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Tulsi Gabbard and the CIA director say Iran's nuclear sites were destroyed', amid reports of White House efforts to limit sharing of classified information with CongressDonald Trump's administration ratcheted up its defence of the US's weekend attacks on Iran, citing new intelligence" to support its initial claim of complete success and criticising a leaked intelligence assessment that suggested Tehran's nuclear programme had been set back by only a few months.The growing row came amid reports that the White House will to try to limit the sharing of classified documents with Congress, according to the Washington Post and the Associated Press. Continue reading...

This blog has now closed. Read our latest story hereAs the Democratic party fights to rebuild from a devastating election defeat, the abrupt exit of the presidents of two of the nation's largest labor unions from its top leadership board has exposed simmering tensions over the party's direction.Randi Weingarten and Lee Saunders quit the Democratic National Committee, saying it isn't doing enough to open the gates" and win back the support of working-class voters. Ken Martin, the new DNC chair, and his allies told the Guardian that the party was focused on doing exactly that. Continue reading...

Trump celebrated commitment by Nato allies to boost defence spending to 5% of GDP. Key US politics stories from Wednesday 25 June 2025On the back of hailing US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities as a victory for everybody", president Trump has claimed success at the Nato summit in The Hague, praising the commitment by Nato allies to boost defence spending to 5% of GDP.The US president described the summit as a very historic milestone". It was, he said, something that no one really thought possible. And they said: You did it, sir, you did it'. Well, I don't know if I did it ... but I think I did." Continue reading...

US president calls Israeli prime minister a great hero' and that the charges against him constitute a witch hunt'Donald Trump has weighed in on ally Benjamin Netanyahu's long-running corruption trial, saying in a social media post that the trial was a witch hunt" and should be cancelled.Bibi and I just went through HELL together, fighting a very tough and brilliant longtime enemy of Israel, Iran, and Bibi could not have been better, sharper, or stronger in his LOVE for the incredible Holy Land," Trump said on Wednesday night, using a nickname for the Israeli leader. Continue reading...

US education agency's resolution proposes barring trans women from women's sports and stripping them of prizesThe Trump administration has found that the California department of education and the state's high school sports federation violated civil rights law by allowing transgender girls to compete on girls sports teams.The federal education department announced the finding Wednesday and proposed a resolution that would require California to bar transgender women from women's sports and strip transgender athletes of records, titles and awards. It's the latest escalation in the Republican administration's effort to bar transgender athletes from women's sports teams nationwide. Continue reading...

Too many Democratic party leaders would rather be the captains on a sinking Titanic than change courseThe Democratic party is at a crossroads.It can continue to push policies that maintain a broken and rigged economic and political system and ignore the pain of the 60% of Americans who live paycheck to paycheck. It can turn its back on the dreams of a younger generation which, if we don't change that system, will likely be worse off than their parents.Bernie Sanders is a US senator, and ranking member of the health, education, labor and pensions committee. He represents the state of Vermont and is the longest-serving independent in the history of Congress Continue reading...

Health secretary unilaterally appointed ACIP's eight new members, several of whom are critical of immunizationsThe first meeting of a critical federal vaccine panel was a high-profile display of how the US health secretary and vaccine skeptic Robert F Kennedy Jr has injected chaos into vaccine policy infrastructure.Wednesday's meeting was held amid controversy, not only regarding the new members unilaterally appointed by Kennedy, but also the questions they would consider, their conflicts of interest and views on vaccines, and the scheduled speakers. Continue reading...

Second lady says on Meghan McCain podcast she is not plotting next steps' and is just along for the ride'Usha Vance learned her husband, JD, had been selected to be Donald Trump's running mate maybe five minutes" before the news was made public - and just about an hour before he was formally nominated.It really was like a bolt of lightning," Vance said during an interview on Meghan McCain's podcast, Citizen McCain. Nearly a year later, seated in the vice-president's residence on the grounds of the US naval observatory, Vance reflected on how significantly her life has changed in ways big and small. People call you ma'am," she said. No one's ever called me ma'am before this." Continue reading...

