Sir Keir Starmer and European leaders must defend the rule of international law, as a dangerous new world order emergesThe initial reaction of European leaders to Donald Trump's illegal military intervention in Venezuela wasnot only weak, it also had the briefest of shelf lives. Refusing on Sunday to condemn the attack as abreach of international law, European Union memberstates called hopefully for a negotiated, democratic, inclusive and peaceful solution to the crisis, led by Venezuelans". The delusional nature of that responsewas laid bare as Mr Trump told reportersthesame day: We're in charge."So much for the restoration of democracy. The USpresident also repeated threats of further military action, should the repressive regime left behind when Nicolas Maduro was seized fail to do Washington's bidding. As Mr Trump's marginalising of the Nobel prize-winning opposition figurehead Maria Corina Machado illustrated early on, the will of Venezuelans is not on his list of priorities. Operation Absolute Resolve was about exercising raw power to dominateasovereign nation, and controlling Venezuela's future oil production. Continue reading...

US ambassador defends attack as law enforcement' action against an illegitimate' leader, not an act of war

William Defoor, 26, to appear in court Tuesday after arrest for alleged attack on vice-president's Cincinnati homeA man arrested during an incident where someone appeared to be trying to break into the Ohio house of JD Vance with a hammer is to appear in court on Tuesday.The vice-president on Monday thanked law enforcement in Ohio for arresting someone he referred to as a crazy person" who had turned up at his Cincinnati home overnight. Continue reading...

Kentucky woman reportedly ordered medication to end her pregnancy and buried remains in her yardA Kentucky woman is facing multiple criminal charges after she allegedly induced her own abortion using medication.Kentucky state police arrested the woman, Melinda S Spencer, 35, on charges of fetal homicide in the first degree, abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence, according to a local Kentucky news outlet. Spencer reportedly ordered medication online to end her pregnancy, then buried the remains of her pregnancy in her backyard. Continue reading...

The US might aim to unlock the country's reserves, but cost and political uncertainty make it look an uncertain option

Trial is the most severe criminal case brought against US students who staged protests against Israel's war in GazaFive Stanford University students are facing trial beginning on Monday over felony charges stemming from a pro-Palestinian protest on campus - the most severe criminal case brought against some of the thousands of students who staged nationwide protests and encampments against Israel's war in Gaza.The northern California students are part of a group of 12 who were charged with felony conspiracy to trespass and felony vandalism in connection to an hour-long, June 2024 occupation during which the group barricaded themselves inside the university president's office to demand Stanford consider a student resolution to divest from Israel, among other requests. Continue reading...

First and only GLP-1 pill on the market costs significantly less than injectable versionsThe first pill version of the blockbuster GLP-1 weight loss drugs has been launched in the US by Novo Nordisk at a lower cost than jab varieties, accelerating a price war in the sector.The Danish pharmaceutical company said on Monday that its once-a-day Wegovy pill, which received approval from the US regulator just before Christmas, was now available in the country. Continue reading...

South American nation's tar-like oil is what many Gulf coast facilities were built for but ramping up production to 3m barrels a day will be a long gameClustered along the US Gulf coast are some of the largest and most complex heavy-oil refineries in the world. These sprawling industrial hubs, owned by major US oil companies, stand ready to emerge as some of the major victors of Donald Trump's swoop on Venezuela.In some ways, these refineries are a relic of another time; built to process the heavy, unctuous crude imported from Latin America before the boom in lighter US shale oil emerged earlier this century. Continue reading...

US defense secretary also started proceedings that could strip Kelly from retired military rank and cut pensionDefense secretary Pete Hegseth said on Monday that he had issued a formal censure to Democratic senator Mark Kelly and initiated proceedings that could strip the Arizona lawmaker of his retired military rank and cut his pension, escalating a dispute that began when Kelly urged service members to resist unlawful orders.Just days after a covert mission to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and strike the capital city, Hegseth announced that Kelly faces retirement grade determination proceedings, a rare administrative action that could see the former astronaut and navy captain demoted in his retired rank. Hegseth accused Kelly of making seditious statements" that undermined military discipline. Continue reading...

