Randy Fine and Tommy Tuberville, US legislators, face backlash for Islamophobic calls to deport MuslimsDemocrats are condemning two Republican members of Congress who said, in the wake of the mass shooting in Australia, that the US should ban Muslims from the country and kick out those who already live here.Congressman Randy Fine, a Florida Republican, said he not only wants deportations of legal immigrants who are Muslim, but citizenship revocations wherever possible" of Muslims. Continue reading...
by Sarah Butrymowicz, The Hechinger Report on (#72700)
Under Trump, the department that once rooted out race- and disability-based discrimination has begun opening investigations over antisemitism and transgender policiesThe 10-year-old was dragged down a school hallway by two school staffers. A camera captured him being forced into a small, empty room with a single paper-covered window.The staffers shut the door in his face. Alone, the boy curled into a ball on the floor. When school employees returned more than 10 minutes later, blood from his face smeared the floor. Continue reading...
While the New York mayor-elect is constantly smiling in the face of his detractors, having a perma-grin didn't come so easily to meAs a big fan of citizen science, I have spent the past month conducting a very important experiment. While I am not quite as hardcore as the American virologist Jonas Salk, who injected the polio vaccine into himself and his family before large-scale trials, this scientific inquiry has involved some personal pain. You see, I have spent the last month trying to smile like Zohran Mamdani. This is not, as I have discovered, an easy feat.Ever since the incoming mayor of New York became a household name, I've been intrigued by his perma-smile. His detractors call him a jihadist", and he smiles. He meets Donald Trump, and he smiles. Some Republican lawmakers launch a campaign to investigate his path to citizenship and deport him? He keeps on smiling. I'm not sure I've ever seen him look angry. Continue reading...
Data shows the headline unemployment rate continued to climb and hit 4.6%, a four-year high, last monthThe US labor market grew by more than expected last month, recovering some of the damage inflicted by the federal government shutdown, according to official data.An estimated 105,000 jobs were lost in October, and 64,000 were added in November, a highly-anticipated report showed on Tuesday. Continue reading...
Two students were killed and nine wounded as hunt for unknown suspect enters fourth day, amid growing frustrationThe FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the killer of two students in a mass shooting at Brown University as the manhunt for someone described by the agency as an unknown suspect with a stocky build" enters its fourth day.Officials in Rhode Island hope the reward provides a breakthrough in the faltering case, the pace of which has sparked growing community frustration. One person of interest" was detained then released Sunday, and FBI director Kash Patel has faced criticism for prematurely declaring it solved. Continue reading...
From LA to Charlotte, organizers are learning from others' strategies to protect residents amid federal crackdownsWhen Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) set its sights on Chicago in September, Chicagoans sprang into action to protect their immigrant neighbors: teaching each other how to recognize and safely document ICE agents, setting up know your rights" trainings, and distributing whistles en masse so people could loudly alert anyone in the vicinity when ICE was spotted.In the months since, whistles have become a popular raid alert tool in other cities across the country - New Yorkers wear them around their necks to warn neighbors, the people of New Orleans blast them outside ICE facilities and Charlotte residents used them to ward off Customs and Border Protection officials. While strongly associated with Chicago, the tactic is actually one that city organizers learned in part from groups in Los Angeles. Its spread is illustrative of the many ways cities are helping inspire and equip one another in the face of often unlawful federal activities. Continue reading...
The Zen-like US representative from Minnesota has had the highest level of death threats of any congressperson because of the president's attacksThat's Teddy," said Tim Mynett, husband of the US representative Ilhan Omar, as their five-year-old labrador retriever capered around her office on Capitol Hill. If you make too much eye contact, he'll lose it. He's my best friend - and he's our security detail these days."The couple were sitting on black leather furniture around a coffee table. Apart from a sneezing fit that took her husband by surprise, Omar had an unusual Zen-like calm for someone who receives frequent death threats and is the subject of a vendetta from the most powerful man in the world. Continue reading...
The US House member says president's rhetoric about her and Somali Americans could have dangerous consequencesUS congresswoman Ilhan Omar has warned that Donald Trump's repeated personal attacks and dehumanising rhetoric are fuelling a climate of political violence that could have dangerous consequences.Speaking days after the president called for her to be thrown out of the country, Omar said Trump's incendiary language reaches the worst humans possible" and encourages them to act. Continue reading...
