Trump orders approval of 211-mile mining road through Alaska wilderness

Ambler Road project, approved in Trump’s first term but blocked by Biden, would harm Native tribes and wildlife

Donald Trump on Monday ordered the approval of a proposed 211-mile road through an Alaska wilderness to allow mining of copper, cobalt, gold and other minerals.

The long-debated Ambler Road project was approved in the US president’s first term, but was later blocked by the Biden administration after an analysis determined the project would threaten caribou and other wildlife and harm Alaska Indigenous tribes that rely on hunting and fishing.

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Brazil’s president asks US to scrap tariffs in ‘friendly’ call with Trump

Presidents spoke on a video call as expert speculates that Haiti could be an area where the two leaders can cooperate

Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has urged Donald Trump to scrap tariffs on his country’s imports and sanctions against its officials, as the two men held what the Brazilian presidency called a “friendly” video call, swapping phone numbers after months of friction.

Ties between the US and Brazil have nosedived as a result of Trump’s campaign to pressure Brazilian authorities into abandoning the coup trial of his far-right ally, Jair Bolsonaro.

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Rush reform for first time since drummer Neil Peart’s death

Canadian prog-rockers will play seven concerts in summer 2026 in the US, Canada and Mexico, after hiring new drummer Anika Nilles

Rush, the Canadian prog rockers whose epic and detailed songcraft continues to attract a large and heartfelt fandom, are to reform for the first time since the death of drummer Neil Peart.

Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, both 72, will tour the US, Canada and Mexico, playing seven concerts in summer 2026 beginning in Los Angeles on 7 June.

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France is in crisis but bond markets leave other governments at risk of meltdown too

Investors rattled by resignation of French PM but country is not alone in trying to grapple with political maths

Sébastien Lecornu’s abrupt resignation as the French prime minister on Monday after less than a month in the role marked the latest clash between France’s stretched public finances and its polarised politics.

Lecornu was the latest prime minister to try and fail to cobble together a package of spending cuts and tax rises that would pass muster in a parliament without a clear majority, and contain mounting bond market pressures.

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Judge blocks Trump’s bid to deploy national guard to Oregon – US politics live

Ruling by US District Judge Karin Immergut blocks any deployment to Portland for two weeks as legal wrangling continues

The Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, accused Democrats of being “not serious” in negotiations to end the federal government shutdown, while the Democratic leader accused Republicans of driving the shutdown, now on its fifth day and expected to last at least through next week.

Talks between the opposing political parties stalled over the weekend, with no votes anticipated to end the standoff. A CBS poll found just 28% of Democratic voters and 23% of Republicans consider their party’s positions worth shutting down the government.

How could bringing in federalised national guard from California not be in direct contravention of the [decision] I issued yesterday?

At the direction of the president, approximately 200 federalized members of the California national guard are being reassigned from duty in the greater Los Angeles area to Portland, Oregon to support US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal personnel performing official duties, including the enforcement of federal law, and to protect federal property.

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Eswatini confirms arrival of 10 more people as part of US deportation deal

African kingdom receives second group of third-country nationals in what NGOs and lawyers say is violation of human rights

Ten people deported by the US have arrived in Eswatini, its government said, the second group of third-country deportees to be sent to the southern African kingdom by the Trump administration in what lawyers and NGOs have described as violations of their human rights.

A statement by the Eswatini government posted on social media before their arrival on Monday said: “The individuals will be kept in a secured area separate from the public, while arrangements are made for their return to their countries of origin.”

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US supreme court begins new term with nation’s democratic governance at stake

Scrutiny on the nine justices is about to reach a new level of intensity as Trump aggressively asserts executive power

Context may be everything in the precedent-shattering era of the current US supreme court.

For several years – since conservatives, gained a six-three majority on the bench thanks to Donald Trump’s nominations during his first presidency – the court has been delivering transformative rulings that have reverberated across the social and political landscape.

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US struck another boat illegally carrying drugs off Venezuela coast, Trump says

President said US would turn attention to drug trafficking happening on land during speech at navy ceremony

US forces on Saturday evening struck another vessel illegally carrying drugs off the coast of Venezuela, Donald Trump said on Sunday to thousands of sailors at a ceremony celebrating the US navy’s 250th anniversary. He added that the US would also start looking at drug trafficking happening on land.

Trump made the comment during a speech at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia, next to the Harry S Truman aircraft carrier. It was not immediately clear if he was referencing a strike announced on Friday by defense secretary Pete Hegseth.

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House speaker says Democrats aren’t serious about shutdown negotiation as Democratic leader blames Republicans

Mike Johnson adds Trump does not want permanent job cuts as talks between parties stalled over weekend

The Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, accused Democrats of being “not serious” in negotiations to end the federal government shutdown, while the Democratic leader accused Republicans of driving the shutdown, now on its fifth day and expected to last at least through next week.

Talks between the opposing political parties stalled over the weekend, with no votes anticipated to end the standoff. A CBS poll found just 28% of Democratic voters and 23% of Republicans consider their party’s positions worth shutting down the government.

