US news | The Guardian

Director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has fallen in line with the US president - other war-sceptics are followingThe Trump administration is managing internal dissent over deliberations on whether to launch a strike against Iran, breaking what many supporters saw as a campaign pledge not to involve the US in new conflicts in the Middle East.Trump for the second time this week disregarded testimony by his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, that Iran had not been seeking to build a nuclear weapon as of March this year. Continue reading...

Columbia graduate and legal US resident was targeted by White House for speaking out against the Israeli war in GazaMahmoud Khalil - the Palestinian rights activist, Columbia University graduate and legal permanent resident of the US who had been held by federal immigration authorities for more than three months - has been reunited with his wife and infant son.Khalil, the most high-profile student to be targeted by the Trump administration for speaking out against Israel's war on Gaza, arrived in New Jersey on Saturday at about 1pm - two hours later than expected after his flight was first rerouted to Philadelphia. Continue reading...

Officials tell Reuters bombers moving to Pacific Island but unclear whether deployment tied to Middle East tensionsThe United States is moving B-2 bombers to the Pacific island of Guam, two US officials told Reuters on Saturday, as Donald Trump weighs whether the United States should take part in Israel's strikes against Iran.It was unclear whether the bomber deployment is tied to Middle East tensions. Continue reading...

Team, which said it stopped Ice agents entering parking lot on Thursday, makes donation to immigrant familiesThe Los Angeles Dodgers have donated $1m to assist families affected by two weeks of immigration raids in southern California.The World Series champions also said they intend to form partnerships with the California Community Foundation, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and other organization to continue providing aid to immigrant families. Continue reading...

Vance Boelter texted family that they needed to flee their house before people with guns' showed up, filings allegeThe man charged in connection with the recent shootings of two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses was a doomsday prepper" who instructed his family to prepare for war" as he tried to evade capture, according to new court filings.Vance Boelter, 57, faces multiple federal and state murder charges after allegedly shooting dead the Democratic Minnesota state house speaker emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in the early hours of 14 June. Boelter is also accused of shooting and seriously wounding the Democratic state senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, about 90 minutes earlier. Continue reading...

Police say Arturo Gamboa was carrying a rifle when safety volunteer fired on him and accidentally killed bystanderA man jailed on suspicion of murder for allegedly brandishing a rifle at a No Kings" rally in Utah before an armed safety volunteer fired and inadvertently killed a protester has been released from custody.Local district attorney Sim Gill's office said on Friday that it was unable to make a decision on charges against Arturo Gamboa after the 14 June shooting that killed demonstrator Arthur Folasa Ah Loo - but that the investigation into the slaying continues. Continue reading...

The Maha campaign seeks to warn Americans of the dangers of ultra-processed foodsFederal health officials are seeking to launch a bold, edgy" public service campaign to warn Americans of the dangers of ultra-processed foods in social media, transit ads, billboards and even text messages.And they potentially stand to profit off the results. Continue reading...

Across the US, the Active Club network uses combat sports to lure boys and young men into white nationalist circlesA neo-Nazi fight club that secretly infiltrated a Tennessee martial arts school where young children train has been banned from the facility, after an inquiry by the Guardian.Last month, the South Central Tennessee Active Club published video footage on the messaging app Telegram showing its members participating in combat training at Shelbyville BJJ Academy, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu school in Shelbyville, Tennessee, that offers classes to students as young as three years old. Continue reading...

Other countries have approved a wider range of UV-filtering ingredients, which allow for more advanced sunscreensMany dermatologists and experts say US sunscreens are still not as effective as many available overseas when it comes to protecting against ultraviolet radiation linked to skin cancer and premature ageing - despite years of research.The concern comes as a brutal heatwave, with a suffocating heat dome", is arriving for more than 200 million people across vast swaths of the US this weekend, bringing extreme heat and humidity . Studies have shown that the global climate crisis is making heatwaves more severe, frequent and long lasting. Continue reading...

A win for civil liberties groups, but state attorney general says she will appeal ruling to supreme court if necessaryA panel of three federal appellate judges has ruled that a Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in each of the state's public school classrooms is unconstitutional.The ruling on Friday marked a major win for civil liberties groups who say the mandate violates the separation of church and state - and that the poster-sized displays would isolate students, especially those who are not Christian. Continue reading...

