US news | The Guardian

The court is expected to weigh in next session on same-sex marriage, which it legalized in 2015Settled legal precedent in the US is not gospel" and in some instances may have been something somebody dreamt up and others went along with", the US supreme court justice Clarence Thomas has said.Thomas - part of the conservative supermajority that has taken hold of the supreme court over Donald Trump's two presidencies - delivered those comments Thursday at the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law in Washington DC, ABC News and other outlets reported. His remarks preceded the nine-month term that the supreme court is scheduled to begin on 6 October. Continue reading...

More than 40,000 Elvis fans flocked to Porthcawl, south Wales, for the world's biggest gathering of its kind, with tribute acts and dazzling scenes captured by Rick Findler Continue reading...

Forget the US president's seeming volte-face on Ukraine this week: he and Putin fundamentally agree that European liberal democracy is the problemFor many people in eastern Europe, August 1939 may not feel that long ago. That was the moment Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Soviet Union secretly agreed to partition Poland and forcibly subsume the sovereign Baltic republics and Finland into their totalitarian spheres of influence". The world knows what came next.Now the question arises: is it happening again? This time around, it's Donald Trump's United States and Vladimir Putin's Russia making the big geopolitical power-play - and, once again, all of Europe is potential prey. Notwithstanding last week's sparring over Ukraine, the two leaders' core aims appear closely aligned.Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator Continue reading...

While not without its challenges, autism isn't a curse to be cured of, as the likes of the US president and RFK Jr want us to believeDonald Trump's claims about autism deserve as little oxygen as possible, but it's been a depressing, infuriating week for many autistic people and those of us who love them. His administration unveiled contentious claims about the causes of autism - pregnant women taking Tylenol, also known as paracetamol - and pushed for research to find a cure". It got me thinking about how to cope psychologically, and my conclusion - and that of many of my friends in the autism community - is that you have to laugh or you'll cry.There's a saying that when you've met one autistic child, you've met one autistic child. I've never loved the autism as superpower" narrative, and how it erases those with high-support needs and the challenges autistic people can face. Equally, Trump's framing of autism as a tragedy and a disease in need of curing is deeply problematic, so I feel it's important to highlight some of the incredible, brilliant things about autism. The fact is that the autistic children I've met have more to teach a man like Trump, more than he is ever capable of learning. Things such as:Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is a Guardian columnist and author. Her Republic of Parenthood book is out now.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...

Officials in Portland have pushed back against the announcement, saying there is no need for military troops' - key US politics stories from Saturday 27 SeptemberDonald Trump has ordered the deployment of the national guard to Portland, Oregon, authorizing full force, if necessary", ignoring calls from local and state officials who say the president has been misinformed about the scale of a protest outside a federal immigration office.The president says that he has directed all necessary troops to be deployed to protect war ravaged Portland", claiming that immigration facilities were under siege from attack by Antifa and other domestic terrorists". Continue reading...

Europe won three out of four fourballs matches to put themselves in a commanding position at Bethpage BlackMatt Fitzpatrick and Cameron Young send their drives at 2 down the middle. Ludvig Aberg finds the green with his approach but the ball spins back into the fringe. Bryson should learn something about how receptive the greens are, but doesn't, spinning America's second back into the thicker stuff behind the fringe. Slight advantage to Europe here, with the not inconsiderable caveat of the hot-in-form Young taking Team USA's next shot.Back on the 1st tee, Rory McIlroy is roundly abused in the pantomime style. He throws back a couple of theatrical kisses to the gallery. A cheeky smile. All good knockabout fun. Everyone enjoying it. He takes the first shot of match two ... but with the adrenalin pumping, lashes his drive into the gallery down the left! We've not seen anyone over there yet. McIlroy and his partner Tommy Fleetwood were excellent yesterday; their opponents here, Harris English and Collin Morikawa, not so much. But English starts well by finding the semi-rough down the right of the fairway. Advantage USA. Continue reading...

