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European champions are enjoying themselves under Luis Enrique, a world away from their last game against the German clubThe last time they crossed paths, Vincent Kompany was on his way in and Luis Enrique was on his way out. It was late November at the Allianz Arena and Bayern Munich's new manager waited by the press room while his opposite number at Paris Saint-Germain spoke to the media; as he listened in, he could hardly believe what he heard. It was completely over the top," Kompany recalled in Atlanta when he again followed Luis Enrique into a chair lined up before the cameras, and before another big night, seven months later and more than 7,000 miles away. Now we're talking about the same game from a totally different perspective; it's interesting to press fast forward and see how much things can change."That night, Bayern beat PSG 1-0 in the Champions League. Five games into the competition, PSG had won just once, against Girona at the Parc des Princes and that was their third loss, fear growing that even with the new, extended format they might not get out of the group. I heard all these big statements: it's all over'," Kompany said. Most games they should win 5-0 and somehow it's 1-1, or they lose and it didn't reflect their dominance. You look at the team now, the evolution, and it's nice to see that in those moments the consistency paid off. He was strong enough to continue. And that's not a compliment, that's just a fact." Continue reading...

Those appalled by Israel's actions in Gaza, and the kind of media frenzy prompted by Bob Vylan's Glastonbury appearance, are finding their voiceIf you are in the business of anointing monsters, you can see why your eyes would light up at a punk act called Bob Vylan. Until last weekend, sure, it might have been a tough sell to proclaim them as an avatar for Britain's revolting youth: prominent though they might be on the UK's punk scene, they had about about 220,000 monthly listeners on Spotify - a mere 1,000,000 away from a place in the top 10,000. But then, at Glastonbury, they made the most powerful possible case for broad media attention: they said something controversial about Israel's assault on Gaza, and opened up a chance to have a go at the BBC.And so the following morning, on the front page of the Mail on Sunday: NOW ARREST PUNK BAND WHO LED DEATH TO ISRAELIS' CHANTS AT GLASTONBURY." Pascal Robinson-Foster, aka Bobby Vylan, had started a round of antisemitic chanting" that was broadcast live on the corporation's coverage of the festival, the story explained. Keir Starmer called it appalling hate speech". The calls for the band members' arrest were quickly picked up, and before long the Conservatives were suggesting that the BBC should be prosecuted as well. On Monday, the story splashed in the Sun, the Daily Mail, the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Express.Archie Bland is the editor of the Guardian's First Edition newsletterDo 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...

Up to 10in of rain fell overnight, prompting flash flooding in region west of Austin hit by long droughtTorrential rains unleashed flash floods along the Guadalupe River in Texas on Friday, killing at least 24 people as rescue teams scrambled to save dozens of victims trapped by high water or reported missing in the disaster, local officials said.Among the missing were 23 to 25 people listed as unaccounted for at an all-girls Christian summer camp located on the banks of the rain-engorged Guadalupe, authorities said. Continue reading...

Chelsea scored a fortuitous late own goal to snatch a 2-1 victory over Palmeiras and reach the Club World Cup semi-finals3 min: A surging run in the penalty area for Pedro Neto, perhaps reassuring anyone that he will indeed be able to play despite grieving for his close friend Diogo Jota.1 min: Palmeiras win a corner quickly. (Ignore my previous comment that Chelsea won it. I am not yet in Da Zone.) Continue reading...

To truly understand the president's style of rule, we must go beyond Scandinavian sagas and Sicilian crime loreEver since Donald Trump returned to power, pundits have struggled to find apt analogies for his style of governance. Some liken his loyalty demands, patronage networks and intimidation tactics to the methods of a mafia don. Others cast him as a feudal overlord, operating a personality cult rooted in charisma and bound by oaths, rewards and threats rather than laws and institutions. A growing number of artists and AI creatives are depicting him as a Viking warrior. And of course, fierce debates continue over whether the moment has arrived for serious comparisons with fascist regimes.While some of these analogies may offer a degree of insight, they are fundamentally limited by their Eurocentrism - as if 21st-century US politics must still be interpreted solely through the lens of old-world history. If we truly want to understand what is unfolding, we must move beyond Scandinavian sagas and Sicilian crime lore.David Van Reybrouck is philosopher laureate for the Netherlands and Flanders. His books include Congo: The Epic History of a People and Revolusi: Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World Continue reading...