Emil Bove, a former Trump attorney, faced Senate judiciary committee considering him to be federal appeals judgeEmil Bove, a top justice department official and former defense attorney for Donald Trump, denied to senators on Wednesday a whistleblower's claim that he suggested prosecutors ignore orders from judges who ruled against the president's immigration policy.In a hearing before the Senate judiciary committee to consider his nomination to serve as a federal appeals court judge, Bove, currently the principal associate deputy attorney general at the justice department, also rejected assertions from Democrats that corruption charges against New York City mayor, Eric Adams, were dropped in order to secure his cooperation with the president's immigration enforcement agenda. Continue reading...

At hearing, US attorney general claims she's unaware of reports that officials have hid their faces during roundupsThe attorney general, Pam Bondi, professed ignorance of reports of immigration officials hiding their faces with masks during roundups of undocumented people, despite widespread video evidence and reports that they are instilling pervasive fear and panic.Challenged at a Wednesday Capitol Hill subcommittee hearing by Gary Peters, a Democratic senator for Michigan, Bondi, who as the country's top law officer has a prominent role in the Trump administration's hardline immigration policy, implied she was unaware of plain-clothed agents concealing their faces while carrying out arrests but suggested it was for self-protection. Continue reading...

Wall Street Journal reports deal would see Trump accept sum to resolve suit over Kamala Harris interview on 60 MinutesDonald Trump and CBS could settle their legal battle over a contested interview with Kamala Harris for $20m, as the dispute continues to shadow a major media merger.A mediator has proposed the settlement figure to resolve Trump's lawsuit against CBS News over alleged deceptive editing of a 60 Minutes interview with Harris during last year's presidential campaign, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Mamdani signifies a generational change and rebuke to a party establishment grown complacent and hypocriticalThe party was on its knees. It failed to beat Donald Trump, a twice impeached convicted felon, and lost both chambers of Congress. Since November, Democrats have been searching for a path out of the wilderness. On Tuesday, they found one.But instead of celebrating Zohran Mamdani's apparent victory in the New York mayoral primary election, the first major Democratic contest since Trump's win, many in the party establishment went into panic mode. Continue reading...

Prosecutors allege LaMonica McIver interfered with law enforcement during arrest of Newark mayor, Ras BarakaLaMonica McIver, the New Jersey Democratic representative who is facing felony charges after a recent incident during a congressional oversight visit to an Ice detention facility, pleaded not guilty in federal court on Wednesday.Prosecutors allege that McIver forcibly interfered with law enforcement officials in a 9 May confrontation outside Delaney Hall federal immigration facility in Newark, New Jersey. If found guilty, she faces a maximum sentence of 17 years in prison. Continue reading...

Protesters call on police to prioritize local community safety over assisting with Ice under Trump's deportation agendaUS immigration rights advocates rallied on Tuesday outside a national gathering of sheriffs to protest local law enforcement's increasing cooperation with federal immigration authorities under Donald Trump's deportation agenda.A group of activists protested outside the National Sheriffs' Association annual conference, where sheriffs came from across the US to meet at the Broward county convention center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with protesters calling on attendees to prioritize local community safety over assisting with federal immigration enforcement. Around 30 activists represented a coalition that included the Florida Immigrant Coalition, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the National Council of Jewish Women, and the campaign group Sheriff Accountability Action. Continue reading...

US-run news outlet had earlier been branded propaganda' and leftist' by the White House as it sought to close itVoice of America (VOA) may have been used to broadcast Donald Trump's message to Iranians in Farsi during weekend military strikes, the president's senior adviser told Congress on Wednesday, revealing how the crumbling, traditionally independent news service is possibly functioning as a conduit for presidential messaging.Kari Lake, Trump's handpicked choice to oversee the US Agency for Global Media, told the House foreign affairs committee that VOA crews worked on Saturday to deliver Trump's message as bombing operations were under way. Continue reading...