No world No 1 had ever started a Ryder Cup by losing three straight matches. Scheffler went one worseScottie Scheffler went to the 1st tee on Saturday afternoon backed by the theatrics of a prize-fighter making his ringwalk. He crossed the bridge from the practice green to the grandstand alongside Bryson DeChambeau, the thumping bassline and clavinet riff of Sirius by the Alan Parsons Project rattling the aluminum beneath their feet: the same track that once summoned Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls thundered from the speakers, the closest US analogue to the All Blacks' haka for spine-tingling pregame stagecraft. The stage was set for the world's best golfer to spark a comeback, to pull the United States back from the edge of humiliation at Bethpage Black.Instead, it became the overture to a historic dud. Continue reading...

Claims of violence by US president contrast with reality of life in vibrant, peaceful Oregon city, residents sayA visit to downtown Portland, Oregon, on Saturday, hours after Donald Trump falsely declared the city war ravaged" to justify the deployment of federal troops, made it plain the US president's impression of the city, apparently shaped by misleading conservative media reports, is entirely divorced from reality.There were just four protesters outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) field office in an outlying residential neighborhood that the president had claimed was under siege" by antifascists and other domestic terrorists". Jack Dickinson, 26, wore a chicken costume draped in an American flag and held a sign that read Portland Will Outlive Him". Passing motorists honked in appreciation. Continue reading...

Flooding overwhelms town of Globe as North Carolina governor declares an emergency ahead of stormAt least three people died and others were believed missing after flooding in a rural community in Arizona, officials said on Saturday.Meanwhile, in South Carolina, crews spent Saturday making preparations for an unnamed weather system that is forecast to approach that state's coast as a hurricane early next week. Continue reading...

President has shouted from rooftops what his predecessors would have tried to cover up for fear of ending their careersAs the Watergate scandal unfolded, new editions of the Washington Post newspaper were rushed over to the White House at night so Richard Nixon, the president, could brace for each devastating revelation.Half a century later, Donald Trump does not seem to fear explosive front page headlines or shocking disclosures of malfeasance. Usually because he has written them himself. Continue reading...

Apparently misled by hyperbolic reporting from conservative outlets on a single small protest, president described peaceful city as war ravaged'Donald Trump said on Saturday he is deploying troops to Portland, Oregon, authorizing Full Force, if necessary", ignoring pleas from local officials and the state's congressional delegation, who suggested that the president was misinformed or lying about the nature and scale of a single, small protest outside one federal immigration enforcement office.Trump made the announcement on social media, using references to antifascists and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice). He claimed that the deployment was necessary to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists". Continue reading...

Officials name Robert Eugene Brashers in brutal deaths of Amy Ayers, Eliza Thomas and Jennifer and Sarah HarbisonAfter more than three decades, police have identified a dead suspect in an infamous 1991 murder case in which four girls were slain at a yogurt shop in Austin, Texas.Austin police revealed Friday that Robert Eugene Brashers had been identified as a suspect in the murders through a wide range of DNA testing". Brashers, who had a lengthy criminal history, died by suicide in 1999 at age 40 during a standoff with police in Missouri. Continue reading...

Pete Hegseth ordered hundreds of generals and admirals to Virginia to meet and receive address on warrior ethos'US military officials are reportedly bracing for possible firings or demotions after the Trump administration's Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, abruptly summoned hundreds of generals and admirals from around the world to attend a gathering in Virginia in the upcoming days.The event, scheduled for Tuesday at Marine Corps University in Quantico, is expected to feature a short address by Hegseth focused on military standards and the warrior ethos", according to the Washington Post. Continue reading...

Friends and colleagues remember the first Black woman hired as a TV reporter on the west coast for her courage, integrity, grace and humanity'Unflappable. Fair. A mentor. The trailblazing journalist Belva Davis carried all of these traits, according to friends and colleagues, as they remembered the first Black woman hired as a television reporter on the west coast in the days following her death.Davis entered television news in the 1960s, when the industry was dominated by white men, making her presence on screens especially pioneering. She died on Wednesday at the age of 92. Continue reading...

