Mountain fire in Ventura county still at 0% containment, with footage showing smoldering structures
A wind-driven wildfire roared through rural and residential communities north-west of Los Angeles, charring more than 19,600 acres and leveling scores of homes.
The Mountain fire in Ventura county, California, continued to burn on Thursday morning, as footage showed dozens of structures turned to smoldering ruins now lining the streets where neighborhoods once stood.
Continue reading...Trump has been a persistent critic of the Fed, which lowered rates for the second time in a row as inflation continues to ease
US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said he would not resign if he received any pressure from Donald Trump’s new administration to step down as the central bank lowered interest rates by a quarter-point Tuesday afternoon.
Trump has been a persistent critic of the Fed and its independence, calling its officials “boneheads” in his last administration and arguing that he should have a role in setting interest rates.
Continue reading...Leon Panetta says he also expects US president-elect to favor letting Russia retain control of areas of Ukraine
Donald Trump will as president give Benjamin Netanyahu a “blank check” in the Middle East, possibly opening the way for all-out war between Israel and Iran, the former CIA director and US defense secretary Leon Panetta predicted.
“With regards to the Middle East, I think he’s basically going to give Netanyahu a blank check,” Panetta said of Trump, who won the presidential election this week and will take office again in January.
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Continue reading...Attack on Ukrainian capital lasts eight hours with five districts hit and high-rise building set on fire
Russia has carried out a massive drone attack on Kyiv, and killed four people in a strike on a hospital in Zaporizhzhia, hours after Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election.
Five aerial bombs destroyed an apartment block in the southern Ukrainian city and damaged a cancer hospital. Rescuers clambered over debris to search for survivors. Eighteen people were hurt, including three children, two of them babies, officials said.
Continue reading...Many in Ramallah argue things cannot get any worse but some say US result could add unpredictability to despair
The waiters at Ramallah’s cafes and the tenders of its falafel stands all had more or less the same question: is Donald Trump’s win good or bad? It is a question reserved for outsiders. The Palestinians in the biggest city on the West Bank seem to have already come to a provisional consensus: that the US election result has no real impact here because things could not possibly be worse.
“It will not make a big difference,” said Eyad Barghouti, a retired university teacher, expressing a commonly held view as the Gaza war rages on. “What Biden was doing before with a low profile, Trump will be more vocal about.
Continue reading...Trump says his re-election campaign manager ‘is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected’; Russian leader congratulates Trump and says he is ready to talk
Rudy Giuliani will appear in a New York City courtroom on Thursday to explain to a federal judge why he hasn’t surrendered his valuables as part of a $148m defamation judgment, the Associated Press reports.
US District Judge Lewis Liman ordered the former New York City mayor to report to court after lawyers for the two former Georgia election workers who were awarded the massive judgment visited Giuliani’s Manhattan apartment last week only to discover it had been cleared out weeks earlier.
The judge had set an 29 October deadline for the longtime ally of once-and-future President Donald Trump to surrender many of his possessions to lawyers for Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss.
Representatives for Giuliani did not respond to an email from Reuters on Wednesday seeking comment.
While Kemi Badenoch was the first politician since the US presidential election result to publicly challenge Keir Starmer over Labour’s previously tense relationship with Donald Trump, she is unlikely to be the last.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: After winning Tuesday’s election, America’s first convicted president will assemble his transition team – here’s what we know so far about his plans
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Good morning.
Kamala Harris conceded the US election to Donald Trump overnight. In a speech at Howard University, the vice-president urged supporters not to lose hope, saying “this is a time to organise, to mobilise and to stay engaged for the sake of freedom and justice and the future that we all know we can build together”. Harris, hoarse from the frenzied campaign that began a little over 100 days ago, contrasted sharply with Trump following his defeat in the 2020 election, which he never formally conceded.
Environment | It is “virtually certain” that 2024 will be the hottest year on record, the European Union’s space programme has found. The prognosis comes the week before diplomats meet at the Cop29 climate summit and a day after a majority of voters in the US, the biggest historical emitter of planet-heating gas, chose to make Donald Trump president.
Middle East | Many Israelis were reeling after Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to dismiss his popular defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in the midst of a multifront war. The prime minister said he had fired Gallant over what he described a “crisis of trust”. Gallant, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party and a senior general, has been replaced by the foreign minister, Israel Katz, a Likud lawmaker and loyalist who has little military background.
Politics | The Reform UK MP Lee Anderson has apologised after parliament’s watchdog on bullying and harassment told him to do so for telling a security guard who asked for his ID to “fuck off, everyone opens the door to me”.
Economy | Rachel Reeves has committed not to increase taxes at Labour’s next budget and said the government would need to “live within the means” of her spending plans if public services came under mounting pressure.
Health | Doing just five extra minutes of exercise a day could help lower blood pressure, a study suggests. High blood pressure affects 1.28 billion adults worldwide and is one of the biggest causes of premature death. It can lead to strokes, heart attacks, heart failure, kidney damage and many other health problems, and is often described as a silent killer due to its lack of symptoms.
Continue reading...Analysts say it is hard to separate the president-elect’s bluster from his actual plans but it’s clear his priority is to bin many of Joe Biden’s policies
The US foreign policy establishment is set for one of the biggest shake-ups in years as Donald Trump has vowed to both revamp US policy abroad and to root out the so-called “deep state” by firing thousands of government workers – including those among the ranks of America’s diplomatic corps.
Trump’s electoral victory is also likely to push the Biden administration to speed up efforts to support Ukraine before Trump can cut off military aid, hamper the already-modest efforts to restrain Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu in Gaza and Lebanon and lead to a fresh effort to slash and burn through major parts of US bureaucracy including the state department.