Cynthia Gonzalez of Cudahy appeared to call on street gangs for help' amid immigration raids in Los AngelesThe vice-mayor of a tiny southern California city is under fire after appearing to call on street gangs to organize in the face of immigration sweeps by federal agents in Los Angeles.In a video post on social media that's since been deleted, Cynthia Gonzalez, vice-mayor of Cudahy, said she wanted to know where all of the gang members were at in Los Angeles". Continue reading...

People power forced a change of venue, proving that a man worth 223bn can still fall foul of ordinary folk with pool floatsThere are so many questions swirling around the forthcoming wedding of Jeff Bezos to Lauren Sanchez this weekend - for instance, who in their right mind books Venice in high summer? Why isn't Katy Perry going? And how is Eva Longoria still on every guest list, despite not having been famous since 2012? - but the one I keep sticking on in this: as the world's third richest man, Bezos could, we assume, charm almost any woman on the planet into some sort of marital arrangement with him. In which case, and with all due respect, why Sanchez?I don't mean this to be as rude at it sounds. Lauren Sanchez, a 55-year-old former TV presenter and licensed pilot, is, I'm sure, funny and clever and up there with Peter Ustinov as a great dinner party guest. Her betrothed, on the other hand, doesn't appear to be a man comfortable with making anything but the most obvious choices. Bezos got rich, built a rocket, and turned himself from a weedy tech nerd into a comic-book Mr Universe so that these days he looks like a man wearing an Amazon cardboard box under his polo shirt. That this person would choose not only a woman a mere six years younger than himself but one who, stylistically speaking, edges closer every year to the Jocelyne Wildenstein school of bizarre beautification speaks either to the loveliness of a genuine soul match or something else altogether.Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

In the absence of federal oversight, Black communities band together to stave off development on historic resting placesA large puddle of water and thickets of weeds cover a vacant lot in Bethesda, Maryland. A towering apartment complex overshadows the cracked asphalt, but Marsha Coleman-Adebayo is most concerned about what - and who - lies beneath.The nearly two-acre site in the Washington DC suburb covers the historic Moses Macedonia African Cemetery and another burial ground for enslaved people, with the oldest portion dating back to at least the mid-1800s. Hundreds of bones found there may be the remains of enslaved people and their descendants, while more bodies may lie under the parking lot of the Westwood Tower apartment complex. Continue reading...

Company is cutting 30% of its global workforce as part of an effort to return to a start-up mentality'Dating app Bumble announced plans to lay off almost a third of its workforce as part of a bid to return to a start-up mentality" as it fights to revive growth.The Austin, Texas-based company is cutting about 240 roles, or 30% of its global staff, amid a turnaround effort. Its stock has tumbled since the firm went public in 2021. Continue reading...

Tonight is his night,' says ex-governor as progressive state representative tells supporters we made history'

Referring to Donald Trump's use of profanity when commenting on the Israel-Iran war on Tuesday, the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, joked that 'Daddy sometimes has to use strong language'. In a remark to reporters a day earlier, Trump had said: 'We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the fuck they're doing'

Mike German, an ex-FBI agent, said immigration agents hiding their identities highlights the illegitimacy of actions'Some wear balaclavas. Some wear neck gators, sunglasses and hats. Some wear masks and casual clothes.Across the country, armed federal immigration officers have increasingly hidden their identities while carrying out immigration raids, arresting protesters and roughing up prominent Democratic critics. Continue reading...

The democratic socialist is now the favorite to win the city's mayoral election. Plus, meet the 17-year-old who ran the length of BritainGood morning.Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist, declared victory in New York City's Democratic primary Tuesday night as the former governor Andrew Cuomo conceded the race.What happens now? As neither candidate is likely to reach 50%, the board of elections will now add up people's second-choice votes - from which Mamdani is expected to benefit more.How likely is Mamdani to be elected mayor in November's general mayoral election? Cuomo may still run as an independent, but Mamdani is the favorite given the incumbent Eric Adams's unpopularity and the city voting heavily Democratic.How has the leaked report been received? Trump is angry about it - and the White House has claimed it is an attempt to demean" him.To follow the latest updates on this rapidly developing story, head to our liveblog. Continue reading...

