Since Trump's immigration crackdown, global perceptions of America have plummeted. Citizens and non-citizens alike are rethinking whether we still want US passportsIt starts with a quiz from a law firm: did your grandparents leave before or after 1951? Do you have their passports or marriage certificate?If I answer correctly, I will get another email from a lawyer who specializes in citizenship claims. If I do not, my file may be quietly marked as a long shot. The stakes are high: if successful, I could ultimately obtain an EU citizenship for myself and then perhaps for other members of my family. Continue reading...
The president's long-effective tactics are finally facing a test - especially when it comes to time managementThe problem with a successful playbook is that you eventually keep doing the same thing mechanically. Fresh from intimidating ABC and CBS with meritless lawsuits, Donald Trump is suing Rupert Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal reporters who broke the story of a lewd birthday message for Jeffrey Epstein. But, unlike with the frivolous allegations against the big broadcasters, there's clearly a fact of the matter here: an authentic letter either exists or it does not; and there is plenty to be revealed in the process of finding out. Trump's time-proven move - whatever happens, just counter-attack - is likely to keep the very story he wants to kill alive. Meanwhile, the other elements of his playbook - deny, deflect, distract - only work if journalists and Democrats play along. They, not the seemingly all-important Trump base, are the actors to watch.We still debate whether Trumpism is a substantial ideology or not; what we are missing is that Trumpism, for sure, is a set of tactics for exploiting weaknesses in the US political, legal and media systems. Some of these tactics were inherited from his mentor Roy Cohn and many are now being adopted by Trump's followers - one must never admit guilt; one must always swing back; and one must reject, or ideally entirely bury, defeats (such as Trump's case against Bob Woodward and Woodward's publisher being dismissed recently). Continue reading...
Court records show Pedro Arrupe, a candidate for sainthood, failed to stop Donald Dickerson being ordained. Plus, deadly clashes on Thai-Cambodian borderGood morning.The former worldwide leader of the Jesuit religious order Pedro Arrupe acknowledged he was warned that one of his aspiring priests had been accused of sexually molesting two children and had admitted making sexual advances on a third, court documents reveal.What is the claim in the Louisiana case? The lawsuit claims Dickerson raped a 17-year-old student at a Jesuit-run university in New Orleans.Should we expect further developments? Yes. On Wednesday, the House oversight committee voted 8-2 to subpoena the justice department to release files related to Epstein, and subpoenaed Ghislaine Maxwell for a deposition. Continue reading...
A narrow understanding of the term, as well as Israel's history as a haven for genocide victims, explains the dissonanceWhy is it so difficult for some to accept that the Israeli government is committing genocide in Gaza? The case for genocide is compelling, but some governments and members of the public resist acknowledging it. The reason lies in not only Israel's history as a haven for the Jewish victims of genocide but also an unduly narrow understanding of the meaning of the term, by both the public and the international court of justice (ICJ).Israel benefits from a halo effect associated with the Holocaust. Because the state of Israel was founded in response to the Nazi genocide, it is harder to accept that the Israeli government in turn would commit genocide. One obviously does not preclude the other, but Israel benefits from the cognitive dissonance.Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch (1993-2022), is a visiting professor at Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs. His book, Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments, was published by Knopf and Allen Lane in February Continue reading...
by Ramon Antonio Vargas and David Hammer of WWL Louis on (#6YVPQ)
Pedro Arrupe is a candidate for sainthood, but an abuse victim's lawsuit turned up evidence that he didn't prevent child molester Donald Dickerson from being ordained after learning of allegationsPedro Arrupe, the late, former worldwide leader of the Jesuit religious order and a candidate for Catholic sainthood, acknowledged in records produced as part of a New Orleans court case that he was warned about how one of the group's aspiring priests had been accused of sexually molesting two minors and acknowledged making sexual advances on a third.The man was ultimately ordained, and there is no indication in records in the court case in Louisiana state court that Arrupe - who coined the Jesuits' slogan men for others" - took steps to prevent him from becoming a priest. The man was later accused of molesting other minors he met through his ministry. Continue reading...
Most people wouldn't dream of traversing LA without a vehicle - yet Ayda Gragossian's beautiful images, taken while walking through the city, invite us to slow down and take it all in Continue reading...
