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Ron Johnson says he does not have a problem' with key demand made by Democrats blocking agency's fundingThe homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, said that all federal agents in Minneapolis will immediately begin wearing body cameras and that the program will be expanded nationwide as funding is available".The announcement on Monday comes after Republican senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin suggested, in a concession that could pave the way to an agreement on Capitol Hill to fund the much criticized agency, that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents could wear body cameras on immigration patrols. Continue reading...

Judge is considering a temporary order after agents used teargas on protesters during a weekend demonstrationA judge is considering temporarily restricting federal officers' ability to use of force during protests in Portland, Oregon, after agents used teargas on a crowd that included children during a protest over the weekend.Thousands of protesters gathered outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility on Saturday in what Keith Wilson, the city's mayor, described as a peaceful demonstration where the vast majority of those present violated no laws, made no threat and posed no danger" to federal agents. Continue reading...

Action could begin next week in some of state's largest districts including San Diego, San Francisco and LACalifornia is facing the prospect of massive teacher strikes across the state as conflicts over working conditions, pay and special education staffing reach a boiling point.The strikes, which could begin as soon as next week, have been approved by thousands of educators - affecting schools in some of the state's largest districts including San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles. Continue reading...

Allies downplay president's links to Epstein but newly released documents offer slightly more complicated picture

Lawmakers are working to create a state-level version of the act as the US high court decides on latest voting rights caseOn Martin Luther King Jr Day this year, hundreds of Mississippians gathered on the steps of the state capitol building in support of protecting voting rights in the state. The Mississippi house representative Zakiya Summers and state senator Johnny DuPree, both Democrats, introduced legislation that would create a state-level version of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The move comes after years of the supreme court weakening protections formerly guaranteed by the act, and aims to prohibit the dilution of minority voters in the state.The legislation would create a Mississippi voting rights commission, which would require certain jurisdictions to obtain pre-clearance approval from said commission for any changes to election policy or practice. It would also establish protections for people with limited English proficiency along with additional measures. Continue reading...

Donald Trump claims that the release of millions more files related to Jeffrey Epstein 'absolve' him of wrongdoing, even though his name appears hundreds of times. The latest documents also indicate high-profile figures , including the former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Labour peer Peter Mandelson, continued friendships with the disgraced financier after his child sex abuse convictions. So what have we learned from the newly released files and what happens next? Lucy Hough speaks to columnist and host of Politics Weekly America Jonathan Freedland Continue reading...

Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy, 84, was last seen on Saturday evening and signs indicate she did not leave aloneAuthorities in Arizona searching for the 84-year-old mother of the Today show presenter Savannah Guthrie said on Monday they were treating the missing woman's home as a crime scene, and expressed grave concern" for her safety.Nancy Guthrie was last seen by her family at her house near Tucson on Saturday night, and was reported missing on Sunday lunchtime, sparking a search using a helicopter, drones and dogs, officials said.The Associated Press contributed to this report Continue reading...

US president made announcement on Truth Social after a Monday call with India's prime ministerDonald Trump claimed India has agreed to stop buying Russian oil as he announced plans to cut US tariffs on Indian exports.The US president announced that he and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, whom he proclaimed to be one of my greatest friends", had agreed to strike a trade deal. Continue reading...

Bomb cyclone contributed to snow and wind chills in the south with Florida iguanas freezing and falling from treesThe US continues to be at the mercy of freezing temperatures across much of the country, stretching from the north-east all the way into the south and putting approximately 150 million people under cold weather advisories and extreme cold warnings.Florida's uncharacteristic cold snap has led to some rare sightings: snowflakes and falling iguanas. In Miami and Orlando, the lows dropped to 35F (1.7C) and 24F (-4.4C), respectively, undoubtedly disappointing the vacationers who sought to go to the Sunshine state to escape the freezing temperature on the east coast. Continue reading...

Democrats and one Republican demand release of millions more pages they insist are still being deliberately withheldDemocrats have promised to fight what they say is a full-blown cover-up" of the Epstein files after the Trump administration on Sunday effectively declared its investigation into the disgraced late financier and sex offender closed.The release of more than 3m new pages by the justice department on Friday represented the final act of compliance with legislation ordering the full disclosure of all investigative documents in its possession, according to the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche. Continue reading...