Official visit confirmed but diary issues appear to have scuppered plans for initial informal meeting with king

Speaking alongside the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, Donald Trump compared the US strikes on Iran to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, saying: 'This was essentially the same thing: that ended that war; this ended the war.' Trump's comments came after a Pentagon report that said the US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites only set the programme back by months. Trump has rejected these claims

I played alongside - and greatly respected - Christian Laettner. His fellow Blue Devil is attracting love in the same measure his predecessor attracted hateThe NBA draft takes place on Wednesday night, and Cooper Flagg - the phenom out of Maine - is the clearcut, consensus No 1 pick, held by the Dallas Mavericks. And it's not just his game that's earned him near-universal praise; it's the way he carries himself.In his freshman year at Duke, Flagg accomplished something remarkable: he became the first player in the last 25 years to tally 500 points, 100 assists, and 30 blocks in a single ACC regular season. He led the Blue Devils to both the ACC Championship and the Final Four, averaging 19.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. But stats alone don't capture the 18-year-old's impact. He was relentless on both ends of the floor - disruptive with cat-like reflexes, explosive with athleticism, and committed to the little things: diving for loose balls, celebrating teammates, talking trash, flexing after dunks, and scoring from anywhere on the court.Etan Thomas played in the NBA from 2000 through 2011. He is a published poet, activist and motivational speaker

There has been much discussion this week about the romance between actor Anna Camp, 42, and her 24-year-old girlfriend - which is a bit surprising, given the many more egregious examplesHere's a maths problem for you. If actor Anna Camp (42) has a new girlfriend called Jade Whipkey (24), meaning there's an 18-year age gap between them, is this a) disgusting; b) perfectly fine; c) something I have no desire to think about?If you answered c), then I'm afraid large sections of the internet disagree with you. There has been heated debate about the propriety of the Camp-Whipkey romance ever since the two went public - so much so that Camp recently spoke out on the matter. Continue reading...

Democratic socialist pulled off stunning upset in Democratic mayoral primary victory over former New York governor Andrew Cuomo Continue reading...

Now the New York mayoral candidate he needs to ensure an electoral win that translates into tangible improvements in people's lives

In the Middle East as in Ukraine, the president is discovering that simple bullying tricks don't resolve complex international crisesIt was as close as Donald Trump might get to a lucid statement of his governing doctrine. I may do it. I may not do it," the president said to reporters on the White House lawn. Nobody knows what I'm going to do."The question was about joining Israeli air strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. Days later, US bombers were on their way. Some expected it to happen. Others, including Keir Starmer, had gone on record to say they didn't. No one had known. The unpredictability doctrine wouldn't have been violated either way.Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

In a major upset, Mamdani, who would be city's first Muslim mayor if elected, looks set to defeat former governor Andrew Cuomo in city's Democratic primaryAfter news exploded across social media and beyond that Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist who would become New York's first Muslim mayor if elected, was on track to win the city's Democratic primary on Tuesday night, reactions from supporters poured in to offer their well-wishes and thoughts.While it could still be several days before the final result is known, Mamdani nabbed more than 43.5% of the vote with 93% of the votes counted while his biggest competitor, Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor and previous favorite, was at 36.4% Continue reading...

One of Doge's best-known workers Edward Coristine, 19, quits a month after his former boss Elon Musk's departureOne of the US so-called department of government efficiency" (Doge) service's best-known employees, 19-year-old Edward Coristine, has resigned from the US government, a White House official said on Tuesday, a month after the acrimonious departure of his former boss Elon Musk.The White House official gave no further details on the move and Coristine did not immediately return an email seeking comment. Continue reading...

The situation in the Middle East prompts Donald Trump to drop the f-bomb; assessment questions US strikes on Iran - key US politics stories from Tuesday 24 JuneThe US president's shocking outburst at Iran and Israel capped a drama-filled 24 hours for Donald Trump, America, the Middle East and the world. As both sides defied his ceasefire, Trump lashed out, his anger and frustration clearly visible as he swore on live television. Trump later called Israel's prime minister to demand he stop bombing Iran.With the fragile ceasefire seeming to hold, there was some unwelcome news via a report from the Pentagon, which said the US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities were not quite as successful as Trump had claimed. Continue reading...