Zohran Mamdani's optimistic inauguration contrasted in every single way with Trump's brazen invasion of VenezuelaThe new year opened with a pair of scenes that illustrated the great divide within the US and the stakes of the ongoing contest over its future. On 1 January, in a star-studded inauguration ceremony of uncommon pomp and optimism, Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist, was sworn in as the new mayor of New York and delivered a speech that declared the era of small government and centrist inhibition to be over, and a new dawn of ambitious social welfare programs to begin.The new mayor's inauguration is the culmination of a decade of growth from the Democratic party's insurgent left wing, and results from a feat of organizing within the country's largest city that relied upon mass mobilization from downwardly mobile and economically disenfranchised millennial and gen Z voters. It was hailed as a generational shift in US politics, inaugurating a new, 21st-century vision for the party. Continue reading...

The head coach (or manager?) fired cryptic shots at his bosses, then was fired himself.

Oil price rises despite fears US president's pledge could deepen global supply glut

If Trump can invade Venezuela, why can't Putin invade Ukraine? Or Xi Jinping seize Taiwan?No matter how you slice it, Donald Trump's invasion of Venezuela is an act of naked aggression. It is blatantly illegal and sets a disturbing precedent of indifference to national sovereignty that tyrants worldwide will be eager to exploit.The ostensible reason for the US president's military incursion was to arrest Nicolas Maduro on criminal charges for drug trafficking. But that does not justify invading Venezuela to seize him. Continue reading...

Most people join social movements to try to change the world, but many also find community and a greater sense of purposeWhen Lani Ritter Hall's beloved husband of more than 40 years, Gus, died in 2022, she felt a bit unmoored. Taking care of him had been the thing that got her out of bed in the morning, and with him gone, the 76-year-old felt she'd lost her purpose.That is, until she found organizing. Continue reading...

Venezuelan president captured by US in shocking raid is seen being led in handcuffs on his way to courtThe deposed Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, is expected to appear in Manhattan federal court on Monday afternoon on drugs and weapons charges after his extraordinary capture by US special forces this weekend.Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized in a shocking pre-dawn raid at a compound on Saturday during an assault on Caracas. At least 40 people, including civilians and Venezuelan military members, reportedly died in the attack. Continue reading...

Though he also discussed plans to run' Venezuela, the US president could not resist upending his moment of gloryNever in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few but what I'd really like to talk about is my disastrous predecessor and some pathetic city mayors," is what Winston Churchill didn't say during Britain's war against Adolf Hitler.On Saturday, Donald Trump fancied himself at his most Churchillian as he hailed the derring-do of US military heroes who toppled Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro in an audacious overnight operation. Continue reading...

Voters will choose secretaries of state in contests that could play key role in outcome of 2028 presidential electionWhen Americans go to cast ballots in the midterm elections in 2026, much of the attention is likely to be on races for the US House, Senate and governorships - contests that will serve as a referendum on Donald Trump's first two years in office and determine the trajectories of the final ones.But further down the ballot, voters will choose secretaries of state in key races that could have a major effect on how elections are run in many US states, including several battleground states that are key to the 2028 presidential race. Twenty-six states are set to choose secretaries of state next year, including the presidential battlegrounds of Nevada, Arizona and Michigan. Continue reading...

John Harbaugh has spent nearly two decades leading Baltimore. But his failure to get the most out of his quarterback is a fireable failingThere are losses, and then there are those defeats that show us exactly who a team are. The Steelers' 26-24 win over the Ravens on Sunday night was the latter. It wasn't just a loss; it was a referendum. The game was vintage, grubby, beautiful AFC North football. A rivalry game with a playoff place on the line. Big plays. Dumb decisions. Cris Collinsworth making unintelligible noises on commentary. In the final three minutes, four plays swung the win probability by more than 40 percentage points.The Steelers, missing DK Metcalf and Darnell Washington, scored on four of their five second-half drives, three of them touchdowns, with Aaron Rodgers finding Calvin Austin for a 26-yard score with 55 seconds left. Baltimore, by contrast, couldn't get out of their own way until Lamar Jackson strapped on his cape, completing seven of his final nine passes, throwing two touchdowns and converting a ridiculously clutch fourth-down strike to Isaiah Likely with 21 seconds left and the season on the line. Continue reading...

