Jimmy Carter's six-day farewell to the US nation culminated on Thursday morning with a eulogy from President Joe Biden on faith and character, as the 39th president received a state funeral at Washington National Cathedral. During the service, Biden said he was perhaps the first senator to endorse Carter for president. He highlighted how Carter had seen challenges well into the future' and taught him the power of morality. Jimmy Carter's friendship taught me ... that strength of character is more than title or the power we hold,' Biden said. It's the strength to understand that everyone should be treated with dignity, respect, that everyone, and I mean everyone, deserves an even shot'
More than 170,000 people have been evacuated as firefighters battle flames across five areas of the Californian city. The largest fire, in Pacific Palisades, west of Santa Monica, left a trail of devastation, with hundreds of homes and buildings destroyed. In a preliminary death toll, officials said five people had died as a result of the fires
Five living presidents gathered at the service in Washington. They were a reminder of how much has changed in US politicsHeavy with honours, attended by all living US presidents, and swathed in public affection, JimmyCarter received a solemn state funeral on Thursdayon the kind of cold and crystalline Januaryday atwhich Washington DC's climate can excel. Within hours, though, the 39th US president's remains were interredin a private ceremony alongside his wife Rosalynn, in the shadow of the modest house they built in 1961 in Plains, Georgia, where Mr Carter was born more than a century ago, and where he died at theend of December.This sharp juxtapositions of Mr Carter's final day in the world's eye were somehow appropriate. He made his home in Washington for the four years of his presidency, but his roots and heart were always in Georgia. His manifest personal decency and lack of Beltway experience made him the not-Nixon" that the US needed after Watergate. Yet after a presidency marked by spiralling oil prices and the Iran hostage debacle, America quickly turned to a not-Carter" candidate in the shape of Ronald Reagan.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
Physicians call Kennedy dangerous' and point to harmful conspiracy theories about vaccines and scienceMore than 15,000 doctors have signed a letter circulated by the Committee to Protect Health Care in opposition to Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of health and human services, Robert F Kennedy Jr.As physicians who care deeply about the health and safety of our patients and communities, we are appalled by Donald Trump's reckless decision to appoint Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS)," the letter states. Continue reading...
World leaders and luminaries were in Washington DC to pay respects to the former US president. After the state funeral, Carter's remains will return to Plains, Georgia Continue reading...
Wildfires have been burning around Los Angeles for two days, killing at least five people and destroying almost 2,000 homes and buildings. A powerful windstorm fanned the flames in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, prompting thousands to flee. Drone footage from one of the neighbourhoods shows rows of houses completely destroyed.
Rise in abortions and patients from states such as Texas show how access has shifted since Roe's overturningKansas providers performed a historic number of abortions in 2023 - and most of them were performed on out-of-state residents - in a sign of just how much the 2022 overturning of Roe v Wade has rewritten the map of abortion access and led women to flee their home states for the procedure.More than 19,000 abortions took place in Kansas in 2023, a 58% increase from 2022, according to a recent report from the Kansas department of health and environment. Of those, roughly 4,300 abortions were performed on Kansas residents, while about 15,000 were done on out-of-state residents. Continue reading...
PJ Lechleitner says president absolutely' could have acted earlier and expects a lot more support' from TrumpThe outgoing director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, PJ Lechleitner, claims President Joe Biden absolutely" should have acted sooner to tighten security at the US and Mexico border to reduce the flow of migrants into the US, according to an interview with NBC News.Lechleitner became the acting director of Ice in July 2023 and his departure comes ahead of President-elect Donald Trump taking office on 20 January. Continue reading...
Wildfires have been burning around Los Angeles for two days, killing at least five people and destroying almost 2,000 homes and other buildings. The blaze has forced the evacuation of more than 130,000 people and spread to the hills above Hollywood Boulevard. As firefighters battled five separate blazes, the White House announced that Joe Biden had cancelled his final overseas trip of his presidency, to Italy, to focus on directing the federal response to the fires. Timelapse footage taken from the surrounding mountains shows the speed at which the flames have spread because of high winds.
