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The writer who features prominently in newly released Jeffrey Epstein emails has achieved extraordinary access but faced questions about his journalistic ethicsIn 2003 David Carr, the New York Times's late, great media columnist, disclosed a $50m bid to buy New York Magazine that had been orchestrated by the writer and journalist Michael Wolff.Among the big hitters whom Wolff helped assemble for the deal was the billionaire media tycoon Mort Zuckerman, the not-yet-convicted sex offender and Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, and the not-yet-convicted sex trafficker and financier Jeffrey Epstein. Continue reading...

Week by week, key moments from the 43-day shutdown that disrupted flights, food benefits and federal workWhen Senate Democrats decided in September to use the government funding bill to put up a fight over expiring healthcare subsides, it set the stage for a 43-day federal government shutdown marked by turmoil for hundreds of thousands of federal workers, a battle over food benefits, thousands of cancelled flights, and a rare Democratic stand against Donald Trump's second-term agenda that progressives had been demanding since the election.Each week brought new disruptions and frustrations, until a group of seven moderate Democrats and one independent struck a deal to reopen the government in exchange for a promised - but not guaranteed - vote on the healthcare subsidies by mid-December. Continue reading...

President's attempts to press two female members of Congress to withdraw backing for vote appear to have failedDonald Trump is facing the prospect of a politically damaging congressional vote on releasing the Jeffery Epstein files after attempts to press two female members of Congress to withdraw their backing for it appeared to have failed.The reported refusal of Lauren Boebert, a Republican representative from Colorado, and Nancy Mace, from South Carolina, to remove their names from a discharge petition to force a vote leaves Trump exposed on an issue that carries the possibility of turning segments of his Maga base against him. Continue reading...

Convicted sex offender said Trump knew about the girls' and called president a maniac'The public disclosure of more than 20,000 pages of newly released documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has reignited a long-running scandal over his relationship with the rich and powerful.Democratic politicians released three emails obtained from Epstein's estate, saying they showed Donald Trump may have known more about Epstein's crimes than he has publicly acknowledged. Continue reading...

President's family business requested at least 184 foreign workers for Mar-a-Lago, Virginia winery and two golf clubsDonald Trump's family business increased the pace at which it hired foreign workers on temporary visas this year, even as his administration was placing obstacles in the way of other businesses that wanted to do the same, a report published Thursday claimed.According to Forbes, which analyzed data from the US Department of Labor, the Trump Organization sought to bring in at least 184 foreign workers in 2025 for temporary positions at the US president's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, two golf clubs and his Virginia winery. Continue reading...

A proposal touting 50-year mortgages could double interest payments and worsen inequalityWould you like to buy a crumbling shack for $2m dollars? Well then, you're in luck, because that just about sums up the state of the housing market right now. Housing, particularly in places with a decent job market, has become increasingly unaffordable in the US. That's partly thanks to quantitative easing during the pandemic, which supercharged housing inflation. The median American home price in January was $418,000, about a 45% increase from $289,000 five years ago, per Redfin data. Wages haven't gone up at the same rate, and housing prices compared to income have reached an all-time high.In post-pandemic America, there are three groups of people. First, there are those who own their home outright and those who bought a house before the pandemic, then refinanced during the historically low interest rates we saw in 2020 and 2021. Many of those homeowners are now sitting on large piles of equity. Continue reading...

For centuries, the US government tried to erase Indigenous identity, with boarding schools, adoptions and a chilling mission: Kill the Indian in him, and save the man."In 1978, a law was passed to protect Native American families. But it didn't fix the system. Today, Native children are still being removed at shocking rates. In South Dakota, they're 13% of the child population but 74% of the children in the foster system.Neelam Tailor investigates why, and how a system built on separation is still failing Indigenous families Continue reading...

Former FBI director and New York attorney general say the prosecutor in their cases was unlawfully appointedJames Comey, the former FBI director, and the New York attorney general, Letitia James, will ask a federal judge on Thursday to drop the criminal charges against them, arguing that Donald Trump's hand-picked US attorney, who obtained the indictments against them, was unlawfully appointed.The hearing at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia in front of judge Cameron Currie will mark the first time a judge will consider one of several efforts James and Comey have made to dismiss the indictments before trials. Continue reading...

