by Dara Kerr (now); Chris Stein, Léonie Chao-Fong, C on (#6V46X)
Judge ruling in response to lawsuit filed by union for government workers; union lawyers call Trump's efforts violation of the separation of powers'. This blog is now closed.The International Criminal Court has condemned US sanctions against its staff, saying the move was part of an attempt to harm its independent and impartial judicial work".The Court stands firmly by its personnel and pledges to continue providing justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities across the world," the court said in a statement.
Exclusive: Move allows China to further global influence, UK foreign secretary says on Ukraine visitDonald Trump's plans to make dramatic cuts to the United States' international aid budget could be a big strategic mistake" that allows China to step in and further its global influence, the UK foreign secretary has said.David Lammy cautioned that Britain's own experience of merging the Department for International Development (DfID) into the Foreign Office, announced by Boris Johnson in 2020 with little fanfare, was a serious blow to Britain's soft power" in developing countries and beyond. Continue reading...
Forced leaves had already begun when ruling came through, as workers tried to halt dismantling of agencyA federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from placing 2,200 employees of the US Agency for International Development on paid leave.Carl Nichols, a US district judge and Donald Trump appointee, sided with two federal employee associations in agreeing to a pause in plans to put the employees on paid leave as of midnight Friday. Continue reading...
President says key ally and team of software engineers have gained access to Americans' personal details very easily'Donald Trump has indicated that Elon Musk's department of government efficiency" (Doge) is operating without guardrails after it gained access to Americans' private information very easily" and as it prepares to assail the Pentagon.The US president was speaking at a White House press conference alongside Shigeru Ishiba, the prime minister of Japan, but most of the questions focused on Musk's sweeping mission to root out waste in the federal government, which has caused disarray in Washington. Continue reading...
State department signs off on bombs and missiles sales that the US claims would help Israel defend its borders'The United States has announced the approval of the sale of more than $7.4bn in bombs, missiles and related equipment to Israel, which has used American-made weapons to devastating effect during the war in Gaza.The state department has signed off on the sale of $6.75bn in bombs, guidance kits and fuses, in addition to $660m in Hellfire missiles, according to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA). Continue reading...
Marko Elez, 25, has been granted access to US government payment system containing sensitive personal dataElon Musk said Friday that he will reinstate a member of his self-styled department of government efficiency" (Doge) unit who resigned after being linked to an openly racist social media account.In a post on X, the social media platform he owns, Musk said that Marko Elez, 25, who was at the centre of a court battle over access to the US government's payment system and has also worked for Musk's SpaceX company, will be brought back". Continue reading...
Memorial service led by Rev Al Sharpton highlighted Eaton fire's disproportionate impact on Black residentsThe California fire that swept out of Eaton Canyon last month devastated Altadena neighborhoods and claimed multiple lives including that of Evelyn McClendon, a school bus driver remembered for her spirituality and dedication to children, said her brother Zaire Calvin, not for the tragedy that took her life.In the glow of stained glass windows at Pasadena's First AME Church, Calvin honored his sister's memory alongside the relatives of other Eaton fire victims Erliene Kelley and Rodney Nickerson - a fellowship of the bereaved united in grief. Continue reading...
by David Hammer of WWL Louisiana in New Orleans on (#6V4QA)
Archbishop's moves to give himself more power over food bank amid latest storm to envelope his church leaves board member asking: Why are we here?'By New Orleans' Catholic archbishop Gregory Aymond's own admission, the past week has been tumultuous, to say the least" - for him and the city's bankrupt church, which became engulfed in twin controversies involving emails with leaders of two pro sports franchises as well as a feud with ousted directors of an affiliated food bank.Aymond on 30 January set off a firestorm by firing the longtime chief executive officer and top governing board members at the Second Harvest of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana food bank. The ousted food bank leaders said they were removed because they refused to bow to pressure placed on Second Harvest to contribute as much as $16m toward helping to resolve victims' claims" of child molestation by clergy which are at the center of a pending federal bankruptcy protection case that the church filed in 2020. Continue reading...
