Jobs, homes, kids, retirement - some say instability worsened under Trump is forcing them to postpone it allAmericans are getting married, having kids, buying a home, and retiring years later than what once was the norm. Many don't ever reach these milestones.While there is a complex web of factors that go into decisions like having kids or buying a house, a person's financial situation often plays an major role. In a May Harris/Guardian poll, six out of 10 Americans said that the economy had affected at least one of their major life goals, because of either a lack of affordability or anxiety about where the economy is heading. Continue reading...
Was I surprised by reports that tourists are being ripped off in France? LOL, non! But there are ways to minimise the riskWhen an investigation into the tricks of Parisian waiters found that foreign tourists were being ripped off, all I could think was, Quelle surprise!" Anyone who has stared in shock at a bill for a citron presse and an espresso near the Boulevard St Germain - as I did on one of my recent visits - will no doubt join me in a feeling of vindication. Undercover journalists for Le Parisien, posing as cafe punters around the Champ de Mars, have discovered that foreign tourists are being charged as much as 50% more than French customers, using a variety of tricks including only offering bottled water or more expensive drinks, being told service isn't included when it is, and swapping the wine ordered for the cheapest on the menu.As a former waitress in the French capital, I'm someone who has been on both sides of this conflict. Before I left home, at 18, to move there, my mother warned me of the tourist tax", having visited with my father in the mid-1980s and noted the suspicious fiver that seemed to appear on all their bills. As a result, I was slightly on guard whenever I was en terrasse, always making sure to ask for tap water and quibbling anything that didn't look right. Then I became a waitress myself.Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Donald Trump also criticises European leaders on immigration ahead of crunch meeting with Ursula von der Leyen. Key US politics stories from 26 July 2025Donald Trump spent the night at his family-owned golf resort in Scotland but took time to criticise European leaders over wind turbines and immigration, claiming there won't be a Europe unless they get their act together".I say two things to Europe. Stop the windmills. You're ruining your countries. I really mean it, it's so sad. You fly over and you see these windmills all over the place, ruining your beautiful fields and valleys and killing your birds," he said. Continue reading...
Hospital says six people in a critical condition after stabbing at Traverse City storeAt least 11 people were stabbed at a Walmart in Traverse City, with six people in a critical condition, Michigan authorities said.About 4.45pm on Saturday, a 42-year-old man allegedly entered the store and used a folding knife to stab 11 people, the Grand Traverse county sheriff's office said, adding that it appeared to have been a random act of violence. Continue reading...
Joseph Czuba sentenced to 53 years for murder of Wadee Alfayoumi and wounding of mother in October 2023A landlord jailed for decades after he attacked a Palestinian American boy and his mother has died.Three months ago, Joseph Czuba was sentenced to 53 years behind bars for the attack. He was found guilty in February of murder, attempted murder and hate-crime charges in the death of Wadee Alfayoumi and the wounding of the boy's mother, Hanan Shaheen. Continue reading...
LA county sheriff's deputies died when one of two military-style' grenades detonated at police training complexA grenade is missing from the scene of an explosion that killed three people at a Los Angeles law enforcement training facility, authorities said.Three veteran deputy sheriffs died in the explosion last Friday, the LA county sheriff's department's largest loss of life in a single incident since 1857. Continue reading...
Venezuelans back home under Maduro-Trump deal tell of isolation, beatings and dirty water - a living nightmare'Venezuelans that the Trump administration expelled to El Salvador's most notorious megaprison endured state-sanctioned torture", lawyers for some of the men have said, as more stories emerge about the horrors they faced during capacity.When Jose Manuel Ramos Bastidas - one of 252 Venezuelan men that the US sent to El Salvador's most notorious mega-prison - finally made it back home to El Tocuyo on Tuesday, the first thing he did was stretch his arms around his family. Continue reading...
Department of government efficiency' is proposing to use tool to cut 50% of federal regulations by JanuaryThe department of government efficiency" (Doge) is using artificial intelligence to create a delete list" of federal regulations, according to a report, proposing to use the tool to cut 50% of regulations by the first anniversary of Donald Trump's second inauguration.The Doge AI Deregulation Decision Tool" will analyze 200,000 government regulations, according to internal documents obtained by the Washington Post, and select those which it deems to be no longer required by law. Continue reading...
Lawyers say grand jury transcripts might not provide much insight compared with documents still held by FBI and DoJAs Donald Trump reels from political fallout related to his justice department's handling of Jeffrey Epstein investigation files, the US president has directed his loyal attorney general, Pam Bondi, to release all Grand Jury testimony with respect to Jeffrey Epstein, subject only to court approval".It is an effort at damage control for a White House now engulfed in endless speculation - especially among Trump's previously devoted Maga base - about the extent of Trump's relationship with the late, disgraced sex trafficker and wealthy financier who killed himself in jail in 2019. Continue reading...
