Nick Brown, the Washington state attorney general, spoke outside after a federal judge temporarily blocked Donald Trump's executive order redefining birthright citizenship. 'We came to the courthouse today to defend the United States constitution. To defend democracy in America and to defend what it means to be an American citizen,' Brown said
The policy stands in contrast to instances during the Biden administration when gay pride and Black Lives Matter flags were flownThe US Department of State has banned consular posts from flying any flags other than that of the US as part of the Trump administration's pledge to crack down on diversity efforts in government institutions.A cable seen by the Guardian titled One flag policy" appears to target several instances during the Biden administration when gay pride and Black Lives Matters flags were flown at embassies abroad. Continue reading...
Executive order also aims to declassify federal records on killings of Robert F Kennedy and Martin Luther KingDonald Trump has ordered the release of thousands of classified governmental documents about the 1963 assassination of John F Kennedy, which has fueled conspiracy theories for decades.The executive order the president signed on Thursday also aims to declassify the remaining federal records relating to the assassinations of Robert F Kennedy and the Rev Martin Luther King Jr. The order is among a flurry of executive actions Trump has quickly taken the first week of his second term. Continue reading...
A 17-year-old fatally shot one student, injured two others, and killed himself at Antioch high school on WednesdayA 17-year-old gunman opened fire in a Nashville-area high school cafeteria on Wednesday, killing one student and wounding two others.With an investigation underway, here is what we know so far: Continue reading...
Executive order signed by Trump, which was to take effect on 19 February, is already the subject of five lawsuitsA federal judge in Seattle blocked Donald Trump's administration on Thursday from implementing an executive order curtailing the right to automatic birthright citizenship in the US, calling it blatantly unconstitutional".US district judge John Coughenour at the urging of four Democratic-led states issued a temporary restraining order preventing the administration from enforcing the order, which the Republican president signed on Monday during his first day on office. Continue reading...
Dublin's latest coalition has finally got parliamentary approval. But there are meteorological and political tempests coming across the AtlanticThe whole of Ireland was put on red alert on Thursday as Storm Eowyn barrelled in from the north Atlantic. Schools in the Irish republic are closed on Friday, all public transport has been stood down and pet owners have been told to keep animals stabled or indoors, with 80mph winds expected to leave trails of destruction before the storm moves on towards central Scotland.The danger to life and property will be more than enough for most people in Ireland. But it is hard not to see this week's tempestuous visitation as something of a metaphor for Irish politics, which have had an unusually storm-tossed week of their own as the republic buckles up for a tax-and-tariff battle with Donald Trump's new administration in Washington. Continue reading...
This unprecedented slaughter could not have happened without powerful cheerleaders. Hold them to accountUnless those complicit in the Gaza genocide are held to account, the brutal consequences will be felt far beyond that shattered land. The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas offered a respite for traumatised survivors. But Donald Trump's declaration that he is not confident it will last has prompted renewed terror. From the new president's decision to lift the pause on shipments of 2,000lb bombs to Israel, which were dropped repeatedly on civilians in so-called safe zones, to his pick for the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who once said there was really no such thing as a Palestinian", those hoping for lasting peace are right to worry that the carnage will soon begin again.The assault on Gaza is normalising an almost limitless violence against civilians, all facilitated and justified by multiple western governments and media outlets. It is worth recalling the destruction of Guernica by Nazi and Italian forces during the Spanish civil war nearly nine decades ago. Guernica was one of the first aerial mass bombardments of a civilian community, and it scandalised the world. The then US president, Franklin D Roosevelt, deplored how civilians, including vast numbers of women and children, are being ruthlessly murdered from the air". The Times journalist George Steer wrote that, In the form of its execution and the scale of destruction it wrought, the raid on Guernica is unparalleled in military history." Alas, Guernica turned out to be a trial run for the aerial obliteration of European cities a few years later: the Nazi military leader Hermann Goring told the Nuremberg trials that Guernica allowed the Nazis to test out their Luftwaffe.Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Jan Johnson arrested after deputies made discovery during search warrant in investigation into animal neglectA woman in California was arrested on Wednesday after authorities discovered 27 dead horses across multiple properties, police said.Jan Johnson of Clements, California, was arrested and booked into the San Joaquin county jail on multiple charges, officials said, including cruelty to an animal, threatening a public official, criminal threats, and possession of a short-barrel shotgun. Continue reading...