People in immediate area were in respiratory distress after a tanker truck spewed a plume of anhydrous ammonia gasHundreds of people were evacuated from a city in Oklahoma and others were told to shelter in place after a tanker truck that was leaking in a hotel parking lot spewed a plume of anhydrous ammonia gas, authorities said Thursday.The gas release happened shortly before 10pm on Wednesday. People in the immediate area were in respiratory distress and at least 36 people were taken to a local hospital, city officials said at a news conference. Continue reading...

One email, released by Democrats on House oversight committee, says Trump spent hours' with one trafficking victim. Plus, Al Gore wonders if bullying' Trump prompted Bill Gates to backtrack on climate

Two problems stand in the way of the party's efforts: their policies and their presidentTry as they might to present Zohran Mamdani as the exemplar of their opponents' radical-left lunacy, the platform the New York mayor-elect and other Democrats won on was affordability - the same platform on which Trump ran, and has spectacularly failed to deliver.So in their panic, Republicans are scrambling to reclaim affordability.Judith Levine is a Brooklyn-based journalist, essayist and author of five books. Her Substack is Today in Fascism Continue reading...

Residents are organizing in response to raids across the city amid Trump's wide-ranging operation midway blitz'Anais Robles didn't expect to get teargassed. The co-owner of Colibri Cafe, the coffee shop that opened this year in Chicago's East Side neighborhood, saw commotion outside in mid October and ran to see what happened.Robles saw federal agents donning masks and decided to step back, she was half a block away when the tear gas canisters hit. People were just in the streets, so to clear out the area, they teargas all of us, and like, multiple teargas [cannisters]," she said. Continue reading...

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The showdown channels centuries of Spanish tension and pride - and may soon collide with the NBA's ambitions to expand into EuropeScores of fans filed past the silhouettes of cranes and construction work surrounding Barcelona's Camp Nou last Friday night. But they weren't there for the world famous soccer stadium. Instead, the sea of Barca jerseys was heading for the club's basketball arena, the Palau Blaugrana. There was an expectant but apprehensive buzz in the air - the night marked a big occasion: Real Madrid were in town.It's widely accepted that the biggest rivalry in basketball is between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics; between them they have won almost half of all championships in NBA history. The Lakers-Celtics showdowns of the 1980s went beyond basketball and embodied different Americas: West Coast glitz versus East Coast grit; flashy fastbreak basketball versus fundamentals; and, frankly, though perhaps sometimes oversimplistically, Black versus white. Continue reading...

The longest US government shutdown in history ended on Wednesday after more than 42 days, following the House of Representative's passage of a bill negotiated by Republicans and a splinter group of Democrat-aligned senators. The legislation restarts federal operations but does not include the healthcare funding the minority party demanded

Documents show staff kept Epstein informed of Trump's air travel - and Epstein kept up with news about former friendA tranche of documents released by the House oversight committee on Wednesday revealed that Jeffrey Epstein's staff kept him apprised of Donald Trump's air travel as it related to his own transportation - and that the late sex trafficker kept up with news about his former friend years after their relationship soured.This disclosure of about 20,000 pages from Republican members of the committee related to Epstein comes as Trump continues to battle with the political fallout related to their past friendship - and his justice department's failure to release documents as he had long promised on the campaign trail. Continue reading...

After 42-day standoff, government is back open - and minority party won no concessions from party in powerMore than 42 days ago, beleaguered congressional Democrats employed a tactic they were not known for using - refusing to fund the government unless their demands, in this case, an extension of tax credits that lowered costs for Affordable Care Act health plans, were met.Fast forward to Wednesday evening, and the federal government is back open, the Democrats' resistance breached by the combined forces of Congress's Republican majorities and a splinter group of Democratic senators who provided just enough votes to get a funding bill past the chamber's filibuster. Continue reading...

Bill passes House with with 222 in favor and 209 against. Here's how Republicans and Democrats votedThe US House of Representatives voted to pass the funding bill to end the longest government shutdown in US history. Trump signed the bill into law on Wednesday night.The legislation comes in the wake of a Senate-brokered compromise in which a handful of Democrats voted toforego the extension of expiring healthcare subsidies, which have been at the heart of the long impasse. The bill extends government funding at current levels through January. Three year-long provisions, which fund programs at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the USDA and FDA, and legislative branch operations, are also included. Continue reading...

