by Oliver Laughland, Tom Silverstone and Laurence Top on (#6XF5K)
The world's richest person has placed his mission to Mars in a low-income county near the US-Mexico border. As a small cluster of voters connected to SpaceX decide to incorporate their own Starbase city', Oliver Laughland and Tom Silverstone meet environmental opponents, space enthusiasts and residents who decry the gentrification Musk's expansion has brought Continue reading...
Police say suspect, named as Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, is in custody. Plus, Trump hectors South African president with false claims of white genocide'
Johnathan Buma, who was arrested in March and is out on bail, claims in new interview that efforts to target Musk were intense'A former FBI counterintelligence agent turned whistleblower has claimed he tried to gain access to Elon Musk in 2022 to warn the billionaire that he was the target of a covert Russian campaign seeking to infiltrate his inner circle, possibly to gain access to sensitive information.Johnathan Buma, who was arrested by the FBI earlier this year on a misdemeanor charge of disclosing confidential information, said in an interview that he tried - but ultimately failed - to gain access to Musk to personally brief and inoculate" him against outreach from the Kremlin". Continue reading...
The 26-year-old has been good rather than great in his first season with his new team, and he's playing in an unforgiving environmentIf you only tuned into the biggest headlines about him, you might be convinced that Juan Soto's first quarter of a season with the New York Mets has been a complete flop.Last December, the Mets guaranteed Soto $765m on a 15-year contract, the most lucrative deal in professional sports history. In the early going of his time with the Mets, Soto has been the subject of a handful of viral stories, ranging from the mundane to the bizarre. None of them have been positive. Last Sunday, Soto did not hustle out of the box on a ground ball up the middle, and his casual trot to first base cost him a chance at an infield hit, in the eighth inning of a tied game against the crosstown rival Yankees. The very next night, Soto jogged out of the box on a fly ball at Fenway Park that he thought was a home run. It was not, and another news cycle about Soto's effort followed. I think I've been hustling pretty hard," he told reporters. Continue reading...
by Ramon Antonio Vargas and David Hammer of WWL Louis on (#6XF3R)
Some lawyers of more than 600 abuse claimants trying to block approval of current agreement of chapter 11 caseSome attorneys involved in the bankrupt New Orleans Catholic archdiocese's federal financial reorganization say they have reached terms on an agreement to settle decades' worth of clergy molestation claims, but lawyers representing a sizeable share out of more than 600 abuse claimants contend the proposed deal falls short by about $100m - and they're hoping they have the votes to block its approval.Both developments came on Wednesday amid a struggle to resolve a tortuous chapter 11 case that has cost the church more than $45m in legal and other professional costs. The case theoretically could get dismissed at a hearing toward the end of June if the presiding judge, Meredith Grabill, determines she is unsatisfied with its progress. Continue reading...
How we deal with bereavement has changed enormously over the years. But not all the old traditions should be forgottenMany years ago, as part of a school homework project, I asked my grandparents what the most significant social change had been during their lifetime. Two of them answered child mortality". I was surprised. Weren't there other, more significant experiences in long lives that had stretched from the first and second world wars to the 1980s?But now that I am older and have experienced bereavement, I understand their replies. Both grandparents had sisters who died of diphtheria. And my grandfather's younger brother died of sepsis, meaning his parents had buried two of their four children before the age of three. Their childhoods had been profoundly shaped by loss. Child mortality was, at that time, horrifyingly common, and from their earliest years many people spent a great deal of their lives coping with the emotional fallout of grief, which shaped their lives into older age.Molly Conisbee is a social historian, visiting research fellow at the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath, and author of No Ordinary Deaths Continue reading...
Two staff members of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC were shot and killed near a Jewish museum. Metropolitan police chief Pamela Smith said a preliminary investigation showed both victims were exiting an event at the museum when the attack took place. The suspect is in custody.
The PM has little choice. Unless he brings the fractured nations together, none can move forward, and neither can heA house divided against itself cannot stand, warned Abraham Lincoln. The United States' later descent into civil war over slavery would prove Lincoln right. But is 21st-century Britain now also becoming, in its different way, an unsustainably divided house too? And have Britain's economic divisions become so intractable that the UK state can no longer manage them? More than at any time in the postwar era, the answer to both questions looks increasingly like yes.History shows that Britain's capacity for pragmatic resilience in the face of internal and external threat is not to be underestimated. Wednesday's partial climbdown on winter fuel payments was an example of that instinct for self-preservation at work. Yet the U-turn will not have restored the public's lost trust in the ability of government to solve their problems.Martin Kettle is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Footage released by Durango police department shows officer Shane Garrison approaching Irwin, named after the 'Crocodile hunter' Steve Irwin, in a narrow corridor between a fence and home. Once the officer has the kangaroo in his arms, another can be heard saying 'we have the kangaroo detained.'