Demonstrations to be held in Aberdeen and Edinburgh amid US president's visit to Turnberry and Menie golf resortsProtest organisers anticipate a wave of resistance to Donald Trump from Ayrshire to Aberdeenshire this weekend as Scots take to the streets to express widespread anger" at what they termed the US president's increasingly extreme policies.The US president is expected to arrive in Scotland on Friday for a five-day private visit to his luxury golf resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire. Continue reading...
by Alexander Abnos at Q2 Stadium in Austin on (#6YVNN)
Lionel Messi's absence from a traditional showpiece occasion raises questions about who Major League Soccer's midsummer classic exists to serveThe MLS All-Star game is what you make of it. Want to see it as yet another benchmark by which we can measure the US and Canada's top professional league against Mexico's? The current format, pitting a team of MLS stars against Liga MX's own selection, will provide that (however flimsy the conclusions may be from MLS's 3-1 win).Want it to be nothing more than a good time? The tenor of play, and that of the previous night's very fun but very silly skills competition won by MLS, will do that. Sam Surridge's first-half opener, the confirmation of which was somewhat hilariously delayed by a VAR check, came after an impressive display of speed and skill from LAFC's Denis Bouanga, who picked the pocket of Necaxa's Agustin Palavecino before bursting through on goal. The Philadelphia Union's Tai Baribo finished off a well-worked second off a super through ball from Columbus' Diego Rossi. All four of those involved in the goals are among the league's best attacking stars, and they shone brightly. Continue reading...
Appeals court's verdict echoes decision from federal judge blocking president's executive order nationwideDonald Trump's effort to repeal birthright citizenship has hit another a stumbling block, with a federal appeals court in San Francisco declaring the president's attempt unconstitutional.The three-judge ruling panel in the 9th US circuit court of appeals echoed a district court in New Hampshire that blocked the executive order earlier this month. Continue reading...
by Robert Mackey, Lucy Campbell, Maya Yang, Fran Lawt on (#6YTZH)
The 2-1 ruling from the ninth US circuit court of appeals brings issue one step closer to coming back before supreme court. This blog is now closed.Lawmakers are calling for the release of an Afghan interpreter, who worked with the US military for years in his home country, who was seized by armed, masked Ice agents after a routine appointment for his green card.The former wartime interpreter, identified only as Zia for his safety and that of his family, aided American troops in Afghanistan for about five years during the war and fled the country with his family after the Taliban resumed power in 2021.Zia has done everything right. He's followed the rules. He has no criminal history.Following the rules are supposed to protect you. It's not supposed to land you in detention. If he is deported, as so many of the people have articulated today, he faces death.What happened to him is the worst kind of abhorrent violation of basic decency. Put aside the legal causes and the issues here for unmasked agents to snatch someone off the street with no warning, no counsel, no opportunity even to know who is doing it while it's in process is un-American.To Zia, we have your back. We're going to fight for you. We're going to leave no stone unturned.Our credibility is at stake. We have families who have risked everything not just for themselves, but for their entire family. They have risked their health and safety. And in the name of standing up for the promises of our American democracy, that could not have been easy at the time. So this betrayal has to be that much more difficult in this moment.This isn't about one person. This is about thousands of people. This is about our veterans. If their word means nothing when they're on the battlefield, risking their lives, and being saved in so many instances by the support of people like Zia who are giving this services as their family and their own lives are being threatened and tortured, then what does that mean for our word going forward?In June this year, average daily arrests were up 268% compared with June 2024.Ice is increasingly targeting any and all unauthorized immigrants, including people who have no criminal records.Despite Trump's claims that his administration is seeking out the worst of the worst", the majority of people being arrested by Ice now have no criminal convictions.Detention facilities have been increasingly overcrowded, and the US system is over capacity by more than 13,500 people.The number of deportations, however, has fluctuated as the administration pursues new strategies and policies to swiftly expel people from the US.The US government has deported more than 8,100 people to countries that are not their home country. Continue reading...
President's spokesperson hits out at Democrats and liberal media' after report claiming Pam Bondi told Trump in May he was named in Epstein files. Key US politics stories from Wednesday 23 JulyDonald Trump is facing a widening crisis amid a report claiming that his name appears in US justice department files about Jeffrey Epstein as Congress subpoenas testimony from Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.The White House sought to downplay the relationship between the US president and the disgraced financier while Trump's spokesperson denied an account in the Wall Street Journal that the president was told in May by attorney general Pam Bondi that he is named in the Epstein files. The report says the president was told that many other high profile figures were also named and states that being mentioned in the records isn't a sign of wrongdoing. Continue reading...
by Nick Robins-Early and Lauren Gambino on (#6YVHM)
Crackdown would streamline the building of datacentres and remove environmental protectionsDonald Trump on Wednesday signed a trio of executive orders that he vowed would turn the United States into an AI export powerhouse", including one targeting what the White House described as woke" artificial intelligence models.During remarks at an AI summit in Washington, Trump decried woke Marxist lunacy in the AI models", before signing the orders on stage at the Mellon Auditorium. Continue reading...
