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A line has been crossed. There is a bold, progressive way to think again about our defence and investment, social spending and foreign policy

Fellow Democrats are riled by the Pennsylvania maverick who now denounces the sort of politician he once wasYou can't work' with crazy," John Fetterman wrote. You must call it what it is. Anything less is spineless appeasement."It was mid-2016, and Fetterman, then running in the Democratic primary for a US Senate seat in Pennsylvania, was responding to a Politico article about how Democrats may work with Donald Trump. Continue reading...

A new poll also found that four in 10 Americans have shifted spending to align with moral views in recent monthsAmericans are changing their shopping habits and even dumping their favorite stores in a backlash against corporations that have shifted their public policies to align with the Trump administration, according to a poll exclusively shared with the Guardian.Four out of 10 Americans have shifted their spending over the last few months to align with their moral views, according to the Harris poll.31% of Americans reported having no interest in supporting the economy this year - a sentiment especially felt by younger (gen Z: 37%), Black (41% v white: 28%) and Democratic consumers (35% v 29% of independents and 28% of Republicans).A quarter (24%) of respondents have even stopped shopping at their favorite stores because of their politics (Black: 35%, gen Z: 32%, Democratic: 31%). Continue reading...

Proposal calls on company to prepare reports on macroeconomic costs' of health insurer's practicesUnitedHealth Group is attempting to swat down a non-binding shareholder proposal that asked the company to prepare reports on the costs of delayed and denied healthcare.The proposal, filed by members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), represents a new frontier in seeking to hold insurance companies accountable for the macroeconomic costs" of denied care - arguing they eventually hurt the bottom line of large investors. Continue reading...

The centre left's failure has left a vacuum that's been filled by those offering hope, rather than a technocratic status quo

Negotiations get under way, with Kyiv and other European powers sidelined. Plus, why gen Z has ditched capitalization

Miami's bid for domestic, continental, and global glory is over a decade in the making, but it must happen this yearInter Miami begin the most important season in their short history with opportunity abound, but a narrowing window to capitalize on all the club has built towards. The club can win up to five trophies this year, and the journey towards two of them starts this week.Lionel Messi's side begin their Concacaf Champions Cup campaign against Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday night, commencing a season when they will also compete in the 32-team Fifa Club World Cup, the MLS-Liga MX Leagues Cup, while gunning for a repeat of last year's Supporters' Shield honor and a maiden MLS Cup triumph. Continue reading...

Emma Hayes' latest US squad lacks some of the biggest names from last summer's Olympic triumph, but there are still plenty of intriguing selectionsThe Olympic gold medalists are back to competitive soccer, though the United States women's national team might look a bit different than you remember them if the last match you saw was the final in Paris.All three of the famed Triple Espresso frontline - Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson and Sophia Wilson (nee Smith) - are sitting out this competition. The first woman to cost a $1m transfer fee, Naomi Girma, is also taking a break, as is Rose Lavelle. Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher has retired from international competition, with Jane Campbell and Mandy McGlynn getting the opportunity to compete for the No 1 shirt. Continue reading...

Ditching DEI initiatives will curry favour in the Oval Office. It will also alienate the workforces bosses rely onThe mask has slipped and the gloves are off. A company which in 2022 boasted that it had exceeded its target, spending $1.26 billion with US certified diverse suppliers", is now ending diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.That company is Meta (formerly known as Facebook), whose chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, announced DEI dismantling shortly before he had a prominent seat at Donald Trump's recent inauguration. Perhaps from that privileged spot he was able to imbibe some of the masculine energy" he says he wants to see at work.Stefan Stern is co-author of Myths of Management and the former director of the High Pay Centre. His latest book is Fair or Foul: the Lady Macbeth Guide to Ambition Continue reading...

