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Somalia, DR Congo and Yemen among states forced to sign deals and barter their minerals for aid or military supportSome of the world's poorest countries have started paying millions to lobbyists linked to Donald Trump to try to offset US cuts to foreign aid, an investigation reveals.Somalia, Haiti and Yemen are among 11 countries to sign significant lobbying deals with figures tied directly to the US president after he slashed US foreign humanitarian assistance. Continue reading...

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Trump calls for end to prosecution and also targets other countries with steep levies while Washington sanctions UN official over Gaza - key US politics stories from Wednesday 9 JulyDonald Trump has slapped a 50% tariff on Brazil over what he called the witch-hunt" against former president Jair Bolsonaro and demanded that it end immediately.The US president said the levy on Brazil would be separate from all sectoral tariffs" as he also targeted seven other countries for steep tariffs and criticised the trial of Bolsonaro, whom he has described as a friend and hosted at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Continue reading...

Latest threats heighten fears that the president's erratic trade strategy risks exacerbating inflation across the USDonald Trump announced on Wednesday that his administration will hit Brazil with a 50% tariff on products sent to the US, tying the move to what he called the witch-hunt" trial against its former president, Jair Bolsonaro.Posting letters on Truth Social, the US president had earlier in the day targeted seven other countries - the Philippines, Brunei, Moldova, Algeria, Libya, Iraq and Sri Lanka - for stiff US tariffs on foreign exports starting on 1 August. Continue reading...

PSG's Club World Cup demolition was further proof that perhaps Real Madrid signed the wrong French forwardThe first drinks break was unplanned. It came six minutes ahead of schedule, but Real Madrid were grateful for the respite. They wandered to the touchline, dazed and confused, and reached for the water bottles. They looked to Xabi Alonso and hoped for answers. After 24 minutes of being pummelled by Paris Saint-Germain, though, the thought occurred that the players in white would have been better off asking for smelling salts.It is never a good sign when the emergency team talk takes place with more than an hour left. PSG had just stormed into a 3-0 lead, Fabian Ruiz scoring his second after a stunning combination between the exceptional Ousmane Dembele and the flying Achraf Hakimi on the right, and to be honest the scoreline felt kind on Madrid. The New Jersey sun was beating down but PSG were merciless. Lads, it's 33C. Any chance of slowing down? Continue reading...

It was not immediately clear to whom the requests were sent and the kind of information that was requestedThe US Department of Justice said on Wednesday it had sent more than 20 subpoenas to clinics and doctors who offer gender-affirming care to minors.It was not immediately clear to whom the requests were sent and the kind of information that was requested. Continue reading...

Fabian Ruiz scored twice as the champions of Europe made the final by swatting aside Real Madrid with easeAt last ... here come the players! One by one. PSG first, in their new blue shirts with red-lattice stripe that [squints] pays tribute to Paris's architectural heritage." Then out come Real Madrid in white shirts that [narrows eyes again, adjusts pince-nez] mark the Bernabeu's latest refurbishment with a design featuring subtle shapes, textures and colours borrowed from its long and storied history ... a performance-focused construction for quick-fire football with heat-applied club crest for unparalleled inspiration." Soccer!Kick-off has been delayed until 3.10pm local time, 8.10pm UK time. That's because both teams got caught in traffic on their way to the stadium from their Manhattan hotels, and rocked up 20 minutes later than expected. Real have had no luck whatsoever on their travels: their flight to NYC was delayed for three hours last night due to storms. Continue reading...

Judge finds Republican-crafted law probably unconstitutional for encroaching on federal authorityThe US supreme court maintained on Wednesday a judicial block on a Republican-crafted Florida law that makes it a crime for undocumented immigrants in the United States to enter the state.The justices denied a request by state officials to lift an order by the Florida-based US district judge Kathleen Williams that barred them from carrying out arrests and prosecutions under the law while a legal challenge plays out in lower courts. Williams ruled that Florida's law conflicted with the federal government's authority over immigration policy. Continue reading...

Amid cleanup efforts, residents and news outlets question the government's pre-flooding alarm and warning systems

Boy, 13, arrested after Rancho fire raced through dry brush in Laguna Beach and forced evacuation of about 100 homesA 13-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of setting off fireworks that sparked a wildfire this week in coastal southern California, forcing the evacuations of about 100 canyon homes, authorities said.Crews with air support protected residences from the Rancho fire as flames raced through dry brush on Monday afternoon in Laguna Beach. It was held to 4 acres (1.6 hectares) with no damage to structures. Continue reading...