Corruption and greed have eroded morality in public life. Powerful people who do what is right are in short supplyCourage is seeking the truth and speaking it," Jean Jaures, the French philosopher and Socialist party leader, told a group of high school students in 1903. It is not yielding to the law of the triumphant lie as it passes, and not echoing, with our soul, our mouth and our hands, mindless applause and fanatical jeering."When the first world war reared its ugly, pointless head, Jaures refused to give in to mindless fanaticism and attempted to coordinate a Franco-German general strike to stop the rush to war. In 1914, he paid for those efforts with his life when a 29-year-old French nationalist shot him twice in the back.Alexander Hurst is a Guardian Europe columnist Continue reading...
Republicans have been deeply divided over the bill which would extend Trump's 2017 tax cuts by tightening eligibility for food and health programsThe Republican-controlled House of Representatives will attempt to pass President Donald Trump's massive tax and spending bill in the pre-dawn hours of Thursday, following weeks of intra-party divisions of how deeply to cut spending.The bill cleared an important procedural hurdle in the House on Wednesday evening, when a gatekeeper committee approved the measure and set up a floor vote for passage to occur within hours. Shortly before midnight in Washington, the full House reconvened to consider Trump's so-called big, beautiful bill", opening the floor for debate and a series of procedural votes. Continue reading...
The South African president insists the meeting went very well' despite Trump publicly berating him. Key US politics stories from Wednesday 21 May 2025South African president Cyril Ramaphosa refused to take the bait when Donald Trump falsely accused his nation of committing white genocide, in what his spokesperson dismissed as an orchestrated show for the cameras".Ramaphosa remained composed and suggested the two leaders talk about it very calmly" as Trump ambushed him with a video making the untrue allegations that white Afrikaners in South Africa were victims of genocide. Continue reading...
United flight to LA forced to turn back over concern found written on lavatory mirror' as Hawaiian flight also delayedTwo planes traveling between Honolulu and southern California were diverted due to safety concerns, one for a bomb threat, another for a security concern" found written on a bathroom mirror.United flight 1169 left Daniel K Inouye international airport at 9.40pm on Tuesday night, headed for Los Angeles international airport. Data from FlightAware shows the airplane reversing course east of Hawaii, and headed back to Honolulu. Continue reading...
Like a Bond villain startling guests with noxious gas, the president pushed his 'white genocide' delusion to Cyril RamaphosaWe knew he was a bore and boor. Now we have learned that Donald Trump is an honorary Boer.When he turned his attention to South Africa on Wednesday, it may come as no surprise that the US president - who has been sued for discriminating against Black apartment seekers, called for the death penalty for the Central Park Five, pushed the false claim that Barack Obama was born in Kenya, referred to Haiti and African nations as shithole countries", and blamed an air crash on DEI - was rooting for the whites. Continue reading...
Detained Columbia University graduate and Palestinian activist forced to meet month-old baby from behind glassMahmoud Khalil, the detained Columbia University graduate and Palestinian activist, was not allowed to hold his newborn son after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officials refused to allow a contact visit between him and his family, his lawyers said on Wednesday.Instead, Khalil, 30, was forced to meet his month-old baby for the first time behind glass, after his wife, Noor Abdalla, traveled from New York to the Louisiana detention facility where he has been detained since March, his legal team said. Continue reading...
This time, the most notorious roo-peat offender is caught after leaping into the arms of a big farm boy' officerThe most notorious roo-peat offender in Durango, Colorado, was once again seen hopping through town. Irwin, a pet kangaroo, first jumped through Durango as a baby in October 2024. On Monday, he showed that his escapist tendencies have followed him from the pouch to adolescence.Irwin (named after Steve Irwin) was first caught in October when officers lured him with a large bag, banking on its similarity to a kangaroo pouch. But, when it came to catching a more grown-up Irwin, local police officers had to come up with a different kanga-ruse, a new form of hop pursuit. Continue reading...
by Rachel Savage in Komati, Mpumalanga, South Africa on (#6XET2)
US president intoned death, death, death' as he waved articles purporting to show violence against white minorityIt was an ambush crafted straight from a reality-TV playbook. The Oval Office meeting with South Africa's president, Cyril Ramaphosa, started with exchanges of pleasantries, before Donald Trump said turn the lights down" and a video was played to support his false claims that white South African farmers are being murdered for their race.Ramaphosa came prepared with champion white South African golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, whom the golf-mad Trump referred to as friends", as well as South Africa's richest person, Johann Rupert. Continue reading...