Students say mandatory training video is biased in favor of Israel and could inflame campus tensions over GazaAt least 300 students have been prohibited from registering for classes at Northwestern University because they refused to watch a controversial antisemitism training video that they said was biased in favor of Israel, contained factual inaccuracies and could inflame campus tension over Gaza.The university's decision puts jobs, visas, stipends and health insurance at risk, students said during a press conference in Chicago on Friday morning, but those who spoke said they were still unwilling to do the training. Continue reading...

Speaking outside the UN general assembly in New York on Friday, Colombia's president, Gustavo Petro, called on nations of the world to contribute soldiers for an army 'larger than that of the United States'. He also urged US troops to 'disobey Trump's order' and instead 'obey the order of humanity'. In response, the US state department said it would revoke Petro's visa

Agents kneeled in Washington DC during protests following the murder of George Floyd by police in MinneapolisThe FBI has fired agents who were photographed kneeling during a racial justice protest in Washington DC that followed the 2020 murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, three people familiar with the matter told the Associated Press on Friday.The bureau last spring had reassigned the agents but has since fired them, said the people, who insisted on anonymity to discuss personnel matters with the AP. Continue reading...

RJ May is accused of trading hundreds of photos of children involved in sex acts; he faces up to 100 years in prisonA Republican member of the South Carolina state house who prosecutors say used the screen name joebidennnn69" agreed on Friday to plead guilty to distributing sexual abuse material involving children.RJ May signed court papers to change his plea a few days after a hearing during which prosecutors laid out how they would present their evidence in May's trial in October. May, who does not have a law degree, is acting as his own attorney. Continue reading...

A concern for women's health is absolutely not at the heart of it - rather, this is yet another way to control womenDonald Trump is a man with no medical training. However, that's never stopped the very stable genius from inflicting his unhinged health views on the rest of us, has it? Back in 2020, for example, Trump memorably mused that injecting disinfectant could help fight the coronavirus - which forced the maker of Dettol and Lysol to put out an urgent statement explaining that this was a very bad idea.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Having already attacked judges, lawyers, media companies and universities, the president has set his sights on civiliansAs a former federal prosecutor, I know that prosecutors should be guided by the facts. But in his determination to hound George Soros, Donald Trump wants prosecutors to become agents of his personal vendetta, facts be damned. That is the conclusion to be drawn from the instructions issued by one of Trump's senior justice department officials to a group of US attorney's offices across the country, telling them to investigate Soros's foundation.This is the latest step in Trump's implementation of the autocrat's handbook, with the aim of chipping away at the checks and balances on presidential authority. Having already attacked judges, lawyers, media companies and universities, Trump now sets his sights on civil society. Soros, a longtime and extraordinarily generous funder of progressive causes around the world including in the United States, is Target Number 1. Trump shares this fixation with the likes of Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban, Europe's most prominent autocrat, who for years has used Soros as a scapegoat for widespread and growing dislike of his corrupt, self-serving rule.Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch (1993-2022), is a visiting professor at Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs. His book Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments is published by Knopf and Allen Lane Continue reading...

In 107 Days, Harris leaves little room for nuance - nor is she afflicted with a surplus of self-awarenessKamala Harris's book 107 Days confirms two truths: Joe Biden never should have sought re-election and she did not belong on a national ticket.Biden was snared by Father Time and hubris. The 46th president was not the transformational figure he saw in the mirror. More than half the US rated him a failure.107 Days is published in the US by Simon & Schuster Continue reading...

