Category Archives: US News

Trump refugee ban ‘strands Afghans endangered by US withdrawal’

Posted on by

More than 1,600 people eligible to resettle in the United States are waiting to flee Afghanistan and Pakistan, say advocates

More than 1,600 Afghans eligible to enter the US as refugees will see their entry blocked under an executive order signed by Donald Trump on Monday evening that suspends the resettlement of all refugees to the United States for an indefinite period of time.

The decision has led to panic among prospective Afghan refugees, including family members of hundreds of active-duty service personnel and children waiting to be reunited with family members already in the US, according to a leading refugee resettlement activist and a US official who spoke with the Guardian on condition of anonymity.

Continue reading...

Trump signs order to rename Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s Denali

Posted on by

Gulf of Mexico to be called Gulf of America, and Denali, highest North American peak, reverts to Mount McKinley

In a flurry of first-day-in-office activity, Donald Trump has signed an order to rename the 617,800 sq mile Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s 20,000ft mountain Denali.

The Gulf of Mexico will be renamed the Gulf of America, and Denali, the highest peak in North America, will revert to Mount McKinley – the name it was called before Barack Obama changed it in 2015.

Trump embraces role of demagogue, claims to be ‘peacemaker’ – follow live inauguration updates

Factchecking Trump’s speech

Elon Musk appears to make back-to-back fascist salutes

Activists ask: is there any point in mass protest?

Continue reading...

Trump returns to White House and unleashes barrage of executive orders

Posted on by

President pledges immigration crackdown, rolls back climate rules and pardons 1,500 January 6 rioters

Donald Trump launched his second term as US president with a barrage of executive orders reaching into broad swathes of American life, from pardoning hundreds of supporters who attacked Congress on January 6, including rightwing extremists convicted of seditious conspiracy, to rolling back LGBTQ+ rights and environmental rules while declaring an immigration emergency on the southern border.

Trump and his allies had long promised a “shock and awe” approach. They did not hold back.

Continue reading...

Trump claims to be ‘peacemaker’ as he vows to ‘take back’ Panama canal

Posted on by

Desire to be ‘unifier’ rubs up against 47th US president’s ambitions for territorial expansion

Donald Trump offered a bombastic and contradictory vision for US foreign policy at his inauguration on Monday, declaring that he would be a “peacemaker and unifier” even as he repeated his vow to “take back” the Panama canal.

In his speech, Trump said that the Panama canal, which was built by the US in the early 1900s but ultimately given to Panama in 1977 under a treaty that guaranteed its neutrality, was a “foolish gift that should never have been made”.

Continue reading...

Why is TikTok working again in the US as Trump takes office?

Posted on by

App has resumed operations after saying it received assurance over de facto ban, but its future remains uncertain

TikTok is restoring its service in the US after Donald Trump said he would issue an executive order when president to allow the app to continue operating.

It had shut itself down late on Saturday in advance of a Sunday deadline to divest its Chinese shareholders or face a ban, but resumed operations on Sunday, the day before Trump’s inauguration, saying it had received the appropriate assurances from the president-elect.

Continue reading...

Trump inauguration live updates: president-elect prepares to take oath of office

Posted on by

Washington ceremony expected to take place indoors at from 11.30am (4.30pm GMT, 3.30am AEDT)

My colleague Joseph Gedeon in Washington DC also had this look at what Trump might have planned for day one:

In the grand theatre of American politics, presidential inaugurations typically follow a familiar script: the oath, the speech, a few carefully chosen executive orders to satisfy campaign promises. Franklin D Roosevelt used his first day to tackle the banking crisis. Barack Obama moved to close Guantánamo Bay (though it remains open). Donald Trump’s first term began with a single executive order targeting Obamacare. Joe Biden signed 17 executive orders on his first day in 2021.

Continue reading...

Bitcoin hits new record high, dollar dips ahead of Trump inauguration – business live

Posted on by

Bitcoin rises by 4% past $109,000, reversing earlier losses; Donald Trump meme coin price tanks after wife Melania also launches token

The UK chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will travel to the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos this week in the hope of convincing some of the world’s largest companies to invest, with allies saying she will use spending cuts rather than further tax increases to meet her own fiscal rules.

At the same time, the Treasury is considering a push to cut the benefits bill, in a move that is causing nervousness among Labour MPs.

Continue reading...

Donald Trump takes power as US braces for vengeful second term | First Thing

Posted on by

Incoming president has promised retaliation against his opponents. Plus, billionaire wealth grew $2tn in 2024

Good morning.

