Alleged handoff occurred before Trump won second presidency, after which administration killed federal corruption caseThe FBI reportedly recorded Donald Trump's border czar Tom Homan accepting $50,000 in cash from undercover agents who were posing as business contractors last year.A new report from MSNBC on Saturday reveals that the agents recorded Homan, six weeks before the 2024 election, allegedly promising to assist in securing government contracts across the border security industry during Trump's second term. Continue reading...
Schools would be required to build memorial plaza and describe slain activist as civil rights leader or face finesRepublican lawmakers in Oklahoma introduced legislation this week that would require every public university in the state to construct a Charlie Kirk Memorial Plaza", with a statue of the assassinated Republican activist and a sign calling him a modern civil rights leader", or pay monthly fines.The proposed legislation comes as conservatives pay tribute to the murdered activist and podcaster, whose life will be commemorated by the president at a service in Arizona on Sunday, by comparing him to martyred political and spiritual leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr and Saint Paul. Continue reading...
Exclusive: White House only realized afterwards that clearances at the CIA and in Congress had been rescindedTulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, did not inform the White House that her office was revoking the security clearances of 37 people - including top deputies to the CIA director, John Ratcliffe - before it happened last month, according to three people familiar with matter.The move caused consternation because it resulted in the White House not having an opportunity to closely vet the list before it became public and there appeared to be no paper trail from the president directing the effort, the people said. Continue reading...
Local and federal agents, including immigration officials, may not wear masks while conducting official businessCalifornia will be the first state to ban most law enforcement, including federal immigration agents, from covering their faces while conducting official business under a bill signed by the state's governor, Gavin Newsom, on Saturday.The ban is California's direct response to a recent series of immigration raids in Los Angeles where federal agents wore masks while making mass arrests. The raids prompted protests and led Donald Trump to deploy national guard troops and marines to the city. Continue reading...
Lawyers argue authorities prejudiced the case against Mangione by turning arrest into a Marvel movie' spectacleLuigi Mangione's lawyers urged a judge on Saturday to bar federal prosecutors from seeking the death penalty in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, arguing that authorities prejudiced the case against him by turning his arrest into a Marvel movie" spectacle and by publicly declaring their desire to see him executed.Fresh from a legal victory that eliminated terrorism charges in Mangione's state murder case, his lawyers are now fighting to have his federal case dismissed, seizing on US attorney general Pam Bondi's declaration prior to his April indictment that capital punishment is warranted for a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America". Continue reading...
Young liberals challenged Kirk's conservative views on the viral YouTube series Surrounded - an unnerving' spectacle, according to a rhetoric expertIn the days after his killing, Charlie Kirk was remembered by his allies as a great debater. A quote taken from a widely shared video of Kirk discussing his life's work - when people stop talking, that's when violence happens" - emblematized such eulogies.Kirk toured American college campuses with his rightwing non-profit Turning Point USA, where he would set up a tent, table and microphone, and debate with undergrads. The goal, he said, was to save western civilization", and remembrances after his death positioned him as a budding statesman - a conservative hero who strode across the political divide for the sake of open dialogue. Continue reading...
US Secret Service in Phoenix says man said he was law enforcement and there to provide private securityA man armed with a gun and a knife was arrested on Saturday after he allegedly pretended to be a member of law enforcement outside State Farm Stadium near Phoenix a day before Charlie Kirk's planned memorial service at that venue.On Saturday, the Arizona department of public safety said that 42-year-old Joshua Runkles was charged with carrying a weapon into a prohibited place and impersonating a police officer. Continue reading...
If they don't agree to limits, including restricting movement within building, Pentagon press passes will be revokedThe US military has issued new media restrictions demanding that journalists pledge not to gather any information - including unclassified documents - that has not been authorized for release or else risk revocation of their press passes.In a memo issued Thursday, the Pentagon stated that it remains committed to transparency to promote accountability and public trust". However, using an abbreviation for the recently rebranded Department of War headed by the Trump administration's Pete Hegseth, the memo added: DoW information must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified." Continue reading...