Six people at a remote Ice facility in California City describe medical problems and filthy conditions, which operator CoreCivic deniesImmigrants locked up in California's newest federal detention center have described the facility as a a torture chamber", a zoo" and hell on earth", saying they were confined in filthy cells and suffered medical crises without help.Six people detained at the California City detention center, which opened in late August and is now the state's largest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention center, shared accounts with the Guardian of poor conditions and alleged mistreatment by staff.staff were not consistently giving people daily medications, and some detainees fell unconscious due to health issues;some toilets and sinks were backed up or not functioning properly, creating a stench;detainees were left to clean their own cells, but not given proper supplies;detainees were confined to cells for hours, and when they were allowed outdoors, it was sometimes only for 30 minutes a day in a dusty area with nothing to do;small food portions left people hungry, with some saying they rationed meals and feared the water they were drinking was dirty. Continue reading...

After Charlie Kirk's killing, the US president has unleashed an assault on free speech. Some conservatives are questioning his razor sharp U-turnIt has taken barely two weeks for Donald Trump to turn the horrific killing of Charlie Kirk to his political advantage, unleashing an unprecedented peacetime assault on free speech and a free press on the back of the assassination.Since Kirk's death, the president and his top team have:forced a private media company to suspend late-night TV star Jimmy Kimmel for inaccurate comments he made about Kirk's suspected shooter;threatened other TV networks with losing their licences should they say things Trump doesn't like;vowed to prosecute hate speech" that is fully protected under the first amendment;declared antifa a terrorist organisation in an indiscriminate attack on political ideology;and told journalists covering the Pentagon that they will have their access revoked unless they agree to restrictions on their reporting. Continue reading...

Democrats are abandoning their careful messaging in favor of gut-level rhetoric that's unapologetically more profane as the party faces an authenticity problemDemocrats want your attention, and they're done asking politely.Several months into Donald Trump's second term, presidential aspirants, members of Congress and party officials are abandoning carefully calibrated messaging in favor of gut-level rhetoric that is angrier, rawer and unapologetically more profane. Continue reading...

Basketball can provide players with huge financial rewards as well as intense scrutiny. How do they adapt to life in the public eye?Michael Cooper knew pressure. The NBA's 1987 Defensive Player of the Year had won five rings with the 1980s Showtime Lakers, blocking shots alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and finishing Coop-a-loop" passes from Magic Johnson for dunks. But in 2000, things were different. He wasn't in the game, he was coaching it from the sidelines for the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks. And despite Cooper being named coach of the year, the Sparks fell short in the playoffs to the Houston Comets.When we lost that," Cooper says, people said, Coop, you're supposed to be this great coach. And you can't get the Sparks over the hump.'" It was hard to swallow. When most people come up short at work, the world doesn't know about it - or debate it on live television. With fame comes consequences," says Cooper. You have to take the good and the bad." Continue reading...

At a pro-Palestine protest, Petro urged US soldiers to disobey Trump's order' and not point their rifles at humanity'The US state department said on Friday it would revoke the visa of Colombian leftist president Gustavo Petro for his incendiary actions" during a pro-Palestinian street protest in New York.Earlier today, Colombian president @petrogustavo stood on a NYC street and urged US soldiers to disobey orders and incite violence," the state department said on X. Continue reading...

This blog is closed. Read more hereWell, the president is awake.Donald Trump has posted the following on his Truth Social social media network:JAMES COMEY IS A DIRTY COP. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!Whether you like Corrupt James Comey or not, and I can't imagine too many people liking him, HE LIED! It is not a complex lie, it's a very simple, but IMPORTANT one. There is no way he can explain his way out of it. He is a Dirty Cop, and always has been, but he was just assigned a Crooked Joe Biden appointed Judge, so he's off to a very good start. Nevertheless, words are words, and he wasn't hedging or in dispute. He was very positive, there was no doubt in his mind about what he said, or meant by saying it. He left himself ZERO margin of error on a big and important answer to a question. He just got unexpectedly caught. James Dirty Cop" Comey was a destroyer of lives. He knew exactly what he was saying, and that it was a very serious and far reaching lie for which a very big price must be paid! President DJT Continue reading...

