos of people that are actually on airplanes.This is why the United States Federal Aviation Administration potentially cancelling 10% of air traffic at 40 airports chills me to the bone. Whether I like it or not, I have to be in Pittsburgh this month. Would you keep me from enjoying the epic sights and sounds of Pittsburgh? Maybe so, if the alternative is a sleep-deprived air traffic controller suggesting my pilot take a nosedive into the Grand Tetons.Dave Schilling is a Los Angeles-based writer and humorist Continue reading...
Hundreds from New York City, across the US and beyond share their optimism, joy and more on the mayoral electionZohran Mamdani was elected the next mayor of New York City this week and Guardian readers had a lot of feelings to share about the news.Winning with more than 50% of the vote, the 34-year-old democratic socialist and state assembly member from Queens defeated the former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and the Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa. Continue reading...
Spotlight focused on Zohran Mamdani and Prop 50 but party also achieved success in state and local electionsThe 2025 off-year elections proved to be a major success for Democrats, as candidates at state and local levels managed to make inroads into and even flip several Republican strongholds across the country.Much of the national spotlight was centered on Zohran Mamdani's landmark win in New York, along with Democratic victories in the gubernatorial races of New Jersey and Virginia. And in both Virginia and New Jersey there were several precincts or voting blocs that voted for Trump in 2024 that then voted for Democrats this year. Continue reading...
Bob Birarda, jailed in 2022 for assaulting players, is not listed by Canada Soccer or BC Soccer. The country's new Safe Sport director says the omission exposes a major gap - and is calling for a global registry of banned coaches.Two years after receiving an 18-month jail sentence for sexually assaulting players under his care, a former Canada women's national team coach is yet to appear on any public sanctions list published by Canada Soccer or BC Soccer, the regional governing body for soccer in British Columbia, where the crimes took place.The revelation has prompted the executive director of the Canadian organization newly appointed to manage reports of abuse and misconduct to call for an international registry of offenders to track individuals who have been banned from sports for misconduct. Continue reading...
US strikes have destroyed at least 18 vessels, but Washington has yet to make public any concrete evidence that its targets posed a threat to AmericaUS forces struck another alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean, killing three people, defense secretary Pete Hegseth has said, bringing the death toll from the Trump administration's controversial campaign to at least 70.The US began carrying out such strikes - which some experts say amount to extrajudicial killings even if they target known traffickers - in early September, taking aim at vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. Continue reading...
Experts predict hundreds if not thousands of flights could be canceled at dozens of major airports - key US politics stories from 6 November 2025As the record-breaking federal government shutdown stretches toward day 38, US airspace is about to get a little less busy. The same cannot be said for US airports.Donald Trump's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said flights are being reduced to maintain air traffic control safety during the federal government shutdown, now the longest recorded and with no sign of a resolution between Republicans and Democrats to end the federal budget standoff. Continue reading...
Firm released names of the three victims on the plane and investigators confirmed plane's left wing caught fireThe death toll in the explosion that saw a UPS cargo plane lose an engine and burst into flames, has risen to 13, Craig Greenberg, the Louisville mayor, has confirmed as UPS released the names of the three victims on the plane.On my way to the Teamsters' vigil, I learned of a 13th person that died as a result of the UPS flight 2976 plane crash. My heart is with the families, friends and colleagues of all who were lost in this week's tragedy. We will get through this together," Greenberg wrote in a social media post. Continue reading...
Resolution fails 49-51 with only two Republican senators voting in favor as president increases military buildupThe US Senate on Thursday blocked a Democratic war powers resolution that would have forced Donald Trump to seek congressional approval to launch strikes in Venezuela, allowing the president to remain unchecked in his ability to expand his military campaign against the country.The 49-51 vote against passing the resolution, mostly along party lines, came a month after a previous effort to stop strikes against alleged drug trafficking boats in international waters similarly failed, 48-51. Continue reading...
Ruling comes in response to a challenge to administration's offer to only partly fund US food benefits amid shutdownA federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration on Thursday to find the money to fully fund food stamps for 42 million low-income Americans in November by Friday, in a rebuke to the government's plan to only provide reduced aid during the shutdown.US district judge John J McConnell Jr criticized the administration's plan to partly fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) benefits in November, saying it had failed to comply with an order he issued on Saturday requiring the government to ensure Americans received full or partial benefits no later than Wednesday. Continue reading...
Decision by high court's conservative majority is Trump administration's latest win on emergency docketThe supreme court on Thursday allowed Donald Trump's administration to enforce a policy blocking transgender and non-binary people from choosing passport sex markers that align with their gender identity.The decision by the high court's conservative majority is Trump's latest win on the high court's emergency docket, and it means his administration can enforce the policy while a lawsuit over it plays out. It halts a lower-court order requiring the government to keep letting people choose male, female or X on their passport to line up with their gender identity on new or renewed passports. Continue reading...
