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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...

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...

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...

Exclusive: Robert Garcia and Summer Lee sent letter to Kristi Noem regarding masked immigration agents and concerns over constitutional protectionsDemocratic members of Congress are pressing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reveal information about immigration officers' practice of wearing masks and concealing their identities, according to a letter viewed by the Guardian.The letter marks another step in pushes by US lawmakers to require immigration officials to identify themselves during arrest operations, especially when agents are masked, a practice that has sparked outrage among civil rights groups. Continue reading...

PayZen's model relies on buying hospital debt at discount as Republican cuts set to leave millions without insuranceThe CEO of the artificial intelligence-backed medical debt purchasing company PayZen believes payment plans can be part of the solution to America's high-priced healthcare, even as consumer rights advocates warn third-party financial agreements lack transparency.The company is just one in a sea of healthcare financing companies, whose executives see acceleration" in conversations with cash-strapped hospitals facing historic Republican-led healthcare cuts. Continue reading...

In the past, US consumers have resisted their favorite foods changing to natural dyes. Attitudes might shift if Maha converts the entire industryThe Make America Healthy Again (Maha) movement celebrated this month after the US dairy industry voluntarily pledged to remove all artificial dyes from ice-cream by 2028. In April, US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr prevailed upon the food industry to stop using artificial dyes, and many of the nation's largest food manufacturers, including Nestle, Kraft Heinz and PepsiCo, have already promised to comply. But the ice-cream pledge made Kennedy especially happy because, he said, ice-cream is his favorite food.Prepare to say goodbye to the brilliant pink (from red dye No 40) that signifies strawberry, the cool green (yellow 5 and blue 1) of mint chocolate chip, and the heroic combination of red 40, blue 1, and yellow 5 and 6 that makes up Superman. Continue reading...

Manufacturer cuts profit margin range for year as German car exports to US fall sharply

A collection of factors has brought home field advantage down to a level seen in the Premier League, making MLS feel more competitive as a result.For nearly two decades, Major League Soccer's home teams enjoyed a striking edge. When fans filled stands in cities from Miami to Vancouver, they could typically count on seeing their team win about 60% of the time. It's a notable mark. The Premier League saw home teams win just 45.7% of matches between the league's inception in 1992 up to the start of the 2024-25 season.But as 2025 unfolds, MLS home-win percentages have slumped to the mid-40s - putting the US and Canada league roughly in line with English and European norms. Rather than suggesting decline, though, the shift signals maturity: an American league evolving into a globally competitive, balanced championship. Continue reading...

The president's claims against his predecessor turn long-held ideals of American justice on their headAlmost every American knows that in our legal system, people accused of crimes are presumed innocent. The burden is on the government to overcome that presumption and prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.Those simple but powerful maxims were once a source of national pride. They distinguished the United States from countries where government officials and political leaders branded the opponents guilty before they were charged with a crime or brought to trial.Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell professor of jurisprudence and political science at Amherst College, is the author or editor of more than 100 books, including Gruesome Spectacles: Botched Executions and America's Death Penalty

Caitlin Clark is dazzling. Attendance is soaring. But the WNBA still faces questions: about refereeing, star power, media narratives and what progress really looks likeThe WNBA is one of those leagues that is perpetually at the crossroads. In the 1990s, the league saw off the challenge of the American Basketball League (ABL), which paid higher salaries but lacked the NBA's marketing muscle, but perhaps that victory gave the NBA and WNBA a dose of complacency. Attendance steadily dropped for several years, and went through revolving doors from city to city - or into permanent hiatus.Now, with women's sports in the middle of a growth spurt and the dazzling skills of Caitlin Clark on display, the WNBA has an age-old issue: More money, more problems - or, at least, more critics conjuring up more questions. Continue reading...