US officials have warned of further military intervention if Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, fails to meet their demands. Plus, how gun-safety advocates are riding a seismic' wave to US legislatures

Maj Gen Paul Eaton says US president's effort to bend military to his will could have dire long-term consequencesDonald Trump and his defense secretary Pete Hegseth are mounting an aggressive push to politicise the top ranks of the US military - a push that smacks of Stalinism and could take years to repair, the former infantry chief who trained troops to invade Iraq has warned.Maj Gen Paul Eaton has sounded the alarm, saying in an interview with the Guardian that the effort to bend the higher echelons of the military to the US president's will was unparalleled in recent history and could have long-term dire consequences. He warned that both the reputation and efficiency of the world's most powerful fighting force was in the balance. Continue reading...

Hundreds gathered coast to coast, even as many in the diaspora celebrated ousting of Maduro

It's not just the triumphalism in the White House. Leaders loth to oppose this gangsterism must think how that looks to Putin, Xi and in the UAEI never thought it possible that you could look back on the Iraq war, and the foreign invasions of the war on terror" in general, and feel some measure of nostalgia. For a time when there were at least concerted attempts to justify unilateral interventions and illegal wars in the name of global security, and even a moral duty to liberate the women of Afghanistan or free the Iraqi people".Now, as the Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, is in essence abducted and Venezuela taken over by the US, there is barely any effort to situate the coup in any reasoning other than the US's interests. Nor are there any attempts to solicit consent from domestic or international law-making bodies and allies, let alone the public. The days of the US trying to convince the world that Saddam Hussein did in fact have weapons of mass destruction despite secretly having no reliable intelligence were, in fact, the good old days. Continue reading...

The US president's fears about woke' Europe are laughable. He would feel right at home in today's EUI expected the EU to push back strongly against Donald Trump's new national security strategy. Not only does it show contempt for the EU and its weak" leaders, but it also targets European citizens and migrants with racist dog whistles and barely disguised Islamophobia. Yet instead of a rousing defence of the bloc's commitment to human rights and equality, there have just been bland platitudes.Antonio Costa, the president of the European Council, denounced Trump's plans to boost support for Europe's far-right parties. But there was no public challenge to the racist logic underpinning his argument. Costa, who has spoken proudly of his mixed ancestry, could have made a convincing counterargument to the US president's false premise that Europe was heading for civilisational erasure" because of migrants and, by extension, millions of Europeans of colour.Shada Islam is a Brussels-based commentator on EU affairs. She runs New Horizons Project, a strategy, analysis and advisory company Continue reading...

US conduct could become more assertive in the Indo-Pacific in the remaining years of the Trump presidency - with serious implications for Anzus and Aukus

Trump has called on Venezuela's interim leader to adhere to US demands as top Republicans scramble to answer questions about what happens next - key US politics stories from 4 January 2026Proclaiming the US would run" Venezuela after abducting its president and his wife, president Trump has now qualified his claim. Amid questions, including from top Republicans, Trump has now called on Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, to accommodate US demands or face the possibility of a fresh military intervention.Rodriguez, 56, who had on Saturday pledged fealty to ousted president Nicolas Maduro and condemned his capture as an atrocity", appears to be adhering to the US line. Continue reading...

Broncos earn the No 1 seed in the AFC after beating the Chargers 19-3 while a Falcons win over the Saints pushed the Panthers through to the playoffsSaints 0-0 Falcons 8:07, 1st quarterBad news for Panthers fans ... Kirk Cousins has just been picked off.C Ward rush for seven yards Continue reading...

