Sana Javeri Kadri built a successful spice company by sourcing directly from south Asian producers. But new tariffs threaten her business modelIn 2016, turmeric lattes were all the rage, but Sana Javeri Kadri thought the ones in San Francisco, where she lives, tasted nothing like the fresh spices she grew up with in India.A former line cook who was doing marketing for a Bay Area grocer, Javeri Kadri knew [her] way around spices", but was new to the industry. Still, she booked a ticket home to Mumbai, hoping that she could get richer flavors into US pantries. Continue reading...
US president's comment that Russian and Ukrainian leaders may have to divvy' things up likely to raise alarmDonald Trump has said he believes Vladimir Putin is ready to make a deal on the war in Ukraine as the two leaders prepare for their summit in Alaska on Friday, but his suggestion that the Russian leader and Volodymyr Zelenskyy could divvy things up" may alarm some in Kyiv.The US president, who left the White House on Friday at 7.30am, implied there was a 75% chance of the Alaska meeting succeeding, and that the threat of economic sanctions may have made Putin more willing to seek an end to the war. HIGH STAKES!!!" he posted on Truth Social as his motorcade idled outside the White House shortly after sunrise in Washington. Continue reading...
Groups of armed men are descending on the capital's neighborhoods - to actually see it first hand, I didn't like it'Washington DC's only Home Depot was busy with contractors and customers on Thursday morning - but the Hispanic day laborers who usually gather and wait for work under the parking lot's sparse trees were nowhere to be found.Two days earlier, masked federal agents swarmed the area and made several arrests, which were photographed by bystanders and posted on social media. Juwan Brooks, a store employee who witnessed the raid, said the agents grabbed anyone who appeared Hispanic. Continue reading...
Trump's plan to boost Republican House seats in the midterms through gerrymandering has provoked a reactionThe mid-decade redistricting war looming between Republicans and Democrats is exposing an idea that's corroding American democracy - voters may not matter that much in determining who controls the US House.After Texas Republicans unveiled a Donald Trump-fueled plan to pick up five additional US House seats last month, the California governor, Gavin Newsom, unveiled a plan on Thursday to throw out districts drawn by an independent commission and put in place new ones that would add five Democratic seats in response. Republicans are also expected to push ahead with plans to redraw maps in Ohio, Missouri, Florida and possibly Indiana, in their favor. Continue reading...
Local officials slam president's remarks and point to federal funding cuts as the real harm to public safety in their citiesWhen Donald Trump announced a federal takeover of the Metropolitan police department in Washington DC on Monday, he left room for the possibility of making a similar move in other cities across the US, alluding to their high crime rates.You look at Chicago, how bad it is. You look at Los Angeles, how bad it is. We have other cities that are very bad," Trump said. We're not going to let it happen, we're not going to lose our cities." Continue reading...
The 23-times gold medallist warns of drift and weak leadership. Governance failures, and a troubled safeguarding record, could cost the US more than podium places at LA 2028In three years' time, the swimming programme for the Los Angeles Olympics will unfold over nine days and nights on the grandest stage the sport has ever known. A purpose-built pool inside SoFi Stadium in Inglewood will be the centerpiece of a 38,000-capacity open-air natatorium, transforming the $5bn home of the NFL's Rams and Chargers into the largest swimming venue in modern history. For the United States, a rare Summer Games on home soil should be a coronation, a chance to showcase the depth of its talent in the country's most spectacular arena. Yet Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of them all, fears the US swimming program is in no shape to seize the moment.Phelps has launched a withering attack on USA Swimming's leadership, accusing it of weak" stewardship, poor operational controls" and presiding over years of organizational drift. The 23-times Olympic gold medalist said he would think twice about letting his own sons join the system in its current state. His concerns, he says, stretch back to his own competitive career, when athlete voices were too often brushed aside in the name of keeping the peace and presenting a united front. This isn't on the athletes," he wrote in a lengthy Instagram statement. This is on the leadership of USA Swimming." Continue reading...
The league forbids political statements at its matches. But many believe MLS is more interested in its own position than the wellbeing of fansThe man in the Make America Great Again hat could not have been more direct.I'm being evicted from the premises because we can't wear Donald Trump hats in public," he said to his camera from the stands at a St Louis City game in late July. A security official lingered in the background, asking him to leave as he delivered his next line: Trump is not welcome here." Continue reading...