Deal falls short of starkest measures, including consent decree and overhaul of university's governance structureColumbia University announced a much-anticipated deal with the Trump administration to pay more than $220m, an agreement meant to bring a resolution to the threat of massive funding cuts to the school, but certain to rankle critics given the extraordinary concessions made by the Ivy League university.Under the agreement, the school will pay a $200m settlement over three years to the federal government, the university said. It will also pay $21m to settle investigations brought by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Continue reading...
If regional utility is found responsible for January blaze, fund would pay claims and lawsuit settlementsInsurance claims from the Eaton wildfire could fully exhaust" a state fund that was set up to protect customers when a wildfire is caused by a utility company.The devastating wildfire in Los Angeles killed 17 people and destroyed more than 9,000 structures in January. One leading theory is that ageing equipment belonging to Southern California Edison, the primary electricity provider in the region, ignited the fire. Continue reading...
Steep drop in new car sales and stock price at electric car maker linked to Elon Musk's role in Trump administrationIt's been a rocky year for Tesla's financial outlook. The electric vehicle maker once led the market for gas-free cars, but recently has faced falling stock, steep competition and a CEO who has been described as erratic and a chaos maker. Now, for its second-quarter earnings, Tesla is reporting a decline in both revenue and profit.The electric vehicle maker said it saw a 12% drop in revenue from the same time last year, coming in at $22.5bn, which was below Wall Street's expectations of $22.7bn. Tesla noted its operating income also decreased to $0.9bn, a 42% decrease since last year. This marks a second straight quarterly decline for the company. Continue reading...
Lawyers for man wrongfully deported to El Salvador in March describe human smuggling charges as preposterous'A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that Kilmar Abrego Garcia must be released from jail as he awaits trial on human smuggling charges.The decision from judge Waverly Crenshaw means that Donald Trump's administration can potentially attempt to deport the Maryland father of two to his native El Salvador or a third country for a second time. Continue reading...
Tokyo's failure to secure a US deal sooner had caused political unease and economic uncertainty in JapanDonald Trump has announced a trade deal with Japan, potentially resolving weeks of fraught negotiations between the two allies which had caused economic uncertainty in Tokyo and mounting speculation about the future of the prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba.We just completed a massive deal with Japan," the US president announced in a post online, adding: Japan will invest, at my direction, $550 billion dollars into the United States." Continue reading...
Anti-vaccine campaigns have targeted thimerosal for decades despite no evidence of ingredient causing harmRobert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, will formally require vaccine makers to remove thimerosal from vaccines.The ingredient has been the target of anti-vaccine campaigns and misinformation for decades. Arguments against the preservative culminated in June, when a key federal vaccine advisory panel, remade with Kennedy's ideological allies, recommended against the preservative. Continue reading...
Families spoke of grief as the court heard how DNA and video footage helped link Bryan Kohberger to the crimesBryan Kohberger was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday for the murders of four University of Idaho students, a crime that shocked the quiet college town of Moscow nearly three years ago.The sentencing hearing allowed the families of Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Kaylee Goncalves to speak publicly about the devastation they've endured since 13 November 2022, the day their loved ones were found fatally stabbed in an off-campus home. Continue reading...
Dahud Hanid Ortiz, convicted in Venezuela of triple homicide in Madrid, is one of 10 US nationals flown to TexasA Venezuelan American murderer and ex-US marine, who killed three people in Spain in 2016, was released to the US during last Friday's high-profile prisoner swap between the US, El Salvador and Venezuela, according to media and NGO reports.Dahud Hanid Ortiz, who was convicted last year in Venezuela of a triple homicide in Madrid, is one of the 10 US nationals that arrived in Texas last Friday. Continue reading...
Video shows William McNeil Jr being beaten by police after being stopped for allegedly driving without lights onA Black college student shown on video being punched and dragged from his car by Florida law enforcement officers during a traffic stop faces a long recovery from injuries that include a concussion and a lip punctured by one of his teeth, his lawyers said on Wednesday.At a news conference in Jacksonville, 22-year-old William McNeil Jr spoke softly as he made a few brief comments with his family and civil rights attorneys by his side. Continue reading...
Footage shows the pedophile at Trump's 1993 wedding and the two attending a Victoria's Secret fashion event in 1999Newly uncovered photos and video footage published by CNN show more links between the notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump, including Epstein's attendance at Trump's wedding to Marla Maples at the Plaza hotel in New York in 1993.The media organization said on Wednesday that Epstein's attendance at the wedding ceremony was not widely known. Continue reading...