Pep Guardiola's side would be on top of the league had they not consistently struggled to hold leads

Trump supporter Junior Pena falsely claimed migrants being rounded up, including Brazilians, were all crooks'A rightwing Brazilian influencer who claimed Donald Trump's immigration crackdown targeted only crooks" has been arrested by ICE agents in New Jersey.Junior Pena, whose full name is Eustaquio da Silva Pena Junior, declared his support for the US president in a recent video message to his hundreds of thousands of social media followers. Continue reading...

The president called the ceremony garbage', but in reality it was a celebration of artists whose commercial success was matched by boundary-pushing boldnessDonald Trump, it seems, did not much enjoy the 2026 Grammys. Shortly after the conclusion of the ceremony's live broadcast in the US, there he was on Truth Social, calling it the worst", garbage", unwatchable" and threatening to sue host Trevor Noah.Perhaps that was the reaction the Recording Academy wanted. You could, if you wished, divine a certain Maga-baiting intent not just in the decision to give the album of the year award to Bad Bunny - a Puerto Rican who attracted criticism from the Trump administration after he was booked to headline the SuperBowl LX half-time show - but the choice of the Buena Vista Social Club, a Broadway hit based on the 1997 album of the same name featuring veteran Cuban musicians, as the best musical theatre album: the latter two weeks after the New York Times reported that Cubans settled in Florida are being deported in record numbers. Continue reading...

Awards host alluded to president's association with late sex offender in awards ceremony remarks

Wael Tarabishi, who has a lifelong muscle disorder, died after Maher, his father and primary caretaker, was detainedUntil three months ago, Wael Tarabishi and his father, Maher, were inseparable. It was a necessity; in addition to being best friends, Maher was the caretaker for 30-year-old Wael, who was diagnosed with a progressive muscle disorder called Pompe disease when he was a child.As Wael's mother said in November, Maher was his son's case manager, his equipment company, his doctor, his everything". Continue reading...

Deputy US attorney general says the government cannot just create evidence' but victims' attorney accuses government of hiding perpetrators while exposing survivors. Plus, the Mormon women who fought a Republican-led redistricting initiative in Utah - and won

Scores of live music fans in New York's hip borough report having their phones stolen during live music showsDuring a December visit to see family in his home state of New York, Zander Cammarata, who now lives in Berlin, purchased a new iPhone because they cost less in the United States. He then went to see one of his favorite bands, Silverstein, a post-hardcore emo group, in Brooklyn.By the time he flew back to Germany, he was again using his old phone. Continue reading...

Trump's presidency has brought a windfall to billionaires while hurting the poor. In these conditions, democracy cannot surviveTrump ran on a promise to lower costs on day one, but a year into his presidency, the real beneficiaries are his billionaire donors. Instead of making life more affordable for everyday Americans, Trump has used the presidency to enrich himself and his billionaire allies, while making the largest cuts to Medicaid and food assistance in history and leaving working families behind.As families struggle with rising costs, Trump has effectively turned the White House into a slush fund, running the federal government like a personal ATM. Public money, political favors and government power are funneled to his friends and family businesses, while regulatory agencies and enforcement mechanisms are hollowed out or weaponized for profit. His oligarch allies, from big tech executives to big oil barons, are already seeing massive returns on their political investments. This is not democracy. It is a hostile corporate takeover and working people are being exploited.Joseph Geevarghese is the executive director of Our Revolution. Rashida Tlaib is a US representative for Michigan Continue reading...

Lionel Messi's presence has been crucial to the defending champions' excellent offseasonWinning MLS Cup brings only a couple guaranteed returns: the cup itself and a cash prize ($300,000, roughly the salary of one MLS backup defender). Historically, it has also ushered in a near-mandatory squad rebuild, a consequence of MLS's parity-driven design. With rare exceptions, great teams find it nigh-on-impossible to keep the band together, or to improve on what they already have.Not so for Inter Miami this year. After a slew of high-powered offseason additions capped by Friday's $15m capture of Monterrey striker German Berterame, a historically fortunate franchise has gotten even better; completely unlike the 29 MLS Cup champions that preceded them. Continue reading...

Providers are arranging home visits and telehealth as neighbors pick up prescriptions, groceries and diapersA public health crisis is unfolding in Minnesota as people targeted by federal agents are afraid to seek healthcare while some healthcare staff are also fearful for their safety at work.Community organizations and health providers are now arranging home visits, telehealth appointments and other alternate care. Continue reading...

