Category Archives: US News

Trump Media and Technology Group lost $406m in first three months of 2026

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Parent company of president’s Truth Social platform generated only $870,000 even as net sales were up 6%

The parent company of Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform – one of the president’s preferred communications channels – lost nearly $406m in the first three months of the year while generating a little over $870,000 in revenue, according to financial filings.

The Trump Media and Technology Group’s quarterly report for January to March 2026 showed that while net sales were up 6% year over year, the company took sizable losses related to other investments.

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Neither US nor Iran can sustain strait of Hormuz standoff indefinitely

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Simply hanging on could be a disaster for Iranians, while Trump needs to resolve this economic crisis he created

Exchanges of fire between Iran and the US demonstrate the serious instability of the situation in the Middle East. Though the US strikes late on Thursday were just “a love tap”, according to the US president, Donald Trump, the reality is that neither side can continue the high-stakes standoff in the strait of Hormuz indefinitely.

The US and its ally Israel demonstrated a comprehensive military superiority over Iran – taking minimal casualties in the 38-day war – but Washington has both failed to translate that into strategic dominance and allowed Iran to take control of the strait, driving up the oil price.

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‘They have screwed each other pretty badly’: tensions emerge in Netanyahu-Trump alliance

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Israeli PM says he has ‘full coordination’ with US president amid reports that Washington no longer consults him

Benjamin Netanyahu interrupted an uncharacteristically long silence over the Iran conflict this week with a video commentary insisting he had “full coordination” with Donald Trump, with whom he spoke “almost daily”.

The insistence that all was rosy in the US-Israeli relationship followed weeks of reports in the domestic press that Israel was no longer being consulted over the Iran conflict, and even less over Pakistani-brokered peace talks. Such is the scepticism over Netanyahu’s trustworthiness among the general public and independent press that the immediate reaction among observers to his video statement was speculation that the reality could be even worse than they had imagined.

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Russia and Ukraine confirm three-day ceasefire from 9 May

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Both sides also confirm prisoner swap which Donald Trump announced along with suspension of all ‘kinetic activity’ between the warring states

Donald Trump has announced a three-day ceasefire in the war between Russia and Ukraine from 9 to 11 May.

The US president said on social media the ceasefire would include a suspension of all “kinetic activity” and a swap of 1,000 prisoners from each country. It was confirmed by both sides.

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Trump administration relaxing hunting restrictions in US parks and refuges

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After January order from US department of the interior, managers across 55 sites have lifted prohibitions

Donald Trump’s administration is quietly pushing national park, refuge and wilderness area managers to dramatically scale back hunting restrictions, raising questions about visitor safety and the impact on wildlife.

Doug Burgum, the US Department of the Interior secretary, issued an order in January directing multiple agencies to remove what he termed “unnecessary regulatory or administrative barriers” to hunting and fishing, to and justify regulations they want to keep in place.

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Four south Florida men convicted in Haitian president’s assassination

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Men were convicted in Miami federal court for plotting to kill Jovenel Moïse at his Port-au-Prince home in 2021

Four south Florida men were convicted on Friday of plotting to kill the Haitian president, Jovenel Moïse, in 2021 by hiring mercenaries to assassinate him at his Port-au-Prince home, court records show.

Prosecutors argued during the nine-week trial in a Miami federal court that the men assembled two dozen former Colombian soldiers and supplied them with money, guns, ammunition and tactical vests in a conspiracy to kill Moïse. The 53-year-old president was shot dead in July 2021 at his private residence in the hills above Port-au-Prince, a killing that left a gaping political vacuum in the Caribbean nation and emboldened powerful gangs.

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Americans on hantavirus cruise ship reportedly to be quarantined in US

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US CDC personnel are reportedly meeting ship in Canary Islands to accompany Americans on a flight to Nebraska

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reportedly sending personnel to the Canary Islands to meet the cruise ship affected by the hantavirus outbreak, with plans to accompany American passengers back to the US on a chartered flight and place them into quarantine in Nebraska.