Robert Berman, cited in report on preservative thimerosal, says he doesn't endorse this misrepresentation of research'A review on the use of the preservative thimerosal in vaccines slated to be presented on Thursday to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) outside vaccine committee cites a study that does not exist, the scientist listed as the study's author said.The report, called Thimerosal as a Vaccine Preservative published on the CDC website on Tuesday, is to be presented by Lyn Redwood, a former leader of the anti-vaccine group Children's Health Defense. Continue reading...

Thomas Lee Gudinas, 51, died Tuesday by lethal injection at Florida state prison in state's seventh execution this yearA man convicted of raping and killing a woman near a central Florida bar was executed Tuesday evening.Thomas Lee Gudinas, 51, was pronounced dead at 6.13pm after receiving a lethal injection at Florida state prison near Starke, said Bryan Griffin, a spokesperson for the governor, Ron DeSantis. Continue reading...

Dan Pfeiffer says it is really unforgivable' and insane' that the Democratic party establishment maintains support for disgraced former New York governor

Grant makes US a direct backer of aid organization that reportedly has collaboration with Israeli governmentThe Trump administration has authorised a $30m grant to the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, making the US a direct backer of an aid organisation that is closely linked to private security contractors and has been accused by critics of politicising" the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza.According to a document seen by the Guardian, the state department has already disbursed $7m to GHF, a US- and Israeli-backed aid organisation that has been given preferential access to operate in Gaza because it says that it can deliver millions of meals to starving people without that food falling into the hands of Hamas. Continue reading...

Josh Pickles and three family members among those dead after sudden thunderstorm in California over the weekendFour members of a family from northern California were among eight people killed over the weekend when a boat capsized on Lake Tahoe in California during a sudden and fierce thunderstorm.Josh Pickles, 37, of San Francisco, his parents, 73-year-old Terry Pickles and 71-year-old Paula Bozinovich of Redwood City, and his uncle, 72-year-old Peter Bayes, of Lincoln, died on Saturday, according to a family statement. Continue reading...

Daniel Park, 32, was accused of supplying chemicals to the bomber, Guy Edward Barktus, who died in May explosionA man charged with aiding the bomber of a fertility clinic in California has died in federal custody just weeks after his arrest, prison officials said on Tuesday.Daniel Park, 32, was accused of supplying chemicals to the bomber, Guy Edward Bartkus of California, who died in the 17 May explosion. Continue reading...

Findings by Defense Intelligence Agency suggest Trump's declaration that sites were obliterated' may be overstatedAn initial classified US assessment of Donald Trump's strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities over the weekend says they did not destroy two of the sites and likely only set back the nuclear program by a few months, according to two people familiar with the report.The report produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency - the intelligence arm of the Pentagon - concluded key components of the nuclear program, including centrifuges, were capable of being restarted within months. Continue reading...

US health secretary faced hours of questioning over budget cuts and accusations he lied to senatorsRobert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, faced a bruising day on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, including being forced to retract accusations against a Democratic congressman after claiming the lawmaker's vaccine stance was bought by $2m in pharmaceutical contributions.In a hearing held by the House health subcommittee, Kennedy was met with hours of contentious questioning over budget cuts, massive healthcare fraud and accusations he lied to senators to secure his confirmation. Continue reading...

Sharp rise in delinquency comes after education department resumed collections on defaulted federal loansNearly one in three federal student loan borrowers are at risk of defaulting on payments as early as July, as delinquency and default rates soar in the wake of pandemic-era repayment relief ending.About 5.8 million federal student loan borrowers were 90 days or more past due on their payments as of April 2025, according to a new analysis from TransUnion. That's roughly 31% of borrowers with a payment due, up from 20.5% in February and nearly triple the 11.7% delinquency rate reported in February 2020, just before the pandemic began. The April figure represents the highest delinquency rate ever recorded. Continue reading...

US president at one point called Benjamin Netanyahu to order him to scale down an Israeli airstrike