Ed Martin was lawyer for three January 6 defendants and was also in charge of dismissing Capitol attack charges as interim US attorneyA conservative activist who has consistently defended the January 6 storming of the Capitol has been nominated by Donald Trump to serve as the permanent top federal prosecutor in the city where it happened.Trump named Ed Martin for US attorney for the District of Columbia, the top prosecutor for all serious local crimes by adults in the district. His appointment must be confirmed by the US Senate. Continue reading...

We look back at seven ex-NBA stars who contributed a great deal to the league, but whose stories also risk being lost to time thanks to vanishing modern attention spansHave you ever opened up a social media page with a clear intention of what you're doing and then instantly become distracted? You end up fiddling around and then closing the page and realizing you didn't even do what you'd originally logged on for? Yes, the internet is a place full of distractions. TikTok, Instagram, whatever Twitter (X) is? It's hard to remember what you had for breakfast some days. The same, of course, goes for NBA history.If you go online today to read about basketball, it can seem like the league or the sport itself was created in the 21st century. That anything before Kobe Bryant never actually existed. As a result, fans sometimes need a history lesson. And that's exactly what we wanted to do today. To examine the careers of seven former NBA stars who contributed a great deal to the league but whose stories also risk being lost to time thanks to our modern attention spans. Continue reading...

The vice-president's attack on European values signalled a historic realignment. Should the continent seek rapprochement or go its own way? Continue reading...

Trump's orders will cause hardship but it could allow small nations to face up to their dependence on a coercive oligarchyFor generations, many in the Caribbean grew up believing that the United States was the world's great benefactor - a beacon of freedom, prosperity and boundless opportunity. Carefully cultivated through cinema, television, magazines, newspapers and radio, this perception reinforced the idea that the US was a land where hard work could secure a better life.It was the dream destination for countless Caribbean migrants seeking to escape economic hardship and limited opportunities. But that illusion has crumbled, as historical distortions have become clear. Continue reading...

The Reform leader and Kemi Badenoch have struck the wrong alliances at the wrong time. Ukrainian sovereignty is a cause close to rightwing heartsTiming is everything in politics. So when the leader of the opposition realised she was due to be making a speech heaping praise on Donald Trump, just as the president plunged her own country into a national security crisis, you might think even she would have hesitated.But seemingly nothing can keep Kemi Badenoch from a culture war, not even the threat of an actual war. So, at a rightwing conference in London on Monday morning, she duly ripped into corporate diversity policies, climate activism, Keir Starmer taking the knee four and a half years ago, and various other imagined threats to western civilisation that are not forcing Britain to consider deploying troops against them, before concluding triumphantly that when people ask her what difference a change of leader makes, her answer is, Take a look at President Trump."Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Jack LaSota, who publishes blog under the name of Ziz', appears to be leader of group of anarchist computer scientistsThe apparent leader of a cultlike group known as the Zizians has been arrested in Maryland along with another member of the group, Maryland state police have said.Jack LaSota, 34, was arrested on Sunday along with Michelle Zajko, 33, of Media, Pennsylvania. They face multiple charges including trespassing, obstructing and hindering and possession of a handgun in the vehicle, police said on Monday. Continue reading...

Departures follow justice department shelving charges widely seen as reward for Eric Adams helping Trump administrationFour deputies to New York's mayor, Eric Adams, resigned on Monday as the growing chaos following a justice department request to drop corruption charges against him, widely seen as a reward for his help with Donald Trump's immigration agenda, engulfs his three-year-old administration.According to reports, four of Adams' deputies - first deputy mayor Maria Torres Springer, deputy mayor for operations Meera Joshi, deputy mayor for health and human services Anne Williams-Isom, and deputy mayor for public safety Chauncey Parker - said they were stepping down. Continue reading...

Britain's prime minister, Keir Starmer, has called on the US to provide a 'backstop' to deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again after meeting with European leaders for emergency talks on the war. Starmer said Donald Trump's comments asking Europe to step up 'should not come as a surprise', and repeated that he is prepared to consider committing British forces on the ground alongside others.