Settlement resolves thousands of lawsuits alleging Oxycontin caused addiction crisisMembers of the family who own OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma agreed to pay up to $7.4bn in a new settlement to lawsuits over the toll of the powerful prescription painkiller, the New York Aattorney Ggeneral, Letitia James, announced Thursday.The deal, agreed to by Purdue Pharma, the Sackler family members who own the company and lawyers representing state and local governments and thousands of victims of the opioid crisis, represents an increase of more than $1bn over a previous settlement deal that was rejected last year by the US supreme court. Continue reading...
In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, the US president said: 'This guy went around giving everybody pardons. And you know, the funny thing, maybe the sad thing, is he didn't give himself a pardon. And if you look at it, it all had to do with him.' It came as Trump told Hannity that he was given the option to pardon himself in 2021 when he was departing the White House, but declined because he believed he had done nothing wrong
Suspect later found dead inside an apartment after standoff, says San Antonio police chiefSeven San Antonio police officers were shot while responding to a suicide in progress" call and the suspect was later found dead inside an apartment after a standoff, the city's police chief said.The officers were shot on Wednesday night and a Swat team was called to the Stone Oak neighborhood, the San Antonio police chief, Bill McManus, said early on Thursday. After several hours, the suspect was dead but it was not immediately known how he died, McManus said. Continue reading...
Mariann Edgar Budde defends sermon asking president to show compassion to immigrants and LGBTQ+ peopleThe bishop at the National Cathedral prayer service in Washington on Tuesday who urged Donald Trump to have mercy upon" immigrants and LGBTQ+ people, has defended her remarks and said that she will not apologize.The Right Rev Mariann Edgar Budde's sermon on Tuesday garnered national attention when she made a direct plea to Trump to show mercy and compassion toward scared individuals, including gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families", as well as immigrants, and those fleeing war and persecution. Continue reading...
It's Trump's proclivity for deal-making and no mess I'm holding on to for progress toward a Palestinian stateThe only thing we know for certain regarding a Trump Middle East doctrine is that the president-elect has no clear policy regarding that part of the world. Contradictions abound in his appointments and statements. Donald Trump's first term perhaps offers clues - the signing and promoting of the Abraham accords with the Gulf states and Israel while also moving the US embassy to Jerusalem and shuttering the US consulate in Israel that catered to the Palestinians in east Jerusalem and the West Bank and Gaza, while also tossing the PLO representative out of Washington and shutting down that ambassadorial-rank office.He allowed his US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, to encourage increased West Bank settlement, himself a patron of the hardcore ideological Jewish settlers. None of these actions made an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians easier or more near, and now, after October 7, the terrain is more fraught and confused.Jo-Ann Mort is co-author of Our Hearts Invented a Place: Can Kibbutzim Survive in Today's Israel? She writes frequently about Israel for US, UK and Israeli publications Continue reading...
Barcelona and Benfica produced a classic that swung from the sublime to the ridiculous. We hand out honours and dishonours from the latest round of actionBarcelona Continue reading...
Rachel Reeves told the elites gathered in Switzerland she was relaxed about wealth creation'. She's in the minority on thatRachel Reeves might give the impression of being someone who's never late for social engagements, but she is increasingly late to the party. At a breakfast event on the second day of Davos, after she'd spelled out her faith in artificial intelligence and a high-skilled workforce, someone asked Britain's chancellor how she felt about wealth creation" - was she relaxed, in a Blairite sense? Absolutely," Reeves replied. Absolutely relaxed."Wealth creation isn't quite the same as just wealth, but wealth creators" is famously the moniker the super-rich use for themselves. And so Reeves's exceedingly relaxed tone here puts her in a minority - possibly a minority of one. As Elon Musk salutes his way into political power, not even rich people are relaxed about wealth any more. On the first day of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, the pro-tax campaign group Patriotic Millionaires released survey results from 2,000 high net-worth individuals across the G20: more than half of them thought extreme wealth was a threat to democracy, and over two-thirds agreed that the visible influence of the wealthy was leading to a decline in trust of the media, the justice system and democracy.Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Daniel Ball granted clemency by Trump over riot-related offenses but remains in jail under separate gun chargeA Florida man pardoned for his role in the January 6 Capitol riot was swiftly rearrested on Wednesday on federal gun charges.Daniel Ball, 38, of Homosassa, Florida, remains detained after federal authorities executed an arrest warrant for illegal firearm possession - a charge that predates but emerged from his involvement in the 2021 Capitol insurrection. The arrest marks a complex legal move that suggests presidential pardons may not provide absolute protection from prosecution. Continue reading...