The US president's attack on an essential institution speaks volumes about his broader foreign policyDonald Trump's vicious assault on the international criminal court is no surprise. His last administration slapped sanctions on it over its investigations into potential war crimes in Afghanistan, including by the US, and into the actions of Israeli forces. But his new executive order goes even further, attacking the fundamentals of the court and endangering itsfunctioning.The US never joined the ICC, fearing scrutiny of its own actions and those of its allies. Joe Biden damaged both the court and US claims of commitment to the rules-based international order" when he justified the arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin while attacking as outrageous" the one issued for Benjamin Netanyahu. Continue reading...
Hit novels by Sarah J Maas and Rebecca Yarros offer more than sex and escapism. They have reclaimed the fantasy genre for womenA strange and powerful creature has taken over the publishing industry - romantasy, a magical union of romance and fantasy. Last week in scenes reminiscent of Pottermania 20 years ago, bookshops across the country held midnight launches, with fans dressed as their favourite characters, for the publication of Onyx Storm, the third instalment of Rebecca Yarros's Empyrean series. In its first week it became the fastest-selling adult title since records began, with more than 180,000 copies sold in one day in the UK alone.Yarros is following in the fairy dust of fellow American novelist Sarah J Maas, who is credited with spearheading the genre with her hugely successful ACourt of Thorns and Roses series. In just five years, a genre born during the pandemic and rising on a blaze of BookTok recommendations and emojis has gone from being a niche offshoot of young adult fiction to a once-in-a-generation phenomenon. In the past year, the market share of science fiction and fantasy books rose by over 41%. With their action-packed storylines, alternate worlds and friendship groups, romantasy novels satisfy a nostalgia for those who grew up on a diet of the Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and Twilight series. Tolkein this is not, nor JK Rowling. But lack of literary finesse never hindered juggernaut bestsellers from the likes of Dan Brown (who has a new Robert Langdon novel out in September). Continue reading...
The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback is one win away from a third-straight championship. But he is a different player from when he first lit up the NFLPatrick Mahomes is the final boss. Somehow, some way, it always comes down to him. From the moment he became the Kansas City Chiefs' starting quarterback in 2018 he has turned the NFL into a video game of sorts, waiting at the highest levels to knock off all challengers. The longer he looms at the top, the more he seems like a glitch.On Sunday, the Chiefs will face the Philadelphia Eagles with football immortality at stake. With a victory, Kansas City would become the first team to win three Super Bowls in a row. The championship run started with the Chiefs beating the Eagles two years ago in Super Bowl LVII. Continue reading...
One in five childcare workers in the US is an immigrant - a backbone of this work' in a situation that feels more dire than previous years, providers say
Rarely has a US president proposed an idea more repugnant than this Gaza plan, with its appeal to old enmitiesThe shock and awe continues and it only gets more shocking and more awful. These past few days, Americans have watched an unelected tech billionaire destroy large chunks of the federal government - Elon Musk bragged that he was feeding the life-saving USAid international development agency into the wood chipper" - and yet that was not even the most outrageous event of the week.That honour went instead to Donald Trump and his proposal to just clean out" the Gaza Strip, by removing its people, bulldozing it and then redeveloping it as the Riviera of the Middle East" under permanent US ownership. It was so staggering that it succeeded in dominating attention, at home and abroad, for several days rather than, as has become the norm in the less than three weeks since Trump returned to the White House, a meagre few hours before some new shocker took its place.Jonathan Freedland 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 Ramon Antonio Vargas in Kenner, Louisiana on (#6V4J4)
Police arrest woman caught fraudulently using Adan Manzano's credit card after being seen leaving Louisiana hotel room where his body was foundA woman who has previously been accused of drugging men and stealing has been arrested amid an investigation into the death of a journalist who was covering Sunday's Super Bowl in New Orleans - and whose body was discovered in his hotel room.The reporter, Adan Manzano of Kansas City's Telemundo affiliate, was staying at a hotel in Kenner, Louisiana - which is home to New Orleans' international airport - to cover the game when he was found dead on Wednesday. Continue reading...