Civil rights advocates and scholars say the US government's claims are troubling indicators of rising authoritarianismAfter New York City comptroller Brad Lander this week became the latest prominent Democrat to be arrested while monitoring and protesting US immigration authorities, the Trump administration trotted out a familiar refrain to justify his detention.The mayoral candidate had assaulted" law enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) asserted, warning if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will face consequences". Continue reading...

Raids have brought life to a standstill for some immigrant residents while others pick up pieces after arrests of familyIt has been eerily easy to find street parking in Los Angeles's fashion district this week. In the nearby flower district, longtime vendors have locked up stalls. And in East LA, popular taquerias have temporarily closed.Neighborhoods across LA and southern California have gone quiet since the Trump administration ramped up immigration raids in the region two weeks ago. Continue reading...

Profound concern' as administration says Afghanistan safe to return to despite dangers posed by Taliban regimeThousands of Afghans who fled to the US as the Taliban grabbed power again in Afghanistan are in mortal dread of being deported back to danger in the coming weeks amid the Trump administration's anti-immigration crackdown.Many, including some who assisted US forces in Afghanistan before the botched withdrawal by the military in 2021, are contending with threats to their legal status in the US on several fronts. Continue reading...

Six months ago, the 33-year-old was an unknown outsider polling in single digits. Now he is in striking distance of becoming New York's youngest, most leftwing mayor in a centuryZohran Kwame Mamdani is huddling with advisers surrounded by agitated protesters, New York police department (NYPD) officers and lines of metal barriers penning us in. An hour ago Brad Lander, the elected comptroller of New York who is running against Mamdani in the race to become the city's next mayor, was arrested by masked agents of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) as he accompanied an individual out of immigration court. Video shows the agents shoving Lander against a wall, handcuffing him, and scuffling him away.The incident has clearly rattled Mamdani. He looks tense, and when greeted by supporters his trademark beaming smile is replaced by a tight grin. Continue reading...

The attacks on lawmakers and a US senator's callous reaction tell a dark tale of modern AmericaIn the early morning of 14 June, according to authorities, Vance Luther Boelter, disguised as a police officer and wearing body armor and a face mask, drove his black Ford Explorer SUV, equipped with flashing lights, to the home of the Minnesota state senator John Hoffman. There, he shot Hoffman nine times, critically wounding him, and shot his wife eight times as, relatives say, she threw her body over her daughter to shield her. He next drove to the home of the former house speaker Melissa Hortman, forced his way in, and killed her and her husband, officials say.The police arrived and Boelter fled, abandoning his car. In it they allegedly discovered a kill list" of dozens of federal and state Democratic officials, mostly from Minnesota but also prominent Democrats in other midwestern states, and the sites of women's healthcare centers and Planned Parenthood donors. He left behind notebooks with detailed descriptions of his target locations. On the lam, Boelter sent a text message to his family: Dad went to war last night." Continue reading...

Trump's $499 gold phone is only the latest ask of the Maga faithful to show their commitment in dollar termsI like thinking big. I always have. To me it's very simple: if you're going to be thinking anyway, you might as well think big."Those were Donald Trump's words to writer Tony Schwartz in the Art of the Deal. In his second term, Trump has been thinking big about making money. Since his reelection campaign began, Trump is estimated to have more than doubled his net worth to $5.4bn. Continue reading...

You don't have to be a fan of Tucker Carlson to enjoy the spectacle of a Republican civil warYou have to admit that there's something delicious about watching Ted Cruz get served his just deserts by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. In a nearly two-hour long interview on Carlson's own channel and in Cruz's Washington office, Carlson repeatedly grilled, roasted, and fried the Texas senator, exposing a deepening rift within the Maga movement and showing us the hollowness of our so-called leaders along the way.You don't have to be a fan of Carlson to enjoy the spectacle of a Republican civil war. Carlson, who once hosted a show on CNN, established his reputation on Fox News and then became a racist demagogue and promoter of far-right disinformation and dangerous conspiracy theories", as a 2023 profile in Mother Jones described him. While at Fox, he was for a time the highest rated personality on cable TV and was deeply influential in setting the conservative agenda. On air at Fox - and in this essay for Politico - he praised Trump. Off-air, he was texting his colleagues a different opinion: We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights," Carlson wrote in a text sent on 4 January 2021. I truly can't wait," he wrote, adding: I hate him passionately."Moustafa Bayoumi is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