The United States braces for a new era of disruption and division on Monday with Donald Trump scheduled to be sworn in as its 47th president, promising a blitz of executive orders and radical shake-up of the global order.

What did Trump promise yesterday? “We’re going to stop the invasion of our borders … We’re going to unlock the liquid gold that’s right under our feet … We’re going to bring back law and order to our cities … We’re going to get radical woke ideology the hell out of our military.”

How are some assessing the Biden administration? Joe Biden was a “remarkably consequential one-term president”, writes Katrina vanden Heuvel. Internationally, Biden “was assuming a world that no longer existed” – with calamitous results – but domestically, Biden “consolidated the break” with “failed market fundamentalism”.

What is the status of the three Israelis? On Sunday, three women held hostage by Hamas in tunnels beneath Gaza – Emily Damari, 28, Romi Gonen, 24 and Doron Steinbrecher, 31 – were released and reunited with their mothers. Videos showed them in apparently reasonable health.

Were there any obstacles? Yes, a three-hour delay to the start of the truce, during which Israeli warplanes and artillery pounded the Gaza Strip. The delay meant a further 13 people were killed, Palestinian health authorities said. At least two missiles hit a family travelling on a donkey cart as they tried to return home, Al Jazeera reported.

Continue reading...

Alaska to resume ‘barbaric’ shooting of bears and wolves from helicopters

Posted on by

Renewed program would allow hunters to eliminate up to 80% of the animals on 20,000 acres of state land

Alaska is set to resume the aerial gunning of bears and wolves as a population control measure aimed at boosting caribou and moose herd numbers, even as the state’s own evaluation of the practice cast doubt on its effectiveness.

The renewed program would allow hunters to eliminate up to 80% of the animals on 20,000 acres of state land. Environmental groups opposed to what they label a “barbaric” practice of shooting wildlife from helicopters is more about sport than scientific practice in part because hunters want caribou populations to increase because they are trophy animals.

Continue reading...

Melania Trump launches meme coin as crypto rallies on Donald’s return

Posted on by

President-elect’s $Trump coin more than halved in value before steadily recovering on Sunday

The incoming US first lady, Melania Trump, has followed her husband’s lead by launching a multibillion-dollar cryptocurrency meme coin, amid a rally in digital currencies as he prepares to return to the White House.

The price of the incoming president’s token, $Trump, had tripled to more than $70 (£57), giving it a total value of over $14bn shortly after its launch on Friday. However, the launch of his wife’s coin, $Melania, pared back those gains as investors piled into her rival coin.

Continue reading...

CNN defamation case foreshadows Trump media crackdown, experts say

Posted on by

Contractor Zachary Young wins damages over Afghanistan story in trial notable for prosecution’s aggressive stance

A combative defamation trial in Florida, involving CNN and a former US security contractor in Afghanistan, is providing a roadmap for a crackdown on media independence during the second Trump administration, experts believe.

The case was already unusual because CNN chose to defend itself and risk millions in damages, while other media giants such as ABC News and the Washington Post have opted to back down in the face of threats of persecution from the incoming president. Ultimately, after 18 hours of deliberation, the jury found that CNN defamed the contractor and awarded Zachary Young $4m in lost business and $1m in personal damages.

Continue reading...

Donald Trump to take oath of office as US braces for vengeful second term

Posted on by

Incoming commander-in-chief had promised retaliation against his foes with majorities in both Congress chambers

The United States was bracing for a new era of disruption and division on Monday with Donald Trump scheduled to be sworn in as its 47th president, promising a blitz of executive orders and radical shake-up of the global order.

Trump’s inauguration ceremony has been moved inside to the rotunda at the US Capitol building because of bitterly cold weather. The high sandstone hall at the Capitol’s centre is the same spot where some of his supporters rioted on 6 January 2021 in an attempt to overturn his election defeat.

Continue reading...

California wind forecast worsens as red flag fire weather warning expected on Monday

Posted on by

Experts say fire weather likely to return as firefighters make progress containing wildfires and Trump plans trip to state

As firefighters in Los Angeles made progress on Sunday containing wildfires that have destroyed much of the Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods, forecasters warned that fire weather is likely to return on Monday.

Donald Trump told NBC news he plans to travel to California to inspect the damage after his inauguration, “probably, at the end of the week”. California governor Gavin Newsom had initially invited the president-elect to visit more than a week ago, even as Trump attacked him on social media and spread misinformation about the state’s Democratic leadership response to the fires.

