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The frontrunner for New York mayor has won social media with clips that are always fun - and resolutely on-messageZohran Mamdani's commanding lead in the New York City mayoral election owes much to his ability to tap into the concerns of New Yorkers - putting affordability and housing at the center of his campaign.But he's been helped, too, by a superstar social media presence. The charismatic 33-year-old regularly beams out slick videos on TikTok and Instagram that have helped raise his profile and attract a swathe of voters and volunteers. Continue reading...

It comes amid US efforts for deal after punishing trade war and hours before Trump and Xi Jinping spoke on phoneDonald Trump's reported pause on $400m (297m) in weapons aid to Taiwan has fuelled fears he is using US support of the island to negotiate with China.Trump's pause on weapons provisions, if confirmed, included orders for lethal munitions and autonomous drones, but could still be reversed, the Washington Post reported on Friday. Continue reading...

Nazis used the 1933 Reichstag blaze to justify snuffing out civil liberties. In the US, the calls for a crackdown have already begunOn the night of 27 February 1933, six days before national elections, the German Reichstag was set on fire. Firefighters and police discovered a Dutch communist named Marinus van der Lubbe at the scene, who confessed to being the arsonist. The Nazi Reichstag president, Hermann Goring, soon arrived, followed by the future propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and Adolf Hitler, who had been dining together.Two competing, still unresolved, conspiracy theories would circulate about the real culprit: the Nazis, with van der Lubbe as front; or a communist cabal. But the three men had no doubts. Goring pronounced the crime a communist plot. Hitler called it a God-given signal", adding: If this fire, as I believe, is the work of the communists, then we must crush out this murderous pest with an iron fist."Judith Levine is Brooklyn-based journalist, essayist and author of five books. Her Substack is Today in Fascism Continue reading...

Disney's Bob Iger and Paramount's David Ellison are among the executives pulling the strings amid criticism that US TV networks are caving to the Trump administrationOver the past two decades Jimmy Kimmel has interviewed thousands of people - including his ultimate boss - on his late-night talkshow.I've probably, with the possible exception of Roseanne, caused you more headaches than anyone in the last 15 years," Kimmel grinned at his guest one night in late 2019. Absolutely," replied Disney CEO Bob Iger. Continue reading...

Decision could be major blow to tech industry, but commerce secretary says all of the big companies are on board' - key US politics stories from 19 September 2025Donald Trump has signed an order to raise fees for the H-1B visa to $100,000 in what could be a major blow to the US tech industry, which contributed millions to his presidential campaign.The tech industry relies, more than any other sector of the US economy, on H-1B visa holders. Roughly two-thirds of jobs secured through the H-1B program are computer-related, government figures show, but employers also use the visa to bring in engineers, educators and healthcare workers. Continue reading...

Trump said I want him out' about Erik Siebert, who was investigating New York attorney general Letitia James and former FBI director James Comey. This blog is now closed.Today, lawmakers in the House will vote on legislation, known as a continuing resolution" (CR), to prevent a looming government shutdown at the end of September.The bill, introduced by Republicans, would fund the government until 21 November. According to Politico, House GOP whip Tom Emmer was confident, as of Thursday, that his party had enough votes. We're going to pass this," he said in an interview. Continue reading...

Texas senator says Brendan Carr's threats to revoke licenses amid Jimmy Kimmel suspension right out of Goodfellas'Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, compared Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr's threats to revoke the broadcast licenses of ABC stations over late-night host Jimmy Kimmel's commentary to mafioso" tactics similar to those in Goodfellas, the 1990 mobster movie.Look, Jimmy Kimmel has been canned. He has been suspended indefinitely. I think that it a fantastic thing," Cruz said at the start of the latest episode of his podcast Verdict with Ted Cruz. There were, however first amendment implications" of the FCC's role, the senator, a Harvard Law School graduate who clerked for US supreme court chief justice William Rehnquist, added. Continue reading...

Qingzhou Wang of Amarvel Biotech accused by prosecutors of turning chemical company into pipeline of poison'A Chinese company executive has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for trafficking in chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl, the US justice department has said.Qingzhou Wang, 37, principal executive of Amarvel Biotech, a company based in Wuhan, and Yiyi Chen, 33, the firm's marketing manager, were convicted in New York in February of fentanyl precusor importation and money laundering. Continue reading...

President says US military carried out strike on my orders', killing three men he said were carrying illegal narcoticsDonald Trump announced on Friday that the US military has carried out another deadly strike on a vessel in the the Caribbean, killing three males on board the vessel whom Trump alleged were trafficking illicit narcotics.On my orders", Trump wrote in a social media post shared by the White House and defense secretary, the Secretary of War ordered a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization conducting narcotrafficking in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility." Continue reading...