New York Times reports Michele Beckwith's firing came after she reminded Border Patrol to comply with courtsDonald Trump fired a top federal prosecutor in Sacramento just hours after she warned immigration agents they could not indiscriminately detain people in her district, according to documents reviewed by the New York Times.Michele Beckwith, who became the acting US attorney in Sacramento in January, received an email at 4.31pm on 15 July notifying her that the president had ordered her termination. Continue reading...

President says I think there'll be others' as justice department condemned for enacting retribution campaignDonald Trump said on Friday that he expected more people whom he considers his political enemies to face criminal charges, a day after the justice department indicted former FBI director James Comey and faced a torrent of criticism for enacting the president's campaign of retribution.It's not a list, but I think there'll be others," Trump said as he departed the White House to travel to the Ryder Cup golf tournament. I mean, they're corrupt. They were corrupt radical left Democrats." Continue reading...

Two men were injured and one was killed by an alleged lone shooter at an immigration detention center in TexasMultiple news reports have identified the three men shot at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) facility in Dallas on Wednesday.Miguel Angel Garcia-Hernandez of Mexico, Jose Andres Bordones-Molina of Venezuela and Norlan Guzman-Fuentes of El Salvador were shot in what the FBI has described as a targeted attack" on Ice by the 29-year-old alleged shooter, Joshua Jahn, CNN reported. Continue reading...

It's not about revenge,' Trump claims as lawmakers raise alarm over blatant abuse' of justice department - key US politics stories from Friday 26 SeptemberDonald Trump has denied the indictment of former FBI director James Comey is part of a campaign of retribution against his political opponents.The US president told reporters on Friday: It's about justice, it's not about revenge. He didn't think he'd be caught, and he got caught," Trump said, referring to the former FBI director he fired in 2017. He lied. He lied a lot," the president claimed. Continue reading...

Rolex CEO stressed US president's remarks were made in jest' in letter to Elizabeth Warren, who had raised concernsDonald Trump asked Rolex executives if he would have been invited to watch this month's US Open final from the luxury watchmaker's VIP box had he imposed steep tariffs on Swiss exports weeks earlier.The US president's remarks were made in jest", stressed Jean-Frederic Dufour, the Rolex CEO, in a letter to Elizabeth Warren, the US senator who had raised questions about the decision to invite Trump - including whether the conglomerate was seeking to curry favor" with the administration. Continue reading...

Historical records say the US army killed about 250 Lakota Sioux people in the 1890 massacre in South DakotaDefense secretary Pete Hegseth has announced that 20 US soldiers who took part in the 1890 massacre of hundreds of Lakota men, women and children at Wounded Knee will keep the Medals of Honor that were awarded to them.The move is the latest in a number of contentious actions taken by the Trump administration to reinterpret US history. Continue reading...

Justices rule in favour of administration, handing Trump another victory in dispute over presidential powerThe supreme court on Friday extended an order that allows Donald Trump's administration to keep frozen nearly $5bn in foreign aid, handing him another victory in a dispute over presidential power.The court acted on the Republican administration's emergency appeal in a case involving billions of dollars in congressionally approved aid. Trump said last month that he would not spend the money, invoking disputed authority that was last used by a president roughly 50 years ago. Continue reading...

Rafie Ollah Shouhed, 79, a US citizen, was held for 12 hours after sustaining broken ribs and a traumatic brain injuryThe 79-year-old owner of a Los Angeles area car wash is seeking $50m in damages from the federal government after US immigration authorities allegedly slammed the US citizen to the ground and detained him for almost 12 hours.Rafie Ollah Shouhed suffered significant injuries during an immigration raid this month, his attorney said, including broken ribs and a traumatic brain injury. The agents violated the Constitution, California civil rights law, and basic human decency", V James DeSimone, a civil rights attorney representing the man, said in a statement on Thursday. Continue reading...