Senator on vacation abroad while Texas was hit by deadly floods, a disaster worsened by forecasting cuts, critics sayTed Cruz has had quite a week. On Tuesday, the Texas senator ensured the Republican spending bill slashed funding for weather forecasting, only to then go on vacation to Greece while his state was hit by deadly flooding, a disaster critics say was worsened by cuts to forecasting.Cruz, who infamously fled Texas for Cancun when a crippling winter storm ravaged his state in 2021, was seen visiting the Parthenon in Athens with his wife, Heidi, on Saturday, a day after a flash flood along the Guadalupe River in central Texas killed more than 100 people, including dozens of children and counselors at a camp. Continue reading...

Oksana Markarova will be recalled from Washington in move designed to strengthen ties with Trump teamVolodymyr Zelenskyy is replacing Ukraine's ambassador to the US, who has been heavily criticised by leading Republicans, as part a diplomatic reshuffle designed to strengthen ties with the Trump administration.Ukraine's foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, confirmed on Wednesday that Oksana Markarova will be recalled from Washington after four years in the job. He described her as extremely effective, charismatic and one of our most successful ambassadors". Continue reading...

Brooke Rollins also claimed automation can replace the immigrant labor force despite repeated evidence of failureThe US agriculture secretary has suggested that increased automation and forcing Medicaid recipients to work could replace the migrant farm workers being swept up in Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign, despite years of evidence and policy failures that those kinds of measures are not substitutes for the immigrant labor force underpinning American agriculture.Speaking at a news conference with Republican governors on Tuesday, Brooke Rollins said the administration would rely on automation, also some reform within the current governing structure", and pointed to 34 million able-bodied adults in our Medicaid program" as potential workers. Continue reading...

The systematic destruction of Gaza is hardly a secret. Now, the IDF is posting Facebook ads for bulldozer operators to help demolish the stripOmer Bartov is an Israeli-American historian and one of the foremost scholars on genocide in the world. He has spent over 25 years teaching a class on the subject. He deals with atrocities for a living, analyzing some of the very worst things that human beings are capable of. And yet even Bartov has said he can't bear looking at some of the excruciating images coming out of Gaza any more.What's happening, Bartov says, is unprecedented in the 21st century. I don't know of any comparable situation. Recent estimates show that about 70% of the structures in Gaza are either completely destroyed or severely damaged," Bartov says. The argument that the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] is conducting a war in Gaza is simply cynical, there is no war in Gaza. What the IDF is doing in Gaza is demolishing it. Hundreds of buildings are being bulldozed every week. This is not a secret, but mainstream media coverage has been insufficient." Continue reading...

We want to hear about what major decisions people might be delaying under the Trump administration and whyAs Donald Trump approaches six months in office as president, his administration's agenda has shaken every corner of US life.According to research from Harris Poll, Americans are reconsidering major life events including marriage, having children and buying a home amid economic anxiety under the Trump administration. Continue reading...

Patrick Bailey chugged around the bases to defeat the Phillies - the first time a game has been won that way since 2016Patrick Bailey's entrance into the Major League Baseball record books on Tuesday night began with a tight swing that sent a fastball from Phillies reliever Jordan Romano into Triples Alley.It ended with Bailey chugging his way around third base then getting mobbed at home plate by his teammates after becoming the third catcher in major league history to hit a game-ending, inside-the-park home run. Continue reading...

Health secretary backs company criticized for selling junk-laden meals to Medicaid patients on Make America healthy again' tourHealth secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr promoted a company whose meals contain ultra-processed ingredients - which he has repeatedly railed against - on his Make America healthy again" tour.Kennedy appeared at an enormous food plant in Oklahoma for a company called Mom's Meals, which makes 1.5m medically tailored" meals each week and ships them all over the country. Continue reading...