Democrats warn the major changes will benefit the wealthy and hit low-income earners hardest - key US politics stories from Friday 4 July at a glanceDonald Trump kicked off Independence Day by signing into law his sweeping tax and spending bill during a Fourth of July picnic at the White House.The president's signature legislation, which he called the big, beautiful bill", introduces major changes including tax cuts, spending boosts for defence and more aggressive funding for an immigration crackdown. Continue reading...

Americans celebrated the US's 250th anniversary of independence from England in red-white-and-blue style Continue reading...

The world No 1 fought back in both sets to end Emma Raducanu's run, while Carlos Alcaraz kept his title defence on trackA few venerable tennis observers have spoken of Amanda Anisimova as a possible champion here given the carnage in the women's draw, especially in her quarter. The 23-year-old American started her campaign by serving up a double bagel to a distracted Yulia Putintseva, and won in straight sets in the second round too, but she's been broken in the early exchanges against Galfi and trails 3-1.Make that 3-0 Osaka. Nick Kyrgios, who will play alongside Osaka at the rebooted US Open mixed doubles event next month, is watching on with Osaka's team, and will be impressed with what he's seen so far. Continue reading...

Up to 10in of rain fell overnight west of the Texas capital, Austin, on Thursday. At least six people were confirmed dead amid fears that the floodwaters had inundated an area filled with children's summer camps. 'The state of Texas is surging all available resources to respond to the devastating flooding around the Kerr county area,' said Texas's governor, Greg Abbott, in a statement on X

EU says it favours a negotiated solution' but is prepared for potential trade war with retaliatory dutiesDonald Trump threatened to impose 17% tariffs on food and farm produce exports from Europe during talks in Washington this week, it has emerged.Such tariffs would hit everything from Belgian chocolate to Kerrygold butter from Ireland and olive oil from Italy, Spain and France, all big sellers in the US. Continue reading...

Leviathan of competitive eating fires up Nathan's Fourth of July event after yearlong ban for promoting rival wienersJoey Jaws" Chestnut reclaimed his title at the annual Nathan's Fourth of July hotdog eating contest on Friday, cementing his status as the undisputed all-time champion of hotdog consumption.A rerun of Jaws was the blockbuster attraction in Coney Island this Fourth of July holiday, but not the classic Steven Spielberg movie enjoying a new lease of life on the 50th anniversary of its release. Continue reading...

Florida state lawmakers call blockage a blatant abuse of power and an attempt to conceal human rights violations'A group of Florida lawmakers were denied entry on Thursday into the new Florida-based immigration jail dubbed Alligator Alcatraz" one day after the first immigrant detainees began to arrive.Five Democratic lawmakers attempted to enter the facility, which was previously toured on Tuesday by White House officials, but were stopped by law enforcement officers from local agencies, according to the state representative Anna Eskamani in an interview with CNN. Continue reading...

US munitions slated for Ukraine held up over shortage as Trump disappointed' by Putin's refusal to make concessionsDonald Trump spoke with Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Friday as the US president appears increasingly disheartened over his chances of fulfilling a campaign pledge to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.The call with Zelenskyy comes as Washington has halted its latest shipment of military aid to Ukraine including Patriot air defense missiles and other crucial munitions meant to support the country's defenses, and hours after Russia launched a devastating air attack on Kyiv using a record number of drones and ballistic missiles. Continue reading...

Nayib Bukele disputed claims of Abrego Garcia's lawyers that he was tortured and deprived of sleep while in custodyThe president of El Salvador has denied claims that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was subjected to beatings and deprivation while he was held in the country before being returned to the US to face human-smuggling charges.Nayib Bukele said in a social media post that Abrego Garcia, the Salvadorian national who was wrongly extradited from the US to El Salvador in March before being returned in June, wasn't tortured, nor did he lose weight". Continue reading...

We want to hear the experiences of scientists, researchers and students after hundreds of research grants have been abruptly cancelledThe Trump administration is dismantling the National Science Foundation (NSF), which critics say risks losing a generation of scientific talent and jeopardizes the future of US industries and economic growth.The NSF, founded in 1950, is the only federal agency that funds fundamental research across all fields of science and engineering. It has contributed to major scientific breakthroughs and innovations. Continue reading...

Dortmund's pursuit of younger brother included hotel visit and talk of a Club World Cup meeting with Real MadridJobe Bellingham was furious when he found out that the early yellow card he had been shown for a tackle on Nelson Deossa against Monterrey meant missing the next game of the Club World Cup and he was still furious the following day.The news hit hard when he heard it at half-time heading down the tunnel and the hurt was not going away in a hurry. This was not just the next game, it was Borussia Dortmund versus Real Madrid, the Bellingham brothers on the same pitch for the first time and the match so special Dortmund used it to convince him to move to Germany in the first place. That and a disguise. Continue reading...