House and Senate Republicans float ideas to pay for Trump's immigration crackdown and to fund tax cutsRepublicans are reportedly prepared to cut Medicaid funding to pay for Donald Trump's promised crackdown on immigration and to fund tax cuts which would mostly benefit the wealthy.The GOP in the House and Senate have floated a series of ideas - many of which would target lower income Americans - to cover the cost of extending tax cuts passed by Trump in 2017, the New York Times reported. Continue reading...
Aryna Sabalenka, the two-time defending champion, was too strong for Paula Badosa, while Madison Keys outlasted Iga Swiatek in an epic to set up an enticing finalSabalenka 0-1 Badosa* (denotes server) A big service-winner down the T makes 15-all, but Sabalenka takes control of the next point with a booming forehand return, cleaning up with with another down the line Then, facing a second serve, she steps in a little and starts thwacking ... but just when15-40 seems a matter of time, a backhand on the stretch and on to the line hauls Badosa back into the point and eventually the error comes; 30-all. But a double presents break point; another service-winner confiscates it, and so far, the underdog is coping with the pressure well, as I type spanking an ace down the T for advantage. And though she oughtn't win the next rally, Sabalenka in at the net and unable to finish, she makes her opponent play enough balls such that the error comes. Badosa is into this!Badosa to serve and ready ... play. Continue reading...
President defends offering clemency to the 1,500 people involved in the insurrection. Plus, an oral history of the making of Twin PeaksGood morning.Donald Trump has described attacks by insurrectionists on police officers at the US Capitol on January 6 2021 as very minor incidents" after he offered sweeping clemency to those who took part.Why so many pardons? Media reports suggest Trump was too impatient to go through cases individually, with Axios quoting an adviser as saying: Trump just said: Fuck it: Release 'em all'."What other action are Republicans taking related to January 6? House Republicans will continue investigating the insurrection to try to undermine the previous inquiry that found Trump responsible for the deadly attack.Which aspects of the ACA will be affected? Trump cannot repeal the act by executive order but his directives are restricting eligibility requirements, cutting federal subsidies and affecting enrolment deadlines. Continue reading...
While the global PR firm blames economic fears' for this age of grievance', the executive class doesn't seem very fearfulHigh up in the Swiss Alps this week, an influential public relations executive issued a stark warning to the world's corporate and political elite. Public trust is plummeting", Richard Edelman declared, prompting a global descent into grievance".For the 25th year, the PR agency Edelman released its annual trust barometer" at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The survey asks respondents in dozens of countries if they trust governments, NGOs, media outlets and corporations. Continue reading...
NLRB-sanctioned vote in February of 4,300 workers could produce only second unionized Amazon warehouse in USAn independent group of workers at an Amazon warehouse in Garner, North Carolina, are seeking to form the second unionized warehouse at Amazon in the US.Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment (Cause) filed to hold a union election at the warehouse, which, despite Amazon claiming they were very skeptical" the group would have enough legitimate signatures for the petition, was approved by the National Labor Relations Board. Continue reading...
The simple truth is that Trump ignored almost every major issue facing this country's working families in his first speechI was at the Trump inauguration on Monday, and needless to say, I disagree with almost everything he had to say.What really struck me, however, is not what he said, which was not surprising given his general rhetoric - but what he didn't say. The simple truth is that Donald Trump gave a major speech, the first speech of his second presidency, and ignored almost every significant issue facing the working families of this country. Continue reading...
Just when you're braced for emotional resolution, you get the dreaded words: To be continued ...' Hollywood needs to stop this nowI'll never forget my experience of taking my seven-year-old to see. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in the cinema, and I don't mean that in a good way. The little fellow enjoyed it enormously - we devoured a half bucket of pick'n'mix and cheered at the spidey-dino - and then, right at the climax, decided he needed to go to the loo. We rushed out, did the thing as fast as a seven-year-old can, rushed back - and everyone was leaving. It finished just after you left," said a sympathetic fellow parent, as the cinema staff vacuumed up popcorn. I think there's going to be a sequel."Maybe I'm an idiot - I definitely still don't understand how a multiverse works - but I sort of think this ought to be illegal, or at least a matter for trading standards. As far as I can remember, it was heavily implied that this was going to be a self-contained story. To make matters worse, this trend seems to be gathering steam - Dune got away with it because nobody expected Denis Villeneuve to cram all that delicious spice into one film, but when even Fast X is leaving you without any emotional resolution, you know something's rotten in Hollywood. And now there's Wicked - famously based on a show that's already split into two parts but still lasts less than three hours. I'm not sure who's to blame for this - Kevin Feige? George Lucas? - but at least I know going in that Star Wars and Marvel are never, ever going to end.Joel Snape is a writer and fitness expert Continue reading...