Trump's budget bill is creating a colossus with more resources than many national militariesOn Thursday, congressional Republicans passed Trump's 1,000-page budget, and the president signed it on Saturday. The rich will get obscenely richer. The poor will be hungrier and sicker, work more precarious, and the planet unrelentingly hotter. The symmetry is elegant: cuts to healthcare and food programs average about $120bn each year over the next decade, while the tax cuts will save households earning more than $500,000 about $120bn a year.Trump got what he wanted. But enriching himself and his wealthy friends at the expense of everyone else has long been his life purpose. It was not until he became president, with the Heritage Foundation's wonks, the deportation czar Stephen Miller, and six loyal supreme courtiers behind him, that he could reshape the US in his own amoral, racist, violence-intoxicated image. In fact, the latter goal may be dearer to him than the former. Continue reading...

US president appears to have run out of patience with his Russian counterpart - but how that transmits into practical support for Kyiv remains to be seen

Heavy rains triggered flash flooding in Ruidoso that was so intense an entire house was swept downstreamThree people have died in a mountain town in southern New Mexico that is a popular summer retreat after monsoon rains triggered flash flooding that was so intense an entire house was swept downstream, officials said.A man and two children were swept away Tuesday by flood waters, the village of Ruidoso said in a statement. Continue reading...

A market-centered model and growing inequality led to rightwing ascendance. This moment calls for a new regional solidarityThe second world war ended with an agreement of coexistence that included the creation of the UN multilateral system and a development model that combined the state, the market and democracy as an arena for political dispute. In Latin America, this was reflected in the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac) model, which promoted protectionism and addressed social issues through fiscal targeting.But in the last quarter of the 20th century, the same postwar organizations imposed a new, market-centered model. Value was replaced by price, trade liberalization was prioritized and social issues were subordinated to the laws of the market. The concentration of capital and the delegitimization of democracy broke the previous consensus. Although progressive governments emerged, they were unable to contain the rise of the new autocratic right, supported by de facto powers such as the media, the church, the military and the technocracy. The crisis of representation led political parties to abandon their bases, leaving room for anti-politicians" who found a platform in mainstream media.Ernesto Samper Pizano was president of Colombia from 1994 to 1998

New financial rules for college sports theoretically give football players newfound compensation, but the terms of the deals don't account for injuryRevenue sharing is now a feature of college athletics. Thanks to the house settelement signed in May, schools are permitted to spend $20.5m annually across sports, including through expanded scholarships and direct payments (of which it appears football will generally receive approximately 75%). This would seem to mitigate the longstanding problem of exploitation in college football.However, in a sport still defined by extreme injury, recently disclosed provisions in the new Florida State University (FSU) revenue-sharing contract show that schools appear to simply be finding new ways to extract value from players, as ever at startling personal cost. Continue reading...

In a new series on undocumented workers, construction laborers tell the Guardian fear is fueling wage theft and workplace abuseAs the Trump administration ramps up its crackdown on immigration, undocumented workers in the construction industry claim raids and arrests have emboldened some contractors to cut pay and increase hours.Rogelio, a tile setter, works for various contractors in the the Tucson, Arizona region. He is undocumented, and did not provide his full name. Continue reading...

Commissioners for the city of Miami rewrote their election laws to push the off-year 2025 local races to 2026 without input from voters. The decision has sparked outrageCandidates for local office in Miami have been prepping mailers, gathering volunteers, raising money and hitting the street for the last year, with voters expecting to see a robust campaign to replace the city's term-limited, scandal-chased mayor.Last week, Miami's city commission told those voters they'll have to wait an extra year. In a 3-2 vote, the commission changed the city's election bylaws to push the municipal races back to 2026. Continue reading...

Justices lift lower court order that froze reductions in force' layoffs while litigation in case proceeded. Plus, Ed Sheeran tries his hand at artGood morning.The US supreme court has cleared the way for the Trump administration to resume plans for mass firings of federal workers, which critics warn could threaten important government services.What have the Democrats said? They condemned the ruling. Antjuan Seawright, a party strategist, said: This rightwing activist court has proven ruling after ruling, time after time, that they are going to sing the songs and dance to the tune of Trumpism."How many have been killed seeking food? The casualties totalled 640 killed and more than 4,500 injured between 27 May and 2 July, according to the health ministry in Gaza.What has Israel said? The Israeli military has repeatedly said it does not target civilians, takes all feasible precautions to avoid harm to non-combatants and abides by international law. Continue reading...