Victims reportedly posted death to Arabs' on social media after shooting while suspect held on attempted murder chargesA Jewish man in Miami Beach is facing charges of attempted murder following accusations that he opened fire on two men he believed were Palestinians but reportedly turned out to be Israeli visitors.According to arrest documents, at 9.30pm on Saturday surveillance video appeared to show Mordechai Brafman, 27, getting out of his truck and opening fire with a semiautomatic handgun at a vehicle as it passed. Brafman allegedly fired 17 times, striking one victim in the left shoulder and grazing the other's left forearm. Continue reading...

Israeli PM urges US to help finish the job' as Washington makes early maximalist demand over Tehran's programmeBenjamin Netanyahu has vowed that, with Donald Trump's support, his government will finish the job" of neutralising the threat from Iran, amid US reports that Israel is considering airstrikes against Iranian nuclear sites in the coming few months.Trump has said he would prefer to make a deal with Tehran, but also made clear that he was considering US military action if talks failed, and his administration has laid down an early maximalist demand: Iranian abandonment of its entire nuclear programme. Continue reading...

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Emmanuel Macron, Kier Starmer and others discuss Trump, Russia and Ukraine at hastily arranged conferenceEmmanuel Macron: Bienvenu a Paris.Keir Starmer: Bonjour, Monsieur le President. Thank you for organising this once-in-a-generation" summit at such short notice. Continue reading...

The US president's bullying of allies and partners is short-termist and will boost Beijing's power, not Washington'sDonald Trump's return to the White House is so far proving more nightmarish for US allies and friends than adversaries. China certainly doesn't relish a trade war with the US, but it was better prepared than others for Mr Trump's tariffs, and both sides appear to be leaving room for a potential deal. And, though China's leader, Xi Jinping, is poised for worse to come, the second Trump term is bringing Beijing opportunities aswell as problems.International respect for the US plummeted under his last administration. As the US president turns the screws on long-term partners, China is looking to take advantage. Colombia quickly caved to MrTrump on the matter of migrant returns, but China's ambassadorhas been celebrating the best moment" inrelations between Bogota and Beijing. Under pressure from the Trump administration, Panama announced that it would allow its participation in China's global infrastructure plan, the belt and road initiative (BRI), to expire. Yet behind-the-scenes arm-twisting had already begun tilting Panama back towards the US. MrTrump's attempts to humiliate and bully may backfire there and across the region. Continue reading...

The truth is paralysing. But after JD Vance met the far-right leader Alice Weidel in Germany, it is time to be clear about what we are seeingJD Vance's decision, while in Germany, to meet the far-right AfD leader, Alice Weidel, yet decline a meeting with the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, would have caused more alarm, I feel, if it hadn't come accompanied by so much other signalling. The vice-president of a nation engaged in tearing down its own institutions lectured the whole of Europe on its project to destroy democracy", which is absolutely textbook: he's describing black as white, openly turning observable reality on its head. It's unsettling, for sure, but that's because it's audacious, not because it's complicated. It's the simplest move of statecraft ever - show the world who you are, dare them to call you on it.Meeting Weidel was the second simplest move - show the world who your allies are, dare them to mention it, or see if instead they turn themselves in knots trying to bring the AfD back into the fold, rather than accept that the postwar consensus has folded. Continue reading...

Attempt to remove head of the office of special counsel is key test of executive branch's battle with US judiciary to reshape federal governmentDonald Trump's administration has asked the supreme court to approve the firing of the head of a federal agency dedicated to protecting whistleblowers in the first appeal of Trump's new term and a key test of his battle with the judicial branch.Hampton Dellinger, the head of the office of the special counsel (OSC), is among the fired government watchdogs who have sued the Trump administration, arguing that their dismissals were illegal and that they should be reinstated. Continue reading...

Staff at the Federal Aviation Administration receive emails saying they have been fired, upending rotas during period of busy air travel. This live blog is closedA US judge has scheduled a rare holiday court hearing on Monday, in a case brought by Democratic state attorneys general seeking to protect major federal agencies from Elon Musk's Doge team.US district judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington DC on Sunday called the hearing for Monday, the Presidents Day holiday when federal courts are closed. Continue reading...