The barely there iPhone Air is in line with trends in tech, design and art - unsullied by thought, risk or humorThere's a new iPhone. Again. Improbably, we are on the 17th iteration (give or take) of the product that single-handedly ruins our lives every day with incessant vibrations alerting us to some horrifying calamity, plus every song in the Bruce Springsteen back catalog. Coming up with new features for the never-ending information machines we all keep in our pockets isn't easy, but this time, Apple managed to develop a big (or should I say small) one. There's now a thinner iPhone Air, which is being marketed as the thinnest iPhone ever. These gadgets have never exactly been gargantuan, so it's kind of like identifying the tiniest grain of sand in the desert. Still, people around the world are fascinated by the sheer lack of phone here.Technology, design, and art are all trending toward a certain scarcity model, prepping us for a lack of bells and whistles, as though both your parents are unemployed and they want you to expect fewer trips to Disneyland. Life on Earth feels more and more like the experience of entering a Sweetgreen - beige, spartan and unobtrusive. Sure, iPhones haven't gotten cheaper, but they have certainly gotten ... lesser. The iPhone Air is so small, I feel like I'll sit on it and it will slide seamlessly up my rectum, never to be seen again. For some, I'm sure losing your device inside your bowels might be a feature, but I think it's a rather uncomfortable bug.Dave Schilling is a Los Angeles-based writer and humorist Continue reading...
The Trump administration is trying to harness outrage over the rightwing activist's killing to crush dissent, experts sayThey will gather to mourn one of their own. On Sunday the late rightwing activist Charlie Kirk is set to be hailed by Donald Trump as a martyr of the Make America great again (Maga) movement.But Kirk's memorial service at a 63,000-seat football stadium in Arizona could, critics fear, be exploited by the US president to serve a darker purpose: turning collective grief into a campaign of vengeance against America's enemy within. Continue reading...
Police say the ABC10 building was occupied when shots were fired into the lobby but no one was injured'Police have arrested a man suspected of shooting into the lobby of Sacramento's ABC affiliate on Friday.Though the shooting occurred just a day after protesters gathered outside to the station to condemn ABC's suspension of Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talkshow, Sacramento police said the motive in the case remained under investigation, with it not being immediately clear whether the gunfire was targeted or random. Continue reading...
The rightwing pundit's meteoric career was in some ways a microcosm of the rise of Trump-era Christian nationalismChristian nationalists in the US are positioning Charlie Kirk as a martyr for their movement, one that has grown in popularity and whose rise was intertwined with Kirk's own political ascent.After Kirk's killing, his widow, Erika Kirk, wrote on social media that the world is evil", but God so good." The sound of this widow weeping [echoes] throughout this world like a battle cry," she said. They have no idea what they just ignited within this wife." Continue reading...
Three teenagers and one adult arrested in Renton after an alleged attack left a 39-year-old woman hospitalizedFour people - including three teenagers - are accused of a hate crime in Washington state after being arrested in connection with an alleged attack on a transgender woman that left the victim hospitalized, according to authorities.The Renton police department said the four suspects in the case first argued with the 39-year-old woman on Monday evening - then beat her after she saw them again later. Investigators say they hurled homophobic slurs at the victim, who was attacked on a street near a transit center in Renton and suffered serious injuries. Continue reading...
by Emillia Hawkins and Luke McLaughlin on (#705WN)
Katarina Johnson-Thompson dug deep to claim a joint-bronze medal while Emmanuel Wanyonyi won 800m goldJohnson-Thompson has thrown 38.82m with her first of three attempts in the javelin. She's been pushed out of the medal positions for now.Kate O'Connor of Ireland has mustered a phenomenal personal best of 53.06m. Continue reading...
Erik Siebert leaving after his investigation finds insufficient evidence to charge New York's attorney general Letitia James with a crimeThe federal prosecutor for the eastern district of Virginia resigned Friday under intense pressure from Donald Trump, after his office determined there wasn't sufficient evidence to charge New York's attorney general, Letitia James, a political rival of the president, with a crime.Erik Siebert told colleagues he was resigning in a letter sent Friday, NBC News reported. Meanwhile, in an early Saturday post on his Truth Social platform, Trump maintained that Siebert didn't quit - but rather: I fired him!" Continue reading...