US had made inroads against Chinese influence in Panama, but Trump's demands could help Beijing expand its regional powerWhen Panama's then president Juan Carlos Varela was invited to the White House in June 2017, Donald Trump said the Panama canal was doing pretty well" and described the bilateral relationship as very strong".Just days earlier, Varela had broken ties with Taiwan to establish diplomatic relations with China, but there was no indication that this snub to a key US ally had clouded the meeting. Continue reading...
Staff reductions set to take place at midnight on Friday as federal unions declare dismantling plan unconstitutional'Donald Trump's administration is reportedly planning to keep just more than 600 essential workers at USAid, according to a notice sent to employees of the US foreign aid agency on Thursday night.The notice, shared with Reuters by an administration official on Friday, reportedly stated that 611 essential workers would be retained at USAid, which had more than 10,000 employees globally. Continue reading...
The Parkland shooting survivor wants to craft a more authentic message to reach the young and working-class voters who supported Trump in NovemberDavid Hogg, a survivor of the Parkland shooting turned gun safety and youth leadership advocate, won his race for one of the Democratic national committee's vice-chair positions on Saturday, becoming the first member of gen Z to take on a national leadership role within the party.As he assumes his position, Hogg, 24, has set his sights on crafting a more authentic message to reach the young and working-class voters who supported Donald Trump in November, and he warned that Democrats will remain shut out of power unless they respond to the most pressing priorities of their constituents. Continue reading...
Trump has moved to gut the federal government, fire critics and reward allies - a path similar to would-be dictators' like Orban, experts sayA pitiless crackdown on on illegal immigration. A hardline approach to law and order. A purge of gender ideology" and wokeness" from the nation's schools. Erosions of academic freedom, judicial independence and the free press. An alliance with Christian nationalism. An assault on democratic institutions.The electoral autocracy" that is Viktor Orban's Hungary has been long revered by Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again" (Maga) movement. Now admiration is turning into emulation. In the early weeks of Trump's second term as US president, analysts say, there are alarming signs that the Orbanisation of America has begun. Continue reading...
The Spurs and Cavaliers got better, but only one team pulled off a trade so unbelievable the whole internet assumed the reporter who broke it must have been hackedWell, if last year's NBA trade deadline was a snooze, this year's could be likened to something closer to a Red Bull laced with amphetamine. This particular deadline was already destined for the NBA history books with the shocking swap of Luka Doni of the Dallas Mavericks for Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, marking what many agree is the biggest trade in league history. But the seismic move shifted the proverbial tectonic plates of the rest of the league, too, as other teams followed suit with their own dramatic dominos. The annual February musical chairs have never had a more feverish soundtrack, so let's break down the preliminary assessment of which teams came out ahead, and which ones got left seatless. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Bobby Scott sounds alarm over void of oversight' as Doge accesses sensitive data within US agenciesElon Musk's blitz through the US federal government has triggered a constitutional emergency", a senior Democrat has warned, demanding the launch of an impartial investigation into billionaire tycoon's access to sensitive data.Robert C Bobby" Scott, ranking member of the House committee on education and workforce and the Democratic leader on the committee, sounded the alarm over a void of oversight" as the so-called department of government efficiency" (Doge), led by the world's richest man, accesses information within a string of agencies including the Departments of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services. Continue reading...
Censorship at local to federal level recalls past authoritarian regimes but this has never all happened at once'Book banning in the US has surged in the past few years, fueled by conservative backlash against discussions of race, LGBTQ+ issues, and diversity teaching in public schools. Last week, the Donald Trump administration instructed the Department of Education to end their investigations into these bans, calling them a hoax".PEN America, one of America's largest non-profits dedicated to protecting free expression in literature and beyond, warns that the current barrage of book bans and the growing traction of the movement is dangerously reminiscent of authoritarian regimes throughout history. Continue reading...
Can the Chiefs pull off a three-peat? Who is the halftime performer? Will Trump's NFL appearance be met with applause? We (mostly) have the answersThe biggest game of the year in US sports takes place on Sunday. We're here to answer all your questions (or the ones we came up with anyway). Continue reading...