By silencing staff who condemn Israel's actions while promoting themselves as champions of dignity and respect, businesses are failingI have been working in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) for more than six years. This year, more than ever, I have started to question what the purpose of it really is. Though I've been celebrating companies that took a stand against Donald Trump's anti-DEI executive orders, under the radar I have noticed an insidious censorship rearing its head.Since 2023 we have been witness to one of the worst atrocities of our lifetimes. Livestreamed to our phones, we have seen the slaughter of at least 58,000 Palestinians, more than 17,000 of them children, and many of them in hospitals, schools, refugee camps and food queues. We have seen the denial of water, electricity and medical supplies, the obliteration of communities, mass manmade starvation, and continued calls by Israeli ministers for the permanent expulsion or eradication of Palestinians in Gaza. Israel's plans for a so-called humanitarian city to be built on the ruins of Rafah has been described by the former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert as a concentration camp".Jinan Younis is the founder of diversity, equity and inclusion agency WeCalibrate and former assistant politics editor at gal-dem magazine Continue reading...

Hardhats and bad math as Fed chief shows president's complaint about $3.1bn cost has been jacked up with old spending. Key US politics stories from 24 July 2025It looks like it's about $3.1bn - it went up a little bit or a lot," said Donald Trump, handing Jerome Powell a piece of paper as they stood amid construction at the US Federal Reserve's Washington HQ. The usually unflappable Fed chief looked irritated, closed his eyes and shook his head. I am not aware of that," said Powell.Powell scanned the paper and pointed out the figure wrongly included the cost of renovations for a different Fed building that was done five years ago. It's not new," said Powell. Continue reading...

This blog has now closed. Read our story hereIn today's episode of Today in Focus, my colleague and Guardian Washington DC bureau chief David Smith reports on the Donald Trump's troubles over the Jeffrey Epstein case, and how the president risks alienating his own base.Trump has peddled many conspiracy theories in his time. From the baseless smear that Barack Obama was not a US citizen, to the claim that Trump did not lose the 2020 election, to ones even more far-fetched than that. Continue reading...

Wall Street Journal reports ex-president's letter, while New York Times reports Trump called Epstein the greatest'Donald Trump apparently isn't the only president that sent a birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein. The biggest name in the album" was Bill Clinton, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The ex-president's letter appeared alongside nearly 50 others, including other prominent celebrities and executives.Last week, the Journal reported that Trump had authored a bawdy" letter to Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 after he was arrested on federal sex-trafficking charges. The letter was included in an album Epstein's former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell compiled on the occasion of his 50th birthday in 2003. Trump has sued Rupert Murdoch, two Wall Street Journal newspaper reporters and the newspaper's publisher Dow Jones for libel and slander over the reporting. Continue reading...

Maxwell lawyer says client answered every single question' as deputy attorney general plans another meeting on FridayThe Jeffrey Epstein files scandal swirling around Donald Trump and his administration continued to escalate on Thursday as officials from the Department of Justice met with the late sex offender's longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, whose lawyer said she answered every question ... honestly and to the best of her ability".Todd Blanche, the US deputy attorney general, arrived on Thursday morning at the office of the US attorney in Tallahassee, Florida, ABC News reported. The state prosecutor's office is based in the federal courthouse in the Florida capital and Maxwell's lawyers were also seen entering the building. Continue reading...

FCC approval of deal comes after Paramount paid $16m to settle Trump lawsuit over 60 Minutes interviewThe Federal Communications Commission approved the merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media on Thursday, clearing the way for an $8.4bn sale of some of the most prominent names in entertainment, including the CBS broadcast television network, Paramount Pictures and the Nickelodeon cable channel.The FCC agreed to transfer broadcast licenses for 28 owned-and-operated CBS television stations to the new owners after Paramount paid $16m to settle a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump over a 60 Minutes interview with former vice-president Kamala Harris that aired in October. Continue reading...