Large egos and competing interests were on display in Las Vegas during fight week. At times it seemed two of the few players of note who weren't fighting with each other were Canelo and CrawfordOn 13 September, Terence Crawford solidified his status as a great fighter with a hard-fought, unanimous decision victory over Canelo Alvarez at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.The event was conceived, financed, and marketed by Turki al-Sheikh, the chairman of the Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority, and Dana White, the president and CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). It was to act as a foundation stone for their plan to make Zuffa Boxing, a company controlled by interests they represent, the dominant force in professional boxing. Continue reading...
The former Fox News host is speaking out against the administration's response to the Charlie Kirk shootingForgive me; I'm sorry; mea culpa! Having spent considerable time analyzing the events of the past week, I've realized I should probably issue a public apology for some of my statements over the years. Here we go: I'm sorry for expressing radical and dangerous opinions like women deserve equal rights and shouldn't be treated like walking wombs". I'm sorry for suggesting Palestinians shouldn't be systematically exterminated while Donald Trump posts about building a resort in Gaza. Going forward I will do better and ensure that I double-check all my opinions with the government. There isn't an official Department of Thought Control yet, but no doubt we'll get there soon.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Educators worry about absenteeism and smartphones as NAEP report shows scores at lowest levels in two decadesThe average reading and math scores of American high school seniors fell to their lowest levels in two decades in 2024, according to new national data released last week.The results, from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), found that, on average, reading scores for 12th graders were 10 points lower in 2024 than they were in 1992, when the test was first administered, and that math scores fell to their lowest levels since 2005, when the math assessment began. Continue reading...
Though they make up just over 6% of the total workforce, Black women account for more than 12% of federal workersOn 30 May 2025, Dr Ravon Alford received an email from leadership at her job that the federal government had chosen to revoke the organization's active federal grants. At the time, Alford, who's 33, had been working as a senior policy analyst at a criminal justice reform non-profit organization in Detroit. As a result of the budget cuts, all work related to projects that were funded by these grants were ceased. Organization-wide layoffs followed, affecting Alford and 75% of the staff.Alford is among the nearly 300,000 Black women who exited the US labor force in just three months - a shift tied directly to federal policy decisions. The most immediate cause has been sweeping cuts across public-sector agencies, historically one of the few reliable pathways to middle-class stability for Black women. Though they make up just more than 6% of the overall workforce, Black women account for more than 12% of federal employees. These positions have long offered pensions, benefits and more equitable pay than the private sector, where wage disparities remain stubbornly fixed. Continue reading...
The frontrunner for New York mayor has won social media with clips that are always fun - and resolutely on-messageZohran Mamdani's commanding lead in the New York City mayoral election owes much to his ability to tap into the concerns of New Yorkers - putting affordability and housing at the center of his campaign.But he's been helped, too, by a superstar social media presence. The charismatic 33-year-old regularly beams out slick videos on TikTok and Instagram that have helped raise his profile and attract a swathe of voters and volunteers. Continue reading...
It comes amid US efforts for deal after punishing trade war and hours before Trump and Xi Jinping spoke on phoneDonald Trump's reported pause on $400m (297m) in weapons aid to Taiwan has fuelled fears he is using US support of the island to negotiate with China.Trump's pause on weapons provisions, if confirmed, included orders for lethal munitions and autonomous drones, but could still be reversed, the Washington Post reported on Friday. Continue reading...
Nazis used the 1933 Reichstag blaze to justify snuffing out civil liberties. In the US, the calls for a crackdown have already begunOn the night of 27 February 1933, six days before national elections, the German Reichstag was set on fire. Firefighters and police discovered a Dutch communist named Marinus van der Lubbe at the scene, who confessed to being the arsonist. The Nazi Reichstag president, Hermann Goring, soon arrived, followed by the future propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and Adolf Hitler, who had been dining together.Two competing, still unresolved, conspiracy theories would circulate about the real culprit: the Nazis, with van der Lubbe as front; or a communist cabal. But the three men had no doubts. Goring pronounced the crime a communist plot. Hitler called it a God-given signal", adding: If this fire, as I believe, is the work of the communists, then we must crush out this murderous pest with an iron fist."Judith Levine is Brooklyn-based journalist, essayist and author of five books. Her Substack is Today in Fascism Continue reading...