We are witnessing a dangerous escalation in the Trump administration's attacks on the press and a clear threat to first amendment freedomsThe extraordinary arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort last week are a dangerous escalation in the Trump administration's attacks on the press and pose a clear threat to first amendment freedoms. Mere weeks after federal law enforcement executed a search warrant targeting a Washington Post reporter, the justice department is now pursuing criminal charges against two independent journalists for reporting from the scene of a protest in Minnesota citing - ironically - federal laws intended to protect the exercise of constitutional rights. These indictments are an affront to the first amendment of the US constitution.On 18 January, protesters entered the Cities church in St Paul, where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official is a pastor, and interrupted a service with chants of ICE out." By all indications, Lemon, a former CNN host, and Fort, a local journalist, entered the church to cover the demonstration against the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities.Theodore J Boutrous, Jr & Katie Townsend are partners in the law firm of Gibson Dunn and co-chairs of the firm's first amendment and free expression group Continue reading...

Do the people imprisoning these kids like Liam Ramos have no children of their own? Do they have no decency, compassion or basic humanity?Liam Conejo Ramos. We have all seen his picture, or by now we all should have seen the image of the adorable five-year-old in his bright blue hat, its floppy bunny ears so appropriate for a child whose middle name means rabbit." In the photo, he is wearing his Spider-Man backpack, which, like so many kids his age, he loves and is very proud of. And we know - or we should know - what happened to him.On January 20, 2026, the pre-K student was seized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on his way home from school in Columbia Heights, Minnesota. His family, which had emigrated from Ecuador in 2024, had applied for political asylum. No order of deportation had been issued against them, nor had any of them -obviously, not little Liam- been accused of a crime.Francine Prose is a former president of the PEN American Center and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Continue reading...

Heather Jones of Alabama says two-year probation agreement leaves her free and clear' of legal matterAn Alabama woman has resolved a misdemeanor case that authorities opened against her within days of speaking out about a Roman Catholic priest whom she accused of predatory behavior.Heather Jones had publicly recounted that she was 17 when the priest, Robert Bob" Sullivan, arranged to provide her financial support in exchange for companionship including sex - prompting him to resign from the clergy in November. Continue reading...

Allegations prompt questions about officials' contentions that there isn't evidence to investigate third partiesThe disclosure of more than 3m files related to Jeffrey Epstein suggests that other men were involved in his sexual abuse, prompting questions about officials' contentions that there isn't evidence to investigate third parties for potential involvement in the late financier's crimes.Some newly released documents contain allegations that Epstein provided victims to other men. Documents released in prior disclosures, as well as court documents, also point to others' possible criminal involvement with Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. Continue reading...

He has the chance to be the steward of a national treasure, but he's blowing itWould you inherit a rare Stradivarius violin, polish it up for a few years, and then decide to take a hammer to it?Would you somehow acquire the Hope diamond, set it in a blue velvet case, and then toss the whole thing into the Potomac River? Continue reading...

Bad Bunny and Kendrick Lamar won major Grammy awards on a night charged with political defiance, as musicians pushed back against Donald Trump's deadly ICE crackdown. Billie Eilish, who took song of the year for Wildflower, used her speech to declare: 'No one is illegal on stolen land.' The best new artist award went to Olivia Dean, presented by last year's winner Chappell Roan. 'I am up here as the granddaughter of an immigrant,' Dean said, drawing loud applause

In today's newsletter: Public outrage has reached fever pitch following the killing of US citizens. But, amid the focus on violence, another story of mutual aid and neighbourhood organising is unfoldingGood morning. The world's attention has been fixed on Minneapolis for weeks now. The small midwestern US city has been under siege since Donald Trump's administration launched its latest immigration crackdown in December.Public outrage has reached fever pitch across the US after the killing of two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Though the White House has softened its rhetoric in relation to the killings, there is little indication of any meaningful shift in tactics on the ground.Epstein files | Peter Mandelson says he has resigned his membership of the Labour party to avoid causing it further embarrassment" after more revelations about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.Iran | Donald Trump has said Iran is talking to the US, hinting at a deal that would avoid the use of military strikes.Ukraine | A Russian drone attack on a bus carrying mine workers in Ukraine's central-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region has killed at least 12 people, officials said.Cuba | The United States has said it will ensure there will be no more fuel shipments to the beleaguered island, Cuba will be failing pretty soon," Donald Trump said earlier in the week.Grammy awards | Bad Bunny and Kendrick Lamar took home major Grammy awards during a night that saw musicians hit back at Donald Trump's ICE occupation. Continue reading...