Justice department urges court to overturn ruling that Kristi Noem lacked authority to end TPS programThe Trump administration asked the US supreme court on Friday to intervene for the second time in a case involving its bid to end deportation protections the former president, Joe Biden, granted to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the United States.The justice department filed an emergency application asking the justices to lift a federal judge's ruling that the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, lacked the authority to end the protections for Venezuelans under the temporary protected status, or TPS, program. Continue reading...

Move deals potentially major blow to US tech industry, which relies heavily on workers from India and ChinaDonald Trump signed a proclamation on Friday that would impose an annual $100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications, dealing a potentially major blow to the US tech industry, which relies heavily on workers from India and China.The US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, said at a Friday press briefing that all the big companies" had been briefed on the new fee. Continue reading...

After heated meeting, healthcare professionals and experts left deeply confused about committee's recommendationsA powerful committee that advises the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on vaccine policy voted on Friday against recommending that people obtain a prescription for a Covid-19 vaccine. However, the panel also voted to recommend that people speak with a clinician before obtaining the shot and that coronavirus vaccinations should be based on individual-based decision making".The votes on the recommendations came after hours of impassioned debate that, at times, devolved into confusion and apparent animosity over the committee's procedures and the safety of vaccines. Healthcare professionals and experts following the committee's meeting were also left deeply confused about the significance of the committee's votes and recommendations, and whether they would make it more difficult for people to obtain Covid vaccines. Continue reading...

James' wife and stepdaughter were also killed when the Cirrus SR22T crashed in Franklin, North CarolinaBrett James, a Grammy-winning songwriter whose credits include the Carrie Underwood hit Jesus, Take the Wheel - died alongside his wife and stepdaughter in a plane crash on Thursday, according to authorities and reports.James, 57, had been flying with his wife and stepdaughter when the plane, a Cirrus SR22T, crashed under unknown circumstances" in a wooded area of Franklin, North Carolina, said officials and media reports. The plane had taken off from John C Tune airport in Nashville, Tennessee, as reported by the Associated Press. Continue reading...

Judge's order order allows transgender or non-binary people to request a male, female or X' markerThe Trump administration on Friday asked the US supreme court to halt a judge's order allowing transgender and non-binary people to choose the sex marker on their passports.The justice department filed an emergency request to lift a federal judge's order that bars the US state department from enforcing a Trump-directed policy. Continue reading...

Senate blocks funding bill passed by House on near party-line vote with Jeffries saying We don't work for Trump'

Officials in Nassau county confirmed death of 42-year-old man to Newsday but declined to share detailsA man arrested by US Customs and Immigration Enforcement (Ice) died in a Long Island, New York, jail on Thursday, according to a report.Officials in Nassau county confirmed the death of a 42-year-old man to Newsday but declined to share details, saying that an investigation was under way. Continue reading...

Federal law enforcement officials in Chicago used teargas and pepper balls in an attempt to disperse a group of around 100 protesters who assembled in the early hours of Friday morning at an Ice facility in the suburbs. Protesters had attempted to block a number of large SUVs entering the facility throughout the morning at an Ice detention and operations facility in Broadview

It was a dramatic night in Tokyo, featuring gold again for Noah Lyles and a chaotic post-race scene in the men's 400m hurdlesWomen's heptathlon - high jump: Johnson-Thompson's second attempt at the 1.80m ... better run-up ... and a good clearance! O'Dowda's third and final chance to get 1.80m now and she manages it as well!Brooks though cannot match the GB pair and she groans as she fails in her final attempt. That is her out of the high jump. Disappointing given her personal best is 1.84m. Continue reading...

Committee cited inconsistency in proposed policy changes and it is not clear how they will proceed on the issueA revamped panel of US vaccine advisers appointed by the health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, on Friday decided not to go ahead with a planned vote that would have delayed the first hepatitis B vaccine dose for newborns, citing inconsistency in the proposed policy changes.It was not clear how the committee would now proceed on the issue. Continue reading...

Mark A Welsh III steps down after student's complaint led to firing of teacher and dismissal of dean and department headThe president of Texas A&M University's main campus is stepping down less than two weeks after a student's viral complaint about gender ideology" in the classroom set off a chain of repercussions, including the firing of the teacher as well as the dismissal of a dean and department chair.Mark A Welsh III, a retired air force four-star general, has been leading the university since 2022. His career before higher education included time as a fighter pilot, service on the joint chiefs of staff, work as the CIA's associate director for military affairs, a term as commandant of cadets at the Air Force Academy, and a stint as dean of the Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M. Continue reading...