The careers of Sturgeon, Merkel and Ardern show how foolish it is to idealise leaders just for being womenNicola Sturgeon was always afraid of failure. But it was a very particular kind of failure she feared; one that follows a very particular kind of success. Living up to the fact of being Scotland's first female first minister became, she writes in her new memoir, almost an obsession", which is arguably unhealthy but not unreasonable. To be the first woman (or indeed the first minority) in any field is to be uncomfortably aware of being on probation: the test case that sceptics will use to decide whether women in general can really hack it, but also the yardstick by which other women will judge whether representation actually makes a difference.You daren't betray anything that looks like a sign of weakness, yet at the same time you're endlessly under pressure to spill your guts on all the intimate stuff - miscarriage and menopause in Sturgeon's case, pregnancy in high office for New Zealand's Jacinda Ardern, also the author of a recent memoir - lest other women feel you're either holding out on useful information, making it all look too infuriatingly easy, or failing to do your bit to break some taboo. (Even Sturgeon, in an interview this week with the midlife women's podcast The Shift, expressed surprise that, when she was figuring out how to manage menopausal symptoms in office, she couldn't find anything to read about how other senior politicians had coped.) Suddenly, you're not just a woman but an everywoman, supposed to magically embody every female voter who ever existed, even on issues where women in real life are impossibly divided - as they were over trans rights, the issue that ultimately holed Sturgeon's premiership below the waterline.Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnistDo 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...
These are the key issues the leaders of the US and Russia will need to resolve to achieve an end to the war in UkraineFew believe that Friday's Trump-Putin summit in Alaska will pave the way for a breakthrough. Russia and Ukraine remain far apart - with the Kremlin seeking to dominate its smaller neighbour while Kyiv wants to move decisively into the western sphere.Here are some of the key issues that will need to be addressed to reach a meaningful peace settlement. Continue reading...
It's tempting to scoff, but don't dismiss the data. Modern man's failure to forge real, meaningful friendships is bad for everyoneAt first I was startled when the psychologist Angelica Ferrara told me that most of the time it's women, not men, who want to write about her research into male loneliness. But this is the crux of the issue, isn't it? That we men need to talk, and we don't: not nearly enough, anyway.Since 1990, there has been a sharp decline in how many people men say they are close to, says Ferrara, who is a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford and a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics. In the US, two-thirds of men aged between 18 and 23 think that nobody really knows them; one third haven't seen anyone outside their household in the past week; only a fifth say they have friends they can really count on; and a staggering 69% of young men think no one cares if men are OK".Alexander Hurst is a Guardian Europe columnist Continue reading...
Raid, apparently not communicated to local officials, one of several recently targeting stores in southern CaliforniaA man was hit by a vehicle and killed as he attempted to get away from federal immigration officers who were raiding a Home Depot in Los Angeles county on Thursday morning, according to authorities.Little has been disclosed about the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) operation that led to the incident, but officials in Monrovia, a diverse LA suburb tucked into the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains, confirmed agents had been seen at the store by city police officers shortly before 10am local time. Shortly after, Monrovia fire & rescue responded to reports of a pedestrian struck on the 210 freeway, a large interstate with four lanes in each direction. Continue reading...
President's comments come after protesters heckled officers who stopped cars at checkpoint along busy streetDonald Trump falsely claimed that crime in Washington DC is the worst it's ever been" on Thursday, amid a federal takeover of the city's police department and deployment of the national guard and federal agents in the city.Washington DC is at its worst point," Trump said from the Oval Office. It will soon be at its best point." He also baselessly accused DC law enforcement officials of giving phony crime stats" and said they're under investigation". Continue reading...
Masked border agents circle venue at which governor outlines bid to counter Republican-led redrawing effortGavin Newsom, California's governor, said on Thursday state Democratic lawmakers would move forward with a redistricting plan to counter the Republican-led map-drawing effort in Texas aimed at securing a House majority after the midterm elections.As he spoke at the Japanese American National museum's National Center for the Preservation of Democracy - a venue deliberately chosen for its symbolism - federal agents, armed and masked, fanned out across the complex, led by Gregory Bovino, head of the border patrol's El Centro sector. Local news footage showed a man being led away in handcuffs. Continue reading...
by Robert Mackey, Shrai Popat, Lucy Campbell and Tom on (#6ZAET)
Gavin Newsom announces plans to ask voters to approve new congressional maps in response to a redistricting plan by Texas. This blog is now closed.Melania Trump has demanded that Hunter Biden retract comments linking her to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and has threatened to sue if he does not.Biden, the son of the former president Joe Biden, alleged in an interview this month that Epstein introduced the first lady to Donald Trump. Continue reading...