The president and his supporters joining forces to decide what audiences read and see seems straight from a fascism playbookTwo events, juxtaposed, tell us a great deal about what is rapidly taking shape in the US. In one, Melania Trump releases a glossy documentary, Melania, an account of her return to the White House. Amazon outbid others to secure the rights to the documentary, spending $75m (54m) in total, and ticket sales so far suggest that this was, shall we say, not a purely commercial venture.In the other, the Washington Post is set to cut up to 200 jobs early this month, including the majority of its foreign staff and a sizeable chunk of its newsroom. Both Melania and the Washington Post are backed by Jeff Bezos. His two decisions, to invest in state propaganda and divest from the fourth estate that supposedly holds power to account, reveal much about how capital and authoritarianism join forces to decide what audiences read and see.Nesrine Malik is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Trump announces two-year closure of Kennedy Center, citing construction needs - key US politics stories from 1 February 2026Donald Trump, who remains embroiled in tensions surrounding ICE's presence in Minnesota, as well as scrutiny over the justice department's latest release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, has made another announcement on Sunday evening: the temporary closure of the John F Kennedy Center in Washington DC.Trump, who overhauled the center's leadership at the start of his second term and renamed it to include his own name, described the center as tired, broken, and dilapidated," adding that it has been in bad condition, both financially and structurally for many years". Continue reading...

Bannon's claim revealed in text messages in tranche of documents released by US authorities in connection with Jeffrey Epstein

DC arts venue, which has seen wave of canceled events after Trump's takeover, will start renovations in JulyThe John F Kennedy Center, a world-class venue for the performing arts in Washington DC, will halt entertainment events for two years starting on 4 July during renovations, Donald Trump posted on Sunday on Truth Social.The Kennedy Center, which has seen a wave of performers cancel events in recent months as well as the lowest ticket sales in years, has been in turmoil since the president orchestrated a leadership overhaul in the beginning of his term. Continue reading...

Witnesses say protest outside ICE facility was peaceful until agents deployed teargas and rubber bullets around childrenThe mayor of Portland, Oregon, demanded US Immigration and Customs Enforcement leave his city after federal agents launched teargas at a crowd of demonstrators - including young children - outside an ICE facility during a weekend protest that he and others characterized as peaceful.Witnesses said agents deployed teargas, pepper balls and rubber bullets as thousands of marchers arrived at the South Waterfront facility on Saturday. Erin Hoover Barnett, a former OregonLive reporter who joined the protest, said she was about 100 yards (91 metres) from the building when what looked like two guys with rocket launchers" started dousing the crowd with gas. Continue reading...

Jesus Ochoa and Raymundo Gutierrez are both officers with Customs and Border Protection, ProPublica reportsGovernment documents have identified the two federal officers who fatally shot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis as Jesus Ochoa, a border patrol agent, and Raymundo Gutierrez, an officer with Customs and Border Protection (CBP), according to ProPublica.According to those records, Ochoa, 43, and Gutierrez, 35, were the agents who fired their weapons during the confrontation last weekend that resulted in Pretti's death. The shooting sparked widespread demonstrations and renewed demands for criminal inquiries into federal immigration enforcement actions. Immediately following Pretti's killing, the Trump administration repeatedly pushed false claims about the shooting. Continue reading...

US president announces efforts being made to strike a deal having earlier threatened to stop island importing oilWashington is negotiating with Havana's leadership to strike a deal, Donald Trump has said, days after threatening Cuba's reeling economy with a virtual oil blockade.Cuba is a failing nation. It has been for a long time but now it doesn't have Venezuela to prop it up. So we're talking to the people from Cuba, the highest people in Cuba, to see what happens," Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida on Sunday. Continue reading...

Funds, paid to former security guard Matthew Ammel, were from former US senator's campaign committee in OctoberA man identified in court filings as having an affair with former senator Kyrsten Sinema received almost $9,000 from Sinema's former campaign committee in October, according to newly filed documents. The filings come just weeks after the man's estranged wife accused Sinema of wrecking their marriage.According to a report from Notus, which cites a newly filed Federal Election Commission (FEC) document, the recipient was Matthew J Ammel, who worked as a security guard for Sinema. He was paid $1,815.91 on 15 October and $7,136.14 on 31 October in payments listed as payroll", according to a filing submitted on Saturday by Sinema for Arizona. Continue reading...