Lyles pulled ahead of teammate Kenny Bednarek heading into the straight then held him off down the stretch to capture his fourth title in a much-awaited final. Lyles finished in 19.52 seconds for a 0.06-second winning margin over Bednarek, who led the final at the halfway point. Lyles has now matched Usain Bolt with four 200 titles at the world championships.

Eleven elected officials tried to gain access to an Ice detention facility, while immigration activists tried to block vans carrying detained migrants

The Migrant Education Program opened doors for the kids of seasonal farm laborers. The Trump administration wants to axe all its fundingWhen Regina Zarate-Garcia was a child, she recalled being uprooted from one school district and planted in another as often as the seasons changed.Zarate-Garcia, now 18, was born in Salinas, California, to farm workers from Mexicali, a city just south of California on the US-Mexico border. I remember my parents getting home and seeing their pants splashed in strawberries, mixed with that familiar smell of pesticides," she recalls. Continue reading...

Jerry himself has left the ice-cream company, alleging it had been silenced. He's yet another casualty of corporate kowtowingWhen the history of this era is written, there will be much to say about the behavior of large corporations. And none of it will be good.As the Trump administration has ramped up its assault on American democracy, many corporations have chosen to look the other way or to curry favor with the president. They have fired employees who were too outspoken in their criticism of Donald Trump - ABC's suspension of Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talkshow, after Kimmel's remarks about Maga's reaction to the killing of Charlie Kirk, is the latest example.Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell professor of jurisprudence and political science at Amherst College, is the author or editor of more than 100 books, including Gruesome Spectacles: Botched Executions and America's Death Penalty Continue reading...

Demartravion Trey" Reed, 21, was found hanging from tree on Delta State University campusThe death of a Black college student whose body was found hanging from a tree on a university campus in Mississippi this week was ruled a suicide after an autopsy, police said in a statement.Demartravion Trey" Reed, 21, was found dead early on Monday near the pickleball courts on Delta State University's campus in Cleveland, Mississippi, according to officials. Continue reading...

Cuban asylum seeker EC and others saw hard-won victories vanish as new rules upended immigration courtsThe Cuban asylum seeker referred to in court papers as EC could not believe his luck, and neither could his lawyers.They had come to immigration court in Miami in late spring expecting only incremental progress in a case that had been grinding away for more than three years. Yet here was the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lawyer telling the judge the government was dropping its deportation demands. It seemed EC had won, eligible at last for a green card and permanent residency in the United States. Continue reading...

Liz Uihlein sent staff email with cartoon of Trump saying I hold the cards' to which Xi says the cards are made in China'A top donor to Donald Trump and other Maga Republicans has privately mocked the US president's longtime position that he has an upper hand in trade negotiations with China, in a sign that even some loyal supporters have been uneasy with the White House strategy.Liz Uihlein, the billionaire businesswoman who co-founded the office supply company Uline with her husband, Richard, sent an email to her staff earlier this year that contained a cartoon in which Trump can be seen playing cards with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping. In the cartoon, Trump claims: I hold the cards", to which Xi responds: The cards are made in China." Continue reading...

Arrests include 11 city officials who had demanded to see the conditions of an Ice intake facility on the 10th floorNew York lawmakers, immigrants' rights activists and religious leaders were arrested on Thursday at protests both inside and outside the complex in lower Manhattan where federal officials have been routinely detaining immigrants amid the Trump administration's anti-immigration agenda.At least 70 demonstrators staged a direct-action protest to block access to and from the underground garage used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) to transport people arrested by the agency. The nature of the protest prompted the New York police department (NYPD) to begin arresting people sitting in front of the access ramp. Continue reading...

If approved as proposed, legislation would delay ban on toxic forever chemical'-laden firefighting foamRepublicans in Congress are attempting to gut hard-won health protections for service members against the US military's toxic PFAS forever chemical" pollution that has poisoned drinking water and likely sickened people around hundreds of bases.The repeals are included in the US House and Senate versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). If approved as proposed, the legislation would indefinitely delay a ban on PFAS-laden firefighting foam set to go into effect next year, slash cleanup funding by $200m, lift a moratorium on incinerating firefighting foam and repeal a military ban on buying everyday goods that contain the chemicals. Continue reading...