Some social media users falsely claimed that the extreme weather was being controlled by the US governmentDisasters and tragedies have long been the source of American conspiracies, old and new. So when devastating flash floods hit Texas over the Fourth of July weekend, and as the death toll continues to rise, far-right conspiracists online saw their opportunity to come out in full force, blurring the lines of what's true and untrue.Some people, emerging from the same vectors associated with the longstanding QAnon conspiracy theory, which essentially holds that a shadowy deep state" is acting against president Donald Trump, spread on X that the devastating weather was being controlled by the government. Continue reading...

Bull also known as Twinkle Toes eluded capture for days in Colorado after reportedly escaping through a fence gapAnimals that have proven themselves to be escape artists as of late in the US have included a terrier and nearly four dozen monkeys. And now a rodeo bull reportedly referred to by the names of Sauce Boss and Twinkle Toes can join their ranks after breaking free from his handlers and spending four days at large.The bull in question was being unloaded in preparation for the Snowmass Village, Colorado, rodeo on 2 July when he somehow got away, local police chief Brian Olson told the state's Aspen Times. Olson suspected the creature found and forced his way through a gap in the fencing that was being used during the unloading. Continue reading...

Under the guidance of a former Manchester United assistant, Minnesota United are finding MLS success with a surprising tacticNot many soccer players are as passionate about dead balls as Anthony Markanich. Then again Minnesota United, under the 33-year-old first-time head coach Eric Ramsay, don't play soccer like most teams.All the guys get really excited about set pieces, especially myself," Markanich gushed last Friday after scoring a goal off a long throw-in by the center back Michael Boxall for the second time in a week. I told Boxy I love when he has the ball for throw-ins and stuff - I get so excited about that." Continue reading...

At least three people were reported missing in Ruidoso, southern New Mexico, after heavy rain triggered flash flooding on Tuesday. The US National Weather Service (NWS) reported the water level of the Rio Ruidoso rose to 20ft (6 metres), a record high crest if confirmed. The NWS also reported a father and two children had been washed away by flash floods in New Mexico and rescue crews were searching for them

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Trump voices increasing irritation with Russia's leader and promises to send more weapons to Ukraine. Key US politics stories from 8 July 2025Donald Trump has voiced his irritation with Vladimir Putin, telling a cabinet meeting he was getting increasingly frustrated with the Russian leader.The US president told the televised meeting of top officials: We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth. He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless." Continue reading...

Mario Guevara, arrested in Georgia while covering a protest, still detained after Ice refused his family's bond paymentA week after an immigration judge granted him bond, a Spanish-language journalist who was arrested while covering a protest last month remains in federal custody.Police just outside Atlanta arrested Mario Guevara while he was covering a protest on 14 June, and he was turned over to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) several days later. He was being held at an immigration detention center in Folkston - in south-east Georgia, near the Florida border - when an immigration judge last week granted him bond. Continue reading...

The 60m Brazilian scored both goals but showed no emotion as Fluminense were his first club in his homelandThis time last week, Joao Pedro was on a Brazilian beach; now he's in the Club World Cup final, handed a standing ovation by old fans and new. The 23-year-old forward had been on holiday in Rio de Janeiro when they called to say his 60m transfer to Chelsea had been completed and could he come straight here.Two days and a single training session later, he made his debut in Philadelphia, more than 4,000 miles north of home, a promising glimpse of a future. Four days after that, he was given his first start in New Jersey. It took 18 minutes to get a glorious goal. By the time he headed off, an hour in, he had another. Continue reading...

Justices lift lower court order that froze reductions in force' federal layoffs while litigation in case proceededThe US supreme court has cleared the way for Donald Trump's administration to resume plans for mass firings of federal workers that critics warn could threaten critical government services.Extending a winning streak for the US president, the justices on Tuesday lifted a lower court order that had frozen sweeping federal layoffs known as reductions in force" while litigation in the case proceeds. Continue reading...

Texas governor Greg Abbott said many people staying in state's Hill Country still unaccounted for as questions mount over official response to disasterRescue crews continued on Tuesday to comb through parts of the Texas Hill Country devastated by catastrophic flash flooding over the Fourth of July weekend, but with more than 100 dead and hope fading for survivors, efforts have increasingly turned to search and recovery.As of Tuesday afternoon, the death toll across the six affected counties surpassed 100. Most of the deaths were in Kerr county, where officials said 87 bodies had so far been recovered, including 56 adults and 30 children. Identification was pending for 19 adults and seven children with one additional person still unidentified, county sheriff Larry Leitha told a news conference. Continue reading...