President signs bill to restart federal operations after House passes measure in 222-209 voteThe longest US government shutdown in history ended on Wednesday after more than 42 days, following the House of Representative's passage of a bill negotiated by Republicans and a splinter group of Democrat-aligned senators.The compromise sets the stage for government operations to return to normal through January, while leaving unresolved the issue of expiring tax credits for Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare health plans, which most Democrats demanded be extended in any deal to reopen the government. Continue reading...

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Release of messages by Democrats on House oversight committee likely to add to pressure on White House to release Epstein files - key US politics stories from 12 November 2025 at a glanceDamning new emails that suggest Donald Trump knew about the conduct of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were released Wednesday, including one in which Epstein said of course [Trump] knew about the girls" procured for Epstein's sex-trafficking ring, and another that said Trump spent hours" with one victim at Epstein's house.The release of the three messages by Democrats on the House oversight committee is likely to heap significant pressure on the White House to publish in full the so-called Epstein files, which reportedly detail the long-running scandal that has overshadowed Trump's second term in office. Continue reading...

Mike Johnson announces move hours after swearing in Adelita Grijalva, Democrat whose signature triggered voteMike Johnson, the US House speaker, said on Wednesday he would put the bill compelling the release of government files related to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on the House floor next week.We are gonna put that on the floor for [a] full vote next week, [as] soon as we get back," Johnson told reporters, as the chamber gathered to debate legislation to reopen the government. Continue reading...

Mike Johnson, the House speaker, had prevented the representative from taking her seat after a special electionArizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva was sworn in by Mike Johnson, the US House speaker, on Wednesday, ending a contentious seven-week standoff that prevented the incoming representative from taking her seat and clearing the path for a vote to release the Jeffrey Epstein files.House Democrats burst into applause after Grijalva took the oath of office, in a floor ceremony that took place shortly before the chamber was poised to take up legislation that would end the longest federal government shutdown in US history. The House was already out of session when Grijalva won a late September special election to succeed her father, the longtime representative Raul Grijalva, who died in March. Johnson, who kept the House in recess as a tactic to pressure Senate Democrats to compromise with Republicans on legislation to fund the government, had said he would not swear in Grijalva until after the chamber returned. Continue reading...

House Democrats vow to vote no but Republican leaders optimistic legislation to reopen government will pass

Dana Williamson among five co-conspirators in scheme to steal more than $225,000 from Xavier Becerra's campaignA former top aide to California governor Gavin Newsom has been arrested over federal charges alleging her involvement in a scheme to steal campaign money from Xavier Becerra, the former US health secretary.Dana Williamson was indicted on 23 counts that include bank and wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the US, and was scheduled to make her first court appearance Wednesday in Sacramento. It was not immediately clear whether she had an attorney who could speak on her behalf. If convicted, she could face up to 20 years in prison. Continue reading...

Karoline Leavitt defied the laws of moral physics to insist that the true wrongdoers were Biden and the DemocratsDonald Trump was described as that dog that hasn't barked" in an email by Jeffrey Epstein. Don't tell Kristi Noem, who has a way of dealing with troublesome hounds.The US president would love nothing more than to let sleeping dogs lie, but that hope was dashed on Wednesday when Democrats released emails suggesting that Trump was aware of Epstein's conduct and had spent hours with one of the disgraced financier's victims. Continue reading...

Trump officials also cannot pressure detainees to agree to voluntary deportation while cases are pending, says judgeA federal judge has ordered the release of hundreds of people who were arrested over the last few months in the Chicago area amid the Trump administration's aggressive immigration raids across the city.On Wednesday, US district judge Jeffrey Cummings ordered the justice department to produce a list showing which of the 615 possible class members are still in custody by 19 November, the Chicago Tribune reports. Continue reading...

In messages released by House Democrats, Epstein wrote of course [Trump] knew about the girls'

Tremane Wood was convicted of a murder his brother had confessed to. Now a Republican governor will decide whether he dies on ThursdayIt may be about to execute him, but Oklahoma's department of corrections hasn't even spelled Tremane Wood's name right: it lists him on its official website as Termane" Wood.For 16 of his last 21 years in prison, following his conviction for the murder of 19-year-old Ronnie Wipf, he has been confined, often alone, to a series of windowless concrete cells in the state penitentiary in McAlester, Oklahoma, in an underground block that prisoners have compared to a tomb. Continue reading...