Mia Tretta has advocated for gun-violence prevention since being shot as a high school student in California in 2019As federal and local authorities in Providence, Rhode Island, continue searching for the person who killed two Brown University students and injured nine others on Saturday, campus members and the broader community are grieving and dealing with a shattered sense of safety.But for 21-year-old Brown University junior Mia Tretta, it's familiar territory. Continue reading...
I am in awe of the children and their parents as they live through raids. How can you call an operation targeted when it blankets a city in fear?There is snow on the ground, but for some Chicago families, this is a moment of unfreezing. ICE is still out there, but Commander Gregory Bovino and his strike force have moved on. After months, Operation Midway Blitz has quieted.In places like the elementary school where I am principal, some parents who were hiding are poking their heads out doors. Children holding their breath since September are beginning to exhale. Continue reading...
by Michael Sainato, with photographs by Caroline Gutm on (#726QS)
Michaela's husband is away 14 hours a day amid Trump's ban on remote work, the threat of layoffs is ever-present and their health premiums are set to multiplyMichaela felt a sharp pain shoot from her hip while she bent over to water some plants in early May 2025. Then she fell over and couldn't get back up.Her husband called an ambulance and she spent the night in a hospital, where, at 57, she found out she had a mass on her spine. It was metastatic breast cancer. Continue reading...
The president continues to preach austerity and hate to people struggling to make ends meet. No wonder voters are turning on himTrump gave what was billed as a Christmas speech" in rural Pennsylvania this past week that began with his wishing each and everyone one of you a very merry Christmas, happy New Year, all of that stuff" and boasting that now, under his presidency: Everybody's saying merry Christmas' again."He then claimed - contrary to the experience of nearly everyone in the crowd - that he had gotten them lower prices" and bigger paychecks". He also asserted that anyone having difficulty making ends meet should just cut back on buying stuff. You can give up certain products. You can give up pencils ... Every child can get 37 pencils. They only need one or two," he said, adding: You don't need 37 dolls for your daughter. Two or three is nice. You don't need 37 dolls."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...
President claims broadcaster intentionally, maliciously and deceptively' edited 6 January speech before Capitol attackThe BBC has vowed to defend itself against the $10bn lawsuit that the US president, Donald Trump filed against it.In a complaint filed on Monday evening, Trump sought $5bn in damages each on two counts, alleging that the BBC defamed him, and that it violated Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. Continue reading...
Flight logs reveal three British women onboard who were allegedly trafficked by convicted sex offender, according to BBCNearly 90 flights linked to Jeffrey Epstein reportedly arrived at and departed from UK airports, some with British women onboard who allege they were abused by the convicted child sex offender.Analysis by the BBC found three British women who were allegedly trafficked appear in Epstein's records of flights in and out of the UK and other documents related to the late disgraced billionaire. Continue reading...
by Kat Lay Global health correspondent on (#726NR)
Survey by world's largest network for sexual and reproductive health shows devastation to services, particularly in Africa and the Middle East, and amplification of anti-rights voicesCuts to US aid funding have directly led to the closure of more than 1,000 family planning clinics, new figures shared with the Guardian reveal.Millions of people have been left without access to contraceptives or care, including those who have suffered sexual assault, as part of a radical shift towards conservative ideologies that deliberately block human rights", according to the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). Continue reading...
The best we can hope for is that Paul does not get seriously hurt. Joshua, Netflix and the sport itself should know betterPrecisely 85 years ago, one of the most fearsome heavyweight boxers in history stunk out the joint. JoeLouis was in the midst of his Bumof the Month club": a staggering run of 13world title defences in 29 months against an assortment of stiffs, wild men and colourful characters. And when he arrived in Boston on 16 December 1940, most believed that Al McCoy would rapidly become his next victim. Only it didn't quite turn out that way.McCoy was expected to crumple under the first punch Louis tossed in his direction," the NewYorkTimes' correspondent wrote. Instead, the wily NewEngland veteran made Louis appear ludicrous at times. Adopting a crouching, bobbing, weaving style, McCoy was an elusive target for the paralysing fists of the titleholder." After the messy contest was stopped at the end of the fifth, a storm of jeers rang out. Louis had won, but only his bank balance had been enhanced. Continue reading...
