Category Archives: US News

EU must assert autonomy in face of US-China dominance, says Macron

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French president says US election chance to pursue sovereignty amid rising populism

European leaders must not let up on efforts to construct an autonomous bloc that is capable of resisting the duopoly of China and the US, Emmanuel Macron has said in his first extended response to the US presidential election.

The French president said the US would only respect Europe if it was sovereign with respect to its own defence, technology and currency. Warning that US values and interests were not quite the same as Europe’s, he said: “It is not tenable that our international policies should be dependent on it or to be trailing behind it.” The same need for independence applied even more to China, he added.

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America’s flawed democracy: the five key areas where it is failing

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The US system has survived four years of a norm-busting president by the skin of its teeth – which areas need most urgent attention?

On 7 November the United States pulled back from the brink of re-electing a president who has repeatedly shown disdain for democratic norms and institutions. Donald Trump has fused his own business interests with the White House, dubbed the media “enemies of the people”, embraced foreign strongmen, sidelined science and politicized the justice department, falsely cast doubt on the electoral process and is currently distinguishing himself as the first sitting president since 1800 to frustrate a peaceful transition of power.

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A youth group helped Biden win. Now they want him to fix climate crisis

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The Sunrise Movement helped reach 3.5m voters in swing states and are determined to hold the president-elect to his promises

Joe Biden will have to navigate a path for the most ambitious climate agenda ever adopted by a US president through not only stubborn Republican obstruction but also an emergent youth climate movement that is already formulating plans to hold him to account.

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‘We went through our rough patches’: Obama on married life as president – video

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Former US president Barack Obama discusses how his marriage was affected by the constant pressures that come with being US president. 

In an interview for Apple TV, Obama told Oprah Winfrey he and wife Michelle 'went through our rough patches in the White House ... but I tell you that the thing that I think we were good about was talking stuff through, never losing fundamental love and respect for each other, and prioritising our kids'

• Barack Obama rules out role in Biden cabinet – 'Michelle would leave me'

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US and UK yet to show support for global treaty to tackle plastic pollution

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More than two-thirds of UN member states have declared they are open to a new agreement to stem the rising tide of plastic waste

Support is growing internationally for a new global treaty to tackle the plastic pollution crisis, it has emerged, though so far without the two biggest per capita waste producers – the US and the UK – which have yet to signal their participation.

A UN working group on marine litter and microplastics met at a virtual conference last week to discuss the issue. More than two-thirds of UN member states, including African, Baltic, Caribbean, Nordic and Pacific states, as well as the EU, have declared they are open to considering the option of a new agreement.

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Trump campaign abandons part of legal challenge to Pennsylvania election results

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Allegation that 682,479 mail-in and absentee ballots were illegally processed without its representatives watching has been dropped

President Donald Trump’s campaign has withdrawn a central part of its lawsuit seeking to stop the certification of the election results in Pennsylvania, where Democrat Joe Biden beat Trump to capture the state and help win the White House.

Ahead of a Tuesday hearing in the case, Trump’s campaign on Sunday dropped the allegation that 682,479 mail-in and absentee ballots were illegally processed without its representatives watching.

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SpaceX Nasa launch: astronauts head to International Space Station onboard Dragon capsule

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Mike Hopkins, Shannon Walker, Victor Glover and Japan’s Soichi Noguchi successfully lifted off for the 27-hour flight on Sunday

SpaceX has launched four astronauts to the International Space Station on the first full-fledged taxi flight for Nasa by a private company.

The Falcon rocket thundered into the night from Kennedy Space Center in Florida with three Americans and one Japanese onboard, the second crew to be launched by SpaceX. The Dragon capsule on top – named Resilience by its crew in light of this year’s many challenges, most notably Covid-19 – is due to reach the space station after 27-and-a-half hours and remain there until spring.

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Trump insists ‘I concede nothing’ after tweeting that Biden ‘won’ – live coverage

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The president’s scattershot comments came in a morning Twitter blitz in which he also lashed out at Fox News

Many New York City parents breathed a sigh of relief on Sunday, as Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that public schools would remain open next week, as Covid-19 testing rates remain below the threshold for closures.

Increasing positivity rates in New York City and state have prompted rollbacks of reopening initiatives, spurring De Blasio to warn on Friday that schools could close again. De Blasio said classrooms would close if the seven-day test positivity rate exceeded 3%.

Today’s indicators are similar to yesterday:

• 117 patients admitted to the hospital
• 937 new cases
• The test positivity 7-day average is 2.57%

Thankfully, schools will remain open on Monday, but we have to keep fighting back with everything we’ve got.

While his aides seek to turn up the pressure on Donald Trump, to force his co-operation with the presidential transition, Joe Biden is going about his business as the president-elect:

JUST IN: President-elect Joe Biden will address the nation on Monday about the state of the economy.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will join Biden from Wilmington, Delaware.