Ron DeSantis said most of the detainees were transferred to other facilities, and 100 deported from the USFlorida has begun deporting people from the notorious Alligator Alcatraz" detention camp, the state's governor said, and deportations are expected to increase in the coming weeks.At a press conference at the controversial facility, Ron DeSantis said hundreds of illegals have been removed" from the facility. He later clarified that most of those were flown from Alligator Alcatraz to other detention facilities in the US. DeSantis, who has built a political career on his anti-immigration views, said 100 people had been deported from the US. Continue reading...
The controversy may deal the president a serious political blow - or will his distraction machine overcome the odds once again?Brrrr. Brrrr. Brrrrrrr. That's the sound of Donald's Trump's distraction machine, which has been running at full power as the president tries his best to stop us all from talking about Jeffrey Epstein. Or, to be more specific, from talking about just how chummy he was with the dead paedophile.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Ursula von der Leyen will meet with US president on Sunday, who describes 20 sticking points' in negotiationsIntensive negotiations were continuing on Saturday between the EU and the US before a crunch meeting in Scotland between Donald Trump and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, to avert a costly trade war.Trump spent the night at his family-owned Turnberry golf resort on a private visit, but took time to criticise European leaders over wind turbines and immigration, claiming there won't be a Europe unless they get their act together". Continue reading...
It's good to welcome strangers, but some strangers are stranger than others. Welcomes come in all shapes and sizes tooAs an American comedian living in Scotland, I'm often asked: Krystal, why don't you talk about Trump more on stage? I'll bet that subject is rife for comedy!" Yesterday he was in Washington, today the schedule says Scotland. I know this visit isn't a personal attack on me, but woo boy, it sure does feel like it. I live in Edinburgh. But I didn't come to Scotland so I could be around the most annoying, unhinged, rich Americans in existence.There are many reasons I don't tend to talk about Donald Trump that much on stage. For one, that 10 to 20 seconds in the morning before I remember who occupies the position of president of the United States is honestly the best part of my day. And those few precious moments I savour will not be present for me over the next four days, because the aura of Trump's presence will permeate my consciousness, not to mention all the major news outlets, with everyone giving their very strong opinions on this man who has managed to inflame humanity more than anyone in all of our collective living memory. And what's more, he doesn't seem to care.Krystal Evans is an American comedian who lives in Scotland. Her latest show, A Star is Burnt, is at the Edinburgh festival fringe 2025 Continue reading...
The university's agreement reveals its willingness to bend to the administration's will and undermines an American mythOne of the chauvinistic, self-glorifying myths of American liberalism is that the US has especially strong institutions. In this story, trotted out occasionally since 2016 to reassure those who are worried about Donald Trump's influence, the private and public bodies of American commerce, governance, healthcare and education are possessed of uncommonly robust internal accountability mechanisms, rock-hard rectitude, and a coolly rational self-interest. Trump can only do so much damage to America's economy, culture and way of life, it was reasoned, because these institutions would not bend to his will. They would resist him; they would check his excesses. When forced to choose, as it was always accepted that they one day would be, between Trump's demands and their own principles and purposes, the institutions would always choose themselves.This week put another nail into the coffin of this idea, revealing its valorization of American institutions to be shortsighted and naive. The latest intrusion of reality comes in the form of a deal that Columbia University made with the Trump administration, in which the university made a host of academic, admissions and governance concessions to the Trump regime and agreed to pay a $200m fine in order to restore its federal research funding. The deal marks the formal end of Columbia's academic independence and the dawn of a new era of regulation by deal making, repression and bribery in the field of higher education.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...
Richard Black, who appeared on controversial Jubilee video, organized Proud Boys-linked protests in 2017A debating opponent of the leftwing media figure Mehdi Hasan in a controversial viral YouTube video was previously the organizer of two violent far-right protests in Berkeley, California, in 2017, the Guardian can reveal.The video debate session with Hasan, published to the 10 million-subscriber Jubilee channel, has already attracted scrutiny due to platforming a self-described fascist", Connor Estelle, who reportedly lost his job after he was identified by online researchers. Continue reading...