US Southern Command says boats were engaged in narco-trafficking'The US military has launched a fresh round of deadly strikes on foreign vessels suspected of trafficking narcotics, killing eight people.The US Southern Command posted footage of the strikes on social media on Monday, announcing it had hit three vessels in international waters. Continue reading...
by Callum Jones in New York and Jeremy Barr in Washin on (#726FZ)
President accuses corporation of intentionally, maliciously and deceptively' editing speech in Panorama broadcastDonald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the BBC over its editing of a speech he made to supporters in Washington before they stormed the US Capitol in 2021, requesting up to $10bn in damages.The US president alleged the broadcaster intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively" edited his 6 January speech before the insurrection, in an episode of Panorama just over a year ago. Continue reading...
Order classifies opioid as potential chemical weapon amid administration's attempts to combat drug smugglingDonald Trump signed an executive order on Monday designating fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction" - classifying the synthetic opioid not only a lethal drug, but as a potential chemical weapon.The order also directs the Pentagon and justice department to take additional steps to combat production and distribution of the drug. The designation comes amid the administration's use of escalating and increasingly militaristic tactics to combat drug smuggling. Continue reading...
Lawmakers from both sides criticize petty' posts; Trump seeking $10bn in damages from BBC - key US politics stories from 15 December 2025Celebrities and lawmakers from both of the US's major political parties have condemned Donald Trump after the president blamed the death of Rob Reiner on what he described as the acclaimed Hollywood director's dislike of him.After the apparent killings of Reiner, 78, and his 68-year-old wife, Michele, who were found dead at their home Sunday in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, Trump took to social media to call the director tortured and struggling". Trump also claimed Reiner died due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind-crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME". Continue reading...
Orders come after a levee is breached following a week of heavy rain amid a flash-flood warningOfficials in Washington state ordered immediate evacuations in three south Seattle suburbs on Monday after a levee failed following a week of heavy rains.The evacuation order from King county covered homes and businesses east of the Green River in parts of Kent, Auburn and Tukwila. Continue reading...
by Richard Luscombe, Maya Yang and agencies on (#72600)
Manhunt continues for killer of two students on campus Saturday, with suspect considered armed and dangerousThe governor of Rhode Island insisted on Monday evening that everything was being done by law enforcement to catch the person responsible for the mass shooting at Brown University in the state's capital on Saturday that killed two people and wounded nine others, as a huge manhunt continued.We want to see the individual that pulled the trigger on these young kids identified, apprehended and brought to justice," Daniel McKee, the state's governor and a Democrat, said at a press conference early on Monday evening. Continue reading...
Video released during a press conference showed an individual dressed in dark clothing before the mass shooting at Brown University. The individual walked alone and they do not appear to be carrying anything in their hands. The individual's face is concealed and appears to have a light complexion. 'We're asking for the public's assistance in ... identifying this individual,' said Providence police chief Oscar Perez, urging the public to contact the tipline set up by law enforcement regarding the person responsible for the shooting.
Company to scrap several electric models and focus on gas and hybrid as US president pulls support for EVsFord said on Monday it will take a $19.5bn writedown and is killing several electric-vehicle models, in the most dramatic example yet of the auto industry's retreat from battery-powered models in response to the Trump administration's policies and weakening EV demand.Ford, based in Dearborn, Michigan, said it will stop making the F-150 Lightning in its electric vehicle form, but will pivot to producing an extended-range electric model, a version of a hybrid vehicle called an Erev, which uses a gas-powered generator to recharge the battery. Continue reading...
Dr Susan Monarez to head PHNIX, a response to Trump administration's dismantling of public health safeguardsGavin Newsom, the California governor, announced the appointment of two prominent scientists who left the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in recent months over conflicts with the Trump administration to state positions.Dr Susan Monarez, the former director of the CDC, will lead California's new public health initiative, the Public Health Network Innovation Exchange (PHNIX). Continue reading...