Those delivering paternalistic lectures to Sabrina Carpenter, Addison Rae and Sydney Sweeney would do well to revisit recent historySabrina Carpenter was accused of dragging women back into an unenlightened past last week, as the controversial cover for her new album was met with (apparently) feminist furore. It's ironic, then, that the past is precisely where Carpenter's most outspoken critics could do with looking. It's clear that the general consensus is lurching grimly to the right when it comes to gender, and a new generation of young, female critics should be wary of falling into step. The debate about how we look at women, and what they want, risks limply missing the point.In the past few weeks, Sydney Sweeney has been chastised for selling sexy soap, and Addison Rae scolded for dancing in her underwear on stage. It's odd that the backlash has been so immense, given the celebration of Halina Reijn's Babygirl film just a few months ago. The SheEO Nicole Kidman slurping milk out of a saucer? Hot. Sweeney's dirty bathwater? Degrading and vapid. Seemingly, Kidman's age made the former radically feminist, and by extension, permissible in the eyes of the kink police. Continue reading...

Within Israel, Iran is seen as the ultimate threat. The prime minister knows this is his chance to rewrite his bloodied legacyIt's 1938 and Iran is Germany ... The Jewish people will not allow a second Holocaust." Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, recited slogans like these incessantly for decades, urging action against the gravest threat to the Jewish state - a nuclear-armed Iran. He conveyed the message to successive US presidents. He presented a bomb cartoon at the UN. At countless Holocaust memorial events he described Iran's nuclear ambitions as the present-day final solution".Netanyahu talked and talked about the pressing Iranian threat, but his listeners were not convinced. They dismissed him as an alarmist whose deadline Iran crossed year after year without deploying a nuclear weapon (it still hasn't). Netanyahu's critics at home taunted him as a chicken who would never dare to attack Iran's nuclear installations - unlike his more decisive predecessors, who had ordered the bombing of nuclear reactors in Iraq and Syria.Aluf Benn is the editor-in-chief of Haaretz Continue reading...

Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil was released from US immigration detention, where he had been held for more than three months over his activism against Israel's war on Gaza. Khalil, the most high profile of the students to be arrested by the Trump administration for their pro-Palestinian activism, and the last of them still in detention, was ordered to be released by a federal judge on Friday afternoon from an Ice facility in Jena, Louisiana

This blog is now closed. Read our latest Iran-Israel conflict story hereDonald Trump is once again repeating unfounded claims that the results of the 2020 presidential election were fraudulent, saying that the evidence is massive and overwhelming" but not providing any of it. The president called for a special prosecutor to be appointed to the case.He wrote on Truth Social this morning: Continue reading...

The Palestinian activist described a bittersweet feeling as he emerged from Ice detention into the Louisiana sunMahmoud Khalil squinted in the afternoon sun as he walked away from the fences topped with razor wire, through two tall gates and out into the thick humidity of central Louisiana.After more than three months detained in this remote and notorious immigration detention center in the small town of Jena, he described a bittersweet feeling of release, walking towards a handful of journalists with a raised fist, visibly relieved, but composed and softly spoken. Continue reading...

Columbia graduate freed from Louisiana facility after judge ruled he is not a danger to the community - period'Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil was released from US immigration detention, where he had been held for more than three months over his activism against Israel's war on Gaza.Khalil, the most high profile of the students to be arrested by the Trump administration for their pro-Palestinian activism, and the last of them still in detention, was ordered to be released by a federal judge on Friday afternoon from an Ice facility in Jena, Louisiana, where he has been held since shortly after plainclothes immigration agents detained him in early March in the lobby of his Columbia building. Continue reading...

Vice-president visits Los Angeles and condemns Democratic leaders over protests against Trump's Ice raidsJD Vance, the US vice-president, accused California governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass of encouraging violent immigration protests as he used an in Los Angeles to rebut criticism from state and local officials that the Trump administration fueled the unrest by sending in federal officers.The centerpiece of Vance's Friday visit was a 14-minute news conference, during which he delivered remarks and took questions from correspondents selected by the White House. Local reporters were barred from attending, according to Elex Michaelson, the host of Fox LA's local evening news report. Continue reading...

Supreme court ruled fossil fuel companies could challenge a California emissions law, as White House moved to keep Michigan coal plants open. Key US politics stories from Friday 20 JuneIt was a day of environmental setbacks across the US on Friday after the Trump administration moved to keep two Michigan coal plants open and the US supreme court handed a win to fossil fuel firms in an emissions case.Already, the US Department of Energy (DoE) has ordered the JH Campbell coal plant on Lake Michigan to remain open beyond its 31 May closure date, while the administration is expected to prolong the life of the Monroe power plant on Lake Erie, scheduled to begin closing in 2028. Continue reading...

Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi says he supports more talks with European counterparts despite lack of progressIran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has said that his country is ready for more diplomacy with the US only if Israel's war on his country is brought to an end and the aggressor is held accountable for the crimes he committed".After several hours of talks with European foreign ministers in Geneva on Friday, there was no sign of a diplomatic breakthrough - or a resumption of negotiations with the US. Continue reading...

Nicolas Jackson was shown a red card as Enzo Maresca's side imploded in the second half against the Brazilian side6 min Liam Delap breaks free on the right side of the Flamengo area but just delays his shot a touch - he does let fly, forcing Rossi to palm the ball away for a corner.4 min Sanchez provides two wayward kicks from the back to land Chelsea in trouble but a toe-punt from De Arrascaeta, from outside the area, flies high. Continue reading...

Terminations of 639 employees were announced at organization founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propagandaThe Trump administration has terminated 639 employees at Voice of America and its parent organization in the latest round of sweeping cuts that have reduced the international broadcasting service to a fraction of its former size.The mass terminations announced Friday rounds out the Trump-led elimination of 1,400 positions since March and represents the near-complete dismantling of an organization founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda, whose first broadcast declared: We bring you voices from America." Continue reading...

ACIP panel to discuss influenza vaccines that contain thimerosal, which Kennedy called dangerous' in 2014 bookA key vaccine advisory panel reconstituted by health secretary and vaccine skeptic Robert F Kennedy Jr is slated to discuss thimerosal-containing influenza vaccines in its first meeting - an ingredient which has been a fixation of anti-vaccine activists for decades.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will hold two separate votes later this month: one on influenza vaccines" and one on influenza vaccines that contain thimerosal. Continue reading...

State to argue in federal court that control of national guard - deployed to Los Angeles - should return to Gavin NewsomCalifornia's challenge of the Trump administration's military deployment on the streets of Los Angeles returned to a federal courtroom in San Francisco on Friday after an appeals court handed Donald Trump a key procedural win in the case.Friday's hearing comes a day after the ninth circuit appellate panel allowed the president to keep control of national guard troops he deployed in response to protests over immigration raids. Continue reading...

Justices deny request by toy company - which challenged president's trade policy - to expedite review of disputeThe US supreme court declined on Friday to speed up its consideration of whether to take up a challenge to Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs even before lower courts have ruled in the dispute.The supreme court denied a request by a family-owned toy company, Learning Resources, that filed the legal challenge against Trump's tariffs to expedite the review of the dispute by the nation's top judicial body. Continue reading...

Small plane had raised a wheel after landing to keep from killing animal, and then took off again before crashingThe pilot of a small plane that crashed near a North Carolina airport this month had raised a wheel after landing to avoid hitting a turtle on the runway, according to a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) preliminary report.The pilot of the Universal Stinson 108, a single-engine, four-seat aircraft, and a passenger were killed in the 3 June crash near Sugar Valley airport in Mocksville, officials said. A second passenger was seriously injured in the crash. Continue reading...

Latest incidents include death threats against Zohran Mamdani in New York and a purported road rage attack on Max Miller in OhioA fresh wave of violent threats and incidents targeting elected officials broke out in the US this week, prompting more urgent calls for increased security measures just days after the killing of a Minnesota state legislator and the shooting of another.Amid a series of attacks involving federal and local officials, the latest incidents included death threats against Zohran Mamdani, the New York mayoral candidate, a purported road rage attack on Max Miller, the Ohio congressman, and an alleged kidnapping attempt targeting Paul Young, the mayor of Memphis. Continue reading...

Senator from Massachusetts questions state department's redirection of $500m to troubled organization

States that enact stricter gun control measures show a decrease in the leading cause of death of US childrenGuns have been the leading cause of death among US children since 2020. A new study shows a clear path to addressing this scourge and saving kids' lives: state gun control laws.The study, published this month in Jama Pediatrics, reveals that states which enacted stricter gun control measures following the 2010 McDonald v Chicago supreme court ruling - a landmark decision that struck down Chicago's ban on handguns and, in effect, expanded the second amendment nationwide - have seen a relative decrease in firearm deaths among children aged up to 17. By contrast, states that expanded gun freedoms have seen a notable increase in kids' deaths from gun violence, including by homicide, by suicide and from accidents. Continue reading...

