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Former US president's part in ending the Troubles threatened by fallout from Epstein scandal, which has tainted his former envoy, George MitchellWhen Bill Clinton testifies later this week at a congressional investigation into Jeffrey Epstein there is unlikely to be any reference to his most precious foreign policy achievement - helping to bring peace to Northern Ireland.Whether Clinton is linked to Epstein's predations or turns the tables on his inquisitors, his legacy in Northern Ireland might appear to stand apart, a jewel of his presidency that is immutable, enshrined in history. Continue reading...

Richard Blumenthal seeks records from FCC and Paramount Global amid claims of political censorship

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsWhile many exporters around the world cheered when the supreme court ruled against Trump's reciprocal" tariffs last week, the unintended consequence could be that the trade war escalates further, says Neil Wilson at the broker Saxo Markets.Trump warned countries not to play games' and threatened a much higher tariff' than they had agreed to...the unintended consequence of the Supreme Court ruling could be an escalatory trade war that markets hadn't anticipated. Or as Trump put it the Supreme Court had unwittingly' handed him far more powers and strength' to levy fresh tariffs than before the ruling.... The White House insists it's working on a 15% levy at a later date, which gives the president a degree of optionality, but this is evolving into a far messier situation than we had a week ago.We can all agree that the US is not facing a balance of payments crisis, which is when countries experience an exorbitant increase in international borrowing costs and lose access to financial markets. Continue reading...

The US men's and women's teams claimed titles at the Winter Games this past week. The warm fuzzy feelings didn't last longKeeping politics at arm's length for the US men's hockey team's gold-medal matchup with Canada was always going to be difficult.The game fell on the 46th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice, when an underdog group of US college players upset the mighty Soviet Union team against the backdrop of the cold war. But the US team who took the ice on Sunday were no plucky band of amateurs making a stand for democracy against authoritarianism - a point underscored when the US and Canada met last year in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Canadian fans booed the Star-Spangled Banner and the US players, either unaware of, or unsympathetic to, Canadian desires to be neither the 51st US state nor the USA's opponent in a scorched-earth trade war, dropped the gloves to fight their opponents as soon as the game commenced. Continue reading...

Stepbrother, 16, was charged in the death of Anna Kepner, a high schooler found dead on a Carnival cruise in NovemberA 16-year-old from Florida has reportedly been charged with homicide as a minor in the death of his stepsister, Anna Kepner, in November on a Carnival cruise ship.News of the charges against the teen boy surfaced in court documents first reported on Monday by the Florida news outlet Wesh 2 News. CBS News also reported having seen the documents. Continue reading...

One deputy is killed in a traffic stop and a second dies when deputies track suspect to woods, sheriff saysTwo Missouri sheriff's deputies were fatally shot, one during a traffic stop and the other hours later during an exchange of gunfire with the suspect, who was also killed, authorities said.Brad Cole, the Christian county sheriff, said the initial shooting happened during a traffic stop south of Highlandville on Monday in south-west Missouri, news outlets reported. Continue reading...

Ashley Fairbanks launched Stand with Minnesota as ICE raids rocked her home town - now donations are pouring in, and families' rent is being paidFrom thousands of miles away in San Antonio, Ashley Fairbanks watched the news pour out of her home town of Minneapolis- federal immigration authorities flooding the streets and regular people stepping up to defend and care for their communities. She knew she had to do something. So the 39-year-old writer, artist and digital strategist started a Google Doc.Soon, the list of resources for residents grew so long it became unwieldy, and Fairbanks, who builds websites for a living, launched Stand With Minnesota. Continue reading...

Joshua Orta was passenger when Ruben Ray Martinez was fatally shot in his car by immigration agent in March 2025The passenger in the car when Texas driver Ruben Ray Martinez was fatally shot in March 2025 by a federal immigration agent gave a lengthy statement to lawyers for the slain man's family disputing the government's version of events.That witness died on Saturday in a fiery car crash in San Antonio, a lawyer for Martinez's family said. Continue reading...