Disney's Bob Iger and Paramount's David Ellison are among the executives pulling the strings amid criticism that US TV networks are caving to the Trump administrationOver the past two decades Jimmy Kimmel has interviewed thousands of people - including his ultimate boss - on his late-night talkshow.I've probably, with the possible exception of Roseanne, caused you more headaches than anyone in the last 15 years," Kimmel grinned at his guest one night in late 2019. Absolutely," replied Disney CEO Bob Iger. Continue reading...
Decision could be major blow to tech industry, but commerce secretary says all of the big companies are on board' - key US politics stories from 19 September 2025Donald Trump has signed an order to raise fees for the H-1B visa to $100,000 in what could be a major blow to the US tech industry, which contributed millions to his presidential campaign.The tech industry relies, more than any other sector of the US economy, on H-1B visa holders. Roughly two-thirds of jobs secured through the H-1B program are computer-related, government figures show, but employers also use the visa to bring in engineers, educators and healthcare workers. Continue reading...
by Coral Murphy Marcos,Shrai Popat, Lucy Campbell and on (#7055S)
Trump said I want him out' about Erik Siebert, who was investigating New York attorney general Letitia James and former FBI director James Comey. This blog is now closed.Today, lawmakers in the House will vote on legislation, known as a continuing resolution" (CR), to prevent a looming government shutdown at the end of September.The bill, introduced by Republicans, would fund the government until 21 November. According to Politico, House GOP whip Tom Emmer was confident, as of Thursday, that his party had enough votes. We're going to pass this," he said in an interview. Continue reading...
by Coral Murphy Marcos and Robert Mackey on (#705RX)
Texas senator says Brendan Carr's threats to revoke licenses amid Jimmy Kimmel suspension right out of Goodfellas'Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, compared Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr's threats to revoke the broadcast licenses of ABC stations over late-night host Jimmy Kimmel's commentary to mafioso" tactics similar to those in Goodfellas, the 1990 mobster movie.Look, Jimmy Kimmel has been canned. He has been suspended indefinitely. I think that it a fantastic thing," Cruz said at the start of the latest episode of his podcast Verdict with Ted Cruz. There were, however first amendment implications" of the FCC's role, the senator, a Harvard Law School graduate who clerked for US supreme court chief justice William Rehnquist, added. Continue reading...
Qingzhou Wang of Amarvel Biotech accused by prosecutors of turning chemical company into pipeline of poison'A Chinese company executive has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for trafficking in chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl, the US justice department has said.Qingzhou Wang, 37, principal executive of Amarvel Biotech, a company based in Wuhan, and Yiyi Chen, 33, the firm's marketing manager, were convicted in New York in February of fentanyl precusor importation and money laundering. Continue reading...
President says US military carried out strike on my orders', killing three men he said were carrying illegal narcoticsDonald Trump announced on Friday that the US military has carried out another deadly strike on a vessel in the the Caribbean, killing three males on board the vessel whom Trump alleged were trafficking illicit narcotics.On my orders", Trump wrote in a social media post shared by the White House and defense secretary, the Secretary of War ordered a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization conducting narcotrafficking in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility." Continue reading...
Justice department urges court to overturn ruling that Kristi Noem lacked authority to end TPS programThe Trump administration asked the US supreme court on Friday to intervene for the second time in a case involving its bid to end deportation protections the former president, Joe Biden, granted to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the United States.The justice department filed an emergency application asking the justices to lift a federal judge's ruling that the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, lacked the authority to end the protections for Venezuelans under the temporary protected status, or TPS, program. Continue reading...