Republican lawmakers voted for the big, beautiful' bill but cuts to Medicaid will hit hard in rural areas like Missouri's poorest county, PemiscotWhen her severely allergic toddler, Josie, began gasping for breath in the middle of the night, Krissy Cunningham knew there was only one place she could get to in time to save her daughter's life.For 74 years, Pemiscot Memorial hospital has been the destination for those who encounter catastrophe in Missouri's poorest county, a rural stretch of farms and towns in its south-eastern Bootheel region. Three stories of brown brick just off Interstate 55 in the town of Hayti, the 115-bed hospital has kept its doors open even after the county's only Walmart closed, the ranks of boarded-up gas stations along the freeway exit grew, and the population of the surrounding towns dwindled, thanks in no small part to the destruction done by tornadoes. Continue reading...
by Alexandra Villarreal in San Antonio on (#6YXAT)
Jenny, 25, entered the US legally, but Ice agents arrested her after a hearing, part of a growing trend of court detentionsJerome traveled a thousand miles from California to El Paso, Texas, so he could accompany Jenny to her immigration hearing. He and his wife had promised to take her after she had fled Cuba last December, after the government there had targeted her because she had reported on the country's deplorable conditions for her college radio station.Everything should have been fine. Jenny, 25, had entered the United States legally under one of Joe Biden's now-defunct programs, CBP One. By the end of the year, she could apply for a green card. Continue reading...
The teenage phenom from Canada is chasing five golds in Singapore, but her showdown with the sport's longtime 800m free queen could signal a passing of the torchFor the first time in more than a decade, Katie Ledecky may not be the most feared swimmer in the pool. That honor now belongs to Summer McIntosh, the Canadian teenager looking to do what only Michael Phelps has done before her: win five individual gold medals at a single world swimming championships.Their clash in the 800m freestyle on 2 August is set to be the defining moment of the weeklong meet in Singapore. Ledecky, the most decorated female swimmer in history, is bidding for an unprecedented seventh world title at the distance she has dominated since 2013. McIntosh, just 18, is the only swimmer to have beaten her at 800m in the past 15 years. Continue reading...
by Libby Brooks Scotland correspondent on (#6YXA1)
Protests planned but those who spent years opposing president's golf courses worry about playing to his egoRohan Beyts first visited the dunes overlooking the slate grey North Sea at Menie, Aberdeenshire, as a teenager. Later she brought her own children to play across the spectacular landscape of dunes and slacks, vibrant with butterflies and wildflowers.Beyts attended the initial meeting called in 2006 to galvanise local resistance to the then business tycoon Donald Trump's plans to bulldoze this legally protected site of ecological rarity to make way for his first Scottish golf resort. Continue reading...
The Guardian Opinion cartoonist reports on lives for ever changed by conflictIn Ukraine, many people affected by the conflict are being treated and supported by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). I was able to meet some of them: in a rehabilitation centre for war veterans in Cherkasy and a mental health clinic for internally displaced families in Vinnytsia.Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, I've drawn many political cartoons about the war; drawings that feature Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Vladimir Putin and the occasional bear. It looked very different from the ground, where war is fought and lived by ordinary people, just like us. In the hospitals I visited in May this year, I sketched the precise way in which war is mapped on individual bodies and listened to the stories behind their scars. I drew what people told me, as well as what I saw, because trauma and hope are intangible things of memory and imagination. There's nothing left to draw of an amputated limb but memories - the same could be said for a lost home or relative. These things are beyond a camera's reach, which I think gives you licence to reach for a pencil. Continue reading...
by Robert Mackey, Lucy Campbell, Maya Yang and Shanno on (#6YWNN)
This blog is now closed. Read our latest story hereDonald Trump has said Hamas did not want to make a deal" on a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza.Speaking to reporters at the White House earlier, the president's comments echoed those of his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, who said yesterday the Trump team had pulled its negotiators for consultations following Hamas's latest proposal. Continue reading...
Ro Khanna and Robert Garcia seek complete and unredacted copy' of book from Epstein estate lawyersHouse Democrats on Friday sent a letter to the attorneys representing the estate of Jeffrey Epstein requesting a copy of the so-called birthday book" that reportedly contains a crude poem and doodle from Donald Trump in celebration of the late sex offender's 50th birthday.In the letter, California congressmen Ro Khanna and Robert Garcia say the contents of the book may be essential" to congressional oversight of the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein controversy. In the letter, they ask for a complete and unredacted" copy of the book by 10 August. Continue reading...
Donald Trump deflects on Epstein ties and rejects idea of a pardon for Maxwell. Key US politics stories from 25 July 2025Donald Trump continued to face questions about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein as he landed in Scotland ahead of meeting British prime minister Keir Starmer and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.The US president denied reports that he was briefed about his name appearing in the Epstein files after landing on Friday evening local time. He was also asked about the justice department's questioning of Ghislaine Maxwell and suggestions he might offer her clemency. Continue reading...