Donald Trump gives talks 75% chance of success while European leaders worry about concessions to Moscow - key US politics stories from Thursday 14 AugustDonald Trump has insisted he won't let Vladimir Putin mess around" with him at their high-stakes summit over Ukraine and is giving the talks a 75% chance of success.Amid concerns from European leaders that the Russian president will cajole Trump into imposing a settlement on Ukraine, the US president told reporters on the eve of Friday's talks in Alaska: I am president, and he's not going to mess around with me. Continue reading...
Education department found to have violated law when it threatened to cut funds from institutions that backed DEIA federal judge on Thursday struck down two Trump administration actions aimed at eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the nation's schools and universities.In her ruling, US district judge Stephanie Gallagher in Maryland found that the education department violated the law when it threatened to cut federal funding from educational institutions that continued with DEI initiatives. Continue reading...
Gregory Rodriguez convicted of more than 60 charges of abusing women in his custody over nearly a decadeA former California correctional officer convicted of dozens of sexual abuse charges at a women's prison was sentenced to 224 years in prison on Thursday.Gregory Rodriguez, 57, worked as a guard at the Central California women's facility (CCWF), the state's largest women's prison, and was found guilty in January of over 60 charges of abusing nine women in his custody, including rape and battery.Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organizations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html Continue reading...
US president told Norway's finance minister he wants the Nobel peace prize, according to the Norwegian pressDonald Trump cold-called Norway's finance minister last month to ask about a nomination for the Nobel peace prize, Norwegian press reported on Thursday.The Norwegian outlet Dagens Naeringsliv, citing unnamed sources, reported: Out of the blue, while finance minister Jens Stoltenberg was walking down the street in Oslo, Donald Trump called ... He wanted the Nobel prize - and to discuss tariffs." Continue reading...
Donald Trump is concocting a drama in DC because he would like us to really stop talking about the Epstein filesThe most violent day in the history of Washington DC, leaving aside the War of 1812, was 6 January 2021, and the instigator was Donald J Trump, who this week has endeavored to seize control of the nation's capital, after reports that a former employee of the department of government efficiency" (Doge) was assaulted in the city.In a sense the new event echoes the old; both are illegitimate power grabs made on the basis of lies. In 2021 it was a lie about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election; in the summer of 2025 it's lies about crime levels. Reliable sources - including the Biden Department of Justice in January - have noted that violent crime there is at a 30-year low. Five people died as a result of that 2021 attack on Congress, and dozens of law enforcement officers were injured, some gravely, by the mob Trump incited. On his first day in office in 2025 he pardoned 1,500 of the convicted criminals who stormed the capital, some of whom went on to commit more crimes.Rebecca Solnit is a Guardian US columnist. She is the author of Orwell's Roses and co-editor with Thelma Young Lutunatabua of the climate anthology Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility Continue reading...
Micherre Fox, 31, found the 2.30-carat gem at Crater of Diamonds state park after a month-long huntA New York woman has found a 2.30-carat colorless diamond in an Arkansas state park and repurposed it as her engagement ring.Micherre Fox, 31, of Manhattan, New York, went on a month-long hunt in July to the state's Crater of Diamonds state park to search for gems and came up lucky on the last day, according to Arkansas state parks. Continue reading...
Phones can't go down into a canyon or around a mesa, but radio does,' Richard Grey of Arizona's KGHR saysSince Republicans last month slashed over $1bn in funds designated for public broadcasting, non-commercial TV and radio stations around the country have been reeling.The cuts led the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the nearly 60-year-old organization that has long supported local TV and radio stations across the US, to shut down operations entirely, leaving more than 1,500 local stations nationwide without a critical source of income. Continue reading...
House Democrat Robert Garcia presses USDA head Brooke Rollins on how administration is protecting AmericansAs federal firefighters grapple with strained resources in an intense year of fire activity, Democratic lawmakers are demanding answers from the Trump administration about how severe cuts to staffing and budgets at the US Forest Service may have hamstrung wildfire preparation and response.Leaders at the agency and the US Department of Agriculture, which oversees it, have repeatedly assured the public and Congress that they were fully prepared for the critical fire season that's already well under way. Continue reading...