US defense secretary says Ukraine's fight matters to all' when revealing aid bundle days before Trump's returnThe Biden administration has given its final injection of military support to Ukraine, unveiling a $500m weapons package just days before Donald Trump's return to the White House threatens to upend western backing for Kyiv.The aid bundle - including air defense missiles and F-16 fighter jet equipment - was announced on Thursday by outgoing US defense secretary Lloyd Austin during a summit at Germany's Ramstein air base. Continue reading...
Disgraced ex-congressman requested a few more months to come up with half a million dollars in court finesThe disgraced former congressman George Santos, facing a federal prison sentence, has won a few months' freedom to come up with more than half a million dollars in court fines - including revenue from his new podcast.A New York judge on Wednesday granted the Republican's request to delay his 7 February sentencing after he pleaded guilty this summer to federal fraud and identity theft charges. Continue reading...
A fast-moving fire broke out in the hills above Hollywood Boulevard and threatened some of Los Angeles' most recognisable tourist spots as firefighters battled to gain control over two other major blazes that killed five people, put 130,000 people under evacuation orders and ravaged communities from the Pacific coast to the inland city of Pasadena
DEI refers to three simple but important words: diversity, equity and inclusion. These three values are indispensableIf the US wants to achieve economic growth, empower the best talent and have a fair and just society for all, it must embrace diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Otherwise, we can simply devolve into a backsliding democracy ruled by a billionaire class that pillages our wealth as it divides us through manufactured culture wars.On cue, conservatives are blaming DEI for the devastating fires currently ravaging California and for a recent terror attack in New Orleans committed by a US citizen. Continue reading...
In defending the militarist status quo, Democrats ceded the anti-war lane to Republicans. As they enter the political wilderness, it's time to reckon with what they got so wrongThe most devastating appraisal of the 2024 Democratic national convention was delivered by the neoconservative doyen Bill Kristol: Leon Panetta quoting Ronald Reagan! My kind of Democratic convention." He meant it as praise.Earlier in the day, rumors had been flying around Chicago about that evening's possible surprise speakers. Who would it be? Beyonce? Taylor Swift? Close! It turned out to be the 86-year-old former CIA director and secretary of defense who last served in government over a decade ago. In his speech, he cited Ronald Reagan to rail against isolationism", telling the assembled crowd: Our warriors need a tough, cool-headed commander-in-chief to defend our democracy from tyrants and terrorists," and declaring that Kamala Harris would be that leader. Continue reading...
President-elect's post featuring economist Jeffrey Sachs comes weeks after Israeli PM claims two had a warm' chatDonald Trump has shared inflammatory video content calling Benjamin Netanyahu a deep, dark son of a bitch" just weeks after the Israeli leader claimed the two had a very friendly, warm" discussion about hostage negotiations and Syria policy.The president-elect posted the clip to Truth Social featuring economist Jeffrey Sachs, who accuses Netanyahu of manipulating US foreign policy and orchestrating endless wars" in the Middle East. Continue reading...
