Ruth Bader Ginsburg misses supreme court arguments for first time in 25 years

Court spokeswoman says Ginsburg, 85, is working from home as she recuperates from cancer surgery last month

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was on Monday missing supreme court arguments for the first time in more than 25 years, as she recuperates from cancer surgery last month, the court said.

Ginsburg was not on the bench as the court met to hear arguments. It was not clear when she would return to the court, which will hear more cases on Tuesday and Wednesday and again next week.

Continue reading...

Will Adam Schiff pose a bigger threat to Trump than Robert Mueller?

New chairman of the House intelligence committee leads pack of antagonists as he plans to investigate the details of Trump’s businesses, his lenders, and his partners in the US and abroad

Not long after Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel, Donald Trump declared it would be a “violation” for the investigation to touch the Trump Organization or his family finances. Pressed on whether he would fire Mueller if that line were crossed, Trump said: “I can’t answer that question because I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

Related: Trump aides may be in legal jeopardy as Democrats give evidence to Mueller

Continue reading...

Bolton: US troops will not leave Syria till Isis beaten and Kurds protected

Adviser indicates long stay for troops while president claims he never said withdrawal would be quick

US troops will not leave north-eastern Syria until Islamic State militants are defeated and US-allied Kurdish fighters protected, national security adviser John Bolton said on Sunday, signaling a pause to a withdrawal abruptly announced last month and initially expected to be completed within weeks. Achieving such conditions will likely take months or even years.

Related: Trump: US has killed al-Qaida militant tied to USS Cole bombing

Continue reading...

Jazmine Barnes shooting: man charged with murder in seven-year-old’s death

Eric Black Jr was taken into custody and has admitted to the shooting, the Harris county sheriff’s office said

A 20-year-old man has been charged with capital murder in the death of Jazmine Barnes, the seven-year-old who was killed when a man in a pick-up truck fired into her family’s car as they went to get coffee.

Related: Jazmine Barnes death: seven-year-old's family plead for help to catch killers

Continue reading...

Trump threatens national emergency in ‘next few days’ over wall and shutdown

Donald Trump said on Sunday he may declare a national emergency over immigration, to allow him to build a wall on America’s southern border.

Related: Is Mitt Romney the man to lead a Republican rebellion against Trump?

Continue reading...

Super-rich sabbatical: the boom in luxury long breaks for the 1%

From shark swims to snow leopard treks, a tailored trip of up to a year is now a must-have

The super-rich are going on sabbatical. It turns out having bucket-loads of money can be stressful, leading some of the world’s richest people to take a break for a month or so, or even a year, to escape the pressure of managing their businesses or personal fortunes.

Tom Barber, the founder of the London-based travel agency Original Travel, said so many super-rich customers had asked his firm to arrange bespoke trips ranging in duration from one to 12 months that his firm was launching a special division dedicated to sabbaticals for the 1%.

Continue reading...

Police investigate after reports Phoenix woman in coma for decade gives birth

  • Staff initially unsure why patient was moaning, reports say
  • Victim advocates want DNA testing to determine father of boy

A woman said to have been in a vegetative state for at least a decade at a private healthcare facility in Phoenix reportedly gave birth, triggering a police investigation and reviews by state agencies in a situation that the state governor’s office called “deeply troubling”.

Azfamily.com, a news website for television stations KPHO and KTVK, first reported late on Thursday that according to sources not identified, a woman gave birth on 29 December, while living at a Hacienda HealthCare facility, where the staff was unaware that she was pregnant.

Continue reading...

Trump tweets ‘not much headway’ on shutdown as key services threatened

Saturday was day 15 of a partial government shutdown that Donald Trump said could go on for months or years, if he is not given funding for a wall on the Mexican border. As new talks were held without result, potentially devastating effects of the shutdown were coming into focus.

Related: Shutdown over border wall is crucial test for Trump's presidency

Continue reading...

Some US troops could remain in Syria, Trump official says

  • Trump made controversial decision to withdraw US troops
  • John Bolton to discuss pullout with Netanyahu and Erdogan

The US could leave some troops at a key military outpost in southern Syria, a Trump administration official told reporters on Saturday, despite the president’s controversial decision to withdraw all troops from the war-racked country.

Related: Trump slows Syria pullout but claims 'hero' status

Continue reading...

California shooting: three people killed at bowling alley in Torrance

  • Four injured as witnesses describe ‘huge fight’
  • Resident: ‘As we were running, we heard 15 shots’

A fight at a bowling alley in California turned deadly on Friday night, police said. Three men were killed and four injured.

Shortly before midnight, police in Torrance, a coastal city about 20 miles from Los Angeles, responded to calls of “shots fired” at the Gable House Bowl. Multiple victims were found with gunshot wounds inside the building, which is described on its website as a gaming venue that offers bowling, laser tag and a full arcade.

Continue reading...

‘The US can’t dump people in Mexico’: Trump asylum policy in doubt

Head of immigration authority says Mexico has ‘asked for answers’ on ‘catch and return’ – but shutdown isn’t helping

When she announced last month that tens of thousands of asylum seekers would be returned to Mexico while their cases are considered, the homeland security secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, described the move as a “historic” overhaul of US immigration policy.