The president's approval rating is underwater, with a new poll showing plunging Latino supportThe 2024 presidential election was a disaster for the Democrats. Donald Trump managed to shake loose the party's base. Latino voters, Black voters and young Americans swung away from Kamala Harris, resulting in Trump's first popular vote plurality in three tries. Less than a year later, the shifts may yet prove transitory. Looming cuts to healthcare, rising unemployment and sticky inflation may be yielding buyers' remorse. Whether the Democrats are up to the moment is an open question.Regardless, the new American Golden Age", promised by the president and his minions, is looking more like stagflation for the many and a booming stock market for the few. Topline youth unemployment stands at 10.8%, according to the Trump-maligned Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unemployment rates for young men (11% ), Black youth (14.3%), and Hispanic youth (12.6%) are even higher.Lloyd Green is an attorney in New York and served in the US Department of Justice from 1990 to 1992 Continue reading...

Claims are an unsophisticated, uneducated approach that demonstrates a lack of knowledge', says one professorUS law enforcement officials have claimed that the use of certain emojis could signal affiliation with Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Venezuelan gang, according to internal records reviewed by the Guardian.The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the US army and other agencies have alleged in briefings, threat warnings and training materials for law enforcement that specific symbols used on social media are associated with Tren de Aragua, a group Donald Trump has regularly cited to support his immigration crackdown. Continue reading...

The president's claim that undermining his tariffs would literally destroy' the country gets the situation backwardsJust hours after an appeals court ruled that it was illegal for Donald Trump to impose his unpopular across-the-board tariffs on dozens of countries, he posted a frantic, over-the-top rant that declared: If allowed to stand, this Decision would literally destroy the United States of America."So here the president of the United States was asserting that if the courts torpedoed his tariffs, then the US, the most powerful nation on earth, would be destroyed, would literally" be kaput. Trump seemed to suggest that court rulings that blocked his beloved tariffs would have the destructive power of, say, 100 hydrogen bombs.Steven Greenhouse is a journalist and author, focusing on labour and the workplace, as well as economic and legal issues

Exclusive: Democratic candidate lays bare tensions with then president during 2024 election campaign

Kimmel's sudden defenestration may be a political success for Trump but it's a dire sign for free speech in AmericaIn Donald Trump's first term as president, he tried to get the mainstream media in line but largely failed. Yes, he ranted about the enemy of the people, insulted journalists and taught his followers to hate the press. But the guardrails mostly held and the spines of media owners stayed fairly stiff.This time, his project to keep the media on a tight leash - and therefore control the message - is going much better. At least from the point of view of a would-be authoritarian. Continue reading...

Council member Robert White says we need our strongest fighters' as he bids to take on Eleanor Holmes Norton, 88Washington DC's long-serving delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton is under renewed pressure to step down after a city council member announced on Thursday he would challenge her in next year's election, saying the federal district needs its strongest fighters" as it faces unprecedented interference from Donald Trump and the Republican party.Robert White's decision to jump into the race for the non-voting role in the House of Representatives comes amid mounting concern over the 88-year-old Norton's ability to continue doing the job at a tense moment for the city. Trump in August ordered a temporary federal takeover of the Washington DC police department and dispatched national guard and federal agents onto its streets to fight what he called an out-of-control" crime wave, a claim city leaders disputed. Continue reading...

Protesters gather outside Disney HQ after decision to indefinitely suspend the popular show. Plus, California records highest national poverty rate alongside LouisianaGood morning.The late-night show hosts Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon and the former host David Letterman have rallied behind Jimmy Kimmel after ABC's decision to indefinitely suspend his popular program after his comments about the rightwing activist Charlie Kirk, who was killed this month.How did Donald Trump respond? He celebrated, while suggesting TV networks that cover him negatively" could be punished by the government.How did Jon Stewart react? He did his entire monologue in an all-gold studio saying only positive things about Trump in a mock-terrified tone, and interviewed the Nobel prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa, who was imprisoned in the Philippines for her work and told Stewart Americans were deer in the headlights" in the face of Trump's authoritarianism.Where else have we seen crackdowns on comedy? In his attacks on some of the most prominent satirists, Trump has joined a cadre of illiberal leaders in countries such as Russia, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.What did Trump say about Russia's actions? Putin has let me down", he said. He's killing many people, and he's losing more people than he's killing. The Russian soldiers are being killed at a higher rate than the Ukrainian soldiers."What's the latest on the frontline? Ukrainian forces had pushed back some of the gains Russia made over the summer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. He called the operation an important success" after months of battlefield setbacks.What's the latest on sanctions? The EU is expected to announce a new package of sanctions on Russia today, targetting banking and energy. Continue reading...