Choice of Virginia governor to give Trump rebuttal suggests DNC believes moderate approach could bring midterm winsOn Tuesday night, Abigail Spanberger will walk out on to the historic grounds of Colonial Williamsburg and deliver the Democratic response to Donald Trump's State of the Union address. With midterm elections approaching and Democrats desperately searching for a roadmap back to relevance, the party has turned to a moderate who once flipped a Republican-held congressional seat in the suburbs of Richmond and then parlayed that into the governorship by 15 points.Since taking the office from Republican Glenn Youngkin in January, Spanberger has moved with lightning speed that has caught conservatives flat-footed, much to the delight of those who still identify as liberal. Continue reading...

The president and his aides vilify the judiciary with brutal rhetoric, hoping to delegitimize a co-equal branch of governmentWhen Donald Trump attacked several supreme court justices as fools", lapdogs", disloyal to our constitution" and a disgrace to our nation" after they ruled against his tariffs on Friday, it was probably the most vicious public tirade that a US president ever leveled against the country's highest court. But as extraordinary - and extraordinarily ugly - as Trump's rant was, everyone should realize that it was part of a systematic campaign in which Trump and his top aides have vehemently denounced and smeared judges as part of Trump's quest for ever more power.Whether it's Trump, Stephen Miller, Pam Bondi or others, Trump and his lieutenants often pummel judges with brutal rhetoric. To many judges, these attacks no doubt spur fears that some Trump loyalists will threaten them or worse. Continue reading...

Raising the rainbow Pride flag instead of the more inclusive Progress flag excludes the trans community, activists sayThousands of protesters gathered outside the iconic Stonewall Inn on a near-freezing night last week to re-raise the rainbow Pride flag in defiance of the Trump administration, which had unceremoniously ordered its removal days earlier.It was meant to be a joyous occasion, an act of protest for the New York City LGBTQ+ community, but trans activists in the crowd were deeply disappointed by what they say was exclusion of their community in choosing to raise the historic rainbow Pride flag instead of the newer, inclusive Progress Pride flag. Continue reading...

Robert Carradine, a member of a famed acting family, has died aged 71. He made his film debut alongside John Wayne in The Cowboys in 1972 and later became best known for his roles in Revenge of the Nerds and Lizzie McGuire

The traffic stops on a rural California base appeared routine - until immigration agents showed up. Experts and lawmakers say the incidents could violate US lawFrancisco Galicia paced his cell at Fort Hunter Liggett, a vast army base 160 miles south of San Francisco, on a Friday evening in January. His mind raced with thoughts of his five daughters waiting for him at home.Over several hours, immigration agents brought six more men into the frigid, cement-walled cell. As the men shared eerily similar stories of their arrests, Galicia realized they had all driven straight into a trap. Continue reading...

President has not yet made a final decision on any strikes as the US prepares for last-ditch' negotiations on Thursday. Plus, most US adults feel the country is moving in the wrong directionGood morning.Donald Trump's decision on whether to order airstrikes against Iran will depend partly on the judgment of Trump's special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about whether Tehran is stalling over a deal to relinquish its nuclear capacity, according to people familiar with the matter.What will happen if there's no deal? Trump has told advisers he is considering limited strikes to put pressure on Iran and, failing that, a far larger attack to force regime change.What has Iran said about how it might respond? Iran has vowed to retaliate as hard as possible to any US attack, and its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned last week that he had the ability to sink a US warship.What about the 15% tariff? The uplift to 15% announced by Trump on social media on Saturday has not yet been implemented - but could come at any time.Want the latest business news? Follow along on our liveblog. Continue reading...

Trump doesn't deserve our attention. And we already know the state of the union - it sucksI'm not going to watch the State of the Union address on Tuesday night. I urge you not to, either.I hope Neilsen (or whoever makes such estimates these days) will find that far fewer Americans watched Donald Trump's State of the Union than have watched any other State of the Union in recent memory. It will drive Trump crazy.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 and his newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com. His new book, Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America, is out now Continue reading...

In Milan, athletes showed that patriotism can be generous. In Los Angeles, that definition will be tested on the biggest, loudest stage sport can offerThe Milano Cortina Winter Games ended on Sunday night as the Olympics always do: in light, spectacle and speeches about unity. In Verona, the Olympic flag passed to the French Alps and the twin flames were extinguished. But unofficially, at least, a flame also flickered 6,000 miles west.If these Games felt political, just wait until Los Angeles a little more than two years from now. Continue reading...