An additional CDC team is already headed to Nebraska, according to unnamed sources who spoke with CNN. The sources indicated that passengers are expected to undergo quarantine measures there to help prevent any possible spread of the virus. Nebraska is home to both the federally supported National Quarantine Unit and the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit.

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Frustrated by Iran, Trump at last seizes enriched uranium – but from Venezuela

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US energy department says 13.5kg of uranium taken from reactor in Caracas – a fraction of the 408kg held by Tehran

Donald Trump has succeeded in removing a country’s stash of highly enriched uranium – although that country is not Iran.

On Friday, the US Department of Energy announced that “thanks to President Trump’s decisive leadership” 13.5kg (about 30 pounds) of uranium had been removed from a legacy research reactor in Venezuela.

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US awaiting response from Iran over proposals for ceasefire deal, says Rubio

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Diplomatic efforts continue despite fighting in and around contested strait of Hormuz in recent days

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has said that Washington is expecting a response from Iran to its proposals for an interim deal to end the conflict in the Middle East, as Iran accused the US of breaching the increasingly fragile ceasefire announced last month.

In recent days there have been the biggest flare-ups in fighting in and around the contested strait of Hormuz since the informal truce began. The rise in violence followed Donald Trump’s announcement – then rapid pause – of a new naval mission aimed at opening the strategic waterway.

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Soft armour, pert nipples: how London design team made Kim Kardashian’s Met Gala breastplate

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Whitaker Malem worked with pop art sculptor Allen Jones, visual artist Nadia Lee Cohen and a car bodyshop in Kent

At Monday’s Met Gala, it inevitably fell to Kim Kardashian to deliver the evening’s biggest jolt. One of the few celebrities to straightforwardly interpret the “fashion is art” dress code – which focused on how the dressed and undressed human body is the through-line in most works of art – she decided to forgo her usual role as a walking billboard for a major fashion house and instead arrived in an orange fibreglass breastplate created by a small east London art duo and a car bodyshop in Kent.

“Good art should start conversation, and Kim did exactly that,” says 61-year-old Patrick Whitaker, half of the design practice Whitaker Malem, who made the breastplate just weeks before the gala. “She was very clear on wanting a breastplate, very clear on the car body finish. And I think she was nervous really. She understands the competition.”

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First Thing: US-Iran ceasefire at risk after exchange of fire in strait of Hormuz

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Donald Trump insists ceasefire remains intact after the most serious test yet. Plus, David Attenborough’s 100 most spectacular moments

Good morning.

The US and Iran traded fire late on Thursday in the greatest test so far to their month-long ceasefire. Tehran accused Washington of breaching the truce by targeting two ships in the strait of Hormuz and attacking civilian areas, while the US said it had struck in retaliation.

Where were negotiations up to before the strikes? There were reports the two sides could be nearing an agreement to halt the war, with a one-page memorandum shared between Washington and Tehran, via Pakistan. Here is a rundown of the ins and outs over the past week.

What happened to Trump’s “Project Freedom”? The US plan to guide tankers through the strait of Hormuz was ditched just days after it was launched, apparently because Saudi Arabia refused to let the US use its bases and airspace to carry out the operation.

Follow our liveblog for the latest developments.

How has the redistricting affected the sway of Black voters? Each now contains a third of the city’s Black voters, which means all nine of Tennessee’s congressional districts now lean Republican.

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New Orleans child molester questioned on unsolved killings takes the fifth 700 times

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Stanley Burkhardt, convicted abuser and ex-investigator of sex crimes against children, gives deposition in civil case

Convicted child molester Stanley Burkhardt – a former investigator of sex crimes against children who has been in and out of prison for decades – invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination more than 700 times while being questioned under oath recently, including when asked whether he committed a series of unsolved murders of youths in his orbit.

Burkhardt’s decision to remain silent came when faced with questions about the killings during a deposition in a civil lawsuit by an alleged sexual abuse victim of his – a case aimed at him and the New Orleans police department (NOPD) which used to employ him.

