Approved refugees reportedly affected by freeze on processing after Trump demands more aggressive vetting
The Trump administration has paused the processing of certain green card applications as the US government continues to implement a hardline immigration agenda.
CBS News reported that approved refugees are part of the processing freeze, as the White House enacts an effort to more aggressively vet immigrants to the US.
Continue reading...The Atlantic releases more text from chat after Trump officials claimed none of it was ‘classified information’
The Atlantic magazine has published fresh messages from a group chat including top US officials where they discuss operational details of plans to bomb Yemen.
The initial revelations by the magazine and its editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, who was accidentally added to the chat on the messaging app Signal, have sparked a huge outcry in the US, with the Trump administration facing withering attacks over the disastrous leak of sensitive information.
Continue reading...Tariffs panned by economists for sowing uncertainty that they said made it challenging for businesses to plan ahead
US consumer confidence plunged to the lowest level in more than four years in March, with households fearing a recession in the future and higher inflation because of tariffs.
The Conference Board said on Tuesday that write-in responses to the survey showed “worries about the impact of trade policies and tariffs in particular are on the rise”, adding: “There were also more references than usual to economic and policy uncertainty.”
Continue reading...President says national security adviser Mike Waltz, suspected of adding journalist to chat, ‘has learned a lesson’
Donald Trump defended his embattled national security adviser on Tuesday and said the leak of highly classified military plans was “the only glitch in two months”, as scrutiny intensified into how top US officials shared operational details for bombing Yemen in a group chat.
In an interview with NBC, the president said, “Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man,” as Democrats called for an investigation into the sharing of the plans for this month’s major airstrikes in Yemen on the Signal app. Later on Tuesday, during a meeting with ambassadors, Trump said his administration would investigate the incident but claimed “there was no classified information” shared on Signal.
Continue reading...US vice-president says he will join unsolicited visit to Arctic island, which Mette Frederiksen says is ‘not what Greenland needs or wants’
Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister, has accused the US of putting “unacceptable pressure” on Greenland – which she has vowed to resist – before an unsolicited visit to the Arctic island by members of the Trump administration.
Later, just hours after her comments, the White House sprang a fresh surprise, as the US vice-president, JD Vance, announced he would join his wife on a trip to the territory this week.
Continue reading...Louis DeJoy led dramatic effort to restructure the US postal service over past five years
The US postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, who said earlier this month that he had asked the government efficiency team led by Elon Musk for assistance with a number of issues, is resigning effective on Monday, the agency said.
DeJoy, who has headed the agency since 2020, in February said he had asked the US Postal Service (USPS) governing board to identify his successor but had given no indication in recent days that he planned to step down abruptly.
Continue reading...Employees who may have to return home risk death or imprisonment at hands of authoritarian governments
Foreign workers at US government-backed media outlets being cut by the Trump administration say they face deportation to their home countries, where some risk imprisonment or death at the hands of authoritarian governments.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration moved to defund the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), an independent federal agency that oversees the Voice of America (VoA), the US’s largest and oldest international broadcaster, and provides grants to Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe and other news agencies. The agency had around 3,500 employees with an annual budget of $886m in 2024.
Continue reading...Uncertainty remains over how and when 30-day halt on energy strikes would take effect amid a gulf on expectations
US and Russian officials have begun talks in Saudi Arabia as Donald Trump pushes to broker a limited ceasefire that Washington hopes will mark the first step toward lasting peace in Ukraine.
Ukraine and Russia have agreed in principle to a one-month halt on strikes on energy infrastructure after Trump spoke with the countries’ leaders last week. But uncertainty remains over how and when the partial ceasefire would take effect – and whether its scope would extend beyond energy infrastructure to include other critical sites, such as hospitals, bridges, and vital utilities.
Continue reading...Greenland’s prime minister says trip is ‘demonstration of power’ and accuses US of interfering in its political affairs
Greenland’s prime minister has accused Washington of interfering in its political affairs with the visit of an American delegation this week to the Arctic island coveted by the US president, Donald Trump.
“It should be said clearly that our integrity and democracy must be respected without foreign interference,” Múte Egede said on Monday, adding that the planned visit by the second lady, Usha Vance, along with the national security adviser, Mike Waltz, “cannot be seen as just a private visit”.
Continue reading...Ebrahim Rasool, declared persona non grata by Washington, was surrounded by crowds at Cape Town airport
The South African ambassador who was expelled from the US and declared persona non grata by the Trump administration was welcomed home on Sunday by hundreds of supporters who sang songs praising him.
Crowds at Cape Town International airport surrounded Ebrahim Rasool and his wife Rosieda as they emerged in the arrivals terminal in their home town, and they needed a police escort to help them navigate their way through the building.