Mandonna Donna' Kashanian was taken a day after US bombed Iran, but her community rallied for her freedomFederal immigration officials have released an Iranian woman whom they allowed to stay in the US without legal status for the last 47 years, until agents in tactical gear and unmarked vehicles suddenly nabbed her in front of her New Orleans home on 22 June - the day after American forces bombed Iran.A letter-writing campaign extolling decades of community service by Mandonna Donna" Kashanian, 64, and care for her neighbors in the quiet Lakeview section of the city helped get her case in front of Steve Scalise, the Republican US House majority leader, and then top Trump administration officials, Kashanian's neighbor and longtime friend Connie Uddo said. Continue reading...

Team of firefighters and first responders volunteer along Guadalupe River after mass flooding in show of solidarityA contingent of firefighters and first responders from Mexico arrived in Texas over the weekend to aid in search and rescue efforts following the devastating flooding of the Guadalupe River in a show of solidarity with their northern neighbors.When it comes to firefighters, there's no borders," Ismael Aldaba, founder of Fundacion 911, in Acuna, Mexico, told CNN on Tuesday. There's nothing that'll avoid us from helping another firefighter, another family. It doesn't matter where we're at in the world. That's the whole point of our discipline and what we do." Continue reading...

On Capitol Hill, Israeli PM says demonization' led to drop in support for Israel among US voters, especially Democrats

US president announces tariffs of up to 200% on foreign drugs and 50% on copper as he continues to shift plansDonald Trump vowed to further escalate his trade wars on Tuesday, threatening US tariffs of up to 200% on foreign drugs and 50% on copper, amid widespread confusion around his shifting plans.Hours after saying his latest deadline for a new wave of steep duties was not 100% firm", the US president declared that no extensions will be granted" beyond 1 August. Continue reading...

Sheriff says 87 bodies recovered in worst-hit area; officials faced questions over response at tense news conference

This weekend, the Trump administration officially closed the file on the notorious billionaire Epstein. Maga aren't the only ones who should be outragedGreat news, everyone! We can all stop thinking about Jeffrey Epstein, who was charged with the sex trafficking of minors in 2019 and found dead in his Manhattan jail cell shortly after, apparently of suicide. Great minds have looked into the case and discovered there is nothing more to uncover. So don't waste your time wondering which powerful people might have been part of Epstein's alleged trafficking operation. There's nothing to see here - nothing at all. Case officially closed.That, in essence, was the message from the Trump administration over the weekend. On Sunday, Axios reported on a memo from Trump's justice department and the FBI that concluded there is no evidence that Epstein was involved in blackmailing people, kept a client list" or was murdered. Most importantly, the memo said there is no evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties". Continue reading...

Fake voice and text messages on Signal tricked senior leaders, as AI impersonation rises in global politicsAn unknown fraudster has used artificial intelligence to impersonate the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, contacting at least five senior officials.According to a state department cable first seen by the Washington Post and confirmed by the Guardian, the impostor sent fake voice messages and texts that mimicked Rubio's voice and writing style to those targets including three foreign ministers, a US governor and a member of Congress. Continue reading...

The question now: will countries cave in to these threats or stick together and collect the billions they are rightly owed?Donald Trump's announcement calling off trade talks with Canada over its digital tax - and that he would impose retaliatory tariffs - demonstrates, once again, not only the president's ignorance of economics and willful disregard of international norms and the rule of law, but also his willingness to use brute power to get whatever he and the oligarchs who support him want.He was wrong in labeling the tax as outrageous and a direct and blatant attack on our country". It is actually an efficient tax, well designed to ensure that the technology companies - the profits of which benefit the tech oligarchs who have come to dominate US policy - pay their fair share of taxes.Joseph E Stiglitz is a Nobel laureate in economics, university professor at Columbia University and chief economist of the Roosevelt InstituteAnya Schiffrin, senior lecturer at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, and her student Philip L Crane contributed to this piece Continue reading...

Immigration officers would be prevented from wearing masks and be required to display badge numbers