Newly released emails from Epstein's estate reignite scrutiny of the US president's old links to the sex offenderThe release of previously unseen emails sent by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has thrust Donald Trump back into the center of the long-running Epstein controversy that has plagued his administration for months, inflamed parts of his own political base and offered Democrats an ongoing line of political attack.On Wednesday, Democrats on the House oversight and government reform committee released email exchanges from 2011, 2015 and 2019 that they say were provided by the estate of the late Epstein, who died by suicide in federal prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges of sex-trafficking minors. Continue reading...

Last one-cent coin to be pressed in Philadelphia as Trump ordered them to be canceled, citing rising production costsThe US Mint in Philadelphia is set to strike its last circulating penny on Wednesday as Donald Trump has canceled the one-cent coin.The US president has ordered its demise as costs climb to nearly four cents per penny and the one-cent valuation becomes somewhat obsolete. Continue reading...

Saga has pitted Trump against his base, with the president pleading with supporters to not waste time' on Epstein

Republican-controlled board, which questions Trump's 2020 loss, agrees to use government, not personal, accountsThe Georgia state election board has settled a lawsuit filed by a watchdog organization over access to board members' emails for $50,000 and an agreement to conduct future business without using private email.The settlement requires the Republican-controlled board, which continues to push for additional investigation into the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, to instruct its members to use official email accounts, and not to use personal email accounts, text messaging, or messaging through other applications for that purpose". Continue reading...

As polls suggest that Viktor Orban's authoritarian rule is under threat, Brussels can only wait and hopeDuring the US presidential election campaign of 2016, Viktor Orban was the only European Union leader to back Donald Trump. Which was hardly surprising. Whether in relation to the the normalisation of great replacement theory, or the bullying and harassment of the media, Mr Orban more or less wrote the playbook for the Maga movement. The former White House strategist Steve Bannon has eulogised Hungary's prime minister as the Trump before Trump".Last week, ahead of crucial Hungarian elections in less than six months' time, the US president returned some political favours. As Mr Orban seeks a fifth consecutive term presiding over a nation which he boasts of having turned into an illiberal democracy, his Fidesz party trails in the polls. As well as a few signed Maga baseball caps, an Orban visit to Washington yielded considerably more valuable pre-election gifts. Continue reading...

Skims plans to use new capital to broaden its intimates lines, and expand further into apparel and activewearSkims, founded by reality TV star and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian along with CEO Jens Grede, said on Wednesday it had raised $225mn in new capital, valuing the shapewear label at $5bn.Kardashian's ventures, including her cosmetics brand SKKN, have attracted young shoppers and benefited from her vast social media following. Similarly, other celebrity-backed brands have also drawn venture capital investment, as firms bet on the marketing power and built-in audiences of high-profile founders to drive consumer demand. Continue reading...

Raphael W Bostic will retire in February - creating another vacancy on Federal Reserve's powerful policy committeeThe head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta announced plans to step down amid an extraordinary campaign by Donald Trump to exert influence over the US central bank.Raphael W Bostic, president of the Atlanta Fed, will retire from the role in February - creating another vacancy on the Fed's powerful policy committee. Continue reading...

Saga has pitted Trump against his base, with the president pleading with supporters to not waste time' on EpsteinThe Department of Justice's announcement that it did not have a list of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged clients, and that the convicted sex offender was not murdered, has plunged the rightwing world into turmoil.Conservative commentators and media figures, some of whom spent years pushing conspiracy theories about Epstein's death, have accused the government of covering up the hedge fund manager's crimes, with calls growing for Pam Bondi, the attorney general, to resign. Continue reading...

Families say the housing contractor's strict timing rules dampen holiday spirit on the baseMilitary families living on an air force base in Florida have been ordered to dismantle their Christmas decorations under a strictly enforced regulation that tells them when and where they are allowed to celebrate.Residents of Tyndall air force base received a tersely-worded memo from their landlords, private housing contractor Balfour Beatty Communities, informing them that a de facto patrol of the installation had uncovered infractions of their lease agreements in the form of early holiday inflatables, lights and other festive adornments. Continue reading...