Emerson Colindres had no criminal record and was attending appointment with Ice when detainedA teenage student and soccer stand-out was arrested by immigration authorities four days after his high school graduation ceremony in Ohio earlier this month, and deported to Honduras this week, his family has said.Emerson Colindres, 19, had no criminal record and was attending a regularly scheduled appointment with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) in Cincinnati when he was detained on 4 June, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Continue reading...

However, the president did take to social media to complain about too many non-working holidays'Donald Trump failed to mark Juneteenth, commemorating the ending of slavery in the US, until he posted on Thursday night that there are too many non-working holidays" in the country.The US president has put out statements previously as president and even tried to take credit for boosting awareness of the significance of 19 June before it became a federal holiday under the Biden administration. Continue reading...

Appeals court extends pause on district judge ruling that president called troops into federal service unlawfully

With misinformation and murky details on bird flu and measles outbreaks, experts worry about the next pandemicAmid controversial dismissals for independent advisers and staff at health agencies, alongside lackluster responses to the bird flu and measles outbreaks, experts fear the US is now in worse shape to respond to a pandemic than before 2020.H5N1, which has received less attention under the Trump administration than from Biden's team, is not the only influenza virus or even the only variant of bird flu with the potential to spark a pandemic. But a subpar response to the ongoing US outbreak signals a larger issue: America is not ready for whatever pathogen will sweep through next. Continue reading...

Britain's driving force on EuroBasket prospects, playing alongside Caitlin Clark and the importance of a team mentality at the highest levelIt's great to be back with Great Britain," Temi Fagbenle says, her voice carrying the quiet confidence of a seasoned international basketball player. I come from the WNBA but I'm glad I was able to make both work." For the captain of GB's women's basketball team, balancing the demands of the world's premier league with national team duties is a familiar tightrope walk. I'm thankful teams see European competition as a priority for some of us. They've accommodated where they could."EuroBasket, a biennial competition, is one of the biggest international tournaments in the game. It is also a qualifying metric for the Women's World Cup and the Olympics. With the 2025 edition under way, Fagbenle's presence is crucial as one of the leading WNBA players choosing to play in an international tournament during the season. Continue reading...

In the diverse Iranian hub of west LA, a sense of dread over the escalating conflict is permeating the cafes and bakeriesIn uncertain times in Persian Square, in the Iranian enclave on the west side of Los Angeles, there is always hope - and ice cream.Farbod Freddy" Papen is happy to dole out scoops of cucumber ice cream at Saffron and Rose, just as his grandfather once did in the same neighborhood affectionately known by many nicknames: Little Tehran, Tehrangeles, or Little Persia. Continue reading...

If the United States joins Israel's fight to try to finish Israel's job, it will enter into a war of unknowable scope against a country of 90 million peopleTwo decades ago, as Americans debated whether their country should invade Iraq, one question loomed the largest: did Saddam Hussein possess weapons of mass destruction? If so, the implication was that the United States should disarm and overthrow his regime by military force. If not, Washington could keep that option in reserve and continue to contain Saddam through economic sanctions and routine bombings.In time, the implications of the Iraq war far exceeded the boundaries of the original debate. Saddam, it turned out, had no weapons of mass destruction. But suppose he had possessed the chemical and biological agents that the war's advocates claimed. Invading his country to destroy his regime would have given him the greatest possible incentive to use the worst weapons at his disposal. The war would have been just as mistaken - more so, in fact.Stephen Wertheim is a senior fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Continue reading...

As Americans, we need to know what's happening so we can act. But that doesn't mean constant online immersionThe threat of a world war. Political assassinations. Federal raids on unsuspecting migrants.There seems to be no end to terrifying news these days. In fact, it comes at us so unceasingly that numbness can set in. Or even depression or melancholy, like a black cloud over every part of our lives. Continue reading...

Friday's meeting comes a day after Trump said he would decide whether to attack Iran within two weeks'. Plus, Los Angeles Dodgers say they denied Ice agents entry to stadium

The Lakers' record sale underscores how owning elite sports franchises is increasingly beyond even the wealthiest individuals, shifting power toward corporate consortiumsThe sale of the Los Angeles Lakers is many things.First of all, it is a record. The glitziest team in basketball is changing hands at a valuation of $10bn, the biggest ever for a sports franchise. Second, it is probably an excellent deal for the buyer, even at that astonishing valuation. And third, the shift in majority ownership from the Buss family to an investment group led by Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter, is something else: inevitable. Continue reading...