For many, going to college is the very definition of the American dream. Relieved from familial burdens and toil work: it is a brief and precious period of freedomOne of the many guises in which the Trump-Musk duo presents itself to the American public, as they take office in the new administration, is as "employers-in-chief": seasoned businessmen entitled to give life advice to their fellow citizens on the basis of a purported real-life experience that cuts against received wisdom.It is in this guise that both Trump and Musk recurrently attack higher education institutions as one of the as yet unconquered bastions of the liberal America" they are now keen to tear down. Already during his first presidential bid in 2016, Trump famously stated that he loves the poorly educated". More recently, at a campaign rally in support of Trump's re-election bid, Musk stated that too many people spend four years in college, accumulate a ton of debt, and don't have any useful skills they can apply afterwards".Carlo Invernizzi-Accetti is executive director of the Moynihan Center and full professor of political science at the City College of New York. Continue reading...

The optimism that greeted Jim Ratcliffe's arrival as owner has given way to even more disappointment, with Sunday's defeat at Tottenham the latest example

US tax agency has received request for access to classified system containing personal financial records of US taxpayersThe US federal tax collection agency is reportedly preparing to give a team member of Elon Musk's department of government efficiency" (Doge), which has already gutted several federal agencies and sparked multiple lawsuits, access to personal taxpayer data.The New York Times and the Washington Post both reported early on Monday that the Internal Revenue Service had received a request for access to a classified system that contains sensitive personal financial records. Continue reading...

Britain used to solicit money that the US would not touch - but with oligarchs and fraudsters on the rise, it must now uphold the lawFive decades ago, the United States was in turmoil. A long and unpopular war was ending in defeat; inflation was high; and American politicians were accused of high-handed and illegal behaviour.If all this sounds remarkably similar to the last few years, that's because it is. But the mid-1970s was different in one crucial respect: how the US responded to it, and particularly how it responded to corruption. Major corporations had been giving bribes to win contracts in South Korea, Italy and Saudi Arabia; US politicians were appalled - and they acted to uphold values other than money.Oliver Bullough is the author of Butler to the World: How Britain Became the Servant of Tycoons, Tax Dodgers, Kleptocrats and Criminals, and Moneyland: Why Thieves and Crooks Now Rule the World and How to Take It BackDo 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...

Gabriel Basso says actors should shut the fuck up' and that they have no authority to publicly bestow political viewsThe actor who portrayed JD Vance in the Oscar-nominated film Hillbilly Elegy before the latter man became the vice-president of the US has said his fellow thespians should shut the fuck up" rather than express their political opinions.Gabriel Basso - now starring in the hit Netflix series The Night Agent - made those comments on a recent episode of the Great Company podcast, cutting a stark contrast with his director on Hillbelly Elegy, Ron Howard, who previously described himself as surprised and concerned" from the campaign that ultimately left Vance a heartbeat away from the US presidency. Continue reading...

On his first day, the president paused billions of dollars in funding for clean energy projects initiated by BidenMike Mullett strains to see through sheets of misty rain while driving through working-class neighborhoods of Columbus, a quaint town in southern Indiana.He's trying to find the senior center, multi-family homes and rent-assisted properties - more than 530 in total - that he and many other locals hope will receive $4.42m in federal funding for solar electricity projects. Continue reading...

The meeting, convened by Emmanuel Macron, comes as US officials prepare for talks in Riyadh with their Russian counterparts. Plus, the comprehensive ridiculing of New Zealand's tourism campaignGood morning.US officials are preparing to hold preliminary negotiations in Riyadh with Russia over Ukraine, as European powers meet in Paris to demand the inclusion of Kyiv and themselves in the talks.Who will attend the Paris summit? The French president, Emmanuel Macron, who is convening the talks, Germany's chancellor, Olaf Scholz, Poland's prime minister, Donald Tusk, and the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer.What role is the UK playing? An active one - Starmer on Sunday said he was prepared to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine to safeguard peace.How will this affect consumers? Expect to see rising prices, Stiglitz said, adding that almost all economists agree with this: it is just a question of magnitude. Continue reading...