More than 250 Venezuelans detained in Cecot prison report violations. Plus, supply boom in cheaper renewables will make decline of fossil fuels inevitable'

Binod Shah, a refugee from Bhutan, went to church, got married and started an auto shop in Twin Falls, Idaho. But an arrest record got him caught in the ICE dragnetStephanie Shah kept her eyes on the winding road as rain streaked across the windshield. Her husband, Binod Shah, sat in silence beside her, staring out the window. It was late evening in Washington state on 23 March, and they had been driving all day, trading shifts, barely speaking, while their nine-month-old son dozed beneath a blanket in the backseat. The sky hung low and gray, and evergreens, soaked and still, stood witness along the road. Inside the car, a Nepali-Christian folk song played quietly on repeat. At some point, Binod reached over and rested his hand on Stephanie's leg. It wasn't reassurance. It felt more like a final touch.When the baby started to cry, Stephanie pulled over and together they changed his diaper, working without words. Then Binod leaned down, kissed his son's forehead, and began to cry. Continue reading...

Kentucky trio oppose provision restricting hemp-derived products, with House to vote on Wednesday on funding billA last-minute provision in the federal spending bill heavily restricting hemp-derived products such as CBD and THC drinks could lead some Republicans to vote against the spending bill which, if passed, could end the government shutdown as early as Wednesday.Kentucky is one of the largest producers of hemp in the country, and Republicans in the state have shown strong support for the hemp industry. Jonathan Miller, an advocate for the hemp industry and former Kentucky state treasurer, said that Kentucky is really ground zero for the rebirth of hemp" - a niche industry until the 2018 farm bill allowed a much wider variety of legal products. Continue reading...

Once at the heart of record migration, the Texas border town now faces new fears over Trump's sweeping deportation driveAlong southern Texas, the Rio Grande forms the US-Mexico border, an arrangement established after the end of the Mexican-American war. Eagle Pass, which had been known as El Paso del Aguila, became the first US settlement on the Rio Grande.Swimming across the river has remained treacherous ever since. But migrants never stopped risking their lives to set foot on US soil - and in 2023, those numbers reach record highs as Eagle Pass, the seat of Maverick county, became the epicenter of growing backlash over the Biden administration's immigration policies. Continue reading...

Lina Khan outraged corporates and conservatives as head of the Federal Trade Commission. Expect more of the same now she's with the mayor-elect's transition teamA relatively unknown thirtysomething parachuted on to the national stage and into high political office. Energising to some of the Democratic base but lacking support from the party establishment. Not Zohran Mamdani but Lina Khan, who Joe Biden appointed to chair the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2021 when she was just 32. Khan, who left her role at the FTC when Trump returned to the White House, is now one of five women appointed to the mayor-elect of New York's transition team.Khan is the most exciting pick for a few reasons. She entered the FTC with an ambitious mandate to transform the government agency, broaden its focus to increase scrutiny of corporate mergers and do more to protect consumers - and got results. She brought down the price of inhalers (routinely being sold for hundreds of dollars) by tackling price gouging by pharmaceutical companies. She blocked a huge supermarket merger and returned more than $60m to Amazon drivers in unpaid tips. All of her achievements were delivered in four years, while navigating a bureaucracy that was sometimes hostile to her leadership. Continue reading...

The broadcaster should not cave to Trump's demandsYou can't be in the news business and avoid mistakes. That's why responsible media organizations correct their errors and acknowledge them to the public. It's why newsroom leaders take steps, internally, to repair broken processes. It's why they sometimes go so far as to apologize or take stories down.Some mistakes, of course, are worse than others. A misspelled name is one thing. Sustained coverage that is misleading or false is quite another. And there are plenty of gradations between those two poles.Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture Continue reading...

Donald Trump said he had an 'obligation' to sue the BBC for misrepresenting his comments before the January 6 attacks on the US Capitol in 2021. The US president reiterated his threat of launching a $1bn legal action during an interview on Fox News, saying the British broadcaster had 'defrauded the public'. The BBC has been plunged into its biggest crisis in decades after its two most senior staff, the director general, Tim Davie, and the head of news, Deborah Turness, resigned after criticism over standards and accusations of bias at the BBC, including over how it edited a speech by Trump