Zia S' translated for US troops in Afghanistan before fleeing Taliban takeover in 2021 and arriving stateside legallyAn Afghan wartime translator granted a US immigration visa after risking his life to help US troops has been detained by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents, in the latest sign that the Trump administration is willing to flout legal agreements and promises to allies in pursuit of its unprecedented immigration crackdown.Identified only as Zia S, the 35-year-old husband and father of five who entered the US in October 2024 with a visa issued by American authorities was arrested and taken away in a van last week after a routine biometrics appointment for his green card in East Hartford, Connecticut, according to his attorney, members of Congress and human-rights advocates. Continue reading...
The state house member seemed like an unlikely aspirant for the US Senate battle, but an appearance on Rogan sparked the question: can he turn Texas blue?
by Elaine Appleton Grant with photographs by Greta Ry on (#6YTZK)
No Greater Love strained to serve hungry patrons in Maine, New England's most food insecure state. Then they lost more than 1,000lb of federally funded goodsOne Sunday in June, it's 20 minutes before opening time at the No Greater Love food pantry in Belfast, Maine, two hours north of Portland. A line of cars stretches down the block and curls around the corner. I lean into a car window and ask the driver if he will speak with me.Nah," he says, I'd rather not." Continue reading...
by Maanvi Singh, Will Craft and Andrew Witherspoon on (#6YTZM)
A Guardian data analysis provides a detailed picture of surging arrests and a detention system that's stretched beyond capacityIn the six months since Donald Trump took office, the US president has supercharged the country's immigration enforcement apparatus - pushing immigration officials to arrest a record number of people in June.A Guardian analysis of arrest and deportation data has revealed that Trump is now overseeing a sweeping mass arrest and incarceration scheme.In June this year, average daily arrests were up 268% compared with June 2024.Ice is increasingly targeting any and all unauthorized immigrants, including people who have no criminal records.Despite Trump's claims that his administration is seeking out the worst of the worst", the majority of people being arrested by Ice now have no criminal convictions.Detention facilities have been increasingly overcrowded, and the US system is over capacity by more than 13,500 people.The number of deportations, however, has fluctuated as the administration pursues new strategies and policies to swiftly expel people from the US.The US government has deported more than 8,100 people to countries that are not their home country. Continue reading...
The entertainer, who has struggled to recall the names of all his offspring, has struck marketing gold. What next - Lauren Sanchez on budgeting advice?If you Google What does Nick Cannon actually do?", 17 professions, ranging from rapper to businessperson, pop up. Which is just a few more gigs than the entertainer has kids: these days Cannon is most identifiable as the father of 12 children by six women. I really think I'm a king," Cannon, who has said he has been diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder, mused in June during an appearance on the influencer Bobbi Althoff's podcast. Kings, he explained, need a lot of children for their courts. In the same podcast, King Cannon struggled to recall the names of all 12 of his children. But that's what the court nannies are for, eh?Cannon clearly enjoyed his chat with Althoff because he recently announced that he is starting his own podcast. It will be called Nick Cannon @ Night and he's going to be giving relationship advice. When it comes to his personal life, Nick has never shied away, unapologetically leaving the world curious about his views on dating, fatherhood and modern relationships. So, who better to offer advice?" the press release states. Clearly this is rage-bait designed to get people screaming: Who better? Anyone who knows how a condom works would be better!" And you know what? It's worked. Everyone is now roasting Cannon online and giving the podcast free publicity.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...
Active clubs that use martial arts to espouse far-right, fascist ideologies are proliferating in the US and abroadMore than a dozen men wearing black masks and sunglasses - obstructing any open source investigators from easily identifying them - appeared in a Telegram video in front of city hall in London, Canada, in June.Mass deportations now," the men yelled in unison, holding up banners with the same slogan. No blood for Israel." Continue reading...
If our overlords can't handle being joked about on late-night TV, we don't need new shows. We need new leadersLast week - just a few days after Stephen Colbert called out his parent company for paying Donald Trump millions of dollars - CBS canceled the Late Show With Stephen Colbert.Maybe now people will finally stop saying Trump is good for comedy. Continue reading...
by Rachel Savage and Savior Ngcebo Kakama on (#6YTT5)
Men from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Yemen and Cuba to be temporarily held in kingdomCivil society and opposition groups in Eswatini have expressed outrage after the US deported five men to the country, with the largest opposition party calling it human trafficking disguised as a deportation deal".The men, from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Yemen and Cuba, were flown to the small southern African country, an absolute monarchy, last week as the US stepped up deportations to third countries" after the supreme court cleared them last month. Continue reading...
Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, called an early recess as Democrats push for a vote to release the Epstein files. Key US politics stories from Tuesday 22 July at a glanceMounting pressure over President Donald Trump's alleged ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reportedly rattled and divided Republican congress members so deeply that the House speaker called an early recess on Tuesday.Democrats had pushed for a vote to release files related to Epstein as Trump fends off questions over his relationship with the financier, who died by suicide in his jail cell in 2019. Now the House will break up on Wednesday instead of Thursday in what Democrats say is a way to dodge the vote. Continue reading...
Behind closed doors at a New York City federal building, people are confined after being seized by officers on their way out of immigration court on the 12th floor. This rare look inside a closely guarded space captures part of Donald Trump's anti-immigration crackdown. The footage, shared by the New York Immigration Coalition, shows one of several rooms at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan on the building's 10th floor, where accounts have emerged of people being detained in unsuitable conditions with few basic provisions. Ice maintains that the 10th floor is not used for detention
by Robert Mackey, Lucy Campbell, José Olivares and F on (#6YT64)
US president makes announcement to congressional Republicans on Tuesday, without divulging more details. This blog is now closed.House Republicans are busy during this press conference so far touting the Trump administration's so-called successes on immigration and the sweeping tax and spending megabill, but they're very much glossing over the fact that they have lost control of the floor over their Jeffrey Epstein blow-up, and they're struggling to chart a path out of the crisis", per Politico.GOP leaders are talking with Trump administration officials, searching for ways to appease Republican members incensed over the lack of public information and speaker Mike Johnson's handling of the matter broadly." Continue reading...
Footage shows people sleeping on floor next to toilets in facility that agency says is not a detention siteTwo videos have surfaced shedding light on what is happening behind closed doors at a New York federal building where people are being confined after being seized by officers on their way out of immigration court on the 12th floor, with the footage offering a rare look inside a controversial and closely guarded space that is part of Donald Trump's anti-immigration crackdown.The filming, shared by the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), captures one of several rooms at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan, on the building's 10th floor, where accounts have emerged of people being detained in wholly unsuitable conditions with few basic provisions, but there had been no public access to direct evidence. Continue reading...
Olympic and Paralympic committee tells federations it has obligation to comply' with executive order issued by TrumpThe US Olympic and Paralympic committee has in effect barred transgender women from competing in women's sports, telling the federations overseeing swimming, athletics and other sports it has an obligation to comply" with an executive order issued by Donald Trump.The new policy, announced on Monday with a quiet change on the USOPC's website and confirmed in a letter sent to national sport governing bodies, follows a similar step taken by the NCAA earlier this year. Continue reading...
Office of ex-US president breaks precedent and warns that allegations of attempted coup' are attempt at distraction'Barack Obama has broken his silence on calls from Donald Trump for him to be prosecuted by unequivocally rejecting his successor's accusations that he tried to engineer a coup" following Trump's 2016 election victory by manufacturing" evidence of Russian interference.Obama's office took the unusual step of issuing an emphatic refutation after Trump told reporters that his predecessor had [tried] to lead a coup" against him and was guilty of treason" over intelligence assessments suggesting that Russia had intervened to help Trump defeat Hillary Clinton in the campaign. Continue reading...
Justice department retaliates by removing career prosecutor named as Habba's replacementAlina Habba, Donald Trump's defence lawyer during a defamation case brought by the writer E Jean Carroll, has lost her bid to become New Jersey's top federal prosecutor, with the clock running out on her interim status on Tuesday.According to an order from New Jersey's district court, a panel of judges declined to permanently appoint Habba to be the state's US attorney, signaling a rebuke against the Trump administration. Continue reading...
After inquiry, school says sanctions include probation, suspensions, expulsions and revocation of degreesColumbia University said on Tuesday that it was disciplining dozens of pro-Palestinian student protesters who seized part of the school's main library during a demonstration in early May that led to multiple arrests.Following the protest, the university began an investigation into rules violations, banned participants from the campus and placed them on interim suspension, it said. It issued its final determinations on Tuesday. Continue reading...
Chiropractor Mahdi Khanbabazadeh still in detention after being seized by masked agents in daycare parking lotNew video has been released showing masked immigration officers taking an Oregon father into custody while dropping off his child at a Portland-area preschool last week.In four clips obtained and verified by Oregon Public Broadcasting, Mahdi Khanbabazadeh, a 38-year-old chiropractor, can be seen asking US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents to wait for three minutes" because there is a baby in the car". Minutes later, after the child exited the vehicle, the video shows Ice officers breaking the driver's side window of the car. Continue reading...
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