A series investigating inmate medical care provided by private equity-backed companiesThis series is supported through philanthropic funding to theguardian.org, a US-based foundation that partners with the Guardian on independent editorial projects.All of the journalism is editorially independent, commissioned and produced by our Guardian journalists. You can read more about content funding on the Guardian here. A full list of philanthropically supported editorial projects can be found here. Continue reading...
Facility, slated to open in March in Nashville, will use data-enabled technology' to track down migrant childrenUS Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to open a new call center to help law enforcement agencies track down unaccompanied migrant children.According to a homeland security department Request for Information (RFI) notice released this week, ICE stated there was an immediate need to establish and maintain" a call center equipped with data-enabled technology". Continue reading...
FAA is reducing 10% of flights at the following airports to lessen pressure on air traffic controllers amid shutdownThe Federal Aviation Administration is forcing airlines to cut 10% of their flights at 40 of the busiest airports across the US to reduce pressure on air traffic controllers during the ongoing federal government shutdown and ensure that flying remains safe.The cuts will start to take effect on Friday. Travelers should check with their airlines to see if their flight has been cut. Here is a list of airports affected: Continue reading...
Shares fall as users urged to stop using bikes immediately and warned assembly poses risk of falls and injuriesThe US Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Thursday that Peloton Interactive was recalling about 833,000 units of its Original Bike+ Model PL02 after reports that the seat post assembly could break during use, posing a risk of falls and injuries.The consumer safety regulator said the fitness products maker had received three reports of the seat post breaking and detaching during use, including two incidents that resulted in injuries from falls. Continue reading...
Palestinians are being born amid the rubble. They need not only immediate relief but long-term justiceWhat future is there for Palestinians in Gaza? The announcement of the ceasefire brought profound relief, shaded by an equally deep sense of trepidation. Almost a month later, the picture looks bleaker. The Israeli offensive abated, Hamas has returned the surviving hostages and the remains of some of those who have died, and Israel has released some Palestinian detainees and the remains of others.But more than 200 Palestinians, including children, have reportedly died in strikes that Israel says are in response to Hamas attacks. Thousands of bodies are still believed to be trapped beneath the ruins - debris which, it is estimated, would take a fleet of more than a hundred lorries seven years to shift. Aid is flowing again, but remains wholly inadequate, with NGOs warning that Israel's new registration system is obstructing delivery. Israeli demolitions continue in the half of Gaza that its forces still hold. Unicef warned this week that the education system - in so far as it survives after two years of war and the destruction of more than 90% of school and university buildings - is on the brink of collapse. New babies are born literally in the rubble, to mothers who have neither homes nor working hospitals.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...
Former speaker, 85, hailed as a legendary' leader who helped usher in new generation of women in politicsDemocrats praised Nancy Pelosi as a heroic, trailblazing" member of the US House of Representatives, an icon" and the greatest speaker in American history", following her announcement that after 20 terms in Congress she plans to retire.The 85-year-old, the first woman to serve as speaker of the House and one of the most influential leaders in the party, said on Thursday that she would not be seeking re-election in 2026. Continue reading...
Judge says agents' practices amid immigration crackdown violate constitutional rights of protesters and journalistsA judge said on Thursday she will order federal agents in Chicago to restrict using force against peaceful protesters and media, saying current practices violate their constitutional rights.The preliminary injunction came in response to a lawsuit alleging federal agents have used excessive force in their immigration crackdown in the Chicago area. Continue reading...
The racist abuse that Zohran Mamdani is still facing proves how normalized bigotry is. We need to keep calling it outPack your bags and flee, infidels: New York City has fallen to a cabal of socialist jihadists. With Zohran Mamdani to become the city's first Muslim mayor, many are celebrating the democratic socialist's historic win. Billionaires, Islamophobes and Republicans, however, are in the throes of hysteria. But what's new? The New York mayoral race has been marred by bigotry so unhinged it's almost impossible to parody.Far-right activist and unofficial Trump adviser Laura Loomer posted on X, for example, that there will be another 9/11 in NYC" under Mamdani. New York City councilmember Vickie Paladino called the 34-year-old a known jihadist terrorist". Actor Debra Messing, meanwhile, has been having a Mamdani-induced meltdown on Instagram, posting story after story about how the puppy-eyed politician is a threat to civilization. She recently posted: In Judaism and Christianity, we are commanded to speak the truth. In Islam, they are commanded to lie if it means spreading Islam ... Now, take a look at Mamdani ... He's revealing their goal: mass conversion." Continue reading...