Many feel JD Vance's speech in Munich shows Trump 2.0 is a far more disruptive and chaotic force than their worst fearsAs European leaders meet in Paris to prepare an answer to their apparent exclusion from the talks about Ukraine's future, the existential and all encompassing question of how to influence an unchained US president occupies every European leader.The Finnish president, Alexander Stubb, speaking at the Munich Security Conference, offered some Nordic advice. We Finns in these situations are cool, calm and collected so what we do first is have an ice bath and after that we go to the sauna and then we reflect." Faced by what he described as a cacophony" of het-up and shocked diplomacy, he suggested: We need to talk less and do more." Continue reading...

In slashing staff and disabling entire agencies the administration is lacerating the structures of US democracyDonald Trump and Elon Musk's radical drive to slash billions of dollars in annual federal spending with huge job and regulatory cuts is spurring charges that they have made illegal moves while undercutting congressional and judicial powers, say legal experts, Democrats and state attorneys general.Trump's fusillade of executive orders expanding his powers in some extreme ways in his cost-cutting fervor, coupled with unprecedented drives by the Musk-led so-called department of government efficiency" (Doge) to slash many agency workforces and regulations, have created chaos across the US government and raised fears of a threat to US democracy. Continue reading...

I'm far from certain that staying engaged will make a difference. What I do know is that if we all tune out, there's no hope at allIt's tempting in this dire moment to try and shut out the nightmare of what's happening in Washington DC.I'm waking up every day to a genuinely sick feeling in my stomach and a heavy feeling in my chest," my friend Laura, who follows the news closely, texted me recently. Continue reading...

A new book explores the nuanced history of a city in which Black athletes have been revered and discriminated against in equal measureWhen cricket gained popularity in Boston in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Black immigrants from the West Indies became some of the top players. Based in Boston and neighboring Cambridge, their teams competed against all-white squads in the Massachusetts Cricket League. By the early 20th century, Black teams were dominating the league. The 1931 final was played between two such teams - Windsor and Standard.Not exactly the narrative you may be accustomed to hearing in the land of Dunkin', Big Papi and Brady, eh? And perhaps not a narrative that fits easily into the story of race and Boston sport, with its recognizable highs (the Boston Celtics drafting the NBA's first Black player in Chuck Cooper in 1950, and making their longtime star Bill Russell the league's first Black coach in 1966) and lows (the Boston Red Sox being the last Major League Baseball team to integrate, with Pumpsie Green in 1959). Continue reading...

Some believe Kansas City's reign at the top of the NFL is over after they were thrashed in the Super Bowl. Who will dominate the league next?NFL fans are spoiled when it comes to dynasties this century. Just as Bill Belichick's New England Patriots ran out of gas after two decades of dominance, along came the Kansas City Chiefs to replace them. But the manner in which the Eagles destroyed those Chiefs in this year's Super Bowl - and the way in which general manager Howie Roseman has apparently set-up Philadelphia for long-term success - has called Kansas City's dominance into question. Here are a few candidates for the NFL's next dynasty. Continue reading...

Development of a joint defence shield would be politically explosive for Keir Starmer. But it's an idea whose time has comeThe startling contempt for Europe's intensifying security concerns displayed by Donald Trump and his henchmen has brought an old, controversial question back to the fore: should Britain and France pool their nuclear weapons capabilities and create a Europe-wide defensive nuclear shield to deter Vladimir Putin's Russia, if the US reduces or withdraws its support?Trump has not so far explicitly threatened to cut US nuclear forces based in Europe. But speaking last week, the president said he wanted to halve the US's defence spending, especially on nuclear weapons. Trump often denigrates Nato, keystone of European security. Last year, he encouraged Russia to do whatever the hell they want" to member states that, in his view, spend too little on defence. Continue reading...