Remains of Timothy Garlington shipped from Georgia funeral home to another in PennsylvaniaTwo funeral homes allegedly gave grieving parents their deceased son's brain in a box, which began to smell, leaked into their car and got on the father's hands when he moved it, according to an updated lawsuit filed this week.The father, Lawrence Butler, said the discovery was overwhelming at a news conference on Thursday, leaving a horrific memory that mars the other memories of a good young man", their son, Timothy Garlington. Continue reading...
Reports say plane flying from Burbank to Las Vegas took dramatic plunge after takeoff to avoid Hawker Hunter jetTwo Southwest Airlines flight attendants are being treated for injuries after a passenger jet heading to Las Vegas from southern California took a dramatic plunge shortly after takeoff on Friday, the airline and passengers said.Southwest flight 1496, headed from Burbank to Las Vegas, received two alerts that made the plane climb and then descend, according to a statement from Southwest. Continue reading...
Blow to US president as judge rejects claim that sanctuary policies thwart' federal efforts to enforce immigration lawsA judge in Illinois dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit Friday that sought to disrupt limits Chicago imposes on cooperation between federal immigration agents and local police.The lawsuit, filed in February, alleged that so-called sanctuary laws in the nation's third-largest city thwart" federal efforts to enforce immigration laws. Continue reading...
Method of payment a recent addition as US treasury gives kind-hearted citizens chance to help reduce $36.72tn debtJohn F Kennedy's sage words from his inaugural address are forever seared into America's political consciousness:Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country." Continue reading...
Trump administration's block on congressionally approved funding for states had prompted Republican backlashThe White House has announced that it will release $5.5bn in frozen education funds back to US states.That announcement came on Friday after Donald Trump's administration decided to abruptly withhold the congressionally approved funds a day before their 1 July release for the 2025-26 school year. Continue reading...
Orleans Justice Center, from which 10 inmates escaped in May, freed Khalil Bryan, accused of violent crimes, in errorThe jail in New Orleans from which 10 inmates escaped in May mistakenly released another detained man on Friday, according to authorities.Khalil Bryan, 30, was being held on a $100,000 bench warrant related to a failure to appear for arraignment on charges of aggravated assault with a firearm, domestic abuse child endangerment and home invasion, officials said. He was also being held on other charges as well as a warrant from a neighboring jurisdiction.Guardian reporting partner WWL Louisiana contributed reporting Continue reading...
Christopher Earl Lloyd, 39, claimed he was a financial expert to convince victims to transfer him money, prosecutors sayA California man was arrested on Thursday for allegedly using dating apps to con his matches out of more than $2m over the course of nearly three years.Allegedly posing as an investor, Christopher Earl Lloyd, 39, of the Los Angeles-area city of Whittier swindled matches that he befriended and romanced on Tinder, Hinge and Bumble. Federal prosecutors have charged Lloyd with 13 counts of wire fraud and one count of engaging in a monetary transaction in property derived from fraud. Continue reading...
by Nina Lakhani, Lucy Campbell and Marina Dunbar on (#6YWSH)
President claimed he had not really been following' DoJ's interview with Epstein associate Ghislaine MaxwellThe furore over Donald Trump's ties with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continued on Friday as new revelations about the pair's relationship threatened to mire the president's golfing trip to Scotland, where he arrived late on Friday.After landing at Glasgow Prestwick airport at about 8.30pm local time on Friday, the US president denied reports that he had been briefed about his name appearing in files pertaining to the case against the late Epstein. He also claimed he had not really been following" the justice department's interview with Epstein's convicted longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. Continue reading...
Armored vehicles, hi-tech surveillance systems and squadrons of drones: inside the militarized buildup at the US-Mexico borderInside an armored vehicle, an army scout uses a joystick to direct a long-range optical scope toward a man perched atop the US-Mexico border wall cutting across the hills of this Arizona frontier community.The man lowers himself toward US soil between coils of concertina wire. Shouts ring out, an alert is sounded and a US Customs and Border Protection SUV races toward the wall - warning enough to send the man scrambling back over it, disappearing into Mexico. Continue reading...