Wayne Rooney's exit was a reminder of how common the fly-on-the-wall club documentary has become. The age of perpetual content is upon us, and it is viciously uninterestingWon't someone think of the streaming platforms? Wayne Rooney's departure from Plymouth Argyle, after seven months and a winless run that left the club bottom of the Championship, not only suggests the former England star's managerial career has reached its end - it's also a signal of how contentious the fly-on-the-wall documentary has become in modern football. Rooney was the driving force behind Plymouth's announcement last November that it would produce a behind-the-scenes documentary about the club's battle to stay in the Championship. This was a scheme cooked up in the fires of the post-Welcome to Wrexham content jamboree, which has made seemingly every sub-top flight club across England eager to spin its struggles to stay afloat - amid deindustrialization, post-Brexit economic malaise, the stresses and joys of small-city life, and the slog of the English Football League - into streaming gold. The plan was to sell the finished product to a streaming service like Amazon or Netflix, thereby boosting the club's coffers and stamping Plymouth Argyle on the cultural map with a force that games away to Preston and Oxford United alone can't quite muster. Now, however, the plan is dead: with Rooney dispatched, the club has scrapped the documentary, which it feared could become a distraction as the team fights relegation. Neither decision has been lamented by the club's fans, who never warmed to Rooney and reviled the idea of the documentary from its inception.Plymouth's abandonment of this sweaty content play" points, perhaps, to a broader indecision among professional teams across Europe about the benefits of flinging open the training ground gates to the corporate documentarian's camera. Amazon's All or Nothing is the series most emblematic of the modern soccer club's need to tell its story", but it appears to have lost much of the momentum it had a few years ago, after the success of its seasons featuring Tottenham and Arsenal. This may have something to do with the overwhelmingly negative perception of these documentaries among players: former Spurs captain Hugo Lloris, for instance, was withering about the Amazon series in his recent autobiography, describing it as a muzzle on the players' freedom of speech and movement (We had to be careful all the time," he wrote). It may also be the product of simple cost-benefit analysis: Spurs and Arsenal each reportedly hauled in around 10m for their respective stints on the All or Nothing merry go round, and while that sum is nothing to be sneezed at (it's good enough for a decent back-up defender, say, or an under-the-radar prospect from the lower reaches of Ligue 1), it's perhaps not quite enough to justify the disruptions and reputational risks involved. Continue reading...
The billionaire appears to have a David Brent-like desire to be seen as an entertainer. Please let him get back to conquering MarsWhat, as they say, is Elon Musk's deal? There will be a lot of justifiably righteous commentary about his hijacking of the debate around sexually abused girls in the north of England this week, but why this particular meltdown and why now?On Tuesday, after attacking Keir Starmer and Jess Phillips, the world's richest man waxed lachrymose about his British Nana", a woman identified as Cora Amelia Musk, nee Robinson, and the mother of Musk's father, Errol. Errol Musk, you may recall, grew up to father two children with his own stepdaughter, so perhaps poor Elon has simply been triggered?Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnistDo 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...
by Doug Farrar, Bryan Armen Graham, Melissa Jacobs an on (#6TEGA)
The postseason kicks off on Saturday. Our writers pick the dark horses, players to watch and make their tips for the NFL's championship gameCincinnati Bengals. This is the obvious answer, as it's a bummer when the team with one of the NFL's best quarterbacks (Joe Burrow), the receiving triple crown winner (Ja'Marr Chase) and the NFL's sack leader (Trey Hendrickson) is on the outside looking in. Plus, it would certainly be fun to watch opposing offenses torch the Bengals' iffy defense. As it is, we'll have to wait until next season to know whether a defensive overhaul (including the firing of defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo) will bear any dividends. Doug Farrar Continue reading...