This mortifying dilemma goes to the very soul of the region - and its leaders have brought it on themselvesArab states are in a bind. King Abdullah of Jordan squirmed in the Oval Office last week, as the press asked him and Donald Trump about the latter's Gaza plan. He is in a tight spot, wanting to keep Trump onside while at the same time not agreeing to the ethnic cleansing of Gaza. Immediately after, anonymous Egyptian security sources" - not parties prone to leaking without strategic direction from President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi - said that Sisi would not accept an invitation to visit Washington as long as the Gaza displacement plan was on the agenda. Now, this was probably more for the Egyptian public's consumption than for Trump's benefit - Egypt is in no position to make an enemy of the new administration - but it nonetheless shows how hard it is for Trump to secure the acquiescence of even the US's closest allies.Saudi Arabia also postponed a visit to the US once Trump announced his intentions for Gaza. And in a remarkable change of tune, Saudi, which before 7 October 2023 was en route to normalisation with Israel and is not usually a country to make heated statements, lost its patience. When Benjamin Netanyahu quipped that maybe it would like to take Palestinians from Gaza (they have a lot of territory", he said), Saudi state media unleashed a storm of invective against him. When Trump announced his plan, Saudi Arabian authorities immediately put out a statement rejecting it. So keen was the government to signal that rejection that it released the statement at 4am local time. Continue reading...

Event co-founded by Jordan Peterson will bring together global rightwing figures including senior US RepublicansInfluential rightwingers from around the world are to gather in London from Monday at a major conference to network and build connections with senior US Republicans linked to the Trump administration.The UK opposition leader, the Conservatives' Kemi Badenoch, and Nigel Farage of the Reform UK party, her hard-right anti-immigration rival, will compete to present themselves as the torchbearer of British conservatism. Continue reading...

Positions cut also appeared to focus on agency's centers for tobacco products, including oversight of e-cigarettesThe Trump administration's effort to slash the size of the federal workforce reached the Food and Drug Administration this weekend, as recently hired employees who review the safety of food ingredients, medical devices and other products were fired.Probationary employees across the FDA received notices on Saturday evening that their jobs were being eliminated, according to three FDA staffers who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Continue reading...

Ninth person dies from harsh winter weather in Georgia as bone-chilling cold predicted for northern plainsMuch of the US faced another round of biting winter weather on Sunday, with torrential rains causing intense flooding in Kentucky and resulting in multiple deaths.The Kentucky governor, Andy Beshear, on Sunday said at least eight people were dead amid the inundation, with the number possibly increasing. Continue reading...

President posted he who saves his country does not violate any laws' quote attributed to French emperorCritics rounded on Donald Trump on Sunday for likening himself to Napoleon in a dictatorial" social media post echoing the French emperor's assertion that he who saves his country does not violate any laws".The post came at the end of another tumultuous week early in Trump's second presidency, during which acolytes questioned the legitimacy of judges making a succession of rulings to stall his administration's aggressive seizure or dismantling of federal institutions and budgets. Continue reading...

Family of Martin Luther King Jr says Trump mandate could revive J Edgar Hoover's efforts to discredit revered activistThe family of Martin Luther King Jr has expressed concern over Donald Trump's executive order to release records surrounding the civil rights leader's assassination, saying the president's mandate could revive efforts to discredit the revered activist with the public.Speaking to Axios, a friend of the King family said: We know J Edgar Hoover tried to destroy Dr King's legacy, and the family doesn't want that effort to prevail," referring to the late former FBI director and his agency's years-long surveillance of King as well his associates. Continue reading...

European papers express deep alarm at declaration of an ideological war', while the NYT says Putin may soon realise his dream'This year's Munich security conference exposed the chasm in core values separating the Trump administration from most Europeans and sparked deep alarm at US efforts to control the Ukraine peace process and exclude European governments from it.Here is what some of the main European and US newspapers had to say about it. Continue reading...