Prosecutors allege Rubin and his ex-assistant Jennifer Powers trafficked and assaulted dozens of women for yearsRetired US financier Howard Rubin was arrested Friday on sex-trafficking charges for allegedly trafficking dozens of women, including former Playboy models, to be sexually and physically assaulted during encounters in his New York City penthouse in a soundproofed room described in court papers as The Dungeon".Authorities announced the arrest of Rubin and his former personal assistant, Jennifer Powers, on charges in an indictment unsealed in Brooklyn federal court. Continue reading...

Surveillance footage shows a masked agent pushing 79-year-old US citizen Rafie Ollah Shouhed to the ground after entering his car wash business in Los Angeles on 9 September. Video footage outside the car wash shows an agent apprehending an employee, and then Shouhed appears. Once again, the agent tackles him to the ground Continue reading...

Mark Francis Ford is accused of sexual crimes allegedly starting in 2004 against a then 10-year-old boyA man who once served in the administrations of two Louisiana governors has been arrested on allegations that he molested a child whom he met while ministering to disabled children in New Orleans as a Roman Catholic priest during a previous career, according to authorities and an attorney representing the accuser.Mark Francis Ford, 64, faces charges of first-degree rape, second-degree kidnapping, sexual battery and indecent behavior with a juvenile after federal agents arrested him on Thursday in Portage, Indiana, on a warrant obtained by police in New Orleans, Brian Fair of the US Marshals Service said. Continue reading...

One-in-30m' find spared from menu and released into Long Island Sound after being spotted in upstate grocery storeA rare orange lobster was released back into the wild this week after being spotted by an enthusiast at a local grocery store.The lobster, swiftly nicknamed Jean-Clawed Van Damme, is a one-in-30m catch, according to Humane Long Island, a wildlife rescue group, and the New York Aquarium, who aided in releasing it. Continue reading...

Medical examiner says autopsy of Shane Tamura, who played football in high school, showed evidence of brain diseaseThe mass shooter who suspected he had CTE when he killed four people and himself in a Manhattan office building in July did in fact have the degenerative brain disease, the New York City medical examiner said on Friday.Shane Tamura, who was 27 and played football in high school, had unambiguous diagnostic evidence" of low-stage chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the medical examiner found. The condition, which can only be diagnosed posthumously, is caused by repeated exposure to head trauma and is most commonly associated in the US with tackle football players, in particular those who have made it to the NFL. Continue reading...

Monica Moreta-Galarza was pleading with officer to release her detained husband when he pushed her to the groundA federal officer for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) has been relieved of his duties" after a video showing him pushing a woman to the floor at an immigration court in New York City spread quickly on social media.Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, sent a statement to the Guardian, saying the officer's actions were unacceptable and beneath the men and women of Ice". Continue reading...

Nineteen in immigration processing unit striking for access to medical and mental health care, among other demandsNineteen people detained at an immigration detention center that the Trump administration opened within Louisiana's infamous Angola prison were entering their fifth day on hunger strike on Sunday, according to advocacy groups.Those striking at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) processing center set up at Angola's former Camp J are demanding access to medical and mental health care - including prescription medications, according to the Southeast Dignity Not Detention Coalition (SEDND) and the National Immigration Project (NIPNLG). Continue reading...

John Gillette on X called for people like' Pramila Jayapal to be hanged' in response to her video on anti-Trump protestsAn Arizona Republican state representative who has expressed support for January 6 insurrectionists on Wednesday called for a Democratic congresswoman to be executed, as a response to a video clip.The comment on X by state representative John Gillette of Kingman, Arizona, first reported by the Arizona Mirror, was a reaction to a short clip drawn from a YouTube video in March by US representative Pramila Jayapal, a longtime Democratic congresswoman representing Washington state, entitled The Resistance Lab." In the video, Jayapal discusses preparations for street protests against the Trump administration. Continue reading...