But more than two weeks later, the new strategy has yet to begin and it remains unclear how the plan would work – or even if Mexico is willing to enforce it.

Continue reading...

Trump confirms he said government shutdown could last months or years

President threatens to declare national emergency and build wall without congressional approval: ‘I can do it if I want’

As a partial US government shutdown hit the two-week mark, Donald Trump told congressional leaders at the White House he was prepared for the standoff to last months or even years.

“Absolutely I said that,” said Trump during a Rose Garden press conference, when asked if Senator Chuck Schumer was correct in his claim that the White House was prepared to continue the shutdown indefinitely.

Continue reading...

Trump is staking his presidency on the shutdown and his wall

As the shutdown’s toll becomes clearer, the president aims to keep his pledge – but Democrats have reason to resist

There are two chants that everyone remembers from Donald Trump’s campaign rallies. One is “Lock her up!”, aimed at Hillary Clinton, a demand not likely to be met unless America becomes a banana republic. The other is “build that wall!”

It is now crunch time for this central, defining promise of the Trump candidacy and “make America great again” movement. The US president says he will not support a bill to fully fund the government until he secures $5.6bn for a wall on the US-Mexico border.

Continue reading...

US navy Seal pleads not guilty to murdering Islamic State prisoner

Special operations chief Edward Gallagher is also accused of shooting at unarmed Iraqi civilians at random

A decorated navy Seal has pleaded not guilty to charges of premeditated murder and other crimes in the stabbing death of a teenage Islamic State prisoner in Iraq and the shooting of unarmed Iraqi civilians.

Special operations chief Edward Gallagher has been jailed since his September arrest, and a judge said he would rule next week whether the 19-year navy veteran should be released before trial. He was due to stand trial 19 February.

Continue reading...

‘Tracking every place you go’: Weather Channel app accused of selling user data

Most popular mobile weather app misled users who shared location information, say Los Angeles prosecutors in lawsuit

People relied on the most popular mobile weather app to track forecasts that determined whether they chose jeans over shorts and packed a parka or umbrella, but its owners used it to track their every step and profit off that information, Los Angeles prosecutors said Friday.

The operator of the Weather Channel mobile app misled users who agreed to share their location information in exchange for personalized forecasts and alerts, and they instead unwittingly surrendered personal privacy when the company sold their data to third parties, the city attorney, Michael Feuer, said.

Continue reading...

China’s faltering economy gives US stronger hand in trade talks, Trump says

As US officials fly to Beijing for negotiations, the president says the Chinese ‘sort of have to’ make a deal on tariffs

Donald Trump has said China’s weakening economic growth puts the United States in a strong position as negotiators from the world’s two largest economies prepare for trade talks on Monday.

US officials are heading to Beijing this weekend for the first face-to-face talks since Trump and China’s president, Xi Jinping, agreed in December to a 90-day truce in the trade war as they sought to strike a deal.

Continue reading...

‘This is going to get ugly’: Azealia Banks ramps up public feud with Elon Musk

Rapper has become embroiled in the fallout over the CEO’s controversial tweet about taking Tesla private

It’s back on.

The fierce and very public feud between Elon Musk and the rapper Azealia Banks was reignited on Friday after the tech billionaire’s lawyers attacked the rappers’ credibility in a filing in a shareholder lawsuit.

Continue reading...

Government shutdown could last for years, says Trump – video

The partial government shutdown, which hit the two-week mark on Friday, could continue indefinitely after a meeting between Donald Trump and top Democrats failed to resolve their dispute. The president went on to say he could declare a national emergency and build a wall without congressional approval: ‘I can do it if I want’

Continue reading...

Trump threatens to declare national emergency to get wall funding – live

President says ‘we can call it a national emergency’ to bypass Congress and build wall ‘quickly’ at press conference

  • Protect the Guardian’s independent reporting with a contribution and help us reach our $1m goal by 7 January

Asked if he would turn down the automatic raise coming his way during the government shutdown, ⁦@VP⁩ Pence says “yes.” pic.twitter.com/Z6vPc14Cuf

Trump also said he would consider asking his Cabinet officials not to accept the $10,000 raise due to take effect for them tomorrow.

Donald Trump seems to confirm ABC News reporting that his administration is considering building a wall without the consent or appropriation of Congress by declaring a national emergency.

“I can do it if I want,” Trump said. “We can call a national emergency and build it very quickly.”

"I can do it if I want," Trump now saying he is "allowed" to build the wall himself without congressional approval or appropriation. "We can call a national emergency and build it very quickly."

President Trump just said he could declare a national emergency to build the wall unilaterally without Congress. So this whole shutdown is... what, then?

Continue reading...

El Chapo v El Vicentillo: son of cartel’s co-founder testifies against drug lord

Vicente Zambada Niebla, son of the Joaquín Guzmán’s longtime partner, had been groomed to take over Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel

One of the greatest betrayals in mafia history emerged into open court this week at the New York trial of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, as the former heir-apparent to Guzmán’s Sinaloa federation turned against his own boss, the cartel – and apparently even his own father.

Related: Behind the El Chapo trial: what's been left unsaid in a New York courtroom

Continue reading...