King tides cause highest floodwaters in decades for area, while people are rescued from trapped cars and roads closeHigh tides and heavy rains have flooded parts of the Bay Area, prompting road closures and rescues of people trapped in cars.Five northern counties remained under a flood watch, with up to 3in (7.6cm) of rain possible through Monday night in areas that have been drenched off and on since around Christmas, said the National Weather Service office in Eureka. At least a foot (0.3 meters) of snow was likely in the mountains. Continue reading...

Victoria Jones, daughter of US film actor, was found unresponsive at a San Francisco hotel on New Year's DayThe family of actor Tommy Lee Jones has asked for privacy following the loss of his daughter, Victoria Jones, who was found dead on New Year's Day at a San Francisco hotel.We appreciate all of the kind words, thoughts, and prayers," the family said in a statement. Please respect our privacy during this difficult time. Thank you." Continue reading...

Homeland security secretary says Venezuelan leader needs to protect America against drug trafficking and terroristsKristi Noem, the US homeland security secretary, said on Sunday that the US wants a leader in Venezuela who will be a partner that understands that we're going to protect America" to stop drug trafficking and terrorists from coming into our country".Noem indicated in an interview on Fox News Sunday that the immigration status of Venezuelan nationals living in the US under temporary protected status (TPS) was part of an administration-wide decision-making process that her department would follow. Continue reading...

Lawmakers call US intervention and capture of Maduro wildly illegal' and say it lacked congressional approvalDemocratic leaders responded with fury on Sunday to Donald Trump's military intervention in Venezuela, slamming it as an illegal act carried out in the absence of required congressional approval that would lead to disaster for the American people.Top Democrats took to the Sunday TV political talk shows to express their dismay at the lack of any prior notification of lawmakers about the audacious military raid 24 hours earlier. Continue reading...

The illegal abduction of Venezuela's president, and threat to run' his country, is a dangerous act. Its repercussions will be felt far beyond the regionAmid the immense confusion surrounding the US strikes on Venezuela, the seizure of the president, Nicolas Maduro, and Donald Trump's announcement that the US will run" the country and take back the oil", one thing is clear - they set a truly chilling precedent. The US has a grim history of interference, invasion and occupation in the region, but the early hours of Saturday saw its first major military attack on South American land. American dominance in the western hemisphere will never be questioned again," Mr Trump declared. The decision to unilaterally attack another country and abduct its leader - days after he publicly sought an off-ramp - has still wider repercussions. It should alarm us all.Venezuelans have endured a repressive, kleptocratic and incompetent regime under Mr Maduro, widely believed to have stolen the last election. They now face profound uncertainty at best. Mr Trump has suggested that Mr Maduro's deputy, Delcy Rodriguez, would follow US instructions, and dismissed the rightwing opposition leader and Nobel prize-winner Maria Corina Machado as a plausible replacement. But Ms Rodriguez, now interim president, has so far struck a defiant tone - and other parts of the decapitated regime are more hardline.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

New York's new mayor will face headwinds as he attempts to carry out a programme of civic renewal. But his affordability agenda speaks to the timesThe multiple firsts achieved by New York's new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, have been well chronicled: he is the first Muslim to occupy that role, the first south Asian and the first to be born in Africa. He is also the youngest mayor of the largest city in the United States for over a century, having received more votes in November's election than any candidate since the 1960s. And politically, he is probably the most leftwing incumbent of the office since Fiorello La Guardia in the 1930s and 40s.Hardly surprising then, that Mr Mamdani's extraordinary rise to prominence should be accompanied by high expectations and tense anticipation. At last Thursday's inauguration ceremony, he promised to govern expansively and audaciously". Whether he succeeds in doing so will have considerable ramifications for progressive politics more widely. Continue reading...