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Trump ally Roger Stone condemned for providing lobbying services to Myanmar’s military junta

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Stone being paid $50,000 a month to ‘rebuild’ relations between Washington and Myanmar’s military-backed government

The US lobbyist Roger Stone, a longtime friend and ally of Donald Trump, has been condemned for accepting $50,000 a month to “rebuild” relations between Washington and Myanmar’s military-backed government.

Myanmar’s leaders have been internationally isolated since seizing power in a coup in 2021, and have repeatedly been accused of atrocities that may amount to war crimes. Activists say the military rulers, which recently held widely condemned “sham” elections, are now trying to reassert themselves abroad.

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US state department to start revoking passports of parents who owe child support

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Revocations will start on Friday for those who owe $100,000 or more, and then expand to those who owe $2,500 or more

The US state department will begin revoking the US passports of thousands of parents who owe a significant amount of unpaid child support.

The department told the Associated Press on Thursday that the revocations would begin on Friday and be focused on those who owe $100,000 or more. That would apply to about 2,700 American passport holders, according to figures supplied to the state department by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

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Iran accuses US of violating ceasefire by targeting civilian areas and ships on strait of Hormuz

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US military claims it targeted sites responsible for attacks on its forces and ‘unprovoked’ hostilities by Tehran

Iran has accused the US of violating the ceasefire by targeting two ships at the strait of Hormuz and attacking civilian areas, as the US insists it struck in retaliation.

The US military said it targeted sites that it said were responsible for attacking US forces in what it called “unprovoked” hostilities by Tehran.

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Trump gives EU until 4 July to ratify trade deal or face ‘much higher’ tariffs

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Trump sets Fourth of July deadline as he vents impatience at speed of EU’s implementation

Donald Trump has said the EU must ratify its trade deal with the US by 4 July or face “much higher” tariffs, after European officials fell short of agreement on the pact.

Trump said he spoke to the EU chief, Ursula von der Leyen, about the issue and, he posted on his Truth Social platform, “agreed to give her until our Country’s 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels”.

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US trade court rules against Trump’s 10% global tariffs

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Trump also issues new deadline for EU to implement trade deal terms before raising tariffs to ‘much higher levels’

The US trade court on Thursday ruled against Donald Trump’s latest 10% global tariffs, finding across-the-board tariffs were not justified under a 1970s trade law.

The US Court of International Trade ruled in favor of small businesses that challenged the tariffs, which took effect on 24 February. The ruling was 2-1, with one judge saying it was premature to grant victory to the small business plaintiffs.

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Man gets life in prison for firebombing pro-Israel demonstrators in Colorado

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One person died and a dozen others were injured in the attack, during a June 2025 demonstration in Boulder

A man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty on Thursday to killing one person and injuring a dozen others in a 2025 firebombing attack on a demonstration in Boulder, Colorado, in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza.

Mohamed Sabry Soliman looked down at a desk throughout the sentencing at the Boulder district court. He has meanwhile pleaded not guilty to federal hate crime charges for the attack last June.

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Southern Poverty Law Center pleads not guilty in federal fraud case

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Prosecutors allege SPLC funneled over $3m to sources in extremist groups but legal experts say case is weak

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges related to allegations the organization committed fraud and conspired to money launder.

The 11-count indictment filed last month accuses the civil rights organization of committing fraud in connection to a program in which it paid informants to monitor rightwing extremist groups. The program no longer exists. The investigation is being handled by the US attorney for the middle district of Alabama, which includes Montgomery, the state capital.

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Iran mocks Trump’s ‘Project Freedom’ as adversaries wrestle over talks to end war

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President indicated that deal had materialised but truth was that Saudi Arabia had stopped US use of its bases

When Donald Trump abruptly pulled the plug on “Project Freedom”, the scheme to open the strait of Hormuz, barely a day after it had been announced, he gave the impression that an opportunity for a peace deal had materialised that could not be missed.

To the surprise of nobody who has been following the US’s recent adventures in geopolitics, Trump’s spin concealed a lot of the underlying reality. It turns out that Trump suspended Project Freedom after Saudi Arabia stopped the US military from using its bases or airspace to carry out the operation, which involved giving air cover to commercial shipping sailing through the strait.

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