Order removes restrictions from municipalities and redirects funds toward rehabilitation and treatmentThe federal government is seeking to crack down on homelessness in the US, with Donald Trump issuing an executive order to push local governments to remove unhoused people from the streets.The order the US president signed on Thursday will seek the reversal of federal or state judicial precedents and the termination of consent decrees" that restrict local governments' ability to force people into treatment for mental health, and redirect funds to support rehabilitation and treatment. The order aims to restore public order", saying endemic vagrancy, disorderly behavior, sudden confrontations, and violent attacks have made our cities unsafe", according to the order. Continue reading...

Fed chair pushes back on Trump criticism of renovation costs as president presses central bank to cut interest rates

Donald Trump appeared to ambush Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, during his site visit to inspect the renovation of the central bank's historic headquarters in Washington. The president claimed the total cost of the renovations was $3.1bn, higher than previously reported. As Trump made this claim, Powell shook his head and said: 'I'm not aware of that. I haven't heard that from anybody at the Fed.' Trump said the figure 'had just come out' and handed papers from his coat to Powell. 'This came from us?' Powell asked. After Trump said the new figures were from his people, Powell found the discrepancy: 'You added in a third building ... [which] was built five years ago'

Experts warn half-baked' restructuring will further erode support for US farmers and hamper wildfire responseThousands of employees at the US Department of Agriculture will be forced to take salary cuts and relocate out of the Washington DC area, as part of a major restructuring that experts warn will further weaken support for American farmers and complicate wildfire response.In a memorandum issued on Thursday, the agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, outlined the key pillars" behind the department's reorganization, focused on reducing its financial footprint, removing resources from the capital, eliminating management and consolidating workforces responsible for a range of functions, including freedom of information requests, tribal relations, grants and human resources. Continue reading...

Announcement comes as administration tries to pivot from questions about Trump's ties to the disgraced financierThe US justice department has formed a strike force" to investigate claims that the Obama administration carried out a treasonous conspiracy" by using false intelligence to suggest Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election to help Donald Trump.Pam Bondi, the US attorney general, announced the new force's formation Wednesday after the release of a trove of declassified documents from Barack Obama's national security team by the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard. The announcement comes as the US president finds himself mired in scandal over the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, and has tried to distract by pivoting conversation to retribution against his political enemies. Continue reading...

Hulk Hogan, the wrestling star and vocal supporter of Donald Trump, has died at the age of 71, his manager confirmed. Chris Volo told NBC Los Angeles that Hogan, given name Terry Gene Bollea, suffered a cardiac arrest at his home in Clearwater, Florida, and died surrounded by his family. Instantly recognisable from his blonde horseshoe moustache and bandannas, Hogan was one of the most popular wrestling stars of the 1980s and considered one of the sport's greatest of all time

Background check regime infringes on the fundamental right to keep and bear arms,' a judge wrote in the decisionA federal appeals court ruled on Thursday that California's first-of-its-kind law requiring firearm owners to undergo background checks to buy ammunition is unconstitutional.In a 2-1 vote, the ninth US circuit court of appeals in Pasadena, California, upheld a lower court judge's permanent injunction against enforcing the law. Continue reading...

Men recently reunited with loved ones in their home country detail months of abuse at the facilityVenezuelan men who were deported by the US to a notorious prison in El Salvador without due process are speaking out about treatment they described as hell" and like a horror movie", after arriving back home. A total of 252 Venezuelan nationals were repatriated in the last week in a deal between the US and Venezuelan governments, with many able to reunite with family after their ordeal in El Salvador.Carlos Uzcategui tightly hugged his sobbing wife and stepdaughter on Wednesday morning in western Venezuela after he had been away for a year. Continue reading...

Show begins 27th season covering Trump's lawsuit against Paramount and cancellation of Stephen Colbert's show, depicting Trump in bed with SatanSouth Park has kicked off its 27th season with a blistering episode taking aim at Donald Trump and its newly minted parent company, Paramount, just one day after signing a $1.5bn deal with the network.The premiere episode, Sermon on the Mount, sees the US president in bed with series regular Satan and covers topics including Trump's lawsuit against Paramount, the cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, wokeness, Trump's attacks on Canada and more. Continue reading...