Aside from legal challenges, those who didn't vote for the man have little means of resisting - and are frankly still in shockIt is a strange effect of the second Trump presidency that, where Donald Trump and his allies know the ropes this time round and have grown in assertiveness, their opposition seems paralysed, rather than emboldened, by experience. After Trump's inauguration in 2017, millions of people took to the streets. This week, a lot of Trump-haters in Washington simply skipped town for the inauguration weekend. This, it seems to me, is less an indication of resignation than caution and lingering shock. Whatever happened last time didn't work. So now what?It is an unnerving position, not knowing what to do, and in this case requires a lot of self-soothing in the form of mantras, It's only four years", and He's a lame duck, anyway" (because he cannot serve another term). Opposition will not be about sending a message through the medium of public demonstration - the time for that, clearly, has passed, not least because Trump won the popular vote.Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
As we approach this weekend's championship games, we look at how the Chiefs, Eagles, Commanders and Bills can go all the wayThe Bills offense is a machine, with Josh Allen playing the best all-around ball of his career. But the Bills will only go as deep as McDermott, their head coach and defensive architect, can take them. Continue reading...
By avoiding the standard cliches, the far-right leader comes across as moderate even as she backs extremist rhetoricAlice? Who the fuck is Alice?" wondered European audiences in 1995 when the Dutch band Gompie landed an unlikely success by adding this risque line to Smokie's 1970s hit Living Next Door to Alice. Thirty years on, the question is on many minds again, this time regarding the mercurial co-leader of Germany's buoyant anti-immigration party Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD). Ahead of the German elections on 23 February, many want to know: who exactly is Alice Weidel?It's a pertinent question. For the first time since the Nazi era, a far-right party has ambitions to head a German government. The AfD is fielding the 45-year-old Weidel as its first-ever chancellor candidate. She is unlikely to win office this time, but her party is polling in second place and set to double its vote share to over 20%.Katja Hoyer is a German-British historian and journalist. Her latest book is Beyond the Wall: East Germany, 1949-1990
We see untrammelled power with fawning courtiers. George Washington would have recognised the new system at the White HouseDonald Trump's triumphal return to the White House was American political theatre on steroids. This was, of course, exactly the returning president's intention. Shock and awe" was the en vogue phrase in the Trump camp to describe it, as the president sought to obliterate the Biden era in a blizzard of executive presidential orders and day-one Maga movement payoffs.Trump's second inauguration was exceptionally well worked. Where or whether it all lands in the form of delivered policy is a different issue. To some, it may feel petty to note that the last US shock and awe" exercise - the Iraq invasion of 2003 - also generated a feast of indelible images of American power. But that one certainly did not end well. Continue reading...
In interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, US president also hinted that predecessor Joe Biden made an error by not pardoning himselfDonald Trump has described attacks on police officers at the US Capitol on January 6 2021 as very minor incidents" as he sought to defend his decision to pardon the insurrectionists.The US president hinted that those who put him through four years of hell" via criminal prosecutions should themselves be investigated, adding ominously that his predecessor Joe Biden made a mistake by not pardoning himself. Continue reading...
by Robert Mackey (now); Chris Stein and Martin Belam on (#6TQY1)
This blog has now closed. You can read all our coverage of the Trump administration hereThe Wall Street Journal has spoken to some federal workers affected by the slew of executive orders signed by president Donald Trump at the outset of his second term as president, and reports a sense of anxiety and confusion" among staff.One person, a product-support manager for the US navy, said It's leaving a lot of uncertainty that folks have never really had to feel. It seems like there is a level of distrust with how things are working." Continue reading...