Continue reading...Immigration officials could give names and addresses, raising concerns about abuse of power by Trump administration
The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is reportedly nearing a deal to allow immigration officials to use tax data to support Donald Trump’s deportation agenda, according to reports by the Washington Post.
Under the proposed data-sharing agreement, said to have been in negotiations for weeks, Immigration And Customs Enforcement (Ice) could hand over the names and addresses of undocumented immigrants to the IRS, raising concerns about abuse of power from the Trump administration and the erosion of privacy rights.
Continue reading...Party leader faces backlash over his decision to support Republican-led bill to avoid government shutdown
Chuck Schumer defied calls to give up the top Democratic position in the Senate after he voted for Republicans’ funding bill to avoid a government shutdown, saying on Sunday: “I’m not stepping down.”
Schumer has faced a wave of backlash from Democrats over his decision to support the Republican-led bill, with many Democrats alleging that the party leader isn’t doing enough to stand up to Donald Trump’s agenda.
Continue reading...Meeting comes as China hopes to reach a deal to avert further tariff pressure from Washington
Republican senator Steve Daines, a staunch supporter of Donald Trump, met Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing on Sunday, as China hopes to reach a deal to avert further tariff pressure from Washington.
The meeting marks the first time a US politician has visited China since Trump took office in January. Earlier this month, China’s ministry of foreign affairs promised that China will “fight to the end” with the US in a “tariff war, trade war or any other war”.
Continue reading...Recently installed prime minister expected to confirm 28 April ballot as he seeks to keep Liberal party in government
Mark Carney will run for election in the Ottawa riding of Nepean as the new Canadian prime minister seeks to join parliament for the first time, his Liberal party has announced.
Carney on Sunday is predicted to trigger an early general election on 28 April. The Liberals said on Saturday that Carney would run to represent the suburban riding, or district, of Nepean, noting in a social media post that Ottawa is where he raised his family and devoted his career to public service. He previously served as the head of Canada’s central bank and before that as deputy.
Continue reading...Critics say cuts will mean that children will have to face off alone in court against experienced Ice attorneys
The Trump administration is reported to have cut funding to a legal program that provides representation for unaccompanied immigrant children, one month after directing immigration enforcement agents to track down minors who had entered the US without guardians last month.
Organizations that collectively receive more than $200m in federal grants were informed that the contract through the office of refugee resettlement had been partially terminated, according to a memo issued on Friday by the interior department and obtained by ABC News.
Continue reading...From media to culture and the arts to the refusal to abide by court orders, we’re nearing ‘Defcon 1 for our democracy’, experts say
Entering the magnificent great hall of the US Department of Justice, Donald Trump stopped for a moment to admire his portrait then took to a specially constructed stage where two art deco statues, depicting the “Spirit of Justice” and “Majesty of Justice”, had been carefully concealed behind a blue velvet curtain.
The president, who since last year is also a convicted criminal, proceeded to air grievances, utter a profanity and accuse the news media of doing “totally illegal” things, without offering evidence. “I just hope you can all watch for it,” he told justice department employees, “but it’s totally illegal.”
Continue reading...As Trump escalates a global trade war, looking to gold to shield cash might not be the worst option
As economic uncertainty roils the US, the price of gold has roared to record highs amid investors seeking a place to shield their cash from Donald Trump’s scattergun trade wars.
A single ounce of gold cost $3,051.99 on Wednesday, compared with $2,160 in 2024, and gold has historically been seen as the safest place to invest in financially turbulent times.
Continue reading...Healthcare journal calls for radical change in approach, urging policymakers to invest in their communities
An academic journal may inject some optimism into US health policy – a scarce commodity amid the Trump administration’s mass layoffs, funding freezes and the ideological research reviews.
A new issue of Health Affairs Scholar argues the conversation around healthcare can change – and radically – if academics think “bigger” and policymakers invest in their communities.
Continue reading...New poll also shows that a significant share of Americans will avoid companies that drop social-inclusion policies
One in five Americans plan to turn their backs for good on companies that have shifted their policies to align with Donald Trump’s agenda, according to a new poll for the Guardian.
As high-profile brands including Amazon, Target and Tesla grapple with economic boycotts, research by the Harris Poll indicated the backlash could have a lasting impact.
Continue reading...Westerners increasingly hesitant to travel to US out of fear of arrests and detentions as Trump enforces crackdown
A string of high-profile arrests and detentions of travellers is likely to cause a major downturn in tourism to the US, with latest figures already showing a serious drop-off, tourist experts said.
Several western travellers have recently been rejected at the US border on increasingly flimsy grounds under Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, some of them shackled and held in detention centers in poor conditions for weeks.
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