UN agency says entire humanitarian system is collapsing' as ceasefire talks fail. Plus, South Park creators terribly sorry' about naked Donald Trump Don't already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up hereHelloThe head of the main UN agency serving Palestinians has said his frontline staff are fainting from hunger, as the number of people dying of starvation in Gaza continues to rise and hopes for a ceasefire fade amid collapsed negotiations.What else is happening? France will recognise a Palestinian state in September at the UN general assembly, Emmanuel Macron has said. The French president announced the decision on X yesterday evening, saying he hoped it would bring peace to the region.Why else is Gaza in the news? A group of far-right Israeli politicians and settlers met in parliament this week to discuss a plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza, annex the territory and turn it into a hi-tech, luxury resort city for Israelis.Who else reportedly features in the album? Nearly 50 people wrote to Epstein, the Wall Street Journal claims. They reportedly include the billionaire investor Leon Black, the fashion designer Vera Wang, the billionaire former Victoria's Secret owner Les Wexner and the attorney Alan Dershowitz. Continue reading...
Video from Kenny Laynez-Ambrosio, 18, puts fresh scrutiny on the harsh tactics used to reach the Trump administration's ambitious enforcement targetsOn the morning of 2 May, teenager Kenny Laynez-Ambrosio was driving to his landscaping job in North Palm Beach with his mother and two male friends when they were pulled over by the Florida highway patrol.In one swift moment, a traffic stop turned into a violent arrest. Continue reading...
As the US president fires thousands in the name of preventing alleged fraud, he continues to spend taxpayer funds on his outingsDonald Trump will be visiting Scotland for five days, but he won't spend most of his time in high-level diplomatic meetings or conducting other state business. He's primarily visiting two of his golf resorts, and dedicating a new golf course named in honor of his mother, who was born in Scotland.In other words, Trump appears to be going on a junket, paid for by US taxpayers, to check out his golf properties in a foreign country.Mohamad Bazzi is director of the Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies, and a journalism professor at New York University Continue reading...
by Photographs and text by Julius Constantine Motal on (#6YWWP)
The Guardian observed a spate of detentions at a Manhattan courthouse on 16 July 2025, despite the fact that some of those detained had been granted follow-up hearingsA brother is torn from his sister. A father arrives for his immigration hearing with his family, only to find that they will be leaving without him. A woman, seemingly relieved after emerging from her hearing, finds that her life is about to change when she is apprehended by federal officials waiting just outside the door.These are just some of the moments that happened on a single day in the Jacob K Javits federal building at 26 Federal Plaza in New York City, the largest federal immigration courthouse in Manhattan. Continue reading...
Consent decrees meant to curb police abuse are ending in more than 20 cities, including Breonna Taylor's LouisvilleUS communities that have contended with police violence are losing a major accountability measure to curb abuse. In late May, the Trump administration's Department of Justice announced a reversal in investigations and consent decrees - agreements between federal officials to hold law enforcement agencies accountable to reform - for several major police departments. The move came years after the Biden administration launched investigations into some law enforcement agencies, specifically as racial justice protests kicked off in the summer of 2020.Louisville metro police department (LMPD) is one department that saw its justice department investigation ended, despite its high-profile police controversies. In March 2020, LMPD officers shot and killed Breonna Taylor, a 27-year-old emergency room technician, as she slept in bed with her boyfriend. Police forcibly entered Taylor's home using a no-knock" warrant, firing 32 bullets into Taylor's home. Taylor's death sparked international outcry as the Black Lives Matter protests spread across the world. Continue reading...
Police arrested employee of the chain after credit card stolen from customer was allegedly found in his possessionFlorida police have arrested a Chuck E Cheese mascot for credit card fraud, telling him Chuck E, come with me" and leading him away in handcuffs while still in his gigantic mouse head costume as horrified children looked on.Police confirmed to the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper that they had arrested Jermell Jones, an employee of the chain of family entertainment centers, on three felonies. Continue reading...
Antlers strapped to a wing also caused small plane that Mary Peltola's husband was piloting to crash in 2023Antlers strapped to a wing and too much moose meat on board caused a small plane crash that killed the husband of then Alaska Democratic congresswoman Mary Peltola in 2023, according to a US national transportation safety board (NTSB) report that was recently released.Though the report doesn't name him, Eugene Buzzy" Peltola Jr was the pilot and lone person on the Piper PA-18 plane involved in the deadly wreck, which occurred near St Mary's, Alaska, on 12 September 2023, officials had previously said. Continue reading...
Claims that Maga is fracturing are overblown. But that doesn't mean Trump can't be defeatedThe fracas over the Jeffrey Epstein files - and declining poll numbers on every issue that won Donald Trump the 2024 election - indicate cracks in the Maga coalition and weakening support for the president's self-proclaimed mandate.But reports of Maga's death are probably exaggerated.Judith Levine is Brooklyn-based journalist, essayist and author of five books. Her Substack is Today in Fascism Continue reading...
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