Move deals potentially major blow to US tech industry, which relies heavily on workers from India and ChinaDonald Trump signed a proclamation on Friday that would impose an annual $100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications, dealing a potentially major blow to the US tech industry, which relies heavily on workers from India and China.The US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, said at a Friday press briefing that all the big companies" had been briefed on the new fee. Continue reading...
After heated meeting, healthcare professionals and experts left deeply confused about committee's recommendationsA powerful committee that advises the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on vaccine policy voted on Friday against recommending that people obtain a prescription for a Covid-19 vaccine. However, the panel also voted to recommend that people speak with a clinician before obtaining the shot and that coronavirus vaccinations should be based on individual-based decision making".The votes on the recommendations came after hours of impassioned debate that, at times, devolved into confusion and apparent animosity over the committee's procedures and the safety of vaccines. Healthcare professionals and experts following the committee's meeting were also left deeply confused about the significance of the committee's votes and recommendations, and whether they would make it more difficult for people to obtain Covid vaccines. Continue reading...
James' wife and stepdaughter were also killed when the Cirrus SR22T crashed in Franklin, North CarolinaBrett James, a Grammy-winning songwriter whose credits include the Carrie Underwood hit Jesus, Take the Wheel - died alongside his wife and stepdaughter in a plane crash on Thursday, according to authorities and reports.James, 57, had been flying with his wife and stepdaughter when the plane, a Cirrus SR22T, crashed under unknown circumstances" in a wooded area of Franklin, North Carolina, said officials and media reports. The plane had taken off from John C Tune airport in Nashville, Tennessee, as reported by the Associated Press. Continue reading...
Judge's order order allows transgender or non-binary people to request a male, female or X' markerThe Trump administration on Friday asked the US supreme court to halt a judge's order allowing transgender and non-binary people to choose the sex marker on their passports.The justice department filed an emergency request to lift a federal judge's order that bars the US state department from enforcing a Trump-directed policy. Continue reading...
Officials in Nassau county confirmed death of 42-year-old man to Newsday but declined to share detailsA man arrested by US Customs and Immigration Enforcement (Ice) died in a Long Island, New York, jail on Thursday, according to a report.Officials in Nassau county confirmed the death of a 42-year-old man to Newsday but declined to share details, saying that an investigation was under way. Continue reading...
Federal law enforcement officials in Chicago used teargas and pepper balls in an attempt to disperse a group of around 100 protesters who assembled in the early hours of Friday morning at an Ice facility in the suburbs. Protesters had attempted to block a number of large SUVs entering the facility throughout the morning at an Ice detention and operations facility in Broadview
It was a dramatic night in Tokyo, featuring gold again for Noah Lyles and a chaotic post-race scene in the men's 400m hurdlesWomen's heptathlon - high jump: Johnson-Thompson's second attempt at the 1.80m ... better run-up ... and a good clearance! O'Dowda's third and final chance to get 1.80m now and she manages it as well!Brooks though cannot match the GB pair and she groans as she fails in her final attempt. That is her out of the high jump. Disappointing given her personal best is 1.84m. Continue reading...
Committee cited inconsistency in proposed policy changes and it is not clear how they will proceed on the issueA revamped panel of US vaccine advisers appointed by the health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, on Friday decided not to go ahead with a planned vote that would have delayed the first hepatitis B vaccine dose for newborns, citing inconsistency in the proposed policy changes.It was not clear how the committee would now proceed on the issue. Continue reading...
Mark A Welsh III steps down after student's complaint led to firing of teacher and dismissal of dean and department headThe president of Texas A&M University's main campus is stepping down less than two weeks after a student's viral complaint about gender ideology" in the classroom set off a chain of repercussions, including the firing of the teacher as well as the dismissal of a dean and department chair.Mark A Welsh III, a retired air force four-star general, has been leading the university since 2022. His career before higher education included time as a fighter pilot, service on the joint chiefs of staff, work as the CIA's associate director for military affairs, a term as commandant of cadets at the Air Force Academy, and a stint as dean of the Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M. Continue reading...