The yearly commemoration has always marked a contradiction. But despair is not a strategy: this is a moment to create changeThe Fourth of July celebration of freedom rings hollow this year. The contradictions built into a national commemoration of our triumph over autocracy feel newly personal and perilous - especially to those who have, until now, felt relatively secure in the federal government's commitment to democracy and the rule of law.But the contradiction is far from new. Black, brown and Indigenous communities have always seen the gap between the ideals of American democracy and the lived reality of exclusion. Frederick Douglass's 1852 address What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? demanded that Americans confront the hypocrisy of celebrating liberty while millions were enslaved. Today, those contradictions persist in enduring racial disparities and policies that perpetuate segregation, second-class citizenship and selective protection of rights.Deborah N Archer is the president of the ACLU, the Margaret B Hoppin professor of law at NYU Law School, and the author of Dividing Lines: How Transportation Infrastructure Reinforces Racial Inequality. L Song Richardson is the former dean and currently chancellor's professor of law at the University of California Irvine School of Law. She previously served as president of Colorado College. Susan Sturm is the George M Jaffin professor of law and social responsibility and the founding director of the Center for Institutional and Social Change at Columbia Law School and author of What Might Be: Confronting Racism to Transform Our Institutions. Continue reading...

Advocates in Springfield, Ohio - a city thousands of Haitians now call home - fear the fallout of Trump's DHS revoking temporary protected status for Haitian nationalsInside a church a few blocks south of downtown Springfield, Ohio, about 30 concerned Haitians, church leaders and community members have gathered on a balmy summer evening to try to map out a plan.It's been just a few days since Kristi Noem, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, announced that Haitian nationals with temporary protected status (TPS) would face termination proceedings in a matter of months. By 2 September, they would be forced out of the US. Continue reading...

House passes sweeping bill that will slash Medicaid and food stamps. Plus, Israel steps up Gaza bombing before ceasefire talks

Experts worry the tax-and-spending bill will gut healthcare and hospitals, especially in states like North CarolinaWhen Hurricane Helene drowned western North Carolina in muck and floodwater last year, it caught folks off-guard.Now, local leaders in places like Asheville expect the Republican-led reconciliation bill - called the big, beautiful bill" by Donald Trump - to bear down on rural America. And they wonder whether people are missing the warning signs. Continue reading...

Written after the revolution, the rare letter links the US fight for liberty to rising unrest across Europe in 1783A rare, handwritten letter by Thomas Jefferson, in which the founding father and third president expounds the right of citizens to bear arms in a revolutionary cause, has been uncovered in New England and offered for sale to mark the Fourth of July holiday.The holiday also marks the 199th anniversary of his death. Continue reading...

Key takeaways from data surrounding these issues from the group stage and last-16 matches of rebooted tournamentThe group stage and last-16 of the Club World Cup brought no shortage of storylines, ranging from the oppressive heat that impacted multiple games during the tournament to low attendances, to on-field matters, with different confederations clashing in official club competition. Here are some takeaways from data surrounding these issues, as gathered by the Guardian. Continue reading...

Officials in Pico Rivera say agents gathered before a raid and soiled parking lot after being asked to leaveA Los Angeles school district is demanding an investigation of an incident last month, during which Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents gathered at a local high school before a raid and were seen publicly urinating on school grounds, not far from where elementary school students were attending summer classes.According to a statement from El Rancho unified school district, which also released video evidence in the form of surveillance-camera footage, the incident took place on the morning of 17 June at Ruben Salazar high school in Pico Rivera, in south-eastern LA county. Continue reading...

A piece of history burned down in the Los Angeles wildfires. Project Chimney is salvaging what's left to honor the architecture - and eventually create a memorialBy mid-morning last Thursday, Evan Hall was standing near the top of Monument Street in Los Angeles's Pacific Palisades, looking out over the Pacific Ocean. He was running out of time.Hall stood in the charred ruins of a 1953 home designed by the modernist architect Richard Neutra. Beside him, a handful of hard-hat-clad preservationists, masons and construction workers all looked up at the same thing: a chimney. Continue reading...

A new short film turns the focus on the everyday runners at the back of the New York City Marathon pack - the underdogs who finish in darkness but still change their livesDrive To Survive, the seminal Netflix docuseries which introduced a new generation to Formula One, also unleashed a wave of sports shows that swept across virtually every streaming platform.Many follow the same playbook, carefully painting a behind-the-scenes portrait of elite athletes pursuing greatness - from cyclists confronting the steepest climbs of the Tour de France and surfers hunting vast waves to tennis players vying for grand slams and track sprinters for medals. Continue reading...