Rob Reiner has died aged 78 in an apparent homicide, along with his 68-year-old wife, Michele Singer Reiner. The director and actor had a celebrated career spanning All in the Family, The Princess Bride, This Is Spinal Tap and the beloved romcom When Harry Met Sally - with his films creating a number of oft-quoted lines
Fans pay tribute to When Harry Met Sally and The Princess Bride film-maker and his wife after apparent homicideLos Angeles mourned the death of beloved Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele on Monday morning, as police announced the arrest of their son on suspicion of murder.News of the apparent homicide of the film-maker behind When Harry Met Sally, Misery, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride and This is Spinal Tap sent shockwaves across LA, from the wealthy Brentwood neighborhood where he and his wife were found dead, to Hollywood Boulevard. Continue reading...
As EU countries face multiple challenges in a new era, they must fight to preserve the continent's social model. That means a new economic approachMore than a year after the election that handed Donald Trump a decisive comeback victory, the Democratic party has still not released its postmortemanalysis. But last week, an influential progressive lobby group published its own. Kamala Harris's campaign, its authors argued, failed to connect with core constituencies because it did not focus enough on addressing basic economic anxieties. By prioritising the menace to democracy that Maga authoritarianism represented, progressives neglected the bread-and-butter issues that were uppermost in many people's minds.As the EU braces for a tumultuous period of politics between now and the end of the decade, that is a lesson that needs to be fully absorbed in Brussels, Paris and Berlin. The White House, as its recently published national security strategy makes clear, is hopeful that patriotic" parties in Europe will soon replicate Mr Trump's success. In the EU's Franco-German engine room, Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN) and Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) lead the polls, backed by large swaths of blue-collar voters. But among mainstream leaders and parties, it is hard to discern a response that is adequate to troubling times. Continue reading...
President's statement blaming acclaimed director's death on his dislike of him described as disgusting' and vile'Celebrities and lawmakers from both of the US's major political parties are condemning Donald Trump after the president blamed the death of Rob Reiner on what he described as the acclaimed Hollywood director's dislike of him.After the apparent killings of Reiner, 78, and his 68-year-old wife, Michele, who were found dead at their home Sunday in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, Trump took to social media to call the director tortured and struggling". Trump also claimed Reiner died due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind-crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME". Continue reading...
We want to hear from people about the news moments that were a ray of light in among the more difficult headlines and bad news storiesThough there have been many challenging news stories this year, we'd like to hear about the headlines that lifted your mood.What was a moment in 2025 that stood out for you as a ray of light? Do you have a story that gave you hope or brought you happiness? What is your favorite positive news story of the year? Continue reading...
Hilda Ramirez Sanan and her two US citizen children were illegally and forcefully detained', the lawsuit allegesA US immigrant with legal status and her two American children have filed a lawsuit against ICE, after they were hospitalized following a violent" and unlawful" detention in Massachusetts.Hilda Ramirez Sanan, a green card holder who has lived in the United States for more than 20 years, and her two US citizen children were illegally and forcefully detained", the lawsuit alleges. Continue reading...
FBI director said his agency helped detain person of interest' in Brown shooting - who was released hours laterKash Patel, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, is once again facing criticism for rushing to social media to tout his agency's work on tracking down a person of interest in a shooting prematurely.After a shooter killed two and injured nine at Brown University on Saturday, Patel, a lawyer and rightwing commentator before his job in the administration, posted on X that his agency had helped detain a person of interest in a hotel room" in Coventry, Rhode Island, acting off a lead from the Providence police. Continue reading...
Danny Ceisler's defeat in sheriff's race of incumbent who had signed an agreement to work with ICE sends a message on US's contentious debate around immigration policyOnly 40 miles north of Philadelphia, Bucks county has gained a reputation as the swingiest" county in the swing state of Pennsylvania and one of the most pivotal political bellwethers in the country.Party registration in the county is almost evenly split among Democrats and Republicans. Joe Biden won it in 2020, Donald Trump triumphed there in 2024. November's elections there were local - but a hot race for county sheriff drew much wider attention as a microcosm for America's contentious debate around immigration policy - and the result signaled a shake-up in how the county approaches enforcement. Continue reading...
Law enforcement and public health experts worry that potential cuts to resources that save lives and stop the flow of drugs into the state could raise overdose deathsThe Trump administration's proposed cuts in federal funding for law enforcement and public health agencies could have a devastating impact on Alaska, which a Guardian analysis found has struggled to curtail overdose deaths even amid a general decline in national overdose fatalities.Law enforcement and public health experts are sounding the alarm as the Trump administration has prioritized waging its war on drugs" outside US shores, including with a controversial bombing campaign of fishing boats off the coast of Venezuela. Continue reading...
