Category Archives: US Politics

Women more worried about economy under Trump than men, poll finds

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Exclusive: poll shows 62% of women and 47% of men across political spectrum say economy and inflation getting worse

Women across the political spectrum are more concerned about the state of the US economy and inflation under Donald Trump than men are, according to a new exclusive poll for the Guardian.

More Democrats than Republicans are now concerned about the economy following the president’s return to power. But pessimism was higher for women even among Republicans and independents, according to a new Harris poll.

More women said they are very worried about food prices (52% of women compared to 39% of men)

More women said they’re spending more time trying to find deals or go to more affordable stores (36% versus 26%)

More women said their financial security is getting worse because of their difficulty in affording essential goods and services (55% versus 46%)

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New York City mayoral candidate Brad Lander arrested at immigration court

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Lander, also the city’s comptroller, was ‘arrested for assaulting law enforcement’, says DHS

Brad Lander, New York City’s comptroller and a mayoral candidate, was arrested by masked federal agents while visiting an immigration court and accompanying a person out of a courtroom.

In a statement to the Guardian, assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin from the Department of Homeland Security said Lander “was arrested for assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer”.

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Trump brushes off US intel reports on Iran to align himself with Israel

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President has dismissed verdict by handpicked spy chief, Tulsi Gabbard, that Iran is not developing nuclear weapons

Tulsi Gabbard, the US director of national intelligence, delivered a concise verdict during congressional testimony this March: the intelligence community “continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme leader Khomeini has not authorized the nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003”.

As he rushed back to Washington on Tuesday morning, Donald Trump swatted aside the assessment from the official that he handpicked to deliver him information from 18 US intelligence agencies. “I don’t care what she said,” said Trump. “I think they were very close to having one.”

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‘Not our war’: bipartisan US lawmakers back resolution to block involvement in Iran

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Republican Thomas Massie joins with Democrats in effort to require Congress approval before Trump attacks Iran

As Donald Trump publicly threatens to join Israel in attacking Iran, an unlikely coalition of lawmakers has moved to prevent the president from involving US forces in the conflict without Congress’s approval.

On Tuesday, Republican congressman Thomas Massie, whose libertarian-tinged politics have often put him at odds with Trump, joined with several progressive Democrats to introduce in the House of Representatives a war powers resolution that would require a vote by Congress before Trump could attack Iran. Democrat Tim Kaine has introduced companion legislation in the Senate.

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Trump threatens to keep 25% tariff on UK steel imports over Port Talbot concerns

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Exclusive: Sources say US wants information on when importing of raw materials from abroad at Port Talbot site will stop

Donald Trump is threatening to keep 25% tariffs on some or all of its steel imports from the UK unless it gives specific guarantees over the Indian-owned steelmaking plant at Port Talbot in south Wales, sources have told the Guardian.

An agreement to reduce tariffs on UK car exports to the US and scrap them for the aerospace sector was signed off by the US president and Keir Starmer on Monday, on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada.

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Ex-senator Bob Menendez arrives at prison to begin serving 11-year sentence

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The New Jersey Democrat will be held in Pennsylvania facility after his conviction on bribery charges

Bob Menendez arrived at a federal prison on Tuesday to begin serving an 11-year sentence for accepting bribes of gold and cash and acting as an agent of Egypt. The New Jersey Democrat and former US senator has been mocked for the crimes as “Gold Bar Bob”, according to his own lawyer.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that Menendez was in custody at the Schuylkill federal correctional institution in Minersville, Pennsylvania. The facility has a medium-security prison and a minimum-security prison camp. Given the white-collar nature of his crimes, it is likely he will end up in the camp.

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CDC official in charge of Covid data resigns ahead of vaccine meeting

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Fiona Havers says she does not have confidence data will be use to make ‘evidence-based vaccine policy decisions’

The scientist responsible for overseeing the CDC team that collects data on Covid and RSV hospitalizations resigned on Monday.