Related: Trump faces growing pressure to start transition as Covid surges across US

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Tracking the US election results: ‘We needed to be clear, fast, and accurate’

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The team behind our US election results tracker discuss how it came together, why readers around the world loved it, and how it came to be the most-viewed page ever on the Guardian’s website

On Wednesday 4 November, the Guardian recorded its highest-ever digital traffic, reaching more than 190 million page views and 52.9m unique browsers worldwide in 24 hours - exceeding all previous traffic records by an enormous margin. Our live results tracker – a collaborative project from the Guardian’s newsroom, visual journalism, designers and engineering teams – has received over 94 million page views so far since launch, and continues to draw in readers. Here, the team behind it explain why visual journalism is so critical to what we do.

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US records 166,000 new Covid cases as Trump supporters crowd Washington

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The US recorded 166,555 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, down from more than 184,000 on Friday but still its second-highest daily total and a 12th day in a row above 100,000.

Related: Arrests in Washington as Trump supporters assemble, rejecting Biden victory

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Million Maga March: Trump supporters protest in Washington – video

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At least a thousand protesters travelled across the US to show their support for Donald Trump in what was called the 'Million Maga March' in Washington on Saturday.

People chanted 'stop the steal' and sang the national anthem, some demonstrators running after Trump's motorcade when it made an appearance at the beginning of the significantly advertised event.

Counter-protesters also rallied in Washington and clashed with Trump supporters in the evening, when at least 20 people were arrested on a variety of charges, including assault and weapons possession, according to officials

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‘Walked a fine line’: how Fox News found itself in an existential crisis

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The rightwing channel was the first to call Arizona for Biden – and Trump and his supporters have been furious ever since

It was about 11.20pm on election night when Fox News made the call. The Democratic candidate had clinched a key swing state, a win that could set them on a path to be president of the United States.

In the Fox News studio, Karl Rove, conservative panelist and longtime Republican strategist, was apoplectic. Around the country, Republican supporters were bereft. Fox News launched an immediate inquisition into its own decision, but the network stood by the call.

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US poll chaos is a boon for the enemies of democracy the whole world over

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While Democrats and Republicans squabble in Washington, injustice and violence reigns from Palestine to Mozambique

Believe it or not, the world did not stop turning on its axis because of the US election and ensuing, self-indulgent disputes in the land of the free-for-all. In the age of Donald Trump, narcissism spreads like the plague.

But the longer the wrangling in Washington continues, the greater the collateral damage to America’s global reputation – and to less fortunate states and peoples who rely on the US and the western allies to fly the flag for democracy and freedom.

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Coronavirus live news: German minister predicts five more months of ‘severe restrictions’; UK reports 24,962 more cases

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UK death toll rises by 168; economy minister says Germany ‘isn’t out of the woods’; Greece limits public gatherings; US records 177,000 new cases

France reports 302 deaths and 27,228 new cases in the last 24-hours, according to the French health ministry website. The country has had in total 44,246 deaths and 1,981,827 confirmed cases since the beginning of the outbreak.

The prime minister of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Ambrose Dlamini, has tested positive for Covid-19.

In a statement published on Twitter he said he was asymptomatic and currently isolating in line with the government’s coronavirus protocols:

We should not tire of looking after one another and encouraging adherence to all health protocols at all times.

Government Press Statement: Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini tests positive for #COVID19. pic.twitter.com/HoqABtoRKh

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Arrests in Washington as Trump supporters assemble, rejecting Biden victory

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Counter-demonstrators clash with Maga groups that echo president’s baseless claims of fraud

Donald Trump continued to rage against the dying light of his US presidency on Saturday, falsely claiming to be the victim of mass voter fraud and praising rightwingers and conspiracy theorists who gathered in Washington to echo his fabrication.

Trump emerged from the White House to applause, cheers, waving and whistles from hundreds of supporters lining both sides of the street. They punched the air, took pictures with phones and held signs that included “Best prez ever” and “Stop the steal”.

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Judge rules Daca suspension invalid, Homeland Security head in office illegally

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Chad Wolf took office unlawfully, says federal court judge, therefore could not suspend program that shields young people from deportation

A federal judge in New York has ruled that the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf, assumed his position unlawfully and has invalidated Wolf’s suspension of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) program, which shields young people from deportation.

“DHS failed to follow the order of succession as it was lawfully designated,” the US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis wrote.

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Hiker lost in Mount Rainier whiteout dies in ER – and is brought back to life

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  • Hospital uses extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine
  • ‘I’ve got a million people to thank,’ says Michael Knapinski, 45

A hiker who was rescued after being lost overnight in a whiteout in Mount Rainier national park died in the emergency room but was brought back to life after his heart stopped for 45 minutes.

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Driving Mr Donald – White House excursion reveals a presidency pushing up daisies

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From the motorcade, leaving Washington, it was clear how Trump thrives on a noisy minority’s support – and why he lost

It was a jarring few minutes of seeing the world through Donald Trump’s eyes and indulging his fantasies.

Related: Trump supporters gather in Washington as president refuses to concede to Biden

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Joe Biden administration: president-elect assembles a diverse cabinet

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Susan Rice is being considered for secretary of state and Michele Flournoy is reportedly top choice for defence secretary

Joe Biden is piecing together what he has promised to be a diverse cabinet, with Michele Flournoy reportedly top choice for US defence secretary and Susan Rice considered a frontrunner for secretary of state.

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