Condo owners and renters may see larger jump as insurance firm pursues overall 30% rate increase for policies in stateCondo owners and renters could see a larger jump in insurance costs as State Farm General pursues an overall 30% rate increase for homeowners policies in California.This comes just a week after the company was granted a 17% emergency interim hike, down from the nearly 22% increase it originally requested, following a ruling approved by insurance commissioner, Ricardo Lara. Continue reading...
South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa was ambushed with footage that US president Donald Trump falsely said showed evidence of white genocide during a visit to the White House. Ramaphosa pushed back in a tense and testy Oval Room encounter
Senior Cecilia Culver criticized the university's ties to Israel and called for donations to be withheldA graduation speech at George Washington University has resulted in the graduate being banned from the campus after she used the platform to criticize the university's ties to Israel and express support for Palestinians.During Saturday's commencement for the Columbian College of Arts & Sciences, part of GWU in Washington, DC, graduating senior Cecilia Culver delivered remarks to the graduating class of nearly 750. Continue reading...
Trump officials seek to dismiss Biden-era consent decrees reached after deaths of George Floyd and Breonna TaylorThe justice department moved on Wednesday to cancel a settlement with Minneapolis that called for an overhaul of its police department following the murder of George Floyd, as well as a similar agreement with Louisville, Kentucky, after the death of Breonna Taylor, saying it does not want to pursue the cases.The move shows how the civil rights division of the justice department is changing rapidly under Donald Trump, dismantling Biden-era work and investigating diversity programs. It also comes amid pressure on the right to recast Floyd's murder, undermine diversity efforts and define liberal-run cities like Minneapolis as crime-ridden. Continue reading...
A Guardian investigation finds insurer quietly paid facilities that helped it gain Medicare enrollees and reduce hospitalizations. Whistleblowers allege harm to residents
We'd like to hear from UnitedHealth or nursing home workers and their experience with the company's ISNP programThe Guardian has reported on allegations from current and former UnitedHealth employees that their company endangered patient safety in an attempt to cut hospitalization expenses and crossed legal lines to enroll residents in UnitedHealth's Medicare Advantage institutional special needs plans (ISNPs). UnitedHealth/Optum has denied these allegations.We would like to hear from nursing home employees and operators about their experience working with UnitedHealth's Medicare Advantage ISNP program. Continue reading...
Retailer warns sales will slip for all of 2025 as customers pull back spending amid fears over tariffs and economySales at Target fell more than expected in the first quarter, and the retailer warned they will slip for all of 2025 year as its customers, worried over the impact of tariffs and the economy, pull back on spending.Target also said that customer boycotts have also done some damage during the latest quarter. The company scaled back many diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in January after they came under attack by conservative activists and the White House. Target's retreat created another backlash, with more customers angered by the retailer's reduction of LGBTQ+-themed merchandise for Pride month in June of 2023. Continue reading...
A government study shows clear benefits to the flexibility of telework. Companies ignore these findings at their own riskWhen the pandemic hit in early 2020, organizations pivoted overnight to remote and hybrid models to survive. Nearly five years later, Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, Dell and Goldman Sachs have enforced five-day-in-office mandates, while US federal agencies imposed on-site requirements for more than 400,000 employees.These actions rely on outdated assumptions about productivity, culture and resilience, according to authoritative federal government data. A May 2025 report from the non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO), Telework: Private Sector Stakeholder and Expert Views, shows that telework offers clear advantages when leaders embrace strategic culture-building, robust performance tracking and available regulatory guidance. Companies ignoring these insights risk talent attrition, rising costs and reduced agility in an era that demands adaptability.Gleb Tsipursky, PhD, is the CEO of the future-of-work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts Continue reading...
As Claire Shipman spoke students voiced displeasure that green card holder Mahmoud Khalil remains in Ice custodyA graduation ceremony at Columbia University in New York City on Tuesday was filled with boos and chants of Free Mahmoud" as students voiced their displeasure that Mahmoud Khalil remains in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention in Louisiana and was unable to join the rest of the class of 2025 in graduating.The university's acting president, Claire Shipman, was heckled as she introduced the ceremony. I know that many of you feel some amount of frustration with me, and I know you feel it with the administration," Shipman said, inciting another chorus of boos. And I know that we have a strong, strong tradition of free speech at this university. And I am always open to feedback, which I am getting right now." Continue reading...