Melania, however, cost quite more than a typical documentary, at $40m to make and $35m to promote.Amazon's Melania Trump documentary has reportedly beaten box office expectations and recorded the strongest start of any documentary in over a decade, taking $7m at the US box office during its lavishly-promoted opening weekend. But it also cost quite more than a typical documentary, at $40m to make and $35m to promote.And Amazon - which recently cut 16,000 corporate jobs - has been hit with criticism that making the documentary about the first lady, and paying so highly for it, was little more than a ploy to curry favor with her husband, Donald Trump, during his second presidency. Continue reading...

Boy and his father back in Minneapolis after being detained by ICE and held in immigration facility for more than a weekA five-year-old boy and his father were back in Minneapolis on Sunday after being released from a Texas immigration detention center where they were held for more than a week, according to US House representative Joaquin Castro.Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack. Thank you to everyone who demanded freedom for Liam," Castro, a San Antonio Democrat, said in a post on X. We won't stop until all children and families are home." Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. For the latest, you can read our Epstein coverage here.

Deputy US attorney general says victims want to be made whole' but that doesn't mean we can just create evidence'The deputy US attorney general, Todd Blanche, the point person on the Trump administration's Epstein files release, told ABC News on Sunday that prosecutors' review of the Jeffrey Epstein-Ghislaine Maxwell sex-trafficking case is over".Separately, in comments to CNN about Epstein, Blanche said that victims want to be made whole" after surviving the scheme attributed to the late convicted sex offender and which led to a 20-year prison sentence for Maxwell beginning in 2022. Continue reading...

Wilson found fame in the seminal 1970s sitcom and then went on to become a minister in the 1980sDemond Wilson, who found fame in the 1970s playing Lamont on Sanford and Son and went on to become a minister, has died. He was 79.Mark Goldman, a publicist for Wilson, confirmed to the Associated Press that he died following complications from cancer on Friday. Continue reading...

Speaker Mike Johnson is convinced' the impasse over homeland security funding will be resolved by TuesdayThe ongoing partial US government shutdown is expected to continue into early next week, with no reopening likely before Tuesday, if what federal officials on both sides of the country's political aisle are saying is any indication.House Democrats have so far said they are refusing to guarantee the votes needed to speed passage of a funding measure that would restore government operations. Continue reading...

Bovino allegedly denied promoting two border patrol officials because of their race, according to several reportsRecently demoted border patrol official Gregory Bovino, who served as the face of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in several US cities, was compared to a Confederate general in an email sent to him by a colleague in 2018, according to multiple reports.A border patrol agent who was later promoted to a senior role in New Orleans sent the email in question as well as a number of Confederacy-related images after Bovino canceled a job listing and installed that same agent - a white officer - in the listed role by bypassing the agency's standard career-advancement process. Continue reading...

Emails suggest Sarah Ferguson and former Prince Andrew contacted disgraced financier during his house arrestThe more than 3m Jeffrey Epstein documents released by the US Department of Justice include emails from accounts labelled The Duke" and The Invisible Man" as well as from Sarah", and references to Fergie", suggesting they are from the former Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.They appear to reveal the two were in contact with Epstein immediately after the end of his house arrest in August 2010, and Mountbatten-Windsor's visit to the US that December. Continue reading...

But effort fell short of state surgeon general's promise to end Florida's immunization mandates altogetherRepublicans advanced a bill in the Florida legislature this week to weaken vaccine protections for children, but it fell well short of state surgeon general Joseph Ladapo's promise made last year to end immunization mandates.The proposed new law, introduced by Jacksonville state senator Clay Yarborough, and which narrowly passed the chamber's health policy committee on Monday in a 6-4 vote, seeks only to expand exemptions for parents who do not want their school-age children vaccinated. Continue reading...

Seven in 10 residents who were forced to leave have not returned, with many living in temporary housing in other cities or even countriesEsmeralda Rodas sits on the ground in front of what was once the front door of her home, haunted by memories of her previous life. She remembers jumping for joy in 1989, when her husband, Hector Rodas, presented her with the Altadena house as a birthday gift.It was small, Esmeralda says, but it was her castle - with windows overlooking purple mountains that, one night last January, glowed ominously red with wildfires which razed many homes on her street. Continue reading...

Taylor Rehmet's win adds to Democrats' record of overperforming in special elections so far this cycleDemocrat Taylor Rehmet won a special election for the Texas state senate on Saturday, flipping a reliably Republican district that Donald Trump won by 17 points when he clinched a second presidency in 2024.Rehmet, a labor union leader and veteran, easily defeated Republican Leigh Wambsganss, a conservative activist, in the Fort Worth-area district. With almost all votes counted, Rehmet had a comfortable lead of more than 14 percentage points. Continue reading...