Continue reading...Keir Starmer’s team expected a Trump win and has long been building bridges despite political differences
While Kemi Badenoch was the first politician since the US presidential election result to publicly challenge Keir Starmer over Labour’s previously tense relationship with Donald Trump, she is unlikely to be the last.
Yet the UK prime minister, according to government sources, is less anxious about the return of the divisive populist to the White House than the new Tory leader, and many in his own party, might have assumed.
Continue reading...The Guardian’s Washington bureau chief, David Smith, explains how Donald Trump won a second term and what he intends to do with it
Donald Trump won a decisive victory in the US presidential election on Tuesday night, becoming the first man in 150 years to have been voted out as president and then win office again.
The Guardian’s Washington bureau chief, David Smith, explains to Lucy Hough how the night unfolded at Trump’s victory rally in Florida, and how the former president even managed to win the popular vote after months of polls predicting a knife-edge contest.
Continue reading...Trump world was jubilant after his election win, while confusion and foreboding reigned on the other side of America
Millions of Americans faced a transformed country and a rattled world on Wednesday following the realisation of Donald Trump’s stunning return to power.
As the extent of Trump’s victory began to sink in – including clear dominance not only in the electoral college but also probably in the popular vote, with at least 72 million votes cast for him, as well as control of the US Senate – there were expressions of jubilation among the former president’s supporters. The House remained too close to call late on Wednesday, but Republicans projected confidence that they would maintain their narrow majority, giving Trump sweeping power to enact his legislative agenda.
Continue reading...Republicans make progress as results are returned, but US may have to wait days to learn chamber’s composition
Republicans have won a majority in the US Senate but control of the US House of Representatives remains unclear on Wednesday evening, with many of the most competitive races still uncalled.
With Donald Trump having won the White House, the stakes for control of the House have grown, since it could serve as either the sole Democratic check on the upcoming Trump presidency, or as the final Republican win that delivers a united pro-Trump government.
Continue reading...President reassures her country as threat of US tariffs and deportations looms
Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has reassured her country that “there’s nothing to worry about” after Donald Trump’s stunning victory in the US presidential election.
But Trump’s extreme campaign promises have left Mexico bracing for punishing tariffs, mass migrant deportations – and even the far-fetched but alarming suggestion of US military strikes on organised crime groups in Mexican territory.
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Trump wins the presidency – how did it happen?
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Continue reading...Critics dismayed at timing of dismissal amid war and on day of US election – and warn more may come for PM’s political gain
Many Israelis have been left reeling by Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to dismiss his popular defence minister in the midst of a multifront war, accusing him of carrying out the move for his own political gain.
In a surprise announcement late on Tuesday, the prime minister said that he had fired Yoav Gallant over what he described a “crisis of trust” in the past few months. Gallant, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party and a senior general, has been replaced by the foreign minister, Likud lawmaker and loyalist Israel Katz, who has little military background.
Continue reading...More than 70,000 people reportedly evacuated and military mobilised with hurricane close to making landfall
Hurricane Rafael has intensified into a category 3 hurricane as it nears the coast of western Cuba, which is still reeling from a recent blackout and Hurricane Oscar.
Early on Wednesday it was about 160 miles (260km) south-east of Havana and packing winds of 99mph (160km/h), making it a category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Five is the strongest.
Guardian staff contributed reporting
Continue reading...Commitment by Mogadishu’s largest single lender is latest in series of deals to forgive ‘unsustainable’ $4.5bn debt
Somalia has announced that more than $1.1bn (£860m) of outstanding loans will be cancelled by the US, a sum representing about a quarter of the country’s remaining debt.
The announcement is the latest in a series of agreements in which Somalia’s creditors have committed to forgiving its debt obligations.
Continue reading...Jair Bolsonaro, Javier Milei and Giorgia Meloni among those in Europe and the Americas paying tribute
Key members of the global far right have celebrated Donald Trump’s US election win, with tributes to the former president rolling in from Rio de Janeiro to Budapest.
The Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán – who had vowed to toast a Trump win with “several bottles of champagne” – hailed what he called “a much-needed victory for the world!”
Continue reading...This blog is closed, you can continue to follow updates on our US politics live blog here
Donald Trump has been elected the 47th president of the United States in a stunning political resurrection that sent shock waves through the country and around the world.
Trump becomes the first convicted criminal to win the White House. At 78 he is also the oldest person ever elected to the office.
Continue reading...Public congratulations but private foreboding as heads of state, ministers and diplomats express hopes for cooperation and peace
Western leaders raced to respond to the return of Donald Trump to the White House with a powerful mandate to put his policy of “America first” into action once again. But many of the public congratulations could do little to disguise the private foreboding of what the next four years will augur for European security, populism and the world economy.
Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister and the European leader closest to Trump, was one of the first to hail his ally’s victory. He posted on social media: “The biggest comeback in US political history! Congratulations to President @realDonaldTrump on his enormous win. A much-needed victory for the world!”
Continue reading...Republican nominee told crowd ‘nothing will stop me’ after taking North Carolina, Georgia and Pennsylvania. Plus, Americans explain what decided their vote
Good morning.
Donald Trump has been elected the 47th president of the United States in a stunning comeback that has sent shock waves around the world, after he secured his path to victory through the country’s battleground states.
What does this mean for Trump’s legal woes? It looks like a get-out-jail card as the Trump ally and South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham told special counsel Jack Smith that “it is time to look forward to a new chapter in your legal career” and to “bring these cases to an end”.
What about the House of Representatives? That race, where the Republicans were defending a majority, is yet to be called – only 376 of 435 seats had been announced at time of writing.
Continue reading...