Health secretary claimed that study, showing safety of aluminum ingredients in vaccines to be safe, was flawedAn influential US medical journal is rejecting a call from the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F Kennedy Jr, to retract a large Danish study that found that aluminum ingredients in vaccines do not increase health risks for children, the journal's editor told Reuters.Kennedy has long promoted doubts about vaccines' safety and efficacy, and as health secretary has upended the federal government's process for recommending immunization. A recent media report said he has been considering whether to initiate a review of shots that contain aluminum, which he says are linked to autoimmune diseases and allergies. Continue reading...
by David Hammer of WWL Louisiana in New Orleans on (#6ZAGZ)
Claimants can accept or reject Catholic archdiocese's plan to settle in two-month period before November hearingA two-month voting period for clergy abuse survivors and other creditors in the New Orleans Catholic archdiocese's bankruptcy to accept or reject the church's plan to settle has started after a federal bankruptcy judge recently approved the plan.It has also opened a window of time when supporters and opponents of the plan can actively solicit votes. Two-thirds of the voting claimants must approve the plan for the church to end its expensive and contentious five-year-long bankruptcy. Judge Meredith Grabill has stated that if the plan is not approved, she will dismiss the archdiocese's bankruptcy, and the church could end up having to defend itself against claims individually in state courts. Continue reading...
They need a new generation of leaders with fresh faces and bold ideas, unbought by corporate Super Pacs and billionaire donorsIf the Democratic party wants to win back power in 2028, then look no further than the 2026 election cycle as the most important moment to focus on.It is not three years from now when working class voters will decide, like they did in November, whether they still believe the Democratic party isn't fighting for their interests - it's the next 12 months. And to make it abundantly clear, it is not going to be the same 257 Democrats that are in Congress today that will deliver Democrats their majority. That's why a robust, active, and exciting Democratic primary process in districts across the country is a necessary prerequisite to Democrats winning in 2026, let alone 2028.Alexandra Rojas is the executive director of Justice Democrats Continue reading...
A violent event in 1992 prompted a response - not from the president, but Congress - with similarly dystopian languageDonald Trump's takeover of Washington DC's police department and decision to deploy the national guard was sparked by the assault of a former Doge staffer who nicknamed himself Big Balls". Thirty-three years ago, a fatal attack on a congressional staffer also provoked an effort by the federal government to impose law and order on the nation's capital - but in that case, it came from Capitol Hill.On Monday, Trump said he was taking a historic action to rescue our nation's capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor and worse. This is liberation day in DC and we're going to take our capital back."Frederic J Frommer, a writer and sports and politics historian, has written for the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Atlantic, History.com and other national publications Continue reading...
The rumble, the explosions and the deaths: they are so frequent that they seem normal. It's a fight to protect our homes, our cities and the psycheDay 1,254 of the invasion; 31 July 2025, Kyiv, 4.30am. The air-raid alarm started again just a moment ago. I wake up from the roar and rumble of rockets. It's a sound that makes you want to flee in primeval terror.Time slows down. I roll over on the bed, embrace my girlfriend Dasha, make another half-turn and we drop down softly to the floor. I am not thinking or reflecting, I'm guided by instinct - move away from the windows, position our silhouettes as low as possible. I cover Dasha with my body. All she has time to ask for is: The doggie? Where's the dog?" From under the bed, we can hear the rustling of our old chihuahua's paws.Oleksandr Mykhed is the author of The Language of War and a member of PEN Ukraine. Translated by Maryna Gibson Continue reading...
A 10,000-seat arena for a school in Georgia with fewer than 2,000 students raises questions about America's sporting and educational prioritiesWhen the television cameras pan around the US's newest sporting temple to show the cavernous stands, elegant brick exterior, VIP suites and massive video board, viewers might believe they are looking at a professional venue.Yet the occupants of Phillip Beard Stadium, the Buford Wolves, are not a professioanl team or even a college one. They are high-schoolers. In the exorbitant world of high school football, Buford's $62m, 10,000-capacity arena is not the biggest or most expensive taxpayer-funded student stadium in the US. But it may be the most luxurious. Continue reading...