The trophy for the best regular season record has numerous contenders, which of which have reasons to think they'll lift it (or not)Are you a Cup or Shield person? For those who choose the latter, this part of the season is for you. The race to claim the title for best regular-season record is coming to a head with several teams still in serious Supporters' Shield contention - it's shaping up to be the wildest finish in recent memory.As evidence of this: The standings are led by a team who lost their most recent match 7-0. Behind them - by just one point - are an expansion side. Then it's a team who have won just two of their last six games followed by an outfit on a record-tying nine-game winning streak. And then there's the team lurking in the shadows, boasting the greatest player of all-time, still within striking distance thanks to games in hand. Continue reading...

Silencing of Jimmy Kimmel sets US on course similar to that charted by authoritarian regimes from Egypt to IndiaThe exiled Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef has experienced firsthand how intolerant governments can silence political satire. And he had a short message this week for those living in an age of Donald Trump's free speech clampdown: My Fellow American Citizens," he wrote on X. Welcome to my world."In his attacks on the most prominent of American satirists, the US president has joined a cadre of illiberal and sensitive leaders around the world who will not tolerate a joke. Continue reading...

US president Donald Trump suggested that TV networks which cover him 'negatively' could be punished by the government, after celebrating ABC suspending late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. Speaking to reporters on his flight back to the US from his state visit to the UK, the president said major US networks were '97% against me', though he did not offer evidence to prove this figure or detail how this conclusion was evaluated

This live blog is closed, you can read our coverage of Jimmy Kimmel's suspension here, or via the links below

Demonstrators condemn CEO Bob Iger and fellow executives for bending the knee' to Trump administrationThe Mickey Mouse logo is all over Walt Disney's headquarters in Burbank, California. But on Thursday, those famous ears were also on display outside the studio on protest signs, including one labeling Disney executives as cowards" for suspending Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talkshow in response to pressure from the Trump administration.Disney, which owns ABC, indefinitely" suspended Kimmel's show on Wednesday night, following threatening remarks by Trump's Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr about possible regulatory consequences for comments Kimmel made about Trump and the Maga movement's response to Charlie Kirk's killing. Continue reading...

President says Jimmy Kimmel was not a talented person' as critics decry show's suspension as an attack on free speechDonald Trump suggested on Thursday that TV networks which cover him negatively" could be punished by the government after his celebration of ABC suspending late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.On Air Force One, the president spoke to reporters on his flight back to the US from his state visit to the UK. The president said major US networks were 97% against me", though he did not offer evidence to prove this figure or detail how this conclusion was evaluated. He said he read the statistic someplace". Continue reading...

Donald Trump suggests networks that carry critical coverage should lose licenses, amid calls for boycott of ABC owner Disney - key US politics stories from 18 September 2025Donald Trump suggested on Thursday the TV networks that cover him negatively" could lose their licenses after he celebrated ABC suspending late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.The president said major US networks were 97% against me", though he did not offer evidence to support this figure. They give me only bad press. I mean they're getting a license. I would think maybe their licenses should be taken away." Continue reading...

Matthew James Ruth, 24, killed in altercation that left three officers dead and wounded two moreThe alleged gunman who killed three officers and wounded two more in southern Pennsylvania before he was killed by police was a 24-year-old being sought on stalking charges, according to court documents and law enforcement.The violence erupted in rural York county as officers sought Matthew James Ruth, who had also been charged with trespassing, loitering and prowling at night in a domestic-related investigation that began a day earlier, court documents show. Continue reading...

Kimberly Guilfoyle named as ambassador to Greece as Republicans change rules to clear backlog of positionsThe Senate has confirmed 48 of Donald Trump's nominees at once, voting for the first time under new rules to begin clearing a backlog of executive branch positions that had been delayed by Democrats.Frustrated by the stalling tactics, Senate Republicans moved last week to make it easier to confirm large groups of lower-level, non-judicial nominations. Democrats had forced multiple votes on almost every one of Trump's picks, infuriating the president and tying up the Senate floor. Continue reading...

Committee's action comes after Guardian investigation revealed rollbacks of anti-trafficking efforts; Trump administration says it is committed to fighting traffickingThe House foreign affairs committee unanimously passed an amendment to the US Department of State's budget late Wednesday that would require additional congressional oversight of the government's efforts to combat human trafficking in the United States and around the world.The bipartisan agreement came hours after the Guardian published an investigation that revealed the Trump administration had dramatically rolled back efforts to fight human trafficking across the federal government.Aaron Glantz is a fellow at Stanford University's Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences.Bernice Yeung is managing editor at the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley Journalism.Noy Thrupkaew is a reporter and director of partnerships at Type Investigations. Continue reading...