Representative says her son was let go once he showed ID as Trump ramps up operation targeting Somali population in MinneapolisDemocratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar told a Minneapolis broadcaster that her son had been stopped over the weekend by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, after Donald Trump ordered an operation targeting the Minnesota city's Somali population.Yesterday, after he made a stop at Target, he did get pulled over by [ICE] agents, and once he was able to produce his passport ID, they did let him go," Omar said on Sunday in an interview with WCCO. Continue reading...
A person who was taken into custody after two people were killed and several more critically injured was later releasedTwo people have been killed and several more critically injured in a shooting at Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island. Here's what we know so far:A person in their 20s was taken into custody on Sunday morning, but then released later in the day. Police chief Col Oscar Perez declined to say whether the person of interest was the same person seen in surveillance footage released by authorities on Saturday. Officials did not name the person. The person was later released without charge as the authorities said the evidence took the investigation in a different direction".A shooter dressed in black killed at least two people and wounded nine others at Brown University during final exams on the Ivy League campus.Brown University president Christina Paxson confirmed that the two people killed were students. A shelter-in-place in effect for the area was lifted on Sunday morning.Eight people with gunshot wounds were taken to Rhode Island hospital, where seven were in critical but stable condition, Paxson said on Sunday. One person remains in a critical condition, she added. One other student was discharged from hospital on Saturday night and left with their parents, Paxson said.Providence's mayor Brett Smiley said he had visited the victims of the attack in hospital, praising their resilience and the efforts of emergency medical staff who treated them.The two slain have been identified by loved ones as Ella Cook, a second-year Brown student from Alabama, and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an Uzbek national in his first year of studies at the Ivy League institution. Cook was vice-president of Brown's chapter of College Republicans of America, and Umurzokov had dreams of becoming a neurosurgeon, those who knew them have said.The university announced that all remaining classes, exams, papers and projects were cancelled for the rest of the semester.Officials refused to say whether a gun used in the attack had been found. A small Glock handgun with a laser sight attached and a revolver were found in a hotel room where the person of interest was apprehended, federal law enforcement sources have told CNN.Law enforcement agencies were seen at a Hampton Inn hotel in Coventry, Rhode Island, roping off rooms as part of the investigation into the shooting. An FBI agent said the person of interest had been arrested at the hotel, which is a short drive from Brown University.The FBI used cellphone data to locate the person of interest, the agency's director Kash Patel said.Donald Trump paid tribute to the victims in the attack. Speaking at the White House, the US president said: I want to just pay my respects to the people, unfortunately two are no longer with us, Brown University, nine injured and two are looking down on us right now from Heaven." The president added: So to the nine injured: get well fast. And to the families of those two that are no longer with us: I pay my deepest regards and respects, from the United States of America. Thank you very much. It's a very important thing to say, and we mean it."The shooting occurred in the Barus and Holley building, a seven-story complex that houses the School of Engineering and physics department. According to the university's website, the building includes more than 100 laboratories, dozens of classrooms and offices. Brown, one of the America's most prestigious colleges, has roughly 7,300 undergraduates and more than 3,000 graduate students. Continue reading...
Scott Yenor, who has offered views on women, marriage and LGBTQ rights, helped to found secretive fraternal orderThe Heritage Foundation, an influential rightwing thinktank currently mired in controversy over its president's apparent apology for extremism, has appointed as a director the founder of a secretive all-male network of Christian nationalist fraternal lodges.Scott Yenor, appointed as Heritage's new director of the B Kenneth Simon Center for American Studies, has also recently offered ultra-conservative opinions on women, marriage and LGBTQ rights in recent podcast appearances and speaking engagements. Continue reading...
Variety of agencies now deliberately provocative on social media, further inflaming discourse on serious issuesWhen Donald Trump posted during his first term on what was then called Twitter, his attacks and rants differed significantly from US federal agency staff's more cautious and traditional approach on social media.For example, in January 2017, in response to scrutiny of one of the president's executive orders, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted: We are & will remain in compliance with judicial orders. We are & will continue to enforce @POTUS's EO humanely and with professionalism." Continue reading...
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