Elected officials visited Trump properties 145 times since his inauguration, records showElected leaders from Israel to Iowa have visited Donald Trump's various properties 145 times since his inauguration last year, according to a new report by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (Crew), a political watchdog group.Trump's luxury resorts have offered the chief executive an unusual political arena - and a source of profit. A Guardian analysis of campaign finance records found that US political campaigns and committees spent at least $1.3m at Trump properties since January 2025. Continue reading...

The Texan made the mistake of his life when he ordered gummies to soothe symptoms of Crohn's disease. Now his health is suffering in a foreign jailJarred Shaw is locked up in an Indonesian prison - but at least he isn't facing execution, something that appeared a possibility less than a year ago.The 35-year-old American was a key member of the Prawira Bandung team who won the Indonesian Basketball League (IBL) in 2023, the latest highlight in a fascinating professional career that had taken him to countries as varied as Tunisia, Lebanon, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia and Japan. Continue reading...

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Blizzard warnings issued as some areas receive two feet of snow, creating whiteout conditions

Negotiations led by special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will shape Trump's calculus - key US politics stories from Monday 23 February at a glanceDeal or no deal?

Firm does not specify amount but seeks reimbursement after supreme court ruled against president last weekFedEx sued the US government on Monday, seeking a refund for the tariffs imposed by Donald Trump that were deemed illegal by the US supreme court last week.The lawsuit marks the first attempt by a major company to receive reimbursement of their share of an estimated $175bn in levies after the highest court found Trump had overstepped his authority in issuing the tariffs. Other companies are expected to follow. Continue reading...

Internal investigators said at least two accounts allegedly saw $1.7bn move to Iranian-backed groupsShortly after Donald Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the Binance founder, last fall, company employees revealed the cryptocurrency exchange may have funded Iranian entities with billions of dollars, according to a report by the New York Times.The discovery was made by a group of internal Binance investigators, who reportedly found that people in Iran had accessed more than 1,500 accounts on the crypto platform. Two of those accounts allegedly saw $1.7bn move to Iranian-backed groups that included Yemen's Houthi militants throughout 2024 and 2025, according to the Wall Street Journal. Continue reading...

Aileen Cannon denounces brazen' special counsel for compiling report after she had dismissed case in 2024A federal judge appointed by Donald Trump permanently barred the justice department on Monday from releasing the former special counsel Jack Smith's report on the president's mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago club after his first term.The ruling by US district judge Aileen Cannon marked the latest effort to stop the report from being sent to Congress or otherwise becoming publicly available. Continue reading...

US president suggests trade war could escalate as administration says it will stop collecting levies ruled illegal by supreme court

Court turns aside GOP request to block new map, second setback in recent days for state's RepublicansNew Utah voting districts that give Democrats an improved shot at winning a US House seat can be used in this year's election, a federal court ruled Monday while turning aside a Republican request to block the new map.The ruling marked the second setback in recent days for Republicans, who also lost an appeal at Utah's state supreme court. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Trump's decision will be driven by envoys' judgment on whether Iran is stalling on a nuclear dealDonald Trump's decision to order airstrikes against Iran will hinge in part on the judgment of Trump's special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, about whether Tehran is stalling over a deal to relinquish its capacity to produce nuclear weapons, according to people familiar with the matter.The president has not made a final determination on any strikes, as the administration prepares for Iran to send its latest proposal this week, ahead of what officials have described as a last-ditch round of negotiations scheduled for Thursday in Geneva. Continue reading...

Study released a day before State of the Union address shows president has lost support among Republicans

Other nations are catching up with the US in its traditional strengths such as snowboarding. But that's not necessarily a bad thing for AmericansIn 2002, on home ice and snow in Utah, the USA obliterated its records for most gold medals (10, beating the previous high of six) and most overall medals (34, more than two times the previous high of 13) by the country in a single Winter Olympics.In 2026, the USA broke that national record for gold medals with 12, and broke the 30-medal mark for the first time outside North America (Norway broke the overall record with 18 golds). Continue reading...