Dr Fiona Havers told colleagues in an email that she no longer had confidence the data would be used “objectively or evaluated with appropriate scientific rigor to make evidence-based vaccine policy decisions”, according to Reuters.

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Trump administration notches first big win in assault on higher education

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Federal judge dismissed lawsuit brought by faculty groups over government cuts to Columbia University funding

The Trump administration scored its most significant legal victory in its sweeping effort to reshape American higher education when a federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit brought by faculty groups over the government’s cuts to Columbia University’s federal funding.

The lawsuit concerned the Trump administration’s cuts to $400m worth of federal funding to Columbia on the grounds it tolerated antisemitism during pro-Palestinian protests on campus. Columbia largely accepted the government’s terms for restoring funding – in an agreement widely panned as a capitulation of its own academic freedom – several days before the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) sued the Trump administration over the cuts.

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Democratic senator proposes curbing Trump’s war powers amid Israel-Iran conflict

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Tim Kaine introduces measure to prohibit US forces from taking action against Iran without approval from Congress

As Iran and Israel exchange missile attacks for a fourth day, Democrats in Washington are moving swiftly to reassert congressional authority over US military engagement in the region amid fears of American involvement in a broader conflict.

Tim Kaine, a Democratic senator of Virginia, on Monday introduced a war powers resolution that would prohibit US armed forces from taking direct action against Iran without explicit authorization from Congress or a declaration of war. The measure, like other attempts to claw back power from the executive branch, faces a steep climb in the GOP-controlled Congress, where Republicans have been mostly unwilling to challenge Donald Trump’s authority.

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Suspect in shootings of Minnesota lawmakers caught and charged with murder

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Vance Boelter accused of killing legislator Melissa Hortman and her husband, and wounding John Hoffman and his wife

The man suspected of opening fire on two Minnesota legislators and their spouses on 14 June, killing one legislator and her husband, was set to appear in court on Monday afternoon charged with two counts of murder and two of attempted murder, the state’s governor, Tim Walz, said at a news conference.

Vance Boelter, 57, is suspected of fatally shooting the Democratic state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, at their residence early on Saturday. Boelter is also suspected of shooting the state senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their home, seriously injuring them.

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Suspect in murders of Minnesota lawmakers caught and charged | First Thing

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Vance Boelter accused of killing Melissa Hortman and her husband and wounding John Hoffman and his wife. Plus, why a professor of fascism left the US

Good morning.

The man suspected of opening fire on two Minnesota legislators and their spouses on 14 June, killing one of them and her husband, was apprehended late on Sunday night and charged with two counts of murder and two of attempted murder, the state’s governor, Tim Walz, said.

How did the suspect get into the legislator’s homes? Authorities allege Boelter impersonated a police officer, wearing a uniform that most civilians would not be able to distinguish from the real thing and driving a vehicle made to resemble a police SUV.

Where did the manhunt end? After firing shots at police and fleeing on foot, he was finally caught in a rural area in Sibley county, south-west of Minneapolis, according to police.

Why did Israel say it launched the attack on Iran? Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he had acted to pre-empt a secret Iranian programme to build a nuclear bomb, claiming Tehran already had the capacity to build nine.

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Trump’s ‘revenge tax’ could threaten foreign investment into US, analysts say

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Concerns raised that section 899 could backfire and also undermine dollar’s safe haven status

Foreign investment into the US could be threatened by Donald Trump’s new “revenge” taxes, analysts have warned.

A provision within the president’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act will allow the US to apply higher taxes on foreign individuals, businesses and investors connected to jurisdictions that impose “unfair foreign taxes” on US individuals and companies.

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Manhunt continues for suspect in shootings of Minnesota lawmakers

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Gunman believed to have left Minneapolis region after killing one legislator and wounding another

The hunt for the man suspected of shooting two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses while impersonating a police officer, killing one legislator and her husband, continued on Sunday more than 24 hours after the killings.