Reimposing passport checks in the Schengen area creates new political lines in our minds - and that poses its own dangerWith so many economic and political challenges looming, the EU nevertheless began 2025 with a little bit of its old magic and a reminder that it's here to do far more than simply react. At the stroke of midnight on 1 January, a dog crossed the border between Romania and Hungary, and like all the people to follow it, nope, it didn't have to show ID. As of 2025, Romania and Bulgaria are full members of the Schengen area - that counterintuitive dismantling of borders that refuses to be snuffed out in an age of rising nationalism.The quote we have made Europe, now we must make Europeans" is often apocryphally attributed to Jean Monnet, one of the founding fathers of the European Union. Even if he never actually said it, the making" of Europeans is tangible in two ways. Both have to do with movement. Erasmus - the scheme that lent its name to a whole generation of students for whom it opened Europe's doors - and the Schengen agreement, which eliminated physical borders between most countries in the EU.Alexander Hurst is a Guardian Europe columnist
The democratic order has faced down tyrants and megalomaniacs before. The name of the game for liberals for 2025 and beyond must be survivalThey can smell the fear. And they are thrilled by what they can smell. Fanned by a mesmerised media at home and abroad, the thrill excites them into fresh provocations. Donald Trump knows the US's allies' nerves are jangling as his second presidency approaches - and he wants to keep it that way. Elon Musk is similarly glorying in his power to provoke and misinform without suffering penalty or reprimand - least of all from most of Britain's politicians and press.Both men are bullies. And this is what bullies do. However, there is no disputing that this is also their moment. The Trump inauguration on 20 January will be an in-your-face celebration of America First power. It will also be a requiem that consigns large parts of the rules-based postwar global settlement to the grave.Martin Kettle is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
City's supply completely filled before fire, but within hours three 1m-gallon tanks serving Palisades depletedAs firefighters battled three wildfires raging across Los Angeles in the early hours of Wednesday morning, the water tanks supplying Pacific Palisades - where the largest of the fires broke out - ran dry.Janisse Quinones, chief engineer and CEO of the Los Angeles department of water and power, told reporters that by 3am Wednesday, the three 1m-gallon tanks serving the Palisades had been depleted. Continue reading...
Sebastian Gorka says letting people in prison camps return to Britain would benefit the special relationship' with USBritish nationals being held in Syrian prison camps for fighting on behalf of Islamic State should be allowed to return to the UK, Donald Trump's incoming counter-terrorism chief has said.Any country that wants to be a serious ally" to the United States should commit to the international fight against the extremist group by repatriating its citizens, according to Sebastian Gorka. Continue reading...
by Sam Levin in Los Angeles and Maanvi Singh in Oakla on (#6TE9J)
As officials urge people to stay indoors, those experiencing homelessness struggle to shield themselves from toxic airThick, noxious clouds of smoke engulfed Los Angeles as several wildfires rage across the region, creating heightened hazards for the tens of thousands of unhoused people living on the streets in the county.As authorities ordered evacuations for more than 82,000 people in various parts of LA and urged others to remain indoors to shield themselves from the gray smoke, unhoused Angelenos were struggling to protect themselves from the pollution. Continue reading...
Progressive is the only Black woman to be elected to the US House from California's regions north of LABarbara Lee, California's former Democratic representative in Congress, has officially announced her mayoral campaign for Oakland, with pledges to tackle homelessness, improve public safety and boost better-paying jobs and small businesses.As the only Black woman to be voted into the House of Representatives from California's regions north of Los Angeles, Lee, 78, served as Congress's representative for San Francisco's Bay Area from 1998 up until last week. Continue reading...
Three knives also found in bag as X-ray machine screened people going into building to pay respects to Jimmy CarterA man was arrested on Wednesday for trying to bring a machete and knives into the US Capitol visitor center, police said.US Capitol police said officers spotted the machete in the man's bag as it went through the X-ray machine, and found three knives in the bag. Continue reading...
Watchdog files complaint after Trump nominee cast vote from address court ruled was not his place of residenceRobert F Kennedy Jr has been accused of committing voter fraud in November's presidential election by casting his ballot from a New York address that a court had previously ruled was not his place of residence.The complaint, filed by Accountable.US, a left-leaning watchdog group, could complicate Kennedy's confirmation as Donald Trump's nominee to be health and human services secretary, when he is expected to be subject to rigorous questioning at a Senate hearing. Continue reading...
Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, pointed to a map from 1607 as she jokingly suggested North America could be renamed 'Mexican America' in response to Donald Trump's pledge to rename the Gulf of Mexico the 'Gulf of America'. Her comments came after the US president-elect talked about a broad expansionist agenda that he said could include taking control of the Panama canal, Greenland and Canada
Loosening already limited safeguards on social media platforms is not just damaging. It could ultimately prove deadlyMark Zuckerberg famously boasted that Facebook had a saying: Move fast and break things". His product has not just destroyed industry models but also social mores and expectations of the reliability of information and, in the global south, has upended people's lives. The technology writer Kara Swisher described him as not just a technologist; he's a social engineer".Meta's Tuesday announcement shows that it still moves at speed. Having previously been pressured into insufficient improvements in moderation, it is abruptly scrapping factcheckers on platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, starting in the US, and loosening other content restrictions. This purportedly addresses overreach by moderators. Other controls remain. But the signal is clear. Its new guidelines will allow users to call others mentally ill on the basis of their sexuality or gender identity. Meta will also recommend more political content based on ... personalized signals" - which sounds a lot like buttressing echo chambers.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
The fast-fashion retailer's reluctance to disclose information about its supply chain in China won't washIt is not unusual" for UK-listed companies to carry legal risks around the world, Nikhil Rathi, the chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority, told the FT last month. The boss of the regulatory body that ultimately decides which companies can list their shares in London added: What's important is that they disclose it, the investors understand it and they can price that risk."Rathi's remarks were inevitably read as aimed at Shein, the Chinese-founded but Singapore-headquartered fast-fashion retailer whose possible listing in London has been a running story since the company filed preliminary paperwork seven months ago. Continue reading...
Justice department intends to release special counsel Jack Smith's findings from investigationAttorney general Merrick Garland intends to release the first part of the highly-anticipated special counsel report into Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election but will withhold the second part about Trump's retention of classified documents, the justice department said on Wednesday.The full report by the special counsel, Jack Smith, will also be made available to the top Democrat and Republican on the House and Senate judiciary committees as long as they agree to keep the contents of the second part confidential, the department also said. Continue reading...
When revolutionary students seized the US embassy in Tehran they initiated a 444-day ordeal that had a huge impact on Carter in both political and human termsIsolated, incommunicado and blindfolded for much of their captivity, the newly released American hostages had mixed feelings at best about the US president who had presided - seemingly impotent and powerless - over their 444 days of misery.Some blamed him for failing to extricate them from the Iranian revolutionaries who held them against their will and subjected them to ill-treatment, including beatings and mock executions. Others blamed him for the presidential decision that prompted their incarceration. Continue reading...
Move would allow president-elect to implement broad tariffs after threatening Panama, Greenland and CanadaDonald Trump is mulling over the idea to declare a national economic emergency to impose widespread tariffs, CNN reports, as the president-elect escalates threats to seize the Panama Canal, acquire Greenland and force Canada into becoming a US state.The emergency powers move would allow Trump to implement broad tariff measures against both allies and adversaries through the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, according to four sources familiar with the discussions. Continue reading...
President-elect turns to nation's top court after New York appeals court denied bid to pause criminal proceedingsDonald Trump has asked the US supreme court to pause criminal proceedings in his New York hush-money case, according to a filing released on Wednesday.This followed a New York appeals court denying his bid to halt sentencing on Friday in his hush-money case, Reuters reported, in which he became a felon last summer. Continue reading...
The former Barcelona teammates getting together for one last hurrah in MLS would draw in the fans. But injuries have taken their toll on the BrazilianLionel Messi's Florida sanctuary for former Barcelona players could soon have another resident. Comments made by Neymar on Tuesday hinted at a possible reunion with his former Barca teammates, Messi and Luis Suarez, at Inter Miami seven years after the trio formed arguably the most formidable forward line in soccer history. The prospect of the MSN' reunited in MLS is tantalising.But just because the signing of Neymar is a compelling idea, that doesn't make it a good one. Neymar is a shadow of the player who scored 105 goals in 186 games for Barca. Injuries have taken their toll on the 32-year-old, sidelining him for much of the last year. He has only played seven games for Al-Hilal since joining the Saudi Arabian club in August 2023. There may not be much soccer left in him. Continue reading...
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