After talks with Food and Drug Administration, company plans to resubmit vaccine application later this yearModerna said on Wednesday it had withdrawn an application seeking approval for its flu and Covid combination vaccine candidate after discussions with the US Food and Drug Administration.The company said it would resubmit the application later this year with vaccine efficacy data from a late-stage trial of its experimental seasonal influenza vaccine, which it expects to report this summer. Continue reading...
by Stephen Starr in Reynoldsburg, Ohio on (#6XEBK)
They lost their Nepalese citizenship years ago and are now living in a stateless limbo' amid Trump's deportationsAasis Subedi, a Bhutanese Nepali refugee, finds himself back in the same Nepal refugee camp he spent part of his youth, once again stateless.Last month, Subedi and two dozen community members from across the US were deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officers to Bhutan, the tiny Himalayan country where they had never previously set foot. At least four, including Subedi, were immediately rejected by Bhutanese authorities and then expelled to India, where they fled to a refugee camp in Nepal. Continue reading...
Glenn Smallwood had schizoaffective disorder. Instead of a hospital, police took him to jail and strapped him to a chairTwo days before he died, a 33-year-old father and US army veteran named Glenn Smallwood Jr was talking about building a house. His younger brother, John, was remodeling a home in Lufkin, Texas, where both brothers lived, and Glenn asked whether he could help.He was so happy about the idea of working with me and turning his life around," John said. He was thinking positively about his future. I think about this memory often." Continue reading...
Ehud Olmert's statement comes as UN says Israel still blocking aid to Gaza. Plus, almost half a billion young people will be obese or overweight by 2030'
After an attack in Palm Springs, experts say the internet is only helping lone wolves find dangerous fringe theoriesExperts say an online ecosystem that allows lone actors to latch on to fringe viewpoints is bolstering violent extremism in the US, following an attack over the weekend on a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California.Investigators are combing through the writings of a 25-year-old man killed in a large explosion outside the American Reproductive Centers, an IVF facility, that was heavily damaged in what they have described as an intentional act of terrorism". The suspect in the bombing, Guy Edward Bartkus, left behind writings that appear to hold fringe theories of antinatalism" and nihilism, ideologies that oppose procreation and have a general sense of the meaninglessness of life. Continue reading...
Instead of cutting taxes on the richest Americans - who hold much of the country's debt - simply raise themOn Friday, the credit rating of the United States was downgraded. Moody's, the ratings firm, announced that the government's rising debt levels would grow further if the Trump Republican package of new tax cuts were enacted. This makes lending to the US riskier.Moody's is the third of the three major credit-rating agencies to downgrade the credit rating of the United States.They'll pay even more interest on the growing debt - to the super-rich.They'll pay higher interest rates on all other long-term debt. (As higher rates on treasury bonds waft through the economy, they raise borrowing costs on everything from mortgages to auto loans.)The debt crisis will give Republicans even more excuse to do what they're always wanting to do: slash safety nets. So many Americans could lose benefits they rely on, such as Medicaid and food stamps.Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a Guardian US columnist. His newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com Continue reading...
As the league's newest team targets a bright future, they are also keen to respect the culture and history of the Bay Area they representPurple-dyed ponytails and sequin jackets glittering in shades of black and violet. Fans are decked out in sports logos and LGBTQ rainbows while Black Box's Everybody Everybody - a queer dance club classic - booms from the speakers. Ali Wong is playfully dancing on the Jumbotron. There's no misinterpreting it: the WNBA has arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area.The Golden State Valkyries - who are owned by Golden State Warriors tech mogul Joe Lacob, and housed with their sibling franchise at Chase Center in San Francisco - were announced in 2023 (their name was confirmed in 2024) as the first WNBA expansion team since 2008. Last Friday, the team made their WNBA debut, against the Los Angeles Sparks, in front of a sellout crowd of 18,064. Continue reading...
They have been quick to brand the new pope an anti-Trump' total Marxist'. In return, he is already critiquing their worldviewIn the outer reaches of the Magasphere, it would be fair to say the advent of the first pope from the US has not been greeted with unbridled enthusiasm. Take Laura Loomer, the thirtysomething influencer and conspiracy theorist, whose verdict on Leo XIV was as instant as it was theologically uninformed: Anti-Trump, anti-Maga, pro-open Borders, and a total Marxist like Pope Francis." Also doing the rounds on X was a short summary of Leo's supposed transgressions before ascending to St Peter's chair: Trashed Trump, trashed Vance, trashed border enforcement, endorsed DREAMer-style illegal immigration, repeatedly praised and honored George Floyd, and endorsed a Democrat senator's call for more gun control."So far, so tedious. The comic-book casting of the new pope as a globalist villain in the US culture wars is traceable back to his predecessor's impact on liberal opinion a decade ago. Pope Francis's sometimes lonely championing of progressive causes, such as the rights of migrants, gave him a kind of liberal celebrity and led Time magazine to name him person of the year" in 2013. Pope Leo, born in Chicago, has been pre-emptively caricatured by much of the Maga right as a continuity pontiff who will, in effect, front up the religious wing of the Democratic party.Julian Coman is a Guardian associate editor Continue reading...
US news | The Guardian