Secretary of State Marco Rubio defends capture of Nicolas Maduro and says US has leverage' over countryMarco Rubio, the US secretary of state, and prominent Republicans swiftly backpedaled from Donald Trump's assertion that the US will run Venezuela in transition after US forces snatched the president, Nicolas Maduro, and brought him to the US to face federal criminal charges.Rubio appeared on numerous US politics shows on Sunday morning to defend the US operation in the early hours of Saturday to capture Maduro and his wife despite critics calling the operation illegal on multiple levels and the White House failing to demonstrate how it would run the South American nation. Continue reading...

Hannah Dugan faced calls to resign from state Republicans amid threats to impeach her if she did notThe Wisconsin judge convicted of obstruction for helping an immigrant evade federal officers has resigned.Hannah Dugan was convicted on 19 December and faced calls to resign from state Republicans, who threatened to impeach her if she did not. Continue reading...

The deaths came as the Trump administration ramped up immigration enforcement, detaining a record number of people Continue reading...

From Los Angeles to Nevada, younger people are preserving a longstanding tradition one lyric at a timeDeep in the heart of Los Angeles's Koreatown, just a few doors down from H Mart and a K-pop music superstore, an American flag hangs over the entrance of a saloon called Eastwood.The western-themed bar would normally be cranking Luke Bryan while customers play skee-ball, line dance and get bucked off their mechanical bull named Gucci. But tonight, the music is low and the loudest sounds come from the clacking of vintage mechanical typewriters. About 30 people in the bar are drafting poems about horses, sunsets and Stetson hats - which are plentiful atop the heads in the crowd.Heck, they thought they killed me back in 15flew me out in a chopper, covered me with a sheet. Continue reading...

Leaders try to focus on what comes next, as backing for ejection of Maduro mingles uncomfortably with voicing of support for international law

Trump's audacious arrest of Maduro marks a conspicuous break with convention, even as previously observed by the president himselfNothing speaks more eloquently of the disempowering of the US Congress under Donald Trump's second presidency than the brazenly audacious arrest of Venezuela's leader, Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia.Far from recognizing it, Trump did not even acknowledge Congress's right to know - keeping senior members in the dark until the operation to seize the strongman was under way. Continue reading...

Trump's tax bill carved out several areas for tipped workers and older adults, among others, to lower their tax billsUS taxpayers will have a gigantic refund year in the first quarter" of 2026, the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, recently said in an interview.Given all the untruths that come out of the current administration, you wouldn't be blamed if you don't believe him. But you should. This year, there will be a significant amount of tax refunds. Why? Well, it's not tariff cash. It's because many people overpaid their taxes this year. Continue reading...

Officials evacuated about 325 men and women from Bridge shelter on New Year's Day after heavy rainsFor the third time in seven years, hundreds of people had to flee a homeless shelter in downtown San Diego this week after a heavy storm dropped a month's worth of rain, causing floods.The area received 2in of rain on New Year's Day, which broke local records and forced multiple water rescues, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Continue reading...

Edward Ahmed Mitchell of Council on American-Islamic Relations says Texas and Florida governors abusing powerThe deputy director of the US's biggest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group warns that Republican governors' steps to declare his organization a terrorist organization" won't stop with the Muslim community.No governor should have the power to unilaterally declare a civil rights or advocacy group he disagrees with a terrorist organization, take punitive action against them, all in violation of due process and free speech," Edward Ahmed Mitchell, the deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told the Guardian this month. If any governor can get away with abusing that kind of power, then no organization is safe." Continue reading...

The US president used largely fictitious charges to seize control, but can't know how Venezuelans will react. He may also overstep now as regards IranDuring his presidential campaigns, Donald Trump pledged to end forever wars", abandon nation-building" interventions and focus instead on reviving a US economy that, in his telling, had been deindustrialised by a floodtide of imports. Though Trump's electoral victories cannot be attributed to any one thing, his America first" narrative certainly struck a chord.But Trump's use of force to seize the Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, his full-bore support for Israel's demolition of Gaza and his bombing of Iran's nuclear enrichment installations show that he's no less willing than his predecessors to resort to military interventions.Rajan Menon is a professor emeritus of international relations at the City College of New York and a senior research scholar at Columbia University's Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies Continue reading...