Continue reading...

The world braces for Trump, hoping for the best, unprepared for the worst

Posted on by

His pick for secretary of state may have given measured assessment of world affairs, but ‘crazy’ Trump will call the shots

Western allies of the US are braced for the return of Donald Trump, still hoping for the best, but largely unprepared for what may prove to be a chaotic and disorientating worst.

The run-up to his inauguration has sent out a catherine wheel of signals as Trump turned up the volume on tariffs against Canada, China and Mexico, vowed to buy – and if not, invade – Greenland and the Panama canal, and used his leverage to press Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a Gaza ceasefire that the Israeli PM had resisted since May.

Continue reading...

Biden posthumously pardons civil rights leader Marcus Garvey

Posted on by

Activist who was convicted of mail fraud in the 1920s influenced Malcolm X and other leader leaders

President Joe Biden on Sunday posthumously pardoned Black nationalist Marcus Garvey, who influenced Malcolm X and other civil rights leaders and was convicted of mail fraud in the 1920s. Also receiving pardons were a top Virginia lawmaker and advocates for immigrant rights, criminal justice reform and gun violence prevention.

Congressional leaders had pushed for Biden to pardon Garvey, with supporters arguing that Garvey’s conviction was politically motivated and an effort to silence the increasingly popular leader who spoke of racial pride. After Garvey was convicted, he was deported to Jamaica, where he was born. He died in 1940.

Continue reading...

Trump ally says Peter Mandelson’s US ambassador job will not be blocked

Posted on by

Newspapers had reported that new president might veto UK pick, as ministers brace for a turbulent four years

Donald Trump will not block the appointment of Peter Mandelson as British ambassador to the US, according to a London-based ally of the president-elect, as ministers brace for a turbulent four years of British-American relations.

Greg Swenson, the head of the UK branch of Republicans Overseas, told the BBC on Sunday he did not believe Trump would prevent the Labour peer from taking up his post in Washington, despite reports to the contrary.

Continue reading...

Who banned TikTok? Politicians toss culpability like a football

Posted on by

Claiming a threat from a ‘foreign adversary’, the US has yet to prove China shared propaganda or collected US user data

The United States of America deleted TikTok early on the morning of 19 January. A government formed “by the people, for the people”, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, has made scant evidence available to those people as to why. As those in power at the 11th hour realize how unpopular such a paternalistic move might be, each is doing their best to lay blame with the others.

Why did the US ban an app used and beloved by some 170 million Americans? For fear of China’s propaganda and data collection. It’s a far-reaching, unprecedented move. The text of the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, passed in April and signed by Joe Biden, reads: “This bill prohibits distributing, maintaining, or providing internet hosting services for a foreign adversary controlled application (eg, TikTok).” Both a federal appeals court and the US supreme court have affirmed that rationale as sufficient.

Continue reading...

‘Has the world gone mad? It has’: foreign reporters share a view of Trump from abroad

Posted on by

Journalists from countries that have seen challenges to democracy give their view on the second Trump presidency

What is the view of US democracy from abroad, and what can Americans learn from other nations with a history of political tumult?

During his first term Donald Trump tested democratic norms by undermining trust in fair elections, encouraging political violence and demonizing the media and public servants. He has promised to be a dictator “on day one” of his second term.

Continue reading...

From GDP to trade, how well equipped is China’s economy for Trump 2.0? | Amy Hawkins

Posted on by

Beijing has prepared for increased tariffs but its actions will not be enough to offset falling demand from the US

When Donald Trump enters the White House for the second time on 20 January, the view from the Oval Office will look very different to the one he encountered in 2017. A pandemic, the war in Ukraine and a trade war with China have caused ripples through the global economy that are still being felt midway through the decade.

Beijing will be watching closely. Trump has promised to impose tariffs of up to 60% on Chinese imports, partly in retaliation for the flow of fentanyl from China to the US.

Continue reading...

TikTok goes dark in the US ahead of ban

Posted on by

App no longer available on US Apple and Google stores after supreme court upholds lawmakers’ ban

TikTok stopped working in the US late on Saturday, shortly before a federal ban on the Chinese-owned short-video app was due to take effect.

The app was no longer available on Apple’s iOS App Store or Google’s Play Store. The US Congress passed a law in April mandating that parent company ByteDance either sell TikTok to a non-Chinese owner or face a total shutdown. It chose the latter.

Continue reading...