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib condemns major policy bill as disgusting' as party vows to mobilize and fight back'Democrats have erupted in a storm of outrage over the passage of the Donald Trump's budget bill, delivering scathing critiques that offered signs of the attack lines the party could wield against Republicans in next year's midterm elections.Party leaders released a wave of statements after the sweeping tax and spending bill's passage on Thursday, revealing a fury that could peel paint off a brick outhouse. Continue reading...

The bill steals from the sick, elderly and hungry, and gives to billionaires and jackboots. But Republicans will follow their leader anywhereThe budget reconciliation bill that passed the US House of Representatives on Thursday and was promptly to be signed into law by Donald Trump represents the particular perversity of national politics in America: seemingly no one wants it, everyone hates it, and it is widely agreed to be devastating for staggering numbers of Americans. And yet, the bill felt inevitable: it was a foregone conclusion that this massive, malignant measure was something that everyone dreaded and no one had the capacity to stop.They didn't really even try. In the Senate, a few conservative Republicans made noise about the bill's dramatic costs: the congressional budget office estimates that the bill will add $3.3 tn to the deficit over the coming decade, and the senator Rand Paul, a budget hawk from Kentucky, declined to vote for it for this reason. But other Republicans, who used to style themselves as fiscally responsible guardians against excessive government spending, engaged in a bit of freelance creative accounting in order to produce an estimate that falsely claimed the cost of the bill would be lower. Most of them quickly found themselves on board. Continue reading...

Letters to be sent to countries without a deal in place before end of 90-day pause on 9 July

On first anniversary of Labour taking power, prime minister says it is in the national interest' for pair to connectKeir Starmer has spoken about his good relationship with the US president, Donald Trump, and their shared family values.To mark the first anniversary of the Labour government coming to power on Friday, the prime minister spoke to the BBC podcast Political Thinking and said it was in the national interest" for the two men to connect. Continue reading...

As the IOC ushers in new leadership, Donald Trump's second term is already wreaking havoc on LA 28 - and turning a global celebration into a national security crackdownWhen the International Olympic Committee first handed Los Angeles the 2028 Summer Olympics back in 2017, IOC president Thomas Bach called it a golden opportunity" for all involved. Fast forward to last month when Kirsty Coventry took the reins from Bach at the IOC. So much has changed.In January, LA was hit with deadly wildfires. That same month a different sort of natural disaster took shape as Donald Trump returned to the White House. Bach had previously praised LA for its strong foundation", but that foundation has crumbled under the weight of the wildfires, a citywide budget crisis and an erratic president whose marauding Immigration and Customs Enforcement look like they arrived straight from robbing a liquor store to instill fear across Los Angeles. Continue reading...

With their illiberal attitudes and ever more draconian use of technology to crack down on protest, it is ministers who now imperil our rightsNo one can be trusted with power. Any government will oppress its people if not constantly and inventively challenged. And the task becomes ever-more urgent as new technologies of surveillance and control are developed.The UK government is run by a former human rights lawyer. Its home secretary, Yvette Cooper, has expressed her admiration for the Suffragettes in parliament. Yet such credentials do nothing to defend us from attacks on our fundamental rights. With a huge majority, no formal constitutional checks and a ruthless, scarcely accountable governing machine, this administration is abusing its power to an even greater extent than its Conservative predecessors. Continue reading...

At a rally in Iowa, the president said he hates' lawmakers who opposed his signature bill, and looked ahead to plans to mark the 250th anniversary of AmericaDonald Trump has celebrated the passage of his signature tax and spend legislation by declaring there could be no better birthday present for America" on the eve of the 4 July holiday.The US president took a victory lap during an event in Des Moines, Iowa, that was officially billed as the start of a year-long celebration of America's 250th anniversary, in 2026. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. Read our story on the megabill hereJeffries has just passed the five-hour mark and has no intention of stopping: We still got some ground to cover."We are going to continue as Democrats to take our sweet time on behalf of the American people because the issues are too significant to ever walk away from," Jeffries said, to cheers from the Democrats in the chamber. Continue reading...

Ward Sakeik, 22, who came to US aged eight, tells of joy and a little shock' after more than four months in detentionWard Sakeik, a stateless Palestinian woman who was detained in February on the way back from her honeymoon, was released from immigration detention after more than four months of confinement.I was overfilled with joy and a little shock," she said at a press conference on Thursday. I mean, it was my first time seeing a tree in five months." Continue reading...