It is the third such attack in a week, and is part of increased US forces in the CaribbeanThe US military launched a strike on an alleged drug smuggling boat in the Caribbean, which killed three men - its third such attack over the course of a week.Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations," US Southern Command, which oversees operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, said on X. Continue reading...

Officials at California Democratic convention celebrated the former House speaker's advocacy as she prepares to retireIt was a Nancy Pelosi-palooza" in San Francisco over the weekend, as thousands of California Democrats gathered in her beloved city by the bay, a place the former speaker of the House has represented in Congress for nearly four decades. They were there to attend the state party's annual convention - but with Pelosi retiring at the end of her term, it was also a days-long celebration of a woman many Democrats regard as a living legend.A video salute during the general session charted her rise from a stay-at-home mom to the US House of Representatives, where she shattered the marble ceiling and became the first - and to this day only - woman to wield the speaker's gavel. Tote bags were emblazoned with her silhouette in every color of the rainbow - a nod to her trailblazing advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community. It also included one of her favorite aphorisms: We don't agonize, we organize." Continue reading...

Grey's Anatomy and Euphoria actor died on Thursday less than a year after he publicly revealed ALS diagnosisA GoFundMe campaign meant to provide financial support for the widow and daughters of Eric Dane after the actor's recent death had raised more than $415,000 as of Monday.The fundraising platform over the weekend had temporarily paused the In Honor of Eric Dane" campaign while it underwent a standard review. But by Monday, GoFundMe said it had verified the effort and listed the Grey's Anatomy star's family as the beneficiary. Continue reading...

Despite relentless attrition at appalling human cost, the Kremlin has not achieved its goals. Maximum economic pressure can undermine its war aimsFour years after Vladimir Putin launched the biggest conflict on European soil since the second world war, the human cost of his revanchist ambition mounts ever higher. Across a 750-mile frontline in the east of Ukraine, Russian forces make minimal progress despite relentless attrition, advancing more slowly than troops during the battle of the Somme. In 2025, the estimated number of Russian casualties in the meat grinder" was 415,000.For Ukraine, the suffering will scar generations to come. Battlefield casualties are estimated to be about 600,000. Since the invasion, as many as 6 million people have been displaced inside the country and 4 million, mainly women and children, have left. Civilian deaths soared last year as Russia stepped up its bombing campaign of cities and infrastructure in an effort to break Ukrainians' will.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...

Ralph Abraham, who started CDC role in January, is second top official to step down from agency this monthRalph Abraham, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's principal deputy director, has stepped down, the agency said on Monday, announcing the exit of a top official for the second time in February.The agency known as the CDC - which is temporarily being run by Dr Jay Bhattacharya - said the departure was effective immediately and attributed it to unforeseen family obligations. It did not comment on who would replace Abraham. Continue reading...

US president's international trade war spooks investors, with drops in US share prices after European losses

Ron Wyden, Ed Markey and Jeanne Shaheen unveiling bill requiring CBP to issue refunds and pay interestA trio of Senate Democrats is calling for the government to start refunding roughly $175bn in tariff revenues that the supreme court ruled were collected because of an illegal set of orders by Donald Trump.Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire are unveiling a bill on Monday that would require US Customs and Border Protection to issue refunds over the course of 180 days and pay interest on the refunded amount. Continue reading...

As another major storm brings to the area up to 2ft of snow, people brave the weather to commute and shovel Continue reading...

As multiple investigations unfold back at home footage emerged of Patel whooping it up with team in locker roomThe FBI director, Kash Patel, has a lot on his plate just now. There's the shooting death of the armed man who entered Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home; the weeks-old search for missing Nancy Guthrie, mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie; not to mention the ongoing furor around the so-called Jeffrey Epstein files.So eyebrows were raised on Sunday when phone footage emerged of Patel whooping it up with the men's USA hockey team in Milan after their gold medal victory against Canada at the Winter Olympics. Continue reading...

Solidarity campaign mobilizes as thousands of children like Liam Ramos taken amid Trump's immigration crackdownOn 28 January, hundreds of protesters gathered near the Dilley immigration processing center in south Texas, where hundreds of children are being held. Days earlier, immigration lawyer Eric Lee filmed a video of detainees screaming and chanting libertad," or freedom."Soon after, solidarity events arose in the state. Community members saw the children and families crying out [and] having their own protests from within and said to everybody: we need to show up there too," said Rev Erin Walter, executive director of the Texas Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry. Continue reading...