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Bad Bunny pushes back on Kristi Noem threat that immigrants stay away from Super Bowl

Singer jokes on SNL that everyone was happy about his planned half-time show, ‘even Fox News’

Bad Bunny responded to homeland security secretary Kristi Noem’s threats to send federal immigration enforcement agents to the Super Bowl next year, joking during Saturday Night Live that everyone was happy about his planned half-time performance, “even Fox News”.

The 31-year-old Puerto Rican singer who has criticized the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies hosted the season premiere of Saturday Night Live, using his opening monologue to address controversy around his 2026 Super Bowl performance.

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Kristi Noem calls Chicago a ‘war zone’ after federal agents shoot woman

Homeland security secretary takes aim at city’s mayor who has called deployment of national guard ‘unhinged’

Kristi Noem, Donald Trump’s homeland security secretary, called Chicago “a war zone” on Sunday after federal agents shot a woman and the governor of Illinois accused the administration of fueling the crisis rather than resolving it.

Speaking on Fox News Sunday morning, Noem took aim at the city’s mayor, Brandon Johnson, who has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s Ice raids and deployment of the national guard in Illinois, a measure he called “unhinged and unhealthy”.

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Marco Rubio says Gaza war not yet over as Israel and Hamas prepare for talks

Secretary of state says ‘we’ll know very quickly whether Hamas is serious or not’ about release of hostages from Gaza

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said on Sunday that the war in Gaza has not ended, despite Israel and Hamas both agreeing to aspects of Donald Trump’s plan for an end to the almost two-year conflict in Gaza.

“We will know very quickly whether Hamas is serious or not by how these technical talks go in terms of the logistics,” Rubio told NBC News’ Meet the Press about the release of hostages from Gaza.

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‘The president is unhinged’: Trump’s online behavior grows increasingly odd

The US president’s recent behavior is strange to many, from reposting a false AI video of himself to confusing comments during press conferences

To many observers, both in the US and abroad, Donald Trump has been behaving strangely recently. Especially online.

As a government shutdown loomed in the US last week, the president posted an AI video which depicted Hakeem Jeffries, the first Black House minority leader, wearing a sombrero and exaggerated moustache, with mariachi music playing in the background.

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Trump authorizes national guard deployment to Chicago, White House says, as border patrol there shoots woman

Illinois governor JB Pritzker says administration is escalating ‘aggression against Illinois citizens and residents’

Donald Trump has moved to deploy the national guard in another city by authorizing 300 troops to protect federal officers and assets in Chicago, where the government said border patrol agents shot and injured a woman while firing at someone who tried to run them over.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson confirmed that the president had authorized using Illinois national guard members, citing what she called “ongoing violent riots and lawlessness” that local leaders have not quelled.

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Judge blocks Trump administration from deploying national guard to Portland

US district judge agrees with Oregon assertion that deployment would likely inflame rather than calm protests in city

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from deploying the national guard to Portland, Oregon, according to court documents.

Donald Trump had announced on 27 September that he would deploy troops to Portland, “authorizing Full Force, if necessary”, ignoring pleas from local officials and the state’s congressional delegation, who suggested that the president was misinformed or lying about the nature and scale of a single, small protest outside one federal immigration enforcement office.

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US treasury considers special $1 Trump coin reading ‘fight, fight, fight’

US treasurer says officials looking at drafts for country’s 250th anniversary featuring president with raised fist

To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the US’s independence, the treasury department is mulling production of a $1 coin displaying Donald Trump with a clenched first under an American flag and the words “fight, fight, fight”.

The words overtly reference what Trump said immediately after narrowly surviving an assassination attempt four months before he won a second presidency.

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Kristi Noem warns immigrants away from Super Bowl: ‘We’ll be all over that place’

Homeland security chief also excoriates NFL for selecting Bad Bunny to perform during game’s half-time break

Kristi Noem, Donald Trump’s homeland security secretary, has said that only Americans should attend next year’s Super Bowl and warned that Ice agents “will be all over” the event.

Speaking to the rightwing podcaster Benny Johnson on Friday, Noem also said the NFL will “not be able to sleep at night” over its decision to choose Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican rapper who has criticized the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies, as its half-time performer.

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Costco to sell weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy at half-price

The move comes as GLP-1 drug prices have soared as supply continues to be increasingly limited

Costco has struck an agreement with drugmaker Novo Nordisk to make anti-obesity GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy available to its members at roughly half the usual cost.

Through the store’s prescription program, members with a valid prescription can buy a four-week supply of the injectables for $499. The offer is available only to those paying out of pocket, since many insurers still do not cover these medications.

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Two children killed and two critically injured in shooting near Houston

A 13-year-old and a four-year-old died in shooting as police say all parties involved have been detained

Two children were killed and two more were critically injured in a shooting early on Saturday near the Houston suburb of Angleton, Texas, authorities said.

The Brazoria county sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post that deputies responded to reports of the shooting and found two children, ages 13 and four, fatally shot. Two other children, aged eight and nine, were flown by medical helicopter to a hospital and were in critical condition.

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