In an open letter, writers denounced abrupt scrapping of a Harvard Educational Review issue dedicated to PalestineMore than 115 education scholars have condemned the cancellation of an entire issue of an academic journal dedicated to Palestine by a Harvard University publisher as censorship".In an open letter published on Thursday, the scholars denounced the abrupt scrapping of a special issue of the Harvard Educational Review - which was first revealed by the Guardian in July - as an attempt to silence the academic examination of the genocide, starvation and dehumanisation of Palestinian people by the state of Israel and its allies." Continue reading...
Residents torn between excitement over high-profile visit and trepidation over what US-Russian leaders might agreeIt is set to be one of the last good summer weekends in Anchorage, Alaska - the peak of the salmon run and the middle of berry season - and residents hope that Friday's summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin isn't going to ruin it for them.I'm looking forward to taking my boat out on the water at Prince William Sound - that's my plan," said Andy Moderow, who works at a conservation nonprofit in Anchorage. Continue reading...
Sean Dunn charged with assaulting federal officer over incident in Washington, which could result in a year in jailA man accused of throwing a sandwich at a US Customs and Border Protection agent in Washington DC has been charged with assaulting a federal officer - a felony that could result in up to a year in jail and significant fines.Captured in a now viral video, the man authorities have identified as Sean Charles Dunn, 37, could be seen yelling Fascists!" and Shame!" at a group of officers as they patrolled the district on Sunday night. Continue reading...
President's crackdown in DC widens as he seeks greater power over authorities - key US politics stories from 13 August 2025After deploying the national guard to the streets of the American capital, Donald Trump is now eyeing longer-term powers over authorities, saying on Wednesday that he is seeking to extend his temporary powers over Washington DC's police department.Trump earlier this week invoked a never-before-used clause of the law that sets out the federal district's governance structure to take temporary control of the police department, but will need Congress's permission to extend it beyond the 30 days allowed under the statute. Continue reading...
Vladimir Putin will face 'very severe consequences' if he does not agree a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine at his summit with Donald Trump in Alaska, the US president said on Wednesday. Speaking after a call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders, including Britain's Keir Starmer, Trump also suggested he would push for a second summit if his meeting with Putin goes well - this time including his Ukrainian counterpart. Continue reading...
Move further unwinds initiative to crack down on anti-competitive practices in agriculture, drugs and laborDonald Trump on Wednesday revoked a 2021 executive order on promoting competition in the US economy issued by Joe Biden, the White House said.The move by the Republican US president further unwinds a signature initiative by his predecessor, a Democrat, to crack down on anti-competitive practices in sectors from agriculture to drugs and labor. Continue reading...
Officials say temporary barriers helped Juneau avoid hundreds of flooded homes from Mendenhall Glacier meltNewly installed river barriers held back record levels of flooding and prevented widespread damage in Alaska's capital city on Wednesday, after an ice dam at the nearby Mendenhall Glacier released a huge surge of rainwater and snowmelt, officials said.Water pooled on several streets and in some yards in Juneau after the Mendenhall River crested earlier in the day, and high water was expected to persist for hours. But many residents in the flood zone had evacuated before peak water levels, and there were no damage reports similar to the past two summers, when about 300 homes were flooded. Continue reading...
Inspector general report comes as department has lost thousands of core' healthcare workers under TrumpThe US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is experiencing severe" staff shortages at all its hospitals, with the number of shortages increasing by 50% this fiscal year, according to a new report from the agency's independent watchdog.The report, released on Tuesday, came a day after the Guardian revealed the department had lost thousands of healthcare professionals deemed core" to the system under Donald Trump, without which, the agency said, mission-critical work cannot be completed". Continue reading...
The president turns the annual DC arts celebration into another monument to himself, handpicking honourees and hogging the spotlightThere is a connection, hard to explain logically but easy to feel, between achievement in public life and progress in the arts," are among the words inscribed in marble at the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. The age of Elizabeth was the age of Shakespeare, it says.The age of Donald Trump is the age of Trump's ego. Trump the president, commander-in-chief and master builder. Trump the supremo of the upcoming Olympics, football World Cup and America's 250th birthday. Trump whose self-aggrandisement is the size of a planet: on Wednesday not even the Kennedy Center's cavernous Hall of Nations could contain it. Continue reading...
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