Executive actions aims to test limits of president's authority and perhaps win backing from conservative supreme courtDonald Trump's spate of executive orders include many aimed at expanding his presidential powers in areas that pose threats to the rule of law and democratic norms in the US, say legal experts.Trump's orders include the abrupt firing of 17 agency watchdogs called inspectors general without giving Congress the required 30 days' notice, the rejection of birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants, which is guaranteed by the 14th amendment, and pardons for more than 1,500 people convicted for their roles in the January 6 Capitol insurrection. Continue reading...
Research shows that not all hours spent glued to a screen are created equal, so I'm actively encouraging nutritional content such as Young SheldonI'm not particularly into banning things in my house, partly out of laziness - enforcement creates conflict, or at least a need for me to get up and do something - and partly out of a dim conviction that the more rule-bound the child, the greater the meltdowns. The kid not allowed snacks between meals goes mad at houses with an open-fridge policy. Inflexible bedtimes create inflexible children. News blackouts designed to preserve the innocence of a child can make the world seem more not less frightening, and so on.The obvious exception to all this is tech, which takes away all of our abilities to self-regulate. Until recently, I imagined there was no amount of slack-jawed screen time that would exhaust my children's appetite for it. This has turned out to be wrong: one child, off sick a few weeks ago, actually looked up bleary-eyed from her iPad after two days of constant usage and expressed a desire to go back to school. More generally, however, they will want more time on it than I think healthy, even as I use the time bought by their screen addiction to feed my own.Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
He eulogises the 25th incumbent, William McKinley, but on tariffs and imperialism, Trump is learning the wrong lessonsDonald Trump's favourite US president was William McKinley. Who he? In his inaugural address, Trump pledged to restore the name Mount McKinley to North America's highest peak. It was an anti-woke dig at Barack Obama, who had given it the Alaskan native name of Denali. But why this idolatry?The answer has since become clear. McKinley was the president (1897-1901) who introduced super-tariffs in his first year in office to protect the US's post-recessionary manufacturers. Some were as high as 57%, and were seen as an alternative fundraiser to income tax. McKinley was also appealing to Trump for presiding over the founding of a hesitant US empire beyond the North American continent, one from which it has since retreated. Apart from that, the man was unostentatious, intelligent and impeccably polite, faults that Trump is clearly ready to forgive. His only carelessness was to be assassinated six months into his second term. Continue reading...
The Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs are evenly matched for the NFL's showpiece. Small margins are likely to decide the championshipThe best roster in the NFL versus the league's best quarterback. Two defensive wizards. Two offenses that hold on to the ball for a long, loooooong time, prioritizing efficiency and ball security above all else. This year's Super Bowl will probably be a tight, low-scoring affair. Let's look at the key questions that will determine the outcome of the big game. Continue reading...
San Clemente to install cameras to detect boats carrying passengers attempting to enter US without authorizationLeaders of the southern California city of San Clemente, located about halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, are partnering with US Customs and Border Protection to place surveillance cameras along the city's beach to detect boats carrying passengers attempting to enter the country without authorization.At a Tuesday gathering of the town's city council, members ordered city manager Andy Hall to begin coordinating with Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Continue reading...
The decimation of USAid is already having a terrible effect in some of the poorest places on the planet. It damages America: it will harm us allAn earthquake of magnitude 7.0 or above could not have caused more carnage. Recent floods in Asia and droughts in Africa have been catastrophic, yet they have inflicted less damage and affected fewer people than the sudden withdrawal of billions of dollars of US aid from the world's most volatile hotspots and its most vulnerable people. Coming alongside President Trump's plan for a US takeover of Gaza, the US administration's resolve to shut down its international aid agency sends a clear message that the era when American leaders valued their soft power is coming to an end.But while the Gaza plan is as yet only on the drawing board, USAid cuts - which will see funding slashed and just 290 of the more than 10,000 employees worldwide retained, according to the New York Times - have already begun to bite this week. We have seen the halting of landmine-clearing work in Asia, support for war veterans and independent media in Ukraine, and assistance for Rohingya refugees on the border of Bangladesh. This week, drug deliveries to fight the current mpox and Ebola outbreaks in Africa have been stopped, life-saving food lies rotting at African ports, and even initiatives targeting trafficking of drugs like fentanyl have been cut back. One of the world's most respected charities, Brac, says that the 90-day blanket ban on helping vulnerable people is depriving 3.5 million people of vital services.Gordon Brown is the UN's special envoy for global education and was UK prime minister from 2007 to 2010 Continue reading...