Vance Boelter, 57, now on the FBI’s most wanted list, is believed to have left the Minneapolis region after allegedly gunning down Democratic state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, at their home, according to CNN. Boelter is also suspected of shooting Democratic state senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their residence, gravely injuring them; a relative posted on Facebook that they were out of surgery and recovering.

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NWSL’s Angel City wear ‘Immigrant City Football Club’ shirts after Los Angeles raids

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  • Team handed out 10,000 shirts bearing message

  • Protests have erupted across LA in response to raids

Angel City, Los Angeles’ NWSL team, wore shirts that proclaimed themselves “Immigrant City Football Club” before Saturday night’s game against the North Carolina Courage.

The team also printed 10,000 t-shirts bearing the same message, with “Los Angeles is for Everyone” on the back in English and Spanish, and gave them to fans at the game. The move was in solidarity with immigrants in the city who have been targeted by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

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How a Pentagon account on X became Pete Hegseth’s personal cheerleader

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Department’s rapid response team is weaponizing the social platform to champion defense secretary and attack rivals

While it’s true no president or political leader has ever used social media quite as prolifically as Donald Trump, no recent secretary of defense has ever weaponized X or any other platform, quite like former Fox & Friends weekend host, Pete Hegseth.

Hegseth is actively reshaping the Pentagon in his own image since taking over, prompting a social media policy that has taken a dramatic turn towards supporting Hegseth’s every move and public appearance.

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Trump ally Ric Grenell says he’d ‘look at’ California bid if Kamala Harris runs

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Kennedy Center interim director says he would have consider running for California governor if Harris opts in

Donald Trump loyalist Ric Grenell says he would “have to” strongly consider running for California governor in 2026 if former vice-president Kamala Harris signs up to campaign for the position.

Grenell – a foreign policy adviser to the president and the interim director of Washington DC’s John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts – made the remark during an interview airing Sunday on the Politico podcast The Conversation with Dasha Burns.

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‘No Kings’ protests across US loom over Trump’s military parade

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Millions of people expected for potentially biggest day of demonstrations since president’s second term began

As tanks and soldiers parade through the streets of Washington on Saturday, millions of people around the country are expected to turn out in their communities to speak out against the excesses of Donald Trump’s administration in what’s expected to be the biggest day of protest since his second term began.

The protests, dubbed “No Kings”, are set to take place throughout Saturday in about 2,000 sites nationwide, from big cities to small towns. A coalition of more than 100 groups have joined to plan the protests, which are committed to a principle of nonviolence.

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Mahmoud Khalil: US judge denies release of detained Palestinian activist

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Setback for former student held since March as lawyers condemn government’s ‘cruel, transparent delay tactics’

A federal judge declined to order the release of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a setback for the former Columbia University student days after a major ruling against the Trump administration’s efforts to keep him detained.

Khalil, a green-card holder who has not been charged with a crime, is one of the most high-profile people targeted by the US government’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus activism. Despite key rulings in his favor, Khalil has been detained since March, missing the birth of his son.

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Detainees at New Jersey immigration center revolt as chaos unravels

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Four people escaped after group held at Delaney Hall Ice facility pushed down wall amid police and protester clashes

Unrest and protests have erupted in and around a controversial immigration detention center in New Jersey, with police and federal officials clashing with protesters after detainees reportedly pushed down a wall in revolt at the conditions they are being held in.

About 50 detainees pushed down a wall in the dormitory room of the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on Thursday night, according to an immigration lawyer representing one of the men held there.

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Trump to merge wildland firefighting forces, despite warning of chaos

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Order aims to centralize efforts, which are now split among five agencies and two cabinet departments

Donald Trump has ordered the US government to consolidate its wildland firefighting force into a single program, despite warnings from former federal officials that it could be costly and increase the risk of catastrophic blazes in the middle of peak wildfire season.

The order aims to centralize firefighting efforts, which are now split among five agencies and two cabinet departments. Trump’s proposed budget for next year calls for the creation of a new Federal Wildland Fire Service under the US interior department.

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