Lyles pulled ahead of teammate Kenny Bednarek heading into the straight then held him off down the stretch to capture his fourth title in a much-awaited final. Lyles finished in 19.52 seconds for a 0.06-second winning margin over Bednarek, who led the final at the halfway point. Lyles has now matched Usain Bolt with four 200 titles at the world championships.
by Isabeau Doucet in Salinas, California on (#705D8)
The Migrant Education Program opened doors for the kids of seasonal farm laborers. The Trump administration wants to axe all its fundingWhen Regina Zarate-Garcia was a child, she recalled being uprooted from one school district and planted in another as often as the seasons changed.Zarate-Garcia, now 18, was born in Salinas, California, to farm workers from Mexicali, a city just south of California on the US-Mexico border. I remember my parents getting home and seeing their pants splashed in strawberries, mixed with that familiar smell of pesticides," she recalls. Continue reading...
Jerry himself has left the ice-cream company, alleging it had been silenced. He's yet another casualty of corporate kowtowingWhen the history of this era is written, there will be much to say about the behavior of large corporations. And none of it will be good.As the Trump administration has ramped up its assault on American democracy, many corporations have chosen to look the other way or to curry favor with the president. They have fired employees who were too outspoken in their criticism of Donald Trump - ABC's suspension of Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talkshow, after Kimmel's remarks about Maga's reaction to the killing of Charlie Kirk, is the latest example.Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell professor of jurisprudence and political science at Amherst College, is the author or editor of more than 100 books, including Gruesome Spectacles: Botched Executions and America's Death Penalty Continue reading...
Demartravion Trey" Reed, 21, was found hanging from tree on Delta State University campusThe death of a Black college student whose body was found hanging from a tree on a university campus in Mississippi this week was ruled a suicide after an autopsy, police said in a statement.Demartravion Trey" Reed, 21, was found dead early on Monday near the pickleball courts on Delta State University's campus in Cleveland, Mississippi, according to officials. Continue reading...
Cuban asylum seeker EC and others saw hard-won victories vanish as new rules upended immigration courtsThe Cuban asylum seeker referred to in court papers as EC could not believe his luck, and neither could his lawyers.They had come to immigration court in Miami in late spring expecting only incremental progress in a case that had been grinding away for more than three years. Yet here was the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lawyer telling the judge the government was dropping its deportation demands. It seemed EC had won, eligible at last for a green card and permanent residency in the United States. Continue reading...
Liz Uihlein sent staff email with cartoon of Trump saying I hold the cards' to which Xi says the cards are made in China'A top donor to Donald Trump and other Maga Republicans has privately mocked the US president's longtime position that he has an upper hand in trade negotiations with China, in a sign that even some loyal supporters have been uneasy with the White House strategy.Liz Uihlein, the billionaire businesswoman who co-founded the office supply company Uline with her husband, Richard, sent an email to her staff earlier this year that contained a cartoon in which Trump can be seen playing cards with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping. In the cartoon, Trump claims: I hold the cards", to which Xi responds: The cards are made in China." Continue reading...
Arrests include 11 city officials who had demanded to see the conditions of an Ice intake facility on the 10th floorNew York lawmakers, immigrants' rights activists and religious leaders were arrested on Thursday at protests both inside and outside the complex in lower Manhattan where federal officials have been routinely detaining immigrants amid the Trump administration's anti-immigration agenda.At least 70 demonstrators staged a direct-action protest to block access to and from the underground garage used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) to transport people arrested by the agency. The nature of the protest prompted the New York police department (NYPD) to begin arresting people sitting in front of the access ramp. Continue reading...
If approved as proposed, legislation would delay ban on toxic forever chemical'-laden firefighting foamRepublicans in Congress are attempting to gut hard-won health protections for service members against the US military's toxic PFAS forever chemical" pollution that has poisoned drinking water and likely sickened people around hundreds of bases.The repeals are included in the US House and Senate versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). If approved as proposed, the legislation would indefinitely delay a ban on PFAS-laden firefighting foam set to go into effect next year, slash cleanup funding by $200m, lift a moratorium on incinerating firefighting foam and repeal a military ban on buying everyday goods that contain the chemicals. Continue reading...
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