US president has been critical of court since it issued war crimes arrest warrant for Netanyahu, who welcomes executive order targeting lawfare' against IsraelDonald Trump has signed an executive order that authorises aggressive economic sanctions against the international criminal court (ICC), accusing the body of illegitimate and baseless actions" targeting the US and Israel.The order grants the US president broad powers to impose asset freezes and travel bans against ICC staff and their family members if the US determines that they are involved in efforts to investigate or prosecute citizens of the US and certain allies. Continue reading...
Lawsuit seeks order blocking unconstitutional and illegal actions' that have created global humanitarian crisis'The largest US government workers' union and an association of foreign service workers sued the Trump administration on Thursday in an effort to reverse its aggressive dismantling of the US Agency for International Development.The lawsuit, filed in Washington, DC federal court by the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Foreign Service Association, seeks an order blocking what it says are unconstitutional and illegal actions" that have created a global humanitarian crisis". Continue reading...
by Helen Sullivan (now); Robert Mackey, Alice Herman on (#6V3DE)
This live coverage has ended, thanks for following along. You can find all of our US politics coverage here.Today is the deadline for federal workers to accept a buyout offer issued to employees by the Office of Personnel Management 28 January.The Washington Post reports that more than 40,000 people had accepted the buyout offer as of Wednesday, 5 February. Confusion over how and if, in fact, it would actually be implemented persisted as the deadline approached. Elon Musk, who leads the unofficial government program Department of Government Efficiency" has touted the offer. Continue reading...
Ellen Weintraub of Federal Election Commission rejects letter from president that claims she has been removedUnited States Federal Election Commission commissioner and chair Ellen Weintraub said on Thursday she received a letter from Donald Trump that purports to fire her but added that the action was illegal.In a post on X, Weintraub attached the January 31 letter signed by Trump which said: You are hereby removed as a member of the Federal Election Commission, effective immediately." Continue reading...
Email shows Trump administration told officials to change vocabulary around gender and immigration immediatelyDisaster officials responding to the historic blazes that leveled large swaths of southern California last month received notification from the Trump administration that they must immediately change their vocabulary around gender and immigration, according to an email obtained by 404 Media.The email instructs employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) to cease calling undocumented immigrants migrants" and instead call them aliens". It also directs employees to replace gender" with sex". Continue reading...
Ippei Mizuhara, 39, pleaded guilty to fraud after using millions of dollars to cover substantial gambling lossesA former interpreter was sentenced on Thursday to nearly five years in prison for stealing $17m from Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani to pay off gambling debts, according to local media reports.Ippei Mizuhara, the one-time translator and de facto manager of Ohtani, was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison, the punishment prosecutors had sought, and also ordered by US district judge John Holcomb to pay restitution of over $18m, the City News Service reported. Continue reading...
Funds, from $9bn bond approved by voters, includes $725m for destroyed Palisades and Marquez elementary schoolsLess than a month after wildfires devastated southern California - destroying eight schools across the Los Angeles area - districts are taking steps to rebuild and recover.On Tuesday, Los Angeles unified school district superintendent Alberto Carvalho announced the district will direct $2.2bn toward efforts to repair or rebuild three schools damaged in the Palisades wildfire, and renovate all the districts' campuses to be more natural disaster resilient". The funding - which has been set aside from a $9bn bond that voters approved in November - includes $725m to reconstruct the almost entirely destroyed Palisades and Marquez elementary schools, and Palisades Charter high school, which was about 30% destroyed. Continue reading...