Madre fire, one of at least a dozen in the state, has burned more than 50,000 acres in San Luis Obispo countyA fast-growing wildfire in central California has become the largest in the state this year, surpassing the size of January's wildfires that devastated parts of Los Angeles, as the flames spread in hot, windy conditions.The Madre fire had exploded to more than 50,000 acres by Thursday morning, after breaking out in San Luis Obispo county on Wednesday afternoon and tearing through grasslands as dry. Extreme heat has raised the fire risk for large portions of the state before the Fourth of July holiday. Continue reading...

After days of debate and backroom wrangling, the measure overcame Republican objections and passed the House. Key US politics stories from 3 July 2025The US House of Representatives passed Donald Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill on Thursday, handing the president the first major legislative victory of his second term, with the bill expected to supercharge immigration enforcement and slash federal safety net programs.For decades, Republicans have argued that the US would be better off if taxes were low, and programs to help low-income Americans were harder to access. Thursday's bill will in effect make this a reality, fundamentally reordering two major social safety net programs, slashing funding and imposing new work requirements. Nonpartisan estimates say it will cost millions of people their benefits and the ripple effects, experts say, will be felt across the country, and not just by the poor. Continue reading...

The Republican fantasy of lower taxes and hard-to-access social safety net programs will now be a realityFor decades, Republicans have argued that the US would be better off if taxes were low, and programs to help low-income Americans were harder to access. With Donald Trump's marquee tax and spending bill now set to become law, the country will find out what it's like to live under that sort of system.The massive legislation that Trump plans to sign Friday will make his campaign promises a reality by extending tax cuts enacted during his first term, and creating new deductions aimed at the working-class voters who backed his re-election. Continue reading...

Court halts ruling that allowed migrants to challenge removal to countries where they could be in dangerThe supreme court has allowed the Trump administration to deport the eight men who have been held for weeks at an American military base in Djibouti to war-torn South Sudan, a country where almost none of them have ties.Most of the men are from countries including Vietnam, South Korea, Mexico, Laos, Cuba and Myanmar. Just one is from South Sudan. Continue reading...

With narrow majorities and intra-party splits, Republicans faced a battle to give Trump his bill to sign - but they did itJust a few months ago, analysts predicted that Republicans in Congress - with their narrow majorities and fractured internal dynamics - would not be able to pass Donald Trump's landmark legislation.On Thursday, the president's commanding influence over his party was apparent once again: the bill passed just in time for Trump's Fourth of July deadline. Continue reading...

The El Rancho unified school district released video that allegedly shows Ice and border patrol agents urinating in the grounds of the Salazar high school in Pico Rivera on the morning of 17 June. Campus cameras captured some of those agents urinating on the school's premises, school district leaders said Continue reading...

Dan Rather laments sad day for journalism' after company settles for $16m over 60 Minutes Kamala Harris interviewA former CBS News anchor and 60 minutes correspondent, Dan Rather, has blasted the $16m settlement between Paramount, the parent company of CBS News, and Donald Trump, calling it a sad day for journalism".It's a sad day for 60 Minutes and CBS News," Rather, a veteran journalist who was a CBS News anchor for over 20 years, told Variety in an interview published on Wednesday. I hope people will read the details of this and understand what it was. It was distortion by the president and a kneeling down and saying, yes, sir,' by billionaire corporate owners." Continue reading...

Album launch party was ending when three people in an SUV began firing on a crowd outside a nightclubFour people were killed by gunfire and 14 others hospitalized overnight after a drive-by shooting outside a private nightclub event in Chicago, police said on Thursday.At least three were in critical condition. City news outlets reported that the incident happened after a launch party for the new album by the local rap star Mello Buckzz and that her boyfriend was one of those shot. Continue reading...

Marin Cilic beats Jack Draper but there are wins for Iga Swiatek, Mirra Andreeva, Barbora Krejcikova, Jannik Sinner and Novak DjokovicNavarro isn't messing around. Twelve minutes in, the 10th seed leads 3-0, and has hit only once unforced error.Pinnington Jones, looking like the 2002 champ Lleyton Hewitt with his backwards cap and diminutive frame, has begun his match too, but it's been an inauspicious start. The Brit is broken in the opening game, to 30, after three successive errors: on the forehand, the backhand and then a double fault. Cobolli consolidates the break and it's 2-0. Continue reading...