A summary of the report obtained by the Guardian found no specific issue with how the club handled a report of abuse but improvements could have been madeAn investigation commissioned by the National Women's Soccer League found that the San Diego Wave front office could have done more" to address a sexual assault allegation from a member of the club's staff, but ultimately found no specific issue with how the claim was handled because the alleged victim did not use the term sexual" when describing her experience.The finding is contained in a report summarizing the investigation, which had not previously been made public but was obtained by the Guardian US. Continue reading...

Bloc's steel exporters face catastrophic' Trump levy, says industry body - twice the rate for the UK

Some slammed the agreement with the Trump administration to reinstate $400m in federal funds while others praised it as an excellent outcome'Columbia University's long anticipated deal with the Trump administration after months of negotiations has drawn both condemnation and praise from faculty, students, and alumni - a sign that the end of negotiations will hardly restore harmony on a campus profoundly divided since the beginning of Israel's war in Gaza.The deal will reinstate $400m in federal funds the administration cut from the university after it accused it of allowing antisemitism to fester on campus. But it will cost Columbia some $220m in legal settlements, as well as a host of new measures that critics warn significantly restrict the university's independence and will further repress pro-Palestinian speech. Continue reading...

Southern California Edison announces program amid concerns state's wildfire fund will not be able to cover lossesLos Angeles's main utility company will compensate victims of January's deadly Eaton wildfire - even though investigators have yet to determine whether the company's equipment sparked the blaze.In a statement released Wednesday, Southern California Edison announced the establishment of the Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program, a voluntary fund it developed in consultation with Kenneth R Feinberg and Camille S Biros, the duo who designed the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. Continue reading...

Starbucks' CEO already made 6,666 times more than his workers in 2024Starbucks' CEO, Brian Niccol, made 6,666 times more than his average worker last year, according to a report on the growing gap between top executives and their workers.The inequality gap between CEOs' pay and that of their median workers rose in 2024 to 285 to 1 from 268 to 1 in 2023, according to a report released this week by the largest federation of labor unions in the US, the AFL-CIO. Continue reading...

Speaking on a podcast, the actor compared the US president to a snake-oil salesman' and said he's everything that's wrong with not just America but with being a human being'The actor Jeff Daniels has said he hopes those who voted for Donald Trump's second term in the White House lose money as a consequence.Speaking to MSNBC's The Best People With Nicolle Wallace podcast, Daniels addressed the president's supporters, saying: I hope you're losing tons of money, those of you who thought this would be OK. My question is, What are you guys going to do about it?'" Continue reading...

The Israeli PM went on Full Send Podcast to reach young people'. After his appearance, its YouTube channel lost more than 100,000 subscribers in less than a dayGaza is starving. Nearly 100,000 women and children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, and a third of Gaza's population is going days without eating, according to an expert from the UN World Food Programme. Tons of food sits rotting in warehouses just outside Gaza but the government of Israel will not allow it to be freely delivered. Instead, starving Palestinians must contend with a real-life version of The Hunger Games to try and eat. Over 1,000 desperate Palestinians have been shot dead by Israeli forces since the end of May trying to reach food distribution points run by the US - and the Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian" Foundation.But enough about that, eh! Who wants to hear about starving babies who will either die painful deaths or never fully recover from the long-term consequences of malnutrition in early childhood? I'm sure what you really want to know is what Benjamin Netanyahu's favourite fast food order is. And, luckily, I've got some answers for you. Continue reading...

Since Trump's immigration crackdown, global perceptions of America have plummeted. Citizens and non-citizens alike are rethinking whether we still want US passportsIt starts with a quiz from a law firm: did your grandparents leave before or after 1951? Do you have their passports or marriage certificate?If I answer correctly, I will get another email from a lawyer who specializes in citizenship claims. If I do not, my file may be quietly marked as a long shot. The stakes are high: if successful, I could ultimately obtain an EU citizenship for myself and then perhaps for other members of my family. Continue reading...