Austin Tucker Martin, 21, was killed by Secret Service after entering Trump's Florida resort with a shotgun on Sunday

Health secretary probably referred to Harvard psychiatrist who says he's never used the word cure" in my work'Psychiatric researchers are pushing back against the claims by the health and human services secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, that a doctor at Harvard cured schizophrenia using keto diets", while also acknowledging that a carefully supervised ketogenic diet shows promise for a variety of mental health conditions.Kennedy Jr's statement probably referred to the Harvard psychiatrist Dr Christopher Palmer, who said he has never once used the word cure' in my work. I have never claimed to have cured any mental illness, including schizophrenia," but added: I have talked about ketogenic diet being a very powerful treatment, even to the point of inducing remission of symptoms of schizophrenia." Continue reading...

Survivors say US healthcare system not ready for new cases - the only thing to fix polio is the polio vaccine'With preventable infectious diseases surging and a top US vaccines adviser saying all vaccine recommendations may be reconsidered, experts are bracing for more polio cases while survivors say the medical system is not ready for polio.We don't have a healthcare infrastructure to take care of a polio outbreak," said Grace Rossow, an operating-room communications coordinator in Illinois, who has long-term health issues following a case of polio as an infant. Continue reading...

Dollar slumps and gold rises as authorities say they will halt levies linked to emergency powers but give no word on refunds. Plus, meet some of the people suing the president over civil liberties

Ties to the disgraced financier run deep through the academic world, documents released by the DoJ showMajor institutions of higher education in the US are reckoning with the latest release of the Epstein files after discovering the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein's relationships with board members, professors and administrators on campuses across the country.In some cases, professors have been placed under review, research centers closed or conferences canceled. Students and staff have responded in different ways, including petitions, open letters and campus forums. Continue reading...

Three thoughts on the opening weekend of MLS in 2026, including a new Galaxy forward to fear and a pointed celebration in DCYou know a situation is dire when it casts Luis Suarez as its level-headed participant.Such were the scenes after Inter Miami opened their MLS Cup defense with a pitiful 3-0 defeat at Los Angeles FC. Through 90 minutes, with LAFC coming off a midweek continental match, both team's stars stuck it out to try starting the 2026 season on the right foot. Son Heung-min made it 89 minutes, subbed out when the result was beyond doubt. Lionel Messi played every minute but was held without a goal contribution, failing to place either of his shot attempts on target and seeing all three created chances go uncashed by his teammates. Continue reading...

The past year has been turbulent for Tinder and Bumble. Fortunately, it turns out the real world has its charmsValentine's Day is mercifully behind us for another year, so we can all go back to not loving each other again. How wonderful it is to be freed of the burden of expressing our emotions in public. I didn't post a flowery declaration of devotion for my girlfriend on social media, and I kept expecting a flood of messages asking me if we'd broken up already. Such is the peer pressure of a holiday designed purely to justify our own self-worth. Well, someone is willing to put up with me, therefore I have value.Needing to rub your love into other people's faces is a natural outgrowth of how absolutely miserable it is out there for finding romance. The world is not exactly filled with optimism these days, as we all hunker down with our cans of tinned fish, waiting for the next disaster to strike. Couple that (pun intended) with the onslaught of digitized dating solutions like the apps Hinge, Raya and Bumble and you have a rancid stew of solitude to look forward to. Why not mark yourself safe from loneliness by posting a picture of you and your partner snogging in the middle of a Walgreens (contraception aisle, of course)? Continue reading...

East coast scrambles to prepare for storm forecast to bring major disruption to more than 35 million peopleNew York mayor Zohran Mamdani has ordered a citywide travel ban for all but emergency travel, as the north-eastern United States was preparing for an intense winter storm that is forecast to reach blizzard strength and bring major disruption.Residents along the east coast scrambled to prepare for the late-winter storm that spurred weather warnings from Maryland to Massachusetts, affecting more than 35 million people. More than a foot of snow was expected, with wind gusts of up to 70mph and warnings of potential coastal flooding from Cape Cod to Delaware. Continue reading...