Move comes day after Trump executive order banning trans athletes from competing in girls' and women's sportsThe NCAA changed its participation policy for transgender athletes on Thursday, limiting competition in women's sports to athletes assigned female at birth.
President also makes baseless claim that USAid money has been illicitly funding news organisationsDonald Trump has called for the termination" of 60 Minutes, a long-established fixture of US journalism, in a fresh onslaught against the media that also included baseless claims that money from the country's beleaguered foreign aid body had been illicitly funding news organisations.The demand that 60 Minutes be taken off the air came in a post on Trump's Truth Social platform. It was the latest salvo in his long-running dispute with the CBS program over its editing of an interview with Kamala Harris, last year's defeated Democratic presidential candidate, over which Trump has lodged a $10m suit alleging election interference". Continue reading...
US attorney general issues memo to break up effort started after 2022 Ukraine invasion to target those close to KremlinThe US justice department under Donald Trump is disbanding an effort started after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine to enforce sanctions and target oligarchs close to the Kremlin.A memo from the attorney general, Pam Bondi, issued during a wave of orders on her first day in office but not previously reported, said the effort, known as Task Force KleptoCapture, will end as part of a shift in focus and funding to combating drug cartels and international gangs. Continue reading...
Photos show gift, reportedly nod to Israel's deadly attack on Hezbollah, during which devices simultaneously detonatedBenjamin Netanyahu reportedly gave Donald Trump a golden pager" during their meeting in Washington DC this week, in an apparent reference to Israel's deadly attack against Hezbollah in Lebanon last year.In photos circulating online, the golden pager can be seen mounted on a piece of wood, accompanied by a golden plaque that reads in black lettering: To President Donald J. Trump, Our greatest friend and greatest ally. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu." Continue reading...
Directive says new contracts must be terminated immediately in response to Trump executive orderThe Department of State told staff on Thursday it would not extend contracts for civilian personal services contractors beginning on Saturday, according to two people familiar with the situation.Personal services contractors provide duties such as housekeeping and maintenance at overseas embassies. But they also supplement diplomatic security. Three of the four people killed in a 2012 raid on the Libyan diplomatic mission in Benghazi - Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty - were civilian security contractors. Continue reading...
Just look at the chaos Trump is causing in the Department of Education to understand the nature of his second termIn retrospect, the weeks between the election and Donald Trump's first executive order seem like a phoney war. Everyone knew that something bad was about to happen, but there was still a sense it might not be so bad. After all, Trump's first four years had been less terrible than observers predicted. That was always a mistake: aspiring autocrats are most dangerous when they come to power a second time. But even those bracing for shocks could hardly have expected Trump to be so blatantly lawless and destructive once back in office. This approach - sabotage bureaucracies, violate the constitution, then see what happens - might now be applied to education.Trump's choice of education secretary, pro-wrestling billionaire Linda McMahon, seemed positively harmless compared with figures like the walking talking threat to public health known as Robert F Kennedy Jr. Though she has an accusation of having enabled the sexual abuse of young boys in the wrestling world hanging over her, McMahon denies all wrongdoing. Continue reading...
Justice department also sues state of Illinois, seeking a court order sweeping aside sanctuary lawsThe US Department of Justice (DoJ) sued the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago on Thursday, accusing the authorities there of impeding the Trump administration's anti-immigration enforcement policies and seeking a court order sweeping aside so-called sanctuary laws.The department cited a national emergency declared by Donald Trump on the same day he was inaugurated, amid a flurry of executive orders and proclamations as he began his second administration. Continue reading...
US secretary of state repeats remarks by Donald Trump about expropriation of private property' in African nationThe US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has accused South Africa of anti-Americanism" and refused to attend a G20 meeting in Johannesburg later this month, as diplomatic ties sour between the two countries under Donald Trump's administration.Rubio made the announcement on X, where he repeated the US president's unfounded claim that South Africa was expropriating private property. Continue reading...
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