Before Trump appointee Brendan Carr stepped in, outgoing chair had rejected complaints as trying to weaponize' FCCThe Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday reinstated complaints about how ABC News moderated the pre-election TV debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, and appearances of Kamala Harris on CBS's 60 Minutes and NBC's Saturday Night Live.Last week, then FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel said the commission was rejecting complaints that seek to weaponize the licensing authority of the FCC in a way that is fundamentally at odds with the First Amendment". Then, on Wednesday, the FCC said in a series of orders the complaints had been dismissed prematurely based on an insufficient investigatory record". Continue reading...
by Lauren Gambino in Los Angeles and Joan E Greve in on (#6TRJB)
Forty-six Democrats joined Republicans to further bill requiring detention of undocumented immigrants for theftThe US House on Wednesday gave final approval to a bill requiring the detention of undocumented immigrants charged with theft-related crimes, sending the proposal to Donald Trump's desk and giving the new president his first legislative victory as he presses his hardline immigration agenda on multiple fronts.The House vote was 263 to 158, with 46 Democrats joining every present Republican in supporting the Laken Riley Act, named after a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who was murdered last year by a Venezuelan national who was in the US unlawfully. The House vote came two days after the US Senate passed the legislation in a vote of 64 to 35, with a dozen Democratic members backing the bill. Continue reading...
by Sam Levin in Los Angeles, staff and agencies on (#6TR9X)
Hughes fire ignites north of Los Angeles late Wednesday morning as Eaton and Palisades fires burn for third weekAdditional evacuations were ordered for residents near a large fast-moving wildfire north of Los Angeles, as parched southern California endured another round of dangerous winds ahead of possible rain over the weekend.The Hughes fire broke out late on Wednesday morning and quickly ripped through more than 9,400 acres (3,760ha), sending up an enormous plume of dark smoke near Castaic Lake, a popular recreation area about 40 miles (64 km) from the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires that are burning for a third week. Continue reading...
Letter from Academy leadership also says show will move away' from live performances to celebrate songwritersThe Oscars will go on as planned in March, though with special accommodations to acknowledge to devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, according to a new update from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.A letter from the CEO, Bill Kramer, and president Janet Yang, sent to all members on Wednesday, confirmed that the ceremony will celebrate the work that unites us as a global film community and acknowledge those who fought so bravely against the wildfires". Continue reading...
Orders repeal directives expanding healthcare access and options for lower-income and middle-class AmericansWithin his first 48 hours back in office, Trump has signed several executive orders that threaten the healthcare of millions of Americans.Amid a flurry of executive orders, some of which were signed live on TV on inauguration night, the US president issued several orders that repeal Biden-era directives that had expanded healthcare access and options for lower-income and middle-class Americans. Continue reading...
Mike Johnson says party has exposed the false narratives' of the attack but that there is still more work to be done'House Republicans will continue investigating the January 6 insurrection, attempting to undermine the prior investigation that found Donald Trump responsible and rewrite the narrative about the deadly Capitol siege.House speaker Mike Johnson announced on Wednesday that a new select subcommittee will be formed to investigate all events leading up to and after January 6". The move comes after the president pardoned or commuted sentences for every defendant convicted for their roles in January 6, including those convicted of violence against Capitol police and the leaders of extremist groups. Continue reading...
by Adam Gabbatt and Maya Yang and agency on (#6TRD9)
The 17-year-old shooter, also a student at Antioch high school, killed himself, police saidOne student was killed and another wounded on Wednesday in a shooting in a Nashville-area high school cafeteria, police said.The 17-year-old shooter later shot and killed himself, Don Aaron, a Metro Nashville police spokesperson said during a news conference. Continue reading...
Donald Trump signed executive order to rename body of water in honor of American greatness'The US Coast Guard (USCG) and the state of Florida have started referring to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America - a new label pushed by Donald Trump - despite the name of the body of water not yet being formally changed.On Tuesday, following a flurry of executive orders signed by Trump on his first days in office, the USCG announced that it would deploy additional assets to multiple locations, including the maritime border between Texas and Mexico in the Gulf of America'". Similarly, Florida's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, cited the new moniker in a winter storm executive order on Monday, saying an area of low pressure [was] moving across the Gulf of America". Continue reading...
Affidavit to senators claims defense secretary pick's alleged behavior prompted his second wife to fear for her safetySenators have received an affidavit from the former sister-in-law of Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's controversial pick for secretary of defense, alleging that the nominee's aggressive behavior prompted his second wife to fear for her safety. Hegseth and his ex-wife, who divorced in 2018, have denied the allegations.As NBC News first reported, the former sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth, submitted the affidavit after the top Democrat on the Senate armed forces committee, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, sent her a letter requesting a statement on her personal knowledge about Mr Hegseth's fitness to occupy this important position". Continue reading...
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