Category Archives: US News

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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Vatican stresses need for peace as Rubio meets pope amid strained relations

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US secretary of state speaks with Leo and officials after tensions following attacks by Trump over Iran war

The Vatican has said it raised the “need to work tirelessly in favour of peace” in talks with the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who is in Rome on a trip widely regarded as an effort to ease tensions after Donald Trump’s repeated criticisms of Pope Leo.

Amid unprecedented strain on relations between the Holy See and Washington, Rubio was received by the pope on Thursday at the Apostolic Palace, before holding a series of meetings with Vatican officials

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Federal authorities arrest 18 people in Los Angeles raid amid drug crackdown

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Justice department targets MacArthur Park, which has long struggled with fentanyl use, overdoses and homelessness

Federal authorities arrested 18 people in Los Angeles in a crackdown on drugs in MacArthur Park, the Department of Justice announced on Wednesday.

The DoJ said it was targeting an “open-air drug market” in the park near downtown, which has long struggled with fentanyl use and overdoses and has at times had large encampments of unhoused people.

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Man charged in DC shooting was walking near JD Vance’s motorcade, agent says

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Michael Marx was shot by authorities multiple times and then taken to a hospital after bystander was wounded

A man accused of firing a gun at law enforcement officers near the Washington monument this week was walking along the path of JD Vance’s motorcade before the shooting and made a vulgar remark about the White House after the confrontation, according to a court filing on Wednesday.

Michael Marx, 45, of Midland, Texas, was shot multiple times during Monday’s confrontation and was in the back of an ambulance on his way to a hospital when he said: “‘F—k the White House’ and ‘Kill me, kill me, kill me’”, a Secret Service agent said in an affidavit.

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UCLA medical school illegally used race in admissions, justice department finds

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University of California at Los Angeles says admissions are ‘based on merit’ and it complies with state and federal laws

The US Department of Justice found on Wednesday that the medical school at the University of California, Los Angeles illegally considered race in admissions as the Trump administration ramps up scrutiny of colleges’ processes for selecting students.

The finding escalates the Trump administration’s ongoing standoff with UCLA, which has focused mostly on the main campus’s response to allegations of antisemitic harassment.

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Another day, another pivot as Trump flails in an Iran trap of his own making

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Latest proposal, derided by Tehran as a ‘wishlist’, could yet be a way out – but with 5,000 dead, it comes at an awful price

Another day, another hairpin turn in the world of Donald Trump’s foreign policy.

The weekend was all about war, and Trump insisting Iran had not yet “paid a big enough price”. Tuesday was Project Freedom, styled as a grand “humanitarian gesture” to allow trapped ships and their crews to escape the Gulf, but also aimed at weakening Iran’s chokehold on the strait of Hormuz.

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Two hikers injured in US bear attack on Yellowstone trail

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National park closes areas near Old Faithful after attack by one or more bears, with incident under investigation

Two hikers were injured in a bear attack on Monday on a trail in Yellowstone national park, park officials said.

The National Park Service said in a statement on Tuesday that the hikers sustained injuries on Monday by “one or more bears” on the Mystic Falls trail near Old Faithful in Yellowstone national park. Officials did not specify which species of bear.

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Coyote swam 2 miles to Alcatraz Island, going farther than scientists expected

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Biologists had guessed coyote paddled a shorter distance to former prison in the San Francisco Bay earlier this year

A lone coyote stunned biologists and others when earlier this year it paddled its way to the remote Alcatraz Island, a former federal prison in the San Francisco Bay surrounded by swift, choppy waters notorious for thwarting prisoners’ escapes.

At the time, biologists guessed the coyote swam from San Francisco, which is a little over 1 mile (1.6km) from the fortress. But it turns out the male coyote actually made an even longer swim from nearby Angel Island, 2 miles away.

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Alaska’s 2025 mega tsunami highlights risk to cruise lines as glaciers retreat

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Researchers say 481-metre wave in fjord was triggered by rockslide linked to climate crisis

A mega tsunami in Alaska last year in a fjord visited by cruise ships is a stark warning of the risks of coastal rockslides and glacier retreat fueled by the climate crisis, a new study warns.

Scientists recorded the world’s second-tallest tsunami after it struck the Tracy Arm fjord in south-east Alaska last August after a massive rockslide around the toe of a glacier. The tsunami reached 481 metres (1,578ft) in height; by comparison the Eiffel Tower is 330 metres (1082ft).

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